Johnathan leaned over his balcony and took a sip of his wine, bought from one of the most expensive liquor stores in High Tier. Being a Royal allowed him the freedom to buy what he wanted, where he wanted. No one in New Miami could deny a Royal anything, especially a Royal Knight. He had reached the top of society, living the life he always wanted before moving to New Miami. He even counted amongst the privileged few who'd seen the Lord Ruler in person.
So why was he helping Spectre? Why should he aid those whose aim was to end the system that gave Johnathan the life he wanted? He looked up at the cloudy sky. Without the dome, the Royals will be no more. What kept the Royals in power was their abilities, and once that's gone…
He took another sip of wine, letting the cold wind brush his cheeks. His house had two floors, the balcony where he spent most of his free time was on the second. Up here he somehow felt his freedom. Freedom that would soon be taken away if…
He turned to look at his girlfriend. Elsa was laying on a lounge chair interacting with her cellphone, probably watching a video. "Hey, Elsa."
She looked up at him. "Hm?" She was wearing her pajamas for some reason, her hair a little disheveled from having taken a nap, yet somehow she still looked beautiful.
Johnathan sat on the chair next to hers. "Let's say that Spectre wins their rebellion. What will you do then?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Where's this coming from?"
"I donno. Just that, how things have been going on... I mean Spectre succeeded in kidnapping the Mayor, attacking Imperium, twice, and still continues to oppose the Lord Ruler. I just thought that they-"
"What?! Have a chance at succeeding?" Elsa laughed. "Unlike you, John, I don't worry about that. I don't need to. I don't know why the Lord Ruler hasn't taken that rebel group down like the rest, but after watching this, I'm finally beginning to understand."
"Watching what?"
Elsa handed her cellphone to Johnathan with an open video. Johnathan played it.
"It was posted online this morning and it's already viral." Elsa said. "With that amount of views, probably everyone in New Miami has already seen it."
In the video, Heimdal had challenged William to a duel. It was recorded inside a cheap looking bar. Johnathan guessed that to be the famous Calming Clam bar in Lowtown, where the Copycat superhero, now referred to as the Vigilante Lord by the Commoners, tended to spend his time. Almost every high ranking Royal knew that. It wasn't much of a secret. William was exchanging blows with Heimdal evenly after having copied his ability. None had landed a blow on each other yet, and Johnathan knew none would. Heimdal's ability allowed its user to see incoming attacks before they happened.
"After having the pleasure of fighting him myself," Elsa said, rewatching the video with Johnathan. "I thought your Copycat hero was practically invincible, what with having the power to copy our abilities and all. But, as you'll about to see,"
And Johnathan saw the impossible. Heimdal landed a powerful blow. Then, William had surrendered. "How did he… that's impossible."
Elsa shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care, John. What matters is that 'Spectre's secret weapon' has just been confiscated. And with this video, their newly acquired rep will surely plummet."
Johnathan replayed the video, watching again. Something was off. William had said something was done to his ability.
"Hard to believe, I know." Elsa said. "But as to your earlier question… There's no need to worry about whether Specte will win their revolution or not. They just won't."
No, Johnathan thought. There's no way Heimdal should've won that- then he saw him. It was a glimpse as the camera moved past him. Johnathan paused on the frame. It was the Lord Ruler himself. He was there. Johnathan had suspected it ever since their meeting that time. The Lord Ruler's ability. This has confirmed it for the second time. The first was the abandoned warehouse. Johnathan had returned to test if he could ignite his Aura after Lady Ada's meeting with Spectre's leader. And he found he could. The Lord Ruler had been there too. Johnathan was certain now. The old man's ability worked much like Lady Ada's. While hers were to amplify other abilities, his was to nullify.
"You know that guy?" Elsa asked, noticing Johnathan's expression.
Johnathan was about to tell her when he felt that strange force overwhelm his will again. The effects of the contract from that day. The effects of Royal Knight Symvasi's ability. The ability's effect activated automatically every time Johnathan even thought about revealing any important information on the Lord Ruler.
"Just seems familiar." He was forced to say. But now he knew how Heimdal had done it. But to anyone watching this video, it'll seem like the people's hero was defeated by a Royal Knight. And if a Royal Knight could beat the Vigilante Lord… then Spectre had no chance of winning their rebellion. They will fail.
Johnathan felt glad, guiltily so. Guilty of even thinking of betraying Lady Ada. The person who had given him everything. He had considered it, but now it seems there was no need. The Lord Ruler had things under control.
Elsa sat up, taking the wine cup from Johnathan and taking a sip herself. "Anyways, going to shower. Are we still going to that restaurant tonight?"
Johnathan nodded absently.
"Okay, then." She handed the cup back, then went inside the house.
Johnathan leaned back on his chair, staring up at the sky again. The day was cloudy, the wind cold. It was going to rain tonight.
***
"No. This can't be right." Claudia checked and rechecked the documents of gathered information layered over the table. Everything that Arlong had found after fully exploring and searching through Imperium's top floors. There was nothing on the dome's weakness, or how to take it down. "Arlong must've missed something. Any thoughts… Henrick?" She looked at the man. Though he had been following her plans without much objection, he was still opposed to destroying the dome. Hendrick has every reason to hide such vital information from those he didn't trust in Spectre. That included Claudia and her team.
Hendrick let out a long sigh, unfolding his arms. "Thing is, Claudia. I'm glad that Arlong found nothing on the dome. Unlike you, I aim to overthrow the Lord Ruler and change his system. I agreed to follow your plan because it'll help me achieve that goal. But I made you a promise to follow Operation Overthrow to your conclusion. But to insinuate that I'm withholding information, calling me a liar, you insult me." He turned to look at Jake. "Tell her. I know you've been spying on me and my team."
Claudia looked into Hendrick's eyes. He seemed genuine. Still…
"Jake?" She turned to the young man.
"He's telling the truth." Jake said. "I used my ability to hack into Arlong's and some of the cameras of the floors he searched through, and there was nothing on the dome. I'm sorry."
"If only our Royal Knights in hiding would tell us already." Maya said, glaring at Klaus, who was sitting by the corner flipping a coin between his fingers that kept changing to and from a pen.
Klaus looked up. "Even if I did, I wouldn't be able to tell you this." He said. "The only person that I can say knows for certain is Lady Ada." He paused. "And believe me, she's told you all she could."
Claudia was tired of hearing that excuse from the old woman, even though she had to admit Ada had done nothing but help Spectre.
"If you say so." Maya said, skeptically.
"If I were I'd best focus on what we'll do if we end up finding nothing." Klaus said. "It won't be long before the Lord Ruler makes things difficult for us. We may only have a couple of days at best."
As if Claudia needed a reminder. Things had been going smoothly so far. They were at the final phase of the operation. Hendrick had convinced enough people to follow them and rebel against the Royals. All Spectre had to do is proclaim their final assault on Imperium to incite a full rebellion. A rebellion that will end in defeat if Claudi doesn't find a way to destroy the dome.
"If the dome doesn't fall then it would all be for nothing." Claudia said.
"Not necessarily." Narika said. "Arlong did find something important."
"He has indeed." Hendrick pointed out. "We know where the Lord Ruler keeps his serum stash. Enough to amplify our abilities and nullify our enemies."
"Unlike our ambassador's inferior version." Klaus added, looking at the short man and smiling.
Claudia was still amazed how the Lord Ruler had managed to develop Aura serums to both amplify and nullify abilities. He had made more progress on Aura in a span of a few years when it's taken the world's top scientists decades to come close to developing their. Yet ambassador Jiang's serum wasn't fully able to nullify Beodulf's ability.
"The Lord Ruler is indeed a genius." Jiang said. "But we believe he has resources we do not."
"For example?" Narika asked.
"That woman, Lady Ada, was it?" He said. "We used an Ability User to develope our serum based on his ability. But the Lord Ruler has someone with the ability to amplify abilities already. And as the nullifying serum… if my theory is correct, then he must also have someone with the ability to nullify."
"It would certainly explain the abandoned warehouse." Claudia said, thinking. "I went back and was able to ignite my Aura. He did something to that warehouse." Could it have the old man that showed them in? She wondered, remembering the meeting.
"Regardless, we cant back out now." Hendrick said. "We are too close to completion. We know where the serums are, and we have the means to steal it. We can use them to win our rebellion. If we don't find a way to destroy the dome, then I propose we follow my plan. Either way, Spectre will win."
Claudia didn't want to overthrow the Lord Ruler, she wanted to end the Royals as a whole. To take away their control over New Miami. But Hendrick had a point. They could wait any more than a few days before assaulting Imperium, lest the Lord Ruler ends Spectre's track where they stood. Damn it all. Where has the Lord Ruler hidden the device that created the dome? It had to be in Imperium. That was the center. And Ada had at least confirmed that it was somewhere within the building.
"We can have Arlong check under the building." She said to the group. "While exploring Ada's memories, we learned there was a lab under it."
"You also said it was destroyed when the Lord Ruler freed himself." Hendrick pointed out."
"I know… but." But she refused to give up hope.
"There's nothing there now but trouble." Jake said. "I managed to gather some information on it after you mentioned it to me in hopes that it'd be there. But… I'm sorry, ma'am."
"Damn it all." Claudia cursed.
"So… about my plan?" Hendrick said after a long pause. "Steal the serums and use them ourselves. Are we all in agreement?"
Before Claudia could object further, Bob called. He was the owner of the liquor store where Spectee hideout was built under.
"What is it, Bob?"
"Sorry to disturb your meeting ma'am, but there's someone here that wants to see you." He paused. "He says it's important. Says his name is Oberon and he's a close friend of your brother, William."
"Let him in." Claudia was kind of glad for the small interruption. It would give her a bit of time to think of something. She wasn't going to accept assaulting Imperium without knowing how to destroy the dome. And even if they win, and Spectre succeeds in overthrowing the Lord Ruler, it wouldn't truly be a win. All they would be doing in replacing the Lord Ruler with a new Ruler, likely Hendrick. The Royal system, the core of the problems in New Miami, will still continue to torment the those without abilities.
The group waited in silence for Orion, Claudia pacing while thinking and trying to come up with new ideas. Zale, who had been quite throughout the discussion, came up to her and stopped her pacing. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Being reminded of what the Lord Ruler did to him - taking away his ability permanently - made her even more determined.
"You remember our promise?" He said. Claudia did. They had promised each other that after everything was over, they would leave New Miami in the hands of its people and take a long vacation far away. She didn't plan on staying in the city after destroying the dome. Sure, there would be chaos and turmoil for awhile after, but Hendrick had shown to be a great leader, and with a good portion of the common folk on his side, Claudia didn't doubt he'll bring order after the Royals fall.
"I do, Zale. But I don't-"
Claudia was interrupted by the elevator. It dinged as its doors slid open and Orion walked out. There was a look of concern and worry in his eyes. He looked around the room for a moment, before walking over to Claudia. "Have you not seen the news yet?"
Claudia shook her head. "Been busying planning our assault on Imperium. We only have a few days left before the Lord Ruler makes his move on Spectre."
Orion was quiet for a moment. "I think he already did." He said, glancing around the room again. "William's been captured."
"Impossible." Zale said. Claudia was skeptical herself.
"There's a video…" Orion said. "Was posted last night I think, but it went viral recently. Almost everyone in the city has seen it. The Vigilante Lord's capture."
As if reading everyone's mind, Jake turned towards his computer and pulled out the video. It already had over a million views. In it, Royal Knight Heimdal had visited the Calming Clam to challenge William into a dueling game, in front of a handful of recording people. Everyone in the hideout was quiet as they watched it fully. The silence dragged on afterwards, leaving everyone speechless. Claudia herself still couldn't believe what she saw. William had even copying Heimdal's ability. There was no Royal that could win any match against William's ability, except maybe Ada and the Lord Ruler himself.
Claudia felt her Aura ignite within her, an involuntary act.
"Jake, pull up the news." Hendrick said, affected by the capture of Spectre's Ace fighter but not fazed by it. "Lets see what the people are saying."
Jake nodded and after a few keyboard button presses, the news channeled opened up on the screen. The news person was retelling the same old narrative everything any news relating to Spectre was covered: "It won't be long before the Lord Ruler puts an end to yet another rebel group."
"Shit," Narika said. "What does this mean for us?"
"Seems to me," Klaus said. "It means our plans, whatever it may be, is now fucked."
"No," Claudia interjected. "It means we need to get my brother out before the Lord Ruler takes his ability."
"And how, do you propose, we do that?" Narika asked.
"I highly doubt the Lord Ruler would simply sacrifice such a rare ability simply to take out a rebel group." Jiang chimed in. "Especially if he believes that that rebel group poses little threat to his rule."
"So you're saying…"
The ambassador nodded. "William isn't at risk of having his ability taken from him like your friend here." He gestured at Zale. "If I were to guess, the Lord Ruler will likely use William as a test subject to develope a new serum." He paused, everyone was looking at him. He shrugged. "It's what I would do."
"Regardless, William's capture won't hinder us much." Hendrick said. "Arlong is still hiding within Imperium unnoticed. And now we know where the Lord Ruler hides his stash of serum. I propose we follow-"
"I will NOT let my brother become a lab rat." Claudia felt her anger rise. It wasn't aimed at Hendrick, at least not all of it, but at herself. She was the one who brought William back to Spectre after he had been living a somewhat settled life. "We can have Arlong rescue-"
"No!" Hendrick snapped. He paused for a moment then sigh. "Rescuing William would serve no purpose other than exposing Arlong. Besides, he'll not be a prisoner for long. Once the Lord Ruler is overthrown, William will be freed. I doubt anything major will happen to him in the next few days. And a few days is all we have to make our final move. That's why I propose to follow my plan instead. Forget the dome, let's muster our forces to take down the Lord Ruler instead." Hendrick looked around the room. "Who agrees?"
Narika, Jiang, and the other two members of his personal team, raised their hands immediately.
"One more day." Claudia said. "Give me one more day, then we'll go with your plan, Hendrick."
"Is this okay with you too?" Hendrick looked at Maya, Jake, Klaus, and Sara. They nodded. Sara in particular had to get confirmation via nod by Claudia. After her rescue days ago, she had promised to help Claudia with her operation, despite the consequences of the outcome.
"If our boss lady agrees, then I suppose I won't have a choice." Klaus added, winking at Claudia then smiling.
Hendrick nodded. "Alright then. Tomorrow, we'll have our last meeting like this." He looked at Claudia. "If you don't come up with anything better, then we'll focus on setting my operation." He paused, then looked up at the computer screen, crossing his arms across his chest. "With this new unexpected turn of events we'll have lost much of our support from the Commoners, but I have a way to gain it back. With all your help of course." He regarded everyone. They all nodded.
Claudia had to find a way to get William out, and find the domes weakness. She had to. And right now the only person that could help her, and she hoped they would understand, was Ada.