Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ Autumn of Life ❯ Chapter 1

Autumn of Life

Chapter 1

"Ayeka!" The armored prince yelled frantically as he grasped the air, missing the levitating princess by inches.

"Lord Teeeennchi!" She answered as her body rose higher into the air, suspended by red rings of light until she disappeared into the arms of the dark ship that hovered above the others on the ground.

"Washu! Do something!" Ryoko screamed as she grabbed the hapless cat-rabbit creature, furry little Ryo-Ohki and flung her into the air.

"I'm trying…" The childlike scientist typed furiously upon a transparent laptop computer which hovered before her.

Cute and fuzzy Ryo-Ohki flew through the air. She emitted a high pitched screech and began to transform into an enormous space ship with graceful steel gray peaks and spikes. With a triumphant "Miya!", her own transport beam struck the frantic group on the ground, gently raising them into her sheltering arms.

Tenchi Masaki, dark haired crown prince of Jurai could only watch in horror as his dear friend, Princess Ayeka Jurai was whisked away by the dark ship.

"What do you have, Washu?" Tenchi uttered as he materialized on the crystal bridge of the cabbit ship.

"Here!" The red haired child pointed to Ryo-Ohki's monitor and a glowing blip appeared. "I've locked onto them so we can follow!"

"Good! I'm going to make them pay!" Ryoko growled and clenched her fist.

"Ryoko, this is not your fight…..it was….it was my house they destroyed…." Tenchi placed a hand on the pirate's shoulder.

"As I was your guest there, it was MY house too….and my, my extended family that was hurt…." She placed her hand upon the boy's which still rested on her shoulder.

"Washu, can you tell if, if anyone was hurt too badly?"

"Let me see, well, the house is pretty much gone, I can fix that when we get back… Katsuhito, well, Yes! Here's his life signs, he's quite alright." As she typed images of the destruction caused by the enemy ship came across her laptop screen. They could see Tenchi's grandfather, Katsuhito scratching his head as he gazed upon the ruins of the Masaki house. From out of the rubble scrambled Tenchi's father Nobouyki followed by Ayeka's little sister, Sasami. "Great! They are all ok! Let's get those kidnapping bastards!" Washu snarled.

Ryo-Ohki had great trouble keeping up with the black ship that held the princess. She struggled and strained but at least they had tracking on the vessel.

"That's ok, little Ryo-Ohki. You did your very best, now just try to keep up a little longer." Washu urged.

"We have to come up with a battle plan, we can't just go in with blasters blazing. We don't want to destroy the ship with Ayeka on it." Tenchi uttered.

"Well, I can phase through the hull and fight them off and get her out."

"Ryoko, that won't work, she can't survive in space like you can….Washu?"

"Well, I suggest an attack of distraction. Ryoko, you are an expert in piloting Ryo-Ohki, fire a few diversion shots to keep them concentrated on you while we transport Tenchi to Ayeka's location on the ship. I have this little device that will get you both back…" She held open her hand and a small object materialized. "This switch will teleport you back to this ship once you have Ayeka." She handed the small metal box to Tenchi. "I'll be here to monitor your location and for tactical advice to Ryoko."

"That will work! But I still think I should go with Tenchi!"

"No, Ryoko, I can do this. I'm ready Ryo-Ohki!"

Ryoko, with her golden feline eyes and spiky blue hair locked eyes with Tenchi and he disappeared from the ship.

"Washu, send a transmission Mihoshi to leave her patrol and join us immediately….goddess knows, we may need her help."

"I already have."

***

"This is unacceptable!" Ayeka screeched as shackles were placed upon her wrists and she was manhandled down a corridor by armored men. "I demand to speak to whoever is in charge of this fiasco!"

"You are in no position to demand anything," one guard snapped as he flung the girl against the wall.

The princess shivered at the creature's appearance. Barley humanoid, he stood over six feet tall with scaly gray skin but what was most unusual about her captors was that several of their body parts were mechanical. All random, but it seemed that an eye here, and arm there had been replaced in some manner with cold metal and gears. She cringed again as the one guard locked her gaze and it seemed that he could melt her with his cold stare with eyes of pure green and no pupils she could discern.

"Enough!" Ayeka squared her shoulders and faced her foes. A mystical wind engulfed her body blowing her purple hair skyward as her key, the tiara she wore began to glow. "I have had enough!" With an upward thrust of her arms, the princess summoned her Jurai power and hurled an invisible blast of pure force at her guards knocking all but the biggest one down.

"Get the confinement array! Now!" Barked the meanest creature. As he ordered more creatures appeared with a black box. They placed it before the leader.

"Let me go!" The princess was now encircled by numerous small wooden cylinders, each emitting a luminous glow.

"Release the array!" As the head creature ordered the box sprang open and out shot several disks connected by some sort of wire. They set themselves up in a semicircle around the princess. The disks also began to glow. As Ayeka was about to strike again, the disks emitted a blast of orange light which escaped with a screeching sound. The invisible force the princess thrust at her attackers bounced off of the array and struck the girl full force in the chest. Ayeka flew once more backward knocking herself unconscious against the far wall.

"Pick up that idiot!" The key creature yelled at his subordinates as he pointed to the princess. The aliens followed his command, one unceremoniously slinging the girl over his back as they continue down the hall.

***

"Dr. Clay."

"What is it Ganali?" The rotund scientist answered the beast with a sneer. "Can't you see that I am busy?"

"Forgive me….uh,….you're Greatness, but, we have captured the girl as you asked."

"Good, good, finally I can make peace with lady Tokimi! And my reward will be this Galaxy to rule!" He let out a jolly laugh, one that made the curls of his beard and hair bounch. "With Ryoko I will have killed three birds with one stone! I will have those curious gems to experiment upon. I will have Washu as she will surely follow to rescue her, ahem, daughter, and that little imp boy will try to rescue them all! He will make a nice pet for Tokimi and I can break him down into tiny little pieces to discover the source of his power! Oh what fun! I am brilliant! Ganali! Take me to Ryoko!"

The evil doctor followed the reptilian creature out of the room and toward a holding cell. Dr. Clay snapped his fingers and the door whizzed open. There, in a pool of the many folds of her intricate garment, rest Princess Ayeka unconscious.

"What!" Dr. Clay's one eye began to twitch in anger. "You've stolen the Princess! I gave you specifics! This is NOT Ryoko!"

"Forgive us, your highness!" Groveled the lead Ganali as he bowed in servitude to the Doctor. "Begging Master's forgiveness…..please……all humans look alike to us! And she was with the Masaki boy!"

"oooooooooo! I am surrounded by incompetence! I made too many miscalculations in your genetic structure! I'll have to delete your race and start fresh!"

"Please! No, master! Please, send us out again, we will get you this girl!" The creature shivered as Dr. Clay loomed over him.

"Wait……hmmmmm. Well, I don't have the gems, but this girl has nothing of interest to me….other than she will lure the ones I need to me anyway. Yes, that will work nicely."

"So, we are to prepare for the coming of the others?"

"Yes, ready your brothers for an attack." He turned to the Ganali. "And if you fail….I will destroy your kind as easily as I created them. Dr. Clay turned to leave.

"Highness…….what do we do with…..her?" the lead Ganali asked pointing to the Princess.

"Oh, I don't care……she's yours…..I am retiring to my own ship for the moment." With that, the doctor exited.

A sinister sneer spread across the gaping mouth of the Ganali leader revealing rows of sharpened teeth. He began to salivate as he stood over the prostrate form of Lady Ayeka.

***

Tenchi materialized aboard the captor's ship just in time to feel the initial jolt of a plasma blast from Ryo-Ohki that nearly toppled him to the cold steel floor. Quickly gaining his bearings, he took the Tenchiken from out of his field coat and held the wooden hilt before him. Ryoko's gems glistened the the half light of the vessel. He closed his eyes and said a heartfelt prayer and hoped that the stuff that made this weapon purely Jurai, would also allow him to find Ayeka within the caverns of the evil space ship. He did not know just how he knew to do this, but felt it would work and to his relief, once he opened his chocolate brown eyes, the two gems in the hilt began to glow.

"Please, Tsunami, please help me…." As he pleaded, he motioned the sword left and right, noticing that that glow of the red jewels became more pronounced as he pointed it to the corridor to the left and so, left he ran, deep into the heart of the black ship.

Tenchi ran with fervent urgency. His heart told him he could not waste any time, that if he did, something terrible would happen to Ayeka. Sweat trickled down his temples as he flew toward where he hoped the sword would lead him. Suddenly, two very hideous creatures appeared in his field of vision.

"Who are you? Get him!" One yelled as they both lunged at the boy.

Years of tedious martial arts practice at the tutelage of his grandfather Katsuhito prepared him for a direct advance. With graceful ease and calmness, Tenchi ignited the Tenchiken as the first creature approached with a long sword. The oafish monster was too slow to predict the boy's stealthy movements as he leapt into the air and slashed into the monsters helmet with the hilt of the sword knocking him to the ground unconscious. The second creature was not as lucky, for as he swiped his own blade toward Tenchi's abdomen, the boy whirled around and slashed it's torso down the middle sending him to the floor writhing in pain. Tenchi considered the beasts for a second - the twinge of guilt at hurting them dissipated as the gems began to hum and glow, signaling that he was very, very close. He left the creatures contorting on the floor and he ran down the corridor once more.

***

"Wake her up!" The giant Ganali screamed and another hoisted the princess up by her collar and began to shake her awake.

"Oh……" She slowly opened her eyes and they grew as large as saucers as barely two inches separated her face from that of the monster holding her upright. "Unhand me!" Her tiara began to glow and a sonic boom along with an unseen force propelled the creature away from her, leaving her to descend to the floor gently on her own accord. "Now! Remove these shackles!" She threatened the lead Ganali with her bound hands.

"You forget what happened last time!" The large monster approached her and as he did, his subordinates opened the black box and the array of discs once more arranged themselves in a semicircle around them both. "Now! You will learn to appreciate Gnor!" He grabbed her by her throat and pushed her against the wall, pinning her there by brute force. She grabbed at his wrist with her shackled hands trying in vain to pry them off of her throat as she gasped for air. "Leave us!" Gnor snarled and his men listened and soon he and the Princess were alone. The monster snickered as the girl struggled beneath his arm. With his right hand, Gnor as delicately as such a brute could manage, brushed some locks of purple hair from Ayeka's forehead and he admired her tiara. "Yes……this is a pretty thing….it is….I think I will make it mine…." He reached for the tiara and was about to rip it off of her brow when he heard a loud shriek from outside. The monster was about to see what the commotion was about when a blue blade of light ripped through the door.

"Step away from her!"

"Te….." Ayeka tried to speak but the hand at her throat restrained her voice as it did oxygen.

"I said….UNHAND HER!" The boy's normally gentle face contorted with anger. He could see that the huge beast's grip on her delicate neck was not letting up. The princess's eyes were rolling back in her head, she was being strangled in front of him.

"Move and I will break her neck!" Gnor snickered.

"Unhand her or I will remove your head from yours!"

They were at a stalemate. Tenchi could see his grip let up slightly as he knew that if she died his hostage would be no use. Ayeka managed to inhale minute gasps of air as she rolled her eyes to look at the boy pleadingly for help. The sword hovered inches from the Ganali creature and both foes stared each other down.

"What can I do?" Tenchi thought to himself. He could no longer maintain a low heart rate. With alarming speed, his heartbeat increased until he felt the creature could hear it. No longer calm, he now lacked the ability to think clearly and fight effectively. Tenchi cursed himself for not being able to react in adversary as his Granpa trained him.

Time stopped. The three life forms were no longer in the same room together-it was Tenchi alone. His heart now fluttered each beat like the beating of a hummingbird's wings. Slowly, and certainly, the boy extinguished the sword and placed it back in his coat.

"Giving up, eh?" Gnor drooled. "We can play after I take this pretty pretty." He once more tried to pull Ayeka's key off of her head.

Suddenly the room was filled with brilliant white light, light so bright it burned at Gnor's retinas and the monster was forced to finally release his death grip on Ayeka. She dropped to the floor as he shielded his eyes. Gnor could not believe the sight before him, the light was coming from that boy…..the Masaki boy! Tenchi, now clad in the brilliant robes of the Light Hawk now appeared before them in control once more. Three opaque blades rotated before his noble form. He raised his arms before him as he did they were propelled through Ayeka and hit Gnor with a sickening crash of light and sound. The monster was thrown away from the princess and held back by a glowing shield. Tenchi brought his hands slowly up and back to his chest and as he did, the princess was gently picked up by invisible hands and levitated into his arms.

"Master! Master! They are here! They are here!" Gnor screamed as Tenchi's light grew brighter and brighter until it engulfed the room and nothing more could be seen but pure, white light.