Remi's POV
Blyke's Room, Wellston Boys' Dormitories, 11:32PM
"Who exactly is EMBER, huh?" Arlo recalled to himself. "That's a really difficult question."
"Dammit!" Isen spat curses to himself. "This just gets more complicated as the days go by! I seriously didn't expect that we'd see a real live member of EMBER today!"
"Calm down, dude." Blyke put a hand on Isen's shoulder. "We didn't know that we'd see someone like her. This mission was supposed to be another criminal catch."
"You're completely missing the point, Blyke." The boy responded to the redhead. "I'm not just concerned about that. Didn't you hear what that lady said? She said Volcan's name."
"I know, but we have to-"
"Who's Volcan?" The three of us suddenly turned our heads to see John ask us innocently. "She seems to be quite a big deal to you guys. You met her before?"
Right...I forgot. We didn't tell John about her.
"Sorry..." I apologized to him. "Yes, we know Volcan. Back when I was only working with Blyke and Isen on our Superhero mission, we ended up meeting that woman. From what I remember, she had blonde hair that was tied up in a bun on top of her head, a black hat, a gray mask that covered her nose and mouth, and basically a whole black outfit in general."
...
"She...was also the one who killed my brother..." I gravely added.
The room immediately went silent.
"I'm sorry." I apologized again, feeling tears prick at the sides of my eyes. "That was stupid of me to say. All you need to know is that she's a danger to us."
"No...you don't have to apologize." John said with a hint of sympathy in his voice. "It must've been really hard for you to cope. I should be sorry too. Before our fight when I was Joker, I told your brother that he could go to hell, right? I was out of line then. I'm really sorry for your loss."
...
I tried to make my frown into a gentle smile. "It's okay. I'm just happy that you retracted your statement from earlier."
"So, this Volcan woman is the root of it all?" John questioned. "You know, EMBER in general?"
My eyes turned to look at my lap. "We're not exactly sure. Volcan was our only lead to EMBER in the beginning, but now we have more information this time. That other woman, Jane. She was clearly talking to her over the phone. I'm almost certain that she's also a member."
"Mmm." John voiced aloud in a thoughtful manner. "So, what we've gathered so far...Volcan seems to be a vital member of EMBER, possibly even the leader of the entire operation. Based on seeing Jane, there are more people than we think who are strong. We're talking about an organization filled to the brim with high tiers and there even might be a couple of god-tiers."
I nodded to the points he made. "Yep. That's basically the gist of it."
"Geez, this makes things so much more complicated!" Isen hung back his head, complaining about the situation. "We had to deal with the demon that is Volcan, but now we have to deal with the whole shebang? When will this nightmare end?"
...
"We need to find more members of EMBER. Let's keep at it at what we're doing and see if we're able to search for more. I know if we keep on going, we can defeat them." I spoke up.
Most of the group turned their heads away to the side. To be honest, what did I even expect from them? That they'd immediately agree to my plan? It's risky, I know. But, for all the Superheroes that have risked their lives for us, died for us. Rei too...!
I can't just let this-!
"I'll do it."
I looked up to hear John say.
"John..."
"I'm not letting you die out there." He said with a serious tone. "Not when you're so determined to do something like this. If you guys want to bail on Remi, feel free, but I'm helping her."
...
"No, I'm not."
This time, Arlo spoke up.
"Remi, you're like the embodiment of getting into trouble. And the fact that John's coming along with you just scares me." Arlo explained. "Together, the only thing you two do is act before you think. That's why you need us to back you up."
He suddenly turned to Blyke and Isen when they both flinched.
Isen sighed, putting a hand to his head. "Well, I already know there's no getting out of this one. Alright, Remi. Let's buckle up for the ride that's ahead of us."
"I'd hate myself more than ever if I couldn't help you, Remi!" Elaine blurted out.
"Guys..."
They really do care...
"Thank you so much..." I smiled softly.
John's POV
Floor A, Wellston Boys' Dormitories, 12:01AM
"Bye, Blyke!" Remi waved the redhead goodbye.
The five of us were standing outside of his room while he just stood by the door. It was already midnight and we were all tired enough from our EMBER catch earlier.
"Ok, guys. Seriously, good night. I'm sleepy as shit." Blyke deadpanned.
"Well, I suppose that's fair." The pink haired girl laughed, then let out a small yawn.
"Alright. Let's get back to the girls' dorm, Remi." Elaine placed a hand on Remi's shoulder while the two walked together back to their own dormitory.
I should probably get back to my own room.
Just then, Arlo poked my shoulder as I turned to face him, a bit confused.
"John. I would like to have a word with you." I think I heard him say to me.
"Huh? You two aren't going back yet?" Blyke noticed.
"I just wanted to talk to John before sleeping tonight." Arlo told him. "You can go and sleep."
"Hmm, well alright." He paused for a bit to yawn, raising a hand to his mouth. "Goodnight!"
Blyke closed the door shut.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked the blond.
"Straight to the point, I see."
I shrugged. "Hey, I just wanna hit the hay. Make it quick."
"Are you sure? It's not about EMBER or anything like that. It's going to be sudden." He responded.
"Please. What could it possibly be that's so bad? Spill it, will you?" I felt drained of my energy.
...
"It's about Seraphina."
...
"Ah." I let out after a moment of utter silence.
Welp, this is really awkward.
"So? What about her?" I tried not to let my emotions spill. I had to look calm.
"We talked recently. And apparently, you came up as one of the topics we talked about."
"Oh? Is that so?" I raised an eyebrow. "Arlo, why was I even in your conversation with her?"
He only sighed. "Would you please stop that? Calling Seraphina 'her' and 'she.' Say her name already. You call her Sera, don't you?"
"Not anymore, no." I replied. "The last time we actually talked, that was when you came in and defended her when I went ballistic on her. Since then, I've just been calling her Seraphina."
"Why are you even bringing this up? You know about us. You know our relationship is not the best right now. Hell, you even got a first row seat to experience it. So why?" I explained.
"It's because I want to help you two."
"Huh? Is this really Arlo? The mighty fork king, Arlo? You sure you don't have any screw looses in your head or something?" Alright. I was super confused now.
"Yes. I'm perfectly fine. Gosh, why does everyone think that I'm crazy if I'm nice?" He said to himself while making a frown on his face. "Well, whatever. That's not all I wanted to say. John. Seraphina told me how much she misses you."
She misses me? Seraphina?
"No..." I refused. "Stop lying, Arlo. I know you're just trying to get my hopes up."
"I would never do such a thing. I'm completely serious, John. She wants to have that friendship with you again. I could feel it. She definitely wants you to be by her side again, having fun."
"And why should I?"
"What?" Arlo looked taken aback. "What in the world are you saying?"
"I'm saying that..."
I shut my eyes as I remembered everything that I said to her. How much I said I hated her. How much I said that I didn't want to see her face ever again. How could she want me back?
I clenched my fist.
"I'm saying that I'm not ready yet." I concluded. "Sorry, it's just that...I need more time to think about this. Can you just tell her that I didn't want to talk to you about this?"
I could see him almost protest against the idea, but stopped himself before doing so.
He knew it as well as I did.
"Fine." Arlo agreed. "I'll do it for you, but just make sure that you fix that relationship with her soon. Before things can become rocky for you two."
I only stayed silent as Arlo continued to walk past me.
...
John's Room, Wellston Boys' Dormitories, 12:19AM
I sighed. And here I thought there weren't as many things that I needed to do. Keeping my nightmares and insomnia to myself, helping Remi and the gang defeat a crazy shadow organization, and now talking to Seraphina and making up with her?
The list just keeps piling on.
I wonder what's next. Meeting Claire again and having to apologize for every shitty thing I've ever done? I swear, the author loves making me suffer. She's batshit crazy.
Still...Seraphina misses me? It's hard for me to believe.
After everything I've done to her, why is she so kind to me? So forgiving?
...
"HEY! Where the hell do you think you're going!?"
"......"
"Don't touch me!"
~~~
"Y-you two planned this all along? You two teamed up against me?! WHO SAID YOU COULD BE HERE?! GET THE FUCK OUT!"
"......"
"Hit me all you want! But take a good look at who else you're threatening! Seraphina! The one you've been trying to protect all this time! Remember all the times you harassed me because she was injured?! Remember all the students you hospitalized for touching her?"
"....."
"Now you're just gonna turn on her like this?! What the hell are you doing? Wake up!"
"GET OFF!"
"She turned on me first. You all turned on me first! Fuck all of you! I should've known you'd do this to me, Arlo! You already fucked everything up for me. It was only a matter of time till you approached and manipulated her too!"
"What the hell is wrong with you?! WHAT DO YOU HAVE AGAINST ME?!"
"You just never learn-!"
"SHUT UP! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SIGHT! I DON'T WANNA SEE EITHER OF YOU EVER AGAIN! YOU'RE BOTH DEAD TO ME!"
...
How could I have fucked up so bad? And it wasn't only Seraphina who I yelled at. Arlo was also there. I remember yelling at him for ruining everything for me. Not to mention that I literally punched him in the face.
"MONSTER."
Claire's single word stuck out like a sore thumb. It still resonates in my heart even today. But, I...we have bigger problems to worry about. Arlo, Remi, Blyke, Isen, Elaine, and I.
I sighed, thinking back on the topic of EMBER.
What the hell could be going on inside of those towns?
And I didn't tell the others this, but...
I feel like I've seen that woman Jane somewhere before...but where?
...
Suddenly, I shivered and my blood ran cold.
I really didn't want to believe it, but it all makes sense with the reporters and everything.
The readjustment facility.
NOTE: Next episode will be on Thursday, March 11th! Remember to vote/comment when you're finished reading!!