The characters of Tenchi Muyo are the creation and possession of AIC and Pioneer --------------- Echoes In The Mist Camille Christansen echoesinthemist@angelfire.com --------------- ~~ Chapter 2 ~~ The day began with a dry, bright, icy morning. Misato woke up as early as she always did though she was sure that Akari was already awake. She could never remember one day that she saw Akari's eyes closed before she opened her own. Misato looked at her self in the mirror and quickly ran the brush through her hair. Then she slipped on some clothes and lazily started for the kitchen. Misato still felt a little sleepy, from her run last night. She walked into the kitchen slowly. Misato could feel the warmth of the sun touch her skin. The mild breeze carried the moist essence of summer. It blew through the window and played with the flowers on the counter. Like all mornings, Akari was at the stove making breakfast. Misato sat herself at the table and yawned. Her side felt so much better than last night. No doubt it would be better if she hadn't took that long run to no where. Misato tilted her head when she saw her locket on the table. It was in a box which contained several other jewelry as well as the house keys. Misato opened her locket which contained her gems. She sighed, wishing that it were an ID instead of stones. She'd give anything to know who she was and her past life. The locket was actually Akari's, given to her as a present. It was a heirloom from her great-great-great-grandmother with an old fashioned design in the front. Misato smiled, knowing how special she was to have Akari as a friend. Akari had no more family to give the heirloom to. Misato had no family either. All they had left was each other. She ran her hands over the pattern of roses and vines. "They say your darkest secrets, even the ones you don't know about, can be found through that locket. The locket is suppose to hold the key." Akari interrupted Misato's thoughts. Misato looked up in surprise. Finally she said, "That's funny. The gems are my only clue to my biggest secret: my past life." Akari joined Misato at the table. She placed the tray of food down and served herself. "Well, anyway, what I'm trying to say is that the gems tell you everything already. Misato looked at her as if she were crazy. But she had a smile showing amusement. She slipped the locket in her pocket. Then she started to help herself to the food. "Okay, go on. Impress me. I'm listening." "Look at it this way: all you have to do is find out one small little detail and the gems tell you the rest. Akari sat down and poured herself some tea. "Anyway, enough about the gems, how are you doing?" "I feel much better, actually. Are you going somewhere?" "I have to go to the grocery and a few other stores. Do you want to come?" Misato ran her hands through her brown hair as she thought. She had dyed, and straightend it two years before. Finally she answered, "Actually, there was this lake that I um... well, heard about and maybe we could go see it. We could have lunch there or something." "Sure, if that's what you want." "Great. Then we're there." * * * * * About 15 minutes later, Akari left the house. It was decided that they would meet at the shrine. Akari would be coming back to the house to fix lunch in about 2 hours. In the meantime, Misato was left to do nothing. *Boredom,* Misato decided. *has to be the worst thing in the world.* She groaned and slumped in the couch wishing Akari was there already so they could go to the lake and have the picnic and she would see Tenchi again... *Wait a minute! What the heck am I talking about?* Misato got up from the couch and started toward her bedroom. She found herself walking into the kitchen instead. There was a sweet aroma of brownies in the air. They were freshly baked by Akari much earlier that morning. Misato loved Akari's brownies. They were so sweet with a lot of chocolate. She took a bite. "Perfect." Misato started looking around the kitchen with a brownie in her hand. The kitchen was pretty much arranged. On the refrigerator, there were some magnets, a calendar and a note from Akari. "Wash de dises fa me," she read. Her mouth was full of food. "Aw, dat suks." Reluctantly, she walked to the sink and started washing. Misato was scrubbing away at a sauce when a deep purple light started glowing in a distance. She looked up, startled. The light was getting brighter. It was more like a ray, pointing at her and only her. The trees, bushes and mountains weren't being lit up at all. She peered through the window to watch it. There was something about that light... It was getting brighter. Misato wanted to tear her eyes away but she couldn't. Brighter. Purple to blue. Her hands were trembling. She felt scared for some strange reason. Brighter. Blue to green. Was she really scared or was it another feeling? Even so, she was glued to the spot. Brighter. From green to yellow to a blinding white beam of light. Her eyes widened as cold fear wound it's way through her body. She knew what it was. Brighter. Larger. *Danger!* BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMM! It was too late to react. She just herd a short soft sharp sound. It came faster than the speed of light and before she knew it the kitchen was crushed as the light exploded in the room. Glass shattered to the floor. Misato felt herself being thrown into the air. She slammed into the refrigerator. The impact caused her to cough out blood. She sunk to the floor as everything started to change into a bright blur. Then, for the second time in 24 hours, she slowly slipped into the darkness. * * * * * Misato suddenly found herself somewhere really bright. There was nothing else around. Just pure blinding white light. *Am I dead?* Misato wondered. *If I'm not, I certainly will be. Whoever is after me is just waiting to kill me. He has every opportunity but he's not doing anything. Why? Why?!* "What do you want from me!?!" Misato yelled. "Huh? What do you want!?! I'm right here! Come get me! What do you want!" "He has his reasons." A voice answered her though no one was visible. Misato froze in terror. She didn't expect anyone to answer. Especially a voice so familiar. She had heard it before but where? Where? She managed to reply, "Show yourself, coward!" As if on cue, someone appeared and started walking toward her. The figure was distant and blurry. It's kind of hard to see when bright light is surrounding you. Slowly, the figure started to show. It was a girl, no older than 13, with fiery red hair. She walked up to Misato. Misato raised her eyebrow. "And who are you?" "Oh that's not the question here. What you need to ask is: who are you?" "Well," Misato smiled sadly. "No one really seems to know." "Oh yeah, sure. No one really seems to know." The girl started to form an irritated frown on her face. "Okay, then. Listen and listen well or I promise you this: you will die." "Okay, I'm listening." "Your enemy has done it all. Destroyed galaxies, empires, rebelled, murdered, stolen, you name it. His name is Desomitsu Saito; a.k.a. Scorpion Saito. He wants you dead so badly and he'll stop at nothing." "But I'm so vulnerable. What do you want me to do?" "The most important thing right now is to remember. You have to remember. Without your memories Desomitsu will kill you for sure." "That's not possible. You are asking something I cannot grant. It is beyond my power!" "Look. This is a very very weak link. I don't know the whole story but you have to remember. I know you had amnesia and stuff but I can't retrieve everything. Not yet. Do you know how hard it was for me to have this dream message get through?!" "I don't know who you are. But I had total amnesia and there's nothing I can do to remember!" Misato snapped. "Oh? Let me enlighten you! Can I describe your life? Treacherous? Dark?" "Don't talk to me like that! I know there was a light in my life. Something or someone who made me very happy." "That's Tenchi. Of course she'd remember Tenchi, duh!" the girl mumbled softly. Then another worry came into her head when she realized how little time she had left. "I've been trying for the past three years to remember!" Misato continued. "And who are you to talk anyway?! You don't know me!" "On the contrary! I know you and much more than you'll ever even hope to know." "I just don't remember all right?!" "No, it's not all right! You don't remember, huh?" She feet taken back. She hardened her expression and said angrily, "Do you remember THIS?!" It came like a rush. Everything dissolved into black and Misato was falling fast. She screamed. The fall seemed to never end. Light flashed as images started to appear around her. Misato wanted them to go away but they kept coming, the more she resisted. FLASH!!! Image One : It was her, three years ago. Misato could see herself standing on a cliff with lightning flashing all around her. The duplicate looked sad as she hugged herself and looked at her feet. Suddenly it looked up, straight at Misato and grinned. FLASH!!! Image Two : It was a guy. He looked powerful and certainly not someone to mess with. "Desomitsu," the girls voice echoed in the emptiness. FLASH!!! Image three : Her again, three years ago. She was bleeding badly. Desomitsu was after her, howling the name Ryoko. The struggle in the cliff and her fall into the thrashing waves of the sea below. FLASH!!! Image four : There was a loud ripping sound. She found herself in a dress with one of the sleeves torn. She shrugged and tore off the other sleeve. Suddenly, she looked up to see a young man looking at her with so much hatred. To her surprise he yelled with so much force and anger, "I hate you!" The world seemed to fall apart at that very moment. "No, please stop." Misato whispered. FLASH!!! The girl looked at Misato and sighed. "Okay. It's over." Misato wiped her eyes and said over and over. "It's just a dream and I'm going to wake up. It's just a dream and I'm going to wake up. It's just a-" The girl stomped her foot down angrily. "It's not a dream! Get with it!" "What do you want from me!?!" "I want you to..." the girl gasped. Misato heard her mutter, "Oh no! There's no more time left!" Then she slowly started to disappear. " What's happening?!" "You better snap back to reality faster or else..." she shook her head unable to say it like it was too horrible to even think about. "The gems, their power and your power. Use it." And with that, she had totally disappeared. "So much to say and so little time." * * * * * Misato woke up. She was still shaken from her dream but smart enough to know that it wasn't over. She was in much more trouble now. She was once again covered in bruises from being thrown around and cuts from the broken glass. Luckily, her injury at her side was still okay. Slowly, Misato stood up. She leaned on the wall for support as she slowly limped outside. She froze when she heard voices in front of the main door. Frowning, she turned around and started for the sliding door in the back. Gradually, her walk got better and she didn't need the wall for support anymore. She was almost at the door, just a few more steps. *Almost there!* she thought victoriously. As luck had it, she slowly opened the door when suddenly a loud voice shouted in front of her. "Help me look around this corner." *Bad luck!* Misato thought. To get to the door she'd have to face those men, right around the corner. *This would be a good time to retreat.* She started baking away into the closet door. Ever so quietly, she closed the door and scrunched up in the corner of the closet. It was stuffy and dark and there was a huge pile of messy clothes. Misato knew her heart must have been beating so fast. There was a small light coming from the bottom of the door but someone's shadow shut it off completely when he stepped right in front of the closet door. *God,* Misato prayed. *If ever I needed you, I need you so much more now. I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me live through this. If you think you're going to take me, you're wrong. I'm going to live, you understand?* Misato heard the men outside start cursing. It didn't matter. She had to get out of there. As luck had it, there was no vent in the closet to let her escape. *Aw, there's ALWAYS a vent in the movies!* She closed her eyes and wished she was some where else. At least not in the closet with men who wanted to kill her right outside the door. Unexpectedly, her hand started to rummage the pile of clothes even if Misato didn't want to. She almost choked from the surprise but let her hand be guided by whatever it was. Slowly, it slid under the pile of clothes and... *Ouch!* Misato cried silenyly, taking her hand away immediately. She was lucky that she had stopped the scream that was about to come from her tightened throat. Blood was trickling down her hand. Misato moved the pile of clothes and saw what had cut her. It was a knife. *Perfect!* Misato thought and grabbed the knife. She held it close to her and waited for the right moment to jump out of the closet. She had to. They would find her sooner or later anyway. *Wait a minute! Am I actually planning to use the knife?* It was crazy if she did. Or worse: kill one of them. Still, it was self defense so she was innocent. "Desomitsu isn't going to be too happy about this." She heard a voice say. "She did not escape. That bitch is here somewhere and I'll find her." *I'll jump out on the next word,* Misato thought. She waited. And waited. And waited. Nothing came. Just pure silence. *What's happening?!* she cried nervously. Slowly, she came out with the knife leading. She looked around. No one was there. The furniture was ripped apart and the house was destroyed. But still... no one was there. Misato shakily started to walk to the door expecting it to burst open and that would be the end. It never happened. Misato wasn't relieved at all. Her mind was screaming danger! Danger! You better run! But she kept calm and walked out of the door. Nothing happened even as she got out of the house. Misato made her away across the garden. Still nothing. It was quiet. Too quiet. Usually, there would at least be rustling of trees or crickets and birds. Instead, there was nothing. Misato started into a jog. She was gonna be gone and out of there. The cabin was no place safe, that was for sure. Just a few moments later, she learned that wherever she was, she'd never be safe... TSSEEEWWWW!!! Misato jumped. There was a huge burnt black hole right where she used to be standing. She looked up and squinted from the light. But she saw enough to tell her that her pursuers were on some flying vehicles that shot out some sort of laser. She saw enough to know that she had to run. "I knew it! You won't get away from me this time!" That was all Misato needed. She sprinted through the path. The lasers were firing at her and she could hear her pursuers curse at themselves and at her. Gradually, she climbed her way up the mountain. The trees made it hard for her pursuers to follow her. But that wasn't enough to stop them. Misato's legs were already on fire and so were her lungs. What had that red headed girl said? *The gems, their power and your power. Use it." Misato's hands scrambled up her neck. The locket! It wasn't opening! She bit her lip and pulled it off. The necklace went flying from her neck as well as her hand. "No!!!" Misato cried as she sadly watched the locket fall to the ground. She couldn't go back for it. But she took one more glance at where it was, making sure she would know where she could retrieve it again. If she would be alive. At least those men hadn't seen it. But those gems were the source of her power. Wasn't it? What had that girl said again? 'The gems, their power and your power. Use it.' Meaning, she had her own power? Natural power? Time was running out. Misato was reaching the top of the mountain. It was a dead end, a cliff, and there was no turning back. She started to panic not knowing what to do as she approached it. Misato looked over the side. It had to be like a few miles down. *Jump,* a voice said to her. It seemed so soft and so far away. *Jump? Are you crazy? I'll get killed!* she yelled to herself. Yet here she was leaning over the edge of the cliff as if she really was going to jump. The voice did not respond anymore. Leaves were whirling around her. It was extremely windy at this part of the mountain. TSSEEEWWWW!!! The sound of lasers behind Misato. Her pursuers had made it to the top of the mountain. "I hope you're right about this," she muttered. With that, she threw herself off the cliff. The first rush was terrible as Misato plummeted to the ground like a bullet. The wind whipped through her hair and it was like being in the middle of a hurricane. She was falling to the ground with nothing to stop her. It was like a nightmare. That's when it happened. Like it woke up from sleep for three years. The power sprouted from Misato like wings and she instantly took charge. And she knew she had the power. Never the less, she was still falling at about 20 miles per hour, aiming right for the ground. Misato immediately pulled up seconds before she smashed to the ground. A ring of wind resistance swept through her like a shock. *I'm flying!* Misato thought happily. It felt marvelous. No... it WAS marvelous just to be flying up in the air and nothing could stop you. Just you and the sky, one on one. TSSEEEWWWW!!! Misato groaned. Her pursuers had totally spoiled the moment. Didn't they care that she could fly or at they at least let her have a few moments to enjoy it? It didn't matter. At this rate, they couldn't catch her. TSSEEEWWWW!!! TSSEEEWWWW!!! *Damn them!* Misato thought. She flew into the forest. There was just too much open space in the air. But now, there were so many obstacles for her. So many trees that she could crash into. Plus, she was going so fast that the scene just came as a blur. One false move and she could kiss her flying days goodbye. But her flying just came so natural like she had been flying all her life. It had already been 30 minutes since the attack Misato had already lost her pursuers long since. Nevertheless, she was still flying around. The experience was amazing. She had even found a hawk and started taking lessons from it. When it took a dive, she dived too. When it soared she would too. She even learned, while soaring and diving, it's best not to spread your arms apart. It only slows you down. Although the thermals that helped the hawk did nothing for Misato, it's warm air felt really good. Misato landed smoothly at the top of the stairs. Her chest was heaving. She couldn't help but laugh quietly to herself and her eyes were shinning so bright, you'd think they were diamonds. Suddenly, Misato stopped laughing. She had heard a rustle in the bushes. Were her pursuers there? No, it couldn't be. They had given up long before. Besides, she knew it was someone else. Footsteps padded across the path of the shrine as the girl stepped from the bushes, stood beside Misato. She was young, with red hair. Her eyes were green, his face cute but hard. In her hands she held a large box made of a sort of gold shiny color. Misato groaned. Her heart was beating like a captured bird and something thick seemed to have placed itself between her throat. The girl turned to her and spoke. Misato did not need to hear her voice to know that she was the girl who had tried to warn and contact her in a dream. To know that she was that girl and so much more. "Hello, Misato," the girl said. Misato closed her eyes and swallowed. Then she whispered, "Hello...mom." --------------- End of Chapter 2