The scissors broke.

The scissors broke.

It all happened almost too quickly for Cobra to properly process. One moment, the crab-man was upon Percy, who screamed for his life, and the next, he was holding two cracked blades, flabbergasted. Meanwhile, Percy cradled the strings, hunched over and shaking.

Not from fear. No, that was all too clear now.

Percy laughed at them.

Cancer backed away, in a daze. "B-But my blades. They can cut through just about anything! They wouldn't bend to some, some…"

"Some thread?" Percy asked, standing straight up again. His mouth was awash in the same uncomfortable grin from before. The panicked look was nowhere to be seen. "Normal thread, perhaps. But this isn't normal thread. It never was. And now that I have full control over it…" He lovingly placed it against his cheek, his affection bordering on the disturbed. "No one will ever be able to take them from me…not unless I were to give them up myself. Which, as you can imagine, isn't going to happen anytime soon."

Cobra ground his teeth. He should have suspected that. The only thing more disturbing than what just occurred was that the panic had felt so real. Had any of it been real, or was it merely a fabrication for Cobra and Lucy's deception? With the strings, it was hard to tell. To see the switch in tone done so seamlessly gave Cobra emotional whiplash.

Right now he put aside the oddity of Percy's behavior–that man would probably never make sense to him–and took a more aggressive stance. Now that the first plan had failed, they would need to move on to the next one.

And that…would require some footwork.

He glanced towards Lucy, who had taken out another key during Cancer's attack and now hid it behind her back. Her furrowed brow might have indicated displeasure, but he knew she was actually focused on summoning another spirit, as subtly as she could.

Before he could move, however, Percy stepped forward. "You know, I offered before and you refused me, but I think if you were to sample the power I have, you would be much more eager to be on my side." He idly spun the spool, admiring the threads. "I haven't yet done this to anyone without touching them, so my apologies if I miss."

His eyes remained trained on Cobra, his smile not as intense yet still there, still sickening. Cobra gritted his teeth at the thought of having to dodge…then his mind noted the hazy look in Percy's eyes. Like he wasn't really looking at Cobra. That was when he realized.

He was not the first target.

Cobra's blood spiked as he realized where Percy would strike first. Whatever it was, he knew he didn't want Lucy to take it. So without as much of a second thought, he dove right in front of her, intending to activate his claws in an attempt to slice away whatever was coming to them.

Then, an enormous crash was heard just from the room to the side, in Mirajane's direction, and the floor wavered, causing Cobra to halt any defensive plans to keep from falling to the floor.

In the seconds of distraction, a faint buzzing sound suddenly rang in his ears, like a tiny gnat trying to make its home in his head. A second later, something connected to him, like the faintest tap on his right shoulder. He was able to barely see a thin black thread, strung from the spool to him.

Then, without warning, a feeling of pure hatred erupted, causing him to screech in rage.