Atlantis

[Apollymi]

Akashi's words about this whole thing made Seriri look at him strangely. He claimed that the difference between herself and Diva wasn't a matter of quantity but of quality and focus. She supposed she could see that, as she didn't really have anything to work for until very recently. Perhaps she could be a bit better, but he was quite right, about the nature of Diva compared to everyone else. "Sou ka," she looked to Diva in this moment and wondered if the lad was really up to this particular thing. "Diva, we're going to get this... and maybe you can use it. It could help you... I'll look after you while we're out. There won't be anything to worry about," she said, knowing that artifacts had all kinds of hidden extras and maybe this one might be something only he could use and thus something that could benefit him in extra ways. This group planned to take down everything that made Atlantis bad, it was possible he could only benefit from going along with them in the moment.

Seriri had made this offer, and Akashi had stood carrying Miki along with him. Miki's own eyes had widened, she hadn't expected to be carried. It wasn't like she hadn't been separated from him for part of this day. Strangely though, she found herself rather comfortable in this moment. She didn't even bother telling him she could or would rather walk, because at present it wouldn't be true. "Seems like it..." she said. She had plans to ruin a business and they had plans to topple an empire and recreate it in a better image.

[Bloodedge]

Diva raised his head, turning it toward Seriri. He did his best to try for eye contact, but he couldn't quite manage it. Even so, this woman had his trust. If she claimed she would look after him, he'd believe her. Though... he still seemed more fretful than he should have, even for being such a broken individual. There was still something to worry about. Once again, he had to bear witness to that which he'd rather avoid at all cost... but he'd seen worse; he could at least manage going. Besides, the woman in his company had done him a great service before, so he could have faith that she could - and would - do so again.

While this conclusion was reached, Akashi lowered himself to the ground again, Miki still in tow. The girl was interestingly without protest this time around. This was something noted, but not commented upon, by Akashi himself. She'd finally come around. "Where to first?" he asked of the blonde, apparently content to act as her chauffeur and guardian during her dealings.

[Apollymi]

Diva wasn't able to respond to Seriri, but he did at least try to meet her gaze, and the Queen appreciated that more than anything. In the meantime, a now carried Miki knew where they should be going first, and it was somewhere quite important. Her first step in causing economic chaos was to get moving the businesses shut down or not even allowed to thrive by the Banker. Given this, she'd had her Tavern Keeps spread the news about a certain new Merchant willing to back the works of any person denied access by the Banker. "Well the first place we need to go is the Market. I have a deal to make with the listless craftsmen and merchants of Atlantis. They should all be ready by now, to do what they should have been doing a long time ago," Miki said with a great deal of certainty. The pillow that was her weapon drifted along behind her and Seriri looked onward at the pair as if confused by what the lass was thinking. She knew that Miki knew how to make and break businesses, but to be working with the craftsman already made it seem like the lass had been much busier than she'd mentioned.

When they arrived at the market they would see a strange gathering of people right at the entrance. There weren't many occupied stalls here and there weren't many transactions taking place. Instead at a stand still was a group of several dozen human looking Merfolk of various levels of skill. Some bore obvious traits, some were thin, some carried the tools of their crafts with them. And some even had upon their backs the wares they had which they couldn't rightly sell within the Kingdom. All looked on to see the arrival of this Merchant willing to take on the Banker in his business monopoly within the Kingdom and some even held out hope that they might be able to go back to earning honest livings.

[Bloodedge]

The moment Miki completed her clause, Akashi's grip tightened just enough to keep her steady. His movement was immediate, and their arrival at the market was no less swift. Craftsmen littered the front of the building they landed before. Akashi paid no heed to any of the mortals wielding their tools and wares. He was here for one purpose, and that was to accompany Miki. If there was killing necessary, he would do so without hesitation, or even thought at all. In fact... even if there wasn't a necessity, there was a very real chance of him doing so. The one thing that wasn't up to chance was his grip on the blonde. At no point did he intend to release her; he'd go on carrying the lass as if she were a possession of sorts, all while she conducted whatever business she had with these people.

[Apollymi]

A great number of merchants watched as a Dragon suddenly appeared before them. Many took a single step back some just stood quivering ever so gently where they stood. All the while, it wouldn't be the Dragon who spoke at all after arriving. Those who managed to regather themselves, would have their eyes immediately drawn to a blonde lass cradled in the arm of this Dragon. "Alright. Let's keep this short and sweet. My name is Miki, and I am a Merchant. A real one," she said reaching within her cloak she revealed the golden stake which tied her to the Merchant's Guild officially and gave her the rights to operate a business within any Kingdom that was part of the continent. This included Atlantis. Many of the craftsman had their eyes widen. They'd been told by the Tavern Keepers that someone might be around who would fund or front their businesses. They didn't expect a traveling human merchant, who was willing to go against the will of the Banker.

"Now, I know that you all have been kept from your trades and your money making. I have no intention of doing that. Beyond that, if you will run your business' in my name under a short-term contract. I'll protect you from what you're scared of. No harm will come to you as long as you live up to your end of the contract and I'll do it for only a nominal fee," she finished this part of the speech and she garnered many skeptical looks. There was something else though a small light of hope that seemed to be in the eyes of some of the individuals. One such man with his entire trade on his back looked to the lass and said aloud what all the others wanted to know. "What's the fee? And what happens if we break the contract? Will we lose our homes, our families? Will you take pieces of our bodies as collateral?" his words were firm but there was a softness to his speech. Almost like he knew a tale which made him not enter into any contract with the Banker at all. Miki turned to look at him and her eyes widened with the realization of exactly what had happened to Diva in the sense of business. "Sou ka... I can see why that would be a problem for all of you. I don't conduct business like that. If you can make money, you should make as much of it as possible, whenever possible. You don't do that by damaging goods, bodies or spirits. If you break the contract you lose your protection that is all. And if I break the contract you owe me nothing. That is the basis of business. The trade of goods or money for other goods or money. I don't profit from fear, only from work and will. What I offer is a contract for the duration of my stay in this Kingdom. Afterwards you will be able to establish yourselves as you wish. No more no less," she said with a level of decisiveness. "As for my actual fee, it's 20 percent of your profits while you work for me. 10 percent if you are willing to run your own business with only my protection offered and none of my expertise," she said. There were murmurs among these men as they considered this offer. "You'd also be allowed to determine the market value of your own wares, but you are required to pay any employed by you living wages. So, long as I get my cut of the profits you can buy, sell and employ... at your own leisure." Miki aimed to established a free market economy in direct contrast to how the Banker behaved. Doing so quickly would cause the man's profits to drop drastically even over the course of a single business day. Beyond that... it would also gain Miki a very reasonable profit margin, for something she was going to do, regardless of the situation at hand. They didn't need to know she completely planned to destroy the Banker. She was offering them a livelihood earned by their own hands.

[Bloodedge]

Akashi stood before the traders and craftsmen with an aura about him that could only be described as menacing. He had nothing to say to these people, and cared to do nothing with them. He did, however, have his intentions with Miki. She went about her business quite formally, offering her sales pitch, as it were. In response to the one man who spoke out to her, she delivered a very clear explanation of how she intended to work with them. It figured the rich girl would have such a mind for business, but it seemed... different. She didn't boast the same level of shrewdness one would expect of a businessperson, nor of someone who hoarded currency like most rich people. There were still a few hints here and there to the types Akashi would have expected, but they were covered by something very out of the ordinary. So, he would listen... and at least see the reactions and decisions of the traders.

[Apollymi]

The sales pitch Miki gave was indeed one which wasn't at all expected from the merchants. The man with all the materials on his back seemed to be the one closest to being convinced. A meager ten percent of his overall profits wasn't nearly as much as the forty percent cut that had been taken by the Banker. The Banker had also bought all of his goods at a discount and resold them to the richer Atlanteans for an even greater profit, basically reducing this man's work down to slave labor. If he could take home even eighty percent of his overall profits, the benefits outweighed the risks even if she couldn't actually protect them for very long.

Miki on the other hand stared at the group, being held by a rather menacing Dragon who had nothing to say and only chose to watch. This gave her a strange feeling and reminded her of early contract negotiations as a child. Something about that made her a bit giddy. It'd been quite a while since she had such a presence on her side in a way that made her feel properly comfortable. There was one more question then, and this one was also from the old man with all his wares on his back, it seemed as if he was least scared so he'd taken it upon himself to speak the questions being murmured among the group at large. "How will you protect us? The banker could send his sharks at any time to tear apart our stalls and destroy our wares. If we won't sell to him, he'll steal and break anything and if our families work with us, he'll take them too," the old man said. He'd been protecting his family by not involving them in any of these things. But if he was to push his wares properly he'd need them involved. What protection could this young lass offer that couldn't be over-run by the Sharks and Merfolk who oppressed them so?

"Sou ka, well as part of the contract, I've created a bounded field around the Market Place," she said still twirling around the plaque in her hand which denoted her as a proper merchant and allowed the signing of contracts through a simple touch. "It's currently inactive because no one has taken the deal, if you take it though, and touch this..." she said stopping it with her finger so they could see. "It will offer you a seal of protection. This applies to all assets of your business, your wares, your employees, yourselves and your profits. Nothing of yours which could be bound to you as such can be taken. It can only be bought or sold and that only applies to the merchandise, so they can't make you sell your family or friends either. The seal itself will protect you from physical harm or robbery, even if you leave the area... so long as you are part of my company my protections are applied to you. You can conduct your business like you should without fear of the repercussions of such disgusting and underground business practices. And if he wishes to take your product from you... he'll have to buy it... and you can sell it for all its worth... right?" she asked the man looking at him with that same demonic smile on her face. She'd thought through all possibilities. And when the Banker discovered violence wouldn't work, he'd try to buy them out, making all of them advanced profits in the process which he wouldn't be able to take back by force. Such was the protection offered by Miki. To make as much money as possible, whenever possible. She extended the plaque to the man who spoke, knowing that his decision here would make or break the rest of the group. They all looked to him to see if he'd take it... and he stepped forward and carefully reached for it. "Easy does it, don't want to get killed by a Dragon today..." the old man said as his shaky hands made contact with the golden plaque. And when he touched it, the deal would be struck and a magical green pulse would happen over the whole of the Market Place... such would open it officially as the rest of the group decided if they wanted to do business with Miki. Several more stepped forward and would follow the old man's example.

[Bloodedge]

More business took place, and still, Akashi was unfazed. He was focused on Miki throughout the exchange, though. Something was rather captivating about the blonde... or rather, something had always been captivating about the original persona behind the Avatar. Akashi knew this just as Kou did... just as Yugi did, along with all the identities in their original world who hailed Ashikaga Kimiko as a school idol. He was a bit transfixed by her existence once again, just as he and other versions of himself had been a few times before. Yes, even Yugi had been affected. Once. Only once. Though, as of late... maybe more.

Akashi eventually honed in on a certain individual approaching him. No, it wasn't him they approached; it was Miki. Even worse. He stared down the trader during this encroachment upon the Dragonoid's mate, prepared to erase him from the fabric of reality at a moment's notice. Lo, it proved an unnecessary train of thought. A contract was signed between the two, and it seemed many would be coming in the very near future. "Interesting," he said simply, and randomly. He spoke specifically of Miki, or rather Kimiko, in this moment. Was there more to his train of thought? Yes. Would he make any effort to explain himself further, though? Most certainly not.

[Apollymi]

Miki's work was going fairly smoothly, every individual trader who came upon her in this moment seemed apt to sign a contract with her and begin working as soon as possible. She answered a few passing questions as well and made herself available to the those who wanted her actual help with their businesses for another day. For now though, enough had been done to start the wheels turning and it would be more than enough to bring the Banker out of hiding and likely directly to Miki. All the while, it seemed her Dragon guardian was doing a pretty good job of keeping everyone and everything a reasonable distance away from her. She'd heard his muttering of interesting and found it strange that it was all he had to say. But it seemed that Dragons simply didn't have very detailed things to say most of the time, so she let it go and counted it towards positive interest in her activities. Several moments later the crowds had cleared and several stalls were being set up and the market unfolded into a booming business around them. She watched for a couple of minutes with a large smile on her face. "That's what a Market should look like..." she muttered, knowing that this would make her a decent bit of coinage towards their shared goals. Happy that this could take care of itself for the rest of the day she looked to Akashi and gave him the next bit of their plan. "Hm, that should be enough to start some trouble. The Banker will come looking for me after he pays a great deal trying to buy out the Market. In the meantime... we should catch up with Tsu-chan and Diva. I get the feeling that its better if we get a full picture of whats going on here. And make sure the Guardians can be lifted properly. I've got the Tavern Keeps ready to pass along any information and extra movements to the staff at the Palace so we won't have to keep a direct eye on this place to know what's going on with them..." she commented and with that she waited.

Seriri and Diva had headed towards the other end of Atlantis to a place known as the Forsaken Seabed. It wasn't really Forsaken but it was a bit treacherous and lead directly into the underground tunnels which would eventually lead to the Shark's Den. It was unguarded and watched though so it would be easy access for a group of Adventurers to enter and exit with whatever the hidden artifact was.

[Bloodedge]

It wasn't that Akashi was interested in Miki's activities; he didn't care about any of the ongoing things at all. His interest was purely... the mind of the girl behind the Rogue Avatar. What more was there to Ashikaga Kimiko? There had to be something. Of all the puzzles he solved, even those which took more time than all the others, she was the one he'd been incapable of cracking for the longest time. Indeed, even before they met in this world, there was something about that identity that Yugi considered an enigma. Since they began their adventure together, it had become something maddening every time he thought about it.

He was granted reprieve from this line of thought eventually, with Miki bringing up the next leg of the journey. They were done here, and they could finally meet with the others. Akashi hesitated as he stared at the lass, but after a few moments passed, he moved. Off to the Forsaken Seabed they went, just as quickly as they'd gone to the Marketplace. They would not encounter Seriri and Diva at the entrance, but rather a bit deeper into the tunnels, just before the Shark's Den. Akashi stopped himself and Miki a bit behind the others, though Diva also seemed to be lagging behind Seriri quite a bit. He'd been just about alongside her the entire journey, but he knew what was up ahead... and he subconsciously, maybe even consciously, shied away from it enough to slow his pace significantly.

[Apollymi]

A few moments of thought happened before Miki and Akashi moved on. And soon enough they they were in the tunnels leading up to the Shark's Den and they'd be found slightly behind Seriri and Diva, the later of whom seemed to be lagging behind quite a bit. Miki looked at this distance and wondered what was going on with the man that he seemed to be shying away from what was ahead. 'This really isn't good. He has to know what's up ahead. I feel bad, he's been through enough...' the girl thought to herself. Even so she greeted her friend. "Tsu-chan, you have a functional protected Market Place. That should be enough for now," she mentioned. Seriri looked back and sighed. "Hai hai, I don't doubt you about things like that. You've done too much too often for me not to trust you when it comes to money... you wouldn't want to..." she said turning to look back at the lass. "Absolutely not." Miki said very firmly. She knew the lass wanted her to stay and keep up the economy longer than just the little while she would be here. To be fair, Miki would make the perfect financial advisor to any kingdom. "Yeah, I figured you're still adventuring after all. If you change your mind though..." she said with a casual shrug.

Miki paused a few seconds after looking around the place. She took a shallow breath in the moment and became a bit unnerved. "There is a lot of death here... I don't like it," she said. She couldn't quite place it, but the deaths didn't feel like the ones she'd felt before. They felt old and stagnant. It was a hard feeling to describe but it was the truth absolutely. She'd look to Diva as well and in this moment his lagging was beginning to make sense.

[Bloodedge]

Once again, Akashi was without a reason to speak. It was, frankly, the fault of his lack of concern for just about everything going on around him. However, he knew there was something up ahead that none in the group, especially the tongueless, cockless lad named Diva, would appreciate. Miki was clearly aware as well, due to her connection with the sensation of death itself. Diva, on the other hand... he simply knew. The very moment Miki spoke of death, the young man trembled and teared up once again, wishing to cry out whilst being incapable of doing so. He also stopped dead in his tracks. There, ahead of the bunch, was the destination...

He couldn't go onward. He'd seen the sight so many times before. A single room the likes of a dungeon lay ahead. On the rear wall, Diva's own father hung by chains in an even worse physical condition than Seriri found Diva in. He'd been stripped of his legs, the tendons in his arms, his eyelids and his very flesh all the way to the bone and muscle tissue, and of course his tongue. The amount of blood in his body was just enough to keep him alive and conscious, making him incapable of doing anything but see and hear the true atrocity taking place.

In the center of the room, there was always a crowd of men from Atlantis. There were also... numerous newborn infants, all dead along the floor in the room they were born in. How were they born here? Well, the true center of the room held a large, golden cube. Atop that cube, well... was the problem here. Chains kept a naturally-tanned, naked woman strapped atop the glowing box. Her hair was teal, like Diva's, and she seemed to be in her mid-to-late thirties. She lay beaten, bruised and lacerated without eyes, eardrums or tendons. She was left with only her sense of touch, and her ability to scream and wail as she was brutally raped and tortured by the men who visited this chamber. She was also with child, as she always was. Yes, indeed; she was a True Atlantean like Diva, and was in fact the young man's mother. Time and time again, she and her husband suffered the hell of this room. Even while the group of four stood outside the room... it was happening. Akashi could hear the cries of the woman, and the muted whining of the man, hence his awareness of something wrong beyond the gate. What a pitiful sight there was ahead of them.

[Apollymi]

There were muffled cries up ahead. Seriri's heart dropped in her chest. She pushed the gate open with her power and looked into this room. She was frozen for just a moment, she thought that Diva had experienced hell. She thought she'd been upset but right now there was a fresh hell happening in the middle of this room. "Why... why would anyone..." Seriri mumbled. She wasn't capable of processing the amount of malevolence required to do such a thing to another living person. Miki was still in Akashi's arms and she took in the sight of this room. The low whining of the mutilated man, the cries of the woman strapped to the table, the group of Atlanteans pillaging her pregnant body and the death. All of the dead babies, the sight of such a thing sparked a very real memory for Miki, one which caused the lass to shed a single tear, from the right side of her face. Her body trembled ever so softly, and she understood the need to balance the universe. The tear fell down her face as she couldn't believe all the life gone to waste. And though she'd been told of what Seriri had witnessed with Diva she never thought there would be an entire group of people participating actively in this sort of depravity.

Miki couldn't say anything but she couldn't watch such a thing happen in front of her. The pillow that floated behind her transformed as it flew forward. Miki hadn't whistled. She didn't need to make any noise. She didn't need these individuals to know that death was coming to them, instead they'd simply find themselves being speared through from various different angles. The group wouldn't even be given a chance to react, they'd simply be run through at vital points while Miki looked on in horror. Seriri turned to look back at the blonde lass, she realized in seeing all of those dead corpses and the woman being actively raped that this might have been a problem for Kimiko but the lass was the one who acted first. "Kimi..." she said the lass' name and Miki snapped out of it, wiping a tear from her face as her weapon cleared this large group of Atlanteans from their... sport of choice. "I'm the last person you should be worried about," was Miki's only reply, though there was clearly something in this scene that deeply affected the lass, there was the pressing matters of the two people being tortured in this place. "I know..." she said, the whole of Seriri's energy went into healing, both of these people would get to feel the a the refreshing relief of healing, but it wouldn't do anything for the strength of their life forces. Her activities were in vain in that case.

[Bloodedge]

There it was. Right before them, in plain sight, was the horrible truth of Atlantis and its citizens. The person with the most extreme and hasty reaction to the sight, interestingly, was the typically composed Miki. Akashi could literally feel her emotional snap of sorts as she used one of her powers in an uncommon fashion to slay the culprits of this deed. One could just about gather that she was over the edge, but there was one capable of catching her: Seriri. What could have provoked such an extreme reaction? Again, Akashi wondered.

Seriri's healing found a pair of new targets this day. The woman on the box, and the man on the wall, both received the refreshing water blessing of the queen. Sadly, it meant nothing. They were absolutely destroyed long ago, and now, so was Diva. He didn't want to go forward. He hadn't wanted to pass that threshold again, but a simple glance showed him everything, and brought him to his knees. Wide eyes stared, and more tears than he should have been capable of producing streamed. The situation was somehow far worse than the previous time he'd seen it, and for far more reason than the sheer number of his brothers and sisters littering the room. His parents, they... they hadn't been this bad before. Why did they need worse treatment? Seriri tried, he knew she did... but even Diva understood that there was nothing more to be done for them now.

[Apollymi]

Seriri continued to heal this pair, even knowing they would die here. Their visages were restored even as their breaths began to leave them. And tears fell down the young Queen's face. This treatment of people was completely undeserved and what was more it'd been taking place so long, there was literally nothing she could have done about it, without knowing such things existed already. Still, she couldn't absolve herself of her feelings. She hated the idea that she couldn't actually save them, even knowing it wasn't possible. "It's only a mercy at this point... you know that right?" Miki asked of her friend. She'd snapped and she still wasn't back to the self she showed people in general. Her voice was soft now, almost prodding. And the Queen Seriri answered in a similar fashion even through her tears. "Yes, I know... there isn't anything I can do to save them. But they deserve to die peacefully and as unmarred as I can make them... they all do. It's the least I can do for them... and him," she said of the crying Diva. Miki also knew the lad was crying. She knew he could only feel worse about this than they all managed. She felt for the lad, she knew it wouldn't bring him happiness, but perhaps peace would be enough. This pair of friends had both pulled each other back from the edges of their despair though for very different reasons. The bodies of Diva's parents were freed from their bonds and placed together before the cube and would soon be followed by dozens of tiny corpses. Easily strung together by the magic that Seriri, the filth of this room was washed away by her actions and mana. Leaving only the giant glowing cube in the middle. She'd even dissolved the corpses of Miki's kills, knowing that they didn't deserve what was about to happen for this True Atlantean family. Miki watched all these children of various points regain the looks they deserved. Her breathing softened as she regained perspective of herself.

"The tides rise and bring life. They ebb and reclaim it. We return to the waves as water and rise to the skies to watch over our loved ones," Seriri said ever so softly she held her hands in the upside down triangle which would denote the ritual. She bowed her head as they all dissolved into a stream of water glowing and powerful. "Guardian's Protect us..." she released these glowing particles to do what they would. Assumably float up to the ocean to rejoin the ether.