He was in the subspace blackness again

Unreal Destiny

Part 2-Historical Enlightenment

Oops, this hasn't been proofread yet but I'm eager to put it up.

He was in the subspace blackness again. He could feel it. It felt cold on his skin and he hated it. He breathed it. The air was damp. Musky. Unpleasant. And he hated it. He opened his eyes as quickly and violent as humanly possible. He saw nothing. It was dark. Lonely. And he hated it. He knew who sent him here. And he hated her!

"WASHUUUU!" he screamed, it was pure, brutal fury. He screamed as long as hard as he could. His voice cracked and he stopped, but he continued to release anger. He thrashed his arms violently, throwing his sword as fast and as hard as he could and although he couldn't see it he knew that it was gone and lost forever. But he didn't care. He felt no emotions whatsoever. Except anger.

He yelled again; the emblem of his power appeared on his forehead and glowed with an unreal intensity that illuminated the nothingness. The Wings appeared and thrashed around in the darkness with him, flailing about with an untapped power that was being released only now. The energy coursed through his veins and his head began to hurt. His vision gradually turned red. And he felt another Wing flowing to the tips of his fingers… but it never came out.

He felt a sharp pinch in his back. At that instant he stopped thrashing and the wings were sucked back into his body as suddenly and as abrupt as they came out. He could feel his brain gradually fall back into order and as his thought became rational again he realized that Washu must have injected him with something. He turned himself around as calmly as he could, but still forcefully, to find Washu but found nothing but the discouraging blackness. Eventually he tried meditation and his anger began to dissipate with every slow, prolonged breath.

His anger turned into fear. Fear of what just happened, fear of what was going to happen, fear of the unknown, and fear of the inevitable. The fear spread through his body and again he felt cold. And he couldn't stop himself from shuddering violently. He couldn't stop himself from crying.

Again, he didn't see it, but he felt Washu's motherly care come to him as warmth enveloped him. And again his breathing slowed, but this time, his fear turned into calm.

He didn't hear it, but somehow he knew Washu's next directions. He was going to be sent further along the timeline. He was going to try to stop the bigger problem: the fall of the universe. He didn't think though… he just floated… cried… and shivered… in the deep, dark, abyss.

"… only to fall into the hands of a vicious, soulless being who has no conception whatsoever of freedom, love, or even life?"

A soft, very beautiful voice pulled Tenchi out of his sleep. He didn't know if it was sleep but again he didn't care. He looked at his immediate surroundings, and because of his mood, he thought violently, and almost out loud, Where the hell am I?!

He didn't know if he was indoors and outdoors. To his left and to his right, he saw walls, but they were miles away and they rose like sheer cliffs into a haze into which he could not see the ceiling, if there was one. The room or canyon he was in was dominated by a gargantuan tree, a Jurai tree, bigger than anything he had ever seen in his life, bigger even than Soja. It rose into the haze at well and just looked taller than the walls that accompanied it. It's size alone emanated grandeur and power.

He noticed the room and the tree caught his attention first; as he pulled himself into perspective he realized that he was in a massive sea of people… seconds he later he realized that all these people were Jurain soldiers… and after he realized this it dawned on him that he, too, was wearing Jurain battle armor. People spread from him in all directions as far as he could see, and all of them were facing the tree.

He was on Jurai.

He tapped at the soldier standing at rigid attention next to him and received a harsh glare in return. But Tenchi persisted. He tugged on the soldier's sleeve and monotonously and apprehensively asked, "Where is Princess Ayeka?"

The soldier glared again at Tenchi and his face turned red with anger as he unconsciously sought the hilt of his weapon.

"Do not degrade our slain Empress' honor by speaking of her so."

So it must only be a few years after the incident…

Again Tenchi's head swam as he realized that Ayeka would die. His rage, fury, anger, fear, dejection, panic, dread, all his emotions came together as discipline. Sweat formed on his furrowed brow and in his tightly clenched fists. He felt warm blood come seep from where his nails dug into his palm. He grinded his teeth together and although the awful sound of mashing enamel reverberated through his brain he could still hear the beautiful voice.

"We are in troubling times, my people, but rather than allow this discourage us we must be motivated! Motivated to rise, rise with arms, and fight the abomination that tears through the universe, bringing with it pain, suffering, and chaos that shatters the peace that had once ruled our universe."

The voice was so soothing. It felt so near but he did not see its source around him so he sought it out. Then he saw her… there she stood, in a miniscule niche carved into the enormous bulk of the tree, and although the trunk dwarfed her the strength of her words and the power of her stature spread forth from her body and spoke to every single soul in the hall.

Tsunami!

Behind her stood several men and women, representing different species and wearing a plethora of uniforms but all were obviously men and women of high standing. But one caught his attention… behind Tsunami and only a couple of feet to the right stood a tall woman in a uniform plastered with a variety of medals. She was tall as Tsunami, had straight, close cropped sandy-yellow hair and stood in the perfect military attention stance. Even though she was not talking she radiated discipline, potency, and triumph.

Before he could examine the woman further Tsunami caught his full attention by continuing her speech. Her voice rang clearly through the multitude.

"The war rages on and great prices our paid. But what is the price of freedom? For all things obtained cheaply are regarded with equally low value; but everything gained at great price will be highly cherished. Thus, in fighting our battles we justify our freedom… we give it meaning, we give it life, and we assert our status as Jurai!

"Jurai is not a planet, nor race; it is a governing power, a principle, and an ideal. And when one dares to challenge this ideal, it is an obligation for the people of Jurai to stand, and defend it! Where is this quintessence known as Jurai? Did it die with the Emperors and Empresses that fought before me? Does it fade away with the battle cries that ring across the universe? The answer is no! For Jurai has not died. It lives! You are Jurai! In taking arms you become Jurai, not a person of Jurai, not a people of Jurai, but a force, a power that heralds freedom and liberates from the enemy the right to live! Therefore, you, my friends are now tangible representations of liberty herself! "

Lady Tsunami shined brightly,

"And we can go into the battlefield, assured by the fact that we represent good, and good will prevail. Now go, with the spirit of Jurai and the essence of good pure in your hearts, fight, and triumph!"

For what seemed to be an eternity the masses of soldiers stood in reverent silence of Lady Tsunami's emotional discourse. Tenchi, although worn, emotionally drained, and out of place, joined them and looked at the beautiful goddess with silent admiration. After an appropriate amount of quietude, one of the soldiers began the customary cheer, and the words that came out of his mouth jolted Tenchi:

"Long live… Empress Sasami!!!"

Empress?! he thought, Sasami?!

As the millions of soldiers joined in the deafening chorus he spun to look again at the woman whose identity he held in doubt. Tsunami…he recalled the only times he had seen Tsunami, long ago. She's not tall enough…Sasami…He couldn't believe it. Washu must have sent him at least a decade further along the timeline! He watched Sasami drift back into the tree, the high-ranking officials in tow, immersed in thought. He had to find out what happened. Sasami was Empress; she was sending millions of troops into space, to defend the universe, to fight an all-powerful abomination! He felt like he was in a dream… an unreal dream, or a nightmare… but he painfully remembered that it was no dream… the exact word Washu used was destiny. He shuddered at the disheartening combination of words… an Unreal Destiny.

They all were ushered back to their quarters and were told that the next day they were to be sent to the planet Roeselare, a contested planet right on the conflict line. Tenchi realized that he universe was locked in a war of massive proportions. And like all wars, there would be many, many deaths

But… he thought, how does this tie in… with my incident? He refused to directly acknowledge Ayeka's death, it was a fact he would never, ever come to grips with.

In response to his mental questions, he suddenly knew how to get an answer. Immediately he realized it was another "thought/command" that Washu had implanted in his mind during his subspace emotional outburst: the archives.

Ignoring a mild reprise from his bunkmate, he leapt from his bed and ran out the door. He ran through the palace, and although he didn't know how to reach his destination he felt himself being guided by Washu's subliminal commands. He instinctively knew how to reach the archives. After wandering through the massive labyrinth to the point of exhaustion he stopped at an unremarkable brown door, similar to one of many that he had passed, but following his mind he went in.

Naturally he closed the door but in doing so he cut off all light from entering the pitch-black room. He could see nothing but he heard a gentle hum come from one of the corners of the room in response to his entrance. His torso was shifted and his hand was on the door, about to open it, when the lights flickered on and revealed a featureless, dark brown, cubical room. In the blink of an eye an old man materialized before him, obviously a hologram, and startled Tenchi with a staccato "Hi!" that seemed way to cheery and jovial considering the circumstances.

"Um…"

"I guess you want some info, eh?" the old man interrupted, before Tenchi could continue.

"Yeah…"

"Well, what'll it be?" Two chairs rose from the floor; one came up below the old man, the other forcefully pushed Tenchi into the sitting position.

"Tell me everything that happened since…" his throat dried up in the fraction of a second and his vision blurred slightly as he croaked, "the death of Pri… Empress Ayeka."

The old man sensed Tenchi's apprehension and softly said, "Then I'll guess you'll want me to describe the First Battle of Earth."

"Yes… please."

The old man paused for a second as data was retrieved, then he continued in his gentle voice. "First Battle of Earth, the first battle of the Universal War and, of course the first major and decisive conflict. Hmm… the First Battle of Earth officially began after the assassination of Emperor Azusa."

"The what?" Tenchi shouted.

"Oh, I'm surprised that a young Jurain like you should not know about these events… anyways the enemy, a omnipotent being who calls herself Tokimi," -the name had no meaning to Tenchi-, " made her appearance in the year 326. She is a higher plane being and thus entered our dimension through a wormhole… and that wormhole appeared directly in front of Azusa's fleet.

"Today Tokimi's army is more manageable, but at that time her entire army came through the wormhole… masses of simple wedge shaped ships that are the mainstay of Tokimi's fleet poured forth from the wormhole like swarms of bees from their roost. And right in the center of the flowing apiary, proud and confident, the queen bee, floated Tokimi herself. Their forces were overwhelming," another simple hum sounded as more data was retrieved. "That fateful day," he said with a hint of sadness, "Emperor Azusa, Lady Misaki, Lady Funaho and several other nobles died. Would like me to name them?"

Tenchi did not answer. He simply stared at the feet of the old man. There were no surges of emotions, no thrashing fits, no screams of frustration, in the past day his emotions were overused and were now blunt. He was insensitive, felt no feelings. He just sat, and thought. The old man continued.

"It was glorious! Well, from what I heard anyways. My data comes from the records of the only ship that escaped, a prototype reconnaissance ship found in the back of the fleet. They detected a surge of intense energy from the dying flagship… energy equivalent to one Light Hawk Wing!" he said energetically, "That truly is inspiring… before he died the Emperor created a Light Hawk Wing. Who knows what potential lies in the men and women of Jurai?"

The rhetorical question was obviously intended to motivate Tenchi but all it succeeded in doing was annoy. Again the old man did his best to ignore Tenchi's indifferent attitude and spoke on.

"In the year 326, the 23rd day of the 3rd quarter, at approximately 1500 hours, Ayeka Jurai became the Empress of Jurai.

"Yosho, the only son of the Emperor, and the 'legitimate' heir, disappeared several millennia ago in pursuit of the space pirate Ryoko. He has never been found since," the old man leaned over and cupped his mouth, "but rumor is it that he is still alive, and that Emperor Azusa, Queens Misaki and Funaho, and the Empress Ayeka knew his whereabouts." He leant back into his chair. "Whether it was luck or a brilliant and thought out tactic, Tokimi killed all 4 within the period of a week." He paused in silent reverence, the computer hummed again, then he continued.

"The location of the young Empress would become the site of one of the most bloodiest and most decisive battles in the Universal War. She happened to be on leave on the planet Earth, a small planet, which, until the beginning of the War, had no significance other than being the First Queen's homeworld. Because the Earth was a primitive planet with rather archaic forms of inter-space communication, the Empress remained ignorant of her new title and she remained with only two guardians to defend her as the forces of Tokimi ravaged a beeline path through the galaxy directly to the Princess' location.

"Entire fleets of the Jurain navy were rerouted, regrouped, and sent to the Earth in the most chaotic troop movement in Jurain military history. It became a desperate interception attempt that left the planet of Jurai itself vulnerable for the sake of rescuing the Empress.

"Ships of the 32nd Fleet, one of the largest and most powerful fleets in the navy, were the closest ships. They were guarding a rich but minor noble of the Jurain court named Seiryo and easily abandoned their posts for an opportunity to save the Empress. The commander of this fleet, Admiral Suwo Kazunari, made the first tactical error when he decided to send his entire fleet in a movement toward Earth rather than choosing to leave a relief force or attempting a two group pincer movement against Tokimi's flanks. Several classes of ships were in the fleet, including the Behemoth class, a large but extremely slow ship. The entire fleet was slowed by the large ships- the chain is as strong as it's weakest link.

"The fleet did, however, reach Earth before Tokimi's fleet, by only a couple hours. The Admiral quickly located the Empress by locking onto the guardians. The guardians were transmitted information on their mistress' new status; they in return transmitted location coordinates.

"From that point, data is sketchy. The fleet formed a hedgehog defense around the Empress' location. The very moment the Admiral got both the Empress and her sister, Princess Sasami, into different flagships, Tokimi's fleet reached Earth. Kazunari's fleet was too dense, friendly fire and collisions were the biggest vice. In the chaos of the battle the ships of the Empress and the princess were felled. Tokimi's troops were deployed at this point: it became clear that her intent was to assassinate the Empress. Her reasons to obliterate the Royal Family seemed unjustified; the planet of Jurai was undefended yet Tokimi still went after Ayeka" The old man hunched over mischievously again. "I believe, however, that Empress Sasami knows Tokimi's intentions. But to discuss this would be off subject, no?"

Tenchi made a mental note.

"In response to Tokimi's troop deployment, Kazunari deployed all of his troops, and scuttled all ships except the flagships to make maneuvering space. The battle shifted from space to ground. Approximately 3 million of Tokimi's 'soldiers,' which were later discovered to only be tangible extensions of Tokimi's power, technically the war is being waged against only one person, against 1.7 million Jurain troops. During the battle, the main objective was to locate the Empress. A secondary was to find the princess.

"An hour and thirty minutes into the battle an extremely massive outburst of energy was detected in the area. This outburst," the old man said, slowly and grimly, "is believed to be the cause of Empress' Ayeka's death. Autopsy reports end Ayeka's reign as Empress on the year 326, on the 24th day of the 3rd quarter, at approximately 1900 hours."

Tenchi eradicated his anger and sadness by gritting his teeth.

"About two hours into the battle, the local GP officers, Mihoshi Kuramitsu, and Kiyone Makibi, succeeded in locating Princess Sasami. She was successfully evacuated in Kazunari's ship. An hour after Princess Sasami's evacuation, Tokimi instantly withdrew her troops. Five hundred thousand Jurain troops died that day." He paused again.

"A young lieutenant found Empress' Ayeka's body in a clearing on one of the mountains on a island chain on Earth called the Japans. Instantly news of her death was transmitted to his superior, and then directly to Jurai. On the same day at 2400 hours, Princess Sasami officially became Empress, and she was believed to be the only Royal Family member left alive. Because Tokimi was obviously trying to eradicate the Royal Family, fleets were rerouted again and a defense line of gargantuan proportions was constructed all across the galaxy. Tokimi's forces returned to the area they came from. At this point, the Galaxy Police decided to fully convert itself from a police force to a full-fledged military organization. In the swift transformation police stations were converted to drafting stations; young police officers received title changes: from detective to first lieutenant. Several men and women were willing to join and thus a powerful ally to Jurai was born. Their named was changed but remained simple, Galaxy Defense Force." Images of Mihoshi and Kiyone ran through Tenchi's mind… that was so long ago. Again he heard the old man's voice drone on. "The Jurain lines were fortified with the additional troops. The scene was set up for the Universal War." He stopped, "Now how exactly do you want me to continue… you said you wanted everything that happened since the death of Empress Ayeka, that's a little to vague, my boy, please specify,"

Tenchi looked into the older man's eyes thoughtfully. "Tell me what happens to the Royal Family."

The old man looked back, thoughtlessly, of course, because he was a hologram. "Well, ok," he finally answered, and with a small smile he said, "But that's still a little to vague. Empress Sasami, Empress Sasami, she was seven-hundred-"

Tenchi knew where he was going and interrupted with, "Um… biological Earth years please."

The old man raised an eyebrow. "Yes, you are an odd little one indeed. I believe was… eight years old, yes."

"Of course, the Empress was too young to rule over the Empire so a council was hastily constructed to deal with both military and non-military matters. The little Empress became a symbol; other men and woman would do the hard work.

"Unfortunately, this time period, under the reign of the council, would become the bloodiest and most unsuccessful period of the war. Tokimi made vast, sweeping movements with her armies, easily defeating several minor planets. She seemed to have two goals in mind; first, she was looking for something, that something still remains unknown, because she would sometimes even reverse the directions of her army and go away from the planet. However, when analysts looked at the big picture Jurai looks to be the ultimate objective.

A holographic map that had no significance to Tenchi rose between him and the old man. Thousands, even millions of tiny points of light were packed tightly together before him in what he assumed was a map of the known universe. In the center, glowing a bright violet color was what obviously was Jurai itself.

A small red flash flickered briefly in a remote corner of the map. Tenchi watched silently as a small, thin, red line emerged from the flash and went directly to a small, unimpressive dot. On contact, a small label that read FIRST BATTLE OF THE EARTH appeared next to the dot… it was Earth. Shortly afterwards, the red spread out from the original entrance point like a pool of blood, silently devouring pinpoint after pinpoint, slowly making a large envelope with the planet of Jurai in the center. Small markers appeared where important battles took place. Earth, he noted, was left alone after the first battle.

"The council just was not able to handle Tokimi's onslaught. Things looked grim until one fateful day in the year 330, Empress Sasami, decided just to watch one of the military conferences concerning defense of a major planet. She was… twelve biological earth years old." The old man smiled. "In the middle of the conference, the young Empress interrupted a discussion and made a long, drawn out suggestion. The military commanders where amazed. Empress Sasami had suggested a brilliant tactical move that had been overlooked by the commanders. Following their liege-lady's orders, they made the movement and the attack and made a gaping hole in Tokimi's lines.

A light blue colored filled all the vacant spots that had not been engulfed by the red. In an area of high density, the blue mass projected an amoeboid like extension into the red that quickly expanded to take back several lost planets.

" The council discovered that Empress Sasami was beginning to receive her Jurai powers, and to their surprise they discovered that Sasami's tree was the royal tree Tsunami itself. Quickly they returned control of Jurai to the Empress.

"Under new command the Jurain army made several advances into enemy territory. The first attack had caught Tokimi by surprise, but quickly she covered and the Jurain offense lost its momentum. For the next four years the War was locked in a deadly stalemate that resulted in the unnecessary loss of millions of lives.

The old man shifted in his seat. "Um…" he said warily, " this may seem to be going off subject, but this does concern the Royal Family." He raised one eyebrow and quickly said, "Why am I telling you this again? This story is supposed to be engrained in the minds of young Jurains… it's a universal legend!"

"Please continue!" Tenchi said, irritably.

"Ok… anyways, like in all wars, there were 'independent' parties and 'rebels' who fought for freedom behind enemy lines. Two rebels became extremely famous during the course of the war for their continuous success. Their names were…" Tenchi took a breath of anticipation, "Tenchi and Ryoko."

Tenchi's mind floated a little bit at the old man's shocking yet expected conclusion. Again he felt like he was dreaming… when the old man had said "Tenchi" he had said it so… differently. Tenchi was used to hearing the word "Tenchi" when being addressed, or being talked to, but the simple tone that the old man had said his name in made him feel that this "Tenchi," this valiant rebel, this symbol of freedom, this veritable Robin Hood, was not him. He reasserted the statement by saying out loud… "This person… is not me." He ignored the old man's inquisitive looked and he organized his thoughts: I am no longer Tenchi Masaki… I am no longer the boy on whom fate decided to bestow the love of six wonderful women… I am no longer the teenager who killed Empress Ayeka… I am not, I never was the man who fought against this 'Tokimi' for 'liberty and justice for all.' I am… a person… a person sent… to save the universe… from this boy, this man, this mistake… named Tenchi.

Anticlimactically, ignorant of Tenchi's monumental and emotional decision, the old man continued his story. "The symbolic couple became… a legend. Their achievements did not go unnoticed; Empress Sasami publicly requested audiences with them, but the only reply she ever received from them was news of their next success. They seemed to overcome insurmountable, impossible odds; they destroyed fleets, recaptured entire planets by themselves… some say they even had a few skirmishes with Tokimi … and they did this while remaining unseen to the people of the universe. They were recognized only by their characteristically shaped ship… other than that, they were known only for the names and achievements.

"Meanwhile, on Jurain, Empress Sasami began to loose her hold on the precariously balanced stalemate that had occurred for over four years. Slowly but surely, Tokimi resumed her advance toward Jurai." As if to hold the suspense, the old man paused again.

"Tenchi and Ryoko, of course, recognized this, and finally acknowledged it. In the year 334, they made their first appearance in the Royal Court. Lady Ryoko revealed to the Empress and the people of Jurai a shocking secret… Lord Tenchi was," something bothered Tenchi about the way the old man spoke… he felt it, it nagged him in the back of his mind, but the old man gave no pause for reflection and talked on, "in actuality the lost grandson of Yosho!"

The tidbit of information that was supposed to be shocking, or even motivational, failed to faze Tenchi. With the curious raising of an eyebrow the old man went on. "Yup, he was the grandson of Yosho alright." Again something annoyed Tenchi about the way the old man talked… he couldn't quite pin it down. Was it his tone? His composure? His diction? Oblivious, the old man continued. "After strenuous tests and verification that he was indeed a member of the Royal Family, and the grandson of Yosho at that, Lord Tenchi and Lady Sasami were wed and…

Tenchi interrupted quickly, "Tell me, how old were they?!" He really wasn't keeping track of the meaningless Jurain years the old man mentioned every so often.

"In biological earth years," the old man said with a sarcastic grin, "Lord Tenchi was 25 years old, Empress Sasami was 16."

Even though moments ago he had denied his identity he was still daunted by the fact that he had married Sasami. She had always been his kid sister, the cheerful little girl of his life, the sweet voice that, with the sound of sizzling food in the background, had always waken him up in the morning; she was the voice of reason, the happy medium between Ayeka and Ryoko, she was pure life, pure energy…he loved her dearly, as a sister but he never considered marrying her, loving her as a wife…

"Show me a picture, please."

"Excuse me?"

"A picture. Of the Emperor and the Empress. On their wedding day."

There he was, or rather, there Tenchi was, older, taller, more mature, and obviously very, very tired. He was looking up, over the camera, but it wasn't a look of hope, it was a look of desperation, a look of worry; the simple burden of love and care for his new wife was evident in his face. Next to him stood Sasami, older than the little girl that he'd known, younger than the inspirational woman he had seen earlier. Her eyebrows were arched in concern, she looked down at her hand, gently clasped by his, viewing it, and the marriage, with both anticipation and apprehension. The countless and nameless faces in the background all carried solemn looks. It seemed more like a funeral than a marriage.

The old man nodded with pride as he viewed his liege lord. " Yes, he was a great man, indeed."

It struck him with full force… a single solitary word, jarred through his head and pierced his mind, He said "was!" Was… was…! WAS! The old man is using past tense! Is it possible that…

" After Lord Tenchi took up the mantle as Emperor of Jurai, his people prospered. Motivated by their new liege lord, and powered by the massive, combined Jurain energy of both Lord Tenchi and Lady Sasami, the Jurain military executed massive offensives and planets were retaken by the thousands."

On the map, large swaths of blue cut quickly and violently through the red throb and easily outsized the tiny extension that had been made when Sasami had become Empress. This was all his and Sasami's doing.

The old man clapped happily as the blue blob grew larger and larger. Abruptly the advance on the map stopped, and the old man's grin slowly turned into a thin smirk.

"This is the status of the universe as of the year 336. On the verge of her collapse, Tokimi's reasons for leaving the Earth alone suddenly became clear. On the 32nd day of the 2nd quarter, Tokimi shifted all of her forces in an attack toward the tiny, undefended planet. In a speech later that day, Lord Tenchi announced that the Earth was his homeworld, and that he was going to personally lead the defense. We're not sure whether he knew it or not, but that was exactly what Tokimi wanted him to do. In a bold move, he shifted 98 percent of his forces towards the Earth in an attempt to box the enemy in."

The giant blue mass followed the smaller red one into a thick, dense, purple mass surrounding the Earth. A small halo of blue was left around Jurai. The rest of the galaxy was void of any military force, save sporadic Galaxy Defense Force outposts.

"Thus the Second Battle of the Earth began. It would turn it to be the largest and most important battle ever fought in the War. It occurred over a span of 7 months and was waged over the entire planetary system the Earth was located in. Logistically, the Jurain forces consisted of 534,694 ships and over 152 billion soldiers. Tokimi's numbers amounted to approximately 358,986 ships and countless soldiers.

"At that battle, Tokimi showed herself for the second time."

A blurry picture formed between Tenchi and the old man. There was his enemy. He examined her closely; the picture was very fuzzy but the woman was very unique in her appearance and would be easily recognizable. She was lunging forward, her face was contorted in a primal battle cry; her blue, feline like eyes were narrowed and glaring, and her eyebrows were furrowed in an expression of anger. Her head was covered by an odd, gray skullcap except for a few strands of red hair held in place by a gold medallion that lay in the middle of her forehead. The loose strands of hair flowed elegantly behind her head with her cape and robe, indicating her great speed. Her right arm was extended and her palm was pointing outwards; her left arm held a gently glowing green sword halfway through a violent downward slash. And at the receiving end of the blow was none other than his own sword, the Master Key, Tenchiken.

"The battle between Lord Tenchi and Tokimi was the primary focus of the battle. These pictures were taken by a GDF correspondent. They are displayed in chronological order."

What followed was a simple slideshow. Tenchi observed them as he would pictures in his history book… after all, in this timeframe, these pictures were history. In the first picture, he saw himself thrusting forward, his ornamental clothes fluttering wildly, as Tokimi ducked and began a counter-lunge. The next picture he saw Tokimi score a direct hit, right on the hilt of Tenchiken. The following frame showed Tenchiken shattered on the floor; in the instant between the shots he had summoned the wings and was coming down on Tokimi with a powerful two-sword slash. The last picture showed Tokimi answer with a wave of black energy. Both stared into each others'eyes. Through their squinting eyes and twisted faces he could see their emotions. Tokimi was simply fighting a battle… he, on the other hand, showed pure fury… fury that reminded him of his lost love, Ayeka. He knew how that man he saw in the picture felt.

" The wave you see in this picture destroyed all organic material within a 257 mile radius, excluding the Emperor. The camera was picked up after the duel had moved elsewhere."

The old man sighed. "The battle… ended in defeat. The duel raged on, and after that point in time could not be monitored because of the magnificent amounts of energy radiating from the pair. Meanwhile, losses grew to gargantuan proportions as the Jurains and Tokimi's soldiers fought. From the time these pictures were taken, the duel lasted for 5 months and 17 days. At the end of this period, a massive explosion destroyed the second and third planets of the system. We don't know exactly when, where, how, and why…but this explosion is believed to have been the cause of the death of Emperor Tenchi."

Tenchi smirked. So he died. He knew this already.

"We know the Emperor died because several minutes after the explosion, the energies of the tree ships of the fleets dropped to almost nil. However, we believe Tokimi was also caught in the blast because several of her troops instantly and simultaneously disappeared with the drop in the tree's power.

"That marked the end of the Second Battle of Earth. The loss was not in vain, however, because the adverse effects of the massive explosion are obviously still with Tokimi today. For four years now our forces and Tokimi's have been locked in another indefinite stalemate."

He asked the question out of the blue. "What has happened of Lady Ryoko?"

The old man answered just as abruptly. "She disappeared three months before the Second Battle."

With a quick, unconscious thank you, Tenchi bolted out of the room. His immediate objective lay clear in his mind.

"Yes." The old man said as the door slammed shut. "That is an odd one. And he looks very familiar at that." He limped slowly to the room console, typed up a few words, and then disappeared back into nothingness. After bestowing upon a young boy both the history of the universe and the responsibility to save it, the room became dark once again.

He found himself running through the palace hallways. With Washu's subliminal guidance he dashed through the maze reassured the he would reach his destination. As he ran the hallway widened and the ceiling began to rise until it was blanketed by a misty has emitted by the organic aspect of the palace. The ornaments sporadically dotted the walls and gradually he could begin to see the grain of wood become more pronounced as he ran. He was heading somewhere of obvious importance: the living center of the palace.

Unexpectedly a small, unremarkable ornament shimmered with life and quickly darted across the great distance between the wall and Tenchi. Startled, Tenchi screeched to halt and almost fell over but managed to keep his composure in front of what he believed to be a Royal Bodyguard.

His hunch was confirmed when the artificial grain of wood hissed away from the humanoid figure before him revealing an older, simply dressed Jurain soldier. The standard, dazzling robes of the Royal Bodyguards he had seen with his great grandfather were absent with this man. Instead of impressing him with a grand appearance, this bodyguard simply intimidated him by wearing his weapons and devices in plain sight before him. The guard wore a simple gray tunic. That tunic, however, was dotted with several electronic devices. Wires extended from these small devices and all over his clothes and limbs. In his right hand he held the traditional fighting stick, in his left hand he held a rather nasty looking gun-shaped weapon. Strapped to his back were two swords, one long, and one short, which eerily reminded him of his grandfather and the ancient Japanese samurais back home. He wondered how many hidden guards he passed on his way to the throne room. It just happened to be this one, a large, muscular man with a sadistic look in his face, that stopped him.

"Where are you going," he narrowed his eyes and he continued with contempt, "…soldier?"

Tenchi answered with firm resolve. "I will see Empress Sasami."

"Is this some sort of joke?" He leveled his gun with Tenchi's face. The end of the barrel of the gun was mere inches from the tip of the nose. "Because in times like these, soldier," he spat the word out, "jokes can be punishable by death."

Tenchi didn't flinch. "I will see Empress Sasami."

The soldier grunted and his face constricted into an angry grimace. In a fraction of a second Tenchi's adrenaline flared as he saw the man's hands tense up on the trigger. Instinctively he kicked the gun into the air and followed up by attempting to take the stick.

The bodyguard was no amateur. He took advantage of Tenchi's awkward position by slamming his bruised but free left hand into Tenchi's arched body and followed up by kneeing the boy in the stomach. Quickly he stepped back and crouched into defense in anticipation of Tenchi's counterattack, but instead he caught a glimpse of the boy grasping his stomach while coughing up phlegm.

He grinned and said through his tightly held lips, "Infidel." The devices that dotted his tunic sprang into life and blinked furiously as the man rubbed his bruised hand. The hallways turned a dim red color and a constant but gentle alarm sounded through the hallway.

Fueled by the hellish red light that now surrounded him, Tenchi got up, and stared calmly into the bodyguard's eyes. With a slight twitch of his cheek, he signaled, Come and get me. The man responded of course and lunged right at Tenchi's torso.

Tenchi waited for the right moment… the man came so close that it seemed that being smothered by the oncoming freight train would be inescapable for him, but suddenly and with great agility he jumped into the air, landed on the man hunched back with his left hand and snatched blindly at the double swords. In a quick blur he flipped and landed, finding the bodyguard, raging mad, looking at him over his shoulder.

He snickered at the irony. He had gotten the shorter sword.

The man emitted a low, tiger-like growl, tossed aside his stick, and smoothly unsheathed his long sword. With a challenging hmph, he crouched once again into a fighting stance.

Together they charged it each other, brandishing their weapons with full force, the bodyguard intent on killing the spy, Tenchi thinking about how he could disable the man without killing him.

He heard the ear-piercing clang of the contact of their swords; the man's power was overwhelming, his arms twisted unnaturally and he strained just to prevent his tendons from being ripped apart. He lost his grip and the hilt of the sword swiftly slippedthrough his palms and landed with a dull thud on the wooden floor. The body guard raised his sword high over his head and grinned. A deep indent scarred the otherwise perfect surface where his sword met Tenchi's.

It was then he saw the organic lump off to the side, a couple meters to his left, it's shape enhanced by the dull red glow. The gun! He pivoted his waist and started a quick sprint toward what seemed to be the only salvation other than the Light Hawk Wings themselves. Unfortunately he still hadn't perfected his use with the Wings and at his stage of maturity the Wings only came out in times of intense emotional distress. Now, he felt no emotions, all he felt then was the adrenaline coursing through his body.

He heard the thump that marked the end of the man's downward swing into the ground; a heartbeat later, in his mid-sprint, his feet were swept off the ground and soundlessly his head hit the floor, blurring his sight as the blunt pain flowed down his neck. Still motivated, he twisted around and heard a loud rip. As he staggered into a rather weak stance, he saw the bodyguard struggling with his sword, embedded into the ground and pinning down a white, jaggedly torn piece of cloth. He examined his clothes and he realized the swing had barely missed him; instead it held his cape in the ground and caused him to flip over as he tried to leap into a sprint.

The bodyguard saw Tenchi's disorientation and with another sadistic grin he began to march slowly towards him, swinging his sword lazily around him. Tenchi stumbled forward as the bodyguard came within arm's length and threw a slow weak punch that sailed into the man's lower leg and bounced off harmlessly. In response, he felt the man round kick him face first into the floor. He felt the large surface of the man's foot hold him in place and he heard the shifting of the man's tunic as he raised his sword for the final blow.

This is it. Tenchi thought. He just felt… to lazy to summon the Wings. He knew that if he tried it would be fruitless anyways. He stopped resisting and he felt his entire body relax and slump on the floor. Either I'm gonna die or Washu's gonna come through and pull me back to my timline. He closed his eyes.

Through his eyelids he saw the lights return to normal and he heard the alarms fade off with the resounding of a strong, female, "Stop!"

With great reluctance he opened his eyes, hoping that all of it had been a dream, and only a dream. His hopes were left unfulfilled. From his position on the floor he could see that ridiculous ornamental wall. He felt the foot lift itself off his back. With a painful groan he rolled over, and through his upside-down eyes he saw the bodyguard enter a bow. Overcoming the aches that flowed through his body as he moved, he managed to prop himself into a similar kneeling position, knowing that his death had been delayed by some sort of superior, someone superior to even the Empresses' own bodyguards.

The hard feminine voice spoke again in a short burst, "Get up."

He waited for the bodyguard to get up before he tiresomely pulled his body off the floor. He raised his head last and as he recovered from the blow to his head and as his eyes adjusted to the bright light his vision cleared and he saw his savior. It was that beautifully impressive woman that had stood at Sasami's right side.

"You have done your job well Kazuma but this boy is not an enemy and did not deserve a beating. Take leave and reflect on your impulsive actions." She was unnaturally still. Only her lips moved as she spoke. She seemed to be shielding her true intentions from Tenchi and the bodyguard.

With a curt "Yes ma'am." Kazuma headed to the nearest wall, pressed his open palm against it, and went through. Another secret passageway, although he never had been to the palace he new from stories that it harbored many secrets… stories that had been told to him by… Ayeka.

Brushing away all thoughts of his past, he humbled himself before this angel of salvation by entering a kneeling position and bowing his head. "Thank you, my Lady…" he mumbled, but they were words of the heart.

"Get up Tenchi."

He looked up, startled by being addressed by his name by this stranger, and he saw the woman's two lovely blue eyes. They were glossed over; streams of tears on her cheeks reflected the bright palace lights. Her eyes told volumes, volumes about a woman who fought in the war, a hardened veteran, a valiant leader, a close companion to the war-weary Empress, but for some reason they failed to give Tenchi any hint of who the woman was.

"Please Tenchi, get up. Don't bow Tenchi! Tenchi! Don't you recognize me?"

Tenchi stayed kneeling. Every time she spoke his name it felt like a dagger was being thrust deeper and deeper into his heart. Trembling, the woman fell on her knees in front of him. She was crying, emotional, so different from the woman who had just commanded one of the most ruthless men he'd ever met into obedience.

"Tenchi… it's me… Mihoshi…"

END PART TWO