Homecomings
A Tenchi Muyo/El Hazard crossover
By Kain The Seeker
Aka Andrew Graham (kaintskr@aol.com)
CoAuthored/Plotted/Conived by Deunan (deunan@aol.com)
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CMA Disclaimer: All characters are the respective property of the owners, Original characters are mine (or Deunan). Actions of all characters are not by my hand/or fault. (Blame my MUSE! I do!) :-}
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Afura Man floated up to the Eye of God and landed gently at the edge of the
platform. She hadn't been up here since that day, six months ago when the war with the Bugrom ended.
The day Ifurita had been banished across space and time. The day he started dying bit by bit without her.
Makoto didn't even notice as she landed, he was concentrating on a section of the book that he had taken from the Royal Archives. Nearby was Ifurita's
staff Key. He looked frustrated as she approached, tossing the book aside.
"I was so sure," he muttered as he picked up the Staff Key and walked over to pick the book,"I'm so close, I know it." He noticed Afura Man as he turned. "You here to bring me back to the palace, Afura?"
"No, Makoto. The princesses' didn't send me, I came on my own. To see how you were doing. Everyone is worried about you. You don't sleep, you don't eat and you've pulled back from everyone that cares for you."
He turned away and looked at the surface of the immense artificial moon that he stood on. Trying to put the feelings into simple words was the hardest thing that he had ever done.
"Afura, have you ever loved someone so much you can't get out them out of your mind? I see her ever time I close my eyes, gliding down that shaft and knowing that she will waiting for me before I ever met her. 10,000 years worth of waiting. She might not be able to survive past the time that she sends me back here." He closed his eyes and pushed the pain back down deep before continuing "I'm afraid that she won't recognize me when I finally get back."
Afura sighed and turned him to face her. "You love her more than I have ever seen anyone love before Makoto. You will find her." She took his hand and walked him away from the platform," If you don't kill yourself in the process. Come on, when was the last time you ate?"
"I.... I can't remember." Makoto replied quietly, the fight and fire had gone out of him, exhausted if she was any judge of things.
"Well, as a friend, I won't let you work another minute without some food and rest first."
--------------
Elsewhere, a world away.......
Ayeka closed the large text book startling the concentrating Tenchi. Sasami who was watching nearby giggled at watching him jump.
"We're done already?" Tenchi wondered. For the past couple of weeks, he was being tutored on his Jurai heritage. So far the tutoring sessions only concentrated on the Royal Language. It was beginning to gnaw on him that nothing, so far, ever delved into Jurai's history.
"I know it's been bothering you that we haven't gone into any of our history, Lord Tenchi. But I wanted you to learn enough of the Royal language to at least understand part of this...," The princess trailed off trying to find the right human words for it, "This...song?" Tenchi watched as a strange emotion flickered across her's and Sasami's face. "It embodies Jurai itself."
The song began softly in the royal language of Jurai seemingly penetrating and surrounding his very essence at the same time. He was mesmerized like a sirens call, yet not understanding all of the words. So beautiful and yet very sad at the same time, his heart seemed torn. Then he saw.....
A world beautiful and at peace with a civilization that spread almost to the heavens. Then images of a brutal senseless war encompassing all. Children turning to men on the battlefield. Bodies strewn across entire landscapes. Then a man. His face hard and cold looking down upon a city. Tears mixed with blood as he thrust his clenched fists towards the sky. Then ebony flames consuming all.....
"Tenchi?" Sasami shook him gently out of the trance.
"Oh, sorry." He whispered as Ayeka finished the song on one last mournful note. Sasami wiped a tear from her eye. He wasn't far from one himself. "That was beautiful," he said. Ayeka gave him a wry smile.
"Thank you. I apologize for my lack of skill, but Funaho is the true singer of the family."
"What was the song about?" He asked even as the images of his vision seemed to slowly slip away, "I still don't understand enough to make it out."
"It is about how the Lost Clans came to Jurai, over 10,000 years ago. We, our forebears, were at war with a great evil. Finally, they were forced to use a weapon of the greatest power to turn the tide." Ayeka sat on the grass beside Tenchi, "a few of those people stood their ground against the enemy, to buy the time that the others needed to make the Great Weapon ready. When it was unleased, they expected to die. Instead, they were banished from their homeworld and found themselves stranded on what would one day be called the planet Jurai."
"Which means 'haven' in our ancestor's native tongue." Sasami added as she unpacked the lunch she had brought.
"Exactly, Sasami. We were given a second chance at life, on a world that was fertile and peaceful. Our ancestors eventually lost hope at ever getting back home and instead set about making Juria our home. Very few reminders of the Time of the Beginning remain. You have one of them. The Master Key. The other is our traditions and stories of that time.
"What does the last bit mean, Aeyeka?" He couldn't get that last mournful verse from his mind.
"The song ends like this... 'When will we return, when will the clans be reunited, when will our hearts again be whole."
------
Sheyla ran through the halls of the palace. -Afura, you little weasel bringing Makoto down and not even telling me.- She finally arrived at the palace kitchen. Carefully, she put her ear to the door listening for
anything. Nothing. She opened the door to find Makoto sitting alone at a
table staring into a goblet.
"Makoto?" She asked tentatively. He seemingly took no notice and downed the entire contents in one swift stroke. Setting the goblet back down, he refilled it.
"Heh, Sheyla." He whispered. "Now I can see why you and Fuji-sensei drink this stuff." She went to his side and saw four empty jugs of wine. -Oh lord-
"You'd better ease off the stuff, your going to feel like hell in the morning." She tried to say it lightly only to choke. It pained her to see
him that way. A bitter chuckled worked its way to his lips.
"I don't care," he said slightly slurred. He held up the goblet to his eyes swishing around the red liquid. "I still see her you know...," he said his voice trembling on the brink of choking in sobs, "in my dreams just like the day she left." He rose suddenly and hurled the goblet against the stone wall. It shattered into a million shiny pieces. "and I couldn't save her...and I can't save her now!!"
Sheyla stepped back startled at the force of his words. "No, you can't believe that. YOU PROMISED TO FIND HER," She said almost in disbelief at Makoto's words. She had never seen him lose faith, even in the darkest hours of the war. It scared her to see him like this. He took several breaths. He looked up at Sheyla tears coursing down his face.
"I know." He said hoarsely. His body was wracked by sobs, and he collapsed in a ball. Sheyla rushed to his side holding him in her arms. He cried into her shoulder, and she held him gently rocking him and stroking his hair.
Sheyla looked down at the boy, no man, that slept fitfully in her lap. She wondered why he had started drinking. The answer came to her easily, she had used alcohol for it enough times. -To keep the memories away, I'll bet.-
She wished she could talk to someone about this. Everyone had been out of the palace attending to some duties or another. Afura, she flew back to Mount Muldoon to check the shrine. Miz and Fugisawa were off planning their wedding, and Nanami had been hiding away in her room for a week now. Alliele was moping about the palace, while Fatora was out on some royal tour.
-Not to long ago, I would have killed to hold you like this Makoto,- she silently told him as she ran a hand through his hair, -Now, all I want is to see the pain leave your face for a second even if it had to become my own. It isn't fair, you saved this world. You deserve a little peace of your own.- Tears ran down her face at the injustice of it. The pain was almost as bad her own pain when had she realized that Makoto could never love her.
"It's just not fair," She whispered to the night, not sure whether she was referring to her situation or Makoto's.
Makoto stirred restlessly, trapped in the dreams of the past. Images of
Ifurita, before and after her imprisonment, flittered through his dream
along with the Eye of God. He saw images of the Great War, memories he had
taken from Ifurita when they bonded last, the Time of the Makers as it had
become to be called. An age of marvels before the end of the war. The ebony fires of war parted and suddenly their was only one image left in his mind. A simple object, but one of great power. -The Master Key- whispered a gentle voice in his mind. The his dream faded as he fled into a deeper sleep.
-----
Fujisawa examined the door carefully. Sure, it'd be easy to break it down. When he got sober, of course. But he didn't really want to intrude. Which he wasn't, meeting Miz's parents wasn't something that he hadn't wanted to do sober. He had stopped by just to check on his student after a Miz commented on the fact that she had left her room much for over a week.
"Nanami, we're getting kinda worried. You've been couped up in that room for a couple days now. I've only seen you come out to grab the odd bite to eat. Is something wrong?" He put his ear to the door hoping to hear something, a hint of what his student was up to. "I'm going to break down this door!!! Clear out!!!" He rammed his shoulder against the door hard.
He bounched off the door and landed clumsily on his rear end. "Gotta lay off the wine," he mumbled rubbing his shoulder.
"Don't come in...." Came Nanami's voice from inside.
"Why?! It's been two days since you came out for food," He shouted, concerned for his student. Makoto was the obsessive one, wasting away while looking for a way to master the Eye of God. Nanami, on the other hand, was the perverbial salt of the earth. This wasn't like her.
"Umm...CRAMPS!!!" Fujisawa slowly backed away from the door.
"If you need anything....I'll be....!!" Losing the battle with what he wanted to say, Fujisawa did what any dedicated batchelor would do in a situation like this. He cut his losses and ran. -Maybe, I should have Miz handle this.-
Nanami almost laughed at the sound of Fujisawa's frantic retreat, but the pain was too much. -Well, mom, you were right. That's the perfect way of getting a man to leave you alone.- She had bolted to her room not too far ahead of her teacher and it was only luck that he was slightly drunk this time, or her secret would be in the open. She shuddered as the pain wracked her body.
"Not again, please, not again.", she begged in the futile hope that someone out there would take pity and spare her the pain. It was like her entire body was on fire, it was worse than the last time. Something that she had been sure was impossible.
Then as quickly as it had come, the pain vanished. Like a dream in the morning. For long seconds, she lay on the bed whimpering as the last remanents of the pain washed away. She struggled to sit up and ran her hand across her face to brush her hair out of the way. Only to freeze in horror as her gaze rested on the lock of hair on her hand.
-No!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no!no! It's not possible!, Please let this be a dream!- She silently screamed to herself in shock. Reality refused to change for her, and she curled into a fetal position in her bed.
"This can't be happening to me," she whispered to the reflection in the mirror across the room.
-----
Elsewhere, a world away.......
Tenchi stirred restlessly in his bed. The night was quiet, Kiyone and Mihoshi were out on patrol, Washuu was locked away in her lab meddling with the secrets of the universe. -Something that doesn't require the services of her favorite guinea pig'- He smiled wryly, life had certainly not been dull since the day that he snuck into the family shrine. Even Ayeka and Ryoko had held off their feuding today. -All in all, a very good day-
The only thing that kept him awake tonight was something he had heard this afternoon. Ayeka's voice kept ringing through his head, a little bit of her song that wouldn't go away. -.. when will we see our homes again... when will our hearts be made whole.-
"What does it mean?" He rolled over, pulled something out from under the sheets beneath him. He lifted the small slender object into view. -The Master Key-, he looked over the sword, many people had hinted that it had greater power than he had drawn from it yet. Ayeka, Grandfather, Washuu, Ryoko and Kagato to name a few. "What are you really capable of?"
-----
Afura coasted up to ledge outside the Shrine, as the priestess with mastery over air it was child's play for her to fly out to check the mountain shrine periodically.
She looked back across the vast crags of Mount Muldoon, even here you could seen the Eye and the Stairway into the Sky. Her thoughts were pulled back to Makoto. In a way, she was jealous of Ifurita.
The Demon had the love of a man willing to tear away the wall between worlds to save her. -What have I got?- She asked as she walked into the entryway and checked the systems of the shrine. Artifacts that were centuries old hummed at her command, displaying the entire status of the holy shrine. All clear, the images showed her. Her task finished she walked back onto out onto the ledge.
She stopped short, troubled by questions that suddenly came to mind.-Why should I go back? There isn't anything for me back there. Miz has her husband, and Sheyla is still trying to trip up Makoto, but I don't have anything to tie me there.- She looked away from the royal city, and a determined look settled on her face. She pulled open a small device on her belt and quickly typed a message on it, and then placed it on her belt again.
She stepped out of the concealing shadows of the shrine, and paused for a minute as she repositioned the pack on her shoulders. Then she turned and head north into the mountains.
-----
Elsewhere, a world away.......
Yosho gave his grandson an appraising look as he came down for breakfast. The boy was moving sluggishly and had bags under his eyes. He put a gentle hand on Tenchi's shoulder and stopped him before he entered the dining area.
"Are you okay, Tenchi? You look like you haven't been sleeping well."
"I've .. had .. some dreams." Tenchi answered reluctantly, and Yosho waited patiently for him to continue, "I just can't sort out what it was that I was dreaming, but it is just on the tip of my tongue." He looked up at his grandfather, "I'm sorry, but it is a little bit frustrating you know. Not being able to explain it, I mean." Yosho patted him on the shoulder and pushed him gently forward.
"You go ahead and get ready to eat, Tenchi. I have to talk to Sasami for a moment, and then I will be with you." He smiled, "We have a lot of things to cover in your lessons today." Tenchi groaned as he shuffled over to the table. Yosho stopped Sasami as she rushed by with breakfast, "Sasami? Could you fix a picnic lunch today? I think that we all could use sometime away from the house." She nodded as she rushed to put the food on the table.
-----
Makoto looked over the tome again, it had taken days to find the right tome. A half remembered fragment of a dream wasn't much to go on. The forgotten diary of a historian that had lived centuries ago, his notes contained the needed references to books and papers even older. Finally his paper chase led him deep into the palace archives, to sections that hadn't been touched in decades.
"Finally," he whispered. He read the passage several times, consulting his translation notes at several points, and in slow ponderous steps he coaxed the story from the yellowed pages of the book in front of him.
He read through the story of the last days of the War, told through the eyes of the aide of Lord Kaizen -one of the great generals. He went cold at the last few pages of the story. -The Great Key-.
He rushed out the door at a run. -This time, I've got it. I'm coming Ifurita hold on just a little bit longer-
-
Shayla's hair stood on end as she climbed out of the tub. The wind had picked quite severely and the sky was darkening with ever passing second.
-No,- she went cold as she realized what was going on, -he couldn't have- She was out the door, dressing as she ran down the hall.
-
Makoto closed his eyes and concentrated on the image in his mind, ignoring the howling wind that was picking up. -Reach for it,- the Eye of God shuddered as his mind tripped switches deep within, then he saw the object that he was seeking in his mind's eye, -Bring it to me- He commanded the Eye. The wind suddenly ceased and he opened his eyes as the sky exploded in rush of light.
-
Shayla's mad rush to the Stairway to the Sky skidded to a halt as the Eye exploded in a rush of light. "Makoto, what have you done?", She whispered as she stepped onto the transport disc.
She rose into the spire in a rush of speed that blurred the wall as the disc finally brought her to the top of the Stairway. She gasped in surprise as she took in the wreckage and ruin around her. -One of the blasts must have gone off right above us.- She finally found Makoto, unhurt to her relief. Then she saw the other body laying beside him.
A young girl, out cold like Makoto, dressed in an outlandish style of clothes. Her concern for the girl was cut short as she realized what must have happened. She picked up the girl and Makoto.
"Oh, Makoto what have you done?"
------
On Earth
Washuu typed out a command on her computer and read out the results of her last test cycle. -Very interesting- she watched as the data scrolled by at an unbelievable rate. -Very close to the results that I wanted.-
Her train of thought was broken as the entire Subspace lab shuddered. -What is going on?- Nearby, a computer screen exploded and alarms started sounding. Washuu grabbed her computer and with quick strokes called up the dimensional controls of her workspace. -Massive subspace disruptions- She typed out a flurry of commands, trying to stablize the dimensional fields. Another, much heavier shock shook the lab. This time dozens of machines expoded. -Not good, what ever it is that is doing it has resonances that are tearing down the stablizers faster than the systems can reconstruct them- It was like trying to rebuild a small spider web when someone is dropping anvils through it.
She hit the door to the house at a full run, and was through it without a seconds hesitation. It was that very second that the lab's field failed completely. One second she could see the lab, a variety of machines and holding cells exploding. The next it was the small room underneath the stairs of the Masaki home. She took off her lab coat and looked at the now missing tail of it.
"And with not a second to spare." she whispered. She had been literally a step away from being thrown across time and space. She frowned in frustration, "Now what am I going to get those speciems again?"
Then it hit her, the emptiness in her mind and heart. Where Ryoko's thoughts had been. Washuu turned and ran out of the house at a full run, fear driving her to greater speed.
"Ryoko! Ayeka! Tenchi! Anyone!" She came over the hill's top, to where the Masaki's pinics were held. She knew it well enough, Sasami was always eager to take advantage of a spring time day to eat out of doors. -Please let them be alright- She prayed , only to stop short at the ruin was left in the place of their favorite picnic spot.
"No!" Washuu screamed to the sky, as her heart broke into a million pieces.
"Give her back, damn you!" her voice dropped to a whisper as she slid to the ground, "please give her back to me."
-
Tenchi landed roughly, his fall barely broken by the undergrowth. For long minutes he lay senseless on the ground. He returned slowly to his senses.
Finally he was able to sit up and take in his surroundings.
"Where am I?" he asked as he took in the alien surroundings around him.
-
Yosho slid down the slope, acting more on instinct than anything else, pushing himself to the limits of his strength and endurance. He managed to grab Ayeka's hand only by the smallest of margins.
With a grunt he pulled his half-sister up to safety. Her landing hadn't been as smooth as his, she had hit her head and fallen down further down into the ravine. He eased her down gently, -I hope the others made their arrival a lot better than we did,- he thought to himself as he looked the vast crystalline walls above him. -I've heard of this place somewhere- He slid the sword into his belt. It would come to him in time he was sure.
-
Ryoko shook her head to clear it, -What happened, the last thing I remember was arguing with Aeyeka at the picnic. Then..-
Ryoko's reply was interrupted by an explosion of light above
them. Several globes of darkness formed in the open sky and shot down towards them. Ryoko dodged one, and shot towards Sasami. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yosho grab for Aeyeka. -Got to get the kid clear of whatever that is- Her thought was cut off as she hit the girl at almost full speed, and shot high into the sky with her. One of the blasts landed where she had been only a second before. Another engulfed
Yosho and Ayeka.
"No!" she screamed as the blast left nothing behind but swirling dust.
Then another figure in the clearing drew her eye. Tenchi, sheltering
behind the Wings of the Light Hawk with five of the spheres burning
through. "Tenchi!", Ryoka dove towards him trying to reach him in
time. The distance, along with Sasami's weight, were too great.
The Wings collapsed and she saw Tenchi engulfed by the dark spheres. She
flew through the dust that was left in the wake of his disappearance,
and then she was overwhelmed by the sensation of falling as two spheres
engulfed her and Sasami.
Ryoko shook as the memory replayed itself in her mind's eye. The last few
seconds before she blacked out felt familiar. -Like when I teleport - She looked around her, taking in the ruined landscape all around her. -Where
ever the hell I am,- she told herself silently as she stood up and started down a conveint path, -it sure ain't earth.- She turned at the sound of falling rocks behind her.
"Ah," she said as she popped her fingers ,and a dangerous glow formed in her hands, "You aren't what I expected out of the welcome wagon, but I'm glad you're here anyway." she lashed out as she took to the air.
The explosions keyed her into the berserker mode that Washuu had designed in her for combat. The world turned red as her blood roared with her rage. And as much as she had come to despise it in the last year, it felt so good.
---
Yosho helped Ayeka up, and looked her over. He had dressed the wound on her head, but he was still a little worried that she might be concussed. He waved his hand in front of her.
"How many fingers?" Ayeka squinted for a momement and Yosho saw a little bit of the delicate sister that he had know on Jurai all those years ago.
"Two."
"Good, you're most likely not concussed." Ayeka gasped in shock as he moved to oneside to help her up.
"Great Spirits of Juria," she whispered in shock with wide eyes, "Yosho, tell me that I'm not seeing things."
Yosho turned to look at the object that she was pointing at. Long seconds passed as what he saw registered, 700 years of life on Earth had given Yosho the impression that nothing could surprise him. He was wrong, this was the first time that he was left speechless in that time.
"It's the Eye of God, just like in the old legends," Ayeka whispered, "then that means....." Yosho finished for her.
"... the Enemy might not be far behind." He said as he took a grim look on his face. They looked at each other, the fear was clear in Ayeka's face and Yosho couldn't be sure that he didn't show the same look on his. Suddenly the beautiful scenery and sunny skies seemed a little darker to both of them.
On the ridge above them, shadows gathered and watched.
----
Afura knelt down and examine the signs on the ground in front of her. -Bugrom raiding party, over two dozen maybe more.- More than she had seen since the end of the war. -What are they doing?-
Her thoughts were interrupted by a low rumble from further down the valley. She turned and glimpsed a column of dust settle far down the valley as a crystalline bridge collapsed. -What was that?- She took off at a full run, reaching into her sack for her activation pack. -I hope that I can get there before it's too late.-
----
Yosho blocked the claw that flashed down at him with uncanny ease, his shield flashing into existence a scant second before it could connect. He followed up with a slash that tore a chunk of the beast's hard shell and rolled away from another's attack. He risked a look over at Ayeka.
She fought with the fury of a true warrior, lashing out with a blast at the one beast that had faced off with her. Two more lay close by, crushed by the force of her powers. -She is so like Tenchi -, Yosho thought to himself as he danced through his enemies' attacks, -Gentle at heart but capable of such great fury and passion- A low rumble above him broke his chain of thought and he looked upwards. An enormous shard of crystal had broken free and was falling with deceptive slowness towards....
"Ayeka!" he heard the scream tear from him mouth, even as he bolted over and through the horde of creatures between them. He hit her hard, and shoved her clear of the shard just as it landed nearby with thunderous impact.
Ayeka shook her head clear as she sat up. The last thing she could remember was hearing Yosho scream her name just seconds before being shoved clear. She looked back where she had been, now covered by an enormous column of crystal. Yosho lay beside it...
"Brother!" she ran to him, -Please let him be alive!-. Yosho opened his eyes and smiled at her as she held him in her lap. He opened his eyes and looked up, not quite seeing her. "No, don't leave me. Yosho, please hold on." She whispered as she tried to staunch the flow of blood. Yosho seemed to recogonize her and then looked past her again.
"They're waiting for me, Ayeka. My wife, and Atchika..." he looked at her, a smile on his face,"they're all so beautiful, I... wish.. you could see them." Then the life drained from him, one second he was there and then he was gone.
She eased his unseeing eyes shut, tears streaming from her eyes as she fought down the smothering despair that threatened to consume her. "So passes Yosho, first Prince of Jurai," tears blurred his face as she fought down the despair that surrounded her, and she was barely able to whisper the rest, "... and my first true love." Then her loss overwhelmed her and she wailed helplessly.
----
Afura watched helplessly as the column fell in the middle of the conflict. She felt the shockwave that shook the vast crystalline bridge loose.
-Whoever it is, they aren't going down easily- She thought to herself as she redoubled her speed, -but with that many bugrom, they will still need all the help that they can get.- She flashed into the battle area just in time, surprised with the level of destruction that had occured on the small ridge. Bugrom corpses lay every where, and she could see the survivors clustering cautiously around the column trying to muster the courage to finish off their victims. -Well we won't have any of that- She swore grimly.
The Bugrom didn't notice the wind in the valley suddenly stop, and then return with a vengeance till it was too late. The first blast of wind, bearing small shards of rock and crystal tore through the bugrom like a hot knife, and then Afura landed in front of the survivors and really let loose.
The wind double and redoubled at her mental command, and soon only the strongest and biggest of the bugs were left clinging to the ground in front of her. She looked behind her and saw the girl and her companion. Rage burned coldly in her at the realization that she was too late to save the man. -I failed again-, she swore to the man, -but you will be avenged- With a gesture, she blasted one after another from the narrow ledge and into the abyss below. Finally there was no one left to fight and she forced herself to power down. She looked back at the two warriors that she had saved, and the victory that she had just won turned to ashes in her mouth. -Sheyla wouldn't have failed,- she told herself miserably, only to stop short as she looked at the girl's outfit and face. "Ancestor's guard us." She whispered in shock, suddenly weak in the knees.
Ayeka looked up from Yosho's body, still crying, when a young woman bowed to her. She only caught half of what was said as the dark hair woman spoke in a dialect that she had never heard. Finally she caught a word that she knew for sure. Kaizen.
"Kaizen, he was the progenitor of our people. I am Ayeka, a princess of the planet Jurai. " The woman nodded and replied.
"I am Afura Mann, priestess of Mount Muldoon, ... Ayeka," She looked at Ayeka's face closely taking in the war mask that princess still wore, "Tell me, if you can, how long have your people lived on this ... Jurai, my lady?"
Ayeka looked back at her savior in shock, finally realizing what had happened. -It's not supposed to happen like this, it's was supposed to be a time of happiness and joy.-
----
Sasami woke with a throbbing head and was surprised to discover that she in alien surroundings.
She sat up to get a better look around and instantly regreted. She fell back on the sheets with a groan. -I think...- she told herself,-that this is what Ayeka and Ryoko call a hangover. I definitely don't want to go through this again- Gentle hands eased her back on the bed and placed a damp cloth on her head.
"Shh.. little one, rest is what you need."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Miz Mistal, we'll answer all your questions later. Now sleep."
Sasami started to reply but she was so tired. Sleep rose up and swallowed her again, she heard a little more as she dozed off.
"How is Makoto?" a man's voice.
"He's okay, but the council wants to see him right now."
"Why?"
"Masamichi, he fired the Eye of God by HIMSELF. Needless...." Then sleep claimed her and nothing more was heard.