Regards From The Lombardi Famiglia

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In the Lawless Land of Valparaiso, a place where many people from all walks of life came from all over the universe for various reasons to handle all sorts of illegal or criminal activity without repercussions, a new, never-before seen starship appeared. It had an elegance and grace of a luxury vehicle, with a smooth and sleek design not unlike a custom car. It was all black, and vaguely reminiscent of old-school mafia vehicles on Earth.

It landed before the Forbidden Hotel, Deadman's Den, the most luxurious and notorious establishment in all the Lawless Land. There was some suave, somber, Italian Jazz playing as several strange looking men with slicked back hair all exited. They entered the building, walking straight to the front desk to whomever the receptionist was. "Many pardons," a man with a thick New York Italian accent said, "We are advocates of the highly esteemed Advocate Of Space, Valerio Lombardi, Don of the Lombardi Famiglia. We're, uh... Here to see his daughter, Chita, for a, uh... Personal visit. With regards from her father." He cleared his throat and adjusted his collar. "Ya see, her power was felt during her awakening, and now, her father wants us to send her a, uh... Special Delivery regarding such things."

He didn't seem like a very patient man, but he did seem like he was reasonable. "We don't want no trouble, so uh, just take us to the Don's little girl so we's can give her the... Gift from her old man."

Terumi's inner elation generated an internal buildup of electricity within him -- not unlike a common power generator -- and caused his body to charge, until his hair stood on end. The energy he was withholding from not speaking or acting immediately was building the longer he held it, but he didn't really realize it was happening -- just how he was feeling. She was so cool and hot and... Strong. Sexy all the way through. His admiration for her grew when she more or less agreed to let him accompany her. So, his body surged with electricity, both paralyzing him in place and still powering him up. He couldn't move, though he wanted to, because his body was filled to the brim with power, and his mind was overcharged, so he couldn't actually put his thoughts into slow enough functions to form things like words or sounds; or even fix his face to move his lips. All of the power was too busy supercharging his body.

Though, in spite of this, when the enemy came back again, Terumi was all too quick to take off faster than lightning -- a bolt of electricity that zigzagged all about, moving at the speed of a flash of light. His response to her acceptance was action -- not words. He didn't even give the enemy time to think or react, and continually struck at them in zigzagged, cutting bolts that constantly shot around. If it didn't kill them, it would threaten them enough to draw their attention and their fire away from Tifaret, he presumed.

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Meanwhile, Grim himself would concern himself again with Tifaret, who needed the oversight right now. Now that she was a Pumpkinhead like him and the others were, as Pumpkinghead, he needed to make sure she kept a handle on this newfound power of hers, as well as understood her place as a newly awakened Pumpkinhead. "I Bid Thee Adieu," Grim said, sucking his own body of darkness back into his Third Eye, so he could return to what Tifaret was doing just outside of the Forbidden Hotel.

'Tifaret,' Grimnyzmal called out from his Third Eye into hers, 'A Great Power Has Awakened Within You -- The Power Of The White Pumpkinhead; Pumpkinhead Of Light. This Is Very Momentous, But Also Quite Critical, For The Power Of A Pumpkinhead Is Far Greater Than You Know. Yet I, Grimnyzmal, The Pumpkinghead Who Commands The Pumpkinheads And Keeps Them In Place, Will Guide You.'

To prevent her confusion, he would carry on, telling her in her mind, 'I Will Only Be Helping You Master Your Pumpkinhead Powers, Not Fighting This Personal Battle For You. Only You Can Do That. The Battle Is Yours, But This Newfound Power Is Under Pumpkinhead Jurisdiction, Meaning It Isn't Something You Can Master In And Of Yourself By Yourself Naturally. You Need Either Myself Or The Original Pumpkinhead. Fortuitously, One Of The Two Will Suffice.' Grim could see that Terumi was holding down the enemy, so he took that time to really teach Tifa a few things by feeding them directly into her mind. That way, when it came time to use the White Pumpkinhead, she would naturally know already how and what to do, and could expand from there.

The sudden occurrences within the White Pumpkinhead which spontaneously acted in reaction to whatever was happening, seemingly reflexively, sent Tifa in a bit of a fluster, herself. She was reacting to reactions, and it was throwing her off due to impulsive reflex to instantly react to whatever was happening. So it took her a bit to calm herself down and adjust to the fact that the reactions were not only not happening because of her, but also that they were happening outside of her, and her reactions were just wasting energy... And showing a fear she didn't know she still had. Somewhat refreshing, but deeply troubling to her deepest spirit.

'... The Fuck...?' Her voice echoed, and her eyes saw with great fracture; split across many planes of light -- all from the perspective of a single photon, over and over. '... Is This... All Of The Information...?' Her words sounded slowed, but time seemed frozen. Yet, the light... The light became clear, and dulled to a point where it wasn't a bright, blinding whiteness... But a blend of colorful spectra. Her thoughts were so slow, they were nigh nonexistent, but the sight she saw when time slowed to make the imperceptible light all perceptible at their particular levels... Tifa's eyes were opened on the spot.

Whilst she was still trying to figure out if what she was looking at was all the information that Grimnyzmal said he would filter for her, she had reacted a long time ago to literally everything -- all too swiftly for her own cognition to keep up with. Tifaret had, in that timeframe, viewed a simulation of how she was going to take down the whole armada, acted on pure impulse and followed through with it, supercharged Terumi and took him with her, and was mowing down more and more universes of Valerio's cronies, without even thinking.

In fact, it all happened so metacognitively, Tifa hadn't even moved from her spot -- she'd used her powers to superimpose herself wherever she needed to be, and would remain constant no matter where she ended up. So, by flickering her superposition rapidly, she could easily destroy countless universes' worth of lackeys, no sweat. But by the time she came to... She didn't even realize that's what happened.

Though, somehow, latent information would, bit by bit, reveal itself to her once her mind stopped racing. "... Holy F--" Tifa, realizing now the extent of her power was way beyond anything she could have fathomed, took a look at herself, literally envisioning herself from an outer perspective, accurately, and created a lightform projection extension of her essence. "... Oh, No Way, So, Can I...?!" She sounded like a little kid with a new toy. But the most striking thing was... A different sort of feeling inside of her. Something that she hadn't been too familiar with before...

"... Hmph. I Guess I See Why He Would Want Me To Awaken Something Like This On My Own..." It was her latent inherent power from her own father, Valerio Lombardi -- the Lombardi Essence. "... Guess That's Why Those Lost Worlders Couldn't Handle My Old Man, Either..." After taking literally no effort to clear out universes' worth of henchmen -- all part of the same Space Mafia Armada that -just- gave her powers and presents -from- her own father -- she knew it well enough to understand that those chumps would have never been able to face him at his best.

... And that's why... "... Yo, Pops!" Chita shouted, eyes burning, a projection of herself searing into wherever he was, "I Got Your Fucking Present!!" The image of Chita Lombardi -- daughter of Valerio Lombardi -- would manifest before him through the shared Lombardi Essence, which bound them together by blood and heritage. "... But You Had To Have Known That I Wasn't Going To Let You Get Away With All That Fucking -Square- Bullshit, Right?" Valerio was all about bullshitting around with his ultimate power. That's all he ever did, last she heard. Could have asked anyone from that time -- just fucks around with phenomenal, cosmic power, bullshitting around because he can and no one can stop him.

Well, now it was time for him to take that attitude up with his own firstborn. Chita Lombardi, fresh with the Lombardi Essence, on -square- bullshit with her dad. "And I'mma Just Let You Sit On Back And Watch Me Finish The Goddamn Job And Come Knock Your Teeth In, Old Man. Betcha No Level Of Bullshit Will Keep Ya From Getting Creased By Your Own Kid For Being A Prick!" He did kinda just leave her and never visit, and did next to nothing for or about her, except practically just right now, and that wasn't even technically him.

Since she was going to deal with her father now, Chita would task Terumi with handling the small fries. She would ping him and Grim the thoughts she had so they'd both be in the know and could act accordingly, and maybe Grim could deal with Terumi like he'd done with her, so she could focus just on Valerio Lombardi and the Lombardi Essence.

Between the Lombardi heiress and her sidekick, the two of them were actually overwhelming the Space Armada. For some reason, the boy was able to outspeed a great many of the grunts on the front lines, which made the more elite of them that much more cautious. They did see that he wasn't very much in control, and was more reactive, so they took it upon themselves to set him up to react and move into a more opportune position for them. There were more than enough elites in the entire Space Armada to coordinate that and sacrifice as many grunts as necessary to accomplish it.

So, a slew of grunts with minimal powers or smarts were all sent out as scapegoats to force Terumi to move a certain way -- right into the palms of the Space Armada elites. From there, countless different methods were employed against him. From actual variable powers to futuristic weapons and even their ships, they unloaded on him, using their special powers to either stop him and his or to throw off his utility of his own powers, leaving him vulnerable and exposed for the fire from the space weapons and space ships.

However, again, since Terumi wasn't their actual target, and just a threat, some of them were searching for Tifa. She was nowhere to be found. Yet, it was right when they sought her out that she herself wiped them out in some strange, metaphysical way that they could only chalk up to -- if they had the time -- the Lombardi Essence awakening in her.

Therefore, the Space Armada Mafia had done its part, to the very end.

All that Tifaret did happened so fast, even the overcharged Terumi couldn't keep up with it. He was moving faster than he ever did in his life, and she'd gone so far beyond that, speed and its measure no longer mattered -- she'd exceeded them. That much, Terumi barely got to fathom, even with his own supercharged mind working at max. Something like that was amazing to him... To the degree where he was overstimulated with a great array of feelings.

He felt like Tifa could hear him somehow, despite how he couldn't slow his mind down enough to speak. His thoughts were being picked up as they happened, and he was somehow receiving information from her the same way. Terumi, unlike the veterans of the Veritas, was part of the newest generation, whom were the children of the Spirit Gods. Whilst many were completely ignorant of their ties, Terumi had some level of connection due to some religious experiences and exposure via the Dark Wolf. But he had no idea that the Tensei... Were capable of all of this.

And what's more, apparently, Tifaret's father was not a Tensei and still had enough power to run a Space Mafia, as well as give birth to Tifa. And all Terumi could think about was how he could barely hold his own against an Otherworlder with a fraction of that power when he first got to the Forbidden Hotel. He wondered if he would also grow that powerful, or if he was just a testament to his own weakness in comparison. It was too unclear to him to decide right now, but it did weigh heavily on him.

Those negative feelings counteracted the overcharged stimuli, which caused him to level out, at the expense of his power and speed. But when he finally came to a state of stability again, he was... In an aimless void of space, with Tifa, faced against the mafiosos of Valerio Lombardi. Terumi didn't know how he was going to handle them, now having rationalized his power in comparison to Tifaret's, but all he did know for right now was that she needed cover, and he wanted to give it. Things like power didn't matter right now -- all that mattered was harmony.

This twinge of revelation within him released a synchronous spark that resonated also with Tifaret, amplifying her power by his own, and then that back into him. Something about an underlying, latent trust between the two of them, even unspoken, had brought them both on the same wavelength in this fight. And because of that... Terumi became even more overcharged, hypercharging his supercharge. The powerful, destructive vibrations that came from him after that would surge throughout the area and carry Terumi with them... As a living wavelength more powerful than the discharge he rode on. This would cause them to all be stunned when exposed to his discharge, then immediately bolted through whilst incapacitated by Terumi.

At that moment, Terumi was overtaken by his power again. Yet, in doing this, he would transcend to his higher self, from which he stemmed. The Lightning God, Raigami Tsao-Rin, who was known to this world as 'Kairo', was linked to Terumi through the Dark Wolf that he blessed upon him, which combined their powers and kept them connected. Terumi was like a fragment of him, and a lower restriction, so to speak. Even his own child would be a relatable extension.

However, what was important was that because Terumi was so overcharged, he was able to tap into that power, and it would automatically take over, meeting him halfway. That way, his consciousness and his higher consciousness would resonate on the same level, causing Terumi to maintain his consciousness along with Tsao-Rin as one entity, not separate. And, to both of them, their essences would feel perfect for each other -- like they fit exactly right, and matched correctly; as a puzzle piece. Thus, this time, Terumi would be able to witness the being that watched over him -- the Dark Wolf's true form -- and experience everything he needed in the same way Tifaret was doing.

"Alright, I've seen enough," said Valerio nonchalantly as Chita, his firstborn daughter, finally confronted him. "... Yeah, I guess you pass." He snapped his fingers and the Lombardi Essence inside her turned off. "... Since you're grown now, you get to fight your old man." He took out a cigarette and lit it, dusting off the cosmos from his spiffy mafia suit. "... I mean, you did come all this way to see me, after all."

Tifa gasped at some point, and her power flickered and waned, causing her and all of the power she accumulated to falter too greatly to salvage -- a fumbling stumble far too great, as if off of a cliff, to no return. "DAH!!" she cried, falling to the cosmic floor. She pushed herself up quickly, glaring at her father, armed to the teeth, whilst he stood there, smug as a bug in a rug. "... Think You're Hot Shit, Huh DAD?!" Tifa -- or, whom Valerio would know still as 'Chita', in her past life -- confronted her mother during her first awakening, transitioning from Chita to Tifa, through the Tensei and the Crystal Heart.

And, even amongst becoming a Tensei, after being born a L'sia, which was the opposite family counterpart to the Tensei, from which Tzita stemmed, unlike her brother Khrona, whose father was a Tensei, Tifa carried on the Lombardi name.

To her, it was a mark of independence than anything -- a sign that she had no true creed to the L'sia nor the Tensei of her bloodline over the pure, independent, individual she, herself.

"... But I'll Tell You What, DAD, I Don't Need No Damn Lombardi Essence To Beat Your Ass." Tifa would void the Lombardi Essence from herself using her Sealing Void. And, though THE VOID that Chita inherited from Valerio came from him, the Sealing Eye that became the Sealing Force of the Sealing Voidforce that had been sealing its power -- and, therefore, knew how to contain as well as permanently seal whilst still using the power of THE VOID. "You'd Probably Just Try To Cheat And Use It Against Me ANYWAY." Yet, even something like that had its countermeasures, regarding that fact of the matter, itself. "Joke's On You, Though -- I Can Change That Part Of Myself Anytime, To Anything I Want To, And Still Be The Same."

There -- right in Valerio's face -- as he turned off all of her Lombardi Essence, Tifaret would trace the ghost data of that sudden drop and lock it in place the moment it changed, before she adapted to it, flashfreezing it in THE VOID. And, in doing so, she would lock away and overwrite not only the Lombardi Essence in herself, but also the part of it connected to Valerio, and also lock he himself and his powers away inside of himself by himself with his own powers, even further, forever, trying to use them and only making himself even more trapped within himself.

But, even if he did escape, Chita -- who was no longer Lombardi -- would now be a full-fledged Tensei, replacing all of what was once the 'Lombardi Essence' with the 'Crystal Heart'. "I Settled The Score With Mom Before, But..." Chita narrowed her eyes. "NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!!" She never held anything against him, but he wasn't slick, and wasn't just about to get away like it was 'all good' how he was ignoring and neglecting her on purpose and try to pass it off as anything.

It wouldn't matter, anyway. Not to her.

"... And To Make Matters Worse..." Tifa's eyes gleamed like a dragon's, the power of the Crystal Heart welling up within her, "... All Of The Powers I Got From You... Were Locked Away Inside Of Rita. But I Bet You Didn't Even Know That, Like My Ma, I Was Bipolar." To clarify, Rita, Chita's alter ego -- Superego, even -- harbored all of Chita's intelligence and powers she inherited from Valerio Lombardi -- every last one. Everything she got from her mother, Zita L'sia -- now Tzita L'sia -- she used and harnessed since the beginning as herself, by herself, whilst Rita maintained Valerio's power.

Specifically, THE VOID.

Hence, how Chita got the Sealing Voidforce in the first place.

"RITAAAA!!!" Chita cried out with her Crystal Heart, summoning Crystalheart, The Crystal Dragon -- the Goddess Of Light that Rita had become, having refined THE VOID from a black void to an endless void of infinite creation and emptiness for creation as opposed to an end.

The cries of Chita's heart, which were always pure and true, no matter how rough and rugged her surface and exterior, were heard by the Light Goddess, Rita, whose formal name was MaTeleine, Hikarigami Of The Veritas.

Only Chita knew her as Rita, because to only Chita was she Rita. To all others, Rita had become MaTeleine, and she did like her new existence very much, as well as the perks of her father Valerio.

So, her power burst forth as a great and magnanimous brilliance that resonated with the light of all the stars in the sky, causing them to glitter, sparkle, twinkle and shine with a luster that make it look like twilight dancing in the stars, illuminating the dormant cosmic energy in the atmosphere constantly in motion, usually darkened by the dimness of space, when it wasn't so bright.

At first, the billowing light resembled a great, nearly crystalline dragon, but soon shaped into a very formal, very elegant looking Goddess-figure, formed of the pure light of everything. All the stars in the sky harmonized in a synchronicity to her vibrations, and made music for her, which they were actually orchestrating because of her harmony and their resonance, not a sentient conscious decision -- it was purely a reaction of her presence being there.

The twinkling literally sounded like starlight, and the stars literally generated music, on time, in sync, in harmony, with everything that Rita said and did.

Her straight, pitch white hair, which looked like an infinite blankness of void that permeated all forms of light as something too bright to be comprehended -- equal to the darkness of THE VOID -- spilled over her shoulders like waterfalls, but remained completely straight, maintaining a laminar flow at all times, only clear if and when Rita moved.

Her eyes were the same as her hair, but her eyeline made a clear distinction between her eyes and her hair.

"Thank You For Giving Birth To Us, Father. Go In Peace." Rita, the Light Goddess of the Veritas, on behalf of Chita, whose name was formerly Lombardi, now fully Tensei, would release Valerio Lombardi from THE VOID in whatever form he chose, even if it was no longer Valerio Lombardi, thus dissolving his mafia gang or even transferring it to Chita, herself, despite no longer being a Lombardi.

And through this completely anticlimactic, totally absolute, fully decisive ending, that would settle the matter and everyone went about their regular business before the mafia got there.