Chapter 12: And Dream what we may

Spring it seemed, had come early as cherry blossoms cascaded like snow down the ancient steps of Masaki shrine.

Sasami had to be mindful of her feet as she ascended, dressed In elaborate ceremonial robes, tripping was not an option while she carried the holy chalice of union. especially flanked on ether side by her mothers!

She was confused, to say the least, disorientated, focusing upon what she now held in both hands. The chalice of union was after all, removed from the imperial vault once each year, during Startica, the Jurian summer star festival. The only other times permitted, were naming ceremonies, weddings ... or funerals and only those of individuals of direct royal blood!

She thought, 'momentarily' to asked what was going on, but both her mothers looked so solemn, even terrifying. Masaki, behind and to her left, was dressed in white from shoulder to toe, her face hidden behind a veil of black. The weapon Her birth mother carried, large and distinctly vulgar, Sasami knew instantly from its traditional display in her father's chamber of audience.

Its proper name was hard to pronounce, being 'drafted' from some ancient, dead tongue. The literal translation roughly however was 'The Last Word'. Darkly humorous and political as any official object of execution could be. Though only ceremonial now days, Sasami knew that blade had killed literally thousands of dissidents over the course of Jurian history. The thing had always frightened her, if for no other tangible reason than it was in fact an axe, ancient enemy and murderer of trees!

Funaho, to her right similarly was attired in foreboding fashion, wearing black robes in her case with a white veil while baring aloft a golden balance or scale in her right hand. Sasami saw one side contained an ornate wooden crown the other a still beating heart!

Now deeply frightened on top of being confused, never the less something told her to continue climbing the stairs one by one.

To ether side of where her mothers behind her ascended in grim silence, the knights of the royal households, their battle staves raised in tribute formed an arch above the procession. The name and total number of stone visaged warriors was obscure to her, they seemed to blur to the point she could not pick out a single face.

"Sasami? Why you look perfectly lovely!" A familiar voice suddenly said. Without her realizing it somehow, the procession had apparently reached the shrine where standing before her, Ayeka was dressed resplendent in bridal gown. In every way, the 'perfect picture' of a princess on her wedding day, except for one small yet crucial detail. Her sister was translucent, a figurine rendered of clearest crystal.

"Ayeka?" Sasami gasped. "Sister what has happened to you?"

"Why, nothing has happened!" The princess gasped, as Sasami alarmingly watched a crack suddenly appeared vicinity of her sisters right shoulder.

"What could possibly be wrong?" Ayeka continued emphatically.

Sasami stared, her concern growing as behind and thanks to her translucency, clearly visible through Ayeka, a gallery of curious yet familiar figures beckoned.

"The others are waiting!" the transparent first princess told her, with a smile that heralded another split, this time from side of her mouth. "And it's not proper to keep the people waiting!" She added tersely.

"Ok..." Sasami told her woodenly, starting to move pass.

"Remember, everything will be fine long as we remember who we are!" Ayeka told her.

"Right, right." Sasami nodded gazing sadly at her sister, so delicate and beautiful, waiting for a harsh moment to shatter her into a million fragments!

"Do you like it?" Another voice asked dragging Sasami's gaze around to the spectacle of Nobuyuki, looking dapper in his dark gray three-piece suit, smiling at her warmly while she stared back agog. Hanging as he was inverted, by one foot from a gallows made it difficult to meet his gaze. "I made it myself!" he continued, gesturing to the framework from which he gently swayed.

Horrified at his self-inflected humiliation, Sasami turned away, only then seeing Washu standing only a few feet behind, dressed head to toe in all concealing, gray robes. Her impish face brightly illuminated by the lantern she held aloft, blazing with hellish light provided by a whirling atomic symbol at its very center.

"I've found a binding force!" she cackled from depths of her hood holding out, gesturing with her opposite hand. "A hundred times greater than that of nature's strong force!"

Just then, Sasami noticed the manacle, fastened around Washu's tiny wrist. Its chain snaking away in turn to where she now saw a man standing. Dressed in Shinto robes with the chains other end locked firmly around his arm.

"Grandpa?" Sasami ventured, finding herself drawn that direction, It certainly looked like her older brother, or rather how she had come to know in on earth anyway. Only to halt the instant he turned to face her, peering sternly at her through a mask of Lord Katsuhito's face held before him by his unshackled arm.

"A man can only run so far, live so long before he forgets who he was." His familiar voice grated, from behind that immobile Grey stony visage.

"Yeah..." She slowly nodded, backing away. Sasami shook her head trying to clear it, none of this made any sense! "Here." She murmured, handing the Chalice towards one of the nondescript entities milling about. Why not? It was pretty obvious by now that she was dreaming.

"The reception is going to be wonderful with all the goodies you made!" someone else behind her blurted. Still confused, Sasami looked to the source seeing Mihoshi, decked out in form fitting G.P. battle armor, making her way through the crowd. A tray, laden with food upon her shoulder and a 'wire-less' microphone in her other hand.

"I can't waaaaaait!" Mihoshi sang wistfully in an amplified voice that echoed across the assembly. Sasami was still absorbing, when she spied, what of all things, appeared to be a banana peel? Directly in the on coming Detectives path!

"Look out!" Sasami gasped, just as Mihoshi's right boot planted firmly upon the discarded skin.

The armored police woman stumbled, knocking over a table which in turn toppling a massive ice sculpture right over on to a bench Washu suddenly seemed to be using to see over the crowd. The bench's right hand support crushed upon ice angel impact, its center brace acting as a makeshift fulcrum, launching the startled scientist into the air!

She helplessly watched as Washu catapulted over the crowd kicking and screaming to 'face-plant' in the largest wedding cake Sasami had ever seen.

"Oopsey!" Mihoshi said in the aftermath, kneeling on the floor.

"You damn fool!" Came a stern voice. "Can't you do anything right?"

Turning towards this new speaker, Sasami gasped anew seeing Kiyone, Wearing nothing but a gun belt and her G.P. Badge! The latter placed tactfully somehow over nipple of her right breast. Chains trailing away from both wrist and ankles completing her ensemble or rather the lack there of. Kiyone stared tragically at her fallen partner, a look of infinite sadness in her eyes.

"When will you learn to take better care of yourself?" She begged.

"I'm not a child anymore!" Mihoshi suddenly cried, rising to her feet. Performing then an odd gesture, consisting of raising then extending her right arm, only to make a fist which she then brought smartly back to strike left breast of her body armor. As both Sasami and an astonished key watched, Mihoshi's galaxy police issue began to segment, folding away oddly in a thousand complex directions. Changing color, rapidly transforming ... Into a 'hot pink' two piece swim suit?

"You're not my mother!" Mihoshi told Kiyone defiant and sultrily, as suddenly a film crew gathered out of nowhere and began letting camera's and flash bulbs roll! "I can take care of myself!"

"Michelle! get some powder on the bright spot on her hip!" Some older man Sasami didn't know called from behind his camera, prompting an equally mysterious raven hair woman to begin dusting Mihoshi's midriff with a comically huge powder puff. Sasami was in the process of digesting what she could when distantly she heard Nobuyuki's voice over paparazzi din.

"OH MA'MA!" followed promptly by unmistakable sound of a rope snapping. "ACHICKA! I'M SORRY!" She heard him wail, followed by a distinct Thud!

"Why dose it have to be this way?" Came an outcry from the center of the group. Pushing her way past a ghostly throng of nondescript figures, those concerned primarily with Mihoshi, Sasami at last caught sight of him.

"TENCHI!" She cried. He stood before the shrine, much the way she first remembered seeing him. Tee shirt, dark colored Khakis, still the wide-eyed schoolboy from over five years, and what now seemed a life time ago.