Act 7 - Blackmail

Dinner that night in the royal dining room was unusually quiet. The king and queen had returned from Mars, completely exhausted by the journey and the endless meetings they had to sit through. In fact, the queen looked like she was about to fall asleep in her rice bowl. And Tokemi, who regularly ate with the family due to the fact that she rarely got to see her parents, seemed to be completely ignoring her uncle for some reason, only speaking to her aunt and cousin.

Things were definitely out of the ordinary from their usually animated mealtimes, but Yumeko was acting the strangest of all. She had barely uttered two words the entire meal. How was she going to break the news of her and Phoenix's broken engagement to her parents? They were so pleased with her choice of husband. The news would certainly disappoint both of them, especially her mother, who had grown to love Phoenix like a son.

"Yumeko, have you heard from Phoenix?" her mother asked, glancing at the empty spot across from Yumeko. "He's usually here by dinnertime."

"He went back to Crystal Tokyo," she replied quietly.

"So soon? I knew he was assigned command of Fort Crystal, but I thought Phoenix would at least wait until tomorrow before leaving. We would have liked to have said goodbye."

"He wanted to leave as soon as possible."

"Well, I'm sure we'll see him in a couple of months. The war will hopefully be over by that time and then we can be begin the preparations for the wedding…"

The queen's voice trailed off as she noticed her daughter staring sadly down at her food. Helios noticed it too and took Yumeko's hand. A tear ran down her cheek, falling into her untouched dinner.

"What's wrong, my little princess?" her father asked. "Are you worried about Phoenix? I'm sure he will be alright. The general is a fine warrior with the skill of a man twice his age."

"There won't be a wedding, Papa," she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"What?" Serenity exclaimed, surprised at the news. "Yumeko, what happened? I don't understand."

Yumeko stood up, unable to hold in her tears any longer. "I-I'm sorry, Mama, Papa," she apologized before running out of the dining room.

"Yumeko!"

Serenity put down her chopsticks and went after her only daughter, leaving Helios and Tokemi to finish dinner in silence. The king started to follow his wife up to Yumeko's room, but decided that mother and daughter needed some time alone together. Instead, he turned his attention to his curiously quiet niece.

"Tokemi, would you like some more rice?" he asked, passing her Yumeko's bowl. "I don't think Yumeko will be coming back down, and there's no reason to let good food go to waste."

A frosty silence answered him. Tokemi just stared blankly ahead, refusing to acknowledge his presence. As far as she was concerned, she might as well be the only person in the room.

"How was your day? Did you learn anything interesting in school?"

Again there was no answer. Helios was at a loss for words. He didn't understand why his beloved niece wouldn't speak to him. They had always had a close relationship, especially since she didn't get to see her father all that much. Kado usually stayed with Masago at the Gate of Time, occasionally popping in for a short visit, so Helios had become sort of become like a father figure to Tokemi.

"Tokemi, did I do something to upset you?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Your Majesty," she finally said. He winced at the use of his title. What had happened to Uncle Helios? "I know all about your dirty little secret."

"My secret?" he repeated, confused. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about. What is this dirty little secret?"

"As if you didn't know. You are all the same. I thought you were different, but now I know you're nothing but a man."

Tokemi violently pushed the chair from the table, knocking over a glass of water, and stood up. She then turned toward her uncle, her angry face becoming once again cold and unemotional like a mask. "If you will excuse me now, Your Majesty, I need to make sure Yumeko is okay."

She walked out of the room, leaving Helios more confused than ever. What was she talking about? What secret?


Yumeko's sobs shook through her entire body like an earthquake. Her mother wrapped her loving arms around her beloved daughter, whispering calming words of encouragement, and Elysia handed her a handkerchief. Between intervals of tears, the princess explained what had happened, leaving the part about Shadow out, still quite ashamed by her behavior.

"Sweetheart, there's nothing to be sorry about," Serenity insisted. "These things happen all the time. Phoenix apparently just was not the man you were meant to spend the rest of your life with."

Yumeko looked up at her mother. "But aren't you and Papa disappointed? I know how much you two wanted us to get married."

"It's true that your father and I liked General Phoenix very much, but your future happiness is much more important to us. We will be pleased with any man you choose to marry as long as he makes you happy, whether he be a prince or a pauper. Somewhere out there is a man that you were destined to be with, your soul mate, your dream lover. I don't know when he will appear, but someday the time will come, and the two of you will be blissfully happy together, just like your father and I. That is our greatest wish for our beautiful golden dream."

"Oh, Mommy…"

A knock on the door interrupted their tender moment. Yumeko quickly wiped away her tears and answered the door.

"Yumeko, are you okay?" Tokemi asked, wrapping her cousin in a hug.

"Not yet," Yumeko said, returning the hug, "but I will be."


Shadow grabbed a red marker from his pencil holder and began randomly drawing circles around possible attack sites on a map of Silver Millennium. He knew that he should be concentrating more on his strategy, but for some strange reason, his heart wasn't into it anymore. He was simply going through the motions.

There was a time in his life when war was the only thing he lived for. The excitement of predicting the enemy's next move, the feeling of authority he got from ordering the troops, the thrill of the attack -- all were distant memories for him now. When he was younger, he had been a promising graduate from the Nightmare Academy, eager to please his father. Shadow had quickly climbed up in the ranks, becoming commander-in-chief at the tender age of eighteen. Under his command, the Delian Nightmare Alliance grew at an alarming rate, practically doubling in size. Without his guidance, it was doubtful that they would have the power to rage war against the universe's greatest kingdom, Silver Millennium.

The thought now sickened him. This war, if continued, would be the cause of so much pain and suffering, especially to Dreama Aurora. From the look in her eyes, he knew that she was worried to death about her former fiancé, General Phoenix of Earth. She still cared about him very much, not as a lover, but as a friend.

"What have I done?" he said, throwing the marker aside and hiding his face in his hands. When had he developed a heart?

Phantom entered the study. "Master Shadow-sama, Mistress Midnight-sama would like to have a word with you."

"Tell her I'm busy. I'm not in the mood for her antics tonight."

"I tried telling her that you were working on battle plans, but she insists that what she has to say is of the utmost importance. I quote, 'If Shadow doesn't see me right now, he can kiss his precious head goodbye', whatever that means."

Shadow breathed in deeply. Midnight must finally want to talk about what she saw the night of the Crystal Ball. "Fine, Phantom. Tell my sister that she can come in, but just for a few minutes. I have a lot of work to do."

A few seconds later, Midnight orbed into the study wearing another one of her trademark slutty outfits. He wondered why she even bothered to waste money buying clothes anymore. She could walk around naked and get the same effect.

"So, Shady, how's your leg feeling?" she asked as he bristled at the use of his childhood nickname.

"My leg? I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," Shadow replied, knowing exactly what she was talking about. Midnight must have been spying on him with that stupid mirror of hers, which was not good news. "And the name is Shadow, not Shady."

"You don't have to play games with me, ShadOW. I know all about what happened today in Elysion, so there's no reason to try to hide it."

Midnight took a seat on the edge of his cluttered desk and began shuffling through a pile of paper. She was loving every minute of this. Her brother looked positively white as a ghost, which was what Shadow was going to be if he didn't give into her demands. She had him cornered, and he knew it.

"Now, personally, I don't really care what goes on between you and the princess of Silver Millennium," she continued. "For all I care, the two of you could make wild, passionate love on this very table and I wouldn't raise an eyebrow. However, I have a feeling that our father would have a different reaction to his son's dalliance with the enemy; one that involves a guillotine, lots of blood, and your head."

"What do you want from me, Midnight?" he asked, bracing himself for the worst.

"Power," she answered without a thought. "I'm tired of being a lowly drill sergeant. Nobody respects me. Besides, all the men do is hit on me and try to pinch my butt."

"Why don't you try wearing something that actually covers your butt instead of those micro-minis you always wear? Men don't respect women in short skirts. It's a proven fact."

Midnight stuck her tongue out at her brother. He was always lecturing her about the clothes she wore, although he didn't seem to have a problem when other girls wore revealing outfits.

"I'm being serious, Shadow. Even you have to admit that I deserve to be promoted, but Daddy's afraid that his precious little girl is going to get hurt."

Shadow pretended to choke on his water. "Whoa! Are you telling me that for once dear old 'Daddy' actually said no to one of your demands? Is the world about to end?"

"I wouldn't be so sarcastic if I were you. Remember, I'm the only one that stands in the way of you and the guillotine."

"Okay, okay, I get the point." Shadow sighed and rubbed at his temple. "I suppose I could put you in charge of the one of the battalions if that will make you happy."

"Well, actually, I had somewhat larger aspirations."

"Like what?"

"Commander-in-chief of the Delian Nightmare Army."

This time he actually did almost choke on the water. Midnight wanted his job? She was taking this way too far. There was no way he was giving her control of the entire army. "Absolutely not, Midnight."

"Think about it, Shadow! Giving me control of the troops will be beneficial to the both of us. You'll be far too busy with searching for the crystal and making goo-goo eyes with the princess to properly concentrate on the attacks. Let me take them off your mind. Plus, do I have to remind you that I hold your life in my hands if I don't get my way? One word to Daddy, and…" She made a slashing motion across her throat, making sure Shadow got the message.

"This is blackmail, Midnight!"

"I know. Isn't it wonderful?"

Even though Shadow knew he would one day regret this decision, he had no other choice. It was either give into his sister's demand or else lose his life. He handed her the map he had been working on and the keys to his airship.

"Okay, Midnight. You win. I will give you control of the Delian Nightmare Army on one condition. Do not attack Earth or Elysion until I give you the go ahead, okay?"

"Sure, whatever."

Midnight squealed with delight as she jingled her brother's keys. This was going to be fun.

"You made the right decision, Shady."

"It's SHADOW!"