Disclaimer: The characters in this story, as well as some ideas, are the property of Pioneer Entertainment and all other corporations that are responsible for bringing out the Tenchi series. The story is not related to the OVA or the two TV series. This version is my own idea. I hope you enjoy it. Tenchi's Life By Michael Muirhead Prologue: Seven Hundred Years Ago The Earth. For many races, the planet and its system were considered to far to be of any value. Less than half of the races had not known of its existence at the time, and those that did, saw little potential in such a small planet. Yet it was on this day that all that changed, though no one would realize it. It was on this day that a small point in space began to bend and a portal began to form. Like a black hole in space, the portal expanded until it was large enough to swallow an entire skyscraper. The area around it began to crackle with energy as two realities collided with one another. Any form of matter near the vicinity was either drawn into the portal or destroyed from the energies that surrounded it. Despite the tremendous force that pulled the matter into the portal, or the destructive energy, a single ship managed to escape harm as it made its way out of the hole and entered real space. Its wooden like hull was covered with plasma fires, burns, and holes. Whatever decorations it once had were now gone. Slowly it fought against the pulling force of the portal and managed to escape. As soon as it was clear, the portal behind the ship closed, returning space to normal. A single man piloted the ship through the use of his thoughts. He searched the area using the ship's scanners, though their range was now limited due to the damage to his ship. When he saw he was no longer being pursued, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had managed to escape his attackers, barely. His ship would not survive another encounter. The man then looked to the planet Earth through a view screen. He realized that the planet would be his final resting-place. He was in no condition to return home. But why would he? To face criminal charges? He could not allow that to happen, not yet. The information he possessed now was crucial if his family was to survive. "Funah-Ho. Show me the pictures of my sisters," the man ordered. A screen appeared next to the one of Earth. It showed two young girls. One was at the age of seventeen, the other at the age of five. Both wore their hair tied at both ends at the top of their heads, though he knew that the older of the two would change her style in one year to a more traditional style. As he looked at them, he realized that they were all he had left of his family. They were also now vulnerable to his attackers without him. "I am sorry to desert you like this, but I had no choice. I can only hope that what I do will help you. Please, be strong," the man said. He then had the picture vanish. He felt a sharp pain in his right side. He looked down to the wound he had, and saw it was still bleeding. A single lucky shot had hit him in the thigh during his escape. He would not survive for very much longer, so he had to act quickly. He turned to a large tree that was behind him. "Funah-Ho. I am not sure if I can survive the landing. I will not last much longer in this body. I ask that you do not follow my spirit when it leaves," the man said. The tree began to emit beams of light through its leaves, toward the ground. The man could sense the sorrow in the tree, and wished to comfort his ship, his companion. But there was no time. "My friend. The information I will give you will cause severe damage to our home world, but it is essential. Everyone must be aware of the terrible wrong that has taken place. I entrust it to you so that you may pass it on. Make sure that none of our foes find this," the man said. The man then pulled back the right sleeve of his robe to reveal what looked like a wooden armor plate attached to the lower half of his arm. A sword hilt, which had been attached to the center of the plate, launched off it once the plate was completely uncovered. The man quickly caught the wooden sword hilt in his hand. He then placed the edge of it against the tree. Energy bolts began to run along the man's arm, through the sword hilt, and into the tree the next moment. The tree began to glow white as it took in the information its master was passing on. The tree saw what its master feared and understood what was at stake. A minute later, the man pulled the sword hilt away and collapsed onto his knees. "There. This information must reach the people still loyal to my sisters. I need you to carry it within you until the time comes where you must pass it on. I know it will not be easy since I can not be with you, but you must do this," he said. The tree emitted more beams of light from its leaves, sending feelings of sorrow and fear to its master. But it knew what had to be done. The man smiled to his tree then turned to look at the planet. "It is time to take root," the man said. Slowly, the ship turned into the Earth's atmosphere and began to plummet down into the atmosphere at uncontrolled speeds. Explosions began to rip along its hull as it made its way down to the surface. Like a meteor falling from the sky, the ship came crashing down into a valley in Japan. Upon impact, a great explosion took place, engulfing the entire valley. Everything in the radius of the explosion was vaporized. After the initial explosion, a blue light shot up into the sky from where the ship crashed and expanded outward along the valley. For a few minutes, the light had shown brightly in the distance. When it finally had cleared, the valley appeared as if had been untouched by the explosion. The wreckage of the ship was nowhere to be seen. The only difference in the valley now was a large tree in the center of the valley, where the ship had gone down. Episode I Voice of the Valley Present The valley that held the Masaki shrine seemed peaceful that day. Only the occasional flock of birds would create the most noise to disturb the valley's silence. At the temple, a boy named Tenchi swept the stone walkway that led up to the temple. For him it was a laborious task, and he often asked himself as to why he was doing it. "You missed a spot Tenchi." Tenchi turned to see his grandfather, Katsuhito, sitting on the steps that led into the temple. Katsuhito was pointing to a small corner of the walkway. "Come on, Grandpa. Give me a brake," Tenchi complained. "Just remember that you were willing to go along with this," Katsuhito said. "I wanted you to teach me how to use the sword. I never agreed to do your yard work," Tenchi argued. Katsuhito smiled. "This is part of your training, as well as your payment to me. You got to work those scrawny arms of yours if you ever hope to wield a sword. You must also clear your head of all distractions and focus all thoughts on your job. I have found that the best way of accomplishing both is by sweeping the temple grounds," Katsuhito explained. "Yeah. It makes me better at sweeping floors and losing all my common sense so I can be your personal slave," Tenchi grunted to himself. "What was that?" Katsuhito asked, placing a hand next to his ear. "Nothing," Tenchi said. Though his grandfather had made him do chores around the temple grounds, Katsuhito had kept up his end of the bargain. Tenchi had begun to learn the basics in using a sword during the summer. Tenchi's father had told of how his grandfather had trained in the art of the sword, before settling down to the life of a priest. Rather than spend money to hire a teacher to teach him, Tenchi asked his grandfather to teach him. As he worked, Tenchi began to wonder if it was such a good idea to make this bargain. Why had he even wanted to learn the art of using a sword? When asked that question, Tenchi could only think of one answer. To wanted to be noticed. He had heard of how some of his fellow students in school had learned the art of a Samurai. They were considered big shots. They got all the respect, attention, and most important thing, girls, in the entire school. What did he have? Nothing. He was just some kid who lived near some old temple. Now he wanted to change all that. Now he wanted to have a piece of the action. "That's good enough. Meet me at the regular place for sword training in one hour," Katsuhito said as he watched Tenchi sweep up the last remains of dirt on the stone walkway. Katsuhito then got up and entered the temple. "All right Grandpa," Tenchi said as he placed the broom down. He then looked toward the valley. From the temple, one could see the entire landscape of the valley. Although he had seen it several times, Tenchi never got tired of the view. Somehow, Tenchi felt there was something truly magical about this place. Anyone who looked from where Tenchi did would agree with him, but could not explain why. For several hundred years, people had come to this very valley to pray. Whether it would be for lost loved ones or just for luck, somehow, they felt as if someone was answering their prayers. "The Voice of the Valley" as some would call it. Tenchi could relate to this as well. When his mother had died when he was four, Tenchi would come to the shrine, hoping to speak with her spirit. He never did see his mother or hear her voice, but he did hear a kind of "voice" from the valley. This "voice" often would comfort him with a feeling of warmth to show he was not alone in the world. It was if there was a spirit looking after the people who came to this valley. Tenchi looked to what he considered the source of the "voice". Though not everyone would agree with him, Tenchi believed that the voice somehow originated from a single tree in the center of the valley, known as the Holy Tree. Even his grandfather had said that the tree seemed to be where a spirit dwelled. As Tenchi looked over the landscape, he decided that he probably should at least pay his respects to the spirit, guardian, or whatever it was that made the valley magical. The main reason he decided to was to please his grandfather, Katsuhito. It was considered a family custom. Not to mention, if he pleased his grandfather by paying his respects, he could learn more on how to wield a sword. Running as fast as he could, Tenchi bolted down the steps of the temple, heading toward the center of the valley. It took him roughly seven minutes for him to reach the Holy Tree. Once he was close enough to see it, Tenchi stopped running and slowly approached it out of respect. The tree was in the center of a small pond. Its roots arched out of the water and reached out in all directions. From just looking at it, Tenchi thought he felt a greater power within the tree. Many had claimed the same as well in the past. Upon reaching the edge of the pond, Tenchi clasped his hands in prayer and began to pray to the Holy Tree, offering his respects. As Tenchi began to pray, he felt a wave of images enter his mind. For Tenchi, the images made no sense. They showed faces he could not recognize and what appeared to be other planets. One of the images showed what looked like some kind of wooden sailing ship in space, approaching the Solar System. Another showed what looked like a great battle between several of these wooden sailing ships taking place. At first, Tenchi regarded the images he saw in curiosity, believing they were some kind of special vision. But slowly, the images flew through his mind, faster and faster. Within moments, Tenchi was being overpowered by these visions. His mind could not handle the rate the images were appearing in his head. His head began ache as he saw the images appear. "What's going on?" Tenchi cried as he clutched his head. He began to collapse onto his hands and knees. As the images continued to race through his head, one word seemed to echo in his mind: Danger. The images finally began to fade away after a few seconds. Once they did, Tenchi began stand up. Tenchi was undeniably spooked by what had just happened to him. His better judgment told him to leave the area immediately. It was advice Tenchi was all too willing to agree to. Quickly, he ran as fast as he could to the base of the steps before he stopped to catch his breath. As he tried to catch his breath, he began to wonder what had just happened. Did he anger the spirit of the valley somehow? What were the images he saw? Who were the people in the images? Why did the voice call out "danger"? Tenchi did not know any of the answers and wasn't really sure he wanted to know. Yet, something inside told him he just had to know. "Ow!" Tenchi screamed in pain. His hands reached up and covered his head where his grandfather had just struck him with his wooden bokken. "You're not concentrating Tenchi!" Katsuhito shouted angrily. "Geese! You didn't have to whack me on the head!" Tenchi complained. "Be glad it wasn't a real sword or you wouldn't have a head. You must never drop your guard," Katsuhito instructed. "Sorry," Tenchi said. Katsuhito had been teaching the basics of the sword to Tenchi, and already he could see Tenchi was not concentrating. Something seemed to be disturbing Tenchi. "All right. What's the matter?" Katsuhito asked. "Huh?" Tenchi said. "You are not concentrating as much as you normally do. You either do not wish to continue the training or have something on your mind. Tell me what it is," Katsuhito ordered. Tenchi heaved a sigh. Even though the rushing images had ceased, his questions as to what happened still remained. "Grandpa. Have you ever had some strange vision appear to you?" Tenchi asked. "What kind of vision?" Katsuhito asked. "I don't know really. Images of people or wooden sailing vessels I guess," Tenchi said. "No. I can't say I have. Why? Did you see something?" Katsuhito asked. "When I went down to the Holy Tree at the center of the valley, all these images I can't describe appeared in my head. It was weird. I did not even know who they were," Tenchi explained. "Hmm. Very interesting," Katsuhito said. "Can you explain what I saw?" Tenchi asked. "You think I have all the answers?" Katsuhito laughed. "Well, you are the priest of the shrine," Tenchi said. "I may be the priest and have lived in this land for years, but even I do not know all of its secrets. Not even the first people who came here could explain the 'Voice of the Valley'. It is a mystery many have sought, but none have solved. All I can really say is that tree, the Holy Tree of Masaki Shrine, may be the key," Katsuhito explained. "Surely, there must be some way to explain what I saw," Tenchi said. "I can not help you on this. Perhaps you were just hallucinating. In any case, it is probably best that we stop training for today and head home. Your in no condition to continue," Katsuhito explained. Tenchi was about to argue about stopping his training, but was quickly silenced by his grandfather's stare. His grandfather was usually adamant about such decisions and knew there was no point in arguing with him now. Tenchi returned to his house. When he arrived, he found his father, Nobuyuki, sitting on the couch, reading the paper. "Hey Tenchi. You're home pretty early. What's wrong? Grandpa throw you out of the temple?" Nobuyuki asked. "You could say that," Tenchi grunted as he took a seat next to his father. His still ached from his grandfather hitting him. Instinctively he rubbed it. "Ah. Looks like Dad gave you a good knock on the head. Watch your step, Tenchi. He is lethal with that bokken of his. "How would you know?" Tenchi said. "Let's just say that your grandfather gave me a few knocks when he thought I was cheating with your mother. Of course, it happened a week before I was married to her," Nobuyuki said. "Were you?" Tenchi asked. "What? No Way! I was the perfect gentleman," Nobuyuki shouted. Tenchi regarded this with a little suspicion. His father was the type of guy that always looked at girls. Tenchi could remember a time when he actually asked a young girl to study with him for a test at school. She was just a friend, but his father got the wrong idea and had embarrassed Tenchi and the girl in the process. The girl never talked with him again. "You know Tenchi. This training of yours is not going to score you any girls. You got to be aggressive like me," Nobuyuki said. "You're joking, right?" Tenchi said. "No. You got to take charge. I've seen how you act in front of girls. You're a mess. You got to show you're strong. You're the man. Impress the ladies by showing your manly talent," Nobuyuki said proudly. "Has this ever worked with you?" Tenchi asked. "The last time it did was with your mother. Of course, she found it amusing instead," Nobuyuki said. "Figures," Tenchi grunted. Tenchi found himself walking down a dark corridor. It was like he was in some kind of hallway for a cathedral or castle. Both ends of the hallway ended in a wall of darkness. As Tenchi looked down these tunnels of darkness, he could feel danger within him. He could not explain why. "Hello! Is anyone there?" Tenchi called out. He heard no response. No one was around, yet, Tenchi felt as if there was. He felt as if he was being stalked, like deer would feel when stalked by a lion. "Uh? Grandpa? Dad? ANYBODY?" Tenchi began to scream. He continued to look around the area he was in, but saw nothing. There was a dead silence for a few moments. Tenchi then heard a deep voice that echoed throughout the hallway. "Yosho," the voice called. The voice seemed to be coming from one end of the hallway. Tenchi gulped as he heard the voice. "Uh. Hello. My name is Tenchi. I'm not supposed to be here," Tenchi said. Slowly he began to walk backwards, away from where the voice supposedly came from. After taking a few steps back, he felt himself back into another person that was much taller than he was. His face began to pale, as he knew something evil was behind him. Slowly he looked up. Once he was looking straight up, he saw his stalker. Looking down upon him was a pale man with gray hair tied at the back of his head. He wore some spectacles and elegant green and black robes. He gave Tenchi an evil smile as he looked down upon him. Tenchi jumped away and turned to face the man. "Did you really think you could escape me, Yosho!" the man laughed. "Yosho?" Tenchi said in confusion. He looked around to find that he was the only person the man addressed. "No one can escape me! Give me the key!" the man growled. The man then raised his hand. Green bolts of energy gathered into his hand. The man then squeezed his hand around the energy to form a green sword of energy. "Wait! My name is Tenchi! Can't we talk this out?" Tenchi shouted as he backed away from the man. "Its to late for you to beg for mercy, my prince!" the man mocked. The man then raised the sword over his head and brought it down in a sweeping motion along the floor. A wave of energy formed where the sword had cut the floor and raced toward Tenchi. "No! Wait! Stop! Augh!" Tenchi cried out as he felt the wave of energy hit him and tear his body apart. Tenchi awoke with a scream. His body dripped with sweat as he sat up. It took him a moment to realize that he was now inside his room. He looked around frantically to make certain that he was in his room. He then heaved a sigh. "What a dream," Tenchi said. "Who said it was a dream?" a dark voice behind him said. Tenchi turned around to see the man behind him again. The man quickly brought his sword down on Tenchi. "Augh!" Tenchi screamed. Once again, Tenchi awoke in his bed with sweat covering his body. He sat up and looked around. "I'm awake! I'm awake!" Tenchi said frantically. He then calmed himself down. "I hope I'm awake," he said to himself. Just to make sure, Tenchi pinched the top of his wrist as hard as he could. "Ow!" Tenchi shouted as he felt the pain. He quickly released his wrist and cradled it. "Guess I am awake. What a nightmare," Tenchi said. As Tenchi continued to cradle his wrist, he did not notice the strange sight outside his window. A single ray of rainbow light began to fade away into the darkness. The ray of light had originated from the center of the valley. The next mourning, Tenchi had just barely been able pull himself out of bed. After the nightmare, he had remained awake for the rest of the night. Only the annoying presence of his father had awakened him. He just managed to reach the school bus on time. However, as the school day progressed, Tenchi found it hard to stay awake. As Tenchi listened to his teacher lecture, he began to fall asleep. "Hey Tenchi! Wake up!" Tenchi awoke to see his friend, Amagasaki, nudging him on the shoulder. "What's going on?" Tenchi asked. "You're falling asleep. Do you want to get into trouble with Mr. Brick Wall over there?" Amagasaki said. Tenchi smiled at the nickname his friend gave his teacher. He could understand the name given to his instructor. Whenever someone would argue to with the instructor, it was like speaking to a brick wall. His teacher was especially strict on people who fell asleep in class. "I'm okay," Tenchi said. "You sure?" Amagasaki asked. "Yeah," Tenchi said. Amagasaki shrugged and went back to taking notes. As soon as Amagasaki turned back to his notes, Tenchi began to fall asleep again. He began to dream that he was in a giant grassy field. There were several giant trees surrounding the field. Each tree seemed to have an advanced building floating around it. However, the largest of the trees that Tenchi saw had an ancient stone structure built around it. "Yosho!" a female voice called. Tenchi looked toward the source of the voice to see a young girl running to him. She had blue hair that was tied on either side of her head along with some freckles on her cheeks. She looked like she was about five years old. "Yosho! Come on! You're late! Ayeka wants you!" the girl said as she grabbed his hand and began to tug on it. "What? Who are you? What's going on?" Tenchi demanded. "Come on! Ayeka is waiting! You are suppose to practice the marriage ceremony with her!" the girl said as she continued to tug on his arm. "Marriage! What's going on here?" Tenchi shouted in surprise. Before Tenchi could get an answer from the girl, the landscape began to darken as if night had just begun. Dark clouds began to form in the sky. As the area became darker, the wind began to grow stronger and stronger. Before Tenchi knew what was happening, he found himself trying to hold his ground against the wind. "Yosho!" the girl cried out. Tenchi looked to the girl to see that she was being carried off by the wind. "Hold on!" Tenchi said as he grabbed onto the girl's hand. But his grip failed the next instant, and he watched her spiral into the heavens where she disappeared. "No!" Tenchi cried out. Tenchi then notice some clouds take shape where the girl had disappeared. The clouds formed the pale-faced man that was in Tenchi's previous dream. The man looked down upon Tenchi and laughed. "What's going on? Who are you?" Tenchi screamed. Before an answer was given, a lightning bolt came crashing down toward Tenchi. Tenchi awoke at the sound of his teacher's yardstick crashing down onto his desk, just inches from his face. Tenchi sat up, awake, only to find his teacher looking angrily down at him. "Taking a nap, Mr. Masaki?" the teacher asked. "Well I - That is-" Tenchi began before the yardstick cam crashing down on his desk again. "Save your petty excuses!" the teacher growled. Tenchi could only give a weak smile. "Your in trouble now, Tenchi." Amagasaki said. "Do you wish to join him, Mr. Amagasaki?" the teacher asked. "No sir." Amagasaki said. At the same moment Tenchi was having his dream, a single ray of rainbow light was once again emitted from the Holy Tree. Eventually, the light began to fade away, without anyone noticing it was there to begin with. For the next several days, Tenchi began to see more and more of these kinds of dreams. Whether they started out with a peaceful serene atmosphere, or a dark one, they always ended the same way, some guy slaying him. The only clue Tenchi had to the dreams was that people were calling him "Yosho". He had also heard the name "Ayeka", and suspected it belonged to some older girl he seen in another dream. Tenchi tried to peace together some answers, but found only more questions. It was driving him crazy. Finally, he sought some advice from his grandfather, Katsuhito. "Hmm. This is strange. And you said it probably began after the images you saw at the Holy Tree?" Katsuhito asked as he swept the temple grounds. "Yeah! What does it mean? I need to know! It's driving me crazy!" Tenchi cried. "I don't know," Katsuhito said. Tenchi lowered his head in frustration and groaned. "But, perhaps it is a sign. Maybe the only way for you to find the answers is to go back to where all this started. That is the only advice I can give you," Katsuhito said. "You think so?" Tenchi asked. "Nope. But it's the only thing I can think of," Katsuhito smiled. Tenchi was more then willing to try anything once to get rid of the nightmares he was having. They were driving him to the point of insanity. Taking his grandfather's advice, he headed toward the Holy Tree. He reached the edge of the water and stared at the tree. "All right. What do you want from me? Why are you giving me these nightmares?" Tenchi demanded. For several moments, Tenchi stared at the tree, hoping that some form of answer would appear before him. But nothing happened. "If you can't give me a reason, then leave me alone!" Tenchi shouted. He then tuned around to head back to the temple. As Tenchi did, he heard two words echo in his mind. Help me. "Huh?" Tenchi said as he turned back to the tree. The words echoed in his mind again. "Help you? What's going on?" Tenchi asked. "No more time!" a voice screamed in his head. The tree then began to emit a white glow around its trunk. Blue sparks of energy began to crack along its sides. "What the?" Tenchi shouted as he saw the tree light up. The next moment, Tenchi felt himself being pulled into the tree by an invisible force. Desperately he tried to fight against it with all of his might, but it wasn't enough. He found himself flying through the air toward the tree, where he crashed against its trunk. Tenchi groaned in pain as his back hit the trunk of the tree. His body then faded away and disappeared. Slowly the energy subsided and everything was peaceful again. After several minutes of laying unconscious, Tenchi slowly began to wake up from his sleep. As he did, he found himself in strange surroundings. At first, he thought he was lying in some kind of prairie, but as he looked around, he found it to be more like some kind of alien garden. "Where am I?" Tenchi said to himself as he looked around. The surrounding area had several small trees and plant life. There were also some wooden walls, floating steps, and platforms that decorated the area. In the center of all this was a giant tree that looked just like the Holy Tree at the valley. Encasing the entire area was a giant glass dome. Outside of the dome, there was only blackness. "Hello?" Tenchi called out. There was no answer. "What's going on here? Somebody! Anybody!" Tenchi called out. Once again, Tenchi heard the voice in his head, crying out to help it. "Will you tell me what's going on here?" Tenchi asked. Immediately, Tenchi felt a wave of images pour through his mind. Only this time, Tenchi recognized some of the images. They were the same that he had seen in his dreams. As they rushed through his head, Tenchi began to see more images of the man who had killed him in his dreams. With each image of the man, the word "danger" echoed in his mind. "Stop this!" Tenchi cried out as he tried to block the images. His hands clutched at his head in pain. The images ceased. "All right. I get the idea. Some guy wants to kill me," Tenchi said. Tenchi then heard a groan echo in his head. "Guess not," Tenchi said. Again, he heard the voice asking him to help it. The voice seemed very anxious and frightened as it asked for Tenchi's help. It was if it knew something bad was about to happen very shortly and it needed help right away. At this point, Tenchi was beginning to wonder if he had a choice. It didn't seem so. He saw no exit, around him so he couldn't escape. He also felt the voice would not quit until he agreed to help it. Tenchi took in a breath and sighed. "What do want me for you?" Tenchi asked. In a small corner of the garden, some long grass began to part, revealing what looked like some sort of wooden plate hidden in the grass. It was about the length of the lower half a person's arm. It had some straps that seemed entwined around something. Instinctively, Tenchi walked over to the area and looked at the plate. To him, it resembled a piece of armor made out of wood with a wooden sword hilt attached to the top of it. Hoping to get a better look at it, Tenchi reached down and picked it up. As he started to lift it, he realized it was still attached to something. As Tenchi pulled the plate free, he saw that it was attached to the lower arm bones of a body that was hidden in the grass. Tenchi screamed in fright as he backed away. "What is this? What's going on?" Tenchi cried in fright. Suddenly, a number of vines erupted from the ground and wrapped themselves around Tenchi. Slowly, he was lifted into the air. Another series of vines wrapped themselves around the skeleton in the grass and lifted it up as well. "Hey! Stop! Let me go!" Tenchi shouted as struggled to get free. But all his struggles were in vain. The voice entered his head. It was now saying its time had run out. It had no choice in what it was about to do and that it was sorry. The voice then disappeared. Tenchi was perplexed by the voice in his head. He then noticed a glow from the skeleton. He turned to see that the plate on the skeleton's arm was glowing. It also seemed to be disintegrating into a golden cloud of dust that surrounded the skeleton's arm. "What are you doing?" Tenchi asked, but heard nothing. Once the plate had completely disintegrated into a golden cloud, it began to swirl in the air around the skeleton. The vines then dropped the skeleton into the grass, leaving it to rot away. Tenchi watched in horror as the golden cloud now approached him. With even more desperation, he fought against the vines' grasp. But the vines' grip was too strong. He could only watch in horror as he saw the golden cloud swirl around his right arm. The next moment, the armor plate that had been around the skeleton's arm was now on Tenchi's arm. Before Tenchi could fully comprehend what had just happened, energy began to flow through the vines that held Tenchi. The energy sent waves of pain through Tenchi's body. His body appeared as if a lightning bolt had engulfed him. So great was the pain, that Tenchi lost conscious after a few seconds. He could not even shout out for help before losing consciousness. Outside, the Holy Tree began to glow white. Energy began to coarse along the outside of it. Slowly the energy around the tree began to build up until a ball of energy surrounded the tree. As soon as this had happened, the energy shot up into the heavens at blinding speed and dissipated. As the energy shot up, the Holy Tree cried out, yet only another tree of its kind could ever hear the terrible sound it emitted through space. Once the energy ball that surrounded the tree was gone, the area around the tree returned to normal, except for one thing. The Holy Tree's leaves were now wilting and falling off. "Tenchi? Tenchi?" Tenchi slowly awoke from his deep sleep. He was staring into a bright light. For a few seconds, he was blinded by it. Was this the white light people saw when they died, Tenchi thought. "Am I in heaven?" Tenchi muttered to himself. Tenchi's father, Nobuyuki, leaned over his face. "Nope. Just the good old Masaki residents," Nobuyuki said. Tenchi sat up and realized that he had been staring into one of ceiling lights in his room. He found his father at the side of his bed, with his grandfather behind him. "What happened? How did I get here?" Tenchi asked. "Your grandfather found you near the Holy Tree, unconscious. It looks like you slipped and hit your head on a rock," Nobuyuki said. "Slipped?" Tenchi muttered. Tenchi somehow did not recall that. Desperately, he tried to remember what had happened to him. "Yep. I found you at the base of the Holy Tree," Katsuhito explained. Tenchi then remembered the "Voice of the Valley" and what had happened to him. "No! I didn't slip! The Holy Tree abducted me! I was pulled inside! It put something on my arm! Look!" Tenchi said, and pulled back his right sleeve. Nobuyuki and Katsuhito looked at Tenchi's arm. "Put what on your arm? There's nothing there," Nobuyuki said. "Huh?" Tenchi said in surprise. He looked at his right arm and grabbed it with his free hand. He felt along his arm, but did not find the supposed armor plate that was attached to his arm. Yet he remembered it being attached to his arm. "Tenchi. I think you need some rest," Nobuyuki said. "But I know what happened! Grandpa! Didn't you see anything?" Tenchi demanded. "I was inside the temple at the time, locked in prayer. I went to look for you when Nobuyuki said you had not come home for dinner," Katsuhito explained. "But - " Tenchi said before being interrupted. "Right now, you need some rest. Get some sleep," Katsuhito said as he made his way out of the room. "But - " Tenchi began again. "Don't worry about it. It was probably just some bad dream," Nobuyuki said as he left the room. He turned off the lights as he exited the room. Tenchi sat up and began to wonder. Was it a dream? It seemed so real. Yet, he had no proof it actually happened. Not even the strange arm plate. What was going on? For the longest time, Tenchi sat awake in thought, trying to make sense of what was going on. Outside his room, Katsuhito and Nobuyuki headed down to the basement. Both remained silent until they knew they were far enough from Tenchi's door so that he would not over hear them. "So you think he's gone crazy?" Nobuyuki asked. "No. He might be overworked. He just needs some rest," Katsuhito said. "I hope so. I don't want my son to become a psycho," Nobuyuki said. Little did anyone in Tenchi's family realize was that the danger was closer than they suspected. Just outside the Solar System, a single Jurai ship flew. Its characteristics were that of a small scout ship that was designed only to hide from its enemies and gather information. On board, two men stood before a great tree that was in the center of the ship. The two stood looking at their space tree in surprise. Their tree had just told them it had heard a cry from the third planet of what they called the Sol System. It also had witnessed the energy all Jurai trees threw out when they died. For the two men, it was a grave sign. "Hmm. Funa-Ho is dead. That means Yosho may be dead as well," one of the men said. "Don't presume to much, Toshiaki. We still don't know that," the other said. "What should we do, Haruka?" Toshiaki asked. Haruka sat in thought. What they had sought for was on the third planet in the system. The trouble was they could not get to it. The planet was deep inside the territory of the Aligned Worlds government and was considered off limits to outside forces. Had this been Jurai territory, they could go in and get what they wanted. "We must retreat for now. The energy put out by Funa-Ho is sure to attract the Galaxy Police. If we were seen here, it could jeopardize our leader's plans," Haruka said. "But the key!" Toshiaki shouted in outrage. "No! The energy put out by that Jurai tree has surely caught the attention of the Galaxy Police. If they find us, it might cause an incident between the Aligned Worlds and Jurai. We must escape now!" Haruka shouted. "You mean a incident to cause another war?" Toshiaki asked. "Precisely. We can't let that happen. Not until our leader assumes the throne and gets the two keys," Haruka said. "Very well," Toshiaki grudgingly said. He then gave his space tree instructions to head back to Jurai space. "Do not fret, brother. We will come back for it," Haruka said. "But what about the princess? Her space tree and every other space tree must have surely heard Funa-Ho," Toshiaki asked. Haruka only sighed. It was something he did not realize and could easily jeopardize everything they had worked for. If anything, the princess was against their master's ideals, as well as a few other nobles. It had proven tricky to hide things from her, especially the incident concerning her brother, Yosho. The princess was sure to intervene once she felt Funa-Ho's death. Things were taking a turn for the worst. To Be Continued........... Previews: A young princess answers the call of her brother's space tree and asks for the help of her government's enemy. How far will she go to solve the mystery of her brother. And what of Tenchi? What has the tree done to him? What role will he play? And what of the armor plate that was attached to his arm? Where is it? More answers to come in Tenchi's Life, Episode II: Approaching Enemy. Special thanks to all who had taken the time to proof read this story for me. Author's Note: All right. This is my first attempt at a FanFic for Tenchi Muyo. However, it is a new version of it. I believe this has been attempted before, but I have not seen any that have finished. I will try my best to finish the episodes for this one, but I can't make any promises. One other thing. I wish to apologize for Yosho/Katsuhito fans. I made them two different individuals. Not to mention, I killed off Yosho as you probably can guess. Sorry, but you will understand why I did.