Disclaimer: No need to claim I own To Love Ru, because I don't!
Deviluke, Ten Years into the Future
Lala sits at the console, staring at the familiar planet coming into view. It had been perspective years since she had visited the planet last, and even in the future, Lala's home world still took her breath away. Even in this wickedly, deceptive future, the planet of Deviluke still held onto its beauty and importance. After Mikan and Uwe made some calls, the ship landed with little incident and fanfare, even with the crown princess of Deviluke aboard their ship. Then again, Mikan had insisted she wear a robe that covered both her face and features.
"It's because Deviluke is the only place in the universe, where even Rito's claim to the former empire is still being disputed," Mikan states, as they walk into the Royal Palace of Deviluke, a building still unchanged by time as ever, "When Nana learned of your Father's death at Rito's hands, she never forgave him, and drew support from her political advisors and the common folk of Deviluke, until the Empire almost fell into Civil War." Lala walked through the halls of the palace, flanked by Mikan and Uwe, with servants stopping every so often to bow to Uwe in their work. "Nana eventually relented at Momo's behest, and she has lived in isolation as a political prisoner of her own making," Mikan continues, as they stop in front of a single door in a lone wing far from the main areas of the castle, "She still refuses to accept Rito, Adam, as King, and her voice is still heard and echoed in her followers both in the Royal Courts of Deviluke, and worlds within the Imperial domain."
Mikan knocks, before the doors begin to open and a green haired man answers the door. "Mikan-sama," the bespectacled man who answers, states, "It is good to see you have returned with the Royal Family in impeccable time; Nana-sama and I believed you would not return for a few more days." Mikan smiled at the unfamiliar gentleman, who took her hand and kissed it out of respect. He then looks at Lala, and raises one of his eyebrows at the cloaked figure. "Oh, and who could you be?" he asks, and looks toward Mikan for a response, "Another lost traveler, exiled to our lonely little corner of the universe?"
"Knock it off Nakajima, and let them in already," the voice of Nana calls from inside the room, "Unless you want me to call in one of my beasts and sick them on you!" The green haired butler quickly parts from the door, gesturing them inside before closing the door behind them. "Mikan, nice to see you!" Nana states, looking like an aged up version of the little sister Lala always knew, "And Uwe, it's always nice to see my favorite niece, and I'm sure your father is happy to have you here as well!" Lala cocked her head at that, looking towards Mikan, who merely offers an awkward smile in response. "Oh, and who are you?" Nana states, now noticing Lala, "Uwe didn't tell me you were going to pick up any friends on your way home, or are you another one of the 'Harem Kings' adoptive daughters?" Nana merely takes a sip from the glass in her hand, before setting it down and walking over to Lala. "Could you please remove your hood?" Nana states, "I'd hate for you to end up being one of the 'good' King's spies..."
Lala merely removes her hood from her head, which causes Nana to stop her rant in progress. "Nana?" Lala asks softly, "Are you okay?" Her response comes in the form of a hug, something she hadn't expected from her, younger-but-older, sister.
"You came back..." Nana states, hugging her like she would wake up at any moment, and it would end up being a dream, "How... how are you here?" Lala gently pulls away from her, and Mikan goes in to talk.
"We don't know exactly how she came to be here, it seems she is a time traveler though, and we can both tell she's our Lala's past self," Mikan states, and she puts her arm around Lala, "Of course once Adam saw who she was, he decided to take her as another one of his brides..." Nana's face screws up in a look of disgust and confusion at that, realizing those implications. "That's not the least of our problems now, Nana, Momo managed to get this to us, to give to you," Mikan continues, handing the tape to Nana, "We managed to escape with her foresight, as she had Uwe equip one of Lala's experiments into the ships space drive, allowing us to get here ahead of the King..." Nana didn't have to look twice at the tape, before moving over to a bookshelf.
Lala was confused for a few moments, watching her sister, until the bookshelf fell away to reveal a secret room. Following Mikan and Nana into the room, Uwe held back with Nakajima, who seemed close to the girl despite being a servant. "So, she finally decided to give me these files, eh?" Nana states, going to a computer and entering the tape into a slot that was compatible with it, "The recordings she retrieved from Azenda's wrecked ship... before Rito destroyed its sensory data..." Nana stands back, and joins Mikan and Lala to observe a separate viewing screen that contained the archived video/audio playback.
Lala observed to her objective horror, along with Nana and Mikan. It showed the events happening after Rito had destroyed Azenda and her cronies, as he wept over Lala's future self. Kuro appears on screen, shortly followed by an accusatory conversation between the two of them, Kuro loading his faithful weapon 'Hades' with a new bullet, and lining up to make a shot at the distressed Rito. In the span of a moment, Rito's very hand became charged with dark matter, and his body fell as the energy lanced through him. Lala cried out, as did Mikan, seeing her beloved cause such rampant death, against one of his own friends as well! The video cuts out at that point, and it takes a few minutes before any of them would move away from the horror they had just witnessed.
"He- he lied to us, for all these years?" Mikan asks, hot tears going down her cheeks, having just seen her brother kill the former assassin with her own eyes, "Rito... he said Azenda had gotten to Kuro, he said he couldn't save him in time..." Nana turns away from the machine, ejecting the tape from it.
"This isn't enough, but it will do," she states dispassionately, "We won't be able to dispose of Adam this way, we won't even be able to rally his own men against him with this, but it's the start we need..." Lala looks to Nana, as she struggles to understand what her sister is saying, as is Mikan. Nana turns tot hem, seeing their questioning glances, she sighs in defeat. "Lala, you won't really understand, but Mikan, you should have realized by now, just what I do here," Nana states, moving to the computer and activating the screen, showcasing an emblem that Mikan recognizes instantly, "Under Adam's own nose, I've funded and organized all of 'New' Eden's movements and actions, and with this we will rally more to our cause, to dethrone Rito and restore the Deviluke Empire..." Lala can't believe her sister is one of the terrorists she had heard about from Mikan, but Mikan merely laughed at the irony that Adam would have one of his greatest enemies under his own roof.
"Momo must have known, that's why she wanted you to be kept alive," Mikan states, "Is that why she managed to get Nakajima as your in-house servant.. do you know?" Nana nods, and Mikan belts out a laugh at that. "How rich, how very rich, that you're the reason Uwe's father is still alive," Mikan states, crying at the realization, "Gods be damned, how messed up are we all?" Lala is confused, but that matters little as a scream sounds from the main room.
Rushing out of the secret room, Lala stumbles upon a very familiar face. Nakajima, his face bruised and glasses broken and hanging limply off his face, his being held by the throat by red tipped claws. "Nana-hime, Mikan-hime, Lala hidenka, Uwe-hime, please do not attempt anything," the mechanical voice of Nakajima's captor states, "Adam Heika has requested your presence be contained until his return to Deviluke, and I will hurt Nakajima to ensure you know I have been allowed to hurt you, if I must." Lala stares in shock at the female figure in front of her, a woman that looked like an older version of Golden Darkness.
"Father!" Uwe calls out, getting up from where she was pushed down, "Put him down, Yami-san!" The assassin's eyes widen just a little bit at the forcefulness of the young princess' command, and she accidentally loosens her grip on the choking man. "Daddy!" running up to Nakajima, who was coughing from the release of tension around his neck, Uwe can't help but stare up at the elder blonde, "How could you Yami, you hurt him, he's not even armed!" At this point Mikan speaks up.
"Yami-chan, Golden Darkness, how did you even get here?" Mikan states, drawing the attention to herself in the process, "We warped out of the hanger, the flagship shouldn't even be able to make it home for three more days..." The elder assassin nods, and walks past Uwe and Nakajima, who is cradled into the younger girls lap.
"When you managed to warp out of the ship, I had already slipped into your ship," Yami states coldly, "Adam-sama stated you were tricked by this imposter, I see Uwe has been affected into believing Nakajima is her father; an err the King will not forgive you making, monster..." Raising one of her red claws, she goes to grab Lala from the midst of Nana and Mikan, only for Mikan and Nana to step in front of her, stopping Yami in her tracks. "I see you believe her lies as well," Yami states, before stepping back, "I guess I have no choice then-" Putting her hand out to the side, before any of them could react, Yami has gripped Lala's arm through one of her wormholes. In less than ten seconds Lala feels cold claws against her throat, her hands and wrists both behind her in Yami's large grip.
"Lala!" Mikan calls out, as she sees her in Yami's grasp, "Wait, Yami- Rito lied, Kuro wasn't killed by Azenda!" Yami stops, just inches from scarring Lala's face, and looks up to face Mikan's steely gaze. "Momo provided us with the information, video and audio from Azenda's ship, information Rito tried to destroy," Mikan states cautiously, "That's why Rito wanted you all to come after us, that's why he sent you to cover it up- he can't hide the truth from us anymore!" Yami is conflicted, she doesn't know what to think, until she looks down to see the scared face of Lala staring up at her.
"Show me," Yami states, her curiosity winning out, "I want to know who killed the target of my love!" Yami let go of Lala, who slid to the floor in relief. It seemed that Yami would listen to reason. Mikan showed her into the secret room, and Nana replayed the footage. By its end, Yami had transformed from her Darkness form, back into her regular clothes, though obviously aged up. "Tearju- Kuro-" Yami states, and Mikan and Nana are unsure if she would lash out at them again, "Adam- Rito- he lied to me and killed my beloved... Lala, I am afraid that I must apologize, both for harming you, and for what I have yet to do..." Mikan and Nana stare nervously at each other, and Lala wonders just what is going through the living weapon's mind.
"What do you mean Yami? I always forgive my friends," Lala states, "Why would you have to ask for my forgiveness, when we all were victims here..." Lala watches as Yami uncharacteristically smiles, a vicious, cruel expression on her face, which causes a shiver of fear down Lala's spine.
"I have renewed my contract, of course, Lala-sama," Yami states, "My target is Rito Yuuki, alias Adam; Kuro's death will be avenged!" Lala, Nana, Mikan, and Uwe all stare at the living weapon, as she turns one of her bangs into a sharp blade, and puts her thumb across it, causing her to bleed just a little. "By a blood oath, I swear Adam will regret lying to us all," Yami states, "He is no longer my friend, or my King, but the target of my anger!" Flaring up, Yami's Darkness form emerges back onto her, and her expression is quite merciless.
"No- Yami-chan!" Nana calls out, causing the living weapon to stop in her tracts, "We can't just kill him, he's too strong with the weapons at his disposal, with his power over dark matter and as a King with warships, we cannot attack him directly!" The living weapon sneers, but then attempts to control her temper, seeing Mikan and Lala with looks of concern on their faces.
"What must we do, then, Nana-hime?" Yami asks, "What could we do that could possibly make things right, that could bring me the love of my life back, that could bring all the men and women who died on Earth, back?" Nana smiles at that, and then shows them a pin, that of the design that Lala had not recognized on Nana's computer.
"We go to Eden, and we use their resources to rebuild Lala a way home," Nana states, "Once she's put back on track to her future, when the time comes, she can make sure our future never comes to pass-by one way, or another." Lala doesn't know why those words seem chilling, nor does she wish to know their implications. "So, we will leave for Memorze in the morning," Nana finalizes, "From there-"
"Memorze?" Yami questions, "Why would we go to that death trap of a planet?" The living weapon crosses her arms as she asks this. "Ever since Ren displeased Adam- Rito, that planet has become the universe's living prison," Yami states, "If he never spoke out, it wouldn't have become a penal colony for the worlds worst criminals, and the odd politician, to live out the rest of their lives building equipment for the Imperial fleets." Nana nods, and smiles even more.
"That's what made it the perfect headquarters for Eden to build their resistance from, what better way to incite rebellion, than get the people who want revenge," Nana states, smiling as she puts a hand across Yami's shoulders, "Just think, steal a spare cog here, swipe a metal sheet there, and voila, we have a hidden base underneath the last place Adam would look." Lala smiles at her sister's enthusiasm, while Mikan merely laughs off the excited look Nana was giving Yami, who slightly smiled in return.
The Next Day
"Nakajima- your Father, will be okay Uwe," Mikan states, "He'll be asleep until we reach Memorze, and from what Nana tells us, they have the best medical advisor in Eden that we can rely on, he'll get help there." Uwe nods, as she turns from the room where she had put her father to bed, before take off from the Royal Palace. "Come on, let's join Nana and Lala on the bridge," Mikan continues, smiling to cheer the girl up, "Yami-chan is doing final checks on the engine, and there's nothing we can do until we reach the Eden facility." Uwe nods, sighing as she follows Mikan onto the bridge. As they enter, the ship is seen leaving the hanger, and exiting the planet into space.
Lala notices the girls attitude as time passes and sympathetically smiles, knowing it must be tough having to worry about the man in the infirmary like that. "Mikan, Nana, if Uwe isn't Rito's child, and she calls Nakajima 'Father'," Lala trails off, not sure how to phrase her question towards the pilots, "Does that mean Momo..." Nana sighs and nods, as does Mikan, who looks down at Uwe and hugs the girl.
"During the first year of their marriage, after Rito became the heir to the throne, he went on to conquer the Earth, and he became... distant," Nana states, looking to Mikan, who nods, "Rito saved who he could, Nakajima was one of the men who adored Momo in school, so of course he decided to become her 'manservant', and things led to other things, until.." Nana just kind of rolls her hands towards Uwe, embarrassed to continue.
"Momo made a mistake, one she regretted for a time, before she eventually got over it," Mikan picks up, "He stopped being caring, he stopped being interested in Momo, after he began to reform the Earth governments and found himself away from her side for weeks, even months, at a time." She squeezes Uwe's shoulder before she continues. "Momo stopped feeling loved by Rito, he hadn't talked to her for months, they hadn't even shared the same bed for almost just as long," Mikan states, not embarrassed to tell it like she knew, "Nakajima was always by her side, always comforting and reassuring her that she was loved, because in a way, he tried to be for her when Rito wasn't able to; after one night of heavy drinking, Momo made a grave mistake in her judgment, and both Nakajima and Momo regretted that night..."
Lala opens her eyes, staring at Uwe, before seeing the scared little girl that she was, crying into Mikan's arms. "After my Father was killed by Adam, and I nearly caused a civil war, Momo interjected before Adam could exile me," Nana states, "By that time Uwe had been born, and Nakajima knew he couldn't bear to watch her grow up, calling that monster her father; so, Momo requested I become a prisoner within the Royal Castle, in an isolated wing, with Nakajima as my servant, and in our own way we comforted each other, away from public eye." Nana hugs her niece, walking over to her other side. "Nakajima couldn't approach Uwe in public, nor could he tell the truth about his affair with Momo, Adam would have likely took his head out of jealousy," Nana continues, "So, he took every opportunity when Uwe would visit me, to spoil her rotten and be the father he could not be in public; eventually Momo told her the truth, but swore her to secrecy, and Uwe has lived with this knowledge for years, knowing her Mother was in love with a monster, even though she found happiness with a mere servant..." Lala nods in understanding, happy to know more about her niece.
"We're here," Mikan states, having turned her attention back to the ship, "Jump was successful, and we are now beginning contact protocols with the Royal house of Jewelria." After a few minutes, the seal of the Royal Family of Memorze appears onscreen.
"State your business contacting this secure channel," a gruff voice accompanies an even gruffer looking man, whose hair is white and black, and an eye-patch covers his left eye, "Only the Royal Family of Jewelria has clearance to access these channels!" Lala smiles as she recognizes the face of her long time friend, and now apparently King, Ren Elsie Jewelria of Memorze. "I said, state your business!" Ren barks out again, after no one answers, "I- Nana? Mikan?" The Memorzean King merely blinks his eye, finally recognizing the women who were currently contacting him. "May I ask why a political fugitive and the King's sister, is currently orbiting my planet, with who I assume is the King's renegade daughter?" he asks the two women, after he notices Uwe off to the side, "And who is that last...?" He stops, as Nana interrupts him.
"In person," she demands, "We're heading for hanger twelve, notify the 'Serpent' of our arrival, because we don't have time for games, Ren." The Memorzean straightens out at that, before nodding. "Tell them we have an 'old friend' who will be providing us with some unique requests for technical expertise and fabrication of items," Nana states, "Tell them to send up a medic for an injured man we have aboard, and that we're being accompanied by their lost 'Eve'." Ren nods, before the channel is cut and the ship begins its descent.
Hangar Twelve
Ren came to greet them with two medics, who loaded Nakajima onto a stretcher and took him to a Universal Healthcare facility elsewhere. When Ren caught sought of Golden Darkness, he almost drew his sword on the assassin, before he was stopped by a ghost. "Lala?" Ren states, noticing the youthful girl standing in front of him, a phantom who couldn't possibly be alive, "Lala... Mikan, Nana, what have you done?" He turns to the two women, who shrug and point back to Lala.
"I come from sometime in your past, I traveled to the far past of my species home planet on a whim and with a question, and on trying to return to my present, I ended up here," Lala states to the older Ren, "Now I need to get back to my time, and hopefully not become a prisoner-bride of Adam, who wants me to be his 'Eve'!" Ren nods, then puts a hand to the salt and pepper stubble on his chin, stroking it thoughtfully.
"Perhaps it was fate that he became 'Adam', then, hmm?" he muses out loud, before turning to see a confused Lala, "Ah, I see Nana neglected to inform you as to who our 'Serpent' is, then." Lala nods, before she finds herself tackled to the ground, and in a daze.
"Lala-sama!" a small girl with big pink eyes, light pink hair, and two metal disks that acted as hair buns, glomped the startled Devilukean princess. Pulling herself away from the tangle that resulted, Lala is quite surprised to recognize the girl.
"Peke!" Lala states overjoyed, "You're still alive!" This surprised her, as she would have thought that when her counterpart died, Peke have been there, and more than likely destroyed in the process. "How are you here?" Lala asks, "Peke, shouldn't you be on Deviluke, or anywhere else other than here?" Lala notices the artificial girl is shedding tears, which surprises her on the functionality of the robot's body.
"Rito-san, he wouldn't listen, I was nearly out of power when he buried you, Lala-sama," Peke states, "Momo stopped him, and took my pin to your lab on Deviluke, and recharged me!" The little robot runs its arm over her eyes, trying to dry her tears. "It was so lonely, I couldn't tell anyone I was still awake, that I was alive!" Peke states, "If it wasn't for Mikado-sensei, if she hadn't been visiting your lab to look for one of your inventions that was able to cure a very sick patient, I never would have found a purpose beyond helping you, Lala-sama!" Lala blinks, and looks up to see Ryoko Mikado smiling over her.
"It seems you've found the cure for the universe's most common ailment, Lala," Mikado jokes, "I'd love to hear how you did it, but I believe my number one assistant is more than happy enough to take up all my free time between patients..." At that Peke's eyes grow wide and she gulps sitting up and away from Lala, on her knees, as Lala is helped by Mikado to her feet.
"Mikado-sensei!" Lala states in excitement, "You're here too?" The alien doctor nods, and smiles, directing Lala and the others to follow her to another room.
"Yes, Lala, along with Shizu, Peke, Ren, and Myself, the majority of your future allies are here as well," Mikado-sensei states, "Sympathetic rebels, politicians who disagreed with Adam over his methods, many of Nana's own supporters, you will find that Eden is well equipped after its resurrection." Lala quirks her head at that, giving her former school nurse an odd look. Mikado merely smiles her enigmatic smile in return. "You see, Lala, I did not find myself on Earth without a reason, to escape my dark past," she states, leading the three women, Ren, and Peke to a long table, "I escaped one shadow organization, Solgam, only to find out it was one of the roots in a massive conspiracy, headed by an organization that called itself Eden; the same Eden, which... well, you'll find out soon enough in your future, no doubt."
"Why are we here?" Lala asks, having sat at the table with the others, "Aren't we supposed to be meeting this 'Serpent' fellow?" Mikado nods, before pointing to the head of the table. Lala looks, and finds one of the chairs is turned around. Within seconds of noticing this, the chair turns to reveal a figure sitting in the chair, having hid their presence in the darkness of the room.
"Welcome, Lala-sama, and may I say it's a pleasure for these failing eyes to take in your beauty one more time," the stranger in the chair states, smiling and causing his pointed ears to stretch wider. Well, one of his pointed ears, Lala noticed the other one was cut off, along with the added scar slashed across the man's eyes, leaving him almost totally blind by the looks of it. "You see, Lala-sama, I am partially responsible for the current state of the universe, as well as the reason your fiance is currently inhabited by a power-hungry, psychopathic entity made of dark matter," the green skinned, purple lipped toad in tattered clothing states, "I set a trap all those years ago, not realizing the horror I would leash upon the world, nor how much of an impact you had on its development... a mistake I paid for by all but becoming blind, and one my wife paid for with her life..."
Lacospo, one of Lala's most persistent suitors, and Rito's self proclaimed rival, sat across from the Devilukean Princess, in dress that signified he had lost his wealth and status many years ago. "I have made it my life's goal to make up for my sins of the past, in so much I dedicated what fortune I had left to find a way to topple the monster I had made," he continues, "I found like minded people from across the galaxy, Ryoko Mikado, Nana Belia Deviluke, Ren Elsie Jewelria, and so many others scattered like seeds across the galaxy, including those above this very establishment, and have forged them into a cohesive group with a single goal: to topple Adam, and to bring an end to his false paradise!"
Lala took all of this in, before promptly finding the past few weeks of her life catching up with her. Putting a hand to her head, Lala made the most strategic retreat she could manage. "I'm sorry, everything is catching up to me now, I think I need a bit of a rest to take this all in," Lala states with a half-smile, "Thank you Lacospo, everyone, for being honest with me; I-I just need a minute-" The near-blind toadstool nodded, before dismissing the meeting. Peke decided to show her to a room that had been prepped for her, and the loyal robot was currently waiting to be dismissed by her former mistress.
"Peke-" Lala asks, "Am I making the right choice?" The robot cocks her head. "Peke- all of you have been nice, but it seems like the universe is at peace, despite some of the things I've seen," Lala states, hesitantly, "Is this future really so bad, how can I trust all of what you guys say, when you team up with Lacospo, a man who more than once tried to force me to be his bride, just as Rit- Adam, is now doing." Peke nods in understanding.
"Lala, the universe has achieved peace, within all of the Devilukean sphere of influence, this is true, but have you wondered how far that sphere reaches?" Peke responds in kind, "Have you wondered what happened to the Talha Galaxy, or Andromeda?" Lala shakes her head, wondering what her faithful creation was talking about. "The Talha Galaxy was all but destroyed three years ago, in a galactic campaign to create a neutral zone isolating the Milky Way from its chaotic neighbors," Peke states, looking sad as she does so, "The remaining worlds in the Andromeda Galaxy, not already under the Devilukean rule; they were either assimilated, or destroyed if they were found to be too chaotic or violent to be 'tamed' by the Imperial scholars." Lala stares mutely at her creation, her brain to overloaded to deal with processing this information.
Peke puts her hand onto Lala's, smiling as she does so. "Whatever happens, however you get home, Lala," Peke starts, "You must stick true to yourself, do what feels right to you, and you will never be wrong, no matter what the others advise you to do or work against; I know as my creator, Lala-sama, that you have the answers that elude the universe at large." Peke closes her eyes and puts her head into the crook of Lala's shoulder. "Perhaps you will understand, when the time is right, Lala-sama, my genius creator," Peke states, "You will overcome Rito's darkness, and be the shining light he needs to lead himself; trust in this, and you will shine brighter together, than you ever could alone." Lala took little comfort in Peke's assurances, but she couldn't help but feel touched by her little robot's confidence, and gave a smile in return.