By David R. Nolen Heaven and Eternity by K'thardin Standard disclaimer: Megatron and Galvatron would kick ass together. Anyway same drill I don't own these guys (except what I made). If any of you lawyer types out there have a problem with this don't bother suing I have no money. Better yet go watch the OVA's if you get the urge to sue, it would be a better use of your time anyway. Authors Forward: Ever notice how much a lot of Fanfics about this series look like Mortal Kombat? What I mean is here you have a bunch of gods using a bunch of mortals to do their work. And the entire situation is most likely going to be settled by those mortals fighting it out. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few Elder Gods out their watching Tokimi, Tsunami, and Washuu right now enforcing some set of rules only they could understand. Anyway my fanfics are going to be a little different in that category, as they are going to be decided somewhat by...what the hell am I doing? I'd ruin it if I told you. This story has nothing to do with any of that. In fact it's pretty short when compared to the others. I call my latest installment... Nightmares "So tell me; when does everyone stop complaining, and someone starts doing something meaningful about it?" -Russell Loyd Cross The Old Man sunk heavily down in his chair and considered the information on the screen before him. So that's all there is anywhere huh? There are gaps in this a mile wide. Too much is missing for me to pass on to Cyraqs. Why can't the lady be more forthcoming with the information? Pretty soon it won't even matter. A shifting of the space behind him and a powerful yet familiar energy signature told him he was no longer alone. "Hello." he greated the presence without even looking at it. "What can I do for you?" "You can tell me why you are searching so hard for any information about us." the presense replied in a soft female voice. He turned then and looked at her. "Because after this is over both Tenchi and Cyraqs are going to need to now the truth. It is owed to them. You especially owe them this Achika." The scene shifts and you see a young woman with siver free flowing hair and red eyes; clothed in a Kimono of purples and white and no shoes. On her face is a very disapproving expression. "What is owed them is beside the point. When I came to you for help you said you would do so without asking questions. Especially when I showed you the dangers that the universe faced in the future." He smiled at her wryly. "Yes I did. I said I wouldn't ask you any questions. I never said anything about trying to find shit out on my own." She increased her frown by a factor of a thousand; he ignored it. "So far I have found some very interesting things, and if half of them are true you four goddesses have made a major mess of things." His entire demenor changes to deadly serious; still keeping his smile. "Because of that, if we win, they are going to need this information if they are going to clean up the mess..." he punctuates his next remark by pointing his finger at her, "You four have made." He lowers his hand and continues staring at her. "And if you're too embarassed or cowardly to tell them the truth about themselves, I am not." His power starts glowing in a soft red aura around him. "And I would suggest you not try to stop me. You know what I am. Not even you can take me." She considers all this and looks at the floor. Perhaps in shame, perhaps in anger. Whatever the reason she made a decision and looks at him in a grudging acceptance. "Even I don't know everything. I can only speculate on the others actions during this entire affair." Her voice lowers into almost a whisper at this next part. "I will give you what I know. My...son...will need to know." He nodded his head in approval. I suppose even Goddesses can grow up, he mused. Still I need more than she can give me. There is a way to get the full history, but I can only use it once. He laughed a little when he thought of it. My end is not far off, so I guess it don't really matter. Might as well ask the oracle. "I asume I am still welcome on this world." she asks hopefully. "Of course. Can't have Tokimi finding you too. That would be bad if she got all three of you. Bad enough she's zeroed the other two of your sisters." Yes, but she'll have to go through some of the most powerful beings in the universe to get them. I hope Tenchi will be finished in time. The others know something is up and are quietly preparing themselves. When the time comes I hope we will all be ready. He smiled suddenly; this is getting real fun. It was night. No moon, but the stars in the sky were particularly bright this night. It was also cold. The kind of cold that says I should snow, but I'm not going to just to piss you off. All this meant nothing to the short bearded man who was walking outside, for lack of anything better to do. He took another puff on his smoke, and pondered the many things that were going on in his life. My brother said everything is in place. As soon as the last players make their entrance, that little (rather that very large) bit of our life is done. Just sit back and watch the fireworks. Tokimi and her group of cosmic beings haven't really made any moves toward these people recently. Moving that entire galaxy was a neat trick, but futile against one such as I. Man now I'm starting to sound like one of those really weird cosmic god types you read in Marvel Comics. She still hasn't mentioned what precisely they are after here, not that I've heard anyway. I mean she has no army in the traditional sense of the word, so that kind of conquest is out of the question. Perhaps she is after something altogether different? But what if she does have an army somewhere; what then? Damnit, I wish I could leave a recording device there or even a transmitter, but there is too much chance it will be discovered. Guess I'll have to get lucky. He entered the Misaki home almost absently; throwing his smoke into atomic particles before entering. Inside he continued his musings. Tenchi's progress is amazing! It'll be summer some time when he'll be ready for the final lesson. Already he's beginning to change; his being adapting to the demands that he puts on it. He's going to sleep later and getting up earlier; his appetite is beginning to dwindle; and I don't think he's even noticed yet, but he rarely breaths now. And the amount of power he can safely hold is increasing exponentially. Soon, very soon. He floated up to the top of the rafters; where Ryouko slept. Strange girl, he thought, but I still love her. He noticed she had kicked part of her covers off and was curled up into a ball. Kind of like a cat, he thought before he reached over and covered her up again. He watched as she stretched out again and actually began to purr. He wondered what she would do if he started petting her. That thought cause him to laugh silently, and floated back down to floor level. He began to walk up the stairs, not even making them squeak as he walked. He quietly scanned the house making sure all was well inside. An old friend of his once told him that he was paranoid at times. He replied by saying to her that it was only around people he gave a damn for that he was paranoid. She responded by kissing him quite thoroughly and jokingly called him her hero! There was a thought. The awareness he had touched when he scanned this world was still here. The echo's that marked its passage were all around, but other than that, he could find no trace of his long time friend. She was good at remaining invisible, he gave her that, then again I was the one who taught her. Still it's only a matter of time I suppose. Probably doing something I'm not supposed to know about. All in good time; I'm very patient. He reached the end of the hallway, and was about to shift his presence into his mom's lab when he suddenly felt a faint psychic emanation. Tracing it's source he found it came from the room that Ayeka and Sasami shared. Curious he walked over and quietly opened the door. Inside he saw Drakhenn (he had been surprised the first night when he found his scaly student at the foot of Sasami's bed asleep) looking at Sasami with a concerned expression. On mirrored by Ryo-ohki (who also slept with Sasami; she attracts things like that, you see) and her sister Ayeka. Obviously the little one was having some sort of nightmare; who was also strangely enough, the source of the psychic emanation. He silently walked into their room. Ayeka looked up as he entered, but quickly turned her attention back to Sasami. Her expression was one of sisterly concern, worry, and helplessness. He sat down on the opposite side of Sasami and asked her a question. "This happen a lot?" Ayeka didn't take her eyes off Sasami when she answered. "Yes. Ever since she was a small child." She paused briefly and took a deep breath. "But for some reason they've been getting worse." She looked up at him, scarlet eyes pleading. "Is there nothing you can do?" He considered it momentarily. In the realm of dreams my powers are second only to the lord of that realm. Normally it would be easy enough to quiet nightmares, but this doesn't feel like a normal dream. He heard her utter a small cry of terror in her sleep; making up his mind immediately as concern for her overrode anything else. "I will do everything in my power." he promised; Ayeka looked at him gratefully. Taking a deep breath (which in itself was weird since he didn't breath), and adjusting his ever-present sunglasses (don't ask me why he has them, you'll find out later), he reached out with his mind and touched hers. Instantly he was dragged inside. * There was devastation all around. He couldn't really see it per se, but it was definitely there. Everywhere; not one part of the universe was untouched by whatever had caused this. He took a better look and noticed the bodies that floated by occasionally. Yes, they are very dead, he thought. There has obviously been one hell of a war here. He scanned the dead and stopped in shock when he recognized a few of them. His friends, his brothers, his fellows were all dead. I know what this is now; I have to find how Sasami fits into all this. If it can be said a dream can have borders it can be said that he scanned the entire area of the dream. He found her very quickly; a mass in the bodies shifted and rose to challenge her. It was Tenchi and he looked like he had seen better days. But Sasami...she didn't look like herself at all. She was older, he'd give her around seventeen years now, but that wasn't the problem. It was the combination of tortured horror and maniacal glee on her face. Something was forcing her to do these horrible things; somehow he felt that she was responsible for all this destruction. What could make her..? That presence within her what is it? He looked at her with eyes only a being like him possessed; what he saw horrified him. TOKIMI! He mentally screamed. She made you do all this?! Where did even she get this kind of power? He then saw Tokimi force Sasami to accept Tenchi's challenge and attack. Tenchi struck back with the full powers that would one day be available to him, but even that wasn't enough. She beat him, easily. As he fell she caught him and held him close to her. He felt her reach inside the core of Tenchi's very being twisting it; changing it to conform to Tokimi's perverted view of what it should be. That could not be done...unless it was something he wanted deep in his soul. Considering who had done it, Tenchi probably would let her. It was over in a second, and he stood now, proudly, by her side; obviously some sort of...consort for Tokimi. He saw himself then and someone else, the last of the Universes defenders, approach them about to engage in a battle. Tears in his eyes, he attacked them as did the other being. It was a battle he knew they wouldn't win. Cyraqs', the real Cyraqs', power flared around him in anger. This will end! *ENOUGH!* he cried. The power and force of his command staggered the dream; warping it, distorting it until it finally collapsed all around him; leaving only blackness and one terrified nine-year old little girl. Instantly at her side, he gathered her into a tight embrace. He wondered about what he had seen, but this was more important. "It's alright. I'm here. This isn't real. It'll be o.k. " he repeated over and over, as she clutched him tightly and poured forth wave after wave of anguish. "Do you mean it?" she asked him between sobs. He responded by holding her even tighter. "Yes. I won't let anything happen to you." "Do you really mean it?" The voice was the same, yet different, deeper, older, more mature. He suddenly realized that he wasn't holding a little girl anymore. He pulled back in surprise to stare in the face a very distraught, very beautiful woman. He knew her. In fact her knew her quite well. Tsunami! That explains a lot, he thought, but he had more immediate concerns. Pulling her back into his arms he gave her a promise; the same one he had given her thousands of years ago, when she asked him a similar question. "On my life. On my soul." He continued to hold her until she cried herself out. After a time she pulled herself back from him. Pulling his glasses off she looked into the eyes of he who was her best friend, and had at times been much more (Animation note: the camera doesn't let you see his eyes). Putting on his best smart-ass act he grinned at her slightly. "My, you look a fright don't you. "Asshole!" she laughed and cried at the same time. "I suppose you are wondering about this, aren't you?" "The circumstances, yes. The specifics, no. I'm not quite that dense." He said this as he trace the outline of her face with his finger tips, a sign of affection his father had always shown him. She knew this very well and smiled at the familiar gesture. "Well you are pretty dense about things like this." she commented, "I mean, I thought you would figure it out after at least the second day." He rubbed a couple of her stray tears away and replied; still in his most sarcastic tone. "Well forgive me if I don't think things like that about my friends." He turned serious then; still keeping his gentle expression. "Listen, we'll talk later. You look like you haven't slept for weeks and Sasami sure could use some untroubled sleep. Don't y..." He trailed off as he watched Tsunami drop off into a peaceful slumber. "Never mind." he smiled at her fondly. He put his glasses back on and willed a scene of open, over grown fields, and sunshine into existence. He watched in fascination as the form of Tsunami in his arms dissolved to that of Sasami. Laughing, she sprang from his arms, and began chasing lots of Ryo-ohki's and miniature dragons that had sprung from nowhere. She completely ignored him as he was now just an extraneous part of her dream. Seeing no further reason to stay, he slowly walked through a tunnel that appeared from no where and left her mind. He shook his head a little as he returned to reality. Man, need to lay off the acid. He focused his attention on Sasami, who had begun smiling in her sleep. Ayeka looked at him gratefully. "Your sister is...she has the gift of prophesy." he whispered, "Her nightmares are visions; warnings of what may come to pass." She didn't even care that her sister had this power. She was still Sasami, her sister, and would always be; no matter what. Ayeka, however, grew worried when she heard the edge of fear that was in his voice. He never seemed scared of anything, but something just managed to do just that. She mustered up the courage and asked a question. "What did she see?" "It wasn't...good." He's really scared of it! she thought. What could it have been. "It was only a possibility of what might occur. One of an infinite possible futures." Forgot he reads minds sometimes. "Can nothing be done then?" "About that future? Sure. Make sure it doesn't happen. But the visions..." he turned his gaze back to Sasami, "No. I could block the visions, but after awhile her mind would collapse under the strain. All that can really be done is be there for her." Damn, even with all my power I can't do everything. "At least tonight she will sleep without fear." He turned his gaze back to Ayeka. "Which I suggest you do as well." For some reason she felt her eyelids grow heavy and dropped immediately into a deep slumber. As he moved Ayeka to her futon he asked Drakhenn if he knew about Sasami and Tsunami. Drakhenn replied he had put it together the day they got there. Drakhenn replied, by telling him he felt that he could be able to figure it out on his own. In any case he was told not to tell Cyraqs. Cyraqs thought about pressing the issue of Drakhenn's silence, but shook his head in disgust. It wouldn't do any good anyway; he had trained the dragon too well. His own personal feelings were getting the better of him here, and taking it out on Drakhenn would be just plain wrong. Drakhenn watched the play of emotions on Cyraqs' face and laughed quietly. He figured Cyraqs would figure it out eventually, or if not Tsunami would point that out to him too. He watched Cyraqs turn his full attention to Sasami, quite obviously intending to watch her all night. Tenchi walked by the room then, and seeing Cyraqs in there he entered. Cyraqs looked up and saw a question in his student's face. He made a motion of his head toward Sasami in explanation. Tenchi understood and sat down opposite of her; exactly where Ayeka had been sitting minutes ago. He too would watch her for the night. Ryo-ohki had finally settled down and snuggled back into Sasami; asleep as well. Drakhenn briefly considered the forces that now surrounded the little girl (he counted himself among them, mind you) and concluded that he would feel very sorry for anything that ever threatened her. Figuring all was well now, he too settled down and lost consciousness. Cyraqs watched Sasami breathe and smile in her slumber. Sleep, he told her silently, sleep and never fear that I will not be here to protect you. End 5 Authors Afterward: An interesting little interlude if I do say so myself (and I do). Well what do you think? Questions? Comments? Constructive Criticisms? I'm at nolendr@boxer.navy.mil.