THE MOMENT
Melody was on a mission. She stood, completely at ease, in an empty black void in the presence of a god. Ballisea had lived more than trillions of years, and she happened to be an entire universe unto herself. ‘Demon Queen’ was her favorite title, but she was the eldritch origin of almost all human fears. She sat on a throne of bones staring down at Melody through golden eyes.
“We believe that to be the source of the troubles,” Melody explained. The only way she could get any useful info from Ballisea was to deliver everything she knew first. Ballisea wanted to see an effort made. And she wanted any given problem to be fun to be considered worth her time.
“The researchers of Sharp Development are always so keen,” Ballisea smiled. “I do wonder how they'll solve the-,”
Melody had been focused and attentive. If she was about to say they were right, that's as good a response as she could ask for. She'd been so tuned in that she registered Ballisea's surprised smile before she identified the reason.
“Gregster!” the Demon Queen chirped and Melody saw she was no longer alone in the void. A shabby looking middle aged man in slippers and a bathrobe wandered in with a strong herby odor filling the blackness.
“Hey, Queen B. Uhhh, I'll take a large pan today. Load it up like usual, I've got some mean munchies.”
Melody was not as surprised as one might expect. Ballisea had her whims and if she was engaging Gregster with a smile, it wasn't up to Melody to ask what he was doing there.
“There you go,” Ballisea nodded and a large pizza box landed in his hands. “Everything except unicorn.”
“Thanks, Queen B. Much love and worship,” Gregster turned and headed out of the void, but he gave Melody a polite wave as if barely realizing she was there too.
“Gregster's such a joy,” She said. “I offered him anything and all he wanted was a pizza. Naturally, I was amused and granted him the honor of asking me for a pizza any time he wants. He hasn't been greedy about it, but he chooses..,” Ballisea locked eyes with Melody. “... the most ill-timed interruptions,” she giggled. “Where were we?”
Ballisea was fickle, not forgetful. She didn't lose track of where they were, she was simply asking Melody if that was the conversation she wanted to continue. It was also a warning that she was bored of that topic now. Melody had to make a choice.
“If Sharp Development surrenders our timeline to you. Could you reset it? Everything?”. It was a different question, but formed with the information Ballisea had already given. If they were on the right track for solving the unraveling universe, that just meant they found the problem. She didn't know how they'd fix it, so she decided to consider the last resort while she was there.
“Quinn would also require Chroma's timeline,” Ballisea added with a nod.
“Gregster?” She smiled again as Melody spotted him walk in again.
“Hey Queen B. Sorry to bother you twice but, I kind of dropped the pizza in the pool. It didn't taste good after that. Can I trouble you for another?”
“Of course!” Ballisea said. Melody left during the exchange. She didn't need to say bye, nor did she have anymore immediate questions.
“There you go,” Ballisea said as the box appeared in his hands. “Be careful out there,” she said as he walked out of the void.