"The comfort of space is better than the comfort of a bed, mother. Trust me, you dragged me for almost an entire year and I didn't even feel uncomfortable once."
"I'll stick with the bed. I would also need to explain a lot of things to you if we're going to proceed with this little adventure of ours."
"We–"
Riley was just peacefully following behind Aerith as the two continued to walk through the streets of Hotis 4J, when suddenly, a group of aliens blocked his path. Although in a way, he should be the one considered an alien since he came from another planet.
But then again, almost everyone on the planet came from another planet… so who really was the alien then? Riley squinted his eyes at the thought, not even bothering or minding the group of… people that suddenly surrounded them.
Yes, people. It should be alright to address them like that from now on.
"..." Riley then finally turned his eyes towards the group that surrounded him. Red skin, purple skin, grey skin– such a diverse collection of skin colors. But other than that… They look quite similar to a human, except that they don't have ears and are taller than Riley by almost 2 feet.
Riley didn't really say anything, as they probably wouldn't understand him anyway– and he was right. The four started talking in a language that he once again doesn't understand, but judging by the intonations of their voice and the way they moved… they probably weren't up to any good.
"..." Riley then turned his attention towards the guards that were watching them, only to see one already approaching. But before the guard could take another step… he froze. And as soon as he did so, Riley turned his focus back to the 3 people surrounding him.
"Did you need something from me, people?" Riley then finally decided to talk, causing the group to instantly stop talking as they looked at each other. And after a few seconds, they suddenly burst out in laughter– or at least that was what it sounded like, it could be a totally different emotion as far as Riley knows.
Perhaps his language sounded funny to them? After all, Riley also thought that their language was weird; but didn't really mind it.
It probably took about a whole 5 seconds before the group stopped chuckling. And as soon as they did so, the one with the red skin placed his hand on Riley's shoulder.
"I do not appreciate being touched, red person," Riley then said as the hand of the red-skinned humanoid started to tremble as it very slowly lifted itself away from Riley's shoulder,
"I dislike it to the point that I might have to kill the three of you n–"
"T'rla kum an pras ta."
And before Riley could finish his words, Aerith suddenly appeared and grabbed the red-skinned humanoid by his wrist. She seemed to be saying something to them as the group started looking at each other again; this time, however, a slight discomfort could be seen showing on their face.
And not even 3 seconds after, the three started walking away.
"Did they need something from me, mother?"
"...They're just curious about what race you are," Aerith sighed as she held Riley's hand, "Let's go. We need a place to put our heads down."
"..." Riley looked at Aerith and his hand as she dragged him away; he didn't really say anything, however– even as she didn't even let go of his hand once until they were alone in a room.
It didn't even enter Aerith's mind to rent two rooms. After all, she needed Riley close to her at all times; and so, she settled on a room with two beds.
"This place really did turn for the worse," Aerith's sighs once again quickly filled the entire room as she allowed herself to fall on her bed. As for Riley, he just moved towards the window; looking and watching the people of Hotis 4J go about their days.
The people in Hotis 4J don't know it, but Riley might as well just be a nuclear bomb waiting to explode.
The incident at the gate.
Being thrown into jail.
Then being stopped by a group of aliens.
They haven't even been on the planet for that long, and any of those incidents had the chance of Riley running amok. There really was no way of knowing whether or not Riley would just suddenly end up killing the people here– after all, he killed for less.
No, he killed for fun.
Aerith doesn't know whether or not Riley was just pretending to lose his memory, but by the way he moved and talked… his urge to kill was still there.
…Was it really the right decision? Aerith thought as she turned her eyes towards Riley, whose eyes were reflecting the colorful streets.
Was it really the right decision to bring Riley with her? If it was true that he lost his memories, then Aerith could have just left him on some planet far away– he wouldn't be causing any more problems that way.
Well… that is until he recovers his memories. Riley mentioned that he could always find Earth since his clones were still there. Aerith couldn't really risk Darkday coming back to Earth again without her there.
And besides, with Earth being invaded– that would mean that sooner or later, the universe would know of the existence of Humans. It might be a year from now or a decade, but she might actually be able to see Empress and the others again once the planet is officially registered, and this time, on another planet.
"What are you thinking about, mother?"
"..." Aerith then quickly scooched back as Riley suddenly… sat on her bed, "What… are you doing here? You have a bed of your own."
"Is it bad for a son to want to sleep with her mother, mother?"
"It is when you phrase it like that," Aerith could only sigh as she sat up and just joined Riley, All Full ᴏᴠʟ
"I'm just thinking of our next course of action."
"Have you told me why we're traveling around? The only thing you've told me is that the planet we used to live in exploded. Are we trying to find a new home, mother?"
"...Not exactly," Aerith could only let out a sigh as she hugged her legs, "We're here to find the one that destroyed it, Caitlin Ur."
"Revenge, mother?"
"No. Justice."
"And we will find her here?" Riley once again stood up and walked to the window.
"Probably not," Aerith shook her head as she was finally able to lay down again, "But if I was her, then I would also stop here to rest. But I don't really know what she's capable of now."
"The three men that surrounded me earlier…" Riley then muttered as he looked at Aerith, "What were they really saying?"
"They weren't men," Aerith chuckled, "Their females of the Nak'um race from planet Sranka. And as I said, they were curious as to what race you were… and if they could try to mate with you."
"Interesting," Riley breathed out, "And could I? Is it possible for us humans to mate with a different species?"
"Intergalactic racial couples are more common than you think. Some work, some do not," Aerith let out a small sigh as a smile slowly crawled on her face,
"And as cheesy as it may sound, love is a universal language, Riley. One that transcends everything else."
"..." Riley no longer talked to Aerith; taking one final glance of the outside before proceeding to lie down on his bed,
"I wish I could understand that, mother."
"...You will,"
Aerith turned her head towards Riley… towards the man that killed her husband. Granted, for someone of Aerith's lifespan, the moment she shared with Gary's father was but a blink of an eye… but she was happy.
And Riley took that away.
She was angry, of course; seething with rage, even. But Riley… Riley was created because of people like her. People that played god.
Of course, Aerith strived to be as far away from that– but with her strength, it was almost next to impossible.
But Caitlain Ur, Diana Ross… is a themarian fully capable of playing a literal god. She was, perhaps, the closest to being the most dangerous creature in the entire universe.
Wanted by her own people for committing genocide on 7 accounts.
One of them was the people of Protus. It's a real planet, or at least it was before Caitlain Ur got her hands on it. Now it's just a wasteland with no life capable of surviving there.
And if it was true that she was responsible for creating Riley– for creating Darkday… then that would mean she was planning something.
Darkday was, in a sense, a weapon capable of going toe-to-toe with themarians.
Most of the themarians already have a few screws loose in their heads, and are treated as one of the most dangerous races in the entire universe– but if anything else…
…themarians generally have compassion for beings weaker than they are. That is the only reason why they were not considered the most dangerous race.
But a race composed of people like Darkday? A race that smiles at the sight of blood and torture? It probably would be manageable if they were only of decent strength… but Riley was fully capable of dropping an entire moon on a planet.
The only reason he hasn't probably done it was because it would be no fun.
Caitlain Ur…
…must be stopped at all costs.
"Goodnight, mother."
"...Goodnight, Ri--"
Aerith could only abruptly stop her words. How could she not, when Riley was now suddenly lying beside her?
"Go...
...go back to your own bed!"