The atmosphere in the room was suffocating as tension rose between them.
"I wouldn't be surprised if that's true," Felix said sarcastically, breaking the silence.
The siblings' eyes fell on the imposter, who just stood silently between them — no expression, not even a single muscle twitch.
But then, the imposter's lips curled into a smirk. "Hah.." she scoffed. Before letting out another low chuckle and sighed.
"Bingo."
The imposter stretched out her hand to the side as a top hat appeared in her hand out of thin air.
When she put it on her head, the disguise she had used slowly dissolved into glowing butterflies that consumed her figure whole.
After the butterflies flew away from her body, they disappeared as if they never existed — revealing the person beneath it.
A woman dressed in an aristocratic attire with a distinct masquerade design all over the silk.
It really was Doctor Iris Chrysalis, one of the le Fay family's most loyal attendants and a close associate of the Chrono Control Foundation.
"Dr. Iris, what's the meaning of this?" Sylvie asked, and she bent to her brother to untie him from the floor.
"Don't get so worked up my little Syl, I assure you I mean no harm. I'm just teasing you two.. my dearest~" She replied.
"It is not harm that we are afraid of, but you are not the type of people to drop by for a visit. Are the Masquerade Actors back in service?" Felix asked.
He stood up as Sylvie managed to untie the rope around him.
Dr. Iris shook her head.
"No, darling. Unfortunately, Director Chen is still missing and the Masquerade Actors have the faintest clue of her whereabouts. But that's irrelevant."
"Then, why are you here?" Sylvie interrupted.
Dr. Iris paused, crossing her arms and closing her eyes.
She pulled out a folded paper from her pocket and showed it to the siblings.
"Do you know what this is?" She asked.
The siblings leaned in closer as they read the paper's contents with critical eyes.
"This is.." they said together.
Dr. Iris nodded, affirming their intuition.
"That's right," she replied.
"This is last month's bill right?" Felix blurted out.
Dr. Iris's eyes snapped open at his response, looking at him with disbelief.
"What? No! That's-" she sighed —facepalming her forehead.
"I blamed myself more than I blamed you for not anticipating that..." She added.
She inhaled a long breath before speaking again.
"To summarize, this is an analytical report from the Singularity Investigation Department. According to the contents of this paper, there is an unusually high Singularity activity level detected in the 19th century, somewhere around 1885 I reckon."
"1885.." Sylvie muttered under her breath.
"What do you want us to do?" Felix asked bluntly.
Dr. Iris's lips curled into a smirk at his enthusiastic question.
"Simple, you go there through the Briefcase, find the singularity, and leave. Easy right?"
"Yea.. but something doesn't add up, why us?" Sylvie raised another question.
"We are short-staffed, little Syl. With the intern's entrance exam around the corner, most Pioneers are too busy with their lectures. Not to mention, many of our agents were sent abroad for a transfer program." She responds.
"So.. I came to you two, surely you wouldn't turn down my request." She added confidently.
Sylvie's eyes narrowed slightly at her words and she crossed her arms.
"We are not mere pawns, Dr. Iris. As Administrators, our role in the foundation is vital. We have many more concerns to deal with than this charade." Sylvie replied harshly.
The doctor let out a long sigh and looked at Sylvie with pleading eyes.
"I know, Sylvie. I know you have your own responsibilities now, but I came here to ask you not as a boss and a worker, but as someone.. Someone who nurtured you when you two were children. You understand?" She explained gently.
Sylvie looked down, unable to meet her gaze. Could she really turn down Dr. Iris's request after all?
Suddenly, Felix patted her shoulder with brotherly love.
"Come on, sis. Don't be a party pooper! It's been a long minute since we last defeated a Singularity before!" He tried to comfort her.
"But.. the workload.." yet she is still too stubborn.
"Don't worry about the paperwork my child, I'll handle it. After all, it's the least I could do for you two." She intervened.
Sylvie paused, considering the choices she had. Although, there wasn't much of a choice to begin with.
Then, she uncrossed her arms and nodded slowly.
"Fine.. you win, we'll go."
Felix's eyes beamed with joy as he pulled his sister close with joy.
"Yes! Finally, something that won't bore me to death!" He exclaimed.
Dr. Iris chuckled lightly at the siblings' antics. She offered Sylvie a sincere smile.
"I'm glad that you agreed, Syl. Now, let's go down to the Control Room." She clapped her hands together.
Sylvie's eyes widened as she turned to Dr. Iris. She pushed Felix's away abruptly.
"Waahh!" He yelped, stumbling backwards.
"W-wait, now? Like right now?"
Dr. Iris nodded.
"Yes, right now, my dear." She affirmed.
Sylvie's shoulder slumped at her confirmation.
"This is the worst day in months.." Sylvie retorted.
"This is the best day in months! Come on, what are we waiting for? The last person is the rotten egg!"
Felix pushed himself to his feet, bouncing on the floor excitedly as he sprinted out of the lounge.
Sylvie snapped from her disappointment and quickly chased after her brother. "Hey! That's not fair you cheat!"
They both raced to the Control Room, trying to outrun each other.
After a while, they finally reached the Control Room — panting and sweating.
"I.. won!" Felix exclaimed in her face.
"You.. cheated!" She retorted.
Dr. Iris catches up with them and opens the blast door to the Control Room, revealing the high-technology machinery inside with operators in their respective booths.
"Come on inside and take a breather, children. Then we'll proceed with the necessary preparations." She strides inside the room first, followed by the siblings.
In the center of the room was a futuristic altar-like platform. Two briefcases were presented on top of it.
"The Retroact Briefcase.. It's been a while since I used them." Sylvie muttered.
Felix however rushed to the platform and picked up the briefcase.
"Come on, sis! Don't be a slowpoke." He provoked.
Sylvie rolled her eyes and approached the briefcase — picking it up steadily.
"We are ready, Dr. Iris."
The doctor nodded and signaled the operator to begin the spatial-time maneuver.
Operator 1: "System online."
Operator 2: "Location pinpointed."
Operator 3: "Injecting supercharge."
The light on the platform turns from red to green.
"Operation Holmes authorized. Execute!" Dr. Iris commanded.
In an instant, a bright light descended from the plasma reactor above them, consuming both of the siblings.
Dr. Iris covered her eyes with her arm, unable to stand the bright light.
When she opened them again, the siblings were gone without a trace. She watched them go with a soft smile on her face.
Suddenly, someone approached her from behind.
"You really trust the children that much, don't you? Chrysalis. Your faith in them.. it sickens me." Their voices were low but not threatening.
The smile on Iris's face faded, but she didn't turn around.
"I was their nanny after all. But worry not, you just need to trust me..."
"...Chen."
[—Script is being written…]