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Murdoc quirked an eyebrow; “Are ye sure that’s wise? Yer brother might have more spies here, and the higher up in rank ye go, generally the more likely ye are ta find corruption.”

“I know,” Tidas said as he came to stand in front of him; “But I don’t keep secrets from my men if I don’t have to, and this might be the perfect way to flush out any other spies..”

Tidas didn’t touch anything before he and Murdoc went back into the bunker to assemble his generals. Minus Skye; they all trekked outside two by two, to see the body of the Alconian soldier that their Commander had told them he killed. Both Murdocand Tidas told them exactly what had happened.

Starting from when Zazzy had told him about a soldier sneaking off to send messages, all the way to Raymond’s quick death. When the questions started to come at him in overwhelming secession, Tidas and Murdoc split up answering everyone..

The main questions seem to be how did he talk with the dragon, why was the Highlander King involved, and why didn’t he take up Murdoc’s offer..

“Both Skye and I can communicate with Zazzy due to a kind of special ESP link we’ve established with her. She warned me about a spy, and even pointed him out for me.”

Zazzy had her head part-way into the bunker, and was shaking it in agreement vigorously. Most were used to the dragon’s high intelligence level, but some were still leery of her. Only a couple of the Generals had actually spent time with her, while the others were too busy acting dignified; as their stations dictated.

A few still had doubts about Tidas’ story in general, until he had pulled out the scroll that had been attached to the falcon’s leg. Not even he had read it yet, and showed the surrounding Generals and soldiers that the seal was intact.

.....

Handing the scroll to Arthur, he broke the seal, and read the message out loud. Murdoc had urged Tidas to read it first, but he wanted the seal whole to show everyone that they hadn’t tampered with it. As Arthur began to speak, Tidas suddenly wished he had listened to his Highlander friend..

“She is already beloved by them. They will follow you through her. The signing will happen as planned. All will see him in your place. Will report after ceremony. Long live the True King.”

While everyone focused on the final line, Tidas boiled with rage inside at the first two. He knew that he was referring to Skye, but why? Murdoc seemed relatively pissed off at the message as well, as the two exchanged a knowing glance between themselves.

With the Alconians cleared of any wrong-doing, Skye was beloved by the majority of the Highlanders. She had saved lives with her Shaman magic, fixed their fields, and even sealed of the ancient reactor. Something that had caused cancers, illness, and death for generations.

If Skye wanted it, Murdoc would have a difficult time keeping his throne. Not that he would object if she did, since Murdoc never cared for the political side of his job. If it were up to him, he would like to be in a position similar to Tidas’.

As the Generals began to talk, then yell over each other, Tidas reined them in; “I know that this is a difficult situation that we find ourselves in! What Raymond had written here is would be considered treason-”

“How do we know that?! This message could’ve been meant for the king!” one of the Generals yelled.

“Because the fool said that the message was goin’ ta Prince Marco himself! He didna want ta show Tidas the message! And tried ta use that as an excuse! Now ye know why!” Murdoc bellowed out.

Several soldiers and generals didn’t want to admit that one of their own had betrayed them. While they were all loyal to Alcon, Tidas never questioned if it was to the actual crown, or to the people. His personal belief was that the people were the crown; the royal family was just the symbol of the kingdom.

Physical avatars for the citizens of the world to visualize when they heard the name ‘Alcon’. Tidas’ views went against traditions, and technically; the ideal of a crown itself. He preferred how Sai’s government functioned versus royalty that could turn tyrannical on a whim.

As the idea of the ‘Mad King’ from Game of Thrones popped into Tidas’ head, an image of Marco accompanied it. His biggest worry was what his oldest brother would do once in power, and the message that Arthur had just handed to him was foreboding to him..

‘He wants to control the Highlands, and he obviously wants to use Skye to do it.. But how? Will he appoint her their governor when father passes? No; Marco wouldn’t want her that far away from the capital. She can’t be shown off to the other kingdoms if she’s sent here..’

Another theory clawed at the back of his mind, but Tidas didn’t want to acknowledge it.. He knew Marco coveted Skye for more than just her power, and had caught him more than once trying to take her away..

‘If Skye had a child with him, Marco could claim the Highlander throne with barely any resistance.. But would a bastard line be strong enough to claim it? The Highlanders only truly care about the Warrick bloodline..’

‘If Skye were to become his wife, then the claim would be much stronger. A Warrick descendant on their throne would unite the north and south since they would be half-siblings to Karena’s children.. But Marco would have to get rid of me to do that..’

Looking around the room, Tidas wondered how many more of his men did his brother manipulate. And were they all only meant to watch them, or were they given a more malevolent task, should the chance arise? Tidas just wasn’t sure..

As he internally struggled with his new trust issues, the room suddenly shook as alarms began to go off all across the Highlands. Murdoc looked at Tidas, then they both bolted out of the room. It took them a few moments to realize that Ralph was following behind them.

“What are you doing? Got back to the bunker and secure the men!” Tidas yelled to him.

Ralph shook his head; “Every time you leave my sight, something happens! Arthur can handle the troops with Klaus, Ronnie, and Kari helpin’ out! A guard needs to stay by the guardee’s side!”

Tidas grinned at him; “Alright, but you better keep up with us! We’re heading straight to Gavin’s lab!”

“Why?” Ralph called out as the three tapped into their Tank traits.

Murdoc chuckled; “Why else?! Tis where his wife is! And most likely the reason fer the alarms!”

************

“Well, that didna quite go as we planned,” Skye mumbled as she knocked the dust off of her armor.

“Tis progress, though! Look! The goop is gone!” Gavin exclaimed with a triumphant grin.

Amara huffed in anger before screaming at him; “That’s cause ye blew it ta smithereens! If ye use that on the battlefield, ye’ll take our troops out, too! Are ye daft?! Skye said not ta turn it on yet! Were ye tryin’ ta kill us?! Cause if it wasn’t fer Skye, we’d be dead right now!”

Gavin kept his smile as he replied; “Twas just a test, and I blown up much bigger things, and ima still here. Things often blow up here all the time, ye know that. Tis why I have me own separate alarm, and tis a risk ye take by lovin’ me. I am a man of science, and will always be one, love.”

“Yer a bloody psychotic pyromaniac is what ye are!” Amara yelled as Gavin wrapped his dusty arms around her.

He grinned cheekily at her as he said; “Explains why I love ye so much, my wee Lasair..”

Skye quirked an eyebrow at them; “What does ‘Lasair’ mean?”

Amara huffed in annoyance, but had a small smile on her face as she replied; “It means ‘flame’ in one of our Mother Languages. Hardly anyone knows it.. How do ye not know that? Ye have read books written in it.”

Skye shrugged; “Ta be honest, I can read anythin’. I don’t know why, it’s just how I’ve always been. Even as a child..”

“I take it that’s a Catalyst thing?” Gavin asked as he released Amara.

“I hope so,” Skye replied right before Gavin’s alarms started to go off.

Walking over to his array of security monitors, Gavin flicked a switch to see whovv beers visiting him. He’d already called the communications bunker and had the shut off the alarms, but some still stopped by to make sure he was okay on occasion.

Seeing it was Murdoc, Tidas, and an out-of-breath Ralph, he flicked a switch to unlock the main door. A tiny microphone he used to make announcements within the research facility sat on top of the monitor station. Grabbing it, he told them to come down to the lower level..

When they came into the room, the first thing Tidas did was check over his wife. Skye giggled as he turned her about to look at her, then wrapped his arms around her. She was happy to see him too..

“I was just thinkin’ about you,” she said as she looked up at him.

Tidas smirked; “Well, havin’ one’s life flash before their eyes will do that..”

“Tis fine! We’re all Fine! What’s the big deal-Ouch! Why did ye hit me?!” Gavin asked as he rubbed the side of his arm.

Amara narrowed her eyes on Gavin as she spoke; “Yer lucky that that’s all I did! Get yer head outta yer arse! Ye could hurt or killed us!”

As Amara chewed out Gavin, and Tidas fussed over Skye, Murdoc and Ralph shared an amused expression between them as Murdoc said; “Fools don’t know how good they got it..”

Ralph nodded; “Aye, they don’t..”

As Skye hugged her husband, and odd shimmer on his armor caught her eye. Reaching down to his side, she touched the spot, and felt something wet on her fingers..

Feeling her tense in his arms, Tidas asked Skye what was wrong. Breaking away from him, she held up her hand and asked; “Why is there blood on yer armor? Is Zazzy okay?!”

Tidas looked back at Murdoc and Ralph for a second, then turned back towards Skye with a nervous expression; “Zazzy fine, but we have a problem..”

“What kinda problem?” Skye asked, not liking the look in her husband’s eye.

Taking a deep breath, Tidas replied; “A Marco-shaped problem..”