NOTE : This is a slight remake from a fanfic I wrote a while ago. When I say slight, I mean I changed the name of my character in the story, and I fixed a few errors. Sorry for all the trouble. This is a work of pure fiction, so it is not meant to be used as a means of making a profit. Tenchi Muyo belongs to AIC and Pioneer, but the story and Sei Shikyru belongs to me! If anyone wishes to use them, please give me credit. Note, this is a continuation of the OVA series, but I also took some stuff from the TV series as well. ENJOY!!! TENCHI MUYO SILHOUETTE WINGS by Ron Head CHAPTER 3 No Need for Kidnapping!/ The Mercenary Strikes Dialogue Key : "~~~" for characters that are speaking (~~~) for characters that are thinking Sunshine peered through the window of the kitchen as Sasami cooked breakfast. The hinted gleam sparkled off the glossy window and shined in the blue-hared princess's eyes. She covered her face, shadowing her pink eyes from the brightness of the sun. "Miya?" purred Ryo-Ohki in her humanoid form. "Huh?" answered Sasami, blinking her eyes rapidly. "Oh, it's nothing, Ryo-Ohki. Just the sun's real bright, that's all." Ryo-Ohki has helped Sasami make all the meals every since she assimilated with the Mass. It was a nice change of scenery, since it was rather strange to have one little girl cook all the meals in the house. At least this way Sasami would have a little help preparing the food. But Sasami never minded in the first place. She loved to cooked, and since Nobuyoki was busy at work, and Washu was always in her lab, she was the only one capable of cooking a decent meal in the house. Sasami pulled the curtains down, stopping some of the sunlight from shinning inside the kitchen. She opened the top of the pot, releasing all the steam from the boiling soup. The second crown princess of Jurai inhaled the delicious smell of the soup, pleased with the success so far of her cooking. "Okay, time to taste the soup!" She poured herself a small bowl of the soup. After taking a small sip, she waited for a reaction from her taste buds. "Needs more carrots," she said to herself. After putting away the small bowl on the counter, she reached for a small plate. When she looked down at the plate, however, a shocked look was on her face. All of the chopped carrots that was on the plate a while ago were gone. Carrot crumbs were all that was left. Sasami immediately turned towards Ryo-Ohki. A disgruntled expression was emitted from Sasami's face. "Ryo-Ohki! How many times do I have to tell you not to eat all the carrots until I was done cooking?!" The little cabbit-girl looked down, an innocent look was on her face. "Oh well, guess I'll have to tell Tenchi we need more carrots." Ryo-Ohki's face lighten up with joy. "Miya! Miya! Meow!" "And this time, don't sneak out to eat all the carrots like the last time!!" **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** A multicolored beam of light radiated out of the Royal Tree known as Tsunami. Soon, more kaleidoscopic beams of light illuminated out of the royal tree. The bright lights of illumious colors filled the entire Royal Garden like a glowing aurora. All the other trees in the Royal Garden reacted by emitting their own beams of light. All the rainbow-colored rays shinned in one point in the sky. A large glowing ball formed. It was filled with many various colors that flickered and hummed a soft light. The glowing ball floated towards the center of the garden. Once it was hovering over a large Jurain platform, it released a blast of light. A flash filled the room, blinding anyone who would happen to be in close proximity. After the flash faded away, standing in the middle of the platform was the presence of Tsunami. She remained still as a picture. Her head was bowed and her eyes were closed, as if she were in a silent prayer. Lady Funaho walked inside the room. She walked up a long staircase that lead to the platform. She was standing in front of the blue-hared goddess right now. "Hello there, Tsunami," said Lady Funaho in a stern voice. Tsunami looked up at the Queen of Jurai, smiling slightly. "Hello, Lady Funaho," answered Tsunami. For a several minutes, they remained silent. Lady Funaho looked around the Royal Garden, noticing that all the trees had rainbow-banded rays shinning out of them. "So, anything new?" asked Funaho, breaking the silence. She never really knew how to react around Tsunami, even after all those years they known each other. The fact that Tsunami was a goddess and the creator of the Jurai Royal Family made Lady Funaho nervous whenever she was around her presence. Tsunami looked up at the black-hared queen. She smiled silently again. "I have some bad news," responded Tsunami. "Lady Tokimi made her move. She sent someone to get the gems." "I see," said Lady Funaho in a serious tone. "Do you know who this person is? "No, Lady Tokimi was able to block that information from me. All I know is that he is after the gems." Lady Funaho was hesitant for a moment. "Ryoko's gems is what sustains you son's life tree," continued Tsunami. "And if this person is able to retrieve the master key, then you surely know what will happen to Yosho, don't you?" The black-hared queen of Jurai gritted her teeth as she gave an angry expression. (Yes, I know what will happen! Dammit, how can she be so damn calm when she talks about this!) Tsunami notices the dismay that Lady Funaho was in. She became of aware of the emotional pain she had caused Funaho. (I wouldn't blame her. If I had a son who could possibly die without those gems, I would be afraid and angry too.) "I am sorry, Funaho. I did not mean to trouble you." Her voice became softer and more understanding. "I don't really know how to feel or handle emotions like pain, misery, and anger. Emotions are a foreign concept to me." She puts her head down, facing the ground as she looked away from Lady Funaho. Moments of silence passed again. Lady Funaho looked at the goddess, not knowing what to say or how to react. "No, Tsunami," Funaho finally said. Funaho's voice was almost trembling at this moment. "It's not your fault. Don't be sorry." The pink-eyed goddess looked up at Lady Funaho and smiled. "I could see why Sasami likes you so much," replied Tsunami. Lady Funaho smiled also. The two of them walked along a pathway, until they reached the Royal Tree known as Tsunami. The tree was glowing a bright green once Tsunami was near it. "Too bad we couldn't get Tenchi to come with us to Jurai," said Tsunami. "Yes," replied Lady Funaho. "If only…" They had planed to take Tenchi, Ayeka, and Sasami back to the planet Jurai when they came to make their visit to the Masaki house. Lady Masaki and Lady Funaho hoped to train Tenchi and refine his Jurain powers so he could combat Lady Tokimi. Tsunami sighed silently. "Well, I guess we could only hope for the best," said Tsuami. She paused for a moment, bowing her head and closing her eyes. After several seconds, the marks on her forehead began to glow. "But we should expect the worse, as well." Then she disappeared. **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** The Galaxy Police ship known as Yukinojo zipped across the sol system. The black and white space ship was rapidly approaching it's next destination : the Jurain space station known as Masaki. Inside the cockpit, the mercenary Sei Shikyru was sitting in the pilot's seat. He rested his chin against his palm. In the back of the cockpit were two orange containment bubbles. In one of the bubbles was Mihoshi, who was still unconscious. Inside the other bubble was Kiyone, who had a very angry look on her face. Kiyone sat Indian style, crossing her arms. It almost looked like the emerald-hared officer was pouting, but the expression on her face truly meant that she was pissed off. She turned to see Mihoshi. She never believed she'd see her old partner again. She never wanted to. Right now, First Class detective Kiyone wishes that she was still trapped in deep space. Mihoshi was sleeping. A small trickle of drool was hanging from her mouth. Kiyone sighed to herself. (Well, I guess some things never change. Mihoshi could still sleep through a nuclear explosion!) The blonde-headed policewoman continued to snore loudly. Sei got up from his chair and took out the copper- coated device that controlled the containment bubbles. He turned on the sound barrier on Mihoshi's bubble. Soon, the snoring from Mihoshi was silenced. "Man, she can't even be quiet in her sleep," said Sei to himself. Kiyone smirked a little at his joke. The golden-hared mercenary noticed Kiyone was laughing slightly and turned to look at her. The detective, now realizing this, turned away. She didn't want to look at the mercenary that kidnapped her. Sei looked away as well. He could tell she was still mad at him, but he really didn't care. He was just surprised to see her laughing at something he said, even if it was a joke. Sei took off his sunglasses, reveling his eyes. They were tinted with dark navy blue. He placed his sunglasses on the collar of his shirt. Kiyone looked up at the mercenary, seeing what he really looked like for the first time. Although she had seen wanted posters of this man before, he always had those dark sunglasses on. The green- hared detective looked into his dark blue eyes. She noticed how sad his eyes looked, like he had seen many harsh, terrible things in his life. Sei pressed a button on a nearby dashboard. A hatch opened up right next to the dashboard. A small refrigerator box popped out of the hatch. He opened the door to the mini-fridge, taking out a beer can and an apple. Sei pulled out the bronze-colored device again and pressed a large red button. Instantly, an opening was appearing on the containment bubble that held Kiyone. Kiyone was startled for a moment. "Huh?!" she said loudly. A small, oval shaped opening was in front of her. Sei walked over to the bubble, and handed Kiyone the apple trough the opening. "Here," said Sei, "thought you might be hungry." The officer was startled at the kind gesture from the mercenary. She never expected him to be this nice. Kiyone stared at the apple for a while, not knowing if she should take it or not. "Aren't you hungry?" asked Sei. Yes, Kiyone was hungry. She hasn't eaten anything in over two days, and was starving because of it. The GP officer took the apple hesitantly. After taking a big bite out of the delicious apple, she looked up at Sei. "Thanks," replied Kiyone. Sei remained silent and walked away. Kiyone hungrily ate the apple. She never tasted anything so good in a long time. All those months being trapped in deep space and only relying on a limited supply of food rations caused her to have quite an appetite. Sei opened the beer can and took a quick gulp of the alcohol beverage. Yukinojo appeared from the top of the cockpit. "We will be nearing the space station Masaki in about five hours." Sei looked up at the robot. "Okay, good." "Space station Masaki?" replied a confused Kiyone. "Yes, that's where we're going," answered Sei "But….why?" "We're gonna pay a little visit to the king of Jurai." Kiyone was even more confused. (What the hell is he talking about?!) She looked up at the golden-hared man again. He was looking down at the hard tile floor. After putting away his beer can, he took out a necklace from underneath his shirt. The necklace had a silver chain and was attached to a golden locket. It had many designs and patterns on it, and in the middle of the locket was a small ruby-red gem. Sei opened the locket, revealing a picture of a young woman. She had jet-black hair and soft pearl-colored eyes. He stared at the picture for a long time. Kiyone swore she could almost see a tear starting to shed from his eyes. The policewoman looked at him with sad eyes, wondering who that woman was on the locket. **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** Back in the Masaki house, Tenchi came downstairs after being awakened by Ryoko in her own "unique" way. Sasami noticed Tenchi coming down and went up to greet him. "Good morning Tenchi!" Tenchi looked down at the little pink-eyed girl and smiled. "Good morning Sasami!" "Now what in the world were you thinking Ryoko?!" screamed Ayeka from upstairs. "Just waking up Tenchi, that's all," replied Ryoko, who was also upstairs. Sasami looked confused for a moment. "What's going on? Is Ayeka and Ryoko fighting again?" Tenchi looked down, a large sweat drop was starting to form. "Yep." "How dare you try to wake up my Tenchi in such a disgraceful and disgusting manner?!" yelled Princess Ayeka. "You're just mad because I thought of it before you did, princess!" hissed Ryoko. Ayeka continued to fumed in anger. "By the way, princess, when was Tenchi yours anyway, huh?" "That's not the point Ryoko! The point is that I will not allow you to try anything funny on my, err.., on Lord Tenchi!" "Oh yeah, whatever Ayeka! You and what army, 'princess'?!" Sparks were starting to crackle as the two women started a stare-down. Ryoko formed a ball of energy in her hands, while Ayeka formed her force shield, which included her customary wooden logs. Meanwhile, downstairs, another sweat-drop was emitting from Tenchi's forehead. "Oh boy, not again." Then, without warning, a huge explosion blasted through the house. Once the smoke cleared, Ryoko and Ayeka continued to argue. "Look what you done, ya lame-brain!" protested Ryoko. "Who are you calling a lame-brain!?" Tenchi sighed and was on his way to the kitchen when Sasami stopped him. She nudged at his shirt sleeve to get his attention. "Oh Tenchi, I just remembered something!" proclaimed Sasami. Tenchi turned around to meet the blue-hared girl again. "Yes, Sasami?" "We ran out of carrots, again. Could you get some more, please?" Tenchi sighed, looking down at the wooden floor. "I just got some carrots yesterday." "I know, but Ryo-Ohki ate most of them, and we just ran out." Tenchi sighed again, and went to get his work clothes. "Okay, Sasami, I'll get some more carrots." A bright smile of joy appeared on Sasami's face. "Thank you very much, Tenchi!" Another explosion occured, blowing away bits and pieces of wood and tile. **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** Yukinojo neared the space station Masaki. A large orange jet stream streaked across space as they came closer and closer to the Jurain station. Sei was sitting in the pilot's seat again, swigging down his beer. Mihoshi was still asleep, but thankfully the sound barrier was on, so her snoring were muffled. Kiyone continued to sit as she did before. Yukinojo appeared down from the ceiling again. "We will be approaching the Masaki in less than thirty minutes." Sei crushed his beer can and tossed it away. A sweat drop was forming on the headpiece of Yukinojo. "Excuse me sir, but littering is not allowed in a Galaxy Police regulated vehicle." Sei gave a snide look at the robot. "Bite me," said Sei as he flicked off the robot. **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** In the central communication office of the Masaki, a signal was received as an indicator of an oncoming ship. The first officer of the Jurai military notices the signal and enlarged an image of the ship. A holographic screen appeared in front of him. On the screen was a section of a map in which the ship was flying in. The first officer turned to his superior, the commander. The commander was tall and had a thick gray beard on. He wore a Jurain uniform which represents his status in the military. "Sir, we got a GP regulated ship heading our way." The commander looked at the young officer with some surprise. "It must be Detective Mihoshi. Is the ship within communication range?" "No, not yet. It will be in less than twenty minutes." The commander looked at the holographic screen, wondering to himself. (Why didn't Galaxy Police Headquarters alert us in advance that a ship was heading our way?) **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** Tenchi pulled out another carrot in the fields. He tossed it inside the basked that was attached to his back. After wiping trickles of sweat off of his brow, Tenchi got and looked around the enormous fields. (It already feels like summer.) Something was strange, however. The basket that was latched on his back felt really light. (That's weird, I could of sworn I have at least five dozen carrots in here.) He took off the basket and looked inside to see how much he had. To his shock he found the basket was empty. Laying on the very bottom was Ryo-Ohki in her cabbit form. Ryo-Ohki looked up at Tenchi and meowed softly, obviously pleased with herself. Tenchi sighed as he took the small fury creature out of the basket. "Ryo-Ohki, how do you expect us to cook breakfast when you eat all the carrots?!" The cabbit shrugged and meowed again. **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** The first officer pressed several buttons on his keyboard as an image of Yukinojo appeared. He turned around to face the elderly commander again. "Sir, we are getting a message from First Class Detective Mihoshi." The commander sat up, his arms were folded accross his chest. "Good, send the message through the super-inter-space hotline." "Yes sir." After several minutes, a translucent screen appeared in front of the commander. On the screen was Detective Mihoshi, who was smiling cheerfully as usual. "Hello Commander," said Mihoshi in a jaunty tone as she waved her hand. "Um, hi, Mihoshi. How come Galaxy Police Headquarters didn't tell us that you were coming in advance?" "Oh, well, you see, the super-inter-space hotline was damaged in a little accident, and it is out of order." "Oh, I see." The commander still was a little confused. (Even if the super-inter- space hotline was out of order, which is highly unlikely, there are backup hotlines they could've used.) "Anyways, commander, I need to refuel, so could I please dock aboard the Masaki?" "Oh, alright Mihoshi." "Thanks." Then the screen disappeared. The commander looked down at his post. He sat down at his seat and thought about what transpired. The first officer typed in more commands in his keyboard. "All docking stations, allow passage for Yukinojo," ordered the first officer. After all the docking stations acknowledged the order, he turned around to see the commander. "Sir, don't you think that was a little odd?" "Yes, but when it comes to Mihoshi, everything's odd." **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** Onboard Yukinojo, the holographic image of Mihoshi disappeared. Sei smirked as he turned off the holo-projector. "Worked better than I thought," said Sei to himself. Kiyone immediately responded. "You won't get away with this, bastard!" Sei smiled again, and turned to walk towards the captive officer. "But I already have, Detective Kiyone." **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** Docking station G-6 of the Masaki opened up a large hatch. The organic/ mechanical station prepared to dock with the GP ship. Yukinojo slowed it's speed as it neared the station. Once it reached the docking station, clamps and tractor beams held the ship in place. The hatch doors closed once Yukinojo was fully docked with the Masaki. Everything went black. Darkness fell upon docking station G-6 for several minutes. Then, spot lights started to shine on the black and white ship. Soon, the entire room was filled with light. Several squads of Jurain military rushed towards the ship. They were armed with laser rifles and shock rods. They walked towards the entranceway of Yukinojo. Next to the doors was a communication device with several grayish buttons on it. One of the officers pressed the message button. "Detective Mihoshi, we are here to escort you to the commander." **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** Sei took out a large, silver-coated gun. It had a several large cannon barrels, and accross the side of the gun was the word "DESPERADO" in big bold letters. The curved handle shinned with jet-black. Kiyone recognized the gun. "That's a vintage, Desperado A-K2 model, isn't it?" Sei turned around, a little amazed at what she just said. "I'm surprised you know what this is. You sure know your guns, but that should be expected from a great GP officer like you, Detective Kiyone." Sei's voice was dripping with sarcasm after his last statement. Kiyone gave Sei a disgusted look. After loading up his Desperado, he took out his sunglasses and placed it over his eyes. Light sparkled and shine off of his black-coated glasses as he walked towards the bridge of the ship. He took out the device that controlled the containment bubbles and pressed a yellow button. The bubbles started to hover off the tile floor. They followed behind Sei as he walked to greet his new visitors. **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** The entrance doors to Yukinojo opened up, smoke filled the area. The lead officer quickly went in first to make sure the coast was clear. As soon as he stepped inside, he was hurled back from a gunshot. Blood gushed from his wound as he fell ten feet away from the doors. The others quickly aimed their guns towards the entranceway. Several more gunshots rang out the doors of the ship. Two more officers fell to ground. Poles of blood were forming around their dead bodies. The other Jurai squads rushed towards the ship. Before they could do anything more, a grenade was hurled towards the officers. A large explosion rocked the docking station. Literally hundreds of bodies flew through the air from the blast. Once the smoke cleared, Sei stepped out, holding his gun in readiness. Trailing behind him were the containment bubbles that held Kiyone and Mihoshi. "Time for the King and Queens to pay their dues," said Sei to himself. **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** In the communication station, the first officer quickly received a message. He turned to face the commander. "Sir, we just got word that the mercenary Sei Shikyru was in Yukinojo! He already took out most of our squads!" A horrified look was on the face of the commander. "What?!" **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** "Red alert!" screamed the first officer through an intercom. "All hands report to docking station G-6! I repeat, all hands report to docking station G-6!" Bright flashing red lights filled every corridor and passageways as the alert siren echoed throughout the Masaki. Hundreds and hundreds of Jurain military rushed towards docking station. **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** In the throne room of the Masaki, sirens and flashing lights filled the area. King Ayhzua stood up from his chair, a puzzled look was on his face. "What's going on here?!" exclaimed the King of Jurai. A young Jurain knight dashes in front of the king. He wore a white and blue Jurain outfit. In his right hand was a golden staff that had a large violet jewel attached at the end of it. "Sir, we got a bad situation here!" stuttered the knight. The king continued his confused look. "It seems that there was an intruder onboard! He has kidnapped several GP officers and is using them as hostages!" A look of both shock and horror was emitted from King Ayhzua's face. "Wh,wh,what!?!" He clenched his fist as he tried to process this information in his mind. (How could this be?! No one has ever invaded a Jurain space station, except for…) The king's thoughts were cut off when he figured out who the man was. "Tell me, knight, is this intruder Sei Shikyru?" The Jurain knight nodded his head. "Yes sir." King Ayhzua sat down on his throne, swallowing hard. Now his shocked/ horrified look was wiped away. In it's place was an expression of worry. Lady Masaki noticed this and walked over to comfort him. "What's wrong, honey, who is this man?" A soft, tender hand was placed on King Ayhzua's shoulder. Ayhzua placed his own hand on top of Masaki's. "He's a mercenary. In fact, he's the best in the universe. He invaded another Jurain space station before, stole all their money and anything in value, and then destroyed it, killing everyone onboard." He squeezed Masaki's hand hard. "We have to stop him at all costs." Now this time a puzzled look was on the face of Lady Masaki. "But, what is this man after?" The purple-hared king looked down at the wooden floor. "I wish I knew." **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** An explosion blasted away at the hordes of Jurai military as they neared the mercenary. Several of the officers who survived the outburst were sent crashing down on the hard, cold title floor from a barrage of gunfire. Blood stained the metal walls as the bullets pierced through the armor of the Jurain officers. Sei quickly ran towards another passageway, watching to see if there are any more military squads around. He rearmed his gun and checked inside his trench-coat to see if he has enough explosives and grenades. "Dammit!" said Sei to himself. "I'm almost out." After reloading his weapon, Sei turned around behind to see if the containment bubbles are still there. The two orange bubbles continued to hover over the floor. Mihoshi was surprisingly still asleep. She rested her head against the bubble, snoring very loudly. Kiyone, on the other hand, was scared half to death. She saw hundreds of her fellow officers get killed at the hands of the mercenary. Kiyone looked up to meet Sei in the eyes. Once again, he wore his sunglasses, giving him an expressionless demeanor. But then the green-hared officer noticed someone sneaking up from behind of Sei. Hope and excitement filled her as soon as she saw that the person was a Jurain officer. A bright smile peered on her face. Sei, noticing this, wondered what she was smiling at. "What's with you, Detective Kiyone?" Before he could say anything more, the officer took his shock rod and started to choke the golden-hared mercenary with it. Sei dropped his gun and grabbed the rod that was pressing hard against his neck. With all of his strength, the officer lifted Sei off the ground. The elevation added to the pain that was strangling the life out of the mercenary. In a desperate move, Sei smashed his elbow against the chest of the Jurain officer. He smashed his elbow against the officer again. The officer dropped Sei to ground but was still choking him with the rod. Sei continued to strike with his elbow until the officer eased his hold. After reeling back from the repeated blows, Sei grabbed the rod again and flipped the officer over his back with the use of the metal object. The spine of the officer crashed on the hard tile floor. He was dazed for a moment, and looked up at the mercenary. But before he could do anything more, Sei landed a blow with his fist against the bridge of the nose of the officer. A sharp sting of pain pierced on his face as the Jurain officer felt every bone in his nose break and shatter. Blood poured from his eyes, nose, and mouth. He clutched his face as blood continue to gush from his wound. Sei, in the meantime, held on to the shock rod and prepared to strike again. Like a raging animal, he stabbed the shock rod on the abdomen of the officer. Electricity shrugged through his body, burning him to a crisp. After several more seconds, Sei stopped his assault, and eased back, clutching his throat. He threw the rod on the charred remains of the Jurain officer. Then he picked up his gun and walked towards his next destination. **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** In Washu's lab, the greatest mad scientist sulked in a floating chair. She looked at the artificial sky in her lab, smiling a little. (Funny, I can create synthetic air molecules, but I can't even find out who planted the memory loss in Zero and Clay.) Washu has stayed in her laboratory ever since her experiment failed for about ten times. She never came out to eat, and whenever anybody attempted to talk to her, Washu hid in the far corners of her lab, hoping that whoever was at the front door would go away. But thankfully everyone in the Masaki house respected Washu's privacy, so they left well enough alone. A dimensional portal opened up in front of Washu. Out popped a flashing red siren. "Huh?!" said Washu to herself. Noticing something is wrong, she brought up her transparent computer and pressed a button. A large holographic screen formed in front of the red-headed scientist. On the screen were scale models of spheres and circles. "What?! There's a disturbance in the Masaki." She presses several more buttons on her laptop until a large screen appeared. On the screen was a large model of the space station Masaki. Several bar graphs that represents power levels that belongs to the Jurains onboard. "What?! But that's impossible!! There should be only three people onboard that station to have levels that high. How could there be a fourth person with a power level that is nearly as high as the King of Jurai himself?!" She looked at the image again, checking to see if all the equipment is working properly. "This could be trouble." **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** The dark corridors that lead to the throne room seemed endless. Sei stopped to catch his breath, and leaned back against a large marble post. Kiyone looked around the passageways, admiring at all the Jurain paintings that was hanging on the walls. Each picture has portraits of past emperors and empresses of Jurai. Mihoshi was still asleep as she curled herself up into a little ball. After catching his breath, Sei continued to walk on as the orange containment bubbles trail behind him. Within minutes of searching, the mercenary runs into some uninvited company. "Hello there," said the dignified voice of a Jurain knight. He was tall and had long, bleach-blonde hair that was pulled back into several ponytails. He had dark, menacing black eyes. The knight wore a gold and silver Jurain outfit and pointed a long, golden staff at the flaxen -hared man. The staff had a large red crystal attached at the end of it. Immediately Sei took out his Desperado and pointed the large gun towards the knight. "Oh, so you're going to use a crude weapon like that to stop me, eh?" Sei smirked, and flipped off the Jurain knight. "Fuck off, bitch!" replied Ken roughly. "A crude weapon for a crude person." The knight smiled and focused all of energy on the glowing red crystal that was on his cane. Sparks of energy crackled off the glowing crystal. Before the knight could do anything more, Sei fired his gun directly towards the ruby-red crystal. The jewel shattered into a million pieces and the glowing light that was emitted from it disappeared. The blonde- headed knight froze, not believing what happened. "How, how, how did you know?!" spluttered the knight nervously. Sei smiled widely and eased his gun down. "I learned a while back that a Jurain knight has to focus all his energy in one direct spot in order to use it's full power, a.k.a. that piece of shit crystal I just smashed." "Clever," growled the knight. Kiyone, in the meantime, sat in amazement. (How did this guy know about that?) She watched on as the two were about to spare off. They circled each other, eyeing one another with intense looks. "I guess I'll have to finish this the old fashioned way," said the knight. He got his staff ready in a fighting position. Sei dropped his gun and reached inside his trench coat to pull out a long saber. The blade shinned in the dimly lit hallway. "Didn't expect you to have a weapon like that," replied the knight. "Shut up and fight, punk." Both men charged at each other. The knight took the first strike. He swung his staff, but missed as the mercenary ducked the attack. Seeing a opening, he speared the knight and took him off his feet. But the knight rebounded and flipped Sei over with the use of his legs. Sei fell straight on his back, but was able to get up. He took his sword and slashed at the knight with a downward stroke. The knight blocked the blow with his rod, holding Sei off with all his strength. "You're pretty good," murmured the knight. Sei clenched his teeth and pressed down even harder with his sword. Using his height to his advantage, the blonde-head knight tripped Sei. The back of Sei's head collapsed on the marble floor. The mercenary lay dazed from the attack. Within seconds, the knight brought the sharp end of his staff towards the neck of Sei. Sei momentary saw the oncoming attack, and quickly moved out of the way. The cane thrusted into the hard, marble floor, causing cracks to emit from the damaged area. The knight tried to pull his golden staff from the ground, but it was planted too deep. "Hey, jackass!" screamed Sei. The blonde-headed Jurain turned around. "Heads up!" Before he knew what hit him, Sei slashed his sword at the knight, slicing off his head. Blood spewed out of the wound as the headless body slumped on the ground. The knight's head rolled directly towards the containment bubble that held Mihoshi in place. The policewoman woke up, rubbing some of the sleep from her eyes. "What's going on?" said Mihoshi lazily. She looked down at the decapitated head, and her eyes nearly popped out from her skull. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" After several more minutes of screaming, Mihoshi fainted. Kiyone seemed frozen, not showing any signs of emotions or life. Her skin was pale, and her knees felt like they were trembling even though she was sitting down. Sei placed his saber back into his trench coat and got his gun. He turned around to see the two horrified women. "It's time to move on." **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** The throne room was busying with all sorts of royalties. All of the Jurain royalties were huddled in a large group. Surrounding them were a row of six Jurain knights. The king of Jurai sat in anticipation. His expressionless face gave off every hint of concentration. Lady Masaki had a very worried look on her face, while Lady Funaho merely gave off a serious countenance. "Sis, what's going on?" asked Lady Masaki in a troubled tone. "Didn't you know?" replied Lady Funaho. "Someone invaded our ship and has taken out most of the guards." "I know, but who is this person? How was he able of get onboard?!" Lady Masaki's voice was almost trembling with fear. "The intruder's name is Sei Shikyru. I know he is a mercenary for hire, but I don't know why he is here or how he was able to get onboard." Lady Masaki looked down at the ground, trying to hide her fear. The black- hared queen walked over and placed a hand on Masaki's shoulder. The blue- hared empresses looked up and smiled. "It'll be all right, Masaki. You have to learn to be strong in situations like this." The pink-eyed woman swallowed hard, trying to regain some amount of composure. "I know, Funaho." A small Jurain guard ran into the throne room. He had on a gray and blue Jurain uniform, and was wearing a large hat that resembled a GP cap that Mihoshi wears. "Sir! Sir! The intruder has made his way to level 1! He's on his way to the throne room and…" The officer was cut off from a gun shot. The bullet punctured through his skull as a small trickle of blood ran down his forehead. The guard fell to his knees, and soon sank all the way to the ground. Everyone in the room looked up and saw a shadowy figure standing behind the dead guard. In his hand was a large, silvery gun that shined and sparkled with light. Smoke was fuming from the nozzle. The figure walked forward, letting the light reveal who he is. King Ayhzua nearly leapt from his throne, gasping in shock and horror. "Y, y, you!!" Sei smiled, gesturing towards the king of Jurai. Lady Masaki spoke underneath her breath. "So this is the guy…" The golden-hared man pulled his gun up and placed it in a holster that was attached to the back of his trench coat. "Long time, no see, eh King Ayhzua?" The royal knights lined up in front of the mercenary. They all held up their battle staffs in readiness. "You won't get past us, scum!" proclaimed the leader of the group. "I don't think so," replied Sei as he snapped his fingers. Approaching from behind him were the two orange containment bubbles. Everyone in the room gasped, even the royal knights. Kiyone was pounding at the bubble, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Let me out of here, you asshole! Let me out I said! You piece of shit!" In the other containment bubble, Mihoshi was on knees, praying, as tears rolled down her checks. "Oh please, Lord! Let me get out of here alive! I promise to be good and not be lazy and not to eat a lot and to pay attention to orders!" Mihoshi continued on and on with her list of resolutions. Both Kiyone and Ken looked at Mihoshi with very ambiguous looks. "Yeah right," they both said aloud. Sei cleared up his throat, getting everyone's attention. "Okay, now here's the deal : all of you do what I say or these two Galaxy Police officers suffer!" One of the councilmen was outraged and quickly walked over towards the mercenary. "You're bluffing!" he said. Sei looked sharply at the councilman. "I never bluff." With that, Sei took out the copper-coated device and pressed a small red button. Both containment bubbles emitted electrical sparks inside the field, electrocuting both hostages. The king got up from his throne, screaming as loudly as he could. "STOP!! You made your point! Leave them alone!" The mercenary pressed the red button again, and the electrical surges ceased. "Well, Ayhzua, what'll it be?" The king of Jurai sat down in his high throne, swallowing every ounce of pride he had. "Okay, we will do as you say, Sei Shikyru." Sei smiled evilly. "Wise choice." The councilman raced towards King Ayhzua. "But sir!" protest the councilman. "We cannot allow him to take us over this easily!!" "Silence!!" growled back the king. "Remind me to demote you when we get back to Jurai. We are public servants, and our duty is to uphold the safety of the public. As long as he has those two GP officers, we will have to do what he says, for now." The councilman lowered his head, and bowed before the king. "Yes sire." "AHEM!" said Sei. Everyone looked back at the mercenary. "Okay, now that everyone here knows their role, you all better shut your mouths!" All the people were quiet, obeying what the man had to say. "Now, I won't ask for much. All I want all of you to get your asses out of this space station, now!" At first, everyone in the throne room was still, not believing what the mercenary just demanded. It was absurd, having to take orders from one man just because he had hostages in his possession. Sei looked around, getting very pissed since no one was listing to him. He got his gun out and fired a shot at the ceiling. "I said move, dammit!!" Instantly everyone ran out of the throne room. They all pushed and shoved to get through the large hallway doors. The king and queens stayed in their places. "That includes you too." All three royalties froze. "What?!?" they all said together. "Well, actually, I will need another hostage for insurance," said Sei. "Okay then, you Lady Funaho…" He pointed his gun directly at the black-hared queen of Jurai. "You'll stay here, while the others leave." King Ayhzua got up immediately, obviously sore. "Preposterous!! I will not allow you to…" His words were cut off from a hand gesture from Lady Funaho. "No," she said firmly. "Leave, now." Both King Ayhzua and Lady Masaki were speechless. "B,b, but…" "It is okay," said Lady Funaho again. "If you stay, those two officers will get hurt, or worse." King Ayhzua got up, grabbing his wife's hand. "Yes, I know, but…" Once again, Funaho cut him off before he could say another word. "Don't worry. I will make sure nothing will happen." The king looked down, and released his grip on her hand. "I understand, Funaho." Sei gave a snide laugh. "Ha! Now I know who has the balls in this family!" Ayhzua turned around, giving Sei a dirty look. "Mark my words, scum, you will pay!" The golden-hared mercenary shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever." **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** Lady Tokimi's realm. The mysterious goddess was looking at a image of what transpired in the Masaki. Instantly, D-3 appeared, his ruby red eyes shinned with evil intentions. "Everything is prepared, Lady Tokimi." The goddess remained silent. "Are you worried that he is letting Lady Funaho stay in that space ship, Lady Tokimi?" "She is the only one, besides Tsunami, that knows of our plans." "She will easily be disposed, though Lady Tokimi." "Don't be so quick to judge, D-3. She is very powerful, and she has the aid and protection of Tsunami with her." The image of the Masaki showed many Jurain ships leaving the space station. "At least he got the rest of the Royal Family out of there," said Lady Tokimi, showing some sign of reassurance. "Shall we go on with the next phase of our plan?" asked D-3. Lady Tokimi nodded with approval. "You may proceed, D-3." "As you wish, my highness." D-3 disappeared in thin green vapor mist. Lady Tokimi looked at a small golden gauntlet. It was shaped with a phoenix surrounded by three snakes. It had eleven slots on the wings of the phoenix. Five of the slots were filled with five ruby red gems. Lady Tokimi smiled, pleased so far with the task at hand. "Soon, the rest of the gems will be mine, along with the universe." **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** TO BE CONTINUED Author's notes : Some quick rap-ups before we conclude this chapter. Although this whole hostage thing seems a little absurd and weird at first, this was the only logical way that I think of for this situation to happen. The next chapter will explain why it happened much more clearly. Plus, the next chapter will explain the mystery of the eleven gems as well. If you wish to send me some feedback, e-mail me at Drkblade69@aol.com. Check me and my friends' website at http://www.geocities.com/Area51stargate7675. Ch. 4 is on it's way soon, so stay posted! ^_^ ********** ^_^