"A little boy."
Banzai winces.
Shenzi chews on her bottom lip.
"I gave you one job... Which you failed to complete, because of a little boy."
Ed giggles.
Kenzie shivers.
Each one rubs at open wounds and frozen skin, each one masking the fear and dread they all share in this moment, shying away from the man who paces circles around them.
"All I asked was that you bring me the mermaid. I sent thirteen of you out there, and all thirteen of you came back, empty handed, because of a little boy."
"To be fair..." A uniformed minion chuckles skittishly. "He did have three fairies with him."
Kenzie sucks in her breath, her chest still aching from the recent thaw. The man next to her realizes his mistake too late, and his breath is too hitched in his throat. But he knows better than to flee the scene or beg for his life. Sometimes, if they're lucky, their leader shows them mercy. His lips twitch in effort to keep quiet, and he folds his hands on the desk in front of him.
Scar halts, his own hands clasped behind his back. He surveys the room, taking in the computer monitors that line the walls, screens flashing with images the game's levels on ten TVs. Technology equipment stack against one wall, prototypes and old, useless gaming supplies. Herman, game designer and a close ally of Scar's, had this room built to supervise his 'house' and watch the players as they barrel through each level. It's a fairly easy way for Scar to oversee his puppets chase down the players and fail to bring him the fish girl, but it's also one of the only rooms in the entire mansion that doesn't shift into game mode.
Leaving this room means entering the game. Something he'd like to put off for as long as possible. Besides, he's not the one who turned it on. He wanted to avoid playing the game altogether.
Needless to say, he's pissed.
Kenzie can tell just by his calm stance. He hardly lashes out and kills. It's usually done unexpectedly, without warning. When he appears to be content and unaffected by recent events. She straightens in her chair, facing the monitors that sit before her. The air is eerily still, no one daring to make a sound. They are proud to work for Scar, but they're also scared of him.
Everyone is scared of Scar.
But no one more than the man who talked back.
He cowers in his seat, trembling beside Kenzie.
His leader halts behind him, fingers idly trailing over the hilt of the knife at his hip. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry." Scar feigns regret, mouth twisting in distaste. "Three fairies! If only I had known, I never would have sent you out there on your own!" In a motion so swift it's a blur, he unsheathes his knife and plunges it down, straight through the right hand of his minion. The blade sinks through the skin, emerging from the palm and indenting into the wooden surface of the desk.
The man screams in agony, his body thrashing as he attempts to remove the knife with his other hand. But Scar moves faster, yanking the weapon free from the flesh, and hurtles it at Banzai, who hardly has time to react. This time, the blade imbeds into the wall, only slicing through a few locks of hair alongside Banzai's mortified face.
"You... IDIOTS!" Scar roars, frightening each and every one of his companions. "One job! I gave you one job! All I asked for was the mermaid!"
Scar's blood boils. At his fingertips, his nails begin to extend, curving and shaping into cat-like claws. He rolls his fingers into his palms, ignoring the cries of his recent victim. "One of you has betrayed me." His voice dropping dangerously low, he growls at the ground, then gradually lifts his head.
