Disclaimer: “Tenchi Muyo!,” its characters, and any related images, written or otherwise, are the properties of A.I.C./Pioneer. Their use is not, nor is it the intent of the author for it to be cannon. No monetary compensation was given, or is expected, for the creation of this work. All other characters are the creation of Alexander Curtindolph and Luis Angelo Rojas III, and are not to be used without proper credit in any work. Thank you. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies Chapter One: No Need for Killer Bees! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Okayama was in utter panic. Insects as big as a man’s torso were attacking innocent people. The Japanese Self Defense Force and police were fighting a losing battle. For every bug they subdued or terminated, two more would appear to replace it. The sting of these monstrous creatures poisoned several SDF soldiers. Those that were just poisoned were considered lucky. At the epicenter of this catastrophe was a downtown high school. It had become the hive for many of the insects, and the leader of the colony loomed high above them. His eyes were as dark as his heart. His muscular, pale-yellow torso and arms were lined with black scars. His dirty green pants were torn and threadbare from his battle with Liam. His insect-like wings grew from his shoulder blades, and made a sound similar to a buzz saw cutting through sheet metal as they flapped. He surveyed the carnage beneath him with a sneer that would have put the Fear of God into Hitler. How he enjoyed seeing others suffer. In one taloned he held a mace of bronze, in the other he held a young girl. She was about fifteen years old. Her long hair was as golden as the sun. She wore a tattered white and blue sorcerer’s gown. The gown had blue embroideries, sewn to look like Latin, along the cuffs and hem. On the sleeves, near the shoulders, were badges with a coat of arms; a sun insignia on a white shield held by an angel on either side. The robe covered an equally tattered blue silk dress. If they were open, her green eyes would have put the most priceless emerald to shame. She had used up all of her strength protecting her beloved knight Liam, last night. Now, he was surely dead from Beelzebub’s poison, and she would join him shortly, no doubt. “Hear me, oh peasants of Japan,” the Shadow Demon proclaimed. “I am Beelzebub, king of insects; and servant of the most high deity, Tokimi. Where is he who calls himself the Great Knight of Draconus? I wish for him to watch his beloved sorceress die.” A mysterious man in a hooded, gray and yellow robe similar to that of the sorceress faded into visibility behind Beelzebub. “Do not become too full of yourself, Wasp,” the hooded man warned. “Not even your former master knew what kind of power Liam possesses. Besides, Lady Tokimi has ordered us to wait until he recruits Tenchi before we attack. That way, we can destroy them both at once.” “Yes, Master Calgio,” Wasp replied, “If they are together it would make things easier for us to eliminate them. But, what of Liam’s guardians, the Saga?” “Leave them to me,” answered Calgio. “I have been waiting for this day for…” Then, in the back of his mind, a loud familiar voice called to him. “Yes, mistress,” responded. He waited as she gave him instructions through telepathy, then said, “Yes, I understand and obey.” He turned to Wasp. “We have new orders.” “What does she command, master?” asked Wasp. “She wants us to carry out one final deed before we may carry out our plans,” said Calgio. “You are to retrieve the youngest member of the Jurai royal family. They should be northwest of this area.” “I obey, master,” said the Beelzebub, who then flew west towards their target, with sorceress in hand. A swarm of insects followed suit. The robed figure remained in the air for a minute. “Now, Tenchi, my revenge on you and your family may truly commence.” With a chuckle, Calgio faded back into the air and disappeared. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Aricelli had been walking through the forests looking for her comrades for several hours. Her pale skin was beaded with rivulets of mountain rain. She wore a black, cotton shirt and leather pants. To cover herself, she also wore a long, black, leather coat. It was specially made with four sleeves so that all of her arms could be accommodated. She remembered Liam saying how she looked like Trinity in that uniform. Whatever reference he was trying to make to her was lost. Her black hair was also wet from the downpour, and covered her red-violet eyes. Strapped to her sides were holsters for her western-style pistols, in case any demons attacked her while she looked for Liam and Roseri. “Roseri…” the demi-spider sighed. “One would think that, with my agility and keen sight, I would be able to find one sorceress.” She wanted to find the Saga, destroy the demon, and go home, badly. She was tired of the gun slinging, and ceaseless war with a demonic force. She longed for a more peaceful life. She yearned to return to Muria, so that she may be with her husband, Wasp. Wasp? No, he never loved her. He used her to produce heirs to his throne. Twenty-seven children; she had born twenty-seven children with him, and neither she nor they were able to live their own lives. Each of her sons was to be rulers of the demi-insects. Her daughters were to become concubines to other powerful rulers, if not wives. And she was to produce more of each. Even their semi-daily lovemaking had become base and utilitarian after eight years. “I just couldn’t live that kind of life anymore.” Now, she was in a foreign world to stop the monster that was once her most beloved, despite their disagreements. As soon as she could find Rose. She wiped the bangs of her hair away from her eyes as she looked for a sign that her friends were near. Alas, to no avail. “Aricelli!” cried a small voice from the canopy above her. “I’m glad you’re alive! I think I found us some shelter. Come take a look!” The demi-spider leapt into a nearby fur tree and saw a house near a small shrine. It was only a kilometer away. “Good job, West,” she replied. “Perhaps we may be able to inquire about our missing allies to the owner of that place.” West then flew from a tall tree behind her and landed on her shoulder. “I hope so, spider-girl,” he said, “I really hope so.” :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Tenchi’s grandfather, Yosho, had come from his shrine for lunch. He was still wearing his kimono, pants and sandals when he saw Tenchi and the resident aliens seated on the couch asking questions to three young men seated on the floor. From what he had could comprehend, a necromancer from the planet Chima created several super Kagemusha, or Shadow Demons. One of the demons has come to Earth seeking Tenchi, and now, the auburn haired boy, Liam, and his friends have come seeking him out first. The girls, however, seemed to be trying to keep them from completing their goal by asking them many needless questions. “What is Chima like?” “Do these demons still exist in your world?” “If you truly are a knight, then where is your armor?” Yosho could see the frustration in the green eyes of one of the young men. To ease his annoyance, he decided to ask an important question. “Pardon me, Sir Liam,” Yosho began, “but, how did you know of my grandson?” Liam was visibly relieved. ‘Finally, someone with a reasonable question,’ he thought. He answered aloud, “My fiancée, Rose, had a premonition. She dreamt that I was getting my but whooped by Beelzebub. Then this dude in strange white armor came and saved me. Then she heard a voice yelling, like, ‘Tenchi, help!’ But she woke up before she could find out who it was.” “So then,” Tenchi asked, “how did you find me?” “We looked in the phone book,” said Manji. “There are only five people in Japan named Tenchi, and you were the closest.” Everyone except Yosho and the three gentlemen face faulted. “We came to Okayama lookin’ for you,” said Liam, “But Wasp and his drone insects got here before us. He used his drone army to scatter us all over Tokyo and here. Thank Pater that Pierce found me, or I woulda died.” “Before I was able to escape from Wasp’s army, he gave me a message to tell the ‘House of Jurai,’” said Pierce. “WE are of the House of Jurai,” said Aeka, a little scared, “what is the message?” “He said, ‘In the name of my mistress, Tokimi, I shall kill your prince, and the Light Hawk Wings will be dimmed,’” recalled the golem. Before any of Tenchi’s associates could react to that message, there came a knock at the door. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: “I hope someone’s home,” said West who was trying to dry his fur. “Darn mountain rain. This is worse than that time when we went to Seattle.” Sasami opened the door and greeted the two strangers. As usual, Ryo-Ohki was seated on her head. “Hi! How may I help you?” she asked, in a manner that was too cute for words. “Uh, hi?” Aricelli responded. West saw that she was unable to ask about Liam and the others, so he intervened. As he opened his mouth to speak, the little cabbit on Sasami’s head took a small step forward and asked, “Myowr?” (“Who are you?”) “My name is West,” answered the gremlin on Aricelli’s shoulder. “Myow myow mya?” Ryo-Ohki inquired. (“How may we help you?”) “We’re looking for this red-headed boy named Liam,” West replied, “You seen him?” “Myaaa! Mroww,” the cabbit said. (“He’s inside! Come in.”) “Yo, spider girl, Liam’s inside this house,” said West. “Let’s go.” “How do you know?” Aricelli asked. “Animals can understand each other,” West explained, “Now c’mon!” As they entered the house, they saw a group of women seated in front of three familiar figures. ‘Methinks we’ve found a bordello,’ thought West. Liam, Pierce, and Manji were seated on the floor, soaking wet from the rain. Liam looked very tired, as though he had been doing exercise, or something else perhaps. ‘What would Rose think if she saw Liam like that in front of women like these?’ It was then that the gremlin’s attention turned to the ladies themselves. What an odd sight they were. There was a woman with cyan hair, and another whose hair was… Could her hair be purple? There was a black woman who was naturally blonde! And over in the corner of the room, a young girl with hair shaped like a crab was typing into thin air! ‘This ain’t a bordello, it’s another planet entirely!’ thought West. Washu looked at him from the corner of her eye and sent a telepathic message that said, ‘You aren’t too far from the truth.’ ‘Whoa, you can read my mind?’ thought West. ‘Well you are a telepath, aren’t you?’ sent Washu. ‘Yeah…’ West responded. ‘ Then, yes, I can speak to you this way,’ the genius replied, ‘I have some psionic ability myself.’ ‘Cool,’ sent West. ‘Ya mind fillin’ me in on what’s goin’ on?’ ‘Not at all. ^_^’ Suddenly, a stream of images filled his mind. Information on the girls, Tenchi, and all of his enemies and battles was implanted into his brain. Since he was sitting on Aricelli’s shoulder at the time, she received all of the info as well. When the storm of data had stopped pouring, West and Aricelli were left feeling dazed. “On the upside,” blurted a dizzy West, “at least we know that Liam is okay, and he found Tenchi.” The gremlin fell off of the demi-spider’s shoulder and wobbled over to where his master sat on the floor. He looked up at Liam and said, “Hello, buddy,” and passed out in his lap. “Before any of you ask,” said Liam, “this is my pet gremlin, West, and the woman standing over there is Aricelli.” :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Roseri had finally woken, woke up, only to find herself in the hands of Beelzebub. She was stuffed inside a net made of silken thread that was woven to look like a spider’s web. The net was slung over Wasp’s shoulder, and he was rapidly flying over a heavily forested area. She writhed to get free, but failed miserably. “Let me go at once!” she screamed. “What do you want from me?” Wasp looked down at his hostage and said, “We are to exchange you for one more… powerful. No harm shall come to you if you comply.” “And if I don’t?” Rose asked. “Then you die,” said Wasp. Rose had no other choice. She had to acquiesce for the time being. She thought of a method of attacking her captor once she was released, as she peered down a grove of cherry trees that passed underneath her. Then Rose began to sense something familiar, or rather, someone. Her telepathic abilities allowed her to pick up on a set of unique brainwave patterns. These patterns could only belong to… ‘Liam! He’s alive! Praises be to Pater,” Rose thought. ‘There is yet hope. If Liam can find the man from my dream before Wasp does, we can defeat this monster.’ Her thoughts were suddenly halted when Wasp came to a sudden, midair stop. He held up his arm for a large firefly to perch on. When it landed, the bug used its wings to buzz a message to its master. “I see,” said Wasp. He then turned to his swarm of dragonflies, mantises, and bees off all varieties. “My legion, our prey is but a few kilometers north of here. Our scout shall guide us to her. She must be brought back to master Calgio alive. All who try to get in our way shall be thoroughly stung.” The firefly then flew off in the direction of the Masaki home. “Forward to glory!” The Beelzebub flew behind his scout and his horde of insects trailed behind him. ‘Yes, Wasp, lead me to the man called Tenchi,’ thought Rose. ‘Perhaps, if Liam has not enlisted his aid, then I may do so.’ :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: “Hey, West!” exclaimed Manji. “Where have you been?” You’ve been missing for a long time.” West awakened from his stupor, turned to Manji and said, “Dude, we’ve only been separated since ten last night. By th’ way, Liam, didja get to ask Tenchi to help us with our little demon problem?” “Well,” said Liam, “if these women would stop playing ‘twenty questions with me, I…” Liam’s train of thought was derailed when his gauntlets started glowing red. He turned and noticed that Manji was growling at the window. “A demon.” “I can hear bees,” said the demi-wolf, “lots of bees.” He sniffed the air near the window. “It’s Wasp.” He sniffed again. “And he’s got Rose!” Manji curled his hands into tight fists and squeezed. This triggered a mechanism in his gloves that shot two, thin blades from their cylindrical chambers from within each of his forearm guards and locked them in place right behind the knuckles. Pierce stood up and tapped his right gauntlet. A dim red light shone from the gem on his glove and spread to the palm of his hand. The luminescence formed into a long, wooden pole. It was painted red, and at either end of the pole was a metal cap with several short spikes ticking out of it. Liam arose from the floor as well and pulled out two medallions from under his sweater. “If that refugee from ‘Starship Troopers’ hurt her,” Liam growled, “I’ll send him to Hell!” He then turned to Tenchi and the girls. “I understand if you don’t want to help us. It is gonna be dangerous.” A deep and booming voice called out to them from outside, saying, “Bring me the youngest of Jurai, or all within your house will die! This young sorceress shall be the first!” “They want Sasami?” asked Tenchi. “Sounds like it,” said West. “I can’t let them take her,” Tenchi replied. He pulled a long wooden sword handle from his back pocket. The handle, Liam noted, was well carved, decorated in an almost art-neuvou style. Tenchi closed his eyes and a blade of blue energy sprung forth from where the hilt would be. “I’m goin’ with you.” Tenchi said as he readied the sword, Tenchi-Ken. “Cool light saber,” said Liam, “but that ain’t gonna stop the demons, young Jedi.” Liam took one of the medallions and tossed it to Tenchi. “Use this.” Tenchi grabbed the pendant and looked at the design. On one side of the medallion was an eagle, upright with spread wings and a sword in its left foot. On the other side was a coat of arms. A dragon on the left and an eagle on the right were holding up a shield with a tree standing in front of a sun. “What am I supposed to do with this?” asked Tenchi. “Do as I do,” answered Liam. He took the medallion and cupped it with his arms stretched in front of him, bowed his head and prayed. Tenchi disengaged the blade of Tenchi-Ken and did likewise. As the two warriors prayed, a circle of light began to surround each of them. The circles grew from the floor at their feet into a pair of columns that enveloped them. A strong wind blew through the house and swirled around the two standing figures. With a blinding flash, the pillars of light disappeared and the wind suddenly died. Tenchi then realized that he was no longer in his clothes, but a suit of armor. His pants were replaced with metal foot, shin, knee, and thigh guards. His waist was covered with plates of the same metal as the greaves he wore on his legs. His torso and shoulders now bore a chest plate and shoulder guards. His arms were covered in the metal also. He wore leather gloves similar to those that Liam wore. Strapped to his left arm was a shield, about three feet in diameter, which bore the same coat of arms as the medallion did. In his right hand was a very ornate sword. It looked like Liam’s, except that the hilt looked like the wings of a bird, and not a dragon. His helmet resembled the head of a falcon or hawk that had engulfed his head. The entire suit of armor was metallic green. Liam’s armor looked the same, save that it was red, and his helmet looked like a dragon’s head. “Okay guys,” said Liam, “Let’s go!” With that, all of Liam’s allies left the house. Tenchi was about to follow them but something held on to his leg and wouldn’t let him move. He looked down to see Aeka, deftly clinging to him. “Please Tenchi-Sama, don’t go out there,” pleaded Aeka. “Those horrid bugs might poison you as they did that boy, and you’ll die!” “I’ll be okay,” said Tenchi, in a comforting tone, “Liam’s out there too, and he knows how to handle those demons better than I do. But I can’t let this Beelzebub get Sasami. I have to stop him. I’ll come back safely, I promise.” “I’m goin’ too,” said Ryoko. A bar of yellow laser energy materialized in her hand, and she brandished it as though it were a sword. “C’mon, Tenchi. Let’s go kick some thorax!” “I think that it would be best if we all came with you,” said Washu. “I just scanned the area, and you and Liam’s gang would be out-numbered fifty to one. If we all help, the odds will lean in our favor just a bit.” “Tenchi thought about this for a minute. He gently pulled Aeka off of his leg, and then gave Tenchi-Ken to his grandfather. “Okay, let’s go,” he said. ‘Heh,’ he thought as the left the house, ‘they’re as resilient as ever.’ :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Wasp was now hovering in front of the house. The rain was till cascading from the black clouds above. His white hair was hanging from his head, coarse and wet. His horde of drone insects was buzzing behind him, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Roseri was dangling lifelessly from his left arm. “Come forth, House of Jurai, and deliver youngest unto me, or this one from the House of Mikale dies!” said Wasp, whose voice carried even over the thunderclaps. “You better not hurt her, Wasp,” warned Liam; “I am not in a good mood right now.” “You suffer from depression, Liam,” said West from behind, “You’re never in a good mood.” “And we’d never give you Sasami anyway, you vile cretin!” Aeka proclaimed as she and the other residents of the Masaki home came to the aid of their allies. “Very well,” said Wasp as he lifted his mace above his head, letting it gain momentum so that it may crush Rose. He floated to where Liam and the others were standing when a shot came from behind him. A small orb of fire impacted with his left shoulder. He cried out in anguish and pain. He dropped Rose and his mace and used his right hand to grab his wounded shoulder. Rose quickly landed on her feet and pressed the jewel on her gold bracelet. The bracelet began to sine and from the light materialized a scepter. It was a long blue pole with a glass orb attached to the end of it. Encircling the orb were four elliptical blades, which held the orb in place and doubled as a short-range attack weapon. She aimed the scepter at Wasp’s abdomen. A blast of light erupted from the orb and made impact with its target. Rose turned and ran to Liam. She embraced her lover tightly, basking in the knowledge that they were together again. As they embraced, another gunshot was heard, and a second fireball flew to where Wasp stood. He flew out of the way just in time, although several of his drones got burned in the process. He turned toward the woods where the shot originated. Manji and Ryoko both saw this as the perfect opportunity to exterminate the demonic pest that loomed before them. Ryoko teleported towards the Beelzebub and slashed at his wounded shoulder repeatedly. Wasp reached behind him and tossed Ryoko into the trunk of a nearby tree. Manji jumped on his back and proceeded to claw at his chest, head, and arms. A giant dragonfly swatted him off before he could do any serious damage. Wasp’s attention turned once again to the woods, and a familiar, four-armed woman, brandishing two pistols, walked from behind a tree. “Remember me, husband?” asked Aricelli. “What I do now, I do out of love.” She raised her upper-right arm and aimed the gun in its hand. “Destroy her!” commanded Wasp. The insects obeyed, and zoomed towards Aricelli. She leaped and bounded out of the way, shooting at any insect that got too close. Soon she found that she couldn’t avoid all of the advances made by the swarm. It was fortunate that she was immune to all natural poisons; otherwise she would have died from all of the stings, bites, and scratches that she received. She was about to accept her fate, when several small logs floated around the bugs. She jumped out of the way as a massive surge of electricity spewed from the logs and fried the swarm. “And that is how one should zap bugs!” said Aeka, boisterously. Wasp flew in a heated rage toward the Juraian princess, but was halted when Yosho chopped off his entire left arm. He and Pierce stood in front of Aeka and Sasami, barring any passage. “We shall not let you harm any of our friends,” said Pierce. Ryoko pulled herself from the tree and teleported behind Wasp. Liam and Tenchi ran to each of his sides. “There is no escape.” The golem’s skin began to become dense, hardening into a hard rock that covered his body. Wasp scratched at him with his talons. The claws penetrated his stone skin, but didn’t show any visible damage. Pierce then jabbed the demon in the chest with his fighting staff, which was followed by a roundhouse kick to the head. Wasp recovered quickly from this, and countered by concentrating all of his energy into his right hand, and releasing it in a grand blast at Pierce. This forced Pierce to stumble backwards and trip on top of Aeka. Wasp took this opportunity to fly away to more open ground behind the group. Liam charged towards Beelzebub and slashed at his ribs. Beelzebub flew up to avoid the attack. The very force of his sword stroke sent a gust of wind at Wasp. The gust cut at the demon’s chest like a sharp blade and caused him to yell in pain once again. While he was pre occupied, Liam picked up the mace that Wasp had dropped and flung it at his head. A plague of locusts caught the mace and let it drop silently to the grass below them, and then dove after Liam. Tenchi ran to his aid and tried to kill the bugs, but did very poorly. “They’re moving too fast!” said Tenchi, “I can’t hit ‘em!” They got tackled and mauled by the grain eating insects, and could do little to defend themselves. Wasp looked down upon the carnage the insects were causing and laughed in a most sinister fashion. Rose had seen enough of the violence and decided to put an end to it. She held her scepter above her head and began to invoke a spell. “I summon thee, oh, great spirit beast of lightning. Come forth from the torrential heavens and aid thy fellow children of God! LUPINUS!” All of the mountains around the Masaki Shrine began to tremble with thunder as a wolf, made of lightning, descended from the cloudy sky. Everyone on the field looked in awe at the mighty creature. “Is that Raiju, the legendary thunder beast?” asked Yosho. “No,” answered Pierce, who had recovered from the ki blast he had received, “that is Lupinus, a spirit beast.” The lightning wolf let out a mournful howl that set loose a thousand bolts of energy from the sky. The flashes were so bright, that everyone had to avert their gaze as the lightning struck down all of the insects, even those within the city. When the lightning stopped, the sky above them began to clear, and the electric wolf was gone. “Amazing,” breathed Washu. “Pocket Monsters, eat your accursed hearts out,” said West. Mihoshi had been cowering in the doorway as the battle took place. She sat with her face within her lap and her hands atop her head, waiting for the demon to be defeated. “Are the icky bugs… gone?” she asked, as she stuck her head up to survey the land. “Yes,” said Aricelli, as she slowly hobbled to where the others stood, “and so is my husband.” “Your what?” inquired Aeka, indignantly. “You mean the heartless creature is your spouse?” “Yes.’ the demi-spider said, softly. “Well,” said Aeka, “Sasami, are you okay?” she turned to see that her sister was not behind her as she was a few minutes ago. “Sasami?” She heard a load scream for help and boisterous laughter were pealing through the sky. “Chikuso!” cursed Ryoko, “Sasami!” She flew off to find her and the Beelzebub. She searched the horizons for any sign of the two but could find none. Ryoko floated in the middle of the air and screamed in rage and frustration. "AAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH! DAMN YOU, BEELZEBUB!” :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: NEXT TIME: Washu tries to find Sasami and Wasp, but they both seemed to have disappeared from the universe! Tenchi and the crew now know that in order to save their friend, they will have to ally themselves with Liam and the Saga. Will they be able to trust Liam and his friends? Will Washu find Sasami? Who will cook everyone’s dinner? Find out in “Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies – Chapter Two: We Need To Unite!” or “A Time to All Things!” A/N: I’ve finally updated Chapter One! It’s a little more exciting, and a little more in character. I plan to update all chapters of the Beelzebub storyline before moving on. I would like to thank DeathGiver (deathgiver2000@yahoo.com) for e-mailing me and calling me on that OOC part in this chapter. As you may see, I decided to beef up the story and eliminate a few of the plot holes, or add more depending on your point of view. Write to me and tell me what you think of the updates at enigma@iamdstudents.com or semi-great_enigma@37.com. Ja ne! -Enigma