---

Sly didn’t approach her, but he did remove the door all together. Then pushed her chair towards her gently. Sit down! Please, Edwina and please listen. He only shouted sit down to silence Edwina’s panic for a second. These are my natural eyes, and Mercury's as well when wearing my mask. Did you not notice that his eyes changed colors every time he switched masks? Daily his eyes turned white. Warlord red, the colour of a philistine. Blue for the regal miss magi. Look back, and remember
The walls began to project Edwina’s memories of Mercury wearing the mask. Of the first time they met, of the time on the plane. Every single moment Mercury switched out masks or was in his true form. Every time his irises would change colors as Sly had told her.

---

---

Eddie sank to the floor as the door vanished. She hugged her knees to her chest, effectively trapped inside her own mind. Even bending light appeared to do nothing, for no matter what she tried, the room remained the same. She couldn't focus the energy or anything.

She gulped, only being brought back to a form of reality when Sly shouted. The walls around her were flooded with her memories, and eventually, a majority of her panic subsided. Still, she remained crouched against the wall, her hands shaking slightly.

"I...I see..." Edwina mumbled, though part of her wondered if Sly was tampering with her memories. He was inside of her head, after all. He was controlling her dream. She had no idea what else she was capable of.

Looking down, she remembered the task at hand: asking questions. Biting her lip, she hesitated, hoping that Sly wouldn't share this with Mercury. "Would he, um....eat me...if he goes berserk? And sort of a follow up question to that...how much does dying hurt?"

---

"Would he, um....eat me...if he goes berserk? And sort of a follow up question to that...how much does dying hurt?"
No I do not believe he would. I think you might just be the only one safe from that. At least for the moment anyways. Because if he gets worse there are no promises. Proof being that for now he seems to follow the exact same attack pattern he usually does. Go after the guilty, punish those that have hurt others. Sly chuckled very softly as he paced a bit in the room. He had no ability to alter memories or anything of that nature. Only to recall and see memories, and to peek inside of one’s soul. As for dying... depends on how you go. I was beaten my bones broken, and then left to rot in a root cellar. Which I litterally did as infection set in my wounds. As for Magi, and Warlord they were both shot in the stomachs faster, and less painful. For some their lucky enough to simply pass in their… just pass without pain. He didn’t want Edwina freaking the fuck out again so refrained from saying, in their sleep. As he really didn’t want to have to deal with that mess.

---

---

Eddie nodded, understanding what Sly had meant. She very much doubted that one of the masks could kill her while she was sleeping, especially without Mercury noticing. The boy was overly protective--she wouldn't have been surprised if he was monitoring her pulse at all moments.

Her mind did flicker, however, to the day she met him. The moment when Mercury informed her that one day, he'd probably go after her. It sent a shiver down her spine, and she attempted to shove the memory aside, to bury it deep, and never again think of it.

"So...that's it? Find some magic cork, stick it in him, and we're good?" Eddie asked.

The simplest option would probably be to just keep on feeding him. Though, that would become expensive. The next option, then, would be to use her connections in the scientific community to find Tia, and steal whatever it was she took back. Given that Tia only remembered Eddie as being an assistant, contact from a researcher (Fairfax) would set off very little alarms.

Of course, Eddie realized that her plans tended to be judged harshly by the masks.

"Any good ideas on how to get it back?"

---

I believe so yes. Although I wouldn't put it in quite those words. As it sounds a little... Sly rolled a hand as he spoke, and then laughed. He crossed his arms as he looked at Edwina letting her think of a plan. "Any good ideas on how to get it back?" I’m afraid I don’t have any sort of plan. At least besides that of helping Mercury know what’s okay during his beastly transformations. I have found us masks have some control, but ultimately it is Mercury who has all final say.

Mercury was awake now, and looking at Edwina as she curled up tight to him. He gently brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face, and then leaned into her gently after transforming himself to look like a normal very dark black man. Then he kissed her forehead softly. He was checking to see if she had a fever, and just wanted to kiss her forehead.

---

---

"So...I need to find people for him to eat?" Eddie asked, frowning a bit. She wasn't convinced that she could do that without fainting herself. If the masks bothered her enough to make her puke, she didn't want to imagine what watching Mercury eat people would do to her.

However, before she could hear the answer or ask another question, Mercury's movement caused her hand to fall off of the mask. The white and black room vanished, and groggily, she opened her eyes. Across from her was Mercury, in the guise of someone else. She bit her lip slightly, hoping that Sly wouldn't share there conversation.

"Hmm?" Eddie murmured, realizing that Mercury was staring at her. "Something wrong?"

---

"Something wrong?"
”You were trembling in your sleep. I got worried about you, I’m sorry to wake you.“ He gently pet her cheek as it felt right to him, and smiled at her softly. ”I’m glad to see your doing better? What did you dream about that made you so upset?“ Of course he was concerned about her she’d been clinging onto him for dear life. Plus moaning, and crying out which had woken him in the first place.

---

---

”I’m glad to see your doing better? What did you dream about that made you so upset?“

She'd never been a particularly good liar. However, if there was one thing Edwina had been taught at a young age, it was how to get a boy to stop asking questions. Sure, it might not work on Mercury -- but it was worth a shot. It worked on just about everyone else, got them to stop and instantly freeze up.

Here goes nothing....

"Uhhh....It's...erm....lady issues," Eddie said awkwardly. "Cramps and...yeah..."

She smiled awkwardly, hoping that he'd buy it. And of course, she was hoping that she hadn't just jinxed herself into her time of hell coming early.

---

Mercury opened his mouth to say something, and probably called Eddie out on lying. But, stopped as he heard Magi telling him Edwina simply didn’t want to talk about it. So he dropped it, and just held Eddie a little closer, and pet her head. ”I’ll get you some chocolate while I grab us lunch. So what do you want for lunch? Personally I’m feeling salad… I just don’t feel in the mood for anything meaty right now.“

---

---

She chuckled softly. As much as she loved chocolate, she knew very well that it didn't do much to ease up on cramps. Though truthfully, she didn't have much of an appetite. After seeing the things she did that morning, she couldn't imagine eating.

However, she knew that Mercury had to eat a lot. Otherwise, she'd have the equivalent of the Incredible Hulk on her hands to deal with. She hesitated, trying to think of things that were incredibly filling.

"How about rice and beans?" Eddie suggested, before quickly adding, "And three pounds of vegetables?"

---

"How about rice and beans? And three pounds of vegetables?"
Mercury thought about that, and how much it’d cost, and soon nodded. ”I’ll have to find someone that sells that sorta stuff… Maybe a vegan place? I’ve heard about them just never really been to one before.“ He heard his stomach start growling at him, and he became a little bashful. Though it was mostly just noises he wasn’t feeling hungry yet. Just knew he should eat something soon as he hadn’t had breakfast yet. ”Looks like I need to eat something soon. This is what I get for skipping breakfast.“ He laughed warmly then kissed Eddie on the forehead again before getting up. He stretched tiredly, and rubbed the back of his head. ”Maybe I should get a cellphone so you can call me on it. Just so you can reach me whenever you want. Take every precaution as I usually say.“ He yawned tiredly after a bit, and rubbed the back of his head.

---

---

Eddie handed him her wallet, opening it up to show her credit card. She didn't mind if he spent her money on vegetables, and she tried not to point out that he indeed did have a rather large breakfast. Of course, the real challenge was yet to come.

She hated vegetables. "Yeah, that or I could microchip you like we do to dogs," Eddie teased. The idea of her being able to call him at any point was rather appealing--it'd help for keeping an eye on him. All she'd have to do would be to get him to turn Find My Friends on, and she'd be able to track him, no matter where he went.

Or whom he ate. "I can come with you to get food," Eddie offered.

---

Mercury smiled, and laughed at the thought of being microchipped. He wanted to have a phone so he’d be able to track Eddie too. To make sure she didn’t get into any trouble she couldn’t handle. So it’d be incredibly easy for Eddie to convince him to turn the Find My Friend app on. So long as she did the same for him.

He nodded wanting Eddie to come along, and offered his hand to help her up out of bed. Thinking she might be groggy by not sleeping as well. ”I’d love it if you’d come with me. That way you can decide what you want to eat. I mean you don’t need to eat veggies just because I want to. That’s what walking around a shopping strip is for. Selection of different foods, and stuff.“ He chuckled as he pulled Eddie close to him, and then kissed her on the forehead again before grabbing a coat with a large hood, and gloves. He was protecting himself from the sunlight. So Eddie didn’t need to use so much of her light manipulation powers.

After he was ready, and made sure Eddie was ready he left the motel room. Walking to the bus stop to take them to a shopping mall or strip. That way he could get something to eat, and that new phone.

---

---

Eddie got up, stretching her arms and legs. She figured she really must have had a death grip on Mercury while she was sleeping, though she couldn't blame herself. The entire conversation with Sly had engrained itself into her mind.

”I’d love it if you’d come with me. That way you can decide what you want to eat. I mean you don’t need to eat veggies just because I want to. That’s what walking around a shopping strip is for. Selection of different foods, and stuff.“

He pulled her in, and kissed her forehead. Edwina blushed, before watching as he put on his coat and gloves. Eddie, meanwhile, pulled at the collar of her shirt, and sniffed it. She didn't have any other clothes with her, so it'd have to do. Besides, she didn't smell that bad.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Eddie said with a soft smile. She walked with him to the bus stop, remembering that she had called her parents, and said she was going home.

Maybe I should call Mom about that... Eddie considered. She didn't know if bringing Mercury to Fall River was the best of ideas. Eleanora would most likely be more fascinated by the masks than she was, at any rate.

---

Once they were on the bus Mercury leaned back in his chair. The ride was long as there was a bunch of traffic on the way. So much so his stomach began gurgling, and it started to hurt. By the time the mall was in sight Mercury’s eyes had started glowing in his human form.
”Damn rush hour is bad in New York. I mean if feels like six hours have passed since leaving the hotel. But, it was probably only two.“
They’d slept for three hours meaning five hours since Mercury had anything to eat. One hour over the limit Sly had told Eddie about. ”If I didn’t know any better I’d say I had incredibly low blood sugar.“ He laughed at that as it amused him greatly. He pulled the cord for the driver to pull over.

When they got off the buss to the shopping mall Mercury went to the first place he saw selling food. A frozen yogurt place, and he used his card to get a massive cup of it. He poured chocolate, caramel, and strawberry yogurt into it, and topped it with graham cracker crumbles. ”Do you want one?“ He then stopped almost dropping the cup in his hands, as he braced against a counter holding his gut. It felt like someone was twisting an iron knife inside him.

---

---

Eddie relaxed for most of the bus ride, until she saw his eyes began to glow. Her heart sped up as she bit her lip, trying to remember exactly what it was Sly told her. Colors were supposedly safe--but he hadn't mentioned anything about glowing!

”Damn rush hour is bad in New York. I mean if feels like six hours have passed since leaving the hotel. But, it was probably only two.“

Four hours was the limit Sly told her. Unfortunately, she had no clue when she went to sleep, and when she woke up again. ”If I didn’t know any better I’d say I had incredibly low blood sugar.“

Shit. Crap. Fuck. Shit! Eddie mentally swore, squirming a bit in her seat as she hoped that the bus would speed up, and arrive already. Glancing at her phone, given it was dead, she considered feeding it to Mercury. For all she knew, iPhones could have good nutritional benefits for the typical shadow eating monster thing.

Luckily, the bus arrived, and Mercury quickly got them off. He made a beeline for the frozen yogurt shop, and Eddie sighed in relief. As long as he ate the yogurt and not the people running it, everything would be okay.

”Do you want one?“

"Uhh....." Eddie paused, before grabbing the spoon, scooping up a huge amount of the yogurt, and feeding it to Mercury. She tried to play it off as a cute thing with a smile, and as soon as he swallowed the one bite, she tried her best to shovel another thing into him.

"Romantic, right?" Eddie explained.

---

Mercury was actually liking that Eddie was feeding him. He didn’t mind the fact she was almost gagging him with the frozen yogurt it was indeed romantic. He laughed as he chewed, and swallowed the bit in his mouth shaking his head with a laugh. ”Chill girl you’re gonna give me a brain freeze at this rate.“ He laughed at his own poor pun. He was really enjoying this time with the woman he loved, and cared about. ”You should eat something too. I mean when was the last time you ate?“ He wiped the corner of his mouth of some yogurt. ”C'mon if you don't want some of this one we can get you your own cup of the stuff.“ He smiled charmingly at her then chuckled shaking his head when she tried forcing another spoonful in his mouth.

---

---

”Chill girl you’re gonna give me a brain freeze at this rate.“

Eddie played dumb. She shrugged her shoulders, and continued to stuff him with the remaining frozen yogurt. She glanced at his eyes, hoping desperately that they wouldn't be glowing, and she wouldn't have to force him into consuming anything else for the day.

”You should eat something too. I mean when was the last time you ate?“

"Umm.....Dinner?" Eddie guessed, remembering dimly eating all of the pasta. Truthfully, she really wasn't that hungry. She was focused on her mission, and that was to keep Mercury from going off of the deep end.

”C'mon if you don't want some of this one we can get you your own cup of the stuff.“

"I'm fine, really," Eddie said. "Photosynthesis, right?" she joked, wishing that things would actually work that way. It would have been incredibly amusing thing, if all she needed to do was stand outside in the sunshine. "Here, let's get you some more food," Eddie suggested, pulling him to a buffet style restaurant, located just outside of the mall.

---

Seeing as Mercury could really say no to Eddie, he followed her as she dragged him into a buffet style restaurant. His stomach still making gurgling noises, and his eyes still glowing. When they were seated Mercury grabbed some plates of food for Eddie, and sat her down in front of them. ”If you want me eating you gotta eat too. Or else I’m not gonna eat.“ He was adamant about that, and wasn’t gonna budge. He ate a crispy fried chicken wing slowly as he watched her. The intensity of his eye glow went up he wasn’t eating enough or fast enough. It was all just going straight down the hole into wherever the food he ate went.

---

---

Shit. Fucking glowing eyes still. She sat down, drumming her fingers against the edge of the table. It was a miracle that no one had freaked out about the black guy with glowing eyes--America was racist to the core, and superstitious. For some people, Mercury would indeed be their worst nightmare. His stomach was growling, and Eddie was plotting further ways to get him to eat, when instead...

”If you want me eating you gotta eat too. Or else I’m not gonna eat.“

She sighed a bit, not having the slightest urge to eat. "Fine. Then we do this on my terms. I challenge you to an eating contest--starting now."

Grabbing one of the drumsticks, Eddie started eating it as quickly as she could, and trying to avoid biting on the bones at the same time. Whenever she did strike a bone, she shuddered slightly, but knowing that she had to put up a decent effort in order to keep Mercury eating, she continued on valiantly.

"Come on, man!" Eddie teased in between drumsticks. "You can't give up that easily."