Chapter 38: Choices

With the warm and stinging winds wafting through his face;

With the skies that had turned dark due to the flames that razed below;

With the red that reflected in his bright blue eyes;

With the dust that endlessly flew around him;

And even with the shrieking screams that sang through his ears…

...Riley remained unmoving.

"...Sister."

"R… Riley?"

Even with all of the chaos happening around him, Riley's attention was solely on the young woman in front of him. Her hands, her feet, her hair; Almost all of Hannah's body was engulfed in blazing flames, revealing only her face which bled in tears.

"What… are you doing here, Riley?"

"This truly is life-like," Riley then slowly walked towards robot Hannah as he looked at her from head to toe, "Such technology shouldn't exist, at least not yet, Scarlet Mage."

Riley then looked up in the sky, quickly finding the window where Scarlet Mage and the others were watching from. If he did not know beforehand that all of this was a simulation, then it was possible that he would have been fooled that all of this was real; almost as if this technology was a superpower of its own.

Was this technology really from Mega Woman's world? Or is it possible that there were other alien worlds out there that had already made contact with Earth?

Truly, one day; once there were no more screams to sing to his ears on Earth, he would travel to the skies-- that was why he said he wanted to be an astronaut when he was asked what he wanted to be.

If the humans already produced a soothing melody as they scream, what more could a population from Mega Woman's planet?

"He… he isn't moving."

"Of course he wouldn't, isn't that his sister?"

"This test really is cruel, using the image of her sister as a hostage."

"She… is not the hostage."

Most of the students near Silvie all turned to look towards her as she finally opened her mouth. She had been keeping quiet after the violent end of her trials. But now, her eyes which were previously filled with doubt and misery were clear enough to reflect the scenery below.

"Not… a hostage?" Hearing Silvie's words, all of the students once again turned their attention to the training hall, even requesting for Scarlet Mage to raise the volume of the speakers.

"Have… you come here to stop me, brother?"

"...Stop you?"

Riley, who was previously thinking of the wonderful things he could do once he was on Mega Woman's planet, quickly turned his attention towards the robot that played the role of his sister. He then turned to look towards the other robots… civilian hostages who were either trapped in debris or in their cars, surrounded by a blazing fire.

"Did… you do this, Golem Hannah?"

"They forced me! All of them, the people! I tried to be a hero… but they paid me with nothing but contempt!"

"This is quite astonishing. They even got your whiny tendencies," Riley then said as he stretched his hand towards the robot. But as soon as he did so, robot Hannah waved her hand, summoning a wall of fire that served as a barrier for them not to meet.

"Stay away from me! You can't stop me anymore, Riley! I… I will burn this world to the ground!"

"..." Hearing this, Riley once again turned his head towards the window above, his eyes quickly landing on Scarlet Mage even from afar; and as soon as their eyes met, Scarlet Mage quickly took in a small gulp.

She was literally playing with fire in this kind of scenario. She had thought long and hard about the kind of situation that Riley would find difficult, and this is where it led up to. But seeing as Riley still had the composure and nonchalance to find her even in all this chaos, it would seem that it wasn't working… at least not yet. The climax of the scenario had yet to reveal itself.

Should… she stop this before anything bad actually happens? Is that why Riley was looking at her? Was he telling her that the scenario wasn't working and that she was wasting his time?

However, contrary to her expectations, Riley turned his attention back towards robot Hannah; and with a flip of his hand, extinguished not only the fires that blocked his path towards her but even the armor of flames that engulfed her body.

"Go home, Hannah," Riley then said as he let out a small but deep sigh, "This world will never understand you nor me, and they do not deserve to. And when the time truly does come that the world betrays you, I will--"

"Nuclear Baby!"

"..." Before Riley could finish his words, a voice suddenly roared from behind him. And as soon as he saw who it was, he quickly moved to the side.

"Isn't that…"

"Whiteking!? And the other members of the Hope Guild are also behind him!"

"Is this even a test anymore!?"

"What the… they're really going all out with Riley's scenario, I sense some sort of favoritism here."

"Ssh, quiet. Isn't Riley and Scarlet Mage like… together?"

The students watching from above could not help but look at each other, their whispers almost filling the entire observation room as their eyes did not know which way to look.

"Nuclear… Baby?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he also looked back and forth between Hannah and Whiteking. Hannah has been refusing to tell Riley and the others what her chosen superhero name was, but to think it would be something as glorious as Nuclear Baby. It… suited her, Riley thought as he let out a small smile.

But afterward, he turned his focus towards Whiteking-- who currently had his weapons drawn towards Hannah.

"Surrender, Nuclear Baby. Or we will be forced to put you down!" Whiteking said as the other members of the Hope Guild started surrounding Hannah, "The government had already given us strict orders to extinguish you. Please… do not let it come to that!"

A choice…

...and perhaps the future-- this is the scenario that Scarlet Mage had given Riley, not of Hannah, but of him. Of course, out of everyone watching the situation below, she was the only one who knew that Hannah was not the only family member present in the simulation, but also his father.

The scenario was a mirror, with his part being played by Hannah. Of course, Riley was capable of physically hurting his father, that much was evident during the Destruction of Toronto, but he didn't kill him. But if he continues down the path he was going, then one day, he would have no choice but to do so.

This was no longer a trial, but a play that Riley will be forced to participate in.

"Never! I would burn this place to the ground!"

"Please, don't make us do this!"

"Holy fuck… this is intense," Gary could not help but take one step back as he looked at Silvie, "So it's a choice between saving her sister… or saving the city?"

"Hm," Silvie nodded as her eyes did not leave the scenario for even a second. She thought that her scenario was brutal and that it showed her the reality of being a superhero… and with the right training, she could one day overcome it.

But Riley's scenario? How does one even make a choice like this?

The students had a different perspective as to what was happening, but all of their points still held merit. Even if Riley was not who he is, even if he was not Darkday; this scenario would still be one of the hardest to overcome… and that is exactly why Scarlet Mage chose it for him. He deserves only the worst…

...as well as the best.

And since the sound of Riley's heart fluctuating was starting to whisper through her ears, it would seem that it was now working.

"..." Riley's breaths were starting to become heavier as he continued to watch the scenario unfold in front of him. He knew and was fully aware that whatever happening in front of him was just a simulation, an illusion.

He could easily rescue the hostages if he wanted to; it'll only be a snap of his fingers. But Scarlet Mage's assumption was right, he didn't care about them. There was no use in trying to pretend to pass the test as well since all of his classmates failed it.

All of this… was just a way to relieve the void that Mega Woman has left.

But for some reason, seeing Whiteking's trembling hands as he pointed his laser cannon at Hannah, a sort of unexplainable feeling inside of him was starting to boil, even hotter than the blaze of fire that engulfed the city.

He didn't like it.

He didn't like it at all.

"!!!"

"W… what the, an earthquake!?"

"It… It's strong!"

The lights in the observation room began to flicker as a sort of wailing reverberated throughout the air. Even those that were above ground, and even the reporters that were waiting outside the Academy could feel the trembling.

The thick walls that shielded and guarded the rooms and hallways of the Academy began scraping at each other, creating a screeching sound that almost deafened everyone underground.

However, before the students could completely panic and cover their ears, the trembling of the earth abruptly stopped.

It was then followed by the sound of a bell, which garnered everyone's attention as they all looked towards the only direction the familiar sound could come from-- the elevator.

They looked, only to find Riley stepping out from it.

"I give up, Scarlet Mage," Riley said while raising both his arms, "It was… an interesting experience, thank you."

"Y… What did--"

"T-- that was scary!"

"I thought we were going to die! How strong did you guys think that earthquake was!?"

"Magnitude 69, maybe?"

"...Are you stupid?"

Before Scarlet Mage could even respond to Riley's words, the students began letting out sighs and gasps of relief.

An earthquake? Most definitely not, Scarlet Mage thought. She felt Riley's heart fluctuate stronger than it has before; and if she's right, then the tremble they all felt was his doing.

She was trying to find out what Riley would do in the scenario… but this?

How should she even assess that? Is Riley saying that he would destroy the world if anything like that happens? Was that it?

"Miss Scarlet Mage?"

Her mind was completely at a loss. Riley was dangerous, she knew that. Riley was statistically the most dangerous creature in the world… and she slept with him. What was she thinking? Was she actually thinking she could tame this kind of beast?

"Silver Moon."

"What did you just call me?" Scarlet Mage then quickly looked towards Silvie.

"Miss… Scarlet Mage?" Silvie could not help but slightly step back as Scarlet Mage suddenly turned her head towards her, without even moving her torso even a single bit.

"R… right."

And as soon as Scarlet Mage saw the slightly frightened look in Silvie's eyes, she quickly composed herself. If she didn't get a grasp on her situation, then she would start going crazy… that is if she wasn't already.

"Everyone is done with the test, Miss Scarlet Mage."

"Right, right," Scarlet Mage then cleared her throat as she walked a few steps back so that all of her students could see her.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate you all for failing the test," Scarlet Mage then said as her voice started to calm down, "As you may have already realized, you were not meant to pass the scenario given to you. It was meticulously designed with the help of some sort of AI and its purpose was simple…

...to show you that you can't save everyone. It may sound cliche and you might have heard of it a thousand times before, but it is what it is. Once you start your journey as a superhero, there will be many that you will not be able to save; and it's not alright, but you can't do anything about it. That's… just how it is."

"..."

"And also, this activity is also to prepare for what's to come 2 weeks from now. All of you will be going out on a field trip outside the Academy…

...wearing a costume of your own design."