Three pairs of eyes looked straight with deviouse and seriousness. Each represents a different story.
Chaos, Tyranny, and Contraption.
Tension and horror spread around like a toxin in the atmosphere as it was getting harder to breathe.
"We're doomed, aren't we?", Rosa mumbles, coating with fear.
"Yeah". Orette took a deep breath. "We're doomed".
Very slowly, the shadow figures stepped out into the light to show who they really are.
A woman and two men. All tall with a different chrisma. To normal people, they would stand out like a sore thumb, and anyone could tell that they were not ordinary.
Orette quickly scanned the people in front of her. The woman wearing a hijab, one man in a high-class suit and the other was staring down at her with glowing blue eyes.
She noticed that Rosa was beginning to lose her cool. The fear and horror instantly changed into anger, fury and determination.
Orette sighed, knowing it was pointless when things had come to this. She grabbed Rosa's hand and shouted, "WE SURRENDER!".
Rosa hesitantly gazes at Orette, who was just staring straight back at Ivan. "Are you Insane?", Rosa whispers to Orette, "What the hell are you doing?".
"They have him with them", Orette mutters back. "Right now, our best option is to admit defeat", Orette switches her gaze to Rosa. "We're exhausted. Let's just end this for now".
Rosa clenches her fist tight and grinds her teeth. She knew Kace was important right now and that she was no match for what's in front of her.
After taking a deep breath, she released Orette's clenched hand.
"We...we", she looks back at Orette and then at Ivan. "We surrender".
Defeat wasn't a word in Rosabella's dictionary, but by now she realised it was hidden deep inside her and she was just too afraid to admit it.
Ivan, pulling a dramatic pause, starts to move towards the girls. His cane hits the ground again and again, until it stops in front of a small girl who we still believe was in her uniform.
"Lorenzo", Ivan commanded without breaking eye contact, "Take Miss Skylar to her cousin; she would very much appreciate his company. Isn't that right?".
Rosa fumed with rage. Her nails began to tear her skin, and she could feel blood pouring in her palms. "Yes", she mutters, but doesn't hide her anger.
Lorenzo comes closer and offers his hand. Rosa takes it with hesitation, and within a second, they are gone.
Orette was now alone with Ivan and Morticia. Despite the cruel atmosphere, she gave Morticia a small wave, to which Morticia waved her back.
"Nice to see you, Miss. You aged like fine wine". Orette tries to at least look good in front of her.
"Why, thank you, Miss Jambari. You seemed to have grown a bit", Mortica replies with a smile. "But you are still as small as ever".
"Miss Jambari!" Orette steps up her game, "Please, that's too formal. You can call me Orette, and as a matter about my height it's genetic".
Orette then stares into the eyes of the man who imprisoned her in the mirror and left her for weeks.
With a smug look on her face, she approached the topic very lightly.
"How did it make you feel when you first saw me?" she asked as she tilted her head. "Knowing an insane man yourself, doctor, I figured you would've wanted to kill me on the spot".
Forget about taking thislightly, Orette was straight pushing into the matter. In fact, she had already bet in her mind that Ivan would strike her and kill her on the spot.
But Morticia was here to stop him.
"So the rumours that you changed completely were true", Ivan said, but then muttered, "Who would've thought?".
Orette saw his irritated frown deepen more and more. "Yeah, it's a sudden development", Orette diverted her gaze from him, "Oh well, it sure is stupid and funny at the same time".
"I don't see anything to laugh at", Ivan dragged.
"Oh! You should", Orette clapped at the sudden excitement, "I mean, just two weeks ago, you did the most unforgivable".
Ivan burst all of a sudden, "I did what I had to do, do you think I wanted this? If it weren't for the syrium, I wouldn't pay you any mind".
"Iva_", Mortica tried to intervene at once; she knew this was too much, he was slowly losing his cool.
Unfortunately, she didn't have the chance. Ivan proudly showed his blue eyes glowing in the moist air.
"You could've died if my team hadn't done what they were told, and yet you knew too! Didn't you".
His voice is now pitched down to heartless and cold. The grip on his cane tightened by the second until Orette whispered.
"So this is about the ginger and blonde". (She refers to Cora and Zion in chapter 1). "Seriously", she chuckled at the sudden thought, "I thought you were better than this".
"What are you talking about?" Ivan questioned immediately.
Too bad for him, Orette kept snickering in his face until she stopped after glancing at Morticia.
Ivan tried to comprehend where Orette was attempting to drag this conversation.
"You thought you could break me", she meets his gaze again.
"Pull me down to the bottom pits". Her eyes started to illuminate blue.
"Chained me and locked me in the dark abyss", she began to walk towards him.
"Well, dear doctor", she stopped just in front of him, arms open wide. "Aren't you going to take responsibility for your actions?".
"What?" Ivan asked with his one eyebrow raised up.
Orette glanced at him as if she were explaining a child; to her, Ivan was a child.
"Just now, you showed a glimpse of affection for your colleagues, did you not?".
"What are you trying to get at?" Ivan asked with more determination.
"Given that you so hated me for hurting them, and even brought up the matter from before, it seems you don't know what I'm talking about".
"Exactly, I have no idea what you are saying". That was a lie. Cold sweat poured down Ivan's neck, dampening his collar and down to his lab coat.
"But, something tells me that you do know what I'm talking about, and judging by your age, that memory must be fresh and vivid, right?".
Ivan stared down at her, fist clenched, and a vein popped out. Morticia can see he was trembling, searching for a way to make Orette stop.
It wasn't wise to wander into someone else's thoughts and make sure the guilt never leaves him.
Mortica knows that Ivan's biggest guilt was Orette. He was the sole reason she became who she is, and he knows it, too.
She can't deny it. Ivan can't deny it, and Orette would surely not dare to deny the fact that all this was their fault. No one should be blamed for this mess except them.
"Cmon now, doctor", Orette expressed her emotions with a huge yet innocent smile. "Aren't you going to hate yourself for hurting me? I mean, I was also one of your colleagues".