Warning: This chapter contains descriptions of violence and death that may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.
Melanie followed Flug up the stairs and into the elevator to the floor where Black Hat's office was.
The closer the group got to the office. The more Melanie could feel her anger grow. Unbeknownst to her, flames were sprouting from her fingertips and sizzling out as she struggled to retain that anger.
Flug could hear Melanie's shallow breathing, but he didn't realize how agitated she was or the flames on her fingers until they exited the elevator that Black Hat's office was on.
"I'd say you should go easy on that, but I think that might make Black Hat happy," Flug noted.
"What?" Melanie asked, leaving her thoughts and immediately coming back to reality. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, nothing," Flug lied, picking up the pace as they passed through the waiting room so he could open the door ahead. "Just a scientist thinking out loud."
Flug then opened the door and allowed Melanie to walk in front of him before he left the room and shut the door behind him.
It was then that Melanie saw the fire on her fingers. She held her hand in front of her and watched in horror as her right hand lit up in flames right in front of Black Hat and Lord Reaper.
"Do my eyes deceive me?!" Lord Reaper asked joyfully, hovering in place telekinetically and posing dramatically. "Black Hat, you didn't tell me she had learned how to summon fire. "Isn't it beautiful?"
Melanie shook her hand violently only for the fire to spread up and engulf her entire right arm.
"No, no, no!" Melanie said in a panic, shutting her eyes. "Calm down, calm down, breathe, just breathe, like Sensei Lucy said. Just breathe. Clear your head."
Black Hat cackled at her panic and said, "It's a magnificent flame. Perhaps there's hope for her yet."
"Don't worry, Melanie," Lord Reaper said, telekinetically pulling her closer. "That fire was absolutely beautiful."
"It's a good start," Black Hat admitted with a shrug. "But a lot more can be done and will be done."
Lord Reaper put Melanie down in front of him and she asked, "What? What do you…?"
Lord Reaper took her fiery arm and blew his icy breath on her, extinguishing the flames immediately.
Lord Reaper smiled and took Melanie's hand to guide her to her seat next to him in front of Black Hat's desk.
"Sit down, dear," Lord Reaper said, taking his seat and gesturing for Melanie to do the same. "We have a lot to discuss with you, but don't worry. Papi's deal with your grand-oncle means he won't hurt you."
"I couldn't give less of a crap about that," Melanie said, shoving her chair aside. "Where is Sadie? And my scythe? What are you doing? What do you want with me? Why do you care about me this much anyways, granduncle?"
"Melanie," pleaded Lord Reaper, telekinetically pulling the chair back. "I care about you like I care about all my grandchildren. I just want you to see your full potential."
Black Hat, in turn, scowled and said, "You're lucky we have a deal. Anyone else who called me that would be dead. As for your friend, she's safe for now. As for what I want…well, I'm sure everyone in your family has already told you. Besides, I welcome the challenge of a so-called 'unbreakable' Nun-ja."
"You did not answer my other questions!" Melanie protested, knocking over her chair more violently this time. "What are you doing? Where is Sadie and…?"
"One question at a time," Black Hat interrupted, narrowing his eyes.
Melanie crossed her arms and asked, "Okay then, where is Sadie? And my scythe?"
Black Hat picked up a remote on his desk and pressed a button. Immediately, a screen was lowered down. There was a video feed of Sadie sitting on her bed in her cell eating the food that 505 brought her.
"That is where she is," Black Hat said before gesturing to Lord Reaper. "And he has your scythe."
"Thanks," Melanie said, turning around and trying to leave. "I'm going to find her…HEY!"
Lord Reaper lifted Melanie into the air telekinetically, pulled the chair back over, sat her down in it, and said, "Melanie, dear, your grand-oncle and I aren't done talking with you yet."
"Why?!" Melanie asked in frustration. "What do you want with me anyway?! Why do either of you give a crap about me anyway?!"
"Our Business is Evil. And Business is Good," Black Hat replied, raising his hand.
With a heavy feeling in the air, Black Hat raised his hand. On the screen, an electric wave went across the cell, continuously shocking Sadie inside making her cry out in pain.
"NO!" shrieked Melanie, lunging on the desk towards Black Hat. "STOP IT!"
Black Hat narrowed his eyes further, catching Melanie in the air without any movements. Then his eyes shot open and sent her back into the chair, leaving him to stare down at her and give his sickening low chuckle behind his wide grin.
"Does this hurt you?" Black Hat asked, lowering his hands and leaving Sadie alone.
On the monitor, Melanie could see Sadie breathing hard and laying limp on her bed and 505 panicking as he tried to unlock the code on the door from the outside.
"You bastard…" Melanie snarled as her eyes settled into a wicked glare and her hands began to burn again.
"Melanie, watch your mouth," Lord Reaper chided.
"TA GUELE!" Melanie shrieked at her Papi. "If either of you wanted to be nice, you shouldn't be trying to hurt one of my sisters!"
"Oh, I won't even consider being nice to you," Black Hat said with a scoff. "Such a thing would be weakness. Still, this is an offer kinder than most of mine. You can continue to fight, and she will continue to be hurt. Or you can do what I say going forward and spare her from pain, as well as receive your scythe again."
The flames climbed up Melanie's arms as she gripped the desk and stared daggers into Black Hat.
"And what do you want, douchebag demon I have the misfortune of being related to?" Melanie snarled.
"To follow my orders as I give them, Melanie," Black Hat replied, narrowing his eye unphased by the flames. "To finally begin your villainous tasks. If you refuse to do so, I will not hesitate to deliver any pain to her as I see fit and more if you become too much of an issue."
"And you're on board with this too, Papi?" Melanie asked, looking at him incredulously.
"She's a Nun-ja, Melanie," Lord Reaper argued. "One of the same people who want to take you away from us, from your family!"
"So, that's a yes?!" Melanie cried, looking away from him.
"This is for your own good, Melanie," Lord Reaper said.
"Va te faire foutre!" Melanie shrieked.
"Melanie, please," Lord Reaper said. "I love you and want the best for you. And the best thing I can do for you is to make you take your reformation seriously so that you will rejoin the path I always meant for you to follow."
Melanie gripped the table even more tightly in rage. Her breaths became shallow. The lights in the office blinked on and off. The fire spread from her arms onto Black Hat's desk and quickly engulfed the top of it.
Black Hat stared at her with his malicious smile completely unphased by everything happening. He was seeing the girl's dark side, and it was beautiful to watch.
"What is your choice, girl? Do you perhaps need another demonstration?" Black Hat asked cruelly as his hand slowly started to rise again.
In a flash, Melanie raised her hand, causing the flames to fly in Black Hat's direction.
Lord Reaper's mouth fell open in shock as Melanie stopped her attack, fell to her knees on the floor, and began to cry.
Melanie sobbed for a moment before she finally gave her answer.
"Okay," Melanie whimpered almost inaudibly.
Black Hat remained unphased by this fire, smiling triumphant as he lowered his hand and said, "Excellent."
Lord Reaper got on his knees to comfort Melanie who was still crying on the floor, but as he reached for her, Melanie slapped his hand away.
"FUCK OFF!" Melanie screamed as she summoned her wings and began to hover off the ground. "This is all your fault! I hate you! I HATE ALL OF YOU! YOU WERE NEVER MY FAMILY!"
Lord Reaper flinched. How deep had these Nun-jas brainwashed her?
Black Hat swiped the flames off his desk. They continued to burn on the floor, but some kind of magic prevented it from setting the whole office on fire.
"Oh, how sad. Your words would break my heart…" Black Hat then paused to deliver a wide grin as he finished. "…if I had one."
"Melanie, this really is for…" Lord Reaper tried to say.
"SHUT UP!" Melanie shrieked summoning her reaper wings and flying in the air. "I want to see Sadie. What floor is she on?"
"You can see her after you prove yourself," Black Hat explained.
Melanie landed, dissolved her wings, glared at Black Hat, and snarled, "I'll never be able to prove myself to you. Why even bother? What do you want? How many more bullshit tasks do I have to do before I can see Sadie? How many more before you let her go?"
The doors flung open. Demencia and Flug walked in with a shackled hero, a missing sidekick in orange and yellow who Melanie did not recognize.
"You have to slay a hero," Black Hat explained maliciously.
Melanie's eyes dilated in terror, and she felt her heart skip a beat.
"What?" Melanie asked, practically at a whisper. "Th-that is my first task?"
"I told you," Black Hat said coldly. "You have to prove yourself."
"Try not to make a mess of it!" Demencia interjected. "He's still my breakfast."
"B-but, but, but I-I've never..." Melanie stammered out in a panic, taking a step backward. "I don't know how to..."
Flug sighed and said, "I know, Melanie. The first time is never easy, but…"
"It will never be easy!" Melanie snapped taking a few more steps back. "I…I can't…I can't do this!"
"Hurry up!" Demencia shouted impatiently. "I'm getting hungry! Do I eat him or you?!"
"You are not eating my granddaughter!" snapped Lord Reaper.
"Would all of you SHUT UP?!" Black Hat screamed, morphing into a more terrifying form for a moment before resuming his normal form. "Now, Melanie. What is it going to be?"
"I…I don't know…" Melanie stammered out, uncomfortably holding her arms. "I can't just…I don't know how to…"
"Perhaps with the same fire you tried to strike me with," Black Hat suggested. "Or maybe you'd like your scythe to do it?"
Melanie suddenly got an idea.
"Yes, I want my scythe," Melanie said. "Give me my scythe please."
"Understand if we do hand it over, it should only be used to slaughter him," Black Hat explained. "If you try anything else, your friend won't be so fortunate."
Melanie nodded solemnly.
Black Hat glanced at Lord Reaper for his opinion.
Lord Reaper looked at Melanie suspiciously and understandingly and offered, "Melanie, you've never used your scythe on a live victim. You wouldn't know what you were doing. Do you mind if I do it for her, Black Hat? I can reanimate the corpse and she could slay that instead. What do you say?"
"No, this is a test for Melanie," Black Hat said sternly. "You're making this too easy for her, Reaper. If you do this for her, it won't prove anything."
Lord Reaper visibly hesitated for a moment.
Then Lord Reaper stepped aside, summoned Melanie's scythe and said, "Alright, but may I talk her through this?"
"Fine. Just make sure she does it," Black Hat said before making eye contact with Melanie, lifting his hand, and gesturing to the screen. "Or else."
"We understand, Black Hat," Lord Reaper said annoyedly. "You don't have to keep making threats."
"You have a couple of minutes," Black Hat said. "Otherwise, Demencia and Dr. Flug will take it into his hands."
Lord Reaper summoned Melanie's scythe and handed it to her.
"Follow my lead, Melanie," Lord Reaper said.
Lord Reaper changed into his full reaper outfit. He wore black pants, black boots, and his black flowing cloak while grasping his much larger scythe.
Flug and Demencia dropped the sidekick onto the floor and stepped back.
The man looked absolutely pitiful and turned his gaze to the floor to hide his fear and his tears. He started humming to himself to calm down.
Melanie recognized the song that he was humming. It was "Don't Fear the Reaper." It was more than enough to break her heart.
Lord Reaper stepped ahead of Melanie to the shaking victim ahead.
It was then that Melanie made her move. First, she lifted her hand and lifted the soul of the sidekick out before her grandfather had time to react. Then, Melanie used her scythe to open a rift to Heaven.
Unfortunately, before Melanie could do anything else, Flug pressed the button on his remote and shocked her until she fell to the ground.
"Por favor…Perdóname…" Melanie said quietly to the poor soul. "Forgive me…I can't do anything else."
Black Hat glared at Melanie and suggested, "Maybe we should try this again."
"I removed his soul. I killed him. Didn't I?" Melanie cried from the floor. "You never said it had to hurt or be permanent!"
Black Hat looked at Flug and he pressed down on the button again.
"I'll make sure that same mistake won't happen next time," Black Hat said.
Lord Reaper looked away as Melanie writhed on the floor. She gestured her head towards the portal. The sidekick's ghost hovered in place for a moment. He tried to dive for his body, but Demencia jumped on top of it and growled at him.
The soul looked back at Melanie writhing on the floor.
"Go…please…" Melanie muttered between gasps of pain. "This is…all…I can…do!"
"Thank you," the spirit muttered before he flew into the portal to heaven.
Other spirits tried to follow him as everyone watched Melanie writhe on the floor, but the spirits in the room found themselves unable to pass. They were bound to Black Hat, and he wouldn't give them away so easily.
Lord Reaper shut the portal to heaven causing the spirits to sadly disperse.
Melanie continued shaking uncontrollably on the floor while Flug looked at Black Hat for the cue to stop.
Finally, Black Hat nodded his head and Flug took his finger off the button.
"Okay," Flug said nonchalantly. "Perhaps we can try this again another time."
"Are you alright, Melanie?" asked Lord Reaper.
The reaper reached out his hand to help her to her feet, but Melanie slapped it away.
At that action, Flug pressed his thumb down on the button again.
Melanie fell over on the ground, crying out in pain once again.
Lord Reaper noticed that Melanie was beginning to lose consciousness and yelled, "STOP THIS NOW!"
When Flug didn't stop fast enough, Lord Reaper choked him telekinetically until he dropped the remote on the floor.
From the floor, Melanie weakly pleaded, "Papi, stop it! Don't hurt Flug!"
Everyone looked at the floor in shock especially Flug.
Lord Reaper broke the silence with a scoff and asked, "After what he did? Black Hat did not order him to do it again! He should have known better!"
Demencia burst out in laughter, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You seriously feel bad for the nerd?! You're pathetic!"
"Incomprehensible, more like it," Lord Reaper said, dropping Flug to the floor. "You don't show compassion to those who hurt you, Melanie."
"He doesn't know why he hurts me," Melanie argued. "He's just as lost as Demencia!"
Demencia scoffed loudly and said, "The only thing I'm lost in is my love for my amorcito!"
"Mon Dieu, you have issues," Melanie retorted.
"You're just jealous…" Demencia argued back.
The two bickered back and forth like that for a moment.
Meanwhile, Flug sat there speechless while Black Hat glared at him harshly from across the room.
Flug gulped in fear as Black Hat screamed, "SILENCE!"
Lord Reaper immediately scooped Melanie up into his arms. Melanie attempted to speak, but Lord Reaper gave her a pointed look that told her to be silent.
"What should we do about this, jefecito?" Flug asked, getting to his feet. "Melanie has technically 'killed' the hero, but she didn't do so in the manner you intended."
Black Hat glared at Melanie and said, "Go see your little friend. But try another stunt like that and she will suffer more."
Melanie looked back at the body lying on the floor. Despite whatever her intention was, the sidekick was now dead. Melanie began hyperventilating and shedding tears.
Lord Reaper took Melanie's bag off her back, held her close, and said, "Come along, Melanie. "I'll heal you and we can go visit Sadie while Doctor Flug treats her injuries. Then, you'll feel all better. You'll see."
Suddenly, Demencia hopped on top of the dead body and began devouring it.
Melanie couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was so disgusted she wretched until she turned over and threw up on the floor.
Black Hat smiled amused by her sorrow while not acknowledging Demencia eating the body.
"It's no fun when they're already dead," Demencia lamented between bites.
"And yet you still eat it regardless," Flug said with an eye roll.
"Well, I'm not going to turn down free food," Demencia retorted.
"This is normal for you?!" Melanie asked incredulously before starting to wretch again.
Lord Reaper turned away and said, "Oh, dear. Looks like I need to clean you up. We'll be down to visit Sadie in a bit, Flug."
Lord Reaper held his cloak up. Then it magically whooshed around him until he and Melanie teleported away.
As soon as the pair were gone, Flug walked over to Black Hat and asked, "Do you think we have enough footage to send to the Nun-jas, jefe?"
"Not yet," Black Hat replied.
"Well then, what should I film next, sir?" Flug asked. "For the next portion, sir, I was thinking we'd focus on Sadie and her interaction with Melanie afterwards. I was going to talk to Sadie to get some interview footage since I haven't had the chance to interrogate her yet. She has injuries I need to treat anyway. But before I do, is there anything you'd like me to ask?"
"Not particularly," Black Hat said with a shrug. "Ask her whatever you want, but don't harm her if she resists. I expect that she will. That Sadie is probably as stubborn as her friend if not more so."
"I understand, sir," Flug said with an affirming nod. "They probably all are. But I still think that filming her being interrogated will have an effect. Seeing one of their fellow Nun-jas in our custody should…"
"No, it won't!" Black Hat interrupted with a shriek. "The Nun-jas aren't easily broken, like other pathetic heroes. They are defiant even if it means death. You need to understand that, or we won't make any progress. If we could, that would really send a message, but I won't have you risk potentially killing off our only bargaining chip with the Nun-jas to do that. Do you understand?"
Flug gulped and said, "Yes, jefe."
"Proceed with the shapeshifter for the time being," Black Hat ordered. "You should have time since it seems Lord Reaper is coddling his granddaughter. Afterwards, you need to prepare Melanie. I have another goal for her by the end of the day."
"And what is your goal for Melanie this time, sir?" asked Flug. "Would you like for her to kill someone properly this time?"
"I want her to cause destruction somewhere on the island," Black Hat explained. "I haven't decided on a location yet."
"That sounds fun!" Demencia said, hopping up from the floor and licking her fingers, having finished her meal.
"Indeed," Black Hat replied. "Flug, you and Demencia shall prepare Melanie for destruction in her lessons today after you are done interviewing Sadie and seeing to her injuries. I'll see you for lunch. I have other business to attend to."
"Yes, sir," Flug said with a salute.
"Oh, and one more thing," Black Hat said. "Clean up this disgusting mess."
Flug looked around the office at the vomit and the bits of corpse and bone left over from Demencia's feast, sighed deeply, and said, "Yes, jefecito."
Demencia laughed at Flug's misery, and she and Black Hat left the room.