Yugioh/ML Chapter 28

Adaptation

"What sort of signal?" Luka asked.

"I don't know." Roaar admitted. "It's something I've never heard before. But it's definitely coming out of the portal."

They were currently in the Link Vrains observatory, where all the computers were set to examine the state of the Cluster. Roaar was speaking from Juleka's duel disk, and Luka was sitting at the main chair in the center of the room.

"Well, we have been made good progress on curing the hybrids. I think I can convince the Board to approve of a mission to investigate."

"Thanks. You're not too bad, for a human."

Luka decided to ignore that remark as he went to the conference room.

…

Ladybug sat in a small hut, back on the main island. A kindly elephant kwami used her skill and tools to tend to her wounds. Ladybug herself just sat on the edge of a cot, staring into the middle distance, remembering how close she was to being cut open by Adrien's sword.

"You were very lucky that Tikki noticed you were gone." Nooroo said. "She was able to bring up a search party in time to find you. Next time, please do not wander off without an escort."

Ladybug meekly nodded her head.

Nooroo flew out of the hut, where Tikki was waiting just outside the entrance.

"Please tell me Ladybug's okay." Tikki pleaded. "I've depended on her for so long that I don't know what to do if she needs help!"

"She'll be fine." Nooroo assured her. "Her injuries were superficial, and a full recovery is expected. Although, she seemed shaken up by what happened. Perhaps you could offer her some kind words and advice."

Tikki entered the hut as Nooroo departed. The elephant kwami had also left, leaving just Tikki and Ladybug.

"Hey."

Ladybug looked up and smiled at her. "Hey, Tikki. What have they done with Adrien?"

"They've confiscated his cards and constructed a prison for him, and Nooroo's working on restoring Longg. Trust me, he won't hurt you anymore."

Ladybug again nodded, but found herself bursting into tears. "I was so scared, Tikki! He was going to kill me! For the first time since I've started all of this, I feel so in over my head!" She stood up and began pacing the room. "In fact, I'm pretty sure I've always been over my head! I've just been either extremely lucky or relying on your help all this time! Maybe," She slowed down. "maybe Luka was right. Maybe I should just leave this to the adults."

"Hey, don't say that!" Tikki objected. "You are the bravest, smartest, most amazing human I've ever met, and I've met a lot of humans! It's thanks to you that you stopped the Knights of Hanoi from spreading the Deleted virus and hurting people, and you stopped Adrien the first time from destroying my home! Every kwami here is alive thanks to you!"

"Thanks, Tikki." Ladybug knelt down so that she could bring Tikki in for a hug.

"We're in this together, you and me!"

…

"What do you mean you're keeping us here?" Rena Rouge complained. "I have to get back to my family!"

"And I need to let my own guardian know I'm okay!" Ladybug added.

"I'm sorry," Nooroo said. "But after the incident with Adrien, I'm afraid I have to insist on keeping you here, where we can protect you. Don't worry about your relatives. While we have yet to completely dismantle the Cluster, Tikki has been able to help us construct a safe passageway so that all Kwami can enter and exit the portal without risk. I shall send a messenger to let your loved ones know you are okay."

"You can't just keep us prisoner here!" Rena objected.

"You are not prisoners. But as the ruler of this land, yes, I have the authority to keep you here until I can guarantee your safety." He turned around to address a blue bull kwami. "Stompp, you and Wayzz are to guard the portal. No humans are to be allowed in or out without my say so."

Stompp nodded and flew over to the portal. Nooroo turned back to address the humans.

"You should get comfortable. I have been known to be particularly stubborn." With that, he flew away as well, leaving Rena Rouge to stomp the ground in frustration.

"Ugh! He reminds me of my dad! Acting like I'm a child." She attempted to open up the menu to log out, but it didn't appear.

"Maybe he has a point." Rena turned to Ladybug with a skeptical look on her face. "I mean, I don't know who you are under that mask, but we're both just teenagers."

"That doesn't mean we just lie down and do nothing! We still have Sol Technologies to deal with!"

"Well, there is one thing I thought of. We could try training together, that way we would be strong enough to deal with whatever comes next."

"Alright. That actually sounds like a good idea."

…

"And so, I would like to request approval for a small task force to be sent through the portal, in order to not only investigate that signal, but capture Ladybug, who was confirmed to have gone through."

The directors didn't respond immediately, which worried Luka. He knew they sometimes used other channels to speak in private, so he could only guess their reaction. Perhaps his plan was too risky, or he didn't have enough clearance. He didn't want to risk offending them, not after he had just earned their trust again.

Finally, the Queen broke the silence. "Your proposal is most wise, but you think too small. The portal leads to the home world of the Kwami, and so you shall send through a large squadron to not only apprehend Ladybug, but capture all the kwami within."

That…was not the reaction Luka was expecting, but he took it in stride. "Of course, Sirs. We shall begin preparation immediately."

"Do not disappoint us, Mister Couffaine. Our financial situation is troubled enough, so I hope that your latest journey through the ranks of our organization has impressed how utterly replaceable you are."

"…yes, Sirs."

…

Duusu and Mayura found Rena Rouge and Ladybug in a small garden, having just concluded a fierce duel. They moved over to a table filled with fruit that somehow was able to feed their bodies in the human world as well, according to Tikki. Both decided not to question it. Duusu spoke up once he and Mayura were close enough. "I heard from Tikki that you two have been engaged in training yourselves."

"Is that allowed by the lord on high?" Rena grumbled with not a little bitterness in her voice.

Duusu nervously laughed. "I know Nooroo can be overbearing at times, but he truly means well. Actually, he wanted to give you something as a present, hopefully making up for the bad blood from earlier." Mayura pulled out a box from her bag and presented it to the two of them. Inside were several peculiar cards.

"What are these?" Ladybug pulled one out and inspected it. "I don't think I've ever seen a card like this before."

"Link spells." Duusu explained. "They're one of Nooroo's creations. Incredibly powerful, but they require a link monster to be pointing to the spell/trap zone you wish to activate them in. Perhaps they can take your dueling to the next level."

"Well, tell Nooroo we said thanks."

"Of course."

…

Later on, Tikki and Trixx also joined the group, seeing how they were doing. As the group chatted, Tikki remembered something that bothered her. "So, what was it that Adrien said about Plagg?"

"Oh," Ladybug rolled her eyes. "He's crazy. He thinks Plagg is here somewhere, and that we're hiding him."

Tikki nervously chuckled, but inwardly, she didn't want to admit that earlier, she thought she had seen Plagg out of the corner of her eye. But that couldn't be true.

Could it?