"June Mermaid"
Chapter 5 "A Prelude to Dissonance"

Disclaimer: Within this story, there will be the mentioning of characters created by someone who is in
fact, not me. So just to be clear on this, I am using them for my own personal enjoyment in writing, and if some other people enjoy reading it, all the better.  The point is, don't sue me, because it would simply be a waste of time and money, and it really wouldn't be worth it. Thanks for listening.

Author's Notes: Well...BIG thanks this time goes to Roas Atrades for taking over my prereading for me...thanks, Roas! Anyways, on to the fic!

Quote of the Day: "I am known as 'Valentanez-Alcanalela-Ziha-no-Sushi-Aboherez-Gombi-no- Gombel-Blue-Stratevari-Talentrent-Pierre-Artechorten-Hemon-Conovinchi- Baldos-George-Doitselkaiser the 3rd'. Please, don't hesitate to call."
                         - Vash the Stampede (Trigun)

And you don't seem to understand
A shame you seemed an honest man
and all the fears you hold so dear
Will turn to whisper in your ear
and you know what they say might hurt you
and you know that it means so much
and you don't even feel a thing

I am falling, I am fading
I have lost it all

And you don't seem the lying kind
A shame that I can read your mind
and all the things that I read there
Candle lit smile that we both share
and you know I don't mean to hurt you
But you know it means so much
and you don't even feel a thing

I am falling, I am fading, I am drowning
Help me to breathe
I am hurting, I have lost it all, I am losing
Help me to breathe

     -- "Duvet" -- from 'Serial Experiments Lain'

     Softly.
     So softly the snow fell...
     In a silent and splendid dance the beautiful, white tears of death and cold fell lazily to the earth, gently blanketing the terra with it's beauty and frost.
     It really was as if the angels were crying.
     Ryoko sat with her head on her knees, continuing to stare at the lake as it continued to be covered by the snow. Her mind constantly looped back to the moments before...
     <He...loves *me*, Aeka.>
     She sighed. She was surprised that Aeka actually took Ryoko's words seriously, and didn't pass them off as some foolish prank as she normally did. Ryoko's heart wouldn't have been in it, anyways. Ryoko tried to smile, remembering Tenchi's words, but she couldn't. She didn't understand, either.
     After so long, hundreds...even thousands of years of craving, and then finally obtaining it...
     ...and she wasn't happy.
     Why? Why couldn't she accept this victory? She always wanted to shove it in Aeka's face if she ever won.
     And now she had.
     So *why* wasn't she happy from this victory? Ryoko closed her eyes as a flake of snow fell gently onto her nose.
     <Hmph. What a pathetic victory to strive for.> she thought.
     Ryoko smiled sadly as she stared at the flakes of snow which had begun to cover the roof and her own body. A blanket of frost...
     For some reason, it didn't feel cold at all.
     The coldness that had wedged itself into her heart like a creeping necrosis far outweighed the chill of the snow and air.
     Ryoko sighed, and watched as her breath caused the air in front of her mouth to swirl and conjure into a grey mist. She sniffed and looked in the direction of where Tenchi had gone a few hours ago.
     Aeka had left to talk to him a short while after that.
     Tenchi had wanted to be alone...but Ryoko wanted to be with Tenchi.
     Ryoko had sat on the roof for almost 2 hours, waiting patiently for Tenchi to come home so she could reach out and touch him again, and let her body be warmed by his presense...and his touch.
     Ryoko thought back to how she had seen Aeka run back into the house a little while after she had gone after Tenchi.
     Tenchi must have told her.
     <It's not fair...> Ryoko thought to herself as she stared out over the lake. <...why should someone else *suffer* from our love?>
     Ryoko sniffled again. She blinked, and recognized the feeling that had been creeping back up to her in these last few hours of solitude.
     The craving. It was returning.
     Ryoko had tried to convince herself that now that Tenchi loved her, she didn't need to be concerned with the craving.
     But it was more than that now. Ryoko craved his presense. Ryoko craved his touch.
     She smiled. She craved the ability to touch *him*.
     A tear gently rolled down the side of her face.
     She blinked, almost in shock. The tear was ice cold.
     She wiped it away and rose to her feet, looking out in the direction Tenchi had gone off in.
     <I'm sorry, Tenchi, but I *have* to be with you. Now...and forever. I *won't* accept any less.>
     Ryoko slowly floated up off the roof, began to fly at a gradual pace in the direction of Tenchi.
     She scanned the snow covered trees as she flew about 10 feet over them, hoping to find some trace of her Tenchi.
     Ryoko wasn't sure at first, but she could almost swear she heard the sound of something repeatedly clacking against something in the woods.
     However as she continued to fly, the sound only increased in volume.
     Puzzled, she continued to follow the sound until she was almost right on top of it.
     Ryoko stopped, and looked down. And there, she saw him.
     Tenchi had a bokken in his hands, and he was repeatedly slashing a tree. At first, Ryoko thought that he was merely practicing.
     However, on closer examination, her eyes narrowed. His technique wasn't the normal graceful and elegant Jurain techniques that his grandfather had taught him. It was much too sloppy. He was obviously not concentrating on his technique, but on hitting the tree instead.
     Further, she noticed his eyes. They were almost crying out in pain themselves, and she could see tears streaming down his face.
     She began to lower herself down, when she saw something that made her gasp. Near the tree and his footsteps, were small drops of blood.
     Ryoko looked to his hands, and saw that the area around where he was holding the bokken, and his hands themselves, were completely stained in his red blood.
     Ryoko watched with sad eyes, as he cried out in pain each time he struck the tree. To Ryoko, those cries were much more than physical anguish.
     She blinked back tears, and descended down to his level. "Tenchi?" she asked.
     Tenchi didn't even hear her, as he continued to strike the tree, which was almost completely stripped of bark where he had been striking it with his bokken.
     No, he must have heard her.
     Because he almost seemed to *increase* the force and frequency of his strikes when she called him.
     "Tenchi?" she asked again.
     Again, nothing.
     She floated over to him. "Please, answer me, Tenchi!"
     Tenchi stopped attacking the tree, but didn't turn to face her. He let go of the bokken with one hand, and held it with the other, as he just stared at his feet, tears streaming down his face.
     Ryoko floated right next to him...and that's when she smelled it.
     His blood.
     It invaded her nose like an army of sorrow. The very scent of it struck at her like no adversary had ever dared.
     And there was no way for her to fight back, because he had caused it himself.
     She looked at his free hand, and it was covered in cuts, blisters, and callouses. She smiled sadly at him, then slowly wrapped her arms around him from behind, putting her hands on his chest, and pulling his body as close to hers as she could.
     "Please...Tenchi. It's okay." she whispered into his ear, and gave him a reassuring kiss on the cheek.
     Tenchi dropped the bokken, and slowly fell to his knees, sobbing.
     Ryoko slowly descended with him, still holding him as close as she could. As they touched the ground, he almost fell limp in her loving embrace, and simply fell back into it, as he continued to cry.
     Ryoko slowly turned his body around, and then wrapped her arms around him again, so he could cry onto her shoulder, as she gently stroked the back of his head.
     <You were there for *me*, Tenchi. Now, I'm gonna be there for *you*. I won't rest until you're better, I swear.> Ryoko confirmed to herself.
     Ryoko looked at his hands, as they were lying limply in the soft snow, and as the blood began to seep into the white frost.
     She smiled sadly, and started to issue comforting words to her beloved. Her love. Her *soul*.
     <I *will* protect you, Tenchi. I *will*.>
     <You taught me what love is. I'll never, ever let *anything* happen to you, for what you've given so selflessly to me.>
     Tenchi's sobbing was starting to slow, and Ryoko squeezed him a little tighter, cherishing the fact that she was *touching* him. She gently kissed his neck, and gently stroked his back with her hand.
     Tenchi sniffled, and suddenly became more tense. More *alive*.
     He pulled back slowly, unable to look into Ryoko's eyes. He simply stared down at his lap.
     Tenchi slowly managed to bring his gaze up to meet Ryoko's. His soft, compassionate, meek and *wounded* brown eyes, up to meet her strong, tender, mischevious and beautiful amber eyes.
     Ryoko's eyes were brimming with tears, but not quite overflowing. She smiled warmly at him, and then picked him up in her arms.
     Tenchi provided absolutely no resistence, just allowing himself to be carried to wherever she was going.
     Ryoko walked over near a fairly large rock, and then set Tenchi down. Ryoko sat down, and leaned her back against the rock, and then pulled Tenchi's head to her breast, allowing him to rest, as she cradled his head in her arms. In her love.
     Tenchi blinked once, then closed his eyes, allowing her warmth to overflow into his being that had been frozen. The light from her soul crashed against the darkness that was permeating from his, and washed it all away, in a cleansing motion, almost like he had been reborn. All of his sorrow, and his pain, was just washed away, and he felt nothing but Ryoko's love for him. It was like he was falling into a dark abbyss, and Ryoko had caught him, and carried him away from there, into the light.
     "My angel..." Tenchi whispered hoarsly.
     Ryoko smiled softly, and kissed the top of his head. She gently took one of his wounded hands, and kissed the bloody wound. "It's going to be alright, Tenchi." She said.
     Tenchi sighed. "But what about Aeka? Did you *see* her after I talked to her, Ryoko?"
     Ryoko closed her eyes sadly.
     "I inflicted a wound on her that probably will never be mended."
     Ryoko gently caressed the side of his face. "It wasn't your fault, Tenchi. This was bound to happen. She'll live."
     "Will she?" Tenchi whispered.
     Ryoko thought about that. Would Aeka try to kill herself, now that she didn't have Tenchi? Was it a preposterous question?
     Ryoko closed her eyes, and decided to really think about it.
     Why did Aeka love Tenchi?
     Because...Tenchi was an escape. An escape from a cage. The cage that locked her up, and told her what she was, and she was supposed to be. He was the one who unlocked that cage, and set her free.
     And now, without him...
     ...she would be forced back into the cage, once again.
     Ryoko squeezed Tenchi's head a little tighter as she thought about this. Ryoko realized that she had been selfish. She realized that just like herself...Aeka *needed* Tenchi.
     But there really wasn't anything either of them could really do about it. Ryoko loved Tenchi, and Tenchi loved Ryoko.
     Ryoko blinked when she thought of that. Something had hit her like a pile of bricks. Something she had just realized.
     Ryoko looked down at Tenchi who had his eyes closed, and her arms were wrapped lovingly around his head.
     *Lovingly.*
     Ryoko shut her eyes in pain as she fully realized something. Never *once* had she *ever* told Tenchi how she felt about him. Tenchi wasn't the coward.
     She was.
     She opened her eyes and looked back at Tenchi, who was whimpering quietly in her embrace. She smiled serenly at him, and then moved her arms, and took his face in her hands, and gently turned it so she could look him in the eyes.
     Tenchi's eyes opened, and stared back at Ryoko. His bloodshot eyes crying out to be mended. Ryoko looked back at him with nothing but love.
     "Ryoko..." he whispered, his voice somewhat raspy and weak.
     "Tenchi...I love you." was all she said.
     Tenchi smiled, and Ryoko leaned down and kissed him.
     Never in the 17 years she had seen him grow did she ever imagine that it would feel like it did. Nor did she ever imagine that he would reciprocate the way he did.
     At the contact, she felt...changed. A metamorphosis within herself. An electricity that shocked any and all over her vital senses, and overloaded them with nothing but warmth and comfort.
     And it obviously did the same for Tenchi, because he responded almost fiercely.
     Tenchi began to immediatly kiss back, with passion, love, and desire all crammed into the simple contact. It was as if he was trying to somehow absorb all of the loving and warm aura from within Ryoko into himself.
     At first, it surprised Ryoko. She never dreamed that he would react in such a way.
     But then...
     ...she responded to match up to his passion.
     Ryoko gently wrapped her arms around Tenchi, holding him wonderfully close to herself, and began to kiss back, inserting her very being into the kiss, touching him and warming him with everything that she was.
     The two of them merely lay mostly still, just kissing for some time.
     Minutes? Hours? Days? They certainly weren't keeping track of that.
     All that mattered was that they were with each other, and that they were finally warm. Together.
     For Tenchi, is was not only a way to make up all of his flights from the woman he loved, but it was also an escape. A way to temporarily banish all thoughts and memories of what he had done to Aeka.
     For Ryoko, it was different. It was almost desperation. Like the whole universe was soon coming to take away this moment from her, so she had to get as much out of it as possible in the little time that she had left.
     Eventually, as one, they slowly retracted from the kiss, and looked at each other, both of them having tears streaming down their faces.
     Tenchi smiled despite the tears. Despite the pain in his hands. Despite what he had just done to Aeka. He smiled. And then he spoke, "I love you too, Ryoko."
     Ryoko blinked her teary eyes shut, and then leaned down, and nuzzled the side of his face, slowly, and gently.
     Tenchi merely closed his eyes, surrendering himself to the warmth of the simple contact. The contact itself had changed him.
     From the moment he stopped running from her.
     From the moment he *allowed* her to touch him.
     From the moment he touched *her*.
     It was an experience that changed his very perception on the physical presense of others, even though he had only simply hugged her, and kissed her.
     It was...
     ...becoming.
     No other term could describe it in such a correct fashion.
     Tenchi let out a small whimper, and leaned further into her warm embrace.
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Sydney scratched his forehead as he looked over the datapad. He confirmed the data, and then sighed. He turned the Captain's chair of the Beowulf to the right, to look at his communications officer.
     "Really? This is *it* Yoko?" he said.
     Yoko turned to face him. "Well, I'm afraid so. We should be thankful that he even gave us a magazine of ammunition, after you went in and trashed his bar."
     "Hey, they jumped *us*!" Sydney protested.
     Yoko rubbed her temples. "Shut *up* about that already! Just be thankful that we GOT upgrades!"
     Sydney put the datapad down, and nodded. "I guess your right. So..." he began, "when are those Jurain troops coming?"
     Just then, his COM at the arm of his chair beeped, and then Raven's rich voice came over it.
     "Hey, uh, Sydney? There's some soldier like people here to see you." she said.
     Sydney smiled. "Speak of the devil."
     Sydney stood from his seat, and Yoko handed him a clipboard.
     He scratched his head. "What's *this* for?"
     "You're going to have to walk them through all the schematics of the *whole* ship." She smiled. "Just want to make sure you don't miss anything."
     Grumbling, he turned and walked out of the cockpit and down a long corridor that led to the hanger. Still muttering to himself, he pressed a large green button to open the hatch.
     When he saw the sight that he was presented with, he grimiced.
     "Gee, thanks a bunch, Nez old boy..." he muttered as he walked down to the ramp, to stand next to Raven, in front of 5 Jurain...officers.
     They were *dressed* like officers, at least...
     Even at first glance, it was very apparent that these were...amateurs, at best. They stood there, most of them staring off into space, some fidgeting in their garb's, oneeven scratching his rear.
     Sydney sighed. "Alright, so you are the squad sent to aid us, I presume?"
     "They are." a voice said.
     Sydney turned, as Nezeer walked out behind them, with a large smile on his face. "These are the men who will assist you on your mission."
     Sydney watched one as he scratched his leg, and then burped. "Are you sure they're...qualified?"
     Nezeer's smile widened. "No."
     "I knew it." Sydney grinded his teeth in frustration, which only seemed to make Nezeer's smile increase in mirth.
     Nezeer patted him on the shoulder. "Well, they are the best I could manage, Sydney." He turned to leave. "Good luck!" he chuckled.
     Sydney watched him go, grinding the clipboard in his hands. After Nezeer vanished from his sight, Sydney returned his gaze to the men. They were all in...almost adequate shape, although one seemed to be...rather rotund, to say the least. They were armed with blasters, and they looked *very* out of place in Jurain uniforms.
     "Trainee dropouts...thanks heeps, you Jurain piece of..." Sydney muttered, before getting a grip on himself. He straightened, and tensed.
     "All right, listen up!" he yelled in a rather harsh tone.
     No one listened.
     "Okay, we'll do this the hard way..." he said to himself. He took a deep breath, and then shouted at the top of his lungs, "ALL RIGHT YOU MAGGOTS!! LISTEN UP OR I WILL PERSONALLY EJECT YOU OUT INTO ABSOLUTE ZERO!!!!"
     They all came to immediate attention.
     "Here's the deal, cadets." he began, "This is the Beowulf. This is *my* ship. On this ship, *I* am God. Anyone who has a problem with that, then get your asses out of here right now."
     He faced them, and waited.
     No one moved.
     "Very well. From this moment on, I own your lives. Do what I say, when I say, and how I say, and you will get them back. Fuck around in *any* way, and you will die. It's that simple." He paced around between them with his hands behind his back for dramatic effect.
     "On my ship I will not accept *any* bullshit from *any* of you, understand?"
     As one, they nodded quickly.
     "Good." He looked back and forth between them. He came up to a skinny but tall man, with rather uncombed hair.
     "Address yourself." he said.
     The man stiffened. "I am Jun, SIR!"
     Sydney arched an eyebrow. "No last name, Jun?"
     "SIR NO SIR! My parents disowned me a long time ago, therefore I have no family, SIR!"
     Sydney's perception was suddenly changed on these men. He sighed.
     "Alright. Can you pilot a small one man ship, Jun?" he asked in a less harsh tone.
     Jun relaxed visably. "A little, not too well."
     Sydney put his hand to his chin in thought. "Well...the Beowulf has the Red Wolf...a small one man ship. Do you think you could pilot it?"
     Jun nodded. "If you wish that of me, sir."
     Sydney nodded. "Good. Raven will teach you the basics about the whole thing...but remember one thing, first."
     "What's that, sir?" Jun asked.
     Sydney took a deep breath. "Under NO circumstances shall you EVER fire a missile unless *I* say so. Understood? You are to stick to the plasma cannons and positron beams unless I say. Agreed?"
     Jun nodded. "I understand. You wish that I do not use excessive force, being a novice."
     Syndey shook his head. "That's not why."
     "It's not?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.
     Sydney smiled. "Nope."
     Jun scratched his eyebrow. "Then...forgive me for asking, sir...but...what is the reason?"
     Sydney chuckled. "Because missiles are *expensive*, dammit!"
     "Oh..." Jun said.
     Sydney turned to Raven. "Hey, Raven. Take needle neck here and show him the ropes."
     Raven smiled. "No prob."
     Sydney watched as Raven led Jun towards the smaller one man ship inside the Beowulf. He turned to the rest of the group.
     "Now, for the rest of you people..."
 
 
 
 
 
 

     After sending the second to the last cadet on his way, into the ship, Sydney finally came to the the most rotund of the soldiers.
     He grinned. "Alright, soldier. What are you most skilled at?"
     The man came to attention, but said nothing.
     Sydney sighed. "Do you have any skill with weaponry?"
     The man shook his head.
     "Piloting?"
     Again, he shook his head.
     "Engine repair?"
     Same response.
     "Plasma modifacation?"
     Same response.
     Sydney sighed again. "How about *basic training*?"
     Once more, he shook his head.
     Sydney put his hand to his chin in thought. "Alright...you my friend, will have the distinct and important job of surveying and monitering the coffee pot."
     "SIR!" he shouted, and then like a crazed bull, he charged towards the entrance to the Beowulf like it was a red cape being held by a matador.
     Sydney shook his head. "This is going to be a hell of a great time."
     Sydney jogged into the Beowulf, and then pressed a few switches at the control panel, causing the hanger door to close slowly, with a long mechanical "hiss".
     He trotted down the hallway at a leisurely pace, wondering to himself what possessed him to take this Tsunami forsaken job in the first place.
     "Oh yeah..." he muttered aloud, "they'd kill us for knowing too much if I didn't."
     He opened the doorway to the cockpit, to find Yoko still leisurely tapping at the controls. He plopped down into the pilots seat, and let out an exasporated sigh.
     Yoko smiled and turned to him. "Rough day at work, honey?"
     Sydney ran his hand through his hair as he stared up at the ceiling. "Not in the mood, Red."
     Yoko's eyes narrowed, but let it pass. "So, how are they?"
     "How are they? How *are* they?" Sydney chuckled.
     "Inexperienced, I take it?"
     Sydney turned to face her, his face somewhat annoyed. "Yoko, they're a bunch of damned *space cherries*!"
     "Oh...wonderful." Yoko sighed.
     Sydney waved it aside. "Nevermind that, can we take off now?"
     Yoko turned around to return to her computer, just as Raven phased in through the doorway. Sydney turned to her.
     "So how is Jun? Is he okay with the Red Wolf?"
     Raven plopped down in the seat next to Sydney. "Not really. He'll do okay...so long as *okay* involves amateurs."
     Sydney rubbed his temples. "This whole job has been thoroughly fucked by our good friend Nez."
     Raven nodded.
     Yoko spoke from her chair. "We're clear for take off any time."
     Sydney nodded, and turned to the controls. He pressed a few buttons, and the shudder over the main view lifted, providing an adequate unobstructed view of the paddock at the Jurai palace.
     Sydney cracked his knuckles, and fired up the engines.
     He chuckled. "Strap yourselves in, ladies. It's going to get a little bumpy."
     Raven strapped on her safety belt. "Why?"
     Sydney smiled devilishly. "I'm going to give these cherries the whole experience..." he cranked the throttle all the way up causing the engines to roar at a high squeel, "...whether they want it or not."
     Sydney slowly piloted the Beowulf towards the take off pad, the smile never leaving his face. Once they had been confirmed for take off by the Jurain space port, he turned to Raven.
     "Is the Red Wolf fully bolted down?"
     Raven nodded, her grip on the side of her seat tightening.
     "Good." He turned on the COM for the whole ship. "Listen up, cadets! Strap yourselves in, we're ready to take off."
     He turned off the COM, and turned his fiendish gaze to the brightly lit green and grey runway.
     "Show time..." he whispered...and then he released the restraining coupler on the engine.
     The Beowulf screamed down the runway, creating a sonic boom, sending a shock wave throughout the remainder of the paddock, shattering glass and other windows.
     Unbolted objects within the Beowulf were sent flying...which of course included the new Jurain crew.
     Syndey, Yoko, and Raven were pulled back into their seats by the sheer magnitude of the force, but they were used to it.
     Of course, the Jurain space port didn't like the fact that they took off at illegal speeds.
     The COM crackled on. "...owulf! Repeat! Mercenary ship Beowulf! You are to reverse your course and..."
     BLIP!
     Sydney disengaged the COM, and pulled back on the flight stick, causing the Beowulf to ascend into the blue Jurain atmosphere and then into the black reaches of space itself.
     After a few minutes, Sydney turned in his seat to Yoko. "I guess you can do it anytime, now."
     Yoko chuckled as she turned her chair from the viewscreen to her computer equipment. "You are *such* a bastard, you know that?"
     Sydney smiled, and Raven laughed.
     After a few quick button presses, Yoko activated the hyperdrive system, causing the ship to lurch forward, and the white stars which were merely dots to coalesce into lines as the Beowulf screamed forward, and embraced the freedom of hyperspace.
 
 
 
 
 
 

     A few hours later, Sydney wandered back onto the bridge with a mischevious smirk on his face.
     Yoko turned from her equipment and looked at him, smiling. "So how are they all doing now?"
     Sydney let out a long breath as he plopped down uncerimoniously into the captain's seat. "They're...better, I think."
     Yoko folded her arms. "I hope that they aren't going to throw up all over my computer equipment again."
     Sydney grinned. "Sorry 'bout that."
     "That equipment is *expensive*, Sydney. I didn't like that." Yoko said.
     Sydney nodded. "I know...but that's what makes it so funny!"
     Yoko shook her head. "How would *you* like it if they threw up on your precious 'captain's seat'?"
     Sydney shrugged. "I'd throw them out of the airlock."
     "So it wouldn't be funny, would it?"
     "'Course not. Nothing is funny about someone barfing on *my* seat."
     "So it's funny if it's on my equipment though? That's what you're saying?" Yoko sneered.
     Sydney smiled, nodding. "Yup."
     Yoko grunted. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?"
     Sydney turned to the viewing screen. "I try."
     Yoko shrugged and began to type at her computer. As she did, she spoke. "So...can they actually *do* anything?"
     Sydney folded his hands behind his head. "Dunno. The fat one makes a mean cup of coffee."
     Yoko closed her eyes and shook her head. "We're doomed."
     "They're expendible. At least...that's the way Jurai looks at them." Sydney said, staring out at hyperspace.
     "What do you mean?"
     Sydney looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Come on, Red. It's not *that* hard to tell, is it? They sure aren't soldiers. They're prisoners." He returned his gaze to the screen. "They are just prisoners of war, simple as that. I'm willing to bet that everyone other than Jun was a civilian."
     Yoko stopped typing and turned to face him. "Then, why would they send them with *us*?"
     "You're unusually dim today, Red." Sydney propped his feet up onto the control dashboard. "How were we even *hired* for this job?"
     "By Jurai." Yoko stated.
     Sydney nodded. "More specifically, the Jurain government. A specific branch, to be exact."
     Yoko nodded. "Oh yeah, the office of..." she trailed off, and raised her eyebrows in realization.
     Sydney stared up at the cieling. "Yup, you guessed it. From the office of the Emperor himself." He sighed. "There is only two reasons for that. One, because it is a matter of utmost importance, and that Jurai really needs our help. Or two, because he has initiated something that he wants kept out of white gloved hands. Specifically, the Holy Council."
     Yoko shook her head. "But why would he want sellswords like us to intercede in that sort of situation?"
     "Who else would he go to? The police? No, they wouldn't be ones to keep information *from* the council. That leaves the Jurain Defense Force." He chuckled. "Let's face it, espionage is certainly not their specialty. I can remember a certain incident a few years back..."
     Yoko smiled at the memory. A spy had been caught red handed in enemy territory, and being the obvious true *novice* that he was, he actually *leaked* the information. No suicide, no holding out, he simply collapsed into a sobbing heap.
     Yoko scratched her head. "So now I guess I can see him wanting to come to mercs like us. But...what does he want? And really, that doesn't explain the reason for them giving us a bunch of cherries."
     Sydney sighed and crossed his arms. "What *is* he going to give us, exactly? Good, decent Jurain soldiers? Come on, they'd *never* go against the council."
     "Then...why give us anything at all?" Yoko asked, totally bewildered.
     Sydney shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe this whole thing is just a ploy to get rid of us and these guys."
     "Why would they want to get rid of *us*?"
     Sydney looked over at Yoko, and raised an eyebrow.
     Yoko chuckled nervously. "Oh yeah...I forgot about that. Heh heh. You don't think that they still remember, do you?"
     Sydney scratched the back of his neck. "Jurains are *hooked* on honor, Red. They *live* by it. When we took down that frigate, I think we offended their honor."
     "But...it was a legitimate job! The GP okayed it. I mean, they were smuggling Centra hostages."
     "So?" Sydney spat. "I don't think they give a damn about that."
     Yoko was about to counter, when her console started beeping incessently.
     She turned and scanned the information.
     Her eyes widened, and she chuckled nervously. "Umm...whoops..."
     Sydney took his feet off the dash and turned to her. "Whoops? Shit Yoko, what the hell did you do?!"
     Yoko turned to him, blushing and scratching the back of her head, laughing nervously. "Well...uh...when we made the jump to hyperspace, I miscalculated our course by .00001% and..."
     Sydney's eyes widened. "WHAT?! You could've sent us flying straight through a fucking *star*?!" He gasped. "Please, for the love of Tsunami, TELL ME we are NOT going to run through a star."
     Yoko shook her head. "We're not going to run through a star."
     Sydney relaxed visably, and let out a relieved sigh. "That's good to hear. So, where are we? What's the problem?"
     Yoko smiled. "We've arrived right in the middle of Bacrisa airspace, that's all."
     Sydney blinked. "Bacrisa. Bacrisa airspace."
     Yoko nodded.
     Sydney sighed, shook his head, and let out a single word.
     "Shit."
     Yoko chuckled nervously.
     Sydney shook his head, and leapt to his feet. "Well, what the hell are you waiting for?! Disengage us out of hyperspace right now before we get caught in a hydrogen field!"
     Yoko spun around and began to quickly type at her console, her arms and digits becoming a fluid blur over the keys.
     Sydney ran to the edge of the cockpit, and flicked up a large switch, causing the lights to dim and begin flashing red, signaling the red alert.
     As he jumped back to his seat, he muttered, "How in the hell did we get stuck in Bacrisian airspace? Great, now we have the most viscous group of barbarians up our asses..."
     Sydney quickly strapped himself in as they fell out of hyperspace, and opened up the COM for the entire ship.
     "Listen people, get your shit together! No time for play anymore, We're going to war! MOVE!!!"
     He disengaged the COM, and turned to Yoko. "How long?"
     Yoko was glued to her screen. "About 30 seconds. We already have 7 Gunboats converging on our position."
     Sydney shook his head. "Alright you pirate shit, let's do this! Let's see what these bastards are made of!"
     Raven phased in through the door. "What the hell is going on?!"
     Without turning as he engaged the manual controls, Sydney yelled over his shoulder, "Thanks to our good friend over here, we're going to be getting a first hand look at a Bacrissian battlefleet!"
     Raven looked at Yoko. "The pirate group?"
     Yoko nodded without looking at her. "The same."
     Raven shook her head. "Shit."
     Sydney cocked the control stick, and manuvered the Beowulf away from the approaching fleet. "What the hell are you waiting for, Raven? Get Jun into the Red Wolf, and get your ass to the weapons platform!"
     Raven nodded. "Right!"
     Sydney smiled as they neared the pirate fleet. He cracked his knuckles. "Alright, here we go!"
     He opened the COM. "Raven?"
     It took a second, but her distorted voice came back over. "I'm here, Sydney."
     "Status!"
     "Jun is in the Red Wolf. He's ready for take off. I'm heading over to the weapons platform now." with that, the COM clicked off.
     Sydney yelled over to Yoko, "Red, open the hanger and let the kid out!"
     "Roger!"
     The Beowulf's hanger opened, and the smaller one man ship went flying out quickly, if not a little unsteadily.
     Sydney began to dodge the Bacrisian plasma fire, as Raven began to fire their own positron beams back at them.
     He opened the COM to the Red Wolf. "Hey kid, you there?"
     A second later, Jun responded. "Ye...yeah, I'm here."
     "Take it easy. Think straight. Fire back. That's all there is to it, got it?"
     A slightly nervous reply came back. "Ye...yessir."
     "And remember..." Sydney smiled, "don't fire your missiles unless I say so!"
     "R...Roger."
     Sydney began to bank back and forth, as plasma cannons were directing fire at him, which he was dodging with relative ease.
     After all, when it came down to it, the Bacrisa fleet were really nothing more than barbaric space pirates, with no real sense of elegence, therefore, their actions could be predicted rather easily.
     Sydney watched on a side viewscreen as the Red Wolf ducked and weaved through the chaos of the battlefield, while still firing at the ships. Sydney nodded, slightly impressed.
     The battle was going well.
     Well...
     ...for a little while.
     "We got a problem!" Yoko yelled.
     Sydney veered the ship down. "What?"
     "One of the plasma cannons tore a small hole in the hull, underneath the engine compartment." Yoko read.
     Sydney flinched as their ship shook a bit. "Meaning?"
     "Well, the uranium oscillators will be be overworked if we continue using this combat speed. They'll overload."
     Sydney shook his head. "Damn." He opened the COM. "Hey Raven? No more fucking around. It's time to end this."
     There was a slight hesitation before the distorted reply. "The Nova bombs?"
     "You betcha."
     He could almost *hear* Raven smile. "On it, Sydney."
     He quickly changed channels. "Hey, Jun? Pull back, we're firing the Nova Bombs."
     Jun voice came crackling over the COM, "Uh...I can't exactly do that right now..."
     Sydney's brow furrowed. "Why the hell not?"
     "I've lost the priming chamber on the breakwing."
     Sydney rolled his eyes. "Alright, we'll be there to pick you up. Keep up your fire."
     "Umm...the plasma cannons aren't working very well. Request permission to use missiles?"
     Sydney turned to Yoko. "How much did Hammond charge us for those missiles?"
     Yoko quickly glanced at her schematics. "Umm...14,000 Jurai."
     Sydney tapped his chin in thought. "That's pretty cheap for missiles..."
     He turned back to the COM. "Denied. Stick to your positron cannon until we get there. We'll rendeszvous with you in T-minus..." he glanced at a chart of the battlefield to his right, "...25 seconds. Beowulf out."
     Sydney turned the ship and began to make his way over the somewhat crippled smaller ship. He watched as iridiscent pink beams streamed from the top of the Red Wolf, as it casually floated through space. He looked to his left a little, and saw a Bacrissian battle cruiser barreling straight for the Red Wolf.
     He quickly opened the COM. "Kid! HEAD'S UP!"
     He watched as the Red Wolf wavered a little, and then watched as a single object jettisoned from the side of the ship, leaving a smoke trail in it's wake, heading straight for the appraoching ship.
     Sydney opened the COM again. "I told you *NOT* to fire the missiles!"
     He watched as the missile streaked past the the cruiser, not affecting it at all.
     Sydney slapped his forehead. "Aw, the cheap ones *SUCK*!"
     He reopened the COM. "Raven, fire up the neutron cannon. We've got to rescue the kid."
     "Are...are you sure?"
     Sydney looked back as more missiles began flying from the Red Wolf, all of them missing their target. "Very."
     "Roger that!"
     Sydney yelled over to Yoko. "How are the oscillator's?"
     Yoko's eyes danced about the control board. "Beginning to overheat. They are already nearing 14% over the max!"
     Sydney growled, and pumped the speed of the Beowulf up a few notches, causing the ship to rocket through the black vacuum towards the smaller sister ship.
     "Raven?"
     "All set!"
     "FIRE!"
     The neutron cannon at the belly of the Beowulf opened, and the reality around it shimmered for a moment before firing a humungous blue blast, which struck the Bacrisian ship, vaprizing it completely.
     "Alright!" Sydney cried, as he pulled the Beowulf up next to the Red Wolf.
     "We've got another problem!" Yoko shouted.
     Sydney sighed. "Now what?"
     She turned to face him, the light's from her computer station flashing on and off in various colors, illuminating her face and giving it a somewhat...desperate appearance. "The neutron blast increased the osciallator's heat friction by 44%! We've GOT to end this battle, otherwise the whole engine will be seriously screwed!"
     Sydney nodded, but before he could do anything, the COM from both Raven and the Red Wolf opened and began barking to him different things that have gone wrong.
     It was deafening.
     Sydney sat there, listening to the conjorted garble of Raven, Jun, and Yoko yelling all sorts of malfunctions and other problems, and he finally sighed and said, "Oh well. Whatever happens...happens."
     With that, he grabbed the flight stick, and shot the Beowulf back into the fray of battle.
 
 
 
 
 
 

     The crysalis swirled, morphed, and shifted, all in an intricate dance, the surface rippling like the surface of a lake.
     Tokimi watched the crysalis, and sighed to herself.
     It was beginning. He was beginning to awaken.
     The Judas Cradle was beginning to form.
     She looked over at D3 who was observing the dimension where Tsunami's children were. She closed her eyes, and let the feelings of emotions wash over her. She had blocked them for so long.
     She decided that allowing them to return for even a short little while wouldn't be too bad.
     As concise as the mere nanoseconds of feeling were, it still was more becoming than anything else she could experience.
     Deep down, Tokimi wanted the same thing that her sisters did. Shutting off her emotions again, she blinked back a tear. Tokimi, too, wanted to be mortal.
     She smiled sadly as she looked at the crysalis, and shook her head once again.
     Tsunami wasn't coming. At least, not for a little while. D3 most certainly couldn't stop her. Tokimi stared at the crysalis, and came to a decision.
     Clenching her fists, she grasped a firm control over her own entity, and then managed to control her consciousness into leaving her body.
     It wasn't a mere astral projection...letting the ego enter climb space in quantum form, no, it was more. A technique that simply could not be done by mortals. Only a God could be able to do it.
     Almost a complete division of the very being.
     Tokimi reorientated herself, once her own being had left it's ethereal shell, and then dove straight into the crysalis.
     Black. That's all there was. Pure, utter, and total darkness. Not even light could exist. Anything of a natural frequency would be instantly erased from existence.
     Tokimi, at this one time, was grateful that she didn't fall under the category of "natural".
     It didn't take long. No. Only mere seconds for the voice to come to her.
     [I found you, Lady Tokimi.]
     Tokimi shivered at how cold the voice was. It was as if the voice itself was the very frequency of frost and death. The voice was not too low, but it seemed very raspy and uninviting.
     "I am here."
     [Why have you come? To...fight me?]
     "No. To ask what you want when you complete the Judas Cradle."
     [Hmmm...]
     "What IS IT!!!"
     [Your life. It is going to end. Today.]
     If Tokimi had eyes, they would be trembling in fear. She said nothing.
     [I suppose that was a little bit too dramatic. What I want is for you, and your sisters, to die.]
     "Why? Why do you want such a thing?"
     [I think that you should be more concerned with your own safety, LADY Tokimi.]
     Tokimi watched as the darkness faded away, and a serene field of flowers encompassed the newly formed reality. Tokimi noticed then that she had a body. It was a mortal's body.
     Her black hair cascaded bautifully down her back, to her waist, and a few strands fell in fron of her eyes. Her eyes themselves were no longer that menacing yellow color, but now they were white, and the pupils were now a softer amber color. She was adorned in a Jurain kimono that was commonly worn by normal women, it was fairly loose, and was more for comfort than formality.
     She looked around in awe as she saw children running through the fields, playing, chasing butterflies, parents happily talking and watching their children, elderly couples chatting happily on a bench overlooking a small field of flowers...
     As she watched, she felt...wet.
     Tokimi blinked in surprise, and brought her hand up to her cheek and felt water flowing freely from her eyes.
     <Why?>
     <What *is* this?>
     Tokimi remembered back to a memory of her past...
     Tsunami weeping into her hands...
     Tokimi's eyes widened. "I'm...crying? I am...crying?" she asked, her voice just barely above a whisper.
     "It's quite entrancing, isn't it?"
     Tokimi whirled around to see a man leaning against a nearby tree.
     She narrowed her eyes.
     He had the same voice...
     It was him.
     He leaned against the tree. He looked almost exactly like Adam, only his hair was a little longer than the short spikes that this incarnation had, and there was no pony tail. He face wore a grin that entitled nothing but lunacy. His eyes were not soft and compassionate like Adam's, but were full of discontent and anger. He wore a loose blue shirt, and a somewhat baggy purple sash around his chest and back. His pants were white and somewhat baggy. He grinned at her.
     "Judas..." Tokimi growled, as she wiped away her tears.
     He smiled, his brown eyes twinkling with nothing but hate. "It's been a while, my most precious Lady Tokimi."
     Tokimi clenched her fists, and they began to shake.
     What was this? Yes, Tsunami had named it.
     Anger. Hatred. That's what it was.
     Judas leaned down to a small boy who ran up to him, and patted him on the head. The boy smiled happily, and giggled.
     Judas kept smiling, rustling the boys hair.
     Tokimi simply glowered.
     Judas' face then changed to one of pure lunacy, as his hand clenched fiercely around the boys head, causing him to scream in pain.
     Tokimi gasped. And then blinked. And then it was all gone.
     Judas smiled again, the boy giggled again, and ran off to his parents.
     He watched him go. He began to chuckle. It was a sound that was truely to be feared. "My my, your reaction was better than I had hoped for! Tsunami has made you soft!"
     He chuckled. "And to think that I could easily kill every man, woman and child here in the blink of an eye if I wanted to. The power of death is intoxicating. So..." he drawled.
     He turned to face her, his hand twitching. "...you wanna draw?"
     Tokimi merely grinded her teeth, looking back at him with nothing but searing rage.
     He chuckled. "Too bad...it could have been fun." He tapped his chin, as if in deep thought. "It's funny, Tokimi. I never would of thought that *you* of all beings would become attatched to mortals. Hmph. How transparent."
     Tokimi wiped away more tears. "We will kill you, Judas."
     "Oh? Even though the Cradle is almost fully complete?" He shrugged. "Ignorance is bliss, I suppose."
     She took in a few deep breaths. "I will not allow you to destroy everything that my sister has created!"
     Judas' eyes widened. "Unbelieveable! YOU of all people, defending *Tsunami*! What has this dimension come to!" he chuckled.
     Tokimi's eyes narrowed. "This is still all for *her*, isn't it."
     Judas stopped laughing, and then his face became dark. In an instant, he disappeared, and then reappeared. When he reappeared, the beautiful field was gone, replaced by a barren wasteland. In one hand, he held Tokimi up in the air by her neck.
     The other, he held the Light Hawk Sword.
     His teeth were bared. "You *never* even *mention* her in front of me, Tokimi! *You* are the one who *killed* her!"
     Tokimi gagged in Judas' crushing grip. She, in her 45,000 year life in this dimension, and the countless billions of years in the True dimension with the All-Father, had *never* felt what she was feeling now.
     Pain.
     And total, absolute fear.
     She looked down at his crimson Light Hawk Wing sword, then back into his eyes.
     "You're wrong, Judas...you're so wrong..."
     Judas' hold tightened, causing Tokimi to gag. "Shut UP you damn goddess BITCH! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!!" he screamed.
     She slowly closed her eyes, and opened them again. "No...you... I...tried to...help you...save her...remember...?" she wheezed.
     Judas' blinked, and the hand holding the sword trembled a little.
     Only a little.
     "Please...Ashley...don't...let Anonlbe...win..." she cried, tears now streaming down her face, running over Judas' hand.
     His lip began to tremble for a moment.
     "Sumirei..." he whispered. Then a flash of anger engulfed over him. "You can't ever talk to me about this, Tokimi."
     He disengaged the Light Hawk Sword, and then threw her down onto the ground harshly.
     She began to spazmatically cough.
     He looked down at her, not with anger, but more with a sense of warning. "I do not really feel the urge to kill you, Tokimi. Because it is true, you *did* try to help. BUT..." he trailed off for a moment, becoming lost in his rage.
     "I will never forgive Tsunami. *HE* won't let me."
     Tokimi breathed heavily, and lightly rubbed her throat. She looked up at Judas. "But I *won't* let you take my sister. Either of them."
     He closed his eyes. "Then you will be my enemy, Tokimi."
     His hand formed an energy ball, pulsing with power, crackling with crimson electricity over his arm, which he then pointed at Tokimi.
     He opened his eyes. "Is this what you want? Death? Do you wish for death, Tokimi?"
     Tokimi looked in horror at the ball of energy, and then thought back to the conversation she had with Tsunami.
     ["But if you go there, you will...]
     [...End.]
     She shook her head. "No...of course not. That's the last thing I could ever wish for. I never understood that about Tsunami. Why she wanted to End. I know how badly she wished to experience what you and Sumirei had, and to return to the All-Father..." Tokimi wiped away more tears, and then looked down at her hands. "...but I could never understand why she wished for death!"
     She stared at her hands.
     They were of flesh. A mortal attribute.
     Strangely, Tokimi smiled as she thought of this.
     "Since I don't want to die...I fear it...I could never wish that on any of my sisters." She looked back at Judas. "That is why I must stop you."
     Judas slowly let the ball of energy fade. "You seem to forget something." he said, sitting down, and looking into her eyes.
     Tokimi sat up, and looked at him. "What is that?"
     "Not only am I the remnants of the entity known as Ashley, but I am also the physical retrospection of the original wave existence."
     Tokimi nodded. "I hadn't forgotten."
     Judas smiled. "I know. It's just that I can't control him all the time. He wants to end everything. I just want Tsunami. And unfortunetly..." he looked up at the dusty, distorted sky, "our power stems from him. So he gets the final say."
     Tokimi nodded, and then felt something.
     She didn't know where this feeling was coming from, but it was there. She looked at Judas, and this feeling intensified.
     So, not knowing what else to do, she acted. Tokimi slowly got to her knees, and crawled over next to Judas.
     Judas just watched her.
     As she neared him, tears began to fall from her face again. She looked at him, straight in the eyes.
     She smiled. "You know...I'm grateful."
     Judas blinked. "For what?"
     She reached out with a timid hand, and gently stroked the side of his face, which caused him to gasp slightly. "You helped show me what it is like to be mortal, by bringing me here. I was always curious."
     Judas said nothing.
     Tokimi moved her face closer to his, slowly moving her eyes up and down the contours of his face. "It is indeed a varitable onslaught of...emotions...and they are indeed overwhelming."
     Tokimi moved until she was nearly right on top of Judas, but stopped just in front of him. She didn't know what was happening.
     Her breath was quickening.
     Her face was getting hot.
     Her mouth was dry.
     Her legs were weak.
     Her stomach was sore, and hurting.
     Was this what mortals went through?
     What *was* this?
     She put her face inches from his, and he didn't move, he just stared at her. "Do you know, Ashley? What it was like?"
     "What?" he asked.
     "With the All-Father, I mean. It was..." she closed her eyes, trying to remember what having a presense in the True dimension actually...*felt* like.
     "...unbelievable. Simple words couldn't describe the outright contentment of that place." She opened her eyes. "I think now I can understand why Tsunami wanted to make mortals. To be a substitute. No...more than that. Not just a replacement..."
     She smiled, a new tear, this one for Tsunami, descending down her beautiful face. "...she wanted others to feel what she had felt. I now know that...she wasn't wrong."
     Judas blinked, still not moving.
     Tokimi stared at him, right in the eyes. "As a goddess, I am given a lot of things. Ultimate power, immortality, unlimited responsibility...and...even some emotions, when I so desire to have them."
     Her lip trembled as she continued. "But..I never *understood* those emotions. I could never contemplate what they were, and what they meant. So I always turned them off."
     Tokimi gently stroked the side of his face, then used her other hand, and gently took his face in both of her hands, and lifted herself up a little, so she was looking down at him.
     "Tsunami never did that. She always embraced *all* of her emotions. Washu was the same. But I was different. I never understood them." She moved her face even closer. "But I think I do now."
     Then, she kissed him.
     New tears began to stream down her face. She wondered fleetingly if she was a "broken mortal", not working properly. But all that was overwhelmed in the physical contact.
     Unlike anything that she could have ever imagined. Perceptions, knowledge, assumptions, those were all changed.
     No.
     DESTROYED, and built anew at that contact.
     Mortals were foolish. Mortals were blind. Mortals hurt each other. Mortals fought amongst themselves. Mortals decieved each other.
     And still...
     ...they were magnificent.
     Tokimi pulled back from the kiss, and looked down at Judas.
     He blinked sadly.     "Tokimi, I..."
     "Please..." she silenced him. "Please."
     "I'm sorry, Tokimi. I'm not the only dominion within this body. I don't have control over it all the time."
     Tokimi shook her head. "No, Ashley. No. There is a way. There HAS to be a way. Washu will find a way. I *know* she will."
     Judas sighed, and took Tokimi's wrists. "But, Tokimi..."
     "Please, Ashley, I love you!"
     Judas blinked, completely shocked, as new tears fled down Tokimi's face.
     She smiled sadly. "I always wondered...why I wanted to help you. All those years ago...why I even *led* you to the wave existence... I couldn't explain it...I knew there was...*something* about you...that *interested* me..."
     She hugged him, desperately. "But I never knew until now. Please, don't go! DON'T!"
     Judas closed his eyes. "But...my heart belongs to Sumirei, Tokimi. Now and forever."
     Tokimi pulled back. "But...she's DEAD, Ashley! You mustn't forget her, but...just let me be with you, just this once!"
     Judas opened his eyes, and looked at Tokimi. "But the wave..."
     Tokimi silenced him by forcing her lips over his. At first, Judas simply blinked in shock, but he slowly melted into the kiss, not feeling anything else except her warmth against his.
     She pulled back, and gently stroked his face. "Please, can't you stop being Judas just for a little bit...and be Ashley again?" Tokimi thought about what Tsunami had told her about Adam and Eve being together again. She rested her forehead against his. "Ashley...Sumirei is happy again. She is with Adam, and she is happy."
     This seemed to make Judas smile a little.
     She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I know that she would want you to be happy again. Please...let me help you, Ashley. Just... let me help."
     Judas smiled slightly, relinquishing himself altogether for a brief moment, and becoming Ashley once again.
     "Okay Tokimi. I...I want you to help me."
     Tokimi smiled again as her tears brushed against his skin, and she pressed her lips against his once again.
 
 
 
 
 
 

     There really was no escaping it. Everywhere she *looked* it hurt.
     Aeka sat in a small wooden chair in her room, and simply stared at her hands. Tears streaming freely down her face, there was nothing she could do.
     Everything she looked at reminded her of the pain. To close her eyes, and shield herself in darkness, reminded her of the pain.
     She was trapped. There was no escape. It simply hurt far too much.
     Aeka couldn't even breathe properly, because it hurt to do so.
     The very act of *living* hurt.
     Aeka slowly brought her hands up to her face, and wiped the tears away. She then brought her gaze to the dresser in front of her, where the knife lay.
     "I'm sorry..." she whispered.     "...it hurts to even think about you..."
     Slowly, she reached out for the small blade.
     <Is this what you want?>
     <Are you *this* much of a coward?>
     <He doesn't love me. There is *nothing* in this life to believe in anymore!>
     <Are you so weak?>
     Aeka's hand slowly circled around the end of the knife.
     <Have you even thought to consider what this will do to others?>
     <What would Tenchi think? What would your parents think? What would your people think? What would *Sasami* think?>
     <I can't even think about them without feeling the pain. I don't think they want me to live like that.>
     Aeka slowly brought the dagger off of the dresser.
     <Maybe, but they certainly *don't* want you to *not* live at all!>
     Closing her eyes, Aeka surrendered herself to her fate.
     If only, she didn't hear the voice from outside.
     It was slightly muffled, because the door was closed, but she heard it all the same.
     "Aeka! Aeka! Where are you?"
     It was Sasami.
     Aeka opened her eyes, and put the knife back onto the dresser, just as the doorway slid open.
     "Sister! Here you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"
     Sasami trotted over to Aeka, the same happy expression on her face as normal.
     That expression melted off as soon as she looked at Aeka's face. She saw the tears. The sorrow.
     The will to stop existing.
     "Aeka..." Sasami whispered, as she walked over to her side.
     Looking at her sister in the eyes, Aeka gagged for a moment, before collapsing into a sobbing heap once again.
     Sasami wrapped her small, gentle arms around Aeka's head, and guided it to her small breast.
     Aeka did nothing but weep.
     Sasami just did nothing but be there for Aeka.
     Aeka began to quietly whimper in her sobbings. "Ten...chi..."
     Sasami closed her eyes, and leaned her head against her sisters hair. "I'm sorry Aeka..."
     Aeka just cried.
     "It'll be okay, sister. It'll be alright." Sasami reassured her.
     Aeka slowly pulled back from Sasami, wiping her bloodshot eyes. "I'm sorry that you had to do this, Sasami..."
     Sasami's face turned cross. "*Had* to do this? Aeka! I *wanted* to!"
     Aeka managed a small smile. "Of course...I'm sorry."
     Sasami's face became gentle again. "What happened, Aeka?"
     Aeka's lip trembled. "Well, you see...Tenchi...he...Ryoko..."
     Sasami nodded, understanding what she was trying to say. The little princess reached out with a small, reassuring hand, and rested it gently on her older sister's shoulder. "Like I said, Aeka. It'll be okay." Sasami tried to reassure her.
     Aeka tried to smile, but failed. "Will it, Sasami?"
     Sasami nodded. "Of course it will. Just you wait and see. I'll make *sure* that it will be okay. Anything else would be so sad, I'd cry forever and ever!"
     Aeka managed a small smile for her sister's benefit. "I just don't know what to *do*, Sasami. I can't even *look* at him anymore. It hurts to much."
     Sasami looked up at the cieling in thought. "I don't know... maybe you should go home for a while?"
     Aeka blinked.
     Sasami tapped her chin. "I'd come with you, of course. But maybe you just need..." she stopped, and began to giggle.
     Aeka arched an eyebrow, and smiled a little more at the sight. "What is so funny, Sasami?"
     Sasami controlled her laughter, and then spoke. "Well, I was going to say, maybe you need a vacation, but that's what we're supposed to be doing here!" She smiled. "A vacation back home, maybe."
     Aeka stopped and gave the idea some considerable thought. She looked at her sister. "You couldn't come, Sasami."
     "But why not?"
     "Wouldn't you want to stay *here*, though?"
     "I want to be with my *sister*, Aeka. So where you go, I go."
     Aeka shut her eyes tightly, as a tear fell down her face. She reopened her eyes, and smiled sadly at her little sister.
     She wiped the tear away. "A vacation, huh?"
 
 
 
 
 
 

     "ARGH! WHY! WHY THE HELL CAN'T I FIGURE THIS OUT!!!" Washu screamed up to the cieling.
     She slammed her fists down on the control board in frustration.
     She had been at it for hours, trying desperately to figure out what had been going on, but ever since her neural dive, she hadn't come across any knew or significant information.
     "What the hell is *wrong* with this piece of junk?" she muttered as she fell back into her chair, somewhat exhausted.
     "Nothing ever goes my way..."
     Washu smiled sadly as she stared out over the vestibule. She looked at all the trees and other lifeforms growing in the small area.
     "Damn...what the hell has happened to me...?" she muttered.
     "Hmmm...confused, Washu-chan?"
     Washu whirled around, and her mouth fell agape.
     Standing not more than two meters from her, was the astral embodiment of Tsunami herself.
     "Ts...Tsunami! What are you doing here?" Washu stammered.
     Tsunami bowed slightly, and then looked at Washu, straight in the eyes. "I would so like to be here to discuss old times, sister, but alas, I am afraid that is completely impossible now. We are simply out of time."
     Washu blinked. "Time? Time for *what*?"
     Tsunami sighed. "I hate to go against my own pact, but I am afraid I must intervene."
     Tsunami waved a hand, and Washu's entire body locked up. She was totally frozen. Any attempt to move any limb of bodily appendage was completely impossible.
     "What the hell have you done to me!" Washu screamed.
     Tsunami closed her eyes, and then closed her fist, and that's when Washu felt it.
     A searing...no...an excruciating pain lacerating her entire body from within. There was no physical evidence that such was occuring, but Washu had never, ever felt pain like this before.
     She would've screamed, but the pain blocked out even that reaction ability.
     It lasted for only a few moments, but they were moments that Washu would never forget.
     She dropped to her knees, and placed her hands on the cold steel of the floor, to brace her from falling. She was breathing heavily, and sweating profusely.
     But all that was ignored, by something else.
     Knowledge.
     Boundless and seemingly infinite knowledge from many, many countless years had suddenly been *fused* into her brain, as if they were *memories*.
     As Washu stood to her feet, she realized something.
     They *were* memories.
     Tsunami opened her eyes. "So, you remember everything now, sister?"
     Washu nodded. "Indeed. I remember the intron block you have had control over the keepers of time."
     "Correct, I merely removed it. I am so sorry that it had to be so painful, dearest sister." Tsunami said.
     Washu shook it aside. "That's alright. An entire body of Urobolus Rings suddnely spinning at maximum frequency...I'm surprised my body didn't spontaneously combust from the friction, to be perfectly honest with you."
     Tsunami nodded. "I'm sure that if you were a normal human, that most certainly would of happened."
     Washu sighed, and fell back into her chair. As she did, she suddenly realized that she was no longer in her chan form anymore, but she didn't make anything out of it.
     "So why have you come, Tsunami? Surely not to reawaken myself?" Washu gasped as a thought occured to her. "The cycle hasn't ended again, has it?!"
     Tsunami shook her head. "No, Tenchi and Ryoko are fine."
     Washu breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good...I...I still haven't made up with my daughter..."
     Tsunami nodded. "Yes, you most certainly must do that."
     Washu's eyes narrowed. "And why the hell do *you* care about that all of a sudden?"
     Tsunami looked at Washu, sorrow seeping from all of her features. "There...is a problem, Deis."
     "What *kind* of a problem?"
     Tsunami folded her hands together. "During the reinitiating of the cycle several loops prior...there was an accident."
     Washu blinked. "Tsunami, I've been alive in this life for over 20,000 years. My life before that was almost...5,000 years before that. Not meaning to be offensive or anything but...what the hell took you so damn long to tell me?!"
     Tsunami sighed. "Complications."
     Washu sneered. "I *see*."
     Tsunami nodded. "There is much to tell you, although I must insist that Adam and Eve are here as well."
     Washu stood up. "That...may not be such a good idea, Tsunami."
     "I think that if Adam tells her to, she'll listen." Tsunami said. "She always has."
     "It's not *like* that! I've *never* had a daughter before! In our billions of years, I've only had a daughter for a mere 5 thousand years! To a mortal, that is a long time, but to us of the endless, it is but a twinkling..."
     Washu looked back over the vestibule, with a far away look on her face. "I haven't really had much time to do things right...I don't think that I ever did things like I was supposed to..."
     She turned back to Tsunami. "...but she is still my *daughter*, and I *love* her!"
     Tsunami nodded. "I know, Deis. I know."
     Washu shook her head. "Do you? Do you really?"
     Tsunami glared back at Washu. "Of course I know, *sister*. What do you think I have ever done in my life? The *right* thing? It's just like I told Tokimi...we have all committed so many sins... some of which can never be made right again! So don't you *dare* question whether or not I know what it's like!" Tsunami spat acidly at Washu.
     Washu flinched, but nodded. "I'm...sorry, Tsunami. Really."
     Tsunami nodded. "I know that, sister."
     Washu smiled sadly, as tears began to fall from her face. "You know...Ryoko has this obsession with Tenchi. Tenchi *is* her life."
     Washu sat back in her floating chair, and stared at the ground. "I always wondered how healthy such an obsession could be...until I finally came to a realization." She looked up at Tsunami, her face streaming with tears. "Ryoko is *my* life. It's just that I can never tell her or express that properly."
     Tsunami said nothing.
     "I thought that Ryoko liked making practical jokes on everybody. Hell, she does it to Aeka all the time. So I pulled one on her. But she *hated* me for that. I thought she would like it. But she didn't." Washu chuckled to herself. "Ryoko is definitely a selfish person."
     Again, Tsunami had nothing to say.
     "She flies around, destroys things, irritates Aeka and Tenchi, picks fights with no one in particular for no real reason..." Washu sniffled, and wiped her eyes, "...but she's still my daughter, and I still love her. She's irresponsible, but I love her anyway."
     Tsunami nodded. "You are a wonderful mother, Deis."
     "Then why do I keep screwing up?"
     "You haven't done anything wrong, Deis. No child can comprehend actions of a parent until they have reasonbly looked at it from the *perspective* of the parent." Tsunami smiled. "Well, although I'm sure that you tying Ryoko up wasn't the *greatest* thing you could have done, by no means does that justify you as a poor mother, Deis."
     Washu stood, up and embraced her sister.
     "Thank you so much, Tsunami."
     Tsunami smiled, and returned the embrace. "You are most certainly welcome, sister."
     Tsunami pulled back from the embrace, and took Washu by her shoulders, and looked her straight in the eye.
     "Now let us find Tenchi and Ryoko, Sister." Tsunami smiled. "There is much to be told."
 

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Notes: Well folks, I hoped you had as much fun reading this one as I did writing it! (Which was actually quite a bit!) Anyways, like I stated in chapter 1, there was a strong air of depression in this chapter in particular, but hey, that's life. I hope that you people are enjoying the way I'm writing the characters that we all know and love. Well, see you next chapter!
 

MUSIC:
     Ryoko and Tenchi: "Sound of Snow Falling", from 'Rurouni Kenshin'
     Sydney and the Cadets: "Colorless Sky", from 'Trigun'
     Beowulf Take Off: "Infinity", from 'Lost Universe'
     Sydney and Yoko: "Calling Ryo-Ohki", from 'Tenchi TV'
     The Space Battle: "Too Good Too Bad", from 'Cowboy Bebop'
     Tokimi in the Cradle: "Perfect Night", from 'Trigun'
     Tokimi and Ashley: "With Love", from 'PatLabor 2'
     Aeka and Sasami: "Aeka Bojo", from 'Tenchi Muyo!'
     Washu and Tsunami: "Infantile Dependance", from 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'