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voyages-extraordinaires · 6 years

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C:R ~VE~ Chapter 25

The next morning, Nemo and I decide that it would be a good time to get Impey to try and alter the transmitters so Cardia can speak with the party at Steel London.

I try my best not to make eye contact with her... though I’m stabbed by guilt when I notice the deep bags under her eyes.

When we find Smith, she doesn’t even need an explanation. She proudly escorts us to the transmitter room to show off the technology that they use to keep in contact with Steel London.

“Ohh, this baby will be fun to work with!” Barbicane rolls up his sleeve. “Nemo, hit me with the transmitter paired with Aouda-chan’s.”

I begin to follow Cardia over to watch him work when Smith touches my arm. The look on her face is conflicted, like she’s having trouble forming the words she feels she needs to say.

“Look, I don’t know the details about Professor Aleister did to you, but... I’m sorry,” her voice is quiet and vulnerable, different from her usual boisterousness. “He saved my life. I never would have thought that he’d be capable of this!”

I shake my head. “Don’t apologize.How could you have known? Smith, we would never blame you for this, so please don’t apologize.”

Smith gives me a weak smile but then slowly looks down at the floor. “I trusted him, you know? I... I looked up to him...”

Nemo claps a hand on Smith’s shoulder.

“Ohhhhh, my stuuuudent!” he takes a deep, dramatic breath. “This pain in your heart-- I know it well!”

“Huh?” Smith looks up at Nemo with a confused expression.

“You feel betraaaaayed, right? Lost! Without your guiding light! It was the same for me, yes... without my precious sensei... allow me to pass on the gift that was given to me then! These! Simple! Words!”

He throws his head back and points triumphantly at Smith.

“You... are more than Aleister’s shadow! It’s your time to step out into the suuuuuuuuuuun! The child muuuuust surpass the parent, such is the way of sciiiiiiiiience!”

Nemo’s voice increases in volume as more passion is poured into his words.

"My student-- you are not alone! This island that you discovered is a Holy Laaaaaaaand! Though Aleister sewed the seeds, you were the one who cultivated and tended to it! Now we all walk the same path together, all treading towards new knowledge and new ideas, a beautiful horizon indeeeeeeeeeeed!”

Smiths’s eyes widen, and she puts a hand to her chest as though she had been shot. “Nemo...."

She looks up at him with tears brimming in her eyes. “Nemo-sensei...!!!”

I quickly take a step back so I’m not in the path of teacher and pupil embracing each other. Oh, boy...

As they hug each other, both in tears, I can’t help but smile. Looks like Nemo finally gets to be ‘sensei’.

“If all you can do is regurgitate botched quotes from Aleister, then you probably shouldn’t attempt to dole out advice!”

Nemo and I whirl around to face the very familiar voice.

Barbicane stands up, grinning. “Ha ha! Got this baby working like a charm for me! Hey, Finis, how are things in Steel London?”

“It isn’t as noisy as usual, which is nice,” Finis says with a sigh. “Now, more importantly, where’s my sister?”

“I’m here,” says Cardia. “I’m glad to hear that you’re doing well, Finis.”

“Of course I’m doing well, honestly...”

A light laugh comes through the transmitter. “Don’t be like that, Finis... he was actually quite worried about you, Miss Cardia.”

“Saint!” Cardia beams at the sound of his voice.

“Criminy, you’re all so intent on wasting time with unimportant things. Don’t come complaining to me when Fogg pitches a fit.”

“Finis, don’t blame your foul mood on my wife!” this time it’s Aouda who laughs, and Nemo jumps over to the transmitter like a hyperactive grasshopper. Luckily for everyone who wanted to hold a coherent conversation, Barbicane is able to keep the transmitter away from Nemo.

“Hey, I want to talk to Cardia-chan, too!” This time it's a voice I had never heard, a young boy’s.

“Della-chan, it’s good to hear your voice,” says Cardia. “Have you and Van been able to make a lot of progress?”

“Not as much as we would have liked... but the situation you’ve wound up in is of particular interest to me, so we came back,” another voice I don’t recognize, this one deep and cool.

“Woaaah, Van too?! San-chan, how many people have you crammed into that mansion of yours?” asks Barbicane.

“As soon as Finis arrived with Fogg and Aouda, we sent word for the rest of the group to join us,” says Saint. “For the time being Van, Della, Fran-- (Saint pauses here in anticipation of Nemo’s excited shrieking)-- and Lupin are all staying here. Impey, you shouldn’t need to worry about your companions for long.”

“So... so many people...” Nemo sniffs loudly. “So many people... all here to help meeeeeeeeee?”

There’s a very quiet sigh that I recognize as belonging to Dr. Frankenstein. “I’m fairly certain that most of us are here for Cardia and Impey’s sakes... o-oh, I apologize, Miss Aouda.”

The general clamor of reminiscing dies down when Finis says: “Ah, so the peacock has strut back in.”

“Oh, everyone’s all gathered together? I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long!” a charismatic voice pipes through.

Cardia straightens up, her eyes sparkling. “Lupin!”

I perk up. So, that was the voice of the famous gentleman thief.

“Cardia, it’s been too long! I hope Impey hasn’t been giving you too much trouble,” he says.

“Oy, Lupin--! You greet your partner like that after all this time--?!”

I can practically hear Lupin smiling over the transmitter.

“I’ve been having a lot of fun here,” says Cardia. “Everyone’s very nice, and we’re all working very hard. Actually, I’m very glad that everyone’s around, I wanted to say something important...”

“Hm? What is it, Cardia?” asks Della.

“I’m...” Cardia takes a deep breath, then smiles. “I’m going to be going on the voyage with Impey and the others.”

The silence on the other end of the transmitter is so astounding that Barbicane ducks down to make sure it’s still working.

Saint’s the first one to speak. “A submarine voyage... my, how romantic.”

“Perhaps, but... by ‘the others’, do you mean...”

Frankenstein’s voice is cut off by Nemo plucking the transmitter from Barbicane’s hands.

“Of cooooooooourse! Cardia-chan will be in myyyyyy custody beneath the waves, so you have no need to worry!”

There’s a beat of silence, and then everybody on the other end of the transmitter begins to protest at once.

“Sister, have you lost your mind?!” asks Finis. “There’s no way I can agree to that!”

“He’s right,” says Frankenstein. “There would be no way we could guarantee your safety, Cardia.”

“Hey, hey, I’m going to be there too!” Barbicane points to himself, even though no one can see it over the transmitter. “Don’t count me out, I’ll make sure our princess is safe!”

“It’s-- It’s not that I don’t trust you, Impey...” Frankenstein continues.

“No, we definitely don’t trust him,” says the man that Barbicane called ‘Van’. “Cardia, do you remember the training I gave you?”

“Of course,” replies Cardia.

“SHE ISN’T GOING TO NEED TO USE ANY OF HER TRAINING ON ME!” Barbicane protests loudly.

Among all the clamor, one voice rises to silence the rest. One voice speaks calmly.

“A submarine with Impey and Nemo, huh...” says Lupin. “... Is the Lady of Science there? Professor Aronnax?”

I jump when I realize that he’s referring to me, of all people, with such a romantic name. ‘Lady of Science’... I could get used to that.

I shake my head to stop a self-indulgent smile from crossing my face. Now isn’t the time for daydreaming!

“Yes, I’m here,” I walk towards the transmitter, and Nemo passes it to me with a flourish and a knowing grin. “Just ‘Aronnax’ is fine. I’m not a professor anymore.”

“Oh? That’s a shame, the ‘rogue professor’ has become quite a popular character back home,” says Lupin, a laugh in his voice.

“Back home...? You mean Paris?” my eyes widen.

“Of course,” says Lupin. “The professor who left her world in pursuit of forbidden love with a mad scientist!”

“W-What...?” I feel my cheeks redden-- with anger. “That’s what they’re saying about me?! That I left Paris to chase after love?! I left Paris for a love, all right, a love of BIOLOGY! If they’re going to spread stories about me, the least they could do make my focus on my research!”

“Haha, sorry, sorry! But a romantic heroine is much more sympathetic, don’t you think?”

“Huh?” I raise an eyebrow.

“A professor, exhausted after being bound by society’s expectations, stands up against the powers that be in order to save the man she loves! Pretty catchy, right?”

Frankenstein speaks softly against Lupin’s grandiose speech: “It’s just a little difficult when the story’s love interest terrorized London in a gigantic battleship...”

“ Arsène Lupin... it sounds almost like you might have had a hand in crafting these stories,” I murmur.

“Of course!” I can practically see him gesturing grandly. “While Fran tries to reach Victoria’s senses and Saint tries to influence the aristocracy, it is up to me to light a fire in the hearts of the people!”

I hear Lupin step forward and pick up the transmitter. It feels like he’s speaking only to me despite the others being with us.

“Pauline Aronnax, as someone honored enough to live in those hearts as a beloved outlaw, I’m glad to call you a comrade. The story might not be the exact truth, but the ‘heart’ is still there! You feel it too, right?”

I find myself putting my hand over my heart despite myself.

“That ardent heartbeat... whether it awakened in the search of knowledge or in the search of love, no one can deny its power. When our stories come to a close, people won’t remember what made our hearts begin. What they’ll remember is what we do with the power it gives us.”

“Our stories... my story entwining with his...” I whisper.

I am alone with Lupin’s words and the heart thumping in my chest.

“T-T-That’s sooooo beaaauuutiiffuuul----!!!”

It’s Nemo’s loud wailing that pulls me out of the gentleman thief’s spell.

I shake my head to clear it and put a confident smile on my face. “Lupin, you certainly do have a way with words! Very well, then, I’ll leave my reputation in your capable hands.”

“Then I will make sure you live in the hearts of the people forever, Professor! Victoria will find an uprising on her hands if she goes against Paris’ new darling,” says Lupin.

“Just... can’t you add a little bit more of my research to it?” I laugh nervously. “I mean, can’t that be part of my motivation? The pursuit of knowledge is very romantic!”

“Well, I think that settles it,” says Lupin. “Our princess will be safe with the professor.”

“Uh, Lupin?” I try to interject. “My research?”

“And how would you know that Sister will be safe?” Finis’ voice is low and dangerous.

“Because the professor is in love,” replies Lupin.

“Please at least attempt to make a little sense,” Fogg finally speaks up.

“Just think about everything we’ve been told- from Aouda, that Conseil guy, and even you! The Professor is in love with the very idea of this journey. She would never let anything jeopardize it.”

“Besides, I think you all are missing something very important,” I add. “I’m quite fond of Cardia, too. There’s no way I would let these two get away with anything indecent.”

“M-Man, Polly-chan, that’s cold...” Barbicane mumbles.

“How cruuuuuel of you to include your beloooooved scientist in there---!!” Nemo puts a hand to his head and dramatically leans back in anguish.

I can practically hear Finis sulking through the aether.

“Finis...” Cardia takes the transmitter from me, addressing her brother with a gentle voice. “You should know better than anyone that I can handle myself.”

Eventually, I hear Finis sigh. It’s probably the best consent we’ll get out of him.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I have a question,” asks Smith. She steps up to the transmitter, looking around worriedly. When nobody objects, she takes a breath. “Honestly, up until a little while ago I never thought about questioning it, but.... why would Professor Aleister go to all this length for a submarine?”

Everybody is silent, even Nemo.

“Finis,” I ask. “He worked under you, right? What do you think?”

Finis scoffs. “Aleister did what I needed for him to do, and that was that. I didn’t bother with useless questions, and neither did he.”

“...Van?” I hear Frankenstein ask quietly. “Do you have any ideas?”

There’s a deep sigh.

“I’ve been thinking about it myself. It seems out of character for him to be after something like a submarine,” he says.

“If he specifically wanted a submarine capable of crossing the Atlantic, that means he plans on going a great distance,” says Frankenstein. “But for what purpose...?”

There’s more silence, until Lupin speaks: “Well, that’s our job to find out, isn’t it? Leave Aleister to us!”

“Haaaa ha ha ha ha!That’s riiiiiiiiiight! If our precious friends help us, then nothing is impossible!”

Nemo’s saccharine words silence me. Though I’m not sure how many picked up on it, or how many even wanted to pick up on it...those words were nothing short of his cruelest sarcasm.

They’re his strange way of reminding us-- me-- that we have to prepare for the worst.That we might not ever be able to go back. That we might always be on the run from Victoria, or that we might always be evading Aleister’s games.

I quietly reach over and take Nemo’s hand, choosing to respond with a touch instead of with words.

Cardia and Barbicane chat happily with Lupin and the others, pausing every now and then to let Nemo shriek at Frankenstein.

It’s a good half-hour before the call begins to wrap up and we say our goodbyes. It’s obvious just how much Cardia means to the gang, each of them wishing her well on this journey. They also each threaten Barbicane in great detail, and reference the harm that will come to Nemo if he even looks at Cardia the wrong way.

“Professor.”

I straighten up when I hear Aouda’s calm and cool voice. “Yes?”

“Have you found the happiness that you were looking for?”

I remember when she asked me: “What do you think will make you happy now?”

I had replied, “I want to be with Nemo and Barbicane and the others.”

I look over at the slouched scientist idly looking over the controls.

“I have.”

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