His brief rest over, the Emperor slid to the front of the Chaos Shrine throne. He reached for his right gauntlet, sliding the finned metal down his arm, but it caught on the tight purple leather of his glove. He snatched the claw of his thumb between his teeth and tugged his glove off one finger at a time, pulling the whole gauntlet off. He set it down on the armrest and probed at his side, pressing and prodding it over the repair in his armor. Finally, it seemed, the tear in his skin healed completely. All he had to show for it was a bit of tenderness. Probably a large bruise that would no doubt plague him for a bit. At least he could use his arm again.

Ultimecia was the first stop on his itinerary.

He needed to reassess her involvement in his plan. The fact that Rosa wasn't dead yet led him to believe his offer wasn't very high on her priority list. He needed something better to offer Ultimecia. Something that would mean enough to her to compel her to complete his task, but he struggled to think of anything that fulfilled the criteria. She knew he was lying about her inclusion in final plans, so the threat of retracting his offer completely wouldn't faze her in the slightest. He couldn't threaten her with violence; threats would only anger her - and he needed her if he didn't want to dirty his own hands.

No, he needed something real and tangible, not just contingencies. He needed to assure her he possessed something ultimate. Something she wouldn't be able to acquire or achieve on her own, that only he could provide if she did this for him. He needed a deception that he could insure, just for this task. Once the deed was done he needed nothing more to do with her, and would actively try to avoid having anything more to do with her.

Until then, he had to up the ante in their little game. He had to throw more chips in the pile and bluff his way around her despite what he had in his hand. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to have something real in his hand.

But what?

This world was so unbelievably removed from the rest of the known universe that he couldn't fathom any particular thing that could work. There was nothing that could grant her power that she didn't already have.

He could resort to the offer of Squall's life. An eye for an eye, a life for a life. Rosa's life for that of Squall's. But the thought of going after Squall himself didn't appeal to him, and he was loathe to employ even more of his fellow warriors for another side-scheme.

Perhaps a miracle would happen, and asking her would be enough.

Perhaps a Tonberry knife would fall from the sky and kill Chaos.

He teleported to Ultimecia's castle. If she wasn't already there, she would be there shortly. She had a habit of knowing when warriors stumbled into her castle. The Emperor appeared on the topmost platform and peered over the edge, hoping to at least spot her before she spotted him. He didn't immediately see her, but that didn't mean she wasn't waiting in the wings and recesses.

"Ultimecia!" he called. He waited for a few seconds, listening for any sound other than the soft clanking of the gears. The Emperor lifted his feet off the ground and floated up and over the balcony, down to the center platform so he could check every part of the tower. "Ultimecia!"

She phased into sight next to him. "Oh," she said flatly, wrinkling her nose. "It's you. What do you want?" she asked. And with that, his jaw clenched in frustration. She had a talent, a natural talent of getting under his skin. With the smallest of gestures or the slightest of utterances, she could set his teeth grinding and wear his patience thin. The added stress of her inadvertently threatening his plans, teetering them on the brink of collapse, put him further on edge. He had to tread carefully, and it was infinitely more frustrating that he had to tread carefully around her. His fists clenched, and all the careful control he thought he had crumbled.

"I have neither the time nor the patience for your posturing. I am here to reaffirm our allegiances."

"Is that so?"

"This Rosa operation is time-sensitive, Utimecia. I suspected you of all people would understand the importance of that."

"Hmph!" she snorted. "I control time, Emperor. I can work at my own pace-"

"I am not interested in playing around with you!" he said. "Chaos' teeth," he cursed, "what will it take for you to do this for me, and within a convenient amount of time? If it is more that you desire in order to kill Rosa, and kill her soon, then name your price!" The words slipped out in his aggravation, but he couldn't snatch them back once they were out. He had just backed himself into a dangerous corner. If she listed a price he was unwilling or unable to fill, he would have to refuse. She very well could back out of the deal entirely, leaving him with only Kefka and Exdeath to depend on. Though the idea wasn't entirely distasteful, he enjoyed keeping Ultimecia in his employ, where he could more closely monitor her. "You have not held up your end of the bargain," he continued, trying to dodge his slip and gain the upper hand again. "As long as it remains unfulfilled, I may yet withdraw my offer," he tried, hoping a subtle threat would corral her back in.

"You may do whatever you like, of course," she said cooly. "I recall you saying that you would retract it anyway the last time we spoke." She paused, clearly waiting for him to fill the silence, but he refused with a flare of his eyes. "My price," she said, emphasizing the word, "is for you to fulfill your end of the bargain. You offered me a place in your world after your overthrow of Chaos. Hah!" she laughed. "I knew instantly that you were lying. You are a talented liar, Emperor, very talented, but I saw through your ruse the moment it left your mouth. You were not planning on including me in your end game. That is my price. I want to hold you to it. I want you to swear to me, by every throne upon which you claim to sit, that you will give to me all that you already offered me when you are successful. My price is your word, that you will offer it to me in earnest." The corners of her lips twitched upwards into a condescending grin, but the Emperor met her gaze evenly.

"And if you're hesitant, think about this," she continued, "this world has nothing else to offer me," she told him, voicing his earlier thoughts. "Chaos himself has nothing more to offer me. You have nothing else to offer me. No more items, no more power, nothing," she hissed.

Quickly, the Emperor analyzed her response. He started to pace, turning a wide circle around her. She wasn't asking for anything more tangible, only that he keep to his word? He vastly over-compensated for her response if that was the case. Her logic was sound: this world offered only fighting, and death at the hands of Cosmos' warriors. The eventual destruction of this world if Chaos was to win left no spoils for their efforts. The only way to achieve something higher was to do exactly what the Emperor was planning, and overthrow Chaos. Lord over the world rather than destroy it. It was the same logic he used in the first place to concoct his plan to destroy Chaos and replace him. Then again, she could be trying to persuade him to lower his guard. She could be asking for very little to deter him from an ulterior motive or personal agenda. Perhaps, when he was least expecting it, she would take whatever she wanted anyway.

As for his personal agenda, a betrayal - one which he was already planning - would be so much easier if she was unsuspecting. If she believed he would actually agree to her terms rather than continue in his deceit. He would have to break his word if he agreed, but deception for political gain had always been a necessary part of rule. A price he gladly paid, and would continue to pay as long as it earned him what he wanted.

"If I agree to your terms, will you prioritize Rosa's attack?" he asked her. "Destroying her and removing her entirely is an important piece of this plan to reach the gods."

"Why is that? You truly are obsessed, Emperor!" she said, turning with him as he circled. "Surely you've cooled off by now! Or did something else happen between you two?" Her tone suggested she already knew the answer.

There was no point in lying to Ultimecia. She had already seen him at his worst, by Rosa's hand. Plus, he knew, if he humbled himself before her for just a moment, that small moment of sincerity and candor would translate to the rest of his scheme. It would make his entire plan easier to believe in. "Yes," he said. "Something else. I had another brief, but unpleasant encounter with her. It was foolish," he admitted, and his heart squirmed in his chest for telling Ultimecia. He wanted to cringe. But, her eyes widened in surprise and her cocky aura dropped, and he knew he had her. "When I thought you hot on her trail, I returned to Order's Sanctuary to . . . gloat upon a final farewell." To his surprise, she didn't mock him. "I masked my presence and caught the end of a sparring match between her and Cecil."

"Hm," she hummed. "He's Golbez's, isn't he?" she asked.

"So is she," he told her.

"Really?" she said, crossing her arms. "Interesting." The calculation returned to her gaze as she considered the significance.

"They knew each other in their home world. I listened to their discussion and learned some very interesting information about all three of them. Cecil has murdered in cold blood before, and has since atoned to become a Paladin Knight. Kain betrayed them, most atrociously, under Golbez's direct control. I thought to use that information to my advantage in an ill-conceived revenge attempt. I Cursed Kain and forced him to submit to my control to attack her, but it went awry. I was unable to bind him.

"Cosmos' warriors, all sixteen of them, were alerted to my presence, so I thought to attack Rosa outright before they had a chance at me. It did not go well. I was unable to harm her severely, and had to retreat. As I said, it was foolish."

Ultimecia lifted her chin and stared down her nose at him, but the Emperor sensed that it was out of interest, not condescension. She nodded slowly.

"Rosa is a powerful mage. I experienced first-hand how powerful she is. She is incredibly capable. My very obvious grudge is the primary reason I want to be rid of her. I would also relish in the chance to do serious damage to Cosmos' ranks by erasing her White Mage. Cecil and Kain would suffer an incredible emotional blow as well, which could very well remove two of her powerful warriors from the fight." Time to pour on the charm. "If you do this for me," he purred smoothly, "if you kill Rosa and deal a severe blow to Cosmos, I will agree to give you all that I promised you." He stared hard at her, looking straight into her eyes. "We have a deal."

In her eyes, the Emperor thought he saw respect. It flashed for just a moment, as her eyes drifted back and forth, staring into his eyes. " . . . Excellent," she said, dropping her arms to the side and shaking out her crow wings. "I will rally the troops-"

"Actually, because I am grateful for our new arrangement, I will allow you some time. I will set up the circumstances for her attack. I will get her alone, and when I do I will contact you. I will expect it to be done then. Let Kefka and Exdeath know, and be ready for my call."

"I will," she said.

" . . . Thank you," he said, nodding his sincerity.

Ultimecia stared at him for a long while, then disappeared.

The Emperor sighed all of the tension out of his shoulders that he didn't notice was building. "And that is how it's done."

I struggled with this chapter.

The Emperor really hasn't had a time to shine yet. He's so smart, like, incredibly smart. He's cunning, and this chapter is him trying to plan in such a way that will help him control Ultimecia and those around him. In order to do that, you have to know people. He possessed a natural charisma - he knows how to talk to people in general to get what he wants, and he knows how to speak to everyone differently to do that. I struggled with how to phrase it in his moments of introspection in such a way that would demonstrate it.

Thank you so much to my beta-reader for sitting with me at Steak n' Shake at 12:00 midnight yesterday while I babbled through what I wanted. Thanks to her for allowing me to bounce ideas off of her! She's really the one who made this come together.

Don't forget to leave a comment if you have the time!
~Keyblader