---In space, not so far away------
A fleet of miscellaneous, different-sized, -coloured, and -modelled space ships were silently approaching in the canvas of stars. If someone had composed music for this view, there would have been kettledrums and trumpets playing a march... an imperial march. That was the squadron of Lord Zenith, moving slowly towards its target. The trip from Trade World had been started for a while ago, the purpose of it being to collect Zurg from that ice planet. The preparations were done for arctic travelling, what explained the number of members in this grouping of vehicles. On the beak of the whole play, was Zenith's Imperial flagship, majestically leading its minions.
Again on his behalf, Buzz was doing almost nothing, only gave some orders, cackled like Zurg and lied out-stretched on a divan in his private rooms. He had a pile of confections on a table and a glass of some expensive drink beside it. By that way, with those eating habits and the lack of physical exercise, his six-pack would start to resemble Michelines, if he would not understand to quit.
As he was sprawling there in his evil peace, a private comm. message approached him. By pressing a button on the remote control, a face appeared in front of him, in the holo-transmitter installed on the wall. This interesting envelope was from Torque.
"Greetings, Torque. Have you arrived into your destination?" Buzz asked.
"Yeah, baby. Capital Planet is under our feet. We're like checking out the situation so that we can like nicely infiltrate baby President's palace..." a smug answer came back.
"Ahh, brilliant! This..." Lightyear began.
"Sir, your gorgonzola plate with oolated squiggs!" a whiny little voice broke the sentence. A grub had appeared into the room, with another high-fat snack.
"You know that your Master doesn't like to be interrupted!" Zenith gave a dark goggle at the lackey, continuing then, "What was I going to say...? Ah, yes! Brilliant! The galaxy will be soon in my hands, hargh harr wahah groh muaahhaaahr hgrrr... urgh!" the malevolent laugh turned to hackles. The beetle scampered to give a hit on his lord's back. After thirty seconds of coughing, Buzz gained back his speech. "Uhh... I haven't practised that laughter enough, yet. But I truly want to learn to do it like my Father does! But, I won't let this one setback dispirit me, craters, I will learn that magnificent laugh one day perfectly!"
"Good luck, Lordy baby! We continue our stuff here", the five-eyed alien concluded his news and disappeared from the channel.
"And you! Ask the cook to make me a big chocolate sorbet with strawberry crisps, and one piña colada" Zenith commanded the servant insect. Opening up an intranet link, he gave instructions for the ships to jump into hyperspace. "We have to progress on our glorious travel."
Truly, the destiny of the Alliance was in the scales. Lord Zenith had made his final move, sending his minions to attack insidiously both Capital Planet and Star Command's important bases.
------------------
After two hours of fast low-flight, Team Lightyear and their companion had finally achieved the site where the ships had been parked two and half months ago. Sad sight was there to wait for them, as the numerous blizzards and storms had entombed every single vessel almost utterly. The roof side of 42 peeped a little from under a snow mountain.
"Oh, great! We are in the middle of an assassinator flight and the ships have turned to popsicles!" Warp cursed under his breath, rubbing his aching flank.
"No problemo when XR's on the job!" the robot sung self-confident. This irritated Mira, who had no idea why the android suddenly was so cheerful.
"Now what? Don't you start to praise yourself when we try to figure out how to get into that ship!"
"Don't worry, brave citizens and princesses! XR has just the right means to solve the situation! Ta-da and Kazam!" As always, the little mecha had a thingamajig for a dense cul-de-sac problem. He drew out of his inners something that looked like a giant hair dryer and began to melt the snow with it from around the star cruiser.
"Quasars, that's handy! Why don't I have one of those in my arm? I could use it also for both drying me an' my babe's hair!" Darkmatter astonished the efficacy of this gadget. Some minutes went, and the air lock in the hull was visible. The additional whatever-widget the LGMs had on an undetermined day crammed inside the robot, transported the snow into another pile some metres further, by vaporizing the water molecules and giving them some kinetic energy. Thus they solidified only but after a small distance.
Anyhow, the indispensable door into the ship was able to be seen. XR's miracle-medium had also removed all the ice layers from the joints, so the gateway opened up swiftly. And... without this kind of aid, the exiles would have been merely plucked chickens. The dark rangers flew strict behind there, although no one could spot them.
Inside the common cruiser, Mira sat in the main pilot chair, beginning to start the engines. From the upper corner of the windshield, was gleaming some sun rays, the other parts of the window were covered with frost and layers of snow.
"Hopingly our last hope will be the best hope... craters, if this won't work..." Nova flapped.
"Oh, n-no... what are we gonna do if it won't?" Booster was even a more pain in the neck.
XR, again in full action, attached a cable cord from his inners to check out the health state of the ship. "Ah, everything seems to be A-okay. The baby has only a bit cold." And the low roar of the gravitation-generator chanting together with the jets made every alien and robot being sigh in relief.
"Alright, the seats are not enough. Ranger Kaadu, will you sit in the co-pilot?" Mira gesticulated to the man. "You others have to find a place in the gally or anywhere else. And take Darkmatter to the medical treatment."
"Sure, Ranger Nova..."the man of speech scratched his neck. However, one more inquire came from Mira's direction.
"Uh... how did you rangers actually decide that you'd be on our side?"
This made both Ronto and Kaadu leer confused at the floor.
"Umm... we kind of thought that... if Team Lightyear would be protecting someone like that..." Ronto took an embarrassed glance at Zora, "Even if he was... uh... Zurg..."
"Ehm... so, excuse me, but are you really... eh... Zurg?" Kaadu eyed furthermore the old man, who had an amused expression.
The Emperor chuckled hollowly, "I am. Actually I am. But..." the tone changed severely, "I have tried to reform. I can tell you later about my life story, if you wish to hear. Now as you know my identity, it does not matter if I tell."
The laborious escape began. 42 dived up from the snow, accelerating away from the planet of terrors. Could anyone have expected such a dramatic jump in the course of happenings? Everyone had had a certain kind of impression, that the journey would have been hazardous, but that in such measures... as if the whole winter planet would have been in the claws of some evil daemons, who wanted everyone to get destroyed if someone dared to step on the notorious surface. Although... Emperor Zurg was truly a risky person. Even an amoeboid would plot revenge on this kind of former monster. Only very few there were those that would be able to forgive such atrocities, based on a few words of regretting. Even Zarah -after gazillions of nightmares about what she had once experienced in his hellish chambers- had indeed had difficulties to remit something like that. Now... the snow inferno was leaving behind... and meanwhile, the chasers prepared to dig their ships out.
"Beep... beep... beep..."
Rubbing some sleep dust away from her tacky eyes, Mira glanced absent-mindedly at the console. The radar indicator was in action, a green light blinking in it.
"Uff... XR, will you check out the scanner, there's some activity in the near hyperspace..." she interposed. "We got our full warp speed on, if the causer is Na-Vetta's troops..." some life streamed into her, as she thought about the hazard. Actually... despite last night's sleep, everyone in 42 was very fatigued. Reasons for this were the wasting fear, and the physical wrist-wrestling they had had on Isgurda.
"Let's see... nope. Star Command cruiser density null. There is a large group of ships approaching us, though... what the drizzling diodes? There's a Zurgean CZ-3-type star cruiser playing a hummingbird in the first line!" XR responded, scratching his helmet.
"What?" Kaadu raised his brows. "But the Empire is..."
"Yes. Call the others from the gally. We may have some problems, here."
"Yeppies... those other birds indicate to be collected from spare parts. There's at least one TIE interceptor, Geonosian solar sailer, something that looks like a bonsai version of Enterprise from the b-class space opera Star Wreck... usch, that kind of flying junkyard must origin from Trade World, wherever else?"
"Wait, wait, did you say trade world? Didn't... Buzz go there?" Booster understood.
However... the secrets started to be revealed, after Zurg with his company had stepped into the cockpit. For Team Lightyear, as well as for those unknown, it had been obligatory to jump into the normal space from the warp speed, since the current wormholes would have begot a nasty collision. As the Einsteinian universe was again present, a query came through the normal palpation channel, addressed to 42. This message originated from that cagey fleet.
"Greetings, rangers of Star Command. This is Dark Lord Zenith speaking. Surrender now, and I will spare your lives."
The whole population on the command deck went silent. Everyone recognised the voice crackling in the link; it belonged to the missing Captain.
"Is... is that Buzz?" Booster piped a little.
But before no one had the instance to answer the enquiry, Zurg had tapped at the console and taken the microphone into his hand. "Quasars, Buzz! What are you kid thinking over there?" his grave, voice scolded, "You shall stop those naïve games, instantly."
But Zenith responded quite in another way. The tone in the comm. link was rejoicing, nevertheless still spiced up with the insanity, "Father! Is that you, Father? I have found you! I'm coming to get you!"
"Come to get me? From where? What the rotting carrot asteroids are you plotting over there?" Zora did not get his signal delivered, since the channel had suddenly been shut down from the other side. "Buzz? Do you hear me?" he banged the console in rave.
A little chaos had struck in the star cruiser. Team Lightyear grasped merely nothing, neither did the less-known rangers. Only Warp and Zurg were even with the intergalactic clock.
"What's this all about? Why...?" Mira started.
"What, why? Do not ask. I know what and why. Quasars, that is Buzz and he is calling himself with the Zurgean name I once gave him. That boy acts just like I expected to happen, when I gave the orders to close him into that mental hospital. Cannot you see, he leads that pile of junk ships thinking that he is some ruler of the universe!" Zurg roared. "But that I do not understand why he was so cheerful after hearing that I am over here. The last time I met him face to face, he expressed dark enmity towards me."
Gaping at the storming man, Team Lightyear could do much nothing to stop the happenings rolling forwards. The TIE fighters that had been flying right behind the flagship, disengaged themselves from their positions, approaching now 42.
"Aren't those gonna attack us? Shouldn't we..." Ronto began, but was hushed by the ex-dark lord.
"No. They shall not attack, only come to imprison us. And we cannot do opposition. Do not try to call Nebula for help, we are under the force field of that head ship. It kills all the radio frequency transfers."
"But what..."
"Hmph. So that is what has become of my son? All this time, assumingly, he has been gathering forces around himself on Trade World. In that mental condition he is, I would not amaze if he has sworn to conquer the Milky Way! He has named himself Lord Zenith and that can only mean things like that. He wants power. He wants glory. He wants dark glory." His brown eyes staring at the shadows, Zurg monotonically muttered.
"So... was he the head of the mafia Commander Nebula kept talking about?" Nova sighed.
"Exactly. Never he mentioned his name, but who else is it than Buzz Lightyear? Quasars."
The magnetic grid of the Zurgean vessel pulled 42 towards itself, while five smaller bombers surrounded it, hindering every possible endeavour to flee. As being more minor than the Dreadnaught, Buzz' vehicle could not swallow the cruiser like its big momma had usually done. But there were other measures to angle the fish. As the star cruiser was near enough the menace, there came a tentacle-like metal tube whooshing from Zenith's craft and attached itself right onto the airlock of 42, so that the joints were completely airtight, too. Then... sounds of melting metal, as a laser beam gradually sawed the door open. After that measure, a couple of grubs, blasters in their hands, came marching in.
"Drop your weapons!" one of them beeped.
"What? Those li'l creepy-crawlies?" Warp astonished.
"What would you expect, Darkmatter?" Zora gave a snort, "Of course Zenith shall make his quarters as if he would still be living on Planet Z. So once did you."
"No backtalk! Follow us!" one bug interjected, gesticulating with his gun.
"Now what the heck are we going to do? We were supposed to escape those rebelling rangers and we end up to the same soup with some Mini-Zurg?" XR tilted his head.
Jostling the robot a little with his boot, Zora whispered, "We shall figure out something."
Thus the refugees were forced to step into the tube that leaded straight into the mother ship. And right at the moment, Na-Vetta's troops dived away from the hyperspace. They had pursued 42's energy traces right over here, encountering now quite a surprise. Nevertheless... evil did not ally with evil, this time. Zenith's fighters flew to surround those newcomers instead, capturing also the aliens inside them. With some kind of trick it was clarified to the grubs, that the secondly arrived wanted to harm a certain elder Lightyear. And... this particular detail caused anger.
The group leaded by Zurg was divided into two parts, namely to this one sole man and the rest. Ion blasters on the heels, the latter part was guided to have a sightseeing in the prison. But the tall man, he was escorted by a few beetles, and brought into a lobby of some kind. At the rear end of that charmingly purple room was a round door, decorated with the old Imperial symbol. Buzz had called for his father, given instructions to bring the person straight to him. As that had been the whole purpose of the fleet's passage, would he leave now his relative to lounge in the dungeons? No.
The guards left Zurg to stand at the door-entrance of Zenith's imperial chamber. Because of some whim of luck, no one had overhauled much his carryings. As he had no weapons, either, no property had been taken away from him. He protected the thermal bag as if it was some new-born baby. A lackey had opened it, though, but had not been much absorbed to goggle at mussepiggum-alloy transparent jars where were buoying some grass in icky-looking slime. Tha-grydda was at least still saved.
Now the Emperor let his regard wander across the room, from corner to corner. Where had he come? To his ancient throne room? The decorations were almost exactly the same. In the large, sinking divan, at the back wall, was lying his son on his back, a remote control of a large holo-telly in his hand.
"Ahh, so you have come", the loon man noticed the in-come persons. Rising up from his seat, he towed his long robes in the middle floor. Making a small bow, he crossed his fingers, "Greetings, Father!"
Zurg stared at this whole circus in bewilderment. Now his son wanted to talk to him openly, in the first time in epochs? But in what kind of state? "Quasars, where has he dragged that outfit from? Buzz is dressed like I was in my dark padawan times... but I must admit that crimson passes him very well..." he thought meanwhile the custodians were commanded.
"You can go, now. Father, will you join my company?" Lightyear tapped to a small table, beginning to fill two glasses with moola-requiring drink.
The old man stayed speechless, furthermore. Actually, he could not find a statement to describe his feelings. He had had no idea that Buzz' insanity would go this far. But the dark side was powerful, powerful...
"Father, why I have brought you here... it's a long-reflexed decision of my mind. I have forgiven you what you have done to me... you should know that a good Father never treats his Son like that, by arresting him to a prison with no reason. But I have forgiven that..." Zenith hummed somewhat absent-mindedly, as his brains were concentrated on thinking what he could at next produce out of his vocal cords. Shifting his blue eyes now up to face Zurg's brown ones, he continued more sharply, "I have seen and understood that the dark side still exists in you. And that it can be woken up, again. I must thank you for the things you so keenly taught me, when you still were my Master on Planet Z, preparing me to be the Prince of this mighty Empire..."
Zora stood quiet, the vine glass between his long, thin fingers. Nothing could be read from his eyes, they were like two black holes that only sucked the light around them. His face was completely expressionless, his lips immovable.
"...and thus, Father, I know that you are ready to step on the path of the dark side. I can see it from you. Oh, the power and wisdom were so strong in you, why did you ever decide to abandon them?" a sad tone spiced up now Buzz' speech. He took a gulp of the drink, asking Zurg to sit down.
"I am ready to receive the wisdom from you, again, Father, if you will use discretion and return... you must understand that your experience, knowledge and sapience are incomparable... this universe needs the balance. The harmonious balance of the darkness... ahh..."
The Emperor put down the cup from his hand. The red liquid was there untouched, furthermore. He only kept his dark eyes aimed at Buzz, seemingly carefully listening to his every declaration.
"Father, I have decided to build again the Zurgean Empire. That has been my dream, my fantasy since I comprehended the majesty and glory of the dark side. No other reign has ever been that majestic... and sadness has filled my heart as the majesty fell so dramatically..." Taking a tissue from the table, Lord Zenith sniffed his nose. His blaring, burning eyes then turned to his companion, a manic enthusiasm in his voice, "But from the ashes it will raise, again! The Zurgean Empire! The dark jewel of the Galaxy! And you, by my side, will rule as the new-crowned Emperor, and I as the heir of throne! I know, Father, that you will return, that you will walk the path of the dark side, again! I have foreseen it, that you will! I have foreseen the new rise of the dark side, since its balance was disturbed. And you will rule again, as the Emperor! Tell me, that you will! I'll help you, Father!"
Zurg's tedious glare did not answer.
Buzz drew his face closer to him, "I'll help you, Father! I'll help you get your throne back!" there was something begging in his eyes, behind that insane fire.
"Father... I know you want this, the dark side still exists in you. Don't let your mind get weak, again, don't waste your life by listening to the temptations of the Alliance! The universe is soon in our hands, Father!"
Zurg's expression very slowly changed, the corners of mouth twisting into some kind of an odd grin. The grooves on his cheeks deepened, his brows descending almost half over the eyes. That appearance was full of something cunning, also something that was not quite readable. "Mwa ha haha! Yes... I shall rule it all... again!" For the first time, Zurg opened his throat, leaving this deep laugh in the air.
Buzz' eyes went wide of sudden amazement, "Father!"
"Yes, Son! I am the only and one Emperor. And now the pathetic Alliance is not there to stop neither one of us!" the tall man rose up from his seat. "Mwa ha ha, I have taught you well, my young apprentice. You have done all this by yourself, already..."
"Father! You have come back! You have come back to me!" tears of happiness filled Zenith's vision.
Giving an evil smirk, Zurg nodded, "Yes... who would ever escape the dark side? Ahh, it is a powerful ally, powerful ally... So, Son, how have you arranged our glorious future, this far? Should you not tell me?"
"Oh, Father!" Lightyear started to explain fluently, in the belief that he had now his father completely on his side, "I have allied with skilled henchmen! I have sent troops to conquer Capital Planet, while the others are attacking Star Command. They have not changed the defence shields since my starting life as your obedient apprentice. Torque, who you know very well, is infiltrating the President's palace for the moment. And I have built a magnificent, magnificent base on Trade World! The Black Hole is our Imperial Headquarters, I have arranged it well!" His arms flinging in the air, he leaded Zurg towards a holo-monitor, where he had some connections going on. Indeed, his confidence to this just-in-brought man was nearly overflowing. Well, he saw his father in his eyes already as the returned Dark Lord.
"Ahh, that is Jim-kraken-dandy! Indeed, Zenith, you have proven your skills as the Prince of my Empire! And so we shall rule this galaxy like Father and Son!" the old man rubbed his fingers together. "Ahh... hahahahooo!"
The ebullient dark happiness filled Buzz' heart. Almost running to Zurg, he put his arms around his father's chest, hugging him tight, "Father! Ohh, I knew you would come back, I knew it! Father!"
Embracing back his son, Zora announced majestically, "I have! And I and you shall rule it all! Evil rules, gra ha mwa hahhaaah!"
"Sob... Sniff... You're the best Father ever!" Buzz snuffled.
However... mutely Zurg stretched his other arm towards the table where the wine bottle was standing. He was still hugging his crying scion with his other arm. But the long fingers of his right hand approached the neck of the bottle... and bang. Fragments of glass were flying in semi-circles in the air, the classy wine accompanying them, forming a fountain. Buzz fell limb onto the support of Zurg's left arm. The bottle had been hit broken onto his occiput.
Sighing deep, the elder Lightyear put the indolent to lie on the divan. "I am so sorry, so sorry for this... but this was my only choice", he muttered, "You cannot comprehend your own idiocy. You cannot comprehend what you have become. My poor son in the hands of the evilness. Wait... this is worse. He has truly become a lunatic. Definitely."
...to be continued...