"June Mermaid"
Chapter 8 "Toy Soldiers"

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: Hello again.  Well, this is it.  The LAST chapter.  There will be an epilogue at the end of this, but as it is, this is pretty much the end of the fic.  I'm aware that I said there was going to be 2 more chapters after 7, but I decided one longer chapter was better, and it seemed to have better coherency than two shorter ones. This chapter is going to get really insane, so hang on.  It's been one hell of a ride, and I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed every minute of it, but in the end, this overall was really fun.  I really enjoyed writing this, and I am really glad that a lot of you have enjoyed reading this.  I hope that you will enjoy these final installments, as I know I'm going to enjoy writing them.  Oh yeah, there is going to be an ending song instead of an opening one, just because the song that will be used PERFECTLY mirrors the entire fic, so I said, 'What the hell?', and decided for an ending theme.  Thank you so much for everyone who has liked this and have just been my friend.  You all rule.  I'd like to give a great big thanks to my good buddy Dark Jezter for taking over the prereading for this final installment.  Thanks, DJ.  Take care, all! ^_^

NOTE:  This Chapter, unlike the others, will be divided into parts. You'll see what I mean.  Further, like the last chapter, this fic contains some lime content.  Considerably MORESO than the previous chapter, as well.  Be warned.

Quote of the Day: "Any man in this world can be like God.  All present, all knowing, and yet... impudent outside the confines of his head.  And what God cannot do... men will attempt.  Unless... unless we stop them."
                         - Arakawa (PatLabor 2)

-- Part 1:  "Confrontations" --
 

     "Thank you... Tenchi."
     Ryoko quietly whispered to him.  She moved her nude body a little on top of his equally nude body so she was snuggled against him.  Her arm was draped across his chest, and her left leg was propped over and in between his, as she lay her head on his shoulder.
     He looked at her and smiled gently.  "You're welcome."
     Ryoko closed her eyes and smiled, nuzzling against his neck little, her sweaty bare skin and cyan locks rubbing against his soft skin.
     The two of them lay in the small bed, in the small dark room, somewhat of a tangle of flesh.  Their sweaty, glistening bodies shone in the darkness, and their breathing was quite audible.  It was an experience that both of them found they were scared of, but neither would ever forget that time they had together.
     Tenchi put his arm around Ryoko, and hugged her a little closer.
     "I love you, Ryoko."
     Ryoko sighed, and snuggled a little closer.  "Mmm... say it again."
     Tenchi grinned.  "I love you, Ryoko."
     Her eyes were closed blissfully.  "I like the sound of that."
     Tenchi tilted his head, so he was using the top of her head and her thick mane of cyan hair partially as a pillow.
     Ryoko sighed.  "....I can't believe it."
     Tenchi blinked.  "You can't believe what?"
     "I'm... *here*.  I'm... really... here... with *you*."
     Tenchi hugged her a little tighter.  "You sure are."
     "You seem a little different, Tenchi."
     Tenchi closed his eyes.  "I *am* different, now."
     "What happened in there?"
     Tenchi shook his head.  "More than words can describe."
     "....tell me about it, sometime?"
     Tenchi smiled.  "I'll try to, sure."
     Ryoko opened her eyes, and then crawled over a little, and hoisted herself up above him, so she was looking into his eyes.  Her long cyan locks fell down to the sides of his neck, and stuck to it a little from the thick sweat.
     Her amber eyes stared down into Tenchi's brown ones.
     "Tenchi... I..."
     And then the door opened.
     In unison, they blinked at the added light, the sound, and the overall disturbance, turned, and screamed.
     Tokimi stood there, and just blinked as she saw a naked Ryoko staring down at a naked Tenchi, screaming.
     "Is something wrong? Did I come at a bad time?"
     They quickly threw the covers over themselves.  "You sure as hell *did*..." Ryoko grumbled.
     Tokimi shrugged, and walked into the room, the door sliding shut behind her.
     "T...Tokimi-sama, what is it?"  Tenchi asked, holding the white sheets tightly around him.
     "We're almost there, you two.  Just so you know."
     Ryoko blinked.  "There?"
     Tenchi looked at her.  "The Cradle."
     Tokimi frowned.  "You know, Adam?"
     Tenchi looked back at Tokimi, his face expressionless.  "I know more than *you*, sister."
     Tokimi just stood there, blinking, not able to comprehend what he meant.  Ryoko didn't have a clue what was going on, either.
     Tokimi backed up a little, and put her hand up as if to gather some energy, but Tenchi waved his hand.
     "Don't worry, he means you no harm."
     "*He*?"
     Tenchi sighed.  "The wave existence."
     Tokimi arched an eyebrow.  "What about him?"
     Tenchi looked into her dark blue eyes of her mortal body.  "He and I are now one and the same."
     Both Ryoko and Tokimi took the reaction surprisedly.
     "WHAT?!"
     Tenchi nodded.  "I am now the Light Hawk.  But I am also Tenchi. All of my Uroborus Rings have been awakened, so I have *all* of my memories back, with the exception of the ones that only Ashley had after Judas was born."
     Tokimi nodded.  "I see..."
     Ryoko put her hand on Tenchi's.  "Tenchi..."
     He looked at her.  "It's alright, Ryoko. I'm still Tenchi. Just... a little different, that's all."
     Ryoko searched his eyes, and quickly found the Tenchi that she knew and loved, and nodded.
     "Just different," she whispered.
     Tokimi shook her head.  "Adam, what did you mean by 'sister'?"
     Tenchi looked back at Tokimi, then at Ryoko.  He blushed.
     "Uh...could we continue this conversation after we get dressed?"
     Tokimi arched an eyebrow.  "I... suppose so."
     Tenchi nodded.  "We'll meet you in Tsunami's room then in a little while, okay Tokimi-sama?"
     Tokimi shrugged.  "That's fine with me, I suppose."
     Tokimi turned around, and walked out through the door, the wooden entrance sliding closed behind her with a slow hiss.
     Ryoko stood up and stretched.  "You know," she began as she reached for the ceiling, "this just keeps getting weirder and weirder."
     Tenchi shook his head.  "You have *no* idea, Ryoko."
     Ryoko started rolling her shoulders.  "Nope, I sure as hell don't. Don't care, either."
     She grinned.  "All I care about is going in, kicking ass, and then going home.  Not too much to ask, eh?"
     Tenchi smiled back at her.  "Not at all."
     Ryoko yawned, and floated almost giddily off the bed and onto the floor, phasing into her blue and yellow dress.  She turned around to see Tenchi climb out of the bed...
     ...and then phase into his clothes.
     Ryoko blinked for almost a minute.  "When the hell did you learn how to do *that*?!"
     Tenchi rolled his neck as he stretched his muscles.  "It became clear a little while ago."
     Ryoko frowned.  "Any other surprise tricks you've got up your sleeve?"
     Tenchi grinned.
     <How about this one?>
     Ryoko's eyes went wide.  "That... was inside my head!"
     Tenchi's grin widened.  "Oh, I'm just full of surprises now, aren't I?"
     "Really, what else can you do?"
     Tenchi's grin never faded.  "Hmmm... it's more a question of what *can't* I do."
     "My, aren't *we* arrogant."
     Tenchi smiled sheepishly, and scratched the back of his neck. "Well... maybe just a little..."
     Ryoko smiled and shook her head.  "Come on, let's go."
 
 
 
 
 
 

     "I'm not sure I can trust him, now.  He called me 'sister'."
     Tokimi, Washu and Tsunami stood on what could be classified as the 'bridge' of the ship, as it had the largest window that displayed everything, and it was the largest room on the whole artificial ship, although there were no controls.  Everything was controlled by Tsunami's mind.
     Washu shook her head.  "I seriously doubt that we could stop trusting him.  Even if he did fuse with the wave existence, he is still *Tenchi*.  And while that may mean nothing to you, *I* know that he is more than trust worthy."
     Tokimi took in a deep breath.  "Are you sure we can trust him, Deis?"
     Washu nodded.  "With your life, sister."
     Tokimi closed her eyes and shrugged.  "Alright, if you say so. But keep in mind that I'm going to have my eye on him."
     Tsunami shook her head.  "That won't be necessary, sister.  Deis speaks the truth.  I have seen Tenchi grow his entire life, and he is if nothing else, an honorable man."
     "Yeah, but he isn't just *Tenchi* now.  He's also something else."
     Washu leaned against the wall, and crossed her arms.  "Well, we'll just have to see for ourselves how different he is."
     The three of them stood in front of the massive window as the ship barreled through hyperspace, only they weren't wearing their normal attire.
     Washu's normal Science Academy Uniform was gone, in favor of something more maneuverable.  Her hair was still tied back, and there seemed to be as much of it as ever, only her whole face seemed... different.  It was not only more adult, but it was a quiet beauty that wasn't present in her normally.
     Her clothes were completely black.  There was a sharp collar on the top of her outfit, and a gold ring that rung around the back of the neck.  The actual uniform was somewhat tight, although around her hands it flared out slightly, not quite to her fingers, though.
     Tsunami was wearing a similar uniform, only where Washu's was black, Tsunami's was white and blue, with a dark green ring around the back of her neck.
     Tokimi wore something similar as well, only her's was a very dark red with some black streaks through it, although the ring around the back of her neck was also gold.
     They were in their physical bodies, and they were as ready as they were ever going to be.
     The three of them turned as one as the doorway on the far side of the massive room opened, and Ryoko and Tenchi walked in casually.
     Washu got off the wall.  "Hurry up, you two!" she shouted.
     To their amazement, Tenchi held Ryoko's wrist, and in a flash of blue light, they appeared right in front of them.  Tenchi let go of Ryoko's wrist, and he had on a somewhat cocky halfsmile.  Ryoko just looked as if she expected something weird to happen.
     Washu shook her head.  "Did the Wave Existence teach you that, Tenchi?"
     He nodded.  "Uh huh."
     Tsunami stepped forward.  "What else did He teach you?"
     Tenchi crossed his arms.  "He didn't *teach* me anything.  Like I told Tokimi-sama, he and I are now one and the same.  What he knew, I know.  What I knew, He knows."
     Tsunami nodded.  "I see."
     Tokimi waved it aside.  "Alright, that's fine and all, but why did you call me 'sister', Adam?"
     "Because you three have forgotten *who* I really am."
     Tsunami frowned.  "What do you mean?"
     Tenchi sighed.  "Our brother... Anonlbe... has been taking some of your memories to use you for his own purposes.  He took many of your memories.  Countless ones, in fact.  One of which was that I, the Light Hawk, am your brother."
     Washu shook her head.  "What else did he take?"
     Tenchi looked at Washu.  "We should talk about that later. What matters now is stopping Anonlbe and Judas."
     Tokimi took a step forward, so she was looking right at Tenchi. "Just a moment, Adam.  If someone has *really* been stealing my memories, I want to know what is gone."
     Tenchi sighed.  "It would take *years* to tell you all of the things that he has taken.  And we don't have that much time until he fully utilizes the Cradle."
     Tokimi frowned, but Washu spoke first.
     "He's right.  Right now, we should worry about Judas, and then we can try to regain what we lost.  That's what this is all about, anyways."
     Washu turned to face Ryoko.  "We'll have to substitute your gems, Ryoko.  Tsunami is willing to lend us some Jurai power so I can create some new ones, now that I remember how."
     Ryoko smiled, and shook her head.  "That's awfully sweet of you Washu, but I don't need to."
     "Why not?"
     Tokimi growled.  "If the girl isn't going to fight, get her out. We need someone who is *willing*."
     Ryoko frowned, and stood Tokimi up.  "Hey now, watch it!"
     Tenchi put his hand on Ryoko's shoulder.  "Hold it, Ryoko. Don't worry about it."
     Ryoko stared at Tokimi for another second before turning back to Washu.  "Tenchi is going to help me."
     Washu arched an eyebrow.  "Tenchi is?" she looked over at the seemingly normal farm boy.  "Just what are you going to do *now*, Tenchi?"
     Tenchi grinned.  "This."
     He took a step back from Ryoko, and then held out his palm. Everyone looked at Tenchi, and watched with curiosity as blue energy began to gather into his palm.  Slowly at first, but eventually the energy began to amass itself at an alarming rate.
     The blue iridescent ball that completely encompassed his palm throbbed with power.  He opened his eyes, and looked at Ryoko.  He pointed his palm at her, and then the ball of energy jettisoned from his hand, and straight into Ryoko.
     The room was filled with noises of electricity cracking, and blue light dancing all about the wooden carved walls, creating shadows and silhouettes that seemed to represent and mimic the awe of the occurrence.
     Ryoko's hands went to her chest where the ball struck, and the energy gathered.  She felt... warm.  There was no other feeling than that.  She could feel something within her... building... rising... almost as if it was an orgasm of power.
     Ryoko opened her eyes, and then it happened.  Her clothes were being blown around as if she was in torrential winds, and her vast mane of cyan hair was receiving the same treatment.  On her forehead, appeared the marks.
     The three green triangles, identical to those that Tenchi wore every time he donned the Light Hawk Armor.  Then, her entire body was encompassed by a soft warmth, and then the light faded.
     The goddesses stared at her in awe.
     She looked down to see her new raiment's.
     Ryoko was now donned in the exact armor that Tenchi had worn when he slayed Kagato, and when he had saved her from Doctor Clay.
     No one said anything for a few moments.  Eventually, Ryoko broke the silence.
     "This is *SO* cool!"
     Tenchi grinned, and lowered his palm.
     Tsunami was stuttering.  "H... how... how..."
     Washu put her hand to her chin in thought as she looked at her daughter, who was spinning around in her new armor.  "It seems to be exactly the same as Tenchi's."
     Tenchi smiled.  "It is the same.  The *very* same."
     Tokimi looked at him.  "How?"
     Ryoko was grinning from ear to ear.  "The very same armor... I wonder if it has the same underpants?"
     Tokimi, Washu, Tsunami, and Tenchi all blinked in unison and looked over at Ryoko, who had a finger to her chin in thought.
     "Hmmm... I'm wearing the same underpants as Tenchi was when he killed *Kagato*..." she blushed, and hugged herself, "talk about a *turn on*!"
     Tenchi sweatdropped.  Washu face faulted.  Tsunami blinked. Tokimi shrugged.
     Ryoko began to swirl her hips around, as if to get a better feel for the... undergarments.
     She was looking down at her waist as she did.  "Hey, this is pretty nice!  Huh?  What do think of this, Kagato!  Turn *this* to stone, you slimy bastard!" she cried, as she continued to swirl her hips as if she was spinning some sort of hoola-hoop.
     Washu shook her head, and looked over at Tenchi.  "...ANYWAYS, How did you do that?"
     "It's the same as with Tsunami."
     Tsunami looked over at him.  "The same?"
     He nodded.  "The very same.  You simply manipulated the waves of my advent to create the Light Hawk Wings, armor, sword, and shield. I simply did the same, and gave Ryoko my old armor."
     Washu grinned, and shrugged.  "How do you like that, eh? Supernatural hand-me-downs."
     Tsunami stepped forward, and took Tenchi's hand.  "Tenchi... if we have forgotten things... is there anything that we must know before we face Judas?"
     Tenchi took in a deep breath.  "A few things.  First, is that if you go in expecting a cake walk, we'll be dead in two seconds."
     Washu nodded.  "Right, don't underestimate him."
     "Them."
     "Them?"
     Tenchi nodded.  "Both Anonlbe and Judas will be our opponents."
     Washu frowned.  "Anonlbe can *fight*?"
     Tenchi closed his eyes, and nodded.  "Anonlbe is a thousand times stronger than Judas."
     Tokimi's eyes went wide.  "What?!  How... is that possible?"
     "He control's the Cradle.  As long as he is within it, his power is almost omnipotent."
     Washu scoffed.  "Then how the hell do we beat him?"
     "We don't," Tenchi said, looking at her, "*I* do."
     Ryoko looked at Tenchi, finally calmer.  "'Scuse me?"
     Tenchi let go of Tsunami's hand, and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.  "Within the Cradle, you three won't be as strong as you'd like to think.  You'll be powerful, true, but overall, Ryoko and I will be stronger."
     Tokimi nodded, absentmindedly rubbing her neck.  "I can agree with that.  I couldn't even tap into half of my power."
     "That's because of the fear, Tokimi-sama.  You were *afraid*. It's understandable, as you must be in your mortal forms to enter, therefore you must have emotions.  But the thing is, you have to push the fear aside."
     Tokimi scoffed.  "Easier said than done.  Have you *seen* Judas at point blank range with a sword to your neck?"
     Tenchi shook his head.  "I haven't.  But that isn't the point. The point is that we will be working on *his* wavelengths within the Cradle, and therefore, you won't be able to have as much power."
     Washu took in a deep breath.  "Alright, that's fine.  We'll just have to be careful.  But what are we going to do then?"
     Tenchi closed his eyes, still letting the wave existence do all of the talking.  "Anonlbe and I will fight.  No..." he said, thinking, "there will not be a fight right away.  I know that he won't want to risk being killed until Judas has been defeated."
     Tokimi shrugged.  "Then we kill Anonlbe right away.  End of story."
     Tenchi smirked.  "Good luck."
     Tokimi frowned.  "What do you mean?"
     Tenchi opened his eyes.  "Anonlbe can kill you all the second we enter there with a *thought*.  You don't have a ghost of a chance against him.  *Any* of you."
     Washu shook her head.  "Then..."
     "I, on the other hand..." Tenchi interrupted, "...do.  I can manipulate his own Cradle just as well as he can, so I can stop him from killing *you*.  However, he is far more experienced at wavelength manipulation than I, and therefore, although we have the same power, *he* has the advantage."
     Washu took in a long breath.  "So what do we do?"
     Tenchi shrugged.  "My first guess would be to try and talk them out of it.  If that doesn't work, Judas has to go."
     Tokimi frowned.  "We can't kill him, Adam."
     Tenchi sighed.  "At the very least, incapacitate him, then. Make it so he can't fight.  He must be removed as a threat.  You four should do that."
     The goddesses and Ryoko looked at each other, and nodded.
     Tenchi uncrossed his arms.  "I'll make sure Anonlbe won't interfere.  I can keep him away from you all while you take care of Judas."
     Ryoko nodded, and walked up to Tenchi, and put her hand on his shoulder.  "We'll do it Tenchi. We can take care of him.  Right now, I feel like I can take on anybody."
     Tenchi chuckled.  "With the power I just gave you, you *can*, Ryoko."
     Ryoko's grin intensified.  "I'm gonna have to think of some way to reward my handsome prince for his lovely gift..."
     Washu cleared her throat.  "Later, Ryoko."
     Ryoko rolled her eyes.  "Whatever, *mom*."
     Ryoko took a step away from Tenchi, and as she did, she didn't notice the warm, sad glance that Washu gave her.
     Tsunami looked back to Tenchi.  "Tenchi, once we have removed Judas as a threat, what do you think we should do about Anonlbe?"
     Tenchi rolled his neck.  "That's an easy one.  Kill him."
     Tokimi rolled her eyes.  "Obviously, Adam.  *HOW* is the question."
     Tenchi shrugged.  "I really can't think of anything other than just leave him to me.  He'd kill you all in less than a second if you tried him yourself within the Cradle."
     Washu nodded.  "Alright then, we'll do our best, Tenchi."
     Tokimi nodded.  "Alright then.  We will incapacitate Judas, and you will kill Anonlbe."
     Tenchi nodded.  "That's it in a nutshell."
     Tsunami's head snapped back slightly.
     They all looked at her.
     "Sister?" Washu asked.
     Tsunami closed her eyes, and let out a long breath before opening them again.  "We have arrived."
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Blackness.  Total, complete blackness.  Dark as far as everything stretched.  All around, was a void of absolute nothingness, which seemed to close in on them at the same time.
     Almost as if it was the manifestation of fear itself.
     Churning noises could be heard, a horrible whisper of phantoms within that void of nothingness.  A low rumble and chant as if there was some sacrifice being offered upon a feast of madness.
     The void screamed at them, launching them into a plague and maelstrom of perpetual fear and discord.  And just when the screams, the terror, and the chanting seemed to climax, all of that shattered away.
     The five of them looked at each other almost in a daze from the disorientation of entering the Cradle.  Tenchi was no longer in his field jacket, but he was dressed in new raiment's.  A long black cloak fell behind him, and his body was adorned with black plated mail, with silver lining.
     His hair was still tied back, but he had three black slashes on each of his cheeks.  The goddesses still wore their battle garbs, and Ryoko was still in Tenchi's Light Hawk Armor.
     Tsunami was the first to speak.  "Well... we are here."
     As she spoke, they took a moment to examine their surroundings. Never before within this dimension had any of the five ever been in awe of something as they were now.
     They stood... in a tower.
     Not a normal tower, but a very, very, *very* big tower.
     They stood on what appeared to be rusting reinforced metal.  It expanded all around them.  The walls of the tower where a dark blue, and appeared to be metallic, and old, and archaic.
     Far, far below them, was water.  Lot's, and lot's of water.
     There were broken outcroppings up the length of this massive, almost hollow tower.
     Up...
     As one, they looked up.
     And up... and up...
     Their eyes widened when they realized that they couldn't see the top of the hollow tower.  It simply vanished into darkness, as it left the realms of their mortal vision.
     Washu took a few steps around, and walked to the ledge, and looked down to the dark waters far below.
     "This is the largest structure I have *ever* seen..."
     Everyone just agreed by nodding silently.
     Washu shook her head.  "I'd say it's a good thousand feet down to the water below..." she stood from her kneeling position, and looked at the walls, that were very far from them, "...and I think that the actual diameter of the tower is easily over a kilometer in length."
     Tenchi shook his head.  "Damn, you could fit the entire *mountain* back home in here, and there would still be room left over."
     It was true.  They were in the middle of this abandoned, rusty, old archaic tower, and they seemed *very* small.  The walls were broken open in a few places, allowing the only means of light to intrude into the tower, giving it the small essence of light.  There would be *no* problem fitting several school sized buildings into the tower, and that would simply fill the *width*.
     They all looked back up once again.
     Washu shook her head.  "I can't discern how far up the tower goes, though.  It goes out of my field of vision."
     Ryoko floated off the ground.  "Well, let's take a look, shall we?"
     Ryoko gathered energy into her palm, and was just slightly surprised when she noticed that the energy was blue, not red. Shrugging, she flat palmed her hand, and pointed straight up to the darkness, and then fired.
     Of course, she wasn't adapted to her powers yet, so she underestimated herself.
     A *massive* blast of blue iridescent energy came from her hand, sending a small shockwave, knocking Tokimi, Washu, and Tsunami off of their feet, and sending any loose objects within a nearby radius flying.  Some rust peeled off of the old floor.
     Washu quickly looked back up to watch the beam.
     They watched, and waited.
     And waited.
     ...and waited.
     Washu squinted as she stood, leaning her ear higher, as if to get a better notation of the sound.  After almost a minute and still no sound, Washu shrugged.
     "Well I'll be damned."
     Tokimi got up, and brushed herself off.  "Well, Deis?  How far up do you think it goes?"
     Washu put her hand to her chin in thought.  "Well... I'm guessing that the ceiling of this structure would fall somewhere in between forty five to sixty *kilometers* into the air."
     Ryoko blinked.  "Holy Shit!"
     Washu rolled her shoulder.  "Yeah, that's about the sum of it."
     Tsunami frowned.  "Hold on a minute."
     Washu continued to roll her shoulders.  "What?"
     "...isn't this *somewhat* familiar to you, Deis?"
     Washu shrugged.  "I don't see..." her eyes went a little wider, and she looked over at Tsunami, "...damn, it is."
     Tenchi looked back at them, returning his gaze from the gaping void above them.  "So you noticed too?"
     Ryoko looked back and forth between them.  "What?  What is it?"
     Tokimi looked at her.  "The Centra."
     "Centra?"
     Washu sighed.  "A *long* time ago, there was a war between a group of people called the Centra and Jurai.  It was over thirty thousand years ago.  Anyways, the short of it was, the Centra wasted Jurai."
     Tokimi shook her head.  "That's an understatement."
     Washu nodded.  "The Jurains were all but finished.  They tried for one last ditch attack, but it didn't go as well as planned."
     She chucked a thumb at Tsunami.  "They managed to get Her tree back, but they lost their priestess in the process.  They also lost many, many men."
     Ryoko shook her head.  "Does this have a point, maybe?"
     "I'm getting to it, hold on.  Jeez, you can be so impatient sometimes."
     Tenchi smirked.  "Sometimes...?"
     Tokimi interrupted.  "Not now.  Let Deis finish."
     Washu nodded, and looked back at Ryoko.  "There was a... change, however."
     Ryoko arched an eyebrow.  "Change?"
     Washu nodded.  "Things happened, people died, but the short end of it was that *someone*..." she said, looking back in Tokimi's direction from the corner of her eye, "...created a block on his persona so someone could be a shield for him, from the pain of losing his loved ones."
     Ryoko nodded.  "Okay, so then what?"
     "This new person was Judas.  And Judas single handedly brought the Centra Empire to it's knees, and then killed all of them."
     "How'd he do that?"
     "By making contact with the Wave Existence."
     Ryoko blinked, now totally confused.  "But I thought that *Tenchi* was the wave existence!"
     Tsunami spoke up.  "The *second* one, actually."
     "There are *two*?"
     Washu nodded.  "Yup.  One is our good buddy Tenchi over here, and the other is Anonlbe."
     Ryoko shrugged.  "Alright, whatever.  I still don't get this whole tower thing."
     Washu sighed.  "The Centra people, those that remained, that is, believed in a religion.  They believed that there was only one God, and that he was waiting for them in Heaven."
     Ryoko smirked.  "Yeah, a horseshit religion.  Doesn't answer my question, though."
     Tsunami cleared her throat.  "Actually, that is more true than you may think, Eve."
     Ryoko blinked, but Washu waved it aside.
     "Doesn't matter.  Anyways, this is the point.  The remnants of the Centra were distraught.  They had no where to go, and the people of Jurai were trailing them.  Judas had disappeared, as of then."
     Washu looked up, as she continued to speak.  "However, they weren't beaten.  They found a means of fighting back."
     "How was that?"
     Washu grinned.  "To run, of course."
     "...wha?"
     Washu closed her eyes, summoning all of her knowledge on the memory.  "The Centra people decided that their only salvation was to return to heaven, and be with their God.  So, they stopped running from Jurai."
     Washu looked back at Ryoko.  "Somehow, they managed to beat them back.  It still can't be explained as to why, though.  Some speculate that Judas returned, and devastated everyone and everything on the battlefield, but mostly the Jurains."
     Ryoko shook her head.  "So then what?"
     "They began to build a tower, Ryoko.  They began to build a tower so that they could reach towards the heavens and be with their God.  They worked on that tower for hundreds of years."
     Ryoko nodded, it all beginning to sink in.  "I take it this is that tower?"
     Washu smiled.  "Now we're seeing the picture."
     Ryoko frowned.  "What happened after that?  Did they stop building the tower?"
     Washu shook her head.  "I don't know.  After a long time, the entire Centra race simply... vanished.  The tower still is on the far recesses of Jurai, sitting in a dormant and incomplete state, although it has completely fallen apart."
     Ryoko whistled.  "Quite the story, Washu."
     Washu grinned.  "Glad you liked it."
     "Yes... I'm glad as well.  I welcome you all... to Babel."
     The five of them immediately looked up at the sound of the voice.  Floating almost fifty feet above them... was Anonlbe.
     His appearance had changed.  He no longer reflected Adam, but a newer persona.  He wore the same clothes, the white pants with the blue shirt and purple sash, but his face and hair were different. As well as his voice.  His voice was low, and accented.  Almost a scratchy voice.
     His hair was several inches long, and spiky.  It was cyan, like Ryoko's, only his was a darker shade.  Almost teal.  His eyes were a dark yellow, and on the side of his face, he had two thin scars on each cheek.  He also had a horn jutting out of the tip of his skull.
     He floated there with his arms crossed, grinning down at them.
     "It has been a *long* time, sisters."
     He looked over at Tenchi, and his grin widened.  "Ah, Brother! I am so glad to see that you could come as well.  It is a long awaited family gathering!"
     Tokimi stepped forward, a heavy frown on her face.  "Where is Ashley?  Where is Judas?"
     "Judas is waiting.  He is waiting for us," he smiled, spreading his arms, as if to gesture to the grandeur of the tower, "I do so hope that you have enjoyed coming.  I thought that this would be the most adequate place for us to meet again, don't you agree?"
     Tenchi frowned.  "How could they, when you've taken their memories?!"
     Anonlbe humphed, crossing his arms again.  "Brother, no need to be sour with me."
     Tsunami looked at Tenchi.  "Is there something that we should know about this place, Tenchi?"
     Anonlbe laughed.  A cold, scary laugh, that was nothing but a frightening thing to listen to.  "You don't remember, eh?  I almost forgot that I removed those memories."
     Anonlbe smiled.  "After all, you are nothing more than puppets."
     Tenchi shook his head.  "Let it be, Anonlbe."
     Anonlbe thrust his hand forward, then moved it horizontally at a blinding speed.  Before anyone knew what was happening, Tenchi held his hand up, and a white, transparent barrier flickered, and then a crashing noise could be heard, and then silence.
     Tenchi glared at him.  "Let it be."
     He blinked that Tenchi had blocked his attack so easily, but then grinned, and looked down at them with a sinister smile.  "What? Let *what* be?  Are you referring to the fact that they aren't goddesses?  That they aren't even *real* to begin with?"
     Tsunami, Tokimi, and Washu's eyes widened.
     Tenchi growled.  "LET IT BE!!"
     Anonlbe laughed.  "What would they think when they found out that they are nothing but elaborate fantasies that *you* created?  What would they think then?  That in actuality they never even existed until the moment that this tower was destroyed?"
     "What...?" Tsunami whispered.
     Anonlbe chuckled.  "That's right, sister.  The only entities from the original dimension that existed at the time of this dimensions creation were myself, and our brother.  Adam, right there."
     Tsunami shook her head.  "But..."
     Anonlbe pointed.  "Goddesses... what a joke.  You are nothing more than fantasies... illusionary images that were created by manipulating waves by our *brother*."
     They looked at Tenchi.  Tenchi looked at the ground, unable to meet their gaze.
     Anonlbe laughed again.  "Do you want to know why this tower is unfinished?  Why the Centra were simply destroyed without a trace? Why you even EXIST AT ALL?"
     "ENOUGH, Anonlbe!" Tenchi shouted.
     "No..." Tsunami whispered, "...let him tell us."
     Anonlbe snorted.  "That's right, Adam.  They want to know.  They are tired of all the lies that you have woven in their lives.  Enough with the elaborate fabrications."
     Anonlbe looked up.  "On that day, that day that Judas returned from his slumber... he came here.  To this tower.  Judas' sole desire, his only reason for existing, is to erase everything, and then erase himself.  He is a machine, bred on destruction, and born through the searing flames of chaos.  He came... and he ravaged.  He annihilated the Centra using my power."
     Anonlbe looked back, and pointed at Tenchi.  "But *HE* interfered.  He thought that the mortals that were created by the All Father deserved to live... so he stopped him."
     "He sealed Judas away, and then broke him into three pieces. His entire consciousness was split into three.  I managed to make an exact copy of it, before this happened, fortunately."
     Anonlbe chuckled.  "Our Brother never wanted to take the life of one of the All Father's creations... so he did the next best thing.  He divided it into three alternate personalities so that they wouldn't remember Judas.  Of course, seeing as Judas was the physical advent of *myself*, as I had no desire to see mortals and I wanted to end them all, he had incredible powers. So the three pieces were all very powerful."
     Anonlbe smiled.  "And those pieces were none other than Deis, Tsunami, and Tokimi."
     Tokimi shook her head.  "YOU LIE!!"
     Anonlbe started to laugh again.  "Do I?  I lie?" he continued to laugh, and then became suddenly serious.
     "Then tell me, do you remember the True Dimension?"
     Tokimi frowned.  "Of course I do."
     "Describe it for me."
     "It... can't be put into words."
     "It's perfect.  A perfect harmony of existence," he said, a faraway look on his face.  He looked back.  "Then, do you remember when you were created there?"
     Tokimi took a step back.  "I..."
     Anonlbe snorted.  "Distorting the fabric of space time in this dimension is so easy for me and my brother.  We can manipulate it to whatever we want, in our true forms.  Of course, since my true form has lost most of it's power since I gave it to Judas, I was unable, and afraid to admit, that I am *still* unable to do so.  Of course..." he sneered at Tenchi, "the same thing does not extend for our dear brother."
     As one, the goddesses looked at Tenchi, who was simply looking at the floor.
     Anonlbe crossed his arms again.  "He created the three of you, and then distorted space time so that the very fabric of reality was... rewound, so to speak, back to the time we advented into this existence.  And then he placed you all on a pedestal, and let Tsunami create Adam and Eve, and filled you all with false memories of the True Dimension that he collected from himself."
     Anonlbe smirked.  "You were all created here, at Babel, Time Crash Ground Zero!"
     Washu shook her head.  "LIES!"
     "What's the matter?  Are you just mad that you came all this way to find out that you are nothing but a puppet?  The reincarnation of the original Judas?" he smirked, "The copy is waiting for us. He is most looking forward to meeting you all."
     Tsunami shook head, and stood to her feet, her face burning with anger.  "Why are you DOING this?!"
     "To return us all to the beginning, Tsunami.  To return us to the All Father.  Don't worry, you will all come with me, of course. Even those mortals who you are all so attached to will come."
     Tsunami collapsed to her knees, sobbing.
     Ryoko walked over to Tenchi, and leaned over to look him in the eyes.  "Tenchi..."
     He looked at her.  "I'm sorry... Ryoko."
     She took his hand in hers.  "It's okay.  I know it's still you, Tenchi."
     He squeezed her hand back.
     Anonlbe spread his arms wide, and looked straight up at the top of the tower.  "Enough!  The time has come!  The time has finally come to put an end to everything that was started over sixty thousand years ago!" he looked down at them, "Judas and I will await you all on the roof.  There is where the door will open upon this realities destruction."
     With a large hiss, and a hum of power, he vanished in a flash of red light, leaving no trace of his existence behind.
     Tokimi's had her hands balled into fists, and she was growling. "I will... KILL HIM!"
     Washu walked over to Tsunami, and helped her up.  "It's alright, sister."
     Tsunami wiped the tears out of her eyes.  "Deis... I..."
     Washu shook her head.  "Don't worry about it.  I'm still Washu, and you're still Tsunami.  That's all that matters."
     Tsunami smiled.  "....you're right, Deis."
     They stood up as one.  Tenchi sighed, and turned to face everyone.  "I'm really sorry, everyone."
     Tsunami shook her head.  "It's alright, Tenchi.  It isn't your fault."
     Tenchi smiled.  "He was lying, you know."
     "Oh?"
     Tenchi nodded.  "You were born in the True Dimension.  It's just that you weren't given physical properties until the Time Crash.  So it was only a half truth... really."
     Tokimi shook her head.  "He's just trying to play mind games with us to throw us off."
     Ryoko took a step towards them.  "Well?  What are we waiting for? Let's not keep them waiting."
     Tenchi looked up at the massive, vast, hollow tower, and spoke.  "Okay everyone, here we go."
     For a moment, blue waves of energy began to waver around the group, and then at once, they all blasted off as Tenchi carried them higher into the tower at a blinding speed.  The rusty reinforced metal they took off from caved in at the sheer might of the force that was exerted.
     Ryoko was blinking.  "Wow... this is... fast..."
     She closed her mouth after, noticing the completely serious and solemn expressions on her four companions. She nodded to herself, and prepared herself for the top.
 
 
 
 
 
 

     The sky at the top of the tower was distorted.  It was many miles above the ground, and thus it was in the clouds.  The clouds hung around the massive kilometer wide ceiling like a cloud of gas.  They were orange, but a dark orange.  Almost to the point of ashen.  Red, crimson lightning forked through the clouds, and the wind blew furiously.
     Anonlbe materialized, looking up into the clouds further.  After a moment, he turned his head.
     "They are coming."
     Judas was standing with his arms crossed about ten feet behind Anonlbe.  His face was expressionless, and his eyes were clouded.  On his forehead were three inverted red triangles, and he wore armor that was similar to that of Ryoko's, only it was Red and Black.
     Anonlbe looked back to the cloud's as a fork of lightning criss crossed it's way through the thick vapor.
     "The time has finally come, to put an end..."
     ...he looked back at Judas through the corner of his eye...
     "...to everything."
 

-- Part 2: "Blood and Thunder" --
 

     After travelling at a blinding speed for almost a minute, they could finally see the top of the tower coming very quickly towards them.  Just as the five of them were about to smash into it, they phased through it instead, passing through it as if it was a hologram, not even there.
     Tenchi took a quick look around, and saw Anonlbe and Judas a good ways away, and teleported the five of the over there.
     They settled in, and then floated to the ground.
     Anonlbe had his arms crossed, and a grin on his face.  "So we're here at last."
     Tokimi growled.  "I'll KILL you!"
     Anonlbe's eyes went wide, and there was a slight amount of static the began to crackle around Tokimi.  A blue electrical field that slowly danced around her, and then fizzled out.
     She just blinked.
     Anonlbe looked over at Tenchi.  "That's twice you've stopped me from killing her."
     Tenchi just stared back him, with nothing but a deep frown on his face.
     Tsunami took a step forward.  "Please Anonlbe, you don't have to do this..."
     He snorted.  "You're not one to say that about me, Tsunami. Not after what you've done.  Besides, the time for talk is over.  The time to end everything and return everything to the beginning is upon us."
     Tsunami sighed.  "Then this will be the time that we atone for everything."
     Anonlbe nodded.  "Yes... all of our sins will be washed away. All of them."
     The wind howled at them, whipping their clothing around as much as possible as their bodies would allow.  There was a collective silence that fell over everyone, as everyone silently began to reflect on themselves, and everything that they were.
     <Was this worth my existence?>
     Tenchi stared at Anonlbe, and he did the same.  Both knew that they outclassed the others a thousand times, and both knew that the second either moved, the fight would be on.
     But it was not them who moved first.  It was Judas.
     Unable to contain his rage anymore, Judas screamed across the rooftop in a blaze of power and fury, straight at Tsunami.  His crimson Light Hawk Sword was ignited, and aimed at nowhere but Tsunami's throat.
     Tsunami looked at him fear as he approached at a speed that was inhuman, screaming like an animal in bloodlust.  She raised her hands to defend herself, just as the blade struck.
     However, it was not her own barrier that the blade met.
     Blue clashed on Red.
     Judas looked to the source of defense, and saw that it was Ryoko holding Tenchi's blue Light Hawk Sword that was holding him back.
     Ryoko grinned, and then trust her foot forward in an attempt to kick him.  Judas moved back from the blow, and swung again, attempting to take Tsunami's head off.
     Tsunami was gone, though.
     Tsunami was in the air, with a protective barrier around herself, some fifty feet above them.
     Ryoko saw her chance, and drove her shoulder into Judas' stomach, driving him straight into the hard ground.  As they hit, Judas sent his elbow into her face, and then kneed her throat, and then grabbed her head, and threw her flying with the momentum that she had caused.
     He got to his feet, his eyes completely clouded with rage.
     "Damned avatar!" he shouted, reigniting his sword.
     Ryoko was already on her feet.
     Judas' brow furrowed.  "Above..." he whispered, just as he was struck again and again with large red energy blasts.
     Washu was floating some twenty feet above them, with her right arm held down facing Judas, and her left arm bracing the right, firing consecutive energy blasts.
     As the smoke cleared, Judas stood unscathed.  His five crimson red Light Hawk Wings absorbed the blow, and were now orbiting around him like electrons around a nucleus.
     He whirled, pointing his hand towards Washu, and fired a massive red energy blast.  Washu blinked, and then extended her hands.
     Two red ethereal raven-like wings extended in front of her and began to swirl, just as the blast hit them.  The energy slowly drained into the wings, and then Washu grinned as the wings folded back into her, causing her arms to surge with a red ethereal glow.
     She grinned down at Judas.  "Never underestimate Washu, the greatest scientific genius in the universe!"
     With that, she quickly cupped her hands together, and fired the same blast of energy along with the red raven wings right back at Judas.
     He growled, and lunged out the way, his wings extended completely.  The blast struck the location where he was, causing a massive explosion, kicking up dust, flames, and shrapnel in every direction.
     He was growling as he got to his feet.  He could feel it.  She was coming.  Judas knew the attack was coming before it hit.  He tilted his head to the side, just barely evading Tsunami's fist.  Her fist was powered by a throbbing blue energy, aimed directly at his head.
     Judas grabbed her arm at the elbow, and drove his fist into her stomach, causing her to almost collapse in his grip.
     He grinned viscously down at her, and she frowned.  She quickly held up her other free hand, and fired an energy blast right into his face before he had any time to react.
     A light blue concussion explosion engulfed the two of them as the blast struck him square in the face.  The others looked on as the dust slowly cleared, and nothing was changed.
     Judas grinned, still holding onto Tsunami's arm.  "What the hell was that?"
     Tsunami growled, and went to blast him again, but not this time.  Judas crushed her elbow in his vice like grip, causing her to yelp in pain, as the sound of the bone and elbow joint snapping was very audible.
     Judas grin of lunacy widened as he kicked Tsunami in the chest, while at the same time, flicking his wrist downward and pulling, successfully pulling Tsunami's right arm right out of the socket.
     Tsunami hit the ground with a grunt of pain, and her one arm directly covered the spot where she used to have an arm.  Blood was spraying out of the massive wound, and some was dripping out of her mouth.
     She just stared up at Judas with a face of pain and anger, as she tried to comprehend this new sensation.
     Judas grinned as he threw the now completely limp arm to the side.  "I don't think you realize exactly how long I have waited for this moment, Tsunami."
     Judas took a step forward to finish her off, but Ryoko slammed into him, causing the two of them to go flying.
     Washu dropped in next to Tsunami, and helped her to her knees.
     She looked at Tsunami with concern.  "Are you alright?"
    Tsunami frowned as she felt her warm blood run between her fingers.  "No, I am most certainly am not."
     Washu shook her head.  "It's called pain, Tsunami.  It's something that you're going to have to get used to."
     Tsunami wheezed a little.  "I don't like it."
     "Neither did I."
     The two of them turned to see Tokimi walk up to them.  Washu frowned.  "Where the hell did you go?  Why haven't you been fighting?"
     Tokimi shook her head.  "I'm sorry... I just am having a hard time fighting *him*."
     Tsunami wheezed as she tried to stand, but fell back as the rooftop was rocked by an explosion from Ryoko and Judas' sortie.  She looked over at Tokimi.
     "It's alright, Sister.  Just try your best."
     Tokimi shook her head, and knelt next to Washu and Tsunami. "That's not all, though."
     Washu frowned.  "What do you mean?"
     Tokimi gestured behind her with her eyes.  "Adam and Anonlbe. They've vanished."
     The three of them quickly scanned the roof.  Tenchi and Anonlbe were nowhere to be seen.
     Washu helped Tsunami up as another explosion rocked the roof. "I wonder where they wandered off to?"
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Judas flipped back as Ryoko dove down with her sword, successfully carving a large portion of the metal roof with the energy blade.  He landed, and growled at her, igniting his sword.
     "You are very good, Eve."
     Ryoko stood up, and smiled, pointing her sword at him.  "Thanks."
     His frown turned to an expression of violent pleasure.  "You realize of course that you don't stand a chance against me."
     Ryoko humphed.  "I seem to have been doing pretty good so far."
     Judas' smile widened.  "But I have five wings."
     Ryoko chuckled.  "Yeah?  And I don't give a shit."
     With that, she blasted forward towards him at an incredible speed, leaving a wake of blue energy matter behind her.  Her face was hard, and her sword was aimed straight for Judas' head.
     Judas changed his stance, and prepared for the attack.
     But the attack never came.
     At the last minute, Ryoko faded out of existence.  Judas blinked, and began to frantically look around.
     He grunted.  "Dammit, that bitch has some tricks of her own, I see..."
     As he said this, Ryoko struck.  A cleaving arc slash at Judas' chest level from behind came from literally out of nowhere. Judas realized the attack was coming not a moment too soon, and fully extended his wings, as he leapt high into the air.
     Ryoko sword crashed against his barrier, causing energy to ripple throughout the dusky sky.  Blue and red waves dances spectacularly across that desolate roof, illuminating it in a rainbow of clashing power.
     Ryoko pressed the attack, growling as she did.
     Judas' brow furrowed.  "You have some power... avatar..."
     Ryoko didn't respond, she just continued to press against the barrier.  Judas began to channel more of his energy into defending Ryoko's increasingly fierce attack.
     Judas just glared furiously into Ryoko's eyes, and was somewhat surprised when she suddenly flashed him a grin.
     Taking up on the act, he spun, and brought his sword up, just in time to block the downward slash of Tokimi's black energy sword.
     Tokimi was grinning at him as she pressed her aerial attack, forcing him back down onto the ground.  Judas' eyes went wide when he had to exert all of his energies into simply defense as Ryoko turned, and struck at him again.
     Both Ryoko and Tokimi pressed the attack against him viciously.
     He growled.  "Damn you... Tokimi..."
     She frowned.  "Give me back Ashley."
     Judas quickly brought his sword down from Tokimi's, and then let her momentum carry her down for a moment before swinging it again at her neck.  She gasped and tried to bring her black sword up to block it, but she wasn't quick enough.
     Her sword moved against Judas' Crimson one, but it shattered as if glass as it was struck by his blade.  Her eyes went wide as the blade screamed towards her open neck, but it was blocked just a few inches from severing her head and ending her long life by a blue blade.
     Both Judas and Tokimi looked to the source of the blade, and Ryoko was there, grinning.  "I thought that we were doing just fine, chump.  No need to involve any one else."
     Judas' patience with Ryoko snapped.  "You bitch!"
     Ryoko laughed as he lunged at her, and she simply phased out of existence.  He began to look around again, this time in sheer fury. His anger was consuming him, and Ryoko knew it.
     "Where are you!  You fucking coward, fight me bitch!" he screamed to the sky.
     Tokimi leapt back, sensing the attack before Judas.
     Judas looked up at the last minute to see Ryoko barreling straight towards him from above, five, not three wings fully extended, her entire being coursing with a blue power, drawing in matter from her surroundings and channeling it into herself.
     His eyes went wide.  "Dammit..."
     And then she crashed into him.
     And for a moment, the roof ceased to exist.
     Tokimi, Washu, and Tsunami quickly erected barriers and took to the sky as the roof was completely saturated in an all encompassing violet explosion, the result of Crimson and Blue Light Power crashing into each other.
     For several minutes, nothing could be heard.  Simply a high pitched whining sound as everything within sight of the roof was completely engulfed in light.
     After a few moments, the sound began to fade, along with the light.
     Washu blinked her eyes, and surveyed the damage.  Her and her sisters eyes went wide when all was revealed.
     What once was a massive kilometer wide roof was now simply a gaping hole.  Debris from the walls and the roof were raining down the massive tower, and the entire reality around the roof was somewhat wavy and distorted.
     In the center of all the carnage, was Ryoko and Judas.
     The two of them were floating in the middle of a wide open space with used to be a roof.  Power was literally seeping off of them, as they floated in a static position.  Judas had all five of his wings extended, and his hands were cupped together, and within them, he held onto Ryoko's blue Light Hawk Sword tightly.
     Ryoko had both of her hands on the hilt of her sword, and all five Light Hawk Wings were revolving around her like electrons.  Both her and Judas were breathing heavily, staring right at each other.
     Judas growled.  "Five wings..."
     Ryoko managed a grin.  "You like that?"
     Judas screamed.  "ENOUGH!"
     With that, he pressed fiercely against Ryoko sword, pushing her back somewhat.  Ryoko's grin disappeared, and turned into a deep frown as she pushed back against his hands.
     And then Judas pulled the surprise move.
     Ryoko suddenly fell forward at a blinding speed.  She blinked a few times, and then her eyes went wide when she realized that Judas had phased out of existence!
     Ryoko whirled around to block the fierce slash from Judas.
     Ryoko looked into his eyes as they both barreled down the massive length of tower, both blades pressed against each other in a brilliant shining light of power.
     In those eyes, were nothing that resembled a human.  Nothing. Simply an eager bloodlust, a savage animal that wanted nothing more than to feel and taste the flesh of it's enemies, and it wouldn't be satisfied until anything and everything had met it's end by his own hand.
     Ryoko shook her head.  "There is no Ashley..."
     Judas went wide, and his face adopted a fiendish grin.  "That's right.  There is no Ashley.  Only Judas.  Anonlbe destroyed that weakling and already inserted him into the Cradle."
     Ryoko sent a kick upwards, but Judas laughed sadistically and faded out of existence, laughing.
     Ryoko stopped her rapid descent, and looked around.  "You monster!" she cried out to the desolate tower.
     Judas faded into existence about thirty feet above her.  His devilish grin intensified.  "Monster?  I'm not a monster."
     He held his sword out, and prepared to strike.  He let a dry smirk escape his lips.  "I'm the devil."
     Ryoko prepared to catch his blade with her own, but he faded out of existence.  This time, she didn't even have a moment to find him, as he struck instantly.
     And this time...
     ...Ryoko couldn't block it.
     Ryoko found that breathing had become very difficult.  She trembled a little, and looked down.  Protruding from in between her collar bones, was the end of Judas' sword.
     Her lip began to quiver as she felt her blood seeping down her own chest and back.
     Judas grinned from behind her, and leaned in so his head was next to her ear.  "Don't worry, Eve child.  You will be united with the Cradle, and soon you will be one with Adam."
     Ryoko began to blink as she could feel herself grow lighter and lighter with each passing second.  She slowly looked up, and saw that there was nothing but darkness.  The two of them had descend far below where the roof was formally.
     <I remember... when he was a little boy...>
     Ryoko's body bucked slightly as Judas pulled his sword from the back of her throat, and Ryoko felt her body falling down, the life from her body fading away.
     <He made me laugh... he made me cry...>
     Her vision was becoming clouded...
     <He made me *me*.  He created a woman, and I loved him for it.>
     The feelings in her limbs were slowly fading away from her...
     <I'll never stop loving him for that.>
     She could feel the light rush of the wind as her body fell further and further down, and as her consciousness slipped further and further away...
     <...even if I can never be with you again, I will never stop loving you...>
     Ryoko managed to turn her body as she fell, but she could no longer see Judas.
     <I'm... glad... that I know that you love me, too.>
     It was either that she had fallen too far, or that she simply couldn't see anything anymore.  Everything within her body seemed to be shutting down.
     Ryoko eyelids began to close, and as she felt the very last of her being suffocated as it cried out for breath, she let out one last thought.
     <I'm sorry...Tenchi...>
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Tenchi looked at his hand, and then at Anonlbe.  "You killed her."
     Anonlbe took in a long breath.  "I'm sorry, brother.  No... more for Adam.  It had to be done.  I apologize."
     "You... killed her..."
     Anonlbe sighed.
     The two of them floated in a void of nothingness.  Absolutely nothing existed there other than themselves.  Every sound they made, or movement they took, seemed to echo off of some invisible walls that enclosed all around them, even though there was nothing.
     Tenchi wiped his eyes.  "I should be crying more..."
     Anonlbe shook his head.  "You shouldn't be crying at *all*.  It's merely Adam's influence on you."
     Tenchi found himself breathing heavier and heavier.
     Anonlbe arched an eyebrow.  "Exactly how deep have you intermingled yourself with this mortal, brother?"
     Tenchi then stopped.  Everything.  Breathing, moving, crying...
     ...everything ceased.
     Anonlbe frowned.
     Tenchi looked up at Anonlbe, his face totally expressionless. And then... he spoke.  A voice that was not Tenchi's, not at all. Another voice.  A voice that was soothing to listen to.  A voice that seemed to caress the ears of those who heard it, a gentle melody of song within that voice.
     "We haven't learned anything."
     Anonlbe arched an eyebrow.  "What's that?"
     "Nothing.  We have learned nothing.  We have been put here for a reason.  And we haven't learned it yet."
     "Come on.  Enough of that!" Anonlbe admonished,  "We are here because the All-Father is testing us!  We will return to Him!"
     "No."
     "...what?"
     Anonlbe's eyes went wide as everything went white.  The blackness of their surrounding folded away, and everything went from a cold, deathly void, to an enveloping, serene white.
     And then it faded away.
     Anonlbe looked around him.  Tenchi was standing across from him, his face still expressionless, but that wasn't the difference.  The two of them were now in what seemed to be almost a copy of the tower of Babel.
     Only it wasn't as large, and it was in far better shape.  The largest difference was, however, what was several meters from the two of them.
     There, standing erect in the middle of the tower, was a massive tube.  A cylinder, that stretched upwards and downwards, and seemed to have no roof nor bottom, as did the tower.  Within that tube, was a rippling substance that seemed to mirror water, as it cascaded in a cerulean brilliance, a turquoise liquid that shone against the dark tower.
     Anonlbe looked at it.  "What is this?"
     Tenchi turned to it.  "The one that we have forgotten."
     "Forgotten?"
     "We have all forgotten.  All of us.  Everything that mattered to us is nothing because we have forgotten."
     Anonlbe looked at Tenchi from the corner of his eye.  "What is it that we have forgotten?"
     Tenchi lifelessly raised his arm, and gestured to the tube.  His arm hung almost limp as he did.  "Her."
     Anonlbe blinked.  "What...?"
     Tenchi body then began to quake with shivers, and then harsh seizures and spasms rocked his frame.  After a moment, he doubled over, and clutched his stomach, and let out an animal filled scream of excruciating pain.  It was no longer that voice of benevolence, but it was the voice of Tenchi Masaki that was in pain.
     As he hit the ground, his body shimmered.  It seemed to ripple as if it was a distortion in space time.  Then, his body shone a blinding light, and flashed brilliantly.
     Anonlbe squinted, but kept watching. The light then billowed up and away from Tenchi body, and then slowly formed into the shape of a man, a replica of Tenchi. Only it was completely compromised of light, and had no distinguishing features.
     Anonlbe shook his head.  "I see that you have abandoned the Adam child.  You were just using him to get to me, weren't you?"
     The same benevolent voice spoke again.  "Yes."
     "But who is it that you are referring to?"
     The entity of light once again gestured to the cylinder of light.  "Her."
     Anonlbe squinted, and then blinked.  Within that massive cylinder, was a body.  The body was of a naked woman, floating with her eyes closed, as if in some serene surrender of slumber.  The body was that of Ryoko's.
     Anonlbe shook his head.  "Eve?  How have we forgotten Eve?"
     "That is not Eve."
     "What?"
     "That is our sister."
     Anonlbe looked over at him.  "What do you mean?"
     "Eve is our sister.  We have forgotten that.  I did not remember myself until she was ended inside the Cradle.  The backlash of her own waves as it left her body stirred the memories within me."
     "I don't understand.  How is she our sister?"
     "She is the third."
     "Third?" Anonlbe's eyes went wide, "The third wave existence?"
     "Indeed.  If you remember correctly, when Adam was known as Sydney, he came into contact with her.  She was known as Raven then. I don't think they ever knew that, though.  I am rather surprised... since it was *you* who came into contact with her."
     Anonlbe walked forward and gently rested his hand on the glass. "Sister..." he looked back at the wave existence from the corner of his eye,  "How is it that I have forgotten such a thing?"
     "It isn't very difficult to comprehend.  It is because of dreams. It is because we are mortal.  It is because we are flawed.  It is because of the Time Crash.  There are many things to be factored."
     "Dreams?" Anonlbe snorted, "I don't dream."
     "But you do.  As do I.  We all dream.  Remember?  Dreams are the extension of reality.  We forget things in our wake, but we remember them in our dreams.  When Eve came into contact with Sydney, it was through a dream.  The wave existence within her waited until Raven was asleep, and then reached out to Adam."
     "So you think it's because we *dream* that we forgot that Eve is our sister."
     "It is also because of the Time Crash.  We are mortal, therefore we were affected by it, whether or not we wanted to.  We have forgotten many things from that time."
     Anonlbe gently smirked.  "Yeah...I suppose we have."
     "Give Eve back to Adam."
     "Pardon?"
     The wave existence took a few steps towards Anonlbe.  "Please brother, return Eve to Adam."
     Anonlbe frowned.  "Why?  Why should I?  I need her to operate the Cradle!  Hell, now that I know that she is a wave existence, I need her the *most*!"
     "Abandon this foolish plan.  Give Eve back."
     Anonlbe's frown deepened.  "You speak in a demanding tone, *brother*."
     "I have touched Adam's being.  I have *been* Adam's being.  I know what it is to be mortal.  And I know that what you are doing is foolish."
     "Foolish?"
     "The All-Father will come when He comes.  Until then, believe in the power of humans, brother."
     Anonlbe closed his eyes, and shook his head.  "Forget it.  I won't."
     "Touch him, then."
     "What?"
     "See what it is like to be a mortal like him.  See what it is like."
     Anonlbe frowned.  "I..."
     The wave existence floated into the air, and looked down at Anonlbe.  "I will show you what he showed me, brother."
     Anonlbe took a step forward, his eye arched, as he stared up at the wave existence.  "Are you going to attempt that?  In *my* Cradle?"
     "Indeed.  You will be changed.  We will *all* be changed."
     Anonlbe closed his eyes.  "Creating a Time Crash within this hyper condensed space is impossible for me... but I think that you would be able to do it.  I will allow you to do so, but know that I will retain all my memories."
     "Thank you, brother."
     Anonlbe sighed.  "Since I am the only one of the god's who seems to not believe in 'the power of humans', as you put it, I will try to see your way.  But I will not forget my mission."
     "You won't have to.  You just have to see it for yourself."
     Anonlbe sighed.  "Then go ahead."
     There was a slight rumble that seemed to emanate from the wave existence, and then everything went white.
 
 
 
 
 
 

     The air crackled with a crimson electric scream as the lightning tendril raced across the distorted sky.  An ominous mixture of dusk and immense twilight seemed to permeate from the desolate remains of the roof of the tower of Babel.
     Washu's fists were shaking in anger, as tears were streaming down her face as she floated in the air.
     "Judas..." she growled.
     Judas floated twenty feet in front of her, his sword in his hand, and an expressionless face on his persona.
     Washu gritted her teeth as she felt hot salty tears fall past her lips and into her mouth.
     "You... Killed... my daughter... you... *bastard*!"
     Judas shrugged as he looked back and forth at the three goddesses. Tokimi looked back at him angrily, Tsunami had a similar but more pained expression as she held the open wound on her shoulder, and Washu stared at him with blinding hatred.
     Judas waved his sword a little.  "I used strategy.  I eliminated the biggest threat first."
     "I WILL KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!!!!"
     Judas smirked, and began to channel energy into his palm, when he stopped.  His eyes went wide.  "It's... happening again..."
     Tokimi frowned.  "What's going on?"
     The sky began to rumble,  and the intensity and the frequency of the streaks of lightning increased tenfold.  Judas began to tremble as the entire reality seemed to be tearing apart.
     "No... not again... Anonlbe... please... I'll be good... don't... don't let it happen... again..."
     Tokimi was watching Judas as he was collapsing into a haze of fear. Washu was still shaking in absolute fury, and Tsunami was looking all around as the reality seemed to be coming undone.
     Judas disengaged his sword, and looked down the massive tower.
     "I'm a bad boy, Tsunami."
     Tokimi's eyes went wide as the pitch, and texture of his voice changed.  "Ashley!"
     Ashley looked up at Tokimi.  "Tokimi... you're here..."
     Tsunami screamed.
     Tokimi looked at her sister.  "What is it, sister?"
     "It's... happening... the Time Crash!"
     As she uttered these words, everything ceased to exist.  Everything didn't even go white nor black, as those colored distinctions ceased to exist as well.  Distorted screams were launched in a frantic clash of apoplexy as everything crashed in on itself, taking Ashley, Tokimi, Washu and Tsunami with it.
     Then, there was nothing.
 

-- Part 3: "Mantra of God" --
 

     Air.
     The primary element of the atmosphere in which we mortals need to live.  We breathe it.  It is our lifeblood.  We cannot exist without it.
     But for one who is beyond mortal, air is but a word.
     Anonlbe looked around in the darkness.  There was nothing.  Not even air.  No elements existed.  At his feet, was a blue, translucent ground, which resembled glass, which ran as far as he could see in front of him, and as far as he could see behind him.
     To the sides, it stretched only a few meters, where it ended.
     Other than the haunting glass like ground, there was nothing.
     Anonlbe shook his head.  "Is this what you wanted to show me brother? That there is nothing?"
     No response.
     "Have you tried to trick me?  You know that this is my Cradle, and just because you removed Time doesn't change the fact that I am all powerful within it."
     Again, no response.
     Anonlbe sighed, and spoke again.  "I see.  Then you proved to be petty in the end.  I was willing to hear you out, but it-"
     <Silence.>
     Anonlbe stopped.
     "Who was that?  Brother?"
     <Brother.  Here.  Brother not here.>
     The voice echoed out of the nothingness, and spoke to him in a very disturbingly eerie tone.  The voice was extremely low, and almost more like a growl than a voice.  It held no emotion, and seemed to echo off of the nothing.
     "Is that you, Brother?  Are you trying to trick me?"
     <Brother not here.  Only you, and I.>
     Anonlbe arched an eyebrow, as he just looked around the nothing, trying to find the source of the voice.  "And who, praytell, are you?"
     <I am you.>
     Anonlbe frowned.
     <I am what you are.  I am nothing.>
     "What?"
     <You are nothing.  I am nothing.  Therefore I am you.>
     Anonlbe smirked.  "How is it that I am nothing?"
     <You don't exist.  You are an illusion.>
     "Is that so." Anonlbe said, with no traces of conviction in his voice.
     <Darkness.>
     Anonlbe gasped, as the voice seemed to echo more, and it seemed to spread itself.
     <I am Darkness.>
     "What is..."
     <We are Darkness.>
     "What is going on!"
     <We end.  We are darkness.  We are nothing.  You end.  You are darkness.  You are nothing.>
     Anonlbe fell to one knee on the blue glass.  "What... is this?!"
     <This is you.  This is the end.>
     Anonlbe was breathing heavily, as he stared at the glass.  "I survived the Time Crash before... and it was nothing like this... what is it that has happened...?"
     <Judas.>
     "Judas?"
     <We are Judas.  You are Judas.  Judas will end all.  He will end everything.  He is nothing.  You are Judas.  So you are nothing.>
     "I am NOT Judas!  He is only my power!"
     <The Time Crash reset that.  You are forever intermingled with him.  He is nothing.  We are nothing.  You are nothing.>
     "I don't care!  I don't care if I don't amount to any more than an illusion!  I must see my Father!  I want to see my Father!"
     <Petulant.  You are worthless.>
     "Shut up!  Shut up!  Shut up!"
     <You will vanish.  When time is restored, you will become us.>
     "I don't want to disappear!  I want to go home!  I hate this! Why?!  Why did this have to happen!  I didn't do anything wrong!"
     <You are nothing.  You have no opinions.>
     Anonlbe stood up shakingly, and began to fire energy blasts off into the darkness, in every direction.  "Shut up!  I am not nothing! I *am* something!  I am Anonlbe!  I am the long awaited man of God! What makes you think that you know *anything* about me!"
     <We know.  We know you.  We are you.  Nothing.>
     Anonlbe collapsed onto his knees on the glass, with his arms folded around his torso, and he cried.  "I am not nothing.  I'm not."
     <You do not need to worry any more.  You are a good boy.>
     "I'm... a good boy."
     <Father is happy with you for wanting to see him.>
     "Father..."
     <You are nothing.  You wish to be with your Father so you can be *something*.  You know it is true.>
     "It... isn't..."
     <We know because we are you.  You cannot lie, not even to yourself.>
     Anonlbe's arms fell limp.  "I'm... nothing..."
     <Come home, Anonlbe.  Come and be one with us again.>
     "Home..."
     <Here, you are wanted.  You will be welcome.>
     "I will be welcome there?"
     <Come and join us and be nothing.  One day your Father will return and make you and us into something.>
     Anonlbe stood, and wiped tears out of his eyes.  "I will be something."
     <Join.>
     "I want to be something.  I don't want to be nothing.  Away from Father, I am not worth anything.  I want to be with Him so I can be something."
     <Come to us, and we will take you to him.>
     "I don't want to be nothing."
     <We will take you home.  Once with us... you *will* be home.>
     "...nothing..."
     <Only once nothing can you be made into something.>
     "I..."
     <Come home, Anonlbe.>
     "I'm..." Anonlbe started, and then he closed his eyes, "I'm... home."
     <Welcome home.>
     The darkness around Anonlbe shimmered like a candle, and then seemed to make his being flicker just like a candle would.  His body flashed on and off, and faded slower and slower...
     And then, Anonlbe was home.
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Water.
     Water is the most beautiful of all elements.  It can be as quiet and serene as a gentle stream, lazily flowing down a mountainside, to a torrential onslaught of rain, pounding down on the earth below.
     From water comes life.  Life cannot exist without water.  From something as simple as a cherry blossom that flutters off of a large tree, gently guided by the wind, to something as complicated and structured as a human taking a walk through a forest, life cannot exist without water.
     Tsunami took in a deep breath.
     She looked down at the water.
     Around her, was nothing.  It was an empty void, where nothing existed.  No air, no stars, no particles of any kind.  A dead reality.
     However, she was very much alive.  She was standing above the only means of life in... wherever she was.  A small rippling pool of cerulean water.  She gazed down at it, surprised that she could see her reflection as if it was glass.
     Even more surprising, was that her arm had rejuvenated.  She didn't even notice the change.  Tsunami simply looked into the water, and gently ran her delicate fingers down the side of her face, to confirm that she was still within a mortal body.  Then, the voice spoke.
     <Tsunami.>
     Tsunami blinked, and looked all around.  She knew that voice. It was so similar to hers, after all.
     "Sasami?  Was that you, Sasami?"
     <Tsunami.>
     "Where are you, Sasami?"
     <I am here.  I am where you are.  We are the same, after all, aren't we, Tsunami.>
     Tsunami nodded.  "Yes, I suppose that you are right."
     <You lied to me, Tsunami.>
     "Sasami?"
     <You lied.  You don't love me.>
     "That isn't true, Sasami."
     <You used me so you could get to Tenchi.>
     Tsunami sighed, and looked down at the water once again, this time in sadness.  "I'm sorry, Sasami.  It is true.  But I do love you, still."
     <Do you really?>
     "Of course.  I love you so much, Sasami."
     <What will happen to me?>
     "Do you mean when... we assimilate?"
     <Yeah.>
     "We will be one."
     <I don't understand, Tsunami.  What do you mean?>
     Tsunami sighed, and leaned down to look into the water further. "It is a very difficult thing to explain using words, Sasami.  I can't tell you any better than I could show you.  You will be me, and I will be you.  I will be able to be mortal, and feel what it means to have emotions like you do, and you will be a goddess, able to recollect things from countless millennia ago."
     <Will I lose being me?  Will I disappear?>
     "No.  You will simply change.  As will I."
     <I'm scared, Tsunami.  I don't want to change.  I want to be me.>
     "It will be better than you think, Sasami.  You will just have to wait and see.  You will be you, and I will be I, but we will be the same, all at once,"  Tsunami sighed, "It is very difficult to explain."
     <You can't tell me more?>
     "I am as a mortal now, Sasami.  I cannot do anything beyond my power. And as such, *you* are a mortal, therefore once I return to my proper form, I will still be unable to tell you, because you, as a mortal, will be unable to comprehend it.  Just wait.  It will come, and then you will understand everything."
     <...I love you, Tsunami.>
     Tsunami smiled, and gently touched the pool of water with her finger.  "I love you too, Sasami."
     <When will you be coming back?  When will everyone come home?>
     "Are you dreaming, Sasami?"
     <Yes.>
     "I thought so.  You are spreading your mind into my dimension once again.  That is why you have nightmares, because you try to touch something that goes beyond natural understanding."
     <I'm sorry, I->
     "It's okay, Sasami," Tsunami interrupted sweetly, "I'm just telling you.  I do not know when we will return, or even if we will."
     <How is everyone?>
     Tsunami let out a long breath.  "Tenchi is well.  As is Washu."
     <What about Ryoko?>
     Tsunami shut her eyes in pain.  She couldn't bring herself to tell Sasami that Ryoko had fallen to the hands of Judas.
     Tsunami's eyes snapped open.
     "She's not gone yet..."
     <What?>
     "She... is in... the Cradle..." Tsunami said, piecing everything together.
     <What are you talking about, Tsunami?>
     Tsunami stood, and stared down at the pool, this time with a large smile on her face.  "Soon."
     <Huh?>
     "Soon.  We will all be home soon, Sasami."
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Fire.
     A strong essence of nature.  An essence that holds light, in even the most dark of times.  A flicker of hope, or a flame of solitude, fire is always warm.  Fire always dances.  Fire always illuminates.
     As this occurred, Washu sat on the couch.
     She was in a small room, but it was very comfortable.  It was made of wood, and the wood glistened with the gentle touch of the fire's light. There was a large carpet which was spread about the small room, and within this room, there was a soft couch, which faced a small, cobblestoned fireplace.
     In this fireplace, danced a fire, which lit the room, shining it's orange glow and basking it all in it's gentle effervescence.  Washu sat on the couch, simply staring back at the small fire.  She was dressed in very causal, comfortable clothes, and she had a faraway look on her face.
     She had a thick, white blanket wrapped around herself, and she simply stared into the fire.
     The fire of her memories.
     At the side of the small room, on a small wooden table, was a music box.  The music box slowly played a quiet, soft tune, as Washu simply stared absently at the fire.
     She remembered.  She remembered this.  She remembered then, the voice.  It spoke.  It called to her.  The gentle voice that Washu had not heard in so long, but she would never forget.
     It spoke to her.
     "...mmy..."
     It was faded.
     "...ommy..."
     It came again, only louder.
     "..mommy..."
     It called her name.
     "Mommy!"
     Washu's head turned from the fire, to directly behind her where there was a wooden door to this cabin like room, which crashed open. The door swung open, and cold frost and snow blew in as it did, but something else came in with the wind and the snow.
     A child.
     A child that Washu had not seen in thousands of years.
     A child that was *Washu's*.
     The door closed behind the child, and the child turned around and grinned up at Washu.  The little girl scampered around the room, and around the couch, still covered in flakes of snow, towards Washu.
     The child was small.  Washu remembered that.  The child was only four feet tall.  Washu remembered that.  She remembered everything about this child.  Her cute little nose, her spiky cyan hair, her golden eyes, shining with mischief... everything.
     "Mommy!" she cried in joy as she leapt off of her small feet and into the welcoming arms of Washu.  Washu embraced her daughter back, ignoring the cold frost covering her small, thin jacket, and the thick snow that had imbedded itself into her thick mane of hair.
     "Oh, mommy!  I'm here!"
     Washu smiled softly down at the little girl in her arms.  "I'm glad you came back, little Ryoko.  It is very cold outside."
     Little Ryoko sat down next to her mommy, and looked up at her with two, questioning, tender golden eyes.  "Why is it snowing, mommy? Can't you make it stop?  It's cold!"
     Washu chuckled softly, and began to run her hand through little Ryoko's hair, wiping the snow out.  "I can make it stop."
     "Then how come you don't?"
     Washu smiled down at her daughter.  "Because I don't want to."
     Little Ryoko blinked, and just looked at her mommy with a puzzled expression on her face, as Washu began to take off little Ryoko's boots, and put them down next to the couch.
     "But... *why* don't you want to, mommy?  The snow is cold!"
     Washu didn't say anything, but just smiled as she lifted Little Ryoko's coat over her head, and then placed it down on top of her boots next to the couch.  She then draped the thick white blanket around her little daughter, and Little Ryoko snuggled up to her mother.  The two of them sat that way, simply staring at the fire, listening to the music box play it's slow, sad song.
     "I... like the snow." Washu finally answered.
     Little Ryoko snuggled a little closer to her mommy, and continued to gaze at the dancing flames with her amber eyes.  "Why, mommy?"
     Washu sighed.  "I don't know, sweetie.  I... just... like it.  It is difficult to explain.  I know that it is cold, but I love the way it looks.  I love the way that it covers everything, and blankets it with beauty."
     Little Ryoko giggled.  "You mean like this?" she asked, tugging at the white blanket they had draped over themselves.
     Washu chuckled.  "Yes, like that, sweetie.  Just like that."
     Little Ryoko just giggled, and the two of them sat in each others embrace, watching and being warmed by the fire, listening to the music box.  The slow tune seemed to compliment the scene so adequately.
     A memory.
     A promise.
     A memory of a time long since passed.
     A time when everything was perfect.  When everything was just as it was meant to be.  A memory of a time... that would never return.
     Washu felt tears beginning to gather in her eyes as she began to realize this.  This wasn't real.  This was a memory.  It had long since come and gone.  This little girl who she loved more than anything in the entire universe wasn't even *her* little Ryoko.
     It was a simple memory.
     A recollection of a time.  Nothing more.  It wasn't real.
     It was a time that was gone.
     Washu sniffled a little as she held her daughter close.
     Little Ryoko looked up to see that her mommy's eyes were watering, and she looked very sad.
     "What's wrong, mommy?"
     Washu blinked, and then looked down at her daughter.  "Nothing. Nothing is wrong, sweetie."
     "But you're crying, mommy!  People only cry when something is wrong.  So what's wrong?"
     "I... I'm just..." Washu shook her head, and used her free hand from underneath the blanket to wipe at her eyes.  "I'm just happy."
     "Happy?  But then why are you crying?  People don't cry when they are happy, mommy."
     "They do, little Ryoko... they do.  When they are really happy."
     Little Ryoko blinked as she looked at her mommy's face.  "So you are *really* happy, then?"
     Washu smiled sadly down at her daughter.  *Her* daughter.  "Yes, honey.  I'm happy.  I'm *very* happy."
     "Why?"
     Washu didn't respond at first.  She simply looked at her daughters face, looking deep at her eyes, her nose, her ears, permanently engraving this moment into her memory forever.
     Because she knew that this moment would end.  So she wanted to remember it for the rest of her days.
     "I'm happy because I'm here with you, little Ryoko."
     "Oh..." little Ryoko said, in a quiet voice.  Then, "I'm happy to be with you too, mommy!"
     "I'm glad."
     "Mommy?"
     "Yes, sweetie?"
     "I love you, mommy."
     Right then.
     Everything.
     Everything at that moment, came to a stop.  All of reality stopped. Her memories, her feelings, her presence, her thoughts, her ability to even think...
     Gone.
     Those words where what she had wanted to hear for her entire life. She remembered them.  Not even that.  She *experienced* them.  Her daughter.  *Her* daughter.  Her little Ryoko.  How she loved her little Ryoko.  Her little Ryoko... loved her back.
     Washu smiled down at her daughter, as tears began to pour down her soft face, and her vision of little Ryoko's face became a soft blur from the gentle light of the fire and the salty warmth of her tears, but even still, she could see her.
     "I love you too, honey.  I love you so much."
     "I want to stay with you forever, mommy."
     <Memories...>
     <This is a memory... I still have it... after all this time...>
     Washu smiled.
     <Then, since I remember these words... she will always...>
     "Yes, Ryoko.  We will be together forever."
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Washu opened her eyes.  She ran her hands along the length of the surface that she appeared to be kneeling upon.  Blinking a few times, she reoriented herself.
     She was now back in her black battle gear, and she was on her knees on a blue, glass like floor.  All around her, there was nothing. Beneath the glass floor, and in every which direction, spanned nothing but total darkness.
     Washu slowly put her hands on the glass, and pushed herself up, allowing herself to rise to her feet.
     <Are you awake?>
     Washu looked at her hands as she stood.  "I guess that I am."
     <You were dreaming.  Not an uncommon thing.>
     Washu nodded.  She recognized the voice very easily.  It was one that she was very familiar with, and hearing it speak to her from almost everywhere at once it seemed didn't disturb her all that much.
     It was *her* voice, afterall.
     <Did you have a sweet dream?>
     "I did."
     <Do you remember it?>
     "I do."
     <Will you forget that dream?>
     Washu shook her head as she continued to stare at her hands.  "I will never forget that dream.  Never.  My Little Ryoko will live on forever within my own memories."
     <That is good.>
     Washu took in a long breath, as she began to survey her surroundings.  Darkness.  And a small glass road that spanned on for eternity in both directions.
     Not much to look at.
     <Do you know where you are?>
     Washu nodded.  "I still think that we are in the Cradle, I believe."
     <Incorrect.>
     "Oh?"
     <You are within the nothing.>
     "...nothing?"
     <It is a place where the concept of 'time' is but derogatory.  This is the End of Time.  Or maybe even the Beginning of Time.  It is impossible to discern which, because the very concept of 'time' is impossible.>
     Washu nodded as she let out a long breath.  "The Time Crash."
     <Indeed.>
     Washu closed her eyes, painfully.  "Time Crash or not... it doesn't change the fact that my little Ryoko is gone.  Forever."
     <Maybe.>
     Washu frowned as she listened.
     <You are still alive.  Your memories are reality.  They occur within yourself, therefore, they are real.  You remember her. Therefore, she is real.  As you said, she lives on through your memories.>
     "I understand that... but I still want to see her."
     <Then, you *do not* understand.>
     Washu shook her head.  "I... I do understand.  That doesn't mean that I don't feel regret!"
     <Poor Washu-chan... you haven't learned anything, have you?>
     Washu frowned.  "What?"
     <You do know who I am, don't you?>
     "Aren't you supposed to me?  You are reflecting my thoughts through the Cradle, I'm assuming."
     <Sort of.>
     Washu blinked.
     <I am you, but I am merely a memory of you.  I am a past life.>
     Washu arched an eyebrow.  "Then you must be communicating to me through my Uroborus Rings."
     <Correct.  A long, long time ago, when I had a body as you do, I had a name, too.>
     "You were...?  I should have your memories."
     <My name was Yoko.>
     "Oh yes," Washu agreed, nodding, "You were a mercenary, right?"
     <That's right.  And I know what you are going through better than you know.>
     "Oh?"
     <Perhaps due to the Time Crash, you can't access my memories. Otherwise you would know what I was talking about.>
     "Maybe you're right..."
     <Did you ever know why I was a mercenary?  Why I teamed up with a vagabond like Sydney?>
     "No... I *did* know, but I never looked at that memory.  Why?"
     <When I was younger, I had a daughter once.>
     "Really?"
     <Yes.  When she was only five years old, and I loved her so much, she died.>
     "I... see..."
     <I didn't think that I could live on after that pain.  Her smile, her giggle, her playful attitude... her love for me...>
     Washu's head drooped.  "I know what you mean..."
     <But I did.>
     Washu's face grew puzzled.  "What do you mean?"
     <I lived on.  I moved on with my life.  Even though my daughter, who was the most important thing in my entire life was no longer a part of it, I moved on.>
     Washu scoffed.  "So you became a merc just to ease the pain, is that it?  You substituted a new life for yourself just so you wouldn't have to go through the pain of *remembering* your daughter."
     <You're wrong, Washu.>
     "I doubt it."
     <I never forgot her.  Never.  Every time I remembered her, it hurt.  It hurt so much.  Until I just...>
     "Stopped remembering?" Washu accused.
     <No... I remembered other things.>
     Washu crossed her arms.  "Like what?"
     <I remembered her smile... I remembered the way that she made me laugh...> Yoko chuckled slightly then, <...I remember having to clean up after she made a mess of my office that one time.  She looked so precious.>
     Washu sighed.  "I totally understand, Yoko.  But... but for me... it's the same, only different."
     <What do you mean?>
     "When I remember my little Ryoko, I remember her smile.  Her ready giggle.  Her love for me.  The way she loved everything about life.  The way she wanted to know more, to play... to have fun."
     Washu paused, and felt tears gathering in her eyes.
     "But I also remember other things.  Like the way that my little Ryoko... who is not so little any more... say things that she said to me.  'Stay the hell out of my life.'  'I hate you.'  It... hurt.  And the worst part was... I deserved it.  I deserved all of it.  I became the devil that had ruined her."
     <Wrong.>
     "But I'm not!  My last memories of my daughter are ones where I treated her as a specimen and where she treated me with spite!  I can't just call up my old memories into some sort of rosary to escape reality!  I just... just... can't."
     <But you are wrong.>
     "I'm not.  And whenever I remember what she was like when she was younger... as happy as she was then... I can't help but remember what she became.  She became a frightened, angry, petulant child.  And it was *all* my fault."
     <That's hardly true.>
     Washu smirked sadly as tears began to run down her face.  "She wouldn't even call me 'mom'."
     <Do you really believe all of that?>
     "Of course I do... let's face it... I'm a crappy mother."
     <So you say that she has become a crappy child?>
     Washu paused.
     <All children have faults.  All mothers are imperfect.  But you share something.  Something that is there, but hasn't had the chance to bloom yet.  Love.>
     Washu looked at her hands.  "But it won't ever get the chance to bloom, now.  She's... gone."
     <Are you going to forsake her memory, Washu?  Are you going to forget that time with your daughter when you promised that you would be with her forever?>
     "That was... that..."
     <Think of exactly where you are.>
     "The Nothing.>
     <Yes.  And where does the nothing stem from?>
     "The Cradle."
     <Correct.>
     Washu's eyes went wide.  "The... Cradle..."
     <You see now?>
     Washu shook her head.  "I'm sure that Tenchi will be the one to do it.  I'm not closest to her."
     <But it can be done, can't it?>
     Washu sighed.  "Tenchi... please... do the right thing."
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Earth.
     The ground below.  The element of nature in which the Mother of all Things lives.  It sustains life, it gives life, and it takes life.  A part of life that is in essence, the jubilation of all creatures.  The place where everything lives, and the place that allows them to live.
     However, such a place was insignificant to Lady Tokimi.
     Tokimi looked all around her.  She was in a cave, for that much she was certain.  The cave was large, and it appeared to have been sculpted by sentient beings, as the glyphs and cobbled stones where far too precise and common for the natural level of erosion and terra evolution to have accomplished.
     There were several torches about this cave, this... temple.
     It was a very large room, in which there seemed to be archaic writings on the wall, and large support beams holding up a cobbled, decaying roof.  On each end of this place, there were copper torches, the only means of lighting the desolate room.
     Tokimi looked around with a certain degree of fascination.
     "Where... am I?"
     "You know where you are."
     Tokimi blinked, and turned, to see a woman descending down a long flight of steps towards her.  The woman was haunting, and ghostly in her appearance, as she seemed to shine, and be somewhat transparent. She wore ornate robes which Tokimi recognized immediately as robes of the High Priestesses during the reign of the Centra.  She looked at the woman for a quick moment more, and then recognized her.
     "Ah.  Sumirei-san."
     "It is a pleasure to finally meet you at last, Tokimi-sama.  Although I do wish that I was... er... alive, for this meeting."
     Tokimi nodded.  "Understandable."
     Sumirei walked up a few feet in front of Tokimi, and then stopped. She just looked at Tokimi for a few seconds.  After, she bowed low, and respectfully.
     "I thank you, Tokimi-sama."
     Tokimi arched an eyebrow.  "For...?"
     Sumirei stood erect again.  "For saving Ashley."
     "I didn't save him."
     "You did.  Twice.  You blocked Judas from Ashley, so Judas wouldn't destroy everything including Ashley.  You also saved his soul."
     Tokimi blinked.  "Saved his soul?"
     Sumirei nodded.  "When you entered the Cradle not too long ago. When Judas attacked you.  Your block on Judas was failing, and he was being consumed by Judas.  Your return helped manifest his true self.  And then when you..." she trailed off.
     Tokimi looked back at Sumirei blankly.  "What?"
     Sumirei sighed.  "When you made love to him, you helped show him that he was loved." Sumirei shook her head.  "I'm sorry, it was for the best, and I know that a part of Ashley does love you, but I..."
     Tokimi closed her eyes.  "Wished it was you instead of me?"
     Sumirei nodded.
     "I'm sorry, Sumirei-san.  I can understand.  I know that you love him, and that he loved you.  But you have been separated for over thirty thousand years, now.  And you have been reborn into the cycle. Twice, in fact.  Ashley was trapped all that time."
     Sumirei nodded.  "I know."
     Tokimi sighed.  "I don't even know why I love him.  I don't even know why I *love*, for that matter.  I'm a goddess.  I'm not supposed to feel emotions of joy.  I'm not even supposed to feel *anything*."
     Sumirei tilted her head to the side a little.  "Then... why do you, Tokimi-sama?"
     Tokimi sighed.  "It's because of my sister, Tsunami.  She was different.  Deis was never around, since she was always in the cycle, but Tsunami allowed emotions into herself.  I tried it once.  I didn't like it.  But... I remember that Ashley... intrigued me."
     "Intrigued?"
     Tokimi nodded.  "He interested me.  More than any of his previous incarnations did.  I watched him.  I guided him.  I even opened my emotions.  Then, when you died, and Deis as well... something happened in my emotions.  I couldn't turn them off."
     Sumirei nodded.  "I understand.  I know what it is like to love him."
     "I wanted what was best for him.  I don't even understand why that is.  A mortal is insignificant to me, but... I... just... loved him."
     "I'm not angry."
     Tokimi blinked.  "Pardon?"
     "I'm not mad that you love him, or that he loves you.  I know that he still loves me."
     "He does."
     "I know that with you, he is happy."
     Tokimi sighed.  "But we won't be together."
     "What?"
     Tokimi looked off at one of the torches burning in the distance. "Don't misunderstand.  When I was mortal, and I made love to him... I have never felt such utter... zeal.  I enjoyed it.  I loved it.  I loved him.  But we won't be together."
     "Why?  If you love him..."
     "Because he will not live.  I can see that now."
     Sumirei gasped.  "Tokimi-sama!"
     Tokimi shook her head sadly.  "I didn't want to admit it, but the truth is... Ashley will die.  It is for the best.  He is one with Judas, but they are not one and the same.  Judas will never cease until he has ended everything.  He was created for that very purpose to suit our brothers needs.  Only once Ashley and Judas are one with death will Judas be... ended."
     "Oh, Ashley..."
     "It is best.  I know that... I know... that he wants this.  Ashley loves you, and he, deep down, I know he loves me, too.  But he wants Judas to die, and he *knows* that the only way to do that is for the both of them to... end."
     Sumirei sighed.  "I feel so horrible for him.  And for you."
     "Do not feel bad for me, Sumirei-san.  I can turn off my emotions."
     "But you shouldn't!"
     Tokimi turned, so her s