"I can't let you walk away from this and tell the world what happened tonight."
Scar briskly walks forward, dragging the metal shaft of the trident behind him. His Hyenas stick close behind, appearing almost frightening without their giggly, manic expressions.
The gamers bunch together, those with weapons drawing them as Scar nears. Flora glides closer, standing in the front, her wand poised and glowing with pure magic.
"So, what?" Aladdin dares to ask, exhaustion weighing him down. "Is this the part where you kill us?"
Many of the players tense, but Scar just chuckles, a humorless, dry sound. "I'm not going to kill you. That would be letting you off easy." He stops, the moonlight seeming to ignite the scar dragging down his eye. His posture exposes his tiredness, and his wary frown tell the players he's just as worn out as they are.
But it's no consolation, considering he's now got an enormous amount of magic. Even the fairies are no match that for kind of power. So they stand still, waiting, gripping swords and daggers and wands, bracing themselves for Scar to make the first move.
Eventually, the trident begins to glow, emitting a sickly lime green light. Scar hardly moves an inch, but a bead of sweat trails down his cheek, face contorted in concentration. Before Ariel has a chance to react, a familiar sensation builds inside her chest. A kind of cold grip, digging into her lungs, dragging out an essential part of her. Inwardly, she panics, finding herself frozen in place, as a green, glowing ball bursts out of her. All around her, through her rampant fear and dread, she can see the same effect on her friends, not a single one of them left untouched by the trident's magic.
The dimming balls absorb into the trident, and Ariel stumbles backwards, clawing at her throat. This can't happen. Not again.
Kayley croaks, laying a dainty hand on her neck. "What did you do?" She whispers hoarsely, and a flood of relief bursts through Ariel.
They still have their voices.
Scar shatters the moment in an instant. "I took away your inability to speak about this night." He growls, his Hyenas finally beginning to crack smiles behind him. "You won't be able to talk, write, text, communicate what happened tonight with anybody else. It'll be as if it never happened."
The cold seems to flare up, the temperature dropping at breakneck speeds. A collective shiver passes through the gamers, the reality settling in. They're going to go the rest of their lives living on this horrific night; unable to tell loved ones, police, therapists. It'll be a cold reminder every night, every morning, a trigger that can set them off. In some sick, twisted way, it is worse than death. Much worse.
"You can't do that." Periwinkle squeaks, shouldering past Terrence and marching up to Scar. He doesn't flinch. "Can't you see we've been through enough? That they've been through enough?" She flicks a hand at the gamers.
"Does it look like Scar cares about them?" Shenzi suddenly says, breaking her silence.
"Do you even know who you're talking to?" Banzai adds, quirking a sinister smile. "Scar is notorious for ruining lives."
"Clearly." Ariel mumbles, matching Scar's dark gaze eye for eye. Much like the others, she's lost the fight in her. If she were to charge him now, she'd probably collapses of exhausted before she even made it halfway. There's nothing left she can do - that any of them can do. They may all be alive and breathing, but Scar's won. He won more than just the game.
Wordlessly, he twists away from the gamers, pulling the trident alongside him as he floats to the trees. The Hyenas sneer and cackle as they trail after him, nudging one another and making stupid fish puns. A lean, dark figure waits in the darkness, only moving aside as Scar approaches. Together, the two men fade away, leaving the Westergaard property behind.
