"Fifteen Key Timelines…" Dracula said the words with a bite, looking at Darth Vader. "Fifteen!"
The entire Legendary Grade Starship rattled.
In the courtroom, standing around the round table, both Dracula and Aizen eyed Vader.
The High Sith had changed his armor. The black cloak again billowed behind him in its full, regal appearance, unassisted by the wind. On his hips now rested a new black-cased lightsaber.
Looking at Vader, none could have told that he had been at it with another Above the Pillar only moments ago.
None could tell that under the mask, Vader still carried blood.
None could tell that if it hadn't been for Aizen's intervention, then he had condemned the High Wizard of the Harry Potter Bubble to… instant execution, regardless of the consequences.
Sensing the bite in Vlad's voice and seeing the wrinkles on his pale face, Vader almost shrugged.
"He resisted," the Sith said. "I followed the rules."
"Do not lecture me on rules!" Dracula said through a gritted jaw. "I had already remained an Inquisitor for ten thousand years when you were curdling in your mother's womb… Lord Vader."
A silence fell upon the hall.
Dracula sighed.
"Death is pissed," he told them. "Fifteen timelines… is a considerable blow to him. Who knows when the Bubble would be able to birth more Keys, especially a broken Bubble like Harry Potter. He wants us out. Immediately. And that's saying something… given that He had followed the rules until now as well."
Vader, who had been looking at the Earth's hologram in the middle of the table, snapped his head up. "No," he said. "Even if Herpo the Foul is not needed anymore, he still went against the Inquisition's rules. If not as a witness, we must bring him as an offender…"
"Enough!" Dracula roared, the entire space in his surroundings darkening.
Darth Vader's hand reached for his lightsaber. "You do not command me…"
"Cough…" Aizen coughed, intervening with a smile. "Red's Main Mission Timeline had voluntarily come forward to testify that She had witnessed all interactions between him and Herpo the Foul. After you were gone, Lord Vader, we examined those memories. And they shed no new light on the Skill we were hoping to learn from Herpo the Foul."
Other than the Storyline Characters, the Inquisitors had no authority to call Timelines and Deep Ones.
The Bubble Entities were only bound by the Grand Old Contract not to intervene in the Inquisition or compromise it in any way, no matter if the accused enjoyed Their favor.
For a Timeline to willingly help the Inquisitors, only suggested that Death had decided to end the fiasco going on between Vader and Herpo the Foul before it could lead to vaster damage to His authorities.
"That has nothing to do with…" Vader began.
Aizen shook his head, cutting his colleague off. "It has everything to do with the Inquisition's Protocols, Vader," he informed. "It calls our initial theory into question that there exists such a Skill, to begin with. And, if there's no such Skill, then… your action of attacking Herpo the Foul falls directly against the Inquisition, opening you to the possibility of an inquiry for use of excessive force to harm Bubble Entities, intentionally or unintentionally. Not only you, but Lord Vlad and I are also looking at the same possibility because we agreed to it."
Darth Vader looked at Aizen, clenching and unclenching his fingers.
Dracula sighed again. "The only salvation in all this is that Aizen intervened timely, realizing how much trouble we could be in," he said, putting his hands on the table and looking at the globe's hologram. "That Death didn't immediately act on His anger… knowing that He could justify the use of force against us…"
Aizen nodded. "Herpo the Foul doesn't seem to have a good relationship with the Bubble Entities," he shared. "That's usual for most Above the Pillars. Not all are like you, Lord Vader — the Chosen One…"
Dracula frowned.
Aizen chuckled. "All I am saying is that if we insist on going after Herpo the Foul," he continued, "then Death wouldn't stop us. But the wizard will not come easily with us. From the fight he put up against you, Vader, it clearly shows that he must have many cards to reveal. Unless you want to team up…"
"Spare me that thought, Aizen," Vader instantly barked, rejecting the idea.
"There it is, then," the white-robed Inquisitor said. "We have no choice but to turn a blind eye to Herpo the Foul's offense."
Darth Vader breathed in and out.
After a while, taking a deep breath, he nodded begrudgingly.
"What about the accused?" Vader asked. "We all know he has committed this offense. There must be a…"
Dracula shook his head. "We have only one way left to confirm his innocence," he admitted. "We must request an audience with the Father of the Jewel Magecraft and hope He would still have some grudge left against The Banished One so that He wouldn't try to protect Red."
Bam!
Vader slammed the table.
After all that… all those scenarios… they were being forced to take the route that Red wanted them to take since the beginning.
"… Cowards!" Vader hissed.
Then, turning around brusquely, he left the hall angrier than ever.
Dracula climbed the steps and assumed his chair, putting his hand against his temple with his elbow resting on the chair's arm.
"You look tired," Aizen remarked.
Dracula's ancient gaze fell upon his colleague, and his eyes narrowed.
"What are you planning, Aizen?" Vlad asked. "Where did you go when we were on the way to the Harry Potter Bubble? What did you say to Red when you visited the planet? Why… Why did you come up with this… Skill-related theory of yours?"
Aizen threw his hands up. "Mere coincidences, Vlad," he said, smiling. "Coincidences. Let me plan a route to the Fate Bubble. Rest. I will take care of the paperwork related to the Empires as well."
Then, carrying that smile on his face, Sousuke Aizen walked out of the hall.
Seated on the high-back chair, watching Aizen's chuckling shoulders, Dracula… sighed a record third time.