"S… Silvie!? What happened to you!?"
"Did you meet another supervillain or something!? Was that meteor your doing!?"
"N… no, this is–"
"Maybe you fought another dangerous enemy!? Another remnant of the past fought by Megawoman? But why are you the only one injured!?"
Class 1-V, Mega Academy; once again filled with noises and curious whispers as Silvie stepped inside the classroom. Without even a second of Silvie entering that class, she was bombarded by a series of questions– not even allowing her to take a single step to her seat.
Of course, why wouldn't they ask? Silvie was currently covered in bandages, even her arms were wrapped in a thick layer of cloth– not even wearing her superhero outfit that she was usually so proud of.
If it weren't for Hannah, Bella, Tomoe… and surprisingly also Daniel shooing the other students away, then the questions would have probably rained on Silvie until the end of the day.
As for Gary, well… He was currently sweating buckets; his eyes, as wide as they could be as they landed all over the place. After all…
…Silvie Savelievna was not here at all.
A few hours ago.
"…Fuck."
The Baby Crew, plus temporary members Bella, Daniel, and also Aerith gathered around the suite's dining table, with the sun already flowing through the large windows of the suite. Their eyes were filled with bags– one would almost think that they weren't able to sleep, but the truth is, they did.
They were discussing how to proceed last night, but they weren't really able to come up with a solid strategy that would ensure that everything would work well.
Finding Prophet's killer? They would have to wait until his funeral to hand the phone to his husband… and even then, there might not even be any clues to who killed him.
Figuring out where Aerith and the other clones came from? Almost impossible. Aerith had been trying to remember everything she could, but the only thing she knew was that they were transported in a truck, then loaded into a ship.
The only thing they had a lead on was the one thing that related the two cases– MEGAN. Prophet's location of death and the clones' whereabouts? That couldn't be a coincidence.
MEGAN knew that Prophet was dead, and this so-called mother of Aerith and the others took them near the town. MEGAN and Aerith's mother could very well be the same entity… if so, they already have a prime suspect.
The Reuben family, or in a more grounded state– Julius Reuben. Of course, that was to be discussed later as soon as Hannah was able to talk to Julius.
There was also the fact that they were just given 1 week by Bulwark. And with Prophet's body already found, the Academy would soon be calling for them– there was also the fact that last they checked… they were the only students left outside the Academy.
And so, with them reaching a stalemate, the group just decided to sleep in the suite– there were a lot of rooms for some reason. Whatever else Tomoe's mother was doing here… everyone was sensible enough not to pry.
But now, even as the sun threatened to drown them with its brilliance, the Baby Crew plus temporary members were still all silent.
"Let's… just return to the Academy for now."
And so, with them in a stalemate, the only thing they could really do was let things flow for now.
"The only current problem we have now…
…is them," Hannah then pointed towards the young clones, who were busy watching a show called Cocolemon.
"I can take care of them!" Aerith quickly stood up from her seat, "P… please, trust me with this. I have already been taking care of them, so it–"
"No," Hannah quickly shook her head, "The only reason you've been able to survive this long without being discovered is that this Mother entity of yours has been manipulating your actions."
"But, we'll just stay here!"
"I trust the little kids. You, not so much," Hannah muttered. No matter how many times they repeat the story, the fact that she was ready to kill the policemen in the school just to gain her mother's favor could not be erased.
She was still unstable– and judging by the looks on Silvie and the others, they agreed.
"That's…" Aerith couldn't really rebuke Hannah's words. After all, even she herself was starting to feel disgusted with the things she had done. With her spending time with Silvie and the others, she was starting to realize that everything that their mother had ordered them to do was bad.
Even if they weren't necessarily good people, they massacred all the people inside the facility they were kept in.
"…"
"…"
"…I'll watch and protect them."
And when they thought that silence would once again prevail, the sound of Silvie's chair creaking from her suddenly standing up whistled in the air.
"…You do know you also need to come back to the Academy with us, right?"
"Aerith and I could switch places," a small smile then appeared on Silvie's face as she approached Aerith; placing her hands on her shoulders as she slightly leaned closer to her face, "We look alike."
And as soon as she said that, everyone on the table, except Riley, looked at each other. It is true that they were almost identical, but half of Aerith's face was completely deformed; her skin, looking like it was almost falling off of her skull.
"Just say I was injured!" Silvie quickly muttered as she realized what the others were thinking, "This will work!"
"This is a very bad idea."
And surprisingly, the very first one to oppose the idea was Gary, "What if whoever is doing all of this detects us or something? Don't you guys watch anime? Code Diaz? Death Pen? Blanch? Defend on Giants!? We don't even know if there are chips implanted on Aerith!"
"There was," Silvie then quickly responded, "I already destroyed it… along with the chip implanted in mine. I discovered it weeks ago," she then said as she pointed to her skull.
"I still think this is a bad idea."
"…What's with you, bro?" Bella could not help but blink a couple of times as she looked at Gary, "You ain't supposed to be the cautious one, remember?"
"That's–" Gary could not really continue his words. The only reason he was worried right now was that he is directly involved in this– he is Megawoman's son. But he couldn't really tell that to temporary members of the Baby Crew.
And so, alas. The majority of the group already decided– Aerith was going to attend Mega Academy in Silvie's stead.
But first, they had to experiment on her… in terms of fashion. They took a couple of hours, but in the end, they went too overboard with her clothes that it made her look as far away as Silvie as possible.
Silvie's fashion sense was, in a modest term, old. So in the end, they had to settle with something simpler. And so, with everything set… they went back to the Academy.
And now, back to the present Gary, who was still completely aloof and filled with suspicion even as he was already peacefully seated at his chair.
Who worked for who? The Government had already lied to him about there being only two clones, what's to say they didn't lie more?
What if like him, who was watching and observing Silvie… there was also someone watching him?
"Bro, Riley… hear me out," Gary then leaned in closer to the only person that seemed right in the head– Riley Ross.
"Do you think we're safe with what we're doing now?" Gary then whispered.
"No, Gary. There is no such thing as safe in this world as long as I am here."
"Oof, the edge," Gary squinted his eyes and puckered his lips as soon as the chills crawled throughout his skin upon hearing Riley's words, "But for real doe, I knew you were the smarter Ross… we aren't safe here. Here me out again though…
…what if someone is watching us right now?" Gary then muttered as he looked behind him, only to see almost 50 students looking at him, "S… shit, I think we should change seats to the back."
"No, I will not be able to hear the instructors clearly from the back."
"S… fuck," Gary whispered, "If it's like this, then I will protect Aerith myself. No matter how ugly she is, she is still the same as Silvie– she's family."
Gary then nodded confidently to himself as he looked at Aerith. This is his time to protect her now– the start of Episode Gary starts now.
[Riley Ross, Bella Jackson, and Daniel Espinoza of Class 1-V, please head to the Headmaster's office.]
"…" Gary could only blink his eyes a couple of times as he watched as Riley stood up; the students' eyes, now all focused on him.
It's him again, they all thought. They already knew that he was one of the students that found Prophet's body. In fact, if anything major happens around the Academy, one could be sure that a Ross was involved.
And so, with their eyes following Riley, Gary could only let out a sigh and nod. This is good, he thought. With the attention now away from Aerith, his job was a little easier.
But this is just the first step of Episode Gary. He was the main character now, there will be more t
***
"Please take a seat."
"…"
Bella and Daniel could only look at each other as they entered the Headmaster's office, before looking back to the person sitting at the Headmaster's desk– other than their advisor, Bulwark.
Was it actually possible…
….that he was also involved in this?