Angel: I remember getting a suggestion to hold off on releasing Part 2, but I'd rather not. I have other projects I either need to start on or get off the ground while I wait for season 4. I've already stated my plans for the rest of the year, but I'm definitely tackling My Hero Academia by June or July after Dr. Stone is finished making new episodes. And because there's so much content with that, probably like three times as more than Dr. Stone, I've already started working on it, but I'm not releasing chapters for that anime just yet.
But also, anyone who hasn't listened to this theme song, uh, go do it please lol, cause it's a banger and definitely in my top three favorites.
The machine to make revival fluid was still going. Senku gave a small chuckle towards it. "Um, is it almost done?" Soyuz wondered in a bit of anticipation.
Gen let out a small chuckle as the others admired the elaborate set-up. "Kohaku, Sumi, and the rest of the spy team went deep undercover to get that platinum stuff for us," Suika spoke up and Senku glanced back towards the exit.
"And now we've got our own miracle water. Nitric acid has been acquired!" He revealed to the group.
"Oh, man," Gen looked up to the ceiling with a small smile. "It's hard to believe that the petrification beam nearly wiped us out over 3,700 years ago. And then came dangerously close to doing it again here on this random island, just in the last week." He remembered looking through the telescope to see their petrified friends on the ship. Senku then chuckled with a small smirk on his face.
"But now we can un-petrify folks. At this point, humanity's revival is all but guaranteed. Let's begin the Kingdom of Science's counterattack!" It was the Kingdom of Science against the Petrification Kingdom on Treasure Island!
(How are you? How are you?)
A petrified hand floated down into the sea.
(Will we ever meet someday?)
Several other petrified body parts floated down, sparkles flying around.
(Even if the two of us vanish)
In front of the sun rise, Senku and Sumi were sitting on the edge of a cliff. He had his arm casually wrapped around her waist and she had her cheek rested on his shoulder.
(From the world tonight)
Their hair flew in the wind as they took in the sight in front of them.
(Yeah)
The petrification weapon floated around before the petrified parts reappeared.
(I'm gonna win my everything)
'Dr. Stone: New World' faded to form in front of everything.
(Waiting for you)
(I'm gonna win)
(I'm gonna be the best in the world)
Slowly the moon and a purple sky appeared.
(On the night when I realized)
Chrome was kneeling in front of Ryusui, both of them standing on the beach. They were both looking out towards the water.
(I wasn't alone)
Ryusui then tipped his hat.
(The city lights)
Kohaku and Suika were standing in the middle of a grass field side by side. Birds flew over their heads as Suika smiled.
(Felt somewhat awkward)
Gen was standing in a flower field, the petals flying around him.
(And I continued to gaze)
Soyuz, Francois, Amarylis, Ukyo, Nikki, and Kaseki were standing on the Perseus. All of them were looking out, though Nikki had a new outfit.
(At the numerous stars all by myself)
Magma and Yo were looking out to a sunset standing on rocks.
(Unable to sleep, I turned it into strength)
In the past, Yuzuriha, Taiju, Sumi, and Senku were in a classroom. They looked out to the cherry blossom trees together. Sumi had her desk closer to Senku's, both of their shoulders touching. She had one leg crossed over the others while her arms were leaned backwards, basking in the sunlight as her hair flowed. Taiju and Yuzuriha, in the stone world, were walking side by side. Kohaku then ran up to Senku and Sumi to hug them both. Hyoga, with no petrification scars, was floating around. Ginro looked up with blood on his mouth and tears in his eyes.
(Again and again)
Tsukasa stood in front of faded orange, yellow, and blue as a glow came from him. Senku and Sumi stood in front of a bunch of stone pieces in front of them, the night sky in front of them full of purple color. Sumi had her body turned towards the sight to the left of Senku, her hair flying to the left. Her skirt was flying as well.
(To the point of being tired of it)
Then Sumi was falling towards the ground. She was holding out a hand, her hair flowing around her. Stone pieces and flower petals flew around her. She then ran up to Senku, wrapping her arms around him as they fell backwards together.
(I repeat my wishes for hope and disappointment)
Moz and Kirisame spun around to look at the sky around them.
(To the point where life wears thin)
Ibara held out his arms to the sky, a petrification beam occurring.
(Joining hand in hand)
A figure was looking out towards orange and yellow, holding a spear. Petrified people were lying on the ground, one of them Kohaku.
(Joining hands)
The Kingdom of Science had their hands joined together. Petrified hands were pointed towards the sky.
(We can go far)
Soyuz was holding a petrified hand. Senku had his hands folded in front of him while Sumi clasped her hands in front of her. They were both in front of the sky.
(I believe)
All of the Kingdom of Science were in a group photo, just before they set off towards Treasure Island. Sumi was sitting on Senku's lap in the photo, both of them smiling happily.
(Even if we lose our way)
Senku and Sumi were lying on grass. He was to the left as she was to the right, but her head was upside down. Her hair was splayed on the side of her head, her ribbon included. Both of them had their eyes closed as they were slightly spun around. Senku took her hand and they both stood up, Senku's arm around her waist. She had his around his shoulders. They both looked towards each other with soft smiles, their hair flying.
(Yeah)
The moon was still above their heads in the midst of the night sky.
"So now we've got our nitric acid, huh?" Gen then had a devilish grin on his face. "And I know that's one of the ingredients on the gunpowder recipe? Meaning guns are next on the menu?"
"There's no way we're making that much of it," Senku gave him an amused smirk. "We'd need to construct a whole freakin' factory to produce enough! Not to be a bummer, but we're making tiny amounts with some janky-ass gear. So we'll have to use it wisely."
"Making enough for war would take months," Soyuz gave him a sheepish smile. "We obviously don't have that much time on our hands."
"Nope," Senku smirked at him in agreement. "We still have to make our move real quick. Soon as we've got enough revival fluid to wake one friend up, we're gonna head straight over to do just that. First we're saving our god-tier craftsman, Kaseki, so we can work on our drone."
The science team were on the cliff facing the ship, Suika using the telescope to get a clear look with her glasses. She let out a quiet gasp as she saw Kaseki...but on a boat with other statues. The guards took some statues and hurled them into the water, as ordered by Ibara. Suika then yelped at this. "Oh no, the island people are just dumping our friends into the water!" She exclaimed with tears flying from her eyes.
"Why wouldn't they?" Senku crossed his arms, a knowing look on his face. "To those guys, our buddies are just useless piles of rocks."
"Hear me out, though," Gen looked up at him nervously. "I'm not so sure we could've gotten through the guards and back on the ship to save them. Well, Mire-chan would if we didn't send her on the spy team in the beauty contest," He gave a sheepish look while glancing away. "But if they're just in the water, we can dive down and pick them up."
"We'll...need to find all the pieces before the current washes them away," Soyuz spoke up a bit gravely.
"If that's the case...we're gonna need Ryusui!" Suika explained, getting their attention. "He knows how the ocean currents work." She gasped again as she found him, but was being taken away by Ibara and Oarashi, clothes and all.
"No one unimportant dresses this fancy," Ibara gave a small smile; though that was just a matter of Ryusui being the greediest man in the world and wanting the finest things. "Which means that this one must be their leader." Oarashi had a small evil grin on his face as they were putting Ryusui on a different boat separate from the others.
"Uh! Oh no! They're taking Ryusui away with them!" Suika informed and Senku looked up a bit nervously. He didn't have a good feeling about this at all. And if they were taking him back to the inner palace, then they had to warn the spy team quick.
"Okay, kids," Ibara spoke up once he and Oarashi had returned. Ryusui was tied to a tree, already missing an arm. He was up on a platform, the selection of women on a lower one. "I hate to be the bearer of some rather disturbing news, but...some sneaky little pests may have infiltrated our beauty contest. Therefore, I have no choice but to flush the vermin out," He gave a pleased smirk onto his face, Ginro flinched in fear while Kohaku and Amaryllis gave no expression to hide it from him. Sumi's eyes widened slowly. She then dropped her expression in case the man saw it and she bit her lip hesitantly. She had a feeling that this would happen, and she ended up being correct unfortunately...all thanks to Ibara heading over to the master's tree. "Unless you have a relationship with this stone fellow we picked up, you won't mind smashing him to bits, will you?" He held up an arm.
A woman looked nervous holding up a weapon, as she didn't want to...but she had to obey since she didn't want to be petrified or worse. She gathered up the courage to slice off the other arm and it fell off. "Next up!"
Kohaku growled at both having to watch and unable to do anything. "I oughta smash up these scumbags..." She shook in anger as Amaryllis hugged her from behind.
"Try to keep your cool, Kohaku!" She cried out while Ginro moved around rapidly, his eyes white.
"Please don't do anything crazy! Remember, even if they break him into tiny little pieces, he's still alive," He leaned in towards her to whisper. "Or he will be when we put him together and pour the stuff on him."
"Kohaku," The blonde blinked to see Sumi staring at the statue with no expression. "They're right. If you attack now, you'll give us away and it'll ruin the plan. The science team are probably already aware of this if they happened to be watching the ship. We can't mess up the plan."
Kohaku shook while growling and trying to stay calm, but it was hard to do so. "Hey, Kohaku," Senku spoke up from the earring and she gasped. "You should have a statue headed your way. Heh. Don't worry too much about it..."
"Wait, you have a plan?" Gen wondered in confusion as they were both laying down. Kohaku listened and let out a gasp, sweating a bit. She then leaned in towards Sumi to inform her of what Senku just said and she blinked rapidly. The black-haired woman glanced up towards Ryusui in silence, sighing slowly to process it.
"Sen, you definitely owe us one after this..." She mumbled to herself, a hand on her hip.
"Alright, you're up next, blondie," Ibara frowned a bit towards the blonde. "Kohaku, or whatever your name is."
"Now get to smashin', would ya?" Oarashi demanded her as she stood in silence. "Huh? Unless you're the little pest we're after." She looked up quietly and bent down, Sumi doing the same. Both of them then jumped off, alarming both Ibara and Oarashi. Kohaku flipped, swinging her leg to slice Ryusui's head in half in a clean swoop. Sumi did the same with his upper arm. The two landed and then leapt up again, punching in unison. The right arm slid off while Sumi had gotten the leg. Together, the two struck quickly at the statue, shocking absolutely everyone. Including Ginro and Amaryllis, as they had never seen their friends be so brutal before.
"Ah! What the?! Ryusui!" Ginro cried out in disbelief. The two just gave innocent looks while still smashing, finally finishing with one more punch. Ryusui then fell to pieces and they turned around. Sumi smirked with her hands on her hips.
"Something like that, right?" Kohaku asked in a sweet tone. "Anythin' else?"
"Yeah, any more statues to smash?" Sumi grinned while clenching a fist, since she still had to play her switched role with Kohaku. Though they hoped this would end soon, it was starting to freak them out a little.
"Whoa...they're monsters!" A guard shook in fear looking at them. Ginro and Amaryllis ran up the ramp, the latter giggling.
"Oh, dear! There you two go making a mess again, Kohaku! I'll clean it up! Just a second and it's all done," She called out while she and Ginro picked up all of the stone pieces. Kohaku then let out a scoff.
"Don't worry. Without Yuzuriha, we'll have a hard enough time putting him back together," She informed the two. Yuzuriha had more experience putting back together the stone pieces, so none of them could really do it either. But Senku would easily figure it out. "We wanted to break him up as cleanly as possible."
"We're just doing as we're told," Sumi hummed a bit, crossing her arms underneath her chest. "But even without that, we need clean cuts in order to piece statues back together. Otherwise if they're too weathered, there's no chance of revival."
The mini mice-mobiles went back to Suika, who was hiding in the bushes for their arrival. "Hey, we just got a bunch of stuff sent over from the spy team," She informed and removed the fur. She then shrieked in horror to see a stone hand and eye from Ryusui. She sweated immensely as Senku, Gen, and Soyuz walked over.
"Sweet," Senku said in approval with his hands over his hips. "Looks like the first delivery's here!" Suika looked up in confusion as the men bent down. The green-haired scientist chuckled as Gen uncovered another one, giving a nervous sound.
"Hold on a second...are they using the mini mice-mobiles to send Ryusui back to us piece by tiny piece?" Gen wondered while looking at a piece of stone ear. Suika then blinked as there was a folded paper in front of her from the mini mice-mobiles with Senku's name on it.
"Yup!" Senku grinned maliciously while tossing a piece, digging his pinky into his ear. "Heh. It's not like there's any other option. The only upside to their petrification is this piecemeal prison break!" He had one of his evil smiles while holding the piece. Gen had white whiles with a shadow over his head watching him.
"Now, don't get me wrong. I can see the ogic-lay behind this approach for sure. Still though, it comes across as something a psychopath would dream up..." He murmured with unease; though he couldn't help but wonder how Sumi turned out the way she was now and yet Senku could act like this, especially around her. Then again, she had been known to show an inkling of psychopath behavior, so maybe it wasn't so unbelievable.
"Hey, Senku, it's for you!" Suika chirped while holding out the letter to him and he blinked. He immediately knew it was Sumi's handwriting since...well, by default, it had to be from her.
"This better not be some cliché love letter or some kinda crap," Senku deadpanned while tucking it into his pouch. "I might as well give her an update on everything we've done as soon as we've revived Ryusui."
"Aww!" Gen smiled at him playfully. "I wouldn't be surprised if Sumi turned you into a full-blown romantic as time goes on."
"It's not like that," Senku rolled his eyes with a small scoff. "It's because I know that if I don't, she'll get restless out of curiosity." Although a small part of him did want to know what exactly she had to say from her letter...
The mini mice-mobiles were sent out, the teacher yelping in alarm. "Damn rats! Why are they everywhere today?" She barked out in annoyance.
"Oh, that's just awful!" Amaryllis gave her a sweet smile. "I'm sure Kohaku will be able to catch all of them for us!"
Kohaku picked up a stone piece as she and Sumi were preparing the deliveries of Ryusui's pieces. "I imagine Senku's being in his mad scientist mode right about now," Sumi shook her head slowly. "Talking about how there's an upside to all this. Typical..."
"I can practically hear Ryusui. Ha ha! Dismembering me like that was a stroke of genius! Thanks to your help, I have the distinct honor of being the only person in the world to be revived two times! That's what he'd say!" She gave a big grin from her Ryusui impression while Sumi let out a small giggle.
"Have you gone crazy?!" Amaryllis looked at the two nervously.
"Well, it does kinda sound like him..." Ginro murmured a bit awkwardly.
"As long as we get him successfully to the others, I don't mind what he'd say at all," Sumi commented and then stared at the pieces. It was just now hitting her...that it was Ryusui being sent back to them first, or maybe he wasn't first. Either way, he must've been chosen to be brought back because of his appearance in the village...but even so, wouldn't they want Kaseki if he wasn't revived yet? She hummed in thought since she'd just be assuming when she didn't know all the facts yet.
She then smiled with a hand on her hip towards them. "This island…this whole world. You'd think we'd be doing them a favor by all this…but no. This world stands to help all of us…even those who abuse that power in some shape or form."
They all smiled from her words, as they could agree with her.
Soon, Ryusui was whole again, Senku putting a cape over his back. Gen tied a pair of pants to the statue. Suika gave a small frown while holding a hat made out of paper. Poor Ryusui. He was the one who saved me. The bad guys took away his favorite captain's hat. So I thought I should make him a new one out of paper... She shed a few tears at Ryusui's sacrifice of his own life for hers. Soyuz then put her on his shoulders so she could put the hat on the statue. He then stepped back, allowing Senku to pour the revival fluid on him with a small smirk. He stepped back, and soon, a bright yellow glow came from Ryusui. The others gasped in shock, since they hadn't seen that from revival before. Senku just gave a small smirk as the glow continued, and they could see his bones.
"Huh?" Gen recoiled back in a bit of confusion. "That's a bit odd. Are we not going to hear the cch-cch sound like usual?" His mouth was open in a bit of awe that the sound of stone cracking wasn't occurring.
"Nah," Senku answered while stepping up, his hands on his hips. "He wasn't turned to stone all that long ago. The crackling's due to the skin eroding and falling off, but that takes millennia. In his case, it's only been a few days." They could see more and more of his silhouette as they waited. "So nothing's that far gone. What we're witnessing now is the real de-petrification reaction."
Slowly, stone turned into skin and the glow emanated as Ryusui's cape flew. Soon, the glow disappeared, and the captain was back to life. He turned around while snapping his fingers—and noticeably, the blue scars on his hand were gone completely. "Ha ha! Excellent work, everyone! Thanks to your help, I have the distinct honor of being the only person in the world to be revived two times!" He said just as Kohaku predicted.
Suika jumped up and down happily, tears flying from her eyes as the others looked relieved to see him. "It worked!"
"Hmm, though not sure I'm the first today," Ryusui looked away in thought.
"You are, actually," Senku confirmed while digging his pinky into his ear.
"Hm? Well, if that's the case..." He walked over to their materials, noting how worn and used they were already. He took a few seconds to analyze them and then snapped his fingers in realization. "We want Kaseki's statue next! Am I wrong?"
"Check him out, guys," Senku pointed at him with a sly smirk. "The dude catches on quickly."
"Ha ha! You've done very well, Suika," He smiled down at the little girl. She opened her mouth in shock at being praised. "You were the lone survivor on the battlefield," He patted her on the head and she smiled, a slight blush on her face. "In my eyes, you're a full-fledged warrior of the Kingdom of Science."
"That's good, cause Sumi was planning on murdering you if you didn't tell me," She said honestly and he flinched in shock, sweating a little.
"Nah, she wouldn't have killed him," Senku gave an amused smile at the thought. "If anything, you would've gotten a long lecture or even an ass-whooping. And then it would've been exciting to watch for me."
"Good to know..." Ryusui murmured before turning to their equipment. "I get the gist of the situation. Never doubt a sailor's instincts. We're catching the petrifaction weapon when they toss it. A mid-air battle...with a kite!" He turned to them with a big grin. "Am I wrong?"
"You're wrong!" Senku gleefully corrected as he was imagining the drone. Gen and Soyuz looked nervous while Suika gave a beaming smile. Ryusui was so shocked he couldn't even speak as his eyebrows twitched in disbelief.
"The plan is so wild that even the greediest man on Earth is at a loss for words!" Gen commented at his face.
"No..." Ryusui quickly recovered, a small grin on his face. "I like it. Chase down what you want! That's how the Kingdom of Science does things!"
"I gotta head on over to the cliff if I wanna catch up Sumi and read this letter she gave me," Senku glanced down at the paper in his hand. All of them peeked over his shoulders in interest and he glanced back at them. "Stop crowding me, would ya?! What do you think she'll say if she finds out you guys read it?"
"Ha ha! But it is something we all wanna know!" Ryusui snapped his fingers with a small grin. "Love is scarce in our kingdom, and we wanna know everything!"
"Well, we do need to head out, and making multiple trips wouldn't make sense," He muttered in thought and then sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine, if it'll get us what we need faster. But just don't say anything to Sumi because I'm talking to her myself when the spy team's mission is over!" He gave them a warning look.
The earring gave off static, getting Kohaku's attention again. "Hey, Kohaku. Go ahead and give Sumi the earring for me, will ya? I've got some things to update her on from the science team," He explained and she nodded with a small smirk.
"It's for you," Kohaku took off the earring and planted it right over Sumi's ear. The woman blinked in confusion as she was led to the forest away from the inner palace. She then sat down, dusting herself off. Ginro and Amaryllis were peeking at her, only to be pushed away from Kohaku. "Having an audience will ruin it, and it's not like we'll hear what he says anyway."
"Aww, no fair!" Ginro whined while Amaryllis pouted in defeat silently.
Senku gave a small chuckle. "I'm sure you're dying to know, but we've made our revival fluid and we've brought back Ryusui. So you can rest easy on that front. Thanks to you, Kohaku, and Byukaya, we've got plenty of platinum in order to produce it."
Sumi sighed in relief, a hand on her heart. "Thank goodness...they managed to piece him back together and use revival fluid on him!"
"But our friends got thrown into the water thanks to Ibara and his men. So we're planning on diving in and rescuing them. That part we'll have to figure out soon. And I'm sure as you know by now, we're making a drone to snatch the petrification weapon," He gave a small smirk. "You'll probably see it in action once we've got the plan going."
"Of course they threw them in, because they're despicable," Sumi growled a bit while clenching a fist. She had to be really careful once she told Kohaku this later.
"We're planning to get Kaseki next to work on the drone to grab the weapon in the air. Now let's see what we've got here," Senku opened up the letter while sitting on the cliff, surrounded by the others. He silently ignored them and read her handwriting...which only Gen and Ryusui could read anyway.
Dear Senku,
Thanks for sending us that silent bomb, it really helped! We did kinda break a bottle from the treasure box though, heh heh...I haven't really gotten any men that won't take no for an answer, but I know you wouldn't actively worry about it unless I told you. Although Ibara did try to fondle me when I got selected...Kohaku was there to stop him, though.
"I'll kill him," Senku growled while clutching the paper, a shadow over his body. "He's just an old geezer, so taking him on won't be a problem...!"
"How is it you're more terrifying when you're protecting Mire-chan?" Gen mumbled while recoiling back a bit.
"Pretty sure she'd get to him first when all this is said and done," Ryusui stated quietly in thought. He hadn't seen Sumi fight unlike the others, but he did know that she was fast and had a violent side to her.
You must've deciphered our code by now, huh? Sorry I couldn't write it myself, I was...busy with Moz. He had found me before I could even write it and I had to distract him.
Senku blinked in confusion, wondering what that even meant...
"Alright, first off-"
"Hey, Sumire, right?" They all flinched while glancing to see Moz heading right towards them. "A cute little thing like you I can't seem to stay away from. Glad to see my order was followed and that you're not whipped. Otherwise it'd make you less cuter."
"Heh heh...is that so?" She gave a nervous look, turning back to the others. She gave them the mini mice mobile and scrap paper. "I'll distract him, you guys are gonna have to write the letter for me!" She then blinked in realization. "Oh crap, I forgot-!" She let out a small gasp as Moz was standing right behind her and she whipped around to him. "How incredibly strong you are!" She let out an awkward laugh as he gave a small smirk. She signaled for the others to leave and they did so.
"You know, you and me could have some real fun later," He smirked and she let out a choked sound, disgusted.
"How about not? I really don't have the time, you know? Lessons and all just take up my time," She gave a small shrug so that she wouldn't tip him off. "So you and me are likely to happen as cold fusion."
"I don't know what that is, or why you seem so uninterested in me, but you're definitely intriguing," He leaned in a bit and she glanced away in disbelief.
"Intriguing, huh? I bet you tell that to all the other women just to get their attention. You figure that I'm just like all the other girls who'd fall for that crap?"
"Uh!" He gave a sound of shock from what she told him.
"How original, ha!" She hugged her stomach, walking away from Moz. "And even if I were interested, which I'm not, why not be more creative with your approach?" He narrowed his eyes while watching her leave. No one had ever said no to him before...he couldn't help but question more and more just who was this Sumi? She definitely wasn't like anyone he knew from the other villages on the island...
Senku let out a laugh after reading the letter. "You seriously did that to one of the strongest people on this island? That's awesome that you got him to eat his own words! I love you for it. Ten billion points Sumi."
Sumi gasped sharply from what he said, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks as her mouth was open. She almost dropped the earring as he actually...said those words for the first time that the two had been in a relationship...Senku himself was frozen as he just blurted it out, he didn't think he'd be doing it like this.
"Senku..." Gen gasped as the others stared at him in shock.
"Nothing! I didn't say a word!" He denied immediately while turning away from the phone so that she didn't hear him. "I said ten billion points to my girlfriend and that was it."
Sumi's eyes were shaking while still trying to process it herself. She placed a hand on her racing heart. He said he loved me this time...and I didn't imagine it or misheard him either... She wanted to squeal, but she might get overheard if she did.
"You said you love Sumi, that's so great!" Suika bounced up and down.
"Nope! Don't know what you're talking about," Senku denied and then hung up the phone with a slight blush on his face. He definitely did not want it to be like this between the two of them, in public...well, technically not in public but around other people to hear. Not only because they'd have a field day with it, but because the moment was ill-timed.
"Yes you did!" Gen grinned while pointing at him.
"You love Sumi!" Soyuz smiled happily at the green-haired scientist, who bit his lip.
"Are you really gonna tell her to her face when you see her again?" Ryusui smiled while snapping his fingers. "You have a need to, and that need is what you want!"
"This is getting ridiculous..." Senku murmured with a hand over his face, getting a bit more embarrassed the longer this went on. Damn it, Sumi. Once again, you're making me do all of these spur of the moment stuff without even knowing about it. I can't even tell what kind of reaction she had to that...you're so troublesome and yet it's not something I can say I can really hate.
"Come on, Senku," Ryusui gave him an encouraging grin. "Your voyage with Sumi still continues. If you tell her you didn't mean it, it'll affect her morale."
"Of course I wouldn't tell her that," Senku denied, dragging the hand to his mouth while glancing at them. "Why would I want a ten billion percent chance of making her upset? But I also said it over a mere cell phone. Not how I would've done something like this." He had no intention of making her cry if he simply told her he was taking it back. He could be brutally honest, but it was never intended to harm others. Especially someone he could finally admit he loved.
"Hmm..." Ryusui snapped his fingers again. "So for the first time, you both got what you wanted!" The four stared at him in confusion, wondering what that was supposed to mean. "It's simple, you wanna tell her properly. What's so wrong with that? A lack of communication like now makes it impossible to accomplish that goal!"
"What I want I already got," Senku deadpanned towards him. "So worrying about it is illogical."
"Senku, if you don't tell her that you love her, properly, one of these days you could break her heart," Gen pouted at the green-haired scientist. "Go to what that big mind tells you to when you see her. Or I guess I should say what you feel."
"It's not as simple as it sounds," Senku muttered under his breath, trying to stop his face from getting weird.
"If we weren't talking about you, then yes, it would be easy," Gen sweated a little.
They reached the closest point of the Perseus, but it wasn't looking good. The mentalist gave a nervous sound as he looked up ahead. "Is it just me, or is the security like insanely tight?" He wondered as almost everywhere, there was a guard either on or around the ship already.
"Even creepy ol' Ibara and the scary guy Moz are there!" Suika cried out with a nervous look. Gen had blue lines over his forehead while putting down his telescope. Senku just let out a laugh while taking a look for himself.
"They're ten billion percent suspicious of an intruder, which means tons of precautions. We aren't getting a millimeter closer." Even if they wanted to, there was still the fact that they'd be easily seen by either Ibara or someone else. And a guy like him would probably have traps waiting for them or something. "Although he's not getting away unscathed from trying to touch Sumire..." He had a devilish grin on his face just thinking about what he could do.
"Uh, maybe we should sneak in really late at night," Soyuz suggested to them.
"We can't search the sea floor without daylight," Ryusui informed the man. "Plus, they'll see when we surface for breath. That means..." He reached out to his hat, throwing off all his clothes. "We should dive in now! Come on, Soyuz!" He leapt up into the air and then swan dived in.
"Snap decision!" Gen called out as Soyuz followed after him in a cannonball. The mentalist looked nervously towards Senku digging his pinky into his ear. "So, uh, I guess you and I were never even considered useful for physical tasks. Too rimpy-shay..." He didn't really like grunt work and had no muscle, whereas Senku definitely lacked physical strength as well. Not to mention, he'd probably get cold too easily like when he was trapped in the mica caves with Magma and Sumi.
"Yeah, if you were here, you'd ten billion percent love to see naked men around, huh?" Senku teased into the phone. Sumi's eyes went white and then she groaned to herself from the mental image. He could be such a tease sometimes...
Soyuz and Ryusui dove as far as they could into the water. However, they flinched as they couldn't hold their breath for very long. Both of their faces turned blue as bubbles came from their mouths. They swam back up to the others, exhaling and trying to catch their breath. Suika, Gen, and Senku examined their reactions, knowing exactly what was going on. Without anything to sustain their breathing, rescuing their friends was going to be a tougher task than they thought...
"Oof, that's too bad. Not enough breath for a search and rescue dive," Gen stated knowingly, his hands in his sleeves.
"Science has the perfect solution," Senku suggested with a big smirk. "How about a little scuba diving trip? With homebrewed oxygen tanks." The four all looked baffled from his answer. Sumi gasped from the explanation herself, looking out to the tree. She blinked rapidly in surprise and then smiled softly. She knew that they could do it.
Back at the Sapphire Cave, Soyuz was removing parts of the lab. Gen let out a screech at this. "You're way too eager to take apart our mobile lab!" He accused the green-haired scientist, who turned around with a small grin.
"We don't have time to build the tank from scratch, so that means we'll have to repurpose some stuff," He called out as Soyuz slid down the lab. Senku himself jumped off and landed gently on his knees. "This was part of the lab, but it's just a steel pipe," He then looked through it before slamming it down onto the rocks. "Alright, lid me!" Soyuz then placed a small steel cover onto it.
"That looks so sloppy!" Gen exclaimed in disbelief.
Senku was then soldering together the tank. "Are you serious, Senku?" Ryusui asked him a bit skeptically. "An oxygen tank has to handle a lot of pressure."
"Well, I have tested it out before," Senku informed the blond. "What is it that Sumi would say? That we should believe in our goals or some crap? Anyway, just seal it up and solder those seams as tightly as possible. It'll hold up to about a hundred atmospheres. Though that one blew up a month later."
Gen gave a look of unease. "I'm not sure how I feel about this, but you are the expert...I mean, you and Mire-chan used to build rockets together and stuff."
Soon, they had an oxygen tank, which looked less than ideal. "So that's it? This is our oxygen tank thing?" Suika wondered as she, Gen, and Ryusui examined them. To her, it didn't seem like much, especially if they were gonna use them to dive...
"It looks like crap. Even for us," Ryusui murmured with white eyes.
"Old man Kaseki's the master craftsman, not me," Senku shrugged off the comments. "It's got a clunky charm to it, though." He then started taking apart the lab again. "So we'll fill it with a clunky pump! I'll bet one of these engine pistons'll do the trick!"
"Ah!" Suika yelped at him. "He's taking it all apart!"
"I'm swipin' the regulator to cap off the tank!" Senku cackled while doing so.
"Kaseki's gonna freak out. And so is Mire-chan for that matter, since most of her medical stuff is in there..." Gen murmured as he could just imagine it now.
"My poor, beautiful mobile lab!" He shouted with tears flying from him.
"Ahh, why'd you guys do this to me?" Sumi wailed a little. "This is where I keep my stuff, and you just teared it apart?"
"Wouldn't worry about that guy," Senku gave a smirk while looking over his shoulder. "Once we revive him, he can put it all back together no problem. Sumi will understand that our resources were limited down the line."
"Yeah, that they will," Ryusui rubbed his chin with a small smile.
"It's good to believe in people," Gen had his eyes closed. "And the man is exceptionally skilled, while Sumi does have a forgiving heart. But that's still a lot of hard work that you're gonna make both of them do!" He scolded the both of them with white eyes. Sumi loved the lab, so seeing it taken apart would definitely crush her. Plus, that meant she'd have to go back and gather the materials they had used for replacements...
Senku then tested a crank near his feet. "Alright. Now we've just gotta fill this bad boy up with our homemade pump!"
"I don't wanna jinx things," Gen shivered in fear, a shadow over his eyes. "But I get the feeling that this is gonna be torture. Like pretty much all the previous Kingdom of Science projects that resulted in back-breaking manual labor..." For example, the recent wrapping of the coil for the motor...
"Ah, I'm the tiniest one here, and it's not givin' me any trouble at all," Suika reported while using it herself.
"You're kiddin' me," Gen bent down and did it himself. "Oh, whaddaya know about that? I was totally expecting..."
"That's how it starts," Senku glanced back at them with a big smirk on his face. "At around two atmospheres, it's like a glorified bike pump." Soyuz was then straining while using the pump himself, as it had gotten up to 10 atmospheres, therefore making it much more heavier.
The next morning, the pump had been expanded all the way to the ceiling of the cave. Everyone except Suika was holding onto the other end. Now it was 50 atmospheres. "Suika!" Senku called out to the little girl. "I'm gonna need you to do something for us, like as soon as humanly possible! The pump's gonna heat up like crazy and explode, so hurry up and dump some water on it!"
She gasped from the directions, her mask off. "You can count on me!" She shouted while using her mask to put in water. She then dumped it over the pump.
"Hey, we almost done yet?" Gen strained a bit while holding on as much as he could. "Surely there's not much longer..."
"Just lemme think," Senku looked up with wide eyes; given that he was the weakest out of the four, he was really trying here... "Based on its total capacity, I'd say we have about five hours. Or maybe twice that."
"I KNEW IT!" Gen cried out in dismay.
Sumi flinched after getting ready, looking towards the sun. "Why do I feel like Gen's being tortured right about now?" She gave a small sweat drop.
10 hours later...
The pump exploded and Suika fell into the water, landing on her back. She lifted up her head with a gasp, the others running up to the edge. "Whoa! The air pump exploded into pieces!" Soyuz exclaimed while bending down, Suika putting on her mask again.
"This is terrible!" She shouted as Senku approached the pump. He then examined it and gave a small smile.
"No, it's perfect," He revealed to the four. "Now we just need one more of 'em."
Once that was done, they immediately set out for Soyuz and Ryusui to take the dive again. Once again, they had the cell phone nearby since Sumi would want to know their progress. He had already told her about having to make the oxygen pumps. "Oh, almost forgot," Senku blinked down at the speaker, grinning widely. "We had to tear down the lab in order to make the oxygen pumps for the rescue dive! Hope you're not too beaten up over it, Sumi!"
Sumi gasped sharply, her eyes turning white. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HO-HO-HOOOOOO!" She cried out so loud that the science team heard it. Everyone winced as they recognized her voice, the guards turning to the source of it in confusion. Senku sighed while picking at his ear with his pinky.
"Yeah, I was expecting that. But once Kaseki's back, we'll make you a new one," He chuckled a bit while Sumi was whining like a puppy dug in the hut, shaking. Kohaku, Ginro, and Amaryllis were very confused as the woman was hugging herself on the ground, tears pooling from her eyes. Just because he told her that didn't mean it made it any less harder to hear unfortunately...
"Why...? I thought I was being a good girlfriend, and he goes and does this to me..." She shrieked a little. "My precious lab with all of my equipment and tools and ingredients...gone in an instant." Amaryllis gave a nervous look while slowly patting her back. She almost felt the same way she did when she saw Kohaku 'kiss' Senku.
"I have a feeling Senku did something with it for her to react like this..." She mumbled to Kohaku and Ginro.
"You might've just ruined the only relationship you've ever had with that news," Gen deadpanned a little towards the green-haired scientist. "Especially when you told her over the phone out of all things..."
"She'll be fine," Senku waved it off, though even if she could respond, he had no idea if she heard him say this. "Once she's calmed down, she'll know why we had to do it. It has nothing to do with my relationship with her. It's not like I wanted to upset her."
"Well, good luck..." Ryusui mumbled to him before putting on the breather. Soyuz did the same and they both fell backwards into the water. The two began to swim down, as the oxygens tanks were doing their job.
Oh, wow! We're really breathing underwater! He then looked up to see the Perseus above their heads. Thankfully, they were too deep for anyone up there to really see them. Moz looked around himself, looking down towards the sea. Ryusui and Soyuz swam underneath the ship, just in case someone had any suspicions.
"Quick question, Senku," Gen spoke up, he and Suika turning to him. "How long will those tanks last?"
"Depends on how deep they go. If I had to guess, ten minutes?" He asked casually while lowering the rope. Suika and Gen both yelped at the answer; they'd think that after all of the hard work they had to do for them, it'd last longer...
"That's all?!" Gen shouted in shock, standing up. And it was a wonder no one on the ship heard him. He then sighed slowly, looking down at the water. "Ten hours of pumping for ten minutes of air?"
"And all of our pumpy things went boom..." Suika murmured while looking as well. Senku for once actually seemed a bit worried, and for good reason. After all, if those ten minutes were up, and they didn't find Kaseki at all...they wouldn't have any chance of getting the petrification weapon from Kirisame.
"They're the only oxygen tanks we'll have. And we're on a ten-minute time limit. We gotta find Kaseki down there and save him before the air runs out."
As Sumi heard this, she bit at her fingernail nervously. She knew what Senku would say to her right about now, that it was pointless to feel this way. But at the same time, ten minutes could go really fast in the sea. And what if they came across a current, which might affect their oxygen tanks...?
Ten minutes isn't long enough. Ryusui thought as he and Soyuz continued searching. Where do we even look?
Soyuz then waved a hand to get his attention, pointing to the water. The enemy dropped the statues from the surface with this much force...in that direction. He did some gestures to show what he was trying to convey to Ryusui. The blond looked down to where Soyuz was pointing to see a deeper part of the sea.
I'm in awe of your attention to detail. It's pretty mind blowing. Soyuz then looked up at him. You know, now that I think of it, having memories from your infancy is no ordinary feat, either. Soyuz blinked rapidly as no one had ever really questioned it, not even himself. He just...could remember everything, even if it took him a while to do so. Thank you. That information is invaluable. The two then swam in the direction Soyuz indicated.
Suika looked at the water with hope. She knew that they'd be able to do it. "He can pull it off. Ryusui's gonna be able to find all of 'em. When it comes to ocean stuff, he's the absolute best!"
"Yeah, so if you're stressing out right now, don't," Senku smirked towards the microphone. "You should know better."
"It's honestly amazing sometimes as to how she puts up with you..." Gen murmured at Senku in disbelief. Sumi gave a small pout and grunt.
Ryusui gasped as he could see something up ahead, deducing something. I see. The two then swam further down, and a gust of water came in. We're dealing with a reef current. A powerful rip current that occurs at the edge of a reef. It's likely all the pieces were caught up in it and sent to the open water. They came to a stop once they reached the end, and then Ryusui laughed. Right in front of them was a whole area of statues, of the Kingdom of Science. Ryusui then removed his breather. "Ha ha!" There you are! Trusty sailors of the science vessel Perseus! Well done staying at your posts through all this darkness! He then put his breather back while Soyuz swam right past him. You deserve a bonus, a massive drago reward!
Soyuz then scoped for Kaseki, looking up ahead and then turning towards the surface.
Three jellyfish popped out onto the surface for Suika to see from the telescope. She gasped from the sight as they weren't too far away from their boat. "There's three jellyfish!"
Senku pulled out the code that they had set up before the dive. "That means they've found everyone!" He gave a small smile. Sumi gasped sharply, her eyes shining as she clasped her hands in relief.
"I'm so happy! We're gonna bring all of our friends back to life!" Suika cried out happily.
"Yeah, it's great news," Suika gave a small sound of surprise while turning around to Senku's casual response. "But remember we have to prioritize who. If we don't wake ol' Kaseki first, we'll be totally screwed. Since these are our only two oxygen tanks, we've got one shot at this rescue dive..." Sumi gave a small frown to herself, hoping that everything went smoothly...
Kaseki was buried into the sea floor, as they could only see his head and arms. Ha ha! Alright, Kaseki, I want you! Ryusui grabbed his stoned wrist, attempting to pull him out...but the statue didn't move one inch. Soyuz joined him as they both pulled as much as they could. However, it was like trying to get something out of hardened cement, even with their combined efforts. They both groaned, glancing to each other. Soyuz and Ryusui then tried again, using all of the methods they could think of, and sighed in defeat. He's completely stuck!
Yeah. He won't budge at all.
Gen was holding the rope that was tied to the men. The trio continued to stare down at the water. "I'm getting orried-way. Shouldn't we be getting the signal to pull them up about now?"
"Are they okay down there?" Suika wondered while peeking, though she couldn't really see them.
"Don't stress my lover out even more with that..." Senku sighed at the two of them. Sumi flinched and then blushed, gritting her teeth.
Calling me that still doesn't get me the lab restored, no matter how much it makes me flustered...
Senku then held up two fingers to think. "How much air is left? The average male breathes 15 liters per minute. But for what they're doing, I'd say they're breathing around 20. Those tanks hold ten at a starting pressure of 70. The question is their depth. Judging from where the jellyfish surfaced and the behavior of the rope, they're roughly 20 meters down." Gen then started tugging at the rope to inform Ryusui. He flinched in alarm once he understood.
We've only got four minutes of oxygen left. He glanced back at his tank in worry, Soyuz trying to dig him out. But even with that, he wasn't any closer to getting Kaseki out.
We're not going to make it. He's really stuck! It'll take hours to dig him out.
Ryusui stared as he tried to figure out what to do. They didn't have that amount of time to dig him out... But without Kaseki, we can't make any more oxygen tanks. Which means no more dives. This is the only chance we've got! Ryusui turned around to the rope, gripping it tightly. We must bring him back to the surface! He then started tugging at it himself. When your own strength isn't enough, you have to rely on the strength of your crew! Every good leader knows that! Am I wrong?
Gen felt the rope tugging, getting the attention of the three. "Ah! They gave us the signal!" Suika cried out, though it was multiple tugs, not just one like they discussed.
"Yeah...but isn't there something strange about the way they're tugging the rope?" Gen dug into his robe to pull out a paper. It didn't match the paper code that they had on them. "I think it may be some kind of message. It goes like tuuug, tuug, tug, tug," He then gasped in realization. "Morse code."
"Dash, dash, dot, dot," Senku noticed the pattern as well. "Is that a Z? Do they not realize how long it's gonna take them to send a message over the lifeline?"
Sumi blinked while hearing them, glancing away in thought. Ryusui wouldn't waste four minutes of his oxygen tank to send out a long sentence over Morse code. He knew how important this dive was, and he wouldn't have started with the letter z...so what was even the purpose of it? And it wasn't like any words they came up with would make any sense to tell them.
I don't think it's Morse code like we're used to. If he's only sending the one letter, it has to be a bigger picture here...
"Don't worry. I don't think it'll be all that long," Gen gave a small smile while looking back at the paper. "Cause friends like us can speak with more than words," The mentalist gave a small smirk while holding up his fingers. We'd just let Ryusui know that we don't have much time. He must be telling us there's something they need. He knows we're in a hurry, so he won't spell out a sentence. Just a word. But there are only a few words that start with Z. Zoo, zebra, zipper, zinc. None of those fit. Which means it's Japanese Morse code. Dash, dash, dot, dot. Fu. I need something that sounds like fu.
Senku gave a small smirk in realization as he realized what Ryusui was trying to tell them the same time as Gen. Sumi gasped quietly to herself as she came to the same deduction. Fluid! Revival fluid! He then tossed a bottle of it attached to the rope, and it sank into the water. Ryusui pulled it into his hands.
That was quick! As he held it, Soyuz moved over, watching him untie the beaker. He then swam over to Taiju, who was stuck like Kaseki. But that wouldn't be a problem for him, unlike the craftsman because he didn't have Taiju's brute strength on a normal basis. Soyuz then blinked while understanding Ryusui's plan.
Oh, I see! If we can wake up Taiju, who's got the most power, he might be able to dislodge Kaseki's statue! Ryusui swam closer to Taiju, but something did come to mind. But how? You can't pour that stuff on him while you're both underwater! It's impossible! He could just imagine Ryusui opening up the bottle, and the stuff would immediately get dissolved into the water just trying to get it onto Taiju. Soyuz gave a nervous look as there was no other way to revive him...
That didn't stop Ryusui, though, as he took off his breather again. He then turned it on to put it over Taiju to test it out. Bubbles came from it to hit the statue. I'll use what's left in the tank to make a pocket of air. And then I'll be able to spray the revival fluid on him from below.
Soyuz stared in shock at the blond. He decided to give up the last bit of oxygen he had just like that. Without a second thought!
Ryusui glanced at the statue and noticed that Taiju was missing half his arm. Oh no! He's missing part of his arm. If we revive him now... Soyuz swam over and then placed Taiju's missing arm back into place, with no hesitation at all. Ryusui stared at him, wondering if he had that on him or he had just found the piece. It's like he instantly knew he was looking at Taiju's arm. Did he remember the pose he was in when we were petrified? His mind is incredible! Ryusui then held out the beaker after goggles were placed onto Taiju's eyes. Ryusui pumped the air over Taiju, and then opened up the bottle. He moved his arm down so that the revival fluid would touch Taiju's chin.
Once it did, Taiju's body started to glow, just like Ryusui when being de-petrified. The duo watched as Taiju's body turned from stone into skin. He flinched once he was fully revived, letting out a roar like he did the first time he was revived.
"i'm rip roaring to go!" He screamed and then clamped his mouth shut. He covered it with his hands as he realized he was underwater, his face turning blue. He shook a little as Ryusui turned around to him.
Off. Guess we should've seen that coming. Gotta be scary to wake up completely underwater like that. Soyus thought while staring. Ryusui stared at Taiju, as he wouldn't know what they needed unless they told him. Not that he doubted Taiju's intelligence, but he could be a bit slow sometimes trying to understand things as quick as someone like Ryusui himself...
I have to brief Taiju on the current situation and what we need him to do right now. Ryusui swam over while Taiju held his neck trying to breathe. If I can make another bubble around us, I can tell him. Taiju's eyes widened as he saw Ryusui floating in front of his face. He then released more air and leaned in. "Kaseki! We need to revive Kaseki first!" He shouted, and Taiju leaned back, taking in a big gulp of air from what Ryusui was releasing. Ryusui flinched in shock and the brunet grabbed the breather. He then placed it back into Ryusui's mouth, shocking the blond.
Taiju jerked a thumb to himself. That one big breath is all I need! He then waved a scolding finger. You have to breathe too, you know. We don't need to talk, anyway. We're a team. Taiju smiled at the blond. And that means we know what's in each other's hearts! His smile widened and Ryusui gasped in shock, knowing exactly what Taiju was trying to tell him. It was like he could feel exactly what the man was trying to convey. Taiju then smiled, hands on his hips. Ha ha ha, guess that's not very science-y of me, huh?
Ryusui then shook his head at him. No, you're absolutely right, Taiju. I hear what's in your heart. He stared at his friend as his hair floated around. This must be what it was like when Sumi and Senku were together...how they always knew what to do and what the other was thinking. Now he could understand why they managed to work together despite no matter what odds they faced. Ryusui pointed to Kaseki, leading Taiju over to him.
movTaiju noticed the statue immediately and gave a thumbs up. He then had a big grin on his face as he clenched a fist. Ryusui nodded in confirmation and the three all pulled together. Taiju gritted his teeth while putting all of his strength into it, and Kaseki's statue moved just a little.
Suika, Senku, and Gen were getting very antsy now since ten minutes were almost up, and still nothing. Not even a tug or a signal like the jellyfish... "We're getting dangerously close to that uh-oh time, aren't we?"
Bubbles came from the water nearby, Senku letting out a gasp. "Pull them up!" He exclaimed and Taiju emerged first, holding Kaseki's statue. He let out a laugh from his accomplishment, and from being able to breathe again. Senku gave a small smirk, deducing that they must've needed him to break out Kaseki. Which was fine, they were still able to make more revival fluid anyway. So it was still a victory for them.
"Yo, Kaseki. Yo, ya big oaf," Senku greeted and Sumi let out a gasp. Her eyes shook as she looked towards the sun with a relieved smile on her face.
Taiju...you got Kaseki out for them, didn't you? Thank you...
Taiju gave a small smile as part of him could feel Sumi's relief, and Senku could as well. "Seeing you guys makes me so happy!" Suika jumped up happily in the air as Ryusui and Soyuz emerged with the other pieces of Kaseki's statue. Senku grinned with his pinky in his ear while Gen moved away a bit nervously thanks to them rocking the boat.
Sumi clutched the fabric over her heart with a big smile on her face. Now they could finally continue with the drone soon...!