The Echo That Time Forgot

Royal Archives, Merle

Officer Jensen had a smug grin on his face as he hiked up his pants. He had recently been cutting down on donuts at Backstreet Buns and had been losing weight. “Oh chief!” he yelled out as Chief Polos entered the room wearing a large coat over his uniform. He hastily went over to Polos, careful to avoid the one broken glass panel, “I’m not sure why you needed to come down here. This has been a yawn of case.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Polos growled. “Now tell me what you got.”

“Break in happened during a guard shift change. The only thing missing is the 2016 Xelhan Chess Championship Trophy,” Jensen beamed. “Maybe someone upset Her Royal Highness beat them at the tournament, but otherwise a worthless artifact that can be easily recreated. They didn't even disturb anything else other than the one cabinet.” Jensen noticed that Polos seemed to go pale and staged a few steps back. “You ok chief?”

“Put on a media gag and don’t leak any of the case details to them.”

“Why? It’s not that seri--”

“Just do it!” he barked. “And get me that surveillance tape!”

“Y-y-yes sir!” Jensen stammered as he saluted before hurriedly racing out of the room.

Chief Polos slowly pulled out his phone and scrolled down to 'Minister Soldana'. He took one final exhale before dialing the number. “Minister, we have a problem. Omaksua is missing.” There was no immediate response and a few tense moment ticked by before the response was finally forthcoming.

"Carry on as per normal. Cite a missing trophy, but only tell those who need know what was really taken. I... will call in some favours. This is not to be released to the public and most definitely not the queen. Understood?"

"Perfectly. I'll continue to spread the dragnet for the trophy. Good luck on your end."

He ended the call and stared blankly at the damaged cabinet. They had to work through this quickly, or things would be the most dangerous they've ever been in Xelha since the Tautohenga.

The light flickered on in the Corner Convenience Store on Portia Street in Merle as Lugh Solis began prepping the shop for opening. He looked out the main glass window out front, the roads were dark, save for the street lighting and the roads had a light dusting of snow from the night before.

As he turned on the coffee machine, a pair of headlights approached the shop and slowly came to a stop under the street light just outside the store, illuminating the light green design of Mint Chip Creamery on the refrigerator truck. Lugh moved towards the door to undo the locks as a man jumped out of the track cabin and moved towards the back of the truck with a trolley and started stacking it with a few tubs of ice cream.

The door chimed as Lugh opened it for him and he handed Lugh a clipboard. “Your invoice for several tubs of the best ice cream in Xelha,” the man grinned. “Just need you to sign on the dotted line and fingerprint to confirm you received the order. Your boss has already made payment on the order.”

“Alrighty,” Lugh said as he signed he form and then placed his pointer finger on the reader. It took a few moments before it beeped is approval and flashed Lugh Solis name and basic information.

“A masters grad? Community service working here?” the man whistled.

“Something like that,” Lugh replied in a flat voice as he turned to lead the man to the shop refrigerator to stock the ice cream. “Don’t worry about it,” he added sharply as the man took a breath in preparation to speak more.

The conversation was interrupted by the door chiming open. Lugh went over to investigate, “We’re not open yet,” he started to say before recognizing who had just walked in. “Officer Manx!” he gasped as he rushed over to the man who staggered in. “What happened?” Lugh asked as he felt around Officer Manx for blood or injuries. “I’ll get EMS!”

“No!” Manx barked as he grabbed onto Lugh’s arm. “No, that will let them know where I am,” he added in a steely tone.

“Anytime you don’t call EMS looks illegal to me,” the delivery driver quipped as he finished stocking the ice cream. “But that’s none of my business.”

“No, it will be in a second,” Manx wheezed. He shoved a canister into Lugh’s chest. “Take this preferably to Blizzaria Palace. The only people you’re allowed to hand this to are Vera Soldana, High Queen Tsuyu or Freya Felena. The canister has the only sample of a chemical weapon called Omaksua. It’s in liquid form so long as the internal temperature doesn’t exceed 1C. At which point it’ll become a gas and will kill everything within a ten kilometer radius and injure for hundreds.”

“And you brought it out here? Why?” the delivery man questioned. “The police should have been able to hold it better. I think you’re trying to get us do your dirty work.”

“I trust him,” Lugh said. “He helped me out in some tight places when no one else would help. He has no reason to lie.”

“That’s what they all say,” the delivery man said with a snide chuckle and a shrug. “Either way, I’m not letting you jeopardize my job and take my truck for a joyride to Blizzaria. You might be able to afford community service, but my family needs my paycheck.”

“If this gets lost you might not have a family to support,” Officer Manx chided him.

“I will do as I please!” the delivery man interrupted. “I refuse to be part of this illegal activity!” He began walking over towards Manx, pointing his finger at Manx whilst speaking in a loud tone, “While your kanoho might be on board, I’ve seen enough of the world to know trouble and steer away from it when I can.” As he got up to Manx’s face he felt cold metal against his back.

“I’d rather you not be disrespectful to my mentor. I didn’t mention it before, but I’m here on community service for armed robbery, so I have no issue using this weapon against you. The shopkeeper keeps it handy for if someone tries to rob the late night or early morning shifts,” Lugh said in a cold voice. “Now hand over your keys and nobody gets hurt. If you don’t want to drive, then I’ll drive.”

The delivery driver groaned, “The keys are in the truck.”

“See, was that so hard?” Lugh said with a triumphant grin. “But just in case you get any ideas,” Lugh hammered the driver’s head with the fire extinguisher, knocking him out. He then looked at Manx, “I’ll get this delivery for you. Just make sure my parole hearing isn’t too bad.”

“Just go!” Manx ordered.

Lugh nodded and took the delivery driver’s apron, which had his name tag and hat. He put the canister in the back of the truck and lodged it between some ice cream containers. In the distance he began hearing sirens. He looked one last time through the shop window at Officer Manx before driving off into the darkness towards Blizzaria.

The next day. Kristalli Lake District, Blizzaria

The first rays of sunlight started to come over the mountains and the ice birds began their daily chirping. Minister Soldana was on a bench hunched over, her head in her hands, as footfalls crunched in the snow behind her.

“You look almost as disappointed as I do for calling me out here so early in the morning,” came a voice as it stifled a yawn. Minister Soldana didn’t look up to greet the new person but patted the bench next to her, indicating to sit down. “Is it really that bad?”

Soldana let her hands slide down her face as she looked out in front of them. “Remember, about five years ago, Tsuyu Avalon wrote a thesis on cardiac glycosides?”

The woman nodded, “Ya, everyone knows about that. It was her master’s thesis.”

“Right…” Soldana sighed. “That’s the basic story but it’s not actually that simple. What if I told you she wrote about weaponising those glycosides?”

“Why would anyone do that? And isn’t that report in the public domain? I’m sure if it had been about weaponizing, someone would have said or noticed something by now. But it was about its potential effects on people.”

“And why would a masters student know about the effects of a deadly poison on people? As a health minister, I’m sure you of all people should know we can’t just postulate effects on people without there being a test or control group. And if we are, the report itself has to clarify effects on what animal we are extrapolating these conclusions from.”

“And this is the point where my day goes from bad to worse isn’t it?” Astryd sighed.

“We suspect the hack on the Blizzaria University servers was to find the original report Tsuyu wrote up and the location of the only sample saved of the completed weaponized version.”

“I’m going to have to stop you right there. You mean to say she and a university produced an actual chemical weapon and no one batted an eye? How did you guys even get approval for such a task?”

“She didn’t. Not originally. It was originally the report that the public read. But somewhere along the way her lab partners thought it would be fun to expand the reach of research. As the liquid is highly potent, they tested if the gaseous form would be more or less potent. Surprise, surprise it was more potent and they figured a way to make it extra concentrated by raising certain aspect’s molar values. One thing lead to another and soon a group of master’s students had developed Omaksua. We were supposed to destroy it, but we decided to keep a sample. You know, just in case we needed something faster to work with.”

“And now that’s what’s gone missing,” Astryd crossed her arms and frowned. “Ugh, you’ve really put yourself in a tough spot,” she added with a sigh. “And I suppose you don’t want to tell Tsuyu you ignored her or her parents’ orders.” She rubbed her head before continuing, “But couldn’t you just find the her old lab mates and their Master’s Supervisor to figure out who knows about it? I would assume if the report wasn’t ever made public, they’re the primary suspects of divulging the information.”

“That was the original idea, except that they all have found a way to die under suspect circumstances. Nora Forsberg died under house arrest after the Sarin Gas Attacks, Maiku Su died five years ago in Helidara and the supervising professor died in a house fire last year,” she spoke as she touched a finger for each person listed. “We’ve taken Maliki in for questioning, but she seems oblivious as to who else would know besides her roommates.”

“So what’s your next step?” Astryd questioned. There was a small pause between the women and Soldana groaned. “Any other leads on the hack or the break in?”

“Neither produce any leads. Whoever hacked used a generic program that could have been made anywhere, and the thieves somehow managed to either loop or destroy the security cameras. Merle was conspicuously quiet the night of the robbery. About the only thing that was out of place was the hijacking of an ice cream truck.”

“Description of the culprit?”

“Dead,” Soldana shook her head. “They said he had his neck slashed from behind and the shop keeper had been killed alongside him.”

“A double homicide?” Astryd raised an eyebrow. “So multiple suspects? Or did you think only one person could kill two people without a firearm?”

“Possibly… as well as an inside job....” Soldana mused before looking over towards Astryd, “And that’s where I need to ask a favour of you.”

“Considering you’ve already disobeyed a royal order and seem bent on not telling her, I’m going to assume it’s highly illegal.”

“Actually it’s pretty legal. I need you to subpoena two people and issue a health order for possible chemical attack. Issuing BCHE should cover the first in a covert enough manner to not alert the populous. The other side is a bit… trickier. I need Myrna Evergreen and MACE Chemical’s Erika Sonnet.”

“You know we can’t subpoena a sitting minister without due cause and MACE Chemical isn’t going to let us take the best scientist they’ve had since Baden Aniline made them a soda factory. Myrna isn’t exactly liked in the House of Lords and you know as well as I do, they’d immediately call a vote of no confidence on her if we did that,” Astryd scoffed.

“Do we not have the votes to beat a vote of no confidence?”

Astryd sat back on the bench and closed her eyes, “You need 8 votes to defeat a vote of no confidence. Seven to tie, in which case I believe Ocelot would side with us. As for votes against no confidence, we have me and you, Azura, Saku and Kallie for sure. That’s five. In favour is Otis, Karyna, Oscar, Ai, Sera and Lina. That’s six. The ones I can’t determine off hand would be Millia, Teemo and Taru, though Taru may like Myrna right now after those two worked on getting the transport system more environmentally friendly and the movement of agriculture goods.”

“Hmm, so not much room for error,” Soldana sighed.

“Indeed,” Astryd said as she opened her eyes and got up from the bench. “I’ll see what I can do about Erika. We might be able to convince MACE Chemical for a short term deal, but anything more will definitely require illegal means. Good Luck tracking down the missing project.”

“Thanks…” Soldana sighed. “I may yet need it…”

In an apartment... somewhere in Blizzaria...

A man ran upstairs to a closed room. He was slightly out of breath when he reached the door at the top of the stairs. He opened the door ,flooding the previously dark room with outside light. At the far corner sat a person on a bed who glanced back towards the disturbance.

“Mi'lady, there has been a hiccup in the plan. Officer Jensen reports that an officer double crossed them and ran off with Omaksua. His escape was temporary, but when he was caught, he no longer had the item. According to the lone witness the officer handed it off to some guy named Lugh Solis who hijacked his truck to transport the item towards Blizzaria. The truck is a Mint Creamery Truck.”

“That means he probably instructed him to hand it off to either Vera or more likely the queen herself,” the woman grinned from under her veil. “That means they are doing me the favour of transporting it here, one less thing to worry about. However, we can't allow it to remain loose for too long, and it needs to be remedied quickly. I take it nothing else is out of place?”

“No,” the man shook his head. “It would appear all other pieces are in place to continue. Both Nicholas and Sharena are sufficiently blackmailed with the drug and firearm pictures. Nicholas more so to avoid sullying his family name and Sharena since she's needs a clean record to stay enrolled on her tennis scholarship. We have received Sharena's DNA test and confirm, she is indeed the child of Toni Avalon, making her one of the few who can legitimately challenge Tsuyu. Nicholas is on board with getting his sister to issue the challenge. She should be able to issue it in the next few days. He's been informed what will happen if Tara isn't convinced and we need to...persuade her... ourselves. Poor boy, all he wanted to do was do something remarkable, and now he'll definitely be remembered for something historical in Xelha,” he added with a chuckle.

“Excellent,” she purred. “Any extra chatter from the others? I know Vera isn't one to take things sitting down.”

“She hasn't done much. The only thing of note is her going this morning to Kristalli Park and she met with Astryd Selu,” he responded.

“Astryd?” she perked up. “Astryd?” she thought aloud. “Could she be attempting to circumvent effects of the chemical if I use it? No. That's not Vera's style. Vera is a direct attacker, Astryd is a diversion for something.” She tilted her head to the side, and tapped her cheek. “What good is the Minister of Health and Safety other than to dampen the effects of a weapon? But even then, she needs probable cause to issue a wide enough caution, to which we have none.”

“Except Carida,” the man interjected.

The woman paused and for a moment her jaw became slack and hung before it tightened and she clenched her teeth. “That witch, you're going to use Carida to issue a chemical weapon warning. Smart move Vera, smart move.”

She then held her hand up, “Leave me be for a time. Make sure the children are comfortable and properly groomed. I want them to feel... warm,” she said with a wicked chuckle. “And tell both Lahtis to scan Tara's phone and laptop and see if they can get a lead on of other Ministerial Activities. Especially Myrna.”

“As you wish,” the man said as he politely bowed and closed the door, returning it to the black, dark state it was before his entrance. The figure once again melting into the darkest shadows that they had become an extension of their being.

Far Far Away Home Motel and Truck Stop. Kilometer 600 Marker on the Capital Expressway (Highway 1)

Lugh had been driving for over six hours and he felt the strain on his eyes. He decided to take the exit ramp and fill up the gas tank and get a break from looking at nothing but Highway One and the trees that lined it. He let out a groan as the truck shuttered to a stop as he cut the engine. The parking lot wasn’t particularly full, though a few lorries and vans were parked. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief. So far his journey had been fairly uninterrupted and luck, at least for now, seemed to be on his side. He looked around the truck cab as he remembered the canister in the back. The last thing he needed was for that to go missing and all this would have been for naught.

He rummaged through the cab and found a backpack filled mostly with sports magazines, the Numeria Inquirer, and a couple of brochures from Sohr Kai Party Suppliers. “Well I can tell what type of person you were Mr Driver,” he muttered to himself as he got out of the truck and opened the back doors. He took out the canister, the thermometer in its top read -15C. He checked his phone and it was about -3C Outside temperature. “Maybe a few tubs of ice cream should do the trick,” he said as he gathered a few half liter containers of ice cream and wedged the canister in between them. He then wrapped it all in the newspaper for added insulation. The paper would in addition absorb some of the water if the ice cream start to melt. He then closed the door and walked towards the building’s main entrance.

The door chimed as he entered and a man wearing a shirt and vest sitting behind a desk looked up towards him. “Haven’t seen you around before, you must be new. Rum, Rumu or Rump?”

“I just need to get off the road, but some food would probably be welcome right now,” Lugh replied as he shook his head and removed his cap.

The man chuckled, “Ah yes, sustenance is good, especially driving the long haul from Merle to Mystral. But it’s unusual for one of yours to pass through here. Is there not sufficient in Blizzaria?”

Lugh froze for a moment and swallowed as his mind raced to come up with an excuse, “Oh, there’s a shortage, so we’re redistributing. Yeah, redistributing,” he nodded and said a bit quieter as if reassuring himself.

“I see,” the man chuckled. He then pointed to an entrance across the hall from where they were standing. “The bar and lounge is through there. A hostess should be with you shortly if you wait at the doorway. If you need anything else afterwards, just return here to me.”

“Thanks,” Lugh nodded. He walked towards the opening and a woman with a pair of orange shorts and a white halter top with “Toots” written across the middle, the two o’s blending into the horns on the top of a truck cab. Her red hair was tied back into a pony tail.

“Welcome to Toots, party of one?” she asked. Lugh nodded and she picked up a menu from a nearby rack. “This way,” she beckoned Lugh. The restaurant had a bar on the left, which had a few people being awed by a woman being the counterdoing a few skills with pouring their drinks. Lugh however was lead to a table near the window looking out towards the highway and the parking lot where he could see the truck. “My name is Nephee, I’ll be your hostess today,” she said as she placed the menu down in front of Lugh. “Soup Du Jour is Lohiketto (salmon and cream soup) and today’s special is Kalikary (Cabbage Rolls). Anything to drink?”

“I’ll just have some water,” Lugh responded.

“Alright,” she nodded. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, give you some time to look over the menu.”

“Sounds good,” he nodded. As she walked off, he pulled out his phone and connected to the wireless. He knew all Xelhan government officials had listed phone numbers, except the queen, though there was a public line to Blizzaria Palaceshould people want to air grievances. He was unsure who Freya Felena was, so he started with the one he knew he’d have the easiest time finding; Minister Vera Soldana. He navigated the government website to the Ministry of Defense where it presented a form that said ‘text only’. “I suppose it would be too abuseable if you could just randomly call up the minister of defense…” he sighed.

He began typing a short message in the box, ‘To Minister Soldana. I was given an important package from Officer Manx and was told only to hand it off to you, the queen or a Freya Felena. You can call me back on the number attached.’ He felt a weight on his chest as he hovered over the send button. It was national security, and she was one of the few he was told to call, but what if someone else received the message first? Well he still had the item, it wasn’t like he was handing that off and he didn’t disclose what package he had. He gulped hard and pushed the send button.

“And now I guess I wait…” he said as he stared blankly at the phone screen. His blankness broken by a soft thud on the table as Nephee had returned with his water.

“You ok?” she asked him before quickly adding, “And by ok I mean are you ready to order?”

“Yeah, sorry, just driving all day leaves you a bit out of it,” he said with a forced smile. He picked up the menu and called off the first thing he saw, “I’ll take a venison burger with lettuce and tomato.”

“Alrighty,” she said as she scribbled down the order. “Is that all for now?” He nodded and she took his menu from him, “Your order should be up in about ten minutes.”

“Thanks,” he said as he sat back in his chair and looked out at the parking lot and the highway. There was still no sign of police or that he had been followed and the truck sat out in the lot untouched. However, his mind again wondered on who was Freya Falena. He began searching online for clues on the name. The name came back with over twenty pages of hits on Gelgoogle. He groaned as he waded into the search results. Soon he figured ones that were of the same people and redone the search to eliminate them and some other duplicates, but still found nothing outstanding about anyone named Freya Falena.

His search was halted by the arrival of his food as Nephee slid the plate in front of him. “Anything else I can get you?” she asked as she placed down a few condiment containers.

“No, I’m good,” he responded. As she walked off, his phone buzzed and he saw the notification of a new message. The message was from Soldana and read ‘Thanks for safe keeping the object. Where are you? I will personally come retrieve it from you and keep it safe.’

He put his food down to quickly respond, ‘I’m at the Far Far Away Home Stop on kilometer six hundred. Mint Creamery Ice Cream Truck.’ He felt a sense of relief as he hit the send message. He could relax a bit, knowing the cavalry was on its way and he’d not have to look over his shoulder for much longer. He ate his burger and fries at a much more leisure pace.

“That your truck out there?” Nephee motioned out the window. “The bluebells seem to have a vested interest in it.”

“Oh, that’s fine, they’re probably looking for me, I should go out and greet them,” he started to say as his phone rang. The caller ID said ‘Xelha Government’ and so he answered the phone.

“Hello, this is Lugh, I assume you’re inquiring on why I’m not out at the truck?” he grinned.

“Truck? The voice responded. This is Minister Soldana, responding to your message you had something. I assume its Omaksua. But what’s this about a truck?”

The smile faded from Lugh’s face, as it went deathly pale and he felt nauseous, as if someone had punched him in the gut. “You’re… not with the police… at the truck?”

“No?” Soldana questioned. “I’m at Astryd Air Force Base preparing to leave and rendez-vous with you.” He heard some further inaudible mumbling before she came back with further instructions. “We’ve been compromised. I’ll keep your number.Get out of there and on the way to Mystral, I will get there as soon as I can.”

“How?” he wailed.

“Think of something, just no killing otherwise I can’t help you at all!” The line then went dead and he lowered his phone.

“I need the check right away,” he groaned. “Unless you don’t mind me leaving to go outside without paying.”

“Right away,” Nephee said. She went over to the cash register and began keying in the receipt. He glanced over towards the window to see where the police were and they were still inspecting the truck. He slipped the steak knife up his right sleeve and began walking towards the cash register. It would be a long shot, but he’d need to hijack another car and hope they didn’t fight back too much or die of fright. Unlike at the start of this, this time he’d have to really do something criminal to escape and do what was right.

Gerrin Pass, Blizzaria

Azura Blizzarin stood on a ridge overlooking Gerrin Pass and the Highway Express below. A yawn escaped her lips as she brought her mitten hand up to cover it lest some stray snowflakes blow in her mouth. Ahead in the distance she could see the flashing lights of the Royal Xelhan Police, still in the mountain's shadow as the sun began peaking over horizon.

“Madam, the charges are all set,” a man dressed in a parka said as he walked up behind Azura.

“Thanks Aki, that’ll be all,” she yawned again.

“Madam, if I may be so forward, but why are we doing an Avalanche Patrol so late in the year?” he asked. “And so early in the morning. I know you are very fond of your sleep.”

Azura put her hands in her parka’s pockets and gave Aki a small grunt and grimace before responding, “Small favour for national security. Otherwise as you say, I’d not be out here in the cold so early in the day.” She adjusted her glasses as the wind picked up slightly. “Besides no one does this like us, and Vera knows there is no one who secures the Gerrin Pass like the Blizzarins."

"I see," he nodded as pulled up her sleeve to look at her watch. "Are they late?"

Azura pulled back down her sleeve and looked off into the distance, the breeze dying down a little bit, "No. We're just early." A few moments later the wailing of sirens could be heard in the distance, "Here we go, we're only getting one chance at this so look sharp," she said as she dusted off a pair of binoculars. "Oh Singer Motors, never stop being so durable," she chuckled.

"Is there something wrong?" Aki asked.

"It looks like the cops have tried shooting at him. They must really want that package," she responded without lowering her binoculars. She then pointed to a white and blue case to her left, "Get on that and remove the safety, he's passing the barricade."

Aki knelt down and opened the case revealing a silver panel with two switches, two antenna and a red button with a glass covering. He flipped the right hand switch, "Safety Off. By the way, how are you going to time this by just watching it at a distance. You have one of the officers below with a radar gun?"

A few moments passed before Azura lowered her binoculars, and pulled up her sleeve and beeped something on her watch. "No, that would involve more than we need know on the plans." She knelt down next to Aki and flipped the left hand switch. "I'm sure you've seen the signs along the highways, 'speed is monitored by aircraft.'"

"I thought that was just to deter people from speeding along the long stretches of rural highway," Aki responded with a nod as the case began to emit several erratic pings and beeps.

"All highways have a half kilometer strip on them, painted during the second half of the kilometer. The police time how long it takes you to get past that line to calculate your speed and radio ahead to the ground unit. So by the time you see the blue flashing lights, its already too late to slow down." The beeping slowed down and slowly became less erratic. "Assuming he keeps traveling at or near that constant speed, we can assume the timing we need to trigger the avalanche as we know how fast the snow will get to the bottom."

"Synchronization of charges complete. Ready to fire," an automated voice spoke. "T minus ten seconds.... nine... eight... seven..."

"There are of course, additional lines, but that will be for another day." She flipped open the glass cover of the button. "For now, we can consider this job done." She pressed the button as the countdown reached zero. There was what sounded like a muffled pop that echoed around the pass before the unmistakable roar of an avalanche. The sound of the sirens once sounding so close disappeared into roar of the avalanche, before it too quieted down and all that was heard was the wind howling through the pass. Azura stood up to look out from the ridge, a weak grin and a sigh of relief as she drew her phone out. "Your package is safely on its way to Mystral."

"Thanks Azura, I owe you one," Vera responded before quickly ending the call.

Vera's happiness however would be quite short lived. No sooner had she hung up would she receive another call. "You've got some nerve! What are you doing threatening my people?" a voice demanded. A voice, that would turn Vera an even paler shade as she struggled to formulate an answer.

Blizzaria Palace, Blizzaria

Vera Soldana felt ill as she walked the halls of Blizzaria Palace towards the main Conference Room. Her footsteps the only hollow echo she heard, even above the boots of the Crysanthemum Guard escorting her. She felt her papers begin to slip through her fingers and she had to tighten her grip. Soon the guard stepped aside and motioned towards a door. “Here you are Minister Soldana.”

“Thanks,” Vera gulped. She took in a deep breath as she grabbed the door and held it as she twisted the nob and pushed it open. “Your Highness, I’m here answering your summons,” she said as she exhaled and entered the room.

Tsuyu was already in the room, sitting in a chair, her arms and legs crossed, with her hanging foot tapping in the air. Her eyes were closed and her lips pursed as she didn’t move upon Vera’s entrance. Across from her sat another woman in a white top and a black pencil skirt, her blue eyes behind a pair of light reading glasses, black hair tied back in a somewhat messy bun. She looked up from her cup of tea that she had been sipping.

“That bad eh?” Vera asked.

“Quite,” Myrna said giving Vera a gentle shove from behind to push her further into the room. Once a few more steps in, Myrna closed the door behind her and walked across the room to sit next to the mystery woman.

“While I consider myself inexperienced in politics and in being a monarch, I like to believe myself at the very least competent in the role. As such, I find overtures to undermine my authority, or to shoehorn people I consider close into trying to compromise my position, highly offensive,” Tsuyu spoke in a slow, deliberate tone, before opening her eyes and locking them with Vera’s. “So tell me Vera, why go around me and attempt to legally subpoena two of my former roommates without notifying me? What scheme are you trying to hatch? Did you think neither would enquire with me first?”

Vera took in a deep breath and sighed before her posture slumped and she looked at the ground, “I didn’t mean to go around you for nefarious purposes highness. I merely attempted to circumvent you to prevent drawing in your wrath, but it would appear that is now of little consequence.” She looked back up and moved forward and stretched out her hand to give the portfolio she was holding to Tsuyu. “If you’re here you might as well know the truth, the full truth and I’ll be willing to accept any subsequent punishment, but I need to make this as fast as possible.”

Tsuyu scowled at Vera before nearly snatching the portfolio out of Vera’s hand. Upon opening it, her scowl melted slowly off her face, “These are the notes from Omaksua…” She then gasped and slapped the portfolio shut, “Don’t tell me you did what I think you did.”

Vera put her feet together and nodded, “it’s exactly what you think. We didn’t destroy the research or all of the viable samples.” She then raised her left hand before Tsuyu could respond, “but I do have good news. The stolen samples are now in civilian hands and they are on their way here.”

“And this is why I hate you military types,” Tsuyu seethed. “’Oh, it’ll be a good deterent,’ they said. ‘It’ll be something no one would expect’, they said. Now I have the health of an entire nation in the hands of an unknown civilian!” she yelled as she swept her left hand to her side. “And a minister who not only disobeyed a direct royal decree, but saw fit to not involve me in the recovery and further endanger the lives of those we’re sworn to be protecting. I’d expel you right now if I knew if wouldn’t cause a national panic over constitutional rights,” she added as she pointed the portfolio towards Vera before leaning back in her chair and putting the portfolio in her lap and clasping her hands on top of it. “So Miss Minister, what are you going to do rectify this mess you’ve created?”

“Well, I could go out and retrieve the item, he was on his way from Mystral just before my arrival here,” Vera said with a slight stammer as she motioned behind her.

“That won’t be necessary,” a Chrysanthemum Guard in a red uniform said as she entered the room.

“Not now Noriko,” Tsuyu sighed. “I already have had a large enough headache from you military types for the day.”

“Then you really don’t want to look outside,” Noriko remarked. Tsuyu raised an eyebrow and Noriko snapped her feet together, “As per orders from Prime Minister Tristana Ocelot, an Ascension Committee has been called upon the advice of Tara Niinama. The grounds for the Challenge are conspiring with Euangelion with the appointed challenger named as Sharena Soldana. As such the current monarch, Tsuyu Avalon is to be stripped of her powers and remain under house arrest here in the palace until the committee has been convened and passed judgement.”

“You’re… kidding… right?” Tsuyu stammered. She got up from her seat and approached Noriko. “Tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not,” Noriko responded. “You can go out on the balcony and check yourself. The Chrysanthemums are already barricading you in.”

Tsuyu pushed past Noriko and ran out the door, down the hall towards the balcony. She threw open the sliding door and looked down towards the perimeter fencing, and sure enough, as she was told by Noriko, they were already setting up security and the Queen’s Standard had been lowered from the flagpole. “But… why…?” she thought aloud as the others caught up to her. She then turned and yelled at Vera, “this is all your fault isn’t it! You started this and now you think I’m just going to bend to you? Think again!” Tsuyu’s rant was cut short by a single sniper round and a thud on the ground.

“Get a medic up here stat!” Noriko’s voice crackled over the radio moments later.

Blizzaria Palace. Later That Night

The sun had long set over Blizzaria and the only lights outside remained the security lights and the blue police lights beyond that. Myrna stood pensive at the window watching as the soldiers carried out their duties.

"We're running out of time Erika. The Assembly takes place tomorrow and we'll be missing several crucial pieces," Myrna said as she continued to stare blankly out the window. "Are we out of moves that this will end with nothing more than a whimper?"

"If you ask for my advice. Perhaps another view from distance may suffice," Erika responded.

"There isn't much time for another view, let alone a distant one," Myrna responded. She bit her lower lip as Noriko threw the doors open and quickly made her way to the other two women.

"I've returned from interrogating the sniper." She paused and sighed, "He almost seemed smug about it. He didn't deny working for the Roses, which goes without saying. Whoever the Roses are, we're going to have to deal with them how King Maiku dealt with the XLF." She took in a deep breath before continuing, "But there in may lie a bigger issue."

"I don't see how things can get any bigger," Myrna chortled as she turned around to face Noriko and Erika. "Shooting at a monarch puts you pretty up there for things you done wrong in your life."

Noriko put her hands on her hips and looked off towards her left before inhaling and exhaling. "The Roses of Nirvana aren't exactly an unknown foe. The sniper made it obvious that they are behind basically this entire thing. Though he never met the leader directly, she operates through a man in black. The man in black instructed him to be captured so he could deliver a message to Tsuyu:

One last shake of the dice. One last draw from the deck. Let us decide once and for all who is Queen of the Cards. That is of course unless you don't want to lose both crowns at the same time."

"There aren't too many people that would address her as the Queen of Cards. Not since the Royal Hearing on...." Myrna paused. A silence brewed between the three as the realization set in. "It's her isn't it?" Myrna finally broke the silence.

"It would seem so," Noriko nodded.

"Well we all know the score. Tsuyu's decision made her quite sore. Once because Tsuyu kept the crown. Twice because her work was buried underground," Erika surmised. "Though to be fair, the blame is partly hers to share. She handed the team over to security, while putting all the heat on Tsuyu alone to bear. But that is not what any want to hear. We must either act now or lose out over fear." The other two nodded in agreement and the group prepared to move to the medical wing when the room doors opened.

"Roomies, I haven't said this in over four years, but I'm going gambling," Tsuyu emerged holding up Vera's phone with a picture of Lugh and his backpack entering the Leprechaun Gaming Center. "Vera will survive, but I'm going to make sure it wasn't a wasted opportunity."

Leprechaun Gaming Center, Blizzaria

Lugh glanced at his watch, which read ten minutes to midnight. She was late; or rather it was getting late. He would have missed two days of work by now and was in a different province with no immediate way of returning home. He hadhijacked Nephee’s car, but that wouldn’t be able to get him back home. He had seen the blockade at the palace, so directly handing it over to Tsuyu would have been impossible as it’s likely he was a very wanted person between the hijacking and that avalanche that most likely killed several officers.

He noticed one of the security bouncers walk by and he turned to pretend he was playing the slot machines. He clumsily put some tokens into the machine, dropping one that rolled away. He started sweating as he heard the crunch of thetoken trapped by someone’s foot. Take it easy Lugh, they don’t know about you yet. Just some security making sure nothing bad is going on. He reassured himself as he slowly turned to face where the token had rolled and to his surprise there was already an outstretched hand with the token before him.

“Sir Lugh I presume?” a woman’s voice spoke, much to his surprise and he followed up along her arm to her face. Though she wore shades, the visage was easily recognizable as Tsuyu.

“High Queen?” He gasped aloud. “But aren’t you banned from entering these places?” he quickly added.

“Shhh,” she ordered as she put her finger to her lips. “You’re noise making won’t make this easier.” She handed him a bag that looked identical to his. “In the event we get separated, take this. It’s a dummy container.” He nodded and exchanged bags with Tsuyu. “Alright follow me,” she ordered before clicking her head piece, “On our way out, is the path clear?”

“Don’t go that way,” Noriko’s voice crackled over the radio. “Security has five members scanning the slots. Head to the back of the floor past the blackjack tables.”

“Aye,” Tsuyu responded as she moved off.

Though it was late at night, the gaming floor was fairly crowded with weekenders some tourists. Tsuyu and Lugh had slow going, through the slot machine section, but it opened up a bit more as they transverse into the Blackjack area. For a moment it seemed as if Tsuyu slowed before turning going through a door marked ‘no entry’.

“There is someone else here fighting for control of the surveillance. That or the system has suddenly developed a case of ambivalence,” Erika’s voice crackled. “You’re going to have to pick up the pace. I think we may be dealing with another computer ace.”

“On it,” Tsuyu responded. She stopped in front of an opening labelled ‘laundry’. “Hop down,” she motioned to Lugh.

Lugh walked past her and peered through the opening. It went straight down to what looked like a pile of blankets, though he couldn’t be sure with the darkness and lighting. He looked up and the shaft went upwards, though again, in the darkness it was hard to gauge height. “Are you sure this is safe?” he asked as he tried to back out.

“Positive,” Tsuyu responded as she shoved him through before jumping behind him.

Lugh screamed for the few seconds he was in free fall before feeling the heavy thud of the laundry below him, which stunned him for a moment or two before he felt the second thud of Tsuyu landing next to him. She quickly rolled out of the pile before helping Lugh who was still catching his breath. “You’re not supposed to let the whole building know we’re using the laundry chute,” Tsuyu chided him.

“It was a sudden push, I’m not sure what you expected for me to do,” he responded back.

“Stay quiet,” she said as she opened the door. “Now we have to get away from here before someone comes to check see if there was any noise in the shaft. Fortunately it’s not that far for now.” Once outside, they made a hard left downwhat appeared to be a dead end hallway. At the end Tsuyu knocked on the wall three times.

“It’s nothing there,” Lugh started to say before hearing a click and the door opened. Noriko had opened the door, while Erika sat deeply engrossed in what looked like a laptop terminal. In front of her was a panel of video feeds that seemed to be flashing alternating through several cameras.

“Glad you made it back, but we’re going to have a harder time getting you out than getting you in,” Noriko said as she welcomed the two in and closed the door behind them. Listening to radio chatter, it would appear someone has alertedsecurity to your presence and they are setting up systematically looking through the sectors of the building for you. Erika seems to have arrived at a stalemate with her competitor, but only temporarily. I’d suggest you two keep moving. Pull a fire alarm that should create an opening for you to get through.”

“What about the subway station?” Tsuyu asked.

Noriko shook her head, “Myrna has reported several sweeps past the station.”

“Then back to the surface it is,” Tsuyu sighed. She looked at Lugh, “You stay with them for now. Your hard work is over. It’s me they want so it’s me they’ll chase. There is no further point to endangering yourself. Thank you for bringing this here, I’ll be sure to make sure your record is cleared over the next few days.”

“But you don’t know that you’ll be still in position to do that,” Lugh said as Tsuyu moved towards the back door.

She paused as she put her hand on the knob of the door. “And you don’t know that I won’t,” she replied as she pushed open the door and headed out.

"How hard could it be?" Erika shrugged. "She has a few hours lee to be out free."

"You of all people know how that is famous last words," Noriko groaned.

Tsuyu made her way back up the stairs to the main floor. She had curiously not seen much security on the basement levels. Perhaps they didn’t think she had gotten that far, or perhaps they were all in the laundry room. As she prepared to enter the main floor, she pulled down her shades. Well Tsuyu, one final test of your escape abilities, she thought to herself. Several gacha machines were near her, which had several children and adults cranking to gain the rare contents inside. She used them as cover, walking alongside the rows unless security emerged on her side, at which point she’d duck into the rows and cross to the otherside. Fortunately for her, most customers seemed engrossed in attempting to get their prizes. She spied an emergency exit at the end of the section. Would she be fortunate enough not to even need the fire alarm to escape? She couldn’t see any security posted at the door and she was three rows away. Her pace quickened a little and she readjusted the straps on the backpack.

At the penultimate row, a security person emerged from the row and Tsuyu was forced to duck into the row and cross over to the far side. She looked behind to make sure she wasn’t being followed, but didn’t see the security detail go past the row. She faced forward and walked to the end before going to the next row and glancing down it. To her surprise she didn’t see him there, or in the next row.

“Noriko, do you see any security near to where I am?” Tsuyu said as she walked into the row and put some coins into the gacha machine and pretended to use it. There was a few moments of silence as she slowly turned the knob.

“He appears to be stationed at that row watching the door. There is another one two more rows down,” Noriko responded. “I’m telling you to hit the fire alarm, that’s going to be your easiest way…”

Tsuyu’s attention was cut short as a woman yelled out, “Stop! Thief! Come back here with my chips!” The security detail at the door moved down the row as Tsuyu clicked the nob into place, which then blared its own fanfare ‘Congratuations!You’ve won!’ just as the man ran behind her.

“Congrats on winning,” he said as he paused to get a better look. “Tsuyu Avalon!” he said.

“Uh-oh,” Tsuyu said before she dashed off towards the door. She hit the door a few steps ahead of the guard and ran out into the dark night but was instantly blinded by a spot light directly in front of her. She was forced to stop and put her hands up to her eyes to shield them from the glare. She turned to face away from the initial light and several others lit up. By this time the guard behind her had caught up and tackled her to the ground.

“You’re under arrest for breach of concessions,” the guard said as he cuffed her hands behind her back. “You don’t have to say anything but it will harm your defense if you don’t mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given as evidence.”

Officer Jensen emerged from behind the spot light as the guard lifted her to her feet. “One second there Yaris, we need to remove something from her possession.” Jensen moved to unzip her backpack, but Tsuyu kept turning away from him.“Now look miss, you aren’t a queen right now, and even if you were, you’re not above the law. Now let me get to your bag or I’ll add resisting arrest to your rap sheet, which at this moment I don’t think you can really afford,” he smirked.

Tsuyu groaned at him before Yaris kept a firm hold on her left arm, preventing her from spinning and he unzipped the bag. Inside, he found a thermos type container, still with a thermometer reading minus ten Celsius on it. He grinned triumphantly, “I bet you were going to use this to poison us weren’t you?”

“As if,” Tsuyu scoffed. “If I wanted to do that, there are much easier ways.”

“Tut, tut,” Jensen waved his finger at Tsuyu. “Anything you say may be admissible as evidence, and right now you’re threatening an officer isn’t very queenly. Not that I expect you to be a queen again.”

“This is our jurisdiction officer,” Yaris responded. “While we appreciate your assistance and tipping us off, we need to interrogate her on our side first before releasing her to you.”

“Of course,” Jensen tipped his hat. “We can wait until you’re done. Can’t we Tsuyu Avalon.” Tsuyu didn’t respond, but hung her head low and muttered something under her breath. He then added with a laugh, “Well I have lots of free timeto wait. You only have a few before it’s all over for you.” Tsuyu again didn’t respond as she was lead back inside and down to one of the subterranean interrogating rooms.

Once back in his patrol car, Jensen took out his phone and dialed a number. “Container secured,” he said with a wicked grin after the phone was picked up on the other end. “And we have a few hours to rig it for the Committee if things don’t go our way.”

“Excellent,” the voice responded. “And do make sure Tsuyu has access to a television when it all goes down. I want to see the look on her face when everything she’s ever known crashes down on top of her.”

“Consider it done.”

Tsuyu was taken to one of the interrogation rooms underneath the gaming center. The room was soundproofed and void of anything other than three chairs and a round table. She knew one of the walls was actually a one way mirror, but thatdidn’t really matter at this juncture. On the table sat a needle and two vials, another person with gloves and a face mask standing next to it.

“I see you guys still use the same practices,” she said as she was sat in one of the chairs, the backing of the chair wrapped by her arms behind her.

“If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” Yaris quipped. He spun the other chair and sat on it facing Tsuyu. “Now while I didn’t expect to see you today, we need to make sure you’re not up to your old habits. Your story being particularly well known in my circles.”

“What if I told you that I was here for national security reason?” Tsuyu said as the other person drew back the needle and pinged it to make sure the air bubbles were out. As they approached her, she kept her eyes trained on them.

“Of course you’re not going to make this easy,” Yaris sighed. “Yet I guess once a gambler always a gambler.” Tsuyu felt the coolness of the alcoholic wipe cleansing the area for which she was about to be pricked. “Last chance to comeclean.”

“I’m telling you the truth!” she said before Yaris nodded and she felt the needle jab her in the arm.

“Now we’ll get the truth out of you, whether you like it or not. I’ll not have you scamming the casinos a second time,” Yaris said. Tsuyu felt herself get light headed and her vision start blurring. Yaris said more, but his words and her responses were getting more incoherent, and it seemed as if he were fading away. This would definitely eat up a few hours. The last time she had done this she had been out for three and she now only had four with which to work with. She stopped fighting against the drugs and blanked out, wishing it would flush out sooner than get them administer a second dose that might make its effects last longer.

When Tsuyu awoke the room was dark. She could see no one or no thing. She might have considered herself still dreaming if only there wasn’t a searing pain in her head. She instinctively brought her hand up to her head and found it wasn’t cuffed. She was in no way restrained.

“Welcome back Princess,” she heard a voice echo. She couldn’t tell if it was in her head or if someone was speaking to her as she still was unable to see anything.

“Who are you?” she slurred as she struggled to her feet. Her head felt as if it was still spinning and she leaned heavily on the chair she just had gotten up from.

“Someone you should know very well,” the voice responded and a light illuminated the table in the middle of the room. It was the same table as before, but there were no vials or needles on it. Two chairs were on opposite sides of the table but other than that nothing else could be seen from her current vantage. Tsuyu groaned and forced herself to stand, holding her hands out to maintain her balance and took one shaky step after the other to cross the space between her chair and the table. As she arrived at the table, she found a screen inset the table. The screen was set up in a Shaki board, with pieces all set into position.

“Is this some form of a cruel joke?” she muttered as she leaned on the table.

“Not at all,” the voice responded. “Consider this a memento from a previous occasion.” Her name appeared on the blue side and the pieces began moving on their own. “I have studied this game numerous times. I have seen your tactics fromother games. And now I will exact vengeance on you for taking advantage of my short comings and repay them ten fold.”

“I’ve played hundred, thousands of games, I don’t know how you expect me in this state to remember…” Tsuyu started to say before she noticed words in the River. Instead of “river” it read June 2016. “Aww, you can’t really be serious Irena Fox.”

“Quite,” Irena giggled. “You made me lose out on having my work open to the public after having the Doc locked and beaten in this very room. You know how painful it was wondering if he was alright?”

“He brought that on himself, he had already sold us out, and besides Omaksua was too volatile to allow into production. If I hadn’t destroyed it then, I’d have destroyed it after ascending,” Tsuyu yelled before putting her hand to her head to ease the pain of her headache. “And I don’t have time for this, I need to be out.”

“Just like I needed to be out back then?” Irena jeered. “The door will only unlock with a Tsuyu side Victory,” she added as the pieces returned back to their starter position. “The sooner you win, the sooner you can attempt to convince the Committee you’re serious about your job and not just a rule breaker.”

Tsuyu had no idea what time it was, but she knew she couldn’t bolt in her current condition, even if the door was unlocked. If she were in her right mind, she could beat Irena in about twenty minutes, but she was far from her right mind. She sat down in the blue side chair. Another migraine, as she looked over the board. If they used what she thought they used, she’d need about twenty minutes for the effects to be worn enough to think straight. After that, if she still had enough pieces she could possibly beat Irena. She closed her eyes as another wave of migraines hit. Or she could outright lose game one and win a second faster game. Perhaps to feed on Irena’s ego. “Alright, but I just need to win once right?” Tsuyu asked.

“Just once, if you can,” Irena sneered. “And if you’re wondering about the time its 8:30 am. So you’ve got thirty minutes to win and get to the House of Commons.”

Thirty minutes… the House was about a fifteen minute run away. She didn’t have time for a second game. It was going to have to be one long drawn out game. She allowed her head to rest in her hands. Until her migraines stopped, or at least became tolerable, this would be an ultra-defensive game. A strategy she had very rarely resorted to. “Let’s go,” she said as she moved the left warrior in her opening move. If Irena had been studying her games, this would br as much a surprise to Tsuyu as it would be for Irena.

Irena's right hand ballista moved to the centre line, which caused Tsuyu to audibly groan. This was going to be a long thirty minutes....

House of Lords, Blizzaria

Tristana Ocelot glanced nervously at her watch. It was ten minutes after nine and Tsuyu had not shown up. She called Tsuyu’s phone which had gone straight to voice mail. Minister of Defense Vera Soldana and Transport Minister Myrna had not shown up either. The latter probably being one of the most vocal supporters of Tsuyu.

“Sorry I’m late,” Myrna ran into the main foyer area, completely out of breath. “Something came up with the subways and I had to deal with it.”

“That’s one of you,” Tristana grunted.

“Who is still missing?” Myrna panted.

“Vera is missing as is Tsuyu herself. I’d thought she’d at least want to be present to defend herself.”

“Well…. Vera is injured…. And Tsuyu…” Myrna hesitated and looked at Tristana. Tristana frowned and crossed her arms, her fingers tapping in a wavelike motion along her arm. “Tsuyu was arrested at the Leprechaun Gaming Center last night.”

“WHAT!” Tristana screeched. She put her hands out, took in a deep breath and pushed back a few stray strands of her red hair. “You know what, don’t answer,” she sighed. “Tsuyu has no reason to be there and I don’t want to know why the night before an Ascension Committee Session she’d want to blow everything up by going somewhere she is legally not supposed to be.”

“It’s not like she purposely went to be a rebel or something,” Myrna interjected before Tristana turned to walk off. “Where are you going?”

“To get this underway,” Tristana responded without turning around or stopping her stride. “If Tsuyu wants to be reckless, we’ll do this with her in absentia. The longer we delay this, the more annoyed people will get, and I’m plenty annoyed she’s not only delayed but gone somewhere she shouldn’t be.”

Myrna sighed. She knew Tristana made a valid point, but it wasn’t fair to Tsuyu to brush her off as some common rebel. They had lost contact with Tsuyu after her arrest and had no way of releasing her. Not only had she been caught violating her own Royal Hearing Conditions, she was technically not able to exercise her powers as a queen until this session was over. Vera wasn’t able to exercise her abilities either, not that Tsuyu would have accepted it out of fear it was being seen as a personal favour. She looked back hoping to see Tsuyu run through the door, but no such thing occurred. After another minute, she made her way towards the House Chamber.

Outside of the chamber entrance she saw Sharena looking at a few cue cards. Her loosely curled hair and complexion looked similar to that of Tsuyu, but what really struck Myrna was her lightly biting the second joint on her pointer finger (proximal Interphalangeal joint). “Well at least I know that habit is definitely genetic,” Myrna mused. Sharena dropped her cards and scrambled to pick them up as Myrna walked by.

“Sorry, sorry,” Sharena said as she scrambled to pick them all up. She stooped down making sure they were all in order as she gathered them before standing back up. Myrna passed through the doors and entered the already full chamber. She took up her seat next to the other Numerian politicians.

“Running a little late for the Transport Minister aren’t we?” Kallie Novus chided her. “I thought transit was always on time.”

“Stuck in traffic,” Myrna responded with a weak smile. She then looked towards the middle podium where Tristana stood, “So I take it her mood has been bad?”

“Most are,” Kallie groaned. “Not a fan of Ascension Committees in basically the infantile stages of a fairly uneventful reign.”

Their conversation was interrupted by Tristana hitting the gavel on its block, “Order, order! I, Prime Minister Tristana Ocelot declare this Ascension Session open. The incumbent, Tsuyu Avalon against the challenger Sharena Soldana. However, as Tsuyu Avalon has not shown up at the appointed time, we will hold it in absentia.”

“Why not just declare the Challenge successful?” Otis Bell chided. “She has shown a non-interest in due process by not being here and this is wasting all of our times.”

“Because this is still a civil nation,” Tristana hissed and leveled her gavel at him. “And due process should be adhered to whether we like it or not.” She then pushed back a strand of hair that had fallen out of place and continued, “As Tsuyu Avalon is absent, we will proceed as normal, granting Sharena a change to argue her case as well as expel three voting members just prior to the vote. If Tsuyu Avalon should arrive at any of those times, she will be allowed to join the following round.” She motioned towards the door, “Sharena Soldana, you may approach the podium to argue your case.”

“T-thank you,” Sharena said with a polite curtsy. She quickly approached the podium and cleared her throat several times and took a sip of water before starting. “I stand before you today as a challenger to Tsuyu Avalon. Who is not here because she was arrested at the Leprechaun Gaming Center.”

There were audible gasps around the room as images of Tsuyu at the Gaming Center passing through the Black Jack area as well as her being arrested by security was shown on the screens. Tristana needed to hit her gavel on the block a few times to quiet down the growing murmur. “Comments after she’s done. Please, continue,” she nodded towards Sharena.

“S-so as you can tell, she not only disregarded due process, but also disregard for the law. And while the queen is not above the l-law, this is a blatant example of her in-incompetence at the job.” She took another bit of water and flipped over her cue cards. Another pause before she swallowed and continued, “I think I’d make a good queen because I’m very humble and I stick with my beliefs for a better nation. I have proven that I am of the same bloodline as Tsuyu Avalon, my name only different due to a parenting issue. I’m strong and athletic, both mentally and physically, attending Silvari’s School for the Gifted and being one of the top tennis players among High Schoolers. I work well with others too. And that is all,” she hurriedly added. “Any questions?”

After a few minutes, Myrna put up her hand and stood up. “You claim that Tsuyu Avalon was arrested in the Leprechaun Gaming Center, but going there shouldn’t count against her.”

“I beg your pardon Miss Myrna, but she knows full well she shouldn’t be found dead in such a place,” Cupun Io nearly jumped out of his seat. “Her Hearing explicitly states that she shouldn’t be inside a casino as she is a risk both to herself and them.”

“You know full well that no one is a threat to a casino,” Myrna fired back. “They got outsmarted by a group of university students and they made her fall on her sword for it.”

“Regardless of the reasons, she shouldn’t have been there,” Ai Yupiki shrugged from her seat. “No royal shouldn’t even need to be gambling in the first place. She makes enough money and lives in great comfort at our tax payer dollars. It’s also not a very queenly trait to have a gambling addiction.” She broke off her commentary and looked to her right, “Is something funny to you Miss Silesia?”

“Very,” Taru Silesia chortled. “The thought of one person being a danger to an organization whose job it is to fix the numbers in their favour is highly amusing.” She continued as she put her hands on her cheeks and her mouth opened wide, “Oh no!Someone made a couple of thousand off us in one year. This is obviously going to hurt our bottom line and drive up premiums!”

“Okay Taru, your sarcasm isn’t required here,” Azura chided her. “But she does raise a valid point. I don’t think the losses garnered from one person would hurt a major gambling operation. In addition the banning from casinos for not actually doing anything legally bad is a bit harsh.”

“So says the snow demon, who buries their problems in ice for a living,” Cupun fired off.

“Whoa, whoa, just because you couldn’t get your whorehouse, isn’t no reason to talk about one’s background.”

“Order! Order!” Tristana smashed her gavel down. “You’re all diverging from the point. All of you sit down and you Myrna, do you have an actualquestion for her?”

Myrna sighed and shook her head. “No question. Just something to think about. Tsuyu wouldn’t break a law without good reason. I wanted to know if she’d do the same.”

“That’s not a fair question,” Tristana seethed. “Now sit down and if there are no further questions do we want to open the floor up to voting?”

Myrna looked at the door. Hoping Tsuyu would come through any minute as Tristana laid out the instructions for voting on which they wanted as a queen. Sharena waived her right to expel three members and hurried onto the voting section. All members present would vote except for Prime Minister Ocelot. Due to Vera’s absence, there was now an even number of votes and the first round ended in a tie. Myrna almost felt nauseous as Tristana tallied the results.

“Fifteen votes for Tsuyu Avalon and Fifteen Votes for Sharena Soldana. Sigrun Mint, approach, I need a word with you,” Tristana said before muting the mic at her podium. Sigrun and Tristana had a discussion that was nothing more than hush whispers. Likely to discuss which side Tristana would vote for as she would have to cast a deciding vote.

Myrna looked back at the door one more time, “Come on Tsuyu, where are you, they couldn’t have kept you this long. If you need a dramatic entrance now would be the time.” She looked back towards where Sigrun and Tristana were talking. Sigrun was preparing to walk back to her seat, and Tristana didn’t seem at all happy. The two women nodded to each other one last time before Tristana raised her gavel to bring order to the chambers. This was it.

The chambers echoed as Tristana slammed her gavel down on its block. Or rather, she was about to. The slam heard instead was from the entrance door as it was flung open. Everyone looked to see who the new entrant was.

“I can’t believe you guys were going to do this without me,” a woman with a head bandage scoffed as blonde hair filaments peaked out. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say this was a set up, and what a great set up it was.”

“Minister Soldana, we are well within our rights to have held this session without your presence, so please no chiding or sarcasm from your late arrival,” Tristana responded.

“So you decided to have this without finding out my actual state?” Vera fired back as she remained standing in the aisle. “Article twenty seven says All members of the Houses shall, unless lawfully absent, attend their Sessions and no decision may be adopted there unless all members have voted. In other words you have not yet lawfully excused my absence, so not only is this vote unconstitutional, but you are in contempt for allowing it to go forth.”

Tristana offered no retort, other than a break of eye contact and the slight reddening of her face. Vera then turned to her right and addressed the gathered MPs, “As for the rest of you who voted against Tsuyu in such a farcical manner, please don’t tell me you did so because of some ‘untraditional behaviour’. Cyanisse is a gambling center that thrives off drawing the rich and elites including royalty and nobility. Being stuck in traditions is what caused us the last time, and here you all are preparing to repeat history again?” She crossed her arms, “And none of you, not one, challenged the validity of Tsuyu’s reason. Yes, Tsuyu is banned from casino, but how many of us can say we didn’t make any mistakes in our lives. As for reasons, I’ll give it to you, because it was my mistake that she took it upon herself to correct.” She beckoned someone outside the door to come to her and a young man entered carrying a backpack. “This here is Lugh Solis. Now Lugh, tell us why you’re here in Blizzaria and not working in Merle?”

“Umm, I’m here because I was handed a canister of some liquid called Omaksua,” he said as he took his left arm out of the loop to allow the bag to swing in front of him. A tub of ice cream fell out, which elicited a few chuckles around the chambers. He soon pulled out what looked like a wad of newspapers, but that too he peeled back the layers to reveal a silver canister with a thermometer. “It was handed to me in Merle and I had to escape police pursuit to reach here. Minister Vera said to meet her at Leprechaun Gaming Center.”

“Now hold it right there,” Vera said as she put her right arm over Lugh’s shoulders. She continued addressing the chamber with a smirk slowly creeping across her face, “Do any of you know what Omaksua is? No, of course none of you do. Everyone was so focused on Tsuyu being banned from casinos they didn’t take note of the other provisions listed from her hearing. One of those provisions was the destruction of her research project, code named Omaksua. A poisonous substance created from the liquid gathered from Lily of the Valley berries in extremely high concentrations. Now, she ordered that destroyed, but I thought with proper research and refinement, we could maybe use it and held the sample you see here. I informed Minister Selu about it two days ago, and it’s why the BCHE warning was issued, in anticipation of it being used on a large scale gathering.” She then pointed towards Sharena, “And I’m sure Miss Pretender is well aware of the plot to use it.”

All eyes focused on Sharena. “I-I don’t k-know anything,” she stammered. “I just wanted to help my friend. I didn’t want us to die,” she put her head down and started to cry.

“Die?” Tristana reacted. “What do you mean die?”

“If you guys voted against me, the Man in Black said that Nicholas would be killed by a gas bomb that would explode underneath the chambers,” she said wiping away her tears.

“But that won’t happen,” Vera said holding up her hand. She took in a deep breath, “Do you smell that? The faint smell of strawberries? Means that if that plan would have triggered, you’d all already be dead.” She then spoke in sulky voice and exaggerated hand motions, “But Vera how do you know this?” Vera then continued in her normal voice, “Remember that person at least half of you voted against? The one half of you thought was shirking duties, responsibilities and not being queenlike? You know, Tsuyu Avalon? Yeah her? Here’s a recording for your ears.” She pulled out her phone, and putting it on speaker at maximum volume everyone heard what at first seemed like scraping on the ground.

“Of course,” a man’s voice spoke. “We can wait until you’re done. Can’t we Tsuyu Avalon.”

This was followed by Tsuyu’s voice in a low and quiet manner, “Strawberry Shortcake delivered. Lugh has Omaksua. I swapped bags at the control room. Get him out and everyone is safe, even if I don’t make it out in time.”

“So you see Tsuyu was not shirking her responsibilities. Even after you had her stripped of them, she thought nothing more than to keep her own people safe. Even if it cost her everything. So while at least half of you are caught with traditions and customs, there is only one person I know that would not only make sure her people are safe, but do it at the cost of herself. That is the mark of a true queen. So my vote, as we’re still in the voting phase, goes to Tsuyu Avalon, the one and only High Queen of Xelha.”

Tristana’s face returned to its normal colouration. The tenseness in her body and face melted away as she afforded herself a small smile and sigh of relief as she raised her gavel one final time. “And with that, by a margin of 16 to 15, Tsuyu Avalon survives her challenge and the powers of High Queen of Xelha and its realm are to be reinstated immediately back to her. If she is being detained, her location is to be disclosed to the Chrysanthemum Guard for national security reasons. This session is now over.”

Thought that was the end did you? Well there is one last thing that needs to be resolved before this thread finishes

Interrogation Room, Leprechaun Gaming Center, Blizzaria

Tsuyu had no idea how much time had passed. She had no idea if the Session had started or ended. What she did know was that her head had started to clear. Irena had succeeded in not making any fatal mistakes and her defensive tactics had lasted longer than she would have anticipated. However, she was outnumbered, five pieces to three. Irena had two warriors, a guard, a siku and lord compared to her consort, footman and lord.

Irena’s warriors were at I8 and G6, while her guard was at D10. Her siku was at the top of her palace at E8, while the lord sat at the bottom of the palace, virtually unmoved at E10. Tsuyu’s footman was on her river bank at C5, while her lord sat in the middle of its palace on E2, and her consort was currently opposed to Irena’s siku on E7.

“You don’t seem so chipper,” Irena taunted her opponent. “Could it be that you’ve lost your edge and about to concede to me? How does it feel Tsuyu to hedge a bet on a game when your mind is elsewhere? Feels bad doesn’t it? Hope you savour and remember this defeat.”

Tsuyu bit her lip and groaned and she cradled her head between her thumb and fingers. She could cede the game, but that would only feed into Irena’s narrative, and it felt like the game had been going on for an eternity. No, she had come this far, she was going to salvage this game. An advantage of two pieces? She could turn that around right? She’d won and lost games with more pieces. At least she had no ballistae to worry about. Still, four defensive pieces would be a daunting defense to break through. On the flip side, so long as she kept the siku in place, Irena had no way of threatening her general aside from directly opposing it with her own. Yet it was that very siku that was causing her the most grief and preventing her from attacking. She could declare a draw due to insufficient material, but Irena wouldn’t take it… would she?

“Hey Irena… how about we call this game a draw and play a new game,” Tsuyu spoke as she brought her head up and rested her chin in her hands.

“A draw?” Irena scoffed. “And miss this chance to rub it in your face? I will only accept you being a gracious loser and accept your surrender. If you don’t want that, I suggest you make a move.”

“Nevermind,” Tsuyu groaned. She sighed and sat back in her chair. Irena was most likely going to attempt to move her siku into a more threatening position. To accomplish this she’d need to move her guard to palace center (E9). After that she’d need about three or four moves to put her Siku in a threatening position, assuming she didn’t kill Tsuyu’s consort and footsoldier on the way. If she took the initiative, she could kill the Siku now, but then the warrior on G6 would take the Siku and it would be a draw. But that would be too easy and neither player would be happy with a draw. She needed a distraction. She sat forward and reached out and touched her footman for a good few seconds before moving it across the river. “Your go,” she said as she sat back in her chair.

“You don’t have much else to do, not that one footsoldier will save you,” Irena jeered before quickly moving her guard to palace center. “Your turn.”

Despite knowing the move was coming, it did very little to comfort Tsuyu. The next move would be the siku, which in all likelihood would spell the beginning of the end of her game. Sikus on their own can force wins against less than two defensive pieces and right now she had none of those. Once the soldier crossed the river, there was nothing on her side of the board protecting her lord. At this point it would be all or nothing. The draw was sounding far more appealing, but that would only prolong things and she had no way of knowing exactly how much time had passed. Irena had told her she had thirty minutes and while this game had been going on forever, it hadn’t quite felt like thirty minutes. And she knew she would hate herself if she could have simply won the game here and now instead of playing another game and condemning herself for sure at being too late to defend herself as the Ascension Session. She lightly bit her finger as she thought of a distraction or a delay. Her soldier was across the river. If she moved it forward, it would be taken by the siku. But it was in line with her consort, but moving her consort would open up the direct line to the lord at best. At worst, it’s still a draw… or was it?

She sat up and looked at the board again. Taking the siku would indeed lead to a draw due to insufficient material as Irena would have no offensive pieces. It was a trap. “Well played Irena, well played,” Tsuyu nodded to herself.

“Giving up?” Irena asked. “You can always play another game and cede this one to me.”

“No, that’s what you want," Tsuyu said as she looked over the board. A grin crept along her lips, "Yes, that's what this is all about isn't it."

"What are you smiling at? Are you finally that broken that you realize there's nothing left?" Irena sneered.

"No. I get it now. You want complete domination. I know how to win this game. I'll show you just like I showed you before. Never underestimate the littlest member of the team." She moved her footman forward one space to C7.

Irena laughed, "You think petty words will anger and distract me? You overestimate your abilities. Or are you playing for a draw knowing that you have no way to actually win." The siku moved to Tsuyu's left to take the footman on C7.

"No Irena. You of all people should know I don't play for draws. If I must sacrifice, I make sure no one does it in vain. A nation is won and lost. It does not thrive on draws." She put her finger on her consort. "This game is over," she moved the consort forward to take the guard. "Decisive Victory."

"Game Over. Tsuyu Victory," a mechanical voice spoke as the room fully illuminated and a click was heard from the door.

"How?" Irena spoke quietly at first before yelling. "How did you do it?"

Tsuyu ignored her until she got to the door. "Step in from the storm, praise it's mercy. Let the sting of the snow never stray far from you. Lightning Strikes and thunder Rolls. Freeing us forevermore. When you understand that verse, then you'll understand why you're current system is flawed," Tsuyu said before pushing the door open and passing through.

The room once again falling into silence. The lights eventually timing out and flicking off, only the screen with the final move of the game the only light. Soon that too lost it's image, creating the sound of static as the picture disappeared before this too shut off, and the room returned to its hard, cold darkness. "Until we meet again..." Irena's voice cracked.

Fin