Hi! welcome to the official blog for my Coroika AU, Corrupted Kings. This post is where you can find all the chapters I've posted so far.
My name is Cee, and honestly the only reason this blog exists is because my friends told me it might do well so, here we are!
Chapters will come out as I write them, blah blah blah if ykyk
Trigger warnings:
there are a lot sensitive topics in this weird au ive created and the piece of writing coming with it, and i will give a trigger warning for each chapter. however as a bland disclaimer, my story includes the following:
Abuse, Sanitization(which i will be referring to as funky green outside of the chapters), Maniplulation, death threats, violence, and VERY heavy Prince angst. if you are not comfortable with seeing any of these things i suggest you don't read the chapters.
CURRENT CHAPTERS:
Prologue
Chapter 1-The end of freedom
Chapter 2-Innocence
Chapter 3-Investigations
EXTRA CK CONTENT(optional):
prince having a nightmare
so to let you all know, I have actually finished chapter 5 and 6. but i forgot i didnt post them. expect 2 more chapters within the next week since im not posting them today. ALSO! i have an A03 now! i posted the prologue of CK on there and will be updating it daily since i want that to be my primary CK area. I will also be posting CK on wattpad once i get everything set up. My tag is the same for everything, being @unnamed-chaos of course. omg person reveal. so just expect big things for ck!
Uughhhh, this week has been a nightmare⊠I think to myself, walking to the check-out corner in order to end my shift for the day. I can already see the worker scrounging around for my personal book as I approach.
âYou look ridered, Tireâ He says in an attempt to make conversation, messing up his words, I smile and chuckle for the first time today
âI see youâre ridered too.â We both stare at each other in silence for a couple moments before he slides a book toward me. I awkwardly take a pen from my chest pocket and open the book, writing down my employee number on the page I opened.
âWhat do you have planned today?â He says, sparking up more conversation after the brief awkward encounter. I groan, leaning on the counter with my arm after closing the book, staring into his tired eyes before giving an answer.
âEh, probably gonna dieâ I shrug but I roll my eyes when he laughs at the response.
âNah, you won't give up that easily. Take a nap youâll feel a bit bitterâ I scoff and walk off, grumbling as I do so. Tch⊠Who is he to tell me what to do...? I decide to take my time walking to my living quarters. I run my hand against the wall of the hallway, realising everythingâs starting to slow down as I draw nearer to my door.
Soon enough I get to the room, and I go to open the door and feel a shiver crawl down my back that forces me to stop my hand as it reaches the handle. For a second, I see myself reaching at the door as the whole world seems to stop. An unsteady, consistent heartbeat rang in my ears. At the same time, I feel my entire body shaking, tensing up and suddenly being overly aware of my surroundings.
My nails dig slightly into my palms, not quite hard enough to draw blood, but enough to hur-
â3.5, what are you doing?â
â....â
There Cardinal- or- Prince- WHATEVER- There the shorter being stood, snapping me out of my thoughts and looking up at me. I wait for him to say something, but as we stare at each other in silence, the tension in the air grew thicker. Prince was the first to break it.
âSo? Are you going to answer me? Or are you going to stand there while staring at me?â He leans against the wall with his elbow, most likely glaring at me behind the mask.
I stare blankly at him, unaware he asked me something. I blink away the confusion and try to start over,
âCould you repeat the question? I must have been spaced out when you asked itâ. I canât see his face, but I can clearly tell heâs annoyed. Prince huffs and stands up straight once more.
âForget it. Just follow me.â He orders, grabbing my wrist as if he thought I was incapable of following directions. Who does he take me for? An idiot?Â
I shake those thoughts away and kept walking as he led me to what, in all honesty, I think is my death. I didnât forget what happened yesterday. I thought heâd kill me earlier than this but maybe he was busy with something more important. Or maybe he had a change of heart? This is Prince; the same cowardly but selflessly sweet Inkling from those tournaments... Tch⊠Iâm always played a fool. This is why I hate people.
Prince suddenly stops in the time Iâm thinking to myself and I lightly bump into him, since Iâm not paying attention. Well if I wasnât dying before, thatâll add to the list of reasons to kill me.
He growls, but shakes his head and sighs before he starts to talk, âThis is a room with no bugs, cameras, or motion sensors.â I raise an eyebrow and cross my arms. Wow. Perfect place to kill me.
Prince takes off his cardinal mask, âIâm not going to kill you, Rider.â That was unexpected. âI need your help.â
I press my shoulder to the wall, letting myself lean against the clean tile and raising an eyebrow, before narrowing my eyes in a suspicious gaze, not showing any of the sympathy I have in my heart.
âNeed my help for what exactly, Prince?â I can tell heâs uncomfortable, so I soften my gaze a little, leaning more toward curiosity than suspicion.
âYou run the resistance. Iâve actually known that for a long time.â He stops to take a breath before gipping his arm and continuing, âI donât have much time, but what I can tell you is that youâre rightâŠ..I-.....I really donât like whatâs going on here.â Prince seems to be trembling on his words, shaking evenâŠ.It takes a few seconds before heâs ready to continue, âI donât want to do this anymore, and you and your friends seem to have a plan, you donât have to tell me!!!! I know you donât trust meâŠbutâŠifâŠ.â He trails off, but shakes away their thoughts, âbut if you need information on the enemy, I can give it to you. Free of charge. W-whatever i can do to help.â I stare at him for a second, before sighing and completely softening my expression.
âPrince. You donât need to put yourself in that kind of dang-â He cuts me off,
âNO! I-I mean.. No. IâŠ.Itâs okay. I need to. Anything you need to know I can provide. I knowâŠalmost everything about them. Iâm the second in command.â
I nod in understandingâŠ.this isâŠso fucked.
âSooâŠ.â I try to lighten the mood a little âAny plans, big guyâ
âMy boss wants you dead.â
âOh.â I tug at my work shirt collar dramatically, before awkwardly clearing my throat, âwell, guess me and them are gonna have to duke it out then.â
I hear Prince snort, assuminglyâŠamused? âHEY. Iâd probably squish them! LITERALLY! WITH MY ROLLAR!â The snort turns into a giggle, which is what Iâm going for.
âNo No!! I believe you.â He smiles sweetly, laughing a little more before he lets out a sigh,
âIâve just never felt this much hope before.â
keeping this blog active is really difficult for me since all the drawings and doodles i have for it are traditional since i dont have a tablet and i also dont have a proper camera that i personally own.
So!! i was wondering if anyone seeing this post would like to ask me anything about corrupted kings? or share thoughts/headcanons, theories yk yk. could be fun.. pretty please
New p.o.v
TW// Marie being a butthead, depressed goggles
âHey 3! Come over here I think I found something!â I say, having goggles at my side not even a millisecond later. I hold out a piece of paper to him âThese ads donât look like much on the surface, but when you turn them around thereâs a string of numbers!â I flip the paper over, revealing a bunch of seemingly random numbers. âI think they could be a code of some kind, or a locationâ His facial expression does not change. A few months ago, he would have been ecstatic to see any kind of clue to finding Rider..butâŠnow he looks hopelessâŠunnervingâŠ
â4, weâre looking for ALL the people who went missing, not just Rider.â Marie chimed in, leaning against the wall while reading some new article she found. I huff and roll my eyes, turning my head toward her.
âWell I still think the 2 events are connected, even if you donât.â unexpectedly, I hear Goggles speak for the first time in months.
âItâs a date.â I snap my attention back to him and the paper.
âHuh?â I blink, in shock
âItâs the day Rider went missing.âÂ
That was what made Marie come over to investigate. Goggles handed her the paper, the same monotone expression on his face.
âHmâŠhate to say this, but 4, with this evidence, you might be correctâ I go to speak, but she continues her spiel before I do so. âRider must have met with them somewhere⊠but where?â I notice Goggles sigh and walk off. I get a side eye from Marie as I step closer to her in order to discuss something
âHeyâŠdo we really think itâs a good idea to have gog-..sorry.. Agent 3 here with the state heâs in?âÂ
She didnât even look at me when she replies, just held her hand to her face as if she had a migraine,
âWould you rather him wither away in his house? Do you see how distraught he is all the time? Plus I donât even think heâd listen if I told him to back off. He needs something to do, 4â She looked over at the Inkling, who had spotted what looked to be a shiny rectangle. Marie pushes me aside in her motion to walk over, before grabbing the fabric of my coat in her hurry and pulling me along. âHe found something, come onâ I would be falling over if I didn't have super-squid-like reflexes.
âHeyhey slow downâ I don't know why I try cuz know she won't listen. Goggles silently hands her what looks to be a card of some kind, and she reads it before handing it to me.Â
Before I can read it she grabs both me and goggles and throws us in the agent golf cart, hops in the front seat, and takes off before I can finish the thought I was having. I decide to read the card while she drives and immediately I can tell why she took off so fast. This is a business card, not just with the same date; but with a location too.Â
I start getting a little nervous as she speeds up past what seems safe for a vehicle without seatbelts. Just as Iâm about to speak up, she goes faster and I scream in fear, not even thinking as I grab onto goggles for support; who doesnât protest or comment. I close my eyes, shaking while the vehicle nearly tips over at multiple sharp turns. Just as I think Iâm about to die, the golf cart stops. I open my eyes and frantically look around, realising I'm squishing goggles and scooting over to a normal distance away. I take time to properly look around, and notice Marie doing the same. We both notice a stairwell going down to who knows where at the same time. Once again, she gets a word in right as Iâm about to.
Â
â4, You should go down thereâ I whip my head toward her and just stare at her for a couple seconds, eyes wide. I turn my attention to the stairwell, stepping out of the vehicle then I look back at Marie, before finally saying something,
âWhy do I have to?â I ask, thoughts swirling in my head. Does she really hate me that much?
âBecause youâre the least important, and I said so. Now go down there, check it out, come back up, and tell me what you saw.â I feel tears forming in my eyes as I turn toward the ominous entrance once again. I take a step forward, looking back and waving a goodbye to goggles, seeing Marie glaring at me in the corner of my eye.
As I begin walking down the stairs, I suddenly notice the horrid smell of death hit my nose. Looking around, I realise how uncomfortably clean the area is despite the smell. I clasp my hands together as I descend more, and more. The farther I go, the more unkempt the place looks; seemingly growing dirtier, and smelling more rancid, the longer I continue for. That, paired with the absence of light, is making meâŠincreasingly uneasy. I stay on edge, gripping onto the railing as it becomes harder to see, as the space around me turns pitch black. Man. Why couldnât we take the drill down here?
It feels like an eternity until I eventually reach the bottom, seeing a dim light in the distance at the end of the hall. I let go of the stairwell railing and make my way toward it, paying attention to my new surroundings while I do so. Itâs a lot cleaner than the stairwell was, thatâs for sure. I stop for a moment to take a deep breath and catch my bearings, taking the opportunity to look around more closely and realise the hidden cameras in this hallway. I feel a shiver go down my spine, accompanied by a thought. Someone is watching me. They know I'm here. I close my eyes and shake off the feeling, taking a few more deep breaths before continuing toward the light. When I get to the end of the hallway, thereâs another hallway to the left of me huhâŠweird.. This hallway looks longer and cleaner than the last one. Itâs well lit too, and probably more surveillance throughout as well..
Even so, despite the feeling of dread crawling through my veins, I continue. I decide to drag my hand along the wall as I walk, trying to drown out the awful sound of my shoes tapping against the tiled floor. I take a breath as I turn the corner to seeâŠ.another..hallway⊠Oh my cod..My frustration is short lived though, since thereâs an actual door at the end of this one. I feel my anxiety steadily rise as I get closer to the door, feeling a sudden jab of panic and fear as I reach my hand toward the handle. I have no idea whatâs behind this door.. I struggle to recompose myself while my mind traces every tiny little thing that could possibly be on the other side.
I feel my eyes start to burn due to the tears that have begun to form, noticing my hand jittering at the handle. I once again shake my fear away and huff, placing my sweaty hand on the handle of the door.
Itâs been 7 months since I finished fully training Rider, and 1 month since the sanitization program began. The new term also started last month, and with that a new form of..âhiringâ arrived with the sanitization program. I quickly shove the unfinished thought out of my head as I slowly tread along the concrete to a new location.Â
I had overheard word of a ârebellionâ starting up earlier, and decided to go check out the place they said it would be without telling my brother. Maybe if I shut this downâŠheâll commend me for it? I smile behind my mask and nod to myself, realising the number of employees thinning out as I get closer to the location. ThatâsâŠvery strange.
 The lack of inklings continued until Iâm the only person there. Hm. maybe they knew i was coming..might be a tr- My trail of thought is cut off by me being thrown to the ground. I feel an immense amount of pressure on one spot of my back, before hearing cheers from the crevices around me. A trap.Â
I hear the sound of people gathering around me as I beguin to panic and struggle, feeling the pressure worsen. Whoâs..whoâs strong enough to hold me down like this with just their foot.?....What the hell? I hear the shuffling of inklings as sounds of whispers and others shushing each other echo around me. Without warning, I feel a sharp pain in my side as I was kicked. But only once, surprisingly..
Finally, I was spoken to.
âNot so cocky now, are we, Cardinal.â Rider. I should have known he was behind this, coddamn it im so fucking stupid âGo. all of you. Iâll handle this.â He snarls as a group I couldn't see runs off. I feel the pressure lift off of me âGet up.â Why am I shaking? I push myself off the ground. Heâs no threat to me, heâs not emperor, why am I shaking?Â
We stand there silent for a couple seconds, a few metres away from each other. He takes a step forward, before antagonising me. âWell? Arenât you going to do something? Call your mask friends, go on.â I take a step backÂ
âNo. youâre up to something.â I stand uneasy and unbalanced, holding my side and not knowing if I'm still surrounded.Â
âSo youâd rather die than call for help? Whoâs the pathetic one nowâ Without warning, he runs to me and pushes me to the ground. Â With everything I've done.. Maybe I deserve this. âWhatâs wrong with you? Why aren't you fighting back?â I shake the thoughts of doubt away and jump right back upÂ
âNo rider, I just donât want to get my hands dirty.â I rush to take my device out of my pocket, but itâs slapped out of my hands before I can use it.
âThought you said cockyness was the death of employees here, Cardinal.â He raises his hand and hits me in the face with the strength he probably uses to swing his dynamo roller.
 I fall to the floor before swiftly realising my mask came off with the powerful hit, breaking in two when it hit the floor. I panic to grab the pieces before Rider sees my face, not noticing that itâs too late. â....Prince?â Hearing my name in this setting sends shivers down my spine, causing me to shake..This is itâŠ.Iâm going to be the downfall of our empire..Iâm a failure..Â
I hear Rider take a step toward me âwhyâŠwhy are..â I don't answer and just sit there on the floor, facing away from him in shame. âPrince, who convinced you to be a part of something like this?â He steps closer, sitting next to me despite what I put him through. âWhoâs actually the one in charge? I know you know.â He sounds like heâs grasping at straws. Who is he to suddenly talk to me all nice like weâre friends.
âI am a part of this out of my own will. This is what has to happen in order for us to be successfulâ I say it, but i can tell he doesnât believe me from the look on his face.
âI know you donât believe that, who Is âwe?ââ Heâs still pushing. Fine. if pushing is what he wants, pushing is what heâs gonna get.âYou know nothing of me, 3.5. You are NOT a friend. You are an employee.â He looks taken aback âYou are disposable. You mean absolutely nothing to me. Just like all the other employees. So stop acting like an idiot.â He looks at me wide eyed, before shaking his head and taking a breath
âPrince, I DO know you. Youâre just a kid, you- I know you donât have a say in any of this.â I notice his hand extend to help me up. What.? âYou donât deserve it either. Up at the surface? Thatâs the life weâre supposed to have, what everyone here in this cursed place is supposed to have.â His eyes dull as he looks around at his surroundings âNot this, Prince. Noone here deserves this.â I feel the thoughts I've pushed down rise back in as the centre of my attention. No. no no. donât let him trick you. âYou can help put an end to this. I know you know itâs wrong.âÂ
Heâs wrong. This is right, this is the right thing to do I look up at him, before realising something. âYouâre better then this.â is he.. Pitying me? Ha. I scoff and hit his hand away, snarling at him.
âI will be informing my supervisors about this.â I say, not sure if i mean it or not âThis resistance will not last for longâŠ..Enjoy your next hours, 3.5.â whyâd I hesitate at that last part.? I donât care. I look away from him, not wanting to see his reaction.
I expect him to hit me again or kick me, anything really. but instead I hear the sound of his footsteps, walking away. I dare not look behind me, in case there were other employees looking this way. I decide to stand once again and look through my bag for a spare mask, and lucky me, I was prepared.
I slip it on and leave the ally parcially un-scathed,Â
My feet carefully pad along the, surprisingly clean, tiled floor, tapping along the squares as I walk. I think about why they even called me here if I'm already employed. Some kind of post-employment interview or something?
I glance around the space, shocked that almost the entirety of the building is underground. After I finish walking through the huge-ah hallway, I turn the corner only to see ANOTHER coddamn hallway.
âThe fuck,â I mumble, cursing under my breath, though this time there's an actual door at the end of the hall. The taps of my shoes bounce around the area as if it were an empty gymnasium. That in itself was suspicious, but I chose to go on anyway.
Soon, I reach the door and turn the handle to be met with an office of sorts, with someone seated at a desk in the middle.
âSit.â They order. Wow, kinda rude for the first time meeting me, jeez. Even so, I sit down, but only on my own accord. The Inkling isnât identifiable, wearing a mask to supposedly hide their face. Their voice, however, seems very familiar to me... But I can't put my finger on why.
âBefore we start, I need you to sign something.â They state, before reaching behind themselves and handing me a piece of paper.
âWhatâs this?â I ask, taking it and preparing to read.
âJust a non-disclosure agreement.â They state with a calm voice, resting their arms on top of one another.
âFor a mechanic's job?â Okay, this is getting weird. âGive me a second to read.â
âTake your time.â They adjust their sleeves.
I carefully read through the paper, my eyes widening at how genuinely messed up the requirements were.
âThe... fuck?â Iâm speechless, quickly realising how stupid I was to ignore that gut feeling out in the hallway. The person across from me seemed perfectly content with it all.
âThis is a joke, right? Thereâs a different paper for me?â I ask, holding my breath.
âNo, Rider. This is the paper youâre meant to sign.â They calmly say, passing me a pen.
âGo ahead.â
âThereâs no way Iâm fucking signing this.â I stand, enraged. I think of how many people must have signed some kind of messed up paper like this without reading the fine print. âYouâre sick.â I snarl at them, and they... Sigh?
âYou have to.â They say, standing from their chair and going to a bookshelf before grabbing something that looks like a phone while theyâre turned away from me.
âIâm sorry, Rider. You need to sign the NDA.â They press something on the phone, and suddenly, without warning, several guns are pointed at me. âOtherwise, Iâm going to have to kill you.â
They turn back around. âWe are out of range of the closest respawn point. If you die here, you will not respawn. Not until you sign.â Iâm taken aback as I try to find a retort.
âWha-â They quickly cut me off. âDo or say ANYTHING but sign that paper, and youâre gone.â
They look away for a moment. âI didnât want to do this, but youâve given me no choice.â
My heart is racing and my thoughts are running through how messed up of a situation Iâve gotten myself into. Without even thinking, my hand picks up the pen and shakily signs on the dotted line. I donât know why, Iâve never been afraid of death.
My eyes are all blurry as if I needed glasses, and the person must have done something since the weapons were now gone.
âGood.â They took the paper and placed it into a filing cabinet. âIâll give you a moment. Iâll be back in 5 minutes to give you a tour.â They walk around me, open the door, and leave. Not a second later, however, they reopen it. âOh, and donât try leaving. That would end badly for you.â
Just like that, they were gone, cruelly leaving me with my thoughts. What in Codâs name did I just agree to...? Unsilenceable thoughts run quickly through my head, focusing on any individual one being simply impossible.
Sure enough, they returned after 5 minutes, their bird-shaped mask still firmly plastered to their face.
âStand. We must get going now.â I stand up and follow them out the door, still taken aback.
As it turns out, while they were out of the room, the surroundings of the entire room had changed, completely out of nowhere. I run through my mind for any explanation. They gigged, snapping me out of my trance. âHahaha! your confusion amuses me. Itâs an elevator. One we have to get away from in the next 10 seconds, since itâs going to explode.â
Without a second thought, I ran away from it. It didnât explode. I look back at the employer, confused once again. âDid I say explode? I meant it would go back up. My mistake.â I watch as my only way out ascends without me. This fucking guyâ
Interrupting my thoughts, they walk over to me. âYou seem speechless. Most new hires are, but I didn't expect that from you, Rider. Now that you canât leave, I might as well introduce myself.â
They continue walking, and I have nothing to do but follow as they continue their monologue. âMy name is Cardinal. I am one of the four minds in charge of this place, and my job is getting the new hires trained and ready for work. Youâll meet the other three eventually, but thatâs all I need you to know for now.â
I decided to build my courage back up. What am I doing, anyway? Iâm not scared of this pipsqueak, they're so damn tiny.
âWhat is this place for?â I ask, determined to get answers. They were forcing me here against my will anyway, I deserve answers.
âQuestions later, employee, we need to get you a badge number and radio.â They said, voice cold as they continued walking.
Wow. Okay, rude... I continue to follow, looking around as I do so. This part of the building seems to span twice the size of a normal Turf War stage. Iâm unable to look around properly right now, but perhaps Cardinal will give me some time to later. Maybe Iâll even find a way out of this place.
âOkay, step in front of this machine and do what it says, then Iâll take you to your living quarters.â Living quarters? What is this, prison? I step up to the machine and read the instructions.
Insert arm... Into hole?
Oh fuck no.
âIs there any other way to do this?â I turn, asking a question thatâll likely be fruitless, but itâs worth a shot.
âI mean, one of my coworkers could, but she doesnât have the time, or resources for someone unimportant such as yourself.â They end with a snarky remark. Of course.
I roll my eyes before reluctantly putting my whole arm into the machine. I yelp as I feel a sharp pain, quickly pulling my arm out. âAnd now youâre chipped! Hurray. Letâs see here...â They say, taking a look at the screen.
âHuh... Strange... Wonder what happened to the third one... Oh well!â Cardinal takes a wristband from the machine, wrapping it around my wrist. âCongratulations, Rider.â They look up at me as they speak again,
Iâd usually start my day off with getting dressed in work attire and sliding my Cardinal-based mask on, but today is different. Today is the 50th anniversary of the founding of our company and Empire, which means I have to dress up.Â
How stressfulâŠ.Â
Luckily, I woke up 5 minutes before my alarm goes off, so I have a little extra time to reflect on myself and prepare for the day.Â
Walking over to my private bathroom, I swipe my towel off of the counter while heading in and looking at myself in the mirror. I look at myself directly in my wide, anxious eyes. âWhy are you scared, Prince? This is a happy day, isnât it? Snap out of it.â I think to myself as I shake off the icky feeling, gently wash my face and dry it before heading out of the room.Â
I sigh as I dress myself in fancy clothes, wondering why this was all so necessary at first, but then silencing my thoughts afterwards. I quickly finished getting ready for the day, walking to my door and carefully placing my hand on the knob.Â
My eyes close as I start to overthink about everything that could go wrong today. My breaths quicken, and for a moment, I take my hand off the door knob. I open my eyes again and look back at my room to regain my composure, eventually nodding to myself as I turn back to the door.
I take a breath as my hand starts shaking on its way to the door, but I push through and turn the knob, opening the door with a smile on my face.Â
Mask in hand, I take my time walking to the designated room. I take a second to notice how no one else is wandering the halls. âMaybe theyâre already there?â I ask myself, slowly approaching the large doors.
I feel my hands start to get clammy again as I reach for the handle. I sigh again and put on my mask, figuring that might help with the irrational anxiety I was feeling. I push open the door to see my cowor- teammates talking at a table. They all stopped talking and stared at me when the door closed, as if they didnât notice me coming in at first.
âBROTHER!â Emperor saw me and ran over to me, taking my mask off âWhat do you need this for? Weâre not strangers, are we, Prince?â He lightly punched my arm, before putting his own around my shoulder âBesides, you donât need that yet, the after partyâs later.â He winks and giggles at my stupidity.
âRight.. My mistake.â I nervously say, looking around at the others. âWhatâs the plan for today? Anything special?â I already know the answer but I might as well feed his ego. The Inkling grinned ear to ear as he unwrapped from my shoulder and walked to a white board.
âWhy, I am so glad you asked.â He pauses to clear his throat. âSit down everyone! Letâs revise for today.â Me and the other two members sit down on the cosy chairs that are assigned to us.
 âAs you all already know, today marks a very very special day for us as a family.â I try not to think about whatâs coming next, hoping that my irregular breathing isnât being picked up by the others.Â
âToday marks the 50th anniversary of our family business, and empire, Kamabo Co.â
I must look zoned out because my brother nudges me slightly, pulling me out of my self-induced trance
âPrince, pay attention. its status report day.â He glares at me, before signalling N-Pacer to go over to him. She starts to talk about the project she's working on, but my mind is on everything but what anyone is saying right now.Â
â50 years.â My mind floods with thoughts that are far too dangerous for me to have, though despite that, not being able to move on. how terrifying. I realize that as I'm stuck swimming in my forbidden thoughts, Jr had already gone halfway through his report about weapons. âIf they knew what I was thinking right now, would they jump me?â I think, before mentally shaking the thought away âno. no, why would they? we're family.â before I know it, Emperor is snapping his fingers in my faceÂ
âHEY. Wake up, your time to sleep was over an hour ago.âÂ
âhas it really been that long?â I think, forgetting to answer back.Â
âPRINCE. Get up hereâ I quickly snap myself back to reality, standing up and going to the front as my brother sits down. I take a deep breath, swiftly thinking of the words I'm going to say.Â
âThis year we have employed a total of 100 Inklings, and have uhm.
 lost. half that amount to work related incident. I'm sure you three can agree, that kind of ratio is extremely dangerous for our wellbeing. I fear that if this continues, we will be investigated in some way. So, in order to sway this ratio to lower numbers, I have a proposal.â I stop to catch my breath, and Emperor responds in the time I take to pause
.
âGo on.â He says, crossing his arms in his chair and tapping his foot on the floor.
âI propose that when the new employees this quarter come in today, I have the permission and resources to train them more so we are not required to-â I'm cut off.
âPermission granted, status report dismissed.â Emperor says, before standing up and walking out the door. everyone is silent.âWas I really that boring.?â without a word, the other two followed. âI didn't even finish..â I sighed and held my head in my hands, trying not to cry as I look around the room, mentally preparing to continue for the day. I take another breath as I push through the door, putting my mask back on while I head to the dining area for breakfast.