Shattered Skies: The Morning Lights

CHAPTER 44: The Trees Are Bare and Everywhere

[Author's Note: I feel it's important to explain that Shattered Skies hasn't been canceled or put on hiatus... The reason it's been months since my last update is because the last two months have basically been Hell for me. I'm dealing with a serious health crisis in my family, among many other disasters, so I've been prioritizing my mental health rather than my writing. Now that I'm feeling a bit more stable, I can only assure you that I still intend to continue (and finish) this story, but I must ask for your patience as I get my life and my head back on track. Thank you for understanding. - BHS]

Chapter 44: The Trees Are Bare and Everywhere

La Fin de Toute
(formerly Galactica Palace)

Communications Hub

"She WHAT?!"

"E-e-escaped, M-Master Joker," said Moerumba. His knees failed him, and he collapsed at Joker's feet. More lithe and graceful than many of the muscleheaded brutes in Dead End's service, Moerumba was a fire dancer, and proud of it. His knees had never failed him, even all the times he fought against the two Splash Star Precure. The prospect of facing Joker when he was in this state, however...

Joker's signature too-wide fanged grin was an expression they were all familiar with, as was the thin-lipped scowl that indicated something that wasn't to his liking. All of Dead End knew his sarcastic sneer, and the skin-crawling, curly-lipped smile that usually meant someone was about to suffer horribly. Less common were Joker's teeth-clenched grimace, or the faraway expression of boredom he wore when he lost interest in the minutiae of directing his army. Joker only hid his emotions when doing so could give him some advantage over his victims. What Moerumba was seeing now was a sight so rare as to be almost nonexistent: Joker wasn't smug, or satisfied, or displeased, or bored... Joker was livid.

The eyes of the harlequin's mask were wide, yawning black circles. How it was possible for empty sockets (or were they?) to bulge grotesquely like that, Moerumba didn't know. The more he looked at them, the more he feared those eyes would somehow open even wider and swallow him whole. That was a ridiculous fear, but this was Joker. When Joker was properly motivated, he made things happen that were as ridiculous as they were horrifying. Defiance of reason and logic were specialties of his. For all Moerumba knew, Joker could eat people with his eyes... hence, his attempts to avoid their gaze as much as possible. Hence, his groveling. Joker usually enjoyed his underlings' groveling, perhaps he would show some mercy.

"Explain." Joker delivered the word in a hiss like tongues of fire. Moerumba loved fire, it was his element, in both the literal and figurative sense. It took a lot to make a sound that familiar into something terrifying.

"W-we're n-not sure how it h-happened," Moerumba stammered. "I-it sh-should have been impossible..."

"It is impossible," said Joker. His voice trembled with the effort of restraint. "No one, no one can simply pull themselves off the Merry-Go-Round. Not even her."

"Th-that's just it, S-Señor. All the data agrees with you. Doctor M-Mizuno herself said that the agony of trying to remove oneself from the Merry-Go-Round... it would kill anyone that tried."

"Then explain, s'il vous plaît," said Joker, "how it is that she's not only not dead, but escaped."

"When her s-segment was cut loose..." said Moerumba, crawling backwards, "It was G-Gula who was assigned to transport it to the nearest gate. She..." His throat shrank to a quarter of its usual size. He could only hope there was a spare Akumuda-model Droid available after this fiasco, it was the only way he would sleep tonight after what he saw back there. "She w-woke up... and e-escaped her se-segment."