CHAPTER EIGHT
Kamadake watched from the bushes, Ryo-oki in his arms, as the girl's body became glittery pieces of light. He could just see the tall, beautiful woman beneath the surface as the specks of light flew toward her. The woman under the water closed her eyes briefly, and then, she, too, faded. The entire surface of the water began to glow just as brightly as a sun. Suddenly, the light became too bright to look at, and everything went white. When it faded once more, the cadet's body was lying motionless on the shore. Her long hair was spread around her, and one arm lay strung across her stomach. Her eyes were closed, and she would have appeared to be sleeping had her face not been so white. She might have been dead, but he couldn't really tell from this distance.
The woman from beneath the surface was now standing on top of the water. Her long, blue robes trailed behind her, remaining dry even though they dipped into the water. Her lovely pink eyes were sad as she gazed down at the girl lying before her. "I won't do it," she murmured. "I can't go through with it, Washu."
In answer, a second figure appeared on the water. Kamadake recognized the mechanic from the academy. She now wore green robes similar to the water woman's, and her emerald eyes were serious. "You must," she declared, her voice echoing across the water. "She has already gone too far into the transition, and she will die if you pull away now."
As her friends came to, one of the creatures sprang at the three women, but the shields around the girl deflected his claws. "By all means," it hissed in its woman's voice. "Pull out. Let the girl die. She means nothing to us. We are goddesses, and we are far beyond their level."
The first woman seemed not to hear, but she abruptly sighed. "You understand so little, Tokima. We are the past; she is the future. Without her, everything we fought to preserve will die."
The creature leapt for them again, and was again repelled. "We will not perish, and the mortals don't matter. They had their chance, and they threw away everything that we gave them. They deserve their fate."
The woman with the pink hair shook her head in sorrow. "No, sister. It is you who have earned this. You cannot stand against her might. You will be destroyed." The woman in the green robes gestured once, and the creatures around them disappeared into the black holes that appeared suddenly behind them. They released their prisoners as they fell through the gaps in reality. Their screams were cut off as the portals closed.
The woman with the blue hair stared down at the girl, ignoring the events around her. "She may not survive," she murmured.
Washu shook her head once more. "Not only will she survive, but she's calling for it. Look," Washu murmured, pointing at the bright spirit suddenly standing beside the cadet's prone body.
"You must continue," Sammy's spirit whispered. She was wearing robes similar to those of the two goddesses, though hers were in the official colors of the planet of Jurai. The two triangles on her forehead were glowing brightly, and her pale face was peaceful.
"You must continue," she repeated. "The universe depends on it. I must face Tokima with our full power." She smiled lovingly at the people gathered around her. "During my first trip to the dream plane, you told me that I would have to accept my abilities and my destiny if I wanted to save my loved ones. It's time for you to accept them as well. We cannot stop Tokima as we are." She turned back to the women in the water. "Finish it, Tsunami. Become one with me. Only then will I be able to save them."
Tsunami hung her head, still reluctant to complete her terrible task. Eventually, she lifted her face, and tears streamed down her pale, flawless cheeks. "I'm sorry, little one," she whispered. She stepped from the water, walking over the sand until she came up to the girl's spirit form. She held out a slender hand, and the cadet took it in her own. They both closed their eyes and the lights around them exploded. They merged to become a single smear of light. The light stretched out over the cadet's body, sinking into her slowly. As the lights finished immersing into the girl, her face scrunched up and her body twisted in agony. She began to scream, though she still didn't open her eyes.
Washu looked away and disappeared, seemingly unable to stand the extent of the girl's pain. Kamadake couldn't blame her. Though the cadet's scream had weakened considerably, he could still feel her pain echoing through his soul. Ryo-oki howled in his arms, trying desperately to run to her mistress. Kamadake held onto the little animal with as much strength as he possessed, knowing that he couldn't let Ryo-oki interfere. Eventually, the girl's screams stopped, and she lay motionless, no longer convulsing with pain.
Kamadake was unable to hold onto Ryo-oki any longer. The creature leapt from his arms, leaving a mass of bloody cuts in its wake. Kamadake followed closely behind, running swiftly to the girl's all too still body. He felt for her pulse, relieved beyond words when it finally jerked against his fingers. He slid a hand beneath her head, pulling her into his lap until returned to consciousness.
He called her name softly until she stirred and moaned. Eventually, her beautiful eyes fluttered open, and she stared up at him with a pale face. The look in her eyes could have broken any man's heart, and his was not an exception. Her eyes held a wisdom that was far beyond what any one person should carry. They were ageless and filled with infinite grief. There was so much pain that he wondered how she'd survived assimilating it. Small wonder she'd screamed, he thought.
She blinked back the tears, the legacy of so much pain, and struggled to sit up. He helped her against his better judgment, and she eventually managed to stand by leaning on his arm. He kept his face impassive, simply lending her his support by remaining beside her.
She turned towards the lake, where Washu had suddenly reappeared. "You broke the rules, you know," Sammy said, smiling ruefully. "You weren't supposed to help me."
Washu shrugged. "In spite of all my brave words, I couldn't stand to see you in so much pain, little one. You're still my sister, for all that you're not just Tsunami anymore. If I didn't care so much, I wouldn't have lent you my support during your ordeal." She smiled. "What will you do now, Tsunami?"
Sammy shrugged. "We're needed on Jurai. The final battle will happen there."
Washu nodded and turned away. "Return to the academy, then. I have the feeling that you and your companions will need your ships. They'll be waiting for you in the hanger bay. I'll also have Kiyone and Mihoshi pay a little visit to Jurai while I'm at it." She started to fade, but then called out, "I'm proud of you, little sister. You did very well just now. Both of you," she added, and then disappeared.
Sammy stared after her, pink eyes thoughtful. Then, she turned to her fellow cadets. "What do you say, my friends? Are you up for a little side trip to Jurai?"
The cadets glanced at her, and then at each other. Several of them shrugged and nodded. The others perked up when Mahonori added in a sing- song voice, "There's going to fighting, and we'll get all the royal treatment when we get to Jurai."
Sasami glanced at Wyldon, who nodded slowly. "I'm with you, whoever you are," he announced solemnly.
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As promised, their ships were waiting for them back at the academy. Unfortunately, the prince and his friends were there as well. Sasami sighed profoundly as she glimpsed the furious royal. In her opinion, the boy was just a royal pain.
Washu was nowhere to be seen, so Sasami decided to deal with him in her own way. "Prince Dael," she called in an authorative voice. The prince glared at her, but she continued to speak, undaunted by his feral expression. "Let your hatred go," she commanded.
He sneered crudely at her. "I heard that you planned to leave," he said. "I forbid it. If you do not call off this foolish expedition immediately, I'll be forced to place all of you under arrest for treason against the crown of Misox."
Sasami stared at him, her eyes cold and hard. "Anything else?" she asked facetiously.
The prince didn't notice her sarcasm. "I want the Tsunami. You will show me how to fly it, cadet, or you will face the consequences."
Sasami shrugged and pointed at the prince's group. The triangles on her forehead began to glow, and a blue-green light filled the air around the men. They stared at her resentfully, and then collapsed in a heap on the floor. Sasami gestured to her friends. "Help me load them into my ship," she said as she grabbed the prince by his ankles and started to drag him across the floor.
Taki ran to help her, muttering, "Why do they have to come? They'll only get in the way."
Sasami concentrated, and a small compartment appeared in the side of her ship. "We can't leave them here. When they wake up, they'd blow our whole mission. Let's just take them with, and I'll decide what to do with them later."
They stuffed the prince into the new cargo hold, somehow making room for all of the men in the tiny hatch. As soon as she finished, Sasami climbed into her cockpit. The rest of the cadets followed suite, and the group of planes took of into the night.
Several hours later, Wyldon contacted Sasami over their communicators. "The security around Jurai is pretty tight. Nobody goes in or out without permission, and they'll shoot any unidentified planes without hesitation. Just how did you plan to get us to the planet, Cadet Sammy?"
Sasami stifled a chuckle. "I think they'll let us through, lieutenant. Don't worry so much. I've got everything covered."
Sure enough, the fighters around the purple planet challenged them as soon as they arrived. Sasami didn't identify herself as they requested, merely repeating a series of numbers that didn't make sense to anyone but herself and the knight receiving it. These numbers told the knight that she was either a royal or closely connected to the royal family, and that he should allow her inside without question.
As soon as she finished calling off numbers, the knight of Jurai started to stutter embarrassingly. "I-I'm s-s-sorry, m-ma'am. D-dock s-s-seven is b-being readied for you as we s-speak."
Sasami politely thanked the knight, and then asked the other cadets to fall in behind her. Using the power of thought alone, she steered her ship into the docking port.