"On Fullmoon Day, Winter Month 51st day, 8 AM, Neptune has officially declared war with Pluto. Tens of Thunder Gun Vehicles, Fireflash Drones, and military rockets strike with a barrage of attacks. This invasion attains international notoriety..."

Mrs. Yalle lowers the ultra-cyber minipad she is reading, and takes a closer look at the news broadcasted by the cyber television monitor which is floating in the air, "What?!? Do my ears ridicule me?!?..."

Daphne has just come out of the bathroom when she hears her mother scream. "What's wrong, Mom? You look panicked?"

"Neptune has invaded us!" Mrs. Yalle shouts. "I think they are just bluffing, who knows they really did it! My God, what should we do?!..."

"What..." Daphne blinks. "How come..."

Daphne's and Mrs. Yalle's ultra-cyber minipads ring out in a sudden. And the ringing continues with other ringings, creating an unbroken, full-of-horror continuity.

"From your aunt... from your uncle in Amber... from Mrs. Hurley... gosh... we are all in panic, but does panic solve our problem, anyway?..."

Soon after Mrs. Yalle mutters frantically, a loud siren reverberates from outside the window. They have heard sirens sound sometimes, but they have never heard such kind of siren sound. It is a long, loud, shrill, and very piercing siren - as if it is carrying a message of death.

"Attention, please! To all residents in the Cloud Cyber Mansion! Get out of your houses without delays, and gather in the public park area! An important information will be announced by the Head of Region! This is urgent! Once again, to the residents of the Cloud Cyber Mansion, get out of your homes without delays...!"

Mrs. Yalle takes her daughter's hand in a hurry, thus getting her to go towards the door.

"Mom, I just take a bath, I haven't even combed and my clothes are still in such a mess! Please give me a minute..."

"Didn't you hear that?! We've never heard that kind of message before, but now they're broadcasting it!" Snatching her winter coat carelessly, Mrs. Yalle now opens the main door in a hurry. "Look, I don't have my appearance tidied up. No one will observe us on purpose, trust me!"

"A... alright..." Following her mother who is going down the stairs outside the cyber mansion, Daphne is now busy tidying up her coat and hair which is still wet as the result of taking a careless shower.

As they get out of the cyber mansion, they soon find that lots of people are walking fast with panic. They all head towards the location Daphne and her mother are also going to - the public park. But, even though there are many people in this crowd, nobody dares to open their mouths, let alone talk with each other. They all show the same expression - edgy and fearful at the same time. Fearful of the fate which may devastate them soon after.

Actually, the Cloud Cyber Mansion's public park is quite large and roomy, but it is now overcrowded since the whole mansion residents are forced to gather there all at once. The higher-ups of the mansion have been standing there. All of them are now waiting for the Head of Region to give them some instructions later.

Then, they finally come. Driving a large flying car accompanied by a convoy of military soldiers, some government officials have arrived, and soon they will announce the important instructions. A middle-aged man with a bushy black mustache now steps into the center of the park. He points his laser pen into the air, and a second later, a flash of green shines into the sky and displays a screen of electrical documents, while the military soldiers are in a state of readiness, each of them is on standby with their rifles.

Copyright ©️ by boundless_universe

"Residents of the Cloud Cyber Mansion, please pay your attention." One of the officials starts his speech. "Neptune has invaded our country. And this time, the condition is really different from the previous time. They declare war on us. Our country has officially entered the state of war."

All mansion residents are numb in horror, but still, nobody dares to speak. Even the little children learn that they have entered a very precarious state so they need to act cautiously.

"So, we will only give brief information for you." The official continues. "Follow closely on the news all the time. And pay close attention to our every instruction. Starting today, there will be a curfew. According to the information we have obtained, Neptune is focusing their attacks on the Capital Amethyst, so our region is still safe. However, the pro-Neptune separatists have the records of causing the turmoils, we are afraid that they'll use this moment to mess things up, and because of that, the security condition cannot be ascertained. For this reason, I tell you one more time; always pay close attention to our instructions, and never let your guard down without a break. Understand?"

The residents answer in low voice. "Understand..."

"Your voice is not loud enough. Once again, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!?"

Bawled in such a loud voice, the residents immediately gasp. And thus, exclaim loudly, "YES, SIR, WE UNDERSTAND!"

The official nods his head. He quickly realizes the fear has entered the deepest parts of these civilians' hearts, since they always live in peace and never experience such kind of terror. "But no need for you to live in horror. Just do every instruction we tell to you, but for other things, you can live and do activities as usual. Work for those who work, go to school for those who go to school. Live normal lives. This war has become a hot spotlight in the international world, WPU * and Nature Continent have paid special attention, and even render assistance for us. So, we can have that hope, this war won't last long. Neptune will be expelled, and we will live in peace like before."

*) WPU, or Whole Planet Unification, is the united organization of all the nations on this Planet.

The official nods slightly to the soldiers. "Okay, that's all for now. Mansion residents, you may go. For higher-ups, please stay here, I have something to tell you..."

When Daphne returns to her house, dread has been growing in her. War... war! So far, they just watched the war scenes in movies. So far, the news about wars that they watch were all happening in the countries on other continents, they didn't pay much attention to it, either. So far, they always lived in peace. But now, everything has changed in a sudden. The war that they had only thought of as a movie has now hit them. And, they are no longer the spectators who just sit and watch while eating snacks as they watch it. Now, they are the main characters in this war.

The victims of the invasion.

" ... work for those who work, go to school for those who go to school. Live the normal lives..."

Can they really do what the official said all in a relaxed manner, since this war become real?

Can she really do it?

Copyright ©️ by boundless_universe