The gravitas of the accusation Makoto Naegi had just dropped laid heavy in the elevator. If he had not been certain of his conclusion or had not had experience with throwing out direct claims like this, he probably would have regretted his act of bravado right now.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his body language spelling out his confusion at Makoto's claim.

"The police tactical unit," Makoto explained, "are they not waiting for us right outside the elevator door at the bottom floor? Probably with an order to shoot as soon as you are out of the way?"

"That's absurd, why…"

"Because everything so far has failed," Makoto explained, "so this is your last option."

By now, everyone was certain that Makoto had lost his mind. The next step would be crucial: even if he did not have the complete story, he needed to convey the details he put together perfectly, or else they would not believe him, restart the elevator and ensure everyone's death.

No pressure, as usual.

"The original idea was simple: grab my parents to get me to come here; assassinate the king and blame Marquess Slavomír and his "Future Foundation allies"; cause a fight in the military where Countess Tatjana dies. Then you just remove the "corrupt" head of the police and the throne is Slavomír's," Makoto explained, his voice steadfast, "but this did not work when my sister came. She is not associated with Future Foundation, so your plan would not have worked with her."

Makoto saw no need to mention the Special Operations branch, even if Jonas possibly knew about it. The less people know about it, the better.

"Therefore you captured her to lure us here," Makoto continued, nodding in Toko and Komaru's general direction. Toko winced a bit at becoming the focus of attention. Makoto felt sorry for a nanosecond.

"Slavomír's bomb would have done the trick, but it did not kill us. When your people came and found only me, unconscious, you must have been disturbed, right? Thankfully, since you were the one influencing the marquess, you knew what had happened and could proceed with your plan."

This was the key moment: Makoto could not actually prove the connection. There was not a single piece of evidence he had, but he was steadfast in his conviction. However, it would be important to keep the pressure up. If Jonas got a chance to point out that Makoto was unable to prove the connection to the marquess, it would be game over.

"So you had me taken to your offices, so I could instead find out the "obvious truth" about the marquess's treason. That way, you would have the king dead and an excuse to start the battle you needed anyway and then either get rid of me or associate the crown with Future Foundation in some way. When you learned that there already was a firefight going on at Subpop Palace, you took me along even though that made no sense. I am not very useful in a combat situation and odds are you know that. So why bring me here except to also take me out or use me as the fall guy?"

Makoto took a second to take in the reactions around the room, it seems people were steering towards his side. Some eyes looked accusingly at the agent, who merely had raised an eyebrow in confusion. Clearly, he felt confident in his ability to waive Makoto off.

"And now we are all here, one potential successor is dead and your boys down there will take care of the rest, right?"

Jonas Lithium had little to offer but a soft smile. Makoto felt like he was bringing up all the condescension he could muster for his response.

"So far, so unreasonable," Jonas said, shaking his head, "but the most important question is unanswered. Why would I do all of that? Slavomír is a long-standing partner, yes, but why would I want him to have the throne? After all, me and King Ladislav are close as well, am I wrong?"

His questioning look earned a very subtle nod of approval by the king.

"Od tebaka tabaka, was it not?" Makoto questioned, "The slogan of the communist movement of Novoselic? Having the king under your command would allow you to dissolve the monarchy, right? Which is why all other claimants must be dead, right?"

Before Jonas could respond, one of the soldiers said something in the local language. With the way native eyes turned towards Jonas, Makoto assumed it was backing up his points. Some more discussion and Makoto found himself bemused at his failure to keep up with what was going on. Especially in such a crucial situation, not keeping up with the discussion is disadvantageous at best. He looked around and saw his family confused and anxious, causing his concern to heighten. Toko, on the other hand, had mentally checked out and was merely keeping instinctive watch on him and Komaru. Clearly, he needed to take things back into his own hand.

"Can someone translate to me what was said?"

"Oh, my apologies," responded Ladislav, clearly having forgotten he had foreigners with them right now, "Corporal Pickerel pointed out that Miroslav Lithium was one of the revolutionaries of that time and we were just wondering whether they were related. So, Jonas?"

"I guess the gig is up then," Jonas said, his face twisting at the fact he acknowledged, the corners of his mouth sinking downwards, "yes, indeed he was my grandfather. He never relented in his viewpoint and was always against the monarchy until he died over ten years ago. I always thought it was the insane rants of a maniac, but I saw the truth. All it took was your mad younger sister."

Sonia Nevermind once more. Would everything come back to her?

"Because of how blindly they followed the crown, our people committed savagery across all of Eastern Europe. You have seen the pictures, have you not? A good people who only wanted to mind their own business, driven to such deeds! We are told by the rest of the world that we were as horrible as the Nazis and for once that statement is not just hyperbole. How can anyone still believe we should have a king or a queen after all of that? Is it not a good thing to remove that threat to Novoselic?"

Makoto did not look at footage or pictures of the worst of it, but he was more than aware of the violence committed in the name of Sonia. He corrected himself, pointing out that it was really done in the name of despair. One could say that Junko Enoshima's twisted nihilism caused more damage here than anywhere else. It was hard to disagree with the points Jonas was making; even Ladislav looked away, not sure how to respond.

"No, you're wrong," Makoto shouted, "You went too far. Too many people have died and will die if you are not stopped. Innocent people were dragged into this. You could have chosen other ways to get the people to pick a new form of…"

"Shut up!"

Jonas aggressive response caused everyone to recoil and made Makoto shut up. It was one thing to talk over teenagers, but dealing with a middle-aged man was something different.

"You do not get Novoselic, so don't even try," he said, "there was no other choice. There IS no other choice. The monarchy will fall today!"

As he said those words, he pulled out his gun at breathtaking speed and aimed straight for the king. Ladislav froze and Makoto desperately tried to somehow prevent the inevitable by rushing towards the traitor. His ears ached as he heard the sound of gunfire. Swiftly turning his head, clearly none of them hit Ladislav. Makoto saw Jonas body sinking to the ground, blood staining his clothes. Hynek Nevermind had foreseen the events and had his weapon at the ready, shooting Jonas multiple times. The people around him covered their ears and looked at the events, disturbed by what they were forced to witness. Makoto was particularly unhappy about having his parents forced to look at this violence, completely ignoring that he could have easily been struck by the bullets as well.

"Always disliked him."

Hynek's words were not well-received by the others, but there was no time for matters of propriety. Even with Jonas dead, there still was a well-armed and prepared unit waiting for them.

"What do we do now?" Komaru asked the obvious question. After a short time of thinking, it was the king himself who demanded the attention of the group.

"We will restart the elevator and exit on the first floor. We will then take the stairs to exit at the staff entrance and evade the threat entirely. If we are safe, we call reinforcements and the conspiracy will have been stopped, now that all the traitors are dead. I expect they will have a few people watching all exits, but I think we can deal with them."

Everyone nodded to acknowledge the plan and the soldier that was planning to do so earlier went to work and restarted the elevator. They had stopped just before the first floor anyway, so the ride was quickly over. Makoto gathered himself and offered his hand to Toko, who had slumped down to the floor and did not look like she could move much.

"W-wait a second," she muttered, pulling out her stun gun. Using what little energy she had left, she tazed herself. As usual, her alternate personality rolled out her long tongue. Instead of taking Makoto's hand, she did a needless kip up. Clearly, whatever tiredness affected Toko was not a concern for Genocide Jack.

"Wow, another corpse! Makoto Albarn, Dekomaru, what's wrong with you? Every time I pop up, someone is dead or dying and it's not even my work! KYAHAHAHAHA~!"

Both Naegis groaned, not really being in the mood to deal with her nonsense right now. Komaru threw a shoulder around her and explained both the situation and the plan, while Makoto went over to his parents.

"Mom, dad, we don't have any weapons, so we should stay a bit behind the rest of the group. Don't forget to immediately dive for cover in case something goes wrong."

A simple explanation that got the point across fine. Makoto's parents nodded. Even though Makoto could not tell, they were feeling tremendous pride at the growth their son had experienced. He was a leader of men now, yet had managed to keep his kindness and warmth. That was something that would make any parent proud.

The doors of the elevator opened and the group made their way across the floor. Their movement was interrupted when they saw two armored police officers. It was obvious that their long stay in the elevator has drawn some questioning by the unit. One of the officers reacted quickly and shouted something in his radio. A few bullets from one of the soldiers killed the man and interrupted communications, but not for long enough. Ladislav pulled up his rifle and eliminated the second man. Frustrated, he headed for the stairs.

"We are not getting out of here without a fight now," he explained in his stride, "so we will take the main stairs. At least then we have proper cover."

"Yes, your majesty!"

With that affirmation by the soldiers, the decision was confirmed and the group stormed down the stairs. They were expected, but the tactical unit had not yet fully taken position. As the firefight ensued, Makoto and his parents kept their head low and dove for the rightmost pillars of the ground floor to avoid either getting in the way or being easily flanked. They made it there safely and watched the battle.

Despite their special training, the policemen were no match for trained military personnel. A few who were out of position fell immediately. Three more got killed while popping out of cover to fire back. Eventually, one of them noticed the unarmed Naegis sitting in a corner and was hoping to create a hostage situation. Makoto was preparing himself for a fight, but it proved unnecessary: Genocide Jack, who had mostly been waiting impatiently for an opportunity to strike, leaped forward and gashed the attacker's face multiple times with her scissors. A kick to the soft parts took the attacker out.

However, things were about to take a turn for the worse for her. Having been out in the open, it was only a matter of time until she became a target. A bullet struck her in the leg. Genocide Jack collapsed to the ground, leaving Makoto in shock. He fought his instincts to look away and noticed Jack crawling forward a bit. Taking a risk, he bent forward and pulled Jack into safety by her arm. A few bullets flew closer past his head than he would have liked.

"Fuck, FUCK!" was the affirmation that Genocide Jack was alive, yet in horrible pain.

With both of them safe, attention turned back to the firefight. Komaru had been cautious, but now offered suppression fire. One bullet grazed her shoulder, causing her to go back into cover. Makoto was caught off-guard when his mother picked up Jack's scissor and angrily threw it in the direction of the man who had shot at her daughter. The scissor landed harmlessly before his feet.

"KYAHAHA~! The execution was shit, but I like the spirit. KYAHAHAAAAAA!"

Genocide Jack's approval of Emiko Naegi's action got drowned out by a scream of pain. Makoto took a second to look at her leg. There was a lot of blood coming out, not enough to have him worried about her bleeding out, but still a lot. Anxiously, Makoto looked around for something to stop the wound with, all while making as little movement as possible to avoid becoming a target. Eventually, he came to the simplest solution: he removed his necktie and wrapped it around Jack's left leg.

"Better than nothing," he said to himself.

"Thanks, Big Mac."

Jack's voice was surprisingly soft, almost as if Toko herself had said those words. Makoto smiled in appreciation of the gratitude, almost forgetting the critical situation around him.

"They are surrendering," shouted his dad, dragging him back to the present moment. Indeed, the six policemen left had discarded their weapons and left their cover, hands raised well above their head. Weapons still raised, the three soldiers that had accompanied King Ladislav built a circle around them. As the nobleman went to interrogate them, Makoto wanted to check on his sister, but also did not want to leave Genocide Jack alone.

"I'll take care of her," Emiko said in a tone that displayed her having little appreciation for her son's indecision, "go see whether Komaru is okay!"

Obeying his mother, Makoto and his father went over to Komaru. The arm of her shirt was stained in blood, but she managed to throw her relatives a smile.

"Komaru, is it bad? Should we ask for a medic?"

"It's okay, it only stings a bit," she said, before taking a look at her arm, "well, that shirt is ruined. But don't worry, okay? I just need a bandage and it will be okay. Where's mom?"

Komaru's father pointed towards his wife, who was looking after Genocide Jack. Komaru saw the horrible state her friend was in and rushed to her side.

"Toko, Toko, what happened?"

"What does it look like?" Genocide Jack responded dryly, "I got shot."

Komaru looked worried at the temporary bandage, looking around for a first-aid box. Makoto and his father looked at the scene.

"I'll join them," Toshiro Naegi said to his son, before pointing towards the king and his entourage, "can you tell them we need some medical assistance."

Makoto nodded, appreciative of his father's soft, but focused voice. Just like in his childhood, hearing it was reassuring in many ways. As his father went over to daughter and wife, Makoto turned towards Hynek Nevermind. The older man was sweating, his age clearly showing. He wiped the sweat off with a handkerchief before turning to Makoto.

"There were a few injuries, we will need medical attention," Makoto said.

Hynek merely nodded, grabbing a nearby landline. Assured that that was taken care of, Makoto turned to leave, but an arm on his shoulder kept him back.

"I wanted to thank you," the head of state police said, "I knew that Jonas was not up to anything good. He had my best tactical unit in his own pocket, but I had no means to do anything about it. I could have never guessed just how far he was willing to go."

"I just wonder why nobody made the family connection."

"Everyone knew who his grandfather was, but we did not consider it relevant. You have to understand, after the chaos of the post-World War I world was subdued, Miroslav Lithium disappeared out of the public eye, as he was held in prison and then house arrest for over 40 years and his son, Jonas's father, was a train operator in the public transport system who, for all we knew, never made a political statement in his life and had a very distant relationship with his parents."

Makoto understood the explanation, so he merely nodded.

"To say it again: thank you for helping us out. If everyone in Future Foundation is like you, I think you could be a valuable ally."

Makoto smiled, happy that one more Novoselic official was on their side. He returned to his family, who had calmed down and were now just waiting for a doctor. Soon enough, Ladislav Nevermind joined them.

"First off," he began, "we would like to officially thank you on behalf of the Kingdom of Novoselic for your aid in bringing down forces traitorous to the crown. The entire nation owes you a debt. I personally do owe you a debt as well."

The Naegis as one started to blush a bit.

"Are your wounds taken care off?" he asked. Makoto pointed towards Hynek Nevermind, who was in the middle of calling medical aid. Ladislav recognized the situation and nodded in approval.

"Secondly, we have learned that that police unit and the soldiers stationed here were the only compromised forces. Jonas apparently did not want to involve more conspirators than were absolutely necessary. I have given the command that Slavomír Crover is to be apprehended immediately to learn the extent of his involvement in this plan. I would like to speak to all of you more about this, but there is still much left to be done. I will contact you as soon as I can."

Ladislav IX saluted Makoto and left the family be.

This break allowed Makoto to take in the situation. He looked out the windows and saw that the sun was setting, which made the realization clearer.

It was over.

The conspiracy was defeated and he had his entire family with him again.

It may have come at a great cost, but things were certainly looking brighter than they had a few days before.

Hope had prevailed again.

There we go: only the epilogue, in which the political and personal fallout will be addressed, is left.

Thank you to everyone who has read this chapter and the story as a whole. You are what makes fanfiction work. :)