"'Tousan." Tenchi's voice cracked as he stared at his father's unconscious form glumly. His brown eyes were tired and bloodshot from lack of sleep; lines had appeared in his forehead, making him seem ten years older; his knuckles were bled white from clenching his hands together so tightly they cut off the circulation.

Three and a half hours ago he had received a phone call from Kurashiki Hospital telling him his father had been in a car accident and was in critical condition. An hour ago he had spoken to one of Nobuyuki's coworkers, Kazichi Orikasa. Kazichi-san had told him how strange his father had been acting, how he had fallen into a rage and slammed his fist into the face of his supervisor. He had told him how he had dived out the door, screaming the name of his deceased wife, and driven off before anyone could stop him.

Twenty minutes ago, the doctor had informed Tenchi that his father was dying.

Tenchi could feel his shoulders shaking, could see his sight blur as tears filled his eyes and spilled over, dashing down his cheeks. "'Tousan," he whispered again, swallowing the knot that had begun to clot his throat. "Oh God. 'Tousan.. D-Dad."

Three days from now it will be their wedding anniversary. Was that what drove you nuts, Dad? Or something else? His hand shaking, Tenchi pushed the hair out of his face, his palm coming back slick with cold sweat. Kain was back, that was for certain. "Is this your plan?" His voice sounded loud in the unnaturally quiet room, utterly silent save for Nobuyuki's labored breathing and the beep!-beep!-beep! of medical instruments. "Is this your plan? Damn you.. God, why did you have to do this to him? He was my father, damnit! He never did anything to you!"

Tenchi was on his feet, hands balled into fists. His face was red, voice raised until he was screaming, screaming until his voice broke. "You killed my mother! Now you have to take my father too? DAMN YOU! Why can't you leave us alone! Why couldn't you leave him alone! DAMN YOU!"

"Tenchi sama?"

Ayeka's voice was timid, frightened; she stared at him as if he had gone insane, posed by the doorway with a hand resting delicately on the frame. Her brows drew together. "Tenchi sama.. I.. The other patients are complaining, the nurses.. You.. You have to be quiet.."

The boy slumped back in his chair, holding his head in his hands. His voice shook. "He's dying, Ayeka."

The princess moved to his side, hands clasped in front of her as her ruby-red eyes shifted wearily from Nobuyuki's inert form to the distraught youth holding vigil at his side. "I know," she whispered softly, a hand moving shyly to his shoulder. Her cream-pale fingers squeezed gently. "I know."

"First Ryo-ohki, then Sasami.. Now 'Tousan. It has to be him, Ayeka. Somehow.. he's doing it. God." He looked up at her, his chocolate eyes awash with pain and fright and grief. "Who's next? Who's he going to kill next, Ayeka? Mihoshi? Ryoko? You?"

Ayeka frowned. "Tenchi sama, you cannot give up so ea-"

"Why not?" He cut her off sharply. Tenchi stood up, slapping her hand from his shoulder, and stalked to the opposite side of the room, glaring balefully at the instrument that kept track of his father's erratic heartbeat. "Think about it, Ayeka! My mother was the one who beat him, not us! Even combined, he's more powerful than us.. And if what those aliens say is true, then he's gotten more power in his hands by kidnapping that Winnowill woman? We can't beat him, Ayeka! My mother did, but she's dead! Dead! We shouldn't kid ourselves. We couldn't beat him, even if we tried!"

His rant was cut short as Ayeka drew back her hand and slapped him across the face.

Tenchi stumbled backwards, clutching a hand to his sorely reddened cheek. He stared at her in shock, his jaw dropping open, but no sound coming out. Ayeka's eyes filled with tears as she drew her hand back, shaking. "Shut up! Shut up, you awful, awful man!" she screamed back at him. All the hospital seemed to fall deathly silent at the outburst, full of anguish and anger.

"Don't you think I know what's going on?! Do you think I'm oblivious to everything that goes on around me?! I'm not stupid, Tenchi! I'm perfectly aware of the odds! Tenchi sama, I'm sorry about Father. I truly am. But my sister is dying too! Without Tsunami, she'll die! And I.. And I.."

Tenchi swallowed. "Ayeka san.."

"I.." Ayeka looked up at him, her voice little more than a whisper. "If she dies.. I think I will too." For a moment she gazed into space, berry-red eyes blurring with tears. Yet in the next, she had gotten a hold of herself, standing straighter and her chin held high. The Juraian Princess sniffed and tried to smile. "That's why we have to win. Don't you see? If we beat him, then... then Sasami will be all right... and Ryo-ohki... and Father... They'll all be all right, so we have to beat him..."

Tenchi looked away, back towards his father's bed, and sighed. "I know.. I know." He moved towards the table set near Nobuyuki's bed. His glasses had been placed there, within easy reach of anyone who watched over his bed, just in case he woke up. The youth picked them up, turning them over in his hand. The frames were bent, the lenses broken.. Tenchi struggled to find his optimism, his ever-cheerful attitude that had saved him from depression so many times before. He was distressed to find it just beyond his reach.

"Tenchi sama…"

The smallness of Ayeka's voice made him look up.

Her cherry eyes were blurred with tears, but they didn't meet his gaze, instead looking past him to Nobuyuki's prone form. "Gomen, Tenchi sama," she whispered. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted."

"No… No, it's all right." With a sigh, Tenchi raised a hand to his face and rubbed it, smoothing the hair back from his face. "I'm the one who should be sorry. You don't need this. Between Sasami and…"

A cream-pale hand touched his, cool and soft to the touch. "No…"

He blinked. "Ayeka…?"

"Tenchi sama, you have nothing to be sorry for. You... Your father, he is… Please don't apologize, Tenchi sama. I… I know. It's all right, truly. Just… please…" The last sentence trailed off, ending with a choked sob. Tenchi turned, brown eyes wide, and wasn't entirely surprised to see Ayeka's face contorted with grief. His fingers closed around her hand and she looked up with a mixture of surprise and happiness.

"If I can't be sorry," he said as he met her gaze, expression and voice solemn. "Then neither should you."

Affection broke out across Ayeka's face like water let loose from a fountain. "Oh, Tenchi sama!" she cried, voice distant, and with uncharacteristic boldness, she swept him into an embrace, hugging him as if afraid to let go. "You're so kind and good," she whispered into his ear, burying her face in his shoulder. "At least, I can be happy to have… to have known you… and called you friend… And maybe…"

Tenchi awkwardly returned the embrace and, at her words, his cheeks started to burn. "Ah… Ayeka san…"

"Please." She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to meet his gaze. Her voice shook, but she kept talking, pulling away so that she could be heard. "Please, Tenchi sama. It's wrong for me to be so forward, but please… Kiss me, just once… please…"

He hesitated and her eyes opened, meeting his wary glance head-on. His hands still lingered on her arms; shakily, she lifted a hand to touch one of his, her fingers smooth, yet firm: she wouldn't let him go easily. Tenchi's mind raced: could he deny her, truly? He could feel his heart pounding in his head, could feel his throat constricting. Sweat beaded on his forehead and slid down his brow.

Yet Tenchi found himself leaning towards her. His brown eyes were steady on her ruby-red pair, yet she closed her eyes as his lips neared hers. For the briefest of moments, their lips brushed…

And then the door opened. "Tenchi?"

Tenchi's head snapped up, his eyes widening. Almost tripping over his own feet, he darted away from Ayeka, avoiding her eyes like a guilty criminal. Instead he looked towards the door where a trio of diminutive visitors stood.

It was easy to pick Washuu out of the three: her bright flash of red hair, even pulled back from her face in a spiky ponytail, was an eye catcher. Her emerald eyes glittered as she looked at him, stepping further into the room with the remaining two, clad in trench coats and large sunglasses, and looking like a comical version of "Men in Black", flanking her. "Tenchi," she repeated, no longer a question, and offered something of a crooked smile. "How are you?"

"I, um, well, that is, you see, ah, well, I'm, okay, er, I guess, um, yeah."

Washuu quirked a brow and smirked. "That bad, huh? No surprise, really. Come on in, you two," she added, gesturing towards her two companions to step inside. "Don't by shy. It's strange in here, I know, but don't worry."

A pair of sun browned hands emerged from the trench coat to pull off the sunglasses, revealing a pair of pine green eyes. Leetah took in her surroundings with a blend of wariness and awe, then looked to her companion and nodded for her to do the same. Echoing the healer's movements, Venka's delicate features came into view, her golden eyes regarding all with the utmost calm.

"As you remember," intruded Washuu's voice into the still silence of the room. She cast Ayeka a meaningful, if questioning glance as she spoke. "Leetah here possesses a healing power. I haven't quite worked out the specifics of it yet, but we've seen it in action, at least on her kind. And if my hypothesis is correct, she should be able to do the same on Mr. Masaki here…"

Ayeka started to say, "Sasami-" but Washuu cut her off.

"I know. God, I know. But this is different. For all the similarities between the two races, Sasami is Juraian and Nobuyuki is Earthling. The humans that Species #103384xbE… er, the Wolfriders interact with seem to be primitive versions of the humans found on this planet, which can lead to much speculation concerning intergalactic colonization and control of evolution, but that also means…"

Now it was Ayeka's turn to cut her off. "Get to the point, Washuu!"

The scientist stopped and shot Ayeka a Look then took a deep breath and released it slowly. "The point is… What didn't work with Sasami may work with Nobuyuki. And it's certainly worth a try."

"Yes." Tenchi's voice was strangely hollow. "It is."

Washuu's head bowed in a grim nod, and then she turned with a sweep of her hand, gesturing the elfin pair forward. "However, there's no guarantee that Leetah will be able to do this. There's no evidence that the musculature will be significantly similar to Wolfrider humans, so Leetah may have to attempt a deep healing trance to even get the slightest bit of repair done. Venka here will be linked to her to make sure she doesn't fall too deeply into the trance. We can't have her falling in and not coming out, now can we?"

"Indeed." Ayeka's voice was thin. Her cherry eyes were fastened on Washuu, glittering with question and suspicion. "Washuu san... why couldn't she attempt a… 'deep healing trance' on Sasami?"

The crimsonhaired scientist met Ayeka's gaze head-on, her lips pursed. "You and I will talk about that later, princess," she answered after a moment. Ayeka offered a wary nod in reply.

Without further ado, Leetah and Venka moved forward. The former's eyes were dark, her forehead creased with worry as she took one of Nobuyuki's bandaged hands into her brown palm. Her lips thinned with a frown and a threadbare sigh escaped her lips. ** Oh, High Ones. **

Venka stood behind her, one hand resting on her shoulder while her coppery gold eyes regarded Nobuyuki soberly. ** How bad is he? **

** Very bad. ** Leetah's eyes shimmered with tears, the connection granted by the touch bringing to her the awareness of the misery the middle-aged human was in. Her sending was distant, almost disembodied as she slid her hands up to cup the bandaged face, fingertips seeking the torn flesh below: ** He must have loved her very much. **

** Loved who? ** Venka asked, but there was no reply. The spheres of rippling energy had already risen from the desertborn healer's hands. A small frown made it to the airwalker's daughter's face, but she could say nothing, avoiding the worried eyes of the three others in the room as she took her place behind Leetah, her hands resting over the healer's temples lightly.

War perched in a tree, legs folded beneath him as he leaned up against the tree trunk, his body's golden eyes regarding the sky as Earth's sun vanished beneath the horizon, leaving a watercolor of purple and red in its wake, then only endless night. The wind rippled through Rayek's midnight tresses, blowing them in his eyes; irritated, War brushed them back again. What this point-eared ninny saw in long hair, he didn't know. It would serve him right if War chose to cut it all off or even shave his head bald.

The thought brought a bitter laugh. This arrogant, self-centered, vain idiot… bald? Hah! War smiled cruelly at the thought and fingered the blade at his side thoughtfully.

Luckily, a voice interrupted the Horseman's thoughts before the poor airwalker paid the price. "War?"

His eyes lighting up, War looked down at his name and smiled at what he saw. It was one of the alien women: her skin was a light brown, the smooth color of milk chocolate, and baby blue eyes looked out from beneath a pile of sun-blonde curls. All trace of her body's true owner's cheerfulness had vanished into a cold, calculating smirk, her eyes now dark indigo as they surveyed the treetops again. She repeated, calling out, "War?"

"Aye." A smirk on his face, War used his stolen body's powers to float downwards slowly. "I'm here."

Mihoshi regarded him coolly and with upraised brows, then a smirk crawled across her face with annoying casualness. "My," she commented and her tone was dry. "You're certainly… short."

"Oh, shut up."

A bubbling giggle rose from her lips, devoid of her body's true owner's giddiness, tainted with cold and... disease. "Death has a twisted sense of humor."

"He's not the only one." War smiled a smile that had melted many an elfin heart when Rayek wore it, yet made his companion's insides contort to see it when he molded it. A sunbrown hand reached up, tucking some of the sunshine hair behind her ear. "Come here…"

They kissed. It was a passionate kiss, but devoid of any feeling or emotion. They did it for the pleasure of the kiss itself, not the thrill of being close or enjoying each other's presence. Mihoshi's arms wrapped around Rayek's body and held the glowing elf close, murmuring softly until he finally pulled away, his golden eyes glittering.

"I've missed you, Pestilence."

A sickeningly sweet smile curled on her lips. "I know."

War smirked at that and rose higher into the air, throwing a quick glance around him before returning his golden gaze to her. "Any idea when Famine will be joining us?"

"Oh, that one." Pestilence flicked her hand casually, her pretty face shaping a disgusted frown. "You know him, lover. Always taking his time… I don't know why Death keeps him employed. He can always find another Horsemen."

War cocked a brow at her. "Don't let him catch you saying that," he warned, menace woven into the tapestry of his voice. "Or he'll have your head on a pike. Don't underestimate the boy, Pestilence. He doesn't care for it, but oh, he can dish it out when need be."

Her shoulders rose and fell, discarding the thought as quickly as one would rotten fruit. "Whatever. In any case, he had chosen a body by the time I claimed this scatterbrain. He should be joining us soon."

Rayek's face twisted with a smile that was darker than night itself, his golden eyes aflame like twin suns that did nothing to light up the blackness of his expression. "Good. And then we can begin."

Petalwing held strict vigil over its newly wrapped bundle, its colorful eyes surveying all it could see of the forest. The air was bitterly cold and damp, the winter rain having left behind a wetness that had frozen with the night's passing. The bigthing it had captured hadn't stirred since the Preserver had wrapstuffed it. This wasn't very disturbing, however; rarely did anything happen after Petalwing wrapstuffed something.

What it puzzled over though, was why it had wrapstuffed the bigthing. It had been naked, crying, and utterly terrified, but it hadn't been injured or asleep. Yet Petalwing, for reasons that escaped even it, had wrapstuffed it. To keep it snugsafe, it reasoned, but from what?

It had known the smalleye prettyblack bigthing had been in some kind of danger, but it hadn't discerned what. Nothing had emerged to challenge Petalwing for its wrapstuff. In fact, nothing had happened! It missed its highthings and fellow Preservers. Petalwing emitted a dramatic sigh and held its chin in its hands, looking dejected. Where had its highthings gone?

"Petalwing!"

As if by magic, a familiar voice entered its awareness. The Preserver looked up, eyes wide -- // Mothermother highthing! // it trilled joyfully and darted into the air.

Timmain's attire was soaked with rain and mud. She wished desperately to shed herself of them, but she was certain to catch her death in this wet chill. Something had cried out to her, calling her… Cutter? Rayek? Fahr? Something entirely different, for the wrapstuff bundle the Preserver was protecting was too large for an elf, though barely.

"Timmain san! Timmain san!"

The High One glanced behind her, remembering the human who had rescued her and followed her. Katsuhito, she recalled and allowed herself a tiny smile before turning her back to him and closing the final distance between herself and the cocoon. She knelt beside it, slender fingers resting lightly overtop. The silvery strands clung to her hands, refusing to let go even when she tried to let go. "Preserver," she murmured as the sprite came to rest among her spunglass hair. "What is in here?"

Before Petalwing could answer, Katsuhito caught up with them. "Timmain san!" he repeated, voice as stern as it was bewildered. Bemused, Timmain wondered at him. A human of his apparent age would have been out of breath, yet this one looked as if he had merely been taking a walk and stumbled upon them. "What are you doing?"

She no longer questioned why she could understand him, or why he could understand her. It had simply happened. Neither knew very much about the other - the High One had been careful to keep the existence of the children a secret in case this one was not all he seemed - but still he took care of her. Annoyingly though, he didn't let her leave the shrine. Whatever his reason, it escaped her.

"This wrapstuff," she explained to him after a moment had passed, arching a thin eyebrow at him. "There is something inside."

"Obviously. I… ah!" The old man's eyes widened behind his spectacles, moving forward and brushing past the elfin maiden to crouch beside the coccoon. "Impossible," he whispered, his red-brown eyes aflicker.

Timmain eyed him warily, rising smoothly to her feet. She looked beautiful, even garbed in such tattered, dirty attire as she was. "Katsuhito?"

He didn't answer.