Dominion of The Beast Masters

Back at the hotel room, Milo's sobs echoed through the cozy but quiet space.

He sat on the floor near the bed, curled into himself, clutching his knees as tears soaked his cheeks. His small shoulders trembled with every ragged breath.

Outside, Mercury stood in the narrow corridor, her fists trembling as she knocked repeatedly on the door.

The hallway was dimly lit, the soft hum of the fluorescent lights above doing little to ease her growing desperation.

Her voice was strained and trembling as she called out to him.

"Milo, please," she begged. "Let me in. Let me talk to you."

"No!" Milo cried back, his voice cracking with the force of his distress. "Just leave me alone! I don't want to see anyone!"

Mercury pressed her forehead against the door, her knuckles white from how tightly she gripped the frame. The corridor felt suffocating, the weight of her own emotions pressing down on her like a storm she couldn't escape.

"Milo, please…" she murmured, her voice breaking. "I need to explain… he's lying. That man… he left us. He only came back because you're becoming famous. He doesn't care about you, Milo. He never did."

From behind the door, Milo's sobbing grew louder, the sound ripping through Mercury's heart like a blade. She pressed harder against the door, willing him to hear her.

"I know!" he yelled suddenly, his voice filled with both anguish and frustration. "I always knew! But why did you hide he was here from me?"

Mercury froze, her breath catching in her throat. Tears streamed down her face as her fingers trembled against the doorframe.

"Milo…" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"I know he didn't want me!" Milo sobbed. "I remember how he and Mom fought about who had to keep me. They didn't want me. I know he'd never be interested in me."

Mercury's knees buckled, and she sank to the floor, her tears falling freely now. Her head rested against the door as her body shook with sobs.

"Milo," she murmured again, her voice trembling with pain and guilt.

"It's true," Milo continued, his voice raw with emotion. "I'm too dumb to graduate, but I'm not dumb enough to not understand what I see. I know my parents don't want me. But I thought I could trust you…" His voice broke completely, and he cried harder. "I don't want you to lie to me. If I can't trust you, I can't trust anyone."

Mercury's eyes widened in shock, the words piercing through her like an arrow. Her forehead touched the door, and her shoulders shook as she cried harder than she had in years.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice raw and broken. "I'm so sorry, Milo. I never wanted this for you. I just wanted to protect you from all of it. I'm sorry for not telling you…"

For a long moment, she said nothing else, only the sound of Milo's sobs filling the silence.

The warmth of the room on the other side of the door felt a world away from the cold, desolate corridor where Mercury knelt.

Then, as her tears fell, her expression hardened. She stood up slowly, her back straight, her reddened eyes blazing with fury.

"But I'm going to fix this," she muttered under her breath. Her fists clenched tightly as she turned away from the door, her steps echoing in the corridor.

Later that night, Eratz, Kaida, and Raya stood on top of a building overlooking the sprawling city below. The streets glittered with the colorful glow of streetlights and neon signs weaving through the darkness like veins of light.

The cool wind whipped through the air, but the tension between the trio was heavier than any storm.

"I failed them," Raya said softly, her uneven eyes reflecting the city lights. "I thought my presence wasn't needed for this kind of event, but I never imagined something like this. Milo's pain... Mercury's fury... I should have foreseen the need to stand by them."

Kaida folded her arms, her gaze fixed on the horizon.

"No one could have seen... anticipated this," Kaida said firmly, folding her arms across her chest. Her gaze lingered on the faint glow of distant apartment windows. "What matters now is showing up for them when it counts. Which is why," she added with a sharp glance at Eratz, "I'm wondering why we're standing up here instead of being at the hotel."

Eratz, leaning against the edge, glanced at her.

"Catarina, Ryder, and Zara are already on standby at the hotel," Eratz replied calmly. "If they can't stop Mercury from, then we're better waiting for her at the splash zone."

Kaida raised an eyebrow.

"Stop her? Stop Mercury? From what exactly?"

Eratz exhaled sharply, his eyes narrowing as he looked out over the city.

"Just a precaution," Eratz said, his tone clipped. "Mercury is Mercury and I know her too well."

Suddenly, his head snapped upward. His gaze sharpened, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"I found it," he said, his voice low but intense.

Through the eyes of one of his flying beasts, he could see a small, dimly lit apartment nestled within a cluster of aging buildings.

Its exterior was worn, the paint peeling away like forgotten memories.

The beast circled lower, peering through a crack in the curtains that revealed Inside, the scene shifted seamlessly from the beautiful view of the outside to the suffocating air inside the apartment. The room reeked of whiskey and stale smoke, its dim light casting long, jagged shadows over the peeling wallpaper and cracked furniture. The floor was a minefield of empty bottles and crumpled papers, the residue of someone clinging desperately to a life spiraling out of control. The television flickered weakly in the background, its muted sounds blending with the occasional creak of the building settling around him.

Milo and Mercury's father sat hunched on a battered couch, his face a mask of frustration. The bottle of whiskey perched precariously on the table in front of him seemed like the centerpiece of his world. He gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles white as his voice rose, tense and laced with fury.

"What do you mean I ruined everything?" he barked at the lawyer on the other end. "You know we're losing this lawsuit! That's why I had to do it! You were supposed to help me fix this, not let it get worse!"

The response was unintelligible, but whatever the lawyer said only deepened the man's scowl. He groaned loudly, slamming the phone down onto the couch beside him with a force that made it bounce slightly. He grabbed the whiskey glass with his other hand, draining half of its contents in one go before rubbing his temple in frustration.

He glanced at his phone again, the screen alive with headlines and comments. The internet had turned into a roaring storm, with countless articles condemning his actions.

The viral clip of Milo's tearful cries had sparked outrage, and the weight of public opinion bore down on him like a vice. His lips curled into a snarl as he groaned again, slamming the glass down on the table so hard it rattled.

A knock at the door cut through the oppressive silence. He frowned, his gaze snapping toward the entrance.

"Nobody's here!" he shouted, his voice hoarse with irritation.

Reaching for the bottle, he poured another glass, the amber liquid sloshing messily as his hand shook with anger.

The knocking resumed, louder this time, insistent and relentless.

"Are you deaf or something?" he yelled, rising unsteadily to his feet. His frustration bubbled over into muttered curses as he stomped toward the door, his heavy steps echoing in the cramped space.

The moment he reached it, a deafening crash shattered the tense air. The door flew off its hinges, slamming against the wall with a force that made the entire room seem to vibrate. He stumbled back, his eyes wide with shock as his breath caught in his throat.

Mercury stepped through the broken frame, her presence suffocating in its intensity. Her eyes burned with a fury so fierce it seemed to radiate off her in waves, her slow steps making the floor creak ominously beneath her. Her clenched fists trembled, but her expression remained eerily calm.

"Are you insane?" the man stammered, his earlier bravado crumbling under her unyielding gaze. He tried to mask his fear with anger. "You're going to regret this!"

Mercury's voice was quiet, almost a whisper, but it carried the weight of an impending storm.

"Yes," she said coldly. "Crazy enough to finish you off."

Before he could react, her fist collided with his face. The sickening crack of his nose breaking echoed through the room as he crumpled to the floor, blood streaming through his fingers as he clutched his face.

Mercury loomed over him, her shadow casting long and jagged shapes across his trembling form. She knelt on his stomach, pinning him to the ground as he screamed in pain. Her next punch knocked out a tooth, blood splattering against the worn carpet.

"That's for Milo," she said, her voice colder than ice. Her fists came down again. "For coming back." Another blow. "For taunting me."

Her strikes grew faster and harder, each one carrying the weight of years of anger, fear, and frustration.

His face became a bloody mess under her relentless blows, his groans of pain growing weaker with each hit.

She held back just enough to avoid killing him outright, but every strike was calculated to leave lasting scars.

Then, a sharp crack of thunder filled the air, not from a storm outside but from the electric surge of Eratz's arrival.

He had raced there with lightning speed, his body a blur that seemed to materialize out of nowhere.

His hand caught Mercury's fist mid-swing with a precision that stopped her cold. She froze, her blazing eyes snapping up to meet Eratz's panicked gaze.

"You idiot," he hissed, his voice trembling. "Are you crazy?!"

"Leave me alone!" Mercury snarled, struggling against his grip. "I'm doing what I should have done from the beginning!"

Eratz didn't let go, his voice urgent and low, but tinged with exasperation.

"This is assault! You'll go to jail!"

"Then let me!" Mercury snapped, her fury increasing, but Eratz's hand didn't budge.

Instead, his free hand curled into a fist, and before she could stop him, he swung it down, striking the man squarely in the face with a sickening crunch.

Mercury froze, her blazing eyes widening in disbelief.

"W... What are you doing?!"

Eratz tilted his head slightly.

"You're pregnant. You can't go to jail! I'll take the blame."

For a second, Mercury stared at him, her rage temporarily derailed, then, she shoved him aside with a force that made him stagger.

Her fist came crashing down on the man's face again.

"You can't go either! You're the team's ace! If you go to jail, you might be suspended!"

Eratz groaned dramatically, rubbing his temples as if Mercury was the unreasonable one.

"No kidding, you genius," He cut himself off with another punch, landing squarely on the father's jaw.

Mercury grabbed his arm, pulling him back with an impressive yank.

"We will lose if you go to jail, you idiot!" she hissed before delivering another blow of her own.

Eratz stumbled slightly but turned back with a glare, his voice raising.

"If you go to jail, we'll definitely lose too, you fool!"

They began an absurd tug-of-war over the battered man, shoving each other aside with one hand while taking turns delivering brutal punches with the other.

The father's face was a crimson mess, his groans of pain weakening with every strike.

By the time Kaida arrived at the doorway, she was greeted with a scene so chaotic it left her speechless. Her hand gripped the frame tightly as she gawked, her jaw dropping in disbelief.

Meanwhile, in a different street, Raya, left alone, was politely asking a fan for directions.