Hunter "Sleeptil3" Knight (HunterRaven99@aol.com) Regular Dawn of the Demons-Chapter 1:Of Love, Hate and Family Tenchi made his choice, and Ryoko won. Now, an important person from Ryoko and Yosho's past returns and finds the sister he thought he had lost. Hey folks, hope you like this, I think you will. It is based on the OAV Universe(or at least I think it is. Its from the one with the goddesses and stuff. You know what I mean.) Well now for this: I own some, not many, but some of these characters. The rest are property of Pioneer and AIC(I think).I don't expect to get anything from this and I am poor as hell at this point, please don't sue me. Author's Info: Okay, here's the deal-This takes place after Matsuna No Eve, however, Kiyone has not joined them(don't worry fans, I'll get her in here somehow.)Also, please understand, this is my first fic, so don't kill me just yet, k? Okay, enjoy!... "5000 parsecs to target point." The ship's voice groaned at him. He sat hunched down in his seat aboard his own personal ship, Tou' Ran- Mei. His eyes slowly began to droop and for once he caught himself in time and stood up. "Tou, just follow his energy trail and awaken me when we get close. Alright?" he asked groggily as he left the bridge. "Alright. Enjoy your rest Lord Kn-" the ship replied, but was cut off by the door shutting behind him. His ship could sustain 100 of his kind for a hundred years, without even the slightest worry. Now, however, it was empty except for a few worker drones and himself. He yawned as he walked down the dark, cold hallway to his quarters. When the door opened, he smiled as the warm air rushed over his skin. The inside of his room was much different from the corridor. The hallway looked to be metallic, but he had never taken the time to study the bodily makeup of the Ra' Dens, so he didn't know for sure. His room however, was warm, humid and overall just more cozy. Large plants decorated the small room, but he didn't even notice them anymore. All he saw was the large soft bed, which after removing his clothes he plopped down onto. The first thing he saw as he hit the bed, was the picture of his family from so long ago, that he had sitting on a small table next to the bed. He sighed. His beautiful wife and he stood behind his little sister and their daughter. God how he missed them all, but his sister was gone and his wife and daughter... But, he had gotten his revenge and more. Then he looked to the left and saw a second picture next to the first. This one was of he and his 2 brothers in front of a shining lake just before dark. Damien, his younger brother, stood on the far left, spiny and loud mouthed as ever. He, himself, was in the middle and his older brother, Teram, was on the far right. He smiled at the thought of how that day had gone. He and his brothers had gone with his father for a hunt in the deep woods near the Royal family's vacation spot. It was a beautiful place. The lake was huge and the surrounding area had some great hunting, more than enough for a trio of demon brothers. Suddenly, his smile darkened as he remembered what happened that night. The screams, the blood, and the last moments that he got to see his brother before he died. But, once again, Hunter Knight had gotten his revenge. Even then though, he had never beaten off the feeling of guilt. He still felt he could have done more. Could have protected his family better. Could have protected Teram from the Kin. Could have saved his sister from Kagato. Could have saved his wife from...... from her fate. And as for his daughter, that was something he could never forgive himself for. He knew almost for certain what the kin had done to her, and it pained him every time he saw a girl that looked like Charisma did. He sighed deeply and fell into a deep dreamless sleep. A slight glow lit the room, but he was too far gone to notice it. The glow surrounded a woman. She was tall, well built, and beautiful didn't even begin to describe her. Her dark blue hair fell down her back to just below here knees. She wore a long white robes of Jurian design.. Her face at the moment showed sadness for her son. She could barely help him through the things he was about to go through. But, if anyone could handle it, her little Hunter could. He always was the one people turned to, and soon, there would be more people turning to him than he could have ever imagined. A slight smile crossed her lips, then the two circles on her forehead began to glow and she disappeared, leaving him to the peaceful ignorance of the sleeping. _______________________________________________________________________________ It had finally happened. Yes, Tenchi Masaki had made his choice. Between the princess and the pirate, the choice seemed obvious to Ayeka. That was, until Tenchi told her of what had happened the day he and Ryoko had gone into the mountains for a hike. Something about Ryoko being hurt, and Tenchi caring for her, then one thing leading to another. Ayeka didn't really hear anything past him telling her who his choice was. Thankfully, he didn't give the details, but when he left, she didn't move. In fact, she didn't move for about a day or so after that. When Sasami finally got her down from her room, Ayeka happened to be coming down the stairs just as Tenchi planted a rather passionate kiss onto Ryoko's lips. Ayeka felt a lump form in her throat and it was yet another week before she left her room. Then finally, after pleadings from Sasami, Yosho, Mihoshi, and Tenchi himself, she had exited her room and had breakfast with the family. She almost ran when Tenchi leapt up and kissed Ryoko, ,saying he was going to miss his bus, but found a strength she didn't know she had and held her ground. A week later, something had changed in her. There were no fights, no squabbles. Nothing. Not even a comment. Ryoko had tried, but the princess just wouldn't take the bait. Ryoko would comment about her bust size, and Ayeka would just nod, looking depressed and utterly lost. She hadn't cried yet, but had come very close many times. This was her own living hell. < Complete with a wicked demon to run it all.> she thought. Her thoughts didn't change much for a month or so. Then one night, the Masaki home had some visitors and her life would change forever... He was running. He could hear his father and Damien trying to help Teram along. They had never seen the ambush coming. By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late. The royal guard was dead and Teram was injured badly. The 4 demons were making their way back to the house, but even now, he could hear the Dragon Kin following him. He growled in frustration. He was following the right trail, he knew he was, but where was the house? That's when he caught a faint smell of something wooded burning. As he pushed through the underbrush, he came upon the burning wreckage of the house. They had blown it away. It and the men there to guard it. He could see the burning corpses of the guards. He turned to see his family come through the bushes. When they saw it, Damien and his father swore, while Teram just moaned in pain. He growled again. They were screwed. In minutes, the Kin would be to their position, and there would be 4 very dead demons. From what he had seen, there were at least 3 dozen Kin. Four demons versus 30 something Kin: not his idea of a good time. Damein and father set Teram against a tree and the 3 demons readied for battle, summoning their weapons. But, before the first Kin arrived, a transport shuttle passed over head and came to the ground. The hatch opened and he could see his people waving them in. He took the time to let loose a sigh, sent his father and Damien ahead, saying he would get Teram. He ran back, grabbed his brother and headed for the shuttle. He had taken his first step up the boarding ramp, when a reptilian claw reached out and plucked Teram from his shoulders. The Kin chieftain held his brother up before him, blocking any shots from the ship. He tried to get to his brother, to help him, to kill the filthy thing smirking at the men aboard the ship. His brother and father were holding him. "Let me go! I gotta save him!" he turned and screamed at them. When he turned back, the chieftain was smiling at him evily. "No!" he screamed. But even as the words left his mouth, the Kin closed his claws on Teram's throat, and squeezed, until there was a sickening snap and Teram's eyes fluttered, then remained staring straight ahead. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed, but it was too late. As the shuttle lifted into the air and the hatch closed, he roared in anger, horror, and sadness... Lord Hunter Ravenous Knight, 3rd Crowned Prince and current ruler of the demon planet, Abbadon, sat straight up in his bed. He was covered in a cold sweat and breathing like he had just run a mile. He hated that dream. He sighed and let his head fall back onto the pillow, making sure to move his wings, so as not to crush the bones within, into a safe position. A moment later, a buzzing at his door brought him into full consciousness. "Come in." he said warily. He hadn't had a truly good night's sleep in at least a decade. The door slid open and a hologram of a young woman stepped forth. "Wake up sleepy head." She told him. "Tou just wanted me to tell you we're almost to our destination." She was around 5' tall, and had blonde hair that fell to her shoulders. Her smile could brighten a room, but that was just because her programming made it do so. No matter how many times he saw her, it was always hard to believe she was a only a holo. He nodded. "Okay Hope, I'll be out in a few. Let me get dressed and ill meet you on the bridge." He replied. She smiled, nodded and left the room. Chasing an escaped mad man to the middle of nowhere. Not only that, but this middle of nowhere was in the middle of Jurian territory. Now he got to go hunt the psycho down and either arrest him, kill him, or die trying. He sighed and stood up. "Yay." Looking out from the bushes, he didn't see much. A small house. A lake. He had passed a shrine earlier after the crash, and had thought of taking shelter there, but, amazingly, a Jurian was there. The Gods only knew why he was there, but now he had to find a way to seek haven somewhere else. That damned Knight would be on his tail soon, most likely within the hour. Akerato Misarowi looked about him. It was getting on into the evening ,and the sun was setting over the mountain into which his ship had crashed. Thankfully, it hadn't exploded and it appeared that the locals had yet to discover it. He looked down at himself. he said looking down at the humanoid glob of what looked like liquid silver that made up his body. Suddenly his eyes glowed yellow and the form took the shape of an older male Earthling. He stroked his face and found a shaggy beard. He walked toward the house, hoping that there was, in fact enough time for him to save his worthless hide before the Hunter found him. Sighing, he hoped for the best. "I really do love my life." he said quietly. _______________________________________________________________________________ He looked at the wreckage. His ship was dead, but Akerato's was just trashed. *Very* trashed, but there was still hope of rebuilding it. He sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. Things like this never were, but somehow it seemed that it was always harder for him. He released a low hiss and stepped on a piece of the wreckage, crushing the steel beneath his mighty foot. He took a deep breath, then smiled. He pulled forth a small sensor remote and began to scan for his targets energy signature. Finally, after a few moments, he found what he was looking for. Following the trail, he saw a house next to a lake. Truth be told, it looked like a nice place. Then he saw who was standing on the porch and started walking fast, eventually at a full out run. He pulled a small black device from his coat, unfolded it into a small square and placed it on the back of his neck. The second it touched his skin, multiple needles sank into his skin. "Hope, humanoid male." He spoke to the communicator on his wrist that allowed him to communicate to his holo. A moment later, the large demon knight was replaced by a young human male. He looked down at himself and smiled. "Excellent..." he whispered. _______________________________________________________________________________ At the same time, Ayeka Jurai was answering the door. The family had left to go to town, and she had decided to stay home. Being aroundTenchi was just too hard these days. When she opened it she was face to face with a human male. Well, he looked human that is. He had a shaggy gray and black beard, but something about him made her think he was more than just some crazy old man. _______________________________________________________________________________ "Hello young lady, "he spoke in as soft and gentle a voice as he could muster. "Um, hello sir. " she replied." May I help you with something?" He smiled. He looked into her eyes. "Yes young lady, I am a traveler. My name is Akerato Misarowi. I have, unfortunately, found myself without refuge this night," he told her "and was wondering if I could perhaps ask you for a spot of help." She smiled. "Oh, well, I am not the master of the house, but I don't see any harm in letting you..." She didn't finish, and as he felt the chill run up his spine, he knew why. "Oh shit..."he whispered. _______________________________________________________________________________ "Oh well, I am not the master of the house, but I don't see any harm in letting you..." Ayeka began. She never finished, because as she did, a young man that looked about the same age as Tenchi stepped from the woods. He was surrounded by shadows as the sun had slowly moved down behind the tree line. The 3 of them stayed unoving and silent for at least 10 minutes. She heard a low hiss come from Akerato as the young man stepped from the shadows. The sun had set and the moon was already out, but she could still make out his features. He was at very least 6' tall, and had shining raven black hair that was spiked and awry, much like Ryoko's. He was wearing a smile that could warm your heart, but the glare that was coming from his eyes could melt stone. The eyes were just as amazing. At first glance, they didn't look very strange, but as he came closer, she could see that they were anything but normal for a human. For one, they were shining red, for another, they weren't even close to human. The white part of the eye was normal, but instead of a round iris and pupil, this "young man" had a slit down the center of his eye, which was the red part. If anything, it looked more reptilian than human. He wore all black, and almost all of his clothes appeared to be a bit loose around him. He wore a pair of sturdy looking black leggings, a black shirt that loosely hung around his form, no shoes and a black, overly long collared coat. Suddenly, the became aware that the growling from their first guest was growing deeper and more animal like. As she turned to look at him, she let loose a scream of terror. There was no longer an older bearded man, but a huge half bug/half lizard mix(*NOTE-if you want an example, think the Queen, from Aliens.*).It's shining chitinous shell was bright red, striped with black across the massive carapace of the head and down the back. It stood over 20' tall and the stink that came from its jaws made Ayeka want to be sick. It opened its 5' maw and roared in defiance at the other man. The beast plowed past her so quick, she had barely enough time to activate her force field. As the creature neared him, the young man leapt into the air, over the creature, to stand just in front of Ayeka, but when he landed, he was almost as far from human as the other. His body was that of a large reptilian beast. He had grown only slightly, but was by far more menacing. His skin had gone from pale to a grayish color, but otherwise, it didn't appear to have changed much. His clothes now fit him perfectly. The coat now ended at his ankles. His face had become a long snout that was rounded at the end. It hung half open in an arrogant smile that made Ayeka think he was more powerful than he looked. And when she looked at him, it was hard to believe he was stronger than he looked. The shirt now clung to his body, showing massive, well-honed muscles his armor was sculpted, even through the coat. His feet had become powerful looking talons and his hands were now more like talons themselves. The claws on them looked to be made for the simple reason of tearing flesh and ripping victim to shreds. His eyes were thinner now, but kept the same look as before. From his shoulders 2 large, bat- like wings were spread out to either side and below that a long tail that hung an inch or so off the ground(NOTE-think of it as a raptor from Jurassic Park, but with wings, standing up-right and wearing the said clothing.).Slowly he turned his head ever so slightly and looked at her in what she thought was a quizzical manner. "You're kinda cute." he spoke in a voice not all that much deeper than Lord Tenchi's, but all around just different. "My names Hunter, "he said offering her a hand "Hunter Knight. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He helped her to her feet and she looked at him awestruck. Even though he was obviously built to kill, he had been very gently in helping her up. " And you are?" he said smiling, breaking her awestruck stupor. "Oh, I um, I-I-I-I am Ayeka. W-W-W-What is that?" she asked pointing to the massive creature staring at them from the yard, growling and dripping a fowl looking substance from its mouth. "That, my dear, is the reason I am here on this god forsaken... you're a Jurian huh?" he replied. She nodded. "You ever heard of Yosho?" he asked and once again she nodded, adding "He is my half brother." "You're Ayeka Juria?" he asked almost in amazement. She nodded after a moment. "Interesting..."he replied, giving her one last look "...well, might as well take care of him. He was to be put to death, so I see no reason I cant kill him here." he said looking to the beast. "Remmmmemmmmmberrrrrrr whaaatttt happpppennnnnedddd lllasssssssttttttt ttttttttimmmmmmmmmme Knnnnnniiiggggggggghttttttttt!" the thing hissed in response. She heard Hunter sigh, then crack his neck. "Okay, I'll be back in a minute. Then we can talk some more. Alright......... Ayeka was it?" he asked. She nodded, still completely in awe. He smiled at her, then as if on a morning stroll, Hunter walked toward the towering beast, smiling all the way. _______________________________________________________________________________ As he came to within 15' of the creature, he stopped, held out his hand the same way Ryoko did just before she created her light sword. Hunter's smile grew and there was a blast of light as a ball of fire, not energy, but actual fire created itself in his palm. He squeezed and the fire spread out. At first, the shape was indiscernible, but after a few seconds, one could easily see the curved blade and hilt of a sword taking form. There was a flash of light as Hunter squeezed the glowing sword of fire and suddenly, the flames were replaced with a shining silver blade on top of a gold and black hilt. The demon took a step back, lowered his head and roared at the creature. In response, the massive alien raised its head to the heavens and screeched back. In only a second they were charging each other. As they came up next to each other, Hunter ducked under the creatures massive arms, reached out and slashed the monster across the midsection, then leaped and rolled as he sprawled to dodge it's massive, spiked tail. The alien monster let loose a screech that died down into a deep guttural hiss as it looked down and saw the bright orange blood sliming down its body. It looked up at the demon,(though it had no eyes, it could somehow see) and let loose a danger sounding hiss as deep in it's throat, a bright green light began to shine. Hunter saw this and started running, letting loose a few choice curses as he barely managed to dodge the ray of energy the alien had shot at him from it's maw. "Shit..."he whispered to himself. _______________________________________________________________________________ Ayeka just sat on the porch and watched this in awe. One minute, she was moping about Tenchi and cursing Ryoko, the next, she's watching 2 alien monsters try to kill each other. was all she could think. At that moment, the large bug-like thing that had been an old hobo, let loose with some sort of energy attack, barely missing Hunter. He leapt nimbly out of the way, but before he could get very far, the "bug" was on him. It's massive arms shot out and grabbed him around the mid-section, slicing it's curved claws into his skin. The demon roared and kicked out with his feet, knocking himself free of the creature's grip. Unfortunately, he didn't have a clear landing spot and instead, slammed head first into a large tree. His weight or the force of the crash sent him thought the massive trunk, but when he stood, he looked tired and in pain. The "bug" let loose with what Ayeka figured was a laugh. Then it turned back to her. It opened its jaws and came at her. She closed her eyes, waiting to feel the sliming teeth clench shut on her. It never came. When she opened her eyes, Hunter stood before her, holding the thing's mouth open with his hands. The arms were now busy supporting the massive weight of the beast's body, and they could not help the monster defend itself. "ALITTLE HELP HERE!" she heard Hunter scream to her as the razor sharp teeth began to tear into the demon's hands. Ayeka stood and readied herself, then sent a blue energy blast into the thing's side. It screamed and fell onto it's side then rolled away as Hunter brought his sword down where it's exposed belly had been. Again the light came from the creature's mouth as it charged its energy attack. She felt a pair of powerful arms wrap around her, then she was flying through the air. She looked down in time to see the spot where she and Hunter had been standing become a black crater as the creature's energy blast hit the ground, point blank. "Is there a place we can go to get some help?" Hunter asked her as he touched down next to a large boulder. "I don't know. I have not really left this area. I'm sorry, but I doubt I will be of much help..." she replied in response, slowly trailing off. That's when it struck her. " Wait! My family will be returning from town soon, when they arrive, I'm sure we should have enough help to defeat that...thing." "Good, " he said nodding, "we're gonna need it..." Authors Notes: Hey guys. How'd you like it? This is just the beginning of a story I have been working out in my head for the past few months. It will get better the farther in I go, so if you didn't like this chapter, you may like the later ones. Well, if you have and C&C, send it to HunterRaven99@aol.com. Thanks for reading.