This fan fiction occurs after the events of Tenchi the Movie 2: The Daughter of Darkness (aka "Manatsu no Eve" [Midsummer's Eve]). It is also based on the OAVs and other tidbits of the Tenchi Muyo! Universes. The Tenchi Muyo! Universes and characters are the creation and possession of AIC and Pioneer. I do not claim them. But I wrote the storyline to "The Dark Jurai". The Dark Jurai - Chapter 8 - "Arrival and Terror at Sakou" by Timothy Turner email: juraijin@email.com http://www.angelfire.com/tx3/animekoku/index.html The ships emerged from hyperspace. The planet Sakou (literally, "the sand shines") loomed below them. Sakou's surface was 70% desert of a highly reflective quartz sand (hence the name "Sakou") with the rest being water. The three ships flew to a very dune covered area and sent a signal into the ground. A door opened and they went underground to a huge ship port. All of the Tenchi gang came out of their ships and had them repaired. While the ships (except Ryo-Ohki) got their repairs, everyone went to eat at a huge dinner table. Azaka and Kamidake were deactivated to be upgraded. Ryoko chowed down on everything sent her way. Her breathing annoyed Ayeka. "QUIT IT!!!!!!!!!," Ayeka screamed, sending particles of food all over the table. Ryoko flinched. Food particles covered her face. "I don't want your disgusting food in my face! It was meant to go to your stomach!" Ayeka regained her calm manner and retorted, "I wouldn't do such anything if you didn't breathe incorrectly. That is an advantage I have that will help me win Tenchi's heart!" Ryoko smiled, "Tenchi hugged me!," she stuck out her tongue. Ayeka blew her top, "LIAR!" Tenchi thought to himself, Tenchi frowned. A drop of sweat began to develop on his head as he sighed. "It's true," Ryoko teleported to Tenchi's side, "Tenchi gave me a BIG HUG. You know...the kind that lovers tend to do," Ryoko embraced and nuzzled a greatly blushing Tenchi. "Is...is this true, Tenchi?," Ayeka got a sad look in her eyes with tears. Tenchi hesitated, "Yes...but it was only...," Tenchi was cut off before he could even finish. "YOU TRAITOR!!!! I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME!," Ayeka screamed, "You were meant to be mine!!," she went to retrieve Tenchi from Ryoko and grabbed his arm. "Don't you...," Ayeka hiccuped, "Don't you love me at all?" "I do love you as a family member, but...," Tenchi was cut off. Ayeka shook Tenchi with a vengeance, "I can only marry members of the Jurai Royal Family! If I don't marry you I'll be lonely the rest of my life! It's a rule that I have to!" Tenchi had had enough, and did something that offended and stunned everyone...even Ryoko. The young prince slapped Ayeka on the right cheek. Ayeka stumbled backwards with a cold hand on her stinging right cheek, "But...but why?," tears streamed down her cheek, stinging it more along with the cold hand. Tenchi shook and balled his fists while looking at the ground, "Before I was cut off, I said I loved you as a family member. BUT...I grew up in a different cultural environment than you did!!!! To me, marrying a family member is disgusting and is shunned all over the Earth!!!! I don't want to marry you! I DON'T WANT TO MARRY YOU!!!!!" These words hit everyone like a shockwave. Misaki became very angry and began to start toward Tenchi. She was stopped by Azusa, who grabbed her arm and shook his head no. It was Tenchi's choice after all. Yosho defied his marriage to Ayeka and Tenchi would do this as well if forced to. Azusa didn't want this to repeat. Ayeka ran away crying with the rest of the family running after her (except Yosho, who reverted back to his old man appearance). Tenchi's breathing could be heard in the now silent dining room. After a few minutes of everyone staring at a shaking Tenchi, screaming could be heard down the hall. The Jurai Royal Family came running with several Dark Jurai martial artists behind them!!!! Tenchi and Ryoko took a fighting stance and Mihoshi and Kiyone took out high-velocity shot Galaxy police pistols. Washu ran with Mayuka. A rough brawl began. "How'd they know we were coming here!?!?," Tenchi bared his teeth and clenched his fists. "I don't know! But we better help them!," Kiyone began shooting. "There's our target!," the Dark Juraians pointed at Mayuka and ran toward the gang. Tenchi charged the aggressors, taking down a low level Dark Jurai martial artist in one hit. Then he summoned the Light Hawk Wings and transformed two of them into gloves and the remaining one into armor. "It's Light Hawk Wings! It's the prince, Tenchi! Kill him!," a middle rank martial artist charged Tenchi. Tenchi engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand fist fight that shook the underground port. Whenever limbs made contact with bodies the hangar shook with a mighty thunder. Kiyone and Mihoshi shot a few Dark Jurai off their guard. "We have to escape!," Kiyone turned to Mihoshi. "NNYYYAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!!!! LEAVE ME ALOOOONNNNNNEEEEE!!!," Mihoshi cried and shot blindly with her head turned away. "Mihoshi! Get yourself together!," Kiyone shook Mihoshi, "There isn't any time to get to our ships! We have to escape on foot! Let's get the Jurai Royal Family out of here!," the two officers ran to help. Ryoko powered up her gems and cast an energy wave right through a middle rank Dark Jurai. She then summoned demons out of the sand above them. The attackers were terrified at the frightening things coming at them. They attempted to flee but the demons enveloped the Dark Juraians and ate the flesh off their bones. It was not pretty to watch. It wasn't over yet...the battle between Tenchi and the other Dark Jurai had moved to another room. Tenchi was slowly being overcome by the middle ranked fighter. The others came into the room and watched the fight. Tenchi's reflexes were not fast enough now. The Dark Juraian fighter had increased his speed and was pummeling Tenchi. Tenchi turned one of the Light Hawk Wings into a shield and turned the other one into the Light Hawk Sword. The middle ranked fighter stopped and quivered in fear, "It's the Light Hawk Swo...AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!," before the man could react Tenchi cut him in two. Tenchi fell to the ground in exhaustion and reverted back to normal. "Tenchi!," everyone yelled and ran up to him. Tenchi pushed himself up, "I'm all right... *COUGH*," Tenchi coughed up some blood, "That person knocked the wind out of me...," sweat poured down Tenchi's forehead and face as he shook. Yosho and Ryoko helped Tenchi up. The others watched. All of a sudden, everyone who could sense ki felt a HUGE wave of ki coming towards them. An obscure figure emerged from a bright light in a room ahead. "Who are you?!," Ryoko asked with a hostile voice. "I...am an agent of Jurai Ankoku-ou," replied the figure. The voice was distorted somehow. Ryoko went cold as she remembered the name from her dream. "Don't be afraid. If you surrender to me now, I won't have to kill you ," the figure stepped forward into the light, "You can live all in peace in the new Dark Jurai Empire," the figure's facial area was blank. It also wore a Galaxy Police uniform. The figure's hair was black. Everyone stepped back in terror. Kiyone and Mihoshi pointed their guns at the mysterious person. "Are you afraid of my appearance? Haven't you seen anyone with the ability to shapeshift before? I do this to confuse you. I can take the shape of any physical object or person I want." "LEAVE US ALONE!!!!!," Ryoko shot a beam into the figure's face, "Let's run for it!," Ryoko led the escape. "You can't run away! I have a high rank and can outmatch you in anything!," the figure laughed. "Run away! I'll find you!" The person walked up to the Dark Jurai Tenchi had hit at the start of the battle and helped him up. "That prince is strong," said the man, "You underestimated the abilities of Tenchi and Ryoko and let them get away with Mayuka. Getting Mayuka was our top priority." "No matter," said the figure, "I can track them any way and any time I want. Remember, I work for the Galaxy Police as well. I can have them tracked that way, too. Enough playing around. I promised Jurai Ankoku-ou I would let them think they got away a couple of times. Once in Jurai's orbit, the second time was just now," the figure looked at the deactivated Azaka and Kamidake, "We can use these...," a laugh came out of the figure. The gang escaped to a nearby village. They had exhausted themselves and were dirty and sweating. "What was THAT!?!," Kiyone panted, "It wore a Galaxy Police uniform!" "It said it could shapeshift. And it said it did things to confuse us," Tenchi gulped a breath, "Now we have to stick together in order to keep that thing from taking our forms." "Azaka and Kamidake have been left behind!," Sasami gasped. "Don't worry," said Ayeka. "They probably didn't notice them. And they have a device that will reactivate them within a certain time window. It should be up about now." "Let's find an inn or a place to sleep," Ryoko yawned. "And let's keep a watch on each other." "For once, you think the right thing," Ayeka looked down, Ayeka began to cry. Tenchi looked at Ayeka. Tenchi knew deep in his heart he loved Ayeka as a family member but Earth's cultural boundaries had taken root in him. There was no persuading him otherwise. He exhaled a sigh and shook his head. The Masaki residents plus the Jurai Royal Family found an inn and paid their way in with Jurai money. The rooms were connected and had a clear view of each other so the supposed shapshifter would be spotted before anything happened. Yosho took first watch outside the two doors with a view of the rooms. The Jurai Royal Family was in one room except Tenchi, non family members were in the other (Ryoko, Washu and Ryo-Ohki; Nobuyuki was counted as a family member and was in the same room with the rest of the Royal Family). Ayeka couldn't sleep that night. She went outside to talk to Yosho. "Brother," Ayeka whispered. "What is it?," Yosho turned to Ayeka. "Do you think Tenchi really meant what he said about not marrying me?" "I think he may have meant it. Tenchi is very final with a lot of his decisions. The Earth is his home. It's where he grew up. I had to let him grow up in Earth culture to keep the people of Earth from getting suspicious." "But if that's true, it means I have no one else to marry and I will be lonely the rest of my life. The next thousands of years of my life will be a hell that will never end!!!!," Ayeka cried convulsively a lot like like Ryoko did after her nightmare. "Break the rules like I did," Yosho suggested, "This is a different age. Life changes." "But I want to keep the traditions of Jurai!," Ayeka bawled, "I wouldn't be a princess of Jurai if I didn't!" "I broke the rules but I'm still called a prince. Even Azusa broke the rules by marrying Funaho." "But I want to fit the description of prim and proper! The true princess of Jurai!" "If you remain tenacious to your beliefs you'll never advance in anything." "The Earth has tainted you with such a strange idea," Ayeka snapped. "No. It's called common sense. It applies to all things everywhere, even Juraian culture." "I see," Ayeka walked back to the family's room. She felt defeated by Yosho's words. After a while of Ayeka's brooding, Azaka and Kamidake appeared. "Azaka! Kamidake!," Ayeka cheered, "You're all right! How did you manage to escape!?" "We reactivated at low power," Azaka stated. "Yes. Then we escaped at full power from the Dark Jurai attackers. We sensed them even though we were deactivated. Our sensors were the only thing working." Yosho heard the conversation and sensed danger. But before Yosho could manage to determine the threat, it was too late. "How did you sense them? You were entirely deactiva---AAAAHHHHH!!!!!," Ayeka let out a shrill scream that awakened everyone. Tenchi and everyone else ran into the Jurai Royal Family's room and saw them (including Nobuyuki who was in the room at the time) bound by energy from Azaka and Kamidake! "Why are you doing this!?!?!," Ayeka screamed. "We serve the Dark Jurai now!," both of them said simultaneously. Ryo-Ohki jumped the two former allies but was shocked by a blast of energy. "RYO-OHKI!," tears cam from Sasami's eyes. The figure that was in the underground repair dock appeared. "HAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!," the figure's voice echoed, "I TOLD you I'd track you down! Azaka! Kamidake! Get princes Yosho and Tenchi!" "Yes!," the two shot a beam at Yosho and stunned him. They attempted to shoot Tenchi but Tenchi used the Light Hawk Wings and blocked the beam. Yosho screamed in agony as the beam paralyzed him. "STOP IT!," Tenchi turned one wing into the Light Hawk Sword, the second into armor, and the third one into a shield. "I know all your tactics, Tenchi! It'll take more than that to stop me," the figure cast a beam at Tenchi and threw him through the wall, "Get Mayuka! With the main threat out of the way we can get her now! Get her Azaka and Kamidake!" Washu ran as fast as she could with a crying Mayuka but was knocked unconscious by a beam to the back of her neck. Azaka and Kamidake seized Mayuka. Ryoko saw the two attack her mother and she went for an attack. But the figure teleported in front of her and punched her unconscious. The person attempted to remove the gems but was shocked when the gems were touched. Kiyone and Mihoshi reached for their guns but Azaka and Kamidake blew the guns up in their hands and shocked them unconscious. the faceless person laughed, "Now we can tell Jurai Ankoku-ou the revival of Yuzuha can begin! And Tenchi is dead! Let's go!," the mysterious person teleported away with Azaka and Kamidake. "TENCHIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!," yelled Sasami and Ayeka as they faded away. A Dark Jurai ship took off in the distance. Ryoko recovered from her unconsciousness sometime later and found Tenchi nearly dead and covered in blood. Everyone else was injured badly as well. Their part of the inn was in ruins. "TENCHIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!," Ryoko cried as she hugged Tenchi. Tears streamed down Ryoko's face, "NOOOO!!!! *HICCUP* *HIC* *HIC*!!!!!!" End of Chapter 8