Chapter 396 - Apexi

Cold was the night and freezing came the breeze. A man dressed semi-formally wandered to the tall building of Lekdo. The latter seemed a lair for a demon for the weather thundered each minute, each second, depending on its mood. A flash followed by rambles of a famine beast. A tale told by the elders, when the night growls, tis when the gods are angered.

*Beep,* a notification came from the door. "Father, shall I get it?" shouted across the hallway.

"No," returned one deeper. Turned with a click, the door's unlocked seemed as if a prison gate. 

"Hey," 

"You're here," the door opened to an exquisite living room. Off to the right side sat Julius with the repetition of news from the Jester's return. The day was named Act II. 

"I did it," said the man dripped from the trousers due to rainfall.

"I see that," quick to point to the shower, "-go on, have a change, there's clothes readied. Join me in the study afterward." The man moved listlessly to do what was told. The water's warmth provided a little comfort, the mind fixated on but one thing, frustration. 

"It's the second I've seen him, who is it?" asked Julius.

"An old friend, don't worry, he's truly worthy."

"If you say so," he turned from being lent on the couch to face the screen. 

A few days had gone since The Jester's Act II, a title conveniently given by a local, unpopular, newspaper. They took to the Arcanum instead of traditional paper print. As many skipped over another crucial matter that day, said source managed to scoop the pivotal events. Scott and Lady Aceline's parting. One of the most renowned managers leaving his client on unknown and mysterious notes. Devoted fans were enraged by the manager's decision. A would-be angered mob of supporters, thanks to the proceeding of said day, were stopped by the Jester. Some clueless commenters voiced a mild yet bitter rumor – the two incidents could have been linked. 

"Good evening."

"Good evening, come in."

"Thanks," to which he took a seat.

"Shall we begin?" asked the other.

"Let's," said he. The topic of discussion, after Scott's departure from Aceline's care, was his employment.

"I can't believe you were right," said the manager.

"Honestly speaking, I wanted to have Aceline model for my company. Turns out, she hates me far worst than before. 'Not to forget, my real target was you, Scott. Aceline might have talent and prestige, it all but serves to have her ego elevated. You, on the other hand, are hardworking and to the point, a strong justice when it comes to fame and fortune. My involvement all but added the fuel to ruin their relationship. I would apologize, though, it would but serve as empty words. The scheme to have the AHA suffer has begun.'

"I was a little fearful at first," said Scott with a nod, "-to hear from you after all this time. Here I figured the king to be busy. The points said were spot on, Aceline is deluded from reality. Her fame has climbed to her head. Not many people know of her affairs with politicians and people of power. I told her countless time to not get involved, yet, she does what she wants. It frustrates me, the brat from the Patek Dynasty pisses me off even more."

"The Patek Dynasty, what about them, what of the son, care to tell me about the happening?"

"Oh, it escaped my mouth."

"Do thou not wipe thine arse after taking a shit?" 

"I understand," he sighed. The amusing sentence referred to giving a bit of information, a cliffhanger, the worst thing one could do to another. 

"Lady Aceline is dating the heir to the Patek's. Undisclosed, of course, it's been going on ever since her arrival here. There was a movie, Luna on Earth, she loved the script and wanted to be the main-actress. The auditions went by smoothly, the producers and director were happy, well, until Hero Luna showed up. Arms in arms with the heir, her spot was given to Luna. Tis then she realized the importance of connections; our pride of Hidros is naught but a corrupted fiend in the industry. I hate it from the bottom of my heart, I hate how she turned out. It was supposed to be my job to keep her from all those things, I failed as her manager."

"I understand," nodded Staxius reassuringly, "-how the events played out is less than ideal," he gave a few minutes to calm down.

"Sorry about that outburst," quick to take a sip, "-I'm once again sorry for leaving Aceline, I know you wanted her to be the figure face of Meldorino, now, it's all but ruined."

"Dear friend," a genuine smile had the atmosphere lightened, "-there's no need to apologize for I'm the one responsible. I erected the wall between thee and the idol, I'm sorry-"

"No, please, don't apologize, friend, it wasn't thy fault," he interjected sharply.

"Then reason states it's not thy fault either," Scott's expression congealed in bafflement. "I've called you to offer a deal, dear, friend, I know that you care not about money. Yet, consider this, I will pay thee on competence. Let me rephrase that," it came across insulting to a renowned manager, "-I won't pay, I will award thee a mere token of my appreciation, how does it sound?"

"Go on, majesty, I'm listening?" hands crossed, a straight posture and an attentive face, Scott watched. 

"Here's the chance to take Aceline away from the grasp of the Patek's. A chance at retribution; now, let me make this clear, it's not confirmed if she'll be saved by the following actions, nevertheless, the possibility exists," he paused at short intervals. The manager remained quiet throughout as the information assimilated slowly. "I have someone who was wronged by the same people of which thee hates. The higher-ups in the industry of film-making, business, and politics. It's going to be a war; thee understands, a full-out war. In said war, thee will be my knight, or rather, the knight to my queen, the one who was wronged. Her name is Emi Muko, you must have heard of her – a member of the feline force."

"Yes, I do actually," the long-awaited silence broke, "-Emi Muko, she's unbelievably beautiful. I know of her; she caught my eye as a potential star – tis a shame of what happened. The bad publicity, her video, quite a shady situation." 

"Tis dire, her reputation here is not so ideal." 

"I agree," mumbled Scott,"-but," he stared with a smile, "-there's a chance."

"A sob story, a tale of repentance," grinned Staxius.

"Exactly."

"So, Scott, what do you say? Will you make Emi Muko into an international star?"

"What about funding?"

"I'll allocate thee a budget – however, criteria must be met." 

"I understand," he sighed, "-I left my agency to follow Lady Aceline into Alphia, it's going to be hard to be reemployed. Her only path to success is by getting signed by a good company." 

"Give me a tier list," smiled Staxius, "-which do you think best suits her field." 

"Come to think of it, there's not actually a need to be signed by a good company. Let's get her on the same path as Aceline; her ex-agency, Apexi. They peaked with Aceline but are under the radar. The few people remaining are the band; S-Kiss, H Jewel, and First Romance. Not mainstream but popular in Hidros." 

"What of Ocher Time, whatever happened to that show?" 

"Scrapped, Apexi doesn't want anyone to sully the name of what Aceline created. She's still the pride of Hidros, our continent's gem."

"Well then," he smiled, "-should I pull some strings or will you be fine?"

"There's no need for such things," chuckled Scott, "-I need to meet with Lady Emi first, I need her thoughts on the matter." 

"Already thought of it," said he standing, "-let's go." 

Room 405 came on the door; a knock had it gently opened with a lady peering. Introduced as the manager, she warmly welcomed the friendly smart-looking man. On said note, the 13th of March ended.

'Scott is now under my payroll, he'll make Emi into a star, that man's ability is often underestimated. Good thing I had Éclair look up his history. Out of all the people he's worked with; many went on to become influential people in the entertainment industry. Binding his ability to Aceline is but a mistake. Now, it's time for Cimier, I need dirt on how far the Patek's links with them.' Two days went by and Staxius was yet to leave the office. The works and schemes being moved in the shadows were deadly. For example; just yesterday, a hit was ordered on a high-ranking politician. The lack of pawn in Alphia had him personally go out and kill the man. The use of magic had public safety rule the death as a heart attack. With him gone, the dirt and rumors gotten on the Lerado family were carried over to the grave. Now backed by the Haggard's, Lerado's venture into retailing narcotics became profitable. Cimier and the Jefferson's were stumped; their access was cut. The price for going against Godfather Renaud. In spite, rumor says Godfather Stanley took to meet the Overlord. It ended in a few of his men getting killed, he barely made it out alive. The cause for such death was the betrayal of his trust. None was allowed to go against another family, and yet, Stanley did so with the Lerado incident.

'I need another person inside Cimier,' thought he rolling a crystal ball against the table. 'Sending Cleopatra might be a good idea. She's the perfect fit to use her appearance and charm, too perfect I'd say. Another who's good at infiltration. A spy,' suddenly came memories from a forgotten project. One not scrapped and well-funded, a cooperation between the Federation and Phantom, a training program for in the art of infiltration. 

"Éclair," a push of a button toggled a flickering screen.

"How may I help?"

"Show me the reports for training unit Zero."

"Reports are encrypted, access is denied."

"Use my authority then," a scanner soon materialized.

"Please inject Mana."

'Cake and her obsession with security.'

"Access granted." 

'Honestly,' head deep into the folders, the last report was dated a week ago. The training program was still in operation. The number of inactive spies was in the hundreds, each lived a normal life. There was one active, a mission even secret to the king, *Protection of the Blood-King,* ordered by Queen Gallienne and Cake. 

'Dearest King of Arda, tis I, Queen of Hidros. I know sooner or later that thee will gloss over the reports of Unit Zero, which is why I'm writing this. I know full well you don't need protection, yet, I fear that the day might come on which thee'll need a spy. Tis the reason why the mission is active. We have our best spy waiting for thy to call his favors.'

'Hey Boss, it's now my turn. Don't get mad or anything, you're well respected and have more haters than meets the human eye. It's precaution, anyway, just call out the man's name and he shall come.'

'I have the best allies," he smiled, "-come forth, 02," a figure materialized in a shadowy mist. No face, no clothes, nothing, the bland was how he appeared.

"How may I serve, majesty," said it knelt. 

"Raise thy head," he ordered. The glances crossed – a man with common features, nothing stood out, the same as the time at Sultria's palace, the maid – they bore similar likeliness. "Good," said he, "-what were your orders till now?"

"I'm afraid I can't say so, majesty."

"Why is that?"

"I'm obliged to listen to them who give me orders."

"And who are they?"

"I'm afraid I can't reveal so."

"What of unit Zero, any information I can gather?"

"No majesty, I was ordered to not give away information even if the King of Arda asks so. The walls have ears and thus we never say anything," stern and unyielding, excellent qualities for a spy.

"Good sentiments," the long fingers stretched to touch one another, "-as the King of Arda, I ask you to fulfill a mission. For the sake of safety, I shall do so through the use of paper, does that sound acceptable?"

"Yes, majesty."