Chapter 54: Empire
"The three of them combined probably weigh less than me," Kunzite insisted, sounding a little moody, leaning back in the cheap wooden chair and crossing his left ankle over his right leg. "If they tried to start some form of trouble, I'm sure I could handle it."
"Come on, Kunzite," Zoisite goaded playfully. "We all know that size and strength doesn't determine everything."
"However you wish to determine it, I would certainly take my odds against those three," Kunzite said.
The private room in the back of Mephest Aiyo, a semi-popular restaurant in the south-eastern hemisphere of Earth, was of many tiers of quality below the standard facility that the Earth Generals typically spent their time in. There was a definite draft, and everything creaked, as if the whole room was in danger of suddenly collapsing. About the only notable feature of the room, beyond the simple furniture, was a pair of large speakers across from each other connected to a music player that could be set to play any songs the customer desired. It was currently set to play a vocal-less arrangement of cacophonic music on an infinite loop, making eavesdropping almost impossible.
The three Earth Generals, in fairness, were dressed for the occasion, wearing denim jackets and brown pants that concealed their royal connections and wealthy upbringings quite well. Yes, you couldn't quite ignore Kunzite or Nephrite due to their tremendous size, but they blended in well enough.
"So, Kunzite, you and the Princess have fun after the big heist?" Nephrite asked.
"You know, I expect this nonsense from Jadeite, but it's disappointing coming from you," Kunzite snapped, glaring over at his brunette counterpart.
"What? You think I mean it as a negative?" Nephrite asked. "You're having carnal relations with one of the most beautiful and powerful women in the galaxy, I assure you this isn't something I would try to make fun of you over."
Kunzite warningly pointed over at Nephrite's face, still looking entirely unimpressed. At that moment, however, the door to the main hub of the restaurant swung open. A man wearing a green apron motioned inside, followed quickly by three people entering the room. The alien visitors from another part of the universe, Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki, almost indistinguishable from the denizens of this galaxy, still wearing the same eerily generic uniforms, entered.
"We value our privacy," Kunzite called out towards the man in an apron, who simply nodded before closing the door, leaving the three men alone with the three women.
"Interesting place," Taiki said, clearly a bit uncomfortable as she looked around, no doubt finding the simple and cheap environment lacking after spending most of their time recently touring the finest palaces in the solar system. "Perhaps the local cuisine makes up for it."
"It doesn't," Kunzite said roughly. "If you're smart, you won't go within two paces of any food that is prepared in this establishment."
"How disappointing," Yaten said. "I was looking forward to trying something new."
"Not exactly the kind of place I'd expect to be negotiating a universe-altering deal," Seiya added, looking up at the ceiling, observing an old-fashioned fan slowly spinning about, looking as if it was going to fall apart at any second.
"Perhaps that's the point," Taiki suggested.
"Do false pretenses not exist in your galaxy or something?" Zoisite asked, scratching the side of his face. Kunzite gave him a quick push under the table with his foot.
"Shall we begin?" Kunzite gestured towards the array of three chairs on the opposite side of the table.
"Very well," Seiya said, moving to the middle of the three chairs and taking her seat, Taiki and Yaten falling into line alongside her. "You're the first group to approach us with an actual solution to our dilemma." She leaned in towards Kunzite a bit. "Am I talking to the actual seller?"
Kunzite grunted. "I represent the seller. This meeting is simply to determine if we're wasting time. You may, or may not, ever actually meet him."
"I suppose it doesn't particularly matter," Seiya reasoned. "Now then, me and my team have attempted to...delicately broach the topic of energy sources with the various Kings and Queens of this galaxy, as well as some of the, uh...moguls who have wanted to meet us." She glanced over at Taiki. "Moguls, that's the right one?"
"Yes, mogul, uh...powerful person," Taiki answered.
Seiya gave a small laugh. "Means, uh, means...something else where we come from." She turned back to Kunzite. "Anyway, everyone has responded more or less the same. Nobody has any to spare, or at least none that they're willing to. Supposedly, all of it is under the control of this...one large and powerful entity, called the agency. And they won't part with any of it. So, the man you represent, he disagrees with that conclusion?" She squinted over at the white-haired Earth General in disguise, unaware that she had met him before. "Perhaps an unhappy employee of this entity who wishes to give us access to their supply for a price?"
"We have nothing to do with the Galactic Imperium Agency," Kunzite said simply. "We have access to a supply that the agency doesn't. It's far more pure, and therefore more powerful, than anything they have. And it's for sale."
"Perfect!" Seiya said cheerfully. "Although, um...well, this supply. How much imperium are we talking here?"
"Enough for any reasonable purpose," Kunzite answered, a firm finality in his answer, as if he didn't want any more prying into the precise amounts. "The important question is, how much do you need?"
Seiya licked her lips, nervously drumming her fingers on the surface of the table in front of her. "Umm...how should I...sir, I won't bother asking for your name, we're looking to acquire energy for our home galaxy. Our civilization is...comparable to yours—"
A scrape of a chair-leg and a wince from Seiya gave away that Taiki had just kicked her under the table.
"Oh, you three need not worry about that," Kunzite said, steepling his fingers. "We're quite aware of how dire your situation is. We did our research, and will be charging you accordingly."
Taiki seemed prepared to protest this point, but Seiya again took charge of the conversation. "Uh, w-well, some of the things you may have learned could be...exaggerated."
"Maybe," Kunzite said darkly. "But I doubt it. In any case, we're prepared to establish a recurring exchange of refined imperium for payment going forward. Every ten days, every cycle, we're flexible. All we need from you is an amount." He glanced over towards Zoisite to his right.
"Oh," Yaten said slowly, looking back and forth uncomfortably. "A, uh...recurring exchange?"
Kunzite stared down the white-haired woman for a few beats before Zoisite intervened. "We would deliver specified amounts of imperium to you, and—"
"Oh, no, we know what a recurring exchange is," Seiya interrupted. "It's just, not exactly what we had in mind."
Kunzite straightened up a bit. Nephrite made a move towards his hip with his right hand.
"Ah, ah, no no no!" Seiya said quickly, putting her hands up by the sides of her head. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean...anything bad, either."
"Then what, exactly, did you have in mind?" Kunzite asked, sounding impatient.
Seiya sighed. "Well, I suppose there's no point in trying to hide anything from you, so I'll just say it. We are indeed in desperate need of energy. You call it imperium, we call it solnari, our galaxy is on the very brink of collapse from lack of it. We need enough to run our solar system for...well, as long as it takes for us to locate a more permanent solution somewhere in the universe. Our very existence hangs in the balance, the more control we can have over this process, the better."
"This...recurring transaction you suggest, it leaves us vulnerable," Taiki explained. "Suppose something on your end goes wrong, and you're not able to deliver on time. A delay of even a cycle, perhaps a handful of days, could prove disastrous for our galaxy. Remember, it takes a great amount of time for our ships to return home."
"None of this is our problem," Nephrite answered brusquely.
"J-just hear us out," Seiya pleaded. "This could work to your benefit too! I'm offering you an opportunity to sell us everything you have, right here, right now. I-I think the man you represent might see the appeal in that sort of arrangement!"
Kunzite stared blankly, blinking every several beats. "You want to buy everything we have?"
"W-well, I suppose we shouldn't go quite that far yet, that depends on how much you have," Yaten interjected. "But it is our intention to acquire a supply of the product that will allow our galaxy to function for years."
"Do you have any idea, the cost of what you're proposing?" Kunzite asked.
"Can you pay for any of this? Much less the amount you're talking about?" Zoisite followed up. "How about we start there? Whatever passes for currency back at your home world counts for nothing here, I hope you realize that."
Seiya pointed his right hand's index finger towards the left side of her chest. "Uh, if I may?" she asked.
"Slowly," Nephrite instructed.
"We share many resources, our two galaxies," Seiya explained, gradually reaching her right hand inside her uniform's chest area, pulling out a thin, flat golden bar, a bit longer than her hand and maybe a finger-width wide. "I think this one will bridge our civilizations."
She set it down in the very center of the table with a dull little clunk. "This has value here, does it not?"
"Perhaps," Kunzite said. "We'll have to evaluate it. But even if it does, there had better be a lot more where this came from."
"I assure you, there is," Seiya answered. "Now, the way I see it, fair's fair. What do you have to offer us?"
Kunzite glanced over towards Nephrite, who reached underneath his chair, reaching up right underneath the cheap wooden seat section and prying a brown, paper-wrapped package off. He tossed it next to the gold bar.
"Now, let's assume that we're both satisfied with our gift exchange," Kunzite said, pointing down at the gold bar. "This looks to me like a hundred thousand creds worth. Your rate is four million creds for a libra of pure imperium. Let's get some offers down."
Seiya gave an exaggerated wince, that seemed intentionally designed to be one of discomfort rather than pain. "With respect, sir, we have one offer we'd like to make. One offer we'd like you to take back to the man you represent. And in order to make this offer, we need to know, what's your supply?"
Nephrite leaned forward. "Do you think that you're—"
Kunzite reached over towards the brunette Earth General, tapping his side just underneath the lip of the table. Nephrite looked over, falling silent as Kunzite carefully sized up the three women across from him.
"In its current state, the imperium can not be used. It has to be synthesized, a process that we're very familiar with," Kunzite explained.
"We're prepared to handle that, we have facilities in place for just that process," Seiya said. "Please, sir. I think you will want to hear this offer."
"Yes, I think I do," Kunzite admitted after a moment's pause.
Zoisite couldn't hide a rather surprised expression, directing it over towards Kunzite, but quickly masked it.
"I'm going to assume you've familiarized yourself with our units of measurement," Kunzite continued. "Twenty million libras."
Seiya quickly glanced over towards Taiki, who's forehead furrowed the moment Kunzite finally gave a direct answer.
"O-one moment, please," Yaten chimed in, holding her finger up towards Kunzite. "Give her a moment."
Kunzite, Nephrite, and Zoisite all unconsciously leaned in towards Taiki slightly, waiting as her mental faculties churned into overtime, no doubt trying to calculate an appropriate starting point for negotiations.
Finally, she had it.
"
"Four trillion creds," Kunzite said, setting the large mug of yellow tea down on the polished crystal table in front of his seat.
He was flanked on either side by Nephrite and Zoisite in the circular seating arrangement, High King Endymion and Princess Venus on the opposite side of the small gathering in the northwest corner of the royal bedroom. All five seated on lacquer stools made of wood with dark purple cushions, a single china-white teapot in the center of the crystal table, and mugs in front of each participant.
"In gold?" Venus asked. "Four trillion creds in gold?" She crossed her arms over her chest.
"Correct," Kunzite said. "They, uh...at the very least claim to have access to that sum of gold from their home galaxy. Perhaps it's much more common in their galaxy, perhaps they simply have the backing of the wealthiest entities in their galaxy, it can't be said, and the word of those three might not be trustworthy even if we asked. But, the sample they offered was tested thoroughly, and it's most certainly gold as we know it."
"And that's their offer?" Endymion asked, looking rather unimpressed.
"Uh, well, their initial offer," Kunzite clarified. "I made it clear there would have to be some negotiation for us to even consider accepting, which I'm sure they were ready for."
"Mmhmm," Endymion grunted.
"I came prepared, of course, although I wasn't anticipating a deal like this," Zoisite began, folding his hands together in his lap.
"Neither was I," Endymion agreed, shooting Kunzite an odd look.
"I countered with simple math concerning the value of our product from our perspective, as well as our expectations, and the convenience that this bulk solution offers them as well as us. Me and Taiki went back and forth for, maybe two minutas. Before we parted, she gave a revised offer to take back to you." Zoisite cleared his throat. "Five and a half trillion."
"Oh," Endymion replied, reaching forward to grab his mug of tea. "You don't say?"
"We made it clear that the entire payment would be due at the point of exchange, which they seemed amenable to," Kunzite added. "Oh, and they want our formula and all the boron fluid that we have. Any equipment and materials that we've accumulated as well, they want all of that."
"Do they?" Endymion said, a faux-cheerful tone in his voice that made Kunzite wince.
"U-uh, Your Highness, believe me, I'm aware that the product is worth a good deal more than that—"
"It's worth ten times that," Endymion corrected icily. "Fifteen."
"...but, I think this is worth discussing," Kunzite said. "Five and half trillion creds is significant."
"It's better than we could have hoped for," Princess Venus agreed, starting to grin. "Everybody wins."
"Speak for yourself," Endymion said, regarding the blonde Princess with a disdainful glance. "Kunzite, I was under the impression that you were aware that all I wanted you to do in your meeting with Seiya's crew is sell them imperium, not sell them my entire operation."
"W-well, Your Highness, Seiya's crew was only interested in the operation. They were quite insistent that this was the only offer they wanted to make," Kunzite explained.
"A toothless negotiating tactic," Endymion said, clearly irritated. "By their own admission, they're desperate for imperium, you think they're in any position to dictate anything?" He scoffed. "If you had made it clear that our operation is not for sale, they would have folded."
"Oh, boy," Venus said raggedly. "I take it you're unhappy, for some reason?"
"The reason is quite clear," Endymion said.
"Just let me explain," Kunzite said, sounding almost pleading, sensing Endymion's unhappiness. "And nothing's been agreed to, Your Highness."
Venus rolled her eyes, glancing away towards the eastern wall of the room. "Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness…" she mumbled under her breath in a mocking tone. Endymion's cheek twitched, but he said nothing.
"Your Highness, this operation is no longer something we should want to continue to have," Kunzite explained. "Your father is just waiting for any excuse to get the entire agency swarming all across the galaxy, they're getting a better idea of what to look for, who knows what measures they might take to clamp down on us once they realize we're active again."
"How is that a consideration when we're selling to someone outside the galaxy?" Endymion asked, calming down just a touch to grant his most trusted general a little benefit of the doubt.
"That's not the point," Kunzite said. "This is an opportunity to be done with it all. To get everything we wanted when we first started this whole thing, and then not have to worry about it anymore." He swallowed a building lump in his throat. "S-so, I propose we make this deal. Twenty million libras of raw imperium for five and a half trillion creds in gold bullion. That leaves us with nearly...forty million libras, which we arrange for the agency to find in the coming years. And then, we're done."
"Done," Endymion repeated. "And you suggest that that, being done, is a good thing?"
"Not just done, Your Highness. Done, and with all of our goals completed. Five and a half trillion creds in gold, untraceable and malleable, we need only to gradually and secretly introduce it to the galaxy's economy so that its value doesn't plummet." He nodded. "That's enough money to cover the budget of the Earth Kingdom for two years. Maybe a little more. That sort of infusion, even at a gradual pace, will have a drastic impact on our financial state. That's why we did this in the first place. We can make our money, and then wash our hands of it all. No risk of being caught."
Endymion brooded a bit on that statement, glancing around the massive room, even as the energy of the people around him seemed to be flowing in a positive direction.
"Everyone wins, Your Majesty," Zoisite followed up. "Both our galaxy and Seiya's galaxy buy themselves enough time to survive until deep space exploration can start to net resources, the agency gets to feel like they won and that there's nobody left to hunt, and we get our money without taking on any more risk."
"I'm hearing this word, money, being bandied about as if it's some sort of finite state," Endymion said. "It's almost as if I'm speaking to people who believe that there are only two states of money." He held his hands, palms up, at his sides. "Money, and no money. I just thought it was common knowledge that there was a lot of nuance when discussing money."
"O-obviously, we are...granting a discount, which is to be expected given the amounts we're working with. We can't expect any entity to have that amount of money to spend, it's incredibly fortunate that we've found one that can deal in an amount this large," Kunzite explained.
"A discount, yes, that's...certainly one word for it. We've worked hard in recent cycles, Kunzite, so that we could synthesize that imperium ourselves. Procuring the laboratory, materials, equipment, chemicals, expensive, time-consuming, difficult." Endymion's speech patterns were becoming somewhat menacing. "Now you propose we make all of that effort null and void and just sell it raw?"
"I know that...that's rather frustrating," Kunzite acknowledged timidly. "B-but, we did secure additional payment in exchange for selling those things to Seiya's crew, so it won't go to waste."
"Twenty million libras of imperium, in our hands," Endymion said, as if he wasn't even listening to his general. "Let me think. Even on Venus, under the oppressive confines of our arrangement with the Princess here, that's twenty-two trillion. Possibly forty trillion on any other planet in this galaxy assuming a typical arrangement with a distributor." He glanced over as Zoisite. "If my math seems off to you, by all means, let me know."
His tone made it quite clear he wasn't interested in being corrected.
"Your math is accurate," Kunzite admitted. "But—"
"And! Given the circumstances of our potential deal with Seiya's crew, I'd say that quantity is worth at least seventy trillion. But somehow, it's beneficial to me to accept this sad little offer, and then give away everything else." He swept his arms out to the side majestically. "We've just turned over a hundred trillion creds worth of the lifeblood of this galaxy into five and a half trillion, and somehow I'm supposed to be happy about that?"
"Your Majesty, it would be over!" Kunzite said, getting just a tad more emotional than he wanted to, as he took a moment to scale it back a little bit. "This is...this is more money than we ever could have reasonably thought we'd make when we started this, this was always intended to be something to fill your time while you waited to take the throne. You can reshape this Kingdom with that money, not just the Moon, but the Earth."
Endymion silently tilted his head towards his general, not even verbally objecting anymore, letting his expression and body language speak for themselves.
"Your Highness, it's not safe anymore. Technically, your father has already caught us once, we were just able to pin things on Cronus and duck out of the way in time. There's nobody left to pin things on if he catches up to us again." Kunzite grimaced, sensing he wasn't really getting through. "We make this deal, you give us a cycle to clean up after ourselves, and none of this will ever come back to us."
Princess Venus raised her hand up in the air. "Cut me a hundred billion to buy me out and I'll be out of your hair."
"Buy you out?" Endymion grunted, looking over at the blonde Princess. "You have nothing to do with this deal, the raw product doesn't involve you whatsoever."
"We have an agreement, Endymion," Venus pointed out. "An agreement you won't be able to fulfill if you go through with this. A hundred billion creds, and I'll forgo the agreement. That's how this works."
"Well, it doesn't matter either way," Endymion said dismissively. "I'm not seeing how this is in my best—"
"Okay, okay," Zoisite said. "Let's just say we're not going to make any decisions right this minute. We can't expect His Highness to make a judgement like this quickly."
Kunzite was quick to take the cue from his colleague. "Y-yes, of course. Your Highness, let's adjourn, you can take some time to digest everything. I'll...come by tonight, we'll revisit some things, and see how you feel then." He made a quick gesture towards Princess Venus for her to stand up.
Endymion shrugged. "I'm more than happy to make a decision right now. And as near as I can estimate, I'm the only vote."
"Your Highness, please," Kunzite pleaded. "Just...think about it for the rest of today. I think that, once you take some time to consider the angles, this solution is the best for everyone."
The two generals on either side of him got to their feet when Endymion gave an unenthusiastic little head bob, Venus following suit right after.
"Princess, I'll be in touch once we have a definite path forward," Kunzite said, nodding towards her as she turned towards the far corner of the room, heading off towards the door out into the main hallway of the palace. Zoisite and Nephrite moved to depart the massive, opulent room as well, Kunzite staying behind next to the High King.
"What are you expecting me to 'digest' that will change my mind, exactly?" Endymion asked, squinting up at Kunzite. His white-haired general had his head turned away, watching the trio of meeting participants leave the room.
Once they were gone, he turned back to face his charge.
"Your Highness, this isn't sustainable. For us to continue to be producers on the scale that you're aiming for, we're looking at pulling off that boron fluid heist at least once a year." He pointed over towards the south-east corner of the room. "Jadeite is still not fully recovered, ten days later, repeated exertions of his abilities like that could have catastrophic effects on his health!" He swung over into the seat right next to Endymion, sitting down to get closer to his level. "We don't have the infrastructure to match Cronus's operation. We can fake it for a while, maybe as long as a year, but...it's inevitable that we're going to find ourselves in the same position we were in before the heist."
"A difficult bridge to cross," Endymion admitted, still looking rather unimpressed. "That we'll cross when we get to it. Hardly a reason to relinquish the most valuable collection of material in all the galaxy for a tiny fraction of its value."
Kunzite winced, turning his head away from the High King, looking over towards the bathing chamber door. "Um…"
"You don't look like a man who's had the opportunity to get everything off his chest," Endymion stated matter-of-factly. "Go ahead."
"I-it's...it's just that...Serenity," Kunzite said, turning back to Endymion, looking somewhat pained now. "Queen Serenity, I...I know she's unhappy."
Endymion's face tensed up a bit, the slack stretching off his cheeks.
"I...I know that she doesn't want you to do this anymore, I know she's arranged for your daughter to live with her mother, I assume because she doesn't want her here while this is ongoing."
"This is not your concern, Kunzite," Endymion said sternly. "My marriage, my family, that's strictly my business."
"I-I know," Kunzite muttered, nervously rubbing the sides of the bridge of his nose. "Believe me, Your Majesty, I'm not here to represent Queen Serenity's interests. But, it simply occurs to me that, taking this offer would make her happy." He gave Endymion a pleading look. "There has to be value in that."
"Perhaps you'd like to try to put a number on it?" Endymion asked, with a hint of unhappiness in his tone. "How would you quantify her happiness in a cred amount?"
Kunzite cautiously put his right hand up, palm out towards Endymion. "All I'm saying, Your Highness, is that taking this deal might improve her attitude towards you." He leaned in a bit. "It might get your daughter back here, I know you want her here!" He hesitated for the briefest of beats, then continued on. "M-maybe...I don't know, but...if you ended the operation, just...cashed out, maybe things would get better. Obviously, we can't undo the fact that she found out we were doing all of this, but...don't you want your family back?"
Endymion just grunted, glancing away from his general.
"Your Highness, just...try to remember, when we first started this operation. It was never about making imperium. It was about making money." Kunzite grimaced, getting to his feet. "It's incredibly lucky that we have the opportunity to make a deal like this. We should take it."
With that, Kunzite nodded towards his charge and turned away to leave the room, Endymion just stewing in all the considerations that had just been dumped in his lap.
"I'll be back tonight, and whatever decision you make, we'll move forward tomorrow," Kunzite said over his shoulder.
"
"Well, he didn't have you beheaded, I consider that a win."
Kunzite, embarrassing for one of his position and training, jumped back a couple steps and even vocalized a little distressed shock, quickly swinging his head to the left. Princess Venus was standing right at the very end of the hall, just a handful of steps away from the royal bedroom's door, arms crossed over her chest.
"I really shouldn't be able to get you to jump like that," Venus added dryly.
"W-why are you still here?" Kunzite asked, violently twisting around to look down the opposite end of the hallway as if her presence would somehow get them in trouble.
"Because I'm not ready to leave yet, what's wrong with you?" Venus asked, walking over to him.
"N-nothing, nothing, it's fine, I...you must realize Endymion doesn't particularly like you, you're better off not hanging around." Kunzite threw a paranoid glance at the bedroom door behind him.
"You're right," Venus said matter-of-factly. "Maybe he'll spank me."
Kunzite groaned, grabbing her by the shoulder roughly and tugging her down the hall alongside him.
"Hey!" Venus cried. "Are you going to do it for him?"
"Just...come on," Kunzite mumbled. "Did you want something?"
"I thought it'd be a good idea to discuss our next steps without him around," Venus answered.
Kunzite sighed. "There's nothing further to discuss," he said sternly, guiding her over towards a simple white door on the left-hand side of the long hall. "The High King will make his decision soon, and we'll proceed from there."
"Right," Venus agreed. "Except, we both know what his decision is going to be." Kunzite reached forward and popped open the door, revealing a pristine bathing chamber. He pushed her in quickly, stepping in behind her and slamming the door shut behind him.
"That's not our concern," Kunzite said sternly as Venus sized up the room she had just been forced into. "We've given him all the information we can, all that remains is for him to make his decision."
"Of all the rooms in this palace you could have a secret meeting with me, this is the one you choose?" Venus asked, wrinkling her nose a bit.
"I don't want him thinking I'm scheming behind his back, and neither do you," Kunzite answered simply. "In any case, that's all there is to it. I'll let you know when the High King has made his decision, and we'll go from there."
"Or, since we both know what decision he's going to make, we should go from there," Venus retorted. "And I'm wondering, is he the only one who knows where the raw imperium is?"
Kunzite auto-piloted to open his mouth in order to reply, but quickly stopped himself, twisting around to look at the Venusian Princess. "Why would you be wondering that?"
"Because, once he makes the choice that everyone knows that he'll make, I want to know what our options are," Venus said. "I'm wondering if it's possible for you to accept Seiya's offer without Endymion getting involved."
Kunzite's eyes widened a bit, and he again cast his gaze over towards the bathroom door. "It's not possible. Not at all."
"Not possible because you don't know where the product is?" Venus questioned.
"J-just, Your Highness, please leave, we shouldn't be discussing this at all, and certainly not with the High King right across the hallway," Kunzite hissed, gesturing towards the bathroom door.
"Calm down," Venus said quietly. "You're smart enough to know that this deal is beneficial for everyone involved. Why should the fact that one of the involved parties is too blind to see it mean that it has to be squashed?"
"It doesn't matter what we think is best," Kunzite said flatly. "This is the High King's decision to make, that's all there is to it."
"But you could do it," Venus continued to prod. "You could make the deal on your own."
"No, I couldn't," Kunzite said clearly. "I'm not going to. That's what matters. Princess, we're not equal partners in this endeavor."
"It'd be for his own good. You know I'm right," Venus said.
"I'm not having this discussion, Princess. Even…" he blinked several times in rapid succession, then glanced back and forth. "Even if I was open to the possibility, which I'm not, what do you think happens to me after I do it? You think he'll just shrug his shoulders and move on after I openly go against his orders?"
"What does it say about him that he can't see why this is the only solution that makes any sense?" Venus asked.
"It doesn't matter!" Kunzite snapped. "Do I really need to spell out what he'd do if I disobeyed him?"
She shrugged. "Sounds like an opportunity to kill multiple birds with one stone. If you made a break for the outer planets with a cargo hold full of equipment and money, he'd never be able to find you."
Kunzite's entire face practically went crooked, withdrawing a half-step back from the Princess, who seemed entirely nonchalant despite suggesting something so drastic. "You can't be serious."
"Why can't I be?" Venus asked. "Come on, you don't deserve this. You've been putting up with it for so long, and it's only going to get worse. If this is the excuse you need to get as far away from Endymion as you can, then that's a positive in my book."
"Okay, we're really not having this conversation any longer," Kunzite said, starting to sound genuinely panicked. He reached forward, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's go."
"Kunzite," Venus said, her tone solidifying in a way that inherently made what she was saying seem more serious. "I'm sure you can see what I see. You see it every day, up close and in person, I'm just watching from a distance." She jerked her head over towards the door back out into the hall. "The fact that he won't take this deal is just further proof of it."
"Princess, this isn't an office job!" Kunzite hissed, again casting a look over his shoulder towards the door. "I don't get to just quit because I feel like it!"
"Who could stop you?" Venus asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "A man of your talents and knowledge, with resources? Disappearing somewhere far away would be trivial for you. Endymion might drive himself insane trying to chase you down, but there's a lot of territory out there."
"I made a vow when I entered the palace, Princess," Kunzite said, sounding a little prickly. "I'm not just walking away from all that because things aren't going exactly the way I want them to."
"Kunzite, this is beyond anything you could have reasonably expected. Endymion is a bomb that can't be disarmed anymore. All that's left is to get as far away from him as you can before he explodes." She shrugged. "You think I like working with him? If there was another way in the universe for me to make the money to fund my coup, I'd be doing that, I promise you. The moment I can get far away from him, I will. You should be thinking along those same lines."
Kunzite sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and helplessly looking back and forth along the tiled walls.
"You have to realize it, he's willingly put himself on a path that is inevitably going to lead to his arrest and the collapse of everything," Venus continued. "All that's left is to run away before it happens."
"It's not going to happen. And I appreciate you attempting to spin it to act as if you're concerned for me, but we both know that ultimately you'll be the one who gets everything you want if Endymion takes this deal, so just know I can see right through you," Kunzite said icily.
"What, you don't think I care about you?" The Princess asked, looking a little moody. "That cuts me deep, you know."
"Funny," Kunzite said gruffly, stepping to the side and motioning towards the door. "Do you need an escort to your ship?"
"If you do it, I'll let you hide in my room," Venus suggested sarcastically. "Would that prove that I actually have your best interests in mind?"
Kunzite held silent, arms still out to his right towards the door. Finally, Venus caved and walked past him.
"Think about what I said," Venus added just before opening the door.
"I already have," Kunzite replied shortly. "I'll be in contact with you after my discussion with the High King."
"
Chibiusa, with no small degree of effort, managed to hitch her leg up on the seat of the couch. With a little grunt, she managed to shift her weight and get her body up on the cushion.
"Pretty soon, she'll be getting into places we don't want her to get into," Kasios commented, watching as she got on top of the seat.
"Mm-hmm," Serenity mumbled, watching her grand-daughter roll over into a sitting position from the neighboring seat on the couch.
"Y-you know, Serenity, if you ever find it obnoxious that I'm hanging around the Moon Palace all the time now, just let me know," Kasios said, turning his focus over to the elderly woman.
"Oh, no, absolutely not," Serenity said. "It's...it's kind of your palace anyway. And she's certainly your grand-daughter, as much as she is mine."
"Oh, it's your palace. Not like I'm King anymore, anyway, I'm just an old man," Kasios replied dismissively. "Although, at the rate things are going, this might end up being my only grand-daughter."
"That's what's bothering me," Serenity admitted, giving Chibiusa a pensive look. "I just mean, I can understand them fighting once, but...it seemed like it was over, and now...what could possibly be going on?"
Kasios clicked his tongue a few times. "If she is having mental health issues, it would make sense that things would be a little rocky. That's not really something you plan for."
"They come here all the time to see her, and...I just feel it from them, you know? Just feels like something else is going on. Something more than just...her mental issues." Serenity grimaced. "I don't want to ask, obviously, but...I'm sure it's something else on top of it."
With an uncomfortable little verbalization, Kasios reached forward over the backrest of the couch and grabbed an air-filled ball painted to resemble the moon, a few times the size of his fist. Gently, he tossed it across the room, immediately drawing Chibusa's attention. The little pink-haired girl rolled right off the couch cushion and landed on her feet. With cautious, yet rapid steps, she took off after the projectile.
"She's not a dog, you know," Serenity muttered as Kasios leaned in towards her.
"If I had to guess, and I hate to say this...I'd say he was fooling around and got caught," Kasios said in a hushed tone.
"What?" Serenity asked, face wrinkling up. "What makes you think that? Did he tell you?"
"Umm...how should I put this?" Kasios bowed his head in thought for a second. "He's...said one or two things to me over the years that make me feel like he's capable of it. So, I...it's my best guess."
"You're kidding me," Serenity said, watching as Chibiusa pursued the ball across the room. "Well, now what am I going to do?"
"I don't know. Probably not anything you can do," Kasios said wearily. "I just didn't want you to get too consumed trying to figure it out."
"You don't...you don't know, for sure, right?" Serenity asked.
"H-honestly, I feel...pretty confident it's something like that. I know he doesn't seem like the type, but without saying too much, I think he's capable of it. And if I had to guess, that's what happened."
"Huh," Serenity muttered, an eye on Chibiusa as the small girl was able to track the ball down, nearly falling over onto the carpet as she went to pick it up. "Do you think we should...I don't know, say something? Try to help?"
Kasios shrugged. "I guess they're still living together. On some level, that must mean they want to fix this."
With that, the two former rulers fell into silence, contemplating things, Chibiusa rapidly returning with her hard-earned prize.
"
Endymion pulled the door to his bedroom open, quickly revealing Kunzite standing a couple steps away from the threshold.
"Your Highness," Kunzite said. "Should we find somewhere private?"
"No, no, my bedroom will suit our needs," Endymion answered. Immediately, Kunzite could tell that the High King had a couple of drinks in him already, the edge in his voice was dulled and his speech patterns were just a little lazy. "Come in."
Kunzite did as Endymion asked, following the High King into the master bedroom of the palace. Over on the bed, Queen Serenity was sitting up against the pillows, a large pair of headphones on her head, covering her ears. Her quick glance over towards her husband and his general was enough to prove she was aware of their presence, but she offered no real reaction to it.
"S-so, you're ready to make your decision?" Kunzite asked as Endymion led him over towards the small circle of chairs around a round table in the far corner of the room. "Anything you want to go over first?"
"No, no," Endymion replied, regally spinning about and planting himself in one of the seats. Kunzite took the one across from the High King, eyes lingering on the bottle full of a purple liquid and a pair of crystal glasses next to it. "There's only one decision to be made." Before Kunzite could say anything, Endymion put his hand out towards him. "D-don't worry, I promise you'll see things as I do before you leave here tonight. You deserve more than a one sentence answer, and I'll give it to you."
Kunzite sighed, watching as Endymion leaned forward towards the bottle, taking it in his right hand. "It's...it's a lot of money, Your Majesty. And taking it would make everyone's life much easier."
"Easier," Endymion repeated, pouring out some of the bottle's contents into each glass. "Usually, the easier path is the wrong one, if fairy tales have taught me anything." He set the bottle back down. "Taking this deal would certainly be easier. And doing it would be a waste of so much potential."
"What do you mean by that?" Kunzite asked, watching as Endymion gently pushed one of the glasses across the table towards him.
Endymion inhaled deeply as he took the glass he had just filled for himself. "Kunzite, are you familiar with the story of Emperor Arche of Jupiter?"
"Most certainly," Kunzite replied, reluctantly reaching forward to take the glass.
"Rhetorical question," Endymion said lightly. "Who in this galaxy doesn't know his name? I've been thinking about him a lot lately." Slowly, the High King reached into his front chest pocket and withdrew a small hologram projector button, setting it down on the table surface.
"He's been dead for over a thousand years, not sure there's much to think about at this point," Kunzite commented offhand as the button began to display a hologram of the solar system, the sun and eight planets circling it.
"Three thousand years of recorded galactic history, Kunzite. And only one person has ever managed to claim the title of Emperor. How many quintillions of people have lived and died in all that time, Kunzite?" Endymion sipped from his glass for a moment. "How many hundreds have ruled over one of the nine Kingdoms? But only one was able to unite a majority of those Kingdoms under his control."
"Well, Jupiter obtained a massive technological advantage in interstellar travel for a brief period that made it a simple matter for them to go on the offense," Kunzite said with an analytical tone. "When you really study it, it's pretty obvious why it happened."
"Technological advances for one Kingdom or another have been a constant through the last three thousand years, Kunzite, but only one person saw it fit to press the advantage," Endymion explained. "Within a few years of taking the throne, he had the entire outer system bending the knee to him and the overwhelming military might of Jupiter. I imagine it must have looked like he was going to claim the whole galaxy once he was able to take Mars as well." He pointed over at Kunzite. "Four years after taking the throne of Jupiter, he had control of five of the nine Kingdoms. Four years, and he had gone from King to Emperor."
"A title that he lost after less than a year, when it became impossible for him to hold so many planets, particularly after he over-extended himself by going into the inner system," Kunzite countered. "Not exactly a success story."
"Oh, obviously, he made many mistakes," Endymion admitted. "And yet, he stands alone in galactic history. You'd think someone since then would have tried to succeed where he failed, learned from his errors. But it's as if the mere thought of trying to lay claim over the galaxy hasn't crossed anyone's mind in the last millennium."
Kunzite sighed. "It's hardly practical given the state of modern technology," he said. "Your Highness, Emperor Arche's reign lasted less than six years, by which point he had lost virtually all of the territory he had taken, and he ended up being killed by his own advisor. I wouldn't consider him a role model. His grab for power over the galaxy was foolhardy, short-sighted, and ultimately a cautionary tale."
"I'm not so interested in his method." Endymion took a large drag from his rapidly-emptying glass. "Of course the way in which he went about becoming Emperor was critically flawed. I'm more interested in the end result."
Kunzite shrugged. "The end result was that he was dead before he turned thirty."
"Emperor Arche paved his path to taking the title of Emperor with blood. He killed billions during his galactic conquest. Of course, therein lies his mistake, thinking that such a bloody, destructive takeover could last, not when he left so many survivors who would be constantly working to undermine his rule, never willing to accept him as their new ruler. It was always going to end with him losing everything. That's the lesson."
Sheepishly taking a sip out of his glass, Kunzite gave a non-committal nod.
"What if he had achieved the title of Emperor without spilling a drop of blood? Done it by shaking hands with every royal he took power from on his way? Accomplished it all, not with trillions of firearms and bombs, but a handful of pens?" Endymion had an easy smile on his face. "That's something that can last. That has a stable foundation. If you want to rule over the entire galaxy, you can't leave an ocean of corpses in your wake. Giant pallets of money, on the other hand. Other Kingdoms will bend the knee and thank you for the pleasure of doing it."
"Your Majesty, if you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting, that's never going to happen," Kunzite said, looking a little sickly.
"Are you sure?" Endymion asked mystically, pointing at the hologram of the galaxy. "I'm already closer to it than anyone in a hundred years. I inherited the title of High King, Kunzite, it'd be a sad waste to not try and press it further."
"A Kingdom isn't just a tract of real estate," Kunzite muttered. "Royals take their sovereignty very seriously. They're not going to become vassals to anyone unless you have a knife to their throat."
Endymion leaned forward, finger finding the blue orb representing Venus. "We all know that Venus is in dire financial straits, Kunzite. Worst-kept secret in the galaxy. And it'll only be worse once your Princess is done with whatever she's doing. They'll jump at the opportunity to have someone come in and take care of their debts and secure their future."
Kunzite glanced up a bit towards the High King, now almost curious to see where he was going with this as he pointed over towards the smaller orb of Mercury.
"And come on, Mercury? They're on borrowed time, a planet that size with no military of their own? They're smart enough to know it's better to strike a deal now instead of waiting for their diamond mines to run out, especially when they see us take control of Venus." He shrugged. "At that point, Mars would probably run to the negotiating table just so they can be part of the club. You know that planet of mystics would do anything to avoid a war once they see that we control the rest of the inner system."
Kunzite shook his head slowly. "I'm not sure I see it being as easy as you suggest," he said. "I don't believe it can be done."
"Maybe," Endymion acknowledged, setting his empty glass down on the edge of the table. "Maybe it can't be done. And yet, maybe it can. With enough money, and the right negotiation tactics. Maybe Earth could rule over the entire inner system. It seems within reach." He stared straight over at Kunzite. "But not if I hand over my control of the most valuable stockpile in the galaxy for a tiny fraction of its actual value because it's 'easy'."
"Even if it were theoretically possible, Your Highness, the cost would be...I don't think it would happen during your reign," Kunzite reasoned. "Perhaps not even your lifetime."
Endymion shrugged. "There's only one way to find out. And that way doesn't involve taking a deal for convenience." He put his hands out towards the holographic projection. "Kunzite, we sit here tonight, with the opportunity to build something that hasn't been built in over a thousand years. Don't you see? This isn't about making money, or making imperium. I don't care about either." He leaned back in his seat a bit. "I choose to stay in this business, to keep my operation, so that I can make an Empire."
Kunzite grimly nodded. "T-that's not why we started this. When we started, you said you just wanted to...to make some money for the Moon, make sure the Moon got compensated properly." He glanced over his left shoulder, where Serenity was still laying on the bed, large bulky headphones still on her head. "What about her?" he whispered. "You started this for her, remember?"
Endymion resignedly sighed out of his nostrils, looking back over towards his wife. His gaze lingered on her for several beats before he went back to his general. "Kunzite, my wife hates me, I'm sure you can see it. She thinks that I'm a monster. She'll never be able to see me any other way again. When it comes to it, I doubt she'll ever want me around our daughter, even after this is over. She'd probably run away, if she weren't afraid of what I might do. There's nothing I can do about that any more. Mending that relationship can't be done."
Kunzite found himself leaning back in his seat slightly, taken aback by the High King's apocalyptic words contrasted with his analytical tone.
"Don't you see, Kunzite?" Endymion asked, again pointing towards the galactic hologram. "This Empire, it's all I have left. If I take that deal, then it's over. Maybe what you say is true, and it can't be done." He shrugged. "But this is all that's left in my life. I have to chase it. Without this, I have nothing."
Kunzite begrudgingly nodded. "V-very well, Your Highness. I see that you won't be moved."
"How about I come with you, for the next meeting with Seiya's crew?" Endymion asked.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kunzite got to his feet, setting his own barely-touched glass down.
"I think it'd be best for everyone if I was there to be able to represent my interests," Endymion replied.
"
"I know you're disappointed. But this deal only happens one way. I worked very hard to be in this position, and I'm not going to just relinquish it like that."
Seiya glanced down towards the dirty wooden plank floor to his left, shifting uncomfortably in the uneven chair. "It's not that, sir. Well, we are...disappointed, of course, but...well…"
The unlikely gathering was again meeting in a random, unremarkable restaurant, this time in the north-eastern hemisphere of Earth. The Maren Karin was probably even more rundown than the Mephest Aiyo, the 'private room' obviously being nothing more than a repurposed supply closet. Nevertheless, it was adequately private and non-descript enough to serve the needed purpose. Endymion, wearing the outfit that had earned him the Tuxedo Mask moniker so long ago, was up front and center along the side of the table closest to the door. Kunzite and Zoisite flanked him, providing security, protection, and logistics.
On the opposite side of the small, dim room were Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten, lined up along the other side of the table, each of them unable to take their eyes off of Endymion's disguise.
"I'm terribly sorry, sir," Yaten chimed in. "It's probably a cultural thing, our galaxy to yours. It's just very interesting, your...the thing on your face. It's not something you'd ever see an adult wearing where we come from. W-we have something just like it, for...children."
Endymion silently stared over towards Yaten with a flat, neutral expression, waiting her out.
"U-uh, n-not that that has anything to do with...anything, sorry, sir. It's just a little odd to see," Yaten said, sounding a little panicked.
"So. Do we have a deal?" Endymion asked. "Exchanges once a cycle, any form of payment we discussed earlier is acceptable, allow at least ten minutas for both parties to verify the contents of the exchange."
"We can make that work," Seiya said, glad that the topic had been so quickly changed. "I have to say, sir, that it's of vital importance that our quota is met, consistently and on-time. You must understand, it's a significant journey back to our world, the timing is important to maintain."
"We'll hold up our end of the agreement, so long as you hold up yours," Endymion answered simply. "Don't worry. Our product will be many times better than anything you could ever make on your own. You'll be glad that this is the way we're doing things." He extended his hand across the table, allowing Seiya to take it.
Taiki was still studying Endymion's face quizzically, closely observing his top hat and mask, finally drawing the disguised High King's attention.
"Do you have something you'd like to add?" Endymion asked, withdrawing his hand from Seiya.
"Who are you?" Taiki asked.
"The man you've just entered an agreement with," Endymion said coolly. "Do you need to know me any other way?"
"It's just...um, well." Taiki swallowed down hard, unable to hide a small smirk on her face. "It's just a little odd. We've been in this galaxy long enough to have gotten a...general gist of the Tuxedo Mask story, but choosing to emulate that look, I'm just wondering. What's the logic behind that?"
Endymion slowly shifted his weight back to the backrest of the chair, causing it to creak, smirking. "Emulate that look?"
"Obviously, the Tuxedo Mask story is a myth, it's pure silliness," Yaten chimed in. "Like a...legend, I suppose you could call it. So, we truly don't mean to be rude, please understand we come from a different world. I-I think what Taiki means, is...why dress like this? And who are you, to have come into this supply of imperium? We merely seek to separate the truth from the myth."
Endymion, with a loud scrape of the chair legs beneath him, stood up. "You know who I am," he answered simply. "Be seeing you."
The High King in disguise turned away, shoes loudly thumping against the wooden planked floor, as if he was intentionally trying to prevent any more discussion. Zoisite could hide a roll of his eyes as he glanced over towards Kunzite on the way to standing up himself.
"Um, we'll arrange an initial exchange in the coming days," Kunzite said hurriedly, standing up, looking rather distracted as he turned away from the three and quickly trotted off in pursuit of his charge and colleague.