Chapter Nineteen: Bold Dive into the Darkness, Summit of Tense Desire

While it was a closer call than he preferred, Richard and his Crimson Tengu Ravens were able to reach the nearest warp spell and return to the Valro Burrow undetected. After arriving at their base, the group rejoiced at their victory: despite the fact that Dick had managed to escape, the twin facts that the former Hammer Wolves were able to both crush one of their former rivals, the Midas Hounds, and at the same time take down a squad of the Diamond Don's agents, brought back some of their old boldness to many of the members whose resolve had been shaken by the previous battle against Zandoris.

Richard didn't join them; he had hardly returned to their hideout when he got to work on the data that Alphonse had retrieved for Claire—this was their ticket to making sure the real culprits were fingered, after all.

While he might have lacked the know-how himself, Voltaire had an opportunity to look through it alongside the hacker, and after a bit of work they managed to patch up some of the recorded footage and repair a little bit of the corrupted data, enough to at least show that the mob had made a deal with some of the crew of the ship; that clearly showed the Ravens hadn't been attacking innocent soldiers or civilians.

The footage was then sent to the Los Midas Police Department as an anonymous encrypted video file with a note about its relation to that night's occurrence. After that, Richard crashed, hoping the others would do the same. He'd realized by now that he had to start getting food and rest whenever he could, or he'd push himself past the breaking point.

To be honest, he wasn't sure if the police would accept such a "tip", and if the gesture of forwarding the data had been useless. The next morning, upon checking out the news, however, his fears were put to rest: the local branch of the NES network was giving a report from the MCPD: someone they referred to only as "Detective Starling" was leading an "inquiry on allegedly corrupt military officials".

From what was said, there had apparently been another story earlier reporting the recovery of the ship, the crew of which had claimed that a malfunction had forced it to land and the local gang the Midas Hounds had attacked it upon their doing so. Some "new information" had changed the LMPD's evaluation of that claim, and it had launched an investigation on members of the military making deals with the Mob.

As far as the Ravens' involvement, there wasn't too much, other than the media giving a blurb about how some of those arrested mentioned a "mysterious shadow group" being involved, fighting, appearing, and disappearing like "vengeful ghosts"; the news said they couldn't confirm this, but how the under-the-table deal was thwarted had "not been disclosed by the police at this time".

It might have been only a small mention, but it was enough to make many members of their budding order ecstatic. Even on their best day, the Hammer Wolves had never been more than "an opposing gang" to the news; some amorphous entity that wasn't discernible from any other gang to the general public. To actually be called out caused them to show a great deal of enthusiasm.

Richard, on the other hand, lost any excitement he might have developed as he kept watching the news and caught the next story. A double homicide had occurred in a city park last night; the two murdered women bore signs that the crime had been committed by a member of the other group of criminals that had escaped from Rycroft Asylum.

The news sank like a cold stone into the pit of Richard's stomach. The sweet taste of victory had turned into sour ash in his mouth; he began to fear how many more people would die as a result of the Rycroft mission, and in spite of his best efforts he found himself starting a mental tally of people he saved versus victims like this, people he had indirectly gotten killed.

He said nothing about it to any of the others, although he was sure Voltaire at least was aware of this news, and possibly Claire. Instead, he gave the group the day off while he returned to scouting for another mission.

He ate breakfast after that, but that second news report continued to gnaw at him, continued to make him think of what-ifs and block out the thoughts of the mission last night.

He eventually realized he needed to redouble his efforts to commit himself to his work; occupy his mind with his mission and getting it done—he had a long way to go yet, after all.

When Richard sat down, alone in his room with his mask off and the hologram capsule once more activating, the young man was relieved to see that the "buzz" signal he'd sent had been accepted, and, moments later, the particles of light had taken the shape of Nathan Zilos once more. As the image stabilized, Nathan saw Richard waiting for him with a relieved expression on his face. The older man chuckled and started the discussion whimsically.

"Good morning, Nephew. I didn't expect you to call again so soon—did everything go alright with the new mission?"

Richard smiled back. "Good morning, Uncle Nathan. Yes, the mission did go much better than the last one. Thankfully, this one didn't have any extremely strong 'warriors of darkness' to nearly beat us to death…." His face fell slightly. "The man Dan was trying to get revenge on got away, though. While he was more bark than bite, his superior was a different story….

"But still, we were able to take out the Midas Hound gang before they could use their new weapons, and we also took out some mob grunts. To top it off, I'm not sure if you've watched the news yet, but with help from that woman I rescued from Rycroft, we were able to retrieve some footage and give it to the cops, so that the military officials that were in league with the Mob could be exposed. It may be a stain on our military, but it's better they get found out now, rather than going on to besmirch the honor of our country."

"Oh, I assure you, I heard about that," Nathan answered as he stroked his beard. "Your father and Orion were both furious. If they're found guilty, they'll be lucky if dishonorable discharge is their only punishment. Good work uprooting their actions, Richard; I'm glad you and your team were able to get results without too much of a price—but if that's all you have to report, I must be going now; your parents are expecting me to join them soon."

Richard paused at that: he was a little curious, but he didn't want to pry. "I see—sorry for the bad timing. But, before you go, I have one question: Do you know if there's anything noteworthy going on in Krovada?"

Nathan's expression visibly turned worried. "Why would you ask that?"

"Well, when I was dealing with the high-ranking mob enforcer last night, Dan's guy, Blackberry, blurted out something about a deal between the mob and Alec Steel in Krovada. I didn't get much more than that, so I was checking to see if it was anything to worry about."

The old man exhaled a bit, closing his eyes. "I don't know for sure. It could be nothing; a minor arms transaction…but I'm not putting anything past that man anymore." His eyes opened again. "You've been so busy lately, it's understandable you forgot what's coming up in Krovada this weekend."

Richard blinked once, then formed a somewhat embarrassed expression. "Um…yeah. What is coming up this weekend?"

Nathan looked amused. "As I said, it's fine; it's the least of your worries. This weekend is the annual Humanity Unity Summit over in Krovada, in the Crotska Zone of the Rakthian Empire."

Richard's memory clicked at that. Of course—that was the annual, day-long international summit honoring the day (observed, not actual) on which humans united to overcome the draconic tyranny, and those who had died in the ensuing war for liberation, many of whom would remain unknown forever.

Considering the almost constant state of war up until the last few generations, it had been a purely ceremonial event at best, and a joke at worst…but, seeing as there had been peace for some time now, it had a little bit more significance lately.

"Now I remember…but isn't our showing up just a gesture of goodwill?"

"And here I thought by now you'd realized there's far more to things than what appears on the surface, Nephew. This Summit has become an opportunity for important figures from the three nations to meet and talk without much scrutiny, public or otherwise.

"We've been using it as an opportunity to smooth over tensions growing between the nations for years, which makes this particular year's Summit important, what with how emotions are rising against Rakthia. If an incident were to happen, it could cause serious destabilization, maybe even escalating into a totally open armed conflict."

That was definitely something. Richard's expression turned rather uneasy: even if this was just a mob deal, the fact that Alec Steel might be there in the first place made him nervous—especially if he was tied to the Ibis Corps. They seemed to profit the most from more people being at war….

"Do you think the mob or Ibis Corps would want to attack the Summit?"

"If you're asking if I have any substantial leads or evidence to that effect, the answer is 'no', for better or for worse," the man answered. "Nevertheless, this situation is too dangerous to ignore." He let out a grim chuckle. "And it's especially dangerous for me—and for you, somewhat indirectly. You see, I'm an emissary for the Aurino Republic this year, along with Natalie."

Richard leaned up a bit at that. "Natalie? Natalie's actually going to be there?"

"She was personally requested by Empress Setsuko. It seems the two are friends, and the note said she would make the event more…lively." Nathan went on. "She may be only a figurehead for Mandarin Xhao Yata Zsung, but she still has some power and prestige.

"The Rakthians are sending General Ian Trevelyan—not exactly the least brusque of diplomats, but as he supposedly has a lineage going back to the men who fought the dragons, he makes more sense than any other lackey the Czar could have sent. Nevertheless, he's more 'infamous' than 'famous'; his ruthlessness and patriotism has made him rather reviled for his behavior in battle.

"In short, two diplomats who would cause more than a few ripples if they were targeted. Furthermore, as we're to handle the preparations for part of the festivities, Kristen and her family will be there."

In spite of all of the buildup with the diplomats, it was that last sentence that truly unnerved Richard. The fact that Natalie was going to accompany his uncle should have meant that the Summit would be in more than good hands, given the guards they would bring…but then he thought of Zandoris, and the prospect of there being multiple individuals like him. Even if there weren't other Ibis Corps members on that level, dignitaries and civilians could be hurt….

"Of course, all three of the Great Nations have agreed to go over security; everyone is sending some of their best soldiers. Michael, Michelle, and Gifford will be protecting your sister and me at all times, and that would be enough for my peace-of-mind—if I hadn't heard your report of that one member of the Ibis Corps you encountered. And I have a little more reason to believe they might want to come there, after what you told me about Costa Toro…."

Richard again tensed at that. "What do you mean?"

"You remember what we talked about last time, right? What the Ibis Corps was there for?"

The young man looked shocked. "A Dragon Helix Emerald!? Right there in Krovada!? I thought it would be in the capital, or some unmarked safe…."

Nathan chuckled. "Might've been a better idea. Perhaps they're going for 'hiding in plain sight'. Anyway, I can't say we know the precise location, but it's more than likely one is there.

"You see, the reason we hold the Summit in Krovada is because it was a famous battleground where humans lured the dragons into the caves and ambushed them. They eventually built the famous Mausoleum of Krovada in the area, and it's been around ever since Xorgoth was vanquished. It's filled with countless treasures and historical documents, meaning it's more than likely a Dragon Helix Emerald would be there."

"But wouldn't someone have known about it by now?"

"No, because the lower levels are sealed off to all but the Czar—making it an even more likely place. And since the security will be on the diplomats, rather than the vaults, it's the best time to try and steal it, if one was a thief."

Richard exhaled uneasily. "So if the Ibis Corps did launch an attack, they'd have to face the wrath of three armies at once. But if they somehow got everyone to fight each other, they could possibly cause another war, and get a Dragon Helix Emerald to boot." He clenched his fist and swallowed. "Is there any way to warn the Rakthian Empire? Even that pigheaded Dmitri wouldn't dismiss a threat like that…."

In spite of Richard's fury, Nathan remained calm and composed, and shrugged idly. "Yes, that would likely ensure that any attack on the Summit would be thwarted. However, it would also alert the Ibis Corps and their allies that we're onto them—remember, you're the only one who knows specifically what they were going for in Costa Toro. And, Richard, I thought the whole point of Requiem was to expose Alec Steel's actions?"

The young man blinked.

"As inappropriate it is for a lobbyist to be in an area like that, no matter how influential, as I've told you before…your father is putting so much faith in him now that he's all but become his new, sole adviser—enough to get him an invitation…." He frowned at the thought. "Nevertheless, this matter truly shouldn't concern a man like him from a corporate perspective.

"Even if he was ambitious enough to sell to all three sides of a potential armed conflict, I'd like to think your father has at least enough of his wits to manage some anger if I were to tell him that he sold weaponry to the very nation we're preparing for conflict with while supposedly having exclusive contracts with the Aurino Republic.

"That means the only reason he would be there, at least to me, is to deal with the Ibis Corps itself—perhaps to ensure they do indeed get this emerald and get out safely. If so…then this is our chance to expose their link. This is right up the alley of you and your Crimson Tengu Ravens."

Richard paused after hearing that. To be honest, he wasn't sure if they were up for it—a week ago, he might have eagerly seized on the chance to finally nail Alec Steel and rat him out for what he was, yet, as it was, he had just barely regained the trust of the group.

They had honestly been next-to-useless against Zandoris, and in the end it had taken him exposing Greymont to the group and his identity to Dan to keep everyone calm and together, and even that had only barely worked.

If worst came to worst, and he showed up again, Richard already knew there was no way to win; a surprise attack would be meaningless when that attack he'd gotten from Greymont and Richard combined had failed to stop him. —And Richard had no metric for judging how well any of those other "Jinn Cadre" guys would compare to Zandoris.

If they did end up taking another beating so soon, then what momentum they had gained tonight would be gone; the only feelings they would have after that would be doubt and contempt for his judgment—if they even survived.

But, in the end, the lure of being able to expose Alec Steel —to root out the source of the Republic's corruption in one shot; to going back to the way things used to be, and putting this whole nightmarish part of his life behind him— was too much for him to pass up.

"All right, I'm willing—but I'll have to warn the others before we go in, and I'm not so sure about their willingness."

"Well, seeing how this has more importance than anything you've done so far, I think it's time I pulled a few of my own strings. I'll be in contact with Voltaire, to give you much more support than before—something better than boxes, at any rate.

"I think I might be able to manage you as engineers on the Surge Zeppelin under General Xargin's command; it's part of the standard escort detachment for this thing, but it happens to be stopping by Los Midas for a service run before joining with the rest, lucky for us.

"As long as I give you clearances and proper identifications, this should be a lot less time-consuming than sneaking across their border, don't you think?"

Richard was silent in response to that for a moment, before he managed a small nod and said, "It would. But I think you're well aware that it's not getting to the site that I'm worried about…."

The man frowned a bit. "I know the risks here will surpass everything you've done so far, including the Costa Toro mission, but keep in mind that you don't have to win, you just have to expose them; the Magna Centurions can take it from there."

That would make things a bit "easier", however relative that term was. Selling the idea that the Magna Centurions would pick up the slack, however, would be nearly as hard as convincing the group to go against the Ibis Corps again—especially considering their odds of actually being able to expose them.

The Ibis Corps were far too careful for that, as they had demonstrated back in Costa Toro; this entire situation had "Bad Idea" written all over it. If Richard had the same mentality as the rest of his group, he might have been tempted to say "no, just inform Rakthia".

As much as it would hurt to lose the chance to stop Alec Steel, it would also ensure the Dragon Helix Emerald couldn't possibly be taken. After all, in this situation, failure truly wasn't an option…and their chances of success were remote, if not totally absent.

Yet his thoughts of Alec Steel wouldn't let him relent so easily; all of what had happened to his country and to his family as a result of that man's actions made him tense up more. It wasn't just that he wanted Steel exposed—he wanted to be the one to do it. He wanted an end to this, and if it wouldn't be here, then the next time the situation presented itself would be no better; perhaps it would be worse; perhaps there wouldn't be Magna Centurions nearby to tip off, or the world watching to see Steel for what he was. And there might not be a next time at all, if the Ibis Corps managed to get their way. He couldn't live with that risk of their hopes coming to fruition going unimpeded.

"Okay, we'll do it," he managed to answer with a surprising amount of resolve, even to his own ears. "I'll figure out a way to convince the others to see things from my perspective …somehow…."

"Get them to see it's worth the risks—not just for them, but for the world at large," Nathan answered. He sighed slowly and looked down, out of the image, clearly checking the time. He frowned a bit. "And I've stayed far longer than I should have. I'd best go see your parents now and clear things up with them, so I can be free to work out the details—even if you convince them, it will mean little if I can't get you there, after all. I'll call back soon, and let you know if the details can be worked out."

Nathan reached over in the image, obviously to turn off the projector. As for Richard, he paused a moment, then suddenly spoke. "Wait—just one more thing, Uncle."

The old man paused and looked to him.

"If…things go well, would it be possible to see Natalie?"

Nathan stared back silently for a moment, studying Richard's gaze. Seeing that there was more than determination in them, but hurt and anguish, after a moment he said, more slowly and evenly, "Only if Alec Steel is exposed and arrested, and we're sure that whatever hold he has over your father and the nation is put to an end. Otherwise, the risks are too great."

Richard's face sank, and his eyes lowered as he sat silently. Nathan picked up on this, his own face turning a bit more anxious.

"I know you've been lonely doing this, Richard. Why not spend some more time with your comrades? From what you told me, even Greymont is finding them an amiable group." He risked a small smile. "Who would have thought dragons could be so social?" he joked.

Richard managed a small smile at that, although it was rather weak. "I'm still having a hard time teaching him what's not edible, but he is doing a lot better than I expected. As for me…" His frown returned as he looked up. "…I can't afford to get close to anyone besides Voltaire; I'm still nervous about how much I've showed Dan.

"I have to keep up this persona; this idea that I'm some sort of ominous being that's one step ahead of everyone else out there. I remember how Dad kept saying a leader can never give his subjects the impression that he is equal to them, lest he need to send said men to their deaths."

"It's also important to not be so detached from everyone that they start doubting your sincerity or care for them, though," Nathan answered weightily. "Your father, I fear, has begun to forget that as of late, and it seems your 'associate' had to remind you of that the other day."

Richard grimaced at that reminder.

"I don't want you to let anyone undermine your authority, Richard. But at the same time, do whatever else you can to keep your comrades' trust solid. That's how your father maintained things for the majority of his rule." He brightened a bit at that. "You might have spent much of your life being more of the 'shy' and 'following' type, Richard, but it seems you're taking to leadership better than you imagine. You've gotten people to join you, haven't you? Now you've just got to keep their confidence up." He sighed again. "And now I really have to go. Good luck, Richard; I'll get back to you soon."

The man gave one more wave before the image again scattered into individual light particles. As the capsule collapsed, Richard was left behind, continuing to feel uneasy. He supposed Nathan had a point, especially when he'd pointed out what happened with Dan.

He never was the most "outgoing" of his siblings; part of the appeal to being a Magna Centurion was that he would have only had to worry about being told what to do, rather than leading on others, after all. If he was feeling this uneasy about the mission, how was he supposed to make others feel better about it?

I'll have to fake it the best I can. Just terrific—Dan easily saw through my last attempt….

Uneasily, he reached for his helmet, to don his persona once again.

Finding Dan wasn't hard, as it turned out: Richard, once again in the full guise of Requiem, had hardly exited the hotel to start looking for the others when he saw the former gangster walking down the street next to Greymont, of all the people.

They seemed to be having a fairly casual chat, too, with Greymont laughing about something. The thought occurred to Richard that Greymont likely wasn't the most tight-lipped of creatures, but then he realized that there were no secrets left for the dragon to tell Dan.

At any rate, when Richard began to approach him, his ears twitched before he stopped laughing and looked over to his friend, waving his tail almost like a hand.

"Hi, Boss!" he called eagerly. "How are ya'?"

"Not bad, Greymont; just catching up on things." he answered politely as he approached the two of them, both sides drawing to a halt standing opposite each other a moment later. "What have you two been up to?"

"Just showing my man Greg how to play a good game of old-fashioned basketball." Dan grinned back. "He set the first ball on fire, but caught on quickly after that. Got to hand it to 'im—never seen someone dribble with their nose."

Richard, however, focused on what Dan had said first. "'Greg'?"

"Oh—that's the nickname we gave our tailed bud here," Dan answered as he patted the dragon on the head. "'Greymont' is fine and all, but it's a bit stuffy for most of us. 'Greg' is easier to spit out when we're drunk and stuff."

"And they say it's easier for cheering, too!" Greymont eagerly added.

Richard was a bit stunned at the change, but he supposed whatever gave them more camaraderie was for the best. Besides, it was better than something like 'Grey', or 'Monty'…. After a moment, he somewhat hesitantly nodded. "Well, I suppose it makes sense, in a way. Just don't get too out-of-hand with it. Anyway, I'm glad you're having fun."

The former gang leader seemed to pick up on how detached that answer was. "Say, Requiem," he said, his tone a bit quieter and more even. "I noticed you've kind of had your head down lately. What's the deal, man? You still in a funk after hearing about those murders?" He leaned back a bit. "Don't worry about it, man; you can't control everything, so the only thing to focus on is tracking down those punks and taking them down."

Richard looked up a bit: it was probably just what Dan might do for anyone, but he found himself appreciating the sympathy, even though his last conversation with Nathan had already put the matter from his mind. He took a moment to consider the best response before he settled for a short nod.

"Thanks for the faith; I hope we can catch them before anyone else suffers for it. But I am currently focusing on what I can do at the moment, and that happens to be our newest mission."

"Already?" Greymont asked, scuffing his nose a bit. "Is it tonight?"

"No, it would be this weekend…but the problem is figuring out if the mission is safe enough to take on."

Dan raised an eyebrow at that: it seemed Richard really was thinking about what they had discussed the other day. After a moment, he shrugged. "Well, nothing we do is 'safe', man. What's the deal about this one?"

Richard was glad that Dan didn't immediately clam up or go on the defensive like last time. He took the boldness as a sign of at least having a little of Dan's trust. "It's like this: I have a shot at confronting Alec Steel, and exposing him and his influence."

"The guy you think is giving your dad shady advice? Where's he going to pop up?"

"Nowhere around here, unfortunately," Richard answered as his fists clenched and eased. "He'll be in Krovada during the Humanity Unity Summit."

Dan blinked. "Been a while since I've had a history class to cut, but that's way over in Rakthia, isn't it?"

"You heard Dick back on the airship—he said the Mob was going to make a transaction with him in Krovada, which is in Crotska. My uncle figured the most likely place for him to make a move is at the Humanity Unity Summit." He looked around a bit, quickly making sure no one else was in earshot, before he went on a bit more quietly.

"There's going to be a number of diplomats from all three nations there, including my uncle, my sister, Empress Setsuko, and a major general from the Rakthian Empire. On top of that, the town is known for being the site of a mausoleum dating back to the dragon wars. Considering how the Ibis Corps tried to raid that temple in Costa Toro, it's likely this one has something of interest to them."

A distinct change came over Dan on hearing about the Ibis Corps—his arm that had once had a chunk removed twitched uncomfortably, and his confidence ebbed. "So you're telling me those same psychopaths are going to make another move there?"

"I don't know for sure; all I know is that it's likely they'll make a move."

Dan frowned a bit as he cracked his neck. "So let me get this straight: on one hand, we could get there and find nothing going on at all. At the other extreme, if something is going on, we might run into the guy who kicked our butts and shrugged off everything we threw at him?"

"There's no way to know if any of the Ibis Corps will attack for sure, much less Zandoris himself. But, if they do show up…they could be grabbing a Dragon Helix Emerald, or causing an international incident to start another war. Hell, maybe both. There'll be a huge number of lives in danger."

"Including your uncle and sister," Dan answered somewhat cynically. "Well, neither me nor you nor any of us are going to do much good shoved into a living meat grinder, you know."

Richard sighed. "Look, you don't want another bloodbath, and I sure as hell don't either. But I…we can't overlook this opportunity. Yes, I have a personal stake in it, which means I'll do it alone if I have to—but this is a group that operates 'outside the rules'. If someone's going to move around to stop them, it has to be a group like ours. Steel has too much clout with my dad to not know if something 'official' is going to try and stop him.

"If they get one of those Dragon Helix Emeralds, you can bet things will be a lot worse than when we ran into Zandoris—and if they cause an incident, we could be looking at another world war, this time one that uses Kaisonite weaponry. And that will be everyone's problem…"

"All right, all right…" Dan groaned, rolling his eyes and putting his hands up. "…as much as I hate it, you've made your point. But do you really think we can do anything about it? In all probability, we'll be in a fight we can't win, on soil that ain't even ours.

"This is Rakthia, not Aurino, that you're talking about; the 'cavalry' this time will want our heads even worse than the Magna Centurions. And from what I've heard about their prisons and labor camps, I think I'd prefer getting thrashed by Zandoris…."

"We don't necessarily have to fight…at least, not on our own," Richard answered. "So long as we draw them out or call attention to them, the military can handle it; there'll be three Magna Centurions there as escorts."

"And you really think they can do something to a guy like Zandoris?"

"More than we can do, at any rate. My uncle says he'll make sure we get in there without having to sneak around this time, too. We'll have false identities to get aboard an Aurino Surge Zeppelin. When we need to pull out, it'll just be a matter of changing our clothes, rather than sneaking into crates."

Dan eyed Richard carefully. "Your uncle would really bend the law like that for us?"

The young man smirked under the mask. "It's not the first time my uncle's had to give cover stories for spies."

The blond-haired man hesitated, thinking all of it over—especially the part about Nathan backing them up. That, in turn, caused Greymont to look up. "I know it sounds dicey, Dan, but I think you can trust Boss' uncle. He seems to be a guy who means what he says."

Dan glanced to Greymont for a moment: it seemed the dragon's youthful countenance enabled Dan to have a bit more trust for him, which was good for Richard. Dan crossed his arms after a moment. "I'll admit he didn't seem to care that I knew your real identity. And you did help me get back at Dick, even if the results on that one are still pending…." He paused a moment longer, then sighed. "I suppose, even if I wasn't committing to this right now, it's only fair I help you in return. Just don't think the boys are going to be so eager about getting in over our heads again."

"We're going to tread carefully on this one," Richard answered resolutely. "I won't rush into something we can't handle."

The man rolled his eyes. "Yeah, unless some dame is about to get chopped…" he muttered.

"I'm serious—if it looks like it's too dangerous, we'll pull out before we get noticed by anyone. Can I count on your help?"

Dan seemed to know what he was really asking: the only way to sway the others over on this was to have Dan's support on it—that would be the real advantage he wanted from this. The former gang leader was motionless for a few moments. Finally, he managed a half-smile. "If you can guarantee you know what you're doing this time, then I'm game."

Richard felt a wave of relief come over himself as he extended his hand. "Thank you, Dan. I give you my word I'll do everything I can to ensure no one dies on this mission. I just need to see what my options are."

"Well, so long as you don't pick the one that totally sucks, that'll be a step in the right direction," Dan half-muttered as he took the hand and shook it.

The next two days were only days off in the loosest sense. Richard had plenty to do, now that he was trying to track down the Rycroft escapees and looking into potential recruits as well. One thing was becoming clear from this mission, whether it was a "go" or not: eventually they were going to confront the Ibis Corps again.

They had to be ready for that…and do a lot better than last time. The inevitable was stalled longer and longer, but eventually the word came through from Nathan: arranging for them to be snuck in was possible. The opportunity had officially materialized.

With that in mind, he summoned all the members of their order for another meeting in the theater. As in the previous occasions, Richard again took to the front, although this time he also had Voltaire on his left-hand side and Greymont on his right.

The rest of the group was lounging about wherever they liked, with Claire, Alphonse, and Dan up front on the right. They seemed far mellower and more easygoing compared to how they had come back from Costa Toro; between the victory and the long rest, their spirits had definitely recovered. Richard only hoped this wouldn't dash them.

"Good evening, everyone," he began. "I hope you're less stressed after some downtime."

Troy laughed. "You kidding? I haven't felt a buzz like this in years, and I ain't even drunk yet. Both the Midas Hounds and the Hydra Wyverns got put in their places. Not even their grandmas'll take them seriously now!

"All that's left is the Chaos Clowns, and those freaks only stick their necks out when someone messes with their drug trade." He leaned back. "Everyone'll know who the top dog is around here by the time our names get widespread!"

There were some grins and chuckles at this, but Richard remained calm. "Don't forget that crippling the gangs in Los Midas is only one of our objectives. We have far more targets than that, and we're about to go after another."

Zach chuckled. "Damn—even if the main thing you do is find jobs quick, still…. Anyway, where do we need to go this time?"

"Outside the city again."

"Not another 'tropical getaway', I hope." Tony answered. "'Cause I think I hurt at the thought of beaches now…."

"Think a little further," the armored man answered. "Say, the Crotska Zone."

Pretty much the entire room reacted in surprise to that; although some showed a little more shock than others, many looked uncomfortable. Troy spat on the ground. "Let me get this straight: you want us to head out all the way to the Rakthian Empire? What the hell is worth doing over there?"

"My primary target is going to be there." Richard answered more firmly. "Alec Steel, the BMS lobbyist who has been corrupting the king, and, by extension, the Aurino Republic, is going to be at the Humanity Unity Summit in a few days.

"The location where the Summit will take place is also the home of the Mausoleum of Krovada, which is filled with ancient treasures, much as the temple in Costa Toro was. Therefore it is likely, especially if Alec Steel is linked to the Ibis Corps, that they will attack—even more so, since there will be major VIPs from all three countries. More than theft could arise from this; it could incite another war."

As much as Richard had tried to downplay the Ibis Corps part, the mere mention was enough to caused heightened tension and even fear among the group's members. Many of them looked rather tense; Hector turned white and moaned over the rising din about whether Richard was serious about fighting them again.

Before things could get too much worse, he held out his right hand and spoke in a calmer tone. "While I'm sure some of you think this might be a suicide mission, you should recall that the 'normal' Ibis Corps soldiers weren't beyond anything we can handle, and there's no proof Zandoris will be there. For that matter, there's a chance the Ibis Corps won't be there at all. It's simply a factor that makes this too great to ignore."

"Well, if you don't know whether the hell they're even going to be there," Troy barked out, "then what the hell do you know!?"

Richard hated this part; going in " blind" was what had gotten them into the last mess. However, he had little choice. Lowering his hand, he sighed. "I'll admit what I know about what will happen on this mission is less than I would like, but the importance is still too great to ignore."

That sank it for a lot of them. Several began to complain loudly. Others cursed and shouted. Tony, who had a mostly-empty bottle with him, tossed it to the ground, shattering it. "Goddamn it, man! Even if there's none of those Ibis Corps freaks there, you're asking us to go to the freaking Rakthian Empire! My brother told me how they treat guys like us they catch over there in their gulags!"

"I know I'm asking a lot," Richard quickly interjected before things could get more out-of-hand, "but we'll take this mission a lot more carefully than we did that previous one. I'm also getting more help from my contacts to get us there; we can actually move around the ship that we're taking this time, more or less at will."

Voltaire nodded and straightened. "We're going to pass ourselves off as Zaitron mechanics aboard the Surge Zeppelin Mjolnir; it's making a maintenance stop in Los Midas before joining the group headed into Krovada."

Zach looked a little less-than-enthused. "A military ship? Look, we may have some room to move around at first, but that thing's going to get cramped real quick if they find us out; we might as well be in a flying prison cell!"

"Don't sweat it—you'll only be listed as reserve mechanics," Voltaire answered. "They're basically 'insurance' at an event like this, and I'll make sure you know everything you need to know before you go in. You'll be like glorified busboys.

"You won't even have to do anything unless a fight actually breaks out, and if one does break out, that only means sneaking away is easier. Our source has gotten us identities guaranteed to be accepted by the military's security; so as long as you keep your heads down and don't do anything like tune into an Electro Ball game, it should be fine."

"Yeah, and, from the sound of it, it sounds like you aren't going to be one of our little group once again…." Troy muttered crossly.

"Oh, I assure you, I'll be taking part in the mission as well. It might not be exactly the same as what you're doing, but don't think that means it's less risky. There are some politicians I'd find Zandoris preferable to…."

Troy merely huffed in response, not looking terribly convinced. None of them did; after all, they didn't have too much to go on. Getting in and out wasn't the problem last time—it was what they ran into once they were there. And, other than Richard saying "we'll be more careful this time", this didn't sound too different from the fiasco at Costa Toro. Seeing he was floundering, Richard glanced to Dan. Luckily, it seemed the man was better prepared: he chuckled a bit as he rose from his own seat, turning and looking behind himself to Troy.

"Well, damn, McGuire…" he chided, "…never figured I'd see the day when you backed off from a fight!"

At once, the other man looked up, nearly rising from his seat in fury as his face flushed red. "Don't you dare be calling me a wuss, Nicholson—I ain't scared of nobody! It's just I ain't stupid! We don't even know if anything is going on there!"

"Come on, guys," Dan spoke a bit more imploringly, looking not only to Troy but to everyone. "How many times did we make a move when we only had a small hunch? I know the stakes are higher this time, but think about who we are; what we're doing. Don't you all want to be the toughest guys around? Not just in Los Midas, but nationwide? Well, as tough as these Ibis Corps guys are, how bad do you think we can call ourselves if we start whining like whooped puppies every time we even hear their name?"

Even if there was still some logic and fear out there, the bruise to the ego from that caused opinions to change a bit.

"You think I want to throw my life away? Hell no! But I sure as hell don't want those freaks thinking all they got to do is snap their heads at us and then we'll let them roll right over us, either! I don't know about all of you, but those bastards killed two of us—and even if I can't get payback on him, I'm sure as hell going to take it out on his posse. And I thought some of you might feel the same!"

This swayed a few more; until now, the gang had mostly been mortified or depressed by the death of two of their comrades, and much of their anger had been toward Requiem…but, when Dan put it that way, they realized that if this had been any other situation with any other gang, it would have been the opposing gang that would be the target of such anger, not Dan or anyone else who may have gotten into the situation…and their desire for vengeance began to flare up as soon as that seed was planted.

Hector suddenly slapped his hand on his armrest and looked up. "Dan's right. Even if we can't get that bastard, we can do something to make those demon-lovers pay." He looked up to Requiem. "But do you really think we can?"

"We've got a lot more in our favor than last time," Requiem responded. "The idea I have is to have multiple fronts, which means it's not going to be just one team this time, but multiple. We'll be relying on Claire to monitor the situation and keep us working smoothly—our equipment is top of the line, so there should only be a brief delay between transmissions."

"Wait a sec," Claire suddenly spoke up. "Why do I have to stay here when you're all going nation-hopping? No matter how good your tech is, it'd be better if I had a hub near you guys."

Both Richard and Voltaire looked to Claire, registering some surprise from that comment. They looked to one another momentarily, and then back.

"Well…based on your, how shall we say, 'social preferences'," Voltaire said after a moment, "we figured you wouldn't be too keen on going to a foreign land."

Another bad move: the girl's eyes narrowed as her temper flared. "So you know how I think now, huh? I happen to like sightseeing! I'll thank you not to make choices for me from now on, jerk."

Beneath the mask, Richard closed his eyes. He really didn't want a fight now. "All right," he answered, "I suppose you'd be the easiest one to pose as a mechanic anyways…." He looked to Voltaire. "It's not unusual for you to have a random new girlfriend, right?"

Claire's temper immediately did a one-eighty; she smiled. "Cool! It'll be nice to crash at a five-star hotel, or whatever they've got up there, with daylight and everything…."

Voltaire did a take between Richard and Claire at how fast this had all come, and had evidently been decided before he could say a word; he then winced. "Well, I suppose things always work out well when I don't get a say in things…. At any rate, lucky for you, I was supposed to acquire a date by then, but haven't yet." He looked Claire over, then shrugged. "Eh—I can always claim I was drunk at the time when I picked you out…."

Once again, the temper returned. "Screw you, a-hole! Just don't hole me up anywhere cheap, or I'll reprogram your transmitter with the ringtone of the latest cringe-worthy teenybopper melody on the Top Hundred—and disable your options menu!"

"Oh, I don't do anything cheaply, dear—but just remember, it's mostly just a small part of the plan; please don't make a big deal out of it. What is vital is that this operation runs smoothly."

"Hey," Troy spoke up, sounding a bit impatient to get the conversation back on track and causing the others to look back to him. "What about you, Requiem? You can't really pose as a mechanic in that getup; you going to go 'boxed' again?"

"I have another process in mind, for the sake of my lower back," Richard answered; immediately after doing so, he reached out and petted Greymont on the head. "I've got a way of blending in with my surroundings. For security's sake, I can't tell you where I'll be ahead of time, but once things begin, I assure you, I'll be leading the charge. One final note:" His voice turned grimmer. "Everyone, keep your eyes peeled when we get there; the festival should give us more opportunities to hide in plain sight, but it will give them more opportunities, too."

"Hey, so long as it has some nice exotic food, it's all worth it to me!" Greymont chimed in.

A few chuckles came from that. Richard paused for a moment before clearing his throat. At that cue, Voltaire leaned over and pressed a button on the projector, causing it to ignite into life and immediately begin to form a contour map.

"Since I'm determined to not leave anything to chance that we could have known about beforehand, I'm going to devote the rest of this meeting to going over the town, its history, and especially its terrain, so we can know exactly what we're getting into, at least in those areas…."

There was a bit more than just geography and history involved in that several-hour lecture; Richard had realized that they all needed to become more organized, or they might have another situation where one careless mistake led to a casualty, as with Zandoris. He went over the aspects of the operation, including how they would be expected to behave once they were on the airship and had their fake identities.

However, this wouldn't do much good if they weren't somewhat plausible as mechanics, since at an event like this everyone would be under higher scrutiny, so they acquired some help with that from Claire and Alphonse.

Along with that came a course taught by Requiem on ways to know when people were looking over your shoulder or trying to follow you without alerting said individuals to the fact that you were on to them. By the end of the meeting, everyone seemed to be more on-board, with only a little anxiety, so the young man felt in better spirits.

The next two days were devoted to further training, and Richard committed himself more fully to it this time. They couldn't improve that much in just a few days, but hopefully this would at least sharpen the members' edges.

In the end, most of them were pulled for this mission. Whoever wouldn't be doing the "dirty work" would be focusing on keeping up appearances in the airship. After the two days were done, Voltaire roused them in the small hours of the morning with everything they needed in neat boxes, each one arranged in its own set—full uniform, badges with proper markings, and sets of identifications, all matching perfectly.

The uniforms were so new, even Richard didn't recognize some of the details. After dressing up himself, Voltaire had taken the liberty of opening another warp gate to get them to the Los Midas airport in a snap. All that was left after that for Dan and those with him was to cross their fingers and hope the identifications were legit.

Uncle Nathan had come through on his promise, as Richard had known he would. Walking through the security gates with the same casual waving of badges that every legitimate crew member used, the group was cleared right through the secret areas, past the gates, and aboard the Surge Zeppelin Mjolnir. The hardest parts were hiding their anxiety at getting aboard the massive warship and not freezing in awe such that someone might ask why they were standing around.

They didn't get much of a view, though, so the second problem was moot: the sections of the airport they had to be in couldn't see outside, what with their not having any windows for security purposes. They knew where to go, thanks to Richard's briefings, and quickly moved into place. Not long after, the ship took off, and they were en route to Rakthia.

Naturally, this was the first time they had ever been aboard any sort of warship. While they may have not had any access to outside windows, as they went along, they did have windows looking inwards, into the internal hangers of the airship. It was an impressive sight—it was far larger on the inside than it appeared on the outside, and a lot was going on.

Commandos were everywhere—maybe not in formation, and maybe taking the chance to act casual, but definitely more military personnel than they had ever seen. A lot of officers were about, too.

Yet the most impressive sights of all were the Zaitrons. They were being serviced at the moment, but being so close to the war machines that one could make out all the details in the armor, the systems, the weapons, and the ammunition being loaded into said weapons, not to mention being able to truly appreciate just how small a person was compared to one of them…. It was quite a lot for them to take in.

Zach was particularly taken with the war machines, looking like a kid at a toy store as he nearly pressed his nose into the glass windows of the engineering crew's "lounge area". Dan, on the other hand, was quite alert to his environs. He was uncomfortable enough in this attire; surrounded by people who might be able to sniff him out didn't make things any easier.

A man with a captain's hat came in a few minutes in, and grabbed an individually-wrapped doughnut from one of the cupboards. Immediately, Dan stood and tried to look as much like a normal cadet as possible; most of the others followed suit, the most noticeable exception being Zach, who was still entranced by the machines.

When the man casually began to eat the pastry and walked away, Dan frowned and gave Zach a bit of an elbow, getting his distracted friend to turn to him in surprise at last.

"Tone down the 'awestruck' act," he whispered. "We're supposed to have seen these things a million times, remember?"

Zach grimaced. "Yeah, I know, I know, man," he whispered back. "I'm just…just soaking in the realness, you know? We're actually here. They got all sorts of Zaitrons onboard—I mean, do you see the size of the ion thrusters on that Mercury out there? How about the size of those energy sword on the Mars? And those cannons on the Jupiter? They look like they could wreck Los Midas!"

A few of those in the group actually looked up and out at that claim. Dan himself glanced out a bit at the machine, but was mostly indifferent as he looked back. "All I know is that it means they're in as hardcore as it can get; looks like they're ready to throw down the first battle of a new world war right here if they need to."

"Say…d'you think they'll let us work on them?"

Dan snapped up a bit at that. "What?"

"You know—we're supposed to be mechanics, and all; what if they let us on the simulators? Hey…" Zach suddenly smiled a bit as he held up his badge. "…we've got clearance."

"You nuts? Are you trying to make it look like we ain't supposed to be here?"

"Chill, man. We'll just do little crap; put a bolt in here, bring them some oil…and get a chance to fly one of these things around—simulated, at least. Besides, d'you really think we don't stick out like sore thumbs just standing around here?"

Dan paused at that. He looked around to the others: a few of them looked back and shrugged, admitting that Zach had a point there. Perhaps if they did a little work around there, it would give others less reason to regard them with suspicion. They had been lucky so far, but they weren't to Rakthia yet, after all. He finally sighed.

"Just keep it mellow. We're doing this to blend in, not stick out more."

Normally, businessmen and -women wouldn't be allowed to this sort of thing. It wasn't exactly their place, after all—this was more the domain of politicians. Just Alec Steel being there was a bit unusual—yet it seemed Nathan had pulled a nicer break for Richard's group.

He had worked out a small contract over the past few days for the Joachim family to replace a large set of décor supplies on the Aurino Republic's side of the Summit that had just happened to be misplaced prior to the main event. As a result, that merited an invitation to a certain member of the Joachim family, provided he kept quiet.

An Aurino warship had even gone so far as to offer an escort for him, complete with a furnished room (definitely not a luxury liner, compared to what Voltaire was used to, but nicer than most). Richard, however, wished it could have been larger in spite of its already fairly considerable size—it might have kept Voltaire and Claire from getting on each other's nerves.

It was all they could do to keep from physical blows by the time they finally entered Rakthian airspace. Luckily, everyone on the ship heard the PA announcing that, and that reminder of their destination was enough to quiet the two down.

Not long after, the ship finally came in for a docking. They descended only a short ways to land: their destination wasn't sea-level, but situated in a series of mountain peaks.

Most of the docks ended in sheer drops, having been perched on a series of precipices with unscaleable, razor-sharp rock cliffs on three of their four sides. At this high altitude, one could make out numerous clouds intermingling with the peaks, not only above, but below them. Emerging regularly from several of them were series of bridges, stairs, platforms, and other, usually hand-carved, structures.

They had been put in place generations ago, some of them long before anyone present had been born—perhaps even dating back to the original wars with the dragons.

However, many others were either improved or modernized, and some of the paths looked rather new. About ten minutes after landing, the gangplank was extended from their ship, allowing the passengers to dismount.

If this had been the same vessel that Nathan had been taking, they would have been the guests of honor and possessing a much greater retinue; as their ship carried only "window-dressing" guests, their exit was far less conspicuous.

There were, however, still some representatives of NES there; the passengers and crew had seen the conspicuous news station hovers well before docking. None of the actual guests paid any mind to their company as they disembarked.

Voltaire, once again in one of this better suits and looking as suave and dapper as ever, led the way into Krovada, and Richard exited behind him. Not one to leave his identity to chance, he had put on a third layer over his Greymont-shielded armor. This one was more of the festive sort: a gray mask with some traces of Jiodisan style, especially the pattern of a silver-tinted whirlpool over it, black pants, brown gloves, and a tan shirt, though the fabric parts looked oddly bulky and fairly slapdash.

It was a good thing he had managed to find a gray mantle to go with the outfit, covering and disguising his armored body's bulk, and leaving only a split in the front of his chest through which to see the haphazard costume. Finally, to help him (hopefully) fit in with the crowd better, the back of his mantle was decorated with the crest of Krovada, and a large Gunbai Uchiwa fan was strapped over it—an elaborate disguise for Auro Solais. Hopefully, as awkward as it all seemed (and was), it would enable him to pass as a ceremonial performer, and not just cobbled-together bits from Voltaire's wardrobe of spares.

Claire, coming up behind him, wasn't much of an improvement in fashion. Not one for fancy dress or elaborate disguises, she had concealed most of her body under a heavy, black-and-blue trench coat, which looked rather odd, considering there was little chance of rain on either end of her voyage. What made it even worse was her constant scratching, showing she was definitely not used to wearing it.

"Damn, this thing is way too itchy…. What's it even made of?" she griped at Voltaire.

"I haven't the slightest idea." The red-haired man shrugged. "It's what was in the room; that's the price you pay for making sudden changes of plans."

Claire grumbled as she pulled the hood over her head. "So long as I don't have to spend time pretending to care about what a bunch of stiffs say, it's still worth it." She looked around a bit as they made landfall and continued down the dock. "Not a bad place; picturesque, I suppose." She shivered slightly. "Kind of cold, though."

"Well, even at this time of year, most of the territory in Rakthia isn't someplace you would want to visit while lightly dressed," Richard said, "and it's probably especially bad in Krovada, due to the altitude."

"I find the place a bit charming, myself," Voltaire mused as he looked out to the distance. From their position, they could actually look over the edge of the precipice they were on to an adjoining cliff on the opposite side. There was a network of platforms there, connecting small bits of land, some less than one hundred square yards, to one another, with numerous locals moving up and down them. "Historic value and all. Between the cloud cover and the rocky terrain, people could hide all over the place, ants on an enormous hill. Even an entire dragon platoon could be outwitted here.

"And they did, at one point. Somewhere down there…" He gestured about them through the clouds to the ground far below. "…you've got the skeletons of a good hundred dragons they lured in to their deaths, so that they could make their move against Xorgoth.

"People in this country have always had a lot of pride in it: nowadays, modern technology lets them expand by mechanically transporting soil and tunneling through rock for more space. But the Mausoleum…oh, that was built pretty much just by hand tools and elbow grease."

"I'm guessing people who lived up here back then learned how not to get dehydrated…" Claire muttered.

Voltaire chuckled. "Ah, don't worry about that. Look right up there."

He gestured slightly ahead. The two with him looked and noticed a short footbridge up ahead, spanning what looked like a small crag cleft right in the mountain.

"There's a water channel right there. They're all over these peaks, some of them bigger than others. You can sneak right up on them and not know it until you're on top. They built the main city just up ahead over a whole delta's-worth of them."

Richard looked up and ahead at that. Sure enough, not too much farther along, emerging through the thick cloud-cover was a much more modern-looking edifice…an entire city with dozens of many-level buildings.

Most of them were made from native stones, even if they incorporated modern materials and technology, and the way they were arranged along the natural terrain gave it the feeling of a strange multi-layered stone cake, rather than an actual city.

Not only was it quite impressive to look at now, but looking more closely, Richard could just barely make out signs of sluice gates and channels built between various roads and city blocks.

The whole place is full of miniature rivers—that gives us plenty of places to hide. Of course, it gives the Ibis Corps plenty of places to hide, too….

The Codec suddenly buzzed. Immediately, Richard reached for the side of his head. It took a bit more work with the new mask over his old one, but he tapped it after a bit of struggle, and listened a moment. "Seems Dan's group landed without trouble. So far, so good."

"Good; let's cut the chatter, then," Voltaire told him. Richard looked to him, only to see he was keeping his head forward, obviously having seen something. "I've got my first pleasantry to dispense."

Using the mask to obscure himself, Richard glanced to his right. It seemed Voltaire was only unimportant enough to ignore while disembarking, not enough to be left alone altogether—now they were reaching a junction on the pathways leading from the docks to the city proper, and, in addition to increased security and décor highlighting the Summit, there was another, not-so-admired, feature of the conference: journalists and reporters.

A man with short red hair and a mustache was holding a black microphone rod out as he approached, and behind him was a larger man with a round camera-sphere.

"Time for us to make ourselves scarce," Richard muttered aloud to Claire.

She didn't answer, just followed as Richard started to distance himself from Voltaire, leaving his friend alone to face the media.

Without really asking about personal space or an interview, the red-haired man inserted himself at Voltaire's side and turned to the camera.

"Are we recording yet? Yes? All right…." He cleared his throat. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. For NES, I'm Eddie Costello, and here we are right at the Humanity Summit, right as things are about ready to get underway, to give you an up-to-date summary of the events and gatherings.

"As you can see on my left, the top-tier guests are already starting to arrive, including a last-minute surprise guest. Everyone's favorite representative of the Joachim Company, and Los Midas celebrity, is helping the Aurino Republic avoid a last-minute fallout on décor: Voltaire Joachim!" He turned slightly. "Could you spare us a few minutes, Mr. Joachim?"

Voltaire smiled lightly. "Not at all, my good man; I'm always happy to set the mood. I just want to ensure that everyone has a good time, regardless of their nation of origin."

"Now, Mr. Joachim, it's only due to a last-minute change that the Joachim Company even has their 'hat' in this summit, but it seems you've already rerouted your busy schedule to attend. Are you hoping to sneak in a few international deals on the side of your own?"

By this point, the camera monitoring Voltaire had split off two smaller drone spheres that began to hover around him and the interviewer, a common technique—if they wanted to film this for a projector, obviously they needed to get him from multiple angles, to synthesize a three-dimensional image.

He shrugged. "Oh, nothing that dramatic. I'm a history buff, after all, so I'm mostly just here for sight-seeing and a few other…" He threw in an obviously-fake cough. "…private ventures."

"Oh, really?" the reporter answered with no small amount of intrigue. "Care to give the viewers at home a hint?"

Voltaire let out a laugh and gave the reporter a somewhat-condescending pat on the shoulder. "Now, now…wouldn't want to add to the rumor that the News Every Second station has degenerated into another loathsome, tabloid hack-job network, would we? We might have to pull our sponsorship!"

The reporter's smile turned into a hint of a grimace: it seemed that was enough for him to get the message to buzz off. He looked up a bit and to one side, and saw another group coming in from a different dock: this one was a squad of Elite Aurino Commandos, marching in formation, led by a pair of Magna Centurions in yellow-and-black armor, the Gemini Twins—definitely a political retinue.

"Oh, hell—we missed the Aurino delegates arriving. Parker, hurry it up! We can't miss interviewing royalty!"

"Man, now I have to edit all this…. Can't you even sign off?"

"Now!"

"All right, all right…"

The reporter and his somewhat-less-enthusiastic cameraman immediately left Voltaire and rushed to catch the other group as they merged with the main path.

Sure enough, the retinue was the forerunner to the main VIPs. Nathan Zilos followed with his personal, smaller compliment of conventional commados. His outfit was the same as ever; it was well-known to be his preferred clothing for all occasions.

He appeared to be enjoying the scenery a bit as he made his way along, much as Voltaire had claimed to be doing, walking a bit slower than usual in order to take it all in. As a result, it was more than possible for the reporters to catch up. A few of the commandos nearly barred them, as fast as they arrived, but, seeing the prime minister calm, they stayed in formation.

Richard watched his uncle wait patiently for the NES Reporter and cameraman as they dashed up to the wall of soldiers and blurted out eagerly, "Prime Minister! Prime Minister! Do you have a moment? We won't keep you long! We just want to know your thoughts on today's events!"

Nathan remained calm as he stroked his beard. "…If you want to hear my thoughts on anything, you can do as the rest of the networks do, and wait until the official press releases later. Otherwise, I'll have to ask you to please wait until your designate interview time. Wouldn't want to give one network an unfair advantage, now would we?"

The reporter rolled with this better than he had with Voltaire's refusal, managing a light chuckle this time. "Of course. I don't mean any disrespect, my lord; I just want to—oh, Lord Gifford Orgoth, how nice to see you, too!"

Immediately after saying that, however, he pivoted to those behind Nathan for two more tries at an interview.

Gifford was bringing up the rear of the formation, standing head-and-shoulders above all those with him and in his full Magna Centurion ensemble. He looked as stoic and straightforward as the most serious of honor guards, and a request for an interview with him would probably produce no better results than with a brick wall.

Practically standing in his shadow nearby was a woman in her late twenties, dressed in a regal, elaborate, jungle-green-and-aqua-blue dress. Her dark brown hair was tied back in a tight bun, and her look was purely one of distaste on spotting the reporter, especially when he turned the microphone to her.

"Oh, hey! If it isn't Princess Natalie Zilos!" The reporter said brightly.

The woman didn't react at first; when she did reply, it wasn't cheerfully. "You didn't know I was attending the Summit? I thought you news reporters were always up-to-date on these kinds of things…?"

The man smirked. "A sharp response from a sharp princess. I understand you're another last-minute addition to this year's Summit; a lot of people are curious as to why you decided to take part in the festivities this year."

"If you must know, it was a personal request from Empress Setsuko," the woman answered, turning back to the rest of her delegation and walking on.

Unfortunately, that only made Eddie more eager. "Oh, yes…. My lady, many citizens are still curious to hear about your trip to the Jiodisan Union. From the sounds of it, it seems like you really hit it off with the royal family. Is this part of some larger agreement?"

"That really doesn't have anything to do with the Summit, now does it?" she answered in a bored voice. "And if I wanted to talk about my personal life, I would have scheduled an interview with Lily Mathers on BLAH."

"My apologies, princess; I didn't mean to offend you, or put you into a position where you might feel the urge to slap me."

Natalie giggled at this as she closed her eyes. "Me, slap a news reporter? Perish the thought! However, Gifford might, if you start to look like a threat…."

The tall Magna Centurion cleared his throat. "We have a timetable to keep, and are already tardy. Please do not bother Princess Natalie or the prime minister until your allotted time."

On cue, a number of the surrounding commandos began to eye the reporter. None of them looked pleased that he was still hanging around.

Wisely, the reporter swallowed and took a step backward. "Of course—didn't mean to be an obstruction to official business!" he said in a more hurried tone. Using the opportunity, the Aurino ensemble walked on faster, quickly putting some ground between them and the reporters while they could.

The two small spheres began to revolve around Eddie instead as he turned back to the camera. "Well, there you have it: the delegates are beginning to arrive, and people are already busy and eager to get going. Could this be a sign that negotiations will be more aggressive this year?

Perhaps the princess' recent friendship with the empress is an indication that there's truth to the rumor of conflict brewing between Aurino and Rakthia? Given the events of a few weeks ago, such would hardly be…wait…" He trailed off, looking to one side. "…I think that's…yes! Yes it is! The Rakthian envoys are arriving! Hang on, folks; we're going to try and get an interview!"

As the reporter geared himself to run to his next target, the cameraman lowered his sphere and frowned. "Are you serious? You trying to get us shot?"

"You don't see any other networks there, do you?"

Muttering to himself about there being "reasons for that", the cameraman took off after the reporter back the way they came to go up the next dock walkway.

As Natalie and her uncle walked forward, Nathan just laughed. He eyed his brown-haired niece and muttered, "I see you've refined your skills with handling reporters, my dear. I suppose, after the last blow up with the media, it's for the best."

The older of Aurino's two princesses shrugged. "There's already going to be a lot of taxing meetings at the Summit; I won't put up with new ones suddenly trying to shove their way into my timetable."

Nathan saw the annoyance in the eyes of his niece and sighed. "What're you complaining about? I have to do most of the work, Natalie; you and the others are just showing the public we're all on speaking terms still. As such, please take this conference seriously; relations are on shaky ground as it is, and General Trevelyan has little tolerance for showings of disrespect."

Natalie replied, flustered, "Is there anyone in the Rakthian Empire who has a sense of humor or knows how to loosen up?"

While the entire township was within Rakthian territory, the high elevation necessitated a ship to bring the Empire's delegates. It signified its arrival with rather loud engine-noises and the smell of exhaust wafting through the air—yet another monument to just how much the Rakthians valued power and durability over efficiency and elegance. The clouds overhead soon parted as a round brown-and-gray shuttle with extended wings descended.

It had its own dock to settle at, and, in spite of the fact that each country had been allowed to decorate their own respective dock, this one was by far the most flamboyant and grandiose; they were definitely keen on emphasizing the power and prestige of the Rakthian Empire.

It was even more obvious as the shuttle came in for landing, when a panel on it opened and unfurled a banner bearing a spiked, blood-red gear on a black field: the emblem of the Rakthian Empire, and a symbol of its extolled value, an unrelenting march.

As soon as the stabilizers were deployed, the shuttle settled, and the engines cut off, its double doors slid open and the gangplank descended. While the engines were still powering down, an ominous shadow, accompanying a rather loud rumble —one big enough to shake the ground a bit— echoed through the area as a two-thousand-meter gray-and-brown ship parted the clouds far overhead as well, making a large turn to blot out the sun and force all to bask in its size and power.

The docks for large ships were on a separate peak, but that didn't stop Rakthia from taking an opportunity to flex their muscles. The scorpion-shaped Gold Class dreadnaught displayed its guns before finally pulling away and letting the sun shine again. By then, the newest diplomat had arrived.

This man, wearing a bear-fur styled Ushankas hat, the gray-and-brown uniform of the Rakthian military, and enough medals and awards to make a scrawnier person stagger under their weight, led his procession. There were twelve soldiers behind him wearing bulky gray-and-brown armor and helmets made to resemble bears. It seemed a bit grandiose, but was actually the standard issue for their military—and they never came to any international event looking like they weren't prepared for war.

The leader had a hard face, like he had been hewn from wood or chipped from stone. Only a slight lock of jet-black hair poking out from underneath the large hat offered any testimony to his true age, versus what the tolls he had taken from years of battle suggested. They marched in such perfect unison that from hundreds of feet away one could still hear their boots clapping; one would hardly think it possible for a group of just a dozen.

Seizing what he clearly viewed as an opportunity, Eddie reached the edge of their walkway just as they entered the common area, coming to a halt there and pausing just long enough for the cameraman to start recording. "…Great timing…. Folks, we're here just in time to watch the arrival of the Rakthian envoy: General Ian Trevelyan. Trevelyan is rumored to be the favorite general of Czar Dmitri Grizdosky; not only supposedly a military genius, but also a prime negotiator—and all of this success in spite of allegedly having a mother of Aurino Republic blood."

The retinue was nearly there at this point, so Eddie quickly turned around. "General! General, do you have a moment? I'd like to—"

The reporter got a rather sudden surprise: he had hardly addressed the man when the Rakthian raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Four of his men immediately broke formation and rapidly advanced on the reporter and his cameraman before they were even done talking.

In a second, one had snatched the camera-sphere, another the microphone, and the last two a mini-camera each. Eddie looked at this in shock, and then indignation.

"Hey! I have a permit to interview here!"

The general kept walking as the soldiers returned to their ranks and rejoined the procession without missing a beat.

"And if you can prove you have that right, you'll get your cameras back. Till then, I won't talk to prying peddlers!" he retorted with a mirthless smile. The reporter, dumbfounded, soon rushed up to the man and tried to get their equipment back, making several claims of having permission and press clearance, all to no avail: the soldiers didn't even acknowledge his existence.

The Rakthian assembly continued to move forward at their brisk pace as they merged into the common lane.

It wasn't long before they started to overtake the Aurino retinue. After the reporters had abandoned them, the prime minister had resumed his more leisurely pace, although both he and the princess soon saw the price they would pay for that when they saw the Rakthians nearing.

As a result, Nathan turned away for a moment and let out a breath, clearly steeling himself, before smiling and then looking back behind him and gave an acknowledging nod to the incoming general.

As it turned out, Trevelyan didn't stop any large distance away; he kept walking right forward until he was face-to-face with the prime minister. A few of the commandos tensed at that, Natalie frowned, and Gifford tightened up. The prime minister, however, stayed perfectly calm and gave a slight gesture to assure the rest of his party that this was just one of the general's quirks.

On reaching him, the Rakthian came to a halt, causing a single click behind him as the rest of his men stopped in unison. He gave a curt-yet-polite salute before speaking in equally-polite tones.

"Prime Minister Nathan, Princess Natalie Zilos, and your guardians. It pleases me to see you're in good health."

"Likewise, General Ian," Nathan answered, extending his hand. "I trust this is doubling for your extension of Rakthian hospitality? I must admit, I'm surprised; you're usually more punctual. I expected you to meet us as soon as we left the ship."

The other man totally ignored the hand, glancing behind Nathan slightly before looking back. "The Indomitable had to pick up more men at a stopover; the Czar wanted to ensure there would be enough security that things will proceed without incident."

Nathan, noticing the hand would remain untouched, withdrew it and eyed the Rakthian troops: he had seen statues that showed more signs of life. He then glanced back to his own soldiers: they seemed to be itching for their guns. Finally, he chuckled. "Well, I assure you that we are grateful for the concern you and Czar Dmitri have. I think I speak for everyone when I say we accept your welcome and wish for a very productive Humanity Unity Summit this year."

The general gave a hmph in response, losing his "pleasantries" demeanor. "I'm sure you do—that is why the Aurino Republic's leaders make statements blaming us for funding terrorism on a bi-weekly basis now, isn't it? Ever the saintly government everyone in the rest of the world wishes they could emulate, yes?"

Nathan stayed calm, stroking his beard and taking his time to respond. Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance, because Natalie interjected sharply, "You can spare us the judgmental act, General. As if your leader didn't think everyone would be better off saluting a Bloody Gear, and as if you really planned on getting anything out of coming here other than obligatory toasts to the 'good-old-days'…."

"Please excuse my niece—she's just being defensive," Nathan quickly put in, not letting the general give any sort of response that would further antagonize Natalie. "I assure you, I am willing to negotiate on the behalf of my king so long as my fellow delegates are willing to do the same."

Trevelyan looked at Natalie a moment longer, then back to Nathan. "And I assure you on behalf of the Czar to keep an open mind."

A sharp wind suddenly rushed by, surprisingly warmer than they expected at that high altitude. Both retinues looked for the source, and saw an incoming silhouette, generating enough wind to shred the cloud cover around it.

The impressive sight distracted the Rakthians long enough —despite their training— for Eddie and his cameraman to quickly dart in and seize their equipment. By the time the soldiers had snapped around, the two were rapidly pulling away as fast as they could, and setting up again at a safer distance.

"Oh, look," the general idly muttered at the incoming object, "it's the mindless marionette, out to play on the stage once again…."

The craft coming in represented the Jiodisa Union, and it wasn't truly a "craft" at all. With their penchant for bioengineered creatures, in all manners of life and for all manners of tasks, the Union didn't really bother with machines such as airships or zeppelins.

Instead, a rather large and majestic bird with a wingspan of one hundred eighty yards was swooping in upon the settlement, each flap of its massive wings blasting everyone in the area with a warm breeze.

The sheer size of the creature enabled everyone to hear every shift of pinions and beak as it neared. When it shifted its flapping wings and spread its tail to land, that naturally caused even more of a gale, forcing many to hold onto their hats and clothes.

In terms of overall form, it was reminiscent of a male peacock…or, if possible, hundreds of smaller ones fused together in one giant avian, which naturally made its approach all the more incredible, considering peacocks —especially males— weren't renowned for their flightworthiness.

Even if it wasn't actually meant for war, it was more than intimidating and awe-inspiring to most. It wasn't alone, either: its escort consisted of a number of creatures the size of city buses floating about it, which bore the appearance of thin serpents with bat wings and crow beaks covered in grass-green and stone-gray feathers. Definitely nothing "natural", they were a show of bio-engineering prestige and mastery.

Upon touching down, the massive bird leaned over and flattened itself against its landing platform, revealing a large metal structure, made to resemble a clamshell, on its back, apparently the passenger "cabin".

Eddie began to speak into his microphone again as it came down. "And we're back, after some…" He glanced to the soldiers. "…technical difficulties, folks, just in time to see the arrival of the Empress of the Jiodisan Union.

"As always, she's made this rare public appearance rather stylish with her country's bioengineered creatures. I can tell those of you at home this: no matter how many times I see the results of their master bio-engineers, I'm always in awe. It seems the Sovereign Zuu is just as healthy as it was last year, and the same goes for the Zoloactyl escorts."

The large clamshell slowly opened up. Unlike the previous transports, which extended gangplanks, a green carpet was rolled out along the back of the great bird, all the way to the ground. It was heavily embroidered with a repeating pattern depicting a great, sinewy dragon grasping a golden orb in its claws, likely symbolizing the sun itself. Soon after, a woman rose inside the structure and began to descend.

Her dress was very regal; made of the finest green and red silks and, honestly, so elaborate and fine that it made the expensive dress Natalie wore look like a bargain bin item at a Barney's Mega Stores outlet. The Jiodisan Empress black hair was tied up and arranged in such a way that it almost looked as if she bore horns.

Her face was a mystery as it always was, hidden behind a sorrowful white mask with a golden tiara fastened to its forehead. On her back, she had an ornamental sun-like piece behind her head, and a long purple cape flowing behind that.

The woman moved even more slowly and delicately than Nathan had, and many other men and women in similarly elaborate red-and-purple robes followed her as she descended. They immediately surrounded her on all sides, rather than walking at the front or back as the other retinues had.

Her movement was practically doll-like with the rigid steps and movements she made, especially with how closely guarded and done-up she was, almost as if she was a nonliving treasure, rather than a real individual.

Eddie, by now, had taken off in another sprint with his cameraman behind him, looking to meet the last of the main arrivals. Getting close enough to actually ask her a question directly was impossible, considering her large retinue, so they got as close as they could; namely, before a man wearing green-and-yellow scale-like armor and the emblem of a snake's face on the breastplate, and began to shout out their questions.

"Empress Setsuko, I know you've had a long flight from Quanhai, but would you—"

Before the reporter could say another word, the snake's face on the guard's breastplate suddenly opened its eyes—before popping right off of the man's armor, like any camouflaged predator in the jungle might, snapped its head around to glare at the shocked telecaster, lashed out a whip-like tongue, which rapidly wrapped around the microphone and retracted, swallowing the device whole.

"Damn it, I've got a press badge!" the man swore as soon as his initial terror at the sight had worn off. "And that's going to come out of my salary!"

In response, three more snake heads on three more suits of armor snapped up and hissed; their tongues then lashed out as well, this time devouring the camera-sphere and its two mini-spheres.

"Any threats to the Empress will not be tolerated," one near the middle coldly stated.

"Threat!? I was just trying to get a damn interview, you blind jerk! You just ate ten thousand Auros worth of equipment!" He then snapped to the cameraman. "Parker, at least tell me you backed up the footage!"

The man, still rather astonished at just how his camera had been ripped right out of his hands this time, could only shrug.

"They don't pay me nearly enough for this, and they don't tell me the new bio-armor can do crap like that…." Eddie muttered as he stomped away. "Don't just stand there—we've got to go get the spares!"

As the two went away, the Jiodisan contingent was free to finish walking into the common area and into the midst of the two sides already gathered there. Once Natalie was clearly in visual range, the procession came to a halt. The masked woman stood as still as a statue for but a moment before she gave a dignified, and likely heavily-rehearsed, curtsy.

"Princess Natalie." The voice came from behind the mask, definitely regal and spoken in such a way that it was clear the owner had practiced speaking formally to others, especially other members of the ruling elite. "How nice to see you again. Prime Minister Zilos, General Trevelyan, Magna Centurions, all others, good to see you as well."

Natalie stared a bit more intently at the mask, seemingly to try and find a glimpse of the real woman underneath all of it. It was useless: the mask even had colored lenses over the eyeholes, so there could have only been an animatronic loudspeaker beneath it, and it would have made no difference.

In the end, she smiled and gave a bow back. "Good afternoon, Empress Setsuko. I must admit, out of all the outfits I've seen you in, this one is the most…" She paused for a moment to think of the right word. "…innovative yet."

The Empress answered by lightly grasping the mask with her right hand. "Oh, have you not seen my mask of mourning?" she asked softly. "I apologize that it does not present a friendly appearance. I was advised that I was not bringing enough culture to my appearances recently, so I am trying to make up for it by wearing more authentic garments."

Nathan gave a small hum. "Well, I'm glad you want to please your people, but I'll admit my concern is more about sincerity of offers…and it always puts me off a bit when I can't look someone directly in the eye. The old adage that they have something to hide…."

"Watch your tongue, Prime Minister," the large Jiodsian from before snarled, rather roughly. "Even someone of your status is forbidden to address the Empress in an insolent manner."

He stilled a moment later, when Setsuko raised a hand. "It's quite all right," she answered, her voice even softer and even a bit soothing. "He's just being earnest. There will be plenty of time to grow terse over negotiations later, though; we should all worry about settling in and relaxing before getting to the bothersome part of the Summit—there is a ceremony to ensure goes well…."

It seemed that was a manner of cue, for at that moment one of her retinue broke off from the group and advanced. This woman incorporated the red cloth the rest of her group wore, only with black embellishments, into an outfit that consisted of both regular cloth and metal plate armor.

She looked to be somewhere in her late thirties, with her long black hair tied back tightly into a braid that snapped out when she made a rapid and grandiose bow before straightening again.

"I am Kaolin, one of the four Sovereign Edges. I will be the Empress' head of security for these proceedings."

Nathan commented, "I've heard about you and your siblings. I'm rather impressed that you're thinking an old man like me is plotting foul play here. I hope you're not making the general feel threatened…."

Trevelyan glanced around a bit before looking back. "As this is Rakthian soil, normally I would insist that my men would handle all security, but the Czar wishes me to make a good-faith gesture, so you may supplement our own with whatever security you deem appropriate. Just don't abuse this token of goodwill." He looked to one side, towards one of the larger soldiers behind him. "Comrade Argo, join the rest of the Steel Shoulders to discuss the terms and plans with the…" He gave a slight glance to those before him. "…Sovereign Edge, and these Magna Centurions. Also, tell Colonel Koneski to have our fleet move the alert level from five to four."

The man immediately gave a salute, then turned his attention to the other two heads of security. Kaolin and Gifford turned to him as all three hesitated a moment, sizing one another up, before they advanced and met together in a miniature huddle, giving each other a polite greeting before beginning their discussion. They soon moved off to one side, leaving their charges to watch.

Natalie actually smiled a bit at seeing them getting along fairly well. "I suppose it's nice for the people to see the world can be pleasant to each other at least some of the time."

"I find it very hope-inspiring for a day we won't need the three Great Nations and these summits to live with each other in peace myself," Setsuko said through her mask, which was turned slightly towards the same sight.

General Ian was about to respond when suddenly a sly male voice cut in from his right with a wry chuckle. As everyone snapped their attention to the new voice, it went on to say, "Ah, the everlasting hope of harmony is such a pleasant thing to talk about. However, unwarranted hope for such a reality has caused havoc on this world…. Who knows, will this Summit bring Marvados closer to its ultimate wish? I suppose we'll see…."

As the figure walked up to the platform, Nathan saw who it was, and instantly narrowed his eyes, muttering a restrained, "Oh, so you've arrived already, have you, Alec Steel?"

Richard froze as he saw his target casually step up into the docking area. Just like he would in Richard's old home, Alec Steel walked up to the group of leaders in a black business suit, this time with a group of men in suits and shades around him. The three diplomats, and those with them, turned their heads back to the Aurino pathway.

Most of them and their associated soldiers immediately grew still and cold; Natalie made no secret of her grimace. She found it ridiculous enough that the man had been invited here in the first place; it was even more insulting that the king had allowed him to dock at the same station as the Aurino royalty.

"I see you keep your penchant for always arriving on time, Steel," Nathan mused aloud after a moment, not even adding the title of "Mister".

"Well, of course, Prime Minister," Steel answered as he finished walking up. In spite of the dirty looks, he stopped right in the midst of the group. "'Early bird gets the worm', yes? I'd expect that sort of proverb from you. And I hope to get a few more contracts for an early Second Quarter bonus."

"Commercial contracts, of course." Natalie corrected with a rather sharp edge.

"Oh," Steel snickered slightly. "of course."

"And now Aurino invites the hallmark of its government into national affairs: lobbyists," the general muttered, giving the blond-haired businessman a dismissive glance. "Mister Steel, surely you don't think, in spite of your talents, that you will be welcome to sit at the same table as us during negotiations?"

"Well," the man said with a smirk. "I'm sorry you're reading an aura of 'arrogance' from me, General, because I certainly don't think I'm your…equal." He said the last word in a slightly odd tone before he brightened up. "But I do have something to offer every one of you, and I hope you'll think the same."

"Not interested," the general said with a snort.

"Feel free to contact us through the normal mercantile channels," Setsuko added.

"Oh, don't be boring." Alec sighed. "I always appeal to human society's basic needs, wants, and desires whenever I sell something; that's why I'm the best at what I do. Anyways, I'm sorry I wasn't there to greet you in person when you all disembarked; I got caught up with this lovely lady and her child protégé over the subject of interior decorating."

Richard saw Alec gesture behind himself, and cringed upon seeing none other than Kristen and her mother, Olivia Thereon, behind Steel. Kristen and her mother were both in pink-and-magenta dresses, and Nathan watched Richard's childhood friend eagerly dash up as he greeted them. "Lady Olivia, Kristen, I see you arrived earlier than I expected as well."

Kristen just gave a quick curtsy before responding with an eager, "Good day, Prime Minister, Princess Natalie, and everyone else! Mom and I were just setting up things in the hall when Mister Steel came in."

Kristen's mother nodded before adding, "I must admit, the man had much more good advice to give than I assumed someone of his ilk would have…."

Alec responded dryly, "Despite the things some people might think, such as that nobody in my occupation has good taste. However, I'm full of surprises…."

Kristen beamed. "This Summit is going to be the best one in decades! I made sure it's stylish-yet-proper for anyone, no matter where he or she is from. I am so honored to have worked on your reception, Empress Setsuko; I tried to make the carpet match what you have in your palace, working with Princess Natalie's information."

The masked woman looked at Kristen, at Natalie, and then looked back to the younger woman before at last responding diplomatically. "How nice of you, child. I look forward to seeing your efforts."

Natalie looked amused as she added, "I see you're as eager to throw dynamic parties as ever, Kristen."

Alec suddenly chuckled once more. "With all that's going on, it would seem to be quite a festive event no matter what; I can almost feel the restless energy flowing in the air. You all must have had long flights…come, now: why don't we kick things off, yes?"

Olivia nodded. "Everything is ready for you; we can serve you food as soon as you get inside, if you wish."

Nathan looked at his stomach before replying, "I suppose starting things off with a meal is a good way to start…."

General Trevelyan shrugged stiffly. "I see no harm in it."

Richard watched the various figures continue to talk, and, as he saw Alec making an amused face, he thought of all the suffering he endured because of the blond businessman's actions, and gripped his disguised sword tightly.

Damn it, it's just like before, with Steiner! The man that caused me all this suffering; the man that has been causing so much despair, is right in front of me! If I could just find a way to get a few moments alone with him; if I could just find a way to end everything right here, right now, I—"

Richard's train of thought was cut off when Claire suddenly nudged him in the ribs and grasped his right hand tightly, tersely muttering, "Have you lost it? There is no way you will get to him now without getting us all shot to hell. Calm down before you blow it!"

The young man recalled just how many fighters were in the area, took a deep breath, and muttered back, "There's quite a lot of ways to die at the moment; I suppose there's no way to realize that hope at the moment."

Voltaire chuckled. "Don't dwell on it; as tempting as it may be to strike while the iron is hot, the true ideal time will surface sooner rather than later. Just stick to the plan!"

Richard nodded, but before he could respond further, Nathan noticed Voltaire and formed a shrewd smile. "Ah, Voltaire! Glad you made it as well."

The red haired man quickly replied, "But of course; wasn't about to let my family miss out on tradition!"

As Nathan came over, he cheerfully asked, "So you're standing in for the role of your father, eh, lad? I'm sure he is proud to see you wielding the duty of your family so sharply. "

Kristen also walked over, giggling, and taunted him merrily. "Oh, so you want to take some of my spotlight, eh, Voltaire? I don't think you're going to manage that this time; if all goes well, everyone in Marvados will hear how well I set up parties! Come on, let me show you just how perfectly I set things up; it's chilly up here anyways."

The blond woman quickly grabbed him by one shoulder as he responded slickly, "Can't turn down such a charming request, can we? Well, might as well get this show on the road then, eh? After all, it seems all the players are in place…."

Nathan nodded, then looked at the Gemini Twins. "Michael, Michelle, I trust I can leave things to you two?"

As Michael saw the Aurino Commandos struggling not to let the Rakthian or Jiodisan soldiers get in front of him, he nudged his sister and muttered, "What do you think of things, Sis? Looks like there's going to be a lot of stare-offs before this gig ends."

Michelle, ignoring her brother, reacted to her prime minister with a solemn salute. "We'll do all we can to keep the peace, but our commandos will want to look better than their foreign counterparts, and I am sure the Rakthian and Jiodisan security forces will wish the same for themselves."

Michael noted his sister's tense stance and sprouted a grin. "Maybe, but it's our job to make sure things don't boil over, right? You know, if things get really bad, you could always do what Fiona did to calm things down back at Costa Toro…"

The blond woman gave her sibling a deadly glare. "How could you ask your own sister to do that!? What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Michael winced and quickly tried to take his words back. "Hey, wait, you're putting words in my mouth! I didn't mean you should go to extremes, I'm just saying you could try putting out some womanly charm to smooth things over!"

Michelle balled her fists tightly as she snapped, "It's fine if Fiona likes to be liberal with her sexuality, but I'm not interested in resorting to such things; I can get the job done with my other skills! Now get moving!"

Michael grinned, "Fine—not about to egg you on around all these steep cliffs. Enjoy the party, everyone!"

Voltaire gave as slick a grin as he could muster. "Oh, don't worry—one way or another, I'm sure today will be a day to remember."

Richard saw his red-haired friend give him a slight nod before he let Kristen drag him off with his uncle, his sister, and most of the other foreigners, emptying the landing bay of the majority of its occupants. He glanced around the area one more time and muttered, "As densely populated as this place is getting, at least there don't seem to be any surprises so far…. We should catch up with the others."

Claire just scratched a leg. "Well, come on, then—this outfit is so freaking itchy that it's driving me nuts!"

Richard chuckled. " Jade Hawk gave me the key to his suite, so I'll see you there safely before checking around."

The leader of the Crimson Tengu Ravens motioned for his ally to follow him, and, as he made to leave the area, he saw Alec heading down to a platform in the distance. As the man's back was safely turned, Richard glared at him for a few seconds before leaving.

While Richard had thought that his target couldn't see him, Alec briefly observed the Third Prince staring at him from the corner of his right eye. "I wonder whose game piece that was? Heh…it doesn't actually matter which nation that pawn belonged to; no matter what any of these individuals believe, they're clueless to just what game they're really in…."

He let out a small laugh, then looked around a bit. It took him only a moment to find one of the Ratkthian security guards walking by. Clearing his throat a little, he shifted his posture and began to walk up to the soldier, reading the name on their uniform as he did so. "Excuse me—Officer Kulinski, is it? Could you do me a small favor and call a man I was talking to earlier in the day? I believe your friend, Officer Kulich, wanted to be reminded to be of the time right about now."

The blond-haired man snapped his fingers, and the eyes of the soldier in front of him became vacant as they felt a sudden, irrepressible urge to obey. The soldier instantly replied, "It would be my pleasure, sir."

As the soldier went to make the call, Alec didn't even break stride, just walking on to catch up to the others, muttering to himself. "Excellent—if everyone does their job well, a major piece of my puzzle will at last be in my grasp!"

The shady lobbyist soon caught up with the envoys of the three Great Nations and their crews.

There were many peaks surrounding Krovada that afforded an excellent view of the layered city arranged on the mountains below. Most of them were inaccessible, save from mountain climbers trying to break a record, and even then the altitude and conditions rendered many of the higher ones impassible. The permits normally issued were quite expensive to come by, but, even if one could afford one, they were not available for this month due to the Summit.

That didn't stop quite everyone.

Seated on a great rock boulder at the top of one mountain was a man in a black leather cloak, the hood obscuring his face. The only thing that truly made him stand out was on the back of his outfit: an image of a purple dragon's head.

His face and body showed no emotion at the moment; he sat as motionless as the rock he was on, the only difference being the wind occasionally billowing out his cloak. After a time, two figures far below the boulder began to approach; Richard would have recognized both as Ibis Corps Marauders. They came to a halt at the base of the stone and looked up.

After a moment, the figure leaned back slightly, putting his arms behind him in a casual method and stretching his legs out in a somewhat lazy display. "What is it? Can't you see I'm enjoying the view? Maybe you slugs would need to get moving now, but I can get there in ten seconds, so just let me soak in the moment!"

The man just saluted."If that's so, then we shall oblige; I'm not about to question the judgment of the Voltaic Kazejin of the Jinn Cadre."

The Jinn Cadre stood up at last, and chuckled before snapping back, "Damn straight. So, that's really the most secure vault in the Rakthian Empire, eh? Vault, Mausoleum, whatever they like to call it, it's just a nest ripe for raiding!

"No matter how well they try to protect their treasures, once the Thunderbolt has a prize in his sights, nothing can stop him from blowing through the obstacles that dare to try to slow him down!"

The high-ranking member of the Ibis Corps had the Dragon Lenses Scanner positioned over one eye zoom in to see the large waterfall better: to the naked eye, it was merely a pleasant sight to look at from this distance —a cascading tower of water running between a pair of high peaks seeming to crash down into white oblivion, like the entire thing was floating— but upon zooming in he could make out more details, such as the one at the top of the waterfall, which looked like it had been carved to form a massive serpent's head, a tell-tale sign humans had developed the area in ages past.

He also saw a number of soldiers on patrol; not nearly as many as there had been a few minutes earlier, however….

As the member of the Ibis Corps watched all the soldiers walking around the waterfall, he just grinned, unfastened his cloak, and let it fall to the ground. As the fabric fell, the man's cohorts saw the man flex his arms, and that an assortment of blood-red blades on them that made his arms look like the wings of a vulture or some other bird suddenly extended when he did.

The Jinn Cadre member flashed a smirk full of malice. "Time to fly."

The man cast a quick spell and, as he levitated a few feet off the ground, prepared himself to swoop down upon the oblivious people below.