Chapter 12: The Burden of the Double Life

Endymion chucked the small, flat stone down onto the surface of the lake, spinning it out of his fingers, watching it bounce along the water, each bounce leaving a small little ripple behind.

"I sincerely hope we're on the same page here," Kunzite said, standing just to Endymion's right, arms folded over his chest, gaze directed at the Prince.

Endymion hesitated, but nodded. "Yes, yes, I...I understand, it's just…" He bent down to find another small rock that served his purpose. "It's frustrating, is all. We spent all this time developing a...relationship with her, we had her on the hook to take our product in bulk, so...it's frustrating."

"There are many other Imperium smugglers out there," Kunzite assured his charge. "And most of them are...probably not as mentally unstable as Mimete."

Endymion slowly turned around to look over his left shoulder, looking into a thick, healthy-looking forest of trees. Right above the top of the treeline, he could see the roof of the Earth Palace, towering above everything around it.

"Killing two of your henchmen out in broad daylight?" Kunzite recalled, turning back to look at the small lake. Endymion chucked the rock, using a sidearm delivery to get the stone to skip. "Opposed to, say, your den, nice and private, no public disturbance, no chance of getting caught, easy corpse disposal. No, just...right in an alleyway, right next to the street." Kunzite frowned, Endymion putting his hands on his hips. "And, not for any reason, even."

"Well, we don't know that," Endymion countered.

"You heard what she said," Kunzite said, face wrinkling a bit. "Just did it because...because it was time to swap out bodyguards? Because you have to kill your underlings from time to time just...just because?" He shook his head. "She had to know that we were still right there, that we'd hear, probably see it too...what is that, a message? Trying to scare us? Is that why she just had to do it right then and there?"

"Okay, okay, let's think about this before we do anything drastic," Endymion said, putting his hands up on his forehead, balling them into fists and resting his head on the knuckles.

"You said you understood," Kunzite reminded him, looking quite stern. "We can't work with that woman anymore, Your Highness. It's not an option."

"I, I just, I don't want to throw this opportunity away if it's not absolutely necessary," Endymion said. "Just, let's explore this for a second, she...she killed two guys who she can easily replace, probably, right? She's a big shot Imperium smuggler, getting two big strong guys who can protect her is nothing!" He put his hands on his chest, turning to Kunzite. "Can't replace us! Nobody else in the universe has what we have, if she wants our product she can't do anything to us. So, maybe we're looking at this the wrong way...I get it, she's not a good person, not all there upstairs, but she can afford our Imperium and clearly wants what we have."

"If only she was sane, you might have a point," Kunzite replied. "But, she's clearly not, so we can't depend on things like logic to dictate anything when it comes to her."

Endymion danced his head back and forth a little bit, an unsure look on his face. "Admittedly, she's not the picture of mental health, but...I mean, how can you make it in the Imperium black market without being capable of some degree of rational thought?! Her operation is decently-sized, she's been around for awhile, maybe...maybe we should give her a little credit for being sane enough to realize that you don't want to kill the people who are bringing you the highest-margin commodity in the galaxy and are literally printing money for you."

Kunzite sighed. "Your Majesty. Please. We can not continue working with her. We just found out first-hand what she does to someone when she thinks she's been working with them too long. Do we really need to find out how long is too long?"

Endymion pursed his lips tightly, squeezing his eyes shut. "T-technically, we're working with her, and those guys were working for her—"

"Endymion!" Kunzite interrupted, serving to highlight just how exasperated and insistent the Earth general was by cutting the Prince off mid-sentence.

"Okay, okay, you're right, I…" Endymion put his palm up to cover his mouth, craning his head back to look straight up into the skies. "...you're right, I...what do we do?"

"Well, working with her going forward is out of the question, obviously," Kunzite said.

"Alright, so, we just no-show the next meeting?" Endymion questioned. "And then we've got a pissed off, mentally unstable Imperium Kingpin probably devoting all of her resources to hunting us down so she can kill us?" He shrugged. "What if we went to the next meeting and you, uh, you know…" He raised his right hand up in front of him and curled his index finger a few times, miming firing a gun.

"Betting on me being able to draw and fire on at least three people before any one of them are able to draw and fire, it's no guarantee," Kunzite mused, putting his hand up to his chin in thought. "If that's the plan, you can't be there for it, too much risk."

"If I'm not there, she'll realize something is up," Endymion reasoned. "Alright, suppose we placed...some sort of device in the Imperium, say, an explosive device. We make the deal, and after we go our separate ways, we detonate it."

"Too many things could go wrong," Kunzite replied. "They could find the explosive, and then we're really in a bad position. For all we know, they're planning on making their move against us at the next meet, not a horrible idea to do it right after we give them ten whole libras. And then, the nature of using an explosive, other people can get caught in it."

"Right, right," Endymion agreed. He looked about the lakeside little gravel patch the two were in the middle of, almost as if he was searching for a solution to their problems. "Well, we know she's headed to Spokai, maybe...maybe we could resolve this before the meeting, not during."

"Spokai is a large city," Kunzite pointed out. "Just knowing that she's going there isn't necessarily going to help us. Not with the limited time we have."

"Nephrite's network could locate her," Endymion said, kneeling down to look for another appropriate stone to toss. "That's what it's for, I'm sure he has plenty of spies in Spokai. We find where she's hiding, and then you take her out."

Kunzite tugged at the front of his gray uniform. "Far from a sound plan," he said. "Especially given I'll only have a few days to pull it off, but...I suppose it's the best we can do." He gave a reluctant little nod. "I'll put Nephrite on it."

"Wait, wait!" Endymion said, putting his hand out towards his general as Kunzite was about to turn around, standing up and abandoning his search for a rock to toss. "Maybe...maybe it doesn't have to be you."

Kunzite turned back to Endymion, folding his arms in front of him. "Go on."

"What if...what if we turned her in, so to speak?" Endymion suggested. "Had Nephrite find her base of operations, then sent in an anonymous tip to the agency? They'd be all over it, especially right now, you know they're just chomping at the bit to get after whoever is putting our stuff on the market."

Kunzite chewed on his cheek for a moment, putting his hands on his hips, then looked up towards the sky. "They'd probably put over a hundred agents on the ground if they got a tip like that, she'd never escape." He gave a slow nod. "That...that's not bad at all."

"We don't even have to worry about it, let the agency handle her," Endymion said, reaching over to give Kunzite a slap on the back. "Have it taken care of while you're sitting in your room reading, or sleeping."

"I'd be a little concerned about having someone who's been in contact with us so much in agency custody," Kunzite mused. "She'll be facing a life imprisonment on The Savery, I imagine she'll be giving up anything and everything she knows to try to get it reduced. It's not unthinkable that she'll be able to tell them something that leads to us."

Endymion nodded, forehead wrinkling.

"And suppose the agency finds her, but...can't find any evidence to put her away. Say she's managed to cover everything up and they can't find anything to stick her. Again, not likely, but not impossible either."

"So, what you're saying is we need this to end in a firefight," Endymion said suddenly. "We can't let the agency take her alive, and we can't let her skate the charges, so...we have to make sure that she's in a bodybag at the end of it."

"That would work," Kunzite agreed. "Yes, if she doesn't survive the encounter, that solves all of our problems. Would also mop up her lieutenants and underlings, cut down on the potential loose ends, reduce the number of people who might suspect us and seek revenge." He looked up. "Only issue I can see would be people getting caught in the crossfire."

"Uh-huh," Endymion said, hand up to his chin.

"Imagine if she's holed up with...twenty or thirty of her underlings, and you've got maybe a hundred heavily armed agency soldiers raiding the place. That's a lot of plasma flying."

Endymion's head tilted up a bit, and his left hand suddenly flew over to rap against Kunzite's chest. "W-what if...what if we made it happen during the wedding?" he suggested.

"Hm?" Kunzite's eyebrow raised up.

"During the wedding, nobody's going to be out on the streets, everyone will be at watch parties or at home watching it." He tapped his index finger against Kunzite's chest a few times. "Yes, that's it, we arrange for the raid to happen during the wedding."

"So...you propose that I miss your wedding so I can be there to make sure the raid gets violent?" Kunzite asked. "I don't believe I'll be able to make an adequate excuse to King Kasios for that."

"No no no, you're not missing my wedding," Endymion insisted, withdrawing his hand and shaking his finger at Kunzite. "Not for anything. No, we...we'll find a way to spark a firefight without being there."

"From thousands of dolichos away?" Kunzite questioned. "That...could prove challenging."

"How hard can it be?" Endymion questioned. "Like you said, it's probably going to be...over a hundred people, all of them heavily armed. Should be a fuse that lights real easy."

"Alright, I'll start on this," Kunzite said. "You get back to the palace and handle things with Serenity."

Endymion rolled his eyes. "Right." He turned around, again looking up at the top of the palace. "You know, Kunzite, I think I'd actually rather we switch places on this one."

"I don't think that's possible, Your Highness," Kunzite said dryly.

"I know," Endymion said with a small sigh. "I know."

"

Endymion rubbed the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. "Security...a matter of...a matter of security." He began to nervously clench his hands together in front of him. "A matter of...galactic security?" He squinted. "Inter...inter-galactic security?" He shook his head. "Earth security?"

He gave his head a violent shake, frustrated. He looked back at the door to his bedroom, right in front of him, just waiting for him to prompt it to open and admit him. But he was still working up the nerve for it.

"Okay...it'll be completely irrelevant in a few days...completely irrelevant in...a couple days?" He pursed his lips together hard. "Couple days...few days...umm…"

He slumped over a bit in frustration, putting his hand up against the wall to the right of the door, leaning up against it, muttering under his breath.

"Okay, Serenity, I was in a hurry earlier, I think maybe I...worded things a little harsh," he whispered to himself. "Phrased things...phrased things a little...a little harsh? Mean?"

With a resigned moan, he reached forward and pressed his fingers into a small recess by the door, causing it to slide open. Taking a deep breath in, he passed into the room, reaching back to tap the wall on the other side to close the door behind him.

"Okay, I…"

The Prince turned to his left to look at his large bed. Sure enough, his fiancee was there, curled up atop the blankets, body turned away from the door. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at the rather immature display of a cold shoulder on her part, although he reminded himself that she was at least somewhat justified.

"H-hey," Endymion said, resolve weakening a bit now that he was actually in the moment and not just rehearsing it. "Um, c-can we talk? I'd like to...clear the air, maybe." He slowly approached his bed. "I think maybe I—"

"Well, according to you, you're not able to say anything to me until after we're married, so what's the point in talking?" Serenity asked, voice a little cold and tinny. Endymion had hardly ever heard her sound so unhappy, and hearing it made his muscles clench up.

"Hey, hey, you know that's not true, that's not what I meant," Endymion protested, trying to keep his tone gentle. "Look, I…I'm under a lot of stress lately, and...and I was in a hurry earlier, and...I didn't mean to sound so harsh. Mean." He winced. "There's just a lot of things going on right now, and...I just don't want to make it more complicated than it already is."

"I wonder," Serenity started. "Do you consider the location of the panic chamber in your room a 'private Earth matter' that people outside of the Earth royal family aren't supposed to know?" She slowly rolled over and unfurled herself, looking over at Endymion with a flat, lifeless stare. "Because I certainly know where that is, is that a problem?"

"Uh…" Endymion withered back a bit under her gaze. "...w-well, no, that's...that's different. The panic chamber in my bedroom is my business, it's my decision who knows about that, completely up to me."

"What about the Book of Terra?" Serenity questioned, sitting up a bit, still staring at Endymion with that slightly dead-eyed gaze. "You used to read me stories from that book every night. Isn't that book a 'private Earth matter'?"

"No, no, that's…" he gave his head a dismissive shake. "Those stories can be found in every bookstore on this planet, just different interpretations, slight variations, the Book of Terra just has the...the original versions, that's—"

"Endymion," Serenity intoned, silencing her husband-to-be immediately. "Do you actually, honestly believe that there's any chance at all, any possibility, that I might actually take anything that you tell me and...use it to hurt the Earth? Relay it to my mother, tell my friends, I...what are you even concerned about? Our Kingdoms are going to be brought together in a few days, why would I even want to...it doesn't make any sense."

Endymion gave a reluctant nod. "I know, I know, I...don't think you'd do anything like that, obviously."

"Not as obviously as I thought," Serenity said ruefully.

"Okay, okay...Serenity, I'm just trying to not complicate things." Endymion sat down on the edge of his bed, turning his body to look at her. "There are people in my father's regime who wouldn't approve of people outside of the...the family and the chain of command being told about these things, just—"

"Endymion, just stop," Serenity said, holding her hand out towards him, palm towards him. "Whoever it is that might have an objection with you sharing things with the woman that is about to be your wife, you and I both know they'd never find out. What, you think they have...recording devices in your bedroom?" She shook her head. "The only person who's making decisions on what you can or can't tell me is you. Stop trying to hide behind things, just...just tell me the truth. Just say that you think I'm not smart enough to comprehend whatever it is you're doing."

Endymion's mouth fell open slightly. "W-what?"

"Well, come on, that's what it is, isn't it?" Serenity sat up straight now, crossing her arms over her chest. "You don't think I'm smart enough to understand politics, so you don't want to waste the time to try to explain it to me." She gave a curt little shrug.

"No, no, no," Endymion said, gaining a bit of strength in his voice, putting his hand out towards Serenity, firmly shaking it. "Serenity, no, that is absolutely not what I think."

"I get it, okay, I'm supposed to just...sit around, look pretty, raise our children, keep the bed warm, keep my nose out of the affairs of the palace. That's probably the image you had in your head of me, and maybe I understand why you might feel that way."

"Serenity, stop," Endymion said, almost pleadingly. "I don't think any of that, I have never thought any of that, not at all."

Serenity sighed, laying her head back on the purple pillows at the head of the bed, arms still crossed. "I don't know if you know this, Endymion, but...you've been acting strange lately. All this time away, not willing to tell me what it's about, I...two years ago, not even two years ago, you tried to sneak me down into the King's Vault so I could touch Draco's staff. Remember how mad your father was when you got caught?"

Endymion sighed, putting his hand up to his forehead. "Serenity, I was drunk and I was trying to impress you."

"Well, either way, you've probably done...hundreds of things over the last few years with me that you probably shouldn't have been doing with the Princess of another Kingdom, but...you did them! You did them because you trusted me, what...what changed? What happened?" She reached up, grabbing the upper corner of the top blanket and beginning to pull it down, squirming a bit so she could get it out from underneath her. "D-don't answer that, just...I guess in a few days it won't matter."

"It won't!" Endymion said, trying to sound energetic and enthused. "I promise, I...you have my word." He petered out quickly, so taken aback he was by Serenity's little tirade that he couldn't quite manage to deflect.

"Don't shut me out," Serenity said as she wormed underneath the top covers, continuing to fidget about to remove her nightgown. "I'll let you have your little excuse for a few more days, I guess...where it came from, I don't know. But once we're married, we're in this together. And I won't accept you trying to shut me out parts of your life. I don't like that. Do not shut me out."

Endymion gave a remorseful little look over at her as she laid down for the night, shocked that she had managed to talk him into a corner like this. He didn't even know what to say. In fact, his brain kept arriving at the conclusion that the best thing he could do is not say anything.

"I, uh…" Endymion swallowed down hard, slowly standing up. "I can...spend the night in one of the guest bedrooms," he offered slowly.

"Don't be silly," Serenity muttered, sweeping the nightgown out from underneath the blanket, down onto the floor below her, letting it pool on the carpet. "It's your bed."

With a muted sigh, Endymion began to unbutton his waistcoat.

"

Jadeite gave a sour little sneer, leaning back heavily against the heavily-cushioned red chair he had taken refuge on. The holo-projector on the short, squat table several paces in front of him was displaying a rich, colorful, detailed video of a large, rich, green field of grass with white chalk lines marking it at various intervals. The shot of the video was quite wide, meaning that the twenty or so people who were running around on this grassy pitch were rather small from Jadeite's point of view, the round white ball they were chasing around even smaller.

"I swear, they always fall for that!" Jadeite snapped, watching three of the individuals depicted on the video feed, all of them wearing tan outfits, fall into formation along the right side of the field. "Every time, they turn their whole left flank into tissue paper, pathetic!" He looked up to his left, over at Nephrite, who was standing a few steps away, large iron dumbbells in either hand, slowly lifting them up in front of his chest before dropping them to his sides. "If they just ran that feint every time, I really think they'd give up over twenty points."

Nephrite rolled his eyes, a gesture that Jadeite didn't notice as he had turned back to watch the projector. "You should really be coaching a handball team, with all of your groundbreaking strategic ideas," he said dryly.

"Yes, thank you, I really should," Jadeite said, watching as one of the men picked up the white ball in his arms and began running to the left with it.

The door to the room opened, Jadeite not even looking up as Kunzite entered. With a quick glance at the projector, the elder Earth general looked over at Nephrite.

"Hey, old man!" Jadeite interjected on noticing Kunzite in his peripheral vision. "Pull up a seat? The game's crap so far, but you know, any chance to watch Heracles defend the midfield is worthwhile."

"Maybe later," Kunzite said dismissively, not taking his eyes off Nephrite. "Can I have a word in private?"

Nephrite, turning to look at his fellow general, slowly kneeled down to set the large weights on the floor on either side of him. He rose back up, then slowly walked over towards the door that Kunzite had just emerged from. His white-haired counterpart turned and walked alongside him, both of them leaving Jadeite to the handball match.

The two went out into the empty hallway, stretching off in both directions.

"What's going on?" Nephrite asked quickly, after a quick glance to either side proved that nobody was around.

"I need you to help me with something," Kunzite replied. "I can't tell you how I know this, and you can't ever ask me."

"Alright, who are we beating up?" Nephrite immediately asked.

"N-no, actually, not that," Kunzite corrected, a small smirk playing across his face nevertheless. "I have some intel that I've come across, I need your network to confirm it and narrow it down without alerting the target. You've got eyes in Spokai?"

"Oh, yes, quite a few of them actually," Nephrite responded. "What are we looking for?"

"I have reason to believe an Imperium smuggling Kingpin is about to show up in Spokai in the next few days, hole up there for a bit." Kunzite reached down towards his left hip, reaching into his side pocket and pulling out a small slip of paper. "I need to know where she's hiding."

"She?" Nephrite repeated.

Kunzite showed the slip of paper to Nephrite after unfolding it. It was a crude, yet adequately detailed sketch of a female's face. "Five point twenty-one pesses tall, I'd say a hundred and thirty-two libras heavy."

Nephrite took the drawing in his right hand, staring at it. "This is an Imperium smuggler?"

Kunzite gave a knowing nod. "Yes, I...she doesn't exactly look the part, admittedly. But I'm quite sure, she commands a large and widespread distribution network. She'll only be in town for maybe half a cycle, so I need to know where she's taking up residence as soon as possible. Once your guys find out, they report it to you, and you tell me. Nobody else."

Nephrite nodded. "Understood."

Kunzite clapped his hand on Nephrite's shoulder. "Thank you."

"

The night before. Hardly half a day left in his unmarried life. In the grand scheme of things, not even a tiny fraction of a tertia left before the two Kingdoms would be united into one. Endymion had always thought that, in the days leading up to his marriage, he would be all-consumed by thoughts of it, filled up entirely with happiness and anticipation.

As the Earth Prince stood out in the backyard area, just behind the Holy Gobekli Temple, head leaned back to look up at the night sky, he had to regretfully acknowledge that things hadn't been quite that clean.

In the last couple days, Serenity had remained noticeably icy, still clearly hurt from his snubbing. He reflected on the fact that they'd only be getting married once, only one opportunity to have everything be perfect for the woman that he loved, and that by any reasonable measure that opportunity had already been squandered.

And yet, though part of him was consumed with this sobering thought, he also couldn't take his mind off of his other interests at the moment. He supposed that the significance of recent events warranted such thoughts, given that his life might very well hang in the balance, but it was unthinkable as recently as a couple cycles ago that he'd ever be thinking about anything other than this wedding on the day before.

Conflicted thoughts batting around inside his brain, he just stood there, hands in his pockets, looking at the stars, seeking out the assorted constellations that he knew existed up above.

"Your Highness!"

Endymion spun around, looking up the stone path that trailed up to the rear entrance to the Temple. Standing there, a few dozen paces up that path away from him, were Serenity, Kunzite, and High Priest Pious.

"Taking in the night sky?" Pious asked. He was a old man, perhaps nearing his seventies, bald, tall, and thin, wearing white robes with yellow trimming. The most revered holy man on Earth, having served at Gobekli since he was a teenager, of course it would have to be him who conducted the marriage. Nobody else would do.

"I think I saw Pluto tonight, actually," Endymion said, a weak smile on his face. "Rare treat."

"Well, wait a bit and it'll be gone," Pious suggested. "The whole rest of the galaxy is obsessed with finding out what's in deep space, beyond our solar system...personally, I'd be interested in finding out what's happening on Pluto. A whole planet, disappearing and reappearing at random like that? What's going on with that?"

"Well, maybe one day," Endymion said, slowly meandering up the path. "So, I'm ready to retire for the night."

"I'm sure you're familiar with tradition when it comes to members of the royal family getting married in this temple?" Pious asked. "I understand, it can seem counterintuitive to sleep in separate rooms, but—"

"Oh, not at all," Endymion said dismissively, waving his hand up at the High Priest. Truth be told, having a wall between the two of them for a night wouldn't feel that different from the way things had been the last couple days. "Just, you'll have to remind me, the man sleeps in the...east room, and the woman the west room, right?"

"Correct you are," Pious replied. "When you're ready, I'll lead you and Princess Serenity to the chambers, and let you two share final words in private. The next time you two will see each other after that, you'll be walking down the aisle."

With that, Serenity turned around, facing the temple, putting her back to Endymion as he approached. Endymion winced, but tried to play it off.

"Very well, then, let's go," Pious said, turning around as well and following a couple steps behind Serenity.

As Endymion passed by Kunzite's stout, tall figure, his most trusted guardian leaned up close to the Prince's ear. "We're set up," he whispered. Endymion nodded before stepping around him.

"

The bedroom chamber was incredibly small in comparison to the bedroom that Endymion knew so well. You would have barely been able to fit two of Endymion's beds in this room. He almost found it suffocating, the walls and low ceiling threatening to crush him, it could feel like. And yet, small those the room may have been, it was most certainly ornate, gold and platinum trimmings along all the walls, gold statuettes on the posts at each corner of the bed, a pearl chandelier hanging just a couple of finger lengths from the ceiling.

Suddenly, a square section of the western wall slid downward, exposing a portal into a nearly identical chamber, except the walls were tinged white opposed to his being tinged purple. Serenity, wearing a pure white nightgown, turned towards the opening, holding a wooden bowl in her hands.

Wordlessly, she went up to the portal, presenting the bowl out towards Endymion. He stepped forward cautiously, taking it from her, looking down at the mouthful of a blue liquid pooled at the bottom of it. Taking a deep breath, he lifted the bowl to his lips and tipped it over, pouring the concoction into his mouth and swallowing it.

As he did this, Serenity stood there, a small smile frozen on her face. Endymion wanted to say something, but knew that the ritual took precedence for now. He looked down at the pillow at the top of his bed, seeing a purple little bulb of glass on it. He picked it up, unscrewing the top and pouring the clear liquid within into the bowl.

After the bulb was drained, he passed the bowl back over to Serenity, who took it and downed the contents similarly. With a powerful little gulp, she had taken the contents into her stomach, and gave Endymion a nod.

"Good night," she said, reaching forward towards the wall to the right of the portal.

"W-wait," Endymion said, putting his hand out towards her, causing her to pause before closing the wall up. "Serenity, just...hold on."

She slowly dropped her hand back to her side.

"Serenity, I know I haven't been myself lately, and I know it's hurt you in ways that I never intended. I've...I've been struggling with some things, and I think I've let it affect my relationship with you, and that's not okay. So, I want to say that...I'm so sorry about how I've been. But I'm going to change things, I'll...all this time away from the palace, it's done, I promise. I've talked to my generals, we're getting all that cleaned up, we're working things out so I don't have to be gone for so long. I...you're the most important thing to me. The most important thing in my life. And I'm sorry that things have gotten to the point where I've let things get between us. But, I promise, from now on, I'm going to involve you in everything, as much as you want. From now on, what concerns me concerns you."

Serenity just stood there, listening intently to every word Endymion had to say.

"You're my Princess, from now on, and if you tell me that you care about the things I'm doing, then I want to involve you in those things. I promise, it's going to be different from now on. Just...I'm sorry. Please, forgive me, I haven't been the best partner lately. And that's not who I want to be." He nodded. "That's all I want to say. Good night, sleep well, and...from here on out, we're in this together."

Serenity gave a nod. "Okay. Alright. Thank you."

"Good night, I love you." Endymion sat down on the edge of the bed, watching as Serenity reached forward, closing the portal between the two small rooms.

"

Endymion tugged down his purple ornate tunic, finding it just a little uncomfortable and ill-fitting compared to his usual perfectly-tailored outfits. He glanced down to his shoulders, spying the artificial flowers placed on either one. He then looked up at the back of Kasios's head, to his right, standing at attention.

The two were standing in an alcove to the right of the massive main chamber of the temple, waiting. The room was packed, every single seat on every single bench taken up by someone. The whole place was fragrant, smelling of lilacs, every inch of the chamber having been layered in incense earlier that morning. Deep organ music was providing the background soundtrack to the proceedings.

"Cue," Kasios said under his breath, stiffing marching out along the velvet carpet that lead from the alcove up to the altar. Endymion followed, a step behind. To his right, his four guardians stood at attention, in a line along the path they were following. He glanced at each one in turn as he passed them by.

Then, he looked up, seeing High Priest Pious waiting at the top of the altar. "Will King Kasios, ruler of the Kingdom of Earth, please present his son?" His voice boomed through the large room, despite his old age.

Kasios stopped halfway down the velvet road, turning to look at his son right behind him. "Go on."

Endymion, taking note of the absolute silence that the rest of the room had been knocked into, slowly strolled up towards the High Priest. Behind him, Kunzite, most of his focus on the ceremony, was also listening to a tiny earpiece lodged in his ear.

"Squad C and D moving into position behind the target."

"

Thirty men, heavily armored in black uniforms, with large black helmets on, each one of them holding an identical, two-handed firearm, moved in formation, covering the entire back alley that stretched across the block. Thankfully, the royal wedding had left the area mostly empty, meaning that their insertion into the area required practically no evacuation. All in all, given that there were almost a hundred agents being deployed around the block, they had managed to do it with shockingly little disturbance.

"Squad C and D have the back exits covered," the squad commander announced in his helmet.

"Squad A and B have the front covered," the speaker crackled into his ear. "Squads E and F providing backup."

Suddenly, a few of the windows on the brownstone building were thrown open, the business end of rifles being pointed out of the small openings, two or three faces peering out of each one atop the threatening weapons. Every single agent on the ground brought their own rifles to bear, pointing them at the building, ready to unleash absolute havoc when the word was given.

"Contact!" the squad commander said, bringing his weapon up to bear. "We have, maybe ten total targets, armed and dangerous!"

"Copy, we have contact in front as well!" the reply came. "Attempt to defuse, do not fire unless fired on, we want survivors to interrogate!"

"Copy," the commander said. "STAND DOWN!" he roared up at the building. "YOU ARE SURROUNDED, OUTMANNED, AND OUTGUNNED! DROP YOUR WEAPONS, COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!"

He could feel the tension surrounding him, every single agent positioned in the back alley just a finger twitch away from firing a stream of white-hot plasma that would spark a massacre. He reached up to tap the side of his helmet, switching communication channels. "Nobody fire until the word is given!"

The two parties stood there, in a stalemate, hanging on the very edge of armageddon.

"

Serenity, wearing a pure-white dress with a yellow flower pattern symmetrically going down the entire front, proceeded past her stopped mother, heading up to the altar to take her place at Endymion's left side, both of them standing before the High Priest after a moment.

"Today, two become one," Pious began, hands folded in front of him, a golden scepter behind held up in a small stand to his left, a tall hat atop his head. "And not just here, in front of me. But everywhere around us, two become one. This entire planet, this entire Kingdom, becomes one with the Kingdom hanging just above us all, gliding in orbit. Today, as I unite the lives of Prince Endymion of Earth and Princess Serenity of the Moon, so to do I unite two mighty Kingdoms, forever tying their fates together."

Slowly, Pious reached over to the scepter, removing it from it's stand. Endymion resisted the urge to glance over his right shoulder at his father, trying to remain focused on the ceremony.

"Here, in the Holy Gobekli Temple, under the watchful eye of the Goddesses Terra and Diana, the Earth and Moon become one and the same. Of the hundreds of marriages I have carried out in my time as High Priest, none have carried the gravity of this one." He waved the tip of the scepter over Endymion's head, then moved it to wave over Serenity's.

Kunzite, ever watchful from the right side of the altar, had only one ear for Pious's ceremonial speech. The other was paying close attention to the voices in his right ear, crackling through the listening device. His right hand crept up the side of his body, towards his hip pocket, feeling the little remote within the fold of his uniform.

"I repeat, do not discharge your weapons unless fired upon!"

"

Mimete, crouched down low just beneath the closed window, slowly picked her head up, peering out at the line of agency soldiers behind the brownstone building. "Shit, shit shit!" she spat, twisting her head around to look at one of her lieutenants. "How did they find me?! I just got here!"

"No idea," the large man responded, opening up a black case on the floor, revealing a large, fat, black grenade launcher. He picked it up in his arms.

"Well, get an idea!" Mimete hissed. She withdrew a much smaller, handheld weapon, a silver plasma gun, again chancing another peek up out the window. "I've been in this business for years, Cicero, never been raided like this!"

A man quickly ran into the room, keeping his head ducked, a plasma rifle in his hands. "They've got all the exits covered, there's no way out!" he said in a hushed little gasp.

"Shit!" Mimete cursed again. "How many?"

"Over fifty, that we've seen," he replied. "Probably more."

She gave a raspy sigh, shaking her head. "Alright. You two, get downstairs and start flushing whatever you can down the latrine. Just get it into the pipes however you can! I've got connections, I can get out of this. Go!"

The two men didn't need to be told again, spinning around and scurrying out of the room, taking the stairs down to the first level two at a time.

Mimete hissed loudly, but then gave her head a shake. "Alright. Alright. I'll beat the rap. I'll find a way. Just...oh boy, give myself up." She shrugged. "Only way. Only way."

"

"And so, with the Goddesses Terra and Diana witnessing, I move to make this union official." Pious reached to his right, picking up a velvet pillow with a diamond-studded bracelet atop it, presenting it out to Serenity. "Princess Serenity, if you please."

The organ behind them reaching a muted crescendo, Serenity reached forward and took the bracelet. She turned to Endymion, presenting it out to him, opening the band. Endymion stuck his right arm out towards her. She slowly placed it on his wrist, covering it in the shiny, expensive, valuable piece of jewelry. After a moment's fumbling, she locked it in place.

The High Priest set the empty pillow down to his right, then picked up a second identical one, this one a necklace of sapphires. He presented this one over to Endymion. "Prince Endymion, if you please."

With steady hands, he took the blue and white necklace off the pillow, lifting it up in front of him, and then turning towards the Princess. Leaning forward, as she did the same, he wrapped it around her slender neck and began trying to fasten it behind her.

"I forgive you."

Endymion froze mid-fastening, withdrawing his head back to in front of his wife, looking down at her big blue eyes.

"H...what?" he whispered, glancing over at the High Priest out of the corner of his eyes.

"I forgive you," Serenity repeated, winking.

"O-oh…" Endymion said, slightly taken aback, but then remembering the ceremonial duty he had to carry out. "Thank you." He moved his head back around, looking over her shoulder, finishing the fastening of the necklace.

"And, it is done," Pious announced, the organ immediately halting as he tapped the floor with the butt end of his scepter. "Prince Endymion, Princess Serenity...your two lives are now one."

Endymion reached over to his left without looking, reaching his hand out towards his wife. She returned the gesture, reaching her own small hand over to take it.

Kunzite, focus on the end of the ceremony, nevertheless remained alert to the noises coming from his earpiece as he gently tapped a button on the remote in his pocket.

"

Next door to the brownstone, on the second floor of a plain white building, a window suddenly popped open, drawing the attention of the few agency soldiers close enough to see it. A plasma rifle, pointed down at the street in front of the buildings, mounted on a rotating little spinner, had its trigger squeezed by a mechanical hand. As the rifle slowly rotated, it fired down at the road. Just five rounds were launched from the weapon, five little heated charges, harmlessly hitting the concrete below, a good six paces away from anyone.

But the fuse, so desperately looking for any spark to light it, had more than enough.

With a loud bellow from the squad commander, every single agency soldier present began to pepper the brownstone with plasma charges, a loud, obnoxious, cacophonic series of sounds ringing off through the cold, crisp air of the mid-morning. A few of the agents also turned their fire onto the window that had popped open in the neighboring building, unaware that everything had been executed from a great distance away.

"ENGAGE! ENGAGE!" The squad commander roared, as the denizens of the building began to return fire, although given the wide scope of the assault, it was all they could do to just plug a few rounds in the general vicinity of the agents before being forced to duck down. "SHOOT TO KILL!"

Every last agency soldier was obliging, filling the windows with volley after volley, keeping the outnumbered and out-positioned Imperium smugglers from doing much more than barely hang on.

"

Kunzite, hearing the mad chaos on the other end of the audio connection, tapped a second button on the remote through his clothing, detonating a tiny charge on the automated turret he had set up to spark the conflict. The rig would self-destruct, leaving no evidence of his involvement in the bloody confrontation.

"King Kasios." The High Priest turned his focus over to his left, at Endymion's father. "Present yourself." He turned back to the two young adults before him. "Royal couple, step down from the altar, if you please."

With a polite pair of nods, the two quickly moved over to the left side, watching King Kasios slowly ascend up in front of Pious. The organ began playing again, this tune slightly more regal and ominous.

"King Kasios. It has been nearly a hundred years since one person could claim rule over more than one Kingdom. Nearly a hundred years since a single King or Queen controlled multiple independent Kingdoms. You are the first since Queen Aelia controlled Saturn and Uranus, a joint rulership that ended ninety-three years ago. As of the marriage between your son and Princess Serenity being made official, just moments ago, you are now the master of both the Kingdom of Earth and the Kingdom of the Moon. Both Kingdoms bow to your rule. And with that, comes a new title. You have risen above the title of King, Kasios. So today, you are now recognized officially as High King Kasios."

Kasios nodded, watching as the High Priest removed the scepter from it's stand again.

Kunzite, ever mindful of proper etiquette, watched the proceedings with interest, even as his ears remained half-focused on the radio announcements.

"Sir! The enemy has ceased returning fire, requesting permission to storm the brownstone!"

"

Mimete, down on her hands and knees, was frantically crawling down the staircase, seeing a trio of corpses down in the front lobby of the brownstone. Formerly her men, now scorched by multiple plasma shots, bodies emitting an unpleasant odor from the burning of flesh and internal organs. She quickly crawled past them, relieved that the firing had stopped.

"Who...who shot first?!" she shouted as she frantically scrambled her body into a compartment underneath the staircase. "WHO SHOT FIRST?!"

No response. She could hear some groans from neighboring rooms, signifying that not everyone was dead, but nobody was in any state to answer her. She had certainly not given the command to fire, and none of her lieutenants would be stupid enough to actually try to win a firefight in these circumstances. Surely the agency wouldn't have started the fight, not when their interest was taking prisoners. But thoughts of who to blame quickly left her as she felt the pain in her left side, a glancing blow from a plasma bolt having struck her back upstairs.

Breathing heavily, knowing she had mere beats left before the soldiers stormed the building, she opened up a small briefcase stashed beneath the stairs. She opened it up, revealing a red canister.

Fingers shaking, she picked the canister up onto it's side, twisting a couple of knobs built into the side of the device.

"God...God dammit," she muttered under her breath, looking down at the acrid wound in her side. With a mighty scream of frustration, she squeezed her eyes shut, and yanked down yard on a metal ring at the top of the canister.

Immediately, a mighty plume of fire shot in all directions from the canister, enveloping everything in a burning hot orange flame. Mimete was the first to go, obviously, painfully scorched to death and burned beyond all recognition within beats. The fire spread all around, consuming the entire brownstone, flames lunging into every single corner and nook, purging it of all life.

"

"Squad commander reporting, uh...we need a fire extinguishing squad here fast, they just scorched the whole building."

"Aw, shit, what happened?"

"We sent a couple guys in, and just before they got inside, the whole place just went up in flame. Definitely an incendiary charge."

"Son of a bitch, there goes our interrogations." A sigh. "Why the hell did a firefight start?"

"They fired first, sir. Some prick in a neighboring building let loose, we didn't have a choice in the matter."

"Alright, extinguishing squad is on it's way. As soon as they put it out, get in there and check for survivors."

"No way anyone survived that. Everyone inside that building is a crisp. Will do, though."

"Casualties on our end?"

"None up front. Once we started shooting they barely were able to return fire. No collateral either, barely anyone around thanks to the wedding."

"Copy."

Kunzite, satisfied with the report being sent directly into his ear, looking over at Endymion, catching the Prince's eye. He gave Endymion a curt little nod after making sure that he was looking. Endymion returned the nod.

"So, as of this moment, I pronounce you High King Kasios." The High Priest set an ornate silver crown on the top of Kasios's head, Kasios bending over slightly to allow Pious to do it. "King of Earth, King of the Moon, you are now bestowed with the highest title that anyone has held in nearly a hundred years. And so, although the precise wording of the phrase may be slightly inadequate at this point, I would like everyone present, everyone watching, wherever you may be today, to join me in a simple proclamation, to show respect to this great ruler." He looked around the room. "Rise."

Everyone seated in the benches got to their feet in a wave, everyone paying attention very closely to every word the High Priest had to say.

"All hail the King," Pious intoned.

"All hail the King," Endymion said quietly, hearing Serenity say the same phrase from right next to him, also hearing it from every single person in the room behind him, all of them saying it as one, the hundreds of voices voicing the phrase in a wave.

"

END OF ARC ONE

A/N: If you've made it this far, congratulations, you are now done with arc one of five of my story! Thank you so much for sticking with me for this long, and I hope you are liking what you have read to this point.

As a note, the start of arc two may take about a week to push out, but I believe I'll be able to write more during the couple of weeks to end 2018, so you may see more chapters faster during that time. Generally, my current plan is to upload two chapters a week, one on wednesday and one on sunday, so unless things happen to change that that is what you can generally expect.

Feel free to let me know how you feel about arc one now that you've gotten through it, either through review or PM, I love to hear all kinds of feedback. See you in a week for arc two! :)