342 Return To Shearath VIII : Dark Missions, Dilemma

So the family outing/date was bust, which means I was feeling really upset. The citizens of the city were actually quite apologetic after they realized what had happened, the Fellowship was an urban myth that's known by almost anyone. The secret terrorists organization would be spoken about in hushed wipers as the stories of their terrible deeds were discussed in great embellishments or ignorant understatements. The pride city was under an intense lock down at the moment, and no one was allowed to come and go, not without my express permission.

I really didn't expect things to turn out this way, but since it has done so, I had to step things up.There was no time to be hesitant about what I had to do, notwhen there was too many things at stake here. Either way the current situation called for drastic measures and I had already taken those steps. I looked up as Maxine knocked on the door to my father's old study, now mine. After telling her to come in, she walked towards me with a hard look on her face, just as affected by the current stream of events as I was.

"Your Majesty, Gus and Teluna have arrived, they're waiting right outside."

"that's good Maxine. Now I want you to send an invitation to a banquet to all of the governors on Leo, tell them it's to celebrate the birth of the new heirs of the Cor family. After that you know what to do, you're dismissed."

She nodded her head and went out of the study, and Teluna and Gus slipped in just before it closed. Teluna was one of the best when it comes to the manipulation of shadows and the darkness element, plus his darkness element had an icy death like attribute to it, making him not just talented, but also quite lethal, plus the kid was also a were dragon, so he could kill better than most. Gus on the other hand was one of only four telepaths in Spero, except fro the dragons who were mind dragons. Also he was a trained spy and assassin, coupled with Teluna's ability to control dark energy and shadows, it made the two quite a formidable pair, and after pulling some strings, they have both been training under Bob.

"so what's the super secret mission you have for us?" Teluna asked as he sat down on the chair in front of me, not at all standing on ceremony as it was just the three of us here.

"Well hello to you too Teluna, how was your journey here, not too stressful I hope." I asked him in a tone so heavy with sarcasm you could cut it with a knife.

"It was quite INSTANT thank you very much. One second we were on Spero and the next we were here in this amazing place, I can't believe you grew up here. I mean come on who would believe a classless king like you would be spat out of such a paradise, maybe that's why they kicked you out." Teluna said to me with a look of challenge in his eyes. Gus was looking at him with an eyebrow raised, almost as if he was asking if this stupid kid had a death wish or something.

"Yeah who knew, at least I'm better than your dirty ass. When I met you, you were completely covered in dirt and looked no better than a barbarian. Even with all of Nisi's efforts to take care of you, you still turned out to be a smelly little boy." I replied back with a smile on my face, watching as Teluna's face turned a funny shade of red.

He did this on purpose, without a doubt the young vampire knew I was probably out of my mind with everything that's happened. This was his way to make me calm down, and drag me out of the shell I was sure to have built around myself to get things done. He was family, in more ways than one, and I appreciated him for that.

"So why did you send for us?" Gus asked, inserting himself into the conversation so that Teluna and I wouldn't start round two of our war with words.

Gus speaking quickly sobered me up as I looked at the two of them and took a deep breath. As soon as I released the breath I was holding, a shield sprang to life around us, blocking every sound and even energy from leaving or entering the study. Gus and Teluna looked at each other a little confused, but based on the measures I've taken, they knew that whatever it is I wanted to tell them, it was of the utmost importance.

"In a week I'm going to be hosting a banquet where all the governors on Leo would be invited. Your jobs would be to find out everything you can about them, in fact you're to investigate everyone in that banquet, even our own people. Make a list of those with the highest threat, their plans and those of them that can be blackmailed into submission, I rather not have all the governors dying within days of them leaving the banquet.

As for those of them with the highest threat, you guys should prepare a team, I believe you guys ready have an espionage and assassination squad of your own. You all will be taking those of the governors with highest threat out, and planting evidence that points to the fellowship. Which means you're to make it public and as extravagant as possible. After that make sure you dig around their families and their associates for any dirty laundry and back deals. I want to make sure that when I abolish the idea of a governor, the people would be very willing to welcome it.

Which brings us to step two of the, after the governors are dead, people who I'm now emphasizing that you should kill at your discretion and randomly, all of their bad secrets are to be exposed to the world, released in such a way that the public would condemn them. Gus that would be totally up to you and your power of persuasion, get to the right people, the people who have the voice of the masses, and gently persuade them to tell the very ugly truth of our soon to be dearly departed governors.

But I trust you guys would not go on a wild killing spree, you have to judge which of the governors might actually be useful to us later, and which of them are not as bad as they seem. I need competent people around me, but above all I need good men and women. Please take note, your mission is of the utmost secret, and you're to report directly to me and no one else. Any questions?"

Gus and Teluna took a moment to digest everything I've just finished saying. This was only a rough plan, but I knew they were smart enough to come with a foolproof method to carry out everything I've just told them to do. I didn't ask them to do this just because they're the only ones that can, please I have thousands of vampires and dark elves than can assassinate, plant evidence and dig for secrets. The reason I chose them was because I trusted them both the most, plus they're the only two people I knew wouldn't get caught.

"We have no questions, but you'll give us a reward right?" Teluna asked with a glint in his eyes.

"Sure why not, what do you guys want?" I asked them both.

"A noble title and a territory!" Teluna answered.

"A bar right next to the palace in Ethernalia Leonis, a bar of my own design." Gus answered.

While their choices were quite weird, it was not something I couldn't do or provide, so I nodded my head in agreement. They could have what they just asked for. Teluna and Gus got up and left the study leaving me behind with my thoughts, as I tried to figure out my next step. Which after every plan I've made so far, would be to get ready for a banquet. Which reminds me....I really hate banquets.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

PLANET DEKINA/GONIN-GORA

THE GRAND COLLEGE OF MAGI ARTS

JOSHUA TRINITY ENEJO

KING OF THE WIND & SPIRIT DRAGON

Joshua had spent the past six hours staring at the medical pod in front of him, unmoving and unshaking. Currently of all the dragon kings he was the weakest, he didn't need to be where they were to know that. Besides what does it mean to be a dragon king anyway, he has no idea where the bloody wind dragon is, he was just an unfortunate father stuck in an abandoned college for magic in the middle of artificially created desert, right in the middle of thousands of floating islands.

And then there was his son, his sweet precious boy whose live he still wasn't power enough to save. All he could do was keep fighting the dungeons and growing stronger as much as he could, to keep evolving and strengthening this mana pathways of his, until he gets to the point where he become powerful enough to overturn the sky and the universe and save the life of his son. Hopefully it's a day that's coming soon.

But his son was now not the only burden on his mind, he watched her die almost a year and a half ago, she was sick. A strain of cancer that was proving rather stubborn to all of the treatments that had been marshalled against it. Not even her fame, or her families deep pockets could save her, and in the end she left him alone with a son to raise.

But then he saw her, along with the other so called dragon kings. She was alive and, of course she looked a lot more different than before. She was taller, more voluptuous rather than petite, her hair was longer and her skin fairer. You could say she was a more mature looking version of herself, and she recognized him just as recognized her.

But it didn't make any sense, it's not supposed to. Even if magic does exist, life and death are the two things that are supposed to be absolute, the two concepts of life that should be rigid and incapable of bending. But yet there she was, his wife, the mother of his son, and she was a dragon king just like him. And ever since that time he's been able to feel her, in fact he could feel all of them, no matter how far or scattered they were, he could feel them.

And she was drawing closer, that much he was sure of. And while it was something that he should be happy about, Joshua had no idea what to feel. To him Ming Bae Ki died. He mourned her, said his goodbye and got over her, he moved on. And now somehow she was still alive after all these time, and she was coming here for him and for their son, yet he dreaded that meeting, not with the secret he now had, after all he....

"Hey babe are you okay?" he heard a soft voice ask from behind him.

Joshua had a bitter smile on his face as he turned and grabbed the woman who was behind him, shifting a bit so that her glowing rainbow wings would be out of the way. She was beautiful, and he was not one to compare, but he would say she was just as beautiful as Baeki. At this point he couldn't say one was more beautiful than the other, he still loved Baeki after all, just as he loved Titania.

"You shouldn't worry too much, Josh; we'll save him, I promise you. I found traces of the fountain of youth and it's somewhere close to the center of the universe, though it's only just rumors circulating in the virtual world, I know that there's going to be a mass expedition for the fountain inthree months. So by then we should have cleared all the floors of the college and isolated its power grid from the dungeon. We should be able to use the long distance teleportation array to a major planet, and get a ship. We'll save your son, our son. I know I can't replace his mother and your passed wife, but I promise you I'll do my best. Because I love you, both of you."

Joshua let out a pained smile as he looked at pod of blue liquid where the injured body of his son was floating in a coma, frozen in time for all of eternity until he finds a way to save him. Joshua felt weak, he felt like the worst possible kind of human being that could possibly exist, but what could he do, he had no idea how to tell Titania that Max's mother was still alive, and at the very moment she was heading to this place, coming for her husband and her son.

The very same way that Baeki would come and find out he was now with another woman, the queen of fairies no doubt, was the same way Titania would find out that his dead wife was now alive, and she was a dragon queen with some sort ultimate power over fire. Joshua was scared, this was a volatile situation about to go supernova, and the easiest way to diffuse it before that happens was to open his mouth and tell Titania the truth, but he couldn't.

How could the truth be so damn heavy and impossible to say, it was as if it was stuck right at the back of his throat, refusing to go down, and refusing to come up.This was too much for him to handle, so the only thing he could do at the moment was focus on saving his son, and pretend that the problem in front of him doesn't exists at all, because if he spent too much time dwelling on the matter, he was probably going to drive himself insane.

Joshua got up to his feet and walked towards his son's pod, then he placed his hands on the glass, looking at the naked four year old boy that seemed so close to him, yet he was so far away. A single tear slid down his eyes as he softly whispered to his son, using a tone of voice Titania couldn't hear.

"I know you must hate me for being such an incompetent father, but I'm trying my best little one. Soon enough your mom is going to be by your side, and you both can join forces in hating me. But I promise you, that no matter what happens, I will save you, because you're the only thing that matters to me, you're my future, my legacy. And I'll do my best to make sure you have a life that's longer and less complicated than mine. I love you Max."