A New Capture

"Um...Puck?" Ryoko asked in a small whisper when he had not moved from his seat for the entire night. She poked his shoulder lightly when she realized that he had fallen asleep, "Puck?"

"Can't you see that I'm trying to sleep, Ryoko?" Puck grumbled without opening his eyes. Without any warning, his eyes suddenly opened; frightening Ryoko when she saw his cold expression in the dark; "What do you want?"

Ryoko took a step away from him, handing him a small photo from her pocket, "I always carry a picture of Tenchi with me..." The ex space pirate was very pleased to see his icy expression soften when he examined the picture of her love, "I didn't mean to pry into your private life..." For some strange reason, Ryoko was acting civil towards this man who had captured her from Earth and is the brother of one of her greatest enemies.

"So this is your beloved Tenchi?" Puck chuckled lightly, "Not very impressive looking-is he?" he handed the photo back to her with a bright grin.

With a cold glare, Ryoko snatched the picture of Tenchi back from his hands, placing it carefully back into her pocket. "He's stronger than he looks," she snarled in reply, realizing that having him give her the silent treatment was a blessing.

Puck let out an uneasy sigh, "At least the person you love is still alive..."

The scowl on Ryoko's face faded away, "She is dead?" Ryoko was now leaning against the control keys with a concerned expression; her plan to catch Puck off guard and gain control of his ship disappeared from her mind.

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"When did you find this out Washu?" Tenchi was not the only one with a concerned look that day. He was watching Washu's main computer screen as the crazy scientist replayed Mishoshi father's message that the girls had received the day before.

"Just yesterday..." Pressing a single button, the ship designs appeared next to the main screen, "This is the ship that they claimed she was in...Ryoko was heading towards the system of Nester before the cloaking device on the ship went functional again." Washu folded her arms across her chest in a peeved expression when Tenchi's girlfriend entered the scientist's room glancing around for Tenchi.

"I made you some dinner eat it before it gets cold," Lily smiled to Washu as she placed her arm around Tenchi's neck sweetly. When Tenchi did not reply, Lily kissed him on the cheek to grab his attention from the ship's design, "Aren't you hungry Tenchi?" her expression puzzled Washu.

Brushing her off his shoulder, Tenchi barely glanced up to her to tell her that he wasn't really that hungry. "I have to help Washu with this, Lily...alright?" he was trying to be polite as possible to her.

Lily's odd expression turned icy, as if he had given her the cold shoulder completely, "But Tenchi-!" Her hands swept down furiously to her delicate hips, "I spent some time on your dinner!!"

The anger in the back of Tenchi's mind had finally reached its boiling point, "I'm sorry Lily, but I care more about finding Ryoko than a STUPID DINNER!!" He turned his attention back to Washu's computer, "Whose ship is this?"

Turning bright red, Lily's stomped her foot loudly on the floor, "Who cares about a stupid home-made pirate ship?!" Tenchi and Washu ignored her rude comment, forcing her to leave the scientist's in a heated rage.

"And why did you bring her here?" Washu asked, with the same peeved expression on her face.

Tenchi shook his head, "She said that she wanted to help find Ryoko..."

"That doesn't make any sense, she hates Ryoko..." Washu scratched her pink hair in confusion, "Doesn't she?"

Meanwhile, Lily was fuming up and down the Masaki's house stairs with her fists clenched, "I can't believe that stupid earthling..." she grumbled under her breath. Suddenly Lily heard someone behind her on the top of the stairs, flipping around she found Ayeka standing on the top step with a smug look. "What are you so pleased about?" Lily snarled at the Jurai Princess.

"You won't last long here," Ayeka stated simply, "Washu or I will found out the truth about you and we'll alert Lord Tenchi...Only in a matter of hours, Lily...if that is your name..." Just think like Ryoko, what would she do in this situation? Well...besides kicking Lily through the front door..."I'm on to your little secret..."

Lily's laughter filled the air, "Which secret would you be talking about, Princess Ayeka? The one where I am the one who has captured Ryoko, or the one about me forcing her to steal so Tenchi will stay alive? Take your pick princess, I have more..." Her golden eyes were turning into a darker shade of green, "How does it feel to be poor Princess Ayeka?" she smirked confidentially.

Ayeka now knew more than she wanted to, "You are the cause of all of this?!" her voice was climbing higher in pitch with every passing second. "What have you done with Ryoko? Where is she?! I command you to tell me where she is!"

"Why don't I just take you there Princess Ayeka?" Lily's form disappeared, being replaced by a totally different figure. "Ryoko could recognize me, but she likes to rat out her former partners...Too bad you picked the wrong time to get into my way." Eriko flicked her black hair behind her ears, "Say goodnight Princess Ayeka!"

"You won't get away with this-LORD TENCHI!!" Ayeka called out for help but her cries were cut off short. Tumbling to the floor, Ayeka was unconscious thanks to a machine which matched the one that Puck had used on Ryoko earlier.

Eriko carefully glanced around to see if anyone had heard Ayeka at all; Sasami and Mihoshi were waiting by the lake for the arrival of Mihoshi's police partner, Tenchi's father and grandfather were out of town for the week, and Tenchi and Washu were too absorbed in the mysterious ship's blue prints; no one was around. With great prowess, Eriko carried Ayeka outside without any trouble.

It was pitch black outside, the cold air was unbearable to stand in, but Eriko stood there playing with something on her wrist. "One more thing Princess, I think I'm going to use you as a hostage..." the female space pirate snapped at the unconscious Ayeka; who was leaning against a tree on the grimy dirt.

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"There still might be hope for you and Tenchi..." Puck was no longer annoyed by Ryoko's personal questions or by her side comments; he was actually getting along with her. His opinion of her had suddenly changed, Ryoko wasn't as cruel as his sister had described her...but she might have changed her ways when she had met Tenchi. "If the only competition is a snotty princess, I'm sure you will win his heart in the end."

Ryoko was impressed by Puck's openness; it was almost like they were friends now. There was only one problem with Ryoko being friends with him-he was her enemy's brother. He does what she tells him, she controls him...Puck can't be trusted...Those thoughts kept running through her mind as she stared into his steel-colored eyes, I can't trust you...

Silence filled the room, making it very awkward for the two to start a new conversation; Puck stretched in his chair and yawned loudly. "Well...we might as well get some rest, only two more hours and we'll be at our next looting site..." Scratching the back of his head, he lazily dragged his feet across the floor towards his room, "Night Ryoko..." he yawned again before he disappeared into his room.

Why doesn't he worry about me taking control of the ship? Ryoko plopped herself into Puck's comfy chair, No wonder he likes to sit here...Focus Ryoko-focus! If I just play it cool for at least one more day...maybe I can finally catch Puck fully off guard and get back home to Tenchi...Her mind was beginning to wander again, she thought about how much she had missed her dear Tenchi . I wish you were here...Lowering her head, Ryoko sullenly left the comfy chair and crawled into her cell with a depressed sigh, Please find me Tenchi...

A few hours later, Ryoko heard some yelling coming from the back of Puck's ship, "Will you stop struggling and screeching?! Someone is trying to sleep over there..." Puck growled at who ever was screaming at him.

"Unhand me right now! Lord Tenchi will come to my rescue!!"

Banging her head on the edge of the doorway, Ryoko slowly opened her eyes to find Ayeka staring right into her face. "Can you keep it down Ayeka?" she stretched her arms high into the air above Ayeka's head, "I'm trying to sleep..."

"SLEEP?! HOW CAN YOU SLEEP AT A TIME LIKE THIS?! WHEN STUCK ON THIS JUNKY SHIP-" Ayeka's eyes rolled to the back of her head; soon she tumbled into Puck's arms unconscious.

"She is like a damn screech owl..." he grumbled as he pocketed his special machine. A bright grin slowly appeared on his lips, "We'll let her sleep in the cell instead...eh?" Sweeping Ayeka off of her feet, Ryoko stepped out of Puck's way as he carried the princess over to the cell's cramped bed.

Puck clapped his hands together once he locked the door behind him, "That should contain her for a while...right?"

Why is Ayeka here? How much did I miss when I fell asleep-hasn't it only been a few hours? Ryoko felt Puck's hand on her left shoulder, "Didn't you hear me Ryoko? You can stay in my sister's room...Its better than that crappy cell bed anyways if you ask me." Why are you being so nice to me? I thought we were enemies... "Are you alright?" Puck gave her an uneasy look.

"Why is she here Puck?" Ryoko turned cold towards him, realizing again that he was her enemy-not her ally.

"The exact reason-I don't really know about-"

Grabbing Puck's collar, Ryoko made her energy sword appear as she directed it at his exposed throat. "Tell me..." she snarled with her eyes glowing a deep red towards him.

The pirate never moved his lips, he just gave Ryoko a challenging stare; as if he wanted her to try and kill him. Kill him now Ryoko, while you have the advantage over him still. Ryoko's grip on Puck's collar tightened as she prepared herself to strike a devastating blow at him, Now Ryoko-NOW! The energy sword disappeared from her hands, while her other hand released Puck's blue collar. I can't...

"You should have killed me," Puck whispered as he brushed by Ryoko without saying another word. There was a loud slam; most likely he had slammed the door to his room shut; leaving Ryoko alone in the dark ship again.

I won't stop myself next time...Ryoko caught sight of the planet Earth slowly fading away into the darkness of stars and galaxies at the front of the ship; she was home...she could have made it back to Earth to rescue Tenchi after all. Something deep in Ryoko was telling her not to go back to Tenchi, telling her that what she needed was out in space-not back on Earth. A headache was beginning in the back of her mind, forcing her to sit in Puck's chair until it had finally cleared up; she ended up drifting asleep in his chair dreaming of someone holding her hand.