Tenchi Muyo! Belongs to Pioneer LDC and AIC.


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MALEVOLENT VERACITY
Perfect Hatred

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The massive walls of the cathedral sprawled over everything in sight.
Beautiful archaic engravings were smattered all about the walls of
the most magnificent building.  The walls themselves were made of
a dark brown wood, given a reddish finish.  They spanned hundreds of
feet into the air of the cathedral.
	Aeka stood in the center of the cathedral.
	On the far wall, was a massive stained glass window.  Through
that window, light poured through into the ancient citadel, giving
it a benevolent, yet almost haunting glow.
	Pews spanned throughout the length of the massive room.  The
sterility of this undisturbed citadel filled Aeka's nostrils, making
the chapel smell... holy.
	The princess looked around herself in confusion, wondering what
she was doing within such a large structure, and how she got there.
	<Am I... dreaming?>
	Aeka looked at her hands.  After staring at them for a moment,
she turned them over, and looked at the back of them.  Still unable
to decide if she was sleeping or awake, she pinched one hand.  Flinching
slightly, she confirmed to herself.
	"I am awake."


_____


"You must have faith in your own power."


_____


Through her curious crimson eyes, Aeka looked all around the massive room.
There was nothing other than herself that appeared to be alive.  Nothing.
Blinking, she tilted her head, and looked at the stained glass window
which was encompassing the majority of the front wall.
	Set in ancient glyphs and archaic artistry, Aeka could discern
that the being in the window was Tsunami.  Frowning, she began to take
slow steps down the sea of red carpet towards the front, examining the
window closer.
	Next to Tsunami, there was a being that seemed so familiar, yet
she could not discern who it was.  It was... so familiar...


_____


"We're not making fun of you, Aeka!  Or... at least... *I'm* not."


_____


Sniffling once, tasting the scent of the musty citadel, Aeka stopped
her advances.
	<I *know* I've seen that person before.  Who... who is it?>
	Aeka's curiosity to discern the identity of the mystery figure
was beginning to consume her.  For some reason, one which she couldn't
explain, Aeka began to shake.  Her hands began to tremble.  As she
lifted them to look at them, her forearms began to tremble, as well.
	Aeka was blinking, very afraid of the strange sensation of fear
that was coursing through her very being.
	"What... what is this that I am feeling?"


_____


Washu sighed, and turned on her hover pillow to face Aeka.  She shared
a long look at the princess, studying the purple haired woman's features
for a few moments before speaking.
	"You *do* know that it still isn't ready, don't you?"
	Aeka sighed.  "Yes, Miss Washu.  I'm aware.  I just want to know
*how* much longer am I going to have to wait."
	Washu smirked and shrugged.  "I don't know.  You should know better
than any of us.  It's *yours*, after all."
	Aeka sniffled, clasping her hands together.  "Very well, then.
Sorry to trouble you, Miss Washu."  Aeka began to turn from the scientist.
	"Aeka."
	Aeka stopped.  "Yes?"
	"Sometimes things don't always appear in the way that they really
are."
	Aeka arched an eyebrow, and turned to look at the petite scientist.
"Umm... what do you mean by that?"
	Washu closed her eyes.  "Sometimes what you see with your eyes
isn't always the truth.  Sometimes you can experience things, and then
believe you know what it is that you have experienced, but in the end,
you know *nothing*."
	Aeka frowned.  "I'm not sure I understand."
	Washu opened her eyes, and locked her gaze with Aeka's.  "You will,
Aeka.  In this situation, that is something you must remember.  You
*will* understand."
	Aeka let this new information sink in, then turned in silence.
She walked to the door of the lab, and opened it.  "Thank you, Miss
Washu," she said quietly before shutting the door behind her.


_____


"What is it that I fear?  Do I fear... Do I fear the answer?"
	Aeka continued to stare at her trembling hands.  Her breath was
quickening as her fear was mounting.  Her eyes were trembling with
fear as she watched the small blur created by her fingers as they
continued to shake back and forth.
	She stood in the citadel, bathed in the now ominous twilight
set by the stained glass window.  "Who is that girl in the window?
Why am I shaking?  What is it that I am afraid of?  Why am I *here*?!"
	Aeka put her hands down quickly, and looked back up at the
stained glass window, and frowned.
	"Tenchi... give me strength..."
	Aeka began to walk closer.


_____


"Everything will be fine, Aeka.  So... so you should cheer up!"


_____


The sun beat down gently on the grassy field.  The clouds in sky did not
amply float by, however.  They appeared to be a hazel color, and they
appeared to be caught in some sort of time-lapse motion, all moving at
speeds that clearly suggested the wind was moving at incomprehensible
levels... even though it was not.
	The gentle breeze blew through the tall, green grass.  Whipping
up the scent of the tranquil field, the wind carried on, as if it
was pleased with what it had stirred.
	In the field is where they lay.
	Tsunami was sitting down in the field with her legs stretched
out, and one hand to her side on the ground.  She was dressed in her
beautiful extravagant raiment's, with a peaceful, benevolent expression
on her face.
	Aeka lay with Tsunami.  Aeka's head was resting in Tsunami's
lap, and she was curled into a fetal position. She simply let Tsunami
stroke her long purple hair, as she felt the grass as the wind swept it
against her, and smelled the scent of the field.
	Eventually, Aeka spoke.
	"What is happening?"
	Tsunami continued to smile peacefully at Aeka as she ran her
fingers through her hair.  "Many things are happening."
	Aeka took in a long scent of the field, and of Tsunami.  "What
is happening to me?  Why am I *here*?"
	Tsunami continued to calmly caress Aeka's hair.  "Sometimes...
sometimes we don't know what is real."
	"...real?"
	Tsunami nodded.  "Sometimes... sometimes things go beyond what
we can understand.  What we are *meant* to understand."
	"I am not allowed to know?"
	"Sometimes the things that are our own selves hinder us.  It is a
strange concept... our very beings, being who they are, restrain us from
bettering ourselves and allowing us to be what we want to be."
	Aeka closed her eyes.  "I'm... holding myself back?"
	"Perhaps... but it is not your *will* which holds you back from
yourself.  It is simply *you* who holds you back."
	"I... I'm afraid I don't understand, Tsunami."
	Tsunami tilted her head and continued to smile at Aeka.  "I know,
child.  I know you don't.  Remember, though.  Sometimes even the things
in which we think we know are true... sometimes become lies.  In your
world... the world of mortals... there is no certainty.  There is no
basis for mutual understanding.  You place yourself at a comfortable
distance from that which you do not understand in hopes that it will
either go away, or you will simply come to understand it on your own."
	Aeka felt her neck go limp, and her head fall further into
Tsunami's lap.  "So I've been living a lie?"
	"No," Tsunami assured her gently, "I simply mean that what you
see with your eyes is not always the truth."
	Aeka blinked.  "I've... heard that before... somewhere."
	Tsunami smiled again.  "You have heard many things, Aeka."


_____


"You... you won't love me... because... because I'm not the real Sasami!"


_____


Aeka sighed into Tsunami's embrace.  "What will I do?  How will I find
the answers, if you will not give them to me?"
	Tsunami looked up at the sky.  "Memories which become part of the
sky..."
	"Memories?"
	Tsunami nodded.  "From memories is where your knowledge will come.
The only certainty that you can draw from yourself or others is what
you choose to believe or react to."
	"I..."
	Tsunami shook her head, once again running her hand through Aeka's
hair.  "Love is pain, sometimes."
	"Love?  My... love... is confusing me?"
	Tsunami chuckled softly.  "Love is the most confusing emotion of
all, Aeka.  There is not a mortal alive who could understand absolutely
anything *completely*.  Let alone the most perplexing emotion of all."
	"I don't... I don't want my love to be pain."
	"Free will, Aeka."
	Aeka sat up, and looked at the goddess in the eyes.  She felt
almost overwhelmed by the awesome presence that dwelled behind those
beautiful eyes.  "Tsu- Tsunami.  What do you mean by Free Will?"
	Tsunami continued to smile back at the princess.  "Pain and
love are choices.  There is no way in this reality that you can
stop their genesis, however, you can create their exodus at any time
you wish.  Because you have something that makes you sentient.  Not
only the ability to recognize your own existence, but the ability
to chose.  You can choose to acknowledge your love, or you can choose
to ignore it.  The same applies to pain."
	"To pain," Aeka whispered, looking down at the long grass.  She
blinked, and looked back at Tsunami.  "But... how is this all happening?
How are you talking to me?"
	Tsunami smiled.  "My children."


_____


"I would rather die... than forsake any of them!"


_____


Aeka grit her teeth as she continued to march.
	Step..
	Step...
	Step....
	Her feet made almost no sound as it touched the red carpet of the
cathedral beneath her.  The view of the gigantic stained glass window
continued to grow larger as she walked closer and closer.  The hauntingly
beautiful tapestry of glass glinted every now and then as the light
passed through it at different angles.
	Aeka's determined expression glared back at the woman next to
Tsunami in the glass.
	The glass was high up on the wall, above a small flight of stairs and
a podium which addressed the massive congregation of the citadel.
	Aeka stopped at the steps which led to the podium, realization
dawning on her.  She closed her eyes, and felt a tear stream down her
face.
	The girl in the window was her.
	It was her.  She couldn't recognize herself.  She was merely
familiar with herself.  At a distance, Aeka couldn't recognize even
herself.  Mutual understanding... true love... these things were nothing.
Only when it was right in front of her could she even *see* it.
	Even herself.
	Aeka wiped away the tears and opened her eyes.  She blinked,
and her eyes went wide.
	Standing in front of her, at the top of the small stairs...
	...was a small girl.
	The girl was no more than five years old.  She wore a ring of
flowers in her hair.  Her hair was dark purple, and it fell back behind
her in two separate pony tails.  The little girl looked down at Aeka
through two timid, crimson eyes.
	It was herself.
	Her inner child.
	Aeka sniffled as she looked at herself.  "What are *you* doing
here?"
	The child closed her eyes.  Her grip tightened around another
ring of flowers she held in her small hand.  "He's never coming back."
	Aeka frowned.
	Little Aeka began to sniffle.  "He left me.  He's gone.  He's
never... never coming back."
	Aeka didn't respond.


_____


"Now is your time to grasp the future!"


_____


Aeka blinked.  Memories.  All of them.  Everything that she was.  She
was simply the sum of all of her memories.  Every instance that had
occurred in her life was what made her what she was.
	Little Aeka smiled down at her.  "It's all a dream."
	Aeka looked back at Little Aeka, somewhat surprised.  The once
saddened girl grinned down at her with an almost sadistic expression,
the haunting light behind her from the stained glass window adding to
her eerie persona.
	"Everything.  Everything that you live is a dream.  A lie."
	Aeka frowned, and began to walk up the stairs.
	"Your life is nothing but a farce.  You can be so easily stimulated.
By suppressing thoughts and memories, you delude yourself into thinking
that you are someone that not.  That you're something that you aren't.
You live a lie because you are nothing more than a lie yourself."


_____


"My children."


_____


Aeka reached the crest of the stairs, and stood looking down at her
somewhat frightening inner child.  Little Aeka continued to grin up
at Aeka.
	"You can't even bond with me."
	Aeka closed her eyes, feeling tears streaming down her face.
She opened her mouth slightly, taking in the air of the citadel through
it.  She sniffled, and opened her eyes again, looking right up at
the image of Tsunami.
	"Tsunami... Tenchi... give me strength."
	Little Aeka frowned, but realized it too late.
	In a moment, Aeka's hands were wrapped around Little Aeka's
throat.  The younger frame of the inner child had no chance against
Aeka's fully developed form, and resulted to do nothing more than
futilely struggle.
	Aeka stared down menacingly at her inner self as she crushed
the life from it.  Little Aeka's eyes began to dilate, and she feebly
hit Aeka's arms with her small fists.
	<Pain and Love are choices.>
	<It is up to you if you wish to acknowledge them, or you wish
to ignore them.>
	<Aeka... I'm here... I'm here...>
	Aeka listened to the voices in her head, and felt all feeling
slowly drain out of her body.  Her hold on her inner child did not
lessen, in fact, it tightened as Aeka became more and more relaxed.
	She seemed to be entering a warm trance.
	<Life is pain.  Pain is choice.  Choose to Love.>
	Her inner child's face was ghostly white, and was becoming slack
in her grip.  Her eyelids fluttered, and she whispered "He's... gone..
come back to... me...", before closing her eyes, and all life slipped
away from her body.
	Aeka let go immediately, the small frame of Little Aeka hitting
the floor with a thud.


_____


Washu took in a short burst of breath through her nose as she looked
at the readouts on her terminal.  Sighing to herself, she rubbed her
eyes.
	"Lady Aeka... I warned you."
	Pressing a few more commands, she activated the final system.
	She sighed.  "You did well, Aeka.  You have become one with it.
I hope I managed to help in some way."
	With that, Washu continued to work.  And she smiled.


_____


Light began to flood into the citadel through the massive stained glass
window.  Aeka blinked, and covered her eyes.  As she did, she felt an
intangible presence enter the room with her.  It was not there physically,
but Aeka could feel its presence all around her.  Next to her.
	Part of her.
	<You choose?>
	Aeka blinked.
	<You chose love over pain.  Guilt is pain.  You destroyed guilt.>
	<You chose to destroy.  You chose to love.>
	Aeka felt tears streaming down her face as the bodiless light began
to seep into her being.  "Yes... I chose to love."
	She closed her eyes, smiling, despite the tears.
	"And I chose to live."




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end





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