Pullulation agitated the habitants and guests of Warp's mansion. Like little ants, they bristled here and there, running smaller and bigger errands. Warp and Zarah needed to get their space suits on, Mrs. Adlene and her daughters needed a good, safe place in the very lowest floors of the huge house. And there would the tiny Darkmatter also stay, in the good care of this kind woman. Of course, if it would have been anyhow possible, she had flied to Xaneda and brought the baby along. And, as huge risk as it was to use the comlink frequencies in the times of possible wiretapping, Warp gathered up his Capital Planet's network to come and take his palace as their headquarters. This mere crowd consisted of all kinds of 'friends', native Xanedians, and some of Zurg's parole intendants. Out of nowhere a few people had already popped in the lower rooms, and soon it was evident how they had done that. This architectural oddity was straight connected to the local subway mesh. Peculiar it was, but down there the slimes did not yet govern. They only hovered above the houses, but the tube tunnels were a free area. As there were several buildings connected to each other similarly, it was neat to take advantage of this one weak link the blitzkrieg plan.
Buzz did even a more venturesome deed. He endeavoured to call Commander Nebula's wrist communicator. Nothing had been heard about his state since the invasion. But... as for the doleful fact, ex-Zenith received only cosmic noise. It meant either that Zeb's com channel was broken, or that he could not answer. And the latter one might mean his death. Also, what came to Team Lightyear, they were given a small medical check. None of them had come to think about their health state during the heated discussions. But all what was found, were some minor ambustions from the plasma doses, and some harmless occasional convulsions.
Nevertheless, after enough instructions and goodbyes were given, and after a flock of all kinds of strange life forms had come to colonise the Mansion, it was time to go. All the possible safety schemes were taken in use, so that Ay'noh and company could have not had better circumstances under these circumstances. And from pomp to circumstance... The eight travellers descended now in to the subway tunnels, beginning to promenade with a good speed along the pedestrian ramps, towards the Emperor's quarters.
Houses. They were status symbols, if what. Houses. The more ridiculous the owner, the more absurd were also the home solutions. If someone wondered the fairy-tale-like architecture of Warp Darkmatter's second mansion, he would definitely need painkillers after getting headache from seeing Emperor Zurg's new abode.
The ex-menace lived with his young wife also in the suburb of the wealthier people. Although Zora had been a mere ragamuffin with his nonexistent fortune after the fall of his reign, he was absolutely not penniless any longer. His girl earned good moola as a surgeon, allowing thus less inferior habit styles. But then again, someone would have amazed her taste. And this consternation did not only include the marital issues, but also the home where she lived. She had let her goofy husband do almost everything what he cooked in his foolish old brain-cube (yet equipped with supreme intelligence). Number one achievement was, that the three-storey single-family house was painted purple. Well, that was not quite a shocking surprise. But then, he had let the Trade World grubs to build a set of horns on the roof (the chimney had its own little horns too), and all the windows had been reshaped to be triangles with lime-green frames, as well as the main door had started to resemble a grinning Z-helmet teeth plate. The silly building would have started to resemble a miniature Zurg Tower, unless the certain authorities of the Alliance had not given Zora a warning about not to go too far with his architectural innovativeness. He was namely about to saw the front wall of the third floor off, and put there a giant round window with a Z-staining on it. But according to his parole controllers, it would have caused negative attention in the neighborhood and hence denied it.
And yet, Mariañ Lightyear was happy to live in such a clown household. She was the first one to lead the guests in. There was no need to patter through the garden to the front door, but as the result of some mole-work, there was a direct underground connection from the subway to Zoxedaszeĉ's 'palace', too. Through a cellar door, the visitors squeezed themselves in. There was a set of winding stairs leading upstairs, where the woman gesticulated to the others to come.
"I shall go to change my space suit on", Zurg announced gravely. "Hornets, take the prisoners... eh, excuse me, I was in my own thoughts", he cleared his throat. "Smoopsiepoo, take them upstairs, and put your own Star Command suit on too. I shall come back soon. Have some rest and plum juice." Thus the man vanished behind a metallic door that slammed itself tight shut after him.
"Eep! I hate cellars!" Mariañ whimpered, and asked the others to accelerate their ascending. "Cellars are always dark and there are spiders in them!"
Some time went by, as the waiting herd up there expected the Emperor to return.
"Now where the blast is Dad loitering? We are running out of time, troops!" Buzz stirred aggrieved around the room. At the very instant his demands were fulfilled. A hatch on the floor, right beside him opened up, and Zurg popped in. He had built the same kind of odd, round hatches around the house he had used to have in Zurg Tower. It was a mere wonder why the old male had not rebuilt his hovering throne too.
And Buzz... he moaned in sole embarrassment, as he saw his father's 'space suit'. It indicated to be his Evil Emperor's robe, apparently re-sewn, and improved with a few new details. Instead of the grinning ridiculous-looking helmet was a transparent bubble, just like in a normal space ranger uniform. But the black cape was there (attached with a golden Z-decorated buckle), as well as the purple long robe that covered wholly Zurg's long legs. Obviously some of the Trade World grubs had fixed the farcical frock, since the chest plate was re-smithed, the clawed gauntlets back in shape, and there was no spot of dirt on the glossy violet canvas. Namely, when the disastrous accident had happened to the Emperor back on Planet Z, the sharp piece of scrap metal that had burst his right lung indeed had naturally damaged the famous Emperor's robe. But now everything seemed to be tidy again.
But Buzz slapped his non-existent forehead with a wide palm, creaking his teeth so that even the neighbors down the street heard it, "Father! WHAT is THAT?" In his eyes this mannequin show was something so daft.
"What? This is my glorious space suit! Mwa ha ha, from the abysses of oblivion it has risen again, my majestic robe, full of power and force!" Zora gloated and tested his rocket boots. They worked as fine as in his Emperor days. "Ahh, Jim-kraken-dandy, I am walking on air!" he took a short hover across the room.
"But Dad, you can't... I mean... you can't go out looking like THAT! That's just absurd!" Buzz spread his arms in the air, his face crimson red with shame. The others on the background mainly chuckled for the whole theatre.
"What? Do I hear you saying an evil word against your Father? Buzzy Boy, you shall learn to respect your parents! Shame on you! You go right ahead to stand in the corner and think of your words!" Zora's grave, deep voice scolded his scion.
"Dad! The universe in jeopardy and you're giving me a lesson on how to behave?" the younger man was thunderstruck. Sometimes Zurg's mentality went over his head. "And please don't call me Buzzy Boy in front of everybody! I am a Captain of Star Command and..." he continued as annoyed.
But his father cared a piece of moon crater about this jabbering. "I shall call you what I shall call you, Buzzy Boy. I AM your Father, and you shall learn to respect the one who is elder than you." At this moment, the ex-villain's bass voice became milder, as he had turned about and faced his young wife's admiring expression. She was ogling at her husband with glazed eyes, and a dreamy smile had drawn her mouth from ear to ear.
"You do like my suit, Smoopsiepoo?" he took a smug grin, flashing his big, white teeth.
"Mmm... you're so powerful... and purple! I love purple!" Mariañ tittered girlishly, furthermore evaluating him with her regard.
"Grohh!" the Emperor snorted, took a bombastic pose, and even bulged his right arm's big bicep. He was apparently trying to imitate Hercules.
"Ooh... Mmm!" the girl swooned in front of him.
"Blegh..." XR stuck his tongue out with nausea. "A-Okay, are we ever gonna get rid of the bill and coo in our save-the-universe-missions? It has become a major problem already! At first the Darkmatters, and now the Lightyears start the same? Yuck!" The robot's face was distorted in such a grimace that it was rather hard to describe. In any case, he was sickened to all the mushy scenes he had seen starting from the infiltrating joyride to Planet Z a few years ago. "When Buzz finally understands to snap his fingers and calls the tootsies to buzz around him, what it will then be? AARGHH!"
"Ahh, indeed. Now my glorious uniform needs only the helmet. Smoopsiepoo, where have you put my helmet?" Zurg rubbed his metallic fingers together so that it creaked.
"Umm... but Zora hun, you got your helmet there already!" Mariañ mentioned a bit baffled.
"Ahh, indeed, you mean this bubble helmet? It is only a spare one for emergency. I mean my Imperial Helmet, the one that has the working eye lasers and..."
Mariañ's mien turned uneasy as she in a bolt remembered what she had done to that particular object. It was back at Star Command, hanging from her doctor office ceiling, full of mould, and lobelias growing in it. So her husband did not know this horrifying detail?
"Umm... hun, I'm afraid it's not here! I... I took it to Star Command when you gave it to me, so that it would be in my office always reminding me of you!" she piped nervously.
"Hrhrmhh. Well, then I am afraid I cannot use it. Groh."
For Buzz this was a sole relief. It would have been the last drop for him, if his father's peculiar garments would have been added with that horn-decorated purple stupidity. In his heart he thanked to his stepmother that she had done a flower pot out of the Imperial Head Shield.
---Space---
Capital Planet was left behind a good half an hour ago. At Zurg's front door, the Xanedian interferator shield had been activated, and all the travelers had set themselves inside it. And well it had fulfilled its task this far. Dozens and again dozens of cocoons were given a jeer, while flying by them entirely invisible. At the moment, the Core was well abaft, whereas the Gate became more and more nigh.
The dangerous diving attempt began. All the fellows had to advance in a tight formation, since the diameter of the frequency interferator device was not quite extensive. Buzz was this time holding the glowing ball, flitting in the very middle of the group. Darkmatter could not handle it at this instant, since his wife needed some aid. Zarah could not still fly well with a jetpack, although her skills had gotten some more practice since the Isgurdian avalanche. But, in such a dense place, Warp had to hold her by arm, so that she would not have accelerated out and hit the nearest enemy ship.
A little distance more until the portal. Nervousness filled everyone's inners, and in the best cases cold sweat was trickling down the necks under the space suits. The enormous spacecrafts loomed forwards there, guarding the hilus. Diffidently the gliders kept on talking to each other through the space suits' inner encrypted comlink.
"What can we actually expect when we get in there?"
"I have no idea", Buzz sighed. "If we end up to that empty dimension once again, then... I-I don't really know what to think of now."
"Darkmatter, are you absolutely sure the foe shall not detect us?" Zora kept an eye on the menacing foreign vessels. No movement was there to be seen, though.
"Well, if ya got betta gadgets in yar pockets than this shield, we'll gladly take 'em to use!"
"Hmhooh. Indeed. Groh. But do not be too proud of this technological item you have constructed. The ability to fly invisible is insignificant next to the power of the dark side."
Slowly, slowly, slowly the purple-vibrating hexagon became nearer. And so widened the Leviathans of the unknown too, breathing menace and evilness. The team would have to plunge through a very narrow slip between two of those behemoths, in order to crawl closer the honeycomb.
"Okay... easy now..." Buzz smacked his lips, "Keep a steady jetpack speed. We possibly need to tighten a bit up our formation. Booster, can you try to come a bit more towards the center?"
Munchapper's porky figure indeed caused some dilemma. He hardly avoided his other flank touching the hindmost border of the round energy sphere. "Uhh... I try my best, Buzz."
"You can do it, big guy!" XR fuelled, "Don't breath, pull your tummy in, cringe, duck, and keep your legs together. A-Okay, maybe now you understand WHY I try to keep telling you to turn to follow the diets the Miss Universe candidates have."
"I-I'm sorry..." the Jo-Adian replied almost in tears. He had with some half-supernatural means reduced a half of his surface area, going forwards now in some kind of double knot.
And actually, that trick was in the most efficient use now. The slim gap between those two immense ships came nearer. Forbidden it was even to skim them. Everyone held their gasps, as they barely slinked by those gray organic lumps.
"Phew... a-at ease, rangers..." Lightyear puffed, as a few meters later the spacecrafts were bypassed.
"I imagine that right now you folks are feeling a bit like Alice, tumbling soon down the rabbit hole." Warp pointed at the foaming purple turbulences of B.L.U.F.F. X-1014, which were at the instant only a few meters ahead.
"This is it... JUMP!" Buzz ordered one last time. Breathing deep, everyone boosted up more jetpack speed... and vanished inside the orb.
...to be continued...
