Category=X-over A TM/White Wolf Gaming X-over. Vault_Keeper_2000@yahoo.com Disclaimer: These characters are copyrighted and only a few of them are truly my own. The characters of "Tenchi Muyo!" are the property of Pioneer. All locations are the property of White Wolf Gaming, whom, I hope, will consider this free advertising. The characters Luna and Alan Durr are the property of fellow White Wolf gamers and are used with the permission of their owners. All other characters are my own, I thought of them, DON'T EVEN THINK OF SUING ME OVER THEM! There, I've given credit where it was due, let's get on with the story. Tenchi Meets the White Wolf Part 3- The Threat and The Confession By Greg Lively A week later, Tenchi cornered Tregol in the burned-out manager's office in the hotel and asked him what he had learned about the kidnapping of Mihoshi and Kiyone. "Nothing," Tregol replied, shrugging his shoulders helplessly. "None of my contacts on the streets or spies in the various organizations have seen or heard anything about them. Whoever this asshole is, he's well hidden." "Tregol!" T'Nalda yelled suddenly from down the hall. "Alan just found an envelope on the carport roof. You and Tenchi might want to see it." "Coming!" Tregol yelled back. He turned back to Tenchi. "Don't lose hope, friend. If they can be found, we'll find them." With that, he turned and led Tenchi out of the office to where T'Nalda and Alan were looking at some photos they had just pulled out of a manila envelope. The vampire and human turned gravely at their approach. "Here," T'Nalda said, handing the pictures to Tenchi. "They are of your friends." Tenchi looked at the pictures and his eyes widened in shock. There were Kiyone and Mihoshi, chained naked to a stone wall side by side. A man with a cruel face that seemed to be all sharp angles was standing between them, weighing one of their breasts in each of his hands. The second photo was worse and Tenchi refused to look at the others until he heard Tregol gasp. Forcing himself to look at the last photo, Tenchi's eyes widened when it revealed the man with his mouth pressed sideways against Mihoshi's throat, a thin stream of blood escaping from under the corner of his mouth. Tenchi felt himself gag in revulsion and wrenched his terrified gaze away from the picture. "He's a vampire, isn't he?" he heard himself say, the words sounding strange and hollow to his ears. "I believe so," T'Nalda replied. "And if he has made them his children, then he probably already knows everything about you, who you are, where you are staying, everything. You see," he tapped the envelope, "this was addressed to you." ---- "This is outrageous!" Washu yelled upon seeing the pictures. "That he would do this to people in our household-" She cut herself off before she could say anything else, but still seethed silently. "We should rescue them," Yosho said with his customary calmness, but everyone there could tell that he was fighting down his anger also. "Problem," Noboyuki said, raising one finger. "We have no idea where they are. Another problem. If this guy really is a vampire, and he is the leader of an organization like Tregol says, then from what Tregol has told us since we got here he should have at least a hundred people waiting to fight for him. We have a maximum of thirty." "Noboyuki's right," Ayeka said, visibly distressed over the pictures. "If we are to mount any sort of rescue, we will have to be sneaky." She smiled wryly. "I hate to admit it, but Ryoko would be handy in this situation. If she were here, being outnumbered would not be a problem." Tenchi was a little surprised to hear Ayeka make a non- derogatory comment about Ryoko, but didn't dwell on it. "We do have one advantage," he said. "We have his face, where he only has descriptions of us at the most. So he could mistake some other group of people for us, which, I hate to say, would probably be a good thing for us. He would think he had us and so he wouldn't expect us to show up on his doorstep." "Tregol, can't you have one of your magic-user friends use some sort of searching spell to locate them?" Noboyuki asked. Tregol shook his head. "We tried it before we brought the pictures to you guys. He said he `met up against an impenetrable wall.' I think that's a pretty clear indication that he can't scan for them." "But you say this asshole knows where we are?" Washu asked, still mad. "Probably," Tregol replied. "You see, when a vampire embraces a person, that person becomes a sort of thrall, completely loyal to the parent vampire unless he or she wishes otherwise. Some vampires make them complete slaves, prisoners in their own bodies. Others find it pleasing to give their children some measure of free will, while still others embrace them and then give them complete freedom. But, it is impossible for the child to lie to the parent, for whatever reason. So if a parent vampire asks a question, the child is forced to answer truthfully." His expression grew even grimmer. "And, though I didn't say anything about it before, I know this vampire. His name is Michael. He and I used to be friends before he was embraced. I killed his parent vampire and tried to kill him when his instincts took over and he attacked me, but he managed to keep the stake from penetrating his heart. He has never forgiven me for trying to kill him, and it might well have been your friend's involvement with me that motivated their kidnapping." "How would he know they were connected with you?" Yosho asked, the fa‡ade of calm straining to keep his emotions in check. "All vampires have telepathic powers to some degree," Tregol explained. "Michael was telepathic even before he was embraced, and becoming a vampire only redoubled his powers. Even unconscious people have thoughts and a powerful enough telepath can pick those thoughts up through the damping effect that unconsciousness has. If he picked up my name in your friend's thoughts, it might have motivated him to kidnap them." He shook his head. "Seriously, I doubt we can do anything for them for the time being. I will follow Ayeka's suggestion and try to locate Ryoko, but even with her on our side it might not be enough. You see, with as large as his organization is, and his ties to others, he probably has at least twenty high- level mages in his ranks. From what you've told me about her, any one high-level mage would be at least as powerful as she is, if not more." "Well we have to do something!" Tenchi cried, hitting the table with his fist. "He could kill them if we don't!" "I doubt it," Washu said, her expression calm and composed. "They could be bargaining chips, or bait he could use to get to us or Tregol. And if he learns that we're from another dimension, they could become even more valuable. If he captures me, he could extract the plans for the projector from me and gain access to our dimension, where no one believes in his kind and no one would hunt them. He could wreak havoc in our world if that happens." "We can't just sit back and do nothing!" Ayeka cried. "They're our friends, for Jurai's sake." "I agree," Yosho said. "And I have something of a plan. Unfortunately, it depends entirely on Ryoko returning to us." "You rang?" Ryoko said, phasing through the window. "Little Ryoko!" Washu yelled, running over and giving her daughter a hug. "I've been worried!" Ryoko blushed bright red. "Mom, could you at least save it for when we're alone? You're embarrassing me." Smiling, Washu hugged her extra tight, then released her. "How did you know we needed you anyway?" she asked, her expression becoming serious again. "I've been keeping tabs on you people ever since I left the first night," Ryoko explained. "I`ve managed to keep out of sight, but when Yosho said his plan depended on me, I decided it was a good time to make an appearance." Then, her gaze fell on Tenchi and an expression of sorrow, of regret, flickered across her beautiful features. "Hi Tenchi," she said, managed to create a tentative smile. "How're you and that bitch Ayeka doing?" "Ryoko!" Ayeka yelled, beginning to get angry. "Cool it, princess," Ryoko said with a slow, sad shake of her head. "I was only joking. In truth, though, I wish you both the best. I hope-" Her gaze fell back on the man she loved and her voice caught in her throat." "I hope you two will be happy together." A single tear leaked from the corner of her eye and trickled slowly down her cheek. Almost angrily, she wiped it away and turned back to the business at hand. "What's your plan, Yosho?" Yosho quickly explained it, then asked if everyone understood. When they answered the affirmative, he nodded and everyone left the room to get ready. ---- Ryoko found Tenchi in his room, sitting on his bed in his battle outfit and fiddling with the hilt of the Tenchi- ken, his expression indicating that he was deep in thought. She knocked gently on the doorframe. "Tenchi?" she said tentatively. Tenchi looked up at her, surprised that she had knocked instead of simply teleporting in. "Oh, hi Ryoko," he said, not completely losing his thoughtful expression. The demoness hesitantly walked into the room and sat down on the bed next to him. "Whatcha doin'?" she asked, trying to sound casual but not really succeeding. "Well," he said hesitantly, clearly nervous that she might make a move on him, "I've just been thinking about what all's happened since I freed you from the cave. It's almost like I threw some switch fate had installed, because it was right after that that the others started showing up, and I learned I was part alien, and all that. This is the first time I've ever really stopped to think about it, but now I realize that those were the best times for me. The friends, the battles, all of it. I hate to admit it," he grinned wryly, "but looking back, I even enjoyed it whenever you would flirt with me." He looked into her eyes and what he saw there was a woman coming to terms with the loss of the man she loved. And when she looked into his, she saw a man who did love her, but only as a dear friend. In that moment, she knew that she had lost the battle for his heart once and for all. But they both knew that he would always be in hers, even if she did find another man to love, to share her life with. He had been her first true love, and true love never really dies. She kissed him gently on the cheek, then got up. "I think I understand, Tenchi. I-" she choked down a sob, "I hope you'll be happy." And she truly meant it, from the bottom of her heart. Author's Note: So, whaddya think? If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about this story, write to Vault_Keeper_2000@yahoo.com. Criticism will be taken into consideration, but outright insults and flames are not acceptable.