Joshua Zotack's Story

Zotack watched as the scene played out before them the change of scenery, the poor conditions of the community, and the neglected children being pursued by the rough enforcers. A scene too familiar with some nations on Terra that remembered when he worked for the society that wanted it to end. The Temple Empire's approach though was radical, Zotack was once radical.

He walked over to his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Be calm brother." he said, gripping Ikiros' arm and nodding at him with the look of compassion finally settling in after being emotionless for so long. He didn't much care for the beings preaching on equivalent exchange. Though he was swallowing his pride for now.

Using his telepathy to talk with his brother to have a conversation that the wise ones could not hear. Speaking in the ancient Atlai tongue that he was learning while living in the city. When it was done he nodded at Ikiros.

"We will help these people, but we will do it in whatever manner we see fit. There may be a time that the Aschen can not enter our paradise until they repent of their sins and renounce any evil of their empire. Though they will not be banned and we will try to enlighten them." he said, He lifted his hand in the air to grasp the wise one's hand so that they might embrace.

"Please take my hand and shake it and I promise that one day the descendants of the Aschen will be enlightened as we wish to enlighten everyone with our kingdom."

Zotack smiled as he shook hands with the being and he nodded his head. "Let us hope that day comes soon." he said. He looked towards his brother and walked back to his side. Looking at the crystal that they gave to Ikiros. He would look around the entire area and then looked at the beings once more.

"Thank you for the aid, now if you could take us home where we belong." he said, rather impatiently. He shook his head and looked at his brother. "Not that I mean to be rude It is just we are God knows where and light years from our fair city."

Zotack himself appeared as his brother did and looked around Gambit's after the step out of space and time. He looked toward his brother and gave him a nod before he looked back to the Aiyanna sisters. He watched them both was they were unable to move and he popped his neck.

"Think we should kill them?" he asked. "A problem we can fix right here and now." he said. His face expressionless once more.

Zotack smiled as he watched his brother go on with the plan and took a few steps back to continue watching. The meantime he took a small corked glass vial from one of his garments pockets. He undid the cork and then hovered it in front of him as he lifted his hands in the air. Using his mental powers to simply clean his arms of the small nanobots and stuffing them in the bottle. Once he was done he he just corked it and took the bottle once more.

"We will not pay you, but we will give you a mission. You have underestimated us and now we ask you do one thing for us. Quite the life of being mercenaries. You will now me missionaries in Aschen. You will teach the Aschen what message we give you on enlightenment. Do this or you only doom the Aschen yourselves."

Zotack looked at the two sisters and then his brother and the first asked a very simple question. He lowered his head and nodded. "We can make you human and we will do it for free. We will not give you any more duties and you will not have to work to have it. You can then retire in Atlantis where we are building our paradise. You will be human and you will have a home along with leaders who care for their citizens. No longer will you want because we will give because we have plenty." He said to Aiyanna-B's question about what would be different.

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[color=blue]Zotack stood by the window, holding his crown in hand, and looking out at the beautiful city that he had been hard at work completing. Atlantis was complete and as the number of people grew here so did the city itself. A living entity in it's own right that cared and sheltered it's children like a mother. Growing to make room for all those that made Atlantis their new home. It was truly a utopia where people could find a new life. It had been many years since that faithful day when he brought this place back up with his new brother. So many nights that passed by and new children were born. The City's energy causing the normal humans to give birth to full blood Atlai, and with Zotack's permission many were cloned and put through a period rapid growth to help populate the city.

Outside the City glowed with a brilliant light created by the shield that protected the underwater city from the dark sea at night. The building were tall and every thing clean. The buildings that had been water logged and ravished by coral were now restored and brilliant like they once were. The building that Zotack watched from above was the palace of the elders. The tallest of all the other buildings. The last floor being the main halls where the Kings and their family stayed was built as a saucer. So that when the people looked up they could know that the Elder Sun and Elder Moon were always looking out for their people.

Zotack squeezed his crown and sighed. It was everything he dreamed it would be, and he was on the road to bringing utopia to all people. Like he always wanted, but he still felt that he did not deserve the honour of being Elder Sun of Atlantis. His past always haunting him and convicting his conscience. He personally made sure that the lives of those he effected were given riches in Atlantis and beautiful living conditions. The sins of his past though were a scar on his mind.

"Ikiros, Come and see your home. I have done my best to restore this place of pea

This place of peace." he comminuted to his brother using their mental link.

"It's nothing, Ikiros, just passing thoughts on mistakes that only I can correct." he said. He looked down at his crown and sighed a little. Before long though his face corrected itself and he put on a smile for his brother; he was honestly happy to see his brother once more. He placed his own crown on his head. His hair cut short and slicked back and after the years he now shared the same snow white hair of his brother. And even though he was now in his seventies his face was indeed youthful like a man in his late twenties. Due to the Altai blood that flowed in his veins and being in the rejuvenating city. In fact the full blood humans that lived in the city themselves had longer lives because of the energy of the kingdom.

Zotack turned to his brother and gave him a hug to greet him. He then turned and looked out towards the window and waved his hand over all that could be seen. "Atlantis, brother, I have finally finished the work, and the city grows larger each passing day. I have tried by best to make the people here happy and built a strong military, education, and economy. Two colleges known as the Temple of the Moon and the Academy of the Sun now bless the masses. Teaching them everything they need. And our friend John Titus the immortal has become a citizen."

Zotack walked over to the thrones and picked up from Ikiros' own chair his crown. He walked back over to his brother and personally placed the crown on his head. "We are the Elders of Atlantis and the Kings to the people in this nation. Welcome home, brother."

"It is perfectly alright, Ikiros." he said. "You have been given leadership over a reborn city one that was once your own home. Those men threatened to undermine our work and you only did what was natural. You felt an urgency to protect what was your own, and dispatch any who would threaten to ruin Atlantis like those before us did." Zotack was understanding of such things since he had been so many different kinds of leaders in his lifetime, and now was leader of a vast land like this. He smiled at his brother and nodded as he looked on at his own crown.

"And it seems being the Elder of the Sun, I am bound to see the light of our city. But I also see my own sins being brought up from darkness and into this new light of mine. I have this hope and love I've never felt for so many before, yet my experience tells me that while we might strive for utopia and paradise, I know that we rule over mortals and we ourselves are also prone to mistakes. There will always be darkness and eventually Atlantis will have it's own enemies from within and from the outside. It is inevitable. But I know we can this place that shining city on a hill that so many look for." He said, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder. He gave him a friendly squeeze. Zotack gestured for Ikrios to follow him and he turned to walk out the doors of the palace room.

"Being the Elder of the Sun I was able to see the inner thoughts of my parliament members. I have rid Atlantis of my old organization and it's agents. I fear they may be a problem later. As for John he fares very well. He even lives in the lower levels of this building and is here to help us should we need it. He also teaches at both colleges. Education here is important here and the people are happy. And I have opened schools to teach the old ways. The College I dedicated to you, The Temple of the Moon, leads the initiative. You can obviously help as well in anyway you see fit."

Zotack nodded his head as he continued walking down the palace halls and to the next doors that led to large room with several doors that led into rooms of different kinds. All decorated in the ancient Atlai way-- smooth and with accordance of the elements. The room even had it's own flight of stairs that lead to a second level of rooms. Each door in this one room leading somewhere else; the palace was as huge on the inside as it looked from the outside. But Zotack didn't concern himself with these doors he headed straight for doors at the end of the room-- elevator doors.

"Yes your daughter has been gone for some time." he said. "But I assume that Afen knows that she has a home here if she ever wishes to return. I asked her to stay, but she is much to like her father." Zotack said with a mocking smile on his face as he neared the elevator doors. He pressed on the button and the doors opened to elevator inside. One made of glass and overlooked the city as it went either up or down. "I've been feeling the same way myself thanks to either this city knowing I'm an Elder or because of your blood, but either way it took some time getting use too, until I learned to control it that is."

Zotack stepped into the elevator and waved for Ikiros to enter as well. He had so much to show his brother. "Your too kind, brother. But I fear that dark days will come soon now that Atlantis has been reborn. It is the nature of man to burn what is doesn't understand, take what it wants, and grow envious or angry with what it does not have."

"I have tried my best to make sure that nothing went wrong as different people came into the city. They all accept each other or at least tolerate because I have placed laws that discourage such things as hate crimes. I also speak to the people when I can about the value of this city and what it means to the universe, and it had an impact I believe." he said, turning around to watch the city draw closer as they went down. He looked on at Ikiros and it seemed that something was plaguing him. He didn't know what it could be because he could not sense any danger.

"Atlantis is able to raise above the waves now." he said. "I have made it so that the city raise and lower into the seas on our will. We can raise the city up now and show off the glory of our kingdom whenever we please, and we can use our shields to sink our city on command to protect us if need be. I wanted you though to be here when I did raise the city, I even have prepared the people with a festival and marked this as a holiday for future generations to remember."

Though suddenly Zotack's eyes shot open wide and his head snapped right at Ikiros. "Murder? No this isn't right. Are you sure?"

"The Vohtmali?" he asked, but he soon lost his attention by the events. He watched as the living city streets flowed like the waves themselves and created a cube to catch the killer of an innocent victim. Zotack looked on knowing even before Ikiros told him that the murderer was in that make shift prison. And again the kind hearted and humble Zotack was pushed aside for the stone faced ruthless man that he was when he first met Ikiros. A result of so many years of being a man that lead and had to do so by example at times. Dispatching enemies with no mercy in Vietnam, killing off traitors and enemies of his secret society, and now he would have to play the part of public judge. He wanted all of Atlantis to know that he would not tolerate such actions while he was Elder of the Sun.

"The world will have to get use to us, brother, because we are rising this city if they like it or not. This city will be a light that beckons many. And I can tell you now that war will come once we surface. Many want peace, but only through war can peace be achieved sometimes. I'll try my hardest to be the last leader that has to soil his hands with blood. I will gladly go to hell so that my subjects by enter paradise."

When the elevator made it to the last floor the doors opened and Zotack was already on his way as he walked out of this elevator. "Yes, let us make everyone know that we have no tolerance for such behaviour."

Zotack walked up to the crystal wall and pressed his hand against it. He looked upon the innocent that were were in there and when they saw their kings looking back at them they would be both glad but fearful as to what their kings would be doing to warrant trapping them as they have done. Using his own growing abilities Zotack was able to find the man in there that was the killer. And he directed his attention at him with his ruthless gaze.

"Brother, an innocent was killed today, before they got to see the glory of their own city raise above the waves. Their family will not even enjoy what is to be a great occasion." he said. Zotack removed his hand as the wall was gone but the man remained bound. The people all walking away slowly from their kings but looking on in awe.

"Why should this man deserve to see the Sun? It is an honour that he is even seeing us as we are now. The other did not get that chance. I saw that he never be given the chance to see Atlantis rise. The victim died below the waves so I say we let him die below the waves as well. I would have him removed out into the dark ocean now and see what the sea thinks of him, but what do you think brother?"

Zotack nodded as he watched Ikiros leave and attempt to save the girl from her death. Zotack would look at the man and looked him up and down. It was taking everything in his own power to not break the man with his own two hands. All those old impulses when he was a soldier and leader of the Temple Empire just trying to rear their head. While his brother did his best to save the girl, Zotack tried his best not to look like a violent king.

"I declare that if my Brother can spare this young woman's life, than also will this man's life be spared. But if my brother can not spare this young woman's life than I too will not spare this man's life. The Elder of the Sun has helped give new life to the city much like the literally sun soon will, but I can be just as harsh as the sun when it decides to take life away." He than turned to watch and see the results.

Zotack watched on and he honestly hoped that his brother could save the life of the young woman. Not for the concern of the murderer but for the girl and her family. It would not be fare for the family to suffer on a day like this, and to let the killer go on and watch the sun rest on Atlantis even punished. But when Ikiros stood up and the girl was still without life Zotack approached the criminal just as his brother did. Yet his eyes were not cold, but burning with hate for the criminal. All this work that had been put into this and this man would see this day ruined. Like Ikiros had said this was an act of treason, and Zotack killed for less than that in his earlier days.

"The conditions sound fair and it would be a great gift for a man to receive from his Kings." he said. Though Zotack just wondered why his brother was even giving the man the choice. Zotack would have just peeled the life from this man, but this was Ikiros' decision in this matter so he respected his brother.

Zotack watched as the breath entered the lungs of the once lifeless girl, but he didn't seemed shocked or puzzled. No, he accepted it and smiled at his brother and than at the young woman who was brought back to the living. He walked over to the girl and offered her his hand to lift her up.

The girl gripped the Elder Sun's large hand, which engulfed the petite young woman's own, and she was quickly brought to her feet. He smiled at the girl while brushing her off and than guided her to her family in the crowd. All while Ikiros spoke to the crowd to both insure the loyal citizens and frighten those that held evil intentions.

Zotack casually made his way back to his brother and gripped him by the shoulder. "Come, Ikiros, we must begin work on bringing the city up from the depths."