Chapter 142: How The Villain Stole Christmas (1/2)
Scarlett stared blankly at the empty TV. She couldn't sleep taking the excuse to keep watch for the remains of the evening. Her mind, of course, was far too preoccupied on the current events and what must happen next. She jumped at Alton's snoring which she couldn't help but chuckle at. It was the small things which would distract her for a short moment just to see Alton finally getting some rest. She kneeled down, stroking his hair sighing.
”He looks adorable, no?” Scarlett jumped up as Riley sat on the balcony spinning around a small knife. ”Don't look so surprised. We knew this would happen.”
Scarlett stared her sister down smirking. ”Then you know you're an idiot. All I have to do is wake up Alton and Zinnia, and now it's three against one.”
”You could do that. But you won't.” She exclaimed. ”We haven't had a conversation in a little while it's almost Christmas a time to spend with family.”
”What do you want?” Scarlett muttered.
Riley smiled, walking in leaning on the back of the sofa, running her fingers over Alton's chest. ”When are you going to come home? We miss you, Scarlett. Stop wasting your time with streaming. You are so much better than this. We were going to save the world Scarlett, but you had to betray me.”
”You've been brainwashed.”
”How long are you going to keep up this act for?” She cackled, throwing the knife into her other hand. She made it float in her hand, moving it towards Alton's neck. ”I could kill Alton right now. Slit his throat and end it all. What do you think?”
Scarlett remained silent watching the knife. A small amount of time passed as Riley flipped the knife back, pulling it back. ”Like I was going to. I love him. Would you be angry if I stole him from you?”
”Stop.”
Riley looked concerned as he jumped over the sofa hugging her sister. ”Shh, shh. We don't want to ruin the performance. Do you think they know? Suspect anything? Or are you tricking yourself hmm? No matter, I'll leave you in peace. It was nice to see you, Sister. I'll see you at the Crystal Night Ball.”
Riley stepped back teleporting away, leaving a speechless Scarlett. She bit her lip, lowering her head staring at the knife. ”I won't follow your plan any longer.”
****
Team Rhapsody had met at the usual hideout. They hadn't been at the karaoke bar since the V.I.R.A.L League, and it showed. Not a single song had played since their meetup with Alton and Zinnia spaced out with Scarlett on Alton's side. Gale and Emil were still clueless into the conflict. ”The Crystal Night Ball? Does the Syndicate family just hate Christmas or something?” Gale pestered. ”So, are we going to cancel the event?”
”It might be the best thing to do. We could be putting dozens of people in danger.”
”I disagree,” Scarlett stated standing up overlooking the list of places Syndicate are going to hit. ”I say we let it go on. Flush out the Syndicate family and put an end to all of this.”
”It might work. Cancelling this ball puts us back at square one. This is the first time we know what the family is trying to accomplish. We can beat them at their own gain. Have streamers ready to strike when the time comes.” Emil exclaimed. We just need bait.”
Zinnia shook her head, not happy by this. ”I'm not one to put innocent lives at risk. Besides this Council of Syndicate already are well aware we know of their plan. They'd easily expect a trap.”
”Alton you need to back me up on this. We can take down the family in one night.”
”Like you did last night?” Zinnia whispered.
Scarlett glared at her which even threw off Zinnia. Turning back to Alton, she pleaded. ”Alton…”
Alton sighed, rubbing his eyes. ”None of this makes any sense. These attacks the family has thrown forward are so random and out of character. Some make sense like The Phantom streamer and us. They claim to hate V.I.R.A.L, yet they attack the Cult of Vanguard and kill Rodger. He could have easily destroyed V.I.R.A.L or taken us down yet Syndicate took him down helping us in the long run. Why would they do that?”
”Maybe Rodger was a threat to them. He was a puppet for Bargaining anyone like that is a threat to anyone.” Emil suggested.
Alton glanced at Zinnia, who looked away. ”Perhaps. But here's when another problem arises. You encounter Syndicate Emil, and she happily kills a member of Harmony and leaves two more in critical condition. Yet, she lets you live without an issue. I'm attacked too, and Syndicate could have killed me, yet they also let me live. But now they wish to kidnap me and make me help them.”
”What are you trying to say?” Scarlett muttered.
”Two different plans constantly being tugged and pulled back and forth. Takedown V.I.R.A.L or on the broader point it almost seems like they try to help us at some points. I'm starting to suspect more than one person is calling the shots. I thought Riley was the Demon Mask the entire time. It matches up, but now I believe there to be more than one.”
”If that's true this is just getting more annoying.” Emil groaned. ”How can you be so sure?”
”This is coming out of the left field. But when Riley attacked me a few days back, her whole fighting stance and personality was different from whoever I was fighting on the beach a few months back. They were calmer and more collected. Like they were merely toying with me.”
”Now that you mention it that was the same for me. Riley doesn't match that description.”