SIS B5: Chapter 18: Counterattack and Actual Attack

A/N: Sorry for the huge delay, hopefully we won't see a delay that long ever again.

***

"Here we are," Craig announced.

The drive had only taken about five minutes by Daz's estimates. The scenery on the way seemed nice but Daz had no eye for the beauty that could be found in landscapes. If he had to describe what he'd seen in one word, however, he'd have chosen 'hilly'.

He exited the vehicle and opened the rear door for Madison who silently nodded her head in thanks as she got out of the jeep.

"Is this a museum?" Daz asked.

Craig nodded. "Partially. It used to be the town hall but apparently it was getting converted to a museum of some kind before the shit hit the fan. 26 million pound project or something."

Madison tilted her head. "Small, building. Expensive."

"26.5 million pounds, Craig," a gravelly and deep voice corrected from the museum's entrance. "And of course it was expensive. Historical artefacts aren't all donated, some have to be purchased."

Glancing up the flight of stairs that lead to the double door entrance of the large building, Daz noticed a short but fierce-looking woman in her mid-thirties peering down at them.

She locked eyes with Daz and nodded. "You must be the new emperor of America, right?"

"That would be me, yes," he answered. "And you are?"

"Annoyed," the woman sighed. "Oh. My name and title are what you're after, I suppose. Keira Stanford. Clan leader of what little remains of Scotland. I watched the propaganda that witch pumped out. Much truth to it?"

Daz, Madison, and Alison all entered the museum while Craig got back in the transport vehicle and drove away, having fulfilled his duty.

Daz replied to Keira, "Yeah, everything they showed happening, happened. The context is wrong though."

"Thought so. And the real context?" she asked.

"I wanted to ask her to join my empire in a manner similar to Korea - independent but ultimately answers to me. I believe we need unity to survive once the trials end," Daz explained. "However, High Queen McArthur thought it better to discuss her mother-daughter relationship with my fiancée first."

Madison stiffened a bit but kept walking with them regardless.

"She suffered through child abuse as many esper children do. I'm sure you as an esper can understand," Daz said coldly.

Keira shook her head. "I can't personally, no, but I am aware of the norms within our private little community."

That surprised Daz a little. She was clearly trying to state her family didn't abuse their youths in one way or another which seemed unbelievable. His Eyes of Truth told him that he should believe her, however.

Choosing to move past this, he continued, "The queen wanted to act like this had never happened. I and Maddy were not so willing to forgive and forget. She then ignored Maddy's courage to speak up against her at which point I decided force was the better option over diplomacy."

"Hmm... I can appreciate a man who stands by his beliefs. If it's any consolation, Scotland is willing to join you and your empire," Kiera announced. "Though independence is required."

Daz's Eyes of Truth told him there were no falsehoods in the woman's words nor was this some sort of bluff to use him and his power. "Are you not incredibly opposed to being under the thumb of others? That's a historical theme for this country, is it not?"

"The same could be said for the United States," Keira replied sharply.

Daz shrugged. "That's fair, still, I didn't expect you to be so open to my unification plans."

"We've all seen how you handled United Korea. They have their own body of governance. You and your government just step in when it's truly necessary. Your preaching about global unity seems quite genuine to me. Who knows when or if that will change, but for now, it is a very attractive means of protection that I've spent a long time considering. That witch down south only wants power. I can see quite plainly that you, Emperor Crowthorne, have no interest in power, only in what it can achieve."

"... You have a good eye," Daz noted as he narrowed his own eyes in thought.

"No need to look at me like that. It's my esper power. Highland's Grace. Have you heard of it?" Keira questioned.

'That isn't one that was on Rose's list...' Daz shook his head. "Can't say that I have."

Keira nodded. "That's to be expected. My clan kept our ability unknown for good reason. Your racial ability to detect lies that you so willingly display publicly, it works like that but on all things."

Daz furrowed his brow. "You can... what, tell the truth behind everything?"

"More or less. I know the carpet we stand on is, indeed, a carpet. I know you, I, Madison, and Mr Barrier there, all exist and what that existence entails. It's abstract yet plain. Complex yet simple. The highlands grace me with their wisdom, so to speak. I'm only a level two esper though, so I can't wield the truths revealed to me. Were I able to, Scotland wouldn't be in any danger at all and I'd be in a far more advantageous position to negotiate with you."

Daz wondered about that. "Well, all we really wanted in coming here was a place to stay. We don't need any military support or anything like that. If you want to join my empire, I can put you in contact with our minister of general affairs, Lyle Middleton."

"You don't want us to get involved? Confident of you to think you can handle her mother on your own," Keira stated while pointing towards Madison.

Daz laughed. "Wise to say confident and not arrogant."

Keira smiled wryly. "I told you, I can see what is genuine and what is not. Why don't you just take full control of everything now and iron out the wrinkles later? You're more than capable enough."

"Because I am Daz Crowthorne, not Darenzo Hamilio," Daz replied emotionlessly.

Keira was left stumped at that. A few moments passed before she chuckled faintly. "It must be nice to never doubt yourself. A room's been prepared for you already - well, a house, really. It used to be a residential B&B, but the owners and all residents are all dead. Here's the address," she said, throwing a slip of paper towards him as if it were a dart.

Daz caught it and nodded thankfully. "I really wasn't fond of the idea of living in my car for however long it takes to finish our business on this island. I'll remember this small favour."

"The enemy of my enemy isn't necessarily my ally, but they are worth conversing with," Keira said in farewell before she left the room.

Daz tossed the slip of paper he'd been given a few times in his hand as he muttered, "Interesting woman."

Madison bobbed her head. "I, liked, accent."

"Heh, of course you did," Daz laughed. "I'm more fond of yours though."

Madison's emotionless face flushed red. "Flirt... What, now?"

"Now we choose where, who, or what to attack. I'm thinking a live video posted to the internet would be a good start. She thinks she can simply tarnish our reputation unchecked? An unwise move against someone who possesses the feared Survivor's Instinct," Daz mocked.

***

"Papà!" Giacomo called. "What are you watching?"

The six-year-old excitedly rushed up to his father after deactivating his invisibility - a powerful esper power Davido was more than glad the boy has inherited from his mother.

He reached down and hoisted the child up onto his lap. "Your brother. He's making a public announcement."

Giacomo focused on the television and his eyes widened. "She's pretty."

"That's your soon-to-be sister-in-law, Giacomo. Of course she's pretty. My son is worth nothing but the best," the leader of the most powerful empire on the planet proudly declared. "Now let's be quiet and listen to what he has to say, hmm?"

"Yes, papà," Giacomo happily agreed as he scooted about a bit on Davido's lap to gain some more comfort.

"As I'm sure you all know, I'm Emperor Daz Crowthorne of New Earth and this is my fiancée, Madison McArthur."

'He isn't going to introduce the fascinating creature on the girl's head?' Davido thought in amusement. 'It's an interesting thorn in the side of their plans, after all. Everything would have been set in motion already were it not for its existence, though its needed for the greater picture. Your willingness to display it publicly is a disappointment, dear son.'

"Papà! Why did he say Crowthorne? He's a Hamilio!... Isn't he?" Giacomo asked in confusion while Madison nodded lightly in response to Daz's introduction.

"Shh, Giacomo. No matter what he calls himself, he will always be a Hamilio. Now watch him defend himself as any Hamilio should do when wronged," Davido ordered with a wide smile on his face.

"You may also be aware that my fiancée's mother is the queen of the McArthur Kingdom - what was once England, Wales, southern Scotland, and all of the Irish isles. Victoria McArthur released a video to the public of a confrontation at Arundel Castle."

"This confrontation involved myself, my fiancée, Alison McArthur, and several other people under the employ of or related to the McArthur family. There is context to why we were there. I shall simplify it to this; the high queen was endlessly delaying our meeting, so I tracked her down. She was supposed in the castle."

Davido watched his son sigh with interest.

"At this point, it should be common knowledge that superpowers existed on Earth long before the system's most-recent arrival. We who possess them call them esper powers. I've been public with this knowledge before, but I have such powers, as does the McArthur family."

"You may be wondering 'what does that have to do with you ruthlessly murdering innocent members of the queen's family?' Well, the central esper power of the McArthur family is called Alteration. It allows them to, rather obviously, alter things. The could be as inane as altering your phone to unlock when you've forgotten your passcode, or as nefarious as altering your bank card to act like someone else's to drain their account. It can be as inane as making your hair look a little bit better, or as nefarious as making an entirely different person appear as you. I'm sure you get where I'm going with this I'll stop with these theoretical examples."

"I thought I was never meant to talk about my powers to anyone, Papà," the young child on Davido's lap said questioningly.

"That's right, Giacomo," Davido answered plainly which only served to confuse the child further.

"I would have Madison here display this ability for you, but this broadcast is no more or less reliable than a recording, much like the one the high queen insists is factual in all that it portrays. Thus, I decided to sell a copy of my memories to the system."

"Ingenious. Truly you are my most precious creation," Davido mumbled as he made no attempts to stop a massive grin from appearing on his face.

"If you want to know the truth, just pay the system. My memories of what happened at Arundel Castle only cost five merit points, that's the service charge from the system itself. Were it up to me I'd make the memories free. You can also ask the system any questions you like about the authenticity of those memories."

"Now I'd like to end this broadcast by saying I am fully intent on murdering Victoria McArthur. She is evil incarnate just as most esper users are. If you need evidence of that, look up some memories my lovely fiancée chose to sell to the system as well. Goodbye."

"He's my brother?" Giacomo asked with a tremble in his voice. "He's so scary!"

Davido completely ignored his youngest child. He was too occupied with feelings of raw ecstasy to even bother recalling Giacomo existed.

'To even use memories more than a decade old! How perfect! How very Hamilio of you! The day you use my past against me as well simply cannot come any sooner!' he thought in exuberating.

Clearly, his returning emotions hadn't tempered Darenzo's logical mind and capacity for cruelty at all.

'I had some worry Rose would soften him even if she was needed. It seems allowing Father to think he had successfully hidden himself from me all these years was a worthwhile investment. Those foolish parents of mine. You don't even realise you help me and my goals far more than you do him and your own goals,' Davido thought.

"What a good day it is, young Giacomo. Come let's go practice magic together, shall we? With your brother working so hard, it would be remiss of us to slack in any regard as well," Davido said.

Giacomo nodded. "Yes, Papà!"

"Well, he's certainly a Hamilio," Richard stated.

***

Victoria glanced at her husband, the father of both Christopher and Madison. The tall blonde-haired man was looking at the same mounted television she had been staring at not long ago herself.

"How is it that he knew memories could be sold but we did not?" she asked coldly.

Richard sighed. "I have no idea. How would I know? He's that man's son and he has that esper power. What wouldn't he know? If ever he gets stuck, he can just peer ahead and find a future in which he does know what he needs to know. There's a reason the Hamilos are not to be trifled with, dear. They aren't the strongest esper family on the planet for their bulging muscles."

"Is that your way of saying I was too arrogant? Too hungry to hold onto my power?" Victoria snapped.

Richard sighed and shook his head. "Something about you changed when my power was never inherited by any of our children. Now that change has come to haunt you, Vicky. If only you were willing to listen to me and see what you were becoming all these years... Well, ship's sailed, right?"

Victoria watched as the man she'd been married to for decades snapped his fingers, resulting in a shimmering portal appearing.

"Where do you think you are going?!" she demanded.

"Anywhere but near you. I'd rather keep my head, thank you very much," he chuckled sadly before stepping through the manifestation of his esper ability, disappearing entirely.

Just then the door opened and the estate's head butler bowed his head reproachfully.

"I apologise for so rudely entering, Your Majesty, but we are under attack," the man who'd worked for her family for 60 odd years stated.

"Right this moment?" she asked.

"Indeed. Emperor Crowthorne and your daughter have come, presumably to... kill you," he hesitated.

Victoria bit her fingers anxiously as she paced. It was only a day ago that she had used up almost all of her internal energy on the ruse she was so certain would shake Daz enough to stop his unification plans.

With only half of her energy returned, she'd struggle to fight against that monstrous Hamilio spawn and her own ungrateful wretch of a daughter.

Clearly, she'd miscalculated. "Summon everyone from the family to the dining hall. Immediately."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the man bowed once again before swiftly leaving.

'Lies don't work on him, but if he's brought that foolish girl, then there's a chance I can sway things in my way. Richard... you bastard. If only you didn't refuse to help me. Ungrateful wretches one and all. Damned cur of the Caldeen line,' she scorned the man before she ran a hand through her hair and stormed out of the room to meet her future son in the law face-to-face for the first actual time.