The Terrible Fields, twelve years ago.
The morning brings howls of challenge from the beasts which call this foreboding place home. However, the howls are mixed with the panicked cries of a young boy. Hunched beside a tree, he is dressed in a dirtied jumper. With tapered Vosian-like ears, he has messy black hair. "I'm scared!" he cries, believing no one can hear him. "I'm scared! I wanna go home! I wanna go home!"
"Hello!" a young voice calls out from nearby. "Is someone here?"
The boy stops crying, looking in shock to see an Oni girl land beside him. She is dressed in a tiger-striped skirt. "Hi!" she smiles, not the least bit intimidated by her surroundings. "Are you lost?"
"Y-yes," the boys stammers, unable to comprehend why the girl isn't scared.
A beast of indescribable nature appears behind them, fire in its eyes. "TERRIBLE!!!!" it howls, nearly blowing both children over with the volume of air it exhales.
The boy looks like he'll wet himself. The girl spins around, quite annoyed. "Scram!!" she jabs her finger into its nose, zapping it with a light dose of organic electricity.
The beast howls, then bounds away with its tail tucked between its legs! The boy drops to his knees, not believing that he is now safe. "You...you chased it away...?" he gasps, awestruck.
She mock-blows cordite away. "They're noisy but they're really harmless," she offers her hand. "I'm Lum. What's your name?"
The boy now takes very close notice of his rescuer, awed by her simple beauty and obvious charm. "M-my name...?" he stammers. "I-I'm Oogi!" he finally offers his hand.
Lum grasps his hand, accidentally zapping him. "Ooops!" she recoils. "I'm sorry! I do that all the time!"
Oogi looks like he just received a mountain of his favourite candy. "I was struck by lightning from the gods...!"
Uncertain as to why he seems happy, Lum picks him up, then slowly floats away. "Daddy wants you back where you belong. C'mon!"
Oogi doesn't argue, staring at Lum with admiration...and something more. *Lum-sama*, he sighs. *You saved my life. I swear that from this day on, your act of kindness will never be forgotten by me or my people!*
If the galaxy could tremble...it would!
* * *
Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year
What Price For Love? (Parts 1-4)
by Fred Herriot
fherriot@hotmail.com
**** **** ****
With special thanks to Patrick Vera, Dorrie (Shinobu) A. and Steven P. Cornett for their plot suggestions
**** **** ****
edited by E.B. Kushnir
kush1@iaw.on.ca
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Seventeenth of a series based on "Urusei Yatsura," created by Rumiko Takahashi
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WRITER'S NOTES:
1) Welcome to our second Senior Year Special. In the wake of the Before the Phoenix, After the Phoenix saga, a little break in the transformation of Tomobiki is called for...or is it just a "break?"
2) This story is the introduction of the Inner Circle, those *daishi'cha* who, along with those introduced in the previous stories, will have primary importance in the Great Father Ataru decaology, still many stories away. Anyhow, here are the numbers and host departments for this group (in order of number, name and department):
23 Lan Weapons Engineering
1123 Ryuunosuke Engineering
1466 Carla Logistics
2283 Lupica Medical
2317 Ten'nookaa Administration
2530 Shinobu Administration
3002 Asuka Judicial
3567 Ryooko Botany/Agriculture
4363 Wendy General Sciences
4428 Benten Defence
4545 Tsuyoko Geology/Terraforming Sciences
4676 Kaede External Affairs
4712 Hazel Hydrographic Sciences
7124 Windy Archaeology
7700 Elle Defence
7728 Sakura Government (Central)
8810 Kurama Child Services
8836 Lumunookaa Government (Central)
8979 Lum General Sciences
9943 Oyuki Education
13303 Nagisa Fleet Engineering
22874 Kinshou Supply
32183 Shinobi Dental
54962 Yuukiki Construction Engineering
76686 Momoe Dental
77135 Natsuko Physical Education
80616 Kumiko Dental
There are, of course, many other ladies on Sagussa who will become relevant as time goes on. Stay tuned!
3) The Gatherer is referred to as "Eternal Voyager" by people throughout the local cluster except for Zephyrus (there called the "Holy Gatherer"), Kurakoa (who refer to it by name) and Yehisril (who address it as *gilifsirg'l-hiv'rhisr'm* ["Soultaker"]). The Yehisrites believe a person's soul can't be freed of the body until the body is cremated. Since Yehisrite *daishi'cha* (i.e. Lufy) had to have been physically intact to attract the Gatherer's attention, Yehisrites believe that the *daishi'cha* were dishonoured because they weren't given a proper funeral. Note that NO race knows the true story of Sagussa, hence the beliefs of many are mere speculation and nothing more!
**** **** ****
"And that was that!" Lum nods. "What do you think?!"
Nassur, Benten and Oyuki hum. They sit in Koruneko's bar a day after the Oni and Ataru negotiated their pre-nuptial agreement. "Well, at least you didn't object to what he proposed," the Tritonian muses. "I think that's a good sign for you both."
"I agree," the Vosian nods. "Besides, after all you've been through...and put each other through...I think you need a break."
Lum beams, happy the man she treats as an older brother supports what happened. "Speaking of those morons, how did they take it?!" the Fukunokami hunter muses, sipping her shot of supervodka.
"It was dead silence in class today," Lum hums.
"They're in mourning," Oyuki smiles.
"Won't last," Nassur sighs. "Lecasur's Soul, Mendou and Megane's crew remind me so much of Oogi! Until Ataru really sticks the screws into them, they won't change!"
"Ugh!" Benten blanches. "Shit, Lum, you should've agreed to live with Moroboshi! Why d'you want to put up to those dweebs?!"
"Well, I admit that they're a lot more peaceful than Oogi," Lum shrugs. "Then again, there's my visa. Changing it is going to be a chore. Darling warned me that Shutaro's trying to influence the Interior Ministry to prevent me from moving out of Tomobiki."
"Tell your father," Nassur cautions. "He'll want to know that when it comes time to renew your visa."
"Then again, if you marry Ataru sooner, you'll be free to live in Oshika with him and Reiko-chan, not to mention Nokoko and your sister," Oyuki muses. "Mendou-san and the others wouldn't be able to influence you then."
"True," Lum sighs. "But...Nassur-chan's right. Darling and I need time to ourselves to try to put our priorities in order."
"Good for you," Oyuki nods. "And the first thing you'll have to do is persuade Ten-chan that he now has to go to school."
"I haven't even told him yet," the Oni moans. "Oh, am I going to hear it from him!"
Everyone looks sympathetic. Unseen by them, a middle aged man with tapered ears, dressed in a blue school uniform, sits three booths away. He seems to have failed in an attempt to make himself resemble Megane. Having overheard the conversation between Lum and her friends, horror crosses his face. "Lum-sama...?!" he whispers.
After depositing money for his drink, he departs. "Oogi-san must be informed of this!" he mutters aloud, ignoring the curious stares from passers-by. "If Lum-sama has been so subjected to his deviltry, then the Great Evil's wicked ways are more demonic than we suspected! He has to be slain lest everything we believe is shattered once and for all!!"
Watching him depart is Koruneko, relaxing at a neighbouring kiosk alongside a strange creature resembling a man-sized long-necked alien dinosaur. "Koruneko-kun, did you hear that?"
"So I did, Yakuzaishi-kun," the felinoid bar owner muses. "That Niphentaxian would be quite shocked to learn of Ataru's connection to Sagussa. I wonder what their Tribal Council'll say about that, realizing that their precious living goddess is destined to marry the 'Chosen One of the Eternal Voyager?'" he smiles, referring to Ataru's destined role by the title from Vosian legends around the Gatherer.
The kiosk's owner, an air-breathing starfish, cackles. "I thought you wanted to keep that information secret, Koruneko-kun," he growls in a voice akin to gravel being crushed. "Aren't you worried about people like the Mikado, Elle, Schwartz...or Oogi?"
Koruneko smiles. "Hitode-kun, people like them are a flash in the pan to those as long-lived as we. My faith is in the determination of the *daishi'cha* to make Ataru their *daimon'cha*. Not even the combined fleets of every power in the quadrant could stand against them when they set their mind to the task ahead of them."
Yakuzaishi and Hitode howl. The joke about Koruneko's age had been constant since they set up shop on Sakusei. Both Yakuzaishi (the station pharmacist) and the kiosk owner knew that the feline bar owner's true age had long entered the five-digit range. It didn't intimidate them; Yakuzaishi and Hitode themselves had lived for millennia. "In the meantime, I shaln't deter customers from visiting your fine shop, Hitode-kun," Koruneko bows to his friends. "Excuse me."
The bar owner walks to his establishment, noting that Lum and her friends are departing. "Ah, leaving so soon?" he muses.
The four respectfully bow. "Thanks for the hospitality, Koruneko-san," Lum smiles.
"Please return soon," he nods. "But, child," he holds up one furry finger, "...a word of advice before you depart."
"Of course, sir."
"I couldn't help but overhear your current arrangement with Ataru," Koruneko slips his hands into his sleeves. "It pleases me that you are facing the truth surrounding your relationship...but I advise you that you should be **fully** truthful about your life."
"I...of course, sir," Lum looks confused, wondering what Koruneko was hinting at. "I'll remember that. Thank you again," she bows.
The group leaves. Koruneko watches them go. "I fear, child, you will not have a choice but to do as I have advised you."
* * *
"Lan's visiting?!" Ataru looks surprised.
"Unfortunately," Nokoko nods. Both relax in their living room. "Maybe I should've chose someone else to be Hei-chan's template."
"Too late now," Ataru stands. "Still, the court injunction's still on, isn't it?!"
"It is," Nokoko smiles.
"Lan-chan must've forgot that," he hums. "I think I should remind her. Excuse me."
He heads out. Nokoko giggles. "Oh, I hate to be in your shoes now, Lan."
Walking to the bungalow shared by Hei and Ookako, Ataru grins. Lan was so arrogant at times, believing her cute-girl act would get her through precarious situations when her vicious streak couldn't. The decision by the U.N. Security Council to lock the Seishin girl in Tomobiki, much less altering her visa, struck a vulnerable spot. Lan had always been dependent on Lum and Ataru as outlets for her psychotic mood swings. With Lum a term away from leaving Tomobiki, Lan would be trapped, unable to vent her rage on her favourite target. She was about to get an ugly reminder of that.
Stepping to the door, he knocks. "Hei-chan, Ookako-chan?!" Ataru smiles, quickly steeling himself. "Are you there?!"
The door opens. "Ataru-kun," Ookako beams. "Please, come in."
Ataru walks in, reaching over to gently grasp her hand. "You're as lovely as ever, Ookako-chan," he draws her into his arms. "Let me take a taste of your lovely lips."
Ookako quickly responds. Hei and Lan approach. "Oh, Ataru-kun, you're so romantic this day," Lan's sister holds her arms.
Ataru is quick to accept the offer. Lan blinks, a mixture of emotions on her face, her battle senses smelling a trap. "And you say you love Lum-chan?" she wonders.
"What, you don't want a kiss?" Ataru stares at her, eyebrow raised. "Well, isn't that funny?! Hell, not more than a month ago, you would've done everything in your power to get me to kiss you..." his voice turns cold, "...so that you'd suck my youth to get your revenge on Lum-chan, ne?!"
Lan shudders, glaring at him. "I came here to visit my sister and sister-in-law!" she snarls. "Personally, I wouldn't want anything to do with you anymore, Darling...if that is who you REALLY are!"
Ataru blinks, not perturbed. "Too bad your opinion doesn't matter anymore...not that it ever really did," he turns away. "You only have influence if people give it to you. Don't expect it from me anymore...and don't expect it from Lum, either!"
Lan shudders as he walks out, then moves to pursue before Hei's hand lands on her. "Don't, sister!" she warns. "He came here expecting you to attack him!"
The Seishin teen stops, clenching her fists. "He's trying to take Lum-chan away from me, Hei-chan..."
"He doesn't trust you, Lan-chan," the Nendo-kata-turned-Seishin warns her. "He may never trust you again. And because of that, he'll do everything to protect Lum-chan from you, even if in the end, you mean Lum-chan no harm."
"I won't let him get away with this...!"
"He has the position of strength," Hei sighs. "And I think you'd know by now that he'll happily use it without much provocation. Besides, technically, your presence here is in violation of the court injunction he had put in place when we Crossed Over."
Lan stares at her, eyes tearing. "Then how am I supposed to come see my own sister?!"
Hei blinks, then contently smiles, sensing the love Lan felt for her, though they'd only been family for a month. "Thank you, Lan-chan. Don't worry about Ataru-kun. I think that as long as you don't provoke him, you'll be safe. In the meantime, let's have something to eat."
"Okay," Lan nods, then looks outside to see Ataru step back into his house. *Lum-chan, how can you love someone like him?!*
* * *
That night, Ataru travels to Tomobiki to visit Lum. Unknown to either, a secret meeting convenes in a ramen shop. "This cannot be allowed to happen!!!" Ogin slams a piece of paper on a table.
The Rosebuds' leaders grimly nod. "How dare he?!!" Ogin snarls, glaring at the paper, carrying a copy of the pre-nuptial agreement which, in Point Eight, spelled their demise. "He thinks he has the right to tell us what to do with ourselves!! Time the jerk learns otherwise!!!"
"What do we do?!" Yumi wonders. "We're not dealing with the same creep anymore! He's capable of hurting us a lot!!"
"So he is!" Ogin nods. "Tomorrow, we'll have to find a way to separate him from Lum. We'll then drag him off and *persuade* him to change his mind! Are the Frankens about?!"
"They're still around," Reika nods.
"Get them! We'll need them!!"
The others nod, rising to depart. The ramen shop owner sighs as he takes his phone, and dials the number for the Moroboshi COC...
* * *
"You sure you're going to be alright?"
It's Sunday morning. Eschewing his old bedroom, Lum and Ataru slept in the apartment at Toranoseishin Finances. He is dressing. "I'll be fine, Lum," he kisses her. "Besides, I want to get you a surprise present. How can I do that if you're hanging over my shoulder?"
"But what about the COC's warning?"
"The Rosebuds?!" Ataru snorts. "If they bring forth some muscle, they'll be mincemeat for the Cyborg. And the Kuromoroboshi can take care of Ogin's brigade of twits!"
Lum sighs. She hadn't had the chance to get to know the Kuromoroboshi, a troop of whom now assigned to protect her Darling. Trust was further eroded since the ninjas were Nagaiwakai's personal bodyguards...and Ataru's grandmother made no secret of her hatred of the Oni. "Just be careful, okay."
"I'll be fine," he hands her a wad of bills. "Besides, you have to get clothes for Ten-chan so he can go to school, remember?"
"Right," she nods. "Meet me at the Pizza Emporium at lunch. Don't be late or I'll rip this town apart looking for you!"
He bows exaggeratedly as he departs. "Yes, Sahib, my feet will be like wings!"
The Oni laughs. Ataru rides the elevator to the ground floor, then heads down the street. Watching him from a telephone booth, a Taian girl makes a call. "Moroboshi just left the Toranoseishin Finances building, proceeding toward the Ginza."
As Ataru walks along, he absent-mindedly turns on what appears to be a walkman. It's a special radio set up to transmit and receive Moroboshi Clan frequencies. "Anything?"
"Denpatan," a woman responds. "You've been reported proceeding to the Ginza. Four Butsumetsu Girls' students are trailing you."
Ataru uh-hums in response, then walks into Esmerelda's. "Ataru's in Esmerelda's buying clothes," a Syakkou student reports.
"You're location's been confirmed, Young Master," Denpatan reports.
He purchases several items from lingerie and swimwear. "Whoo!!" the Syakkou student whistles, observing via binoculars. "What does he do with Lum at nights?!!"
"Watch him and forget about what he does with Lum!" Ogin hisses. "Besides, when we're done, he won't be able to do much with her!!"
"You've been threatened," Denpatan warns.
"Typical," Ataru muses as he pays for his clothes, then departs. "Kooryooko, any sign where Ogin's laying her trap?"
"It's a dump directly on your route, sir," another woman responds. "Recommend you evade. Approximately fifty tangos present, including several large males."
He grins. That wouldn't be much exercise between him, Lum and the Kuromoroboshi. "No," he snorts. "Jinseiko, get Lum. Rest of you muster up. Time to pluck some roses!"
"Yes, sir," a chorus of voices respond.
Watching him from across the street, a Sanrinbou student smirks. "Ogin, he's heading right for you! Take him at your leisure!!"
"We're ready!" Ogin laughs.
Ataru slows his pace as he places the package and his communicator in a secluded spot, then picks up the speed as he approaches the dump. Typical. Ogin was so imitative. Closed off by a large fence and heaped with garbage. Perfect place to hide oneself. Time to teach her the rules had changed. He turns into the lot, then stops. "If you idiots would kindly show yourselves, we'll get this over with!" he barks.
Ogin steps out from behind a pile of wrecked cars. The Rosebuds' leader crosses her arms. "How'd you know it was me?"
"Well, isn't this a little familiar?" Ataru shrugs. "The last time you tried to force me to change my mind about something, you tricked me into coming here. Then again, all I was ever concerned about was resigning as class president. You thought I was dropping Lum. So what's the problem?"
"Simple. You and Lum agreed that the Rosebuds'll be no more by term's end. You've no right to impose yourselves on us."
"Oh? And you girls think you've the right to impose yourself on me?!"
"When it comes to Mendou-san, yes!" Ogin scoffs. "He's no interest in that man-phobic twit Asuka thanks to your friend Osooko. We're protecting the man we care for!"
"Since when did this concern Lum or I?"
"Easily explained!" Ogin walks up. "You think we're that blind? That whole agreement between you and Lum wasn't a pre-marital pact. It's just another ploy you're using to keep Lum at bay. When she clues in that you don't want her anymore, she'll turn to Mendou-san. THAT is what we find objectionable!!" She snaps her fingers. "Boys!!!"
Ataru is seized by the Franken twins. "Hi, boys!" Ataru laughs as his eye glows, psychic fire consuming him. "**Nice of you to drop in!**"
An explosion later sends them into a pile of cars!! The Cyborg spins on Ogin. "**Maybe it's time I got rid of you!**" he snaps his fingers. "**Ladies, will you join us!!**"
Crashes are heard behind Ogin. She reels on seeing her accomplices beaten thanks to a dozen kunoichi bearing the Moroboshi tiger-and-chrysanthemum insignia! "You wanted to see us, sir?" Jinseiko Fusegu brushes back her ponytailed brown hair.
"I see you've introduced yourselves," he reverts to normal. "Meet my rose pluckers, Ogin...the Kuromoroboshi. Grandma loaned them so that I could deal with twits like you!"
Ogin shivers, sensing the solitude he has imposed on her. "Are you still at it, Ogin?!" an incensed voice wonders from above.
Ogin shrieks as lightning burns her! She collapses as an incensed Lum lands beside Ataru. "Darling, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," Ataru turns to leave, arm out for Lum. "Jinseiko, you've my permission to DECORATE them more than they already are!!"
"How long, sir?" the raven-haired Denpatan Kitei wonders.
"A month in intensive care!" Lum snarls.
"Yes, ma'am!!" the Kuromoroboshi laugh.
The couple departs. Ogin shivers as the Kuromoroboshi spin on them. "Now," Jinseiko draws a gaikatana. "Let's have a little discussion about harassing the Young Master and his girlfriend, shall we?"
Screams echo from the garbage dump...
* * *
"Are you sure about this?!" Oogi demands.
"I'm positive, sir," Fangi bows low. The observer just arrived on Phentax Two from Sakusei. Like all who took inspiration from the great Aisuru Megane, First Holy Apostle to the Great Lum Redet no Midorinokaminoke-oni of Uru, the Living Representation of Creation (and if you haven't guessed by now, Phentax Two's official deity...F.H.), he wears a normal Tomobiki High School uniform with glasses, his hair styled in the same manner as Megane's.
The president of the Tribal Council of the Union of Phentax Two sighs, gazing to the hearth-fire. They stood in an exact duplicate of the Mendou mansion's sitting room, which existed in an exact duplicate of the Mendou mansion in an exact duplicate of Tomobiki! Actually, the town's name is Lumukyou, the capital of Phentax Two, located in the north-west continent of the second world of the 23 planet Phentax trinary star system. Further, Oogi's official residence was not an *exact* duplicate of the Mendou estate. Where there would be depiction of octopi in Tomobiki, Lumukyou's estate have statues of the Great Lum (naturally depicted in her lovely tiger-striped bikini), not to mention Her Five Holy Apostles, Her Holy Cousin Jariten and the five of Her Holy Company. Even the two Sinful Doubters were depicted, a reminder of the cost of not adhering to their faith.
Oogi strokes a locket of his slicked back hair. While Fangi had Megane for his divine inspiration, the president followed the great Shutaro Mendou, the Fifth Holy Apostle (the Niphentaxians numbered them in order of Megane, Chibi, Paama, Kakugari and Mendou), hence his white school uniform. In fact, save for his ears, he could be Mendou's twin. "For too long we've waited for Lum-sama to realize the mistake of locking herself with the devil Moroboshi. Now, you say the Holy Apostles are shattered, those living in the Sacred City now forced to bow to the Great Evil's will."
"Yes, Mr. President. I don't understand how this is possible! Lum-sama's power is supreme on that world! Could the Great Evil have obtained aid from the Ipraedies?! If so, why hasn't Uru's Tribal Council requested our aid to destroy the heretics?!"
"Calm yourself," Oogi grasps his katana. Fear of incursions by the Seifukusu and the Ipraedies forced the Federation to draw on Phentax Two for military aid. The Union was arguably the most powerful of the Federation worlds. Her industry, supported by the Niphentaxians' uncanny ability to copy and augment technology from other worlds, was unmatched. Its fleet numbered 3000 combat ships, including 200 battlewagons copied off the "Kashin" design. The fleet was further augmented by squadrons of mobile Planet Destroyers, giant world-shattering mobile guns larger than a fair-sized Earth town. Phentax Two and the three other worlds orbiting the red dwarf star Niko-Phentax was protected by six System Destroyers, Death Star-scale versions of the Planet Destroyer which could wreck marauding fleets with one blow.
Still, Fangi's concern is valid. Phentax Two had been Uru's most ardent supporter for a decade. Oogi's word was respected throughout the Federation, although many considered him biased. Bias? Oogi called it faith. If Uru moved to invade Earth to protect its frontier and the Tritonian Kingdom against Ipraedies incursion, Phentax Two supported it. If Lum-sama decided to use a memory-erasing device to punish the sinners in the Sacred City for crimes against her, Phentax Two supported her. Who would dare question a goddess? When Oogi discovered the power behind that devil of devils, Ataru Moroboshi, he would smash it or die in the trying. It was the proper thing to do. He, too, had his faith.
"Do not concern yourself, Fangi," Oogi sighs. "In the meantime, alert my Chief of Staff. Have the 'Tamashii no Lum' prepared for departure. I will go to Earth to investigate this matter myself!"
"Of course!" Fangi bows. "Good luck."
He moves to leave, but Oogi stops him. "Wait!" he snaps his fingers.
A door opens and two beautiful women slip in. They are dressed in cherry-blossom kimonos, their long hair straight making them distantly resemble Ryooko Mendou. "For your company," the president smiles.
"Th-thank you, sir...!" Fangi tries to stop himself from drooling as the two slip off their kimonos, approaching him seductively.
As the observer is escorted to a corner so he could enjoy the courtesans' company, Oogi strides to the door. It had been several years since he beheld the Great Lum face-to-face. It would not do to be unpresentable to one's god, would it not...?
* * *
"I DON'T WANNA GO TO SCHOOL!!!!!!"
Lum winces, wondering for the tenth time why Ten-chan complained. She just finished getting him dressed in a more presentable jumper and a shirt. "Stop complaining!" she hisses, grating her teeth. "If you want to stay on Earth, you go to school! I do it!!"
"You went to stay near that idiot while he was in school!" Ten-chan retorts. "I don't have anyone to go to school with!"
"You'll be meeting people when you get there!" Lum grabs their briefcases, then drags Ten-chan out of the room. "Let's go!!"
"Lum-chan, you don't have to take him to school," Kinshou calls from the kitchen. "If he wants to stay, he can stay!"
"Yeah, let me stay!" Ten-chan struggles.
"You weren't asked for your opinion, Ten-chan!" Lum snarls. "Your mother agrees with me! If you want to stay on Earth, you go to school! If you don't want to go to school, you go back home to Uru and never come back!!"
Ten-chan pales. "Oh, okay!" he concedes.
"Lum-chan, I won't have this home torn apart because of an agreement that cow forced on you!!!" Kinshou snaps, glaring at Lum. "Ten-chan stays here!!"
"He goes to **school**!!!" she stares into Kinshou's eyes. "Besides, it was an agreement *Darling* and I made!! And you've NEVER had a say over Ten-chan's upbringing!!"
Ataru's mother pales, backing away. Lum marches out the door, dragging Ten-chan with her. After the door closes, Kinshou hops from leg to leg. "Oooh, I hate that cow!!!"
...and gets the Saturn Five!!!! "DON'T MOO!!!!!!" Koosei roars.
* * *
"Class, this is your newest member," Miss Gundam declares as Ten-chan stands in front of his new classmates. Lum stands beside him. His name is written on the blackboard. "As you notice, he's an Oni-Urusian. His name is Jariten Redet, although he's normally addressed as Jariten no Midorinokaminoke-oni."
"Hi," he smiles. "You can call me Ten."
"Bow, Ten-chan," Lum hisses.
The younger Oni catches himself, then bows. "Why has he one horn and you have two?" a boy points at Ten-chan, speaking to Lum.
"Well, some Onis are born with two horns, some with one," Lum smiles. "In the meantime, Gundam-sensei, I have to go to my school. If there's any trouble, can you contact Koosei Ryooki at Tomobiki High?"
"Thank you, Lum," Miss Gundam nods.
"Behave yourself, Ten-chan," Lum waves as she flies out the window.
The young Oni is then aware that he is subject of many curious stares. "Now, now, class," Miss Gundam nods. "Don't make Ten-chan nervous. Yes, Minami-chan?"
Ten-chan sees that the girl who had just raised her hand is pretty, wearing a white kimono with a tree pattern. "Sensei, can he sit here?" she indicates an open seat beside her.
"Thank you, Minami-chan," the teacher smiles. "Ten-chan, you can sit there."
"Oh, okay," Ten-chan levitates, then flies over to sit beside Minami.
As soon as he sits down, Ten-chan notices Minami looking at him. "Hi," she smiles. "I'm Minami Michini. Let's be friends."
She offers her hand. He looks surprised, then takes it. "Hi. Pleased to meetcha."
Class starts. As Ten-chan watches Miss Gundam, he notices Minami is splitting her attention between her work and him. A light flush crosses his face; the Oni has rarely been subject to attention from girls his age, at least since he had to deal with Mari Reshido. *Maybe Lum-chan was right*, Ten-chan sighs.
* * *
A content Lum flies to Tomobiki High. "I hope Ten-chan enjoys himself there!" she smiles...then slows down as the rumble of a starship's drive system becomes audible. "*Tcha*, what's that?!!"
A tiger-striped Kashin-class battlewagon now floats serenely over Tomobiki. "Eh?!" she looks confused. "Why's Daddy here...?!"
Her eyes narrow on seeing a nationality marker. Unlike Urusian warships, which sport a wreathed globe representation of their homeworld, this insignia is *herself* in flight surrounded by a gold circle with four cardinal points. Many feelings rampage through her on seeing this: fear, shock, revulsion, disbelief. "Oh, no...!" she gasps, eyes widening in panic. "No! No!! Not him!! Not here!! Not now!!! Dammit!!!"
Lum jets her way to Tomobiki High School. Arriving on the front walkway, she notices a large crowd has gathered in the nursing station. Further, the wall of room 337 has been breached. The wreckage of an airbike lies on the ground below. "He still doesn't know how to drive an airbike!" the Oni moans. "Good!! I hope he got a concussion!"
Lum heads to the nursing station. The door is open, with Class 3-4 lined up to stare at the one inside. "Lum-chan!" Mie waves.
"Mie-chan!" Lum lands. "What happened?!"
"Dunno!" the Kyushu native shrugs. "Some dummy drove his bike right through the wall of the class! He's passed out in there!"
Mendou's outraged scream is heard. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!?!?! WHY DOES THIS CRETIN LOOK LIKE ME?!?!?!"
Many girls stare inside to confirm what their favourite classmate said. Lum looks regretful. "It's him, alright," she moans.
"You okay?" Mie looks concerned.
"Ah, Lum," Sakura looks up from examining her patient, giving her a sympathetic smile. "I believe this fellow is looking for you."
Lum walks to the bed, beholding Oogi for the first time in several years. Seeing the resemblance between the Niphentaxian and Mendou, the Oni is clearly not impressed. "He got that stupid facelift after all!"
"Lum-san, who is this swine?!!" Mendou points at Oogi. "How dare he take my image?!! The ladies believed that was **me**...!!"
"Shutaro, shut up!!!" Lum barks.
Mendou clams up. "Oh, Lum-sama..." Oogi moans, eyes opening. As his vision clears, he looks left to behold Sakura. "Eh?!"
"He's awake," Shinobu gasps.
He looks in awe of the nurse, then leaps to his feet, dropping to one knee. "Forgive me, Sakura-sama. I didn't desire to plague you with my unworthy presence."
Sakura is taken aback by his reverence; the normal attention she receives from men his age are lecherous advances. "Um...th-that's alright..." she smiles. "That's quite alright! I'm pleased to have helped you."
"You'll regret it," Koosei whispers.
Hearing that, Oogi draws his katana and moves to attack the teacher. "Swine, how dare you speak to one of the Great Lum's Holy Company in such a vile manner?!! Prepare for divine punishment, you heretic...!!!"
A 1000 tonne hammer replies!! "Since when do you have the right to enter this star system?!! You're supposed to gain clearance from Uru and Triton before coming here!!!"
"Zounds...!" Oogi drops to the floor, dazed by the blow. "It is as if I was struck by the Holy Lightning of Lum-sama...!!"
"Who is this man?!" Sakura demands.
"Ask Lum," he sighs. "She knows this clown better than I'd ever **wish** to!!"
"His name's Oogi," Lum gives Koosei an exasperated look. "He's from Phentax Two. In fact, he's the President of the Niphentaxian Union. He's...an acquaintance."
"A possible suitor?" Megane muses.
"Possibly," Lum answers.
The guards grab Oogi. "Wake up, swine!" Megane snaps. "How dare you even **consider** taking **our** Lum-san away from us?! Answer me or face divine retribution for your sins...!!"
A bazooka explodes, knocking the guards away. Everyone's surprised to see that it was Mendou. "While it revolts me, I'll not permit unworthy slime like you to attack him!!"
The girls giggle...then gasp as they see Mendou threatening Oogi with his katana! "You swine, how dare you **consider** taking **my** Lum-san away from me?! Answer me or face divine retribution for your sins!!!"
"Mendou-sama, I'd never dream of forcing the Great Lum away from you!!!" Oogi gulps.
Mendou blinks. "You know who I am?!"
"Isn't that redundant?" Mie moans.
"Of course!" the Niphentaxian nods. "You are Shutaro Mendou, Fifth Holy Apostle of the Great Lum Redet no Midorinokaminoke-oni of Uru, the Living Representation of Creation!!"
"Is that what they call me now?!" Lum flushes with shame.
"You make Lum sound like a god," Sakura muses.
"She is," he responds with all honestly.
"LUM'S A GOD?!?!?!" everyone exclaims.
Mendou looks incensed. "You call me the FIFTH Holy Apostle?!!" he snaps. "Who's the first?!! Moroboshi?!!"
"What?!!" Oogi gasps. "We'd never dream of that devil being one of the Great Lum's Apostles!!! Megane-sama is the First!!!"
"I am?!!" Megane looks surprised.
Mendou then chases the guards' leader out of the nurse's station. "You swine, since when are **you** better than me?!!" the scion of Japan's richest family howls. "Hold still and I shall make you a head shorter!!!"
"Why are you screaming at me?!!" Megane ducks the swipes of Mendou's blade. "Kill him!!! He's the one who made you this way!!"
"This is a nightmare!" Momoe shudders.
Other girls voice their approval. "Lum, why does this guy think you're a god?!" Shinobu points at Oogi.
"I saved him from the Terrible Swamps of Uru when we were kids," the Oni shakes his head. "He...was quite grateful to me."
"And the galaxy has rued that day ever since," Koosei shakes his head.
Oogi looks incensed. "How dare you make offense of our reverence of the Great Lum?!!"
"That's Oyuki's boyfriend," Lum warns.
Oogi stops. "He's a fallen angel?!"
Everyone faints! "Will you stop?!!" Lum snaps. "Why are you here?!! Tell me what's going on, then take your ship and go home!! THIS time, I want you to stay there!!"
The Niphentaxian drops to one knee, averting his eyes from the Oni. "Lum-sama, we have learned of the unholy agreement the Great Evil has forced upon you!!! How can we aid you in destroying his power and restoring your dominance over this world of heretics?!!"
"Who's the Great Evil?!!" Kakugari asks.
"Don't answer that," Lum orders.
"Of course," Oogi nods.
However, much to Lum's regret, the door opens and Ataru steps in. "Hey, Lum, who owns the scrapheap over our heads?!" he thumbs up. "That's not your dad's ship, is it?!!"
"THE GREAT EVIL!!!!!!" Oogi screams...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
"They consider him evil?!" Shinobu gasps. "What type of clueless people are these?!!"
"You hit it on the head," Mie sighs.
"How?!"
"'Clueless,'" the Kyushu native repeats.
Shinobu nods. "What are you talking about?!" Paama snorts. "I think it's swell that someone knows the truth about Ataru!!!"
"Speak for yourself!!!" Lum zaps him.
"Lum-sama, how could you ignore the advice of Your Apostles?!" Oogi gasps. "Don't you understand that they care for you?!!"
The Niphentaxian gets a dose of her lightning!! "With friends like **that**, I don't need enemies!!!" Lum growls.
While others would wince, Oogi looks even more fanatical. "Oh, to receive the Holy Lightning of the Great Lum!!" he gasps. "I am so unworthy of this divine favour!!!"
"Is he missing a screw in his head?!" Ataru points at the Niphentaxian.
"The whole **race** is missing a few screws, Darling!" the Oni sighs, wondering what she ever did to deserve a day like this.
Ataru is showered by beans. "Leave our goddess' presence, devil!!!" Oogi demands. "Devil out, luck in!! Devil out, luck in!! Devil out, luck in!! Devil out, luck in!!"
"If only we could get rid of Ataru that easily!" Kakugari sighs.
Lum fires him a hostile stare. "Let me get this straight," Sakura recaps. "You're a god to these people, we're touched by your divine presence and Ataru's seen as a devil."
"That's about right," the Oni sighs.
"Anything else?" Ataru adds.
Lum sees the anger and confusion in his eyes. She was going to get an earful of this when they were alone. "Well...as you can see, the people of Phentax Two venerate anything in association with me," Lum shakes her head.
"We do the same thing," Paama muses.
"These people could teach you something about veneration," the Oni cautions him. "You see, when the Church of...Lum was formed years ago, it caught on quick among the population."
"All Niphentaxians are members of the Church," Oogi proudly declares.
"How many?!" Shinobu whispers to Koosei.
"About ten billion," the teacher sighs.
The girls emit shocked cries. "Well, the first thing they did was terraform Phentax Two until it was an approximate duplicate of Uru itself," Lum sighs, rolling her eyes.
"We couldn't drain our seas, Lum-sama," Oogi looks apologetic.
"And when I moved here full time, they tore down all their cities to rebuild them into doubles of Tomobiki!" Lum groans.
"WHAT?!?!?!" everyone cries out.
"Why?!!" Sakura gasps. "Don't they have something better to do other than ogle you?!!"
"No," Lum shakes her head.
"Can't you order them to do something?!" Ataru stares at her. "Like get a life?!!"
"If I could, do you think he'd be here?!"
Suddenly, Ataru catches Oogi's katana. "You devil, how dare you speak to the Great Lum without showing her the proper respect?!!"
"I actually do show her respect."
Oogi looks surprised. "You do?!!"
"Sure," Ataru lets go of his katana, then turns to Lum. "Lum-chan!"
"Yes, Darling?!" the Oni turns to him.
Ataru sweeps her into his arms and plants a wet kiss on her lips! Oogi and the guards freak. "You swine!!!" Oogi draws his katana. "How dare you sully the Goddess...?!!"
"You'll be sorry," Shinobu sighs.
Ataru straightens up, left eye glowing. "**You dare interfere in my relationship with the Other?!!**" his voice booms.
A light flash later, the Cyborg reaches over, grabs Oogi's katana and brutally slashes the Niphentaxian across his face! Oogi howls as he drops to the floor. Everyone gasps as the machine-man moves to finish the task. "**NO ONE interferes in my relationship with the Other!!!**" Ataru's eye glows star-white.
"Darling, no!!!" Lum leaps between Ataru and Oogi, her hands held out to stop him. "Put the sword down!!! Put it down!!!"
"**Why?!!**" the machine-man demands.
"You're no killer!!" the Oni tries her best to be firm, knowing well her lightning would just make him angry. "Besides, think of what you're doing!! You want to start a war?!!"
The Cyborg pauses. "**Very well,**" he lowers the blade, crushing it with one hand. As everyone emits sighs of relief, he adds, "**I shall terminate his race when the time comes that I have command of the power of Sagussa!**" he turns to leave. "**Then, NO ONE shall be in the position to stop me!!**"
Everyone gasps, harshly reminded of the ruthless nature of Ataru's inner self. He steps out, reverting to human form. Lum sighs in relief, then looks at Oogi, who is now being tended to by Sakura. "Oogi!!!"
The Niphentaxian bolts to his feet, bandages draped over his face. "Hai?!!"
Lum moves to stand in front of him, fixing Oogi with a lethal stare. "You will listen very closely, Oogi!! You will board your ship! You will go back to Phentax Two! You will *never* return! Further, you will NOT concern yourself with my relationship with Darling!! If I so much as hear a **squeak** from you, I WILL BE VERY ANGRY AT YOU!!!!!!"
The Niphentaxian president pales, wondering what he did to deserve such anger from her. "O-of course, Lum-sama...!!"
"NOW LEAVE!!!!!!" Lum screams.
Oogi runs through the wall to get out of the school!! "Sorry about that!" Lum sighs.
"It's...all right," Sakura shudders...
* * *
"Oogi visited Earth?!!" Ten-chan gasps.
They relax after school in the Moroboshi home. "Unfortunately," the older Oni shakes her head. "Why does this have to happen?! I'm trying to put my relationship with Darling back together again...and this happens?!!"
The younger Oni looks sympathetic. Lum takes the SD Cyborg doll Ataru received from friends in Oshika in hand. "I just hope that Darling understands why I've never told him. If he ever learned how much they worshipped me, he'd've dropped me in an instant!!"
"How could you be so sure?" a voice asks.
Lum spins around. "Darling!!!"
He opens his arms, allowing her to sink in his embrace. "Hi, Lum-chan!" he kisses her forehead. "Nice friend you have here!"
"He's no friend of mine!!" she snarls, drawing away from him...then stops herself. "Darling, don't tease me!" she sighs.
"I'm not," Ataru gently strokes her temples. "I just want to know why you've never told me about these people."
Lum sits on the window-ledge as Ataru sits at his old desk. "Well, as you noticed, they worship me as a god," she begins.
"No different from the fools here."
"I wouldn't say that, Darling," Lum cautions him. "You...heard about what they did to themselves and their planet?"
He nods. "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't really mind their...veneration," the Oni sighs. "Unfortunately, they're willing to do more...MUCH more...than just worship me!"
"Care to elaborate?!" Ataru prompts her.
"Well...just to give an example," Lum shakes her head. "About eight years ago, one of Nassur-chan's enemies, the Mikado, learned he and his wife were frequent guests on Uru. He concluded that my father was protecting Nassur-chan. He dispatched a team of hunters to Uru to have my family assassinated."
Ataru bolts up. "By this time...the Mikado was afraid that anyone who offered protection to Nassur-chan was an enemy, which of course warranted our immediate destruction," she adds. "Anyhow, the hunters were caught and killed by Dakejinzou-chan."
"That should've been the end of it."
"Not...exactly," Lum sighs. "Oogi got wind of what happened. This was at the time the Niphentaxians finished their terraforming project. Anyhow, when they learned how close their 'goddess' came to dying, they dispatched a bioweapon to Lecashuto, Vos' capital."
"'Bioweapon'...?!" Ataru pales. "As in...biological warfare...?!"
The Oni nods. "The bioweapon didn't get the Mikado... but millions of innocent Vosians were slaughtered as a result!"
Ataru pales. Was *this* the galaxy Uru wanted Earth to be a part of?! "I'm surprised Vos didn't obliterate Phentax Two!!" the Terran stands. "Why isn't Oogi dead?!"
"The Mikado tried. The only good thing he's ever done. But the regiment of Mikado Marines and what was left of his fleet learned on arriving in the Phentax system that Phentax Two was protect by System Destroyers."
Ataru pales; he could guess what **that** meant. "They were obliterated before they got close...and the Niphentaxians dispatched another bioweapon as a way of thumbing their noses at the Vosians! Fortunately..." tears brim in her eyes, "...the rebels destroyed that before more innocents died...!"
Lum breaks down, sobs wracking her body on remembering the faceless innocents who died because of her. Ataru quickly moves to take her into his arms. "I hate them...!!" she moans, shaking her head. "I hate them! I hate them!! I hate them...!!!"
Ataru drops to his knees, allowing Lum the chance to mourn...
* * *
"Mr. President. You don't seem well."
Oogi winces, feeling the deep slash now dissecting his face. He's presently in the Great Church of Lum...a modified duplicate of Tomobiki High. The building also serves as city hall and the central place of assembly for the Niphentaxian Tribal Council. He turns to see Otako staring at him. The priestess, like all of her kind, dresses in honour of the Holy Sakura Sakurambou, one of the Great Lum's Holy Company. Otako herself seems a younger version of the Shinto shrine maiden. However, her Church of Lum pendant has a modification on it: a clenched fist risen in defiance over the Holy Icon of Lum. "Lady Otako," the president sits in a chair, reaching for his face. "How nice of you to notice."
While many would believe Oogi and Otako a decent couple, both are avowed political foes. The priestess smirks in delight on seeing Oogi suffer. "You failed to try to force Lum-sama away from the Great Evil, correct?" she muses. "Further, he punished you for your audacity."
"So what?! State your point, Otako."
"Simple," she slips her hands in her sleeves. "You have tried and tried again to sever Lum-sama from the devilish influence of Ataru Moroboshi. You failed. I believe it is time for a...shall we say, *direct* approach."
"You believe your faction can do that?!"
Otako confidently nods. Oogi would've found her confidence admirable if it weren't so annoying. They had been childhood friends. It was to Otako that Oogi had introduced the concept of venerating Lum. Otako had taken to that concept too well. Her faction was one of many which composed the Church of Lum. In fact, Otako's sect was the most radical. They advocated direct involvement with Lum and Her Holy Company. Such opinions had become quite popular recently on Phentax Two. Under normal circumstances, Oogi would applaud that...but Otako's popularity was now becoming a direct threat to Oogi's hold on power. "Well, if you believe you can be successful in eliminating the Great Evil, then I wish you the best of success," the president smiles.
Otako looks sceptical. "You mean that?"
"I mean that. What are friends for?"
"I see," she nods to an assistant. He departs. "The plan has been executed."
Oogi hums, clearly impressed. "I see. May I ask where you will bring the Great Evil to face his execution?"
"Phentax Twelve," Otako smiles. "We have planned this for some time, Oogi. I believe you will be most satisfied with the results."
"I hope I will be," he nods.
Otako walks away. Oogi watches her go, calculation on his face. "Sir, you're not going to allow her to get away with this?!" Fangi gasps. "You know her sect believes in directly influencing Lum-sama's life. Can you imagine what the reaction would be?!"
"I can," Oogi muses. "It doesn't matter, Fangi. Don't concern yourself. There are ways around even her people."
The observer looks confused, then bows. "I trust your judgement. Please excuse me."
Fangi walks away. Oogi smiles. He knew quite well that Lum would never permit anyone to directly assault Ataru. Otako's sect would make themselves pariahs among the faithful when news of her plan became public. And when Oogi swooped in and rescue Lum-sama and Her Holy Company...*after* the death of the Great Evil...then his fame...and his interpretation of events...would become sacrosanct. His place in society would be secure. And perhaps...if he could manipulate events right...he could become Lum's consort.
He sighs as he walks to the balcony to gaze on Lumukyou. Many possibilities lay before him now. All he needed was time and patience, things he possessed in great quantities. After all, should not people suffer for their faith?
* * *
Ataru's eyes open. "Where the hell am I...?!" he moans, reaching for his forehead.
He looks around. Ataru finds himself in a square room with one locked steel door and one barred window. Laying on bunks are Lum, Shinobu, Mendou and the guards. He moves over to Lum's side. "Lum-chan," he shakes her. "Lum-chan, get up! Hey, get up, you!!"
Lum moans. "What the...?!" she sits up. "Where...?! Darling, what's going on here?!"
"I was hoping you could tell me," Ataru looks concerned. "By the looks of it, we've been taken prisoner by someone...yet again."
"And we're not alone," she notes their fellow prisoners. "But that's strange. We were on the beach in Oshika, weren't we?"
"Yeah, we were!" he walks to the window.
Lum joins him. They are on a beautiful prairie world. In the sky, the three suns of the Phentax system are visible. Niko-Phentax, the smallest, is surrounded by a nebula which nearly encases all space around it. That nebula swallows half the sky. "We're in the Phentax system," the Oni quickly concludes. "By the looks of it, this is Phentax Twelve."
"Why have we been brought here?!" he looks at her. "Didn't you tell that idiot Oogi that you wanted to be left alone?!"
"Normally he would listen," she growls. "When I get my hands on him, he'll regret my rescuing him from the Terrible Swamps!"
A moan is heard. "Shinobu!" Ataru moves to her side as she rises, feeling her head.
"Ow, what happened?!" Shinobu moans. Quickly noticing her surroundings, she then spins around to see Ataru staring at her.
"You okay?!" he looks concerned.
With a frightened shriek, she doubles away, falling over the still-sleeping Megane. "Ouch!!" the guards' leader screams as he falls to the floor. "What is this?!!"
In minutes, Mendou and the other guards have woken. They are quickly appraised of the situation. "We've been taken prisoner by the Niphentaxians?" Mendou gasps. "But you ordered Oogi-san to leave you and Moroboshi alone, Lum-san!! Wouldn't their defiance of your order demand some sort of punishment?!"
"Normally, yes," the Oni nods.
"'Normally?!'" Shinobu looks scared.
"There've been fears among many circles that radical sects of the Church of Lum have begun to gain considerable influence with the Tribal Council. If that's true, then Zephyrus won't be the only planet shifting back to religious fundamentalism."
"That's no problem," Megane chuckles. "For heaven's sake, we're gods to these people! All we have to do is request they take us back! They probably brought us here so they could get a closer look at us!!"
The other guards laugh, nodding. "How can you laugh at a time like this?!" Lum demands, shocked at their cavalier attitude.
"What does that mean?!" Mendou wonders.
"For you and me, the problem is quite easy," the Oni sighs. "But for Darling and Shinobu, the story's different."
"Eh?!" the latter looks surprised, then at Ataru. "I can understand Ataru-kun's problem, but why would I be concerned?"
"Well...you're not counted as one of the Holy Company, Shinobu," she looks down.
"What am I, then?!!"
"A Sinful Doubter."
Shinobu faints! "What?!!"
Lum sighs. "Shinobu and Lan are called 'sinful doubters.' They're not as low as Darling is...but because they're not seen as being friendly with me, they're not as yet rated to become part of the Holy Company." Embarrassment crosses her face. "Sorry."
Ataru's ex-girlfriend looks incensed. "And you can just sit there and talk about this?!! How am I supposed to take that?!!"
Megane's laughter answers. "That's what you get for not respecting Lum-san's presence in Tomobiki!! All your sins are now going to be answered!!! **You're** the one about to face divine retribution!!! How delightful!!"
Shinobu's fist caves his face in! "Keep it up, idiot, and they'll have to find someone else to be the First Apostle!!" she snarls.
"Can we get back on business?!" Ataru growls. "We have to find a way to escape!"
"*You* have to find a way to escape, you mean!!" Paama snorts. "We're the ones who have nothing to worry about!"
"Speak for yourself!!" the Oni zaps him.
"Do you think someone will rescue us?!" Shinobu hums. "Nassur-kun or Shogai-san?!"
"Possibly the latter," Lum looks hopeful. "Nassur-chan and Benten are on their own for a while. Dakejinzou-chan's been hired to become Darling's personal combat teacher. She was supposed to come by Oshika today."
"Ataru trained by that robot?!" Megane snorts. "That won't be much of a lesson!"
Lum glares at him. "I wouldn't talk if I were you! Dakejinzou-chan is ten times the hunter Nassur-chan could ever be! Nassur-chan and Varanko-sama themselves admit that!!"
"And if you call Dake-chan a robot again. four-eyes, I **guarantee** these jerks'll have to find a new First Apostle!!" Ataru adds.
The door opens. Everyone spins around to see Otako stand in the open doorway, a platoon of guards with stun-rifles with the priestess. "Forgive my intrusion, Lum-sama."
"Who are you?!" the Oni demands.
"I am Otako," she beams, "...First Priestess of the Church of Lum, leader of the Hegane Sect. Your humble servant," she bows.
"Then serve us by returning us to Earth," Lum crosses her arms. "I ordered Oogi that no one from Phentax Two was to pester me again!"
"I am unable to do that, madame," Otako remains calm. "You see, you are now under the Great Evil's influence as we speak."
She snaps her fingers. Ataru is seized by four guards. "Hey!!! Let me go!!"
Lum looks incensed. "You heard him!!!" she bolts up, electricity dancing over her body. "Let him go this instant!!!"
"Ignore her command," Otako counters.
The Oni looks shocked, never having heard a Niphentaxian counter an order from her before. Ataru is dragged out of the room. Otako watches him go, then turns to the others. "Would you come with us, please."
Guns level on the others. "I don't think that's a request," Shinobu looks scared.
The others follow Otako. Moments later, they enter a large control centre. Everyone present bows to Lum. Each of them bear the symbol of the Hegane Sect. Lum sees that Ataru has been strapped into a harness, a curious helmet with electronic leads now being fitted on his head. "What's the meaning of this?!!" the Oni faces Otako. "I demand to know what you're doing with Darling!!!"
"We will not kill him, Lum-sama," the priestess smiles. "There are many of us on Phentax Two who realize that you have made your choice as to who your future mate will be...your Beloved Darling, if I may call him that. I respect your decision...but Oogi does not. My action today is to ensure that you will be a happy woman, that you will enjoy a happy marriage with Ataru Moroboshi."
"You mean to say that Oogi desires to marry Lum-san?!" Megane snarls.
"Exactly," Otako nods.
"Slime!!!" Megane growls. "How dare he deceive us, deceive Lum-san, in this manner?!"
"When next I see him, he shall be **two** for his crimes!!!" Mendou snarls.
"Thank you," Otako bows. "Your support in my efforts will ensure that this act does not provoke civil war on Phentax Two."
"Um...excuse me," Shinobu holds up a hand. "But, if I understand the terms of the agreement Lum and Ataru-kun just made, there's no need to worry. Mendou-san will have to marry someone and the guards will be forced to disband. Also, at term's end, Lum'll move to Oshika to live with Ataru-kun. It's certain they'll marry once they're together...and with these idiots out of their way," she points to the guards and Mendou.
"That's right!!!" Ataru nods. "That's the way it's going to happen!!! There's no need for us to do bad things to each other!!!"
He fearfully chuckles when Otako glares at him. "Not exactly," her eyes narrow. "You see, while you may *pretend* to love Lum-sama, in fact, you have now moved to completely and totally dominate her life!"
"And how was Darling supposed to do that?!" Lum growls. "He's not dominating my life...and I'm not dominating his!!"
The Oni quickly notices that what she said doesn't sit well with the Niphentaxians surrounding her. "That is the improper way of things!! As Your Holy Apostles do, so must Your Beloved Darling bow to your Sacred Will, Lum-sama!! I intend to see it happen!"
"What?!!" Lum and Shinobu cry.
"How will you do this?!" Mendou demands.
"Quite simply, really," Otako takes her pendant in hand and flips it open, revealing a microchip. "Ataru will be hypnotized into becoming the perfect mate. Instead of his forcing demands on you, Lum-sama, once again, you'll have total control over your life!"
She inserts the microchip into a control computer on Ataru's helmet. "What?!!" he struggles to free himself. "Forget it!!! I refused to become Lum's lapdog before and I refuse to become her lap dog now!!! Let me out of here!!! Let me out of here!!!"
Mendou and the guards quickly shut him up with a roll of duct tape. "Forget it!!!" the scion of Japan's richest family snaps. "We do not and will not allow you to dominate Lum-san's life like you've done for the last three months!!! This time, you will submit!!!"
"At least the Holy Apostles agree, Otako-sama," an elderly male assistant notes.
"But I don't!!!" Lum snaps. "Let Darling go this instant!!!"
"Ignore her commands!" Otako snaps.
"Ignore hers!!" Lum counters.
Everyone looks confused. "You idiots believe you have the right to dictate our lives?!!" Shinobu snaps. "How dare you?!! You're no better than those five idiots!!!" she nods to Mendou and the guards.
"Why don't you accept Lum-san's right to be happy?!!" Megane demands.
More incensed than ever, Shinobu's hands rip into the wall, tearing out a section the size of a large automobile! "Now, release Ataru-kun this instant and let us go back to Earth in peace!!!" she growls.
The Niphentaxians panic as she moves to bury Otako with the hunk of wall. "Stop her!!!" the priestess snaps.
Two guards fire stun-beams into Shinobu's side! "Shinobu!!!" Lum cries
The Terran falls to the floor, the wall burying her. "Shinobu-chan!!!" Ataru cries.
Otako points out a nearby door. "Remove her!!!" she growls. "Take her to the Valley of Repentance!! It is obvious now that the influence of the Great Evil on her is as great as his influence is on Lum-sama!!!"
The priestess moves over to activate a portable force-field system. Guards roughly grab Shinobu and drag her to a door. "No!!!" Lum cries, then faces Otako. "Otako, stop this!! Leave her alone!! She's innocent!!!"
The priestess ignores the Oni's pleas. "Anyone who defies your wishes is no innocent in my eyes!" she growls.
Lum notices that Mendou and the guards have an unobstructed path to rescue their classmate. "Aisuru, Shutaro, help her!!!"
The five boys remain still. "Forget it!!!" Megane crosses his arms. "This is overdue divine justice for the bitch!!!"
The guards nod in agreement. The Oni stares at Mendou, remembering how much time they spent together. "Shutaro, please!!"
He turns away. "Her sacrifice will be remembered if you can be happy, Lum-san!"
"Shutaro...!" Lum gasps, not believing this is happening. "Aisuru..."
Shinobu notices no one is helping her. The guards' inaction is understandable; they'd been enemies in the past, the disagreement over the value of Lum's presence guaranteeing no peace. But Mendou? Did their relationship mean anything?! "Mendou-san...?!"
Ataru looks vile. "You...you dare make her suffer?!" he growls, his left eye glowing. "**YOU DARE MAKE THAT WOMAN SUFFER?!?!?!**" he roars as psychic fire consumes him!
The Niphentaxians scream as he transforms into the Cyborg!! The machine-man shatters the harness restraining him, then rips off the helmet, crushing it! He leaps at the guards surrounding Shinobu. "**RELEASE HER!!!!!!**"
The guards are helpless as the Cyborg tears into them, feeling them with terminal bone-shattering punches and kicks. "What type of demon is he?!!" a guard howls.
"Who cares?!!" another shoots. "Fire!!!"
Ataru shield Shinobu from the incoming fire. The bolts of energy deflect off his cybernetic parts while his organic parts absorb the blows without sign of injury!! "**Stay behind me!!!**" he orders.
"N-no problem...!!" Shinobu stammers.
Lum becomes a fireball of electricity. "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!!!!!!" the Oni screams as bolts of energy lash out!
The shielding system collapses under the assault of particle fire and lightning!! Mendou and the guards are felled as Lum moves to eliminate the other guards! "Protect her, Darling!!!" she yells, zapping another guard.
"Be careful, Lum!!!" Shinobu cries.
"I'll be fine!!!" Lum smiles.
Guards howl as they leap at the Cyborg. The machine-man smashes them aside. Once she has regained her strength, Shinobu gets to her feet and starts to cave in skulls...
* * *
...while somewhere else, a computer screen becomes active. The image of the Cyborg appears. Digital readouts make note of special points on his body, especially the phoenix. A line appears:
POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION. SUBJECT IS OF CREATOR'S HOMEWORLD.
A large central processing unit comes on line, resembling a series of tubular towers lined with rows of rectangular lights. More scans are made as the Cyborg savages the Niphentaxian guards.
CONFIRMATION ACKNOWLEDGED. SUBJECT IS INHERITOR OF CREATOR'S HOMEWORLD.
The central processing unit runs another program. A final line appears:
INITIATE BIOROID DUPLICATION PROGRAM. PROJECT CODE-NAME: ATAKO.
That name flashes in red...
* * *
As the free-for-all continues, Otako is quick to duck out. "Ataru-kun!!!" Shinobu points. "That bitch is getting away!!!"
"**She won't!!!**" her races off.
"Darling, wait!!!" Lum cautions him. "Don't go without help!!!"
As the Oni turns her back on Shinobu, two guards roughly grab the Terran. "Time for you to repent, you sinner!!!" one yells.
"Hey!!!" Shinobu gasps.
Lum spins around. "Let her go!!!"
Before Shinobu could free herself, one guard slams a wall control. A teleportation pad appears below the Terran's feet as she is seized by an unseen force. "No!!!" Ataru's ex-girlfriend cries. "Help me...!!!"
"Farewell, sinner!!!" the guard laughs.
Shinobu fades. "Ataru-kun!!! Lum...!!!"
The Oni screams as Shinobu disappears. "No!!!" she lunges at the guards. "Bring her back!!! Bring her back!!!"
The guard destroys the teleporter with one rifle shot. "She cannot be helped by you now, Lum-sama!!" he bows to her.
Lum tearfully drops to her knees, stunned that she lost all control of the situation. A second later, the *thump!* of a body hitting the floor is heard. Lum spins around to see Ataru, once again human, passed out on the floor at Otako's feet. The priestess holds a small crystal ball in hand. "He is even more foolish that I suspected!" she thinly smiles.
"Darling!!!" Lum leaps to his side.
Otako places the crystal ball between Lum and Ataru. A ball of energy knocks the Oni back, causing her to collapse many metres away, dazed by the blow. "Remove and prepare him!!!" she nods to several guards.
Ataru is dragged away. "Darling...!!" Lum tearfully gasps...
* * *
The computer screen projects a view of events. A line appears:
RETRIEVAL PROGRAM INITIATING.
* * *
Ataru moans, trying desperately to regain some sense of where he was. What hit him? Whatever it was, it had felt as if his own anger and rage had been magnified to unholy hatred, then turned back on him. The attack had stunned him so much, he couldn't recover. "I can't wait to see what Otako-sama has planned for this monster now!!!" one guard cackles.
"I can't wait to see what she has planned for that sinner Miyaki!!" another hisses. "No one returns from the Valley of Repentance!!!"
Ataru's eyes widen, realizing his problem was more stable than Shinobu's. "Shinobu...!" he gasps, trying to recover enough to free himself and locate his childhood girlfriend before it was too late for her.
A guard punches him in the jaw! "Remain still, devil!!! You are in no position to help that sinful heretic now!!!"
Ataru feels consciousness slipping, but his mind is fixated. "Shinobu..." he gasps. "Shinobu...I'm sorry..."
The guards shudder as a transporter beam seizes them and their prisoner, freezing them in mid-stride. Ataru's eyes widen, praying that this intervention will save them. "I'm coming...for you... Shinobu..." he gasps, consciousness fading. "I...love...you..."
* * *
Somewhere, a vial fills with blood. A bank of mega-high density computers no larger than a television set activates, absorbing seventeen years of memories in milliseconds (and no jokes about Ataru's lack of brain cells!...F.H.). A purging program engages, sweeping away the influence of the *saikoo jinseijitsu*. Another program unites the two sides of the template's mind, the first time the template was medically sane in twelve years. A medical scanner processes the blood sample. The chromosomes are examined to the last molecule. However, one chromosome pattern...the most critical pattern when establishing one's self-identity...is altered to the only other pattern naturally possible.
A humanoid-shaped tank fills with a gestation fluid. Soon enough, the small sample of blood is inserted. In seconds, a cell forms. Seconds later, the cell divides. Division occurs and occurs as the new being begins to form into something more familiar...
* * *
The transporter beam dissipates. The guards look surprised as they feel their limbs freed from whatever force had seized him. Looking around, fear crosses many of their faces. "Wh-what was that?!" one stammers.
"Who knows!" another shudders. "This planet's just strange!!"
An incensed Otako appears, now deformed into a monster more frightening than anything they could equate to Ataru! "WHAT ARE YOU DOING STANDING THERE, YOU FOOLS?!?! PREPARE HIM FOR HIS PILGRIMAGE!!!!"
The guards howl, then double-time to a nearby control centre. "Should we tell her about what just happened?!" one whispers.
"You want to tell her?!!" another hums.
"No way!!" the first shakes his head...
* * *
"What happened...?!" Megane moans.
The other boys groan. "Boy, what did we miss?!!" Chibi gasps as he looks around.
The five then notice Lum seated there, her legs tucked between her arms. "What did you expect, you **traitors**?!" the Oni hisses, firing them such an ugly, dirty glance, they are soon covered in mud!
Megane gasps. "What did we do?!!"
The Oni is stunned by his question. How idiotic, how ignorant did they think she was?! Were these five the same ones she appreciated for two years because of their loyalty, their willingness to stand by her?! How could she have allowed matters to have deteriorated so much that they were willing to see a classmate dead and a former classmate...the man **she** loved...brainwashed so they could ogle her?
The five are then frozen by an icy, disapproving glare from Lum...but the Oni says nothing. Fear crawls up their spines. What had they done to suffer such hatred, such fury, from the woman they loved...?
* * *
Atako's eyes open.
Lungs fill as a yawn utters from the bioroid's lips. Muscles which had not existed a day before move for the first time with the fluid strength the Avalonian gestation machine granted. Legs stretch as Atako steps out of the birthing chamber. The temperature is warm and constant, slightly cooler than the womb-like heat of the chamber which gave Atako Moroboshi life. Air remains still to prevent a chill from affecting Atako's health.
Striding, Atako moves past a mirror. Wide, expressive brown eyes dart left to behold what to the bioroid is a very familiar image. "Nokoko-chan!!!" Atako gasps, stunned at the sight. "You came to rescue me...eh?!!"
Atako freezes...as realization dawns that it is **her** reflection which appears in the mirror. Confusion transforms into disbelief as hands reach up to lightly touch perfect breasts...then slide down a slim yet firmly muscled abdomen to vainly search for what the bioroid believes should be there. "It...it's gone!!!" she gasps. "Oh, gods...!!!"
Panic seizes her, cutting off sound from her throat as the irrevocable realization falls like the proverbial ton of bricks. She stares at the beautiful image in the mirror, an image which would make many believe Atako was Nokoko, presently many light-years away, safe on Earth. She shudders, wondering what cruel fate hated her so much that she would see new life as a woman. Finally, as the panic fades, her mouth quirks into a wry smile. "I don't seem to remember going to Jusenkyou in the last while...!" she giggles, rubbing the back of her head...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
"Where am I?!!" Shinobu cries.
She finds herself in a forested valley on Phentax Twelve. Standing in a grove, she sees no sign of inhabitation. Trees tower hundreds of metres above her head. Distant mountain peaks are barely visible through the green canopy. The forest seems peaceful. There is little sign of a hostile threat. None the less, Shinobu is quite scared. "The Valley of Repentance...?!" she gulps.
Events in the control centre replay in her mind. Emotions storm through her as she remembers what people did...and *didn't*...do. Ataru's and Lum's attempts to protect her from those insane Niphentaxians replay with glaring clarity. Strange. Why would Ataru or Lum care for her? Lum had always been aloof, distant from Shinobu, even after Shinobu had finally made the heart-wrenching decision to leave Ataru. And Ataru? The brutality of the Spirit War fire through her system. She had believed he no longer cared for her, no longer wanted her even as a friend. Yet...why?
Bewilderment transforms into rage as she remembers Mendou and the guards not moving to assist her as she was being shoved onto the teleport pad. Her fury concentrates on Mendou. They once were such a close couple, even in the period after his engagement to Asuka became public. Even after her meeting Inaba and later Nassur, they had remained friends. Shinobu now wondered what type of friend he was. Had he used her, seduced her, dominated her?! It made sense; Shinobu had always known that Mendou desired Lum. Had he used her just to get to Lum, knowing that Ataru would follow Shinobu anywhere, which of course would have drawn the Oni?
Her anger then transforms into a sense of betrayal. It seems that everyone had used or abused her. Ataru had used her to keep Lum at bay. The Oni had mocked Shinobu in her quest to win Ataru. Mendou had used her to draw Lum into his orbit. The guards mocked her because she wouldn't submit to Lum's domination over their lives. Everyone always depended on her for her vast strength, never showing any real appreciation for her efforts. At least Nassur never used her in such a manner...but with Nassur now partnered with Benten, the chances of Shinobu finding peace and love with the Vosian were slim.
Sitting at the foot of a tree, Shinobu allows the storm of emotions to flow. "Why?!" she moans, tears staining her cheeks, "...why am I the one who always suffers?! Why...?!!"
* * *
"Sister?" Nintaiko looks confused.
Donna looks concerned. "Nintaiko-chan, are you unwell?"
The Nendo-kata sit in the Tiger Cub Cafe, holding an emergency meeting in the wake of Ataru's and Lum's disappearance. Sitting around the table with them are Nokoko, Nagaiwakai, Captain and Mrs. Invader, Sakura, Cherry, Ten-chan, Ryuunosuke, Koosei, Oyuki, Lan and Dakejinzou. Everyone looks at Shinobu's sister with concern. "I...I sensed my sister...somewhere," Nintaiko looks around, trying to trace wherever in the galaxy Shinobu could be. "She seems so sad, so...betrayed. I fear something terrible has happened."
Invader hums. "We'll find them."
"Indeed we will," Nagaiwakai looks vile. "We've come to the conclusion that the persons responsible for this are these Niphentaxians Lum seemed unwilling to speak of before they appeared over Tomobiki several days ago."
"Agreed," Koosei nods. "Now, all we have to do is try to trace how that idiot Oogi was able to kidnap them without people noticing."
"Mendou's guards are beside themselves," Ryuunosuke notes. "They've never seen such a slick operation like this."
"As are we, sister," Tatsuko looks angry.
"Did you sense something which could help us, Nokoko-chan?" the Moroboshi clan matriarch looks to her granddaughter.
Nokoko sighs. "Not a peep. Mujanba's running diagnostics in the palace's sensory net to see if she could find something."
"What sort of disUnifying power could have done this?!" Mal demands.
"Magic," Cherry declares.
Everyone stares at the Buddhist monk. "A curse has fallen on Lum," Cherry slurps back some ramen. "A curse which could have been averted if she did not allow Ataru to be so entranced by the power of the phoenix...!!"
Exasperated, everyone buries him with whatever they could get their hands on! "WILL YOU STOP HARPING ABOUT THAT, YOU IDIOT?!?! NOW'S NOT THE TIME!!!!!!" everyone screams.
"It's fate...!!" Cherry moans.
"Curse?!" Nagaiwakai muses. "It would explain much." She turns to Lum's mother. "Do you have any idea if there is anyone who would hate Lum that they would curse her?!"
"There's one," Koosei nods at Lan.
The subject of everyone's glances looks belligerently back. "Hey, why're you looking at me?!!" the Seishin teenager demands.
"You need to ask?" Koosei hums.
Lan looks incensed. "Well," Mrs. Invader sighs. "I remember something...but this was so long ago, I don't think it'd be important. When Lum-chan was born, we sent invitations to everyone we knew to attend a celebration. But one was lost in the mail."
"Oh, that's right!" her husband muses. "That was to the Old Woman of the Oak Forest!"
"Her?!" Koosei hums. "She's harmless."
"Well, she was quite...insulted by not being invited to the party," Mrs. Invader continues. "She declared that she would curse the child. However, it was later revealed that the letter was lost in the mail. She quickly apologized and forgot the issue."
Everyone exchanges looks. "Our first destination," Nagaiwakai stands. "Captain, let's pay this friend of yours a visit!"
Invader nods...
* * *
Atako stares at herself in the mirror. The bioroid has looked at herself since her emergence from the birthing chamber, getting used to seeing a woman. Her hands stroke her skin, causing all sorts of interesting sensations to fire through her nervous system. "Gods, this body is built for sin!" she purrs, her hands caressing between her legs. "Let's see how much I can take it..." she giggles.
Stimulation is applied. Atako cries out as her body responds to her ministrations. In moments, she reaches climax, letting her passions go in a shudder. "Oh, gods!" she pants, trying desperately to regain some sense of decorum. "Man, is that how Lum feels every time I suckle her horns?!"
Atako lies down, allowing her passions to abate. What **was** normal? Atako had felt apprehension, wondering if she could enjoy the private passions she did as Ataru. Atako purrs. Regardless, she wasn't going to change her ways. She was a man's soul in a woman's body. If people couldn't understand that, she would deal with them. Besides, there were possibilities. If Asuka's relationship with Osooko didn't pan out, the Nendo-kata-turned-Tritonian would require a mate. But should she interfere? After what Mendou just did to Shinobu, how could Asuka expect to be treated better even if Ataru married Lum...
Shinobu?
Atako's eyes shamefully widen as she realizes what she was doing. Here she was masturbating while a friend was potentially in a world of hurt. Standing, Atako moves to a computer bank built into a bulkhead. "Hey!!!" she slams the wall beside the controls. "Hey, is there anyone around here?!!"
A screen flashes on. MAY I HELP YOU?
"Yeah!!!" Atako sighs, relieved. "You can help me find Shinobu-chan!! She's lost somewhere on this rock!!!"
WHO IS SHINOBU? NO REFERENCE TO THAT NAME. SPECIFICATION REQUIRED.
"Don't give me that shit!!!" she slams the wall. "Look, buster!!! You created me!!! I don't know whether to be peeved or happy you made me a girl, but a friend I care for is somewhere on this rock very alone!!! Now, if you don't mind, help me!!!"
BECOMING ANGRY AT ME WILL NOT HELP YOU! MY PROGRAMMERS DIED FOURTEEN OF YOUR MILLENNIA AGO. I NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU EXACTLY WANT BEFORE I CAN HELP YOU IN ANY WAY!
"Sorry. This is still new to me."
S'ALRIGHT.
The bioroid thinks for a moment, then looks at the screen. "Okay. When I was a guy, I was fighting a bunch of no-minds in some sort of control room. I transformed into my Cyborg persona to protect her. She's a girl from Earth. Brown hair to here," she indicates her shoulders, "...strong, nicely shaped hips. She was dressed in a pair of nightclothes. You understand now?"
An image of the control room appears. An icon flashes on Shinobu's head. THIS PERSON?
"That's her!!!" Atako nods in relief.
ENGAGING PLANETARY SCAN. DNA COMPARISON FUNCTION ENGAGED. PLEASE STAND BY.
Atako nods. "Okay!! Now, once I find Shinobu-chan...shit, then what?!!" she slaps her forehead. "I'm on a planet full of fanatic Lum-worshippers and I don't know a damn thing about how the hell to get off, much less rescue Lum-chan and everyone else!!!"
AHEM!
"What?!!" she snaps.
SHOULDN'T YOU GET DRESSED FIRST?
Atako flushes as she remembers her exposed state. "Um... yeah!" sweat flows down her forehead. "Forgot about that!"
I AM HERE BUT TO SERVE.
* * *
"Hello?!! Is there anyone here?!!"
For hours, Shinobu had wandered through the forest in an attempt to locate something or someone to regain some sense of this insane situation. "Oh, what do I do?!" she moans, looking around. "Heaven knows what Ataru-kun and Lum could be going through now!!"
Lum's name sparks a new memory. Wasn't she a goddess to the Niphentaxians? If she was, Otako's defiance would be seen as heresy. It wouldn't be long before someone in line with Oogi would notice what's happening, then quickly come rescue her. That belief brings reassurance, but briefly. When could she expect someone to come? "Oh, is there anyone who could help me...?" she moans.
Walking around a tree, Shinobu stops. The sounds of children becomes audible. Her eyes widen as she realizes that civilization, even an alien civilization, was closer than she believed. New hope driving her, Shinobu quickly makes her way towards the sound.
Moments later, she reaches the edge of a clearing. Her eyes widen in surprise as she beholds a dozen children frolicking in a pond. Their ages vary from nine to sixteen. All are girls, all nude...and Shinobu quickly notices that none have the tapered ears native to Oogi's people. "Odd," the Terran muses. "Is this a planet the Niphentaxians conquered?"
Play falters as the children become aware of Shinobu. They stare at the Terran with curiosity and apprehension. Shinobu slowly steps into the clearing, her hands styling her hair to expose her round ears. She looks both ways to ensure everyone understands she isn't Niphentaxian. Seeing the ears, the children relax. A girl Hazel's age with green hair steps up. "Who are you? You're not Avalonian and you're not one of the Invaders."
Shinobu blinks. "I'm from Earth."
"Earth?!" the green-haired girl becomes suspicious. "You mean the planet where the Invaders' so-called Sacred City is located?"
The Terran looks hesitant. She needed to establish trust so she could feel safe. "Yes," she nods. "I'm from Tomobiki...but believe me, I don't have anything to do with whatever those monsters have done to you."
The girl stares at Shinobu, as if she was peeling her layer by layer to discover the truth. Finally, she turns to two other girls about her age. "Restrain her."
They seize her. "Hey!!! Let me go!!!"
One of her restrainers touches Shinobu in the shoulder with two fingers. The Terran howls as a pain akin to a naginata blade being driven deep into her shoulder fires through her nerves. The green-haired girl approaches, then rips Shinobu's top off. "Hey!!! What's the meaning of this?!! What are you...?!"
The girl then embraces her. Shinobu wonders what sort of people she is with...then blanches as a new sensation fires through her nerves, as if a thousand acupuncture needles have punched through her skin. She feels her mental barriers rip away. Images pass through her mind's eye, recounting her life. For what seems an eternity, Shinobu watches her life replay itself. Then, just as sudden as the feeling assaulted her, it passes. "Release her," the green-haired girl states.
The pain in her shoulder passes as Shinobu is let go. "What's the meaning of this?!" she rubs her sore shoulder, seizing her torn shirt. "Have you no concept of what you just did?! Where's your sense of shame?!"
The girl ignores her complaints as she faces her friends. "She does not present a threat to us. She is as much a victim of the Invaders' Entropy-induced madness as we are."
Shinobu looks incensed that her words are ignored, then stops. Entropy? Wasn't that the devil-icon Ataru's Cyborg self referred to? Did this place have some connection with the future facing her first boyfriend? As she slips on her shirt, Shinobu wonders what could possibly happen next. As if in answer, the green-haired girl faces her. "How did you come to this location, Miyaki-san?"
Shinobu looks doubly surprised. How did the girl know her name? As if in response, she smiles. "What I just performed was referred to by our Creators as *meiki'gagh*. It is an efficient way to obtain information without wasting time in verbal interrogation. Further, it is 100 percent accurate. One can falsify information to another person, but one cannot falsify it to herself."
The Terran looks surprised. The girl had just performed a mind-meld, virtually in the same fashion as Mr. Spock performed every time Captain Kirk required immediate information. Shame and revulsion flood her thoughts. How could this girl, no older than Hazel, do that to her, touch her body-to-body in such a physically intimate manner? That revulsion is soon replaced by curiosity. If this girl is willing to do that without any reservation, then what sort of society did she come from? "I see," Shinobu finally speaks. "Well, I guess you have a right to do that."
"You hesitated," the girl notes. "Is there something about us which disturbs you?"
*A lot!* Shinobu hums. "Um...well, you are...different than what I'm accustomed to when meeting most aliens," she giggles.
"To us, *you* are the alien," a ten-year old girl then speaks up.
Shinobu blinks. "Um...well, now that you know who I am, who are you people?"
The green-haired girl looks confused. "We are Avalonians," she replies.
"No, no, no! What are your names?!"
"We have no names."
Shinobu faints! "WHAT?!?!?!"
"When we were created, we were never given names," the ten-year old replies. "The Invaders addressed us with quite profane terms such as 'split-ass,' 'bitch,' 'slut'...!!"
"Watch your language!!!" Shinobu snaps.
"Why are you incensed?"
"You mean your parents actually allow you to talk such filth?!"
The Avalonians look confused, then the green-haired girl nods. "Ah. You mean genetic progenitors. We do not have them."
Shinobu faints! "NO PARENTS?!?!"
"No," she hums. "We do not have the need to reproduce as you do, Miyaki-san."
"Um...I don't understand."
"We're bioroids," the ten-year old hums.
"What are they...?" Shinobu wonders.
* * *
LOCATION CONFIRMED!
Atako looks at the image of the Valley of Repentance. An icon indicates a tree-house village located near a lake. "Yes!!!" she nods, then looks up. "Hey, give me something Shinobu can wear!! She'll be freezing down there without something more than those pyjamas she was hauled here with!!"
UNDERSTOOD, the computer replies as a jumpsuit similar to the one Atako now wears appears in her hands. COMMENCING TRANSPORT.
Atako disappears in a transporter beam...
* * *
Shinobu now sits in a large hut several hundred metres above ground level. The young girls sitting around her have dressed in short skirts, obviously to enhance what beauty they possess. Disbelief is on the Terran's face as she takes in the information they have relayed to her. "You mean...you're machines?!"
"In a sense, yes," the green-haired girl nods. "We are as organic as yourself...but we were constructed as you see us in a gestation tank, not naturally conceived and birthed. All Avalonians are like that."
She absorbs that information. Bioroids had no need for parents; the gestation machine could reproduce new members at request. The machine also eliminated the need for two genders to carry out the reproductive process. Avalonian society was similar to Nendo-kata society. "I see," she looks down. "I have to admit that surprised me. So...why were you created? Did the Niphentaxians create you?"
"No, the Invaders did not create us," the green-haired girl shakes her head. "Fourteen thousand years ago, the Creators established this place as a site for experimentation in culture construction. The planet was equipped with a bioroid gestation machine which was to create a sample race which could develop a society on their own without concerning themselves with matters which could arise out of questions surrounding reproduction."
"They wanted you to create a society on your own?" Shinobu hums. "Did you succeed?"
"No...because we realized this planet lacks much in the way of resources to properly support the society we envisioned," the ten-year old continues. "Further, the Creators destroyed themselves in a five-century war. Once they were eliminated, our predecessors felt they no longer needed to continue the experiment. All bioroid production was terminated save for creation of maintenance personnel for the gestation machine. We existed this way until a half-century ago."
"When the Niphentaxians came."
The Avalonians nod. "They discovered the ability of the gestation machine, then realized that it potentially provided an inexpensive source of labour for their colonization plans," the green-haired girl continues. "Hence, they convinced the gestation machine that they could assist us in continuing the task the Creators set for us."
"They transformed you into a slave race," Shinobu shudders. "Do people outside of the Niphentaxians know about this?!"
"We don't believe so," the ten-year old sighs. "We discovered that there were other races through our interaction with the Invaders...yet none of us have ever seen an outsider...that is, until you."
Shinobu hums. Lum hated slavery; her reaction to Reiko demonstrated that. If Lum learned of the Avalonians, she could easily exercise influence on Oogi to emancipate them. That wouldn't be appreciated by those dependent on the bioroids. A situation akin to the United States prior to the Civil War would result, with the same potential conclusion. "Well, if I can escape from this planet, you can bet the word will get out to everyone who can help set your people free. There's something I don't understand, though."
"Ask," the green-haired girl smiles.
"Why were you people created?"
"To provide companionship."
"'C-companionship'...?!" Shinobu gags. "Y-you mean...y-you're...?!"
"Sex-slaves," the green-haired girl nods.
Shinobu looks ready to vomit. Suddenly, a voice calls out from below. "Shinobu-chan!! Are you here?!! Where are you?!!"
The voice is high-pitched, but still recognizable. "Ataru-kun?!!" Shinobu bolts to her feet. "Ataru-kun, is that you?!!"
She steps out, looking down to see Atako at ground level, waving at her. "There you are!!!" the bioroid laughs. "You're okay!!!"
Joy crosses her face as she descends down the wooden steps to ground level. "You came for me!!!" she cries, happy at last that she wasn't alone. "Ataru-kun, you came for me!!!"
Atako laughs as Shinobu reaches ground level, then leaps into the bioroid's arms. "You're safe!!!" Atako kisses her forehead. "Thank the gods, you're safe!!! I thought they'd done something horrible to you!!!"
"I was so scared!!" Shinobu buries her head into Atako's chest, not as yet feeling the difference. "I thought they were going to kill me!!! I'm glad that you're okay!!" she looks up to Atako. "Are you hurt?!! They didn't do anything to you, did they...eh?!"
Her elbow gently squeezes Atako's bust. Turning white, Shinobu lets the bioroid go, stepping back two paces as she stares at what stands in front of her. "What the...?!" she gasps, her eyes falling on Atako's chest.
The bioroid wears her jumpsuit with the zipper below the breasts, giving her quite a view. Atako looks embarrassed as Shinobu takes a closer look. "Ah...ha...!"
Shinobu gives Atako's bust a squeeze. "Um...do you mind not doing that."
"You...you...you...you're a...!!"
Atako nods. "I'm a girl."
Shinobu passes out, slowly sinking to the ground. "Gee, she took that better than I thought," the bioroid muses...
* * *
"Welcome, welcome!!" the Old Woman of the Oak Forest smiles as her guests arrive. "Come in, come in! Make yourself at home!!"
The Invaders, Nagaiwakai, Dakejinzou, Nokoko, Koosei, Lan and Oyuki sit. "You're too kind to see us on such short notice," Mrs. Invader smiles. "We appreciate this, ma'am."
"Oh, it's no problem for old friends!" the elderly witch cackles.
"No problem for old friends," her beautiful doll parrots.
"Now, what can I do to help you?"
"This is in concern to that incident seventeen years ago," Mrs. Invader hums.
"Oh, I've long forgiven you for that!"
"Ma'am, forgive me, but this might have something to do with your threat to curse Lum," Nagaiwakai interrupts. "Several days ago, my grandson, Lum and several of her friends were kidnapped in a most...stunning matter. Several spiritually aligned people whose judgement we trust believe that magic was employed when they were taken."
"You believe I might be responsible?"
"You're the only suspect we can conceive of right now," Dakejinzou shrugs.
"I understand," the witch rises. "But there is no concern. You see, when I decided to curse young Lum, I prepared a crystal ball and dispatched it to the Milky Way 'Curses 'R Us' Management Organization so they could direct and manage what I had in mind."
Everyone save Lan blinks. "'Milky Way 'Curses 'R Us' Management Organization'...?!" Invader scratches the back of his head.
"I've never heard of that!" Koosei hums.
"I have," Lan smiles. "You see, when there come times when you feel very angry at someone...and you get the urge to really hurt that person in the most vicious way...all you have to do is prepare a crystal ball with what you desire done to that person. When that is done, you send it to the Milky Way 'Curses 'R Us' Management Organization and they handle all the details. It's quite simple."
"I bet you're a frequent customer, Lan," Nokoko muses, glaring at her.
Lan looks incensed. "Hey, why are you picking on me?!!" she bolts to her feet. "I'm not the one who caused this mess!!!"
"Sit down and shut up!!!" Koosei snarls.
"Is that what you did?" Invader asks.
"I did," the Old Woman nods. "However, when I learned what had happened with the invitation, I contacted the 'Curses 'R Us' people and had the curse cancelled."
"I see," Nagaiwakai stands. "Very well. The answer is not here. We shall plague you no more. Thank you for your assistance."
"Any time," the Old Woman nods as everyone rises. "Come again soon."
"Come again soon," the doll echoes.
* * *
"Now what?!" Invader sighs, staring at Nagaiwakai and Dakejinzou as the "Kashin" pulls away from the Oak Forest asteroid. "If the curse was cancelled, then we're dealing with something else altogether!"
She hums. "The chances are good that while she may have cancelled the curse, someone else might have taken it up."
"You mean...?!" the hunter looks nervous.
"We're dealing with someone totally new. However, the only place we can investigate this is this organization your friend noted," Nagaiwakai turns to the Oni captain. "I suggest we proceed there immediately."
"Ma'am, I have no jurisdiction if you want us to search that place's records," Invader shakes his head. "Independent business organizations outside a single planet's influence are immune to military searches unless it's approved by the Federation...and that could take days to arrange with Lupica and her ministers, days Lum-chan and Mr. Groom may not have!"
"I agree, ma'am," Dakejinzou nods.
The matriarch smiles, like a magician about to pull a rabbit out of her hat. "What if I told you we already have permission?"
Invader and Dakejinzou look confused...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
"Are you sure we don't need guards?!"
The large Oni captain looks at Nagaiwakai as they walk to the front door of the Milky Way 'Curses 'R Us' Management Organization's headquarters. Accompanying them are Dakejinzou, Koosei, Oyuki, Lan and Nokoko. "Be assured, Captain, sometimes a little tact is called for," the matriarch smiles.
"Strange hearing that from you of all people!" Lan snorts.
"Shut up!!!" Nokoko sneers. "I don't recall anyone asking for your comments!!"
"Now...allow me to do the talking," Nagaiwakai glances at her companions, her tone indicating her request is an order. "We should get some form of cooperation."
They enters the Management Organization's administration room. Clerks, dressed formally with burning candles strapped to their heads, hustle about. The feeling in this place is not so different from a bank. Walking up to the counter, Nagaiwakai attracts the attention of a clerk. "May I help you, ma'am?"
"Yes, you can," Nagaiwakai's right hand slips into her sleeve, extracting what looks like a macabre gold skeleton key emblazoned with a complex glyph. "I'd like to speak with your chief administrator, please."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but he's rather busy...right...now?!" the clerk squeaks on seeing the key in the matriarch's hand.
"We should've used guns," Lan hisses.
"Shut up!!" Koosei growls.
The clerk is ill-at-ease as she stares at the key, then at Nagaiwakai's unnerving smile. Then, regaining her decorum, she bows. "I'll inform him of your presence. Excuse me."
The clerk speaks with a being resembling Humpty-Dumpty. Nagaiwakai remains still as the clerk whispers into his ear. Shock crosses his face. A moment later, the chief administrator walks up to Nagaiwakai. "Yes, ma'am," he nods. "May I help you?"
"I'd like to speak to you...in private," the matriarch waves her key. "It is a matter of grave importance to your company."
"Certainly," he waves to his office. "Would you come with me, please?"
Nagaiwakai follows the administrator to the back of the room. Her companions fall in line behind the matriarch, clearly impressed. "How'd she do that?!" Lan hisses to Oyuki.
"It seems there is much more than meets the eye about Nagaiwakai-sama," Oyuki hums.
Everyone relaxes in the administrator's office. "Now," the egg-shaped being faces Nagaiwakai, "...what can the Milky Way 'Curses 'R Us' Organization do for such a truly lovely inspector of the I.B.T.S.A.?!"
"'I.B.T.S.A.?!'" Lan scratches her head.
"'Intergalactic Business Trade Standards Alliance,'" Oyuki translates. "A voluntary association of multi-planetary conglomerates which maintains a strict code of business and trading standards among their members. All multi-planetary businesses in the Galactic Federation, as well as those within the Zephyrite, Yehisrite and Free Vosian spheres of influence, are members." The Tritonian looks at Nagaiwakai. "I did not realize you were an inspector, Nagaiwakai-sama."
"Enterprises like mine are recruited to be junior affiliates of I.B.T.S.A. members," the matriarch smiles. "We keep the larger businesses honest because our recommendation could ruin them. That makes matters easier for us...but at the same time, it in turn forces us to bow to the next group of small entrepreneurs seeking to make the big score."
"Interesting system," Koosei muses.
Nagaiwakai sighs, then returns to the administrator. "Now, to the business at hand," the matriarch looks sympathetic. "Sir, remind me if I am mistaken, but does the I.B.T.S.A. charter prevent the influence of such organizations on worlds not officially aligned to the Galactic Federation?"
"Yes," the administrator nods. "In our case, curses which are ordered against those citizens of such planets wouldn't be respected or carried out. It's not just bad business, it's against clauses of the Non-Interference Treaty, which the I.B.T.S.A. respects."
"I see," Nagaiwakai nods.
"There's a problem," Invader interrupts. "Lum-chan is still a citizen of a Federation world, even if she is resident on Earth."
The administrator takes that information in. "Well, that would be an unusual case scenario," he muses. "In such a matter, we would take it to our lawyers and Board of Directors to review the case before either honouring the contract or refusing it."
Nagaiwakai nods. "In this matter, the case would be so unique that you wouldn't forget it, given the time and effort you would have to expend to ensure your business does not violate professional obligations set in the I.B.T.S.A. standards guidelines."
"Exactly," the egg-shaped being scratches his head. "Lum," he repeats. "I don't recall a curse being requested for such a person..."
"How about Ataru Moroboshi?" Dakejinzou probes. "He's a Terran citizen though he has Zephyrite citizenship because of his recent engagement to Sunhair Windrider."
"Is he a resident on Earth?"
Everyone nods. "That case would also be reviewed," he shrugs. "I can't recall such contract requests for either of them coming to this organization."
"You won't mind if we confirm this, then?" Nagaiwakai stands.
"By all means," he nods.
Moments later, everyone stands before the Management Organization's main computer. The administrator inputs the data, then waits for the result. The computer makes its report. NO CURRENT CURSES ON EITHER SUBJECTS, it flashes a response on the viewscreen.
"No current curses?!!" Koosei gasps.
"That means we are dealing with someone else!!" Nokoko looks fearful.
WAIT A MOMENT!! THERE WAS ONE HELL OF A WEIRD CANCELLATION IN CONCERN WITH SUBJECT #1: LUM NO MIDORINOKAMINOKE-ONI//URU!
"Cancellation?!! Explain!"
"The Old Woman's curse," Invader muses.
THE CURSE WAS PROPERLY CANCELLED THROUGH THIS STATION, BUT THE GALACTIC MAIL SERVICE LOST THE CONTROLLING ORB!
"The controlling orb is missing?!! Was it ever found?!" the administrator panics.
NOPE! THE ORB WASN'T DESTROYED!
"Oh, dear," the administrator gulps.
"Is there a problem?!" Nagaiwakai muses.
"A very serious one," he stands. "Would you come with me, please."
The group enters the largest room of the Management Organization's headquarters: the room for the Time Measurement Devices. "The curse was recorded as 'destination unknown' by the computer, therefore there's little in the way that you can trace who might possess the orb," the administrator looks at his readout. "Therefore, let's at least confirm if the orb still exists...and through that, the curse. If it has been destroyed, then the Time Measurement Device set aside for Lum-san's curse would be inactive...eh?!!"
Everyone stops by one of the hourglass-shaped devices, eyes wide with shock in seeing it alive with malevolent energy. "Fates!!!" the administrator gasps, sweat pouring down his face. "This is...what a horrible curse!!! The most horrible curse I've ever seen...!!!"
Nagaiwakai looks at the device, noting how bright the energy is in comparison to the other active devices. "My...I can smell the UniCredits burning up from here."
The administrator faints!
* * *
"Shinobu. Hey, Shinobu! Wake up!!"
Shinobu's eyes drift open, beholding a blurred image, her eyes still not clear. "Oh, Ataru-kun..." she moans, rubbing her eyes. "I just had the most horrible dream. I thought you had transformed into a girl!"
The voice chuckles. Shinobu is quick to note the feminine quality in it. "I hate to say this, Shinobu-chan...but it's no dream."
Shinobu's eyes widen, clearly focusing on the person before her. Atako smiles. The Terran takes note of the softer eyebrows, the wider, more expressive eyes, the visible presence of eyelashes, the fuller lips now touched with lipstick, the shadow about the eyes...then she looks down to the well-muscled but female body, now covered in a bikini. With a shriek, Shinobu bolts up, backing away until she hits the wall of the treehouse they now share. The Terran is now dressed in a flattering one-piece wraparound. "You...you, you're a...!!" she stammers, pointing.
"A girl!" Atako stands, slightly shifting on her legs to display herself. "And a nice-looking one, too...wouldn't you say?!"
Shinobu does not know if she should faint or laugh. "Um...did you wind up passing through Jusenkyou on your way here?!"
The laughter is infectious; soon, both are falling over in a peal of giggles. "I can't believe I'm laughing at this!" Shinobu shakes her head. "I can't believe you're laughing at this!! How can you take it?!"
"Hey. Right now, I have no choice!"
"Are you...Ataru-kun?"
Silence for a moment, then the bioroid shrugs. "I'd like to think so. That is, until I can get a better explanation."
Shinobu nods, feeling a slight chill. Woman or not, this was Ataru now sharing a hut with her. Were this happening before the Spirit War, she wouldn't be so afraid. Then again, Ataru would be going nuts about losing his manhood, not to mention chasing every girl his age. The frightening calm Atako projects reminds Shinobu of the post-Spirit War Ataru, especially when he felt that the people of Tomobiki were taking too many liberties with him. "Um...okay. So...now what?"
"I don't know," Atako stands, looking out the treehouse to see the Avalonians performing house-cleaning chores. "I don't know a darn thing about this planet, I don't know what's the situation between the Niphentaxians and the Avalonians...and most of all, I've no idea where Lum and the others could be!"
"Who cares about the others?!"
"Yeah! Gods, I can't believe they pulled that sort of shit on you!! The guards I understand...but Mendou?! Unreal!!"
"I don't want to talk about it."
Seeing she is crying, Atako frowns. Walking over, she sits beside Shinobu, then gently leans over to give her a hug. Feeling the bioroid's hand on her shoulder, the Terran looks shocked. "No!!" she pulls herself away.
Atako looks confused. "What...?"
Shinobu looks at her, fear and anger in her eyes. "I want to be left alone."
Atako's facial response surprised the Terran; confusion shines in the bioroid's eyes. Nodding, she walks out of the house. Seeing her reaction, Shinobu feels ashamed. How should she approach this being? Give her the cold shoulder as Ataru had given her...or try to form some sort of understanding.
Which way to go...?
* * *
"I am clearly shocked by these events!" Oogi sighs as his image is transmitted on the "Kashin's" viewscreen. "The government of Phentax Two will happily enumerate the Milky Way 'Curses 'R Us' Management Organization for the cost in using its facilities."
"That's good," Invader growls. He loathed Oogi, wondering what sort of person would totally submit himself to worshipping his daughter. "In the meantime, how's the search for my child and her friends?! The sooner we find them, the sooner we'll find the person with that controlling orb!"
"We are leaving no stone unturned in looking for Lum-sama and Her Holy Apostles," Oogi waves behind him, revealing a view of soldiers cutting the grass in front of the Great Church. "We have not given up hope. No matter what Otako may have done, I believe Lum-sama will not be harmed!"
Nagaiwakai stands with her back to the Niphentaxian president, her kimono hood raised. "What about my grandson?" she hisses.
"Relax," Nokoko pats her shoulder.
"I'm depending on you, Oogi," Invader points, the growl in his voice very apparent. "If my daughter is hurt, I'm holding **you** personally responsible!! Got me?!!"
Oogi shudders. "I understand, Captain," he bows. "I would rather die than allow Lum-sama to be harmed! Lumukyou out!"
The screen goes blank. Nagaiwakai spins around. "He was hiding something," her eyes narrow. "He knows where Lum is."
"You noticed that, eh?" Dakejinzou muses.
"I did not," Oyuki looks embarrassed.
Nagaiwakai looks at the Tritonian. "I've dealt with liars and double-crossers all my life, Oyuki. I can tell when someone's hiding something. I'm convinced Oogi knows where Lum is and is preparing his own rescue plan."
"So why won't he tell us?" Invader asks.
"Isn't it apparent?" the matriarch looks vile. "He wants to wait until Otako has done away with my grandson, then rescue Lum!"
The captain looks enraged. "WHAT?!?!?!" he bellows, scaring everyone on the bridge save Nagaiwakai and Dakejinzou! "How dare that bastard think of breaking my daughter's heart?!! I'll rip him in half and stuff him in a swamp when I get my hands on him!!!"
"Enough, Captain," Nagaiwakai holds up her hand. "We have a task ahead of us! Now's not the time to lose one's temper."
"I...don't understand."
"We have to plan our own rescue mission," the matriarch's eyes narrow. "Further, we have to execute it as soon as possible."
"We've got loads of problems facing us," Koosei crosses his arms. "First of all, Phentax Two has control of twenty planets, many of which are in the Phentax star system. If we barge in with the 'Kashin' or any other ship, we'll be in both sensor and weapons range of those System Destroyers protecting Phentax Two. Oogi will know about what we're doing...and would be in the position to stop us or slow us down enough to get at Ataru."
"On top of that," Dakejinzou regretfully continues, "...we have to assume the Niphentaxians know of my connection with Ataru-chan. The instant I'm seen sniffing around, Oogi will know the game's up."
Nagaiwakai sighs. "There's little hope."
"Not necessarily," Invader smiles, then stares at Nagaiwakai. "It's time I surprised you." He turns to his communications officer. "Signals, send a coded message to Bensaikyou! Tell Hotei-kun I need him here. Send another coded message to Koori City! Kindly request His Majesty to come here! Finally send a coded message to Home Base! Ask the computer there to get the location codes for the Project K base! Do it now!!"
"Yes, sir!!" the officer nods.
"What's that about?" Koosei hums.
"I've never heard of this Project K. I wonder what it could mean," Oyuki hums.
"We're going to find out," Lan muses...
* * *
"Please, honoured guests," the leader of the commune smiles as Atako and Shinobu enter her hut. "Be seated. I have news for you."
The two sit. "Thank you, Teruko-chan," Shinobu smiles, glad that she can address the Avalonian by something more than "hey, you."
Teruko sighs. "It shocked me you were not programmed with the information other Avalonians are granted upon the completion of their gestation period, sister Atako," she muses. "Did the gestation computer inform you of any reason why it proceeded to construct you in the physical and mental image of the Invaders' so-called Great Evil?"
"Nope," Atako shakes her head. "That's why I need help. I don't know if I'm coming or going or why I'm coming or going! Besides, Shinobu-chan needs to get somewhere safe," she nods to her friend. "What did you learn?"
The green-haired girl smiles. "There is someone...an Invader who is part of a growing movement sympathetic to our rights...living in a town located near here who will be able to assist you in your quest to rescue your companions and remove yourselves from the Invaders' influence. Tomoko has volunteered to escort you to the sympathizer's location."
Atako and Shinobu are surprised to see the ten-year old girl step into the hut, now carrying a backpack which looks large enough to crush her. She is dressed in a loose shirt and trousers. "Her?!" Atako points at Tomoko.
"She will not attract much in the way of attention," Teruko smiles. "The Invaders do not understand our intelligence, our capacity to reason at many times their rate. Tomoko possesses a high intelligence quotient, plus a mastery of the Invaders' computer systems."
Tomoko bows. "I am pleased to help."
The teenagers look unsure, but return the bow. "Thanks," Atako sighs, then looks at Shinobu. "Well...ready to go face the lions?"
Shinobu nods...
* * *
"Where am I...?" Ataru drunkenly demands.
A black hood is ripped off his head. Ataru is now hog-tied, kneeling in the middle of a barren field somewhere on Phentax Twelve. Standing around him are a half-dozen guards and Otako. The curious orb glows in the priestess' hand. "Why, Ataru, you should know why you're here," she kneels beside him, her hand gently stroking his shoulder.
"I should...?" he stares at her.
"Yes," she purrs. "Out that way," she points to a distant mountain range, "...is the lair of a vicious family of space-dragons. Also there is a beautiful maiden, one who is so dearly loyal to Lum-sama."
"Loyal to Lum-chan..." he slurs.
"Yes," Otako nods. "Lum-sama wants you to rescue her helpless servant. This is the first of your labours, Ataru. When you are done all your labours, you'll be permitted to come back into her fold. Do you understand?"
"Yep!" he eyes roll aimlessly around. "Get the girl and go back to Lum-chan!"
"Good!" she nods. "Then get going!!"
A guard unties him. As soon as the ropes fall to the ground, the guards and Otako disappear. Slowly rising, Ataru drunkenly looks to see that he is alone...then a sneer crosses his face as his left eye glows. Psychic fire flares as his skin melts away to reveal the Cyborg's armour. "**Fools!**"
Otako was a moron! Space-dragons or no, Ataru knew he was walking into a trap, one designed to kill him or cripple him to such an extent that it would be hoped that Lum would reject him. Ataru had been tempted to bash the back of his head against the wall. Once the *saikoo jinseijitsu* came out, it would immediately sense the fervour Otako and her followers felt for Lum. The Niphentaxians' deaths would be a foregone conclusion.
Ataru hesitated. He had been struck by energy which had been festering for as long as he had been alive. Who hated Lum so much that a lifetime of misery was the only just avenue of retribution? Whoever it was, it had taken over Otako and her followers. That could also explain his ex-classmates' shocking behaviour toward Shinobu. Ataru knew what techniques the *saikoo jinseijitsu* had at hand which would have made that power its own. If Ataru allowed that to occur, Lum was doomed.
There had to be another way. Ataru had decided to play along until he was alone, then ascertain his options. He had to pretend that Otako had broken his will until such time that he had better command of the situation. The Cyborg coils his legs and leaps into the air, clearing kilometres in one jump. Getting to the location to where Otako had dispatched him sooner than expected might give him advantage over the Niphentaxians. He believed Otako had chosen a location she felt familiar with, trusted as a place where she felt supreme. Ataru intended to exploit that. After all, despite the Niphentaxians' belief in their cleverness, they were as inept as the natives of Tomobiki. Ataru had defeated them. What was to stop him from defeating a whole planet?
* * *
The "Kashin" warps out of hyperspace over Jupiter. As the Sol system's giant hovers over the battlewagon's hull, it cuts its way to Io. On the bridge, the sensory officer looks up. "Captain, sensors indicate the presence of the Fukunokami cruiser 'Tamashii no Bensaiten' and the Tritonian Royal Yacht at the second Lagrange point. Both have their shields up and weapons armed."
"Sound battle stations!" Invader barks. "Have the air wing ready on the catapults but don't launch a single aircraft!!"
The alarm klaxon echoes as crews leap to action stations. Behind the large captain, Koosei and Nagaiwakai look at each other, confused. They were in a nominally safe star system, some parsecs from Ipraedos and many more from Dominos...and any hopes of successfully engaging a roaming Zephyrite crusade force was insanity. Sensing their confusion, Invader smiles. "Believe me, there's a good reason for this."
"I pray so," the matriarch hums.
"Captain," the communications officer looks up. "Coded messages from the 'Tamashii no Bensaiten' and His Majesty's yacht."
He walks to the secure communications console. Reaching into his tunic, he pulls out a credit card. Sliding it into a slot, he types out a code. A second later, the communications officer looks up from his board. "They've received your message, sir."
"Wait for it," Invader growls.
Koosei and Nagaiwakai look at each other. "I've never seen such elaborate security measures since I've been in space," the former hums. "What did old man Invader cook up?!"
"I'd like to know why he chose our solar system to store whatever he created," she muses. "It better be safe or I might be tempted to have the Inquisition handle this."
The communications officer looks up from. "They're transmitting a coded message, sir!"
Once the codes have appeared, Invader nods. "Secure from action stations!!"
The crew relaxes. "The 'Tamashii no Bensaiten' and the Royal Yacht have lowered their shields and have disengaged their weapons, sir," the sensory officer reports.
"Open communications," Invader stands in front of the viewscreen. "Code the messages."
"It's about time you dragged your fat butt here, Invader-kun!" Hotei Shigaten's image appears. "Where the hell've you been?! We've been waiting for hours!!"
The quirky smile tugging his lips belies his insulting tone. "Hotei-kun, you short shrimp, since when did you think that old scrapheap can outpace my ship?!!" the large Oni points a finger at him, also smiling.
"Come next Setsubun, we'll see!" the Fukunokami cackles, then sees Koosei. "Koosei!! You decided to go slumming back on that dirtball you call a home planet, eh?!!"
"Nice to see you, too, Commander Shigaten," Koosei adjusts his glasses.
"Interesting friend you have there, Captain," Nagaiwakai muses.
"He's harmless!" Invader smiles, then stands aside. "Hotei-kun, this is Mr. Groom's grandmother, Lady Nagaiwakai Moroboshi PRCZ. Ma'am, this is Benten's father, Commander Hotei Shigaten. He's an old friend."
The Fukunokami's remaining eye narrows. "You're Ataru's old lady, eh?! That means you're Nokoko's old lady too!"
"I am," Nagaiwakai hums.
The commander smiles. "Hell, anyone who can drag Invader and his wild kid to the ground is okay in my books!" he cackles. "What say we all get down to the Project K room and get this over with, eh?!"
"See you there!" Invader nods...
* * *
Minutes later, Invader, his wife, Koosei and Nagaiwakai meet with Hotei Shigaten and three others in a blank room in a buried vault deep under Io's surface. One is Benten's mother Miroku. The elderly balding Tritonian man with a chest-length beard and the rich, decorated kimono is the moon's head-of-state, King Fuyu. Beside him is an elderly Tritonian woman wearing a five-point crown, also in a highly decorated kimono...Oyuki's mother and Fuyu's wife, Queen Samui. After introductions are made, Invader, Shigaten and Fuyu turn to the lone door. On it are four stations. "Miroku-chan, you'll have to fill in Nassur's shoes," Shigaten turns to his wife.
"Got it," she assumes the fourth station.
"What's this about?!" Nagaiwakai demands.
"It's a project we devised with Nassur-kun's help sometime ago," Invader rumbles as he pulls out a credit card. "You see, Nassur-kun has many enemies, ma'am. Chief among them is a conniving old bastard named the Mikado. To make a long story short, because of Nassur-kun's friendship with Lum-chan, I felt that the Mikado might target her to get at him. Hotei-kun and His Majesty came to the same conclusion about Benten and Oyuki. Hence, we launched Project K...Project Kamen."
"What's this do?" Koosei asks.
"It puts dead ringers in the path of any hunter decided to take a shot at our daughters because they're friends with Nassur," Shigaten growls, looking at his wife, the Tritonian king and the Oni captain. "Ready?"
The others nod. Credit cards slide into the control panels. As soon as the computer registers the cards, the four enter a complex code. Miroku, since she is filling Nassur's role, reads her code from a notepad. As soon as the codes are entered, the door opens.
Everyone stares as the opening door reveals four man-sized chambers. Each has a still female form inside them. All four are quite recognizable to everyone outside, much to the disbelief of Koosei and Nagaiwakai. "I don't believe this!" the former gasps.
"Doubles of Lum, Benten, Oyuki and Lan?" the latter hums. "This is a surprise."
"They're respectively called Hensou, Kamen, Mienai and Damasu," Fuyu smiles at the Moroboshi clan matriarch. "They're bioroids the Niphentaxians constructed to take our childrens' place in case they are threatened by some outside force. These four are exact physical and psychological doubles of our children, although because they are bioroids, they possess unique abilities which grant them an advantage over opponents normally prepared to deal with their templates. How ironic," the elderly king smiles, "...that we will use them against those who created them."
Everyone laughs as the lights come on, revealing four sleeping bioroids, dressed in the usual pattern clothing their duplicates would normally be seen in...
* * *
"The town is two days walk from here," Tomoko smiles as she, Atako and Shinobu proceed through the forest. "It is a fair sized commune, made up half-and-half of Avalonians and Invaders. The Invaders are split between many sects. There are some sects more sympathetic to you than the others in the Invaders' theological hierarchy. The person we are seeing is a priestess of one sect, the Choowasaseru. They are a small organization but have been gaining a stronger foothold among the Invaders."
Shinobu looks impressed. "Tomoko-chan, do you hate them?!" she takes Tomoko's hand. "The Niphentaxians, I mean."
"I despise their desire to enforce their morality and their illogical belief in their superiority upon my people, Miyaki-san...but I do not desire their destruction because of it. Is that what you mean by the term 'hate?'" she looks at Shinobu. "Do you hate them?"
"Yes," Shinobu nods. "They desire to enforce their beliefs on us. The instant I tried to regain control of my situation, they moved to kill me! How else should I react?!"
"Education would be the most logical conclusion," Tomoko shrugs. "The Invaders would have to be convinced that Lum-san is not a deity and that she should not be venerated as such, especially in the vile and sometimes violent standard the Invaders aspire to."
Atako hurries up to walk on Shinobu's opposite side from Tomoko. "Unfortunately, with people like these, force is the only answer!" she sighs, stretching her arms. "We hope matters don't go that far, but with fanatics like this, it's hard to be sure!"
"Then their destruction will come?" Tomoko looks at her fellow bioroid.
"Probably," Atako nods. "After what Oogi did to the Vosians, they're asking for it!"
"Nassur-kun's people?!" Shinobu gasps.
Atako explains the tale about the bio-bombing of Lecashuto. "Millions...dead?!" Shinobu pales. "All in Lum's name?!"
"All in Lum's name," Atako nods. "She despises them because of that...and Heaven only knows what else Oogi's done! I think she's scared of them. Any race willing to slaughter people in six figures because of some abstract belief in divine influence is definitely something to be afraid of."
"Agreed," Shinobu nods, then notices Atako's hand drifting towards her. She says nothing, wondering what the bioroid might want. "Atako-kun...may I ask you something?"
Atako looks surprised, feeling a flush in her cheeks. Why did Shinobu call her "Atako-kun?" "Um...s-sure...!" she stammers.
"What do you intend to do after this is over?" Shinobu's eyebrow rises. "Given our luck whenever we've faced kidnappings and other weird occurrences, the chances are very good that we'll get out of this one!"
"Yeah, but if you'll excuse me, Shinobu-chan, but I've been getting the feeling as of late that we're pushing our luck."
"You think so?" Shinobu hums. "S'funny."
"What is?"
"That you've changed so easily."
"Shinobu-chan, if you had what I once had in the back of my head, you'd be inclined to change your attitudes, too."
Shinobu stares at Atako, remembering the horror which unleashed itself in the Spirit War. What did Ataru believe? It was obvious that he no longer trusted anyone. Still, did he believe in anything outside that which he could control? Could he afford to dream? If he could still dream, he probably would have stayed in Tomobiki. Perhaps relations between Ataru and everyone else...between Ataru and Shinobu...would be civil. Sadly, such were pipe dreams now...or were they?
"If that's how you feel," she shrugs.
Atako gives her a disarming smile. "It doesn't mean I can't change."
Shinobu jolts on feeling the bioroid's hand gently grasp hers. She feels an instant urge to pull her hand away. Was this the real Ataru speaking to her from a woman's body? If so, should she run...or stay?
* * *
"Oh, *tcha*...where am I...?"
Lum sits up, realizing that she is in the observation gallery of the "Kashin." Kneeling beside her is her mother. "Hello, Lum-chan," she smiles. "Are you feeling well?"
Lum groans. "A little stiff," she rubs her shoulder. "How long did I sleep?"
"A while," Mrs. Invader smiles, a hint of apprehension in her eyes. She then looks away. "Dear! Lum-chan's up!!"
Invader lumbers over, Ten-chan floating beside her. "Good morning, Lum-chan!" the large captain smiles. "Sleep well?"
"Like a baby!" Lum smiles. "Ten-chan!!"
"Lum-chan!" the small Oni floats into her arms. A touch of apprehension is also in his eyes. "Are you feeling okay, Lum-chan?!"
"I'm fine, Ten-chan!" she stands, holding her cousin. "How have you been doing in school?! Meet any new friends there?"
"Uh-huh! I've met this girl. Her name's Minami! You'd like her!"
"I'm sure I will!!" Lum giggles.
Invader nods, a delighted smile on his face. "Good! The transponder's working! That's enough, Hensou-chan! You can relax!"
The younger woman's demeanour hardens. "What did you expect? You had me constructed to be an accurate duplicate of your daughter."
Ten-chan drifts away. "Uncle, why'd you have her built, anyway?!" he looks at Invader.
Hensou faces him, giving Ten-chan a smile no different from Lum's. "I exist to ensure that your cousin is safe, Jariten-san," she smiles, her accent intact. "If necessary, I will sacrifice my life to save hers."
"But people like Lum-chan," the younger Oni hums. "Why'd people want to kill her?"
"Who knows what evil lurks in the minds of the insane," Hensou shrugs. "Not being prepared for such is more insane. Hence, the reason Kamen, Mienai and Damasu and I exist. In case of a threat, I'd take Lum's place...and your cousin would be safe."
"But you wouldn't be," Ten-chan sniffs.
Hensou smiles. "By my existence, Lum will enjoy a happy and peaceful life with her Darling. Isn't that important?"
"I...I don't know."
The door slides open and the bioroids twins of Benten, Oyuki and Lan enter "Kamen," Hensou faces Kamen. "Are you ready?"
"Willing and waiting!" Kamen flashes thumbs-up. "What's the plan?"
"We want to use Hensou's transponder to try to locate Lum-chan," Invader crosses his arms. "When we do that, we'll go rescue her. We'll need you when that occurs. You four can provide an easy distraction, especially since we're dealing with the Niphentaxians."
"I best report to the EWCR," Hensou nods, turning to proceed to the electronic warfare control room. "Please excuse me."
"Wait, Hensou!" Kamen follows her.
The Oni bioroid smiles as they depart the lounge. The door then opens to allow Oyuki and Lan in. Both are quite peeved. "Captain, I demand an explanation!" the Tritonian princess marches up to Invader. "Why was I never told that...**she** was created in my image!" she points to Mienai.
"And why was this created of me?!" Lan angrily thumbs Damasu.
The large captain sighs. "Oyuki, Lan, how many enemies does Nassur-kun have?"
"The Mikado is primary," Oyuki muses.
"There's Gegranko," Lan mentions the Yehisrite underworld godfather.
"Elle as well."
"Perhaps Sheko," Lan shrugs, mentioning the infamous Yehisrite *laqu'r*.
"And Schwartz. There are others."
"That's right," Invader nods. "And none of them are shy about using any of you as hostages to make Nassur-kun do their dirty work!" he holds a finger in caution. "Hence, we created them," he points to Mienai and Damasu, "...to stand in your place should someone threaten any of you!"
"I see," Oyuki bows. "I apologize, Captain. You had our better interests in mind. Please excuse me."
"Oyuki-san?" Mienai speaks up.
"Yes?" the princess looks at her double.
"May I attend you?" Mienai smiles. "I'd like to spend time with you. Our transponders may relay the necessary feelings which could allow us to play our roles with accuracy, but personal experience is also required."
"Of course, Mienai-chan," she smiles. "I should introduce you to Koosei-kun and Osooko-chan. I believe they would like to know you."
Mienai blinks, wondering if the Tritonian princess has adopted her, a bioroid, in the same manner as she did Osooko, a Nendo-kata. "As I would like to meet them," she smiles.
The two walk out of the lounge. "I think we shouldn't keep them in storage," Invader muses. "Especially after Mal-chan, Saiten, Osooko and Hei came into their lives."
"True," Mrs. Invader nods.
Lan walks up to him. "Captain, I don't mind the idea of having someone around to take my place if I was in any danger," she looks at Damasu, "...but why me? I've got nothing to do with Nassur, nor do I want to!"
"True," the captain nods. "However, your father and I were very good friends, Lan-chan. When he died, I vowed that I'd see that you'd have a safe life. I never expected the abuse your mother heaped, but I still want to see you safe as much as I'd see Lum-chan safe."
The Seishin teen is surprised. Invader always seemed such a distant figure to her. Yet, there he still was, looking out for her, not too different from Yedris. Invader had been the one who permitted Lan to migrate to Earth. "I...thank you," she gently squeezes his arm, then turns to Damasu. "Want to come meet Hei-chan and Rei-san, Damasu-chan?"
"I'd love to," the Seishin bioroid slips her arm around her "sister's," then they walk off the observation deck.
The Invaders are joined by Nagaiwakai and Nokoko. "My compliments," the matriarch crosses her arms. "I never considered making use of doubles to protect Ataru-chan. Perhaps I should take similar measures to ensure those fools in Tomobiki no longer plague him."
"Yeah," Nokoko smiles, "...but if news got out there are **two** Ataru Moroboshis out there, all of Japan would panic!"
"My dear, there **were** two, remember?"
Nokoko looks surprised, then sadly nods. The two step out of the lounge. The Invaders look surprised. "Two?!" Invader gasps.
"As in...?" Mrs. Invader shudders.
"No," the captain stops her. "Let's not ask, dear. If they want to tell us, they'll tell us in due time."
His wife nods...
* * *
To be continued...
The morning brings howls of challenge from the beasts which call this foreboding place home. However, the howls are mixed with the panicked cries of a young boy. Hunched beside a tree, he is dressed in a dirtied jumper. With tapered Vosian-like ears, he has messy black hair. "I'm scared!" he cries, believing no one can hear him. "I'm scared! I wanna go home! I wanna go home!"
"Hello!" a young voice calls out from nearby. "Is someone here?"
The boy stops crying, looking in shock to see an Oni girl land beside him. She is dressed in a tiger-striped skirt. "Hi!" she smiles, not the least bit intimidated by her surroundings. "Are you lost?"
"Y-yes," the boys stammers, unable to comprehend why the girl isn't scared.
A beast of indescribable nature appears behind them, fire in its eyes. "TERRIBLE!!!!" it howls, nearly blowing both children over with the volume of air it exhales.
The boy looks like he'll wet himself. The girl spins around, quite annoyed. "Scram!!" she jabs her finger into its nose, zapping it with a light dose of organic electricity.
The beast howls, then bounds away with its tail tucked between its legs! The boy drops to his knees, not believing that he is now safe. "You...you chased it away...?" he gasps, awestruck.
She mock-blows cordite away. "They're noisy but they're really harmless," she offers her hand. "I'm Lum. What's your name?"
The boy now takes very close notice of his rescuer, awed by her simple beauty and obvious charm. "M-my name...?" he stammers. "I-I'm Oogi!" he finally offers his hand.
Lum grasps his hand, accidentally zapping him. "Ooops!" she recoils. "I'm sorry! I do that all the time!"
Oogi looks like he just received a mountain of his favourite candy. "I was struck by lightning from the gods...!"
Uncertain as to why he seems happy, Lum picks him up, then slowly floats away. "Daddy wants you back where you belong. C'mon!"
Oogi doesn't argue, staring at Lum with admiration...and something more. *Lum-sama*, he sighs. *You saved my life. I swear that from this day on, your act of kindness will never be forgotten by me or my people!*
If the galaxy could tremble...it would!
* * *
Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year
What Price For Love? (Parts 1-4)
by Fred Herriot
fherriot@hotmail.com
**** **** ****
With special thanks to Patrick Vera, Dorrie (Shinobu) A. and Steven P. Cornett for their plot suggestions
**** **** ****
edited by E.B. Kushnir
kush1@iaw.on.ca
**** **** ****
Seventeenth of a series based on "Urusei Yatsura," created by Rumiko Takahashi
**** **** ****
WRITER'S NOTES:
1) Welcome to our second Senior Year Special. In the wake of the Before the Phoenix, After the Phoenix saga, a little break in the transformation of Tomobiki is called for...or is it just a "break?"
2) This story is the introduction of the Inner Circle, those *daishi'cha* who, along with those introduced in the previous stories, will have primary importance in the Great Father Ataru decaology, still many stories away. Anyhow, here are the numbers and host departments for this group (in order of number, name and department):
23 Lan Weapons Engineering
1123 Ryuunosuke Engineering
1466 Carla Logistics
2283 Lupica Medical
2317 Ten'nookaa Administration
2530 Shinobu Administration
3002 Asuka Judicial
3567 Ryooko Botany/Agriculture
4363 Wendy General Sciences
4428 Benten Defence
4545 Tsuyoko Geology/Terraforming Sciences
4676 Kaede External Affairs
4712 Hazel Hydrographic Sciences
7124 Windy Archaeology
7700 Elle Defence
7728 Sakura Government (Central)
8810 Kurama Child Services
8836 Lumunookaa Government (Central)
8979 Lum General Sciences
9943 Oyuki Education
13303 Nagisa Fleet Engineering
22874 Kinshou Supply
32183 Shinobi Dental
54962 Yuukiki Construction Engineering
76686 Momoe Dental
77135 Natsuko Physical Education
80616 Kumiko Dental
There are, of course, many other ladies on Sagussa who will become relevant as time goes on. Stay tuned!
3) The Gatherer is referred to as "Eternal Voyager" by people throughout the local cluster except for Zephyrus (there called the "Holy Gatherer"), Kurakoa (who refer to it by name) and Yehisril (who address it as *gilifsirg'l-hiv'rhisr'm* ["Soultaker"]). The Yehisrites believe a person's soul can't be freed of the body until the body is cremated. Since Yehisrite *daishi'cha* (i.e. Lufy) had to have been physically intact to attract the Gatherer's attention, Yehisrites believe that the *daishi'cha* were dishonoured because they weren't given a proper funeral. Note that NO race knows the true story of Sagussa, hence the beliefs of many are mere speculation and nothing more!
**** **** ****
"And that was that!" Lum nods. "What do you think?!"
Nassur, Benten and Oyuki hum. They sit in Koruneko's bar a day after the Oni and Ataru negotiated their pre-nuptial agreement. "Well, at least you didn't object to what he proposed," the Tritonian muses. "I think that's a good sign for you both."
"I agree," the Vosian nods. "Besides, after all you've been through...and put each other through...I think you need a break."
Lum beams, happy the man she treats as an older brother supports what happened. "Speaking of those morons, how did they take it?!" the Fukunokami hunter muses, sipping her shot of supervodka.
"It was dead silence in class today," Lum hums.
"They're in mourning," Oyuki smiles.
"Won't last," Nassur sighs. "Lecasur's Soul, Mendou and Megane's crew remind me so much of Oogi! Until Ataru really sticks the screws into them, they won't change!"
"Ugh!" Benten blanches. "Shit, Lum, you should've agreed to live with Moroboshi! Why d'you want to put up to those dweebs?!"
"Well, I admit that they're a lot more peaceful than Oogi," Lum shrugs. "Then again, there's my visa. Changing it is going to be a chore. Darling warned me that Shutaro's trying to influence the Interior Ministry to prevent me from moving out of Tomobiki."
"Tell your father," Nassur cautions. "He'll want to know that when it comes time to renew your visa."
"Then again, if you marry Ataru sooner, you'll be free to live in Oshika with him and Reiko-chan, not to mention Nokoko and your sister," Oyuki muses. "Mendou-san and the others wouldn't be able to influence you then."
"True," Lum sighs. "But...Nassur-chan's right. Darling and I need time to ourselves to try to put our priorities in order."
"Good for you," Oyuki nods. "And the first thing you'll have to do is persuade Ten-chan that he now has to go to school."
"I haven't even told him yet," the Oni moans. "Oh, am I going to hear it from him!"
Everyone looks sympathetic. Unseen by them, a middle aged man with tapered ears, dressed in a blue school uniform, sits three booths away. He seems to have failed in an attempt to make himself resemble Megane. Having overheard the conversation between Lum and her friends, horror crosses his face. "Lum-sama...?!" he whispers.
After depositing money for his drink, he departs. "Oogi-san must be informed of this!" he mutters aloud, ignoring the curious stares from passers-by. "If Lum-sama has been so subjected to his deviltry, then the Great Evil's wicked ways are more demonic than we suspected! He has to be slain lest everything we believe is shattered once and for all!!"
Watching him depart is Koruneko, relaxing at a neighbouring kiosk alongside a strange creature resembling a man-sized long-necked alien dinosaur. "Koruneko-kun, did you hear that?"
"So I did, Yakuzaishi-kun," the felinoid bar owner muses. "That Niphentaxian would be quite shocked to learn of Ataru's connection to Sagussa. I wonder what their Tribal Council'll say about that, realizing that their precious living goddess is destined to marry the 'Chosen One of the Eternal Voyager?'" he smiles, referring to Ataru's destined role by the title from Vosian legends around the Gatherer.
The kiosk's owner, an air-breathing starfish, cackles. "I thought you wanted to keep that information secret, Koruneko-kun," he growls in a voice akin to gravel being crushed. "Aren't you worried about people like the Mikado, Elle, Schwartz...or Oogi?"
Koruneko smiles. "Hitode-kun, people like them are a flash in the pan to those as long-lived as we. My faith is in the determination of the *daishi'cha* to make Ataru their *daimon'cha*. Not even the combined fleets of every power in the quadrant could stand against them when they set their mind to the task ahead of them."
Yakuzaishi and Hitode howl. The joke about Koruneko's age had been constant since they set up shop on Sakusei. Both Yakuzaishi (the station pharmacist) and the kiosk owner knew that the feline bar owner's true age had long entered the five-digit range. It didn't intimidate them; Yakuzaishi and Hitode themselves had lived for millennia. "In the meantime, I shaln't deter customers from visiting your fine shop, Hitode-kun," Koruneko bows to his friends. "Excuse me."
The bar owner walks to his establishment, noting that Lum and her friends are departing. "Ah, leaving so soon?" he muses.
The four respectfully bow. "Thanks for the hospitality, Koruneko-san," Lum smiles.
"Please return soon," he nods. "But, child," he holds up one furry finger, "...a word of advice before you depart."
"Of course, sir."
"I couldn't help but overhear your current arrangement with Ataru," Koruneko slips his hands into his sleeves. "It pleases me that you are facing the truth surrounding your relationship...but I advise you that you should be **fully** truthful about your life."
"I...of course, sir," Lum looks confused, wondering what Koruneko was hinting at. "I'll remember that. Thank you again," she bows.
The group leaves. Koruneko watches them go. "I fear, child, you will not have a choice but to do as I have advised you."
* * *
"Lan's visiting?!" Ataru looks surprised.
"Unfortunately," Nokoko nods. Both relax in their living room. "Maybe I should've chose someone else to be Hei-chan's template."
"Too late now," Ataru stands. "Still, the court injunction's still on, isn't it?!"
"It is," Nokoko smiles.
"Lan-chan must've forgot that," he hums. "I think I should remind her. Excuse me."
He heads out. Nokoko giggles. "Oh, I hate to be in your shoes now, Lan."
Walking to the bungalow shared by Hei and Ookako, Ataru grins. Lan was so arrogant at times, believing her cute-girl act would get her through precarious situations when her vicious streak couldn't. The decision by the U.N. Security Council to lock the Seishin girl in Tomobiki, much less altering her visa, struck a vulnerable spot. Lan had always been dependent on Lum and Ataru as outlets for her psychotic mood swings. With Lum a term away from leaving Tomobiki, Lan would be trapped, unable to vent her rage on her favourite target. She was about to get an ugly reminder of that.
Stepping to the door, he knocks. "Hei-chan, Ookako-chan?!" Ataru smiles, quickly steeling himself. "Are you there?!"
The door opens. "Ataru-kun," Ookako beams. "Please, come in."
Ataru walks in, reaching over to gently grasp her hand. "You're as lovely as ever, Ookako-chan," he draws her into his arms. "Let me take a taste of your lovely lips."
Ookako quickly responds. Hei and Lan approach. "Oh, Ataru-kun, you're so romantic this day," Lan's sister holds her arms.
Ataru is quick to accept the offer. Lan blinks, a mixture of emotions on her face, her battle senses smelling a trap. "And you say you love Lum-chan?" she wonders.
"What, you don't want a kiss?" Ataru stares at her, eyebrow raised. "Well, isn't that funny?! Hell, not more than a month ago, you would've done everything in your power to get me to kiss you..." his voice turns cold, "...so that you'd suck my youth to get your revenge on Lum-chan, ne?!"
Lan shudders, glaring at him. "I came here to visit my sister and sister-in-law!" she snarls. "Personally, I wouldn't want anything to do with you anymore, Darling...if that is who you REALLY are!"
Ataru blinks, not perturbed. "Too bad your opinion doesn't matter anymore...not that it ever really did," he turns away. "You only have influence if people give it to you. Don't expect it from me anymore...and don't expect it from Lum, either!"
Lan shudders as he walks out, then moves to pursue before Hei's hand lands on her. "Don't, sister!" she warns. "He came here expecting you to attack him!"
The Seishin teen stops, clenching her fists. "He's trying to take Lum-chan away from me, Hei-chan..."
"He doesn't trust you, Lan-chan," the Nendo-kata-turned-Seishin warns her. "He may never trust you again. And because of that, he'll do everything to protect Lum-chan from you, even if in the end, you mean Lum-chan no harm."
"I won't let him get away with this...!"
"He has the position of strength," Hei sighs. "And I think you'd know by now that he'll happily use it without much provocation. Besides, technically, your presence here is in violation of the court injunction he had put in place when we Crossed Over."
Lan stares at her, eyes tearing. "Then how am I supposed to come see my own sister?!"
Hei blinks, then contently smiles, sensing the love Lan felt for her, though they'd only been family for a month. "Thank you, Lan-chan. Don't worry about Ataru-kun. I think that as long as you don't provoke him, you'll be safe. In the meantime, let's have something to eat."
"Okay," Lan nods, then looks outside to see Ataru step back into his house. *Lum-chan, how can you love someone like him?!*
* * *
That night, Ataru travels to Tomobiki to visit Lum. Unknown to either, a secret meeting convenes in a ramen shop. "This cannot be allowed to happen!!!" Ogin slams a piece of paper on a table.
The Rosebuds' leaders grimly nod. "How dare he?!!" Ogin snarls, glaring at the paper, carrying a copy of the pre-nuptial agreement which, in Point Eight, spelled their demise. "He thinks he has the right to tell us what to do with ourselves!! Time the jerk learns otherwise!!!"
"What do we do?!" Yumi wonders. "We're not dealing with the same creep anymore! He's capable of hurting us a lot!!"
"So he is!" Ogin nods. "Tomorrow, we'll have to find a way to separate him from Lum. We'll then drag him off and *persuade* him to change his mind! Are the Frankens about?!"
"They're still around," Reika nods.
"Get them! We'll need them!!"
The others nod, rising to depart. The ramen shop owner sighs as he takes his phone, and dials the number for the Moroboshi COC...
* * *
"You sure you're going to be alright?"
It's Sunday morning. Eschewing his old bedroom, Lum and Ataru slept in the apartment at Toranoseishin Finances. He is dressing. "I'll be fine, Lum," he kisses her. "Besides, I want to get you a surprise present. How can I do that if you're hanging over my shoulder?"
"But what about the COC's warning?"
"The Rosebuds?!" Ataru snorts. "If they bring forth some muscle, they'll be mincemeat for the Cyborg. And the Kuromoroboshi can take care of Ogin's brigade of twits!"
Lum sighs. She hadn't had the chance to get to know the Kuromoroboshi, a troop of whom now assigned to protect her Darling. Trust was further eroded since the ninjas were Nagaiwakai's personal bodyguards...and Ataru's grandmother made no secret of her hatred of the Oni. "Just be careful, okay."
"I'll be fine," he hands her a wad of bills. "Besides, you have to get clothes for Ten-chan so he can go to school, remember?"
"Right," she nods. "Meet me at the Pizza Emporium at lunch. Don't be late or I'll rip this town apart looking for you!"
He bows exaggeratedly as he departs. "Yes, Sahib, my feet will be like wings!"
The Oni laughs. Ataru rides the elevator to the ground floor, then heads down the street. Watching him from a telephone booth, a Taian girl makes a call. "Moroboshi just left the Toranoseishin Finances building, proceeding toward the Ginza."
As Ataru walks along, he absent-mindedly turns on what appears to be a walkman. It's a special radio set up to transmit and receive Moroboshi Clan frequencies. "Anything?"
"Denpatan," a woman responds. "You've been reported proceeding to the Ginza. Four Butsumetsu Girls' students are trailing you."
Ataru uh-hums in response, then walks into Esmerelda's. "Ataru's in Esmerelda's buying clothes," a Syakkou student reports.
"You're location's been confirmed, Young Master," Denpatan reports.
He purchases several items from lingerie and swimwear. "Whoo!!" the Syakkou student whistles, observing via binoculars. "What does he do with Lum at nights?!!"
"Watch him and forget about what he does with Lum!" Ogin hisses. "Besides, when we're done, he won't be able to do much with her!!"
"You've been threatened," Denpatan warns.
"Typical," Ataru muses as he pays for his clothes, then departs. "Kooryooko, any sign where Ogin's laying her trap?"
"It's a dump directly on your route, sir," another woman responds. "Recommend you evade. Approximately fifty tangos present, including several large males."
He grins. That wouldn't be much exercise between him, Lum and the Kuromoroboshi. "No," he snorts. "Jinseiko, get Lum. Rest of you muster up. Time to pluck some roses!"
"Yes, sir," a chorus of voices respond.
Watching him from across the street, a Sanrinbou student smirks. "Ogin, he's heading right for you! Take him at your leisure!!"
"We're ready!" Ogin laughs.
Ataru slows his pace as he places the package and his communicator in a secluded spot, then picks up the speed as he approaches the dump. Typical. Ogin was so imitative. Closed off by a large fence and heaped with garbage. Perfect place to hide oneself. Time to teach her the rules had changed. He turns into the lot, then stops. "If you idiots would kindly show yourselves, we'll get this over with!" he barks.
Ogin steps out from behind a pile of wrecked cars. The Rosebuds' leader crosses her arms. "How'd you know it was me?"
"Well, isn't this a little familiar?" Ataru shrugs. "The last time you tried to force me to change my mind about something, you tricked me into coming here. Then again, all I was ever concerned about was resigning as class president. You thought I was dropping Lum. So what's the problem?"
"Simple. You and Lum agreed that the Rosebuds'll be no more by term's end. You've no right to impose yourselves on us."
"Oh? And you girls think you've the right to impose yourself on me?!"
"When it comes to Mendou-san, yes!" Ogin scoffs. "He's no interest in that man-phobic twit Asuka thanks to your friend Osooko. We're protecting the man we care for!"
"Since when did this concern Lum or I?"
"Easily explained!" Ogin walks up. "You think we're that blind? That whole agreement between you and Lum wasn't a pre-marital pact. It's just another ploy you're using to keep Lum at bay. When she clues in that you don't want her anymore, she'll turn to Mendou-san. THAT is what we find objectionable!!" She snaps her fingers. "Boys!!!"
Ataru is seized by the Franken twins. "Hi, boys!" Ataru laughs as his eye glows, psychic fire consuming him. "**Nice of you to drop in!**"
An explosion later sends them into a pile of cars!! The Cyborg spins on Ogin. "**Maybe it's time I got rid of you!**" he snaps his fingers. "**Ladies, will you join us!!**"
Crashes are heard behind Ogin. She reels on seeing her accomplices beaten thanks to a dozen kunoichi bearing the Moroboshi tiger-and-chrysanthemum insignia! "You wanted to see us, sir?" Jinseiko Fusegu brushes back her ponytailed brown hair.
"I see you've introduced yourselves," he reverts to normal. "Meet my rose pluckers, Ogin...the Kuromoroboshi. Grandma loaned them so that I could deal with twits like you!"
Ogin shivers, sensing the solitude he has imposed on her. "Are you still at it, Ogin?!" an incensed voice wonders from above.
Ogin shrieks as lightning burns her! She collapses as an incensed Lum lands beside Ataru. "Darling, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," Ataru turns to leave, arm out for Lum. "Jinseiko, you've my permission to DECORATE them more than they already are!!"
"How long, sir?" the raven-haired Denpatan Kitei wonders.
"A month in intensive care!" Lum snarls.
"Yes, ma'am!!" the Kuromoroboshi laugh.
The couple departs. Ogin shivers as the Kuromoroboshi spin on them. "Now," Jinseiko draws a gaikatana. "Let's have a little discussion about harassing the Young Master and his girlfriend, shall we?"
Screams echo from the garbage dump...
* * *
"Are you sure about this?!" Oogi demands.
"I'm positive, sir," Fangi bows low. The observer just arrived on Phentax Two from Sakusei. Like all who took inspiration from the great Aisuru Megane, First Holy Apostle to the Great Lum Redet no Midorinokaminoke-oni of Uru, the Living Representation of Creation (and if you haven't guessed by now, Phentax Two's official deity...F.H.), he wears a normal Tomobiki High School uniform with glasses, his hair styled in the same manner as Megane's.
The president of the Tribal Council of the Union of Phentax Two sighs, gazing to the hearth-fire. They stood in an exact duplicate of the Mendou mansion's sitting room, which existed in an exact duplicate of the Mendou mansion in an exact duplicate of Tomobiki! Actually, the town's name is Lumukyou, the capital of Phentax Two, located in the north-west continent of the second world of the 23 planet Phentax trinary star system. Further, Oogi's official residence was not an *exact* duplicate of the Mendou estate. Where there would be depiction of octopi in Tomobiki, Lumukyou's estate have statues of the Great Lum (naturally depicted in her lovely tiger-striped bikini), not to mention Her Five Holy Apostles, Her Holy Cousin Jariten and the five of Her Holy Company. Even the two Sinful Doubters were depicted, a reminder of the cost of not adhering to their faith.
Oogi strokes a locket of his slicked back hair. While Fangi had Megane for his divine inspiration, the president followed the great Shutaro Mendou, the Fifth Holy Apostle (the Niphentaxians numbered them in order of Megane, Chibi, Paama, Kakugari and Mendou), hence his white school uniform. In fact, save for his ears, he could be Mendou's twin. "For too long we've waited for Lum-sama to realize the mistake of locking herself with the devil Moroboshi. Now, you say the Holy Apostles are shattered, those living in the Sacred City now forced to bow to the Great Evil's will."
"Yes, Mr. President. I don't understand how this is possible! Lum-sama's power is supreme on that world! Could the Great Evil have obtained aid from the Ipraedies?! If so, why hasn't Uru's Tribal Council requested our aid to destroy the heretics?!"
"Calm yourself," Oogi grasps his katana. Fear of incursions by the Seifukusu and the Ipraedies forced the Federation to draw on Phentax Two for military aid. The Union was arguably the most powerful of the Federation worlds. Her industry, supported by the Niphentaxians' uncanny ability to copy and augment technology from other worlds, was unmatched. Its fleet numbered 3000 combat ships, including 200 battlewagons copied off the "Kashin" design. The fleet was further augmented by squadrons of mobile Planet Destroyers, giant world-shattering mobile guns larger than a fair-sized Earth town. Phentax Two and the three other worlds orbiting the red dwarf star Niko-Phentax was protected by six System Destroyers, Death Star-scale versions of the Planet Destroyer which could wreck marauding fleets with one blow.
Still, Fangi's concern is valid. Phentax Two had been Uru's most ardent supporter for a decade. Oogi's word was respected throughout the Federation, although many considered him biased. Bias? Oogi called it faith. If Uru moved to invade Earth to protect its frontier and the Tritonian Kingdom against Ipraedies incursion, Phentax Two supported it. If Lum-sama decided to use a memory-erasing device to punish the sinners in the Sacred City for crimes against her, Phentax Two supported her. Who would dare question a goddess? When Oogi discovered the power behind that devil of devils, Ataru Moroboshi, he would smash it or die in the trying. It was the proper thing to do. He, too, had his faith.
"Do not concern yourself, Fangi," Oogi sighs. "In the meantime, alert my Chief of Staff. Have the 'Tamashii no Lum' prepared for departure. I will go to Earth to investigate this matter myself!"
"Of course!" Fangi bows. "Good luck."
He moves to leave, but Oogi stops him. "Wait!" he snaps his fingers.
A door opens and two beautiful women slip in. They are dressed in cherry-blossom kimonos, their long hair straight making them distantly resemble Ryooko Mendou. "For your company," the president smiles.
"Th-thank you, sir...!" Fangi tries to stop himself from drooling as the two slip off their kimonos, approaching him seductively.
As the observer is escorted to a corner so he could enjoy the courtesans' company, Oogi strides to the door. It had been several years since he beheld the Great Lum face-to-face. It would not do to be unpresentable to one's god, would it not...?
* * *
"I DON'T WANNA GO TO SCHOOL!!!!!!"
Lum winces, wondering for the tenth time why Ten-chan complained. She just finished getting him dressed in a more presentable jumper and a shirt. "Stop complaining!" she hisses, grating her teeth. "If you want to stay on Earth, you go to school! I do it!!"
"You went to stay near that idiot while he was in school!" Ten-chan retorts. "I don't have anyone to go to school with!"
"You'll be meeting people when you get there!" Lum grabs their briefcases, then drags Ten-chan out of the room. "Let's go!!"
"Lum-chan, you don't have to take him to school," Kinshou calls from the kitchen. "If he wants to stay, he can stay!"
"Yeah, let me stay!" Ten-chan struggles.
"You weren't asked for your opinion, Ten-chan!" Lum snarls. "Your mother agrees with me! If you want to stay on Earth, you go to school! If you don't want to go to school, you go back home to Uru and never come back!!"
Ten-chan pales. "Oh, okay!" he concedes.
"Lum-chan, I won't have this home torn apart because of an agreement that cow forced on you!!!" Kinshou snaps, glaring at Lum. "Ten-chan stays here!!"
"He goes to **school**!!!" she stares into Kinshou's eyes. "Besides, it was an agreement *Darling* and I made!! And you've NEVER had a say over Ten-chan's upbringing!!"
Ataru's mother pales, backing away. Lum marches out the door, dragging Ten-chan with her. After the door closes, Kinshou hops from leg to leg. "Oooh, I hate that cow!!!"
...and gets the Saturn Five!!!! "DON'T MOO!!!!!!" Koosei roars.
* * *
"Class, this is your newest member," Miss Gundam declares as Ten-chan stands in front of his new classmates. Lum stands beside him. His name is written on the blackboard. "As you notice, he's an Oni-Urusian. His name is Jariten Redet, although he's normally addressed as Jariten no Midorinokaminoke-oni."
"Hi," he smiles. "You can call me Ten."
"Bow, Ten-chan," Lum hisses.
The younger Oni catches himself, then bows. "Why has he one horn and you have two?" a boy points at Ten-chan, speaking to Lum.
"Well, some Onis are born with two horns, some with one," Lum smiles. "In the meantime, Gundam-sensei, I have to go to my school. If there's any trouble, can you contact Koosei Ryooki at Tomobiki High?"
"Thank you, Lum," Miss Gundam nods.
"Behave yourself, Ten-chan," Lum waves as she flies out the window.
The young Oni is then aware that he is subject of many curious stares. "Now, now, class," Miss Gundam nods. "Don't make Ten-chan nervous. Yes, Minami-chan?"
Ten-chan sees that the girl who had just raised her hand is pretty, wearing a white kimono with a tree pattern. "Sensei, can he sit here?" she indicates an open seat beside her.
"Thank you, Minami-chan," the teacher smiles. "Ten-chan, you can sit there."
"Oh, okay," Ten-chan levitates, then flies over to sit beside Minami.
As soon as he sits down, Ten-chan notices Minami looking at him. "Hi," she smiles. "I'm Minami Michini. Let's be friends."
She offers her hand. He looks surprised, then takes it. "Hi. Pleased to meetcha."
Class starts. As Ten-chan watches Miss Gundam, he notices Minami is splitting her attention between her work and him. A light flush crosses his face; the Oni has rarely been subject to attention from girls his age, at least since he had to deal with Mari Reshido. *Maybe Lum-chan was right*, Ten-chan sighs.
* * *
A content Lum flies to Tomobiki High. "I hope Ten-chan enjoys himself there!" she smiles...then slows down as the rumble of a starship's drive system becomes audible. "*Tcha*, what's that?!!"
A tiger-striped Kashin-class battlewagon now floats serenely over Tomobiki. "Eh?!" she looks confused. "Why's Daddy here...?!"
Her eyes narrow on seeing a nationality marker. Unlike Urusian warships, which sport a wreathed globe representation of their homeworld, this insignia is *herself* in flight surrounded by a gold circle with four cardinal points. Many feelings rampage through her on seeing this: fear, shock, revulsion, disbelief. "Oh, no...!" she gasps, eyes widening in panic. "No! No!! Not him!! Not here!! Not now!!! Dammit!!!"
Lum jets her way to Tomobiki High School. Arriving on the front walkway, she notices a large crowd has gathered in the nursing station. Further, the wall of room 337 has been breached. The wreckage of an airbike lies on the ground below. "He still doesn't know how to drive an airbike!" the Oni moans. "Good!! I hope he got a concussion!"
Lum heads to the nursing station. The door is open, with Class 3-4 lined up to stare at the one inside. "Lum-chan!" Mie waves.
"Mie-chan!" Lum lands. "What happened?!"
"Dunno!" the Kyushu native shrugs. "Some dummy drove his bike right through the wall of the class! He's passed out in there!"
Mendou's outraged scream is heard. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!?!?! WHY DOES THIS CRETIN LOOK LIKE ME?!?!?!"
Many girls stare inside to confirm what their favourite classmate said. Lum looks regretful. "It's him, alright," she moans.
"You okay?" Mie looks concerned.
"Ah, Lum," Sakura looks up from examining her patient, giving her a sympathetic smile. "I believe this fellow is looking for you."
Lum walks to the bed, beholding Oogi for the first time in several years. Seeing the resemblance between the Niphentaxian and Mendou, the Oni is clearly not impressed. "He got that stupid facelift after all!"
"Lum-san, who is this swine?!!" Mendou points at Oogi. "How dare he take my image?!! The ladies believed that was **me**...!!"
"Shutaro, shut up!!!" Lum barks.
Mendou clams up. "Oh, Lum-sama..." Oogi moans, eyes opening. As his vision clears, he looks left to behold Sakura. "Eh?!"
"He's awake," Shinobu gasps.
He looks in awe of the nurse, then leaps to his feet, dropping to one knee. "Forgive me, Sakura-sama. I didn't desire to plague you with my unworthy presence."
Sakura is taken aback by his reverence; the normal attention she receives from men his age are lecherous advances. "Um...th-that's alright..." she smiles. "That's quite alright! I'm pleased to have helped you."
"You'll regret it," Koosei whispers.
Hearing that, Oogi draws his katana and moves to attack the teacher. "Swine, how dare you speak to one of the Great Lum's Holy Company in such a vile manner?!! Prepare for divine punishment, you heretic...!!!"
A 1000 tonne hammer replies!! "Since when do you have the right to enter this star system?!! You're supposed to gain clearance from Uru and Triton before coming here!!!"
"Zounds...!" Oogi drops to the floor, dazed by the blow. "It is as if I was struck by the Holy Lightning of Lum-sama...!!"
"Who is this man?!" Sakura demands.
"Ask Lum," he sighs. "She knows this clown better than I'd ever **wish** to!!"
"His name's Oogi," Lum gives Koosei an exasperated look. "He's from Phentax Two. In fact, he's the President of the Niphentaxian Union. He's...an acquaintance."
"A possible suitor?" Megane muses.
"Possibly," Lum answers.
The guards grab Oogi. "Wake up, swine!" Megane snaps. "How dare you even **consider** taking **our** Lum-san away from us?! Answer me or face divine retribution for your sins...!!"
A bazooka explodes, knocking the guards away. Everyone's surprised to see that it was Mendou. "While it revolts me, I'll not permit unworthy slime like you to attack him!!"
The girls giggle...then gasp as they see Mendou threatening Oogi with his katana! "You swine, how dare you **consider** taking **my** Lum-san away from me?! Answer me or face divine retribution for your sins!!!"
"Mendou-sama, I'd never dream of forcing the Great Lum away from you!!!" Oogi gulps.
Mendou blinks. "You know who I am?!"
"Isn't that redundant?" Mie moans.
"Of course!" the Niphentaxian nods. "You are Shutaro Mendou, Fifth Holy Apostle of the Great Lum Redet no Midorinokaminoke-oni of Uru, the Living Representation of Creation!!"
"Is that what they call me now?!" Lum flushes with shame.
"You make Lum sound like a god," Sakura muses.
"She is," he responds with all honestly.
"LUM'S A GOD?!?!?!" everyone exclaims.
Mendou looks incensed. "You call me the FIFTH Holy Apostle?!!" he snaps. "Who's the first?!! Moroboshi?!!"
"What?!!" Oogi gasps. "We'd never dream of that devil being one of the Great Lum's Apostles!!! Megane-sama is the First!!!"
"I am?!!" Megane looks surprised.
Mendou then chases the guards' leader out of the nurse's station. "You swine, since when are **you** better than me?!!" the scion of Japan's richest family howls. "Hold still and I shall make you a head shorter!!!"
"Why are you screaming at me?!!" Megane ducks the swipes of Mendou's blade. "Kill him!!! He's the one who made you this way!!"
"This is a nightmare!" Momoe shudders.
Other girls voice their approval. "Lum, why does this guy think you're a god?!" Shinobu points at Oogi.
"I saved him from the Terrible Swamps of Uru when we were kids," the Oni shakes his head. "He...was quite grateful to me."
"And the galaxy has rued that day ever since," Koosei shakes his head.
Oogi looks incensed. "How dare you make offense of our reverence of the Great Lum?!!"
"That's Oyuki's boyfriend," Lum warns.
Oogi stops. "He's a fallen angel?!"
Everyone faints! "Will you stop?!!" Lum snaps. "Why are you here?!! Tell me what's going on, then take your ship and go home!! THIS time, I want you to stay there!!"
The Niphentaxian drops to one knee, averting his eyes from the Oni. "Lum-sama, we have learned of the unholy agreement the Great Evil has forced upon you!!! How can we aid you in destroying his power and restoring your dominance over this world of heretics?!!"
"Who's the Great Evil?!!" Kakugari asks.
"Don't answer that," Lum orders.
"Of course," Oogi nods.
However, much to Lum's regret, the door opens and Ataru steps in. "Hey, Lum, who owns the scrapheap over our heads?!" he thumbs up. "That's not your dad's ship, is it?!!"
"THE GREAT EVIL!!!!!!" Oogi screams...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
"They consider him evil?!" Shinobu gasps. "What type of clueless people are these?!!"
"You hit it on the head," Mie sighs.
"How?!"
"'Clueless,'" the Kyushu native repeats.
Shinobu nods. "What are you talking about?!" Paama snorts. "I think it's swell that someone knows the truth about Ataru!!!"
"Speak for yourself!!!" Lum zaps him.
"Lum-sama, how could you ignore the advice of Your Apostles?!" Oogi gasps. "Don't you understand that they care for you?!!"
The Niphentaxian gets a dose of her lightning!! "With friends like **that**, I don't need enemies!!!" Lum growls.
While others would wince, Oogi looks even more fanatical. "Oh, to receive the Holy Lightning of the Great Lum!!" he gasps. "I am so unworthy of this divine favour!!!"
"Is he missing a screw in his head?!" Ataru points at the Niphentaxian.
"The whole **race** is missing a few screws, Darling!" the Oni sighs, wondering what she ever did to deserve a day like this.
Ataru is showered by beans. "Leave our goddess' presence, devil!!!" Oogi demands. "Devil out, luck in!! Devil out, luck in!! Devil out, luck in!! Devil out, luck in!!"
"If only we could get rid of Ataru that easily!" Kakugari sighs.
Lum fires him a hostile stare. "Let me get this straight," Sakura recaps. "You're a god to these people, we're touched by your divine presence and Ataru's seen as a devil."
"That's about right," the Oni sighs.
"Anything else?" Ataru adds.
Lum sees the anger and confusion in his eyes. She was going to get an earful of this when they were alone. "Well...as you can see, the people of Phentax Two venerate anything in association with me," Lum shakes her head.
"We do the same thing," Paama muses.
"These people could teach you something about veneration," the Oni cautions him. "You see, when the Church of...Lum was formed years ago, it caught on quick among the population."
"All Niphentaxians are members of the Church," Oogi proudly declares.
"How many?!" Shinobu whispers to Koosei.
"About ten billion," the teacher sighs.
The girls emit shocked cries. "Well, the first thing they did was terraform Phentax Two until it was an approximate duplicate of Uru itself," Lum sighs, rolling her eyes.
"We couldn't drain our seas, Lum-sama," Oogi looks apologetic.
"And when I moved here full time, they tore down all their cities to rebuild them into doubles of Tomobiki!" Lum groans.
"WHAT?!?!?!" everyone cries out.
"Why?!!" Sakura gasps. "Don't they have something better to do other than ogle you?!!"
"No," Lum shakes her head.
"Can't you order them to do something?!" Ataru stares at her. "Like get a life?!!"
"If I could, do you think he'd be here?!"
Suddenly, Ataru catches Oogi's katana. "You devil, how dare you speak to the Great Lum without showing her the proper respect?!!"
"I actually do show her respect."
Oogi looks surprised. "You do?!!"
"Sure," Ataru lets go of his katana, then turns to Lum. "Lum-chan!"
"Yes, Darling?!" the Oni turns to him.
Ataru sweeps her into his arms and plants a wet kiss on her lips! Oogi and the guards freak. "You swine!!!" Oogi draws his katana. "How dare you sully the Goddess...?!!"
"You'll be sorry," Shinobu sighs.
Ataru straightens up, left eye glowing. "**You dare interfere in my relationship with the Other?!!**" his voice booms.
A light flash later, the Cyborg reaches over, grabs Oogi's katana and brutally slashes the Niphentaxian across his face! Oogi howls as he drops to the floor. Everyone gasps as the machine-man moves to finish the task. "**NO ONE interferes in my relationship with the Other!!!**" Ataru's eye glows star-white.
"Darling, no!!!" Lum leaps between Ataru and Oogi, her hands held out to stop him. "Put the sword down!!! Put it down!!!"
"**Why?!!**" the machine-man demands.
"You're no killer!!" the Oni tries her best to be firm, knowing well her lightning would just make him angry. "Besides, think of what you're doing!! You want to start a war?!!"
The Cyborg pauses. "**Very well,**" he lowers the blade, crushing it with one hand. As everyone emits sighs of relief, he adds, "**I shall terminate his race when the time comes that I have command of the power of Sagussa!**" he turns to leave. "**Then, NO ONE shall be in the position to stop me!!**"
Everyone gasps, harshly reminded of the ruthless nature of Ataru's inner self. He steps out, reverting to human form. Lum sighs in relief, then looks at Oogi, who is now being tended to by Sakura. "Oogi!!!"
The Niphentaxian bolts to his feet, bandages draped over his face. "Hai?!!"
Lum moves to stand in front of him, fixing Oogi with a lethal stare. "You will listen very closely, Oogi!! You will board your ship! You will go back to Phentax Two! You will *never* return! Further, you will NOT concern yourself with my relationship with Darling!! If I so much as hear a **squeak** from you, I WILL BE VERY ANGRY AT YOU!!!!!!"
The Niphentaxian president pales, wondering what he did to deserve such anger from her. "O-of course, Lum-sama...!!"
"NOW LEAVE!!!!!!" Lum screams.
Oogi runs through the wall to get out of the school!! "Sorry about that!" Lum sighs.
"It's...all right," Sakura shudders...
* * *
"Oogi visited Earth?!!" Ten-chan gasps.
They relax after school in the Moroboshi home. "Unfortunately," the older Oni shakes her head. "Why does this have to happen?! I'm trying to put my relationship with Darling back together again...and this happens?!!"
The younger Oni looks sympathetic. Lum takes the SD Cyborg doll Ataru received from friends in Oshika in hand. "I just hope that Darling understands why I've never told him. If he ever learned how much they worshipped me, he'd've dropped me in an instant!!"
"How could you be so sure?" a voice asks.
Lum spins around. "Darling!!!"
He opens his arms, allowing her to sink in his embrace. "Hi, Lum-chan!" he kisses her forehead. "Nice friend you have here!"
"He's no friend of mine!!" she snarls, drawing away from him...then stops herself. "Darling, don't tease me!" she sighs.
"I'm not," Ataru gently strokes her temples. "I just want to know why you've never told me about these people."
Lum sits on the window-ledge as Ataru sits at his old desk. "Well, as you noticed, they worship me as a god," she begins.
"No different from the fools here."
"I wouldn't say that, Darling," Lum cautions him. "You...heard about what they did to themselves and their planet?"
He nods. "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't really mind their...veneration," the Oni sighs. "Unfortunately, they're willing to do more...MUCH more...than just worship me!"
"Care to elaborate?!" Ataru prompts her.
"Well...just to give an example," Lum shakes her head. "About eight years ago, one of Nassur-chan's enemies, the Mikado, learned he and his wife were frequent guests on Uru. He concluded that my father was protecting Nassur-chan. He dispatched a team of hunters to Uru to have my family assassinated."
Ataru bolts up. "By this time...the Mikado was afraid that anyone who offered protection to Nassur-chan was an enemy, which of course warranted our immediate destruction," she adds. "Anyhow, the hunters were caught and killed by Dakejinzou-chan."
"That should've been the end of it."
"Not...exactly," Lum sighs. "Oogi got wind of what happened. This was at the time the Niphentaxians finished their terraforming project. Anyhow, when they learned how close their 'goddess' came to dying, they dispatched a bioweapon to Lecashuto, Vos' capital."
"'Bioweapon'...?!" Ataru pales. "As in...biological warfare...?!"
The Oni nods. "The bioweapon didn't get the Mikado... but millions of innocent Vosians were slaughtered as a result!"
Ataru pales. Was *this* the galaxy Uru wanted Earth to be a part of?! "I'm surprised Vos didn't obliterate Phentax Two!!" the Terran stands. "Why isn't Oogi dead?!"
"The Mikado tried. The only good thing he's ever done. But the regiment of Mikado Marines and what was left of his fleet learned on arriving in the Phentax system that Phentax Two was protect by System Destroyers."
Ataru pales; he could guess what **that** meant. "They were obliterated before they got close...and the Niphentaxians dispatched another bioweapon as a way of thumbing their noses at the Vosians! Fortunately..." tears brim in her eyes, "...the rebels destroyed that before more innocents died...!"
Lum breaks down, sobs wracking her body on remembering the faceless innocents who died because of her. Ataru quickly moves to take her into his arms. "I hate them...!!" she moans, shaking her head. "I hate them! I hate them!! I hate them...!!!"
Ataru drops to his knees, allowing Lum the chance to mourn...
* * *
"Mr. President. You don't seem well."
Oogi winces, feeling the deep slash now dissecting his face. He's presently in the Great Church of Lum...a modified duplicate of Tomobiki High. The building also serves as city hall and the central place of assembly for the Niphentaxian Tribal Council. He turns to see Otako staring at him. The priestess, like all of her kind, dresses in honour of the Holy Sakura Sakurambou, one of the Great Lum's Holy Company. Otako herself seems a younger version of the Shinto shrine maiden. However, her Church of Lum pendant has a modification on it: a clenched fist risen in defiance over the Holy Icon of Lum. "Lady Otako," the president sits in a chair, reaching for his face. "How nice of you to notice."
While many would believe Oogi and Otako a decent couple, both are avowed political foes. The priestess smirks in delight on seeing Oogi suffer. "You failed to try to force Lum-sama away from the Great Evil, correct?" she muses. "Further, he punished you for your audacity."
"So what?! State your point, Otako."
"Simple," she slips her hands in her sleeves. "You have tried and tried again to sever Lum-sama from the devilish influence of Ataru Moroboshi. You failed. I believe it is time for a...shall we say, *direct* approach."
"You believe your faction can do that?!"
Otako confidently nods. Oogi would've found her confidence admirable if it weren't so annoying. They had been childhood friends. It was to Otako that Oogi had introduced the concept of venerating Lum. Otako had taken to that concept too well. Her faction was one of many which composed the Church of Lum. In fact, Otako's sect was the most radical. They advocated direct involvement with Lum and Her Holy Company. Such opinions had become quite popular recently on Phentax Two. Under normal circumstances, Oogi would applaud that...but Otako's popularity was now becoming a direct threat to Oogi's hold on power. "Well, if you believe you can be successful in eliminating the Great Evil, then I wish you the best of success," the president smiles.
Otako looks sceptical. "You mean that?"
"I mean that. What are friends for?"
"I see," she nods to an assistant. He departs. "The plan has been executed."
Oogi hums, clearly impressed. "I see. May I ask where you will bring the Great Evil to face his execution?"
"Phentax Twelve," Otako smiles. "We have planned this for some time, Oogi. I believe you will be most satisfied with the results."
"I hope I will be," he nods.
Otako walks away. Oogi watches her go, calculation on his face. "Sir, you're not going to allow her to get away with this?!" Fangi gasps. "You know her sect believes in directly influencing Lum-sama's life. Can you imagine what the reaction would be?!"
"I can," Oogi muses. "It doesn't matter, Fangi. Don't concern yourself. There are ways around even her people."
The observer looks confused, then bows. "I trust your judgement. Please excuse me."
Fangi walks away. Oogi smiles. He knew quite well that Lum would never permit anyone to directly assault Ataru. Otako's sect would make themselves pariahs among the faithful when news of her plan became public. And when Oogi swooped in and rescue Lum-sama and Her Holy Company...*after* the death of the Great Evil...then his fame...and his interpretation of events...would become sacrosanct. His place in society would be secure. And perhaps...if he could manipulate events right...he could become Lum's consort.
He sighs as he walks to the balcony to gaze on Lumukyou. Many possibilities lay before him now. All he needed was time and patience, things he possessed in great quantities. After all, should not people suffer for their faith?
* * *
Ataru's eyes open. "Where the hell am I...?!" he moans, reaching for his forehead.
He looks around. Ataru finds himself in a square room with one locked steel door and one barred window. Laying on bunks are Lum, Shinobu, Mendou and the guards. He moves over to Lum's side. "Lum-chan," he shakes her. "Lum-chan, get up! Hey, get up, you!!"
Lum moans. "What the...?!" she sits up. "Where...?! Darling, what's going on here?!"
"I was hoping you could tell me," Ataru looks concerned. "By the looks of it, we've been taken prisoner by someone...yet again."
"And we're not alone," she notes their fellow prisoners. "But that's strange. We were on the beach in Oshika, weren't we?"
"Yeah, we were!" he walks to the window.
Lum joins him. They are on a beautiful prairie world. In the sky, the three suns of the Phentax system are visible. Niko-Phentax, the smallest, is surrounded by a nebula which nearly encases all space around it. That nebula swallows half the sky. "We're in the Phentax system," the Oni quickly concludes. "By the looks of it, this is Phentax Twelve."
"Why have we been brought here?!" he looks at her. "Didn't you tell that idiot Oogi that you wanted to be left alone?!"
"Normally he would listen," she growls. "When I get my hands on him, he'll regret my rescuing him from the Terrible Swamps!"
A moan is heard. "Shinobu!" Ataru moves to her side as she rises, feeling her head.
"Ow, what happened?!" Shinobu moans. Quickly noticing her surroundings, she then spins around to see Ataru staring at her.
"You okay?!" he looks concerned.
With a frightened shriek, she doubles away, falling over the still-sleeping Megane. "Ouch!!" the guards' leader screams as he falls to the floor. "What is this?!!"
In minutes, Mendou and the other guards have woken. They are quickly appraised of the situation. "We've been taken prisoner by the Niphentaxians?" Mendou gasps. "But you ordered Oogi-san to leave you and Moroboshi alone, Lum-san!! Wouldn't their defiance of your order demand some sort of punishment?!"
"Normally, yes," the Oni nods.
"'Normally?!'" Shinobu looks scared.
"There've been fears among many circles that radical sects of the Church of Lum have begun to gain considerable influence with the Tribal Council. If that's true, then Zephyrus won't be the only planet shifting back to religious fundamentalism."
"That's no problem," Megane chuckles. "For heaven's sake, we're gods to these people! All we have to do is request they take us back! They probably brought us here so they could get a closer look at us!!"
The other guards laugh, nodding. "How can you laugh at a time like this?!" Lum demands, shocked at their cavalier attitude.
"What does that mean?!" Mendou wonders.
"For you and me, the problem is quite easy," the Oni sighs. "But for Darling and Shinobu, the story's different."
"Eh?!" the latter looks surprised, then at Ataru. "I can understand Ataru-kun's problem, but why would I be concerned?"
"Well...you're not counted as one of the Holy Company, Shinobu," she looks down.
"What am I, then?!!"
"A Sinful Doubter."
Shinobu faints! "What?!!"
Lum sighs. "Shinobu and Lan are called 'sinful doubters.' They're not as low as Darling is...but because they're not seen as being friendly with me, they're not as yet rated to become part of the Holy Company." Embarrassment crosses her face. "Sorry."
Ataru's ex-girlfriend looks incensed. "And you can just sit there and talk about this?!! How am I supposed to take that?!!"
Megane's laughter answers. "That's what you get for not respecting Lum-san's presence in Tomobiki!! All your sins are now going to be answered!!! **You're** the one about to face divine retribution!!! How delightful!!"
Shinobu's fist caves his face in! "Keep it up, idiot, and they'll have to find someone else to be the First Apostle!!" she snarls.
"Can we get back on business?!" Ataru growls. "We have to find a way to escape!"
"*You* have to find a way to escape, you mean!!" Paama snorts. "We're the ones who have nothing to worry about!"
"Speak for yourself!!" the Oni zaps him.
"Do you think someone will rescue us?!" Shinobu hums. "Nassur-kun or Shogai-san?!"
"Possibly the latter," Lum looks hopeful. "Nassur-chan and Benten are on their own for a while. Dakejinzou-chan's been hired to become Darling's personal combat teacher. She was supposed to come by Oshika today."
"Ataru trained by that robot?!" Megane snorts. "That won't be much of a lesson!"
Lum glares at him. "I wouldn't talk if I were you! Dakejinzou-chan is ten times the hunter Nassur-chan could ever be! Nassur-chan and Varanko-sama themselves admit that!!"
"And if you call Dake-chan a robot again. four-eyes, I **guarantee** these jerks'll have to find a new First Apostle!!" Ataru adds.
The door opens. Everyone spins around to see Otako stand in the open doorway, a platoon of guards with stun-rifles with the priestess. "Forgive my intrusion, Lum-sama."
"Who are you?!" the Oni demands.
"I am Otako," she beams, "...First Priestess of the Church of Lum, leader of the Hegane Sect. Your humble servant," she bows.
"Then serve us by returning us to Earth," Lum crosses her arms. "I ordered Oogi that no one from Phentax Two was to pester me again!"
"I am unable to do that, madame," Otako remains calm. "You see, you are now under the Great Evil's influence as we speak."
She snaps her fingers. Ataru is seized by four guards. "Hey!!! Let me go!!"
Lum looks incensed. "You heard him!!!" she bolts up, electricity dancing over her body. "Let him go this instant!!!"
"Ignore her command," Otako counters.
The Oni looks shocked, never having heard a Niphentaxian counter an order from her before. Ataru is dragged out of the room. Otako watches him go, then turns to the others. "Would you come with us, please."
Guns level on the others. "I don't think that's a request," Shinobu looks scared.
The others follow Otako. Moments later, they enter a large control centre. Everyone present bows to Lum. Each of them bear the symbol of the Hegane Sect. Lum sees that Ataru has been strapped into a harness, a curious helmet with electronic leads now being fitted on his head. "What's the meaning of this?!!" the Oni faces Otako. "I demand to know what you're doing with Darling!!!"
"We will not kill him, Lum-sama," the priestess smiles. "There are many of us on Phentax Two who realize that you have made your choice as to who your future mate will be...your Beloved Darling, if I may call him that. I respect your decision...but Oogi does not. My action today is to ensure that you will be a happy woman, that you will enjoy a happy marriage with Ataru Moroboshi."
"You mean to say that Oogi desires to marry Lum-san?!" Megane snarls.
"Exactly," Otako nods.
"Slime!!!" Megane growls. "How dare he deceive us, deceive Lum-san, in this manner?!"
"When next I see him, he shall be **two** for his crimes!!!" Mendou snarls.
"Thank you," Otako bows. "Your support in my efforts will ensure that this act does not provoke civil war on Phentax Two."
"Um...excuse me," Shinobu holds up a hand. "But, if I understand the terms of the agreement Lum and Ataru-kun just made, there's no need to worry. Mendou-san will have to marry someone and the guards will be forced to disband. Also, at term's end, Lum'll move to Oshika to live with Ataru-kun. It's certain they'll marry once they're together...and with these idiots out of their way," she points to the guards and Mendou.
"That's right!!!" Ataru nods. "That's the way it's going to happen!!! There's no need for us to do bad things to each other!!!"
He fearfully chuckles when Otako glares at him. "Not exactly," her eyes narrow. "You see, while you may *pretend* to love Lum-sama, in fact, you have now moved to completely and totally dominate her life!"
"And how was Darling supposed to do that?!" Lum growls. "He's not dominating my life...and I'm not dominating his!!"
The Oni quickly notices that what she said doesn't sit well with the Niphentaxians surrounding her. "That is the improper way of things!! As Your Holy Apostles do, so must Your Beloved Darling bow to your Sacred Will, Lum-sama!! I intend to see it happen!"
"What?!!" Lum and Shinobu cry.
"How will you do this?!" Mendou demands.
"Quite simply, really," Otako takes her pendant in hand and flips it open, revealing a microchip. "Ataru will be hypnotized into becoming the perfect mate. Instead of his forcing demands on you, Lum-sama, once again, you'll have total control over your life!"
She inserts the microchip into a control computer on Ataru's helmet. "What?!!" he struggles to free himself. "Forget it!!! I refused to become Lum's lapdog before and I refuse to become her lap dog now!!! Let me out of here!!! Let me out of here!!!"
Mendou and the guards quickly shut him up with a roll of duct tape. "Forget it!!!" the scion of Japan's richest family snaps. "We do not and will not allow you to dominate Lum-san's life like you've done for the last three months!!! This time, you will submit!!!"
"At least the Holy Apostles agree, Otako-sama," an elderly male assistant notes.
"But I don't!!!" Lum snaps. "Let Darling go this instant!!!"
"Ignore her commands!" Otako snaps.
"Ignore hers!!" Lum counters.
Everyone looks confused. "You idiots believe you have the right to dictate our lives?!!" Shinobu snaps. "How dare you?!! You're no better than those five idiots!!!" she nods to Mendou and the guards.
"Why don't you accept Lum-san's right to be happy?!!" Megane demands.
More incensed than ever, Shinobu's hands rip into the wall, tearing out a section the size of a large automobile! "Now, release Ataru-kun this instant and let us go back to Earth in peace!!!" she growls.
The Niphentaxians panic as she moves to bury Otako with the hunk of wall. "Stop her!!!" the priestess snaps.
Two guards fire stun-beams into Shinobu's side! "Shinobu!!!" Lum cries
The Terran falls to the floor, the wall burying her. "Shinobu-chan!!!" Ataru cries.
Otako points out a nearby door. "Remove her!!!" she growls. "Take her to the Valley of Repentance!! It is obvious now that the influence of the Great Evil on her is as great as his influence is on Lum-sama!!!"
The priestess moves over to activate a portable force-field system. Guards roughly grab Shinobu and drag her to a door. "No!!!" Lum cries, then faces Otako. "Otako, stop this!! Leave her alone!! She's innocent!!!"
The priestess ignores the Oni's pleas. "Anyone who defies your wishes is no innocent in my eyes!" she growls.
Lum notices that Mendou and the guards have an unobstructed path to rescue their classmate. "Aisuru, Shutaro, help her!!!"
The five boys remain still. "Forget it!!!" Megane crosses his arms. "This is overdue divine justice for the bitch!!!"
The guards nod in agreement. The Oni stares at Mendou, remembering how much time they spent together. "Shutaro, please!!"
He turns away. "Her sacrifice will be remembered if you can be happy, Lum-san!"
"Shutaro...!" Lum gasps, not believing this is happening. "Aisuru..."
Shinobu notices no one is helping her. The guards' inaction is understandable; they'd been enemies in the past, the disagreement over the value of Lum's presence guaranteeing no peace. But Mendou? Did their relationship mean anything?! "Mendou-san...?!"
Ataru looks vile. "You...you dare make her suffer?!" he growls, his left eye glowing. "**YOU DARE MAKE THAT WOMAN SUFFER?!?!?!**" he roars as psychic fire consumes him!
The Niphentaxians scream as he transforms into the Cyborg!! The machine-man shatters the harness restraining him, then rips off the helmet, crushing it! He leaps at the guards surrounding Shinobu. "**RELEASE HER!!!!!!**"
The guards are helpless as the Cyborg tears into them, feeling them with terminal bone-shattering punches and kicks. "What type of demon is he?!!" a guard howls.
"Who cares?!!" another shoots. "Fire!!!"
Ataru shield Shinobu from the incoming fire. The bolts of energy deflect off his cybernetic parts while his organic parts absorb the blows without sign of injury!! "**Stay behind me!!!**" he orders.
"N-no problem...!!" Shinobu stammers.
Lum becomes a fireball of electricity. "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!!!!!!" the Oni screams as bolts of energy lash out!
The shielding system collapses under the assault of particle fire and lightning!! Mendou and the guards are felled as Lum moves to eliminate the other guards! "Protect her, Darling!!!" she yells, zapping another guard.
"Be careful, Lum!!!" Shinobu cries.
"I'll be fine!!!" Lum smiles.
Guards howl as they leap at the Cyborg. The machine-man smashes them aside. Once she has regained her strength, Shinobu gets to her feet and starts to cave in skulls...
* * *
...while somewhere else, a computer screen becomes active. The image of the Cyborg appears. Digital readouts make note of special points on his body, especially the phoenix. A line appears:
POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION. SUBJECT IS OF CREATOR'S HOMEWORLD.
A large central processing unit comes on line, resembling a series of tubular towers lined with rows of rectangular lights. More scans are made as the Cyborg savages the Niphentaxian guards.
CONFIRMATION ACKNOWLEDGED. SUBJECT IS INHERITOR OF CREATOR'S HOMEWORLD.
The central processing unit runs another program. A final line appears:
INITIATE BIOROID DUPLICATION PROGRAM. PROJECT CODE-NAME: ATAKO.
That name flashes in red...
* * *
As the free-for-all continues, Otako is quick to duck out. "Ataru-kun!!!" Shinobu points. "That bitch is getting away!!!"
"**She won't!!!**" her races off.
"Darling, wait!!!" Lum cautions him. "Don't go without help!!!"
As the Oni turns her back on Shinobu, two guards roughly grab the Terran. "Time for you to repent, you sinner!!!" one yells.
"Hey!!!" Shinobu gasps.
Lum spins around. "Let her go!!!"
Before Shinobu could free herself, one guard slams a wall control. A teleportation pad appears below the Terran's feet as she is seized by an unseen force. "No!!!" Ataru's ex-girlfriend cries. "Help me...!!!"
"Farewell, sinner!!!" the guard laughs.
Shinobu fades. "Ataru-kun!!! Lum...!!!"
The Oni screams as Shinobu disappears. "No!!!" she lunges at the guards. "Bring her back!!! Bring her back!!!"
The guard destroys the teleporter with one rifle shot. "She cannot be helped by you now, Lum-sama!!" he bows to her.
Lum tearfully drops to her knees, stunned that she lost all control of the situation. A second later, the *thump!* of a body hitting the floor is heard. Lum spins around to see Ataru, once again human, passed out on the floor at Otako's feet. The priestess holds a small crystal ball in hand. "He is even more foolish that I suspected!" she thinly smiles.
"Darling!!!" Lum leaps to his side.
Otako places the crystal ball between Lum and Ataru. A ball of energy knocks the Oni back, causing her to collapse many metres away, dazed by the blow. "Remove and prepare him!!!" she nods to several guards.
Ataru is dragged away. "Darling...!!" Lum tearfully gasps...
* * *
The computer screen projects a view of events. A line appears:
RETRIEVAL PROGRAM INITIATING.
* * *
Ataru moans, trying desperately to regain some sense of where he was. What hit him? Whatever it was, it had felt as if his own anger and rage had been magnified to unholy hatred, then turned back on him. The attack had stunned him so much, he couldn't recover. "I can't wait to see what Otako-sama has planned for this monster now!!!" one guard cackles.
"I can't wait to see what she has planned for that sinner Miyaki!!" another hisses. "No one returns from the Valley of Repentance!!!"
Ataru's eyes widen, realizing his problem was more stable than Shinobu's. "Shinobu...!" he gasps, trying to recover enough to free himself and locate his childhood girlfriend before it was too late for her.
A guard punches him in the jaw! "Remain still, devil!!! You are in no position to help that sinful heretic now!!!"
Ataru feels consciousness slipping, but his mind is fixated. "Shinobu..." he gasps. "Shinobu...I'm sorry..."
The guards shudder as a transporter beam seizes them and their prisoner, freezing them in mid-stride. Ataru's eyes widen, praying that this intervention will save them. "I'm coming...for you... Shinobu..." he gasps, consciousness fading. "I...love...you..."
* * *
Somewhere, a vial fills with blood. A bank of mega-high density computers no larger than a television set activates, absorbing seventeen years of memories in milliseconds (and no jokes about Ataru's lack of brain cells!...F.H.). A purging program engages, sweeping away the influence of the *saikoo jinseijitsu*. Another program unites the two sides of the template's mind, the first time the template was medically sane in twelve years. A medical scanner processes the blood sample. The chromosomes are examined to the last molecule. However, one chromosome pattern...the most critical pattern when establishing one's self-identity...is altered to the only other pattern naturally possible.
A humanoid-shaped tank fills with a gestation fluid. Soon enough, the small sample of blood is inserted. In seconds, a cell forms. Seconds later, the cell divides. Division occurs and occurs as the new being begins to form into something more familiar...
* * *
The transporter beam dissipates. The guards look surprised as they feel their limbs freed from whatever force had seized him. Looking around, fear crosses many of their faces. "Wh-what was that?!" one stammers.
"Who knows!" another shudders. "This planet's just strange!!"
An incensed Otako appears, now deformed into a monster more frightening than anything they could equate to Ataru! "WHAT ARE YOU DOING STANDING THERE, YOU FOOLS?!?! PREPARE HIM FOR HIS PILGRIMAGE!!!!"
The guards howl, then double-time to a nearby control centre. "Should we tell her about what just happened?!" one whispers.
"You want to tell her?!!" another hums.
"No way!!" the first shakes his head...
* * *
"What happened...?!" Megane moans.
The other boys groan. "Boy, what did we miss?!!" Chibi gasps as he looks around.
The five then notice Lum seated there, her legs tucked between her arms. "What did you expect, you **traitors**?!" the Oni hisses, firing them such an ugly, dirty glance, they are soon covered in mud!
Megane gasps. "What did we do?!!"
The Oni is stunned by his question. How idiotic, how ignorant did they think she was?! Were these five the same ones she appreciated for two years because of their loyalty, their willingness to stand by her?! How could she have allowed matters to have deteriorated so much that they were willing to see a classmate dead and a former classmate...the man **she** loved...brainwashed so they could ogle her?
The five are then frozen by an icy, disapproving glare from Lum...but the Oni says nothing. Fear crawls up their spines. What had they done to suffer such hatred, such fury, from the woman they loved...?
* * *
Atako's eyes open.
Lungs fill as a yawn utters from the bioroid's lips. Muscles which had not existed a day before move for the first time with the fluid strength the Avalonian gestation machine granted. Legs stretch as Atako steps out of the birthing chamber. The temperature is warm and constant, slightly cooler than the womb-like heat of the chamber which gave Atako Moroboshi life. Air remains still to prevent a chill from affecting Atako's health.
Striding, Atako moves past a mirror. Wide, expressive brown eyes dart left to behold what to the bioroid is a very familiar image. "Nokoko-chan!!!" Atako gasps, stunned at the sight. "You came to rescue me...eh?!!"
Atako freezes...as realization dawns that it is **her** reflection which appears in the mirror. Confusion transforms into disbelief as hands reach up to lightly touch perfect breasts...then slide down a slim yet firmly muscled abdomen to vainly search for what the bioroid believes should be there. "It...it's gone!!!" she gasps. "Oh, gods...!!!"
Panic seizes her, cutting off sound from her throat as the irrevocable realization falls like the proverbial ton of bricks. She stares at the beautiful image in the mirror, an image which would make many believe Atako was Nokoko, presently many light-years away, safe on Earth. She shudders, wondering what cruel fate hated her so much that she would see new life as a woman. Finally, as the panic fades, her mouth quirks into a wry smile. "I don't seem to remember going to Jusenkyou in the last while...!" she giggles, rubbing the back of her head...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
"Where am I?!!" Shinobu cries.
She finds herself in a forested valley on Phentax Twelve. Standing in a grove, she sees no sign of inhabitation. Trees tower hundreds of metres above her head. Distant mountain peaks are barely visible through the green canopy. The forest seems peaceful. There is little sign of a hostile threat. None the less, Shinobu is quite scared. "The Valley of Repentance...?!" she gulps.
Events in the control centre replay in her mind. Emotions storm through her as she remembers what people did...and *didn't*...do. Ataru's and Lum's attempts to protect her from those insane Niphentaxians replay with glaring clarity. Strange. Why would Ataru or Lum care for her? Lum had always been aloof, distant from Shinobu, even after Shinobu had finally made the heart-wrenching decision to leave Ataru. And Ataru? The brutality of the Spirit War fire through her system. She had believed he no longer cared for her, no longer wanted her even as a friend. Yet...why?
Bewilderment transforms into rage as she remembers Mendou and the guards not moving to assist her as she was being shoved onto the teleport pad. Her fury concentrates on Mendou. They once were such a close couple, even in the period after his engagement to Asuka became public. Even after her meeting Inaba and later Nassur, they had remained friends. Shinobu now wondered what type of friend he was. Had he used her, seduced her, dominated her?! It made sense; Shinobu had always known that Mendou desired Lum. Had he used her just to get to Lum, knowing that Ataru would follow Shinobu anywhere, which of course would have drawn the Oni?
Her anger then transforms into a sense of betrayal. It seems that everyone had used or abused her. Ataru had used her to keep Lum at bay. The Oni had mocked Shinobu in her quest to win Ataru. Mendou had used her to draw Lum into his orbit. The guards mocked her because she wouldn't submit to Lum's domination over their lives. Everyone always depended on her for her vast strength, never showing any real appreciation for her efforts. At least Nassur never used her in such a manner...but with Nassur now partnered with Benten, the chances of Shinobu finding peace and love with the Vosian were slim.
Sitting at the foot of a tree, Shinobu allows the storm of emotions to flow. "Why?!" she moans, tears staining her cheeks, "...why am I the one who always suffers?! Why...?!!"
* * *
"Sister?" Nintaiko looks confused.
Donna looks concerned. "Nintaiko-chan, are you unwell?"
The Nendo-kata sit in the Tiger Cub Cafe, holding an emergency meeting in the wake of Ataru's and Lum's disappearance. Sitting around the table with them are Nokoko, Nagaiwakai, Captain and Mrs. Invader, Sakura, Cherry, Ten-chan, Ryuunosuke, Koosei, Oyuki, Lan and Dakejinzou. Everyone looks at Shinobu's sister with concern. "I...I sensed my sister...somewhere," Nintaiko looks around, trying to trace wherever in the galaxy Shinobu could be. "She seems so sad, so...betrayed. I fear something terrible has happened."
Invader hums. "We'll find them."
"Indeed we will," Nagaiwakai looks vile. "We've come to the conclusion that the persons responsible for this are these Niphentaxians Lum seemed unwilling to speak of before they appeared over Tomobiki several days ago."
"Agreed," Koosei nods. "Now, all we have to do is try to trace how that idiot Oogi was able to kidnap them without people noticing."
"Mendou's guards are beside themselves," Ryuunosuke notes. "They've never seen such a slick operation like this."
"As are we, sister," Tatsuko looks angry.
"Did you sense something which could help us, Nokoko-chan?" the Moroboshi clan matriarch looks to her granddaughter.
Nokoko sighs. "Not a peep. Mujanba's running diagnostics in the palace's sensory net to see if she could find something."
"What sort of disUnifying power could have done this?!" Mal demands.
"Magic," Cherry declares.
Everyone stares at the Buddhist monk. "A curse has fallen on Lum," Cherry slurps back some ramen. "A curse which could have been averted if she did not allow Ataru to be so entranced by the power of the phoenix...!!"
Exasperated, everyone buries him with whatever they could get their hands on! "WILL YOU STOP HARPING ABOUT THAT, YOU IDIOT?!?! NOW'S NOT THE TIME!!!!!!" everyone screams.
"It's fate...!!" Cherry moans.
"Curse?!" Nagaiwakai muses. "It would explain much." She turns to Lum's mother. "Do you have any idea if there is anyone who would hate Lum that they would curse her?!"
"There's one," Koosei nods at Lan.
The subject of everyone's glances looks belligerently back. "Hey, why're you looking at me?!!" the Seishin teenager demands.
"You need to ask?" Koosei hums.
Lan looks incensed. "Well," Mrs. Invader sighs. "I remember something...but this was so long ago, I don't think it'd be important. When Lum-chan was born, we sent invitations to everyone we knew to attend a celebration. But one was lost in the mail."
"Oh, that's right!" her husband muses. "That was to the Old Woman of the Oak Forest!"
"Her?!" Koosei hums. "She's harmless."
"Well, she was quite...insulted by not being invited to the party," Mrs. Invader continues. "She declared that she would curse the child. However, it was later revealed that the letter was lost in the mail. She quickly apologized and forgot the issue."
Everyone exchanges looks. "Our first destination," Nagaiwakai stands. "Captain, let's pay this friend of yours a visit!"
Invader nods...
* * *
Atako stares at herself in the mirror. The bioroid has looked at herself since her emergence from the birthing chamber, getting used to seeing a woman. Her hands stroke her skin, causing all sorts of interesting sensations to fire through her nervous system. "Gods, this body is built for sin!" she purrs, her hands caressing between her legs. "Let's see how much I can take it..." she giggles.
Stimulation is applied. Atako cries out as her body responds to her ministrations. In moments, she reaches climax, letting her passions go in a shudder. "Oh, gods!" she pants, trying desperately to regain some sense of decorum. "Man, is that how Lum feels every time I suckle her horns?!"
Atako lies down, allowing her passions to abate. What **was** normal? Atako had felt apprehension, wondering if she could enjoy the private passions she did as Ataru. Atako purrs. Regardless, she wasn't going to change her ways. She was a man's soul in a woman's body. If people couldn't understand that, she would deal with them. Besides, there were possibilities. If Asuka's relationship with Osooko didn't pan out, the Nendo-kata-turned-Tritonian would require a mate. But should she interfere? After what Mendou just did to Shinobu, how could Asuka expect to be treated better even if Ataru married Lum...
Shinobu?
Atako's eyes shamefully widen as she realizes what she was doing. Here she was masturbating while a friend was potentially in a world of hurt. Standing, Atako moves to a computer bank built into a bulkhead. "Hey!!!" she slams the wall beside the controls. "Hey, is there anyone around here?!!"
A screen flashes on. MAY I HELP YOU?
"Yeah!!!" Atako sighs, relieved. "You can help me find Shinobu-chan!! She's lost somewhere on this rock!!!"
WHO IS SHINOBU? NO REFERENCE TO THAT NAME. SPECIFICATION REQUIRED.
"Don't give me that shit!!!" she slams the wall. "Look, buster!!! You created me!!! I don't know whether to be peeved or happy you made me a girl, but a friend I care for is somewhere on this rock very alone!!! Now, if you don't mind, help me!!!"
BECOMING ANGRY AT ME WILL NOT HELP YOU! MY PROGRAMMERS DIED FOURTEEN OF YOUR MILLENNIA AGO. I NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU EXACTLY WANT BEFORE I CAN HELP YOU IN ANY WAY!
"Sorry. This is still new to me."
S'ALRIGHT.
The bioroid thinks for a moment, then looks at the screen. "Okay. When I was a guy, I was fighting a bunch of no-minds in some sort of control room. I transformed into my Cyborg persona to protect her. She's a girl from Earth. Brown hair to here," she indicates her shoulders, "...strong, nicely shaped hips. She was dressed in a pair of nightclothes. You understand now?"
An image of the control room appears. An icon flashes on Shinobu's head. THIS PERSON?
"That's her!!!" Atako nods in relief.
ENGAGING PLANETARY SCAN. DNA COMPARISON FUNCTION ENGAGED. PLEASE STAND BY.
Atako nods. "Okay!! Now, once I find Shinobu-chan...shit, then what?!!" she slaps her forehead. "I'm on a planet full of fanatic Lum-worshippers and I don't know a damn thing about how the hell to get off, much less rescue Lum-chan and everyone else!!!"
AHEM!
"What?!!" she snaps.
SHOULDN'T YOU GET DRESSED FIRST?
Atako flushes as she remembers her exposed state. "Um... yeah!" sweat flows down her forehead. "Forgot about that!"
I AM HERE BUT TO SERVE.
* * *
"Hello?!! Is there anyone here?!!"
For hours, Shinobu had wandered through the forest in an attempt to locate something or someone to regain some sense of this insane situation. "Oh, what do I do?!" she moans, looking around. "Heaven knows what Ataru-kun and Lum could be going through now!!"
Lum's name sparks a new memory. Wasn't she a goddess to the Niphentaxians? If she was, Otako's defiance would be seen as heresy. It wouldn't be long before someone in line with Oogi would notice what's happening, then quickly come rescue her. That belief brings reassurance, but briefly. When could she expect someone to come? "Oh, is there anyone who could help me...?" she moans.
Walking around a tree, Shinobu stops. The sounds of children becomes audible. Her eyes widen as she realizes that civilization, even an alien civilization, was closer than she believed. New hope driving her, Shinobu quickly makes her way towards the sound.
Moments later, she reaches the edge of a clearing. Her eyes widen in surprise as she beholds a dozen children frolicking in a pond. Their ages vary from nine to sixteen. All are girls, all nude...and Shinobu quickly notices that none have the tapered ears native to Oogi's people. "Odd," the Terran muses. "Is this a planet the Niphentaxians conquered?"
Play falters as the children become aware of Shinobu. They stare at the Terran with curiosity and apprehension. Shinobu slowly steps into the clearing, her hands styling her hair to expose her round ears. She looks both ways to ensure everyone understands she isn't Niphentaxian. Seeing the ears, the children relax. A girl Hazel's age with green hair steps up. "Who are you? You're not Avalonian and you're not one of the Invaders."
Shinobu blinks. "I'm from Earth."
"Earth?!" the green-haired girl becomes suspicious. "You mean the planet where the Invaders' so-called Sacred City is located?"
The Terran looks hesitant. She needed to establish trust so she could feel safe. "Yes," she nods. "I'm from Tomobiki...but believe me, I don't have anything to do with whatever those monsters have done to you."
The girl stares at Shinobu, as if she was peeling her layer by layer to discover the truth. Finally, she turns to two other girls about her age. "Restrain her."
They seize her. "Hey!!! Let me go!!!"
One of her restrainers touches Shinobu in the shoulder with two fingers. The Terran howls as a pain akin to a naginata blade being driven deep into her shoulder fires through her nerves. The green-haired girl approaches, then rips Shinobu's top off. "Hey!!! What's the meaning of this?!! What are you...?!"
The girl then embraces her. Shinobu wonders what sort of people she is with...then blanches as a new sensation fires through her nerves, as if a thousand acupuncture needles have punched through her skin. She feels her mental barriers rip away. Images pass through her mind's eye, recounting her life. For what seems an eternity, Shinobu watches her life replay itself. Then, just as sudden as the feeling assaulted her, it passes. "Release her," the green-haired girl states.
The pain in her shoulder passes as Shinobu is let go. "What's the meaning of this?!" she rubs her sore shoulder, seizing her torn shirt. "Have you no concept of what you just did?! Where's your sense of shame?!"
The girl ignores her complaints as she faces her friends. "She does not present a threat to us. She is as much a victim of the Invaders' Entropy-induced madness as we are."
Shinobu looks incensed that her words are ignored, then stops. Entropy? Wasn't that the devil-icon Ataru's Cyborg self referred to? Did this place have some connection with the future facing her first boyfriend? As she slips on her shirt, Shinobu wonders what could possibly happen next. As if in answer, the green-haired girl faces her. "How did you come to this location, Miyaki-san?"
Shinobu looks doubly surprised. How did the girl know her name? As if in response, she smiles. "What I just performed was referred to by our Creators as *meiki'gagh*. It is an efficient way to obtain information without wasting time in verbal interrogation. Further, it is 100 percent accurate. One can falsify information to another person, but one cannot falsify it to herself."
The Terran looks surprised. The girl had just performed a mind-meld, virtually in the same fashion as Mr. Spock performed every time Captain Kirk required immediate information. Shame and revulsion flood her thoughts. How could this girl, no older than Hazel, do that to her, touch her body-to-body in such a physically intimate manner? That revulsion is soon replaced by curiosity. If this girl is willing to do that without any reservation, then what sort of society did she come from? "I see," Shinobu finally speaks. "Well, I guess you have a right to do that."
"You hesitated," the girl notes. "Is there something about us which disturbs you?"
*A lot!* Shinobu hums. "Um...well, you are...different than what I'm accustomed to when meeting most aliens," she giggles.
"To us, *you* are the alien," a ten-year old girl then speaks up.
Shinobu blinks. "Um...well, now that you know who I am, who are you people?"
The green-haired girl looks confused. "We are Avalonians," she replies.
"No, no, no! What are your names?!"
"We have no names."
Shinobu faints! "WHAT?!?!?!"
"When we were created, we were never given names," the ten-year old replies. "The Invaders addressed us with quite profane terms such as 'split-ass,' 'bitch,' 'slut'...!!"
"Watch your language!!!" Shinobu snaps.
"Why are you incensed?"
"You mean your parents actually allow you to talk such filth?!"
The Avalonians look confused, then the green-haired girl nods. "Ah. You mean genetic progenitors. We do not have them."
Shinobu faints! "NO PARENTS?!?!"
"No," she hums. "We do not have the need to reproduce as you do, Miyaki-san."
"Um...I don't understand."
"We're bioroids," the ten-year old hums.
"What are they...?" Shinobu wonders.
* * *
LOCATION CONFIRMED!
Atako looks at the image of the Valley of Repentance. An icon indicates a tree-house village located near a lake. "Yes!!!" she nods, then looks up. "Hey, give me something Shinobu can wear!! She'll be freezing down there without something more than those pyjamas she was hauled here with!!"
UNDERSTOOD, the computer replies as a jumpsuit similar to the one Atako now wears appears in her hands. COMMENCING TRANSPORT.
Atako disappears in a transporter beam...
* * *
Shinobu now sits in a large hut several hundred metres above ground level. The young girls sitting around her have dressed in short skirts, obviously to enhance what beauty they possess. Disbelief is on the Terran's face as she takes in the information they have relayed to her. "You mean...you're machines?!"
"In a sense, yes," the green-haired girl nods. "We are as organic as yourself...but we were constructed as you see us in a gestation tank, not naturally conceived and birthed. All Avalonians are like that."
She absorbs that information. Bioroids had no need for parents; the gestation machine could reproduce new members at request. The machine also eliminated the need for two genders to carry out the reproductive process. Avalonian society was similar to Nendo-kata society. "I see," she looks down. "I have to admit that surprised me. So...why were you created? Did the Niphentaxians create you?"
"No, the Invaders did not create us," the green-haired girl shakes her head. "Fourteen thousand years ago, the Creators established this place as a site for experimentation in culture construction. The planet was equipped with a bioroid gestation machine which was to create a sample race which could develop a society on their own without concerning themselves with matters which could arise out of questions surrounding reproduction."
"They wanted you to create a society on your own?" Shinobu hums. "Did you succeed?"
"No...because we realized this planet lacks much in the way of resources to properly support the society we envisioned," the ten-year old continues. "Further, the Creators destroyed themselves in a five-century war. Once they were eliminated, our predecessors felt they no longer needed to continue the experiment. All bioroid production was terminated save for creation of maintenance personnel for the gestation machine. We existed this way until a half-century ago."
"When the Niphentaxians came."
The Avalonians nod. "They discovered the ability of the gestation machine, then realized that it potentially provided an inexpensive source of labour for their colonization plans," the green-haired girl continues. "Hence, they convinced the gestation machine that they could assist us in continuing the task the Creators set for us."
"They transformed you into a slave race," Shinobu shudders. "Do people outside of the Niphentaxians know about this?!"
"We don't believe so," the ten-year old sighs. "We discovered that there were other races through our interaction with the Invaders...yet none of us have ever seen an outsider...that is, until you."
Shinobu hums. Lum hated slavery; her reaction to Reiko demonstrated that. If Lum learned of the Avalonians, she could easily exercise influence on Oogi to emancipate them. That wouldn't be appreciated by those dependent on the bioroids. A situation akin to the United States prior to the Civil War would result, with the same potential conclusion. "Well, if I can escape from this planet, you can bet the word will get out to everyone who can help set your people free. There's something I don't understand, though."
"Ask," the green-haired girl smiles.
"Why were you people created?"
"To provide companionship."
"'C-companionship'...?!" Shinobu gags. "Y-you mean...y-you're...?!"
"Sex-slaves," the green-haired girl nods.
Shinobu looks ready to vomit. Suddenly, a voice calls out from below. "Shinobu-chan!! Are you here?!! Where are you?!!"
The voice is high-pitched, but still recognizable. "Ataru-kun?!!" Shinobu bolts to her feet. "Ataru-kun, is that you?!!"
She steps out, looking down to see Atako at ground level, waving at her. "There you are!!!" the bioroid laughs. "You're okay!!!"
Joy crosses her face as she descends down the wooden steps to ground level. "You came for me!!!" she cries, happy at last that she wasn't alone. "Ataru-kun, you came for me!!!"
Atako laughs as Shinobu reaches ground level, then leaps into the bioroid's arms. "You're safe!!!" Atako kisses her forehead. "Thank the gods, you're safe!!! I thought they'd done something horrible to you!!!"
"I was so scared!!" Shinobu buries her head into Atako's chest, not as yet feeling the difference. "I thought they were going to kill me!!! I'm glad that you're okay!!" she looks up to Atako. "Are you hurt?!! They didn't do anything to you, did they...eh?!"
Her elbow gently squeezes Atako's bust. Turning white, Shinobu lets the bioroid go, stepping back two paces as she stares at what stands in front of her. "What the...?!" she gasps, her eyes falling on Atako's chest.
The bioroid wears her jumpsuit with the zipper below the breasts, giving her quite a view. Atako looks embarrassed as Shinobu takes a closer look. "Ah...ha...!"
Shinobu gives Atako's bust a squeeze. "Um...do you mind not doing that."
"You...you...you...you're a...!!"
Atako nods. "I'm a girl."
Shinobu passes out, slowly sinking to the ground. "Gee, she took that better than I thought," the bioroid muses...
* * *
"Welcome, welcome!!" the Old Woman of the Oak Forest smiles as her guests arrive. "Come in, come in! Make yourself at home!!"
The Invaders, Nagaiwakai, Dakejinzou, Nokoko, Koosei, Lan and Oyuki sit. "You're too kind to see us on such short notice," Mrs. Invader smiles. "We appreciate this, ma'am."
"Oh, it's no problem for old friends!" the elderly witch cackles.
"No problem for old friends," her beautiful doll parrots.
"Now, what can I do to help you?"
"This is in concern to that incident seventeen years ago," Mrs. Invader hums.
"Oh, I've long forgiven you for that!"
"Ma'am, forgive me, but this might have something to do with your threat to curse Lum," Nagaiwakai interrupts. "Several days ago, my grandson, Lum and several of her friends were kidnapped in a most...stunning matter. Several spiritually aligned people whose judgement we trust believe that magic was employed when they were taken."
"You believe I might be responsible?"
"You're the only suspect we can conceive of right now," Dakejinzou shrugs.
"I understand," the witch rises. "But there is no concern. You see, when I decided to curse young Lum, I prepared a crystal ball and dispatched it to the Milky Way 'Curses 'R Us' Management Organization so they could direct and manage what I had in mind."
Everyone save Lan blinks. "'Milky Way 'Curses 'R Us' Management Organization'...?!" Invader scratches the back of his head.
"I've never heard of that!" Koosei hums.
"I have," Lan smiles. "You see, when there come times when you feel very angry at someone...and you get the urge to really hurt that person in the most vicious way...all you have to do is prepare a crystal ball with what you desire done to that person. When that is done, you send it to the Milky Way 'Curses 'R Us' Management Organization and they handle all the details. It's quite simple."
"I bet you're a frequent customer, Lan," Nokoko muses, glaring at her.
Lan looks incensed. "Hey, why are you picking on me?!!" she bolts to her feet. "I'm not the one who caused this mess!!!"
"Sit down and shut up!!!" Koosei snarls.
"Is that what you did?" Invader asks.
"I did," the Old Woman nods. "However, when I learned what had happened with the invitation, I contacted the 'Curses 'R Us' people and had the curse cancelled."
"I see," Nagaiwakai stands. "Very well. The answer is not here. We shall plague you no more. Thank you for your assistance."
"Any time," the Old Woman nods as everyone rises. "Come again soon."
"Come again soon," the doll echoes.
* * *
"Now what?!" Invader sighs, staring at Nagaiwakai and Dakejinzou as the "Kashin" pulls away from the Oak Forest asteroid. "If the curse was cancelled, then we're dealing with something else altogether!"
She hums. "The chances are good that while she may have cancelled the curse, someone else might have taken it up."
"You mean...?!" the hunter looks nervous.
"We're dealing with someone totally new. However, the only place we can investigate this is this organization your friend noted," Nagaiwakai turns to the Oni captain. "I suggest we proceed there immediately."
"Ma'am, I have no jurisdiction if you want us to search that place's records," Invader shakes his head. "Independent business organizations outside a single planet's influence are immune to military searches unless it's approved by the Federation...and that could take days to arrange with Lupica and her ministers, days Lum-chan and Mr. Groom may not have!"
"I agree, ma'am," Dakejinzou nods.
The matriarch smiles, like a magician about to pull a rabbit out of her hat. "What if I told you we already have permission?"
Invader and Dakejinzou look confused...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
"Are you sure we don't need guards?!"
The large Oni captain looks at Nagaiwakai as they walk to the front door of the Milky Way 'Curses 'R Us' Management Organization's headquarters. Accompanying them are Dakejinzou, Koosei, Oyuki, Lan and Nokoko. "Be assured, Captain, sometimes a little tact is called for," the matriarch smiles.
"Strange hearing that from you of all people!" Lan snorts.
"Shut up!!!" Nokoko sneers. "I don't recall anyone asking for your comments!!"
"Now...allow me to do the talking," Nagaiwakai glances at her companions, her tone indicating her request is an order. "We should get some form of cooperation."
They enters the Management Organization's administration room. Clerks, dressed formally with burning candles strapped to their heads, hustle about. The feeling in this place is not so different from a bank. Walking up to the counter, Nagaiwakai attracts the attention of a clerk. "May I help you, ma'am?"
"Yes, you can," Nagaiwakai's right hand slips into her sleeve, extracting what looks like a macabre gold skeleton key emblazoned with a complex glyph. "I'd like to speak with your chief administrator, please."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but he's rather busy...right...now?!" the clerk squeaks on seeing the key in the matriarch's hand.
"We should've used guns," Lan hisses.
"Shut up!!" Koosei growls.
The clerk is ill-at-ease as she stares at the key, then at Nagaiwakai's unnerving smile. Then, regaining her decorum, she bows. "I'll inform him of your presence. Excuse me."
The clerk speaks with a being resembling Humpty-Dumpty. Nagaiwakai remains still as the clerk whispers into his ear. Shock crosses his face. A moment later, the chief administrator walks up to Nagaiwakai. "Yes, ma'am," he nods. "May I help you?"
"I'd like to speak to you...in private," the matriarch waves her key. "It is a matter of grave importance to your company."
"Certainly," he waves to his office. "Would you come with me, please?"
Nagaiwakai follows the administrator to the back of the room. Her companions fall in line behind the matriarch, clearly impressed. "How'd she do that?!" Lan hisses to Oyuki.
"It seems there is much more than meets the eye about Nagaiwakai-sama," Oyuki hums.
Everyone relaxes in the administrator's office. "Now," the egg-shaped being faces Nagaiwakai, "...what can the Milky Way 'Curses 'R Us' Organization do for such a truly lovely inspector of the I.B.T.S.A.?!"
"'I.B.T.S.A.?!'" Lan scratches her head.
"'Intergalactic Business Trade Standards Alliance,'" Oyuki translates. "A voluntary association of multi-planetary conglomerates which maintains a strict code of business and trading standards among their members. All multi-planetary businesses in the Galactic Federation, as well as those within the Zephyrite, Yehisrite and Free Vosian spheres of influence, are members." The Tritonian looks at Nagaiwakai. "I did not realize you were an inspector, Nagaiwakai-sama."
"Enterprises like mine are recruited to be junior affiliates of I.B.T.S.A. members," the matriarch smiles. "We keep the larger businesses honest because our recommendation could ruin them. That makes matters easier for us...but at the same time, it in turn forces us to bow to the next group of small entrepreneurs seeking to make the big score."
"Interesting system," Koosei muses.
Nagaiwakai sighs, then returns to the administrator. "Now, to the business at hand," the matriarch looks sympathetic. "Sir, remind me if I am mistaken, but does the I.B.T.S.A. charter prevent the influence of such organizations on worlds not officially aligned to the Galactic Federation?"
"Yes," the administrator nods. "In our case, curses which are ordered against those citizens of such planets wouldn't be respected or carried out. It's not just bad business, it's against clauses of the Non-Interference Treaty, which the I.B.T.S.A. respects."
"I see," Nagaiwakai nods.
"There's a problem," Invader interrupts. "Lum-chan is still a citizen of a Federation world, even if she is resident on Earth."
The administrator takes that information in. "Well, that would be an unusual case scenario," he muses. "In such a matter, we would take it to our lawyers and Board of Directors to review the case before either honouring the contract or refusing it."
Nagaiwakai nods. "In this matter, the case would be so unique that you wouldn't forget it, given the time and effort you would have to expend to ensure your business does not violate professional obligations set in the I.B.T.S.A. standards guidelines."
"Exactly," the egg-shaped being scratches his head. "Lum," he repeats. "I don't recall a curse being requested for such a person..."
"How about Ataru Moroboshi?" Dakejinzou probes. "He's a Terran citizen though he has Zephyrite citizenship because of his recent engagement to Sunhair Windrider."
"Is he a resident on Earth?"
Everyone nods. "That case would also be reviewed," he shrugs. "I can't recall such contract requests for either of them coming to this organization."
"You won't mind if we confirm this, then?" Nagaiwakai stands.
"By all means," he nods.
Moments later, everyone stands before the Management Organization's main computer. The administrator inputs the data, then waits for the result. The computer makes its report. NO CURRENT CURSES ON EITHER SUBJECTS, it flashes a response on the viewscreen.
"No current curses?!!" Koosei gasps.
"That means we are dealing with someone else!!" Nokoko looks fearful.
WAIT A MOMENT!! THERE WAS ONE HELL OF A WEIRD CANCELLATION IN CONCERN WITH SUBJECT #1: LUM NO MIDORINOKAMINOKE-ONI//URU!
"Cancellation?!! Explain!"
"The Old Woman's curse," Invader muses.
THE CURSE WAS PROPERLY CANCELLED THROUGH THIS STATION, BUT THE GALACTIC MAIL SERVICE LOST THE CONTROLLING ORB!
"The controlling orb is missing?!! Was it ever found?!" the administrator panics.
NOPE! THE ORB WASN'T DESTROYED!
"Oh, dear," the administrator gulps.
"Is there a problem?!" Nagaiwakai muses.
"A very serious one," he stands. "Would you come with me, please."
The group enters the largest room of the Management Organization's headquarters: the room for the Time Measurement Devices. "The curse was recorded as 'destination unknown' by the computer, therefore there's little in the way that you can trace who might possess the orb," the administrator looks at his readout. "Therefore, let's at least confirm if the orb still exists...and through that, the curse. If it has been destroyed, then the Time Measurement Device set aside for Lum-san's curse would be inactive...eh?!!"
Everyone stops by one of the hourglass-shaped devices, eyes wide with shock in seeing it alive with malevolent energy. "Fates!!!" the administrator gasps, sweat pouring down his face. "This is...what a horrible curse!!! The most horrible curse I've ever seen...!!!"
Nagaiwakai looks at the device, noting how bright the energy is in comparison to the other active devices. "My...I can smell the UniCredits burning up from here."
The administrator faints!
* * *
"Shinobu. Hey, Shinobu! Wake up!!"
Shinobu's eyes drift open, beholding a blurred image, her eyes still not clear. "Oh, Ataru-kun..." she moans, rubbing her eyes. "I just had the most horrible dream. I thought you had transformed into a girl!"
The voice chuckles. Shinobu is quick to note the feminine quality in it. "I hate to say this, Shinobu-chan...but it's no dream."
Shinobu's eyes widen, clearly focusing on the person before her. Atako smiles. The Terran takes note of the softer eyebrows, the wider, more expressive eyes, the visible presence of eyelashes, the fuller lips now touched with lipstick, the shadow about the eyes...then she looks down to the well-muscled but female body, now covered in a bikini. With a shriek, Shinobu bolts up, backing away until she hits the wall of the treehouse they now share. The Terran is now dressed in a flattering one-piece wraparound. "You...you, you're a...!!" she stammers, pointing.
"A girl!" Atako stands, slightly shifting on her legs to display herself. "And a nice-looking one, too...wouldn't you say?!"
Shinobu does not know if she should faint or laugh. "Um...did you wind up passing through Jusenkyou on your way here?!"
The laughter is infectious; soon, both are falling over in a peal of giggles. "I can't believe I'm laughing at this!" Shinobu shakes her head. "I can't believe you're laughing at this!! How can you take it?!"
"Hey. Right now, I have no choice!"
"Are you...Ataru-kun?"
Silence for a moment, then the bioroid shrugs. "I'd like to think so. That is, until I can get a better explanation."
Shinobu nods, feeling a slight chill. Woman or not, this was Ataru now sharing a hut with her. Were this happening before the Spirit War, she wouldn't be so afraid. Then again, Ataru would be going nuts about losing his manhood, not to mention chasing every girl his age. The frightening calm Atako projects reminds Shinobu of the post-Spirit War Ataru, especially when he felt that the people of Tomobiki were taking too many liberties with him. "Um...okay. So...now what?"
"I don't know," Atako stands, looking out the treehouse to see the Avalonians performing house-cleaning chores. "I don't know a darn thing about this planet, I don't know what's the situation between the Niphentaxians and the Avalonians...and most of all, I've no idea where Lum and the others could be!"
"Who cares about the others?!"
"Yeah! Gods, I can't believe they pulled that sort of shit on you!! The guards I understand...but Mendou?! Unreal!!"
"I don't want to talk about it."
Seeing she is crying, Atako frowns. Walking over, she sits beside Shinobu, then gently leans over to give her a hug. Feeling the bioroid's hand on her shoulder, the Terran looks shocked. "No!!" she pulls herself away.
Atako looks confused. "What...?"
Shinobu looks at her, fear and anger in her eyes. "I want to be left alone."
Atako's facial response surprised the Terran; confusion shines in the bioroid's eyes. Nodding, she walks out of the house. Seeing her reaction, Shinobu feels ashamed. How should she approach this being? Give her the cold shoulder as Ataru had given her...or try to form some sort of understanding.
Which way to go...?
* * *
"I am clearly shocked by these events!" Oogi sighs as his image is transmitted on the "Kashin's" viewscreen. "The government of Phentax Two will happily enumerate the Milky Way 'Curses 'R Us' Management Organization for the cost in using its facilities."
"That's good," Invader growls. He loathed Oogi, wondering what sort of person would totally submit himself to worshipping his daughter. "In the meantime, how's the search for my child and her friends?! The sooner we find them, the sooner we'll find the person with that controlling orb!"
"We are leaving no stone unturned in looking for Lum-sama and Her Holy Apostles," Oogi waves behind him, revealing a view of soldiers cutting the grass in front of the Great Church. "We have not given up hope. No matter what Otako may have done, I believe Lum-sama will not be harmed!"
Nagaiwakai stands with her back to the Niphentaxian president, her kimono hood raised. "What about my grandson?" she hisses.
"Relax," Nokoko pats her shoulder.
"I'm depending on you, Oogi," Invader points, the growl in his voice very apparent. "If my daughter is hurt, I'm holding **you** personally responsible!! Got me?!!"
Oogi shudders. "I understand, Captain," he bows. "I would rather die than allow Lum-sama to be harmed! Lumukyou out!"
The screen goes blank. Nagaiwakai spins around. "He was hiding something," her eyes narrow. "He knows where Lum is."
"You noticed that, eh?" Dakejinzou muses.
"I did not," Oyuki looks embarrassed.
Nagaiwakai looks at the Tritonian. "I've dealt with liars and double-crossers all my life, Oyuki. I can tell when someone's hiding something. I'm convinced Oogi knows where Lum is and is preparing his own rescue plan."
"So why won't he tell us?" Invader asks.
"Isn't it apparent?" the matriarch looks vile. "He wants to wait until Otako has done away with my grandson, then rescue Lum!"
The captain looks enraged. "WHAT?!?!?!" he bellows, scaring everyone on the bridge save Nagaiwakai and Dakejinzou! "How dare that bastard think of breaking my daughter's heart?!! I'll rip him in half and stuff him in a swamp when I get my hands on him!!!"
"Enough, Captain," Nagaiwakai holds up her hand. "We have a task ahead of us! Now's not the time to lose one's temper."
"I...don't understand."
"We have to plan our own rescue mission," the matriarch's eyes narrow. "Further, we have to execute it as soon as possible."
"We've got loads of problems facing us," Koosei crosses his arms. "First of all, Phentax Two has control of twenty planets, many of which are in the Phentax star system. If we barge in with the 'Kashin' or any other ship, we'll be in both sensor and weapons range of those System Destroyers protecting Phentax Two. Oogi will know about what we're doing...and would be in the position to stop us or slow us down enough to get at Ataru."
"On top of that," Dakejinzou regretfully continues, "...we have to assume the Niphentaxians know of my connection with Ataru-chan. The instant I'm seen sniffing around, Oogi will know the game's up."
Nagaiwakai sighs. "There's little hope."
"Not necessarily," Invader smiles, then stares at Nagaiwakai. "It's time I surprised you." He turns to his communications officer. "Signals, send a coded message to Bensaikyou! Tell Hotei-kun I need him here. Send another coded message to Koori City! Kindly request His Majesty to come here! Finally send a coded message to Home Base! Ask the computer there to get the location codes for the Project K base! Do it now!!"
"Yes, sir!!" the officer nods.
"What's that about?" Koosei hums.
"I've never heard of this Project K. I wonder what it could mean," Oyuki hums.
"We're going to find out," Lan muses...
* * *
"Please, honoured guests," the leader of the commune smiles as Atako and Shinobu enter her hut. "Be seated. I have news for you."
The two sit. "Thank you, Teruko-chan," Shinobu smiles, glad that she can address the Avalonian by something more than "hey, you."
Teruko sighs. "It shocked me you were not programmed with the information other Avalonians are granted upon the completion of their gestation period, sister Atako," she muses. "Did the gestation computer inform you of any reason why it proceeded to construct you in the physical and mental image of the Invaders' so-called Great Evil?"
"Nope," Atako shakes her head. "That's why I need help. I don't know if I'm coming or going or why I'm coming or going! Besides, Shinobu-chan needs to get somewhere safe," she nods to her friend. "What did you learn?"
The green-haired girl smiles. "There is someone...an Invader who is part of a growing movement sympathetic to our rights...living in a town located near here who will be able to assist you in your quest to rescue your companions and remove yourselves from the Invaders' influence. Tomoko has volunteered to escort you to the sympathizer's location."
Atako and Shinobu are surprised to see the ten-year old girl step into the hut, now carrying a backpack which looks large enough to crush her. She is dressed in a loose shirt and trousers. "Her?!" Atako points at Tomoko.
"She will not attract much in the way of attention," Teruko smiles. "The Invaders do not understand our intelligence, our capacity to reason at many times their rate. Tomoko possesses a high intelligence quotient, plus a mastery of the Invaders' computer systems."
Tomoko bows. "I am pleased to help."
The teenagers look unsure, but return the bow. "Thanks," Atako sighs, then looks at Shinobu. "Well...ready to go face the lions?"
Shinobu nods...
* * *
"Where am I...?" Ataru drunkenly demands.
A black hood is ripped off his head. Ataru is now hog-tied, kneeling in the middle of a barren field somewhere on Phentax Twelve. Standing around him are a half-dozen guards and Otako. The curious orb glows in the priestess' hand. "Why, Ataru, you should know why you're here," she kneels beside him, her hand gently stroking his shoulder.
"I should...?" he stares at her.
"Yes," she purrs. "Out that way," she points to a distant mountain range, "...is the lair of a vicious family of space-dragons. Also there is a beautiful maiden, one who is so dearly loyal to Lum-sama."
"Loyal to Lum-chan..." he slurs.
"Yes," Otako nods. "Lum-sama wants you to rescue her helpless servant. This is the first of your labours, Ataru. When you are done all your labours, you'll be permitted to come back into her fold. Do you understand?"
"Yep!" he eyes roll aimlessly around. "Get the girl and go back to Lum-chan!"
"Good!" she nods. "Then get going!!"
A guard unties him. As soon as the ropes fall to the ground, the guards and Otako disappear. Slowly rising, Ataru drunkenly looks to see that he is alone...then a sneer crosses his face as his left eye glows. Psychic fire flares as his skin melts away to reveal the Cyborg's armour. "**Fools!**"
Otako was a moron! Space-dragons or no, Ataru knew he was walking into a trap, one designed to kill him or cripple him to such an extent that it would be hoped that Lum would reject him. Ataru had been tempted to bash the back of his head against the wall. Once the *saikoo jinseijitsu* came out, it would immediately sense the fervour Otako and her followers felt for Lum. The Niphentaxians' deaths would be a foregone conclusion.
Ataru hesitated. He had been struck by energy which had been festering for as long as he had been alive. Who hated Lum so much that a lifetime of misery was the only just avenue of retribution? Whoever it was, it had taken over Otako and her followers. That could also explain his ex-classmates' shocking behaviour toward Shinobu. Ataru knew what techniques the *saikoo jinseijitsu* had at hand which would have made that power its own. If Ataru allowed that to occur, Lum was doomed.
There had to be another way. Ataru had decided to play along until he was alone, then ascertain his options. He had to pretend that Otako had broken his will until such time that he had better command of the situation. The Cyborg coils his legs and leaps into the air, clearing kilometres in one jump. Getting to the location to where Otako had dispatched him sooner than expected might give him advantage over the Niphentaxians. He believed Otako had chosen a location she felt familiar with, trusted as a place where she felt supreme. Ataru intended to exploit that. After all, despite the Niphentaxians' belief in their cleverness, they were as inept as the natives of Tomobiki. Ataru had defeated them. What was to stop him from defeating a whole planet?
* * *
The "Kashin" warps out of hyperspace over Jupiter. As the Sol system's giant hovers over the battlewagon's hull, it cuts its way to Io. On the bridge, the sensory officer looks up. "Captain, sensors indicate the presence of the Fukunokami cruiser 'Tamashii no Bensaiten' and the Tritonian Royal Yacht at the second Lagrange point. Both have their shields up and weapons armed."
"Sound battle stations!" Invader barks. "Have the air wing ready on the catapults but don't launch a single aircraft!!"
The alarm klaxon echoes as crews leap to action stations. Behind the large captain, Koosei and Nagaiwakai look at each other, confused. They were in a nominally safe star system, some parsecs from Ipraedos and many more from Dominos...and any hopes of successfully engaging a roaming Zephyrite crusade force was insanity. Sensing their confusion, Invader smiles. "Believe me, there's a good reason for this."
"I pray so," the matriarch hums.
"Captain," the communications officer looks up. "Coded messages from the 'Tamashii no Bensaiten' and His Majesty's yacht."
He walks to the secure communications console. Reaching into his tunic, he pulls out a credit card. Sliding it into a slot, he types out a code. A second later, the communications officer looks up from his board. "They've received your message, sir."
"Wait for it," Invader growls.
Koosei and Nagaiwakai look at each other. "I've never seen such elaborate security measures since I've been in space," the former hums. "What did old man Invader cook up?!"
"I'd like to know why he chose our solar system to store whatever he created," she muses. "It better be safe or I might be tempted to have the Inquisition handle this."
The communications officer looks up from. "They're transmitting a coded message, sir!"
Once the codes have appeared, Invader nods. "Secure from action stations!!"
The crew relaxes. "The 'Tamashii no Bensaiten' and the Royal Yacht have lowered their shields and have disengaged their weapons, sir," the sensory officer reports.
"Open communications," Invader stands in front of the viewscreen. "Code the messages."
"It's about time you dragged your fat butt here, Invader-kun!" Hotei Shigaten's image appears. "Where the hell've you been?! We've been waiting for hours!!"
The quirky smile tugging his lips belies his insulting tone. "Hotei-kun, you short shrimp, since when did you think that old scrapheap can outpace my ship?!!" the large Oni points a finger at him, also smiling.
"Come next Setsubun, we'll see!" the Fukunokami cackles, then sees Koosei. "Koosei!! You decided to go slumming back on that dirtball you call a home planet, eh?!!"
"Nice to see you, too, Commander Shigaten," Koosei adjusts his glasses.
"Interesting friend you have there, Captain," Nagaiwakai muses.
"He's harmless!" Invader smiles, then stands aside. "Hotei-kun, this is Mr. Groom's grandmother, Lady Nagaiwakai Moroboshi PRCZ. Ma'am, this is Benten's father, Commander Hotei Shigaten. He's an old friend."
The Fukunokami's remaining eye narrows. "You're Ataru's old lady, eh?! That means you're Nokoko's old lady too!"
"I am," Nagaiwakai hums.
The commander smiles. "Hell, anyone who can drag Invader and his wild kid to the ground is okay in my books!" he cackles. "What say we all get down to the Project K room and get this over with, eh?!"
"See you there!" Invader nods...
* * *
Minutes later, Invader, his wife, Koosei and Nagaiwakai meet with Hotei Shigaten and three others in a blank room in a buried vault deep under Io's surface. One is Benten's mother Miroku. The elderly balding Tritonian man with a chest-length beard and the rich, decorated kimono is the moon's head-of-state, King Fuyu. Beside him is an elderly Tritonian woman wearing a five-point crown, also in a highly decorated kimono...Oyuki's mother and Fuyu's wife, Queen Samui. After introductions are made, Invader, Shigaten and Fuyu turn to the lone door. On it are four stations. "Miroku-chan, you'll have to fill in Nassur's shoes," Shigaten turns to his wife.
"Got it," she assumes the fourth station.
"What's this about?!" Nagaiwakai demands.
"It's a project we devised with Nassur-kun's help sometime ago," Invader rumbles as he pulls out a credit card. "You see, Nassur-kun has many enemies, ma'am. Chief among them is a conniving old bastard named the Mikado. To make a long story short, because of Nassur-kun's friendship with Lum-chan, I felt that the Mikado might target her to get at him. Hotei-kun and His Majesty came to the same conclusion about Benten and Oyuki. Hence, we launched Project K...Project Kamen."
"What's this do?" Koosei asks.
"It puts dead ringers in the path of any hunter decided to take a shot at our daughters because they're friends with Nassur," Shigaten growls, looking at his wife, the Tritonian king and the Oni captain. "Ready?"
The others nod. Credit cards slide into the control panels. As soon as the computer registers the cards, the four enter a complex code. Miroku, since she is filling Nassur's role, reads her code from a notepad. As soon as the codes are entered, the door opens.
Everyone stares as the opening door reveals four man-sized chambers. Each has a still female form inside them. All four are quite recognizable to everyone outside, much to the disbelief of Koosei and Nagaiwakai. "I don't believe this!" the former gasps.
"Doubles of Lum, Benten, Oyuki and Lan?" the latter hums. "This is a surprise."
"They're respectively called Hensou, Kamen, Mienai and Damasu," Fuyu smiles at the Moroboshi clan matriarch. "They're bioroids the Niphentaxians constructed to take our childrens' place in case they are threatened by some outside force. These four are exact physical and psychological doubles of our children, although because they are bioroids, they possess unique abilities which grant them an advantage over opponents normally prepared to deal with their templates. How ironic," the elderly king smiles, "...that we will use them against those who created them."
Everyone laughs as the lights come on, revealing four sleeping bioroids, dressed in the usual pattern clothing their duplicates would normally be seen in...
* * *
"The town is two days walk from here," Tomoko smiles as she, Atako and Shinobu proceed through the forest. "It is a fair sized commune, made up half-and-half of Avalonians and Invaders. The Invaders are split between many sects. There are some sects more sympathetic to you than the others in the Invaders' theological hierarchy. The person we are seeing is a priestess of one sect, the Choowasaseru. They are a small organization but have been gaining a stronger foothold among the Invaders."
Shinobu looks impressed. "Tomoko-chan, do you hate them?!" she takes Tomoko's hand. "The Niphentaxians, I mean."
"I despise their desire to enforce their morality and their illogical belief in their superiority upon my people, Miyaki-san...but I do not desire their destruction because of it. Is that what you mean by the term 'hate?'" she looks at Shinobu. "Do you hate them?"
"Yes," Shinobu nods. "They desire to enforce their beliefs on us. The instant I tried to regain control of my situation, they moved to kill me! How else should I react?!"
"Education would be the most logical conclusion," Tomoko shrugs. "The Invaders would have to be convinced that Lum-san is not a deity and that she should not be venerated as such, especially in the vile and sometimes violent standard the Invaders aspire to."
Atako hurries up to walk on Shinobu's opposite side from Tomoko. "Unfortunately, with people like these, force is the only answer!" she sighs, stretching her arms. "We hope matters don't go that far, but with fanatics like this, it's hard to be sure!"
"Then their destruction will come?" Tomoko looks at her fellow bioroid.
"Probably," Atako nods. "After what Oogi did to the Vosians, they're asking for it!"
"Nassur-kun's people?!" Shinobu gasps.
Atako explains the tale about the bio-bombing of Lecashuto. "Millions...dead?!" Shinobu pales. "All in Lum's name?!"
"All in Lum's name," Atako nods. "She despises them because of that...and Heaven only knows what else Oogi's done! I think she's scared of them. Any race willing to slaughter people in six figures because of some abstract belief in divine influence is definitely something to be afraid of."
"Agreed," Shinobu nods, then notices Atako's hand drifting towards her. She says nothing, wondering what the bioroid might want. "Atako-kun...may I ask you something?"
Atako looks surprised, feeling a flush in her cheeks. Why did Shinobu call her "Atako-kun?" "Um...s-sure...!" she stammers.
"What do you intend to do after this is over?" Shinobu's eyebrow rises. "Given our luck whenever we've faced kidnappings and other weird occurrences, the chances are very good that we'll get out of this one!"
"Yeah, but if you'll excuse me, Shinobu-chan, but I've been getting the feeling as of late that we're pushing our luck."
"You think so?" Shinobu hums. "S'funny."
"What is?"
"That you've changed so easily."
"Shinobu-chan, if you had what I once had in the back of my head, you'd be inclined to change your attitudes, too."
Shinobu stares at Atako, remembering the horror which unleashed itself in the Spirit War. What did Ataru believe? It was obvious that he no longer trusted anyone. Still, did he believe in anything outside that which he could control? Could he afford to dream? If he could still dream, he probably would have stayed in Tomobiki. Perhaps relations between Ataru and everyone else...between Ataru and Shinobu...would be civil. Sadly, such were pipe dreams now...or were they?
"If that's how you feel," she shrugs.
Atako gives her a disarming smile. "It doesn't mean I can't change."
Shinobu jolts on feeling the bioroid's hand gently grasp hers. She feels an instant urge to pull her hand away. Was this the real Ataru speaking to her from a woman's body? If so, should she run...or stay?
* * *
"Oh, *tcha*...where am I...?"
Lum sits up, realizing that she is in the observation gallery of the "Kashin." Kneeling beside her is her mother. "Hello, Lum-chan," she smiles. "Are you feeling well?"
Lum groans. "A little stiff," she rubs her shoulder. "How long did I sleep?"
"A while," Mrs. Invader smiles, a hint of apprehension in her eyes. She then looks away. "Dear! Lum-chan's up!!"
Invader lumbers over, Ten-chan floating beside her. "Good morning, Lum-chan!" the large captain smiles. "Sleep well?"
"Like a baby!" Lum smiles. "Ten-chan!!"
"Lum-chan!" the small Oni floats into her arms. A touch of apprehension is also in his eyes. "Are you feeling okay, Lum-chan?!"
"I'm fine, Ten-chan!" she stands, holding her cousin. "How have you been doing in school?! Meet any new friends there?"
"Uh-huh! I've met this girl. Her name's Minami! You'd like her!"
"I'm sure I will!!" Lum giggles.
Invader nods, a delighted smile on his face. "Good! The transponder's working! That's enough, Hensou-chan! You can relax!"
The younger woman's demeanour hardens. "What did you expect? You had me constructed to be an accurate duplicate of your daughter."
Ten-chan drifts away. "Uncle, why'd you have her built, anyway?!" he looks at Invader.
Hensou faces him, giving Ten-chan a smile no different from Lum's. "I exist to ensure that your cousin is safe, Jariten-san," she smiles, her accent intact. "If necessary, I will sacrifice my life to save hers."
"But people like Lum-chan," the younger Oni hums. "Why'd people want to kill her?"
"Who knows what evil lurks in the minds of the insane," Hensou shrugs. "Not being prepared for such is more insane. Hence, the reason Kamen, Mienai and Damasu and I exist. In case of a threat, I'd take Lum's place...and your cousin would be safe."
"But you wouldn't be," Ten-chan sniffs.
Hensou smiles. "By my existence, Lum will enjoy a happy and peaceful life with her Darling. Isn't that important?"
"I...I don't know."
The door slides open and the bioroids twins of Benten, Oyuki and Lan enter "Kamen," Hensou faces Kamen. "Are you ready?"
"Willing and waiting!" Kamen flashes thumbs-up. "What's the plan?"
"We want to use Hensou's transponder to try to locate Lum-chan," Invader crosses his arms. "When we do that, we'll go rescue her. We'll need you when that occurs. You four can provide an easy distraction, especially since we're dealing with the Niphentaxians."
"I best report to the EWCR," Hensou nods, turning to proceed to the electronic warfare control room. "Please excuse me."
"Wait, Hensou!" Kamen follows her.
The Oni bioroid smiles as they depart the lounge. The door then opens to allow Oyuki and Lan in. Both are quite peeved. "Captain, I demand an explanation!" the Tritonian princess marches up to Invader. "Why was I never told that...**she** was created in my image!" she points to Mienai.
"And why was this created of me?!" Lan angrily thumbs Damasu.
The large captain sighs. "Oyuki, Lan, how many enemies does Nassur-kun have?"
"The Mikado is primary," Oyuki muses.
"There's Gegranko," Lan mentions the Yehisrite underworld godfather.
"Elle as well."
"Perhaps Sheko," Lan shrugs, mentioning the infamous Yehisrite *laqu'r*.
"And Schwartz. There are others."
"That's right," Invader nods. "And none of them are shy about using any of you as hostages to make Nassur-kun do their dirty work!" he holds a finger in caution. "Hence, we created them," he points to Mienai and Damasu, "...to stand in your place should someone threaten any of you!"
"I see," Oyuki bows. "I apologize, Captain. You had our better interests in mind. Please excuse me."
"Oyuki-san?" Mienai speaks up.
"Yes?" the princess looks at her double.
"May I attend you?" Mienai smiles. "I'd like to spend time with you. Our transponders may relay the necessary feelings which could allow us to play our roles with accuracy, but personal experience is also required."
"Of course, Mienai-chan," she smiles. "I should introduce you to Koosei-kun and Osooko-chan. I believe they would like to know you."
Mienai blinks, wondering if the Tritonian princess has adopted her, a bioroid, in the same manner as she did Osooko, a Nendo-kata. "As I would like to meet them," she smiles.
The two walk out of the lounge. "I think we shouldn't keep them in storage," Invader muses. "Especially after Mal-chan, Saiten, Osooko and Hei came into their lives."
"True," Mrs. Invader nods.
Lan walks up to him. "Captain, I don't mind the idea of having someone around to take my place if I was in any danger," she looks at Damasu, "...but why me? I've got nothing to do with Nassur, nor do I want to!"
"True," the captain nods. "However, your father and I were very good friends, Lan-chan. When he died, I vowed that I'd see that you'd have a safe life. I never expected the abuse your mother heaped, but I still want to see you safe as much as I'd see Lum-chan safe."
The Seishin teen is surprised. Invader always seemed such a distant figure to her. Yet, there he still was, looking out for her, not too different from Yedris. Invader had been the one who permitted Lan to migrate to Earth. "I...thank you," she gently squeezes his arm, then turns to Damasu. "Want to come meet Hei-chan and Rei-san, Damasu-chan?"
"I'd love to," the Seishin bioroid slips her arm around her "sister's," then they walk off the observation deck.
The Invaders are joined by Nagaiwakai and Nokoko. "My compliments," the matriarch crosses her arms. "I never considered making use of doubles to protect Ataru-chan. Perhaps I should take similar measures to ensure those fools in Tomobiki no longer plague him."
"Yeah," Nokoko smiles, "...but if news got out there are **two** Ataru Moroboshis out there, all of Japan would panic!"
"My dear, there **were** two, remember?"
Nokoko looks surprised, then sadly nods. The two step out of the lounge. The Invaders look surprised. "Two?!" Invader gasps.
"As in...?" Mrs. Invader shudders.
"No," the captain stops her. "Let's not ask, dear. If they want to tell us, they'll tell us in due time."
His wife nods...
* * *
To be continued...
