Banjo leaned along the silver hued railing of the yacht, watching the surface of the water shift and flow intently. He wore a mainly wheat brown dashiki with a small bead necklace, much more casual than his suit despite the fact he was quite literally sailing into the domain of a demon.

"This whole trip seems very badly calculated. I doubt it's going to go the way you think it will." called Shen from behind him, who was wearing a loose black tang suit with hints of blue.

"Hey Shen, good morning to you too." Banjo closed his eyes and smiled, truly at peace. He always felt his best when he was on the move, going somewhere new or doing something new. It filled him with a sense of hope, accomplishment, and determination.

"I've always found it amusing how easily psychopaths blend in with the rest of us so easily." Shen walked over to the railing and rested his back against it, crossing his arms and turning towards Banjo with narrowed eyes, his silky black hair blowing in the wind. "Psychopath? If I recall, I haven't murdered anyone. But I guess you can't say the same, hm?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I haven't murdered anyone; you were the one who-"

"Who made the conscious choice to murder two other people in pursuit of your goals? Seems like you're in deniallll." Banjo said in a sing-song voice, clearly not caring about the effect of his words on Shen.

"I SAID that I didn't murder anyone." Shen turned around, his glare intensifying. "I had a reason to keep moving forward so- well, I was just, playing the game, like they both were. I mean, you, orchestrated the whole thing, did you not?" It was clear with one glance that Shen was still reeling from the test he had undergone a few days prior. He was far from his usual calm and collected self, and was tired, and edgy.

"You didn't play the game though! You changed up the rules for your benefit, I was watching the whole time." Banjo grinned again. "You're just as bad of person as I am, and that's why you've-"

"Shut up. Really, or I'll-"

"Kill me?" He asked, turning so that he could stare Shen, who stared at him in shock, in the eyes. He slowly turned back towards the sea, taking in a deep breath, and filling his nostrils with the smell of salt and water mixed together in the grand display of nature.

"I'm not saying you should regret what you did, but you should acknowledge that you're ready to kill, and have killed in pursuit of your goals. Lie to as many people as you want, but don't lie to yourself."

"Spoken like a true crazy person!" Banjo felt an arm come around him and glanced at his side, Malincha right beside him. Her hair was tied up into a slicky ponytail, and she wore a white and blue sailor uniform, clearly getting into the aesthetic of the boat.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Shen recovered from his shock and rolled his eyes. "Speaking of liars."

"I'm not a liar, I'm an actress!" She posed dramatically, much to the amusement of Banjo, and the annoyance of Shen. "You know, a while back ago I was cast as Rose for a production of The Titanic!"

"And I'm guessing the play crashed just like the Titanic?" Shen mused.

"...Good one. What's the little boy for, comedic relief?" Malincha asked Banjo.

"Well, we needed a little book worm to complete our quartet, so I settled for him. He came with sass, but eh!" He grinned at Malincha who snorted, before breaking into full on laughter, the two crazies full on laughing, with Shen glaring daggers at the both of them.

"Wait..." Malincha wiped her eyes, turning towards Banjo with a confused expression. "Quartet? Isn't that like five people?"

"It's four." Shen responded.

"Yes, four people."

"So, then who the hell is our fourth member? We have the star of the group, me, and then Guitar-"

"It's Banjo." He interrupted Malincha

"Whatever. And then we have the little sassy pubescent teen. So, who else?" She asked.

"An actually talented actress, maybe?" Shen pondered.

"No." Banjo said. "Well- maybe, I don't really know if the Devil is an actor or not."

"WHAT? THE DEVIL?" Malincha put a hand to her chest and gasped in the most extra way possible.

"Yes, I know, it's absolute madness."

"That gasp was actually fake." Malincha smiled. "This is quite crazy, but it's Banjo we're talking about."

"That is true." Shen agreed with Malincha for the first time.

"...My mental health aside, have you two ever heard of the Vardoski Mirror?"

"No, I'm not even a real archeologist if we're being honest." Malincha admitted, and Shen bit back another sarcastic response.

"I've heard of it before. It's a myth originating from the land of Polu, correct? It's a mirror with various magical properties, but the most significant of its features is that when the mirror reflects people, the reflections of said people become sentient, and the complete opposite of whomever they reflect."

"Oh, so that's what the little boy is for. Impressive." Malincha smiled at Shen, who in return, stared at her blankly.

"Exactly. So, what would happen if the brightest, most remarkable of people was reflected in the mirror?"

"The result would be the creation of the most evil, despicable being you could imagine." Shen answered.

"Exactly. Legends say that Moloc once adventured to the nation of Polu and found the mirror. When he stared into his reflection, his opposite was created, known as the Devil of Polu."

"And so now you wanna recruit this incarnation of evil?" Malincha asked.

"Yes."

"Are you completely insane?" She asked again.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to." Shen side eyed Banjo, who just grinned at the two of them.

"I'm not crazy, just calm. Pan, you know a decent amount about the Devil of Polu and the Vardoski Mirror, but not as much as I do." He grinned. "I know what it wants more than anything, or to be more precise, what it's vessel wants more than anything."

"...And what the hell would a demon desire so badly it would become a lacky for a human?"

Banjo relaxed his shoulders and leaned forward, looking out into the sea with a smile. "Freedom, obviously."