"Are you ready to go yet?", Marianne shouts through the apartment.

"Give me a second. What is that in your bag?", he asks while putting on his coat.

"You'll see when we get there. Now come on, we don't have time to waste."

"Why do you have to be so energetic in the morning?", Silas grumbles tired. 

He's now standing in the door frame still half asleep. The coat is way too big for him, as well as the children suit he's wearing underneath. 

Marianne looks at him and can't hide her smile when she sees him mumbling to himself about how early it is.

~This is going to be fun.~ 

Once they get outside she grabs the old motorcycle Jasmine lent her and helps Silas on its back seat.

"I still don't understand why I need to come aswell. The meeting would go just fine even if you were alone", he grumbles as she gives him his helmet.

"Well it probably would still work, but you'd miss an oportunity to learn about how things work here. Besides if I get sick you'll have to replace, so you need to get to know the others, alright?"

"Let's just get this over with", he says putting his arms around her waist.

"That's the attitude I like!", she chuckles.

And with that the engine revs and they make their way to the meeting.

The ride took over two hours and once they got there she explained him what would be discussed and who played which role.

After a few hours it was finally time.

They're standing in front of a big manor, when she finally opens the bag revealing two masks.

The masks are pitch black and cover about half of their faces. Fine golden lines move along the contours of the masks and on each one there's a lizard that seems to be moving.

Silas slowly traces the golden lines out of which the lizard on his mask consists.

"It's a nice design isn't it?", Marianne asks as she puts on hers.

"It fits its purpose", he answers putting on his as well.

And it truly fit it's purpose. She chose this design as a way to show him that she would come back and she did in a way he never imagined. 

"Let's go, they're waiting."

She opens the doors to the manor without hesitating and like all the times before that it takes away her breath. 

The corridors seem even bigger than the last time she was here and the floor is covered in a dark red carpet. The furniture on the side of the corridor is made out of rosewood that's covered in fine details made out of gold. 

The chandeliers hanging over two meters above their heads are also made out of pure gold and shine down a warm light on everything below it.

It's even more impressive than his mansion and it felt a lot more welcoming and less cold.

There are servants everywhere that bow to them as they make their way to the hall where everyone is already waiting for them.

Two of the servants open the massive doors leading to the hall.

And just like the corridors it has been decorated in a very well thought out way that matches its immense size.

In its midst theres a long elegant table. Around it there are all types of different chairs resembling thrones from different ages. 

The one at the end of the table, which is facing the door, is even bigger than the rest and looks even more stunning than the others. It's covered in black leather and is adorned with golden symbols matching the rest of the hall. 

Everyone in the hall is wearing fancy masks and when they walk in all eyes are on them judging every step they take.

And just like she told him to he's walking past them without sparing them a glance, as if he owns the place. If he shows any sign of weakness it's his end, they'll tear him appart mentally an by the look in their eyes also physically.

Finally they reach Marianne's seat.

It's made out of black wood and red leather, it's not as stunning as some others, but it doesn't pale in comparison either.

"You're late", says someone from the other side of the table.

"There were some complications on the way here."

"Is that so? Does it perhaps have a to do with the little boy next to you?"

The second he said that a murmuring started across the table. Everybody is staring at the boy she brought with her, but to their surprise he isn't bothered by it at all. 

"He's my son, aswell as my heir", Marianne announces in a loud voice.

"Already planning on retiring?", asks another one mockingly.

"Shut it. We are here to discuss something different", says the man sitting at the end of the table. It's clear that he's the one with the most authority in the room.

Marianne isn't very surprised by their reaction, they still have no idea about her stance, because she has only recently joined them as Asterikas.

Things are going way smoother than she initially anticipated. Many people joined her organization and so she was able to rise in rank very fast, if it weren't for that she would have had to wait over a year to have the possibility to join these meetings.

If everything works out as planned she doesn't need to interact with them for much longer, after all this is just a stepping stone to get her revenge faster.

But seeing that the soldiers are searching for her she has to hurry even if this works out. 

"Moving on now. I gathered all of you here to discuss a certain kind of drug that has spread around like wildfire here in Zeon", he says.

"What kind of drug?", a woman inquires from the back of the table.

The more power and influence you held the closer you were sitting to the head of the table, so it was quite the feat to sit in the middle like Asterikas.

"It's supposed to strengthen your body and accelerate your regeneration speed, with the only side-effect being a headache. That being said, if we don't stop the spreading of this drug soon it'll become a problem for everybody present."

"And why is that? From your explanation the drug doesn't seem half bad", someone exclaims.

"Agreed, we can strengthen our people with it."

"Have any of you ever thought of the possibility that you could get overthrown by one of the consumers of the drug?", comments Faden. One of the few neutral organizations at this table.

Once again a whisper is spreading at the table, but this time nobody stops them. 

Lance the person to whom belongs nearly all of town and who is sitting at the head of the table, wants his 'subordinates' to start thinking for themselves. It's easier to control them if they don't that's for sure, but at the level they're currently at they'll be the cause of his downfall.

Which is what Marianne is hoping for. But she doesn't stop them either, she has another plan to overthrow him and if it goes as planned the rest will listen to her from then on, but also use their brain.

Lance often feels like the people in this circle are little kids who aren't able to do anything on their own. But that changed with the joining of Asterikas. They seem a lot more capable than the rest, especially because they aren't easily influenced by others, just like now.

Finally he found a pawn he could use. 

>You'll be mine soon enough, Asterikas~<