Chapter 12

They got back to the facility late in the evening, and were still laughing at themselves. Melony was going to go back to her room, but Meruem stopped her.

"Where are you going?"

"To bed? Where else?"

"We need to clear our names. We did pilot without proper orders to, and I broke a man's arm, but mainly the piloting stuff."

"Do we have to do that right now? I thought that would've been sorted out later."

"No, of course not. What, you thought you had plot armor or something?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"You're an idiot."

"Yes I am."

Melony followed Meruem to one of the higher floors, amazed at the difference a few flights of stairs could make in a building. They went from a boring, strict, and cold gray atmosphere, to a sudden bright and cheery mode. For a second, Melony thought she heard choir singing and church bells.

They arrived at a very fancy door, white with golden accessories. Melony could hear fighting and shouting coming from inside. Meruem simply knocked on the door, and the loud voices shushed and let them in, he proceeded to quietly lock the door behind him. The room had a long table in the middle, seated there were very mad people, their faces looked frustrated and arrogant. Melony had the urge to slap their smug faces, but Meruem stepped in.

"Is there a problem, everyone?" Meruem said.

"The problem is we still haven't gotten rid of you." One man said. Meruem quickly glared at him.

The man at the end of the table quickly began to calm everyone down.

"Code 108, we understand you need a secondary pilot, but you understand that you could have put this young lady in danger, yes?"

". . ."

"Code 108?"

". . ."

"Alright, listen here you freak!" Another one shouted, "You think you can just take control of everything by yourself? You broke a man's arm! We should get rid of this monster before he goes and kills someone!"

"My name isn't 108 anymore." The room fell silent once again, "My name is Meruem, and that is the only name I will go by."

"Oh, so now you're naming yourself? What else are you going to do? Call yourself the president?"

"I should be asking you that, using your dirty ways to move up the ladder. Honestly, it's a joke to have someone like you working here."

The room erupted in shouting, Meruem was screaming, the man was screaming back, everyone was screaming. Melony just stood off into the corner, she was stumped on what to do.

Meruem's patience was running thin, his eyes were getting darker, and so was his mood. Others took note of this and began to worry, the people in the room began to quiet once more, but the two still didn't stop. It wasn't until the man's fate was sealed that he regretted ever speaking up.

"You're just a disgusting monster ya' hear!"

"At least I'm a disgusting monster that can do a better job than you!"

"Better than me? Ha! At least I can keep people around me."

". . . what do you mean by that?"

"Oh so now you're interested in what I have to say? I thought I was your little servant?" He said mockingly.

"I asked you a question." Meruem's voice had gone from a yell, to a menacing talk.

The man had stopped for a moment, perhaps afraid of Meruem, but thought that he wouldn't try anything around so many people.

"You couldn't even keep the one person that cared about you. I may not be good at my job you say, but I can at least do something so ea-" He was cut off by Meruem grabbing his throat and slamming him on the table.

Everyone in the room rushed out as they called for more guards. The man's gasps for help were smothered in the chaos. In their terror, they somehow forgot how to unlock a door, and began to panic when it wouldn't open. The man's face was turning purple, and his eyes were rolling to the back of his head.

Stepping in, Melony did the same thing as earlier in the day, and slowly covered Meruem's eyes again. Feeling her soft hands, he slowly began to loosen his grip on the man. Melony slowly removed his hands and led him away from the table. The rest of the room went quiet, the only noise heard was the man's desperate gasps for air.

She could almost hear his heart beating and stayed in the same position for longer than she did in the beginning, before she tried talking to him again.

"Hey, want a piggyback ride?" No one understood why she would say such a thing at that moment. To be honest, she didn't know either, but just decided it was the best thing to do.

". . . Yeah."

"Alright, come on"

Turning him around and picking him up, she led him towards the door. Unlocking it, and leaving, every looked at the only person to calm down the monster after he gets mad.