Kishi: The battle continues, Kyrin's disappeared, and life isn't looking too good right now. Sounds like a certain group of people could use a miracle….
***
Jikoken'o Muyo!
Chapter 14
***
"NOOOOOOO!" Ryoko screamed, as Kyrin faded into oblivion. Falling back, she whipped her sword around, taking the head off a daemon. Around her, the reinforcements were battling fiercely, determined to save the capital. Leaping up, she shot her sword towards a daemon, skewering it just as it was about to smash an axe upon a hapless soldier. The soldier looked up at her and his eyes widened. I don't have time for this prejudice, she mentally snarled, then did a double take as the soldier's staff flew past her and smashed into a daemon, which in turn crashed into the ground. She gave the soldier a thumbs-up and received one in return.
From her vantage point she could still see demons swarming the walls of the capital city. There appeared to be no end to them. And meanwhile, there was no sign of Kyrin, while Kain had begun to move forward.
Ryoko landed herself right next to Tenchi and helped to kill the daemon he was fighting. "Tenchi! Kain is moving forward!"
"Oh great! Now what are we gonna do!" shouted Tenchi.
"Stop him, of course!" came Azaka's voice. "You three go ahead, my Liege. Kamidake and I will hold them here."
"Thank you, oh Knights of the Realm," said Aeka, her voice respectful. The three of them ran off.
"How long do you suppose we can hold them?" asked Kamidake idly, blasting away a group of daemons.
"As long as we have to," replied Azaka, bracing himself against a fresh onslaught.
*
"Why isn't Kyrin down there?" asked Mihoshi.
"Didn't you see it?" asked Kiyone as she dropped some bombs on the daemon army. "Kain sucked Kyrin into himself somehow."
"Oh." Mihoshi, doing a flyby of the battlefield, tried to activate her targeting computer. However, she hit just a little turbulence and accidentally turned on her scanner, and she collected readings on Kain as she flew by.
The results were astounding.
"Kiyone! Um… I think you should take a look at this…."
"What?" asked Kiyone, trying to keep her temper down. The scan results appeared on the display. "What the—?"
***
"That's right," said Washyuu breathlessly. Holding against these two was proving too much for her. She didn't even have the strength to affect that sequence of events that led to the scan. She didn't know whom to thank, but she figured it was just a small slip-up from the opponents. They certainly appeared angered enough.
Damn Him for interfering! Tokimi shrieked in her mind.
***
"So let me see if I have this right," said Sasami. "You want me to create a cocoon of Wings that encompasses the fleet, then shoot us straight towards the command ship."
"Basically, but leave a few gaps we can shoot out of," Shino replied, looking somewhat impatient on the screen.
"That's gonna be really hard!" she exclaimed. "Do you even know where it is?"
"Not really. We need to find it though. I have a hunch that if we destroy that ship, we'll defeat the fleet."
Sasami could sense the daemon ships coming their way. "All right. Gather your ships here."
As the remnants of the fleet gathered around Tsunami, Shino said, "I'd like to apologize."
"For what?"
Shino sighed in a melancholy fashion. "I really don't think we have a snowball's chance in Hell of surviving. This is probably going to be the last battle I ever fight in. Of all the people I could involve, I –" Shino sighed. "I didn't want to involve a person like you."
Sasami smiled. "Don't be sorry. I wouldn't have it any other way. Remember, I am a Princess of Jurai. It is my duty to stand up for my people, to fight for them, even die for them. I have no regrets about this task."
"Well, God willing, you won't have to fulfill your duty to such an extreme," said Shino, squaring his shoulders.
Sasami formed 3 wings lengthwise surrounding Tsunami and the fleet. "Let's go!" she shouted as the enemy rushed towards them.
***
Oh Sasami, thought Tsunami, a tear tracing its way down her cheek. How? How do you have the resolve? How do you carry on? What gives you your strength? She sighed. It can't be me. I… I don't have any strength left.
Sasami's grown up a lot, hasn't she? Tsunami asked Washyuu.
She has.
She's no longer that frightened little girl who sits on the wayside. Now… now she fights as hard as the others.
Just as you do.
But it's not good enough, Washyuu. We've lost. If we keep on as we are--
That is true. But we've got to keep trying! Washyuu couldn't help but smirk to herself. It makes no sense for the greatest scientific genius in the universe to take such an unscientific approach, but I think we've got to try to appeal to Something higher.
But what? Whom could we call to?
I don't know. But try to sense something. We're just about out of time.
***
"Mihoshi… I think you've struck gold here!"
"No I didn't! I just tapped a few tiny buttons…."
"No, you did something good. Listen – if this scan is correct, Kain is functioning as a subspace portal."
"What! How?"
"Got me as to how. That's Washyuu's department. In any case, that explains how he was able to take care of Kyrin."
"So what are we going to do?"
"We gotta figure out how to get to the other side of that portal. Since he's operating on a bizarre energy frequency, a standard vessel couldn't make it. We've got to create an energy frequency that can- -" Kiyone was cut off as a blast from a flying daemon caught her off guard.
Firing at it, she heard Mihoshi say, "I've got it! We use Ryoko!"
"How do you figure?"
"Well, Ryoko's got those gems, right? All she's gotta do is alter that frequency thingiewhateveritis and enter into Kain!"
"… Well, I'm out of ideas. Let's try it."
"But how're we going to tell them?"
Kiyone thought for a moment. Then she contacted the one person who would probably be the least help.
"Yes, what is it?" responded Nobuyuki.
Kiyone filled him in on the details of the idea. "But Tenchi and the others aren't carrying any comm. units. You think you could get the word to them?"
"…"
"Nobuyuki?"
"All right. I'll do it."
"Thanks. We'll try to cover for you."
Nobuyuki peered out from the building ruins he was shooting out of. For cryin' out loud, I'm just a sniper! He sighed, then slipped through a crack in the building's wall and ran towards the hole in the city wall. Running through, he came upon chaos.
The ranks that the reinforcements had formed into had broken. The battle was now a pure melee, with blasts of blue death raining down from the emplacements on the wall. Soldiers ran around in groups of fives and tens, engaging daemons that fought solo.
Ducking in and out of the various struggles, Nobuyuki struggled to see his son. Just like him, a part of his mind thought. Never there when you need him. I swear, sometimes that boy will be the death of me. He dodged a sword swipe and pulled the SOCOM, squeezing off a round of shots. The bolts of energy splashed harmlessly off the armor plating of the daemon. Quickly adjusting the power settings, without seeing what it was at, he leveled and fired again. A huge blast of white light erupted from the SOCOM, pulverizing the chest plate of the daemon and knocking it back a few steps. A group of soldiers leapt at it and it was soon dead.
Changing his ammo module with trembling hands, Nobuyuki looked around wildly. His gun was flashing warnings of overheating. Another daemon looked at him with evil glee in his eyes. Nobuyuki felt himself teetering on the edge of panic as he struggled to empty his mind of thought. He sidestepped a chop of the axe, grabbed the arm, and used the momentum to toss the daemon over his shoulder. The daemon attempted to grab his throat, but found his arm grabbed, twisted, and then barred between a pair of legs. The daemon's last sight, amidst this pain, was the barrel of a handgun pressed against his head.
Nobuyuki winced at the crater left behind the daemon's head. He was trembling like mad as he changed the cartridge again. Then, seeing a familiar black rat-tail, he ran off, bobbing and weaving through the melee.
Tenchi was very surprised when he turned around and met his father almost nose-to-nose. Looking into the man's eyes, he noticed that they had a somewhat fearful look to them. "Dad! Is everything all right?"
"Never mind that. I think we've figured out a way to take care of Kain…."
*
That's very interesting.
How can you focus on such, Washyuu?
Tokimi's screwing up. There are a lot of inspirations coming in, and it isn't from us.
But who, or what…
Washyuu and Tsunami hit the idea at the same time. The higher source!
*
"So he's a portal?" asked Ryoko.
"Yes," replied Nobuyuki.
"Well, that's just damned swell," she drawled. They were all crouching in a foxhole/crater carved out of the ground during the fighting.
"Look, as near as we can tell, he's the reason these things are here. If we can knock him out, it'll all end."
"That's what we're trying to do anyway, isn't it?" asked Tenchi.
"But you're forgetting Kyrin," said Aeka, her voice carrying a tone of vexation.
"Yeah. We gotta get him outta there," said Nobuyuki. He looked meaningfully at Ryoko, and suddenly she understood.
"Oh no. No. How the Hell am I supposed to break into a portal that doesn't work on one frequency?"
"I have absolutely no idea. Try shifting your frequency until you hit a match, like hitting a radio station."
"That easy, huh? You're kidding."
"Does anyone notice that it's gotten awfully quiet?" asked Tenchi. They all listened. The sounds of battle, which had originally been rather loud, had suddenly shifted away.
Nobuyuki peeked over the lip of the crater and swore to himself. "We've got company," he hissed, his eyes wide.
Tenchi peeked over the lip as well and felt anger trembling inside him. "Kain."
***
"Really, Washyuu" drawled Tokimi, her voice contemptuous, "trying to use your own daughter to slip inside Kain. It's a wonder she hasn't tried to kill you."
"What she does is done of her own free will," Washyuu replied angrily. "I don't have to brainwash her to the point of madness like you do."
"Oh, that's right. I suppose your absence from about 700 years of her life would do that for you, right?"
Washyuu growled.
***
In space, the battle seemed all but lost. There were no longer assorted explosions throughout the surrounding space. Now, they were all concentrated in one specific place.
"Status!" barked Shino.
"70% casualties," reported the Tactical Officer. "Our ship is experiencing massive technical difficulty due to the damage we've taken."
"I'm receiving similar reports from the remaining ships," said the Comm. Officer. "Blackouts, engine failure, even life support on some decks."
"Any sign of that command ship?" Shino asked his Science Officer.
"Negative, sir."
"How's the Tsunami holding up?"
"No damage at all. All power levels are at their prime."
"I see." Shino sighed. We're really running out of time here. Can we win? He shook his head. No, we can't. But we have to. So we will.
***
Where is it? Washyuu questioned, every iota of her remaining power being turned to searching for something higher, something better.
Is this source available to be found? wondered Tsunami.
Has to be. You saw what happened to Sasami, said Washyuu. No power you or I possess can make a person that pure.
But how do we find it?
The scientist in Washyuu began to analyze the interaction that had made Sasami reach. What had done it? What had established the link? What had completed the circuit?
Did she… pray?
Well, it's logical enough. By prayer, you come into contact with your followers, right?
So we pray. But how? How do we pray?
I don't know. Maybe -- Washyuu was cut off by a fresh onslaught, and suddenly, all her concentration was elsewhere.
***
"I remember you." Kain's deep, sinister voice boomed through the air.
"It wasn't enough for you to take my mother's life, was it?" asked Tenchi. "No, you had to come back, wreck a whole planet and do away with one of my friends."
"Such is my way," said Kain. "I am the Murderer. I am darkness. I am oblivion."
"Well, you certainly think highly of yourself, don't you?" asked Ryoko, flexing her hands.
Without answering, Kain swiped at them. They scattered out of the way leaving Tenchi, blocking with Tenchiken. Tenchi's eyes flashed in anger as Kain strained against the sword. Pulling out the recharged SOCOM, Nobuyuki started taking shots from the left, while Aeka charged in from the right. Ryoko floated above, giving off a slight blue-white glow as the gem frequencies began to change.
Tenchi suddenly sank down, stabbing at Kain's hand as it suddenly rushed to where he'd been. He connected, with the sword erupting out the backside of the hand. Kain howled in anger and brought his hand down on Tenchi. It slammed onto his left shoulder, and Tenchi grunted as he collapsed. Ryoko had to restrain herself as she glowed more brightly, the gems themselves glowing an otherworldly light.
With Tenchi disabled, Kain turned his attention towards the other annoyances. He smacked Nobuyuki about ten feet away and turned on Aeka, spitting fire. It fell against her shield, surrounding her but not touching her. For her part, Aeka formed a ball of Jurai energy and hurled it at Kain. He caught it with a leery grin on his face. "What sort of wench are you?" he asked. "Don't you know you should just lie down and die?"
Aeka smiled fiercely. "Now, that wouldn't be the polite, proper thing to do," she said. "It is often customary for the guest to partake first."
"Unfortunately, I don't care for being polite."
Now, a part of Ryoko's mind whispered. Teleporting behind Kain, she rushed forward. Her hands touched Kain and passed through him without resistance. But where they passed to, she didn't know. All she knew, as she flew in, was that Kyrin was here, and that she had to get him out.
*
"NO," growled Tokimi. Her concentration began to waver.
"Looks like we got a break," Washyuu drawled idly. Her mind raced, however. Tsunami! Her concentration is gone for now! Pray!
*
Kain's faced spasmed in shock as Ryoko passed into him. He seemed disoriented to some extreme degree, Tenchi noted. Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, he rushed forward. Kain shook his head once, then formed a ball of energy and tossed it at Tenchi. Tenchi, thinking a bit faster this time, formed a Wing that took the force of the blow. He jumped up to slash at Kain's face. Kain shifted left and slammed his right hand into Tenchi, tossing him away.
Just then, he felt an annoying stinging in his back. He turned around to see Nobuyuki and Aeka firing on him with all their might. He rushed towards them, and his hands flew at them. They split off, and Kain responded by forming two crescent blades of dark energy and flinging them at the sniper and the princess.
As Aeka dodged aside, she thought to herself, Pirate, you had best not be idle, or so help me….
*
Ryoko had been expecting a complete and total darkness. Maybe some maniacal laughter, or some tortured screaming. She was actually very close – but her suppositions had been carried out to such a degree that even she was horrified.
Dark? If not for the glow she was emitting, she could not have seen anything at all, not even with her own superior vision. Maniacal laughter? It came in random bursts from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was intermingled with anguished cries and moans that arose from somewhere that she couldn't see.
She started forward. As she walked – or floated; she could see no floor – she thought she could feel a touch of a leathery wing brush across her face, a hand through the outermost fringes of her hair. And she still could not find Kyrin.
Wait a minute, she thought. This is a subspace dimension. Will rules above all. If I will Kyrin to appear before me, he will. Focusing her thoughts, trying to shut out the Abyss around her, she directed her will to find Kyrin. She thought of everything he was – handsome, quiet, insightful, lonely… The last thought jarred her mind a bit. When had she reached the conclusion that he was lonely?
She opened her eyes in confusion to behold Kyrin. Around him was a strange silvery aura, and he was kneeling, as if in deep fervent prayer. He looked haggard, and he was trembling, some of the hair on his head disheveled.
As if sensing her presence, he looked up. His face was lined with cuts, yet his eyes were filled with a strange peace. "Oh no," he moaned. "Oh no. You demons have really sunk to a new low. Impersonating the woman I've fallen in love with, really." He unsheathed his sword. "Do you think that will stop me!" he bellowed, and suddenly the sword was on fire.
"Wait! Kyrin, it's me!" Ryoko's voice fell on deaf ears, and suddenly she was forced to defend herself from the very man who'd professed to being in love with her. Her sword leapt into being and slammed against his blade. Kyrin stumbled back for just an instant and responded with a chop at her head.
Ryoko sidestepped. "Kyrin, it's me! Wake up! It's me!"
"Oh Lord in Heaven, they have her voice too," he growled. "How dare you!" He swung his sword at Ryoko again, only to be deflected. He lowered and stabbed, and missed as she teleported out of the way.
"Why don't you believe me?" she asked, her eyes clouded with emotion.
"You are a Daemon!" he shouted. "A spirit of deceit! You've been trying to draw me into letting my guard down, so that I might die in this place, in this Pit."
"But what if I am who I say I am?"
"In the Name of the Lord, be silent!!"
"It won't work! I'm not one of the Enemy!"
"What… what…" Kyrin panted, his chest heaving, his eyes staring in disbelief. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke again. "… Ryoko?"
She nodded, her eyes stinging with tears. Kyrin stumbled forward, one step after another, his eyes searching, looking for one shred of proof of evil. He saw none. Then, trembling, he reached out and touched her face with his right hand. She reached up with her hand and enclosed his in hers.
"Truly," he whispered, his voice filled with awe, "His ways are wonderful."
*
Tenchi was in trouble. His very first clue of this was recovering from being thrown a good 15 meters and rushing back to the fight. His second clue was to see his father lying in the grass, apparently incapable of any movement. The third was the loud SMACK followed by the impact of Aeka's body in some unknown place. From three seemingly random clues, Tenchi was able to draw the conclusion that he was about to be set up for a world of hurt.
Without wasting any more time, he charged forward. Kain brought a fist downward towards him. He leapt aside, and again when another fist came down, and again and again and again. Finally getting close to him, Tenchi leapt and slashed at his face.
He was greeted by flame. Unfortunately, he hadn't the good sense to keep a Wing around in case he needed one, so he was tossed and burned by the heat and the fire. He landed 10 feet away and charged again. However, being weakened by being burned, Kain swept him aside both easily and literally. Tenchi rolled and came up again, and blocked a black ball of energy that was thrown at him. More came at him, and he knocked them aside, or deflected them. Then a large fist came, apparently from nowhere. Smashing into him, Tenchi flew again, and try as he might, he couldn't keep his grip on Tenchiken. He flew one way, and the sword went elsewhere.
***
I have no idea who You are Washyuu's mind whispered. I have no idea what You are. For all I know, I'm going crazy and talking to nothing but thin air. And yet, I see the evidence of Your existence. I don't know if you be God, Goddess, or something else entirely, but we need Your help. As Tokimi continued to batter her defenses, Washyuu reached out with the last of her strength. I can't do this! I see it now. I see that by being a finite, sinful being there is no way to win. But You can win this. Please, please help us!
At first, she had no idea if it had worked. But then she heard something deep inside. A voice, a soft voice whispering in her mind. I can save you, it said. Any who would call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved. But what can you offer in return?
What do we have that one such as You would want? Tsunami asked.
All I want is for you to return to Me, it whispered. All I want is you.
It's all I have whispered Tsunami. But I'm Yours.
I'm about to be made worthless, but You can have me Washyuu replied.
Suddenly, a great strength coursed through them. If they could have seen themselves in a spiritual sense, they would have seen themselves glowing brighter and brighter.
Asrael cursed. "They found Him."
*
In space, Sasami was busily straining her eyes. "Do we have any idea what this thing looks like?"
"It should be the biggest damn ship of the lot," replied Shino. Explosions lit around the Tsunami as missiles and energy crashed against the Wings, exploding harmlessly. Sasami really didn't know how much more she could take.
Peering through the darkness, she finally spotted a single vessel larger than anything they had ever seen before. Pulling up the ship's sensors, she ran a few scans. The readings were incredibly strong, more so than any of the ships she had seen yet. "Shino, I think we found it!"
They had. And as the remnants of the Jenshin fleet powered up their engines for one last charge, the fire intensified.
Sasami grit her teeth against the pain in her mind as they charged forward. Calling up more Wings, she began to slash them at ships, destroying some and critically damaging others.
On the Night Runner, Shino set himself. "This is it! All ships, lower shields and divert all remaining power to engines and weapons. We're going to go in fast and take that thing apart!"
From afar the Jenshin, underneath the cover of the Wings, appeared to be a solid bar of light. Several smaller lines were exchanged between this bar and the flagship of the Enemy. Faster this bar traveled, as several Wings rushed forward with it. Finally it rammed into the Enemy flagship.
*
"Ah! What's that?" Kyrin could feel himself readying for an attack of some sort. He had been standing looking at Ryoko for what felt like an eternity when suddenly a great shaft of light had appeared from nowhere.
"I have no idea. Do you think it could be a way out?" asked Ryoko.
"Well, I have no idea how else to get out," replied Kyrin.
They flew toward it, Ryoko holding Kyrin with her as they moved forward. Suddenly, a great host of shadows appeared before them. "This is our realm," they bellowed. "You cannot leave this place!"
"Can you stop servants of the Lord?" shouted Kyrin. His sword was soon alive with flames again.
They answered by rushing out to kill Kyrin and Ryoko. Kyrin began praying fervently as he slashed and hacked at the daemons, knocking them aside and slashing them to pieces. Ryoko's free hand was employed in the service of blasting daemons to pieces. They rushed toward the light, praying, smiting, hoping.
*
On Jurai, Tenchi picked himself up off the ground. He couldn't see Tenchiken anywhere. He had burns all over his body, and he had blood running from his forehead, probably from some hit he'd taken. But he could also feel his sigil glowing on his forehead. He was ready.
As he began to summon the Wings to him, he didn't notice the figure in the white kimono, a violet obi cinched around her middle. She was small and compact, moving with an air of grace. Her long black hair billowed in the breeze, and the setting sun glinted off of her eyes, which had taken a strange red-orange tint to them, while at the same time making the battle-marks on her face look more livid. She passed the Tenchiken, then paused, almost as if it were an afterthought, and held out her right hand. The sword flew into her hand and suddenly changed, becoming longer, more elegant.
Tenchi, now garbed in his white armor, held two swords in his hands. Kain came forward, a sinister evil grin on his face when he suddenly stopped. His eyes opened wide. "You," he growled, forcing as much hatred and anger into that word as he could.
Tenchi looked out the corner of his eye, then did a double take as he saw the figure. "Who're you?" he asked.
"One who has come to help," she replied, and suddenly a blue beam of light erupted from Tenchiken, getting longer and longer than any Tenchi himself had been able to summon.
Howling in anger, Kain struck at her, but she deflected the hand and caught his arm in a downswing. He roared in pain, and formed balls of black energy, tossing them at Tenchi, who ducked and dodged them. Tenchi slashed and stabbed at Kain with a renewed vigor, scoring many hits on Kain's right hand and arm.
The figure, seeing an opportunity, stepped forward and rammed the Tenchiken straight through Kain's middle. Kain stopped moving, stunned in disbelief. Seeing his chance, Tenchi leapt high and brought both swords up, then came down on Kain's shoulders and stabbed the swords straight through Kain's head.
*
"This can't be," said Tokimi.
"But it is," replied Tsunami.
"And now," said Washyuu, "we end this!"
*
And all of Jurai was bathed in a great white light.
***
Kishi: Yup. That's it. The fight's over. For now, in any case.
::the Author is sitting in a tree, watching all the pretty lights::
Kishi: But for those of you that are still reading, don't worry, this isn't the end. I've still got to wrap up a few things. By the way, if anyone can guess the figure in white by the time I release the next chapter, well… hm, nothing I can give for it, but it'll mean y'know a thing or two.
Tenchi Muyo and all related paraphernalia are copyrighted to AIC and Pioneer.
The only things that are mine are those things that I perceive as original, and thusly are mine. If you recognize an idea that you came up with first, all credit goes to you.
You can contact me at: Kirisutono_Kishi@robofan.com