Neither Saomi nor Schrodinger held any idea where their trusted companion had left as they traversed through the busy streets of this city. In fact, throughout the trip, mindlessly walking together just to search for where he had gone, none of the pair had begun to grow impatient or even frustrated by the continuous failed attempts at what had transpired.
To the both of them, all they did was merely complain and whine about this arduous task they always deal with by being around together. The young woman had also begun to contemplate this, thinking of herself as responsible for it, while the feline cat shared the same thoughts, being confused about whether it was his fault or hers.
Even so, both of them put it aside and continued on moving in what seems to be a busy crowd on this hot day, where the merciless sun always shines brightly onto the surface, where the breeze is absent, and where the air is dry and sultry. The people in this crowded city made things all the worse with their bustling movements, their loud voices, and the constant calling from shady merchants.
"I have the best deals in town!" An old woman shouted on top of her lungs, trying to call upon anyone's attention for her prized wares, "fresh and affordable goods for any need of yours, so hurry and take what you want from me!" The vendor invited anyone that happened to pass by, offering what little she could sell in these hard times.
Another merchant is a young man in his mid-twenties behind a stall that is selling colorful clothes, tapestries, and fabrics. He has soft, slightly pale skin and a lean frame, with auburn, shoulder-length, messy hair, and glasses who put a forced smile on his own face.
"Twenty percent off! That's a one-time offer for everyone, so take advantage of it now while you still can." He waved his hands in an attempt to coerce the surrounding people into purchasing his goods, hoping that at least anyone would bite, but he only received half-hearted grumbles and nothing more.
In a nearby corner, two twin sisters with flowing platinum blonde hair and piercing blue eyes near their own stall, comprising of beautiful jewelry, announced in synchronized, sing-song voices, "We've got a lot of shiny gems, so why don't come over and buy them before they're all gone? We promise, you won't be disappointed!"
At that moment, Schrodinger was tempted to teleport himself out of here, but remembering the times he selfishly left them, it would be unfair to do it again. "Ugh, I hate crowds," he grumbled under his breath, walking closely to the young woman while avoiding getting any closer with these desperate merchants.
Saomi did the same as he does; she too made an unpleasant look and commented, "Being wealthy is surely not that easy, even if you happen to have all the money in the world." The girl's own words had reached him, and Schrodinger simply gave an affirmative nod, "Money doesn't solve every problem that exists."
He said in agreement with her statement, "Desperate people will always do whatever they can to stay alive or at least feel a sense of contentment and security for themselves." The white cat paused, keeping an eye out for any possible sign of their missing companion, "which is why humans are both interesting and horrible beings at the same time," making his thoughts clear.
As for her, she let out a deep sigh and glanced at the feline cat with a grim expression. "Do you hate my species that much?" Saomi asked as they both passed several people while heading to some unknown destination, "We didn't choose to be born; we didn't choose to be poor, rich, weak, or strong; we merely are just born with whatever has befallen us," reasoning her question.
He raised his brows in mild surprise before scowling in disapproval. "I hold deep, deep hatred for your species." Having once traveled across the omniverse, he had witnessed his own brethren being violently tortured, cooked alive, or raped by bunches of disgusting humans before. "If you have seen the things your species has committed to my own people, then you will see why I am not fond of you lot," finishing his own sentence in the utmost disdain.
She then frowned slowly, curving upwards while forming a wry smile. "Come on now, we aren't all bad," Saomi refuted, attempting to defend the innocence of mankind. "Surely you must know not every human is an evil person, right?" She further questioned, putting her arms to the back of her head as if to stretch her shoulders, "Wouldn't any sapient race have done something horrendous throughout history if given the chance?"
Part of him wished he never opened his mouth, but hearing what she had said, the young woman did have a point there. Still, he narrowed his gaze and exhaled deeply, "That may be so, but that doesn't change how there are still monsters being born left and right because of your degenerate race," glaring violently at the memories of them committing crimes against his people.
A look of sympathy plastered across her face. "What did you see that made you hate us this much?" Asked Saomi softly, knowing what he was saying must be the truth or a lie depending on how perspective is taken, "You obviously had encountered one of us who had done you a great wrong, yes?" She said this while folding her arms beneath her chest.
It wasn't an easy question to answer, let alone even describe the details. The idea of speaking about them would make anyone, even himself, vomit with disgust. Still, he looked ahead and said not a word. I refused to respond back to her.
"I apologize if it was too sensitive," her softened facial features shifted to pity. "Whatever had happened, it was truly terrible," she said with a tinge of sorrowful sadness in her own voice, regretting opening her mouth in the first place.
As silence dawned on the pair again, not even muttering another word among themselves, the two eventually came across approaching slaves occupied by a sort of toad-like beast leading them. Seeing this, she was ready to draw her weapon and rescue them, only to be stopped by Schrodinger.
"Don't," he said in a strict tone of voice, "it's better if we let them pass through," watching the crowd disperse and move themselves to avoid the path of these slaves and their masters. "Saomi?" Turning his head up to her, he looked at how conflicted she was based on her sweating expression alone.
Gritting her teeth nervously, she asks, "What are they?" She asked while wanting not to let this slide, as she still has a strong sense of justice in doing the right, even if it means risking her own life. "I've never seen them before in my life; are they dangerous?" I want to understand what sort of creature they are based on how they walked in the direction where they were standing.
Answering her question, Schrodinger took a step forward and said, "They are known as Moon Beasts by others." He lectured while keeping his eyes and ears open, "originated from the Celestial Moons, they live a hedonistic lifestyle by using slaves either to do their work or for entertainment."
Slaves? She doesn't like the sound of that, "I'm going in." She wasted no time acting as she immediately walked toward them without hesitation, not stopping regardless of how much the cat begged to change her mind, for she won't stand idly by while the defenseless are being pushed around.
"Don't you fool!" Following after her, he continued in his pursuit of getting the reckless girl out of there before either of them gets into trouble for her foolish behavior: "You don't understand what they are capable of!" His sentence was cut short when she finally stood in front of them, preventing the slave masters from going any further.
With a single command, she firmly said, "Let them go." The sentence resulted in their full attention as three moon beasts who were accompanying the slaves approached her with interesting and wary gazes. The lead, who is larger and taller, said, "Movie, movie," repeating the same line over and over in her head.
Mildly caught off guard when she heard them talk in her own head, the notion of it still doesn't change her goal here to save them from their masters. Looking back at Schrodinger, who stood behind her, she could tell that his face was sweating bullets.
Returning her attention to them, she asked again, politely this time, "Please let these men go." The young woman placed one hand on the handle of her sword while maintaining eye contact with the largest member of the trio.
And yet, they continued to say the same thing to her: "Movie! Movie!" However, the voices became louder and harsher than before. Making her believe that just by the tone of it, they are beginning to become hostile if this goes any longer.
"Saomi..." Frozen as a statue, he looked around to see the cornered crowd of humans, Roachoids, and Baharnans that warily watched the scene unfold. He knows what will happen next, and that is why he wanted to stop any incoming disaster from happening in the first place. "Saomi!" He tried to call her many times, but to no avail.
Sighing exhaustively, she said once more, "I'm not sure if you can understand what I am saying, but I know that either of you three can see what I'm trying to convey, and so please," she added with a calm, firm, but most importantly, clear tone of voice, "let them go and leave," making this the last of her words before she can draw her weapon.
Many of the whispering crowds became more intrigued by witnessing such a spectacle for themselves while also expressing fear of what would happen next. Then, the crowd began to murmur or whisper to themselves further, wondering what would come next.
"MOVIE, MOVIE!"
It was clear as day that the Moon Beasts weren't intending to release them. And by the sound of it, they were prepared for more than anything in killing against anyone who refused to comply with their demands. The sound of their screams rang loudly within her skull.
"MOVIE!"
A sudden sensation of blood rushed throughout the length of her veins, coursing and pumping as pain. "Get off!" Clutching her own head, she can feel the psychic attack pushing down at her thoughts, attempting to remove her consciousness and make the woman nothing more than being in a vegetative state.
Realizing she had no choice, Saomi used all of her willpower to withstand their mental attacks, but despite the effort, she was desperately trying to shield herself from this invasion as blood began to escape from all of her orifices, in addition to enduring immense pain that would rival having their insides slowly scorched.
Schrodinger widened his eyes; he saw what was transpiring as everyone just watched with mixed expressions. Others, however, were disgusted or fearful of what they saw in the poor young woman desperately holding her ground against their endless attacks.
He had two choices: rescue her and get themselves to safety, or risk being involved in war. He and his fellow kin wouldn't desire such an outcome, for despite all of their pride, none of them would want a locked war that neither side would win or lose.
Just as he was forced to make a decision, time had completely stopped in their surroundings; frozen in time by some unknown forces, the once frantic scene has become rendered motionless, and even the sounds have become nonexistent.
Confused and relieved at the same time, she carefully stood up after feeling the relentless assaults had immediately stopped. "What happened?" Looking around the entire area, she then realized the same thing had happened to everyone and everything.
Everyone was frozen except herself and her confused companion, "Schrodinger? Did you do this?" She questioned him while staring directly into his eyes at what was happening around him.
In which he responded, "no..." shaking his head at the same time, he then added, "This is out of my power to accomplish."
"But then, who did?"
She looked around, expecting that the culprit would appear out of thin air to reveal themselves. However, what they were greeted with was the sudden appearance of an irritated Janus and a man she had never seen before as they have instantly teleported themselves to her. "Janus?!" Look of surprise made her realize it was his doing.
