"Tenchi Muyo!" and all characters herein are the property of Pioneer and AIC, save those created by the author. This is a fanfic and is not for profit. Tenchi Muyo! Odyssey Chapter Five: Are You Ready to Rock? By William Nichols Dawn broke on the peaceful planet of Sigil VII as it had for eons before. What made this dawn different was the tiny encampment on the northern continent. In that encampment slept Tenchi Masaki and Ayeka Jurai. Together with the shape-shifting guardian spirit Marnot they have come in search of the Juraian earth spirit stone. "Wake up young champion," boomed Marnot. Tenchi drowsily opened his eyes to the dawn light. "Did you rest well?" As his senses came to him Tenchi shot out of his sleeping bag. "What time is it?" he stammered trying to find the orb. To his amazement the dial was still on the numbers that they had been back on earth. "Don't worry," chuckled Marnot. "The odyssey has been suspended." "Suspended?" "Yes, inter-dimensional travel and rest periods will not be held against you," informed Marnot. "But Washu is tracking us," interjected Tenchi. "And to her it will appear as if only a moment has passed since you left the island and until I restart time. Remember what I said about time young champion." "I'm beginning to understand," said Tenchi as he scratched the back of his head. "Let Ayeka sleep for a few more minutes if you would." "That is alright by me," said Marnot. "This one is special to you, is she not?" Tenchi thought carefully for a moment before he chose his words. "She is," answered Tenchi. "But she was not the sacrifice?" asked Marnot. "No she wasn't," sighed Tenchi. This conversation was making him uncomfortable, and Marnot knew it. But some things needed to be said. "She could have been," interjected Marnot. "She could have been very easily young champion. And she may still be." Tenchi looked at Marnot in disbelief. "I can see it in your eyes young champion. Your eighteen years are but a slight notch on the pole of my life. I have guided countless champions, including your grandfather." "You knew my grandfather?" asked Tenchi. "Yes," began Marnot. "The young prince Yosho was brash and arrogant. I did not want to let him pass the test of the spirit, but I was over ruled. But he has changed significantly over the ages." "I can't imagine grandpa being that way," interjected Tenchi. "When this is over with ask the princess about his youth. She knows full well what I am talking about." Tenchi nodded and peeled the wrapper back on one of Washu's energy bars. However unsure he may be about them, hunger overrules all doubt. "Time has begun," said Marnot as he politely refused a bite of the energy bar. "You and the princess have a long day ahead of you. The sanctuary lies in that mountain pass. It is at least ten of your kilometers away." "You could have landed us a little closer," yawned Ayeka. "And I see you are as cheerful as ever," snorted Marnot. Ayeka was providing to be good sport for his sense of humor. "I'll take that as compliment," retorted Ayeka as she pulled an energy bar out of the backpack. "We should be going," said Marnot as Tenchi rolled up the sleeping bags and stuffed them into the bag. Washu's backpack was amazing, but many of her inventions were amazing. What made this one more so was that it actually worked. "Gib be a mimut," mumbled Ayeka as she polished off the energy bar. "What?" said Tenchi and Marnot in unison. Ayeka just shook her head and helped break camp. "So much for the mannerisms of a princess," whispered Marnot to Tenchi, who nodded in agreement. "I heard that," said Ayeka curtly, causing Tenchi and Marnot to cringe. They watched in deafening silence as Ayeka shouldered the backpack and headed for the edge of the forest. "Come on you two," she barked. "Lets find that stone." *** Washu was still at the shrine with Lord Katsuhito when the alarm on her wristwatch went off. "It's them," she chimed. "I take it you have located Tenchi and Ayeka?" inquired Katsuhito. "Yes and no," began Washu. "All this is letting us know they are on the next part of the quest. I'll have to check the lab to see exactly where they are." "May I join you," asked Katsuhito. "I would be delighted," smiled Washu. Sasami joined them as they walked down the shrine steps. Once inside Katsuhito paused for a second by Ryoko's stasis field. The images of a controlled Ryoko played through his mind: the memories of the fight on Jurai, the battle across the galaxy, and her imprisonment in the cave: all of them flooded back to him. "She is not like that any longer," replied Washu. She could see the emotion on Katsuhito's face as he saw the stricken Ryoko. "Tenchi freed her from that existence." "I know," replied Katsuhito. "It just pains me to see her like this." "It didn't pain you to imprison her in that damned cave," whispered Washu under her breath. "I suppose I deserved that," said Katsuhito. "Maybe so," said Washu. "I have located the master key's signature. "It is at coordinates 1-4-7-7 mk. 5." "In layman's terms miss Washu," said a confused Katsuhito. "There on the far side of the galaxy," explained Washu. "At least a hundred thousand light years away, in the Sigil system." "I vaguely remember hearing about a one of our deep space probes being lost in that system," said Katsuhito rubbing his chin. "Yes I am sure of it. It had to have been the Sigil system." "A Jurai probe was lost in that system about eight hundred years ago," read Washu as the data came up on her screen. "Reasons were never determined and no further explorations were made," she finished. "I wonder why?" "Probably of no consequence," replied Katsuhito. "I certainly hope so," said Washu. *** Tenchi checked the display on the orb. 12: 00: 22: 18. "Time really did stop," he mumbled to himself. "I told you it was," said Marnot. "Look, the sanctuary is up there." Tenchi and Ayeka paused to gaze up the mountain range. Barely discernable in the distance was an entrance of some sorts. But it was at least five kilometers away and atop a vertical precipice. "Oh my," said Ayeka as the height of the rock face set in on her. "Breath taking isn't it?" asked Marnot. Ayeka just nodded. "Well I guess it's a good thing that Washu packed some climbing gear," said Tenchi. Ayeka nodded and looked at Tenchi. "You don't mean," she began. "He does," grinned Marnot. "I hate heights," whimpered Ayeka. "Its not so bad as long as you don't look down," said Marnot jokingly. "It's not the looking down that bothers me," confessed Ayeka. "It's falling down that bothers me." "Come on you two," said Tenchi shaking his head. "We still have a bit to go till we reach the mountain." The further they climbed the pass the colder it got. They passed the tree line and began to scale the pass. Fresh snow hampered Tenchi and Ayeka, but Marnot simply reverted to his bear form. By midday they reached the base of the precipice. "The sanctuary is atop this cliff," said Marnot as he looked up. A lone eagle soared above them. Its cry echoed through the pass. "We should get a move on," ordered Tenchi. "I don't want to be caught out here in any weather." "Weather?" asked Ayeka. "Yeah, it looks dark off in the distance, but it's too far away to see which way it's going," answered Tenchi as he pulled the climbing gear out of the backpack. He slid on a pair of climbing boots and snapped the strap close. The material conformed to his foot to make a snug fit. "Leave it to Washu," he said. He passed a pair to Ayeka and Marnot along with a climbing belt and some gloves. "Tell me Lord Tenchi," inquired Ayeka. "Have you done this before?" "Grandpa and I used to go climbing behind the shrine," he articulated. "But we haven't done it in a while." "Why not?" asked Marnot. "I've had my hands full," joked Tenchi looking towards Ayeka. She just smiled and adjusted her boots. She knew a compliment in disguise when she heard one. "I'll take point and Marnot can anchor," said Tenchi as he drove the first spike into the cliff and clipped the tether to it. "Anchor, as in sink to the bottom?" asked Ayeka. "No. As in rock steady," grinned Marnot. "Right," said an unsure Ayeka. "That's enough you two," snipped Tenchi. He found a handhold and pulled himself up the rock face. Ayeka followed behind with a little trepidation. "Have faith in the champion," urged Marnot. "He will not fail you." "It not him I'm worried about," began a shaking Ayeka. "Its me." "Just take it slowly," comforted Tenchi. "If you need to stop, just let me know." "Alright Lord Tenchi." Tenchi drove another spike and continued up the cliff. It was going to be a long climb and the last thing he needed was a distraught Ayeka. *** "This is not good," mused Washu. She had accessed the Science Academies database and retrieved the information the lost Juraian probe had sent over eight hundred years ago. "What have you found miss Washu?" asked Katsuhito. Sasami looked up from Ryoko's side. "What's the matter miss Washu?" she asked in a small voice. "The telemetry from that probe you mentioned is disturbing Lord Katsuhito," she confessed. "How so?" "These readings are unimaginable. It's like some sort of quantum flux or storm happened right before the probe stopped transmitting," she said never missing a bit of the information she was reading. "I have no idea what could cause readings like this." "I find that hard to believe," said Katsuhito. "Listen," began Washu as she spun around and buried a finger in Katsuhito's chest. "It has been twenty thousand years since I was omniscient. That is a long time to forget things. And being locked up for two millennia or so by that bastard Kagato didn't help matters. So cut me some slack. I'm doing my best here." Washu breathed deeply for a moment. She was about to continued her tirade when the saw the look on Sasami's face. The young princess often betrayed her twelve years, but this time the little girl shown thru. "I am sorry," apologized Washu. "The stress of the past few days just got to me, and you were a convenient vent Lord Katsuhito." "I apologize as well for provoking you miss Washu," replied Katsuhito bowing slightly. Washu nodded acknowledging his deference. "I apologize to you as well Sasami," said Washu. "Its okay Washu," replied Sasami as she gave Washu a hug. She knew how worried Washu had to be. She was worried about Tenchi and her sister even though Tsunami kept telling her things would be all right. In truth Tsunami was just as worried, but she put a good face forward for Sasami. "I know Tenchi can do it," sniffed Sasami. Washu pulled back and wiped the tear from the little princess' face. "So do I," she comforted. "But I'm just worried." Katsuhito watched Washu and Sasami. He knew there was more than Washu was telling, but he did not want to provoke another confrontation. Not yet at least. *** Tenchi drove another spike as the frigid wind whipped across the rock face. He looked down at Ayeka and Marnot as he clipped in the tether. They had not made as much progress as he would have liked too, but he had to watch out for Ayeka. Now that front he had watched earlier was approaching. Tenchi found another handhold and looked back towards the sky. Dark clouds billowed overhead. Faint flashes of lightening highlighted a bank here and there. 'Great,' he thought. The weather looked bad, and here they were stuck on the side of a mountain with at least one hundred meter's to go before they reached the plateau where the sanctuary was. He pulled himself up another few meters and drove another spike. This was going to take awhile. *** Washu sat nervously at her console. Katsuhito had long since returned to the shrine and Sasami was asleep by Ryoko's side. She was still analyzing the data from the probe and it was not promising. She leaned back and stretched for a second. Near as she figured the probe was lost due to a solar storm of some sorts, but that didn't make much sense. "Unless." Washu punched up the star map for the Sigil system. The planet Tenchi and Ayeka was on was Sigil VII, an earth class planet. But the previous six were uninhabitable. She looked closely at the system. Something had to give. Then it dawned on her. The probe was sending telemetry from the systems star at the when it vanished. Washu zoomed in on the star. "One one-thousand, two one-thousand," she quietly counted. By the time she reached six she found what she was looking for. It wobbled. "Its binary," she whispered. Now it all made sense. The probe had been lost in a quantum storm, caused by the binary star. Washu frantically typed in an algorithm to calculate the interstellar flux parameters. "Oh God," she muttered. A tear slid down her cheek as the reality of the situation set in. "They can't make it," she whispered, trying not to wake Sasami. For the longest Washu just sat there watching the calculated quantum storm envelope Sigil VII. *** "Tenchi!" screamed Ayeka as she held on for dear life. Lightening flashed around them casting elongated shadows onto the rock face. "Don't panic Ayeka!" he called down to her. It was hard to hear over the howl of the wind, but Ayeka nodded in confirmation. Tenchi looked down to Marnot. He was perfectly calm and composed. "You are almost there, young champion!" he called up to Tenchi. Tenchi drove another spike and clipped the tether. This was more arduous than any mountain he and his grandfather had ever challenged. As he pulled himself up the rock beneath his right foot slipped. "Tenchi!" shrieked Ayeka as he nearly lost his grip. Quickly he found a new foothold. "Don't scare me like that!" she admonished. Tenchi never looked down to reply. The plateau was about twenty meters away and the sooner they reached it the better. The weather was getting worse each passing minute. 'This is no normal storm,' thought Tenchi. He wondered if this just a natural occurrence or part of the test to prove him self. Deep down he believed it to be the latter but he hoped it was the former. Lightening once again illuminated the three climbers. A light rain began to fall as they closed in on the last ten meters. "Just a little further," encouraged Tenchi as he drove another spike. He clipped the tether and motioned for Ayeka and Marnot to come on. As he did lightening struck the cliff above him. In a brilliant flash dust and debris cascaded down onto Tenchi. Ayeka screamed as the detritus fell over her. Tenchi reached for a handhold only to have the weakened rock give way under his weight. The sensation of falling is a peculiar one. There is no up or down, just a strange overload of the senses. For the longest Tenchi didn't believe he was actually falling. Then he passed the screaming Ayeka and the steadfast Marnot. Then it dawned on him: he was in fact falling. Tenchi tried to grab the rock face but was unable to. Then he heard another scream. The last spike he had driven had pulled free due to the strain of his weight. Ayeka was falling as well. Marnot growled and reverted to his bear form. He dug his claws into the mountainside and braced himself. "The champion must not die!" he howled. His role as anchor was about to be tested. Tenchi saw Ayeka fall and knew what it meant. Marnot could hold his weight easily, but the weight of Ayeka would be too much to hold. That and the tether would probably snap. There was only one thing Tenchi thought to do. He quickly pulled the master key from his jacket and ignited the blade. Sparks flew as he drove the blade into the mountainside. Almost reflexively he reached out with his free hand and grabbed onto Ayeka. He pulled her close to him and found a foothold to balance himself. "Its alright Ayeka," he comforted the crying princess. "Your safe now." "Oh Tenchi," she sobbed into her chest. He held her for a moment before he helped her find a foothold next to his. Marnot sighed in relief when saw that Tenchi and Ayeka were safe. He was now the point man, and proceeded to climb. "I should have become a mountain goat," he growled, pulling himself uponto the ledge of the plateau. Slowly Tenchi and Ayeka made their way up. Finally Marnot pulled Ayeka up to the plateau and then Tenchi. "Thank you Marnot," said a shaking Ayeka. "Like I said," he began. "Rock steady." Ayeka laughed slightly until she saw Tenchi holding his shoulder. He had jarred it slightly when he caught Ayeka. "It will be fine," he said circling his arm a time or two. Tenchi looked up at the massive stone doors of the sanctuary. Once again the tree of Tsunami was carved into them along with the Light Hawk tri-foil. "The storm is worsening," warned Marnot. "You two had better go inside." Tenchi nodded and placed a hand on the tri-foil. It glowed for a second before the substantial mass of the doors opened. "Thank you again," said Tenchi as he and Ayeka entered the sanctuary. A bolt of lightening struck the edge of the plateau across from Marnot, but he never flinched. Ayeka nodded in appreciation again as the doors closed behind her. Marnot looked out to the approaching storm. The ominous clouds were highlighted as lightening played from one to the next. "Enough of this," he commanded. Instantly the storm obeyed his words and dissipated. A ball of light floated down from where one of the clouds had been and landed beside him. From it the form of Baltus emerged. "That was too close," admonished Marnot. "The champion almost died." "I have to make this interesting," joked Baltus. "But not when its my hide on the line, LITERALLY," growled Marnot. "I shall make a favorable report to the Elder," said Baltus as he laid a hand on Marnot's shoulder. "Take care old friend," said Marnot as Baltus coalesced back into the ball of light and flew off into the heavens. "Now what is there to eat around here," he mused as he lumbered off into the mountains. *** "What the," said Washu as she watched the display. The quantum storm had dissipated just as it was about to engulf Sigil VII. She had an idea of what might have happened, but she was relieved that it did. She checked the chronometer. 11: 09: 57: 48 Tenchi and Ayeka were making good time. She just hopped that they could keep it up, but for now all she could do is watch as the master keys signature faded from the screen. The Odyssey shall continue.