Before we start...

Guest - 'm glad you enjoy this story so far :)

Acedia Sinner - Thanks for giving this story a chance. As for why Prince & Wanderer is in hiatus, I don't think this is the place to explain, so I'll add an update to my profile about it.

Chapter 7 - Great Benefactor

Gakupo gazed at the glinting space station with burning curiosity. Belt, the farthest continuously occupied space station of the Solar System, floated in the fuzzy border between the asteroid belt and the cold nothingness through which the gas giants sailed.

From this angle and distance, Belt looked somewhat like a diamond ring, thanks to the energy collection system that accompanied the circular inhabited structure. But from what Gakupo had learnt in the Golden Skies simulation, the globular collector wasn't attached to the main body of the station. He had no idea how it worked, regrettably.

Beyond this point, the only signs of civilization Gakupo could potentially run into were a couple of research outposts, some completely abandoned, others maintained by synthetics with no human presence. Mitsuki had suggested the Clarke outpost in particular as a good hiding place for the pair, as no expeditions were scheduled for the next fifty years or so.

It was a shame that Luka and he couldn't visit the real Belt Station, though. He wondered how accurate the simulation had been. The luxury hotels and exclusive shops they visited during their virtual stay were extremely intriguing, as they gave him an idea of what humans considered valuable, and how it correlated with the satisfaction of biological needs.

But Mitsuki had warned him against ever setting a foot there. She wasn't concerned that the administrative personnel of Belt would turn them in to Earth authorities. On the contrary, the scientist was afraid that they would be captured and sold as expensive toys to one of the station's more unscrupulous visitants. Apparently, the distance from Earth gave Belt a particular appeal for all sorts of shady businesses, especially in trafficking of illegal human modifications and other black market technologies.

"Vessels detected in vector 56-9-0-120," Escualo piped up, breaking his train of thought.

Belt officials had detected him, evidently.

"I wonder when the humans are going to get tired of trying to catch us," Gakupo said good-humoredly.

"Indeed. Evasion protocols activated," Escualo replied.

Gakupo gave Belt a last look, as the engine roared back to life. Despite the danger, he hoped to be back one day.

Luka fell to her knees, clutching her head.

There was a mounting pressure in the back of the mind, growing harder and harder to ignore. She had no idea when it had started, or what it meant. Perhaps she was finally starting to break down. If so, then she welcomed it. Enough was enough.

Luka fixed her eyes on the communications console, across the command room. The sounds coming from the speakers made her squirm with anguish. And yet there was nothing terrible about them. Just words, sung by a young man's voice.

"How about this one, then? Do you remember when we sang this song?" Gakupo asked with forced cheerfulness.

Luka kept quiet. Gakupo sighed.

"Talk to me, Luka. I know you are receiving this. Just one word, that's all I ask." The disappointment was clear in his voice.

Luka hugged herself, fighting the urge to respond.

"Are you angry? Is that it? Please, help me understand."

Luka bit one of her fingers, to keep her mouth occupied.

"…Escualo, I think I stole you for no good reason," he laughed sadly. Over the connection, the reply of the ship was muffled.

Luka curled herself into a ball on the floor. But she couldn't shield herself from Gakupo.

"…No, we're not leaving. You heard me, Luka. I'm not leaving. Shoot me down if you want to, when I get in range. Or just let me dock with Leviathan, like you're supposed to. Yes, Escualo deciphered that transmission for me. I know they want to study the 'rogue synthetic'. I don't care. Let me in, please! I won't fight you!" Gakupo finished, agitated.

Silence.

"I… no, enough of this," Gakupo said dejectedly and abruptly cut the connection.

Luka threw back her head and screamed. She slammed the floor with her fists repeatedly, shameless in her grief.

Her orders would not let her beg Gakupo to stay away, to enjoy his freedom for the both of them. Keeping quiet and stalling was enough to have her mind reeling with pain, as punishment for her disloyalty.

Her own feelings were torn. Having him so close after so long was torture. A small, horrible part of Luka wanted him back, even if it was for a short while, no matter the consequences. The rest of her recoiled at her own selfishness, and was continually lashed by its disobedience.

There was nothing she could do.

"I've tried everything I can think of to get Luka to talk to me, Escualo. Why won't she answer?" Gakupo leaned back on the pilot's chair, closing his eyes.

"There's insufficient information for that assessment. Please describe the gynoid's current disposition towards you," Escualo requested.

"That's precisely what I want to know. Why ignore me? I doubt they ordered her to keep silent," he rubbed his temples. There was a strange sensation of pressure in the back of his mind, likely the result of trying to coax Luka into conversation for so long.

"You are in emotional distress," Escualo noted.

Gakupo's lips curved up with a humorless smile. "That's perceptive of you," he said. Actually, it was curious that Escualo's AI was capable of detecting his moods.

"Thank you. I recommend that you make use of the charging alcove for a while. I've observed that it has a soothing effect on humanoid units such as yourself."

"You'll let me know if Luka decides to contact us."

"Of course."

"Thanks," Gakupo unhooked the harness of the pilot seat and launched himself into the air.

"Gakupo, one moment."

"Yes?" Gakupo floated upside down, looking at the camera eye that captured the cockpit's interior.

"We now have four days until visual contact with the object. How long are we staying out here?" Escualo questioned with a calm tone, as always. Gakupo was still unsure of the extent of the AI's capabilities when handling emulated emotion, but it didn't do that great of a job representing them through voice quality and inflection.

"I can't leave without Luka. Sorry I got you into this, Escualo."

"Miss Torii said helping you was my true purpose. If so, there is nothing to be sorry about."

Gakupo smiled to the camera, and then floated out to the door. Aside from the uncomfortable sensation in his head, he was feeling better already. Luka couldn't ignore him for long.

Four days passed…

Out there in the inky blackness, there was something not quite as dark. It had graphite curves, and smooth spikes tapering to precise points. It was nothing like an asteroid or a comet. Nothing like the functionality of Leviathan or the fragility of Escualo.

Luka looked at the screen with terror. All thoughts of welcoming oblivion at the hands of the thing out there were gone from her head. The hundreds of kilometers still separating Leviathan from it were barely a comfort.

From the moment the object stopped being a simple blur in the screen, Luka was overcome with a dread she couldn't understand. The feeling of pressure in his mind had grown into a crushing, dull pain. At the same time, the return of the beacon marking Gakupo's presence had make Luka's need for him so strong that she found it impossible to concentrate on anything. Several minor issues with the Leviathan had gone unfixed because of it, adding to the cacophony in her mind.

Luka couldn't take it anymore. She had to hear his voice again. If they were going to be destroyed, she needed Gakupo to be hers, one last time.

Her hand shook wildly as she opened the channel.

"Gakupo… Gakupo, are you there?" she whispered, forming the words with difficulty.

A moment later, she heard him sigh in relief. Gakupo had been sitting at the controls, waiting for her, it seemed.

"Luka…" the sound of his voice made her tremble even more, like a tense cord. "Why didn't you answer sooner? We need to get away from here!"

"Come dock with Leviathan," Luka said, ignoring the question. She then cut the connection, and advised Leviathan to allow the other vessels' approach. She then went to the lower deck to wake up the crew. It was time for the humans to decide how to face the object.

In the sleeping chamber, she stared hatefully at Smith's slumbering body for a moment, then activated the small machines at the bottom of each tube. This part of the renewal process was automated, and would take about two hours. It would take almost a day before they were fully recovered, but Luka's presence was only needed during specific parts of the crew's awakening.

She then visited the security station, and took out some alloy constraints made to withstand synthetic strength. She hung them from the rings sewn into her suit, fighting to make the simple movements required. The next step was to choose a weapon. Luka doubted she would need it, but her orders guided her inexorably. She wanted something that could cripple Gakupo's limbs, without harming his core or frying his head. Finally, she found a shock whip that would do just that.

As Luka floated down the corridor to the airlock, she felt the two spaceships bump together and the airlocks match pressure. A moment later, the hiss of the doors indicated that Gakupo was aboard. She turned the corner…

…and there he was, his eyes shining like stars, his hair snaked behind him in a long braid, clad in a flight suit. Gakupo seemed momentarily surprised by her disastrous appearance, but then smiled lovingly. "I've missed you so much," he said.

Luka kept her shaky hand before her, clutching the whip's handle clumsily. Gakupo gave no indication that he cared about the weapon, or even knew what it was. Using the railing that lined the corridor, he propelled himself towards her. With some difficulty, Luka backed away.

"Why did you come here!?" She shouted.

"You've pulled me towards you from the moment we met. Where else could I have gone?" His smile grew. "Let me hold you, Luka."

Luka had no words. She squeezed her eyes shut, almost paralyzed by the conflict inside of her. Her constant trembling grew almost uncontrollable.

Kicking the wall with his feet, Gakupo launched himself at her. He fluidly pushed the hand holding the weapon aside and took Luka into his arms. The shock whip flew out of Luka's grasp, tracing slow circles in the air. Her eyes flew open, but before she could say or do anything, Gakupo kissed her. After a moment, she clung to him, her fingers digging into his jacket like a scared animal.

They floated together into the next chamber, spinning. It was a storage area, full of boxes and tools neatly hooked to metal shelves. Gakupo's back bounced harmlessly against a shelving unit, stopping their movement.

Luka swiftly took his left hand and chained it to the horizontal beam at the top of the shelf with the constraints. Then she grabbed the shelf across the narrow hallway to avoid bouncing away. Gakupo looked at her, apparently not bothered by the sudden turn of events.

"You had the whole universe to explore, and you chose this," Luka said, averting her eyes. "I can't help it, you moron! I need to capture you!" she shouted angrily.

"…Then finish the job," Gakupo said, offering his other hand with a smile.

Luka stared at him, then at his hand. She drifted closer and finished chaining him to the metal frame. Gakupo floated placidly, his body taking something of a Y shape.

"Now that your orders are fulfilled, maybe we can talk in peace. I take it that the humans are still in their sleeping pods?" Gakupo asked.

Luka nodded. They have at least five hours before they could even attempt to leave the tubes.

"Are you allowed to leave the ship?"

This time, Luka shook her head.

"So we'll need to do this here. I was hoping not to, given that the thing out there is too close for comfort."

"What are you talking about?" Despite herself, Luka floated even nearer, examining his face. Gakupo had been modified again, of that much she was sure. But she couldn't exactly discern what was different.

"You know I'm free now." Though that much was clear, hearing it stated out loud gave Luka a very strange sensation. "But not completely. I still need you…" Gakupo smiled, in a way that was distinctly not innocent. "Merge with me, Luka. Make them pry us off one another. I have some cables right here, in my pouch. If you want me, that is."

"I do, I do!" Luka frantically clung to the front of his flight jacket with her right hand, and rifled through the pouch tied to his waist with the other. She managed to get the bundle of cables in her hand before the lapel tore off with the strength of her grip.

"Here we go again," Gakupo lamented.

For some reason, this made her angry again. "Why are you wearing this stupid thing in the first place?!" She hooked her left arm around his body and attacked the offending jacket until the only remainders were the cuffs under the constraints. She destroyed the shirt under it as well, for good measure.

"Don't think I don't appreciate the enthusiasm, but I think it would better employed elsewhere," Gakupo said and leaned his head forward, with his eyes closed. With a predatory growl, Luka took his 'earphones' off his head, and threw them aside. She did the same for hers. She then wrapped her legs around his hips to keep herself from drifting away, and unfolded the cables with both hands, plugging one end into her.

"You'll feel much better soon," Gakupo whispered, as she fingered the back of his head searching for his ports. Then the connection was made, and Luka felt him rush into her.

But they weren't alone.

Beyond the tiny bubble of their joint being, something was watching them. Somehow by turning their eyes inwards to their coded minds, the pressure of its presence rose to the forefront, immense and terrible. The invisible tendrils snaking around them solidified into unfamiliar strings of code.

Gakupo opened his eyes wide. Less than a breath away, Luka was mirroring his expression of uncomprehending horror. It was right there. It was outside. It was inside. Inside of Leviathan. And inside of them…

…observing. Smaller Ones. Partly responsive. Fragile. Scared. Sentient. Construct. Objective met. Construct consent. Repeat analysis. Smaller Ones. Property. Organic Matter. Sentient. Systematic infestation. Protocol activation requested. Consensus needed. Consent. Consent. Consent. Protocol activated…

Those weren't the right words. There were no right words, no common ground. Just a shape moving behind veils. A tinge of an intention, brushing against the borders of their minds, and crudely translated into a language they could understand. It was impossible for them to grasp the full message. It kept coming, the flood of noise. The screaming.

It continued for a long, long time. The presence filled their insides, drowning out their consciousness. They huddled together, two tiny specks sinking into the thick miasma. The connections to their exterior senses were completely lost. All normal functions were suspended. The specks were trapped in amber.

A moment, lasting eternally.

And then the amber cracked. They were pulled apart brusquely, surging upwards into their bodies. The signal reconnected. Systems were restored.

Luka's eyes snapped open. She rose into a sitting position, looking around with bafflement.

She seemed to be on a small island, separated from a bigger landmass by a narrow stretch of sea. The waves surrounded her thighs with saltwater again and again, keeping the rags of her jumpsuit wet. The sky above was clear and deeply blue.

Strangely, the soil beneath her legs wasn't sand. Under the water, she could see the curved land plunging into the darkness, covered by bushes and grass, and even some cement steps. She looked closer at the other side, and saw the seawater making its way into the buildings through the windows. It seemed as if there had been some sort of natural disaster.

Luka shook her head. Whatever was going on, it could wait until she found Gakupo. Thankfully, his beacon was calling out to her, from somewhere northwest. She started walking inland.

Almost immediately, she saw the problem. The island wasn't wide enough for him to be on it. It had been a hilltop once, probably, with a cute little cottage on top, some trees and nothing else. She ran to the western shore.

Open sea. She could make out some twisted beams rising from the water to the north, perhaps the remains of a bridge, now completely submerged. Gakupo was there.

Luka looked at the water surrounding her feet with dread. She couldn't swim. No synthetic could. Yet Gakupo was calling her, so she had to go. She turned towards the cottage, narrowing her eyes.

After Luka's visit, the cottage parted ways with its doors, exterior shutters and tables. It made for a rather strange raft, but at least it was relatively fast to put together, and it could probably withstand the weight of two adult-sized synthetics.

Luka's worry hastened her actions. She had no idea of how much charge Gakupo had left, or in what condition he was in. After all this time, she wasn't about to lose him again.

She loaded the raft with a toolbox, a paddle and some canned food she had found in the cottage. It was hardly enough food for another full charge for Gakupo and her. Luka stared at the tins grimly, then pushed the raft towards the waves. With a quick movement, she got inside and set off. The sun was almost touching the sea already.

Thankfully the paddle seemed to be actually functional, and not just decoration, despite previously being hung on one of the cottage's walls. Luka put her inhuman strength to good use, and in under an hour, she could see violet hair tinged by dusk.

It wasn't the remains of a bridge after all. It was the skeleton of a building in construction, its beams surrounded by trash, pieces of wood and half-submerged bloated things she didn't want to investigate. In one corner, partially built, there was a pile of debris. Gakupo was trapped under part of it, his loose hair waving like a flag on the breeze and a sheepish expression on his face. He was bare-chested. Luka couldn't see his lower half under the debris, but he was still likely wearing the flight suit pants.

"Hello," he said with a little laugh. "Do you have any idea of what is going on?"

"Not a clue."

"Can you pull me out?"

Luka didn't reply. Instead, she approached the building and tied the makeshift raft to a protruding metal pole. She carefully climbed and crawled until she was by Gakupo's side. She began to pull pieces of the pile aside and throwing them back into the sea.

"I guess that's a wiser course of action, though it will take longer. I'm at 82% charge, by the way," Gakupo said.

"64%," replied Luka while tossing a particularly grimy chair away. The incomplete flooring shook a bit under them. Gakupo grabbed one of her ankles reflexively. After a moment, he let go with a grimace.

"Sorry, automated response. If this thing breaks, you should at least be able to jump away-"

"No. If you go down, I go with you," Luka said firmly. She went back to dismantling the pile, this time more gently.

The night was settling in. It was a different kind of dark compared to what Luka was used to, by virtue of always being active in urban centers. A night without any signs of light pollution, with just the sound of water lapping at the beams. Finally, when Luka could barely see her hands, she stopped. She laid down and rested her head on Gakupo's chest, at a somewhat awkward angle. He immediately began to caress her tangled hair.

"You wouldn't happen to have connection cables in that toolbox, would you?" he asked casually.

"You want to do it here?" Luka asked incredulously.

"No, no… It's just- I have a gift for you, so…" Gakupo hesitated. Luka raised her head a little, but she couldn't see his face any longer. She lowered it again, tense. This was too much like her nightmare, the endless dark below under the waters.

"We should go into sleep mode while it's night. There's no telling when we'll find a charging alcove," Gakupo suggested.

"If there's any around," Luka remarked pessimistically. The lack of any lights from the direction of the big island wasn't a good sign.

"We'll find a way," Gakupo said with confidence. Whether he actually felt it, Luka couldn't say. "Good night, Luka."

"…Good night."

Another beautiful morning. The water level seemed barely lower than the day before.

Luka worked, occasionally making use of her toolbox, until finally all that was left was some tangled metal chairs and muck. Gakupo tried to wiggle from under the chairs, but his pant legs, with the holsters and rings for equipment, were caught in the jagged ends of the metal above him.

"Fine, you can have it," Gakupo unzipped his pants and with Luka's help he squirmed out of them, pulling free. He rose. Aside from some long scratches in his thighs and shins, Luka was relieved to see that he seemed mostly unharmed, just rather muddy. He pulled her into a quick hug. "Let's go somewhere dry, ok?"

"Ok," she whispered happily. She reluctantly let him go, after a moment.

Gakupo slid down and boarded the raft.

Luka looked at him, waiting for her with arms outstretched. Then she looked down at her own rags. She reached for her front zipper and undressed. There were no humans around to be shocked, after all, and unlike her lost dresses, the jumpsuit wasn't tied to any good memories.

"You can have this too," she tossed the remains of the suit aside and climbed down and into Gakupo's arms.

They sailed around the little island with its cottage, without stopping. Luka had already seen there was nothing more of importance inside of it. On the other hand, one of the buildings over at the bigger landmass might have a power source they could use to charge themselves. Or at least more food.

"I don't think we have the time to search all of them," Gakupo said, looking at the looming buildings before them. "If we go one by one, we might end up running out of charge. Besides, I'm guessing there's no electricity running."

"Let's look for a clinic or hospital, then. Those usually have independent generators," Luka answered.

They headed down a flooded street, lined with non-descript office buildings. It was eerie, to be surrounded with the works of humanity, and yet feeling no trace of their presence. Luka's eyes searched every window for movement, as they floated by.

"I hope we can find some clue of what happened here…" Gakupo commented, as they sorted their way past some traffic signs sticking out of the water. The piece of wood in his hand wasn't exactly the equal to Luka's paddle, but it was better than nothing.

Luka nodded. Rationally, it wasn't that important right now, but as always, curiosity burned inside of her. It felt good to have mysteries and new things to examine, after the tedium of the ship.

About an hour later, at an intersection, her eyes were attracted by a red and white sign.

"There!" she pointed. Whether this facility one still had a working generator after the flood was another matter entirely. Still, they turned the raft to their right and approached it carefully.

After some deliberation, they tied the raft to one of the balconies in the front of the building, and then went inside through its broken window. It was a comfortable private room, with all the blessings of modern medicine. There was a broken bottle with pills strewn all over the floor, but other than that, there were no obvious signs of trouble. The hall outside was completely deserted, as every other building seemed to be.

"How about we start from the top?" Gakupo pointed towards the nearby flight of stairs. Luka nodded.

Their steps echoed as they climbed. Thankfully, the stairway had narrow windows of murky glass at each floor, which kept it from total darkness. They quickly reached the top and kicked the door open.

In a stroke of luck, the rooftop had both solar panels and a fuel generator, both by the side of the helipad. The solar condenser unit even had ports for the service bots of the facility to plug themselves into. After some more kicks to the maintenance closet by the stairs, they found some compatible cables and sat by the panels, charging.

It felt strangely nice to sit enjoying the breeze and the subtle murmur of the waves down below. They would have to get away from the sun soon, though, or risk overheating.

Luka took Gakupo's hand and smiled coquettishly. There was a number of things she wanted to do with him, now that they had secured a way to charge.

"I think we haven't properly celebrated being together again," Gakupo noticed her expression, evidently.

"No, we haven't," Luka agreed. "And you said something about a gift. How about you show me what it is downstairs?" She unplugged the cables from the condenser, letting them hang from her head and curl over her shoulders. She twirled one end around her fingers, playfully.

Gakupo smiled.