Yugioh/ML Chapter 30

The Master Plan

"Please, if you have evidence of a human attack, I am sure that Nooroo would love to hear of this."

"Sure, Duusu." Tikki said, trying her best to remember everything Ladybug taught her about lying. "We'll be right with you." The other three started to leave with Duusu and Mayura, but Tikki stayed behind to talk to Stompp and Wayzz. "I don't have much time. You two need to lock down the portal, now!"

"Are you sure?" Wayzz asked. "What about Duusu?"

"Duusu doesn't need to know. Just trust me on this, okay?"

Stompp and Wayzz looked at each other, then back to Tikki. "Okay, we'll trust you." Stompp said. "But we'd like an explanation once this is over." Wayzz began creating a makeshift barrier, and Stompp reinforced it.

Tikki wanted to help them, but couldn't afford to be away from the group for too long before Duusu noticed. Whispering a quick thank you, she flew back to join the group.

…

The kwami that were guarding Adrien's cell were increasingly unnerved by his pleasant demeanor. They were no experts on human behavior, but even they knew that no living being enjoyed captivity. So what reason did he have to smile?

The answer, not that they could guess, was that he had installed a contingency into the parts of Markov that were now fused into Longg. Any second now, that contingency would activate, and then he would be free, free to enact his revenge.

All he had to do was wait.

…

Duusu and Mayura dragged the four into the hut at the center of the main island, where Nooroo was waiting. "Well, well. What trouble we've gotten ourselves into, eh? Duusu's told me that you've gotten yourselves into a bit of a panic, rushing to the portal and telling some tale about an invading human army."

"Cut the crap!" Rena Rouge said with a little too much satisfaction in being able to. "Tikki and Trixx told us all about your secret rendezvous with Plagg."

Ladybug stepped forward. "And that you're rebuilding Adrien's weapon."

Nooroo gained an amused smile. "Weapon? Oh, you silly, silly, little organisms. While it is true that I have tasked Plagg with rebuilding the device, it is no mere cannon. It acts as an amplifier for any kwami that uses it."

Tikki realized what Nooroo was implying. "So, Adrien didn't destroy the barrier, Plagg did?"

"Precisely, though Adrien probably thought that it was his idea. You see, my plans called for a means to free the Kwami world from the, I will allow, inadvertent prison you placed us in. I also knew that you would immediately attempt to reconstruct it, so I had to take, shall we say, drastic measures."

"It was you." Ladybug realized. "You were the one who logged me out."

Nooroo nodded, chuckling to himself.

"But how did you possibly know that Plagg would be in Link Vrains to destroy the barrier." Ladybug looked up in horror. "Unless you sent him there."

"Oh, yes. You've figured it out. The kwami who killed everyone in that laboratory that fateful day was me. It took all of my power, but it helped to punch a hole in spacetime, long enough for Plagg to pass through. But it wasn't stable enough, so Plagg only ended up in the digital realm. Oh, well."

"You killed them." Ladybug fell to her knees. "You killed my parents." She began to break down in tears, Tikki comforting her.

…

Juleka had faked an errand, thus allowing her to return to the apartment where she and Luka lived. There, she was wracking her mind trying to find out what the numbers on that paper meant. It was too short to be a phone number, putting it in as coordinates just gave a random spot in the north pole, and she didn't have a head for ciphers. She decided to take a step back and think about Luka, the person who passed her the note in the first place. What would he have been trying to tell her? What did they have in common?

Juleka then remembered an odd detail from this morning; Luka had left his computer on the living room table, instead of bringing it with him for work. She went out to the living room, and it was still there. Hesitantly, she opened it, and it was waiting for a password. Trusting her brother, Juleka put in the numbers on the note, and it was accepted, letting her in.

His desktop had the things Juleka expected; work apps, documents, that one game she bought him for Christmas. But there was one file that stuck out, a video file simply named "For Juleka". Juleka clicked on it, and a recording of Luka appeared.

"Juleka, if you're watching this, there are two reasons for that. Either you somehow guess my password, in which case you're in big trouble, young lady! Or, I've decided to trust you with something very important, which means that things at Sol Technologies have finally gotten too far."

"I always knew there was something fishy going on with that company, but they gave me the money I needed to take care of you, so I looked the other way. But now, they've done something even I can't ignore. But I can't do this on my own, so now I'm trusting you to have the conscience that I sold away."

"Listen to me very carefully…"

…

"But, why rebuild the amplifier?" Trixx asked. "You have the barrier down. What further use could you need for it?"

"I'll let the humans figure that out. I wish to see if they are as clever as you and Tikki claimed they are."

Rena Rouge thought it over, looking for every possibility. "It has to do with the hybrid army coming this way, I'm sure." She started. "While we were on the way to the portal, Tikki mentioned that you talked like it was part of your plan."

"That is correct, though they are not an integral part, only a component I have factored in."

Rena hoped the conclusion she came to was wrong. "You're going to use the amplifier on yourself."

Nooroo's smile grew even further. "You are correct, my child. I am impressed. Of course, you must be wondering to what end I aim all these means towards. The truth is, I simply adore humans. They are fascinating creatures, so full of potential, but limited, incapable of wielding data like we kwami can. So, I shall use the amplifier to fuse human and kwami together, creating a new, master race that can walk all three worlds and do anything they wish."

"But that would cause great chaos!" Tikki protested. "The hybrids are mentally unstable, they would destroy everything!"

"Sometimes, one must burn away the old to make way for something even better."

"But why keep us here?" Ladybug asked, glaring at Nooroo with all her hatred. "Why risk us discovering your plans?"

Nooroo simply gestured towards Tikki, then Trixx. Ladybug didn't like the implication.

"You don't mean-"

"Oh, yes. I have been examining you, preparing a brand new experiment; intentional creation of hybrids, starting with you four. Duusu, take them to my private laboratory and prepare them for the best moment of their lives."

"We won't let you!"

"You don't have a say in the matter." Nooroo waved his hands, and data flowed out of them, forming shackles at the human's hands and feet. Duusu did the same for the kwami. "Rejoice, for you are to be the first to receive my blessing. My new evolution."