Work Text:
The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the office space as Green sat at his desk and computer. He had been asked to provide and mail over some photos for a couple of the articles he'd been assigned to take photos for. Green was going through the photos he took so that he could send the best five or so to the writers so they could pick which ones to use. Once they figured that out, he'd get sent the photos back and he could edit them to the right dimensions and do any simple touch-ups (like brightening or sharpening the photos so they'd appear better on the newspaper) before sending them back.
Green was distracted though, the day before yesterday Zelda had gone to see if she could track where Vio was hiding (possibly with The Shrouded Specter if Red was to be believed). She said she had thought she had seen him, but she hadn't actually talked with him, just saw him wander into one of the houses. Green wasn't sure how to feel about that. He was fairly certain that The Shrouded Specter had shapeshifting powers (why else would he not wear a mask during fights?) and therefore he could have easily disguised himself as Vio.
Green wanted to trust Red and believe that The Shrouded Specter wasn't as bad as he seemed. However, multiple years of fighting, combat, and encounters proved otherwise. The Shrouded Specter was a force to be reckon with and could be dangerous when he wanted to be. Green absentmindedly rubbed at a scar that sat near his hairline. He let out a sigh. Green hoped Vio knew what he was doing.
There was a gentle knock on Green's desk. “Leo? Are you busy?” A gentle voice spoke up, light blue swirls danced across his vision.
Green turned in his chair and smiled when he spotted Erune standing by his desk. Her brown curly hair was tied up into a bun and her green eyes shined bright with the way her head was tilted. She smiled gently at him in apology.
“Sorry if I startled you,” she said. She pulled at the puffy sleeves of her shirt. “I came by to ask you something, but I can come by later if you're busy.”
Green shook his head. “Nah, I'll be busier later, so you can ask me now,” he said.
Erune nodded her head. “Okay! I'm doing a report on what happened at the Mall about a week ago. I'm looking for photos of The Swordsmen and I've been asking all of the photographers if they have any over the last few years. So, do you have any photos of The Swordsmen?”
Green blushed and rubbed the back of his head. “I don't,” he said. He winced slightly as she stared at him wide eyed. “I have bad luck when it comes to getting photos of them! I always seem to arrive a few minutes late whenever I try, everyone is already clearing out of the way by the time I get there!” Green paused and frowned. “Why do you need photos that aren't from the fight at the Mall?”
Erune's smile fell slightly and she tapped on Green's desk nervously. “I kinda want to compare and contrast and see if there was anyway we could have predicted if something like this would happen and if something like it could happen again,” she explained.
Green sat up straighter. “What do you mean 'something like this'?” He asked.
Erune leaned against Green's desk. “Well, The Disappearance of The Violet Rift, then them coming back as Violet Crown, and then their possible death. What if another member of The Swordsmen were to betray the team? Were there any signs leading up to The Violet Rift's betrayal?”
Green looked to the side. “Oh...” he muttered. He then paused as he noticed something. He glanced up to Erune. “Possible death?” He asked.
Erune folded her arms. “Well, there's no body...” she let out a sigh. “I know, not the best reason, there's a lot of missing people who are probably dead that no one's ever found the body for and for all we know the bodies got washed into the cracks that closed up, but the Mall security had people use Ground-Penetrating Radar devices to see if there was a body or two where the cracks had been...”
Green looked back up at her. “They did? Did they find anything?”
Erune shook her head. “Nope! As far as they can tell right now, though there are a couple places they're double checking, they've found nothing. It sounds like the only reason they're double checking a couple places is that its looks like there's some spots that have disturbances, but they seem too small to be a body. Doesn't Neil work at the Mall?”
Green nodded his head. “Yeah, but he hasn't been in since the incident, The Board Game shop he works at is closed for the period of time they work on the parking lot...”
Erune played with a stray strand of hair as she looked over Green. “So what are your thoughts?” She asked.
Green tensed up. “My thoughts?”
“Mhm! You've heard the story, even if you weren't there to see it. The Shrouded Specter and Violet Crown tear up the Mall's parking lot, Violet Crown and Green Zephyr fight until Violet Crown knocks out Green Zephyr and then starts attacking The Blue Breaker, only for The Blue Breaker to wash both Violet Crown and The Shrouded Specter away...or they disappear during his big attack. We know The Shrouded Specter can sink in and out of the shadows...that's the only way I can think of them escaping. So what are you're thoughts on the situation?” Erune paused. She looked at Green. “You're good at noticing details others sometimes don't notice.”
Green rubbed at his side absently, the one that Vio had hit during the fight. “Well, where is Red Phoenix during the fight? And you say The Shrouded Specter is there at the start and then at the end but where does he go?” Green knew the answers to both of those questions, even if he had been passed out, He'd heard both Red and Blue's perspectives of the fight, as well as Zelda's.
Eruna hummed. “There's mixed responses about that. Some say that Red Phoenix hid, some say that Red Phoenix stood back and did nothing, and some say that they spotted Red Phoenix in a fight with The Shrouded Specter and then near Green Zephyr's side later on...which would explain where The Shrouded Specter was for most of the fight. They must have fought somewhere where not a lot of people saw them though...” She frowned as she raised a hand to her chin. “You don't think Red Phoenix would be the next to betray the group?”
Green froze, his hand still on his side. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, ignoring how it felt shaky. He held his hands together and tried to hide how much the sudden thought shook him. “Red Phoenix? From the stories and what few clips I've seen, he doesn't seem like the type to betray his team?”
“Neither did The Violet Rift,” Erune replied.
Green bit his lip. He took a deep breath. “Don't most people write about how Red Phoenix is the Heart of the team? If he's the 'glue' of the team, why would he be the next to betray the team?”
“The Violet Rift was the Smart one, the Brain of the team,” Erune pointed out.
Green leaned back in his chair. “Okay, but in most media its the Smart one that tends to get swayed to the bad side somehow,” he said.
Erune glanced at him. “This is real life, as much as it seems to match up with your Fantasy Novels, Isaac's Comic books, or even Kei's plays...” she paused. “Speaking of Kei, is he okay?”
Green's head whipped up to look at her. “What do you mean?” He asked. He felt his heart race, was something wrong? Something had to be wrong if Erune was asking him about Vio.
Erune played with the sleeves of her shirt again, her gaze falling from Green's. “Well, I went to the City Library a few days ago, and I didn't bump into Kei at all. I asked about him and one of the older ladies who worked there said he hadn't shown up to work for a couple days. I just wanted to make sure he wasn't ill or anything. I know you said he moved out a couple months ago and you didn't have an easy way of contacting him, but just wanted to know if you had heard anything...”
Green paled. “I-I haven't heard anything...” he said. He frowned and turned back to his desk. He picked up a pencil and one of his sticky notes. “You said you went to the Library when?” he asked.
Erune paused and looked up to the ceiling for a couple seconds. “Tuesday,” she said.
“And he was already missing for a couple days?” Green asked.
“Monday at least...Is the Library open on Sundays?”
Green jotted the info down on the sticky notes. “If it is, Kei doesn't work there that day...unless he's changed his schedule. Which would be a smart move...” Green grumbled that last part to himself as he tapped his pencil against his chin. He let out a sigh. “I'll have to call him and check up on him,” he muttered. He set his pencil down. “If he'll answer my calls...”
Erune frowned. “Is everything good?”
Green rubbed at his head. “Yeah, Kei just barely answers his phone,” he lied...well, was it a lie? Vio did barely answered his phone, he'd much rather text or have a conversation in person. No, Green decided, it was not a lie, Red couldn't be upset that he lied to one of his friends.
“Maybe visiting him would be wise?” Erune asked.
Green smiled at her. “Yeah, probably...” There was a chime on his phone and Green picked it up. He winced slightly. “I need to send some photos over...sorry that I don't have photos of The Swordsmen for you.”
Erune pushed off Green's desk. “I'm so sorry to distract you! I didn't mean to take up that much time,” she said.
Green waved his hand. “Its no problem, I needed to be woken up anyways,” he said with a nervous laugh.
Erune folded her arms and leaned forward. “There's coffee in the break room if you need any.” A smirk spread across her lips.
Green rubbed the back of his neck. “I'll have to see what kind it is and decide if I want to brave the break room coffee or not..”
Erune laughed. “It does feel like that some days. Anyways, I'll leave you be so you can get back to work,” she said with a wave.
“Chat with you later,” Green waved before turning back to his computer. He let out a shaky sigh and ran his hands through his hair. He needed to find a way to check in on Vio.