For Sasami, time seemed to slow to a crawl as Kagato's clone turned to her, his hand raised as a blood red light gathered on the center of his palm. He raised his arm, gestured and let the energy bolt fly! Sasami didn't even have the chance to scream as the energy bolt sizzled through the air towards her. But before it could strike, a figure suddenly blurred into existence before her! There was a fiery explosion, and Sasami felt something hot and wet splash against her cheek as a wave of force pushed her down to the floor. The woman standing in front of her swayed then fell backward, and Sasami barely caught her before she hit the ground. Minagi smiled up at Sasami weakly, her labored breath coming in short, pain filled gasps. The front of her clothes were a mess of blood and torn flesh, but she still managed to bravely smile as she struggled to ask her "Are you all right, Sasami?" "Minagi," Sasami said, her wide eyes filled with tears, reaching up to feel the blood splattered on her cheek "why did you... ?" Minagi reached up and shushed her, tears leaking from Minagi's eyes and running down onto the groves of her crescent scared cheeks. "I think you were my very first friend, did you know that? I'm so glad I had the chance to know you," she said faintly, as her hand dropped from Sasami's face to fall limply at her side. She looked dazedly up at Sasami's tear streaked face, "There's no need for regrets..." "Don't talk like that," Sasami tearfully cried, "you are going to be all right!" But Minagi couldn't hear Sasami's words, her eyes closing with exhaustion, what little strength she had left finally deserting her. Tears streaked Sasami's face as she shook her frantically, "Minagi! Minagi, wake up! You've got to wake up, please!" Sasami looked around the battlefield frantically. Tenchi was facing Kagato, the Lighthawk Blade shining in his hands, Ryouko and Ayeka standing beside him! Nearby them, Mihoshi lay unconscious, being tended by Washu. "Washu!" Sasami cried. Washu looked up, saw the body that Sasami cradled in her arms, and the blood seemed to leave her face in a sudden rush. She crossed the battlefield as quickly as possible, reaching Minagi's side in moments. As she tore what was left of Minagi's clothes free, Washu quickly asked Sasami "What happened?!" She examined the wound in disbelief, even as Sasami explained. The damage was actually getting worse, somehow Minagi's wounds were actually growing larger in size. "Please Washu," Sasami said to her tearfully, "you have to save her!" Washu worked frantically as the battle behind them worsened. "I can't do anything for her here," a frustrated Washu finally admitted, "I have to get her back to my lab!" even as she pulled a small device from her clothes and activated it above Minagi's still form. The force field quickly surrounded Minagi's still form, and Sasami looked down at her in surprise. Within the field, time itself seemed to have completely stopped, the bleeding and the growing wounds stilled, at least for the moment. The noises of battle stopped in an eerie silence, and both gazed up in disbelief... Tenchi, Ryouko and Ayeka glowed together like a living star, their chi energies combined as one, incredible force. The anger and conflict that normally marred both Ryouko's and Ayeka's faces was gone, replaced by a shared purpose as all three of them struck together. The clone of Kagato was utterly destroyed, shattered on a molecular level. Sasami felt a small bit of satisfaction at that, but it was a fleeting feeling as Washu tiredly asked her "Please help me carry Minagi over to my lab, Sasami." she looked down at Minagi's frozen body, "I have a long night's work ahead of me, I think." ------------------------------------------------------------ Sasami sat at the base of the stairs, her head resting on her knees as she waited as patiently as she could manage. The others were all scattered around the hallway nearby, hoping for some word of Minagi's condition. Tenchi walked over to her, sitting down on the step beside her. "I'm sure Washu can help her," he tried to reassure Sasami. "She got hurt protecting me, Tenchi," Sasami said to him, so quietly he could barely hear the words. He leaned closer as she whispered hoarsely, tears glinting at the corners of her eyes "I'm not sure what I'll do if she dies..." Mihoshi only heard the last part and suddenly broke into loud tears! "You don't think she's going to die, do you?" she asked the others tearfully. "Washu will do everything she can to save her," Ayeka said to Mihoshi firmly, trying to convey confidence in Washu's abilities. "But she's been in there such a long time," Ryouko said, her voice filled with worry. She got up and resumed restlessly pacing the short hallway. "If she doesn't make it, I don't know what I'll do," Ryouko sighed. Just then the door at the base of the stairs opened and a very tired looking Washu walked out. She pulled her blood splattered surgical gloves off with a loud snap, a bleak expression on her childlike face. "Washu," Tenchi said, sounding honestly worried now, "is Minagi..." "She's still in the slow-time field," Washu said to them quietly. "Kagato somehow loaded his energy bolt with nanites, tiny machines that have invaded Minagi's body to try to kill her." She sighed tiredly as she continued to explain "The field stops them from making things any worse, but it also makes any attempt at treating her incredibly difficult!" "So why can't you just remove them?" Ryouko demanded angrily. Tenchi tried to calm her, but she just shrugged off his touch. Ayeka gave her a look, and Ryouko reigned in her temper a bit, to everyone's surprise. "I tried," Washu sighed, "but it's not as easy as it sounds. They've infiltrated her entire body, so if any of the nanites remain, they can reproduce and start doing more damage, and I can't treat her wounds until the nanites are gone!" Sasami nodded, a unusually grim expression on her face. Ayeka then spoke up, "Is there anything we can do to help?" Washu shrugged, "My lab here has most of what I need. I'll need to ship in some additional medical equipment, so I can both monitor and work to destroy the nanites while keeping her in the slow time field." "Jurai has some very good medical facilities," Sasami said thoughtfully. "Would they be of help to you, Washu?" "Well, yes," Washu admitted, "but I doubt they'd allow..." Sasami smiled, a cold, harsh smile, and Washu was suddenly reminded of the fact that Sasami and Ayeka, despite their pleasant natures, were daughters of the Emperor. They were both so nice, she often forgot that little fact. "I think," Sasami said to her calmly, "if Tenchi, Ayeka and I ask them... the right way, we shouldn't have any problem." Washu drew Sasami aside for a moment, "Treating Minagi through the slow time field means that curing her will take a very long time, Sasami, years or maybe even decades. I need to know I'll have your support, no matter how long it takes." "Minagi's not only my friend," Sasami said to Washu simply, her expression firm, "but she also saved my life. I won't abandon her." On the planet Jurai, the Capital City, sometime much later... Washu opened the door to the private medical bay, and strode confidently into the room. In her adult form she was a tall, busty redhead, a form she had chosen to maintain throughout the long years they had all spent on Jurai. A small smile appeared on her face as she saw the shorter, blue-hared woman who soundly slept in a chair sitting by the tall healing tank where Minagi floated, also deeply unconscious. "Sasami," Washu said to her softly as she shook the young woman's shoulder gently, "it's time to get up." "Oh, Washu," Sasami said, leaning back in her chair and stretching, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to fall asleep down here." "It's all right," Washu said smiling as she pulled up a chair herself and sat down by Sasami. "I know the long hours we've been putting in down here are hard on you, young lady," she said, concern in her voice. Sasami reached up to rub at her eyes sleepily as she asked Washu "How are the latest group of test results?" Washu smiled happily as she said in a very self satisfied tone, "She's clean of the nanites, down to an sub-atomic level!" Sasami looked over at Washu blankly a moment, as if she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, then with a shriek of joy she leapt out of her chair! She grabbed Washu's hands and pulled her out of her chair and danced her around the room happily. "She's going to be all right!" Sasami cried out tearfully. Washu staggered back to her chair, out of breath. "Yes," Washu said once she got her breath back, "we'll be able to wake her up later today." She paused, and looked over worriedly at Sasami. "It's been over a hundred years since she was hurt, Sasami. That's a lot of time for anyone to loose, so I was wondering if you could..." "Be a guide for her to this new era?" Sasami finished her request. "Of course, Washu. I know that as co-wife to the Emperor, you have a lot of duties to attend to." Her face suddenly lit up with one of her happy smiles as Sasami said, "All those years ago, if you told me that Mihoshi and you would be married to Emperor Tenchi the First, I don't think I would have believed you." Washu laughed, "Neither would I!" She shook her head, "I always thought that he'd end up with you, honestly." The two shared a quiet laugh at that, the sort of laugh that could only be shared by long time friends. Sasami had become Washu's unofficial assistant in between her various diplomatic duties. If she wasn't in her quarters or working, you could usually find her in the medlab sitting with Minagi. Sometimes she'd talk, or read, or just stay there to keep her friend company. Minagi heard the muted sounds of familiar voices and the soft sound of laughter. She slowly felt herself rise back to wakefulness, following those sweet sounds to their source. Her eyes gradually opened, and she found herself floating in the far too familiar liquid of a healing tank. Looking out, she saw two women standing and talking before her. She instantly recognized Washu, even though she had changed to her adult form, but the other woman only looked slightly familiar to Minagi's sleep blurred mind. She reminded Minagi a little of the Empress Misaki, as well as the human form Tsunami sometimes used, but somehow very different, too. She was more serious in appearance, but still seemed to be charmingly innocent and, Minagi found herself noticing, quite beautiful. She floated over to the side of the tank to try and see the light blue-hared girl with the violet eyes more clearly, and without meaning to gently bumped the inner surface of the tank's wall. Washu turned, her eyes wide, and saw Minagi gazing somewhat dazedly out at them. "She's awake!" Washu said, her voice showing her complete surprise. "Her recuperative powers are greater than even I thought," she added admiringly. "I am truly the greatest scientific genius in the universe!" Sasami spun around, and found her gaze meeting Minagi's own. She stood totally frozen as Minagi's green eyes looked into her own, and, Sasami felt, into her very soul itself! She stirred, walked slowly to the tank and then reached up, her hand laying on one side of the tank wall, Minagi's hand resting on the other as they stood, lost in the enchantment of each other's eyes. Washu hurried over to the tank's controls and began to drain the thick healing fluid, before turning to gaze upon the two figures standing there frozen before her. "It's going to be all right, Minagi," Washu finally felt had to say, breaking the spell the girls were under. Sasami took a small step back, her cheeks flushed as the fluid drained and the glass wall was finally raised to release Minagi back into the outside world again. Minagi staggered a bit, and Washu barked "Sasami, grab her other side!" They held Minagi erect, who was looking over at Sasami in a look of pure astonishment on her face. "Sasami, is that you?" she asked the beautiful young woman standing beside her, holding her arm gently in her hands. Sasami smiled at her, and Minagi recognized that cheerful smile from the many times it had been leveled at her before. "Hello, Minagi," Sasami said, tears glinting in her eyes, "you have no idea how good it is to see you!"
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