The Three Kings: Strike
Disclaimer: Yu-gi-oh! Duel Monsters is owned by Kazuki Takahashi, Studio Gallop, Nihon Ad Studios, and TV Tokyo. Harry Potter is owned by J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Arthur A. Levine Books, and Warner Bros. Please support the official releases.
Warning: Mentions of genocide, rape, non-consensual body modification, suicide, pedophilia, impregnation, theft, kidnapping, starvation, past character death, child abuse, extreme physical health problems, and violence.
Chapter 19: Take Up The Hatchet
Thousands of years ago, the Curia Julia housed the ancient Senate of Rome. Built out of red brick and white marble, the original building could hold roughly three hundred men sitting on three tiers of seats five rows deep, who argued over the laws that covered the Empire of Old. The floor was covered in beautiful tiles, inlaid with stylized roses that intertwined with one another, and the windows covered in stunning stained glass.
After the Forum had been pulled under wizarding control nearly four centuries ago, the Curia had been restored to its former glory, along with a few alterations. The interior of the building had been magically enlarged, now able to hold nearly one hundred and ninety-five delegations from countries all around the world. The old rose covered floor had been replaced with a continually shifting map of the world, which could be enchanted to focus on any particular spot should the need arise. The stained glass windows remained but instead of depicting the legends of Rome's past, they showed great moments in wizarding history: the sacrifice of the legendary Three Kings, the building of Hogwarts castle, and enactment of the Statute of Secrecy, just to name a few.
Luccenia allows her gaze to pass over them as her litter carries her across the Curia toward the main dais. As Vestalis Maxima, she leads the procession, while the other Vestals travel behind her. Luccenia watches as the various delegations talk to one another in a thousand languages and dialects, none of which she has been allowed to learn but had any way out of spite. She clenches her shaking fists.
Not for the first time, Luccenia hates the fact that she was given to the Order. Her mother had given her up at the age of nine, happy to decide her path before she was even able to comprehend what being a Vestal meant. In the ancient days, women who were inducted into the priesthood would be allowed to leave after thirty years of service. But nowadays, Vestals served for life, swearing celibacy after being ceremonially married to the city.
Luccenia thinks of Atronia, her sister by servitude and her cousin by blood. Atronia had been a radical, speaking out against the Pureblood Protection Act in public and kissing girls in private, all while teaching her fellow Vestals ways to undermine the system. Everything that Luccenia wants to accomplish comes back to Atronia, but she had to be careful.
Luccenia glances up at the dais, where the Italian Minister of Magic was already seated. Minister Titus Sidonia stares out at the masses below, his lips curling in disgust. Luccenia hates him.
You killed Atronia. You ruined my life, she thinks. I'm going to take you down, even if I have to ally myself with mages to do it.
The house elves set Luccenia's litter down once they reach the top, helping her to her feet and giving her the support that she needs to walk to her chair. Tiberius takes his place just behind her, an ever-present shadow. She notes how his eyes wander to the other Vestals taking their seats, letting his gaze fall upon Grata, their youngest inductee. Grata was Tiberius's blood sister, given to the Order a year ago once it became clear no other pureblood family had spare daughters to sacrifice to the order.
Titus barely gives Luccenia a second glance. She grits her teeth and forces her gaze forward. She has bigger things to worry about.
She spots the first mage almost immediately. The stunning blonde woman stands by the door, waiting on various delegations and answering the questions that they might have. The next mage is a little harder to spot. Lurking in the shadows of one of the tall pillars, a Japanese boy stands guard in stolen centurion armour, his eyes flicking around at the proceedings.
The more Luccenia looks, the more mages she spots. A girl speaking fluent Mandarin leans over Minister Xiang Li's shoulder while a muscular blond teenager sits in the place of the Confederation's stenographer. She counts ten, twenty, and then looks again and finds fifteen more. Luccenia stops counting when she hits fifty-two, her heart pounding in her throat.
Whatever happens today, the wizarding world will hear about it. All around the room were recording spells which would broadcast Minister Palamo's speech across the entire world. And if the mages were here, then there was little that anyone could do to stop their message from being heard.
Tiberius leans down next to her, whispering in her ear, "My lady. It appears we have a guest."
"Not just one," Luccenia answers, thinking that he had spotted one of the mages down below.
"Not them, my lady. One that wants to speak with you." Luccenia's throat goes dry as Tiberius continues on, "He can't speak Latin, so he's asking me to translate."
Luccenia risks a glance back at Tiberius, but can't see anyone, "Where…?"
She hears something speak next to her. It's English so she can understand it though she pretends not to, letting Tiberius say, "He thanks us for our assistance in getting his comrades into the city."
Luccenia swallows hard, "How did he know that it was us?"
As Tiberius translates, she wonders, If there's a leak, they'll bury me like Atronia.
"Apparently I'm not as subtle as I think I am," Tiberius tells her, then pauses before he adds, "The mage says that no one aside from them knows. He promises to keep it that way."
Luccenia takes as deep a breath as her lungs will allow her, "Tell our guest that he welcome, though I expect him and his companions to be out of the city as soon as possible."
Tiberius and the invisible mage trade words before the centurion answers, "He swears." There's an even longer break and then Tiberius says, "I think he's gone, my lady."
Luccenia gives him a jerky nod, reaching for her wand to comfort herself. Her stomach drops when she realizes that it's not there.
"Tiberius…" she hisses.
"He took mine too," Tiberius whispers. "My lady-"
"Do nothing. Say nothing," Luccenia orders him. "It will only implicate us."
Tiberius nods, shifting closer to Luccenia than he usually is allowed to stand. She knows that if worse came to worse, the centurion would sacrifice his life to save her, but he keeps glancing over at Grata. She can't blame him for worrying.
"Go to her," Luccenia tells him.
Tiberius hesitates, "My lady-"
"I will be safe. I promise," she says. "Now go."
She hears the shaking in his voice when he whispers, 'Thank you," and listens to his footsteps as he heads toward his sister.
Em, please watch over us, Luccenia prays, hoping that her words will reach the god in England. Keep us from harm.
Royce can't believe what he's seeing: nearly a hundred mages and mage supporters marching through the foyer of the International Confederation of Wizards, completely uncontested. Atem, the steely-eyed co-leader of the mages, leads the charge, hand in hand with a slight blind girl with long auburn hair. Someone had explained that the girl, Serenity, could hypnotize people that she came in contact with, but Atem was amplifying her powers so that she could use them on entire crowds.
They all seemed so utterly unstoppable, but never once in Royce's two-month stay in San Francisco had he ever felt threatened by one of them. It still throws him for a loop sometimes, that everything that he's been told about mages since he became part of the wizarding world was a lie.
Royce remembers the first time that he'd seen two men holding hands at one of their gatherings, how the only reactions they'd gotten were congratulations and well wishes for their new relationship. He thinks of the time that he'd brought Shawn home to meet his family and how they'd welcomed his boyfriend with open arms. Shawn had commented that he wishes his own family would be accepting but knew they never would be.
Royce's mother had smiled sadly and said, "You have a place here. Always."
Sometimes muggles do it better, he thinks, grinning. The exhilaration of the crowd is intoxicating.
Beside him, Kisha listens to Delphia rattling off facts about the different buildings that they passed, stating the name and its historical significance to the ancient Roman Empire. Occasionally, Matthew Jacques, their primary caregiver in the last two months, would pipe in with an observation or two, but seemed mostly content to just listen to Delphia speak.
Royce feels a special sort of connection to the man. Matthew had worked his ass off to hack into the American floo network to get Royce a connection to Shawn while he stayed in San Francisco, debating magical theory back and forth with his half-sisters Amanda and Atem at breakneck speeds. But in the end, they'd managed to piece together something that bypassed Shawn's fireplace entirely and got Royce to appear in his boyfriend's bedroom mirror.
Their conversation had been watched and recorded by the mage's non-magical technology, but it had hardly mattered. Royce and Shawn had spent half of their conversation crying, scratching at the surface of the mirror in an attempt to get at each other. But once they'd calmed down, Royce had kept his word and not given away where he was or what was happening - only promising that he would be returned to the wizarding world amidst Minister Palamo's speech to the Confederation.
Shawn's eyes took on such a resemblance to his father's when he asked, "The people that are keeping you, are they listening?"
Royce glanced at Matthew and his friend, Joey Wheeler, the mage who could turn into a giant black dragon. Wheeler gave Royce a nod.
"Yeah," he confirmed. "But they saved me from the real bad guys, Shawn. They'd not-"
"I want to speak with one of them. Now."
Royce looked helplessly toward the two mages, who exchanged silent communication until Wheeler spoke out, refusing to show his face but ready to negotiate.
By the end of it all, Shawn had committed blatant treason against the wizarding world, handing over copies of Minister Palamo's itinerary and explained how to enter the Forum Romanum. In exchange, Shawn had gotten Wheeler to promise sanctuary in San Francisco for his sister, Chelsea, a wizard-born mage who'd gone through the conversion program and had come out terrified of her own shadow.
It had all come to this. Royce tries to regulate his breathing as he glances up at the tall ceiling, the murals that had been painted high above them shifting so that they could tell their stories. In the center of it all were the legendary Three Kings, the first wizards who'd carved their wands out of acacia trees and used them in their decades-long reign over Egypt. Royce remembers the muggle tale more than the wizarding one; his mother had read it to him every night before bed until the spine of the book cracked and they'd had to buy a new one.
He curls his fingers into his fists, thinking of the legendary King Commander and the strength that he'd always seemed to wield, even in the most impossible situations. Royce tries his best to embody his hero as he walks in time with the San Francisco mages.
When the mages reach the main doors, the pair of guards dressed in ancient centurion armour are quickly dispatched of. Atem gives the order and Seto Kaiba and his non-magic brother, Mokuba move, knocking them out with a series of quick jabs and kicks. Royce is amazed that Mokuba can move as well as he does with his fake leg, considering that it looks nothing like an actual foot. The springy microfiber hook works with him, letting him move how he wants.
When asked about it, Mokuba had responded with a dark look in his eye, "Not the first time I've lost a leg."
Royce has no idea what to think about that, considering that he's pretty sure Mokuba still owned three out of his four limbs.
When Atem reaches the door, she taps at the hinges with her fingers, seemingly searching for something. Royce doesn't know what she can do, but within seconds she's telling the group that they're good to go.
"We wait for Bakura to give us the signal," she says, lightning twitching around her fingertips. Royce misses his wand. "This is it. Get ready."
The world was about to change. Royce Land could do nothing but watch.
Reyna watches as Dumbledore taps the podium, drawing the attention of all of the delegations around the room.
"Thank you all for coming today," Dumbledore says, a polite smile edging its way onto his lips. "This emergency session of the International Confederation of Wizards has been called to discuss the Department of Mysteries and the recent upheavals that have been connected to it. Representing the Department is Unspeakable Trista Latner," he nods to the young woman standing in the center of the floor, her dark hair worn in a simple braid, her dark eyes flashing with annoyance. "The charges against the Department have been leveled by the American Minister of Magic, Reyna Palamo. Please keep all your questions for the debate afterward. Thank you."
Dumbledore gestures for Reyna to take the podium. She rises and walks forward, nerves bubbling in her stomach. She wonders, not for the first time, if she was making a mistake. No country in the history of the Confederation had dared to stand up to the Department of Mysteries. There had been rumours that the few individuals who had spoken against them had disappeared into the depths of the organization, never to be seen again. She takes a deep breath, calming herself.
It has to be me, Reyna thinks, her eyes flicking to Neal Pendergrass, who had returned from America with the results of his raid only an hour ago. Someone has to get the ball rolling. And I'm in too public a position for them to do away with me without suspicion.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the Confederation," Reyna starts as one of the centurions slides into position behind her, supposedly to guard her against some unforeseen danger. "Nearly months ago, the United States fell under attack from within. The entirety of the Ministry of Magic was transformed into a desert while fiendfyre was unleashed upon the witches and wizards working inside. Nearly half of my Auror Department had to be immediately evacuated to Buchanan Hospital to be treated for their injuries and dragon paw prints were left outside the building in full view of the muggle population of Philadelphia. All evidence points to the Department of Mysteries-"
"Circumstantial evidence," Latner interrupts, a cocky grin on her face. "There is nothing to prove that the Department actually had anything to do with-"
"The door to your Department had been busted off its hinges and the Aurors outside where trapped within a ring of fiendfyre. Our investigation later showed that the desert transformation originated within five feet of your open door-"
"Circumstantial," Latner repeats again. "No offense, Minister Palamo, but unless you have something that can solidly connect the unfortunate accident that occurred at your Ministry to the Department of Mysteries, then you are wasting the time of everyone here."
"What of the kidnapped magical Americans, then?" Reyna asks. Latner blinks.
"I'm sorry. Pardon me?"
"Morgan Sammons, Delphia Caro, Ellen Messer, and Royce Land," Reyna says, omitting Gerry Maler and Kisha Borrego, who Neal has given her no solid evidence that Unspeakables were responsive for their disappearances, but still labeled them as 'incredibly fishy.' "We have an eyewitness account that places Unspeakables at the Ministry, taking them from our custody against their wills."
Latner's smile seems a little less sure when she answers, "Eyewitness testimony is often unreliable. So unless you can prove-"
"I can," Shawn Pendergrass stands, his determination evident on his face. In his hands, he holds a vile of silvery hair-like wisps. "You will have to excuse the mild corruption of the memory, of course. It was only discovered after my father realizes that I had been subjected to a memory charm in an attempt to cover it up."
A murmur goes around the room as the Confederation reacts to Shawn's confession. Reyna takes a bit of satisfaction in how Latner's lips seem to thin into nothingness.
"Supreme Mugwump, will you allow Mr. Pendergrass's memory to be viewed by the Confederation?" Reyna asks.
Dumbledore tuts over it for one of the most stressful minutes of her life before answering, "Let us see it, then."
He swishes his wand through the air and the map on the floor blurs out of existence, replaced by the swirling white mist of the Confederation's pensieve. Shawn pours his memory onto the floor and the delegations shift to get a better view as his recollection of the events play out for all to see.
Reyna has seen it before but is still chilled by how the Unspeakables rush into her Auror office and stun the five witches and wizards inside before the leader, a man with slicked back dark hair turns his wand on Shawn, wordlessly obliviating him to remove all trace of them being there. Shocked gasps ring out around the Confederation and Reyna can actually hear her centurion guard whisper, "Fuck."
The Unspeakable licks her lips and says in a way that is utterly unconvincing, "I was not informed of this."
"Well, then you're lucky that I was," Reyna growls back at her as the floor morphs back into the world map. She places Neal's findings in front of her, "This evidence gave me enough of a reason to do something that no other Ministry has done before. Going against all of our regulations, I ordered an Auror raid on the American division of the Department of Mysteries-"
Noise. The Confederation seems to stand as one, shouting in a hundred languages in outrage. Some of Latner's previous attitude reappears on her face.
"Silence!" Dumbledore shouts over the commotion, attempting to bring order to the room. One by one, the delegations sit back down with sour looks on their faces. "You are aware of the illegality of your actions, Minister Palamo?"
"I am aware that the Department of Mysteries threw the first stone, Supreme Mugwump, when they kidnapped my citizens from inside my own Ministry," Reyna throws back. "I deny none of the laws that I have broken, but what I hoped to find - what I did find - was far worse."
She motions for Neal, who calls upon one of the nearby house elves. He gives the elf his findings, orders him to make copies, and has him pass it out to the other members.
"As we all know, the Department of Mysteries has a division in nearly every one of our Ministries, operating with complete authority and without boundaries," Reyna says, allowing some of the disgust that she feels to make its way into her voice. "As a result, we discovered that the Unspeakables have been using their space beneath my Ministry as a storage vault."
"Which is not illegal, unlike what you have done," Latner points out.
"It is illegal when you possess weapons of mass destruction," Reyna says. Another rumble of voices echoes around the room, but she powers through, flipping through Neal's report, "From what little we have learned, your Archives has enough magical firepower to level an entire city. How exactly am I going to explain to the muggle President what happened when something of yours goes off and vaporizes Philadelphia?"
Latner grits her teeth, "We have precautions put in place-"
"Which didn't stop a dragon from escaping and terrorizing my citizens!" Reyna shouts, "Instead, you tried to cover it up by obliviating my entire Ministry and then kidnapping five people from under our noses! Where are they, Trista Latner? Were they on your Unplottable island in the middle of the Pacific? Because if they were, I will charge you with murder as well."
Latner says nothing, so Dumbledore turns to Reyna and asks, "It says in your report that your kidnapped citizens were at the Ministry to report a mass wand theft in William's Abbey."
Reyna, feeling a little derailed at the change in topic, answers, "Yes."
"So what is the connection?"
"Pardon me, sir?"
"The connection, Minister," Dumbledore implores. "Clearly, these four were a threat to the Department, for Unspeakables to go out of their way to kidnap them. So why them?"
Reyna turns to Latner, "That's a good question. Care to answer that one as well?"
Latner licks her lips again, "I have not been informed-"
"Answer the question," Reyna repeats, raising her voice.
"Oh, she knows. She just can't tell the entire story," says the centurion behind Reyna. She whips around just in time to see him take off his helmet, revealing that he was decidedly not Italian. Reyna reaches for her wand, only to find that it's not there. The centurion gives her a cocky smile and then addresses the room.
"Now!"
Bakura watches with pride as Atem blows the magically sealed door clean off their hinges, sending the heavy wooden broads crashing to the floor. She walks through the open arch, surrounded by a small army of mages and non-magics. Her family is just a step behind her, just as intimidating. He bites back a grin and moves out from under his powers of invisibility.
All around the room, the mages and supporters that they'd snuck into the Curio Julia reveal themselves, following Duke's example. They jump over banisters, joining the approaching crowd. Beside the Chinese delegation, Vivian gives the Minister a cheesy wave and an even cheesier smile. Joey stands from where he'd been posing as the Confederation's stenographer, whipping the fake glasses off his face with gusto. Mai brings up the rear of the party, making sure to flip off a woman from the Britain dressed head to toe in pink who had been exceptionally rude to her.
Bakura, on the other hand, appears behind Albus Dumbledore himself, grabbing the man by his long hair and holding a knife to his neck. When he sees Ryou's former Headmaster reaching for the Elder Wand, Bakura briefly activates the Millennium Ring. Dumbledore twitches as he feels it react through the chain that connected all divine weapons. When Atem does the same, he can see the blood drain from the man's face.
Bakura smirks, "Go ahead, old man. Try us. You won't like the results."
Then, because he has always enjoyed getting reactions out of people who have thought less of him, Bakura makes a show of walking across the tables, purposefully stepping on the shoulders of the world's Ministers to help him in his descent down to the floor.
It's not like they're in a position to stop me, Bakura thinks, barely holding back a grin as he tugs at the straps of the backpack he's wearing.
He stops when he gets to Atem. While her face is as calm as its ever been, her eyes soften a little bit, just for him. Bakura presses his lips to her cheek, deliberately informing the Confederation of their relationship, and takes her hand in his.
It will humanize us, Bakura had said when they were discussing the idea earlier. Atem had agreed after he'd added, They don't see us as human. They don't see us as capable of love. Let's show them that they're wrong.
They finish their walk to the podium, standing before the American Minister for Magic. Reyna Palamo is tall, nearly six feet in height not counting the modest heels that she wore, with thick curly hair and large brown eyes. She had deep laugh lines around her mouth and a slight accent when she spoke.
Palamo isn't laughing now as she clutched the podium she stood at so hard that her knuckles turned white. She asks through gritted teeth, "Who are you? Where is my wand?"
"We are mages," Atem answers, her voice echoing throughout the Curio. "And you are going to listen to us."
"How dare you!" Shouts a portly man from the British delegation. Bakura flicks his eyes to the side and sees a familiar face, Minister Cornelius Fudge. "We don't want you here!"
"You haven't got a choice," Bakura sneers. He raises a hand and flicks a wizarding galleon across his fingers, "I paid a little visit to Gringotts earlier and made a withdrawal: ten percent from every wizarding bank account in the world."
It's a lie, but it's one that needs to be told so that they won't implicate the Gringotts goblins. And if wizards tried to remove their money from the bank, then it would make any future 'official' transition of alliance look a bit more natural.
"If you don't hear us out, we will take the rest and bankrupt your global economy," Atem says, her voice as smooth as glass. Bakura fucking loves her.
"Hem hem," came a fake throat-clearing cough. The woman standing next to Fudge, dressed head to toe in pink, addressed them in a tone that made Bakura very away of what she thought of them, "You have no proof that you can do what you claim."
"You want proof?" Bakura laughs as he uses the Millennium Ring to check her name. Dolores Umbridge, he thinks. Her soul reeks of rot. "Well, you could just check your Gringotts bank account, but…" He reaches for his backpack, unzips the opening, and turns the whole thing upside-down. Wizarding wands pour out of it, clattering against the floor, and form a pile at his feet. "If I can do this under your noses, do you seriously think the walls of Gringotts can stop me?"
It's yet another lie - the mages and non-magics that he and Joey had planned within the Curio Julia had done most of the pickpocketing with Bakura coming around to collect after the fact. But it would build up an air of mystery around who he was and what he was capable of. It gave an inflated look at their abilities, but sometimes bluffing was half the poker game.
Besides, if the Confederation decided to send an assassin to put an end to their threat, why not pin the Gringotts' robbery' on someone who couldn't die? It would protect Nurnok and her baby, if nothing else.
Another murmur does around the Curio as the delegations checked their pockets for their wands, only to come up empty. The only person left untouched was Albus Dumbledore himself, but that's because Bakura had no interest in getting into yet another fight with a divine weapon. The last one had left both him and Atem drained for nearly a month once they'd returned to San Francisco.
"Are you willing to hear what we have to say now?" Atem asks but doesn't wait for an answer. "I believe that the audio from this meeting is being broadcast across all wizarding radio stations across the world. Good. Let's keep it that way." She waved her hands, adjusting the spells on the recording devices to that they could not be shut off without her permission. "My name is Atem. This is Bakura. And standing with us are mages from the city of San Francisco."
A call goes up from their companions, just so that anyone listening in could not mistake their numbers.
"San Francisco is a haven for mages and their families and has been for nearly three years. Earlier this year, the Department of Mysteries launched a full-scale attack on our city led by Trista Latner here, not caring about any non-magical casualties that occurred," Bakura says, giving a nod to the Unspeakable and throwing her under the bus in the process. "We're still tallying the numbers, Minister Palamo, so we will present you with a non-magical death count for you to give to the President. I'm sure he's been asking you what happened."
From the look on Palamo's face, he's right.
"As a result of the attack, the Department of Mysteries kidnapped and tortured several citizens from our city," Atem gestures to Mokuba, who shifts from foot to prosthetic foot, exposing his injury. "My brother's lost his leg after they forcibly amputated it. Women were raped in captivity, children were subjected to your Cruciatus curse, and... " she pauses, her voice stuck in her throat. "My grandfather was murdered in cold blood when he refused to give up information on me."
Bakura moves forward, giving Atem time to compose herself, "The sad thing is, we expected that. We expected them to hurt us, to kill us, because we have always been the enemy of the Department of Mysteries. We never thought that they would turn on their own."
Bakura walks toward the podium and tries not to cringe when Palamo takes a step back - in fear, in disgust? Standing front and center, he says, "I owe you an apology, Minister Palamo."
"For what?" Palamo asks.
"The incident that you describe as an attack on your Ministry was not the result of something escaping from the Department. It happened because a team of mages led by myself was fleeing the Archives."
A gasp comes from the benches. Palamo looks grey, "What?"
"Inside the Archives are the records of wizard-born mages. I comprised a plan to get in and out your Ministry undetected," Bakura lies again, "but we were found. In the ensuing skirmish, my team and I did everything that we could to ensure that no wizarding citizens got caught in the crossfire, but the Department didn't care-"
"You little-" Latner starts, but Palamo cuts her off.
"Shut. Up." The Minister spits and turns back to Bakura.
"We thought that that would be the end of it, but we were wrong," the Thief King tells her. "We had stolen wands from four witches and wizards Willian's Abbey to pass through security. After they'd come to the Auror office to report the crime, the Department of Mysteries kidnapped them to keep you from ever making the connection. When we went to the island to get our people back, we found them there half dead from starvation. Apparently, the Department stopped sending them food after they'd gotten what information they needed, hoping that the problem they presented would just go away."
"You found them…? The four who…?" Palamo whispers.
Atem comes forward, "Five, actually. Bakura and his team stopped at a shop in William's Abbey to buy wizarding clothing. The Department tracked down the witch who'd been on shift at the time and took her as well."
"Kisha Borrego…" Palamo says. "Where are they?"
"We were only able to save three," Bakura says, gesturing for the surviving trio to come forward. One of the wizards from Palamo's delegation breaks into tears, jumping over the benches, and crashes into Royce Land, hugging the man for all he's worth. Bakura allows himself to smile a bit, This must be the boyfriend…
"Gerry Maler," Palamo says. "He was a security guard who never showed up for work the next day. We were never able to make the connection, but…"
Bakura can't answer the question, but surprisingly, Kisha steps up to the plate, "Do you have a picture, Madam Minister?"
When Palamo provides her with one, Kisha swears, "He was in the cell next to mind when we came in. Ellen said that he was... that someone had cut open his skull and that she could see his brain. After they took him away, we never saw him again." Kisha hands the picture back to the Minister, "I hope he died on the island. No one deserves to suffer like that."
"This was not the only incident that we discovered where the Department of Mysteries had attacked wizarding citizens," Atem says. "In the last few months, we have become aware of the existence of wizard-born mages - and with it, the so-called Conversion Program."
Bakura slaps some of the files that Kitamori had lifted from Pegasus's office onto the podium, "Its fake. Trista Latner here knows it, considering that she's worked with the man who created it: Maximillion Pegasus. Pegasus designed it to ensure the Department could get rich off of the delusion that you could 'cure' magehood like an illness, all while giving him access to children for him to abuse."
"I'm sure that you're familiar with the Crawford family," Atem asks Palamo. "Cecelia Crawford was one of the cases that Pegasus handled directly. She committed suicide after he impregnated her against her will. She was fifteen years old."
"Crawford's daughter?" One of the men from the American delegation asks. The Ring tells Bakura that his name is Neal Pendergrass, "They said that it was an accident… that she-"
"She was raped by a pedophile that had been given access to decades of worth of children by the Department of Mysteries. She killed herself because it was the only option that she had left," Atem snaps. Pendergrass stays seated and silent.
"They lied about the camp that they send failed wizard-born mages to as well," Bakura growls. Behind him, a tiny blonde girl guarded on each side by her two adopted brothers step forward.
"My name is Rebecca Hawkins. I am eight years old and I am a mage," she says. Pendergrass's jaw comes completely unhinged because, as Bakura realizes, he would have known her family. "I was given to the Department of Mysteries by my mother and my grandfather on the promise that I would be cured of my illness. Instead, I was taken to the island and sentenced to execution."
"Lies. All lies," Latner interrupts. "Aside from wartime exceptions, the Department has never harmed a single wizarding citizen - let alone the wizard-born mages that we have sworn to convert. Do you honestly believe a word that they are saying-"
"Except you have."
All eyes in the room focus on a single man standing up on the benches. The desk in front of him as a small French flag hanging out of a coffee mug.
"Minister Bruneau," Palamo addresses him. Bakura smirks. Cassie and the Jackals seemed to have worked their magic to get information all the way to the top of the wizarding French government.
"We received an anonymous tip yesterday about what was going on in our own division of the Department of Mysteries. Much like our American counterparts, we performed a raid of our own," Bruneau says, his voice filled with venom. "Would you like to explain what occurs in your so-called 'Gardens,' or should I?"
When Latner refuses to speak, Bruneau continues on, "We found nearly two hundred wizarding children inside their doors being trained to become soldiers for the Department. We have records that go back over a hundred years, detailing how they systematically started civil wars and stole wizarding children who had been orphaned as a result. And beneath their training grounds, we found…" Bruneau looks sick to his stomach, tears welling in his eyes. "We found a mass grave filled with the skeletons of dead children. We don't know how many there are. We've yet to hit bottom."
The Curio Julia erupts, the delegations screaming down at Trista Latner. Someone throws a coffee mug and it shatters against her shoulder, spilling scalding liquid everywhere. Latner doesn't seem to know what to do, helpless without her wand. Bakura watches as Atem stares the Unspeakable down and knows that she's thinking about how Latner killed Yuugi Mutuo.
Several centurions come down from the dais where the Italian Ministry officials were seated. Bakura looks up to see Vestal Luccenia barking out orders in Latin. The centurions that she'd sent down to the main floor grab Latner by the wrists and Bakura just manages to catch the words "Under arrest for crimes against humanity" before the Unspeakable is dragged away.
When the commotion finally dies down, Palamo addresses the mages again, in a voice that shows that she is trying and failing to remain calm, "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Now… we have listened to your request, so if you are finished, this Confederation would appreciate it if you would return the stolen gold and be on your way."
Bakura and Atem look at each other, turn back to Palamo, and then burst out laughing.
"I don't understand what's so funny," Palamo says.
Atem sobers up first, "I apologize, Minister. But you seem to be under the misguided impression that we are here to help you."
"Trista Latner will be charged to the fullest extent of the wizarding law for her crimes-"
"Trista Latner is not wholly responsible for everything that the Department of Mysteries has done. And if you believe that her farce of a trial is what we want from you, then you are complete deluded," Atem says.
Palamo grits her teeth, "Then what do you want?"
"We want this Confederation to sever all ties with the Department of Mysteries. We want a fully transparent investigation into what they have been doing, with all the information discovered being readily available to the public. We want you to burn it to the ground and ensure that nothing rises from its ashes," Atem tells her.
"The war on mages ends today," Bakura says. "No more deaths. No more attacks. We get to live in peace without having to look over our shoulders, wondering if today is the day that you lot come after us."
"We just established that it was the Department of Mysteries that is responsible-"
"The Department of Mysteries was created to work alongside the International Confederation of Wizards. You may not have been directly involved in hanging us, Minister Palamo, but you sure as hell sold them the rope!" Bakura hisses.
"This Confederation is just as guilty, but we are going to give you a chance to right a few of your wrongs," Atem implores. "You will change your laws to defend mage rights. You will persecute those who would harm us. And you are going to do this, otherwise, we will take every piece of gold that you have and leave your world to implode on itself."
"Do seriously expect to negotiate with us while you hold an ax to our neck?" Palamo sputters.
"Negotiate? Is that what you think we are here to do? No. Minister, we are not here bargain with you. We are here to tell you the consequences of your actions. This is how it's going to be from here on out and nothing you can do or say is going to change that," Bakura says.
"We didn't know what they were doing," Palamo shouts.
"Really? Then why is the Vestalis Maxima arresting the Italian Minister of Magic for treason?" Atem points up the dais where Vestal Luccenia, their secret supporter, was doing just that. "If Titus Sidonia knew about the Department of Mysteries' actions, who's to say that there aren't other people in this very room who knew just as much?"
Atem continues on, "For over four hundred years this Confederation has stood by while the Department of Mysteries committed atrocity after atrocity. But the moment that it involves you personally, that's when you care? Not when they burned a warehouse of people alive in Lakewood, Ohio. Not when they attacked a plane of non-magics using Dementors, causing the pilots to commit suicide and take their passengers down with them. Not when they've personally murdered thousands of mages over the centuries. Your silence has been complicity in government sanctioned genocide. So before you can talk about us holding an ax over your head, I want you to see the blood on your hands. Then, and only then, can you look me in the eye and tell me that we didn't have to go to such extremes just to get you to fucking listen to us for once."
No one says a single word. Even the Italian Minister, halfway through being pulled out of the room, has stopped to hear them speak.
"This ends now," Bakura says. "And when we are happy with the changes to the laws that you have made, then will we lift our threat. Do you understand?"
"What you're asking… It will take decades to accomplish…" Palamo tries to reason with them, but Bakura will have none of it.
"Do you understand?" He repeats. Palamo nods.
"Good," Atem says. "Then we're done here. Amanda? Matthew? Take us home."
In a dazzling display of Spellcaster ability, the two siblings slam their hands to the map-covered floor, activating the magic within it and focusing its gaze on San Francisco. The city blossomed around their feet, its sprawling hills and winding roads artfully illustrated in black, brushed ink. Pure white magic crackles around their group, forming a circle of blinding light.
Amanda and Matthew chant as one, "~Guard and guide our trip and all who venture on this road. May the Mother of Darkness and the Father of Light see us safely to our destination, see us safely home.~"
"We will be in touch," Atem tells the Confederation before the world around Bakura fades to black. He catches snippets of a thousand conversations before they touch down onto the ground.
"And so it begins," he says as he turns to Atem, pressing his forehead against her's. Together, they breathe as one.
"And so it begins," she agrees, her fingers trailing down his cheek. He kisses her softly as the wizarding world's secretly assumed superiority crumbles at their feet.
Hello again!
I'd like to thank those who reviewed for the last chapter: Safiruu, Tz342, Moonfirekitsune, anita15, dragomira, Rita Mu, green lilah, and Dana Sto Helit. You guys are awesome!
It's finally come to this. This scene has been in my head for years and it's been such a treat to finally get it onto the page. Atem and Bakura are such compelling characters - not just concerning what powers they possess, but also the amount of charisma that they can throw around. Not only did they just threaten the entire wizarding world with global bankruptcy unless their demands are met, but they also informed any wizard-born mage that was listening to them of a safe place to live. It was a two-pronged attack that ended with the fall of the Department of Mysteries.
There are only a few more chapters to go in Strike, maybe about two or three to go. I'm also pretty sure that this is going to be the last time that we see Bakura and Atem, as the next chapter and the Epilogue are going to take place on the wizarding/Jackal side of things. Reiko's storyline still needs to be wrapped up, Amane needs to get sorted, Helena Hendrix's identity needs to be revealed, and we need to finally see Leo in the flesh.
It's been a wild ride, guys. I can't wait to see what happens in Resist.
Until next time,
AlcatrazOutpatient