3 No One To Blame, Except Yourself

Edgar wasn't feeling like using his computer. In fact, he wasn't feeling like doing anything. Facing the ceiling while on his bed, he thought to himself. 'Disappointing them over something so silly! Come on, I'm better than this!'

His train of thoughts is interrupted by someone knocking on his door. From the other side, his mother speaks. "Sweetie? Your father wants to talk to you downstairs."

Once down in the living room, the young adult notices someone else to his father's side. The sight of his closest friend eased his mind.

"Good, now I can start."

Grinning, Derick doesn't let the opportunity slide. "Guess your father got you good this time, ay, Ed?" He gains an eye roll as a response.

Taking from there, Baxter starts. "So, I made some calls and your stunt caught the media's attention. Your information is secured from them, somehow, but it won't be for long. People are already gossiping about it."

"That fast?" His son asks with a raised eyebrow. He is responded with a nod.

"And to make sure we'll have a back-up story to prevent people from figuring you didn't have a license to do that, we'll give you one."

At that, both younger males look at him. Then, Edgar speaks. "Wait, really? Just like that?"

A mug was near them, from which the older of the three takes a sip. "Not quite, but yes. I made some calls and got almost everything arranged. All you have to do is go to the police station, pass their test and you're good to go. You're at least old and smart enough for that."

Still surprised at the news, the adult in black nods to himself. 'How many people do my father know for him to just… do this?'

"Um, Baxter," Derick speaks. "What about me? Didn't you want to talk something to me?"

"Yes. You're going with him."

It took the brown haired adult a few seconds too long to realize what he was just told. When it did sink in, his eyes widened and sparkled with awe. "Wait, for real?!"

One sip later, Edgar's father nods. "I knew you were coming and figured: why not? Giving you somewhere to spend all your energy while giving you professional experience should be fun."

"This… This is what I've been looking for and you just go and…" Small tears of joy forms in the corner of his eyes as the words didn't want to come out. So he stands up, wipes his tears and grins challengingly. "I promise to make the best out of this, Mr. Baxter!"

"Just Baxter," is all the older of the three says while smiling proudly.

After regaining his composure, Derick sits again and asks. "When should we go there?"

"Tomorrow is Sunday so take the day off and go there early Monday."

"So…" Edgar asks. "Is this my punishment? Doing more of all this?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. There, you'll be under strict rules and one slide could cost you everything." He takes a moment to sip his mug before continuing. "Just because I made things easier doesn't mean they'll be easy."

He then places his mug aside and stands up, approaching his son. With his hands on his shoulders, he enforces his Power against his younger child, who falters slightly. "And I hope you don't screw this one up." Then, looking to his side, he addresses Derick. "And that serves to you too. I had to demand favors for that."

Fighting the urge to flinch at the prospect of letting that happen, Derick nods.

Then, Baxter lets go of his son, who breathes a sigh of relief, and reaches his mug again, finishing whatever he was drinking.

Nighttime comes and so does dinner. Derick was told he could stay for longer so he called his mother and said he'd be late.

"This is delicious!" The brown haired adult compliments Marie's cooking, which was pasta. "It's as good as my mom's!"

"As good?" Is his best friend's reply, a smirk on his face.

"No one can cook better than her and that's a fact."

"I doubt that," now Baxter is the one to defend his spouse's cuisine. "Can't remember the last time I ate anything as good."

"Come on now, you two," Marie, a bit embarrassed, tries to stop them. "There are better cooks than me out there."

Almost as if they have planned it beforehand, both her son and husband say in unison. "I doubt that."

After a good laugh, they finish their meal and Derick offers to help with the dishes, to which Marie is thankful for. Once done, he bids them farewell and goes home.

Now in his room and only in his boxers, Edgar looks up to the ceiling with a thoughtful, solemn expression. Still not over being the disappointment of the day, he thinks about how things could have gone better if he didn't exert so much force at once.

'Like that time with Bastion…'

Not feeling like he should be thinking about this, he tries to brute force through his worries and eventually falls asleep.

---

A colorful background settles in. Green grass, hustling trees, the gentle and comforting breeze soothing any worries away.

Around it, empty buildings and deserted streets, not a trace of active human life. In the middle of the aforementioned scenario were three children playing tag. One of them had blue hair and a shy but joyful expression. The other, who looked almost like his carbon copy, had brown hair instead and a more fierce expression.

The last of the three had black hair and was the one who appeared to be having the most fun out of the three.

Soon, their playtime escalated into something else when the blue haired youngling bumped a bit too hard on the younger Edgar, who promptly retaliated by shoving his shoulder against him, a grin on his face.

Which quickly disappeared when he heard his friend yelp in pain.

---

With his eyes opening as fast as they could, Edgar tried regulating his breath, a hand over his chest. Trying hard not to let the shame overtake him, he stands up and flips his room's switch. Looking over to his clock and realizing that it was barely past 04:00 AM didn't make things any better.

Groaning and not feeling like going back to that dream, he puts on his pants and goes downstairs to attack his fridge.

"Couldn't sleep, could you?" His sister's voice startles him slightly. As he looks over to her door, he sees her eyeing him with a blank expression and a mug on her hand.

"Maybe…"

"Your breathing is loud when you're having a nightmare."

"It wasn't anything to worry about. I had worse nights of sleep."

Before he could continue walking, she speaks. "Don't blame yourself for what happened today, ok? Mom and dad aren't mad at you and neither am I. If anything, I'm proud of what you did today. I wish more people like you existed."

Feeling like she said what she had to, Serene goes back inside her room, locking its door once closed. After taking a few seconds to digest what was said, the sole adult in the scene takes a deep breath and continues walking downstairs.

After eating anything, he goes back to his room to enjoy the rest of his free time on his computer. Anything to help him relax. And he does. So much so that he falls asleep while at it.

07:12 AM marked the clock when Edgar woke up from his "quick" nap. Thinking he had enough sleeping, he goes on with his daily routine.