Visions of Greed

Chapter 7: Sealed By Fate

 Notes: Here's Chapter 7! Part of this Chapter was inspired by the song "Run and Escape" by Red.  There's also a reference to an infamous scene from Miraculous Ladybug in this chapter. Thanks for reading!

Recommended Songs: Unstoppable- Red, Bringing It Down- Starset, Run And Escape- Red, Descent- Red

Before Once-ler could attempt to answer his question, Greed-ler, along with the smell of smogulous smoke, suddenly vanished as footsteps could be heard in the hallway. Once-ler stumbled slightly from the shock of the sudden release as his mother made her way down the hall. She was heading home for the night, always the last one to leave the factory each day aside from Once-ler himself. When Isabella saw her son, she scowled.

"Son, what are you doing out here? Don't you still have work to do?" Isabella scolded him "I was so embarrassed at the meeting today. I can't believe you were so unprepared."

"I'm sorry," Once-ler replied. Unable to meet her gaze in shame.

"Oncie, listen to me." Isabella looked up at her son, her tone now more gentle. "You've been doing such a great job with the business so far, but don't lose your momentum now. You can't mess this up."

Once-ler's expression brightened at her backhanded compliments. Yes, she was disappointed in him, but she also believed in him."Don't worry, I'll get right back to work. I won't let you down."

"Good to hear." Isabella replied with a pleased look "Have a good night Oncie."

"You too, Mom." Once-ler waved back at her as he quickly made his way back to his office. With a new sense of determination, Once-ler poured himself back into his work.

Hours later, he finally put the finishing touches on his super axe hacker sketch. After Once-ler had finished, he stood up to admire his work. He was sure his executives and family would be pleased with his new invention. Someone else was also very pleased. As the smell of smogulous smoke filled the office, Greed-ler stepped out of the shadows and made his way over to stand beside Once-ler, who jumped when he saw him approach.

"This will be perfect." Greed-ler smiled as he examined the sketch. He wrapped a congratulatory arm around Once-ler, who stiffened at the touch. "I can just picture it now. We'll use the super axe hacker to raze the land, and build the factory right on top of it."

Once-ler's eyes widened as a sudden realization came to him. He had been so caught up in the excitement of creating his new invention, that he had nearly forgotten what it was actually going to do. The super axe hacker would cut down numerous trees at a rapid rate, causing significant damage to the forest. Suddenly, Once-ler wasn't so sure if making and using his invention was such a good idea.

Greed-ler became angry as he picked up on Once-ler's hesitation. Without warning, Greed-ler pinned Once-ler down over the desk. "Don't you dare back out now!" Greed-ler growled in Once-ler's ear. "Not when you've finally come up with something good."

"This isn't good!" Once-ler protested, too shocked to move. "You're being way too greedy. You're crazy! You ought to be locked up somewhere."

"You're the one who's crazy." Greed-ler scoffed "Thinking about throwing away an opportunity to get mighty rich and finally make something of yourself."

"But don't you care about what would happen to the forest? Aren't you ashamed?" Once-ler asked.

"No, because if we didn't do it then somebody else would." Greed-ler replied "So why don't we do it ourselves, and relish in all the fame and fortune that comes with it? Besides, this isn't just about us. We have a business to run remember? Business is business and business must grow. Do you want to let everyone down? The customers? The workers? Mom and the rest of the family? Yourself? If you don't want to mess this up, then you need to stop hesitating and let me take over."