The bear and the girl froze on top of the stairs as Flug held the door open for them to walk through.
"Hello, Melanie de la Muerte, » Flug said.
Melanie looked at Dr. Flug as she and 505 cautiously walked through the door and replied, "Hello."
"What have you been up to?" Dr. Flug asked.
"We were having a lot of fun running through the halls, so we decided to run up the stairs," Melanie said excitedly flapping her wings and flying off 505's back. "That was so much fun! Hanging out with you has been amazing, 505! I can't believe I still get to stream with you!"
505 blushed and nodded vigorously to show that he felt the same way.
Melanie literally flew into his arms and let him give her a bear hug as the flower on his head grew by a millimeter.
Flug sighed and said, "Be that as it may, must I remind you that this is isn't a vacation? You are here so that I can observe your behavior. So, if you're going to stay, I'd like to lay out some ground rules."
Melanie sighed as she dissolved her wings and let herself land on the ground.
"Fine," she said. "So, what are the rules?"
"So, before you think you can get away with any mischief, there are cameras all over the manor, so I can watch you with ease, even if you aren't in my presence," Flug said gesturing his head towards the camera on the wall. "Lunch will be at 12pm, dinner will be at 6pm and breakfast will be at 8am. You are to take your medication as your parents have told you to, and every two hours I will meet with you wherever you are in the manor to check on you. Absolutely, under no circumstances are you to set foot outside of the manor. Oh, and 5.0.5 already knows this, but please stay out of Black Hat's office. He hates being bothered."
"Ok," Melanie replied. "Anything else?"
"Don't touch anything that's not yours," Flug said. "Don't go in the lab, unless I deem it necessary. Oh, and PLEASE do not ask Dementia what she thinks of Black Hat. Seriously. Don't."
"Uh...okay...Can we go back to frolicking now?" Melanie asked.
Flug sighed and said, "Fine. I have other... 'jobs'…to do anyway."
"Yeah!" Melanie cheered as she unleashed her Reaper wings and landed on 505's back.
505 squealed joyfully as they started leaping away again until Dr. Flug remembered something important.
"Wait!" Flug yelled.
505's feet screeched to a halt.
"What is it?" Melanie asked in annoyance.
"Your parents looked at your medicine box and saw that you didn't take your meds even though they instructed you to and you take them on a daily basis," Flug said. "Is that true?"
Melanie sighed deeply. There was no point to lying.
"Yes, it's true," Melanie said defensively. "I didn't feel like behaving for you guys, so I figured I should give you a taste of me at my worst. Besides, it's not like I owe Black Hat my best behavior."
"But you do owe your parents your best behavior," Flug replied. "They left you with us for the night for a reason. So, I think it would be best if you took them."
Melanie sighed and said, "Fine, I'll take them tomorrow."
"I mean today," Flug said. "It's only 10am. They'll wear off before it's time for you to sleep."
"But I don't even know where my room is..." Melanie complained.
"No worries," Flug said pulling her medicine bottle out of his pocket along with a bottle of water. "I have it right here."
"Bauw?" 505 asked.
"She just needs to take that so it helps her focus," Flug reassured. "Don't worry. You can go back to playing in a little while. Daddy just needs to help Melanie get settled in."
Melanie reluctantly took the water bottle and the pill bottle and scowled at Flug as she took her medication.
"Thank you," Flug said as Melanie dropped the pill bottle into her knapsack. "Now, if you would follow me, I will show you where your room is."
"Fine," Melanie said following behind Flug and 505. "It's not like I could find it on my own. This manor's bigger than my school."
"About that…" Flug said.
"What?" Melanie replied.
"You're going to be getting another type of schooling from this day forward."
"What does that mean?"
"Your parents are going to pull you out of your current school. And I suppose, they, along with myself, will be keeping a closer eye on you to make sure you don't run off to your 'nun-ja' friends."
Melanie looked away sadly. 505 moaned in sympathy.
"And if I were to hazard a guess from previous experience with this sort of thing, I'd tell you that you're going to be re-educated at home, also known as homeschooling, and then sent to Black Hat's Institute if your behavior doesn't improve," Flug added.
"What do you mean by 're-educated?'" Melanie asked suspiciously.
"They're going to re-teach your behavior," Flug explained. "Mostly, they're going to make you lose your... uh, heroic habits."
Melanie's eyes narrowed suspiciously as she asked, "So, you're going to brainwash me?"
Flug turned around on his heels and said, "Woah, woah, slow down. This is just re-education. We don't brainwash anyone in this program…" before whispering, "...Unlessifitbecomesourlastresort."
"I heard that," Melanie said.
"Riiight," Flug said before he turned back around. "Anyway, let me show you to your room."
505 whined worriedly.
"Don't worry, 505," Flug said rubbing his son's head. "You can go back to playing with Melanie right after we settle her in. Okay?"
505 moaned affirmatively as Flug turned around to lead them the rest of the way to Melanie's bedroom.
After a few minutes of silence, Flug opened the door to Melanie's room for the night.
The room was decorated as well as any guest room could be in that place.
The walls were painted pale yellow-green. The queen-sized bed's headboard and comforter were white. The bedside table and desk on opposite sides of the bed were also white as was the trashcan next to Melanie's bed. The darkest thing in that room was the wood floor.
The bathroom attached to the room was decorated similarly.
The room's most surprising future was the tinted window sitting right in front of the desk. Melanie didn't think Black Hat wanted his slaves to see anything of the outside world.
Melanie looked around the room being careful not to trip over the large duffel bag that her parents left behind for her. She studied her surroundings silently until Flug interrupted her thoughts.
"You're lucky," Flug said. "This room was just renovated."
Melanie looked at Flug suspiciously and replied, "What did this room use to be?"
"Uh…" Flug said chuckling nervously. "You don't want to know."
"That's reassuring," Melanie said dragging her duffel bag to the foot of her bed before sitting down.
"You should stick to the normal time your parents have you go to bed," Flug said as 505 sat down next to Melanie on the bed.
"Ya hear that, 505?" Melanie blurted out without thinking. "We can play videogames all night! Thank God it's summer!"
"Okay," Flug said with a sigh. "Just don't wander the halls in the middle of the night. That's when the boss likes to pull mischief on anyone who's still up."
"Sweet!" Melanie said. "Come on, 505! Let's go!"
505 squealed joyfully in response.
"Wait another moment," Flug said.
"What now?" Melanie complained.
Flug pulled a tracking device out of his pocket.
Melanie noticed it was the same device that Dementia wore around her ankle but was not sure what it was besides that.
"I'd like you to wear this around your ankle," Flug said. "That way, I can know where you are at all times, even if you decided to break out of here."
"Do I have to?" Melanie whined as convincingly as she could. "It looks uncomfortable. It could chaff or cut off my blood pressure when I have a growth spurt."
"Trust me. It's well-suited for any person, even Dementia," Flug responded adding an eye roll to that last bit. "It's even waterproof. In time, you won't even notice it's there."
Melanie sighed. She knew she was going to win this battle and that was just fine. She could make it malfunction at will, but Dr. Flug didn't need to know that and wouldn't worry about that if she protested its presence.
Dr. Flug crouched on the ground in front of the bed and put the device around Melanie's ankle.
"Now, I know you can cause technology to malfunction at will, but this device has been updated to send us a signal and a notification of its last known location the moment it malfunctions," Flug said much to Melanie's surprise.
Melanie looked at him skeptically.
"Don't believe me?" Flug asked. "Why don't you test it?"
Melanie telepathically sent a shockwave through every electronic device in the room. The device opened and fell on the floor while a few sparks flashed from it.
Sure enough, Flug got the notification on his phone.
"Ta da!" Flug said proudly as he picked up the device to make the quick necessary repairs. "How do you like them apples?"
Melanie stared blankly at the doctor in disbelief as he made his repairs and replaced the device back around her left ankle.
"Well, I guess now you can go play with 505," Flug said happily getting off the floor and heading to the door. "Just remember to follow all the rules and you'll be fine."
Flug had just exited the room and shut the door behind him when he received a message on his device from Black Hat asking him to come to his office. He quickly replied to the message and made his way to his boss's office.
As soon as she heard Dr. Flug walk away, Melanie laid on her bed and proceeded to sulk.
Noticing her sadness, 505 rested his head on Melanie's belly to help her feel better.
Melanie smiled and gave the bear another hug around his neck while he scooped her up in his arms and gave her a hug back.