"Uh . . . does it hurt?"
The Doctor chuckled. "Certainly not, Ataru. It is quite an illuminating process. It certainly was for me when I endured it." With that, he gestured towards the glass doors leading onto Ataru's small patio. Instantly, an inter-dimensional portal formed, revealing a tunnel cut through solid rock, which led to something that glowed like the finest diamond in moonlight. "Behold, my friend: The Crystal of Power. Touch it and your life will forever be under your control." He then gazed on the younger man. "And no one else's."
Ataru blinked as he stared at the glistening Crystal, and then he gulped as the overwhelming suddenness of the moment overcame him. Watching him, the man once born Grigori Wysynski maintained his peace. He had felt the same way when the Shepherd had brought him in front of the Crystal over a quarter-century before.
However, unlike the case of the man who was later named "Destructo" by the Conservator, Moroboshi Ataru didn't have a literal gun stuck in his back in the form of poisonous pure ebony meson fragments injected in his bloodstream. Even if Ataru refused and chose another path, it wouldn't result in him forfeiting the "second Tag Race" forced on him by Lum of Uru and Rupa of Yaminokuni. Already, special secret agencies of the United Nations and various national governments were mobilizing their forces to contain the "mushroom plague" at the borders of Tomobiki itself, not to mention sweep in to clean up the mess should Lum actually trigger her memory-erasing machine. To better force the illusion that Earth was helpless to the aliens, special teams of "hit wizards" from Japan's Mahoo-shou -- supported by teams from neighbouring nations -- were casting quite powerful illusion charms that could even affect the high technology available to Oni and Yaminokuni sensory officers aboard Rupa's destroyer or Invader's cruiser.
Taking a deep breath, Ataru stood up. One halting step forward. A gulp, and then he took another step forward. The spaces of time between steps soon faded as he walked into the tunnel. The Doctor watched him go, a smile crossing his face.
"Are you SURE there're no You-Know-Whos are on Earth?!"
"As far as I can tell, Boss!" the sensory technician said as he looked over his shoulder at the imposing Oni warlord.
"Make DOUBLE sure!" Invader barked.
"Yessir!"
With that, Lum's father turned and marched off the bridge of his command cruiser. Once he was behind closed doors, the enraged look on his face finally melted into pale-skinned panic. While he had to project a look of steely determination in the presence of the remainder of his crew, even Invader was mortified of the very mention of They-Who-Should-Never-Be-Named. And with good reason.
Years ago, the Onis had -- like many other sentient space-faring races in the galaxy -- targeted You-Know-Where as a potential place of conquest. And just like with Earth not a year before, they challenged the natives of The Unspeakable Place to a tag race. Fine and fair enough -- until the first day of the race when the one chosen from the natives showed he could fly! Said tag race ended in less than five seconds. Naturally, the Oni warlord was upset that his planned invasion had been derailed so easily . . . but when he tried to launch an invasion to bring the natives of The Unspeakable Place to heel . . .!
The doors before Invader opened to reveal his private lounge. Already there were his daughter, her two best friends and his nephew. Ten, understandably, was hiding under a couch, his teeth chattering as he tried to make himself as small as possible. Benten and Oyuki were both looking out the view ports to see if there was any signs of They-Who-Should-Never-Be-Named within reach of Tomobiki; even if Oni sensors could pick out an ant in the middle of a desert from a thousand kilometres away, there were those among the Unspeakable Ones who could cloak themselves from any form of detection, physical or non. And Lum was standing in the middle of the room, her own face twitching from anger (no doubt at her idiot husband) to the same level of fear he now felt.
Everyone looked at him as he walked in. "What's the news?" Benten demanded.
"Nothing as of yet," Invader replied.
"Were you able to detect where those shouts came from?" Oyuki wondered, her typical calm being maintained by the barest of grips.
Yes, even the natives of Neptune had much to fear from the You-Know-Whos!
"No! And it's a damned good thing, too! If Son-in-law learned of them . . .!"
Gasps escaped the women in the room as they exchanged worried looks. While keeping Moroboshi Ataru ignorant of many things concerning the universe a way of ensuring he stayed out of trouble -- looking at the incident concerning Princess Lupica, for example -- it was also a way to ensure that he couldn't do anything which could come to threaten the Onis, much less Lum specifically. Invader did care for his child and did respect her wishes -- and yes, despite the fact that Lum's husband was a total moron and often quite disloyal to her, the Oni warlord did care for him -- but he wasn't a fool. Giving Ataru knowledge about them, for example, could lead not just to Lum being heartbroken (Invader did know They-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named frowned on the whole concept of marriage), but could also lead to making Earth a power no other race in the universe could match.
Unfortunately for Lum and her people, though . . .
"Welcome, Moroboshi Ataru of Earth."
Ataru stopped, his eyes fixed on the cloaked figure that had just appeared before him, standing not a metre from the glistening Crystal of Power. Dressed in black from head to toe, including a hood that kept his face mostly hidden from outside view, he had a simple staff in hand, carrying it as Moses did ages before when he led his people out of slavery to freedom in Israel. Taking a moment to absorb the newcomer's features, Ataru then asked, "Are you the . . .?"
"I am the Conservator," the newcomer answered him with a grave nod. "Come."
With that, he stepped aside to allow Ataru to approach the Crystal. Seeing the way was clear, the young Terran felt another gulp surge up his throat, and then he walked over, his hands reaching out to touch the glistening surface.
Contact.
Ataru gasped as he felt something surge through his arms to overwhelm him . . .
"Tcha!"
Benten and Oyuki spun around as Lum suddenly crouched on herself, her hands snapping up to her temples as something sheared past all her mind's guards to drive her into unconsciousness. As she collapsed to the deck, Invader lunged over to prevent her from cracking her skull open on the hard metal. "LUM-CHAN!"
"LUM!" Benten yelled as she and Oyuki ran over to give aid.
The Doctor watched as Ataru's whole body was absorbed into the Crystal for several minutes, the point of contact now inundated by a blinding light. For anyone who had faced the Great Crystal of Power, such light was briefly discomforting; the contact with the Crystal itself, when the very memories and innermost soul of a deceased Yizibajohei was poured directly into the mind of the recipient, did far more than just temporarily overwhelm one's optic nerves.
Finally, the radiance faded, producing a humanoid figure in darkness. Staring at the being that had just emerged from the Crystal, the Conservator declared, "Behold! The Crystal has given you the power of . . . "
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(Posted Mon, 01 Oct 2007 02:07)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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