A meteor crashed into the windshield again, causing it to buckle, but not crack and kill the occupants.
"Thank God for Irken plastic!" said Zix as another meteor crashed into the side.
"A small mercy!" replied Kro and flinched as the damage reports got worse. Moose was driving, swerving and turning, trying to get away.
"Micro my foot-" snapped Moose as another smashed into the right of the Voot. "Kro, what are the reports? Kro?"
Moose turned to see Kro lying on her side with Zix staring at Moose with huge paranoid magenta eyes.
"Uh oh..." she said.
"WHAT THE-"
"KRO JUST GOT KNOCKED OUT PLUS SHE’S FREAKIN’ BLEEDIN’! Land on the asteroid over there!" shouted Zix.
"We’ll get KILLED-"
"Got a better plan?"
Moose swerved and landed. Zix punched a button and a shivering magenta shield appeared over the Voot. A meteor bounced off it.
"It won’t hold, but we have to do something with Kro! She’s bleeding and we can’t let her DIE!" said Zix half crying, half screaming with anger.
"What do we do? I mean, we can go back to Irk-"
"That’ll take too long! WE DON’T HAVE TIME!" said Zix.
"Hyper drive!"
"Can’t help us, it got damaged!"
The radio crackled to life, "Moose, Zix, Kro! Mri is back-Repeat, Mri is back! Requesting you come back, please guys! We’ll get-Damn! No, no, Mri-!" there was a terrible shout as the radio transmitter was thrown away.
"Hey guys, enjoying the storm? Good." Mri’s voice crackled lightly, "I’m back. Moose, I need you to come back, I’ve got Cri, the little traitor. I have everyone here, I can kill them ALL."
A louder sizzling noise was heard as the two Invaders sat in shock.
"Hear that? That’s dynamite, baby. Hear this? Off it goes!" There was an explosion and the transmitter was turned off. Zix and Moose stared at each other.
"All back to Irk? Say AYE!"
"AYAAAAAAE!!" shouted Moose and ran to the controls. "What about Kro?"
"Lemme see!" shouted Zix and pushed to wire together. The Voot blasted off the space rock and Zix grinned worriedly, "Hear that? That’s LUDICROUS SPEED, BABY!!"
"That’s from Spaceballs!"
"WHO GIVES?" The Voot blasted back to Irk.
"Mri, stop! Why are you holding us-"
"You rule, therefore, I hurt you, I hurt the nation. And that’s what I love to do, hurt the nation." Mri was smiling again.
"Mri, how long have you-"
"Been insane? Honey, you corrupted me." Mri smiled at Purple and turned to the window. "Miss Moose should be here soon. I heard them talk about 'ludicrous speed' or some nonsense over the radio."
"SO that’s all this is then?" spat Cri, "A plot to get back at her, hmm? You insane-"
"How would you feel, trapped in the Void for over a YEAR? You damn Skippy! You’d be as pissed off as I am right now!" Mri snapped and turned away. The hostages (Red, Purple, Cri and everyone else) eyed each other warily.
"What will you do when they come?" asked Purple.
Mri turned back, silver eyes wide, "Eh?"
"When they come back. What will you do? You can’t use mind control now."
"You’re right, I can’t. I will fight using her own friends." She was grinning horribly now, like an insane man who had found the keys to his escape.
"Her mind, yes, has already been made impenetrable. But that doesn’t mean yours are, or Per’s..."
"Who's Per?" demanded Nix.
"He is my brother."
"Where is he? I haven’t seen him." asked Nix.
"He is in an insane asylum. He went insane after my other brother struck him across the head with a lazer. But his mind is still open and waiting for me. Just as yours are..."
And with those final words, all of the Irkens being held hostage were thrown into the dark cave of Mri’s mind...
"CAN'T THIS THING GO ANY FASTER?" called Moose as they went zooming through the storm.
"NO!"
"ALRIGHTY THEN!" shouted Moose. "Do ya think we’ll get there in time?"
"Of course! We are," Zix held herself up proudly, "The most amazingest Invaders (and a really hot Diplomat) in the UNIVERSE!"
Moose sighed and thought "I hope you’re right, Zix. I hope you are."
M E A N W H I L E (in Kro’s head):
An Irken woman sat quietly on her chair. Kro stepped forward, "Hello?"
"Yes, greetings." she said, silver eyes downcast.
"What’s up?"
"Good question."
"Where are we, then? Do you know that?" asked Kro walking closer to her. The woman nodded, seemingly drained of power.
"Yes, we are in the Void-"
"What’s that?" Kro interrupted.
The woman glared at her, "It is where you go when you have been killed. I would know, I’m dead in a sense right now."
Kro cocked an eyebrow, "What? Dead? Am I?"
"It would seem to be," said the lady nodding. "It’s okay, though, the death grows on you. Soon, you won’t realize it. Although your boyfriend and friends might."
"Purple! Moose and everyone! What do I do?"
"Wait."
"I CAN’T though! My friends are in a micro-meteor storm! I have to help them!" Kro turned to find only more of the blackness. The lady laughed, albeit sadly.
"See? You can’t wake up from this nighty-mare. Trust me, if I could, I would be gone right now. I’d be stopping my other half-"
"Other half? I don’t understand," Kro said.
The lady sighed and extended a two-clawed hand, "I am Mri. Or, at least the good side. You’ve heard of split personalities, ne?"
"Yes."
"The worst stage, when your personalities split from you? That’s what happened to us. I am the good side, the one she lost when she went insane. The other half, the black half if you will, runs free up there-" she pointed upwards. "-She found the way to get out. Something about this program-"
Kro was running up a spiral staircase.
"What are you doing!? THERE IS NO ESCAPE!" shouted Mri staring after her. "Come back!"
Kro turned, "Come with me. Either you come and we get out or I leave you to rot with nothing! LET’S GO!" Mri thought and when she looked back up, Kro was already half way gone. Mri stood and followed the insane soldier up the winding staircase.
"Hey, hey, you Irken! YES YOU!" snapped Kro at the form on the ground. "Wakey wakey! Get up!" The form shivered and stood.
"Who’re you?" he asked.
"No matter! Boy, how did you let Mri out of this prison?"
"I typed VINDICTION into the program, why?"
"DO IT FOR US!"
"Why, are you gonna kill me? AGAIN?"
"You’re not dead, dingus!" snapped Kro. "Jus’ knocked out or something! Type!" Ter shrugged and typed VINDICTION into the program. In a flash of light (i.e. Explosion) the good Mri stepped out. Ter was back on the ground, once more knocked out, and Mri looked about.
"Kro? Oh God, she must have gone to where her body lays. Dangit!" the good Mri ran off to find her counterpart.
"How far?" demanded Zix, "We have to get back home!"
Moose replied sarcastically, "NOOO, Zix! We’re gonna go to PLU-TO!"
"Jeez! I was only asking!"
"Don’t talk like a valley girl, Zix, or I might have to put you in the glove compartment-"
"Asteroid. Easier. They die quicker. Damn, why does my head hurt so bad?" moaned Kro from the backseat.
Moose and Zix turned around and Zix leaped into the back and hugged Kro, "KRO! YOU’RE ALIVE! We thought you were dead and we’d never SEE you again! Oh but now you’re back!" Zix hugged even tighter and a slight crack of bones was heard.
"OOOW!!!" shouted Kro "Lookit that! You just BROKE MY SPINE! I dunno why it hurts, it was only my head and side that got hurt, but GAH!" Kro wrestled herself away from Zix and searched for the first-aid kit. As she smeared the clear white goop on her side, she told them about the land of the dead.
"...It was really weird, just me and this other woman. She said she was Mri’s good half-"
"EH? Didn’t I-" started Moose.
"Multiple personalities. The worst stage is when-"
"They break off from the original and become real."
Zix finished with her. "Jeez, and that’s what happened to Mri? Wow."
"Good Mri is on Irk right now, I would think. Ter's whole idea of storing Essence into a computer worked. That’s where I was, in a computer."
"Scary." remarked Moose shaking her head.
"Definitely. Look, are we almost there?"
"Hold on," Moose turned to look at the map, "Yes. We are about 2 hours away from this whole ludicrous speed thing." Kro turned to Zix, who was nursing several burns on her hands. She grinned and put her hands behind her back.
The next two hours, nothing major happened. Besides several meteors getting lodged into the engine and them having to shell out fifty monies to get the engine fixed. In the remaining hour is where things get interesting...
"GOD! Can’t this go faster?" asked Kro.
Zix shrugged, "Hey, I dunno ‘bout you, but I refuse to burn myself from ludicrous prepping. Nuh-uh."
"Please, Zix" said Moose, using almighty powers of wheedling and coaxing, "I mean, the most amazingest Diplomat in the universe can get ludicrous back!"
Zix just about swelled ten times her normal size with happiness, "Well, when ya put it that way! It isn’t so hard, being the most amazing diplomatic genius in the universe!"
"Thank god she’s so easy to please," whispered Moose.
"No kidding!" replied Kro.
(Yes, this was taken from Tenchi Universe! So sue me! On second thought, don’t! Gee there are a lot of things from other shows, huh?)
"Well, my cute little friends," remarked Mri looking at the Irkens in front of her. "We are going to have fun today! Moose and all the other little Invaders are coming soon. And I have my little Blood Doll by my side again!"
Cri stood quietly, eyes downcast and hopeless.
"And the rest of you don’t even need to think about resisting! With my mind control-Wait, why am I saying all this? Damn me and my villain type mind!" Cri sighed and stared out into the night. She turned back to see several figures standing by the door. Cri’s jaw dropped and she stared at them.
Moose grinned determinedly and put a finger to her mouth. Cri shook her head and nodded to everyone.
Kro stared and shrugged. Cri rolled her eyes and got a hypnotized look on her face. She nodded to Mri who was smiling at her army. Kro flinched and the good Mri shook her head. They swung back around and down the hall.
"What do we do?" whispered Zix. "Mri has everyone trapped!"
"We could..." Mri started, "I know, Zix and Kro, give yourselves up to Mri. Tell her that Moose spoke lies and that she is a back stabber and such. Then, Moose will come and ‘fight’ for her friends. Of course, one person cannot stand Mri, so it will be useless. When you lose," Mri turned to Moose, "You must also pledge your allegiance."
"Then what? We have everyone in the same boat!" whispered Kro. "And if she doesn’t buy that load a-"
Mri nodded, "That’s where I come in. Moose will take you two in a scouting party to see if there is anyone left. You will ‘find’ me and bring me back. I will reason and then... That’s as far as I got." Mri shook her head. "But, her rage and vengeance is so strong, she’ll blunder into this blindly."
Kro grinned suddenly, "Ter. TER! Ter’s idea of Essence storing in the computer! We get Ter and bring his laptop! He types in the code and then-"
"We get Mri! The bad one, I mean," Zix said smiling apologetically at the good Mri.
"Then delete her file on the computer!" said Moose. "This is perfect!"
Mri sighed, "It has to go perfectly though, if ANYTHING, even one tiny detail goes wrong, then the Irken Empire is no longer ours."
