A/N: I set it down temporarily once again to get back to writing some original story, and getting on homework as well as working on ART homework – but here's a shard of the next chapter that I was planning to make big but didn't have the time to get around to finishing.

Chapter Nine: Riko

Her eyes fluttered open after a long and painless nap, only to have a dull aching feeling fill her entire body like each cell had been torn apart then pieced together backwards. A groan escaped her lips as she swung her legs over the edge of the futon and slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes with both hands.

"Finally – do you have any idea how long I've been staring at the back of your eyelids?" Came a voice, echoing against the interior of her head.

"Wha!?" She exclaimed at the sudden and rather abrupt voice she heard inside of her head, it was aggravated.

"Why do you sound so surprised… do you not share my memories? Do you not know your name?" The voice asked as she grew ever more frightful.

"N-name?" She seemed to murmur, as if thinking long and hard about it – it was obvious that she had some understanding of the basic devilukean language, but nothing else other than that.

"Okay, your name is Riko – now go look in a mirror to get used to your face."

"What's a m- oh, nevermind… I think I remember." She rose from the bed, curious, confused, and no doubt completely oblivious to the fact that hearing voices in your head was a psychological abnormality. That aside, he opened the door and headed towards the bathroom, and opened the door without a second guess. When she looked into her mirror, the first thing she noticed was the very lightish orange and boyishly short hair.

"Oh… so that's what we look like now… looks like my hair color combined with your hair… check your butt."

She stood there a few moments, but then her cheeks flushed a deep red. "No…" She mumbled, "that's too embarrassing – why would you ask of something so… shameless?" She questioned him, her voice was shaky and was but a murmur.

"Hmm? Just check to see if my tail is still there." The voice was male in nature and he didn't seem to be affected in the slightest.

Riko quickly raised her head and the embarrassment was instantly replaced by curiosity, "Tail?" She turned her body and looked in the mirror to find a black tail in the shape of a spade. She slid her hands towards the tail and grasped it in a tight grip, "Ahhn!" The feeling let a moan out of her lips and her mind went blank for a second – she let it go and her cheeks flushed redder than before.

"What the hell was that?! Don't touch the tail – unless you're alone… in a room… and lonely… and have ecchi feelings."

"Does that come from experience?" Riko chimed inquisitively – and not entirely oblivious to what he meant.

"I don't remember." He answered honestly – seeing as how his memories were inhibited.

"I'm sure you remember some things… and I bet that was one of them." She laughed out loud and the moment the inner voice was about to say something in response – somebody knocked on the already half-open door and entered the bathroom, ultimately forcing a turn of the head from the mirror to the boy who stood in the doorway, his hair was orange, he was dressed in sleep clothes and he looked tired with half-closed eyes and a lowered head - probably because he just woke up.

"Lala told me to tell you when you wake up that she's really sorry and that everyone in the house was really worried about you but that they're going to Mikado's clinic to check if the medical supplies were delivered yet." He mumbled with half-closed eyes, but then when he looked directly at her – he found himself starting in the gold-orange eyes of the girl version of himself, with the exception of the tail and the lighter colored hair, "T-they should be back soon." He stammered, and blushed slightly.

"Ri…to?" The newly created girl looked to him curiously, and took a stepped forward but tripped over her tail and went flying towards him-

"My god…"

BANG! CRASH! BANG! BANG!

Defying all logic and laws of physics, the two ended up in the hall the door of main entry to the Yuuki household swung open – without remorse. "I'm back!" Came Mikan's announcement.

She froze at the sight of Riko's hands pressed against his chest – Riko jumped to her feet in an instant, as though she had inherited some sort of small level of speed from Hel, in response to hearing the door open and Mikan's voice.

When Riko and Rito turned to face Mikan, they both spoke up in unison. "I-it's a mistunderstanding!"They both exclaimed.

Mikan, knowing her brother all too well opened her mouth to speak. "I believe you, but this time only." She excused herself from the sight of the two on the floor.

"S-sh-sh-she believed us…" Riko's eyes got all watery .

"Haa…" Rito let out a relieved sigh and the two of them went back to their business.

Several Minutes Later…

"Now that they're back – why don't you go ahead and ask Lala what happened?" Hel suggested, he sounded disturbed, and uncomfortable because he was no longer in control of his own body.

Riko, who was quietly eating microwaved noodles slowly turned her head to Lala, and blushed – turning her head away.

"What the hell was that – don't tell me because of you being a personality closely based off of Rito you still like girls?" He probably would've been snickering, if he had a body.

"No… it's just… she's my mom because she was the one that brought me into th-" Riko was talking out loud and all heads currently in the room suddenly turned from the TV towards Riko.

"It's so sad… they don't even care about Hel-Oniichan being gone and just watch T.V. to pass the time."

"That's not true! They went to Mikado's clinic to obtain the medical supplies needed to repair any psychological damage – if there was any." She continued to have a discussion with Hel – oblivious to the attention.

"Whatever… I'm just going to go cry myself to sleep – oh wait… that's right! I can't! Because you have my body! And I don't even have tearducts! AND I can't sleep!" He shouted, causing her to physically wince.

Riko's eyes watered, "T-t-t-to-san…" She rubbed her eyes, and tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Ah! Riko-chan… what's wrong!" Lala asked her.

"H-hel haaaaates me!" She threw her head back and started crying.

"Hnnnnnngh…" Hel groaned as the infernal crying struck a nerve yet again, he used all of his power to gain foothold over Riko's now permanent personality, his voice combined with hers as he took in a deep breath. "Well, I can't hold on for long – but Lala… thanks for lying to me… and locking me up inside of the body of a girl whose personality is dominant over mine."

"Ah… ha ha ha ha ha!" Lala laughed awkwardly, "I'm sorry… it seems the device was a failure… I didn't bring it up because I thought you wouldn't remember."

"How could I not remember – it happened like… when did it happen?" Hel asked.

"You were also in a coma for four days." Mikan said with a smirk – he couldn't tell if she was lying.

"I was conscious the entire time Riko was unconscious – just incapable of moving my body, or doing anything aside from thinking with the exception of just staring blankly at the back of Riko's eyelids." It was Riko's head that Hel turned to face Mikan, but Lala's hands pressed against both of his cheeks.

"but I'm glad…" She stated to Hel, "I thought your memories were all erased and told everyone just to act normally around you…"

"That wouldn't even make sense – if I lost all my memories of myself… it wouldn't seem normal for Riko to call me her f-faa-father." Her cheeks flushed a deep red and then Hel's bright-silver eyes faded back to the normal golden-orange that she had been given by Hel.

Riko sniffled, and wiped her eyes again – finally calm. "I forgot… he doesn't like screaming – it drives him crazy." She murmured. "I don't walk to go back in there again… to think he spends all his time in there… the darkness looking out of these eyes like they're miles away – but still able to interpret everything – and unable to look away... each second an eternity."

"Oh… thank you, your thoughts are appreciated – if I could put you here and lock you up forever I totally would – but I don't know how – since this body is no longer mine due to Lala's interventional invention."

She got goosebumps, and sat up straighter – she tensed up and then let out a deep breath. "You're a liar."

"I know."

At the Same time in Space, on board DSV-Class Battlecruiser Shadowed Intent

At the helm was the butler, sitting humbly in the Commander's chair with his hands rested on the armrests. He accepted the hail of the Gro'Dash Mercenary Cruisers, heavily customized with heavier ballistic firepower and acid warheads. "Oh my…" Olbaid the Master's butler chimed, "What brings you here – oh great Gro'Dashan leader?" He asked, unaffected by the sheer number of cruisers that were presently in view of Olbaid via the viewport on the bridge.

The audio was of low-quality, "I am War Lord Bruzan Magash of the great Gro'Dash Mercenaries – in command of a fleet of two-hundred-fifty custom-built cruisers on a mission to conquer the primitive backwater known as Earth… leave or die." The alien had what appeared to be massive canines protruding from the bottom of it's mouth – his head was shaven completely bald, and his skin was red. The only other noticeable feature would have to be the massive bone-spike shoulder-plates he was wearing like it was his job.

On the flipside, there was Olbaid – dressed in ultra-classy Devilukean Butler's attire housed with an artificial intelligence that translated data into memories and thought-processes. Olbaid slowly adjusted the white glove over his hand and then removed a monocle from his breast pocket and placed it with great care over his left eye. "And I am Olbaid butler of Prince Hel Asmod Deviluke of Planet Deviluke – armed with a single custom-built Battlecruiser armed with Magnetic Acceleration Cannons, Plasma torpedos, plasma batteries, and point defense lasers as well as Thermal and ballistic shield layers, five reactors, three shield generators and capable of achieving speeds fast enough to tear an entire ship in half with its face two-hundred and fifty times over not to mention a hull several meters thick with an anti-acid membrane."

"Hah! You think a mere single ship is capable of standing against me and my objective?!"

"Well, as a matter of fact Lord Magash…. I do." Olbaid flipped switches, cut the communication link, and began charging all primary weapons as well as activating the much needed shields.

Just like that, the Shadowed Intent slowly whirred to life to fight another battle against the Gro'Dashans.

But the two agents still had yet to find their master… will they ever?