Author's Note: Well, here it is, as promised... though I'm not sure anyone is actually reading it out there. Only received one whole reply off this (you know who you are ^_^). Maybe once completed I can get more? I can hope, can't I? PM Productions Presents A Phillip Masters Fanfic The Good of the One (B) ----------------------------------------------- The Tqu, 1 Light Year from Earth ----------------------------------------------- "We are approaching Earth, sir. Estimated time of arrival, fifteen seconds." The short navigator grumbled under his breath at how slowly they were traveling, but orders were orders and he kept it to himself. "Thank you, Ty... when we arrive, go into a geo-sync orbit lined up with the source on your scope." The captain typed a few numbers into his consol and sent the information to Navigations. "Yes, sir." Ty replied as he confirmed the coordinates and set them. The captain, Ryn, stared out the forward viewscreen as the countless stars of the dimension sped past. His eyes narrowed slightly, as though trying to focus on their destination. "It's so gray." he whispered. ------------------------------------------------ Earth, Japan, Masaki Residence ------------------------------------------------ Tenchi sat on the porch, staring up into the sky. Small flakes of snow fell around him, and he smiled as they landed on his face. He could hear Sasami and Ryo-ohki playing on the frozen lake. He sighed, watching his breath slowly float away. Days like this one had always held a special place in his heart. He glanced over at Mayuka, who was sitting next to him and staring out at the lake, and realized its antithesis did as well. "Mayuka, why don't you go play with Sasami?" She smiled at him, "Because I would rather be with you, daddy." He smiled at her and went back to looking at the clouds. Ever since her rebirth, Mayuka had wanted to stay close by him. He didn't mind, nor could he blame her, not considering what happened. His mind went back to thoughts of Yuzuha. While he had not in any way been intimate with her, he couldn't help but feel a connection to her through Mayuka. She had been the embodiment of darkness, yet she could create such intense light. The Universe was so confusing to him some times. "What are you thinking about, daddy?" He looked to Mayuka again. "Nothing... just the past." She looked confused, "Oh." Then, with a small rush of air, she vanished. Tenchi blinked, then jumped up from his chair. There wasn't a trace of Mayuka left, she was simply gone. He looked around the area, and found Sasami and Ryo-ohki running toward him. "What happened to Mayuka?" Sasami called out, looking worried. He shook his head, trying hard to think of something. Then, he turned and ran into the house, heading straight for Washu's lab. He slammed open the door and jumped across the threshold into her dimension. "Washu!" he cried out into the empty laboratory. His only reply was the humming of large, unknown machinery. Then, it dawned on him that he had previously seen her heading toward the kitchen. He made an about face and shot back out into the hallway, just about killing Sasami in the process. The blue haired girl pressed herself up against the wall, her eyes wide, as Tenchi ran past. He ran into the kitchen and looked around frantically. Washu was standing over the stove, preparing what looked like fish of some sort in a skillet. "Washu!" he yelled, relief filling his voice. Washu, for her part, was startled at the sudden noise and just about launched the fillet out of the pan with her spatula. She span around and glared at Tenchi, however, her retort caught in her throat as she saw the look on his face. "Tenchi, what's wrong?" "Mayuka!" he said enigmatically, still catching his breath. Washu put out her hands and her holographic keyboard lept into existence beneath her fingers. She typed for a few moments, then her eyes widened. She proceeded to type a bit more, and her brow creased. "It seems we have company." she remarked and let her keyboard vanish. "What do you mean?" Tenchi asked, "What company?" "The Tqu." she replied. ----------------------------------------- The Tqu, in Earth orbit ----------------------------------------- "Is the cargo safe?" the captian inquired. "Yes, sir... she is in junction four-six." "Did she take well? Remember what happened last time. I don't want a repeat." The engineer looked frightened a moment, then smiled nodded. "Everything is running smoothly... weapons systems have increased efficiency by twenty-four percent." "And engines?" The officer looked downward slightly. "Only twelve percent." The captain frowned. "I thought we projected eighteen?" "Yes, sir... but she has been... difficult." "Difficult?" "Well, yes, sir... she keeps screaming for her... daddy." "Well, silence her." "Yes, sir." ----------------------------------------- Masaki Residence ----------------------------------------- "Who is the Tqu?" Tenchi asked. "Not who, what." Washu answered, "The Tqu is a trans-dimensional battleship." "It took Mayuka?" "No, they took her... those who run the ship." Washu waved a hand, "Before you ask, no I do not know what 'they' are." She sat down at the kitchen table. "No one knows who they are... only that they rarely make an appearance here." "Why would they take Mayuka?" Sasami wondered, and Ryo-ohki 'miya-ed'. "Who took Mayuka?" Everyone looked to the door and saw Yosho standing there, flanked by Ryoko and Ayeka. "The Tqu." Washu told the new arrivals. Ayeka gasped and put a hand to her mouth. Ryoko frowned, while Yosho simply looked slightly older all the sudden. He nodded his understanding. "Can you hypothesize why they would want her, Washu?" he asked. She shook her head. "No one knows their motivation. The last time they abducted someone from this dimension was recorded over twenty thousand years ago. A young boy from Poi VII." "Why didn't anyone stop them then?" Tenchi asked. Washu shook her head. "The Tqu is rarely in this dimension for more than ten minutes. I can only estimate that they are readying for their leap out right now." She looked troubled. "Your not telling me everything, Washu." Tenchi accused. "No, no I'm not..." She looked at Yosho, who nodded grimly. "You see, Tenchi, when the Tqu activates its engines and folds sub-space, it releases an enormous amount of energy... enough to easily wipe out this entire solar system." Tenchi stared at Washu for a moment, digesting this new information. Then, he turned and plucked Ryo-ohki off of Sasami's head and ran out the door. Ryoko began to follow, but Yosho put out a hand and stopped her. She looked daggers at him, but he simply said, "We would only get in his way." She tried to push past him, but he held fast. "Ryoko, listen... you know the power of that ship! You would be destroyed in no time at all!" Ryoko screamed in frustration and small bolts of energy came from her wrist. "If only I had all my gems!" Yosho nodded, "For once, I am in full agreement." Outside, Tenchi looked down at Ryo-ohki. "Okay, Ryo-ohki, will you help me save the planet and Mayuka?" The small cabbit smiled and 'Miya-ed' loudly. Tenchi smiled back and lobbed the animal into the air. She flew upward a moment and then exploded into starship form. A beam of light came down and Tenchi disappeared. ----------------------------------------- Aboard the Tqu ----------------------------------------- "Sir, I've just detected a spacial disturbance on the surface." the scanning room reported over the intercom. "Location and cause?" the captain asked. "Right below us, and unknown. But it is currently heading right toward us." "What?!" The captain stood up and shouted, "On screen!" The display changed from a wide view of the Earth, to a small craft of odd design coming toward them. "Sir, we do not have a record of this sort of vessel... and I cannot break through its shielding with our sensors." "Raise shields... destroy it." "Yes, sir." ---------------------------------------- The Ryo-ohki ---------------------------------------- "Miya!" the ship cried out as another wave of energy assaulted her shields. Tenchi held onto one of the control crystals as the floor lurched out from under him once more. "Ryo-ohki, do not return fire!" he yelled over the noise. "Miyaaa!" she replied, and pressed forward with full speed. As they approached, Ryo-ohki avoided another blast from the Tqu. Tenchi stared at the rather small ship, amazed. It couldn't have been much bigger than the Yagami! Of course, over the year since meeting Ryoko, he had learned that size truly does not matter. "Ryo-ohki, prepare an escape crystal!" "Miya!" was his only response, per usual. However, he knew it was being done. "When it's ready, launch me over to that ship! Then pull back to a safe distance!" A worried 'miya' came back and he smiled. "It's okay, Ryo-ohki... I'll be fine. Just take care of youself once I'm gone." With a final, sad 'miya' he suddenly found himself inside a crystal being shot toward the Tqu. He put his hands on the side of the pod and concentrated. --------------------------------------- The Tqu --------------------------------------- "Sir, the ship has launched some sort of crytaline structure at us. It does not seem to be a weapon of any type." "Destroy it." the captain ordered. "Yes, sir... our weapons are having no effect on it. It's going to impact with the shields in four, three, two, one..." The Tqu rocked with the sudden strike. The captain just barely held onto his chair. "Report!" he bellowed. "The crystal slipped right through our shields and slammed into the cargo bay. There was minimal damage sustained... in fact the hit was very surgical, causing no air leakage at all." The captain stood up and started for the door, "Get security to cargo bay, and activate the intruder alert." "Yes, sir." Down in the cargo bay, Tenchi was looking around. The ship seemed very alien in nature, though fortunately the air was breathable. It had no odor to it at all. The lighting seemed slightly dimmer than what a human would feel comfortable with, and Tenchi was definately human. He felt better with the steady weight and warm glow of Tenchi-ken, which hummed quietly in his hands. He had no idea where Mayuka might be, so he tried the first thing that came to mind: he cried out her name. So what if Tenchi wasn't very good at covert operations? After receiving no reply, Tenchi began to walk to the door. It opened without a sound, and he walked out into the hallway, to come face to face with a small troop of... well, people who looked much like Yuzuha did. Though they were much taller than she was - of course, given the end of their battle with one another she probably could have been any height she wished - and could look him in the eye with ease. "Who are you?" he asked. The man who seemed to lead the troup stepped forward. "I am the captain of the Tqu, Sei, what are you doing attacking us?" "Actually, I'm here about two things. One, you've taken someone... I want her back. Two, I would ask you to leave this dimension in an empty part of space." The captain lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? And do you feel your in a position to give orders?" Tenchi gripped his sword tighter and its glow intensified. "Yes." It was both frightening and thrilling to be fighting on his own for the first time. He felt a power he had never felt before, but at the same time wished Ryoko, Ayeka, and grandpa were watching his back. "Very well." The captain raised his hand and one of the officers behind him raised a weapon, pointed it at Tenchi, and fired. A pure black beam of nothingness shot out toward him and struck his sword. The blade dimmed as though the life were being sucked from it, which was most probably true. Tenchi's hopes fell as the sword ceased to be. The beam stopped as he attempted to reignite the blade, but to no avail. "Now, what position are you in?" the captian asked. Tenchi pocketed his sword and brought his hands together once again, furrowing his brow in concentration. The Light Hawk Sword lept into existence, and his clothing flashed brilliantly, leaving him in his fighting garb. The troop and captain covered their eyes to protect them from the sudden illumination. When they could see again, the boy was armed with something that looked far more formidable than his previous weapon. "Now, are you going to take me to the girl, or am I going to have to cut this ship apart until I find her?" To accentuate his point he sank the sword into the hull. It slid in without any resistance. The captain glared at Tenchi, but nodded. "Follow me." Tenchi was taken to the engineering section, where a number of people were strapped into recesses that lined the walls. As Tenchi passed he noticed that the people were of all sorts of Glactic origin, most of which he did not know. He had a feeling many weren't of Galactic origin at all. They seemed to be unconscious and not in any pain. He couldn't figure out what they were being used for. After walking down two such corridors they came to Mayuka. She was hanging limply by her restraints, though as with the others nothing seemed wrong with her. Tenchi instantly ran up to her and touched her shoulder. Feeling nothing wrong, he shook her lightly. After a few moments her eyes opened. They focused on him and immediately lit up. "Daddy! I knew you'd come!" she cried and tried to move her arms to hug him. However, they were tightly held in place. A sharp jolt of electricity shot through her, and him as a result. Both cried out, and Tenchi was flung backward. He caught his feet and whirled on the captain, fire coming alight in his eyes. In less than a second the Light Hawk Sword was at his furry throat. "Release her... release them all." "You'll have to kill me first." the captian replied, staring straight into Tenchi eyes. Tenchi sensed danger and activated a shield just in time for a dark energy beam to strike it. The Light Hawk Wing absorbed the beam with little difficulty. The captains eyes widened slightly, and Tenchi couldn't help but smirk. "I wouldn't try that again. Now," he pressed the blade slightly into the man's neck, causing a drop of blood to appear, "please release my daughter from that device." The captain blinked. "Your... daughter?" Tenchi nodded. The captain signalled to his engineer and Mayuka fell from her bonds. She ran up to Tenchi and hugged him for all she was worth. He pulled the sword from the captain's neck and put an arm around her. "Are you alright, Mayuka?" He felt her nod as she cried into his shirt. He had the sudden urge to lop off the man's head before him, but quickly suppressed it. "Now, I want you to release everyone else here." "That's impossible." "Why?" "This ship exists because of these... creatures. They are what makes it possible, what keeps it within bounds." "Bounds? I don't understand." Tenchi was finding himself curious. Did this have anything to do with their looking like Yuzuha? "That doesn't surprise me... everything here is so gray. This ship, to exist in a physical manifestation, must stay within boundaries of light and dark. These creatures act as conduits for these two opposing forces. Your daughter, we detected, was created almost as a perfect balancer for light and dark." "Not surprising." Both the captain and Tenchi turned to watch Washu walk into the room from one of her sub-space doors. "She was created for basically the same reason this ship was, it seems. To give the dark a way into this Universe, and most likely others." "Who are you?" the captain asked, obviously upset that his ship was becoming the gathering place for all powerful entities of this dimension. Washu grinned, "I am only the most brilliant mind in any dimension!" She looked at Tenchi, "I'll make sure everyone they've used here gets safely back home." "You can't do that!" the captain screamed, "Impliment Order 3-X, now!" Nothing happened. The captain began to sweat. Washu smiled, "You think I'd walk onto an unknown vessel without first gaining control of it?" She laughed loudly, and maniacly. Tenchi smiled, "Good job, Washu-chan." Washu smiled back, "Not too bad yourself, Tenchi-dono." "Daddy?" "Yes, Mayuka?" "Let's go home." END Well, there... it's over! HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! (cough) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the little story... I hope someday I can edit it, as well as combine it into the one part it's supposed to be. I mostly just did this out of lack of ability to write (ie. no computer)... something that was slowly driving me nuts. Please send comments and the like, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks for reading, PMasters (10-4-98)