Disclaimer
Tenchi and all associated characters are the property of AIC and Pioneer LDC. I don't own any rights to them. Any other characters are property of their respective copyright holders, not me.
*****
Royal Quest
Chapter 2
On the Hunt
*****
Late in the evening, Ryoko and Tenchi wandered into Washu's lab. Although walking hand-in-hand, they both looked like they had just lost their best friend, which in effect, they had. Ayeka had been missing for more than eighteen hours and Ryoko thought the trail might be growing cold but Washu kept assuring them both that this wasn't the case. Something about Ayeka's disappearance just didn't sit well with the scientist. Something was missing, besides the princess that is.
"Any luck, Washu?" asked Ryoko in a subdued voice.
"Luck?" replied the red head. "Luck has nothing to do with it, it's all skill. But to answer your question, no, not yet."
Tenchi sat on one of Washu's floating cushions, still holding his wife's hand in a grip that would have caused most other beings to wince. It just made Ryoko smile. "Are you sure you can get a hold of her?" he asked. "And will she help us?"
Washu cackled gleefully. "Absolutely, on both counts. It's just that…" There was a sudden hiss of a carrier wave from one of the myriad machines and a holographic form appeared before them. "See," Washu whispered. "I told you guys I could do it."
The beautiful tattooed face, framed by long, white hair, half hidden under a hooded cloak broke into a rare smile when it saw who was calling. "Ah, my Lady Washu. And Ryoko! It's been, what, two years?"
"More like five for us," Washu said.
"Right, right" the other woman nodded. "I keep forgetting about the time rate differences. Speaking of which, did…"
"Oh yeah," Washu said with a grin. "I'm a grandma. Again. She's a great kid, quite a handful. Takes after her mom." The scientist looked at her daughter out of the corner of her eye.
"I'll have come to meet her sometime," the pale woman snickered, eyeing Ryoko herself.
"Maybe sooner than you think. That's why I called, we need your help." Washu went on to explain the situation to the other woman.
The tall woman's eyes sparkled under her hood but the expression on her face remained serious. "Hmm. I see. I'll do what I can of course, but I really don't know how much help I can be. All my information sources are here, and my Ayeka's not missing."
"It's not your sources we're interested in, it's your techniques." Washu patted her daughter on a slender shoulder. "Ryoko here's going after them, but she tends to shoot first and ask questions later."
"Washu!" exclaimed Tenchi simultaneously with a loud "Mom!" from Ryoko.
Washu shrugged. "No offense, but that's the way you are dear. We need someone with a level head, someone not so close to the problem." She turned her attention back to the hologram, which was smirking evilly.
"And so you thought of me. I'm flattered." The cloak fluttered slightly as the woman bowed.
"Will you help us?" Tenchi asked plaintively.
The woman's expression softened. "Yeah, sure. It'll be a break from what I'm doing now."
"Is you-know-who still around?" Ryoko wondered.
A shake of the head caused the white hair to bounce within the hood. "Not at the moment; in fact, I haven't seen her in a couple of months. She's been off adventuring with that little red headed friend of hers and her crew. Why, do you think we'll need her?"
"Oh goddess, I hope not," exclaimed Ryoko with a wince. "But it might be handy to keep her in reserve, sort of a secret weapon ya know."
The other woman held up a familiar device with two buttons. "I think we can safely say that won't be a problem. When would you like me to be ready?"
"As soon as possible," said Washu with a grin. Tenchi and Ryoko voiced their agreement.
The tall woman bent down and scooped up a small buff colored animal which let out a startled "Chow!" and dropped the carrot it was munching on. "How about now?"
Washu laughed and flipped a switch. The lighting dimmed for a moment and a loud hum filled the room. "Damn, have to look into that," the scientist muttered to herself. "Something must be wearing out in the Hopper." Out of a blue box standing alone in a corner stepped the woman they had just been talking to; the animal she'd picked up was now sitting calmly on her shoulder.
"A bit of a rough ride this time," she said as she walked unsteadily up to them. She held out her hand. "Tenchi, good to see you again."
The young man slid off the cushion and took the offered hand. "You too. I never did get to thank you for your help last time."
The woman blushed and turned to Ryoko next. "And Ryoko." She gave the pirate, who was also blushing deeply, a quick hug."
"Nagi," replied Ryoko, returning the gesture.
"Chowr," said the cabbit, looking Ryoko in the eye.
"Oh yeah," said the pirate with a smile. "A pleasure to see you too, Ken-ohki. Ryo-ohki and Ay-ohki are upstairs with the children. I think there's carrots involved."
The cabbit jumped down from his master's shoulder and bounded off out of the lab in a rush, making everyone chuckle in amusement.
"Well, shall we join them?" asked Washu, indicating the direction the cabbit had taken.
"You two go on," Ryoko told Tenchi and Nagi. "I need t' talk to Washu alone for a minute."
"Ryoko…" started Tenchi.
"Just for a moment Tenchi." She shooed him off.
When the two had left, Washu turned to her daughter. "All right, what do you want now? And what's the big secret?"
"No secret, not really," Ryoko explained. "But the idea of keeping someone in reserve got me thinking."
Washu snorted. "You? Thinking?" she teased. "What's the universe coming to?"
"Hey!" Ryoko exclaimed, half seriously. "That's not nice. Besides, you haven't heard my plan yet."
Washu crossed her arms under her breasts and gave her daughter a look that said this had better be good. "All right, all right. Lay it on me."
"Well, what I was thinking is what if…"
*****
Tenchi and Nagi passed Sasami coming into the house. The younger princess greeted them both then promised to have tea and snacks ready in a few minutes. Nagi just stared after the retreating girl as she disappeared into her kitchen domain. Tenchi caught the look and chuckled.
"I guess she's really changed since you last saw her," he said.
Nagi shook her head in disbelief. "Changed is putting it mildly. Our Sasami's grown some, but not that much. She's almost a woman now."
"More than you could possibly know," Tenchi said cryptically as he too looked back at the now closed kitchen door. The two continued out onto the deck where Tenchi was forced to explain all of the events of the past few days.
"Washu caught her doing what?" gasped an astonished hunter as Tenchi told her about Sasami/Tsunami's misadventure in the onsen. "On second thought, don't repeat it, the image is one I don't want to see again."
"Yeah, she'll always be little Sasami to me too," said Tenchi, sitting down on the edge of the wooden planking and leaning back with his hands behind his head. "It seems that Tsunami's led a pretty sheltered life and now that they're one they both want to experience everything to the fullest."
The two children and small herd of cabbits were playing in the yard under the close supervision of Mihoshi. Ryo-ohki and Ay-ohki were remaining in their animal forms so that Ken-ohki, who had no humanoid form, could join the game. They all seemed to be playing some sort of tag. Mihoshi appeared to be enjoying the game as much as the kids were although she seemed to be about done in from all of the running around. When Tenchi and Nagi stepped outside, Mihoshi gratefully handed over responsibility to Tenchi. The blonde GP then collapsed on the deck and was almost immediately asleep. Nagi chuckled.
"She's really good with them," Tenchi explained. "She enjoys watching the kids, we usually don't even have to ask, she just offers."
"Probably because her mental level's the same as theirs," snickered the bounty hunter.
"Your Mihoshi maybe, ours is a bit more with it."
"Yeah, so I've noticed." Nagi saw the look on Tenchi's face. "No, really," she said defensively. "I believe you, I do." She sat down on the edge of the deck and looked out at the children.
"That little gem is Keiko," Tenchi proudly pointed out his daughter to the bounty hunter. The little girl promptly teleported over when she heard her name.
Nagi chuckled. "I see what Washu meant."
Keiko tugged on Tenchi's sleeve. "Daddy, who is this lady? Does Ken-ohki belong to her?"
Nagi frowned. "How did you know his name?" she leaned forward and asked the little girl.
"He told me. He's a nice cabbit, but not the same as ours."
"He…told…you?" Nagi wondered, not really believing the little girl. Ryoko must have mentioned them at some point and the child remembered. That had to be the answer.
"Yeah," agreed the girl.
Even Tenchi was astonished. "Keiko," he asked his daughter. "Can you talk to the other cabbits too? Not in Japanese, I mean like you do with Ken-ohki, with your mind?"
"No daddy, just Ken-ohki." She teleported back to the fun.
Nagi and Tenchi looked at each other, the same thought passing through their minds. "How strange…"
*****
Ayeka watched in horror as the walls of the compartment turned mirror-bright, then the brightness faded and she blinked. What had happened, she wondered. Did something go wrong?
"All right Princess," came that teasingly familiar voice. "It's been three days since you disappeared. I would guess that Ryoko's hot on our trail by now."
Three days? No wonder stasis generators were restricted technology. When she'd woken up from cold sleep all those years ago she'd been vaguely aware of the passage of time, although it had had little effect on her. But stasis… There was no feeling of time passing at all and that was scary. She struggled a little against her bonds, which now made no sense to her. Why didn't he just keep her in stasis?
"Who are you? What do you want?" she growled.
"Tut, tut, princess," said the voice. "We've been through all this before. Who I am is unimportant. I want my revenge on Ryoko, and the money my employer is paying me to bring you to him of course."
"Why not just leave me in stasis?" she called to the empty room. "Wouldn't it be easier for you?"
"Easier for you, you mean. No, we need to leave a trail for your erstwhile spouse to follow."
Ayeka felt some of the mental pressure subside and she tentatively reached out with her mind and felt no resulting pain. She knew that this was what her captor had meant by 'leaving a trail', but right now she didn't care. Her psychic contact with Tenchi and Ryoko was shaky and only worked over short distances, but perhaps there was someone who could hear her.
*****
Ay-ohki, in humanoid form, rushed into Ken-ohki's control room and grabbed Ryoko's arm. "Ayeka," he said, and pointed in a direction slightly away from their current course.
Ryoko looked down at him and frowned. "You can sense her?" she asked.
The cabbit-boy nodded and pointed again. "Yes. Sense her. There. Long way but not too long. Two, maybe three days; less if go fast."
"Is she hurt?" Nagi asked, ordering Ken-ohki to change course and increase speed.
"Not hurt, not scared. Just… anxious?" the other cabbit replied.
Ryoko closed her eyes and concentrated. She sent her powerful mind questing in the direction Ay-ohki had indicated. There! She could feel something, someone, out there. And it felt like Ayeka's mind but the contact was too weak to be certain. It did feel as though whoever was out there was trying to tell her something. She reopened her golden eyes and concern for the princess was showing all over her face. "All right," she told the cabbit. "I sense something too, and I think it's her. Well go check it out." Nagi nodded her agreement.
"Rroww," said Ay-ohki, the relief evident in his tone.
"Chowww," answered the Ken-ohki crystals around the room, the face of the buff-colored cabbit appearing in them as he applied even more power to the engines.
*****
"Well, that should be enough for now." As the voice said this Ayeka felt the mental pressure return, along with the pain as she tried desperately to contact Ay-ohki. She didn't know if she'd succeeded or not, but for a fleeting moment she thought she'd felt Ryoko's touch and she'd tried to warn the ex-pirate of the trap she was heading into.
"Back in your cocoon," the voice said. The walls around Ayeka started to silver over again.
*****
"Damn it, I've lost her," muttered Ryoko as she felt her tenuous contact fade. She gave Ay-ohki's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, well find her, it'll just be a little longer."
The cabbit wasn't worried. He knew his mate's partner cared for the princess almost as much as he did. Ryoko would find Ayeka, he was sure of it. And then the two of them, and this other strong woman, Ken-ohki's partner, would deal properly, if not terminally, with whoever was responsible. And he was going to enjoy every moment of it.
*****
Ken-ohki exited hyperspace and assumed orbit above a dreary looking little world.
"Why're we stopping?" Ryoko asked Nagi.
"Because this world is directly on our quarry's last known course," the bounty hunter said, not looking away from the screen. "He may have stopped here for a bit. He may even have changed course here." She read the data on the planet her cabbit supplied. "In my Reality this world is called Yergati and is a Juraian Accord signatory."
Ryoko beckoned Ryo-ohki over and the cabbit agreeably popped into a crystal form, a small screen appearing before her master. Ryoko started to read. "My data says that Yergati's a Free Trader world, that's 'smuggler' in most languages." Nagi chuckled at this and Ryoko continued. "It's located in an open zone between the Juraian Empire and the Faquab Hegemony. While not exactly at war, the Juraians and the Faquabians aren't exactly friendly either; there've been quite a few border skirmishes over the past few centuries, with some losses by both sides. Right now it's kinda an armed truce with Yergati right in th' middle."
"Hmm. I wonder why it hasn't been gobbled up by one side or the other."
Ryoko shrugged. "Probably 'cause both governments want a neutral place to meet and I'd say that there's some trade between them that passes through here, probably illegal as hell but intentionally overlooked by both sides."
Nagi looked askance at the other woman. "Ahh… Right. My Ryoko never would have known all that."
Ryoko grunted and tapped the Ryo-ohki crystal with a long finger. "It's all right here in Washu's data, even an evaluation of the current socio-political situation. I can read it to you if ya want…"
Nagi grimaced painfully. "No, I'll pass. Thanks anyway."
"So what do we do now?" Ryoko asked as she dismissed the Ryo-ohki crystal, which turned back into a cabbit and scampered off.
"We go dirtside and start asking questions. But we don't have a lot of time to waste, so we go right to the information source."
*****
The grubby looking Port Master looked up from his terminal as two cloaked and hooded figures entered his cramped office. He cast an appreciative eye over both of them as they shook off the ever-present raindrops. He was a bit disappointed when they elected not to doff their hoods though; he couldn't make an accurate judgment of their looks without seeing their faces, but the bodies under the cloaks certainly looked humanoid enough; very, very humanoid.
"Can I help you ladies?" he asked, giving them what he considered his most gracious smile. Ryoko almost gagged in revulsion and only Nagi's hand on her shoulder stopped her from trying to smack the grotesque expression off the man's face.
"Yes sir," said the bounty hunter in a sweet tone. "We'd like to inquire about a ship that may have stopped here about seventy hours ago."
The man behind the cluttered desk scratched his double chin. "A ship you say? A lot of ships pass through here. I'm going to need more information than that." He held out his open hand in a gesture that both women fully understood.
"Juraian Government business," Ryoko growled as she slapped the hand away.
The man's eyes glinted with amusement. "Juraian Government? The Juraian's have no pull here. This is an unallied world."
"Perhaps the name 'Ryoko' would mean something then?" Nagi said as she pretended to inspect the filthy ceiling. She got the reaction she expected.
The little man tilted his head back and roared with laughter. "Ryoko is a common name amongst Free Traders and Space Pirates nowadays, ever since the original Demon Pirate Ryoko disappeared." He shrugged, still snickering a bit. "I guess it's supposed to strike fear into whoever hears it, but it's really just a joke. There are so many 'Ryokos' around that I could point my finger in any direction and probably hit one. The original Ryoko must be rolling in her grave, may her soul rot." He held out his hand again. "If you ladies have nothing better to offer then I'll have to ask you to leave."
Nagi felt her companion stiffen at the man's words; and knowing how her own Ryoko would take such an insult, she took a step back and waited for the fun to begin.
"Excuse me," the ex-pirate said in a deceptively mild tone. "There seems to be a misunderstanding here." She threw back her hood and shook out her flowing cyan hair. Her golden, feral eyes held barely suppressed anger. "To paraphrase a famous Terran, the stories of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." A ball of orange plasma appeared in her right hand and she squeezed it, forming her energy blade. The Port Master's eyes crossed as the glowing weapon came to a stop just in front of his face.
"We weren't asking about a Ryoko, I am Ryoko, the Demon Space Pirate. I'm back, I want information, and I want it now, please." Energy sword lightly touched fleshy nose and a sizzling sound was heard, along with a whiff scorched flesh. The man tried to back away, but because of the size of the office, he was already against the wall. He began to whimper in fright. Ryoko shortened her blade and moved closer to the man until her face was so near his that the scent of fear was almost overwhelming her. "Little man, I'm not in a good mood, and you aren't improving it any." She waved the now dagger-sized blade slowly back and forth before his eyes. She was beginning to enjoy herself; she'd almost forgotten the headiness that another's fear caused her.
Nagi saw that Ryoko was successfully holding her temper in check, but looked like she was way too into the game for comfort so she stepped back up to the desk. She flipped a couple of gold coins from hand to hand. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," she said. "But either way, we're going to get what we want."
The man nodded almost imperceptibly, his eyes never leaving Ryoko's blade. "Easy," he squeaked. "I like easy."
Nagi smiled wickedly. "Good choice. But if we don't like what we hear, I'll turn Ryoko loose on you, one little bit at a time." The ex-pirate grinned evilly, showing a goodly amount of fang.
*****
An hour later, back in Ken-ohki's control room the two women were pouring over the data modules the Port Master had given them.
"Just what're we looking for?" Ryoko asked, rubbing her eyes as the tiny print flowed past on the reader's screen.
"I'm not sure yet," Nagi replied. "But I'll know it when I see it."
The two sat in silence for a while as the data scrolled by.
"Would you really've let me kill him?" Ryoko wondered.
"Would you really have done it?" countered Nagi with a half smirk.
Ryoko paused then shook her head with a rueful smile. "Nah, I gave up being a cold-blooded killer a long time ago. I might've maimed him a bit more though."
Nagi chuckled and went back to reading the flowing text. "I thought as much. You're a domestic now, a wife and mother. My Ryoko wouldn't have thought twice."
Ryoko's eyes grew big. "She would've killed him?"
"No, she was never a murderer. A bank robber, blackmailer, thug and con artist, yes indeed. And she has no qualms about killing, but never without a good reason. Rather like me in that regard, eh? Maybe that's why I like her so much." Nagi paused the reader and pointed to an entry. "There, I think this is it. Scout-class, stopped for fuel and supplies. Only one person, the pilot, was declared, but the fuel curve is just about right for our boy, as are his engine's neutrino emissions. No ship's name listed, but that's not unusual. No destination either. But they do show his exit vector and speed." She bopped one of the Ken-ohki crystals hovering near her. "Hey partner, looks like we've picked up the trail again. Let's go. This way." Her finger traced an arc on the displayed star map.
"Chowr!" replied the ship as he engaged his engines and moved off along the indicated course.
A minute later there was a flash of light as he entered hyperspace, a flash easily visible on orbiting sensors. Down on the planet a small greasy man heaved a sigh of relief, then reached across his cluttered desk and picked up what appeared to be an ordinary phone but was actually the receiver of an interstellar com unit. He punched in a number and waited for the other end to pick up. "They just left," he said.
"They? Well I suppose it makes little difference. I hope you didn't make it too easy for them," the person at the other end replied.
The little man rubbed the bandaged tip of his nose with a splinted finger. "No, it wasn't too easy. But next time I'd appreciate it if you told me whom I was going to be dealing with. If I'd known it was Ryoko, I would've charged more. I thought she was long dead."
There was a chuckle from the other person. "Then it's good I don't pay you to think, isn't it?"
The Port Master hung up angrily. At least the money he was getting made it all worthwhile, and the two gold coins tucked safely in his pocket were an extra bonus. He patted them covetously through the thin material then painfully shifted his leg, the full cast making movement difficult. He reached for another painkiller.
*****
To be continued.
*****
Author's Notes
Umm. Sorry for the wait, but my brain seems to be in no real hurry to get this one out. I'll try to work faster next time.
*****
Review Responses
Akemi Akibi – Argh! How could you forget? You're on my notify list. You must not have been keeping up.
Dennisud – I hope you're right about the kidnapper. A catty character? I have no idea who you mean. Really. If you mean Ka'dithy then maybe. I have plans for her, but probably not in this story unless I go totally off on a tangent somehow.
Smack54 – Potential? I hope so, otherwise this is all in vain.
Meekachu – Yeah, Bill and Ted popped into my head too. Let's see… Royal Quest the candybar (lots of nuts of course); Royal Quest the action figures (fully poseable in all sorts of ways); Royal Quest the flamethrower… And now we're back to Spaceballs again, aren't we?
Ministry Agent – Overqualified? You? Never!
Davisfan – Sasami's been sufficiently chastised (and embarrassed) for now. At least she knows enough not to get caught again, but I could see Azusa blowing his top although her mothers might be a bit more understanding, they were with Ayeka (although no one read that story…)
Wharpt – Right again about the antagonist. Protagonist is the hero.
Goddesses don't need protection; they have complete control, consciously and subconsciously, of their biological processes.
Vsdefender – I think you'll find that this isn't a "Ryoko rescues Ayeka" story after all. Just wait and see.
A Reader – Although you probably won't read this, I'll still handle your comment. I'm sorry you didn't like what I did with Sasami, but if the characters don't grow and mature both physically and mentally then we just start repeating the same situations over and over. How many different ways do you need to see Tenchi choose Ryoko (or Ayeka for that matter)? Why must Sasami always remain a child who does nothing but cook? Why does Mihoshi always have to crash her shuttle into the lake or house? Think about it, that's all I ask. You don't have to like my writing or characterizations; there are many other, many better, stories to choose from. Although I use the same basic plot (Tenchi/Ryoko/Ayeka), I try to put them into different situations in each story and build upon their relationship. The same should be done for the other characters as well. My only concern is that I find so little for Azaka, Kamidake and Noboyuki to do.
Sorry, I do value your opinion (as I do everyone's) and didn't mean to rant like that.
Alighthawk – Not a wild as Ryoko eh? No, probably not, but Ryoko's been a big influence on Sasami for the past few years.
No villains from the manga here, but I might bring in a character (or two) from that Reality in a later chapter.
Dragonbard – It's not the demonic powers that need negating, a good luck charm handles that easily enough, it's the Jurai power. And yes, one of your guesses developed a machine to do just that and it fell into (or was rediscovered by) the wrong hands.
Thundergod – Yes, you are a Ryoko person. Nothing wrong with that, I rather favor her myself even though it's not what I write about.
Negative-Z – Blunt? Blunt?? Me? Hardly. Oops, sorry, you are absolutely correct my good sir; but I'm trying, I really am. The medication helps.
Nutzoide – Actually, what I have planned twist-wise should suffice to make this pretty original, or at least sufficiently different.
Priest – Yep, still here and still pecking away at the keyboard.
*****
BobR
3/17/2003