The doors parted to reveal the ornate throne room, exactly the way Shyra had seen it the previous day. Gosh, has it been only a day? She thought to herself as she took in the Emperor and Empress seated on the opposite end of the rectangular room, with the same courtiers taking their seats on either end.

Only this time, Shyra had a sword in hand and her beloved army at her back.

"We are giving you one last chance at surrender," Shyra proclaimed, raising her sword that dripped blood onto the plush purple carpet. "If you do not take it, there is no stepping out of this room alive."

"We'll never surrender," a voice sneered, and Shyra turned with narrowed eyes to stare at the cause of it all. The Chief Courtier, with all the other ministers at his beck and call.

He raised his arm, and soldiers stepped out of hidden crevices on the walls, swords screaming murder. "Let's see these pesky royals to the end, then. Guards, finish them all," he screeched, and with a wave of Shyra's hand, both sides of the army rushed to meet each other in a deadly embrace, the sounds of metal ripping through flesh echoing in the tall ceiling. Shyra set her eyes on the Chief Courtier, just as the Empress Kaya had instructed her to do, and began marching toward him.

"Naor, seize the Emperor and Empress," she called behind her back, and Naor nodded and began cutting his way through the din.

The Chief Courtier watched her approach with lazily raised eyebrows and picked up a spear from the wall, striding to meet her on the steps of his throne.

"So you've figured out it was me behind all this?" he sneered as he swung his spear in a wide arc, forcing Shyra to swing backwards.

"Yeah, well, we had a little help," she snarled back, baring her teeth, and she ducked yet another blow and swung at his legs, a move that he sidestepped with ease.

Seeing her frustration at his fighting skills, he boomed out a laugh. "You don't win as many wars as I have won for the Adairs without being able to handle a blade, Empress."

"I don't think you need me to tell you that the Adairs didn't want you to win so many wars for them," she countered.

"Pah," he huffed in disdain. "That boy Arawn has none of the spine his illustrious ancestors had. Someone had to keep the legacy alive and achieve what our great Emperors and Empresses sought to do. That wife of his is no better, hiding behind schemes and machinations instead of picking up a sword and leading us to victory."

"They. Were. Sick of it. We all are," Shyra all but screamed, swinging down her sword in a bout of fury and finally catching him off-guard. "But you couldn't see beyond your greed and the coffers that were filling up from your spoils. Not to mention the illegal slave trade you've kept alive under the pretence of war, and all the profits you must have made by selling weapons and soldiers."

At that, his eyes narrowed. "How did you... Never mind, it doesn't matter anymore. Once I deal with your pathetic attempt at a revolution, we will be truly free to expand our empire and explore the universe for civilization." At that, he paused and muttered to himself. "It might not be a bad idea for Arawn to, erm, vanish amid all this chaos. Of course, for a sorrowful Chief Councilor to take his place and rule this empire."

He gave her a smirk and a mocking salute. "Sorry, my dear. I would have loved to crush you like the babe you are, but I have more important things in mind right now."

And with that, he simply vanished in the blink of an eye. Shyra whipped around in search of him, but he was simply there one second, gone the next.

"I know where he's gone," Empress Kaya called from her side, drawing Shyra's attention. "There are secret tunnels built through this palace. I can take you to him."

"Do we trust her to lead us through secret tunnels?" Naor asked, taking his place behind Kaya to keep an eye on her as she barked at her trusted soldiers to kill the rest of the courtiers.

"Not fully," Shyra admitted, meeting Kaya's eye. "So you'll lead me to the courtier, and Naor will follow us as my backup in case anything goes wrong."

"I understand," Kaya replied and walked to Shyra, with Naor trailing behind her. "We just need to step on the hidden lever here. I'd recommend both of you to brace yourselves first."

The impact was so sudden, though, that Shyra barely had the time to think before the platform they were standing on disappeared, and she found herself landing in a dark and oppressive tunnel. It was built with cheap materials and had mold growing on the walls, with spiderwebs and lizards to complete the macabre scene.

"Well, let's get a move on?" Kaya said, turning to her left and leading the way as Shyra and Naor followed her at a close distance.

"This means you'll fulfill your end of the bargain as well, right? I want full leadership of the planets in our control, with Arawn acting as my advisor."

"Only if you agree to be monitored by people we send to your soil, and if your flitting direction stabilizes once and for all," Shyra reminded Kaya before her thoughts got ahead of her.

"Yes, I'm ready to take on that scrutiny," Kaya replied, never taking her eyes off the tunnel, at whose end a pinprick of light had begun to shine. "We must hurry now. He must be close to escaping on that private jet of his, and then it's only a matter of time before he reaches our military bases and gathers a bigger force to fight us."

Her words made the group sprint across the rest of the way, where the voices were getting louder and more demanding. With a final burst of energy, they emerged in a brightly lit chamber that housed the palace's collection of private vessels, into which the Courtier was trying to get while barking orders simultaneously.

"Stop right there," Shyra demanded, as Naor stepped up beside her and pulled out a bow and arrow, aiming at the Courtier's heart. His eyes widened imperceptibly as they landed on her, and he covered it up with a haughty smirk.

"You've gotten further than I expected, pesky little girl. But don't think you'll ever stop me. I have the might of the Adair army by my side. All I need to tell them is that the royals have abducted and tortured our sovereigns, and they will rush to take back the palace."

Before anyone could react, he leapt into the vessel and slammed the door shut behind him. "Naor, fire!" Shyra yelled, but it was too late as the arrow bounced harmlessly off the strong metal.

"Don't worry, I'll rally all our remaining soldiers and inform our troops that the Courtier has gone rogue," Kaya said, drawing her sword and pointing it at the soldiers faithful to the Courtier, and Shyra frowned as she did the same.

"There's no point in that. What if he reaches them sooner? Or what if they were all corrupt to begin with? We need to end the lynchpin once and for all. Isn't that why you didn't rely on your troops even in the past, and asked for our help in disposing of him so you could pin his death as a war casualty?"

"Ugh, you're right," Kaya huffed, not looking happy about it at all. "But what do you propose to do now?"

"I'll tackle him in front of everyone and expose his lies once and for all," Shyra replied, and before they could stop her, she took off behind the launching vessel and clung to its tail end. "Hold them off!" she yelled as the force of the vessel caused her to lurch forward and scramble for purchase. The last she saw of them was their horrified expressions as they turned their swords on the soldiers now making their exit through the remaining vessels.

Meanwhile, Shyra grasped at any leverage she could find on the aircraft and climbed higher and higher until she reached the domed ceiling fitted with glass panels that allowed her to bang on it and grin at its furious passengers.

"I'll finish you off. I should have finished you off long ago," he snarled and raced up a hidden ladder to climb onto the roof, sword in hand, eyes flaring, and a stance ready to charge and kill.

"Sir, should I land?" the pilot asked, looking up at his precariously positioned master with fear in his eyes.

"Keep going, you fool! Fly a little lower so all her allies in the battlefield can see her demise," he roared back, and with a mighty swing, struck Shyra's sword with a resounding clank.

The force made Shyra take a step back, and there weren't too many steps of give, she realized as she spared a glance over her shoulder and saw the red soil rising to meet her, inch by inch.

The next blow, she was better prepared for, and responded with a fierceness that had him laughing and howling. "Oh, if only you were our princess. We could have groomed you into an excellent puppet."

So focused was he on the vision of her as their queen that he didn't realize Shyra was narrowly sidestepping him and launching herself into the cockpit, much to the pilot's nightmare.

"I'll need this vessel for a while," she told him with a wink and made swift work of him as the Courtier charged down the ladder in her wake.

"Face me and fight me like a true warrior, Empress Shyra. Or did your weak little planet not teach you basic etiquette?"

"They've taught me more than you can ever fathom knowing," Shyra replied with a snarl, her hand reaching behind her and pressing what she hoped was an amplifying button, the kind pilots used when they wanted passage to a port and requested the dockworkers to help in landing the ship.

"Never mind that, you won't be around long enough for my lessons to stick, my dear, and I'll have an entire universe to teach and bend to our will. Entire planets and galaxies which will open up major markets for our slave trade, starting with your beloved home, and the people of this land."

"You're despicable. I wonder why the Adairs don't possess the same bloodlust you do, and why they seem to be happy to just rule their people justly. They would have been much better rulers if they weren't fettered to the likes of you."

"Good rulers or not, nobody who supports them will even be around to think of uttering such heresy. Your forces will take care of that for me. I just need enough power to take back the palace from you, kill you all at long last, and embark on a glorious conquest of the universe," he pronounced with a gleam in his eyes.

"I would love to see that happen, if your people don't finish you off first," Shyra replied with a smirk of her own, and she reached behind her and pulled the lever sharply, causing the ship to tilt at a dangerous angle and begin its rapid descent. Shyra had been holding on tight in anticipation of this fall, while he was completely thrown off balance and fell on the floor in a heap of metal and embarrassment.

"I won't do the honour of killing you. That is reserved for the people who have suffered under your hidden rule throughout their lives. I'm just here to relay their message and make sure that your treachery comes to light, so no one hangs these poor subjects next."

"Argh! I won't let you!" he yelled as he attempted to wrench her away from the controls, but Shyra held fast, grabbing her tiny dagger and slashing him across the waist. He howled in agony and dropped to the ground, during which Shyra initiated the rest of the landing sequence, hoping it wouldn't be as bumpy as Hira's usually were, since it was their onboard pilot who was her instructor as well.

Luckily, everything went smoothly this time as she landed right in the middle of the battlefield, or what was a battlefield when she left, but was now a cacophony of dead bodies and birds that were circling the meat with a greedy glint in their eyes.

She threw the door open as soon as they landed, hauled a now-tied-up Courtier, and held him in front of her like a trophy she had earned, which, in a way, he was.

"Good people, as you have heard, here is the man who tortured you so, increased taxes in a time of bad harvest, and used your powerlessness to steal away women and children for a hard life on other planets. Avenge everyone and everything dear to you that has been taken away by him, and don't let him live."

A tall figure with its ghostly self floating over his head stepped forward from the mass of remaining soldiers, and made his way to them with his subjects parting for him like a ceremonial procession.

"With pleasure," the head Aatman muttered, his normally passive gaze frosting into the cool glare of a man who has buried deep injustices in his heart.

It was then that Shyra looked around and properly assessed the remaining soldiers. Their army had won the battle, that was for sure, and the remaining soldiers from the enemy were being rounded up and tied together as prisoners of war, and it was up to the team to decide what would happen to them. Shyra had a great many years of labour in mind for them, to help the Aatman rebuild their homes and to improve the planet. But those were thoughts for later.

A scuffle behind her caused Shyra to turn back just in time to see the Courtier being run over by a sword wielded by multiple people, one after another. It was a grisly death, but one he deserved for all those years of terror.

"Shyra! You're alive!" a voice yelled out from behind her, and Shyra was tackled into a bear hug by a bouncing Arina, and they both fell to the ground, laughing.

"Cosmos, Arina, I should be saying that to you! I was so worried something had happened to you when you didn't follow us in," Shyra exclaimed, giving her friend another hug.

"Naw, I'm too fabulous to die," she pronounced with a flourish. "I headed back to the battle after you guys went in and helped out the Generals in rounding up the rest of the enemy. To be honest, the battle was pretty much won by the time I reached. You've gotten yourself a good army here."

"That I have," Shyra said with a smile, glancing around at everything they had accomplished together.

"So did our plan work?" Arina asked. "And where are the others?"

"It worked out beautifully," Shyra said with a laugh. "The others are still in the Palace right now, helping Kaya and Arawn in rallying their loyal soldiers and imprisoning the traitors. They've got a long journey ahead of them to establish a strong leadership after so many years of oppression."

"Well, I'm just glad that the Adair family won't pose a threat to us anymore. Goodness, I still can't believe our crazy plan of trusting them worked."

"Well, all's well that ends well," Shyra replied, leaning back on her arms and staring up at the brightening day. "I, for one, can't wait to go home and take a nice, long bath. Cosmos knows we need it."

With that, they both doubled up and laughed, clutching their stomachs and each other in a fit of giggles.