Victoria Pavlov's smile only grew wider.
That, more than anything else, was what unsettled me.
Most people reacted predictably when they found themselves standing in front of someone stronger than themselves.
Fear.
Anger.
Desperation.
They searched for an advantage.
They lied.
They pleaded.
They tried to convince themselves that there was still some hidden move left to make.
Victoria did none of that.
She looked like she had just been given a gift.
Not a pardon.
Not survival.
A gift.
"You asked about my two friends," she said.
Her tone was almost cheerful.
I watched her carefully.
"Yes."
She clasped her hands together.
"Oh, you'll find this interesting."
"I doubt that."
"No, I really think you will."
She moved across the throne room, her footsteps light against the marble floor.
"They left the moment they realized you were here."
I said nothing.
Victoria tilted her head.
"Not because they thought they could defeat you."
A pause.
"Because they finally understood they couldn't."
That caught my attention.
Not because it was surprising.
Because it was honest.
"Names."
Her smile returned.
"Lord Abraham Tower."
The name was familiar.
Not personally.
Historically.
A survivor.
A man whose reputation had been built on surviving things that should have killed him.
Then she continued.
"And Collin Kintobor Senior."
I stopped.
Only for a moment.
But Victoria noticed.
Of course she noticed.
Kintobor.
A name I knew.
A name I had heard spoken before.
Not from enemies.
From someone I actually respected.
Doctor Julian Ivo Kintobor.
Doc.
My friend, and the man that has helped me survive for as long as I have over the years.
A brilliant mind with more patience than most people deserved, especially in this world.
And then there was Collin Kintobor Junior.
His nephew.
Someone I trusted.
Someone who had stood beside me and his uncle.
Someone who had earned the right to carry that name.
But this man?
This Collin Kintobor Senior?
I slowly smiled.
"Interesting."
Victoria leaned forward.
"You know it."
"I know the name."
She giggled.
"History really does love repeating itself."
I ignored her.
The pieces were already fitting together.
The old experiments.
The forgotten research.
The secrets hidden beneath generations of lies.
The Kintobor name had been attached to some of the greatest achievements and greatest disasters this world had ever known.
But I knew one thing.
Collin Junior was not his ancestor.
Doc was not his ancestor.
A family name did not decide who someone became.
"Where are they?"
Victoria blinked.
"Running."
"That wasn't my question."
"No."
She smiled.
"But it was the important part."
She walked toward the massive windows overlooking Spagonia.
"They escaped through an old passage beneath the palace."
She glanced back.
"A route built long before the current dynasty."
"And you are telling me this because?"
Victoria looked genuinely confused.
"Because you asked."
A pause.
Then her smile widened.
"And because I want to see what happens."
Of course.
She wasn't loyal.
Not truly.
She wasn't helping me because she believed in me.
She was helping because she wanted to watch the next event unfold.
Victoria wasn't a follower.
She was an observer.
A very unstable one.
"Stay here."
Her expression immediately fell.
"Oh."
Then, almost instantly, she brightened.
"Wait."
She pointed at me.
"You're coming back?"
I looked over my shoulder.
"I don't know."
Her grin returned.
"Wonderful."
I left.
-------
The passage beneath the palace was ancient.
Older than the kingdom above it.
Older than many of the names written in its history books.
Dust covered the stone walls.
Old mechanisms sat dormant in forgotten corners.
The kind of place built by people who believed secrets could remain hidden forever.
They always believed that.
They were always wrong.
I walked through the darkness.
Slowly.
There was no need to rush.
The chase had already ended.
They simply had not accepted it yet.
Ahead, I heard voices.
Quiet.
Tense.
"How far?"
"Not far enough."
"That isn't helpful."
"It is accurate."
I almost laughed.
Even now, they were arguing.
That was good.
Panic made people stupid.
Fear made them predictable.
But people who could still argue were still thinking.
I continued forward.
My footsteps echoed through the tunnel.
One.
Two.
Three.
The voices stopped.
Silence.
Then a whisper.
"He's here."
Recognition.
Not surprise.
They had expected this.
Good.
I rounded the corner.
Empty.
A distraction.
I looked down.
A small disturbance in the dust.
A trail.
They were trying to hide their path.
They were trying to think like hunters.
Unfortunately...
They were being hunted.
I followed.
The tunnel split into three directions.
Most people would hesitate.
I didn't.
The left passage.
A moment later, a hidden door closed somewhere ahead.
I kept walking.
"You know," I called calmly, "I expected more."
No response.
"All those years."
"All those preparations."
"All those secrets."
My footsteps continued.
"And now you're hiding underground."
Still nothing.
Then a voice answered.
Lord Abraham Tower.
"You have no idea what you are dealing with."
I stopped.
A reasonable statement.
Possibly even true.
But not for the reason he thought.
"I know enough."
"No."
His voice became sharper.
"You don't."
I continued.
"You spent years searching for something powerful enough to stop me."
Silence.
"And now you are realizing you may never have found it."
Nothing.
That silence told me more than words could.
Then another voice.
Collin.
"Arthur."
I stopped.
Not because of fear.
Because of recognition.
He sounded different.
Older.
Heavier.
"You have no idea what you are walking toward."
I narrowed my eyes.
Interesting.
Not a threat.
A warning.
"What happened?"
No answer.
That was answer enough.
"You know something."
Silence.
"You found something."
Still silence.
I smiled faintly.
"So that is what this is."
I stepped closer to the hidden door.
"Not confidence."
"Not courage."
"Fear."
A pause.
"But not fear of me."
My voice lowered.
"Fear of what you discovered."
Behind the door, movement.
A final attempt.
A final escape.
Then an alarm echoed through the tunnels.
Ancient.
Mechanical.
A warning from somewhere deep below.
Tower and Collin reacted immediately.
They had received some kind of signal.
Something had changed.
I stepped back.
"Interesting."
The lock disengaged.
The door opened.
But not because they wanted it to.
Because they had abandoned it.
They were running again.
I followed.
-------
The passage opened into a massive underground chamber.
The room was filled with forgotten technology.
Machines that looked decades ahead of anything modern.
Screens flickered weakly.
Ancient systems struggled to remain alive.
This was not simply a hiding place.
This was a graveyard of ambition.
A place where someone had tried to force the future into existence.
Lord Tower and Collin stood near the far exit.
Then they stopped.
They knew.
There was nowhere left.
I stepped into the chamber.
Slowly.
Calmly.
The two men turned.
And for the first time since I entered Spagonia...
I saw something different in their eyes.
Not fear of my strength.
They already knew what I could do.
This was something else.
They were afraid because they knew what came next.
The truth.
I looked at Collin Senior.
Then I laughed quietly.
Not because I found him amusing.
Because something had become clear.
"Kintobor."
The name echoed through the chamber.
Collin stiffened.
"That name has followed me more times than I expected."
I looked at him.
"Doctor Julian Ivo Kintobor."
A pause.
"Doc."
Then I smiled.
"And Collin Kintobor Junior."
My expression hardened.
"My friend."
Collin Senior said nothing.
Good.
He understood.
"You are not them."
My eyes narrowed.
"And I will not insult them by pretending you are."
A faint chuckle escaped me.
"But you..."
I looked him over.
"You are different."
Lord Tower remained silent.
Collin Senior's expression tightened.
"You have no idea what I did."
"No."
I agreed.
"Not yet."
I stepped forward.
"But I know one thing."
I pointed toward him.
"I already know what to call you."
A pause.
"Snively."
The old man's face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
The reaction confirmed it.
I laughed.
"That bothers you?"
I shook my head.
"Interesting."
I looked around the ancient chamber.
At the forgotten machines.
At the secrets buried beneath the world.
"Very interesting."
Tower looked toward me.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
Neither answered.
That was the problem.
They had spent years hiding something.
And now they were standing in front of someone who had no reason to let them keep hiding.
The chamber lights flickered.
The ancient machinery hummed.
And slowly...
I stepped fully into view beneath the cold glow of the forgotten facility.
I smiled.
"Found you~."
-------
The silence stretched between us.
Lord Abraham Tower and the man beside him stood at the far end of the underground chamber, surrounded by forgotten machinery and the remains of a plan that had consumed decades of their lives.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
For several moments, I simply watched them.
It was interesting.
Not because they were afraid.
Fear was ordinary.
Every living creature eventually reached a moment where it understood it was no longer in control.
No.
What interested me was the difference between them.
Lord Tower stood straight.
His shoulders were tense, but his posture remained firm. His eyes stayed locked on mine, refusing to wander.
He looked like a man who had already accepted his fate.
The other man was different.
Completely different.
His eyes moved constantly.
Searching.
Calculating.
Looking for an escape route that no longer existed.
A door.
A weapon.
An excuse.
Anything.
I had seen that look before.
Not from warriors.
Not from rulers.
From people who had spent their entire lives surviving by convincing others that they were never responsible for anything.
I took another step forward.
The sound echoed through the chamber.
One foot.
Then another.
Lord Tower finally spoke.
"So this is where you kill us."
Not a question.
An expectation.
I tilted my head slightly.
"Interesting."
His expression barely changed.
"What?"
"You've already decided the ending."
A faint, humorless smile appeared.
"Given what you've done today, I believe it is a reasonable assumption."
I looked at him.
"Perhaps."
Then my eyes moved toward the other man.
"And you?"
The reaction was immediate.
He flinched.
A small movement.
Barely noticeable.
But I noticed.
Of course I did.
"Me?"
His voice cracked.
I waited.
He swallowed.
"I..."
The hesitation told me everything.
Before he said another word, my mind was already putting pieces together.
The name.
The history.
The connections.
Kintobor.
I knew that name.
Not from here.
From Doctor Julian Ivo Kintobor.
And from his nephew.
Collin.
A person who had earned my trust.
Someone who had spent his life trying to help others rather than manipulate them.
This man...
Was something else entirely.
I looked at him.
"You really are related to him, aren't you?"
The man's face changed.
Just slightly.
Enough.
He knew exactly who I meant.
"Julian..."
His voice was almost a whisper.
I laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because the contrast was almost unbelievable.
One family name.
Two very different legacies.
The doctor I knew had chosen science because he wanted to understand the world.
This man had chosen influence because he wanted to control it.
I looked him over.
"No wonder you don't like standing on your own."
His expression tightened.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
I smiled.
"I know your type."
He said nothing.
"You hide behind titles."
"You hide behind alliances."
"You hide behind anyone who can absorb the consequences when things go wrong."
His breathing became faster.
Lord Tower looked at him.
Almost disappointed.
I continued.
"Before all this, you were a lawyer, weren't you?"
That got a reaction.
A real one.
A flicker of anger.
Then fear.
Interesting.
"A very successful one."
I walked slowly around them.
"Successful because you knew how to twist words."
"How to exploit loopholes."
"How to make the law work for whoever paid you enough."
His hands began shaking.
"I—"
"Then eventually even your own family became inconvenient."
Silence.
The chamber seemed colder.
"You abandoned them."
His expression hardened.
"You don't understand."
"No."
I stopped.
"I understand perfectly."
The old machines hummed quietly around us.
"You spent your life convincing yourself that survival was the same thing as intelligence."
A pause.
"But now survival requires something you never developed."
I looked directly at him.
"Courage."
His face twisted.
"Don't call me that."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Call you what?"
I already knew.
The answer came naturally.
"Snively."
His eyes widened.
"What?"
I smiled.
"That's what I'll call you."
"No."
His voice became sharper.
"No, you don't get to—"
I ignored him.
"Snively."
The name suited him far too well.
Lord Tower remained silent.
But I could see the realization crossing his face.
He understood.
The man beside him was already trying to separate himself from everything they had done.
Before the judgment even began.
Predictable.
Then Snively started talking.
Fast.
Too fast.
"Listen, you have the wrong idea."
I said nothing.
That encouraged him.
"I wasn't the one in charge."
He pointed toward Lord Tower.
"He was."
Lord Tower slowly turned.
Snively continued.
"Everything was his plan."
"His decision."
"His obsession."
"I warned him."
Lord Tower's expression hardened.
"You did no such thing."
Snively ignored him.
"I only assisted because I had no choice!"
I almost laughed.
Almost.
There it was.
The oldest excuse.
The one people reached for when they realized consequences existed.
"I was trapped."
"I was forced."
"I was only helping."
I looked at him.
"You built the cage."
A pause.
"You just convinced yourself you were another prisoner."
He had no answer.
Because he knew.
Then I thought of something else.
Someone else.
Collin.
The younger one.
The one currently tearing himself apart searching for someone.
Hope.
His little sister.
While this man stood here trying to save himself.
That contrast told me everything I needed to know.
One person abandoned his family when they became inconvenient.
Another was exhausting himself trying to find one missing member of his.
The difference was impossible to ignore.
I looked back at Snively.
"You know what is interesting?"
He stared.
"Someone with your name is currently running himself into the ground trying to find his little sister."
Snively froze.
I continued.
"Searching."
"Following every lead."
"Refusing to stop."
"Not because he benefits from it."
"Not because anyone will reward him."
"Because she's family."
The silence became uncomfortable.
For once...
Snively had nothing to say.
Lord Tower looked away.
Perhaps even he understood the comparison.
Eventually, he spoke.
"Enough."
His voice was tired.
Not weak.
Just tired.
"I will accept whatever punishment comes."
Snively turned toward him.
"Abraham!"
Lord Tower ignored him.
He looked at me.
"If this is where I die..."
He took a breath.
"Then get it over with."
There was no begging.
No excuses.
Just acceptance.
Snively immediately panicked.
"No!"
He stepped forward.
"No, no, no!"
He looked at me.
"You can't do this!"
I stared.
"Why not?"
"Because I can help you!"
A pause.
"I know things!"
He started listing possibilities.
"Research!"
"Locations!"
"Records!"
"Anything!"
His voice cracked.
"I can be useful!"
Snively did not stop.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Even after the decision had been made.
Even after the doors had opened.
Even after he understood that begging would not change my mind.
He continued anyway.
"Wait!"
His voice echoed through the ancient chamber.
I kept walking.
"Please!"
The desperation in his voice grew louder.
Not because he had found courage.
Because he had finally realized there was nowhere left to hide.
"You don't understand what you're dealing with!"
I stopped.
Slowly.
Then I looked back.
"I understand more than you think."
"No!"
Snively shook his head.
"No, you don't."
His eyes darted between me and Lord Tower.
"There are things you need to know."
I studied him.
People like Snively rarely offered the truth freely.
They offered pieces of it.
The parts they thought would save them.
"What things?"
He swallowed.
"There was a project."
The chamber became quieter.
"A project hidden from almost everyone."
A pause.
"Project Sparkles."
The name struck something.
Not outwardly.
I didn't react.
I didn't give him the satisfaction of knowing.
But internally...
A memory surfaced.
A name.
A scientist.
Gerald Robotnik.
The creator of Shadow the Hedgehog, A.k.a Project Shadow.
I had heard that name before.
A name attached to impossible discoveries.
A name attached to things that should never have existed.
I said nothing.
Snively mistook my silence for uncertainty.
"It was created by my grandfather."
My eyes narrowed slightly.
"Your grandfather."
He nodded quickly.
"Doctor Gerrald Robotnik."
There it was.
The confirmation, that Doc was the grandson of the doctor.
I kept my expression neutral.
So Snively was connected to him.
That explained more than I wanted it to.
The old scientist's legacy had reached further than most people realized.
And apparently, it had reached this coward standing in front of me.
Snively continued.
"He was brilliant."
A nervous smile crossed his face.
"Beyond anyone else of his time."
"Brilliant people are often the ones who create the most dangerous things."
He didn't argue.
Because he knew.
"Project Sparkles wasn't just a weapon."
He looked toward the ancient machinery surrounding us.
"It was supposed to be a safeguard."
"A final answer."
I stared at him.
"A final answer to what?"
His expression changed.
"The future."
That answer was more disturbing than a simple weapon.
Snively continued.
"My grandfather believed the world would eventually face something beyond ordinary armies."
His eyes shifted toward me.
"Something that couldn't be stopped by kingdoms or soldiers."
I almost smiled.
"So he attempted to create something stronger."
Snively looked away.
"Yes."
A pause.
"Something artificial."
"An artificial Anarchy Titan."
The words left him quietly.
But I heard them.
Lord Tower remained silent.
That told me enough.
This wasn't just Snively's secret.
It was both of theirs.
"The capsule disappeared after the Ark Incident."
Snively's voice became lower.
"Everything surrounding it vanished."
"Everyone thought it was gone forever."
I looked at him.
"But you didn't."
He hesitated.
"No."
A pause.
"We knew."
"Or at least..."
His voice weakened.
"We feared."
The chamber hummed around us.
Ancient systems continued running despite decades of abandonment.
"So your solution was to find it."
Snively nodded.
"Lord Tower believed it could stop you."
I looked toward the older man.
He didn't deny it.
Interesting.
"And you agreed."
Snively immediately shook his head.
"I was trying to prevent disaster!"
There it was again.
The excuse.
Always the excuse.
"You spent your life arguing cases in court."
Snively froze.
"You should understand better than anyone."
I stepped closer.
"The difference between explaining a choice..."
"And avoiding responsibility for it."
He had no answer.
Because there wasn't one.
I turned toward the exit.
"Enough."
Snively looked terrified.
"Wait!"
I continued walking.
"Please!"
I didn't stop.
"Please, you have to understand!"
I finally glanced back.
"I do understand."
A pause.
"You created a problem."
"You failed to control it."
"And now you want someone else to carry the consequences."
The doors opened.
"Come."
Snively stared.
"Where?"
I looked ahead.
"Terminus."
The name silenced him.
Lord Tower lowered his head.
Snively remained frozen.
For once...
The lawyer who had spent years manipulating words amd defending rpaists, pedophiles, abusers, and the likes had nothing left to say.
And somewhere beyond the reach of every kingdom and every map, Project Sparkles remained missing.
Waiting.
Watching.
A secret from an old scientist who believed he could build the future.
And a mistake that might already have become something far beyond anyone's control.
I watched him.
Then I laughed.
A quiet laugh.
Not amusement.
Disbelief.
"You still don't understand."
Both men looked at me.
"You think the only alternative to freedom is death."
I stepped closer.
"That is because your entire life has been built around avoiding consequences."
I turned away.
"No."
A pause.
"Death would be easy."
Lord Tower remained still.
Snively looked terrified.
"You both are going to Terminus."
The word settled over the chamber.
A trial.
A judgment.
A place where their actions would finally belong to history.
Not rumors.
Not secrets.
Not hidden files.
Truth.
Snively's face drained of color.
"No..."
I continued walking.
Behind me, Lord Tower lowered his head.
Snively simply stood there.
For the first time in his life, there was nowhere left to hide.
I reached the doorway.
"Come on then."
The doors opened.
"Your choices are finally catching up with you."
And as the three of us left the forgotten chamber beneath Spagonia, I couldn't help but think about the strange irony of it all.
One man spent his life abandoning responsibility.
Another spent his life chasing after it.
And now...
Both would finally have to face it.
"It's high time you two were put on trial."