************
Author's notes:
Finally, I've finished another chapter. Thanks you guys for the words of
support, egging me on. We are almost to the climax and I hope not all of
you have figured out the surprise or where I'm taking this. To get both of
my stories done, I'm going to have to alternate releasing chapters between
the two. I love the storyline too much to leave it hanging, just have real
life stuff keeping me from finishing as soon as you would like, but hang in
there.
***********
Chapter 10
Mihoshi lurched to the left then to the right. She felt very proud that she had managed to out drink Ryoko, but suddenly, she also worried that perhaps she had taken it too far.she was wasted. Her tanned arm rested around the pale shoulders of Princess Ayeka, she too, a little worse for wear. The girls latched onto each other tightly and wobbled their way down the beach. They didn't seem to notice the tiny little crab shaped pins on their shirts glowed faintly and emitted a tiny beep.
"Oh, Mihoshi." Ayeka let go of her supporting companion and fell to the sand as the high tide came rolling in soaking her in white sea foam.
"Are you going to be sick?" Mihoshi stood back lest her friend felt the need to vomit.
"No.." She burst into tears.
"Ayeka?" The blond gently knelt in the wet sand as another small wave soaked the hem of her red dress. "What's wrong?"
"Why can't they all be.like. Tenchi?"
"Who?" Mihoshi blinked.
"Men.if I can't find Tenchi, then why can't I find one like him."
"It's just bad luck, Ayeka." She grasped the Princess's shoulders and peered into her ruby eyes. "Stick with me and I'm sure some good luck will wear off on you." She smiled.
"Oh, Mihoshi, I don't think your good luck is transferable." A she smiled and wiped away a tear. "Don't you think Miss Washu would agree?" This made them both laugh.
"Well, I promise that I'll only give you my GOOD luck!" She stood and helped Ayeka to her feet and the girls resumed their wobbling down the beach back to the hotel.
****
"No!" Tak screamed as he felt the wood of the alien sword in his hand. He could not release it thanks to Mek's strong grip. Sparks began to fly from between his fingers and illuminate the room in bright flashes as Lord Edo cackled in the background. The boy felt the energy sear into the soft flesh of his hand, he felt an initial burning sensation and he squeezed his eyes shut so he would not see his hand disintegrate right in front of him. It did not come. He slowly pried one eye open to gaze upon his still whole hand no longer being singed. An evil smile spread across his face as a memory, rather, instructions passed through his mind.
Tak was no longer held within Edo's home. He now stood in a clearing in an alien wood as a faint breeze carried the sweet smell of flowers and dandelion seedlings. Before him, stood a huge ancient tree resting in the middle of a crystal blue pond. He slowly approached the tree and as he gazed upon her grand form, tiny threads of rainbow colored light shot from her branches enveloping him in a magic glow. Then, he noticed it. The Sword he sought from Edo. The hilt was embedded deep within the trunk of the tree. Stepping lightly upon the damp stones in the pond, he made his way over to the tiny island of ground in which the magic tree grew. He stood face to face with the sword and in an instant, it began to glow and spark. From far away, in the darkest reaches of his mind, he heard it. He heard an old man speaking.
"Now is your time to grasp the future!"
Without questioning himself or who the voice was in his head, Tak outstretched his right hand with care. Inching his way, he slowly wrapped his fingers around the shaft of the hilt. Suddenly, a torrential wind bombarded his body and it took all his might to stay in place. He groaned as he tried to pull the sword from the tree. Sparks from the ancient blade enveloped his hand as he tried to free the weapon. From behind him, he heard a twig snap. Turning around, but still clutching the sword, Tak saw the form of a woman standing on the bank. Garbed in a skin tight black and red suit, she held her head high and stared at him with her golden yellow eyes. Her savage beauty almost made him lose his grip, almost.
"You pitiful little boy!" She screamed and lunged forward, her pale blue hair whipping around her face. "I am coming to destroy you! I'm going to squash all your puny little hopes and dreams!" She flew across the water and floated before him as he desperately tried to free the sword.
"Who are you!" He yelled over the wind.
"Your murderer! Prepare to die!" She clenched her right hand and an orange energy ball formed. With a flick of her wrist, the ball elongated into a sword of pure orange energy. Her feral eyes glowed with hate as she raised her arm to strike him dead.
"No!" He screamed once more as he finally freed the sword from the trunk. Instantly, he took a pose of self defense as the girl brought the orange blade down. Tak stood shaking in her power as he realized instead of being sliced in two, a blade of blue energy from his new sword held off the girl's weapon. He smiled and whipped around the girl managing to plunge the sword through her neck, impaling her on the spot. The boy held the sword as the slain girl extinguished her own blade and her life slowly ebbed away. She gazed into his brown eyes and spoke.
"You had better prepare for me. I am coming to kill you." A trickle of red blood fell from her nose as she attempted to smile . The girl then closed her eyes and breathed her last. As she exhaled, Tak noticed a blood red stone in her left wrist, one identical to the ones already in the hilt of his new sword. The stone began to glow with a blue light and then it disappeared only to reappear within the blue energy of his blade. Slowly, the round gem traveled inside his blade until it reappeared next to its sisters in the hilt of the sword. He now had all three gems. As the gem left her body, the strange girl began to disappear. Tak extinguished his blade and raised the sword to eye level to examine the three gems.
"She is coming to kill me. I must be ready." He grinned as he felt the increase of power flow through his body, probably due to the new gem. "I must kill her and take this gem."
As soon as that realization was made, Tak found himself whisked away from the beautiful mountain pond. He now stood in complete darkness, the sword still level with his eyes, but this time, the blue blade hummed merrily before him. His eyes began to focus on his surroundings. A room. Some furnature. Bodies.
"What!"
A trickle of sweat fell down his temple as he peered through the sword to the carnage in the room. Before him in pools of blood lay a warrior without his head, an old man and a young girl all dead. He extinguished the blade and fell to his knees. He had slain them. He had used this sword and killed his captors. The boy gathered up his strength and raised his body again to a standing position. He held the sword in this right hand to his side and gripped it tightly as a plan formed in his tortured mind. He grit his teeth and squeezed the hilt until a tiny drop of blood fell from his hand to the floor. He knew what he must do next.
"Gento." He growled and took off into the black of the night.
****
"Good morning Tiger." The smooth male voice stirred the pirate from her sleep. She moaned as the searing morning sun filtered through her eyelids and into her brain. Her head pounded, her neck was sore and she had a god awful nasty taste in her mouth. Then she realized that she was not alone.
"What?" Ryoko sat up and noticed she was lying on a sandy beach next to a handsome man.
"No good morning kisses? I'm hurt." He reached inside his jacket pocket and brought out cigarette and placed it in his lips.
"You creep!" She screeched and lunged at him, as she generated sparks.
"Are you showing me more affection or are you just trying to light my cigarette?" He jumped out of her way as she fell face forward into the sand. Ryoko painfully raised her body up and began spitting out sand.
"Before I kill you, I'm going to make you tell me just what happened!" Her eyes glowed yellow and she turned around to face him, this time she was holding her energy sword. The man became nervous and began to slowly back away.
"Now, now, kitten..you mean to tell me you don't remember?" She took a swing at him with her sword as he ducked.
"What did you do!"
"Do you mean, what did WE do?" He blurted out missing her blade again. "Oh, the stars wept, the moons shook, the planet spun backwards..you don't remember the earthquake?" He laughed as she ran after him.
"I'm going to slice them off!" She aimed her sword at his crotch, again he narrowly escaped becoming a eunuch.
"Relax. Remember? It was you that made the first moves! Look! You practically ripped my shirt off digging around in my jacket."
Ryoko stopped and stared at him. He was right. She remembered bits and pieces of the night before. She remembered all the drinking and saving Ayeka from this man..oh, she remembered his name- Amatasu. That's right! She threw back her hand, the sword becoming a ball of energy. In a quick movement, she flung the ball at Amatasu, hitting the sand in front of him and causing a concussive blast that flung his body backward onto the sand. Before he could sit up, the pirate stood over him, her right foot holding him down by his left shoulder.
"Your fatal mistake is taking advantage of me while I was drunk." She produced her sword again and held it precariously between his sprawled legs. "I think I'll make it so you are not able to do such a thing again!"
"Wait!" He yelped as he let the cigarette fall from his mouth. Amatasu felt the searing heat from Ryoko's sword inching closer and closer to his privates. "Look at yourself! I swear! I didn't touch you!" Beads of sweat flowed down his temples as Ryoko brought her sword closer and closer to his groin.
"I don't care." She grinned and was about to make him less of a man when she noticed it. Her button, the tiny pin that Washu had given all the girls to find Tenchi was beeping. "What?" She extinguished her sword and stood back, allowing Amatasu time to scamper back from her.
"And, and, that thing." He stammered realizing he escaped another close call. "That thing was beeping all night." He nervously drug another cigarette out of his sand filled coat pocket and stuck it in is mouth.
"Tenchi?" Ryoko lunged upon Amatasu. As she got closer, the pin's beeping and blinking reached a fever pitch.
"Who?"
The pirate grabbed the young man by his collar and brought his face up to hers. She grasped his face with both of her hands and brought it closer to her own until they were inches apart and eye to eye.
"Bah!" She threw him back to the sand. "You are not Tenchi...but you HAVE something of his.." She began ripping and rifling through his jacket until she pulled out a brown pouch.
"Hey! That's mine!" He rose up and tried to grab the object from her hand. Ryoko answered with a swift punch to his face leaving him dazed in the sand a few feet away from where he originally sat.
Ryoko stared at the brown pouch. She pulled the dark cord that kept it closed and a handful of golden coins fell to the sand. She blinked at the gold and then disregarded them, it was this pouch that was interesting. Slowly, she raised the soft brown fabric up to her face. She took a long sniff, letting the tiny particles of scent infiltrate her sensitive nose. It smelled of Tenchi. Upon further examination, the fabric, made of soft, brown microfiber was most certainly the fabric that made up Tenchi's field coat. She turned to Amatasu once again.
"Where is he!" She produced her orange energy sword and held it to the man's throat.
"Who?"
"Don't be stupid! This fabric was part of a coat, where is the owner!"
"The owner..you mean the boy?"
"Yes damnit! Where is the boy who wore that coat!"
"Oh..THAT boy..." He grinned and lit his cigarette with the flames of her sword. "Why don't you sit down and let's talk about the boy...or, you can kill me and never know." He exhaled smoke in her face.
"Bastard." Ryoko knew he was right, she hated him but he apparently was the only link to her Tenchi. "Spill it!" She plopped down in front of him.
"Let me tell you about my business. I'm what you could say, a talent agent for the moon planet Thea," he waved his cigarette in the direction of the brown moon still on the horizon. "I'm sure you've heard of it."
"Yeah, fighting barbarians..go on."
"My line of work, which is VERY profitable by the way, has me finding the most powerful warriors in the galaxy to fight in Thea's tournaments. Not only do make a killing in finder's fees, but I know my fighters. I also clean it up in the betting arena."
"And I used to plunder starships! I don't care how you made money, tell me about Tenchi!"
"Tenchi? Oh, the boy..anyway, a long time ago, I witnessed a crash in the dunes while I was on my way to the tournament there. A young man stumbled out into the sandstorm and practically fell at my feet. I was about to leave him, he seemed like a scrawny little thing.." Ryoko cut him off with a punch to the nose. "Ok," he composed himself. "But I saw potential in him and took him to the tournament with me."
"You what?"
"He was out of it. Couldn't remember who he was, kept mumbling about this beautiful lady named Tenchi." He took a drag from his cigarette as a drip of blood fell from his nose. "Hell, he turned out to be the best of the fighters. I sold him..er..he found a job as a professional strong man for some fat nobleman."
"He's alive?"
"Last I heard he was tearing up jack in the tournaments."
"You will take us there!"
"No." He leered at her. "But I will take YOU there."
"All of us will go!"
"Only you or you can just kill me. Try to find him on your own. I dare you. Ryoko..look at Thea. People here call it a moon but it is really the largest planet in this system. Celeste is really the moon that orbits Thea."
"Bah! I don't need you." She stood to face him. "I can find him now that I know where he is."
"Can you? You'll never be able to navigate through the dunes in a sandstorm and if you take your friends, you'll just be leading them to their deaths out there. If you do me a tiny little favor, I'll take you straight to your Tenchi."
"What kind of favor?"
"Fight. Fight in the tournament for me. You would be grand, just grand- a female warrior would take them totally by surprise and you would make me a fortune. You are sure to see your Tenchi there.
"Let me get this straight. Instead of me killing you, you want me to fight for you?" Exactly what is in it for me?" She grunted and lowered her sword at his groin once more.
"Now, don't get excited.." He began to sweat. "You'll get to find your Tenchi and..and.we'll split the winnings. Eighty-twenty."
"Don't make me laugh!" She lunged at him searing his zipper.
"Ok! Don't!" He scooted back to protect his privates. "Fine! Fifty- Fifty!"
"That sounds more reasonable." Ryoko smiled thinking of not only being the one to rescue Tenchi, but also about all that money. She stood back and extinguished her sword. "Your ship..or mine?"
"Mine." He stood up and began walking down the beach. "You coming?"
"Yeah." Ryoko followed.
***
Flashes of light rippled upon her face in delicate waves of pale blue and white. Aeyka felt as if her body rest upon the surface of the warm water that covered most of her home planet. It was as if her physical form undulated with each tiny wave- a most pleasant sensation, and she felt quite happy to exist as this until she heard the sweet voice in her head.
"Ayeka."
"Who is that?" The Princess opened her eyes and realized that she was not floating in a calm sea, but standing upon the silver surface of a mirrored floor. Ayeka looked around her to see tiny trees, mere seedlings, glowing with the same pale blue and white light she felt as she floated away on the invisible water. She gazed at her reflection in the floor-she no longer wore a white party dress, instead, she was clad in elaborate royal robes of pure white with cascading pink and blue streamers descending from her multicolored armor collar plate. "What is going on?" She held up her hands to admire dark gloves with more colored gauntlet armor.
"I'm sorry to startle you. There was no other way."
"Tsunami?" Ayeka's head turned toward the sweet voice of the Goddess who her beloved sister was to become. Before her and standing in front a pool of water stood one of the trinity, the Goddess Tsunami shrouded in light.
"You have a power that has yet to be awakened. Don't be frightened."
"Tsunami! Can you help us find Tenchi?" Ayeka ran toward the beautiful woman in the light, frantic to gain some information from the divine. She also wondered just where she had heard the phrase the Goddess just uttered before. The Princess approached the reflecting pool and stood before Tsunami. She noticed the reflection of her sister, Sasami in the pool at Tsunami's feet.
"Ayeka, all I can give you is the fact that you will find him." She turned her face to the side as a tear fell down Sasami's cheek. "But he may be lost to me, forever if you don't find him soon."
"What do you mean, lost?" Ayeka was getting impatient. Surely Tsunami, a God, would give her more answers than this.
"I'm so sorry." She placed her warm hand on the Princess' shoulder. "I tried. I tried so very hard to keep him. I don't know that there is any more I can do..the rest is up to you..and Ryoko."
"Ryoko!" That is not acceptable! Tell me, please! Please tell me where to find him!" Tears began to stream down her porcelain face as Ayeka's red eyes pleaded with the Goddess.
"You are so close..." And suddenly, Tsunami, everything was gone.
"Am I dead?" Ayeka awoke in the large bathtub of her hotel suite. Still clad in her white outfit from the night before, she struggled through the mini skirt to right herself and get out of the tub. Her head felt awful, like she used it to ram the door open. Along with the throbbing headache, she also felt the first waves of nausea as she stood up. Her next step was toward the toilet to puke. "Not very princess-like, is it," she whispered to herself as she moved to lean over the sink basin and brush her teeth. Upon inspection of her body in the mirror, the princess noticed the pale blue outline of a handprint on her left arm, a bruise slowly forming and she remembered the dream and she remembered the events of the night before.
"Mihoshi!" She screamed and ran toward the door adjoining their suites. She stopped for a second to cradle her sore head after she screamed.
"Yes?" Even though she out drank Ryoko the night before, there stood Mihoshi in her workout gear doing stretches and apparently not as in as bad a shape as the Princess. "You don't look so good.."
"Mihoshi, is Ryoko here? Did she come back last night?"
"I didn't see her, I thought she was with you and Sasami."
"I somehow fell asleep in the tub, let's check my room." Ayeka felt no need to share her dream with anyone. Perhaps it was her imagination on overload. But now, more than ever, she was sure that Tenchi was close.
"Check it for what?" Washu peered from behind the minibar door.
"Have you seen Ryoko?"
"No, I thought she was with you."
"Washu, I think something bad happened to her...last night."
"What happened last night?"
"Ayeka was attacked by a man." Mihoshi interjected. "And Ryoko beat him up. We thought she was right behind us."
"Well, the question is, who has the money?" Washu smiled nonchalantly and grabbed a soda from the small refrigerator. "Because if you guys left the money with Ryoko, she may have gone off to spend it.on her own."
"Right here." Mihoshi picked up the pouch of native coins and tossed them to Washu. "Ayeka, you handed this to me when we left the beach."
"Hmmmmm," Washu squinted her left eye and exhaled trying to speak with Ryoko using their telepathic link. "Ryoko." She called for her daughter in her mind. "She's not answering me, but I know she's alright. Ryo-Ohki?"
"Miya?" The once furry cabbit now wobbled into the room in the form of a small child, a form she loved to take to play with Sasami. Thanks to her merger with a creature called Mass, little Ryo-Ohki could take the form of a furry child whenever she wanted, but she wasn't able to keep the form stable for too long before she had to appear as a rabbit creature once more.
"Can you tell me where Ryoko is?" Washu implored.
"Hmmmmm?" Ryo-Ohki called for her master, her sister Ryoko. She heard Ryoko's thoughts as a far away mumble, telling her she was ok but she refused to answer.
"She won't tell you either, will she?" Washu snarled. "Well, we'll just have to see about that girl!" She stomped back into her own room and produced her laptop from mid air.
***
The warm air of the sandy night heightened Tak's already elevated senses. In his right hand, he clutched the mighty weapon he now could control and in his left hand he carried the brown scratchy pads of the sand plant he stole from the cook. Almost to the sand trees, the boy caught a glimpse of Gento's black hovercraft. Tak hid behind a clump of dirty sand trees and tucked the wooden hilt into his black sash. Rage. He felt a newfound rage and fury unleashed as he killed Edo and his men. Startled at becoming aware of this act, he now relished it and the rush of the kill. Now he intended to unleash this new rage on his slave master. His brown eyes now burned like red embers staring from the eye holes of the mask, a demons face with glowing eyes. Tak carefully shoved the sand plant pieces under his mask making sure they stood securely on the pressure points of his face that came in contact with the burning metal. When he was done, he smiled, grabbed the sword and grit his teeth as he slowly made his way toward the carriage in the dark.
"Well, do you have it?" Gento smiled from inside the craft as Tak approached.
Tak responded by holding the hilt up so his master could see.
"You can hold it?"
Tak smiled and got in the craft with his master.
"Splendid...splendid, we will be unstoppable now..." Gento said with much trepidation as Tak quietly put the sword back in his sash and sat across from him. "Driver! Home quickly!" The carriage sped off into the night.
"Well, uh, now that we have the sword, you can..give it to me." Gento grinned as both he and Tak exited the carriage and entered the compound.
"No. No one can hold it without mortal damage..except me. It is safe in my possession Gento." He patted the lump in his sash were the sword rest. "Please have the driver call off the sentries."
"He, he, he, of course." The fat man let lose a nervous laugh. He did not count on Tak being able to hold the weapon, and it was horrible weapon at that. The old man fingered the key to his slave's mask. "Do as he said!" He ordered the driver who soon disappeared. "Now, my loyal friend, wouldn't you feel better if that awful thing was in my possession?"
"It's been a long night, Gento." Tak sighed. "Let's talk about it inside."
"Very well, my son." The man led his Krta slave back into the house. They came upon the grand entryway and Gento turned around, this time, his eyes devoid of nervousness. "Now, there is not going to be a debate. Place the sword down on that table." He held up the key to Tak's mask threateningly.
"Not this time, Gento, my friend." Tak stood his ground as anger boiled over in his master.
"Insolent! I'll teach you to take that tone with me!" He grasped the key before him and Tak's demon mask began to glow. "You'll change your tune shortly." He snarled as fringes of the warrior's dark hair ignited as they came in contact with the molten mask.
Tak smiled from behind the poker hot metal. The sand plant was working perfectly. He felt the heat and his hair was singing, but his skin was protected from the torture. He was now free. He took the sword from his sash and held it before Gento. With a quick flick to his wrist, the blue flame ignited and glowed before him.
"What? Put that down! I'm warning you! I will kill you Tak!" Gento still clutched the key outstretched before him, his only weapon in controlling his strong arm and it was not working.
"Not this time, old man." Tak swung the sword before him, lopping off Gento's hand. The limb and the key fell to the right as his master screamed in agony.
"Help me! Someone help me!" He yelled down the corridors.
"Pathetic fool. Do you think you can give me this weapon to fight with, and I would not use it against you?" He inched closer to Gento as the look on the old man's eyes changed from anger to fear.
"Please, I'll do anything..please!"
"Coward!" Tak lunged at Gento and ran the blue blade through the old man's sternum. Gento fell limp upon the floor. The boy noticed that as he killed the man, he felt a slight tingling sensation in his sword hand which he soon dismissed. Mitir and other members of Gento's household soon filled the room and stared in awe at their slain master and his slave.
"Tak?" Mitir gazed at the boy.
"All of you!" Tak raised the glowing blue sword over his head as he addressed them. "I have slain the master. Gento is dead. I am the new master of this house. I will kill any opposed to me."
"We are all with you, Master Tak," Mitir replied as he gently picked up the key to Tak's mask and handed it to him. "We will follow you anywhere."
"I am glad of that, my friend..oh so glad." Tak sighed as that heavy burden was released. He strolled over to the window, full aware of the gasps and stares of the others upon his back. The boy slowly raised the key to the back strap of the mask, and turned the locking mechanism that had held the monstrous thing over his face. The metal hit the floor with a loud ringing clunk as if the demon upon it screamed with glory. It was the first time in over six months that his face felt the moonlight. He gazed out the window and noticed a glimmer of light streak across the night's sky. It was a ship. She was coming for him and he would be ready.
Chapter 10
Mihoshi lurched to the left then to the right. She felt very proud that she had managed to out drink Ryoko, but suddenly, she also worried that perhaps she had taken it too far.she was wasted. Her tanned arm rested around the pale shoulders of Princess Ayeka, she too, a little worse for wear. The girls latched onto each other tightly and wobbled their way down the beach. They didn't seem to notice the tiny little crab shaped pins on their shirts glowed faintly and emitted a tiny beep.
"Oh, Mihoshi." Ayeka let go of her supporting companion and fell to the sand as the high tide came rolling in soaking her in white sea foam.
"Are you going to be sick?" Mihoshi stood back lest her friend felt the need to vomit.
"No.." She burst into tears.
"Ayeka?" The blond gently knelt in the wet sand as another small wave soaked the hem of her red dress. "What's wrong?"
"Why can't they all be.like. Tenchi?"
"Who?" Mihoshi blinked.
"Men.if I can't find Tenchi, then why can't I find one like him."
"It's just bad luck, Ayeka." She grasped the Princess's shoulders and peered into her ruby eyes. "Stick with me and I'm sure some good luck will wear off on you." She smiled.
"Oh, Mihoshi, I don't think your good luck is transferable." A she smiled and wiped away a tear. "Don't you think Miss Washu would agree?" This made them both laugh.
"Well, I promise that I'll only give you my GOOD luck!" She stood and helped Ayeka to her feet and the girls resumed their wobbling down the beach back to the hotel.
****
"No!" Tak screamed as he felt the wood of the alien sword in his hand. He could not release it thanks to Mek's strong grip. Sparks began to fly from between his fingers and illuminate the room in bright flashes as Lord Edo cackled in the background. The boy felt the energy sear into the soft flesh of his hand, he felt an initial burning sensation and he squeezed his eyes shut so he would not see his hand disintegrate right in front of him. It did not come. He slowly pried one eye open to gaze upon his still whole hand no longer being singed. An evil smile spread across his face as a memory, rather, instructions passed through his mind.
Tak was no longer held within Edo's home. He now stood in a clearing in an alien wood as a faint breeze carried the sweet smell of flowers and dandelion seedlings. Before him, stood a huge ancient tree resting in the middle of a crystal blue pond. He slowly approached the tree and as he gazed upon her grand form, tiny threads of rainbow colored light shot from her branches enveloping him in a magic glow. Then, he noticed it. The Sword he sought from Edo. The hilt was embedded deep within the trunk of the tree. Stepping lightly upon the damp stones in the pond, he made his way over to the tiny island of ground in which the magic tree grew. He stood face to face with the sword and in an instant, it began to glow and spark. From far away, in the darkest reaches of his mind, he heard it. He heard an old man speaking.
"Now is your time to grasp the future!"
Without questioning himself or who the voice was in his head, Tak outstretched his right hand with care. Inching his way, he slowly wrapped his fingers around the shaft of the hilt. Suddenly, a torrential wind bombarded his body and it took all his might to stay in place. He groaned as he tried to pull the sword from the tree. Sparks from the ancient blade enveloped his hand as he tried to free the weapon. From behind him, he heard a twig snap. Turning around, but still clutching the sword, Tak saw the form of a woman standing on the bank. Garbed in a skin tight black and red suit, she held her head high and stared at him with her golden yellow eyes. Her savage beauty almost made him lose his grip, almost.
"You pitiful little boy!" She screamed and lunged forward, her pale blue hair whipping around her face. "I am coming to destroy you! I'm going to squash all your puny little hopes and dreams!" She flew across the water and floated before him as he desperately tried to free the sword.
"Who are you!" He yelled over the wind.
"Your murderer! Prepare to die!" She clenched her right hand and an orange energy ball formed. With a flick of her wrist, the ball elongated into a sword of pure orange energy. Her feral eyes glowed with hate as she raised her arm to strike him dead.
"No!" He screamed once more as he finally freed the sword from the trunk. Instantly, he took a pose of self defense as the girl brought the orange blade down. Tak stood shaking in her power as he realized instead of being sliced in two, a blade of blue energy from his new sword held off the girl's weapon. He smiled and whipped around the girl managing to plunge the sword through her neck, impaling her on the spot. The boy held the sword as the slain girl extinguished her own blade and her life slowly ebbed away. She gazed into his brown eyes and spoke.
"You had better prepare for me. I am coming to kill you." A trickle of red blood fell from her nose as she attempted to smile . The girl then closed her eyes and breathed her last. As she exhaled, Tak noticed a blood red stone in her left wrist, one identical to the ones already in the hilt of his new sword. The stone began to glow with a blue light and then it disappeared only to reappear within the blue energy of his blade. Slowly, the round gem traveled inside his blade until it reappeared next to its sisters in the hilt of the sword. He now had all three gems. As the gem left her body, the strange girl began to disappear. Tak extinguished his blade and raised the sword to eye level to examine the three gems.
"She is coming to kill me. I must be ready." He grinned as he felt the increase of power flow through his body, probably due to the new gem. "I must kill her and take this gem."
As soon as that realization was made, Tak found himself whisked away from the beautiful mountain pond. He now stood in complete darkness, the sword still level with his eyes, but this time, the blue blade hummed merrily before him. His eyes began to focus on his surroundings. A room. Some furnature. Bodies.
"What!"
A trickle of sweat fell down his temple as he peered through the sword to the carnage in the room. Before him in pools of blood lay a warrior without his head, an old man and a young girl all dead. He extinguished the blade and fell to his knees. He had slain them. He had used this sword and killed his captors. The boy gathered up his strength and raised his body again to a standing position. He held the sword in this right hand to his side and gripped it tightly as a plan formed in his tortured mind. He grit his teeth and squeezed the hilt until a tiny drop of blood fell from his hand to the floor. He knew what he must do next.
"Gento." He growled and took off into the black of the night.
****
"Good morning Tiger." The smooth male voice stirred the pirate from her sleep. She moaned as the searing morning sun filtered through her eyelids and into her brain. Her head pounded, her neck was sore and she had a god awful nasty taste in her mouth. Then she realized that she was not alone.
"What?" Ryoko sat up and noticed she was lying on a sandy beach next to a handsome man.
"No good morning kisses? I'm hurt." He reached inside his jacket pocket and brought out cigarette and placed it in his lips.
"You creep!" She screeched and lunged at him, as she generated sparks.
"Are you showing me more affection or are you just trying to light my cigarette?" He jumped out of her way as she fell face forward into the sand. Ryoko painfully raised her body up and began spitting out sand.
"Before I kill you, I'm going to make you tell me just what happened!" Her eyes glowed yellow and she turned around to face him, this time she was holding her energy sword. The man became nervous and began to slowly back away.
"Now, now, kitten..you mean to tell me you don't remember?" She took a swing at him with her sword as he ducked.
"What did you do!"
"Do you mean, what did WE do?" He blurted out missing her blade again. "Oh, the stars wept, the moons shook, the planet spun backwards..you don't remember the earthquake?" He laughed as she ran after him.
"I'm going to slice them off!" She aimed her sword at his crotch, again he narrowly escaped becoming a eunuch.
"Relax. Remember? It was you that made the first moves! Look! You practically ripped my shirt off digging around in my jacket."
Ryoko stopped and stared at him. He was right. She remembered bits and pieces of the night before. She remembered all the drinking and saving Ayeka from this man..oh, she remembered his name- Amatasu. That's right! She threw back her hand, the sword becoming a ball of energy. In a quick movement, she flung the ball at Amatasu, hitting the sand in front of him and causing a concussive blast that flung his body backward onto the sand. Before he could sit up, the pirate stood over him, her right foot holding him down by his left shoulder.
"Your fatal mistake is taking advantage of me while I was drunk." She produced her sword again and held it precariously between his sprawled legs. "I think I'll make it so you are not able to do such a thing again!"
"Wait!" He yelped as he let the cigarette fall from his mouth. Amatasu felt the searing heat from Ryoko's sword inching closer and closer to his privates. "Look at yourself! I swear! I didn't touch you!" Beads of sweat flowed down his temples as Ryoko brought her sword closer and closer to his groin.
"I don't care." She grinned and was about to make him less of a man when she noticed it. Her button, the tiny pin that Washu had given all the girls to find Tenchi was beeping. "What?" She extinguished her sword and stood back, allowing Amatasu time to scamper back from her.
"And, and, that thing." He stammered realizing he escaped another close call. "That thing was beeping all night." He nervously drug another cigarette out of his sand filled coat pocket and stuck it in is mouth.
"Tenchi?" Ryoko lunged upon Amatasu. As she got closer, the pin's beeping and blinking reached a fever pitch.
"Who?"
The pirate grabbed the young man by his collar and brought his face up to hers. She grasped his face with both of her hands and brought it closer to her own until they were inches apart and eye to eye.
"Bah!" She threw him back to the sand. "You are not Tenchi...but you HAVE something of his.." She began ripping and rifling through his jacket until she pulled out a brown pouch.
"Hey! That's mine!" He rose up and tried to grab the object from her hand. Ryoko answered with a swift punch to his face leaving him dazed in the sand a few feet away from where he originally sat.
Ryoko stared at the brown pouch. She pulled the dark cord that kept it closed and a handful of golden coins fell to the sand. She blinked at the gold and then disregarded them, it was this pouch that was interesting. Slowly, she raised the soft brown fabric up to her face. She took a long sniff, letting the tiny particles of scent infiltrate her sensitive nose. It smelled of Tenchi. Upon further examination, the fabric, made of soft, brown microfiber was most certainly the fabric that made up Tenchi's field coat. She turned to Amatasu once again.
"Where is he!" She produced her orange energy sword and held it to the man's throat.
"Who?"
"Don't be stupid! This fabric was part of a coat, where is the owner!"
"The owner..you mean the boy?"
"Yes damnit! Where is the boy who wore that coat!"
"Oh..THAT boy..." He grinned and lit his cigarette with the flames of her sword. "Why don't you sit down and let's talk about the boy...or, you can kill me and never know." He exhaled smoke in her face.
"Bastard." Ryoko knew he was right, she hated him but he apparently was the only link to her Tenchi. "Spill it!" She plopped down in front of him.
"Let me tell you about my business. I'm what you could say, a talent agent for the moon planet Thea," he waved his cigarette in the direction of the brown moon still on the horizon. "I'm sure you've heard of it."
"Yeah, fighting barbarians..go on."
"My line of work, which is VERY profitable by the way, has me finding the most powerful warriors in the galaxy to fight in Thea's tournaments. Not only do make a killing in finder's fees, but I know my fighters. I also clean it up in the betting arena."
"And I used to plunder starships! I don't care how you made money, tell me about Tenchi!"
"Tenchi? Oh, the boy..anyway, a long time ago, I witnessed a crash in the dunes while I was on my way to the tournament there. A young man stumbled out into the sandstorm and practically fell at my feet. I was about to leave him, he seemed like a scrawny little thing.." Ryoko cut him off with a punch to the nose. "Ok," he composed himself. "But I saw potential in him and took him to the tournament with me."
"You what?"
"He was out of it. Couldn't remember who he was, kept mumbling about this beautiful lady named Tenchi." He took a drag from his cigarette as a drip of blood fell from his nose. "Hell, he turned out to be the best of the fighters. I sold him..er..he found a job as a professional strong man for some fat nobleman."
"He's alive?"
"Last I heard he was tearing up jack in the tournaments."
"You will take us there!"
"No." He leered at her. "But I will take YOU there."
"All of us will go!"
"Only you or you can just kill me. Try to find him on your own. I dare you. Ryoko..look at Thea. People here call it a moon but it is really the largest planet in this system. Celeste is really the moon that orbits Thea."
"Bah! I don't need you." She stood to face him. "I can find him now that I know where he is."
"Can you? You'll never be able to navigate through the dunes in a sandstorm and if you take your friends, you'll just be leading them to their deaths out there. If you do me a tiny little favor, I'll take you straight to your Tenchi."
"What kind of favor?"
"Fight. Fight in the tournament for me. You would be grand, just grand- a female warrior would take them totally by surprise and you would make me a fortune. You are sure to see your Tenchi there.
"Let me get this straight. Instead of me killing you, you want me to fight for you?" Exactly what is in it for me?" She grunted and lowered her sword at his groin once more.
"Now, don't get excited.." He began to sweat. "You'll get to find your Tenchi and..and.we'll split the winnings. Eighty-twenty."
"Don't make me laugh!" She lunged at him searing his zipper.
"Ok! Don't!" He scooted back to protect his privates. "Fine! Fifty- Fifty!"
"That sounds more reasonable." Ryoko smiled thinking of not only being the one to rescue Tenchi, but also about all that money. She stood back and extinguished her sword. "Your ship..or mine?"
"Mine." He stood up and began walking down the beach. "You coming?"
"Yeah." Ryoko followed.
***
Flashes of light rippled upon her face in delicate waves of pale blue and white. Aeyka felt as if her body rest upon the surface of the warm water that covered most of her home planet. It was as if her physical form undulated with each tiny wave- a most pleasant sensation, and she felt quite happy to exist as this until she heard the sweet voice in her head.
"Ayeka."
"Who is that?" The Princess opened her eyes and realized that she was not floating in a calm sea, but standing upon the silver surface of a mirrored floor. Ayeka looked around her to see tiny trees, mere seedlings, glowing with the same pale blue and white light she felt as she floated away on the invisible water. She gazed at her reflection in the floor-she no longer wore a white party dress, instead, she was clad in elaborate royal robes of pure white with cascading pink and blue streamers descending from her multicolored armor collar plate. "What is going on?" She held up her hands to admire dark gloves with more colored gauntlet armor.
"I'm sorry to startle you. There was no other way."
"Tsunami?" Ayeka's head turned toward the sweet voice of the Goddess who her beloved sister was to become. Before her and standing in front a pool of water stood one of the trinity, the Goddess Tsunami shrouded in light.
"You have a power that has yet to be awakened. Don't be frightened."
"Tsunami! Can you help us find Tenchi?" Ayeka ran toward the beautiful woman in the light, frantic to gain some information from the divine. She also wondered just where she had heard the phrase the Goddess just uttered before. The Princess approached the reflecting pool and stood before Tsunami. She noticed the reflection of her sister, Sasami in the pool at Tsunami's feet.
"Ayeka, all I can give you is the fact that you will find him." She turned her face to the side as a tear fell down Sasami's cheek. "But he may be lost to me, forever if you don't find him soon."
"What do you mean, lost?" Ayeka was getting impatient. Surely Tsunami, a God, would give her more answers than this.
"I'm so sorry." She placed her warm hand on the Princess' shoulder. "I tried. I tried so very hard to keep him. I don't know that there is any more I can do..the rest is up to you..and Ryoko."
"Ryoko!" That is not acceptable! Tell me, please! Please tell me where to find him!" Tears began to stream down her porcelain face as Ayeka's red eyes pleaded with the Goddess.
"You are so close..." And suddenly, Tsunami, everything was gone.
"Am I dead?" Ayeka awoke in the large bathtub of her hotel suite. Still clad in her white outfit from the night before, she struggled through the mini skirt to right herself and get out of the tub. Her head felt awful, like she used it to ram the door open. Along with the throbbing headache, she also felt the first waves of nausea as she stood up. Her next step was toward the toilet to puke. "Not very princess-like, is it," she whispered to herself as she moved to lean over the sink basin and brush her teeth. Upon inspection of her body in the mirror, the princess noticed the pale blue outline of a handprint on her left arm, a bruise slowly forming and she remembered the dream and she remembered the events of the night before.
"Mihoshi!" She screamed and ran toward the door adjoining their suites. She stopped for a second to cradle her sore head after she screamed.
"Yes?" Even though she out drank Ryoko the night before, there stood Mihoshi in her workout gear doing stretches and apparently not as in as bad a shape as the Princess. "You don't look so good.."
"Mihoshi, is Ryoko here? Did she come back last night?"
"I didn't see her, I thought she was with you and Sasami."
"I somehow fell asleep in the tub, let's check my room." Ayeka felt no need to share her dream with anyone. Perhaps it was her imagination on overload. But now, more than ever, she was sure that Tenchi was close.
"Check it for what?" Washu peered from behind the minibar door.
"Have you seen Ryoko?"
"No, I thought she was with you."
"Washu, I think something bad happened to her...last night."
"What happened last night?"
"Ayeka was attacked by a man." Mihoshi interjected. "And Ryoko beat him up. We thought she was right behind us."
"Well, the question is, who has the money?" Washu smiled nonchalantly and grabbed a soda from the small refrigerator. "Because if you guys left the money with Ryoko, she may have gone off to spend it.on her own."
"Right here." Mihoshi picked up the pouch of native coins and tossed them to Washu. "Ayeka, you handed this to me when we left the beach."
"Hmmmmm," Washu squinted her left eye and exhaled trying to speak with Ryoko using their telepathic link. "Ryoko." She called for her daughter in her mind. "She's not answering me, but I know she's alright. Ryo-Ohki?"
"Miya?" The once furry cabbit now wobbled into the room in the form of a small child, a form she loved to take to play with Sasami. Thanks to her merger with a creature called Mass, little Ryo-Ohki could take the form of a furry child whenever she wanted, but she wasn't able to keep the form stable for too long before she had to appear as a rabbit creature once more.
"Can you tell me where Ryoko is?" Washu implored.
"Hmmmmm?" Ryo-Ohki called for her master, her sister Ryoko. She heard Ryoko's thoughts as a far away mumble, telling her she was ok but she refused to answer.
"She won't tell you either, will she?" Washu snarled. "Well, we'll just have to see about that girl!" She stomped back into her own room and produced her laptop from mid air.
***
The warm air of the sandy night heightened Tak's already elevated senses. In his right hand, he clutched the mighty weapon he now could control and in his left hand he carried the brown scratchy pads of the sand plant he stole from the cook. Almost to the sand trees, the boy caught a glimpse of Gento's black hovercraft. Tak hid behind a clump of dirty sand trees and tucked the wooden hilt into his black sash. Rage. He felt a newfound rage and fury unleashed as he killed Edo and his men. Startled at becoming aware of this act, he now relished it and the rush of the kill. Now he intended to unleash this new rage on his slave master. His brown eyes now burned like red embers staring from the eye holes of the mask, a demons face with glowing eyes. Tak carefully shoved the sand plant pieces under his mask making sure they stood securely on the pressure points of his face that came in contact with the burning metal. When he was done, he smiled, grabbed the sword and grit his teeth as he slowly made his way toward the carriage in the dark.
"Well, do you have it?" Gento smiled from inside the craft as Tak approached.
Tak responded by holding the hilt up so his master could see.
"You can hold it?"
Tak smiled and got in the craft with his master.
"Splendid...splendid, we will be unstoppable now..." Gento said with much trepidation as Tak quietly put the sword back in his sash and sat across from him. "Driver! Home quickly!" The carriage sped off into the night.
"Well, uh, now that we have the sword, you can..give it to me." Gento grinned as both he and Tak exited the carriage and entered the compound.
"No. No one can hold it without mortal damage..except me. It is safe in my possession Gento." He patted the lump in his sash were the sword rest. "Please have the driver call off the sentries."
"He, he, he, of course." The fat man let lose a nervous laugh. He did not count on Tak being able to hold the weapon, and it was horrible weapon at that. The old man fingered the key to his slave's mask. "Do as he said!" He ordered the driver who soon disappeared. "Now, my loyal friend, wouldn't you feel better if that awful thing was in my possession?"
"It's been a long night, Gento." Tak sighed. "Let's talk about it inside."
"Very well, my son." The man led his Krta slave back into the house. They came upon the grand entryway and Gento turned around, this time, his eyes devoid of nervousness. "Now, there is not going to be a debate. Place the sword down on that table." He held up the key to Tak's mask threateningly.
"Not this time, Gento, my friend." Tak stood his ground as anger boiled over in his master.
"Insolent! I'll teach you to take that tone with me!" He grasped the key before him and Tak's demon mask began to glow. "You'll change your tune shortly." He snarled as fringes of the warrior's dark hair ignited as they came in contact with the molten mask.
Tak smiled from behind the poker hot metal. The sand plant was working perfectly. He felt the heat and his hair was singing, but his skin was protected from the torture. He was now free. He took the sword from his sash and held it before Gento. With a quick flick to his wrist, the blue flame ignited and glowed before him.
"What? Put that down! I'm warning you! I will kill you Tak!" Gento still clutched the key outstretched before him, his only weapon in controlling his strong arm and it was not working.
"Not this time, old man." Tak swung the sword before him, lopping off Gento's hand. The limb and the key fell to the right as his master screamed in agony.
"Help me! Someone help me!" He yelled down the corridors.
"Pathetic fool. Do you think you can give me this weapon to fight with, and I would not use it against you?" He inched closer to Gento as the look on the old man's eyes changed from anger to fear.
"Please, I'll do anything..please!"
"Coward!" Tak lunged at Gento and ran the blue blade through the old man's sternum. Gento fell limp upon the floor. The boy noticed that as he killed the man, he felt a slight tingling sensation in his sword hand which he soon dismissed. Mitir and other members of Gento's household soon filled the room and stared in awe at their slain master and his slave.
"Tak?" Mitir gazed at the boy.
"All of you!" Tak raised the glowing blue sword over his head as he addressed them. "I have slain the master. Gento is dead. I am the new master of this house. I will kill any opposed to me."
"We are all with you, Master Tak," Mitir replied as he gently picked up the key to Tak's mask and handed it to him. "We will follow you anywhere."
"I am glad of that, my friend..oh so glad." Tak sighed as that heavy burden was released. He strolled over to the window, full aware of the gasps and stares of the others upon his back. The boy slowly raised the key to the back strap of the mask, and turned the locking mechanism that had held the monstrous thing over his face. The metal hit the floor with a loud ringing clunk as if the demon upon it screamed with glory. It was the first time in over six months that his face felt the moonlight. He gazed out the window and noticed a glimmer of light streak across the night's sky. It was a ship. She was coming for him and he would be ready.