Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Tenchi Muyo characters or anything of that nature. Tenchi Muyo, all characters and names are the sole property of AIC and Pioneer. AD&D and Phyrexia are properties of TSR and Wizards of the Coast, respectively. I only claim ownership of the characters Kalog Planesmaster, the Beastmaster and the Nameless one. Please don't sue. I have no money whatsoever to protect myself with or to pay out. Anyway, on with the story...... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- No need for New Realms : Ch.4 Darkness and Light In her spell induced sleep, Sasami dreamed. She was in a sunny field, with pink and white flowers in bloom. In the distance, she could see Tenchi, Ryoko, Ayeka, Washu and Mihoshi waving to her. Laughing, she ran towards them. When they were a short distance away, the sky became dark and a dark, tarry blackness formed between Sasami and the others. There was the screech of metal on metal and rusty metal tentacles tipped with blades dripping a smoky grey substance shot from the goo towards the others. Another shriek of metal came from behind her. She turned in time to see a great beast made of metal and flesh, bone and oil rushing towards her. She cried for Tsunami as the razored claws of the beast struck her. Then the dream faded to darkness. Tenchi also dreamed, but not of what Sasami saw. He saw random images of his life. They came to him in a chaos of light, color and sound. His grandmother in her blue kimono under the tree near Ryoko's cave........ Ryoko rising from the water in her cave....... Soja tearing apart around them.......... The black hole and his rescue of Ayeka and Mihoshi from Dr. Clay's ship.......... Ryoko and him kissing and watching the sunset on the Queen of the Seas......... Ryoko........... The thoughts fell back into order and Tenchi began to regain consciousness. When he first opened his eyes, the harsh light that flooded into them was blinding. He blinked, allowing his vision to adjust. "He's coming around." said a voice near him. He turned his head to see who it was. Ayeka sat on her knees next to him, with a relieved look on her face. "You are finally awake, Lord Tenchi. You have had us worried." Tenchi slowly sat up. He still felt weak from the energy drain. When he propped himself up on his hands into a sitting position, he noticed he wasn't wearing his armor. He saw it lying on the ground a few feet away, the skull helmet glaring at him with it's terrible visage. Someone had dressed him in his bed clothes. "How long have I been out?" asked Tenchi, turning to Ayeka. "For the better part of a day. We were worried you wouldn't ever wake up for a while. Ryoko has been at your side for most of it, but Washu took her away to rest." replied Ayeka. "Is Ryoko doing ok? How bad was she hurt?" he asked. "Her left arm was broken, but it healed in a matter of hours. She has been asleep for a little while, at Washu's orders, but I think she'll want to see you." she answered. Tenchi smiled. He slowly got up and pulled on his gear, but left the helmet on his sleeping bag. He found the others sitting by a fire, cooking their food. Since he had no idea what time it was, he couldn't guess at what meal it was. All he knew was that when he saw the food, he realized he was hungry. He sat down on the ground amid the welcoming conversation of the others. They all were happy to see him, Ryoko especially. He could tell she had been really worried by the flying tackle hug she gave him (which knocked him backwards). Everyone just kind of got a good chuckle out of his plight (she wouldn't let him up). When things settled down a bit, they had dinner. They filled Tenchi in on what had happened to them in the battle and what had happened afterwards. The wall had fallen on them, they explained, but a quick barrier spell from Kendal kept them from being crushed. A burst of power in one part of the barrier allowed them to get a hole in the rubble and let them escape from the wreckage. Mihoshi, in her fear, had notched and arrow and had let it fly as soon as she had gotten out. That lucky arrow had hit the monster in the eye, distracting it like when a person gets a speck of dirt in their eye. They had watched as Tenchi's power exploded, consuming the beast in it's fury. They said they had to shield their eyes, due to the intense light. They had watched him stumble from the burning mass of reptilian skin, bone and charred muscle. And they had seen him collapse. They had rigged a tent over him to protect him from the elements so he could recover. Kendal and Washu went to the remains of the tower while Ayeka and Mihoshi watched over him. They found Ryoko buried beneath the heavy stones of the tower, on the wreckage of the second floor. Her armor was holding up, but her arm was at an odd angle. And the blood trickling from the fanged jaws of her skull helm made Washu a bit nervous. Fortunately, a gash across the head and the broken arm were all that afflicted her. Despite the pain, she flew back to camp, and sat at Tenchi's side for most of the night, praying over him and shedding many tears. It wasn't until after breakfast Washu got her to get some sleep. That is when they took the tent down and got some rest themselves. Tenchi had woken up soon after them, several hours later, and now it was dinner. "Well boy, that was quite a feat you pulled!" commented Kendal. "Never seen anything like that in my life! You can bet that the history books will be talking about you, no doubts to that." Tenchi laughed a bit. Him, making history on a world he didn't know existed. But then again, slaying Kagato would probably mean he would be making history in his own universe. "Anyway," said Ayeka. "Now that we did what we came here to do, I think we should leave. Given that these mountains are a dangerous place, we should leave post haste." "I couldn't agree with you more, princess, but there is a problem. How are we gonna leave?" asked Washu. "When the tower collapsed, it killed most of our horses and the ones that weren't crushed bolted. We got a long walk if we are going to get back." "Well, why don't you use one of your spells? Summon something to carry us, or send us to a place we could go." said Ryoko. "We could do that, but what would you summon?" asked Kendal. "And just because you summon something, doesn't mean it has to obey you. That elemental I summoned was only partially under my control." "Yes," agreed Washu. "And translocation spells are sketchy at best. I wouldn't recommend them. I don't know them well enough to trust them." "Yeah, and I don't know any ones that could carry a large group. I only know ones that work on one person. And those take alot out of me." added Kendal. "I could teleport us one at a time to......." Ryoko began. She was cut off by the howling of a great wind. Loose dust and small stones formed a churning cyclone around them. Their fire became a column of smoke. A brilliant flash made them shield their eyes, and when they could see again, the wind was gone. The fire was out, and in it's place, there stood the one that had brought them to this world. Her cyan hair was not disturbed by the breeze. "Well done, my friends, well done." she clapped. "You have done well, and the Master sends his congratulations." Ayeka was the first to speak. "We have completed the task you have set before us. Could you please return Sasami to us and let us go home?" "I could, but your job is not entirely done." "What do you mean 'not done'?" demanded Ryoko. "We killed the Tarrasque, or whatever that thing is." "True, you did slay it, but it is not completely dead. As we speak, it is regenerating. Within the week, it will have completely recovered from it's destruction and continue to exist as it has always done." replied the cyan haired being. "You mean we have to kill it again?" asked Ryoko. "No. You have proven you could kill it. It has suffered death only once before, at the hands of the Master, but he let it regrow. The balance of creation requires that this beast continue to exist." answered the BeastMaster. "What you must now do is a task of greater difficulty than what you have already done." "More difficult than that? What could be worse than the Tarrasque?" asked Tenchi, obviously awed by the implications. "I will show you. Besides, once you see what the task requires, I think you will be more than willing to do it." The BeastMaster said. "Now, as for you, wizard," she said, turning to Kendal. "Your services are no longer required." She strode towards Kendal, and he backed away in fear. He had no idea what was going on or who this was, but he sensed great power at work. The BeastMaster pointed her arm, palm out, towards Kendal. The black armor she wore turned red and scaly. Curved white spikes grew from her fingertips and all along her arm. Pulsing veins and sinew covered the metal. Her eyes narrowed and red energy crackled in the space between her fingers. A pulsing burst of energy, in the form of a meteor, shot from her palm towards Kendal. With a strangled cry, Kendal tried to block the bolt with a barrier, but it was for naught. The bolt punched through the barrier like a bullet through paper. Kendal was struck in the chest and red electricity coursed through him. His features wavered and dissolved into mist, which vanished seconds later. The BeastMaster dropped her arm, which vanished into her cloak, and turned to the others. "You didn't need to kill him!" Washu exclaimed angrily. "He is not dead. He was returned to his tower, and his bird also. He will only have a dreamlike remembrance of the events which took place here." she explained. "Now, we must be off. Follow me." There was another gust of wind. The dust swirled in a cyclone again, consuming the group and their camp. They shielded their eyes from the stinging sands and grit, and within minutes, they were gone, the dust stopped swirling. It fell to the earth, leaving no trace of the group or it's presence. They opened their eyes. There was no light, but they could see each other clearly. The BeastMaster stood before them, her cloak billowing out behind her. She held her arms out, as if ready to embrace something. Something was forming in the air between her outstretched arms. A mist of chaos four feet in diameter. By the way the colors and patterns twisted and curved, they guessed they were witnessing a part of the Void. As they watched, a singular, regular object appeared. It twisted and dodged through the random emptiness. The object was unidentifiable, but as it drew closer, they could make out details. A knifeblade design, magenta in color, with ten elegant sails. Tsunami........ The familiar ship plowed through the chaos, twisting and turning to avoid the strange features of the Void. Then there was a flash. A great darkness loomed before her. The distortion of the Void made it hard to see, but it's intention was clear enough. White lightning shot from the darkness, blasting through the Light Hawk Wings of Tsunami and tearing into her beautiful hull. Ayeka gasped. "Is this happening now?" she breathlessly demanded. "No. This happened a week ago by you reckoning, but only a second ago here in the Void. Remember, time has no meaning here." answered the BeastMaster. "Why didn't you do anything to stop it?" she asked, gazing with intent fear at the scene before her. Tsunami had broken in two and the bow of the graceful ship had been engulfed with a flash by the darkness. The other part spun away, end over end, before disappearing from view. "It was not my place to protect her from dangers she knew existed. They desired to see sights besides the island, and so I let them see those sights. Protection was not something I guaranteed them, however......." "Them..... You mean, Sasami as well as Tsunami?" Washu asked quietly. "Yes. Both of them." "Where are they now? We must go to them!" Ayeka said, growing a bit frantic. "I shall take you to the plane where they have gone down. What you do when you get there is your own doing." The darkness turned to light as the mist of the Void condensed around them. It soon drifted away like fog on a wind. They stood on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a vast plain. Rocks were strewn everywhere, and the ground looked scorched. A great bowl- shaped depression was visible a few miles away. Sticking out of the depression, like a splinter in flesh, was the stern of Tsunami, blackened by horrible fires. "Her entrance to this place has not gone unnoticed," said the BeastMaster, pointing. They look to where she was pointing. At the rim of the depression, there was a shifting mass of darkness. It looked like a multitude of ants. "Already the scavengers have descended." Washu cast a spell that enhanced her vision. She gazed at the mass, and her face became grim. 'Those things are....unnatural." she breathed. "What kind of creatures are they?" "Phyrexians. A race of machine-creatures that seek to dominate everything in creation. They have no real chance of doing it. Their god is not capable of leaving their own plane and relies on his minions. Despite that, they are quite formidable. I suspect they want Tsunami so that they may twist her powers into something they can use for their own ends." "We can't let that happen." said Ayeka. "No one must learn the secret of the Royal Trees of Jurai." "Well, I hate to burst your bubble, princess, but I think that there are things out there that could care less about the secrets of the Royal Trees." Ryoko pointed out. "Whatever shot down Tsunami did so with apparent ease. Your family doesn't hold a monopoly on that kind of power anymore." "They never did."added the BeastMaster. "There are many races in the multiverse that posses ships that can out-perform, out-gun and out-run anything your Jurian fleet has or will have. The Phyrexians are one of them. I think that they want Tsunami so that the god of Phyrexia can have a personal ship that he can use to spread his influence." The two truths, so grimily pointed out, made Ayeka weak. The power, the grandeur of so many years, all made lowly by these two cyan haired demons. She could feel the tears in her eyes, and the eyes of the others on her. "However, in your universe, your Jurian ships are the most powerful vessels, with your Ryo-ohki being the only other ship with their level of power. But I do think that you should wrest Tsunami from Phyrexia's grip, or that may spell trouble for your own universe." "What do you mean?" asked Tenchi. "The Phyrexian desire of conquest. If they take Tsunami, they will know everything there is to know of your universe and they will invade. With Tsunami's power, no Jurian ship will be able to stand against them, as will no GP ship. Not even Ryo-ohki will be able to stop them." "So that is what you meant by us being more than willing to do this task." said Washu. "The fates of our universe and Sasami hang in what we do here." "Yes. And we have tarried long enough. I will carry you to a point a half mile from the Phyrexian camp. You will then have to get to Tsunami and get her defenses going." They were surrounded by a cyclone of black sand. When it dissolved, they were much closer to Tsunami. All their gear was in place, ready for battle. There was a screeching noise, faintly audible, just over the next few hills. "Here is where you start you final task. Beware the Phyrexians, they are powerful. Especially beware the centipedes and Negators. You will know why if you see any." The BeastMaster faded away into the Void. The screeching noise was closer now. Ryoko and Tenchi formed their energy swords. Washu and Ayeka readied defensive spells, while Mihoshi nervously readied her bow. They didn't have long to wait. A horde of Phyrexians came over the next hill a few minutes later. They were horrible. They looked like skeletons, with metal plates covering vital organs and black, metallic flesh. They had bare, armored skulls that drooled a black, inky substance that hissed when it hit the ground. Spikes and claws were everywhere, as was the stench of oil. Fire flew from the ground before the rapidly advancing horde. Washu's first spell caught the first rows of Phyrexians by suprise, causing them to burst into flames. The ones that followed hesitated, giving the others a chance to get off their attacks. Mihoshi's arrows flew, piercing bone and metal. Bolts of crimson death rained from Ryoko's palm. Fire and lightning shot from Washu, and holy energy coursed from Ayeka. A great deal of the monsters fell, writhing in pain and shrieking like metal ripping. But they were only starting. More came, and soon the fire barrier was overwhelmed. Tenchi's sword slashed through the hideous beasts. His armor held up well enough against the metal claws and teeth of his adversaries, be he didn't know how long. Ryoko rained bolts down, and slowed the advance of the monsters some, but they were like a tide. If they remained much longer, they might be overwhelmed. "Washu!" Ryoko called over her mental link. "Use your flight spell, or we're finished!" "Just....give..me a minute." was the answer. Washu was busy keeping the things at bay, so the spell would have to wait a little while. But Ryoko didn't know how much time they had. She could see a ways off from her vantage point, and they were like a river. Turning back, she cast more bolts of energy. Phyrexians fell, but it seemed so...useless against such odds. Then she remembered her spellbook. She pulled the slim volume out and paged through it. She found what she wanted, and smiled. This would be perfect. Throwing her arms out and holding her sword with both hands, she chanted some words. The sky boiled above her and became darker. Fire and rock fell like rain. Thousands of the beasts incinerated where they stood. But no one else was hurt. Ryoko had cast a protective spell at the same time. The momentary lapse of the assault gave Washu the time to use her spell. They were aloft and soaring towards the towering hull of Tsunami, despite the screeching protests of the fell army below them. The ground dropped away below them as they flew over the depression. The sight was incredible. The whole depression, which was at least a mile wide, was filled with Phyrexians. And some of them were VERY different from the ones they had seen. They flew on, coming to Tsunami's hull. There were several spider-like Phyrexians crawling over her, fixing great cables and hooks all over. They blasted those within reach off and landed. They were near a gash in the hull. "We should hurry to the ship's tree." said Ayeka. "That is probably where Sasami is. I hope they haven't done anything to her." The others agreed and they entered Tsunami through the gash. It was dark. The creak of straining wood was everywhere, like a moan of pain. The scrabbling of thousands of metal claws could be heard echoing throughout the ship. A brilliant glow emitted from Ryoko and Tenchi's palms. They each held a glowing sphere of red energy, illuminating the passages before them. With Ayeka's guidance, they were soon at the command section. Suprisingly, there were few Phyrexians within the ship. Only more of those spider creatures, securing hooks from the inside. "Here we are." said Ayeka. "We should be careful, as the deck is at a slaa...aaaa..AAAANT!" Ayeka lost her footing, as moisture from the waters that fed Tsunami had condensed on the floor. She screamed as she fell, and landed with a great splash. The others looked down, suprised. (Anime sweatdrops). Ryoko laughed to herself as they started down the ladder that led to the floor, many feet below. They found Ayeka in a pool of water, dripping wet and very annoyed. "Well, you got your laugh," she huffed, "Now lets get to the tree." She stormed off, climbing the slanted deck. They rest of them just kind of rolled their eyes and followed. Natural light, coming from several small growths in the water made the going easier. A great glowing tree and several smaller ones stood at the middle of a semi- drained pool of water, and two figures lay unconscious at the base of the tree, encased in a glowing green energy field. "Sasami!" gasped Ayeka, obviously relieved. "And Tsunami!" The two looked like they were asleep. They were partially submerged in the pool of water, the symbols on their foreheads glowing a brighter green. Ayeka climbed up to them, pulling the broken sword from her backpack. "This part of the sword is made from the sap from this tree. If I can get some of it, maybe we can repair the sword and get Tsunami running again." she explained. Washu nodded. The idea could work. It SHOULD work, she thought. Ayeka climbed up to the trunk of the main tree, and then gasped in horror. The trunk was torn up. Sap flowed from many deep tears, and black oil oozed out in many places. Broken chunks of metal were embedded in the bark. Tsunami was alive, but obviously in great pain. In her sadness and anger, Ayeka barely heard the others yelling. Confused, she looked up to see a towering beast, made of black metal and flesh, crouched in the lower branched. It had a feline design, but the rasping metal snakes that made up it's skin and the clawed tentacles coming out of it's back proved it was Phyrexian. With a screeching roar it leaped. Ayeka covered her head and screamed, waiting for the deadly claws to hit. But they never fell. A snake of lightning had caught the monster in mid-leap and thrown it against the deck. Ayeka didn't have time to see who had saved her, only time to run. She skidded down the slanted deck as Tenchi and Ryoko rushed up. The beast leaped again, and it's metal claws met blazing swords. Oil and flesh turned into flaming ash as the claws passed through the energy. Tenchi dove sideways to avoid the onrushing mass and Ryoko teleported away. The monster skidded down the deck towards the others. Mihoshi screamed and ducked. The creature missed her by inches. It hit the side of the ship, several hundred feet downwards, minutes later. It shook it's head and screeched again. It rushed up the deck with it's unnatural speed, tearing up the deck as it did. Whips of lightning danced across it's frame. Smoke poured off and metal turned from black to red, but it didn't stop. Arrows jammed into it's sides and head, but had little more effect than if they had struck putty. Ryoko and Tenchi struck again at the advancing beast. Ryoko's leaping slash cut a tentacle from it's mounting. Golden oil bled out, splattering on the deck. Tenchi's sword raked across it's face, cutting the lower jaw into two uneven parts and dicing up the neck and chest. But he has in a bad spot. The monster slammed him with it's damaged claws. Tenchi's armor cracked with a popping sound and he went flying, crashing into the trunk of another tree. White bolts of holy energy raked the thing from a new direction. Ayeka had regained her composure and fired her most potent spells. Disease that festered within it's system, healing it, became pure and hurt it. Grey smoke drifted out of it's joints and skin. Fire and rock slammed into it, taking a leg off and breaking a tentacle. It fell to the deck in midstride, skidding into a near empty water channel. It didn't move. Ryoko phased above it, and threw her arm out, palm facing the immobile beast. Brilliant red bolts flashed out like machine gun bullets, striking the monster. It was engulfed in fire and lightning from the discharge. When the air cleared, it was horribly mangled and blazing oil was running all over the deck. "I think that took care of it." stated Ryoko, landing on the slanted deck. Mihoshi cautiosly peeked out of her hiding place (another water channel) and sighed in releif. Tenchi carefully climbed down from where he had landed. His movements were a bit jerky, as the blow that the monster had given him had been powerful. His breastplate was covered in grey cracks, and the metal looked like glass that someone had punched. "Yes, I think it did...." he agreed. "Ayeka, why don't you go try and get some of the sap now. I think that it should be safe." "Alright." she carefully climbed up the now oil-slicked deck. Water and oil made the deck a real mess. But that wouldn't stop her. She made it to the torn up tree of Tsunami and braced herself in a broken piece of the deck. The sword was still in the spot where she had left it, set in the trees roots. She removed it and placed it in the flow path of some untainted sap. When the sticky fluid touched the hilt, it glowed in many colors. There was a bright light, bright as a sunrise, illuminating the whole area. Everything seemed to heal. Wood mended, oil faded away and metal reformed itself. Even Tenchi's armor was repaired. The Phyrexian was blasted into many small parts that were destroyed in the light. As the light faded, Ryoko sensed something was wrong. She looked around, and then up. That was when she saw it, illuminated in the glow, a creature with the same nasty look as the one they had just killed, but with a more sinister build. It was bipedal, backwards bending legs, and had four arms, covered in scale-like blades. Tentacles of chain and cable draped from it's shoulders and the skull of some horned reptile glared at her with two glowing embers. It was hanging upside-down from the ceiling by it's clawed feet. But not now...... It dropped like a rock, slamming into the deck so hard it trembled. It was between Ayeka and the others. Ayeka screamed and they tried to get to her. The monster opened it's jaws and a terrible wail emitted. It drove them to their knees. They couldn't concentrate, only hold their ears against the pain. Ayeka shakily held the sword before her. A blue light came from it and she seemed to get stronger. The sword was protecting her from the awful banshee wail. The monster noticed this and turned to her. Ayeka held the sword with both hands, pointing it at the beast. It screamed and lunged at her, it's four arms and innumerable tentacles raised for a strike. Ayeka took her chance and drove the sword into it's chest as it hit. The blade penetrated deep, up to the hilt. Blue light shot from the every joint of the beast. The wailing stopped. The others could move again and rushed towards Ayeka, seeing her plight. The beast screeched in pain, and light pierced it with physical force, breaking it apart. The thrashing of it's tentacles was what did it. Ayeka was knocked from her position. The sword fell from the wound and fell into a pool of water. Black smoke poured from the monster, and it's eyes glowed with a new fury. It ignored the lightning and fire coursing off it's hide like water. It ignored the energy bolts tearing into it's already serious wounds. It ignored the arrows sticking it like mosquitos. It only wanted to do harm to that which had harmed it. It advanced on Ayeka with deliberance. Ayeka had barely recovered from the hit when she saw it, right there. She screamed for Tenchi, but it was too late. Tentacles from the monster seized her. The barbs cut her painfully. A single tentacle rose before her like a snake. Fire silhouetted it. The tip seperated and an evil looking claw with a slim pore near the tip slid out. She struggled against the iron grip, but to no avail. The claw struck her in the chest, right over her heart. She felt cold. A numbness spread over her. She could hear the shouts of the others, but they sounded so distant. Her vision faded out. The others tried valiantly to save her. They had rained bolts of energy. Royko and Tenchi hacked at it with their swords. Fire and lightning danced in it's wounds. The beast itself was already an inferno, but it ignored it, intent on Ayeka. They watched in horror as a pool of darkness formed on the slanted deck. They tried to stop it, but it leaped through, carrying Ayeka's limp body. And then the portal snapped shut.