General Secretary Watanabe sighed in a mixture of relief and exhaustion. "Well I can't argue the reasoning behind that Mr Artabanos. I can't stand in the way of reconciliation. I suppose now what we need to discuss is moving forward, seeing as you lifted your restrictions we can remove ours, and let relations evolve organically on their own. Normalisation I believe is what its called. So my question to you Mr Artabanos is what does that look like for your country?"

"Osaka...Hmm ok, the food capitol of Yosai facing the Red Strait and above and if you keep going it goes to California. Ok I can allow it. Just out of curiosity Prime Minister can I ask why Osaka in particular?"

The businessman then smiled in agreement "Fair enough Madame President. Before we conclude and sign an agreement so that I have a good things to report back to Tokyo is there further questions you have for me President Mouri-Kudo?"

With nothing to further add or discuss, it seemed that the summit was reaching its natural conclusion.

“Alrighty, are we ready to sign on everything we’ve agreed to today?” the Archbishop asked, prompting both the Bishop Secretaries to stand up from the sofa and straighten themselves out.

Silas, who was rather bored and disappointed with the Head of State’s refusal of his offers, excused himself by simply giving an acknowledging nod to his compatriots and his guest, before then leaving the room without even saying goodbye.

“I’ll return with the agreement, which will be ready to sign,” Antoni announced, following Silas out of the room.

The Archbishop made casual chit-chat with the Head of State as they waited for Antoni to return with the agreement. Mikaela had been presented with troubling and peculiar news while Silas maintained an audience with Rikkalek. Mikaela felt compelled to share the information that had been thrusted upon her, but she ultimately decided against it, instead opting for lighter and breezier conversation.

Mikaela was very glad that she was able to spend quality time relaxing with Rikkalek, sharing in gossip, and now even including him in a group chat. Despite this, Rikkalek still seemed more like a friendly acquaintance rather than a true friend. Nonetheless, this small step in their relationship was a victory as far as the Archbishop was concerned.

After some time, Antoni returned with the agreement, which was typed on an official document that included the coat of arms and seals of the Inquistan and Istkalenic states. The Bishop Secretary presented the treaty in a leather binder alongside two platinum-plated fountain pens. The fountain pens had the names and titles of the Archbishop and Head of State engraved into them.

The Archbishop got up from her seat and handed the Bishop Secretary her phone, while then taking the agreement and politely seating herself beside the Head of State. Mikaela gently instructed Antoni to livestream her signing the agreement on Instagram Live, so that the whole world could bear witness to the occasion.

The agreement read:

The Saint Dominico Accord of 2022

Inquista and Istkalen shall hereby agree to:

I. Eliminate all existing custom duties and tariffs, except for those applied to agricultural products and other foodstuffs, between their respective states.
II. Permit Inquistans to contract industrial and service collectives, as well as individual workers, from Istkalen.
III. Institute visa-free travels between their respective states.

The Archbishop signed the treaty with great enthusiasm before then passing it on to the Head of State, who then signed it next. Once the agreement was made official, the Archbishop posed for several photos with the Head of State, which the Bishop Secretary captured with artistic passion, until it was time to say goodbye.

alt text

Antoni handed Mikaela her phone back, shook hands with Rikkalek one more time, and then jokingly declared, “Well, looks like my visit here was a success in the end. I look forward to being on the same page,” mimicking what Firoux had said earlier. Antoni smiled and then walked out, while Mikaela laughed.

The Archbishop escorted the Head of State through the palace back to the main entrance. There, a security team stood ready to walk Rikkalek back to his limousine at the other end of Saint Dominico’s Square.

“Normally, this would just be the beginning of our fun time together, but I know that you’re a very busy man and there are a lot of people that want your country’s attention!” Mikaela began. “I would show you around Saint Dominico, but maybe at another time when you’re more free. Anyway, thank you so much for coming! You’ve been great company. Take care Rikky! Don’t be a stranger, ok?”

The Archbishop gave the Head of State a kiss on both of his cheeks, surprising the poor Istkalener with the Inquistan custom of greeting and bidding farewell. Mikaela then waved Rikkalek goodbye as the security detail led him outside and toward his vehicle.

The Archbishop hastily made her way to the library room where Chief Secretary Firoux and Bishop Secretary JennaMarelle Johnson eagerly stood waiting for the Archbishop’s arrival. Firoux looked rather pleased with himself, knowing that that Silas’ arms agreement, which he had attempted to filibuster earlier in the drawing room, did not come to fruition. Somehow Firoux always maintained a habit of being victorious in the end. The Chief Secretary had tremendous newfound respect for the Istkalenic Head of State, who he thought had a rather commendable moral compass.

“Where is the Head of State?” Firoux asked, turning his smile to a frown.

“He’s a busy guy,” Mikaela deflected with a shake of her head.

“Too busy to save the world? Ah well, its best we keep this matter under complete secrecy anyway.”

“To the Glitter Room!” Mikaela championed with a sense of purpose, grabbing JennaMarelle by her hand.

The Archbishop walked towards a bookshelf that stood squarely in the middle between several other shelves on the left-hand side of the room. Mikaela studied the bookshelf intently, before then pulling a shiny silver book by its spine. The bookshelf suddenly came forwards and then moved sideways, revealing a secret door. Mikaela, Firoux and JennaMarelle quickly rushed inside.

<Tense undercover music starts playing>

The secret door led to an inner sanctum. A small electronic podium stood in the centre, where an electronic pad awaited a handprint. Mikaela walked over to the pad and placed her hand over it. The pad scanned the Archbishop’s hand, and after a few seconds, a door to a large and swirly slide opened. The slide spiralled into every direction below, and appeared to continue on until nothing but darkness could be seen.

“Remember you guys, keep your arms close to your chest. It’s time to go down,” Mikaela reminded her partners, before then quickly propelling herself down the slide.

Once reaching the bottom of the slide, Mikaela waited for Firoux and JennaMarelle to land behind her. A red button stood before them.

“Are we ready?” Mikaela asked.

“Yes,” Firoux and JennaMarelle answered in unison, with steel and grit in their voices.

The Archbishop pressed the button, and the trio were instantly swallowed by trap doors under their feet that plunged them into an unknown and seemingly infinite abyss below. Firoux shouted for his life and grabbed JennaMarelle by her hand midair. JennaMarelle yelled in terror. “Keep yo damn hands close to yo chest!”

After falling quite a few storeys, the three landed on a massive trampoline that broke their fall. With their acrobatic skills leveled up, the trio managed to get back on their feet once the trampoline came to a standstill. The Archbishop scrambled around the small trampoline room until she managed to find a button attached to one of the walls. The Archbishop pressed the button and a small crawl space opened up below her knees.

Mikaela got down on her stomach and then began to crawl through the crawl space. “You guys, through here!"

The crawl space ended up being a very long but narrow tunnel. After worming their way through, the trio collected themselves at what seemed to be some sort of landing. A really strange and bizarre stench wafted through the air. The three Inquistans gazed from atop their landing to the pit below, where a float of six or seven crocodiles were eagerly waiting. They then gazed to the other end of the room, where another landing stood some 20 to 25 metres away.

“What are those?” Firoux asked, staring blankly at the crocodiles beneath them.

“They are my crocs,” Mikaela answered, sounding both scared but also proud.

“You’re keeping them in here? Mikaela, this is cruel! These poor crocodiles deserve to be free from captivity, not kept as a defence system!” Firoux soap-boxed.

“Hey, it was Craticus who put them here! Besides, crocodile skin is also soooo in season right now! If crocodile shoes are the thing, then why not crocodile defence systems? It’s so chic, so current, so timeless…” Mikaela continued on.

“Ok, but how do we get to the other side?” JennaMarelle interrupted.

“We have to tightrope across,” Mikaela smiled.

“Oh, duh, of course,” Firoux laughed with tremendous nervousness.

The Archbishop began to slowly tightrope across the crocodile pit. Mikaela slowly inched her way forward, strutting carefully across the very thin tightrope that connected the two landings. After a nerve-wracking minute, the Archbishop successfully made her way across, with JennaMarelle and Firoux following shortly behind. At the other end of the landing was a large red button, which the Archbishop then pressed. The nearby wall split into two, and revealed the entrance to the Glitter Room. The group walked triumphantly inside.

<Craticus' Secret Lair music starts playing>

“Yikes, what’s with this music?” Firoux questioned.

“Oh sorry, I haven’t had time to change it yet, it’s what Craticus left on.”

The Glitter Room was once Archbishop Craticus’ secret lair, which had now been refitted and redecorated as Archbishop Kligenberg’s own secret base of operations. The once evil and ominous-looking hideout was now an immensely sparkly room, with a futuristic and shiny interior where everything sparkled with pastel-coloured glitter. The outskirts of the room was lined with sophisticated and cutting-edge equipment and gadgets, and television screens were plastered across all the walls of the room, which livestreamed recordings of various undisclosed locations across Europe, from Prague, to Madrid, and to Dairghazburo, and so on.

A large meeting table was centred in the middle of the room, crowded with uncomfortable metal chairs. Someone was already seated at the table, patiently waiting for the arriving party. The trio hurriedly decided to seat themselves at the table with their patient guest. Upon closer inspection of the waiting visitor, Mikaela was taken by surprise. “Tulsi Gabbard? I thought you had been killed!”

“H-H-H-H-Hello. I-I-I-I am Mecha Tulsi,” Mecha Tulsi introduced herself. Mecha Tulsi spun around in her chair and revealed herself to be holding a baby crocodile, which she gently caressed.

A control panel on the table then began to beep with the HEATHERS signal.

<HEATHERS signal>

The Archbishop pressed a button on the table, and then holographic projections of Air Marshal Harriet Copala and General Juan-Bernardo Fernandez-Velasquez appeared in seats on the opposite of the table.

“What’s the stitch?” Mikaela wondered.

“Hello everyone. I hope you’ve gotten acquainted with Mecha Tulsi,” Copala began. “Mecha Tulsi is an advanced AI-mech that has been programmed to reflect and act as the late General Tulsi Gabbard of Icholasen. Apparently, she’s even been imprinted with General Gabbard’s memories.”

“T-T-T-T-That is right,” Mecha Tulsi followed up.

“The last Android system update appears to have thrown her through a loop,” Copala stated with some sorrow. “This is why iOS is so much better. Apple in general, really…”

“Well, most androids have much better specs like cameras, processors and batteries for their price point,” Firoux rebuked.

“I soooo used to swear by Apple, but then I dropped my phone once and it broke. I totally learned my lesson!” Mikaela interjected.

“N-N-N-N-Not to worry. I-I-I-I am just fine,” Mecha Tulsi clarified.

“Mecha Tulsi has been in deep undercover on behalf of Free Nicoleizian Intelligence, and has brought us vital intel. This is a matter of not just national security, but international security. I dare say that the entire world is at risk,” Copala warned with a rather grim voice.

“The criminal organisation known as the Secret Iron Mastermind Pirate Society, commonly dubbed as the SIMPS, are acting out in one last desperate attempt to save themselves. After the Archbishop and Spanish President infiltrated and busted the main SIMPS warehouse, and ransacked all of their stolen goods, the SIMPS have been very severely weakened. In the last weeks, Inquistan police and intelligence services have also been able to arrest and apprehend most SIMPS, leaving the organisation fighting for its life while on the brink of total collapse.

The SIMPS have now become more desperate than ever. Mecha Tulsi has collected intelligence that leads us to believe that the SIMPS have begun working for a much, much more dangerous enemy. The SIMPS are working with a secretive organisation, which we do not yet know the name of, but appears to be an Asian supremacist network that intends to asianize all of Europe. The organisation hopes to unleash Asianization across all our borders, and hopes to begin this process by kidnapping European leaders, such as the Archbishop, the Czech and Spanish Presidents, Emperor Artabanos, among others, and then asianizing them. The Archbishop is believed to be the first target, and the SIMPS are being asked to kidnap her.”

Mikaela gasped. “O-M-G! I don’t want any surgery!”

“This evil organisation doesn’t intend to asianize Europe through surgery. In fact, they have developed a far more dangerous and advanced method…” Copala started to explain before turning to El General.

“Si. Ay dios mio, this organización has created a type of sustancia that is injected into the human body, which will then slowly asiáticotiza them.”

Mikaela, Firoux and JennaMarelle were in utter shock.

“Indeed, this technology is very troubling. Mecha Tulsi bore witness to the first two victims of this dangerous substance, who were two SIMPS that were tested on as guinea pigs,” Copala added.

“Y-Y-Yes. The victims were injected with this unknown substance, which did not do m-m-m-much at first, only turning them colour blind. A-A-A-A-After approximately 48 hours, the victims slowly began to asianize, and their colour blindness did not wear o-o-o-off.”

“Colour blind? So we won’t be able to see any colour anymore, either?” Mikaela questioned in disbelief.

Copala nodded in disbelief. “Exactly. This organization aspires to create a completely colour blind and fully Asianized world. They must be stoppd.”

“So, what’s the plan, then?” JennaMarelle asked, chiming in.

“The Archbishop will do what she does best, and will infiltrates the SIMPS one last time, in the process destroying them, and will find out more about this secret organisation.”

“And how will she do that?” JennaMarelle further questioned.

Copala smiled. “Easy. She will allow them to capture her.”

"Oh, I could've bought it my- Alright, whatever. Thanks a lot for the gift." Grimwald was not expecting the gesture at all, though, by this point, he was too tired to counter. Still, he was pleased.

"Now, if you excuse me, I'll call Tobias. He's waiting outside." Grimwald then pulled out his old yet handy phone to call him.

"Yes, we're done here. I'll be outside in a moment... We can do that, yes. We'll talk about that in detail. Alright." Grimwald then hung up the phone and got up to shake his colleague's hand.

"Mrs. Mouri-Kudo, thank you for taking your time for this meeting. This will greatly improve the already impressive relations between Leagio and Elthize. In this new era of Elthize where we are a member of the European Union, we are glad to ensure that our relationship with our allies are strong as ever. Alas, thank you, once again."

"Gosh, they're not that verbose, are they?", Emperor Artabanos thought as the summit formally began. "Trade! Yes, the most exciting of topics.... I must admit, Theresa, I'm all for it, but I'm also completely bored by it. Inimicus would gladly agree a complete elimination of tariffs on trade with the United Kingdom, if that is agreeable to you? Just so we can swiftly move onto other things..."

The Emperor took another swig of His drink and looked outside, watching the British delegation making confused notes. "Visa-free travel is something we can also agree to, to some extent. Inimicus prefers not to sign free movement or residency type agreements, just because no one likes foreigners, you know? Except Me, of course. I love foreigners, especially if they're handsome. But we could agree to a limited period of visa-free stay, perhaps 90 days or so? In a 365-day period?"

"I will say", Artabanos continued, lowering His voice somewhat and leaning in to the UK delegation, "I've heard some interesting reports about your meeting with those rascals, Simon Bridges and his Reitzmic government. I'd be so very interested to hear what he had to say for himself."

TM: I think we can encourage our defence companies without compromising our security. We obviously cannot do that. I am surprisingly not that knowledgable.

The sun was shining brightly as he made his way to do his weekly shopping trip at Roscoes.

"My friend," screamed a protestor, one of perhaps a dozen standing near the store, on the public sidewalk, "my friend, do not give yourself to these people! They're no good! Buy Anastasian!"

One of them even offered him a bag already filled with groceries, of which there were many in a cart they had carried with them. "A gift for you! Be a patriot, don't shop at Roscoes!"

As he walked past them, they all stretched their hands out, screaming, wailing hysterically. "Don't go! Don't go! Save yourself! Save your city!" Tears ran down some of their faces as they protestrate before him, laying down their pickets and begging him, between loud sobs, not to go into the store.

He ignored them. He always ignored them. As soon as he entered the store, they would stop and go back to where they had been, holding up their signs and shouting their slogans. "Buy Anastasian! Anastasia for the Anastasians!" and so on and so forth. It meant nothing, really. Their cries were meaningless, their tears those of crocodiles.

As usual, there were large numbers of people streaming out of the store, carts packed to the brim with whatever they could buy, running, running to a truck in the distance, where they would dump everything before presumably driving away, as they did every day. They were always reliably replaced, within a few minutes, with many from another truck, who would do the same. He admired their efficiency, if nothing else.

Inside, there were still a few of them getting out of the store. And so he began his leisurely and short walk to the stationery aisle. His mistake.

The stationery aisle was where they had chosen to make their last vigil. Shopping carts blocked it off from the public; two, pretending to be employees, stood by the carts, pretending to do work, never looking up. Their hands merely flicked at products on the shelves, moving them right, then left; they seemed totally engrossed in their useless endeavor. All of this in but a minute.

Dressed in long white robes embroidered in red, wearing masks of James Mizrachi-Roscoe's face, the rest had piled all the stationery they could find in a pile at the end, Unfortunate for the interloper, their intended sacrifice. It was only a few seconds after they had walked away from the great pile of stationery on the floor, arranged themselves in two lines of six, the thirteenth of them facing them all, that he was thrown by the "employees" into the middle.

He was shivering, looking up at them, hyperventilating, eyes wide. He wiggled, tried to get up; the thirteenth stepped on his shoulders to hold him down, and he screamed, bucking up and down.

She stuffed something into his mouth; he could not spit it out. He whimpered, trying to cough, trying to scream, moving from side to side, up and down, all the while.

No matter. The thirteenth drew a knife, shining metal emerging from a hilt carved intricately, demons smiling from behind twisting and turning vines,

The twelve others joined hands, raised them in the air. "For the glory of James Mizrachi-Roscoe," they chanted, at first softly, in whispers, gradually louder and louder as the thirteenth raised the knife, as their victim's squirming became more violent, his whimpering faster, his eyes fixated on the knife so quickly plunging down, still wide.

The chorus of voices behind her, chanting again and again, "For the glory of James Mizrachi-Roscoe," continued to crescendo upwards in harmony. Two of them broke from the rest of the group; they walked to the pile of stationery; both taking matches in concert, they set it on fire, great yellow flames quickly spreading through the whole of the pile, dark smoke rising and spreading through the store. They smiled, at the fire, at each other, before running, prancing, almost dancing, onto the pile. The flames rode up onto their robes; they danced madly, without care, as they quickly enveloped their body in terrible heat.

The victim would see no more as the knife plunged into his chest. He stopped moving so significantly, his eyes still open. He was still alive; his last moments, the thirteenth thought with glee, would be so painful.

The thirteenth reached into his chest from the hole she had made, trying to reach for his heart.

Council Elections
Urban Results:

City Governing Party/Parties Goudadam Mod+PSD+Lib Brummagem Mod+PSD+Lib Porterdam Mod+Lib+UoD Hague Mod+Lib+PSD Lichester Lib+Mod+PSD Hamborg Mod+UoD+Unus Flussgelort Mod+UoD+Unus Castcon Unus+UoD Baltia Mod+UoD+Lib Arthuria PSD+Mod Arrynfort Unus+Mod+UoD Arandale City Unus+Mod+UoD Doornewater Unus Dunpool PSD+Lib+Mod Couentre Mod+UoD+Unus Ladenses Unus+Mod+UoD Wulfsberg Mod+Uod+Unus Fleetpool Unus+Mod-UoD Ostend Mod+PSD+Lib Timworth Unus+UoD Bielefied Unus+Mod+UoD Kiel UoD+Lib+Mod Wuppertel Mod+PSD+Lib Karlsruhe Unus+UoD Oberhauesen Mod+UoD Sheafford Unus+Mod+UoD Abona Unus+Mod+UoD Brighthemston Mod+PSD Oxbridge Mod+Lib+UoD Snotingaham Unus+Mod+Uod Derventio Mod+Lib+Uod Milton Keynes Mod+PSD+Lib Southhamwic Mod+UoD+Unus Eindtrent PSD+Lib+Mod+UoD Gronhem Mod+Lib+UoD Fentown Unus+Mod+Uod Stoc-On-Trent Mod+PSD+Lib Weogorna Unus+Mod Duisden PSD+Lib+Mod Rovescester Unus+Mod+UoD Little Bohn Unus Lierpul Unus+Mod+UoD Telford Unus+Mod+UoD Münster Unus+Mod Saaleburg Mod+Lib+UoD

Urban Council Election Stats

Party Vote % Votes Seats Seat % The Left 6.90% 1,658,994 247 6.68% PSD 18.44% 4,433,163 679 18.37% Liberal 17.16% 4,125,310 578 15.64% Moderate 24.82% 5,968,782 872 23.59% UoD 16.59% 3,988,054 559 15.12% Unus 16.10% 3,870,773 764 20.67% Total: 100.00% 24,045,076 3,696 100.00%

Ambassador Shigata replied “Of course your majesty.” They then have a nice festive evening of food and wine. Two weeks later a ship showed up to the west Atlantic coast of the country. With General Secretary Watanabe himself accompanied by 10 officers who drove him to the encampment. Where he met with the expedition where he was briefed by all heads involved.

Afer being briefed by Ambassador Shigata and Professor Maiyama he answered “Really? We are truly in the presence of the past?” Professor Maiyama replied “Well yes, but that that doesn’t mean that they don’t have anything to offer sir.

General Secretary Watanabe replied “oh of course not, we just have to see what, my only concern that given their behind technologically I’m just worried that other nations want to exploit or take advantage of them. Anyone have any ideas on how to proceed further?”

Ambassador Hideki Shigata replied “well Sir I have complied a report basically recommending a basic plan of starting with quality of life improvements, such as providing them medical supplies and slowly introducing them with medical technology and teaching them agricultural methods to feed more people and store their food longer, which will hopefully lead to lengthening their lifespan and also introducing them to cleaning agents to improve hygiene levels and reduce the chance of disease and then figuring out ways for their people to have easier access to clean water. I mean we can’t just give them aqueducts, sanitation and an entire plumping system out of nowhere.”

“True, well in any case I think I should at least meet the man first so that we can see what he actually wants.”

A military contingent as well as General Secretary Watanabe and Ambassador Shigata and Professor Maiyama then took a jeep to the front gates of Attella with guards at the gates again. Ambassador Shigata then were stopped at the gates again. “Afternoon officers, its just us again. We have a special guest with us this time. We have the leader of our nation General Secretary Junichi Watanabe who requests an audience with his majesty King Zagreus.”

General Secretary Junichi Watanabe got out of the vehicle “Good afternoon officers. I’m honored to be invited to your fine country.” He said dressed in his usual business suit wearing a gentle smile on his face as he waived at the guards. “I hear your King is a great man. I am looking forward to meeting him in person and I apologise for keeping him waiting this whole time.”

alt text
L: "I'm glad that you like it. It is my Winter residence, so it's quite cozy in here during this season."

The two leaders, via the garden, entered the Presidential Palace. It was at the grand and spacious Saal der Herren (Hall of Lords) room that the two leaders were escorted.

"I am quite sure that we have a lot to discuss," said President Lavoie. "A cup of tea? It comes from the sunshine fields of South Brickston."

Junichi Watanabe smiled "It is as you say Prime Minister Niniistö , let us sign and make it official." The two leaders sat down and sighed the treaty and made thier relations official. A historic day fro both nations and ate and drank together when official state business was over.

After the exchanges of pleasantries and signing of papers, the summit was done. But before leaving, Zagreus was toured around Hampton City and in a museum exclusively opened for him. There, he was presented with various weapons and technology Reitzmag had from the Medieval Age to the Modern Era. As they return to the palace, a small but still pomp banquet was held for the Underathian king and his company. Of course, the meals were ensured to be familiar for Underathians while giving twists that would introduce modern cuisine to the guests. Everything was done fit for monarchs.

At the end, the Royal Family with the King and the Government led by the Prime Minister gave their farewells as Zagreus departs for the flight back to Yosai and to Underath. At Yosai, the naval base salutes and gives respect to the Underathian monarch. He's introduced to the modern warships, something that soon the Underathians would have and receive. Eventually, a flight of helicopters brought the visit to an end.

"I think not," Theresa said.

"I am afraid we will need some time to consider this offer, your Majesty. Right now, I am unable to give you an answer right now", the Spanish President said. Some more things were discussed, but no real agreements were reached. Time after, the Spanish President left Underath in his helicopter, after going back to it through the city's streets and getting to see the locals, that lived within the unknowledge and the medieval times.

The helicopter took off and went back to Gibraltar, where Jesús had some meetings with members of the Gibraltar's Parliament and the First Minister of the Autonomous City, Fabián Picardo. The summit was over.

@BrumBrum

King Zagreus gladly accepted the HIgh Duke's offer, and, having nothing else to discuss, he took the foreigners on a tour around the capital. The High Duke and his wife enthusiastically walked around the stone roads, seeing people on horses, brick houses, masonries, and local bussineses. Masonries, shoe cleaners, cloth industries, as well as going through the local market.

Having such a surreal experience that felt as if they walked through a set for a movie, they went to their helicopter and took off, leaving Underath.