custardreblogs!

Here's the story I've come up with so far; don't take it seriously as it's subject to change but i just like how it is right now:

leon was still abandoned as a child, but he was left at tater's parent's doorstep. it was actually tater's dad who had compassion on baby leon and let him in the house to take care of him. however, tater tot's mom was like "he can't just live here for free, he has to be doing something". not wanting to pay anyone else than she has to, she decided to make leon work for room & board from that day forward.

well, over time, the only person he really had time to talk to was tater tot. he liked her a lot and they became best friends by being around each other all the time. tater tot felt like he was the only real person she could confide in without it being used against her or being told that it was 'unladylike' to vent about certain things. and in turn, leon shared his own feelings and some of the things that happened to him.

when he was in his late teens, he got kicked out of the house. probably because he was tired of tater's mom talking to him crazy so he got into an argument with her after over 10 years of her treating him like garbage. tater's mother wasn't just a monster to him, but also to her own daughter. the constant put downs, inducing body image issues, and misogynistic expectations being put upon tater broke her down. tater tot was also forbidden from seeing him because of the 'disrespect'. but her , also tired of her mother + tired of being perfect + leon being the only tether to something real and genuine, saw him anyway. that was her first act of rebellion against her family.

from there, they continue to secretly meet up. and leon helps tater tot find her own voice. sometimes she mimics his personality and style, but as she grows she finds her own. in the meantime, leon managed to get into a trade school for mechanical engineering, so he wasn't completely homeless. he was determined to do something with his life. Tater tot also followed the college he went to, despite her parents wanting her to go to some prestigious college so she could find someone else rich to marry or something.

I'm toying with the idea of having her run away with him

"I'll pay however much it is, just get me to earth." He said, and Tater was relieved that Tobias wasn't set on flying it himself if possible.

The conductor, taking advantage of this, charged him twice the original price. It irritated Tater tot to say the least. This is why we don't let foreign empires conduct space travel in our stations. This is why Cakelings should have main control of-

Tater tot noticed Tobias looking at the ground. When they sat down, that was the last time he had moved within the last 30 minutes. He was as stiff as a board, but his eyes were still wide.

The only thing on his mind was making sure that his mom was alright, he couldn't possibly think about anything else at the moment.

"Tobias. Breathe."

“I am.” He said, still staring at the floor. It seemed to be more of an automatic response than anything.

"You're too still. I couldn't see your back rise or fall." Tater tot gently placed her hand on his back, and rubbed it.

He still didn’t react to it, even though he normally would. There wasn’t so much as a slight smile on his face.

Tater tot felt the weird sensation of awkwardness.

"...Since she is in the hospital, she's receiving the care she needs. She has professionals watching over her." Tater tot tried to comfort him.

“…Why did something this have to happen to her? She’s never had any health issues before and I-“

“…”

Tater tot stayed silent, and continued to rub his back gently.

"We'll be there soon... And she'll be okay."

After not too terribly long, the two arrived on earth and Tobias paid the shuttle operator.

They quickly headed to the hospital, and before long they made it to the front desk.

Tobias stepped up, and after getting the staff’s attention he asked. “What room is Sheila McJoe in?” There was still a sense of urgency in his voice.

At this point, it had been almost two days since they first heard the news. Right now, it was around 8 at night.

"Are you a family member of hers?"

“Yes, I’m her son.”

"What's your name?"

“Tobias McJoe.”

After a little more back and forth, mainly confirming his identity and his relationship to his mother, he was given the room number.

He quickly walked down the hallway towards the room. Even though it had been a long time since it has happened and he knew she was still alive, he wouldn’t be at peace until he saw her. He opened the door, and his mom was sitting there reading a book. She was hooked up to various monitoring machines.

Tater tot stood outside the door in the waiting area, feeling like entering would be... Inappropriate as his boss to say the least.

"...Mom?" He said. He was relieved that he was finally able to see her, but also really concerned since she looked pretty unwell.

Sheila barely sat up to look at him. She gave him a tired smile.

"...Oh, hello, baby... I didn't think you'd be here"

He walked over and gave her a long but gentle hug, since she was weaker at the moment.

"I just wish I could've gotten here sooner, I was so worried for you..."

It's alright, I'm just happy you came. Maybe it was all that fried chicken." Sheila chuckled.

He cracked a slight smile for the first time since he heard the news, he looked quite relieved to see that she still acts like her normal self.

“…I’m glad you’re alright.”

After a few minutes of rubbing his hand, his mother looked up at him again.

"Have you met anyone?" She asked, in the 'i want you to get married' tone.

He chuckled. "..You're seriously asking about that now?" Just as he said this, his mom caught a slight glimpse of golden hair from someone sitting a bit away outside the door.

"...Well of course.. I want my baby to be happy... who's that in the waiting room? I saw her walking in with you."

"Is she.. a friend?"

"Oh- That's Tater. She went along with me when the news was delivered about you... I probably wouldn't have managed to keep my calm all the way here if it weren't for her." He slightly smiled and said, not realizing what train of thought he had just sent his mom blazing down the tracks on.

"Ohhh...!!! Tell her to come in! She must be such a nice girl!" Sheila seemed too excited to meet her.

"...What are you doing?" Tobias asked, recognizing this behavior of hers all too well.

"Nothing, nothing! I just want to meet the sweet girl who cared enough to travel so far to support my son."

"...I'll bring her in, but you better not get any ideas." He walked out into the hallway and saw Tater quietly sitting there.

"She- said she wanted to meet you?"

"What?? Why??" Tater tot seemed just as surprised as he was.

"Something about how you cared enough to travel with me all the way here I think?"

"-Right, that reminds me."

"...Thank you for coming all this way with me, having you to keep me company definitely helped me not lose it."

"...No problem." She said as she stood up. She took his hand and firmly held it for a second.

"Whatever your concern is, is mine also." She smiled at him.

His mom could see all of this from her own room. Of course, she was completely ecstatic but tried to hide it. Tobias smiled back at her. "I'll do the same for your concerns, no matter what it is."

"We've got to be there for each other, right?"

"... Are we friends?" Tater hesitantly asked.

"...Friends? What kind of question is that?" He chuckled.

"I.. I d-didn't want to assume anything and make you uncomfortable." Tater tot stammered. She felt heat rise up her neck and rest in her face, accidentally making herself a little warmer out of embarrassment.

"Don't worry, you haven't. I think it's pretty safe to say that we are friends now at the very least, with all we've been through." Tobias said, slightly red in the face as well. He realized that they were standing in the line of sight of his mom, and faced Tater. "...We probably shouldn't leave her hanging for too long, she's been looking at us this whole time."

The two walked back in. Tater tot noticed that almost as soon as they went under the doorway, he gently took his hand back from hers. It hurt her feelings a little... But then felt weird for being sad. Was she just desperate and touch starved? Or overthinking everything?

Tater tot sat opposite of Sheila, shrinking a little in her seat.

"Hello, Mrs. McJoe." She nervously greeted her.

“Hi! It’s so nice to meet you.” She said, you couldn’t hear a hint of her weakness on her voice.

"How are you feeling...? I can make you some soup whenever you go back to your house if you'd like."

“I think I’ll be fine. Thank you for being so kind to Tobias and me.” She didn’t want there to be a chance for Thomas to accidentally ruin what Tobias and Her have going.

“You’re a wonderful young lady.” She smiled.

Tater tot smiled.

"Thank you, ma'am. Tobias is a lot like you, and he's nice to be around."

“I’m glad that Tobias has been treating you nicely, I made sure to teach him to always be respectful of ladies when he was growing up.” She said, making Tobias a bit embarrassed.

Tater tot briefly looked at Tobias, and giggled.

"I could tell when I first met him. He had some sort of charm about him."

His mom smiled, very happy to her say that.

"Thank you both for coming all this way to see me, I'm glad to have people who care so much about little old me." She chuckled.

The three of them continued to talk back and fourth, and there was a slight tension between Tobias and Tater the whole time. They’d occasionally catch themselves looking at one another, and would have to awkwardly break out of it.

After they had laughed at a small joke and there was moment of silence, his mom spoke up completely out of left field.

“…So Tobias, how goes the search for a nice lady to marry?” She said, way more bluntly than someone would ever normally say.

Tater tot began to turn red for some reason... is... is that why he's been so casual with her this whole time?

Tobias, however, looked mortified.

"I'm not trying to force it," He (tried to) casually waved his hand. "It'll come when it's supposed to."

“Yeah but you’re getting older! You’ve gotta have grandbabies before I get too old.”

"I'm only 27..." He nervously laughed. Then stopped laughing. He was almost 30. Tater tot, as if reading his mind began to laugh into her hand.

Of course, this only embarrassed Tobias even more.

He was halfway towards looking like a tomato.

...Tobias wouldn't be the only one getting embarrassed, though.

His mom then turned to face Tater. "Say... Do you have a yourself partner yet Tater?" She asked, her eyes gleaming.

Suddenly, it wasn't so funny anymore.

"...No?" Tater tot shamefully admitted, not even WANTING to look at Tobias after giggling at him.

Hearing her tone, his mom backtracked a bit. "Oh- I think that came across wrong..."

"I'm not trying to shame you or anything I promise! I'm just trying to ask if you're also available like my son is." She said, which instantly threw everything into a spiral yet again.

"A-are you trying to set us up?" Tater tot tried to joke, but quickly realized that that was exactly what his mother was trying to do.

“Pft, no… I wouldn’t try to mess with you two, if anything were to come from this it wouldn’t be my doing-“ She said, and Tobias became more red than she had ever seen him.

“Mom.”

"...At least she likes me." Tater tot awkwardly laughed.

"That's...one step."

His mom didn't press any further, but she was sure as she'll ever be that this "one step" she was referring to was her becoming a part of the family.

Still, she chose to spare them any more embarrassment.

"Thank you so much for coming out, it really means so much." She saw outside the window through the blinds, it was pitch black. "-Would you look at the time? It really has gotten late..." She wasn't lying, at this point it was already quite late at night.

"I don't want to keep you any longer, but have you two found a place to stay around here yet? I'm worried about you trying to head all the way back with how late it is."

"..I was considering checking in at a hotel. I'm not sure what Tobias would think, though.. I'm not exactly an expert."

Expert?? At what?? his mom thought, trying to figure out what's going on between them. They both said they aren't dating anyone yet, so that seems like it would apply to each other as well right?

"...I'll handle it, since you're not from earth it could get a bit confusing." Toby replied to Tater.

"You're comfortable with sharing a room?"

"I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the empress completely alone in a random town, especially since you're here because you helped me.. We'd just get a room that has two separate beds."

"...That's a thing???" Tater tot seemed flabbergasted

"Sharing a room... hm"

His mom... Lightly chuckled (almost giggled) for some reason after she said that?

Tater tot tilted her head a little, but in a confused puppy way...

"Am I missing something?"

"No- No, I just think you're very cute." She smiled.

Tater tot froze for a moment, but the room quickly gained at least ten degrees because of her.

"..oh"

His mom felt the warmth almost instantly. "Oh... Am I getting a fever? It feels hotter all of the sudden." She said, completely oblivious to the fact that Cakelings are, in a literal sense, miniature suns.

"...N-no, ma'am, I just have a hard time controlling my own temperature, that's all." Tater tot replied, as if it were the most casual thing in the world; being prone to exploding.

"Oh... Alright." She didn't understand what she meant in the slightest, but didn't want to dwell on something that could make her uncomfortable again.

While they continued their small talk, the nurse came in to gently kick out Tater tot and Tobias, as they'd stayed up until the time where patients were allowed visitation.

“Ah… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Tobias said to his mom and she nodded.

Tater and Tobias then left the hospital, and it was completely silent outside barring the slight buzz of one of the hospital’s AC units.

Tobias still seemed a little bit embarrassed, but he also seemed extremely relieved.

After they left the hospital they traveled a short distance to the nearest decent quality hotel, and the two walked in to ask for a room.

It was very run of the mill for what you'd expect for a hotel in a rural town, it something Tobias had seen many times before.

Tater tot felt a little uncomfortable... The looks she noticed from the other patrons made her feel like she was being over-analyzed.

Tobias, however, tried to pay no mind to it.

He walked up to the front desk, and after getting the front desk lady's attention, he spoke. "Hey, do you have any two bed suites available currently?"

The front desk lady turned to face him, then sighed. "Nope, we only have one bed suites available."

Tobias turned to Tater, he wasn't sure if he should just get two rooms- No. He has to make sure she's safe since he's her assistant.

"...What do you think we should do?"

"...We need to rest.. so..." Tater tot replied quietly. She, for some reason, felt embarrassed even to tell him to get a one-bed suite for the two of them.

"...Ok." He turned to the front desk lady, trying to remain professional.

"-We'll just take one room then."

Once Tobias got the number and key for their room, they left.

The room itself wasn't too hard to find; it was upstairs and was the first turn to your left. It sort of made Tobias uneasy that they were so close to an opening, but it was all they had left.

Once they got in their room, Tater tot took off some of her regalia. She tried to imagine that Tobias wasn't there to hopefully make it easier for herself. It just felt so scandalous.... Even though nothing was happening.

Tobias only took off his shoes then sat on the chair in the corner of the room facing away from her. He was too embarrassed to even look in her direction, much less try to unwind and get comfortable.

Tater tot finally took off her shoes, leaving her in an undershirt, shorts and socks that were the same color as her shoes.

She hesitantly sat on the bed, trying not to look at Tobias.

"...You should get comfortable. It'll mess up your sleep if you aren't."

"How could I? This whole situation is just..."

"...I have to make sure that you're safe, I can't let you be put in danger." Sure, that's what it is.

Tater tot opened her mouth, then closed it.

"You need sleep... Go... Or... Come.. to bed?" Tater tot barely got out. She felt butterflies erupt in her stomach when she finished what she said. For a moment, the room lit up like a sunrise in an open field before she managed to get herself under control again.

“Huh??-“ Tobias was caught completely off guard by her, and his flusteredness outweighed any surprise from seeing another one of her thermonuclear reactions.

“I- I can’t sleep in the same bed as you! That would be-“ He was even more red in the face than when his mom said that earlier, which almost didn’t seem humanly possible.

"B-but there's only one bed, Tobias!! you can't sleep on the floor, and you have no blanket on the couch. You'll get sick!"

“How could I though?? All the professionalism I’ve tried to keep would be out the window just like that!..” He buried his face in his hands.

"We don't have to talk about it after this, okay?? we can just pretend it never happened and-"

“-It’s not just about everyone finding out.. I’d know that it happened and…”

"Why are you so worried about yourself?" Tater tot asked. It came out...weird. She meant, 'we both know nothing is going on, so I don't understand why you are so afraid'. Of course, English being her second language and not understanding humans completely, makes her come off differently than she means.

“…I’m not just worried about myself, I’m worried about you too.”

…He was worried about how he would see Tater too, but he couldn’t possibly bring himself to say that out loud.

“If there’s even a chance that anyone could find out, I don’t want to take that risk.”

"...We're alone, as far as cakelings go.. I just don't want you to get sick. Earthlings get sick so easily, even from just being cold.."

"I'd rather you sleep in the same bed as me. As long as we aren't doing anything, then ... there shouldn't be an issue."

He remembered what happened last time he thought he could just "tough it out", and it was quite cold in the room... But... "Still... I-"

Tater tot got under the covers, leaving a spot open for him.

"...C'mon.."

"I know you're tired. I'm not letting you get sick again."

He looked at her, then at the bed.. It seemed like there might be enough room for them to both sleep while keeping a distance actually?

"...Are you really sure this is ok?"

Tater nodded.

"I promise.."

Tobias, of course, didn't take off anything except for his shoes.

After a moment's hesitation, he carefully got into the bed while making sure he didn't accidentally touch Tater at all.

This was strictly because he had to.

"..You're so stiff... relax" Tater tot mumbled.

Of course, her acting like this didn't help him relax in the slightest.

How could he? He was laying in a bed next to Tater of all people.

"...Ok." He simply replied, trying to make sure he keeps facing the other direction. He wanted to make sure that he wouldn't accidentally make things even more difficult.

Tater tot, from behind him could see how red his face was getting. Suddenly, the sheets were becoming a little hot, and a tiny bit damp.

"Are you sweating...?"

"Take off the blazer, you can't wear that under a blanket..!"

"N-No, it's fine, I don't need to."

Tater tot began to tug at the sleeves, rolling them up a little... (totally not an excuse to touch him)

"..For your sake-"

This was the boiling point for him. "Wait- Hold on for a second!-" He rolled over and tried pulling his sleeve away after feeling her touch his hand, but since Tater was in the process of rolling the sleeve up, he accidentally pulled her hand closer to him.

Tater tot got really, really, hot for a second, but quickly regained her composure.

"W-what was that for???"

"Y-You can't just do something like that out of nowhere!"

He had jumped back slightly on the bed in his recoil, almost to the point of falling off.

"I-it wasn't out of nowhere!!!! it's weird to get into bed with someone with outside clothes on!!!"

It's weird to be in a situation where I get into bed with you at all!" He said, facing away from her again.

There was no way he could say something like that while looking at her.

"Why won't you look at me??" Tater tot whined... which was unintentional. It embarrassed her a little that she was practically begging someone to look at her.

“…Why do you want me to look at you??” He said, genuinely confused.

Aren’t we not supposed to get any closer?

"...B-because I'm speaking to you." She weakly tried to pull rank... But it was odd in their context... Especially if she was trying to make herself be more approachable.

Tobias knew that she wasn’t going to stop, so he decided to go along with it for now…

He deeply sighed, then turned over, still not keeping eye contact but facing her general direction. “…There, now you can talk to me.”

Tater tot gradually became warmer when they were fully facing each other.

"...'

"..why are you so nervous around me sometimes?"

“…Why wouldn’t I be? You’re my boss and-“

That wasn’t the real reason, but he struggled to say what he truly meant.

"... I miss when you were you... Like in the elevator.."

"Now you're afraid.."

He huffed in a "huh" sort of way. "...Yknow, I never would've guessed that you'd want me to act like that."

"-I assumed that you'd want me to act professional and all, given who you are."

"If I were meeting the president or someone else important in the government on earth, I'd never be able to talk to them like that."

"..I don't do well with rigid stuff.." Tater tot softly smiled

"I.. never did"

"I just fake it really well."

He chuckled, slightly smiling. "...Must be really good at it then, if you've been able to keep up the role of empress like you have."

"...How about you? How did you keep it up?"

"what was it like being governor...? And how did you win your election?"

“You’re curious about my time in government? I wouldn’t have expected that.”

He rolled slightly to lay on his back, and looked up at the ceiling while recalling. “…If I had to describe my time as governor and dealing with earth politics as a whole in a single word, ‘hectic’ would probably be the best way to put it.”

“Something was happening every moment of every day, even when it didn’t need to.”

“People would try to start things for no good reason, and I’m sure the whole ordeal of trying to keep things running.”

“…I’m sure I aged a couple years from the whole thing.” He chuckled, but there was a hint of truth in his words.

“I admire how you can keep being ‘you’, while also being able to rule the empire as well as you have.”

“To be honest, even just the thought of what you’re in charge of makes me feel silly for talking about my struggles with being governor to you.”

"Just because our experiences are different, it doesn't make one experience matter more or less over the other." Tater tot looked at the ceiling.

"...Honestly, I don't see many democracies. America is one of the few self-ruling space-states I have seen."

"Usually it's a monarchy or an oligarchy." Tater tot wondered out loud.

“I didn’t think about that, but you’re right.. The same is true for almost all of human history.”

“I just grew up in a democracy, so it seems like ‘the norm’ to me.” Tobias replied.

"Was it hard being governor..? It seems like earthlings get treated like celebrities even as politicians" Tater tot asked.

He thought for a moment. "It's true that we did get treated like celebrities sometimes, but it's mainly because they want something in some way, shape or form."

"It was all too much."

"A while ago when we were walking around at the capital in the middle of the day, things were far more calm than on earth."

"Sure a few people stared at us for a bit, but that was the end of it. We didn't have a flock of reporters swarming us and shoving cameras in our faces."

"...To answer your first question, the actual work I did was manageable, I enjoyed helping people with my position of power whenever possible."

"..It was just too much having to deal with that life day in and day out, you couldn't even go to a restaurant in public in peace."

"Did you ever get in trouble for anything? Or a controversy?"

"I remember looking you up a few months before you applied to be my assistant... It seems like, at least online, everyone gives you a hard time." Tater tot turned to face him.

"Mhm... I did get into some hot water at one point... Thankfully, it wasn't a legal issue, more so a private interest one."

"...A major oil and gas corporation was trying to expand into this city essentially flatten the place to put in a refinery. It would've also heavily damaged the state forest nearby, so of course, so I didn't approve their plans to buy up all the land."

"After I kept denying their permit multiple times despite their vague threats, they started a smear campaign against me. They said I was against the 'economic growth of the city', and was denying it for personal reasons rather than an objective one."

"Did they ever clarify the 'personal reasons' they were accusing you of?...And everyone just... believed it?" Tater tot asked in disbelief.

He nodded. "When you have money and power, you can pretty much make anyone believe what you're saying."

"Thankfully more people were still on my side overall, so I was able to play out the full term."

"-This was far from the only case I had of something like this happening, it was just the most successful against me because of how large the corporation backing it was."

He sighed, looking down slightly. "I was just too tired of dealing with stuff like this to try to even try to run for re-election, I even swore I'd never get into politics again."

"...And here you are." Tater tot smirked.

"Good thing I'm not a politician in America."

"Although... I'm not sure if being a space-politician is any better. But hey... if something happens, I get the public fire for it. Not you."

"You say that like it's a good thing you're taking the fire.. I don't agree to be honest."

"You're already dealing with so much on so many levels, I never once had to deal with people trying to overthrow the government and had someone plan to assassinate me. That isn't even mentioning the fact that you're responsible for what happens across entire star systems, not just a single state."

"...Ah." Tater tot thought for a moment. "I guess I never thought about it like that. It's a bit like being president, yeah? Americans... you did have one of yours killed. Another impeached, challenged, charged. Many of them. The people were closer to them."

"...Meanwhile for Aliens, it's more of an effort to do stuff like that."

Tobias nodded.

"...But a lot of them still do happen. Given the scale of how many people you are in charge of leading, I'd be surprised if there wasn't someone who had a bone to pick with you. I still don't have an entirely solid grasp on space politics just yet, so I can't speak fully on what goes on here yet."

"It seems both extremely different in some ways, and also extremely similar in others"

"One thing I noticed with earthlings is that many of you hide what you mean behind nicer-sounding words, which muddies its meaning. Not saying we don't do that.. but it gets to a point. Etiquette has become politics itself when it shouldn't have."

"Aliens are more blunt, and we leave the fancy stuff to the ballrooms and for marriage arrangements."

"...Huh, that matches up with a lot of my experiences actually."

"-I was caught off guard by how those I've met here in general acted at first, I thought maybe it was about me or something. Now I realize that it's just how things are here. In politics on earth, and in life in general, making your words sweeter is a thing that most people are expected to do. In politics, what you say in some ways matters even more than what you'll actually do during your time in office."

"At least some kind of sweetening or etiquette is expected pretty much everywhere, in places like normal restaurants."

"Do you add sweetness to your words when you talk to me ...?" Tater tot asked.

"...At first maybe- After the elevator of course."

"But I stopped after realizing that I can talk to you normally, and it seems like you really prefer it that way."

Tater tot, out of instinct, scooted a little closer to him.

"..Yeah.. do you prefer me to stay professional too?"

"...Well, I-" Tobias looked her in the eyes for a moment. "I-I Think it'd be best if we kept it that way for now, for the sake of the job."

Tobias said, trying to save face in the situation.. Then he realized what he said. He silently berated himself inside his head 'did I really just say that to her??' 'For now??'.

"..For now?" She wasn't making it any easier for him... She was just as confused as he was.

"...W-We should probably just get some rest.. It's been a long day and I think we're both tired." He said, trying to move on from the subject. It was done in a not so subtle way.

Tater tot began to laugh a little bit.

"Goodness, you're like a skiddish puppy, Tobias. What is the problem??"

'EVERYTHING!' He wanted to say. Nevertheless, he tried coming up with a proper answer but wasn't able to find words that would sound right.

"..Are you okay?" She asked, after he didn't respond.

"I'm fine, really!.. It's just-" He sighed. "...Can we please just get some rest? I think I need some time to think over everything that's happened lately."

He found himself looking in her eyes again, then he stopped himself. He can't confess to her what he really feels, he didn't want there to be a chance that he could ruin the dynamic their dynamic by doing so.

...Even if she liked him back, how could he hope to end up with her? He's just a farmboy and she's... ...The ruler of the entire galactic empire.

"Okay.." Tater tot sighed. Not in a disappointed way... she sounded tired as well.

She rolled over on her side, and closed her eyes. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep... unfortunately, Tobias was left awake; his thoughts bouncing between his mother and Tater tot.

His mind was racing with thought, and he laid awake for what felt like ages just going back and fourth in his head. He even tried convincing himself that he didn't like Tater in that way, but that thought didn't last for too long.

Eventually he realized that at some point, he'd have to go to sleep whether he liked it or not so that he can actually do things and go places tomorrow.

When he turned over in his bed, he accidentally pulled the cover off of Tater tot.

After realizing this, he quickly sat up and grabbed the blanket.

He scooted slightly towards Tater and took the edge of the blanket, carefully resting it over her and trying to tuck it in slightly.

His sudden movements ended up half-way waking her up. When she opened her eyes, all she saw was him half over her, with his arm reaching across her body. She panicked. She got so, so scared, she almost burned the blanket and filled the room with a bright, white light.

She ended up accidentally touching Tobias's arm... and gave him a first-degree burn.

He practically jumped backwards and fell off the bed, almost knocking the wind out of himself in the process when he fell flat on the floor. The both of them laid where they were for a moment in shock, breathing heavily.

"T-Tobias?? are you okay???" Tater tot asked after a moment, finally coming to.

"Tobias??" Tater tot practically lept forward, and began to examine his arm.

Thankfully it didn't seem too bad, it was around what you'd expect from an average sunburn.

"..Oh.." Tater tot groaned.

"..I don't know if any stores are open right now.. You need Aloe Vera. Wait, run that under some cold water-"

"No, no- I'll be fine." He said, slowly sitting up while rubbing his eyes.

"Just let me- Catch my breath for a moment..."

"Are you sure??????"

"Yeah, I'm sure..." After catching his breath, he slowly stood up, leaning over the small sink in the room. "I- Think it'd be better if I slept on the couch... For both of our sakes..." He said then chuckled lightly, still sounding a bit winded.

"Y-yeah.. I'm sorry.. I'll get something for your burn in the morning..."

"...You don't have to apologize, it's not like that's something you can control."

"...I could, I just don't know how."

She thought to herself. She laid back down, trying not to think about the fact that she quite literally just burned Tobias.

After he rinsed his arm for a bit. "I'll go down to the front desk and ask for an extra blanket and pillow set, be back in a bit..." As he was exiting the room, he turned to her. "Try to get some rest, ok?" He said, not sounding like he was upset or mad at her.

".. I'll try."

Tater tot had reverted back to the docile tone she had with him before they really knew each other.

"..." Tobias stepped out of the room and shut the door. Before leaning up against it for a moment.

He didn't know what he should do or say in this situation.

..At this point he thought that it might be best if he just goes to bed without saying any more after getting the sheets, but he still couldn't get what happened out of his mind.

It wasn't the fact that he got burned that stuck with him, it was that cold tone she had just now.

He continued thinking about it until he reached the front desk, and the front desk lady seemed surprised to see him approaching this late. He looked... Rough to put it lightly.

"...Hi, could I get another bed set?" He asked, his voice still sounding somewhat winded.

"Sure... what kind of night did you have?" She joked, thinking the situation of stupidity was something else entirely.

"...Please just give me the sheets. Thanks." He said, too wiped out to try arguing or anything.

Tobias was given his sheets without another word... Though, the lady did wonder why he faintly smelled burnt as he walked off.

"As previously stated, we have physical and photographic evidence of legal documents confirming the business transaction between the two organizations. We have a hard time believing that Mr. Valios was blindsided by this, as we suspect his motivation was monetary gain.'

"So you allege that Mr. Valios didn't verify their trading partners for the explicit reason of monetary gain?"

"And if I am correct in my assessment of your claim, what charge against the defendant are you seeking if your evidence proves to be true?" The judge asked, wondering if the evidence they had would be enough.

"Well, the charge we are bringing against Valios would be a violation of the imperial code of business conduct: Verifying a business partner with either the royal seal, or the official trading party of the crown's seal on all verified documentation of said company's licenses and owners.. Failure to meet these requirements call for closure of the company or it being handed at least partially to the government for monitoring probation for the next 10-20 years."

The judge nodded. "I see."

"Are there any other charges you wish to hold against the defendant?"

"We are still pursuing the charges for treason."

The judge looked over the evidence again, then spoke.

"Defendant, do you plea guilty these charges?"

"No, we do not."

"Then this trial is now officially resumed." The judge cleared their throat.

"The charges being upheld against Mr. Valios and Apollo arms co are as follows:"

"Grand violation of the imperial code of business conduct and treason against the crown for contribution to an attempt to overthrow the government."

"Prosecutor, please present your evidence regarding specifically the former charge."

The prosecutor cleared his throat.

"As previously mentioned, the evidence of their poor verification, if they did it at all, is that the simple fact that the other "company" involved was not at all registered in the imperial business bureau of 4036. Not only that, but they had been fined multiple times for not being registered; all the fines have been ignored, resulting in a now "red-flag" warning whenever the company itself is searched up."

"I see." The judge said, going over the evidence and seeing that what they were saying is indeed true.

"What do you say in your defense?" The judge asked the defendant.

They were slightly scrambling to come up with something to refute the claim.

"What date was the 'red flag' warning issued? If it were after the company started doing business then it wouldn't matter." They asked the prosecutor.

"3 months before the dealing." The prosecutor replied.

"W-Well, that isn't entirely conclusive. There's still the question if the warning is visible enough, or if the systems were working properly."

The defense stammered a bit, it seemed like they were grasping for straws.

"Well, that doesn't make much sense- there was no recorded incident of the imperial government sites being down that day, or at all within the past year."

"As for the matter of the warning's explicit visibility?"

They asked, hoping that there might be a case for Mr. Valios not being able to see it. Truthfully, they weren't expecting this angle of attack so they were under prepared to counter.

"All business documents are printed with either the seal or the red-flag. Even if the company forged the documents, it is still available on the government website to look up the business itself."

"in this case, the documents were forged, but it is known by Apollos Arms Co. That this is standard business; seeing as they demonstrated this knowledge in the past with collaborations and other various deals."

“…” They couldn’t come up with a feasible defense.

“Do you have sufficient evidence to refute this claim?”

The judge asked, to which the defendant responded after some talk among itself.

“No, we do not.” The courtroom the nobles began talking amongst itself, lending to the general audience of the courtroom also doing so. Many of them were in surprise that they actually got them on the count of negligence.

After a moment the judge tapped their gavel. “This trial is still ongoing, so I ask that the courtroom remain silent for now.”

“Seeing as there is no more discussion to be had for the first charge, we shall proceed to the second.”

The judge looked at their papers.

“Mr. Valios is accused of aiding in the terrorist’s act of attempting to overthrow the government, thus facing a charge of aid to treason.”

“Prosecutor, please present your evidence for this claim.”

The prosecutor cleared his throat.

"We believe they are guilty of these charges because of their failure to check the company they were dealing with. The previous charge is related to this because this attack would not have happened if they did not supply the weapons in the first place. Not only that, but the fact that they agreed to a contract agreeing to supply the weapons to the terrorists; we already showed this piece of evidence; it was dated a few days before the attacks, and had clauses of confidentiality. Essentially, an NDA. Need I say more?"

The defendant spoke up, seeming to have an argument against what was said unlike earlier.

"I do not believe that Mr. Valios or Apollo arms is in any way guilty of this charge, and I will explain why." The prosecutor took out a sheet of Paper, which was a copy of the aforementioned NDA. "In order to be found guilty of the charge of Treason, it would have to be proven that there were any kind of indication of them being terrorists."

The defendant continued: "An NDA of this kind is standard practice in the industry, and as I'm sure you know, this NDA was signed as part of the deal between the faux company and Apollo arms."

"There is no denying that Apollo arms' weaponry was used in this attack, as the evidence has shown. However, it is unreasonable to claim that Apollo arms is guilty of such based off numerous past rulings." After a moment, they displayed a piece of evidence to the court room showing past court rulings. In them, other weapons manufacturing companies were found not guilty in aiding crimes committed with the weapons.

The judge then turned to face the prosecutors to see what they would use to back their claim.

"Even so, wouldn't the very fact that they failed to identify the company make this point null? since they failed to do this, over 300 casualties occurred."

"Let me pose a hypothetical question; should a vehicle manufacturer be held liable for pedestrians hit with the vehicles they had already sold? Likewise, should a weapons manufacturing company be held liable for things done with weapons they no longer legally own any part of after selling?"

The defendant said, pushing onward with trying to refute the claim.

"The matter of failing to verify the company is an entirely separate matter, one that isn't inherently tied to the terrorists at all."

The prosecutor pressed on: "No, the failure to verify is related because if they had done even basic research, this was would not have happened."

"It is not the same as a car manufacturer because in order to buy a car, you must have a license in most imperial territories. If you do not, the transaction between the manufacturer and the customer is illegal."

"There was a red flag warning given for flagged activity, but that isn't equivalent to knowingly selling to someone without a license. The warning was just that- a warning. The government does not prohibit companies from making deals with red flag companies."

The defendant seemed a little hesitant to say it, since it would practically guarantee that they were convicted of the first charge... However, if they didn't, Valios might even face the death penalty or life in jail. "...Also, as your report indicated, this wasn't the first time Apollo arms made deals with 'red flag' companies, yet none of them committed any acts of terrorism with the weapons that were purchased."

"This happening was entirely unprecedented, and this on top of the fact that they lied about being a legitimate company, puts the blame on the terrorists for their fraud in buying the weaponry, not on Valios."

"Apollos Arms Co. would have known they were not a legitimate company had they checked. Because of their incompetence, the terrorist attack happened." The prosecutor shot back. It was becoming obvious that without the judge stepping in, this was going to go nowhere.

“With all due respect, the terrorist attack happened because of the terrorists, not the weapons.”

The judge nodded with understanding, then turned to face the Prosecutor.

“Do you wish to proceed with the charge of terrorism or do you wish to forfeit?”

The prosecutor went back to his own team. After a few minutes of discussion, he came back.

"For the reason of insufficient evidence, we will forfeit."

The courtroom yet again broke into quiet conversation amongst itself. After things calmed down slightly, the judge spoke.

“If nobody has any objections, I will proceed to the sentencing.”

“Mr. Valios has been acquitted of the charge of terrorism, but has been found guilty of a grand violation of failing to ensure proper business procedure.”

“As such, it is only appropriate to give you a befitting sentence of the violation.”

“I sentence you, and your company Apollo arms to be under government surveillance for the next two decades. Business will be allowed to proceed after all current trade deals are verified, but extreme scrutiny will be given to ensure that every single order is legitimate.”

“This case is closed.” The judge tapped the gavel one last time.

Tater tot saw Hercules hold his head in his hands. A sigh of relief could be heard from both him and his father. As everyone packed up, Tater tot looked at Tobias. She didn't have much to say to him, but wanted to see if he did.

After a moment of not speaking, he sighed. "That was... Concerning, to say the least."

"-Come to think of it, this means Hercules will return to his regular work right?"

"...He should, yes.. only his father was found guilty."

"Do you think Hercules will re-acquire the assets he gave up before this whole thing went down?"

"I'd say it's unlikely, but possible. His father might just give the company to him."

"I guess we'll just have to see what happens?" He looked out at the view. "I'm glad that all this is over, these last few weeks have been... Something else."

Tater tot sighed.

"Well... Now, we can relax and everything can go back to normal." Tater tot smiled.

While they were talking, one of Tater's employees walked in.

"Did something happen?" Tobias asked, when they come unannounced like this it's usually because they are delivering news.

"...Your family called for you." The worker's tone was heavy but still professional.

"It is a medical emergency... Your mother had a heart attack. And-"

Tobias's eyes widened upon hearing the worker, without hesitating for a moment he stood up and grabbed his belongings. "Where is she?" He asked, in a serious tone.

Tater tot stood up as well, completely surprised.

"She's currently at the hospital. She's undergoing corrective surgery. The next shuttle back to earth is at 7:30 pm today-"

"Which hospital?" He asked, thinking about the fastest possible way back to earth.

He was not going to wait for hours until the shuttle departs.

"The only one in your hometown. I wasn't able to get the name but it's the nearest one where she lives."

Got it." He said, before heading towards the exit of the building.

He was walking extremely quickly.

Tater tot followed Tobias, unsure of what to do.

Giovanni (he/him) 25 // Kitty (they/them) TBD

Story Summary: Kitty, an alien, was fighting a war and got thrown through the dimensions of time and landed on an unknown planet. They meets the king of Golden Leaf and befriend them and some of their staff. Now, they must find their wand to get back to their own planet, only Golden Leaf is fighting a war of their own. Will they be able to go home without getting caught within another war?

Yuki (she/her) 16 // Rin (he/him) 17

Story Summary: Rin, a known delinquent against his peers, has a big secret. He is part of a trio of robot assassins trying to save the world from domination. While most acknowledge this as a myth, the robot apocalypse is imminent. He must keep his secret life under wraps as much as possible to avoid any conflicts. This is easy, until Yuki Wakabyashi comes into his life. She’s determined to befriend him and bring out his social side. Will he be able to keep his secret life away from his peers?

Starr (they/it/she/he) TBD // Kanjo (they/he) 23

Story Summary (trigger warning for suicide mention): In a cramped office sits Kanjo Masaki. They dread their boring office job and are barely getting by. They work late nights, hardly ever getting any rest. Medical expenses pile up making living a life pain free impossible. One night they decide life is too much to bear, so they decide to go to the subway in a final attempt to leave everything behind. In a turn of events a magical being sweeps them into an unknown dimension to try and help them find happiness. 

Mie (she/they) TBD // Alexandria (she/her) 18

Story summary: Spell casting powers are something you’re born with, not something that can be gained. Alexandria refuses to believe this. So to prove everyone wrong, she spends her teenage years searching for the ingredients to a specific potion, one that is rumored to give her unmatched magical powers. The night that she finally finds the last ingredient she puts together the potion as quickly as she can and speaks the sacred chant. Instead of magical powers, she summons a ghost. Horrified, she’s determined to find a way to get rid of her before someone finds out.

Hamilton/Illy (he/him) 18 // Worthen (he/him) 17

Story summary: Two seniors in high school, Hamilton Ashmore and Worthen Shoemaker, couldn’t be more different. One of them is a stereotypical jock who is a baseball prodigy while the other is a flamboyant rule breaker. A series of events leads the two to be acquainted. At first they hate one another, but they start to realize they have a lot more in common than what meets the eye. 

Petrov (he/him) 24 // Kostya (he/him) 20 // Will (he/him) 20

Story summary: Kostya and Will, two brothers starting up their own business, live a quiet life. After an outing in the woods that changes. They meet a strange man named Petrov who threatens their lives. Kostya wants to help him get back on his feet while Will is apprehensive and wants nothing to do with him. What they don’t know is the mans troubled past.

"I'll pay however much it is, just get me to earth." He said, and Tater was relieved that Tobias wasn't set on flying it himself if possible.

The conductor, taking advantage of this, charged him twice the original price. It irritated Tater tot to say the least. This is why we don't let foreign empires conduct space travel in our stations. This is why Cakelings should have main control of-

Tater tot noticed Tobias looking at the ground. When they sat down, that was the last time he had moved within the last 30 minutes. He was as stiff as a board, but his eyes were still wide.

The only thing on his mind was making sure that his mom was alright, he couldn't possibly think about anything else at the moment.

"Tobias. Breathe."

“I am.” He said, still staring at the floor. It seemed to be more of an automatic response than anything.

"You're too still. I couldn't see your back rise or fall." Tater tot gently placed her hand on his back, and rubbed it.

He still didn’t react to it, even though he normally would. There wasn’t so much as a slight smile on his face.

Tater tot felt the weird sensation of awkwardness.

"...Since she is in the hospital, she's receiving the care she needs. She has professionals watching over her." Tater tot tried to comfort him.

“…Why did something this have to happen to her? She’s never had any health issues before and I-“

“…”

Tater tot stayed silent, and continued to rub his back gently.

"We'll be there soon... And she'll be okay."

After not too terribly long, the two arrived on earth and Tobias paid the shuttle operator.

They quickly headed to the hospital, and before long they made it to the front desk.

Tobias stepped up, and after getting the staff’s attention he asked. “What room is Sheila McJoe in?” There was still a sense of urgency in his voice.

At this point, it had been almost two days since they first heard the news. Right now, it was around 8 at night.

"Are you a family member of hers?"

“Yes, I’m her son.”

"What's your name?"

“Tobias McJoe.”

After a little more back and forth, mainly confirming his identity and his relationship to his mother, he was given the room number.

He quickly walked down the hallway towards the room. Even though it had been a long time since it has happened and he knew she was still alive, he wouldn’t be at peace until he saw her. He opened the door, and his mom was sitting there reading a book. She was hooked up to various monitoring machines.

Tater tot stood outside the door in the waiting area, feeling like entering would be... Inappropriate as his boss to say the least.

"...Mom?" He said. He was relieved that he was finally able to see her, but also really concerned since she looked pretty unwell.

Sheila barely sat up to look at him. She gave him a tired smile.

"...Oh, hello, baby... I didn't think you'd be here"

He walked over and gave her a long but gentle hug, since she was weaker at the moment.

"I just wish I could've gotten here sooner, I was so worried for you..."

It's alright, I'm just happy you came. Maybe it was all that fried chicken." Sheila chuckled.

He cracked a slight smile for the first time since he heard the news, he looked quite relieved to see that she still acts like her normal self.

“…I’m glad you’re alright.”

After a few minutes of rubbing his hand, his mother looked up at him again.

"Have you met anyone?" She asked, in the 'i want you to get married' tone.

He chuckled. "..You're seriously asking about that now?" Just as he said this, his mom caught a slight glimpse of golden hair from someone sitting a bit away outside the door.

"...Well of course.. I want my baby to be happy... who's that in the waiting room? I saw her walking in with you."

"Is she.. a friend?"

"Oh- That's Tater. She went along with me when the news was delivered about you... I probably wouldn't have managed to keep my calm all the way here if it weren't for her." He slightly smiled and said, not realizing what train of thought he had just sent his mom blazing down the tracks on.

"Ohhh...!!! Tell her to come in! She must be such a nice girl!" Sheila seemed too excited to meet her.

"...What are you doing?" Tobias asked, recognizing this behavior of hers all too well.

"Nothing, nothing! I just want to meet the sweet girl who cared enough to travel so far to support my son."

"...I'll bring her in, but you better not get any ideas." He walked out into the hallway and saw Tater quietly sitting there.

"She- said she wanted to meet you?"

"What?? Why??" Tater tot seemed just as surprised as he was.

"Something about how you cared enough to travel with me all the way here I think?"

"-Right, that reminds me."

"...Thank you for coming all this way with me, having you to keep me company definitely helped me not lose it."

"...No problem." She said as she stood up. She took his hand and firmly held it for a second.

"Whatever your concern is, is mine also." She smiled at him.

His mom could see all of this from her own room. Of course, she was completely ecstatic but tried to hide it. Tobias smiled back at her. "I'll do the same for your concerns, no matter what it is."

"We've got to be there for each other, right?"

"... Are we friends?" Tater hesitantly asked.

"...Friends? What kind of question is that?" He chuckled.

"I.. I d-didn't want to assume anything and make you uncomfortable." Tater tot stammered. She felt heat rise up her neck and rest in her face, accidentally making herself a little warmer out of embarrassment.

"Don't worry, you haven't. I think it's pretty safe to say that we are friends now at the very least, with all we've been through." Tobias said, slightly red in the face as well. He realized that they were standing in the line of sight of his mom, and faced Tater. "...We probably shouldn't leave her hanging for too long, she's been looking at us this whole time."

The two walked back in. Tater tot noticed that almost as soon as they went under the doorway, he gently took his hand back from hers. It hurt her feelings a little... But then felt weird for being sad. Was she just desperate and touch starved? Or overthinking everything?

Tater tot sat opposite of Sheila, shrinking a little in her seat.

"Hello, Mrs. McJoe." She nervously greeted her.

“Hi! It’s so nice to meet you.” She said, you couldn’t hear a hint of her weakness on her voice.

"How are you feeling...? I can make you some soup whenever you go back to your house if you'd like."

“I think I’ll be fine. Thank you for being so kind to Tobias and me.” She didn’t want there to be a chance for Thomas to accidentally ruin what Tobias and Her have going.

“You’re a wonderful young lady.” She smiled.

Tater tot smiled.

"Thank you, ma'am. Tobias is a lot like you, and he's nice to be around."

“I’m glad that Tobias has been treating you nicely, I made sure to teach him to always be respectful of ladies when he was growing up.” She said, making Tobias a bit embarrassed.

Tater tot briefly looked at Tobias, and giggled.

"I could tell when I first met him. He had some sort of charm about him."

His mom smiled, very happy to her say that.

"Thank you both for coming all this way to see me, I'm glad to have people who care so much about little old me." She chuckled.

The three of them continued to talk back and fourth, and there was a slight tension between Tobias and Tater the whole time. They’d occasionally catch themselves looking at one another, and would have to awkwardly break out of it.

After they had laughed at a small joke and there was moment of silence, his mom spoke up completely out of left field.

“…So Tobias, how goes the search for a nice lady to marry?” She said, way more bluntly than someone would ever normally say.

Tater tot began to turn red for some reason... is... is that why he's been so casual with her this whole time?

Tobias, however, looked mortified.

"I'm not trying to force it," He (tried to) casually waved his hand. "It'll come when it's supposed to."

“Yeah but you’re getting older! You’ve gotta have grandbabies before I get too old.”

"I'm only 27..." He nervously laughed. Then stopped laughing. He was almost 30. Tater tot, as if reading his mind began to laugh into her hand.

Of course, this only embarrassed Tobias even more.

He was halfway towards looking like a tomato.

...Tobias wouldn't be the only one getting embarrassed, though.

His mom then turned to face Tater. "Say... Do you have a yourself partner yet Tater?" She asked, her eyes gleaming.

Suddenly, it wasn't so funny anymore.

"...No?" Tater tot shamefully admitted, not even WANTING to look at Tobias after giggling at him.

Hearing her tone, his mom backtracked a bit. "Oh- I think that came across wrong..."

"I'm not trying to shame you or anything I promise! I'm just trying to ask if you're also available like my son is." She said, which instantly threw everything into a spiral yet again.

"A-are you trying to set us up?" Tater tot tried to joke, but quickly realized that that was exactly what his mother was trying to do.

“Pft, no… I wouldn’t try to mess with you two, if anything were to come from this it wouldn’t be my doing-“ She said, and Tobias became more red than she had ever seen him.

“Mom.”

"...At least she likes me." Tater tot awkwardly laughed.

"That's...one step."

His mom didn't press any further, but she was sure as she'll ever be that this "one step" she was referring to was her becoming a part of the family.

Still, she chose to spare them any more embarrassment.

"Thank you so much for coming out, it really means so much." She saw outside the window through the blinds, it was pitch black. "-Would you look at the time? It really has gotten late..." She wasn't lying, at this point it was already quite late at night.

"I don't want to keep you any longer, but have you two found a place to stay around here yet? I'm worried about you trying to head all the way back with how late it is."

"..I was considering checking in at a hotel. I'm not sure what Tobias would think, though.. I'm not exactly an expert."

Expert?? At what?? his mom thought, trying to figure out what's going on between them. They both said they aren't dating anyone yet, so that seems like it would apply to each other as well right?

"...I'll handle it, since you're not from earth it could get a bit confusing." Toby replied to Tater.

"You're comfortable with sharing a room?"

"I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the empress completely alone in a random town, especially since you're here because you helped me.. We'd just get a room that has two separate beds."

"...That's a thing???" Tater tot seemed flabbergasted

"Sharing a room... hm"

His mom... Lightly chuckled (almost giggled) for some reason after she said that?

Tater tot tilted her head a little, but in a confused puppy way...

"Am I missing something?"

"No- No, I just think you're very cute." She smiled.

Tater tot froze for a moment, but the room quickly gained at least ten degrees because of her.

"..oh"

His mom felt the warmth almost instantly. "Oh... Am I getting a fever? It feels hotter all of the sudden." She said, completely oblivious to the fact that Cakelings are, in a literal sense, miniature suns.

"...N-no, ma'am, I just have a hard time controlling my own temperature, that's all." Tater tot replied, as if it were the most casual thing in the world; being prone to exploding.

"Oh... Alright." She didn't understand what she meant in the slightest, but didn't want to dwell on something that could make her uncomfortable again.

While they continued their small talk, the nurse came in to gently kick out Tater tot and Tobias, as they'd stayed up until the time where patients were allowed visitation.

“Ah… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Tobias said to his mom and she nodded.

Tater and Tobias then left the hospital, and it was completely silent outside barring the slight buzz of one of the hospital’s AC units.

Tobias still seemed a little bit embarrassed, but he also seemed extremely relieved.

After they left the hospital they traveled a short distance to the nearest decent quality hotel, and the two walked in to ask for a room.

It was very run of the mill for what you'd expect for a hotel in a rural town, it something Tobias had seen many times before.

Tater tot felt a little uncomfortable... The looks she noticed from the other patrons made her feel like she was being over-analyzed.

Tobias, however, tried to pay no mind to it.

He walked up to the front desk, and after getting the front desk lady's attention, he spoke. "Hey, do you have any two bed suites available currently?"

The front desk lady turned to face him, then sighed. "Nope, we only have one bed suites available."

Tobias turned to Tater, he wasn't sure if he should just get two rooms- No. He has to make sure she's safe since he's her assistant.

"...What do you think we should do?"

"...We need to rest.. so..." Tater tot replied quietly. She, for some reason, felt embarrassed even to tell him to get a one-bed suite for the two of them.

"...Ok." He turned to the front desk lady, trying to remain professional.

"-We'll just take one room then."

Once Tobias got the number and key for their room, they left.

The room itself wasn't too hard to find; it was upstairs and was the first turn to your left. It sort of made Tobias uneasy that they were so close to an opening, but it was all they had left.

Once they got in their room, Tater tot took off some of her regalia. She tried to imagine that Tobias wasn't there to hopefully make it easier for herself. It just felt so scandalous.... Even though nothing was happening.

Tobias only took off his shoes then sat on the chair in the corner of the room facing away from her. He was too embarrassed to even look in her direction, much less try to unwind and get comfortable.

Tater tot finally took off her shoes, leaving her in an undershirt, shorts and socks that were the same color as her shoes.

She hesitantly sat on the bed, trying not to look at Tobias.

"...You should get comfortable. It'll mess up your sleep if you aren't."

"How could I? This whole situation is just..."

"...I have to make sure that you're safe, I can't let you be put in danger." Sure, that's what it is.

Tater tot opened her mouth, then closed it.

"You need sleep... Go... Or... Come.. to bed?" Tater tot barely got out. She felt butterflies erupt in her stomach when she finished what she said. For a moment, the room lit up like a sunrise in an open field before she managed to get herself under control again.

“Huh??-“ Tobias was caught completely off guard by her, and his flusteredness outweighed any surprise from seeing another one of her thermonuclear reactions.

“I- I can’t sleep in the same bed as you! That would be-“ He was even more red in the face than when his mom said that earlier, which almost didn’t seem humanly possible.

"B-but there's only one bed, Tobias!! you can't sleep on the floor, and you have no blanket on the couch. You'll get sick!"

“How could I though?? All the professionalism I’ve tried to keep would be out the window just like that!..” He buried his face in his hands.

"We don't have to talk about it after this, okay?? we can just pretend it never happened and-"

“-It’s not just about everyone finding out.. I’d know that it happened and…”

"Why are you so worried about yourself?" Tater tot asked. It came out...weird. She meant, 'we both know nothing is going on, so I don't understand why you are so afraid'. Of course, English being her second language and not understanding humans completely, makes her come off differently than she means.

“…I’m not just worried about myself, I’m worried about you too.”

…He was worried about how he would see Tater too, but he couldn’t possibly bring himself to say that out loud.

“If there’s even a chance that anyone could find out, I don’t want to take that risk.”

"...We're alone, as far as cakelings go.. I just don't want you to get sick. Earthlings get sick so easily, even from just being cold.."

"I'd rather you sleep in the same bed as me. As long as we aren't doing anything, then ... there shouldn't be an issue."

He remembered what happened last time he thought he could just "tough it out", and it was quite cold in the room... But... "Still... I-"

Tater tot got under the covers, leaving a spot open for him.

"...C'mon.."

"I know you're tired. I'm not letting you get sick again."

He looked at her, then at the bed.. It seemed like there might be enough room for them to both sleep while keeping a distance actually?

"...Are you really sure this is ok?"

Tater nodded.

"I promise.."

Tobias, of course, didn't take off anything except for his shoes.

After a moment's hesitation, he carefully got into the bed while making sure he didn't accidentally touch Tater at all.

This was strictly because he had to.

"..You're so stiff... relax" Tater tot mumbled.

Of course, her acting like this didn't help him relax in the slightest.

How could he? He was laying in a bed next to Tater of all people.

"...Ok." He simply replied, trying to make sure he keeps facing the other direction. He wanted to make sure that he wouldn't accidentally make things even more difficult.

Tater tot, from behind him could see how red his face was getting. Suddenly, the sheets were becoming a little hot, and a tiny bit damp.

"Are you sweating...?"

"Take off the blazer, you can't wear that under a blanket..!"

"N-No, it's fine, I don't need to."

Tater tot began to tug at the sleeves, rolling them up a little... (totally not an excuse to touch him)

"..For your sake-"

This was the boiling point for him. "Wait- Hold on for a second!-" He rolled over and tried pulling his sleeve away after feeling her touch his hand, but since Tater was in the process of rolling the sleeve up, he accidentally pulled her hand closer to him.

Tater tot got really, really, hot for a second, but quickly regained her composure.

"W-what was that for???"

"Y-You can't just do something like that out of nowhere!"

He had jumped back slightly on the bed in his recoil, almost to the point of falling off.

"I-it wasn't out of nowhere!!!! it's weird to get into bed with someone with outside clothes on!!!"

It's weird to be in a situation where I get into bed with you at all!" He said, facing away from her again.

There was no way he could say something like that while looking at her.

"Why won't you look at me??" Tater tot whined... which was unintentional. It embarrassed her a little that she was practically begging someone to look at her.

“…Why do you want me to look at you??” He said, genuinely confused.

Aren’t we not supposed to get any closer?

"...B-because I'm speaking to you." She weakly tried to pull rank... But it was odd in their context... Especially if she was trying to make herself be more approachable.

Tobias knew that she wasn’t going to stop, so he decided to go along with it for now…

He deeply sighed, then turned over, still not keeping eye contact but facing her general direction. “…There, now you can talk to me.”

Tater tot gradually became warmer when they were fully facing each other.

"...'

"..why are you so nervous around me sometimes?"

“…Why wouldn’t I be? You’re my boss and-“

That wasn’t the real reason, but he struggled to say what he truly meant.

"... I miss when you were you... Like in the elevator.."

"Now you're afraid.."

He huffed in a "huh" sort of way. "...Yknow, I never would've guessed that you'd want me to act like that."

"-I assumed that you'd want me to act professional and all, given who you are."

"If I were meeting the president or someone else important in the government on earth, I'd never be able to talk to them like that."

"..I don't do well with rigid stuff.." Tater tot softly smiled

"I.. never did"

"I just fake it really well."

He chuckled, slightly smiling. "...Must be really good at it then, if you've been able to keep up the role of empress like you have."

"...How about you? How did you keep it up?"

"what was it like being governor...? And how did you win your election?"

“You’re curious about my time in government? I wouldn’t have expected that.”

He rolled slightly to lay on his back, and looked up at the ceiling while recalling. “…If I had to describe my time as governor and dealing with earth politics as a whole in a single word, ‘hectic’ would probably be the best way to put it.”

“Something was happening every moment of every day, even when it didn’t need to.”

“People would try to start things for no good reason, and I’m sure the whole ordeal of trying to keep things running.”

“…I’m sure I aged a couple years from the whole thing.” He chuckled, but there was a hint of truth in his words.

“I admire how you can keep being ‘you’, while also being able to rule the empire as well as you have.”

“To be honest, even just the thought of what you’re in charge of makes me feel silly for talking about my struggles with being governor to you.”

"Just because our experiences are different, it doesn't make one experience matter more or less over the other." Tater tot looked at the ceiling.

"...Honestly, I don't see many democracies. America is one of the few self-ruling space-states I have seen."

"Usually it's a monarchy or an oligarchy." Tater tot wondered out loud.

“I didn’t think about that, but you’re right.. The same is true for almost all of human history.”

“I just grew up in a democracy, so it seems like ‘the norm’ to me.” Tobias replied.

"Was it hard being governor..? It seems like earthlings get treated like celebrities even as politicians" Tater tot asked.

He thought for a moment. "It's true that we did get treated like celebrities sometimes, but it's mainly because they want something in some way, shape or form."

"It was all too much."

"A while ago when we were walking around at the capital in the middle of the day, things were far more calm than on earth."

"Sure a few people stared at us for a bit, but that was the end of it. We didn't have a flock of reporters swarming us and shoving cameras in our faces."

"...To answer your first question, the actual work I did was manageable, I enjoyed helping people with my position of power whenever possible."

"..It was just too much having to deal with that life day in and day out, you couldn't even go to a restaurant in public in peace."

"Did you ever get in trouble for anything? Or a controversy?"

"I remember looking you up a few months before you applied to be my assistant... It seems like, at least online, everyone gives you a hard time." Tater tot turned to face him.

"Mhm... I did get into some hot water at one point... Thankfully, it wasn't a legal issue, more so a private interest one."

"...A major oil and gas corporation was trying to expand into this city essentially flatten the place to put in a refinery. It would've also heavily damaged the state forest nearby, so of course, so I didn't approve their plans to buy up all the land."

"After I kept denying their permit multiple times despite their vague threats, they started a smear campaign against me. They said I was against the 'economic growth of the city', and was denying it for personal reasons rather than an objective one."

"Did they ever clarify the 'personal reasons' they were accusing you of?...And everyone just... believed it?" Tater tot asked in disbelief.

He nodded. "When you have money and power, you can pretty much make anyone believe what you're saying."

"Thankfully more people were still on my side overall, so I was able to play out the full term."

"-This was far from the only case I had of something like this happening, it was just the most successful against me because of how large the corporation backing it was."

He sighed, looking down slightly. "I was just too tired of dealing with stuff like this to try to even try to run for re-election, I even swore I'd never get into politics again."

"...And here you are." Tater tot smirked.

"Good thing I'm not a politician in America."

"Although... I'm not sure if being a space-politician is any better. But hey... if something happens, I get the public fire for it. Not you."

"You say that like it's a good thing you're taking the fire.. I don't agree to be honest."

"You're already dealing with so much on so many levels, I never once had to deal with people trying to overthrow the government and had someone plan to assassinate me. That isn't even mentioning the fact that you're responsible for what happens across entire star systems, not just a single state."

"...Ah." Tater tot thought for a moment. "I guess I never thought about it like that. It's a bit like being president, yeah? Americans... you did have one of yours killed. Another impeached, challenged, charged. Many of them. The people were closer to them."

"...Meanwhile for Aliens, it's more of an effort to do stuff like that."

Tobias nodded.

"...But a lot of them still do happen. Given the scale of how many people you are in charge of leading, I'd be surprised if there wasn't someone who had a bone to pick with you. I still don't have an entirely solid grasp on space politics just yet, so I can't speak fully on what goes on here yet."

"It seems both extremely different in some ways, and also extremely similar in others"

"One thing I noticed with earthlings is that many of you hide what you mean behind nicer-sounding words, which muddies its meaning. Not saying we don't do that.. but it gets to a point. Etiquette has become politics itself when it shouldn't have."

"Aliens are more blunt, and we leave the fancy stuff to the ballrooms and for marriage arrangements."

"...Huh, that matches up with a lot of my experiences actually."

"-I was caught off guard by how those I've met here in general acted at first, I thought maybe it was about me or something. Now I realize that it's just how things are here. In politics on earth, and in life in general, making your words sweeter is a thing that most people are expected to do. In politics, what you say in some ways matters even more than what you'll actually do during your time in office."

"At least some kind of sweetening or etiquette is expected pretty much everywhere, in places like normal restaurants."

"Do you add sweetness to your words when you talk to me ...?" Tater tot asked.

"...At first maybe- After the elevator of course."

"But I stopped after realizing that I can talk to you normally, and it seems like you really prefer it that way."

Tater tot, out of instinct, scooted a little closer to him.

"..Yeah.. do you prefer me to stay professional too?"

"...Well, I-" Tobias looked her in the eyes for a moment. "I-I Think it'd be best if we kept it that way for now, for the sake of the job."

Tobias said, trying to save face in the situation.. Then he realized what he said. He silently berated himself inside his head 'did I really just say that to her??' 'For now??'.

"..For now?" She wasn't making it any easier for him... She was just as confused as he was.

"...W-We should probably just get some rest.. It's been a long day and I think we're both tired." He said, trying to move on from the subject. It was done in a not so subtle way.

Tater tot began to laugh a little bit.

"Goodness, you're like a skiddish puppy, Tobias. What is the problem??"

'EVERYTHING!' He wanted to say. Nevertheless, he tried coming up with a proper answer but wasn't able to find words that would sound right.

"..Are you okay?" She asked, after he didn't respond.

"I'm fine, really!.. It's just-" He sighed. "...Can we please just get some rest? I think I need some time to think over everything that's happened lately."

He found himself looking in her eyes again, then he stopped himself. He can't confess to her what he really feels, he didn't want there to be a chance that he could ruin the dynamic their dynamic by doing so.

...Even if she liked him back, how could he hope to end up with her? He's just a farmboy and she's... ...The ruler of the entire galactic empire.

"Okay.." Tater tot sighed. Not in a disappointed way... she sounded tired as well.

She rolled over on her side, and closed her eyes. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep... unfortunately, Tobias was left awake; his thoughts bouncing between his mother and Tater tot.

His mind was racing with thought, and he laid awake for what felt like ages just going back and fourth in his head. He even tried convincing himself that he didn't like Tater in that way, but that thought didn't last for too long.

Eventually he realized that at some point, he'd have to go to sleep whether he liked it or not so that he can actually do things and go places tomorrow.

When he turned over in his bed, he accidentally pulled the cover off of Tater tot.

After realizing this, he quickly sat up and grabbed the blanket.

He scooted slightly towards Tater and took the edge of the blanket, carefully resting it over her and trying to tuck it in slightly.

His sudden movements ended up half-way waking her up. When she opened her eyes, all she saw was him half over her, with his arm reaching across her body. She panicked. She got so, so scared, she almost burned the blanket and filled the room with a bright, white light.

She ended up accidentally touching Tobias's arm... and gave him a first-degree burn.

He practically jumped backwards and fell off the bed, almost knocking the wind out of himself in the process when he fell flat on the floor. The both of them laid where they were for a moment in shock, breathing heavily.

"T-Tobias?? are you okay???" Tater tot asked after a moment, finally coming to.

"Tobias??" Tater tot practically lept forward, and began to examine his arm.

Thankfully it didn't seem too bad, it was around what you'd expect from an average sunburn.

"..Oh.." Tater tot groaned.

"..I don't know if any stores are open right now.. You need Aloe Vera. Wait, run that under some cold water-"

"No, no- I'll be fine." He said, slowly sitting up while rubbing his eyes.

"Just let me- Catch my breath for a moment..."

"Are you sure??????"

"Yeah, I'm sure..." After catching his breath, he slowly stood up, leaning over the small sink in the room. "I- Think it'd be better if I slept on the couch... For both of our sakes..." He said then chuckled lightly, still sounding a bit winded.

"Y-yeah.. I'm sorry.. I'll get something for your burn in the morning..."

"...You don't have to apologize, it's not like that's something you can control."

"...I could, I just don't know how."

She thought to herself. She laid back down, trying not to think about the fact that she quite literally just burned Tobias.

After he rinsed his arm for a bit. "I'll go down to the front desk and ask for an extra blanket and pillow set, be back in a bit..." As he was exiting the room, he turned to her. "Try to get some rest, ok?" He said, not sounding like he was upset or mad at her.

".. I'll try."

Tater tot had reverted back to the docile tone she had with him before they really knew each other.

"..." Tobias stepped out of the room and shut the door. Before leaning up against it for a moment.

He didn't know what he should do or say in this situation.

..At this point he thought that it might be best if he just goes to bed without saying any more after getting the sheets, but he still couldn't get what happened out of his mind.

It wasn't the fact that he got burned that stuck with him, it was that cold tone she had just now.

He continued thinking about it until he reached the front desk, and the front desk lady seemed surprised to see him approaching this late. He looked... Rough to put it lightly.

"...Hi, could I get another bed set?" He asked, his voice still sounding somewhat winded.

"Sure... what kind of night did you have?" She joked, thinking the situation of stupidity was something else entirely.

"...Please just give me the sheets. Thanks." He said, too wiped out to try arguing or anything.

Tobias was given his sheets without another word... Though, the lady did wonder why he faintly smelled burnt as he walked off.

"As previously stated, we have physical and photographic evidence of legal documents confirming the business transaction between the two organizations. We have a hard time believing that Mr. Valios was blindsided by this, as we suspect his motivation was monetary gain.'

"So you allege that Mr. Valios didn't verify their trading partners for the explicit reason of monetary gain?"

"And if I am correct in my assessment of your claim, what charge against the defendant are you seeking if your evidence proves to be true?" The judge asked, wondering if the evidence they had would be enough.

"Well, the charge we are bringing against Valios would be a violation of the imperial code of business conduct: Verifying a business partner with either the royal seal, or the official trading party of the crown's seal on all verified documentation of said company's licenses and owners.. Failure to meet these requirements call for closure of the company or it being handed at least partially to the government for monitoring probation for the next 10-20 years."

The judge nodded. "I see."

"Are there any other charges you wish to hold against the defendant?"

"We are still pursuing the charges for treason."

The judge looked over the evidence again, then spoke.

"Defendant, do you plea guilty these charges?"

"No, we do not."

"Then this trial is now officially resumed." The judge cleared their throat.

"The charges being upheld against Mr. Valios and Apollo arms co are as follows:"

"Grand violation of the imperial code of business conduct and treason against the crown for contribution to an attempt to overthrow the government."

"Prosecutor, please present your evidence regarding specifically the former charge."

The prosecutor cleared his throat.

"As previously mentioned, the evidence of their poor verification, if they did it at all, is that the simple fact that the other "company" involved was not at all registered in the imperial business bureau of 4036. Not only that, but they had been fined multiple times for not being registered; all the fines have been ignored, resulting in a now "red-flag" warning whenever the company itself is searched up."

"I see." The judge said, going over the evidence and seeing that what they were saying is indeed true.

"What do you say in your defense?" The judge asked the defendant.

They were slightly scrambling to come up with something to refute the claim.

"What date was the 'red flag' warning issued? If it were after the company started doing business then it wouldn't matter." They asked the prosecutor.

"3 months before the dealing." The prosecutor replied.

"W-Well, that isn't entirely conclusive. There's still the question if the warning is visible enough, or if the systems were working properly."

The defense stammered a bit, it seemed like they were grasping for straws.

"Well, that doesn't make much sense- there was no recorded incident of the imperial government sites being down that day, or at all within the past year."

"As for the matter of the warning's explicit visibility?"

They asked, hoping that there might be a case for Mr. Valios not being able to see it. Truthfully, they weren't expecting this angle of attack so they were under prepared to counter.

"All business documents are printed with either the seal or the red-flag. Even if the company forged the documents, it is still available on the government website to look up the business itself."

"in this case, the documents were forged, but it is known by Apollos Arms Co. That this is standard business; seeing as they demonstrated this knowledge in the past with collaborations and other various deals."

“…” They couldn’t come up with a feasible defense.

“Do you have sufficient evidence to refute this claim?”

The judge asked, to which the defendant responded after some talk among itself.

“No, we do not.” The courtroom the nobles began talking amongst itself, lending to the general audience of the courtroom also doing so. Many of them were in surprise that they actually got them on the count of negligence.

After a moment the judge tapped their gavel. “This trial is still ongoing, so I ask that the courtroom remain silent for now.”

“Seeing as there is no more discussion to be had for the first charge, we shall proceed to the second.”

The judge looked at their papers.

“Mr. Valios is accused of aiding in the terrorist’s act of attempting to overthrow the government, thus facing a charge of aid to treason.”

“Prosecutor, please present your evidence for this claim.”

The prosecutor cleared his throat.

"We believe they are guilty of these charges because of their failure to check the company they were dealing with. The previous charge is related to this because this attack would not have happened if they did not supply the weapons in the first place. Not only that, but the fact that they agreed to a contract agreeing to supply the weapons to the terrorists; we already showed this piece of evidence; it was dated a few days before the attacks, and had clauses of confidentiality. Essentially, an NDA. Need I say more?"

The defendant spoke up, seeming to have an argument against what was said unlike earlier.

"I do not believe that Mr. Valios or Apollo arms is in any way guilty of this charge, and I will explain why." The prosecutor took out a sheet of Paper, which was a copy of the aforementioned NDA. "In order to be found guilty of the charge of Treason, it would have to be proven that there were any kind of indication of them being terrorists."

The defendant continued: "An NDA of this kind is standard practice in the industry, and as I'm sure you know, this NDA was signed as part of the deal between the faux company and Apollo arms."

"There is no denying that Apollo arms' weaponry was used in this attack, as the evidence has shown. However, it is unreasonable to claim that Apollo arms is guilty of such based off numerous past rulings." After a moment, they displayed a piece of evidence to the court room showing past court rulings. In them, other weapons manufacturing companies were found not guilty in aiding crimes committed with the weapons.

The judge then turned to face the prosecutors to see what they would use to back their claim.

"Even so, wouldn't the very fact that they failed to identify the company make this point null? since they failed to do this, over 300 casualties occurred."

"Let me pose a hypothetical question; should a vehicle manufacturer be held liable for pedestrians hit with the vehicles they had already sold? Likewise, should a weapons manufacturing company be held liable for things done with weapons they no longer legally own any part of after selling?"

The defendant said, pushing onward with trying to refute the claim.

"The matter of failing to verify the company is an entirely separate matter, one that isn't inherently tied to the terrorists at all."

The prosecutor pressed on: "No, the failure to verify is related because if they had done even basic research, this was would not have happened."

"It is not the same as a car manufacturer because in order to buy a car, you must have a license in most imperial territories. If you do not, the transaction between the manufacturer and the customer is illegal."

"There was a red flag warning given for flagged activity, but that isn't equivalent to knowingly selling to someone without a license. The warning was just that- a warning. The government does not prohibit companies from making deals with red flag companies."

The defendant seemed a little hesitant to say it, since it would practically guarantee that they were convicted of the first charge... However, if they didn't, Valios might even face the death penalty or life in jail. "...Also, as your report indicated, this wasn't the first time Apollo arms made deals with 'red flag' companies, yet none of them committed any acts of terrorism with the weapons that were purchased."

"This happening was entirely unprecedented, and this on top of the fact that they lied about being a legitimate company, puts the blame on the terrorists for their fraud in buying the weaponry, not on Valios."

"Apollos Arms Co. would have known they were not a legitimate company had they checked. Because of their incompetence, the terrorist attack happened." The prosecutor shot back. It was becoming obvious that without the judge stepping in, this was going to go nowhere.

“With all due respect, the terrorist attack happened because of the terrorists, not the weapons.”

The judge nodded with understanding, then turned to face the Prosecutor.

“Do you wish to proceed with the charge of terrorism or do you wish to forfeit?”

The prosecutor went back to his own team. After a few minutes of discussion, he came back.

"For the reason of insufficient evidence, we will forfeit."

The courtroom yet again broke into quiet conversation amongst itself. After things calmed down slightly, the judge spoke.

“If nobody has any objections, I will proceed to the sentencing.”

“Mr. Valios has been acquitted of the charge of terrorism, but has been found guilty of a grand violation of failing to ensure proper business procedure.”

“As such, it is only appropriate to give you a befitting sentence of the violation.”

“I sentence you, and your company Apollo arms to be under government surveillance for the next two decades. Business will be allowed to proceed after all current trade deals are verified, but extreme scrutiny will be given to ensure that every single order is legitimate.”

“This case is closed.” The judge tapped the gavel one last time.

Tater tot saw Hercules hold his head in his hands. A sigh of relief could be heard from both him and his father. As everyone packed up, Tater tot looked at Tobias. She didn't have much to say to him, but wanted to see if he did.

After a moment of not speaking, he sighed. "That was... Concerning, to say the least."

"-Come to think of it, this means Hercules will return to his regular work right?"

"...He should, yes.. only his father was found guilty."

"Do you think Hercules will re-acquire the assets he gave up before this whole thing went down?"

"I'd say it's unlikely, but possible. His father might just give the company to him."

"I guess we'll just have to see what happens?" He looked out at the view. "I'm glad that all this is over, these last few weeks have been... Something else."

Tater tot sighed.

"Well... Now, we can relax and everything can go back to normal." Tater tot smiled.

While they were talking, one of Tater's employees walked in.

"Did something happen?" Tobias asked, when they come unannounced like this it's usually because they are delivering news.

"...Your family called for you." The worker's tone was heavy but still professional.

"It is a medical emergency... Your mother had a heart attack. And-"

Tobias's eyes widened upon hearing the worker, without hesitating for a moment he stood up and grabbed his belongings. "Where is she?" He asked, in a serious tone.

Tater tot stood up as well, completely surprised.

"She's currently at the hospital. She's undergoing corrective surgery. The next shuttle back to earth is at 7:30 pm today-"

"Which hospital?" He asked, thinking about the fastest possible way back to earth.

He was not going to wait for hours until the shuttle departs.

"The only one in your hometown. I wasn't able to get the name but it's the nearest one where she lives."

Got it." He said, before heading towards the exit of the building.

He was walking extremely quickly.

Tater tot followed Tobias, unsure of what to do.

"As previously stated, we have physical and photographic evidence of legal documents confirming the business transaction between the two organizations. We have a hard time believing that Mr. Valios was blindsided by this, as we suspect his motivation was monetary gain.'

"So you allege that Mr. Valios didn't verify their trading partners for the explicit reason of monetary gain?"

"And if I am correct in my assessment of your claim, what charge against the defendant are you seeking if your evidence proves to be true?" The judge asked, wondering if the evidence they had would be enough.

"Well, the charge we are bringing against Valios would be a violation of the imperial code of business conduct: Verifying a business partner with either the royal seal, or the official trading party of the crown's seal on all verified documentation of said company's licenses and owners.. Failure to meet these requirements call for closure of the company or it being handed at least partially to the government for monitoring probation for the next 10-20 years."

The judge nodded. "I see."

"Are there any other charges you wish to hold against the defendant?"

"We are still pursuing the charges for treason."

The judge looked over the evidence again, then spoke.

"Defendant, do you plea guilty these charges?"

"No, we do not."

"Then this trial is now officially resumed." The judge cleared their throat.

"The charges being upheld against Mr. Valios and Apollo arms co are as follows:"

"Grand violation of the imperial code of business conduct and treason against the crown for contribution to an attempt to overthrow the government."

"Prosecutor, please present your evidence regarding specifically the former charge."

The prosecutor cleared his throat.

"As previously mentioned, the evidence of their poor verification, if they did it at all, is that the simple fact that the other "company" involved was not at all registered in the imperial business bureau of 4036. Not only that, but they had been fined multiple times for not being registered; all the fines have been ignored, resulting in a now "red-flag" warning whenever the company itself is searched up."

"I see." The judge said, going over the evidence and seeing that what they were saying is indeed true.

"What do you say in your defense?" The judge asked the defendant.

They were slightly scrambling to come up with something to refute the claim.

"What date was the 'red flag' warning issued? If it were after the company started doing business then it wouldn't matter." They asked the prosecutor.

"3 months before the dealing." The prosecutor replied.

"W-Well, that isn't entirely conclusive. There's still the question if the warning is visible enough, or if the systems were working properly."

The defense stammered a bit, it seemed like they were grasping for straws.

"Well, that doesn't make much sense- there was no recorded incident of the imperial government sites being down that day, or at all within the past year."

"As for the matter of the warning's explicit visibility?"

They asked, hoping that there might be a case for Mr. Valios not being able to see it. Truthfully, they weren't expecting this angle of attack so they were under prepared to counter.

"All business documents are printed with either the seal or the red-flag. Even if the company forged the documents, it is still available on the government website to look up the business itself."

"in this case, the documents were forged, but it is known by Apollos Arms Co. That this is standard business; seeing as they demonstrated this knowledge in the past with collaborations and other various deals."

“…” They couldn’t come up with a feasible defense.

“Do you have sufficient evidence to refute this claim?”

The judge asked, to which the defendant responded after some talk among itself.

“No, we do not.” The courtroom the nobles began talking amongst itself, lending to the general audience of the courtroom also doing so. Many of them were in surprise that they actually got them on the count of negligence.

After a moment the judge tapped their gavel. “This trial is still ongoing, so I ask that the courtroom remain silent for now.”

“Seeing as there is no more discussion to be had for the first charge, we shall proceed to the second.”

The judge looked at their papers.

“Mr. Valios is accused of aiding in the terrorist’s act of attempting to overthrow the government, thus facing a charge of aid to treason.”

“Prosecutor, please present your evidence for this claim.”

The prosecutor cleared his throat.

"We believe they are guilty of these charges because of their failure to check the company they were dealing with. The previous charge is related to this because this attack would not have happened if they did not supply the weapons in the first place. Not only that, but the fact that they agreed to a contract agreeing to supply the weapons to the terrorists; we already showed this piece of evidence; it was dated a few days before the attacks, and had clauses of confidentiality. Essentially, an NDA. Need I say more?"

The defendant spoke up, seeming to have an argument against what was said unlike earlier.

"I do not believe that Mr. Valios or Apollo arms is in any way guilty of this charge, and I will explain why." The prosecutor took out a sheet of Paper, which was a copy of the aforementioned NDA. "In order to be found guilty of the charge of Treason, it would have to be proven that there were any kind of indication of them being terrorists."

The defendant continued: "An NDA of this kind is standard practice in the industry, and as I'm sure you know, this NDA was signed as part of the deal between the faux company and Apollo arms."

"There is no denying that Apollo arms' weaponry was used in this attack, as the evidence has shown. However, it is unreasonable to claim that Apollo arms is guilty of such based off numerous past rulings." After a moment, they displayed a piece of evidence to the court room showing past court rulings. In them, other weapons manufacturing companies were found not guilty in aiding crimes committed with the weapons.

The judge then turned to face the prosecutors to see what they would use to back their claim.

"Even so, wouldn't the very fact that they failed to identify the company make this point null? since they failed to do this, over 300 casualties occurred."

"Let me pose a hypothetical question; should a vehicle manufacturer be held liable for pedestrians hit with the vehicles they had already sold? Likewise, should a weapons manufacturing company be held liable for things done with weapons they no longer legally own any part of after selling?"

The defendant said, pushing onward with trying to refute the claim.

"The matter of failing to verify the company is an entirely separate matter, one that isn't inherently tied to the terrorists at all."

The prosecutor pressed on: "No, the failure to verify is related because if they had done even basic research, this was would not have happened."

"It is not the same as a car manufacturer because in order to buy a car, you must have a license in most imperial territories. If you do not, the transaction between the manufacturer and the customer is illegal."

"There was a red flag warning given for flagged activity, but that isn't equivalent to knowingly selling to someone without a license. The warning was just that- a warning. The government does not prohibit companies from making deals with red flag companies."

The defendant seemed a little hesitant to say it, since it would practically guarantee that they were convicted of the first charge... However, if they didn't, Valios might even face the death penalty or life in jail. "...Also, as your report indicated, this wasn't the first time Apollo arms made deals with 'red flag' companies, yet none of them committed any acts of terrorism with the weapons that were purchased."

"This happening was entirely unprecedented, and this on top of the fact that they lied about being a legitimate company, puts the blame on the terrorists for their fraud in buying the weaponry, not on Valios."

"Apollos Arms Co. would have known they were not a legitimate company had they checked. Because of their incompetence, the terrorist attack happened." The prosecutor shot back. It was becoming obvious that without the judge stepping in, this was going to go nowhere.

“With all due respect, the terrorist attack happened because of the terrorists, not the weapons.”

The judge nodded with understanding, then turned to face the Prosecutor.

“Do you wish to proceed with the charge of terrorism or do you wish to forfeit?”

The prosecutor went back to his own team. After a few minutes of discussion, he came back.

"For the reason of insufficient evidence, we will forfeit."

The courtroom yet again broke into quiet conversation amongst itself. After things calmed down slightly, the judge spoke.

“If nobody has any objections, I will proceed to the sentencing.”

“Mr. Valios has been acquitted of the charge of terrorism, but has been found guilty of a grand violation of failing to ensure proper business procedure.”

“As such, it is only appropriate to give you a befitting sentence of the violation.”

“I sentence you, and your company Apollo arms to be under government surveillance for the next two decades. Business will be allowed to proceed after all current trade deals are verified, but extreme scrutiny will be given to ensure that every single order is legitimate.”

“This case is closed.” The judge tapped the gavel one last time.

Tater tot saw Hercules hold his head in his hands. A sigh of relief could be heard from both him and his father. As everyone packed up, Tater tot looked at Tobias. She didn't have much to say to him, but wanted to see if he did.

After a moment of not speaking, he sighed. "That was... Concerning, to say the least."

"-Come to think of it, this means Hercules will return to his regular work right?"

"...He should, yes.. only his father was found guilty."

"Do you think Hercules will re-acquire the assets he gave up before this whole thing went down?"

"I'd say it's unlikely, but possible. His father might just give the company to him."

"I guess we'll just have to see what happens?" He looked out at the view. "I'm glad that all this is over, these last few weeks have been... Something else."

Tater tot sighed.

"Well... Now, we can relax and everything can go back to normal." Tater tot smiled.

While they were talking, one of Tater's employees walked in.

"Did something happen?" Tobias asked, when they come unannounced like this it's usually because they are delivering news.

"...Your family called for you." The worker's tone was heavy but still professional.

"It is a medical emergency... Your mother had a heart attack. And-"

Tobias's eyes widened upon hearing the worker, without hesitating for a moment he stood up and grabbed his belongings. "Where is she?" He asked, in a serious tone.

Tater tot stood up as well, completely surprised.

"She's currently at the hospital. She's undergoing corrective surgery. The next shuttle back to earth is at 7:30 pm today-"

"Which hospital?" He asked, thinking about the fastest possible way back to earth.

He was not going to wait for hours until the shuttle departs.

"The only one in your hometown. I wasn't able to get the name but it's the nearest one where she lives."

Got it." He said, before heading towards the exit of the building.

He was walking extremely quickly.

Tater tot followed Tobias, unsure of what to do.