-------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks and acknowledgments: This is for everyone who has read this fic so far and enjoyed it, the show will go on! For Jen-chan, Daniel-kun, Ivonet, Jennivie, Leslie, Lita, my loving K-chan, and all the people who have given me so much support. Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, besides, if I did, I wouldn't know what to do with em'. They are property of AIC and Pioneer. So please, don't sue me!! Nuff' said. Ryoke: Enough with my blathering, on to the story! Jen-chan: Blathering...is that a real word? Daniel-kun: ::pulls out Mondo Dictionary of Every Word:: Ryoke: Not again... Jen-chan: You should really learn to lock your doors. Ryoke: NOW, on to the story ... Daniel-kun: It's a real word!! HANDS OF FATE (Chapter 2: "Beginnings and Endings") By Little Ryoko ^.~ (a.k.a. Ryoke) (Please send C&C to ryokochan3@aol.com) ************** The universe and it's ever expanding cycle turns and turns again. Birth enters Life transforms into Death and creates Rebirth. Spinning and turning, the emissions of this cycle gives off sparks and creates a whirlpool of light, spinning faster and faster, taking shape and form. This presence of light stands in the blackness of its womb, feeling the rush of new life. A new body. It flares and races throughout the void, leaving its sparks and trails of light in its wake. It has a new form, searching through the cosmos till it comes to the tiny blue speck of light turning ever faithfully around a young star. It searches for a name in the containment of this world. Its children are of so many forms, colors, shapes, some good some evil, some in between. Both petty and cruel, kind and giving, its children are unique in this void. The form flew downwards to the planet, burning bright gold in the nitrogen-rich atmosphere. It has found a name along with its new form.... Chaos. ************** A new player has entered the ring Tokimi. That's what makes it so valuable. Yes, we shall see. ************** "Empress Aeka..." "Empress Aeka?" "Empress Aeka!" I woke to see Ginhoshi staring at me worriedly. Ginhoshi? My servant on...on...Jurai? I sat up rather slowly and felt a sharp pain press against my back. My hand felt along the bed I was lying in and stroked...fine royal sheets? I looked down at my hands. They were lying across a soft blanket inscribed with Juraian words for protection, dreams, and sleep. Where am I? "Empress Aeka, I'm glad you're awake. The Emperor is waiting for you in the main dining hall." Empress Aeka? The Emperor...? I stood up with the help of Ginhoshi, who had been named well. She was tall and lithe, with bright silver hair that fell far past her waist. She was dressed in a high servant clothing and looked at me with shining red eyes. Her name means Shining Light in Juraian. I left her when I went in search of Yosho 700 years ago. She was just a teenager then. Now she's a young woman, a little aged for 700 years I think. As soon as I stood up I felt heavy, like my point of balance had been shifted. I looked down and found that my stomach was enormous! I held my round belly in shock and suddenly felt a kick. I was pregnant. I AM pregnant. "How many month's Ginhoshi?" "Nine, Your Majesty." Nine months. I am nine months pregnant. I couldn't just as well ask her who the father was, so I let her guide me to the dining hall. I gazed around me as we walked the vast hallways. The sounds of my slippered feet were swishing along the floor as I passed the high windows to my left. Peering outside I saw the endless expanse of the sky stretching far and wide. Thousands of Jurai's planets and colonies spread out beyond the solar systems. The palace had been redecorated and the light blue made me feel calm and at ease with the whole situation. Guards stood erect at their positions in the hallway and looked at me with respect in their eyes. Respect. As a princess I never saw that kind of respect in my guard's eyes. What kind of dream is this? When we came to the end of the hallway, I raised my hand to the tall wooden door; made from the living branches of the tree the palace was practically built in. The doors receded as I stepped through to the Dining Hall. It was large and spacious. Ivory colored walls crawling with leaves and intricate wood framing. A large pool of water was centered in the room. One huge circular table surrounded the pool, and at the far end of the room sat two thrones, gleaming in the light of the tall window behind them. I walked slowly toward the thrones and gazed out the window, I could see the entire city from here. Sunlight poured onto the city, graceful arches crisscrossing the streets, tall buildings shining with their ivory peaks. It was beautiful. Peeks of green and blue coming from gardens and parks scattered across the landscape. Opal towers standing at the far end of the horizon shown as their surfaces gleamed in the new dawn. This is my city. This is my world. Suddenly a light note rang though the chamber and I turned around to see what had happened. I was taken by surprise as a pair of lips kissed mine softly and gently. It felt...it felt like being wrapped in joy. It was so warm and filling. I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks as I stepped back from the person who kissed me. "Ew! Mommy and Daddy are kissing!" A man stood before me dressed in fine Emperor's robes. He had caring, soft brown eyes that shown brightly against the light. He had long black hair that was tied gracefully behind him and fine tanned skin. A gentle smile played upon his lips as he brushed his bangs away from his face. Tenchi. It was Tenchi. I began to feel my eyes water as the shock hit all my nerve endings at once, making me wince. Tenchi caught me in his arms and hugged me close. He smelled my hair and whispered in my ear, "Good morning my love." "Mom, Dad, we need to eat breakfast! You can do all that mushy stuff later." "Very well, Taiyo, let's eat." A small boy who looked to be about 9 ran up to me and hugged me around my waist. He looked up at me with a big grin on his face. He had black hair, but with a purple tint, and had light reddish-purplish eyes. The color of royal teardrops. Tenchi had called him Taiyo, meaning sun. When Taiyo smiled at me it seemed as if the entire room had gotten brighter. "C'mon Mommy, let's eat." Mommy. He called me "Mommy." I'm a mother? Already? I sat down in the throne to the left of my...husband as the servants before us brought us breakfast. The aroma drifted up to my nose and made my mouth water. I ate breakfast while listening to Tenchi and Taiyo talk about parties and playing games. Then they came to the subject of memories, and I paid close attention. "Hey Dad, when did you and Mom get married?" "A long time ago, well, 10 years ago to be exact." "Did you get married here or on Earth?" "In both places actually, we started the ceremony on Earth and finished it on Jurai." "Wow, Mommy, are you going to have a boy or a girl? I hope it's a boy." "....I don't know." "Daddy, when is Auntie Sasami going to visit?" Then I perked up my ears. Where was Sasami in all of this? Surely she would be here on Jurai with my being the Empress. "You're Aunt Sasami decided to stay on Earth just awhile longer." "Aw...I miss seeing her, she was going to teach me how to fly!" "Maybe in a month or two, now stop asking questions you curious little boy." Tenchi replied playfully as he ruffled Taiyo's hair. The rest of the day passed like a dream. We went to the garden and had a picnic. Tenchi and I visited the Council who informed us that the Empire was stable and content as it had been for the past 10 years. At the end of the day, well, when the suns began to set, I walked once again into the Dining Hall and passed a portrait of our family. There were Tenchi, Taiyo, and I, all posing in full Juraian regalia. I looked at the painting of me. My hair had grown long and was braided with shining threads. I looked older than I remembered, more mature. I looked happy. I walked once again to the window. Instead of looking at the scenery, I looked at my reflection. It was me. The real me. The me I was on Earth. The me I was before all of this. My pink kimono, my short hair and two long pigtails. I touched the reflection and she looked back at me with tears in her eyes. I swear she said something, but I could not hear. I looked past her to my kingdom, to my planet, past the sky and the stars to my empire. I've gone over the rainbow. ************** Memories. Memories of a life before this one. Flashes of light and smoke and fire. Children's laughter, music, and stars. All gone now. For the vast emptiness of space. I hear every echo within me. Every leaf falling, every ripple in the water. It's so quiet inside of me; I can hear the trees growing. I feel vast yet so compacted. I see, smell, hear, taste and touch every dimension, every universe. Every insignificant speck of dust, every drop of rain. And all I can think about are my memories. When I float here in the quiet darkness, the voices grow louder and louder. Begging and pleading. Yelling and screaming. Crying and dying. I can't stand the quietness of my existence nor endure the loneliness of my own mind. I must be pure, free from this wretched darkness. These memories. I don't want to remember their faces, their blood, my voice, my name. I am who I am now. Nothing can change that. I'm no longer impure, but I am not clean yet either. The war is gaining momentum; soon they will have to fight for real. She won't win, I won't let her. I won't let her. ************** Ryoko sat calmly at the shrine steps, watching the leaves falling from their thin branches one by one. She walked over to a nearby tree and picked up a falling leaf on it's descent. She twirled it between her fingers, observing its simple shape, the intricate veins on its surface. She let go of the leaf and let it float away on the wind, a tear falling from her face as she did so. Kiyone sat in the grass. Grabbing the blades between her toes as she stared out onto the lake. The water was smooth and calm, still as ice. Suddenly a leaf flew by her sight; she quickly grabbed it, letting it rest in her palm. She felt it lay so light against her hand. She felt the tiny ridges along its surface. Holding it close to her face, she blew it away gently to the breeze, as she sighed heavily, taking in the clean air. Mihoshi lay down in the grove, staring at the shapes in the sky. Wispy figures floated by. Mihoshi began to yawn when suddenly she felt something in her mouth; she pulled it out and found it was a leaf. She held it up against the sky and looked at the red and orange painted across its surface. The sunlight gave it a stained glass appearance and she let it go, letting it fly away as the wind whipped it from her hand. She wiped away a tear as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Sasami sat by the window in Tenchi's room, facing out across the landscape. She reached out into the air, grasping for something she could not quite reach. She held her hand out and closed her eyes as she gripped it tight. When she pulled back her hand, in it was a leaf. Quivering in the wind. Sasami could not help but feel sad when she looked at it. Suddenly a pain shot through her making her wince. In her mind's eye she saw a flash of images, loud sounds, explosions, spaceships, faces, eyes, pink, red, brown, gold, green, blue, colors swirling, lights, stars, millions and millions of lights. Flashing and spinning. Tsunami. Tsunami help me! <......I'm sorry Sasami.> Tsunami!! Sasami held her head and tried hard to filter the images and sounds out of her brain. Doing so, she let go of the leaf, letting it fly away. When she did, the pain subsided, all was clear. And she knew what must be done. ************* I walk barefoot on a grassy plain. The air is thick but still. The grass scratches my bare legs. The air smells sweet, and the breeze light and full of energy. I walk towards the lake. Silver and still, the moon reflecting serenely on its glassy surface. I look across the horizon. On a night like this there seems to be an intensity between the earth and the sky. A kind of energy filling up the world. But now there was nothing. Just some empty hole, as if someone had drawn out the life between the earth and the sky. A hole that cannot be filled. I stand at the shore of the lake. The silver mirror seems to stretch on and on, forever. I look down at the silver waves, washing against the silver sand. They are cold; I scrunch my toes, feeling the grains of sand between them. I stare at my reflection in the eerie water. I am still a child. My body is bathed in moonlight, various shades of blue, silver, and gray stretched across me. The only color in this silver world is the darkness of the sky and the lightness of my eyes. The sky is dark velvet blue, dotted with a thousand twinkling lights. My eyes are a light pink; they remind me of a fresh rose bud, new and waiting for the sun to kiss its fiery center. I squinch my toes in the sand, feeling the cool earth beneath me, the silver water kissing the tips of my toes. I step back once more onto the cool grass that tickles my feet. There seems to be a small depression in the ground. The dent gets bigger and deeper; soon there is a large hole in the ground, about two feet across. I walk towards it and peek in. If I didn't know any better, I could swear that the hole was actually another silver pool, reflecting the sky in a perfect image. But there was no reflection. It was just a hole, reflecting the vastness of the sky. I slipped my hand through the hole, feeling the cold air rush against my skin. It felt empty, so empty. So light. My mind was going blank, lost in the swirl of stars. I stood up, walked to the hole, which got larger and larger. I let myself drop into it. I felt the air rush past my legs, my arms. My hair flew past my head and I felt weightless. I seemed to drop forever, the stars streaking by me like flashes of light. I felt neither heavy nor totally light. As if I was a bullet cutting through steam. Suddenly a light appeared beneath my feet, it shown bright and warmed my toes. But no matter how far I dropped down into the abyss, I could not get any closer to the light. I felt a gnawing craving inside; I needed to get to that light. I needed the light. I willed myself to move faster, to reach my destiny. Suddenly I was surrounded in it, wrapped in it. The light and I were becoming one. Melting in every pore, every cell of my body. It was warm, liquid, and filling up my insides with an indescribable feeling. My muscles felt new, fresh and alive. In my mind's eye I saw the birth of a universe, the deaths of countless stars, people, faces, I saw their memories, their pain, their loves. I felt every drop of rain and a roar of water rushed into my head as wave after wave of memories and experiences hit me. I feel powerful, as if a rippling of energy had invigorated my very being. The light kept get brighter, and hotter and hotter, I was surrounded by it. I was the light. And I burned and burned, till I could no longer feel my skin, my eyes...I didn't know whether or not they were open, I couldn't feel my arms, my legs. My body had dissolved in endless warmth and I let out a cry of rapture that shook my soul. ************** A galaxy away... "Decks seven through thirteen are totaled!" "Weapons have been disabled!" "Shields are gone!" "Captain?" "Captain?!" "Captain!!!" Half the men on the ship were either dead or wounded. And the ones that were not seriously wounded were too busy trying to keep the ship together, or trying to pry the dead away from the rubble. An aged man sat in tall chair at the center of the chaos. He had light blue eyes and white hair, long and tied back. He had rugged appearance. The look of someone who's seen too much, who's sent men to die thousand of light years from their homes on some godforsaken rock. But there was something else in his eyes. A certain desperation. A loss of all hope was locked in the deadness of this man's eyes. So, it's finally come. The inevitable. Who are you? Indeed he did. A bright circle of light had encircled his ship, as large as it was. A being appeared in front of his viewscreen, strangely humanoid in form. It was a being of pure light, and it was ripping his ship apart. Why are you doing this? Are they? I should have let them boot me up to admiral. Get on with it then. These men have families back home. Children, wives, mothers, fathers, that means nothing to you? The light grew larger and larger; soon the captain could no longer see his ship. He couldn't even feel his body. All he saw was the light. And suddenly from the whiteness came the angel of death. Far off in the distance he thought he heard an explosion. The sound merely tickled his ear, yet it broke his heart. The angel came forward. She was tall, graceful. Long blue-green hair that fell far past her waist. Her skin was a milky white, and the newborn roses that were her eyes looked at him with an almost motherly concern. Even a touch of pity. You almost couldn't discern the whiteness of the light from her skin. The edges of her outline blurred with the light surrounding her. She reached out her hand to him, and he took it. His rough hands holding her soft ones. She leaned over to him and touched his eyelids with two fingertips. His eyes seemed to pale, a fine mist covered them, and his body faded away into the light, and the light absorbed him onto itself. Meanwhile the remains of a great warship float like a silent tomb in the dead of space. Suddenly a great light fills the pieces of the ship and many small explosions make their silent death call into the emptiness. In the planet below, past the atmosphere, the dust of the dust of the dead ship floats down to many small Juraian children are laughing, running in a tiny playground. As a young boy sits underneath a large tree, he feels a warmth coming from it and a whisper reaches into his mind. He takes a deep breath, and inhales the blood and bones of a thousand dead men. ************** I remember holding him in my arms. His tiny hands reaching for mine. I remember his smile. His lilting laughter. I remember his eyes, his hair, his voice. His arms around me. Whispering promises in my ear. That no one would come between us. That they could never leave me. I remember them being taken away from me. He was no longer himself. He was cold. Uncaring. He wanted my son. He took him away from me. All those promises, for nothing. I remember feeling empty, hollow inside. A horrible pain aching inside me. He didn't love me. If I told him I loved him, would he stay? I could have given him all he wanted. I wanted my son, my baby. Part of me. He once was also a part of me. But a part that didn't care, that only wanted a son with a high genetic proficiency. One that would make a proper heir to his glorious standings. I remember, working in my lab, trying to create my masterpiece. Something that could fill this hollow feeling inside of me. When he came in, he was tall, graceful, handsome, and wealthy. He took my hands in his and kissed them softly. Pretended to enjoy his conversations with me. We would talk for hours and hours. And I was lonely; I poured my heart out to him, told him about the hollowness in my heart. And he told me about his. About being brought up with so many expectations, so many responsibilities. Never really doing what he wanted to do. And then our child came. He filled the hollowness inside of me. He eased the pain within my heart, even if just by a little bit. We were a family, whole. And then the letters came. Asking him to come back, to leave me behind. He tried to hide them from me, but I found them anyway. People began spitting at us in the street. None of my students came to class anymore. Then he changed along with them. He became cold. Spent many nights away. Took our son into his lab "to study his growth" while I lay alone in our cold bed, peering through the crack in the door. Silently crying and praying that somehow this would all go away. And one day he came to me, back from a long trip. He held my baby in his arms. Tried to convince me that it wouldn't work, there was too much involved. I cried, I told him I loved him, tried to make him stay, told him I needed him. But he was gone. And I was alone. I remember beginning to hate adults. Their rules, their ways, their selfishness. I hid myself behind the mask of a child. I was reclusive. I only came out to teach. All the while I was working on my masterpiece. To fill up my hollowness. When he came in, he was tall, graceful, and undeniably brilliant. He was one of my best students. He learned quickly and was eager to help me complete my life's work. But while for me this was a quest of love, this to him was a quest for science. For study. And then my child came. She filled the hollowness inside of me. Completely and utterly. My little Ryoko. I gave her Ryo-Ohki, I gave her training, she was smart, fast. We were happy. I was happy. And then the files found me. Or I found the files. Plans, dossiers. I had barely completed the Soja when I finally knew his plan. He began studying Juraian mythology in a zealous lust. He studied the great ship Tsunami. Its every form, every aspect. He dreamed of having that kind of power. The kind of power he saw in my daughter. I tried to convince myself that this was not true. That we were a happy family and that he would do nothing to hurt my daughter or me. I was wrong. I was tricked. No, I was foolish. He trapped me within my own ship, stripped me of my power, kept my daughter and faded her memories of me. Of our happy life together. I was more than dead in that ship. But I saw everything. The beatings, everything he did to her. Everything. I saw Jurai burn. I saw the people scream and die. Many who fell to the ground lay quite and still, never to rise again. And all the while I was dead inside. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. Everything had been taken from me, would always be taken from me. I was broken. ************** Aeka was running, her legs bleeding, her feet aching. The tunnel didn't seem to end. It just stretched on forever and ever. Her lungs burned, her heart pounded through her throat and her brain. The fire, the fire won't reach me. She could almost feel the flames licking her heels, the warmth pulsing against her back. She kept grabbing for the emptiness in front of her. Reaching for something she couldn't grasp. The darkness seemed to swallow her up. She felt the tunnel getting narrower and narrower. She felt her way along the wooden ridges or the twisting branches. She must be strong. She can't let them down. Ryoko. Sasami. Tenchi. Kiyone. Yosho. Father. Mother. Mother Funaho. Mihoshi. Washu. Mayuka. Taiyo. She saw a light at the end of the darkness. She grasped for it. Ignoring the pain in her legs and the burning in her chest as she reached for the end. But as the light grew brighter and brighter, she felt a fear, some dread. Like the light was a friend who had betrayed her into the hands of her enemy. She wanted to turn around. To face the fire, the darkness, instead of the light. She turned around; steely determination locked in her eyes. She stood her ground. Tightened her muscles and faced what was before her. Not the fire. Not the darkness. Something worse. Total, complete, and utter... Oblivion. I awoke, my heart pounding in my ears, my pulse racing. I was out of breath, sweating. I felt along the bed, hoping for some kind of comfort. I felt someone's warm body against me. As my eyes adjusted to the meager wisps of moonlight I saw whom I was lying against. Tenchi was next to me. Sleeping peacefully. He turned around and put his arms around me, murmuring in his sleep. My heartbeat slowed down. My mind racing to grasp the mists of that dream, that nightmare. I tasted the bile in my mouth, the tears. I tried to pull back the nightmare. But it would not return. My body just shook uncontrollably and I felt violated. Dirty. Numb. I slipped out of bed and walked to the high curtained windows and spread them apart, letting the moonlight flow into the room. I ignored my "old" reflection and stared past her desperate face, her pleading to the kingdom beyond. I looked to the sky, to the starlight. Staring at the brighter points of light that stood in a line across the sky. The protective belt that surrounded the planet. Suddenly I felt someone's warm breath across my shoulders. I felt Tenchi's hands reach up from my hands to my arms, his soft touch against my neck and collarbone. He rushed up against me, sending chills down my spine. He breathed lightly into my ear and kissed my neck softly. "Couldn't sleep love?" he whispered, still kissing my neck. "No..." I could feel my legs giving away, trembling. Suddenly he turned me around to face him, turning me away from the starlight. He kissed me deeply and softly, making quite clucking noises. He put his arms around me; I felt his bare chest against my hands and reached up to stroke his face, his hair. We kissed for a long time. And I could no longer see the starlight. I could just feel my soul being dipped in liquid warmth and nothing else in the world mattered. Nothing at all. ************* When you're young, you do stupid stupid things. Things you look back on and think, "How the hell could I have done that?" Especially when it involves another person. Preferably someone you care about. I was young, most would say I still am. But back then I was young and new at everything. Only 16. I had great friends, but never had a boyfriend. I didn't let myself get too close to any guy. And have it all end with all my secrets poured out? Not a chance. But I was young. And I let it happen. He was two years older, barely 18. My best friend had a crush on him, and they were close, but not intimately. And the moment I saw him, met him, my heart melted. He had these kind eyes, glittering and laughing. He was gorgeous. Dark hair, lightly tanned skin, half Tolarian, half Juraian. I decided to do the next best thing, talk to him, be his friend. I had only one duty to my best friend. Be there for her, bury my feelings, smile, and occasionally dish out some advice. But it couldn't stay that way. One day he told me he liked me. But that was it. He thought that I had no feelings for him, that we could just go on being friends. It couldn't work like that. My best friend and I had a fight, but in the end she agreed that we should be together. Yet even when everything was cleared, he dropped me like nothing. I asked him what was wrong but he said that we just couldn't be together, because if we broke up, I would end up hurt. I could tell we were both confused, unsure. I had poured out my heart to him but he told me he didn't know me enough. He said he wanted a serious relationship. But that's what I wanted. I had fallen in love with him and hadn't noticed it till it was too late. Till my hopes for us being together were shattered, and I was left angry, sad, and hurt. I focused on my training, on my career. And made a lot of mistakes involving guys along the way. And as the nights rolled by, I felt more and more numb. Dead. And all I could think about was him. And how he broke my heart. Nothing mattered anymore, just going through the paces, focusing on my career. He left the Academy and tried to join the Royal Juraian Guard. I knew it would be hard for him, only being of half-blood. But the Tolarians were a respected people and he moved up in the ranks. He was so high that soon he was guarding the Emperor himself. I missed him. I still miss him. And when I met Mihoshi I had no time miss him. Even more so when I came to earth. And now I wonder where he is. I just look up at the sky, staring at the stars stretched across it, lying awake in bed and wonder if he's there. Does love cross the expanse of time, of space? Does he still think about me? I feel my heartache and my body shiver as I look up at the still canvas of stars and nothing seems right. How else could my life have turned out? How many mistakes did I make? Could it have been different? Have I failed? ************* A kind of quite surrounded the Masaki household. A kind of horrible, swallowing, unbelievably piercing silence. Aeka was gone. Disappeared. No one knew where she was. Mihoshi and Kiyone assumed that she left out of grief and needed some alone time. Washu was constantly working in her lab and didn't even come out to eat anymore. Kiyone was absorbed in keeping the house together. Ryo-Ohki even caught her sleeping by the door in the middle of the day. Everyone was tired, exhausted from crying, working, trying to keep their sanity. Sasami could not bear anymore. She wandered about the hallways like a ghost. Mute and stone-faced. Ryo-Ohki paced the silent house, her stomach grumbling. She hopped into the living room and pounced onto the couch ready for a mid-day nap. Suddenly the TV turned on and a galactic news report came blasting in at full volume. Kiyone walked into the room and lowered the volume of the TV. She flopped herself onto the couch and reached for the remote but her eyes froze when she noticed what the reporter on TV was saying. "Hello, this is a special report that has just come in from our contacts in the Jurai system. Apparently unknown assailants have just destroyed the warship Masami containing the Royal Emperor of Jurai, Azusa. The Emperor along with his most trusted warriors of The Royal Guard was on his way to the Sol System to visit his two daughters, the princesses Aeka and Sasami, when suddenly the ship was destroyed right outside the Juraian orbit. Juraian representatives say that the attack is still quite a mystery and that in the meanwhile the Elder Council will run Jurai until an escort for the Princess Aeka can be arranged." He's dead. Dead. Dead. Kiyone eyes watered as she stared at the TV screen. How in the world could that happen? The great ship Masami and the Emperor of Jurai, destroyed? She stood up and reached for the remote, staring blankly at the shots of the bits of space debris floating sparsely through space. With a look of utmost defiance she grabbed the remote and pressed the power button, leaving the screen dark. She turned away from the living room, preparing to give everyone the bad news. ************* This house smells of grief, of tears, of sadness. It's so quite here. So tomb-like. What is wrong here? I was lying back on the cold metal table I had been attached to for a day or two. The only other living thing I saw was that strange pink-haired girl coming in to feed me and give me water. She never spoke, so I stopped asking her questions. It was so quiet and awful just staring into the darkness, wondering what day it was. Was the sun shining? Or were the stars out? I felt stiff, and dead, and only the sound of my own breathing to lull me to sleep. I tried singing, humming, anything to make some kind of noise. But my sounds were all drowned out in the darkness around me. And I was afraid, afraid of where I was. Afraid of what would happen to me. Suddenly I heard a loud wail coming from somewhere in the darkness. More loud wails followed and a cry that resembled something of a cat. The chamber I was in was apparently very large because the cries of despair echoed off the walls and rang in my ears. It seemed as if the entire house was weeping and crying in despair. But only one person was wailing, a young girl. One voice echoed on and on. Whoever it was I pity her. I pity this house, the people in it. And all I can do is lie here, in the darkness, waiting for something to happen. ************* That is a surprise. No. Farthest from Earth.... ************* THE END of Chapter 2 ************* Author's Notes: Finally!! I'm done!! Wahoo!!!!!!!! ^_^ Well dear friends, I'm finally done with Chapter 2 and have big plans for Chapters 3 and 4. If I get another case of writer's block like I did since November 99', SORRY! With everything in school, it's kinda hard to get inspirational when you're worried about your testing and stuff. Also, thanks to anyone who voted for my fic!!! Just so you know, I now have a website called "Hands of Fate" mainly dedicated to the fic. But even if it's only in beta-phase, it has any other fics I have, fan art, midis, a pic gallery, and lyrics. You can find it at: http://members.xoom.com/ryoko2003 Or if you want to skip the welcome mat: http://members.xoom.com/ryoko2003/home.htm Remember to e-mail comments to me at ryokochan3@aol.com. Well, peace to you!! AND NOW FOR A SHAMELESS PLUG!! ************* COMING SOON! These tears of pain I weep to skies Not bitter drops but water made divine Each gem of sorrow slips, no longer mine, But proffered thus to echo other cries. -Divine Offering An Aeka Fanfic *************