A/N: I do not own To Love-Ru.
Lunatique
Nearing Deviluke
Kuro is at the helm when the first alarm goes off, the sign that a local SOS was being broadcast from a nearby civilian transport. The former assassin made a split decision, after triangulating to see whether it was a false call or not, and called up the cargo bay where Rito was located. "Hey, Red, we're getting some strange readings from a nearby system, looks like there is a one-sided firefight going on," Kuro reports over the ships intercom system, "There aren't any GPD cruisers in the area, but the tag identifier the ship is broadcasting is stating its carrying VIP passengers from a couple of nearby systems, but there's one in the tag that might warrant our attention." As he is speaking Rito returns from the rear of the ship, a little tired looking and worse for wear, but he already making his way to the console Kuro was sitting.
"What's up?" Rito asks, looking at the former assassin, "Who could it be that would interest me?" Kuro patches in the comm system, and pulls up the distress beacon.
"Take a listen for yourself," Kuro states, "Here's their message." Hitting the activation key, the short message begins playing on a loop, and a familiar voice catches Rito's ears.
"This is Rin Kujou, Bodyguard to Saki Tenjouin of the Tenjouin Group, we're coming under fire from unidentified pirates," the voice of Rin Kujou broadcasts over the audio, "We're broadcasting to any Galactic Police ship in range, we're onboard a private civilian freighter, and our Captain and pilot were knocked unconscious when we were ambushed, please send help!" Rito grabs for the sword at his side, gripping its hilt tightly as he hears the words repeated on a cycle.
"What the heck is Tenjouin doing off of Earth?" Rito states redundantly, "There isn't any reason the Tenjouin Group should be out here, because Galactic Police still consider Earth's classification to be too low..." He turns to Kuro and the former bounty hunter/assassin is already pulling up their coordinates. "We need to save them, if the Lunatique is up to the task, and then we can figure out why they are out here," Rito says, turning to Nakajima and Celine, "Get Celine somewhere safe, then return to the bridge and ready the Dedial; we might have to retake that ship from pirates..." Nakajima nods and picks the young Plantasian up, who looks confused as the older boy goes to safely secure her in Yami's room. "Lunatique, how are our weapon systems looking?" Rito asks the AI, "Can we do much against these pirates?" It takes a second, but the AI pops up in front of Rito with an answer.
"Normally we would have more time -zz-, but yes-zz-, we can face them," the Lunatique responds, "Shields-zz- are at 78%, while weapns-zz- are at 56% capacity." The interface is replaced by a map of the ship, showcasing forward guns and rear turrets capable of popping out of the hull and useful in the upcoming fight. "I would not recommend direct engage-zz-ment, as I am built for hit-zz- and run," the AI states, "Transport is limited, but if their s-zz-hields are down, it will be eas-zz-y to send you over." Rito nods and pulls out his sword, black blade gleaming in the light.
"Good, Adam and I will be able to take out whoever is attacking Tenjou-sama, Aya-san, and Rin-san," Rito states, before he turns to Kuro, "Will you be able to deal with the pirate's ship, while Nakajima and I take out any boarders?" Kuro nods, and Nakajima returns to the bridge. "Nakajima, you and I are going to be boarding that ship, so I need you to prepare Momo's Dedial for use," Rito commands, "They might be armed, so see if you can find any plants that can be used from a further range, or maybe something to trip them up if they weren't paying attention." Nakajima nods and retrieves the Dedial from his pocket, already looking through the various species in its database.
"We can use Cannon Flowers to distract them from afar with their destructive force, since their seed pods are similar to their explosive Earthly cousins," Nakajima says, adjusting his glasses, "Then there's something called Dazuul Seeds, I think they're a fast growing creeper vine that grows on contact with anything it finds, just add enough force to crack the shell and instant pirate trap." Rito is nodding, happy Nakajima was quick thinking, and Nakajima smiles in return at his approval.
"We're coming in hot, people, so you might want to get a little bit away from me," Kuro states, "Lunatique, when we get close lock onto Rito and Nakajima, and send them over to the Tenjouin's ship!" The AI's interface nods, Rito and Nakajima both stand a bit further away from Kuro, and a bit closer together. As the ship suddenly warps into the system, the Pirate's battleship suddenly eclipses their view screen, "Pull up, pull up!" Kuro yells at the AI, desperately tugging at the ships controls to avoid colliding with the pirate ship and the weapons that seemed to be shooting at the civilian freighter, "Weapons fire, nine o'clock!" The ship swerves, scraping the side of the ship before pushing off and avoiding the weapons firing between the two ships. Kuro targets the main cannons that seemed to be firing off shots haphazardly, allowing them a few seconds of relief to pass by the freighter to drop Rito and Nakajima off. Rito and Nakajima were both ready, and Kuro nods as he activates the short range teleport, transferring the two men to the ship.
()(OoOoO)()
Civilian Transport
Lower Decks
Rito and Nakajima materialize inside the ship, thankfully in an empty hallway. "Do you have some Dazuul Seeds ready?" Rito asks Nakajima, who lifts up a small bag in response, "Good, I'd rather try and capture them before resorting to fighting, we don't know who else could be in this ship besides the Pirates and Tenjouin-san." Nakajima nods, as Rito readies his blade for anything, before deciding the best way to find out where to go, was to move towards the front of the ship. "Look for an elevator, or transport tubes, or some kind of ladder between decks," Rito states, as they travel up the hall, "One of them might lead to the ship's bridge, where Saki-san, and Rin-senpai are!" Nakajima nods as he follows along, Dedial in hand as while his other hand holds a Dazuul seen at the ready. As their walking past yet another closed door, Rito and Nakajima both jump when they here it open, both turning to see anything past the balckness of the unlit room. Both sigh in relief when nothing seems to move beyond the doorway, figuring it was just an automatic response from an unlocked door.
As they go to turn around and move along, the sudden hissing from behind them causes both teens to freeze, Nakajima peeking over his shoulder to see the source of the noise. He almost jumps out of his skin when he sees something that walked straight out of the Gray Lagoon. An amphibious fish-man, with eyes glaring red giving the feeling of murderous intent within them, face flaring with crests that look like fish fins. Its webbed fingers are outstretched towards both Rito and Nakajima, and then Nakajima realizes just how too close he is to the monster. Nakajima doesn't even process his fear, rather he tosses the seed in his hand to the floor underneath the monster, and the seed cracks as soon as it lands. Suddenly the quick growing vines encircle and ensnare the alien, wrapping around it and even cracking the armor it seemed to be wearing. The feminine squeal coming from the alien was unexpected, and Nakajima stepped back along with Rito to take it all in.
They both took in her spotted face, and Rito realized that she looked like a Lion-fish with her spiny fins puffed out, and some sort of breathing apparatus on her face left her looking larger than she actually was. She actually looked more human than fish in the face, smooth skin and a feminine bone structure behind her face, though she seemed more androgynous in the lower body, the stocky form they had mistook her to have was revealed to be some form of workers overalls with steel plating improvised into armor. Nakajima was left blushing as he realized that the armor she had been wearing was actually a workers overalls with the ships sigil stitched into it, and the vines seemed to be creeping into inappropriate places as it grew. The red blush on her face made it super uncomfortable to watch, and Rito swiftly cut into the vines to release her from their trap. "I'm so sorry, you surprised us and we thought you were pirates," Rito blushes furiously as he helps strip the woman of the vines, "We heard the distress call and we came to help, you just surprised us when you came up behind us like that!" The woman looks up at him with a look of confusion and annoyance, before she rights herself and attempts to get up with a hand from Nakajima, a tail like a tadpole's swishing behind her now unencumbered by the ripped overalls.
"Are you okay?" Nakajima asks, with concern on his face, "We truly are sorry for-" He was brushed off as the alien girl turns and goes back into the room they had passed, the door closing behind her. "Should we wait for her?" Nakajima asks, turning to Rito, who has an equally confused look on his face, "I hope we didn't offend her..." Suddenly the door opens up again, and once more the alien walks out in an outfit much like the previous one, though it seems to lack the heavy armor, giving her a slimmer, more fitting body style to what they had seen. The woman gave them both a glance over, before opening her mouth to speak, before she stops in confusion. The breathing apparatus was clear, and both Rito and Nakajima were able to see her mouth, yet it seemed she could not communicate with them, as they watched her emit bubbles from her mouth and knock on the apparatus in annoyance. A crease in her row, she seems to give up trying to make her device work, instead turning to stare and glare at Nakajima and Rito intently, before beginning to gesture with her hands. The two give each other confused looks, as she wildly moves her hands repeatedly in growing annoyance. Finally the woman just slaps a hand to her forehead, then grabs Ritos free hand, and pulling him closer to her.
Instantly Rito feels uncomfortable at the closeness, but the woman seems determined to get him to watch the gestures. Rito suddenly realizes she is, in fact, repeating motions and trying to convey an idea, and in a moment his eyes seem to glow a deep purple as he fixates on her movements, before returning to their golden color. "Are you trying to speak with us?" he asks, turning his eyes upwards to meet hers, and in an instant her facial expression changes to a brighter one, "Ok, ok, I think I understand now, since you must have some kind of translator malfunction, you've got some form of sign language going on.. please, try it again now!" The woman quickly begins making fast gestures, almost too quick for his eyes to comprehend them.
"Ineedyout-urryu-ndgetme-ot-bridge," the woman signs, "Pirates-b-amne-hosefoo-can't-ilot-is-hip-" She signs at a dizzying pace, words flowing in a jumble in his head, despite the fact he shouldn't be able to understand.
"Whoa, whoa!" Rito states, grabbing her arms gently and forcing her to stop, "I can understand your intentions, but you're going to fast, I can't comprehend what you are saying!" She widens her eyes, a light blush seeming to form again, but she removes her wrists from his grasp and begins to sign once more, albeit at a slower, more reasonable pace.
"I need you to hurry and get me to the bridge," she signs, "Pirates be damned if those fools upstairs can't pilot this ship." She then motions them to follow her, and Rito watches her fingers fly as he keeps in step with her. "I was working on fixing the engines, since those pirates set up a blasted quantum mine in this asteroid field, which knocked out power for a few moments before auxiliary kicked in," she signs, "This ship wasn't properly manned and the ships Captain was also its Engineer; when the pirates ambushed us he was the first to get knocked out, so I made my way down here to get shields and engines up and running." They stop at a ladder, and she points upwards at a hatch that seems to be closed, and Rito focuses on her once more. "Everything got sealed when I restored power, and this manual hatch is the only other way to the bridge, three floors up," She signs, before Rito motions for Nakajima to start climbing, "There's a pirate crew I locked in the next floor up, if your friend there uses those Dazuul Vines, we can incapacitate them and head to the bridge where Saki Tenjouin and her servants are located, and also where the Captain and the Pilot are unconscious."
"Be careful, it sounds like there are pirates beyond that doorway," Rito states to Nakajima, who nods in return, straining to open the lock with both his hands, "She says the Dazuul Seeds may be necessary to incapacitate them." She taps Rito on the shoulder, and he turns to focus on what she has to say now.
"Be careful, one of their men was a cha-" she starts to sign before a large creaking and thunk forces Rito's nerves to look toward the source of the sound, which was Nakajima unlocking the hatch between the two levels, and he turns back to the woman as she impatiently tries to get his attention.
"I'm sorry, but I need to help my friend, if what you say is true and there are pirates," Rito states, as he puts his hands on her shoulders, "I'll be right back, and then we can talk more once the pirates are dealt with." He then tears away from her and goes to follow up after Nakajima, who was shimming up through the hatch and pulling himself into the next floor. Rito pulls himself up to the top, when he sees a hand offered to him through the hatch. He takes it, and finds himself quickly being pulled up and onto the next floor with ease. He goes to thank Nakajima, but sees that the person who helped him up was not in fact the green haired teen, but in fact a very familiar, busty, brown eyed brunette by the name of Rin Kujou. "Senpai!" he addresses his older, former classmate, with a smile, "When I heard your distress call, I figured you and the others would have still been locked up in the main cabin." He smiles as he looks around the empty hallway behind her, to see where the pirates where. "Are Saki-san and Aya-san still up there?" he asks as he studies his sisters kendo instructor, "Did you already lock up all of those pirates without me?"
"R-Rito, I don't think that's R-Rin," Nakajima says unsteadily from somewhere behind him, causing him to begin to turn, "She's an impos-" Nakajima doesn't even get to finish his sentence before he was knocked out cold, much to the surprise of Rito as he takes the scene in before him. A couple of unfamiliar aliens were holding Nakajima by the arms, both looking disheveled and a little bit crazy with the smiles they were sharing. "Rin-senpai, are they a part of your crew?" Rito asks unsteadily, his suspicion growing as he tries not to let his uncertainty show, "Rin, where are Saki and Aya?" He turns to find the most hideous on this imposters face, one that forces her smile to wide, and her eyes just seem empty and distant as she pulls the wooden sword she always carried from its place on her back. "Alright, yeah, I see Nakajima is correct, you aren't Rin-senpai," Rito states, as he pulls his own sword free, a small twitch on the imposters face betraying their hesitation, "I'll give the three of you a warning then, since I don't know any of you that means I don't have to hold back, I suggest you surrender now before anyone comes to harm." The two behind him just laugh, while fake-Rin just stares creepily in his direction, leveling her sword at him.
"Very well," Rito simply states as he closes his eyes to concentrate, "You'll be great practice if I'm ever going to face a living opponent." He sends a slight charge of dark matter into his sword and body, feeling his muscles both tense and loosen in a contraction. The effect creates a visible aura between wielder and the sword, and though Rito could not see it as he opened his eyes, to the imposter it was as if the teens golden eyes had gained rings of purple around his irises. He takes a breath and smiles as he feels Adam vibrate in his hand, no doubt due to the power boost he just received. Rito raised his blade, as the imposter mimics his movements with their own, and in one swift move Rito pushes off towards the Rin imposter. Careful not to kill, Rito dodges their poor down thrust and deflects it with ease, forcing them to be knocked back with the enhanced strength he was now using, though they land with merely a grimace. Once again they raise their blade, and Rito stands upright, taunting them with his free hand to come to him. They fall for the bait, hook, line, and sinker, and as they sloppily rush to strike him with a downward thrust, he parries and uses their momentum to throw them off balance, forcing them to carry through and expose their back to his reach.
With a simple and clean hit from the flat of the blade, the illusion is dispelled, and Rito watches the imposter lose their balance and fall flat on their face. The imposter was revealed to be another alien figure, small, and in some kind of a high tech suit that gave them larger body proportions. The figure stirs a memory in his mind of the first time he had ever met Kuro, and Rito realizes what the girl was trying to warn her of. He was a shape shifter, a chamelonoid alien, much like the spy Khameleon that had infiltrated Saki Tenjouin's chalet years prior. He then turned his attention to the others holding Nakajima, turning his gaze to the two with a dead serious look on his face. "So, since you can see your friend didn't fair any better against me, do you give up?" He asks the two, who drop Nakajima and hold their hands up in terror, "Boo.." In seconds the two turn tail and run, scrambling and falling over each other as they try and run, only for Nakajima to grab some Dazuul seeds and toss them after the two, ensnaring them and keeping them from becoming problems later. Rito grabs a seed for the other alien, and turns to find him wiggling out of the suit and trying to run away. Sighing he tosses the seed and ensnares the alien in more vines. "Honestly," Rito says, dispelling the dark matter from his sword and absorbing the rest into his body, "Nakajima, are you all right?"
The green haired teen stretches, holding his head and feeling a forming lump on it. "One of those two hit hard, but I think I'll manage," Nakajima reports, "What about our mysterious friend down below, should we help her get up here now?" Seconds later their new friend made her own decision, as the woman suddenly pulls herself up from the hatch and stares at the two friends and then at the captured pirates. She then begins to sign once more, and Rito focuses on her hand gestures.
"Good, I do not have to kill either of you now, since you caught the shape shifter," she signs, and Rito raises an eyebrow at that, but he watches her continue, "The rest of the journey should be easy, if we can make it to the bridge before the ship is critically hit by weapons fire." At this she begins moving further forward to another ladder and hatch, followed quickly by Rito and Nakajima.
"Wait, please, you never even told us your name!" Rito states as he follows the woman to the next junction, almost tripping and falling onto her as she comes to a sudden and unexpected stop, "Whoa!" The women turns and gives him a curious look, before nodding and signing again.
"I apologize, I guess the matters at hand do seem more urgent, but let us be quick in our pleasantries," she signs, as she motions to herself then Rito and Nakajima, "I am called Adrisin, in the language of your people, what are your names?" Rito looks to Nakajima and then turns back to Adrisin, motioning to the green haired boy.
"This is Nakajima, he's a second year student of Sainan High School, and my junior," Rito introduces his not-quite friend, "He's currently utilizing Devilukean technology to access a friends personal plant arsenal, which is why we had access to the Dazuul Seeds we used to capture the pirates." He then points to himself and Adam in turn before speaking again. "My name is Rito Yuuki, I'm from the planet Earth, and I'm a third year student at Sainan, and this is Adam, he's a sentient Orichalcum weapon," Rito states with a smile, "I'm on a quest to rescue my girlfriend and prospective wife, Lala Satalin Deviluke, from the clutches of a slimy little toad named Lacospo, of whom he is forcing her to marry." The woman has a slight reaction to that sentence, but Rito figures it is just the fact that he knows the Princess of Deviluke, and is calling her his prospective wife, that causes the reaction.
"V-very well," she signs with uncertain gesture, "That is...quite a lot to take in all at once, but I believe you." She then motions them to follow as she moves up the ladder. Rito watches as the girl begins to climb the ladder, and avoids the tail swinging down as she ascends, until he begins to blush once she reaches the top. Nakajima notices Rito's hesitation and almost certainly begins to follow, until Rito grabs him firmly by the shoulder and the younger boy takes in the stony, almost gloomy look that Rito is giving off.
"Just- don't, wait until she clears the top," Rito states as he looks Nakajima in the eye, before quickly glancing up to see her tail disappear over the open hatch, "There, now you can go." He releases his grip, causing Nakajima to wonder just what it was that caused him to freak out like that all of a sudden, but he brushes it off and begins to climb. He begins to ascend with Rito following closely behind.
()(OoOoO)()
Bridge
Saki Tenjouin stood at the helm of an unfamiliar vessel, stranded and helpless in a floating coffin, as pirates battled around the ship for their prize,like vultures descending on a fresh carcass, they were after the fresh kill and all it contained within it. That meant the billionaires daughter, her two friends, an unconscious Captain and Pilot with a ship full of trade goods and gifts being delivered to Deviluke, and a few VIP delegates, who were now locked in their cabins for their own safety, all heading to Deviluke for the same reason. Saki looked to the defiant Rin, then to the cowering Aya, who was watching through the same viewing screen as she was, at the firefight going on outside between the pirates and the new ship. The pirates had been doing massive damage to the private transport, but when that new ship arrived, nearly slipping the pirates own side, it had steadily been gaining ground and causing noticeable damage to the pirates. She was sure that the pirates would be forced to retreat soon, as they had been too slow to catch the nimble, smaller ship in their attacks, and it was scoring hits time and again.
"Do you think they're here to rescue us?" Aya asks, turning to her blonde leader, "I mean, maybe they heard our distress call and came to help us?" Saki wishes that were true, but the colorations weren't GPD standard, nor were they friendly by the tones of black and gray, not to mention the weapon arsenal seemed a little bit too illegal to be a friendly ship. Suddenly the firefight seemed to dwindle, causing Saki to shift her attention from her friends to the scene outside. The pirate ship seemed to have stopped attacking the smaller ship, and was slowly turning away from the transport, up until she watched it warp away from the system. She would have felt like cheering, if it wasn't for the fact she felt that whoever was piloting that raider, it wasn't friendly by any means.
Saki waited for the firing to start up again, carving away at the hull to expose the cargo to the vacuum, like the pirates had been doing when they attacked, cutting away at the hull to expose it and make it easier to loot. But the hits never came, and the ship seemed to stop, hanging their motionlessly as it matched their course and speed, adrift as they were. Suddenly the red button that signaled they were getting a response to their message began to blink, and for the first time Sake may have felt a little hope. Rin looked to her employer and friend for the word to bring it up, and a nod is all she needs to open up the audio channels to allow two-way communication. "This is Saki Tenjouin, the Pilot and Captain are unavailable right now," Saki states over the carrier waves, "May I ask the name of the person who saved us, and ask what it is you want." Saki was expecting a ridiculous demand in response, but the laughter she got in response was shocking to all three women onboard.
"Nice to hear you still are a stick in the mud, Tenjouin," a voice crackles to life over the speakers, ringing in the cobwebs at the edge of her memory, "You can thank Rito Yuuki that we were in the area, though it makes me wonder why you didn't hitch a ride on Mikado's ship with the rest of the girls." Saki widens her eyes at this, wondering who it was that knew who she was, and how they knew Yuuki Rito.
"Who is this?" Saki demands, "How do you know me, and how do I know you really are a friend of Yuuki Rito, and not just some pirate with good information?" She hears chuckling again, before the voice answers her.
"The names Kuro, though you might remember me better as the guy who invaded your Chalet a year or two back, their was a shape shifter named Khameleon I was hunting," Kuro states, "I'm in Golden Darkness', Yami's ship, the Lunatique?" The name sounded familiar, and she remembered the gothic lolita that had gorgeous hair and a penchant for being a target of Rito's perverted acts. She frowned, she still didn't want to believe him, since she still couldn't remember him, and she debated how she could be really sure he was who he said he was. "I'm taking it by your silence that you don't believe me still?" he says, startling Saki into the realization she had been quite for too long, "Don't worry, Rito should be coming up there any minute now, he boarded the ship with one of your juniors, so he should be taking care of those pesky pirates that invaded your hold." She almost didn't want to believe him, until she heard the emergency hatch beginning to open, and she turned to see Rin drawing her practice sword and readying it to strike at whomever came through.
Saki almost wanted to cry tears of joy at seeing a spiky mop of orange hair come up through the hatch, golden eyes sparkling in relief and joy at having found the three girls, followed by a green haired boy that Saki recognized as one of those V.M.C. losers that hung around one of Lala's sisters, and then a face she wasn't expecting that followed suit. She quickly helped the last of the three in, and she bit her lip in anxiety as she focused on the girl, who had quickly found the unconscious Pilot and Captain. She almost spoke up, but the words died in her throat as the woman began to gesture wildly, and she watched as Rito seemed to pay attention to every detail with keen interest.
"She's asking you if you think there are any herbs or plants with revival properties in them, something to aid in their healing?" Rito states, looking straight at Nakajima, "Anything to wake them up?" Saki watches in awe, alongside Aya and Rin, as the boy brings out a pone like object and begins to scan through it.
"Here, here!" Nakajima suddenly shouts, pulling something up and showing it on the phone to Rito, "The Crystal Hartshorn lily, a rare variety of the Corpse lily that grows in the ammonia fields of Capris." He seems to be messing with the phone for a moment, until he slides his finger from the phone up, and a crystallized flower seems to appear out of nowhere and in a clay pot. "Break off one of their petals and wave it under their nose," Nakajima states, as he breaks a small chunk off and goes to the Pilot, "The chemical process begins to deteriorate almost as suddenly as you pluck a petal, because it decays faster in an oxygen based atmosphere as strong as ours." Rito does likewise with another petal, waving it under the Captain's nose. After a few seconds the crystal petals seem to have done their job, crumbling in their hands as the Captain and the Pilot both groan, signaling they were waking up, albeit too slow for her taste.
While Saki had been observing the two earth men at work, she turned to see what the alien woman was up to. She was happy to see that the woman was merely standing off to the side pointing to places on her breathing apparatus at which Aya, using a tool she had retrieved from a medical kit, was fiddling with in rapid succession. The heiress took the initiative to then walk over to where her friend and the female passenger were, determined to figure out just what was going on that warranted her presence. "Miss, I see that while Aya is working on your translation circuits, I have a few questions for you," Saki states to the frog woman, who flicks her eyes in Saki's direction and gives a soft nod of approval, "May I ask why you were not under lock down with the others, why you are dressed in that hideous uniform, and why you were with that pervert Rito Yuuki and his... friend?" Saki knows she doesn't mean for it to sound as rude or condescending as it sounds, and she hopes that the woman doesn't take any offense at it. Aya moves a way as she finishes up, which causes Adrisin to feel around her throat, as if by reflex she was massaging it as though it were sore.
"R-rito Yuuki-" Adrisin begins, flexing the hasty modifications to her translator like one would test a their voice after having lost it, "Has been nothing but a kind, resourceful soul, despite easily understandable misgivings during our first... encounter." She quickly glances over at a sheepish Rito, before refocusing on Miss Tenjouin. "I would properly thank him if we had the time, but we have other matters to worry about," Adrisin states, a serious look crossing her face as she gently shoves Aya and Rin away from the control panels, and begins to bring up scans of the star system. "Currently your friend in the other ship has chased our Pirate problem away for now, but unless we get fresh plasma generated for the warp manifold, we'll all be dead when they return with more ships," she states as she looks towards Rito, "Can your ship spare any of the necessary components we'd need to get a fresh infusion into our engines manifold?"
Rito doesn't know what to say, and he looks over to Nakajima, who shrugs in response as he is just as confused by all this space stuff as he was. Suddenly the crackling of static comes back on, and Kuro decides to pitch his two cents. "I think the Lunatique can spare a liter or three, but we need some ourselves still to keep our own engines running," he states from the Lunatique's bridge, "We don't really need to make anymore jumps since we're just barely outside of Devilukean space, that means we can get inside their borders and then flag down a carrier to finish our transit, since we're all a bunch of VIP's, yeah?" Adrisin's eyes brighten at that, and she smiles upon hearing the good news.
"And since we'll be in sovereign territory, no pirate would be foolish enough to engage us, especially not when it comes to the Deviluke Empire," Adrisin states, nodding along, turning to Rito, "So, kind sirs, as a favor to your friends, myself, and the other VIP's heading for Deviluke, will you do us the honor of being our escorts and deterrent towards any more pirate ambushes?" Rito smiles as he mock bows in response.
"I believe, madam, that you have us strange bedfellows as your guides," Rito states, putting Adam away and smiling, "To Deviluke then." He looks through the window into open space, where the Lunatique hangs in the sky. "Alright Kuro, transport Nakajima and myself back over, then get to work preparing whatever it is you need to get this ship flying again." A chuckle from the other side is heard, and Rito smiles when he feels the familiar sensation displacing his molecules back onto the bridge of Yami's ship.
"All aboard, 'Captain', though a little monkey seems to be wanting to see you," Kuro chuckles as Celine appears, peeking out from behind the chair, before Nakajima appears next to him, "Now, Nakajima, how about you help me get the transport containers ready, so we can get their ship a fresh infusion of plasma." Nakajima is quickly pulled away before he can utter any protest, and Rito is left alone with Celine.
Rito quickly kneels down to Celine's level, and he motions for her to come closer, which she does as she snuggles under his arm. "I thought you were supposed to stay in your room, it was safe there," he admonishes the young girl, "We wanted you to be safe, and I'd hate to think you could have gotten in Kuro's way, even though I know you must have been scared by all the fighting." The girl shakes her head, and Rito raises an eyebrow in puzzlement.
"I was afraid for you... mau," Celine states, "Papa, you are my only Papa, and I don't want you gone like Mama Lala, mau!" The girl's eyes are brimming with tears, as Rito feels a cold splash of reality on his face. She was practically his child, she loved him and Mikan as her father and mother, but this was the first time he had ever heard her voice worry over Lala. She had always seemed to be more friendly around Lala, yet she always went to Mikan or Mikado Sensei when problems arose, even Rito himself on occasion, but he always thought Celine viewed Lala as a friend, even a sister, more than her 'mama'.
"I- I'm glad you're safe," Rito states hugging Celine back, trying not to cry at her personal revelation to him, "I'm safe too, and now we'll make sure Lala gets home, and we can all be happy again, won't that be nice..." He looks out to the stars through the viewing port, and imagines one of them must be Deviluke. He would be there soon, and he will save his bride-to-be, no matter what.
(LalaLalaLalaLala)
Deviluke
Lala stared at her reflection in the three sided mirror, standing with the poofy, white dress held up against her chest. Gripping the material with bare-white knuckles, she doesn't realize how hard it was to be flooded with the memories surrounding this monstrosity of a dress. The train was practically ten feet long, the tiara had material that bunched up so much, it was basically like she had a small cloud suspended from her head, and the dress, while stylish at the time, was two years old and a few sizes two small in certain areas. And yet the memories of Rito, sweating and exhausted from her father's nearly impossible challenge, being forced into a tuxedo and defying all their expectations that day... It reminded her of the love she was giving up on, making her feel like she was betraying a man who, as far as she knew was still searching after her, even if he hadn't made it to her yet. She only prayed he would be too late, or else she would break down before any plans could be laid, concrete or otherwise. And while right now the risk outweighed the benefit, she had loftier goals envisioned to ensure that her lover, her choice of Future King of Deviluke, would be unquestionable and unchallenged.