Chapter Nine
"I'm getting fed up with waiting."
Back out at the landing bay, Nozomi had curled up against Ryo Ohki's sharp frame, glancing up at the ship with a sigh as she did so. "Why couldn't I go with them to see the Emperor, anyway? Without me, they wouldn't have even been here in the first place. I don't like being left out of the loop, Ryo Ohki. It's not fair...it's not what Tsunami meant when she sent me back here."
Ryo Ohki let up a sympathetic miaow, and Nozomi's brows creased into a frown, shaking her head.
"I can't understand you, so you might as well not try." She said sadly. "I'm not Mother, you know. I can't read your thoughts like she can."
Ryo Ohki yowled again, and Nozomi rested a gentle hand on the spaceship's frame.
"I know you're trying to help." She added. "Thank you, at least. I just feel so useless, sitting here like some reject. I want to do something to help!"
Ryo Ohki mewed back at her, and Nozomi shook her head in frustration.
"I don't know what you're saying!" She exclaimed, then she bit her lip. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's not your fault. I just feel like I'm sitting around here like a spare part. Ryo Ohki, I've had enough."
She got to her feet, hesitating for a moment. Then a look of resolve crossed her features.
"If Mother comes back, tell her that I got fed up of waiting and that I'm in the palace grounds." She said at length. "Or wait...no. Tell her...tell her I went to see Tsunami's tree. All right? It's not so far from here, and I'd like to see how it used to look, before Kagato wreaked hell on this planet."
Ryo Ohki yowled a protest, but Nozomi paid her no heed. Instead she clenched her fists, closing her eyes and focusing her mind's eye on the Tree of Life, flickering out of the landing bay and re-materialising in the middle of a grassy plain. For a moment she felt disorientated, and she faltered, glancing around her at the unfamiliar lush terrain. Then, in the distance, she caught sight of the great tree itself, looming high over its fellows as its branches greeted the midday sun. A smile touched her lips and she ran towards it, pausing a few feet from it's massive trunk and gazing up into the rich green foliage. As she came closer, beams of light danced and radiated from the leaves, as if to welcome her presence there, and her smile widened.
"Tsunami." She murmured. "Oh, you're so beautiful."
As she watched the rays of light flicker and dot their way across the ground, she settled herself beneath the tree's shade, comforted by the presence of the Goddess she had come so far to serve.
"You probably don't know it yet, but one day we're going to meet face to face." She told the tree softly. "You won't be just a Tree of Jurai then, Tsunami-sama. You'll be Empress of all Jurai. Oh, but if we change things...I don't know what will happen. It's hard to know anything at the moment."
"If the past changes, so must the future."
A voice echoed on the wind, distant and confusing to Nozomi's young ears. She glanced up, surprise filling her gaze as she registered that the tree was changing, the grooves of the trunk twisting and forming into the faint outline of a woman. As she watched, the woman's features became stronger, forming into a face she both knew and loved, deep within the grain of the wood.
"Tsunami-sama?" She whispered. The woman nodded her head.
"Nozomi-chan." The word was barely more than a flicker of sound, but Nozomi heard it. She smiled.
"So you do know who I am. You really are the Goddess - you do know everything."
"I know that this world is in great danger, and that is why you are here." Tsunami's branches sighed and groaned in the wind, as if adding feeling to her grave words. "In this time, fewer and fewer Juraians have come to me to share their lives and their hearts with the Tree of Life. The poison that spreads from Souja's roots is a deep rooted poison - but it awakens a hate and a disillusionment that has grown within Jurai for some time. That is why I sent you back here. Because you believe in me, where others do not."
"What is it you want me to do?" Nozomi asked softly. "How can I help you, Tsunami-sama? I don't know this time, and I'm not as strong as either Mother or Father. I don't know how to fight an enemy like Kagato, and I don't know what will happen if I try. I know I was your last resort, Tsunami-sama - but it would help if I understood a little more of what you wanted from me."
"You will understand that when the time comes." Tsunami said quietly, and the wind ruffled once more through her branches, sending cascades of light into the upper atmosphere. "I am the Tree of Life, but Kagato holds power over what has become the Tree of Death. And yet, he cannot awaken by himself. I think you understand my meaning."
"Yes." Nozomi dropped her gaze. "It was my blood that woke him in the future time. It's my fault that Jurai will be destroyed. I have to make sure that doesn't happen again. If he sleeps forever, how can he hurt Jurai?"
"Kagato's spirit is strong, and although he is trapped, his influence is slowly working a change on this world." Tsunami murmured softly. "Beneath the surface, there is a war being fought for control of Jurai's heart. This cannot be left alone any longer, Nozomi-chan. It must come to an end."
Nozomi stared up at the tree, a mixture of surprise and dismay on her face.
"You want me to wake him up!" She whispered. "That's it, isn't it? You want me to use my blood again to bring Kagato out of his sleep, so that...so that what? So that you can meet him, face to face? I thought Sasami-dono was a child in this time - are you really going to send a child into battle against a monster who will destroy worlds."
"You mustn't ask so many questions, Nozomi-chan." There was a note of affection in Tsunami's soft voice. "You must trust me and do simply as I've asked you to do. The rest - you must leave to me. Sasami is not the only soul implanted with magic from the Tree of Life."
"I see." Nozomi hesitated for a moment, then she bowed her head. "I'll do my best, Tsunami-sama. I don't understand why you want it done, but I will do as you ask. Somehow."
"Yes, I know you will." Tsunami agreed. "Be careful, Nozomi. Your blood was chosen to wake him because it mingles the Tree of Life and the Tree of Death, intertwined into one human form. Nobody else will be able to raise him - but you must be willing to give everything, if the time comes. Do you understand what I am asking of you?"
"I understand, Tsunami-sama." Nozomi nodded, then, "But...that means...Tenchi-san...is my father?"
"One day you'll know all the answers to those questions." Tsunami said with a slight smile. "For now, just do as I ask you and help to save your planet from destruction."
"I'll try." Nozomi promised. "I don't know what will happen, but I will try."
Tsunami smiled again. Then, as Nozomi watched, her human form shifted into that of a young girl, a mixture of mischief and gravity in her pinkish red eyes. For a moment, Nozomi met gazes with this unfamiliar apparition. Then, with a final burst of irridescent light, the tree stood silent.
She sighed, putting a hesitant hand against the wooden trunk, but Tsunami was once more just a tree.
"Nozomi!" A voice startled her from across the field and she turned, seeing a girl running towards her. She let out a gasp as she recognised the young girl from the tree's projection, and she took a step backwards, feeling the hard wood of Tsunami's trunk behind her.
"Sasami-denka?" She whispered. "Is that who you are? How...how do you know my name?"
"You are real." Sasami grabbed Nozomi's hands, gazing on her with Tsunami's gentle eyes. "I knew you must be, then Tsunami told me you were here, at her tree, and that I had to make sure you understood...oh, but if you are here, then it means my whole dream was real. That Jurai is going to be destroyed."
"It's real, but it doesn't have to stay that way." Nozomi said with a frown. "You and Tsunami are already connected, aren't you? I had no idea it happened when you were as young as this."
"Lately all of my thoughts and dreams seem to lead into hers." Sasami admitted, a shadow touching her face. "Did you bring Ryoko and Tenchi to Jurai, Nozomi? Is that what Tsunami - I mean I - sent you to do?"
"Well, they are here." Nozomi sighed. "So you know who I am...everything?"
"As much as Tsunami tells me." Sasami nodded her head. "I'm glad they're here, Nozomi. Jurai needs both of them."
She laid a hand on the tree, and light flickered once more across the branches, bathing the young girl in it's rays. Then it was silent once more, and Sasami gazed up at the newcomer in sudden comprehension.
"She's asked you to wake up Kagato's tree." She said softly. "You know, Washu has been working on the same idea...that if we're to destroy Kagato, he has to be caught before he can seep through Jurai's water and soil and weaken Tsunami at her roots."
"Tsunami said it must be my blood that raises him." Nozomi glanced up at the tree. "I thought it was because I'm Kagato's grandchild, but from what she said..."
"Even a monster like Kagato needs the Tree of Life to live." Sasami whispered, and that strange, older look entered her eyes once more. "Tsunami knows that. Souja is her son, after all. What he takes from Souja, he takes from Tsunami. That's why, in your world, she was weak. Kagato is like a parasite on Souja, but it's deeper than that and we can't let it continue."
"I suppose that makes sense." Nozomi admitted. "Though I'm a little afraid of Souja. I can still remember what happened the day the sky went black."
Sasami reached out a hand, and Nozomi felt the girl's steady grip in hers.
"We need to find Ryoko and Tenchi." The princess said softly. "Tsunami needs them. Do you know where they went?"
"Yes. To see the Emperor." Nozomi nodded, looking startled. "But I don't know how to get to him. I'm not sure where they went, exactly, and although I know the palace pretty well in my time, I'm not sure I want to risk teleporting around it in yours."
"To see my Uncle?" Sasami looked thoughtful. "Hmm. Well, he's not holding session in the council chamber today, and I know he's not in the Throne Room. That must mean he's in his private apartments - so that's where we need to go. Will you come with me, Nozomi? The sooner we find Ryoko and Tenchi, the sooner we can deal with Kagato."
"And the sooner we can save this world." Nozomi looked haunted. "All right, Sasami-denka. I'm coming with you!"
As they reached the Emperor's private apartments, they heard the sound of raised voices, and then, a bang and a thud. Before either the Princess or her companion could react, Ryoko appeared through the thick oaken doorway, a look on her face as dark as thunder, and Nozomi faltered, shooting her a trepidant glance. Ryoko took no notice of either Nozomi or Sasami. Once in the hall, she flickered and blurred from view, disappearing into nothing as the door of the study opened.
"Ryoko?" Tenchi's voice sounded anxious, and then, "Nozomi! Sasami? What's going on here?"
"Where has Mother gone in such a hurry?" Nozomi flitted her gaze to the spot the pirate had disappeared. "Did something happen, Tenchi-san? She looked upset."
"I think she discovered something she wasn't prepared to discover." Tenchi said heavily. "She's gone to speak to Washu. Sasami, do you know where that is? I'm half afraid that at the moment it might mean another fight. As Nozomi said, she's pretty upset."
"Yes, I can take you there." Sasami nodded. She hugged Tenchi, slipping her hand into his and another one into Nozomi's as they began to thread their way back through the corridors. "And I'm glad you're back here. I missed you. Both you and Ryoko. And Nozomi's here too, so everything is going to be all right now. Tsunami's told me everything...everything that needs to be done. Only...only with Ayeka still away, Tenchi-chan, it's you and Ryoko who she needs most of all."
"I got the feeling our stop here might be more complicated than just a fact-finding mission." Tenchi nodded his head. "Right now, though, I'm worried about what Ryoko might do to Washu. You know she's Ryoko's mother, Sasami - in a manner of speaking."
"Yes, I know." Sasami agreed. "Tsunami told me."
"I see." Tenchi chewed on his lip. "She didn't happen to also tell you whether Washu is going to survive this encounter, did she?"
"Washu's pretty tough." Sasami shrugged her shoulders. "And I think it's a good thing Ryoko knows the truth now. Now maybe she'll understand that it's her destiny to help beat Kagato. And that's what Tsunami wants us to do, Tenchi. So it's all okay in the end, right?"
"I wish I could look at things that simply." Tenchi said pensively. He cast a glance at Nozomi, who sent him a questioning one in response.
"You're quiet. Are you all right?"
"Yes." Nozomi inclined her head. "Just thinking about how beautiful my planet is, before Kagato brings it to hell. That's all."
"Well, we're going to try and prevent that from happening. When we find Ryoko and peel her away from Washu." Tenchi said with a frown. "Sasami, you seem to have all the answers right now. Can you tell me what's going on? At least, what Tsunami expects from us and why she sent Nozomi here to intervene, exactly?"
"Tsunami knows that Kagato will poison Jurai one way or another, through the air or through the ground. Whichever he has better access to." Sasami nodded her head. "And the longer he stays in Souja's tree, the more damage he does underground. In time, it will affect the water and the plants, trees will die and people too. Like a sickness...spreading through everyone until there's noone left alive."
"Except you." Nozomi cast Sasami a faint smile. "And me."
"Thanks to Tsunami's magic." Sasami agreed. "Yes. But by then it's too late to do anything about it. Tenchi, Nozomi was the one who brought Kagato back to life. Tsunami sent her back here to do the same thing again - so that Kagato could be challenged and defeated before his hold on this planet was complete. At the moment, Tsunami still holds most of Jurai as her own, and the odds favour her."
She dimpled, her childish levity seeming in stark contrast to her solemn words.
"And that's where you and Ryoko come in." She added. "I don't have magic of my own, exactly - anything that I have comes directly from the Tree of Life, because of my connection to Tsunami. But it hasn't passed to me through the bloodline of my family, not like it did to Ayeka and to you and Ryoko. But Ayeka isn't here, Tenchi, and you and Ryoko are."
"So we're going to fight the bad guy, if Nozomi wakes him up." Tenchi scratched his head. "That figures."
"Something like that." Sasami responded. "If you're willing to do it."
"I don't think we have a lot of choice in the matter, from what you've just said." Tenchi pursed his lips. "If Kagato is a threat to Jurai so long as he continues to exist, we'll have to stop him existing, somehow. I don't suppose Tsunami's told you the outcome of that battle yet, Sasami?"
"No, she hasn't." Sasami shook her head. "I'm not sure if she knows it...not yet. Her future still reflects Nozomi's past, after all. The timeline hasn't begun to change yet. She can only guess, like the rest of us, whether or not it will be enough."
"Okay, well, I have a plan." Tenchi said decidedly. "We'll find Ryoko, calm her down and tell her everything you just told me. And then, well, I guess we're preparing for battle again - whether we like it or not!"