Urusei Yatsura Fan Fiction ❯ The Senior Year ❯ A Hectic Vacation ( Chapter 41 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year: "A Hectic Vacation"
by Fred Herriot
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Edited by E.B. Kushnir
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Thirty-fourth of a series based on "Urusei Yatsura" created by Rumiko
Takahashi
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WRITER'S NOTES:

1) I originally wanted to introduce Grisur in the UY20YL story
"Jamie's Story," but with recent changes in the UY-TSY plot scenario,
introducing him here seemed more prudent.

2) Senba, Grisur's fiancee (who is a friend of Oyuki's cousin Toji and
a member of the Intergalactic Boy-Chasers Club) won't appear until
sometime in the first third of UY20YL.

3) More Sagussan terms (doesn't this end?!):

ogh'rit - Sweet candy, similar to white fudge
nupik'n - Sweet candy, similar to marshmallows
kyon-gagh - Nuts
himgh-tagh - Calorie juice, like Coca-cola
pang - Bread
kyi-pang - Wheat bread
pyogh-pang - Barley bread
pang-turu - Bread rolls, like hot dog buns
yapulgh - Campfire. Used as an adjective in front of a noun, it
usually indicates a food normally consumed at these events. Yapulgh-
torghsu-gi is wood-cooked airdevil meat, for example (in lieu of normal
torghsu-gi, which is broiled and served at the dinner table).

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"Thank you for coming to see us."

Grisur nods. Poksunba and her friends smile, pleased that someone
of his impeccable skills would hear their case. Running a hand through his
wavy black hair, he gazes at her, blue eyes projecting a curious gaze.
"When you said you represented the Lecashuto Bio-Warfare Survivors
Alliance, I was happy to come. Very few have addressed your plight since
the attack. Now, how can I help you?"

Poksunba sighs. "As you know, attempts at redressing our
demands for justice in the bio-bomb attack have been refused at all quarters.
The Mikado is too busy defending the capital...what little is left...from the
rebels; the rebels themselves haven't stated a position towards our
grievances; and the Federation refuses to grant us a hearing because they
consider the matter justifiable because the Mikado tried to attack the leader
of one of their member states. Grisur-san, we do not care about the politics
of the Civil War or the fact that Uru has sheltered Nassur for all these years
since Colony 71 was destroyed! We want justice and vengeance for our
slain loved ones!"

"I understand," Grisur nods. "Believe me, I myself have been the
victim of split political allegiances. My would-be wife, Senba, is a spy in
Hunba's army."

"And you're the Mikado's Executive Assistant?!" an elderly man
demands. "Doesn't that make your allegiance to him suspect?!"

"Whether it does or not doesn't really matter these days, nor, I
suspect, will it matter," he sighs. "Besides, I'm not here to discuss my
problems but to help solve yours."

"Excellent," Poksunba nods, waving at her friend to stop making
irrelevant comments. "The real guilty party, of course, is Oogi, the current
president of Phentax Two as well as the leader of that trench-wave asylum
calling itself the Church of Lum. Now, the Mikado tried to punish Oogi for
the attack, but failed. Who knows what happened to the warriors who went
out. We won't ask you to risk your life, not with Oogi in his home space.
Our approach is different. We want Oogi to get out of Phentax Two, where
he can meet justice in the open."

"How do you want me to do that?"

"Quite simple," Poksunba sighs. "Kidnap Lum. Bring her here so
we can put her on trial in a people's court. Oogi will have to come rescue
her. When he's here, kill him."

The Vosian hunter blinks. Minutes later, Grisur steps out of the
rented room the Alliance used as its headquarters on Reiner's Five. Staring
into the starry night in the general direction of the Urusian Union...and
Home Base...Grisur shakes his head. "Nassur, you're a source of trouble!"

* * *

Nassur sneezes! "Are you okay?!" Benten wonders.

The Vosian moans. "Someone was talking about me," he mutters,
then emits a deep yawn. "Okay, what were we supposed to do next?"

Benten stares confusedly at the datapadd. Fatigue is on her face.
"I think it was to see Kyonba's plans for the 'Perseverance,'" she scratches
her head, then yawns. "Or somethin' like that! Shit, I'm bushed!!"

"So am I," Nassur nods. Both relax in their office on Home Base.
"But after that hunter attacked this place trying to kill the hybrids, we have
to be on our guard."

"Until Hunba gets her bloody ass in gear and finally attacks
Lecashuto," Benten stifles another yawn, stretching. "Shit, we've been so
busy that we couldn't go see Lum's and Ataru's graduation. Hope they aren't
too pissed off at us about missing out."

"I think they were too busy worrying about Oogi's attempt at
conquering Earth to think about us," Nassur muses, then smiles. "I can't
believe it. Mie Seikou, a Sagussan!"

"I can believe it," Benten snorts as both laugh. They had learned
of the events surrounding Mie's reunion with her people the previous day,
two days after Mie handfasted with Makoto. "Pity we missed the
handfasting, though. I thought Noa said that Sagussans frowned on the
whole concept of marriage."

"They have something similar, remember," Nassur notes, then lets
out another yawn. "Maybe we should take a break."

"I agree," a young voice sighs.

Nassur's eyes glow as Naosu walks into the room. "Naosu?!"
Benten blinks confusedly. "What are you doing here?"

The doctor places two cups of water beside the two senior hunters,
then two pills. "These will put you to sleep in an hour," Naosu explains.
"Take them and go to bed."

"What?!" Nassur blinks. "We can't go to bed now! There's still
much work to do..."

Naosu stops him with a finger. "Nassur, when you brought us here,
you agreed every medical decision I made will be followed by everyone,
including you and Benten, right?"

"Yes," Nassur nods.

"So as your doctor, I'm ordering both of you on two weeks vacation
starting now," Naosu hands him the cup, then places the pill in his hand.
"You've run yourselves ragged since that hunter came. You've done more
than enough. Now it's time to rest."

"Excuse me," Benten stands up, staring at Naosu. "We adopted
you people, remember?! That means we take care of you!"

"By running yourself into the ground?" Naosu hands her the cup.
"Yes, you did adopt us. And we don't want to become orphans just as we're
getting used to having a real home."

Benten blinks, then stares at the cup. Sighing, she takes the cup,
then swallows the pill. "Whatever you say, Doc."

"Good," Naosu smiles. "Now, don't worry about us. Thanks to
Sempai's grandmother, the Mikado would be crazy to attack us. He
wouldn't want to risk a Holy Crusade destroying what little he has left of his
empire. And just to put your mind at ease, Shogai-san is coming here to
babysit us while you're taking your break. I want you two off the base for
the next two weeks."

"Now hold on here...!" Nassur objects.

Naosu halts him with a hand. "Nassur, you and Benten are
wonderful people, but you don't know when to take a break. If you stay,
you'll be tempted to go back to work again, which won't help you one bit. I
want you off the base so that you can drain your mind of work. Reiner's
Five sounds very good right now. Go camping, stay in a hotel if that's your
pleasure...but I DON'T want to see you on this base for two weeks!
Understand?!"

Nassur stares at the young man who, thanks to his role among the
hybrids, had been forced to mature the fastest. "Got it," he nods as he
swallows the sleeping pill.

"Good," Naosu nods. "Remember what Varanko-sama once taught
you: 'if you keep the blade unsheathed, you'll cut yourself.'"

"Sage advice," Benten stands...

* * *

"What were those numbers again, Rumy?"

The "Hasei'cha's" science chief and Patty's bond-mate sighs as she
stares at the engineer. "I said the power-weight ratio has to be 44:1, Patty.
Aren't you listening?"

"Forty-four to one...got it," Patty stabs the numbers into the labtop
computer, then runs the program. She then shakes her head. "Nope. Still
off by sixteen percent."

"That's because you programmed 42," Rumy stifles her yawn,
rubbing her eyes. "How long have we been working at this?"

"Six weeks," Patty stretches. "Shit, I'm so tired I can't even think
of making love."

Rumy stands up, walking over to lean into her bond-mate's side.
"Then just hold me while I sleep," she mutters.

"That's enough!" a voice declares.

Patty and Rumy blink as someone shuts off the labtop, then closes
it. Both turn to see Pony staring at them. "Why'd you do that?!" the
engineer growls. "We still have to work on power equations so that we can
get the 'Hasei'cha' into space faster!"

"Not now," Pony holds up two fingers. "Both of you are tired from
all the work you've poured into getting our ship ready. I appreciate your
effort since my life will depend on that ship's performance, but I'm not going
to feel safe if you two make some calculation which'll blow up in our faces
sometime in the future."

The door to the Seikou home, where the "Hasei'cha" crew have
stayed in the wake of Mie's handfasting, opens to allow a weary-eyed Lufy
to walk in. "I'm home, everyone," the Gladiator pilot sighs. "Someone find
me a pillow quick so I can sleep."

"You, too?!" Pony crosses her arms.

Lufy hefts her shotgun. "Shit, I didn't even get close to the bull's-
eye," she groans. "What's wrong with me?! I always score 9.95 and more
when I hit the target range."

"How long have you been on the ranges?"

"Every day since I got out of cryofreeze with the rest of us," Lufy
stares quizzically at Pony. "So?!"

Pony sighs. "This whole crew has worked itself to exhaustion for
six weeks trying to get a ship ready," she declares. "Even Catty and I are
feeling the strain. Didn't you take any break when you and she relieved
Makoto and Hotaru as Duty *Daishi'cha?!*"

"Not really," Lufy admits.

Pony rolls her eyes. "It's a miracle that none of us got killed when
we boarded that System Destroyer three days ago! It was bad enough that
Spea got hit," she sighs, then turns to see Catty step into the house. "Doctor,
I require a second opinion."

"What opinion?" Catty stares at Pony.

"The ship's company is seriously fatigued and in dire need of rest,
including us."

Hearing the word "rest," Catty yawns. "You think so?! Good.
Because I'm going to put *myself* on medical leave!"

"See?" Pony turns to Lufy.

"I'm still going okay!" Lufy protests.

Pony's finger suddenly taps her on her tattoo. "Wanna bet?!"

Everyone blinks, seeing Lufy's arm didn't snap up to knock Pony's
away. "I shouldn't have been able to touch you," Pony nods. "You're just as
tired as the rest."

The pilot sighs. "Okay."

"Good," Pony nods. "I'm going to call home and tell everyone that
no one is to call us for two weeks. Then we're all going to get together and
find a nice place to go on a vacation. We're going there and while you're all
doing what you want to do, I'm going to have loads of delicious sex with
Eluza, and probably find some nice man and conceive my first child. Does
that sound good?"

"Sure, sure, whatever," Lufy grumbles.

"I knew you'd think that way," Pony smiles as she heads to the
kitchen, where the field communicator to Sagussa is located.

A thoughtful look crosses Lufy's face as Catty heads to the
bedroom. *Maybe while we're there, I can finally get Catty to stop
dreaming of Noa and start dreaming of me!*

Catty sneezes!

* * *

"Honeymoon?! You're kidding?!"

"Nope," Makoto shakes her head. "After all, isn't that what
married and handfasted couples do right after the ceremony?"

"Sure!" Lum nods. "I just thought that with your duties back on
Sagussa, you'd be too busy to consider taking a break."

"If you want to know, everyone in Mie's crew are about to fall
asleep on her feet," Makoto comments. "Pony was already muttering
something about putting the whole crew on enforced medical leave. You
can lay bets that once she orders it, everyone's going to head off somewhere
to have a good time. While they're doing that, Mie and I'll get the chance to
get back together."

"Well, honeymoons are supposed to be private affairs, but if you're
going along with everyone else..." Lum muses, then smiles. "And at the
same time, Darling and I can come out and spend some time with ourselves!
After all, three months of a long-distance love affair really can get on one's
nerves!"

"The more, the merrier," Makoto beams. "Bring Noa and Honey,
too! Why not bring Reiko-chan?! It'll give all of you the chance to get
together and be a real family!"

"Mmm," Lum nods, then hears the door open. "Darling, Mie-chan,
is that you?!"

"Hi, Lum!" Ataru smiles as he and Mie walk in, embracing their
lovers.

"Darling, how'd you like to come with me on a vacation?" Lum
stares at her boyfriend.

"Sure!" he nods. "Where're we going?!"

"Well, I think Pony and Catty are going to order Eluza's crew on
medical leave very soon, if they already haven't done it," Lum notes. "And
Mie-chan and Makoto-chan want to go on a honeymoon, so why don't we all
go together?! It'll be loads of fun!"

"What about Reiko-chan and Ten?"

"We'll bring them, too," Lum nods. "Noa and Honey as well! It'll
be a nice big get-together after all we've been through."

"That's sounds great," he nods, then remembers something else.
"But there's also Grandma to worry about."

"She would try to stop us."

"Just don't tell her!" Makoto snorts.

Ataru and Lum stare at the Yehisrite-born watchmistress, then at
each other. "By George, I think she's got it!" she smiles.

* * *

"So we're all going," Eluza sighs.

An hour later, the crew of the "Hasei'cha" plus Noa and Honey, as
well as Nokoko, Reiko and Ten-chan, relax in the living room. "Yes, we're
going," Ataru nods. "Mie and Makoto want to have their honeymoon. Lum
and I have to get our relationship back on track after living apart for three
months. I'm sure there are those of you who would want the chance to get
your own relationships on track. And I think each of us, for our own
personal reasons, needs a chance to take a break. Any ideas as to where we
can go?"

"Reiner's Five is good," Lum notes.

"That's pretty close to both Vosian and Ipraedies space," Spea
warns. "What happens if we run into agents from Schwartz or the Mikado?
We just finished dealing with Oogi...temporarily, that is, until we become
strong enough to take him on head-on."

"True," Lum nods. "But the colonies near Reiner's Five have been
in rebel hands since the Civil War started. And Schwartz would be hard-
pressed to bug us since he's got to worry about the growing *Dowe'on* push
against him. Besides, we've got Makoto and Lufy. Even half-asleep, Lufy
can take out Nassur-chan!"

"Flatterer!!" Lufy blushes.

"Any other suggestions?" Ataru looks around. No one says
anything. "Reiner's Five it is," Ataru nods, then looks at his sister. "Looks
like you got the run of the house."

"I don't mind, but what are you going to do about Grandma when
she finds out?"

"Then she better not find out until we're long gone," Ataru winks at
her. "I've worked a hell of a long time to finally get Lum to myself and I'm
not going to let her spoil it!"

"Okay," Nokoko smiles.

"Can we come, Lum-chan?" Ten-chan floats to his cousin's side.

"Of course," Lum beams. "It'll give you a chance to get together
with Reiko-chan."

"Yay!!" Ten-chan beams.

"I'm going to be sick," Reiko moans.

Ataru stares at his daughter. "Pity we couldn't bring Belle-chan
and Minami-chan."

"Can we bring them?!" Ten-chan asks.

"Well, I'm sure Donna-chan and Nintaiko-chan will allow Belle-
chan to come," the older Oni muses. "As for Minami-chan, you'll have to
ask her parents."

"I will!" Ten-chan heads to his scooter.

"I hope she does come," Reiko stands. "I don't want to put up to
him for two whole weeks!" With that, she heads to her room.

"Feisty tyke, isn't she?!" Lufy muses.

"That she is," Ataru sighs...

* * *

"Here you go," Sylia hands Eluza a chip. "Bring her back in one
piece, you maniac!"

"She'll be as good as we got her," Eluza salutes the commander of
Pathfinder Troop Six, smiling. "You sure you guys don't want to come
along? I don't think Oogi'll be much problem now that he's lost a good
chunk of his fleet thanks to Feb, Oryuu and Leona."

"Maybe later," Sylia hums. The members of Pathfinder Troop Six
meet everyone on the back lawn of Tomobiki High. The "Kiboo'cha" now
hovers over the school, the four Gladiators signed out to Mie, Lufy, Rabby
and Makoto in Guardian mode on the lawn. Everyone is dressed in
civilians, packed suitcases beside them. "Besides, we were in cryofreeze
right up to the time Rei found out about Mie. We're pretty well rested.
Now, get going!"

"Okay," Eluza laughs. "Later, Sylia!"

"Take care," Sylia waves as the "Hasei'cha's" captain heads to the
"Kiboo'cha" to get departure proceedings going.

Ten-chan's scooter is then heard. "Lum-chan, we're here!!"

The young Oni drives up, Minami Michini riding behind him. Two
suitcases are tied to his machine. "Minami-chan!" Lum smiles as she helps
his classmate off-load her suitcase. "Oh, it's so nice to see you! You sure
you're parents don't mind you coming with us?! We are going to another
planet, you know!"

"I wanted to come," Minami smiles. "After all, all they'd be doing
is visiting friends down in Kyoto. That's boring."

"You let Shildy there take care of you," Lum points to the first
officer.

"Okay!" Minami nods.

Belle and Reiko relax. "Well, at least we won't have to put up to
Ten-chan," the latter muses.

"C'mon, let's go!" Belle notions.

"Now, keep an eye on this place," Ataru orders Pathfinder Troop
Six. "Nothing that shouldn't be here is to be allowed here. Especially no
one from Phentax Two, Vos or any of the Imperialist sects from Uru."

"No problem, sir," Linna salutes him.

"And another thing," Ataru leans up to them, thumbing the team
commander and master chief petty officer. "Get Sylia and Priss mated...with
each other if you have to!!"

"Hai!!!" the troop officer and the sergeants-major salute.

Sylia and Priss wince...

* * *

A day later, the "Kiboo'cha" and her attending Gladiators appear
over Reiner's Five, the beautiful resort world located in a buffer zone
between the Vosian Confederation and the Ipraedies Empire. Staring at the
gorgeous landscape below as the ships make planetary approach, Ataru
whistles. "Boy, this is a nice place!"

"The Ipraedies did take very good care of it when they had their
garrison here," Lum admits. "When it became independent, the
environmental policies were kept in place. Reiner's Five has to import
everything from abroad, although its popularity went into decline when the
Civil War flared up on Vos."

"Pity," Makoto muses over the comm lines. "Who knows! We
might just make this a favourite spot for Sagussans on vacation."

"Which of course means that we be on our best behaviour," Eluza
warns everyone else. "We're setting an example, people. Make it a good
one." She then stares at Rumy, who sits beside her's and Noa's
sandpanthers, Starleaf and Alphonse. "Which also means that those two
behave themselves, too!" Eluza adds.

Both sandpanthers growl in surprise. "But what if they want to
hunt glugbeasts or anything like that?!" Rumy wonders.

"I don't think the authorities will take to that too kindly, Rumy-
chan," Lum sighs.

Alphonse and Starleaf stare at each other. The former growls as if
saying, "No hunting?! How uncivilized!"

"What did you expect from a bunch of wingless hominoids?!" the
latter responds.

"Incoming message," Spea reports from the helm. "Docking
control."

"Reply," Eluza nods.

The forward viewscreen image changes to a handsome man in the
uniform of Reiner's Five Customs Service. "Approaching fleet, this is
Reiner's Five. State your planet of origin and business, please."

"Oooh, what a doll!!!" Spea gasps.

Amy licks her lips. "I saw him first!!!"

Eluza blinks, then stares at Ataru. Since the Sagussans had not
gone public on their existence to ensure their *daimon'cha* wouldn't be
besieged by those thirsting for their world's power, the question is clearly on
the shipmistress' face as to what to say. "Eluza, let me handle this," Lufy
calls.

"Go ahead," Eluza sighs.

Aboard her Gladiator, Lufy presses controls to feed the signal to
her viewscreen. "Hi, handsome!" she smiles sweetly. "Sorry to keep you
waiting. We're coming by to sample your world's delights. We're not from
a planet you've heard of before, but we're not interested in that first contact
razzmatazz ...eh?!" she blinks confusedly. "Er...is there something wrong,
sir?"

The control officer looks as if he is about to have a massive
coronary or a stroke or both. "A-a-a p-p-pir-pir-s-s-siw-r-r-r!" he points at
Lufy...or rather the star tattoo.

"What's wrong?!" Lufy innocently blinks.

"Dockingclearancegrantedhaveaniceday!" he blurts out, then
presses a control.

The screen goes dark. Everyone on the "Kiboo'cha's" bridge falls
over laughing. Lufy scratches her head as she tries to understand what
happened. "Was it something I said?" she wonders. "The way he reacted,
you'd think the Dirty Pair were in town!"

"LOVELY ANGELS!!!!" Kei's and Yuri's voices echo from
nowhere.

"SHADDUP!!!!!!" Lufy screams. "I wasn't talking about you!!!"

"Docking clearance has been granted," Eluza turns to Ataru, still
shuddering from her giggles. "We should be fine."

"Get us down there before we die of laughter," Ataru snorts...

* * *

"There you go, Nassur-san," a customs agent smiles. "Welcome
back to Reiner's Five. I hope you and your wife have a good time."

"Thanks," Nassur slips his Galactic Federation identity card and
bounty hunter ID card into his wallet, then puts it into his shirt. While still
wearing his kill-belt...no Vosian hunter in his right mind would go anywhere
without it...he is now in a button shirt and slacks in lieu of his hunter's
uniform. Benten also retrieves her passport and hunter ID, now dressed in a
blouse and jeans, her hair let down but with her sash chain in place. "Well,
let's go get a hotel room so we can relax," he stares at her.

"Yeah!" Benten nods.

Both jolt as a scream is heard. They see another customs official
hiding as Alphonse and Starleaf stare at her. The hunters are surprised to
see the sandpanthers there. "Hey, isn't that Noa's pet?" Benten points.

Nassur's eyes flash. "And I just picked up Ataru, Lum, Reiko-chan,
Belle-chan, Ten-chan and his classmate Minami. Looks like we aren't the
only ones here for a vacation."

Both walk over. Alphonse and Starleaf quizzically stare at the
shuddering customs agent, wondering what could they have said which
might have frightened the poor girl so much. Rumy walks up, munching on
a bar of ogh'rit. "They're just wondering if you have any wild glugbeasts on
this planet so they can go hunting," the science chief translates, then stuffs
the bar into her mouth.

Starleaf mutters something. "Hey!!" Rumy spins on the
sandpanther. "How am I supposed to grow nice curves for Patty unless I eat
something to give me some body fat?!"

Starleaf grumbles as if saying, "Where's that going to be? Your
stomach?!"

"You can actually understand that?!" the official gasps, starting to
get decorum back on seeing the Terran-turned-Sagussan acting calm around
the sandpanthers.

"Sure I can," Rumy smiles. "Can't you?!"

"Um...excuse me, but I can vouch for them," Nassur interrupts in
hope of averting the first major diplomatic incident between Reiner's Five
and Sagussa. "They're friends."

"Hi, Nassur-chan, Benten!" Lum flies up, everyone behind her.
"Why are you here?!"

"We were ordered on vacation by Naosu," Benten sighs. "What
about you guys?!"

"Eluza-chan and her friends were put on medical leave after
working so hard for the past six weeks," Lum sighs. "Mie-chan and
Makoto-chan are here on their honeymoon and Darling and I came down to
spend some time with Noa-chan and Honey-chan."

"Oh, that's nice," Nassur nods.

"Um...I have to see some identification from them," the customs
agent warns.

Shouts are head from nearby. Everyone sees a group of ragged
men with guns and bags stuffed with valuables make a break through the
concourse. A troop of local constabulary are on their tails, but are keeping
far back enough to not antagonize a hostage situation. "I don't think we're
going to get much of a vacation," Benten lets out a depressed moan.

Lufy puts down her bag, then in one jump, leaps to the rafters to
put herself behind the robbers. Once in the clear, they form a defensive
circle, weapons at the ready. "Now listen up!!" their leader barks. "We
want a ship and a clear passage out of this place!!! Anyone tries to stop us,
he's gonna get hurt!"

Ten-chan floats up. "I think you better surrender right now."

The robbers turn as one to the small Oni, which allows Lufy to
drop down behind them. "Ten-chan's so brave," Minami gasps.

"Yuck!!" Reiko sticks her tongue out.

"Whaddayamean we better surrender?!!" the leader snarls. "Get
outta here, kid!!!"

"I really think you should surrender," Ten-chan repeats.

"And why's that?!!" another laughs.

"'Cause there's a *pirpirsiw'r* behind you," Ten-chan sighs.

The robbers blink surprisedly, then howl. "A *pirpirsiw'r?!!*
What crazy story is that?!! Everyone knows the *pirpirsiw'r've* been
extinct for four centuries!! 'Sides, their reputations're a load of hot air!!"

"Gee, I really think you shouldn't've said that," Ten-chan raises his
voice in warning. "Lufy-onee-chan doesn't like it when people say that
about her and her friends."

Suddenly, the robbers feel intense heat. "'**Extinct for four
centuries,' eh?!!**" Lufy's demonic voice nearly causes everyone to leap out
of their clothes in dread. "'**Load of hot air,' eh?!! Where I come from,
*kimei'ne,* THEM'S FIGHTIN' WORDS!!!!!!**"

The robbers spin around to see Lufy glaring murderously at them.
"I seriously think we should take cover!" Nassur gulps.

"Oh, don't worry, Nassur," Mie beams...

...as explosions, bones shattering and pained screams of the robbers
as they suffer Lufy's wrath shake the spaceport to its foundations!!!
Everyone save the pilot's shipmates and countrywomen turn away,
wondering what'll be left of the helpless bandits after Lufy is finished with
them.

"...Lufy's very neat," Mie concludes.

"I'm afraid to look," Nassur covers his eyes with his hand.

Lum peeks through her fingers. "*Tcha!*" she winces, covering
her eyes again. "That's awful!!! Don't look, Nassur-chan!"

"I told ya to surrender," Ten-chan sighs.

Presently, the robbers are so hideously twisted up, the writers (yes,
even in the wake of what Makoto did to the fake Oogi in "Mie's Story") can't
conceive of how they would describe the horrors Lufy wrought! Staring at
this, the customs agent turns to the other Sagussans. "Welcome to Reiner's
Five!" she waves them through. "Have a pleasant stay!"

"Thank you"s echoes from everyone as they join Lufy as the
robbers are towed away. Nearby, a woman resembling Dakejinzou without
the spinal ridge of hair and tail stares in awe at the group of Sagussans...and
the man they surround. *He...he must be the Chosen One of the Eternal
Voyager!* she gasps, her cat-slitted eyes widening. *Oh, thank the gods!!
Now my people can be spared the horrors of the plague threatening us
all!!!*

Ataru sneezes!

* * *

"So this is Reiner's Five, huh?!" Ataru looks around as he leads the
troup of sixteen Sagussans, two Onis, one Terran, Noukiite, Vosian,
Fukunokami and Ellsian down the centre strip of the capital city. "Actually
reminds me a little of Tomobiki Marchenland."

His words are understated. The capital is a carnival, boutiques
lining both sides of the street, interrupted with playgrounds, cafes and
restaurants of all descriptions, shopping centres and other relaxing venues.
"It does, doesn't it?" Lum sighs. "At least here, we can relax and have loads
of fun!!"

"Not to mention get acquainted," Amy playfully rubs her cheek
against Spea's.

"Or re-acquainted," Makoto lovingly stares at Mie.

Mie giggles, then kisses her life-mate. "Or at least get people
interested, right, Lufy?" Rabby walks over to slip her arm around her
wingmate's, longingly gazing at Lufy.

Shildy suddenly looks jealous on seeing Rabby taking interest in
another woman. Lufy, in antithesis to her normal demeanor, looks as if she
would gladly be elsewhere. "Um...if you s-say so," the Yehisrite-born pilot
tries to shake her wingmate away.

Noa and Honey watch as Lufy vainly looks at Catty in hopes that
the doctor would come rescue her. Catty, however, is reading an
intelligence brief on Reiner's Five, oblivious to her shipmate's plight. Rabby
shifts Lufy's right arm over her shoulder, allowing the latter to touch her
right breast, her own left arm wrapping around Lufy's body to get at her own
breasts. Seeing this, Shildy turns a very nice shade of cherry. Her eyes
glow with such fury that if looks could kill, Lufy WOULD be ashes! The
other Sagussans pay this no mind, accustomed to the tortured soap opera-
like antics between the first officer, the two pilots and the doctor. "I see
we've got to get that situation settled," Noa muses.

"Sorry, sis," Honey looks sympathetic. "That's your problem!"

Suddenly, the massed squeal of dozens of young women echo.
Everyone's heads snap left to see what's going on. "Well, I'll be damned!!!"
Ataru blinks, chuckling as he points across the street. "Mendou's fan club
just got transplanted to Reiner's Five!!! Just add the school uniforms!!!"

Everyone looks. Across the street, a mass of young women from a
half-dozen races follow Grisur, who is hopelessly trying to keep a low
profile: he is wearing a trench coat over his gold-trimmed black hunter's
uniform. Of course, he forgot to bring a hat. "Whoo!!!" Patty gasps.
"Whatta hunk!!!"

"Wow!!" Rumy licks her lips. "Now THAT is what I call good
genetic material!!!"

"He is a hunk, isn't he?!" Mie muses.

"I thought you wanted kids via parthenogenesis?!" Makoto hums.

"Hey, I can still look, can't I?!"

Nassur, however, tenses as stunned recognition dawns. Minami,
who is presently riding the Vosian's back, stares quizzically at him.
"Nassur-san, are you okay?"

"Nassur-chan, you recognize him?!" Ten-chan floats up, looking
concerned.

"That's Grisur!" Nassur exclaims.

Lum, Benten, Reiko and Ten-chan jolt. "The Mikado's Executive
Assistant?!!" the older Oni exclaims. "What's he doing here?!!"

"I don't know, but I suggest we get out of sight," Nassur tries to
usher them away.

No such luck. Grisur is forced to cross the street, then tears up the
other way in a vain hope to dodge his pursuers. As he comes up, he slows
down to a jog beside Nassur. "Hi, Nassur!" he smiles, waving.

"You seem to be having troubles."

"Ah, nothing I really can't handle!! Gotta run!" Grisur tenses, then
takes off down the street. "See you later!!"

Everyone gets out of the way as the mob of young women charge
past in hot pursuit. "***GRISUR-SAMA, COME TO OUR ARMS!!!!***"
they squeal as they race down the street.

"If Mendou was here, he'd be going on his 'men is face' routine,"
Ataru comments as they watch the crowd disappear.

"For someone who is nominally your enemy, he seemed quite well
behaved," Eluza comments.

"Not all of the Mikado's people're power-crazy lunatics or
psychopaths," Nassur hums.

"What DOES bring him here?!" Lum wonders.

"I don't know," Nassur shrugs. "Grisur dropped out of sight ten
years ago. Rumour has it he's been protecting the Mikado's wife and son
from the rebel forces on one of the new colonies in the Outmarches. He's
one who always completes his mission, which makes his presence here on
Reiner's Five suspicious."

"Which means we just waltzed into more trouble," Ataru slaps his
head. "Didn't we come out here to get AWAY from trouble?!!"

"Hey, he's no problem," Lufy shrugs.

"We're not like you, Lufy," Benten notes.

"I got a suggestion," Rumy interrupts.

"What is it, Rumy-chan?!" Ten-chan asks.

Rumy hands him a bar of ogh'rit. "Why don't we go camping?" the
science chief shrugs. "It'll give Starleaf and Alphonse the chance to do
some hunting, and at the same time, while we're out in the open, we can
better defend ourselves if Grisur or any of his friends try to wreck our
vacation!"

"That's not a bad idea," Nassur muses.

"Yeah," Lufy slips out of Rabby's grasp, then gently slips her arm
around Catty's. "Campfires are really romantic, right, Catty?"

The doctor stares fearfully at Lufy, sweat pouring down her hair.
"I-if y-you s-say s-so, Lufy!" she stammers.

Now Rabby is glowing with jealous rage, angrily eyeing Catty for
attracting Lufy's romantic attention. "Well, since we're all agreed, let's go
find a place where we can relax," Ataru announces.

Everyone heads down the street. Unseen by any of them, several
Vosian civilians angrily glare at Lum, then sneak off. "Pass it on to
Poksunba-san that the Oni is here!" one whispers to another. "We can make
our move against Oogi at any time!!"

"Right," the other nods.

Lum sneezes!

* * *

"She's here?!!" Poksunba growls. "This is better than we could
have planned!!"

Several of her friends nod. "I hate to tell you this, but Nassur is
with her now," Grisur warns. "If you try to kidnap her, you'll be asking for a
load of trouble."

"You could kidnap her," a man points.

"I could and I will, if it's guaranteed to drag Oogi into the open,"
Grisur nods. "Problem is, she's surrounded by a nice sized pack of friends
which, believe it or not, supposedly include two *pirpirsiw'r* atop Nassur
and Lum's boyfriend Ataru Moroboshi."

The other Vosians pale in shock. "That's impossible!!!" a woman
screams. "The *pirpirsiw'r* died out centuries ago!!"

"No?!" Grisur walks over to a television.

He turns it on. A anchorwoman appears delivering the news.
"...recap of our latest story," she looks at her notes. "An incident occurred
at the spaceport this afternoon. A group of bandits attempting to escape the
planet were halted and made to surrender by a Yehisrite woman whom
witnesses state bore a cheek tattoo reminiscent of the legendary Most
Dangerous Soldiers, or *pirpirsiw'r,* who were believed to have died out
centuries ago..."

"See?!" Grisur turns to his countrymen.

"I see," Poksunba nods as Grisur shuts off the television. "So, this
will be harder than we initially planned. It doesn't matter. Our slain
children will not rest in peace until we've brought that bastard Oogi to
justice. Where is Lum now?"

"I last saw her in the centre of town," Grisur sighs, blushing. "But
being who I am, it's a little hard to get from place to place without being
recognized and chased by a bunch of women. I've no idea where they could
be; Nassur did see me, so he'll be undoubtedly moving to get his friends out
of sight."

"No matter," Poksunba dismisses his words with a wave. "We'll
get our hands on that Oni no matter how long it takes!"

* * *

"Whoo!!!" Lum beams as she takes a breath of fresh air. "This is
so beautiful!! What do you think, Darling?!"

Ataru reaches over to pull the Oni into his arms. "The most
beautiful sight on this planet is standing right in front of me."

Lum sighs as they kiss. Both stand on a knoll overlooking their
camp. The vacationers are setting up camp on the planet's largest continent,
a sea of forest and grassland hardly touched by those who took residence
here. "Hey!" Benten yells. "Stop with the smooch parade and give us a
hand!!"

"Spoilsport!" Ataru and Lum mutter.

"Now, Benten," Nassur admonishes as he helps Makoto pile
firewood. "Why don't you leave them alone? They're trying to get back
together again after being apart for so long."

"True, but they could've saved it for bed," Benten unloads all the
camping equipment they rented before coming out via flitter.

"I think you still can't stand the sight of Ataru and Lum being so
close after all those years of his libido going out of control," Makoto muses
as she prepares the campfire pit. "After all, if Ataru isn't misbehaving, you
can't go out and punish him."

"Hey!!" Benten snaps. "You don't have to heap that over me!
Save it for the jerks back in Tomobiki!! They deserve it more!"

"Benten, you have to agree that you did help Lum try to keep
control over Ataru," Nassur reminds her. "What about the first time Elle
tried to take Ataru? You were the one who proposed to Lum that she kidnap
Ataru to try to force him to marry her then."

She flushes. "Oh, alright, then!!" she snarls as she storms off.
"You don't have to keep reminding me of things like that, y'know! I'm going
to get something to drink."

"There're bottles of himgh-tagh in my pack," Makoto states. "Don't
drink it all."

"Right," Benten nods.

Ataru and Lum come down. "Need any help?" the former wonders.

"We're done," Nassur smiles. "Benten was just trying to interrupt
your time alone."

"Figures!" Lum sighs. "We wean the idiots of Tomobiki from that
habit, and now we've got to wean Benten of it!"

"At least you weren't that way, Nassur," Ataru comments as he
ducks into the tent he will be sharing with Lum, Noa and Honey.

"Thanks," Nassur chuckles.

Lum flies off to find Noa. Makoto stops. "Nassur, can I ask you a
question?"

"What is it?" he stares at the Sagussan.

"Have you been tempted to push matters between Ataru and Lum?"

Nassur stops. "No. I mean, I'd be very happy if they did
marry...and quite saddened if they broke up...but after living the life I've
been through, I don't like it when I see others trying to force people to do
something they're not ready for. I did try to warn Lum to back off, but it
obviously wasn't enough before the Spirit War forced the issue."

"Don't blame yourself," Makoto comments. "We're in the same
position. We've got the power necessary to stop wars, end famine and
depose dictators. Yet if we exercise it, we'd be no better than the Fourth
Republic. You've no idea how much the races here've been influenced by
them, especially your people."

"My people?"

"Uh-huh," Makoto nods. "About 16,000 years ago, Sagussan
scientists introduced a selective breeding program among Vosians. This
was back in the time when your people were cannibalistic cave dwellers.
Your powers of recognition were unbelievable back then. To ensure that
you wouldn't become a race of monsters...or so they postulated...they
changed certain elements of your genetic structures to reduce your
recognition powers and bring forth your tracking skills."

Nassur stops as he takes that in, staring at her. "My God!! You're
serious?!"

"Very," she nods. "The Vosians weren't the end of it. Everyone
was hit. The Fourth Republic played the role of the Supreme Being on other
races in its sphere of influence."

"And the potential is there for you to repeat those same acts on
others."

"Right," the watchmistress readily nods. "We're lucky because we
were programmed with such strong personal morals when we were re-born.
But we could easily use logic to make decisions which could be just as
socially or culturally catastrophic. So we had to learn emotions to better
understand the full nature of the clash between Creation and Entropy, hence
our search for an initial *daimon'cha*...Ataru...to act both as our first
genetic father as well as an emotional template for us to become more
human."

"But something went wrong, right?"

"Right. We're presently emotionally bound to him, which in itself
could become a threat if Ataru ever lost control of himself. We'd follow him
right to Eternity and back if he ordered it. That's why we have to wean
ourselves from him, so that we could become masters of our own destiny."

"And at the same time, you're making him master of his own
destiny," he muses. "A pretty fair trade-off, I must say."

"True. You know, I wish we considered going back to find Ataru
sooner. Who knows where we'd be right now if we had gone back before
things really got out of control."

"Wishful thinking," Nassur muses...

* * *

"What're you trying to prove?!" Lum demands as she walks up to
the Fukunokami, now relaxing on a rock beside Noa. "What's wrong?!
Hasn't Nassur-chan made love to you enough since you got married?!"

"Hey, you got to admit that seeing you and Ataru go at it is a bit of
a novelty," Benten shrugs. "After all, it wasn't more than just five months
ago that he was willing to keep hitting on us just to keep you away."

"True, but at least I don't try to horn in between you and Nassur-
chan when you two get personal," Lum growls.

"You never had much of a chance to do that," Noa warns. "After
all, haven't you been keeping Nassur and Benten away from Earth so
Shinobu wouldn't be so much of a problem?"

"Well, that's true," Lum notes.

"Oh, how is she, anyway?" Benten scowls.

"Still moping after Nassur-chan like she did before you two got
married," the Oni sighs. "That's weird, if you ask me. It really didn't take
her long to figure out that Darling wasn't interested in her anymore when I
came. And it wasn't long before she started to see the game Shutaro was
playing with her to get at me. I still don't think anyone's told her that you
two are actually married, but she should've gotten the hint by now!"

"What about Inaba? He still around?"

"No," Lum sighs. "Inaba was transferred to the Destiny
Management Organization team for Sagussa sometime ago."

"Shit," Benten sympathetically sighs. "She must be hurting."

"Well, I think her becoming friends with Pamanba's helping. I still
find it hard to trust Pamanba, but I don't really understand what she and
Nassur-chan went through when they were under the Mikado's control."

"You know, I think you're lucky, Lum," Benten sighs, "...now that
you and Ataru're getting together with Noa's people. With jerks like the
Mikado losing control of their empires, it's not going to be a safe galaxy
anymore if things really get out of hand."

"We won't step on their toes unless they step on ours first," Noa
declares. "And if they do, we'll stomp them into protoplasm!!"

"By the way," Lum smiles. "Thanks for getting Lufy to kill
Furusur and his gang."

"Anything for you," Noa kisses her.

"So it was one of you guys who did that," Benten notes. "Shit,
Lufy deserves a medal!"

"She does, doesn't she," Lum sighs.

Benten and Noa tense. "You okay?" the former hums on seeing
her sad gaze.

"I guess it's just coming to me."

"What is?" Noa wonders.

"The battle," Lum stares at the Sagussan. "The fact that you had to
kill those people just to allow Darling and I the chance to live our own lives.
How many people died..."

"Do you want an exact body-count?"

"Oogi gave it to me two days ago," Lum shudders, then spits out.
"Damn him! Doesn't he understand that I don't care about what his people
do anymore?! I don't want that damn moronic church in my name to exist!
I never have!! Look what happened when the Mikado tried to have my
family assassinated?! Five million people were put to death!!! Who's going
to make him answer for that?!"

"If someone doesn't kill him before you two move to Sagussa, we'll
take care of him AND his church," Noa vows. "You're Sagussan. That
means you're entitled to the protection the Republic can extend. If there are
people out there who don't understand that, then they'll be taught it the hard
way!"

"I just wish Oogi would've learned from Shutaro and the others!"
Lum sighs. "They didn't mind it when Darling helped them get together
with Sil-chan and the rest!!"

"First of all, despite Ataru's annoyance for their not minding their
own business when it came to your relationship, he does care for them," Noa
counters. "He cushioned the blow for all of them. But he can't cushion the
blow for people like Oogi because it's really not his responsibility. His
responsibility is to love you and care for you as your bond-mate and child-
mate. If Oogi can't understand that, then Ataru can't help him anymore."

Silence falls. "You're right, Noa," Lum looks depressed. "I'm just
afraid that when it comes to blows, a lot of people are going to suffer...and I
don't know how I'm going to live with myself when that time comes."

"Hey," Noa wraps an arm around her. "That's why I'm here,
remember? That's my job. I'll be there for you, you know that."

"I'm glad," Lum sighs.

Both then notice Benten staring at them. "What?" Noa wonders.

"I can't believe you," the Fukunokami sighs. "I can't believe that
you'd pick a non-Sagussan to be your bond-mate," she looks at Noa, "...and
I sure can't believe that you'd be willing to love Noa while at the same time
loving Ataru," she looks at Lum.

"I think she wants to see us kiss," Lum stares mischeviously at
Noa.

"Guess she picked up some perversions after being exposed to
Ataru," Noa meows.

"Hey, I resent that accusation!" Benten snaps. "I'm my own
pervert, thank you!! I didn't need to learn anything from Ataru!"

The three girls laugh...

* * *

"...and Rayna," Eluza laughs as she explains Sagussan Navy
politics to Nassur that night. "She's so clumsy!! You can't beam her into a
building without her tripping on the floor or smacking her head on an
overhang! Out in the field, she's fine, but in a city, she's a walking
disaster!!"

Everyone laughs as they relax. "And need we mention Miranda,"
Shildy declares, then leaps over to Rabby to rub the latter's stomach in an
imitation of the pilot's behaviour. "Oh, you poor, sweet, little dear, did you
get a fingernail mark on your skin?!" she imitates Miranda's motherly tones.
"I'll wipe it away and make it better!"

The laughter picks up as Rabby playfully shoves Shildy away.
"And there's the worst of the lot," Lufy declares. "Leona!"

"How bad is she?" Nassur wonders.

Lufy stands up, then leaps into the air to do an interesting variation
of Sakura's Thunderthighs Flying Takedown on Nassur's chest! "Hey!!" she
barks on knocking the Vosian down, acting as if the Ellsian-born warsuit
pilot had just crushed a building doing one of her terminal-velocity drops
with her Warsuit. "Who put that there?!! It's not MY fault everyone's so
damn messy!!"

"Get off MY child-mate!" Benten growls.

Laughter picks up as Lufy gets off Nassur, allowing him the chance
to sit up. "And need we forget that lush on the bridge of the 'Lyna'cha,'
Feb!" Spea calls out.

"Hey, don't knock her!" Amy warns. "She directs battles better
when she's loaded with a bottle of ran-jugh! If she wasn't drinking, I'd be
pissing my pants wishing you weren't anywhere near me in case we bought
it, Spea!!"

"I love you too," Spea kisses her.

"What does that mean?" Benten wonders.

"If Spea and Amy were both killed, how could they pass on their
*mei'na* to their relatives?" Lum stares at her friend. "The act of
*tre'cha*...the passing-on...is very sacred. It's another way of guaranteeing
one's immortality outside of having children."

"People say that's what provoked the Clone Rights War," Makoto
comments. "The practice of *tre'cha* went out of style."

"I've heard bits and pieces of that," Nassur comments. "Like how
long it lasted and the number of people killed. But, how did it all start?
And why do you call it that?"

"You have to know the Age of Gisan'cha," Mie sighs, then stares at
Catty. "But let's turn it over to our Lyna expert here."

The doctor flushes as everyone looks at her. "Fourteen millennia
ago, Sagussa had become a pit of social and moral decay as the Age of
Gisan'cha charged ahead without any sign of relenting. Technology just
escaped all moral controls. People were arrogant, looking down on those
who were not Sagussan. The eugenics practices on other races, Vos in
particular. The actual tapping of the energies of the *te'a* into terrible
weapons which would have destroyed a galaxy with a thought. The loss of
so many traditional values because the memories of ancestors were never
passed to younger generations. But the worst crime of all...was the practice
of using clones as space body parts to prolong life."

Benten and Nassur pale. "What?!"

"It's true," Lum sadly nods. "Every person on Sagussa by Lyna's
time had three clones made of themselves shortly after birth. If one's heart
failed for example, a heart was carved out of the clone and transplanted.
And the clones themselves were kept in a large storage chamber...in fact,
Tere'na-korgh, under the dome that's been sitting there for Fate knows how
long now."

"I think I'm going to be seriously sick," Benten blanches.
"Actually slicing someone up like that, without their being able to say
something about it?! That's awful!"

"They couldn't say anything about it," Catty notes. "They were
what was then called *mei'aidoei*...half-lives. All body, no brains. They
never were allowed the chance to live. Now, there were people who
considered this to be wrong, a violation of the spirit of Creation, but since
the practice was so well-refined that no operation resulted in organ
rejection, their voices were ignored...until one day when someone made
quite a wonderful discovery on Sagurei, our moon."

"The regeneration matrix," Lum concludes.

"That is?" Nassur wonders.

"How we're all alive today," Pony cuts in. "It is a fluid which has
unparalleled cellular regenerative abilities. Even persons who were
dismembered could be put right back together in the matrix. I can tell you
the way we are today and the way we were when Henry found us is as
different as day and night...thanks to the regeneration matrix."

"So in a fell swoop, cloning became obsolete," Ataru muses.

"Exactly," Catty nods. "It took a while for them to perfect the
process...the mind had to be protected for the matrix would wipe that
clean...but in a few years, it was ready to be brought into society.
But...people back then were scared of the matrix. Even to this day, we don't
understand how exactly the matrix works, and we're far more scientifically
advanced than even back then. Back then, the matrix was seen literally as
black magic!"

"So many people really didn't want to put themselves into this
thing," Nassur muses. "It could tear their very soul apart."

"So they believed," the doctor nods. "To prove how good the
matrix was, its discoverer, Ojin, decided to do some marketing. She cloned
herself, but this time used the regeneration matrix as the growth fluid, not a
gestation matrix as was the normal practice. And that clone...became Lyna.

"Lyna was blessed with such foresight and beauty, many people
saw her as a reincarnation of Ram, the angel who went to cleanse Tomobiki
of Entropy. They believed Lyna's coming meant that Sagussa would be
cleansed of Entropy and the Age of Gisan'cha ended. In a sense, her coming
sparked a revival of traditional ways...*tre'cha,* the practice of *marei'cha,*
the old style communes in lieu of the cities. She became an idol star the
likes of which you could NEVER conceive. And she was musically
gifted...her voice could even move starwhales!

"By the time she matured, anti-Gisan'cha movements had taken
root. It's primary expression was the clone rights group...Tarun-Chong, the
Other Party...advocating the ending of cloning and the freeing of the clones
in Tere'na-korgh to give them freedom. Others advocated the tearing down
of the cities, the destruction of all technology which was not seen as
beneficial to one's spirit. But, as you could guess, there were those who did
not approve of these words. By the time Lyna was a hundred years old,
Sagussa was so polarized that war was inevitable."

"And the spark was...?" Nassur prompts.

"When people learned Lyna was a clone."

"Ouch!" Benten winces.

"When that news broke out," the doctor continues, "...the
government immediately stripped her of her civil rights, declaring that since
she was a clone, she had no right to live. They even publicly executed her.
But each of her cells was powered by the regeneration matrix, so her body
could not be destroyed. And that act was like a red cape in front of the bulls
in Tarun-Chong. They destroyed Tere'na City with an annihilation device,
then launched a rebellion. And that rebellion...became the War of Clone
Rights."

"Five hundred years, ten billion people," Lum shudders. "Two
planets destroyed, one environmentally wasted..."

"All in the name of idol worship," Ataru concludes. "No better
than the way the Niphentaxians lust after you, Lum."

"I get the picture," Benten pales.

"We venerate Lyna for she was...the model for all of us," Catty
explains. "Like she, we were also born in the regeneration matrix. We are
the logical continuation of Ojin's dream; a society which keeps its roots in
the natural processes of life. We frown on the practice of cloning unless it is
the express wish of a person who doesn't wish to die before their time...and
we don't need it because we have *tre'cha* and the regeneration matrix.
That's the reason the Gatherer never went to Zephyrus and Kurakoa to
obtain *daishi'cha.* All of them are descent of those clones Tarun-Chong
freed at the war's start, then transplanted so that the government could not
replenish themselves with spare body parts."

"Whatever happened to Lyna?" Benten wonders. "If she couldn't
be destroyed, what did they do with her body?! It must've become some
icon for the clone rights folks."

"Lyna's body was placed in a crystalline coffin and buried in
Tere'na-korgh," Catty explains. "Lufy and I took Ataru there one day when
he visited Sagussa twelve years ago."

"I remember that day," Lufy sighs.

Catty shudders. Meanwhile, one tent is presently occupied. "Boy,
grown-ups sure talk a lot, don't they?" Minami sighs as she tries to sleep
inside the tent the kids are sharing.

"Yeah, they sure do," Reiko mutters...

* * *

The campers talk unaware that they are being watched through a
set of high-powered binoculars from a nearby hill. "There they are," a
portly Vosian man muses. "Flash to Poksunba that we've located the Oni's
camp."

"Right," his companion nods...

* * *

Early the next morning, Catty steps out of her tent. Stretching, she
heads to the portable john. As the sun rises, the doctor is distracted by the
sounds of children. "What's going on?!" she muses.

Reiko and Belle are now frolicking with Starleaf, both girls having
shoved the large sandpanther onto his back to tickle his stomach.
Meanwhile, Minami sits gingerly on Alphonse's back, Ten-chan floating
nearby to ensure that his classmate does not fall off. "Kids," she smiles,
wondering how her children would behave when they got to that age.

By then, Noa has stepped out of one of the larger tents, Lum beside
her. "Boy, they love to start early!" the Sagussan yawns.

"They do, don't they?" the Oni smiles, then kisses her bond-mate as
she flies over to the wash station.

Seeing this, the doctor trembles as a flash of hot jealousy rips up
her spine. Why had Lum chosen the woman Catty desired?! Couldn't she
have chosen Honey, who had yet to find a girl? Why Noa?! And what did
Noa see in Lum? Being bond-mates with Lum could not possibly be
emotionally satisfying thanks to the inbred cultural differences between
Urusians and Sagussans. Chances were very good that after the *daishi'cha*
were able to emotionally live independent of Ataru, he and Lum would
return to Earth and be together for the rest of their lives. Noa would never
know the deep satisfaction of a successful bond-mating with Lum. But with
Catty...?

Catty blushes as she proceeds to dress. Time to start earning Noa's
attention...

* * *

Eluza walks up to Lufy, who is loading weapons for a patrol
around the camp. "You understand what to do?" the former wonders.

"If I see anything suspicious, shoot first and ask questions later,"
the pilot smiles, loading rounds into her photon shotgun. "Relax, Eluza. I
won't let that jerk Grisur get at anyone here."

"Good," Eluza nods. "Don't be afraid to ask for relief, either, Lufy.
No need to loose my best trooper to fatigue."

"I'll be fine," Lufy heads off.

Catty watches this from nearby as she consumes a breakfast of
yapulgh-torghsu-gi, yanbe-chagh, fresh chigh and mixed kyon-gagh. Good.
She did not need Lufy to fawn all over her like she had over the last twelve
years. Catty found the pilot's interest sweet, but couldn't consider becoming
bond-mates with Lufy with Noa around. Besides, didn't Lufy notice Rabby?
And if Rabby was taken by Shildy, Lufy always had Honey or Priss, not to
mention a host of others. The pilot and Noa's sister were of similar
temperaments, the former more so with Pathfinder Troop Six's coxswain.
Catty wanted something higher.

As breakfast is cleaned up, Ataru and Lum head off to be by
themselves. Catty smiles. Noa was alone. Time to get to work. As the
Seishin-born bureaucrat stretches herself, the doctor jaunts over. "Noa, do
you want to go for a walk?" she proposes.

Noa stares at her, then shrugs. "Well, I'm not busy," she muses,
then nods. "Sure!"

Catty slips her arm around Noa's as the two head out of camp.
Watching this, Benten turns to Nassur. "Hey, wouldn't that be seen as
poaching one's bond-mate?" she points.

"I hope Lum doesn't catch them," the Vosian muses.

"Much less Lufy," Honey comments.

Rabby thoughtfully grins. She needed Catty to get bonded to
someone so that she had a clear road to Lufy's heart. What did her
wingmate see in that frail girl anyway? Doctors were important on Sagussa,
but Catty was definitely not Lufy's type. Rabby shudders gleefully as she
imagines what life would be like with Lufy, raising children with her, not to
mention fighting side-by-side with the *pirpirsiw'r*-turned-*daishi'cha.*

Shildy shudders in steaming jealous rage. She did NOT need Catty
to go chasing after Noa. Not only was it definitely unpolitic to move in on
one already bonded without getting consent from the target's mate...Shildy
doubted Lum would do that given her behaviour around Ataru...but if Lufy
couldn't bond with Catty, she would have Rabby all over her, which would
do the first officer no good. Shildy heads over to the commander's tent.
Time to pass Lufy a discreet message...

* * *

Noa and Catty make their way through the groves of pine trees,
drinking in the beautiful scenery. There was nothing like this on Sagussa.
All that could be seen was endless sand dunes, skeletons of cities, mountain
ranges and dried up ocean beds stripped of topsoil, not to mention the dome
of Tere'na-korgh wedged in the southern mountain chain of Sagussa's first
province. All of that was swept by merciless sandstorms and fifty degree
Centigrade heat at noon, which lingered far into the night as the sands bled
off the access heat, only to get roasted anew the next day. Perhaps one day
in the future, when the topsoil was restored, the planet's depleted water
supply replenished and Sen'a's burning fuel drained off to restore the white
giant to a normal G-class star, they could do this without coming to Reiner's
Five. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Noa wonders as she stares at the birds flocking in
the trees.

"I see something even more beautiful."

"What?" Noa stares at her.

Catty leans up to gently kiss Noa's lips. "The person beside me,"
she whispers.

Noa jolts in shock, surprised by the doctor's advance. Catty is
privately annoyed, for the bureaucrat's psi-shields were up. Since Noa was
one of the highest-rated psis on Sagussa...why Noa wasn't a psychologist
always bewildered Catty...*mavan'shagh* was no option. "Catty..." Noa
gasps.

Catty walks around, then gently pulls Noa into an embrace. "What
did you expect me to do? I've been in love with you for a very long time,
Noa...even before Ataru came and we came to understand the meaning of
love."

"Catty, I'm taken!!" Noa protests.

"By who?" the doctor hums, a flash of annoyance in her gold eyes.
"Lum?! She's not a Sagussan, Noa! She can't bring herself to understand, to
accept, our way of life, even if she IS your bond-mate! What happens when
she goes back to Earth with Ataru and we never see them again?! Who's
going to be there?"

"Lum will, of course," Noa snaps, pulling herself free of Catty.
"Who says anything about her leaving us with Ataru. They want to live on
Sagussa, Catty, even if they don't do so right away. I'm not going to be
alone! Besides, what about Lufy?!"

"What about her?!" Catty demands. "I've no interest in her! It's
you that I love!"

"And I'm in love with Lum!" Noa retorts, thumbing herself. "Even
Ataru understands that! He approves of it, too!"

"Oh?!" Catty muses. "Even Ataru will never fully adjust to a
Sagussan way of life, Noa. He can't, and neither can Lum. They'll always
hold you at arm's length. They'll never bring you fully into their hearts!
Mark my words on this, Noa: you'll never be truly happy with Lum, not
now, not ever!!"

Noa shakes her head. "I see talking to you is like talking to Lyna in
Tere'na-korgh!" she turns to leave. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to be
with the woman **I** love!"

Catty glares at the departing woman. So, Noa wanted it *that*
way?! Fine! Time for desperate measures. With that, a mental switch turns
over in her mind, allowing all her shields to shed away from her *mei'na* as
she focuses all her attention on Noa.

Noa gasps as her own psi-shields are nearly overwhelmed by
Catty's seduction. She spins around, summoning all her strength to shore up
her defenses to resist Catty's *mavan'shagh.* However, some of Catty's psi-
probes had already slipped through the chinks in Noa's psi-armour, touching
certain points in the latter's *mei'na.* "Knock it off, Catty...!" Noa grits her
teeth as she summons her reserves to force the doctor out, not to mention
resist her own igniting desires. "I will not...let you...do this!"

"Don't resist me, Noa," Catty pleads, stripping the last of her
shields to focus all her energy into enticing Noa into relaxing her guard.
"This is for your own good!"

Noa nearly lets out a strangled cry as more of her own shields
lower to allow her to better experience the radiance of Catty's own *mei'na.*
"That's what...you think."

Suddenly, words and images form...

* * *

"There is a way."

Ataru and Lum quizzically stare at her. Noa then holds out one
hand. "Place your hands in mine. From this day on, neither of you will
truly be parted from the other."

Hearing her voice, seeing her smile, sensing this stranger from
beyond the stars wanted them to be together in spirit even if they were
separated, Ataru and Lum look at each other...then their hands, grasping
each other's, are placed in Noa's palm. She closes her hands, then
concentrates...

* * *

"NO!!!!" Catty screams.

Noa collapses to her knees as the doctor staggers back, her mind
replaying that image again and again. Catty stares at the bureaucrat, not
wanting to believe that it was her who had given Ataru his Other...which
obviously influenced Lum's decision years later to choose Noa as her bond-
mate.

"How could you...?!" she demands.

Noa glares at her. "What d'you expect?!" she snaps. "What
would've happened if it was you down there that day, Catty?! Or Lufy?!!
You would've done the same thing I did!!"

"You never told us," Catty glares at Noa, the pain of betrayal
blazing from her golden orbs. "You never said a damn word to us!! How
could you lie to us like that?! How?!!"

"And destroy their love?!" Noa snaps. "Wreck their relationship
all just so that we could have Ataru to ourselves?! We would've been as
guilty as our predecessors!! It happened, Catty!! I can't change the past!
And Lum and Ataru like things the way they are! If you can't take that, then
**you're** the one with the problem, Catty, not me!!"

Her eyes flashing, Catty races up, her right hand flying at Noa's
cheek. "Damn you!!!" the doctor screams as she runs away.

Noa drops to her knees, feeling the pain shoot through her skin,
which now heaped atop the pains inside her mind. At that moment, Lufy's
voice echoes from nearby. "Catty!!"

The pilot runs up, staring in the general direction where Catty had
run off, then kneels beside Noa. "Hey, you okay?!"

"I'm alright," Noa winces as Lufy helps her to her feet. "Catty
found out about fourteen years ago in Sendai."

Lufy shakes her head. She had privately deduced what had
happened between Ataru, Lum and Noa sometime ago in the wake of the
Spirit War and the swiftness with which Noa and Lum adjusted to being
bond-mates. "Ouch!" she whistles. "That must've hurt."

"In more ways than one," Noa winces. "I better go talk to her
later...as soon as she calms down and I get my head de-scrambled."

Lufy slips Noa's arm over her shoulder as they stagger back to
camp...

* * *

Catty runs through the woods, her tears leaving a glistening trail
behind her as her shrieks wrack her body. Finally, after what seems an
eternity, she staggers over to a boulder, falling to her knees as she cries.
What started as a promising morning had just transformed into the worst day
in her life!

How could she?! How could Noa bond Ataru and Lum, then say
nothing for two years when the *daishi'cha* were debating about what to do
about the *daimon'cha's* bond with the Other?! Who gave Noa the right to
impose her views, force everyone to separate themselves from Ataru, then
accept the fact that he now had someone else in his life? Just because Noa
was seen as *ashi'cha* did not give her the right to become Sagussa's social
dictator!

Finally, Catty's energy drains away as her tears stop flowing. Right
now, all she wanted to do was to stay away from everyone as she tried to
determine what to do. With that revelation, she would know no peace from
Lufy. Lufy respected Noa's choice of bond-mate, which, added to her own
attraction for the doctor, would spell a lot of rough days ahead for Catty. Or
would it...?

Lufy...?

Catty blinks as Lufy appears in her mind's eye. Strong, proud,
determined...the perfect anagram of the concepts her ancestral homeworld
espoused: duty, loyalty and honour. Yet, a touch of humanity shone in
those chestnut eyes. A psychic dam existed within her, keeping back her
innermost feelings from public scrutiny. She would not be really seen as
attractive among most Sagussans. Catty certainly found it hard to even
consider Lufy as a possible bond-mate...unless Lufy saw in the doctor the
only avenue by which she could release her inner soul.

"Saving yourself for me, Lufy?" Catty muses, a wry smile tugging
at her lips. "We'll see how far you're willing to go."

Finally feeling strength flowing back to her legs, Catty rises to her
feet...when a rifle butt slams into the back of her head! "Lufy...!" the doctor
weakly gasps.

A group of Vosians come up. "Take her," their leader barks. "If
she's one of the Oni's friends, she'll make a nice hostage!"

The others nod as they drag Catty away...

* * *

"My, she did a number on you," Pony whistles as she pulls her
hand away from Noa. "It's a wonder you're still standing. Catty's a pretty
powerful psi in her own right."

"So I learned," Noa sighs as she leans back, adjusting the compress
on her forehead. "Well, I guess the secret's out. I just hope Catty doesn't
take it too personally."

"She might," Eluza sighs. "Then again, if she thinks about it, she'll
realize that if it was any of us in that position, we would've done the same
thing."

Lum flies up, Ataru and Honey running up behind her. "Noa-chan,
what happened?!" the panicked Oni lands beside her bond-mate. "I just
sensed something awful happen to you!"

"Catty tried to seduce me," Noa sighs. "Relax. I'm fine."

"What?!!" Lum growls, lightning dancing over her skin. "How
dare she think she can take you away from me?! Doctor or no doctor, she's
not going to get away with that!!"

"Lum, relax," Ataru sighs. "Catty didn't know what Noa did to us.
She just needs a little time to cool off."

"I better go find her," Lufy stands, slinging her shotgun. "She
could easily get lost in a place like this. C'mon, Starleaf!"

The sandpanther follows the pilot into the forest. Everyone
watches her go. "Why do I have this awful feeling something bad's about to
happen?" Honey wonders aloud...

* * *

"Wh-where a-am I...?"

"You're awake!"

Catty blinks, then realizes she's chained against a wall by both
hands and feet. She looks right to see Poksunba and several other Vosians
staring at her. "Who are you?!" the doctor demands. "Why have you
kidnapped me?!"

"To bring a certain Oni here so we can try her for the murder of
5,000,000 innocent civilians by Oogi," the Vosian woman icily smiles. "I'm
sure she'll be willing to come once she's aware of your predicament."

Catty blinks, then laughs. "What's so funny?!!" another woman
demands.

"If you wanted Lum, you shouldn't've touched me!" Catty snickers,
then sneers. "That sandpanther-thief!! How dare she try to take the woman
**I** love?! I'll see her ashes when I get my hands on her!!"

"Maybe they're not friends after all," a man faces Poksunba.

"Mmm...perhaps," she nods. "Then again, there are others. Go get
another!"

"Right!!" the others snap, then trot off.

Poksunba turns to Catty. "As for you, you'll stay here to ensure
you don't raise the alarm. Make yourself at home."

She leaves. Catty relaxes. "*De'ne!* Fell for the oldest trick in
the book!!"

* * *

"Catty!!!" Lufy yells as she walks through the forest, her voice
echoing through the trees. "Hey, where are you?!! Catty!!!"

"Lufy-onee-chan, what's wrong?!" Ten-chan flies up, Reiko,
Minami and Belle behind him.

"Oh, hi, kids!" Lufy smiles at them. "Have you see Catty?!"

"We haven't seen Catty-sensei," Minami shakes her head. "Is there
something wrong?"

"Yeah. She had a fight with Noa, then ran off. Keep an eye out.
C'mon, Starleaf!"

The sandpanther runs off after the pilot. "I hope Catty-oba-chan's
okay!" Reiko gulps.

The four turn to head back to the camp. Suddenly, they are beset
by a fisherman's net! "Got you!!!" a voice yells from above.

The children fearfully shriek as several Vosians drop down,
scooping them up before Ten-chan or Reiko could free themselves with their
powers. Others quickly slap power dampeners on the Oni and the Noukiite.
"Take them away!!" their leader directs.

"Lufy, help!!!" the kids cry out.

Lufy, however, is nowhere nearby...

* * *

"What is this?" a woman stares at the contents of Catty's medical
pouch. Like an American Express card, the doctor never left home without
it. Lifting up a rectangular device with a waffle-iron pattern, she looks at
Catty. "What's this?!"

"Portable regeneration unit," Catty hums.

"Mama?" a weak voice calls out.

The woman stares at the only door leading to the storage room, as
does Catty. "Kyolba-chan, what are you doing here?"

Catty's eyes widen on seeing an eight-year old Vosian clutching a
stuffed chichi bear. She would be quite cute if you ignored the bandages
covering her left eye and half her head, the right leg amputated from the hip
and missing fingers. The woman...Kyolba's mother, Catty realizes...gently
lift the girl into her arms. "Mama, who she?" Kyolba points at the Sagussan
doctor, her words akin to a baby just learning how to talk.

"She's a bad person whom we brought here so she can be punished
for her friend's crimes, Kyol-chan. Why don't you run along?"

"Hasn't she seen proper medical attention?" Catty demands.

"What do you think?!" the woman angrily glares at the doctor. "Do
you think the Mikado or the rebels or the Federation give a damn about what
we've been through?! Kyolba lost her brother and her father, not to mention
what that damn bio-agent did to her! Look at her!! She suffered brain
damage, not to mention losing her fingers and a leg! Who gets to answer for
these crimes?!"

"That is not my prerogative," Catty relaxes...then slips her hands
out from the manacles! "Healing the sick and injured is."

The woman stammers as Catty leans down, using a hair pin to pick
her way out of the leg manacles. "How'd you do that?!!"

"She funny!" Kyolba giggles.

"You'd be surprised what I learned when I was on my Pathfinder
qualification course," Catty pulls her legs free of the manacles, then walks
over to her medical bag, reaching in to pull out her scanner. "Now, let's see
what we can do for your daughter."

"Get away from me, you monster!!!" the woman tries to back away,
trying to keep her daughter out of Catty's reach.

Sighing, Catty's hand bolts over to touch the woman's cheek, her
mind reaching in to scramble certain neurons to make the Vosian more
cooperative. "Put Kyolba on that table."

"Yes...ma'am..." the woman robotically answers as she does what
Catty instructs, lowering Kyolba onto a nearby table.

"Now go to sleep, Yosonba-san," Catty sighs as she commences
scanning the girl, having learned her name through the mind-meld.

"Good night," Yosonba lays down.

"Mama go bed?" Kyolba wonders.

"Mama go bed," Catty smiles as she reaches into her pocket to give
Kyolba some nupik'n. "Here you go."

Kyolba nibbles on the candy...

* * *

"First Catty disappears, now the kids're missing!" Nassur groans as
everyone convenes. "What's going on here, anyway?!"

"You know, if we had our Gladiators, we could scour this planet
from one end to another in a few minutes," Mie muses.

"It's forbidden," Benten warns.

Ataru and Lum run up. "Hey, has anyone seen Reiko-chan and the
others?!"

A rock smashes into his head, knocking him down! "Darling!!!"
Lum gasps as she flies down to help him back up.

"Hey, a note!!" Lufy gasps as she reaches down to pull off a note
attached to the rock. Ripping it open, she reads. "'Dear Oni...Your cousin,
your daughter, their friends and your Tritonian friend are in our hands!
Surrender to us right now or you'll never see them again!" her voice drops as
the implications of what Grisur's friends are doing hits her, then a volcano
erupts!! "***WHAT?!?!?!***"

Everyone dives for cover as Lufy burns. "***They DARE hurt
MY Catty?!!***" she shreds the note, then moves to race to the rescue.
"***Whoever these kimei'ne are, they just committed suicide!!***"

"Hold it, stupid!!" Makoto grabs Lufy in a full-nelson. "You just
ripped apart the only thing we could've used to trace them!!!"

"Not necessarily," Rumy picks up one of the pieces, places it in
front of Starleaf, allowing the sandpanther to pick up the scent. "Here,
Starleaf! Find Catty!!"

Starleaf growls as he takes a whiff of the air, then spreading his
wings, takes off. "Hey, wait up, Starleaf!!" Lum calls out as she flies after
the departing sandpanther.

"Wait for me!!!" Lufy runs after them.

Everyone remains in place. "Wasn't this supposed to be a
*relaxing* vacation?" Benten wonders, staring at Nassur.

"That's what I was led to believe!"

* * *

"First you kidnap a doctor, then you kidnap four children!" Grisur
glares at Poksunba. "What are you trying to do?! Get yourselves killed
when Nassur shows up?!"

"That doesn't matter," Poksunba snaps. "We'll use them to bring
the Oni to us! Once she's here, then it'll be Oogi's turn!"

The hunter slaps his forehead, wondering for the fiftieth time what
he was doing on Reiner's Five while he could be relaxing on Colony 115
with Marinba and Parasur. While he did sympathize with the survivors of
the Lecashuto bio-bombing attack and would gladly kill Oogi if opportunity
presented itself, he did not want to be party to kidnapping innocent children.
He turns around, marching off. "I'm going for a walk," he growls.

Poksunba looks at her friends. "Put them in with the other one!"

The net bag carrying Reiko, Ten-chan, Belle and Minami is carried
into the storage room. Once inside, the Vosians notice Yosonba still asleep
on the floor and Kyolba still on the table being examined by Catty. "Hey!!"
a man snaps as he marches over to the Sagussan. "What are you doing
loose?!"

Catty's fingers touch his forehead. "Get out and mind your own
business!" she growls.

The man look dazed, then obediently walks out of the room.
"Yes...ma'am..."

The other woman, who resembles Yosonba, shudders on seeing
what the doctor just did. "What did you do to my brother-in-law, you
witch?!!" she angrily spins at Catty.

"He was bothering me while I was working on Kyolba," Catty
sighs. "If you don't get out, I'll do the same thing to you!"

The woman scrambles out, slamming the door behind her. By then,
Ten-chan and Reiko are able to yank the net off. "Catty-onee-chan, you
okay?!" the Oni walks up.

"I'm fine, just busy," Catty sighs as she takes a reading of Kyolba's
brain. "Restraint breaker's in my medical bag."

"Found it," Belle pulls out a pen-like device from the bag, then
hands it to Reiko, who jabs it at her power dampener.

It snaps off, then she hands it to Ten-chan, who does the same thing
to his restraints. "That's better!" the young Oni sighs as he floats into the
air, then moves beside Catty, noticing the young Vosian she is treating.
"What's wrong with her?"

"Other than a general degrading of her body's immune system,
brain damage, a missing eye, several missing fingers and a missing leg
thanks to a flesh-eating virus which was mixed with the bio-agent, nothing,"
Catty sighs. "She has to go in for full regeneration if I'm going to fix all this
up."

Ten-chan looks horrified. "You mean that's what Oogi's bio-bomb
did?!"

"Unfortunately," Catty sighs. "And Kyolba got only a small dose
of it. I mind-scanned Yosonba and learned that they were out shopping
when the bomb hit. They were lucky; they were at the edge of the infected
zone. But since her immunity system wasn't as developed, Kyolba got the
worst of it. I suspect the same is true with all the children then, not to
mention the very elderly or those who were ill at the time of the attack."

"Awful!" Minami sits. "And all this was done by Lum-sempai's
stupid friend?!"

"Oogi's no friend of Lum-chan's!" Ten-chan shakes his head.
"Catty-onee-chan, don't you wanna get out of here?! They kidnapped us just
to get Lum-chan here...and if they do, who knows what'll happen to her or
us!!"

"I don't really care too much for your cousin right now," Catty
sighs. "Besides, I've a patient here. She's my priority!"

By that time, Yosonba is stirring. Her eyes fluttering open, she
looks to see Catty hard at work with her daughter. Fearing the worst, she
leaps up to try to yank the doctor away from Kyolba. "You monster, leave
my daughter alone!!" she snarls.

"What are you doing?!!" Catty screams.

Yosonba restrains the doctor's arms to keep those lethal fingertips
away from her face. "I won't let you hurt my child!!"

"Idiot, I'm trying to **help** your child!!" Catty snarls.

"Catty-sensei, drop your psi-shields!!!" Minami cries out.

Hearing that, Catty relaxes her psi-guards, allowing Yosonba's
tracking powers to detect her very intensive brainwaves. At that close
range, the Vosian's mind is nearly fried as she staggers back, letting go.
Catty restores her shields as she turns to Kyolba, who, thanks to her cerebral
trauma, could not detect the Sagussan's brainwave pattern. "Now, if you
don't mind, I'd like to get back to work!" she snaps. "Stop interrupting
me!!"

"Mama no listen?" Kyolba innocently asks.

"Mama no listen," Catty hands her some pang-turu, then gets back
to work.

"How did you know to tell Catty-oba-chan to drop her shields?"
Reiko looks at Minami.

"I heard that's what happened to Pamanba-sempai when Rei-san
and Asuka-san were in Shapiro's one day," Minami points to Yosonba.

"If she's affected, so would everyone else!" Belle realizes. "Let's
get out of here and find Lufy-san!!"

"Right!!" the other kids nod.

"You kids go ahead," Catty sighs. "I'll be right here."

The kids nod as they look out the door. They find themselves in a
cabin somewhere in the wilderness of Reiner's Five. In the main room, a
whole group of Vosians are passed out or trying to recover from Catty's psi-
blast. "Coast is clear," Reiko notes.

The four tippy-toe to the front door, then sneak outside. "I wish
Catty-sensei would've come with us," Minami whispers.

"She's got a patient," Ten-chan whispers. "Lum-chan told me
doctors are pretty single-minded when it comes to patients. Let's go."

The four move to head off just as a dark shadow falls over them.
"Where do you think you're going?!" a voice growls as a hand grabs Reiko's
hair, yanking the Noukiite back.

Ten-chan sees Poksunba yanking Reiko to her. "Let Reiko-chan
go, you creep!!!" he snarls, letting go with his flame-breath.

Poksunba dodges the blast, then draws a stun-pistol, aims and fires.
The bolt hits Ten-chan. "Ten-chan!!!" Belle and Minami scream as they
leap to the fallen Oni's side.

Reiko spins on Poksunba. "Hands off!!!"

The Vosian is telekinetically yanked away from Reiko, slamming
against the cabin wall! By then, Yosonba, her sister Myonhanba and
husband Chingusur have staggered out, all dizzy from the effects of Catty's
psi-blast. "What are you doing?!!" Yosonba demands.

"Restrain them!!" Poksunba barks.

"Try it and we'll get Catty-onee-chan to give you another taste of
*mavan'shagh!*" Ten-chan snarls as he floats beside Reiko.

"What's going on?!!" a voice demands.

Everyone turns to see Grisur walk up, a look of annoyance on his
face. "Grisur-san!" Chingusur sighs in relief, then blinks on seeing who else
is with him. "Lum!!"

"Lum-chan, what are you doing here?!!" Ten-chan exclaims.

The Oni sighs. "Grisur-san came up and told me what he was
doing," she smiles, then turns to Chingusur. "I've been hoping to meet you
people for some time now. Can we talk?"

Sensing her sincerity, Chingusur waves her inside. "Come in."

* * *

"My wife Yosonba and I...we were just friends back then; she was
married...were in a north-end shopping mall when the attack came,"
Chingusur testifies as the Alliance meets with Lum later. "Kyolba was in an
exposed area when the bio-agent unleashed itself, hence the severity of her
injuries. We were in a relatively safe area in comparison to Yosonba's first
husband and her son. Both were near the epicentre of the blast."

Tears flow down Yosonba's cheeks. "They didn't suffer for very
long," she sniffs. "But through our recognition bond and the bond I had
with my son, I felt their agony as the bio-agent just consumed them from the
inside out. There...there was nothing I could have done to save them!
Nothing!!"

"And it's all *your* fault!!" Poksunba points accusingly at Lum.

"Poksunba!" Grisur snaps. "You said you didn't come to accuse
Lum of anything...or at least, you didn't imply it when we first met!! Isn't
Oogi the final target?!"

"And what happens when Oogi is killed?!" Poksunba demands.
"Another will just take over and the Church of Lum keeps going on! The
real target has to be **her!!!**"

"She is right," Myonhanba sighs, then turns to Lum. "If we make it
look as if we're about to execute you or someone you care for, then Oogi
will come rescue you...especially if you yourself beg him to come. I don't
agree with Poksunba's argument that killing Oogi will do nothing. Isn't he
the one who founded that trench-wave asylum in the first place?!"

"That's right," Lum nods. "At first, I thought it was just an little
thing. After all, everyone banded together to build Phentax Two into an
advanced society. Unlike their previous efforts at copying something, the
Church of Lum caught on with almost everyone on the planet. But after I
heard what Oogi did to you people...not to mention what they did to the
Avalonians...and especially after they tried to kill Darling...all I want right
now is for that damn thing to cease to exist. And if that means," she
hesitates, "...that Oogi has to be punished...then so be it."

"You'll help us?!" Chingusur blinks.

Lum nods. "You got yourself a hostage!"

"Wonderful!" Yosonba beams, then turns to her sister. "Myon-
chan, get the transmitter! We've got to make this look good!!"

"Right!" Myonhanba runs out the door.

"Ten-chan, go find Lufy and tell her what's happened," Lum turns
to her cousin. "I don't want her blasting in here at the wrong time. If she
does, she'll ruin everything!"

"Right!!" Ten-chan floats out the door. "C'mon, Minami-chan!"

"Coming," Minami runs out.

"Lum, won't it be better if I be the hostage?" Reiko wonders.

"Why?!" Lum turns to the Noukiite.

"I..." Reiko looks down, cheeks flushing. "Well...since you and
Daddy are going to get married, I will be your daughter..."

Lum wants to shout joyfully. Reiko had finally accepted the Oni as
part of her family. "Okay!" Lum beams as she picks Reiko up. "We'll both
be hostages!!"

Reiko smiles, embracing her. "Excuse me," a voice calls out.

Everyone turns to see Catty step out of the back room. "Oh, God,
Doctor, I'm sorry," Chingusur walks up, bowing apologetically to the doctor.
"We forgot you were back there."

"Well, I was busy," Catty smiles, then steps aside. "And here's a
little surprise."

Everyone gasps on seeing Kyolba walk out...now with bandages
off, not to mention her left eye, fingers and right leg restored! "Mama!!" she
smiles on seeing Yosonba.

"Ti-chan!!!" Yosonba cries as she kneels down to sweep the girl
into her arms.

"How?!" Chingusur gapes at Catty.

"While you were all distracted with Lum, I had Kyolba beamed to
our ship," Catty smiles. "There's a full-body regeneration unit aboard, so I
submitted Kyolba-chan to it. It didn't take more than fifteen minutes to clear
up all her problems."

"It was like taking a big, warm bath," Kyolba explains to her
mother. "Only except I kinda slept through it all."

"I don't care, just as long as you're alive and whole again!"
Yosonba weeps as she kisses her daughter's forehead.

"C'mon," Belle smiles. "Wanna play?!"

"Sure!" Kyolba follows the Ellsian out.

Myonhanba comes in with some equipment, some of her friends
carrying more. "Here it all is!" she calls out.

"Let's get set up!" Grisur smiles...

* * *

"Our spies are dead!!" Oogi snarls as he paces around his office in
the Great Lum Church. "Four Planet Destroyers, one System Destroyer and
sixty other ships lost! Over 15,000 dead! All the survivors mind-wiped by
whoever it was that defeated them!! Yethis accusing us of double-crossing
him!! And now Lum-sama is in that cesspit the Great Evil has forged to trap
her, away from the protection of Her Holy Company!!! How did all of this
happen?!!" he spins on his advisors. "How?!!"

"We're not sure, sir!!" one looking like Paama shudders. "Any
attempt at communicating with the fleet were jammed! Not one scrap of
information got out as to the origins or descriptions of the attackers!! And
our entreaties with the Tritonian government as to what happened have been
turned down!"

Oogi seethes. "Moroboshi is behind this, THAT is certain!!!" he
growls. "Somehow, someway, he'll pay for what he's done!!!"

A secretary dressed like a normal Tomobiki High School student
walks in. "Mr. President, a communication from Lum-sama."

"Lum-sama?!!" Oogi gasps, spinning on his heels, then walks over
to his desk. "Place it on the monitor here!" he notions to a large screen at
one end of the presidential office.

"Hai," the secretary bows.

An image then appears of Lum, now tied down to a stake by chains,
several guns being pointed at her. "Oogi!!" the Oni fearfully gasps.
"They've captured me!!!"

"Lum-sama!!!" Oogi leaps up in shock. "What's happened?!!
Who's kidnapped you?!!"

"They're...!!!" Lum cries.

Her mouth is covered up by a gag, just as Grisur walks into the
camera's view. "Hello, Oogi! I take it you know who I am!!"

"I've heard of you," the president snarls. "You're the Mikado's
personal lap-dog! What are you doing with Lum-sama?! How dare you
consider taking her hostage?!!"

"Spare me your fanatic bullshit, Oogi; I'm not in the mood!" Grisur
fixes him with a laser-like glare. "This, I'm telling you plain right now: if
you don't come to Reiner's Five this instant, your precious 'goddess' and her
daughter will be put to death in answer to your attack on Lecashuto five
years ago!! There's an arrest warrant from both the Mikado and Hunba
concerning you!!! If you don't surrender now, then Lum'll answer it for
you!!"

Oogi shudders as he absorbs that. His life wouldn't be worth
anything if he was ever taken prisoner by the Vosians. But...could he allow
Lum to suffer because of him, even if his actions were technically in her
name? One of the ministers then bows to the president. "I'll have your
cruiser prepared for departure, Mr. President!"

"Wait!" Oogi barks, then turns to Grisur. "How can I guarantee
that you'll keep your word?! And what's to stop me from calling Nassur-
sama or anyone to rescue Lum-sama?!!"

"If you even make a peep about this to anyone else, Lum and her
child die!!!" Grisur snarls. "We'll kill the child first, just to make our point!!
It's you and you alone!!!"

Hearing this, Oogi lets out a dry chuckle as he sits back in his
chair. "Signal Nassur-sama and tell him what's happened."

"Didn't you hear me?!!" Grisur demands.

"I heard you," Oogi laughs. "But Lum-sama doesn't HAVE a
daughter! If the girl with her is a Noukiite, that's the Great Evil's slave-
child!! I wouldn't care if she lived or died!!!" He then makes a cutting
motion with his hand to cut the transmission.

"Sir, what if Grisur-san is serious?!!" one of the ministers spins on
the president. "Lum-sama is in danger!!!"

"Relax," Oogi sighs. "The instant I heard Grisur mention a
daughter, I knew this was a trap into getting me to leave Phentax Two! The
Great Evil is allying himself with the survivors of the bio-bomb attack to
destroy me! I won't fall for that again!!"

"If you say so," the minister bows...

* * *

"I don't believe him," Grisur blinks as he stares at the black
reception screen. "He'd actually see an innocent child killed just because
she was Ataru's daughter?!"

"Um...sorry about that," Lum sighs as Myonhanba helps her and
Reiko out of their chains. "I forgot Oogi would automatically take any
chance to hurt Darling."

"Then, how do we make that monster pay for what he's done to
us?!!" Yosonba demands.

"Hey, relax!" Makoto places a hand on the Vosian's shoulder.
"We've already delivered a bloody nose. We'll keep on delivering it to him
until he's either dead or sees the light!"

"Most likely the former," Mie notes.

The other Sagussans, who, along with Ataru, Nassur and Benten,
came to the cabin when Ten-chan found Lufy, nod. "Well, now that's over,
what now?" Ataru turns to Nassur.

"How about we get back to our vacation?" the hunter sighs. "I
don't know about all of you, but I came here to get some rest."

"Amen to that!!" Benten stretches.

The two step out of the cabin. "There's probably another thing you
could do, Lum," Catty stares at the Oni.

"What's that?" Lum turns to the doctor.

"Publicly disavow the Church of Lum," Catty smiles. "Do what
Ataru did to his parents when he wanted to move out of Tomobiki. Call on
everyone else to censure the Niphentaxian Union, even give support to the
idea of their being expelled from the Galactic Federation. Once they're
isolated, they could be dealt with a lot more easily than if they still
technically had allies."

"That's true," Lum considers the point.

"I think we can go along with that," Chingusur readily nods.

"And once they're isolated, we can sweep in and clean house,"
Makoto looks at Ataru. "No one'd be obliged to help them."

"If they did ever want to help them," Ataru chuckles mirthlessly.

"But how can you people hope to destroy the Niphentaxians?!"
Yosonba stares at Makoto. "We tried and we lost thousands!"

"Yosonba, haven't you realized?!" Grisur chuckles, pointing to
Makoto and Lufy. "These are *pirpirsiw'r,* who've supposedly been dead
for centuries...save for the many who were taken away by a certain starship
which has been doing that with thousands of women since before any of our
races entered space."

The other Vosians blink surprisedly. "You mean...?" Chingusur
gasps, then points at the Sagussans. "That these women are...the Maidens of
the Eternal Voyager?!!"

"*Tcha!!*" Lum readily nods.

"You must..." Myonhanba turns to Ataru.

"That's right," Ataru nods. "Just don't spread it around."

"We won't!!" Myonhanba nods.

Poksunba blinks in shock on hearing that affirmation, then
devilishly smiles. The Mikado would reward her handsomely for that
information; the dictator had been thirsting for knowledge of the Chosen
One's existence since the Eternal Voyager saved Nassur and Dakejinzou
from being arrested by Mikado forces on Gomiana seven years before. If he
was able to seize control of the Maidens' power, then the Mikado could
easily recoup all his losses, seize control of the whole Confederation from
the rebels, not to mention subvert all foreign governments currently opposed
to him. She would have to signal this to Lecashuto at once. "I'm going to
go for a walk," she announces to her companions.

"Okay, Poksunba," Chingusur nods.

She walks out. Watching her go, Lufy's battle senses come alive.
Something was not right. She walks over to Catty. "Catty, can I ask you
something?" she whispers.

"What is it, Lufy?" Catty blinks.

* * *

Poksunba slips into a small cave located near the cabin. Here, she
kept a private transmitter which would directly put her through to the
Mikado's private office in Lecashuto. "Now, where did I put that thing?"
she muses aloud as she looks around.

She stops on seeing the transmitter...or what is left of it. It was
now a melted pile of metal thanks to an atomizer like those Noa used on
Shapiro's transmitters. "What the?!! What happened to the transmitter?!!"

"I happened!" a voice speaks.

Poksunba spins around to see a familiar form walk into the light, a
pistol drawn and ready. "You!!!" she exclaims.

"Sorry," Lufy aims at the Vosian. "Then again, it won't be such of
a loss since you're nothing more than a proto-life creature the Mikado
planted into Chingusur's group to ensure their loyalty to him even if they
went after Oogi! Catty sensed what you were when you touched her after
you took her prisoner!! Bad mistake; we can learn everything we want from
someone by just touching them!"

"You won't get away!" Poksunba growls. "The Mikado will learn
the truth sooner...!"

Lufy fires!

* * *

"Hi!!!" Milan Domo stands in front of the Intergalactic News
Network camera in Ataru's campsite. "Milan Domo here from Reiner's Five,
where a meeting of epic proportions just occurred between the legendary
Oni tag race champion Lum and members of the Lecashuto Bio-Warfare
Survivors Alliance, a group representing the tragic victims of the
Niphentaxians' ruthless attack on Lecashuto five years ago. They leader,
Chingusur, is with Lum right now," she indicates the two, the camera
following the Kurakoan reporter. "Chingusur-san, what happened?!"

"Lum-san and our group came to a basic agreement about what
happened to our friends and families," the Vosian smiles. "We do not nor
will we ever blame her for that attack. We of course don't care about the
politics of the Civil War or that Nassur was sheltered by Lum's family
during the time. Lum has agreed to take our case to the Galactic Federation
so that all those who suffered will receive proper medical treatment."

"That has to wait until the Mikado's booted out," Lum adds.

"Lum, how does it feel to be free of this problem which has
obviously been bothering you for some time?" Milan turns to Lum.

"It feels wonderful. Um, Milan, would you mind if I said
something to the audience?"

"Sure!" Milan nods.

Lum spins around to face the camera. "Listen up, everyone!!!" she
smiles. "I'm going to say this only once!!" She coughs, then yells, "***I
HEREBY DISOWN, DISAVOW AND DISCREDIT ALL
CONNECTIONS WITH THAT MORON'S ASYLUM CALLING ITSELF
THE CHURCH OF LUM!!!! IF YOU WANT, BLOW UP THE PLACE!!!!
THROW THEM OUT OF THE GALACTIC FEDERATION!!!!!! HANG
THEM ALL FOR ALL I CARE!!!!!! IN FACT, IF YOU WANT HELP,
I'LL HELP YOU!!!!!!***"

"Nicely said, Lum," Ataru comments.

The camera turns back to Milan. "There you have it, folks. You
have just heard Lum disowning, disavowing and discrediting all connections
with the Church of Lum on Phentax Two. She is calling on everyone to
throw them out of the Federation. And this is Milan Domo of INN, signing
off from Reiner's Five!"

*** The End ***