Shadow of the Crown [DE]

Why did it always seem that a single spark of trouble called everyone and their mothers’ from across the galaxy just to poke their noses into something that for all intents and purposes was not their business? At least not as far as Riis was concerned. Granted he hadn’t met most of the people here, so maybe they had business with the quieter parts of Konats. He could even sense a power level just outside his castle doing… something. But the two people that stood out the most for him where the Arcosian and the human. The moth man was a tad blunt as well, but the prince was well used to that sort of behavior. Still, all of this cacophonous nonsense was beginning to bring out the monster.

To top it all off, Ikra’s submission to punishment brought a red tinge to his cheeks. “N-no. No no you don’t need to be punished for being overzealous. Actually you may have given me a bit of inspiration my dear.”

Riis was about to snap at the orange-haired man for insulting his brother. Luckily this Kaal fellow had a calm and clever head about him. Riis smiled, “Thank you, Kaal was it? A cool head is always appreciated whenever things begin to grow a little chaotic. However, I don’t think it is necessary to kick anyone out. Yet. Perhaps this is just what I needed.” The eldest royal son sauntered over to the large table conjured by Ikra’s brother, taking his place at the largest seat, looking to the male demon himself. “Thank you as well. Ikra never told me she had any siblings.”

The prince’s gaze drifted over to his originally uninvited guests. It seemed the first thing he should do was clear up a few things. The arcosian peacekeeper was neither needed nor welcome. Unfortunately their power dwarfed everyone else in the room. Riis would have to choose his words carefully before proceeding.

“Now that things are at least starting to calm down, I believe I should clear the air.” First he glanced to the moth. “If you think I didn’t notice any 'obsession' then you either don’t know me or only got your information from Ashi. I DID notice, however I didn’t say it due to any negative connotation the word would have. Simply put, I choose my words carefully.” Then he glanced over to the human. “I am Prince Riis. Typha’s eldest brother. And you will not insult Konats’ greatest hero in my presence. Do so again and you will leave,” his tone slowly crept into a sharp almost monstrous growl. Despite the gentle words, it would be clear that this was nota request.

Now it was time to address the elephant sized power level in the room. “I appreciate your concern for my home. However I must state that Konats has been and after recent events shall always be independent from the whole Saiyan versus Arcosian war going on. If you are aligned with either the Kingdom or the remnants of the Fleet I must ask you to leave. As Kaal said, the magical shadow has receded so there is no more need for further assistance. That being said bear with me a moment.”

Riis then let out a deep sigh, “Finally,” he said in an almost groan. “You two. I’m guessing you are also siblings?” he asked the bizarre alien duo. “I suppose I am… Ikra’s... man yes,” he blushed once more. “Which brings me to my next point. I wonder how you all know her.” His attention quickly darted back to his castle doors. “Oh and someone please tell that power level outside to either come in or go about his day.  In the mean time I believe it is quite rude to barge into someone's home without introducing yourselves.”  Though he didn't say it outright, Riis hoped the gathered crowd got the message.  Then again, with everything happening there was no guarantees.  "Names and your business here.  If any.  Please."

His entrance was not taken well. That was to be expected, at the very least. A show of force immediately upon arrival could certainly sour opinions of his very being there but when civilians were potentially in danger, there wasn't time to dance around the subject and meekly introduce himself as if he were a squire again. The only thing that temporarily drew his attention was a pair of aliens stumbling in the door in an accidental manner, slinging back words of colorful vocabulary between each other. His eyes narrowed a bit, but Freige didn't address the pair as they were already being reprimanded by others present. Well, to be fair, so was he. A few of them had some things to say about his arrival, none really particularly welcoming. 

The first one to speak had a familiar voice, and it took only a moment to pin it down. "You were the same one who sent out the message," Freige stated, tilting his head as he addressed Golgari. "Your phrasing and tone were more liable to attract people rather than repel them, you know that right?" Or maybe he thought that a psychic threat would ward off potential interference. "'Our politics?' Last I checked, Konats wasn't home to people such as yourself." He said dryly. "And, forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I don't believe the capital falling under a cloak of shadow and someone warning all to stay away from the planet is typical politics. I suppose you could consider a hostile takeover a political shift of sorts, so in that regard, I shall continue interfering if that is what you mean."

"As for the culprit-" He turned to continue, only for Ikra to immediately reveal herself and reign in her shadowy powers. "Oh." He blinked. "That was easier than I had anticipated." Relaxing, Arondite hissed as the techo-magic sword was sheathed, the Arcosian adopting a more friendly stance. "My apologies if I came off as callous. Usually, situations like these don't diffuse quite so... easily?" Kais above knew that such was the case for his own home AND Earth, as far as he had seen. He didn't mind that the Demon kept the magic up specifically in the throne room. It seemed to be her line of defense, and dropping it now would be foolish.

A male spoke to him, one of an indiscernible species. Freige was unmoved by his demands, giving Kaal an unimpressed look. "I'll leave once this whole mess is sorted out. I don't see you trying to boot out the squabbling pair or the... egg... person." It was almost as if they expected him to laugh manically and threaten to blow the planet up. He was interceding on a planet-wide threat, not barging in unannounced during an official coronation. A demon, similar in appearance to the shadow-caster, spoke in an attempt to defuse the situation. For some reason, despite the inoffensive nature of his words, a shudder racked the Arcosians' body as his eyes grew unfocused for a moment. A fleeting emotion, a wanton want, passed over him and left as quick as it came. "Perhaps I'll take a seat in a moment."

Unbeknownst to Freige, Babyl's attempt to coax him mystically had failed, but the knightly warrior had no true hostile intention in the first place. The actual Konatsian addressed him. Despite the attempt at appeasing Freige, an involuntary scowl flickered across his face. "I'm not affiliated with the Fleet simply because I am a-" The Arcosian paused, face returning to a neutral expression, tail flicking in irritation. "The Fleet was a plague that had unfortunately garnered support among the more vile members of my species. I'm not here on behalf of anyone, save for my own intuition." Not a lie. While he worked for the Saiyan Kingdom at the moment ultimately, his presence here was due to his own choice to help. 

"I am Freige Feran. Arcosian warrior and off-duty diplomat." He stressed the last part, simply to enforce that his being here wasn't to try and gain an edge politically. He didn't want to outright lie to the planet's future leader, though, so a small concession was necessary. "I had come to ensure that no innocent lives were lost in what seemed to be a hostile takeover of Konats. While that threat has seemingly abated for the moment, I'd like to stay for a bit longer to fully confirm that it won't start again as soon as I depart." The man with the cane spoke up again, Freige turning to give him a concealed glare. Flip seemed here only to cause issues, and if Freige was reading the situation properly, most of them thought that he and this man were no different in their intent. He wouldn't make a move just yet. After all, he had just been told to 'not interfere with Konatsian politics' and the question the slimeball posed seemed as political as it could get.

'Oh, so you simply... what? Didn't bother with my friend's feelin's because it would cause you trouble? You call yourself her man, and yet all I hear is how you've been ignorin' her.' Golgari's 'voice' rises within Riis' mind, his antennae beginning to hum and twitch more out of anger than his telepathic messages. He took a threatening step towards Riis, hands balled into fists as a small cracking noise comes from his body, before the words of the others distracted him. First was the weasel of a human, a type of person Golgari had plenty of experience with as he had traversed the less noble side of Konatsian society. 'Sands you're greasy.' He hums within the redhead's mind, wheeling around to look at him as his mental communication included everyone. He stared Flip in the eyes as the two practically butted heads, they were so close. 'You implied that just because Typha's dealin' with somethin' that he don't care. Nobody here is that stupid that they'd fall for somethin' that damn obbvious. And yeah, I did say that. I also said the words if he didn't notice her feelings, which you coincidentally left out, scumbag. He did, which ends that part of it, even though it raises even more damn questions about what the hell he's doing.'  

'As for you, fuck off means fuck off. We don't need or want your 'help'.' He doesn't even look towards Friege when he addresses the Arcosian, green eyes still staring down Fortuna. 'And my siblings and I are as native to Konats as Kaal and Riis here. We were born on this planet, don't try 'n' talk about crap ya don't know.' Then the other two began to act up, and Golgari felt a small headache begin to build. It wasn't through his near continual use of his telepathy, but between the voices of his siblings as they settled around the capital city and all the yelling going on, he found himself about to snap out towards where the fighting pair were. Yet before that could happen, he suddenly felt... less angry. A calming breath leaves him as he stands away from Fortuna, crossing his arms and leaning against a wall to peer at where the blue one was talking. 'Ya ever heard of people just workin' together?' He says, mental voice significantly calmer now. 'It's idiotic to think ya need personal strength to rule people. All you really need is people to like you. Then they'll follow on their own.' 

'Though I gotta say, between the Hero Typha and the prince Riis, things aint lookin' too good on that front for ya.' He sends a glance towards Riis, feeling a a minutiae of annoyance before it was squashed out by... something. He wasn't sure what. He just felt... calm. Or, well, calmer. A sigh leaves him as he debates just washing his hands of the entire business. He knew things were only going to escalate, judging by the attitudes here, and now that Ikra wasn't covering the place in shadow he really didn't have much of a stake in it outside of making sure she was okay. Sands knew he didn't have any love lost between him and the prince.

Golgari is affected by Babyl's mesmerise! He is calmer now.

With everything going on, Ikra was grateful to Kaal when he spoke up chiding Flip and Friege for their unwanted interference. Indeed, Flip in particular was being rather insolent to Prince Typha. She wanted to thank him now and personally, but Ikra’s guard was up now. The Arcosian still seemed hostile. The strange fellow standing beside Kaal… well, Kaal seemed to know him so it was less of a concern. She glanced over to Babyl when he said that they needed to talk. Oh dear, why couldn’t he leave her alone? She was already embarrassed enough to have shamed and slighted her Lord Riis. But as he went on, she realized what he was doing. She shifted herself slightly so that Riis could not be affected. But, Ikra didn’t feel the tug of magic, so he must not have angled it toward her. Hopefully, he had the sense to avoid Lord Riis too. She cast a worried look to her darling prince to check it he had been affected.

To her surprise, Ikra didn’t see the sparkle of magic in his eyes but a red blush on his face. Her own face heated up a little bit, treasuring just how adorable he looked. He even pardoned her actions and praised her by saying she had given him inspiration?! Ikra had to stop herself from swooning. He even thanked Kaal in her stead. Oh, what didn’t he know to do? As he moved to the table that Babyl had conjured, Ikra stayed at his side, standing on his right next to his seat. She didn’t feel comfortable around so many strangers. Especially when most we’re still relatively hostile. Still, Ikra heeded Riis when he spoke, tilting her head to the side as he spoke to Golgari. She hadn’t exactly been privy to that conversation, so she was a touch confused. Obsession? What obsession? Whose obsession? Ashi?

As she was pondering that mystery, Riis addressed Flip, but not with the amount of venom that Ikra would have put into it. To help further emphasize Lord Riis’s point, Ikra contributed her own glare at Flip as her edges tattered and ripples just that little bit more in the darkness. He soon addressed Friege with all the grace and eloquence that Ikra had fallen in love with. When Riis deigned to bother himself with answering Leech and Anny, Ikra’s face went red with embarrassment. The two of them were making quite a show of themselves. Riis had even called him her man. She covered her face so that no one saw her ecstatic expression and fought back a squee. When she was composed again, she turned her attention to Flip as he spoke.

Her guarded expression melted into a warm smile as he explained what he had meant. Well! That was definitely something that they could agree on. Lord Riis most definitely was Konats’ best and most dedicated hero. “He has a point, my lord, and I’m inclined to agree with him. It is you who have worked so tirelessly all for the sake of Konats! You worked yourself sick. Truly, there is no one more worthy to be King.”

But Flip wasn’t done. He walked over to Golgari, calling him a hypocrite. Ikra started to move to defend the little moth bio-android. Certainly, Golgari was tougher around the edges than others, but a hypocrite? But then he continued… and said something about Golgari saying that Riis didn’t deserve to rule…? Ikra’s eyes flashed with a very brief malice before it stabilized into something more akin to a mother’s scalding glare.

“What…?”

Shadows leaped and stewed around Ikra in a roil. She only cast a passing glance at the Arcosian Friege as he more politely explained himself. It seemed like he had relaxed quite a bit after she had withdrawn her shadows, though Ikra was a little hurt and offended that a foreigner would try to stop her from doing what she thought was right for her prince. Still, it hasn’t been right, and for that, she was deeply ashamed. She briefly returned to darling Riis’s side and leaned down to him in a soft whisper.

“I think we should allow him to stay for now if it pleases you. It seems he’s become civil. More so than our other guests. Please allow me to deal with them.”

Ikra was about to go handle Golgari when Anny and Leech broke out into another brawl. Why? Why Anny? They eventually calmed down a bit, but that didn’t stop Ikra from walking over to the two of them. Before she could ask Anny to remove Leech, the brother went off into a bit of a speech about how Riis should become stronger. Ikra, for her part, was deeply offended. Lord Riis was perfect just the way he was. His mind was his weapon, and it was a sharper wit than anyone! Even this Kayen person, of that she was certain. Besides, it was her job to be Riis’s shield. And sword, should he need one. She turned to Anny.

“Please, Anny, you know I love you darling, but could you take your brother outside if you mean to continue to fight?” Ikra’s look was almost pleading. The throne room was no place for a brawl. After delivering her heartfelt plea to Anny, she turned and marched herself over to Golgari as he was trying to defend himself. What he actually ended up doing was making more of a nuisance of himself and indirectly insulting Prince Riis. Ikra smiled a severe smile and reached up to pinch his antenna.

“Golgariiiiii~ I think you’ve said enough, dear, don’t you?” Ikra said with a venomous sweetness to her voice. Honestly, she was a little hurt by Leech and Golgari’s opinions. That anyone could think that her sweet Riis wasn’t worthy…. but especially Golgari whom she was so close to. She lowered her voice so that only he could hear her, unable to keep the hurt from her voice. “Why would you say something like that?”

Before he could answer her though, the strange alien that had stood beside Kaal startled her with an incredible outburst. She jumped and glanced back wide-eyed at him. She watched with some mixed feelings of horror, fascination, confusion and disgust as the alien… gave birth? As energy started to visibly swell around them, Ikra panicked a little and glanced over to Kaal and then to Babyl with a pleading expression.

“K-Kaal! Babyl! Do something! Stop him!”

She couldn’t stand for someone to harm a guest on Riis’s watch! She, of course, had to guard her darling Riis at all costs. Just in case something went for him. She didn’t think anyone could, but a stray blast in the ensuing chaos… oh, she couldn’t bear to even imagine it.

---

Babyl was taken by surprise when it seemed like nobody was interested in his offer of peace. Sure, he understood that things were tense here, but to refuse tea? Besides the fact that this Freige fellow was presumably here to calm things down, many of the others seemed to be here either by coincidence or to berate Prince Riis. Babyl refrained from admitting it aloud, but he didn't really like the prince personally, even knowing of his sister's infatuation and obsession with the man. It isn't that he had anything against him, either, he simply felt that there was someone out there that was better for Ikra than he was, though he was careful never to let such things slip to Ikra. Who knows what she would do if she ever found out...

Moving on from the home team, Babyl turned his attention to the strange demon who tried to talk things into a more chaotic state. He was clearly egging on everyone in the room, especially anyone loyal to Typha. Babyl knew nothing of Typha, as he was rarely mentioned whenever Ikra spoke of the realm of light. Then there was Golgari, throwing his anger and resentment everywhere at once. He was frustrated, and rightfully so! Because of Riis' lack of presence as of late, Ikra was left in despair and resorted to such unsavory methods to garner his favor. He certainly couldn't argue with any of the facts Golgari shouted forward in the minds of those present, but that attitude certainly needed to go elsewhere in a situation such as this. Luckily, Babyl's 'words' seemingly got through to him, as the bio android's anger quickly diffused and his mind cleared of the potential violence he was no doubt plotting.

When all had seemingly calmed down a touch, the air suddenly soured as the egg man suddenly spoke in an agitated voice wrought with disbelief. It seemed as though this Arcosian’s way with words was a little… lackluster. He could have used any other combination of words, so why that? It was as if he wanted to be blasted away. What surprised Babyl more in that moment was the image laid before him in that instant. The egg-headed man split himself into two perfect copies! Not only were the two of them charging their energy, for a moment it almost seemed to be aimed at him! He knew this meant trouble, and before Ikra’s pleas reached his ears, he was already next to Kaal with his vest unbuttoned slightly.



The shadows from around him had begun to cover his body in darkness before retracting again, altering his body from its previous form. Dark, inky wings sprang from his back, his horns and hair grew longer and curved, and a long, black tail formed right above his behind. In the instant before the ki blast landed, Babyl threw his vest into the air, snapped his fingers and forced the vest to freeze in place. Instantly, it expanded and covered the entirety of the blast before falling back into place in his arms. Oddly enough, a cup of tea was in his other hand, still completely still and unspilled. Babyl offered it to the egg man once more. “Please my friend, I wouldn’t want the tea to get cold! A gentleman like yourself wouldn’t refuse tea now would you?”

Instead of using his magic to attempt to charm Boft again, he simply hoped he would see reason. Turning his head to Freige, Babyl issued a sigh before continuing his plea for peace. “Such insults are not appreciated here, dear defender of Konats. I ask that you apologize to the good man before anyone’s hands get any dirtier. This tea won’t drink itself, you know.”

His words had some effect. He was clearly agitating the moth in front of him, though it was clear he was going to be pissed off whether he did anything or not. Despite his appearance, the insect-like alien certainly seemed like a small powder keg. Flip could only imagine how much further poking would be required to get him to explode. The smirk never left his face. "I never said he didn't care. All I said was he has a habit of not being around during situations like this. Do not twist my words young man." Flip was going to keep up the appearance of being the reasonable one between the pair of them, and with Ikra intervening, well, guess she caught what he was saying.

Of course, it wasn't all hostility. Riis had taken Flip's words pretty well. Well, as long as he was getting in the good graces of the monarch, that was what mattered. After all, Riis was the one who could stop him from establishing some business on the planet. The smirk of Flip's never left as Riis spoke up, stating that while he wasn't strong, he was smart, more seeking out powerful alliances to help protect the planet. "A very fine way of thinking your highness. After all, the best way to protect your planet is to ensure that they would not need to fight in the first place. Perhaps we can form a sort of arrangement, for mutual benefit of course." Flip paused, then realizing something. He gave a small laugh. "Oh deary me, do forgive me. I forgot to introduce myself during this whole affair. I am Flip Fortuna, leader of the Fortuna Conglomerate."

And then, things heated up rapidly. It seemed like the Arcosian had said something to set the strange, egg headed alien off, because his power grew. And then he...birthed a copy of himself? Flip couldn't help but feel there was something, well, indecent about that. As the egg men tried to attack the Arcosian, the soldier looking alien and the male shadow demon stepped in, blocking the attack, while Riis firmly laid down that he would not tolerate this sort of thing. Flip turned to Riis. "Perhaps we can discuss matters of security as well. After all, we wouldn't want any old riff raff coming in to cause problems." Granted, he was quite calm despite the potential fight. Of course, if push came to shove, Flip could handle himself just fine.

When Riis offered for Flip and Friege to attend the princes' coronation, Flip smiled, swaggering over to the table and picking up a cup of tea. "Well, I would certainly be delighted and honoured good sir. Wouldn't you agree Friege?" he addressed the Arcosian in a casual tone.

But then, things would take another interesting turn. Through one of the windows, a small device flew. Flip caught sight of it, recognizing it was one of the holographic comminucators that were on his ship. The small metal ball flew through the air before stopping in front of Flip. And then, appearing before him, was a hologram of the bird zoanthrope Keech. "Mr. Fortuna!" Keech spoke out. Flip gave the bird a small, annoyed looked. "This had better be important," Flip said, his smile fading for the first time since he got here, "I'm sort of in the middle of something." Keech paused, a little embarassment when he realized he was interrupting. "My apologies sir, but I thought you should know. Now that the shadows have cleared, we've taken note of thousands of moth people heading towards the palace."

Flip blinked. "Moth people huh?" He looked over in the direction of Golgari. "Care to explain?"

Leech put a hand to his chin as everyone seemed to still bicker. And he was an idiot? Leech sometimes wondered if maybe he should maybe try to do something like run a planet? If these clowns could maybe he could. Then he shook his head, that was too boring. Anny just frowned listening to everyone. She was in agreement with Leech for once. She was quite confused about why everyone was still bickering. Leech and Anny looked at Ikra as she made the point that Freige was being pretty chill. “Thank you, someone, for listening to me.” Leech grinned. Anny just grunted, “Don’t get too happy dumbass. You probably burnt all your brain on those words.” Leech shrugged. “Worth it, I just proved I am the smartest.” Anny just shook her head, her brother was a fool. Still, he might have been smarter than some of these people. They seemed so defensive and she didn’t know why.

Right, when she thought of that Boft seemed to have gotten triggered by being called an Egg and split up. “Woah that like what we do. That…” Anny grabbed her brother. “You can’t say that he's gonna blast us next if you do.” Leech paused in confusion. “What you mean..” Anny nodded. “Oh ok.” He’d turned. “Hey, you fuck…” Anny slammed her brother on the head. “Seriously this is not the time.” Leech rubbed his head, “Ouch guess I deserve that.” Anny turned to Ikra if she asked them to take there fight outside. “Nah we ain't gonna leave. I ain’t leaving if you get into danger.” Leech nodded. “Yah but we will try to stop you know my sister is just a..” Anny glared at Leech and he laughed. “Oh, you know?” Leech didn’t want to get hit again.

Everyone quickly moved in to help stop Boft which caused Anny to roll her eyes. They didn’t even need to protect the guy. She swore it seemed like no one could sense energy but her. Anny guessed it was a good idea since maybe that will help calm this egghead down. Knowing he was outmatched and outnumbered he might realize it was not worth it. She hoped he realized it she was not keen on cracking his egghead. Babyl seemed to want to get them to drink the tea causing Anny to sigh. “Alright fine. I’ll drink your damn tea.” Anny began to walk over and Leech followed.

Leech looked at Riis as he claimed because of some sickness he found it hard to increase his power level. “All I hear is that I am a weak baby and that I need others to protect his throne,” Leech grunted. Anny sighed. “My brother is an idiot.” Anny looked at him “Say sorry to Prince Riis he has been kind to us." Leech huffed. “I ain’t. Because simply put your allies won’t be there to save you. When the going gets tough you can only have your strength. Trust me I know. My own people tried to get my sister away. All my friends and family tried to stop me.” Leech's eyes grew dark. “So strength is the only thing that makes people listen. Anything else will be ignored.” Anny looked at her brother, he never talked about there past. Why now? What here made Leech feel like trying to give advice. Anny just stayed silent. She was used to her brother being subservient but they were times that Leech took command, he was the older and the original.

Anny sighed when Riis wanted to elect himself right now. “Guess you can but I mean this seems like a chaotic thing. You probably want to set up some grand event.” Leech nodded in agreement. “If you're going to be a King you gotta make the event big. That's just me though. You can do what you want though.” Leech shrugged. He doubts he’d keep it for long. Those Stargoons would probably come along and wreck it someone else quite strong. Still, things seemed to be calm so Anny took a sip of the tea. “This is actually pretty good.” Anny smiled at Babyl. Leech took a sip and groaned. “Fucking tea I hate this.” He still sipped it though trying to keep as cool as he could. But it was pretty hard when almost everyone here was either a weakling or a moron. Only Ikra and Friege he liked and Ikra was for selfish reasons. That Friege guy had some strong will to take all these insults without being mad. He'd already exploded into a fireball.