Shift

[Andromeda]

“And my father did nothing to stop it? What the hell was he doing? I know his wife died, but if he felt so passionately about equality why did he stop? Did he become disillusioned?”

“Quite the opposite actually, but the problem was that he stopped focusing on the immediate problems that Atlantis faced. He became even more determined to fix the system, but he changed his focus.”

“Changed it to what? Wasn’t equality what he wanted?”

“Yes, but he believed that they would not be able to achieve such a world if the current system still was in place. So he sought to destroy the system that forced us to sacrifice someone for the benefit of millions. He wanted to break the cycle of servitude that bound all Kings and MPs to a fate of death. That’s how he can up with this plan. The plan that involves Eudokia and you.”

Yuki needed to take a step back from things. Things only got more complicated the longer he listened. It was supposed to be more straightforward with the more answers he got, yet the opposite happened. He had so many different pieces handed to him. It was hard to see the truth from the lies. Eudokia fed so many lies to him and yet some of them actually had some truth to them.

He stood up and paced around the path that circled around a tree. Demosthenes still had more to tell him. Yuki could tell that much. But he moved too quickly. Things had stop being simple a long time ago. He thought he had gotten used to it. Worse, he still did not have answers to something so simple as who his mother was, which was not what he thought.

Allowing his brain to process things a little, Yuki came back around to Demosthenes. “You’re getting a little ahead of yourself. My father had a plan, but what is this all about? How is it supposed to relate to me or even Eudokia? I thought she had gone rogue.”

“Eudokia discovered a little bit of what his plan was and accepted things wholly. She never actually knew what his true motive was. The only part she really listened to was that he had something he needed her to do. It was his last request to her.”

Demosthenes turned his head a little to look towards a place in the Palace. “To Eudokia, the King was everything. He was her world, his lost hit her worse than anyone. I tried to motivate her and get her to do something, but she was insistent on hanging onto the past. It seemed like she planned to just die. She lost any sort of will to live. Then I told her about the King’s last wish he left for her. I hoped it would give her purpose again. Unfortunately, I never imagined how she would corrupt his wish. This was never what he would have wanted.”

“What did he want her to do?”

“He wanted you to become King. He left it to her, since she had more freedom to move around than me to bring you back to Atlantis. He expected her to explain the situation to her and get your agreement. More than anything, he did not want the Council to be in charge, but it was all because he could not finish his plan to free Atlantis. His wish left behind for you was to save Atlantis.”

Chapter 282 – Secret Origins

It was a little clearer cut, but it was still a lot of jumping around. Yuki waved his hands still needed some important answers to what was going on. “What a minute, he wants me to save Atlantis? I don’t even know what’s going on here. I’ve got this history lesson from you, but it’s still not telling me anything about this plan he has. I don’t even know who I am. How am I supposed to save a country?”

The old man nodded in agreement. There was still much to explain. “After his wife died rather than losing faith in the world it actually strengthened his resolve to fix the world. I actually grew concerned from how fanatical he had become about seeing out. However, he told me he wanted to free us from needing to sacrifice Kings. I believed that was a worthwhile goal, even if he drove himself to madness in search of its answer.”

“What do you mean?” Yuki did not really understand how it could be so hard. There was a lot about how the Throne of Atlantis worked, but it did not seem like something that should be impossible to create. Their power could do anything they wanted. They just needed to imagine it. Why could it not be difficult to do things differently? “Can’t you just create a new solution with our power?”

“If it had been that simple the second King would have done it. Atlantis requires our power to remain as it is, that is a fact. A fact that can’t be avoided. However, the one thing we’ve never be able to achieve through our power is artificially creating our power. It can only occur naturally in humans. There is no substitute for the power we use. So back then, it was decided that using someone else’s power could keep it alive.

“Your father decided that it should not be impossible. While through our power, we could achieve significant technological advancements it was never enough. However, the world was finally making significant strides. So he went outside to search for the answer.”

“Outside, you mean out of Atlantis? How’s that possible, I thought you said he couldn’t leave.”

“As I said, your father was unique in many ways. So powerful was he, he could travel Atlantis. But that’s just what the public knows. The reality is that he actually made many trips around the world in search of his dream. It was due to these long absences that the Council made their move, never questioning his motives.”

“Damn, this guy sounds like has almost god-like powers.”

“However, as I said before, he would have lived longer, but special circumstances lead to him dying earlier than normal. The distance away from the Throne strained him greatly, but he did not care. Eventually, he was no longer able to move as freely. His life significantly shortened due to his insistence on his dream.”

Yuki dropped back down into his seat next to Demosthenes. Atlantis could have still had their King if he did not focus so strongly on achieving his goals. Eudokia could still have a father. None of what happened needed to if he had just stayed. But then Yuki thought about what it meant. “So are you saying that he made a trip to Japan and met my mother. Sounds pretty cliché to me.”

“Nothing so simple or normal as that.”

Sighing, Yuki dropped his head back to rest against the back of the bench. Through the leaves of the tree, he could see the sun. Realizing it was all just artificial, he wondered about the sun too. “Of course, nothing can ever be simple. What’s my story?”

“Sadly, he’s never told me the whole story and what he left behind for me did not provide anymore answers. What I do know will probably give you more questions than answers.”

“Figures. Well it can’t be any worse than not knowing.”

“We’ve refrained from telling you because it could be worse knowing the truth. There is another layer to the world that you aren’t aware of that you’re involved in.”

“Just how many secret civilizations are hiding out on this planet?”

Demosthenes shook his head. He recalled many of the errands the King sent him on in his declining years. The darkness of humanity that he witness made him wish he had been ignorant still. “It might be easier if it was something like that. What I tell you now I give with a warning.”

‘Ominous much?’ Even if Yuki acted glib about his warning, he still felt uneasy about learning yet another new truth. He did not know how much more of it he could handle. The world turned inside out was not something to wish for necessarily.

“Listen closely, because it’s a name that no one knows, but everyone is touched by. Their reach is that far and their threat that grave. The Komatsuzaki have their hands in everything across the world. There is nothing that they are not involved in. And the Komatsuzaki’s singular purpose is the research of our power through any means necessary to understand it.”

“Komatsuzaki…” Naturally, Yuki never even heard of them. It was just something that he had to trust Demosthenes. He knew it was possible that he could be totally bullshitting him, but it made no sense at this point.

While Yuki thought about what it mean and how it affected him, something popped in his mind. He recalled Eudokia story about her time at the South Gate. “Do you remember a time when you went to the South Gate and Eudokia had captured a significant number of intruders that looked linked to some military?”

Demosthenes eyes grew wide in surprise to hear Yuki bring it up. He did not expect to hear such a thing from Yuki. “I didn’t think she’d talk about her past to you. Yes, I remember it. It is as you’re thinking. She never knew, but the reason I went there was because those men worked for the Komatsuzaki. We never had any direct links to them. They’ve always been good about covering up their tracks, even the soldiers were not fully briefed, just instructed on exactly what they needed to know. So interrogations got us nowhere, they know what our powers can do. So they are very careful.”

“I’m guessing you’re going to tell me my father has ties to them. If they were researching our power then it would be perfect for him if he wanted to create it artificially as a substitute power source for the Throne. But you’ve isolated yourself here, how do they even know about your existence?”


“That’s correct. The King actually discovered them when he was searching. He never told me how he found them. I still don’t know how they know about us or how they did their research. I just know of their methods.” Demosthenes fell silent for a moment. Something suddenly seemed to weigh on him even more than usual through the whole conversation. “Human experimentation. As I understand it, many of their tests have been to try to recreate our power forcibly in normal humans. But they were all failures.”

The further silence from the old man told Yuki enough to know of their fate. It really started to sound like one of his stories. A classic case of an evil organization with no regard for human life in search of the answer to life or becoming god. Something silly and selfish as always. The results were always the same, innocents had to die. “You’re not going to tell me I’m one of their experiments that happened to go right and they are actually in search of me even today because I’m the key to the puzzle.” That would just be too cliché, but given his options he was not sure which cliché was worse.

Narrowing his eyes, he knew Yuki joked about it, but it still surprised him how quick to pick up on things he actually was. “You are not completely correct, but not completely wrong either.”

“What?! You can’t be serious!” Yuki jumped up out of the bench and started poking around at the air. “Now I really know I’m dreaming or my life really is a manga, because this stuff just is impossible.”

“You wanted to know the truth.”

He turned around to see how serious the Atlantean looked. The thought of it all made him sigh heavily. Yuki slumped over to the bench and laid back. “Alright, shoot out this horrible doujinshi storyline already.”

“The truth as I understand it, your father knew his time was running out. All of his traveling quickly shortened his life. So he needed to ensure his dream did not die with him. He needed someone to carry on his dream, but that would also be powerful enough to keep Atlantis alive until the solution was found. You are his answer.

“The research done by the Komatsuzaki had hit a wall and so the King worked with them planning to exploit their work. They created many experiments based on what he provided, but they also ended in failure. As a last measure, he had them create you through artificial means using his DNA and one of the Japanese researchers, a woman that worked closely with him.

“Komatsuzaki saw the advantage of someone that could be as powerful as the King as a test subject, so they tried to sabotage the experiment to make it look like the child created died. However, the King actually fooled them and made it looked like the child really died and left the child in the care of someone he trusted, the Hayashis.”

It should not have surprised him, but it still made him turn his head. “My parents knew my real father. They knew everything as well.”

“They made a promise not to reveal any of this to you until you were old enough, unfortunately the both died before that could happen. And then the King died before he could tell you everything as well. After you were born, he tried to hold on long enough, while putting his plans into place, such as finding Eudokia.”

“So the Komatsuzaki think I’m dead, but if I’m just artificially created I’m not that useful to them.”

“Officially, they accept that you died in the experiment. Unofficially, they’ve been trying to get you for years unsuccessfully, but I dealt with their schemes. But like you said, you are a valuable subject to them, but not the solution to their research. So they seem to have given up trying to get you back in the last few years. But I wouldn’t trust them. You still represent something that they lost and feel that they own. So I believe they will eventually come for you.”

“Great, as if I need more people after me. At least they don’t want me dead.” Yuki stood up and stretched. Everything piled up on him making it hard to take in. He really did end up wishing that he did not know. Ignorant bliss was right. “So you got anymore bombshells to drop while you’re on a roll?”

“After everything is resolve in Atlantis I have one final thing to give to you. As it is now it would only be an unnecessary burden. You have your friends to think about and you should focus on them rather than your father’s plans or Atlantis’ future.”

It actually surprised him a bit to hear Demosthenes not try to force an agenda on him. Yuki walked towards the tree and leaned against it. “For being one his biggest supporters, should you really be telling me to ignore everything and just save my friends?”

“It’s what he would say I believe. To him, family was always important. When those you care about are in danger you risk everything for them.”

“Consequences be damned huh? More unbecoming advice from one of the most important people in Atlantis.” It actually made Yuki grin a little. He worried so much about tiptoeing around the problem that it was a little encouraging to hear the straight laced one tell him to go wild. “I don’t need to be told to save them. I planned on doing just that! Those bastards won’t have their way anymore!”

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

After Demosthenes dumped a literally metric ton of truths on Yuki, he needed to decompress. It was a lot to take in and he still needed to sort it all out. There was so much that he told him that started to fill in some things in very unsettling ways. The more that Yuki thought about the answers the more it made his past even more foreign him. It made him scared to think about.

He needed a break from everything. Even though he did not have Demosthenes’ as an escort, he still was required to have someone with him. Which actually resulted in even more security and annoyances than less. He wanted room to breathe, but it was impossible.

Parked out at a balcony, he stared down at the Palace grounds. The view was pleasing enough for him. ‘How many times did he come here to think or just to stare I wonder?’ Since their talk focused so heavily on his father, it was hard for him not to imagine him wherever he went. However, since he did not know what he looked like he could only see shadows. A form that might have been him.

Hours passed he was certain, but he stopped keeping track. Just as he started to turn away, he caught a quick look at Saki and Rheia again with Yori close behind. ‘What are they up to?’ He paused for a moment, but the guards all looked at him with suspicion. So he could not watch.

Everyone had something going on except for him. Yuki felt useless for not having a plan yet. Time continued to creep forward. He had to come to a decision soon.

Chapter 283 – Night Meetings

The night before the execution came surprisingly fast. No further visits were allowed to their friends, even with Demosthenes pulling strings. They just had to live with the situation. Plans moved around. Everyone did something.

Saki was in a rush through the halls late at night. She had Rheia with her following at her side, the standard escort. None of them were allowed any freedom from out of sight of the Atlanteans. Saki understood their situation as well as any of them. It made things a little awkward, but she made it work.

As she approached the hallway to their room, she noticed someone doing nervous circles around the hall. It made her grin a little knowing pretty easily who it was. “Mind waiting a little for me?” She motioned to Rheia to give her a little room.

“Just remember the situation,” reminded Rheia as she backed off a little.

“I know.” Once she had the space, Saki approached openly to the entrance of the room. “Hey, Yumi! You run any faster in circles they’re going to fine you for property damage.”

Partially embarrassed and half nervous and startled, Yumi came to an immediate stop. “Saki! I-I didn’t know you were still out.” Her nerves were so shot that she could not do anything to cover them.

Saki kept a smile on her face trying to keep things light. The whole situation they were in gave them enough stress. She already had a pretty good idea what bothered Yumi. “If you just hesitate you’re only going to regret things later.”

“What are you talking about?”

Turning to the door, behind which Yuki slept or maybe tossed around still trying to find a way out of their problem. She stared at the door as though she was looking at Yuki rather than the wood. “You need to make a decision about Yuki. Just standing on the sidelines is never going to change things.”

The response made Yumi’s face turn bright red. She ran around even faster around the hall that she started to blur. Saki stopped her abruptly before it went too far. “Saki! H-ho-how…I-I…I…”

While the reaction fell within the expected results for Yumi, Saki still felt something off. She knew as well as many that Yumi had a really bad crush on Yuki, the only one that did not seem to realize it was Yuki, which seemed very sad. The reactions she had were even more extreme than normal. “Yumi, did something happen between you and Yuki?”

“Huh?” Memories of her confession immediately made her head explode. She wanted to pass out and just forget it all. “W-w-why would you s-s-say that?”

‘Can you get any more obvious?’ It made Saki want to laugh watching Yumi’s flustered reaction. She actually understood the feeling of wanting to tease someone acting so adorably. “What happened Yumi? What did Yuki say to you?”

“Nothing, of course!” she replied, jumping the gun on her answer. It skipped all context, but shot straight to her problem. Once she realized the slip, she tried to backpedal. “I mean, nothing. He didn’t do anything to me.”

Saki knew something was up and the embarrassed reaction only made her more certain of it. “Just confess to him already,” she teased, succumbing to her impulses. However, the reaction that she got from Yumi went beyond any sort of expectation. She could not get a word out and her face could not get anymore red if it tried. Then Saki realized what was wrong. “You did didn’t you? When?!” Saki tried to think of when she had time.

“What!? I didn’t!” Unfortunately, Yumi did a really poor job convincing Saki. The tone of her voice failed her. She gave up quickly. “You know how I said that I broke the brainwashing?”

“Yeah, you never said how you did it…wait?! Seriously?!” Saki immediately made all of the leaps needed to connect the dots. “And Yuki doesn’t remember it, of course. Yumi…you have the best and the worst timing. I can’t imagine a better moment than that.”

She nodded in agreement. “But I’ve accepted it. But even when I’m around him I just start thinking about it. I see him looking depressed as if he has the weight of the world on him the last two days and I can’t do anything for him. I’m too afraid to even get near him.”

Saki sighed understanding, but also frustrated with her. Grabbing Yumi by the shoulders, she pushed her towards the doors. “I told you already that your place is there with him.”

“But…” Yumi looked back at Saki, knowing how she watched out for him.

“I’m his shadow. I’ll protect him at a distance, that’s my job. I’m one that is allowed to fall into darkness, so long as he can remain in the light.” Saki kicked the doors open into the main room that connected all of their rooms. “I’m the one that kicks him to move forward when he falters. You’re the one that catches him. He needs that light and warmth right now that I can’t provide. Be what I can’t be for him, Yumi.”

“But Saki, I can’t!”

“Hey, you already admitted to yourself how you feel. Don’t hesitate now because it didn’t work out. You made the first step, so keep taking those steps. Yuki might be dense, but he’s not blind. He’ll notice you.”

“Saki…”

“You said it yourself, he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders right now. Sometimes when that happens, another shoulder is all you need. Start out simple, Yumi.” Saki smiled encouragingly at her and shoved her into the room before closing the door.

Saki turned back to Rheia, who approached. “Let’s go.” Her expression quickly turned harsh. ‘I’ll bare all the darkness for him…’

Inside the room, Yumi hesitated for a moment, but she pushed herself forward. ‘Saki’s right. I can’t just be worried about myself. Yuki’s in a terrible place right now and he’s all alone. I can’t be afraid of my feelings anymore… I just need to act!’

Yumi knocked on the door to Yuki’s room. “Yuki? You awake?” She pushed through the door opening it just a crack. “Yuki?” Her head popped through the gap in search of him.

“Yumi? You’re up late.” He sat on the bed with a bunch of different images and lights hovering around him. They immediately disappeared at a wave of his hand.

‘He must still be trying to find a solution…’ She smiled to him, stepping all the way into the room. “It seems I’m not the only one up late,” she tossed back playfully.

“Yeah…it’s hard to sleep thinking about tomorrow.”

Yumi walked over to the bed. She stared at it for a moment. In her mind, it had some heavy implications, but she tried to keep them from affecting her. “You aren’t the only one. We’re all wanting to do something.”

“I know, but I can’t help but see this as all my fault. I dragged you guys all with me.”

“We made a choice.” She knelt onto the bed and started to crawl over to him. “We forced you to let us come with you, remember.”

“I could have said no.”

“You did,” she recalled. “We wanted to help you. We knew what we were getting ourselves into following you.”

“But I could have been more insistent. I could—“

Yumi leaned her back up against his interrupting him. It was the closest she could get him. If she actually looked at him, she was certain that she would be too embarrassed to talk straight. “We support you. You aren’t doing this alone, Yuki. We’re all here for you. I’m here for you.”

“…Yumi…” He leaned a little against Yumi feeling the warmth of her body. There was something surprisingly calming about it. “I know you are, that’s why I want to make sure everything works out. I’m not abandoning any of you.”

“I know you won’t. They know too.” Even though they were just touching backs, Yumi felt like she could feel the tension knotting up in him. He was just a massive chaotic ball of knots that tied themselves too tightly to come free with just his own hands. “So what ideas do you have for tomorrow?” She pushed him in a better direction, a productive one. ‘If he keeps dwelling he’ll never get anywhere…’

Yuki activated his power again. Everything that he was working on displayed around them. “I’ve got no end of ideas. Even simulations, though they don’t exactly have the most promising outcomes.”

“Start at the top and let’s go down them together.”

They quickly passed hours of the late night talking over plans. Yumi encouraged him and helped to point out new ideas. In the end, she pushed him in a direction. It was a decision.

Yuki jerked awake, realizing that he had fallen asleep while they talked. “Yumi?” He looked around him to find her, but saw that she was asleep as well. She looked too peaceful to interrupt. Rather than wake her, he carefully slipped out of the bed.

“…Yuki…” whispered Yumi, startling Yuki. She rolled over in her sleep towards him. “You can do it, Yuki.”

He smiled softly at her. “Thank you, Yumi.” Brushing her hair back, he stared down at her. He recognized that look all too well. “I’m sorry, Yumi. I really don’t remember it, but I can’t return your feelings right now.” Even if he did not remember, the looks she had been given him and the way she acted around him was too hard not to miss. He was not so blind as to be unaware of Yumi. “I have some things I must to first before I can accept them. I’m sorry for doing this to you.”

Things set, Yuki walked out of the room. He walked out into the hallway looking around. As expected, his escorts knew immediately when he left. “Take me to the grave of the late King,” he ordered, as he approached them.

They all seemed a little confused by his request and reluctant to accept, but his insistence forced them. A lengthy trip through the maze into the rear grounds brought them to the graveyard of all of the old Kings.

Yuki did not need the grave pointed out to him when he saw Demosthenes. He waved off his escort pointing out his preference. It was not until he was actually next to the General that they gave up their role and departed. “Quite the coincidence. What were you doing?”

“Telling him about everything that’s happened. I haven’t had the time to speak to him recently.”

Kneeling down before the grave, Yuki adjusted his position to get comfortable. “He must be rolling his grave from how far his plans have gone awry.”

“Perhaps, but even if everyone rejects her, he will still love her.”

“A father’s love…I don’t know if I’ll be able to forgive her, but I can understand a little now of what she was feeling. I think she just didn’t want to be alone again. He was the first one to accept her for who she was, everyone betrayed her or was afraid. It’s rather sad thinking about it…”

“You may be right.”

Yuki closed his hands together in prayer. He might not have ever known the man that was apparently his real father, but he felt like he still knew him from everything he heard. Like many of them, he may have been a little misguided and narrow minded, but his heart was in the right place. “Hey, old man. I hear you’re my father. Sort of hard to call someone you’ve never met Dad, but I’ll work on it. I just wanted to let you know you’ve got a pain in the ass daughter and a stiff for a friend.” Yuki smiled a little thinking about the stories he heard. “But you already knew all of that. I don’t know everything you’re planning, but I’ve made my own plans. So hopefully everything works out. But if not, I just want to let you know, despite everything I know, I’m glad to have been born. Thanks.”

Demosthenes bowed politely to Yuki in thanks. He looked a little relieved. “Whatever your plan, my life is yours.”

“Stop with the honor bound sacrifice crap again! I told you already before I’m not letting you die.” Yuki started to walk away from the grave. “No, you’re going to live. I got your payment in mind already. So let’s go see to breaking destiny!”

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

Morning still sat an hour away, but Yuki could feel things already in motion. He knew that the Council did not sit still. They expected him to do something. He knew that much, which made it even easier to make his plans.

While he marched back with Demosthenes to the Palace, a voice popped up in his ear. “They’ve finished their positioning,” Chiharu said. It still unnerved Yuki a little, but found it to be incredibly clever of her. Due to always being under watch, she stuck in the shadows most of the day. Whenever she needed to report something to him, she could open a portal from her world to his inner ear. Her voice would travel straight to him and no one knew a thing, not even Demosthenes.

Naturally, it was only a one-way communication. Under constant watch, he could not make any overtly suspicious actions. But Chiharu was very intelligent and picked up on intentions quickly. He did not have to tell her much after the initial request. ‘Chiharu seems to be enjoying her role as spy.’ She really dove into the role after Yuki’s initial push to get her to accept it. It made it even easier since she always got all of the details he needed.

“As you already figured, they’ve got assassins planted around the execution grounds. Since they had the grounds constructed for this specifically, they were able to craft it in such a way to give them the perfect spots. But it makes them very easy to find.”

Pressing his finger to his temple, he gave the only signal he could manage. A very subtle tap gave her an answer. He continued to rub his forehead as though weighed by the stress. ‘That’s the easy part…the rest…’

“And the three of them will be of use. It’s like you thought. The best use for them will be in handling the snipers. They have the right team composition to bring the best success. I’ll get in contact with them.

‘Excellent…I can trust that’ll be handled then. I just have the hardest hurdle to handle then…’

Chiharu finished with the rest of her report in details on what to expect. As always, she was thorough. Just before she disappeared, she left him with one last thing. “I never expected you to be so shrewd. I might have to stop calling you a weakling after this. Maybe!” She disappeared promptly afterward.

Yuki wanted to smile thinking about what Chiharu said. ‘She just needs a little more of an adjustment to way she talks and she’d be a classic Tsundere.’ Thinking about Chiharu as a typical anime trope made him laugh a little inside. She had plenty of the traits to fit the bill.

Tropes aside, morning finally started to arrive. Judgment day finally came for all involved. The day left to test him. Could he make his goal a reality?

He would know soon.

Chapter 284 – Morning Verdict

The execution brought out quite the audience. Positioned in front of the Palace walls, it stretched out towards the Capital. They opened up a significant amount of the area around the Palace exclusively for the execution. The Council easily made it into the biggest event possible. But it was important for another reason. They planned to hold the selection process for the next King at the same time.

It was the promise of a new King that brought many out. Their plan to do both was meant to show strength and stability in Atlantis. That order and justice still held firmly. After all of the chaos and destruction caused by Yuki and his friends, it only made sense to give them something that would reassure them that they were safe.

Nothing like what happened over the last week had happened in more than twenty years. And it was made even worse than the rebellion when the degree of chaos was carried out by less than ten. Especially in the Capital, the general public mood had become very unsettled by everything. They feared the lack of a King and saw the destruction as signs of their future. Assuring the country’s future was the most important.

Dimitris walked with Yuki and his friends bringing them to their selected seats. All of the nobility and honored individuals were giving positions behind the execution. Yuki’s seat placed them the furthest away from the execution grounds.

As Yuki moved towards his seat, Dimitris leaned down to his ear. “Don’t make a scene, kid. Just sit and pretend you’re part of the background. Any movement will be treated as a violation of our agreement.”

‘Threatening me already, this is going to be a fun morning.’ Yuki sat down and looked ahead. He smiled his fake smile for everyone. “I understand.”

“Good.”

The façade on Yuki’s face dropped momentarily when Dimitris walked away. Dark lines formed around his eyes as a sign to his resolve. ‘I hope you have a good execution day.’ He quickly put his face back on for the crowd.

Saki sat down along with Yumi next to him followed Yori. Seiji and Chiharu moved in after, though Seiji looked very rigid. It was clear that he wanted to do something, but it was only Chiharu that kept him at bay. A rampage was not something they needed, fortunately even Seiji seemed to understand that or else Chiharu would not have been enough.

At Yuki’s side, standing as if he was a Canadian Royal Guardsmen, Demosthenes stood as selected guard unflinching. He looked completely natural in his position.

After everyone on the stage gathered, the main event started. Hardly intended as a massive spectacle, it was hard not to see it as one given the sight. Eudokia, Simonides, Athene and Nerine had normal escorts. They were bound like criminals given only the most bare of clothing needed. However, Fumiko and Haruo were taken to the extreme and became the largest focus.

Yuki could not help but think it looked like some movie over playing how threatening the villain was because they had to be given excessive protection and bindings. It seemed almost comical. However, it was all completely necessary. Both of their strength and power made the need for cages to drag them out in important. Fumiko magic had to be neutralized and Haruo needed something strong enough and fortified to keep his strength in check. Even though neither planned to escape.

The thing that Yuki noticed and expected was that the regular citizens did not understand the purpose. They stared at them confused. ‘I figured as much. The Council has kept all of these details secret. All the public knows is that there was a rebellion and they put it down. This is almost too easy…’ The smile on Yuki’s face grew a little bit.

All of the pieces moved into the designated place. The stage was set and all of the players had their plans in motion already. But Yuki grinned still. ‘Let’s get things started…’

The executor came out from behind the tall chairs set for the audience. They were a tall man, but lacked the usual expectations of being massive muscle bound or even carrying a weapon needed for the execution. However, they wore the white uniform of a MP, making it clear who they were and how things would be handled. They just seemed like another one of the mob.

They positioned themselves before the first target, Eudokia. A ripple came out from their feet as they prepared for their job. Tension ran through the entire gathering. The Council all looked with anticipation for Yuki to make a move that would seal his fate with the rest. The nobles looked forward to the death of traitors and the citizens waited for a sign of returning peace.

‘They’re already making their move. It’s time to make mine…’ Yuki glanced over at Demosthenes. He immediately slid back a step, already in on the plan. Taking in a breath, Yuki gathered up everything he had. ‘Time for the game to start…’

Yuki looked around suddenly in a panic. “What’s that? I see something!” He targeted it to the front to get the nobles looking around. A flash of light went off on cue far in the distance from one of the towers. It started the wild fire among the nobles inducing their panic. At that point, it did not matter who started it, the whole thing took on a life of its own.

Playing things out further, Yuki jumped up as the crowd started to reach a peak. “Look out!” He dove over top all of the chairs pushing around everyone. Dimitris stood in front of his path. Thanks to the panic, many already started pointing out the projectile that clearly flew towards the Councilor. “Get down!” Yuki leapt at the last moment taking Dimtris down to the ground, but not before taking the hit for the man.

Blood sprayed everywhere from the wound. Screaming erupted throughout the crowd and the citizens below. Shouts of rebellion and groundless fears flew quickly. Yuki rolled over off Dimitris, wincing from the pain. “Are you alright, sir?”

Dimitris eyes flooded in panic and confusion. He could not say anything to him, but his expression played too well into the scene. The reasons behind it were different, but no one knew the better. All of the other Councils ran up to him to try to recover.

Yuki pushed them all aside and stood up. Blood poured down his arm from the jagged rock left in his shoulder. He slowly walked towards the front of the stage. Demosthenes managed to appear next to him. “Everyone! Please calm down!” he shouted. His voice barely even carried through jungle of noise. “Shut the hell up!” Suddenly, his voice went through all corners of the site. “Thanks, General Alexander.”

The name drop got everyone’s attention. Yuki finally had everyone’s attention. The panic started to calm. Explosions went off from the location of the assassination attempt. “Everything has been dealt with now. That explosion you heard just now was my team capturing the last of the rebels. You don’t know me, but I’ve been hunting down these rebels for months, though it feels like years at this point.”

He laughed a bit and could see that he already started to lose some people. “This has all been a large secret put into act by the Council of Atlantis you see behind you. They knew about their leader, but could not make a move opening. So they sent me. I can now tell you all about this finally as we’ve finally captured the last of the rebels today right here.”

Yuki walked forward with the help of Demosthenes. He moved out in front of his friends. The closer to the citizens he could see how much they feared the uncertainty. They just wanted to know they could live peacefully. “I’m here today to assure you and confirm that peace has returned to Atlantis. You do not need to fear for your lives anymore!” A quick rise in voices from the citizens pushed into cheering.

“However, I need to clear up some confusion. These criminals you see here have stolen the faces and identities of those you see here. They want to tear us apart from the inside and make us question everyone! I will reveal their true identities before you now! People who even managed to fool our honorable and just Council!”

Giving Demosthenes the signal, he had him suddenly alter his field. Those that were Fumiko, Haruo, Simonides and everyone else captured changed. Complete strangers appeared before everyone even for Eudokia. Gasps went through the whole audience even the nobles.

As Yuki turned around to see everyone’s reactions, he gasped in shock as well. He pointed quickly out to one of the Councilors. “I don’t believe it! General quick, we missed one of them!” Demosthenes leapt into action as the revealed fake Councilor tried to make an escape. Rheia appeared in their path to catch them, cornered by the two.

Yuki turned back to the audience displaying his surprise. “I’m sorry, I must apologize. I thought we had found them all, but it looks like one slipped into the Council. But it explains why they wanted to place blame on Eudokia and Simonides. They sought to bring down those that protect and care the most for this country!”

The sudden reveals carried out by Yuki had everyone’s attention. No one looked away. He had them completely. They were hook on his every word now. He walked out a little further speaking directly to the citizens.

“I know this is all very shocking to you. But now you understand why this day was so important. The Council knew the rebels would take this chance to free their comrades and try to strike at the heart of this great country! They put themselves in harm’s way to see that you had peace tomorrow.

“I make this promise to you now before all of you that we will keep fighting for the peace and see that this sort of thing never happens again!” Another round of cheers went through the crowd. They were pretty easy to work up. Even the Council knew how easy they were to use. It was actually a little sad how desperate they were for a sign of peace and stability. Even with a twenty-year-old rebellion behind them, they still lived in uncertainty and fear constantly.

Yuki glanced back at the Council. They all glared at them. He had the stage and they could do nothing to him. He had the crowd and their plans already fell apart. Even the nobility questioned the Council after what they say. Uncertain looks fell upon them. They could not make a move any longer. Yuki had tied their hands, any action would be seen as suspicious now. ‘One matter resolved…now for the next part…’

He took in a deep breath. It was the hardest part for him. It was his plan. It was his decision. So he knew what he did and accepted it. However, it did not make it any easier to carry out.

Demosthenes walked up behind him, the fake Councilor arrested by Rheia. He stood stiffly behind Yuki giving him the sense of confidence, but also no escape. Yuki smiled a little and relaxed. “There’s one more thing that I have left. Right now it’s just a promise and promises are just words until they have something real that supports them.”

Turning his head to the ground for a moment, he gathered up his resolve. “There’s a reason I’m here in front of you rather than say the General here telling you all of this. You don’t know me and I don’t know all of you very well either. So making promises as a stranger is meaningless. So I’m going to tell you who I am.”

A ripple tore through the entire Capital in an instant from Yuki’s feet. He wiped away everything in the Capital using his field along with a significant expansion of the fields beyond. The display had everyone in complete silence. “I’m your new King!”

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

Things quickly advanced from the moment that Yuki announced himself the new King. The display he gave was powerful enough that he had no one questioning his declaration. In fact, because he used his power to broadcast his announcement to the entire Capital it gave everyone further confidences. They saw how powerful he was and knew with Yuki that Atlantis would finally be safe for decades to come.

Once he made the announcement, he got the Council to carry out the formalities in the ceremony. They already had everything prepared. So Yuki easily cooped it as something they planned to reveal. The Councilors had little maneuvering room and begrudgingly worked with him through the whole thing. While only for show, as the real Throne sat deep in the Palace, Yuki became King before all of Atlantis.

His fate was sealed. It was his choice. As his choice, he accepted it and he could move forward.

Chapter 285 – Return to Peace

After all of the excitement ended, the Council summoned him before them. He insisted on bringing his friends with him along with all of those that they marked as criminals. Once the door sealed, Dimitris leaned forward from behind their desk. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I thought that was pretty clear out there, Councilor.” Yuki grinned having played them all against their own game. He could see how frustrated that they all were. Even though they were in the room privately, nothing they said could change what happened. All of their plans died the moment Yuki moved.

Dimitris gritted his teeth, annoyed to have to deal with a teenager and a foreigner. “You think you’ll be King?”

“You made me King. That’s what the public saw today. And given that even the nobility saw rebels had snuck into your ranks. You don’t have the weight you used to anymore.”

“You think you’ve won?”

Yuki grinned knowingly. He saw them already making new plans. “Won, no. This is a long-term game we’re playing. This battle goes to me, but the war continues.” The grin turned into a smirk quickly. “Just remember I mean to win the war as well. You old men have sat behind your traditions and fears ruling this country from the shadows.”

He stepped forward out of the his group of friends to the Council desk. “Let me make this clear. The secret war in this Palace you waged against the last King isn’t over. My promise to you frightened old men right here is that I will see things changed. You can either work with me or I will see you dragged out before the mob outside of these gates.” A dark shadow fell over Yuki’s eyes to emphasize his resolve.

The Councilors all looked around at each other murmuring. He quickly came to a settlement. They were going to give up their current plans and fold to Yuki. However, it was a war as Yuki said. It was not over. “What do you want?”

“Fumiko and Haruo come with me. Thanks to my little show out there, everyone thinks that they aren’t even rebels anymore, so you don’t have to explain anything.” Yuki walked back over to the others that came in. He made sure that they were with him as they were part of the deal. “I want Simonides re-instated into the military along with Athene and Nerine.”

When Yuki walked over to Eudokia, the Councilors could not keep quiet. “Do you expect us to release her as well? Eudokia is the one that masterminded the whole thing and killed countless people!”

Yuki came to a stop in front of her. He faced her staring straight into her eyes. Their reversed positions actually had a bit of irony. He held the dominate role with everything dancing around in his palm and she could only accept his whims.

Yet despite the reversal, she maintained the determined and unwavering stare. Nothing Yuki did to her would faze her. He knew that well enough. But he still hoped to see even the slight of a flinch from her. The longer he stared the worse the tension in the room became. No one else liked that he did not give an answer.

“What are you planning?”

Yuki spun back around to look at the Council. “Nothing like that. No, Eudokia violated your laws and must be punished for it. She lied to all of us. All I want is for her to rot in a cell for the rest of her life.”

“Traitors must be executed! Especially ones like her!”

Quickly, he flashed a deathly glare at all of the Councilors. It quickly put them all into their place and shut them up without a single word. In their silent acceptance, he had Demosthenes release everyone. “Good talk. We’ll be seeing more of each other.” Yuki walked out of the Council room with his friends following.

They all finally had their freedom.

Seiji rushed up to the left side of Yuki. Over on the right was Saki and Yumi. Unlike the others, Seiji had been out of the loop on everything. “You plan to explain what happened, Yuki? How’d you do all that? Like the swap with everyone and the assassins, everything!”

While Yuki laughed, Saki shoved Yuki a little. “Yeah, you even manipulated me! Do you know how much planning we already had in place?!”

“You had a good start to a plan, but there was still things that it didn’t resolve. This put everything into place.”

“What the hell is going on? Were you all in on this?!”

Pointing his thumb over at Saki, Yuki started out with her. “Yeah, I realized pretty quickly that Saki and Yori were making plans with the Titans.” He saw the shocked look on Seiji’s face. “Did you really think that Rheia was just chasing Saki for the fun of it?”

“It started out that way,” commented Saki, shifting her eyes away.

“Saki and Yori were in talks with Rheia make a rescue attempt on Fumiko and Haruo. Their plan was to swap out the real ones with created fakes so that everyone thought that they were dead. Then we just leave this all behind.”

“It would have worked!” insisted Saki.

“Yes, the rescue would have, but the Council still viewed me as a threat and the nobility all saw us all as rebels. We just getting special treatment from Demosthenes. So I have to fix that so that the only ones that still saw that was the Council. They’re now in a positions where they can’t make any open moves against me since no one trusts them right now.”

Seiji nodded as if he followed it all. Everyone doubted it. “So then you swapped everyone out, but what about the attack?”

“I knew the Council had assassins placed in the execution grounds. They actually planned to kill all of us and swipe it under the rug as rebel work. So I had Saki and Rheia take out all of their assassins with Yori relaying positions to them. The actual attack came from Rheia.”

“Saki and Yori weren’t next to me?!” Seiji started staring deeply at the two of them. He had a suspicious look in his eye wanting to be sure that they were real.

Chiharu piped up, since Yuki was laughing too hard. “They were stand ins by the Titans that were in on the plan with their Commander.” The answer made Seiji back up and question himself as he never even noticed it.

“And the rest was just information manipulation.”

“So what’s next?” Seiji asked, pointing to the most obvious question. It was the one that everyone stared at Yuki for. They all knew what his decision meant for him. It was not just the weight that he would bare either. There were further reaching impacts.

Playing it off like it was nothing, he smiled. “I’ll be King tomorrow.”

“Yeah I know that, but—“

“Don’t worry.”

Yuki continued on while the others just hovered around staring as he walked away. They did not know what he had planned anymore. All they could see was a friend leaving them behind.


The next day came with surprising ease. The Council did nothing more to oppose Yuki. All of the guards and escorts disappeared. In fact, some of the guards even seemed to look favorably at them, thinking that they were part of Yuki’s team in taking down the rebellion. Everything seemed to be at peace, though they were not sure how long it would be. They all knew the Council would not stay quiet forever. But they still did not have their own move yet.

“All hail King Charalampos Chryses!” declared the royal guard. The official process of becoming King ended and they presented Yuki before the entire nobility within the grand hall.

Saki leaned over to Yuki whispering to him. “Charalampos?” The rest of his friends stood around him, now commonly acknowledged as the ones that fought to bring down the rebellion.

“Yeah, I needed an Atlantean name. Makes it easier for everyone than thinking some foreigner is sitting on the throne.” He leaned back in the large throne that completely swallowed him up. The guards already escorted their guests forward as he instructed earlier.

Waiting until Simonides, Athene and Nerine approached, Yuki leaned forward a bit. He motioned off the guards giving a wide gesture to the gathered audience. The three knelt down before their King. “To correct mistakes made during the rebellion, I return the titles and privileges strip from you. Please rise, Captain Simonides, Commander Athene and Second Lieutenant Nerine.” They rose back up with Yuki returning their badges.

Applause broke out through the halls led by Yuki. He smiled down at them. However, he lifted his hand back up to bring order back to the chamber. Turning back to Demosthenes, he retrieved an item and walked out to Simonides. “As is tradition, Captain Simonides I grant to you with this shield the honor of the name Tethys.”

Knelt down before Yuki once more, Simonides accepted the personally crafted shield. Yuki pulled him back up to stand. “Rise, Captain Simonides Tethys. Continue to be the shield that protects the innocent of Atlantis.”

“With every breath that I have.”

Yuki then stepped up towards the throne. He stared out to the crowd once more to address them. “While it is not unusual to have someone as young as myself as your King, I’m still inexperienced in everything. I’m more used to behind the scenes work than running a country. So I announce today that I’m making General Demosthenes Alexander my Regent and Advisor until I mature enough for this throne behind me.”

The decision sent some shock through the crowd not expecting to be hearing such news. It was something that Yuki did not make known to anyone. But the natural question came quickly to everyone’s mind.

Anticipating their question, Yuki prepared the next announcement. “With the General stepping down, I’m announcing today that I’m promoting Captain Simonides Tethys to General of the Army. His loyalty and respect for those that serve under him should be an inspiration to every leader.”

Simonides bowed his head to Yuki once more. However, it was Athene that reacted in place of Simonides. She could not believe what she was hearing. Tears started to fall down her cheeks, ones that only Simonides seemed to understand. Though Yori smiled a little seeing Simonides giving her a little support.

“As my next act as King, I’m going to visit all of the villages and towns in Atlantis! The King is the leader of the people and for the people. I don’t plan to stay hiding in this Palace.”

Thus, Yuki’s month long trip around Atlantis began. None of his friends knew what Yuki was going on to do. They just kept following him around to see if things really were to end. He never said goodbye to them, so they just waited around.

The last stop he made was back to the village of Skoupa, which was affected by their arrival. Yuki helped out with the repairs and smoothed out the relations. Even before he arrived, they heard word of what happened. His coronation spread to all corners. The excitement of a new King and a long term of stability bolstered everyone. Even more so seeing their King all the way out on the border.

It was early morning. They woke up early in Skoupa to a grand morning feast to send off their King. After everything ended, Yuki led everyone out and back to the South Gate. Along with him on the trip was Simonides and Demosthenes.

Yuki stared at the large Command building of the vast complex. He already had Abeiron appointed as the new Captain and though things were a little chaotic for the new Captain, the troops were in high spirits. Even more so to see their old Captain.

“We’re back at the beginning,” Yuki said, everyone gathered around him.

Saki and the others stared at him with the sense of things finally reaching their end. “Yuki…”

He turned around to face all of them. “Everyone…I know that this was not exactly what we planned when coming here. But things don’t work out perfectly.” Yuki turned to look at Athene coming up, having taken care of her orders. He turned back around to Demosthenes and Simonides. “This is where we part ways for now.”

“Yuki, what are you…” questioned Seiji, jumping in first. Though everyone else leaned in quickly behind him trying to be sure they were hearing him right.

Looking back at them confused, Yuki grinned. “What you thought I was leaving you guys behind?”

“But what about Atlantis and Throne?” Saki reminded.

“Demosthenes will be charge during my absence, it’s why I made him Regent. And my father was able to go hopping around the world, so I figure I should be to as well. I still got things to set back in Japan before I return.” Everyone gathered up around Yuki grabbing on him glad to still have their friend with them. They were not ready for a goodbye.

Yuki walked up to Simonides, shaking his hand. “Keep up the good work. I’ve heard a lot about what you’ve done here. It’s not going to be easy, but I plan to see changes made.”

“It’ll be my honor, Your Highness!”

Staring over at Demosthenes, Yuki approached him. “This is your punishment, old man. It’s your job to live and live long enough to see everything that the Council’s done under my father’s rule undone. I won’t allow you to die until then, understand?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Demosthenes handed over a package to Yuki before he turned away. “Good luck.”

Yuki looked back at his friends. He threw his fist up into the air in excitement. “Let’s return home, everyone!”

To be continued…