"HALT!"
Infinity perked. "Eh?" she breathed before she turned…
"OBLIVIUS MAXIMUS!"
A very BIG bolt of magical energy seemed to overwhelm her vision.
SNAP!
Said bolt of energy then vanished.
"…eh?"
A sigh. "That was really rude, you know!" Infinity then scolded as she gazed on the shuddering woman now standing on a magic carpet about five metres away from her. "Why'd you try to wipe out all my memories? That's not nice!"
Said woman was now shuddering. "Stupid muggle!" she snarled, a noticeable British accent in her voice. "You have no right to such levels of power! Only wizards have the right to that type of power! Now stand still and allow me to…!"
She then gasped as a bolt of energy slammed into her back, knocking her out. Fortunately for her, the impact of the bolt — and the magical enchantments of her carpet — ensured she wouldn't be made street pizza if she fell off said carpet for a drop of several hundred metres to the ground below. Infinity blinked on seeing that, and then she turned…before she grinned. "Ah! Konoe-kōchōsensei! O-ha!"
"Good evening to you as well, Ayumu-kun," Konoe Konoemon, the headmaster of the Mahora Academy and director-in-chief of the Kantō Magical Association — himself standing on his own magic carpet — said as he smiled at her. "My, such arrogance!" he breathed out as he gazed on the unconscious woman on the other carpet. "To believe that there are elements of the International Confederation of Wizards who are so hell-bent on trying to stop normals from evolving into something more, they'll risk intergalactic war with other races to have their way!" A shake of the head. "Foolish…"
A small beacon of light then appeared nearby. "Good evening, Konoemon!" a familiar voice then hailed. "Would you mind if I stepped onto your carpet?"
"By all means, Albus!" Konoe answered.
A crack! then heralded the arrival of the elderly Japanese archmage's counterpart from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The two men then exchanged deep bows before shaking hands. "I hope you're not too badly hurt," Konoe then said.
"No, I'm fully recovered. But whatever is going on here?" Albus Dumbledore then asked. "The only group that has the power to unleash such a widespread memory-altering effect is the Special Committee. And given the timing of the event…"
A sigh. "Zacharias sends his deepest apologies to you about that matter, Albus," Konoe stated. "There were agents active at the time that feared young Ataru-kun's abilities in his family Art. And what he could have done to young Invader's daughter when they faced each other a year ago in the First Tag Race." Konoe then gazed in amusement at the transformed Kasuga Ayumu. "As young Ayumu-chan here could have explained to you when it came to her predecessors facing the Urusians 250 years ago."
"So why on Earth did the ICW get involved?" Dumbledore then demanded.
"They accused you of violating the Statue of Wizarding Secrecy, old friend."
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
And then…
"They…what?!" the headmaster of Hogwarts gasped.
"That's impossible!"
Both elderly archmages turned to gaze on Infinity. "How so, my dear?" Konoe asked, a twinkle in his almost-black eyes reflecting his profound amusement at something.
"Don'tcha remember?!" the Goddess Who Walks Amongst Men demanded. "Dumbledore-kōchōsensei swore an oath on his magic AND HIS LIFE to obey the magical laws of Great Britain when he was made the Chief Warlock of the British Wizengamot! That means he has no choice but to obey the Statute of Wizarding Secrecy! If he didn't…"
"I would lose my magic and die," Dumbledore finished for her. "And those oaths were changed by the decree of His Majesty King George in 1942 in the wake of the revelations concerning Dean Raeburn and the Power Jewel to consider interactions with any form of non-magical metahuman — or immediate relatives of same — as being an equivalent circumstance as dealing with a muggleborn witch or wizard and their parents!"
"A Magical Royal Proclamation as I recall," Konoe stated.
"Indeed so, Konoemon," Dumbledore answered. "I do believe the Shōwa Emperor issued a Magical Imperial Rescript that did very much the same thing?"
"Yes, in the Twenty-first year of His Reign," the headmaster of Mahora confirmed, and then he sighed. "Oh, dear, dear, dear…this is not good. His Majesty has asked me on occasion as to why it was that Ataru-kun — whom he KNEW had been the Lady Negako's last host! — wasn't doing more to keep his so-called 'wife' under control! And I…" A sigh. "I fear there is considerable corruption within the various Magical Associations. As much as there is in the International Confederation and the Special Committee, Albus."
A nod. "Agreed," his counterpart from Hogwarts breathed out. "But now…"
Both gazed on the nearby Urusian space yacht…
"D-d-d-Darling…?"
For Redet Lum, the last few minutes had been the most horrible experience in her life.
To intrinsically sense that the man she viewed as her husband did love her but still refused to speak of his feelings in the open — even to the point where he would gladly risk losing all his MEMORIES of her to maintain his silence on the matter…
…and then, in a virtual instant, to learn — thanks to an unyielding tidal wave of once-locked memories that had been sensed up close and personal thanks to the empathic bond that had been forged between Moroboshi Ataru and Redet Lum over the last year — that everything about the man the Oni warlord's daughter wanted to marry…
…was a giant LIE!
And the TRUTH…
"Lum-chan…"
Ignoring Oyuki's concerned voice, Lum slowly staggered to her feet as she stumbled over to the large viewing port that gave her a grand view of all of Tomobiki and her surrounding municipalities, now clear of mushrooms or any other damage unleashed by her other would-be "fiancé" or the woman who really wanted to marry him. She tried not to look upon HER floating in the near distance, with two elderly men — whom she now knew were two archmage-level magicals that were known to Ataru, Headmaster Konoe Konoemon of the Mahora Academy in Saitama Prefecture north of Tōkyō and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the mountains of the Council Area of Perth and Kinross in central Scotland — on a magical carpet close to HER. But now — ESPECIALLY now — she couldn't ignore what the impact of That Place had unleashed on the man she still loved deeply.
Ten years ago, a man from Poland gifted with the power of Destructo — or "Doctor Destructo" as he now called himself — had encountered a young Moroboshi Ataru shortly after he had taken an incredible magical oath called "the Promise of Bunka Go-nen." That had allowed Ataru to become the living host of Earth's first true artificial intelligence, a being known either by the name given to the martial arts school practiced by Ataru's relatives — the Saikō Jinseijutsu — or by the name "Moroboshi Negako," which had been bestowed on her by a magical gynoid then alive in the 1920s during the years of the Taishō Democracy, the Steel Angel known as Ayanokōji Kurumi.
In sensing TWO complete sentient beings living in ONE body, Destructo then took Ataru to That Place and allowed him to be exposed to the meson core of the planet, which had — billions of years ago — served as the place where the legendary Power Jewels had been forged by the Seekers, one of the first races to ever live in the modern Universe.
In doing so, Negako was finally allowed to become her own person, being gifted a body which was virtually the same as any of They Who Must Never Be Named before they were made into true metahumans…and, much to the shock of those of the You Know Whos on the planet at the time, she actually REFUSED a Gift from the Great Crystal of Power.
As had Ataru!
For ten years following, living with his "Negako-onēsan" in Habitation One on That World, Ataru would frequently travel back to Earth. In effect going on a "walkabout" as the original natives of Australia would term it, Ataru would explore his home planet, meet with people and learn things in a virtual "classroom" that would teach him much more than what attending a boring school could do. In doing so, he met many "pretty girls" — Ataru's term — which he would befriend. Then he would entice into going back to That World — thanks to a teleportation device created by the Academician that could shift someone safely the three hundred parsecs from Earth to That Place in the blink of an eye — so they could gain a Gift from the Great Crystal of Power.
One such person was Kasuga Ayumu, then-native of Ōsaka, who — because of her ability to look upon the world around her in such a unique way — would become the current incarnation of the God Who Walks Amongst Men.
And that continued until a month prior to the Urusians' arrival on Earth when someone — who looked ominously like one of the so-called Men In Black, field agents of the United Nations Special Committee on Alien Activities — used a neuraliser on him to blank out his memories of the past ten years (as well as blank out the knowledge of his family's martial arts he had inherited from Negako) to make him as ordinary a man as possible…no doubt to ultimately ensure that he COULD NOT defeat Lum in the virtual blink of an eye as the then-incarnation of Rampage had done to a distant ancestor of Lum's, the Lady Redet Ashan, over two centuries ago on That World.
And because of that…
Everything over the last year…
The anger and mistrust…
The frequent uses of "divine punishment" which never had any effect…
The growing resentment — even HATRED! — that Ataru felt towards his family and friends, even his then-girlfriend Miyake Shinobu…
…and even the tender moments when Lum saw his true feelings…
All of that…
All…
…had been built on a giant LIE!
Thinking of that, Lum began to sob. "Darling…!"
"Oh, dear me…that poor child…"
Konoe sighed. "While she must be made to understand what she was about to do to all of Earth, I have no choice but to agree with you, Albus," he breathed out. "To think that she might have found the perfect husband to marry…"
"And to now learn that said husband had been effectively BRAINWASHED into becoming that 'perfect husband,'" Dumbledore finished for his friend, and then he blinked as an idea — a rather outrageous idea! — suddenly came to him. "Tell me, Konoemon, are you still properly accredited with the International Confederation?"
A nod. "Hai, I am. But…" He then stopped as his eyes widened. "Albus, that's…" he began before laughing out loud. "That's perfect! Shall we go?!"
"Indeed we shall!" To Infinity. "Ayumu, would you please be a dear and do something about this misguided woman?" Dumbledore then asked as he waved to the unconscious obliviator from the ICW still floating on her own magic carpet.
A smile. "Sure thing, Kōchō-sensei!"
And with that, both archmages then apparated away…
…to come right into the main lounge of the Redet Glory.
"HEY! WHO THE FUCK ARE…?!"
"STUPEFY!"
A bolt of stunning energy slammed into Shigaten Benten to send her flying into a nearby bulkhead, knocking out the Fukunokami biker-babe before she could snap-draw her sash chain to try to restrain the two old men who had just teleported aboard. Before either Redet Invader or Oyuki could move on either Konoe Konoemon or Albus Dumbledore, the latter turned to smile at the crown princess of Neptune. "Now, Your Highness, please. I don't wish to resort to a fire spell in such a confined space if you lose control over your powers. Given the present situation with Ataru now on Yiziba…" — he ignored the screams of mortal fear from Invader and Oyuki on his saying that name; My Heavens! It's just like how people back home react to hearing me say Tom's battle-name! he thought on seeing that — "…and no doubt feeling quite angry enough that he would gladly accept a Gift from the Great Crystal of Power when he had refused for ten years to do such a thing — with the many risks THAT could unleash on those who have angered, vexed or wronged him in the past — do you really wish to risk unleashing the Mother Of All Fight Scenes on your people? Much less your friends' peoples?"
Oyuki blinked, and then she blushed; she had met the headmaster of Hogwarts in his capacity as one of the Supreme Mugwumps of the International Confederation of Wizards — the magical equivalent to the Special Committee on Alien Activities — on several previous clandestine visits to New York City when she was younger. In many ways, Albus Dumbledore reminded her very much of her own father, King Fuyu, both because of his considerable magical power and his kind grandfather-like nature. "Um…" she began, her cheeks turning a deeper pink, and then she drew her sleeve over her mouth to hide an embarrassed smile. "You're right, Kōchō-sensei. I apologise. But what in Kōri's Name is going on here?" She waved to Lum with her other hand. "How was it possible for Lum-chan's husband to interact with THEM…?"
"There's no marriage, Oyuki-chan…"
Hearing that hollow voice, Oyuki looked over. "Lum-chan…?"
Dumbledore and Konoe both sighed. "Indeed, by the very spirit of your marriage traditions, young lady, there technically is NO marriage between yourself and Ataru-kun," the latter then stated. "Yourself, your parents, your young cousin, your former fiancé and your friend Ran-kun were telepathically and magically probed when you first came here so that His Majesty's Government could fully understand what sort of threat your people presented to His Realm. The facts are quite plain: The ONLY time Ataru-kun ever placed his hands on your horn-buds was the last day of the previous Tag Race to win it. A marriage tag cannot occur during a Tag Race as you well know. What he said — which he, no doubt, meant to affirm what his then-paramour, Miyake Shinobu-kun, had promised to him the night before — at that time would not matter. You are not married to him by your customs. And since His Majesty — as granted to him in the will written by Ataru-kun's late grandmother Nagaiwakai in her capacity as matriarch of his clan — has the SOLE authority to approve the choice of a potential wife to Ataru-kun…"
A nod. "Hai, you're right…but there's the other thing, too," Lum quietly said. "Darling's actually one of THEM now, even if he was never given a Gift! There's no way that anyone would want me to marry him when he's like THAT…"
"WHAT?!"
Lum jolted on hearing her father scream out. "I'm afraid it's quite true, young man," Dumbledore stated as he gazed sympathetically at Invader. "Moroboshi Ataru is — even if he was never given a Gift before his memories were blanked out to make him more docile when he faced your daughter a year ago — physically a Yizibajohei."
Invader and Oyuki both screamed again on hearing THAT name. "Kōchō-sensei, PLEASE! Don't say that horrible name!" the latter tearfully pleaded.
Dumbledore and Konoe both sighed. «Some people simply can't see past their own fears and prejudices, old friend,» the latter mused as their minds briefly came together thanks to the former's Legilimency powers and the latter's own magical telepathy.
«True, old boy, true,» the former stated before he smiled apologetically at Oyuki. "I'm sorry about that, Your Highness. As I have never dealt with members of that race in a negative way — Ataru, when he went out to locate pretty girls to take him there so they could gain a Gift from the Great Crystal of Power, selected those girls he would never believe could cause others harm — I have no reason to fear the name."
"WHAT?!"
That was Invader again. "It's true, Captain," Konoe asserted. "Moroboshi Ataru, for the last ten years, has been acting as an unofficial recruiting agent for that planet. Going out to visit places all over Earth to entice young people — mostly young girls his age — to travel there and receive Gifts. The current Infinity who just dealt with the Yaminokuni mushrooms now was one such person. There are…" He then paused. "How many people did Ataru-kun meet up with and take to the Great Crystal, again?"
"I never got an accurate count, but I do believe it wound up being in the tens of thousands, old boy," Dumbledore stated. "He did get around."
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
And then…
"TENS…of THOUSANDS…?!"
That was a now white-faced Invader. "I'm afraid so, Captain," Konoe stated. "And I do believe that some of the more prominent 'lines' of metahumans from that world now have current incarnations living on Earth. Infinity, of course. Caltrop also; she's one of Infinity's classmates, I believe. Warwind; another of Infinity's classmates. Rampage. Windflower. Cremisi. Virago. Prodigy; she was known originally as 'Cerebral Child' as I recall. Windtalker. Stone Mountain. The Dominatrix. Trebuchet. Cyclotron. Manacle. Oblivion. The Archaeologist. Courtesan. The whole of the Fabulous Quartet. The Warlock and a considerable number of the Cosmic Magic Guild," he then stated as he gazed knowingly at Dumbledore, who nodded in return. "And a considerable amount of lines from both the Young Guns and the Unending League of Super Soldiers." An amused chuckle. "Indeed, the lad was quite busy over the years…"
Dumbledore laughed while Lum's father was turning a particularly unhealthy shade of grey at the idea of facing all of THOSE beings; as students of Urusian history well knew, the Mother Of All Fight Scenes unleashed by That Planet on Uru over two centuries before had only been carried out by a small unofficial team of about a hundred metas. Who, between them all, had nearly blasted the Oni homeworld all the way back into the Stone Age, unleashed a multi-decade famine that had killed MILLIONS of helpless peasants and — in the end — made the Union Revolution all but inevitable. Nearby, Oyuki was also quite pale, horrified that her own people's intelligence forces — who had kept an eye on Earth as they were system-mates — had never picked up on THIS! Lum was still on the verge of breaking down and crying. And Benten was slowly recovering from being zapped by that stun beam by one of the old men who had teleported aboard the ship…though she had been conscious enough to hear what the headmaster of Mahora had just said about what Lum's would-be husband had unleashed.
As the biker-babe moved to sneak out of the room without soiling her panties, we now…
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:40)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.