Chaos.
Perhaps something that Riley had only seen accompanied by death and torture. But this time, the former was not present. There were only the tortured breaths and sighs of the seemingly overworked people that worked in the entertainment industry.
He had seen someone running around without pause since earlier, either having coffee, a camera, lights, make-up, or a chair in his arms. There was also one person that couldn't stop screaming at people for some reason.
But all of these, however, were ignored by Hera as her face was currently being brushed by all sorts of make-up. As for Riley… the same thing seems to be being done to him.
"...I thought we were meeting with the other voice actors of Italian Mafia Reborn, Miss Hera?"
"We are, in a few minutes."
"Bu–"
"Stop moving your lips, hun."
And before Riley could finish his words, he could not help but look at his reflection in the mirror in front of him, only to see a sort of lip balm brushing across his lips. Hera had specifically told the make-up artists not to touch him directly… but it didn't seem to be a problem since the stylist handling Riley had the same abilities as him– telekinesis.
"My… I'm not even needed here."
"..." A person then came into view in the mirror, standing behind Riley and looking at his face through the reflection, "You have the most beautiful and flawless skin of all the people I have worked with. I've worked on an albino before, but she had a lot of marks on her face. But you… you're like an elf, aren't you, hun? What's your secret, eh? Why is your face not imperfect like the other albinos?"
"Imperfect?" Riley slightly furrowed his eyebrows, "I believe there's no such thing as an imperfect face– only imperfect perceptions of beauty. The value of a human is not measured by their physical appearance, but by the way they scream, stylist."
"I didn't mean anything by– Wait, what?"
"If you're done, then stop bothering him, Chrissy," Hera seemed to also be done with her make-up as she stood up from her seat; her assistants, quickly helping her get dressed,
"Don't bother with what they're saying, whitey," Hera then replaced the stylist as she stood behind Riley, "But you do look really good there now that your hair is fixed."
With the light hitting them in all places, the contrast between Hera's slightly brown skin and Riley's almost blindingly white skin became more obvious. And now, without her cap and sunglasses, Riley could finally see Hera's face clearly.
Even before, it was either covered in dirt or blood, or she was in her titan form. And so, seeing her now, she truly did look like someone who would star and model in the commercials on TV back when Webflix still did not stream Italian Mafia Reborn.
"Let's go," Hera then lightly spun Riley's chair and removed the apron hanging on his shoulders, "I think we had the CDs waiting for too long already."
"...CDs?" Riley blinked his eyes a couple of times as he stood up; his confusion that rarely showed itself, slowly surfacing through his mind.
"Casting directors," Hera let out a small grin as she glanced at Riley before walking; and immediately as she did so, several of her assistants began following her, "You're reading for a part in a TV show I'm currently starring in."
"...Why, Miss Hera?"
"I told you, it's a deal, right?" Hera muttered, "I let you meet the cast of Italian Mafia Reborn, and you do me a favor– it's a win-win for you either way, especially if you get the part. Don't you want to be an actor?"
"No, Miss Hera. I want to be an astronaut."
"Pft, what's with that?" Hera let out a small chuckle, "I think you have more chance of becoming an actor."
"I don't know how to act, Miss Hera," Riley shook his head as he followed Hera.
"Really?" Hera once again chuckled,
"We'll see," Hera then said as her steps hastened; and soon, they reached an area of the studio with a large curtain as a backdrop. There were two chairs directly in front of the curtain, and then a table with 3 people seated farther away.
"Hera, you're late!" One of the people that were seated at the table stood up; the tone of his voice, showing his exhaustion. There were two others beside him, but they only nodded and smiled at Hera.
"Why did you call us here? We already filled this role!" The man said as he tapped a pen on the table.
"...What are you doing here, Vince? I only asked for the CD."
"I'm a writer, producer and also a director of the show, Hera! Why do you think I won't be here when I heard from Sharon you were asking to re-cast the guy we had? We've already done scenes with him, this is going to add to the budget!"
"I'm not feeling the guy, Mark. And besides, we haven't aired the episode yet, right?" In contrast to Mark's seething words, Hera just sat on the chair, "I got another one for you."
"What do you– !!!"
The casting director, Vince, was about to say something. But as soon as his eyes landed on Riley, he shut his mouth and looked at him from head to toe; he did so for a few seconds, before turning his head towards the two others that were seated beside him.
And as soon as they all nodded their heads seemingly in unison, Vince took his seat.
"What are you guys doing!?" Vince then slammed his palm on the table, "Give Mr. Riley Ross something to read!"
And as soon as Vince's screams echoed throughout the set, everything else became silent– even the hurried steps and the fluttering of the papers that were suddenly being handed to Riley seemed silent. And once again, everything was in chaos… this time silent.
The only thing that Riley could do was sit on the other chair as the world seemed to be sweeping him to do so.
"What am I doing here, Miss Hera?" Riley then turned to face Hera while holding a book in his hand, "Are we really meeting the voice actors of Italian Mafia Reborn?"
"We will, right after this," Hera winked,
"Anyway, let's do this part," Hera then grabbed the book from Riley's hand, turning the pages and returning it to Riley, "Line 69. It's the part where your character, Pharos, is about to die. He only appears in 3 episodes, so this is the most impactful scene."
"Do you need time to practice the lines, Mr. Riley Ross? We'll shoot in 15," Mark said. He was about to stand up, but before he could do so, Riley shook his head.
"There is no need, director," Riley muttered as he looked at the script, "I want to meet the voice actors of Italian Mafia Reborn already."
"Okay," Mark shrugged as he relaxed on his seat; waiting for Hera to finish explaining the character Riley was reading for.
Pharos was an alien from another planet, initially tasked to destroy Earth but ends up falling in love with Hera's character, Sarah. But as Sarah was the lead's main love interest, it wasn't meant to be. And so, as Pharos's mission was absolute, the only way to end it was either for him to succeed, or to die.
Pharos, however, was the strongest of his race– the main protagonist was not a match for him. But Sarah begged for the protagonist's life. And in the end, Pharos just ends his own life, as destroying Earth would mean killing Sarah.
"And that's that," Hera then finished explaining while Riley skimmed through the script, "You got all of it, whitey?"
"Yes, let us do this so we can meet with the voice actors already, Miss Hera," Riley said as he closed the book.
"...What are you doing? You're going to read the lines."
"It's alright, I have them memorized already, Miss Hera."
"Alright," Mark then clapped his hands as he turned his eyes towards the one holding a camera. And with a nod, the cameraman hit record. A toy knife that was cut in half was then handed to Riley, asking him to hold it near the center of his chest.
"Riley Ross, reading for Pharos in Splitting Bad… Rolling."
"What are you doing!?"
And without even any delay, Hera let out a scream; the expression on her face, completely different from before– her eyes, already moist and red. She didn't really need to act since she wasn't the one auditioning, but still, she needed to set an example.
"..." Everyone waited in anticipation as Riley's breaths whispered into their ears. Even Hera, who was currently acting, could not help but take in a small gulp as he waited for Riley to open his mouth. And finally, after a pause as he looked at the fake knife on his chest, Riley stood up from his seat.
"With my death…"
Riley then looked at his hand; almost as if there was blood trailing on it from holding the imaginary wound in his chest. And although his voice was quite monotonous, there was a certain tremble in his breath– almost reflecting Hera's wailing face with just the movement of his eyes.
"...my kind would see Earth as the stronger species. They will not dare visit this planet for years to come."
"..."
"..."
"Hera, your line."
"Y… you don't have to die for them!" Hera almost stuttered as she also stood up.
"I… am dying for myself," Riley's voice became weak as he looked Hera straight in the eyes, "Because what is my existence without you?"
"Why? Why would you…"
The other people in the studio started to gather around the audition set. Mark, who was watching the scene unfold in front of him, could not help but stretch his hands to the side– almost as if wanting to be held back from rushing to hug Riley.
"S… Scrap the current script," Mark then said as he gulped, "We…
…we're adding more episodes including Pharos."
***
"Do we get to meet the voice actors now, Miss Hera?"
"Yup, they're on the floor above."
"...But you said they were on this floor, Miss Hera."
Riley and Hera just finished the screening, with Riley straightening out every inch of his clothes as they were about to meet the cast of Italian Mafia Reborn. But as he heard Hera's words, he could not help but furrow his eyebrows.
He had been doing everything Hera asked him to since he was going to meet the voice actors, even to the point of signing a contract to appear in more than 10 episodes of Splitting Bad. But if in the end, he wasn't actually going to meet the other voice actors. Then… should he just break his promise and kill Hera?
"Are you… lying to me, Miss Hera?" Riley then muttered as all the objects on the floor started to tremble.
"Chill, dude… I'm not lying," Hera let out a small chuckle,
"They're really on the floor above, I promise. But rather, you're the one who lied," she then said as she gestured to Riley to follow her.
"What do you mean?"
"You said you didn't know how to act, that's clearly a lie," Hera once again chuckled as she pressed the elevator button, "You're an experienced actor, Riley. Stop lying."
"I'm not, Miss Hera."
"Bullshit…" Hera looked Riley straight in the eyes, "You…
…you've been acting your whole life."