She's so cute."
Akio, Makoto, and Kouya were sitting on the floor by the wall in the corridor with a sleeping Ermina on Makoto's lap.
"You bet she is. She's *my* companion, mind you," Kouya bragged.
"But she likes me more," Makoto said smugly.
"Excuse you!?", Kouya yelled in disbelief. "There's no damn way she would... Right, Ermina..?"
Ermina chirped in approval.
"See!?"
The peaceful moment was then interrupted by Kaelis walking by, noticing the trio (+ Ermina).
"If you lot have nothing meaningful to do, we could train together."
"Eh no thanks," Kouya said, still looking at Ermina, not even sparing Kaelis a glance.
Akio then looked up at Kaelis. There's been something on his mind and he needed confirmation.
"Uhm, I have a question."
Kaelis looks down at Akio, who was still sitting on the floor.
"Yes?"
"Do you think Katsuko is acting... off?"
Kaelis looked surprised.
"So you've noticed it too, huh?"
"Do you know anything about it?", Akio asked quietly.
"Even if I did, I couldn't tell you. Her secrets are safe with me," Kaelis stated firmly.
"Ah, I see..."
"Well then. I better get going now. I need to kill my next target," Kaelis said nonchalantly, as if this was just a normal thing, and resumes his walk down the hallway.
"Uhh okay, good luck, mate!", Kouya shouted after him, getting a wave from Kaelis in return.
Silence.
"Uhm... Guys?", Akio spoke up.
Makoto and Kouya looked at him.
"Where is Ermina?"
The group suddenly realizes the stoat is no longer with them. They all looked around, with Kouya having a panicked expression on his face.
"Oh no, Ermina, where are you?"
They suddenly hear a loud hiss coming from around the corner.
They ran towards the source of the sound, turning the corner.
It came from Katsuko's room. The door was open.
They all looked inside to see the stoat growling at a mirror.
Katsuko was inside the room, confused.
"Kouya, get your ferret."
"She's a stoat!"
"Why is she growling at the mirror?", Akio asked in confusion.
"Beats me," Katsuko said, trying her best not to show a single hint of emotion.
Makoto looked towards the TV.
"Why is a shirt covering the screen?"
Katsuko visibly flinched, hoping nobody noticed that.
Akio did.
"I just put it there because I want to wear it tomorrow. To remind myself."
Makoto narrowed his eyes at Katsuko.
"You know I can tell when you lie, so why do you still do it?", he asked with an uncharacteristically intimidating tone.
Katsuko's eyes widened, having completely forgotten about Makoto's ability.
There's no way out now.
She sighed.
"... There's something I should tell you."
Everyone's attention was on her now. Except for the stoat's who was still growling at the mirror.
"Someone visited me in the morning. It was a jester-looking man, he-... He came into my room, I don't know how, but he was there all of a sudden. And then his... assistant came as well, disguising himself as Kaelis."
Everyone looked at Katsuko like what she was saying was utter nonsense. Makoto however didn't sense a lie this time.
"Did you catch the names of the intruders?", Makoto asked.
"Yes. The jester's name was Cyrill and the assistant... I can't remember. I only know that he had blue hair."
"Hm... How did they leave?", Makoto kept asking.
"I'm not sure. Cyrill was suddenly gone, and the assistant just left through the door..."
"I see.", Makoto then looked at the mirror Ermina was still growling at. He could see his own reflection in it.
His reflection smiled back at him.
He did not.
"What the-"
"Something wrong, Makoto?", Kouya asked.
"Uhm...", Makoto looked intensely at the mirror, not noticing anything strange this time. "No. Nothing."
"Anyways, this doesn't answer why there's a shirt on the TV," Makoto spoke.
"Well I-", Katsuko sighed. "I received another cassette. And the video was... disturbing to say the least. I'm just-... Not ready to look at the screen again. Call it paranoia or whatever."
Katsuko paused.
"I need a cigarette."
Then she left the room, leaving the three alone in it.
"Another cassette? Why didn't she say so sooner?", Kouya asked, pondering.
"She must have had her reasons...", Akio spoke up quietly, looking down at the ground in thought.
"Guess so. It's probably none of our business if she keeps this from us," Kouya said, picking up the stoat, who by now has stopped growling.
"Let's just go," Makoto replied reluctantly, looking at the mirror one last time before leaving with the other two.
As they were walking down the corridor, a young man neither of them has seen before, suddenly approached them. His sharp eyes matched the brown color of his suit, while his blonde hair was cut in a bob. He had a very visible scar that ran diagonally across his face, yet he still had an elegant, calm aura to him.
"Good day. May I ask you a favor?", the man asked politely. Yet there was a mischievous edge to it.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?", Makoto questioned.
"My name is Wolfgang Nebelwald. I am the leader of the Revenant Forge," the man explained.
Suddenly they realized.
This was the boss of the organization whose member they kidnapped a few days ago.
"What is it you want?", Makoto asked, trying to keep calm, while the other two stayed silent. What was this guy doing in their base??
"I just want to talk to your boss."
"Why?", Kouya was wary of this man, and he had every right to be. Ermina is a good danger detector after all. She didn't do anything but she was tense, and Kouya could feel it.
"You'll figure it out, I'm sure," Wolfgang said ominously.
Kouya was already getting annoyed by that man.
"Why would we-"
"I think it's better we do as he says."
Both Kouya and Makoto stared at Akio in disbelief.
"Are you crazy!? That bastard is sketchy as hell!", Kouya tried to tell Akio, while Wolfgang kept a polite - almost eerie - smile on his face.
"If we don't do it, he might act. I have the odd feeling that something terrible might happen if so."
"Ah I like you already, Akio. You are very clever indeed."
Akio.
That man knows his name.
A shiver ran down Akio's spine.
"Yet, it will never not be hilarious to me how much people fear the consequences of their own actions," Wolfgang mused.
"You did abduct one of my subordinates after all, did you not? And yet you are scared of *me*. Isn't that funny?", Wolfgang continued.
The group stayed silent.
So he knew about it.
"The fear of a possible repercussion is there and yet you did it anyway, how amusing."
This man loves hearing his own voice, doesn't he?
So he continued his monologue.
"Don't worry, I'm not upset. I just want to have a little chat with your boss."
He seemed to be in no rush, based on his expression, he was just looking at the group in curiosity.
"Alright. Follow us," Kouya hesitantly said, still wary of this man.
"My my, no need to be so tense. I'm really only here because I want to speak with your leader, that's all," Wolfgang reassured, following after the trio.
They made their way down the hallway and turned some corners, the air heavy and the tension unmistakably present.
Akio noticed how Wolfgang was looking around, smiling at the security cameras.
This man was strange in a rather uncanny way.
Finally they arrived at a metal door. Behind it was the boss' office. Kouya knocked against the door three times.
A muffled "Enter" could be heard from behind the door, so Kouya pushed down the handle, making his way inside.
"Boss. You have a visitor."
Palm looked mildly confused for a second, before Wolfgang made his presence known by slipping past Kouya and standing there with his hands folded behind his back.
Palm's eyes widened for just a second, before they returned to their normal state.
"I see. Please take a seat."
Wolfgang then waltzed into the room with grace and sat on the chair across from the boss with no ounce of fear.
Palm then turned to the group.
"You may leave now. Please return to your rooms."
The trio nodded in acknowledgement and left quietly, closing the door with a soft thud.
"What do you want, Wolfgang?", Palm questioned suspiciously.
"Ah of course, I'll get straight to the point. You didn't abduct my underling to get information, correct? No, you did so because you plan on manipulating him into working for your own organization. How's that going for you so far?", Wolfgang asked amused, taking off one of his gloves and inspecting the perfectly manicured nails on his fingers.
Palm wasn't surprised that Wolfgang knew about his intentions. The boss of the Revenant Forge has always been quite sharp after all.
"We haven't done anything with him yet. Currently he's just our prisoner," Palm answered flatly.
"Ah I see."
Wolfgang didn't lose the smile on his face even for a second. Instead he leaned forward, reducing the distance between himself and Palm.
"You may keep him," he said casually. "If he let himself be kidnapped that easily, then I don't need him anyway."
"Then why are you here?", Palm inquired firmly, his fingers twitching ever so slightly under the desk.
"Simple. I'm here to blackmail you."
Palm's brows furrowed, his fingers pausing beneath the desk.
"I want the ability thief," Wolfgang continued calmly. "He would be quite useful to us."
Silence settled between them. Palm's gaze sharpened, unreadable.
"What makes you think I would hand him over to you?" he asked at last.
Wolfgang still smiled politely.
"Because you will have to."
He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands in his lap as though the matter had already been decided.
"If you refuse," he added lightly, "the Revenant Forge will dismantle your organization piece by piece. Quietly. Methodically."
He stood, adjusting his gloves.
"No theatrics. No warnings. Just absence."
Wolfgang turned toward the door, pausing only once.
"You may take your time deciding," he said. "But do be mindful."
The door closed behind him with a soft click.
Palm remained seated long after the sound had faded.
For the first time in years, he did not immediately know what to do.