Back to Tsunami.  Just for extra confusion, I've added a third
set of quote characters.  <> represents Grid communication, []
represents character thought, and "" is dialogue.  (It's Perl fanfic!)
	Anyhow.  http://www.bloodgod.com/smgray/index.html for all
related materials.  Comments, as always, are greatly appreciated.  Have
fun!

Django Wexler (khaine)
khaine@mindless.com

khaine: oh...and I've learned to pronounce =(
Grruel: really?
khaine: yeah
khaine: sounds like this:
khaine: =(

Chapter Ten
    Tsunami
 

    I dreamed of a Senshi without a face.

    Without any features at all, in fact.  The uniform hung like a tent
on a figure that was more mannequin than human.  I watched her fighting,
chopping and kicking at a numberless horde of shadows.  Every one she
touched was struck down, and every time two more sprang up to take their
place, pressing around the silent figure like moths circling a flame.

    "Allegory again, right?"

    "Of course."  In my dreams, the voice sounded as though he were
standing right behind me.  I desperately wanted to turn and see his
face, but of course I couldn't really move at all.  Dreams are like
that.

    "So this represents what?"

    "The ultimate fate that awaits you.  Us.  A war that we cannot win
and don't dare to lose."

    "Gods.  You're cheery."

    "Happiness is not in my nature.  Nor, I think, in yours."

    I paused.  "Look, mysterious voice..."

    He didn't bother to reply.

    "I don't like this.  I haven't liked this from the beginning.  But
obviously not liking it isn't going to change anything.  So we're going
to have to get along."

    Still no response.

    "So the first thing you need is a name."

    Despite not having a physical form, the voice managed to indicate
its indifference.

    "Fine.  I'm going to call you Mr. Hyde, then, since you're my alter
ego."

    "I am not your alter ego.  I am a force far too powerful for you to
understand, embodied in the personality construct in order to
communicate."

    "Mr. Hyde."

    "It is of no relevance."

    Did I detect a hint of irritation?  Probably not.  "Next.  We should
exchange goals.  I want Kyoko and I to remain alive and reasonably
intact.  There's more, but that'll do for now.  What about you?"

    "The liberation of the Earth from the Sa'an."

    "You're kidding."

    "No."

    "And who's going to accomplish this?  Just me?"

    "You will have allies."

    "Oh, good.  Do they include another alien race with bigger guns?"

    "No."

    "I didn't think so."

    "They are people like yourself.  Senshi."

    "So.  A little gang of high school girls versus the intergalactic
armies of doom, huh?  Don't you think that's a bit unfair?  Maybe we
should give them some warning, or only one of us should fight at a time,
or something.  Wouldn't want anyone to accuse us of being unsporting."

    "You are being sarcastic."

    "Of course I'm being sarcastic!"  I tried to calm down.  "Look, I
don't care what twinkly powers you give me.  We're outnumbered a million
to one!"

    "Incorrect.  If you can assemble them all, four Senshi remain.  The
Sa'an have slightly fewer than three million Legionnaires on this world.
Thus, you are outnumbered roughly seven hundred and fifty thousand to
one."

    "Oh, good.  When do I start?"

    "Now."

    "Listen up, Hyde.  We are the prisoners of the Sa'an.  They can do
whatever they want to me, or to Kyoko.  So in keeping with my goal of us
staying alive as long as possible, we're going to do whatever they want
us to.  Okay?"

    "That is not acceptable.  We must escape--"

    "We're not going to escape!  At least not yet.  Not until we have a
much clearer idea of what's going on.  And until then, I don't want any
problems from you, and I want answers when I ask for them."

    "You will have a difficult time threatening me."

    "I don't think I will.  Because if you screw up, I'll end up getting
killed.  And you can't have that, since you're apparently along for the
ride."

    "You won't.  It is not in the nature of humans to seek
self-destruction."

    "You don't know humans very well, do you?"

    The world started to fade.  If Hyde replied, I didn't hear it.

 

    My awakening was remarkably free of pain.  I reveled in the blessed
few seconds before remembering the circumstances under which I'd lost
consciousness.  I was pleased, too, with the direction that my dreams
had taken.  I was taking charge.  Admittedly, what I was taking charge
*of* was a strange inner voice that was probably a hallucination, but it
represented progress of a kind.  I opened my eyes.

    "Tsunami?"

    Kyoko's expression slowly swam into focus.  She'd looked better --
her face was pale, eyes red from crying.  Somehow it seemed unreal.
Kyoko never broke down, and I can't count the times I'd cried myself to
sleep in her arms, after some of Ryu's worse escapades.  I tried to
speak, and found my lips barely mobile.

    "G...good morning..."

    She smiled, weakly, and shook her head.

    "Water, p...please..."

    I drained the glass that was pushed into my shaking hand and felt
much better, good enough to sit up in what turned out to be a hospital
bed of some design.  I assumed from the black-on-black d�cor that we
were still onboard the Sa'an ship, in whatever passed for a sickbay in
the Empire.  Kyoko was sitting on a stool by the bedside, and a pair of
the omnipresent black-armored guards stood by the door.  Other than them
-- and as I was quickly coming to learn, on the Sa'an ships guards
counted as 'furniture' rather than 'company' -- we were alone in a room
big enough to sleep maybe twelve.  More of the big beds were spaced out
in a regular patterns, and sets of drawers built into the walls
presumably held necessary medical equipment.  

    "This," I said eventually, "is getting to be a bad habit."

    "What?"

    "One of us watching over the other while she wakes up from being
nearly dead.  Let's not do this again, okay?"

    Kyoko nodded.  "Good plan."

    "So."  I paused.  "Fill me in."

    "What do you remember?"

    "I remember Sailor Jupiter using me as a punching bag.  And then..."
I paused.  I *did* remember something after that, but it was blurry --
the feeling of comforting weight dropping into my hands, and really
moving for the first time.  By contrast, raising my arm now felt like I
had lead weights tied to every joint.  "Not much."

    "Jupiter was trying to get you to use your powers for the first
time."  Kyoko sounded excited, which I thought was a little unfair given
the circumstances.  "I tried to stop her, but they held on to me.  And
then just when it looked like they were going to kill you...you
just...changed."

    "Changed?"

    "Into one of them.  Into a Sailor Senshi."

    I groaned.  "I was afraid of that."

    "There was a big flash of sparkling lights, and then you were
wearing that strange uniform."  Here she had the decency to blush, and I
shook my head.  Obviously modesty was not intended to be a Senshi's long
suit.

    "Then what?"

    "Then Jupiter ordered some of the guards to grab you.  It was a
test, I think, she was testing you.  And..."

    "And?"

    Kyoko took a deep breath.  "You cut them to ribbons, with your
swords.  As though the armor wasn't even there."

    "I..."  I looked down at my hands.  They looked relatively normal.
"I did that?"

    "It wasn't your fault, though!"  Kyoko grabbed one of my hands in
hers.  "Believe me, I was watching.  It was like you were someone else."

    Someone else.  I thought about Mr. Hyde.  But I could remember
fighting the guards, remember the slight resistance as razor-sharp
blades carved flesh and bone.

    "Please, Tsunami."  To my astonishment, there were tears in her eyes
again.  

    "It's okay."  I took a deep breath.  "Then what?"

    "Jupiter told them to cut you off, or something, and the
transformation just faded away.  It probably has something to do
with...you know.  That thing."  She gestured to the back of her neck,
and I brought up a hand to feel the back of mine.  The black knob was
there, hard and smooth.  But I knew somehow that Kyoko was wrong.

    [She *is* wrong.]  Mr. Hyde again.

    [So they can't 'cut me off'?]

    [No.  I exist entirely inside you.  The device they put in to sever
your connection to the guardian power will not be effective.]

    [So what happened back there?]

    [You ended the transformation yourself.]          

    I nodded.  It was, on the whole, a good thing.  If the Sa'an decided
that I couldn't be controlled, things would probably go worse for me.

    "And then I passed out?"

    "Presumably from the beating Jupiter gave you."  She paused.  "Are
you okay?  For a second there I thought she was going to kill you."

    I touched my stomach and my side with a wince, but the pain was much
less than I feared.  Raising my shirt a bit revealed bruises already
faded to a faint yellow.

    "It looks like I'm fine.  Not sure how, though."

    [Being a Senshi has its advantages.  One of them is accelerated
healing.]

    [Thanks for tipping me off.]

    "So now what, Tsunami?"  Kyoko crossed her arms on the edge of the
bed and laid her head on them.  She looked tired.  It was an exhaustion
I didn't share -- lying in bed for who-knew-how-long had done wonders
for my stamina.

    "We wait, I think."  I waved a hand vaguely.  "I can only assume
someone's listening to us, so I'll be honest.  I don't think we have
much of a choice but to do what they want us to do."

    The door hissed open, and Kyoko jumped involuntarily.  I turned to
face the small group that had appeared.

    "We never have to wait very long, do we?"

    Kyoko shook her head mutely.  Sailor Jupiter was there, her
expression carefully blank.  I suddenly remembered her whispered apology
and wondered if it had been a figment of my half-dead imagination.  She
was accompanied by three guards, as well as a figure in dull black armor
-- the same one, or another, I couldn't tell.  But in front of all of
those--

    "Kaia?"  

    She nodded briskly.  "Vice-Commander Kaia, actually.  You're
Tsunami, right?"

    I nodded numbly.  This was the woman I'd seen so many times in the
television broadcasts, the woman I'd looked up to.  The woman I'd wanted
to *be*.  To have her here, by my bedside, seemed almost ludicrous.  We
were just a couple of captives, right?  Why should the Vice-Commander
come to see us herself?

    [You are not just ordinary captives, and they know it.]

    The voice, as ever, provided a nasty explanation.  [I don't know if
I like the sound of that.]

    The Vice-Commander, in the flesh, looked almost exactly as she had
in the broadcasts.  She was a trim, attractive woman, maybe five years
older than me, with an honest-looking face and silvery hair down to her
shoulders.  Her clothes were black, of course, tight-fitting and
designed for convenience rather than appearance.

    Kaia must have noticed my stare; she looked down at herself for a
second.  "Is something wrong?"

    That snapped me back into reality.  "N...no.  I've just seen you so
often on television, you know, and now..."

    "I see."  She looked a bit surprised, as though this had genuinely
not occurred to her.  "I suppose I'm sort of famous down there, aren't
I."

    "You're the only Imperial whose face we've ever seen.  It's bound to
leave an impression."

    She nodded, and almost smiled.  Her expression hardened suddenly,
though, as if she'd just remembered something important.  I kept quiet.

    "So, Tsunami."  She hesitated, and I wondered what was going on.
This was hardly the perfect Sa'an military machine I'd grown used to.
"Has Jupiter...explained things to you?"

    "A little bit.  Before beating the crap out of me."  I kept my eye
on the Senshi, but she didn't even flinch.  Kaia nodded.

    "That was unfortunate, but necessary.  Our research shows that
trauma is often required to activate a guardian's power for the first
time."

    "You managed it."

    If she heard the hint of sarcasm, she didn't let on.  "Yes.
Everything has gone smoothly up until this point."

    "So now what?"

    I sat forward in the bed, eager to hear the answer.  Kyoko was
attentive, too.  Kaia looked a little overwhelmed by all the attention.
She shook her head.

    "Let me make something clear.  I am opposed to this project."

    "Project?"

    "You, and her."  She gestured at Jupiter.  "At first I thought it
was one of the Commander's mad fancies.  Now he's made it work, but
we've barely tested the possibilities.  So from the outset, let's be
clear that I don't trust you."

    I blinked.  "Okay.  Given that you kidnapped us and nearly killed
me, I don't trust you either."

    The ghost of a chuckle passed her lips before she clamped down.
"Good.  Mutual mistrust is the foundation of a healthy relationship.  As
you may have deduced, since Ashghar is the Commander and I am merely
Vice-Commander, my doubts about the project have been overruled.  You
have been assigned to me in order to complete a number of tasks, and I
intend to use you.  Understood?"

    "I think so.  You've got a mission, and I do what you say, right?"

    "More or less."

    Kyoko held up a hand.  "Question?"

    "Go ahead."  Kaia looked amused.

    "Since you've got a million of those guys"--she gestured at the
Legionnaires standing silent guard behind the Vice-Commander--"what do
you need us for?"

    "Tsunami is considerably more capable then a typical soldier.  We
sometimes have tasks that require...subtlety."

    I had my doubts about how capable I was, and all these vague
references to 'missions' and 'tasks' were making me nervous.  "What
kinds of things do you want me to do?"

    "Killing stuff, mostly."  Kaia grinned.  "If you're a typical
manifestation of the guardian force you represent, you should be highly
adapted for close-quarters combat.  We intend to make use of that."

    "Oh."  I suddenly felt very small.  Kaia misinterpreted my
expression.

    "Don't worry.  I know this is a bit new for you, but rest assured
you're quite capable of what we'll ask.  Our research is precise."

    "Okay."  I blew out a long breath.  "So when do I start?"

    "Now."  At some unseen command, one of the troopers tossed a
plastic-wrapped bundle onto the bed.  "Clothes.  You'll find cleaning
facilities through there."  A door hissed open in one wall of its own
accord.  "I'll have some food sent down before we begin.  Briefing is in
one hour."

    "An *hour*?"

    Kaia nodded.  "One last thing.  I'm going to turn on your Grid
access now.  It may take some getting used to, but make an effort.  The
Legionnaires will respond to voice commands, but Grid control is more
efficient by far.  You'll have limited command authority when the
mission begins.  If you need anything further, contact me."

    "What about me?"  Kyoko piped up.

    "What about you?"

    "What do I do?"

    Kaia shrugged.  "You're here because Tsunami wanted you along, and
as a hostage.  You'll be treated well, don't worry.  Tell one of the
soldiers if you need food or anything.  If this task goes well, we'll
get you two moved into more permanent quarters."

    "Oh."

    "See you in an hour."

    The Vice-Commander left the room, guards following her like a
shadow.  Jupiter was the last to leave, and I caught her eye before she
turned.  Her gaze was diamond-sharp.  Once the door had hissed shut
behind them, I fell back onto the bed in mock-exhaustion.

    "That was entertaining."

    "So this is how it works, huh?"  Kyoko shook her head.  "Welcome to
the Empire, here's your uniform, now kill those people over there?"

    "I don't think this is exactly a typical case."  I pointed at one of
the two guards still in the room.  "I think that's a typical case, and
frankly I'm glad it isn't us."

    "Those things still give me the creeps.  Do you think they're even
people under there?"

    "I can imagine what else they'd be."

    "I know, but still..."

    There was a hint of nervousness in both our voices, despite the
banter.  The pause brought it to the fore, stretching longer and longer
until Kyoko shifted, uncomfortably.

    "Do you think you'll be okay, on this...mission, or whatever?"

    "I should be.  Kaia seems to know what she's doing, right?"

    She nodded.  "Just...don't get killed, okay?"

    "You're not getting all sentimental on me, are you?"

    "Just logical.  If I'm a hostage to keep you under control, and you
get killed, what do you think happens to me?"

    "As long as you have a properly selfish motive."

    "Of course."

    I rolled out of the bed with a grunt, feeling stiff muscles and
bruised flesh rage in protest.  I was still wearing my school uniform,
now a day old -- or was it two?  I'd forgotten -- and matted with sweat
and blood.  My hair was a mess, a dirty tangle hanging like a lump past
my shoulders.  Stretching just brought on new pains.  Kyoko watched me,
silently.

    "All right.  Bath time."  I snagged the wrapped bundle of clothing
from the bed and headed towards the bathroom.

    "Save me some hot water."

 

    I'd expected something utilitarian from the Sa'an.  Maybe a massive
public shower, where the soldiers were sluiced down like animals, or
some sort of ultra-tech hypersonic cleaning system.  At that moment I
didn't really care; feeling clean again would be its own reward.  But
the Empire surprised me yet again.

    The bathroom was an odd combination of opulence and efficiency.
Everything was black and without decoration -- I was beginning to gather
that the Imperials apparently had a thing about colors -- but the tub
was big enough for four and was apparently made of smooth, black glass.
After a few false starts fiddling with unfamiliar equipment, I was able
to start filling the bath and find something to wash myself off with.
It was with a feeling of great relief that I stripped and tossed the
sodden school uniform in one corner.

    One of the wall panels turned silvery at a touch, and I stared at
the reflected face as if it was that of a stranger.  My eyes were
sunken, and the side of my face was still a little puffy and swollen.
The rest of my body looked okay, spattered here and there with blood and
patterns of bruises, but the black metal at the back of my neck glinted
dully.  My fingers, almost of their own accord, brushed where my skin
met the implant.  It was smooth, seamless.  I shivered in the chill air
and turned the hot water on with a wrench.

    A few glorious minutes later and I was soaking in water just below
the pain threshold, hot enough that steam rose into the cool air and
drifted like twisting snakes out on the bathroom floor.  I closed my
eyes and felt the muscles of my body relax, my shoulders popping as
tendons went limp.  The air was hot and heavy with moisture, and for a
moment I let my head sink under the water, staying down until my chest
started to throb.

    It was just as I surfaced that I felt it -- a little tickle from the
back of my neck, the feeling of motion.  Something had turned itself on
with the faintest of hums.  An instant later, my awareness expanded.

    It was as though I had been given a new sense, something beyond
sight or sound or touch.  I could feel the Legionnaires spread
throughout the ship like little points of light.  More than feel them --
I knew everything about them, their status, their current task.  A
moment of effort, and what for lack of a better word I called my point
of view zoomed in to show a blank section of corridor.  There was a
moment of panic, and I opened my eyes to find my normal vision
superimposed on this strange alternate view.  When I pulled back, it
took only a moment to realize what was going on.  I had been looking
through the eyes of a trooper outside the sickbay.

    I clamped down and tried to get my racing heart under control.  Kaia
had mentioned this, before she'd left.  The Grid, whatever that was.  At
least I now knew what the implant was for.  I poked at my new awareness
further, and found that it was limited to a small section of the ship,
just the forty or fifty guards surrounding my current position.  Beyond
that was a blank, darkness -- but not quite.  Not the sense that there
was nothing there, but the feeling that somehow there was a wall,
blocking me off.

    And, I slowly came to realize, there was something else.  A...a
presence, something huge and watchful.  Attentive.  I ran my tongue
across my lips, nervously, and then spoke.

    "Okay.  What's going on?"

    <Vocalization is not necessary.>

    The reply dropped straight into my mind, not so much a voice as a
string of text appearing in my consciousness.  I closed my eyes again
and tried to think the same way.

    <What's going on?>

    <Question too general.  Note that natural language syntax is also
unnecessary and inefficient.>

    <Who are you?>

    <Warning: Question answerable but ambiguous.  We are the natural
language parsing subsystem of Grid segment six-four-seventeen-three.>

    I sank a little deeper into the water, unsure of what to ask next.

    <Why can't I see farther?>

    <Question ambiguous but answerable in context.  Your Grid access is
level B, which permits local and mission-based asset management but
disallows general and command access.>

    <What is the Grid?>

    <General information queries are not permitted by level B access.
System help and local and mission-based asset management only.>

    "Great."  A sudden thought struck me.  <Can anyone else see me the
way I can see the soldiers?>

    <Visual access not installed in this subunit.  Location and vital
signs are available at access level D or higher.>

    I hugged my knees to my chest.  The bathroom suddenly felt full of
eyes, and the pinpoint lights of the soldiers on the Grid had turned
oppressive.  

    <Is there any way I can turn you off?>

    <Warning: Question ambiguous but answerable.  No: deactivation of a
Grid subsystem requires access level D or higher.>

    <I mean, is there any way for me to stop seeing the Grid?>

    <Yes.  Grid sensory input can be suppressed with the following
command sequence.>

    And then it was just there, in my mind.  It's hard to explain what,
exactly.  A series of thoughts?  A certain frame of mind?  Just a little
pressure, exerted in a new way.  I pressed, and the field of lights
died.

    <Sensory input shut down.>

    I sat alone in the bath, in silence.  The thing at the back of my
neck still hummed away to itself, and the near-quiet didn't seem as
welcoming as it had a minute ago.  

    "Kyoko?"  I called out, hesitantly, and her voice came muffled
through the door.

    "What?"

    Modesty was not really an issue between us.  Our families had used
the same public baths for years, back before the Arrival and before my
father had made enough money to buy our current house.  Being in a Sa'an
bath together would be weird, but being alone was worse.

    "This thing is huge!  You want to come in too?"   


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