THE MOMENT
"I would have preferred to sleep longer...," Chroma sighed, then nodded at Ruby. "But, I am glad you woke me." The hulking, metallic dragon shrank to human size. Her mirror-like scales became pale flesh but, she did not rush to leave her roost. She rolled on her back.
"The terms remain as I left them?" she asked upward. Then she tilted her head back to look at Ruby upside down. Ruby nodded.
"If the Green Tornados win, Sharp Development maintains control over all its assets. If the Skull Crushers win, Chroma Corp. gets control." Chroma nodded, then remained in silent thought for several moments. She stared at the dark ceiling of the cave. Ruby stood patiently by.
"And Melody's forfeiture was unprompted? You made no offers along those lines?"
"She showed up with Janet and handed the company over..," Ruby nodded. Chroma sat up and focused her silver eyes on Ruby with interest.
"Janet? She brought a Muerte to the meeting?" Ruby nodded eagerly. She hoped it was a helpful tidbit.
"She even called it a very important meeting. She offered to let me summon my own Muerte; but, I assumed you would have wanted me to decline. Chroma giggled lightly. Then, she seemed to resign herself to being awake. She stood slowly and gave a tall stretch with an accompanying groan of satisfaction.
"You assumed correctly; but, we were both wrong. Having Tim there would have worked in our favor. Nonetheless; we have a situation at hand. What do you make of it?" Chroma asked. Ruby shrugged.
"Melody's up to something; and, she's not this smart. There's only one person she'd let pull her strings though," Ruby said. Chroma nodded.
"Indeed. Even if it's not true, the safest course would be to assume Ms. Sharp herself is alive. The question is... what is she after?" Chroma wrapped herself in a reflective silk robe, then walked into a portal that appeared in front of her. Ruby followed. They exited onto an empty white surface. The white sky was as barren as the landscape. It was difficult to separate the ground from the heavens with a casual glance.
"This is the school?" Chroma asked. Ruby nodded.
"We’re on the other side of the Server. I’ll have housing here in time for the first day of class."
"Nonsense. I must freshen up," Chroma said as she walked forward. A giant black portal opened in the white sky. It sank down around them, then disappeared once it reached the ground. The white ground became a dark asphalt street. Towering buildings appeared and confused pedestrians all stopped to look up at the empty sky. Chroma walked toward the tallest building, but the sound of confused screams quickly got on her nerves.
"Put them to sleep," she told Ruby. "Then give them all a new home wherever they like." Ruby nodded. The crystalline, red scales around the top of her head glowed like a red crown. In seconds the commotion died down as every stranger in the city fell asleep. Chroma reached the first step of the building and Ruby stopped.
"What do we do about the game?" she asked Chroma before she disappeared into the building. Chroma paused.
"It's lost my interest," Chroma shrugged. "Whatever game they're playing, we've lost that round already." Chroma continued towards the doors. "I'll leave it to your discretion; I have a school to run."