#´´lets walk into this super obvious trap so i can seize the moment and give a 20 min monologue where i insult the criminal with the gun´´

[madfoxx]

 part I.

[skysybil]

Penumbra Superlatives: Most Likely To Be A Dark Matters NPC

The people demanded it, and I am indeed a magnanimous conspiracy theory machine, so here is my incredibly ridiculous reasoning behind my “who is in the dark matters simulation and who is fake” ranking, found here. Thank you to my partner for listening to me yell about this for 24 hours straight now. Man, I am gonna look like an idiot if this isn’t a Dark Matters induced simulation or dream in the end with how all-in I’ve been going with this.

Also, if you guys ever want me to lay out every fucking tiny detail I’ve seen that I think points to it being a simulation, I’ll do that too. Please validate me.

This is insanely long, it’s like two to three paragraphs for every member of the space family. This is kind of shameful, I almost feel bad. I’ll be your best friend forever if you read it all. Also, I’m putting it below the cut for everyone’s sanity. Anyway, let’s go lesbians, let’s go!

First, in the “definitely an active participant” category: Rrrrrita!

I’ll admit, it’s genuinely really hard to tell what discrepancies in the story are suspicious simulation details and what is just Rita being a particularly unreliable narrator. However, my first general point towards Rita being an active participant/player/whatever you want to call it is the fact that we’re experiencing this through her perspective! I think it would be really cool to tell the story from the perspective of a caricature puppeted by Dark Matters, but I feel like it would be way more obvious in gaps in her thinking patterns if she was fake. Honestly, I personally think it would be impossible to run it from the perspective of one of these NPCs (as i’m calling them) anyway, because... you know, they probably don’t have much in the way of thoughts in the first place. 

Plus, out of everyone in the group, she is most likely to be plucked out of a group of criminals by Dark Matters to recruit. Sasha knows her (or at least knows of her) and how good she is at her job. I’m sure she’s got a target on her back as someone that’s too powerful (seriously, I pray for the universe the day Rita realizes just how quickly she could take over the world--see: my THEIA Rita AU that i came up with this morning which I might post about later), but I’m also pretty sure killing Rita would be seen as a wasted opportunity. This could just be another test, just like Day That Wouldn’t Die but in an even more controlled environment. The perfect trap, the perfect test--hopefully for perfect results. And with how she tends to get caught up in glamour and drama or get distracted so easily, she’s one of the easiest members of the group to trick into not questioning the little discrepancies that comes from living in a lie.

---

Next, Vespa. Love of my life and the only other member of the Carte Blanche crew that I’m almost totally sure is sharing space in this simulation.

She’s in a similar position that she’s a valuable asset for Dark Matters to try and take on--especially if they can use her past debts as blackmail or something along those lines. She’s a damn good assassin and they tend to specialize in making people disappear. Why wouldn’t they seize the opportunity to test her and see if she could truly work for them? Dark Matters also seems to lack an ethical core, to say the least, and if they consider her past trauma and her illness to be an issue, I’m sure they wouldn’t be against trying to “fix” her in their horribly scummy ways just so she could be a better killer for their organization. It could also be related to her skills as a doctor with the crew, to be fair--while Rita is off building robots and trying to break into a super secret base, Vespa is repairing the entire medical wing, an incredibly suspicious task when apparently enough of the ship survived that Rita’s computers are okay, the entire crew is unscathed, and the Ruby isn’t a warped hunk of metal.

Though she is also very likely to be nabbed by Dark Matters as an opportunity, the main condemning thing against Vespa being an NPC is the conversation we overhear with Buddy. No one else knows that Vespa considered or decided on leaving the crew. We can’t say that’s a part of Rita’s mind affecting the simulation around her because Rita doesn’t know, and it’s not information that could be hacked, either. It was just in her mind. Unless Dark Matters has their hands on new mind reading technology (oh god, not this shit again), there’s no way that the scene with Vespa and Buddy could exist unless Vespa is also inhabiting the simulation. Every scene they choose to include is deliberate. To rule Vespa out of the plan, all it would’ve taken was likely just Vespa being her normal defensive self. Why would they include a scene with a look into that vulnerability if it didn’t matter?

Speaking of the Vespa and Buddy scene--but why would Vespa snap at Rita that badly if she’s real, you might ask. You’re right, Vespa is aggressive but not that aggressive normally, and it stood out in the few interactions we saw. In Vespa’s defense, if she is participating in this simulation, she is understandably freaked the fuck out. Vespa spends every day of her life hyperaware of what might be real and what might be fake around her. She’s most likely to figure out that something is very wrong first simply because of that trait. How much of her mind is Dark Matters manipulating? Would DM have to simulate her hallucinations, or would that come naturally along with her mind being stuck in this simulation? I imagine that for every discrepancy we’ve picked up on, she’s picked up on six--but she no longer has the explanation of it being a hallucination. I imagine it’s frustrating and terrifying for her. I’d be on edge, too!

---

Moving into our next category: “probably in the simulation”, with our only candidate Buddy.

Buddy is my question mark character. We barely interacted with her this episode. From what I can tell, most of what we saw from her seems in character, and she had some wicked fucking lines. I’m sorry, I refuse to give Dark Matters credit for the line “If you imagine all that could go wrong, all you’ve done is drag yourself through a thousand disasters. And even in the worst-case scenario, you will only need to live through one.” Because it genuinely made me feel better in real life, goddammit.

Buddy is mostly in this category for lack of evidence, both with the lack of interaction and with how Rita kind of glazed over the family meeting with her distractions. So, it’s hard to say. I’d love to hear others’ theories on Buddy’s place in this.

---

Now, we cross the threshold into those that are probably not in the simulation, or are acting incredibly suspicious: the “on thin fucking ice” category. First, Peter. 

Can this bastard decide on his personality for two whole minutes so I can get a handle on the little intricacies of the new Ransom persona? No? Goddammit. It’s hard to tell how much of the way he acted was genuinely suspicious and how much of it is the mask he’s put on for Peter Ransom. While he’s adopted the old name, he hasn’t adopted his old personality, so it’s near impossible to get good points of comparison on this new view. We’ve seen inside his head with this persona, sure, but we can’t compare the way he spoke and acted in his head with how he holds himself in front of Rita--he’s always going to choose his level of vulnerability based off of the least trusted person in the room. He’s not to that place with Rita yet. He’s going to have walls and facades up that he won’t have in front of Juno, or in front of himself. He can’t make it easy on him.

But that does not mean I can’t be suspicious of him, because I am. Fuck you, Nureyev, I’m still coming for you. Mainly, I’m squinting at his reaction to Rita’s plans and his lack of reaction to her openly talking about the two of them in an established relationship. We know damn well that Peter and Juno are not at that place yet. Why, do you ask? Because I trust that Sophie and Kevin wouldn’t take that moment from us. We’ve had three and a half years of slowburn buildup on Jupeter! We would not skip from “tentatively talking and trying to learn communication through ‘’’’’’poetry’’’’’’ and shit” to “established lovey dovey relationship” without being let in on it. I doubt Peter would let comments like the ones Rita made really slide in front of Juno--after all, the last time he admitted he was in love, Juno fucking left, and I bet there’s a lot of reluctance or trauma surrounding that. Yet he let it slide anyway.

Still, because Peter is a wild card, there’s still a possibility that his non-reaction was a defense mechanism or part of the Ransom facade (after all, he had to pretend he was in better standing with Juno than he actually was at first to keep his place in the family). The most suspicious thing he did in that conversation, in my opinion, was agree not to let anyone else know about the plan. He knows damn well that he is on thin ice with everyone in the crew except for Juno and Rita. Trust is in short supply for him and keeping his position in the family is incredibly important to him, both so he can find a way to pay off his debts and so he can pursue this shaky relationship he’s started to piece back together with Juno. Yet he hops right in with barely any pushback when it comes to keeping this Incredibly Vital And Important Plan a complete secret. Plus, you know, he supposedly couldn’t even stand, yet walked all the way to the computer cave. Sure, maybe Juno carried him, but I’d fully expect something like Juno picking him up to be a joke written into the script. I feel like it was deliberately left out.

Still, the only real glimpse of Peter that Dark Matters has ever had was of Rex Glass, and Peter definitely isn’t acting like his Rex persona, so how would they really know to get his personality around the Aurinko family to where it is? I suppose that could be attributed to Rita, Vespa, and/or Buddy shaping the simulation around them.

Tl;dr on the Peter section: He’s almost definitely an NPC but nothing is certain with a man whose entire sense of self is based off of an elaborate web of lies and inconsistencies.

---

Also probably an NPC, but I’m not sure, thus on thin fucking ice: Jet.

You cannot tell me for one fucking second that Jet doesn’t know the Ruby 7 inside and out. That car is his baby. He’s torn the car apart and repaired it more than anyone else, and you’re telling me he doesn’t understand the core functions of the car--the engine, the fuel tank? No fucking way. I don’t have 3.5 paragraphs of speculation for Jet, I’m just so hung up on the fucking car thing. His personality fits well, which is the one string I’m holding onto that makes him maybe possibly an actual human being, but I feel like Dark Matters fucked up by trying to fill in the blanks on the Ruby 7. That’s where I think the issue comes from--the reason there’s a part in the Ruby that Jet doesn’t understand is because DM doesn’t know how the Ruby works, and they tried to put in what they imagined could power it or fuzz over the details. But I will cry if the Ruby was actually destroyed in the crash, there’s no recovering from that.

---

And finally, if you’ve made it this far and not left after whispering to yourself holy shit, she’s insane, she’s absolutely insane, how much does this woman talk, we have the final category: unfortunately an NPC. And holy shit, is Juno 100% not in this simulation or being almost entirely puppeted by Dark Matters.

I genuinely can’t get into all my reasoning behind Juno being a puppet here without going on forever and doubling the length of this post, and I’ve put you through so much already. But every inch of Juno is suspicious, down to his tone of voice. Look, I’m happy to see him happy. But it just seems like a jump--just like as I discussed in the Peter section with the Jupeter relationship. It feels like we skipped something, or missed something. This is my theory: Juno has been crafted based off of how Sasha Wire knew him when she saw him last. He doesn’t have reactions that are quite right to the computers, to Peter, to anyone, really. Everything felt just a little off--until he got frustrated. Then he became more realistically Juno. I think this might be because Sasha is basing a comfortable and happy Juno (the one she assumes he must be around the people on the ship, especially Peter if she knows they’re romantically involved) off of the Juno she interacted with when they were younger, which is just off in comparison to the Juno we know now. She can build a more three dimensional Juno in the situations she’s familiar with, like a bored Juno, a frustrated Juno, or an angry Juno. She’s got the one-liners down, I’ll give her that.

I’m also just in general not surprised if Sasha is just keeping him separate from the rest of them. Possibly to try and talk him out of the family, get him untangled from the Dark Matters mess? Plus, he’s incredibly perceptive, and might be considered a risk to the simulation if he was in it. 

Also, the out-of-universe evidence: I am 100% convinced that the reason the episode script came out late is because it had to be edited to remove some of the directions, possibly suspicious things like “too cheery”. Specifically, I think one of Juno’s significant directions is missing. It’s hard to put exactly what kind of direction is missing into words because I don’t know anything about script writing, but I just... I have a feeling. Trust me on this. I’ve seen other people on Twitter talk about it too, I’m not the only one. I stand by it.

---

Anyway, since I want to keep my Juno-specific speculation as short as possible, that’s all, folks. If you stayed this long, genuinely I love you so much and I would give my life for you, message me or mention it in the tags that you made it all the way and maybe we could be mutuals or friends!! I love to ramble about this kind of thing. Follow me for more aimless speculation, hopefully not 2.5k words next time. If you have any questions or other stuff to discuss also mention it and I might post about it later!

Update: If you’re interested in the simulation theory, here’s the link to a post I just made laying out all my conspiracy theory evidence for it.

[fizzingwizard]

I fell asleep as soon as I got home and didn’t get to write about Kizuna. xP So belatedly, here are my thoughts.

Warning: Spoilers for Digimon: Kizuna Last Evolution

So to start with, some context: I had a bad day at work. Not gonna go into details, but it was the sort of thing to put you out of the mood for seeing a movie, even one that’s a childhood treasure. I almost didn’t go.

In addition, because of what happened at work, I had to stay an extra hour, which meant I missed the first 25 minutes of the movie. I’m not sure how much story I actually missed - probably there was 10 min or so of trailers - but it’s possible I missed some framing. Usually the cute, fun, get-to-know-the-character moments happen in those beginning scenes, and I didn’t get to see those. When I walked in, Taichi and Yamato were having a meal together and talking about how their lives were all changing, but the Digimon stayed the same. So that’s where I’m starting from.

One more thing - I haven’t read the Kizuna novel. It sounds like if you did, you already know everything that happens. (Possibly reading the novel is more interesting than seeing the movie.) Sorry if I’m surprised by things y’all already knew!

For those who don’t like reading my long-winded posts:

Kizuna is what I would have expected from a Digimon sequel before Tri came out. That is, it’s predictable.

The art is quite good, except when it’s not.

There’s not enough of characters who aren’t named Taichi or Yamato.

Yamato is extremely COOL.

Koushirou has some good moments.

Tri is actually still canon, which I didn’t know - Meiko appears briefly in Kizuna.

It was fun to see the 02 kids, but they didn’t do anything special, although they did more than some Adventure kids.

It ends with the partner Digimon disappearing ‘forever,’ but also with Taichi putting in I think his thesis in politics specifically between the human world and the digital world. So everything seems geared to reach the 02 ending, where we know they were with their partners. So I guess at least we can headcanon that they find a way to reunite :/

OK so.

The art is really nice in this movie. Very smooth, very anime movie-like. I preferred Uki Atsuya’s designs and it did feel a little weird to go back to a more wide-eyed, innocent style now that the kids are older, but it was so lovely that I didn’t mind. Tri really lacked smoothness in the animation, so this was refreshing.

There are some times where the animations falters or some error happens - at least twice I noticed characters’ mouths moving without them saying anything, and there’s a scene where Taichi gets blown back by Eosmon’s attack and when he sits up his, um, backside is quite pronounced, like on-the-cover-of-Playboy-pronounced x’D Who knew Taichi was so thicc?

I liked in the beginning when they fly through cyberspace to take on Eosmon and it’s just like the cyberspace in Our War Game and Diablomon Strikes Back. The beginning was a bit promising. Omegamon is called on to help but his evolution breaks down, and fortunately Menoa knows all about why. There were some strong emotional moments when Taichi seizes the chance to help with a Digimon situation, and even stronger when they find out their partner Digimon are going to leave when they become adults and commit to a path (since apparently becoming an adult means you no longer have the endless possibilities of childhood). Digivolving speeds up the process.

Taichi and Yamato react very strongly. Other Chosen don’t seem in danger yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Takeru breathes a sigh of relief when he checks his digivice and realizes there’s no countdown, but Yamato’s and Taichi’s digivices are glowing with a countdown clock. Yamato screams and runs off to do anything he can to stop this. Taichi tries to deny it, but then Gennai appears in his apartment (which I think he cannot afford because we never see him turn on the lights :P) and tells him it’s all true and there’s nothing we can do about it. Then it’s bye-bye Gennai.

Oh, but before Gennai shows up Taichi is showing Agumon his apartment, and Agumon immediately finds his porn stash. I mean, that’s what you get for having magazines and DVDs instead of just using the Internet, Taichi, you moron. Teehee.

So Menoa and Imura convince the Adventure kids to “help” them, saying they’re trying to save the Chosen’s trapped consciousness. Yamato immediately figured out something’s not right, but pegs Imura as the likely suspect. However, he’s suspicious of Menoa too. Remember in Tri, when he sneaks after Nishijima and Himkawa, and gets them to talk? This is that only More. He lurks in stairwells, he goes without sleep, he researches online databases, he gets the 02 kids looking up details on Menoa, he follows Imura to some secret hideout covered in the typical secret agent decor of Papers Pinned To Walls With Illegible Writing.

As fun as it is to watch Yamato be all Men In Black, shouldn’t it... be... Ken? X’D Or are there many secret agents in space?

When Imura confronts Yamato, Hikari and Takeru have been taken prisoner. Somehow. They’re tied to chairs and Koushirou gets sent a message from Hikari’s phone saying in many different languages “Which one will be next?” So Taichi and Yamato hurry to the scene. At this point, Mimi has already had her consciousness abducted, and we now find out Jou’s KO’d too off screen.

Yamato sees Imura sitting on the stairs holding a gun. He lifts the gun and says “Takeru is already -” and I as like OMG THEY KILLED TAKERU!? but the gun is just... for show x’D Takeru has had his consciousness trapped. So has Hikari. Yamato makes good with Imura and they realize they need to go after Menoa, that she’s the one behind it all. Uh, too late though, because Menoa’s already moved against Koushirou, I think because she wants his information on Chosen Children around the world, and traps his consciousness as well. But not before Koushirou is able to track the location of Eosmon and leave the coordinates in a message for Taichi.

I don’t like Menoa. First of all, she’s a foreigner who likes to insert random English words where they’re not needed, and her accent is one of the worst I’ve ever heard x’D If you’re gonna cast someone who can’t speak a language as a speaker of that language, how about not have them actually speak it? But also, she’s not interesting. She had a Digimon partner - surprise! - who was a butterfly - surprise! - and who disappeared when she entered the path to adulthood - surprise! - and who she’s been grieving for ever since, so her big master plan is to somehow trap the consciousness of all Chosen Children around the world in another dimension where they can live inside their memories and never have to grow up. (The Digimon too.) She refers to it as her “Neverland.” None of this interests me. Yawn.

She is able to trap all the Adventure kids except Taichi, Yamato, and Sora. But don’t get excited about Sora not being trapped - Sora has decided not to fight anymore, and she sticks her decision the whole movie long. Sora is almost completely absent.

So now almost all the Adventure Chosen have been abducted and most of them didn’t even get to do anything, unless they were all being super awesome in those first ten-fifteen minutes that I missed. The 02 kids do not get trapped and when Eosmon copies start raining down around the world, they run around trying to stop them. Daisuke is adorable. Pretty much just what you’d expect. Iori is Iori. Miyako is her exuberant self. Ken is forgettable X’D I’m so sorry, Ken. Someone give him a hairstyle. My problem with the 02 kids is because, as much as it sucked that they never turned up after their inauspicious start in Tri, having them around isn’t really improving anything. Nostalgia, sure. But they’re too busy doing research and fighting to have those nice character moments we’d like to see. They do the shonen anime thing of Stating the Obvious and Promising to Unite As One and that’s it for their dialogue. They’re polite and take turns letting each other say the predictable line. At least we know Stingmon still calls his partner “Ken-chan.” <3

Taichi and Yamato use Koushirou’s coordinates to go after Menoa in her world. But not before Yamato reacts with irrational strength when Taichi suggests they save their trapped friends. Because saving them means digivolving, which means the process of losing their partners forever will speed up. “Taichi!! Are you okay with that??” Taichi’s like, “Um... no, but people are trapped and need to be rescued.” And Yamato’s like “Oh right.”

So they go and are attacked by Adventure-age versions of their trapped friends and also random Digimon. There’s quite a lot of blood?? Someone, I think Yamato, has a freaking Drimogemeon attacking him. He doesn’t get gored though lmao. Eosmon has a billion copies and they’re around the world going for Chosen Children. They bring out Omegamon and he gets his leg chopped off, whee. But both Digimon are physically intact when the evolution is broken.

Menoa is completely mentally unstable and fuses with Eosmon to become their “goddess.” Taichi sticks his hand out zombie-like under the pile of Digimon attacking him and yells at his Adventure-age friends “We must move on!” (ie, grow up). He is able to crawl to Hikari and blow her whistle with a huge breath.

This snaps everyone out of it. At this point I think “Okay! Big battle all together!” But nope. It’s still just Taichi and Yamato, who get new evolutions that look like Thundercats, and go after Menoa. While some song plays making it difficult to hear dialogue, they defeat Eosmon which makes the copies around the world disappear, and then they find Menoa trapped within her own memories of her partner, Morphomon, and rescue her as well. Menoa’s last scene is being handcuffed by Imura.

Then Taichi and Yamato go out separately with their partners and have a last conversation with them as the countdown clock is about to expire. Yamato plays his harmonica. Agumon tries to ply Taichi for food. We get Agumon’s vantage point looking up at Taichi and it’s like “wow you’re huge now.” Agumon and Gabumon both ask their partners what they’ll do tomorrow. Just as Taichi and Yamato think of an answer, they look and their partners are gone. Taichi and Yamato do some pretty impressive sobbing. Then we see them some time later hurrying on with their lives under symbolic cherry blossoms. The end!

The credits show scenes of the Chosen living their adult lives, the younger ones still with their partners, the older without. It ends with a peek at Taichi’s thesis, representing step one towards becoming a diplomat between the human and digital worlds. Like I said before, since we know they still have their partners in the 02 epilogue, it’s strange to me that they kept everything the same except that. So let’s headcanon that they’ll meet again o.O I guess

So if you read this far, you probably got the vibe that I wasn’t super impressed by Kizuna. But it’s not a bad movie. Tri pretty much spoiled me. I get that there are people who really don’t like Tri for various reasons, but to be honest, I think that even if you dislike it, you have to acknowledge what a gift it was. Six movies that gave every character something to do and mostly avoided the predictable stuff, not entirely, but much better than would be expected from an anime movie. Tri did so many interesting things. It’s got its flaws, a couple big ones, but I can never get past how it built everything up and what it resulted in.

But Tri’s number one strength comes from having six movies to tell the story. Kizuna has just one. If Tri had been condensed into a single movie - say we meet Meiko, the infection happens, she’s the origin, before the partners lose their memories Meiko asks the kids to kill Meicoomon, Daigo dies saving Taichi and then Taichi kills Meicoomon, the end - Idk if I would have liked that. It wouldn’t have gotten the build up it needed. I wouldn’t have learned to love Meiko. Stories need pacing, they need development, and more of each the more characters there are. Tri had the time to give us that.

I wasn’t expecting Kizuna to be like Tri - both the art style and all the info about it said otherwise - so I have to say that all in all, Kizuna is the movie I originally would have expected a Digimon sequel to be. It’s got That Plot that every fan read or wrote on fanfiction.net back in the day, where the kids lose their partners as a result of becoming an adult. I always hated that plotline because it was so predictable. If everyone can think of it, how can you call it creative?

But it is quite Japanese in a way, the appreciation for “the transience of things,” what they call 物の哀れ. Sora’s final ikebana display includes what I assume were cherry blossoms rising above a field of colorful flowers. Cherry blossoms represent this ephemerality in Japanese culture because of their short flowering time and how their appearance marks the beginning of spring. So in that way it’s all very striking and real. But I just personally don’t like it and never have. Also I think that for me, because I was so moved by Kokuhaku, there wasn’t much chance for this plot to have the same effect: Kokuhaku simply did it better.

I do think Kizuna is appreciable on its own and that if Tri weren’t a thing I’d have liked it better. I am not sure if I’m gonna go see it again. I might! I got a Koushirou clear file for going this week. (... The postcards we got for going to Tri were way better, though xP) So could at least go and collect more maybe.

But Kizuna has a big downside, which is that it’s just as obsessed with Taichi and Yamato as Tri was, but it’s even more felt due to the time constraints. At least with Tri, we got to see everyone do something at some point. In Kizuna, they don’t even try. Mimi, Jou, and Hikari are barely around and get their consciousness trapped early on. Takeru at least gets to join the initial fight with Eosmon, but I think that’s due to wanting to give a nod to Our War Game and maybe just because fans like Angemon. Then Takeru’s gone. Koushirou gets to be his brainiac self, I don’t really have a complaint about his treatment, except in the final battle where he’s just there. And Sora simply isn’t around period. Tri didn’t have the 02 kids, ok, that’s too bad... Kizuna has them but they’re boring and most of the Adventure cast doesn’t get to do much either. Is this really better, guys?

When you’ve got a cast this big, I don’t think you can do things the typical way. I’m an X-men fan, I should know. Lol.

That’s it for Kizuna! I’m still happy it exists, and have to admit that I might have had a slightly more positive take if I hadn’t been in such a bad mood from my day, so I hope that on a second viewing, whether I go to the theaters or wait to find it online, I will find more bits to appreciate.

[kittinoir]

Echoes of You Ch. 9

Read on Ao3

“I’m going to design something based on Ladybug’s new suit.”

Marinette grinned, glancing over at Alya as they swayed with the metro as it took a graceful turn beneath the banks of the Seine. They were headed for Trocadero Gardens to work on Mme. Bustier’s latest fashion assignment: formal wear inspired by the heroes of Paris. Alya had suggested the Gardens, and though it was Marinette’s secret place for inspiration, she found she wanted to share the space. She’d missed her best friend. 

“Long black gloves?” Marinette suggested with a knowing look. “Ombre skirt?”

Alya shook her head but stifled a giggle. “It’s like you read my mind, girl. Kinda obvious I guess, but…”

“I think it’s sweet!” Marinette said. “You’ve been a staunch supporter of Ladybug since the first day. You’ve been running the Ladyblog for a year and a half. A Ladybug gown only makes sense.”

“What about you?” Alya asked, tugging on her bag strap. “A stunning gown inspired by Rena Rouge? Or maybe Ryoku? You always love a challenge.”

Marinette shrugged. “I was actually thinking something inspired by Chat Noir.”

“Seriously?” Alya said, eyes wide behind her glasses. “You think he’s the lamest thing since, like, creation.”

“I do not!” Marinette said. “I think he’s…well, I think he’s really cool. And funny. And sweet. And the way he fights is just…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Alya held up her hand in front of Marinette’s face. “Since when do you have a crush on Chat Noir? What happened to Adrien?”

“A crush?” Marinette repeated. “I do not have a crush on Chat Noir!” But she felt a familiar blush creeping across her cheeks as her heart kicked into double-time. 

“Uh-huh.” Alya raised a single brow, eyeing the red stain. “I can see that.”

“Seriously!” Marinette said, but Alya just winked and went back to scrolling through her blog for inspiration.

She did not have a crush on that…that tom cat. There was no way. Her heart was dedicated to Adrien, one hundred thousand per cent. He was the first thing she thought of when she woke up and the last thing she thought of before going to sleep. She still swooned every time he smiled.

So what was up with her heart doing the tippy-tappy thing over Chat Noir!? She could tell Alya whatever she wanted to; Marinette knew what it meant. She didn’t not have a crush on Chat Noir.

Marinette stifled a sigh as they arrived at Trocadero and she followed Alya off the train. Maybe designing a gown inspired by Chat Noir would be a mistake. Maybe she should focus on one of the other heroes intstead. Rena Rouge did have a beautiful colour palette.

“Let me know if you have any, uhm, questions,” Alya said as they walked to the gardens. “About…well, you know.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “The Miraculous.”

A crease appeared between Marinette’s brows. “…Questions?”

“Yeah,” Alya said with a nod. “I know you had that whole…thing a few weeks ago.”

“Thing?” Now she was really confused. “What thing?”

It was Alya’s turn to frown. “The thing. The thing where you forgot all about the super heroes? Hawkmoth? The Miraculous? You called me totally freaking out.”

Marinette tried to comb through the last few weeks in her memory, but nothing jumped out at her as out of the ordinary or suspicious. She’d missed one or two akuma attacks, but she’d seen them later on the news or on Alya’s blog. She used to get a thousand notifications on her phone whenever one happened, but she’d disabled them; they were way more annoying than they were helpful. She didn’t even remember downloading half the apps.

Finally Marinette shrugged. “Must have just been stress,” she said as the picked a spot to start working. “You know how I get sometimes.”

“Not really,” Alya said slowly. “Not like this.”

“Oh.” Marinette bit her lip, but she was still coming up empty. “I’m sorry if I worried you.”

“Worried me?” Alya squinted at her friend as they sank onto a bench near some rose bushes. “How many heroes are there?”

Marinette frowned. “Trick question, Alya. Obviously Ladybug and Chat Noir are the main duo, but there a team of six other heroes that help them out from time to time.”

“Trick question you answered wrong,” Alya said triumphantly. “There are seven others.”

Marinette made a face. “I wasn’t really counting Chloe, but sure, I guess, technically seven.”

Alya seemed surprised but let it go. “Ok, who are they fighting?”

“Hawkmoth,” Marinette answered immediately, “But he sometimes has help from Mayura. Ooh, she has a great costume. Do you think Mme. Bustier would let me do a design based on her instead of one of the heroes?”

Alya rolled her eyes. “Never mind,” she said, flipping open her notebook. “It was clearly fever-induced hysteria.”

“Sorry,” Marinette said. She nudged her friend with her shoulder. “Seriously though, I’m fine. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

Alya gave Marinette a half-hearted smile. “You just scared me, girl. I’m glad you’re…well, feeling better, I guess.”

“Right as rain,” Marinette promised. Alya just shook her head, either in fake exasperation or real exasperation, Marinette wasn’t totally sure which, then dove into her sketch. 

Marinette opened her own sketch book, flipping past old designs of derby hats and reception dresses until she came to a blank page. She pulled a pencil out, but she hesitated before putting lead to paper. She had to decide before she started. She only hesitated for a moment more before committing to the design that had been flickering around her mind since the homework had been assigned. Besides, if she didn’t like it, she could always change it later.

She began with the bodice, sketching out the silhouette of a cheongsam. Marinette had discovered some time ago that she enjoyed infusing her designs with aspects of her culture from her mothers’ side.

She followed the simple and elegant lines down to the floor in a fit and flare skirt, forsaking the yards of fabric and billowing skirts she normally favoured. While his suit had more embellishments than Ladybug’s, they were few, far between, and utilitarian. Well, she thought, smiling to herself as she added a bell to the collar, almost. 

Marinette scrawled notes in to the side of the design indicating colour and texture, then tilted her head as she considered what she had. She liked the silhouette, but many cheongsams had some floral design embroidered across the fabric. There was also the matter of the belt. She added a modest slit to the skirt on the left that came up to the knees while she thought on it.

Before she reached a decision, alarmed shouts erupted around them. Marinette twisted, her sketchbook falling to the paving stones, as she searched for the source. Sure enough, Alya’s phone erupted with at least six notifications, alerting them to an akuma attack in the area.

“Score!” Alya cheered, shoving her book back in her bag. “Talk about inspiration!”

“I don’t think it’s normal to be that happy about someone else’s misfortune,” Marinette chided, but Alya had already set her phone to record.

“Are you coming with me this time, girl?” Alya asked, but as she spoke the paving stones beneath them began to rumble.

“I don’t think I’ll have to,” Marinette said, her voice vibrating with the impact. “I think whatever it is is coming to us!”

Sure enough, something exploded from the ground mere feet away from them, showering stone and dirt in a 5 metre radius, a black rose clutched in its hand. Marinette and Alya ducked, wincing as small pebbles pelted them. Alya shrieked as a larger stone ricocheted off her phone with a loud crack and the screen went black.

“My phone!” Alya smacked the side of the device, trying to get it to light up again while Marinette watched in horror as the monster turned towards the noise. “My phone!”

“Alya!” Marinette leapt at her friend, tackling her out of the way as the monster crashed towards them. It missed them by a wide margin, and a second later, Marinette could see why: its eyes were clouded over. Either this thing was blind, or could see very little.

“Time to go,” Marinette said. She grabbed Alya by the wrist and tugged her after her as she sprinted back towards the train station.

“But Marinette, my blog - ”

“These things are dangerous, Alya!” Marinette snapped as her friend tugged her to a stop. “Why don’t you get that!”

“Dangerous?!” Alya sniped back. “Ladybug’s miracle cure always fixes everything !”

Marinette wanted to rip her hair out. “But what if it doesn’t? What if she loses? She’s just a girl, Alya, and Hawkmoth is getting closer and closer to cornering her! Do you even realize how much pressure you put on her by putting yourself in danger like this?”

For once Alya seemed to be at a loss for words. “I.. I just…”

Marinette knew. She wanted to be a reporter. She admired Ladybug so much. She loved superheroes. She wanted to be a part of the team. She wanted to help do what was right.

“Come on,” Marinette said, “Let’s head for the roof of the Musée de la Marine. It’ll be safer and you can probably still see what’s going on.”

Alya said nothing, but let Marinette pull her along again. They hadn’t gotten very far, however, when the monster exploded from the ground again, closer this time.

“I WANT THE MIRACULOUS,” it shrieked. It writhed , and before they could react, it pounced on Alya, burrowing back into the ground with her trapped between its hideous arms.

“Alya!” Marinette clawed at the ground where they’d disappeared, but the dirt sifted through her fingers, empty. She whipped around as the monster burst from the ground again, thirty metres away. Alya was no where in sight.

“Give her back,” Marinette shrieked. She seized a large rock by her foot and flung it with all her strength. A small part of her was surprised when the rock actually nailed the thing in the forehead, but it was swept away in the flood of her rage. She grabbed another rock, and another, pelting the monster’s wide body as it searched wildly for her. It dove suddenly, and Marinette flung herself to the side, scraping her arms and cheeks on the rough stones as the akuma resurfaced where she’d been crouched.

“Lucky Charm!”

Marinette threw her arms over her head protectively as the battle cry rang throughout the gardens. She could see the shadow of the monster arcing towards her, and then she was flying, the Trocadero Gardens far below.

“Nice aim,” a voice said in her ear. “I think the akuma’s still shaking.”

Marinette looked up into the face of Chat Noir, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck as she put the pieces together.

“It took Alya,” she blurted, and she was embarrassed to discover she was tearing up. “It took her, please, you have to - ”

“We’ll get her back, Marinette,” Chat Noir promised as they landed somewhere new in the gardens. He gave her a crooked smile. “I swear on one of my nine lives.”

“It’s holding a rose,” Marinette rambled as he set her legs back under her. “I think that’s where the akuma’s hiding. It’s in its right fist.”

Chat Noir’s grin actually faltered. “What - How do you know that?”

“The rose was black.” Marinette turned back towards the monster, as though she could see it from where she was. She couldn’t, but faint dirt clouds marked where it was hiding. “There aren’t any black roses grown here. I wouldn’t be surprised if the monster  is actually a gardener here.”

Chat Noir nodded, squeezing her shoulder. “Thank you, Marinette. We’ll get your friend back.”

He extended his baton and used it to vault back towards the action. Marinette crouched by a near by bush, making sure to note whether or not the ground was shaking, but it seemed Ladybug and Chat Noir were keeping the villain well occupied. Minutes later a red cloud burst from where the fight had taken place. She could hear the cheers of people nearby. 

Marinette began to straighten but froze as a small cloud of ladybugs sought her out and swirled around her face and arms. It was only then she truly noticed the scrapes, but as she watched, they faded. Seconds later they disappeared altogether. Still, the ladybugs danced over her skin, tickling, caressing, comforting, almost as though greeting an old friend, but slowly their light began to fade. They only lasted moments more, and then they, too, vanished with a small, red sparkle.

[duhragonball]

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (86/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation.   This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous chapters conveniently available here.

[23 May 234 Before Age.  Planet Saiya.]

"That's it," Zatte said.   "I'm almost positive that's where the killer originated from."

On the bridge of their star-yacht, Luffa looked at the star chart displayed on the main viewer and shrugged.  On one end was the Saiya system, represented by a small white dot.   Dozens of other star systems were marked with various symbols and notations, and many of them were connected by lines of various different colors.   Most of these lines wandered out across the map, only to curl back toward Saiya, stopping short at a solar system relatively close to it.  

"How did you work all this out?" Luffa asked.  

"There's a ship on Saiya registered to one of the killer's victims, a Saiyan named Yarrow," Zatte said.   "By the time I found out about it, the ship had already been abandoned, but the navigational logs were still in tact.   From the planet where Yarrow's body was discovered, the ship went to four other systems, and each one reported at least one dead Saiyan."

Luffa waved her finger at the map, as though tracing the route.  "That only gets you part of the way," she said.  

"Right, but I played a hunch.   I traced the same ship's itinerary before Yarrow died, and found other victims along the way.  The pattern breaks down here, where a Saiyan named Okartish was discovered dead.   Turns out he and Yarrow were partners."

"Are you saying this guy stowed away on Yarrow's ship for months without anyone noticing?"

"It seems that way," Zatte said.  "Look, we're having a hard time finding him now that he's here on Saiya, so it's no surprise that he can cover his tracks.   He must have some way to hide his presence, even while he's aboard a spaceship as small as Yarrow's."

"You think he can turn invisible like you?" Luffa asked.  

"I doubt it," Zatte said.  "I could mask my life energy and hide on this ship for a long time if I needed to.   But I'd need food and other necessities.  Plus, a ship's life support systems would detect the extra oxygen consumption from a stowaway.  I might be able to hack the ship's computer to falsify the readings, but that would mean sneaking out of my hiding place to do it.   Sooner or later I'd give myself away.  And on a smaller ship like Yarrow's, it'd be that much harder for me to move around without being noticed."

"So how's he doing it?" Luffa asked.   "We know he's a Dorlun because of the poison he's using, and each Dorlun has special abilities.  What can this guy do?"

"It could be a lot of things," Zatte said.   "Keda could shape-shift, which works a lot better for stowing away.   She hid among the Tikosi for months, right?  I don't think I could have managed that long.   She probably spent a lot of that time making her body as small as possible."

"Then maybe this guy's a shape-shifter like Keda," Luffa said.  

"Not necessarily," Zatte said.   "He might have some sort of telepathic power.  Your eyes might be able to see him, but he can prevent your mind from perceiving his presence.  Or maybe he had some way to go into a dormant state.   That way he could hide in the cargo hold without food or water."

"This is too complicated," Luffa groaned.  

"For all we know, the killer might not have hidden aboard Yarrow's ship at all," Zatte added.  "He may have paid Yarrow for passage, and made sure his name stayed off the ship's passenger records."

"But if he's been using his own victims for transportation," Luffa said, "then he's been leaving a trail all along."

"Well, nothing obvious," Zatte said.  "It's taken me days to piece together all the victims with spaceships they might have used or owned.   I know you're not a big fan of King Rehval's brand of diplomacy, but a lot of these murders took place in a lot of different jurisdictions.    If Rehval hadn't established relations with so many of them, I might not have been able to get all the data I needed."

"It doesn't matter," Luffa harrumphed.  "Once my technique is put into action, we'll find the killer no matter where he's hiding."

"Maybe," Zatte said, "but you needed Rehval to make that work too, right?"

Luffa rolled her eyes.  "He has his uses," she admitted.  Before Zatte could tease her about this, she turned her attention back to the map.  "So you backtracked the killer to this system, but what good does that do us?"

"Maybe nothing," Zatte said, "but if the trail goes back any further, I might be able to find out something about him that we can use.  I won't know until I go there and see for myself."

"You want to take the ship and leave Saiya?" Luffa asked.  

"Sure," Zatte said.  "It'll only take a day to get there."  

"But Planet Saiya would be at the killer's mercy while we're gone!" Luffa objected.  

"That's why we’re not going,” Zatte said.   “You’re staying behind.”

"You want to go alone?!" Luffa asked.  

"Luffa, it'll only be for a few days.   A week at most.   You've gone on training retreats longer than that."

"But the whole point of you investigating was so the killer would try to come after you," she said.  "If the bait leaves the planet, then there's no trap."

"Let's face it," Zatte said.  "If he was going to try to attack me he would have done it by now.  Either he doesn't see me as a threat, or he knows it's a trap.  At least if I leave the planet for a while, it might make him wonder what I'm up to.   He might get nervous enough to make a mistake."

"What the hell am I supposed to do while you're gone?" Luffa asked.  

"The same thing you've been doing, dummy," Zatte said.  "Try to catch the killer with that technique of yours.   And try to find out something about this 'Honor Guard'."

"I already did," Luffa said.  "They're just an elite squad in the Saiyan military.  They handle special missions, things like that."

"Then why would they recruit a civil servant like Finule?"  Zatte asked.  There must be hundreds of Saiyans who were stronger or more qualified, and she was willing to die before letting hem take her."

"You can always get stronger," Luffa said.  "They probably have a harsh training regimen, and she got cold feet.   She was just being cowardly, that's all.  It happens, even to Saiyans."

Zatte wasn't satisfied with this at all.  "Look, if you think that's all it is, then so be it.  Finding the killer is what matters now, but don't whine about being bored if you manage to tackle him early.   Take in a show.  Spend some time with your grandmother."

"Oh that sounds like fun," Luffa groaned.  

"You'll live," Zatte said.  "If it gets too dull, you can always conquer the planet.  Hey, what's the matter?"  

"It's just... I don’t know.  Be careful out there, Zattie.  Okay?"

"I'm always careful," Zatte said.  "But for you, I'll be even more careful.   How's that?"

*******

[24 May 234 Before Age.  Planet Saiya.]

Less than an hour after Zatte's departure from the planet, Luffa went to the capital citadel to find King Rehval.   By now, the palace staff had grown accustomed to her frequent visits.  They still stank of fear and loathing whenever she passed them in the corridors, but they no longer asked her to identify herself or make appointments.  She waited in his bedroom for five minutes, and when he appeared at the doorway he walked up and seized her in a powerful embrace--one arm around her back, the other gripping her upper thigh.  

"There you are," he said triumphantly.  He hoisted her up until they were at eye-level to one another. 

She planted her hands on either side of his head and pulled until they were close enough to give him a passionate kiss.  As their lips finally parted, she bit his lower lip, drawing a tiny trickle of blood.  He feigned outrage, and tossed her onto the bed.  

Over time, Rehval had learned to indulge Luffa like this.   At first, he had been very respectful about kissing her, almost to the point of being submissive.  This was customary among Saiyans, as she was the stronger of the two, but she had always enjoyed the way her late husband Kandai would handle her, back when she was far weaker.   It pleased her to see that Rehval could pull it off.   It wasn't about physical power, she supposed.   Rehval was far stronger than Kandai had ever been, and he was a monarch as well.   He was used to projecting authority, in a way that Kandai could have only approximated with strength.  So it was just a matter of getting him to stop being so damned polite to her.   He was putting his tongue down her throat, not negotiating a trade agreement.  

Even so, he still knew when to back off.  Their make-out sessions would end the same way every time.  Eventually, her guilt over betraying Zatte would surpass the thrill she got from him, and she would gently push him away.  He never questioned her about this, and if he understood, he never mentioned it.  He simply respected her boundaries like a true diplomat.   It made her wonder what would happen if he didn't respect this.   What if he wanted to press the issue?  Would she kill him for his insolence?   Would he try to persuade her to take things further than they already had   Would she give in to temptation and betray her wife more than she already had?

"Shall we go?" Rehval asked pleasantly.  Normally they would head to the mountains to train at this point.  

"Yeah," Luffa said.  "I think we're almost ready to try this thing out."

"You still haven't named your technique?" Rehval asked.  He rose from the bed and fetched a new shirt from his wardrobe.   Luffa had a nasty habit of shredding them during their more intimate moments.  

"What's the point?" Luffa asked.  

"The point is that you have something to call it," Rehval said.  "When you and I find this killer, I want to tell my subjects how we did it.   That'd be easier if I didn't have to keep calling it 'Luffa's New Technique, the One Where She Spreads Out Her Ki Energy Across the Whole Planet While We Sense For Any Unusual Activity."

"Fine, you name it then," Luffa said.  

"You developed it," Rehval said.  "The honor is yours."

Luffa rolled her eyes and shook her head.   After a moment of consideration, she finally said: "Golden Duster."

Rehval paused putting on his shirt as he appeared to digest the name carefully.   "We should workshop that," he said.

Luffa threw up her hands in annoyance.  

*******

Hours later, at their training ground, Luffa and Rehval watched the stars come out in the night sky.  The air was cold, but she barely noticed thanks to how closely he was holding her.  

"That's the Pflaume system," he whispered into her ear as he pointed to a faint point of light that had just become visible as dusk gave way to night.   "That's where my villa is.  I'd like to show it to you sometime."

"You already showed it to me," Luffa replied.  

"That was a hologram," Rehval said.   "I want you to experience the real thing.   The sounds, the smells..."

He might have added "touch", but instead he gently caressed the side of her neck with his lower lip, and she found this far more persuasive.  

"But we can discuss that later.  I've kept you here for too long," Rehval said.  "You probably want to get back to your ship."

"No, it's all right," Luffa said.  "Zatte took the ship into space.  I'm staying with my grandmother until she gets back."

Earlier, she had resolved not to tell him any of this.   He didn't need to know, after all.  Yet somehow, something about the way he held her and the sound of his voice caused her to forget her mistrust.  

"She left the planet?" Rehval asked.  "Why?"

"Chasing down a lead on the killer," Luffa said.  "Not that it'll matter.  You and I should have him cornered by the time she gets back.  

"Then why don't you stay at the palace until she returns?" Rehval asked.  

She took a deep breath and released it as a long sigh.  

"I take it that's a 'no'," Rehval said.

"Maybe," Luffa said.  "Let's focus on the Saiyan-killer, and then we'll worry about sleeping arrangements."

"Fair enough."  Rehval released her and rose to a standing position.    

"Where are you going?" Luffa asked.  "I told you, I can stick around a while longer."

"Yes, but unfortunately, I have some business to handle back at the citadel.   I can either put in a long night or get up early to take care of it before we meet up.    Either way, I need to get moving."

"Business?" Luffa asked.  

"It's a state secret," Rehval said.  "I'd need to arrange a security clearance for you.   Maybe if you and your wife choose to stay on Saiya for a while, we could make that happen.  You've proven to be a great help to the kingdom.  Both of you."

"One thing at a time," Luffa said.   "I'll see you at 0900 tomorrow."

"Of course,” Rehval said.   As he floated into the air, he waved good bye and made that damned wink that she found so endearing and smarmy at the same time. 

“Don’t be late!” Luffa called out to him. 

“I wouldn’t dare,” Rehval replied with a smile.   “I know how much you hate to be kept waiting.”

*******

"Where is he?!"

By 1000 hours, Citadel Time, Luffa was in General Ratijio's office, threatening to wreck his furniture.  The general was the strongest Saiyan in the royal military, and unaccustomed to dealing with such a tantrum.   Typically, he would have killed any Saiyan who dared to barge into his office and make such a racket, but Luffa was far from typical, and he knew it.  

"I don't know!" he pleaded.    

Without really meaning to, he glanced at the most valuable object in the room, the palladium medal awarded to him by King Rehval II for his fortieth year of service.  The display case hung on a wall just beyond his reach.  It was a simple tactical assessment.   His territory (office) had been occupied by a superior force (a Super Saiyan), and since he couldn't give the invader what she wanted (the king's location), she would sack his domain to vent her frustrations.  All he could do now was try to minimize the damage.  He couldn't hide his medals now, but if he could keep her attention on his desk or one of the file cabinets...

Then Luffa went straight for the display case.  He raised his hand, although he had no idea what good it would do, but before he could even move, she had torn it down from the wall and moved back to her position in front of the door.  He didn't think any Saiyan could move so quickly.  He thought that she had to use her golden-haired form to tap into that kind of ability.

"Do I have your attention now?" Luffa demanded.  She broke the case apart in her hands and let the pieces fall to the floor.  Then, she knelt down and picked up the palladium medal he had been so worried about.  

For a moment, he wondered how she knew that one was so important to him.  Then he realized that she wasn't just faster than any other Saiyan; she had actually caught the movements of his eyes, and noticed what he had been looking at.  She was a monster, and the king had welcomed her into the heart of his kingdom.   Worse, he had actually begun having some sort of an affair with her.   And now, the king, in his infinite temerity, had stood her up.  

"Luffa," Ratijio said, trying to maintain what little composure he had left.    "He's the king.  He doesn't tell me where he goes, but I can try to find out if, you'll just--!"

"I've been trying to find him for the last hour!" Luffa snarled.  I can't sense his ki, he's not in the palace, and none of his staff have seen him since yesterday."

"What about that technique you've been developing with him?" he asked.   "I thought you could find anyone."

"Oh, I'm coming to that, don't worry," Luffa said.  "The point is, he agreed to meet me at the palace this morning, and he isn't there.  Finding him isn't as important as knowing why he isn't where he said he'd be.   We're supposed to be tracking down that Saiyan-killer today!"

Ratijio swallowed hard.  "Are you saying that the king is--?"

"I showed you how Golden Duster works, General," Luffa said.  "I saturate an area with my own power, and sense for any movements within that field.  It's for finding people who might be concealing their own ki, but it won't work on a corpse!"

"He... he can't be dead!" Ratijio said.  "The Honor Guard would never--!"

Faster than he could register the movement, Luffa grabbed him by the chest of his uniform, lifted him out of his chair, over the desk, and slammed him against a wall, upside down.  The sheer speed of this action was made even more astonishing by the fact that she did it all with one hand.  

"The Honor Guard.   Let's talk about them, shall we?" Luffa said with a sneer.   "They're under your command, right?"

She was still clutching the medal in her free hand.   Ratijio found that he kept glancing at it, even as he knew that he had to focus his attention on Luffa.   He couldn't afford to make her any angrier than she already was.  

"No," he said.   "They report directly to the King!   They're his secret police--"

"Secret police?!" Luffa roared.   "What does a Saiyan king need that for?!"

In spite of his predicament, Ratijio made a knowing smirk.  "You really are a back country yokel, aren't you?"  he said.   "I thought it was just an act to fool people, but you really-- ARRGH!"

Luffa's fingers suddenly charged with ki, and he felt a surge of pain in his chest.  

"Dumb it down for me, then," she said darkly.  

"Fine, fine!" he gasped.  "You might think a Saiyan king should rule by strength alone, but Rehval isn't interested in merely ruling the Saiyans!  He wants to redefine our very culture!  The Honor Guard doesn't just suppress dissent, they enforce Rehval's vision of how the people should behave!"

"Then why would they recruit a file clerk like Finule?" Luffa asked.  "The way I hear it, she was no fan of the regime."

"Finule?" Ratijio asked.  "So they finally took her, did they?  I didn't know, but I'm not surprised.  She talked too much.   Sooner or later someone was going to shut her up."

"Then why not just kill her and be done with it?" Luffa asked.  

"To use her for--!"  But he couldn't finish the sentence.   He knew the information was classified, and that he wasn't supposed to share it with an outside like Luffa, but now he found that he literally couldn't tell.  It was as if the words had been trapped in his throat.

"Use her for what?!" Luffa demanded.  She charged her fingers with ki once more, and he convulsed with pain.  

"They probably took her to--!" he tried to say, but rephrasing his answer made no difference.  

Ratijio had never tried to betray state secrets before.  This wasn't a matter of honor or loyalty, but fear of Rehval's immense physical strength.   But Rehval was missing, and Luffa was here, and far stronger than Rehval could ever hope to be, and this alone made a very compelling case for treason.  Only he couldn't go through with it, and Luffa was rapidly losing what little patience she had left...

"You know, I could just rip the answers out of your mind," Luffa said.  

"I'm trying to tell you, but something is--!" Ratijio began to say.   This time he stopped himself from finishing his sentence.  He knew Luffa wouldn't believe him, since he hardly believed it himself.  

She flung him to the other side of the room, where he crashed to the floor.  Ratijio had the physical might to at least soften his landing, but he didn't want to risk antagonizing Luffa any more than he already had.   As soon as he was able, he glanced to her hand to find his medal was still in tact.  Even as he did so, he wondered why that should still matter to him.

"Don't bother," Luffa said.  She approached him, reaching for his face with her empty hand.  "I've wasted enough time on you already.   I should probably use both hands, so before we get started..."

She held up the medal and closed her fist, crushing it into a chunk of twisted metal.  Then she flung out her arm, launching it like a mortar bomb through the window of his office.   Ratijio was horrified to see this, although he still couldn't understand why.  

And then suddenly, he felt something snap inside him.  There was an intense pain in his head, like something was trying to smash its way out of his skull, and he clutched at his face as he curled up into a fetal position.   He heard an undignified scream, and eventually realized that it was coming from his own mouth.   It was so excruciating that he completely forgot the angry Super Saiyan standing over him.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" she asked, though her voice sounded distant to him, as though she were calling to him from across a great chasm.  

And then the pain simply stopped.  Ratijio opened his eyes and looked at the palms of his hands, unsure if it was safe to move or speak.  He gasped with relief, and slowly rose to one knee, until Luffa grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him to his feet.  

"It was the medal," he said quietly.  "Damn his eyes, he did it to me just like all the rest!"

"What are you babbling about now?" Luffa asked.  

He noticed she had raised one of her fists and he quickly held up his hands in supplication.  "Wait, don't!" he pleaded.  "I'll tell you everything!"

*******

For lack of anywhere better to go, Luffa took General Ratijio to her grandmother's house.   King Rehval III had now been missing for over four hours.   While Luffa concentrated her senses on finding any trace of his ki, Arracash served him all the steamed vegetables he could eat.

"You don't see brassicas like that anywhere else on Saiya, now do you?" Arracash bragged.  "You'd probably think they were imported, but I grew them right here in my garden."

"They are impressive," Ratijio said between bites.  

"The secret is the molybdenum powder I sprinkle into the soil," Arracash went on.   "Any idiot knows to use fertilizer in this sort of climate, but they don't know to do their homework.  Sure, they can grow some crops, but if they don't pay attention to the micronutrients, you won't have much to show for it on the dinner table."

"I see," Ratijio said absently.  

"Now, the iron levels in the soil here aren't a problem, but you still have to keep an eye on the others.  Boron, zinc.  Manganese.  A lot of people don't even know what that is."

"If you two are through talking about gardening," Luffa growled, "I'd like to go over what you told me, General."

He swallowed hard at the sound of that.  "I've told you everything I know," he insisted.  

"Yeah, and most of it was stuff I already learned from reading Rehval's mind," Luffa said.  "His father, Rehval the Second, was an alchemist.   He used witchcraft-- or whatever you want to call it-- to hold onto his throne and defeat his enemies.   He even used it on loyal officers like you, like that medal he enchanted to keep you in line in case you ever tried to turn against him."

"He kept his powers a secret," Ratijio grumbled, "but rumors began to circulate.   Some of us in the military began to suspect he had some sort of influence over people.  I didn't know for certain until you crushed that medal.  For the last five years, I've treated it like a prized possession and never knew why."

"Well, the only trouble I have with that story is that Rehval II is dead," Luffa said.  "Rehval III found out about his secret alchemy lab and killed his father in disgust.  Only it looks like he didn't bother to track down all the talismans and potions his dad left behind."

"Why should he bother?" Ratijio muttered.  "The current king may not have approved of his father's methods, but he still benefits from the results.  The spell I was under made me loyal to their whole dynasty.   It's the same with the Honor Guard.   I'm sure they're under some sort of enchantment to ensure their absolute obedience.  That's why I say the king must still be alive.   If he died, the Honor Guard would immediately install his successor."

"Who would that be?" Luffa asked.  

"Don't be an idiot, girl," Arracash said.  "Obviously one of the king's children would assume the throne."

"Obviously," Luffa replied, "except Rehval has no children."

"Of course he does," Ratijio said.  "The king is many things, but he's no fool.   To rule over Saiya without an heir would jeopardize everything his house has ever worked for."

"That's impossible!" Luffa insisted.  

"Why?" Ratijio scoffed.  "Did you really think you were the first woman he ever fancied?"

Normally, such a cutting and personal remark would have embarrassed her.   Her involvement with Rehval had been confusing enough before the General accidentally walked in on them in the middle of an embrace.  He had kept quiet about it, but now that he was finally speaking up, Luffa was too shocked to be self-conscious.  

"You and the king?!" Arracash blurted out.  

"I guess you really didn't know," Ratijio said with a snort.   "His Majesty's quite the charmer, isn't he?   Probably convinced you that you were the only one he had ever loved.   Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it's just a line.  Once he's satisfied, he'll move on to someone else and tell her the same story."

Luffa shook her head.  "I read his mind," she said.  "I didn't find anything about children or other women or..."

"You must have skipped a few pages then," Ratijio replied.  

Luffa's eyes went wide, and she started taking quick, shallow breaths as she struggled to make sense of this.  Somehow, Rehval had thwarted her telepathic probe, and she had never even dreamed that this was possible.  In the past, others had resisted her mental powers, or fought back with psychic abilities of their own, but this was something altogether different.  

"Luffa, he's telling the truth," Arracash said.  Her grandmother had approached her and reached out with a sympathetic hand.   "The king keeps his children out of the public, but he's held ceremonies to announce their births.  I attended one once--long story--but the food was lousy..."

But Luffa wasn't listening to her.   Arracash and Ratijio probably thought she was upset over being deceived by a romantic partner, but that wasn't it at all.  Like a witless amateur, Luffa had overestimated her own power.  She had assumed that a thorough telepathic interrogation would prove once and for all whether the king was friend or foe.   Everything she and Zatte had done since then was based on this faulty premise.   There could only be one explanation: Rehval had been manipulating them from the start.  

Her thoughts turned to Zatte, who was currently headed for a whole other star system.  Was that part of Rehval's plan?  Was he luring Zatte into a trap, or was it just a way to remove Zatte from Planet Saiya while he put his true plan into effect?  

"Luffa, what are you doing?" Arracash asked.  

The old Saiyan had sensed Luffa's ki rising as she ruminated over her failure.  Without really thinking about it, Luffa raised her hand and slammed her fist into her own sternum.   Her jaw was clenched so tightly that her teeth hurt.  As usual whenever Luffa made a mistake, she could almost hear her dead mother's voice scolding her in her mind.  Complacent!  The enemy was right in front of her.  Her wife, her closest ally, had been right beside her.  And what had she done?!  She took both for granted, and now they were both gone.   She could have strangled Rehval last night and been done with this, but instead she held him in her arms, tenderly, and let him whisper sweet nothings into her ear while they looked at the stars. 

"Luffa!  Not in the house!  You hear me?!  Not in the house!"

In her rage, Luffa's ki had manifested like a miniature whirlwind.   Arracash was pleading for her to stop.  Just beneath Luffa's skin, as always, was that thing.   Aside from a private demonstration for Rehval, she had kept it contained during her visit to Planet Saiya.   Luffa wasn't entirely sure why.  Maybe it was because she wanted to at least pretend to fit in with her own species.   While she had grown accustomed to her other form and accepted it as a part of herself, she still didn't relish the idea of showing it off to her own kind, to revealing herself as this yellow-haired, green-eyed monstrosity.  

But now... Now that Rehval's lies were exposed, now that General Ratijio was rushing out of the house in fear for his life, now that Luffa felt like she couldn't make things any worse than they already were... Now, she could see no reason to hold back.  

With a sharp cry, she released her power... released herself, and came to a decision.

If Rehval wouldn't deal with her directly, then she would just take the matter up with his precious planet.

NEXT: Behind the Throne