<[The lights go up and we see Azaka and Kamidake standing in front of a red curtain.] Azaka: Good evening, and welcome to the special episodes of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo- ohki! Kamidake: This story, which uses characters owned by AIC and Pioneer, not the author, picks up where the three part OAV prequel "Opening Moves" (which the author strongly suggests you read first) left off. In that, we watched the three goddesses prepare for their inevitable conflict. The story ended with Ryoko's attack on Jurai, but instead of what we know happening, Prince Yosho died at the end. Azaka: I think there's only one proper response to that: Holy ****. Kamidake: I'm glad we agree, Azaka. Azaka: Now, without Yosho, Tenchi will never exist either. Note: We are under orders from Princess Ayeka and the author to attack anyone who cheers about that. [They glance warily in the direction of the Two Guys' and K'thardin's respective websites.] The author wants to make it clear that he did not remove any characters because of a dislike for them, but merely because they do not fit in the story. Kamidake: With Tsunami's plan an apparent failure, what will happen next? Will the universe be safe? Read and find out! Azaka: You won't even have to pay admission until after the show. [The two pull back the curtain.] Kamidake: You know, in this scenario the title Tenchi Muyo! actually makes sense. Azaka: [Pause] I guess you're right.> Tenchi Muyo! Test of Faith Chapter One: Unraveling Tapestry The world was dark. It always was. This was simply a fact of her life. In her world, darkness was the way of things. The funny thing was, although it was dark, there were still bright pictures. People walked past every day. Priests performed ceremonies and cleaned the area. People came forward asking for blessings. Occasionally they even ventured inside. None of these images were real. At least, not to her. Close your eyes for a moment and try to form a clear picture in your mind. Images flash by faster than the mind can keep up. None of them are real. The real world still surrounds you, and the world for her was darkness. With reality's constant intrusions, it is near impossible to force an image to stay clear in the mind. Had she the will, she might have been able to hold her focus on some of these visions, but none of them ever caught her interest. They were just pictures in her head. How was she to know that they were real? She had no desire to escape. Escape had no meaning. Life was being in the darkness. There was a time when she had been out in the light. She remembered that time clearly, but it was just an image in her head as well. The darkness was reality. How was she to know that it could change? She had no desire to escape. It turns out, though, that sometimes personal desire, or the lack thereof, is not the strongest of forces. It had been around 700 Earth years since the one who had been called Ryoko (she didn't call herself that- she never thought to call herself anything) had been sealed away. The power of Tsunami had imprisoned her. The power of Washu would release her. The gems had been growing for twenty millennia. By this point, their strength had grown enough to challenge Tsunami's seal. The sword and the gems were fighting for superiority. The sword seemed to be winning, but the gems only needed a tiny crack to claim victory. The wall of the cave started to crack, then slammed shut again. Ryoko saw a flash of light and was stunned. This wasn't a picture inside. It was like the pictures were becoming real. The light disappeared but then came back. She had to know what this was. She flew towards it, then into it. The crack in the wall was a mere sliver, not large enough for a wide worm, but with the seal broken she phased through. Ryoko was in the outer cave now. it was dark still, but there was some light coming from down the tunnel. Where was this new place? She felt as though she had been amputated. Why didn't she have her gems? How could she be alive without them? Then she heard voices from the light. People! Coming this way! What to do? Stripped of all will, the most basic of instincts surfaced in her: survive. When it came to people, that meant only one thing: Run! She dove through the ceiling of the cave into the chilly, pitch dark night. The cold and the dark didn't bother her, but the city full of people below did. She flew away, as far as she could go before exhaustion overtook her. Princess Ayeka heard a pneumatic hiss and felt a warm wind blow in. She dully noticed a scratchy voice. "All systems activated," the voice said. "Unlock the time-freeze now. All systems synchronize to bridge standard time." Princess Ayeka moved her lips slowly as feeling returned to them and opened her eyes. She stepped out hesitantly, wearing her ornate robes, and walked onto the circle for the ship's commander. It was strange, to be awake again. She glanced at the clock on the bridge controls that told her she had been in hibernation for around 700 years. She looked out at the blue and white planet, which had grown large in the window. "What planet is this?" "Colonized planet number zero three one five," answered the deep voice of the blue-marked Azaka. "Earth." "Then this is where my brother Yosho is!" piped Ayeka excitedly. "No, what we detected from this planet is Ryoko." "Huh?" said Ayeka, her face falling, then developing into a venomous scowl. "Not that woman. What does this mean?" "We have yet to detect Yosho's ship, but he was in pursuit of Ryoko," answered Azaka. "Logically , it would follow that-" "I see," said Ayeka, cutting him off. "That woman and Ryo-ohki must be caught and tried formally by our planet Jurai as soon as possible." "Princess Ayeka, unfortunately all of Ryoko's crimes were canceled by statute of limitations nearly two standard years ago." "What?" "The statute of limitations has taken effect, and Ryoko's galaxy wanted file has been erased." Ayeka felt anger run through her. She could still remember everything that that woman had done. Now she was expected to let her go free- on a technicality? "Answer me, why is it!" "The statute of limitations is based on decisions made by the Holy Council of planet Jurai, and-" "That is not what I have asked! I want to know why that woman is not sought for all eternity!" "The statute of limitations is based on decisions made by the Holy Council of planet Jurai, and-" "Never mind. That woman is our only clue. We must capture her at all costs." "But the statute of limitations-" "That's an order! We will think of a reason later." The ship turned towards the Earth and began its descent. "Be well, my dearest Yosho. Please be well." It took only a few minutes to arrive at their destination. "Are you sure this is where she is?" asked Ayeka incredulously. She was staring at a dark, uninhabited mountaintop. It was coated with snow and pelted by fierce winds. "I thought for sure that she would surround herself with hostages." "We have detected a number of minor imaginary space jumps and antimatter based energy discharges from this general location," answered Azaka coolly. "The people on this planet have no way of generating such phenomena, so Ryoko is the only plausible source." "I see. She's on top of the mountain, then? And you are certain that she is alone? What about Ryo-ohki?" "We have yet to detect any signs of the Ryo-ohki. Ryoko is the only lifeform in the vicinity." "Very well, then. We will deal with Ryoko first. Have the ship form a force field around the mountaintop so she cannot teleport out. We will then approach ourselves and take her prisoner." "Yes, ma'am." "And be ready for anything." Ryoko was sitting on top of the mountain, shivering. Her nude body was desperately thin. Every one of her bones was visible. Her eyes were sunken in and darting around wildly. Her hair was thin and falling out. There was dried vomit across her abdomen. It was cold on the mountaintop. She had never gotten cold before, but now she was. She couldn't understand all of the new sensations or what she was supposed to do about them. The strongest of them was an ache in her stomach. What did it mean? In the past, she had always known what to do. Now she was confused. Maybe she was just supposed to feel the pain. Somewhere in the farthest back corner of her mind came a suggestion: Eat something. Eat? Why? She had seen other people eat, but she had never done it herself. Maybe she would try that, if the pain kept going. Ryoko jerked her head up at the sound of snow crunching. A woman in heavy robes was walking towards her with two floating logs on either side. She had been trying to run away from people, but here was another one. She lifted off and flew away, but was hit with a fierce shock and fell back to the ground. "Don't think about running, criminal," said the stranger. "I've got you surrounded." "What's going on? What to do, what to do? Can't run, what to do?" Her words came fast and without pausing, as if she was chanting to herself. "You're going to tell me now," she said, walking closer. "Where is my brother?" "Fight? Maybe fight? Can't fight, won't win. Can't fight, can't run, nothing to do but hurt." "Stop these games, criminal!" she shouted, grabbing Ryoko by the shoulders and shaking her. "Ah! Let go, gotta run, can't run!" The stranger jumped back and looked over Ryoko for the first time. Her sharp eyes widened and the scowl on her face seemed to disappear. "I expected a deadly criminal. What happened to you?" Ryoko simply sat there shivering. "Take us back to the ship." "Yes, ma'am." Ryoko was held in a protective force field and placed on a bed. Ayeka looked over her frail form. "Get an intravenous needle and give her some nutrients. She looks far too weak." "Are you worried about her?" asked Kamidake. "Of course not!" she snapped quickly. "It's... just that we need her alive. For the time being, that is." "Of course." Kamidake attended to the prisoner. "And keep her on the bridge so we can keep an eye on her. Azaka, where did the first signs of Ryoko show up?" "She first appeared in a cave in a midsized city near here." "Drop me as close as you can to the city. I imagine we'll get more information there than from her gibberish." She took off the overly ornate robe she was wearing to avoid drawing attention to herself. "Since it is night time, we can safely place you within the city. From where you land, the cave will be in a temple up a hill." Ayeka saw the familiar lights of teleportation and appeared in a dark street. She wandered through the maze of glass and stone buildings for almost half an hour, feeling more lost by the minute. Where was this stupid temple? "Hey, baby. You know, it's not safe for a little lady like yourself to be wandering around in the middle of the night." Ayeka groaned and turned to face the speaker whom she had seen following her several minutes ago. He was a bit shorter than Ayeka but he had a thick build. "Thank you, but I'll be fine," she said, turning to walk away. "Don't turn your back on me!" He rushed at her and grabbed her arm. She spun around and slapped him in the face. "Bitch!" he yelled, pulling out a knife and lunging at her. He slammed into a force field a few feet in front of her and fell backwards. He dropped the weapon from his hand and his jaw dropped as well. "Now," Ayeka said, smiling sweetly as she gingerly stepped forward and held his chin in her hand, "perhaps you would be enough of a gentleman to tell me how I could reach the temple?" "Gg- I- you-" Ayeka scowled. "Answer me, ruffian!" "Temple! Temple, f-four streets down, turn left and up the hill," he stammered. Ayeka smiled again. "Thank you, dear." She then hit him at the base of the neck- a light tap for her, a consciousness-stealing blow for him. Following the thug's directions, she found that they did indeed lead to a temple. It was a steep hill, and she had to take high steps to ascend it, but at least the road was paved. She reached the summit slightly winded. A square stone temple sat in front of her. Ayeka stepped forward and knocked on the door. A few moments later, it cracked open and was answered by a young man in white robes. "May I help you, miss?" "I was told there was a cave here that I would be interested in seeing." "Oh, I see. Come in." He opened the door all the way and ushered her inside. It was a large square room with doors on all sides leading away. There were lights in the ceiling whose glow reflected orange off the smooth stone walls. "We have acolytes here twenty-four hours a day, but it's rare to have visitors this late. Especially on so cold a night." "Oh, I hope I'm not inconveniencing you-" "Not at all, not at all. Actually, I was hoping to get something to do. It does get rather dull at these hours. I take it you've never been here before?" "No. What is this place?" "You know nothing of it?" he asked with one eyebrow raised. "I thought if you went to the trouble of coming here... Well, the legend begins seven hundred years ago." "How many?" "Seven hundred. Why?" "I just wanted to be sure I heard right. I'm sorry, please continue." "All right, then. What happened- well, take a look." He gestured up to a huge stone slab above a door. It was about twenty feet tall and five wide and had kanji carved across its surface. Ayeka frowned at the words. While the translation chip in her brain was working flawlessly for speech (lucky thing this was Jurai territory), it seemed to have no luck with the writing. "Wait, can you not- Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean to- Well, the gist of it is this: Seven hundred years ago, a great star fell from the sky, flattening the mountains. People went to look and were led to a cave. Outside the cave was the body of a young man. He was believed to have been a saint come to give us a sign. They- as the text puts it- 'sent his body to the gods in ash.'" "Then... he died?" "Yes. He died just outside the cave he sealed. Some say that those who live here pass through this cave on the way to the afterlife. Whatever the case, people were sure that it must be a blessing within, so they began to live here. That is the origin of this city." Ayeka could not believe that her brother could have died so easily. It was probably just a bystander who got caught in the crossfire. "Is there a picture of what the saint looked like?" "There was a painting made, but it was destroyed in a fire. Any pictures now are pure guesswork." "I see. Where is the cave, then?" "Right through that door." He opened a door opposite the one she entered through that led to an open air area. It was walled in, but the cave entrance in the center was untouched. "I'll guide you in." "Actually, if you do not object, I would prefer to enter alone." "I suppose that would be all right," he said hesitantly. "Here." He handed her a flashlight as she walked toward the door. "Be careful. And make sure you don't touch the sacred sword." Ayeka stopped. "What sacred sword?" "Oh, did I forget to tell you? It's a jeweled wooden sword hilt. The blade itself is trapped in a stone. Anyone who touches it feels a crippling shock, so we take that as a sign to leave it be." "Thank you, I'll be careful." She walked into the dark, damp cave. It sounded like the acolyte was talking about a Juraian key, except for the mention of jewels. Keys were supposed to be kept simple and unornate. Well, she would find out soon enough. She reached the end of the tunnel and a larger room. The only things of note were a small wooden houselike structure and a door to a deeper area. Ayeka walked over to the wood structure and opened it. Resting inside was the Tenchi- ken. "The Master Key!" gasped Ayeka. "And Yosho had it with him. So he was here. But what has become of him? He should be guarding this place." She thought for a moment about what to do next. "He wouldn't have left this place unguarded, so he must still be watching over it somewhere. He came here on a tree ship. Maybe that ship's memory will hold the answers. "I suppose I had better take this with me, then." She grabbed the key and slid it out of the rock easily. "Hmm, I wonder why the blade is solid. Oh well." She activated the sword and it shot out of the hilt, shattering the rusty blade. Then she deactivated it and hid it in a pocket of her robe. The back wall of the cave slid open. "Oh, my! This must be where Ryoko was kept." She headed down the opening and found a pool of water at the bottom. This was quite obviously Ryoko's prison, but with her gone there was nothing of interest to Ayeka, so she quickly left. Ayeka returned to the temple and found the acolyte who had helped her earlier. "Excuse me, sir, I was wondering if there were any large, unusual trees around here." "Are you sure you've never been here before?" She shook her head, a gesture that the translator told her meant no. "Well, it sounds like you're talking about the holy tree. They say it grew from the same spot the star fell. As such, it is considered to have grown on blessed ground. Go out the back of the temple and down the path. It leads directly to the holy tree. You can't miss it." "Thank you sir," she said, bowing. The acolyte was right. It was impossible to miss the tree. It stood alone, with no other vegetation around it. This lonely look was caused by the intense nutrient requirements of Juraian trees. A pool of water encircled it with a small bridge on one side. Ayeka thought for a moment about how powerful things always drive others away, but decided that it wasn't worth going down that road. Sometimes she wished she hadn't had to take poetry classes. The princess stood under the tree and tapped its trunk with the sword hilt. Bright lights shot out of the leaves and lit the dark night. Images flashed inside Ayeka's mind. Ryo-ohki and Funaho falling to the Earth. Yosho and Ryoko fighting fiercely, neither one willing to back down. Yosho's triumph over his foe. And then... his sad, yet peaceful death. "It cannot be," she whispered, tears glistening in her eyes. "I can't have gone through all of this just to..." She fell to her hands and knees with tears pouring from her eyes. She punched her fist into the hard dirt, forming cracks in the smooth ground. "Damn you, Yosho!" she howled into the cold night air. "Why did you have to be so brave. Jurai needed you." Then, almost inaudibly: "I need you." "Miss? Are you okay?" It was the acolyte. He ran up to her, panting slightly. "Please leave me alone." "I think maybe you should come inside." "Thank you, but I really should be going now." "Well, if you must. But if you need someone to talk to-" "Thank you." She turned and walked away from the temple into the darkness. "Azaka, Kamidake, bring me onboard," she said flatly. She was immediately teleported up. "Princess Ayeka, did you find Prince Yosho?" asked Azaka. She didn't answer for a moment. "Send a message to Jurai. Tell them what has occurred and that we shall be returning shortly." "What about Prince Yosho?" asked Azaka. "We will discuss that later!" snapped the princess. "I'm going to my quarters now." "Tsunami has just entered the system. Princess Sasami has been brought out of suspended animation and is requesting a rendezvous." "Tell her that our mission has been canceled and to return to Jurai." "Yes, ma'am." The blaring sound of alarms jolted Ayeka awake. She jumped out of bed, quickly threw on a light, pink kimono, and ran out of the room towards the bridge of the ship. "What is the problem?" she asked tersely. "Why have the alarms been sounded?" "The ship has unexpectedly fallen into real space," answered Kamidake. "We believe that we may be under attack," intoned Azaka. "Attack? By whom?" "As of yet," said Azaka, "there has been no appearance by any- Oh, never mind." Out the viewport, an enormous gray ship with multiple layers was now visible. "By Tsunami, what is that?" gasped Ayeka. "Attempting evasive maneuvers now. Evasion failing." The ship bucked in many different directions but it was unable to break free of the larger ship's anti-jumping field. "The ship is drawing closer." "Incoming energy blasts!" Ayeka stepped directly into the center of the bridge and connected her mind with the Light Hawk Wings, throwing them open just in time to catch the volley of energy blasts. She forced them open all the way to form a protective circle. In this pattern the wings were thinner since the energy was dispersed, but it was near impossible to get around. "Is there any chance of escape?" "Negative, Princess. The ship's anti-jumping field is too close, and it's too fast for us to get out of range." "Heheheheheh." Ayeka jumped at the laughter and the humming sound from behind her. Spinning around, she saw a tall, gray-haired man with undersized glasses stepping forth from a glowing green portal. "Well, if it isn't the lovely Princess Ayeka," he said, smiling. "How do you do, my dear?" He placed his right arm in front of his chest and bowed. "Who are you?" "I'm afraid I can't answer that question now. Terribly rude, I know, but I need to keep my name to myself. I'm sorry to intrude on you like this, but you have something of mine that I'd like back." He floated over to the bed where Ryoko lay. "She's not looking very well, is she?" "Get off of this ship, now!" said Ayeka, trying to keep her voice from quivering. "Oh, I will, just as soon as I get what I came for." He then saw the sword that she was absent-mindedly clutching. In a flash, he flew over to her side and tried to grab it, only to feel an electric jolt run through him. Ayeka pushed him away, breaking his grip on the sword. "I see," said Kagato, looking at the sword and the gems on its hilt. "Very interesting. Well, I should take my servant and go now." "Your servant?" "That," he said, pointing to Ryoko. "It works for me. I intercepted the message you sent to Jurai saying that you had captured Ryoko. I'm here to relieve you of her." "Then- you are responsible for the attack on Jurai. You killed my brother." "The old boy really is dead, eh? Pity that." Ayeka's eyes narrowed at his words. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you, princess. I can't have anyone knowing I've reclaimed my prize. Sorry. It's nothing personal." He activated his green blade and charged. Ayeka formed a force field around her that stopped the blade. He hovered above her, pushing down on the wall of energy. Then, opening a small hole in the force field, she punched him in the gut. He gasped, nearly doubling over, and floated backwards slowly. "I'll deal with you from my ship," he said, grabbing Ryoko and passing through the newly reopened portal. "Azaka, Kamidake, send out a distress signal immediately!" "We already have, but we are in deep space and it is unlikely that help will arrive in time," said Kamidake. "In that case, are we within personal teleportation range of that ship?" "We are," answered Azaka. "Send me there now. I'll have a better chance against him one-on-one than in ship combat. And I'll take this with me just in case." She shoved Tenchi- ken into her pocket. She couldn't fully access its powers, of course, but it might improve her own ability to use Ryu-oh's energy. "Yes ma'am!" said Kamidake. "Should we follow you?" asked Azaka. "You two must continue to pilot the ship." "Of course. Good luck, Princess Ayeka." "Thank you." Then she disappeared. Kagato sat at his organ and played. The music was projected throughout the entire ship. He had opened all of the barricades to him so that Ayeka would have no trouble finding her way to the bridge. She would fight a few drones, but he was confident that she would arrive. He ended his piece and stood up to face the visitor as she crossed the catwalk. "Hello, my dear. Welcome to my chapel. I've been waiting for you." Without a word, Ayeka dashed forward and punched him in the chest. He stood still and took the blow without flinching. Ayeka stumbled away from him. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, princess, but you really don't stand a chance. I only let you think you did because I needed you to come here." "W-why?" she whispered. The pirate grinned at her. "Why don't I show you?" The Tenchi-ken then activated itself. Ayeka jumped and gripped the sword tightly. It twisted around and fought against her grip. It turned towards her and she was forced to let go or be sliced open. The sword floated away, resting atop the large chair against the wall. "You see this ship is capable of controlling Jurai energy. It is now in control of the Master Key." "Then you have Tsunami?" "Tsunami. And every other Juraian ship." "W-what do you mean?" "Princess Ayeka, don't play dumb with me. I know how the hierarchy of trees works." "That is supposed to be a secret of the Jurai royal family." "Well it isn't." Suddenly an unconscious Ryoko appeared in the room. "Now to attend to this one." The gems were released from the Master Key and returned to the appropriate places. They started glowing once they made contact. "Right now the gems should be rejuvenating her. They are her life force, you see. You may have noticed that she wasn't really herself earlier. She has intelligence but no sentience. She can understand patterns and how her enemies will react but she never really considers why.. She has no self- awareness and no real concept of others, or of the future, except as they relate to her mission. Perhaps if she had spent some time observing others, she might have come to think of them as more than just targets..." "So you provide her with a will to do whatever you wish her to? But how?" "The gems are the source of her strength and so can also control her mind. And this ship can control the gems because they use the same energy as Juraian trees." Ryoko stirred and stood up slowly. Her eyes were their old lime green color and her body, while still thin, looked much better than it had a few minutes ago. "Put some clothes on, my dear. We have company." Ryoko obligingly phased into her red and black battle outfit. "That's better. Now, Princess Ayeka, there's something I need to discuss with you. I want to talk about how it is that you Juraians are able to use the energy of your trees." "I thought you said you were able to use it from the ship?" "I am. But that's rather inconvenient, don't you think? I can't control all of the trees personally. Can you imagine what a strain that would be? I need a way of allowing others to control them directly for me, so first I must understand how this energy truly works. How is it that someone's blood can determine their ability to control energy?" "I don't really know," answered Ayeka flatly. "No one does." "If that's the way you want it, maybe I should just have your memories drained. I can extract everything you ever knew. But that takes longer, and it's much less pleasant. Or maybe I'll just keep you in the dungeon until you think of something to say." "Dungeon?" "An alternate dimension. It's the exact reverse of this ship. There's a one-way door; I can send people in, but I can't force them out, and I can't go in myself because it has to be controlled from out here. I can keep people in, though, for as long as I wish them to stay. Trust me, you won't enjoy it." "Do whatever you want, but it will not allow me to tell you something that I do not know." "Perhaps not. But I might just be able to trade you for someone who does." "Why don't you trade her for me?" asked a young voice. Ayeka and Kagato both nearly jumped out of their skin. Who was that? Kagato stared at the large translucent screen hanging in the room with the grim face of a young girl. It took him a few seconds to recognize her as the second princess of Jurai. "How did you get into this system?" "Tsunami hacked in. She's a powerful ship. I came her to stop you from taking Ayeka." "I'm afraid you're too late, Princess Sasami. I have the Master Key and control of the ship you're in." "I thought I said that I didn't come here to fight. I came to make a deal. I'm about to eject from Tsunami and leave this space. Let Ayeka go, and you can have me instead." "What's the point of trading one princess for another?" "Because you may have taken the ship..." Sasami walked across the room to stand in front of a pool of water, revealing the reflection of another. "But you don't have me," finished Tsunami. Kagato shook his head to make sure he was seeing correctly. The reflection of Sasami was Tsunami. What did it mean? "Seven hundred years ago," said Sasami, her voice quivering a bit, "when Ryoko attacked Jurai, Sasami was in the tree room. The palace was hit and Sasami fell to her death. Tsunami created me as a replacement and moved her mind into this body." Ayeka stood in quiet disbelief. Kagato was focused, trying to put together the pieces. Tsunami's head was bowed sadly. Sasami stood stoically, staring at the enemy. "You see, you have the body of Tsunami. I have the mind. All you have to do is release Ayeka- one girl who won't even have access to Jurai energy anymore- and you get the mind of a goddess and everything she knows." It took him all of three seconds to decide. "I accept. Ryoko, will you escort Princess Ayeka to a shuttle?" "I won't go!" she yelled. Ryoko was not giving her a choice in the matter, and carried her away kicking and screaming. Kagato chuckled to himself. "I always knew emotion was one of humanity's greatest weaknesses." Ryoko placed Ayeka in an escape shuttle. It was programmed to jump in a random direction for one light year before turning over control to the pilot. As soon as Ayeka entered, the ship pulled away and broke into imaginary space. The ship could barely even be called a ship. It was a tiny space not much bigger than a closet with a small control panel from which it could be piloted. There was no artificial gravity, so Ayeka was floating in the space trying to avoid hitting the walls or ceiling. The window was black. Of course, it wasn't a real window. Very few modern ships had actual windows, in favor of cameras on the outside that projected screens on the inner walls of the ship, giving the illusion of windows. This protected from unfiltered solar radiation and was sturdier than glass, although actual windows could be opened in emergency situations. In imaginary space, the cameras were always shut down. The images that would be captured would make absolutely no sense anyway. "Princess Ayeka, I need to speak to you," said a hologram of Tsunami in the cramped ship. "Tsunami? How has all of this happened?" "Sasami already answered that question. Except that she was mistaken about one thing. She never died. I stopped that from happening by assimilating with her, pushing my essence into her body." "So- you really did just give my sister to that monster?" "You are the whole world to her. She chose to give herself to him in order to save you." "But she's too young to make that choice! She doesn't realize what she's done. And you're more important to Jurai than I am." "Don't you think I know that?" Ayeka marveled at Tsunami's ability to keep calm in this situation. "Don't you think it kills me to know what's in store for me. You have to understand something, though. I could have easily stopped Sasami from going through with this. In my mind, I would have been doing it to protect a greater good. But that's one compromise I cannot allow myself to make. You see, if I were to force someone else to do what I thought was right, then, no matter how noble my intentions, I would be no better than him." "I don't know what to make of all of this. There are so many questions." "I wish I could answer them all, but time is short. As soon as I am taken, this conversation must end. So listen to me closely. You are much more important to the universe than you think. I expect great things from you in the near future. It will not be easy, but you mustn't falter in your task. You have to promise me that you will not lose faith." "I-" The hologram abruptly disappeared. "I promise," said Ayeka into the empty room. Then she buried her head in her hands and wept. Jurgan