Black

-KUWAHAWI ARCHEPELAGO-

EIGHT MONTHS AGO

"And in other news, the trial for the executives of the now-defunct Granshin Defense Corporation has concluded today. The head executives were convicted on a variety of counts, ranging from illegal weapons trafficking to usage of banned weaponry.

However, the chief of operations still has not been found, having disappeared before the trial started..."

The TV flickers off. The man turning it off smirks. He'd disappeared, alright. But plenty of people knew where he was. The ones who nobody noticed, the low-level grunts that actually did all the work. The rest of the executives knew nothing and accomplished less, and ironically, that made them all the easier to throw under the bus.

How could they explain that the chief was the one who actually knew everything and they hadn't created any of his structure, when they had enough complicity and blind eyes to prosper and benefit? Of course, the company wasn't supposed to be falling apart like this. A single person's attack of conscience should have been easy to brush off. But by the time the chief had learned it, it had been too late to act. Famous crusader Miles Edgeworth had taken the case, and he was happy to draw publicity and attention... enough to keep his star witnesses under protection.

From there, it had fallen apart. On top of the world, and now here, in his summer cabin on Kuwahawi. Back to nothing, materially. But only materially.

He had his brain, and he had his connections. The groups broken by the Kobbers... on the side, he'd made contact with members who hadn't been happy about the resolutions. The Red Ribbon Army, the Shrapnel, Azure Sea, ones who had gone underground. He could rebuild.

He would rebuild. 

There was one more contact, too. One that he'd made years ago, when they were both starting out. So long it was nearly faded entirely. But it was probably the most important, if even a few of the rumors he'd heard had been true.

And so, a phone is picked up, and a call is made. And when the offer is received... the man realizes his plans are going to be much different than he thought they would have been before this. 

And if anything, much, much better.

-AGAMA-

-FEBRUARY 2022-

"And I understand the men you contacted are staying in Las Vegas's area for now?" asks Ebisuwaru of the man in his office. They'd met several times before, but for updates like this, Ebisuwaru always liked to meet face to face.

"Most of 'em. Shock troops won't do us much good against the Kobbers. We've seen what they do to armies - it'll take a lot more than that to win us a war!" 

"I have no intention of an outright war against the Kobbers. I understand how those go."

"Haaaaahahahahaha! Said by every statesman in history. Well, I'll just make sure you're ready to win when they do get into a war with us." The big man in the chair leans back, loosening his jacket at the sweltering heat of the jungle city. 

"Ah, your dreams... truly, never have I met a man with a dream of war like yours." Ebisuwaru chuckles to himself. He might disagree with the other man's perspective, but his dreams had been interesting enough to bring him right to the top of the hierarchy that was the Cardholders.

"Besides. Give us long enough to fully rebuild what we found, and there ain't a war in the world we won't win! I'd stake my reputation on it."

"You don't have much of one now, do you?"

"Haaaahahaha! You say that like it matters. What people say about you doesn't matter. All that matters is if they try to bring force against you. And when they do..."

The big man places his hand on the desk, over where Millaarc had left several cuts in it previously.

"Just have the bigger stick, and you'll always be right!"

He squeezes hard and crushes a chunk of the desk. Ebisuwaru simply watches with interest. A truly passionate dream.

Would it be enough?

Gareth Heidegger

Black King of Cogs