Chapter 48: Long Live The King
A brilliant orange burst consumed the distant freighter, blowing it into pieces that began to float and tumble in assorted directions. Endymion just watched the chaotic scene, a serene and peaceful smile on his face.
"Scan is clean," Nephrite reported. "No life forms detected. Nobody aboard survived."
Kunzite gave a moaning sigh, leaning forward and slouching, pressing his forehead against the side wall of the cockpit. He closed his eyes, visibly exhausted.
The trio just hung there in silence for several long beats, soaking in the gravity of what they had just managed to accomplish and the massive shockwaves that were about to be felt through the galaxy.
"The job isn't done," Kunzite said wearily, finally opening his eyes. "After we drop the Princess off, we'll have to work quickly to destroy any evidence that can connect us to him."
"You're sure we got him?" Endymion asked, sounding oddly at peace, with his carefree, casual, light tone.
"I, I was watching the scans as the explosion went off," Nephrite assured him. "Either it's the most bizarre coincidence of all time, or everyone on that ship is dead."
"We'll drop the Princess off and pick Jadeite and Zoisite up," Endymion continued. "On the way back, we'll destroy the lab. Once news of Cronus's death is made official, they'll comb through all of his properties and assets and find it." He cleared his throat. "Nephrite, I trust that your men have been mopping up the final collections and payouts on Earth?"
"We're on schedule," Nephrite answered.
"Then everyone start practicing how you're going to act around father when we get back to the palace tonight," Endymion said simply, turning around and confidently striding towards the cockpit door.
The door whisked open and the Crown Prince stepped through, immediately meeting the gaze of Princess Saturn.
"Everything alright?" she asked timidly.
"More than alright," Endymion said warmly, giving a comforting smile at her. "Princess Saturn, thank you so much for meeting with me here. You've made things so much easier for me today. I owe you."
"I...I haven't done anything," the small Princess answered, reaching up to scratch at her cheek bashfully.
"You've done more than you know," Endymion replied simply, again crouching right in front of her. He smoothly inserted his right hand into his side pants pocket and withdrew an egg-shaped object, most of it golden in color with tiny silver threads weaving along the surface, perfectly cut and sized rubies placed in perfect symmetry inbetween the weaving threads. A tiny golden hinge allowed the egg to open up at the center. "I want you to have this."
Saturn's eyes went wide at the sight of the attention-grabbing object in Endymion's fingers, and he extended it out towards her. Carefully, she took it in her much smaller hands, cautiously handling it.
"A hundred of these were made four centuries ago by a master craftsman on Earth. Some of our most cherished precious artifacts. Let's call it a symbol of our cooperation," Endymion explained.
"Oh, are you sure?" Saturn exclaimed, eyes clearly brightening as she examined the egg, rotating it around between her thumb and index finger.
"I just don't want to see it being auctioned off next cycle," he said, winking. "Alright, let's get you home."
"
Kasios was captivated by the large hologram projector propped up against the back wall of the main room of the bunker. The projected video was clearly depicting an explosion in space, filmed from a nearby satellite by coincidence, the distance making details impossible to make out. The imperfect footage had been replayed a thousand times already on every news network in the galaxy, yet remained captivating.
In the beats following the initial explosion, the violent fiery eruption faded enough for loose pieces of a large spaceship to start floating in various directions, making it clear that the eruption had come from an F-class starship. Not too long after this became evident did the video clip start from the beginning again.
This was shocking enough, as ship accidents of this magnitude hardly ever happened anymore. In fact, in order for something like this to happen given recent technological advances, there pretty much had to be some form of maliciousness involved. However, that wasn't even close to the most shocking part of this accident.
On the hologram, there was a massive headline right underneath the replaying video. It was such a shocking proclamation that it demanded to be read multiple times, and then be questioned and verified. The effects that the proclamation would have on the entire galaxy were impossible to be quantified right now. It could be years before the true fallout could be calculated.
COMMERCIAL AIRSHIP BULG EXPLODES OVER SATURN, ESTIMATED DEATH TOLL 15, SORANUS HEAD AND CEO CRONUS AMONG CASUALTIES
"What is happening with the universe?!" Queen Serenity muttered, leaning up from behind the couch over Kasios's shoulder, where the High King was seated. "People trying to kill you, people killing Cronus, where did all this come from?!"
"Gods," Kasios said throatily.
"By the way, if somebody can kill Cronus, they can kill your son," Serenity continued. "So, again, can we get him here?! Why is he even on Saturn anyway? Negotiating an alliance, like he couldn't do that in a few days?!" She gave Kasios a bit of a dirty look. "Did you put him up to that?"
"Serenity, Serenity, please, I...I'm processing this right now," Kasios grunted. "And no, I didn't tell Endymion to do anything, he...I don't know why he went to Saturn right now, we'll ask him about that when he gets back."
"C-calm down, Mom," the younger Serenity said quietly, slouched down on one of the side chairs in the main room, also watching the repeated video clip on the projector. "We don't even know if someone killed Cronus, this could have been an accident."
"No, no," Kasios dismissed immediately. "This was intentional. Explosions like that don't just happen anymore."
"What was he doing on a commercial airship?" Queen Serenity continued to question in rapid-fire speech. "They said...it was a flight to Uranus, right? He has his own ship, obviously, right?!"
"There's obviously a lot we don't know right now," Kasios said, still speaking in a slight monotone due to shock. "But someone killed him. And I think we're lucky that they did."
"I...excuse me?" Queen Serenity questioned. "What's that supposed to mean? If Soranus dissolves it'll be terrible for the galactic economy, how is this good for anyone?!"
"I don't think this is a coincidence." He shook his head. "I think Cronus was there for Endymion." He suddenly rocketed up to his feet. "Gods, I need to get up to The Savery, this is about to get big."
"What does any of this have to do with the agency?!" Queen Serenity asked. "You're not going anywhere right now, are you insane?! None of us are going anywhere until we have absolute confirmation that nobody is trying to kill you!"
"Somebody was trying to kill me," Kasios said, sweeping around the couch and storming over towards the primary doors of the bunker.
"Well...wait, what is that supposed to mean?" Queen Serenity asked.
"Can you two keep it down a little?" Princess Serenity asked, tossing a glance over her shoulder towards one of the side doors leading to the secondary chambers. "I just got her down not that long ago."
"Kasios, you said...you said this assassination thing was a hoax!" Queen Serenity said, quickly chasing the High King over as he peeled a small section of the panel next to the massive steel doors back. "You said you were sure—"
"Open the doors!" Kasios said loudly through a round speaker behind the wall panel he had just opened up.
"Wait, wait!" the Queen insisted. "Kasios, you are not going out there after saying something like that!"
Kasios sighed loudly, putting his mouth back up close to the speaker. "Cancel that order, just...hold on." He sealed the panel shut again, turning around to face Serenity. "It was a hoax, but somebody was still trying to kill me. It just wasn't the federation. I'm guessing that the whistleblower wanted to put me on alert but wasn't willing to name the actual person behind the scheme."
Princess Serenity kept watching the repeating video clip, so obsessed with trying to act as if she wasn't overly interested in what Kasios was saying that she was probably taking it too far in the other direction, suspiciously uninterested in what he was saying.
"So someone is trying to kill you?" Queen Serenity said incredulously.
"No, was," Kasios corrected. He pointed over at the hologram across the room. "He's not trying to kill me anymore, the mangled remains of his corpse are currently orbiting around Saturn. It was Cronus who was after me."
Queen Serenity's face contorted in a rather unpleasant look of shock. "Have you lost your mind?!"
"Uhh…" Kasios gave a couple evasive looks to his left and right. "I guess it doesn't matter now, he's dead. I was keeping this quiet for obvious reasons, but the last couple cycles, I've been investigating Cronus. B-By myself, nobody else saw things my way, but I've suspected for some time now that he's the largest imperium smuggler in the galaxy." He put his hand out towards the Moon Queen. "I know, I know, it's out there, and believe me, if you think that's insane, pretty much everyone in the galaxy is with you."
"Well, insane's a pretty good word for it," Serenity replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "Kasios, think about what you're saying here, Cronus was probably the wealthiest and most powerful person in the galaxy who wasn't either a royal or Grandmaster of the agency, what interest would he have in imperium smuggling?"
"Believe me, I've thought about it a lot. And either way, I think I've just been proven correct." He gestured again over at the hologram.
"He died in an explosion, how does that prove anything?" the Queen asked.
"It's not the explosion," Kasios answered. "Maybe it is, I don't...that's why I need to get out of here so I can start looking into this. But think about it. Cronus gets wind of me investigating him, and maybe I got too close for comfort. Obviously, I'm doing this without the agency's backing, so he probably thinks that the investigation would die with me. But then he can't get to me in here, so he goes after my son. That's why he was there."
"Then...then who killed him?" Queen Serenity asked.
Kasios hesitated to reply, brow furrowing. "I'm still trying to figure that out, but...rival smugglers? That's my first guess."
"How did you even get to thinking something like this?" Serenity asked. "And what do you mean, without the agency's backing?"
"L-Look, Serenity, I don't want to get into the whole thing right now." He pointed up towards the ceiling. "I need to get out of here, get up there so I can get out in front of this. If I'm right, the answers should come pouring out when Cronus's life gets dissected, I want the agency on top of this from the start."
"Can't you work out of the palace?!" Queen Serenity asked, putting her arms out to her sides. "Your son still isn't here, you know. And even if you're right, that doesn't guarantee the danger has passed."
Slowly, Kasios exhaled, face wrinkling up in annoyance. "Where...where is that kid?" He sidestepped past the Queen, quickly striding over towards the large communicator that was perched on the corner of one of the end tables.
"Finally! Some urgency!" the Queen remarked as Kasios wrapped his long fingers around the device and started fumbling with the dials along the sides of the rim.
"
Nephrite and Kunzite blinked rapidly as the massive arrangement of light fixtures on the ceiling of the large laboratory roared to life. The secret chamber where the Earth Prince and general had done much of their work over the last year was fully revealed. Despite the massive amounts of chaos that had occurred in the outside world over the last few minutas, everything here looked just as it had pretty much every previous time Kunzite had come here to work, as if nothing had changed.
"This isn't what I was picturing," Nephrite admitted. Both he and Kunzite had their hair tucked up underneath wigs, as well as padding underneath their clothes to alter their body shapes. Kunzite quickly jogged across the catwalk, moving with urgency that Nephrite quickly matched.
"We need to move quickly," Kunzite said, practically sliding down the spiral staircase. Nephrite followed close behind. "I doubt High King Kasios's patience will last much longer, he must be paying attention to the news."
"This is bigger than I thought," Nephrite mused. "How are we going to destroy this without bringing the whole building down?"
"Who gives a damn about the building?" Kunzite asked.
"Well, we're currently both inside the building, so I care about it for at least as long as it takes for us to get out," Nephrite said uneasily.
"Don't worry, we won't be causing an explosion," Kunzite said, going over to the west wall of the lab, towards a large red emergency locker built into the wall. "A fire should give the whole building plenty of time to evacuate, including us. Decent chance it'll be put out before it can even bring the building down."
Kunzite ripped the locker open, revealing a plethora of emergency supplies, including a few canisters of fire extinguishers, a couple dozen jars of industrial disinfectant, and a couple of large red axes. Kunzite grabbed both of these imposing bladed weapons by the neck and pulled them out.
"The black barrels," Kunzite said, pointing the head of the axe in his right hand over towards the south side of the room, where a few dozen large barrels were stacked. "Soak the entire room." With that, he tossed one of the axes over towards Nephrite, who easily caught it.
The two young men quickly crossed over to where the collection of large containers were arranged. With a quick windup, Kunzite brought a powerful blow into the side of the closest barrel, gashing a cut right into it. A powerful flood of fluid sprayed from the hole, spilling out onto the concrete floor, rapidly spreading out across it.
Nephrite knocked one of the barrels off the top of a stack, placing it on it's side. With an overhead strike, he drove the blade of the axe into the metal container, easily penetrating the shell. He then kicked his foot right into the barrel, sending it rolling across the laboratory's floor, spilling large amounts of fluid as it spun about.
Kunzite was just about to pierce another one, when he stopped at the peak of his windup and dropped the axe to his side. He quickly pivoted around and ran over towards the large center vat. Nephrite stopped as well just as he was about to grab another barrel.
"Something the matter?" Nephrite asked, holding the axe up on his shoulder.
"No, I just don't want to forget." Kunzite circled around the vat until he got to one of the outer knobs, which had a thick piece of white rope loosely wrapped around it, each end of the rope attached to a painted wooden sphere, one designed to resemble the Earth and the other mimicking the Moon. Kunzite grabbed the trinket and shoved it inside his overcoat.
"Never took you for the sentimental type," Nephrite muttered, slamming the axe's business end into the top of one of the barrels, then picking it up by the base.
"Trust me, it's not me," Kunzite grumbled. Nephrite went over to a nearby stretch of counter space, flipping the barrel upside down and pouring the contents out the hole onto it.
"
The secret laboratory was now completely covered in the clear fluid, the entire concrete floor surfaced with a puddle of it, and every single bit of counter space and all the lab materials and equipment drenched in it as well. The state-of-the-art technological wonder had been turned into a tinderbox, just waiting for a spark.
Kunzite and Nephrite had just left, leaving their clothes behind in a heap on the catwalk, as they now reeked of boron crystal fluid, with a change of clothes waiting for them just outside the door. The messy pile of clothes had been set aflame, slowly being consumed entirely by a dancing fire, which was also the only light source in the room now.
It took only a secunda or two for all of the garments to be burnt beyond recognition. Resting on the metal grating of the catwalk, it didn't take long for small burning flecks of the fabric to start falling through and fluttering down to the lab beneath. In an almost haunting dance, several tiny flames zigzagged down.
The moment the first flame won the race down and touched the fluid, a massive plume spread from the point of contact in all directions, consuming everything in a matter of beats. The entire laboratory was covered in flames, a particularly hot bonfire that immediately started melting everything.
"
Kunzite pulled the earpiece out of his right ear canal. "Fire alarm just sounded, it worked."
"The High King sounded concerned," Zoisite said. "Maybe even agitated. It'd be a real shame if this is what popped the bubble."
"We all knew he'd have some questions when he got back," Kunzite said, withdrawing the two painted wooden balls connected by a rope from his overcoat and setting it down next to the dashboard.
The four Earth generals were seated along the front four seats of the cockpit of The Bastion, having met up with Prince Endymion's private ship and dumped the one that had just taken them halfway across the galaxy and back. The Prince was seated right behind Jadeite, still looking oddly serene and peaceful, as if disconnected from his surroundings.
"Everyone stick to the story. If he gets upset, then we can live with that. It's only a problem if he gets suspicious," Kunzite added. "The real concern is how we clean up after ourselves in the coming days. Every single detail of Cronus's life is going to be combed through, and his crimes will surface. Our names can't come up in anything they find."
"Everything's going to be just fine," Endymion said, sounding peaceful and regal. "None of us will so much as register as a blip on the radar of this investigation." He slowly twisted his head around, looking at the back of the head of each of his generals in turn. You're all about to become among the most powerful people in the galaxy, and will remain so for decades, prepare for that."
"No, no, we're far from out of the woods," Kunzite insisted. "We've always believed that Cronus was likely recording footage inside the lab. There might be cycles worth of footage saved somewhere, any of which can implicate us beyond any shadow of a doubt. And who knows what insurance policies he had in place to make sure we went down in the event of his demise?"
"Nothing that we won't be able to handle," Endymion continued. "Nothing that can't be buried. Not after what we've accomplished today."
Kunzite shifted uneasily in his seat, finding Endymion's passive speech patterns and tones almost eerie. A sharp contrast with the drama and close shaves with death that had occupied pretty much their entire day.
"
Slowly, the giant steel double doors began to pivot open, High King Kasios and Queen Serenity both standing directly in front of it as they swung outward. Endymion and his four generals stood right outside, waiting for the opening to widen enough for them to pass through.
"Thank the Gods," Kasios grunted as he got up-close evidence that his son was fine.
"W-what's going on?" Endymion asked, speaking loudly to be heard over the rumble of the swinging doors, face wrinkled in a concerned confusion. "I came as quick as I could, are you—"
As the Prince took his first couple steps into the bunker's main room, Serenity came forward, grabbing him by the collar and yanking him inside.
"Hey, hey!" Endymion protested, putting his arms up. "What's the matter?!"
"You should have been here a long time ago!" she hissed. "You have no idea how lucky you are to be alive right now!"
"Hey, hey hey hey," Kasios said, reaching out and gently grabbing Serenity's wrist. "Come on, that's enough. Calm down."
"Mom, stop it!" The younger of the Serenities ran over from the left side of the doorway, crossing her arms over her chest and crowding up at her mother's side. "You're not helping, just...let go, it's okay."
"Yes, it's okay now!" the Queen exclaimed, nevertheless releasing her grip on Endymion's shirt collar. "By sheer luck!"
"What do you mean?" Endymion turned to Kasios. "Dad, what's going on? Did something happen, is...is there actually a threat?"
"You...you are okay, right?" the Princess asked, going up to Endymion's side and grabbing his left upper arm.
"Uh…" Endymion gave his wife an odd look. "Okay, what's going on? W-what, the...are you guys talking about that ship blowing up over Saturn?" He shrugged. "I wasn't anywhere near that."
Kasios scratched the back of his head, grimacing uneasily. "We may have...underestimated the situation a bit." His face wrinkled up. "W-what were you doing on Saturn, anyway? What was up with that?"
"I didn't want to waste any time," Endymion said simply. "I've been discussing it with Kunzite recently." He jerked his head towards the still partially open door, as his four generals piled in. "I wanted this to be my first major act as High King. It's great on multiple fronts."
"W-well, we can debate that," Kasios grumbled. "Not sure this is the right time to be promising a lot of resources to another planet."
"We'll find a way, this is too important to wait on. It'll be worth it in a few years when Saturn is back on its feet and in our debt," Endymion said with a casually dismissive tone. "Besides, it's the right thing to do. Last thing this galaxy needs is a loose cannon organization like The Rings calling the shots on behalf of an entire Kingdom."
"Okay...sure, but why now?" Kasios asked. "Why not next cycle, or...in ten days, or at least after you've actually taken the throne?"
"Why not now?" Endymion replied. "People are dying over on Saturn, more every day, the sooner we intervene the sooner it can be over. Unless..." He raised an eyebrow at his father. "Dad, come on, we had a deal." He glanced over and pointed at Zoisite, who was holding a small data chip in his right hand. "You can check everything out yourself, the squeaky wheels got oiled. Everyone's been reimbursed, the Kingdom is safe."
"No, no, I don't mean that, of course, a deal is a deal, but…" Kasios slowly turned away from his son and looked over at the large hologram projector in the middle of the room. The aftermath of the ship explosion was still being shown on the projector, the torn pieces of the massive vessel depicted floating away from each other in the aftermath of an eruption on infinite loop. "It just ended up being unfortunate timing. How much do you know about this incident?" He pointed at the holographic display.
"Uh, I left Saturn not too long after it happened, so I overheard some stuff in the palace," Endymion said, taking a couple steps forward to get a better look at the projection, pulling Serenity with him. "Seemed to be some sort of purposeful explosion. About twelve to fifteen people aboard."
"Endy, Cronus was on the ship!" Princess Serenity exclaimed. "He's dead! Cronus is dead!"
"Yup," Kasios agreed. "And I think he was there for you."
Endymion's mouth fell open slightly. "O...okay, um...where do I start? What would Cronus be doing on a commercial ship, and why would he be after me?"
"We don't know everything yet," Kasios admitted darkly. "But there's no doubt he was on board that ship when it blew up, every news organization on Saturn has confirmed it. As for the rest, well, I think over the next cycle, all the dirty laundry will be aired out."
"Wow," Endymion gasped quietly. He stared over at the haphazard remains of the large ship. "What the hell happened?"
"I have a few theories," Kasios said. "Which I'd really like to go start working to confirm on board The Savery."
So...you mean, the thing you talked to me about?" Endymion asked, turning his head curiously. "You think you were on the right track?"
"Enough of the right track to scare Cronus into trying to silence me," Kasios said. "But he couldn't get to me, so he went after you on Saturn." He pointed his thumb at the hologram. "I think someone got to him before he could get to you."
Endymion slowly rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Um, you'll...you'll have to excuse me if I'm skeptical, dad. There are a lot of logical gaps to fill before I can buy all that."
"And I'd love to fill those gaps, but I can't really do it down here," Kasios said. "But the bottom line is I think you're very lucky to be alive and well right now."
"On that note," Queen Serenity interjected, coming up behind the Crown Prince. "Next time we receive credible threats of assassination, can we please take them seriously?! Whatever you were doing out there today, it can't have been that important!"
"Okay, okay, we were wrong," Endymion admitted. "Serenity, I'm sorry, I should have played it safe." He shrugged. "I got lucky, we all did, and...believe me, I know betting on getting lucky every time isn't going to work out."
Queen Serenity sighed. "You're a father, you know. You're about to become one of the most powerful people in the galaxy. You have a lot to lose. There's nothing wrong with acting like it."
"Alright, I'm going to go change," Endymion said, backing out of the tight conglomeration of royals that he was in the middle of. "It's been a long day, just...I want to clean up a bit. Are we still on lockdown?"
"For now," Kasios grumbled as Endymion hastily hustled over towards one of the side rooms, his wife close behind. "But as far as I'm concerned, this is over, so plan on sleeping in your own bed tonight."
Endymion nodded, Serenity reaching around his body and pointing at one of the doors in the left-side wall, directing him towards it.
"Oh, son."
Just as he was reaching for the doorknob, Endymion froze, then turned his body towards his father.
"It's good to see you," Kasios said. "I'm glad you're okay, and...I'm sorry. I should have taken the tip more seriously."
"Hey, I'm the one who didn't take it seriously," Endymion replied quickly. "It was my choice to put myself out there like that."
"I'm going to check the numbers," Kasios continued. "But assuming I like what I see, be ready, I want the transfer of power as soon as possible. This Cronus story is about to blow up like nothing we've ever seen before, and I want to invest as much time as possible into making sure everything comes to light."
"Why do I get the sense you can't wait to be rid of the burden of being a King?" Endymion said sardonically. "I feel like I'm being tricked into something."
Kasios shrugged. "If this has proved anything, it's that I care way more about agency business than Earth business. Why wait?"
Endymion turned back around, cracking the door open and sliding through into the bedroom. Serenity followed close behind, quickly yanking the door shut and then pressing her ear up to the wood for a moment.
Endymion glanced around the darkened room that was largely foreign to him, quickly finding the crib in the far corner. He gave a peaceful, contented sigh as his wife came up right behind him.
"Endy, have you been listening to the news?!" Serenity asked in a hushed, yet hurried tone. Endymion simply went over to the side of the room opposite the crib, nearest the door, to open the closet. "F-forget the news, you should hear the things your father's been saying ever since the story came out! I don't know if...if any of it is true, but it's unbelievable!"
Endymion scanned through a set of simple outfits, pushing them along the rack inside the small closet, before finding an appropriate tunic set and taking it off. Holding up the completed outfit in front of him, he took it over to the bed and gently tossed it down on top of the covers.
"At first he was saying that it was rival smugglers that got Cronus, like...someone wanted to get rid of their biggest competitor in imperium smuggling, you were right by the way, he already knew all about Cronus smuggling imperium, told us all about it after we saw the news, but then after that he started thinking that maybe it was The Rings, and then he started with some sort of theory that Cronus was using his imperium money to fund Saturn in the civil war, then it was—"
"Sweetie," Endymion interrupted. "Take a breath before you pass out. There's no rush." He was quickly unbuttoning his shirt, fingers nimbly going down his chest to pluck all the buttons out.
Serenity put her right hand up to her forehead, wiping it off as she inhaled deeply. "S-sorry, I just...it's been a day. It's been hard to process. It was all I could do to not give anything away."
Endymion continued to disrobe, pushing his pants down. "It's been a day for me too."
"S-So, I mean, we got really lucky then?" Serenity continued. "I...sorry, I hate saying it like that, more than ten innocent people died in that explosion, it's terrible, but...I just mean, that ended up resolving our problem." She furrowed her brow. "I mean, I can't...so much of it still doesn't make any sense to me, even if your father's right."
Endymion said nothing, silently changing into the more casual wear he had laid out for himself, pulling on the pair of black slacks after seating himself on the edge of the bed.
"I mean, I guess you ended up sort of...luring him there, right? He wouldn't have been there if you weren't." She swallowed down hard. "So...what happened? What made you go to Saturn all of a sudden?"
"Sweetie, we're safe now," Endymion finally said. "The danger has passed. It's over. Nobody's coming to hurt us anymore. It's done."
"Um...well, good," Serenity said tentatively. "But what happened? Why would you pick now of all times to...go to Saturn and negotiate an alliance?"
"Serenity, it doesn't matter," Endymion replied evenly, sweeping the undershirt around his back and shoving his arms through the sleeves. "All that matters is that everything's going to be okay now. You don't have to worry anymore."
Endymion stood back up as he pulled his new tunic up over his head, stepping around Serenity and going across the room over to the crib. The Princess stood there, looking somewhat dumbfounded as her husband went past her. She shook it off, spinning around and following Endymion.
"Wait, did you…" Serenity started, still fighting to keep her voice down so Chibiusa wouldn't wake up. Endymion went up to the side of the crib, serenely observing the sleeping form of his only daughter, resisting the urge to get too close. "Endy, did you know about any of this?"
"You're going to be Queen in a couple days," Endymion commented in a whisper. "Think about that right now."
"N-No, I...Endy!" she hissed, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him a half-step back. "Endymion, we talked about this!" She craned her head up next to his ear. "I mean it. Endy, you need to tell me. You've hidden the truth from me enough lately. Did you have something to do with what happened today?"
Endymion slowly twisted his head around to face her, her expression twisted into a look of determination.
"Endymion. What happened?" Serenity asked yet again.
The Crown Prince paused, glancing down at the floor, clearly mentally debating how he was going to appease his wife. Despite the interrogation, he still had a facial expression of calm contentment, as if he was unaffected. Finally, with no small amount of consideration, he settled on something.
"I won."
Serenity's facial expression immediately went slack, the firm sternness melting in the blink of an eye, and her hand dropped off Endymion's shoulder. Endymion took the opportunity to stand back straight up, then turn around and again step past her.
The Moon Princess looked stunned, staring straight forward for a few beats, forehead wrinkling as she tried to process everything. She twisted around just in time to see him go over to the door.
The two words were said with a calm and casual, almost business-like, indifference, and there was certainly a vagueness. But Serenity couldn't help but feel as if they spoke paragraphs. They carried a weight beyond what was just simply said. And the impact of that weight was hitting her in waves.
"So, are we eating dinner down here?" Endymion called out after opening the door, stepping back out into the primary bunker room. "I could eat."
"Yeah, we can eat down here." Serenity could just barely make out Kasios's voice. She was so lost in her thoughts that it was almost as if the rest of the world was muted to her.
She put her hand up over her mouth slowly, watching as Endymion left the bedroom. Her big, expressive eyes rotated around she found her gaze drawn back to Chibiusa's crib.
"Something from the far east, maybe. I'm in that sort of mood," Endymion continued, sliding the door shut behind him.
Serenity blinked rapidly, still reeling, her face starting to tighten and expression clouding over as she continued to just stand there, in the relative dark, by herself, with nothing to do but process who, and what, her husband actually was.
"
"High King Kasios." High Priest Pious turned towards his left. "Step forward."
The Holy Gobekli Temple hadn't changed at all since the day Endymion had been married, as such historical sites rarely saw a need to be altered in any significant way. Still the same high ceilings and stained glass designs, with old-world artistry on the walls. Still the same raised dais from which Pious would perform his ceremonies. Still the same tall hat on the High Priest's head and golden scepter on the stand to his left. Probably a slightly different crowd gathered in the pews that made up a majority of the room, but by and large, it could easily have been Endymion's wedding day all over again.
One notable difference was Endymion was now standing at the front of the room by himself, Serenity off watching from the side alongside her mother, Endymion's generals, and a select few other particularly important individuals. Also, this time, Kasios was presenting himself before the High Priest first.
Kasios wasn't kidding when he said that he wanted the transfer of power to take place as soon as possible. No sooner had the lockdown been lifted then Kasios had begun arranging the ceremony, rounding up a slew of wealthy and powerful individuals who could attend on short notice. Getting the temple set up in record time, an event that was typically scheduled a cycle in advance was whipped up in two days.
"It's inevitable that, one day, a ruler will have to pass his power on to another. That much is certain," Pious said, his voice being artificially projected around the room so everyone could hear. "Over the thousands of years of recorded history in this galaxy, one thing we've learned is that the reason why the power passes is anything but certain."
Kasios was standing right in front of the High Priest, wearing a purple ornamental uniform, his back to the assembled crowd as he faced Pious.
"It can pass because of the death of the ruler, a somber event that few will be able to appreciate. Sometimes the death is even a violent one, the result of an assassination or a coup that will forever be a black mark in the history of the Kingdom. We've seen rulers be shamed into retirement or forced into it by circumstance. Sometimes, the one replacing the ruler on the throne is a brother, or a cousin. It could be an advisor or aide, or even a general. So, it's my pleasure today to preside over a transition of power with no such negative contexts. Today's transfer is according to plan, and desired by all involved parties. A King handing his crown down to his son, as it should be." The High Priest took up the scepter in his right hand.
"High King Kasios, your reign of twenty-three years ends today. But your life continues on, now yours entirely to do with as you will. Rare does a royal get this opportunity. And I think all who know you believe that you'll be doing amazing things with your life." He raised the scepter into the air. "High King Kasios, from this moment forward, no longer do you serve the Earth as it's ruler."
Kasios nodded. Pious gave a subtle gesture towards Kasios's right hand. Kasios reached over towards it with his left, grabbing a ring on his fourth finger and twisting it back and forth to remove it. He placed the simple gold band in Pious's palm.
"Prince Endymion, step forward," he called out.
Endymion could hear a gentle murmur behind him as he powerfully strode up the handful of steps to the center of the altar, his just-deposed father stepping back to the right side of the slightly-raised platform to give him room. He was tempted to glance to his left, at the closed-off seating area where his wife and generals sat, but resisted the urge.
"Prince Endymion, I'm sure you've been preparing for this day your entire life, so I don't need to tell you what this tremendously important role entails. Not just a King. You inherit your role today as High King, lord of two different Kingdoms. Of course, it was by your actions that such a union happened, so nobody can say you haven't earned this."
Endymion wore an easy, confident smile, simply allowing Pious to speak without distraction or interruption. His smooth-flowing speech patterns could easily be derailed if anything broke the cadence.
"It's truly a blessing for me to be able to preside over a transfer of power like this. Not a mourning of what we've lost, but a celebration of what we're gaining. The Earth Kingdom, the Moon alongside it, stands to benefit tremendously from having a ruler as qualified and prepared as Endymion. They call this a golden era for this Kingdom, these last few decades. I have every reason to believe that it should continue on through the reign of this new King."
Pious put out his hand, presenting the simple gold band to Endymion. He took it in his left hand, in one motion bringing it to his right and slipping it onto the ring finger.
"High King Endymion, from this moment forward, you are the indefinite ruler of the Earth Kingdom. For as long as you will have it, your power and authority over it stands unimpeachable. All the universe acknowledges you as among the most powerful individuals in existence. All hail the King."
Endymion could feel his spine tingle as the congregation behind him echoed Pious's final statement, a simple four-word sentence spoken by thousands, yet coming out as if from one. "All hail the King."
"
"Is Serenity alright, Your Majesty?" Kunzite asked, delicately closing the marble door behind him and locking it.
"Why wouldn't she be?" The just-crowned High King stopped maybe half-a-dozen steps into the massive master bedroom of the Earth Palace, slowly scanning it, soaking it all in. He held a green bottle in his right hand and a pair of fine crystal drinking glasses in the left.
Kasios had wasted no time in vacating the King's chambers, stripping out every last bit of furniture and decoration, reducing it to nothing more than the floor, four walls, ceiling, and far-side window panes. Endymion had overseen the hasty repopulation of it with basic necessities, giving it a full-sized four-poster bed in the far left corner, lilac cushioned chairs arranged in a circle close to the middle, a small stone round table in the right corner with three seats around it, and a few other obvious fill-ins, but it was quite clearly lacking the typical amenities of a King's bedroom. Naturally, it made sense that the current serving King should be able to customize and fine-tune every tiny detail of the room to his tastes, so Endymion was given as blank a slate as possible to worth with. In the coming days, it would be filled out exactly as the new High King desired.
"She's been acting rather odd ever since we got back from Saturn," Kunzite pointed out.
"Well, it's been a very busy few days, and she just became a Queen, I'm sure that's all weighing heavily on her," Endymion said quickly. "I'm sure she's still rattled from a few days ago as well."
"Mm," Kunzite said. "Your Majesty, I want to say again, congratulations. Nobody deserves the crown more than you, and it's going to be a true honor to serve you in all my capacities with you now on the throne."
"And let me say, thank you," Endymion said, slowly meandering over towards the circular table in the corner. "Without your guidance, I'd never be in this position right now."
"So," Kunzite continued. "We should move to fulfill our promised obligations to Saturn now, the longer we wait the longer The Rings have to prepare for it. I can get Nephrite to mobilize forces. As for the fallout of Cronus's death, I'm paying close attention to the investigation and have Zoisite and Jadeite prepared to act immediately to destroy anything that could link us to him as things surface."
"Very good." Endymion set the two glasses down on the table, then began unsealing the mouth of the green bottle. "While we're on the topic, how far away do you think we are from starting again?"
"Starting again?" Kunzite repeated. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty?"
"I understand we have to have the proper priorities, and I trust you to have them, but this window won't stay open forever. We need to start producing again. We need a new lab."
"Ah," Kunzite said hesitantly, his body seemingly shrinking up slightly as he brought his arms tight down to his sides. "Your Highness, I...I think we should have a conversation about that."
"A real laboratory," Endymion continued. "I won't go back to working on some tiny ship in the middle of nowhere for miniscule outputs."
"Your Highness, I'm not sure...I didn't think we were planning on starting again," Kunzite said quickly, resisting the urge to physically cringe at what he could already feel as being an uncomfortable conversation. "And I don't believe we should."
Endymion was about to start pouring some of the bottle's contents out into the glasses, but stopped, turning around to give his most trusted general a crooked look. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, frankly, Your Majesty, I think you have enough things to worry about with your work as the new High King. It'll be a distraction, a time sink that you can't afford and that isn't worth it. Not to mention the risk of getting caught and losing everything."
"Who, exactly, is going to catch me?" Endymion asked. "I'm the High King, I answer to nobody now. My new role will make my imperium smuggling activities easier, not harder."
"The agency still has authority over all things imperium," Kunzite reminded him.
"The agency took over a decade to get so much as a whiff of Cronus's galaxy-wide distribution ring and the trillions of creds he made off of it, and all he did was pretend to be nice and smile a lot," Endymion retorted. "Somehow, I'm not concerned. And how is it not worth it?" His right eyebrow raised up a bit in confusion. "Quadrillions of creds worth of imperium, and an entire galaxy chomping at the bit to pay for it, what's worth more than that?"
"W-We've lost everything, Your Highness," Kunzite reasoned. "N-Not the supply, of course, but…we have no laboratory, no equipment, no materials or supplies, transportation and distribution was all Cronus, it's all gone now. It's a lot to rebuild."
Endymion smiled knowingly. "We haven't lost all of our distribution yet," he pointed out. "Speaking of which, I should point out that your girlfriend needs us to restart production. She needs the money even more than we do, I think. I don't think she'd care for us abandoning everything."
"Yes, I...I actually had an idea there," Kunzite continued uneasily, watching as Endymion slowly poured out a dark purple liquid into the two glasses. "We should sell the raw imperium to Princess Venus. Maybe...perhaps an initial lump sum, plus a small percentage of her future profits, or something like that."
Endymion gave a little chuckle. "You must be very afraid to suggest something like that."
"It's smart," Kunzite countered. "It makes sense for everyone. Princess Venus needs the capital, and has distribution in place. We'll have more time to focus on our responsibilities for Earth, we'll still get some money, and we'll never have to worry about the agency. If something goes wrong for Princess Venus, or she gets arrested, it won't be our problem. That's valuable."
"All this time, and you're still afraid of getting caught." Endymion took both full glasses up in his hands and turned around, bringing them over towards his most trusted general. "Your concern is appreciated, but showcases a naivety on your part that I didn't expect. Before now, we've been a cog in the machine of black market imperium. But this time, we'll be the machine. If we didn't get caught before, we certainly won't be getting caught now."
"Your Highness," Kunzite said, fighting very hard to not sound exasperated. "There's something to be said for luck. We've been very lucky over the last two years, not getting caught while involved in all of this. And to have escaped the Cronus situation with our lives, just think about what we were up against. A lot of things had to go our way that we had little to no control over. Perhaps such a run of good fortune is a good precursor for us to get out of the game."
Endymion held one of the glasses out towards Kunzite, putting it right in front of his chest. "You think now is the sensible time to get out?"
"We've still done amazing things!" Kunzite reminded him. "The money we've made was instrumental in preserving this Kingdom. Without that money, you wouldn't be on the throne right now, and you might not even have a Kingdom to inherit. That's a good prize, more than worth the time and effort we've put into this." Kunzite grimaced. "The reality is, Your Highness, you're a King now. Your responsibilities—"
"You're right, Kunzite," Endymion interrupted, that same oddly-chilling smile on his lips. "I'm a King now." He nodded. "And I'm not going to sell my throne to someone else for a pittance because the crown suddenly feels a little heavy."
Kunzite blanched, looking highly confused at Endymion's cryptic statements.
"What would you have called Cronus, but the King of the Underworld? He ran the largest imperium smuggling ring in galactic history, touching virtually every city and town in the solar system. The money he made, the contacts he had, the favors he was owed. He was the King. And I killed him. So what does that make me?" Endymion asked.
"Your Highness—"
"In the animal kingdom, that's how it works," the newly-minted High King continued. "You challenge the leader of the pack, you beat him, and now you're the leader." He gave the glass up near Kunzite a shake. "Take it."
Kunzite, mildly stunned by Endymion's odd diatribe, suddenly looked down at the thin glass and delicately took it. "I don't think that—"
"Think of what we've done over the last two years, Kunzite, to get me here. The stunts we've pulled, the operations we've put together, the people we've had to step over on the way up. I'm not going to give it up now, I've only just obtained it. Not for some...tiny fraction of its value. We've worked too hard for that."
Kunzite's mouth opened slightly, expression almost pained. "Your Majesty—"
"Kunzite," Endymion said, holding his own glass up just below his chin. "A King doesn't have to bend over backwards or work to accommodate his situation. He shapes the situation to accommodate him. It becomes whatever he wants it to be. We have an opportunity here, to do this on our terms, and be in complete control of everything. I will not sell that opportunity. Not for anything."
The white-haired Earth general couldn't keep the disappointment from his face, expression slacking just a bit.
"Relax, Kunzite," Endymion assured him. "This time, I'm the one in charge. Not Mimete, not Cronus, me. I'm the King." He tilted his glass towards Kunzite. "All hail the King."
Kunzite pushed a small puff of breath out of the side of his mouth, unable to resist giving Endymion a somewhat disparaging look.
"Kunzite," Endymion said, giving his glass a tiny shake towards him again. "All. Hail. The King."
Kunzite finally firmed up his facial expression, then nodded, raising his own glass up. "All hail the King."
"
END OF ARC FOUR
A/N: So, that too a lot longer than I wanted to. What can I say, life happened, stuff got busy, gotta have my priorities. But thank you to everyone for your patience, and I hope I was at least able to deliver when I uploaded.
Thank you for sticking with me through arc four of my story, we're getting close to the end now! I hope you have liked what you have read so far and continue to like what I write in the future.
Arc five will be going up soon, so stay tuned! :)