Blue Planet

Chapter 11: Departure

It was a dull afternoon in the café, and for once, almost no customers had come to enjoy the food and atmosphere. Ryou held back a yawn, sleepily emerging from the small, dark hole that was the lab. He had been testing his latest invention for the entire duration of the previous night, ensuring that the third prototype was flawless, or at least, as much so as he could make it. Keichero took but a single look at him.

"Ryou, what are you, a cave animal? You shouldn't coop yourself up in the lab all night, you know. Smart though you may be, you shouldn't deprive your body of the sleep you need." He announced.

Ryou's gigantic muffled yawn finally exploded, making a loud noise that caused Lettuce, who happened to be in the kitchen, to squeal and quickly attempt to take refuge under the sink, only to find Pudding already there and squeal again, then moving to hide under the table.

"Meeting in the lab." Ryou muttered frankly, and returned to his shadowy crevice.

"Alright ladies, I've come up with something that I think should help you with the upcoming war. I call it the physical altering device, PAD for short. It will allow you to shape shift into the form of your unique endangered species. While in this form, you will have the ability to communicate with animals of your species, as well as those closely related to them. I will be transporting each of you to the place where your individual species can be found in most abundance. As we don't know when exactly to expect an alien attack, I think it wise to send only one of you out at a time, keeping the other four here together in case something happens. Lettuce, since your location is closest to here, you will be leaving first. Tomorrow." With that, he waved a hand, looking almost sickly pale from the many days and nights its owner had spent working fervently in the lab, in dismissal to those assembled about him.

"Meeting's over."

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That night, Lettuce went home with a headache, likely caused from her incessant worrying over the course of the day about all that could possibly go wrong in her mission, and the effects it would carry. She also wondered how Ryou planned to transport her all the way from Tokyo to the Fin-Fin Luxury Hotel, where Ryou had somehow arranged for her stay. It was, she had heard, usually nigh impossible to make reservations at the popular resort, especially on such short notice, but then, it was nearly as impossible to locate a place that Ryou did not have connections to. In the meantime, Lettuce decided to pack her belongings.

"Just calm down, Lettuce. Everything will be ok." She told herself in an attempt at optimism, although the degree to which it worked was questionable, seeing as the worries in her head still persisted. Most of the items she packed were bathing suits, for she assumed that much of her time would be spent in the water. She harbored no visions of glamour on sunlit beaches; this was first and foremost a mission. A mission vital to the survival of humanity, and the countless other species that called Earth home as well. Lettuce did not intend to make any attempt to enjoy herself, rather, she would use every second of her time there constructively.

When she had finished, it had long since grown dark outside, for it was quite late. She decided to go to bed, and exhaustion overcame her. "Good night." The girl whispered to no one in particular, and she let herself fall asleep.

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The next morning, Lettuce awoke to the sight of two strange-looking figures standing over her bed. Both wore odd purple masks, covering faces both topped with blond hair. It didn't take much guesswork for her to figure out the identities of these people.

"Grab your things." Directed the taller, more irritated-looking of the two unceremoniously. Lettuce hurriedly jumped out of bed, snatching the suitcase she had packed the night before, slightly confused as to their odd method of fetching her.

"What's going on?" She asked curiously, trying and failing to suppress a yawn. "And why are you wearing those masks?" Lettuce added, jabbing a finger at the one worn by the taller, whom she figured must be Ryou.

"It's for the dramatic effect, na no da!" Pudding answered, smirking. Lettuce tried, and again, failed, to suppress a giggle at Ryou's surly silence.

"Surprise, surprise. Surely you remember this, Lettuce?" Ryou announced as they arrived at their destination, and the green-haired mew was left staring at Ryou's unrealistically massive yacht.

"I'll be able to take you three force of the way there, but I'm afraid you'll have to swim the last bit on your own. I'm not licensed to sail close enough to the islands to get you the rest of the way." He informed her apologetically. "I'll stop at that point, you'll go into porpoise form, and swim in a straight line the rest of the way, ok?" He explained.

"Right." Lettuce murmured, feeling even less confident than she appeared, if that was possible. Ryou seemed to sense her lack of faith that she would be able to accomplish the task, and he laid a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, even giving her a rare smile.

"Hey, I'm sure you'll do fine! Don't worry." He said. Lettuce still couldn't believe that he could be right about that, but she did feel better.

This time, as they boarded the yacht, a few other passengers were also aboard the vessel: the boating crew and some remaining fans of the Tokyo Mew Mews. Pudding was absolutely thrilled when one of these girls requested that she perform for them, and the hyper girl immediately screeched a reply.

"Of course, na no da!"

She than began a series of multi-tasks, such as balancing on one foot on a spinning ball, while twirling plates atop sticks precariously positioned on her head, hands, and unoccupied foot. In all, her performance kept the fans busy for the whole two hours until Lettuce was forced to swim the rest of the way alone.

"Now remember, stay in a straight line when you're swimming!" Ryou reminded her almost frantically as the two forced their way through the crowd of fans who had gathered to watch her transform, and Lettuce merely nodded meekly, a blush creeping over her face at all the onlookers, and then Ryou activated the machine.

A blinding light surrounded Lettuce, and she saw in the blank whiteness around her all the times she had transformed into her Mew Mew form in the past. She saw the first time, and how she had attacked the other Mew Mews. How she squirmed in shame as she watched herself attacking those now as close to her as any family member! Yet the scene vanished as quickly as it had come, and she looked on to the next one. She now watched herself find her first Mew Aqua to save the life of an innocent child. Is that really me? she wondered in awe, for the girl looked so brave, so sure of herself, of what she needed to accomplish. That was so far from what she felt now. Lettuce looked on as time replayed her rescuing Ryou while fighting off a giant poisonous Chimera Anima. Ryou. The sight of him stirred strange emotions within her, emotions that arose so rarely, yet always only with him. She felt the heat rise in her face as the emotion grew to be overwhelming while she saw herself kiss him in desperation, and she would have felt even more awkward had she not known that she was the only witness to this passage of scenes from her past. Just what was it she felt around him? Lettuce had nothing to compare it to, it was indescribable. Yet she had no more time to think about it, for again the vision changed. Lastly, she saw what was supposed to be the final battle against the aliens. "United we stand, divided we fall." Lettuce whispered, and she remembered everything. Her weakness had been so great during those moments, yet she had felt something, a connection, with the other Mews, that she had never before and never since felt again. That moment reminded her of how miracles came most often in times of need. She hoped she would not have to witness that again, yet secretly wished for that connection with someone, anyone, she had felt before. Come to think of it, the feeling was similar to that she had felt with Ryou, yet much less strong, and…different, somehow.

Suddenly, a strange sensation overtook her, yet she almost had been expecting it, for it seemed to be the culmination of something that had been growing stronger and stronger throughout her surveillance of the past. She looked up at the surrounding crowd, the people so much taller than before…

They seemed both amazed and shocked at her new appearance, how a girl could become a porpoise in what was, to them, a mere moment. To Lettuce, however, it had seemed so much longer. Giving her another reassuring smile, Ryou struggled to lift her and carried her down to a water level opening in the side of the boat.

"See? It's going just fine so far. Remember, just swim straight!" He whispered encouragingly, and Lettuce looked down into the water to see her new face. She attempted to gasp in shock, but it came out as an odd, high pitched squeak. Only once before had she looked in the mirror and seen something that she felt was not herself. Something unfamiliar. A sudden urge came over her to say something to Ryou, but when her first attempt came out in the same strange, squeaky way, Lettuce dove into the icy water without another thought.

It was beautiful! Coral reefs, colorful fish, and lovely blue-green water surrounded her. She was overjoyed as an immense feeling of absolute freedom came over her, and she swam on in complete happiness. It wasn't until she had been swimming for about a quarter mile when it hit her: she needed to get air! Lettuce swam up to the top of the water. To her surprise, the closer she came to the surface, the darker the water became! As she finally broke through the last layer of water and breathed in deeply, she looked about her to see that things were very different from when she had first submerged herself. The water thrashed with a violence so opposite from the inviting ripples she had first plunged through. Huge waves crashed against one another, and enormous gray clouds conquered the sky, sending rain pouring down. Most frightening of all was the lightning flashing across the surface of the ocean.

Not having the advantage of the fish she had seen of growing up in the ocean, Lettuce felt her inexperience in swimming and became frantic. She had learned that electricity would cover the surface of the water, where she was, terrifyingly, currently swimming, although the deeper water below her would be untouched by the furious lightning. She tried fervently to reach the safety promised by the darkness below her, but the currents buffeted her at every attempt, preventing her from getting to the calm water below, although she was, at least, out of danger of being electrocuted. However, it was an all-out battle to stay there, in the precarious waters where overpowering currents slapped against her rubbery sides. Fighting for her very survival, Lettuce did not let them deter her, and she twisted about to right herself and stay low enough to avoid being zapped. As exhaustion began to overtake her, Lettuce became faintly aware that she desperately needed to go up for air, but that would mean risking electrocution if lightning were to strike. Terrified, she ignored the burning need for air and kept fighting to stay down. Another current crashed into her, sending her reeling, and the whole world seemed to spin. As blackness crept into Lettuce's mind, Ryou's face and words came to her. I have to just…swim in a straight…line… She told herself, and then she drifted into a state of unconsciousness.