(Part Twenty - Mystic Destiny ) The last part of the journey began with a slight maneuvering thrust... the new Yagami showed remarkable agility... we soon leveled at the entry point, and we went in... More than a few of the ladies grasped male counterparts... myself included... the journey took awhile... As we fell deeper into the nebula, broken wisps of gas material and dust showed through blue points of young light, they shone upon soft hues of stellar background... And the deeper we went, the brighter and thicker the light became... Kiyone informed after a while... that we had passed three-light years into the nebula... a few exchanged looks was the response... not even half-way there... Again worry crept into my mindset... and a soft hand kept them back down... Rosusn commented that no vessel had ever mapped the center of the nebula, the gravity waves were to strong... We felt one of them... but... that was ALL we felt... Azusa mentioned then.. that he could sense a power source emanating from the center of the nebula... Washu began theorizing.... I began to hope... The Ayeka pushed Ryoko away from Tenchi... this started a common shouting match, one that Misaki dragged Washu into... then Kagato got into it, Maymay tried to stop it.. and soon we had a shouting clamoring the walls... I simply chuckled... the relief from the growing stress was refreshing.. Mihoshi snapped our attentions back to the viewscreen, as she pointed to a glowing energy disk in our path... AND IT WAS DRAGING US INTO IT!!!!!! More clamoring shouts followed... right into the maw of the disk... and everything went white.... I knew I was holding Tsui... as my sight returned.... Nen then gasped... My Father called my attention to the viewscreen... I looked... and nearly soiled myself.... In view... was the most majestic scene I could ever hope to witness.... A star system floating in the vast mass of gas and dust... we made it... like there was a doubt... heh... umm.. yeah... ..anywho. We all stood transfixed upon the sight of seven worlds... passing them all on a tour encircling a loop from the edge of the system, past the star of the complex; finally moving towards the third world of the system... The colors of each world spanned the colors of the rainbow... about half of them ringed like Saturn of the Sol System... We noted that much of the system was filled with nebula material... but that it didn't give off much radiation... according to Kiyone and Nen.... I then turned to Tsunami... who was looking at Gaia and Tokimi.... Finally, as we approached the third planet in the system... the voice Achika sounded again... it told us to place the Yagami in a high orbit... As we did so... with more grumbling from Fenganis.... we observed that strange patterns were all over the surface of the planet... Sasami remarked... like the roots of a Juraian tree... a HUGE one!! In turn... Azusa, Funaho, and Ayeka agreed.... the pattern of the "roots" ran about like a spider web.... I also remarked that the roots ran to a single point... so I guessed... sue me... Ryoko then did something brash... she saw something floating around near us... looking like a large blue Gem.... Tenchi was the first to scold... followed by Ayeka... Then we saw a flash of blue light lance from the surface, and strike that very object... I could actually hear Ryoko scream from the pain from the power flow... and I screamed a heavy "NO"!!! Then the attack stopped.... Kagato and Tokimi reached her quickly.. not needing actual air to breathe.... As Kagato phased back in with Ryoko... and a ensuing scold/jest from Ayeka... Kiyone ripped our attentions back to the planet... the roots all over the planet... were pulsing a bright blue. As Mother injected a query of obvious nature.. I felt a surge of power flood all around me suddenly.... a quick yell from Sasami, and my next view was of being on a GIGANTIC root... I must have been teleported to the planet... by.... something... I looked around... I noted the air's crispness... the sky had clouds patterned like on Jurai Prime... a few animal type noises of what I had NO clue... and in the distance... off to my right.... what I thought was a large green hill.... just over the horizon... I tried to mentally contact Tsui... but felt I was being blocked.... miffed I was.. as I strode in the direction of the green hill... acting off impulse more than reason... and I had little else to go on.... For awhile... I passed more titanic roots... all apparently directed towards the hill... then I stepped on a soft gushy spot.... looking down... one MOTHER of a leaf... twice the size of a human.... with a glowing blue spot... I muttered Tsunami's name... then felt some kind of compulsion to step on the leaf... I emerged upon a second large leaf.... and was faced with an upclose view of the 'hill' A huge Tree.... not a hill.... it was MAGNIFICENT..... just... just... huge!!! At least as tall as a major skyscraper, and as wide to boot. and I felt it. the Sai`Hon Tree.. It HAD to be. I then realized that there were MANY of these leaves... each with glowing points... teleporters it seemed... heh.... I also noted a second colored leaf... one with a green glowing point... right in front of me... I began to suspect... that I was being led somewhere... Green to green, red to red, yellow to yellow... a few more times... and with each... I met with ever closer detail of the Tree... thick roots turned into thicker branches... and larger leaves... an entire system of teleporters set about the entire tree.... I also noted... that I was being watched.. by something.... like the tree was watching me... an uneasy feeling. The finally... a white leaf teleporter... I also noted... that I was at the end of the trip on the outside of the tree.... it was also getting dark... the sky was now being covered with the nebula as a background portrait. the bright stars shining through. the cool air was too serene.. I wished Tsunami could see this. I looked around at the majestic scene of being so high up... not even realizing I was afraid of heights... the power of the view took over... branches led EVERYWHERE!!!!! I was feeling blessed somehow... Then I heard a twinkling noise... I looked around... the white leaf... it was sparkling.... almost like star-dust was fountaning out of it... I felt overwhelmed by the beauty of the place I was in... And I stepped through.... Trees.... MANY Trees... I found myself inside the trunk of the tree... a soft blue glow splayed across everywhere.... then I noted I was glowing... I felt an incredible amount of jurai energy... but... it felt a bit strange in how it felt... like reading a strange version of a common dialect... this is how I noted of the power I was feeling... I also noted the way the Trees were laid out... just like in the Jurai Hall of Trees.... complete with teleporters.... I quickly found my way towards the well lit abyss of the lower reaches.... thanks to Tsui's guidance from the Hall of Generations, and a feeling of more direction by the.... something... watching me.... I also began to note a very familiar feeling... not Tsunami... but one I was not aquatinted with, yet felt extremely acute to... ..something from the past. Then... as I reached one of the last levels... I THEN felt Tsunami... and Tokimi... and Gaia... ...and Achika too it seemed.... I hurried my pace... asking forgiveness along the way to the Trees I passed... a few light tendrils met my inference... I actually had to chuckle... Then just like that... there it was... the goal in reach... Sai`hon.... set about just as like Tsunami's Tree... like... it ruled here... .whoa. I then scratched my head... where was the Tsunami Tree... I had surmised along the way that there must be one... That's when Tsunami appeared... followed by Tokimi, Gaia... and a form of a long silver haired female I surmised was Achika.... Then a glowing form appeared... out from the tree....and I felt it... the soulfragment of Sai`hon... Tsunami then announced... welcome home... And before I could react... the soul fragment plunged right into me.... and I experienced all the locked and lost emotions, memories and knowledge that the Sai`hon Tree had lock within.... my Key glowed fiercely in front of me... and I learned... Jurai and Fungesia came from Terra... Jurai came from Tsunami and the trees... Fungesia came from Gaia and the caves.... both had formed after Gaia... up to now... unknown as a player in the celestial universe; had fallen in the same manner as Tsunami, Achika and Washu... so... it was five... not four... Achika disappeared into near oblivion... Washu into the arms of a parental lineage of the Science Academy, as her pantheon of knowledge showed... The pantheons of life, genesis, and destiny (Tsunami, Gaia, and Achika) fell to the Earth, almost as if drawn by an unseen force... cast down by Tokimi; pantheon of Power and the Multi-Dimensional expanse... Then something else came into view... that same picture of Sai`hon guarding Tsunami's younger form... and... to the rear... Gaia... forming her enclave together.... in the same manner the Juraians were.... I was guarding the formation of TWO empires!!!! And it was Tsunami that allied with Gaia to meet two similar goals.... I felt my true love of Tsunami show in that scene... and of... sisterhood for Gaia.... The scene cut back a bit in time.... and I saw Sai`hon... standing in front of Tsunami for the first time.... just as I did on Earth... that first week I was there.... I saw a tear fall simply from Tsunami's face... but before I could delve deeper, I saw one last image... Tsunami and Gaia... linking me to a Tree... with a set of Gems embedded in it.... I saw realization... I was linked to both the Gems... and the Trees.... hence my magnified power.... Washu would FLIP when she heard this... But I heard Tokimi's voice. the Gems came from Washu.. not Gaia. apparently, the Gems were a construct that Washu had given Gaia control over, while she recovered from her trauma. hence. when the Fungesians gained Gem technology, at the same time the Juraians developed the Jurai power; it came from Washu's expertise. around the same time Ryoko was.. Born.. But apparently Sai`Hon had gained this ability from Gaia as a safeguard.. And as an agreement between Tsui and Gaia.. MUCH to my embarrassment. I finally awoke back into reality... not that I was sure of that state anymore... and fell to my knees... and cried in sadness and joy... both emotions overlapping the other in constantness.... The goddesses then encircled me... Tsunami being of course the most intimate... but even Tokimi shedding a tear... I cried in realization... that I had a link to each of the goddesses through my link of the two elements... the Tree and Gem.... ...I knew WHY I loved Tsunami so much.... it was ingrained... it was natural to do so.... And Achika's story? Well.. she fell to Earth too... only... as a wandering spirit... that was.. until she inhabited the infant Achika's body, as the child of Yosho and Mitsuki.... and from there... Tenchi... talk about your full circles... Achika and Tenchi.... Tenchi and I... Tsunami and Sasami... Tsunami and I.... weird.... But the last part... Achika's death released her from the wandering on Earth... and was then... well... grabbed by the Sai`hon Tree.... to act as Guardian until my arrival... more weird.... all this was told by my Tree... And the fact of MY Tree being here instead of Tsunami's... well... they both were there.... as like our love... Sai`Hon's Tree merged with Tsunami's old Tree, to ensure in the final moments of the old Jurai civilization... that something would remain.... despite severing the link in the end.. This was the sacrifice Sai`hon made... the ultimate act of love.... of compassion... ..of sad realization... Tsunami and the new me had more than a few things to catch up on... This all above I related to everyone on the Yagami.... and they all cried... making more of a unity than before, between us... But we had minuscule time to celebrate.... suddenly... a broken transmission garbled through to the Yagami... from... Jurai.... It was under attack... under invasion.... And I instinctively knew by whom.... and in anger.... Mulhorand.... Mulhorand..... Mulhorand.... (End Part Twenty)