Tenchi Muyo! and all characters herein are the property of Pioneer and AIC, save those created by the author. This is a fanfic, is not for profit, and does not express the views of Pioneer or AIC. Tenchi Muyo! Insurrection: Temptation After Tenchi came too he found himself restrained to a table. After he tested the restraints a melodic, seductive voice spoke to him telling him not to bother with such things. "Who are you and what do you want with me?" Tenchi asked the disembodied voice. The response sent chills down his spine. "I am Arianna, daughter of Kagato. And as for what I want, I want you Tenchi Masaki." Tenchi's jaw dropped in disbelief. A thousand questions raced through his head. Foremosst of these was how could she be Kagato's daughter? Tenchi figured that Ryoko or Washu would have mentioned Kagato having a daughter to him by now, unless... "If you are Kagato's daughter, prove it to me," said Tenchi defiantly. "For all I know you are a hoax trying to use me and my family." "You mortals lack faith, even though you have been trained in the ways of the priest hood," retorted Arianna, still cloaked by the darkness. Tenchi tried to discern the direction her voice was coming from, but it seemed to be coming from all around him. "To have faith in ones religion is one thing, but putting faith in the word of a kidnapper is foolish. I've been through too much to blindly trust some ones word, especially when they have abducted me and I can't even see them." As he finished those words the images of Haruna and her deception flashed through his mind. He did his best to conceal them. All he needed was to remember that in a time like this when he needed a clear head. "Your thoughts betray you Lord Tenchi. I know of your trials and tribulations since your encounter with my father. I know of your temporal escapades, and of your love with Haruna. It is a shame how the old man and the witch took that happiness from you. You had your own universe to mold into whatever you desired." "You know then that Haruna's universe was a reflection of this one and would have collapsed in on in on itself." "Your perception of the universe is as limited as any mortals. You cannot fathom the true extent of this multi-verse. There are infinite possibilities and infinite directions. Your insignificant mind sees each action as having only one reaction when in reality the possibilities are limitless. True some may differ little from your current universe, but others are drastically altered. It may be true that in one of the multi-verses you and Haruna are still living together in perpetual bliss" With that a portal opened in front of Tenchi. Soon an image formed from the swirling mass of colors. It made Tenchi's heart sink. "Do you see now what I mean?" asked Arianna. Tenchi turned his head from the sight. "Is that true?" he asked trembling. "Yes it is true. That happiness could have been yours. You could of have had no worries or cares, spending eternity in her arms." "Please close it." "Done, but my point has been illustrated, has it not? You know now only what is before you, but there is so much more to this existence." Her words had an air of tranquility and comfort about them. Tenchi felt his will begin to slip, and then he snapped out of it. "If every action has limitless reactions, then shouldn't there be a universe where Kagato kills me instead?" he shot back to the darkness. "That is true and my father lives on in much of the multi-verse. But traversing the barriers of the multi-verse can only be done with the power of a god. And sadly I lack that power." "You still have not answered my question," demanded Tenchi, "How are you Kagato's daughter?" "You are in no position to make demands, but I shall enlighten you. Five thousand years ago my father created me in the same manner as your precious Ryoko was created by that witch Washu." Her voice was full of contempt when she mentioned Ryoko's name. "Using her as a pattern my father combined his chromosomes with a Masu, and I was born. He gave me all of Ryoko's abilities plus a few improvements over that obsolete model. I even have a gem, although my father was unable to locate any others or coax their secret out of that witch he kept as a pet. He chose my current form to aid me in my missions for him. That and it is aesthetically pleasing." "I'll take your word on that," said Tenchi. Arianna was still cloaked in the darkness surrounding his illuminated area. "Show yourself to me." "All in good time Lord Tenchi. When you are ready I will reveal my self. Until then be patient." The room fell silent again. Tenchi wondered if he was alone or if Arianna was watching him. Either way the only sound to be heard was his breathing and the quit hum of the five lights overhead. 'Is this all real?' Tenchi thought to himself. 'If she is who she claims to be, why would she be so interested in me? Does she want revenge for Kagato's death? If she wanted revenge I would probably be dead by now. What plans does she have in store for me," he thought. "I just have to hold out until Ryoko and the others track me down. Then I find out who this Arianna really is." "It can not be," commented Ayeka from her end of the comm. screen. Washu and the others had just informed her and Sagami of Tenchi's abduction. For Ayeka this was double blow. The day before Sagami's life had been endangered and now Lord Tenchi had been abducted. Again. "Who would do such a thing?" "I don't know," replied Washu, "but I am certain that the ship they left in was the DARK HAWK. No doubts about it." "But why would the saboteurs kidnap Lord Tenchi? He had nothing to do with the DARK HAWK'S development or its technology," said Ayeka worriedly. "But I did," interjected Washu. "And my daughter is the lover of Lord Tenchi, and he is an heir to the throne of Jurai." "So his abduction must be for political gains," added Sagami. "They must want to use his life in exchange for leverage in to further their cause." "That is one possibility," said Washu as she paced back and forth across the living room. All eyes were on her as she used her vast intellect to piece the situation together. "Another is that they could want to use his royal lineage to their advantage. But Lord Tenchi would never willingly go along with such a ploy." "So it is possible for him to out live his usefulness," said Ayeka as she placed a hand to her mouth. "They wouldn't." "If these people have the resources to attack a heavily defended space station, 'appropriate' the most advanced ship in the galaxy, and show the balls needed to abduct Tenchi from his own home knowing good and well who lives here," said Washu never missing a breathe. "They would most definitely kill him if it would further their cause." "That is enough!" screamed Ryoko. Through out Sagami and Washu's conversation she had been sitting by quietly, respecting their opinions. She knew that they loved Tenchi just as she does, but she could only take so much. "Will you please stop talking about Tenchi like he's just a tool in some ones damned scheme? I love him and when I find him, we will kill who ever did this. And after that we will grow old together. So if I hear one more person talk about Tenchi like he's, like he's a pawn in some ones game, I swear," Ryoko bit her lip to as she tried to regain her composure. A tiny bit of blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth, leaving an alkaline taste, but everyone was starring at her right hand instead. After a moment of confusion Ryoko realized what was the object of their gazes. In her anger she had unconsciously formed her energy sword. He unclenched her fist and the blade dissipated. "Please forgive me," she begged. "I let my emotions take control of me. I just want to get my Tenchi back." "We all do," said Ayeka sympathetically. Hearing Ryoko say "my Tenchi" still made her heart sink a little, even though she loved Sagami totally. "But since they are using the DARK HAWK'S cloaking device, we can not track them." "Lots of ships have cloaks," began Ryoko, "So what makes this one so damned special?" Sagami looked towards Washu and nodded. "The DARK HAWK has a subspace cloaking device which allows it to enter a different branch of space time." "In layman's terms please Washu," said Ryoko looking confused. "Unlike other cloaks that just refract light around the ship this cloak creates a pocket of another dimension around the ship. Therefore it is completely obscured from any known form of sensors." "Even its exhaust?" "Even its exhaust is concealed in the pseudo-dimension, but I am working on a new form of sensor." "Will it work?" asked Sagami. "If it does we will find Tenchi. Until them I think that we need to bring in a specialist. Some one skilled at finding people and information gathering." "You don't mean," began Ryoko as she starred at Washu in disbelief. She sat back down and ran a hand through her spiked hair. "Anybody but her." "Bingo," replied Washu with a sadistic grin on her face. "Why do we have to bring Nagi into this?" pleaded Ryoko. "She still doesn't like me very much you know." "But you have been pardoned of all crimes Ryoko," started Ayeka, "so she has no reason to hunt you any longer." "Its not that," said Ryoko shaking her head. "Nagi and I just don't get along. Never have and never will." That was an understatement. Tenchi slowly moved his neck from side to side. He had given up on trying to figure out how long he had been captive now. He guessed that he had fallen asleep roughly two hours ago. Now he had a crick in his neck and a nasty headache. Once again the soft white lights came into focus above him. He had hoped that this was all just a nightmare, but the lights reassured him that it was all too real. To complicate matters he was hungry and needed to use the bathroom. He tested his restraints one more time. They held firm as before but Tenchi decided that testing them was better than just lying there. "I told you that those could not be broken." Tenchi stopped and looked around trying to fix the voices direction. "Soon all of this will not be necessary." "How so," Tenchi asked dryly. "Are you going to free me or kill me?" "You will not be harmed," replied Arianna. Tenchi felt a moment of relief, before he remembered that he was talking to the person that had abducted him. "I wish that I could believe you," he began, "but it's hard to trust some one who hides in the shadows." "Very well," Arianna replied. "You terran's rely too much on your sight. If seeing is believing for you, so be it." As she finished the table began to tilt towards the vertical Tenchi looked around to become better acquainted with his surroundings. Finally the table locked into the upright position with a metallic clank. Tenchi held his breath as a cloaked figure emerged from the shadows. "Tenchi Masaki, first prince of Jurai. I can see what the princess and space pirate admire in you." "That's nice, but I still can't see you." With that Arianna pulled the hood of her cloak away from her face. Tenchi gasped at what he saw. He starred as Arianna unfastened the cloak and revealed her true self. Aesthetically pleasing was putting it mildly. Tenchi was captivated by her stunning figure. If his father had been in his position he would have been in heaven. Arianna was wearing a skintight black body suit with a diamond shaped cut out right below the neckline. Tenchi was not really sure if was a suit or if it was the coloring of her skin, it fit that tightly. Around her right wrist was a golden gauntlet that formed a "V" shape up her forearm. One her left wrist was a jewel just like Ryoko's. But what struck Tenchi most about Arianna was her face. It was an almost exact doppelganger of Ryoko's. The only real differences were that Arianna's silver hair like Kagato's, her scarlet lips, and the deepest crystal blue eyes. "I told you that I was an improvement on Ryoko." Tenchi wanted to disagree with her but he was being held captive by her eyes. "Everything that Ryoko could do, I was given the ability to do it better. If you like you could call be Ryoko Mk.2," finished Arianna with a hint of a smile. "You could never replace the real Ryoko," snapped Tenchi. "If this is some sick joke of yours, I do not find it funny." "This is no joke. My father used Ryoko as a template for my form. Physically we are nearly identical. We trained together and fought for the same causes, albeit in different manners. Ryoko was sent to plunder planets and cause general chaos across the galaxy. Meanwhile using her distractions I was sent on more covert endeavors." Arianna walked around the table restraining Tenchi, running her hand across his chest as she went by. "Ryoko has some positive advantages over myself, but not many. She is mainly, how did my father put it, waste product." "I would disagree with you on that," retorted Tenchi. "Ryoko means more to me than you could ever know." "Just because she is waste product does not mean she is with out value. You seem to enjoy sharing a bed with her." Tenchi blushed slightly as Arianna stopped in front of him. "My private life is none of your business." "The future ruler of the universe has no part of his life which is private," she said as she ran her hand down the side of his face. "What do you mean by that?" asked Tenchi. "You shall see soon enough." With that Arianna left the room. Tenchi couldn't help but admire her shapely body as she left. He starred into the direction that she left for a moment before he snapped out of it. "What is it about her," he asked himself. The image of Arianna dropping her cloak flashed through his mind. He replayed their conversation over again in his head. Every time he kept seeing her crystal blue eyes and her shapely figure. "I've got to snap out of this," he said to himself as sweat began to drip from his face. "Hit the deck!" yelled Nobeyugi diving as Ryoko was hurled across the living room. She crashed through an ornate screen and landed with a sickening thud. "Now we're even Ryoko," said Nagi rubbing her knuckles. She had agreed to help in the search for Tenchi only if she could take a free shot at Ryoko. Reluctantly Ryoko agreed to the stipulation. A stiff right cross would be a small price to for getting Tenchi back. No one expected Nagi to knock Ryoko into next Tuesday though. "I've heard the buzz about the incident on Jurai," she said walking across the room to where Ryoko was beginning to stir. She held out a hand and helped the space pirate to her feet. "Nice shot," commented Ryoko holding her jaw. A blue bruise had begun to form, but it vanished as soon as it did. "And your ability to heal is just as impressive as ever Ryoko," replied Nagi as they took a seat on the sofa. Ayeka was on the videophone and the rest of the family was gathered around as well. Ryoko looked over and saw Ryo-Ohki nuzzling up against Ken-Ohki and gave a faint smile. "Now lets get down to business Nagi," she began. "What do you know about the people who stole the DARK HAWK and kidnapped Tenchi?" "I only know what I've learned from my, lets say usual channels." She nodded to Sasami as she took a cup of tea from the young princess. It had been a while since she had enjoyed Sasami's tea. "These aren't your usual bunch of murderers and thieves. I've heard they are lead by a Jurain noble and a mysterious ringleader, a mastermind of some sort. His background is unknown but he supposed to be very powerful. One agency has offered a ten million Jurai bounty for this person's head. But everyone who has attempted to claim it has been found brutally murdered. Usually they were found disemboweled along with other unpleasant things done to their bodies." "Sound like nice folks," said Washu sarcastically. "What about the Juraian noble. Do know who he is?" "Not directly but the scuttlebutt is that he is disgruntled with the current administration," she said looking towards Ayeka. "Why would he be unhappy with Sagami and I?" asked Ayeka looking somewhat puzzled. "We have done nothing except carry out the polices of my fathers reign." "Listen your majesty," said Nagi as she finished off her tea. "I don't make this stuff up. I'm just telling you what I know. Supposedly this group was going to use the DARK HAWK to commence commerce raids in the shipping lanes and things of the like. Why they would kidnap Tenchi is beyond me." "Do you know anything about their base of operations," asked Washu. The entire time she had been inputting Nagi's data into her computer system. "Somewhere in the eastern fringe." "I see." Tenchi was sweating even more than when Arianna had left. He had no idea what was wrong with him. He tried to clear his mind and use every meditation technique his grandfather had taught him over the years. But all that he could do was picture her in his mind. Her shape, the feeling of her touch, the gaze of he crystal blue eyes, her scent; Arianna dominated every fiber of his being. No matter how hard he tried to think of Ryoko and his family Tenchi found that Arianna was the only thing he could think about. His heart was beginning to race and the sensation of absolute fear gripped his body. 'Hold together,' Tenchi thought to himself as he swallowed hard, trying to keep his mouth from drying out. His tormented thought was interrupted with the sound of the doors sliding open. Soon Arianna emerged from the darkness into his circle of light. "What did you do to me?" asked Tenchi. His breathing was becoming more labored with each breath and his vision was beginning to blur. "What is going on with my mind?" he asked as his emotional barriers began to breakdown. "What is wrong with me?" he asked in tears. "I have done nothing but set you free of your burden." She walked to him and ran her hand up his chest. She felt the contour of his chest before she moved up to his face. Tenchi's face was covered in sweat and felt as if he was running a high fever. "My burden? What do you know of my burden?" he sobbed. "I know enough that you have suffered the pangs of loss for most of your life. I offer you the way to be free from your loss." "How?" he asked, completely in her control. No sooner than he had finished those words his restraints opened with a low cha-chink sound. Tenchi fell forwards into Arianna's arms. She held him as he wept, his face buried in her shoulder. "My poor Tenchi," she whispered rubbing the back of his sweat soaked head. "Be free of this." Tenchi looked up into her captivating eyes. She met his gaze and returned a soft smile. He pulled her closer to himself. His heart was beating frantically and his breaths were short and sharp. He had only one image and desire in his mind. Arianna leaned forward as her lips met Tenchi's. His fate had been sealed as they kissed, in the light amongst the darkness. "The eastern fringe is where the Tyran war was fought two years ago," replied Ayeka. "There should still be operable bases left from the campaign for them to use as staging grounds," said Washu as all the pieces came together in her mind. 'What is it mom,' came Ryoko's voice across their empathic link. 'What do you see?' 'It's not pretty dear,' she replied. "Ayeka, is Azaka and Kamidake in the palace?" "Yes miss Washu, they are with Sagami at the council meeting, why do you ask?" Before Washu could respond Mihoshi's bracelet went off. She hit the project button and Kiyone's image was projected. "Guys, turn on the news. You aren't going to believe this." Looking a bit confused Ryoko turned on the TV and set it to the galactic news channel. A fuzzy picture of a reporter at a desk came onto the screen. What he was saying was broken by static, but audible. "We have received transmission from the leader Juraian Liberation ." The vertical hold went out for a second before the picture was restored. "Juraian Liberation?" said Ayeka. "What ever could they mean?" "As I was reporting we have just received a message from the leader of the group claiming responsibility for the theft of the Juraian battleship DARK HAWK two days ago. They will broadcast live any second now---." He was cut off as the leader of the group appeared on the screen. "Oh my God," said Nobeyugi as his cigarette fell from his lips. The others sat in total silent astonishment. Ryoko spoke for all of them. "What the hell?" Tenchi has been tempted and the revelation will follow.