Pluto pressed his back into his chair until he seemed to become part of it, and raised his hand to his face in an irregular motion, his fingers spread unevenly, revealing one of his wide eyes that gleamed with a mad spark.
The entire hall gathered in a terrible silence. Even the winds howling outside seemed like a crime, before his words echoed like a blow against the walls whose reverberations would have been felt if they were tangible:
"And now... let's start the fun, you fools..."
The atmosphere in the Red Center trembled, but the cause wasn't merely the reflection of Pluto's distorted image on the X-Politas screen, but something more bitter, something that circulated in Seromi's atmosphere like an invisible electric current.
Mars was still preoccupied with thoughts of that masked figure, despite his mixed feelings between deep longing for Pluto and his unrelenting shock. But he was certain that he would come, no matter how long the anticipation.
He directed his red eyes sharply toward him and said in a hoarse voice, loud enough for everyone to hear:
"It seems you've brought a visitor this time.."
Pluto, with a reaction colder than his planet's frost, muttered sarcastically:
"That's right, Red one... He has given me what my brothers never did..."
Then he exploded... a hysterical laugh that shook the hall. Even more... some trembled despite their attempts to hide it.
His laughter was more than just mockery. It was like a dark idea that had crept into him since his expulsion. And when he calmed down, he added in a tone saturated with certainty:
"That word no longer exists in my dictionary... There are only enemies... and allies..."
Earth, who strived hard to maintain his composure, intervened directly, trying to alleviate the tension that was suffocating everyone:
"So... we are your enemies now?"
Pluto's gaze turned to the questioner, his eyes flashing with raw anger, as if his words were speaking for themselves. He nodded his head, and looked at him for a long time before responding in a quiet voice that was nonetheless earth-shattering:
"Don't forget that, okay?"
Then he relaxed, stretching his back backward as if the conversation had exhausted him. He raised one leg over the other, as if he wasn't in the presence of those he had previously associated with, before continuing mockingly:
"Why all this tension? Isn't this your twenty-fifth meeting, if my calculations are correct, since you removed me from here?"
His voice, despite its softness, seemed like an obsession that couldn't be confronted.
"I want to know everything... everything you talked about... every problem you faced... every letter you whispered to each other.."
With each sentence, his tone grew sharper, as if piercing the space that separated them. And before anyone dared to interrupt him, he added with calculated slowness:
"But I won't be as rude as you... Despite being the guest here, I'll start first... Hmm... my only main problem... is you.."
Despite all the turmoil and anxiety that dominated every corner of the Red Center, Mercury's courage was enough for him to join the conversation with the other:
"It seems your courage has increased to speak to the planetary presidents in this way..."
The president of the first planet, using all his remaining composure, tried to reduce the suffocating tension that had taken over the hall. His trembling lips moved trying to utter those reassuring words, but his body clearly betrayed him as if screaming the truth he was trying to hide.
Taking advantage of that, Pluto chuckled from behind the glowing screen. It was a light laugh that quickly turned into scathing sarcasm:
"Hush, you powerless weakling... I have a score to settle with you, I'll clear it shortly..."
The last promise was like an undeclared death sentence.
Then, with scrutinizing looks, he stared at each one of them, until his eyes stopped at the president of the sixth planet. He said, pressing his index and middle fingers together in a repeated motion in a comical rhythm:
"Ah, yes... you, the huge one... who called me a burden back then. Owner of the largest planet in the solar system... tsk! I'd rather be short than tall without awareness of reality.."
The atmosphere in the hall became more and more tense. Jupiter couldn't respond immediately, as if he was talking to himself... but he didn't let Pluto go too far, and shouted forcefully:
"Damn... Earth was right when he said... you should beware of the short before the tall!"
And in his comedic style, Earth put his finger on his face, as if saying: Don't make matters worse.
But Pluto paid no attention to his statements. Instead, he turned his blue eyes toward Saturn who hadn't taken his gaze off him. He waved his right hand and said with deadly coldness:
"Yo... you man of few words... how are you? You claim brotherhood, but I haven't ruled out the idea that you were involved in my exclusion... why..."
The last word was blatantly sarcastic, because as everyone knows, Saturn always ends his speech with "why" for a reason no one knows. But the latter, thanks to his calm nature, ignored him, realizing that his former friend was deliberately trying to provoke him, preventing Jupiter from responding to defend him.
Afterward, Pluto placed his hand on his chest, closing his eyes, before opening them and saying in a sarcastic theatrical tone:
"Oh, what do we have here? The presidents of the two rocky planets who consider themselves investigators for the sake of the solar system... Ooooh... I'm really touched!"
Silence fell once again, but Earth and Mars felt as if one of their crystals had shattered from the force of the shock.
How did Pluto know about their investigation into the leaked information?
At that moment, Earth felt that harsh feeling that Mars had warned him about previously:
"Were those leaks just a trap?"
But Pluto didn't give them enough time to absorb what he had said. Instead, he turned his gaze to the icy giants, and stared at them with an ominous, suspicious look, saying:
"And you two, blue ones... you've disappointed me by going along with these ones..."
Then he stood from his chair with a deliberation that seemed like an age of anticipation, placed his hands behind his back, looking down at them from above, like a ruler judging his slaves:
"Ah, I've long awaited this Kai... twenty-five cosmic years... they didn't pass as quickly as I used to, the weight of each Kai pressed upon me... from planning, and accomplishment, and continuous repetition... but I wasn't alone as you think... this person standing beside me has been with me all along... he is my only ally."
Pluto whispered as he extended his hand toward the shadow that moved in turn. But before their hands could touch, something happened that no one expected.
Everyone turned to the source of the sudden movement.
His eyes widened in disbelief at what had happened, like someone waking from a dream to find his hands stained with strange blood. His fingers trembled in the air, as if subjected to a force pulling them toward a fate he had no part in...
"What...?" his trembling lips whispered, but his hand continued to follow the unknown, as if living a life independent from his body.
Even speech couldn't help him then...
Uranus realized that amid the painful looks of disappointment...
Uranus...?
—End of Chapter —