PM Productions Presents
A Phillip Masters Fanfic
Feelings Are Blind
Part Seven:  Out of the Dark

	Tenchi flailed about for a moment, trying to reorient himself.  He felt as though he were being yanked 
in every direction at one time, and nothing he did could stop it.  Tenchi-ken glowed with a dampened light, 
its illumination being absorbed by the surrounding night.  "Ranma!" he cried, then strained his ears for a 
reply.  He received none after a few minutes, and he tried again.  Still nothing, no answer, no noise 
whatsoever.  He started to feel cramped and suffocated, though he obviously had all the space in the Universe 
surrounding him.  
	Something struck Tenchi on the arm and he looked down at it.  There was a piece of red cloth just 
drifting to his right, so innocent in appearance.  However, he knew it was the same color and material as 
Ranma shirt.  He grabbed the small square of silk and held it to his chest.  He closed his eyes and 
concentrated on trying to find Ranma, all that mattered anymore was finding Ranma.
	There!  He had her... Tenchi swirled to the left and pushed forward with his will.  He found himself 
slowly moving forward.  When he had traveled through the continued emptiness for another ten minutes he 
realized he was going too slow.  He could still feel Ranma's presence clearly in front of him.  Unfortunately, 
he had no bearing on distance.  She could be another two meters, or thousands of kilometers, he had no way to 
measure.  

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

	"Tenchi... Tenchi..." Ranma whispered.  His eyes were wide, and he was curled into a fetal position.  
He uncaringly drifted through the inky darkness, just trying to keep a hold of his mind.  Was Akane truly 
dead?  After all they had been through, was it over so quickly?  Was he going to die too?  Had she died alone 
and afraid, like he was at that moment?  He inhaled and let out a feral cry, "Tenchi!"  Once again, it was 
swallowed by the dark.  

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

	He had heard it that time!  Ranma's voice had easily cut through to his ears.  He pushed forward with 
a new energy, born of desperation.  Almost instantly, he slammed into a floating form.  He grabbed it and 
turned it toward him.  Ranma stared blankly at him, her eyes widened by fear.  He smiled and held her close to 
himself, watching with mild amusement as his tears flew away from his eyes into the darkness.  He squeezed her 
to his chest as tightly as he could without hurting her.  He didn't care whether it bothered her still or not, 
nothing could make him let go anymore.  
	After a moment he felt her respond, her arms gaining strength as they wrapped around him in return.  
He could hear her sob as she buried her face in his chest.  Together they floated through the unknown, content 
at that moment since they had each other.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

	"Akane?"  Shampoo looked around the room.  "Akane?" she called again.  She had gone to sleep for a few 
moments, after what seemed like days of waiting.  As much as she hated to admit it, exhaustion was not 
something she could fight indefinitely.  Ryouko, on the other hand, seemed to be perfectly capable.  Shampoo 
looked to the alien woman, "Where Akane go?"
	Ryouko sighed and waved a hand.  "I have no clue.  One moment she was there, next she was gone."
	"Don't you think this strange?"
	"What?"
	Shampoo looked around their confines slowly.  "The way we trapped here.  Bait is no good unless it can 
be seen."
	"Shampoo," Ryouko said with sudden seriousness.
	She looked over at her companion again, "Yes?"
	"Repeat after me... a-r-e..."
	"Ryouko want bonbori up ass?"

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

	Tenchi and Ranma held on to one another as they drifted, still caught in the endless dark.  "Where 
does this end?" Tenchi asked rhetorically.  
	Ranma simply stared into Tenchi's shirt.  He couldn't seem to get the picture of Akane's head out of 
his mind.  It must have been a fake.  She couldn't really be dead, could she?  Of course not... no matter what 
happened to her, she always pulled through in the end.  "Tenchi," he whimpered, not caring how he sounded.
	"Yeah?" he asked, looking down at her.
	"Do you know anything about the girls?"
	Tenchi frowned, something was obviously bothering Ranma.  Something more than the blackness.  "No, I'm 
afraid not.  Before I came in here I was stuck in a seemingly endless set of ship corridors.  Time and 
distance don't seem to have any relevance here."  
	Ranma nodded slowly, then leaned his head up against Tenchi again.  He was so warm... he never would 
have thought he could have feelings like this for another man.  He was actually surprised he still thought of 
himself as such.  It seemed as though his girl half was having an effect on his sexual preference, but his 
identity remained in tact.  He hoped it would not cause a problem when it came time to... well... time could 
come later to think of these things.  At that moment he wanted to know if Akane was okay.  
	Tenchi glared into the night.  He couldn't help but feel anxious over Ranma's discomfort.  "What's the 
matter?  You seem upset over something."
	Ranma startled slightly at the sudden noise.  Then, he looked up at Tenchi's worried face.  He averted 
his gaze, "Back before you came to me, I saw something... something that scares the hell out of me."
	"What?"
	"Akane's... head."  He cringed again, the memory coming back to him anew.
	"Maybe it was an illusion?" Tenchi asked, trying to lift her spirits.
	Ranma shook his head, "No... I touched it... it was real.  It was..."  He couldn't finish, and he felt 
himself begin to cry once more.  Tears seemed to come easier for him now.  A week ago he would have sooner 
lost a limb than shed a tear.  Something else about him that wasn't the same.  
	Tenchi tried to come up with a reply.  Before he could formulate one, he found himself falling.  The 
blackness had suddenly given way to a dim light, and he found himself and Ranma plummeting into an underground 
river.  They splashed down into it with spine jarring crash.  The current quickly plucked them up and sped 
them down the cavern, to points once again unknown.  Tenchi felt Ranma grow in his arms, and he realized that 
the water they were in was warm.  Warm enough obviously to cause her transformation.  
	Ranma blinked as he found himself back in his true form.  He tried to look at Tenchi, but the waves 
kept him from being able to see clearly.  However, he didn't feel Tenchi's grip lessen any, and he didn't let 
his slip either.  
	The two fought the water for all they were worth, pushing away from the walls of the cave whenever 
they ventured too close.  They both hoped no rocks would present themselves, because any solid object could 
very easily kill them at the speeds they were traveling at that moment.  After riding the rapids for another 
ten minutes, they arrived someplace.  The river mysteriously stopped, and a shore banked up from it.  They 
climbed onto the dry rock and lay panting for a while.
	Finally, after a few minutes, Tenchi sat up.  He looked back at the river, which still flowed 
violently into the shore.  "That's not supposed to be possible."
	Ranma followed Tenchi's gaze and nodded.  "Nothing in this world seems to follow normal laws."
	Tenchi looked over at Ranma and grinned.  "As if you're any expert on physics, Mr. 
Leaps-tall-buildings-in-a-single-bound."
	Ranma grinned back, then he stood upright and stretched.  "We had better get moving, if we ever plan 
on finding the girls."
	Tenchi stared at Ranma a moment.  He took in the other boy's masculine frame.  The muscles developed 
beyond imagining by almost two decades of almost solid training.  Much like himself, actually.  He felt 
inside, trying to find any remorse for falling in love with a man.  He couldn't find any.  He couldn't find a 
single regret for his love for Ranma.  He had not simply fallen for the body... he had mostly fallen for the 
mind.  No matter what shell was worn, Ranma was still Ranma.  He stood up next to him and stretched as well.  
"Lead the way, darling."
	Ranma shot a look at Tenchi, who was grinning like an idiot.  "Don't make me hurt you... honey."  He 
couldn't say it didn't feel entirely right... yet, he figured he could get used to it.
	Both men laughed as they began their journey into the relative brightness of the cavern.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

	"Shampoo... did you hear that?"
	The Amazon nodded, "Sound like footstep."
	"Footsteps, Shampoo... plural."
	Shampoo just growled in response.  The two captives had gotten into quite an argument over Shampoo's 
lack of Japanese grammar skills.  Fortunately for her, Ryouko was able to speak any language because of her 
ingrown Universal Translator, thus they were able to argue in Chinese, so she didn't sound like a total idiot. 
 She realized she should work on it more, but Ryouko also understood that her mind was generally not on 
learning to speak properly.  
	Ryouko had traversed the room, trying to pinpoint the direction of the steps.  Something kept her from 
being able to though, as if the sound was being dispersed once it hit the field they were trapped in.  "I 
can't seem to place the source.  This room makes it seem like they are coming from all directions."
	Shampoo nodded, agreeing with most of the assessment.  One thing bothered her, "Unless, steps are 
coming from all sides."
	Ryouko just stared at Shampoo, unable to come up with a response, not even to congratulate her on her 
successful use of 'are.'

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

	"Geez... how deep is this place anyway?" Ranma complained, after him and Tenchi had walked for what 
felt like two hours.
	Tenchi glanced at the nondescript blank rock walls of the cave.  "Knowing this place, it could go on 
forever... but somehow I think Veca is simply giving himself time to prepare... not to mention wearing us 
out."  He shook his arm, "Though, I must say... for some reason, I'm not very tired for having been through 
all that we have."
	Ranma nodded, "No kidding, I still feel like I just woke up.  Something really screwy is going on 
around here."
	Tenchi declined to comment on Ranma's amazing ability to state the obvious.  However, he had to agree 
with the observation all the same.
	Ranma suddenly walked into a wall.  He grunted as his nose was crushed by something he couldn't even 
see.  
	Tenchi didn't have time to stop when he noticed Ranma's situation, and he too ran into the invisible 
force.  He fell back along with Ranma and stared blankly at the space in front of them.  It seemed as though 
the tunnel continued onward, however something was in the way.  He reached out a hand and ran it over the 
smooth surface of the field.  He figured it must be some sort of barrier field.  The question was, what was it 
blocking?  He pulled out Tenchi-ken and formed its blade.
	Ranma blinked, "What is that?"  He stared pointedly at Tenchi's sword.  
	"This is a Master Key of Jurai.  It also doubles as a weapon.  It can only be used by one of Jurai's 
Royal blood line."  He hefted the sword into the air and brought it down into the space that barred their 
path.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

	"Aiya!" Shampoo exclaimed as a blue energy blade nearly sliced her in half.  She rolled to the side 
and stared in awe as it was pulled back through the wall.  She then looked over at Ryouko, who seemed to know 
what was going on.
	"Tenchi." Ryouko stated, then got up and ran over to the wall.  "Tenchi!  We're in here!" she yelled.
	The blade reappeared, this time in a circular motion that ripped the field asunder.  Beyond it stood 
Tenchi and Ranma.  Ryouko, mostly out of reflex, leapt into Tenchi's arms instantly.  Shampoo did the same 
with Ranma.  Both guys smiled and patted their respective women, trying to calm them.
	"Shampoo worried!  Have no idea how long been in there!"  She grunted as Ryouko slapped her in the 
back of the head.
	"Geez, you get even worse when you're excited!" Ryouko reprimanded.
	Shampoo jumped down from Ranma's arms and swung a fist at Ryouko, who deftly dodged it.  She switched 
to Chinese, "It's one thing to insult me alone... another in front of everyone."  She grinned, "Don't make me 
have to kill you out of honor."
	Ryouko shrugged and grinned back.  "No problem, Shampoo."
	Ranma and Tenchi glanced at one another, thoroughly confused.  "Um, ladies?" Tenchi asked.
	They both turned to him with innocent eyes.  "Hmmmm?"
	Tenchi stepped back reflexively.  "Uh... shouldn't we be moving on?"
	"Akane!" Ranma called out, stepping completely into the cell.  He looked around, his gaze falling on 
Shampoo.  "Where is she?"
	"Shampoo not know... Akane just disappear."  Her eyes fell to the floor, her remorse obvious.
	Ranma shut his own, trying to steady his shaky breath.  A moment later he opened them again, "We need 
to move along.  She may still be out there, somewhere."  He attempted to sound sure of himself, and didn't 
pull it off as well as he would have liked.
	No one replied, they simply followed him as he walked to the other side of the cell.  Tenchi took the 
hint and sliced through the other side.  The field collapsed and the group stepped through.
END PART SEVEN
I hope you liked this part... I had a good time writing it.  Comments appreciated, send 'em this way please.  
Till next time, thanks for reading!
PMasters (4-8-98)