The planet Uru, outside Onishuto (local time: mid-morning)…
"Good morning."
The pretty woman in the tiger-striped cheongsam-like dress perked on hearing her husband's tired voice, and then she smiled. "Good morning," the woman born Seq Chim — Urusian naming custom always saw her addressed as "Mrs. Invader" — said as she moved to pour Invader some spice tea. "Did you sleep well last night?"
A sigh. "Actually, I did," the large warlord stated. "Expected to have all sorts of nightmares about poor Lum being dragged off to You Know Where by Mr. Groom out of revenge for everything we did to 'hurt' the little monster…"
"Daddy, don't say that about Darling!"
He jolted before gazing over at Lum, who was walking out of her own bedroom. Dressed once more in her normal tiger-striped bikini, the younger Oni had lines under her eyes and her cheeks were damp from a lot of crying, but she appeared to have weathered the previous evening quite well. "Lum, you have to admit…"
"Daddy, I said 'stop!'" Lum snarled. "You weren't there when Haruhi-san took me on that time-trip to see what Darling's life BEFORE those stupid MIBs and that bald-headed creep Harry-san has to fight BRAINWASHED HIM to make him my perfect opponent in the Tag Race! Doesn't that strike you as odd?! How did the Terrans figure out we chose him in the first place, anyway?! We never contacted the MIBs until a couple weeks BEFORE we met Darling for the first time!" She then frowned. "Unless…!"
"Unless what?" Mrs. Invader asked.
"They somehow got warned ahead of time by some precognitive that indicated what happened in Tomobiki during the Tag Race would have happened," Lum then said as her mind began to churn over that possibility. "But why? What was the purpose?"
"Lum, forget about it! I said you won't be allowed to marry that lying…!"
"Ataru would be rather disappointed in you, Captain."
Silence.
"Professor Wyszynski…?" Lum asked as she looked over…
…and then she winced as Invader and his wife screamed out on seeing the elderly Terran man in the silver button shirt, vest jacket, slacks and floor-length cape nearby, his eyes glowing with power truly beyond mortal comprehension. "Good morning, my dear," the Doctor stated as he waved his hand, cutting out all noise output from the older Oni in the room, and then he moved to stand close to her. "Second thoughts?"
Lum blinked. On the one hand, she should be scared out of her mind of this man. He was DESTRUCTO, the prophesized Chaos Bringer that even others of They Who Must Never Be Named were scared of emerging from the Great Crystal of Power. On the other hand, he was the man who had taken her own Darling away from an emotionally abusive home — even before she had learned the truth about Ataru's parents, she HAD planned to eventually take her would-be husband away from his home in Tomobiki and leave them behind — and allowed him the chance to gain a real, honest-to-goodness SISTER of all things…even if, in many ways, Negako still had to adjust to BEING human, let along being Ataru's sister and legal guardian/adult family figure. On the third hand, she knew that this man — when he was a little older than Ten — had witnessed something that was so horrific even for the event known to most Terrans as the "Holocaust," which had made him all the more determined to ensure ALL had freedom of choice and would never fear dictators again; Suzumiya Haruhi had also shown her THAT as well.
"Many," she then confessed.
"Hey, Lum-cha! Who's this?!"
Lum looked over, and then she smiled. "This is Professor Grigori Wyszynski, Ten-cha," she said as her cousin jetted into the room on his personal air-scooter. "He's the man from Canada who took Darling to the Scary Place and let him get a sister."
Ten blinked, and then he stared a moment at Lum's screaming parents. "Why are they screaming? And why can't I hear 'em?" he then asked.
"Because I put a sound-suppression bubble over them, young Ten," the Doctor said. "Lum's can't possibly think things through if her rather foolish and short-sighted parents try to deluge her with their silly and outdated ideas."
Ten blinked. "Oh, they're being stupid, you mean!"
"Yes. Quite stupid."
Lum's parents paused as they gaped at the elderly Terran-turned-Yizibajohei as their own daughter laughed at that. Ten then blinked as he floated close to the Doctor's eyes. "Hey! How come your eyes glow like that?! None of the others like Harry-oniichan, Pansy-onēchan, Jessica-onēchan or Akane-onēchan had glowing eyes!"
"My powers are a little more primal than theirs, Ten," the Doctor replied. "As you may have heard, I am sometimes seen as the 'Chaos Bringer.' The one who is prophesized to bring anarchy on the whole Universe beyond my adopted home world's solar system." As Invader's eyes went wide on hearing that, the Doctor then coldly added, "And Captain, if you so much as even THINK of threatening Earth with destruction because I was Gifted this way twenty years ago, I warn you that Infinity has access to the Weaponeer's full armoury. Including a flying hypermatter gun the size of Sakusei Station known as the World Breaker. How would you view the idea of URU being turned into an ASTEROID FIELD if you so much as contemplated such an act against my birth world?"
Invader turned sheet-white on hearing that. "The Weaponeer's never come back, has she?" Lum then asked. "She's sort of like you before you came, Professor."
"True, she possessed a most brilliant mind…which sadly didn't mesh well with what society on Yiziba at that time would allow." The Doctor tried not to smirk too much at the sight of Lum and Ten only flinching slightly on his saying that name; Lum's parents were hiding under the table at this time. "Which is rather a pity given that she was your ancestor's maid of honour at her handfasting ceremony to Jessica's past-self."
Lum blinked. "After the Lady Danu became Tempest, right?"
A nod. "Yes. Even after the horrid way Danu was treated by her countrymen after she had received her Gift, the Weaponeer — her real name was Nematu Rapaga — was still adamant on the idea of finding non-natives and having them migrate to Yiziba." Again, he smiled on noting that the automatic flinch the two younger Oni made on hearing that name was slight. "Fortunately, when she died, the-then Infinity saved her spirit and placed it in a special crystal so that Danu and Lireta could hang onto it. No doubt, Jessica might know where it could be. We could restore Nematu back quite quickly."
"But who would be the host body?" Lum then asked.
A sigh. "Ah, that would be for the future to reveal, my dear. But that shouldn't concern you at this time." He then gazed on Invader. "Lum, tell me; has your father told you of the conversation he had with General Lana concerning how you will be 'asked'…" — Lum was quick to sense the sarcasm in the man's voice on saying that word — "…to help placate a certain Ōgi once he arrives on Uru within the day."
Silence.
"WHAT?!" Lum screamed out. "DADDY!"
She then stopped on noting he couldn't say anything. Seeing him try to silently explain what had to happen, Lum then growled as she glared at the Doctor. The elderly man then smirked. "It's true. Sadly — despite his decision to place a cobalt bomb in Tomobiki, where it would have threatened YOU above all — Ōgi refuses to see any reason at all and will do anything he can to see you returned to Earth and the 'great evil' trampled under your feet. Which — despite what problems and misunderstandings you have had with Ataru in the past — emphasises the real reasons you love him."
"Why?" Ten asked.
"Because Ataru never WORSHIPPED Lum as many others have done, young man," the Doctor stated. "Why do you think she never cared for Shūtarō's many attempts at wooing her. Much less the actions of her so-called 'stormtroopers?' You know her feelings towards Ōgi, do you not?" As he nodded, the Doctor smiled. "Did Ataru ever do that?"
"No, of course not!" Ten snapped. "I never liked it when he treated her badly and said they weren't married…" He then frowned as he crossed his arms. "Then again, people of the Scary Place don't get married! Must'a been some kinda subconscious reaction to the brainwashing he was put under!" He then sighed. "No! Ataru never did stuff like that dork Mendō or that moron Megane did! And he'd NEVER do anything that creep Ōgi did, especially to Lecashuto on Vos! Ataru's not that type!"
"A good observation, young man. As Sherlock Holmes often implied, you must truly SEE to truly COMPREHEND any situation before you," the Doctor stated, which made Ten blush. "So tell me this: What would you say to an idea being floated around in the Central Cabinet Command as we now speak…to have Lum MARRIED to Ōgi?"
"WHAT?!" Ten screamed out.
"DADDY!" Lum bellowed.
Lum's father was now a very nice shade of grey as her mother glared daggers at him. "I take it you do not wish to partake?" the Doctor then asked.
"Of course not!" the Oni teen snarled. "I'd rather become like YOU than marry HIM!"
The Doctor's eyebrow arched. "Oh?"
Lum then stopped as she blinked, and then she sighed. "Well, I'm tempted…"
"You may be forced to do just that, my dear."
Silence.
"What do you mean?!" Ten gasped.
A sigh. "Ten, before you judge me, understand where I am coming from. My adopted planet's current population is less than a small town in size these days. It was once at a rather stable population of six hundred million at the Dawn of Power. But in the last millennia alone, that population count has dropped like the proverbial stone off the tip of the C.N. Tower in Toronto. And unfortunately — though the Great Crystal is not sentient as you or I understand sentience — the source-point of all our powers has become rather used to the idea of giving Gifts to those who seek it out."
"What if it can't do that anymore?" Ten then asked.
"Then it could EXPLODE…and shower this whole GALAXY with rather large meson fragments burning with energy, not to mention bearing the memories and past-lives of many other Yizibajohei. Would you prefer to have then spread helter-skelter across thousands of inhabited worlds? Or would you prefer to see it done under controlled circumstances?"
More silence.
"Tcha…!" a pale Lum gasped.
"Oh, man! That's not good!" Ten moaned.
The Doctor nodded. "No, it is not. And that leads to what I am about to tell you. Over the last twenty years Earth-time, I've sought out hundreds of people to take them to Yiziba and allow them the chance to bear Gifts. Sadly, my luck in doing that is actually less than Ataru's was." As both Oni laughed on hearing that, the man born Grigori Wyszynski added, "One of those fellows was a man named John Pfeifer. He is from Sweet Valley; he was a year ahead of Elizabeth, Jessica and their peers. Three years ago, I helped him become the Violator; a telepath who gains power from thoughts and emotions people generate when they experience pleasure or other positive emotions."
"A psychic vampire, you mean," Lum mused.
"In a way, yes. Especially as that line developed over the years. While I personally can't really decide other people's fates after they gain their Gifts, I hoped John would learn to master that ability and not become such a danger to others." A sigh. "He did not. He in fact came to revel in that power and began preying on others. Including Lila Fowler. When she could not remember she was Cyclotron."
Still more silence.
"So why would this man want to have anything to do with me?" Lum asked.
"He doesn't. Shūtarō does. They just met last night in Tomobiki. John is now trying to convince Shūtarō to get his own Gift to allow him to pursue Ataru to Yiziba."
Her eyes went wide on hearing that…
Yiziba, Ataru's cabin (local time: after nightfall)…
"Oh, fuck…!" Betsy Martin moaned.
"We should'a dropped a ROCK on that moron!" Tara Markova snarled.
"Tara!"
Tara jolted on hearing that stern voice, and then she turned. "Ataru! If this creep doesn't get the point, how do we persuade him to back off?!"
"No…oh, please, no…why him…?!"
Everyone tensed, and then they turned…
"Lila!" Jessica Wakefield called out.
Lila Fowler was now as white as a ghost as she stared wide-eyed at the scrying pool that had been in this cabin for years; this was the object Ataru had used to find all the pretty girls he could to help them get Gifts. Such was now displaying the scene in the Invader home on Uru. And Lila had heard everything the Doctor just told Lum.
"Lila! Calm down!" Dana Larson said as she used her vocal empathy to try to calm the daughter of Sweet Valley's second-richest family. "He won't hurt you…!"
"NO!"
And with a flash of a PAA going off, the Living Nuclear Reaction vanished!
"LILA!" Ataru screamed out…
…just as she appeared instantaneously outside the Invader home on Uru!
Mentally commanding her nightshirt to turn into her normal battle uniform, Lila then lunged up into the air…before her ears picked up shouts of alarm from behind her. She then spun around to see a small convoy of air-bikes and hover-limousines heading her way. Her eyes were quick to focus on the man in the silver gakuran-like uniform in the front limousine. A man who looked VERY MUCH like a man her own Ataru — the man who had helped made her so strong and so powerful as Cyclotron! — had to deal with for over a year when he had been trapped and rendered helpless in Tomobiki.
Like she had been in Sweet Valley…
When John Pfeifer…
No! The VIOLATOR…!
Had almost…
Had…
No…
No!
NO!
"DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Cyclotron roared as a tidal wave of energy lashed out…
The whole house suddenly shook. "What was that?!" Lum gasped.
The Doctor blinked before he looked…and then he sighed. "Lila is here."
"Why?!" Ten gasped…
…before the front door exploded inward!
The Doctor raised a telekinetic shield to protect Lum and Ten from flying debris…
…though he was not quick to react as Cyclotron lunged at Lum, her PAA in hand as she moved to plant it on the Oni's bikini bottoms. "I'LL SAVE YOU, LUM!"
Lum tried to dodge clear, but the transformed Lila was faster…
…and in the blink of an eye, they both vanished!
"Oh, dear…" the Doctor then breathed out…
Yiziba, the Cave of the Future…
"LILA! STOP! WHAT ARE YOU…?!"
With a scream of relief, Cyclotron shoved Lum away from her…
…thus sending her plunging right into the Crystal!
"Oh, my…!" the Conservator mused. "Haven't seen THAT in a few series…!"
Uru, the Invader home…
"Um, Sensei…"
A sigh. "Yes, Ten?"
"What did Lila-onēchan do to Lum-chan?"
The Doctor wryly smirked. "Took her to the place where she would gain much greater safety than she would even under her father's protection," he stated.
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
And then…
"What…what manner of monster WAS that…?"
Hearing that gasping voice, the Doctor turned to gaze in amusement at Ōgi ot'ndai-Zkuhsbagh. Who was now sporting second- and third-degree burns on his body, his uniform a burnt wreck. "I'm afraid I must inform you now that your so-called 'goddess' has now become a Yizibajohei, young mimic," the older man declared.
That — much to Ten's private amusement — made the Niphentaxians and the few Urusian officials who came with Ōgi all scream out in fright even if the young Oni himself was still scared to hear the Scary Place's name. Before anyone could say anything, the Doctor then gazed up, his eyes glowing star-bright. "Conservator!" he barked out in a booming voice. "What is the Forge's choice for Redet Lum of the planet Uru?!"
"Behold, Destructo…TEMPEST!" the Conservator barked back from the Cave.
The Doctor blinked…and then nodded. "How ironic."
"Isn't that what the Lady Danu became?!" Ten gasped.
"Yes, young Ten! Come! Let's go there and look in on your cousin, shall we?"
"Hai!"
And with that, both disappeared from Uru…
…to reappear in the Cave of the Future.
"You're a little too late, Destructo," the Conservator stated in amusement.
The Doctor blinked, and then he looked over…
…to see a sobbing Cyclotron now in the arms of Redet Lum, who was now in the sky blue, lightning ball-embossed jumpsuit of the Mistress of Thunder and Lightning, Tempest. As the transformed Oni-turned-Yizibajohei gently threaded her fingers through the weeping girl's hair, she gave the Doctor and her own cousin an "I'm okay" look. Noting that, the man born Grigori Wyszynski sighed. "Not what anyone would want."
Ten blinked. "What do you mean, Sensei?" he whispered.
"Ten, if there is one thing we all believe in here, it's the concept of FULL freedom of choice," the Doctor stated. "Even when one chooses to say 'no.'"
With that, he walked off…just as a small crowd came racing into the Cave. "LUM!" Ataru barked out before he stopped to gaze upon the scene before him.
"I'm sorry, Lum…I'm sorry, Lum…you had to be saved…be safe…!"
Hearing the transformed Lila Fowler's moaned cries, the girls from Sweet Valley who knew her best moved in to envelop her with their own caring embraces. As the others who came running in from Ataru's cabin watched this, the former Terran tag race champion breathed out. "Lynne?" he then called out. "What happened to Lila?"
Lynne Henry sighed before she moved to explain…
"AH! HELP! ATARU! LUM-CHAN! SOMEONE'S HUGGING ME!"
Heads snapped around…
…and then Ataru laughed on seeing Ten now in the cooing embrace of one Regina Morrow! "She's Manacle! The Mistress of Traps, Jariten! There's no escaping her!" he then advised as the others broke out in laughter while we now…
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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