Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ Natural Selection: The Undoing of Heaven and Earth ❯ Chapter 1
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: drone-ltd 
A stranger appears at the Masaki household one winter night, with lethal business to take care of.
Anime/Manga: Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.03.2001 | Pages: 8 | Words: 5.9K | Visits: 272 | Status: Completed
A stranger appears at the Masaki household one winter night, with lethal business to take care of.
Anime/Manga: Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.03.2001 | Pages: 8 | Words: 5.9K | Visits: 272 | Status: Completed
Natural Selection: The Undoing of Heaven and Earth.
Chapter 1
-----
The snow fell softly, silent in both its descent and collision with the
foot-high drifts already built up on the ground. The tree limbs all had several
inches of the white powder upon them, and were bowed slightly at the extra
weight. Pale-grey clouds swept slowly across the sky, releasing their
crystalline structures with an ambivalent attitude, caring not to stop its weak
assault nor increase the intensity.
"Ryo-ohki! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
A small white object blundered across the snowdrifts, making hindered
leaps through the tall obstacle in it's path. It sunk into the powder
periodically and was forced to clamber back up to the top before continuing it's
travel. After a few minutes, the object finally burst out of a drift and landed
onto one of the defined paths that wove through the forest. The path had been
cleared earlier, and the snow had only been able to build up a few inches, to
the little creature's relief. It made a few sounds of satisfaction before
shaking itself, the long ears sending clumps of snow in all directions and
finally uncovering a coat of brown fur.
"Ryo-ohhhhhki!"
"Mew?" The small cabbit looked down the path, where sounds of laughter and
crunching snow were quickly growing louder and closer. Ryo-ohki mewed again,
enthralled by the current game of hide-and-seek, and turned to run down the path
in the opposite direction. He only managed one leap before running headlong into
a solid obstacle and sprawling into a heap at the base. Ryo-ohki rolled to his
feet and shook his head before looking up at the object in his path.
"Ryo-ohki, there you are!" A blue-haired young girl came bounding up the
path, dressed in a pink and blue snowsuit. She ran up to Ryo-ohki and took him
up into her arms, laughing as he nuzzled up against her cheek and mewed happily.
The girl giggled a few more times, then noticed the reason why Ryo-ohki had
stopped running.
"Oh, hi there! You must've found Ryo-ohki for me! I'm Sasami!" she said
energetically.
*****
"I can't stand this horrid weather. All dank and wet and-- achoo!"
The Masaki house sat in place, held tight by the blanket of snow that
rested upon it. The light snow had finally increased it's intensity, and a sharp
wind had picked up, tossing the small snowflakes into a blizzard. The sky was
darkening quickly as the still hidden sun slowly fell behind the horizon, the
golden rays blocked by the dark grayness of the cloud cover.
"Yeah, I guess Jurai never really had winter, did it?"
A large fire was blazing within the confines of the fireplace, projecting
it's warmth into the living room and adding to the cozy atmosphere. The couch
had been pulled closer to the fireplace, and a large bundle of blankets was
piled on the end closest to the conflagration. Through a separation in two of
the blanket folds, a pair of deep maroon eyes could be seen, only half open. The
heap of blankets shivered, and then jolted as the sound of another sneeze filled
the air.
"If it weren't so cold, I wouldn't pay it any mind at all," a definitely
feminine but subdued voice emanated from the dark recesses of the thick fabrics.
Tenchi Masaki stood before the blanket pile, an awkward smile on his face
as he tried to look as helpful as possible. "Um, Lady Ayeka, can I get you
anything? Something to drink, maybe?"
The blanket pile shifted again, and became taller as the person within sat
up straight and put on a voice of independence. "Oh I'm fine, Lord Tenchi. In
fact, I believe this nasty virus is already starting to.. to.. achoo!!" The
blanket pile shrunk back down to its earlier height as a low, miserable moan
followed the sneeze.
Tenchi sighed and put the cordless phone back up to his ear. "Yeah, just
like you said, Grandpa... yeah? Uh, okay, if you say so.."
Taking a few more steps into the living room, Tenchi approached the
blanket pile that hid Ayeka, holding his hand over the phone mouthpiece.
"Grandpa says that if you want to get better, you can't just sit there all
night. And, that he knows what he's talking about so you should listen to him."
At the sound of the resistant murmuring that replied, Tenchi sighed again,
grabbed the top fabric fold with one hand, and yanked it completely off of
Ayeka, who let out an "eep" of protest. "Sorry Ayeka, but Gramps told me to. And
he says to get yourself a hot bath running and soak in it for a while. The steam
will do you well enough until Tenchi can make.. er, until *I* can make you some
tea, I mean."
Ayeka grumbled to herself as she tried to smooth out her wrinkled robes,
but finally stood and half-bowed in reply before shuffling her way toward the
bathroom. Unfortunately, she didn't even make it halfway there before a sing-
song, mocking voice manifested itself around her.
"Oh, poor dear, Her Highness is sick? That's too bad."
Ayeka's red-rimmed eyes half-closed in annoyance as a certain white-haired
demoness materialized in front of her, levitating at eye level, though upside-
down and in a sitting position. Ryoko was smirking, clearly enjoying Ayeka's
current appearance. "Why, you look dreadful, Highness! Bleary eyes, red face,
and your hair is a mess! You really should get some beauty sleep. A *lot* of
it."
"Oooooh!" Ayeka was gritting her teeth and trying her best to look
formidable, which wasn't entirely successful in her present mood and health.
Getting angrier at Ryoko's humored reaction, Ayeka finally just threw down her
hands and stomped past the floating demoness. "I won't waste my energy lowering
myself to your level, you.. you... achoo!!"
Ryoko's victorious laughter was somewhat countered by Ayeka's exhasperated
cry of outrage as she quickly entered the bathroom and slammed the door behind
her, ending the battle. Tenchi sighed to himself as Ryoko vanished, then
appeared above him, still chuckling to herself as her long silver hair dropped
down upon Tenchi.
"Can't you two ever get along?" Tenchi sighed, brushing Ryoko's hair out
of his eyes as he walked over to the large window set into the wall. Ryoko only
muttered something to herself and crossed her arms.
"Sorry about that, Grandpa," Tenchi said into the phone mouthpiece,
peering out into the darkness. "Ryoko and Ayeka, they were arguing again.. uh-
huh... Yeah, the snow's getting pretty thick out there, from all I can see..
What? Oh, not till morning, huh? Okay, I can probably hold down the fort until
tomorrow... Sasami? Yeah, she's still out playing in the snow... Sure, I can go
right now... Okay, sure. Say hi to dad for me, too. Bye Grandpa."
Tenchi pressed the Off button on the phone and set it on the end table
next to him. He really didn't want to go out into the harsh, cold, snowy night,
but he knew that making sure Sasami was safe was more important then a bit of
discomfort on his part. He nodded to himself, and was about to get his heavy
snow-clothes from the hall closet when the sound of the front door opening and
then slamming shut came into the room.
"I'm home, everyone!" Sasami's happy voice came into room, quickly
followed by Sasami herself, who had already shed most of her excess snow build-
up before entering. Ryo-ohki bounded in beside her, mewing as it shook the snow
off of its fur.
"Sasami!" Tenchi exclaimed, noticeably relieved. "We were getting worried
about you, it's dangerous to be out in this kind of weather at night."
Sasami giggled and started removing her snow suit and boots. "Oh, I was
alright, cause I found a new friend out in the woods! He found Ryo-ohki, and
then he helped me get back here after it got dark!"
A tall figure moved into view behind Sasami, casting a shadow over her as
the others in the room turned their attention. He was dressed in an outfit
slightly uncommon for the current weather, but still fairly accommodating: black
leather boots, black denim jeans, black shirt, topped off with a long black
leather duster. The person's long, though quite curly dark-brown hair was pulled
back into a ponytail and encrusted with snow, along with his clothing and large
duffel bag he carried in one of his gloved hands. He looked back at the
questioning glances with sharp grey eyes, glancing at everyone in the room until
Tenchi stepped forward.
"Um, hi there. I guess we have you to thank for getting Sasami back home,"
Tenchi said, giving a bit of a welcome smile. He was glad that he didn't have to
worry about Sasami's safety now. He also remembered that Grandpa had just told
him that he was "man of the house" for the night, and to use his best judgement
for anything that came up. The blizzard *was* pretty bad, and it wasn't like
housing one more person for the night would be a problem, or even anything out
of the ordinary. "Oh, and if you aren't in any hurry, we'd be happy to let you
stay here and wait for the weather to calm down. The storm shouldn't be so bad
in the morning."
The newcomer, who looked to be somewhere around 20 years old, looked back
at Tenchi for a moment before nodding. "Appreciate it." His voice was low and
smooth, but had a tone of satisfaction in it, as if he was glad that the
blizzard had threatened them when it did. "Name's Jessen."
"Welcome to the Masaki house," Tenchi nodded, bowing a bit. "I'm Tenchi,
and that's Ryoko. I'm sure you'll meet Ayeka and Washu later at dinner." He
then looked down at Sasami, who had shed her snow suit and was standing in her
now-damp t-shirt and shorts. "You'd better go change, Sasami, you don't want to
catch a cold like Ayeka did. And show Jessen to the spare guest room so he
doesn't have to carry around his bag."
"Okay Tenchi! Come on Mr. Jessen!" Sasami grabbed Jessen's free hand and
led him to the staircase, then up the stairs. Ryo-ohki bounded after them,
mewing as it tried to keep up.
"Well, I guess I'd better make some extra tea," Tenchi said, starting for
the kitchen. "Ayeka's probably-- Ryoko? Is there something wrong?"
Ryoko gave no indication of even hearing the question as she stared at the
top of the stairs intently, her eyes narrowed and her brow knit together.
*****
"*Accessing Primary System ... Awaiting Security Confirmation...
Confirmed...*"
Jessen pushed a button on the small remote he held in his gloved hand.
Upon the floor of the guest room he now stood in, a large metal tripod stood
erect, with a thin spike set within the three legs. At another button press, the
legs of the tripod folded quickly, driving the spike through the carpet and into
the wood floor with a dull thunk. Upon the flat base of the spike, a red
holographic cube appeared, slowly spinning upon one point. One more button push
on the remote, and the cube turned from red to a pulsing green color. Jessen
slipped the small remote into a pocket, and went over to the bed, upon which his
open duffel bag sat.
"*Searching Recent Exchange Database... Expected Transfer From C-56-7...
Recieved.*"
"Good." With the front payment in his possession, he could move to the
final part of his job: Finish the hit quickly, and be gone before anyone even
knew he had been there. Jessen pressed a clip into the large handgun he now
held, and looked it over. The silver Magnum Research Desert Eagle .50 Action
Express gleamed in the overhead light as Jessen flexed his hand on the black
rubber grip. It was big gun, with big recoil, that put big fucking holes in
anything that got in the way of the bullets. Exactly how he preferred. Removing
another identical gun from his bag, Jessen pulled back the hammer on both,
making sure they each had a bullet chambered before sliding them into the dual-
holster he wore at the back of his waist. As he stood up, the black duster swept
forward into it's normal hanging position, concealing any traces of the weapons
he held. Leaving his bag upon the bed, Jessen exited the room and stepped out
into the hallway, closing the door behind him. He would have ample time to get
his things after he finished his work.
His steps were silent as he walked down the carpeted hall, the only sounds
coming from the folds of his clothing as they brushed against each other. But he
only had gotten about halfway down the hall before the air shifted, and a figure
materialized at the top of the stairs.
"Hello Ryoko," Jessen said, stopping his approach as the demoness took a
few steps toward him.
"Jessen." Ryoko was slightly hesitant in her speech, as if she were unsure
of what she should say. At Jessen's adamant gaze, she broke eye contact and
looked at the floor, rubbing one of her arms.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Ryoko raised her head back up to look at him. Of course it had been a
while. It was over 700 years ago when her and Yosho crashed on Earth and she had
become imprisoned within the Masaki shrine. And she hadn't seen Jessen since a
week before, during their last job together.
"What... what are you doing here?"
Jessen was quiet for a moment, then slowly walked forward until he was but
a foot away from her. "..business. And you, I remember hearing that your
spaceship had crashed here. And with you fighting a royal warrior of Jurai, no
less. You're quite skilled to have survived."
A small smile appeared on Ryoko's face, her cheeks becoming a bit red at
the compliment. He had always had that effect on her, ever since she first met
him.
"I have little time," Jessen said as he stepped to one side and moved past
her. "My business must be attended to. I just hope that you haven't formed any
sort of attachment to the one named Tenchi during your time here."
"No!" Ryoko gasped, spinning to face Jessen as he took the first step down
the staircase. She took a quick step forward, but stopped when Jessen halted his
decent to look over his shoulder at her, his face set in a stony glare.
"...it seems you have. Don't interfere, Ryoko. You know what will happen."
She did know what would happen. She had worked with him enough times to
know what he was capable of. But if she didn't do something, then Tenchi would--
Tenchi. Visions of Tenchi started flooding into Ryoko's mind, visions of
everything that had happened since they had first met. All the things that she
had loved... she couldn't give those up, no matter what her instincts told her.
*****
Draw guns. Fire. Wait for body to fall. Eliminate interference. Leave.
Jessen reached behind his waist, gripping both guns in their holsters as
he walked toward the kitchen. He could hear a voice from beyond the open
doorway, the one he seeked. Not a sound was made as he pulled his twin weapons
out into the open and stepped through the kitchen doorway, the bottom of his
duster swishing back into place. Tenchi stood at the other end of the room, his
back turned as he prepared the tea and remained oblivious to Jessen's presence.
"Heaven and Earth," Jessen said softly as he aimed his silver guns at
Tenchi's exposed back. "Prepare yourself for Hell."
Jessen breathed out, and pulled both triggers. And although the combined
gunshot that rang out easily concealed the thick thud of the fist smashing into
the side of Jessen's head, it failed to hide Tenchi's pained yell that came
almost immediately after.
The few moments afterward drew themselves farther as they happened,
seeming to play out in slow-motion. Ryoko was now standing in the kitchen
doorway, her right hand balled into a tight fist and her face contorted into one
of fear as she realized the situation. Tenchi halfway spun as he fell, the
kitchen floor already staining with the dark red blood splattering onto it.
Jessen lurched sideways from the blow, his feet leaving the floor momentarily as
he solidly smacked into the nearby wall and lost hold on his guns.
"No!" Ryoko yelled as she saw Tenchi's bleeding form hit the floor,
bouncing slightly before going motionless. She unclenched her fist and started
to run toward Tenchi, but a sudden blow to her stomach doubled her over. Jessen
had recovered quickly from the surprise attack, shown in painful detail as he
pulled his bent knee away from Ryoko's midsection.
"You shouldn't have interfered, Ryoko," Jessen said before pulling Ryoko
up in front of him and thrusting both hands forward. The powerful open-hand palm
thrusts slammed into Ryoko's chest, sending her flying through the kitchen
doorway like a rag doll before she landed in the living room.
Pain shot through Ryoko's torso as she slowly pushed herself up, getting
onto her hands and knees and raising her head. She knew she had to distract
Jessen for as long as possible, to get him away from Tenchi. Something inside
her was saying that he was still alive, and that she needed to keep Jessen from
finishing him off. If only she coul--
Ryoko's thoughts were abruptly interuppted as a vicious kick to the face
sent her flying backward, smacking into the wall and collapsing to the ground on
her back. A trickle of blood was now escaping her nose, the thin red line slowly
running down her face and dripping upon the carpet. Her head throbbed as she
opened her eyes, and the ceiling fuzzed and blurred as she tried to keep her
vision in focus.
Jessen stood in the middle of the room, looking at the fallen Ryoko with a
blank face. Not a trace of emotion was present in his visage, not pleasure, not
regret, not satisfaction. He took the few steps over to Ryoko's body and reached
down with one hand, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her first into a
standing position, then higher, completely off the ground.
"You tried to protect him, Ryoko," he said in an even tone, increasing the
pressure on her neck as Ryoko struggled to pry his iron grip apart. "You knew
what would happen, and yet you tried anyway. I do congratulate you on your
efforts, but your actions might only have been worth it if you had managed to
prevent me from ending his worthless life. I almost feel pity for you, Ryoko,
having to die for such a pathetic soul as him."
While Jessen spoke, Ryoko's face had lost the look of pain and been
replaced by one of intense anger. Her teeth were clenched together and bared,
and her breath seethed past her constricted esophagus. As she stared into
Jessen's eyes, she could see the disgust that regarded her, the kind of disgust
that only was born of someone's self-righteous morality when looking upon
something obviously inferior to itself. The respect, admiration, and small
amounts of fear that Jessen had commanded in her those 700 years ago had already
vanished from her mind. Every other emotion she held had been replaced by her
vivid anger; Anger for what he had done to Tenchi, and what he was doing to her
now.
"Halt!" came an interuppting voice. "What do you think you're doing?"
Ayeka was now across the room, standing within the hallway entrance with
her arm extended toward Jessen's back. Her purple hair, dripping wet from the
bath, hung loosely, strands sticking to her face while the majority fell down
over the shoulders of the plain white bathrobe she wore. Her overall appearance
earlier had already been brought down a bit by her cold, but with the
combination of her wet face, plain clothes, plastered hair, and red-rimmed eyes,
she looked even less intimidating than before. The sneeze that followed her
statement didn't help much, either.
Jessen turned around to face Ayeka, still holding Ryoko up by the neck as
he looked Ayeka over with a scrutinizing eye. "Well well well, Princess Ayeka.
It's a pleasure seeing you again. Last time I saw you, you were merely a child.
But now, it seems that you've already flowered into a lovely example of
womanhood."
The empty compliment fell on unhearing ears. Ayeka had recognized Jessen
the moment he turned around, her face turning into one of both surprise and
fear. She tried to back away, but her back was already pressed against the side
of the staircase. Yes, she knew him. Everyone with the royal blood of Jurai in
their veins knew him, and what he had done to their heritege. Ayeka's eyes were
locked with Jessen's, her entire body standing transfixed under the icy cold
stare. She still wasn't aware of his intentions, and it showed.
Jessen looked at her for a few seconds before snorting. "Don't worry,
little princess, I'm not here to take your life. You wouldn't be standing there
if I were. My job here is already done, save for a bit of clean up work. And I
think you'll be better off if you don't harbor the same feelings for Tenchi that
Ryoko had." He clenched his grip down hard upon Ryoko's throat for emphasis,
prompting another loud choking gurgle from the demoness.
"T- tenchi?" Ayeka gasped. "No... no!! I.. I don't believe you!" She did
believe him, though, deep down in her heart. She tried to tell herself that
Jessen was lying, but she knew firsthand of what he had done in the past, and
that he had no reason to say it if it weren't true.
"Believe me or don't, that's your decision. His life is over, regardless."
"No.." Ayeka fell to her knees, her eyes already brimming with tears as
waves of emotion swept over her. She could hear a frantic voice inside her mind
calling out painfully for help, which instantly manifested itself into an
equally painful, sobbing yell. "Azaka!! Kamidake!!"
It didn't take longer than a half-second; the wall behind Jessen seemed to
shatter inward as the two kanji-inscripted guardians of Jurai smashed their way
into the room, the still-raging blizzard immediately making it's presence known
as snow blew into the house. Jessen spun around to react, but was cut off as
Ryoko swung her legs back and delivered a vicious double-footed kick into his
stomach, forcing the air from his lungs and driving him back a step. Ryoko
capitolized on her opening, wrenching herself from Jessen's momentarily loosened
grip and vanishing just as electricity engulfed the area.
Jessen's growling screams were half from pain and half from rage as the
powerful currents of electricity enveloped him, driving him down to one knee.
The twin guardians stood on either side of him, inching closer and closer as the
voltage leapt from their bodies and drove into Jessen's cringing form. With each
passing second, the guardians drew closer, and the electricity increased in
intensity, elucting even louder yells of pain from their victim. After ten
seconds of this, the light generated from the electricity had grown to blinding
proportions, and Ayeka was forced to shield her still crying eyes with her arm
to protect them.
Several seconds more of noise and light, and then... silence. Ayeka slowly
and cautiously lowered her arm to look at what had happened, shivering as the
cold outside air settled into her damp body. Azaka and Kamidake were standing
still as the snow swirled around them and their new captive. Jessen was
motionless, on his knees between the two guardians with one arm sunken into
each, up to the elbow. Restrained as he was, he was still leaning so far forward
that his forehead was only inches from touching the floor. Tendrils of steam and
smoke were rising from all three of them, the aftereffects of the electrical
assault apparant in the chilling wind.
Ayeka waited a moment, watching Jessen's unmoving form, before unsteadily
getting to her feet. Tears ran down her cheeks as she walked over to him, her
half-shuffling stride wavering slightly.
"You." Ayeka spat out the word, her voice still choking up regardless of
her attempts to mask her grief and hatred. She wiped her eyes and tried to put
on a strong face, but it didn't last long. Breaking down into more quiet sobs,
Ayeka managed to keep her current thoughts to herself and force herself to speak
what was neccessary with her taut and scratchy voice. "Jessen Earl, by the name
of the Royal Family of Jurai, and the power of the Jurian High Council... I
hereby place you under arrest, for crimes against.. against.." Ayeka faltered
and collapsed onto her knees with a sob, sitting back upon the floor with her
face in her hands as she cried. Snow continued to blow inside the house,
clinging to all surfaces it touched and only adding to the cold wind, but Ayeka
didn't care. She didn't care that she had finally managed to entrap the assassin
responsible for the numerous deaths within the Jurai royalty. She didn't care
about the chilling elements assaulting her damp body. She didn't care about any
of it. "Tenchi.."
"Is... dead."
No. Ayeka spread her fingers, blinking her still-crying eyes as she looked
to the source of the icy voice that had spoken. Jessen was staring right back at
her, teeth gritted together in anger. His arms were still sunk into the two
Jurian guardians, and he started pulling against his bonds, trying to lean
toward Ayeka, who was still shaking as she instinctively pressed herself back up
against the side of the staircase.
"Foolish criminal," Kamidake stated matter-of-factly as Jessen struggled.
"He hasn't learned from his first experience."
"For his actions against Princess Ayeka, we should not have been so light
with him the first time." A faint glow surrounded Azaka as he replied. "I think
he should be given a bit more correctional persuas-- persua--"
Azaka's voice stuttered, and his aura disappeared, as thin trailings of
electricity suddenly started to shoot out over his wooden exterior, spreading
outward from where Jessen's arm disappeared into it. The electricity fizzled and
crackled as it enwrapped first Azaka, and then Kamidake as well. Ayeka had been
staring into Jessen's eyes since he had last spoken, seemingly entranced by the
flaring anger contained within them and almost oblivious to her surroundings.
Despite that, her attention was sharply drawn upward at the pained croak that
called out to her.
"Princess Ayek--"
Kamidake's words were interrupted as Jessen pulled his arms in, then
pushed outward with a growling yell. The sound of crackling electricity suddenly
doubled in volume, as a large section of wood around Jessen's arms vaporized in
a rush of surging power...
*****
*"I repeat, we have intercepted a confirmed energy trace from EC-Warrant
#6392955, emanating from Colonized Planet 0315."*
A slender finger pressed a sequence of buttons upon the computer pad, and
a wireframe image of the Milky Way materialized upon the monitor imbedded into
the dash control panel. Zooming in, it hovered over a planet numbered UP-4792
momentarily as a small dot started blinking nearby it.
*"Target is designated as Priority Alpha 1, so do not attempt to locate,
approach, or apprehend without further instructions."*
The blinking dot became a line as the screen started scrolling, the
planets shifting as the line finally reached planet CP-0315 and stopped. Several
lines of numbers began to appear next to the image, changing rapidly as the
calculations ran through the computer.
*"Any GP units within proximity of Colonized Planet 0315, immediately
report to GP Port S-43828 for orders."*
Somewhere within the massive rings of dust and debris that orbited the
planet of Saturn, a small spacecraft unanchored itself from a sizable rock chunk
and took flight.
*****
...quiet. The slight wind and heavy snow breezing into the room through
the broken wall marked the only audible sound. Ayeka sat against the stairwell,
her face in her hands as her tears continued to flow. She knew what had
happened, even without seeing it. First Tenchi, and then her two beloved
guardians. Her mind reeled about, coherent thought impossible as her emotions
enveloped every part of her being.
"A commendable effort, little princess."
Ayeka's hands fell from her face as the words reached her ears. She slowly
rose her head to look at the creater of the voice, blinking back tears to try
and clear her vision as best she could. Jessen now loomed over her, a slight
sneer upon his darkened face. The sleeves of his black duster has been mostly
burned away by the release of energy, the now-melted ends only going down as far
as mid-bicep. At the far end of the room, Azaka and Kamidake were laying on the
floor, quiet and unmoving as smoke poured out of the two gaping craters that had
been created in their sides.
"Although for your purposes, wasted," Jessen continued, taking a step
closer. "If the decision were up to me, I would end you right here and now."
As his words ended, Jessen's hand shot forward, his open palm striking
Ayeka in the forehead and forcefully clubbing her head against the stairwell
before she could react. Ayeka's watery eyes immediately rolled up into her head
as the quick double blow sent her spiraling into unconsciousness, her limp form
tipping over and falling to the floor.
"Fortunatly for you, preserving your life is in my best interests at the
moment."
And without another word, Jessen turned on his heels, rounded the corner,
and dashed up the stairs, leaving the damaged room interior and three victims to
bear the brunt of the harsh winter weather.
Jessen wasn't pleased with the fact that he had been drawn out so easily.
Galaxy Police now knew where he was, that much was obvious. He knew that his
outburst of energy had easily triggered their tracing sensors, and it wouldn't
be long before a sizeable force showed up to try and take him down. Each second
wasted would now be one more second that GP would have to get to Earth and
execute an attack.
"JESSEN!!"
But as with many things, "waste" is a subjective term. As soon as the
sound presented itself, Jessen took one more step in his run down the hallway
and pushed off of the floor with his foot, going airborne and slowly spinning in
midair. He landed a few yards farther down the hallway and immediately slid into
a ready stance, now facing in the opposite direction. He didn't have to wait
long for his opponent to appear.
Ryoko materialized at the top of the stairs with a rush of air, dressed in
her form-fitting, black and red battle suit. Her face was contorted into a mask
of absolute rage, her teeth clenched together as she stared at Jessen. Two small
lines of wetness trailed down her cheeks from her eyes, telltale signs of the
two tears she had allowed herself to shed earlier.
Jessen's mouth pulled back into a small sneer as he looked the demoness
over. "Stand down, Ryoko. I have no time to waste on you."
The sharp hum of a bright orange energy saber forming in Ryoko's tightly
gripped fist was the only response.
*****
Ayeka groaned as she awoke, wincing as the sharp stabbing of her headache
pounded against her skull. Cracking open an eyelid, she quickly brought a hand
up to shield her eyes from the intense white light that shone on her from above.
With eyes still closed, Ayeka slowly pushed herself into a sitting position,
noting the smooth metallic surface she had just been laying on. Her ears pricked
up as she finally noticed the whirs and buzzes of electronic noise that seemed
to come from all around her.
"Hey there, sleepyhead!"
Both the sudden appearence of the nasally cheerful voice and the overhead
light clicking off caused Ayeka to jump slightly, but finally allowed her to
open her eyes.
"...Miss Washu?"
The pink-haired scientist stood in front of Ayeka, flashing a confident
grin.
"That's right!"
*****
The fight had escalated quickly, shown by the large hole in the second-
story wall that marked the two warrior's exit from the house. Chilling snow
swirled around Jessen and Ryoko as they grappled in mid-air, quickly plummeting
toward the ground. The bright energy saber in Ryoko's hand cut through the
darkness as the two warriors fell, with Jessen's fierce grip on Ryoko's wrists
the only thing preventing it from being driven into his face.
Impact with the ground was disorienting. Snow exploded outward upon
collision with a large snowdrift near the frozen lake, and visual contact with
one another was lost. Ryoko landed squarely on her back, completely enveloped by
the powdery white crystals. Snarling, she quickly shook off the pain of the blow
and lunged to her feet, only to notice that Jessen no longer had ahold of her.
She gritted her teeth and scanned the waist-high snow around her, using the
orange luminescence from her sword as a search light.
"You bastard!" the demoness yelled into the raging blizzard around her.
"Face me!"
And so he did. In the blink of an eye, Jessen lunged out from beneath the
surface of the snow not two feet in front of Ryoko and drove his fist into her
neck. Ryoko staggered backward from the sharp blow, her energy sword
disappearing as she grabbed her neck and choked violently.
"You need to listen to my advice more often, Ryoko," Jessen said, the
powdery snow crystals cascading down from his shoulders and hair as he grabbed
Ryoko's suit-collar in one hand. "You would be much better off."
Jessen reared back, pulled Ryoko toward him, and slammed his fist into her
face. Ryoko's head snapped back painfully, blood spurting from her nose as the
fragile cartilage shattered from the impact.
"Much better off indeed."
Blow after forceful blow, the rapid fire attacks pounded away on the
demoness. Ryoko was only able to sustain consciousness for a few seconds before
the painful trauma finally caused her to black out. Unfortunately, Jessen didn't
stop there; half a minute of continual abuse passed before he finally lowered
his hand.
"I hope you'll learn from this, if you wake up."
Jessen looked down at his defeated foe, his grip on Ryoko's suit the only
thing keeping the bloody and broken demoness from falling to the ground. He
snorted, dropping Ryoko's limp form into the snowbank. Now that he was no longer
distracted, he could retrieve his bag and leave before GP showed. He turned
toward the Masaki house, halted in his tracks, and blinked at what he saw before
him.
"...no. Impossible."
A figure was now standing between Jessen and the house, a brightly glowing
sword held in his hands. A figure wearing the outfit of a Jurian warrior.
Chapter 1
-----
The snow fell softly, silent in both its descent and collision with the
foot-high drifts already built up on the ground. The tree limbs all had several
inches of the white powder upon them, and were bowed slightly at the extra
weight. Pale-grey clouds swept slowly across the sky, releasing their
crystalline structures with an ambivalent attitude, caring not to stop its weak
assault nor increase the intensity.
"Ryo-ohki! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
A small white object blundered across the snowdrifts, making hindered
leaps through the tall obstacle in it's path. It sunk into the powder
periodically and was forced to clamber back up to the top before continuing it's
travel. After a few minutes, the object finally burst out of a drift and landed
onto one of the defined paths that wove through the forest. The path had been
cleared earlier, and the snow had only been able to build up a few inches, to
the little creature's relief. It made a few sounds of satisfaction before
shaking itself, the long ears sending clumps of snow in all directions and
finally uncovering a coat of brown fur.
"Ryo-ohhhhhki!"
"Mew?" The small cabbit looked down the path, where sounds of laughter and
crunching snow were quickly growing louder and closer. Ryo-ohki mewed again,
enthralled by the current game of hide-and-seek, and turned to run down the path
in the opposite direction. He only managed one leap before running headlong into
a solid obstacle and sprawling into a heap at the base. Ryo-ohki rolled to his
feet and shook his head before looking up at the object in his path.
"Ryo-ohki, there you are!" A blue-haired young girl came bounding up the
path, dressed in a pink and blue snowsuit. She ran up to Ryo-ohki and took him
up into her arms, laughing as he nuzzled up against her cheek and mewed happily.
The girl giggled a few more times, then noticed the reason why Ryo-ohki had
stopped running.
"Oh, hi there! You must've found Ryo-ohki for me! I'm Sasami!" she said
energetically.
*****
"I can't stand this horrid weather. All dank and wet and-- achoo!"
The Masaki house sat in place, held tight by the blanket of snow that
rested upon it. The light snow had finally increased it's intensity, and a sharp
wind had picked up, tossing the small snowflakes into a blizzard. The sky was
darkening quickly as the still hidden sun slowly fell behind the horizon, the
golden rays blocked by the dark grayness of the cloud cover.
"Yeah, I guess Jurai never really had winter, did it?"
A large fire was blazing within the confines of the fireplace, projecting
it's warmth into the living room and adding to the cozy atmosphere. The couch
had been pulled closer to the fireplace, and a large bundle of blankets was
piled on the end closest to the conflagration. Through a separation in two of
the blanket folds, a pair of deep maroon eyes could be seen, only half open. The
heap of blankets shivered, and then jolted as the sound of another sneeze filled
the air.
"If it weren't so cold, I wouldn't pay it any mind at all," a definitely
feminine but subdued voice emanated from the dark recesses of the thick fabrics.
Tenchi Masaki stood before the blanket pile, an awkward smile on his face
as he tried to look as helpful as possible. "Um, Lady Ayeka, can I get you
anything? Something to drink, maybe?"
The blanket pile shifted again, and became taller as the person within sat
up straight and put on a voice of independence. "Oh I'm fine, Lord Tenchi. In
fact, I believe this nasty virus is already starting to.. to.. achoo!!" The
blanket pile shrunk back down to its earlier height as a low, miserable moan
followed the sneeze.
Tenchi sighed and put the cordless phone back up to his ear. "Yeah, just
like you said, Grandpa... yeah? Uh, okay, if you say so.."
Taking a few more steps into the living room, Tenchi approached the
blanket pile that hid Ayeka, holding his hand over the phone mouthpiece.
"Grandpa says that if you want to get better, you can't just sit there all
night. And, that he knows what he's talking about so you should listen to him."
At the sound of the resistant murmuring that replied, Tenchi sighed again,
grabbed the top fabric fold with one hand, and yanked it completely off of
Ayeka, who let out an "eep" of protest. "Sorry Ayeka, but Gramps told me to. And
he says to get yourself a hot bath running and soak in it for a while. The steam
will do you well enough until Tenchi can make.. er, until *I* can make you some
tea, I mean."
Ayeka grumbled to herself as she tried to smooth out her wrinkled robes,
but finally stood and half-bowed in reply before shuffling her way toward the
bathroom. Unfortunately, she didn't even make it halfway there before a sing-
song, mocking voice manifested itself around her.
"Oh, poor dear, Her Highness is sick? That's too bad."
Ayeka's red-rimmed eyes half-closed in annoyance as a certain white-haired
demoness materialized in front of her, levitating at eye level, though upside-
down and in a sitting position. Ryoko was smirking, clearly enjoying Ayeka's
current appearance. "Why, you look dreadful, Highness! Bleary eyes, red face,
and your hair is a mess! You really should get some beauty sleep. A *lot* of
it."
"Oooooh!" Ayeka was gritting her teeth and trying her best to look
formidable, which wasn't entirely successful in her present mood and health.
Getting angrier at Ryoko's humored reaction, Ayeka finally just threw down her
hands and stomped past the floating demoness. "I won't waste my energy lowering
myself to your level, you.. you... achoo!!"
Ryoko's victorious laughter was somewhat countered by Ayeka's exhasperated
cry of outrage as she quickly entered the bathroom and slammed the door behind
her, ending the battle. Tenchi sighed to himself as Ryoko vanished, then
appeared above him, still chuckling to herself as her long silver hair dropped
down upon Tenchi.
"Can't you two ever get along?" Tenchi sighed, brushing Ryoko's hair out
of his eyes as he walked over to the large window set into the wall. Ryoko only
muttered something to herself and crossed her arms.
"Sorry about that, Grandpa," Tenchi said into the phone mouthpiece,
peering out into the darkness. "Ryoko and Ayeka, they were arguing again.. uh-
huh... Yeah, the snow's getting pretty thick out there, from all I can see..
What? Oh, not till morning, huh? Okay, I can probably hold down the fort until
tomorrow... Sasami? Yeah, she's still out playing in the snow... Sure, I can go
right now... Okay, sure. Say hi to dad for me, too. Bye Grandpa."
Tenchi pressed the Off button on the phone and set it on the end table
next to him. He really didn't want to go out into the harsh, cold, snowy night,
but he knew that making sure Sasami was safe was more important then a bit of
discomfort on his part. He nodded to himself, and was about to get his heavy
snow-clothes from the hall closet when the sound of the front door opening and
then slamming shut came into the room.
"I'm home, everyone!" Sasami's happy voice came into room, quickly
followed by Sasami herself, who had already shed most of her excess snow build-
up before entering. Ryo-ohki bounded in beside her, mewing as it shook the snow
off of its fur.
"Sasami!" Tenchi exclaimed, noticeably relieved. "We were getting worried
about you, it's dangerous to be out in this kind of weather at night."
Sasami giggled and started removing her snow suit and boots. "Oh, I was
alright, cause I found a new friend out in the woods! He found Ryo-ohki, and
then he helped me get back here after it got dark!"
A tall figure moved into view behind Sasami, casting a shadow over her as
the others in the room turned their attention. He was dressed in an outfit
slightly uncommon for the current weather, but still fairly accommodating: black
leather boots, black denim jeans, black shirt, topped off with a long black
leather duster. The person's long, though quite curly dark-brown hair was pulled
back into a ponytail and encrusted with snow, along with his clothing and large
duffel bag he carried in one of his gloved hands. He looked back at the
questioning glances with sharp grey eyes, glancing at everyone in the room until
Tenchi stepped forward.
"Um, hi there. I guess we have you to thank for getting Sasami back home,"
Tenchi said, giving a bit of a welcome smile. He was glad that he didn't have to
worry about Sasami's safety now. He also remembered that Grandpa had just told
him that he was "man of the house" for the night, and to use his best judgement
for anything that came up. The blizzard *was* pretty bad, and it wasn't like
housing one more person for the night would be a problem, or even anything out
of the ordinary. "Oh, and if you aren't in any hurry, we'd be happy to let you
stay here and wait for the weather to calm down. The storm shouldn't be so bad
in the morning."
The newcomer, who looked to be somewhere around 20 years old, looked back
at Tenchi for a moment before nodding. "Appreciate it." His voice was low and
smooth, but had a tone of satisfaction in it, as if he was glad that the
blizzard had threatened them when it did. "Name's Jessen."
"Welcome to the Masaki house," Tenchi nodded, bowing a bit. "I'm Tenchi,
and that's Ryoko. I'm sure you'll meet Ayeka and Washu later at dinner." He
then looked down at Sasami, who had shed her snow suit and was standing in her
now-damp t-shirt and shorts. "You'd better go change, Sasami, you don't want to
catch a cold like Ayeka did. And show Jessen to the spare guest room so he
doesn't have to carry around his bag."
"Okay Tenchi! Come on Mr. Jessen!" Sasami grabbed Jessen's free hand and
led him to the staircase, then up the stairs. Ryo-ohki bounded after them,
mewing as it tried to keep up.
"Well, I guess I'd better make some extra tea," Tenchi said, starting for
the kitchen. "Ayeka's probably-- Ryoko? Is there something wrong?"
Ryoko gave no indication of even hearing the question as she stared at the
top of the stairs intently, her eyes narrowed and her brow knit together.
*****
"*Accessing Primary System ... Awaiting Security Confirmation...
Confirmed...*"
Jessen pushed a button on the small remote he held in his gloved hand.
Upon the floor of the guest room he now stood in, a large metal tripod stood
erect, with a thin spike set within the three legs. At another button press, the
legs of the tripod folded quickly, driving the spike through the carpet and into
the wood floor with a dull thunk. Upon the flat base of the spike, a red
holographic cube appeared, slowly spinning upon one point. One more button push
on the remote, and the cube turned from red to a pulsing green color. Jessen
slipped the small remote into a pocket, and went over to the bed, upon which his
open duffel bag sat.
"*Searching Recent Exchange Database... Expected Transfer From C-56-7...
Recieved.*"
"Good." With the front payment in his possession, he could move to the
final part of his job: Finish the hit quickly, and be gone before anyone even
knew he had been there. Jessen pressed a clip into the large handgun he now
held, and looked it over. The silver Magnum Research Desert Eagle .50 Action
Express gleamed in the overhead light as Jessen flexed his hand on the black
rubber grip. It was big gun, with big recoil, that put big fucking holes in
anything that got in the way of the bullets. Exactly how he preferred. Removing
another identical gun from his bag, Jessen pulled back the hammer on both,
making sure they each had a bullet chambered before sliding them into the dual-
holster he wore at the back of his waist. As he stood up, the black duster swept
forward into it's normal hanging position, concealing any traces of the weapons
he held. Leaving his bag upon the bed, Jessen exited the room and stepped out
into the hallway, closing the door behind him. He would have ample time to get
his things after he finished his work.
His steps were silent as he walked down the carpeted hall, the only sounds
coming from the folds of his clothing as they brushed against each other. But he
only had gotten about halfway down the hall before the air shifted, and a figure
materialized at the top of the stairs.
"Hello Ryoko," Jessen said, stopping his approach as the demoness took a
few steps toward him.
"Jessen." Ryoko was slightly hesitant in her speech, as if she were unsure
of what she should say. At Jessen's adamant gaze, she broke eye contact and
looked at the floor, rubbing one of her arms.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Ryoko raised her head back up to look at him. Of course it had been a
while. It was over 700 years ago when her and Yosho crashed on Earth and she had
become imprisoned within the Masaki shrine. And she hadn't seen Jessen since a
week before, during their last job together.
"What... what are you doing here?"
Jessen was quiet for a moment, then slowly walked forward until he was but
a foot away from her. "..business. And you, I remember hearing that your
spaceship had crashed here. And with you fighting a royal warrior of Jurai, no
less. You're quite skilled to have survived."
A small smile appeared on Ryoko's face, her cheeks becoming a bit red at
the compliment. He had always had that effect on her, ever since she first met
him.
"I have little time," Jessen said as he stepped to one side and moved past
her. "My business must be attended to. I just hope that you haven't formed any
sort of attachment to the one named Tenchi during your time here."
"No!" Ryoko gasped, spinning to face Jessen as he took the first step down
the staircase. She took a quick step forward, but stopped when Jessen halted his
decent to look over his shoulder at her, his face set in a stony glare.
"...it seems you have. Don't interfere, Ryoko. You know what will happen."
She did know what would happen. She had worked with him enough times to
know what he was capable of. But if she didn't do something, then Tenchi would--
Tenchi. Visions of Tenchi started flooding into Ryoko's mind, visions of
everything that had happened since they had first met. All the things that she
had loved... she couldn't give those up, no matter what her instincts told her.
*****
Draw guns. Fire. Wait for body to fall. Eliminate interference. Leave.
Jessen reached behind his waist, gripping both guns in their holsters as
he walked toward the kitchen. He could hear a voice from beyond the open
doorway, the one he seeked. Not a sound was made as he pulled his twin weapons
out into the open and stepped through the kitchen doorway, the bottom of his
duster swishing back into place. Tenchi stood at the other end of the room, his
back turned as he prepared the tea and remained oblivious to Jessen's presence.
"Heaven and Earth," Jessen said softly as he aimed his silver guns at
Tenchi's exposed back. "Prepare yourself for Hell."
Jessen breathed out, and pulled both triggers. And although the combined
gunshot that rang out easily concealed the thick thud of the fist smashing into
the side of Jessen's head, it failed to hide Tenchi's pained yell that came
almost immediately after.
The few moments afterward drew themselves farther as they happened,
seeming to play out in slow-motion. Ryoko was now standing in the kitchen
doorway, her right hand balled into a tight fist and her face contorted into one
of fear as she realized the situation. Tenchi halfway spun as he fell, the
kitchen floor already staining with the dark red blood splattering onto it.
Jessen lurched sideways from the blow, his feet leaving the floor momentarily as
he solidly smacked into the nearby wall and lost hold on his guns.
"No!" Ryoko yelled as she saw Tenchi's bleeding form hit the floor,
bouncing slightly before going motionless. She unclenched her fist and started
to run toward Tenchi, but a sudden blow to her stomach doubled her over. Jessen
had recovered quickly from the surprise attack, shown in painful detail as he
pulled his bent knee away from Ryoko's midsection.
"You shouldn't have interfered, Ryoko," Jessen said before pulling Ryoko
up in front of him and thrusting both hands forward. The powerful open-hand palm
thrusts slammed into Ryoko's chest, sending her flying through the kitchen
doorway like a rag doll before she landed in the living room.
Pain shot through Ryoko's torso as she slowly pushed herself up, getting
onto her hands and knees and raising her head. She knew she had to distract
Jessen for as long as possible, to get him away from Tenchi. Something inside
her was saying that he was still alive, and that she needed to keep Jessen from
finishing him off. If only she coul--
Ryoko's thoughts were abruptly interuppted as a vicious kick to the face
sent her flying backward, smacking into the wall and collapsing to the ground on
her back. A trickle of blood was now escaping her nose, the thin red line slowly
running down her face and dripping upon the carpet. Her head throbbed as she
opened her eyes, and the ceiling fuzzed and blurred as she tried to keep her
vision in focus.
Jessen stood in the middle of the room, looking at the fallen Ryoko with a
blank face. Not a trace of emotion was present in his visage, not pleasure, not
regret, not satisfaction. He took the few steps over to Ryoko's body and reached
down with one hand, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her first into a
standing position, then higher, completely off the ground.
"You tried to protect him, Ryoko," he said in an even tone, increasing the
pressure on her neck as Ryoko struggled to pry his iron grip apart. "You knew
what would happen, and yet you tried anyway. I do congratulate you on your
efforts, but your actions might only have been worth it if you had managed to
prevent me from ending his worthless life. I almost feel pity for you, Ryoko,
having to die for such a pathetic soul as him."
While Jessen spoke, Ryoko's face had lost the look of pain and been
replaced by one of intense anger. Her teeth were clenched together and bared,
and her breath seethed past her constricted esophagus. As she stared into
Jessen's eyes, she could see the disgust that regarded her, the kind of disgust
that only was born of someone's self-righteous morality when looking upon
something obviously inferior to itself. The respect, admiration, and small
amounts of fear that Jessen had commanded in her those 700 years ago had already
vanished from her mind. Every other emotion she held had been replaced by her
vivid anger; Anger for what he had done to Tenchi, and what he was doing to her
now.
"Halt!" came an interuppting voice. "What do you think you're doing?"
Ayeka was now across the room, standing within the hallway entrance with
her arm extended toward Jessen's back. Her purple hair, dripping wet from the
bath, hung loosely, strands sticking to her face while the majority fell down
over the shoulders of the plain white bathrobe she wore. Her overall appearance
earlier had already been brought down a bit by her cold, but with the
combination of her wet face, plain clothes, plastered hair, and red-rimmed eyes,
she looked even less intimidating than before. The sneeze that followed her
statement didn't help much, either.
Jessen turned around to face Ayeka, still holding Ryoko up by the neck as
he looked Ayeka over with a scrutinizing eye. "Well well well, Princess Ayeka.
It's a pleasure seeing you again. Last time I saw you, you were merely a child.
But now, it seems that you've already flowered into a lovely example of
womanhood."
The empty compliment fell on unhearing ears. Ayeka had recognized Jessen
the moment he turned around, her face turning into one of both surprise and
fear. She tried to back away, but her back was already pressed against the side
of the staircase. Yes, she knew him. Everyone with the royal blood of Jurai in
their veins knew him, and what he had done to their heritege. Ayeka's eyes were
locked with Jessen's, her entire body standing transfixed under the icy cold
stare. She still wasn't aware of his intentions, and it showed.
Jessen looked at her for a few seconds before snorting. "Don't worry,
little princess, I'm not here to take your life. You wouldn't be standing there
if I were. My job here is already done, save for a bit of clean up work. And I
think you'll be better off if you don't harbor the same feelings for Tenchi that
Ryoko had." He clenched his grip down hard upon Ryoko's throat for emphasis,
prompting another loud choking gurgle from the demoness.
"T- tenchi?" Ayeka gasped. "No... no!! I.. I don't believe you!" She did
believe him, though, deep down in her heart. She tried to tell herself that
Jessen was lying, but she knew firsthand of what he had done in the past, and
that he had no reason to say it if it weren't true.
"Believe me or don't, that's your decision. His life is over, regardless."
"No.." Ayeka fell to her knees, her eyes already brimming with tears as
waves of emotion swept over her. She could hear a frantic voice inside her mind
calling out painfully for help, which instantly manifested itself into an
equally painful, sobbing yell. "Azaka!! Kamidake!!"
It didn't take longer than a half-second; the wall behind Jessen seemed to
shatter inward as the two kanji-inscripted guardians of Jurai smashed their way
into the room, the still-raging blizzard immediately making it's presence known
as snow blew into the house. Jessen spun around to react, but was cut off as
Ryoko swung her legs back and delivered a vicious double-footed kick into his
stomach, forcing the air from his lungs and driving him back a step. Ryoko
capitolized on her opening, wrenching herself from Jessen's momentarily loosened
grip and vanishing just as electricity engulfed the area.
Jessen's growling screams were half from pain and half from rage as the
powerful currents of electricity enveloped him, driving him down to one knee.
The twin guardians stood on either side of him, inching closer and closer as the
voltage leapt from their bodies and drove into Jessen's cringing form. With each
passing second, the guardians drew closer, and the electricity increased in
intensity, elucting even louder yells of pain from their victim. After ten
seconds of this, the light generated from the electricity had grown to blinding
proportions, and Ayeka was forced to shield her still crying eyes with her arm
to protect them.
Several seconds more of noise and light, and then... silence. Ayeka slowly
and cautiously lowered her arm to look at what had happened, shivering as the
cold outside air settled into her damp body. Azaka and Kamidake were standing
still as the snow swirled around them and their new captive. Jessen was
motionless, on his knees between the two guardians with one arm sunken into
each, up to the elbow. Restrained as he was, he was still leaning so far forward
that his forehead was only inches from touching the floor. Tendrils of steam and
smoke were rising from all three of them, the aftereffects of the electrical
assault apparant in the chilling wind.
Ayeka waited a moment, watching Jessen's unmoving form, before unsteadily
getting to her feet. Tears ran down her cheeks as she walked over to him, her
half-shuffling stride wavering slightly.
"You." Ayeka spat out the word, her voice still choking up regardless of
her attempts to mask her grief and hatred. She wiped her eyes and tried to put
on a strong face, but it didn't last long. Breaking down into more quiet sobs,
Ayeka managed to keep her current thoughts to herself and force herself to speak
what was neccessary with her taut and scratchy voice. "Jessen Earl, by the name
of the Royal Family of Jurai, and the power of the Jurian High Council... I
hereby place you under arrest, for crimes against.. against.." Ayeka faltered
and collapsed onto her knees with a sob, sitting back upon the floor with her
face in her hands as she cried. Snow continued to blow inside the house,
clinging to all surfaces it touched and only adding to the cold wind, but Ayeka
didn't care. She didn't care that she had finally managed to entrap the assassin
responsible for the numerous deaths within the Jurai royalty. She didn't care
about the chilling elements assaulting her damp body. She didn't care about any
of it. "Tenchi.."
"Is... dead."
No. Ayeka spread her fingers, blinking her still-crying eyes as she looked
to the source of the icy voice that had spoken. Jessen was staring right back at
her, teeth gritted together in anger. His arms were still sunk into the two
Jurian guardians, and he started pulling against his bonds, trying to lean
toward Ayeka, who was still shaking as she instinctively pressed herself back up
against the side of the staircase.
"Foolish criminal," Kamidake stated matter-of-factly as Jessen struggled.
"He hasn't learned from his first experience."
"For his actions against Princess Ayeka, we should not have been so light
with him the first time." A faint glow surrounded Azaka as he replied. "I think
he should be given a bit more correctional persuas-- persua--"
Azaka's voice stuttered, and his aura disappeared, as thin trailings of
electricity suddenly started to shoot out over his wooden exterior, spreading
outward from where Jessen's arm disappeared into it. The electricity fizzled and
crackled as it enwrapped first Azaka, and then Kamidake as well. Ayeka had been
staring into Jessen's eyes since he had last spoken, seemingly entranced by the
flaring anger contained within them and almost oblivious to her surroundings.
Despite that, her attention was sharply drawn upward at the pained croak that
called out to her.
"Princess Ayek--"
Kamidake's words were interrupted as Jessen pulled his arms in, then
pushed outward with a growling yell. The sound of crackling electricity suddenly
doubled in volume, as a large section of wood around Jessen's arms vaporized in
a rush of surging power...
*****
*"I repeat, we have intercepted a confirmed energy trace from EC-Warrant
#6392955, emanating from Colonized Planet 0315."*
A slender finger pressed a sequence of buttons upon the computer pad, and
a wireframe image of the Milky Way materialized upon the monitor imbedded into
the dash control panel. Zooming in, it hovered over a planet numbered UP-4792
momentarily as a small dot started blinking nearby it.
*"Target is designated as Priority Alpha 1, so do not attempt to locate,
approach, or apprehend without further instructions."*
The blinking dot became a line as the screen started scrolling, the
planets shifting as the line finally reached planet CP-0315 and stopped. Several
lines of numbers began to appear next to the image, changing rapidly as the
calculations ran through the computer.
*"Any GP units within proximity of Colonized Planet 0315, immediately
report to GP Port S-43828 for orders."*
Somewhere within the massive rings of dust and debris that orbited the
planet of Saturn, a small spacecraft unanchored itself from a sizable rock chunk
and took flight.
*****
...quiet. The slight wind and heavy snow breezing into the room through
the broken wall marked the only audible sound. Ayeka sat against the stairwell,
her face in her hands as her tears continued to flow. She knew what had
happened, even without seeing it. First Tenchi, and then her two beloved
guardians. Her mind reeled about, coherent thought impossible as her emotions
enveloped every part of her being.
"A commendable effort, little princess."
Ayeka's hands fell from her face as the words reached her ears. She slowly
rose her head to look at the creater of the voice, blinking back tears to try
and clear her vision as best she could. Jessen now loomed over her, a slight
sneer upon his darkened face. The sleeves of his black duster has been mostly
burned away by the release of energy, the now-melted ends only going down as far
as mid-bicep. At the far end of the room, Azaka and Kamidake were laying on the
floor, quiet and unmoving as smoke poured out of the two gaping craters that had
been created in their sides.
"Although for your purposes, wasted," Jessen continued, taking a step
closer. "If the decision were up to me, I would end you right here and now."
As his words ended, Jessen's hand shot forward, his open palm striking
Ayeka in the forehead and forcefully clubbing her head against the stairwell
before she could react. Ayeka's watery eyes immediately rolled up into her head
as the quick double blow sent her spiraling into unconsciousness, her limp form
tipping over and falling to the floor.
"Fortunatly for you, preserving your life is in my best interests at the
moment."
And without another word, Jessen turned on his heels, rounded the corner,
and dashed up the stairs, leaving the damaged room interior and three victims to
bear the brunt of the harsh winter weather.
Jessen wasn't pleased with the fact that he had been drawn out so easily.
Galaxy Police now knew where he was, that much was obvious. He knew that his
outburst of energy had easily triggered their tracing sensors, and it wouldn't
be long before a sizeable force showed up to try and take him down. Each second
wasted would now be one more second that GP would have to get to Earth and
execute an attack.
"JESSEN!!"
But as with many things, "waste" is a subjective term. As soon as the
sound presented itself, Jessen took one more step in his run down the hallway
and pushed off of the floor with his foot, going airborne and slowly spinning in
midair. He landed a few yards farther down the hallway and immediately slid into
a ready stance, now facing in the opposite direction. He didn't have to wait
long for his opponent to appear.
Ryoko materialized at the top of the stairs with a rush of air, dressed in
her form-fitting, black and red battle suit. Her face was contorted into a mask
of absolute rage, her teeth clenched together as she stared at Jessen. Two small
lines of wetness trailed down her cheeks from her eyes, telltale signs of the
two tears she had allowed herself to shed earlier.
Jessen's mouth pulled back into a small sneer as he looked the demoness
over. "Stand down, Ryoko. I have no time to waste on you."
The sharp hum of a bright orange energy saber forming in Ryoko's tightly
gripped fist was the only response.
*****
Ayeka groaned as she awoke, wincing as the sharp stabbing of her headache
pounded against her skull. Cracking open an eyelid, she quickly brought a hand
up to shield her eyes from the intense white light that shone on her from above.
With eyes still closed, Ayeka slowly pushed herself into a sitting position,
noting the smooth metallic surface she had just been laying on. Her ears pricked
up as she finally noticed the whirs and buzzes of electronic noise that seemed
to come from all around her.
"Hey there, sleepyhead!"
Both the sudden appearence of the nasally cheerful voice and the overhead
light clicking off caused Ayeka to jump slightly, but finally allowed her to
open her eyes.
"...Miss Washu?"
The pink-haired scientist stood in front of Ayeka, flashing a confident
grin.
"That's right!"
*****
The fight had escalated quickly, shown by the large hole in the second-
story wall that marked the two warrior's exit from the house. Chilling snow
swirled around Jessen and Ryoko as they grappled in mid-air, quickly plummeting
toward the ground. The bright energy saber in Ryoko's hand cut through the
darkness as the two warriors fell, with Jessen's fierce grip on Ryoko's wrists
the only thing preventing it from being driven into his face.
Impact with the ground was disorienting. Snow exploded outward upon
collision with a large snowdrift near the frozen lake, and visual contact with
one another was lost. Ryoko landed squarely on her back, completely enveloped by
the powdery white crystals. Snarling, she quickly shook off the pain of the blow
and lunged to her feet, only to notice that Jessen no longer had ahold of her.
She gritted her teeth and scanned the waist-high snow around her, using the
orange luminescence from her sword as a search light.
"You bastard!" the demoness yelled into the raging blizzard around her.
"Face me!"
And so he did. In the blink of an eye, Jessen lunged out from beneath the
surface of the snow not two feet in front of Ryoko and drove his fist into her
neck. Ryoko staggered backward from the sharp blow, her energy sword
disappearing as she grabbed her neck and choked violently.
"You need to listen to my advice more often, Ryoko," Jessen said, the
powdery snow crystals cascading down from his shoulders and hair as he grabbed
Ryoko's suit-collar in one hand. "You would be much better off."
Jessen reared back, pulled Ryoko toward him, and slammed his fist into her
face. Ryoko's head snapped back painfully, blood spurting from her nose as the
fragile cartilage shattered from the impact.
"Much better off indeed."
Blow after forceful blow, the rapid fire attacks pounded away on the
demoness. Ryoko was only able to sustain consciousness for a few seconds before
the painful trauma finally caused her to black out. Unfortunately, Jessen didn't
stop there; half a minute of continual abuse passed before he finally lowered
his hand.
"I hope you'll learn from this, if you wake up."
Jessen looked down at his defeated foe, his grip on Ryoko's suit the only
thing keeping the bloody and broken demoness from falling to the ground. He
snorted, dropping Ryoko's limp form into the snowbank. Now that he was no longer
distracted, he could retrieve his bag and leave before GP showed. He turned
toward the Masaki house, halted in his tracks, and blinked at what he saw before
him.
"...no. Impossible."
A figure was now standing between Jessen and the house, a brightly glowing
sword held in his hands. A figure wearing the outfit of a Jurian warrior.