DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lupin III, got it? Good.
Hola!
Hey, great news—If you're reading this by July the Fourth, just thought I'd let you know that rumor has it Lupin will be back on the air on the 5th. Yay! Thought I'd just share… Anyway, glad you all like the developments so far. And sorry about the cliffhangers all of the time, as hypocritical as it sounds, I loathe them just as much as anyone else. Unfortunately, I like to write them. Well, enjoy the conclusion of the Cagliostro storyline, and I hope to see you all around soon. Bye for now! Daisuke, signing out!
Chapter Fifteen
The Next Day: Sir Duke
'I'm looking through you, where did you go?
I thought I knew you, what did I know?
You don't look different, but you have changed,
I'm looking through you, you're not the same'
—The Beatles, 'I'm Looking Through You'
The Next Morning, in the Countryside:
"Good morning, Allen," Ally heard when he awoke. He opened his eyes, and looked towards Carmen, who had fallen asleep next to him in a cave they had taken shelter in for the night.
"Oh, 'morning, Carmen!" Ally yawned, "Well, I guess we should clean up and get going, huh?"
"Yes," Carmen nodded, and rose with him off of the ground and walked with him towards a nearby river. Ally and Carmen separated, and Ally kneeled down onto the ground and wiped his face with the water and slicked his hair back with the cold liquid. It fell back over his face as he rose again, and he walked down the side of the river to fetch Carmen, who had also cleaned herself up for her reunion—Today she would be returning home, and he would continue the search for his friends.
"You ready?" Ally inquired.
"Uh-huh," Carmen nodded and rose from the riverbank.
"Let's get going then," Ally replied, and the two set off towards Carmen's 'village'. As they walked towards a main road, the two were nearly run over by a line of passing cars.
"Interpol?" Ally frowned as he placed the vehicles' markings, "What the hell are they doing here? Oh, God, what if they found them?"
"Found whom?" inquired Carmen.
"It's a long story!" Ally replied, "How far is your village from the castle?"
"Very, very close," Carmen responded hesitantly.
"Let's hurry then," Ally said, and took her by the hand and continued to walk down the road towards the castle.
When they came extremely close to the castle, Carmen suddenly moved away from Ally, "I can take it from here. Thank you very much, Allen. I hope someday we can see each other again," said Carmen.
"What? What do you mean? You're leaving—Why? Where's your village, anyway? There's no town in sight!" Ally said in confusion.
"I've got to go, I'm sorry!" Carmen yelled as she began to run from him. Ally tried to run to her, but lost her in the thick brush.
"Damn," Ally mumbled, put his hands in his pockets, and looked towards the castle, "Fuji, you and everyone else are in there, aren't you?"
He found a swarm of guards in front of the palace when he reached it, and Interpol officers with weapons drawn ordering the guards to leave the premises, "Just gets worse and worse, ne?"
"Mordella's got a hostage," Ally overheard an officer say, "The Duchess' daughter!
"Bad enough the Lupin gang is in there. This is a mess!" another officer said.
Ally ducked away from the officers, and slowly crept about, putting his black jacket on and hiding in the shadows. He searched about the castle until he found a small opening amongst a pile of rocks. He crawled through the small hole, and ended up in a dark dungeon. It took him even more searching to find an exit about the creepy dungeon, and he frightened a maid to the point of fainting when he stepped out of a hidden passage in a painting.
"Damn…" muttered Ally as he looked up and down the halls. The first one he fell upon in the castle was Leo, whom he embraced out of relief. He then realized whom he was hugging, and drew back in shock.
"Wait a friggin' second, why am I acting buddy-buddy with you!?" Ally snapped, pushing Leo back.
"I don't know. Aren't you supposed to be missing?" inquired Leo.
"Yeah. Aren't you supposed to be arresting me?" inquired Ally.
"You're under political safeguard. I can't touch you," Leo replied bitterly.
"Cool! So I could punch you, and I can't get arrested?" Ally asked hopefully.
"Well, yeah, I—Ah, crap…" Leo grew wide-eyed, and flinched in the expectation of the blow. But instead, Ally chuckled, and patted Leo on the shoulder.
"'S okay. I've got to find my sisters—Wherever the hell they are. Hey, do you have a light?"
"Uh, no…"
"How's about a shiner, then?"
"A what?" but before Leo could finish, he fell back onto a wingback chair, not feeling Ally's blow until moments later.
"That's for breaking my sister's heart," Ally snapped, and shoved his hands in his pockets. He whistled as he walked down the hall, and worked his way into the study, where the group was gathered and sitting solemnly. Ryo was the first one to look up, and she let out a gasp, and rose. She ran to her brother, and the usually cool-mannered Ryo embraced Ally.
"Ally, are you okay!? Oh my God, I thought you were in a ditch somewhere!" Ryo said quickly.
"Ally?" Yukiko rose from the couch where she had been reposed, and also strode over to her brother, and also embraced him, "Where were you!? Wow—Mom and Dad are not to know about this, okay?"
"Good to have you back, Ally," Toshiro said as he rose and extended his hand to Ally. Ally looked down at his hand and replied.
"Hey, don't get the wrong idea, I still hate your guts. But for what it's worth, I missed not having your guts around to hate," replied Ally.
"Ally, it's wonderful to have you back, but, in case you haven't noticed, there's a little bit of an emergency outside that we have to handle," said Fuji.
"Yeah, what's up?" inquired Ally as he looked out the window.
"This Lord here is threatening to invade the palace unless the Duchess allows him to marry her daughter, the soul heir to Cagliostro," explained Fuji, "He's taken her hostage, from what I hear…"
"Thanks for the drink, Yukiko," Ally said as his sister handed him a flask to drink out of, "What's her name?"
"HELP! Someone HELP!" he heard from below, and spat out his drink from the flask.
"What was that?" Ally inquired.
"Look, she's down there!" Heiji yelled, "Let's get going! We can get her out of there now!"
"I'm going to stay and protect Clarisse!" added Max as the others ran out and down the halls to the front doors, where some of the soldiers had taken to opening the door with a battering ram. They all stared tensely ahead as they heard the battering ram bang against the old wooden doors. They drew their guns and unsheathed their swords, and poised for attack as the doors began to give way.
"That trap set up, Heiji-chan?" Fuji inquired as she eyed the doors.
"Yep," Heiji nodded, eyeing the numerous tacks spread on the floor, and the large bucket standing precariously over the door.
The doors burst open, and the first groups of soldiers were greeted by extremely slick cooking oil, and as a result of this, they slipped on themselves, and had their falls broken by rows of tacks. Soldiers fell on top of others, making the situation worse. The ones who got through were faced in battle by the Lupin gang members, and no one seemed to notice the disappearance of Ally, save for Yukiko.
"Where are you going!?" Yukiko shouted in shock.
"I've got to warn one of my friends! She's in a village near here!" Ally shouted back.
"There isn't a village around here for miles!" Yukiko yelled in return.
"What?… She lied to me…" Ally muttered in shock, "She lied… But why?"
"Let me go, let me go!" Ally heard in a female tone, and he swung his head around to see a large soldier—No, general—Dragging a young woman by the hands, "Carmen! They caught her!" Ally gritted his teeth, "Hey, you let her go!" shouted Ally to the general. This was quite a sight, considering Ally was nearly two feet shorter than the general.
"Allen?" Carmen gasped.
Ally took a step towards Carmen, "Carmen, what are you—" Ally fell back from a blow given by the general, and tumbled to the ground. Carmen screamed, and stomped on the foot of the general.
"You vile worm, Mordella!" shouted Carmen as she tried to tear away from Mordella, "My mother's going to have your head!"
"Not before she has yours—Delivered in a box!" Mordella snapped in response, "Come on, now. We must leave this place. I did not think it would be this dangerous!"
"No!" Carmen shouted.
Mordella removed a pistol from his belt, and aimed it towards Ally's head, "Where are the airplanes? Tell me, or your scruffy friend here will never see the light of day again!"
"I… I'll take you to them…" she said quietly, looking downward at the ground.
"Guards! Kill this venomous little snot if he so much as breathes," snapped Mordella as he looked downward at Ally and delivered him a kick to the lower back. Ally let out a groan, and Carmen turned away and stifled a cry as Mordella led her up the stairs, "Find the Duchess!" Mordella ordered, "Kill her and whatever stands in your way!"
"Yes, Sir!" several of the guards replied, saluting Mordella. One looked downward at Ally, and noticed Jigen's wallet lying on the ground.
"Well, he's as good as dead—Why will he need it?" one of the guards said out loud as he reached for Ally's wallet. He was surprised by a hand suddenly gripping around his wrist and knocking him into a group of several other guards. Ally chose this opportunity to start running, and he tried desperately to outrun several of the guards on his heels. Ally looked upward and noticed a large piano looking upward at him, and he quickly ducked under, and looked back at Max and Leo (now with a black eye) who were gripping onto the piano and smiling.
"This is a little unethical," Leo admitted.
"Who ever claimed we were into ethics?" Max countered as they pushed the piano down on the guards, who fell back from the weight. Clarisse, who stood behind the two, breathed a sigh of relief, and Leo and Max stood back on either side of Clarisse in order to protect her.
While Ally was continuing his pursuit, the Lupin gang fared far worse. Most had been captured and tied tightly with thick rope, and they all sat cross-legged against a wall, a line of soldiers standing in front of them with guns drawn. Even Fuji looked worriedly as she looking downward at her high heels.
"Hey, Toshiro, I've got an idea," Yukiko whispered to him, "It's going to take a little acting and a lot of awkward moments between us, though."
"As long as I don't end up as sushi, I'd do anything," replied Toshiro.
"Well, in that case, I have something to tell you," she said, looking downward at her feet, "Can I have one last request, please?" she inquired of the guards.
One sighed, "Make it quick…."
"I know we haven't had time to really bond like we used to, but, I feel we still have a strong link between us," she said, near tears. This had drawn the attention of the stunned Lupin members, who craned their necks forward to see what Yukiko was up to. "I'm just sorry… That I never came around, and admitted what I felt. It's too late now though, I guess. If I could do it all over though, I'd have loved to have gotten a farm, and raise some kids… I guess what I'm trying to say is, I love you."
"Holy crap!" Heiji choked.
"Yuki?" Ryo blinked in surprise.
"Well, this is certainly a development," Fuji quipped.
"Indeed," a stunned Odori added.
A surprised Toshiro was unprepared when Yukiko leaned inward and kissed him, but after a few moments, he understood what was going on. Good thinking, Yuki, he thought as he felt a plastic covered box-cutter blade enter his mouth. She had probably hidden it under her tongue as a precaution. After she broke away, Toshiro put his face to his chest, and dropped the blade into one of the loose sleeves of his gi. He then caught it with his hand, undid the cover, and went to cutting.
"Yes, I'm sorry we never had the opportunity, either, Yukiko," replied Toshiro as he finished cutting the ropes and inched towards Yukiko, who took the blade from him and went to cutting her ropes, "But, do you believe in the second chances?"
"Of course!" Yukiko smiled, and both jumped up, and wriggled out of their ropes. Toshiro swung once with Izanami, and freed the rest of the group, "You know I was just joshing you, Buddy! I'd never go to a farm!"
"I know!" Toshiro replied as he swung at another soldier.
Meanwhile, Ally had scaled up to the roof of the palace, and found Mordella and Carmen preparing to enter a private aircraft. Ally removed his gun, and shot once at Mordella in order to get his attention, and Mordella turned, and smirked, "Still alive, I see. Pity."
"Funny—I was about to say the same thing," Ally chuckled, "Let go of the lady, Pal. She's with me!"
"How heroic," Mordella said, "Since you're so old fashioned, how about an old-fashioned duel?"
"I don't play those games. I'm not my dad," Ally snapped, and shot at the airplane propeller, sending one of the blades flying. Mordella growled, and grabbed Carmen by the hair, and held a gun to her head.
"Now try something funny," said Mordella.
Ally drew his gun out quicker than Mordella could see, and shot. A bullet landed in Mordella's shoulder, and Carmen fell back, and lost her balance on the edge of the stone building. Ally slid over to her, and gripped her hand, and pulled her back up. She embraced Ally, and shakily muttered something to him which he did not quite catch. He looked upward at Mordella, and saw he was still holding his gun. Ally rose with Carmen, drew his gun, and stared Mordella down.
"I don't waste bullets on scum like you-- I regret the one I put in you already," Ally snapped, and Mordella noted the strong winds from an approaching helicopter. He turned back, and looked into the face of a police sniper. He grumbled, put his hands up, and fell to his knees.
"Come on, let's go," said Ally, hobbling with Carmen off of the airplane hanger and down the stairs.
"Are you hurt badly?" she inquired.
"I've had worse," Ally chuckled, but stopped as his bruised ribs cried in pain, "Yeowch… Don't make me do that again, okay?"
"Don't worry, I won't," Carmen replied with a smile, "Why did you come here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Ally answered as they continued to walk down the stairways. They made it to the main room, and saw the soldiers of Mordella being led out in handcuffs by Interpol officers while the Lupin group, the inspectors, and Clarisse stood in the main entranceway, conversing with one another. Most looked worn and tired, but there were no terrible injuries.
"Carmen!" Clarisse yelled happily as Carmen came into view and ran towards her.
"Ally!" Ryo and Yukiko ran to their brother, who looked as though he had been in a war.
"Daisuke Allen Jigen, if you ever think about doing that again, we'll both kill you!" Ryo said sternly but with a smile.
"Mother, I'll never leave again! I promise!" Carmen wept.
"Mother?" Ally frowned as he looked at Carmen.
"Jigen?" Carmen returned.
"Does that mean you're—"
"And you must be—"
"You're the--"
"You're with the--"
"I knew I recognized you!" both shouted in unison.
"Mother, I had the strangest and most dangerous journey you could imagine!" said Carmen excitedly, "And Allen was with me every step of the way! He saved me when I was drowning!"
"Hey, you saved my ass a few times, too, you know. I could've ended up in jail if it weren't for you!" Ally replied with a modest smile.
"Drowning?" Clarisse frowned, "Jail?" she inquired, turning to Ally.
"Mother, I know that what I did was wrong, but you have to understand why I did it," said Carmen with a tired smile, "I just wasn't ready—Especially since it was Mordella I was to marry! But, now I've changed my mind…"
"Ah, boyfriend," Ally said to himself with a nod. Maybe she'll invite me to the wedding, he thought.
"Allen," Carmen turned to him, and took one of his hands, "I want to know if you'd be interested in staying with me in Cagliostro, as my husband."
"Your… Husband?" Ally choked.
"Uh-huh," Carmen smirked, "Would you? Please?"
"Well, I… Yeesh…" he muttered. Carmen took this as a yes, and embraced Ally.
"Oh, this will be wonderful!" Carmen said cheerily.
"LeBlanc, you'll have to fill out this case report… I'll be laughing too hard," said Max to Leo as he looked upward at the stunned Ally and the happy Carmen.
"My daughter… Married to… Oh, my," Clarisse muttered, lying a hand over her eyes, "I'd be hypocritical to say no, but… My goodness…."
"Rock on, Ally," Heiji said, saluting his friend.
Two Days Later, the Evening:
Hundreds of members of royalty and owners of large businesses from around the world had shown for the celebration of the return/engagement of Carmen. Even the Lupin gang had stayed, along with Leo and Max, who were representatives of Interpol's finest, much to the chagrin of their superiors. The two had been offered positions in the Cagliostro police force, but had humbly declined.
Ally had dressed in a more fashionable suit for the evening, and had seen nothing but politicians and bureaucrats the entire day, making his head spin. He found Carmen by a fountain in the gardens of the palace, sitting and looking downward at the fish in the fountain swimming about. She was dressed in a white party gown with a blossoming-out skirt that went down to her knees, and long white gloves to go along with the dress. Her shoes as well as her headband, which held her blonde hair back, also matched the ensemble.
"Allen!" Carmen smiled as she laid eyes on her. She stood, and wrapped her hands about his neck, and kissed him briefly. Ally was still not used to her treating him as such, and he twitched a smile as he seated himself next to her.
"Hey, Carmen," he smirked, and looked downward into the water at his reflection. Ryo had done his hair for the evening, and therefore had slicked it back tightly, making him look a great deal like his father, sans beard.
"The caterers will arrive in the afternoon tomorrow," said Carmen excitedly, "And you should see the beautiful flowers that they're going to bring! And mother said all right to the idea of having the wedding in the garden—Won't it be wonderful!? And we can have the reception in the guest house, I figured."
"I've been thinking," Ally let out a long sigh, "And, I don't really—"
"You don't want to get married, do you?" Carmen said sadly.
"No, no, no! I do… Just not now…" replied Ally, rubbing one of his arms anxiously, "I mean, we're still pretty young, and we've only known one another for like a week. You have no idea what I'm like a lot of the times—Crazy, I'll admit. And I have a temper. It helps a lot when I'm fighting, but not when I'm talking to regular people… I know I don't act like that around you, but I'm afraid I will."
"I won't mind it," Carmen replied with a smile, "You're just nervous, is all."
"Maybe… But I'm not cut out to rule anything! I don't even think someday… I mean, as of now, I can barely manage running my life…" Ally sighed, "I just think… I think we've both got to think this over, because we don't want to regret something… I mean, you might meet some really nice guy down the road, and you'll be stuck with me! And I've got obligations with Fuji's gang…."
"Well, you could still go and—"
"Nah—Go, and leave you alone? That's not fair!" Ally responded.
"I'll go with you then," Carmen gulped, "I can adjust… I know it won't be the life I'm used to, but you can show me how to be a thief, right? I can even learn to fire a gun! I'll learn to be a good thief! My mother will be upset a little at first, but she'll understand!"
"Everyone here needs you, and everyone there needs me," Ally replied with a solemn frown, "I wish that it was different, but…. I just can't marry you right now…"
"But someday?" she inquired hopefully.
"Well, maybe… Down the road," Ally replied.
"I'll wait, then," said Carmen with a smirk after a pause.
"What? It could be years!" Ally gaped.
"It will be worth it," she replied, putting one of her hands over his, "I don't care if it's years. I'll wait for you until you're ready. I think I also need some time to think, honestly."
"Good," Ally nodded, "I won't forget, though, okay?"
"I won't, either," Carmen answered, leaning forward and kissing him on the forehead, "It will be hard, but I'm sure someday it will work out. Until then, I have to do a lot of work around here. What am I going to tell mother? This won't be easy…"
"Ryo went to talk to her on my behalf," replied Ally with a chuckle.
"When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow," replied Ally.
"All right," Carmen nodded, "I'll inform everyone tomorrow. I've got to leave now, but I hope to see you off in the morning."
"Fine, see you then… Boy, Mom and Dad won't believe I almost married into royalty!" Ally said as he exited and walked back up to his bedroom. After a few unsuccessful attempts at calls to his parents, he gave up, packed, and lied down to sleep.
Meanwhile, Clarisse was having words with Toshiro and Yukiko in the library. Toshiro looked scarily like his father as he and Yukiko sat in front of a lit fireplace, his eyes closed as Clarisse spoke to both.
"I know Mr. LeBlanc and Mr. Zenigata both turned down my offer," explained Clarisse, "I heard of the way you two work as a team within the team that Ms. Lupin has assembled… And I want to offer you both the position as bodyguards for myself and my daughter…. I have been informed that unfortunately Mr. Jigen is not ready to accept the position offered to him. It's a pity, too… But, anyway, what would you two be interested in the job? I won't take one without the other!"
"Uh… Could we have a few moments to talk about this?" Toshiro inquired.
"Of course," Clarisse nodded, and exited.
"What do you think?" inquired Toshiro.
"It's a nice offer, but my boss is Lupin," replied Yukiko, "Same for you, right?"
"Yeah. She's right-- I don't work without you," Toshiro nodded, and both rose to meet Clarisse outside, "Sorry, but we can't. We've already obligations."
"I understand," Clarisse nodded, "Well, I'll keep your political asylum permanent, so if anything horribly terrible happens, just come to Cagliostro. You'll be safe here, I promise."
The Next Morning:
Ryo was at the helm of the Alpha Romeo, with Fuji in the shotgun seat and Odori and Heiji in the back. Max had had his Police Cruiser fixed, and he and Leo were also in their vehicle. Toshiro was at the helm of his repaired Vespa, Yukiko preparing for him take off at any moment. Ally was the only one that they waited on now, and he busied himself with his good-byes to Carmen.
"Bye, Carmen. Hope to see you again soon," said Ally.
"Here, take this until you return," Carmen said, removing the ram-encrusted ring from her finger and handing it to him, "I hope to see you again soon, as well."
"Bye!" Ally waved, and ran to the Alfa Romeo. He jumped onto the back, and fell in between Heiji and Odori. He continued to look back at Carmen until she, along with her mother and the palace, vanished out of sight. Ally let out a large sigh, sat back in his seat, and closed his eyes as Ryo drove onward.
"In a form of condolence, I must tell you that it more than likely would not have worked out," said Odori after a pause.
"Yeah—You wouldn't have fit in there. Plus, have you seen their hockey team!? It totally sucks!" added Heiji.
"It's okay. It wouldn't have worked... You're both right," Ally shrugged.
"Well, we're passing over the border now…" said Ryo with a smirk to Fuji.
"You know what that means," said Fuji.
"LUPIN!" Max shouted out the window of the police cruiser, "LeBlanc, step on it! We can catch them all now!"
"Here we go again…" Leo sighed as he pressed on the gas of the cruiser.
"Here we go again!" Fuji shouted excitedly as Ryo floored the gas of the Alfa Romeo, "Whoo hoo! Hey, Blondie, LeBlanc—Come on and get us!"
"You shut your ass up!" Max shouted in return.
"Why do you get a nickname?" inquired Leo.
"That's not what you said a few nights ago!" Fuji laughed loudly. Max growled, and took the wheel from Leo.
"Here! You drive like an old woman!"
"Hey, Max, let go!" Leo pleaded, "Watch out for that goat and-- Oh my God, you nearly ran over a goat!"
"Ah… Sweet, sweet normality…" sighed Ally contently, "'Bout time we had some of that around here!"