Relatives, Hostile Takeovers, Soul Mates, and a Whole Lot of Other Crud, Part 2

Lilly had immediately demanded that the lower beings retreated back to Zapz and said she would explain everything she could possibly explain. For the second time that day, Lilly found herself slamming the door behind her and pressing her back against it. "This is not my day!"

"What happened with Miles?!" Cedric wheezed, trying desperately to catch his breathe. "He's gone off his rocker!"

"I've got a theory, but-" Lilly was interrupted by the sound of something sharp scraping against concrete. She looked to her feet to see tiny words being scrawled into the floor.

Is hE GoNE YET?

"Christobe's handwriting," immediately shot through Lilly's mind. She shouted out, "ALL CLEAR!"

Zanna and Christobe suddenly burst out of a cardboard box right next to Do- Wah and Mike. The Martian and human jumped away and gave the two other Higher Beings some room; they were breathing heavily, and their faces had turned blue.

"WOAH!" Angela rushed forward and put her hand on Christobe's back, squeezing him into her chest. "What happened to you?"

"He was... following... breathe..." Christobe pointed to his mouth. "Smell... follow... had to stop..."

"Owee tuwoa tobata!" Zanna moaned. "Nee nala!"

"Oh man..." Lilly rubbed her head in fear. "Oh man, this sounds like Ceti Alpha Syndrome Number 5."

"What's that?" asked a curious and thoroughly frightened Mike.

"Higher Being illness," Lilly explained. "Makes whoever is infected by it incredibly violent and susceptible to suggestion. It's kinda like rabies, when you think about it."

"So that's what's gotten into Miles?" 2-T deduced.

"NO!" Lilly surprised the lower beings by shouting at them, "Ceti Alpha Syndrome Number 5 was wiped out years ago! It only exists as an injection you get to keep from getting it, like smallpox! This can't be it! You should know that!"

2-T flinched and looked away, his ego severely bruised. Zanna rubbed against his ribcage to comfort him.

"They're not Higher Beings, Lilly," Christobe argued. "They can't know stuff like that."

"Well, they've been around ME long enough, they shou- WOAH!"

The ground around them began to shake, and the kids all rushed to find something to hold on to. Oddly enough, the earthquake stopped as soon as it started... Then it started again... Then stopped....

"Footsteps!" Angela shouted.

"Can't be!" B-Bop jumped to one of the windows and peered out, staring in confusion before recoiling in shock. "Uh... Scratch that..."

The humans, remaining Martians, and Higher Beings all rushed to the door, flinging it open and daring to look outside.

It was one of the weirdest sights in history, about a hundred different creatures, ranging from humungous dragons to tiny fairies, all parading towards the desert, most by air, some by land, and a few by water. As one humanoid creature walked past them, they were able to get a close-up view of its eyes; no eyes, only a glowing green gas.

Christobe cowered in fear, hiding his face in Zanna's fur. "It IS Ceti Alpha Syndrome Number 5!"

Lilly pointed to a white ribbon of something flying in the sky. "I went to high school with that guy!" She pointed to another thing swimming in the water. "And I was in kindergarten with that one!"

Mike made a mad swipe at a passing pink-and-purple striped tiger, but it made no move to attack, bight, or even acknowledge Mike in any way. "Why aren't these ones attacking?"

"Let's find out!" B-Bop suddenly roared. "Let's go, guys! Follow those Higher Beings!"

&&&

Christobe and Lilly both sniffed the air around them. All they smelled were the warm, baked wispy blasts of air that every now and then would wisp past their nose (along with a few grains of sand). Zanna snuggled herself behind B-Bop and 2-T, listening with her ears perked above their shoulders and her eyes buried into 2-T's uniform.

Christobe stared in awe at the empty desert; despite the huge parade of Higher Beings, there was nothing to be seen for miles! Or of Miles, come to think of it.

"It looks safe..." Lilly whipped her tail.

"Does this mean we can go home now?" Cedric whimpered.

"We should keep looking," Angela suggested.

"I agree." B-Bop stroked the side of his head quickly, to help himself think. "Where should we look next?"

"Maybe we should try over there!" Do-Wah pointed to the left. "Or over there." He pointed to the right, a little less confident in his tone. With a slight waver in his voice, he pointed behind him. "Or... Maybe over there..."

"We've got acres of desert to cover," 2-T reminded his commander. "Even if they are here, we'll never find them."

"We can with Zanna!" Christobe suddenly shouted, his wings flapping out in excitement. "Come on, Zanna, go sniff 'em out!"

"Kee?" Zanna jumped over B-Bop and 2-T and-

BOOM! With a huge kick, she bounded out a least a hundred feet ahead of them! With a few more bounces, she pivoted east, west, north, and south, finally coming to rest in the center of her bouncing circle.

"AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!" Mike cheered. Christobe made the crowd cheering "hreeaaaaah" sound while Lilly slapped her head and sighed.

"Naga teeki!" Zanna stretched and sat down on the sand with a soft thump.

There was a deafening roar; all the Martians heard was the kids screaming in terror before they were suddenly swept forward in a wave of sand! Lilly lifted all of them in her arms and carried them to safety, setting them down near where Zanna was sitting. They lifted their gauntlets and tried to aim at something, but they were suddenly lost in a sea of non-existent eyes. Zanna whimpered and curled herself into a ball, shivering in terror; Lilly formed two purple balls of energy in each hand and placed herself in a fighting stance.

They were trapped in a tight circle of crazed Higher Beings. Most of the beings consisted of mythical creatures, a type of alien, or some kind of animal/human hybrid. Each face was twisted into an evil snarl, the evil green gas of their eyes pouring out of their sockets and down their face. Miles himself lowered his head down to the lower beings level, hissing and spewing curls of fire at the Martians, coming dangerously close to catching one of them on fire.

Of course, none of this scared the Martians in the least, for they had faced situations much worse than this (or, so they thought). The thing that scared them most was the position of the kids, for Mike, Angela, Cedric, and Christobe were currently wrapped in the vines of a hideous looking tree. The terrible tree was the size of a two-story house; a hideous, jagged mouth had been punched into its trunk. Its branches consisted of whipish vines covered in large thorns, and right now those killer vines were wrapped around the humans and Lilly's brother!

"BEHOLD!" yelled a mysterious, masculine voice. "My Higher Army! Is it not amazing what you can do with a bit of power... And a canister of the Ceti Alpha virus?"

"Woah..." Lilly, despite knowing better, let a shiver run up her spine. "Cool..."

A strange being materialized over Miles' head. It was the black-skinned figure from before, but now his cloak was tossed back in the wind, revealing his slim yet muscular body. His obviously well-cut frame was covered by a suit made from straps of shining black leather, making an odd sort-of Final Fantasy effect (for those who have not played Final Fantasy, don't worry about it. For those who have, think that girl from FFX who took care of Yuna and never smiled).

The dark-skinned one chuckled warmly. "Glad to know that I have caught your attention... Finally."

"Finally?" 2-T repeated, looking at B-Bop.

The evil-looking Higher Being bowed in mid-air, smoothly moving aside when Miles tossed his head about. "I am Naku, Conqueror of Worlds, Controller of All Beings Higher-"

He disappeared from view and suddenly reappeared next to Lilly. He held out a black rose. "And suitor of Lilly."

"YAH!" Lilly fired an energy bolt at Naku and flew away. "FREAK! I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU!"

B-Bop raised his gauntlet and prepared to shoot Naku, but once again he disappeared and reappeared somewhere else; this time, in front of the kids. He was hovering so close to Mike that B-Bop didn't dare to shoot. "I am surprised that you do not know me by now, my fair Lillitai, for I have been trying to get your attention for the past Earth month now!"

"What's he talking about?" Do-Wah hissed, arm still ready to blast the first thing that moved towards them.

"Uh... Uh..."

/A wispy black cloud flew out of the human's mouth and into the sky./

"Firrz!" she chirped without warning.

2-T gasped and pointed at the now-classified-as-evil Naku. "You were possessing him, weren't you?"

"I even picked a human that looked super-stereotypical to cement the deal," Naku chuckled. "Brilliant. I was surprise you didn't realize what I was doing then."

Lilly began to piece things together. "So when I didn't respond, you let Gorgon loose!"

"And killed a person at the same instant so that Cedric would be forced to tell you his little troubling secret," Naku sneered.

2-T began to shake. He thought up the worst Martian curse he could and shouted in at Naku. "EETRO!" He fired a photon beam at Naku. The evil drow- like higher one gracefully swept out of the way-

And the beam hit Christobe instead!

"GAH! Don't hit Christobe, you moron!" Lilly slapped 2-T on the back of the head.

Naku laughed and spread his arms towards the tree. "Meet my proudest creation: The Assassin Vine!"

The tree roared, tightening its already unyielding grip on its captives. Something the Martians noticed right away was that a very large vine was wrapped around all of their necks, large scythe-like thorns pressing into the hollows of their throats.

Angela gave a valiant kick to try and free herself, but to no avail. Naku kept narrating. "Entirely my creation. The Assassin Vine holds anyone it can catch in its vines and slowly" (he made a fist in one hand and clenched it tightly for effect) "squeezes the Life out of them."

"NO!"

B-Bop responded to Do-Wah's shout, "Leave them alone!"

"Not until I get my soul mate!" Naku pointed at Lilly. "She would be mine if she didn't have you to take care of! Attached to you worthless beings by pitiful lower being emotions!"

Lilly blushed and hovered behind B-Bop, a burning rage running through his throat.

"I will not leave this planet," Naku roared, floating into the air. His cape flapped in the wind, his slim hands growing malicious looking claws. "Until the lower beings are my servants and Lilly is my bride!"

And with that, the Higher Beings attacked!

B-Bop immediately was surrounded by 6 blue spirits, each with a thin Egyptian-ish heads (Krazoa Spirits from Star Fox Adventures). He fired a photon beam into each, but they rippled as if they were water and countered with high-pitched screaming sounds, knocking B-Bop to the ground in a haze! The Martian, despite the terrible screech in his ears, shot one Higher Being in the eye socket; her body immediately shattered into pieces and fell to the ground, slowing melting into the sand and leaving nothing but a tiny blue ball of energy.

2-T dodged the sharp horns of Miles while rolling out from underneath the sword of another Higher Being. As often as he could, he would try and catch glimpses of his human friends; they were turning a very bright shade of red and struggling against the vines. He tripped while he was running from a huge bunch of claws and fell on top of Zanna, who had bunched herself up and buried herself in the dirt. 2-T grabbed her waist and pulled her out of the fray. "COME ON!"

Do-wah dodge rolled out of the way of a bolt of lightening and ran into Lilly, who, for whatever reason, wasn't getting attacked. "Lil, we've gotta do BKM! Where's the guys?"

"B-Bop's coming, I'll get 2-T. Stay here." And with that, Lilly flew away, leaving a confused Do-Wah in her wake.

"What? How?" A sharp object brushed past his shoulder. "AH!" He turned around and blasted a sword-wielding Higher Being in the eye, immediately disintegrating him. "There're too many for me to stay here!"

B-Bop skidded to a stop next to him, promptly followed by Lilly throwing 2- T onto the sands before them. "OW! Well thanks a lot, Mrs. Higher-than-thou Being!"

"We've got no time for that now!" B-Bop pulled 2-T to his feet by his shoulders. "Let's go!"

Lilly turned around in mid-air and grabbed an attacking Pegasus by the wing, keeping it from attacking the Martians. "Zanna! Protect them!"

"Ih!" Zanna ran in circles around B-Bop, 2-T and Do-Wah, going faster and faster until she was nothing other than a golden blur. A golden wall of light surrounded the Martians and blinded the attacking Higher Beings, pushing them backwards.

2-T smiled to Do-Wah. "This makes it a whole lot easier."

"B!"

"K!"

"M!"

"What is that?" Naku stared at the golden pillar of energy in the middle of his attacking swarm. "Hmm... No matter. I'm sure it's nothing... Isn't that right, my precious one?"

Lilly cursed in Saturnian and pointed an energy ball at the back of Naku's head. "How did you know I was back here?"

"I am aware of the position of my love at all times." He crooned, holding out his hands dramatically.

Lilly could feel Mike's disgust from where she was hovering; the thought of Mike comically gagging and sticking his tongue out shot through his mind, which made her worry even more that he was being strangled in the tree behind her. "What beef do you have against my lower beings, Naraku?"

"Naku! Naku!" screamed the drow-being. "I am in no way affiliated with that baboon-fur-obsessed lunatic!"

"Whatever! Just leave my beings alone!" Lilly heard the BKM sequence wrapping up. She listened to her Martian pets while Naku kept orating.

"NO! I have to prove to you that my powers are strong enough to win your heart! I must be rid of all distractions!"

"Shut up, weirdo! You're making yourself sound like a stalker!"

A faint gurgling sound behind Lilly suddenly made her blood run cold.

The Higher Beings, sensing a change in their master's concentration, all turned to focus on him. The Martians would have taken this opportunity to attack, but there attention was on the humans.

Mike, Angela, Cedric, and Christobe all fell to the ground, the Assassin Vine finally letting go. As they came to rest on the sands, they showed no signs of movement.

"Wha-? FOOL ASSASSIN VINE!" Naku screamed, flying to the top of the killer tree. "They weren't supposed to die yet!"

2-T's throat suddenly went very tight. He could barely squeeze out his words. "No..."

"Christobe!" Lilly shrieked, holding her hands to her mouth.

"Angela..." Do-Wah reached out his hand, but Angela did not answer him in any way. The four children simply lay on the sands, not breathing... Not moving... Lifeless.

"NO!"

Naku pivoted on his waist only to be met head on with a photon beam, then get blasted into the Assassin Vine by Lilly. Do-Wah personally tied the vines around Naku's throat. B-Bop pointed his fist at Naku's chest. "Any last words, murderer?"

"Yes... I'm not through!"

Naku snapped free of the Assassin Vine and threw B-Bop into the sand. 2-T tried to attack from behind, but the drow snapped around and kicked the dome of his BKM suit, smashing it in and hitting 2-T in the jawbone. Two huge dragon wings snapped out from Naku's cloak- wait a minute, the wings Were his cloak!- and smacked Do-Wah away.

Lilly gasped as Naku floated into the air, his newly introduced wings and an until-now-invisible tail flowing out from behind him. "Well, Lilly, what do you think now?"

Lilly gulped, looking behind Naku for any sign of hope. Her pretty face suddenly broke out into a huge grin.

"THE CAVALRY!"

DONE! Let's see who the cavalry is!

Sorry about the big update gap, but I got addicted to SD Gundam, and then Lilo and Stitch, and I lost inspiration, and I almost lost my tape, and- Well, it's here. We're okay.

Ceti Alpha Syndrome Number 5: Look up Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, find when Khan was stranded, and what he did to Chekov and the other guy. Then you'll get the joke.

I put in the Krazoa Spirits from Star Fox Adventures, an old addiction which I really only concentrate on when Double F's over at my house nowadays.

Happy Belated Birthday, Lilliyati-Tomo! Does that name mean anything specific?

This is the first time I've sucessfully had captioning in a story of mine! COOL! MILESTONE STORY!