Tenchi Muyo is the property of Pioneer and AIC. I've no intention of using this to garner profits of any kind or type, so unless you like to take a poor man's computer away from him, please don't sue me!? Please?
All other characters, depictions, places, and theories that have been put into place are my own creation and have no relevance to Tenchi Muyo in any way except in the ways I've explained. These are my own thoughts and imagination, and any relation to other stories that are not my own are accidental. Honest.
My e-mail is for any and all feedback. Please, PLEASE SEND FEEDBACK OF ANY KIND!!! Thank you! -
Author's Notes: I'd like to thank EvilPii and Jocko, and everyone for helping me with keeping me interested and enjoying what I've written thus far. I don't really know if I would have ever gotten this far without them.
Thanks, guys. I owe you something I don't think I can repay in any lifetime.
Tenchi Muyo: The Web of Life Chapter 8: Myths and History
A lone shrine, though long ancient and considered a holy place by most of the citizens in Jurai, had welcomed an old friend back into its creaky halls and peaceful reverie. It's faded and ancient shrine was finally being looked upon again by an old Shinto priest; his crimson-faded eyes were patient and, if anyone were to peek into his mind, his thoughts were glimmering with fondness and reminiscence.
"I always knew," sighed a familiar voice from behind the priest, "That I would find you here, Yosho." He turned back to look at the form of Lady Funaho, standing quietly in the entrance to the shrine. Yosho opened his mouth to begin speaking, but was halted by his mother's outstretched hand.
"Quite alright, little one." She spoke quietly, watching her son with amused interest as he turned back to face the shrine in silence. There were several more quiet minutes between the two of them as the shrine began to fill with more of the temple monks. All of them took a similar place near the shrine and began their morning prayers, seemingly oblivious to the pair nestled in their midst.
"How did you know to find me here?" Katsuhito questioned, slightly confused.
"I remember, a long time ago when you were just a boy, you loved to stare at the artwork and listen to the stories that all of the priests and shrine keeps had told about their lives, and what they thought about so many things. It was all that I could do to keep you from this place, until the day that your father demanded that you attend the GSA to finish your schooling. Even then, spiritualism of every form interested you far more than any book about science." She turned to look into the main area of the shrine and watched as the attendants shuffled themselves into position to begin the morning meditation. "And regardless of where you were, this was the first place you journeyed to whenever you had come home." He chuckled softly as the memories found their way back into his mind's eye.
"You know me too well, mother." "You are easy to know, little one; you are my son, after all." She sighed deeply, continuing to gaze upon the shrine along with her son. "I do wish that I could have met Tenchi's grandmother and mother, though. I hope that they were good people. However, I will wait on that conversation until after we have had our morning prayer. I have not felt as appreciated as of late, and I feel that it is time to break that fast." "Of course, Mother." Funaho bunched up her lips, and raised an eyebrow at her son.
"Am I not worth even a simple hug anymore?" "Of course not, Mother." Yosho then stopped himself, realizing exactly how that sounded. Funaho, however, smirked and stood in place and watched her son fumble for the words in which to apologize. "Err, I meant that you are always worth a hug, mother." He quickly brought himself to a stand, and gave his mother an endearing hug, which she returned it in kind. The two then sat down inside the shrine to begin their morning prayer.
Inside her lab, Washu angled her head slightly as she stared into her view-screen with heavy interest. Her eyes wrought with sleep depravation and intense ambition, the genius's mind was keening with thousands of different permutations based off of the information available to her. All of them gave her the same problem; a lack of concrete evidence.
"This is getting me NOWHERE!!!" The genius roared, bounding up and away from the holo pad in absent-minded anger. She strode over toward the arboretum, and stood against one of the trees. "I don't understand how someone who has his kind of power just doesn't have SOME kind of record or reputation! He's like a needle in a haystack, and I'm not buying that logic."
"Um, Little Washu? Are you here?" Mihoshi's voice echoed from behind Washu; the scientist spun around to see the space officer stumble in from the temporary gateway that she had set up in the main hall of House Masaki.
"How in the…? How is it that you keep getting in here?" Washu mused absently.
"Well, I did knock. Does that count?"
"Not really, but I'm not arguing semantics right now. I'm guessing you're finally done with your research of the GP database?"
"Yeah, it was really informative. I was able to find a whole bunch of information; did you know that Terrans used to use stones to fight each other?"
"They still do. Where's the information?" Mihoshi produced an extremely thick binder, filled with information and photographs. Washu gaped at the binder, then at Mihoshi. Walking up and taking the binder, the scientist began flipping through its pages; Washu stopped at one point and looked at the officer with confusion blatantly on her face.
"You're kidding right? This doesn't make any sense! Almost two-thirds of the information in here is mythology and urban legends; this isn't what I was looking for, Mihoshi."
"Yes, it is." Mihoshi countered, and swiped the binder back from the scientist.
"Oh really, and how do you figure?"
"Simple! I'll show you with a star map." Mihoshi beamed, and pulled out her cube; twisting her cube in several directions, Mihoshi finally produced a holographic projection of the known universe, but not before having several different pieces of equipment drop to the floor. Washu simply shook her head as Mihoshi began to explain.
"Roughly 40,000 years ago, the Translucians saw the birth of their birth-date caste system correlated to a 'falling star' that had crashed into the planet. It heralded the coming of a man of white who saved the life of the infant who would become the First Child Emperor of Tannia."
"That's not feasible. There's too little information on that story to even count that as a potential source; besides, that story was told orally for 10,000 years before it was written down. I can't use a story handed down more than 24 times as concrete proof." "Maybe, but on Zanief VII, there were several legends that talked about a man who possessed an ability to emulate supernatural phenomenon; after tracing the historical timeline to those, they ended up being about 25,000 years old in age." Washu gave Mihoshi a strange look a second time.
"No one that we know has any proof that he is capable of that type of ability; that's as hard to believe as the GSA pronouncing that they can seal a black hole!" "I know it's true, because there was one particular instance that caught my attention really good. About 4,500 years ago Ryoko had been sent to Tetanius Prime to deter the planetary defense forces from stopping Kagato on one of his 'rumored' raids. The funny thing was the fact that Ryoko, at one point, had been fighting in a one-on-one fight against a person of unknown origin, and couldn't get past! One of the bystanders had been quoted as saying that the person had started off pretty badly. By the time they were done, it got to the point where it was speculated that Kagato decided to raze the planet rather than risk letting the person become a liability." As Mihoshi continued talking, Washu noted the planets as they lit up, giving rise to a very subtle arc that followed its way out of the galaxy.
"It isn't speculation. Kagato didn't want something that he couldn't control running loose. Do you have any footage that could've been recovered from the planet?" "Yup; here, I can show it to you." Twisting the cube several more times, a single compact disk dropped to the ground; a singular black disk, with 'GP: TOP SECRET' written on the top. Mihoshi handed the disk to the scientist, who immediately tossed it into a small portal that opened up directly behind her head. A huge view-screen spawned itself out over the remaining portion of control node, as two plush cushions appeared behind the two women.
"Take a seat, but don't touch anything." "Yes ma'am." As the screen flickered on, static roared across like a wildfire and slowly died, revealing a semi-pristine commercial area. Without warning, one of the buildings furthest from the camera view lit up as an energy blast screamed into it. The blast knocked debris into the air and knocked almost everything away from the point of impact. The screen went static for but a moment, and then flickered to a different point of view; it seemed to be the opposite end of the city block that had been decimated, and the object focused on a cyan-haired woman as she stared with a blank, lifeless expression.
"Ryoko…" Washu mentally gushed, her eyes shimmering as she watched the scene unfold, "What did he make you do?" The pirate's hands pulsed brightly, and two orbs of energy coalesced into each hand. She took a look around, and then tossed the orbs behind her, into a nearby building. The building, in no short order, shuddered from the explosion and then imploded; the dust and debris roared past her, but Ryoko neither moved nor blinked. She looked upward, as if she were about to leave, when she looked at the far end of the city block; the camera shifted its view again, to show the damaged building that had been hit earlier in the video feed. Rubble shifted and groaned as a figure shoved several huge chunks of building out of its way. The camera zoomed in, to look at a man, wearing an emerald green trench coat and a black body suit kicking more debris out of his way as he carried an unconscious body in his arms. The camera focused a second time, getting a clear view of the man's face; his grey eyes and stark white hair filled the screen, and both girls gasped in realization of who it was.
"It IS Ashe!" Both exclaimed, and then leaned in closer to watch the video feed unfold with rapt interest. On the screen, several combat medics rushed to the wanderer; Ashe handed them the unconscious form, and made several angry faces. The medics ran off with the body, leaving the pirate and the wanderer alone on the city street. The wanderer tilted his head to look at Ryoko, and seemed to mouth words to the blue-haired warrior.
"Audio! Where's the audio?" Washu declared.
"Oh! Yeah, there's an audio track, but they had to extrapolate what their lips were doing in order to get the information. I used one of Grandpa's gadgets to make the voices sound like Ashe and Ryoko, too!" Mihoshi commented, still transfixed on the screen. In a matter of moments, the dull hiss of mild static permeated the control node as Ashe's voice echoed through the chamber.
"... and just leave?" said the wanderer, still walking forward, slow and measured with his steps. The pirate made no movements, and made no sound to reply.
"What, is he paying you? I can give you more money, just leave this place alone. The ruins aren't even on this side of the planet, so there's no reason to be here!" Dead silence tore its way through the node, as everyone sat to witness Ryoko's reply. She looked directly at Ashe, to show a set of yellow and green eyes.
"I must do what I am told to do." Ryoko declared, and ran toward the wanderer; her sword flared into being as she covered half the distance between them so fast that the camera couldn't keep up with the movement.
"Whoa! I didn't know Ryoko was that fast!" Mihoshi chirped, and pulled out a candy bar from her pocket to eat as she watched the video play out.
"You haven't seen anything yet." Washu muttered, and continued to watch the screen.
On screen, Ashe tensed himself, and dived to the side as Ryoko brought her sword down where he once stood. The street groaned and caved under the stress, leaving a large spider web design where Ashe was moments ago. Not missing a beat, Ryoko swung her hand to aim at Ashe as he hopped to his feet, and fired several small energy blasts at his head and chest. Ashe ducked low, barely missing one of the blasts as it tore through his arm; the pirate simply watched as the wound smoldered, then healed over in a matter of seconds. Ashe shoulder-rolled himself to his left, and made a mad dash toward the large pile of rubble, zigzagging as he went to avoid the other energy blasts that were thrown about much like a toddler's playthings. Quickly, the wanderer dove behind one of the boulders, which became much smaller as energy blasts annihilated head-sized portions of it away without so much as recognition of their existence.
"That's strange, I've never seen Ashe move that quick either." Mihoshi said between bites of candy bar; Washu, however, began to study the screen with much keener an interest.
"He's using his environment to his advantage, but he knows that he's outgunned and underpowered. C'mon…" Washu breathed, "Show me what you're hiding." On screen, the boulder that Ashe had hid behind suddenly launched forward and rolled directly at Ryoko at a high rate of speed; the pirate didn't flinch, even after she kicked the makeshift weapon apart with a side kick. Several more pieces of building were pushed or rolled in Ryoko's direction. She destroyed one of them with another side kick, and then laid waste to the remaining obstacles with several small blasts. Ryoko, spotting Ashe as he attempted to dive behind another piece of rubble, bolted forward and caught the wandering fighter from behind; giving him a bear hug, the wanderer began to gasp for breath. Blood began to trickle out of his mouth as his lungs began to fill with his own life fluids.
"My god, she's killing him. Is she killing him?" Mihoshi choked out, nearly gagging on her candy bar in a sympathetic motion. Washu let a tear slip out of her eyes, realizing exactly to what extent Kagato had manipulated her daughter.
"He isn't able to die that easily, but, yes. Ryoko is crushing the life out of him." As the two watched, Ashe's eyes closed, and the young man grabbed the pirate's hands with his own; Ryoko's body began to glow a deep red, and it began to envelope the wanderer's body as well. A second later, a pulse of energy rippled through the area, with its epicenter being the two warriors that were locked in combat; Ryoko's grip, as well as her body, were thrown back as Ashe dropped to the ground. As the two women watched the screen, the wanderer's body began to glow a deep crimson red and fade slowly into a deep emerald green; portions of his hair pulled itself out of its pony-tail, and began to spike itself and fan outward.
"Wow, Ashe's hair looks kinda like Ryoko's! Why did that happen?" Washu, who had taken it upon herself to get a drink of water in order to wet her now stone-dry mouth, promptly did something that she barely remembered doing at any other time in her life: she gagged.
"HE CAN DO WHAT?? PAUSE THAT FEED!" The feed stopped dead in its tracks, right as the video changed the angle from a 45 degree view, to an aerial view of the situation as it focused directly upon a wanderer with a hairstyle that looked as if it were a fused version of his own, and of Ryoko's own unique style. Washu whirled to face the space officer, bringing up a slew of holo-pads as she did so.
"Were there any sensor arrays set up to record this?" Washu yelped, which sent Mihoshi back and off of her seat.
"AHHHH!" Rubbing her bottom as she pulled herself off of the ground, Mihoshi tried not to think about the pain. "Well, yeah, I don't see why there wouldn't be…" Washu began pulling up the information left and right, playing the scene that had just occurred several times over to synchronize the data from every conceivable direction. "Unbelievable.... look at the patterns! Directly before, there was no visible reaction from either... but here, Ashe's bio-signature literally shuffles and attunes itself to match Ryoko's bio-signature!" She sat back with a look of complete understanding and no small amount of satisfaction on her face.
"I wouldn't believe it unless I was looking at it right here. Ashe, you little copycat." Washu's ear-to-ear grin, not to mention the slow but very loud cackling, began to worry Mihoshi.
"A copycat? Ashe sounds pretty original to me." "What? No, that's not what I meant! He's a copycat, as in he can emulate others' abilities! And if I'm right…" Washu trailed off as she began pulling up the stored information on Ashe's genetic code, "He has access to ancestral memories that pertain to those abilities as well, considering that they've been hard-wired into his DNA! It's ingenious!" Washu stared at the picture of Ashe for a moment, a look of profound respect crossing her features.
"I'd almost say he's perfect."
"Do we really need to wear these oversized cloaks? I feel like I'm swimming in a blanket!" Ryoko complained, pulling or dragging back several different layers of clothing in order to pull the hood off of her head.
"Ryoko, please don't poke fun at the ceremonial uniforms." Tenchi whispered to the pirate, and then looked back to Ayeka. All three of them were finishing up putting on the cloaks when Ayeka pulled the hood of hers back. Tenchi took a free moment to sneak a view of the surrounding area as Ayeka glared at Ryoko. "The Tree Bonding Ceremony is a very old, but very important custom; it's rather reminiscent of the Japanese Tea Ceremony in terms of the importance placed on tradition and form. This means that… Ryoko, pay attention!" Ayeka half-yelled at the pirate, who had decided that playing with Tenchi's ponytail held a much higher priority than listening to Ayeka talk about things older than all of them.
"While I'm sure that you have no idea about the value of ceremony, Ryoko, but this is EXTREMELY important. The very success of a space-tree bonding hinges on following the basic rules and conduct put into place for the ceremony, and I'm not going to let you allow a flawless record to be marred due to your inability to sit still!" "If you got it princess, then why not bring it? I got 50 credits that say otherwise!" "It's a bet I'm willing to lose if it means that you won't destroy this." Ayeka stated, and then turned back to explain some more to Tenchi. "Every member of the immediate Royal Family will be standing as demands the ceremony; that will be Brother Yosho, Father, Mother, Mother Funaho, and I. Sasami has yet to reach the proper age to have her as part of the ceremony, so she will accompany you to answer any questions. All of the remaining attendees will kneel behind each of the main family members, encircling the tree and partner-to-be. At NO TIME is there any talk other than whispering; only chanting of the bonding mantra is permitted with full voice." Ayeka declared.
"Of course, that would require that this... barbarian... has sufficient brain power to be capable of such a feat." A voice declared behind the trio; all of them turned to look at a Juraian nobleman, his fluorescent red hair a stark contrast to the earthy tones of the robes that he wore.
"Oh, great, Pinky's back." Ryoko muttered.
"Ah, the infamous pirate extraordinaire, Ryoko. How pleasant to see you here, and without the pretense of senseless destruction. It must be difficult to maintain, the almost alien concept of self-restraint?" "Oh, I'll show you restraint." Ryoko growled, wasting no time in trying to get closer with her outstretched hands, no doubt aiming for the Juraian noble's exposed throat. Tenchi grabbed the pirate's hand, and twisted it slightly which sent the pirate spiraling around to face Tenchi.
"Rein it in, Ryoko! He's just trying to egg you into doing something reckless!" "Who, me? Now why would I even consider doing such a base and tactless concept such as that? You two would never have even gotten to the Great Gate without my dear, sweet Ayeka to guarantee you safe passage into the Heaven Tree." The venomous daggers emerging from behind Ayeka's eyes never escaped the notice of Tenchi as he looked at the elder princess, who smoothed out her hood as she turned to look at the Juraian noble. Pulling Ryoko out from between the two nobles, Tenchi motioned for Ryoko to be quiet as Ayeka began to speak to Seiryo.
"Seiryo, let me remind you of something, and I hope that these words will sink into your star-struck mind." Ayeka declared, a small twitch emerging from her lips. "I am not yours, will never be yours, and I would never consider touching you in any way other than, perhaps, to strike that overtly malformed orifice you call a mouth and wipe any thought of romantic interlude from it. Has it become clear yet?" "Crystal." "And if you even CONSIDER disgracing any of those whom I hold in friendship EVER again, in public or in private, I will personally make sure that you eat with a straw every meal from now until the day you pass on from this life. Keep that in mind when you begin uttering more nonsense." Seiryu's mouth swung open, merely blinking absently at the raw verbal punishment handed out from the normally quiet princess. Ryoko simply grinned from ear to ear.
"I see. I have a tree ship that requires my focus and attention. And I will not let a small disagreement distract me from that, so if you will excuse me…" He bowed slightly, and then exited the room with everything but a running start.
"Damn, Ayeka, you laid it a bit thick, huh?" "I will not tolerate anyone disgracing Lord Tenchi, Ryoko, even a high-ranking noble such as Seiryo." "Well, thank you, Ayeka. I appreciate the effort." Tenchi said, a slight smile emerging on his lips.
"Of course, Lord Tenchi." "Well, I guess I didn't know that I was gonna be your friend either, Ayeka." Ryoko wisped, a cocky smile emerging from beneath her lips. Ayeka raised an eyebrow to look at her.
"Enjoy the dream, Ryoko; I merely did it as payment of a debt to you. Now, we are even." "Fair enough, I guess. Now, how's about we get this show on the road?" Ryoko chirped.
Ashe awoke with a start, a cold sweat covering his body as he sat up in the bed that sat in the middle of the room. Moving the sweat-soaked locks of hair away from his eyes, he groggily looked around; the cylindrical "Sanctuary" that had been built for him by one of the few real friends in his life served not only as sleeping chambers, but also as a archival vault for the various things that he had collected for the many years he had been alive. The room's height went several thousand feet straight up, and the natural ambient light that came from the reinforced glass ceiling was dimmed slightly, creating an effect of both modernization and antiquity in the same quiet moment. A thick, fine grain of dust covered much of the older portions of the vault, giving away just how long a good deal of the objects had sat waiting for their owner to return to them. Wiping the sweat off of his face and brow with his blanket, Ashe took a free moment to pull on a pair of boxers and amble his way around the vault.
Giving himself a faint push off of the ground, Ashe began to float higher upward, toward the highest point in the vault; he passed thousands of different shelves and books that were arrayed and sorted as well as other works of art and knickknacks that he had also collected for their sentimental value on the various levels; each level was connected by a spiraling ramp that encircled the tower. He stopped and planted himself on the ground in front of his destination; the uppermost level. Here, the place was kept pristine and clear of clutter, for it was here that Ashe kept his most prized relic; a painting that had hung on the wall, surrounded by candles and adorned with necklaces of various designs. The painting showed a picture of three people, standing in a reed field; a slightly elderly man, with salt-and-pepper hair, along with twin white-haired boys. Ashe placed his hands behind his head, and his eyes locked onto the painting.
"It's been a while, Dad. I know I haven't come to visit in a long time, so I thought I'd do so after I got some sleep." Ashe took several tentative steps forward, and waved his hand in front of himself; all of the candles, like a silent wave of whispers, lit up as his hand crossed in front of his sight.
"I'm doing pretty well, although I still haven't found anything permanent yet. I'm still looking for a home for us, just like I told you; I'll admit though, for a moment I was almost convinced that I found one. You wouldn't believe the kind of people they are, either; they're so compassionate and kind it's almost surreal." Ashe's eyes let slip several tears, which crawled their way down his face and cheeks. "I really wish you could see them, Dad, I think you'd really like them."
"And I think you'd be all different kinds of happy to know that I've been talking with a girl; she's the first one in over 4,500 years, and she's a scientist, just like you were. Her name's Washu; and I actually think she just might like me.... heh, if she isn't trying to poke or prod at me for another test or sample of one kind or another. I'm just glad she hasn't asked for anything too personal." Ashe said aloud, shuddering at the thought.
I should have stayed instead of allowing that damned exile to happen! Ashe cursed himself mentally, clenching his hands into tightly balled fists as he let his arms fall to his sides. Why did you tell me to go? Why? Ashe's mind wandered back, sinking downward through the depths of his memory, back toward the fateful day he was forced to leave his home to find another one.
The head judge stood up, facing the accused scientist with a faint haze in his eyes along with what seemed to be a professional sense of distance. Behind the scientist, a huge throng of people had gathered; so many people had been allowed into the room that there was absolutely no room for sitting down, and many of them were standing in gleeful and almost sickening anticipation of the proceedings of the trial.
"Errol Brynn, you are charged with treason against the Council of Elders, blatant disregard of policy concerning the Ultimas Personas project that you lead, usage of non-Edenian DNA in the Ultimas Personas project, and the creation, using the DNA template assembled of said project, of the two subjects that stand beside you. How do you plead?" Errol stood proudly, glancing on either side of himself. Ashe, standing just a head shorter of his creator and father, looked up at him with expectant eyes; his brother also looked up at Errol as he listened to his response.
"Not guilty; and these 'subjects' are my sons, regardless of how you see them. I will not tolerate you shaming them by calling them anything less than that." Errol spoke forcefully, nearly spitting out the words as he used his eyes to bore holes into the head judge.
"Regardless, you are sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of release. However, as you have been a guiding member of this council, and have held the title of Grand Master of the Far Eden Science Academy for many years, we will grant your last wish to exile your sons from Far Eden." Gasps emerged from a great many in the gathered mass of spectators, and Errol turned an ear to listen. Mumblings and degrading slights were thrown about, as another person stood up; his black hair slicked back and pulled straight, while his red eyes had no qualms about displaying the venom they contained.
"Preposterous! Those... those pieces of waste product should be destroyed post-haste! Allowing them to live degrades the sanctity and the purity of Far Eden!" The man exclaimed, punching the pedestal with a fist in emphasis of his beliefs. The head judge turned to look at the man, and narrowed his eye.
"Professor Marius Tsurigama; while you are now the new Grand Master at the Far Eden Science Academy, this does not mean that you will hold any more sway in my court than any other man. Grand Master Brynn has done more in his lifetime for our world than even I can hope to accomplish, and his final wishes will be carried out with due haste and respect. If you do not like the sentencing that I have decreed, then you may leave my courtroom. Are we clear?" Marius growled in impotent rage, and sat back down in his chair. Errol snickered visibly at Marius, and then turned to face the judge for one final time.
"May I ask one small favor of you, Head Judge?" Errol inquired, bowing slightly toward the judge.
"You may."
"May I have one final moment with my sons before their exile is carried out?" The head judge nodded his assent. Errol turned back toward his sons, who had gathered behind their father as they listened to them.
"I'm not leaving you here alone, Dad! No way in hell!" Ashe growled, folding his arms in front in emphasis.
"Ashe, you and your brother can't stay. If you try to force yourselves to remain behind here, they will kill all of us. That's not what I want, do you understand?" Errol explained, holding his son's shoulder. "And you, I need you to keep an eye on your brother for me; can you do that?" Ashe's brother nodded in silent agreement and Errol smiled.
"I want you… both of you… to make a promise to me, okay? When this is all over, I want you go and make a real home somewhere far away from this place. Not one that's bigoted or cruel, a real home with people who understand and care about who you are, not what you are. Can you boys do that?" Both boys nodded their heads, their hearts filled with understanding of what their father said. Errol patted them both on the back, and noticed the group of guards that surrounded the trio as they talked. As the guards pulled the two young men away from their father, Ashe yelled out to him one last thing before losing sight of his father for the final time.
"I'll come back for you, Dad! I promise!"
"I promised; promised and failed you." Ashe whispered to the painting, tears now rolling down his face. "But I won't give up, Dad. I'll find the home you wanted me to have, no matter what it takes. No matter how long it takes." He whisked his hand over the portrait a second time, and the flames that were lit each slowly winked out in turn. He drew in and exhaled a long and deep breath, then turned and walked up to the circular balcony that he had come up over in his ascent to the place he stood in. Staring up through the glass ceiling, and taking in the partly clouded skies above, Ashe smiled at the sky that seemed to open up and show him all the possibilities he could have ever want.
"And finally, after all these years, Dad, I think I've found it," Ashe looked back at the portrait for but a moment, and gave his father a thumbs up. "Wish me luck!"
With a shout and a dive, Ashe bolted over the railing to find the people who treated him like he belonged; the people who made him feel like family.
All other characters, depictions, places, and theories that have been put into place are my own creation and have no relevance to Tenchi Muyo in any way except in the ways I've explained. These are my own thoughts and imagination, and any relation to other stories that are not my own are accidental. Honest.
My e-mail is for any and all feedback. Please, PLEASE SEND FEEDBACK OF ANY KIND!!! Thank you! -
Author's Notes: I'd like to thank EvilPii and Jocko, and everyone for helping me with keeping me interested and enjoying what I've written thus far. I don't really know if I would have ever gotten this far without them.
Thanks, guys. I owe you something I don't think I can repay in any lifetime.
Tenchi Muyo: The Web of Life Chapter 8: Myths and History
A lone shrine, though long ancient and considered a holy place by most of the citizens in Jurai, had welcomed an old friend back into its creaky halls and peaceful reverie. It's faded and ancient shrine was finally being looked upon again by an old Shinto priest; his crimson-faded eyes were patient and, if anyone were to peek into his mind, his thoughts were glimmering with fondness and reminiscence.
"I always knew," sighed a familiar voice from behind the priest, "That I would find you here, Yosho." He turned back to look at the form of Lady Funaho, standing quietly in the entrance to the shrine. Yosho opened his mouth to begin speaking, but was halted by his mother's outstretched hand.
"Quite alright, little one." She spoke quietly, watching her son with amused interest as he turned back to face the shrine in silence. There were several more quiet minutes between the two of them as the shrine began to fill with more of the temple monks. All of them took a similar place near the shrine and began their morning prayers, seemingly oblivious to the pair nestled in their midst.
"How did you know to find me here?" Katsuhito questioned, slightly confused.
"I remember, a long time ago when you were just a boy, you loved to stare at the artwork and listen to the stories that all of the priests and shrine keeps had told about their lives, and what they thought about so many things. It was all that I could do to keep you from this place, until the day that your father demanded that you attend the GSA to finish your schooling. Even then, spiritualism of every form interested you far more than any book about science." She turned to look into the main area of the shrine and watched as the attendants shuffled themselves into position to begin the morning meditation. "And regardless of where you were, this was the first place you journeyed to whenever you had come home." He chuckled softly as the memories found their way back into his mind's eye.
"You know me too well, mother." "You are easy to know, little one; you are my son, after all." She sighed deeply, continuing to gaze upon the shrine along with her son. "I do wish that I could have met Tenchi's grandmother and mother, though. I hope that they were good people. However, I will wait on that conversation until after we have had our morning prayer. I have not felt as appreciated as of late, and I feel that it is time to break that fast." "Of course, Mother." Funaho bunched up her lips, and raised an eyebrow at her son.
"Am I not worth even a simple hug anymore?" "Of course not, Mother." Yosho then stopped himself, realizing exactly how that sounded. Funaho, however, smirked and stood in place and watched her son fumble for the words in which to apologize. "Err, I meant that you are always worth a hug, mother." He quickly brought himself to a stand, and gave his mother an endearing hug, which she returned it in kind. The two then sat down inside the shrine to begin their morning prayer.
Inside her lab, Washu angled her head slightly as she stared into her view-screen with heavy interest. Her eyes wrought with sleep depravation and intense ambition, the genius's mind was keening with thousands of different permutations based off of the information available to her. All of them gave her the same problem; a lack of concrete evidence.
"This is getting me NOWHERE!!!" The genius roared, bounding up and away from the holo pad in absent-minded anger. She strode over toward the arboretum, and stood against one of the trees. "I don't understand how someone who has his kind of power just doesn't have SOME kind of record or reputation! He's like a needle in a haystack, and I'm not buying that logic."
"Um, Little Washu? Are you here?" Mihoshi's voice echoed from behind Washu; the scientist spun around to see the space officer stumble in from the temporary gateway that she had set up in the main hall of House Masaki.
"How in the…? How is it that you keep getting in here?" Washu mused absently.
"Well, I did knock. Does that count?"
"Not really, but I'm not arguing semantics right now. I'm guessing you're finally done with your research of the GP database?"
"Yeah, it was really informative. I was able to find a whole bunch of information; did you know that Terrans used to use stones to fight each other?"
"They still do. Where's the information?" Mihoshi produced an extremely thick binder, filled with information and photographs. Washu gaped at the binder, then at Mihoshi. Walking up and taking the binder, the scientist began flipping through its pages; Washu stopped at one point and looked at the officer with confusion blatantly on her face.
"You're kidding right? This doesn't make any sense! Almost two-thirds of the information in here is mythology and urban legends; this isn't what I was looking for, Mihoshi."
"Yes, it is." Mihoshi countered, and swiped the binder back from the scientist.
"Oh really, and how do you figure?"
"Simple! I'll show you with a star map." Mihoshi beamed, and pulled out her cube; twisting her cube in several directions, Mihoshi finally produced a holographic projection of the known universe, but not before having several different pieces of equipment drop to the floor. Washu simply shook her head as Mihoshi began to explain.
"Roughly 40,000 years ago, the Translucians saw the birth of their birth-date caste system correlated to a 'falling star' that had crashed into the planet. It heralded the coming of a man of white who saved the life of the infant who would become the First Child Emperor of Tannia."
"That's not feasible. There's too little information on that story to even count that as a potential source; besides, that story was told orally for 10,000 years before it was written down. I can't use a story handed down more than 24 times as concrete proof." "Maybe, but on Zanief VII, there were several legends that talked about a man who possessed an ability to emulate supernatural phenomenon; after tracing the historical timeline to those, they ended up being about 25,000 years old in age." Washu gave Mihoshi a strange look a second time.
"No one that we know has any proof that he is capable of that type of ability; that's as hard to believe as the GSA pronouncing that they can seal a black hole!" "I know it's true, because there was one particular instance that caught my attention really good. About 4,500 years ago Ryoko had been sent to Tetanius Prime to deter the planetary defense forces from stopping Kagato on one of his 'rumored' raids. The funny thing was the fact that Ryoko, at one point, had been fighting in a one-on-one fight against a person of unknown origin, and couldn't get past! One of the bystanders had been quoted as saying that the person had started off pretty badly. By the time they were done, it got to the point where it was speculated that Kagato decided to raze the planet rather than risk letting the person become a liability." As Mihoshi continued talking, Washu noted the planets as they lit up, giving rise to a very subtle arc that followed its way out of the galaxy.
"It isn't speculation. Kagato didn't want something that he couldn't control running loose. Do you have any footage that could've been recovered from the planet?" "Yup; here, I can show it to you." Twisting the cube several more times, a single compact disk dropped to the ground; a singular black disk, with 'GP: TOP SECRET' written on the top. Mihoshi handed the disk to the scientist, who immediately tossed it into a small portal that opened up directly behind her head. A huge view-screen spawned itself out over the remaining portion of control node, as two plush cushions appeared behind the two women.
"Take a seat, but don't touch anything." "Yes ma'am." As the screen flickered on, static roared across like a wildfire and slowly died, revealing a semi-pristine commercial area. Without warning, one of the buildings furthest from the camera view lit up as an energy blast screamed into it. The blast knocked debris into the air and knocked almost everything away from the point of impact. The screen went static for but a moment, and then flickered to a different point of view; it seemed to be the opposite end of the city block that had been decimated, and the object focused on a cyan-haired woman as she stared with a blank, lifeless expression.
"Ryoko…" Washu mentally gushed, her eyes shimmering as she watched the scene unfold, "What did he make you do?" The pirate's hands pulsed brightly, and two orbs of energy coalesced into each hand. She took a look around, and then tossed the orbs behind her, into a nearby building. The building, in no short order, shuddered from the explosion and then imploded; the dust and debris roared past her, but Ryoko neither moved nor blinked. She looked upward, as if she were about to leave, when she looked at the far end of the city block; the camera shifted its view again, to show the damaged building that had been hit earlier in the video feed. Rubble shifted and groaned as a figure shoved several huge chunks of building out of its way. The camera zoomed in, to look at a man, wearing an emerald green trench coat and a black body suit kicking more debris out of his way as he carried an unconscious body in his arms. The camera focused a second time, getting a clear view of the man's face; his grey eyes and stark white hair filled the screen, and both girls gasped in realization of who it was.
"It IS Ashe!" Both exclaimed, and then leaned in closer to watch the video feed unfold with rapt interest. On the screen, several combat medics rushed to the wanderer; Ashe handed them the unconscious form, and made several angry faces. The medics ran off with the body, leaving the pirate and the wanderer alone on the city street. The wanderer tilted his head to look at Ryoko, and seemed to mouth words to the blue-haired warrior.
"Audio! Where's the audio?" Washu declared.
"Oh! Yeah, there's an audio track, but they had to extrapolate what their lips were doing in order to get the information. I used one of Grandpa's gadgets to make the voices sound like Ashe and Ryoko, too!" Mihoshi commented, still transfixed on the screen. In a matter of moments, the dull hiss of mild static permeated the control node as Ashe's voice echoed through the chamber.
"... and just leave?" said the wanderer, still walking forward, slow and measured with his steps. The pirate made no movements, and made no sound to reply.
"What, is he paying you? I can give you more money, just leave this place alone. The ruins aren't even on this side of the planet, so there's no reason to be here!" Dead silence tore its way through the node, as everyone sat to witness Ryoko's reply. She looked directly at Ashe, to show a set of yellow and green eyes.
"I must do what I am told to do." Ryoko declared, and ran toward the wanderer; her sword flared into being as she covered half the distance between them so fast that the camera couldn't keep up with the movement.
"Whoa! I didn't know Ryoko was that fast!" Mihoshi chirped, and pulled out a candy bar from her pocket to eat as she watched the video play out.
"You haven't seen anything yet." Washu muttered, and continued to watch the screen.
On screen, Ashe tensed himself, and dived to the side as Ryoko brought her sword down where he once stood. The street groaned and caved under the stress, leaving a large spider web design where Ashe was moments ago. Not missing a beat, Ryoko swung her hand to aim at Ashe as he hopped to his feet, and fired several small energy blasts at his head and chest. Ashe ducked low, barely missing one of the blasts as it tore through his arm; the pirate simply watched as the wound smoldered, then healed over in a matter of seconds. Ashe shoulder-rolled himself to his left, and made a mad dash toward the large pile of rubble, zigzagging as he went to avoid the other energy blasts that were thrown about much like a toddler's playthings. Quickly, the wanderer dove behind one of the boulders, which became much smaller as energy blasts annihilated head-sized portions of it away without so much as recognition of their existence.
"That's strange, I've never seen Ashe move that quick either." Mihoshi said between bites of candy bar; Washu, however, began to study the screen with much keener an interest.
"He's using his environment to his advantage, but he knows that he's outgunned and underpowered. C'mon…" Washu breathed, "Show me what you're hiding." On screen, the boulder that Ashe had hid behind suddenly launched forward and rolled directly at Ryoko at a high rate of speed; the pirate didn't flinch, even after she kicked the makeshift weapon apart with a side kick. Several more pieces of building were pushed or rolled in Ryoko's direction. She destroyed one of them with another side kick, and then laid waste to the remaining obstacles with several small blasts. Ryoko, spotting Ashe as he attempted to dive behind another piece of rubble, bolted forward and caught the wandering fighter from behind; giving him a bear hug, the wanderer began to gasp for breath. Blood began to trickle out of his mouth as his lungs began to fill with his own life fluids.
"My god, she's killing him. Is she killing him?" Mihoshi choked out, nearly gagging on her candy bar in a sympathetic motion. Washu let a tear slip out of her eyes, realizing exactly to what extent Kagato had manipulated her daughter.
"He isn't able to die that easily, but, yes. Ryoko is crushing the life out of him." As the two watched, Ashe's eyes closed, and the young man grabbed the pirate's hands with his own; Ryoko's body began to glow a deep red, and it began to envelope the wanderer's body as well. A second later, a pulse of energy rippled through the area, with its epicenter being the two warriors that were locked in combat; Ryoko's grip, as well as her body, were thrown back as Ashe dropped to the ground. As the two women watched the screen, the wanderer's body began to glow a deep crimson red and fade slowly into a deep emerald green; portions of his hair pulled itself out of its pony-tail, and began to spike itself and fan outward.
"Wow, Ashe's hair looks kinda like Ryoko's! Why did that happen?" Washu, who had taken it upon herself to get a drink of water in order to wet her now stone-dry mouth, promptly did something that she barely remembered doing at any other time in her life: she gagged.
"HE CAN DO WHAT?? PAUSE THAT FEED!" The feed stopped dead in its tracks, right as the video changed the angle from a 45 degree view, to an aerial view of the situation as it focused directly upon a wanderer with a hairstyle that looked as if it were a fused version of his own, and of Ryoko's own unique style. Washu whirled to face the space officer, bringing up a slew of holo-pads as she did so.
"Were there any sensor arrays set up to record this?" Washu yelped, which sent Mihoshi back and off of her seat.
"AHHHH!" Rubbing her bottom as she pulled herself off of the ground, Mihoshi tried not to think about the pain. "Well, yeah, I don't see why there wouldn't be…" Washu began pulling up the information left and right, playing the scene that had just occurred several times over to synchronize the data from every conceivable direction. "Unbelievable.... look at the patterns! Directly before, there was no visible reaction from either... but here, Ashe's bio-signature literally shuffles and attunes itself to match Ryoko's bio-signature!" She sat back with a look of complete understanding and no small amount of satisfaction on her face.
"I wouldn't believe it unless I was looking at it right here. Ashe, you little copycat." Washu's ear-to-ear grin, not to mention the slow but very loud cackling, began to worry Mihoshi.
"A copycat? Ashe sounds pretty original to me." "What? No, that's not what I meant! He's a copycat, as in he can emulate others' abilities! And if I'm right…" Washu trailed off as she began pulling up the stored information on Ashe's genetic code, "He has access to ancestral memories that pertain to those abilities as well, considering that they've been hard-wired into his DNA! It's ingenious!" Washu stared at the picture of Ashe for a moment, a look of profound respect crossing her features.
"I'd almost say he's perfect."
"Do we really need to wear these oversized cloaks? I feel like I'm swimming in a blanket!" Ryoko complained, pulling or dragging back several different layers of clothing in order to pull the hood off of her head.
"Ryoko, please don't poke fun at the ceremonial uniforms." Tenchi whispered to the pirate, and then looked back to Ayeka. All three of them were finishing up putting on the cloaks when Ayeka pulled the hood of hers back. Tenchi took a free moment to sneak a view of the surrounding area as Ayeka glared at Ryoko. "The Tree Bonding Ceremony is a very old, but very important custom; it's rather reminiscent of the Japanese Tea Ceremony in terms of the importance placed on tradition and form. This means that… Ryoko, pay attention!" Ayeka half-yelled at the pirate, who had decided that playing with Tenchi's ponytail held a much higher priority than listening to Ayeka talk about things older than all of them.
"While I'm sure that you have no idea about the value of ceremony, Ryoko, but this is EXTREMELY important. The very success of a space-tree bonding hinges on following the basic rules and conduct put into place for the ceremony, and I'm not going to let you allow a flawless record to be marred due to your inability to sit still!" "If you got it princess, then why not bring it? I got 50 credits that say otherwise!" "It's a bet I'm willing to lose if it means that you won't destroy this." Ayeka stated, and then turned back to explain some more to Tenchi. "Every member of the immediate Royal Family will be standing as demands the ceremony; that will be Brother Yosho, Father, Mother, Mother Funaho, and I. Sasami has yet to reach the proper age to have her as part of the ceremony, so she will accompany you to answer any questions. All of the remaining attendees will kneel behind each of the main family members, encircling the tree and partner-to-be. At NO TIME is there any talk other than whispering; only chanting of the bonding mantra is permitted with full voice." Ayeka declared.
"Of course, that would require that this... barbarian... has sufficient brain power to be capable of such a feat." A voice declared behind the trio; all of them turned to look at a Juraian nobleman, his fluorescent red hair a stark contrast to the earthy tones of the robes that he wore.
"Oh, great, Pinky's back." Ryoko muttered.
"Ah, the infamous pirate extraordinaire, Ryoko. How pleasant to see you here, and without the pretense of senseless destruction. It must be difficult to maintain, the almost alien concept of self-restraint?" "Oh, I'll show you restraint." Ryoko growled, wasting no time in trying to get closer with her outstretched hands, no doubt aiming for the Juraian noble's exposed throat. Tenchi grabbed the pirate's hand, and twisted it slightly which sent the pirate spiraling around to face Tenchi.
"Rein it in, Ryoko! He's just trying to egg you into doing something reckless!" "Who, me? Now why would I even consider doing such a base and tactless concept such as that? You two would never have even gotten to the Great Gate without my dear, sweet Ayeka to guarantee you safe passage into the Heaven Tree." The venomous daggers emerging from behind Ayeka's eyes never escaped the notice of Tenchi as he looked at the elder princess, who smoothed out her hood as she turned to look at the Juraian noble. Pulling Ryoko out from between the two nobles, Tenchi motioned for Ryoko to be quiet as Ayeka began to speak to Seiryo.
"Seiryo, let me remind you of something, and I hope that these words will sink into your star-struck mind." Ayeka declared, a small twitch emerging from her lips. "I am not yours, will never be yours, and I would never consider touching you in any way other than, perhaps, to strike that overtly malformed orifice you call a mouth and wipe any thought of romantic interlude from it. Has it become clear yet?" "Crystal." "And if you even CONSIDER disgracing any of those whom I hold in friendship EVER again, in public or in private, I will personally make sure that you eat with a straw every meal from now until the day you pass on from this life. Keep that in mind when you begin uttering more nonsense." Seiryu's mouth swung open, merely blinking absently at the raw verbal punishment handed out from the normally quiet princess. Ryoko simply grinned from ear to ear.
"I see. I have a tree ship that requires my focus and attention. And I will not let a small disagreement distract me from that, so if you will excuse me…" He bowed slightly, and then exited the room with everything but a running start.
"Damn, Ayeka, you laid it a bit thick, huh?" "I will not tolerate anyone disgracing Lord Tenchi, Ryoko, even a high-ranking noble such as Seiryo." "Well, thank you, Ayeka. I appreciate the effort." Tenchi said, a slight smile emerging on his lips.
"Of course, Lord Tenchi." "Well, I guess I didn't know that I was gonna be your friend either, Ayeka." Ryoko wisped, a cocky smile emerging from beneath her lips. Ayeka raised an eyebrow to look at her.
"Enjoy the dream, Ryoko; I merely did it as payment of a debt to you. Now, we are even." "Fair enough, I guess. Now, how's about we get this show on the road?" Ryoko chirped.
Ashe awoke with a start, a cold sweat covering his body as he sat up in the bed that sat in the middle of the room. Moving the sweat-soaked locks of hair away from his eyes, he groggily looked around; the cylindrical "Sanctuary" that had been built for him by one of the few real friends in his life served not only as sleeping chambers, but also as a archival vault for the various things that he had collected for the many years he had been alive. The room's height went several thousand feet straight up, and the natural ambient light that came from the reinforced glass ceiling was dimmed slightly, creating an effect of both modernization and antiquity in the same quiet moment. A thick, fine grain of dust covered much of the older portions of the vault, giving away just how long a good deal of the objects had sat waiting for their owner to return to them. Wiping the sweat off of his face and brow with his blanket, Ashe took a free moment to pull on a pair of boxers and amble his way around the vault.
Giving himself a faint push off of the ground, Ashe began to float higher upward, toward the highest point in the vault; he passed thousands of different shelves and books that were arrayed and sorted as well as other works of art and knickknacks that he had also collected for their sentimental value on the various levels; each level was connected by a spiraling ramp that encircled the tower. He stopped and planted himself on the ground in front of his destination; the uppermost level. Here, the place was kept pristine and clear of clutter, for it was here that Ashe kept his most prized relic; a painting that had hung on the wall, surrounded by candles and adorned with necklaces of various designs. The painting showed a picture of three people, standing in a reed field; a slightly elderly man, with salt-and-pepper hair, along with twin white-haired boys. Ashe placed his hands behind his head, and his eyes locked onto the painting.
"It's been a while, Dad. I know I haven't come to visit in a long time, so I thought I'd do so after I got some sleep." Ashe took several tentative steps forward, and waved his hand in front of himself; all of the candles, like a silent wave of whispers, lit up as his hand crossed in front of his sight.
"I'm doing pretty well, although I still haven't found anything permanent yet. I'm still looking for a home for us, just like I told you; I'll admit though, for a moment I was almost convinced that I found one. You wouldn't believe the kind of people they are, either; they're so compassionate and kind it's almost surreal." Ashe's eyes let slip several tears, which crawled their way down his face and cheeks. "I really wish you could see them, Dad, I think you'd really like them."
"And I think you'd be all different kinds of happy to know that I've been talking with a girl; she's the first one in over 4,500 years, and she's a scientist, just like you were. Her name's Washu; and I actually think she just might like me.... heh, if she isn't trying to poke or prod at me for another test or sample of one kind or another. I'm just glad she hasn't asked for anything too personal." Ashe said aloud, shuddering at the thought.
I should have stayed instead of allowing that damned exile to happen! Ashe cursed himself mentally, clenching his hands into tightly balled fists as he let his arms fall to his sides. Why did you tell me to go? Why? Ashe's mind wandered back, sinking downward through the depths of his memory, back toward the fateful day he was forced to leave his home to find another one.
The head judge stood up, facing the accused scientist with a faint haze in his eyes along with what seemed to be a professional sense of distance. Behind the scientist, a huge throng of people had gathered; so many people had been allowed into the room that there was absolutely no room for sitting down, and many of them were standing in gleeful and almost sickening anticipation of the proceedings of the trial.
"Errol Brynn, you are charged with treason against the Council of Elders, blatant disregard of policy concerning the Ultimas Personas project that you lead, usage of non-Edenian DNA in the Ultimas Personas project, and the creation, using the DNA template assembled of said project, of the two subjects that stand beside you. How do you plead?" Errol stood proudly, glancing on either side of himself. Ashe, standing just a head shorter of his creator and father, looked up at him with expectant eyes; his brother also looked up at Errol as he listened to his response.
"Not guilty; and these 'subjects' are my sons, regardless of how you see them. I will not tolerate you shaming them by calling them anything less than that." Errol spoke forcefully, nearly spitting out the words as he used his eyes to bore holes into the head judge.
"Regardless, you are sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of release. However, as you have been a guiding member of this council, and have held the title of Grand Master of the Far Eden Science Academy for many years, we will grant your last wish to exile your sons from Far Eden." Gasps emerged from a great many in the gathered mass of spectators, and Errol turned an ear to listen. Mumblings and degrading slights were thrown about, as another person stood up; his black hair slicked back and pulled straight, while his red eyes had no qualms about displaying the venom they contained.
"Preposterous! Those... those pieces of waste product should be destroyed post-haste! Allowing them to live degrades the sanctity and the purity of Far Eden!" The man exclaimed, punching the pedestal with a fist in emphasis of his beliefs. The head judge turned to look at the man, and narrowed his eye.
"Professor Marius Tsurigama; while you are now the new Grand Master at the Far Eden Science Academy, this does not mean that you will hold any more sway in my court than any other man. Grand Master Brynn has done more in his lifetime for our world than even I can hope to accomplish, and his final wishes will be carried out with due haste and respect. If you do not like the sentencing that I have decreed, then you may leave my courtroom. Are we clear?" Marius growled in impotent rage, and sat back down in his chair. Errol snickered visibly at Marius, and then turned to face the judge for one final time.
"May I ask one small favor of you, Head Judge?" Errol inquired, bowing slightly toward the judge.
"You may."
"May I have one final moment with my sons before their exile is carried out?" The head judge nodded his assent. Errol turned back toward his sons, who had gathered behind their father as they listened to them.
"I'm not leaving you here alone, Dad! No way in hell!" Ashe growled, folding his arms in front in emphasis.
"Ashe, you and your brother can't stay. If you try to force yourselves to remain behind here, they will kill all of us. That's not what I want, do you understand?" Errol explained, holding his son's shoulder. "And you, I need you to keep an eye on your brother for me; can you do that?" Ashe's brother nodded in silent agreement and Errol smiled.
"I want you… both of you… to make a promise to me, okay? When this is all over, I want you go and make a real home somewhere far away from this place. Not one that's bigoted or cruel, a real home with people who understand and care about who you are, not what you are. Can you boys do that?" Both boys nodded their heads, their hearts filled with understanding of what their father said. Errol patted them both on the back, and noticed the group of guards that surrounded the trio as they talked. As the guards pulled the two young men away from their father, Ashe yelled out to him one last thing before losing sight of his father for the final time.
"I'll come back for you, Dad! I promise!"
"I promised; promised and failed you." Ashe whispered to the painting, tears now rolling down his face. "But I won't give up, Dad. I'll find the home you wanted me to have, no matter what it takes. No matter how long it takes." He whisked his hand over the portrait a second time, and the flames that were lit each slowly winked out in turn. He drew in and exhaled a long and deep breath, then turned and walked up to the circular balcony that he had come up over in his ascent to the place he stood in. Staring up through the glass ceiling, and taking in the partly clouded skies above, Ashe smiled at the sky that seemed to open up and show him all the possibilities he could have ever want.
"And finally, after all these years, Dad, I think I've found it," Ashe looked back at the portrait for but a moment, and gave his father a thumbs up. "Wish me luck!"
With a shout and a dive, Ashe bolted over the railing to find the people who treated him like he belonged; the people who made him feel like family.
