Villain Retirement

"They killed your people because of me, Aerith. The Elder you know as Elder Olseyir, she's one of my clones that has gained individuality like John. She's the one who instigated the other Elders to ultimately act on what they did…

…It was me, Aerith. I killed your people."

"..."

"So, please. Be angry at me, truly hate me—kill me over and over again. Just wake up."

"..."

"It was my fault, I… was wrong. I thought you would be able to overcome it like you always do."

Riley waited.

He waited for even just a twitch of Aerith's eyes, but there was nothing.

"You know Gary…" Riley held Aerith's hand in hopes that she would grip his hand back, "...Gary was supposed to be on the ship, all you needed to call him with you and he would have still been alive."

"..."

"It is somewhat funny, you know?" Riley then let out a small chuckle as he sat on the floor; resting his head on the bed as he started twirling her finger on Aerith's palm, "Gary Gray has always been obsessed with being the main character, not knowing that he was. He was so busy trying to escape the notion that he's just a side character… that he literally died in it. Or perhaps he just wanted to belong?"

"..."

"Either way, he died like a side character—offscreen. Do you know what I mean, Aerith? While you were experiencing one of the greatest moments of your life as you freed your people, he died like nothing."

"..."

"...Aerith? Are you listening?" Riley then finally let go of Aerith's hand as he stood up from the floor,

"I have always known about what I am, and what I am doing. I enjoy every second of it, but right now… I don't know. I could go out there and start killing everyone again, but I don't think I would enjoy it, Aerith. Not without you trying to stop me. You and me, it was supposed to be you and me…

…I now realize why I retired when you were gone. Because without you, what is the point of all of this? I also realized I never really quit being Darkday, because I knew you were alive somewhere. But now…

…are you waking up? Please tell me, Aerith. Give me a sign that you are alive."

"..."

"Don't worry, Aerith…" Riley then let out a small sigh as he started making his way to the door, "...I will keep you here…

…forever."

And as Riley's whispers very slowly dissipated as he stepped out of the room, the only sound that was left inside was the air that was coming and entering Aerith's nose. Whether or not it was truly him breathing, or if it was just because of Riley…

…no one would truly know yet.

***

"Hm."

Empty.

As Riley stepped out of their house and into their neighborhood, he realized how empty it truly was—and not just today.

It has always been empty.

Even as a child, he had never really seen anyone walking as he looked out the window from his room. This entire district was owned by Bernard, and be it paranoia in trying to keep his family safe, Bernard never really rented it out to anyone.

Of course, that seemed normal for Riley—as he never really stepped out of his neighborhood, he only flew. But for someone normal like Hannah, it should have had a negative effect on her social life.

"..." Riley once again looked at the lifeless neighborhood, before closing his eyes and taking a very long and very deep breath. The only sounds that one could really hear were the birds whispering to each other, the rustle of the leaves…

…and then finally,

"How is Aerith doing, Neighbor!?"

A voice.

"Shh. Don't be too loud, Husband. She might still be resting."

Voices.

And soon, it was followed by the bark of a noisy dog. And then the sound of an engine and a car driving by—the chime of a bicycle, as well as the sound of a spray of water hitting grass.

"..." Riley then opened his eyes, waking up to a neighborhood teeming with life and people walking around. And in front of him standing on the sidewalk outside their front yard, was an ordinary-looking couple waving at him with smiles on their faces.

"Aerith is still asleep, Neighbor," Riley also waved back and smiled.

"Okay, Neighbor!"

"We will bring some of her favorites to your house later, Neighbor!"

"Thank you, Neighbors," Riley nodded as the couple started jogging away. Riley once again looked at the once-empty neighborhood, only to see the houses around them occupied; with most of them having someone tending their lawn.

There were also children riding on bicycles, and parents telling them to keep to the sides to avoid the cars driving by. But most importantly, all of them had smiles on their faces.

"Hm…" Riley then nodded to himself. And as he took a step away from the door, a black helmet instantly covered his head; his body, now strapped in leather as he walked out—and on the street in front of them, was a motorcycle that wasn't there earlier.

"I'll be back, Aerith," Riley then glanced back at their house, before nodding and riding away with his motorcycle. The people waved at him when he zipped by, and of course, Riley waved back.

Everyone was smiling and being courteous. And even as Riley left the neighborhood, everyone still had smiles on their faces.

While Riley was now blanketed by the darkness of the night, the people in his neighborhood were still surrounded by the joy of day.

The couple that was jogging, they were smiling.

The people that were tending their lawns, they were smiling.

Even those that were just standing in front of their houses, they were smiling.

The children, the people that were in their cars…

…and even their dogs were smiling.

***

"Boring. Why is everything so boring!? Do you want me to replace all of you with aliens!? Give me a script that's actually worth something!"

"But—"

"Out! All of you out!"

In the middle of Los Angeles, a new tower stood amongst all the giants—Hera Entertainment.

As soon as Hera got back to Earth, she used all of her savings and investments to finally build up an entire agency from the ground up—literally.

"Why is everyone except me so useless!?" Hera's entire office was built from the strongest of materials, some even from New Theran. If it wasn't for it being inaccessible, then she would have probably built the entire agency there.

Of course, the reason for this was simple—she would break everything otherwise.

She continued to look at all the programs and the scripts that were on her table, and yet none of them proved to be to her liking. They weren't bad, of course… but for Hera who had experienced the abundance of the Known Universe, everything just seemed boring.

She wanted something that would excite the entire world—anything.

"Ms. Hera."

"What!?"

Hera almost threw the phone on her desk she heard her assistant's voice.

"There's someone here looking for you."

"Do you know what time it is!? Who is it!?"

"He's not giving me a name, but he says you were in the Hope Guild together and even traveled the stars together?" The assistant's voice seemed excited, "He's… not an ex, is he? He looks sort of weird, but in a very nice way. Almost… like an elf?"

"...Oh."

Perhaps… not that exciting.