"Is… this really alright?"
"It's fine, it's fine. Don't be so uptight, I thought I was supposed to be the oldest one here!?"
"They both drunk as hell. How much alcohol did our Mega Girl even drink to get drunk?"
The Baby Crew plus temporary member Bella were currently walking casually on a certain street in LA… in front of them, were the young Silvie clones. They were all wearing green robes that were perfectly hiding their deformities.
But even with their attempt to hide it, suffice to say, all the eyes that they passed by were looking at them. It was a good thing that it was the holiday season and the children just seemed like Santa's elves walking around the street. As for Santa, well, that role was taken by Aerith, who was wearing a full Santa costume with a beard to cover the deformities on her face.
And so, besides some people snapping some subtle photos, no one was really minding them or were a little bit suspicious and wary– for them, it just seemed like some sort of parade.
Perhaps the ones that they should really be worrying about right now were Silvie and Hannah, who were already staggering as they walked through the streets… with Hannah even breaking in song every now and then.
"I have to say, though…" Gary then whispered as he slowed his steps, "...Silvie can't sing for shit. I guess she got that from mom."
"What was that?" Bella blinked a couple of times as she looked at Gary.
"N… nothing," Gary immediately stuttered and chuckled, "I… I said she sounds like a motherfucker."
"...Right," Bella squinted, "Anyway… where we at? I feel like we've been walking for a entire hour now."
"Tomoe, are we there yet!?" Gary then screamed; quickly garnering a thumbs up from Tomoe who was at the very front of the group. She then raised four of her fingers as she looked at Gary before continuing to walk ahead.
"...What does that even mean? 4 minutes? 4 hours?" Gary asked. Soon, however, they noticed that the number of people was dwindling; with each of their steps, the steps of the other people faded.
And soon, they reached some sort of ice rink.
"We're here," Tomoe then let out a small but deep breath as she turned around to look at the group.
"This…" Everyone then squinted their eyes to observe the place Tomoe brought them to, and the only word that came out of Gary's mouth was,
"...is depressing."
Even though it was a large ice rink, there were only 3 people currently skating on the ice– with them already seemingly about to leave.
"...If we were going ice skating, we passed by a huge one with lots of people earlier," Gary said, "There were lots of chicks there as well."
"...We're trying to be low-key, Gar," Bella breathed out.
"Do they look like the type of people wanting to avoid attention?" Gary then pointed at Silvie and Hannah… who were already wearing skates while bursting their hearts out and singing some sort of love song.
"They… wasted as fuck," Gary then muttered. He was about to say something else, but before he could do so, one of the young Silvies suddenly jumped inside the ice rink; not wearing any skates and just using their bellies to slide across the ice.
"W… wait!" And so, once again, Aerith was left with trying to calm them as the young Silvies all jumped inside the rink one by one, "Your costumes! Be careful not to rip them!"
"..."
"..."
"I always go here during the season," Tomoe's quiet breaths then whispered into the remaining group's ears, "It's not well taken care of compared to most of the ice rinks in LA, so there's not a lot of people going here– almost like it's isolated from the rest of the city."
"..." Gary then looked around, and true enough, there weren't any buildings surrounding the ice rink; just trees and some barren stalls.
"It's calm. I like it," Bella then whispered as she walked away to rent some shoes. She was about to pay, but the teller said that Hannah already rented the whole place.
"...Right, I almost forgot whose daughter she is."
"Ack! To heck with it!" Gary then followed Bella and got some skates, "I will show you the secret technique, Ice Path of the Dragon Body!" He roared as he rushed inside the rink… almost cracking it in half. It was a good thing Tomoe was there to fix it, if not, then their fun would be short-lived.
And so, with the rest gone, the only ones that were left outside the rink were Tomoe and Riley.
"..."
"..."
"Are you planning on killing Julius, Master Riley?" Tomoe then broke the silence, her words almost being drowned by Silvie and Hannah's loud screec– singing.
"Not yes, Tomoe," Riley immediately shook his head, "Only when my sister says she is hurt."
"I… believe she is already hurting," Hannah let out a small sigh as she glanced at Hannah, who was dancing and laughing while doing a quadruple axel.
"That may be so, Tomoe. But I need to hear it from her."
"Are you… really going to destroy the UK?"
"Only England," Riley shook his head, "As I believe Julius lived there."
"But… there are children…"
"Hm?"
"No," the slight stutter on Tomoe's almost monotonous voice faded before they could manifest, "Please do not mind my words, Master Riley. Let me come with you when it is time to–"
"No, you will stay here."
"But–"
"Who are you again, Tomoe?"
Tomoe blinked a couple of times from Riley's question, but after a few seconds, she whispered, "I am your loyal subordinate, Master Riley."
"..."
"..." Tomoe waited for Riley to say something back, but what awaited her was a silence that seemed to have no intention of breaking. She was confused at first as to why, but a few more seconds, and she had her answer,
"I… am Night Queen."
"And what is your mission?" Riley then quickly said.
"...To bathe the world in an eternal cold darkness," Tomoe's voice slightly became even quieter, "...and to protect big sister Hannah."
Riley then quickly nodded, before looking at his sister and letting out a small sigh,
"...And you are also her friend," he then said, "She will be truly sad to see you become a monster, Tomoe."
"But I am already a mon–" Tomoe did not finish her words, and instead just turned to look Riley straight in the eyes, "Am I… your friend, master Riley?"
"No," Riley answered without any hesitation as he sat on the nearest bench, "I have already said that none of you are my friends, Tomoe– and that is true."
"But–"
"I do not deserve something as human as that," he then returned Tomoe's gaze,
"Because I am a monster."
"..."
Tomoe wanted to say that wasn't true… but Riley Ross is Darkday.
An evil without rhyme nor reason, evil without any discrimination… an evil that seemed to crave for the painful death of all of humanity.
Tomoe had truly thought of herself as evil; she thought that she too, has become someone like Riley. She already killed people– teenagers the same age as her during the siege of the floating base of Dark Millenium.
She had also killed her father even way before that because he tried to rape her.
But now, she was realizing something– none of the people she killed belonged to those who were truly innocent. Riley is able to kill a child without batting an eye… a child without sin nor crime– pure in the rawest of sense. Would…
…she also be able to kill someone like that if the time comes?
"Tomoe! What are you doing there!? Just leave my brother if he's brooding!"
Tomoe's thoughts were then disrupted as she heard Hannah's screams; she turned around, only to see that Hannah was already at the edge of the rink near them.
"Go. I am alright here by myself, Tomoe."
And so, with Riley waving his hand, Tomoe could only bow and leave; entering the rink without any ice skates. As soon as her feet touched the cold surface, however, a blade of ice suddenly materialized from their soles.
"Oh, so this is where you learned that trick," Hannah muttered before pulling Tomoe away; her peals of laughter, once again filling the entire air,
"Night's not over, bitches!" Hannah then screamed her lungs out, "Awoo!" Before howling in an almost deafening sharpness.
And as if some sort of bomb was ignited, the young Silvies also started to howl one by one.
"Haha! That's right, kids! Awoo!" Hannah screamed her lungs out even stronger; raising her hands in the air almost as if trying to call down the heavens themselves, "Awoo!"
"Awoo!"
"Repeat it with me, Fuck Julius!"
"Fwak Julius!"
"H… Hannah, you shouldn't be teaching the children that!" Hannah's words immediately sobered Silvie; the alcohol in her body, almost evaporated as soon as she heard her words.
"Listen, kids…" Hannah, however, seemed like she did not even hear Silvie as she turned to face the children, "...Don't just cling to the very first man that tries to comfort you when you're vulnerable. Don't make my mistake!"
"Y… yes! Megachildren will never be hurt!"
"Strong together! Awoo!"
"Oho oh," Hannah shook her head several times as a small frown crawled on her face, "Trust me, even if you're the toughest and strongest being in the entire world, you will be hurt."
"Hannah… I think we should–"
"No!" Hannah slapped Bella's hand away as she tried to approach her,
"No!" She repeated as a small chuckle escaped her mouth.
"...Hannah."
Soon, however, the girls of the Baby Crew could only look at each other as Hannah suddenly burst into tears. But really, what could they do? They have, in some form or shape, have heard that the first relationship would always be the hardest. And for someone like Hannah, whose entire world almost rotated around her brother to finally have a chance to fall in love… only for it to crumble before it could bloom.
How could they comfort them when they themselves do not know what that feels like?
"It hurts…" She then whispered. And as soon as Tomoe heard that, her eyes immediately turned towards Riley… who was already standing outside the edge of the rink; his eyes, only seeing his sister.
"Big sister Hannah, don't–"
"It. Fucking. Hurts! It fucking hurts like a motherfucking fuck shit!"
It was almost as if the echoes of Hannah's screams rippled through the air, causing the ice to tremble as her cracked voice burst from her throat, "He was supposed to be my first boyfriend and I might end up just being fucking used! This fucking hurts as fuck! Riley, are you hearing me!? This is what you wanted to hear, right!? I…
…I'm hurt."
"No, sister."
"M… master Riley," Tomoe then took a small gulp as Riley suddenly appeared in front of Hannah.
"I did not want to hear it, sister," Riley then said as the ice beneath him began to crack; his feet, slowly leaving the surface.
"Master Riley, please think this–"
"!!!"
And before Tomoe could finish her words, one of the young Silvies' heads suddenly exploded.
"...What?"
Everyone then turned their eyes toward the small blast; the once slightly clear ice… now had a patch of red slowly dancing across it. Riley, who was just about to fly away, slowly descended to the ground as his eyes were also fixated on the headless body of one of the young Silvies.
Everyone was quiet, all just staring at the lifeless body sprawled on the ice. Soon, however, a small gasp escaped from Aerith's breath as her knees cracked the ice beneath her. Her mouth, stuttering as they tried to open… but before she could release a scream…
…A chilling roar drowned her voice.
A roar…
…crying out from the headless corpse.