The Other Side

The Royal Palace and Temple on the planet Jurai were normally peaceful places, though far from placid. The people of the planet have long been masters of 'constructed natural beauty' and the halls and chambers of the residence of the royal family were the pinnacles of their creations. Today however, the peace had been shattered when a single ship came to the surface, scattering the third generation juraian tree ships before it like they were leaves in a tornado.

Fires raged and countless square miles of once pristine forest were now burning, with an equal amount, if not more, of the cities in the same state. Soldiers, guards, priests and citizens were running everywhere, with the former running to the fight and the latter running away. The sirens were blaring and the intercom announced the whereabouts of the attackers. Through it all, one woman was not trying to run away from, or toward the fight. She was searching and if need be, her duty was to leap right into Ryoko's rending hands if it meant saving her charge from harm.

"Princess Sasami-" a guard ran into her but she quickly recovered "Where are you? Sasami!" She took more steps, more walking than running. As she looked around, she called out again and was knocked aside by blast. That's when it hit her, the very special kind of panic that sets in when one realizes they just might have failed in an important duty to someone very powerful.

"Princess Sasami..." She cried out as she slowly got up.

Some distance away, in a part of the temple that was not being shaken by explosions and as a result, was eerily quiet, a small girl gasped at the wonderful sight of intricately inlaid and carved doors. She ran to them, her age making her completely unaware that someone might be looking for her. The quiet of the place she was at lulled her young mind into a false sense of security. When she got to the doors, she stopped and stared for a moment.

"Wow..." she said quietly at first, though her second exclaimation was louder "...wow!"

Stepping forward, Sasami's tiny hands pressed against the doors. In spite of their perfect balance, requiring a minimum of effort to be opened despite their great weight, Sasami was small and young, so she did have to work a bit to get them moving.

As the doors cracked open, she gasped at the pure white light that shone from within. She ran inside, giggling and then looked over the edge where she saw dozens of royal trees, most of them unbonded. All were instantly aware of her presence and became concerned. This place, a huge empty space filled with platforms and narrow walkways, could be dangerous if it were to suddenly start shaking violently. The small girl that had come to them most likely couldn't have known this, but it was hard for them to tell, the mobile people of this world didn't think quite like the trees did. However, they were certain of the physicality of the pending danger, and were thus concerned.

The girl approached one of the trees and it watched as she came closer, wondering what her purpose was. She stood there for a moment, looking at the tree. Her hands folded neatly and politely behind her back as she looked. It was at this moment the tree realized who she was; Princess Sasami! After a brief moment, she spoke.
"How do you do?" she said as she took a bow. She wasn't here to report on the situation, or to seek comfort. The girl was playing! Beams of light instantly radiated from the tree's leaves, accompanied by a high-pitched, but pleasant sound.

"No! Princess, you must leave! There is danger here and outside! Go somewhere safe!"

She only giggled and ran off to another one. Not being bonded to any tree, the girl did not understand the warning and mistook it for a greeting. The tree watched helplessly as she ran off across the narrow walkway to another tree.

"Mother, I am sorry. I tried to warn her."

"Don't be sorry Minako. This was meant to be. Princess Sasami will be alright."

Tsunami had said it would be fine, so Minako relaxed and watched. Perhaps the girl's play would distract her from the others who were fighting, and sometimes dying, outside. That notion was shattered in an instant, when a ship slammed into the side of the massive structure and exploded, causing the walkway Sasami was on to shake so hard that she slipped and began falling. All of the trees called out at once telepathically.

"Princess! No! Mother!"

"This has been forseen. She will be alright."

Minako had no choice but to believe Tsunami, even as Sasami fell and hit a rock at the bottom of the chamber, near where the Tsunami tree stood. She couldn't see what was happening now, but she could still sense it. Sasami had horrific injuries. Minako had known mortals that had died from less. She didn't know what to think. Tsunami had never lied before, nor was she ever wrong. Could her words have meant that Sasami would be alright because she was meant to die? Minako was young still, and sometimes her mother's meanings were hard to understand, but soon it became clear.

Just as she sensed the girl's spirit leaving her body, it was drawn to Tsunami's tree. There her Mother and the girl blended, in an instant, and there stood a spectral Tsunami where the girl's body once lay. This image then began floating upward and landed on the platform that Minako stood. Minako was surprised to see that the image was not of a tree, but of a young woman who may very well have been the princess, if she had been allowed to live to grow up. The ghostly figure placed a hand on Minako's trunk and spoke, in human words.

"Like I said, she will be fine my Daughter." she said gently, in a voice that even Minako found almost musical "Her assimilation with me has been long forseen and planned. She will live her life for now and in the future, she will become something even greater than she could have imagined. I too will grow and the both of us will become one. I will still be your Mother, but enriched by this girl. Sasami will still be the girl, but enriched by your Mother."

Minako was silent as the apparition floated away toward the doors. She then sensed a change, her mother was forming a coporeal body, the same as the girl's. Sasami's mind then awakened and she giggled, running out of the room at the sound of a woman calling her voice.

All of the trees were quiet then. What had just happened was very signifigant. It made the attack on Jurai seem completely inconsequential in the moment. They all knew that this was the start of a paradigm shift with Tsunami. The only question was why would Tsunami do this? Surely it wasn't just to save the girl. Their Mother didn't think in such mortal terms. It was a while before another tree contacted her.

"Minako, you seem troubled." This was her older sister tree, Asari.

"Yes Asari, I am. Why would Mother do such a thing?"

"I do not know, but perhaps she did it because Sasami is so young."

"What do you mean?"

"To us, Tsunami has always been Mother. She has always been far older and wiser than any of us. Perhaps she did this to show that she was once young too."

"I...think I understand, except for one thing. Who would she be showing this too? I do not think it would be us. We have no need to know this, only that she is our Mother, the one who gave us and the Juraians life. I do not think this is the reason, but the answer I have troubles me."

"What is it Minako?"

"When she came to me after saving Sasami, her form was strange, but it seemed oddly...whole."

There was only silence from Asari.

"In our lives, we join with a juraian to complete ourselves, and yet Tsunami never has. Maybe she did this to bond?"

"By killing the one she would bond with? That seems excessive Minako."

"Mother has always been there. She is eternal, permanent. Perhaps she needed a method of bonding that is just as permanent."

"I do not know anything except this; only Tsunami can answer for certain."

"Yes sister, on that I agree."

Notes; This fic came out of two things. First was just an idea I had of what if the tree that Sasami spoke to wasn't greeting her, but warning her? Second, it plays at why Tsunami may have saved Sasami in such a manner, call it my personal theory if you will.

Also, I do know there are biological lineages to the trees, however, I thought it appropriate if all the trees used 'Mother' as a title for Tsunami, instead as an indication of parentage.