In Faye's black eyes, disbelief and confusion flickered. She rose from her chair, her legs momentarily weak beneath her. With a voice as soft as a whisper, trembling with the difficulty of accepting reality, she asked:
"Esther?"
Her voice betrayed her emotions, filled with longing but gradually giving way to doubt and incredulity. Esther's attire and the mask she had removed—it all felt unreal, as if she had emerged from a nightmare.
Unaware of the storm in her mother's heart, Esther approached and embraced Faye tightly. Her tears soaked into her mother's shoulder as Faye reflexively returned the hug, her hand gently stroking Esther's back. Yet, her disbelief rendered her silent.
"I've missed you so much, Mom…" Esther whispered. She was finally here, with her mother at last. But she could feel the distance. Faye's movements were stiff, her arms tense.
Pulling back slightly, Esther saw the conflicted expression on her mother's face—an all-too-familiar mixture of disappointment, shock, and a harsh, judgmental glare.
"Mom…" Esther murmured hesitantly.
Instead of responding with words, Faye gripped Esther's shoulders tightly, crumpling her clothes. The pressure made Esther wince, but what unnerved her more was the way Faye was looking at her—as if she were a monster.
In a voice trembling with disbelief and denial, Faye demanded, "Please tell me you disguised yourself to get in here."
Silence was the only reply. Esther couldn't bring herself to answer. Her throat felt as though it had closed. She had expected a harsh reaction, but not so quickly or so intensely. Lowering her head, she couldn't meet Faye's gaze and trembled like a chastised child in her mother's grip.
Still, despite her nerves, her blue eyes filled with resolve. Her voice, sharp with determination, emerged:
"No."
Faye's expression shifted to pure shock, her eyebrows lifting in disbelief before furrowing in anger. Her heart pounded furiously as her hand rose. Esther squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the stinging slap she was sure would come.
But it didn't.
Faye, breathing heavily, stepped back. Her hands were trembling, and her eyes still burned with fury, but she couldn't bring herself to strike her daughter. Even after this betrayal by the one thing she held most dear, she couldn't hurt her.
"Leave," she said, her voice quivering with anger.
Esther stared at her in disbelief. Somehow, not being struck hurt even more.
"Mom…" she pleaded, her voice trembling with desperation. "Please, just listen to me, I—"
"I said leave!"
Faye's hand hovered over the touchpad, her finger trembling just above the button, whitened from the strain of her grip. Esther knew she was moments away from summoning security.
But this time, she wouldn't back down.
She wouldn't run. James had been one of the reasons she came here, but this confrontation was about more than that. It was time to face the questions that had haunted her since the days of her first partner, Xayah.
Standing firm, she straightened her coat. After glancing at her mask, her refuge and her identity, she pressed it against her chest and set it aside.
"No," she said again, more firmly this time. She barely recognized her own voice. When had she last stood her ground like this in front of her mother?
There was no time to reflect.
"Mom, it wasn't Bakugans who killed Dad. You know that."
Her face twisted with sorrow as memories of her father's death surfaced. But that expression quickly hardened into one of resolve. She thought of Xayah's suffering and James's current predicament. The dead couldn't be brought back, but worse outcomes could still be prevented.
Faye's mind reeled at Esther's words, her expression etched with deep anguish. She closed her eyes against the weight of the moment, but Esther's voice reached her again.
"It was an accident. Just like coming here was a mistake. It was a mistake, Mom."
Faye couldn't bear it anymore. Her rage boiled over.
"Don't you dare defend those monsters, Esther!" she shouted.
Esther didn't remain silent in the face of her mother's fury.
"Stop acting like you're the only one who lost something! Like you're the only one who cared about Dad's death! Everyone's hurting, Mom. Everyone!"
She paused, stepping back. Tiny crystals of light formed around her eyes, glistening like tears in the room's light, reflecting her pain. Her voice shook as she continued, her expression heartbreakingly fragile.
"Everyone's suffering, Mom. We… we can't do this to anyone else…"
Faye's hands trembled as she grew angrier. Standing before her was her own daughter, defending the very beings she believed had killed her husband. How could she dare? How could she stand there and say such things?
In a fit of rage, Faye's trembling hand swung toward Esther. Tears streamed down Esther's face as she looked at her mother, bracing for the blow. But just as Faye's hand was about to strike, a streak of white light shot out from Esther's chest pocket, pushing her hand away.
It was swift, no more than a blink, but the force was enough to make Faye stumble back. She caught herself on her chair as the door opened, security guards rushing in, only for her to bark at them to leave.
Panting, Faye knew exactly what that flash of light was—a Bakugan.
Just seeing the Bakugan's cursed, ominous white glow turned her stomach. She remembered it as vividly as if it were yesterday—the light from Haos Anchosaur, the crocodilian monster with its deceptively radiant destruction.
And the death of her husband that had followed.
Esther moved to help her mother, but Faye stopped her with a raised hand. Esther barely held back her sorrow, struggling against the hostility and coldness radiating from her mother—expressions she had feared seeing more than anything.
Speaking in a tone dripping with betrayal, Faye began, "You speak without knowing. They suffer? What about us? What about me? You didn't see Harold crushed by that monster! Don't you dare defend your father's killer!"
Her voice rose as she pointed to the door, speaking as though addressing an enemy.
"Leave, Siren. Don't show your face to me again. Not until you abandon this nonsense and become my daughter once more."
She turned her back and pressed a button on the desk, opening the door. Esther wanted to speak, but the words wouldn't come. Swallowing hard, she looked at her trembling hands and legs, unable to form a response.
Frustration, sorrow, and anger churned within her. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she put her mask back on, her expression unreadable except for the faint trembling of her lips. The red glow in her mask's eye sockets flared momentarily, burning with her emotions before dimming again.
Wiping the tears from her face, she left the room as Siren.
The moment the door shut, Faye collapsed onto her desk, and the only sound left in the room was her muffled sobbing.