After watching all the re-education movies, Melanie was allowed to eat lunch with Sadie in her cell room.
The girls ate hotdogs and drank water and soda with 505 and Flug at a folding table with folding chairs.
Melanie contemplated life with Sadie as the meal settled down.
Looking around, the room was so clean they couldn't even tell that the hat-botlers had partied with them the night before.
So much had happened since then, Melanie couldn't believe it hadn't even been 24 hours. All the events rushed over her and boggled her mind. She didn't know what to make of them.
Fortunately, the downtime with Sadie was doing Melanie some good.
Sadie and 505 had watched the press conference together and were sympathetic ears to Melanie's plight. It helped her to get her feelings off her chest.
For his part, Flug remained mostly silent so the trio of friends could talk. He figured he could do that much.
So, the lunch ended with everyone feeling slightly better.
Then suddenly, the shadows of everyone departed from their persons. Warping around the room, they soon merged into a figure, now Black Hat.
Melanie sighed in annoyance and misery. Sadie scooted her chair closer to Melanie's side. 505 and Flug cowered in place.
Black Hat instantly turned to Flug, "Doctor, where is Demencia?"
"I'm not sure, Jefe..." Flug replied.
"I'm right here, mi amor!" Demencia squealed as she climbed in from the ceiling and hopped onto the floor.
"Demencia, you'll be part of a little exercise," explained Black Hat.
"Oh, what will I be doing?" Demencia asked excitedly.
Melanie looked down at her empty plate, vainly hoping that Black Hat wanted nothing to do with her for the moment.
Unfortunately, Black Hat then pointed at Melanie, "Attack."
"Wait, what?!" Melanie asked, screaming at Demencia lunging at her.
Before Melanie thought to react, Sadie shapeshifted into a wolf, lunged at Demencia in her wolf form, and ripped open her stitches with her sharp teeth.
"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Sadie screamed telepathically.
Demencia rolled her eyes and quipped, "I've fought worse."
Suddenly, Sadie was lifted into the air away from Demencia.
Black Hat, holding a casual hand raised, told the wolf girl, "I did not ask for you to be part of this. Stay out of this."
In a second, Sadie was teleported back into her cell and back into her human form.
Meanwhile, Demencia turned her attention to Melanie and lunged for her, ignoring the blood dripping from her arm.
Melanie screamed, summoned her scythe, and hopped out of the way. Demencia then crashed into the table where Flug and 505 barely scrambled to get out of the way.
"What are you doing?!" Melanie yelled at Black Hat.
"Giving you a test with someone who I know will bounce back up," answered Black Hat. "Again and again and again!"
"Not if I can...HEY!" Melanie yelled as she dodged Demencia hopping towards her.
"Go, Melanie!" Sadie cried from her cell. "Show her what a Nunja's got!"
Melanie smiled, summoned her Nunja outfit, and got to work.
First, Melanie sliced a hole in their dimension with her scythe, revealing one with heavenly light.
Then while Demencia was blinded, Melanie phased into Sadie's cell.
Next, Melanie shut the hole and Demencia attacked the outside of the cage.
"Do you know what to do?" Sadie asked.
"I think so, but I've never done it on a target this fast," Melanie replied.
Without explaining what she meant, Melanie shut her eyes and felt for the soul.
When she thought she felt it, Melanie reached out her hand and telekinetically grabbed onto Demencia.
Melanie then opened her eyes, twisted her hand, and pulled Demencia's soul out of her body. The lizard woman's body fell lifeless to the ground while her soul hovered around in a confused state.
"HOLY SCIENCE!" exclaimed Flug.
"Woah," said Demencia's soul. "I feel really light all of a sudden."
Black Hat evaluated his apprentice's performance, "Hmmmm…not awful."
The demon grabbed onto the incorporeal form of Demencia by the neck before casually throwing her soul back into her body.
Melanie smiled proudly as she grabbed Sadie's hand, phased her and friend out of the cell, and grabbed picked her bag off the table.
"Demencia are you alright?" Flug ran over, lifting Demencia up by her torso.
Melanie dissolved back into her normal clothes and said, "She'll feel disoriented for a few minutes, but she should be okay. You might want to get her stitches checked out though."
"I assess your performance highly," Flug said, getting Demencia to her feet. "What do you think, Jefe?"
"Heal the arm, doctor. I'm tired of staring at such weakness," Black Hat ordered before looking back at Melanie. "As for Melanie, it was progress. Tell me, dear. Did it feel good?"
"Yes, I love being able to fight back against anyone who attacks me," Melanie replied.
"Anyone you hate, as you repeatedly state," Black Hat corrected, walking confidently behind her. "And I bet you feel a rush every time you strike those you hate."
"I feel a rush from fighting, not from destroying," Melanie said defensively as she put on her bag. "There are very few beings I actually hate."
"So, you don't deny that you do hate," Black Hat said, turning her around to face him. "I knew it. I do relish how it fuels your anger and a lot of your actions. And I hate how you insist you're a hero."
Melanie was visibly steamed. Fire ran up her arm as Black Hat spoke.
"Melanie…" Sadie said, trying to get her attention.
Unfortunately, Melanie didn't notice.
"You know why I'm angry, Black Hat?" Melanie asked as the flames rose from her to her surroundings and Flug grabbed a fire extinguisher to try to stop them.
"Do tell, dear," Black Hat leaned in with a very large grin.
"I told you before," Melanie began angrily. "It's because of you! Maybe you aren't the devil, but you inspired him and everyone else when you rebelled against God! You brought evil and suffering upon the universe and everyone you could get your hands on! Then when you got tired of dominating overtly, you decided to do it covertly which is worse. You got people like my family involved in your crap and made sure that none of us could ever be free. Then when I decided I wanted something good for myself, you got my family to drag me in! And now because of your crappy greed, you are taking away whatever good I could have in my life! Nothing is ever enough for you! I hate you! You cause nothing but pain for everyone!"
"I'm glad. Look around, my dear, and see what destruction you're causing just by being angry," Black said, placing a hand on her shoulder and showing her.
"Oh, shit," Melanie said fearfully. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Sadie, Sadie, where are you?"
"Up here!" Sadie cried. "It's okay, Melanie. Just calm down and focus on extinguishing the fire!"
"I don't know how! Crap! We have to get out of here!" Melanie yelled.
"I can't come down with all the flames," Sadie replied. "Look for a fire alarm! You're fireproof! You can do it!"
While 505 shivered next to him, Flug checked his watch and pressed a few buttons, "Don't worry! I'll get the sprinklers on! It won't take long!"
"Please hurry!" Sadie cried.
Black Hat chuckled with his monocle glowing a shade of red. The flames rose in height, nipping at Sadie.
"Leave her alone!" Melanie shrieked, jumping on the roof of the cell to protect Sadie and summoning her wings. "I'm going to phase us through to the floor above us! Hold on!"
Black Hat laughed triumphantly. The flames were now shooting up towards them.
"Melanie!" Sadie yelled fearfully.
Melanie focused, held on to Sadie, flew upwards, and phased through the ceiling to the floor above them.
"There, we're…Sadie!" Melanie yelled in a panic at seeing her friend coughing. "Sadie! Oh, God. Don't worry! We're getting out of here!"
Melanie summoned her scythe under them and started flying for the elevator shaft.
Melanie had phased them through the elevator shaft and reached the opening on the main floor.
Unfortunately, much to their surprise, on the other side of the opening was Black Hat himself, holding a cane in one hand.
"Your powers grow," the demon said. "This has been a beneficial training session."
"Training session?" Melanie asked in disbelief. "What the hell are you on about? We have to help Sadie!"
Black Hat scoffed at the girl struggling to breathe, "You should have left her to perish."
"Forget you!" Melanie said phasing through the wall around Black Hat to get around him. "I'm helping Sadie!"
"Hmmm?" Black Hat hummed, raising an eyebrow.
"Grand-uncle or not, you can help me or stay out of my way!" Melanie said before turning and flying down the hallway to find the front door.
That was when the house began to shift. The short hallway stretched long, and their surroundings began to drastically change.
The hallway morphed and contorted. Various distorted faces and smiles with Black Hat's familiar blue teeth covered the stretched-out walls.
Black Hat's laughs rang out all around Melanie. They taunted her as she struggled to keep it together amidst the shifting reality around her.
Melanie pressed forward on her scythe fearfully while Sadie clung onto her coughing, just as scared if not more.
"What is happening?" Sadie asked between coughs.
"I don't know," Melanie said. "I'm gonna phase through it! Hold on."
Melanie phased through a wall hoping to get outside. She shut her eyes and prayed that, when she opened them, she would see something relieving.
Instead of the outside, the girls found a small room with Black Hat in it.
The room was dark with a dim green light. The crackle of a fire rattled around the space. There were black chairs in front of the room's fireplace, dark furniture around the room along the walls, trinkets on the furniture, and paintings of Black Hat's image. The monster himself was standing by the fireplace, picking at it with a poker.
"Lungs are starting to heal," Sadie said, breathing deeply before she looked up. "What the feck?"
Melanie tried to phase out of the room, but her power stopped working. She couldn't phase and she didn't see a way out.
Melanie landed on the ground, summoned her wings, wrapped them around herself and Sadie, and held her scythe in front of her while waiting for Black Hat to act.
"The fear passing through was fun. Wouldn't you agree?" asked Black Hat.
The demon continued to tend to the flame. Soon the poker heated up to a white-hot state.
"No," Melanie said, standing in front of Sadie to put herself between the two of them.
"I thought you would've liked some fun, from all your incessant whining," Black Hat quipped.
"It's only fun when everyone is enjoying it," Melanie fired back. "It hurt Sadie. That's not fun for me, granduncle."
Black Hat waved the burning poker in the air, facing her, "Then perhaps I should remove her from the equation."
"NO!" Melanie shrieked. "I won't let you hurt Sadie!"
Black Hat scoffed, "I'm sure you'd try. I don't imagine keeping her here much longer anyway."
"Why?" Melanie asked, backing up. "What are you going to do to her? Will you release her?"
"I figure we ransom her off or give her to a villain who pays enough," Black Hat explained much to Melanie's chagrin. "But if she becomes too much trouble, I'll kill her. Or send her off to my Institute. With the right brainwashing, she could make a good villain."
Melanie and Sadie breathed in sharply and fearfully.
Suddenly, in a flash of motion, an old-fashioned Victorian styled chair scooped up Sadie. Then the ends of the armrests formed claws that latched onto Sadie's wrists with vice grips.
"Oy! Melanie!" Sadie yelled, getting Melanie's attention.
Melanie turned around in horror to see the chair carrying her friend around the room.
"What are you doing?!" Melanie yelled at Black Hat while she grabbed Sadie's arm and unsuccessfully tried to phase her out.
Melanie felt Black Hat's claws wrap around her wrist and pull her away. She looked up to see him lead her over to two black and red chairs in front of the fireplace.
"Have a seat," Black Hat said, letting her go next to a chair. "You wouldn't want to make trouble for your friend now. Would you?"
Melanie looked back at Sadie, gave Black Hat a nasty glare, angrily sat down, and snarled, "What do you want?"
"For starters, be rid of the scythe, young woman," Black Hat ordered.
Melanie looked at her scythe, looked back at Black Hat uncertainly, and hesitated for a moment before she reluctantly dissolved her scythe.
"That's a good girl," Black Hat mockingly praised. "Not so hard to listen. Is it?"
Melanie angrily gripped the arms of her chair and didn't say a word. She glanced back at Sadie, gave Black Hat a nasty glare, and then looked at the fire in the fireplace.
Black Hat held his hands behind his back, also looked into the fire, and asked tauntingly, "How would you be settling into the manor?"
"You mean since last night?" Melanie asked.
"That is when I told you that this is your home now. Is it not?" Black Hat asked, looking back at her.
"Yes," Melanie replied, looking down towards the floor. "This place still doesn't feel like home. It feels closer to a giant cage. It has since my parents first brought me here."
"I wonder if they'll ever come back," the demon snickered.
"You tell me," Melanie retorted, looking back at him. "You're the one who decides when they're allowed to see me. Aren't you?"
Suddenly appearing behind her, Black Hat dragged his claws on Melanie's chair causing her to practically jump.
"For the rest of the day, I just need you to keep to yourself," he ordered. "I have a special surprise for you for dinner tonight."
Melanie rolled her eyes, "I can't wait. What do you mean by keep to myself? When you say surprise, it's usually something bad."
"I think you might like this one," said Black Hat. "I mean you should stay in your room, until I say otherwise."
"And what about Sadie?" Melanie asked.
"I'll leave that to the doctor," Black Hat said dismissively.
Melanie glanced back again and saw that Sadie was gone.
"Sadie!" Melanie yelled, jumping to her feet and running to the spot where Sadie was. "Sadie! Where are you?! What did you do with her?!"
"I removed her to her cell where she will now be under examination," answered Black Hat. "The doctor is with her now."
Melanie turned around to face him and yelled, "You mean the one that was just on fire?!"
"You saw that as if I couldn't have been rid of that prior," Black Hat waved off. "It was very easy."
"Be that as it may, I want to see Sadie," Melanie said, feeling the walls around her to find an exit.
"So eager to leave?" asked Black Hat gently as he took Melanie's hand and led her back to her chair.
"You mean, you want to keep talking?" Melanie asked as she reluctantly sat back in her chair. "I'm surprised you're even taking time out of your day for me."
"Yes, you should feel very honored," Black Hat said, walking over to the other side of the fireplace. "It's not every day that I take time to talk to a wretched 'hero'."
"Well, I'm glad you still see me as such," Melanie said with a smile.
"And even with the ongoing war between the heroes and villains, I consider you a special project," Black Hat explained.
Black Hat summoned a small cart with a tray on top of it. On top of the tray, there were two dishes with
two cups of what looked like tea.
Black Hat took one for himself, sipping it down, not paying attention to her or teacup.
Melanie took the other cup of tea and politely took a sip before setting it down on the stand and sitting by the fire, waiting for whatever the next topic of conversation would be and counting the minutes until she could leave her grand-uncle's side.
Feeling slightly tired suddenly, the young girl leaned on her hand and watched the fire.
"Sweet nightmares…" were the last words she heard before everything went dark.
Melanie instantly fell asleep in her chair.
After he finished his tea, Black Hat picked up Melanie and her bag. He then teleported out of the room and began carrying her down the hall.
"Jefe!" Flug called out, running down the hall to catch up with the demon carrying his grandniece. "Melanie? Is she…?"
"Asleep," Black Hat pushed the girl into Flug's arms. "Take the whelp to her room."
"Yes, jefe," Flug said, struggling to hold up Melanie and her bag as 505 walked up behind him. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"
"Make sure Melanie stays in her room until I say otherwise," Black Hat ordered. "And make sure that Demencia doesn't attack Lucy when she arrives."
"So, Lucy really is coming here," Flug said, just barely able to balance the weight of Melanie and her purse in his arms. "I'll get the defenses ready in case she decides to do anything stupid."
"You'd better," Black Hat jabbed.
"And, uh, Lord Black Hat, sir?" asked Flug. "How did the bonding with Melanie go?"
"As expected," Black Hat said briefly. "Do not make any mistake, doctor. She will not be so quick to drop what she thinks she knows."
"Melanie or Kasumi?" asked Flug, looking down at the girl in his arms.
"Both," answered Black Hat.
"I'm preparing a similar cell for Kasumi as we have for Sadie as we speak in case we need it," Flug announced. "That way they'll both be contained."
"If we are so lucky, it'll work. If it doesn't, you will not be so lucky, doctor," warned Black Hat.
Flug gulped and almost dropped Melanie and her purse, but 505 caught her and the bag and held both in his arms.
"Thanks, Fluffy," Flug said.
505 nodded.
"And one more thing," Black Hat said, summoning the stuffed axolotl and telekinetically moving the toy into Melanie's arms.
Flug turned back to Black Hat, "Yes, jefe?!"
"Catalogue the shapeshifter and be sure to send a bid to the Nunjas, her family, and any villain out there!" Black Hat ordered, smiling wickedly.
Flug paused, "You mean, as in to sell her?"
"Obviously!" Black Hat said, rolling his eye annoyedly. "Now, BE GONE!"
The loud yelling prompted 505 to take off with Melanie towards her room.
A hole opened in the floor under Flug. The scientist screamed as he fell through the interdimensional hole into his computer room.
Black Hat stood there momentarily and savored the sound of Flug's screams before he shut the hole and walked away.