A/N: Still don't own To Love-Ru, but I'd like to thank everyone whose been sticking with me through this story! Thank you very much, and I hope you continue to enjoy my story. Now, onward into the story...

Devilukean Space

The Lunatique glided silently through the darkness of space, moving swiftly through it alongside the transport they had intercepted, containing other VIP's heading for Deviluke as well. Among them was Saki Tenjouin and her entourage, who had been invited to Deviluke along with several others for some important reason. They hadn't really informed Rito as to what it was yet, but then again neither had Momo or the others known when they had gotten into contact with them. Rito quickly moved through the space port, flanked by a royal guard that had been sent to escort them at King Deviluke's request, followed by Nakajima and a rushed Celine. Kuro was intent on staying behind and fixing the Lunatique personally, lest he gain the ire of Golden Darkness, bidding them farewell as they disembarked hurriedly into the growing darkness of the paling sunset and darkening sky.

Rito was happily escorted to a private transport the royal guard had acquired to expedite them through the vast and complex streets and checkpoints that seemed to be at every gate, wall, and entry. This sent alarms up in Rito's head, as the heavy presence of security and safety seemed to go against the thoughts that this planet was the capital of an empire, one that stretched over vast dominions with little resistance and a strong King to back them up. Whatever would cause them to put this much security detail into place, was something that was obviously very important, and the reason various political and important people, entities, and merchants of all sorts seemed to be pouring into the capital and heart of the Deviluke Empire. Had Rito foolishly tried to make his way to the head of this planet, he would of no doubt been incarcerated without the escort the king had provided. Upon seeing the city seem to transform, the deeper they went into the planet's capital, the more it seemed to transform before his very eyes. Slowly crowds seemed to thin as they passed through many, various gates and checkpoints, until Rito found himself seeing what Lala had described to him as her childhood home. The kingdom of Deviluke, its castle, was much more daunting and impressive as Rito felt himself enter the shadow it cast, despite the various lights that seemed to be embedded within its walls. It almost seemed more alive, as if an air of happiness and festivity were upon it, though Rito figured that it was just in his mind.

Surely the arrival of their Princess and her forcible suitor would no doubt be the talk of the kingdom, would it not be unreasonable to expect sadness, some gloomy pallor hanging in the air, even a bit of oppression, or hopelessness? Yet flowers seemed to be blooming and setup on every streetlight and lamppost they passed, banners and signs of an event being carried out that night, some sort of ball from the cursory glances he could get from the speeding vehicle. Yet as they pulled into some sort of bay or garage, and disembarked inside the castle's walls, Rito felt a growing chill on his neck as everything seemed to be normal. That was when Celine hugged him close, Nakajima equally looking around confused as they were directed to a nearby room. A female servant, barely older than Lala or himself stood outside the doorway, casing Rito to be a little hesitant at what was going on. "It's a changing room, sir," the brown haired girl states, a smile on her lips as she kneels down to take a look at Celine with her vivid cerulean eyes, "You see the King is holding a feast for the three Princess' return to Deviluke, and we have been provided clothes for yourself and your servant, while I escort the little miss to where the other girls are." She stands and bows in front of Rito, before standing straight up and holding out an envelope for him to take. "Her highness, Princess Lala regrets that she could not extend this invitation to you personally, sir, but she herself must prepare for the feast," She smiles once more as Celine timidly walks over and takes the woman's hand, "Do not worry, I have strict instruction to turn this little one over to your sister, lady Mikan, where she will join the other ladies at their dining establishment; you likewise have assigned seating on the back of your invitation, please give it to the steward so he may announce your arrival." With the barest of curtsies, the woman has swept Celine away, and left Rito and Nakajima to their own preparations.

"Well, it seems like we should do as they ask," Nakajima states, crossing his arms in thought, "Though I do hope I am not forced to wear anything humiliating, since that woman basically called me your lackey..." Rito nods, then looks to the envelope with silver engravings spelling out his name. He would have to open this and figure out just what exactly it was that Lala wanted him to do, surely she gave him more than a simple invitation.

"Go on ahead, Nakajima, you can change first," Rito states, looking back at his junior, "I wish to read this privately, then I'll join you in getting ready." The younger boy nods and walks into the room provided them, closing the door behind him, but not locking it so as to allow Rito access to the room. With satisfaction that he was alone apart from Adam, Rito quickly slipped a finger under the fold and opened it to reveal its contents. Slipping it out of the envelope, he begins to read the silvery words cut into the paper. After finishing it, checking it twice, then looking to the back, with trembling hands Rito replaces the card into its envelope and coldly enters the room to prepare for this evening.

A While Later...
The Ballroom Entrance

After twenty minutes of wandering the hallways, lost in the sprawling complex, both Nakajima and Rito were directed by a maid towards the dining hall and ballroom area, where the rest of the occupants of the feast where already gathering. While Rito was somber and distracted as he walked in pace with his junior, Nakajima found himself tugging at the uncomfortable clothing he had been given, which were just a tad bit small around his neckline and other areas. It was obviously servants clothes, though, and while he felt a little indignant that he was delegated to the role of servant, he was able to put up with it as it was only for the night. Though he did feel concern for Rito, as the usually cheerful teen had been so insistent on arriving here to save Lala, and he had been provided better clothing than Nakajima's own. Rito, had in fact, found himself wearing a variation of the tuxedo that had been provided to him in his averted, impromptu wedding to Lala, though the colors of the tuxedo and the lapel pin had been changed to black and red respectively, rather than the marriage colors it had been when he originally wore the clothing. And unlike Nakajimas clothing, it seemed to be tailor fitted for him, despite having grown since the last time he was measured; even a belt to hold his sword was provided for him.

Finally they found the doors to the ballroom and banquet hall, both tall and impressively carved out of ancient wood and filled with grand designs that stretched from ceiling to floor. Each had a guard at their side, as well as a Devilukean man in servants clothes that was obviously their greeter who would announce them and show them to their seats. Mutely Rito steps forward and brandishes the invitation, the black haired man nodding as he took it, giving it a once over to memorize the details he would announce, before looking at their seat provisions and giving them a glance. "Very well, I welcome you lord Rito to Deviluke, your servant may join you at your dining table per Lady Momo's request," he gives a crisp look towards a nervous, indignant, and blushing Nakajima, before continuing, "I will now announce you to the dining hall, then you may take your place at the seventh table on your left, you are guests at the Princess' table, so be wary of how you act." Rito nods, as does Nakajima, before the man is satisfied and motioning for the guards to open the massive doors.

Walking inside and stopping behind the man, as he steps forward to face a large crowd of delegates and guests from a vast array of alien cultures. "Now announcing lord Rito Yuuki, Champion of Earth, Wielder of the Ninth Blade of Chronos, defender of Earth and chosen marriage candidate of Princess Lala Satalin Deviluke, and his guest," the man says as he steps aside, revealing Rito first with Nakajima trailing just a step behind, to the loud whispers and alien chatter, "As the final guest has now arrived, may you all be seated and enjoy your dinner." With that Rito and Nakajima are swept inside,and before too long the massive doors close behind them. Realizing Rito wasn't going anywhere, Nakajima gave him a subtle push that caused his brain to catch up with whatever it was he had been thinking about. Now they both headed for their seat, passing the long, whispering tables and the glares that Nakajima couldn't shake, until they saw the table containing both twin princess' and the remainder of the Yuuki household and friends.

Rito's mood seemed to change at seeing Mikan and Celine dressed in extravagant gowns filled with lace and bows, colors complementing them gracefully and not clashing. Nana and Momo both rise with concern on their faces as they greet Rito chastely with a hug each, Momo lingering just a moment to murmur something in Rito's ear, but it seemed to do nothing but cause Rito to lose his smile once more. Nakajima quickly found a seat between Yami and Nana, while Rito takes a spot between his sister and Momo. Nakajima notes that others had seemingly joined them on their flight, as Mea, Yui, and Saruyama were there seated behind Yami and Celine, while Nemesis was strangely absent from the group. Rito looks to Momo and Nana, who both seem to be staring at him as he stares straight ahead at the empty placement before him on the table. Nakajima is about to ask Yami or Nana what was going on, when from the foremost table in the room, King Gid stood up from his seat.

"Greetings, all of you," Gid's voice booms as he slowly stares around the room, "I thank you for answering our summons so quickly, but the reasons we have to share with you this night will be answered soon, for now I suggest we forgo unnecessary worry, and eat!" He motions to a servant standing at a nearby set of doors, before trolley's and carts of food and drink suddenly appear from behind the doors and are wheeled to various tables to deposit dishes with sterling silver covers, before goblets of clear glass or crystal are placed on tables and filled with a variety of juices, drinks like water, and choice wines from the personal wine cellars of the kitchen's stock. The hustle and bustle made Rito forget about the day, and when the food came to their table it was deposited with practiced ease. When it came to drinks, most chose water or juice imported from Earth, though Yami partook of the wine as she was of age, and Rito chose the Devilukean juice that Nana and Momo recommended to him. Shortly after the lids were removed, Rito found himself looking at a dish that seemed to be inspired from Earth cuisine, as did everyone else at the table.

"We ensured the food wouldn't be too strange for your tastes, since most of the other delegates requested specialty foods as well," Nana went on to explain as she picked at the vegetables and other sides on her plate, "Though the ingredients are fairly alien to your planet, they were found to be the most edible foods that we could acquire on short notice." Mikan merely thanked Nana and Momo both, as did the others who agreed whole heartedly before digging in. Rito on the other hand seemed to listlessly play with his food, before a kick in the knee from his sister causes him to realize he was not eating, and he begins to enjoy the now cold meal. He takes a few sips of his juice, and it seems to dull the cold chill he had been feeling, warming him up from the inside and allowing him to return a little bit of a smile to his face. Once he and the others were done with their meal, it appeared as if everyone's plates were then taken away, and the room was hushed as they waited for whatever was to come next.

Suddenly the King of Deviluke finished his goblet and stood up to address the crowd. "Well, now that our hearts are a little bit more receptive, and the moods lifted with the food, I believe it is time for you all to hear the news you were invited here to learn of," Gid states, as he steps over to the seat where his eldest daughter is sitting, just a few over from his, "As I am finding myself getting older, I know it is time to establish a legal heir to my kingdom, and it is my greatest... pleasure to announce that my eldest Daughter, who I have been setting up matches with, has decided this night to announce her decision to all gathered here tonight!" Gid encourages her to stand up, as the embers of whispers and chatters, flurry into a fiery frenzy of excitement. It quiets down as the eldest daughter now moves to stand from her seat and her father returns to his seat.

She nervously clears her throat as she scans the room, going from left to right, all the way up until her eyes glance over to the final table where her sisters are seated, and her eyes glance over everyone until they latch onto Rito for the briefest of moments, before glancing away with scarlet blushing her cheeks. "I-I have f-finally come to the decision,after numerous attempts at coercion, blackmail, attempts on my life or prospective partner, that I must make a choice and finally end this senseless bickering and infighting between my marriage candidates," she states with practiced ease, now gaining her confidence and the attention of the room, "As of two days ago, I have officially been engaged to one of my most... unorthodox suitors, and it is tonight that we wish to announce our marriage ceremony..." The words are barely out of her lips, when the cacophonous rapture that follows is the sound of breaking hearts and indignant diplomats, being forced into a situation they had unknowingly found themselves in. "Please, please, it is ok!" she states, lifting her hands to appease and quiet the crowd, everyone now drawing their attention to the black engagement ring on her finger, which she admonishes to the room, "This is a rare soul-band ring encrusted with artificially engineered smart diamonds, a two of a kind rarity that in its current form regretfully is quite lethal as is, but tomorrow I hope to change that." The room holds its breath, as Lala motions for another at the table to stand. "This is my fiance, Prince Lacospo of Gaama, one of the seven trade empires not under the Devilukean authority," Lala announces as Lacospo snootily holds up his head with a smile, purple lips puffed up and pointed ears looking devilishly sharp in his freshly tailored royal ensemble, "Tomorrow after morning's dawn, he and I will be legally joined as husband and wife, and considered for candidacy for future King and Queen of Deviluke."

A rapturous applause followed suit, not all half-hearted in some ways, yet all happy to hear that this was occurring. Now Lala turned to her father, who nodded and stood up, as Lacospo and herself retook their seats. Gid now raises his hands together to reacquire everyone's attention. "Now, as to the fact that we have many of Lala's potential marriage candidates here tonight, I ask any of you now who wish to contest this engagement to speak up, or bite your tongue at the wedding," Gid announces, coldly staring down the group, "Please, really do speak up, if you believe these two should not be joined together, I would rather give you all a fair chance to prove yourselves here and now." Rito's head feels a little fuzzy and the pounding headache growing in his ears as blood rushes into his head, almost keep Rito from standing to do just that, yet quickly he finds himself unable to move. A gentle, yet firm hand on his left knee keeps him from moving, and Rito realizes that Momo has a grip on him while still paying her father attention. While he is about to ask why she is stopping him, a hand snakes into his own, and Rito turns to find Mikan with pleading eyes staring right into his, before she turns her attention back to King Gid. With both Momo and his Sister stopping him, despite the blurring thoughts whizzing in his head, Rito realizes they must have good reason, and opts to use his free hand to take another sip of the numbing drink in his goblet, now half gone.

Suddenly a man rises from the fifth table from the front, an alien with tan skin and forehead ridges that Rito thinks must have been incredibly painful, stands and draws attention to himself. "I Kain, of Caste Mor'Behk, decree that this marriage is a farce, and wish to challenge Lacospo of Gaama in honorable combat for Princess Lala's hand," the alien in chainmail states, "What say you, Lacospo?" Though Rito can't explain it, the sudden chill in the air seems to pass over everyone as a wide smile breaks out on the tiny man's purple lips.

"Why, of course Kain, I believe I will accept your challenge," as he snaps his fingers and an armored man suddenly arrives carrying a sword in hand, allowing Lacospo to hold it aloft in the light, "Will combat by sword be sufficient?" The hush that came over the crowd as they recognized the gleaming, dark blade in his hand became quite evident. Even Kain looked terrified at the sword in Lacospo's hands, though Rito was overwhelmingly confused.

"Is t-that the First Sword of Chronos, kept by the fabled Bloodletter of the Charmian race?" Kain spoke out in fear, "That sword was lost to the ages... but- but it was said to have been a myth the likes of that terror Bladix..." Lacospo smiled and reveled in Kain's terror, as well as the terror that swept through the rest of the room. It was Momo's grip and the reassuring squeeze of Mikan's hand that kept him from all but laughing at the irony of the sword Lacospo wielded.

"Yes,and it was I who acquired it as a gift from my fifth wife, as tribute from the Talha Assassin's Guild," Lacospo states, as he smiles and garners his attention around the room, "So, will anyone face me to contest our marriage now?" He looks around to see not a single soul raising a hand, foot, paw, flipper or other extremity to object. He then turns his attention towards Rito, as he no doubt had planned to do the entirety of the time in spite of this showy display. "What of you, wielder of the Ninth Blade of Chronos?" Lacospo asks with a tilted smile, "Would you like to see how the clashing of our blades would end?" Suddenly the irony just hits Rito full force, and he begins to laugh until he chokes on air, covering his face to hide the smile and the tears he found himself shedding at the hilarious, empty threat that Lacospo himself obviously did not know he was making. Lacospo in turn must have mistook his laughter for sheer terror, as he laughs triumphantly seeing no response from Rito himself. "Very well then," Lacospo announces, lifting up a hand towards Rito while addressing the remainder of the chamber, "Not even Rito Yuuki, my most contested Rival and Lala's 'so-called' favorite, raises his own blade in recognition of my truly terrible might!" The ballroom stills and not a word is said as Lacospo sits down, nodding at Gid to continue.

A half glance in Rito's direction, seeing how Rito had finally calmed and yet was red in the face, was al the King needed before he continued on his own speech. "As my daughter conveyed, the symbolic marriage ceremony will be completed tomorrow a few hours after dawn, breakfast will be served here tomorrow morning before convening for the public ceremony," Gid states with another half glance in Rito's general direction, "Though it will be made official in a following private ceremony, where I will also legally recognize Lala's husband as my heir apparent, and future King and Ruler of Deviluke!" Though the name 'Lacospo' went unsaid, Rito recognized that whatever it was the Deviluke King was trying to convey to him was meant to be read between the lines. He would have to see what the others knew since they had been here longer, but he would have to do it in the privacy of somewhere else. He would hope that whatever it was that was dizzying his mind and keeping him docile had worn off by then, though he took another swig of his juice to calm his nerves. "Well, I believe with that, Dinner is concluded," King Gid announces to the group as a whole, "You may be free to wander the gardens and the rest of the palace, but any living quarters not assigned to you are off limits unless invited, and no fights will be permitted outside of my eyes, is that clear?" He phrases it as a question, yet it is clear to everyone that it is a statement, not a request, and the fear of Gid is struck deep within each and every occupant of the room. And with that the crowd disperses, leaving everyone free to go where they wished, and leaving only King Gid's table and the Princess' table alone in the massive dining hall.

As Rito gets up to approach Lala, it becomes clear that he is in no shape to face her, as he nearly drops to his knees and faceplants on the floor. Its Momo and Nana's arms that support him as he unsteadily and blearily gazes around the hall, before being escorted out, followed by the Princess' posse. "Did we give him too much?" he thinks he hears Nana asking a question towards someone, "I knew it would have this effect on him, but it should have only been enough to allow us to keep him calm through Lacospo's rant!" He barely hears a response, but he feels the rush of cool air as they walk through an open courtyard, before being dragged in two different directions, his feet finally failing him.

"I thought one glass would be enough to keep him calm with his enhanced metabolism, but I checked and saw he still had some in his cup," he thinks he hears Momo respond, "Yami can you help us with his legs, I think he's finally lost the strength to move them." He feels like he's laying on a pillow or a fluffy cloud, as he finds himself drifting in and out.

"I saw him nursing his drink all night, does that matter?" he thinks a voice that sounds like his darling sister states, "He wasn't drinking it much at first, with his sour mood, but when Lacospo started swinging his bait, I saw Rito take one big gulp of the drink." A groan is heard from somewhere, but Rito is too distracted by the lovely clouds and feeling like he was flying to care.

"That would be why.. wait, let's duck into my room," a voice states, "It's the most private by far, we can set Rito up on my bed, and we can get him some cold water to wake up." He feels himself descending form the clouds onto another soft surface, one that felt more like gelatin or a really soft marshmallow. He feels someone sitting next to him, and he feels himself shaking, but he's too in love with the clouds to let go and descend back to the ground all the way, so he latches onto the nearest thing he can to keep himself stable. "Eep!" he hears a squeak, as he nuzzles into a new sensation, soft and squishy, before he feels something try to pull him back, which causes him to grip tighter in response, "R-rito, I need you to let go now, please, Mikan and Celine are in here!" He frowns and groans in reply, relaxing his grip but mumbling a protest.

"But Momo-" he yawns as he releases his grip and slides away from the warm thing he had found, "Isn't that what you always want- me, to do..." All thoughts of dreams and clouds suddenly are soaked, as he feels a torrent of cold, icy water splash down over his head and bring him back to the waking world. "Freezing cold, I'm up, I swear it wasn't me Yami!" He yells as he bolts upwards, a flustered Momo fixing her dress and an un-amused Mikan staring him down hard with a cold glint in her eyes, "I swear, whatever it was, I- how did I get here?" Looking around a very pink bedroom, he finds himself staring down at a growing water stain on silken sheets and fluffy heart pillows, as his hair drips wet and his tuxedo sticks to his wet skin. "What the hell happened, and why do I suddenly feel an urge to punch Lacospo repeatedly?" Rito asks the others, as he stares up at them, an angry Nana being held back by Yami and Celine.

"Well, we kinda-accidentally-on-purpose got you drunk, because we knew from experience with Haruna, that there is a certain juice fro Deviluke that causes something similar to the lowering of inhibitions that is associated with drunkenness," Momo responds, slightly flustered still, "Unfortunately we didn't calculate the fact you would nurse your drink all night and take one huge drink near the end, so you ended up passing out until we brought you in here... you kind of accidentally groped me when I got too close, but that can be... *ahem* forgiven regarding the circumstances, before Nana saw fit to wake you up."

"Baka!" Nana yelled, as she was released by Yami, before simmering down, "I know we got you drunk, but come on, I thought you got over this!" Rito blushes and covers his face, as the memories of the night start to come back to him.

He suddenly sits ramrod straight, as he turns back to the others while his memories begin to process. "What the hell happened with Lala and Lacopso back there?" Rito asks, "I thought that Lacospo had held Lala captive, shouldn't he be incarcerated by now?" At that the others begin to look between each other, and Momo coughs to gain everyone's attention.

"Yes, well, you see," she begins, "As our mother tells us, it went a bit like this..."

Two Days Ago

Gid Lucieon Deviluke paces the room of the private banquet hall that the royal family ate at when not attending guests or hosting galas or fundraiser's steeped in political interest. His wife merely sat at her seat, a hand fanned over her face as she attempts to hide the small small forming on her lips. She hadn't seen her husband this nervous or agitated before, especially when it came to their eldest daughter, who was practically his favorite even if he would never admit it. Then again, she had heard that during her difficult labor with their first daughter, he was nervous wreck in front of the original head of the knights, Zastin's own father, but all Sephie remembered of that tiring day was the smile on his face when his nerves broke seeing their precious daughter together. Now he had a new set of problems, which caused him to filter between three general categories that Sephie had marked: Indignation, Anger,and Worry. Though the cool headed King, who could destroy a planet with his power, intimidate his enemies with a glance, and who commanded an armada of ships which could siege any planets he wished; he certainly broke his facade in the privacy of his bedroom and in front of his wife, the only place and person he could open up and vent his frustrations and worries to.

"Why aren't they here yet?" Gid states, as he uncrosses his arms and looks over to where Sephie sits, "Was she not insistent that she would be here to dine with us, bring along her 'mysterious' fiance." He crosses his fingers once more over his chest, before making his way to the magnificent head of the table, at which his wife sits to his left in her own chair. "I don't know why she called so late this afternoon, all to tell us she was already en route to the capital," Gid states with a frustrated grip on the back of her chair, "Why would she go to such great lengths to hide her approach from us, her own parents, when we already approved of her fiance!" Sephie raises an eyebrow at that, and Gid takes notice of it. "Alright, I may not exactly have said it in so may words, but as spineless as that red headed alien is, he's got potential in him outside of matters regarding women," the King states, releasing his grip on her chair and going to sit in his own, "I swear, as foolishly indecisive as that boy can be regarding matters of the heart, we've both noted how much happiness he brings her, haven't we?" Sephie doesn't say a word, but nods in response, as sudden knocking at the doors to the dining hall silence his tirade. "Enter," Gid's booming voice commands as he shifts back into his Kingly role, "Lala, you know you are always welcome in our dining-"

The words on his tongue get stuck, choked out in his throat as they suddenly turn bitter in his mouth. To Sephie's credit, he was taking it much better than she had first thought, as Lala entered the private dining hall, followed by a sickly green toad. "Ah, Papa, may I introduce Lord Lacospo, Prince of one of the trade empires, Gaama," She introduces the green being following her into the room, "He's been anxiously waiting to meet you, though we apologize that the engagement took longer than expected, it isn't easy to find a minister willing to annul a marriage at this time of night..." A sputter dies on her father's lips, before he balls his hands into a fist and forces a smiling mask onto his face.

"Ah, I assume that means you were already married prior to this...engagement?" Gid asks, as he notices the coal black ring on his daughters finger, one gem a shining a brilliant pink, the other a sickly green, "I assume there was a reason a married man such as yourself approached our daughter?" At that the thin smile that dotted those purple lips drew taunt, and Gid felt like he could snap them in two with a simple flick of his pronged tail.

"Ah, yes your majesty, as you are no doubt aware, the people of Gaama practice intermarriage with their trade partners, usually symbolic, open marriages with little to no value, or spiritual connection between arranged partners," Lacospo smiles as he goes to grab one of Lala's hands, though she draws away, something that does not go unnoticed by either Gid or Sephie, "When I was originally partnered with your daughter, years ago, I was enthralled by her esoteric beauty, her simple minded nature, and her alluring, ethnic blending, which intrigued me as well, for the blood of two of the most intriguing races that ran through her veins." Gid notices in disgust that the man is practically salivating as he speaks over his daughter. "But.. ah, I was given the... chance, by my parents to approach Lala again, after my own shortcomings prevented me from framing the right mind set to properly appeal to her," Lacospo states, "A flaw I've rectified by properly accosting with her from that dreaded mudball she was stuck on, and treating her like the princess she is, providing for her lavishly this past week as we made our way to Deviluke." He ends there, a smile still stuck on his face as he flashes a hand bearing his matching ring to Lala's.

"And the reason you divorced your former wife so suddenly?" Gid asks the toad, a small break in his smile gives Gid slight satisfaction as he continues speaking, "Why divorce a wife when such an 'open marriage' would allow you to take Lala as she is, or was this woman not agreeable to your Harem, Lacospo?" He can see that the toad was sweating a little bit at that, something akin to nervousness beginning to creep up his face, causing a facial tick. "Do you assume you can just marry Lala, ascend to the throne then keep her locked away among your harem girls?" Gid asks with a growing smirk of satisfaction, "You understand that to keep my throne, to earn my throne, you must accept Lala as your own and keep her as your Queen-consort, first among your wives, or else you risk not only losing your status as King of Deviluke, but risk rebellion from those who you seek to usurp as her husband?" He lifts up his hand to count on his fingers. "On my hand I can count the men who would overthrow you just to take your place," Gid states, as he watches Lacospo squirm underneath his words, "Ren, the prince of Memorze, Pikari, one of the seven princes of the State of Light, Rito Yuuki, Lala's chosen favorite and a man that has earned my own blessing once before, not to mention a host of nameless others; oh, and not to forget myself, if I ever find you have done anything to harm my daughter in any way." Lacospo seems to loose three shades of green, becoming a pale yellow in his complexion, while Gid smirks in satisfaction at having instilled such terror into the prince.

"Gid, dear, perhaps we should let Lacospo speak for himself," Sephie breaks in, much to the surprise on Lacospo's and Gid's faces, "Lala, after all, wouldn't force herself to be with a man she didn't truly love, obviously he must have done something to impress her?" Giving him the ice breaker he needed, Lacospo smiles in relief that the Queen had spoken, giving him a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Y-yes, thank you Queen Deviluke," Lacospo states gratefully, Sephie smiling as the prince gathers his courage to speak in front of Gid once more, "While it is true I may not be the most powerful, or strictly moral, when compared to Lala's other marriage candidates, I have been given a cutting edge tool to show the universe, nay, you and your wife, that I truly do care for Lala!" He emphatically grabs Lala's arm and holds out the hand to showcase the engagement ring, before flashing his own hand with a matching, albeit pallet swapped duplicate. "Using the vast resources of my people, as both a gift to myself and my wife, the vast resources and trade contacts have been expended to create two literally priceless, cutting-edge artifacts that will symbolize our connection, our love for each other!" He smiles as he shows the blackened bands, "These rings are the pinnacle of technology and the cumulative understanding of the most advanced races in this and the other known galaxies; twin soul bands, aptly named for the metals nigh-spiritual reaction with their wearers true self, embedded with Smart Diamonds that have been specifically bio-crafted to personify these ethereal, untouchable qualities." He lowers his hand, smiling as he stares between the King and Queen, then to Lala. "With our marriage, these two rings would evolve to show our true selves and our bond as marriage mates, showing we were meant to be together as the perfect couple," Lacospo states, "Not only will our marriage combine the strength and vast control of space that Deviluke has, but with these two rings, the entire fortune of the third richest trade empire in the galaxy, separate from Deviluke itself, would become ours to utilize, to expand our borders and protection further, and secure our combined might as the greatest space empire that will have exited since the first Galactic War ravaged the galaxy." While Gid's face is stony, and Sephie seems impressed, Lala is truly startled by having Lacospo's plans laid bare at her parent's feet, before she slips into a mask to keep her surprise a secret from Lacospo.

"While I am impressed to hear such lofty goals already in your mind, Lacospo, you say these Rings need to 'evolve' to reach their true potential," the spiky haired King states, "I assume that this means there are restrictions on these rings, perhaps the same restrictions that required you to utilize a concubine to ferry such a powerful ring onto this planet, before officiating an engagement with these rings?" At that Lacospo gulps, as his nerves return.

"Ah, yes, you see there are some, uh, complications regarding the rings that did force me to take a concubine interim as my wife, which is why we had to meet with a minister at such a late hour to get an annulment," Lacospo states, nervously tugging at the collar of his clothing, "As these rings contain such powerful information within them, the wealth of an entire empire, as a way to prevent theft or loss a set of regulations and security precautions were built into the smart diamonds before they were set into the bands." Gid raises an eyebrow at this, a scowl growing on his face as Lacospo continues to talk. "Among them is the requirement that if one ring is to be worn, the other must be worn within a certain amount of time, or else the data in the ring would be destroyed by a ...*microexplosivecontainedwithin*," Lacospo states hurriedly at the end, but he continues before Gid can object, "Also, as we are officially engaged, stipulations were stated that I am to stay within a certain distance of my betrothed, or else the data would be identified as stolen, and security measures would be activated that.. *activatethemicroexplosives*" Gid looks positively livid at this news, while Sephie is mortified, staring past a sheepish Lacospo, and focusing on the downcast face of her daughter, who does not meet her eyes at all.

"How far of a distance must you be maintain?" Gid asks, his voice low but not displaying any anger yet, "Answer me honestly, worm, or prepare to lose your hand!" He draws up his tail, the pointed end gleaming in the light of the room.

"Wait, wait, please King Deviluke, I wouldn't do that!" Lacospo states, holding up his hands and nervously chuckling, "You see, as the soul bands measure ones spiritual energy, cutting of my hand would be cutting off the flow of energy, a task that would also activate similar countermeasures to threat of torture or theft of the ring." Gid pauses momentarily at that, which allows Lacospo to keep going. "Originally the length was purported to be only five meters apart, but it had come to my attention that this statement was inaccurate," Lacospo reassuringly states, which causes Lala to lift her head up, her curiosity piqued, "The Actual maximum distance was revealed to me to actually be ten meters." Lala brightens at this, while Gid audibly growls at the man in front of him, which causes him to shudder under his gaze.

"Very well, then, since it seems that you have already decided what you are going to do, then I will inquire of the servants to make two adjacent rooms available with those stipulations in mind," Gid states, much to the surprise of Lacospo and Lala, the old king looking up to meet his daughters eyes, "I am afraid that bnking together will be deemed inappropriate in this 'situation', and Lala's room is to isolated from another room to meet these requirements." He crosses his arms and steely gazes into Lacospo's eyes. "They will be furnished accordingly, and you will do nothing together until a proper engagement can be announced, I will send out invites immediately for a Engagement Ball to be held accordingly within Deviluke's Capital in two day's time; sufficient time for Lala's other suitors to arrive and have the news broken too them," Gid states, "Now, you will both be dismissed and shown to your rooms as soon as possible, where I will also send your dinners, though I request that you now wait outside the dining hall until servants can be called; you are both dismissed."

Lala's New Quarters
A Few Hours Later

Lala sits in her room, which has been provisioned with a variety of things from her room, and even a communications link has been set up at a small table. She is thankful that Lacospo had lied about the space they needed between them, because it meant she could distance herself from the the perverted prince than she had at first thought. She was doubly grateful that the rooms she had been given were inverted to normal rooms, while they thankfully did not share a bathroom, they instead had two central bathrooms separated with space between them, and the rooms themselves had each bed bolted to the floors at the conjoining walls. She doesn't know if this was at her father's insistence, or whether this was how the two rooms were made, but she was thankful nonetheless to not have to worry about accidentally moving too far in her sleep, and still be able to keep within the distance needed to keep the rings defenses inactive. Now she taps her fingers as she sits in her chair, deciding just how she wants to phrase this new situation to her sisters and the ones she left on Earth.

Sucking it up and hitting the call button, she waited for ether of her sisters to answer their Dedials. In less than three rings, the screen had opened up to reveal Nana's confused and tired face, as she blearily opened her eyes to look at the person who was contacting her through the phone. "'Ello," she mumbled as she slowly blinked her eyes into focus, "Whose 'dis?" Lala sucked in a breath as she prepared herself to explain everything, but her first order of busines was to get Nana and Momo together to save her some time.

"Nana, it's me, Lala, I need to talk to you and Momo together," she hastily said, as the younger Devilukean woke up as the shock of seeing her beloved older sisters face on the small screen, "I'll explain everything, but I need you to get the others up so I only have to do this once." And soon Lala found that everyone who was available was awake and together, with both Momo and Nana attesting to this. So she told her story, from what happened with Lacospo, to her confrontation and history lesson with Azenda, and an omission of the perverted acts of Lacospo, the rings, and her plan, but everyone was fully awake and engaged by the time she ended her story with the announcement that their would be an event happening a few days from then, which would require them to all come to Deviluke, including Rito. "So where is Rito, has he returned with the sword?" Lala asks, "I know Mistletoe is a little out of the way, but he doesn't look like he's there." At that the concern on Nana and Momo's faces became evident, and Lala felt her breathing hitch.

"Anue, hasn't he arrived at Deviluke yet?" Nana asks her older sister, "He left quite awhile ago, he should have made it in plenty of time to stop Lacospo..." Lala feels the cool night air creep down the back of her neck, and she feels her heartbeat steadily increase with the rising panic. She tries not to let it show.

"A-alright then, he may be running l-late," Lala states, trying to keep the panic from out of her voice, "Mistletoe is quite a ways away from here, even with warping tech..." She smiles as she looks at her sisters, Mikan, Yami, Mea, even Nemesis, and Haruna, and she tries not to cry in front of them all, as they smile reassuringly back at her. "I-I think I have to go now," she practically sobs into the video chat, "I plan to see you a-all here, now, so don't disappoint me!" The other girls all say their goodbyes, and Lala ends the call on her side. She lets the tears fall freely as she realizes that everything was not okay. This whole messed up situation wasn't part of her plan, it wasn't expected at all, and she should have realized that it was going to happen regardless of all the planning she had made, since she had altered the timeline with her own knowledge of the future.

In her mind she had organized it one way, broke it down another, until it all became a scrambled mess when reality came crashing down on her. Discuss the engagement with her Parents and Lacospo, weakly smile as she attempts to believe her own lies. Contact family on Earth and ask them to return to Deviluke, do not engage in small talk or worry them with news of her engagement. Feign shock at Rito's new weapon, then invite them back to Deviluke with a promise of everything being explained away, and attempt to appease them with a false and empty smile. Her plan didn't involve her going to sleep hurt and confused that her boyfriend slash now ex-fiance, isn't where he should be, leaving her to hope against all odds that he had managed to do the impossible and prevent the terrible future she was beginning to believe was playing out before her very eyes.

The knocking at her door was the last thing she expected, as she tries to rub away the tears from her eyes. When she goes to check who is at the door, she opens it to reveal her mother standing in the hallway, dressed in her night clothes and holding a stuffed plush of Peke out to her. "I know you had to leave Peke behind," her Mother states as she hands her the cloth doll, "I know it isn't a replacement for the real one, but I figured you would want something comforting nearby." Her mother doesn't ask about why her eyes are rubbed raw, or why she seems to still be up at the late hour of the night, she merely enters without a word and sits on the edge of the bed,where she smoothes out a spot for her eldest daughter. "Come, sit, let's talk," she states without even having to convince her daughter, who locks the door and goes to join her mother, "I want to talk with you, because you seem to need it." She removes her veil, and at once the worry and anxiety hidden behind it comes out and nearly breaks Lala's tough facade she is struggling to put up. She wordless sits downon the soft, silken sheets that were brought in from her room, before she scoots a little bit closer to her mother, not quite close enough to touch though. "You know you can tell myself or your father anything," Sepie states without any prying or malice, "We'll be here for you through all your choices you make, you know that right?"

She does know that, really she wants nothing more than to break down and cry on her mother's shoulder, but then the secrets she was working so hard to keep, would be out in the open and she couldn't have her loving and concerned mother ruining the carefully laid trap she had been preparing. 'Though,' she began to admit to herself, 'That could all be for naught, if Rito doesn't show up with his sword, with Adam.' She doesn't know how to explain it all to her mother, not without making her suspicious, but she had to make her believe this was all her choice, to ease her own fears and anxiety. "I'm fine, mama," Lala begins, softly, "Really, it's all okay." She doesn't know if she believes it, but she doesn't question her either. "I'm just nervous, since this is going to be a big step, I- I don't want to have any regrets," Lala states, as she looks up into her mothers eyes with a mask of indifference, "If you never met papa, would things have worked out differently; do you have any regrets, or do they all just go away after you recognize them?" She doesn't expect her mother to answer her, but she is surprised when she speaks.

"I will always regret abandoning Azenda, if that is what you are getting at, my daughter," she says softly, "She was my greatest friend, she had just been given the answers to all her prayers, yet she lacked the guidance, the wisdom, to see more than two feet in front of her... she was never one for plans in the long term, always short sided, and always caring about herself over others." Whatever it was she was expecting from her mother, it wasn't that admission. "I left her when she needed me the most, just because I believed I knew a better way, I believed I knew what was best, but then again, so did she," her mother states, "She made a name for herself, 'Tyrant Queen', sure, but in the end someone new, someone younger comes along, and she finds herself deposed by her 'loyal subjects', just like she was all those years ago..." She sighs, as she turns to her daughter and embraces her, bring Lala's head close to her and resting it on her shoulder, where she began to stroke her hair. "I did abandon her, but in the end I made the right choice, my own choice, just as Azenda made her own choice; did I make the right choice?" Sephie states, bring her fingers through her daughters hair, "I may never know, but that is all we can do, make the choice we believe to be right at the time, and live with the consequences no matter the cost, even if we don't realize it at the time; the question is, what is the cost of your choice?" Lala freezes as her mother continues stroking her hands through her hair, and Sephie can feel her daughter tense in her arms.

"It's my choice, I c-choose Lacospo, now," Lala states, as she tries to keep the tears at bay, "I've realized the truth, mama, even though it hurts so much..." Sephie doesn't say a word, she only listens. "Rito,as much as I love him, truly love him as he made me fall for him all those short two years ago," Lala says sadly, "Rito can't make up his mind, not with everything going on, not with everything happening as it is, and in the end I fear his choice will only hurt others in the end." She feels the tears come down, as she truthfully admits what she has been feeling, ever since she came to the conclusion upon her return from the future. "Run, Yui, Yami, Nemesis, Mea, Nana, Mikan, Momo, Haruna, myself, he's had so much to deal with, and I am not stupid!" she says, tears running hot as they slide down her cheeks, "They are all different forms of love, all in different stages, but all of our actions are affecting him in many ways, some for the better, others for the worse, and it all came crashing down at the beginning of our third year, mama, when the girl he first loved, had his first crush on, moved away and we were all too selfish to notice the beginning of the end..." She nestles into her mother's shoulder more, as she releases all her pent up frustrations now that she has a listening ear.

"I had came up with this stupid, selfish plan that I thought would make us all happy, since in the beginning Rito had loved Haruna, and I was to vapid and starry eyed to see the truth right in front of me, because I had all the freedom in that small blue world, that I lacked here, mama, not because of papa or you being busy all the time," she sniffs as she continues to rant, "He was the first person not to see me as a princess, or a possession, or a way to ascend the throne, and it wasn't puppy love like Ren, he just saw me as another girl, maybe an alien to him, but just another girl." Her mother still doesn't say anything, and she loves how she isn't being judgmental. "And so I said 'you can be King of the universe, and the rules won't apply, so why not marry us both', and at first he was confused, because Earth was just so backwards and alone, that it was new to him, but then he actually began to like me, but he was still a kid, and I was still a kid, and we didn't really know what love was..." she sucks in a deep breath and sighs, "And then he finally confessed, but my Sisters got in the way, and then Momo became interested, and Rito got caught up in a crazy whirlwind I don't think he ever really could escape even if he wanted to, because this is all the new normal now, and once you let curiosity out it can't be put back in the box..." She stops and takes another breath, the long winded rant stealing her breath and causing her to stop and gather herself.

"I lost him, mama, the day Haruna left to be with her parents, the day Momo lied for her own selfish interests, the day I realized that Rito never even knew why his first love, his first crush, had left without a word, and he was showing all the signs of depression, and we just dumped more and more of our feelings, our emotions, our plain craziness on him, and expected him to be all right," she states, as she turns to stand up from her mother and pace the room, tears blurring her eyes, "Then I lied to him mama, I lied to him badly, and I got Nana, Momo, and the others all to believe it too..." She hadn't told anyone this, not since she had devised it up so very long ago it seemed now. "I faked a message from Papa, saying Rito had to make a choice, and I made it very convincingly, too convincingly, when I said the Earth, Rito's family could be made slaves, if he didn't choose someone," She covers her head in shame, as those words come crashing down on her, "I thought it would help speed things along, help him get over Sairenji, maybe even help others get over him too, but it all just began to spiral out of control when the thing I feared the worst began to happen, despite all my precautions I had made..." She stops as a fresh wave of tears and grief wrack her body. "When Azenda crashed the auction coming after the Pearl, when she came after Yami with intent to kill, when Rito came into the cross hairs and got fatally injured to the point I thought he would die..." she stops and sinks to her knees, "I thought I lost him, mama, he was scarred so, so bad, I never thought it would happen like that, but then he got better, and he seemed so much more... confident, so unlike anything I had seen in him before, and I began to feel even more... attracted to him, my feelings really came to the head when I realized just how much it hurt me to realize he could have died without knowing my feelings..."

She looks to her mother, who smiles and motions for her to go on, which causes Lala to smile for her to so patiently listen. "Then Haruna cam back," Lala states, her smile turning to a frown, "And then Momo went and confronted him, and she ran out when he told her bluntly how he felt about her..." She runs a hand through her own hair at this point, as she gets up and sits back down in the comforting, open, and welcoming arms of her mother. "She was kidnapped, mama, by Azenda, by Lacospo, he wanted to use her as a bargaining chip to get to me, and I went with him, I made my choice to bring my sister back to me, even if I had to give up the love of my life," she states, a cold, hollow tone coming out as she speaks, "Lacospo's another broken child, in his own ways, backwards in some respects, but he can also be sweet and caring, even if he may be shrewd and manipulative." She feels her mother cross her arms over her, and hug her tight. "I don't want to marry him, I really don't," she states, turning into her mother's shoulder to cry again, "He doesn't really love me, but he has power over me now, with this ring, and I can't back out now, not yet...not until it's all said and done." She feels the comforting squeeze of her mother, as she stops talking and listens to the sobbing that is no longer coming from herself.

"I know, darling daughter of mine, I know, baby," Sephie sobs into her child's hair, "I know, I know." Lala doesn't know why that is so comforting, why her own acknowledgement, her understanding, soothes her so, but it comforts her immeasurably. She doesn't realize she's fallen asleep until her mother tucks her in, kisses her on the forehead and leaves, but she also doesn't remember the dreams of a simpler time, of the happy memories of so long ago.

Soon

Sephie returns to her chambers, after locking her daughter up safely back into her room and replacing her veil to move about in public. She returns swiftly to her bedroom and knows better than to betray the confidence of her daughter, who she has full trust in that she knows what she is doing, even if she doesn't realize just how much of a mistake it is yet. But the struggle of youth is mistakes, and the wisdom of ages is learning from them, so Sephie tiredly returns to the bed her and her husband shares. She is emotionally drained, having listened to her daughter rant and rave, but in a way she understood that this was her own curse, her own burden to bear; for though she lacked the curse of beauty all Charmians naturally had, she was given one infinitely harder to bear, as the heavy crown lay on her head yet. It was no surprise to Sephie when she found her husband still awake, contemplating deeply on the interesting dinner they had, having lost their appetite shortly after dismissing her own child and the vile toad.

"What has that impudent toad done to intimidate my daughter so?" he asks no one in particular, but Sephie is wise enough to recognize he is fishing for answers she knows better than to provide, "That boy, Rito, he has earned my respect twice now; a feat more so proof of his worthiness than any of her other marriage candidates, something only a man like Zastin has ever earned before." He looks to his wife, who merely remains silent as she slips into bed with him, snuggling up close to feel the heat of his bare chest. "Tell me, is it really love she feels for him?" he asks his wife with a note of sincerity she had never heard him speak before, "Or is it just another man's attempts at rising the political ladder?" At his wife's silent perseverance, he knows better than to push for answers she will not divulge. "Very well, if she will not come to us for the help she so desperately seems to need, we will let her make her own mistakes," Gid announces to his wife, "Since it seems we now have a rare respite from the hassles of ruling an empire, how about we make it a night that may perhaps allow us to remember once more why we are husband and wife?" Sephie coyly smiles at his insinuation, before drawing herself up from her seat and giving him a chaste kiss, before removing herself from the bed to make preparations.

Now

Lala sits on her bed, kicking off her shoes and the stuffy dress she had been wearing in favor of her old Devilukean clothes. She knew Peke was here, she had seen the telltale hair clip on Mikan's bun, meaning the robot had acted as the beautiful dress the younger girl had been wearing that night. She couldn't face having her creation near her anytime soon, not since she could break down with such a dear friend close to her, one she could talk to and spill her secrets too. Such action could put too many people at risk, especially since Peke could go to whoever she wished to spill these same secrets, even if it could soothe the hurt feelings and the questions she had no doubt brought up with this engagement revelation. She moves over to hang her dress, before flopping onto her bed and crying her night away, when her ye catches something that did not belong on her dresser. A pure white box tied with a bow, sat at the top of her dresser, innocently inviting her to open it. Lala did not know how it got there, considering her room was open only to her and her family, and she was supposed to be the only one allowed within the walls of this room.

Last Night

Azenda holds her fist over the door, ready to knock and face the person beyond the wooden door. She had wandered the halls looking for this room, and now she had to face the reality of her situation, now that she had found it. Suddenly the door opened before her, revealing empty space at first, before she looked down and met eyes with the person who had opened the door. "Good, good, you're here," Lacospo states, crossing his arms and looking up at the woman in front of him, his now ex-wife, "Did you bring the device I requested?" Azenda nearly lets her mask of calm slip, but she forces the annoyance back down into herself. She hands the pocket sized device to the green skinned man before he wordlessly leaves the door wide open, and enters back into the room. "Well, are you going to come in?" he asks as he makes his way to the communications device held within the room, "I still have to hold up my end of our bargain, don't I?" Azenda follows him in and shuts the door behind her.

Lacospo opens the device and pulls out a long, thin cord that he plugs into an opening on the back. "May I ask why you required this device, when communication seems to be the least of your worries?" Azenda asks, crossing her arms as she observes Lacospo making alterations to the communications device, "An extra measure of security would surely seem suspicious if the Devilukean security bureau became aware of it?" Lacospo scoffs at this, and turns to her with an incredulous look.

"Please, their definition of security is laughable for what I intend to do," Lacospo states, as he turns back to work on his device, "While I am sure the security bureau is watching my communication lines intently, to see if I slip up, I trust that this chameleoid device will camouflage my transmission for what I intend to utilize it for." The device chimes signifying it is ready, giving Lacospo a look of glee, and Azenda a feeling of dread. Azenda watches as the device cycles through a million channels, before a signal is established with Lacospo's target on the other end of the line, as the communications link is decrypted.

"Ah, Lord Lacospo, I see our device made it through Deviluke's intense cyber security wall, this is most fortunous for both of us this day!" the Chameleoid, Azenda would recognize his miniscule species in that kind of exo-skeleton anywhere, answers on the opposite side of the line, "The Black Market Consortium thanks you for utilizing our services and products, oh most loyal of our patrons, to what degree may we help you today, oh favored son of Gaama?" Lacospo sneers at the sycophant spouting praises on the screen, before snapping at Azenda and motioning for her to stand next to him.

"The information I paid to have recovered by your data-miners, has anything panned out of that regarding the information?" Lacospo asks, before thumbing towards Azenda, "I require the information to complete a contract, and the Tyrant Queen of Talha waits for no man." The alien then looked over to where Azenda stood in the picture, his eyes widening in fear and recognition of one of the most dangerous assassin's in this and many other galaxies.

"Oh, oh yes, Lord Lacospo, let me find that right away..." he shuffles off screen in a hurry, huffing as he hurriedly searches, before returning short of breath and a bit red, "The- information- is- right- here..." Azenda forgives the man as he takes a few moments to catch his breath, but he straightens up neatly and gives her a serious look. "To the matter of information regarding the item of interest you were having us look up, it was quite a tricky item to find, for sure," he states, as Lacospo rolls his eyes, "The item is very rare, very hard to come by, and certainly one of a kind, if the rumors surrounding this object are true, and what it means for those who posses it." Azenda's interest is piqued as she listens to what the man says next. "The White Taoists Pearl, by all accounts has disappeared from the the face of this and any other galaxy, as if it never existed," the man states, causing Azenda to become slightly disheartened at that, "Fortunately though, we have a man on the inside, who knows exactly where the Pearl is being held.. and fortunately it isn't too far from where you are, Lady Azenda." Both Lacospo and Azenda are puzzled at this revelation, before the man continues. "Lady Azenda the White Taoist Pearl, by our information, had fallen into the King of Deviluke's hands over twenty five years ago," the alien states, "By all accounts, it was the first of many objects that began to be collected and stored within an extremely dangerous, highly secretive, and heavily guarded facility by the name of the Black Archives; a facility started and kept secret by the King of Deviluke at the end of the Great Galactic War, and establishment of his seat of power over the current state of galactic affairs."

Azenda was surprised at this revelation, having never figured that the pearl would have left Sephie's side, the way they had last parted all those years ago. Then again, as destructive a potential as that Pearl could have, it was evident that having it hidden away within a secure collection of the King's trophies and trinkets, it was as safe a place as any to hide it. "Where are these 'Black Archives'?" Azenda asks the alien, who holds up a hand in response. Suddenly information is shown on the screen, a floor plan of the Deviluke castle with a certain section highlighted.

"The entrance is located here, though I can say nothing else about what is kept within its walls, as our same agent who confirmed its existence was caught and ended before he could report anything else," the Alien responds, "I am sorry to say I can be of no more help, other than to give you the general location of the pearl, located somewhere in the west wing of the facility with the worst of the worst." At this Lacospo coughed and pushed Azenda aside, before stepping up and focusing all attention on him again.

"Now that my friend has her information, what about that matter we discussed, you or whoever it was I had talked to regarding the private freighter, leaving Gaama with my parents?" Lacospo states, "Has it been arranged to be sabotaged yet?" Lacospo smiles as he states this, a feeling of disgust surfacing in Azenda's mind at seeing someone so happy to here their parents stranded, killed, or worse.

"Ah, yes, regarding that matter, we did manage to acquire the location of your ship, though ensuring the targets of the hit are on there is quite another matter," the alien admits, as Lacospo suddenly seems to begin to rage, "But- but, sir, I can inform you that the ship is unarmed, and as such we have dispatched a ship to intercept theirs and set up a quantum mine to knock out their travel capabilities; they should be intercepting them as we speak." Lacospo backs off at that, cooling his rage and smiling deeply.

"Good, good, then I will expect to here from you by tomorrow," Lacospo states, "Ensure that, even if they survive, they are unable to make it to the wedding proceedings!" The alien nods, and with that Lacospo cuts the communication line with a smile. He turns to Azenda and smiles, clasping his fingers together and chuckling. "Well, you have your information," he states, as he gets up from his chair and walks over to his bed, "As I am to be a married man in a day and a half, perhaps it is best that my ex leave promptly, or else someone might get the wrong idea." Azenda turns to leave, a growing feeling of something she had never felt before in her stomach, weighing her down. "Have a nice night," Lacospo states, "I hope you find whatever it is you are really seeking in those archives, dearest Azenda." Azenda grasps the handle to his door just a bit too tightly, but she calmly leaves the room and slams the door behind her.

Having memorized the floor plan from the glance on the computer screen, she made her way quickly and quietly through the hallways, passing her own room in the process, and making her way towards the section of the castle occupied by the King and Queen of Deviluke. She counted the doors as she passed, and to her surprise, she stopped in front of the room that was the entrance to the Black Archives. She had very little time to work with now, before the servants rose and began their morning routine, and Azenda quickly made her decision to continue forward with her rash decision. She turned the door to the Servants Laundry Room, and entered expecting the worst. Instead she found herself in an empty room, save the piles of dirty laundry stacked at one end, separated in various carts by material or color, industrial sized washing and drying machines, a tailors corner, and a three-way standing mirror to observe the alterations made. Azenda blinked, thinking she was crazy to believe that the Black Market Consortium could really find out the information that she needed. She knew for a fact that on the other side of this wall were servants quarters, meaning that there was no secret entrance to any facility that could even be hosted below the palace. She frowned as she put a hand to her forehead, trying to soothe the forming migraine. Se had been played for a fool, and helped a mad man for no reason whatsoever than to get into the pants of her ex-best friend's daughter, and become a political powerhouse in the process.

She had a choice to make now, how she was going to proceed with all of this. She couldn't go to Sephie, since she probably would arrest her on sight, and she couldn't confess to King Gid of Lacospo's madness, since again, she was a wanted assassin. She could kill Lacospo and be done with him and his treachery, but in turn Lala would suffer the consequences the way things were now. Running was always an option, but doing so would still mean leaving her only friend behind, and leaving Lala to a life of misery with a wicked man as her husband. Azenda mournfully walked over to the mirror, just to spite herself and look at herself in the pitiful, hopeless situation she was in now. She was a shadow of herself, she was once a queen, now she was some lowly lackey having helped a madman practically ascend to the throne overseeing the known galaxy. This feeling roiling in the pits of her stomach was something she had buried deep inside her; in the blood, grime, and bodies she had cut into to get to her position. Now at her lowest she could once again feel it gnawing away at her mind and heart: her guilt. Balling her fists in rage, she slams them into the mirror in front of her, rounding her whole body into causing the most damage she could, consequences be damned.

Stumbling into the mirror, she found herself headfirst falling onto the pristine floor of an unknown room. Landing in a heap, she quickly gets up to observe her surroundings, and finds herself in what looks to be some kind of entrance to such a secure facility as the Black Archives. It had hand scanners, retinal scanners, even something that looked like a blood analyzer. Azenda would have laughed at the impossibility, the madness of it all, if it weren't for the fact that as she stood up and walked towards the massive door, it suddenly opened, as if by magic. Magic would have been her preferred answer, when she saw who was on the other side of the door.

Three Days Ago

When the early morning call came in on the private channel, it was mere chance that Sephie had returned at such a late hour from a diplomatic conference between the warring factions of Kaylon IV and Kaylon V. While she had dressed down to join her husband in bed, the call from the guards signifying a communication was coming in using Lala's specific code was enough to divert her to the private screening room often used just outside their bedroom. She also made sure to grab the nearest robe she could find, obviously Gid's by the smell, shrugging it on to fight off the chill in the air and make herself presentable over the video link. Who she saw returning the call, was not exactly someone she ever thought she would see again. "Azenda," Sephie acknowledged the assassin queen crisply, "How did you get my daughter's personal code, and why are you contacting me with it." The silver haired woman smiles in return and chuckles abit at the icy reaction.

"Hello again to you too, Sephie, though I wish I could say this call was made to reconcile our muddied past encounters," Azenda states, "But I am afraid that this matter regards your daughter, and that I must explain it too you quickly, as he is going to notice me making this call the longer I keep it on." Sephie says nothing in response, so Azenda takes it as confirmation that she wishes to hear whatever it is that Azenda has to say. "Lala and myself are currently en route to Deviluke onboard a ship being headed by one of Lala's marriage candidates, a Lacospo of Gaama, if you recall him," Azenda states, as Sephie nods in confirmation after a few seconds of placing species in her head, "Well, he is currently escorting Lala to Deviluke with the intention of marrying her, a foolish attempt to gain her love and force her to become his queen." Sephie raises an eyebrow at that.

"He should no well enough, that neither Gid nor I will accept a forced marriage that we have not consented to," Sephie states, crossing her arms in annoyance, "What could he possibly have done that made the delusional toad believe he can just escort Lala here and state he is going to marry her?" Azenda nods and grimaces, as she looks over her shoulder to double check her surroundings, before returning her attention to Sephie.

"He kidnapped and threatened your youngest daughter, used her as a bargaining chip that made it so Lala was forced to come with us, a plan at first I am ashamed to admit, I had a hand in escalating," Azenda states with a sorrowful look, before looking up and giving Sephie a straight face, "Unfortunately Lacospo's own ego made him overlook the fact that, while he had imprisoned her, he did not yet own her." She holds up a hand that reveals a black ring, with green and purple diamonds on it. "I was bought to be a courier, literal mail-order bride, for this ring that gives Lacospo access to a massive fortune he wishes to use to do whatever he can to force Lala into marrying him," Azenda states, "Unfortunately he underestimated your daughter's tenacity, and my tolerance of his lecherous behavior, and when he least expected it we both turned the tables on Lacospo, rendering him unconscious long enough to formulate a plan that benefits both her and I." At that Sephie raises an eyebrow once more, a steely look crossing her face, frowning at her former friend.

"Oh, please, pray tell, what do these plans entail?" Sephie asks bitterly, "Why should I believe a poisonous lie that slips out of your mouth, since you would sell out anyone just to get back into my graces." Azenda lowers her head in shame and then looks up with the most pleading expression she had ever seen.

"Your daughter is in danger Sephie, and I have grown close to her since she has been on board," Azenda states, her voice practically quivering, "I have told her our history, the secrets kept between you and I alone, because she needed to know exactly why she could trust me now, as I am begging you to do now." Sephie feels a little bit of indignation, burning anger at the fact she could have been filling her daughters heads with innumerable lies as much as she could be telling her the bloody truth. "She plans to trick Lacospo, marry him and then invoke ancient Deviluke law that allows her to annul the marriage, and cancel his claim to the throne," Azenda states, causing Sephie to freeze at that, "She doesn't want anyone to worry, she doesn't want anyone to know her plans, but I had to tell you, had to warn you just how dangerous of a game she is playing with an unstable man such as Lacospo." Sephie looks and sees the genuine concern and fear in Azenda's words and on her face, as the strong and proud woman talks to her like they were still friends. "She doesn't realize yet just how wrong she is, Sephie, Lacospo for as crazy and delusional as he is, in his own twisted way he truly believes he loves her, but he doesn't realize that there are those whose love eclipses his own," Azenda says, "So someone had to know, Sephie, and you as well as I, know that Lala would be too blinded by her love of that Earth boy to see how many steps ahead of her Lacospo already is."

"So he plans to marry her then," Sephie states as she rubs her forehead tiredly, "Very well, I will talk to Gid and make plans to..." Azenda cuts her off rudely,much to the Queen's shock.

"No, please Sephie, you don't understand how crucial it is that you do not speak of this to anyone, how imperative it is that you do not warn your husband," Azenda states, concern and fear gone, replaced with determination, "As unexpected, crazy, and convoluted a plan as it is, it might just work to her benefit." Sephie looks at Azenda in surprise at the sudden change of demeanor. "Your daughter is right, people will not stop if she is not married to someone who has proven themselves, and even Lacospo will admit defeat if he is bested in front of everyone," Azenda states, "So we must plan, we must help her in anyway we can, but we cannot stop this wedding, Sephie, please, help me help your daughter." Sephie closes her eyes, feeling a headache forming at the complex planning this would require.

"Very well, but if we do this, if anything goes wrong and the plan is ruined," she looks up at Azenda, "Then Lala lives an unhappy life, forced into a loveless marriage she didn't really ask for; are you prepared to face the fact that despite all this, despite all we do, Lacospo may figure us out, that he may hunt you down for betraying him?" Azenda nods, and Sephie realizes she had nothing left to really lose, why make things worse. "Then we shall make plans in secret," Sephie states, "Find out all you can from Lacospo, then report to me when you get the chance." Azenda nods, and cuts off the communication. Sephie leans back in her chair and decides she really needed to get herself a stiff drink, then go to bed and sleep in until late in the morning.

Then

Azenda stares at Sephie, who smiles innocently as she stands there in her formal dress. "We've been expecting you Azenda," she states as she turns to walk deeper into the facility, "Well, are you coming?" Azenda wordlessly follows her inside, as they pass by many doors and branching hallways, deeper and deeper they go into the complex. They pass their time in silence, until it is Sephie who breaks it. "I was against bringing you here, but she was insistent," Sephie states not even deigning to look in Azenda's direction, old wounds still fresh despite their agreement to help her daughter, "But it has come to my attention that to ensure a favorable outcome for my daughter, that personal interests, specifically your selfish ones, be finally put at rest and all out secrets, yours and mind, be laid bare so we can finally begin to trust one another again." Azenda merely stops in her tracks at those words, they sting, but she realizes that she is also very right. She had made this deal with Lacospo long before she had chosen her new path, it was only fair that it would be Sephie who would extend her hand first. They had fallen out of being friends, and it was a comfort to know despite everything, Sephie would still be the one to reach out first.

"Don't dally too long, there are worse monsters than you in here," Sephie states curtly, turning back and motioning back for Azenda to continue on, "This wing is full of the dangerous men and women that Gid has concluded regular courts and justice systems could not inter, whether they be truly madmen, and butchers, or just misunderstood geniuses driven by personal tragedies or vendetta's." Azenda glances at some of the names on the doors, some seem to indicate weapons, while others indicate people behind them. "Most in here are of the latter half, considered criminals by their own people for dabbling in illegal experimentation or sciences, though planets laws and regulations vary in strictness and harshness to this degree, so Gid weighs in only when someone truly catches his eye," Sephie states, "He's a pragmatist after all, why destroy or kill someone, when you can use them to your benefit in another situation, so as long as they cooperate, they get comfortable life sentences and carrying degrees of benefits awarded to them for their work." Azenda doesn't know if she should be impressed or terrified that the King of Deviluke, purportedly the strongest being in the universe, would keep prisoners in his own castle like this. She also wants to ignore the fact that he also is said to keep weapons in here, meaning that if any of these prisoners were to escape, potentially they would have an unlimited arsenal and army to escape and retaliate against their captors.

"No one would be so foolish as to actually garner the anger of Gid, Azenda, so breakouts are not an issue," Sephie states as if reading her mind, stopping at a door and facing it to open a peep hole at its top, "Here, in fact, is an example as to why many of these men are so satisfied working here." She peers in, then satisfied,, removes herself from the door with a smile and motions for Azenda to take a look. Hesitantly she steps forward and looks through the viewing port. Her eyes widen at what she sees beyond the door.

A decent sized lab is set up with a variety of equipment and small library of books. Utensils, items that could be considered weapons if turned against a guard, littered the piles of papers and books spread out over one counter in the lab, while various unknown chemicals bubbled and boiled, as an average looking scientist with goggles on took notes as he brewed his work, muttering as he did so. Azenda steps back and looks at Sephie with a raised eyebrow, the Charmian woman smiling under her veil. "Those who are truly good men, such as Professor Yana here, get access to supplies and notes from around the universe, within reason of course," Sephie states, "Their only crimes entailing them pursuing their life's work for the betterment of their people, only to be stopped, framed, or imprisoned by corrupt corporations or governments that refuse to listen to them." Azenda notes as the Charmian woman begins to walk again, slowly followed by a curious Azenda. "Of the one hundred and forty three guests inhabiting the archives, only a small handful, perhaps less than ten could be considered universal criminals, and even then their genius has helped others in here to discover cures for diseases that they simply could not get the right perspective on, or help design the latest safety features in your space ship," Sephie states, as they pass a final door held far away from the others, as Azenda slowly noted the space growing between doors, this one only having the title emblazoned on it, "Only one man, this man here, could be considered an exception; evil so pure he could be considered the root of many peoples suffering during the Great War."

Azenda studies the door for a moment, and looks to Sephie, whose face is expressionless behind the veil. "This is the cell of a man who took pleasure in the genocide of an entire planet, the root of an organization so steeped in evil and chaos, that it took Gid unifying the entire galaxy against his organization to truly stop him," Sephie states, and realization dawns on Azenda's face as she observes the title on the door with fresh horror, "Yes Azenda, it's His door, the man who stripped worlds looking for two pearls, the man who deigned himself a god, deciding to toy with life to create the perfect weapon disguised as a little girl, until he made the wrong call that was his undoing..." The golden letters spelling out 'Doctor' on it were haunting in their own way. Was he stripped of his name, using his title as his lone identifier, or was it that he defined himself as he lived, forgoing his name in favor of that moniker. "Come now, this isn't why I invited you in here," Sephie states as she coldly moves on, "He isn't worth the anger after all, so why dwell on the past and give him the satisfaction?" Azenda is impressed by Sephie's detached demeanor, her own heart skipping a beat upon realization she had just passed by the madman who had created the very woman who was the source of all her current problems.

Upon reaching the last door, this one sealed off differently than the last, Sephie was impressed as Sephie removed her veil to allow the ocular scanner to read her. "Sephie Michela Deviluke," she announces to the yellow camera installed over the door, before the ceiling suddenly opens to reveal a massive weapon pointed directly at her, "And guest." The hurried addition seems to appease the weapon, as it shuts down and retracts into the ceiling, with Sephie sheepishly turning to Azenda. "I apologize, I sometimes forget I am the only one that Gid deemed access to this specific door, since he agreed with me that the Pearl must be protected at all costs," Sephies states as Azenda nods, before the door begins to open to reveal the inside, "Now, we aren't done yet." Azenda sees the door opens to reveal a small five by five metal box, as Sephie steps inside and motions for Azenda to follow. As she does so, she turns towards Sephie to question where the Pearl was, when the Charmian speaks once more. "I've been told that screaming helps relieve the nausea," she simply instructs cryptically, "Hold on..."

As Azenda is about to ask what exactly she means, she feels the floor seem to go out from under her, and begins to let out a massive, drawn out scream. Before she can even get her bearings, she sees that she hasn't even moved from the metal box, meaning the metal box was moving of its own accord, and plummeting at a rapid pace. Besides her, Sephie merely hums a tune as she checks her nails, as if plummeting to their deaths were an everyday occurrence. Her veil is flying upwards as the forces are dragging them down, exposing the unconcerned expression clear as day in her bright eyes. After what seems like an eternity of falling, it feels as if they are slowing down, and Azenda realizes that while they are decelerating, she has yet to fall to the floor and crush all her bones in the impact. It is then that she realizes she should have hit the ceiling when they dropped, and then logic begins to kick in, and Azenda stops screaming. "Ah, done with that bit now?" Sephie states, as they seem to come to a final halt, gently floating down to the ground, "A bit of anti-gravity plating in the floor and ceiling tiles, means it acts as a small cushion slash pocket of weightlessness when you move up or down; they disengage while at rest." Sephie looks forward as the doors slowly groan open, opening into a larger white room.

Unlike the hallway above, this room doesn't go further than a few feet, where a single door sits waiting to be opened. "Is this... is this it?" she asked, a bit surprised that it was as simple as crossing a few feet to a door and into another room, "No tricks, or traps, just... walk in and the Pearl is there?" Sephie nods, then walks over to a set of chairs and a low table that looks cut from the same sterile white material the room is made up out of.

"Yeah, since I'm the only one who could possibly be here, what is the need for security?" Sephie rhetorically states, "It helps that even if you enter that room, even if she is the one who wants to talk to you, there is a slight chance that from my point of view you never walk out of that room again, which means to you, none of this ever happened at all." Azenda raises an eye at that, and Sephie merely shrugs with a smile. "I learned a lot about what that Pearl does after all," Sephie says, as Azenda begins to slowly walk over to the door, "Don't worry about me, if you don't come out in five minutes I'll just assume you made your choice." At that, Azenda put her hand on the doorknob with an un-amused chuckle, before opening the pristine white door and walking into the room that lay beyond.

Five Minutes Later

Azenda closes the door behind her, a little bit paler, a little bit wiser. "I know what must be done," she states somberly, before looking over towards Sephie with a half-hearted smile, "Thank you, for giving me what I always wanted, leave the rest up to me." Sephie nods and moves toward the elevator, while Azenda follows her inside. She tucks the white fabric that trails out of her pockets a bit deeper in, and smiles as the doors close.

Now

Lala quickly hovers over the strange object, wondering why the bow tied object is sitting innocently on her desk, and what it contains. She almost thought it was some sick present gifted to her from Lacospo, even though she knew it couldn't possibly be from him, as he had left and entered his room the same time as hers, as his own ring was a weapon that could be used against him if that were the case. Counting all her options, she decided to see what the package's contents were, curiosity just a little bit too strong on the part of her inquisitive mind. Pulling at the bow delicately, she finds it comes away with little effort, leaving just a box sitting on her bed now. Crossing her legs as she sits upon her bed, she gently takes the box by the lid, and removes the lid in one swift motion, closing her eyes in case it was something designed to hurt her. To her surprise it was a simple white handkerchief, emblazoned on it was her Mother's initials, something she had never seen before, as it was written with her maiden name. That was when she noticed it was actually covering something else up, a slight bulge beneath the folded object as it rested upon the mysterious present contained within. She smiled as she removed the handkerchief, only for it to morph into horror. She dropped the box like it was on fire, and the object within rolled backwards, gently to a stop as it was dragged down by the imprint of 0her body weight resting on the flexible material of the bed. She shimmied up towards her headboard as she panicked, looking around her room to see if someone was just going to step out of the shadows and say it was all a dream, but the reality was something far worse.

The White Taoists Pearl sat before her, serenely undisturbed as she shifted her weight away from the pearl like it was poison to the touch. She thought she should go get her mother, maybe call her Father, possibly beg her sisters to get Rito so he could deal with whatever, or whoever, it was that gifted such an extraordinarily dangerous object as that was to her. "So which do you choose?" a voice suddenly asks from the darkness of her room, causing Lala to look around her in fright, "Do you call Daddy, begging him to come and remove the 'dangerous artifact', or ask your Mother why the pearl has left her side, or perhaps you would rather beg your beloved Rito to come and save you, break down and spill all your dirty little secrets to him, just like your heart is wanting an excuse to do just so..." She looks around for the source of the voice, melodious laughter like the tinkling of bells coming from every direction she could listen. Suddenly a shape forms from the shadows, and a long, green haired woman in formal dress walks towards her, before resting on the side of her bed, smiling at her. "Perhaps I can give you a fourth option, Lala-chi," the young looking woman states, one eye shining a brilliant blue, while the other is hidden by her bangs, "My name is Paras, but my friends call me Eki, and I Lala, happen to be your fairy godmother, wish granting genie, and all around friend, all packed up into one single Pearl."

She moves forward, not even leaving an indent on the bed as if she wasn't there, drawing closer to Lala. "You have some choices to make, many choices in fact, as I just sit here and all those thoughts and situations run through your head," Eki states, still smiling, "You are unsure who I am, how I got here, but you have the Pearl here, don't you?" Lala nods, which causes Eki's grin to grow wider. "Good, good, you're learning!" she laughs, getting up from the bed and twirling in place, "Okay, so, your not-yet mother and your not-quite-friend Azenda found the Pearls long ago, stumbled upon my cavern where I had laid them to rest centuries, millennia beforehand, and they just assumed I was a hologram, but I am So. Much. More!" Se laughs and dances around the rooms, exploring the sights, smells, and colors of the tiny room. "A thousand years later and a rose is still a rose, and people still choose," she says out of the blue, "People also tend to make mistakes, whether its misplacing trust, taking a left when they should have gone right, or as in your case, they find themselves marrying the wrong guy..." She disappears while exploring the right side of the room, only for Lala to jump as she appeared suddenly from her blind spot on her left side. "But I can work with that!" she laughs at Lala's expense, before smiling and kneeling against the bed, looking up at Lala with a smile and her head resting in her hands, "Girls like you have many options, so make a choice, and you can have any of them at your fingertips, wipe away your mistakes, so bring out a list and mark your pros and cons, because tonight Lady Lala, you're getting a husband who isn't that stinky, purple lipped loser that wants to only get in your pants!" She rubs up against Lala with her back, causing Lala to move away in confusion.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand, who are you and what are you saying?" Lala states, before exasperatingly closing and opening her eyes to straighten out her thoughts, "I mean, I know who you are, obviously since you just explained it, but what do you hope to do that I can't regarding this ring on my finger?" Eki pops up and grabs Lala's hand none to gently, before fishing out a monocle from her scantily clad robe and putting it close to her eye to get a good look at the cut and clarity of the ring's diamonds.

"Wow, artificial diamonds that react to a person's mood, real nice shine to that silver there, and... oh, is this trans-metamorphic soul metal?" she looks up with a beaming smile on her face, "My, oh my, you just might have to keep this ring, this ring is practically a lost piece of art that could have been crafted by a real Taoist, back in the day!" Suddenly Lala finds herself lacking the ring on her finger, as Eki is holding it up to the light to really get a good look at that.

"Give that back!" Lala states with pure panic and terror lacing her voice, as she scrambles to retrieve the ring, slipping it back on her finger with mere microseconds to spare, "Don't ever do that again!" Suddenly she finds herself staring at empty space, where once there was a being, which causes Lala to blink in confusion. She feels a tap on her shoulder, and she jumps as she turns back to find Eki calmly waving.

"Hello, yes, sorry, I should have warned you that I was scrambling the microexplosive with a feedback loop, probably wouldn't try it again, obviously," she states with a bit of a laugh, "But your right, I'm being extremely rude, its just being cooped up in a white room with no color even though its a change in the same dreary scenery, finding myself in a room full of color with a real, living,breathing princess... ooooh, let's try this again!" She snaps, disappearing in a flash of light back into the shadows. Lala takes the moment to look at the Pearl still resting in the middle of her bed, wondering if she was currently being induced with hallucinations by the Pearl. "Yes, well, it is the Pearl, but I am not a hallucination!" Eki states, as she slowly coalesces into her physical form again, "I'm a high-energy physical manifestation tied mentally to a device with extra-physical, mind bending, spatio-temporal properties." Lala looks to her in confusion, and she shrugs. "In layman's terms, I'm a really advanced hologram that may, or may not, have been a real person at one point in time," she states with a much calmer demeanor, "Think of me as a more advanced version of your friend Shizu, just no desire for a corporeal body to inhabit, or any body, really." She hugs Lala, which is odd for her to be able to do, if she didn't have a corporeal body and was basically a manifestation of photons.

"Ok," Lala simply said, shrugging and deciding to go with it, "Honestly, if a Black Pearl can give Rito superpowers, I guess I can be friends with a non-corporeal slash hologram being that inhabits a White Pearl..." She stares at her Eki as she states that, then blinks dazed and confused at herself. "I'm sorry, what was I saying?" she asks, "I think I just hurt my brain..." Eki merely pats her on the head at that, before standing in front of her properly.

"I'm here to give you a choice, Lala-hime," Eki states as she just stands there, "You don't want to marry Lacospo, I'll give you credit that your determined to undermine him at great personal cost, but you don't see the bigger picture like I do..." She crosses her arms as Lala turns her attention to the woman fully. "If you choose Lacospo, Rito is hurt, if you chose Rito, Rito is still going to be hurt regardless, just more painfully than if you choose Lacospo," suddenly she waves her hands and ghostly images of her previous suitors, people she had just seen hours ago by now, appeared and disappeared around her, "But choose any of these men, and Rito goes free, Lala, he would never be hurt by Lacospo or anyone involved with you..." Suddenly images of Rito being hunted, bitten at, shot at, strangled, thwacked, mind-controlled, etc. Appeared to swirl around and playback like memories on a movie screen before her. "I don't want to se you hurt," Eki states, a look of concern on her face as she kneels down again to grab Lala's hands and plead with her, "If you just pick up the Pearl, make your decision, make your choice, and Rito leaves unharmed and scot-free... just touch the Pearl, and your worries will All. Be. Over..." Lala gazes longingly into the Pearl, hurt and scared as she finds situations and what-ifs flying like a storm through her mind, until a single memory rings clear through her head like a bell, anchoring her and bringing her back to reality.

"No," she unsteadily states, closing her eyes and taking a few, calm breathes, chasing the stray thoughts from her head, "No, I can't give up on Rito like that, not when he's here, not when I am so close now, not when I have hope!" She opens her eyes and Eki is gone, the Pearl still sitting on the bed untouched. Taking out the embroidered reminder of her Mother's checkered past, she wraps the Pearl in the silk wrap once more, tying it tightly while avoiding touching the smooth object with her bare skin. The temptation was real, but she couldn't give in.

"Just you wait," Eki's voice seemed to whisper in the darkness, "You'll be wishing you took my offer..." The chill in the air was palpable, but she chalked it up to the late hour of the night, and the reality that she was tired and half dressed, naked skin exposed to the cool night air and the cold marble flooring. She needed sleep now, especially if she was to enact her plans tomorrow. She just hoped that Rito would intervene when the time came, she was counting on him now.

A/N: 17,957 words and counting as I type this up, 17,970. Anyway, enough about the length of this chapter. =D I thank all my loyal fans who came to read this A/N, and who have been commenting on my story. I am reading them after all, so keep being great reviewers! So, have I confused you enough with all the jumping between times? Where do you all think this will be going now? Will there be any weight to Eki's words, or will something else come out of them entirely? Not even I know until I pen (type) down these words! Have a great winter break, and don't expect any updates for a while, since family issues have been coming up that may break my updates until mid-winter. But fear not, I will attempt to update as soon as I can, though I may leave you all to stew awhile, until your nice, juicy reviews come flowing out! Maybe I'm just hungry though... (o_0)? 18,132