Roy knocked on the door to Mr. Williams’ office, then let himself in.
Mr. Williams was standing in front of his desk, his arms crossed. He had Charlotte and Foxor stand on either side of him.
“Don’t be shy.” Mr. Williams smiled. “Come on.”
Roy stepped forward and gulped. Mr. Williams, while always having a smile on his face, had an intimidating aura, partially due to his size. Roy wasn’t short – in fact, standing at almost 6’2”, he was pretty tall. But Mr. Williams was even taller than him.
“So.” Mr. Williams tilted his head. “Miss Evans told me you can update me on what happened yesterday…”
“Y-Yes, Sir.” Roy cleared his throat. “Yesterday, Famfay and I encountered a strange Humanus form Morpho Mon, with black wings… He was in none of the records, it was the first time this specimen has appeared in our world.”
“Mhmh…”
“A-And well- the thing is-” Roy folded his hands. “We suspect he’s the one who’s responsible for the portals. Because after the encounter, he opened a portal before him, through which he vanished.”
“Well. That’s excellent news. We will do anything in our power to capture this Morpho Mon.” Mr. Williams faced Foxor. “Foxor, organize a task force. We have to be on the look-out for this Morpho Mon. It’s very likely he will return. We cannot let him escape again.”
“Roger!” Foxor nodded and went past Roy to leave the office.
“Ah-” Roy touched his face. “B-But- please don’t hurt him! He isn’t evil!”
“Mhhh?” Mr. Williams looked confused. “But didn’t he beat up your partner Morpho Mon for no reason?”
“That- that isn’t correct, Sir…” Roy pushed up his glasses. “The Morpho Mon in question is called Scorpio, and he’s Famfay’s twin brother.”
Almost simultaneously, the expressions of Mr. Williams and Charlotte changed. While Charlotte looked visibly surprised, raising her eyebrows, her mouth agape, Mr. Williams looked bewildered, almost angry.
“Ah--” Roy instinctively took a step back. “F-Famfay begged that we won’t hurt him... He’s certain his actions weren’t his free will…”
“Roy Fitzgerald… Are you that naive?” Mr. Williams straightened his posture. “Do you not understand the implications of what you’ve just said?”
“M-Mr. Williams-” Charlotte raised both her hands. “Please, regain your composure!”
Roy’s eyes widened. “Ah--” His heart began to pound in his throat.
Mr. Williams stepped forward, now standing uncomfortably close to Roy. “You know how Morpho Mons work, right?”
“...” Roy avoided his gaze.
“A subtype of Morpho Mons… Will always have the same sets of powers…” Mr. Williams huffed loudly. “So you mean to tell me… Your partner had the potential to open portals… ALL THIS TIME?!” Mr. Williams grabbed Roy by the shoulders, his fingers pressing firmly into him. “WHY DID YOU NEVER TELL US?!”
Roy recoiled and cried out. “LET ME GO!!! LET ME GO!!” He fought against Mr. Williams’ grip.
“FREDERIC!!! What on earth are you doing?!” Charlotte tugged on his sleeve. “Don’t touch him!!!”
“... Ah--” Mr. Williams let go of Roy, who tumbled backwards from the struggle. “... Roy--” He looked at him, terrified by his own actions. “I’m- I’m sorry-”
Roy’s breathing was heavy, his gaze wild. “Y-You…” He grabbed his own arms. “H-HOW COULD YOU DO THIS!!” He let out a choked sob. “You VILE OLD MAN!!”
“Roy- I’m-” Mr. Williams drew closer to Roy, but he immediately backed up again.
“N-NO! Leave me alone!! You all just – LEAVE ME ALONE!!” Roy shouted, then immediately ran out of the office.
“ROY!! WAIT!!” Charlotte was about to follow, but stopped. Instead, she faced Mr. Williams. “What were you thinking?! You know what he’s been through!!”
“...” Mr. Williams started before him. “... Miss Evans.” He sighed. “Let’s… let’s talk about this…”
~~~~
~~~~
Roy had run away from the office, but came to a halt only a few doors down, where there were no people around. He leant against the wall, took off his glasses and wiped his face with his hands. His breathing was short, and he was trembling.
“Roy?”
Roy turned his head to the voice. It was Toby.
“What happened? Is everything okay?”
“Hahh…” Roy’s breathing was still short. “Toby…”
Toby’s eyes widened as he inspected Roy, who was clearly hyperventilating, his skin pale and colorless, like he had a panic attack. “R-Roy- Stay here- I’ll get help!”
“N-No!!” Roy grabbed Toby’s sleeve. “D-Don’t leave me alone…”
“Wahh-” Toby swallowed. “O-Okay…”
“Ghrr…” Roy let go of him. “It’s not fair… it’s just not fair!!”
Toby was overwhelmed by the situation. In all the weeks he’d known him, he had never seen Roy this distressed. “Roy…”
“Hahh…” Roy held his hand before his mouth.
“T-Try to stabilize your breathing!! You’re gonna pass out!!”
“I… I can’t…”
“I-I’ll help you!” Toby moved next to him, leaning against the wall. “Try to sync in with me! Breathe in….” He took a deep breath in. “Breathe out…” He slowly and audibly exhaled.
“Come on, try it with me!!”
“Mh…” Roy put his hand down, and tried to synchronize his breathing with Toby’s. It didn’t work perfectly, his breathing was still shaky, but after a short while he didn’t feel as dizzy anymore.
Toby faced him again. “See, that’s better!”
“...” Roy put his glasses back on. “I feel terrible… I’d better head home now.”
“Okay… I’ll see you around. Take care...!”
Roy left, holding his own arms for comfort, looking down to the ground with a frustrated expression.
“Roy… There you are.” Charlotte approached him from behind. “How are you? Do you need medical care?”
“Mh…” Roy stopped walking, but didn’t look at her. “I’m about to go home.”
“Roy… I’m sorry I didn’t intervene sooner. I should’ve seen this coming…” She sighed. “Nevertheless… Mr. Williams and I have talked about the whole situation that happened yesterday. We… have come to a conclusion.”
Roy lifted his head, but didn’t say anything.
“We don’t have the power to capture a Humanus form Morpho Mon. We didn’t manage to get Basu, and Scorpio might be an even more powerful opponent. Somehow, we have to use the resources we have. In that case, it would be Famfay.”
“... Famfay can’t make portals. I would’ve told you if he could.”
“He can’t do it yet. But he will most likely once he also reaches Humanus level. But he can only do that with excessive training, which he can’t do while his human partner is doing his job in the lab.” Charlotte crossed her arms. “As long as we don’t find a quicker way of opening a stable portal, Famfay’s Humanus form is our only hope. You are hereby degraded to a Morpho Defender Apprentice.”
Roy’s eyes widened. “W-What?!”
“I’m terribly sorry, Roy. But as Famfay’s partner, you’re obligated to train him as we need, and you can’t do that with your current occupation. I will inform Bellru to make you a new uniform. You’re starting next week, until then, you are dismissed.”
“Y-You can’t do that, Charlotte!!” Roy shouted, now looking at her. “This job is my lifework!! You can’t just take it away from me!!”
“...” Charlotte looked unusually gloomy. “I’m sorry, Roy. I really am. I wish there was another solution.”
“... I hate you!! Both you and Mr. Williams!! You’ve ruined my life!!” Roy ran away, leaving Charlotte behind with a heavy heart.
There was no more word left to say.
She turned around and bumped into someone. “Toby--”
“I’m sorry Charlotte-”
“... how much did you hear?”
Toby hesitated. “Everything.”
“... Well. You’ll be in charge of integrating Roy into your class and making sure he won’t fall off. Okay?”
“Ah- yes, Ma’am.”
“Also, didn’t your Morphology class start ten minutes ago?”
“Ahh-- S-Sorry! I’m on my way!!” Toby ran off.
Charlotte looked after him for a second, then mumbled to herself “... They’re too young… They have no idea.”
She kept on walking back to her office.
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