Inside the familiar space of the living quarters, Merlin sat completely still, as beads of sweat rolled down his face.
Opposite him stood Silver who had a very eerie smile on her face as she looked down at his still figure.
Normally considering the situation, Merlin shouldn't be sitting still, and in reality, he wasn't, on the chair, his hands, feet, waist and head was being held in place by metal restraints.
"Silvy let's talk about this…" Merlin begged frantically.
A few minutes ago, he had been sitting idly typing with his communicator, Ariel was asleep upstairs, and Silver was just laying on the chair.
The next second, boom, he was restrained by metals that had surged up from the chair, and Silver was wearing a perfect villain smile.
At first he had been confused, but after he asked her what she was doing, she reminded him about the time he left her back in the Spirit World for about two seconds, and he knew he was fucked.
Silver looked down at him without the slightest of pity.
"Oh… what's that you're calling me?"
"Lady Silver… you don't need to be so rash, we can discuss this like two reasonable adults " he begged shamelessly.
Who out there claimed he could deal with Saints, that was obviously a scam.
"What's there to discuss?" She tilted her head innocently.
"I'll get you fifteen plates of ice cream" he laid down his card.
"I work and get paid by the government, I can afford my own ice cream" Silver crushed his final hope.
'Tsk… I shouldn't have let my guard down, I knew she was plotting something and I still managed to fall into her trap'
"Wait, how about this… I'll help you kill Thorax" he put out his last hope.
Silver stared at him blankly for a few seconds, then shook her head to snap out of her brief reverie.
"I know you… you'll do it anyway"
"Ah…" He gave up on begging for mercy, and then he decided to change tactics.
"Because of my ability, most of your torture skills won't work on me" he chose to dissuade her.
"Oh… really" Her smile brightened and he felt his stomach drop.
'I know I said torture for the sake of it, but why didn't she refute the statement…'
"Yes…" he helplessly explained, "if you try any over the top actions on my body, it'll trigger a paper figurine substitute, and I'll be free"
"Is that so…" She seemed genuinely intrigued.
"Yes… it's both passive and active, so…"
"I see…" She nodded.
The next moment, Silver picked up her phone and dialed a number, she placed the phone on loud speaker so he could hear it ringing out.
After a few rings, the call connected.
"Hello, Saint Silver…" the person on the other side spoke.
He recognized the voice well, it was Master Jet.
"Yes Jet, I have a question," Silver said as she turned to him.
'What is she cooking up now…'
"Uhm… okay, what's the question?" Jet hesitantly asked.
"It's nothing difficult" Silver's lips curled up, "just… do you know a way to make Merlin suffer without the use of physical harm"
'Aaaaannd there it is… hopefully Master Jet is fresh out of ideas'
"Ah… what a strange request" Jet sounded surprised.
'That's right Master Jet… crush her hopes'
"I think I have one," Jet added.
'huh? This isn't supposed to be how it goes right?'
"Oh… what might that be?" Silver went into a full blown smile.
"It's simple, just strap him to a chair, and force him to watch 'A Song of Light, Darkness and Mysteries'... He'll definitely suffer"
'A Song of… wait, isn't that my version of… oh hell no'
He opened his mouth to talk, but Silver held it shut with her fingers as her smile deepened, turning into one that bore a close resemblance to the evil witch from Snow White. (Not the live action though…)
At that moment, he realized his fault, his actions had exposed his fear, and had proved that Jet's method was effective.
"I see… thank you for the suggestion" Silver nodded and disconnected the call, then she took her hand off his mouth.
"Silvy… it hasn't come to that level now has it?" He begged.
"Hmm… sorry, I didn't quite get what you're saying" Silver spoke obliviously.
"Wait… why am I bothered? I'm not Sunny that got hit with the bad character portrayal…" He puffed up his chest confidently.
..
.
"What the actual fuck…" Merlin cursed as he stared at the opening scene on the television.
"It's bad enough that Sunny was portrayed by a kid, but my character is not even male…"
At that moment, Merlin wished to dig a hole and lay inside till the end credits, but unluckily, he wasn't a Miracle Invoker yet.
"Hold up… why the fuck am I… ahem… is she rizzing up Nephis?" Two minutes into the movie and he was once again wishing he could just die outright.
"Woah woah woah… why's Neph blushing? What's this, some kind of Lesbian Space Princess shit?"
On the screen, the woman that portrayed him was, in short, a romance protagonist, swooping in to save the princess, taking on the brunt of the attack, staying up all night so they could sleep.
"Fuck no… I'd rather watch ORV(Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint) live action than this shit" he cursed frantically then turned to Silver who was watching with profound interest.
"Silvy… Lady Silver…. Your Highness… let's talk terms and conditions, what is it you desire, I'll do everything in my power to achieve it"
Silver turned to him for a second, then turned her attention back to the movie.
"You're interrupting a good movie…"
"Movie… no no no, this isn't a movie, this is a delicately crafted psychological torture method… this is blasphemy of the highest order!" he grumbled as he turned back to the film.
At that point, the cohort was arriving at the bright castle… and 'Merlady' went ahead and sourced from the finest of rooms all to accommodate Lady Nephis while he went out to fight the surrounding nightmare creatures to ensure her safety.
"Bruh… how did this go for action, adventure and fantasy to slice of life and romance? These guys are just doing it on purpose now" he resigned to his fate.
After a week of fighting and returning brutally injured, well except somehow for his face that was still covered in peak makeup, 'Merlady' was healed by Nephis' flame, and then the following conversation took place.
Nephis: Merlin, why do you risk your life for us?
Merlady: Because I need to keep us safe.
Nephis: We need to come together and fight.
Merlady: No, I cannot stand you getting hurt.
Nephis: I am stronger than I look, I am Changing Star.
Merlady: Even if you were a Transcendent, I would still protect you, I will always protect you.
*Merlady walks away*
Nephis: No, I will not let you carry my burden. I will ally with the people of the Forgotten Shore and lead them to safety.
*Nephis hardens her resolve*
"Oh my god bruh… what the hell man" Merlin was on the verge of tears.
"What happened to Sunny's screentime, who looked at this film and said 'oh yeah… it's good for production'!" He was completely devastated, this amount of mental damage, even the cloak can't do anything about it.
The big villain Gunlaug finally showed up, he was after Nephis, Sunny scrambled about to warn Merlady, Merlady got the information from Sunny and wanted to charge in to fight Gunlaug, Sunny said his iconic line.
Sunny: Are you crazy?!
Merlady: When it comes to my friends, yes I am.
*Merlady hardens his resolve*
"Now this is just premium ragebait… the fuck is this development!" Merlin howled as he clutched his head.
Merlady fights and takes control of the Bright Castle, Nephis takes control of the Outer Settlement, Merlady gives control of the Bright Castle to Nephis, Nephis rallies everybody and they head to the crimson spire.
Merlady notices the amount of nightmare creatures is too much for the current sleepers to handle, he whispers words of determination to Nephis and dives head first into the horde.
"Dive… brother I was floating forty feet from the ground. What's up with this description!"
Merlin fights a bloody battle and kills off a thousand nightmare creatures singlehandedly, Nephis decides he's done too much and leads the sleepers into the battlefield, Merlady returns battered and bruised, well except the face of course.
Nephis offers to heal him, he advises her to save her strength, Sunny fights off golems, the cohort do their thing, and they reach the citadel.
Merlady decides to challenge the gatekeeper alone, he does and wins by a hairsbreadth.
"Hey… I totally crushed that Fallen Terror, it wasn't even much of a fight!"
Merlady wins, but a condition arrives, someone has to stay behind, Nephis volunteers, but Merlady, the prince in shiny armor refuses all on the talk of her being alone and hurt and how he won't be able to sleep knowing she's out there.
Nephis offers to stay with him, and they can search for a new citadel, and he nods, they oversee the others as they walk into the gateway, and at the last moment, Merlady pushes Nephis through, and decides to brave the dream realm alone.
*End credits*
Merlin didn't even have anything to say anymore, his eyes were vacant and his soul seemed to have been sucked from his body.
"It was a good film" Silver gave her honest remark with a smile.
He turned to her with his distant gaze, he wore an incomprehensible look on his face.
"Sue… yeah I really should sue these guys" Merlin mumbled to himself.
Then as if he got a bright idea, he shot up and picked up his communicator and dialed Kai's number, just as he was about to click the call button, a sound drew his attention away, it was the sound of their room door opening.
Ariel had woken up.
"Good morning, big brother and sister" Ariel greeted groggily, her hair looking like something from a horror show.
"It's afternoon Ari, go wash your face" He chuckled as he felt his drained spirit reviving.
"Oh… okay" Ariel nodded and went back inside, then a few minutes later, she came out looking like Ariel and not something from 'the conjuring'.
He patted her head and went to make a quick meal for her, after eating, she naturally cuddled her way behind Silver, who had returned to normal with no trace of the Snow White witch.
After a few minutes, Silver, who just got a brilliant idea, turned to Ariel and asked.
"Little one, do you want to see a movie?"
Merlin's head snapped in her direction, he was about to speak up but Ariel bet him to it.
"A movie? Which one?" She asked excitedly.
"It's one that your big brother is in…" Silver said slyly.
"Big brother… yay, let's watch" Ariel cheered.
He took that moment to excuse himself from the room, once was already enough for him, or so he thought.
Halfway through his way to the door, Ariel's voice sounded out.
"Brother… are you not watching?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but Silver wasn't having it.
"Of course he is, give him a little space so he can fit on the couch" Silver smiled mischievously.
"Okay" Ariel nodded innocently and shifted a little, patting the space beside her, "big brother there's space here"
At that point, what could he do?
Refusing was already out of the options, so nothing left to do than to brave it out.
After all, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, that's if you ignore the side trauma attached.
"Alright Ari… I'm coming" he resigned himself to his fate, nothing he could do about it.
"Yay!" Ariel cheered.
..
.
"Brother… Why are you a girl?"
Minutes into the movie and he was already considering suicide, alas even if he succeeded, he'd just become immortal anyway.
"That's obviously not me Ari…" He sighed helplessly.
A few minutes later…
"Big brother, why are you acting funny?" Ari asked again.
'Ugh… I really should get a lawyer' he groaned inwardly.
A few minutes more…
"Big brother… is this really you?"
"Ugh… this is going to be a long day"
.
.
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#100-1