TENCHI MUYO: LIGHTHAWK LEGEND Prologue Space is infinite. The galactic expanse is unfathomable, with its many uncharted territories. Men have tried to find its boundaries for millennia, and all have failed. The universe is infinite. What holds it together? This mass of energy and matter we call a universe, what power can possibly keep it in check? Some attribute it to the Great Attractor. What is this marvelous force? No one knows for sure. No mortal has ever been able to reach it, and no mortal can ever control it. But Tokimi can. It is said that the Big Bang was a gigantic explosion that spewed matter throughout the empty cosmos and gave birth to the galaxies. If so, then where did the energy come from? A dream. Is the Great Attractor truly some magnetic force as science would describe it, or does something else bind the stars to each other? Love. The Earth Dream Miracle <<>> The Hinase was a wondrous ship, with its two dimensional spires and glass-like living core. It's apparently wooden hull concealed a large quantity of weaponry. The "good piracy" that it committed was done with accurate, swift efficiency. Minagi lay back in her command chair and sighed. Pirating was always fun, but it had been so long; so long since she had seen or heard of her friends back on Earth. The Ryo-Ohki had not been seen for over a year, and Ayeka and Sasami had returned to Jurai. Mihoshi and Kiyone had gone back to work at the GP Headquarters, and Washu's dimension warping experiments had disappeared. What had happened? "Hinase," Minagi said thoughtfully. "Set a course for Earth." "Yes, ma'am." the ship responded. As the cruiser sped through space Minagi had an awful feeling. Something had happened. Something . . . evil. <<>> "I've said it once, and I'll say it again." Washu stated as Tsunami paced back and forth. "I'm not one of you any longer. You want my power?" She thrust out three gems. "Here it is!" Tsunami glared at her. "Damn you, Washu. Stubborn as ever." Washu continued to frown in the blackness of the dream state as Tsunami leaned over her. "Don't you understand? Tokimi has found her power! I can't stop her alone." Tsunami knelt on one knee, unbecoming of a goddess. "Please, sister. I need your help." Sasami's eyes returned to her face as tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked fragile, despite her power, as a doll looks when thrown and beaten. "I . . . I can't do this alone." Washu opened her eyes and saw that it had been another dream. She wished that she could have moved, but the crystal that surrounded her was airtight. As she floated through space without meaning, she saw a shining blue jewel in the distance. Earth. <<>> Sasami looked into the pool of water that surrounded the tree of Tsunami with blank, rose-colored eyes. The haunting green lights of the Jurai Tree Chamber set her small form in a strange pose, almost as if she were hanging from a cord strung high above, dead and still. "Sasami, what are you doing here?" a sleepy Ayeka inquired. "It's the middle of the night, go back to bed." The response she received was one of the queerest things she had ever heard. "I want to go to Tenchi's house; that's where Ryoko and all my friends are." Ayeka smiled. Sasami must have been sleepwalking But Sasami continued with the same deathly expressionless face and the same soul-wrenching eyes. "Tenchi's in trouble. I know he is." The warm atmosphere in the room dropped suddenly. It was freezing. As Ayeka shivered in her thin nightgown, she felt the floor shifting beneath her bare feet. Her long ponytails began to float and move of their own accord, as if the gravity had been altered. She was beginning to become afraid. Sasami continued in her hollow voice. "Tokimi's going to attack and we won't be there to protect him. Tenchi's going to die." Tears streamed down Sasami's cheeks from the unblinking pools that were her ghostly eyes. The eyes became darker and darker, and the light beams that the trees produced at random intervals became more frequent. Suddenly, her expression changed radically. Her face twisted into a mask of hate and malice as her new shouts echoed throughout the chamber. "My God, don't you even care, Ayeka?! Don't you even care the least little bit?!" The floor was breaking apart and cracks ran up the walls. The lights were fluctuating in time with Sasami's speech pattern and rainbow beams flew and crackled in all directions. "Bitch!" Sasami screamed as Ayeka's face turned colorless with horror. "You had to do it, didn't you?! You put us all to death! Traitor to your own people! Death to the traitor, death to the traitor!" Ayeka was screaming at the top of her lungs as the roots of the trees swept out and attempted to strangle her. Her desperate cry was cut off as more roots encased her body. The lights resembled flames as Sasami, her little 10-year-old sister's eyes turned red with blood lust, and smile of cold justice illuminated her young face with a hellish orange glow. The trees were almost chanting with Sasami as Ayeka's face turned to the epitome of betrayal and horror. Sasami's dead voice crashed against the walls and rebounded throughout the palace as the strange spirit inside her attempted a final clash with destiny. "To hell with you, witch! Burn in damnation!" Then, Ayeka was saved. The First Knights, Azaka and Kamidake rushed to the scene. "Have at you, demon spirit!" they shouted as they fired twin crimson and blue energy beams from their staffs. Sasami's body dropped to the floor and a twisted, dark, gaseous shape expelled itself from her mouth. It screeched in the air with a horrible cry as the First Knights obliterated it with a mighty chi blast. The roots unraveled themselves from Ayeka and the lights returned to normal. She fell into Kamidake's arms with a badly bruised neck and a body that had almost been crushed. "Hurry, Kamidake!" Azaka called as he tended to Sasami. "Take her to the doctor!" As Kamidake rushed off, Sasami awakened. She coughed and said weakly, "Azaka? What did I do to Ayeka? What have I done?!" Azaka held her to his chest as she cried and sobbed in sorrow, and all the time Azaka was wondering. Where did this evil thing come from? Even more importantly, though, who sent it here? And for what purpose? <<>> There was a boy prophesied in the chronicles of legend. It was said that his strong voice would call all those chosen by destiny to defend the universe from it's greatest peril. That time is now. The Earth Dream Miracle Jurai Dream Saber TENCHI MUYO Can't escape it, ain't no use in trying. You're no exception Love will leave you crying too till You are a broken man; poor you. The day you see her, a lovely stranger, You only pray you'll even know her name. You finally touch her, then you're in danger; It won't be long before you feel the pain. Cause your emotions will overtake you; You'll look for heaven in her big brown eyes, But she's no angel and she'll forsake you. It shouldn't come as any great surprise. Passion isn't really happiness. There is trouble in her sweet caress. Lost in confusion, you'll drown in your delusion If you don't run. Get ready, love will leave you crying. It's gonna hurt you till your heart is dying. Can't escape it, ain't no use in trying. You're no exception, love will leave you crying too till You are a broken man; poor you. LIGHTHAWK LEGEND Day turns to night Night turns to day The one who is heaven and earth The one who is Jurai and man The one who wields the ten wings of destiny Open your heart And two souls will transcend The boundaries of light So that wings laced with Feathers of love Will mend the tears of darkness And close the doorway of evil Forever. Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction and uses characters and situations from the Tenchi Muyo TV series, copyrighted under Pioneer. Also, some characters may come from the No Need For Tenchi graphic novel series, copyright Viz Comics. I take no credit for the base characters and plot, but all developments as of the time frame of my story are of my own design. If by some strange chance my plot is parallel to another author's fanfiction, I wish to be notified. For comments and information, E-mail me at bkvhw@earthlink.net . ry are of my own design. If by some strange chance my plot is parallel to another author's fanfiction, I wish to be notified. For comments and information, E-mail me at bkvhw@earthlink.net .