"THERE YOU ARE, YOU CREEP!!"
"GET READY TO MEET YOUR MAKER, MONSTER!!"
Loud bells still rang in Ataru's mind from the impact of his head slamming against a wall thanks to his being tackled -- and KISSED of all things! -- by an armoured Sylia Stingray. His vision remained spotty as two vaguely female shapes, one silver-grey, the other dark blue, suddenly blocked his eyes from seeing who was now yelling. At him, no doubt. It was always him that got yelled at...
"Linna, Nene, power down your weapons now!"
He blinked, which did nothing save make his vision more spotty. "Sylia, Priss, get out of the way!! We're after the creep behind you!"
"We won't let you hurt Ataru-sama!!"
What the heck was this...?
What did Priss just say?
"WHAT?!!"
"Haruka-sama, stand behind me!"
"Sylia, what are you DOING?!!"
"I'm protecting the man I love, Linna! That's what I'm doing!!"
Eh...?
Did Sylia just say...?
"Stingray-san, Asagiri-san, get a hold of yourselves! Anigimi-sama wouldn't allow this sort of thing!!"
"Don't you worry at all, Haruka-sama! We won't let them hurt your brother!!"
Priss, too...?
Oh, gods, WHY?!
"Priss, we have to kill that beast!!"
"You're gonna have to come through us to do that, Nene!"
No...
No, no, NO!
Why HIM of all people?!
Why?!
WHY?!!
WHY?!?!
An inhuman scream escaped Moroboshi Ataru as a tidal wave of cold fire embraced him...
In orbit...
"Deanna, what's wrong?!"
The Enterprise's counsellor is now curled up on the deck in front of her chair, an unintelligable whimper escaping her as the Sovereign-class starship traded phaser and quantum torpedo fire with turbo-lasers from the looming Cylon basestar -- a ship that now seemed as massive as the average Borg cube -- off her port bow. As a medical team lead by Beverly Crusher stormed onto the bridge, Will Riker gently lifted his imzadi back to her chair. "Deanna!! Deanna, snap out of it!!" the first officer screamed out. "DEANNA!!!"
The empath's only answer was a pained gurgle as the Enterprise's chief medical officer pressed a hypo into her neck...
"Aniue-sama, no...!"
"Venerable, what's wrong?!"
The android manning the Windrider's helm rose from her chair, walking back to gently prod Marie's shoulder. The third-oldest of Ataru's sisters stared blankly at the viewscreen ahead of her, it now showing the raging battle between the Cylons and the mixed force of Federation starships and Colonial battlestars. "Venerable...?" the android whispered before glancing at Rinrin. The teen genius looked pale and nauseous, as if she was ready to throw up the tasty picnic Shirayuki had prepared before this madness began. "Oh, no..."
"What's with them?!"
The android spun aft to see Tanizaki Yukari standing at the main door to the sail-barque's bridge. "How are the Venerable One's sisters in the galley, Lady Tanizaki?" the artificial woman inquired, hoping beyond hope that Marie's and Rinrin's reactions were unique...
...and not the sign that IT had returned to haunt the family of Moroboshi Ataru anew.
"All blanked out and muttering 'big brother,' that's what!" Yukari replied. "What's going on?! Is something wrong with Ataru-kun?!"
The android took that in, then sighed. "That, Lady, is the understatement of the millennium..."
"A cyborg?"
"It has the look of one, but believe me, Paris-chuui, it isn't your common futuristic road-accident victim or Six Million Dollar Man-wannabe," Chikage explained as she prodded Sakuya's shiatsu points. Of all of Ataru's sisters, the young sorceress was the best equipped to deal with the empathic backlash of his darkest secret coming forth in a blaze of cold fire. "In essence, it is a very futuristic-looking visualization of an ancient Zephryite mythical figure they call 'the Master of Entropy.' A devil-figure of sorts in their religion."
"But how is it your brother came to be associated with such an entity?" Kathryn Janeway asked, she now cradling a sobbing Karen.
"That is a mystery that we have tried to resolve for some time, Janeway-taisa," Chikage answered as she finished work on Sakuya. "From what I've been able to discover, when Ani-kun was five, he had a curious encounter with an alien of an unknown race, one which shares many beliefs and cultural customs with the Zephyrites. That encounter is what allowed the Master to turn Ani-kun into a mortal avatar of sorts. But it was only when Ani-kun became a participant in the Noukiites' war against the Onis that the Master's gift became fully apparent."
"It was after Onii-sama found out the truth about what happened to our grandmother," Sakuya added with a grunt. "Thanks, Chikage."
The sorceress nodded in acknowledgement. "How powerful is your brother when he assumes this form?" Tuvok asked.
"Hard to predict," Chikage replied. "However, I do not give the Cylons any chances at all if they confront the Cyborg..."
"Chikage."
The metallic-twinged voice echoed from all around them. People rapidly looked around, but there was no sign of Moroboshi Ataru. "Ani-kun?" Chikage gasped, looking up from Karen.
"I'm about to sternly upbraid our so-called 'hosts' for their pathetic treatment of my counterpart, his friends and all the other 'guests' that were brought here," the Cyborg reported. "I'm contacting Sylvie and Anri now to have all the remaining hostages freed by remote. As soon as they're clear, beam them out of this place as quick as you can."
"Onii-sama, what are you going to do?!" Sakuya cried out.
"The Kobalite colonials believed that leaving the Cylons to their own destiny would guarantee peace between them. As we know well, Sakuya, that won't happen. So..."
"So what?!" Kathryn prodded.
"So I will give them a very simple choice, Kathryn: they will either evolve away from their pathetic beliefs or..."
"Or?"
A mirthful chuckle, like a platoon's worth of rifles shooting off in an out-of-tune chorus. "They will die."
Silence.
"ONII-SAMA, DON'T DO IT!!" Sakuya screamed out...
"All chambers are now open!" Anri reported. "Everyone can be beamed out."
"Right!" Sylvie nodded. "All teams, this is Sylvie! Proceed with Evacuation Plan Alpha-One!! Don't acknowledge, just do it!"
Anri tapped a control on her console. "Federation starship Voyager, come in please."
"This is Voyager," Chakotay quickly replied.
"Commander Chakotay, this is Anri. All chambers are now being opened and the hostages are being let out. We need you and your friends to beam them out of the castle as soon as you can! Something's happening down here and we can't guarantee their safety anymore."
"Understood! Stand by..."
The door leading to the Sexaroids' private work area then exploded inward, revealling a pair of Cylon warriors. Seeing them swing their blasters in their direction, Sylvie dived for her own weapon, sitting on a nearby table. If she moved fast enough...
Streaks of metallic light ripped through the alien androids, dismembering them in the blink of an eye. As their parts made a pile on the ground, a green-armoured woman lept into the room. "Sylvie, Anri, are you guys alright?!"
"Linna-san!!!" Anri screamed out as the other Sabres charged into the room, followed by Haruka.
Seeing the two 33-S's who -- as she presently remembered it -- had come to affect her life so much, Priss screamed out as she tossed aside her helmet, then swept Sylvie and Anri into her arms. The two cyberdroids jolted at the singer's enthusiastic greeting, then remembering what Ataru had told them about what might have happened between them, they simply grinned and returned her hug. Staring at this Kodak moment, the other Sabres could only grin. "Ano...?" a voice then spoke up from behind them.
Sylia turned to Haruka. "It's alright, Haruka-san," the Sabres' leader reported with a nod. "When Ataru underwent that transformation, it shattered whatever brainwashing the Cylons subjected us to."
"Strange that we were broken free of it, too. We didn't touch Ataru-kun or his counterpart," Nene mused.
Hearing that, Haruka breathed out. "Well, that's good..."
"Sylia."
Everyone jolted, eyes snapping around the room to find the source of the voice. "Anigimi-sama!!" Haruka gasped.
"Forgive me for interrupting the 'reunion,' so to speak, but I'm about to meet an old 'friend' of yours, one which you have more than enough cause to despise." Everyone was quick to sense the derision in the Cyborg's voice. "Why don't you all come up and join us in the main control centre? I think you personally would welcome the chance to finally resolve your father's murder, Sylia."
Hearing that, the Sabres' leader shuddered as realization dawned. "Largo..."
Now what?
(Posted Wed, 25 Feb 2004 06:14)
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