START OF ARC THREE

Chapter 25: Family Is All

Cassini adjusted the shoulders of his shirt to lay evenly, and then grabbed the golden knob of the purple door before him. Before twisting it open, he paused for several beats, head bowed in thought.

Finally deciding that a little bit of additional time wasn't going to change anything, he gave the knob a twist and tug. His eyes immediately began adjusting to the heavily dimmed chamber on the other side, the light sources along the walls and ceiling having been weakened significantly.

Ironically enough, most of the table surfaces in the room had been covered in assorted lamps. Several dozen of them, of all different designs and materials, encompassing many of the most rare and valuable lamps that had ever been created. Some encrusted with diamonds and sapphires, others made entirely of gold, many with perfectly painted murals on them, all of them highly desirable. None of them, however, were turned on, thus putting the room in a state of a purple-tinged darkness.

Over in the far left corner of the room, a large four-poster bed supported the weight of a small girl with pale skin and black hair falling around her face just short of her shoulders. She was wearing a black sleeveless nightgown, and had folded her body up so that she was hugging her knees, staring down at the tops of her small bare feet. She didn't looked up as Cassini entered, nor as he approached her across the purple carpet.

"Aren't you cold, Your Highness?" Cassini asked.

She shook her head back and forth.

"Well, you should start putting on something a little more practical," he instructed. "Your physical therapy starts in about two minutas, that's hardly an appropriate outfit for exercise."

"I will," she replied simply, her voice soft and quiet.

A square-shaped black box set up at the foot of the bed released a small little puff of vapor from a nozzle on the top.

"You're taking all of your medications?" he inquired.

"It would be very difficult for me to not, with maids coming in here every five secundas to dump them down my throat," she answered. "Now, go ahead and tell me."

Cassini's head tilted to the right a bit. "Tell you what?"

"You're here early, I don't need two minutas to get dressed and go down the hallway," she said simply. "You've got something to report. Go ahead." She slowly started to slide her legs down, stretching her body out.

"Nothing gets past you," Cassini said. "Well, I have some good news—"

"Let's start with the bad news," the preteen girl requested, sliding her slim legs off the side of the bed and delicately standing up.

"Who says there's bad news?" he asked. "Maybe all I have is good news, Princess."

"We're in a planet-wide civil war, Cassini, there's always bad news." She began to pace over towards the closet door in the wall behind her, moving gingerly.

"Um, well…" he grimaced. "Princess Saturn, it's really not necessary for you to expose yourself to the precise details."

She stopped, turning to look over her shoulder. "We've been over this, Cassini. If more than three hundred billion people on this planet are going to put themselves at constant risk every single moment of their lives by siding with me, then the very least I can do is hear about the ways in which they suffer on my behalf."

Cassini swallowed down a lump in his throat. "They bombed an academy. Tarvos."

Saturn's soft face hardened slightly, eyes condensing down by a tiny amount as she scowled. "Animals," she muttered under her breath.

"Four thousand dead and climbing, ten thousand injured, seven hundred million creds in damage," he rattled off. "We think that The Rings managed to sneak an explosive device inside a food dispenser machine."

She nodded, the anger lines on her face quickly clearing to be replaced by a sad little frown. "What about the Great White Spot battle?"

"Still a standoff," he replied. "Oh, and...The Rings have been distributing out some propaganda across the planet and moons in recent days. I, I suppose you would call it a...comic? A series of drawings?"

"Depicting what?" Saturn asked, again turning towards the closet and cautiously going towards it.

He sucked down a deep breath, hearing the humidifier at the foot of the bed give another puff of vapor. "You, Your Highness."

Saturn disappeared into the walk-in closet. "I'm guessing it's not of me taking the throne."

"I just wanted you to hear about it from me, and not randomly running across it elsewhere and being upset by it," Cassini explained. "It depicts you being dragged from the palace and...well, I suppose from their perspective, being held accountable for numerous crimes against humanity."

"Well, in the event that I am dragged from this palace by The Rings one day, it might be good for me to at least know what to expect," Saturn reasoned. "Might I see this comic?"

"It's rather graphic," Cassini protested. "You might be happier having not seen it."

"More graphic than an academy getting bombed?" she asked. "If you're going to tell me that it exists, you may as well let me see it as well."

Cassini sighed, but ultimately reached down towards a pouch slung towards his right hip, opening it up and pulling a small clear tablet out. He ran his fingers across the screen, activating it.

"Princess Saturn, your desire to know about the toll of this war is commendable, but there are things happening here that no twelve-year-old girl should have to hear about. It's not as if you're making decisions about the war, or need any of this information in order to figure out what to do next."

The Princess emerged from the closet, wearing a simple shirt and short leggings, with cloth shoes with rubber soles on her feet. "I could decide to just surrender and let Galileo take the throne. It's within my power to do that."

Cassini frowned. "Absolutely not. You will be doing no such thing. The throne is your birthright. Galileo and The Rings are terrorists with no claim to it. That's all there is to it."

"Well, at least the war would be over," she thought aloud. "Think about it, Cassini. We surrender the planet to The Rings, clear out the vaults, and flee to one of Jupiter's smaller moons. Live out the rest of our days there in peace, leave Galileo with the responsibility of putting back together a war-torn, destitute planet with a large chunk of its population dead and most of its resources spent. No more bloodshed. Doesn't sound so bad, does it? All of this violence, it's happening because of me. It's being done to secure the throne for me when I turn eighteen. If I decide I don't want it, then...there'd be nothing to fight over."

Cassini crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at the precocious young Princess.

"It's okay, Cassini. I would never actually do that," she assured him. "But sometimes it...it feels really good to think about it."

"The idea that the violence would just end after Galileo takes the throne is sadly misguided," Cassini said sternly. "As is the idea they would be okay with us escaping." He turned the clear tablet towards her, the middle now displaying a series of crudely painted panels. "These people hold you responsible for your Father's sins, meaning they will not be satisfied until they're able to do this to you."

She blinked a few times, staring at the screen, eyes dancing from left to right to take in the intended message of the comic. Despite the rather disturbing content depicted, she kept a mask of indifference up, only the faintest whispers of sadness clouding her eyes for a brief moment.

"Well, it doesn't really look that much like me, so I question if it will have much impact," she said tersely, turning away from the tablet. "Now, I recall you saying something about good news, so please, tell me that one of the other Kingdoms is committing to intervening in this conflict on our behalf."

Cassini gave a melancholic little frown. "I'm afraid that's still not happening."

Saturn shuffled back over to the bed, sitting down on the side of it, bowing her head. "What else could possibly be considered good news right now?"

"We're still trying to secure outside assistance, but as has been said, it's just not likely to happen anytime soon," Cassini said, sighing. "Mercury has no armed forces to lend, Venus, Mars, Uranus and Neptune keep to themselves, Jupiter can barely take care of itself right now with an overwhelmed new Queen, none of those Kingdoms are going to stretch themselves to fight for us. It's not like we have anything to offer them right now for their troubles, even if they were able to."

"They can have all my lamps," Saturn muttered bitterly. "What about Earth? What's their excuse?"

He gave an uncomfortable sigh. "They seem...concerned about the optics of throwing their support behind us. Given what your Father did during his reign."

Her face wrinkled into a tiny scowl. "My father's been dead for ten years now, why should that matter at all?"

"It's complicated, Your Highness," Cassini said. "We're still trying to convince them to intervene, and I'm not saying that it can't happen. I just wouldn't count on it."

A frustrated helplessness seized the young girl for a moment, her frail little hands squeezing at the edge of her mattress. "Fly me to the Earth Palace tonight, I'll personally clean every single floor, wall, and surface with my tongue if that's what it takes."

He gave a wan smile. "If only it was that simple. Now, I still do have that bit of good news, if you're interested."

She weakly waved her hand over towards Cassini.

"We've received a donation of over three billion creds, for the war effort," he said. "It's certainly the largest financial contribution we've received since the war started, and will definitely help."

She got to her feet rapidly at this, wincing slightly as her weakened bones and joints protested against her sudden movement. "From who?! Who would give us that much money?"

"Anonymous," Cassini replied. "And believe me, we've tried to trace it through, but whoever did this hid themselves very well."

"Who would give that amount of money anonymously?" Saturn asked, forehead furrowing in thought. "If you're going to give that large of a sum to assist with a war effort, wouldn't you at least want to make your identity known so you can be thanked?"

Cassini shrugged. "Perhaps they fear retribution from The Rings if it's known that they're providing that much financial support to the sitting regime." He extended his right hand out towards the small twelve-year-old girl. "Now, Your Highness, that's all I have in terms of news. Let's go."

She reached over and took his hand, the two of them walking off towards the bedroom door, Saturn's mind still racing with theories as to who could possibly be so invested in seeing her come out victorious in this long war.

"

Tink.

Tink.

Endymion, posture slouched against the luxurious plush couch, had his right hand cupped by his side, holding a collection of pink diamonds in his palm. He was staring down at them, and every couple beats, he would pluck one of them from the pile with his left hand, and then toss it towards the floor at his feet. The bag full of diamonds was laying open right by his shoes, each toss of a tiny gem landing in the sack's mouth and joining hundreds of similarly priceless jewels.

He wasn't sure how long he had been doing the meaningless and pointless task, using the monotony of the repeated act to process the events of the day with a clear mind.

He heard the door open behind him, but didn't bother to look up to see who it was. All in all, a rather careless decision given the collection of pink gemstones he was currently playing with, but he was in no state to really think about such a thing.

"I just heard that she left."

Endymion recognized Kunzite's deep, commanding voice, which at the very least spared him concern over someone else unraveling his web of deception.

"So, she found out?"

Endymion was vaguely aware of his general coming up behind the couch.

"Your Highness, you really shouldn't have those out in the open, anyone could walk in at any time!" Kunzite said, taking large steps around the couch over towards the bag and picking it up.

"Who cares?" he muttered quietly, Kunzite presenting the bag's open mouth towards him. Despite his indifference, he lazily placed his cupped hand over the mouth and tipped it over, pouring the gems back in.

Kunzite sighed, looking around the large room, eyes catching the glint of a few more pink diamonds down in the carpet several paces away. He quickly went over and kneeled down by the crystals, picking them out of the fibers with his fingers and putting them back into the bag. "So, what happened?"

Endymion's only response to this question was to tilt his head down, resting his chin down on his chest.

"Your Highness, please, I need to know the situation," Kunzite pleaded after finishing rebagging all of the diamonds, going up behind the couch and placing both hands down on the top of the backrest. "Did she find the diamonds?"

Endymion nodded listlessly.

Kunzite grimaced. "Yes, well, I did advise that you allow me to hide them in one of my safehouses, for this exact reason, and…"

Kunzite forced his mouth shut, looking back down at his charge, who continued to be rather unresponsive despite the potentially serious situation.

"...well, we can have that conversation another time," he reasoned. "What does she know?"

Endymion visibly swallowed, neck pulsing with the effort to answer. "She knows I've been lying a lot, and that I've been doing something that I didn't want her to know about. And she knows it was quite lucrative, I suppose."

"But she doesn't know what it was?" Kunzite asked. "Nothing that would lead her to believe that you were smuggling imperium? What does she think you were doing?"

Endymion sighed, leading his head back against the top of the backrest, looking up at Kunzite.

"Your Majesty, I know you're upset, but we need to get a handle on this situation, immediately," Kunzite urged. "I need to understand what she knows, exactly, so I can figure out what to do next. She could be reporting you to the agency right now, for all we know."

"She has no idea that I've been running black market imperium," Endymion finally stated. "Maybe she's theorized it, but she has no reason to think that specifically. She knows I was lying about survival training. I think she thinks that Princess Mercury is involved, somehow."

Kunzite flinched back slightly. "What made her think that?"

"Oh...she saw the diamonds, and she thought that there might be a connection with Mercury because of all their diamond mines," Endymion murmured. "Thinks I'm involved in something illegal with her, probably." He shrugged. "I mean, she does know that Princess Mercury knows something, so add that to the list."

Kunzite came around to the front of the couch, staring the Crown Prince down. "Since when does Princess Mercury know anything?"

Endymion sighed. "There was an...incident...at the opera on Neptune." He thought for a moment. "Princess Mercury and Queen Mars managed to ascertain the nature of my dealings in the black market."

Kunzite's eyes bulged. "What?!"

Endymion lazily put his palm out towards his general. "It's fine, it's fine, I handled it."

"H-handled it?" Kunzite stuttered. "W-w-what does that mean?!" He dropped the bag to the floor. "How did they...how did they find out?! What do they know?!"

Endymion groaned. "What difference does it make?"

"Your Highness, if two members of other royal houses are aware of your illicit dealings in imperium, then that's something that we have to address, you need to—"

"Kunzite, it doesn't matter anymore," Endymion said darkly, putting his right hand up to cover his face. "Oh, what was I thinking?"

Kunzite, with some effort, swallowed down the dozens of questions he had for the Prince. "It was...entirely unnecessary for you to keep the diamonds in your room, yes."

"No, no, not even that," Endymion protested, slumping to the side on the couch, craning himself down into a lying position. "This whole thing, all of it, from the very start, what was wrong with me?" He shook his head. "Getting involved in imperium smuggling?" He peeked through his fingers, around at the lavish room. "Like I need money? How much time and effort have I spent on this, and for what?"

Kunzite glanced to the left and right, mouth going a little dry.

"What did I even stand to gain?" he moaned. "And why did it take me so long to realize that? And the danger I put myself in? I've been within two paces of a psychotic, murderous criminal on multiple occasions. I put myself at risk like that, just to make money? Gods, it's so stupid when you take a little bit to actually think about it." His eyelids fluttered up and down a few times. "I deserve this. I have it coming."

Kunzite pursed his lips. "Your Highness, whatever questionable decisions you've made in recent cycles, you should remember why you decided to do this in the first place. You were trying to do something good for your wife. Trying to protect her."

Endymion lolled his head back against the couch cushions. "Something good for my wife," he repeated. "All I've done with this venture is...worry her, and hurt her, and alienate myself from her. And lie to her, let's not forget that. Honestly, I'm almost relieved that she found out, I was starting to struggle to keep all the lies straight in my head."

Kunzite couldn't summon an appropriate response to the extreme contrition his charge was showing, so he instead turned his focus back to the practical. "Well. Now what do we do?"

Endymion swung himself up into a sitting position, placing his elbows on his knees and holding his hands together. "First, I suppose you can forget about looking for a new laboratory. I'm quitting the imperium smuggling business, effective immediately. I'm done with all of it. And then, next time I see Serenity, I'll...well...I'll tell her everything."

Kunzite gave a small wince. "Um, Your Highness, I don't know if that's a good idea."

"I don't care what constitutes a good idea right now, Kunzite," Endymion said, looking down at the floor by his feet. "The only thing I care about right now is getting Serenity back. And telling the truth is the only way that'll happen."

Kunzite gritted his teeth. "Endymion, based off your description of what she said, it seems like she doesn't really know anything. She doesn't even know if you've been doing anything illegal, which might be the only reason why we're not being raided by agency soldiers right now. If you actually tell her what you've done, she might just immediately turn you in. This is a very bad situation, but telling her that you've been violating galactic law might just make it a lot worse."

"Maybe," Endymion agreed. "But maybe I have to accept that possibility. I deserve it, don't I? If she turns me in, then I deserve it."

Kunzite thought for a moment. "What did she say when she was leaving? Did she give a reason? Any sort of plan for the future?"

Endymion closed his eyes. "She said she wanted me out of her life. Said she was going to get all of her stuff moved back to the Moon Palace, and get the midwives moved there as well. It certainly sounded permanent, if that's what you mean."

"Yes, that...doesn't sound like someone who is necessarily going to take you back no matter what you do," Kunzite pointed out. "I'm sorry to have to say it, Your Highness, but there may be no winning move here. You telling her what you've been doing is very possibly going to accomplish nothing but grant her leverage over you. In fact, in my opinion, that's probably the end result."

"Perhaps," Endymion replied, opening his eyes again. "But I have to believe that there is a winning move. That I can get her back." He looked up at his general, a deep sadness weighing down his eyes. "Because I don't know what the hell I'm going to do if I can't. If it ends up getting me tossed in a cell on board The Savery, so be it. But right now, getting her back is the only thing I value."

Kunzite sucked down a slow breath, then pushed it out. Beyond that little whisper of sound, the room was silent for several long beats.

The table right by the head of the bed suddenly emitted a clear ringing tone that filled the room. Kunzite's head snapped up to look over at the vibrating communicator disc up on the table, then glanced over to the Prince. He hadn't even reacted to it.

Kunzite gave Endymion several beats to show some sign of caring that he was being hailed, before walking around the couch, heading over to the table by the bed. A few beats later, he held the disc in his hands, looking down at the center of it to see that one of the palace operators was calling. He pressed his finger down into the center of the disc.

"General Kunzite speaking," he said, glancing over at the back of the Prince's head. "Prince Endymion...present."

"I've got a message for His Highness," a female voice began through the device, a soundwave hologram above the disc pulsing with her syllables. "Cronus of Saturn wants to have a lunch meeting with him, tomorrow. I know it's short notice, but since it's Cronus we have to at least ask."

Endymion turned around, his interest finally piqued. Kunzite thought for a moment.

"According to him, he wishes to present a proposal to the Prince."

"One moment, please," Kunzite said, tapping a button along the outside ring of the communicator, the blue soundwave going flat and turning red. "Should I tell him you're not interested?"

Endymion paused for a moment, but then quickly nodded. "Y-yes, well...no, actually." He put his hand up to his mouth. "I should tell him. In person. Um, tell him to come here for lunch. I'll do him the courtesy of telling him myself, he deserves at least that much."

Kunzite nodded, then lifted the disc back up to his mouth. "Go ahead and tell Cronus to come to the palace for lunch. The Prince is free to meet with him."

"Will do."

Kunzite tapped the center of the disc again. "I'll have a private room set up so you two will be free to discuss business."

Endymion nodded, slowly turning back to face out the large glass doors, leading to the balcony.

"

Cronus's tiny, two-pronged fork stuck into the white crab meat that had been splayed out onto his plate. "Thank you for meeting me on such short notice."

Endymion nodded, lazily fidgeting with his tiny fork, making no move towards the food in front of him. The two of them were in a small, well-lit room, four pure white walls surrounding them and a marble floor beneath their feet, a golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Other than the solitary door in the east wall, there was no way in or out of the room. It was about as secure as a room in the Earth Palace could possibly feel without being an actual panic chamber.

"I assume you're prepared to talk business?" Cronus said, lifting a piece of crab meat to his mouth and biting it off his fork.

"Y-yes, Cronus, but I'm afraid things have changed somewhat since we last met," Endymion replied, looking a little sheepish.

"Well, before we get into that, are we in a secure location?" Cronus pulled a rectangular device out of his inside jacket pocket, looking down at the front of it as he pushed down a button on the face. "Is anyone listening to us right now?"

"You have nothing to worry about," Endymion replied.

After a couple moments, Cronus set the device down on the table in front of him. "Very good. Now, when people ask what this meeting was about, we should make sure our stories match." He cleared his throat. "When asked, we'll simply say that I came here to offer you an apprenticeship at Galen Laboratories, to obtain a diamond-level certification in medical science. It's a simple story that checks out, you did show a strong aptitude in the field during your education. I wanted to offer you the opportunity to reach the highest possible accolade one can achieve."

Endymion nodded. "Y-yes, that sounds perfectly fine to me," he said. "Now, Cronus—"

"First, I want to extend my thanks to you for the initial offering," Cronus began. "It was worth every last cred. Every last bit of it met my standards as well. We sold all of it within six days of our transaction."

Endymion's eyelids fluttered a bit. "S-six days? Wow, that's...you have quite an effective distribution network." He nodded. "You must be proud."

"Yes. Now, I have an offer for you," Cronus interrupted. "One that will see us working together for the foreseeable future, that will make both of us very happy. You will never have to worry about your product's distribution again, and will make more than enough money for it to be worth your time."

Endymion pursed his lips, then swallowed down hard. "Cronus, I...please, don't take this the wrong way."

Cronus's eyebrows raised up towards his hairline a bit, and he held silent, waiting for the Crown Prince to continue.

"I didn't want an operator to relay a refusal to meet on my behalf, or have Kunzite tell you that I'm not interested, I respect you and the way you conduct business too much for that. You were nothing but professional when interacting with me, and in an environment like the black market, that's something that is clearly very rare and deeply appreciated." Endymion shifted around in his seat a bit. "So I wished to tell you this personally, p-please don't think I was trying to lead you on or waste your time by inviting you here. But, as I said, things have changed, and I've decided to...I suppose, retire from the imperium smuggling business."

Cronus's pleasant, easy smile faded a bit as Endymion spoke, but his composure remained.

"I appreciate your interest in a continuing relationship, and under different circumstances, I would have been happy to work with you. My decision to retire has nothing to do with you at all." He set the fork down and his hands went down into his lap, gripping his kneecaps tightly. "And I'm sure this is disappointing to you, but...well, I had a wake-up call of sorts last night. I've been thinking about the things in my life that are actually valuable to me, the things that I actually want, and the kind of person that I want to be. And I believe that I've made a mistake, getting involved in this business. It's caused me to become someone that I don't think I like being. Someone that is not me. I've been trying to fool myself into believing I could be this person, but...well, no more."

Cronus looked down at the crab meat before him for a moment, touching the tip of his fork against the heated plate that supported them. He quickly looked back up to the Prince. "My offer may not be exactly what you're thinking. I'd like you to at least hear it."

Endymion gave a shaky little nod, gesturing over towards the wealthy scientist. "Of course. Go ahead, but I must tell you that no offer that you can make will change my mind."

"Galen Laboratories has recently opened a facility on Deimos. I'm sure you've heard of it. I have a hidden chamber in that facility, that I am prepared to outfit with whatever equipment you require in order to synthesize your product. Nobody will ever find you in this chamber. No more concern about hiding or keeping on the move. In this laboratory, you'll be utilizing industrial equipment that allows you to make massive quantities of imperium at once, over a thousand libras per batch. I do not know your process, but I will require five batches every ten days. And for these five batches across ten days, the sum of which must equal or exceed five thousand libras, I will pay you two billion, six hundred million creds."

Endymion recoiled away from the table slightly, eyes widening.

"Just shy of one hundred billion creds a year. You will never need to concern yourself about equipment or materials, I will provide all of that. All I need from you is your raw product and the synthesization process." Cronus nodded.

"One hundred billion a year," Endymion muttered, reaching up to run the tip of his index finger along the corner of his mouth. "Wow."

"Ongoing until you run out of product," Cronus added. "I will need at least a one year long commitment from you. Past that, you can leave the business if you'd prefer, but I am happy to continue to distribute your product as long as you would need distribution."

Endymion blinked a few times, glancing down at the table. "I…"

"So, it's a yes then?" Cronus prompted.

Endymion sighed. "It's not a question of money," he said, looking Cronus straight in the eye. "I'm sorry, but my answer is still no."

"Then perhaps we could arrange a deal for your raw product?" Cronus suggested. "And your formula and process? I have an accomplished chemist who can handle synthesization. Simply sell your raw product to me for a lump sum of money, and then wash your hands of the business."

"Selling you raw imperium would still be a criminal act on my part," Endymion said. "The...the formula and process I'm using was also obtained illegally, and to sell it to you would be the same. And, although I've tried to play the part of a criminal in recent cycles, I'm simply not one. And trying to be one has now cost me what I love and care about the most. So, with apologies, that's not possible either." He put his hand out towards Cronus. "I mean no offense, you're clearly cut out for life in the underworld, and I have no problem with that, but I'm starting to realize that I'm simply not."

Cronus stared at the Prince for a couple beats, then gave a small shrug. "Of course, I am disappointed. But I do understand." He gestured down at the food. "I can at least finish this?"

Endymion nodded, prompting Cronus to begin to dig into the crab meat with additional enthusiasm.

"

"The official death toll in the Tarvos Academy bombing attack has officially reached six thousand, with more bodies being found in the rubble and others perishing in hospitals after sustaining severe injuries in the explosion. While the official count is still in progress, it seems highly likely that this incident will end up as the most deadly attack on a civilian target in the decade-long history of this conflict on Saturn."

Princess Serenity was sitting on the edge of her bed, eyes glued to the hologram projector over on the table in the middle of the room as it showed assorted images of destruction, as well as occasionally displaying graphs. The male voice came out strong and clear from the speakers on the projector, providing a context to the awful images being placed in front of her. A hard, determined glare was in Serenity's eyes as she watched the broadcast intently.

Serenity's bedroom in the Moon Palace had been somewhat ignored due to no longer having a resident, but had still been maintained enough for her to move right back in.

"It is currently unknown how the explosive device was placed inside the academy, but The Rings have already taken credit for the attack, claiming that such will be the fate of all who take the side of the current regime. The bloody war seems to have no end in sight, with neither side able to gain a clear advantage."

A couple of soft knocks at the door, followed by the slight creak of it swinging open, drew Serenity's attention away. Her mother, an awkward smile on her face, stood in the threshold, giving her daughter an odd look.

"Um...w-what are you watching?" The Queen asked, as the Princess picked a remote up off the bed next to her and turned down the volume.

"The news," she replied dully.

Queen Serenity sighed, glancing around the dimmed room. "Um...so...sweetie, I know it's not any of my business—"

"You're right," Serenity snarked, a strong sharpness in her voice that was hardly ever there. "It's not."

The elder Serenity stared at her daughter, wanting to say something, before finally hanging her head down to look towards the carpet with a frown and sigh.

"Mother," Serenity said tersely. "I'll talk about it when I'm ready, and I'm not ready."

"W-well, okay, it's just...this is so not like you at all, and I just can't help but...I…"

After a couple beats of silence, she pulled the door shut again, leaving Serenity to stare at the holographic projector.

"

The glowing, translucent elevator shaft that started right in front of Prince Endymion's bedroom balcony began to give off a very faint hum. That wasn't enough to draw the Prince's attention, as he was sprawled out on the couch, lost in his thoughts. Nor did he notice the short blonde woman quickly zip up the glowing tube and step out onto the balcony, quickly crossing over to the glass doors.

It wasn't until the woman's knuckles rapped smartly against the glass door that his head rocketed up in surprise. On seeing the small woman clad in white clothes, standing there with a stern look on her face, he scrambled to his feet and sprinted over to the door. Pressing the lock button with his thumb, he twisted the knob open, ushering in a small blast of air from the outside.

The two just stood there, staring at each other, for a non-trivial amount of time. Finally, a shaky smile found Endymion's face.

"Sweetie, it's really good to see you," he managed weakly. "P-please, come in." He moved to the side and beckoned her.

"Is now a good time?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she slowly entered the bedroom, looking around the massive luxury chamber.

"Of course, I'm always happy and willing to see you any time," Endymion replied, shutting the door behind her. "T-thank you for coming to see me, I...I wish you had called ahead. I haven't even bathed yet today." He gave an embarrassed little grin.

Suddenly, the bedroom door popped open, prompting Endymion to jolt a bit before sprinting over, Julia preparing to enter with a basket of red towels in tow.

"Uh, no, no!" Endymion cried, holding his hands out towards the confused maid. "Not right now, please!"

She had taken one step into the room, but quickly jumped back as if her foot had discovered the floor was molten lava. Endymion grabbed the edge of the door, swinging it back shut, holding it open just a crack to peek out at Julia.

"Um, sorry, I just...I'm in the middle of something important right now, can't be disturbed. Please, tell the other maids as well, I don't want to be disturbed. Until the afternoon."

"Y-Yes, Your Highness," Julia replied quickly, bowing as Endymion closed the door and locked it. He turned around, pressing his back up against the door.

"Right, now...where were we?"

Serenity glanced about the room yet again, then turned her focus to her husband. "If you act like an adult about this, then I will too."

Endymion swallowed down the lump in his throat, then stood up straight. "O-of course, Serenity, I...you know, these last three days without you, for me, I have to say it's really done an excellent job of reminding me what I really care about in life. It's let me clear my mind, step back, and really think about what I've been doing, and how I've been treating you. And it's really been horrifying to think about, actually. So now, with your permission, I'd like us to sit down and find a way to work this out. And I think that, by the time we're done, you'll know that I've certainly made mistakes, but that I've learned from them and we'll both be better off for it."

Serenity sighed. "That's not what I meant," she muttered. "Endymion, if you agree to stay away from me and Chibiusa, then I'm willing to lie about why we're separating."

Endymion's mouth twitched downward, face going blank. "E-excuse me?"

"Our parents are both going to have a lot of questions about why we're separating. So will the entire galaxy. We should have a consistent story, something that people will accept. I think that's very much in your best interests," Serenity said flatly.

"S...S-separation?!" Endymion said disbelievingly. "Serenity, I...I…" he turned away from her, ducking his head down and rubbing his face, exhaling out powerfully as he paced away from her. "Serenity." He stood back up, looking at her. "You can't be serious."

"I am," Serenity insisted. "I told you three days ago that I want you out of my life. That still stands."

Endymion winced down hard, eyes squeezing shut in denial. "Serenity, I...how can you even say something like that?!" He opened his mouth to say more, but stopped himself to suppress the building anger inside of him, steadying himself.

"I'm not interested in destroying your life," Serenity said evenly. "I just don't want to be in it anymore. That's my offer, you should take it."

"Serenity, we just got married! We have a daughter who's not even four cycles old, we...we are royals! Our marriage united our Kingdoms together! How can that word even cross your mind?! Separation?!"

"I'm not looking forward to it," Serenity said crossly. "I know it'll be a scandal. I know I'll be asked a billion questions about it. But that's the only option."

Endymion shook his head back and forth emphatically. "No, no, Serenity, I...listen." He put his hand out towards her. "We're having a disagreement. A fight. A misunderstanding. Trust me, married couples have those all the time. They work through them, they talk them out, they learn from them and grow past them. That's how this works. If married couples got separated every time they had a fight, there wouldn't be any married couples left in the galaxy!" He put his hands together in front of his chest. "Serenity, you don't even know what I've been doing! You don't even know my side of things! You're missing massive pieces of context!"

Serenity exhaled, glancing down at the floor, letting her arms hang back down at her sides. "I think I've figured it out already."

Endymion tensed up a bit. "Figured out what?"

She looked back up at him. "War profiteering." She blinked a few times. "I think that's what it's called."

Endymion's face wrinkled up, the Prince blinking rapidly as if he had just been dazed. "W-what?!"

"That's what you've been doing, isn't it?" Serenity asked. "I was watching the news last night, and I figured it out. That's where you got the diamonds from, right? That's what you've been working on in secret all this time." She again turned her focus down to the carpet beneath her feet. "I've read about it, war profiteering, it's where you sell equipment and supplies to both sides in a war. They're obviously desperate, so you can charge virtually whatever you want to, and because you're selling to both sides, it also...helps cause the war to go on longer, so you can keep selling to them." She paced a couple steps away from him, scowling deeply down at the floor. "The civil war on Saturn. You're selling goods to the sitting regime and The Rings, prolonging the war and making profit off of the destruction and death."

Endymion looked mortified. "Serenity. No." He pointed his right index finger out towards her. "Listen to me, I...I have done bad things. I'm not going to pretend otherwise. I have done things that are illegal. Some of my decisions have led me to doing things that are immoral. But I would never, ever, do anything like war profiteering!" He pointed up at his chin. "I couldn't! I would never try to make money off of what's happening on Saturn right now!"

Serenity slowly turned back towards him, then shrugged her shoulders. She tilted her head slightly.

Endymion sighed. "I...the truth is…"

He turned to glance at the bedroom door, a sort of reflexive tic to make sure the two of them were still alone, then looked back to the Princess.

"...imperium." He finished, swallowing down hard on some phlegm building up in his mouth. "Black market imperium."

Serenity gave a mournful groan, eyes closing for a moment. "Oh. Endymion. Gods," she managed to gasp out, putting her right hand up to her forehead.

"Hey!" Endymion put his hands out to his sides. "It's a lot better than war profiteering, isn't it?! A lot better! Can I get a little something for not being involved in something as awful as that?!"

Serenity shot him an incredulous, withering look. "A little something?" she repeated. "Black market imperium is among the most serious crimes in the galaxy!"

"Well, it's better than war profiteering!" Endymion insisted lamely. "It's not even close!"

"Alright," she grunted. "I've heard enough." She began to storm over towards the balcony door, Endymion sprinting across the room to get in front of her.

"W-w-wait!" he shouted, skidding to a halt in front of her. "Serenity, please, just hear me out!"

"I don't want to hear you out, I know more than enough already," she said in a low, biting voice. "My offer stands, now get out of my way!"

"Serenity, it's a morally grey area!" Endymion protested. The blonde Princess, who was moving to get around her husband, froze at this. "I-I know it's illegal, of course, but...let's think about this for a bit!"

She slowly tilted her head up to look at Endymion's face, scowling up at the Crown Prince.

"Sweetie, really, imperium smuggling is one of the few things keeping the agency from holding leverage over the entire galaxy! Without that...that competition, they've basically got every other Kingdom in the solar system by the balls! They can charge whatever they want, they can demand any concession they can think of, they can effectively rule with impunity over every single planet and moon!" He dramatically tossed his left arm out in a sweeping motion to his side. "Serenity, the days of the agency being an altruistic organization concerned only with oversight and preventing waste are long gone. The black market for imperium is the only thing keeping them from being able to exert absolute control. It's a necessary evil, it serves a good purpose. It creates a free market that limits the agency's power."

She narrowed her gaze slightly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"A lot of black market imperium gets sold to common, everyday people. People who would otherwise be forced to pay whatever the agency tells them to pay. People who have to cut back on things like food, clothing, medicine, and housing in order to afford the agency prices." He slowly put his hand up to his chest. "My...my activities in the black market help empower those people to live better lives, stretch their budgets further. That's really a majority of what my activities lead to, and...trust me, sweetie. To those common, everyday people...I'm a hero."

She blinked a couple times. "Endymion, I might not be smart. But I am not as stupid as you think I am, or as stupid as you want me to be," she hissed.

Endymion gave a frustrated sigh. "Serenity, once again, I don't think you're stupid, nor do I want you to be stupid—"

"Black market imperium enables organized crime!" she snapped, teeth gritted. "I've done enough reading to know that much. Almost all organized crime outfits in the galaxy are able to function and operate only because they're able to obtain imperium without going through the agency." She shook her head. "The Rings were able to rise to power and mount a challenge to the current regime on Saturn because of black market imperium. Without the black market, there would be no civil war!"

Endymion blinked a couple times, mouth hanging open slightly. "...valid counterpoint. You're right about that. It's definitely a complex situation with many pros and cons, everyone will interpret their weight differently." He pointed at Serenity. "I think we'd both benefit massively if we had a debate over the merits and drawbacks of the existence of the black market, we'd both learn a lot!"

Serenity rolled her eyes, and then began again trying to move towards the balcony door. "Alright, that's enough!"

Endymion shuffled backwards, trying desperately to keep her in the room. "H-hold on, Serenity, there's more!"

"I'm already disgusted enough with what I've heard, I don't need to hear more!" she snapped, rounding Endymion, hand slamming down on the golden doorknob and twisting the door open. She took one step out onto the balcony.

"Serenity! It was on the Moon!" Endymion blurted out.

The Princess was reaching back to shut the door behind her, but just as her hand found the edge of the door, she stopped. After several beats, she turned around, frustrated confusion wearing wrinkles down on her forehead and cheeks.

"...what was on the Moon?"

Endymion felt his stomach turning as Serenity stared him down. Slowly, she closed the door, re-entering the bedroom as she did so.

"...the imperium. I found imperium on the Moon," he answered slowly.

Serenity took a slow, heavy step towards the Prince of Earth, eyes scanning him up and down. "What?"

"Um…" Endymion glanced to the side, pursing his lips and fidgeting slightly under Serenity's lingering stare. "R-remember that time I got separated down in the Moon mines? I fell d-down that tunnel? W-well, when I was down there, I...um...found something."

Serenity's mouth gaped open, horror now overtaking her expression of disgust and anger. "You...you're kidding, right?" She blinked a couple times. "Because it's not funny."

Endymion shook his head.

"Ohhhh...Gods," Serenity moaned, head dramatically tilting downward to look down at the carpet. "You're mining imperium?!"

"Serenity, that's why I did this!" Endymion said, closing in on her and delicately putting his hands out towards her. "When I was down there in the tunnel by myself, I found a little crystal. I came back later to investigate, and...Serenity, please, look at me, you need to hear this, it's important."

With some effort, she lopped her head back up straight on her shoulders, giving Endymion a nasty glare. "You're stealing imperium from the Moon and selling it on the black market?"

"I'm not stealing it!" Endymion protested. "Our Kingdoms have been merged into one, the Earth and Moon are one and the same now!"

"They weren't when you found it," Serenity said through gritted teeth.

Endymion sighed, giving an exasperated look around the room. "I wasn't stealing then, either! I was...I was trying to protect it from being stolen from you!" He gave his head a quick shake. "Serenity, when I went back down to check that tunnel out, I found...it's almost impossible to comprehend what's down there."

Her body was heaving slightly as she breathed heavily to combat her building rage, but she seemed to manage to settle herself just slightly, so she could at least listen.

"A massive chamber and tunnel system, made almost entirely of imperium. The purest that's ever been found, by far. Over ninety-nine percent pure. Millions of libras. Tens of millions, hundreds of millions, we don't even know!" He again put his palm out towards Serenity. "But what's down there is the most valuable treasure trove in this entire galaxy, by far! Worth ten times more than every single diamond mine on Mercury combined! Power to run this galaxy for centuries! The Royal House of Venus would gladly sell their entire Kingdom for...probably a small slice of what's down there!"

Serenity slowly exhaled through her teeth, coming out in a light hiss.

"That imperium vein is the last golden egg that the Moon has to lay, and it is the biggest and brightest yet! And if I had followed the law, it would have been taken, and you would have been given some sad little pittance for it. And I didn't want that for you! So...that's why I did this." Endymion backed off a bit, voice starting to peter out.

Serenity glanced down at the floor, arms still tightly constricted over her chest. "You're...you're working with that Tuxedo Mask, aren't you?"

Endymion evasively glanced over to the far corner of the room, suddenly looking rather meek and timid. Serenity flinched back a bit, blinking over at her estranged husband.

"You...you are Tuxedo Mask!" she gasped, pointing a shaking finger over towards him. "That guy that your father's chasing, he's…" she clapped her hand up to her forehead. "By the Gods!"

"Serenity, I—"

"Wait, how…" her mouth gaped up and down a couple times. "Your father...the survival training, he helped you sell that story, I...how…"

"He doesn't know," Endymion explained. "I got him to help me lie about survival training to convince you, but he has no idea about any of this imperium business." He sighed. "Serenity, please, I know I shouldn't have done it, I regret having anything to do with it, but...please, try to understand, I did it for you!"

Serenity gave him a harsh, disbelieving look. "You did this for me?"

Endymion gave a shaky little nod. "I...I did! The Moon...the Moon used to be the most powerful, well-respected Kingdom in the galaxy. The center of the solar system. And if...if the laws were fair, this find, this imperium vein, would have made that the case yet again. With the imperium down there, the Moon could have become a shining beacon on top of a hill if not for the agency, and...I just wanted to make that happen again. For you."

"For me," Serenity said. "Well, I guess I can't exactly blame you. After all, how many...hundreds of times have I asked you to, please oh please, if the opportunity were to arise for you to become one of the most wanted criminals in the galaxy, then do it, for me!" she snapped.

Endymion winced.

"Are you under the impression that I'm in constant agony because...because...the Moon Palace isn't made out of solid gold?! That our capital city isn't constructed entirely on high-powered gravity pads so it floats high up in the sky?! That people who enter through the front doors aren't immediately blinded by a giant array of sparkling diamonds?!" She shook her head slowly. "Endymion, all I ever cared about was that the Moon Kingdom would survive, that's all I wanted! I was happy with the merger, I was happy the Kingdom was going to stay in my family, and that's it! I didn't need any more, and I certainly didn't need you lying to me and becoming a criminal in order to try to get more!"

Endymion sadly nodded. "I shouldn't have done it, I know, I was just trying to protect you—"

"Okay, now I've really heard enough!" she said, spinning back towards the balcony door.

"Serenity, it doesn't matter now, I'm not doing it anymore, I'm done with it!" Endymion said pleadingly.

Hand on the knob, she paused to turn back to Endymion. "Well, good for you, I'm sure your next wife will appreciate that."

Endymion quickly ran over to her as she opened the door. "Wait wait wait, Serenity! I'm serious! I made a mistake, I've learned from it, I'm not doing it anymore! I'm out of the business!"

"I don't care!" she hissed.

"Serenity." Endymion straightened himself up as the Moon Princess walked out onto the balcony. He quickly pursued her. "I...I had a man here, a couple days ago."

Halfway to the elevator, Serenity stopped, turning her head to look over her shoulder.

"This man offered me an obscene sum of money if I would go work for him. An amount that I never dreamed possible in this business. Nearly twelve figures." His voice was slightly hushed, a natural precaution due to them now being outside, even though nobody could hear them all the way up on the towering balcony. "I turned him down. It was everything I could have ever asked for, and then some, and I said no. Because I don't want to do it anymore. Because I want to devote myself to the things I actually care about, you and my daughter! I want to be the man that you married, not the man that I've foolishly tried to be recently. The man that you married is the man that I am. Just give me a chance, and you'll see that!" He gently closed the gap between the two of them. "I turned down twelve figures worth of creds, Serenity. Because I value you and my daughter more than any amount of money."

Serenity could only muster up a tired glare. "Do you want me to congratulate you? Praise you for not breaking more laws?"

Endymion sighed, tilting his head back, looking up at the sky.

"This imperium, where is it?" Serenity asked. "Specifically, where is it?"

"Um…section three-one-four," he replied. The dangerous ramifications of revealing where the vein was ran through his mind for maybe a beat, but he remained dedicated to his promise to tell Serenity the whole truth.

She closed her eyes, thinking for a moment. "How long will it take for you to cover all of your tracks down there?"

Endymion squinted. "W-what do you mean by that?"

"Get rid of all the...all the evidence that you were ever down there. Destroy all traces that you were actually mining from it, how long will that take you?" she asked.

"Oh...w-well. I have no idea," Endymion answered.

Serenity nodded, popping her large eyes back open. "Alright. Well, you've got twenty days. Whatever you need to do to wipe that place clean of your presence, you do it before then. Because in twenty days, I'm calling Jericho and telling him to go investigate section three-one-four."

Endymion opened his mouth to protest, but never got a word out.

"And he's going to find whatever's down there. So for your sake, clear those tunnels of any hints of your presence." She nodded. "That's my deal."

"Serenity, if you do that, it goes to the agency. Do you have any idea how much power and leverage they'd have if that vein comes into their possession?!" Endymion argued.

"I don't care!" Serenity countered. "It's the only option I have, anything else I can do would be violating the law! Actually, I'm violating the law by giving you twenty days, so please, cherish it and use it!" She raised her finger up underneath Endymion's chin as he came up to her. "And, Endymion, my original offer still stands. You say your father has no idea about any of this? I will keep it that way for you. I won't tell anyone about what you've been doing. We can make up some story together about our separation, you stay out of prison, you have the whole rest of your life in front of you, but only if you accept this, and you stay away from me and Chibiusa! That's the deal!"

She spun around, quickly darting over to the elevator. Endymion didn't even bother trying to chase her down this time, just watching her step back into the glowing circular tube and quickly being zipped downward.

Distraught and stunned, Endymion quickly ran over to the balcony edge to peer over, watching his wife disappear from sight as she zoomed down towards the palace garage. Reaching up to scratch at the top of his head, he slowly turned around to aimlessly stare at the back wall of the palace.