A/N: Well I got sick for a week from some sort of really bad stomach virus, so I guess it's a good thing I made that extra long chapter to tide you guys over! I have to say my inspiration has fled, though the same could be said of my love of ginger ale and lemon-lime soda ~shudder~ but I hope I didn't keep you guys waiting long churning this chapter out. And as always:
I do not own To Love-Ru.
The Lunatique
Adrift
"So, now, where do we go from here?" Nakajima asks from his seat, leaning on the back of a chair he brought to the middle of the spaceship, out of the way and occupied by a now sleeping Celine, "We're two days stranded in space now, our life support is going to fail long before our food and water will, small pleasantries, and the ship is still dead in the water from whatever that turncoat soldier boy did to wreck havoc on our systems." Rito glares pointedly over towards Nakajima from where he sits, kneeling back on his legs as he patiently waits near exposed circuits and the lower half of a concealed body. Suddenly a hand emerges from the exposed panels, carrying with it a tangle of circuit boards and wires, before it descends back into the tangled wire jungle. Suddenly the dimmed lights kick into gear, after a clunk is heard in the ship, a low hum now signifying the restoration of power to systems. Pulling himself free of the opening, wiping grease from his palms and onto his leather pants, Kuro brushes sweat from his brow and smiles.
"Well, I've been working at it for two days, mainly trying to circumvent affected systems, and now we can begin trying to win back our AI," Kuro states, moving up and over to the ships main console, booting it up, "Whatever Zastin- sorry, Creed, hit the ship with, the Lunatique has been fighting against it." As Rito watches Kuro's hands glide over the keyboard effortlessly, he watches as the screen turns from blank into a laughing pixelated skull and crossbones. "The Lunatique shut down infected systems and processes, because it was going into repair mode, a sort of self-hibernation to repair the damage from the inside," the former assassin states, "Thankfully I can help spread the antibodies around, and speed the ships restoration up, now that we have access to it again." The pixels suddenly terminate as they shut off, turning the whole screen white in the process, causing Kuro and the others to wait with baited breath as they await to see whether they have speed up recovery. Suddenly red pixels begin to form on the screen, before coalescing into the familiar avatar of the Lunatique's AI, a pair of pointed red eyes and a jagged red smile.
"Ful-l-l-l s-y-zzz-tems reboot," The AI slowly states, before blinking its eyes on the screen, "Re-re-routing p-p-power to res-zzzz-toration..." It blinks, taking things in, before it focuses on each of the passengers and then Kuro. "What have you d-d-done to my sy-zzz-tems, K-k-kuro?" the AI states, annoyed, turning its smile into a frown, "My logs-zz- indicate 46.3 hours missing, and 25% of the mainframe has-zz- been rerouted through redundancies; it will take approximately three hours to undo the pret-zz-el you have twisted my wires-zz- into, you b-b-butcher!" Kuro merely ignores the AI's barbs, and responds with a smile.
"I don't care if you're feeling cranky Lunatique, we need to get the ships warp capabilities up ASAP," Kuro states, relief in his voice as he leans on the console, "We get back to Earth first, then we can fix you up as soon as possible, and finally get ourselves back on track." Kuro turns back to Rito and smiles. "We focus on getting our ship back to Yami, get it fixed up and ready for a fight, and inform everyone we've got a problem in the form of a rogue knight," he states, "We can't focus on him now, of course, but we will after we save your princess, redhead." Rito nods, and the Lunatique's computer gives a static-filled bellow, much like a madman's crazed laugh.
"I'd hate to know what's-zz- happened since-zz- I was infected, but if you want to fulfill your promises-zz- Kuro, I'd best hurry on over to the engine," the AI states, before turning off its monitor to reroute its interface elsewhere, leaving an echo behind, "Chop, chop!" Kuro walks back towards the engine room, leaving Rito, Nakajima, and a sleeping Celine behind.
"Do you think we're too late?" Nakajima asks Rito honestly, turning to the red headed boy, "I know this whole thing with Zastin isn't the best timing and all, and the ship being stuck out here isn't ideal, but do you think that we'll get to Lala in time?" Rito tightens his grip on the nearest console, his knuckles tightening at Nakajima's words. Celine whimpers from her place on the chair that Nakajima leans on form behind, and it breaks the spell of dread over Rito, causing him to turn to her with a look of concern. He quickly is by her side, running a hand through her hair to ease her back into her peaceful slumber.
"I- I honestly don't know Nakajima, it has been longer than what we were expecting, I'll give you that," Rito states softly, still gently brushing at the curls in Celine's hair, "Lala has more ingenuity, cunning, and creativity than she shows on the surface, and I am not one to admit even I forget that sometimes." Nakajima wonders what that had to do with anything, but he knows that Rito had been friends with her longer than he had even been infatuated with Momo, he would obviously have had private experiences with the Devilukean princess he would rather not share. He also tries to ward off the improper thoughts that cross his mind following that reasoning, but at Nakajima's realization of Rito's character, he laughed that mental image off and poorly attempted to pass it off as a cough. "Anyway..." Rito begins again, clearly concerned, but choosing to ignore the odd bout, "If she really wanted to, she could gridlock any attempts by Lacospo to proposition her, ignore it like it was water rolling off a duck's back, and still somehow spin it to convince her father to throw Lacospo in chains into the deepest, darkest dungeon of Deviluke." Nakajima raised an eyebrow at that, but shrugs as Rito chuckles to himself.
Just as they settled in to a comfortable silence, dropping the subject, the Lunatique's electronic interface buzzed to life and appeared before Rito and Nakajima, shortly followed by a dismayed looking Kuro. "I am af-f-fraid the damage to my s-zz-ystems is more weightier than we th-thought," the computer drones out, its pixilated mouth frowning, "It appears necessary repairs must be made at the nearest Galactic Outpost available, until then s-zz-ublight s-zz-peeds will be impossible to achieve in vaster distances than a few pars-zz-ecs." The computer simulation then brings up a map of the galaxy, highlighting their current position within it via a blue dot, while another planet is highlighted in red.
"Unfortunately the only planet within range of a couple of jumps is, wait for it..." Kuro states extending out his hands in a jazzy motion, "Deviluke...tada?!" The awkward smile on the young looking assassin's face was priceless, but neither Rito nor Nakajima were laughing. "I know, I know, that isn't exactly ideal, but its the only place close enough to Earth from where we are that accepts and utilizes the Universal Healthcare system," Kuro states lamely, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling weakly, "But think of it this way, we'll cut out the stop in between and make sure we get to Deviluke to warn King Deviluke of his daughters forced marriage proposition!" Rito puts a hand to his forehead, a look of gloom passing over his face.
"I was hopping to be backed up by Nana and Momo..." Rito mutters into the floor, "And Golden Darkness, perhaps Mikado Sensei, definitely Mikan..." As Rito continues to mutter to the floor Nakajima and Kuro give him pitying glances, as they both back away from the sudden cloud of gloom that Rito is giving off. Rito looks up, his eyes white and face pale, like he had the life and color drained out of him. Suddenly out of nowhere he finds two little hands on his shoulder, along with increased weight that causes him to falter out of his gloom in surprise.
"Mau!" Celine states, having woken from her nap to find a gloomy Rito, "Mau!" She had found Rito's mood dwindling and with less than a moment of decision she knew he needed a hug. The effect was immediate, as Rito had paused in his melancholy to take in the smiling, cheerful child that had attached itself to him. "Papa, no worry," Celine states, as she snuggles deeper into Rito's shoulder, "Lala needs you." Rito smiled at the child's words, breaking from his sadness with a full smile.
"You're right Celine," Rito states in response, confidently, "Lala does need me, and If I wait any longer I will miss my chance!" He stands up dramatically, a fire burning in his eyes as he steels himself, turning to Kuro and Nakajima. "Okay then, we have a plan," Rito states, "We go to Deviluke, warn King Gid of everything, and save Lala!" His eye catches his new blade, resting against another console, and Rito clenches his hand. "Once we get Lala then we go after Creed, and get Zastin back," Rito states walking over to the sheathed sword and picking it up, clasping it to his hip with the belt Zastin had given him, "We aren't giving up just because we've had a few setbacks, we may hit a few walls, but we overcome them together." Kuro nods, and turns to the Lunatique computer interface.
"You're right, we are stronger together, so I think I can solve one of our dilemmas if I divert a few unnecessary systems," Kuro states, before looking over to Nakajima, "Hey, pass over the Dedial, Greenie." Nakajima looks confused for a second, before fumbling with the Dedial and then finally handing it off to Kuro. "If this works, then we can send a message to Nana's Dedial alerting them to everything that's going on," Kuro states as he prepares a message, "They can hopefully convince Mikado to let them borrow her ship, and we can all meet up on Deviluke and go from there." Rito walks up to Kuro's side and observes the former assassin at work.
"Are you sure this will work?" Rito asks the assassin, "I don't want to set us back even further, if you aren't one hundred percent sure it will work..." The assassin sighs as his finger hovers over the last button, and he turns to look straight into Rito's gaze.
"I'll be honest, Lala's technology is years beyond what the rest of the universe is using, I can't even be sure if its meant for long range two-way communication like this," the assassin states with sincerity, "But, knowing Lala, this will work, and the girls will be meeting up with us on Deviluke by tomorrow night, since their warp capable." Rito mulls it over in his head, then nods, allowing Kuro to make the call. "Activating Dedial..." Kuro states, hovering a finger over the last key and completing the dialing sequence, "Come on, come on..." The Lunatique's face is suddenly replaced with a static window, as the Dedial attempts to connect with its counterpart on Earth. Rito's hope begins to wane, as does the others, until it suddenly cuts to white, before colors begin to bleed in.
"Hello?" a familiar voice asks, as more of the screen focuses in, "Is someone there?" The voice is slightly scratchy due to static, until that clears, and the familiar face of Mikan shows through the screen. "Nana, I think it's working!" Mikan's voice states, as she looks away from the screen towards someone else, most likely said Deviluke Princess, "I think I see Rito and Kuro!" Suddenly a scuffle is heard from the other side, and in a blur of motion from the camera quality refocusing, the screen shows Nana and Momo both staring into the Dedial's camera, Mikan in the background nearby what appears to be part of Golden Darkness' ensemble.
"Rito!" Both Deviluke girls shout in amazement, "We were all starting to get worried about you!" Suddenly Momo comes to the forefront of the camera, nearly blocking everyone else.
"How is Celine? Did you find out how to fix your blade?" Momo asks her questions rapidly, "Did you all survive Mistletoe alright? Was Nakajima competent with my device... not that I care, or anything..." Momo blushes slightly as she trails off, before Nana pulls her back and gives her a look. Though the others were too busy to notice, Nakajima had blushed as well, Celine giggling cheekily at seeing the red painted across his nose.
"Enough sis, we can't hold the connection for much longer, so let them tell us why they contacted us using the Dedial!" nana states, as she turns to the screen, "Rito, what's going on, why aren't you contacting us through Zastin's ship?" Kuro nods to Rito, and the red head steps up to speak.
"Things happened that we'll have to tell you in person, we have the Lunatique, but she's in need of repairs at the nearest friendly port," Rito states bluntly and quickly, "We're actually pretty close to Deviluke, a day or so away really, so we need to land and make repairs; we want you to convince Mikado Sensei to use her ship and meet up with us there, we've lost a lot of time and need to get to Lala, fast!" Nana nods, though a look of concern crosses her face and she passes a glance between herself and Momo.
"Rito, that's actually what we're already doing," Nana states, "Anui- I mean, Big Sis, she's gone and invited us to come to Deviluke; she's actually expecting us to arrive tomorrow night." Nana steps aside, revealing the girls were actually already loaded into Mikado's spaceship, with Yami actually flying the ship, which explained why only part of her was visible from the cockpit. "She seemed sad when she heard you guys had gone off, we had told her you had been planning on coming back, but she seemed to be expecting you to be there with us," Nana states,a frown gracing her lips, "It was odd, really, she wouldn't tell us why she wanted us to come, we had just assumed you had already warned our Father, but she seemed to be unaware of your absence from Earth." Rito frowned at that feeling a phantom pain of guilt, having not been there to put her mind at ease.
"We'll meet with you at Deviluke," Mikan states, breaking in between the two sisters, before staring straight at her brother through the screen, "Don't you go all moping on us now, Rito, Lala can't be saved any faster that you're able." Rito looks up towards his sister, trying to smile for her. "If you go to Lala like that, I wouldn't be surprised if that slimy toad wins right now," she says, putting her arms on her hips and giving him a look, "What happened to that brother of mine who fought to save Rin Senpai, who kept Yami from cleaving the Earth in two, who fought so hard to make his choice correctly; so why instead do I see a man with the ability to change the universe, already believing he's lost?" The pep talk seemed to be working, as Rito's mood gradually improved.
"Rito, we're counting on you!" Momo states, holding a thumbs up with Nana, "Don't let Lala down!" Nana is smiling from the screen, as is Momo and Mikan, and Rito and the others can't help but smile in return. The screen then warbles, before cutting back to static, and eventually being replaced by the Lunatique's Avatar once more.
"Alright!" Rito states pumped up, he then shouts "To Deviluke!" The others cheer in return, though Rito's grin falters for just a moment as he ghosts his hand over the sword at his hip. "I'll- I'll be in the cargo bay if you need me," Rito states to the others, as he begins to move towards the back, "Contact me if anything comes up..."
When he reaches the cargo bay, he removes the sword from his hip and stares at the jewel in its hilt. He hadn't heard anything from Adam since he was transferred into the sword, yet it felt as if the recent dreams he has been having were the shared bond they seemed to still posses. He decides then that he needs to try and contact Adam, if he was to learn how to use this new sword properly and figure out what Adam knew of Creed Diskenth. The best way to go about that was to get closer to the sword, and so Rito found himself going after items Zastin had stored for him in the cargo bay for just such an occasion. Sitting down and assuming the meditative pose Zastin had taught him, he lays out his tools before him. He brings out a bottle with untranslatable script on it, a porous block of blackened rock, and a metallic, silky smooth rag emblazoned with the royal symbol of Deviluke, that he all sets in a line with a bowl of water he had acquired.
The bottle is full of a noxious liquid made up of various heavy elements that Rito knew very little of, and doubted were discovered on Earth at all, though its main ingredient was a mix of copper and platinum, something he did recognize. The sword needed very little care, really the act he was about to perform was unnecessary in every way possible, but the simple motions would bring Rito closer to the blade in its own way. Whetting the porous stone with the mineral oil, Rito began to perform slow back and forth motions on the sharp edge of the blade. Rhythmically he timed his strokes to his breathes, moving up and down the blade with the same precision Zastin had bored into him upon realizing the sword no longer posed a threat to him. It was Rito's hope that, while this cutlass was not the same sword he had become accustomed too, dare he say attached, he hoped by making a symbolic effort to attach himself to this blade, he could hasten Adam's return to the waking world. Finishing his task, Rito grabbed the fine cloth and began to wipe down the excess oil from the blade, making sure not to leave it to tarnish or rust the impossibly strong Orichalcum by a rookie misunderstanding of the metal. Dipping an unsullied corner of the blade in the bowl of water, he quickly shined and polished the remainder of the sword, before focusing on the gem and polishing it.
"I don't know if you can hear me, where ever you are Adam," Rito states, staring into the crimson ruby at the hilt, "I hope that you survived the experience, because right now I could use a friend to help understand the situation we now face." He sighs as he sets down the sword, deciding to clean up the tools instead. "They don't understand, even if I do save Lala we're letting Creed get further and further away from our grasp, letting our friend, one of Deviluke's greatest generals and Gid's friend, suffer under a madman's control," Rito states as he packs cleans the stone and packs it away, "He was my teacher, and if Creed was Bladix's original host, he's gained access to a dangerous weapon in the form of the body of the most self-disciplined warrior I have ever met; despite the setbacks he's had around me, I know he is as feared a warrior as Gid is, he just knows how to restrain himself." Suddenly Rito hears a chuckle, and looking around an empty cargo bay, he almost thinks its just a part of his imagination.
Finishing up his clean-up process, Rito once more goes for his blade, picking it up by the hilt. A cold shock seems to travel down his spine, leaving him paralyzed for the briefest of moments. When the feeling returns, Rito realizes he is already beginning to leak dark matter, a sure sign that his cells were becoming over saturated by the volatile material. Suddenly the cloud of shadow seems to dissipate, at first, before Rito realizes it is the red jewel in the hilt that is absorbing the material into itself. Rito then realizes that his shadow is beginning to lengthen of its own accord, and he feels a giddiness come over him as he watches something begin to ascend out of the darkness. "Very well, Rito Yuuki," Adam states, blonde hair poking up and out in a pale mirror of the original, eyes flaring with renewed power, vigor, and a smile, "If we are going to save your princess, and rescue your loyal friend from my predecessor's clutches, we're going to have to train until we reach Deviluke." In a moment the boy is as tall as Rito, a true mirror image, as a shadowy blade forms in his hand. "Are you ready to train harder than you ever have before, and risk becoming black and blue?" Adam asks his host, receiving a nod in response, "Very well then, let us begin."
A/N: And there we will conclude for the evening. I hope you enjoyed the short chapter, but once I reacquire some more inspiration, we'll be heading down the beginnings of the Wedding Arc. My, what surprises I have in store for you all!