"I would rather not wish her harm, Nee-chan."
"I didn't imply anything like that, Nii-chan," Infinity affirmed with a shake of her head. "I love Lum, too. But right now, she's not only blinded by whatever caused that whole mess on Yaminokuni in the first place, she's also blinded by the fear the space-faring norms and sames feel when it comes to us."
Rake took that in, and then he grudgingly nodded. Oh, yes, he loved Lum dearly. When it had started, it was hard to say, though the Oni princess had pretty much begun to make a strong impression on Moroboshi Ataru's heart during that incident when his male classmates -- as a way of striking back at Mendou Shuutarou -- created the character of "Nobade Shinobi." A fictional girlfriend whose identity was later assumed by Lum so she could prevent him from being embarrassed in front of his peers and Mendou. And yes, he loved her even now despite recent events on Yaminokuni and here in Tomobiki. "True," he acknowledged that. "Unfortunate, but true. Nee-chan, can you send them back to their home planet for the time being? It won't hurt you, will it?"
"Nii-chan, I am Infinity, remember?!" she said with laugh before soaring off towards the imposing bulk of Invader's cruiser.
"BOSS!"
"WHAT?!"
"One of They-Who-Must-Never-Be-Named is flying right for us now!"
"WHAT?!" the whole bridge crew cried out in shocked horror before their eyes locked on the forward view screen, where a female form in solid slate-grey was soaring right for them.
"Who the fuck is that, anyway?!" Benten gasped.
"Does it matter?!" the helm officer demanded. "Boss, we gotta get outta here!"
"NO!" Lum screamed out. "We can't . . .!"
Her voice caught in her throat as she watched the oncoming woman wind up as if she was about to launch an overhand curveball at them. Only this time, the "ball" was a glowing sphere of pure energy that, once it was released, seemed to grow in size until it was able to swallow Invader's cruiser whole.
"NO!" Lum cried out as everything around her turned totally white.
Rake didn't blink as he watched the Oni ship vanish from the skies over Tomobiki in the proverbial blink of an eye. Feeling tears appear in his eyelids, he blinked several times before reaching up to wipe them clean. He hadn't seen Lum's face, but he certainly felt her emotions when Infinity used a concentrated Infinite Wave to send her, her father, her friends and that ship back to Uru.
Fear.
Pure, raw fear.
Shaking his head, he whispered, "I'm sorry, Lum . . . "
"ARE WE DEAD?!"
Silence answered Benten's demand as that blinding radiance began to fade, allowing people's eyes to readjust to the normal lighting of the bridge of Invader's ship. "We're still alive . . .?" the sensory officer croaked out in disbelief.
"By the looks of it . . . " the signals officer muttered before a control button on his board flashed. "Eh?!" he gasped before reaching over to open the channel. "This is Captain Invader's command cruiser Redet Glory. Who's this?" The answered immediately echoed in the wireless speaker fixed to his ear. As that came in, his jaw dropped in shock before he spun around to gaze on Invader. "Boss! We're in orbit over the Homeworld!"
"WHAT?!" the whole bridge crew cried out.
"Could it be some trick?!" Benten demanded.
"Doesn't look like it to me, Miss Benten!" the sensory officer reported, and then he gasped, pointing. "BOSS, LOOK!"
Invader spun around to gaze at the front view port as a flash of light revealed a device shaped like a characterized Oni holding a spiked club high; the orange-with-black tiger striped image of Uru looming in the near distance. "The Memory Erasing Device?!" he demanded, and then his jaw hit the deck. "Gods!"
"What?!" Lum demanded before she took her own look.
One look was enough.
"Holy fuck!" Benten cried out. "Who did that to that thing?!"
The Memory Erasing Device had been constructed to withstand attacks from every Earth source known to Lum's people. Thus, it was shocking to the bridge crew to see the skin melted like it had been exposed to a nova at point-blank range. Atop that, much of its inner mechanisms were exposed thanks to what appeared to be kinetic projectile impacts. Those mechanisms exposed to the outside vacuum were currently glowing with shattered control circuits, torn energy conduits and molten-hot metal that was turning the interior of the Device to a shapeless slag.
"Most likely, it was the person who sent us back to Uru," Oyuki replied.
Everyone stared on the Neptunian princess. "But why . . .?" Benten sputtered.
"Um, Miss Lum?"
"What?" Lum demanded as he looked at the signals officer.
"The Device is transmitting something for you," he reported. "It's your husband."
Shocked looks crossed everyone's faces. "Play it!" Invader demanded.
"Yes, Boss!" the officer replied as he flicked on the loudspeakers.
"Hello, Lum."
Lum stared at the deckhead. "Darling!"
"Count yourself very lucky," Ataru's voice declared over the loudspeakers. "If my friend from Yiziba . . . " -- the bridge crew screamed out in shock on hearing him say the Unspeakable Name -- " . . . had been a heel instead of a face, this would have been you. And yes, Lum, I do know what the name 'Yiziba' . . . " -- another cry of fear from the bridge crew -- " . . . means. It's quite the revelation to know there are people in this universe your kind are scared to death of. I can't wait to meet more of them, especially the girls!" A chuckle. "Take this as a warning for the future, Lum: You can be as angry as you want at me, but when you threaten my planet, you cross a line. You've now seen what could happen when you do."
The recording stopped -- just as the Memory Erasing Device exploded into microscopic shards! Staring at the deckhead, Lum was frozen solid, her mind trying to absorb the meteorite her Darling had just dropped on her head. Benten and Oyuki were just as shocked, they exchanging looks with each other. The bridge crew was shocked silent. Finally, Invader sighed, his eyes closing. "We will never return to Earth again," he declared in a voice full of ashes.
"Sir . . .?" the first officer gasped.
"Son-in . . .!" The Oni warlord caught himself before he shook his head. "No. Moroboshi Ataru has made an alliance with They-Who-Must-Never-Be-Named to shield his world against us. I won't risk having They-Who-Must-Never-Be-Named unleash their 'Mother of All Fight Scenes' on Uru again just to keep Earth under our sphere of influence. Pilot, take us back to the dockyard!"
"I . . .! Yessir!" the helm officer blurted out.
"You gave them that message?!"
Infinity shrugged as she and Raze descended to the balcony. "I spelt out the facts of life to them, Nii-chan. What harm was that?"
Raze sighed as they stepped inside . . .
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(Posted Mon, 01 Oct 2007 15:40)
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