Chapter 3

The gathered "protesters" were the cover, the distraction, to ensure that those on the inside got the job done. A group of demanding people with the most prominent voices. They approached the secured front entrance and started to cause a ruckus, one which surely drew the attention of those within and without.

They demanded an audience with Xenia, and their voices were certainly loud and clear enough.

Palace staff attempted to talk to them, to tell them that Xenia was off-planet, and that Demophilus would be happy to speak with a representative, but the crowd seemed to only care about garnering attention. Any attempts to calm them down seemed to fall on deaf ears.

It was as if they seemed more about the protesting itself rather than on any end goal.

With no single representative willing to speak for the group, and with the group itself being unwilling to enter in an orderly fashion, the order came down from Demophilus: under no circumstances were the guards to let these people inside. This rabble had come to cause trouble, and they wouldn't be allowed to get what they were asking for.

Thus the guards proudly stood by outside the palace, ignoring much of what was yelled and jeered.

Little did they know…

…

"Go time."

Denholm had barely said such simple words before the plan went into action. The grand protest at the front of the palace was wild enough to draw plenty of attention at this point, and little gaps here and there had been left open for ne'er-do-wells to break with the patrol routes.

While most of the guards were busy keeping the rabble outside at bay, a motley crew of Vestals—some, Royal Guards loyal to Caligo, and others, mercenaries in Guard uniform—calmly approached Denholm's location. Denholm himself was quite certain that Demophilus, and whomever he was talking to in that room, had heard them by now.

It was of little consequence though. It was too late for them to get away at this point in time.

The plan was quite simple. This small, easily manageable team, would enter the room and swiftly kill Demophilus. Then, while the "protest" still continued on, Denholm would lead them to their escape through the sally port and out of the palace.

In theory, it seemed smooth enough. However, if they weren't all completely on the same page here, there could be room for error. Denholm's eyes swivelled around them all, hoping that his glare was enough to hammer in the message that they would disappoint Duke Prove at their own peril.

Provided they pulled it all off smoothly, it would prove to be quite the tale to tell. Hopefully it would earn him some well deserved accolades.

Duke Prove, naturally, would take credit for all the planning and brainwork behind it. That was fair enough, Denholm figured. Yet the real challenge was making it all happen, and in turn, ensuring that it did so without issue. Though he would never dare say it to the duke's face, Denholm somewhat doubted that Caligo would ever have been capable of handling this part.

However, things would not prove to go quite as smoothly as planned. An overeager guardsman swung the door open and stepped into the room. Inside was Demophilus, of course, and across from him was none other than Klaus von Hertzon.

Denholm paused for just a moment, hesitating as he spotted Klaus. His mind briefly took a moment to process the scene that was presented to him. He did think he recognized that second voice from outside…

The guardsman, however, showed no such hesitation, raising his laser pistol towards Demophilus and firing.

"Watch out!" Klaus said, as he pushed the margrave aside.

The Earthling let out a stifled grunt as he was hit in the shoulder and knocked back a step. His body staggered beside a nearby vase. Demophilus, meanwhile, gained his bearings and punched the guard in the temple, knocking him out cold. He turned back towards the door, only to see Denholm and his company all pointing pistols at him.

"Hands up, milord," Denholm sneered.

Demophilus complied.

"…Fan out," Denholm demanded of his fellows. "Thanks to that overzealous fool, any guard within earshot will likely be on his way, so keep your eyes open!" Their already limited window of opportunity was now closing faster. Nonetheless, Denholm wanted to relish this kill as much as possible.

From what little Denholm cared to remember about the alien, Klaus von Hertzon was a Bakugan brawler of some renown back on his home planet, and was quite the rising star in Vestal's financial world. That would explain how he could so easily garner a private audience with Demophilus. Yet he had ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now only one remained.

And Denholm was more than ready to do the honours.

Or so he thought, as he was surprised by laser fire in the distance. From the sound of bodies thudding against the ground, it appeared that two Vestals collapsed in the exchange.

Obviously any patrolling guards would have caught on to that foolishly fired shot, but it had been his hope that any would-be rescuers of Demophilus would be too far away to come swiftly, and that with guards being pulled outside to keep the "protesters" at bay, any remaining guards inside the palace who were not in on the plan would be too small in number to matter.

Instead, it seemed that just enough ex-March Guards remained in the palace to make a difference. Something that Denholm hadn't accounted for. Something that reminded him of the many times Caligo had called him a fool.

I had hoped I'd prove him wrong today.

Nevertheless, even with the odds stacked against him so highly, Denholm intended to see his duty through. He focused back on Demophilus and lifted his gun level with the margrave's eyes. In the confusion, though, Demophilus had lowered his hands and now stood stoically. "So, deciding to go out with dignity, milord?" Denholm sneered.

"I'm not planning on 'going out' at all," Demophilus said with a smirk.

"Huh?" was all that Denholm managed to say before a blow to the head took him out of consciousness.

...

Klaus von Hertzon stood over Denholm's collapsed form, a broken vase in his hands. "Who was he?" Klaus asked the margrave.

"This one here is Denholm, one of the Royal Guards under Zenoheld. I told Mother to fire them all, but she insisted that they remain, as a gesture of her goodwill. So much for that," Demophilus answered.

Two former March Guards came into the room. "Lord Demophilus—" one began.

"I know. We have intruders in the palace, and some of Zenoheld's guards are in on it. I was the target. What's the status?"

"Some of the intruders are still in the palace, milord, possibly trying to retreat. The majority of the conspirators are either dead or escaped."

"Lord Demophilus, aren't some of Zenoheld's guards with your mother?" Klaus said.

"My mother!" Demophilus gasped. "You two, escort Klaus and myself to the communications room. We must get in contact with the Vestal Destroyer!"

"Yes, sir," said the two.

As they headed towards the communications room, there were pockets of resistance as mercenaries and guards loyal to Caligo tried to halt Demophilus's advance. However, the four managed to reach the communications room without much harm to the margrave or his guest.

Demophilus immediately sent out a hail to the Vestal Destroyer.

"Vestal Destroyer?" Demophilus said worriedly. "This is the Royal Palace; come in, Destroyer!"

Mira Clay's face appeared on the viewscreen. "This is the Vestal Destroyer. We read you, Palace."

Behind Mira was a visibly-relieved—and very much alive—Xenia, who wasted no time in coming to the console.

"Vestal Destroyer? Thank the Goddess you're safe," Demophilus said. "I was worried that Caligo might have sprung some trap while you were off-planet."

"I could say the same about you," said Xenia. "What happened?"

"Caligo tried to have me killed. Mother, he has—"

"—sympathizers within the Royal Guard. I know," Xenia interrupted. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you all the details when you arrive. But the long and short of it is: Thank Vesta for well-connected friends with good timing."

"And that sounds like my cue," said Klaus.

...

After Demophilus finished contacting the Vestal Destroyer, word came in that most of the assassins and their collaborators had been either captured or killed. One of the mercenaries, however, managed to make it to the front door, and at his panicked flight, the protesters outside hurriedly dispersed.

After the Destroyer landed, Caligo was marched to the dungeons, and he and the surviving conspirators were locked up in separate cells.

The conspirators were all interrogated, and Demophilus and Xenia waited patiently in the throne room to hear what information came from it.

A former March Guard gave the report: "They had plans to infiltrate the palace by causing a distraction near the front entrance. In this case, they arranged for a mass protest to take place, paying handsomely for anyone who would take part and keep their mouth buttoned about any suspicious details. They were adamant that none of the protesters were told that their purpose was to conceal an assassination attempt. Only that they should demand an audience with Xenia. Cause some suitable chaos and make no mention that they were paid to do it."

"We also learned that some mercenaries had been smuggled into the Guard ranks; Captain Makhaira vouched for their legitimacy. One of Zenoheld's guards—Denholm—would scope out Lord Demophilus' location and signal the rest to provide cover while he assassinated him. Denholm himself admitted that they intended to make their escape via a sally port before they could be caught."

Demophilus' eyes narrowed. If they had been hoping he would be unaware, they had been right.

"I'm afraid we will have to look more into that particular matter…" the guard spoke rather apologetically.

"And did they state who was the ringleader of the attempt on my son?" Xenia asked.

The guard answered, "Since they all saw you bringing Caligo in under arrest, they were all over themselves trying to give up whatever they could. There's no doubt about it; Duke Prove was behind it all."

At that, Demophilus' eyes narrowed.

…

Caligo had been carrying a smirk on his face ever since his call with Denholm had concluded. And when he left Xenia surrounded in that cave, he was sure that he had completely won. But then that Mira Clay defeated him in that Bakugan brawl, and everything went downhill from there. Xenia somehow slipped out from being surrounded, and he himself was marched out at bladepoint like some common criminal! And the ultimate insult came when he returned to Vestal, as Demophilus himself was there to watch him be carted off.

…

And thus Caligo stood fuming in his cell that night, wondering where his plans went wrong. No one had deigned to tell him the details of the botched assassination attempt, no doubt taking glee at the prospect of leaving the now ex-duke to stew in his own juices.

Today was supposed to have been his chance. Instead, everything went wrong.

Nyktos—"Shadow". Wherever you are, I hope that you are still alive. We may not have seen eye-to-eye, but at the very least, avenge me.