Sorry Rob. With any luck, I'll have much more for you to read when you get back.
Anyhow...
Okay people! Everyone find their towels and above all, don't panic! This ones a bit short, but satisfying just the same I think...
“Capture him, my servants!” called out the twisted scientist as
he cast his hands out. Suddenly, the air was filled with discs that
bore his mark, and wherever they landed golems of dirt and rock began
to form, moaning like ghouls seeking flesh. Right away, the
guardsmen were scattered, all overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of
enemies.
Tenchi, Tsunami bless his heart, took immediate action.
“Zombie Assault VIP scenario!” he called out authoritatively.
“Headshots only! Pair off and seek fortified ground, then regroup!
Garrick is the VIP!” Yeah, Tenchi and I had been playing some
games. I thought it was honestly kinda funny he liked stuff like
Left4Dead and Counterstrike. But then, Valve's stuff always was top
shelf.
Clay cackled once more. “You can fight for as long as you wish! I
can just keep making more and more golems!”
I slapped my C-pod and called out onto it, “First Cut!” Right
away, the weapon was transported out of its subspace storage and into
my hands.
I can't tell you how glad I was that Washu got this feature up and
running last night - better late than never.
I dashed the control discs on two golems into shards, causing them to
melt into mounds of dirt, then ran to where I had dropped Otouto. I
took a second to sheath the blade and looked around.
First I noticed was that Sasami and Yuki had paired off. Sasami's
hair was flying free as she wielded her hold-out staff expertly,
carving a path in my direction. Yuki, who had Sasami's other
hold-out staff, was no slouch either and my heart filled with pride
and awe as she moved nearly as gracefully as Sasami, practically
dancing through the golems and leaving them as dirt mounds in her
wake.
Ryoko and Minagi had paired off immediately and were raining death
from above, whittling down on the number of golems. Ryoko looked
like she was having the time of her life. Minagi though... she
looked righteously enraged.
“This is just like old times, isn't Yume?” cried out Washu
gleefully as she fired away with some sort of BFG, taking out an
entire group in one shot.
“With that letch crashing the party? More like bad memories!”
grumbled Yume as she let loose with a volley of three shots, each one
taking out a single golem. “Nice balance. Who designed this laser
rifle? You?”
“That's one of Garrick's toys!” chirped Washu like a proud
mother.
“Oh really?” I didn't have to look to hear the smile in Yume's
voice. Creepy.
“Master!” called out Hishima. “Do we protect the one that
humiliated you?”
“You will if you know what's good for you!” screamed Yume
caustically.
“So be it. Come, Takashima! The Game's afoot!”
“YOSH!” grunted the larger Shima brother and away they went.
“Goghei!” called out Tenchi. “Get the Takabes and Tatetsuki
out of here!”
“But what about Garrick!?” cried out Asahi in alarm.
“This is not your fight!” Tenchi called back.
“But you fought for me!” Asahi fired back.
“ASAHI!” I called out as I opened up more space around me. “We
are firmly in Gods and Monsters territory here! Get the hell out of
here before you get yourself killed!”
“Asahi will leave,” replied Nomori Takebe. “But only if Goghei
stays and fights!”
“Fine!” agreed Tenchi tersely. “Just get someplace safe!”
I looked just in time to catch Asahi giving Goghei a sudden, brief
kiss on the lips before running away with her Father and Tatetsuki.
This was especially impressive given that Goghei was already in his
Beastman state. Befuddled, but not distracted, Goghei sided with
Tenchi and the two went to work.
“You seem to be a little lonely out here, son,” came Funaho's
voice as she gracefully did for two golems trying to sneak up behind
me using an energy blade not unlike Yosho's Master Key.
“Isn't this situation a little hairy for you to be involved in at
this level, Mother?” I asked, a bit surprised.
“You're the one who is in most danger,” Funaho replied with a
small, knowing grin. “Besides, it's been too long since I've had
this much fun.” Her expression then darkened. “And that bastard
is posing a direct threat to you, my son. I shall not permit that to
go unanswered.”
I smiled as Funaho and I settled in at each other's backs. “I'm
glad you're here, Mother.”
“I am glad to have you, my Son,” she replied.
There was a pop of a sonic boom nearby. I made sure I was in the
clear before I stopped to watch Ayeka, who had dropped the princess
facade and decided to go to work. She was decked out in her
own Jyuraian battle armor and just plain punching the golems
around us into next week while Mihoshi gave her ranged coverage. In
fact, if I didn't know any better....
“Karate?” I asked Funaho.
I could hear the grin in Funaho's voice. “I felt it suited her
temperament better than the sword arts.”
I snorted at that. “No kidding.”
Really, I never knew anything about this. Ayeka doesn't take the kid
gloves off very often and I'd forgotten that her preferred method of
attack is her firsts. In fact, she probably finds it embarrassing
and unladylike and so she probably practices in secret. I'll have to get
her to come around somehow, because really there is a certain beauty
and grace in the striking arts.
“Your Highness!” called out one of the guardsmen. “There is
some kind of interference keeping us from using the teleporters!
Work extracting Bizen has been suspended and we are currently
fortifying the site as we speak! We can fall back there so we may
safely extract His Grace and his company in one of the shuttles.”
Funaho nodded. “Well done, Captain! Open the path! Tenchi,
Garrick, we're leaving!”
“Oh, you won't slip away so easily!” Suddenly the earth erupted
all around us, accompanied by a shrieking roar that was familiar for
some.
“Tsunami preserve us!” gasped the Guard Captain. “Doduos!”
Let me see if I can do this justice. Imagine the ancient precursor
of the Kodiak Bear, only the size of a small house and in a shape
like a rat. Give it four eyes, two sets of razor-clawed forelimbs,
and the biggest attitude problem you can imagine. You know that
funny little meme about wasps and just sitting still until they go
about their business? Even worse, because if you even have a pulse
then you are the doduos's business. QED.
And Clay had sent down four of these monstrosities.
“Oh fuck!” I cried out. “TENCHI! SHIT JUST GOT EVEN MORE
REAL!!!” Everyone scattered, and rightfully so. Fortunately, this
had the affect of drawing the attention of all four doduos away from
me, which meant I had just enough time to bring out an equalizer.
I stabbed First Cut into the ground, slapped my C-Pod and called out
“Star Spark!”
Plasma weaponry is not easy and it is not cheap. Nonetheless, Washu
and I made Star Spark because we figured that having it and not
needing it was better than needing it and not having it.
This situation definitely qualified as 'needing it'.
Star Spark was truly nasty. I could even get into trouble for having
it. Reason being? Fluorine-based plasma chemistry. This shit made
Dioxygen Diflouride look tame by comparison. The good part is that
the chemicals decayed so quickly that they were deemed useless for
all other applications except as a weapon. And of course, the Galaxy
Alliance stepped in and labeled the stuff a first-class chemical
weapon. Meaning that no one was supposed to have it.
Hope they'll overlook it this once.
“Son, is that what I think it is?” asked Funaho somewhat
nervously. I could just see the twitch in her eye.
“Yep,” I replied as I pulled on the set of goggles the BFG came
with and took aim.
“PLASMA WEAPON!” Funaho belted. And just like that, the people
who were in the know hit the dirt and pulled the people who were not
in the know down with them.
I squeezed the trigger and Sun Spark belched a fat blat of Saint
Elmo's Fire at the closest Doduos.... and its head exploded in a
shower of gore and toxic green fire. And the body kept right on
burning, too. If Carbon's the slut of organic chemistry, then
Fluorine is the serial murder-rapist.
The other three doduos were quick to take note of their comrade's
fall and screamed their disapproval as they turned to me and began to
charge.
I took aim at the one in the lead and fired again, this time the shot
going a bit high and wide, but still managing to burrow through the
beast's shoulders and into its body before the magnetic bottle lost
its cohesion. It actually vomited gore and fire, it's eyes melting
into blackened holes in its head, as the blast erupted out it's side
and the residual chemicals set fire on the side of the doduos next to
it.
I grimaced, but I didn't have time to pity the poor creatures for
long. The third one was still coming. I only had enough time to
drop Sun Spark, it's fusion fuel cell depleted after only two shots,
and pull Otouto from it's sheath once more.
And then I charged the doduos.
The doduos being used to things my size run from it rather than to it
did not have time to react. And I was about to capitalize on that,
beginning with drawing on a bit more of Katherine's power .
Let me say right here that this sort of thing is actually a lot more
intuitive than you might think. This is the same sort of power that
comprises the Lighthawk Wings, and it is almost a tangible thing and
meant to be shifted, moved, and molded. So that's why I had no issue
with shunting it all into Otouto... and the Hielzein-S blade drank it
greedily and flared a brilliant red as I used it to cut along the
side of the doduos, spilling its guts behind me.
Several cracking sounds alerted me to Yume putting Raiden's Toothpick
to use. I looked and saw that she used it to put the burning doduos
and the one I had cut open out of their misery.
“Power cell's done!” called out Yume. “Hey, handsome! You got
another?”
I blinked at Yume in surprise – Handsome!? The hell!? - then
slapped my C-Pod, called one up, and threw it to Yume.
“You know, son, I can admit that this is an extraordinary
situation,” said Funaho as I sheathed Otouto and went back for
First Cut. “But four doduos in twenty seconds? There's going to
be some very unhappy ecologists in the Galaxy Alliance.”
I shrugged. “Had to be done, Mother. I won't have one life here
on my conscience today. Besides, it's all that asshole's fault.”
“Very interesting,” rumbled Clay from overhead. “So you don't
care about rules...”
I rolled my eyes as I put down two more golems. “Oh, here we go
now... AS IF YOU GAVE A SHIT YOURSELF YOU INSUFFERABLE BASTARD CHILD
OF A WHORE!”
Clay's eyes flashed ominously. “YOU... LITTLE WRETCH!” he
bellowed thunderously. And then the land all around us began to tear
itself to pieces. Clay was ripping up the tectonic plates under us.
“Time to run!” I called out to everyone and got moving.
“WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR!?” cried out Funaho in shock as the
pulled up even with me.
“Bad news,” I explained. “He's pissed off and has taken the
kid gloves off. Good news: he's pissed off and not thinking
straight.”
“I don't think that gets us out of trouble,” Washu called out as
she and Yume joined up with us.
“Aren't you two his better or something?” I asked. “Can't you
out-science this fuckhead?”
“Can't,” Washu called back. “He's far too powerful! In fact,
I have no idea how he's doing this now or where he got the power
from!”
“Yeah, and I'd love to sock that pervert in the nose, Gar-kun,”
Yume replied with the sarcasm I was more used to. “Unfortunately I
have been denied ultimate power by a certain human. Sound familiar?”
“Sure, blame the backwater hillbilly,” I grumped. I then spied
Sasami and Yuki, being carried by Ryoko and Minagi respectively,
making their way to our group. “Sasami! I think we're gonna need
some Big Help soon.”
“Tsunami-no-fune is already on her way!” the princess
called back. “It's gonna take a few minutes, though.”
“Great! How're the others?”
“Tenchi and Goghei are ahead of us clearing the way,” Ryoko
replied.
“And Ayeka and Mihoshi are keeping us covered from the rear,”
Minagi finished.
“What about the Shima Brothers?”
“They're covering us from ambush,” Yume replied tersely. “If
you can't see them, then they're doing their jobs properly.”
“That's great,” I replied honestly. “But we're gonna need some
sort of stopgap coverage until Tsunami gets here. Mother?”
“I'm sorry, son, but my Husband wishes to see how you get yourself
out of this.”
“GYAH!” I snarled in outrage. What did this man expect of me?
“AS IF I COULD!”
“He doesn't expect you to overpower your enemy, my son,” Funaho
said. “He just wants to see if you can find a way out of this
mess.”
“So I'm on the spot then... great.” I then reached out to
Katherine. Is there anything you can do to help?
I wish could, My tree replied sorrowfully. But I'm not in
a proper Central Unit yet... I can create Lighthawk Wings for
shields, but they'd only appear inside your garden room! Worst of
all we haven't made our Master Key yet!
I sighed at that. Okay, don't panic yet. We'll figure this out.
I know what you're thinking at this point. Why don't I use my
C-Space as a means of escape? But there's a problem with that. I
had no doubt in my mind that Clay could simply seal off my C-Space
once I was inside it... and then he'd have exactly what he wanted: me
as a bug in a bell jar. In fact, I was pretty sure that was why I
was still able to use it – he was counting on me being dumb enough
to not realize this fact.
Besides, even if he actually couldn't do that, why take that kind of
chance?
Right then, Sasami broke my train of thought. “Yuki-chan! Have
you been hearing any strange voices!?”
“... I... didn't want anyone to think anything was wrong with
me...” said Yuki nervously.
I blinked as I caught onto what Sasami was thinking right away.
“How long ago, Yuki-chan?” I asked.
“Since yesterday!”
I shot a look at Sasami and it was like she read my mind as she gave
me a determined nod.
“Right then. Ryoko! Gonna need a teleport!”
“Who and where to?” asked the former pirate.
“Yuki, Funaho and myself. We're going to go see Bizen!”
Anyhow...
Okay people! Everyone find their towels and above all, don't panic! This ones a bit short, but satisfying just the same I think...
“Capture him, my servants!” called out the twisted scientist as
he cast his hands out. Suddenly, the air was filled with discs that
bore his mark, and wherever they landed golems of dirt and rock began
to form, moaning like ghouls seeking flesh. Right away, the
guardsmen were scattered, all overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of
enemies.
Tenchi, Tsunami bless his heart, took immediate action.
“Zombie Assault VIP scenario!” he called out authoritatively.
“Headshots only! Pair off and seek fortified ground, then regroup!
Garrick is the VIP!” Yeah, Tenchi and I had been playing some
games. I thought it was honestly kinda funny he liked stuff like
Left4Dead and Counterstrike. But then, Valve's stuff always was top
shelf.
Clay cackled once more. “You can fight for as long as you wish! I
can just keep making more and more golems!”
I slapped my C-pod and called out onto it, “First Cut!” Right
away, the weapon was transported out of its subspace storage and into
my hands.
I can't tell you how glad I was that Washu got this feature up and
running last night - better late than never.
I dashed the control discs on two golems into shards, causing them to
melt into mounds of dirt, then ran to where I had dropped Otouto. I
took a second to sheath the blade and looked around.
First I noticed was that Sasami and Yuki had paired off. Sasami's
hair was flying free as she wielded her hold-out staff expertly,
carving a path in my direction. Yuki, who had Sasami's other
hold-out staff, was no slouch either and my heart filled with pride
and awe as she moved nearly as gracefully as Sasami, practically
dancing through the golems and leaving them as dirt mounds in her
wake.
Ryoko and Minagi had paired off immediately and were raining death
from above, whittling down on the number of golems. Ryoko looked
like she was having the time of her life. Minagi though... she
looked righteously enraged.
“This is just like old times, isn't Yume?” cried out Washu
gleefully as she fired away with some sort of BFG, taking out an
entire group in one shot.
“With that letch crashing the party? More like bad memories!”
grumbled Yume as she let loose with a volley of three shots, each one
taking out a single golem. “Nice balance. Who designed this laser
rifle? You?”
“That's one of Garrick's toys!” chirped Washu like a proud
mother.
“Oh really?” I didn't have to look to hear the smile in Yume's
voice. Creepy.
“Master!” called out Hishima. “Do we protect the one that
humiliated you?”
“You will if you know what's good for you!” screamed Yume
caustically.
“So be it. Come, Takashima! The Game's afoot!”
“YOSH!” grunted the larger Shima brother and away they went.
“Goghei!” called out Tenchi. “Get the Takabes and Tatetsuki
out of here!”
“But what about Garrick!?” cried out Asahi in alarm.
“This is not your fight!” Tenchi called back.
“But you fought for me!” Asahi fired back.
“ASAHI!” I called out as I opened up more space around me. “We
are firmly in Gods and Monsters territory here! Get the hell out of
here before you get yourself killed!”
“Asahi will leave,” replied Nomori Takebe. “But only if Goghei
stays and fights!”
“Fine!” agreed Tenchi tersely. “Just get someplace safe!”
I looked just in time to catch Asahi giving Goghei a sudden, brief
kiss on the lips before running away with her Father and Tatetsuki.
This was especially impressive given that Goghei was already in his
Beastman state. Befuddled, but not distracted, Goghei sided with
Tenchi and the two went to work.
“You seem to be a little lonely out here, son,” came Funaho's
voice as she gracefully did for two golems trying to sneak up behind
me using an energy blade not unlike Yosho's Master Key.
“Isn't this situation a little hairy for you to be involved in at
this level, Mother?” I asked, a bit surprised.
“You're the one who is in most danger,” Funaho replied with a
small, knowing grin. “Besides, it's been too long since I've had
this much fun.” Her expression then darkened. “And that bastard
is posing a direct threat to you, my son. I shall not permit that to
go unanswered.”
I smiled as Funaho and I settled in at each other's backs. “I'm
glad you're here, Mother.”
“I am glad to have you, my Son,” she replied.
There was a pop of a sonic boom nearby. I made sure I was in the
clear before I stopped to watch Ayeka, who had dropped the princess
facade and decided to go to work. She was decked out in her
own Jyuraian battle armor and just plain punching the golems
around us into next week while Mihoshi gave her ranged coverage. In
fact, if I didn't know any better....
“Karate?” I asked Funaho.
I could hear the grin in Funaho's voice. “I felt it suited her
temperament better than the sword arts.”
I snorted at that. “No kidding.”
Really, I never knew anything about this. Ayeka doesn't take the kid
gloves off very often and I'd forgotten that her preferred method of
attack is her firsts. In fact, she probably finds it embarrassing
and unladylike and so she probably practices in secret. I'll have to get
her to come around somehow, because really there is a certain beauty
and grace in the striking arts.
“Your Highness!” called out one of the guardsmen. “There is
some kind of interference keeping us from using the teleporters!
Work extracting Bizen has been suspended and we are currently
fortifying the site as we speak! We can fall back there so we may
safely extract His Grace and his company in one of the shuttles.”
Funaho nodded. “Well done, Captain! Open the path! Tenchi,
Garrick, we're leaving!”
“Oh, you won't slip away so easily!” Suddenly the earth erupted
all around us, accompanied by a shrieking roar that was familiar for
some.
“Tsunami preserve us!” gasped the Guard Captain. “Doduos!”
Let me see if I can do this justice. Imagine the ancient precursor
of the Kodiak Bear, only the size of a small house and in a shape
like a rat. Give it four eyes, two sets of razor-clawed forelimbs,
and the biggest attitude problem you can imagine. You know that
funny little meme about wasps and just sitting still until they go
about their business? Even worse, because if you even have a pulse
then you are the doduos's business. QED.
And Clay had sent down four of these monstrosities.
“Oh fuck!” I cried out. “TENCHI! SHIT JUST GOT EVEN MORE
REAL!!!” Everyone scattered, and rightfully so. Fortunately, this
had the affect of drawing the attention of all four doduos away from
me, which meant I had just enough time to bring out an equalizer.
I stabbed First Cut into the ground, slapped my C-Pod and called out
“Star Spark!”
Plasma weaponry is not easy and it is not cheap. Nonetheless, Washu
and I made Star Spark because we figured that having it and not
needing it was better than needing it and not having it.
This situation definitely qualified as 'needing it'.
Star Spark was truly nasty. I could even get into trouble for having
it. Reason being? Fluorine-based plasma chemistry. This shit made
Dioxygen Diflouride look tame by comparison. The good part is that
the chemicals decayed so quickly that they were deemed useless for
all other applications except as a weapon. And of course, the Galaxy
Alliance stepped in and labeled the stuff a first-class chemical
weapon. Meaning that no one was supposed to have it.
Hope they'll overlook it this once.
“Son, is that what I think it is?” asked Funaho somewhat
nervously. I could just see the twitch in her eye.
“Yep,” I replied as I pulled on the set of goggles the BFG came
with and took aim.
“PLASMA WEAPON!” Funaho belted. And just like that, the people
who were in the know hit the dirt and pulled the people who were not
in the know down with them.
I squeezed the trigger and Sun Spark belched a fat blat of Saint
Elmo's Fire at the closest Doduos.... and its head exploded in a
shower of gore and toxic green fire. And the body kept right on
burning, too. If Carbon's the slut of organic chemistry, then
Fluorine is the serial murder-rapist.
The other three doduos were quick to take note of their comrade's
fall and screamed their disapproval as they turned to me and began to
charge.
I took aim at the one in the lead and fired again, this time the shot
going a bit high and wide, but still managing to burrow through the
beast's shoulders and into its body before the magnetic bottle lost
its cohesion. It actually vomited gore and fire, it's eyes melting
into blackened holes in its head, as the blast erupted out it's side
and the residual chemicals set fire on the side of the doduos next to
it.
I grimaced, but I didn't have time to pity the poor creatures for
long. The third one was still coming. I only had enough time to
drop Sun Spark, it's fusion fuel cell depleted after only two shots,
and pull Otouto from it's sheath once more.
And then I charged the doduos.
The doduos being used to things my size run from it rather than to it
did not have time to react. And I was about to capitalize on that,
beginning with drawing on a bit more of Katherine's power .
Let me say right here that this sort of thing is actually a lot more
intuitive than you might think. This is the same sort of power that
comprises the Lighthawk Wings, and it is almost a tangible thing and
meant to be shifted, moved, and molded. So that's why I had no issue
with shunting it all into Otouto... and the Hielzein-S blade drank it
greedily and flared a brilliant red as I used it to cut along the
side of the doduos, spilling its guts behind me.
Several cracking sounds alerted me to Yume putting Raiden's Toothpick
to use. I looked and saw that she used it to put the burning doduos
and the one I had cut open out of their misery.
“Power cell's done!” called out Yume. “Hey, handsome! You got
another?”
I blinked at Yume in surprise – Handsome!? The hell!? - then
slapped my C-Pod, called one up, and threw it to Yume.
“You know, son, I can admit that this is an extraordinary
situation,” said Funaho as I sheathed Otouto and went back for
First Cut. “But four doduos in twenty seconds? There's going to
be some very unhappy ecologists in the Galaxy Alliance.”
I shrugged. “Had to be done, Mother. I won't have one life here
on my conscience today. Besides, it's all that asshole's fault.”
“Very interesting,” rumbled Clay from overhead. “So you don't
care about rules...”
I rolled my eyes as I put down two more golems. “Oh, here we go
now... AS IF YOU GAVE A SHIT YOURSELF YOU INSUFFERABLE BASTARD CHILD
OF A WHORE!”
Clay's eyes flashed ominously. “YOU... LITTLE WRETCH!” he
bellowed thunderously. And then the land all around us began to tear
itself to pieces. Clay was ripping up the tectonic plates under us.
“Time to run!” I called out to everyone and got moving.
“WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR!?” cried out Funaho in shock as the
pulled up even with me.
“Bad news,” I explained. “He's pissed off and has taken the
kid gloves off. Good news: he's pissed off and not thinking
straight.”
“I don't think that gets us out of trouble,” Washu called out as
she and Yume joined up with us.
“Aren't you two his better or something?” I asked. “Can't you
out-science this fuckhead?”
“Can't,” Washu called back. “He's far too powerful! In fact,
I have no idea how he's doing this now or where he got the power
from!”
“Yeah, and I'd love to sock that pervert in the nose, Gar-kun,”
Yume replied with the sarcasm I was more used to. “Unfortunately I
have been denied ultimate power by a certain human. Sound familiar?”
“Sure, blame the backwater hillbilly,” I grumped. I then spied
Sasami and Yuki, being carried by Ryoko and Minagi respectively,
making their way to our group. “Sasami! I think we're gonna need
some Big Help soon.”
“Tsunami-no-fune is already on her way!” the princess
called back. “It's gonna take a few minutes, though.”
“Great! How're the others?”
“Tenchi and Goghei are ahead of us clearing the way,” Ryoko
replied.
“And Ayeka and Mihoshi are keeping us covered from the rear,”
Minagi finished.
“What about the Shima Brothers?”
“They're covering us from ambush,” Yume replied tersely. “If
you can't see them, then they're doing their jobs properly.”
“That's great,” I replied honestly. “But we're gonna need some
sort of stopgap coverage until Tsunami gets here. Mother?”
“I'm sorry, son, but my Husband wishes to see how you get yourself
out of this.”
“GYAH!” I snarled in outrage. What did this man expect of me?
“AS IF I COULD!”
“He doesn't expect you to overpower your enemy, my son,” Funaho
said. “He just wants to see if you can find a way out of this
mess.”
“So I'm on the spot then... great.” I then reached out to
Katherine. Is there anything you can do to help?
I wish could, My tree replied sorrowfully. But I'm not in
a proper Central Unit yet... I can create Lighthawk Wings for
shields, but they'd only appear inside your garden room! Worst of
all we haven't made our Master Key yet!
I sighed at that. Okay, don't panic yet. We'll figure this out.
I know what you're thinking at this point. Why don't I use my
C-Space as a means of escape? But there's a problem with that. I
had no doubt in my mind that Clay could simply seal off my C-Space
once I was inside it... and then he'd have exactly what he wanted: me
as a bug in a bell jar. In fact, I was pretty sure that was why I
was still able to use it – he was counting on me being dumb enough
to not realize this fact.
Besides, even if he actually couldn't do that, why take that kind of
chance?
Right then, Sasami broke my train of thought. “Yuki-chan! Have
you been hearing any strange voices!?”
“... I... didn't want anyone to think anything was wrong with
me...” said Yuki nervously.
I blinked as I caught onto what Sasami was thinking right away.
“How long ago, Yuki-chan?” I asked.
“Since yesterday!”
I shot a look at Sasami and it was like she read my mind as she gave
me a determined nod.
“Right then. Ryoko! Gonna need a teleport!”
“Who and where to?” asked the former pirate.
“Yuki, Funaho and myself. We're going to go see Bizen!”