A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

(F/n) wanted to make some remark about how he hasn't suffered pain. His pain was probably due to him losing his feasting abilities, but she kept her mouth shut. If she had made that comment, she might've lost a limb. Instead, she broke his gaze and tried to free her wrist. He wouldn't let go, though. "And, here I thought that you could understand." The creature laughed again.

Something tugged at her chest, and she scowled at it. "You're lucky that I had realized my feelings before this conversation." Now, a giggle left him. "You really set me off, my little helper. I'm tempted to break your wrist, but I don't want you to have a similar injury to that deceased trash."

Her eyes met his again. Pure anger burned in his orbs, and his hand tightened a little on her wrist. (F/n) wanted to wrench her wrist free, but that would probably snap it. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" he questioned, his eyes moving to her wrist now. Maybe, he would really break it, or he would break her whole arm instead.

"I-I ... I-I ..."

Another giggle left him. "There's one of your perks. You know when to stop, but I'll allow you to continue here. Tell me what's on the tip of your tongue. I want to hear it."

She gulped, and she tried to keep her arm from shaking, but she couldn't prevent it entirely. A shaky sigh left her. "I doubt that you've suffered so terribly. I doubt that you've experienced such sorrow." (F/n) raised her eyes and stared into his. "I simply can't imagine it. After everything that you've done, I just can't."

The creature released her wrist before he grabbed it again roughly and seated her on his lap. Her legs straddled his, and his right arm wrapped around her waist to keep her steady. His nails glided along her jaw line. (F/n) visibly tensed, but she didn't try to push herself off since the nails were too much of a threat.

"And because you doubt those things, I have no right to feel sadness?" He giggled and shook his head, but the giggle still wasn't his usual high-pitched one. "Who gave you the right to judge what I can and can't feel? I'm not human, but that doesn't give you the right to declare what I can and can't feel. You're raising yourself up too high, (f/n)."

Cupping her right cheek, his nails were dangerously close to pressing into her head. "Remember, we're partners. Even if you're my murderer and I'm your victim, we're still tied together on the same string. We're still on the same level. If you forget that, I doubt that you'll succeed in your goal to kill me."

No words left her, but she wished to avert her gaze. He was ... right. She didn't have the authority to judge his ability to feel, but she couldn't wrap her mind around it either. The creature had caused her too much pain for her to view him in a suffering position. "Fine ... I ..."

"As long as you understand, that's all that I need right now." His nails moved away from her face before he lifted her up and placed her back on the table. He walked away from her, and she was glad for the distance. The creature leaned against the wall to her left and crossed his arms.

Looking to him, she hesitantly asked, "Why don't you tell me?" An eyebrow of his rose. "Tell me what had caused you to suffer so much. I can better understand that way."

"I could, but you could find some weakness in that and use it to kill me. You already know that I'm not going to go down easily, my pink flower." He tapped his nails against his other arm. "No, we still have unfinished business. I need you to give me information on your plan."

"You ..."

Cutting her off, he held up his left hand and silenced her. "I know that you're not going to answer." A grin started to spread across his lips. "But, that was before. This is now, and I've developed a way to get you to talk." He giggled. "It's very simple, and I wish that I would've thought of it sooner. It would've saved a lot of time, but I'm happy that I had the chance to dispose of that awful garbage." His eyes gleamed once more, and it was as though the present conversation had left his mind completely.

"What do you think that it pertains to?" His grin continued to unsettle her, but she couldn't comprehend what he was getting at. "Oh, come on. You're smart, (f/n). Who have you been protecting this entire time?" Her eyes widened, and her lips parted. Before she could speak, he giggled loudly and cut her off again. "Now, now, I haven't explained everything yet. Be patient. We've had enough yelling for today."

Pushing himself off of the wall, he stepped to be in front of her. She was tempted to punch him again. "Now, I know that option B will come into effect if you fail in killing me, but I realized that there's something quite interesting about the current situation. Whatever you had plotted with Haley, it had been part of your plan to kill me.

"Since I don't know what that had been or still is, I can assume that you've put your final act into play. You've claimed checkmate as I believe that you humans call it." Horror crept into her expression, and she slowly shook her head. "As far as I'm concerned, you can't turn back. Now, you have to kill me and succeed, but I'll be generous."

Grinning, he rested his hands in his hoodie's pockets. "I'll give you until the end of the day. If I'm not dead by then, you lose, and option B will be set into motion." He rocked back and forth on his heels. "It'd be a real shame if I simply knocked you out right now. You'd wake up to quite the nightmare."

In disbelief, she muttered, "This is why I can't understand. This is why ..."

"Now, now, we're done with that conversation." His tone was playfully scolding, but it was incredibly deadly too. "Don't become distracted. You have a huge task to perform now." The creature leaned forward a bit. "Well, what are you going to do?"

There was no way that she could kill him in her present state, and the conditions were all wrong. Panic began to flow through her bloodstream, and her limbs started to shake. She wanted to hold her head in her hands, but she couldn't. Not being able to think of anything else, she locked her eyes with his. (F/n) displayed her utter terror to him; she made herself vulnerable as her eyes begged him to reconsider.

Smirking, he stood back up fully. "Have you given up? I thought that you were determined to kill me."

"I am ... Bu-but, I'm n-not rea-ready."

"Sometimes, you're not given the time to be ready, my partner. You need to adapt and think quickly. You've been around long enough to understand that. Now, show me what you can think of. Kill me. You still have a lot of hours before the day ends."

"No." The creature quirked a brow. He began to giggle. She wasn't amused, but her pleading look didn't change. "I'll tell you about what I had planned with Haley. Just don't start option B. I'll modify my plan, but its final part hasn't started yet."

Slowly, he started to clap. "Beautiful. Excellent." He giggled loudly. "I knew that it would work!" The creature fell back onto the chair and crossed his legs. "Tell me the truth about what you had planned with her. Then, you won't have to try and succeed in killing me today. I'll hold back on option B too."

Calming down a bit but not entirely, she simply stated, "The hospital." The creature motioned her to continue, but a small grin touched his lips. He probably already knew what she was getting at. "Haley's aunt works there as a nurse. The plan had been to have her aunt steal sedatives and deliver them to Haley. At some designated point, Haley was to bring them to me."

Amused, the creature stifled a giggle fit, but he almost entered it regardless. "Well ... th-that's ... tha-that's just cute." A frown fell upon her lips. "A nice idea but it wouldn't have worked. Before I had left the tunnels, I had been attacked by multiple groups of armed forces. Some of those had attempted to use tranquilizers on me. Some of those annoying darts had hit me, but they had no effect, and those, my little helper, are stronger than a mere sedative.

"I know that because some past tunnel explorer had tried those on me too. I had swallowed a few to entertain them, and nothing had happened. Instead, I had shoved the rest of the bottle down their throats. The effects had been quite different." He giggled at the memory. "Really, Haley dying had been such a benefit for you. Now, you've been spared from a plan that would've most definitely failed. Aren't I generous?"

Standing up from the chair, he patted her on the head. "Oh, but I wouldn't use those sedatives on you if that had been your reason for not telling me originally. That would be too much trouble." She stared up at him, and she felt like she had been struck by a massive wave. "I can always simply knock you out." Before she could utter a word, he did just that. (F/n) fell over her, but he caught her with his left arm. "Now, let's go get some deserved rest." The creature gently picked her up and returned to the bedroom.