Opportunity

Standing before the Emperor, having accepted his mission, Riley felt an odd sense of motivation. It was still unclear to him whether the Spark that Austin spoke of was his past self or just some other kid he had, and he coincidentally named him Spark as well. Regardless of who this new Spark was, he would need to bring him along while taking down the rebellion if he wanted to see Mary again. 

Austin would proceed to explain the fine details of what he needed Riley to do. The Emperor knew that they had a base in a border town on the outskirts of Alduwitz, but not much more than that; Austin knew of their hatred for the Empire and they would do anything to see Alduwitz burn to ashes, but couldn't understand why. Riley was told that he'd have full clearance to eliminate anyone who affiliated with the group, but to be careful about killing anyone as he was obviously forbidden from shooting civilians, which he understood. Hearing about his permission to kill rebels, one thought and one thought only came to mind; Edok. He knew that Edok was a part of the rebels and would most likely try to kill Spark again, so if he could catch him in the act, he'd be able to take his revenge. He wanted to clarify. Riley had his mind set on bringing down Edok, but he wanted to make sure to do it properly. In a way that no consequences would come to him.

 "Does that rule limit anyone? Just to be sure, take someone like Edok for example. If he was to threaten Spark's life, would I be able to kill him, too?" 

Austin was taken aback by Riley's question. Edok's loyalty to him as the Emperor for as long as he can remember initially made him unable to imagine Edok as a possible threat to the Empire. Frozen in thought, Austin took a few seconds before sighing and replying, his voice noticeably weaker, clearly not wanting to think that his aid since day one would betray him like that.

 "If that truly does happen, and Edok tries to harm my son, you have my permission to kill him, but I'd at least like you to bring him to me so I can see that he betrayed me before he dies." 

A grin grew across Riley's face, but he tried to hide it out of decency for the Emperor; it was clear that Austin thought of Edok as more than his aid but more so as a friend, even if those feelings were one-sided. Regardless of any outside emotions, Riley was content knowing that he'd more than likely be able to exact his revenge on the man who killed him. When all was said and done, he saluted the Emperor and took his leave, following a servant from the door of the Emperor's office to his new room in the House of the Emperor which was across the hall from Spark's room. Finally being left alone in his room, he collapsed on the bed in the middle of the room, not having had any rest since before he ran the five kilometers that morning back on base, on Earth. Even though he was lying down, he still wanted to be productive thinking of ways how he could prove that Edok was after Spark's life.

A thought then came to mind; this day in Jimat looked very familiar to his memories of Jimat, everything from the citizens and the buildings outside, down to the exercises performed by the Alduwitz army in the plaza of the House of the Emperor; it all seemed too familiar. Then Riley wondered, what if today was the same day that Edok had killed him? As he speculated at the possibility, the scenario started to seem more and more plausible. That morning, he woke up fairly late as Spark before heading to the dining hall; where he stayed for a while after both his father and Edok left. If Edok headed straight to the edge of town after he left the hall, only stopping to pick up the troops that accompanied him, he would've made it to the House of the Emperor with Edok at the same time that Spark left the dining hall to return to his room. It was entirely possible. At that moment he decided that tonight, he'd wait for Edok to sneak into Spark's room, proving Edok to be a threat, and kill him with a valid reason.

A few hours later, there was a knock on the door to Riley's room. One of the floor's butlers had come to deliver him a message. Apparently, the Emperor had wanted him to finally meet with Spark over dinner. Before making his way out of the room, Riley changed into some clothes he'd found in a closet, similar to what he wore when he lived in the House of the Emperor. He neatly folded his worn clothes, placing them in an empty drawer, debating whether or not he should bring his pistol with him. Riley ended up deciding that it would be unnecessary to bring a firearm to dinner. He remembered that Spark had a lot of protection during the day, and it wasn't until the night that Edok would attack. Opting not to bring his gun, he hid his weapon under his clothes that he folded and closed the drawer before heading to the door.

In contrast to his previous experience, Riley made his way to the dining hall accompanied by a single servant rather than armed guards at either side. When the door was opened for him to enter the room, Spark was already seated at his normal spot at the near end of the table, his back to Riley. He was led to a spot on the side of the table, not too close to Spark, but close enough where they'd easily be able to hold an unobstructed conversation. As Riley sat, he was stunned when he saw Spark for the first time, he looked exactly the same as Riley had when he was Spark. Everything about the Spark sitting mere meters away from him was the mirror image of how Riley lived as Spark to this day, even his voice as he spoke.

 "So, I've heard that I need to take down some rebellion, and you're just coming with me to make sure I don't die, Right?" 

Riley feels slightly ashamed at how egotistical he used to sound; he knows that the bulk of what Spark said is accurate, but Riley could tell by the tone in his voice, that Spark was completely underestimating the task at hand knowing one wrong step would end up not only just getting the two of them killed, but the entire Empire could go down with them. Though Spark sounds self-centered, under Riley's protection, Spark won't get the same wake-up call he did when he died, so he sees the need to knock some sense into him and that this won't just be some other menial task that he'll be able to get by without a lot of effort.

 "The New Light, ever heard of them? They want nothing more than to see this Empire fall, and with you as the Emperor's son, any one of them would take any chance they can get to make sure they see your blood spill. You don't know me, but I know you; you need to stop being delusional and take this seriously, to you will die." 

That seemed to stir something within Spark, the Emperor had given him the privilege of not speaking harshly toward him, and as a result, no one had ever dared to raise their voice to Spark. The rest of the meal was mostly eaten in silence. Riley didn't see the need to 'get to know' Spark because this new Spark was the exact same person he was when he was Spark; which gave Riley more confidence that Edok would try to kill this Spark later in the night. Spark also seemed disinterested in Riley, his arrogance blinding him to why the Emperor decided to call him back from Earth. But his arrogance would best him once more; when Riley finished with his meal, he stood up to leave the dining hall but whispered in Spark's ear so that his guards couldn't hear before patting him on the shoulder and heading to the door.

 "How's this for a deal? If someone attacks you tonight, you'll stop being a moron and help me bring down the New Light; but if not, we'll do things your way and most likely die trying. But don't worry, I'll be there to protect you. Don't tell anyone about this, though."

Leaving the dining hall to head back to his room, Riley glanced over to Spark as the door was closing once more. Spark seemed to be staring straight ahead while slightly nodding his head up and down, accepting Riley's proposition. Riley would then head back to his room to retrieve his pistol and wait for night to fall and Edok to attempt to assassinate Spark. 

He waited and waited. Most of the lights went out, and most of the guards vacated the halls to sleep for the night. Sure enough, at a time when everyone in the house would normally be asleep, Edok crept through the hall dressed in all black before slithering into Spark's room. As Edok opened the door to Spark's room, so did Riley open his room's door to mask the sound. Edok entered Spark's room with less caution than he did last time, as Riley was able to catch the door and enter the room, silently closing the door without Edok noticing. Riley remembered the sequence of events, he would have time between the gut punch with the pistol and Edok pulling the trigger to make his move. As anticipated, Edok struck Spark's gut, waking him up and covering his mouth to muffle any cries for help.

 "Good evening, my prince."

Edok's words were a trigger in Riley's mind. Before Edok has a chance to shoot Spark, Riley shoots Edok twice, once in his right arm making Edok drop his gun, and once in his left leg rendering him unable to escape. Edok collapsed on Spark on his bed, both of them writhing in pain as Riley stepped into the purple glow emanating from the massive window on the wall of the room to address them.

 "Good evening, filth. And Spark, I won the bet."