“We are currently cruising at an altitude of 36,000 feet at an airspeed of…”
“Angel! Angel!”
“I… I’m really sorry about this!”
“You don’t need to keep apologizing, madam. It’s quite alright, let her play.”
“Thank you.”
The mother’s sigh was almost enough to lighten the plane itself as she nodded to the hooded young man seated beside her and her daughter. It has almost been an hour now, and her daughter still was not tired of moving around; even kicking the seats in front of her because of her excitement.
“Really sorry,” the mother once again apologized, “It’s just that… this is our first time flying without her father. He… will usually be seated where you–“
“He’s an angel, mommy! Look!”
“J… Julie, no!”
And before the mother could even pull her daughter’s hand away, it was already too late as she had already grabbed onto the young man’s hoodie, successfully pulling it away.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” the mother once again apologized, “M… Maybe we should just exchange–“
And before she could even finish her words, she could not help but squint her eyes as the young man’s hair completely reflected the seeping sun straight coming from the windows.
“T… that’s,” the mother was going to apologize again, but she could not help but be distracted by the young man’s overall appearance.
“See, mommy!? I told you…
…He’s an angel!”
***
“T… The Dark Millenium!”
“S… shit, so they really are also in this country.”
“They took my friends!”
“R… Riley Ross? Isn’t that the one from 1-V? What do they want from him!?”
“Where… where are the teachers!?”
“How… how did they even get inside!? I thought USMA was the most secure of all the Academies!”
“F… fuck, Hannah!”
“Gary, no!”
Although the students were trying their best to only let out a whisper, their nervous breaths that filled the entire coliseum were enough to make an orchestra of their unease.
There were those wanting to run, and there were those wanting to jump on the arena to try and confront the man calling himself Mr. Wednesday.
But from their months of training, the first thing they learned not to do was make any sudden movements during a hostage situation. One needs to be calm, listen carefully to every word that the hostage-taker is saying, and try to empathize with him.
However, there was one other factor that they were not trained in yet– the hostage-taker has a bomb clasped in his body. And judging from their first encounter with the Dark Millenium, they were more than capable of killing themselves when they realize they are going to be captured.
“What!? Are we just going to watch!?”
“That’s exactly what we need to do, sit down.”
But of course, when the one being taken hostage is a friend or a family member, then one could not help but be drowned with worrying emotions. And so, right now, Silvie was currently trying her best to pin down Gary back on the bleachers.
“You don’t need to calm down, but you need to stay put,” Silvie then said as she looked Gary straight in the eyes. Silvie’s voice held a certain authority and calmness in it… her trembling eyes, however, quickly showed how worried she actually was.
Seeing this, Gary took in a small but deep breath before patting Silvie’s arm, “…You’re right, it’s not the time to be rash.”
“Hm,” Silvie nodded as she removed her arm and carefully sat back on her side of the bleachers. Afterward, she turned to look at the situation in the arena; and almost instantly, her trembling eyes stopped.
“Illegal detention of… considered… act… terrorism… subjugate with force…
…kill if necessary.”
“Did you… say something, Silv?”
“W… What?” And as soon as Silvie heard Gary’s words, her eyes once again returned to normal; quickly shaking her head before looking at Riley, who also seemed to be looking at her.
“Are… are you alright?” Silvie then quickly asked.
“I am not the one being taken hostage, American Mega Girl.”
It was hard to tell what Riley was feeling since he was wearing his sunglasses– No, it was always hard to tell what he was really feeling even without it. But Silvie was sure that even someone as stoic as Riley; it’s his sister currently in danger, after all.
“But… what are you going to do?”
And as soon as Silvie said that, not only Gary and Tomoe, but everyone within their earshot turned their heads towards the person named by the hostage-taker– Riley.
“Respond and wait,” Riley then said as he slowly stood up and floated in the air.
“W… What!? Stay here!” Silvie tried to grab Riley’s ankle, but some sort of invisible armor was preventing her hand from wrapping around it, “W… Whiteking is the one controlling the drones, right? I am sure the Academy is already planning on taking action!”
“That does not change the fact that I was called, American Mega Girl.”
“S… shit, we should come with you.”
“I advise you to stay where you are, Dragon Monarch,” Riley then said as he slowly floated towards the arena, “The same goes for you, Mega Girl and Tomoe.”
“Is this really wise, master?” Tomoe also stood up from her seat, and unlike the rest of the students, her words held no stutter.
“We’ll see.”
And with that, Silvie and the others could only watch as Riley’s figure became smaller and smaller as he made his way to the arena.
“Fuck! We should just gang up on the guy, there’s like thousands of us here! What’s the use of them teaching us if we can’t apply them when it matters!?”
“That’s just the thing, Gary…” Silvie then muttered as she sat back down, “We… are not ready yet.”
“Most of you are ready, little girl. Just not for this.”
“Whiteking!?”
With Whiteking suddenly appearing seemingly out of nowhere, the group could not help but slightly move back from their seats. And it wasn’t only him, there were others behind him– including Scarlet Mage, Spectacular Mustache Man, Nightwalker, and a number of other instructors.
“Shouldn’t you be doing something!?”
“We are,” Whiteking nodded, “We have actually already started apprehending the other members that are inside the Academy even before this.”
“S… seriously?”
“Riley Ross was already aware that someone infiltrated the Academy,” this time, it was Spectacular Mustache Man that spoke,
“He reported seeing three guards incapacitated in the hallways.”
***
“You’re Riley Ross?”
“…I am.”
As soon as Riley landed on top of the roof, his eyes quickly turned to the multiple drones that were surrounding them; and with their voice echoing throughout the coliseum, it would seem they will be having an audience during their… negotiation.
“And you are Mr. Wednesday… from the Dark Millenium, I presume?”
“I am,” Mr. Wednesday quickly nodded as he tightened his hold on Hannah; the voice that was coming out of his helmet, completely monotonous and indiscernible, “We need you to come with–“
“Are you comfortable, sister?”
“F… fuck you, Riley Ross.”
“…”
With him suddenly being cut off, Mr. Wednesday could not help but slightly let out a small but deep sigh, “We need you to come with us, Riley Ross.”
“We? Are you saying there are more of you inside the Academy, Mr. Wednesday?”
“Yes, so it would be best for you to comply– we are not here to hurt anyone.”
“But you are an evil organization that has already killed more than a hundred students, are you not?”
“That’s not what–“
“Your leader is Darkday. He has killed millions and millions of people all over the world, laughing as he enjoyed their cries. You can’t expect us to believe you’re not here to hurt anyone?”
“T… that’s right, tell him, Riley Ross,” Hannah managed to speak up even with the arms wrapped around her neck.
“We– !!!” Mr. Wednesday was about to talk but suddenly found himself unable to even open his mouth. He could also feel a strange pressure slowly tightening around his neck, he tried to move and push Hannah away, but it would seem it wasn’t only his mouth that couldn’t move.
“Our leader is not Darkday.”
“!!!” His breaths then completely stopped as someone else’s voice reverberated inside his helmet. On the outside, it would seem like he was still the one talking due to the voice changer installed in his helmet– but the voice circling inside was not his, but someone he was familiar with.
Mr. Friday– the one who told them about Riley Ross… and how he killed his own schoolmates.
“Your leader… is not Darkday?” Riley slightly let out a deep breath before placing his hand on his chin… trying his best to cover the smile that was threatening to crawl on his face.
“No, we lied so that we could get his attention… but he did not approach us even once.”
“Then… who are you?”
“We are the ones that are going to continue his legacy– our true goal is to drown the world in darkness… forever.”
“You… you fucking psychopaths!” Hannah let out another scream even with her neck clasped, “Then what… what do you need us for!? Let me and Riley Ross go!”
“Because we are here to reintroduce ourselves, you see. And the only way we are going to get the whole world’s attention is by taking the two of you hostage.”
“W… What?”
“After all, you are Bernard Ross’s children.”
“D… Don’t you fucking dare!” Hannah started to scream in order to drown any other voice besides her. But alas, her mouth was quickly covered by Mr. Wednesday’s slightly trembling hand.
“One of the core members of the Hope Guild…
…Whiteking.”