Mercury and Bae stare into each other, unblinking. Mercury holds her hammer tightly, unsure of what to think.
"...Are you gonna come at me, or nah?" Bae tilts her head, a frown on her face.
"..."
"...Ya scared, kid~? C'mon, I don't bite~"
She flashes a grin full of shark-like teeth.
"..." Mercury suddenly smirks, her eyes lighting up in glee.
"Wha-!" Without warning, a bang rings out in the air as Bae has a hole blown through her head from behind.
She limply falls to the ground... for just a moment before stepping forwards to regain balance.
"...Ow, that... is not nice~" Bae stands up straight as blood pours out of the wound.
"...What..." Mercury's eyes widen as she sees this happen.
Bae silently glances back, seeing a man dressed wearing a black robe, his features mostly hidden outside of the blackened pistol held in his right hand, still pointed towards her.
She can't tell any other details besides those... not that she cares.
Bae snaps her fingers, causing a sudden smokescreen to cover the entire area.
The robed man and Mercury frown as they see this happen.
Mercury feels something at her back, a soft whisper just as hot breath wafts along her ear.
"...You're gonna need more than that~"
Mercury spins around, poising her hammer to strike Bae in the head, only for Bae to catch the head of the weapon in one hand, as if it were weightless. Bae smirks as she watches Mercury's expression turn to one of surprise before lifting her other hand up to Mercury's face... and snapping her fingers.
An explosion erupts from the snap, flinging Mercury back into the robed man just as Bae walks through the flames, a creepy laugh leaving her lips.
The robed man holds Mercury's unconscious body as he crouches down, still silently keeping the gun aimed at Bae.
"...Hehehe... c'mon, let's play~" Her blue and red eyes glow with glee as she steps closer and closer through the fog.
"...Are you scared~?" Her voice echoes throught the ruins yet again, filling up every spot of air, as if inescapable.
"...Gonna run~?" She keeps mocking. The robed man fires another shot... yet the only sound heard is that of the bullet hitting the ground...
He fires another... and another... time after time, nothing happens... the bullets just fall to the floor.
He blinks only to find Bae standing right in front of him, bent over to see his face with more clarity.
She grabs him by the hair, lifting his chin up.
"...Is that all you have to show for yourself~? Got more? You better~"
"...I can't transform... it doesn't matter... at least I'll kill one of his allies..." He swallows a lump in his throat at the current situation, deciding that it's the best course of action.
"...Fire the cannon." He speaks for the first time, a deep and gravelly voice.
"...Huh? What cannon~?"
She lets go of his hair, standing up straight again before turning around and looking to the sky.
"...That cannon~?" Her eyes are fixed on... nothing, yet the man's eyes widen at her question.
"...How can you..."
"...How can I see it? I can do anything! Didja know that?! I doubt it... but, let me let you in on a secret, yeah?"
She leans down, looking him straight in the eyes...
"...I can do anything~ Anything you can think of, I can do~ Chaos is all about chance, after all~ the if's and the may's... I decide those. Anything that can, will and..."
A massive ray of light falls from the sky, piercing the clouds as it approaches the three.
Bae gets up again, turning towards the beam beelining for her before making a 'pop' sound with her mouth...
The streak of energy disappears without a trace, a gust of wind blowing past her hair... Bae smiles contently before turning back to the robed man.
"...won't be. I decide those~ Nobody else."
He's silent, petrified at the sight before him.
"...How do you like that, Erebus~?"
*Erebus- The personification of darkness in Roman mythology.
His eyes widen at the realization that she knows his name.
"...Ho-"
"Are you deaf? I literally just said that I decide wether or not something can happen! Are you stupid?! Of course I know your name!"
She sighs as she pinches the bridge of her nose, looking down at the ground.
"...Oh, whatever. See you all around."
She walks off, opening up a portal for herself and stepping in to appear beside the others inside the smaller room connected to the white room.
"...Hey, Bae." Kronii's the first to talk to her as Bae leans back against the wall together with her.
"...Hey, what's going on around here. Why're they bickering and what's with the, y'know, weird stuff on the glass?"
"...That's electricity, Bae. I'm pretty sure you know that. Regardless... they're bickering because they've got nothing better to do than care about him." She sighs in frustration as she glances at the group of girls.
"...Uh-huh. Sounds like you just don't like 'im to me~"
"...Of course I don't. He just popped up all of sudden and now they're all over him!" She barks at the rat girl, turning to look at her.
"...Woah, woah~ I also like the dude! Envy's got something about him, you know. Feels... like you know him all too well. No, more like you've known him for waaay longer than you really have!"
"...That doesn't make sense. At all." Kronii stares at her, clearly pissed off by her own lack of understanding.
"Eh, I dunno how else to say it. Just feels right to word it like that~"
"Okay, everyone! Let's discuss this tomorrow!" YAGOO speaks up as he puts his hands out in a calming manner.
"No! He can just stay with me and Fauna! We'll take care of him. It'll be fine!" Mumei raises her voice, not a hint of hesitation in it.
"...Agreed~" Fauna chimes in to give her own affirmation.
"No, no, no. Look, you can trust him, but that doesn't mean you can live with him. You saw what he did and from what YAGOO told us, it wasn't pretty!" Calli brings up a counterargument.
"Yeah, you can't just let him run around, doing whatever he wants!" Kiara sides with Calli.
"You don't know why he did it, do you?!"
"No need to! It already sounds bad enou-!"
"HEY! WE'RE DISCUSSING THIS TOMORROW!" YAGOO finally has enough of their fighting, deciding to take things into his own hands.
The girls instantly pipe down as he does so, turning to look at him. Some stare in anger, others in confusion, some in indifference, some in excitement, regardless, they're all paying attention now.
"...Everyone, you may leave."
"...Who are you to tell me what to do?" Mumei scornfully glares at him.
"Your boss. I'll get the others to get you under control if you don't stop now. Mumei, I've had enough of you acting like this. You need councelling."
"What?! I don't need councelling! I don't need therapy! I need Envy!"
"NO, no you do not. Even more so, I'm starting to think a lot of you need therapy. Now, please leave this room. I need to talk to Enma about how we'll go about this."
"...!" Before Mumei can retaliate, she suddenly finds herself in her room... laying down on her bed as Kronii stares at her from the side of it.
"...Kronii... take me back there. Now, please."
"...No, I don't think I will." She shakes her head.
"...I can't believe... I ever thought you cared for me."
"...What...?"
"...I mean, how could you, right? The only thing you care about is you..."
"...What, no! That's not..." Her words are caught in her throat... she can't admit it. A façade is a mask you can never find the strength to pull off, after all... even if you can stop time.
"Not what, Kronii? Are you telling me that's not true? That you care about me? Or the others? Tell me this, then... have you ever thought about how I feel?" Mumei stares into Kronii's eyes as she sits up on the bed, getting to her feet to walk off to the door, thinking that was the nail in the coffin between her and the Time Warden.