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Eternal Heavens
Disclaimer: I'm poor, so don't bother suing. I only own my
original characters. Hell, I don't even own some of them, heh.
I don't own any Tenchi characters. To be honest I can't afford
them.
Author's forword: One of these days I'll get around to the main
point or three of this fic. Promise. ^_^
Now I'll beg for C&C. PLEASE OH PLEASE CORRECT ME!!! ^_^ I'm at
kthardin@yahoo.com , so feel free! ^_^
Gathering of the Children
-Crusaders Assemble
<Opening Theme: Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns and Roses>
"Fascinating." she said to herself, "How very...droll."
"Mistress Yumi?"
The short furry scientist looked up, brushing her long ears
across the edge of one of the floating black holographic computer
terminals causing it to distort momentarily. She grinned at her
dark shrouded companion before returning to tapping her fingers
on the terminals that only with her touch became solidified
light. Arms crossed, he walked up behind her, dwarfing her with
his powerful body by a wide margin and looked over her shoulder
at the screen she was somehow studying intently as her hands
quite literally flew across the terminals that sprang up and went
away as she performed whatever tasks that she deemed necessary.
"What is it?"
She barely noted his inquiry as she reached out and used
her taller companion's cloaked arm for support, and hopped off
the floating green poof pillow she was sitting on. For his part,
he had moved his arm out in clockwork-like movements, in time
with her motion, to facilitate her dismount.
Obviously he did this often.
She walked around him, her hands still on his arm, though
unable to encircle it with both hands as big as it was. Leading
him to another set of terminals, she used his arm to pull herself
up and onto a reddish gold colored floating cushion. Idily her
taller associate wondered if the lack of a backrest was good for
her posture.
"Ever have a question about something, Hishima? Something
that just nagged at you and nagged at you and nagged at you 'til
it drove you insane?"
Hishima seemed to think for a moment, "I remember trying to
find the name of the artist who sang the Highlander theme at one
time."
Yumi nodded. "Yes, I remember that. By the way," she said
ominously, and not just normal ominously, this being pit of doom
may you burn for all eternity in the fires of Inferno ominously,
"if you start singing that again, I will have to rip your memory
modules out."
"But aren't you fighting to survive in a war with the
darkest power?" Amusement apparent in his voice as it spoke from
the inky blackness that shadowed his face within the hood. He
braced for what he had expected to be an annoyed scientist
knocking him through the nearest bit of equipment and on through
the wall, but was surprised when a concerned frown crossed her
face as she glanced at him. "This wouldn't have anything to do
with the recent acquisition of..."
"That," she interrupted, "remains to be seen." Her hands
flew over a new set of controls. "The involvement might just be
coincidental. Or," her hands stopped and her eyes drilled into
him, "it might mean everything."
"Either way," anticipation crept into his voice, "It will
be one hell of a fight?"
She nodded. "It's looking more and more like it." Yumi
laid a placating hand upon him, calming the slight twitching that
had washed over her much taller assistant. "Patience. You may
yet get the battle that you crave, my warrior."
"So...what now?"
"Now," she echoed raising her finger to the sky and
shouting in enthusiastic abandon, "Now, it's high time we
gathered our suck...err...allies to aid us!"
"Refresh my memory: didn't we get our collective ass handed
to us last time we tried this?" It was with great relief when he
found himself moving into and through test equipment, thinking my
it's nice that Mistress Yumi is still her normal bitchy self; and
oh is that the Really Big Fish? Hi Mr. Fish! I'd wave, but I
think I've just found myself imbedded in this...nope, went right
on through the wall. Cool! That was solid duranium! Oh, stars!
I see them!
Further thought was not an option as unconsciousness found
Hishima to be a good conversationalist and whisked him away for
tea and cookies.
Yumi playfully walked over, and looked down upon him,
"NEVER doubt my skill...Oh DAMN IT! I broke a nail!"
"Gohegi..." was all she managed to get out, before she
quite literally passed out. Sweat pouring off her body in
amounts that would have her body begging for water when she
regained consciousness, and a shower soon after. Her hair,
unbound, flowed around her and her bedmate in a shower of dark
blues and purples as she unceremoniously landed upon his chest.
Even in slumber, her breathing was labored, coming to her in
great shuddering gasps as if she had run a triathlon or some
other equally physically demanding activity.
Of course, considering her state of undress, and the near
equally winded state of the man under her (not to mention his
lack of clothing), one could indeed assume that she had been
involved in the physically demanding, though very pleasurable,
act of mating.
The man's breathing however, was becoming less and less
labored with each passing second; returning to normal far sooner
than the young woman above him. Still, he was content to hold
her as her body slowed down; finally becoming peaceful.
Carefully he rolled her over; trying his best not to
entangle her incredibly long hair within his own as it was
equally, or poke her with the bony blade-like protrusions that
were resident on the back of his forearms.
She didn't even resist; her arms flopping to her sides
limply as the man moved her under him. Only the barest of smiles
formed on her lips, parting just slightly.
Invitingly.
The man didn't hesitate in taking her offer, and moved down
to kiss the woman. Then from her full and juicy lips, down her
silken neck. Fangs in his mouth bared themselves as he ran them
along her creamy skin. He grimaced suddenly, a small growl
escaping from his throat, before he forcefully pulled himself
away from the object of his desire.
He was still -hungry- for her. The animal within him, as
if he had been in a barren wilderness and just now had his first
taste of raw flesh, demanded more. To the man, however, it was
obvious that she was just not able to satisfy such desire.
Slowly, the man brought the beast within under control.
His golden eyes closed and when they opened again, they had
become a dark blue color. His body seemed to relax, loosing much
of its bulk, though he was still no small man. Finally his
claws, on his fingers, toes and forearms retracted. Sighing, he
looked himself over. Nodding once to himself, he got out of bed.
Or tried to. The woman's hand shot out to grab his hand,
surprising the man. "Don't even think it, Gohegi," she mumbled
irritably.
"But Asahi..." he gestured with his other hand toward his
hair.
"Tomorrow."
"But..." Her eyes shot open, and a singularly unpleasant
message was conveyed to him, describing all manner of painful
ways in which he was going to die if he didn't get back into bed
right this second.
Ah well, he reflected sagely as he crawled back into bed.
The hardships a man of faith must endure are many and varied.
Such as they are in any case, he chuckled to himself.
Instinctively, he found the most comfortable spot on her
body, and laid his head between those pillows of soft pliant
flesh. Though, as his head bounced off the floor, he noticed
something was amiss.
Yep, something definitely not right here. She's softer
than this. AND much more...what? Where? Gohegi quickly moved
to his feet; his danger sense going into overdrive, and he
returned to the form of the beast to ready himself for combat.
His eyes scanned the area almost instantly. He was in the middle
of a room. Darkness all around, except for a single spotlight
upon him; no other details were visible. He was the only source
of sound, and aside from the faint smell of ozone and metal, he
was the only smell too.
"Welcome, Gohegi!"
He glanced around, trying to pinpoint the source of the
voice, "Who said that?"
"You know...who I am." Mysterious? Actually a bit of
overacting. Only a bit, however.
He frowned, which was little more than a slight creasing of
his lips in the downward direction. "Show yourself."
"I have summoned you here for a purpose!"
Despite his annoyance, Gohegi's lips upturned in a slight
grin, revealing more of his fangs, which glittered in the light,
"I refuse to keep this going, I hope you realize."
"Oooooohh!!!" the voice complained, "But I was trying to be
the mysterious head of an elite organization to save the universe
here!"
"Even though," A door to the left of Gohegi opened, and
Hishima stepped through with a change of clothes in hand, and
grin on his face. At least, what Gohegi interpretated to be a
grin. Hard to tell when his mouth was little more than a
faceplate, "the mysterious head usually winds up being the real
enemy in the end."
"Or at least a really dishonorable so and so." Gohegi
accepted the offered clothing and letting his transformation
fade. "I mean, they usually wind up," he paused for a moment as
he pulled the black trousers on, "using their allies and
creations badly," barely slowing the brown cloak was pulled on,
and tied around him with the black sash already resident in the
loops of the coat, "and abusing their sons or daughters
psychologically." bending down he slipped on the soft brown
leather sandals, and while tightening the straps he continued,
"It makes one wonder how the universe even survives the many
machinations of such individuals."
"At least they often get their heads get bit off by a big
ass robot. Too bad everyone turns into an orange goo at the
end." Hishima continued matter-of-factly, "That'll ruin anyone's
day."
A screen appeared before the two of them, hovering in mid-
air and somewhat translucent. On it was the face of Yumi, her
ears down, and eyes tearing as she sniffed quite cutely, "You're
all so mean! I should turn you into Kappas again!"
Not even trying to restrain themselves, they grinned at
her, "Kappa! Kappa Kappa!"
That's when she decided to cry at the top of her lungs,
screaming about how no one appreciated what she was doing, and
that everyone was so mean to her.
Hishima and Gohegi didn't buy it.
Yumi, noticing their slight chuckles, turned off her flow
of tears, much like one would turn off a faucet, "You guys really
are mean!" She growled, "You're supposed to try to console me
now, damnit!"
Gohegi appeared to consider it for a split second. "I just
got yanked away from the lady who owns my life. We had just
finished exchanging certain pleasantries, and I was getting quite
comfortable where I was." He cocked his head to one side, "I'm
quite sure, she was as well. She's going to kill me when I get
home. Or worse...divorce me." A pause, to let the enormity of
that sink in, "I don't have any sympathy. Even if I am a Monk."
"And you hit me all the time." Hishima added.
"Unappreciative bastards." She smiled suddenly, "I knew I
picked the right people for this job." A slight chuckle, just
shy of the evil laugh typical of evil doers everywhere practiced
in the mirror for at least three hours a day suddenly burst forth
from Yumi, "Follow Hishima, Gohegi. I'll explain the new
developments when you get up to the bridge. Yousho is already up
here, and we're expecting Minagi shortly. See you there." The
screen disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving the
two men in the darkness.
"Don't suppose you'd have any hair clippers handy?" the
Monk asked.
"I'll get you some in awhile."
"Dark in here." Gohegi noted after a slight pause.
"Yep." Hishima agreed. "Shall we?" Turning, Hishima led
the way out of the darkness, and into the light.
Gohegi wondered briefly if that would be their fate far
sooner than he really wanted. "I take it something has happened
to up the original time-table?"
"Indeed. It's best if you see it for yourself, however."
"I still think we should have involved Tenchi..."
"But you realize, they are far too close to the
situation...and none of us have enough information to know what
is really going on. I mean, for all we know, the side he's to be
on, with good intentions or not, may well not be the right one."
Gohegi nodded, as they walked through the seemingly
infinite twists and turns of this ship's passageways. "Still,"
he countered, "He is a man of honor. He deserves better than
this."
They finally reached what appeared to be a room at the end
of this long and winding corridor. The door opened as they came
near, revealing a chamber with standing room for about four or 5
people. "Yes, he does. I just hope the worst-case scenario
doesn't pan out. Not even Yousho is certain if that is what has
happened or not." They both stepped inside, and Hishima hit a
couple of keys on the left side. The door slid shut, and both
felt a sudden uplifting movement. "Still, the idea that Tenchi
could be..."
"I know." Gohegi sighed, expressing the bitterness of his
thoughts, "Ryouko, that cute girl Sasami..."
"Yes. Them as well." Their eyes had been focused on the
door of the lift, but now they moved on their own, and focused on
each other. "This," Hishima stated, voicing both their inner
thoughts, "is frightening shit."
Gohegi nodded yet again. "So tell me," Hishima's eyebrows,
such as they were, shot up in a silent question, "Why didn't Yumi
just teleport me directly to the bridge?"
"Probably to allow us this time to speak." Hishima
clarified.
"Ah."
"That, and..."
"And?"
"Well..." Hishima looked away, his hands at his sides,
fiddling with his own obsidian colored cloak. He almost seemed
embarrassed. "I think Mistress Yumi really HAS been watching too
many of the videos Ms. Minagi left here during our various
meetings." It was Gohegi's turn for his eyebrows to shoot up,
"You know, a few of the Samurai movies, a few of the giant mecha
animes, and even a few magical girl shows. I think she's taking
this mysterious head of a conspiracy a bit too seriously."
Hishima watched Gohegi look to the ceiling and whisper a
couple of words of prayer to the patron deity of his order,
knowing full well that most gods got their kicks out of how much
hell they could put their followers through before they finally
achieved whatever it was they set out to do. Which was actually
a lot better than those gods who loved to spoil their creations.
Normally those peoples were wiped out of existence by the
combined effort of the surrounding races due to the abnormally
high saccharine content of peace and love coming from said star
system. This usually had the effect of decreasing the cases of
terminal diabetes in those surrounding systems, which was
considered to be a good thing. On the down side the insulin
suppliers really hated it when their market was eviscerated like
that, but you just can't please everyone.
Gohegi then crossed his arms before him, looked directly at
Hishima, a slight frown on his face, and asked "So...we're going
to die then?"
"Yep, we're going to die. It's probably going to hurt a
lot too."
"Asahi is going to be rather angry with me, I'm afraid."
"Cheer up my friend," Hishima said as the doors opened, "If
you die, she'll soon meet you to beat your ass for all eternity.
What more could you want?" Turning he went walked into the
bridge of the ship, which had been modified to look like a
technologically advanced version of the war room where the Round
Table of Camelot resided. Strangely, or perhaps not so
strangely, this was close to truth of the matter.
Gohegi muttered as he followed Hishima, "But I don't want
to get my ass beat after dying painfully."
In the chair at the end furthest from him, he saw Yumi hard
at work pointing things out on the various sized and shaped holo-
screens to an elderly gentleman in a white gi, and baby blue
Hakama. Looking up from the screens he adjusted his glasses and
waved a greeting at the two who entered.
"Greetings Yousho!" The elderly gentleman reached out and
grabbed Gohegi's proffered hand as he came close. "Has our
hostess not strung you up and verified your freedom of will
again?"
Yumi looked up from her hyper fast typing, yet not
stopping, "Keep that up, and I'll string ^�you- up on general
principles."
Yoshou's hands seemed to itch toward strangling the furry
little scientist, "Yes. According to her, I'm still not being
manipulated against my will for any reason."
"She teased you with a donut again, didn't she." Gohegi
said after a long moment of watch Yoshou trying to restrain
himself from doing her bodily harm.
"Yeah, she did." Hishima answered for him. "It was pretty
pathetic too, seeing a grown man begging for a taste of that
sweet sugary goodness."
Yoshou twitched again, seeming to want to rend flesh and
tear bone. And to think this was the serene caretaker of the
Misaki shrine, but like anyone else...push the right buttons and
he'd want to maim and destroy^�starting with most of the peoples
of the cosmos. "It is not...pleasant." He growled out. "To be
made to want something like that, just to see how the mind
reacts, and that just to see if I am not under the influence of
anything, but myself. I'd ask that you not ridicule me in this."
Hishima blanched momentarily, "Yes I...I'm sorry. I
was...trying to make light of it...forgive me." he bowed
slightly.
"Enough!" All eyes turned toward Yumi. "I assume we have
all our greetings and jokes...even mine...out of the way?" Her
eyes roved each of them, noting no dissent and stopping on
Gohegi, "Good. I know you want answers, and you'll get them.
Minagi will be here soon. We need to wait for her." She
gestured around her, "Please, all of you, have a seat."
Each took a chair around the 'Round Table,' shifting and
moving slightly as the sofa's fit themselves to each and every
curve of their bodies to optimize comfort and stability.
Funny thing was, precisely fifty-one percent of Sealy
Posturpedic's stock (that's a controlling percentage) was owned
and managed by Yumi. The other forty-nine percent was owned by
one Washuu Hakubi. Nobody really knew why, and to be honest,
were afraid to ask either of them.
"Don't worry Gohegi. I left a message for your wife,
telling her that I borrowed you for a bit...oh, don't give me
that look. C'mon...you look like a drowned rat!"
"She's going to kill me." He slumped down heavily in his
chair, "Worse...she's going to divorce me for this..."
"Well...if we're successful, or the worst is not the case,
then she'll be alive to do that. That has to be worth something,
doesn't it?" Yoshou asked.
"It's the only reason I agreed to this." A glance at Yumi
when a red blinking light appeared next to her, "Ms. Minagi here
yet?"
"Actually...no, that's the microwave." She grinned amidst
the tossed up arms and rolled eyes, "Heh, just kidding. She just
came out of hyperspace. Give me a moment; I'll bring her over."
Another small holoscreen appeared next to her, and keying in a
few sequences on the board of solidified light, a young girl
appeared in the last of the chairs, her shock of spiked out blue-
gray hair swirling over her face as she unceremoniously landed on
her well formed bottom with an 'ooof.'
Scrambling to a more comfortable position she brushed her
hair behind her, revealing a face that would be the very
definition of sexy, if it weren't for that innocently petulant
look on it. Her cheeks sported a single hash mark on both sides;
her eyes were piercing, golden, and quite cat-like. With a huff
she straightened out her white bodysuit with the red trim, not
for a second releasing her gaze which had settled into what could
only be described as a 'cute' glare.
"Something vexing you, Minagi?"
"How many times have I asked you to be more careful when
you teleport me Yumi?"
Yumi tapped one button causing all her current screens to
vanish, "It's no fun that way. In any event..." she gestured,
and the bridge went completely dark, except for a solar chart
that appeared above the table casting a luminescence that just
barely highlighted everyone's features. It was a single yellow
star. Five planets orbited it, each world having anywhere from
one to half a dozen moons in any range of sizes. "This is the
Sentinel Prime system. One of the systems outlying the Youma
protectorate," the three outer worlds were magnified and lit up
as Yumi pointed to each, "Primus, Prima, and Prime Nova. These
were the inhabited worlds of this system."
"They're beautiful." Minagi breathed.
"Indeed, they -were- beautiful," she corrected.
"Were?" Gohegi asked.
Yumi nodded, "Yes. As of the early morning, galactic
standard time, this is what happened."
The planets shrunk down and took their normal places in the
hologram, but what happened next, none of them were prepared for.
The sun suddenly flashed so bright, all but Yumi (who had put on
a darkened visor) had been forced to turn away from the scene.
When it finally cleared enough so that they might see again, they
watched the atomized remnants of the system be gather together
once again. Instead of creating another stellar mass however,
they seemed be drawn inside of a hole of nothing where once the
core of the star resided. Within minutes nothing remained.
Yoshou was the first to speak after a long pause,
"So...what just happened?" He remembered immediately after his
question, whom it was he was talking to, and what she would
likely say if he didn't add, "Other than it's annihilation of
course."
She seemed mildly disappointed she didn't get to answer
with the obvious quip, but she did begin to explain. "Well,
actually it's more like what you didn't see here. This is only
what is known to the Galaxy Police and your mot...err..."
"Go ahead and say it." Yoshou said, "We all know what she
really is." Everyone tried unsuccessfully to stifle a snicker.
"Anyway," she continued between giggles, "Heh, and your
mother, Yoshou." She produced a glass of water from thin air,
took a drink, and sent it back to whatever subspace pocket she
pulled it from, "What I know is this: These planets were dead
before this happened." Her gathering looked suitably puzzled,
but was content to let her continue figuring she'd get to the
point eventually. "Drained. All life energy sucked away and
taken elsewhere." A chart, showing wavelengths and energy
patterns appeared in place of the now nonexistent solar system.
"I'm sure you can all recognize this pattern. It was what the
life-force power was sent out as."
Minagi and Yoshou murmured a few choice words to
themselves; Gohegi did as well, but also had a few things that
occurred to him. "So why blow up the whole system if that was
already taken? Why take life energy to begin with? Why would
the third one need it?"
"Yes, and why the Youma?" Minagi added.
"I have a few theories," Yumi chuckled without humor, "but
I'm afraid I have no way to confirm them. After all Minagi, your
father's files, while quite enlightening, were a tad short on the
specifics. But then, how would he know? This recent development
has forced us to up the timetable. We have to find out what's
going on, and right now. Before that happens to someone we care
about, be it intentional or not." She hesitated for a moment,
her long ears twitching madly, "Also, a few days ago I came
across, or should I say, tracked down something that might give
us the answers we need. I was hoping for more time, but..." She
began to fiddle with her clothing and mutter to herself.
"Judging by your tone, Ms. Yumi, this is not something that
you are all that certain about." Yoshou observed, stating what
was obvious to all, "But if it will help us to shed light on what
is happening, would it not be better to find out now, rather than
when it's too late?"
"Yes. However..." she floundered, "Damnit! Hishima,
c'mon! We'll show them, then they'll understand!"
He rose from his chair and inclined his head, "Of course
Mistress Yumi." Taking his cue from her, he mentally activated a
teleportation sequence to move the group from the bridge to one
of the many labs within this vessel.
This one was a large and well lit perfectly square room.
Panels and blinking lights decorated all four walls, yet the
sound made in this room was practically nonexistent, save for
what the recent arrivals made. The thing that stood out most
about this place was the black cylinder in the center of the
room. It was a bit larger than a tall man, and had wires and
tubes running all along it's outer edge. Despite the neatness of
the cabling in general, it was quite obvious with all the
adapting connectors and even some welding beads; Yumi had just
recently attached this thing directly to her equipment in this
room.
"Now...I'm going to let Hishima open this thing so you can
see who's in it. I'm sure most of you recognize this as some
sort of stasis pod, albeit, more advanced than anything you've
likely ever seen before. I'm going to ask...that whatever you
see, you stay in control of yourselves. Believe me, if you think
you're prepared for what this is, you are wrong in the worst
way." With that she nodded once to Hishima, who had already
taken position beside the capsule. He touched a single button on
the makeshift console that connected to the container and stepped
away to clear the view. The front of the stasis pod began to
open slowly. Inside was a clear tube gold liquid, which bubbled
and moved around the wires and tubes attached to...
<Metallica - The Call of Cthulu>
"Fucking..." Gohegi transformed, shredding the sleeves of
his robe as the blades on his forearms popped out. With a
frustrated jerk he pulled the remainder of the garment off his
body.
Neither Minagi nor Yoshou had made a sound, yet their
movements were faster than thought. Yoshou stood at the ready, a
wooden pommel adorned by two red gems in his hands. Pure blue
energy formed the blade of this sword. Minagi had pulled a more
traditional sword from subspace with her left hand and formed a
blade of crimson energy in her right.
"Be at ease all. He is not yet awake, nor will he wake
until we wish it to be so." Hishima explained in the most
soothing voice he could muster.
This seemed to placate Minagi and Yoshou who promptly
disarmed, but not Gohegi. "What is THAT doing here?!" he
demanded. "Do you realize who that is?! What he has done?!"
"Yes," Yumi answered simply. "And then some."
"And you haven't destroyed him yet?!"
"No."
An aura of energy sprang up around Gohegi, his normal
serene demeanor lost; rage taking its place. "Why?" He asked
putting the kind of hatred in that question that has been
responsible for the genocide of whole galaxies, right down to the
last little subatomic microbe.
"He probably has the answers we seek. And if you'd calm
yourself and THINK about it, I'm sure you'd realize why." Yumi
looked at him in pity, "Listen, I know what he did, to your
people especially Gohegi, but I'm pretty sure we're going to NEED
him. Whatever the information he has, we'll know more than we
did before. Maybe enough so we'll know how to keep your new
family safe! And if he has none...well, it will be an easy
enough thing to kill him. Believe me, I would not release THAT
if I didn't already have some controls in place. Not the least
of which is you, me, Hishima, Minagi, and Yoshou there!"
Gohegi relaxed, but did not lose his scowl, "He should be
dead. Why isn't he dead?"
"Yeah right. Like he, of all beings in the cosmos,
wouldn't have prepared for something like that. I'm just
surprised no one else went looking for his backup plan." Yumi
shook her head and muttered something about stupid and smart
people to herself, "This is the kind of thing that gets the
heroes of stories killed later on. Good thing for them, there
are geniuses like me who refuse to take things for granted."
"So are you going to revive him, or are we going to sit
here and discuss our feelings on the subject? Believe me, I'm
not too thrilled with this either, but the clock is ticking."
Minagi pointed out.
Everyone turned toward Yoshou, "What? The choice is clear.
Find out what he knows, and if it's nothing, kill him, and
continue on as before. If it's something, we get it out of him,
and figure out what we'll do with him later."
Then everyone turned back to Gohegi, whose face continued
to darken as it looked on at the pod. Still he thought, if he
has any information, any at all...to keep my beloved safe I'd
deal with the Devil, himself. It looks like that is exactly what
I'm going to have to do. "Do it," he said finally.
Yumi nodded toward Hishima again. As before he touched a
single button on the same control panel. This time the behind
the tube's translucent inner casing, the gold fluid began to
bubble violently as it drained out. Activity was seen on various
holoscreens that sprung up around Yumi, which registered
increasing vital signs such as heartbeat, breathing, brainwave
activity, and others that only had meaning to her. The tube
split down the center and pulled away at the sides with a
mechanical hiss; the ever widening crack spitting out steam and
excess fluid. Human hands clutched at the seams, steadying the
rest of the body they were attached to. On wobbly legs, he pulled
himself out of the pod, nearly slipping and falling to the floor.
Not one of them lifted a finger to help him. He pulled
his long green hair to the side, and gave a friendly grin to each
and every person there.
"Well well..." he managed to croak out. Chuckling slightly
he reached out and pulled very small specs from nothing and put
them on the bridge of his nose where they rested comfortably,
"Look at all those who came to see the resurrection of Kagato.
How utterly..." sharks couldn't smile this wide, "amusing."
<End Theme ^� Van Halen ^� Dreams>