To Infinity and Beyond

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To Infinity and Beyond

Episode 08: Mission So-Much-Pain

© 27th of April 2006 – Kitty Ocean for the story; Disney (Buzz Lightyear from Star Command) for the characters

This story is a Fan fiction, and only for free entertainment purposes. 

 

“What is taking them so long?” Buzz looked at the clock annoyed. “The ceremony begins in an hour.”

“I hope Nané’s wound isn’t too serious.” Booster worried.

“Oh, don’t worry.” XR comforted him. “It’s not like she can manage to damage up there anyway. Heck, she’d forget her head if it wasn’t attached to her body.”

“This isn’t the time for jokes XR.” Buzz started walking in circles.

“I am not.” XR defended himself. “Seriously! Each time we have to do something, she forgets something!”

“She only just started out at the Academy.” Booster disagreed. “She’s not a robot who can download all the information.”

“Hey, hey!” XR replied upset; that was obvious. “Last time I had to download some new manuals, one contained a virus! I still have hiccups in my software!”

“Rangers, stop that.” Buzz ordered them. “You are sounding like a bunch of children. I know you rather would have gone out instead of writing the mission log, but it had to be done!”

“Here I am!” Mira cheerfully walked around the corner, before the guys would get entangled into another argument.

“Finally!” Buzz exclaimed. “Where is Nané?” He noticed the human girl was not with the Tangean Princess.

Mira’s face didn’t change at all, when she replied. “Oh, don’t worry. The nurse wanted to do some extra check ups, and Nané told us to get in position already. She’ll join us later on.”

Buzz was surprised. “How odd.” He started. “I thought it was nothing serious.”

“Better safe than sorry Buzz.” Mira smiled with an angelic face.

 

In the alley in the down town of the city, a small van slowly closed its door. However, it seemed the door didn’t want to close, and a few Gargantuan Rebels started pushing against it, until the door finally shut.

Mira gasped after she saw the thing that was stuffed in the van. She easily noticed the van was not meant for two prisoners, and that moving around would be a lot harder from now on. It felt like she was now a sardine in a small can. Seriously.

“Nané!” Mira called out worried. “Are you okay?”

“Pain…” Nané complained. “I’m in paaaaain….”

“I’m so sorry.” Mira apologized. “I didn’t mean to put you in danger.”

“No worries…” Nané still hadn’t moved. “Been worse.”

“You always say that.” Mira replied a bit ticked off. “What exactly IS worse to you? You were beaten up by a Gargantuan Robot.”

“Means nothing.” Nané raised her hand. “Just give me a moment to find back my limbs and I’ll get back to you…”

“We don’t have time!” Mira called out. “The Gargantuan Rebels are planning to kill the Ambassador, using a robot that looks like me!”

“Ah, no worries then.” Nané replied, still trying to get her thoughts back online. “XR will see that using his heat sensor.”

 

XR whistled looking at a few fine ladies coming through. “Welcome ladies.” He greeted them. “Welcome! Aren’t we looking fine today?” And he rolled after them, but only for a second, as he remembered his mission. “Give me a call after the ceremony, okay?”

“XR.” His communicator called out. “How’s everything going?”

“Everything is fine Buzz.” He replied, waving at another girl. “But no sign of Nané.”

“I just spotted the nurse.” Booster added his voice to the channel. “She said Mira and Nané left a long while ago.”

“Well, Nané probably went and started shopping.” XR accused her. “Or is busy stealing another ship from Zurg.”

“I don’t think so.” Mira added her voice as well. “She will probably come. Maybe she just got lost.”

 

“Can’t you use your powers?” Nané asked a bit ticked off when Mira’s foot was suddenly in the way.

“No, not on this metal.” Mira complained, while trying to get free. “Try and press that green button over there.”

“I thought Tangean people could Ghost through anything!” Nané tried to move. “And I can’t turn around; how can I press that button?”

“Use your foot; you should be able to reach it.”

“I can’t see what I’m doing!”

“I can, go to your right!”

Nané stumped her foot against the desk. “Ow!” She called out. “That hurts!”

“Go back, and then up. And THEN to your right.” Mira instructed her.

“I’m getting a cramp…” Nané complained.

“There’s a war coming between Tangea and Ambrosia!” Mira yelled in her face. “That cramp can wait!”

Finally Nané managed to reach the button and Mira’s shackles went open. Mira sighed relieved, and touched her wrists, and a silence filled the van.

“Now what?” Nané asked her, still not being able to move much more. They were still like a pair of sardines in a tiny can. Yup, they still were.

 

“The Ambassador is coming out in half an hour.” Buzz instructed his team. “If Nané hasn’t shown up then, she’d better have a VERY good reason.”

“Mister Lightyear?” Corona walked at him. “Have you seen Nané?”

Buzz shook his face. “No, I haven’t.”

“Where could she be?” Corona looked around worried. “It’s nothing for her to abandon her post.”

“I see you have not been informed about the reason why she got this mission?” Buzz mentioned, remembering how this all started.

Corona disagreed. “I know the reason, but that was not during a mission. That was something stupid she did on her own. Nané would never abandon her post, or bring someone else in danger.”

A servant came to take Corona to her place. “We’ll look for her after the ceremony.” Buzz comforted Corona. “There is probably nothing wrong.” But even he didn’t believe himself. “There’d better be something wrong.” He hissed. “Otherwise she’s going to have a lot of trouble.”

 

“I’m trying, I’m trying!” Nané called out.

“To your left, no, your other left!” Mira instructed her. “Come on, is it that hard to get that handle?”

“I’m sorry, but my leg can’t bend in that way!” Nané snapped at Mira. “I’m kind of bounded by the laws of physics!”

*Hey Nané…*

“Not now darn it!” Nané called out, surprising Mira.

“Did you just feel that?” Mira responded honestly and confused.

Nané got silent. Her mouth dropped open. Fear was in her eyes. “Feel what?” Nané tried to act innocent.

*Nané, are you still busy?*

“There it is again.” Mira looked around.

*HOLYCRAPMIRACANSENSETELEPATHY!* Nané only send back, but it was enough for Warp to get the hint and deciding to indeed wait till Nané would ‘call’ back.

But for Nané it meant a lot more. If Mira could sense something small as telepathy, she could probably sense it whenever Nané was using any of her skills! It was like having a second Corona on Star Command then! How could she ever talk to Warp again if Mira was around?! What if Mira found out it was telepathy she actually felt being used?

“There it was again.” Mira tried to get up.

“Didn’t feel a thing!” Nané replied sweating. “But then again, I’m only human! I have no powers whatsoever. How about getting out again?”

“Fine.” Mira sighed. “Let’s try something else. How about I Ghost through you and get the handle to open the hatch?”

“GHOST THROUGH ME?!” Nané called out scared.

“Hey, it won’t hurt you.” Mira started. “I think anyway. I did it before. Well, actually, I put my hand into Buzz’s brain for example. And a few more people. It never hurt them. They just felt weird.”

“Not feeling assured!” Nané admitted.

“Oh, I’ll just try it.” Mira sighed. “I can Ghost through almost anything solid; a human body should be possible as well.”

“But… but…” Nané disagreed, but Mira decided to go on anyway. Nané didn’t feel a thing from it, as the Tangean girl suddenly Ghost through her body, and reached for the handle. Since the handle was made of the same Tangean resistant material, Mira could pull it while still Ghosting through Nané. Nané however, felt ready to completely freak out; since there was a girl sticking her hand THROUGH her.

The hatch slammed open, almost crushing the already small Gargantuan Guard. Nané rolled out of the van, followed by Mira who crawled out. “Let’s go!” Mira got her jet pack ready.

Nané had to touch herself first making sure everything was still in place. “Are you certain you didn’t realign some of my organs?” She had to ask.

“We have to stop a killer!” Mira called at her, and Nané agreed by getting her jetpack ready as well.

“Fine, fine!” Nané hissed, while following Mira into the sky. “But my stomach should better still be in its place or else I’m going to be really annoyed!”

 

The ceremony was actually quite boring. Team Lightyear looked around all the time, hoping to spot either Nané, or someone who could pose as a thread. Thus far, they found neither, and now Buzz started to get worried as well.

Was this the same Nané who fought so courageously against Zurg? The Rookie he met then would never bail out on a mission, no matter how inexperienced or clumsy. Right after the ceremony, they would start looking for her. Maybe something happened! But, what was even harder for him, was that he had to focus on this mission first; the Galactic Alliance depended on him!

“Mira, can you see the Ambassador?” Buzz inquired according to safety protocols.

Mira took out a large weapon, looking like a mix between a laser and a bazooka. “Don’t worry Buzz.” Mira smiled. “I have him in visual.”

 

At that moment, Mira and Nané reached the ceremony as well. Mira looked around, trying to spot Buzz, and reached for her communicator. However, Nané quickly looked for the fake Mira; knowing where she would be placed (after all, she had assigned her to that place herself!). Even though she could not determine what kind of weapon the fake princess was holding, she did know that this meant trouble… and a lot of it!

Nané hesitated not a single moment, as she literary dove on the fake Mira. Mira could not stop her; only seeing her shooting away, but called out her name: “Nané!” She screamed, knowing what she was going to do, and how dangerous it would be.

Nané bashed against the fake Mira with all her strength, causing the weapon to go off, but instead of hitting its target, it blasted against some ornaments on the ceiling. The fake Mira dropped the weapon, and together with Nané she crashed on the ground.

Terrified, guests and officials screamed afraid, heading for the nearest exit possible. It was not organized, no matter how many servants tried to calm the people, and guided them to the emergency exits. A few guards brought the Ambassador away quickly, but Corona refused to go with them when they told her to. “Nané!” She called out running at her, seeing the purple haired girl pinning the fake Mira to the ground.

“Nané, what are you thinking!” Buzz called out angry, running at the scene.

“Stay back Buzz!” Nané ordered. “This is not the real Mira.”

Suddenly Mira landed next to Nané and the fake Mira, surprising anyone who was still at the scene. Booster gasped worried. “Mira, do you have a sister?” He asked after seeing the identical twin.

“No Booster, that robot is a fake!” Mira snapped back.

“Robot?” Buzz came closer. “Okay, it’s obvious one of them is a fake, but which one is that?”

“That one over there of course!” The Mira on the ground called out. “Can’t you see it? Just look at her!”

“Oh no.” Nané forbid the Mira on the ground. “We’re not even going to that cliché!”

“Then how will we know which one is the real Mira?” Booster asked.

“The real Mira can Ghost through anything!” The Mira next to Nané proclaimed proudly. “Well, almost anything. I mean, I’m quite certain… no, I mean almost anything.”

“Fine, then let’s…” Buzz suggested, but was cut off.

“Oh please, let’s get this over with.” Nané sighed. “XR, just use your gadget.”

Corona finally reached the scene, and got pushed away by the little robot. “Oh, so NOW I may come and join the party eh?” He adjusted his lenses, and looked at the three girls before him. Suddenly XR whistled a familiar whistle. “My, my, Mira, still looking hot as ever! Get it? Get it? Hot?”

“XR…” Mira sighed annoyed, and XR noticed his team members did not really appreciate the joke as well.

“Fine, fine.” XR growled. “The one on the floor is a robot. It has two Gargantuan Creatures inside it. So everyone may always joke, except for me. No wonder people keep on thinking Robots have no humor.”

“Well, now that that is out of the way…” The fake Mira suddenly smiled wicked. All of a sudden, she bashed her hand against Nané’s face, and knocked the girl away. Then she leaped up, and used her jetpack to fly up.

“Darn it!” Nané cursed grabbing her jaw. “That’s the second time today!” And not waiting for anything else to happen, or for anything anyone could say, Nané jumped into the sky and used her jetpack to get into pursuit.

“Nané!” Buzz opened his jetpack as well. “Come back! It’s too dangerous!”

However, Corona stopped him, by placing a hand on his shoulder. “This is her fight, Mister Lightyear.” She told him. “And don’t worry. I heard she stopped 6 High Class Star Command Training Robots. This should be easy then.”

Buzz looked up, and saw how an angry Nané grabbed a near chandelier, and broke a part from it. With stunning force, she slammed it on the robotic Mira’s arm, disabling the laser.

“You hit me one time too much!” Nané called out, and grabbed the other arm of robot Mira. She swung around the robot, and let it go at the last moment, so it crashed against the wall.

Seeing the damage Nané was causing, Team Lightyear was first impressed, but slowly started to get worried. “Are we insuranced for this?” Booster asked his friends, seeing how Nané hit the robot over and over again.

“I hope so.” XR started calculating the possible bill, as a small piece of paper rolled out of his body. “My. I’m getting impressed.”

“Oh, I’ll stop her.” Corona sighed, as no one knew what to do, while her little sister just went on, and on, and on… and on. *Nané, come on. Playtime is over. I think you stopped the evil robot now.*

Nané looked down, and saw her sister on the ground. At that moment, the robot decided to use its last energy to fight back, but Nané floated down just before it could hit her, resulting in the robot crashing against the wall.

Slowly it slid down to the floor, where an emergency escape hatch suddenly popped open, and two Gargantuan Rebels rolled out of it; completely dizzy and knocked out (partly because of the Air bag system that was inside, which slowly grew and grew). However, Nané completely ignored them, as she went off to her sister.

“Why do you always ruin it for me?” She pouted, confusing the others by this remark that seemed to be getting out of no where.

 

“Are you serious?” Back at Star Command, Team Lightyear had filed in their report, but Commander Nebula still wanted to have a talk with Buzz Lightyear alone. “She did that all without thinking?”

Buzz nodded. “I must admit I was worried at the beginning, but when it comes to battle, she indeed is better than I am.” It was hard for him to admit it, but even he knew it was the truth. He most likely needed his laser to stop the robot, while Nané did it without. “Her biggest problem, asides authority, is that she only thinks about others, instead of herself. She doesn’t care if she gets hurt; putting herself into risk.”

Commander Nebula nodded. “What do you think?” He asked his opinion. “Did she learn her lessons from this mission? Was it a fitting punishment?”

Buzz smiled. “It indeed taught her a lot of responsibility.” He admitted. “But she still has a long way to go before she becomes a real Space Ranger.”

“I feel that too.” Commander Nebula looked out of his window, seeing the vast universe lying ahead. “But it was thanks to her that Ambrosia now joined the Alliance. She managed to stop the Gargantuan Rebels. She may still be wild and young, but she has the capabilities to become a true Space Ranger.”

“I’m certain it will take a while before you will have to punish her again.” Buzz voiced his opinion. “And maybe she learned her lesson for good.”

 

“Hey Nané, how about another challenge?” Tei smiled, meeting up Nané in the hall way.

“Oh no!” Nané waved her hands angry in front of her. “Not for the following month!”

Tei took out his organizer. “Okay. How about next month then? The 17th?” He suggested casually.

Nané took her organizer as well. “Sure.” She mentioned equally casual. “I’m still free then.”

 

To be continued…

 

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