The gate's glow faded behind them as Raven dragged Beast Boy clear of the entrance, his arm slung across her shoulders, his weight heavy with exhaustion. The other hunters had scattered out first, eight of them, pale-faced, armor scraped, weapons still trembling in their grip and now stood in a loose, unsteady cluster on the rocky slope above the dungeon mouth, staring back at the gate like it might open again at any second with those angel-like beings.
Raven looked back at the gate, arms crossed tight over her chest, her expression unreadable to anyone who didn't know her well enough to see the worry underneath.
Beast Boy, leaning heavily against a boulder, caught the look.
"Are you really worried about Arthur?"
Raven didn't look at him. "Well. Look at you."
Gar laughed weakly. "Fair." He tried to shift his weight and winced. "I only got these powers a few days ago. I might've been able to take them if I'd had proper time. Maybe." He shook his head. "We're all part of this Monarch band or whatever, but Arthur..." he gestured vaguely at the gate, "...he's the Monarch. He shouldn't even be classified as one of us. It's not the same thing."
Raven's mouth curved, just slightly. "No," she said quietly. "It isn't."
The raid leader approached them slowly, shield strapped across his back, his face still pale. He stopped a respectful distance away and cleared his throat.
"Miss Raven. Excuse me." He glanced back at his party, then at her. "What happened back there? We were only told this was a new dungeon that appeared on the registry. C-rank. Our guild verified it. Jackals inside, nothing else." He swallowed. "Nobody told us you'd be here. Nobody told us Arthur Blackwynd would be here."
Raven turned to face him, her expression level. "No one would have known to tell you. We arrived as soon as we could." She paused. "If we hadn't, those winged people would have killed everyone in that raid. Including you."
The raid leader said nothing. He looked at his party, eight hunters, all of them still staring at the dungeon entrance with wide eyes, weapons loose in their hands. None of them had ever seen Arthur fight in person. None of them were likely to forget it.
The gate crackled and everyone flinched.
Then a man stepped through, walking casually, hands in his pockets, as if he'd just finished a stroll through a park. The gate sealed shut behind him with a soft, final hum.
Raven's shoulders dropped an inch.
Arthur Blackwynd looked around at the scattered hunters, at Beast Boy propped against the boulder, at Raven. "I believe I didn't keep you waiting."
Beast Boy grinned weakly. "See? Told you."
Raven exhaled. "Of course not."
The hunters stared at Arthur for a long beat. The raid leader opened his mouth, closed it, and finally just bowed, awkwardly, too deep before turning and hurrying his party down the slope toward the road.
.
.
.
.
Arthur's Estate - Underground Base
The base beneath the estate was carved from shadow and technology, its walls lined with displays showing the movements of Shadow Lanterns across the sectors, gate activity across the planet, and as of tonight, a rotating map of dimensional signatures that flickered in and out of focus. A long table dominated the center, and around it sat the people Arthur selected.
Raven, arms crossed, Beast Boy, bandaged, still pale, but upright. Kara, calm and steady, Aurora asleep in a carrier beside her chair. Clark, hands folded. Zatanna, quiet. Frost, arms crossed, and Arthur at the head, alongside George standing next to him.
"There's a plan," Arthur said. "Ivy's still in their hands. I can get her out, and I can guarantee her wellbeing. But before I do, I want something from all of you."
He looked around the table.
"The Rulers have made their hostility clear. Their first move was against Gar. It won't be their last." He paused. "I would prefer to honor Ashborn's history with them. To settle this without bloodshed, if it's possible. But if it comes to it, I will do what's necessary."
"So what do you need from us Arthur?" Zatanna asked.
"Stay here. All of you. This estate, this base, no one can reach you here. Not the Rulers, not their soldiers, not anyone." Arthur's eyes glowed faintly. "I spared one of the Collectors that ambushed me in the dungeon. He's my way in. They're hiding in a realm with no access, sealed behind godly artifacts, and that's why I can't simply step in myself. But I can contact them through him. That's how I'll open the channel."
Frost let out a long breath. "I think I signed up for more than I asked for."
Kara leaned forward. "They attacked Beast Boy already. I think we should just destroy them. You said it yourself, Arthur.. they still refuse to take the gates down."
"You have every right to think that's the proper retaliation," Arthur said evenly. "But my hesitation isn't because I think they have the upper hand. On the contrary, I could destroy them on my own. They know that. That fear has consumed every action they've taken, and it's blinding them. You can't undo a millennium of fear and wariness toward the Monarchs in one day. They don't know you."
Clark was quiet for a moment. "That's the worst part," he said finally. "They're not even wrong to be afraid of the Monarchs. Every Monarch before us was a tyrant and we saw it firsthand. Every single one." He looked at Arthur. "They've been right for a thousand years. That's why this is so hard, I understand it fully now."
"Exactly," Arthur said. "They've been right for thousnads of years about the monarchs. That's why I'm giving them one last chance."
Zatanna's voice was level. "And if they refuse?"
Arthur met her eyes. "Then it's war."
He stood.
"I'll send my warning. And you'll all see it, every one of you. You can see through my eyes now. I'll talk with the Rulers through the Collector I spared."
.
.
.
The Collector stood before the Rulers, knees bent, head low, voice unsteady.
"Great Ones. The Shadow Monarch refused every offer. He killed four of the five soldiers sent with me. I alone was spared... I do not know why. I returned through the gateway as ordered."
The Rulers regarded him in silence, three tall shapes of pale light and calm, their faces unreadable, one of them spoke.
"You were spared because he chose to spare you. That is not mercy, he'll do something."
The Collector nodded, throat tight. "Yes, Great Ones."
Then his eyes turned violet.
His body convulsed, a single, brutal spasm and his hand snapped upward as if yanked by a string. The Rulers shifted, their light sharpening.
The Collector's mouth smiled. His eyes burned violet. His free hand shot to his own helberd, raised it and the other hand caught it mid-swing, forcing it down.
"Hello, " said a voice that was not the Collector's.
"Monarch of Shadows," one Ruler said, cool and even. "And the Greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light." A pause. "It surprises me that you can still show respect, after what you have wrought."
"It surprises me that you can still speak to me like a child," Arthur said through the Collector's mouth. "After what you have wrought."
"You forced our hand."
"Forced your hand to do what, exactly? I killed the Monarchs myself. On my own. Every one of them and all you did was seed mana into my planet and watch. And you still won't withdraw the gates. My world doesn't need your aid anymore, humans can defend themselves now."
"We cannot withdraw the gates," the Ruler said. "The Dragon Monarch still lives. You are still on that planet. The balance you dismiss is not yours to dismiss."
"I'm not asking," Arthur said. "I'm ordering you. Withdraw the gates. Release Ivy, the new Monarch of Plagues, that is my command."
A beat of silence.
"You have shown your intentions clearly, Monarch of Shadows," another Ruler said. "You no longer care about the war our order was built to win. Our purpose was always to end the Monarchs and the darkness they represent. And yet you have given that very power to others.. unchecked, unproven, unworthy. We cannot help but wonder why."
"Because I care about order," Arthur said. "More than you do."
"Is this the order you seek? Endless strife?"
"There is no strife. I ended it. And I will end it again with the Dragon Monarch. If you can't live with that, then I'm afraid this strife you keep naming ends with you gone as well."
A long pause.
"Your power has increased beyond what we believed your limit to be," the Ruler said slowly. "But we were lying to ourselves, and we have known it for a long time. Ashborn had no limit. We simply did not wish to believe that a being like that was once our eldest brother."
"It pains us to say this," another added, "but we cannot come to terms. Great power is influencing your decisions, we will not permit it."
"So this is your final answer," Arthur said.
"It is."
"Then it is war." The Collector's mouth smiled again, sad this time, almost resigned. "I wish you fortune. You will need it. This first death is on your hands."
The Collector's free hand finally won.
The helberd turned inward and slid into his throat.
He dropped. The Rulers stood in perfect stillness and watched him bleed out on the floor, unmoving.
"May fortune and purpose favor us indeed," one of them said.
The violet light left the Collector's eyes.
.
.
.
.
The vision cut out.
Around the table, there was only silence.
Kara was the first to speak, her voice low and shaking slightly. "They watched him die. They didn't even flinch."
Clark's hands were pressed flat on the table. "They've been at this for thousands of years," he said quietly. "You can't reason with them, because they stopped listening a long time ago, they believe they are right, no matter what."
Zatanna stared at the empty air where the vision had been. "They truly believe we're the danger. Every word out of their mouths was fear of the unknown."
Frost, arms still crossed, didn't look at anyone. "So much for retirement. Again." A pause. "Fine. What do you need me to do?"
Raven's voice was steady. "You'll do nothing Frost.. And Arthur, you knew talking was never an option."
"It never was," Arthur said. "Now we know for certain." He looked around the table at Kara, at Raven, at Clark, at Zatanna, at Frost, at Beast Boy. "Ready your armies. It's time for the strife to end. I'm sure you know what to do with your powers by now."
/-\
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