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. ^_^ I'd also like to thank all those that helped me out writing this fic, like the folks on Dalnet's #TenchiFF channel, my lovely girl friend, Morgan Hudson, and anyone else I might have forgotten. Heh. 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 "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. Her gaze was somehow locked onto a single screen 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. 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. Idly her taller associate wondered if the lack of a backrest was good for her posture. As if to prove his point, she stretched out, causing her back to give several loud pops as it realigned itself before she asked, "Ever had 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 the-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 tresses within his own hair as it was equally long. Adding another dimension of difficulty was moving so as not to poke her with the curved bone blade-like protrusions that jutted out dangerously from the back of his forearms. One false move and she'd be a few limbs short, or have a hole through her body where she definitely did not need one if she wanted to continue living. 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, losing much of its bulk, though he was still no small man. Finally the claws on his fingers and toes, as well as the bone-blades on his 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. Yoshou 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 five people. "Yes, he does. I just hope the worst-case scenario doesn't pan out. Not even Yoshou 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 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 Yoshou!" 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 Posturepedic'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 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 its 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, "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 that which 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 filled with a gold liquid, which bubbled and moved around the wires and tubes attached to... "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. 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 blue 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."