"STOP IT! STOP DIETRICH YOU ARE KILLING HIM!" Esther screamed at the top of her lungs as she helplessly watched the beautiful young man sending waves of pain through Tenchi's body.
"Someone has to teach him a lesson about obeying all of my commands," Dietrich snarled back at the red-headed queen with a crazed look in his dark eyes. After listening to Tenchi yell and writhe in pain, the puppet master finally set him free.
Falling to his knees, Tenchi tried to catch his breath. Luckily, he had faced stronger opponents before – hence the reason for him breaking free of Dietrich's grasp when on the airship. When he had regained control of his own body the light hawk wings protecting the ship from the Iron Maiden's powerful blasts disappeared, leaving the ship vulnerable. All three of them barely made it out alive before the airship was blown up.
Esther rushed over to Tenchi's side and quickly checked him from head to toe to make sure none of the damage was permanent. Once she knew he would live, the redhead scowled at Dietrich for what he had done. "You are a monster Dietrich," she spat at him.
The puppet master momentarily stared blankly at her but then suddenly broke out into a hysteric laughter that sent chills down her spine. "Monster?" he giggled in a playful voice. "There are far worse monsters out in the world right now my dear Esther…like that Ryoko character. Now that is a real monster…" Dietrich paused to see if his comments would strike a nerve.
"Don't talk about Ryoko that way," Tenchi growled through clenched teeth.
"You seem to forget that I can read all of your past memories-"
"SHUT UP!" Tenchi leapt to his feet to take a swing at the sick-minded young man.
Grabbing Tenchi's fist in mid-swing and slightly tilting his head to the side so the fist just brushed softly against his brown hair, Dietrich made a tisk-tisk sound. "If you disobey me like that again…" he violently twisted Tenchi's wrist backward until he heard a loud snap, "I'll kill her." He glanced over at Esther with a smirk on his perfectly thin lips. Releasing his grip, Dietrich abruptly turned his back to them and headed towards the metal door. "I only really need one of you…" he hummed in a pleasant voice as he shut the door behind him.
Esther was already ripping a sleeve off her dress to create a bandage for Tenchi's broken wrist. "Hopefully this will help," she whispered quietly as she solemnly began wrapping.
Tenchi grabbed her hands without warning; he stared emotionlessly into her soft eyes. "Our friends will find us, don't lose hope yet."
Nodding in agreement, Esther resumed mending his wrist. "So tell me more about Ryoko," she asked in a sweet voice.
"Hey slow down!" Abel complained as he puffed for air behind the space pirate.
Teleporting from the roof of a Byzantium sweet shop back to the street, Ryoko smugly folded her arms across her chest. "How do you expect to find any clues at this snail's pace?" she leaned forward and cocked a questionable eyebrow in his direction.
"Haven't you ever heard the saying that the slow and steady win the race?" Abel muttered in a sour voice. His stomach began to growl loudly. "Great, now I'm hungry…"
Letting a long sigh out, Ryoko floated over to the lazy priest and grabbed his wrist. "Come on then, we'll stop for lunch." She began to lift him off the ground, which sent Abel into a panic.
"What are you doing? I can't fly!" he started to fail his arms around like a child throwing a tantrum but Ryoko chose to ignore him.
Within a few minutes, Ryoko and Abel were enjoying sandwiches on the rooftop of the sweet shop. The priest chose to turn a blind eye on how she "conjured" the sandwiches since the Vatican had forgotten to provide him with enough coins to feed them both.
The space pirate relaxed her shoulders as she let her feet dangle off the edge of the roof. Abel, on the other hand, was sitting dead center on the rooftop holding his sandwich in one hand and gripping for dear life with the other.
"You like high places do you?" the priest nervously asked.
Ryoko sighed with a faint smile on her lips as she enjoyed the view of the city, "No. I sit on Tenchi's roof when I need to think…" Or when Tenchi breaks my heart. She turned away from the view to give him a soft smile, "Usually it is just me, but it is nice to have some company for once."
Quickly, Abel hid his blushing face in response to her sweet smile by turning his face away to gobble the last few bites of his sandwich. He nearly choked on his lunch when he heard his name being screeched directly into his eardrum.
"Father Nightroad." It was Hugue's voice resonating from the earpiece lodge awkwardly in Abel's right ear. "There is recent activity coming from this city's underground water pipes…I don't know exactly what sort of activity but it is worth checking out according to Sister Kate. You are the closest-"
"So you want us to check out the water pipes until you can make your way over here?" Abel was finally able to say once successfully swallowing his sandwich in one loud gulp. He pushed his glasses closer to his face as he glanced over to Ryoko – she was listening carefully. "Alright, fine we will go…" the priest let out a long sigh.
Grumbling and complaining under his breath, Abel trudged through the slimy water and glared at Ryoko as she simply floated by him. "Come on slow poke," she teased with a grin stretched from ear to ear.
As they ventured further down the pipe, the darker it grew. Soon the two could barely see their hands in front of their face.
Abel took a whiff of the stale air and had to cover his nose with his sleeve, Smells like rotting eggs down here…
"Shit, I can't see a thing…time to create some electricity and light this place up," Ryoko drew her hands close to her chest to conjure energy.
The priest suddenly put two and two together, "Sulfur!" He blindly stumbled forward and rammed into Ryoko to stop her from killing them both. He grabbed one of her hands tightly, "You'll burn us if you use your energy in here!"
Ryoko snorted in response. She could finally smell it too. "Sulfur isn't normal in water pipes in your world – is it?" she twisted her hand away from Abel and gave him a dirty look in the blackness. She couldn't help but think that they were walking straight into a trap.
"No…" the clumsy priest took a step back from her. Even though it was pitch black, Abel could sense the space pirate's uneasiness. He glanced ahead of them to catch a glimpse of a dim light. "It looks like we are almost to the end of the pipe though," he started to point but then remembered that she wouldn't be able to see it.
They continued towards the dim light for what seemed like ages until the light increased in brightness and grew in size. Before they reached the edge of the pipe, Ryoko told Abel to remain in the shadows while she peered over to see what was below.
Her ears twitched when she heard two voices – both male. Inching her way towards the ledge, Ryoko's heart skipped a beat when she heard a familiar voice.
"Let me go you bastard!" Tenchi yelled at the top of his lungs to an older man Ryoko had never seen before.
The man stood over six feet tall with long, flowing black hair. He wore dark clothing that looked like they belonged to a noble man. When Tenchi started to yell again, the man quickly pulled out a syringe from his jacket pocket and injected his prisoner in the neck. In a matter of seconds, Tenchi was on his side unconscious.
Without warning, the man glanced up to the water pipes draining into the large underground pool. A thin calculating smile spread across his pale face, revealing fangs, as he caught sight of Ryoko. "Looks like we have a guest…care to join us Ryoko?"
"Ryoko wait!" Abel reached out to stop her from doing something stupid but he was too late.
Teleporting down from the pipe to the crumbling stone platform in the center of the underground room, Ryoko conjured her energy sword beam in a blink of an eye. The water pipes emptied into this one room – which seemed to be a ruined ancient city that Byzantium had built itself over. Six worn stone pillars spread around the pool were the only things supported the ceiling.
"Impressive…" the vampire seemed to genuinely admire her abilities. "You seem much more capable of taking care of yourself than this little runt," he took pleasure in seeing Ryoko's yellow eyes narrow to slits.
"If you don't give Tenchi back to me, you'll be sorry you ever laid eyes on him," she tried to keep a steady voice as her rage silently rose.
How am I going to get down? Abel meekly peered over the edge of the water pipe and nearly had a heart attack when he gauged the drop to be well over ten feet. I can't jump...
"I don't plan on giving him back to you," the vampire examined a button on his sleeve like he was already bored with the conversation. "However, I do plan on adding you to my collection…" his fangs reflected the light momentarily.
What is it with these guys wanting Tenchi and me like we are some lost child's toys? The space pirate shot a glance at the man she loved and could feel her heart swell. He is still alive at least. She glared at the vampire, "I'm guessing you are working for Dietrich?"
He laughed, "I'm more like the one in charge of this little operation." The vampire took a graceful bow before her, "I am Isaak Fernand von Kampfer, leader of the Rosenkreuz Orden."
Well now I know what name to have Abel scratched onto this bastard's tombstone once I am through with him. "Alright fuck-face, enough with the pleasantries," Ryoko snarled. "I have to bring Tenchi back home with me in time for dinner," she ran at him with her energy beam raised.
Isaak quickly projected an electromagnetic wall around his body, which blocked the space pirate's energy sword and sent her flying back. "Not until I get to see your true potential," he let the shield drop.
Meanwhile Abel was desperately trying to find a way down to the battle below. He couldn't tell how deep the pool was from the height he was at. If he jumped and guessed the depth of the water then he would break quite a few bones in his body – including his neck. Please God don't let me die. He silently whispered a prayer as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
Shit this vampire's shield is just as fucking annoying as Ayeka's. Ryoko glanced quickly around the area to find anything that would give her the advantage and to check on Abel. She caught a glimpse of him sweating up a storm trying to be courageous enough to jump.
While Ryoko was busy checking up on Abel, she had failed to notice that Isaak was producing a massive sphere of light between his hands. "Let's see how you like this!" he shot the ball of light towards her. As it flew towards her, the light started to shoot multiple energy bolts around her.
The first bolt shot Ryoko's right thigh but she was quick to evade the others. She retreated to the edge of the stone platform and debated about her last move. I need a distraction in order to pull this off in time… "ABEL NOW!" Ryoko shouted at the top of her lungs.
Please God… Abel took a leap of faith, pulling out both of his pistols and aiming at the vampire as best as he could. The vampire recoiled from the gunfire, surprised that Abel was actually with Ryoko, and protected himself with his shield.
Kneeing down and slamming her palms into the water, the space pirate concentrated all of her energy into the pool. Obey your master!
Emerging from the depths of the pool was a four-eyed water demon that stood over twelve feet tall. It looked towards Ryoko for guidance. For once she had summoned a demon that she could control completely.
Abel slammed hard into the pool of water and could feel the air being pushed from his lungs. He clenched his eyes tight hoping that it was deep enough. The waves caused by both the elemental demon and the priest's fall splashed onto the platform and wet Ryoko's feet and ankles.
She stared at Tenchi's limp body at the other end of the stone platform behind Isaak. Isaak's lower legs were also drenched with water but Tenchi was dry as a bone – which wasn't plausible unless…
"It's a hologram," she hissed in a disappointed tone of voice. "You fucking bastard…"
Isaak clapped from behind his protective shield, "Clever. You knew that he was a hologram, didn't you?" He continued to keep his electromagnetic wall up…just in case she had any more surprises left for him.
"Tell me where he is…"
"Now where's the fun in that?" Isaak chuckled to himself like this was all a game to him.
She tightened her hands into fists. "If you hurt him…I swear…" Ryoko drew in a deep breath before she produced her energy beam sword. You know what to do demon! Both she and the water demon attacked the vampire with all of their power.
Opening his eyes while still underwater, Abel realized that he was still alive. Quickly letting a few air bubbles escape from his lungs; he kicked his legs hard and swam to the surface. Gasping for air at the surface, Abel watched the two raging war against each other ahead of him. This is bad; he had to find a way to Ryoko before it was too late.
"Your Tenchi is a valuable prize though, I must admit…" Isaak teased Ryoko from a safe distance. "The wings he is able to produce-" he narrowly missed a swipe from Ryoko's energy sword, "-are most extraordinary." Within seconds Ryoko's water demon slammed through one of the stone pillars with its fists to get closer to the vampire. "No wonder you don't want anyone to have him."
Her eyes flushed to the color of blood, "He is not some sort of TOY!" Ryoko transported multiple times while the sadistic vampire continued to elude all of her and her demon's attacks. The demon continued to smash through two more stone pillars in failed attempts to kill the vampire mastermind.
"But your demon-calling ability is also an amazing feat to behold," Isaak commented with a sly look on his pale face. "Too bad you are at your weakest after you summon one…" he made a metal blade appear out of his wrist sleeve. "I didn't want to kill you but you leave me no choice."
Ryoko laughed, "It doesn't matter…we'll all die anyways…" she lowered her energy sword with a triumphant look in her now yellow eyes.
The ground began to shake like an earthquake was happening. "What's going on?" Isaak glanced around to see that the underground waterway was caving in. Stones from the ceiling had started to come crumbling down on them. He snarled at Ryoko when he had finally realized what she had done. "Clever…" The water demon had shattered three of the six pillars supporting the underground waterway.
Before Ryoko could make another attempt to kill Tenchi's kidnapper, he shot another sphere of light at her and made an escape by retreating into a secret passageway in the ruined city. Shit, she nearly had him.
"Ryoko!" the priest had finally pulled himself out of the water and was on the stone platform, "We need to get out of here!" Abel reached out to grab her hand but everything went black for him.
Abel slowly opened his eyes to see a familiar face smiling at him, "I'm glad you are finally awake. You took a nasty blow to the head."
Sitting up straight, Abel touched the side of his head to feel a bandage. "Your eminence," the humble priest bowed his head as much as he could to the young blonde vampire, "It is good to see you again…"
"Yes, it has been quite a while, hasn't it?" Ion Fortuna gave the priest a toothy grin.
Glancing around the room, Abel realized that he was in the duke's personal chambers. "I'm sorry to pry…but how did I end up here?"
The duke folded his arms across his chest, "My cousin alerted me last night that someone was trying to steal a royal airship and that this person was carrying a silver-haired Vatican priest… I sent my guards and they brought back you – unconscious of course – and a loud-mouth vampire. Since you seemed injured, I didn't want to take the chance assuming that she was a friend. She put up a pretty good fight though…she didn't want to let you go."
"Where is she now?" Abel asked in a worried tone of voice. He was touched by the thought that Ryoko was protecting him.
"In a prison cell," the duke muttered. "I'll take you to her if you would like…"
As they walked down the stone steps, Abel could hear Ryoko's voice off in the distance. "You just wait and see vampire. Once I get my strength back, I'll kill you all and get him back…" Her metal chains rattled on the floor as Ryoko rushed the cell door when the young vampire stood in front of her. "Listen here you little brat – if you remove a single silver hair from his head, I'll make sure it's the last mistake you ever-" her yellow eyes widened with horror when she noticed Abel standing off to the side of the vampire.
"No need to worry Ryoko, all is well," Abel chirped in a happy voice.
"Well obviously not! Why the fuck am I locked up like some prisoner?" she yelled at the top of her lungs, making the clumsy priest grimace.
"Ryoko, now there is no need for that kind of language!" he scorned her by waving one finger at her from the other side of the cell.
Her eyes went blood red, "This is the thanks I get for saving your pathetic hide? Get me the fuck out of here Abel Nightroad!"
Abel nervously glanced over at the duke, "It may not look like it…but she is a friend…"
Notes: Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I've gotten quite a few messages to keep this going. Don't worry, I will update the rest of the chapters to it slowly. Vet school has been eating up my free time lately. ~ Hunter