Ghosts and Avatars, chapter 1 by Aaron Bastin - kakapo101@hotmail.com synopsis: A continuation of the Legacy of Kain Disclaimer: This stuff is owned by other people, except for the stuff that isn't. If you own the stuff I've used, please do not sue me. Chances are you already have one hell of a lot more money than I do. Ghosts and Avatars - Chapter 1 (Postcards from the Abyss) Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the galaxy's outer rim lies a small, unregarded star system, listed in the Jurian star charts as Cassiel. The system has only two planets - Cassiel Major, which is a gas giant swathed in soothing aquamarine blue, and Cassiel Minor, a small planet lucky enough to be situated in that ridiculously small margin perfect for life. Compared to most inhabited planets, it is tiny; it's only barely large enough to hold on to an atmosphere. On top of that, Cassiel Minor is utterly devoid of useful minerals and, being so far from usual interstellar travel routes, it had all the strategic importance of a small peanut. At one point, it was a bone of contention between the Danitan and the Jurai, but these days it mostly just gets left alone. There are two continents. One, in the much more temperate northern hemisphere, supports a small race of natives, scattered in a handful of little villages, most within a day's walk from each other. They are a comparitavely primitive folk, peaceful to a fault, though they still practice the ancient Forms of War in preparation for the End of All, as prophesized by the Seer. They call their home Tegiira. The other, located in the south and lashed almost constantly by hurricanes, is a vast green jungle, inhabited by some of the most deadly predators in the galaxy. Never seen by any living Tegiiran, the southern forest supports no sentient life. Except for one. The wind howled as it ripped through the forest canopy, bringing with it sheets of rain that pounded the earth with the force of a fire hose. The indiginous life took immediate evasive action; every creature that could - from the tiny, poisonous insects to the gigantic felines that prowled the undergrowth - hid from the storm, under particularly sturdy trees, in borrows and caves. The only place on the continent relatively safe from the sudden hurricane was a squat black temple hidden in the depths of the thickest part of the jungle. It was carved from the native blackrock, and looked as though it had been cobbled together more for speed and less for stability...odds were it wouldn't stand such storms for more than another year or so. Not that it mattered, really. Inside the temple, a figure shrouded in a black robe lit a candle, sheilding it from the wind that howled through the temple's open door. The figure placed the candle on the massive stone slab that served as an altar, and slowly lifted off the hood. Her hair was long, somewhat spiked at the front, a deep wine-red. Her eyes were burnt orange, slit vertically like a cat's. Her lips were very full, and currently pursed, as though concentrating. She was incredibly beautiful, in the way that a distant lightning strike is; you see it and are suddenly very glad you're not standing too close. The wind shifted then, and as it passed through the archway of the temple it began to twist itself into words. SKADA, it said. The woman fell to her knees. "I stand ready to serve, my Lady." THE LAST SON OF KAIN IS NO MORE. HE HAS FAILED. "That is...regrettable." The wind stuttered and hissed in a sudden staccato burst of laughter. LYING IMP, it said. I KNOW WELL YOUR AMBITION, SKADA. IT PLEASES ME. ONLY TAKE CARE THAT YOU DO NOT STEP TOO FAR BEYOND YOUR BOUNDS. Skada lowered her head, chastised. I LEAVE IT TO YOU, SKADA. YOU KNOW WHAT MUST BE DONE. She looked up, a faint gleam of anticipation gleaming in her feral eyes. "Is it to start soon, my Lady?" IT IS UPON US. SOON WILL BE OUR TIME. SERVE ME WELL, AND I WILL LAY THIS GALAXY AT YOUR FEET. FAIL ME... The wind picked up force, blowing Skada's robes about her as it took on the aspect of an agonized shreik. The flame of the candle leapt, bursting eight feet high, and Skada could see within it the writhing of a soul in unbearable torment. "I understand. I won't fail you," Skada replied evenly, pleased that she had kept the quaver from her voice. IT IS WELL. YOU KNOW OUR ENEMIES. BE CAUTIOUS, SKADA. MY SISTERS ARE AWAKENING. "To hear is to obey, my Lady Tokimi," said Skada. She stood, bowed. She extiniguished the candle, and left the temple. After a few hours, the rain stopped. But it would be back. It always was. Washu tore arond the corner at top speed, running as fast as her admittedly short (but cute) legs would carry her, waving her hands. "Kevin! Look out!" she screamed. Kevin leapt from the examining table he had been sitting on, rolling as he landed and coming up into a low combat stance. He pulled his new light sword from the clip on his belt and ignited it, illuminating the room in a soft amathyst glow. Washu skidded to a halt. She pulled a small instrument from her pocket and tapped at it. "Not bad," she admitted. "Your reflexes still aren't up to what they were before the coma, but not bad." Kevin blinked. The light sword he held suddenly sputtered and died out. He looked at it, sighed, and replaced it on his belt. "Damn," he muttered, drawing himself upright. He shook a little as the adrenalin in his system hung around, slowly going sour. "Washu," Kevin said, in a voice heavily laden with tried patience, "would you please not do that?" Washu glanced over, frowning. "Beg pardon?" she said in a deceptively soft voice. Kevin began to sweat a little. "Er. Please don't do that, Washu-chan." "Better. Yes, folks, he CAN be taught." "Har har." Kevin slowly made his way back to the table, sitting on it with a sigh. Washu ran her hand over a panel set in the side, and screens appeared in midair, displaying scans of Kevin from every available angle. "Seriously, though, you're doing quite well. Muscle mass, reflexes...you're almost up to par. Still having trouble with the sword, huh?" Kevin looked down at it. It had been a gift from Katsuhito, the key that he'd used before the Tenchi-ken. His hand trailed over the dark wood of the hilt. "I'm not used to the Jurai power," he admitted. "Katsuhito's been giving me lessons, but...it's so much more delicate than what I'm used to. Everything is." Washu arched an eyebrow. "Starting to regret being a mere mortal?" Kevin smiled tiredly. "Not on your life. It's different, that's all. Kain's power was...intoxicating. Overpowering. Like channeling a river while you're standing in it - it's always there, always demanding you use it. Jurian energy...it's a quicksilver flame, hard to nurture, hard to grasp. I still have trouble accepting that it's mine to use." "Beleive it," said Washu, looking at one of the graphs. "DNA scans confirm it - you're Jurian. Noble Jurian. Afer Kain's energy was siphoned out of you, your body...kind of shut down and rebooted itself from scratch, making itself into what it should have been. Almost killed you." "I know," said Kevin, sighing. He looked over at one of the scans, focussed in on the brain area. "Have any idea what's going on in there?" Washu frowned. There was nothing in the entirety of creation that she hated more than being stumped. It hadn't happened in eons, and now that she had remembered who...what she was, it was reasonable to assume that it never would again. And yet...there it was. She punched a few keys, increasing the magnification. Kevin's DNA was still shifting, albeit at a far more controlled pace, making itself into something new, something definately not Jurain...not any Jurian configuration she was familiar with. Most of the changes were centered in the brain - new cells growing, connections forming where none should exist. Kevin was still mutating, and Washu had no idea into what. "I'm working on it," she muttered. "Don't rush a scientist. You get crappy science." "Right. Sorry," nodded Kevin. "I'm heading up for dinner. You coming?" Washu shook her head. "Maybe later. Got your transmitter?" Kevin fished a small device from his pocket. It was a thick metal bracelet, a few winking lights set in the top - Washu had designed it to beam second to second updates on the changes in Kevin's body down to the computers in her lab. Never hurt to be careful. Kevin strapped it on and got up, grunting a little, and flicked the hair from his eyes with a jerk of his head. "Don't work too hard, little Washu," he said, pulling on his long, black trench coat. "Even the greatest scientific mind in the universe needs its rest." "Oh, piss off. Shoo." Grinning, Kevin sauntered from the lab. Washu turned back to the screens. The most frustrating thing, the hair-pulling, maddening thing of it all, was that she almost had the shape of it. It hung on the tip of her mind, like deja-vu or a song you can't remember the words to but can't get out of your head. She'd seen this pattern before, that much was certain...hell, she was one of the Three. DNA had been her idea. But that was an awfully long time ago, a lot longer than a paltry 20,000 years, and the mortal body she wore had trouble with extreme long-term memory retreival. Something she'd always meant to rectify, but...it was a little late in the day, now. This close to the Judgement, it was dangerous to assume her true form. With a sigh, Washu sat on the table, watching and wondering. Tenchi yawned, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he awoke. He frowned for a moment, something missing, something out of place. Then he smiled as he realized what was different. Silence. Warm and full, silence. No explosions, no feminine voices raised in anger, no wake up call from Ryoko staring down at him with bloodshot eyes. It was strangely difficult to get used to, this new peace - the fighting, though by no means gone, had subsided to the occasional spat, and no major repairs had been done since the near-demolition of the house three months ago. A record. Ryoko was, if anything, more protective of him than ever these days, but the constant jockeying for position and scheming to get him alone had vanished. He yawned again. Something else was different, though. The sunlight pouring through his window told him it was late afternoon, not morning. Why was he in bed again? He rolled over, and the answer came to him belatedly as he stared into Ayeka's sleeping face. I forgot, thought Tenchi, momentarily ashamed. How could I possibly forget? Ayeka coming to his room, as had been her habit of late, and talking - really talking, not just exchanging awkward pleasantries. Ayeka speaking of her life on Jurai, Tenchi talking about growing up on Earth. And then falling into silence, comfortably. And then, slowly, the most natural thing in the world, Tenchi had taken her into his arms and kissed her, gently at first, then with hunger, answering to the need they both felt. Tenchi snuggled closer, enjoying the warmth of Ayeka's body against his. He realized he'd never noticed how good she smelled - a deep, soothing scent, the hint of roses. He felt a deep warmth inside, filling him up, more than full - he felt he might burst with the intensity of the feeling. I love you so much, thought Tenchi. Ayeka's eyes opened then, deep purple eyes like no one else in the world, and Tenchi found himself unable to do anything other than stare, falling into their depths. "What a wonderful way to awaken," murmured Ayeka, wrapping her arms around him. "Mmmm," sighed Tenchi in agreement. He kissed her forehead. "What took me so long?" Ayeka smiled. "Fear, perhaps? Ryoko and I did not exactly make things easy on you, I am afraid. And when one admits emotion, one is open to being hurt - or hurting." She pulled him closer. "It doesn't matter now, my Tenchi. All that matters is that we are together, and how much I love you." Tenchi closed his eyes, smiling, as he savoured the words. "I love you too, Ayeka," he whispered. "Hey, guys, I - whoops!" Tenchi and Ayeka's heads snapped around in time to see Ryoko's head vanishing back through the door. Ayeka immediately yanked the covers up to her neck and blushed a furious shade of crimson. "I, uh, just came to let you know dinner's ready," continued Ryoko's voice from the hall, sparkling with barely contained mirth. "Will you be coming down? Or should I tell everyone you're...indisposed?" "Ryoko..." "Tell you what, I'll just let 'em know you've already eaten." "Ryoko!" Laughter filtered through the door as Ryoko walked away. Ayeka grit her teeth. "I'm going to kill that woman," she muttered. Ryoko hummed merrily to herself as she floated down the stairs, heading for the dining room. A pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind. "Hi," breathed Kevin's voice in her ear. She shivered in delight. "Hi yourself." "You seem pretty pleased about something." "Do I?" she vanished, teleporting to Kevin's side. "I know something you don't know," taunted Ryoko, grinning. "Tell me," laughed Kevin. "I dunno..." Kevin stuck out his lower lip in an exaggerated pout. Ryoko laughed. "Tenchi," she said, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "has a woman of loose morals in his room." Kevin's eyebrows shot up. "Lucky guy. Wish I could say the same." Ryoko mock snarled at him, showing her fangs. She grabbed the front of his jacket, bodily lifting him a foot into the air, and leaned forward, whispering in his ear, "I've been going easy on ya. Wouldn't do to break you." Kevin smiled, his eyes sparkling. "I'm tougher than I look." "Yeah?" Ryoko leaned closer, their lips barely touching - "Ahem." Katsuhito walked past them, into the dining room. Kevin and Ryoko looked at him, then each other, then rolled their eyes. As they began to walk into the dining room, Kevin's hand found Ryoko's. , he sent silently. , Ryoko replied. . He winced, suddenly. Ryoko frowned. "Hey...you all right?" Kevin shook his head. "Fine. Just a headache." Washu's eyes widened. That was it. She had it. The peices fell into place, and the implications... flexing her fingers, she bent her whole attention to the new task at hand, summoning up her holotop and starting to work at a feverish pace. And so she did not see the red light that began to flash in the main room of her lab, nor did she hear the muted chime of the proximity alert. And far out in the darkness between planets, a lone ship moved and made the last of its preparations. Soon. AUTHOR'S NOTE: A little bit of WAFF to make up for the hell I've put these guys through - they deserve a little vacation. Not too long, a'course...as always, please send any and all comments and criticisms to kakapo101@hotmail.com...I like to think that the style and plot of this sucker has improved since I started, and I'm keen to keep improving. Tell me what you think, and again, thanks for reading. Till next time.