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Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories John's Room ---

John's POV

- "Monster." Was the first thing I remembered after I wake up.

I get up, then I look at the alarm, it's 4:00 AM, and is still dark outside. 

And I set that alarm for not being too late to class, but right now it doesn't matter. It's worthless right now.

I can't go back to sleep because of that nightmare. Sh*t.

So I made breakfast, just some scrambled eggs and some bread I had from yesterday, but everything it's the same no matter what I eat. Tasteless. Like always.

After eating breakfast, I prepared myself for my jogging routine early in the morning, because nobody in Wellston is this early, so I don't have to see anybody's faces, anybody who looks at me with disgust.

On my way out, I saw Blyke going into the dorms, with his clothes ragged, then, I remembered all the times he tries to befriend me like nothing happened after he almost killed me with his stupid laser.

F*cking trash.

Also... my friendship with Seraphina is finished, in the end, she chose Arlo's side after she saw the side of me that she was never supposed to know, after she saw a Monster.

And now what do I do next? 

I have nothing.

--- 1 Hour Later ---

When I was coming back to Wellston to change clothes for school, I found some dogs fighting, it was an unfair fight.

Like all the times those pricks from that school use me as their punching bag for no reason at all, for some reason I couldn't take my eyes off that fight, a black dog was against a group of 5 stray dogs, and the black one bites another with all his might, but it was useless.

In the end, he loses.

--- 1 Hour Later ---

After seeing those dogs fighting, I think, why do I keep looking at that fight for so long?

Now I'll be late for class.

I come back, dress up for school, and brace myself for all those disgusted looks that I'm gonna get, alone.

- "Retaking what I said last class, We're going to have a project where you have to observe and make a report on nature, you can do it about animals, plants, insects, whatever you can think of, oh, and also, this work is in pairs, and you can choose your partner this time." Said the teacher.

Great. I think to myself. 

Now I'll fail even if I do it because nobody would want to pair up with me, but... 

Well, what do I have to lose this time? 

Maybe I'll do it anyway since I got nothing to lose this time.

--- After School ---

When I'm outside school is the only time I can relax a little bit, far from those f*ckers, so I decided to go jogging one more time.

And I noticed that black stray dog from earlier in the morning, fighting outnumbered again, but still stood up, against all odds, fighting to the bitter end, and, for a brief moment, I saw myself reflected on that dog.

But before I knew it, I was already moving myself to help him, luckily I still had copied Cecile's ability from today, so I restrained those dogs and saved him, he was fighting early in the morning today so if he would have still going on, the dog could have died. 

It's not like those worthless people... he was abandoned, and nobody had any kind of kindness for him... but he never gave up, even after all this time, enduring all this alone, so maybe... 

There is at least some worth in this world.

For now, I'll take him to my dormitory, he seems tired, but since lately I got some extra space, I can lay him down there, let him rest, and see what to do next tomorrow.

--- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition - Chapter #1 END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

- "Monster." Is the first thing I remember after waking up, again.

I really hate being awakened every day from something like this, again and again, it just remembers me how worthless I am, and no matter how hard I try, I don't see myself winning in any way.

And thanks to those nightmares, I always wake up very early in the morning, I look at the clock and see that it's 4:00 AM again, I wonder why do I even set an alarm right now.

And recently, I got a new guest on my dormitory, a stray black dog I picked on the street on a whim.

Since I never had to care for any kind of animal before, I don't know what to give him to eat before going to class.

- "What do I even do this?" I asked myself.

For now, I'll just give him bread, eggs and leave him water, later on, lunch I'll come back to prepare something for him.

Since I revealed myself in public, everyone knows that I was Joker, and now the new King, so they leave me alone, just looking with disgust from afar.

--- Lunch Break ---

I came back since lunch break has started, and the door was open and the dog was gone too.

- "Come on, where are you?" I asked, but with no response, it was clear that no one was there.

But who could come over to open my room? I'll deal with whoever the f*ck did that later.

So I went to look out for him, I didn't even bother asking people because they would just avoid me and go away as fast as possible, without telling me anything.

--- 15 Minutes Later ---

Where did he go? Sh*t, it's getting late, and I'm not even close to finding him.

I couldn't find him for now, and I need to go to class right now before I get there too late because the lunch break is going to finish, he couldn't go too far, but when I finish my classes for today, I'll look for him again.

--- 2 Hours Later ---

When I was finishing class, I looked out the window, maybe I could saw the dog from here, and I noticed some people with a dog, but I couldn't tell who they were. If I go now maybe-

- "...JOHN. This is the last time I repeat myself, so pay attention if you don't want to be in detention class for the rest of the day." Said the teacher with an angry tone, because I distracted with what I saw through the window.

- "I was just paying attention to some students carrying something, but whatever, go ahead." I said, bothered because she didn't let me see who they were.

- "I was saying, John, that you have to say about what are you going to do your project, and your partner in this project." Said the teacher, but now she said it with a calm tone.

- "I don't have a partner in this project, neither the theme about it, can this wait until tomorrow?" I asked for more time since I was looking for the dog and couldn't think about it.

- "Hmm... very well, but, I decide with who are you going to do this project with whoever didn't group up before when you decide on your theme." Said the teacher to my petition.

- "Fair enough." I answered.

Meanwhile, the whole class was trembling and looking at me and also the teacher with a scared look, like they were looking a sleeping bear and someone poking it with a stick.

"...and with this, we're finished for today, make sure to do your reports for this project, and see you in the next class tomorrow." Said the teacher, with a relaxed tone.

--- After Class, Outside Wellston Boys Dormitories ---

After leaving the building, I went to the dormitories with the chance that I can find the dog now, so I ran over there and saw a group of students playing with him.

- "Let that dog go." I said with an intimidating tone.

- "But we're just playing with him! We saw this poor little guy hitting the door in the room he was trapped because he wanted to go outside you know?" He answered me back, but he was backward so he couldn't notice it was me.

- "Besides, who would be that cruel to leave a dog alone in a dormitory?" The student added.

The dog was clearly trembling of exhaustion because he didn't eat anything since breakfast.

And he is still being that dense against it. 

F*cking garbage.

- "And who said you could enter my room without permission, take him outside, and also you don't see that he's clearly trembling from exhaustion, how can you be so stupid?!" I yelled at him.

- "Worthless trash, don't make me repeat myself, let that dog go." I said, angry for his indifference and stupidity.

The other students who saw me were terrified, because at that moment they knew, that it was from my room that they have taken the dog.

- "Hey, Heinz, better listen to him before-" said the other one before getting interrupted.

- "WORTHLESS TRASH?, DO YOU KNOW WHO I-" He said, with a provoking tone while activating his ability until he turns his head back.

When he noticed that it was me to the one who was talking, all his courage and cockiness vanished.

Then I proceed to punch him in the face and then on the stomach. 

He coughs up some blood from those punches and was raising his hand in an attempt to surrender.

- "PLEASE HAVE MERCY! STOP! I GIVE UP!" Heinz screamed with desperation.

- "I don't know who the f*ck you are, but when I proclaimed myself King, I said no excuses, no mercy, just pain." I said to him.

Then, he proceeds to run away using his ability, but since I used his ability before, I know the trick of his power, since that boost in speed wasn't enough for him to escape from me, so I catch up to him easily, and slam his head onto the ground, and I give him the final strike.

The other students were trembling with fear and desperation, shocked at the point they couldn't even run away.

- "But why are you going so far for just a dog?!" Asked one of them.

- "That is not of your business, I have nothing to say to you." I said coldly to him.

After that, I take the dog with me and walk away to my room.

When we arrive at my room and I give him something to eat, the dog eats like it was the most delicious thing in the world, and for some reason, it's relaxing. 

So I came with the idea of looking after him for my project, I hope the teacher agrees to the idea too.

But for now, I'm exhausted to do anything else, it was a long day, so I'll take a shower and try to sleep something.

--- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #2 END ---

Le Bonus

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

- "Monster." Is the first thing that I immediately remember after waking up.

I don't need to keep remembering something that I already know that I am, but these nightmares are so real, it's like I'm living the same situations, repeating the same mistakes, feeling even more guilt each time, all over again, it's so frustrating.

I want to stop feeling like this.

I would like to take a nice amount of time sleeping without nightmares right now, that would be heaven right now for me.

But that seems impossible for now, so I'll prepare myself for my morning jogging since I can't get back to sleep, and maybe I'll take the dog for a walk too.

- "You up?" I asked, feeling a little awkward, talking to a dog.

The dog appeared immediately when I talked, waving his tail from side to side, and when he does that, I noticed a small grin on my face for some reason.

Since I had taken the dog with me, I have been occupied with him, also I have been feeling more relaxed, especially when I see his reactions, this dog is interesting to watch.

For now, I'll take the dog for a walk, so I can make my morning routine too, also I can buy him some dog food, a collar, a dog tray for food and water for him, and a bed for now, since with this, I have spent the last of my allowance dad sent me this month. 

Later, I'm gonna go to the infirmary if Doc can help me with this, since it's a stray dog it could have some kind of sickness or something else.

--- Wellston High School, Infirmary ---

- "Excuse me. Hi Doc, It's me, John." I enter with the dog.

- "What do you want now, John? IT'S 6 AM IN THE MORNING FOR GOD'S SAKE!!" Said Doc, the school nurse.

- "I wanted help with something." I asked while I point the dog.

- "Where do you find it?" He asked, with an irritated face.

- "On the street. It's a stray dog, I found him fighting alone against a pack of other stray dogs. Before I know he was in my room." I answered with a serious face.

- "Do you know that this school doesn't allow pets inside?" Doc asked me.

- "I didn't know that, but I'm now the King of this school, so that doesn't matter to me, I can do whatever I want." I answered him.

I didn't want to use the "King" card to Doc, but I had to do it, if I didn't do it, the school would have to make me kick him out to the streets again. 

He doesn't deserve that. 

He deserves to have a better life.

He's worthy.

"Also, I want to know if you can do a health check-up to him?" I asked him with a serious face.

The stiff expressions on his face began to fade little by little, probably because he noticed my concern respecting the dog's health.

- "Well, that's true, now it's weird seeing that you're coming here unscathed. Just don't make my work harder than it is in the process okay? Do that and I'll take a look at him." Doc said.

 - "I'll consider it, but don't get your hopes too high with that." I answered.

While Doc was checking up the dog, I noticed that it seems bothered with Doc, because he was barking at him all the time.

--- 30 Minutes Later ---

- "Alright, I'm done." Doc said.

- "There was any problem?" I asked Doc.

- "Well... this dog has some obvious malnutrition problems, he's too skinny, but this is expected because he was a stray dog, to begin with, but surprisingly, he doesn't have any sickness or infections." Doc said while reading the test results.

- "So, for now, you have to get dog food two or three times a day, give him a lot of water, taking him out for walks at least three times a day, so he gets in shape and doesn't get fat, and let me find some deworm vaccines just to make sure he doesn't have anything, I'll get them soon, so come meet me after three days." Doc said.

- "And also, wash him. As soon as you can. He stinks." He added.

- "Thanks." I said, relieved that the dog was relatively okay.

- "Yeah yeah, now get him somewhere and go to class." Doc said while he was preparing his coffee.

Then, I left the dog in my room and quickly rush to class.

--- In class ---

- "Well, John, what is the theme or your report?

- "An observation of a stray dog, his habits, and progress during the observation and conclusions over this project." I said to the teacher.

- "It's okay, you can do it about that." Said the teacher.

- "Now, about your partner in this..." Added the teacher to that. 

I wonder who are they going to pair with me, I bet they would just run away and make me do this thing alone.

But I really think I can do it alone.

- "Well, there is anyone who isn't paired with somebody for your project yet?" Asked the teacher to the class.

- "I haven't yet." Said someone while raising up her hand.

- "Oh, and why you haven't?" Asked the teacher.

- "Well, I had to take care of all my club preparations, since it's going to operate next week!" Said the student with an optimistic tone.

I could recognize that short girl with pink hair anywhere.

It was Remi the one who raised up her hand.

- "Well, good news Remi, now you have a partner in this project, since now, so both of you give your best in this, okay?." Said the teacher while looking at us both.

The whole class was shocked, especially those pricks that call themselves her friends.

- "...Fine." She said with a cold tone, who obviously disliked the idea.

- "..." I remained silent.

- "And you, John?" Asked the teacher.

- "...Fine." I answered with a cold tone too, because I also don't like the idea of collaborating with someone who called to dialogue and also cheated on a duel only when she knew that she couldn't win against me.

- "Alright... now then everyone can go to work on your own themes, so you're free for the rest of the class." Said the teacher.

Then everyone leaves to do their own thing while Remi and I stayed in the classroom.

- "Okay... Now, how do we do this? And also, what is your theme for this project?" Asked Remi.

- "It's none of your business." I replied.

- "Of course it's my business! This is something that affects us both! So tell me, what is your theme?!" Said Remi, insisting in trying to know what I was supposed to do with this project.

I can't believe it that she is starting to yell over something like this, she tried to appear like she's better than me when she came to talk to me, and she's supposed to be Queen!? 

She is truly worthless too.

So it doesn't matter anymore, both of us are worthless.

So why I'm still making myself angry over worthless people?

They aren't even worthy of my wrath.

- "It's an observation of a stray dog that I picked up recently." I finally answered, and finally controlling my anger.

Her face reacted a bit what I said, like dropping her guard a little.

- "A dog? And where do you keep it?" Answered Remi, still with a surprised tone.

- "In Blyke's room." I answered.

She seemed surprised for my answer, or that I was cooperating with this or both.

- "Let's go, and get this over with." I added.

- "I was going to say the same. Let's go." Said Remi to my comment.

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

When we arrived at the dorms, the dog was there, waving his tail at me, maybe he's happy to see me, that's new.

- "Oh! It's so cute!" She exclaimed while she was going to caress the dog.

But the dog tried to let himself out and began to bark at her.

- "He doesn't like me, huh?" Said Remi, a little disappointed because the dog didn't react as she expected.

A little grin began to appear on my face.

- "Anyways, what is his name?" She asked.

- "I dunno, I haven't thought about that..." I answered, surprising myself for that answer.

Honestly... I didn't even cross my mind before. I was so occupied trying to take care of the dog, that I haven't been able to think that much about everything that is happening in school.

I wonder why, but lately, my mind has felt more clear lately.

- "His name... is Doe. I think it fits for some reason." I answered.

- "Well... I wouldn't call it cool, but it fits as you said." Said Remi, while she was still trying to play with the dog.

- "Also, it's permitted to have animals in the dormitories? I think it was forbidden." Remi commented.

- "When I entered Wellston, the headmaster granted me special privileges for being a high-tier, one of them was that living in the dormitories was optional, that was until before Seraphina lost her ability though." I answered her.

- "But why? they attacked her, not you." She asked.

- "The attackers went to my house, and they had something that made abilities weaker, but we repelled them with Arlo and Elaine." I answered her again.

She is beginning to be too nosy.

The conversation was going to other topics, but I don't want to make a small chat with Remi about it.

- "But now it doesn't matter right now, I'm not friends with Seraphina anymore." I said, trying to cut out the conversation.

- "So that's why she was feeling spacey today when she came to the club." Remi said to me.

- "By that club, you mean your "Safe" House? Cecile informed me about it, but let me tell you beforehand, it's going to be a failure." I said to Remi, confident in my prediction.

--- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #3 END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

- "By that club, you mean your "Safe" House? Cecile informed me about it, but let me tell you beforehand, it's going to be a failure." I said to Remi.

- "What do you mean by that, I'm trying to make everything I can to make this school safer, I dealt with those fake Jokers that appeared after our fight, I'm trying to do something! Arlo, Blyke, Isen, Seraphina, Holden, and Elaine and a lot more people agree with the idea!" Said Remi, trying to defend her actions.

I don't understand how she can see nothing wrong with those "solutions" she makes and everyone agrees to it, they are clearly a waste of time.

But, at this rate, she's going to leave without having to do anything on the project.

- "Whatever, let's focus on the project first, then say whatever you want about your awful idea." I said, trying to divert this situation."

- "Fine. But, it's not awful." Said Remi.

After this, there was absolute silence in the room.

So I grabbed my laptop, and start making the report with Remi, she starts doing some research about dogs biology, while I make the advantages of having a dog and research the importance of dogs through history because the report would be too empty if we just put only observations of Doe.

--- 1 Hour Later ---

I look at the clock, it's 7:00 PM, it's getting late, and I'm getting hungry, and I bet that Doe too, so I stopped working on the project and began to prepare dinner.

- "Still is not gonna work." I said to Remi, but now with an indifferent tone.

- "Then what do you want me to do? What do you even want right now?" Remi asked me.

- "Like anything you pieces of garbage do will be any good and useful." I answered.

- "Then show to us "pieces of garbage" like you said, how it's done. You already had stated your point, you also don't want violence in the school too and you put all the blame onto us high-rankers, but now you have no excuse since you're King now, and after all this, I don't think you would be that hypocritical to sit back and do nothing about it." Said Remi, with an obviously annoyed tone.

- "Better watch what you're saying when you're speaking to me you b*tch." I said to her in a cold tone.

- "But what I said isn't going to change, and you're gonna regret it and finally see how blind and delusional you were." I said to Remi.

- "Say whatever you want to, I still going to do this, and going to prove you wrong, if you don't have anything else to say, I'm leaving." Said Remi, while she beginning to leave.

But then, I suddenly remembered something.

- "Wait." I said to her before she leaves the room.

- "What?" Said Remi, now irritated.

- "We have to choose the new Jack, not that I would give a f*ck about it, but it's on Wellston's rules, so meet me up early tomorrow." I said to Remi, barely remembering it what the Headmaster said to me when I decided to enroll Wellston, given my rank.

- "Yeah... so..., until tomorrow morning then." Said Remi while she slammed the door on her way out.

At least we advanced something on the report, but she is so exhausting to deal with, but for now, I'll give Doe his dinner while I prepare mine too, I'll try to sleep early today so maybe I could sleep more, right now, that and a delicious meal would be heaven for me.

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories, Remi's Room ---

Remi's POV

I recently came back from that unpleasant discussion against John, who was mad practically the whole time, I wonder why he has to be that difficult to deal with.

And he was giving some hints of change early today, that he was changing his behavior.

Also, I wasn't expecting to have a dog in Blyke's Room, but right now I have to focus on the Safe House, even if John said that it was an awful idea, but he is too negative with people, he lost all the faith in people in general.

When I checked my cellphone, I noticed that I had a lot of messages from Blyke and Isen since the end of the class.

So, I make a video call to Isen and Blyke, to calm them a bit, since they were very worried.

The call was accepted in a second, wow, they were literally glued to the laptop.

- "Hi! As you can see, Isen and Blyke, I'm intact, so stop worrying! Your hair is going to come out or something at this rate!" I said to them.

- "REMI, YOU'RE ALIVE I'M SO GLAD!" Said Isen, like I recently got out of hell.

- "So... can you tell us what happened?" Asked Blyke.

- "Oh, nothing special, he was pretty indifferent and cold at first, as usual, he even refused to say what was the theme of his project to me."

- "Uhh-" Isen said before I interrupted him.

- "But... he leaves those things aside at some point, and we could work normally for some time!"

- "That's new." Said Blyke, surprised to hear that.

- "I thought that too! I was surprised that he didn't snap or something, but in the end, he really was irritating, stating that my club is going to fail just like that, he might be King now, but that doesn't mean he sees the future, right?" I said to them.

- "What else do you expect from someone who wants to see the world burn?" Said Isen.

- "Yeah, and also the thing that surprised more than anything else, it's that he had a dog in his dormitory now." I said to them.

- "A WHAT?!" Said Blyke and Isen, just as surprised as I was.

- "And... where does he keep it?" Blyke asked with a pause.

- "In your room." I answered.

- "Ah, f*ck." Said Blyke.

- "But... It was something pretty different from what I expected... I mean, he managed to calm himself twice." I said to them, after noticing this change, compared to his previous behavior.

- "That's new." Said Blyke and Isen at the same time.

- "Well, for now, I'm going to sleep, preparing the club is pretty tiring and dealing with John too. He refuses to help in any way he can to the Royals."

- "Even if he help I don't think that he would be that much of a help, you're better than him, so you don't need to listen to what he says about anything." Said Blyke, trying to comfort me.

- "Yeah... I will... Thanks, guys, see you tomorrow." I said to them.

- "Bye Remi, see you tomorrow." Said Blyke and Isen.

While I ended the call, I began to make dinner before going to sleep.

--- 15 Minutes Later ---

When I finished preparing dinner, I serve it on a plate and taste it.

- "It's delicious~" I said it out loud, proud of my creation.

And when I was eating my dinner, a sudden memory began to appear, about the things John said to me when we were doing the project, and the aura of negativity he has with him.

I wonder what made John act like that and be the way he is.

Tell me, Rei... what would you do in a situation like this?

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

- "Monster." Is the first thing I remember after waking up, like always.

Last night, I couldn't sleep after I went to bed, so I stayed awake for 3 more hours or so. 

So in that while I preferred to do some exercises, also I washed Doe like Doc said to me yesterday and played with him for a while, then I tried to sleep again and make it until now.

I look at the clock, it's 4:30 AM, sh*t. 

- "You up?" I said to Doe, who immediately came out of his bed to my call.

Doe come running onto me and jumped, pinning me down in the process and started licking my face.

- "Hell, you can't be happier to see me." I said to him with a little smile on my face.

- "Well, who wants some breakfast?" I said to Doe, who seems eager to eat.

So I began to prepare breakfast for myself, just a scrambled egg sandwich with coffee, nothing too fancy, since lately, the food is being very tasteless. 

On Doe's side, I filled his plate with the dog food I bought recently, water and some eggs too, because he's too skinny yet, and after this, we're gonna go out for a walk, so he needs all the energy possible for it.

--- 5 Minutes Later ---

When I finally finished for the eggs to finish, I taste it to see how it goes.

Well, the flavor is really weak, maybe I should have put some spices or more salt to it, it's almost tasteless.

But this time I'm not complaining, since this time at least taste something, even if it was a weak one.

When I saw Doe with his plate clean empty, this one's a good eater, I'll give him that.

So now we'll be going to meet up with Remi, to decide the next Jack.

--- 15 Minutes Later ---

When we arrived at our meeting point, I noticed that Remi is not here yet, talk about an unpunctual person, what does she do in the morning to take this long?

- "You're f*cking late." I said to Remi when she finally arrived.

- "Sorry, I overslept." Said Remi, trying to excuse her lateness.

- "Whatever. Do you have any candidate for Jack or not?" I asked directly.

- "Well, between Arlo and Cecile, I suppose you want Cecile to become Jack, right?" Remi asked me.

- "Yes, any problem with that?" I answered.

- "No... it's okay... Cecile can be the third Royal." Remi replied.

- "That was surprisingly tame from your part, but don't think that agreeing with me would be enough for you to be on my good side." I said to Remi, marking the line of our interactions.

- "I wasn't trying to do that, but I know that you have a grudge against Arlo, so I don't want to create more unnecessary conflict." Remi clarified.

- "Oh, and... John... can you answer me one question?" Remi asked me sincerely.

- "Make it quick." I said to Remi.

- "Why did you say to me yesterday that, that it isn't enough?" Remi asked me.

- "You will see it for yourself soon enough. I'm sure of it." I answered her.

- "I don't think so, they will prove you wrong." Remi replied back to me.

Not satisfied with my answer, Remi left the room.

But, it's okay, even if I explain the answer to her she wouldn't understand it properly yet, so she must see it first.

And when that happens, I will make my move.

--- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #4 END ---

Le Bonus

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

- "Monster." Is the first same thing I remember after I wake up.

A month has passed since that discussion I had with Remi, she opened her club and it's apparently doing fine, but still, I can't be sure in that one, because I haven't checked it by myself yet, but that issue is covered because I ordered to Cecile to secretly investigate on the Safe House club.

And now, it's a new week, but it doesn't matter... it wouldn't change anything for me, in the end, I'm still the monster.

I haven't had any problem with Doe's care at least, I took that time to relax a bit and also we were working on the report with Remi, I have nothing else to do either, so after class, I just come to the dormitories, work on the report, try to sleep, waking up from my own nightmares, and repeat the same exact thing every day, it's meaningless.

But I really have to say that not even in my dreams I thought about having a dog in my care, it really maintains my mind occupied, and the stress that I have to constantly deal with fades a little too.

If people are going to look me with disgust, then go ahead, I don't really care for those looks from afar anymore, it's a waste worrying myself over something so worthless, they will do nothing about it anyway.

When I open my laptop to do some research, since it's super early, I noticed a message on my chat from my dad.

It's been forever since I've talked to him.

- "Why are you wake up so early in the morning?" Dad texted me.

- "The same I could say to you dad." I texted back.

- "I'm close to my deadline T-T and my editor doesn't want to extend it." He replied.

- "By the way, how is school?" Dad added.

- "I'm doing good I think..." I answered him.

- "You've fixed that issue with Sera?" Dad asked me.

- "I tell you, that was a terrible idea." Dad texts me.

- "Don't worry about it, that it's already done." I replied, trying to cut the subject.

- "I. Want. Details. Now." He texted me.

I really don't want to explain the whole story, he will nag me to death, but maybe I can-

*Incoming Call from Dad*

...And I didn't expect that he would call me at this hour. Sh*t.

- "Dad... Hello... how is work?" I say to him.

- "It's fine! Just a little short on time, but I'll manage this, nothing to worry about." Dad answered.

- "So... why are you calling me if you have that little time?" I asked him.

- "I always have time to talk to my son. Don't worry about that." He answered me with full confidence.

- "Anyways, John, tell me how you deal with that, how did it go?"

- "Well... It went fine, so you don't have to worry about-" I said, before getting interrupted.

- "Fine? John, don't lie to me, I can see your face, your eyebags tell me that you haven't been sleeping well, you're feeling bad, now, tell me exactly what happened." Dad said in a firm tone.

I sighed before telling him the truth.

- "...Long story short, it went awful." I answered him.

- "Also, a lot of things happened early after you left, so I didn't want to deliver the final blow to her, she is going through a lot of difficulties now. It would have been cruel, but now it doesn't matter anymore." I added.

- "So you dragged this all this time and it backfired. Am I right?" Dad said to me.

- "That is in part true. But what happened after you left was..." And I proceed to tell him the whole story after he left.

--- 1 Hour Later ---

I told him everything that has happened so far.

The incident that made me relapse a bit with Arlo, that Seraphina lost her power, the backlash of that incident, also the things I did to protect her, how I became Joker, everything. 

And also how now the whole school now knows that I have an ability, and now I'm trapped with a throne that I didn't even want to begin with.

Dad was shocked for a while.

- "And what have the authorities done about Sera?! A high-tier reduced to a cripple like me it's something serious!" Is the first thing he asked, very worried about it too.

- "Nothing, they haven't done anything about it, they are all useless." I answered him back while making myself annoyed with them.

- "But now it doesn't matter anymore, in the end, she... left, after she saw that I'm a monster... we're no longer friends now, and the worst part is that she is hanging with that motherf*cker of Arlo." I said, with anger and sadness mixed in my way of saying it.

- "That's... rough." Dad said, in his intent of making myself feel better.

- "Yeah... but also recently-" I manage to say before getting interrupted.

*WOOF!* 

Doe barked from afar.

- "Woah, what was that?" Dad asked surprised.

- "It's the dog I'm taking care of recently. His name is Doe. Also, that is was I was going to say, and now I'm making a report based on him with a classmate." I said to him.

- "Really? John, let me see it!" Dad said, with an enthusiastic tone.

Then I get him close to the camera for dad.

- "Aww, it's so cute! It's a shame that in the apartment pets are forbidden." Dad said, sad about the last fact.

- "So that explains why I never got one..." I said.

 - "Also you mentioned a "classmate", everything okay with that classmate, it's not giving you trouble or anything of the sort?" Dad asked.

- "Well... she's exhausting to deal with, she's a delusional girl who thinks that all her ideas are the steps to achieve for world peace or something. She's running a club that seeks to stop the violence in the school, but the way she's doing it's terrible, it just going to make things worse." I voiced my opinion of Remi to dad.

- "Sounds like you're pretty worried about her to me." Dad said while grinning.

Wait, what did he say? 

Me? Worried? 

About Remi?

Impossible.

- "John." Dad said.

- "What is it?" I asked him.

- "I think that everything is going to be okay for you from now on, so don't worry." Dad answered me while making a smile.

- "Why do you say that?" I asked him since I didn't even see how could that possibly be true.

- "Because, even after all that happened... the betrayals, from that person that you seem to hate a lot... Sera leaving your side after knowing that you have an ability... but you don't seem like the world is going to end or anything of the sort." Dad answered me.

- "What are you trying to say, dad?" I asked dad, to make him explain his point in a better way.

- "That you got... hope... eyebags aside, I can see it in your face." Dad said to me with an optimistic tone.

After everything that has happened, after everything that I've done, he still has faith in me...

- "And also..." Dad said while making a pause.

- "You're not a monster." He said to me with a serious face.

I remained silent for a while, and then tears were coming out of my eyes.

- "Thank you, dad." I said to him with a smile on my face.

- "Also, I'm not going to say that you must apologize to Sera, I mean, she seemed like a nice girl at first, but... invading your privacy, and then throwing it to you just like that... is just... something that a real friend wouldn't do, I mean, WTF is wrong with them?! They can't just leave the person who isn't harming anybody alone?!" Dad said, annoyed by my situation.

- "You don't have to get down to their level, instead, teach them how it's done, I'll leave it to you, John." Dad said to me, with full confidence in me.

- "I'm going to live the way I want, I swear it... now matter how hard is going to be." I said with conviction.

- "That's the spirit. Now it's... HOLY SH*T! 6 AM in the morning and I have to finish this in 2 hours! I gotta go, John! I'll call you some other time, to check how you're doing, okay?" Dad said to me.

- "Yeah, go ahead, call me anytime you want." I said to him.

- "Bye John have a nice day!" He said very fast because he needs to hurry.

- "Bye dad, I hope you finish your work." I said while smiling.

Then he finished the call.

Woah... this is something... that I didn't expect, but... I really needed something like this.

This talk was... something I really needed. 

I'm still a bit lost because I don't know how I'm supposed to do what I said to dad earlier.

Dad told me I'm not a monster, but... still, that is... hard to believe right now.

But also he's right, I don't have to get down to their level.

So that's why I'm not going to give up.

I'm going to live the way I want.

I swear I'm going to win.

 I don't want to be a monster anymore.

But for now, let's go to class since it's 6 AM now, so I have to leave everything ready to go.

--- Wellston Cafeteria, Lunch Break ---

When I arrived to the cafeteria after class, a place where usually happens a lot of fights, and a very crowded place, and today, it's the famous triple chocolate cake day that it's served once a month.

It's practically a delicacy on this school, and since the talk I had with my dad earlier this morning, I feel like I cleared my mind from a lot of things, but I haven't got a delicious meal in a long time, so I came here hoping that I get to taste something good.

Everybody was trying to get in the line early to get their piece of chocolate cake, but they stopped and they opened a path for me while shivering in fear.

But I still walked over the path in the line that they opened, and I arrived to get the cake.

- "Sorry boy, that girl over there took the last one." Said the lunch lady, while she pointed the girl who took it.

That girl was pretty short, with two pigtails on her pink watermelon hair.

Everyone was looking at her like it was the last day of her life, taking the last piece of the cake, while the King got nothing.

Then she notices what she has done, and come close to me.

- "Uhh... you can take it!" She said while offering the piece of cake to me.

- "Nah, you can have it." I said to her.

- "A-Are you sure...?" The girl asked me.

- "Yes." I said to the girl.

- "Okay then... I-I'm going off to have lunch!" The girl said while shaking and fully prepared to go away.

- "Wait." I said to her.

- "W-What is it?! ...Did you change your mind?" The girl said while shaking more.

- "Tell me your name." I asked her.

- "Uhh... my name is... Evie." She said timidly.

- "Then, Evie, I hope you enjoy your lunch." I said to her.

- "WHA-?! YES! T-THANK YOU!" Evie said while she left.

The whole cafeteria was shocked by what they witnessed.

I could have beaten that girl and gotten what I wanted like everybody was expecting to happen, but that would have made me not any different from those pieces of garbage that use their abilities for the pettiest of reasons, the main reason why I despise them so much.

And like dad said, I don't have to get down to their level.

Then I just proceed to take my lunch, and I see that the cafeteria is full, so I'll go to the roof instead.

On my way to the roof, I saw a bunch of students who were bullying another one. But again, this is by no means a rare sight at this school.

I recognized a few of them from the days I was taken as a cripple, but overall, they were all from the same level, they were picking on a low-tier this time when a couple of students were looking from afar, they were close to where I was, so I overheard what they are talking about.

- "What did the poor guy do?"

- "He got the nerve to talk to one of them, I mean what is wrong with him, he's weaker and thinks that he can be on the same level as them by being so friendly."

- "Well, true that."

- "All because he thinks that being members of the same club, they were going to make an exception for him."

- "What club, the Safe House?"

- "Yeah, that one, can you believe that guy?"

- "Well, he's the one who steps out of his line, so he's getting what he deserves."

- "Yeah, well, anyways, did you get the triple chocolate cake? I was in-" 

The student changes the topic as nothing happened.

They stopped looking at that incident and start chatting over something else.

Some people are truly worthless indeed.

But stopping that incident now it's not going to fix anything, it would just be worse for that low-tier.

When I arrive at the roof, I sat at the shadow and then began to eat.

--- 15 Minutes Later ---

Well... the food was normal like everybody would think about school lunch. But hey, it has more taste than before, so it's okay.

But after thinking about the taste of my food, I began to think about what I saw on my way here.

But solving violence through the school is difficult, anything can alter these people, and their mentality says a lot about them.

They lack anything that makes a human, you know, human.

They clearly don't know what it is to be in the hospital everyday, losing miserably, what it is to be on the receiving end, they are dumb as rocks.

But it would take a lot more years than I have to set in line all these people, and nothing ensures me that when I'm not looking they will behave.

So how can I let them kno-

Then, a sudden idea comes to me.

But for now, I need to work on how can I do it.

I can win, I'm sure of it.

--- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #5 END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

- "Monster." Is the first thing I remember after waking up from the alarm.

- "You're not a monster." I remembered what my dad said to me, right after what Claire said to me that day.

I don't know what to believe about myself anymore.

All I know is that I'm tired to be the one losing and never get what I want.

And I'm tired to be a monster.

I look at the alarm, it's 6 AM, weird since I always wake up before.

I get up from the bed and start preparing everything for my morning jogging with Doe.

- "You up?" I say to him, as usual.

Doe comes straight to me while waving his tail from side to side, taking that dog out of the streets was definitely a good idea.

- "I bet you're hungry aren't you?" I said to him.

*WOOF!* Doe barked.

It's a bummer that he can't talk, I bet that I could have a better conversation from him that with anyone here on Wellston.

I give him his food, as always, while I prepare my breakfast.

--- 10 Minutes Later ---

When I finished preparing it, I taste it to see how it goes.

 And after tasting it, it was... normal... again.

- "All my hopes for nothing..." I said right after I sighed.

But this taste better than other days, I wonder why maybe it's the previous ones was close to expiring or something.

Well, since I finished my breakfast and Doe is ready to go too, we'll go jogging for a while after going to class.

--- 1 Hour Later ---

When we come back from our routine, I noticed that Doe is quiet, like he's on guard for something.

I start looking at our surroundings since maybe a thief or something like that could be close when I spot someone shady, suspiciously close to the school entrance.

He was wearing a black beanie and a facemask, so I couldn't say for sure if it was a student or not.

- "HEY, YOU, STOP RIGHT THERE!" I yelled at him.

Doe was growling at him too.

- "You got some nerve trying to steal something in front of me, you piece of sh*t!" I said to the thief.

- "No, it's not like that, you got it wrong!" He said, trying to convince me of the opposite.

He's a human waste of society... and he still got the nerve of denying it, as soon as he activates his ability, I'm going to destroy him.

But I need to keep provoking him until he powers up.

- "Wrong my ass, you look like a thief to me!" I countered his statement.

Then he proceeds to remove his beanie and his facemask, revealing his red hair and yellow eyes, there is no mistake, it's Blyke, the one who was behind the mask.

- "Why are you dressed like that? You got ten seconds to start explaining. No need to tell you what comes after if you don't do it." I said while giving him an ultimatum.

He is being very quiet about it, and I don't trust him, he could be capable of anything. And if he's lying then I'll just overwhelm him like before, he's not a threat to me.

- "FIVE. FOUR. THREE. TWO. ON-" I put more pressure in order to get him talking.

- "Alright, I'll talk." Blyke said. 

- "I... am training for improving my ability." Blyke stated.

- "Yeah, sure, what are you going to tell me next, that you're a vigilante and you watch this city from the shadows?" I said to him.

Blyke remained silent for a while.

- "Yeah, I am." Blyke stated.

He sure is bad at lying, he's no superhero, he is for sure training in order to defeat me.

- "Are you being serious about it? Remember that if you're lying, whether you activate your ability or not, I'm still capable of beating you down to shreds." I asked him while getting close to him without dropping my guard.

- "Yes, I'm serious John, can I go now?" Blyke said, trying to convince me. 

- "Psh. It doesn't matter how much you train, everything you can do, I can do it better, so better give up your hopes of defeating me. Now get out of my sight." I said to Blyke, with my arms closed.

- "Whatever." He said while walking off to the dorms.

I'm still feeling irritated and losing my composure from useless people like him. F*ck.

When I was walking to the dorms that feeling was fading at a fast rate, and by the time I get to my room, that feeling was gone.

--- After Class ---

After that unpleasant encounter with Blyke, I went to class, paid attention and everything, and after a long time, I was able to concentrate with ease.

And also I need to prepare everything for the presentation of our report with Remi.

So I get close to Remi and her lackeys, they were all on alert.

- "Remi." I called her.

- "Oh, it's you, John. What do you need from me?" She asked me, with a defensive tone.

- "We need to work on the report. Now." I answered her.

- "Can you wait a bit? I need to get lunch first, I'm starving." She said.

- "No, you can't, let's eat lunch while we do the report, also I want to finish it by today, so I hope you better don't have plans for today." I said to her because I was planning to get the report done by today.

- "No, I don't have any plans, so, lead the way..." She finally said, giving up.

- "Let's go." I said while leading the way.

While we were walking together, she suddenly began to talk.

- "And... how is Doe?" She asked in a friendly tone.

- "He's fine, and he's gaining a bit of muscle too since I go jogging every morning with him, also he was too skinny before, so I'm giving him a lot of care." I answered.

-  "Nice, I'm really happy for your dog, John, he found a home and lots of care with you." Remi said to me.

- "Thanks, he would be happy to hear that too." I said without thinking.

- "Also... why do you want it to get finished today? we have a lot of time until the presentation of the report." Remi asked.

- "We haven't even finished the report yet, and we need to practice the presentation of the work too." I said with a serious tone.

- "Right..." Said Remi, unable to deny this fact.

- "Also, I wanted to have a word about your club, and what I saw from it." I commented.

- "Oh, yeah! It's operating from last month! Tell me, what do you think?" She asked me.

- "Let's wait until we arrived, and after working on the project I'll tell you." I answered her, delaying my response.

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

When we arrived at the room, Doe ran over there and he was waving his tail to us.

- "Oh! How is my cutie pie Doe~?" Remi said to Doe.

- "You have been a good boy aren't you~?" Remi asked with a pampering tone.

Doe was pretty happy to see her since he get used to her over the last month, so in response, she's been pampering Doe a lot.

- "Yes you are! Yes, you are of course~!" Remi said while caressing Doe.

- "Well, since technically you're my guest, I'll make lunch, you can take out your laptop first, put it on the table and play with Doe until I'm finished, it won't take long." I said while heading to the kitchen.

- "Wait, let me help too." Said while preparing to help me.

- "You can put the table if you want. I like to cook alone." I stopped her.

- "Alright..." She said in a bad mood.

So she put the table very fast, so she could play with Doe more time, I don't blame her, I would have done the same thing.

--- 30 Minutes Later ---

- "Alright, it's finished." I said while I was serving her plate.

- "Great. I was getting hungry." She said to what I say.

- "It's rice curry with chicken, I don't know if you're a picky eater, so I went with a safe option." I said to Remi.

- "Nah, it's alright, now, let's eat!" Remi said cheerfully.

--- 15 Minutes Later ---

Again, after I finished eating, I really find it with a normal taste. 

Everything in order and everything tastes like it's supposed to be, but nothing that makes me say that is delicious yet.

- "It was delicious~" Remi said after she finished eating.

- "Don't try to flatter me, I know that wasn't that good, the taste was very normal." I said to her

- "It's not flattery John, I really found that meal delicious." Said Remi, while maintaining her posture on my cooking.

I don't know if it's just me, or it's just her palate that is not working.

- "Alright, let's work first since we're all motivated and full of energy then." I said to Remi.

- "Yeah. I was thinking the same thing." Said Remi, agreeing with me.

--- 5 Hours Later ---

After an extensive work journey on the project, we're finally done with it, all that lefts right now it's the presentation, but we did it good for today, I can see the A that awaits us.

- "And tell me... what do you think of my club? I honestly think it's going pretty good, and everyone it's behaving as I expected-" She managed to say before I interrupted her.

- "Cut that bullsh*t, do you manage a different club or something?" I said to Remi.

- "Look, I told you that your club wasn't going to work before." I continued.

- "Why do you say that? They're all behaving well, and they don't make differences with who they talked inside the club-" Remi managed to say before I interrupted her again.

- "It appears that you're definitely blind, the students that go to your club are just acting that they do, or you just don't notice them enough, because I saw a bunch of mid-tiers yesterday,"correcting" a low-tier for being "too friendly" with them in your club." I said to Remi, based on what I saw yesterday.

 - "John, please, don't makeup such an obvious lie." Remi said, thinking that I was making up all this.

And now she is in denial mode. But I need to keep attacking until she finally understands.

- "What could I possibly gain from lying to you. Stop denying the truth, Remi." I said to her, trying to avoid her from running away from the truth.

- "But my idea worked! The violence inside the school has been reduced, even if it's a little! I don't understand how can you say I failed if it's giving results from it?!" Remi said to me, in an attempt of defending her acts.

- "That's because your idea will only work if you are there. But you cannot possibly be on your club all the time, and they wouldn't do anything that you don't approve, even if you or your lackeys are there watching, and still after that supervision, they could bully another people outside the club, and they wouldn't report it to you either, because low-tiers are cowards and wimps filled with fear of the consequences of doing such thing. Mid-tiers in their frustration for not being stronger, they vent out on low-tiers or people ranked below them, and elites and high-tiers are on their own mind, also they don't truly care, that's the problem, and that's why I hate this f*cking hierarchy." I counterargument her point.

- "I said it wasn't enough, because you lack a long-term plan, in the end, even if you succeed in eradicating the violence on the school while you're Queen, but, what about when you've graduated?" I asked Remi.

- "Basically, you have failed, because you aren't fixing the problem itself, you're just putting the problem under the carpet." I said to her, in order for her to realize this fact.

- "And the ones who were capable of doing it, people like Arlo, Elaine, and all you have mentioned before, didn't lift a finger to do something about, instead, they encourage this kind of attitude on students, even your lackeys wouldn't care it if you didn't care that much."

- "And if wasn't enough, in the past month I ordered Cecile to secretly follow some of your club members, and asked her to take videos on top of that in case that they do these kinds of things." I said to Remi while I take out my phone.

And I proceed to show her the videos that Cecile send me of the Safe House club members bullying their club mates, and also other people around the school, one by one.

Then, Remi remained silent for the whole time she was watching the videos, astonished for the facts I said to her.

- "That's enough." Said Remi, making a signal for me to stop the videos.

- "And that's not the worst part, the worst part is that everybody sees those incidents, but nobody does something about them." I said while finishing my argument.

Truth... is harsh, cold, and difficult to accept it, even I avoided the truth... that I already know in the past, but not anymore, I'm tired of putting my problems under the carpet.

But also, truth is necessary, in order to progress.

After a while, Remi finally reacts to say something.

- "I... need some time alone... to think everything about what you said." Said Remi, with a lifeless tone.

- "...I'm going home." She said, still with that lifeless tone.

The truth really hit her hard...

- "...Until next time, John, and thank you for your hospitality today." She said, but with a very cold and lifeless tone.

She had an empty look in her eyes after everything I said.

And, unable to do or say anything else, she left the room.

--- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #6 END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories, Remi's Room ---

Remi's POV

I... don't know what to believe right now.

After I came back from John's Room when he showed me... the truth.

My club... the Safe House, failed on its purpose.

And after thinking about what he said to me before... he was right.

He said that my actions weren't enough... and he was right.

Looking back... I didn't think it enough.

I only wanted people to treat each other with respect, and I wanted to stop the violence inside the school as soon as possible.

But... as John said, I was blind, and he was right.

I should have noticed... the hints were all over the place when John was acting cripple... low-tiers being kicked while they were down... and especially when Seraphina lost her ability.

People here... are violent, by nature.

He said that the vast majority of the school was always looking for reasons to hurt people, and he was right.

They don't even think about the pain that they cause, and for the pettiest of reasons on top of that, they... always look for reasons to try to justify their violence.

That is... messed up.

And he said that elites and high-tiers, in general, didn't even care about stopping that... and he was right.

When I talked to everyone to stop this situation on the school... they seem ignorant about this and proceed to do their own thing, if I didn't show care about this, they wouldn't care either.

Arlo... Blyke... Isen... Elaine... Holden... Cecile... Seraphina was before too.

My brother... tried. But still failed at the end, because his system didn't last. I don't blame him either, because even if he didn't know the answer... he still tried.

Right now... I want to be alone, to think about all this.

*knock knock*

- "Remi? Are you okay?" Blyke asked me behind the door.

- "Yes. Why are you asking?" I asked Blyke.

- "Elaine saw you on your way here, and saw you with a face that you have never have made before, so we have come here to check how you are." Blyke said to me.

- "How it went with John on your report?" Isen asked me behind the door.

- "It went fine, Isen. And yes, I'm okay, Blyke." I said, with a cold tone.

- "But I am, I'm just tired." I lied to them because I want to be alone right now.

- "You're definitely not fine, let us in, Remi!" Isen said, seeing through my lie.

- "I want to be alone for now." I said to them.

*knock knock*

- "Remi, are you still there?" Asked Isen.

So I opened the door and let them in.

- "Tell us Remi, what happened, did John do something to you?" Isen asked me.

- "He did nothing to me, we just talked." I said with a cold tone.

- "And... what did you talk about?" Blyke asked me.

- "He... told me... the truth." I said to them.

- "Why are you believing him? We told you that you shouldn't listen to him, Remi! He's just an angry guy who wants to see the world burn! Nothing good can come by listening to someone like him!" Isen said to me.

- "Because everything that he said to me a while before was true all along! That I have failed on stopping the violence inside the school, everyone did!" I said to Isen.

- "He's lying Remi! How could he know something like that?! Everything seems calmer in the past month!" Said Blyke, trying to cheer me up.

- "That's only an illusion, Blyke." I corrected him.

- "Don't deny your own accomplishments, Remi, you have done a lot for this school." Said Isen, trying to cheer me up.

- "Those "accomplishments"  like you said are nothing, because I'm not really solving the problem. When I graduate, all my accomplishments are going to disappear. In the end, I was blind and delusional, just like he said." I said, remembering what John said to me a while before.

- "But we got more people supporting you! Don't give up just like that! Your actions will prevail! I'm sure of it!" Blyke said to me.

- "They are only supporting me, because I am stronger than them, nothing more." I answered Blyke.

- "Don't say things like that Remi! We always have been with you and share your ideals too!" Isen said to me.

- "Yeah? You do? Then if I didn't care to stop the bullying and the violence inside the school, would you do something about it yourselves?" I asked them both.

They remain silent for a while. 

This silence speaks for itself.

- "Even if I didn't do anything before, that doesn't mean I don't care about it!" They said at the same time.

Are they serious? They really want me to believe that? They... didn't truly share my goal after all?

And suddenly, I was invaded by a feeling, comparable to what I felt when I found Volcan.

- "DID YOU LISTEN WHAT YOU JUST SAID?! NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT IS THE SAME TO NOT CARING ABOUT SOMETHING! YOU'RE CONTRADICTING YOURSELVES! IN THE END, YOU REALLY WOULDN'T LIFT A FINGER FOR STOPPING THIS BY YOUR OWN! HOW CAN YOU TWO BE THIS HYPOCRITE?!" I yelled at them, enraged by their apathy.

They remained silent again.

- "YOU TWO! GET OUT OF MY ROOM! NOW!" I yelled at them.

- "But-" Blyke managed to say before I interrupted him.

- "No buts, get out before I make you." I said, with a cold tone, still angry at them while powering up.

And with that, they get out of my room.

I didn't want to yell at them... but I did it anyway. 

It's just... that... I simply was mad at them, I wanted to be alone, and they still insisted, against what I said before... and that last phrase that they said... just... triggered me.

Why did I do that?

I think... this is the second time in my life that I have been this mad.

- "God I feel awful right now..." I said to myself, then, tears started to come out of my eyes.

I want to fix this problem, I want to help them. I truly do.

But these people don't want to help themselves.

And I can't find the answer. Even Rei couldn't.

So... what I'm supposed to do now?

--- Wellston's Empty Classroom ---

Arlo's POV

I was asked to be here by Blyke and Isen, since they were very worried about Remi. They told me that she hasn't gone to class since three days ago. And she is locked up in her room right now.

I hope they make this short since I'm supposed to investigate a lot of things now that I got a lot of free time since I get dethroned by John a month ago.

About Seraphina's lost ability, and about Rei's death.

And suddenly, Blyke and Isen finally arrived in the room.

- "Do you know what is punctuality?" I said to Blyke and Isen.

- "Sorry Arlo, we had class." Said Blyke.

- "Doesn't matter, you told me on the phone that Remi was not okay, but you need to elaborate on this." I said to them.

- "Well, the thing is... that Remi is working with John on a report from school, so they have been passing more time together, we even warned her that she shouldn't listen to him, since all the things that have passed in between, but since three days ago, she was different, it's starting to affect her." Isen said, very worried about her.

She is working with John?! Is she out of her mind?! Did she forget how he brutalized us or something?!

- "Different? In what way?" I asked them.

- "Well, for starters, she got an empty look on her eyes all the time she was talking to us, and she was having a negative attitude around her, and then she said that her club was a complete failure." Said Blyke.

I didn't approve of her club, but also I wouldn't mess with her for something so petty.

And also she got a negative attitude, coming from Remi, that's not how she usually is.

- "Later, we tried to cheer her up, but she didn't listen to us." Said Blyke to me.

- "Go on..." I said, starting to worry a bit about this.

- "Then, we said to her that she shouldn't diminish her own accomplishments, but stated a point completely new to us." Said Isen, surprised by this.

- "What point did she state?" I asked them.

- "She said that all that was an illusion, because all that effort was going to waste once she graduated." Said Isen, surprised that she said something like this.

- "Then we said that she got people supporting her, that she doesn't have to give up just like that." Said Blyke.

- "But she said that all her supporters only follow her for her strength, nothing more." Said Blyke.

- "And when we said that we have supported her since the beginning, she asked us that if we would still do something to stop the increasing violence and bullying inside the school, even if she didn't care first." Said Isen.

This is something that she wouldn't think about that on her own... she's too naive for her own good to think something like that.

- "And... what did you answer?" I asked them.

- "Honestly, I should have just lied to her, she took that really bad." Said Isen, with a regretting tone.

- "Don't say that Isen! As her friends, the least we can do is not lying about what we think about and be honest with each other!" Blyke said to Isen, not approving what he said before.

- "Enough dragging, answer my question." I said to both of them.

- "We said that... even if we didn't do anything, we still cared for that issue." Said Blyke, finally answering my question.

- "And then, she snapped at us." Isen said.

Snapped? Remi snapped?

- "What did you say?!" I said to them, astonished by hearing this.

The Remi I know would never do something like that.

- "She... began to yell at us, about that not doing anything is equal to not caring about something, and how we are contradicting ourselves and that in the end, we wouldn't lift a finger for fixing this on our own..." Said Blyke with a worried tone. 

- "She was... really angry... and really scary too..." Isen commented.

Angry? Well, she can get angry too, is natural, but scary? 

That is unnatural. 

Especially for her. I have to talk to her as soon as possible.

- "And finally, she makes us leave the room, I was trying to say something, but she cut me immediately and she even powers up to kicking us out." Said Blyke, still affected by what happened that day.

- "But... how could we do something about it if we didn't have no idea? We were each in our own business doing our things." Blyke justified himself.

And I think that Blyke is right, she overreacted to what they said.

- "I bet that she doesn't even want to see us right now... and we feel terrible too, we can't bear seeing her like that! So please, Arlo! Can you talk to her? Maybe she would listen to you. " Isen said to me.

- "I was planning to talk to her after you told me all this, since this is worrisome too, don't worry, leave it to me." I said to them, and it appears that they calmed down a bit.

This is problematic... but I have to do something with all this nonsense, I can't leave Remi like that, and also I have to do something with John, before his thinking is starting to affect others too... 

It appears that I'm the only one who is able to get everything in order.

--- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #7 END ---

Chapter Text

Warning: This chapter contains violence that you may consider too much, so readers, proceed with caution.

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

- "Monster." Is the first thing I remember after being woken up by the alarm.

- "You're not a monster." I remembered immediately right after.

I don't know who is right and who doesn't, this is... difficult.

I have to work on the project, also I have to work on how to stop the violence inside the school. 

And I have to do it since now I have something to do, something to chase, something to win.

I had an idea before, but I don't know if it's going to work, I need to think about it in detail before acting, but... I need an opinion, but nobody would give me an unbiased opinion here, since they're all dumbass, or get scared and will run away from me in the second I get close to someone.

- "You up?" I say to Doe, typically, like every morning since I found him.

*WOOF!* 

He answers, but this time he is not like usual he's... different, he's not waving his tail anymore, and didn't run to me either, this is happening since three days ago,

I don't know what is happening to Doe, maybe it's the food, but he has to finish this one in order to buy another, maybe I'll buy less and mix it up with another brand-

No, that's not the problem, he is eating right now and doesn't seem like he is eating less, so that's not it.

I'm giving him walks, food, water, I'm playing with him... so what it could be?

Think!

What happened in the last three days that could be making him like that?

...

...

Remi.

I got that sudden thought.

But... it could be, since she's been here a lot of times in order to get the report done, and she's missing from three days ago since I said what I said, in order to stop her delusion.

And she pampered Doe a lot, so... he used to play with her a lot, but I do play with him a lot too, so why-

And I placed the pieces together after this.

- "So... you are missing Remi, right?" I said to Doe.

*WOOF!*

He does after I asked him, so he does miss her after all, huh?

So I have to go visit her, maybe... well... it would be a change of pace for Doe, and I want to see this dog happy, so there's no other choice.

It's 6 AM, but we need to do our morning routine, no skipping on that one.

So we'll be going during lunchtime.

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories ---

I have come here, in order to cheer up Doe by visiting Remi, who knows, maybe it will cheer her up too since it appears that the truth has hit her really hard...

We were walking, when I see someone going into the building that I really don't want to see in my life ever again.

Arlo, the biggest thorn in my shoe I could ever face in my entire life.

What is he doing here?!

Probably he's here to hang out with Seraphina, ugh, with only thinking about that makes me want to vomit, it revolves my stomach to no end.

But who wouldn't? Your greatest enemy, and your former best friend, hanging out together.

Whatever. F*ck him. 

Fortunately, I'm not here to deal with him.

I'll wait here for a bit since I don't want to walk close to worthless trash like him.

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories, Staircase ---

Arlo's POV

Since I'm no longer King, I have to go to class, is not that I'm doing bad or anything like it, but I no longer have that privilege of skipping class that is granted to all the royals.

I came here to talk with Remi, since she was heavily affected by John's influence.

How can a high-tier be like that, he is the shame of this school, absolutely worthless for this society, how can he think as he does, it's a total mystery to me. 

But I don't want to even solve that mystery, the sole thought of encountering John would mean a world of anxiety and stress to me.

When I was walking, I notice Seraphina walking with Elaine, probably going to see Remi.

- "Oh, hi, Arlo! How are you?" Elaine greeted and asked me, with a friendly tone.

- "Hi." Seraphina greets me.

- "Hello." I greeted both of them.

- "What are you doing here, Arlo?" Seraphina asked me.

- "I'm here to see Remi." I answered her.

Elaine makes a sad and a very worried face like it's the end of the world, and Seraphina is still with her usual lack of expressivity.

- "Well, she was affected by what John said some days ago. Isen and Blyke called me and asked me if I can do something about this, so here I am." I said to them.

Elaine makes a relieved face, I don't know why, maybe because I'm here to fix all this situation.

- "Then let's go together, maybe we can get her out of this." Seraphina said to me.

- "It's probably the best option for now." I said to Seraphina.

--- 3 Minutes Later ---

We arrived at her room, and I knocked on the door.

- "Isen, Blyke, I've told you before that I need time to think. Go away." She said from her dorm, without opening the door.

*knock knock*

Then, Remi opens the door, expecting who was on the other side of the door were Blyke and Isen.

- "I told you that I'm fine! And I'm busy now! Go aw-" Remi managed to say, before looking who was she talking to.

- "What could be more important that you would leave us here waiting?" I said to her when she opened the door.

- "Wha-? It's you, Arlo, Elaine and... Seraphina?!" Remi asked surprised.

- "Long time no see." I said to Remi.

- "What brings you here?" Remi asked us.

- "We wanted to see how you were, you have been missing three days from the school." Elaine said to her.

- "Oh... yeah... sorry about that. I was busy here." Said Remi.

When I look at her room, nothing out of order, nothing out of... anything, Blyke and Isen overreacted pretty hard after all.

Except, that she got a board, filled with what it appears to be brainstorming.

- "So this is what you have been doing all these days." I said to Remi.

- "Yeah..." Said Remi.

- "This doesn't seem bad at all, so why did you went and snapped over those two?" I asked Remi.

- "Well... that day... I was pretty shocked by what John said to me... and I get really mad at them for what they answered me to a question that I made them." Remi told us.

- "What did John say to you?" Seraphina asked her.

- "Mostly, that my club failed, and his reasoning of why he was thinking that." Said Remi.

- "Come on, as he can possibly make a reasonable argument, everybody knows that he has problems and needs help." I said to Remi.

- "Don't say that, Arlo! He is truly thinking about the school's well being too!" Said Remi.

- "Yeah, sure." I said sarcastically.

- "I mean it, Arlo, he saw all the flaws of this hierarchy." Remi said with a very serious tone.

- "Don't say nonsense, Pink-" I managed to say to her, before getting interrupted.

- "I'm not in the mood for games, Arlo. If you're not going to say anything productive, you better get going." Remi said with a serious tone.

There it is, the change in her attitude that Blyke and Isen mentioned, maybe this wasn't an overreaction from them as I imagined.

- "What did you say?" I asked Remi.

- "What you heard." Remi answered me.

- "Listen, Remi... if the hierarchy is that bad like he said to you, then why hasn't been replaced before for another system?" I asked her.

- "The hierarchy still exists because it's the best system that the great minds of this nation have made, that's the reason it hasn't been replaced by another one since the foundation of society, and every school in the country uses this system, that says nothing to you?" I said to her, stating that fact.

- "Not because something is used by a lot of people means that it's the best thing in the world, you only say that because you don't know any better way." Remi said to me, trying to counterargument my statement.

Those are lies, order is natural, and hierarchy is the best way to apply this order.

- "Remi, I think Arlo is right, there is a reason why hierarchy is still applied to schools and society in general you know?" Elaine said, including herself in the conversation.

- "And your safe house is bringing results, so why-" Seraphina managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "They are only acting, you know, they still bully other people outside my club... and I didn't even notice it." She said with negativity.

- "How can you be so sure-" I managed to say, before getting interrupted again.

- "He even showed me videos as evidence proving his point! How can you be that oblivious to something like that?!" She asked, annoyed by our intermission.

There it is, the "snapping" like Blyke and Isen said. Seeing this firsthand is a lot more concerning to what they said before.

- "Wow, relax-" Seraphina said to her, trying to calm the situation, but she was interrupted.

- "I have no time to relax with all these things happening right now! I need to find an answer as soon as possible!" Said Remi out loud.

What did you do to her, John?!

- "Oh... and he commented on me another thing..." Remi added to this.

- "What else did he say...?" I asked her.

- "That nobody seems to care about solving this problem, specially high-tiers, otherwise this nonsense wouldn't be happening." She said.

This statement is heavily influenced by John.

I know her, she is not the kind of person that thinks like this.

- "Please... if I would have interfered in every small fight that happens in the school, everything would be in disorder, and I wouldn't be altering the hierarchy for no reason." I said while defending the system that I was running before.

- "Then what, you would prefer to let people suffer without reason on the school for maintaining the hierarchy?" Remi asked me, annoyed by my last comment.

- "Listen, Remi... if they have to suffer for it, is not without a reason, they always do something, and get punished for it, and someone has to put them on their place, that's all there is to it." I said to Remi, a little irritated.

- "Also... I remembered another thing that John said to me." Said Remi, with a serious tone.

- "You said that... you respected Rei, right?" Remi asked me.

- "Yes, and I still do, where are you going with this?" I answered and asked her back.

- "Then... why you didn't maintain his system after he graduated?" Remi said to me, with a serious and cold tone.

It appears that I have to say it. I didn't want to hurt her, but she didn't give me another choice.

- "That's because... his system altered the whole hierarchy, his actions only brought chaos when he left." I answered.

- "Everybody was fighting everybody, low-tiers were fighting to be side to side with us high-tiers, and we didn't allow it, and they didn't understand! And nobody listened to what I said, even in my position as King! So everything I built I did it from scratch, since Rei's system didn't do any good to the school." I said to Remi, explaining myself in the process.

- "So... you didn't respect Rei at all... you liar." Remi said, forcing herself to not cry at this moment.

- "No, you are misunderstanding, I respect Rei, I truly do." I clarified.

- "Then explain why you didn't respect the way that he made." She asked me.

- "..." I remained silent for a while.

- "I'm waiting." Said Remi, now mad at me.

She is being insufferable right now.

- "Because... I didn't think that was the right way of doing things." I finally answered her.

- "What part of respecting him was that?" She asked me, with a cold tone.

- "I only respected his capacity to do things and his strength." I said with honesty.

Then, little by little, her face began to disarm by hearing this, and then, tears were flowing out of her eyes.

- "Get out. I don't want to hear anything from you anymore." She said while making a disgusted face from what she heard.

- "What's wrong with what I-" I managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT!" Said Remi, but now mad at me.

- "You're in no position to say that to me... but I'll leave, since it's a waste of time trying to help you do something with that insufferable attitude of yours." I said to Remi, while we were preparing to leave.

And so... we left the room.

- "She's really a lost cause right now... I was too late." I said to Elaine and Seraphina.

- "Well... you kinda said everything you can say wrong, you know, wrong, so it's your fault this time." Said Seraphina.

- "It's not my fault, she overreacted to what I said, and that is because she was desperate, she will soon give up on this, and she will be the Remi we all know, I'm sure of it." I said with full confidence.

- "Yeah, no... she's actually doing her job, trying to make this school safe. Maybe we didn't have to come here after all." Seraphina said to me.

- "But she began to snap sometimes, I counted twice." Elaine commented.

- "Obviously, because Arlo keeps trash-talking about her ideals, her brother, who seems to respect a lot more than you... and she's a person too, she can have bad days too, and she can get mad too, there is a lot of sides of her that we haven't even know about... and you really have a talent for irritating people, you know that?" Said Seraphina while looking at me at that last phrase.

- "You seem to talk from experience, aren't you?" I said to Seraphina.

- "And you really need to learn when to keep your mouth shut sometimes." Seraphina said to me, with a cold tone.

And we kept walking together since we were going in the same direction.

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories, close to Remi's Room ---

John's POV

I think is over here... I don't know, I have never go to her room before, so I'm a little lost here. I can't find her room.

After I waited for ten minutes, to avoid encountering Arlo, I walked to see Remi, but right now I'm looking for her room, when, the worst possible scenario I could ever imagine, happens.

I saw Arlo, Seraphina, and Elaine, walking together on their way out of Remi's Room.

What are they doing here?! Of all the places?!

Whatever, I'll just ignore them... and do what I have come here and leave.

- "Don't go over spreading your nonsense influence over the place." Arlo warns me.

I can't tolerate him, I wish I could have an ability copied right now to destroy this motherf*cker.

- "What do you mean? Everybody is running away from me, so I can't "spread" any influence as you said." I said to Arlo, without understanding why he even said that.

- "Don't try to change the subject, John, I'm talking about Remi." Arlo said to me.

- "You changed her view over the things, we have come to talk with her and she was totally different from what we used to know about her."

- "Oh, really? And now you're showing care over someone!?" I asked him.

- "Spare me the bullsh*t Arlo, you are no saint either." I said to him, while getting irritated by his unpleasant presence.

- "So better go telling bullsh*t to someone who is idiotic enough to believe you, even after you suspended them on purpose just because you can't tolerate a friend of her back then minding his own business, like that dumbass behind you." I said while pointing to Seraphina.

- "Hey, I'm just trying to get to know why did I lost my ability, and I'll ally with anyone that will help me get it back. That's it." Seraphina explained her actions.

I don't have to believe anything that she says, she's not a person who can be trusted anymore.

- "That doesn't change the fact that you take his side over mine, and you were supposed to be my friend? You're pathetic." I said to her.

- "That was because you weren't telling me anythi-" Seraphina managed to say after I interrupted her.

- "Do you know what privacy is? Also, what happened in my past, is nothing that you would have to meddle about. I didn't meddle in your life either." I abruptly said to her.

- "I respected your privacy and I expected the same, and I had my reasons to not reveal my ability in the first place, and you should have respected that as my former friend." I said to Seraphina, defending myself why I didn't openly reveal myself in public until now.

Seraphina remained silent for a little while when I said this.

- "Whatever, just get out of my sight. It's a waste of time talking to you." I said, now irritated by their presence.

- "No. You get out of our sight." Arlo said to me, with a cocky tone.

That bastard! He hasn't learned his lesson yet! Even after all that happened, he is still believing he owns this place, and everybody in it!

He is an absolute human garbage.

- "What did you say? Remember that I'm stronger than you." I said with a cold tone.

- "Oh, please John, everybody knows that you can't do anything if nobody gives you an ability for you to copy. You're even useless as a high-tier, and useless when you claimed to be a cripple. I can't respect that strength." Arlo said to me, trying to provoke me.

Sh*t, he noticed it. 

The biggest flaw of my ability.

I can defeat anyone who stands in my way... if I got an ability to do it.

If I don't have one beforehand, then I could lose to anyone who could fight better than me in a hand to hand combat, but that isn't going to happen today.

- "In fact, I can take my position back right now, and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it." He said, in a provoking tone.

In this motherf*cker's case, he's lucky that my punches don't have any effect on him because of his passive granting him an extra defense to compensate for his lack of fighting skills.

But still, I would never lose against someone like him, never.

Doe, on the other hand, noticed the hostility between me and Arlo and began to bark.

I can't leave his collar, or else he will attack, and get hurt since it's just a dog after all. 

Then, Arlo, noticing my hesitation, began to walk at me and grabbed my shirt.

- "DON'T TOUCH ME!" I yelled at him.

- "Or... what?" He said, with a cocky smile.

- "You two! Cut it out! Escalating this isn't going to help anybody!" Seraphina said to both of us, trying to stop this situation.

- "No. I'm going to take my rightful position, right here, right now." Arlo said to Seraphina, ignoring completely what she said.

But it was too late.

- "And I'm going to teach you a f*cking lesson, you son of a b*tch!" I said to him, getting more angrier by the time.

Seeing that her attempts to diffuse and calm down the situation didn't have any results, she just simply gave up.

Then I punched him right in the face, but he didn't even budge.

It appears that I need to take a more brutal tactic in order to defeat him. 

Since he's taking his sweet time, enjoying this moment, I can pull this out.

So I punched him in the face again, but this time, my knuckle reached his eye.

- "AARGH!" Arlo exclaimed in pain while backing off.

He can be as tough as he wants, but in the end, he is still human.

I can win this.

- "YOU LITTLE SH*T! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS!" Arlo said to me while running with full force to get me.

But then, unexpectedly, Doe jumps to bite Arlo.

And Arlo, put his left arm to cover the biting, and I continued by throwing a high-kick to his face.

But it didn't connect, he uses his free hand to stop the kick, and kicks me instead.

I cough up a little bit of blood from the kick.

His f*cking passive is making all the work for him! 

Even his punches are hard from that bullsh*t!

While Arlo was shaking his left arm to free himself from Doe's bite, but was useless, since he was unable to free from it, I use this time to stand-up.

But when I could get back on my feet, he slammed Doe against the wall, but still, he didn't let him go.

- "Get off me, you filthy mutt!" Arlo said while still slamming Doe against the wall.

It hurts. I don't know why, but it hurts like hell, I don't want him to get him any more pain.

I have taken care of Doe since that day, and since then... every day has been more bearable.

I can't leave him like that.

But my body didn't want to respond, it was still feeling the pain of the kick that Arlo gave me.

- "STOP IT! " I yelled to Arlo.

But he still continued, until he leaves a big crack on the wall.

I have to do something!

Anything!

- "LEAVE THE DOG IN PEACE AND COME AT ME, YOU F*CKING COWARD!" I yell at Arlo, in order to make him stop.

Then, he finally stopped slamming him, because Doe finally stopped biting him, lying unconscious to the floor.

And then, since my rage surpassed my pain and exhaustion, I charged at him with all my forces.

I swear that I'm going to make him pay, no matter the cost.

--- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #8 END ---

Le Bonus:

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories, Close to Remi's Room ---

John's POV

- "Doe..." I muttered while falling on my knees.

I stared at his body lying on the ground... putting all his efforts into breathing and staying alive.

He... only wanted to help me...

He... only wanted love...

Pain.

That emotion filled my soul, like trying to absorb his pain and translocate it into my body.

But it doesn't work like that.

Why? Why does something like this happen?

Is this my punishment for all the bad things I've done?

Is it...  for being a monster?

No.

I'm... not the monster this time. He  is.

And I'm not going to leave it like this.

Rage.

That emotion surpassed my pain, making me able to stand once again.

I activated my ability, even if I don't have anything beforehand.

But... I have to make him pay, with everything that I got.

And my ability is a part of me, even if I didn't want it before, even if it's useless to do it, but I need to do it.

I'm not the monster this time.

He is.

And he is going to pay, for everything that he's done.

Then, I charged at him, I needed to charge at him, I couldn't stay still after seeing that.

Arlo got his guard up, prepared to counter my charging.

He throws a right punch, but I parry his punch, and punch him on his face, and this time reached around his eye.

- "ARGH!" Arlo grumbled.

Even if that didn't have much effect.

Punch him.

Even if he doesn't budge.

Punch him.

Even if it doesn't land on his face.

PUNCH HIM.

Even if I get punched back.

PUNCH. HIM.

Is what I repeated to myself when I punched him the first time.

Then I pushed him back to get some space, prepared to charge at him again.

With the adrenaline circulating around my body, I saw his body moving in slow motion, making me able to parry his left punch, onto an arm hold, in an attempt to snap his arm, but he set free from it with ease, because he has more physical strength than me.

So I guess strikes are my only option.

Meanwhile, Elaine and Seraphina were shocked, by everything that is happening in such a short amount of time, and unable to interfere, since the fight was so heated-up.

Better for me, since they wouldn't interfere with this.

But... that doesn't matter anymore. 

I have to concentrate.

I need to defeat him.

And soon, my hearing stopped working, and my vision clouded.

After that, it was all red.

Red.

Except for one thing.

Him.

And that is everything I need.

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories, Remi's Room ---

Remi's POV

I was hearing music in my room, to get concentrated again in what I was doing before Arlo, Elaine and Seraphina interrupted me.

But then... I heard a strong noise coming from outside my room.

*SLAM!*

*SLAM!* 

*SLAM!*

*DROP*

Soon, that strong noise outside my room stopped.

That... sounded terrible...

What is happening? A fight? Here, on the dorms?

I can't leave it like that, and pretend that is not my problem.

So I prepared to go outside, and when I opened the door, I saw something terrible.

I saw John and Arlo fighting each other.

John... was bleeding, and Arlo had some minor bruises around his face.

But something was different.

John had a cold yet burning glare on his golden eyes.

What could possibly happened to him to be on that state?

Seraphina and Elaine were just watching the fight, unable to interfere in this.

Probably because they noticed that John was in a weird state, at least in the case of Seraphina.

Elaine was shocked and trembling in fear, but trying to get some response from her right now would be useless.

I also noticed that it wasn't anything like when we fought John before, it was entirely different.

That John from before, was calculating every move he made in that fight, and efficiently using everything at his disposal to win, he simply was on another level.

Now... he didn't even cared about blocking the attacks, he was... only attacking.

And Arlo is unable to activate his ability too, that's why he has taken a lot of damage.

Since his ability gave him a lot more toughness, a normal punch wouldn't do anything to him, so I assume that John was trying to crack his defense with everything he got.

But what on earth would make the situation to escalate into something like-

On that moment, I saw Doe, lying on the floor, and a huge crack on the wall.

And as soon as I saw that horrific scene, I already got an idea that what might had happened.

On my interactions on a regular basis with John last month, I learned that... he isn't someone who attacks without previous provocation, and I didn't do this, and nobody dares to cross him right now, so he didn't have any fight during the last month...

So... what I'm concluding from this is... 

That Arlo must have started this.

But reflecting on this isn't going to solve the situation happening before my eyes. 

I have to do something.

- "BOTH OF YOU, STOP!" I yelled with an angry tone, in my first attempt trying to break the fight.

But they wouldn't listen.

But I have to do something about this! I can't leave it like this!

- "I SAID STOP!" I yelled, unconsciously powering up.

John was backwards to me, and Arlo looked at me, and my eyes glowing in that moment.

- "NO! WHAT HAVE YOU-" Arlo managed to say before getting electrocuted.

*BUZZZZZZ!*

And with a big charge of a black lightning, Arlo gets electrocuted by John, who didn't miss that opportunity.

And then, like a machine, John proceeds to punch Arlo, and electrocuting him again.

*ZAP!*

At this moment, Arlo was trembling, due to the continous lighting strikes that John was giving him.

*ZAP!* 

*ZAP!*

But John didn't stopped punching Arlo, like he was in some kind of trance, he continued to keep fighting.

*ZAP!*

Then, Arlo fell on his knees, and started to have muscular spasms from all the lightning strikes he received, but John still keep punching Arlo.

Finally, John kicks Arlo in the face, electrocuting Arlo to the point he lose consciousness, collapsing to the floor.

In the end, John defeated Arlo... but... it wasn't exactly easy.

John had his knuckles peeled and covered in blood, from all the punches he throws at Arlo, also, John was bleeding, and he had bruises all over his face and a very swelled black eye.

A truly horrifying scene.

*ZAP!*

But the fight didn't finish there.

John started to stomp Arlo, while using my ability at it too.

John still had that cold glare, and his eyes got an empty look. 

I doubt that he was even conscious, but still keep fighting.

When all this is finished, I need to ask John what happened.

But for now, I need to think about something and fast... otherwise... this is going to become a murder scene.

- "JOHN! Wake up! I know that you are there somewhere!" I said, in an attempt to make him come back to his senses.

But he didn't stop. And fighting him at that state would not end well for both, so that is not an option right now.

What should I do?

I was getting desperate, and tears started to come out of my eyes from my inability to stop this by myself.

Then, in the heat of the moment, the right words came into my mind to reach him.

- "JOHN! STOP IT! WE HAVE TO HELP DOE FIRST! OR ELSE IT MIGHT BE TOO LATE!" I screamed, hoping that what I said would reach him in that state.

- "IT'S ME, REMI! AND I'M HERE WITH DOE, WHO NEEDS YOU RIGHT NOW! YOU NEED TO COME BACK!" I finally said, with all my forces.

And before John gives Arlo the final strike, he finally stopped moving.

And he stayed still for a while.

--- A few minutes later ---

John's POV

AGH.

My head hurts... my hands... too... all my body hurts like hell right now.

But... what I was doing to get in this state?

- "JOHN! ...-ke up! I know that you are ...-re...!" Someone said to me.

I couldn't identify who it was.

- "...JOHN! ...! WE NEED TO HELP D-... FIRST! OR ELSE -...!" I heard someone screaming, but I didn't hear everything about what that person said.

Help? Who? And who is being so loud too?

That person is... trying to stop me from doing something...?

Impossible... nobody would even dare to give me the time of day.

All I remembered is that I encountered with Arlo, and then for some reason, we began to fight.

After that, I don't remember what happened...

Wait. 

I... think I know that voice.

It's... agh, my head hurts...

I think it starts with... R-

Agh, nope, I can't remember right now.

- "IT'S ME, REMI! AND I'M HERE WITH D..., WHO NEEDS YOU RIGHT NOW! YOU NEED TO COME BACK!"

Remi... so it's Remi, huh.

But... I still don't remember... about who is she talking about...

D...? D...?

Hmm, that... seems familiar.

Doe.

Then, I felt like I suddenly go back from somewhere, with my feet up, my ability active, with Remi's ability for some reason, and Ar- that motherf*cker collapsed on the floor.

- "What... happened... to me...?" I managed to say, even talking is difficult right now to me.

And then... I remembered all that happened in a flash.

- "Where is he?!" I asked, hoping that someone was there to help Doe.

- "Here! But we have to do something about Doe! And I don't know what is happening to Elaine either, she doesn't react!" Said Remi, telling me the situation right now.

But what can I do now, I have to do something!

So, I looked at my surroundings, but I saw nobody in front of me.

But because for some reason, I sensed Elaine and Seraphina, who were backwards to me.

Then, I ran close to her, spending my last forces in order to get her ability.

- "Elaine! Lend me your ability! Hurry!" I said to Elaine, since she was nearby.

- "W-What...?" Elaine managed to say, since it appears that she is shocked from watching all the fight.

- "USELESS B*TCH! I SAID LEND ME YOUR F*CKING ABILITY, AND YOU F*CKING DO IT! DON'T MAKE ME WAIT!" I yelled while I slapped her, angry by her ineptitude.

And as soon as my hand reached her face, she activates her ability.

A weird timing to activate her ability, if you ask me.

 - "SEE?! THAT WASN'T SO DIFFICULT, WASN'T IT?! BUT NO! YOU HAVE TO MAKE THIS THE HARD WAY, YOU F*CKING B*TCH! NOW BOTH OF YOU GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" I yelled at Elaine and Seraphina.

So, unable to do anything else, Seraphina left, and Elaine followed her after grabbing that f*cker first.

Then, I hurried to use the healing ability that I got from Elaine.

Healing him, I noticed that his bruises began to vanish, little by little.

I healed him for a while, to make sure that he's out of life risk.

He's going to get better, I'm sure of it.

But, still, he needs to rest, and I can't move him easily, since he's in a delicate state right now.

- "Remi." I say her name, calling her.

- "What is it, John?" She said, relieved that all that nonsense that happened earlier is over.

- "Can you do me a favor?" I asked her.

- "Sure!" She said with a friendly tone.

- "Can I leave Doe in your care until he gets better?" I asked her with honesty.

- "Of course! I'll take care of him!" Said Remi, responding to my petition.

Then, I began to heal myself.

My healing right now is very slow, since I used a lot of my aura healing Doe, and also considering my current state, a state that I shouldn't even be able to stand and even less, to use abilities, on top of that.

Right now, I'm... exhausted... 

- "Also, can I rest in your place for now?, I don't think that I can even reach the infirmary or my room by myself right now." I said to Remi since her place is right here.

- "Well... that's true, sure, no problem at all." Said Remi, while letting me enter her room.

--- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #9 END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories, Remi's Room ---

John's POV

- "Monster." Is what I remember after waking up.

- "You're not a monster." I remembered what my dad said right after and letting this matter go away.

Hmm, usually when I remember what Claire said to me on that day, the impact is stronger than what dad said to me, but this time, it was backwards.

I wonder what is the meaning of this?

But most importantly, when did I fall asleep?

I must have fallen unconscious after lying down on the first couch I saw, yes, that must be it.

At least I get to heal myself before that though.

But how much time I was resting?

And where is Doe? Is he okay?

Then, I saw Doe over there, who seems to be asleep, and he seems to be okay.

- "Oh, John! You're awake!" Said Remi, when she was passing by.

- "I wake up just now, what time is it?" Is the first thing I asked her.

- "It's 6 PM, classes are already over." Remi answered me.

- "Oh, what a bummer." I commented.

- "Huh. I never took you for the type who likes to study." She commented.

- "Well, I came here to learn in the first place. Also, students are students because they study." I replied.

- "But you always do pretty bad on tests..." She answered back.

- "..." I remained silent.

- "Anyways, I wanted to thank you for letting us rest here." I ignored it and choose to continue the conversation.

- "No problem at all." She said with a gentle tone.

Then, I take a look at her room and is pretty neat, and I noticed a board with a lot of words all over it, I can read those, but it doesn't make sense to me.

- "What is that?" I said to Remi while pointing the board.

- "A board, why?" She answered.

- "No, that's not it, what is on the board?" I specified.

- "Oh, well, you see... after I left on the day we talked, about my club, and things in general, I was really frustrated." 

- "Well, no sh*t, you seem like the world was going to end or something." I commented.

- "..." She remained silent.

- "Anyway, after that, I saw what you meant firsthand when Isen and Blyke went to talk to me after I get home." She said, after taking a pause, completely ignoring my comment.

- "They were pretty oblivious with the increasing violence on the school, but... well... they didn't know what was happening in the first place, I can't blame them for that... but their apathy really made me upset." Said Remi.

There it is, what I was thinking days ago.

The complete ignorance of everybody on the matter, specifically, elites and high-tiers in general.

- "Go on." I said.

- "So... I was looking for the answer until earlier, and what is on the board, is a brainstorm, I thought that maybe it would help me to find the answer that I'm looking to stop the violence inside the school." She said with seriousness.

So... she isn't giving up, she is still chasing.

After seeing that her ideas were not doing anything to contribute to her goal, even after that, she is still chasing a solution.

That is... nice to hear.

- "You... really mean it, so everything that you said to me before, was the truth all along?" I asked her

- "Of course! I wouldn't give up over something like this, if I don't try to do something now, then, when?" Said Remi with determination.

- "And... I really thank you for showing me your point of view too. Without you, I would never have noticed something like that." Said Remi with honesty.

- "So... there was worth in this world after all." I muttered to myself without thinking.

- "Did you say something?" Asked Remi.

- "No, nothing at all." I said, negating what I muttered.

*GROWL*

- "Well, I'm hungry, after all, I didn't even eat lunch, so I'm going to grab something to eat at my room, see you-" I managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "Wait!" Said Remi, before I leave.

- "What is it?" I asked her.

- "Well... I have prepared lunch since before, but since when that happened, all that removed my appetite, so I haven't eaten too, so... you want to have lunch together? Consider it my repayment for your hospitality from the other day." Said Remi, 

That was unexpected, but I don't see any reason to say no, it's a free meal anyway.

*GROWL*

- "Sure, why not?" I answered because I was getting really hungry.

- "Nice! Also, I prepared something for Doe while you were unconscious!" She said, a little bit excited about this.

Why? Is she a bad cook or something that nobody wants to eat what she makes?

I hope that is not the case this time...

So, while I waited for her to serve lunch, although I don't know if this would be a lunch anymore, dinner maybe?

Well... anyway, I'm hungry and I want to eat something right now.

Meanwhile, I decided to read a little bit of her brainstorm.

 - More supervision... 

 - Asking high-tiers and elite to treat each everyone with respect...

 - Guiding freshmen and sophomores to treat each other nicely...

Those are the ones that stand out the most since she used a lot of markers to resemble them, so probably those are the ones that Remi thinks are the most solid and viable options to make this work.

But still, they would be temporary, and can be easily undone by the royals that will be our successors... this could work only in the best-case scenario, where the people who will come after us are capable and have the correct mindset, but that is very unlikely to happen.

Those ideas need a lot of work in order to be viable.

Then, I get close to where Remi is, maybe she would need help or something.

- "Do you need help?" I bluntly asked her.

- "No, I'm almost done, but thanks for asking." She replied.

- "But take a seat, I won't take long." She said while pointing where the table was.

After that, Remi concentrated on what she was doing, while I was waiting on the table.

- "Hey, I wanted to ask you something..." Said Remi out of the blue.

- "Sure, ask away." I said.

- "What happened to you back then?" Said Remi, referring to the fight I had with Arlo a while before.

- "Well... honestly, I have no idea."

- "When I saw Doe getting hurt... I just... wanted to punch Arlo." I answered with honesty.

- "I felt... pain, then rage and then, I only saw Arlo, his aura to be more specific and also I didn't feel pain, so I just keep attacking..." I described what happened to me back then, at least, everything that I remembered.

- "After that, I don't remember anything else, until you made me react." I added.

- "Well... to be honest, you were losing, but you did a little bruise on Arlo's face, which is quite a feat. I've sparred with him, and his defense is something else." She commented.

- "So that's why I had my hands like that... since that guy's whole body is disgustingly tough, I didn't know where to hit, but then I noticed that his aura is not that dense close to his eyes..." I remarked.

- "Oh, really? So Arlo has weak points after all..." Said Remi, surprised to hear that.

- "So I decided to strike him on that area or at least close to it, it might work I thought back then, and since he was so bad at hand to hand combat, that is typical from motherf*ckers who relies on their abilities all the time, and also he was taking his sweet time enjoying how he could overpower me, so that made me able to use a hit and run tactic." I explained.

- "But this fight... made me understand that I'm not powerful at all." I stated what I learned from that last fight.

- "Don't say things like that." Said Remi, contradicting my statement.

- "You... are powerful. A weak person wouldn't be able to stay calm against an opponent like Arlo, who overpowers you in strength and endurance without using his barrier, and even less to think of a strategy on the run, while enraged by something he did, on top of that." Said Remi, explaining why she thought that.

- "And... in the end, you still defeated him." She added to her explaining.

- "Only because you activated your ability." I contradicted her.

- "Tell me the truth Remi, why did you help me back there?" I asked Remi to tell me her reasons.

- "Well... when I saw Doe on the floor like that... I already have an idea of what could have happened back then." Said Remi.

- "In the last month, I learned that you don't go hitting people without previous provocation and, well... before that, I saw Arlo's true colors..."

- "So... I can't blame you to be that mad at him, and you weren't fighting Arlo for a pointless reason, so that means that you were defending yourself, and I wanted to end the conflict as soon as possible, so I decided to take your side this time." Explained Remi.

- "I expected you would react in a different way, to be honest." I said, surprised by her answer.

- "Well, even if you were brutally violent before... oh, but don't misunderstand me, I still think that being violent is not going to fix anything, and I will try to stop you if you take that way again, even if I get beaten up in the process." Said Remi with determination on her words.

- "But... I saw a change in your behavior on you last month too." She said.

- "Before... I thought that you were someone who would brutalize anybody who crosses your path... and a very unreasonable and irrational person." She said with honesty about what she thinks of me before.

- "But after seeing how Arlo was with you... you probably didn't trust anything about what I said when I talked to you before... and since the King was like that, what could you expect from the other Royals?" She asked me.

- "Nothing, really." I answered.

- "Exactly, and now I understand why you would take that attitude against high-tiers back then."

- "But now... things are different. We don't have to repeat the same mistakes, instead, we have to look forward, and chase what is truly important." She said with a serious tone.

Then, I remembered when I fight the royals.

How... I beat them up, brutally, and without mercy.

Even if she was blind and delusional, she didn't need to be beaten to that extent.

But it takes me this long to see that about her.

What is wrong with me?

I... don't... feel very good right now.

What should I do?

I need to do something about this. 

Now.

- "My mistakes really have no end..." I said out loud while I sighed.

- "Mistakes?" Asked Remi, wondering why did I say that.

- "Well... I... I..." I managed to say, but the words are not coming out.

Why?

Why this is being more difficult than already is?

- "What is it?" She asked.

Just say it.

I said before that I was going to live the way I wanted, without regrets.

SAY IT!

- "I... wanted to apologize to you... about... what I did to you... when we fought back then." I finally said, in a very awkward tone.

I feel... weird, for some reason, I feel... like a weight has been removed from me.

- "Oh... well, I don't know what to say..." Said Remi in an awkward and surprised tone too.

- "But... it's alright... that is in the past right now. No use to dwell in it." She said while regaining her composure.

*ping*

- "Oh, food is ready." Said Remi, noticing the timer she set for the food.

- "At last."

Then, Remi served the plates, and she had dog treats and dog food for Doe too for when he wakes up, probably she bought that when I was unconscious.

- "I hope you like it." Said Remi with a smile.

When I saw the food, it was a Lasagna, very simple, and look a bit burnt and a bit, well... weird.

But I'm hungry right now, I'm not going to complain over something like this.

When I give the first bite... 

For some reason... 

A feeling that I thought that I would never get again, invades my mind.

That warm feeling... when you eat something delicious.

Then, I eat it like it's the first meal I have in ages.

The flavor really was unique, the pasta, the sauce, and every ingredient put in this plate, converge into something very tasty and made me take another bite.

And like that, I soon finished the lasagna.

- "Do you have seconds?" I asked her very directly.

- "You really find it delicious huh? Sure!" She said with a smile on her face.

- "Yeah... it really is." I said, then I smiled unconsciously too.

I don't know if it was my hunger, or something else...

But it was delicious. 

Then, Remi gives me the second plate I previously asked for.

It's like all the problems I have, began to melt away slowly with every bite I give.

It's relaxing... I've never felt like this before...

And after I finished eating I pick up the dishes and leave them on the dishwasher.

Then, I started to wash the dishes and utensils that are in the dishwasher.

- "You don't have to wash them you k-" Remi managed to say before I interrupted her.

- "Let me help with this, it's the least I can do." I said.

- "Alright, then let's do this together then." She said while grabbing a sponge.

Then we wash the dishes in complete silence.

But it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, instead, it was a peaceful and comfortable silence that stayed like this until we finished washing the dishes.

- "I will cooperate with you on your goal." I said with a serious tone.

- "H-Huh? W-Why you decided something like this all of a sudden?" Said Remi, surprised by my comment.

- "Because you have shown me that you really want to fix all this nonsense on school, and it's something that needs to happen. I acknowledge your determination." I said with a serious tone.

Then, Remi remained silent for a little while.

- "Thank you, John. I'm looking forward to working with you." Said Remi, while making a gentle smile.

- "Well, I think I'm going home, it's getting late, and we all need to rest, this day was super long after all."

- "Then, see you tomorrow." She said while waving her hand.

- "Yeah, see you tomorrow." I said, and soon after, I left the room.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #10 END --

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

- "Monster." Is what Claire said to me on that day, and also, the first thing I remember after I woke up by the alarm.

- "You are not a monster." Is what my dad said to me, and the thing I remember after the previous one.

But what my dad said was stronger in my mind.

Then, I look at the clock, it's 6 AM, and I have plenty of time to do my morning routine.

Also, I noticed that I've been sleeping a bit more, and yesterday, finally, I get to eat a delicious meal, things are going fine for now.

I was preparing to call Doe, as usual, but then I remembered that he is in Remi's dorm for today.

So... I have to do the routine alone this time, that sucks.

I have done a lot of jogging, but since the last month, I only did that with Doe...

I will just do push-ups and focused exercises this time, I can't lack in strength right now.

Then, I started thinking about what I lived yesterday while I was doing my exercises.

Arlo noticed my weakness, this isn't good.

I don't trust at all in that motherf*cker, he might try to do that again, but this time he would make sure that we are alone, so nobody can interfere like last time.

I hate him.

He doesn't have respect for those stronger than him, he doesn't have dignity, he just moves for his benefit, and he can do anything to try to maintain his shitty hierarchy running, even calling him trash would be too much of an honor for him.

I hate him so much.

And that's why I cannot get Doe into any kind of danger ever again.

So... I need to think of a way to deal with him, fast.

But how?

I don't want to depend on somebody else to lend me their ability, because maybe he will pick on that special chance when I don't have anybody close, also they wouldn't willingly lend me their ability... so this is discarded.

Maybe is better to think about what I can't do on my own first.

I can't copy any abilities if they don't activate their ability first.

And I won't get that feeling of everything has clicked on their place, to copy their ability.

If they don't use their ability, probably I would have to make him use his.

But how can I do that?

- "...But I saw that his aura isn't that dense around his eyes...." Is what I said yesterday.

I remembered this part specifically when I told Remi what happened yesterday.

But how did I sense his aura if he wasn't powering up?

He didn't use his ability, but I remembered that I activated mine... maybe I can sense abilities more in detail now with my ability activated, who knows, but I would need to test it-

Then, I unconsciously look at the clock, and it's 7:45 AM...

I'm running late for school right now, so I just have to think about this later.

--- Wellston's Hallway ---

At least the class wasn't that far from my dorm this time, so I can make it with a few minutes to spare.

But I began to run, since someone has been tailing me.

At first, it was a feeling, but that person is purposedly walking slower than me the whole time. So I'm sure someone has been following me since I leave my dorm.

I ran and turned left just to make sure who it was.

Then, I hear a heavy running from someone, obviously, the one who was following me, for who knows why.

And the first person turning left was Zeke.

Then, my anger starts to boil, so I punched him as soon as he was in my range.

- "I don't know if you are brave enough or incredibly stupid, either way, you have some nerve to try to follow me. So what are you trying to do here?" I said while grabbing his shirt, prepared to punch him again.

- "Don't misunderstand, uhh... I wanted to say that I acknowledge your strength... and I wanted to say that if you ever need help with anything, I'm at your dispo-" Zeke managed to say before I punched him again.

- "Shut up, and don't try to suck up to me." I said while pushing him away.

- "I'm not falling for your bullsh*t, so you better stay away from me if you don't want to visit a hospital ever again." I said, finishing that unpleasant interaction as soon as possible.

Stupid garbage.

Then I just simply walk away to class, trying to forget all of this annoying moment in the process.

--- After Classes ---

When class was finished, I waited a bit for Remi, but she was occupied discussing something with Blyke and Isen I think, but since we still need to finish the project, and also because I need to pick up Doe too, I decided to wait.

I didn't want to hear all about what they were talking about, but they were beginning to be a little loud, enough for me to hear clearly what they were talking about from outside the classroom.

- "What do you want to say? Right now I have a lot of things to do." Remi said to them, with a very firm tone.

- "Yeah, well, both of us feel pretty bad about what we said to you on that day... and also we've been reflecting too on what we thought about these issues so..." Said Blyke.

- "In my case, I... didn't know that this was so deep... so I didn't give too much thought about it before... I know it's my fault, and now I know that... I've failed to fulfill my role as an elite..." Said Blyke, with an apparent serious tone.

- "But now, it's different, since we all saw how it was after we visited Branish... and I've been paying more attention to it, I've been more concerned with this too, Remi."

- "For me... well, indeed, I wasn't doing anything for it, I'm not going to deny it, I was occupied with the school press... and I give more relevance to that... but still, it was my job to stopping those incidents when they occurred... and I neglect it... and also I've been more concerned with all this since Branish, and also been stopping incidents whenever I see them... so..." Said Isen, with a serious tone.

- "We wanted to apologize! Please give us another chance!" They said at the same time, with apparent sincerity.

So it's just an apology, for what, what did they do?

Also, I heard Branish a lot, I read in an article that Branish is known to be the most populated place by low-tiers in the country, and a few places down in the top, was my hometown, New Bostin.

What they were doing in a place like that?

Then, I looked at Remi's reaction, and it was like she didn't know how to react at first.

After that, she looked a bit relieved by that apology.

And finally, she seemed prepared to say something about it.

- "Well... I think I overreacted too... since that day I was still shaken by what John said to me on that day... it was hard to accept... and you catch me on a bad moment that day, and also you didn't even know how this was, I also was like that before... it was hypocrite from my part."

"So I wanted to apologize with you both of you too for the way I treated you on that day."

Oh, so the reason she didn't go to class those three days, was the result of our conversation. I don't know how to feel about that...

But still, she didn't give up even after that, it's nice to hear.

Then, it appears that they apologized to each other.

After this, I didn't hear any of what they were saying, because they have calmed down, so they were talking more quietly.

--- 5 Minutes Later ---

- "I'll see you later guys, I have to go now since I have school stuff to finish, but it was a nice chat." Said Remi with an optimistic tone.

So Remi gets out, and she goes to where I was.

- "Hi John. Sorry for making you wait." Remi greeted me.

- "Hello, and don't worry, it's okay." I greeted her back.

Then, we started walking to her dorm, since I had to pick up Doe, and also make progress on the presentation.

- "What else did you talk about? I only heard that you apologize to each other... I wasn't eavesdropping, you just were talking a bit loud." I asked with a bit of curiosity.

- "Well... I told them what happened yesterday since all the school knows that you've beaten Arlo again." Said Remi.

- "And they didn't look happy about it, but they were very surprised to hear that you weren't the one who started the fight." She added.

- "I don't really care what they think of my fight, I only did what I had to do." I said, with an indifferent tone.

- "Also, I told them that we will be working together too since they a." Said Remi.

- "You did what?! But I don't want to even be near them! One could have killed me with his wArNinG sHoT and the other one investigate into my past for no reason at all! For starters, that is plain rude, and I had my reasons to not show my ability in the first place!" I complained about what she said before.

- "What reasons? I still don't understand why you said you were a cripple in the first place." Asked Remi.

I remained silent for a bit.

- "That... is personal." I cut off the subject.

- "Also, you didn't tell me to be kept as a secret, so I just mentioned to my friends, who also are helping me on what we are trying to accomplish." She said, explaining why she said it in the first place.

After saying that, Remi stopped trying to talk about this topic.

- "Whatever, what is done is done, so let's get going." I said, trying to make her forget about this.

Then, we keep walking to her dorm in silence.

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories, Remi's Room ---

When we entered I get immediately tackled by Doe and starts licking my face.

Someone is happy to see me, and I responded by patting his hair and belly.

To be honest, I'm pretty happy to see that he is fine.

Then I continued to pat and caressing him for a while.

- "It's the first time I ever saw you smiling this happy before~" Said Remi, with a teasing tone.

- "Oh shut up." I said to her, a little blushed by this.

- "But, still, did you give him enough food? Remember that he is a dog who needs to get good nutrition." I asked her.

- "Yeah! He gets a lot of food, is that right my cutie pie Dowy~? She said while patting and caressing Doe.

- "Also, did you take him out for a walk? I usually do this in the morning, because he needs to exercise too." I asked her.

- "Uhh-" Remi managed to say before I interrupted her.

- "Well, I can make an exception this time, I was thinking of coming here just for this, but then I thought that it would be a little too much if I just walk in, wake you up just for him, so I didn't do it." I explained.

- "Yeah... since I usually sleep a lot, actually." She commented.

- "Lucky for you." I replied to her comment.

Then, I get up and proceed to unpack my laptop to work on the project, since is one of the reasons why I came here in the first place.

- "Well, we still need to do this project, it's just the presentation, so we have to know what we are going to say in there, first of all." I said to Remi.

- "Yeah, well, I don't mind what part I get, really, so you can decide the one that suits you the best." Remi replied.

- "Alright, then I'll make the starting part, and you do the conclusion of the presentation." I said.

- "Okay, no problem." She said.

Then, we started to work on the presentation.

--- 4 Hours Later ---

After a long time working, we decided to take a break.

So I decided to discuss a little about her plans that she got on her brainstorm that I read yesterday.

- "Hey... yesterday... I read what you have written down on your board." I said, starting the conversation.

- "Really? What do you think?" Asked Remi.

- "Well, I think that three of your options are the most viable, but still they need a lot of work to make it happen." I voiced my opinion.

- "For starters, the "more supervision" part, that is a good idea itself, but I don't know how we can apply this to the school." I explained.

- "Hmm... how about we ask our classmates that they try to pay more attention to these situations? It would work at first, while we think about another possibility..." She continued, proposing a measure to this issue.

- "Yeah, it would, but I don't think that they would compromise with that. At least not everyone." I said my opinion.

- "I know a few people that will listen to this." Said Remi, trusting on her contacts.

- "But we still need to think about a possibility that could work for a long time." I commented.

Then, we keep throwing ideas to make true this concept in the long run for a while.

- "Ugh... this seems useless, all the options leaves to having the correct variables at the correct time! This isn't gonna work." I said, feeling down a bit by saying this.

- "Yeah... but we still need to do something about this..." She commented.

- "A few days ago, I thought a way that could work..." I mentioned.

- "Really? What was it?" She asked me.

- "Well... mostly, I thought about the lack of knowledge on this issue, because people don't know how painful it is to be on the infirmary almost every day, and also don't see it as something bad, even if they are watching someone getting beat in front of their eyes." I explained to her my reasoning.

- "And I thought that maybe, explaining all this about this situation to teachers, so they can prevent these situations whenever they happen, also, like you said, telling other people who can help with this would work, but they also have to understand this, and tell to their cliques too, and continue this cycle, but this part would take time since all of them wouldn't immediately agree to this." I added.

- "Also, I thought about taking this concept to people, by putting flyers and posters around the school, trying to promote that they should help one another from these situations and low-tiers to stand up for themselves, and over time, it would work to diminish the violence, or at least, the students would take conscience about this matter, basically, to let them know, if somehow we could forbid them to use their abilities-" I managed to say before getting interrupted by Remi.

- "That last part wouldn't work, because the school doesn't restrict the usage of abilities for students. So stopping fights that way wouldn't work." Said Remi, explaining this rule of the school to me.

- "Even if that means it would be used for violent means?! That's bullsh*t!" I said, expressing my disgust with this.

- "I mean, then, when are the students would have time to focus on their future, if they are threatened by bullies every single day?!" I said, a little pissed by this.

And this school is supposed to be known for its academic performance?

I questioned this fact because it doesn't make sense.

We need to change this system running on the school, the current one isn't being helpful.

But I can only think of one solution to this problem right now.

- "We have to change the school rules." I said with a serious tone.

- "And how we are going to do it? We are not allowed to change them." Asked Remi.

- "Yeah... I know... we probably would need to talk with the headmaster, and convince him to change this nonsense." I said with a serious tone.

- "But we would need to propose a plan to him, to make that true..." Said Remi.

- "Yeah... it's getting late right now, we need more time to think to make a plan that could work in the long-term, for now, let's give it a rest to that, while we think of measures that could be applied for school." I said while looking at the clock.

But at least, we did make some progress out of this.

Certainly, this time I'm going to win.

- "See you tomorrow, John." Said Remi, while waving her hand.

- "See you tomorrow, Remi." I said to her while leaving the room with Doe.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #11 END --

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

- "Monster." Is what Claire said to me on that day, and is the first thing I remember after waking up by the alarm.

- "You're not a monster." Is what my dad said to me after that talk we had and is the other thing I remember after waking up.

This is very confusing indeed...

I want to stop this feeling... but still isn't enough.

Recently, I got caught up in a fight with Arlo, but... I didn't feel like I've won.

That fight made me understand one thing...

I need to get stronger.

As I am now, is not enough.

I can't let that happen again, at least not to Doe.

Never.

This time, I'm going to do things right.

Yesterday, I reached something that before I couldn't even begin to think of.

I sensed abilities without my opponent activating theirs, but only when I powered up.

Also, another thing seemed weird to me on that day...

Was that weird timing when Elaine decided to power up.

It just bugs me out.

Why did she decide to activate her ability at that precise moment?

Why not activating it before?

I saw that she was frozen from the fear, so she wasn't reacting.

But still, why waiting until she gets slapped to do it?

--- 30 Minutes Later ---

After thinking it for a while, it doesn't make sense.

Wait.

It wasn't that she activates her ability after I slapped her.

It was in the middle of the slapping if I remember correctly.

But still throws me out.

This isn't taking me anywhere, and I don't have all morning to figure it out.

I have to do my morning routine.

- "You up?" I asked Doe, who was awake.

*WOOF* He responded to me, as he comes closer to where I am.

Then, I pat his head as he was waving his tail from side to side.

I feel like I could be like this forever.

But I have to take him out for a walk, what a bummer.

--- 1 Hour Later ---

On my way to my dorm, I passed over my old house, after the headmaster gives his decision, I had to leave this place.

It was very annoying since I really liked this place.

It was spacious, I could relax without worries, and closer to the city.

But is not the time for looking at the past right now.

I have to focus on my own business.

So I hurry to get back to my dorm soon, prepare everything I have to, and get ready for class.

--- Wellston's Hallway ---

After getting ready, I went out to the class.

While thinking about solutions for school, I noticed a low-tier being bullied by two mid-tiers.

One got a speed-enhancing ability, and the other one got a strength-enhancing ability. And the low-tier didn't even bother in using his ability to do something, he just gave up before the fight even started.

Give me a break.

How can they be this pathetic?

Wait.

I can test the things I was thinking in the morning.

So I decided to interfere with that situation, instead of just walking away.

- "Two people against one, this is a miserable sight." I said to them.

- "Wah! It's John! R-" One of them managed to say before I interrupted him.

- "Don't dare to run away. Go on... on what you were doing." I said with a serious tone.

- "But. Without using your abilities." I added.

- "But... why we would do something like that?" One of them asked.

- "You're "stronger" than him, right? Then fight fair against him one at a time, and don't make me repeat myself." I said to them with an intimidating tone.

- "Y-YESSIR!" They said, scared enough to not keep arguing why they have to do it.

I forced them to fight without their abilities, to test if I can sense their abilities, if I can copy them without previous activation, it would be the best-case scenario.

And at least this way, the bullied can have a chance.

Then, they started to fight one on one against the low tier, without using their abilities.

And then, I activated my ability.

I couldn't see any of their auras.

So that's not it, what could be then?

I can manipulate the aura around my body, to imitate theirs, therefore, creating a mirror effect.

That was the fighting style I had before.

Then, I started to use this a new concept, which was about enhancing my aura output around my body, therefore, amplifying the abilities that I imitate, overpowering my opponent in a mirror match with his ability.

At first, that was a straining process, but with enough training back then, I can do it at ease now though.

After that try, tried gathering my aura around the eye area, to see if I can pull that out.

When I finished increasing my aura around my eyes, I take a look at them.

Then, I could see their auras.

This is a discovery for me since I haven't been using my ability for a long time, so that made me a bit rusty.

But still, I don't know how to feel about this...

I... didn't want to be in this position.

I didn't want to use my ability, because all I've done is hurt people with it.

I'm not qualified for having it.

Then, I remembered the reason I am standing up here, once again, working on my ability.

I'm not using it for myself.

I'm using it to protect, because as I am right now, I can't protect anything.

Meanwhile, the fight was really in the air, those people didn't even know how to fight properly, the mid-tier was just throwing a lot of open hooks, and the low-tier was just covering himself.

This is... lame.

They were nervous, I could feel it. They just wanted me to leave.

Then, the other one starts moving.

- "This is going nowhere, let's finish this quickly!" He said while he joined the fight.

He still didn't use his ability though.

But is still pathetic.

So when that happened, I interfered in their fight by getting closer and grabbing the student's arm.

- "So this is the best you can do? You can't even beat a low-tier without using your abilities in a fair fight?" I asked them.

I was with my ability active, sensing their auras, but still couldn't copy their abilities.

I sighed, losing that possibility, that would have been the best way of doing that.

- "Get out of my sight." I said to them, with a cold tone.

Then they left running with all their forces.

But the low-tier stayed for some reason.

- "What?" I asked him.

- "Uhh... I-I wanted to t-thank you... for helping me..." He said, with a shy tone.

- "No matter, just tell me one thing." I said to him

- "W-What is it?" He asked me.

- "Why you didn't fight back? I even gave you the opportunity to do it." I asked him, wondering why he just let himself be stepped on.

- "...They would have come back for me later." He muttered.

- "What? Are you scared of them? They didn't have any powerful ability." I said to him.

- "B-But my ability is useless... so what could I do then?" He asked.

- "Fight. Stand up for yourself, they don't even know how to fight, you could have defended yourself fine enough against them even with if they use their abilities, or even win." I said to him with a serious tone.

- "T-That is easy for you to say... since you were a high-tier all along..." He said, trying to justify himself.

- "And you think that being a high-tier is being invincible?!" I asked him, a little annoyed by his wimpy attitude.

- "Back then, I defeated people like them without using my ability! So tell me! What the f*ck is stopping you from at least defending yourself?!" I asked him while getting irritated.

- Uhh... noth-" He managed to say before I interrupted him.

- "Exactly. Nothing. So go get your sh*t together for god's sake! And don't let anyone step on you just like that! If I see you being beaten up without putting a fight I'll beat you myself next time." I said to him with a serious tone.

Then, he remained silent for a while, probably still processing all the things I said.

- "Y-Yes! Uhh... I-I'm going to class now!" He said, after that, he runs away.

Does every event happen like this?

So in the end, low-tiers are scared of them just because?

So they assume they are going to lose instantly?

I can't accept that.

That mentality has to stop.

For now, I'll just walk, since this event made me late for class now.

--- In class ---

When I get inside the classroom, late, by the way.

- "Good night, John. Take your seat and be silent please." The teacher said to me since I got late for class.

So I did what the teacher said, take my designated seat, and I stayed silent.

After a while, I managed to pay attention and, understand what the teacher was saying, that's new.

After that, someone whispers to me.

Then I look to the side, where the whispering come from, to find that it was Remi, who was talking to me.

- "Psst, John, what took you so long? You always get early to class." Whispers Remi.

- "I'll tell you later, we're in class now." I whispered.

- "Okay." She replies.

Then, the teacher starts to say something.

- "Well, as you all know, the report on nature and benefits to society, was supposed to be until next week, but that day, as you all know, is a holiday, which is something I didn't notice before, so I apologize for that miscalculation." Said the teacher with a serious tone.

- "So, the report and the presentation will be next class." Said the teacher, finishing her announcement.

Next class?!

That would be tomorrow!

But we still didn't even finish the presentation, we didn't even print it yet!

And on such short notice too, it's bullsh*t.

Next to my reaction, everyone in the classroom reacted the same way as I did.

- "So, to compensate for this mistake from my part, I will give you the rest of the class to work on your reports and presentations, in case you haven't finished it yet." Said the teacher.

Then, everyone gets out to finish their reports, because obviously, this caught up everyone off guard.

At least in our case, Remi and I have more than half of the job done, just have to get the details done and a few things more and we're done.

- "So... what do we do now?" Asked Remi.

- "For now... let's finish this report. At least we're somewhat okay with it." I commented.

- "Yeah... but we have to finish everything by today, so I guess we have to stay awake all night to do it." Said Remi.

- "Meanwhile, you grab your things on your place, and I'll clean up a little on my dorm." I said.

- "Okay, sounds like a plan." She said.

- "Let's go." I said to her.

But before going, Remi suddenly talks to me.

- "Oh, John... and also... you haven't answered me why you get late to class today." Said Remi.

- "Well... I... kinda stopped a fight before getting to class." I answered.

- "Really? That's nice!" Said Remi, with a smile on her face by hearing this.

- "Yeah... I guess so." I said to her, unsure of this fact because I know the true reason why I interrupted that.

- "But still, how can everyone not see that as something unnatural?" I said, wondering why this happens all the time.

- "Yeah... They're supposed to protect the weak, not abuse of th-" Remi managed to say before I interrupted her.

- "That's not what I was talking about." I said.

- "Then what is it?" She asked.

- "Even low-tiers don't see that as wrong, and I don't understand it, even when I was a cripple, I didn't let anyone step on me just like that, at least I always fought back."

- "John, you always knew you were powerful, that's why you were able to-" Remi managed to say before I interrupted her.

- "I wasn't powerful all my life you know?" I said to her.

- "Two years ago, I didn't even know I had an ability." I said without thinking.

What did I just say?

- "What...?" Said Remi, astonished by this fact.

- "So you are one of those... late bloomers?" She asked, still surprised by what I said before.

- "Yeah, I am." I answered with honesty.

Stop.

- "...It must have been hard... isn't it?" She asked.

- "Yeah... it was." I said with a mix of honesty and sadness in my voice.

Stop telling.

Why I can't stop telling her?

Why I'm being honest with Remi at this moment?

- "Everyone... was the same... even if I was weaker than them, even if I was stronger than them, they still were looking at me with disgust." I said to Remi.

I don't want to... it's uncomfortable and embarrassing... 

But refreshing at the same time.

So... I'll just say it, I can't turn back now.

I can't keep running away anymore.

- "Why? Why they had to be like that? I... worked so hard... I did what everyone does... I climbed the ranks... until I was at the top... just to get rejected by everyone in the end." I said with a melancholic tone.

- "No matter how strong I were back then... and that made me so angry..." I said with a sad and ashamed tone.

- "I was lost in my rage... drunk by my own power... and before I knew it... I lost everyone who was on my side... and my best friends too..." I said with an awkward but sad tone, while a couple of tears started to come out.

- "And all that I worked so hard for... destroyed... by my own hand... just like that." I said.

- "I am a monster, just like everyone said." I said, with sadness, and hiding my face with my hands.

I finally said it to someone, the burden that I was carrying, the consequences of my own acts.

Maybe... I needed to say it to someone.

Someone who would listen.

- "Please... don't look at me right now." I said with tears in my eyes.

Then, out of a sudden, Remi hugged me.

I could tell immediately, that it was a hug to cheer me up after she heard all of it.

It was unexpected, but it feels... warm.

- "It's okay John... you're not repeating those mistakes again." Said Remi, with a gentle voice.

- "You're trying to move forward... even after all that..." She said with honesty.

- "You're different now and is not going to end like the last time either. I'm sure of it." She said with a smile.

- "And... you're not a monster." Said Remi, with full confidence in that.

After that, she stopped hugging me.

Then, I stayed quiet for a while, processing all that happened in this short amount of time.

But at least...

I could release something that I keep with me all the time, that keep me shackled.

I don't know if I'm doing things right, but at the same time, I don't feel like I'm doing things wrong either.

After that, I regained my composure, and focus on what I need to do now.

- "Thank you, Remi, I... really appreciate it." I said sincerely.

- "Well... let's get going, shall we?" I said to her.

- "Yeah." She answered.

Then, we get out of the empty classroom, to finish what the work that we started.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #12 END --

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories, Remi's Room ---

Remi's POV

After the announcement of the teacher, on short notice too... John and I have decided to finish the project that we were working on for the past month today.

I came to my dorm to get my laptop and other things since the presentation is tomorrow now.

Then, I start to search and pick up all the things I'm going to need for this.

And also...

After a conversation we had, at first, it was the usual topics, but then... after something I said about him hiding his power.

John suddenly started talking about himself, and his past.

And it turns out, that John was a late bloomer...

I heard that those kinds of people, usually have a rough life, until they manifest their abilities.

Probably it would've been hard for him... enduring all those kinds of things.

Like Seraphina with her current ability loss... if that is terrible enough for her right now, in the case of John, who had to bear with that through all his life, until two years ago.

I can't even begin to imagine all the things he's been through...

Leveling up from being powerless, to a level 7.0, and becoming a high-tier in just one year is impressive enough for itself.

But he sounded so sad when he remembered his past...

He worked very hard to get that kind of power... he gained... everything... just to lost it by the same power he worked so hard for.

Because everybody rejected him... no matter what he did... and in the end... he falls victim to his own rage.

That... is consistent with his report that Isen gave us, but for everybody... he was always mad just because...

That is so horrible... and in the end...

He believed that he is a monster.

Even after all that happened... he blamed himself for everything... even for the things that he couldn't do anything to avoid it...

I just... couldn't keep hearing that.

I couldn't bear seeing him in that miserable state.

I felt like I needed to do something... to contain him.

So I ended up hugging him... he seemed like he really needed one.

And fortunately, it worked...

But... I hope that he really feels better now.

After knowing him for this past month...

He wasn't the one who was wrong.

I was the blind one the whole time.

But not anymore.

I still don't know how to feel about that... but I'm doing my best to fix all this.

Is not going to be an easy task, but...

I'm not going to give up.

I swear I'm going to do it.

When I finished packing all the things I'm going to need for today, I close the door, and go to John's place.

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

Since Remi went to her dorm to pick up some stuff, we split up, so I take this opportunity to prepare everything we could need.

So I'm currently cleaning up the place a bit, since now I have Doe, and I read that dogs usually drop some hair here and there, so-

*RING RING* *RING RING*

Then I heard a call from my laptop, so I went to see it, since probably Remi isn't going to arrive yet, I have time to see who it is.

*Incoming call from Dad*

Oh, it's just dad.

I wonder why he's calling?

Then, I attend the call.

- "Hi dad." I said.

- "Hello John, how are you?" Said dad.

- "I'm fine." I said back.

- "Really?" He asked.

- "Ye-" I managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "Nah I'm just joking, I can see that you're fine." Said dad with full confidence in what he said.

- "How can you tell that? I'm still like the other time when you called." I asked him.

- "No, you're... different, I can see it. Also, the eyebags you had last time are almost gone." He said with relief.

- " Really? I didn't even notice." I said.

- "Do you even have a mirror in there?" He asked.

- "Yeah, I don't live under a rock." I answered.

- "So... why are you calling me?" I asked him the reason for his calling.

- "Well, you said that I could call you anytime, so I decided to check how are you, and also I have more time right now since I just finished my deadline, I've been sleeping all the time I didn't." He answered.

- "That's nice, I'm happy for you." I said while smiling.

- "Also... I wanted to see Doe! Where is he?" He asked with enthusiasm.

- "He's right here next to me." I answered, and focused the camera on where Doe was.

*WOOF!*

- "Aww, it's so cute~" He said with a smile.

- "Yeah... he is." I said while making a smile.

- "And also... how is school?" Asked dad.

- "Well... I have a report and a presentation to finish, the teacher gives us his class to do it, so I'm waiting for my classmate to come here. Other than that, the other classes are boring and without tests for now, so that side is somewhat clear." I replied.

- "Good for you, son." He said while making a smile.

- "Also... that "delusional classmate" you mentioned to me before, how are things going with her?" Asked dad. 

- "Well... long story short, I stopped that side of her, because I told her the truth about what she was doing, and how it didn't even affect anything." I answered.

- "Wow that sounds rough." Dad commented.

- "And how is her now?" He asked.

- "She took that hard at first, but after a few days I guess she's fine?" I said, not knowing what to answer, really.

I wonder why he cares so much about her.

- "Hey... so why are you asking me so much about Remi?" I asked him right away.

- "Oh~ so she's called Remi..." He said with a smug face.

- "Y-Yeah... what about it?" I said in an awkward and nervous tone.

Wait, why am I getting nervous for?

She is just a classmate... a classmate who shares the same goal with me.

And... is someone I acknowledge.

- "Interesting..." He said while making a small pause.

- "So John, tell me more about her." Said dad, without even hiding his curiosity.

How can he ask that just like that?

But well, I don't have any reason to hide this, so I might as well tell him.

- "Well... she is short, she has pink hair... fair skin and light red eyes, also she has a lightning ability."

- "Lightning... is she a high-tier?" Asked dad.

- "Yeah, she is Queen after all." I answered.

- "Wow, Wellston is plagued with high-tiers or something?" He asked surprised.

- "Well, Wellston is supposed to be one of the best schools in the country." I answered.

- "Oh, right, I forgot about that." He said while making a facepalm.

- "Also... she has a lot of determination... also she has set herself a goal, to stop the violence inside the school... and I'm helping her to do that too."

- "And she... has worth in her." I said, finishing what I know about her.

- "Hmm~" He said with a smug face.

- "And well... that's about it, I don't know much about her, since I'm recently talking to her." I said, finally ending this topic.

- "And-" I managed to say before getting interrupted.

*Knock knock*

- "Well, I guess I have to leave for now, seems like she arrived." I said.

- "Okay, talk to you later John! Good luck with your report!" He said.

- "Thanks dad, take care." I said, ending the call.

*Call ended*

Then I go to open the door.

- "Hi, John!" Remi greeted me.

- "We already greeted each other earlier, but hello." I said while greeting her back too.

- "Anyways, come on in." I said to her.

After she walked in, she left her laptop and a backpack on the table.

After that, she picked something from her backpack, and head immediately to where Doe was.

Then, she proceeds to give him a dog treat and patting his head.

- "You really like Doe aren't you?" I asked her.

- "Yeah! I mean, how can you not like him?" She replied.

- "Yeah, I know right?" I said agreeing with her.

- "The one silver lining is that we don't have other tests soon, so we can skip classes to finish this." I said, relieved a bit by this fact.

- "Anyways, let's finish this." I said, to focus on what we have to do now.

Since we don't have much time left, we have to finish this today.

After what I said previously, we focused on the report.

--- 4 Hours Later ---

*GROWL*

My stomach growls.

I look at the clock, it's 1:30 PM, we already worked a lot, so maybe it's time for a break.

- "...Hey, are you hungry too?" I asked Remi.

- "Yeah... a little bit." She answered.

- "Let's take a break for lunch, and then we keep going, shall we?" I said, because I was getting hungry.

- "Well, I've bought groceries recently, so we can lunch in here if you want." I said, because going to the cafeteria, making the line for lunch would take us more time than preparing lunch here.

- "Only... if you let me help you this time." She said, stating her condition.

Well... since I've already tasted how her cooking was, this isn't going to be a problem anymore.

- "Fair enough." I said, not arguing with what she said.

- "So... what do you want to eat?" I added.

- "Hmm... I don't really know, but I'm not a picky eater, so whatever it's fine I guess." Said Remi.

This doesn't close the options...

Then, I saw a package that I had inside a supermarket bag.

- "Well... how about ravioli?" I asked her.

- "That sounds good, let's go with that!" She said with enthusiasm.

- "But... do you know how to do them?" She asked me.

- "Of course not, but I have some those that you-can-buy-on-the-supermarket ones." I said with honesty.

- "Oh, that's okay too, and also I was wondering, where do you learn how to cook?" Asked Remi.

- "Well... before I moved to the dorms I lived alone, so I prepared meals there on the weekends, and also my dad taught me how to cook too when I was little." I answered.

- "That's nice... in my case, I learned by watching my mom's cooking and helping her. And I practiced by myself when I moved to the dorms..." She said.

- "So you're practically new in this?" I asked her.

- "Kinda." She answered.

- "Still, I think your cooking is very good." I said with honesty.

- "Thanks! you're the first one to say that..." She said while smiling.

- "And... why is that?" I asked, a bit surprised by this fact.

- "Well... when Blyke and Isen come to hang out with me, they usually come after class, also they've tasted my cooking before... but I didn't get the chance to ask them how it was, since they got sick and couldn't come to class for a few days after that..." She told me.

- "So I didn't know how my cooking was for them, and it was the first time I made it by myself too! I wonder what got them both sick." She said, not knowing the true reason.

So... probably it was because of her cooking.

But it's weird, she didn't get a lot of chances to cook, but that lasagna from that time was delicious... even if it looked weird.

I wonder what could it be...?

--- 30 Minutes Later ---

After I left the ravioli to cook, we prepared a salad and something for Doe too.

*CLICK*

- "It's done." I said after the timer was up.

- "It looks delicious~" Said Remi while looking at the plate.

- "Yeah..." I agreed.

Then, we served it on the table and sit to eat it.

And then, we ate in complete silence, since we were hungry, after all.

But...

It wasn't an uncomfortable silence at all.

--- 20 Minutes Later ---

After we finished eating, the only thing I can say is...

Delicious.

The flavor melted into my tongue after the first bite.

It was simply... something I was looking for for a while ago.

- "It was delicious~" Said Remi, who obviously liked the food a lot.

- "Yeah, it was really delicious." I said.

- "But still... let's continue on what we were doing." I said, redirecting our energy and focus on what we have come here to do.

- "Yeah." Said Remi.

Then, after washing the dishes, we started to work again on the project.

--- 7 Hours Later ---

After a long journey of work, research, corrections, and reviewing everything to make sure everything is alright, we finished the report, and also the presentation.

- "And it's done!" Said Remi, happy because we finally finished the report. 

- "Finally." I said too.

- "All there is left is to print the report, but I'll take care of it." Said Remi.

- "Okay, I'll leave it up to you." I said.

- "And... thank you, Remi." I said with sincerity.

- "For what?" She asked.

- "For... helping me earlier today..." I said, recalling what happened earlier today.

- "Don't worry about it." She said.

- "I felt... like I had to do something..." She added.

- "And I... ended... up... hu-" Remi was saying until she stayed silent.

Then, she began to blush a bit.

But why? Why did she suddenly act like that? We just hu-

Oh.

That's why...

- "D-Don't worry about it." I said, a bit embarrassed by that too.

- "B-But instead... let's focus on tomorrow. Yeah, let's do that!" Said Remi in an awkward tone.

- "Y-Yeah." I said, agreeing with what she said before.

- "And also we need to rest, so... I'm going now." She said while packing her stuff in her backpack.

- "Yeah... see you tomorrow, Remi." I said.

- "See you tomorrow, John." She said with a gentle smile.

And with that, she left the room.

After that, I guess I'll just simply go to sleep.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #13 END --

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories, Seraphina's Room ---

Seraphina's POV

- " Sera, you're just a cripple , what can you possibly help me with anyway?"

- "You can't even defend yourself!"

Is the last thing I remember before waking up.

Then, I grabbed the clock I had nearby...

And nothing happened.

Hah, why did I expected something different this time?.

Since I lost my ability, it has been the same result, over and over.

These days have been very unproductive for me... since Arlo couldn't move well after that fight with John, from all the lightning charges he received the other day.

Mr. Darren gives him a note to rest since the aftereffects of that fight couldn't heal well enough.

So, the only thing I could do was to avoid the bullies around the school and also teaching Evie and Roland those self-defense techniques that I learned.

And also I met Terrence, a student with invisibility, the same invisibility that had the guy who tried to tail me, and the same guy who helped the measuring guy on Kovoro Mall two months ago.

I'm sure that guy has to be Terrence, who is a second-year student at Wellston.

At least, I was able to convince him to join the Safe House... so we can have more chances to see what we can get from him.

Still, I need to brace myself for what's coming today and see what to do.

Then, I get dressed and saw Elaine, who was preparing breakfast before going to class.

- "Hello, Seraphina!" Elaine greeted me.

- "Hi." I greeted her back.

- "How are you?" She asked me.

- "I've been better, but thanks for asking." I replied.

- "Is that so..." Elaine said with a sad tone.

- "Anyway, do you know how is Arlo? I need to do investigate something and he said he would help me with that." I said, looking to change the flow of the conversation.

- "Well... he was having a bit of trouble to move even after I healed him, and Doc said that he would need rest in order to get better, but I think that he should be able to come to school tomorrow." She commented.

- "That's good." I said.

- "And also... what is his problem? He took the fight that far... even if he already won..." Elaine began to complain while remembering that fight.

Well... I can't really blame her, since that fight the other day was pretty intense...

- "And also why Remi decided to help him...? It just makes no sense..." Elaine wondered.

- "Yeah... I don't know why she helped John." I said, agreeing with what she said previously.

- "But, even if John was brutal and merciless, I can't really say it was over nothing, so I can't agree with all you said this time." I added.

Because this time, I noticed something different about John.

Apart from the fact that he got a dog with him at that time.

He... didn't just toss us away.

He didn't snap away at the first second he glared at us.

He seemed more composed.

But what is hiding behind this change in his behavior?

- "What do you mean...?" Asked Elaine, wondering why I said that.

- "I mean... Arlo was the one who stepped out of his line this time." I began to explain.

- "Think about it, he got cocky because he didn't have anyone who could help him that time, so that means no ability for John to copy." I explained to Elaine.

- "So... he probably thought that he could get a chance to get his throne back... that's why he instigates a fight with John." I said, theorizing why he acted like that back then.

- "Arlo was the one who started to fight. John did not even provoke him, at least from what I saw."

- "Also, you noticed that he got a dog with him at that time, right?" I asked her.

- "Yeah... I didn't think about it before, I was very scared back there... why he would have a dog in the first place?" She said.

- "I don't know... but I think... that he was just trying to protect his dog." I voiced my opinion on the matter.

- "...But still, I think that he didn't need to take the fight that far..." Said Elaine, insisting on her point.

And... I think she is right on that.

When John was the clear winner of that fight, yet he chooses to continue further.

Seeing him doing that kind of stuff...

It hurts.

And I can't understand why he has to do that.

- "But let's not talk about it anymore, it will just sour our stomachs." I said while making a little smile, to cheer her up.

- "Yeah... you're right, also... I prepared some sandwiches and some fresh orange juice with some oranges that my parents send me a couple of days ago!" Said Elaine with a cheerful tone.

- "That sounds nice, can I have some?" I asked her.

- "Sure!" She replied.

- "Oh, and also... can you wait for me before going to class? If it's possible, I just want to avoid unnecessary fights."

- "Yeah, no problem at all!" Elaine happily agreed.

After that, we ate breakfast, and Elaine waited for me while I looked at what books I had to take for class.

After I found them, I went with Elaine, and we head to class.

--- 5 Hours Later, Lunch Break ---

After the classes I went to the cafeteria, maybe they have something good.

It's still weird for me to go to classes since I do pretty good on tests... but ever since I lost my ability, I feel like I've been forced to go.

Then, I noticed Evie doing the line for lunch, and she looks at me back.

- "Hello, Seraphina!" Evie greeted me in a friendly tone.

- "Hi." I greeted her back.

- "Hey, by the way, do you know what is on the menu?" I asked her since she was standing in the line before me.

- "Well... the main plate isn't something remarkable, but they have cake for dessert!" She said with a positive tone.

- "That's nice." I said.

- "Yeah!" Evie agreed.

- "Also... that makes me remember the time I got the triple chocolate cake..." Evie recalled.

- "Wow, did you get that? I couldn't even get to taste it once..." I said surprised by this.

- "Yeah, that time was the first time I get that cake, it was delicious~" She said.

- "But also I thought I wasn't going to get it." She added.

- "Why not?" I asked her.

- "Well... that day, I managed to get the last piece of the cake!" She answered.

- "Lucky you." I said a little bit jealous since I haven't got the chance to taste that cake yet.

- "Yeah, I thought that too... but then, everybody starts looking at me very weird." She said, apparently recalling something that happened to her.

- "Weird? In what way?" I asked her why she said that.

- "That was... because the next person in the line was... the King itself." She told me with enthusiasm.

- "John?" I asked surprised.

- "Yes, the same one." She confirms.

- "Everybody thought that I was going to get beaten since I get the last slice before the King, I thought that I was going to get a beating at some point... his presence was overwhelming..." She kept telling what happened the other day.

- "So... I offered him the cake, but..." She said while pausing herself.

- "But what happened next?" I asked her with a bit of curiosity.

- "He... let me go." Said Evie.

Huh?

- "He let you go just like that?" I asked her.

- "Well... yeah. I even offered him half, just in case, but he just let me go, he didn't even ask anything and talk to me a bit." She said.

- "That's weird, I was expecting something different from him." I said surprised.

- "Everybody was." She said, surprised, like me.

- "But... he seems... different, like he had a realization, at least that is what I think." She voiced her opinion on what happened that day.

- "But... you are his friend, right? Do you have a talk with him or something like that?" She asked me.

- "I'm not his friend anymore." I said.

- "For him... I'm just a cripple now." I said while feeling a bit down about it.

- "...Sorry to hear that..." Said Evie.

- "Don't worry, is not your fault or anything like that." I try to cheer her up.

- "It's just that... I don't want to talk about it, honestly." I added.

- "Okay..." She said, probably feeling awkward by the situation right now.

Then, we just waited in the line quietly.

I really... didn't want to talk about it.

When I thought I knew John...

But I was dancing right on his palm all along...

I just... can't read him at all.

--- Arlo's Apartment ---

Arlo's POV

The first thing I look at after I wake up, is the clock, to know precisely what time is it.

And it's 1:30 PM.

Lately, I've been able to sleep a lot after the fight I got against John since Doc made me rest until the tonics he made that day work and overcome the aftereffects of that fight.

And I really thought that I was going to be able to win this time, since this time he didn't get any ability beforehand.

I wonder why Remi helped him at that time...

What is wrong with her?

I still have my mobility reduced, because of all the lightning charges I was exposed to, so I just have been in bed most of the time these days.

Even if my body has an enhanced toughness due to my passive, my insides aren't.

It's frustrating that I had to lose in that way.

In these days, I was able to investigate everything I could from here, mostly about Rei.

So, I have to make use of my connections, to see if I can know more of this, I have planned to make contact with my aunt Valerie, who works for the authorities.

She never told to anybody in the family reunions what is her job in detail...

Probably because her job required confidentiality.

That is the most logical reason I can think of.

But what she did tell us, is that if we asked her for help, she is going to help.

That is why I'm going to call her.

Because I need to know what is going on with Rei's case.

Then, I picked up the phone, look my contacts on it, and start the call.

*Calling Aunt Valerie*

- "Hello?" Is the first thing she said after she picked up the call.

- "Hello, Aunt Valerie, I know it's been a while last time we talked but... it's me... Arlo." I said with honesty.

- "Arlo...? I couldn't recognize your voice over the phone! Time sure goes fast..." She said with a gentle tone after she recognized me.

- "How is your father?" She asked.

- "He's fine, thanks for asking." I answered politely.

Yeah, she hasn't changed over the years...

I'm glad.

- "Well... the reason I'm calling you today is that I need to ask you some questions." I went straight to the point.

- "...Does it have to be now? I'm busy with work right now, so I can't take a lot of time to answer you." She refused politely.

- "You are studying in Wellston, am I right?" She asked me.

- "Yes, and I'm on my last year too." I replied.

- "That's nice to hear because I'm also on Wellston since they transferred me over here a few months ago." She said.

She was transferred to this city a few months ago?

What a fortunate coincidence, maybe she can help me better if I reunite with her.

- "So... I was thinking that we can meet up to catch up with everything... and I'll try to answer your questions too." She proposed a different option.

- "I was thinking the same thing." I said, agreeing with her.

- "Alright, it's settled then! I'll call you when I have spare time on my agenda from now on." She said.

- "Okay, I'll be waiting for your call then, and I hope that you have a nice workday." I said to her.

- "Thank you, Arlo, I hope that you are doing well too, and work hard on your studies and your responsibilities, okay?" Is the last thing she said in the call.

- "Yeah, thank you, until the next time." I said before ending the call.

*Ended call with Aunt Valerie*

At least, Rei's matter is covered for now, and I really hope that my aunt can answer me, since she always has been very helpful with the family, especially with me and my parents.

Then, I only need to wait about that issue, all that I need to do now is to help Seraphina with her ability loss.

I only need to wait... until I finally know what is going on.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #14 END --

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

- "Monst-"  For some reason, Claire's voice gets interrupted, and is a lot quieter than other times.

- "You are not a monster." The voices of my dad, and Remi, saying the same exact phrase at the same time.

And then, I wake up by the alarm.

It's 6:30 AM when I looked at the clock.

I guess I can't do my morning routine this morning, since the presentation is the first class in the morning, and I can't afford to get late.

So, I just go to the shower.

Then, I start to think about what I have today...

The so long report that I based on dogs as the main topic, on Doe to be more specific, consists of three main parts.

First, is the introduction of this report, the origin of dogs, and biological research on them after that.

Next is the health and care of dogs, what do they eat, what do they not eat, how you have to clean them, common sickness that dogs could get, and how to prevent them.

And finally, the importance of dogs through human history, the benefits of having one, and then jumping on to the conclusion.

It may sound simple, but Remi and I, did a lot of research on this matter and also, I took this as an opportunity to learn more about Doe too.

And ever since I took Doe out of the streets, my mind has been clearing from the mist I had before, and even seeing Doe do simple things, like eating, trying to chase stray cats or butterflies when we go out for a walk is relaxing to me.

It just disconnects me from all the sh*t I've been through...

After the shower, I get dressed and go to see how is Doe, as usual.

- "You up?" I asked him.

*WOOF* Doe barked to my call, and come immediately to where I am.

Then, I start caressing his hair and proceed to give him breakfast.

Now that I noticed, he seems bulkier than before, not that he seems fat because I go jogging with him every morning, it just that he isn't skinny anymore.

- "You seem better than before, that's good." I said while a smile was forming on my face.

- "Here, I hope you enjoy it-" I said to Doe while serving the food on his plate, and putting water on the other one.

*WOOF*

Even if he isn't going to talk back, he... seems to understand what I'm saying.

At least I think so, but it would be nice if this is true.

Then, I began to prepare one peanut butter and jelly sandwich for me, simple enough, since I didn't take much time in it.

When I taste it, the sweet and salty flavors combine together and leave a nice sensation in my mouth.

Well, at least isn't tasteless, like before.

It tastes like it's supposed to taste.

But it's tasty enough for me to make another one.

And after that, I will pack the things I'm going to need for today, and go outside.

--- Wellston Hall ---

While I was walking through the hall, I noticed a few students bullying another one.

The same scenario as the last one, but this time, it got three people against one.

They just accept their defeat when the moment they see them.

Weaklings with no back-bone.

They just let them do whatever they want.

If they are going to lose anyway, why not fighting back?

Why make their job easier?

It makes no sense.

These are the things that bothered me from low-tiers, and the reason that kept me away from being friends with them when I was a cripple.

After I knew this, they lose their worth to me.

That's why I don't bother myself to be friendly with them.

When I get close, one of them suddenly look at their surroundings and notice that I was getting closer.

- "OH SH*T! IT'S JOHN, RUN!" He yelled with all his forces.

And everyone gets away.

Even the one who was being bullied.

I can't do anything but to sigh at this.

Whatever, I'll just go to class and forget about what happened here.

--- In Class ---

- "Hello, John." Remi greeted me.

- "Hi." I greeted her back.

- "How are you? And how it's Doe?" She asked me.

- "I'm okay, just a little nervous about this. Doe, on the other hand, he seems to be bulkier, and that is good for him since he was very skinny when I began to take care of him." I replied.

- "I'm glad for him." She said with a smile.

- "Yeah, me too." I said while making a smile.

- "Hey and... I think we're the first ones to go." She commented.

- "Really? Well, at least we get out of this sooner." I said.

- "Yeah, I'm a little nervous too, so we just have to go for it as soon as possible." She said, apparently agreeing with what I was saying.

Then, while we were checking that we have everything ready, the teacher arrives, with a video projector along with her bag.

- "Hello, everyone." The teacher greeted.

- "Since it seems that everybody is here, let's start with the presentations, shall we?" She asked.

- "The first ones in the pair list are John and Remi, so please, go ahead, give me your report and prepare the presentation, please." The teacher said.

While Remi was delivering the report to the teacher, I connected my laptop to the video projector and opened the file with the slides.

- "We're ready to begin." I said to the teacher.

- "Okay, then you may begin." The teacher said back.

Then, Remi steps ahead and start the presentation, just like we agreed.

- "Hello, everyone, in this project, John, and who is talking to you right now, Remi, are going to present our research on dogs, who are domesticated carnivores from the Canidae family." Remi started.

Okay, so far so good.

- "The origin of the domestic dog includes the dog's from the wolf, its domestication, and its development into dog types and dog breeds..." Remi continued her part.

Then, Remi continued to do her part of the presentation without issues.

Meanwhile, I was changing the slides when she needs it.

Remi's part is the introduction and a bit of the middle part.

Until she finished her part, and then I have to go.

- "...And now, my partner, John, is going to present the rest of the research." Said Remi.

This is it.

It's weird...

Nobody cares about this, and I'm not doing this for them, but for myself.

And I'm not feeling nervous either.

- "Well... the thing is, the health and care of dogs are somewhat simple. First, their diet is somewhat simple, since the best option is to use dog food and water to keep him healthy since dog food has all the nutrients that a dog needs through their life. And make them do exercise too." I started while changing the slide.

- "Basically, a dog can eat almost anything, except onions and chocolate, those foods can put in their life in danger, so you must not give him those." I warned.

- "In addition to feeding and exercising your dog, other aspects are needed to keep your dog healthy throughout its life. These include a routine for veterinary care for vaccinations, parasite control, and dental care, grooming, although for some races, this is more important than the rest, and protection from household hazards, etc." I explained.

- "For example, plants, like Aloe vera and Begonias are poisonous to them, so if you have a dog in-home, you better get rid of those plants, or keep them out of their reach." I warned again the risks.

Then, I keep explaining all the most important things to keep in mind for a dog's well being.

- "These things are necessary to keep dogs healthy, and they will answer to your care." I said while remembering what happened in my case.

- "After all, dogs aren't called the "Man's best friend" for nothing." I added.

- "Depending on the care one gives them, the more loyal they become, and they have a lot of utilities for society, and can be used for things like hunting, guarding, assisting police and military, companionship, therapy and much more." I explained.

- "That is why dogs are highly valuable for society, they have so much worth in them, and also is the reason why we should care about animals and nature in general." I said.

I look at the clock, to check how much time I had left...

It appears to be that I'm short on the time, so I have to finish it now before I get cut by the teacher.

- "And this was our presentation over our research on dogs and their importance to society." I said, finalizing the presentation.

Huh...

It went better than I expected...

But it's okay.

- "Good job you two." The teacher said.

- "Thanks." Said Remi.

- "Please, stay until the end of the class, and I'll give you your mark, this is for everyone too." The teacher informed.

After this, we just simply went to our seats and waited for everyone to finish.

--- 2 Hours Later ---

After waiting to finish every presentation, that alone took about 40 minutes.

But every pair had to wait outside until the teacher called us and tell us how good or bad were our reports.

So in between, everyone went to do other things while we waited.

In our case, we simply went to see Doe, and play with him for a while.

Also, we used that free time to think about what we were going to do about the school.

But it wasn't very productive, since we couldn't think of any way to do that.

So, we decided to come back, since it was close to the designated hour that the teacher said before.

And now, we were waiting for our feedback and grade on this.

- "John and Remi, please, come on in." The teacher called us from inside the classroom.

So, we get inside the classroom.

- "Please, have a seat." She asked us.

After we take a seat, the teacher began to talk.

- "First of all, I would like to congratulate you two for your originality, since you were the only ones to make this kind of approach in your report." The teacher said with a smile on her face.

- "Thanks." Remi and I said at the same time.

- "Also, your work on your report was remarkable, it really seems that you dedicated a lot of your time to do this." The teacher explained.

- "Yeah... we did." I said to the teacher.

- "Now, let's get to the point." She said with a serious tone.

- "Your work on the report like I said before, was remarkable, nothing to say about that, except, that I saw some typos here and there, but don't worry, that isn't going to affect your grade that much." She started her feedback.

- "But the presentation, on the other hand, the slides were a bit overcharged with information, and that's not supposed to happen." The teacher warned us.

- "Also, your corporal language was not expressive enough with what you were saying back then, you have to be careful with that." She said based on what she saw of our presentation.

- "And the conclusion was good, but still wasn't that solid. At least I didn't felt it like that, probably what happened back then, was that John noticed that the time was running out and decided to rush the conclusion, not a bad move but it was very abrupt, so be careful in your wording for other times." She voiced her analysis.

- "But overall, it was a good presentation, so I'm going to give you... an A-, so good work to both of you." The teacher said while giving us our grade.

Well...

This is okay for me.

Since I'm not the type of person who has good grades on everything.

After that, we simply get out of the room.

- "Phew! At least this ended fine." Remi commented.

- "Yeah..." I agreed.

But...

Then, a sudden thought invaded my mind.

That...

We are going to part ways after this.

After...

I found worth again...

I can't stand something like this again.

- "H-Hey." I started a conversation with an awkward tone.

- "Yes?" She asked.

- "Uhh... I was thinking..." I answered while making a pause.

- "Yeah?" She asked me.

- "D-Do you want to... celebrate that we did well on this?" I asked Remi.

- "But... it was an A-... are you okay with that?" She asked.

- "Uhh... yes? I don't usually get that kind of grades, so... I just wanted to thank you by asking you that, but if you don't want to I'll under-" I managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "Well, sure! Why not?" Remi interrupted me while agreeing to my idea.

- "So..." She said with a little smile.

- "Where do you want to go?" Remi asked me.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #15 END --

Chapter Text

John's POV

- "So..." Said Remi.

- "Where do you want to go?" She asked me.

- "Well... how about a drink?" I proposed an idea.

- "I know an excellent place to go to." I said.

Then, we started walking while I lead the way to the best place I could find in this city to celebrate.

--- Wellston Town, Woaba Boba Store ---

- "Hey, this is Woaba's!" Remi happily commented.

- "Have you been here before?" I asked her.

- "Yeah, I have." She answered with a smile on her face.

- "Then you probably know how awesome are the drinks here?" I said with a smile on my face.

- "I tasted the mango boba before and it was really good!" She said with excitement.

- "I know, it's my favorite drink here." I commented.

- "Really?" She asked.

- "Yeah." I answered.

Then, after noticing that Remi and I arrived at the store, the waitress comes closer to take our orders.

- "But still, they have a lot of variety here, you can order what you want, I invite."

- "Then... I'll order this one." She said while pointing the strawberry boba to the waitress.

- "Alright, one strawberry boba for the young miss and for the young mister...?" The waitress asked for my order. 

- "I'll have the usual." I said to the waitress.

- "Mango boba it is then." The waitress said.

- "Wait, how she guessed that?" Asked Remi, surprised by the answer of the waitress.

- "Well, I'm come here on a regular basis, and is what I usually order when I'm here, also I have discounts for being a regular customer." I answered.

- "That makes sense." She said.

Then, after waiting a bit, the waitress brings our drinks.

- "Here you go! I hope that you enjoy it!" The waitress happily said.

- "Thanks." Said Remi to the waitress.

- "Alright, cheers! For our good work on our report!" She happily said.

- "Cheers." I followed what she said.

Then, I watched the TV in the store for a little bit, they had it on the news channel, when suddenly appears the next:

Last News: "EMBER" Strikes Again

- "This morning was found the body of the superhero known as Venom, his body was found in North Wellston, with multiple degree burns and stab wounds, with the mark of EMBER on the body's torso."

- "There's still little to no information on what kind of people EMBER consists of, but they are always able to carry out these crimes without trouble, they are a dangerous group who are capable to take out superheroes effortlessly. So please, be careful if you are around this area, they are a dangerous group and their goals are unknown."

After that, I stopped paying attention to what the news lady said.

But has been two years since EMBER has been operating, a little bit after the release of Unordinary, the book that my dad wrote.

So much time has passed and still, nothing changed.

- "The authorities are useless." I voiced my opinion.

- "Yeah... they clearly know more than what they're saying, but still don't do anything about it." Said Remi, while she was clenching her fist.

I didn't expect that she would react like that.

Maybe... she also had a bad experience with them.

- "Do you had a bad encounter with them too?" I bluntly asked.

- "Yeah..." She said, with a sad tone.

- "...Can I ask why?" I said unconsciously.

Then, she stayed quiet for a while.

- "...It seems like a personal matter, maybe I shouldn't ask-" I managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "No... it's okay." She finally said after that pause.

- "My brother... was murdered a few months ago." She said with struggle.

- "But... ever since then, they haven't done anything about it."

- "Call after call, I kept asking to a police station, and every opportunity I have to interact with them, I asked them, but they always call me a nuisance, and kicked me out."

- "It's so frustrating..." She said, clearly bothered by this situation.

- "So I gave up on them." She said coldly.

- "You gave up? So you tried to investigate this on your own then?" I asked her, surprised to hear that.

- "Uhh... no... not yet..." She said in an awkward tone, and try to avoid looking at me while doing so.

She sucks at lying.

Clearly, she is hiding something.

- "Nah, I don't blame you for doing it, I would do the same thing if something like that happens to me." I voiced what I would do on her shoes.

- "And I would keep on it until the end, no matter the cost." I said with determination.

- "Because... it's natural to do something for the people you care about." I said with sincerity.

But I'm not going to force her to reveal the truth if she doesn't want to.

Because I know that truth hurts.

Sometimes is necessary to tell, sometimes don't.

And also... this explains why she was so out of touch with what was happening in the school.

I see...

- "You just had your motivations to do something like that..." I said, understanding a few of her reasons.

- "Yeah, but after a while... I stopped." She said abruptly.

- "But not because I wanted to." She explained.

- "I learned that it was too dangerous to go on, and I'm not powerful enough to keep going as I am now." She said, lamenting her lack of strength to accomplish her objective.

- "Then... make yourself stronger, if that's what is stopping you." I bluntly said.

- "I've been thinking about that too, but where I am right now, I don't know how." Said Remi.

- "I've read in books about elemental abilities before... and I learned that lightning is powerful by itself, it has diverse aftereffects if someone gets electrocuted with it, and all it has to do is connect to your opponent. But after that, I don't know that much about lightning." I said, recalling something I read before.

- "Well... I can throw lightning bolts out of my hands, and also coat my body with lightning, so people with melee abilities will have a difficult time against me, but still, they can beat me if their defense is high enough to endure the electricity, or if they have abilities like Arlo's barrier." She explained a couple of details about her lightning.

- "I mean, yeah, I knew that lightning is powerful by itself, but if I can't reach them, either be for their defense or their speed then I lose." She said like complaining, at least that is what is sounds to me.

Connecting and Reaching are the main problems here.

And I can only think of one possible solution to these two things.

- "So... I guess you have to work on your speed first." I suggested.

- "Why do you say that?" She asked me.

- "Because... you need to move first before the opponent does, you can't let them even react to your attacks." I explained the reason why I suggested that in the first place.

- "What else you can do with your ability?" I asked her for more details about her ability.

- "Well... ever since I became a high-tier, I'm able to sense the electricity flow around me, like cellphones, TV's, laptops, and everything that works with electricity." She answered.

- "That is a useful passive, and it has a resemblance with mine too." I commented.

- "Since everyone carries a phone with them, it's impossible to not notice people around you, so they can't ambush you that easily." I added.

- "But I can't feel that flow unless it's very close, like three or four meters around me. So isn't that great as you might believe." She specified.

- "Oh, what a bummer." I said.

- "Also... you'll probably need to improve your hand-to-hand combat skills too." I suggested.

- "Yeah..." She said like recalling something in her mind.

- "Can you help me with that?" She asked me.

- "Me? Are you sure about that?" I asked her.

- "I haven't met anyone else that can fight hand to hand as good as you." She voiced her opinion.

- "If you say so... well, I'll do what I can." I said in an awkward tone.

- "Thanks." She said with a smile on her face.

Then, we just simply finished our drinks in silence.

But again, this silence wasn't uncomfortable, more like the opposite.

So in the meantime, the TV was super loud and I heard... something that I never thought I was going to hear.

"Breaking news: We have been informed recently that the author of the infamous book Unordinary, W.H. Doe, was attacked, and is being transferred to Wellston's General Hospital in this instant, due to the complications of his injuries, and the reason of this attack and the perpetrators are unknown yet."

...

...

This has to be a lie.

Yeah, this has to be a lie.

This isn't happening right now.

When I get to go to my dorm, I'm going to call dad, he is going to answer the call, we are going to talk, he will ask me to see Doe, and everything is going to be okay.

Please, this has to be a lie.

- "...John, JOHN!" Remi was calling me.

- "What?" I asked her.

- "I've been calling you for a while but you just froze out of a sudden!" She said with a worried tone.

- "I was...? I think you're overreacting." I said, doubting what she was saying.

- "I'm not, you spilled your drink and didn't even notice!" Said Remi, worried about what happened.

- "What's wrong?" Remi asked me.

- "I... want to go home. Now." I avoided her question.

- "Why? You haven't told me-" She managed to say before I interrupted her.

- "Please... not now." I abruptly said.

- "Alright..." She said while sighing.

And so, when we finished our drinks, I paid for the check, and get going to school.

--- 20 Minutes Later ---

Remi's POV

After leaving Woaba's, we began to walk back to school.

But I want to know what is happening with John.

He looked like it was the end of the world after hearing what they were saying on the TV.

The author of Unordinary was attacked?

That is weird...

Why now?

I know that that book was so controversial that after a few months of its publication, the authorities had to ban Unordinary, which generated even more controversy, but even after this, the book had a lot of copies distributed around the nation, and even after a while of that incident, people who read that book has to face severe consequences.

I can tell for sure that Unordinary had a massive impact on society.

But I never heard that the author was penalized or anything like that.

And what connection John would have with the author?

Perhaps... did John read that book before?

Did it mean that much to him?

I never had the opportunity to read it before, so I can't tell.

Since mom made Rei get rid of his copy for safety when it was banned, he couldn't lend it to me as he promised back then.

It's been a while since the last time John talked, but he really seems affected by it.

I'm going to try one more time...

Maybe I could help.

- "John...?" I called him.

- "What happened to you back then?" I asked him.

- "Oh, that..." He said while making a pause.

- "Well... I freaked out because of what I heard in the news for a while. But that has to be fake news, right?" He said with what appears to be anxiety in his voice.

- "I mean, it's possible because they don't have any better things to show, and they are losing audience and all that, yeah, that is what happened."

Yeah... he is acting weird now, I'm sure of it.

And for some reason, he is denying it.

But why?

I think I should take another approach to it.

- "Hey... uhh... do you have some sort of connection with the author of Unordinary? Did you perhaps read his book?" I went straight to the point.

After this question, John remained silent for a while.

- "Yeah, I read it a lot of times before." He said with honesty.

Oh, so this could mean that the book means a lot to him, but I feel like there is more in there, like this isn't the end of his reasons.

- "I always wondered what was the premise of the book. Can you tell me?" I asked with a bit of curiosity.

- "Well... long story short, Unordinary is the story of a man with a powerful ability, born in a world of cripples. The man only used his power for others, helping the weak, saving lives, and spreading wealth. He ultimately dies but no one was sad because he brought charity, allowing the world to become peaceful, thanks to that man's actions." He willingly explained the book's premise.

- "Sounds like an amazing story..." I commented.

- "Yeah... it truly is." He agreed with my comment.

- "But unfortunately... it's impossible to apply the book's ideals in this society." He said with a sad tone, like giving up on that possibility.

- "The authorities are doing everything they can to avoid the message of Unordinary spreads further." He commented.

- "And made so many people turn into superheroes, that obviously, the authorities didn't like the idea, for who knows why." He added.

- "Especially among high-tiers, they even interrogated me just for reading it." He recalled.

- "But... if I wanted to spread the book's message, I would have done it the first time I read it two years ago, it was a pointless interrogation, really." He expressed his opinion on what happened to him.

Two years ago?

But the book was published half a year ago!

- "But... Unordinary was released six months ago." I commented on that fact.

- "How can be possible that you gained access to the book before its publication?" I asked him.

- "Uhh... well..." He said, delaying his answer.

John remained silent for a bit.

- "To be frank, it was my Dad who wrote Unordinary." Said John with sincerity after the pause.

- "He dedicated the book to me... and to help me feel better after having a difficult time." He recalled.

- "But is impossible that he was attacked, after all, I guess he arranged something with the authorities so nothing happened apart from banning his book." He kept denying it.

After this, we remained silent again.

So that is why he was so heavily affected when he heard that...

So right now, he is in denial, that's why he is acting calmer now!

I bet that he is trying his best to not explode at any moment right now...

But... I have to do something.

He helped me before, so I have to help him somehow.

But... I have to be careful with my words.

Because if I'm not...

I feel that something bad will happen.

And I can't leave him like this.

- "Uhh... hey John." I called him out again.

- "What is it?" He asked.

- "Well... since what happened earlier is concerning you... I heard that W.H. Doe, I mean, your father was transferred to Wellston's General Hospital, at least that is what the news said." I commented.

- "So I was thinking, how about we go to check the hospital together after classes?" I proposed the idea I had in mind.

- "Where are you going with this?" He asked for my intention.

- "It's just to make sure that the news earlier isn't true." I answered with sincerity.

- "So... what do you say?" I said, with a persuading tone.

- "Hmm... okay, let's go then." He said, agreeing with my idea.

- "But hey, we don't have the same classes, how are we supposed to reunite then?" He asked.

- "Then... give me your number, that way we can communicate more easily." I said while giving him my phone number.

- "Okay, here you go." He said while giving me his phone number too.

With this, we exchanged numbers with each other.

And it should be easy to find him around the school now.

Also, John seems to be less tense than before.

That's nice.

But I hope that is just like John says, just fake news.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #16 END --

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Private High School ---

Seraphina's POV

My next class is Trig, so if I go over this hall here I can avoid any unnecessary conflicts.

In the meantime, I was walking to get to class on time, I overheard some gossiping from some students that were close to the classroom I was going to.

Fortunately, it appears that they weren't talking about me this time.

But when I passed close to those students, they were commenting on something that caught up my attention.

 - "Hey, did you see the news?"

 - "Dude, I don't even have a TV in my room."

 - "You should really stop living under a rock bro."

 - "Whatever, just tell me what you saw."

 - "Well, I see in the news that the author of Unordinary was attacked!"

 - "Woah, really, the same one who gets his book banned?"

 - "Yeah, well they said that they transferred him to Wellston's General Hospital because he is really injured, apparently the attack was in New Bostin."

 - "But the authorities couldn't even do anything about him I believe. I never heard of any penalization from them."

 - "So I think the guy is actually pretty powerful to not have any consequences about it."

- "It must have been a fierce fight then."

 - "Yeah, I think so, but they didn't say any details about it, really."

 - "So... who do you think is behind this? Maybe EMBER?"

 - "I don't know man, but I don't think it could be EMBER, since they go after superheroes and vigilantes."

 - "Also I couldn't care less about someone who made a book that turns people into superheroes."

- "Yeah, those people should really mind their own business."

 - "Anyway, I also wanted to ask if you could lend me your homework? I forgot to do mine."

 - "Dude what homework...?"

WHAT?!

William was attacked?!

But why?

Why would they attack William just like that?

This is pretty weird though...

Since nobody did anything to him in all this time, but suddenly, he gets attacked?

Something is fishy about this...

"Why don't you focus on helping yourself, instead of acting like a f*cking know-it-all?"

I honestly hate to admit it.

But I can't be thinking about those things as I am now.

I have enough on my plate as it is.

But... I hope that William is okay...

Also, I don't know how John is going to react to this...

After I face him for being Joker...

For hiding his power...

For tricking everybody to believe he was something he wasn't.

For lying to my face, even after what happened to me.

I was completely sure that he relapsed to his old days in New Bostin.

But the last time I saw him, that showed me that he has been improving a bit since the last time I saw him.

Ruthless yet composed.

Composed yet ruthless.

He is in the middle of changing...

But a hit like this with this timing...

I think that isn't going to be good.

Maybe I'll go visit him at the hospital after this class, at least I can go there to try to cheer him up or something.

--- Wellston General Hospital ---

Well... I'm here.

I wanted to see how is William since I heard that he was in this place.

I hope that those students were saying the truth...

So I get close to the reception counter.

- "Excuse me?" I asked to the lady who was at the counter.

- "Yes? Do you need anything?" She asked me.

- "Yeah, I wanted to visit someone. His name is William." I said what I came here for in the first place.

- "Okay... tell me your name first, please."

- "It's Seraphina." I said my name to the lady.

- "Okay, Seraphina... please fill this visitors form, while I search on our register in which room is he."

- "Hmm... William... what a weird name..." She said out loud when I was filling the visitor's form.

- "Oh! Here it is!" The lady exclaimed when she finds his profile.

- "Great, so where is he?" I asked.

But she started to look at his profile and then she starts to look at me again.

- "But... how do you know Mr. William?" She asked me, a bit suspicious since I had no apparent connection to him.

....

What do I say here?

That I'm a friend of him?

Of course not, they are never going to believe that I'm friends with a middle-aged man!

So maybe I say that he's the father of my friend...?

I don't want to lie, so I might as well tell her my situation, and hope that she let me pass.

- "It's a bit complicated because he is the father of a previous friend of mine and..." I started telling her about my situation.

After telling her a resumed version of the story, she finally talks.

- "Sorry to hear that." She said.

- "Yeah, don't worry about it." I said back.

- "Nono, but I understand, I also made myself friends with my ex's parents in a previous relationship I had before, it's complicated to explain but I get you." She said while winking and lifting her thumb to me.

- "But I honestly think you should move forward honey, it's not healthy to deny things like that." She added.

This is so embarrassing.

- "..." I remained silent.

- "No, you misunderstood. He wasn't my boyfriend, he was just a friend. That's it." I explained to the reception lady.

- "Suuure~ Okay, so Mr. William is in room 247, walk over that hall and you will get there soon." The lady said.

- "Thanks." I said with an indifferent tone because I was getting a bit annoyed.

And I didn't want to correct her anymore, so I just walked over there as soon as possible.

When I get to the room, I saw him with all kinds of injuries, that honestly, it hurts just from seeing them.

I also hoped that he would be conscious, so we could talk...

Maybe he would help me with John as he is now.

But that would be difficult right now.

So instead, I'll stay here for a while, and come back another day.

---  Wellston General Hospital's Entrance,  1 Hour Later ---

John's POV

When I came back to my room in the dorms, he wasn't answering on the app, and I don't know his phone number, since he always called me from his office phone, and those are private numbers.

But probably he is just too busy with his work, so I just need to check that he isn't here, that the news was lying, and go home.

There, problem solved.

But still, I decided to come here right after without Remi.

Just waiting any more time is making me feel horrible, so I skipped classes.

When I saw the reception counter is over there, I walked over and asked the lady who was attending.

- "Excuse me, there is a patient called William in this hospital?" I asked.

- "William, ah, you meant the one who came out of ER recently? I remembered him because of his weird name and they said that he was the author of Unordinary..."

- "Also a young lady visited him earlier..." After that, I couldn't really hear what the lady was saying.

But when the lady said that...

She simply confirmed the truth...

That I tried to deny.

But deep down, I knew that they were right, it was just that...

I didn't want to believe it.

- "HOW THE F*CK TOLD YOU THAT?!" I asked aggressively while I grabbed her uniform.

- "Look, it was in the news that he was transferred over here and that person was transferred from New Bostin a few hours ago! I just deduced it from that!" She explained herself, shuddered in fear.

Then, a few unpleasant memories came back to my mind when I was in New Bostin.

- "Whatever." I coldly said while letting her go.

- "Now. Where is he?!" I asked, with a menacing tone.

- "In a second, but first I need you to fill this visitor form with your-" She managed to say before I interrupted her.

- "I don't have all the time in the world to fill some useless forms just to see my father." I abruptly said while slamming the counter with my hand.

- "I'll ask again, where is he?" I said coldly.

- "Mr. William is in room 247, walk to the hall over there and you will find it." The lady said, with noticeable fear in her voice.

Then...

For some reason, I started to run over there.

It wasn't a long way to that room, but for me, it felt eternal.

And when I opened the door...

I saw him in that bed, still unconscious.

But...

It was simply a horrible sight.

And I could hardly bear to even see him in that state.

I saw his whole body covered in bandages, broken ribs, his left leg is cracked, since it's more swollen than the other one, stab wounds in one arm, and the other one is broken.

Then, the feeling of sadness was overwhelming my mind, and tears were coming out of my eyes.

I don't know how much time I remained like this, it really doesn't matter to me.

Until...

I noticed something.

This isn't something that furious families from fallen heroes would do.

No, it's the other way around, these injuries seemed quite calculated and cold-blooded.

With no hesitation, no mercy, and extremely vicious.

But he has a lot of injuries, so a single person couldn't have done this alone.

And I started to feel something different after I noticed this.

Rage.

With such intensity, which made me able to overcome my sadness.

But this rage was different from the one I was so used to feel.

Different from when I faced bullying.

Different from when I faced betrayal.

Is not like blind rage.

And is not clouding my thoughts either.

Instead, it gives me a new thing to focus on.

This rage is engraining in my mind just one thing.

Whoever made this, is going to pay.

Pay enough to wish not to have ever born.

But for now, I'll stay here, maybe dad will wake up soon and tell me more in detail what happened.

--- 1 Hour Later ---

This day has been so long.

And dad hasn't woken up yet, so I guess he has fallen asleep by now.

But it's better this way I think.

Maybe I will come back tomorrow, it would be for the best.

Then, when I was preparing myself to leave, I heard some voices that were close to the room.

 - "Hey, did you hear? We have an infamous guest here on this hospital..."

 - "Really? Who is it?"

 - "It's the author of Unordinary, W.H. Doe..."

 - "No way! And how he is like?"

 - "But honestly, I'm a bit disappointed, especially since I was assigned to take care of him..."

 - "Why?"

 - "Well, he has black hair, which is something pretty unique in his own way... but I'm disappointed because I expected him to be a high-tier for sure."

 - "So... he's an elite?"

- "Try to guess the answer."

- "Hmm... an elite then?"

- "Not even close."

- "So a mid-tier then."

- "Nope."

- "Come on Levani! Just tell me!"

 - "Okay... so can you believe that he is a cripple?"

  - "Really? I didn't expect that."

 - "Yeah, so no wonder the authorities didn't do anything to him for his book, he wasn't even worth the trouble."

Then they started to laugh.

When I heard this, I immediately get up from the chair I was sitting on and ran where they were.

- "What the f*ck did you just said?" I asked the nurse who said that.

- "Uhh... we were just talking about the patient-" The nurse paused herself, after noticing that I also had black hair.

- "Oh, we're sorry, I didn't notice you were inside the room yet!" The other nurse immediately tried to defuse the situation.

- "You shut the f*ck up, you worthless trash." I immediately shut her up.

- "Really? Now you're asking for forgiveness?" I asked her.

- "When you trash-talked my dad just like that!" I said, furious by this.

- "You f*cking b*tch, do you think I was going to let that slide?!" I insulted her.

- "And what are you going to do you little brat?! Your father is a cripple so you have to be one as well! I won't fall in your bluff!" She said while getting furious.

- "Now get out unless you want to stay here as a patient too." She threatened me while activating her ability.

- "Yeah? And what are you going to do? Hit a little harder? Hit a little faster?" I taunted her.

- "When you threaten someone, you need to have the power to back up what you say." I said.

- "OH, I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT I CAN DO!" She said while she was condensing energy in her hand.

So her ability is to make condensed energy spheres, which will probably make an explosion when it connects with the target, but she can't make a lot of them, since she doesn't have a lot of aura left in her body and takes a lot of time to charge.

I see...

- "No... this time I'll show you what I can do." I said while activating my ability.

Then, I condensed up two big energy spheres in my hands in an instant.

Then, I aimed one energy sphere at her face.

She doesn't have any way to evade this.

She's doomed.

- "HEY! WAIT DON'T-" She managed to say.

*BOOM!*

...

...

...

- "Huh?" She said surprised when she opened her eyes.

- "I'm... alive?" She asked surprised.

- "Next time it won't be the wall." I said while I aimed the other energy sphere at her face.

Then, she looked at the huge hole at the destroyed wall behind her.

- "No! Please don't! Tell me what do you want from me!" She begged me.

- "I heard that you were assigned to take care of him, Levani, right?" I asked her.

- "Yes!" She answered.

- "Then, I want you to take care of my dad as if your life depends on it." I said with an intimidating tone.

- "If something bad happens to him when he's staying here..." I warned her.

- "I'm going to destroy this hospital to the ground. Starting with you." I stated with a menacing tone.

- "Yessir! I'll take care of him with everything I can!" Said Levani, scared of what happened just now.

Then, I walked out of the room.

This... isn't going to stay like this.

I have a new objective now.

This is just the beginning.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #17 END --

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

- "Mons-" 

Shut up, Claire.

I don't have time for this.

Really, I don't have a lot of time right now.

Since I have a lot of things to do.

First, I need to find the pricks responsible for leaving my dad in that state.

And I need to make a replacement for the hierarchy system along with Remi, at least this part is going somewhere.

Also, I offered myself to help Remi with the improvement of her combat performance and her ability.

And at last, I need to do well in academics, this is somewhat covered for now, since tests are coming up in a few weeks later, so until then I can worry about other things.

After thinking about this, I started to get up and began to prepare my morning routine.

Which is, breakfast, rest for a bit, and then go jogging to the park, do some exercise and jog back to the dorms with Doe.

Then, I get up and suddenly start to think about what happened yesterday.

Well, today I have more time since it's Saturday.

So today I'm going to visit my dad today, after my morning routine.

Maybe they'll let me enter with Doe or something like that.

Nah, they probably won't let me, but I'll figure what to do when I'll get there.

It's 11 AM right now, so I began to prepare breakfast, and also I filled Doe's plates, one with water and the other one with dog food.

- "You up?" I called him.

Then, Doe come out and started to wave his tail from side to side.

...

So I started to pat him in his head, but at the same time, I lost myself in my thoughts.

About how I'm supposed to find something about those pieces of trash...

About where I'm going to encounter them...

And I'm not going to leave it to the authorities.

They are absolutely useless.

So no matter how much time I wait for them to do justice about this, it will never come.

And I'm not going to let them go like this.

No.

Because I know they will do nothing about it.

And I can't tolerate something like this, not this time.

So I will do it myself.

I chased power...

And I obtained it.

But, what if even with all this power...

I'm still unable to change something?

No, this is not the moment to doubt about what I can or I can't do.

This time I have to act.

*Click*

The sound of the toaster made me react.

Since I also have eggs, I made eggs with bacon, with some french toast.

But when I tasted it...

The flavors were really weak.

- "Not this again..." I said while I sighed.

But I can't let something like this take me down.

I need to focus on the things I have to do.

Then, I leave the dorm with Doe and go for a little jogging.

--- Wellston Town ---

Remi's POV

This Saturday I had planned to go out with Blyke and Isen, it was nothing biggie, just to hang out.

Since school isn't exactly a place to relax, we decided to grab a bite somewhere else.

I know I'm supposed to do other things...

Responsibilities to take care of...

But they insisted a lot, and also I feel like I didn't hang out with them for a while.

So I decided to give it a try, who knows?

Maybe it will help to clear my mind.

- "So anyway..." Isen retakes the previous topic we were talking about.

- "I can't still believe you hit your face in the shower, how can you do that anyway, Blyke?!" Isen asked Blyke, while he was laughing a lot.

- "Oh, come on Isen! This is the fifth time you're asking the same thing! Is not funny anymore!" Blyke said very annoyed about it.

Isen has been mocking Blyke all morning, since Blyke slips and hits his face in the shower earlier on, leaving him a big mark from his nose to his face.

- "Let me think about it..." Said Isen while making a little pause.

- "Nope, still funny." He said while starting to laugh again.

- "F*ck you." Said Blyke while throwing him the middle finger to Isen.

- "But still, I'm glad that you seem to be recovering just fine!" I said to Blyke, trying to calm down the situation.

- "Because that is a big scratch you know... but seems like it's almost recovered." I commented.

- "Did you took some of Doc's tonics for that?" I asked him.

- "Y-Yeah... I did..." Blyke replied with an awkward tone.

- "I swear, that man does miracles..." Isen commented.

- "Well... with all the recent victims he's receiving..." Said Blyke.

- "It's natural for him to improve with those tonics." He added.

- "Well, those visits aren't anything new, you know?" I corrected him.

- "All year he has received at least three people on a normal day. I even asked Doc about it." I said.

- "Yeah... it's a very troubling matter..." Blyke commented.

- "Have any of you thought about a way to deal with this?" I asked them.

- "I haven't had time to think about it, sorry about that." Answered Blyke.

- "I have been thinking about some ideas... but I haven't thought about all the details yet." Isen replied.

- "What are you thinking about, Isen?" I asked him.

- "Well, I was thinking that we should organize something with the higher-ranked students, to make a hall monitor group, and stay connected through our phones." Isen explained his idea.

- "You have mentioned before that some members of the Safe House have been bullying fellow members outside the club, so I thought that this measure could help us to prevent that from happening." He added.

- "Isen, that's a great idea!" I happily said.

- "Aww, you're making me blush!" Isen said while taking the compliment.

- "Yeah, you should have mentioned it sooner." Blyke said.

- "Well, I just have been thinking about this for a few days ago." Isen explained.

- "I'll add it to the list then." I commented.

- "List?" They asked me.

- "Well... I told you that John agreed to help me with this before, right?" I asked them.

- "Yeah..." They replied.

- "So it turns out that we managed to think about how can we fix the school mess, once for all."

- "Really, how?!" They asked with curiosity.

- "Well, John decided to go talk with the headmaster, to see if we can add or change some of the school's rules." I replied.

- "But why change the school rules to do that? Why not just do it right now?" Blyke asked me.

- "Because that wouldn't last." I answered.

- "I mean, it doesn't make sense to do all those things if the next generation of Royals won't follow our legacy." I explained.

- "But if we teach the freshmen properly, then it would make the same effect, right?" Blyke asked.

- "It could have the same effect, but it would happen the same thing that Arlo did with my brother someday, he undoes all of Rei's efforts just because. At least that's what John make me notice." I replied.

- "And so, we concluded that this would be the best way to ensure that all our efforts don't go to waste." I said with conviction.

Then, Blyke and Isen stayed quiet for a while, probably they are surprised about that.

- "So right now, we are thinking of ideas that could be helpful, since we need to get a proper plan to convince the headmaster." I said.

- "Just to make sure, we are talking of the same John, right?" Asked Blyke.

- "Of course we are talking about the same John! And he is acting way calmer than before, you know!" I defend him.

- "I'm not so sure about that, Remi, you never know when is he going to snap again, we need to be with our guard up at all times around him." Said Blyke, to remember me to keep my guard up.

After thinking about what John told me about what triggered all of this in all our previous conversations...

I think it could have been different, but and I can't bring myself to blame him for everything anymore.

And Blyke doesn't know what caused all of this, but he suffered the consequences anyways.

But I think it's fair to tell him what really happened.

- "I think anyone would snap if Arlo does what he did to John." I said.

- "What did he do to John?" Asked Blyke.

- "Ugh, it sicks my stomach just from remembering it, how can anyone do things like that?" I said while remembering what John told me.

- "Then I'll take it from here." Isen said with a serious tone.

Then, Isen started to tell everything from his perspective and about what he knows in this issue.

How Arlo made plans to get Seraphina suspended, while he tried to break down John because he suspected that he had an ability.

- "And then, when Seraphina loses her ability, John asked Arlo to look after her, but soon after he just ignored him, thinking that he was just throwing a tantrum." Isen explained.

- "And I assume that's why he becomes Joker, you know the rest of the story, so I'll end it here." Isen said while finished what really happened.

- "So... all this Joker nonsense, and all those brutal fights we had with John..."

- "Happened because of Arlo's actions? Because he was salty about Seraphina didn't talk to him?" Blyke asked.

- "Yes, exactly." Isen replied.

- "Dude... what the hell is wrong with him?" Blyke asked with disgust in his voice.

- "So that's why he was so distrustful with me and Remi..." He said.

- "How can anyone do things like that to someone who was minding his own business?" He said with disappointment in his voice.

- "Yeah... and I'm also guilty since I helped him in that." Said Isen with remorse.

- "Don't say that, Isen, Arlo just coerced you to do it." I said to him.

- "But still, I broke his wrist when I was the one being invasive, maybe I should have just lied at that time." He said, still with remorse for his actions.

- "Isen, you don't owe John anything right now, since he has beaten you a lot of times, you're more than even with him." Said Blyke.

- "Yeah... you're right in that." Isen agreed with what Blyke said.

After this, we went around the city to hang out, like we originally intended.

But... I really hope that John is okay...

Yesterday, I couldn't find him anywhere and he didn't answer his phone, so I assume that he went to the hospital alone.

Today I had this planned, but I'll try to call him later.

--- Wellston's General Hospital ---

John's POV

After my morning routine with Doe, I went back to the dorms and get dressed for going to the hospital.

Right now, it's 1 PM so I have a lot of time.

So I came here to visit my dad, hopefully, he is awake this time.

Since I didn't know what to do, I checked the internet and I bought some things that the page I visited recommended, like clothes, and some personal cleaning supplies.

I prepared a surprise since dad always wanted to meet him, so I came along with Doe this time.

After thinking about it, even if right now, I want to find the ones who did that to him...

I'm glad that my dad is still here.

- "Mr. William, you have a visit." The nurse said.

- "Oh, he's still sleeping." She said while she noticed it.

- "You see, we had to put him through a bit of painkillers due to his injuries, so he could sleep and pass the night, but I think he's going to wake up sooner or later, don't worry." She explained to me.

- "Okay." I said.

- "Oh, and just call me if you need something. And... sorry about what happened yesterday." She said.

She's not saying it because she wants to.

I know it's because I'm more powerful than her, that's it.

- "..." I remained silent.

- "Just remember what I told you yesterday, and you won't have any trouble." I said to her before she leaves.

Then, the nurse leaves and left us alone.

So I waited for dad to wake up.

--- 2 Hours Later ---

Well, I think I waited enough, and also he's going to be here tomorrow too.

Then, I saw his eyelids started to move.

- "Ugh..." He wakes up.

- "Hi dad. Try to stay still." I greeted him.

- "John! I'm glad to see you! Sorry that our reunion had to be like... you know, like this." He said with a smile.

I can't believe that even after what happened, he is still able to make a smile.

He is...

Incredible.

- "Don't worry about it." I said.

- "Also... I bring a special guest here with me. I thought that it could cheer you up." I said with  

- "Could it be...?" He asked with curiosity.

*WOOF*

- "I knew it! It's Doe!" He said with a smile.

- "He really is a cute dog..." He tried to pat his head.

And Doe gets close to him immediately since he noticed the struggling my dad was having.

Huh... it appears that he really likes him.

- "Yeah, he is a good boy." I said.

- "But... how did you manage to get permission for Doe?" Dad asked me.

- "Uhh... I didn't, I just manage to get him over here without anyone noticing, so it's fine." I answered with honesty.

- "Okay... I'm not gonna say anything about that then." He said.

- "Also, I wanted to ask how you're doing with school." Dad asked me.

- "It's okay, I have it under control for now." I answered.

- "And... how you're doing with Remi?" He asked.

- "Well... we had the presentation I talked to you about, and I get an A-, so it's fine, later on, we went to celebrate." I replied.

- "Celebrate~? I. Want. Details. Now." He asked without even hiding his curiosity.

- "We just went to Woaba Boba's to get a drink, and that got interrupted since they passed on the news that they attacked you, in fact, I passed by here yesterday but you were unconscious yet." I mentioned what happened yesterday.

- "Still, I'm more worried about you, since you're the one in a hospital bed right now." I added.

- "So... how are you doing?" I asked him.

- "Well... not good, obviously, since I can barely move, and I can talk to you without trouble thanks to the painkillers that are circulating through my body." He said.

- "Also I haven't been inside a hospital as a patient since high school." He mentioned.

- "Huh..." Is the only thing I managed to say to that.

- "And... can you tell me what happened back then?" I asked him with a serious tone.

- "No." He said without hesitating.

What?

- "Dad, we're talking about criminals here! Why you don't want to tell me what the hell happened back then?" I asked him.

- "Because I know that you're going to do something stupid like chasing those people and do who-knows-what to them if I tell you, so my answer is no." He replied.

Crap, he did see through where I was going to.

- "I wasn't going to do that, but if I did I'm going to be fine either w-" I managed to say before dad interrupts me.

- "No, you're not going to be fine. Yes, you may be a high-tier, but still, you can get in trouble. Sera lost her ability just like that and she's lucky that she didn't get killed!" He abruptly said.

- "So what ensures me that it won't happen something terrible to you too?" He asked me.

- "You may think that you're going to be fine and you're hot sh*t and all that, but nobody is invincible." He said.

- "But-" I managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "I already made myself clear, and I don't want you to get hurt either." He said.

I remained silent for a bit after this.

I don't think he's going to tell me anything anywhere soon, so I'll drop that topic for now and ask him another time.

- "Fine." I said after the pause.

- "Hey, I also brought some stuff that you could need." I said while showing him the bag full of clothes and supplies that he could need.

- "Nice, thank you."

After that, we just keep talking about his work and everyday things.

--- 1 Hour Later ---

- "Hey, I'm hungry... and it's becoming late, so I think I'm going back tomorrow, also I need to give food to Doe. I'll bring some games tomorrow." I said.

- "Okay then, see you tomorrow, John. Take care, okay?" Dad said.

- "Yeah, see you tomorrow, dad." I said goodbye to him.

*WOOF!*

- "Oh! And see you tomorrow too, Doe!" He said.

Then, we walked out of the room.

When I checked out my phone, I notice that I had a few missing calls from Remi, probably from yesterday.

So I'm going to call her when I get to the dorms.

After that, I saw a person that I couldn't mistake even if I wanted to in the reception counter.

It was Seraphina.

What is she doing here?

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #18 END --

Chapter Text

--- Wellston's General Hospital, Entrance ---

John's POV

What is she doing here?

This is weird.

But I can think of only one possibility of why she's here.

She probably came here to check if they progressed with the issue of her ability.

But whatever, this doesn't mean that I'm going to talk to her.

Instead, I'll just head home.

I visited my dad earlier, and it didn't look that this affected him a lot, mentally speaking.

He's the type of person that puts a good face against bad situations, and I'm honestly relieved by this fact.

But I still think that it would have been better if he just told me anything about his attackers.

If they were able to pinpoint him so precisely...

Demonstrates what they're capable of.

And if I want to destroy them, I can't underestimate them.

Then, when I was thinking about some measures, Seraphina suddenly walks closer to me.

But I hope that-

- "John!" Said Seraphina, who gets closer when she noticed me.

Oh... great.

Give me a f*cking break.

- "What do you want?" I coldly asked.

- "How is William?" She asked me.

- "So... you came over here just because of that?" I bluntly asked.

- "Well, yeah, I visited him yesterday, but he was unconscious at the time." She replied.

- "And those injuries are terrible... did he told you anything about his attackers?" She asked me.

- "No. He didn't." I coldly answered.

- "That's weird... I would assume that he said something to-" She managed to say before I interrupted her.

- "Not yet. But that is none of your business, it's mine, and I'm going to do something about it." I said with a cold tone, trying to cut up the conversation.

- "But how-" She managed to say before I interrupted her.

- "Instead, you should try to enjoy your current lifestyle, because "living in the edge it's so fun!"  I said sarcastically, remembering what she said time ago.

- "If that's everything, then I'll head-" I managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "I don't get you sometimes..." Seraphina coldly said.

- "How can you say something like that?" She asked with an annoyed face.

- "And why are you so closed to talk?!" She said, while her face was losing all trace of her usual deadpan face.

I...

I'm getting so tired of this.

- "You know... I can bear a lot of things." I said.

- "Pain... Violence... Bullying... and for a lot of time, I just endured it, since I didn't want things to come out like this." I said with honesty.

- "But. There are two kinds of people that I hate the most. And doesn't matter who they are." I said annoyed.

- "People who dig out in my past... and people who betray my trust." I said.

- "And you did both." I said while glaring at her.

- "You had your opportunity to take my side before, but you wasted it." 

- "I can't get on your side if the only thing you're doing is pushing me away!" She tried to defend her posture.

- "If I just blindly accept take your side, it wouldn't fix anything!" She expressed her reasoning.

- "So can you at least answer me..." She said while tears were coming out of her eyes.

- "Why would you hide the fact that you have an ability in the first place?" She asked me.

Then, I remained silent.

Why everything has to come back to New Bostin again?

I... just want to run away.

Run until everything that haunts me is gone.

But...

I can't.

Since those things will still haunt me.

And I promised to myself that I'm going to fight this time.

I can't give up now.

Because I also want to win.

Because I want to live the way I want.

- "I had my reasons for saying I was a cripple. And for not using my power at all." I replied.

- "But what reasons?! You still haven't told me anything! How can you still keep me in the dark like this?!" She kept asking, still not satisfied with my answers.

- "BECAUSE I WAS ASHAMED OF WHAT I DID WITH MY ABILITY, OKAY?" I yelled, feeling enraged for her attitude.

- "YOU KNOW WHAT I DID WITH IT! AND NOW EVERYONE DOES!" I said.

- "YOU LIVED THOSE DISGUSTED LOOKS AND GOSSIPING BEHIND YOUR BACK TOO! YOU KNOW HOW EXHAUSTING IS THAT SH*T! I JUST WANTED TO AVOID THAT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN!" I added.

- "TELL ME, WOULD YOU BE PROUD OF DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT?! WOULD YOU BE PROUD OF SAYING THAT TO EVERYONE?!" I asked her.

- "OF COURSE NOT! BUT ALL THE TIME IS THE SAME F*CKING THING!" I kept adding things, without letting her talk at all.

- "WHY YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING SO SIMPLE AND JUST LEAVE IT LIKE THAT?" I asked her in an angry tone.

Suddenly, for some reason, Doe started to lick my hand, which made me react again.

Then, I took a deep breath to calm myself, and regain my composure again.

- "Sometimes... it's best to just fade into the background." I said.

After this happened, Seraphina looked surprised.

- "I didn't want you to know... since I was afraid about what you might think." I explained to her.

- "But... right now, I don't care about what you might have to say about anymore." I said while glaring at her.

- "If you're looking for an apology for it, then look somewhere else, because that's not gonna happen." I answered with sincerity.

- "I have other things to care about." I said, recalling what happened to my dad.

- "I'm trying to live the way I want here." I said, finishing what I had in my mind.

Seraphina remained silent for a while after hearing this.

But...

For some reason...

What I feel right now, is not a happy feeling...

But also I don't feel awful or anything about this.

I don't feel sad at all.

I feel disappointed.

And without saying anything else, I headed to the dorms with Doe.

--- Wellston Town Park ---

Remi's POV

It appears that this is the place...

When I was with Blyke and Isen, I suddenly received a call from Arlo.

I almost cut him out immediately, but he quickly mentioned something that I couldn't ignore.

It was about Rei and the progress in his case.

And it appears that he's going to talk to his aunt, who works for the authorities, and she can give us the answers I've been looking for.

I even had to leave Blyke and Isen for this, I told them that I had to leave because of this, but I'm sure they understand my motives for leaving so suddenly.

Then, I head for this place.

I just want answers to what happened to Rei...

No... that is not true.

I also want another thing...

I want justice.

So, the best-case scenario would be if I can persuade her to do pull some strings for the people in charge to do something about it.

I hope that this opportunity presents itself.

Then, I see Arlo who was waiting on a bench in the park.

Then, I walk over to where he is.

- "Hello, Remi." Arlo greeted me.

- "Hi." I greeted him back.

- "Hey... sorry for calling you out like this, but since you're Rei's sister and also you deserve to know what happened too, I thought it would be a good idea to call you too." He explained.

- "Don't worry about it." I said.

- "So, where is she?" I asked him.

- "She's not here yet." He answered.

Still, I'm not pleased to be around Arlo right now...

But he wants to know the truth about Rei too.

So, at least I can collaborate with him for that goal.

Then, Arlo kept his eyes focused for some reason.

- "That person over there is my aunt." He mentioned.

Then, I look in the same direction as Arlo, and saw a tall woman, blonde, she also has golden eyes and is dressed in an elegant and formal suit.

Like everybody would expect from someone who works for the authorities.

Every one of them always looks like that.

But she, for some reason...

I feel like a strange vibe coming out of her.

I can't identify what it is, but...

It could be the anxiety of the moment that is making me feel this way...

But I think it's just my imagination.

Still, that doesn't matter right now, if she can offer us an answer, then I'll listen to what she has to say about.

- "Hello little Arlo-" She greeted Arlo but she paused herself.

- "Oh... I guess you're not little now, look how you've grown!" She said, correcting herself.

- "Hello aunt Valerie." He politely greeted her.

- "And yes, I've grown a lot, it has been a lot of time since the last time we've met." He mentioned.

I guess he has a lot of respect for her...

- "Well, I don't plan to waste a lot your time, so I'll introduce you to each other." He said.

- "Remi, she is my aunt Valerie, the person I mentioned to you about earlier who works for the authorities." He said, making the introduction.

- "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you." I politely greeted her.

- "And aunt Valerie, she is Remi, the sister of the person I'm going to talk about." He said.

Then, she looked at me for a second.

- "Remi..." She mentioned.

- "What a nice name for a young lady." She said with calm after that little pause.

- "It's a pleasure to meet you too." She said with a soft smile on her face.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #19 END --

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Town Park ---

Remi's POV

- "Hey, I've booked a reservation at a cafe that isn't far from here, so we can walk over there." Said Valerie.

- "Thanks for doing this for us, Aunt Valerie." Said Arlo, thanking her once again for her help.

- "Don't worry, Arlo, you know that I can't say no when is family!" She said while smiling.

Then, Arlo makes a little smile.

That's weird.

- "Also, Arlo..." She said while making a little pause.

- "How many times do I have to tell you that you can call me Val?" She asked.

- "Calling me for my full name feels so cold and distant, and I don't like hearing my nephew being like that with me." She explained.

- "Sorry Aunt Val." Arlo apologized.

- "That's good." She said, with an approving tone.

- "Oh, you can call me Val too if you want, Remi!" She said to me with a friendly tone.

- "Okay, Val!" I cheerfully said.

She seems friendly enough.

And her eyeshadow makeup really suits her.

Also, she is super slim and tall...

But I can't get out of my mind...

That I feel like I've seen her before.

--- Royal Cafe, 5 Minutes Later ---

After walking for a few minutes we arrived at this store, which seems pretty fancy, by the way.

I guess that someone who works for the authorities can attend to this kind of nice places with ease.

Then, we went to our reserved seats and ordered some coffee.

- "So..." Said Val, suddenly starting the conversation.

- "What is the thing you need to know about?" She asked, jumping straight to the point.

- "Well... the thing is, my brother, Rei, was... killed... a couple of months ago, he... was the vigilante known as "X-Static." I said, commenting about Rei's case.

- "The authorities opened an investigation case, but since then, they haven't been able to make even the minor advance in the case." I explained the situation.

- "They haven't contacted our family at all since that day." I added.

- "So... I wanted to see what's going on with that." I said.

- "I'm sorry to hear that." She said with a sad voice.

- "I'm guessing that he was a high-tier, correct?" She asked.

- "Yes." I confirmed.

- "But... a vigilante..." She said while making a little pause.

- "Such a waste of talent." She stated.

- "A strong young man like him could've been so much more... yet he insisted to do that kind of thing." She commented.

That phrase...

Where did I hear that before?

I can't remember exactly where right now.

But I have to be crazy if I just accept what she's saying about Rei without

- "It wasn't a waste." I said, opposing to her comment.

- "He was helping a lot of people with his actions-" I managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "Still, you need to consider the methods." She said abruptly, without even letting me finish my sentence.

- "Vigilante's methods are impulsive and dangerous." She followed her point.

- "That's why we have laws and protocols, and we, as authorities officials, have sworn to follow." She explained.

- "And that is the correct way to enforce the order." She said.

- "Aunt Val, I knew Rei personally, he was a respectable person, and even if he was doing questionable things..." Said Arlo, entering the conversation.

- "I'm completely sure that he had good intentions." He said, defending Rei.

- "Is that so...?" She asked.

- "Interesting." She commented.

- "But with even more reason then." She replied back to us.

- "If he truly wanted to help people, then the best way to do so is following the rules, respecting order, and by joining us, that way, he could've been able to make a bigger impact." She explained.

- "Maintain peace and order, to protect that is the Authorities' mission." She added.

I don't know why...

But her attitude is throwing me off.

It's just that...

Everything she says annoys me.

- "But instead of demonizing them, why don't you help them instead?" I asked.

- "They can cover that part that you have been tossing aside." I said.

- "Vigilantes are powerful, it can be a good move to help them!" I suggested.

Then, she glares at me for a little bit.

- "Remi, that "tossing aside" part... where did you get that from?" She bluntly asked.

I've seen it with my own eyes!

But I can't say anything like that.

Because that would lead her to ask me why I was doing in that place, and eventually, she could conclude that I was a vigilante too.

I need to be careful with what I say here.

- "From... Wellston's low-tier students, that live in towns that have been neglected by the authorities. I asked them why they said that in the past, and that's what they told me." I lied.

- "Is that so...?" She said, doubting what I answered.

- "That's unfortunate... but we receive hundreds of new cases every day, and unfortunately, we don't have enough personnel to keep up with that." She stated.

- "So, naturally, we need to take the ones that need to be solved as soon as possible, and also you need to consider that all cases need time to be solved, so is inevitable to leave the cases that have a lesser priority at the end of the line." She explained.

Excuses.

Don't try to justify the authorities' incompetence.

- "So only one mid-tier having an entire town under their control, terrorizing their citizens, doesn't have priority for the authorities?" I asked, doubting what she said before.

- "Why just don't accept help from vigilantes if that's the case? Or even support them since their goals align with those of the authorities, that would make your job easier." I asked, counterarguing her statement.

- "Well, that could be possible... but the issue with the vigilantes is that, yes, they might be powerful, and yes, some might have good intentions, but in the end, they just scratch the surface of the real problems." She answered.

- "And since they choose to stay anonymous, we can't ensure to all the citizens that they'll be like that forever, someday, some might deviate, and give in into greed, and turn themselves into evildoers." She added.

- "Basically, we see that the risks outweigh the benefits." She stated.

- "And because of that, and the risk of losing their lives are the main reasons why we discourage vigilantism." She said, finishing her argument.

Not everyone is like that.

You can't just blame them all for one person.

You need to give them the chance to prove themselves.

Rei just wanted to make a better world.

He could have been much more, yes.

But that doesn't mean that what he did was a waste of time.

He helped people by doing that kind of thing.

...

...

...

"A strong young man like him could've been so much more... yet he insisted to do that kind of thing."

 "A strong young lady like yourself could've been so much more... yet you insist on doing this kind of thing..."

Suddenly, I remembered those exact same words from that time. 

Both phrases line up.

And that sounded like...!

Volcan!!

That's why she sounded so familiar!

If only I were stronger than her...

I would have already stand up from my seat beaten her already!

- "Hey, Remi, are you okay...?" Arlo asked me.

- "You don't look so good, Remi, your face looks... weird." Said Valerie, with a worried tone.

Then, I look at my face with the reflection of my phone.

It appears that I made an angered expression without noticing.

What the hell am I doing?!

I need to calm down!

Then I relaxed my face to make that expression fade away.

- "Uhh... yeah... I'm fine..." I managed to say out of the surprise.

- "I think I'll go to the restroom real quick." I said nervously.

Then, I stand up from my seat and headed to the store's restroom.

I need to calm down!

Even if she was Volcan, what can I do now?!

I won't accomplish anything by losing control here.

I almost got killed last time because of that.

I need to calm down.

I kept repeating this in my head as I was washing my face.

Then, when I came out of the restroom, Arlo was waiting outside.

- "Why are you here, Arlo?" I asked him.

- "I made up that I went for a coffee to come here." He answered.

- "Can you explain to me what was that?" He asked with an annoyed face, referring to my attitude with his aunt.

- "Excuse me?" I asked.

- "You were being insanely rude out there!" He said with an angry tone.

- "I can't believe it! I invited you because this issue has to do with you and I thought you would behave according to the situation..." He said with an upset face.

- "But you're making us look bad because of your attitude!" He added.

- "So what? I can't be rude to her, but she can talk all the crap she wants about Rei?"

- "I'm not gonna let that slide." I said, defending my attitude against her.

- "Do I need to remind you again that she's a high-ranking official?!" He said, still annoyed.

- "When we get back out there, I want you to apologize!" He said.

I can't say what I'm thinking about her aunt to Arlo yet.

He will never believe me if I say it right now.

I have to be careful and get out of here as soon as possible.

So I'll do what he says for now.

- "Fine, I just got worked up, that's it." I said.

- "Yeah, but what the hell happened to you back there?" He kept asking.

- "As I said, I just got worked up about what she said about Rei and his acts." I replied.

- "Also, let me ask you something real quick." I said.

- "What is it?" He asked.

- "What is your aunt's ability?" I asked him.

- "Why are you asking me that?" He asked again.

- "It's... the reason why I get worked up back there. If I'm wrong, I'll apologize." I replied.

- "It's... a hunch that could be very important. Please." I explained.

- "Fine." He finally agrees, giving up in trying to know the real reason.

- "She has a variation of my Barrier." He answered.

What?!

But Volcan has Fire Claws!

I think something is off here...

That answer was pretty vague.

Especially because the one who made that answer was Arlo.

She is still giving me strange vibes, I'm sure that she has to be Volcan!

The voice, the similar wording...

Her height and type of body, it has to be her!

There's no mistake!

Maybe... I was wrong?

No, that's not it!

I could never mistake a person who tried to kill me with someone else!

Maybe Arlo doesn't know in reality and he just assumes it?

Has he even saw her using her ability before?

Or she lied to him about her ability?

The possibilities are flowing into my mind, but I can't decide for one.

I need to get out of here and think about what happened here.

But first, I need to see one more thing after I leave.

- "Oh, then it's just a false alarm then, nevermind." I let that matter go.

He probably is suspecting something, about it, as he glared at me for a second.

- "But what were you expecting? We're family after all." He commented.

- "That's true..." I said, agreeing to his comment.

Then, we came back to our seats.

- "Sorry for taking so long Aunt Val, I went to the restroom and then for another coffee." Said Arlo.

- "Yeah... and the women's restroom was full! I even had to make a line!" I cheerfully said.

- "It's okay, don't worry." She said.

- "Also... I wanted to ask if there's some kind of progress with EMBER." I went straight to the point.

- "So far, I've seen nothing about them on the news, aside from the fact that they target vigilantes." I commented.

- "That's classified, so I can't say anything about that, sorry." She said, cutting that topic immediately.

- "Is that so..." I said, disappointed about it.

- "Also... I saw on the news that the author of Unordinary was attacked yesterday... " I commented, trying to change the topic.

- "There's something about it?" I bluntly asked.

There is no way that this problem isn't being investigated by now.

And if I get something out of this, maybe I can help John too.

- "Oh..." Said Valerie with indifference in her tone.

- "What about it, Remi?" Arlo asked.

- "Well, I'm just trying to make some conversation." I said with a friendly tone.

- "Is that so... but yeah, I saw it too, and I couldn't care less about it." Arlo commented.

- "Since that book is the main reason why we have vigilantes in this country in the first place." He explained.

- "Yeah, that's true, you wouldn't believe the amount of trouble that a single book has brought to us." She commented, agreeing with Arlo.

Then, I looked to where was Valerie, to see her reaction and for some reason...

It appeared to be a little smile on her face over that news.

Like she knew beforehand that.

Are the authorities involved with that incident or something?

I definitely need to talk to John about this.

Then I looked unconsciously my phone and checked what time is it.

- "Yeah... well, it's kinda getting late right now, and I still have homework to do, so... I'm going home now." I excused myself to leave as soon as possible.

- "And I apologize if I made you uncomfortable at some point with our conversation." I politely said.

- "Don't worry about it, Remi, we always take those comments as feedback to keep improving in our service to the community." She said with a polite tone.

That sounded so fake.

I would like to get a picture of her, to confirm that she's actually Volcan with Blyke and Isen, just in case.

But is too risky to do it right now.

So instead, I leave the place, while Arlo stayed there with her aunt.

Also, he told me that she's in Wellston, so I can track her movements just to make sure.

This isn't my last chance.

I have a new clue now.

Also, I'm going to train with John from now on.

And I can always ask Isen to investigate her.

I'm getting closer to the truth, Rei.

And you will get the justice you deserve.

I promise.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #20 END --

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

- "Mons-"

- "You're not a monster."

Those are the first things I remember after waking up by the alarm.

All the time the same thing.

I'm getting tired of it.

I don't know if I'm a monster or not...

And before, I was scared of finding out, but now...

I just simply don't care about it.

Woah.

I can't believe I now felt indifferent to that.

So it's more than okay for me.

But still, I can't get that word out of my head.

I wonder what else do I have to make in order to stop it?

I don't know.

And after thinking a bit about that, I look at the clock's direction, and I notice that is 7 AM now.

I don't feel tired, and I can't get back to sleep again, so I get up.

Then, I get dressed for my morning routine.

- "You up?" I said to Doe.

Then, he comes out and gets closer to where I am, waving his tail.

After that, I started to pat his head and I stayed with him for a little while.

He's such a good boy.

I guess he's probably hungry, so I'll serve him some food now.

Then, I proceed to make a couple of sandwiches for me, with some orange juice I recently bought.

--- 20 Minutes Later ---

After I'm done eating my breakfast, and Doe is too, and it appears that he really liked his food, that's good.

I... feel like I need to do something now.

But I don't feel like jogging today.

So instead, I'm going to work on my arms, abs, and also my back.

In the meantime, as I was doing my exercises...

I noticed that this whole room has a lot of dust, probably for the other rooms too.

So I guess it's time to clean.

I think there were some cleaning products and a broom somewhere in this place...

But I'll search for them later.

--- 2 Hours Later ---

After finishing my exercises and cleaning, I went to take a shower.

Well... dad is going to be fine, so this time I'll go after lunch.

In the meantime, I thought about what I could bring to not be so bored inside the hospital, there's not much to do there.

I guess I can take a card game to play poker or something else.

Then, after the shower, I checked my phone.

There was a message from Remi.

"John, are you free today? I want to talk about something."

Is what her message said.

She wants to meet up.

I wonder why.

I know that I promised to help her with her training but...

I was planning to train with her tomorrow.

But whatever, there's no harm in doing this today, also I have nothing else to do until lunchtime.

This could be a good opportunity to train and see which kind of level is she.

"Yeah, I have time today, also bring a bottle of water and proper clothing for training. See ya at the entrance at 10 AM."

Is what I texted her.

So, I guess I'll prepare too.

And I can bring along Doe as well to make us company.

--- Wellston's Entrance, 5 Minutes Later ---

I arrived at the entrance, and bring along the necessary.

Then, I saw Remi from afar.

She was with a ponytail and some gym clothes.

It's different from her usual look, but...

She looks...

Not bad at all.

Then, Remi gets closer to where I was.

- "Hello, John!" Remi cheerfully greets me.

- "Hi, Remi." I greeted her back.

- "Oh! You bring Doe along with you!" She said.

- "Yeah... I wouldn't leave him in the dorm while I was going out."

- "Also, as we're both free, so why we don't use this free time to train as we agreed before?" I proposed.

- "Yeah, I know, that's why I came here with my workout outfit." She replied.

- "Also, we have until 2 PM since I want to visit my Dad in the hospital too." I said since I also want to visit Dad.

- "Oh, okay, that's fine for me." She said, agreeing to what I said.

- "I was thinking of training in the park, what do you think?" I asked her.

- "Sounds good, since it's a nice day to be outside." She cheerfully said.

- "Yeah... let's go." I said while leading the way.

--- Wellston Town Park ---

Well, we arrived at the park.

It seems... a bit crowded, but this park is big, I'm sure that we'll find a proper space to practice.

Trying to spar in nature can be a bit more complicated than sparring in solid ground, since you also have to be aware of your surroundings, like trees, grass and roots, so it can help with your positioning.

- "So... what do you want to practice first?" I asked.

- "Hmm... I guess we can practice some hand to hand combat." She replied.

- "I assume that you have some knowledge at this, am I right?" I asked.

- "Yeah... but I'm afraid that at my current level isn't enough." She answered, without confidence in her current level.

Is not like her current level is bad or anything like that, I mean, she's a high-tier, but probably she needs to be stronger because of some personal business.

- "Then, let's see how it goes first." I said, beginning to stand in a fighting stance.

Then, Remi starts to power up.

- "What are you doing?" I asked her.

- "I was thinking that we were going to spar, am I right?" She answered.

- "Yeah, but we're not gonna use any abilities, I'll tell you why later, okay?" I said to her.

- "Okay... then go ahead." She said while deactivating her ability.

People always rely too much on their abilities.

And Remi is no exception.

- "Ready... Go!" I called the start of the sparring.

Then, Remi charges up ahead, and start with her right.

But I managed to parry that strike.

Then, prepared the counterstrike.

But she prepared for it since with her left hand managed to catch what I threw at her.

That's not a bad move, but is not the best either.

So I grabbed her left arm with my left since I can overwhelm her with my strength.

Then, I threw a knee, but as she noticed that, she jumped back.

A classic mistake.

Because as soon as she does that, I have enough of a gap to charge at her and have a better positioning at the end.

Then, Remi throws a straight hit with her right at me.

This is it.

As soon as she does that, I parried that strike and hold her arm with both hands, one at her wrist and the other at her elbow, and use her own force to pin her down.

That is one of the easiest ways to get a submission hold and break the opponent's arm.

As soon as I pin her down, there's nothing she can do.

- "No point in keep going I guess." I said as I let her go.

- "Yeah... you win." She said.

Then we stand up at the same time, but she remained silent for a bit.

Maybe she didn't think that she would lose that hard.

- "It was... such a short fight." She said, astonished.

- "Nothing to take advantage of, and efficiently done." 

- "Yeah, that's what fighting is, always try to maintain your fights as short as possible, especially if you have the upper hand." I explained.

- "And don't leave anything to your opponent to capitalize on." I added.

- "Also... it seems that you rely too much on your ability." I commented.

- "In what sense?" She asked me.

- "Well, for starters, in my previous fight with you, you managed to avoid some of my strikes by a hair, and then you used your lightning to neutralize me." I answered.

- "But that didn't work, so you need a backup plan to deal against opponents who can endure your lightning." I added.

- "Yeah... I see..." She said with a feeling down feeling, probably remembering the outcome of that fight.

Don't make that face, please.

Is making me feel bad too.

- "And since now you couldn't use your lightning, you didn't have anything else to beat me in this round, that's why I said you rely too much on your ability." I said, finishing my point.

- "And also, I would like to remark that you made two big mistakes." I pointed out.

- "I didn't feel like I could've done better... but I'll ask anyway, which ones?" She said with optimism.

- "The first one was when you jumped back, that let me enough space to charge at you and get a better position to attack, and the second was that straight with your right, which allowed me to use your own force to pin you down, and is also is one of the easiest ways to do a submission hold, you have to be careful with that." I explained.

I'm making her notice her own flaws in battle, since that way she can practice and improve in those flaws by herself too.

- "Let's keep going." I said while getting in my fighting stance.

- "Okay." She answered, getting in a fighting stance too.

Round two.

- "Ready... Go!" I called the start of that sparring.

--- 2 Hours Later ---

Remi's POV

- "OOF!" I let out before getting into an arm lock.

I guess that's another loss.

I stayed like this for a while.

Until Doe came here and started to lick my face, then I finally reacted.

He is a good boy, he really knows when to intervene.

We've made...

Around 20 sparring rounds, I think.

And I've managed to hold out more in the last one.

But all of them end up almost the same way.

He ends up pinning me down, and then into a submission hold, and there's no escape from that.

Or ends up with a solid punch that I can't avoid.

I guess that's his strategy for fighting, and it has a lot of bases covered...

And in every break we had before the other spar round, he analyzed the whole fight, and then told me my mistakes, and even his own mistakes, which I could've used to defeat him.

He was right, I do rely too much on my ability...

He saw this step by step, thinking about all those things in the heat of a fight...

And he makes it look so easy...

He truly is on another level.

- "I didn't expect to lose that easily..." I said after the pause.

- "Well, better to lose here than in a real fight, right?" He said, trying to cheer me up.

I see...

So that's how he sees fights.

Nothing more than a mean to an end.

He... always took those fights head-on, while thinking about his next move at all times.

This time, I also need this kind of resolve, to achieve what I want.

- "Hey, John..." I called him.

- "What is it?" He asked.

- "Where did you learn to fight like that?" I asked him.

- "Oh, my Dad taught me." He said with a nostalgic tone.

- "As my ability didn't show any signs of growing, he taught me to defend myself from bullies since I was a kid." He explained.

- "And after a lot of fights, I started to predict the movements of my opponents." He commented.

- "But he can wipe the floor with me though." He said while remembering those lessons.

- "Haha, then I would have no chance then!" I cheerfully said.

- "Yeah, probably." He said while making a little smile. 

- "And probably these sparrings hasn't been useful to you, since you'll be using an ability against your opponents..." He sadly said afterward.

- "Are you kidding? This training has been super useful!" I corrected him.

- "You noticed things that nobody else could notice." I added.

- "I've been paying attention to everything you're saying, you know?" I said to him.

- "Really?" He asked.

- "Yeah! Even if I've lost every round, I'm still learning a lot!" I replied.

- "That's good." He said.

- "And for training with our abilities, I guess we can use the Turf Wars fighting spot." I proposed.

- "No f*cking way I'm coming back to that place again." He abruptly said.

- "Well, I guess we can always train in the rooftop then." I said, changing my original idea.

- "But with your ability, I'll be helping you only theoretically..." Said John, but it seems like he wanted to say one more thing, but he stopped himself.

He seems uncomfortable with the idea of using his ability...

- "No problem, I'm okay with that." I replied to what he said before.

- "I honestly didn't expect you would react like that." He bluntly said.

- "Well, you're helping me of your own will, and I know that you have some personal conflicts respecting your ability..." I explained.

- "And I couldn't be more thankful to you for helping me with this." I said.

- "I mean it. Thank you, John." I said with sincerity.

- "I-It's nothing... I'm glad that this helped you." He said with an awkward tone.

What's up with that reaction?

That was kinda cu-

...

...

...

- "A-And... a-anything else I need to do?" I asked him, trying to maintain my composure.

- "Well... endurance is something that helps a lot..." He answered.

- "Since it can help you if fights extend more than it should, so working on that every day at least an hour or two can make you improve." He explained the reason for his answer.

- "Also you can probably watch videos that can help you to visualize possible scenarios too!" He added.

- "I see..." I said.

- "Also... I wanted to say something about some conversation I had yesterday to you." I commented.

Then, John's face starts to change.

- "What happened?" He asked with a serious tone.

He probably felt that it was about his father.

- "Well, the thing is I talked with someone who works for the authorities." I commented.

- "I talked about Rei's case with a high-ranking official, but nothing productive came out from it." I added.

- "And... I mentioned the issue that happened to your dad to her." I said, hoping that Arlo's Aunt would say something more... recomforting.

- "Really?! And what did that person said about?!" He asked with interest.

- "Well, obviously she mentioned the disgust with that book, but after that, she didn't say anything relevant about it."

- "She totally avoided the subject." I said.

- "Go figure." He sighed.

- "I always knew that the authorities were useless... but don't get my hopes high for this." He said, disappointed with what I told him.

- "Also, why are you mentioning this in the first place?" He said with a severe tone.

- "Well... it's just a hunch but..." I said because it's only a theory, after all.

- "I think they might be involved with what happened to your father." I said.

- "Really? Based on what?" He asked.

- "Based on her initial reaction." I answered.

- "That wasn't a reaction of surprise or astonishment." I elaborated.

- "She looked like she received good news..." I added.

- "Like she was expecting it." I said, finishing my explanation.

- "Don't say things like that, Remi, is not funny." He said with an irritated tone.

- "What do the authorities would gain from attacking my dad in the first place?" He asked me.

- "And why now? And not when he released Unordinary?" He questioned me.

- "I... don't know, I just said that it was a hunch..." I managed to say.

- "I just wanted to help you, okay?" I said with sincerity.

Then, John remained silent for a bit.

And then, his expression changed.

- "Thank you." He said after the pause with a gentle tone.

- "Now that I think about it, you're not the type of person to joke of something like that." He said, realizing what he said earlier.

- "So... sorry about that." He apologized.

That's new.

- "Don't worry about it." I replied.

- "I guess it can be possible, but..." He mentioned.

- "But I don't have planned to face the authorities." He said. 

- "I don't want to end up in there ever again." He said with a serious tone.

Then we stayed like this for a while, playing with Doe for a bit and relaxing after training.

It wasn't because we were bored or anything like that.

It was more like we agreed to stay silent without talking about it at all.

But it was a comfortable silence, so it wasn't a bad thing at all.

And looking back, we started with the wrong foot, but with time, and after hanging out for that project for a whole month, and all the things in between...

At last, we're cooperating towards a common goal now.

Then, John looked at his phone, probably to check the time.

- "I guess I have to go now, I need to visit my dad at the hospital too, and I want to have lunch before that."

- "Oh, that's true, you mentioned it earlier, time sure goes fast..." I commented.

- "Then, see you tomorrow, Remi." He said goodbye to me.

- "Yeah, see you tomorrow, John." I said goodbye to him.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #21 END --

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, Seraphina's Room ---

Seraphina's POV

- "Sera, you're just a cripple."

- "What could you possibly help me anyway?"

Is the first thing I remember when I woke up.

Why I can't just forget about it?!

He made it clear last time.

How he felt about when he was hiding his ability.

I honestly didn't understand why he would do that.

But after that...

Anyone could've understood a reason like that.

And...

Honestly, I can't bring myself to blame him for that anymore.

He was right all along.

He had his reasons.

And I didn't respect that.

But I also wanted to know...

I didn't want to be left outside...

I didn't want to feel useless.

But I can't do anything about it.

I could've stopped him from hurting people.

If only I had my ability...

Maybe he would tell me that fact eventually...

No.

That... isn't useful right now.

Thinking about possibilities that didn't happen is not going to help me.

I need to focus on myself.

That is my priority.

So...

Right now, my priority is trying to get some info with Terrence.

Even if they are dangerous.

Even if I could get killed.

I need to get my ability back.

I don't have anything to lose now.

After thinking about this, I get up from my bed.

Look for my phone, and start to browse in my contacts for Isen and Arlo.

They can help me with this.

"Hey, I've planned to talk with Terrence about that issue today."

"So back me up when the time comes."

Is what I texted them.

I also noticed that the dorm is too quiet.

Elaine must have been got up earlier and went to class.

Also when I looked at the clock, it was 7:40 AM.

So I've overslept.

What a way to start the day.

Then, I notice that there are orange juice and some sandwiches with a note from Elaine on top.

"Sorry Seraphina, I had a huge test today, and you didn't wake up so I had to go. I left you breakfast done btw :D"

Okay...

Where does she get all those oranges in the first place...

But first I need to take a shower, get dressed, and look for my notebooks for class.

--- 10 Minutes Later ---

After that, I started to eat my breakfast that Elaine prepared for me.

Hmm...

It was tasty.

But not to the point to make me say that it's delicious, just good.

Lately, all my food has been like that, even though Elaine says it's delicious.

I wonder what is the reason for this?

Then, after a few minutes, I ate all my breakfast, and ready to go.

--- Safe House Club, 4 Hours Later ---

After attending classes, I have a free period right now.

So I came here to the Safe House.

Surprisingly, the Safe House that Remi created is always full, but today there isn't a lot of students.

And then, I noticed that Terrence is coming closer too.

Just as I expected, I was looking at our schedule, and we have a free period right before lunch.

Finally, things are going in my favor.

Then, he entered the club.

So, the thing is, I'm gonna make a little conversation, and then I'm going to ask him about that.

- "Hi." I greeted him.

- "Oh, Hi, Seraphina." He greets me back.

- "How is it going?" I asked.

- "Uhh... fine I guess." He answered.

- "Cool." I said after a little pause.

- "Well, if you excuse me, I came here to read a book for an assignment." He said, trying to finish the conversation.

- "Oh, okay." I said.

But no way I'm going to let it be.

- "Which book? I can help." I mentioned.

- "Oh, it's Hamlot." He answered.

- "From Speareshake?" I asked him back.

- "Yeah." He replied.

- "Well I've read that book before, and I did pretty well before, I can help you if you want to." I said, to have more opportunities if this one goes wrong.

- "Well, I do well in literature, and I do like this book too!" He cheerfully commented.

- "So I guess I'm gonna be fine, also I have a lot of time now, so I don't need to hurry." He said with confidence.

- "Either way, thanks for trying to help, Seraphina!" He cheerfully said.

- "Don't worry, it's no big deal." I said back.

Then, he started to read the book he brought with him.

So meanwhile, I received a text from Arlo.

"I'm here with Isen, are you talking to him right now?"

"Yeah, so back me up if something happens."

Is what I texted him.

It appears that he hasn't noticed them.

Good, now I can go to the point.

- "You're also in the school press, right?" I asked him, trying to get him to slip his tongue.

- "Yes." He answered.

- "And how is it going?" I asked about his club.

- "You know, with all this issue that Cecile was head of the press, then Isen, then Cecile again... things must have been a little messy." I mentioned.

- "Well, Cecile always sent us out trying to scope for good articles, she likes impactful news." He expressed.

- "Isen on the other hand, he was the best writer we had, by far." He added.

- "In that short time he really went full picky with the articles, in short, he wanted quality, in both writing and the story." He explained.

- "I honestly think that it was asking for too much back then since a lot of us didn't even make the deadline for our articles in his period as head of the press." He expressed his opinion.

- "So I couldn't post anything interesting during that time..." He mentioned.

- "Cecile, on the other hand, was more flexible with that." He added.

- "She wasn't that demanding with our grammar, she stepped in whenever she considered necessary, and everyone was fine." He explained.

- "So... between the two, who do you think was better?" I asked him.

- "Cecile." He answered without even thinking twice.

- "Is that so..." I said.

- "Yeah... I mean, Isen wasn't bad at all, but he was trying super hard to get on Arlo's good side, probably to meet his expectations." He elaborated.

- "He had good intentions, but he handled the fake Jokers issue super bad." He added.

- "We've written a lot of articles about it in the past, but he rejected them all." He stated.

- "And then, when he discovered the identity of the true Joker, he goes and put his own article talking about it." He told me.

- "That's not cool at all, it was like he knew he was going out and took all the credit." He complained.

- "More like the backlash." I corrected him.

- "Why do you say that?" He asked me.

- "Well, John is someone who doesn't let go of his personal grudges." I commented.

- "So anyone who would've written about Joker would end up in the hospital for it." I added.

- "He was aware of it, and probably would've encouraged a lot more people to act as Joker too if he just let you publish anything about it." I explained, based on what he told me.

- "Yeah... but I still think that Cecile did a better job than Isen as a leader." He voiced his opinion.

I see...

- "And now with Cecile again in charge, we're going to recover all of those interesting articles we were working about!" He said, confident in Cecile's leadership.

- "Well, I also saw that with Cecile in charge, the school press was super interesting." I lied since I don't read the school paper.

- "With all those articles everywhere, I read the press work too."

- "Yeah? Which one did you like?" He cheerfully asked.

- "Students Cause Bomb Threat at Kovoro Mall." I said with a serious tone.

- "I wanted to give my congrats to the writer." I added.

- "He was anonymous." He said back.

- "So no way to tell then, what a bummer." I replied with a serious tone.

- "Yeah..." He muttered.

- "Well, the interesting part of that article was that it blamed Remi, Blyke, and Isen as perpetrators of that bomb threat." I mentioned.

- "But I was talking with them, and to check if this story was true since I don't think they could have done something like that." I said, recalling what Remi told me about them.

- "And they told me something that piqued my interest." I said with a serious tone.

- "The one in the price booth had an invisible sidekick with him." I said while looking straight at him.

- "I find it curious since not so long ago before that incident, I was being followed by an invisible guy too." I said while making eye contact.

- "So I assume he's the same person." I said while looking at him in the eyes.

- "Hey, I have to do something else now..." He mentioned, trying to leave the room.

- "Sorry, but I have to leave, we can talk another day if you want-" He managed to say before I interrupted him.

- "But hey, what's the rush?" I abruptly asked him.

- "You said that you had a lot of free time, and you don't need to hurry." I kept pressuring him.

- "Yeah... but I remembered that-" He tried to avoid the subject and run away, but I won't let him.

- "Don't play games with me." I said, going straight to the point.

- "I know that you are that anonymous writer, Terrence." I faced him.

You're not going to escape this time.

You're going to tell me anything you know.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #22 END --

Chapter Text

--- Safe House Club ---

--- Seraphina’s POV ---

- "I know that you can make yourself invisible." I said with a serious tone.

- "And that price booth is related to my ability loss." I added.

- "And since you were with him, you have to know!" I said while raising my voice up.

- "So you better start talking. Now!" I demanded while raising up my voice.

Then, he starts to look different.

He finally let his true color shows up.

- "Look. This is why I don't like to share any details of my ability." He said with a serious tone.

- "Since it's a stealthy ability, they always think that I have to be a bad guy, a thief, or being involved in sh*t I don't want to be part of, we have that bad reputation." He said with an annoyed tone.

- "So I don't know what the hell are you talking about, really." He said with an upset face.

- "I'm really sorry for what happened to you..." He added.

- "But I assure you that I have nothing to do with it." He said, trying to clear himself from all this.

- "Just because you are or were a high-tier doesn't allow you to talk to me like that either." He stated.

- "So I would like an apology." He said, trying to victimize himself.

- "And don't you ever talk to me again after this." He said with an upset tone.

Huh?

Does he actually think that I would buy a lie like that?

- "Wait!-" I said before getting interrupted.

- "I said don't talk to me." He said while activating his ability in order to lose our track of him.

Then, Arlo and Isen stepped in.

- "Hey there! Leaving so soon?" Asked Arlo, stepping in when Terrence was about to leave.

- "She was just trying to make friends with you, what's wrong with that?" He asked while using his barrier.

- "We heard what you said earlier." Said Isen, while powering up.

- "Then what's your problem with me then?! Leave me alone!" Said Terrence, trying to get them off.

- "Well... the thing is that you didn't tell us how you got that sudden inspiration to write that article." Said Arlo, trying to intimidate Terrence.

- "What about the bomb threat article?" Isen asked him.

- "I-It was just a dumb theory I thought about, and then I heard you talking to Remi and Blyke about it, and connected the dots, it was just a fluke! Are you happy now? Can I leave?" He was still trying to convince us that what he said is true.

- "You're lying." Said Isen with his ability active.

- "Your pulse is rather quickly now." He said.

- "And your pulse was calmer when Seraphina faced you before."

- "I almost buy what you were saying for a second, actually."

- "You're good, I'll give you that."

- "Also we know that you're hiding your true power."

- "That's-" He managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "A mid-tier with invisibility isn't capable of staying invisible for a lot of time, and definitely is not capable of maintaining his ability after receiving damage." Said Arlo.

- "So speak. Now." He demanded.

- "Okay, okay, calm down. I'll talk, but you have to promise me that you won't hurt me." Said Terrence, trying to negotiate his safety.

- "Alright, we won't hurt you, so speak." Said Arlo.

- "You know that this school is super prestigious, therefore, is super expensive." He stated.

- "The reason I had to leave my old school, and we had to move here to Wellston with my family was because we couldn't afford that previous lifestyle." He explained.

- "But ever since we got here, there are few to no job opportunities here, luckily my parents found stable jobs, but they don't pay that much." He commented.

- "So one day, I saw a part-time job offer on the internet that look out for stealthy abilities, it didn't matter the level, neither the age of the user, it was a high-paying job, like the ones that high-tiers have." He recalled.

- "So I went to an interview, I managed to pass and they gave me tips for improving my ability right after." He said.

- "I knew that it wasn't for a good thing, so I was planning to let it be temporary, but what other option did I have?" He explained.

- "This school is going to ensure that I could get into a good university and to do well in life, and I didn't want to burden my parents with some ridiculous impossible-to-pay debts." He said, trying to defend his actions.

- "But you probably aren't going to understand this since all your life have been blessed with power and with an easygoing life." He expressed.

- "I did what I had to do." He said with determination.

- "Do you know who they are and what they do?" Asked Isen.

- "No, I knew that it was dangerous, so I didn't do any question, I just did what they told me, that's it." He answered with sincerity.

- "What did they tell you to do?" Asked Arlo.

- "Well, they asked me to watch all the high-rankers in this school, and make reports about you. I don't know for what goal though." He answered.

- "Also they called me to do works for them, like the ones that you already know." He recalled what they asked him to do.

- "And everything was confidential, every time someone different called me, and they gave me the money right after the job I had to do was done." He kept recalling.

- "But what about the price booth vendor guy?" I asked him.

- "I didn't know who was he, that was the first and last time I ever saw him." He answered.

Right now everything he's saying seems consistent with what we've theorized.

His transfer to Wellston...

His unusual rank, due to the feats he can do with his ability...

And his fixation with high-tiers and all their actions...

Also, Isen hasn't stopped him.

So... he's telling the truth.

This guy has nothing we can use.

- "Guys, enough." I said, stopping Arlo and Isen.

- "He doesn't have anything useful." I added.

- "And you saw with your ability that he isn't lying, right?" Arlo asked Isen.

- "Yeah... he's telling the truth." He answered.

- "So what do we-" Isen was asking me, but for some reason, I couldn't hear him.

So this is it?

In the end, I didn't get anything new.

Is not fair.

- "...ina? Seraphina? Hello?" Said Isen, with a worried face.

- "What?" I said, reacting to his voice.

- "What do we do now?" He asked.

- "I... don't know." I answered.

- "Hey, you said that you were doing that to pay your tuition here, right?" Isen asked Terrence.

- "Yeah." He answered.

- "You said that you leveled up too, right?" Isen asked again.

- "Yeah, I'm a 4.1 right now." Terrence replied.

- "In case you didn't know, elites and high-tiers study here for free, as a scholarship." Said Arlo.

- "Really?!" Terrence asked surprised since he didn't know this benefit.

- "Yes, so how about you stop doing such stupid things to get money to pay for your tuition?" Asked Isen.

- "Sure, that's why I did it in the first place, and I've gathered enough money though, so I was going to quit anyway." Said Terrence, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

- "Well, that's it? Can I go now?" He asked.

- "No, I'm going to report you to the headmaster now. Look forward to your punishment." Said Arlo with a severe tone.

- "Wait what?!" Terrence asked with a surprised tone.

- "That wasn't our deal!" He claimed.

- "I don't remember making any deal, and you've done some terrible things, be grateful that I'm not going to report you to the police instead." Said Arlo with a serious tone.

Then, Arlo took Terrence to the headmaster.

- "Poor dude." Said Isen, feeling pity for Terrence.

- "I don't care, Isen." I said with indifference.

- "Oh... right." He said, recalling what happened to me.

- "I'll just go home for now..." I said with negativity.

- "I... need to think all of this." I added.

- "Okay..." He said, with a worried tone.

- "If you want me to investigate anything else, just give me a call, okay?" He said, offering his help.

- "Thanks..." I answered.

- "I'll see you around then." I said while heading off.

Then, I leave the room, to head to my dorm.

In there, I can think about what to do right now.

I don't know where to start now.

I don't want to stay like this forever.

I really don't.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #23 END --

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

John's POV

- "Mons-"

Stop haunting me, Claire.

I'm trying my best to move forward here.

And I would be doing better if you didn't appear every day.

And as always, is the first thing I remember after waking up.

It has been almost a week now since my dad is in the hospital.

Luckily, dad managed to contact his editor, since his phone had broken in the attack, and all his stuff is in New Bostin, so he brought things like clothes, a laptop, and he even lends him a phone, and I haven't visited him in this week at all, because of school classes.

So I make sure to call him to check how he's doing.

Also, I've been training with Remi these days.

Mostly, we're training on the roof of the school after classes, and we go out to the park to train there too.

In that training, we mostly do sparrings, and then I try to teach her some self-defense techniques, like the standard stance for parrying into an arm hold, its variations, and some possible scenarios.

I checked the clock, and it's 6:00 AM, perfect timing since it gives me enough time to do my morning routine and prepare myself for class.

Then, I get up, and quickly dress up for my morning routine.

- "You up?" I called for Doe, as always.

This can be seen as something repetitive every day, but honestly, I couldn't get through the day without it.

After playing with him for a little while, I started to prepare breakfast.

Since today seems to be a long day, I did some egg sandwiches for me.

And as soon as I finished preparing them, I proceed to give Doe his food.

--- Wellston Private High School, 1 Hour and 30 Minutes Later ---

After arriving at the school campus from our jogging, I notice a student that was being bullied.

Typical.

But what wasn't so typical this time, was that the girl actually defended herself from his bully.

Not too long after this, the guy brings along two more people.

Then, I start getting irritated by this.

F*cking coward.

You've been defeated.

Accept it.

Or come back when you're stronger if you can't.

That's the only two options you have.

Not doing some coward and wimpy tactics like ganging up against someone because you can't beat him by yourself.

I can't stand it.

And so, I got closer to where they are, as my irritation grew more and more with every step.

- "You are actually this garbage?" I asked them in a menacing tone.

- "And who the fu-" One of the students was saying before turning around his head.

- "WAAH! I-IT'S JOHN!" He said with fear in his voice.

- "You." I said while pointing out to the student who was defeated earlier.

Then, the student I pointed stays still.

- "W-What do you want from me...?" He said while cowering in fear.

- "You were so eager of having a rematch with her?" I asked him.

- "Go ahead. I dare you." I challenged him.

- "You don't have to be so shy just because your cheerleaders ran away." I said with a sarcastic tone.

- "Come on. Don't make me wait. Unless you would like to fight me instead." I said with an intimidating tone.

I'm trying my best to not beat the sh*t out of him myself, actually.

Just because I'm with Doe this time, and I won't put him in danger.

I wouldn't forgive myself if this happens again.

Then, he started to charge against the girl after activating his ability.

He didn't even hesitate.

And she takes a posture that I recognized immediately.

That's the standard posture for parrying that I use.

She parried his punch, and then she throws a counterstrike that landed right to his face.

Then, the student ran away, humiliated by his defeat.

Pathetic.

I think I've seen this girl before...

Yeah, I have.

Her name is Evie, I believe.

- "Evie, right?" I started the conversation by confirming her name.

- "Yeah, that's me." She confirmed.

It would've been pretty awkward if I mistook her for someone else.

- "This is like the first time I saw anyone defending themselves successfully from bullies." I said, a bit surprised by this.

- "It wasn't that successful... if you hadn't intervened I would've been beaten up right now."

- "Don't thank me, I just that I can't stand that kind of behavior in people."

- "Anyway... where did you learn that?" I asked her.

- "What thing?" She asked back.

- "How to defend yourself. That's my fighting stance. And don't answer my question with another question." I said while glaring at her.

- "Well... Seraphina taught me that." She finally answered.

- "Really...?" I asked surprised.

- "Yeah..." She replied right after.

Huh...

To think that she actually has been teaching people to defend themselves...

But it doesn't seem to be enough.

- "You didn't even bother to use your ability too. Why?" I asked her.

- "It's... because is a useless ability, I can just generate light from my hands." She said as she showed me her ability.

It's true, it is a useless ability.

She has to be ranked fairly low on the ladder.

Although is better to have something to work on, rather than not using it.

- "Then why not using it anyway?" I asked her.

- "It's better to use everything you got against your opponents." I explained.

- "But... I can't think of any way to fight with my ability." She answered. 

- "You can blind them or use them as a distraction, your performance back there wasn't bad, but you could have done better." I said.

- "For example, the parrying stance can be used to make an opening to an arm hold." I explained.

- "That way, and pressing to the opposite side of the elbow movement, you could've broken his arm, and that fight would've much easier."

- "But... isn't that too cruel?" She shyly asked.

- "So what? You would be willing to be beaten up unconscious just for being merciful?" I said to her.

- "You're joking, right?" I questioned her.

- "You don't know what they're capable of, so it's better to let them know that you're not someone to mess with." I suggested.

- "There's no place for mercy in a fight." I said with conviction.

Then, Evie stayed silent for a while.

Probably, she hasn't even thought about winning a fight in her life.

But this couldn't be called a victory either.

Having to fight against your will every day...

Those fights are just empty victories.

Those fights don't have any worth to begin with.

- "Think about it." I said to Evie while walking away.

Then, I'll just head to the dorms, in order to prepare for class.

--- After Classes ---

Finally.

Now I can visit my dad in the hospital.

The visitor's schedule is going to close so it would be better to hurry.

- "Oh, hi, John!" Remi greeted me.

Well, at least I don't have to text her explaining myself.

- "Hi, Remi." I greeted her back.

- "Ready for today's training?" She asked me with enthusiasm.

- "Uhh, I think I can't today." I answered.

- "I'll visit my dad today at the hospital." I excused myself.

- "Oh... I see..." She said while all her enthusiasm vanished in a flash.

- "You can tag along if you want to though." I said out loud.

...

...

...

Wait.

Wait a second.

What the hell did I just say?

- "Just ignore w-" I managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "Sure." She answered after thinking a bit.

- "..." I remained silent for a bit.

- "Can I ask why first?" I asked her.

- "Well, remember that day when I told you I was going to accompany you?" She said back.

- "Yeah." I answered.

- "Well, the thing is that I never did, and I'm not the type of person who likes to breaks promises." She explained her reasons.

Oh right, she said that last week.

I was growing more and more anxious at every second, so I went without her that day.

And honestly, it was for the best, actually.

I couldn't tolerate it when those nurses were mocking my dad.

- "Let's go then." I said while leading the way.

-- unOrdinary: Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #24 END --

Chapter Text

Hello everyone! SirTuskz here!

Well, I'm going straight to the point, this announcement is to tell you that I'm going to make some changes to the fanfic:

1) As you might've noticed, the title of the fanfic has been shortened to Joker's Aftermath and Transition. 

Even if this was a bit evident, I still had to tell you, since it's a change after all.

2) I'm trying to change my writing style from a 1st Person POV to a 3rd Person POV, this is because I think it will fit more with the things I want to make for the fanfic's future plot.

Also, I will not edit the whole story because of this, this is from now on.

So this chapter's week might take more time than usual, I'll try to avoid this situation though, and maintain my somewhat fixed schedule.

But, still, I'm going to consider your thoughts on the subject, so I would like to read your comments on what you're thinking about this.

Well, also remember to take care of yourselves by wearing a mask when you're going out, wash your hands with disinfectant or soap, and every other measure you can take is okay.

And that's it! I'll see you in the next chapter!

Peace :D

Chapter Text

--- Wellston's General Hospital ---

John and Remi took a bus to the hospital and in the meantime, they were talking about little things, mostly, about theories and visualization training while heading to the hospital, and both of them paid attention to everything that the other was talking to.

Remi didn't have the need to tag along with John, and he didn't need to invite her either, but it was just that they enjoyed their company, even if they weren't direct about it.

But both of them are so occupied with their own things. John, trying to figure out the attackers of his father, and Remi, is training to be strong enough to defeat Volcan since she was suspecting of Arlo's Aunt to be her that they couldn't think about anything else.

No time for taking it easy.

No time for everything else.

They're both moving on their things while cooperating.

But nonetheless, they were still knowing each other.

- "Alright, we're here." John said.

- "Let's go." Said Remi.

Then, both registered in the visitor's book and enter the room where William was in.

- "Hello, John!" William said while trying to wave his hand, only to find out that he couldn't raise his arm that high.

Then, he saw a girl with pink hair entering the room behind his son.

- "Woah! You brought company~!" William said with a smug face.

After thinking a bit, William realized that she was the girl that John has been talking to before the attack, but still wanted to lighten the mood by making small talk.

- "Oh, wait, let me guess..." He said with confidence.

- "It's Remi, right?" He asked.

- "Yes, that's my name, but how did you know about me?" Remi asked with curiosity.

- "Well... John has talked to me about you before." He said.

Then, John started to blush a bit and began to curse his own foolishness to believe that he would not say a word about it.

- "Nice to meet you, I'm William, John's dad." He presented himself.

- "Oh, nice to meet you too!" Said Remi with a cheerful tone.

Then, both of them shook hands, as any proper polite introduction should be.

- "Hey, I'll go to the bathroom, I'll leave you too to know each other for a while." Said John, while going out of the room.

But, Remi was astonished by the injuries William had in his body, as she wondered the reasons for that attack.

So, she remained silent for a while.

- "What is it? I don't bite." William began the conversation with Remi.

- "Uhh... Those are some serious injuries." Remi awkwardly said since she was still shocked about it.

- "Yeah... well, that's a risk in my profession." He commented.

- "Oh, right, since you're a writer and all that." She said out loud.

- "How do you know about that?" Asked William, because he didn't remember telling everyone, and John is not the kind of person that would say that just because.

- "Well, in the news they pretty much said that you were the author of Unordinary." Remi commented, recalling what happened when they were at Woaba's.

- "Wait, what?!" He asked with a surprised tone since he hasn't seen any news since he is bedridden right now.

- "Most importantly, John was super worried about you!" She said, since that was the first time she saw John in that state, it was nothing short of shocking.

- "Really?" He asked.

- "Yeah..." She answered.

- "Also, Remi, you seem rather unfazed by the fact I'm the author of an infamous book." William said, noticing this fact, which was something unusual for him.

- "Why is that?" He asked with curiosity.

- "Well, I honestly would've liked to read your book, my brother read it and he really liked it." She answered with sincerity.

- "That's refreshing to hear." Said William with a smile.

- "Well, I can't really move that much right now, but, if you lend me a pen, I think I can give you an autograph with a dedicatory to your brother, what is his name?" He asked.

- "His name was Rei... but don't bother yourself, because... he isn't here with us anymore." Said Remi, with a painful sadness that was inhabiting her voice.

Then, the awkward silence was surrounding the room.

- "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" He managed to say before getting interrupted by Remi.

- "Don't worry, I know that you didn't mean anything bad by asking that, I think that he would've felt honored, actually." Remi regained composure again since she knew that William didn't have any ill will by saying that.

But even if she knew, the fact that Rei wasn't alive, she was still grieving his loss.

No one is able to bear that kind of feeling without feeling anything about it, and Remi is no exception.

And that is something that she is going to deal with for the rest of her life.

- "Anyway, I wanted to ask you, what was your inspiration for writing Unordinary?" She asked, trying to change the subject and avoid touching that subject anymore, not just for him, but for her own good too.

- "This is the second time actually someone asks me that, well, you see, when you've been through different types of injustices like me, you wonder, what if society worked in a different way from what it does right now?" He said with enthusiasm what he had in his mind when writing Unordinary back then.

- "So, with this in mind, I started to think, what if nobody had power? How would society worked if everyone was powerless except for one person?" He asked.

- "A person who can see the strengths and weaknesses of everyone, and as a person who wanted to minimize suffering, what would that person do to make this possible?" He added.

- "And well, the protagonist is based on me, actually, and I thought what I would do if I had the power to change things. Basically, I'd build a world that is open to everyone, not one that only favors the most powerful." He admitted.

- "I see..." Remi said while trying to understand all the creative process of a writer.

- "But, that actually sounds like a really great idea." She said with a smile on her face.

- "Also..." Then, they kept chatting, since it was the first time they've met.

When John came back, he saw that they were chatting just fine, so he just simply let them be.

And instead of interrupting them, John pulled out a set of cards and chips that he packed before, all this while listening to the conversation that Remi and his dad were having.

And since he knew that William wouldn't give him information about his attackers, in all the previous visits, John has not pressured him about that issue, but John didn't give up on that so easily.

- "Dad." John said out of a sudden.

- "What is it, son?" Asked William.

- "Are you gonna tell me something about your attackers?" He bluntly asked.

Even if John wanted to get that out of his mind, he was unable to do it, it's something that has been bugging him out since the incident.

- "Nope." He kept denying like the last time.

And William was prioritizing John's safety over everything else, even if John was powerful, he knew that no action comes without a consequence, even if John had higher chances to succeed in what he wanted, the chances to lose was never zero.

- "Why? I told you that I'm capable of taking care of those f*ckers." He stated without even doubting his capabilities.

 - "Yeah, nice try but no, you might be strong, but you're not invincible." His dad said while remembering what John told him about Seraphina.

- "We've talked about this before, and I won't give in." He stayed firm in his decision.

- "Okay, I see that you are firm about it, so let's play poker instead, okay?" Said John, trying to lighten up the mood by changing the subject.

Then, John started to shuffle the cards, since they are used to play card games, his shuffling was fast and clean, like a professional croupier.

- "You want to play, Remi?" He asked.

- "Sure!" She said.

- "Wait, you know how to play, right?" He asked, just to make sure.

- "Yeah, it's just that I haven't played in a while." She answered.

Then, John started to give the cards to Remi and his dad.

Now everyone had cards and chips, and the game had started.

The starting community cards were a 6, an Ace, and a Queen.

While John and William knew their respective playstyles, they didn't know how Remi played, and this made them cautious of her, and vice versa.

Then, the game followed its natural course and everyone looked at their cards.

But neither John nor William would call yet since they didn't know the other one's hand were, but they had good cards with them.

- "Raise 100." Said Remi, without hesitating right at the start.

*So fast!* Both John and his father thought at the same time, while at the outside they were unfazed.

- "I'll match that." Said John without hesitating.

 - "Same, call." Said William with a stiff face.

Then it came to the other card was an 8.

- "Raise 150." Said John, with full confidence in what he can get in this hand.

- "I'm out." Said William, because there was nothing there that benefits him, and his hand wasn't that strong and he needed to be careful not only with John but also with Remi. 

- "Then I'll match that. Call." Said Remi, continuing the game.

Then, the last card was 4.

- "Check. Three of a kind." John said while showing his hand, but he was abruptly interrupted by Remi.

- "Check." She finally showed her hand.

She got a straight.

The real reason Remi was so confident in this round was that she got a pretty good hand, which was better than the hand John had.

- "Oh, that was a good game!" Said William with a surprised tone, since he didn't expect that twist at the end.

- "So you really knew how to play huh." Said John, a little disappointed because he didn't win.

- "Well, yes, I like to play card games." She said with honesty.

- "Well, let's keep going then." He said, continuing the game.

After playing a few rounds of Poker, everyone won some rounds here and there, due to luck, or due to a bluff.

That is the entertaining thing about Poker, not necessarily the one with the best hand has to win all the time, even psychological factors like betting more or fewer chips to the pot is a huge deal.

And then, John came up with an idea.

- "Then... how about we do this instead." John said out of a sudden.

- "If I lose I'm not going to ask you ever again about it." He stated.

- "But if I win, you're gonna tell me everything about what happened that day." He added.

- "What do you say, dad?" Asked John about this proposal.

- "Hah... okay." William sighed, but agreed to it, since he can also get what he wants with this, and finally get John to move on.

And John instinctively knew... 

That it was his only opportunity to know about what truly happened that day.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #25 END ---

Le Bonus:

Poker hand ranking from highest to lowest:

Chapter Text

--- Wellston's General Hospital, Room 247 ---

As the hospital was surrounded by calmness, which is something that usually happens in Wellston's General Hospital, which is the perfect condition for patients to have a good recovery from their injuries and sicknesses.

Inside this calmness, there were three people inside the room, who were playing Poker to kill time and making their stay more enjoyable.

Since now it was a one versus one, Remi was the dealer this time.

As John and William started playing, both looked at their respective cards, and both of them did an unconscious smile.

They were so confident in their skills, that neither of them thought for a second that they would lose.

In order to win, they had to make their hands even better than it originally is, psychological factors are some of the things that make Poker unpredictable.

That's how William taught John, and that's how he learned.

But even if William could read John like an open book, that would not be a decisive factor, because the same can be said for him, because John, as he learned how to play he also learned his father's behaviors and patterns, so no one can predict the outcome.

The cards in the community cards were a 6, a 10, and a King.

- "Are you sure you want to keep going, son? I gotta say I have pretty good cards, you know." Said William, exuding confidence.

- "Then you want to check right away? Because I don't think you're winning this." Said John, demonstrating equal confidence in his cards as much as his father does.

- "Nah, I have to give you a handicap, so I'll call." Said William while smiling.

- "Me too. Call." Said John, continuing the game.

Then, the other card, which was a 3.

- "Call." Said William as soon as the card was there.

- "That was fast..." John commented.

*The most likely thing is he's bluffing me... but he has done this before, acting confident, and then he goes in and throws something different.* John was thinking while looking at his father.

At last, the last card, which was a 2.

*I really can't be sure, but it should be the same for him.* He thought before checking the cards.

- "Ready?" Asked John.

- "Yeah." His father answered without any hesitation.

- "Check." Father and son said at the same time.

Both of them showed their cards.

- "6-pair." Said William while showing his cards.

Then, John made a smirk.

- "10-pair, I win." Said John, showing his cards.

- "Uhh... what just happened?" Asked Remi with a confused tone.

- "You seemed like both of you had a Royal Flush or something like that." She commented.

- "That's how we play Poker actually." John answered.

- "Since I can't read him, I just went for a blind bet, I guessed it was the same for him." He explained.

- "Most of the time he's just bluffing, so I just went to the end with it." John commented as if their playstyle was the most normal thing in the world.

- "But most importantly, now that I won..." He added.

- "Can you please tell me what happened that day?" He asked.

- "Okay... a deal is a deal." Said William, since he had no other option left.

At this point, William was conflicted with himself.

- "Well... the thing is, that I was walking home from work, like every day." He started to recall what happened to him.

Even though he doesn't want to do it.

He knows that he has the obligation to tell John what happened to him that day, due to the deal they had.

- "And then, some people ambushed me." He said with a worried tone.

- "And I don't know who they were..." He explained.

- "Or what they wanted from me..." He added.

- "But it's obvious that they were targetting me." He stated.

He knows that, if he tells him, John would freak out.

- "They beat me up really bad, as you can both see." He said, trying to make them conscious about the danger involved in this.

- "They're dangerous, and honestly you can't win against them." He expressed his opinion.

He doesn't know how to make John move on with his life.

But still, he had to try.

- "And I don't want you to end up fighting against them." He added.

- "You're... a normal teenager, a high-tier at that, you can have a successful life, you might've been struggling before, but I can see that you're trying to move on, and I'm glad." He said while making a genuine smile.

- "You can be happy, that's the only thing I want." He expressed.

Even after all the things he had done, William never lost his faith in him. After hearing this, John was moved.

But, he also needed to hear the truth.

No matter how hard would be.

So, he stepped in.

- "Dad, you know exactly who they were. Tell me, please." He sincerely asked.

- "Okay... so, before I lost consciousness, and laying on the ground, I remember one thing that they said, one of them used a phone to call someone, I don't know who though." He explained.

- "What did they say...?" He asked without hesitation.

- "Penalization is done. You know what that means." Said William, while looking down.

*Penalization...* John thought for a little bit, the meaning of this word, but he was unable to find meaning in these words for a while.

Until a sudden spark of an unwanted memory came into his mind.

- "Then, where is your father now?"

- "The authorities haven't penalized him for Unordinary's publication?!"

- "It can't be..." John said out loud, remembering this unpleasant interrogation.

- "That's... that's impossible!" He said.

- "That's why I didn't want to tell you. I knew how you were going to react." Said William, explaining himself.

- "Are you still thinking of dealing with those f*ckers?" He said, referencing what he said a while before.

- "I... don't know." Said John, while losing his fighting spirit.

- "Just let it go, I've been penalized already, and I don't want you to get in even more trouble because of it." Said William, as a recommendation.

*What in the world could make John react like that?!* Remi was thinking to herself, while shocked by hearing William's story.

- "I... need time to think about this." Said John, while negativity was surrounding his thoughts.

- "It's getting late too, so I'll come to visit you another time." He said while remembering the visit's schedule.

- "Uhh... It was nice to meet you, William." Said Remi, while waving her hand as a goodbye sign.

- "Yeah, it was nice to meet you too." She said in a cheerful tone, trying to lighten up the mood.

Then, John and Remi went back to school.

--- Wellston Private High School, 1 Hour Later ---

The sun was bathing the school with a reddish-orange light, and the students were finalizing their classes and going back to their dorms, leaving a feeling of emptiness in the school campus.

As both of them came back from the hospital, Remi was worried about John, based on his earlier reaction about it.

Ever since William told them what happened to him, he has been silent since they got out of the hospital room.

So, in all this time, Remi has been thinking about how to approach this.

*Come on, just ask what is happening, is not that hard.* She forced herself to start a conversation.

- "Hey, John..." She started the conversation.

- "What is it?" He asked.

- "Well, first of all..." She said, making a little pause in the process.

- "Are you okay?" She bluntly asked.

- "I... don't know." He answered with sincerity.

- "You want to talk about it?" She asked.

- "Yeah... I feel like I need to talk about this." He answered.

- "Sure." She said with a gentle smile.

Then, they went to a peaceful place, where nobody goes, the school rooftop, the exclusive place for the Royals.

Once they got there, they both sit up next to each other, looking at the sunset that was happening right now.

- "The thing is, that I know what he meant when he said that." John said wh

When he said that, his face changed.

- "About the penalization." He remarked.

- "So I'm... I don't know what to do about it." He said.

Normally, John is confident, but when it's something related to the authorities, due to his past encounter with Keon, he hesitates, because he doesn't want to end up like that again at all costs.

*I've never seen him hesitating that much about something. I can feel that this is more terrible than I can imagine.* She thought, based on his reactions, that this is something way above them.

- "First, let's calm down, take deep breathes, and let's see what to do, okay?" She said with a cheerful tone.

Then, he starts to make a little smile and listens to Remi, and as he was breathing deep, that little smile fades away because deep down, he knows what he's going to face if he goes on, and the consequences of it.

- "Even if the ones who did that were the authorities?" He revealed the true reason for his struggling.

Then, Remi's face changes, she tried to cheer up John, but his reason was heavy enough to stop any optimism about it.

- "What...?!" She asked to that shocking revelation.

- "You heard me. The Authorities." John said with a serious tone.

- "Yeah I heard, but why?!" She asked, still not believing what she just heard.

- "It was because of his book, I'm sure of it." He said completely sure about this.

- "So in all this time, they didn't do anything to him because they didn't know who he was until recently, that is what it makes more sense to me right now."

- "And... I gave him the last hint." He said while putting his hand onto his head.

- "But how, you hate the authorities as much as I do, and you talked to them?" She asked.

- "It was... in an interrogation, they had someone with a lie detector ability." He answered.

- "They control the media, and they have enough resources to stop any of us." He said with a negative tone.

- "I honestly... don't know what to do." He said with nervousness.

- "I appreciate the effort you're making right now, really." He said, in response to Remi's help.

- "But... how do I do something about it?" He questioned.

- "In the end... I really am powerless after all-" He managed to say.

- "The John I know doesn't act like that." Said Remi, interrupting John.

- "The John I know is confident and strong." She said, based on what she has seen from him in detail.

- "Sure, you might have your temper, you might have your issues, but on the inside, you're capable of doing better, I've seen that with Doe." She recalled what they've shared with each other.

- "And... the John I know never gives up." She said while smiling.

- "Also, is not the end of the world, so let's think about what do we do now, everything takes time, I know, but giving up won't help us at all."

And with these words, John, who was giving up already because of his past experience with the authorities and his deeply rooted trauma with them, stand up once more.

- "You're..." He said while making a pause.

Then, John remained silent for a bit.

- "You're right." He said, after thinking about their conversation.

- "But still I have no idea what to do." Said John.

- "I need to think more about this." He said, regaining his usual composure.

- "Thank you, Remi." He said with a genuine smile, appreciating her help.

- "It's getting late now, so let's talk about it another day, okay?" He said while waving his hand.

After this, John and Remi went to their respective dorms, wondering what they could do about all this injustice happening right in front of them, an injustice that has to be stopped.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #26 END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories, Seraphina's Room ---

- "Sera, you're just a cripple."

Is the first thing that Seraphina remembered after waking up.

After she had that discussion with John when she discovered he was Joker, that phrase has been haunting her over and over.

Then, she grabbed the clock at her side and tried to freeze it using her ability, only to no avail.

*I don't know why I even try at this point...* Seraphina was thinking, resigned to the bitter truth.

*Knock Knock*

- "Seraphina?" Elaine asked after knocking on the door.

- "Are you okay?" She said with a worried tone.

- "Go away, Elaine." Seraphina said from behind the door.

- "No! You haven't been outside for the last few days! I want to help you, so please, talk to me about what's happening."

Then, Seraphina opened the door.

- "Leave me alone, please." She said.

After that, she immediately slams the door and locked it.

To be honest, Seraphina has been far from good.

When they were interrogating Terrence, as they were talking to him, she noticed that all he was saying was the truth, and he can't give her any new lead over her missing ability, because he simply didn't know any more details about what happened to her.

That was her only hope, and that vanished away.

And now, without anything to hold her still, anyone to keep her standing, she has been locked up in her room, unable to sleep well, waking up in the middle of the night, and every day, what John said to Seraphina that day, has more and more weight in those words every time she hears those words, and she's only going out for eating when Elaine isn't in the room.

This situation has been pressuring Elaine, and she's growing more and more desperate by the minute, unable to do something for Seraphina, as her roommate, and as her friend.

At first, she thought it was her imagination and just assumed that Seraphina went out earlier than her, but the next day, she noticed that something was wrong.

So, she tried to reach Arlo, to ask for advice, but lately, he has been unreachable, and nobody knows why.

Remi was her other immediate option, but she has been hanging out with John, and she is so scared of him that makes her avoid that option.

Other than that, she asked Blyke and Isen, *Maybe they would know something about it* she was thinking back then, and Isen explained the current situation to her.

Understanding a bit more of why she has been locked up, she feels like she's running out of options, so then, she has been preparing Seraphina's meals and such, and then goes to class, that is what Elaine has been doing in these last few days.

--- 6 Hours Later, Lunch Break ---

*What should I do...? Do I keep trying to contact Arlo? I'll try to contact Remi, but the idea of getting close to where John is... unsettling, maybe I'll-* Elaine was absorbed in her thoughts, that she didn't hear that someone was calling her.

- "A-AHEM..." A girl called her.

- "What is it?" Said Elaine while noticing the student at her side.

Elaine was so immersed in her thoughts, that she didn't listen to the girl who was calling her for a few minutes, as she was having lunch.

*Oh, she's the one who helped us to find Seraphina when she was kidnapped the other time... I think that her name was... Evie, or something like that.* Elaine remembered who was she.

- "Uhh... I wanted to a-ask you something...." Evie said while stuttering.

- "Be quick, I'm trying to think here." She said a bit annoyed that someone was taking her time because she could be thinking of a solution with it.

- "Where is Seraphina?" Evie asked her with a worried expression, matching with the tone she made the question.

- "L-Like, I haven't seen her at all for the last few days and I'm worried about her..." She added.

- "Funny coincidence, because I was thinking about the same thing." Said Elaine.

- "Is she fine?" She asked.

- "She's locked up in her room, and I don't know what to do..." Elaine answered with honesty, at this point, she only wanted help.

- "What happened?"

- "Bad news respecting to her ability, I was thinking to go and talk with Remi, maybe she can help me out, but she's now hanging out with John and..."

- "A-And what about him?" She asked a bit surprised.

- "Have you not seen him?! He's definitely a psychopath, and I don't want to be near him for like forever!"

- "I-I don't think that John is that bad..." Evie said as she stuttered, remembering what he said to her on another occasion.

- "Then, can you manage to bring Remi to my dorm?" Asked Elaine, and not really interested in hearing her opinion over John.

- "S-Sure!"

Then, with this task, Evie went to find Remi, not necessarily because Elaine ordered her to do it, but because she also wanted to help Seraphina.

--- Wellston's School Rooftop, 10 Minutes Later ---

The school's rooftop, an area exclusive for Royals, a place where the strongest can hang out, kill time, have lunch, and calm themselves from all the nonsense below.

Right now, John and Remi were sparring, due to a huge gap in their schedule that allowed them to do that, they've been training for the whole week, but John still has the upper hand.

- "I think we're good for today, let's rest." Said John after finalizing their sparring session.

- "Okay..." Remi said while recovering her breath.

Meanwhile, Remi was checking her phone, she noticed quite a few text messages from Elaine, but before she could open them, she heard some noise outside, and as she was distracted by that noise, she wasn't paying attention to what John was saying.

- "What happened?" He asked when he noticed it.

- "There's some discussion right below, I'll go check." She answered.

- "Okay." He replied.

Then, Remi stands up and walked to the exit.

When she gets there, she saw Evie discussing with Abel, the student who watches that only Royals enter the rooftop.

- "P-Please, let me pass! I need to tell something to Remi! It's urgent!" Evie was begging Abel.

- "Listen, I can't let anyone who's not a Royal enter the rooftop, you need to wait for her, don't make me repeat myself!" Abel said as he was getting annoyed by her insistence.

- "Well, I'm here, so calm down, Abel." Said Remi, to defuse the situation.

Then, as Abel saw this, he just walked away as he kept doing his guard.

- "What did you need to tell me, Evie?" She asked.

- "Well... Elaine asked me to get you to the dorms... it's about Seraphina..." She tried to explain the situation, but her nervousness didn't allow her to explain properly.

- "A-And she doesn't know what to do about i-it, a-and I'm worried about her too, a-and-" Evie managed to say with a lot of effort, because she was visibly nervous about it.

- "Alright,  let me pick up my stuff I leave on the rooftop and I'll go right after." She said, after understanding the gravity of the situation, even though she didn't understand everything about what Evie was saying, but what she did understand, is that is serious.

- "Thanks, Remi!" Said Evie with a smile on her face.

Then, Remi came back to the rooftop.

- "So... what was it?" John asked her.

- "Oh, well, it was about Seraphina, I don't know the details but she's... not fine." She answered.

- "Okay... I don't know how you could help with that one though." He commented.

- "Well, I have to meet with Cecile here. Who knows what she wants now. So see you later." He said.

- "Yeah, see you later, John." She said while waving her hand.

Then, Remi and Evie went to where Seraphina was, as John waited for Cecile on the rooftop.

--- 10 Minutes Later ---

Yesterday, John received a text message from Cecile, Wellston's Jack, as she wanted to talk with him about some news that she received recently, the door of the rooftop starts to move.

- "Excuse me." Said Cecile as she opened the door.

- "It was about time you showed up." John said a bit annoyed because she arrived later than expected.

- "So what do you want?" He asked, going straight to the point. 

- "Well, some of my contacts told me that the royals from Agwin wanted to meet us, perhaps for a duel or something like that." She informed.

- "If it's for a duel they have to be delusional, they couldn't even defeat that prick of Arlo, much less they're gonna defeat me, tell them to go f*ck themselves." He said, without much interest in what Cecile was saying.

- "John, you know how important are Turf Wars, especially here in Wellston." She said back.

- "If we don't do something maybe they'll just take over!" She added.

- "Still not interested." John replied.

- "But this will look bad for us later on, you know that usually, companies scouts for high-tiers, and Turf Wars is the best way to assert your presence for them." She stated.

What Cecile was saying was the truth.

The true reason why high-tiers are so high-demanded in companies is that when rival companies seek the same thing, like land to build-up a factory, or rights over new technology for expanding their business, they are allowed to duel in order to get what they want, which is something that happens a lot.

So, with Turf Wars, students can develop their abilities for the real deal, and a way to make themselves known to them.

That's how society works, the ones with power will always get what they want.

But for John, this was a waste of time.

Fighting against others, even if he is good at it, it wasn't a thing that he enjoyed doing anymore.

- "Again, what do we gain from this?" He asked.

- "We're already are the strongest school in the region by a long shot." John stated the facts.

- "If you want to go, then don't count on me." He added.

- "John, you can't neglect your responsibilities as King! You can't just ditch your job over that cotton candy!" Cecile said out loud.

Then, Cecile thought about what she said for a second.

- "What did you say?" John said while glaring at Cecile.

- "N-Nothing." She answered out of instinct as she felt the ominousness coming from John.

- "That's what I thought, and that is none of your business." John said coldly.

- "Also, if you're so interested in that kind of stuff, do it yourself." He added. 

Then, without saying anything else, Cecile, who couldn't understand John's reasoning, left the rooftop.

*Why did I react like that?* After she left, John kept thinking about it.

He was surprised after his strong reaction to what Cecile said, like, he needed to defend Remi... somehow.

He couldn't just let it slide, he simply just had to do it.

And then, after going to class, he made himself a big question.

Is she really... that important to me?

And... what is she for me?

As John was walking to class, he kept dwelling on these questions.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #27 END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories ---

As Remi and Evie arrived, Elaine was waiting for them at the entrance.

- "There you are, thanks for bringing her up here." Said Elaine.

- "And thanks for coming, Remi." She said while bowing.

- "No problem, is she in her room?" Remi asked her.

- "Yeah." She answered.

Then, Elaine, Evie, and Remi went to her room.

*Knock Knock*

- "Seraphina...?" Remi called her.

- "Remi...?" Seraphina asked back, surprised to see that Remi was behind the door.

Even if she seemed unfazed or unaffected externally, she actually was very worried about her current situation, as the only thing that kept her standing was the fact that she had a lead about where to find the responsible for this, and that vanished away.

When the door opens, Seraphina, who had been having sleeping problems, showed up.

And such problems, haven't helped her at all, as those have been clouding her thoughts, making her unable to move forward from her actual situation.

- "What are you doing here?" She asked.

- "I brought her here, because I'm worried about you, Seraphina." Elaine answered, with a worried face.

- "I know that what you're dealing with might be difficult." She added.

- "Might? Imagine not being useful at the one thing you're good at and being worthless all of a sudden." Seraphina said with a grumpy tone.

- "Also, I still don't understand why you're acting nice to me, I'm a cripple now, you're contradicting yourself, you know that?" She said while glaring at Elaine.

- "You know... I've been trying how to deal with all of this too." Elaine answered.

- "Not just for you, but for myself too, you're the strongest person I've ever met in my life, and at first, I respected you just for that, to be honest." She said with sincerity.

- "But after living here in the dorms with you, I've been knowing you more, and I saw all your efforts, like, you're not only just strong, you're good at studying, you have a great fashion sense, you have a lot of good things in you, you're a person, just like everyone else." She expressed her opinion.

- "I now see that I was wrong to act like that, criticizing your actions and everything else I did before." She said, in an attempt to apologize.

- "Yeah, like Elaine is saying, is not the end of the world, we can help you." Remi said with a cheerful tone.

- "Even without any leads?" Seraphina asked right away.

- "What? What happened?" Remi asked surprised.

- "It's just... that I managed to talk with the anonymous writer, Terrence, the one who has invisibility in this school. Long story short, he was involved with the booth prize that has those trackers, but all that..." Seraphina started to tell them what happened the other day.

- "Just for him to not being directly involved with them." She sighed.

- "I've been trying how to deal with this all these days... but I just can't." She said while recalling all the terrible things that happened to her.

- "Just the fact that I'm going to be powerless all my life... is enough to bring me down, and I remember that just before waking up, every day since then, but it's not something you'll understand now." She added, with a hopeless tone.

- "I know the gravity of your situation, Seraphina, and I do understand what it feels to be powerless." Remi replied with a serious tone.

- "How I couldn't avoid what happened to Rei, or how I can't even catch the one who did it." She said while looking down.

Then, Remi remained silent for a bit, with her eyes closed.

- "But I'm not giving up this time, I'll keep fighting until I can make it." She added after the pause.

- "I don't know how, but I will." She said with determination.

- "And I suggest you do the same." She added, trying to regain that spark of hope in Seraphina.

- "Yeah, we're all worried about you..." Said Evie, who was a bit behind Remi and Elaine, now entering the conversation.

- "Evie? What are you doing here?" Seraphina asked her.

- "I brought Remi here, and I heard all the conversation..."  Evie answered.

- "I-I just want you to come back to class, and hang out with us and all that." She said with sincerity.

- "I didn't know that about Terrence though..."  She added.

- "He didn't have any evil reasons to do so, he was just trying to stay here in Wellston, because he didn't have money to pay his tuition, and now he's suspended." Seraphina explained.

- "I-I didn't know that... I don't know what to say." Evie replied, astonished by hearing this.

- "B-But, like Remi was saying, it's not the end of the world, I've been dealing with this through all my life..." She said after a little pause.

- "We just need to stay together..." She added.

- "I'm sure that your issue will get fixed one day, everything takes time, it might be even tomorrow!" Evie said in a cheerful tone.

Then, Seraphina remained silent.

*Everything takes time...* Seraphina thought about this phrase, which now seemed like a distant memory. *I had forgotten about that.*

- "I've been so blinded by trying to recover my ability, that I lost sight of myself, also not being able to sleep well enough doesn't help much." She said while shrugging her shoulders at that last part.

- "It's just that... everything has happened so fast in this last time..." She added, like wondering when everything started going downhill.

- "Yeah." Elaine and Remi said at the same time.

Then, after seeing all these efforts of Elaine, Remi, and even Evie, who has been knowing since recently, was this worried about her, Seraphina could only think about one thing.

So... I'm not alone as I believed.

That's good to know.

And this brought her some sort of peace because since Seraphina ended her friendship with John, she has been feeling that way, alone.

- "Also... thanks." Said Seraphina, thanking them for their efforts.

- "And I'm sorry, Elaine, for behaving as I did in these last few days." She apologized for her previous behavior.

- "Don't worry, I know that what your situation is... difficult." Said Elaine almost immediately, without any resentment for it.

- "Yeah." Seraphina answered.

- "Also... you can call me Sera if you want to, I don't mind." She said with a little smile on her face.

Then, after seeing that Seraphina was showing a relieved face, they instinctively knew that they accomplish their mission.

After this, they stayed a while in her room to chat, until classes ended.

When people fall, others become cruel.

When this happens, the ones who fall needs to be patient.

Because they never know when life turns the tides into their favor.

Allowing them to stand up again.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #28 END ---

Chapter Text

--- In someplace near Wellston ---

In this peaceful night, a young woman woke up from her peaceful dreaming because she heard some weird noise inside the house.

It was 2 AM at the moment she looked at the clock, but the noises weren't stopping, so, the light red-haired woman gets up, and went to check that noise.

Thieves weren't something weird at all, especially because there are people with sneaky abilities out there, and thus, as she knew this fact, she activated her ability first before going.

When she arrived at the source of the noises, the lights were off, and she saw a big figure in the kitchen, which couldn't recognize immediately, and thus, she got closer.

- "Oh, it's you, bro, you freaked me out for a second." She said when she recognized that his brown skin and the light red hair of her older brother.

- "Why are you up so late? And why did you had the lights off?" She asked him.

- "The light bulb died just now, and I have to go cover a shift, work stuff, sorry for waking you up." He answered a bit annoyed because of this sudden work issue.

- "I was just preparing me some sandwiches for later." He added.

- "I see..." She replied.

Then, the man continued preparing his snack before going out to work, at this unusual hour.

- "But you don't have subordinates to cover shifts? I mean you're the boss of that new department, what was it, Emergency Bureau of...?-" She asked before getting interrupted.

- "It doesn't matter if you don't remember it, is classified after all, and also I don't have a replacement for this specific subordinate, since it's a dangerous and confidential job, I can't just send anybody, you know?" He defused the situation.

- "And nobody else is qualified to do it, neither in power or confidentiality, so I have to do it myself." He added, a bit annoyed for leaving his home this late.

- "That sucks, but you can change jobs whenever you want, though." She commented.

- "You know I can't, I couldn't be able to do something like that to him, after everything he has done for us, I owe him." He said, remembering a distant memory from his savior.

- "Yeah... but still, consider that option, okay? You might be strong, but you never know who will you face." She suggested, worried about her brother's safety.

- "Take care of yourself, okay? You're the only family I have left, and I don't want to lose you because of some random criminal." She said with a worried tone.

- "I'm gonna be okay, I'm strong, you know that, so go back to sleep." He said, trying to cheer her up.

- "Yeah, take care." She said while going out of the kitchen.

Then, the man went out of the house, and his sister went back to sleep.

--- Wellston Town, on the next day ---

As the sunlight was bathing the scenery in this peaceful morning, people were doing their own thing, shopping, hanging out, or simply just taking a walk.

Just like Remi and Isen, who were going out to simply eat something this weekend, normally, they would go out with Blyke too, but he was sleeping like a lodge.

- "Sorry I couldn't wake up that lazy bum, Remi, I guess he hasn't been able to sleep well lately." Said Isen.

- "Don't worry, Isen, we can grab lunch first and we can just get some burgers for him, is the least we can do." Remi replied.

- "Sure." He answered.

And so, they entered into a fast-food restaurant, which didn't have a super long line like other stores.

Then, they looked for a place to seat, and they looked at the menu right after.

- "Too bad they don't have Boba though." She sighed after looking at the menu.

- "Boba? I didn't know you like those." He said with a surprised tone.

- "Well, I went to a certain store called Woaba Boba once, and that drink was pretty good actually." Said Remi, recalling the time where she went with John.

- "Really? With who?" He asked with curiosity.

- "Well, with John, after we did well in a presentation for school." She answered.

- "Really..." He said without not too much enthusiasm of hearing about John.

Then, both noticed something that caught their interest on the TV.

They were passing the news, and what the broadcaster news lady was saying the next information:

EMBER Gang Strikes Again

"As you all know, EMBER has been leaving a trail of bodies in these last few months, but this time, the attack pattern was different to the usuals before, this time, the body was burned to the point that the investigators weren't able to tell the body's identity, and, as usual, they left only the infamous logo branded at the body's torso."

"Investigators suggest that this new pattern might be a product of new members entering their gang, and also that the victim might be a vigilante, so they are investigating the missing person entries in these last few days."

"But in any case, it is certain that EMBER is stepping up at their brutality to commit these heinous acts against vigilantes, and they're a group with unknown motives, this is why we strongly discourage vigilantism since there's a high risk of losing your lives by doing that kind of acts."

"Now, let's see what the authorities have to say about the situation..."

Then, Remi and Isen stopped paying attention, since they knew what the authorities have to say about it, just discouraging people with vigilantism, and try to brush all this trouble under the carpet.

*Burned...  but, without any stab wound?* Is one of the things that felt off for Remi, and so, she wanted to comment on that news with Isen, to check this issue.

- "What do you think, Isen?" She asked with a serious tone.

Isen remained silent for a while because he was processing that information in his mind first.

- "Well... we can tell for sure that it wasn't Volcan, due to the lack of stab wounds." He answered after the pause.

- "But, whoever this person is, is for sure bad news, new member or not." He added.

- "Burning someone to death just like that is twisted... not even Volcan was that vicious, but please, Remi, do not try to go superhero again." He said, worried about her sudden re-sparking interest with EMBER.

She already had this talk with Arlo, Blyke, and Isen, since she, with the last two people, had a close encounter with death, when they encountered Volcan, a member of EMBER, the mysterious criminal organization who kills vigilantes and anyone who stands in their way.

But, after her encounter with Valerie, Remi has been doubting that agreement, and now she has regained her momentum and her confidence, thanks to her training with John, and thus, Remi decided to re-take her pursuit.

- "The only thing I want to do is catching Volcan." She stated with determination.

- "But why?! You've agreed to not keep chasing her! What's with the sudden change?!" He asked with a worried tone, as he was raising his voice a bit.

- "Because..." She starts to explain what happened.

Then, Remi proceeds to tell Isen all the details about her encounter with Arlo's aunt, Valerie, which Remi heavily suspects that she might be, in fact, Volcan, because of her physical features, mannerisms, and voice, while Isen listened carefully to what she was saying.

- "No way..." He let out after hearing all of this, but at the same time, understanding her motives to re-take her chase on Volcan.

- "Remi, have you talked about this with Arlo?" He seriously asked.

- "Not yet." She answered, understanding the gravity of the situation.

- "Also, Arlo confirmed to you that she has a barrier-type ability, right? Then she might not be the one you're looking for..." He commented.

- "Yeah, but I can't be sure either, there's always the chance that she might've lied to him..." She replied, sure of what she passed through on that day.

- "So I'll guess you want me to investigate her, right?" He asked.

- "Yeah, can you do it?" She said back.

- "You know, this is the second time someone asks me to investigate someone from the authorities." Isen commented about this similarity he lived before.

- "Who was the first one?" She asked with curiosity.

- "Seraphina." He answered.

- "I already finished that though, but I need time to find some info about her, it was super difficult to find data about some guy named Keon, a high-ranking official, apparently." He explained.

- "Sure, just tell me whenever you have that info down, okay?" She asked.

- "Of course, I'll be on it when we get back." He answered with confidence.

Then, the food they ordered was ready, since they were calling them from the counter.

- "Oh, just in time, I was getting hungry!" He said while looking at the food.

- "Yeah, me too!" She added.

And so, they started to eat their burgers.

And as they tasted them the flavor of the ingredients mixed together, creating a delicious combination.

- "Hey, these burgers are super good! We should come here more often." Remi commented.

- "I know, right?" He agreed with her idea.

- "I think I can make burgers like this too!" She cheerfully suggested.

- "W-Well, your cooking is... unusual, that's for sure... so I don't think that is for everyone's tastes, why risking it?" Said Isen, trying to avoid the subject, since he knew that Remi's cooking was unique in her own way.

- "Well, apart from you and Blyke, also John has tasted what I make once, and he seems like he really liked it! So I don't know what you're talking about." She said with a cheerful tone.

- "You've been mentioning John quite a few times, you know?" Isen remarked this fact.

- "And you've been hanging out with him more often...?" He added.

- "So you're friends now, I guess?" He asked.

- "I guess so..." She vaguely said, without actually confirming at all her answer.

This is something that Remi never thought about before, but, she felt like, she couldn't just say that they were friends, she hesitated to do so.

Ever since Remi started to associate with John, at first, she had a well-defined line, but over time, that line has been blurring more and more, to the point that she is now unable to draw the line.

So, she started to question herself about it.

Is he really... that important to me?

And... what is he for me?

Then, Remi continued to dwell on these thoughts, as she and Isen returned to the school.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #29 END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

"Mons-"

*Until when are you keep going with this?* Is the first thing that John thought after waking up.

On this beautiful morning, the sun was up, and some of the sunlight was bathing the room through the parts that the curtain didn't cover completely, as John looked at the clock as soon as he woke up, and he checked it was 8:00 AM, but he wasn't unable to go back to sleep again.

Lately, John has been feeling a bit better, since now he can sleep without that much difficulty as before, although he is still haunted by his past, over and over during all this time.

*So... what is she for me?*As he was staying in bed for a while, he couldn't avoid thinking about those questions. *I can't find an answer to that yet.*

Thus, he got up from the bed, got dressed, and started his morning routine, as always.

- "You up?" John asked Doe.

Then, Doe, the dog that John has been taking care of ever since he encountered him, get closer, waving his tail from side to side.

It was such a simple thing, and for some reason, John has found it interesting in a way, and very often, he wonders why he enjoyed something like that.

Then, as he was preparing breakfast and Doe's meal, he started to think about the progress in Remi's training.

In the time that they've been training, she has been honing her hand to hand combat skills at a fast rate, as she has been winning a few of the sparring rounds that they practice every single day.

*She clearly has been putting a lot of effort into this...* He thought, as he finished preparing his breakfast.

Then, as he was eating his breakfast, he found it tasty enough, so he finished his breakfast, as he was eating with enthusiasm.

After breakfast, he started to play with Doe, mostly, he was caressing the dog's hair, because he found it relaxing, as it helped to clear his mind.

*So... what do I do now?* He started to think, as he checked his phone, only to see that he didn't have any message.

After this, he had made up his mind, as he got up, to start his exercise routine.

--- Outside the boys' dorms, 15 Minutes Later ---

Then, as John was going out of the dorms, he encountered Zeke around, who was wearing casual clothes.

Zeke has been trying to win John's approval, even though all the things that happened between them previously.

And John has been warding him off, with warnings and punches along the way.

- "Hello, John!" Zeke greeted John.

- "What the f*ck do you want?" John asked, already annoyed by his presence.

- "Uhh... nothing, I was just greeting you." He answered.

- "Move." Said John without even flinching.

- "Also... I wanted to say that I've been trying to prove myself to you!" Said Zeke while trying to avoid that John walked away.

- "What? And how exactly you've been doing that?" John asked him.

- "Well, of course, I haven't been tolerating any kind of insult against you from other students, so I've been teaching them a lesson for you! And I've ordered my lackeys to do the same!" He answered, proud of these pitiful actions.

At this moment, John couldn't comprehend what was happening inside Zeke's mind.

The only thing that he managed to get, is that Zeke was the biggest dumbass he has ever seen in his life.

Since John knew from experience, that beating up people who trash talk you only make things even worse, he has just been ignoring them.

But, even if he has been doing nothing about it, his reputation was as just as bad as the day he started to be King, even though he has not been doing any kind of order to anyone.

This was the true reason why even though John wasn't beating people up left and right without prior provocation like in New Bostin, he was still feared as a tyrant, and as an unstoppable monster.

Then, John just gave Zeke a punch straight to the face.

- "You f*cking piece of sh*t." He said as he grabbed Zeke's T-shirt.

- "You don't have anything better to do with your miserable life?" He said while glaring at him menacingly.

- "Nothing at all, that you have to be pestering me all the time?!" He asked as he was raising his voice.

- "And who said you can do things on my behalf at my back?!" He asked Zeke, while his rage was rising from inside.

- "F*CKING TRASH!" John yelled while clenching his fist.

Then, John started to punch Zeke multiple times, and Zeke was unable to do anything against John, since he was more powerful than him, with or without ability, this was his inescapable reality.

And in the middle of this, Zeke recalled some unpleasant episodes of his life.

About his family, who only cared for power and hierarchy, tossed him aside as a failure.

For not being a high-tier.

For not being King.

For not even being a Royal.

About his situation inside the school, destined to live under Arlo and Cecile's shadow.

About his current stagnation with his ability, as younger generations easily surpassed him.

Everything he does just ended in failure.

- "Then... what do I have to do..." Zeke managed to say, among all the punches he received.

As Zeke covered himself with his arms, this brought to John a fragment of his past, as Zeke did the same movement when he was punching Adrion, which make John hesitate for a bit.

*Why am I doing this?* He questioned himself, as he lost all his motivation to keep going further.

This time, John promised himself that he will do things right this time.

After that little pause, John stopped punching Zeke, and after a deep breath, he managed to regain his composure once again.

- "Just do your own thing, you don't need to prove yourself to me because I couldn't care less to have followers." He coldly said to Zeke.

- "Just don't involve me in your petty little power games ever again, or I'll just send you to the hospital as many times I need to." He added, to ensure that Zeke wouldn't act like this time ever again.

Then, Zeke stayed in there, without moving at all, but not because he was reeling the beating he just got, but mostly, because of what John said to him.

After that, John simply walked away and went to what he had planned to do.

--- 2 Hours Later ---

When John came back to the dorms after his jogging routine with Doe, he took a shower and dressed in his casual clothes, when he decided to look at his phone, and he noticed that he got a text message from Remi.

"Hi, John, you have time right now?" Was the initial message from Remi.

*But I just came back from jogging...*  He thought when he read that message.

"Yeah, I just came back from jogging." John texted back.

*I suppose that she wants to train or something...* He thought, trying to know why she texted him in the first place.

"Good, because I'm going over there." She replied back right away.

"Okay, then I'll wait." He replied back right after.

Then after a few seconds, John noticed that he hasn't done cleaning yet, so he started to clean the room and leave everything tidy until Remi arrives.

*Knock Knock*

Then, John opens the door, and see that Remi was wearing casual clothes, and not for training, which surprised him at first, since his guess was off the mark this time.

- "Hi." He greets her.

- "Hello." She greeted back.

- "I was thinking that you wanted to train though." He said, voicing out what he was thinking.

- "Well I do... but it has been a lot of time since..." She replied with honesty.

- "There he is!" She said as she noticed where Doe is right now.

Then, Remi goes to where Doe is, and start to caress and play with him.

One of the reasons Remi went to visit John, was because she wanted to see Doe once again since she hasn't seen him since last week. Even if is not her pet, she still has taken a liking for Doe.

- "So that's your other reason then." He let out what he was thinking.

- "Well, not that I mind really." He added with honesty.

- "Yeah, but hey..." Remi tried to initiate a conversation.

- "What is it?" He asked.

- "You know, I've been thinking about the Safe House, and the flaws you mentioned time ago." She commented.

- "Really?" He asked.

- "Yeah, and well, I got an idea of how to cover that." She said.

- "Go on..." He let Remi continue her point.

- "Well, you mentioned that students are targeting fellow club members outside the club, so as a countermeasure, we can add a hall monitor club to patrol hallways and the courtyards!" She explained.

Another of Remi's reasons to visit John was to discuss the progress of their plan to fix all the imbalance and injustice inside the school.

- "That's a good idea you come up with, actually." He let out his opinion.

- "Yeah, but is not actually my idea, in fact, Isen come up with this idea, to be honest." She corrected him.

- "Oh... now I feel bad for praising that rat's idea." He let out without thinking.

- "But... I guess that even a broken clock is right twice a day." He honestly expressed.

- "What do you mean by that?" She asked.

- "I mean that I'm not that fond of people like him, to be honest, but, that is a good idea." He answered.

- "And also, Isen isn't a rat." She said with a serious tone.

- "Yes he is, he even looks like a rat, pointy ears, red eyes..." He said while pointing out those characteristics.

Then, Remi remained silent, thinking about what John said just a moment ago.

- "Now that you mention it, you do have a point." She said while letting out a short giggle.

- "But anyway, don't mock my friends like that in front of me, please." She added with a serious face.

- "...Okay." He said, after seeing that she didn't like his comment that much.

- "Anyway, I included that idea in the things we could say to the headmaster." She changed the subject.

- "Alright."  He agreed.

- "Also, we can suggest making more clubs, so that people can join, and they could develop useful skills, and get something productive to do instead of just wandering around, what do you think?" She suggested another idea.

- "Well..." He said while making a little pause.

Then, as they were talking about new measures, and things they could do to fix the school, which is a thing that affected both of them, new ideas came up, and the conversation flows naturally between the two.

--- 3 Hours Later ---

After the long conversation that John and Remi just had, correcting ideas, rejecting them, while polishing the good ideas to the point that they could last over time, however, they both felt like they were progressing with this.

- "Okay, that was productive!" Remi let out after they got a more defined list of what they have to do.

- "Yeah." John agreed with that.

The measures that both thought about to fix all this imbalance, and tension between the low, mid, elites and high-tiers are summarized in a list, that had written the next:

1) Create a hall monitor club, anyone can join, and this club will be supervised by a member of the school's faculty. 

2) Put flyers around the school to promote the rejection of bullying in all kinds of sorts, while encouraging students to denounce these bad behaviors to the teachers and hall monitors.

3) Make interviews from time to time with low-tiers and bullying victims, to tell their experience in the hierarchy, to make the students feel a bit of empathy. 

4) A bilities cannot be used for violent purposes, such as bullying or personal vendettas for example, although abilities can be used for training and for self-improvement purposes, and the ones involved in the training, in the case that it's more than one person, everybody has to agree to train together.

5) Replace the current Hierarchy System and create a Student Council Based System, by popular election, and respective representatives spots for low, mid, elites and high-tiers.

*If only my brother could see this...* This sudden thought invaded Remi's mind, and the weight of this, changed her face in seconds.

While Remi was grieving, John noticed that.

- "What's wrong?" He asked, with a worried tone.

- "Oh, uhh... it's nothing." She tried to hide her grieving, to not increase John's worrying.

- "Of course not, your face changed all of a sudden." He said while seeing right through her.

- "I'll ask again, what's wrong?" He said.

- "I was just thinking about my brother." She answered with honesty.

- "I remember you said that he is not with us, and that he was murdered, but what happened with that?" He asked, trying to know more about it.

- "He... was murdered by Ember." She answered after a while.

- "Ember?" He asked a bit surprised.

- "Yeah, he was a vigilante." She stated.

- "He tried his best to keep people safe, he had the best intentions in mind..." She said with a melancholic tone. 

- "B-But..." She couldn't finish her phrase, it was still too much for her to recall that event yet, so she remained silent.

After Remi, then John remained silent.

Not because he needed time to process all of this.

But because he remembered something he said in the past.

As far as I can tell...

Your brother is just as useless as every other high-ranker.

And you're an idiot for believing he actually made a difference.

Your brother can go to hell for all I care!

Then, John put his hands in his head, because he couldn't believe what he said.

Because deep down, he admired vigilantes, and their disinterested acts, just to help others, something that he believes isn't capable to do.

His self-hatred was becoming stronger and stronger by the second.

But, at the same time, John has learned that keeping this to himself, will only make things worse for him.

And this time, he promised himself that he will do things right.

To live the way he wants.

So John got closer to where Remi was.

- "I'm sorry... for what I said to you and your brother back then." He apologized with sincerity.

- "That was uncalled for." He added.

That phrase made a change in Remi, as John apologized for what he said on that day, she felt relief, for her own well being, and for John's well being.

That phrase made her see that people can truly change.

Also, that phrase made her recognize her final reason to come here.

She just wanted to see John.

- "It's okay. "She said with a gentle smile.

- "I don't know what is wrong with me..." He said while looking at his past self.

- "I really am a mons-" But before he could finish, he got interrupted.

So, when John was like this, Remi felt like she needed to act like it was now or never.

- "Don't say that." Remi interrupted John from finishing that phrase while getting closer.

- "You've changed, even if you don't believe it yourself."  She said, fully convinced of this.

- "It's possible to change." She stated with an honest conviction.

- "And I'll say this, not just once, but as many times as I need to." She added.

- "You're not a monster." She said, with sincerity, from the bottom of her heart.

This phrase, this simple phrase, made a change in John.

This phrase, this simple phrase, released him from that huge burden he was carrying.

This phrase, this simple phrase, re-sparked the light in the huge sea of darkness inside his mind.

At this moment, John and Remi were face-to-face.

Close enough, so they could perfectly see each other.

Then, as natural as it happened, John kissed Remi.

At first, it was something that didn't last for more than a few instants, but for them, it felt longer than it really was.

Then, they looked at each other for a brief moment.

And after that brief moment, Remi kissed John.

But this time, it was full of their feelings for each other.

Feelings that at first, didn't even exist.

Feelings that after that rocky start, it was just cooperation towards a mutual goal.

Feelings that, neither of them noticed when or how that turned into admiration for each other.

Feelings that converted into love.

And those feelings were expressed in a long and passionate kiss.

And at that moment, both knew their answer.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #30, END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

As the morning sun was bathing Wellston at this new start of the week, the students were waking up, and preparing themselves for classes.

And John was no exception, as he was waking up.

When he checked up the clock, it was 7:30 AM, which leave him with enough time to eat breakfast and prepare for class.

He had a peaceful sleeping, without any kind of interruptions.

*Crap... I forgot to set the alarm.*  John was thinking while he simply got up from his bed, took a shower, and dressed for school.

*If I would just wake up sooner, now I don't have much time to exercise...* He thought, while he was walking to the kitchen.

And Doe was already awake, as he was wandering through the room, missing that his friend hasn't come up yet.

So, when John appeared, he noticed this fact, and then Doe came closer, waving his tail from side to side.

When he arrived in the kitchen, he quickly prepared himself a sandwich, because that would leave him enough time to eat without worries, and also Doe's food, which he just needed to serve on his plate.

Then, when he began to eat his breakfast, he noticed something different.

*These are the same ingredients as yesterday, yet they feel tastier than before...* He thought, after finishing his breakfast. *That's weird.*

After this, he finally noticed something.

He didn't have nightmares.

No New Bostin.

No Claire.

No Monster.

This made John unconsciously smile, as he leaves the dorms.

--- 5 Minutes Later ---

As he walked to class, he started to distract from all the commentaries from the rest of the students.

"Hey did you do your homework?"

"Dude what homework?"

"Hi, guess what, today they are going to serve the triple chocolate cake in the cafeteria!"

"Really?! Awesome!"

"Hey, Mardin told me that Zeke canceled his previous orders..."

"Wait, what?  Why so suddenly?"

"I don't know really, Mardin told me that he seemed weird..."

"Hi, guys! How was your weekend..."

The wave of commentaries from all the students was endless.

He himself didn't know why he distracted like that, but quickly just walked to the classroom, while looking at his phone.

Then, he noticed that he received a text from Remi just now.

"Hello, John! I hope you have a nice day today! (^o^)" 

"Thanks, you too." 

"Also, you want to have lunch together? " 

"Sure, I'm free after lunch after all, how about we go to the rooftop?" 

"Then I'll see you there! (^ω^)"

It has been a lot of time since he could do that without anyone trying to bother him.

But mostly, he thought about the change in people the second they knew when he was a high-tier.

About the flaws of this hierarchy.

And by this, he reinforced his belief that the hierarchy needs to be destroyed.

--- Lunch Break, 6 Hours Later ---

When the class finished, John was feeling exhausted due to all the classes he got in this time, but at least, he finished them all, so he is free right now.

And now, coming from his room, since he first went to give Doe his food, he went to the cafeteria, but this was something usual for him.

So, as he was walking to the cafeteria, he remembered something.

*Wait, there's cake.* This sudden thought came by coincidence from what he heard earlier this morning.

The Triple Chocolate Cake, a delicacy that only a few could taste every month, due to the limited slices that are available for them.

As John arrived at the cafeteria, he saw a line that was so large that it curved all over.

He knew that the line was going to be large but he didn't expect that the line would be this large.

- "THERE'S NO MORE CAKES LEFT! SORRY!"The shouting from the cafeteria lady could be clearly heard all over the place.

Then, a gloomy aura could be felt from the students, as some of them left the line to be somewhere else.

After that, John just grabbed his lunch and headed to the rooftop.

--- School's Rooftop, 10 Minutes Later ---

When John arrived at the rooftop, he noticed that it was empty.

So, he decided to wait for Remi, but she arrived just a bit after.

After they encountered, John made a little smile, which made Remi blush a bit, and then she smiled back.

- "Hi, John!" She greeted John with a cheerful tone.

- "H-Hi." He greeted her back, with an awkward tone.

- "So... how was your day?" She asked, without finding a good way to initiate a conversation.

- "It was good really." He answered.

- "Nice..." She said.

Then, they remained silent.

The reason for this silence is because John and Remi couldn't avoid remembering what happened yesterday.

Therefore, they were nervous around each other, as they saw each other in a different way from before.

But this didn't last too much.

Because after all, they were the same.

And thus, they both understood that they didn't need to hide their true feelings from each other anymore.

*Wait why am I getting nervous for? Just talk to her...*  He questioned himself in his mind.

Thus, John decided to make the first move.

- "Hey, you got a slice of cake." He commented while looking at Remi's lunch tray, managing to break the ice.

- "Lucky you, there was an insanely large line in the cafeteria when I arrived, so they already give all the slices, what a bummer." He added, recalling what happened a while ago.

- "Yeah, I managed to get early to the cafeteria today." Said Remi when she managed to overcome her hesitation.

Then, for some reason, they started to laugh a bit, trying to leave out their awkwardness towards each other in some way.

In a sense, this helped to remove the tension that was generated from being overly conscious towards each other.

- "Honestly why we were so awkward..." Remi let out what she was thinking.

- "Yeah, I know right?" Said John, while feeling a bit of relief.

- "To be honest, I haven't been in this type of relationship with anyone before, so uhh... I kinda didn't know what to do." She bluntly said.

- "Yeah, me neither..." He said, agreeing with her.

- "Aanyway, I see that you didn't get a slice." She commented after seeing John's lunch tray.

- "I know, I know, I'll guess I just have to wait another month." Said John while sighing.

So, Remi cut in half the slice of cake.

- "Here." She said while giving her half to John.

- "Oh, thanks." He said while receiving it.

Then, John decided to taste the chocolate cake first, since this was the first time he actually gets to eat one since he enrolled in Wellston.

- "This cake is truly delicious." Said John after tasting it.

- "Right?" She agreed.

After this, John and Remi began to eat their lunches on the peaceful rooftop.

--- 1 Hour Later ---

After eating their lunches, John and Remi were chatting about the little things, about their tastes, in food, music, videogames, and a lot more.

But most importantly, they took this opportunity to know each other a bit more.

- "So... what do you want to do now?" Asked John.

- "Hmm... how about we train together?" She asked back.

- "Okay." He agreed.

But before they could stand up Remi had an idea in mind.

- "But how about we use our abilities this time?" She suggested.

- "I told you before that this was without abilities involved." He said, remembering Remi to what they agreed of.

- "Yes, I remember, but you don't have to restrain yourself like this."

At this point, Remi understood very well the reasons why John didn't want to use his ability in the first place.

But, she also knows that posture from John is not the best way to deal with it.

Even if John is powerful as he is right now, is his ability, a part of him.

And he has to deal with that all his life.

She couldn't bear to see him struggle like this.

So, in order to help him move forward, Remi is trying to push things a little bit.

- "But what if I end up hurting you?" He asked with a worried tone.

- "I'm going to be fine, I have a high tolerance to lightning after all." She said while trying to decrease John's worries.

Then, after hearing this, John remained silent.

- "Sorry, maybe I forced things too much, you don't have to do it if you want to." Remi said after the pause when she saw no reaction from John.

- "No, it's okay..." John started to talk again.

- "It's just that..." He added.

- "I don't know how to control myself, because every fight I've been before, it was always to the bitter end." He explained with a sad tone.

- "Before, everyone hit me when I was down." He said, with frustration when he was recalling his past.

- "They didn't care at all." He added.

- "So when I started developing my ability, I did the same to them."

- "While thinking about every single time I had to fight to the bitter end..."

- "So I didn't care at all too."

- "But I don't want it to be like this anymore." He said, changing his previous tone.

- "I don't want to keep activating my ability, and remembering only bad things every single time." He expressed.

- "I just want to be comfortable with myself, and live the way I want." He said, expressing his actual goal.

- "Although is not easy at all..." He added.

- "But, in order to do that, I have to keep trying, right?" He said while making a little smile.

After John finished saying this, Remi hugged John.

- "Yeah, that's true." She said while caressing John's black hair and also she was happy because he didn't let things stay like this.

- "Because it's possible to change." She said with a gentle smile.

- "Yeah..." He said with a more relaxed tone.

After this talk, something was clear for John, as he took a phrase to the heart.

I will do things right this time.

Then, he stood up, with a clear decision.

- "Let's do this." Said John, while activating his ability.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #31, END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Private High School ---

After the lunch break, the students went to class, some of them were satisfied, because they got to eat cake, and a whole lot more were not.

In the case of Seraphina, who managed to get in her hands a slice of the famous cake, and peacefully eat her lunch, is now walking to her next class.

When she was close to the classroom, she saw two girls that came closer to Evie from afar, who was walking towards her next class.

- "Well well, what do we have here?" A girl started a conversation with Evie.

- "It's the number one of the class, Evie." The other girl said.

- "How've you been?" She asked, playing to be friendly.

*They seem fishy...* Seraphina thought, based on the tone of those two girls, and thus, she began to walk towards them.

But Evie, knowing how they acted, because it was not the first time this happened to her, began to walk a bit faster, ignoring them.

Then, after this, Evie started to run away, but they simply activated their abilities and one of them close the gap in a few moments, while the other one threw a few energy arrows with her ability, to make Evie lose speed as she dodged her projectiles.

This change in Evie was produced due to her interactions with Seraphina, who was teaching her how to fight and defend herself.

And thus, Evie has grown inside her enough bravery to stand up for herself, and not just giving up to the bullies' demands.

After that, one of the bullies grabbed her right arm with a tight grip, so Evie activated her ability with the hand that was being restrained.

This bravery was later re-encouraged by a conversation she had with John, as she has been considering using her ability to have some distraction tactics, in order to defend herself more efficiently.

As the girl saw the light coming from Evie's right hand, she began to laugh a bit.

- "Hahahahah! Like if that useless ability would help-   UGH!" The girl mockingly managed to say before getting punched in the face by Evie's strike with her free hand.

This strike was useful because she let her go, but didn't have the strength to knock her out.

Then, the girl glared at her annoyed, while her anger was growing up inside.

Then, she restrained her two arms easily with one hand, this was due to her physical augmentation ability, which was enough to overwhelm any low-tier student with this.

- "I assume that you already know how to avoid this, just give us your assignment and that's it!" She exclaimed, demanding Evie to hand over a school assignment.

- "What, no!" Said Evie, resisting this extortion while holding tight her report.

- "YOU REALLY NEVER LEARN, DO YOU?!" The girl yelled, preparing her to punch her with all her forces.

*BAM!* 

- "AGH!" Evie groaned with pain, as a result of that punch.

The impact of the punch was strong enough to leave a bruise in Evie's arm, who managed to block that strike while dropping her report to the ground.

Meanwhile, Seraphina was closing the distance between them, in order to help Evie.

After this, when she was close enough, Seraphina punched the bully in the face.

-  "ARGH!" The girl let out by that strike.

- "Seraph-" Said Evie, before getting interrupted.

- "Focus." Seraphina said while leaving the greetings for later.

- "So, two against one, that doesn't seem a little too much?" She asked them.

- "Shut up!" One of them yelled as she threw her arrows at them.

As Seraphina and Evie dodged those arrows, the other one got closer to Seraphina.

- "Hah! It's payback time!" The other girl said with a large smile, completely sure of her victory, as she threw a straight punch with her right.

But Seraphina parried her strike with her left and prepared the counterstrike with a front kick right at her stomach.

This kick landed and had a solid result, as the girl was reeling from the pain, Seraphina threw a hook straight to her face.

The hook landed on the girl's jaw, and the impact provoked by this hit, traveled through the skull, shaking the brain.

After this hit, the girl falls to the ground.

Meanwhile, at the same time this little skirmish between Seraphina and the bully happened, Evie found it difficult to get closer to the other student, due to the ranged ability she possessed.

This made Evie stay on the defensive while dodging her energy arrows.

But after a bit, Evie noticed that the projectiles that she was throwing over took a while to charge.

So, in that recharging time, Evie managed to close her distance.

But, when Evie was at melee range, the girl noticed that Seraphina defeated the other one, and ran away.

- "I saw what you did with your ability as I was getting close, not bad." Seraphina gave her feedback.

- "Well, at least we could ward them off..." Evie said.

- "Yeah..." Seraphina said while sighing.

- "Ouch..." Evie let out, as she was trying to pick up her report that she dropped earlier.

- "What happened?" Seraphina asked.

- "No, it's nothing, I think my arm is broken or something." Evie answered while touching her arm.

- "That sucks." She commented.

- "Yeah, but I'll go to the infirmary right away, thanks for helping!" Evie said with a cheerful tone.

- "I'll go with you, they could come back." Seraphina said without discarding that possibility once she noticed it.

- "O-Oh, okay... thanks!" She said.

Then, they walked out to the infirmary together.

--- School's Infirmary, 10 Minutes Later ---

As a lot of students were returning to their classes, the halls by the area around the infirmary were rather quiet, and fortunately, Seraphina and Evie didn't have any trouble to arrive there.

Then, they knocked and opened the door.

- "E-Excuse me." Said Evie, while entering the infirmary. 

- "Oh, it's you. Again." Said Doc, not that surprised of seeing students coming here, especially a low-tier like Evie, and now Seraphina, who lost her ability all of a sudden.

- "What happened this time?" He asked without much interest.

- "I-I think I broke my arm..." She said, while stuttering.

- "Go over there and I'll examine your arm in a bit." He said while pointing a stretcher behind them.

- "O-Okay!" She said.

- "Hey, I have to go to class right now, so I texted Roland to tell him you're here, so I guess he'll drop by to visit you soon." Seraphina commented.

- "T-Thanks again for the help!" Said Evie, while walking to the stretcher.

- "It's nothing, don't worry about it." She expressed.

Then, after this, Seraphina started to walk towards the door to leave the infirmary.

- "Hey." Said Darren, initiating the conversation.

- "What happened, Doc?" She asked because she knew that Doc wasn't the best conversationalist.

- "Well, I wanted to tell you that I refer your case to one of my contacts, maybe she can help you better than me." He informed her.

- "Don't worry, Doc, I know you're doing it the best you can, thanks for your help." She said while feeling a bit of relief since that reassured her that her case wasn't tossed aside as she was believing.

- "Also... I wanted to ask you something." He said, with a serious tone.

- "Sure, what is it?" She said back, after seeing the change on Doc's face.

- "Uhh... do you have a sister?" He awkwardly asked.

- "..." Seraphina remained silent for a bit, thinking that she misheard that.

- "Ew." She let out her reaction when she came back to her senses.

- "No no wait! It's because I know someone who resembles you, well, I'm not really sure if you know her or is a relative of you or something." He quickly explained himself.

- "By coincidence, you know someone who has lavender hair and lime eyes?" He asked, regaining his composure.

- "Well Doc, I know some people with that description, but you need to be more specific." She answered.

- "Well, do you know someone called Leilah?" He bluntly asked.

That description, combined with that name, hit Seraphina like a truck.

As she instantly remembered her sister, who ran away from home 5 years ago.

Due to the expectations their parents put on her, on that lifeless, objective-driven that Leilah once called her home.

Until she couldn't handle the pressure of that "perfect" life.

Since Seraphina had the same lifestyle as her, eventually she began to understand why her sister took that drastic decision, therefore she doesn't harbor any resentment towards Leilah.

But still, Seraphina missed her, since she simply vanished from her life, as Seraphina only looked how Leilah ran away, unable to do anything for her, and unable to reunite with her.

Or so she thought.

- "Leilah..." She thought out loud.

- "She's... my older sister." She bluntly stated.

- "But, how is her? Is she fine? How do you know her? How do you even meet each other in the first place?" She asked with curiosity, as she bombarded Doc with questions.

Then Doc began to answer her questions one by one, from his limited knowledge about her girlfriend, since they were starting to date each other not so long ago.

- "Do you have some way to contact her?" She asked, eager to know about her.

- "Well, yeah, she's my girlfriend after all." He let out naturally.

- "..." Seraphina remained silent while processing this new information.

- "This is definitely a small world, huh?" She asked with a surprised tone.

- "..." Doc remained silent.

- "Anyway, that explains it. I'm glad that I didn't leave it at that..." Said Doc, with a rising proud feeling for this.

Then, Doc gave to Seraphina her number.

- "Thanks." She said with a smile on her face.

- "Now go to class." He added with his usual attitude.

After Seraphina left, Darren felt like he did the right thing, as he saw how the stiffness on Seraphina's face was fading away.

And Seraphina left the room with unexpected good news for her, happy that she might reunite again with her sister once again.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #32, END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Girls Dormitories, Seraphina's Room ---

After Seraphina came back from classes, she went straight up to her room.

She still couldn't believe what happened today, but she was pretty happy with the outcome.

Then, when she arrived at her room, she simply called the number Doc gave her earlier today.

*Calling Leilah...*

...

...

...

*Call ended.*

She insisted a few times after this, but the result was the same.

*Huh... I guess she must be busy right now.* Seraphina thought, as she was leaving everything ready for tomorrow.

--- The next morning, 8 Hours Later ---

A new day.

As the golden light of the morning hits Wellston once again, and many students were getting up from their beds.

And Seraphina was no exception, as she was wakening up by the alarm.

After this, she gets up, and she takes her school clothes out of the closet and getting them ready for after she takes a shower.

Then, she stopped for a second what she was doing.

*Wait, if I try to call Leilah at the same time as yesterday, she's not going to answer again.* Seraphina got that sudden thought. *So what if I try to call her now?*

After this, she decided to test that theory, by calling her sister at this hour.

*Calling Leilah...*

...

...

...

- "Hello?" 

- "Who am I talking to?" She asked since she didn't recognize the number of the person who was calling.

- "Hello...?" She asked again since she wasn't getting an answer from the other side of the phone yet.

- "L-Leilah?" Seraphina started to talk, but for some reason, she felt tense.

- "Is that you?" She added.

- "It's me, Seraphina." She said while confirming her identity in the process.

- "Sera?" Leilah asked her.

- "Is so good to talk to you again! You sound different from what I remembered!" She cheerfully said after recognizing Seraphina's voice.

- "It has been a lot of time..." She said with nostalgia.

- "Yeah, five years..." Seraphina commented with an empty tone.

After this, there was a tense pause between them.

- "I'm sorry, Sera." Said Leilah, with a serious tone.

- "Sorry, for what?" Seraphina asked her since she didn't feel any reason for her to apologize.

- "I... left you alone in that place, it must have been hard for you..." She answered.

- "I just... couldn't handle all the pressure, the expectations and-" She managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "It's okay." Seraphina abruptly said.

Seraphina felt like she needed to step in since she wanted to make clear that she doesn't bear any resentment towards Leilah.

- "It's hard to deal with mom, I know." She said, recalling her last interaction with her mother.

- "I lived what you've been through too." She added, relating with her older sister.

- "And now I'm on the edge of being exiled from home too, so that makes us two." She commented, with an indifferent tone.

- "Wait, what happened?" Leilah asked with a worried tone, but she wasn't very surprised, since kinda saw it coming eventually.

- "It's a long story." She replied.

- "Okay, also... how did you get my number?" Leilah asked her with curiosity.

- "Well, Doc gave it to me." She answered.

- "Doc... oh, that's Darren's nickname if I remember correctly." Leilah recalled.

- "Still, there's a lot of things we need to talk about." Seraphina said.

- "Yeah... but I'm on my way to work now, sorry for being such a mood killer." She said back.

- "I can call you later if you want." Seraphina said without trouble.

- "It wouldn't make the calls last longer really, I have a LOT of work to do." Leilah explained.

- "What a bummer." Seraphina let out of her mind.

- "Hey, Sera... how about we get together in a cafe this week?" Leilah suggested.

- "We definitely need to catch up." She commented right after.

- "Sure, I would love to." Seraphina said, agreeing to her sister's comment.

- "I have time to spare this Friday, you have plans for that day?" Leilah asked, checking if Seraphina had that day available.

- "Not really." Seraphina answered almost immediately.

- "Great! I'll text you the location after this, I know of a great cafe shop." Leilah cheerfully commented.

- "Sounds great, Leilah." Said Seraphina.

- "It's so good to hear from you again." She added with a warm tone while voicing out her thoughts.

- "Yeah... me too." Leilah said with an empty tone over the phone.

- "So, see you on Friday, okay?" She said right after with a cheerful tone.

- "You need to tell me that story!" She added.

- "I will. See you later, Leilah."  Seraphina said.

- "See you later, Sera." Leilah said before hanging up.

*Call ended*

*Finally something good is happening...* Seraphina thought immediately after ending the call. *Only three days more...*

After this call, which only lasted for a few minutes, but for Seraphina, lasted for a few seconds, since she wanted to talk a bit more with Leilah.

She could wonder how she was doing, and what she lived through in all this time they weren't able to contact each other.

*beep*

As she promised, Leilah texted Sera the location where they were going to meet this Friday after the call.

"Sera, the cafe is at 730 Castine St., in Lovun."

"5:30 PM sounds good for you?"

"Yeah, no problem, I'll be there."

After this, Seraphina simply got dressed, and prepared for class, as always.

When she came out of her room, she saw Elaine, who was eating her breakfast.

- "Hello, Seraph- Sera!" Elaine greeted her while correcting herself in the process.

- "Hi." Seraphina greeted her back.

- "How are you?" Asked Elaine.

- "I'm feeling great." Seraphina answered with honesty.

- "I could talk with someone who I didn't talk to in a lot of time... that itself it's good." She added while making a little smile.

- "That's super good! I'm glad for you!" Elaine said back with a smile.

- "Thanks." She said with honesty.

- "Also, as I was doing breakfast, I went and prepared something for you too!"

- "Thanks, but you know I can do my own stuff, right? You don't have to burden yourself like this." She bluntly said.

- "Well, yeah, but I had the chance and I thought, why not? Also, is not a burden to do these things for my friends." Elaine explained with honesty.

- "Oh well, then let's see how it goes." Seraphina said without enthusiasm because lately, everything she ate felt tasteless.

While Seraphina was eating her breakfast, she rather enjoyed it, which surprised her for a while, since lately, she hasn't been able to enjoy these little things with ease.

- "Hey, this is delicious." She said with a surprised tone.

- "I know right?" Elaine agreed with her comment.

- "No but for real, lately the food wasn't very tasty, I don't know what is that, but today the breakfast was better than usual..." Seraphina explained.

- "That's strange... I'll look it up later on." Elaine commented, wondering the cause of this.

After this, Seraphina and Elaine walked together to their respective classes.

--- Woaba Boba Store, 9 Hours Later ---

Woaba Boba, a well-known store in the town, famous for their boba drinks, they've earned a reputation among the citizens of Wellston, especially among teenagers.

And after classes finished for the day, John and Remi decided to go there together.

When they arrived at the familiar store, fortunately for both, there was a table available, so they went to sit over there next to each other, and ordered some drinks, then the waitress went to bring the drinks for both.

- "Feels like I haven't been here for like forever." John said out loud.

- "Yeah, but this store has good drinks, so we can come here more often." Said Remi, commenting on what John said.

- "You got yourself a deal." He said right after.

- "Oh, also today's training was super good!" Remi mentioned with a cheerful voice.

- "You really think so?" He asked.

- "Yeah! I even managed to win in the sparrings without abilities a few times, and that itself is something worth celebrating." She said.

- "Well, you've improved a lot too though." He expressed with a gentle smile.

- "But in the ones with an ability, you're able to overpower me so easily..." She commented.

- "I also try to hold back though, but it's hard as hell to do that." He added.

- "Oh, also I've wondered, how are you able to do that?" She asked.

- "Well... I actually struggled a lot with that." He answered.

- "I trained like crazy in a summer break, putting a theory into practice." He added.

- "What was the theory about?" She asked with curiosity.

- "Well..." He said before continuing with his explanation.

Then, John started to tell Remi about the whole process, how he, along with Claire and Adrion, managed to theorize and test a more powerful version than the original.

This feat was done by manipulating his own aura channels, due to the nature of his ability, John was able to consciously expanding them to increase the flow of aura inside his body, resulting in an increase of the copied ability's most powerful aspect.

The reason why John was able to talk about this, was because of the level of confidence he shared with Remi.

John doesn't feel that odd feeling when he's talking with Remi, which he often felt when he thought about telling the truth to Seraphina, this feeling made him hesitate about talking about these things with her.

With Remi, he felt relief, as he could be who he truly was in front of her.

And also, this was suggested by Remi, based on a thought that maybe if John talked a bit more of his past, eventually he wouldn't feel that uncomfortable with it, and John agreed to that idea too.

- "And the rest is creativity." He said as he finished his explanation.

- "I really wonder how you could pull that out." She said, surprised by John's feat.

- "With pure effort." He replied.

Then, both noticed that the waitress was coming closer, with two drinks on her plate.

- "Here are your orders! Two mango boba for the young couple! Enjoy~" The waitress said on

Then, they proceed to taste their drinks.

And as they were having a nice conversation, while hanging out together.

Then, for some reason, John casually looked at the TV, and they were passing the news.

*They only pass news in that channel or something?* John was thinking, as suddenly, he watched a familiar figure on the TV.

- "Hey Remi, you need to look at that." Said John, while pointing at the TV.

- "What is it?" Asked Remi, unaware of what she was about to see next.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #33, END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Town, Woaba Boba Store ---

- "What is it?" Remi asked.

- "Just look at it." John answered.

Then, both John and Remi paid attention to the news report that was happening right now, as the dark-skinned newscaster started to talk.

"Friday night, in the town of Grasshill, there was a double vigilante sighting."

"One went by the name "Nobody" while the other remains unknown."

"This has been our first new vigilante in a long time."

Then, the news channel proceeded to put exclusive footage of what happened that day, as the red-haired newscaster was explaining that footage.

"Nobody" was spotted wearing a dark gray hoodie, and he seems to have red hair, with some kind of propulsion based ability, as the residents of Grasshill commented that he was a young man, possibly a student, with red hair and golden eyes."

"Also, thanks to our additional footage, we've analyzed that "Nobody" had been struggling against a known criminal, as he suffered multiple injuries and was later immobilized."

"Then, a third party came up, and the two barely made it out. Although both vigilantes survived, they could've been killed."

"This is why we strongly discourage vigilantism, and if you know someone is committing these acts, please report him as soon as possible and please, leave dangerous fights to the authorities."

After seeing this, Remi remained silent.

*So... you were a vigilante all along, even when you were the one who told me to drop it...?* She thought, while not having too clear what to do about this.

Remi didn't know how to feel, trying to process this fact.

- "Hey... are you okay?" John asked her.

After a while, Remi managed to regain her composure.

- "Not at all..." She answered.

*Brilliant question, way to go, me.* He thought with sarcasm inside his mind.

- "One of my closest friends was hiding something from everybody." She explained.

- "I understand that he would hide this from a lot of people, but..." She added.

- "Things happened, and we decided that no one would retake that." She said, recalling what happened with Volcan.

- "I just don't understand..." She said, wondering the reason for this.

For him, this hit pretty close to home, as he suddenly remembered his last discussion with Seraphina for a second.

After that, John regained his composure.

- "Also..." Remi added.

- "You don't seem very surprised to see this, can I ask why?" She bluntly asked, noticing how calm John was after knowing something rather surprising.

John remained silent for a bit.

- "Well... I saw him going back to the dorms a couple of times, with his clothes ragged, and I even mistook him for a thief or something once." He answered with honesty.

- "If I had to guess..." He added.

Reasons, there were a lot of them, and possibly he couldn't figure them out completely.

Although, this doesn't mean he couldn't try. 

- "I think that he's just looking to level up in order to defeat me." John stated what he thought about that. 

- "I would put money on it." He added with confidence.

- "Is that so..." She said without thinking.

- "But... I guess I need to talk to him after all." She said while getting up.

- "I'm sorry, but I have to go." She said while giving John a kiss on the cheek.

- "Okay..." He said, as the only option he had left after this, and blushing a bit.

- "Take care." He added with a slight smile on his face.

Then, John, as he saw her expression, stayed silent, and let her go, understanding that he couldn't be that much of a help in what she was experiencing right now.

And after he finished up his drink, he went back to the dorms.

--- Wellston Private High School, close to the boys' dorm ---

As Remi was walking back to Wellston, she spent the time thinking about how to confront this situation.

*Does Isen knows about this too...?* She began to think inside her mind. *I need to let him know.*

Then, she picked up her phone and looked for Isen in her contacts.

*Calling Isen...*

...

...

...

- "Remi! What's crackin'?" Isen said right after picking the phone.

- "Isen, you saw the news today?" Remi asked immediately.

- "No... why are you asking?" He asked because he noticed the seriousness in her voice.

- "I'll explain it later. Is Blyke with you?" She quickly answered.

- "Uhh, yeah, remember that now he's my roommate, and we're working on an assignment for tomorrow right now."

- "I have to talk with Blyke, so make sure he doesn't leave." She said to Isen.

- "Okay? But what happen-" He asked for more details before getting interrupted.

- "Look at today's news report and you'll see why." She quickly explained.

- "I'm going over there right now." She said before hanging up.

*Call ended.*

Then, as Remi was going over there, Isen looked up at the news report from all the channels, since Remi didn't give him major details.

But, soon enough, he understood why she was so worked up.

Isen was speechless, as he saw Blyke, getting caught in the camera for all the nation as he was being a vigilante.

Soon enough, he felt a mix of emotions converging together inside of him.

After this, he came back to the room.

- "Hey, you sure took your while there, come on, we have to get ready this for tomorrow!" Said Blyke, with enthusiasm.

Isen didn't make a reaction, as he was busy trying to process all of this.

But he could barely contain himself.

- "Isen? Are you alright?" Blyke asked.

Then, Isen grabbed Blyke's shirt, as he was standing him up.

- "Hey! What the f*ck-" He managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "Explain to me what the hell were you thinking?!" Isen said while raising his voice.

- "Wasn't Volcan thrilling enough for you?!" He asked as he was clenching his fist.

- "You had to give it another go, alone?!" He added.

- "Even when the three of us combined weren't enough?!" He kept asking him.

- "W-What are you-" Blyke managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "We saw you in the news, Blyke." Remi said coldly, as she just arrived at the room.

At this point, Blyke already understood why this was happening.

- "So that's where all those injuries and all that lack of sleep came from, huh?" She said, with a disappointed tone.

- "You know Blyke..." She added.

- "When I tried to become a vigilante, you were the one who said we were in this together!" Remi explained, without understanding why he would do something like this.

- "Then after running into Volcan, you were the one who convinced me to stop." She said, recalling that past event, with a serious expression on her face.

- "But now..." She added.

- "You're the one doing it alone!" She said, without really knowing how to feel about this.

- "Do you have any idea how messed up that is?!" She asked, raising her voice. 

After this, Blyke remained silent for a bit.

- "I know..." He said after the pause.

- "I'm sorry..." He said right after.

- "It's just-" He said, but he cut himself in the middle of his explanation.

- "After we got beat by Joker, I felt so weak and useless..." He began to explain again his reasons.

- "I didn't know what to do with myself. I just wanted to get stronger." He said while finishing his explanation.

- "So... you actually went out to train on your own." Remi said almost immediately, considering what John said to her before coming here.

- "Knowing you could get killed?" She asked with serious doubts about his actions.

Blyke couldn't do anything but listen.

But at this point, Remi was experiencing a combination of different feelings.

Sadness.

Worry.

Disappointment.

Fear.

These were the main emotions that were in Remi's mind.

- "I lost my brother out there! He did exactly the same thing as you did!" Remi said with grief in her voice.

- "And there's not a single day where I don't think about it!" She said while tears started to come out.

- "And how I could've helped him if I knew..." She said, wondering how it would be.

- "And if I knew... maybe things wouldn't end up as it did..." She said with sadness, wiping the tears.

He understood the weight of his actions when he was doing this.

But even so, all the recent events opened his eyes to the harsh reality.

If he wanted to change how things worked, he needed the power to do it first, and the influence that comes with it.

The gravity of the situation, and the sense of urgency inside of him, lead to this drastic decision.

Which made him feel even more guilty than he already felt.

- "I know... it was really stupid." Blyke said after the pause.

- "I'm sorry. Please don't be mad..." He added, with visible regret.

- "I'm not mad... I'm scared!" Remi said with a worried tone.

- "I don't want to lose anybody else!" She stated.

- "Don't worry, you won't, I promise!" Blyke answered right after.

- "I hope you realize how lucky you are after that ponytail dude showed up and saved your dumb and impulsive ass! You barely made it out!" Said Isen, as he let out the last of his remaining anger.

After this, Isen finally let Blyke go.

- "Look, I already decided I'm not gonna do this again!" Blyke said, in some sort of excuse for his actions.

- "Sure, but do you think that matters at this point?" Isen asked him.

- "There are clips of you all over the news!" He said.

- "People will eventually find out about you whether you like it or not." He explained.

- "What if Volcan or the whole f*cking EMBER comes after you?" He added.

- "Dude, I don't think they'd target a small-fry like me." Blyke answered.

- "As long as I don't make any more appearances, there's nothing to worry about!" He said, hoping that this would be the case.

Then Remi and Isen stared at him for a second.

- "..." Both remained silent about this, as they were regaining their composure after this.

- "I hope you're right about that." Remi said while staring at Blyke in the eyes.

- "But what is done is done." Isen said while sighing, letting this go.

- "Just don't do it again, okay?" Remi asked.

- "I won't, I promise." Blyke answered with sincerity.

- "I still found it weird, that when Remi tried to be a vigilante, they didn't discover you even though you were trying to show yourself, but when I try to be on lay low on purpose, I got caught in camera!" He said while putting his hands on his head.

- "Now that I think about it..." Said Remi.

- "Also, half the crap they said wasn't true, I mean, yeah, I was in trouble with that guy but when ponytail arrived, we managed to win the fight quite easily." He stated.

- "Oh, so now they're giving you bad rep too." Isen commented without thinking twice.

- "Well, it wouldn't be difficult for the authorities to control the media." Remi commented.

- "Yeah, go figure." Said Blyke.

After this, Isen checked the time, and as he saw that it was 8:00 PM, he immediately remembered that he and Blyke were running out of time for their assignment.

- "Well, I would like to keep discussing this, but we need to do an assignment for tomorrow, sorry about that, Remi." Isen said.

- "No problem, I was thinking of going home for now too, so see you later guys!" Remi said as she was waving her hand.

- "See you later, Remi!" Blyke and Isen said back at the same time.

After this, as Blyke and Isen went back to work, Remi left the room, and go back to the girls' dorm, to rest and prepare for the next day. 

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #34, END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

A new day that marked the start of the day for all the students in Wellston, as the morning sun bathed the scenery.

As John was waking up from the alarm, which marked 6:30 AM.

He felt full of energy for some reason, like waking up in a good mood, as he remembered that today it was Friday.

And thus, he got up from his bed and got dressed in order to do his morning routine.

After this, he went to prepare some egg sandwiches for breakfast, along with Doe's food as well.

- "You up?" He asked as always.

After this, the dog came out of the room, waving his tail from side to side, waiting for John's usual calling.

Then, when their breakfast was ready, and the food was served, they began to eat.

John looked at how Doe ate his food so eagerly, which he found it calming every time he saw it.

And as John tasted his breakfast, he found it even more delicious by every bite he gave to the sandwich.

It was a simple meal, but full of flavor.

After finishing their food, both rested for a bit and then, went outside for their morning routine.

--- Outside the boys' dorm, 1 Hour Later ---

When John and Doe were coming back to the dorms, they had an encounter with Blyke.

Then, John remembered what happened yesterday.

And he couldn't help but feel anger from it.

Not because Blyke was a vigilante, because he couldn't care less what he does in his life, as long as it doesn't mess with him.

But for what he felt anger about, was from seeing Remi's reaction to it.

From what John saw, Remi had a disoriented face, shocked by what she saw.

Maybe... even on the verge of crying, he wondered.

Who knows that she might've done it later on.

This sensation was so strong that he felt the necessity to do something about it.

And this, affected him on a personal level, as he felt useless to do something for her at that moment.

Even if this wasn't a necessary measure, John couldn't let it slide just like that.

At the same time, Blyke noticed John too, but he tried to not pay him attention.

But it was useless.

Because John was coming closer and closer towards Blyke.

- "What do you want?" Blyke asked.

- "I don't want to fight you." He added.

- "You don't want to fight me?" John asked with a provoking tone.

- "You're too much of a weakling to be able to choose." He stated.

- "Tell me, what the f*ck are you gonna do about it?" He asked with an ominous glare while coming closer.

- "So... what do you want?" Blyke asked, unsure of John's intentions, as he was putting himself in a fighting stance just in case.

But even so, he could perceive John's ominousness and determination in his voice, and his usual instability was gone, so his intent was even more worrying for Blyke.

- "I wasn't going to fight you anyway, you're not even worth the trouble." John clarified.

- "So consider yourself lucky." He added.

- "Instead, I'll give you a fair warning." He coldly said while glaring at him the entire time.

- "If I see her suffer because of you again, you're going to wish to be dead." He stated with a menacing aura.

- "Did I made myself clear?" He asked with a menacing tone.

After this, John began to walk away.

At the same time, this left Blyke completely astonished.

As he saw John, a person who he believed to be fundamentally broken, insane, a reckless high-tier, and the list could go on.

Even though he knows what happened between John and Arlo, this made Blyke tp see him a bit differently.

Understandable, but still unjustified.

- "That wasn't my intention." Blyke answered with sincerity.

- "And I will never do it again." He added.

- "You better be." John said with a cold tone.

After hearing this, John walked away, and so did Blyke.

--- Safe House Club, 8 Hours Later ---

After Blyke delivered the assignment for class, he was going to do his supervision shift for the Safe House.

*Arlo was on board with this, why did he leave so suddenly?* Blyke wondered inside his thoughts. *Now I have to go cover that shift as soon as possible!*

At first, Arlo doubted the Safe House's effectiveness inside the school.

Although, he also wanted to have order inside the school, so he had decided to support it, by supervising it in some of his free blocks.

But, this stopped recently, as he never appeared when he had to supervise.

Everyone wondered what could've gotten into him, as one of the strongest students in Wellston, his decisions were important for the rest of the students, whether he likes it or not.

In the end, this made things more difficult for Remi and the rest, and also on short notice too.

Then, Blyke opened the door of the club.

And he saw someone that he didn't expect to be here anymore.

- "Arlo?!" He asked surprised.

- "What are you doing here?" He added.

- "Blyke! Long time no see." Arlo said with a calm face.

*What is going on?* He thought.

- "I wanted to discuss something with you, so I supervised the club until you arrived." He calmly said.

- "Can you come out with me for a second? It won't take long." He asked.

- "Sure." Blyke agreed.

After this, Arlo and Blyke walked to an empty classroom.

But, Blyke couldn't avoid having a bad feeling about this, although he thought that he would let him talk first.

- "What is it?" He asked.

- "Well, these days I've been busy, catching up with some people I haven't seen in a while." Arlo started to explain.

- "Also because I've thought about a lot of things... that's why I haven't been able to help you out with this... club." He added.

- "Oh... so basically you needed some time for yourself." Blyke made the wrap-up from what he understood.

- "Is that so..." He said with an empty tone.

- "Anyways, thanks for covering me up. Is that everything?" He added right after.

- "Wait." Arlo abruptly said.

- "Also... don't think I haven't seen the news." He said while recalling what happened yesterday.

- "Everyone is talking about it really, but most of the students think it's just a coincidence. although the sharper ones are already connecting the dots, so better brace yourself for being so stupid." He explained the current situation to Blyke.

- "I already quitted, and I don't plan to do it again, whatever consequences I have over that I'll just accept it, it's kinda undeniable at this point." Blyke said, already accepting whatever consequences he might have.

- "You're okay with where you are right now?" Arlo asked him with honesty.

- "What do you mean?" Blyke asked back.

- "Oh, come on Blyke, don't tell me you really become a vigilante for helping people out of the bottom of your heart." Arlo answered with an honest tone.

- "I'm not buying that." He added.

- "Because I know exactly why you did become one in the first place." He said while making a little pause.

- "You wanted power." He stated, without any doubts in his mind.

- "But why? Why did you want power in the first place?" He said, trying to make Blyke question himself.

- "If everything is going "well" right now?" He added.

After this, Blyke remained silent.

- "I... wanted the strength to protect my friends-" Blyke managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "Deny it all you want." Arlo abruptly said.

- "But deep down, you want to dethrone John as much as I do." He stated his true intention of this conversation.

- "So, I'm here to offer you Jack's position back when I'm King again." He said with absolute confidence since he was absolutely sure that Blyke would accept.

As Blyke heard this, he couldn't comprehend what was happening inside Arlo's mind.

- "You only have to support me from afar just in case things go south, is as simple as that, or even better, I could restrain him, while you shoot your beams from afar." He explained with a relaxed expression.

He was astonished at his lack of self-awareness in all this.

- "You can recover your old position back, and continuing on your own business while having a position to influence others, and I'll cooperate with it as well, this way the school will regain its former peace." He stated.

*Saying things like this like it's nothing...* Blyke was wondering inside his mind. *What is wrong with him?*

- "So what do you say? We got a deal?" He asked with a persuading tone.

But what was the reason why Arlo was acting like this?

What could motivate him to regain his spark for the throne?

The answer was in a conversation he had with his Aunt, Valerie.

After the day he and Remi went to talk to her, Remi had left, but Arlo stayed.

They kept talking for a while, catching up with the events of their lives, since they haven't seen each other for a lot of time.

In this conversation, Arlo mentioned that he was no longer King of Wellston, and to Valerie's surprise, Arlo wasn't even interested in reclaim it again, since there were much more important things happening around him, such as Rei's death, and Seraphina's ability loss.

This made Valerie a bit disappointed and began to make him question his priorities and his future.

For her, this kind of behavior was unthinkable, especially in someone like Arlo.

And of course, since it was Valerie who told him these things, a person that, for Arlo, is a respectable and even a heroic figure, he took that talk very seriously.

So, in all this time Arlo has been unreachable, he was thinking about what to do, while reassessing his priorities, and looking for strategies to win against John.

Since he knew that because of his passive, he had an overwhelming advantage in a fight without abilities, but he couldn't risk letting anyone interfere again.

And thus, for Arlo, Blyke seemed the most logical option for ensuring his victory.

- "No... we don't." Blyke said, with a serious tone.

- "If you're doing this only to get me into your shenanigans, then look somewhere else." He stated with conviction.

- "Because I'm not gonna play a part on whatever stuff you've planned." He added, now that he knows how is the true Arlo.

After this, Blyke remained silent and took a deep breath.

- "You know..." Blyke said after the pause.

- "I really looked up to you." He said with a disappointed tone.

- "But now, I learned what really happened between you and John." He said with a serious tone.

But Arlo seemed unfazed by that.

- "Why the school is in such a mess." He said, recalling what Isen and Remi told him.

- "You're right, I dislike the guy with a burning passion, and I would like to dethrone him." He said with honesty.

- "But. I wouldn't do such a lowlife thing just to be a Royal again!" He said with conviction.

- "That... is not right." He added.

- "If you want to challenge him, go ahead, but don't count on me for that." He said while he was preparing for leaving the room.

But Arlo wasn't going to accept a "no" for an answer.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #35, END ---

Chapter Text

--- Empty Classroom ---

- "So..." Arlo said, and he took a little pause right after.

- "You're actually going to waste your only opportunity to do something significant for the school?" He asked.

- "I already said no, Arlo." Blyke answered.

- "If you're so confident you can restrain John, then as well you might have the chance to defeat him." He added.

- "Well..." Arlo said.

- "I guess that you're clearly lacking a strong motivation for doing something like this." He said, and sighing right after.

- "I don't blame you, you seem to be too comfortable with your current place I guess." He added.

- "It's okay." He said with a smile on his face while touching Blyke's shoulder.

- "Oh, did you also knew that John and Remi are now... a couple?" He mentioned with indifference.

After these words were spoken, Blyke's face changed.

- "What?! Don't say nonsense!" Blyke said while raising his voice.

- "Oh, but I'm not saying any nonsense, I have my sources." Arlo replied back.

- "They've seen them together very often." He added.

- "Well, they're friends of course, and they seem to work together towards the same goal, so it's natural." Blyke explained.

- "Sure, because when a boy and a girl spend willingly too much time together, nothing is bound to happen." Arlo said sarcastically.

- "I'm sure that you have seen changes in her, right?" He asked him.

At this point, Blyke could just listen to what Arlo was saying.

- "In fact, how do you think she spends her free time after school?" He made Blyke think about that possibility.

- "And I bet that she hasn't been hanging around with you, nor Isen, right?" He added.

- "So there's only one possible answer." He said while looking at Blyke.

- "They're dating, accept it." Arlo said with a serious face.

- "So, what are you going to do about it?" He asked, trying to convince him once for all.

After this, Blyke remained silent.

*So that could be the reason why John acted like that today...* He thought, realizing the reason for this strange behavior in John.

He couldn't deny anything about what Arlo said to him just now.

Little by little.

Blyke was connecting all the dots.

Her behaviors.

She suddenly taking his side.

As also she was working along with him.

And a new brightness inside of her.

Even though this wasn't an easy pill to swallow, Blyke thought the next.

This is hard to accept, it really is.

But, if she's happy...

Then I'm happy.

After reaching the next conclusion, Blyke took a deep breath and began to talk.

- "Arlo... can you stop?" Blyke asked.

- "Just leave them alone." He added.

- "I don't know what got into you..." He said, with disappointment in his voice.

- "But stop." He said with a serious tone.

Then, Arlo remained silent for a while.

After this silence, Blyke started to walk away.

Meanwhile, Arlo was wondering what did he had to do now.

*Great... now Blyke is getting apart.* He thought.

Order.

And Ambition.

Two things that he was taught to have all his life.

Because that way, he was told that he would get his future ensured.

Those were the values that he was taught, and the ones who believed that high-tiers acted on.

And so, Arlo believed that these things were natural in life.

For him, Order was natural, because everyone was able to find their place this way.

And the best way he knows of to enforce it, was the hierarchy.

Nothing was out of place, and he saw that everyone used the same system.

Therefore, Hierarchy was natural as well.

So, Arlo began to think the next:

I'm acting as a high-tier should be, a s a good member of society.

I just want to keep the natural order.

But why when I try to do something about it... 

I'm ending up pushing everyone away?

After this reflection, Arlo started to talk again.

- "Wait." He said.

- "You're... right." He said with a serious tone.

- "I shouldn't have said that, it was a petty thing to do." He added.

- "So I'm sorry." He apologized.

- "I'm the one who brought up all of this..." He explained.

- "So I'll just deal with John by myself." He said with a serious tone.

After this, Arlo left the room, and Blyke did the same a bit after.

--- Lovun Town, 1 Hour Later ---

Lovun, a town that is right next to Wellston.

Usually, this town is really peaceful, except for some incidents in the past, everything has been peaceful ever since.

As Seraphina gets out of the bus, she noticed that this cafe was really popular, because it was crowded.

But even so, she managed to find an empty table.

- "Hello! May I take your order?" The waitress said as she was prepared for taking notes.

- "A mango iced-tea, please." Seraphina said.

- "Alrighty! Coming right up!" The waitress said after writing the order.

And, a little later, she got her drink.

*The ones from Woaba's are better though.* She thought immediately after tasting the drink.

After that, she waited for her so awaited reunion.

Then, a lavender-haired woman with emerald green eyes crossed through the cafe's entrance.

And then, they encountered each other.

- "Sera!" Leilah said after seeing Seraphina.

- "Leilah!" Seraphina said right after.

- "It's so good to see you again!" Leilah said after hugging Seraphina.

- "Yeah... definitely." Seraphina said while making a little smile.

- "So..." She said while trying to start a conversation.

After a while, they managed to get back a bit of those five years without communication.

It was weird and uncomfortable at first for both Seraphina and Leilah.

Recovering a gap that big between them was not an easy task.

But not an impossible one.

Especially, because both of them were playing their part to make it work.

So later on, their conversation was more fluid, recovering that sync from the past.

But after a while, Leilah remained silent, after Seraphina told her what happened, how she lost her ability, and the consequences of that event.

- "Leilah? Are you alright?" Seraphina asked her because she suddenly went silent.

- "Yeah... I am fine..." Leilah answered with a vague tone.

- "No, you're not." Seraphina said after seeing her sister's expression when she said that.

- "Please tell me what's going on." She added.

- "I don't want anyone to keep me in the dark anymore." She said with a serious face.

- "Okay..." Leilah said while taking a deep breath.

- "I have failed you." She stated.

- "I'm the one responsible for not contacting you in all this time, and that's not where this ends, unfortunately." She explained.

- "I came back from work duties in another place, far away from here just a month ago." She began to explain.

- "And the company I work for dedicated themselves to research." She added.

- "That research was about disabling an ability." She explained with a serious tone.

- "And eventually, we succeeded." She said while telling Seraphina this news.

- "But later on, the executives had different ideas on how we should use this disabler and..." She was saying, but Seraphina couldn't hear the rest.

*How could I've been so stupid?* Seraphina was thinking, as she couldn't hear what Leilah was saying.

And began to think about how suddenly convenient this reunion was.

And why this didn't happen early.

This began to feel fishy for Seraphina, as she couldn't even recognize in her own eyes, her own older sister has become.

After this, Seraphina could only think about was on her own naivety.

*BEEP!*

The same sound repeated a few times on Leilah's phone.

After this, Leilah was super careful about her surroundings and the people around her, like analyzing them.

And then, before Seraphina say something about it, she felt a chill over her spine.

A chill that was extremely familiar, as the ability dampening ray, was kicking in.

- "We have to go." She said while getting up.

- "That was the ability dampener-!" Seraphina managed to say before getting interrupted

- "Don't raise your voice, you'll give our location." She quickly said, trying to calm down the situation.

- "It appears that they've followed me." She muttered.

- "Listen, if we arrive at a vehicle I prepared just in case, we can escape safely, and I'll explain everything in detail later." She added.

After this, they went through the cafe's backdoor, and try to escape from there

*Wait... what the hell am I doing?* Seraphina thought, while marks of hesitation were beginning to cloud her mind. *She might be trying to set me up.*

Then, Seraphina gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

- "How I'm supposed to believe you this time?!" Seraphina asked, doubting about Leilah's true intentions.

- "Who knows if we arrive there you're just going to betray me?" She bluntly asked.

- "Listen, I'm not-" She managed to say before noticing what was going on around her.

After this, a group of people tried to surround them.

- "CAPTURE THEM ALIVE!" One of them yelled as everyone activated their ability.

*Them? So she was saying the truth...* She immediately thought *But right now is not the time for hesitating...*

- "Get ready to fight." Leilah said as she was taking a fighting stance.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #36, END ---

Chapter Text

--- Lovun Town ---

After Leilah noticed that she has been followed, she and Seraphina went through the back door of the cafe, in order to escape.

- "Sera, can you defend yourself?" Leilah asked right away.

- "Yeah, although if they outnumber me I'm done for." Seraphina answered with honesty.

- "Then stay close to me and stay alert." Leilah said.

- "I'll handle them." She added while activating her ability.

Then, Leilah rushed towards the enemies, striking all of them and leaving them unconscious.

*Her speed has been drastically decreased!* Seraphina thought after seeing how Leilah dealt with her opponents.

- "How much that thing reduces your ability?" Said Seraphina, who was just catching up with Leilah's location.

- "The level doesn't matter with this, because abilities get reduced by half." Leilah said with absolute calm, even after knowing that she's been reduced to an elite.

- "Half?!" Seraphina asked surprised.

*So that's why I couldn't rewind my injuries and barely freeze them that day...* Seraphina reached to that conclusion.

- "Let's keep moving." Said Leilah, as she tried to keep her focus.

Even though it's an alley, it has a lot of routes to the main street, and a ton of corners in between, therefore, the enemies can come from every direction.

And Leilah kept rushing to the enemies.

She was managing to attack before them, leaving them without any time to react.

The combination of Leilah and Seraphina's forces was good enough to repel the enemy forces coming at them.

Even though it was good, it wasn't perfect.

They had only one flaw in their execution.

Which was when Leilah rushed towards the enemy to avoid being surrounded, she created a considerable distance which Seraphina couldn't close quickly.

Not necessarily because of the lack of speed to catch up with Leilah, but because she couldn't tell which direction Leilah was taking.

And this flaw led to another change in the pace of the skirmish.

As some kind of yellow portal showed up.

Inside, there was a man with a syringe in his hand.

As he managed to slowly arise from the ground, he could pass undetected over Leilah's guard.

- "W-What?!" Leilah said with surprise because she knew she would not react on time.

But, Seraphina managed to punch that man right after he appeared, dropping the syringe.

- "Thanks..." She said after seeing this.

*They injected me something when I lost my ability...* Seraphina thought. *So that thing was able to reduce me to this state...*

Then, Seraphina stared for a second at the syringe, and every memory since she lost her ability to, invaded her mind.

No one deserves to live like this.

With this, Seraphina raised her foot, ready to destroy the syringe.

- "Wait, don't destroy it!" Leilah said all of a sudden.

And right before Seraphina could break it, she stopped.

- "Pick that up! We can use it later on!" She added.

So, Seraphina picked up the syringe with the dangerous substance inside of it.

- "DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!" One of the enemies yelled to his allies.

Then, another group, equipped with knives arrived.

Even if they themselves weren't that powerful, the use of weaponry gave them certain advantages.

The increase of their range, and their lethality, since one attack could be deadly for Seraphina and Leilah.

This factor, combined with their abilities, makes them dangerous foes that need to be taken out as quickly as possible.

And the fact that they had a numerical advantage against the sisters made it even worse, as they were trying to surround them.

But Leilah managed to react on time, as she quickly attacked one of them before they could surround her completely.

And Seraphina managed to stay close to Leilah, as she predicted her elder sister's next move.

Neither of them noticed that they were starting to move more synchronized, as that gap that leads to that quick sneak attack disappeared almost completely.

This, allowed them to win a few seconds as they were running away from their pursuers.

And suddenly, someone appeared right in front of them just before they could escape from the alley.

That someone was a man with a dark skin tone, red eyes, and grayish hair.

- "I'm getting sick of these people!" Seraphina said while preparing her punch.

- "Wait! He's an ally!" Leilah quickly said.

After hearing this, Seraphina pulled her punch away.

- "Why did you teleport in here all of a sudden?!" She asked at this unknown person.

- "You spent more time that you said it was gonna take, and then I saw a multitude who went to your location, of course, I was gonna check how were you doing!" The man explained.

- "Also, don't worry, I have enough energy to teleport us far away." He added with some doubts in his voice.

- "Good, then take us to L39." Leilah said right after knowing the state of his ally, and not noticing the tone in which he said that.

After this small conversation between Leilah and this unknown man, he used his ability to teleport them away.

--- Unknown Location ---

After Leilah and Seraphina managed to escape, the man that used his ability for teleporting them far away fainted right away.

- "Is he okay?" Seraphina asked with a surprised face.

- "He used too much energy to teleport both of us." Leilah answered.

- "Okay... so where are we?" Seraphina asked.

- "L39... we're still inside of Lovun, but this area is particularly far from the one we were before." Leilah commented.

- "So we should be safe up here for now, until my ability returns to normal." She added.

- "Who were they?" Seraphina asked right after.

- "And how did they managed to find us?" She added.

- "All of us are part of an organization called Spectre." Leilah answered.

- "And at this moment, our organization is having some internal struggles." She explained her current situation.

- "They didn't even hesitate to use a dampener and the disabler!" Seraphina said, shocked to hear about the "struggles" that her sister was talking about.

Even if Leilah answered with sincerity to all of Seraphina's questions, this only brought her even more questions to be answered.

- "So what is the struggling about?" Seraphina asked.

- "The current struggle of Spectre's executives is on what should we use our disablers." She said with sincerity.

- "Some of them suggest we could just sell it on the market." She explained.

- "Another faction says that we should sell it to the authorities, and make them back us up with this invention." 

- "And the strongest faction, which is supported by Spectre's leader himself, is suggesting that we should simply defeat the authorities and take over this country." She said, finishing her explanation.

- "With a disabler on top of a dampener on hand, that doesn't seem too impossible though." Seraphina commented.

- "Yeah, we all know that the authorities are clearly shady, untrustworthy, and overall corrupt, they don't seem to be ruling for anyone more than their own interests, not for people." Leilah stated.

- "On the other hand... the authorities have defeated everyone who stands against them, it's not an easy task to do." She explained her posture.

*I see... so Leilah isn't against that faction but against the one who commands the faction.* Seraphina thought about what her sister meant by what she said.

- "And Spectre's boss was the one who ordered that attack, he wants to have his cards as strong as he can, and unite Spectre once again, and remove of their abilities to all potential threats, like you and now me I guess." She commented.

- "But how does that connect with this attack? That doesn't make sense." Seraphina commented.

- "Because he learned I was trying to develop a cure." She stated with a serious tone.

- "A cure for his almighty disabler." She added to her statement.

- "I couldn't stay there doing nothing meanwhile you didn't have an ability..." She explained with a more gentle tone.

- "But you could've contacted me or something before you know..." Seraphina said with a worried tone.

- "I wanted to, I really mean it." Leilah answered.

- "So... what kept you from doing it?" Seraphina asked since she felt like she deserved to know the truth.

- "I couldn't let them know that I still contacted you since they can track my calls, otherwise they would've used that against me..." She explained.

- "I was afraid that they would do... what they did to you." She added.

- "Is that so..." Seraphina let out after knowing this.

- "I tried so hard to keep you safe from them..." Leilah said while changing her previous expression.

- "I wanted to tell you how I was doing, hanging out without worries, but I couldn't..." She said with a sad voice.

- "Although it doesn't matter right now, does it?" She said with an empty look.

After this phrase, Seraphina started to think about it.

Her sister, which she seemed pretty affected by not being capable of maintaining

- "It does." She corrected her sister.

- "At first, I thought that you were enjoying the new life you acquired after escaping from home." She explained.

- "To be honest, I felt happy for you "at least one of us escaped from that place" I was thinking." She voiced her opinion.

- "And at the same time, I couldn't help to feel that you abandoned me." She added with frustration about her mixed feelings, which could be caught up in her voice.

- "But, after seeing you again, I understand that you are the same Leilah, and nothing was flowers and rainbows for you."

- "It must have been hard keeping to yourself for all this time..." She said while thinking of John's case as well in those words.

- "But let's try to not be trapped in the past, okay? I'm not going to be like that again." She said with a little smile on her face.

Then, the man who teleported them to that place was recovering his consciousness.

- "Ugh..." He let out.

Then, the man managed to get on his feet.

- "That's why I don't use my ability that often..." He made a comment about his ability while taking his hand to his head.

- "Hey, I thought you've already left!" He said to Leilah.

- "Well, you woke up right before we arrived." She lied about the time the man was unconscious.

- "Oh... okay, anyway, my name is Kayden, nice to meet you!" He said, introducing himself.

- "Hi." Seraphina greeted him back.

- "So, uh, miss Leilah, what do we do now?" Kayden asked.

- "Well, we need to get out of here, that's for sure." She said.

- "We need to escort her back to Wellston." She added, given the current situation.

- "Okay, I'll get a vehicle ready." He said while going outside.

After this, there was a silence between the sisters.

- "Hey Leilah..." Seraphina said while making a pause.

- "Let's try to talk more often from now on, okay?" She humbly asked.

- "Sure! You know how to contact me so don't worry and just ask anything."

And so, they returned to Wellston, and Seraphina arrived safely to the dorms.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #37, END ---

Le Bonus:

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Boys Dormitories, John's Room ---

As the weekend arrived in Wellston, a lot of students managed to pass their free time by doing various activities.

Going out, hanging around with friends, doing assignments for school, and the list goes on.

And John was no exception, as he was waking up.

He slept peacefully and without any interruptions, as always since that day.

After he gets up, he stretches as always, with absolute calm, because he had no class today.

Then, he walked to the kitchen, to make food for him and Doe.

- "You up?" He asked to Doe.

After this calling, Doe appeared waving his tail from side to side.

And John started to pat his head, before giving him his food.

For some reason, John felt rather relaxing just to be there with Doe.

Just hanging out, chilling and passing the time.

Then, John started to think about his current situation.

He already knew what to do.

A new objective in his mind.

A new person in his life.

And that itself made him happy.

*But I can't help to think that I'm missing something to do yet...* He thought.

*Click*

The noise of the toaster distracted him, and soon enough he forgot about this sudden thought, due to the flavor of the french toast invaded his mind.

As he was slowly eating them, the more delicious it got for him at each bite.

These little things were giving him life in this hostile environment.

After finishing his breakfast, he put on work out clothes, to begin his morning routine along with Doe.

--- 10 Minutes Later ---

After they get out of the dorms, John was preparing for his morning routine, and when he was going out jogging, he encountered Remi, who was doing the same thing as well.

- "Oh." They said at the same time.

- "Hi." John greeted her.

- "Hello." Remi greeted him.

- "I didn't expect you to be here this early." He bluntly said.

- "Well, you said I should work on my speed..." She explained.

- "So here I am." She added.

- "I see..." He let out with a vague tone.

- "Also, remember to work on having a stable posture too, otherwise, you'll get tired soon." He said with a serious face. 

- "Also well, even though physical specs play a huge part in this, you also need to be efficient with your moves." He explained.

- "But you're doing great, so it's okay." He said with honesty.

- "Thanks!" She said with a smile.

Then, John blushed a bit at this sight.

- "S-So..." He said while trying to recover his composure.

- "Since we're here, we can go together if you want..." He added.

- "That sounds great!" She said with a cheerful tone.

After this, John and Remi went to do their training together.

Even though these things were rather simple and common to do.

It was special for both.

Because it was something that connected them.

They didn't need any complex reasons for having that connection.

Ever since that answer, they stopped putting barriers between what they truly want to do.

They could be genuine with one another.

--- 2 Hours Later ---

After a few hours of training, they found an empty place in a park, so they went and stayed there for a while.

In all that time they've spent together training, they've made progress for both sides.

Discussing their abilities, but most importantly, improving themselves.

- "That was really productive!" Remi commented after laying on the ground.

- "Definitely." John agreed with her comment.

- "Also, do you think you could do what we talked about before with your ability...?" She said with curiosity.

- "I think I could..." John said with a serious tone.

- "But I can't be too sure about it, I mean it worked just once when we practiced that before..." He said while a lot of stuff suddenly was invading his mind.

After this, John remained silent for a while, with a serious face.

- "What's wrong?" Remi asked with a worried tone, as she saw John's face.

- "Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about what happened to dad and all that..." John answered right after.

- "I don't know, I can't help to do something about it." He added.

- "But what could I do in the first place? I'm just a high-school student against the whole thing."

- "That's true..." Remi bluntly said.

- "I guess that you could respect what he wanted in the first place." She said after remembering what William said that time.

- "He doesn't want you to get hurt, and me neither." She said with sincerity.

- "And we can always go to see him, you've been seeing him since day one." She added.

- "Yeah... I was thinking of seeing him after this as well." John said.

- "Do you mind if I tag along?" She asked since she also wanted to know how William was.

- "Not at all, actually I was going to ask you that." He answered.

- "So... where do we go now?" He asked.

- "Well, let's go to a usual place I go for eating lunch." Remi commented.

- "Alright... lead the way then." John said with a smile on his face.

--- Wellston General Hospital, Room 247 ---

Since the restaurant didn't allowed animals inside, they decided to come back to the dorms and prepare lunch themselves.

And John wanted to take care of Doe's health, so he decided to let him rest in the dorm.

After John and Remi had their lunch, they went to visit William at the hospital.

When they arrived, they wrote their names in the visits registry and managed to get inside.

The room in which William is in is a room located on the 4th floor of the hospital.

When they arrived on that floor, John knocked on the door.

- "Hi dad." John said while opening the door.

- "Oh, hey John!" William said while waving his hand, standing on his feet.

William seemed a whole lot better than before.

He didn't have a lot of bandages like before.

He could move more freely, as the injuries he had before were light, compared to before.

William was letting behind this cruel event of his life.

And this fact made John felt relief and got reflected in a little smile on his face.

- "Did you brought Doe with you again?"

- "This time I couldn't bring him up, so I had to go back to the dorms." He said with a sad face.

- "I see..." William said with a sad face as well.

- "Although Remi tagged along to see you." John said, trying to cheer him up.

- "Hey Mr. William!" Remi said as she greeted him.

- "Hello Remi! And just William is fine." He said in a cheerful tone.

- "O-Okay!" She replied right after.

Then, William stared at them.

- "Hmm..." He let out, with a hand on his chin.

Both John and Remi stayed wondering why he stayed silent and stared at them with a concentrated look.

After that, William made a smirk before starting to talk.

- "Are you two dating~?" He asked right away with a smug tone.

And they remained silent for a bit.

- "Yeah... we are." They said after the silence.

After this confirmation, William hugged both.

He was simply happy to see that his son was trying to move on with his life.

- "I'm so happy for you." William said after this.

- "H-Hey, you're doing super good as well." John managed to say at this unexpected reaction.

- "Your injuries are almost gone by now." He added.

- "Well, what can I say?" William said while shrugging his arms.

- "Oh, also the nurse that is taking care of me is super dedicated though..." He added while recalling his experience in the hospital.

- "I wonder why..." John said while his eyes were looking away.

- "She always explains what she's doing and she even managed to get a healer to speed up the process..." William said while wondering why John made that comment in the first place.

- "So this nurse, managed to contact one to heal me up, although isn't that powerful and can't maintain their ability for a lot of time, I wanted to keep that as a surprised." He commented.

- "But even so, that's great!" Remi said with a cheerful tone.

- "So, with this in mind, I'll be done with my treatment by next week." He said, informing about his current situation.

- "That's nice..." John said while making a light smile on his face.

- "Yeah..." Remi said agreeing with John's comment.

- "I was already thinking of bringing Elaine here once in a while to help William..." She commented.

- "Who?" He asked out of a sudden.

- "It's a classmate of ours, she is really nice, and a powerful healer on top of that." She said, explaining who this person was.

- "But she seems to be rather scared around John, so I chose to not do it." 

- "As she should be." John said with a harsh tone.

- "She treated me like trash every time since I've met her, only to scare herself after knowing the fact that I have an ability." He explained.

- "is that so... but we can't stay trapped with what we've seen until now." Remi said while looking at John.

- "It's possible to change, everyone can." She said with conviction.

- "Yeah... that's true." John said, recalling what Remi said on that day.

After this, there was absolute silence.

This lasted for a bit until William made a smile.

- "Well, I see that you're in good hands, son."  William said with sincerity.

- "I know that he's problematic, complicated, and I could go all day long with his flaws..." He added.

- "You're not helping-" John quickly commented before getting interrupted.

- "BUT. Take care of him, please." William said, finishing his speech.

- "Yeah... I will." Remi said while looking at John, with a gentle smile on her face.

- "Also..." William said.

- "I. Want. Details. Now." He said with curiosity.

And with this, they spent the rest of the day talking about the beginning of everything.

Chapter Text

--- Arlo's Apartment ---

A new week.

As people were going to their jobs, and students were going to their respective schools from their homes.

And so was Arlo, who was preparing his notebooks for school.

This last weekend, he spent his time thinking about the past.

As he thought about how he would have to deal with John.

Alone.

And this time, he had to make sure that no one would interfere.

This itself wasn't so difficult for him.

But after his conversation with Blyke, he felt that he lacked something.

And he thought about the things he would do when he recovers the title back.

As he is going to unite students again...

Or so he thought.

He couldn't explain it.

But Arlo couldn't come up with an answer, but at the same time, he knew that letting John on the throne wasn't going to do any good for anyone.

The reason for this hesitating was the lack of resistance of the students to John.

Even though the students were scared of getting close to him.

He didn't do anything to anyone.

He didn't enforce the order.

He didn't set an example for anyone.

He wasn't acting like a high-tier was supposed to be.

And yet, things were the same as before.

The students were doing the same things as before as nothing happened.

For some reason, the vision he had about his previous rule...

Felt rather underwhelming for him at the moment.

If I just want to dethrone John to return things as they were before...

Then I'm not making any difference.

He couldn't let that unpleasant feeling inside his mind take over.

The feeling of his actions was not as good as he thought they were.

At this, Arlo grabbed his phone.

And called one of the few people he could trust.

*Calling Aunt Valerie*

...

...

- "Hello? Arlo?" Valerie asked over the phone while yawning a bit.

- "Hello, sorry for waking you up." He greeted with a serious tone.

- "Don't worry about it, I just had to stay until late in my shift..." She commented.

- "Why?" He asked.

- "Well, I had to search for someone... but to no avail, it was a rather unproductive work shift for me, that's all I'm allowed to say." She said while sounding a bit disappointed.

- "Anyways, what happened?" She asked immediately, changing the subject.

- "Why do you assume something happened..." He said. 

- "Well, you seemed pretty decided when you leave that time, and now you're calling me a while later." She explained her reasoning.

- "So that makes me think that something happened." She calmly said right after.

- "Don't stay silent, you know you can always count on me." She said, trying to encourage Arlo to explain what was happening.

- "Thanks..." He said with a bit of relief in his voice.

- "The thing is... I have a question for you, I thought you might help me." He said with honesty.

- "Sure!" She replied to his honesty in kind.

- "Have you ever thought before about your own actions?" He bluntly asked.

- "...I need you to be more specific." Valerie said after a little pause because she wasn't expecting a question like this.

- "I mean, that if you always feel like you do the right thing?" He rephrased the question.

- "I know you're a high-ranking official with tons of experience in your field..." He added.

- "But-" He said before getting interrupted.

- "I assume that all this struggling you're having is about your Kingship, correct?" She asked straight away.

But Arlo remained silent.

Valerie understood this silence as a yes, and she wasn't wrong about it.

Thus, she began to talk once again.

- "Well... to be honest, when I first started with my job, I used to have those kinds of doubts..." She began to talk about her past, in a serious tone.

- "Having doubts about your morals, because of some bad guys out there isn't nice at all." She commented.

- "And there were sometimes where I actually messed up because of my doubts." She added.

- "That wasn't a nice experience at all." She stated.

- "In those kinds of moments, I remembered the reason I was there in the first place."

- "And that is to protect what's dearest to me." She said seriously, but with a softer tone than before.

- "That's how I dealt with my own struggles when I was around your age." She added.

- "So... if you feel you didn't execute your actions in a way you would be satisfied with, then I suggest you keep trying until you are."

- "Until you're satisfied with the outcome you want." She said, trying to 

- "Well, is probably harder to accomplish than it sounds like, but I trust in your judgment, Arlo."

After this, Arlo remained silent for a while, processing this long phone talk.

- "Arlo? Are you in there? Hello?" Valerie asked since there was too much silence from Arlo's phone.

- "Yeah..." Arlo finally began to talk once again.

- "I was just thinking about all you said." He explained.

- "But I feel more relieved now, as I have a better picture of what I have to do now." He stated.

- "Thanks." He added, unconsciously smiling.

- "You're welcome." She replied back.

- "Well, I'm going to school now, so until next time." He said with a better semblance.

- "Okay! Until next time!" She said before hanging up the phone.

*Call finished.*

She's right...

I shouldn't give up just like that.

If I'm not satisfied with how I did things before...

Then I should keep trying until I am.

--- Wellston's Campus --- 

It was already the evening.

As John was going for his last class of the day.

He got out of the building, watching the nature of the campus, going to the main building, he noticed some students together, chatting around while looking at him.

He found that last part out of place, but he didn't pay them any attention, as he just walked to his next class.

"Nice! I was wondering when he was going to do that."

"Yeah..."

"I can't wait to see how it goes!"

"Me neither, honestly I want Arlo to win."

"H-Hey... let's go somewhere else, guys."

"I don't want to be close when those two clashes."

"Holy sh*t, you're right, let's watch from a safe distance instead."

*Arlo...?* John reacted as he heard those students gossiping. *What the f*ck is he planning this time?*

As the students were walking away from John, he actually saw nothing weird in this action.

But because of this, he didn't notice that they weren't getting away because of him.

- "John." Arlo said, calling him.

After this, John turned around, as he saw Arlo.

- "Arlo..." John said while getting his good mood ruined by his presence.

- "What the f*ck do you want?" He coldly asked.

- "Your days as King are over." Arlo answered.

- "Are you being serious?" John said while getting a bit irritated by his behavior.

- "What makes you feel that you have a chance against me this time?" He asked.

- "If it's the two of us without interruptions..." Arlo answered while pausing himself.

- "I'll have more than one chance." He stated with a serious face.

John saw that there was no one around.

This meant that he couldn't force any student to use their ability, to have something to defend himself against Arlo.

The halls were unnaturally empty.

Because nobody wanted to be close in a fight between two God-Tiers as powerful as them.

One of them has a powerful passive, and the other one requires to sample another person's aura in order to work.

Ironically, this fight between two God-Tiers isn't going to be settled with abilities.

As Arlo knew he had an overwhelming physical advantage, due to his body armor.

But this disadvantage isn't going to stop John.

- "You're not going to accomplish anything by having a worthless title back." John said while shrugging.

- "The only way you see it like that is because the current owner of that title is worthless as well."

- "I plan to put everything in order again, and I'll need every kind of authority that I can get." He added with conviction.

- "Yeah sure, like a backstabbing piece of sh*t like you could put the oh-so-righteous-order you want." John said, as his anger was growing inside of him.

- "You didn't do it before, and you're not going to do that again." He added.

- "You just want your title back because you can't stand not being above everyone else." He said, trying to read Arlo's true reasons.

- "Bark whatever you want, I'm not hiding anything this time." Arlo replied back with honesty.

- "Keep lying to yourself, Arlo, it's not like the title is going to last you a lot of time either." John quickly comes up with something to say.

- "And why is supposed to be like that?" Arlo asked.

- "I told you before..." John said.

- "That I will destroy this hierarchy, once for all." He said with a serious face.

- "Don't say nonsense..." Arlo said, quickly trying to shut down John.

- "That's impossible, and you know it, no matter how powerful you are you're just bluffing." He added.

- "Say whatever you want, Arlo." John said while looking at Arlo's eyes with a cold glare.

- "I'm not gonna change my mind." He stated.

Then, John turned around.

- "I have nothing else to say to you." He said while walking away.

For some reason, Arlo could see that John's usual instability disappeared.

He saw John acted more composed...

But maintaining his views on the matter.

He didn't let rage overtake him.

And this made Arlo unconsciously cautious of this unknown behavior.

If he could compare it to something...

It could be like when John was climbing up the ranks.

He felt determination coming from John.

This wasn't a good sign for him.

Then, Arlo grabbed John's arm.

- "..." John remained silent as he glared at Arlo.

- "Don't touch me." He said with a menacing and cold tone.

- "Make me." Arlo said back.

- "You can't keep running away forever you know." He added.

Then, John stopped moving.

*Me...? Running away from someone like him...?* He thought as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

The reason why this petty provocation was taking effect, had a lot of factors.

The events that happened between them.

False hope.

Betrayal.

Hypocrisy.

And later on, he even hurt Doe.

All of those things were echoing in John's mind.

He was barely handling the situation without exploding out of rage.

And until that phrase, he was actually succeeding.

Unfortunately... that didn't last for long.

As he immediately turned back, with his fist clenched.

- "Better watch your f*cking mouth!" He said filled with anger while throwing a quick right punch into Arlo's face.

But, that didn't even faze Arlo.

While he prepared for the counterstrike.

*BAM!*

That right straight connected right into John's stomach.

He couldn't avoid getting at all, as he took the full impact of that strike.

But this wasn't enough to take John down.

And Arlo himself knew this.

Even though he isn't unscathed, he stands up again.

- "You're going to regret this." John said as he activated his ability.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #39, END ---

Chapter Text

--- Wellston Private High School, Headmaster's Office ---

At the same time, the fight was starting, Keene, the Head of Security of Wellston, knocked on the door of the headmaster's office.

- "Come in." Vaughn said.

Then, the beige-haired man opened the door.

- "Sure... Why do you call me for?" Keene asked straight to the point.

- "I got a warrant yesterday from the authorities. They're coming today." Vaughn said with a serious face.

- "Talk about short notice..." Keene commented.

- "Okay, so who's the one who is coming right now?" He asked.

- "The same officer as the last two times and I guess that other lady as well." Vaughn commented.

- "Them, huh...?" The beige-haired man bluntly said. 

- "Yes, so be prepared to receive them when they arrive." The teal-haired man instructed.

- "Understood. Anything else?" Keene asked.

- "Yes, I need you to bring Blyke to my office." Vaughn answered.

- "I would like to have a word with him before he talks to the authorities." He added.

- "Oh, so they're looking for Blyke?" Keene asked while getting a bit surprised. 

- "What happened this time?" He added.

- "The warrant said nothing about why they are sending people here." Vaughn commented.

- "But it seems that the rumors were true after all." He added.

- "The rumor that Blyke was a vigilante?" Keene asked.

- "Exactly." Vaughn answered.

- "A week later after the news of a new vigilante spread all over the country, they sent me this warrant." He explained his reasoning why this could be true.

- "And since Blyke is one of the most powerful students in the region, of course, the authorities are going to take preventive measures against it, seems like a thing they would do." He said, connecting the dots.

- "I don't want them sticking their nose in my business, but if I just decline then he will show up, now that I already rejected to help them last time." He added.

- "That person is the only reason why the authorities can do whatever they want." He said with a disgusted tone.

- "That's true... his existence can be pretty bothersome." Keene agreed with Vaughn's statements.

-  "And also... I can't face him yet." Vaughn said.

- "Keene. How are the preparations for that?" He asked, getting impatient.

- "Unfortunately, they are still not responding about it." Keene brought out the bad news.

- "They said they have some internal struggles to produce what you asked for."  He explained.

- "But they were pretty vague about it." He added.

- "I don't know, if you ask me, they were just lying about it." He expressed his opinion.

- "If there's one in a million chance that what they were talking about were true, I would take that gamble any day." Vaughn said right after.

- "Let them know that they have until the end of the month, if they don't make a clear answer about it, just call the deal off." He said with a cold and calculating tone.

- "Understood." Keene answered.

After this, Vaughn and Keene felt noise from a distance, and it was loud enough to be heard even to the headmaster's office.

- "What is that noise?" Vaughn asked.

- "It seems to be like an excited crowd." Keene replied.

- "The only things that seem to entertain the students around here are fights, it's kinda underwhelming at this point." Vaughn said while sighing.

- "And for being so loud that even reaches this office then it means that it's an extremely big crowd." Keene commented.

- "I guess it must be Blyke and Isen fighting, they tend to fight each other once in a while, hold on let me check." He said while activating his ability.

Keene, as the person in charge of security inside of the school, and by Vaughn's orders, he makes sure that no outsider enters to meddle inside of Wellston.

And his ability allows him to detect people's auras, and the amount of aura that person possesses in an extremely wide area that covers the entirety of the school, among some other things, making him an extremely valuable person for security purposes.

After this, he concentrated for an instant to check who were the ones fighting specifically.

- "What is it?" Vaughn asked, after seeing Keene's concerned face.

- "It's not Blyke and Isen..." Keene said.

- "Then who?" Vaughn asked him.

- "It's... John and Arlo." He answered.

After being told this, Vaughn remained silent, while sipping his cup of tea.

- "This isn't going to end well, Keene." Vaughn said in a calm tone, after sighing.

- "Please call Blyke and tell him to wait here, after that we'll go to stop that fight." He instructed.

- "Alright. I'm on it." Keene said while getting up, and walking to the exit.

--- Wellston's Classroom ---

*RIIING!* The ringing of the school's bell, announcing the end of the class resonated through the school.

- "Alright, this should be all for today, remember to study for the next test." The teacher said after classes were over.

After this, Remi, Blyke, and Isen got out of the classroom.

- "Damn it! I barely understand what is the teacher talking about, and now there's a test?!" Isen ranted about the class.

- "Give me a break!" He vented out.

- "Maybe if you paid attention since the beginning you might be able to understand better though." Blyke said.

- "Well, everyone has their own things they're good or bad at." Remi commented.

- "See, Blyke? Remi gets it." Isen said. 

- "That doesn't give you good grades though-" Blyke was making his comeback but was interrupted by a sudden message.

*Blyke. Please report to the main office immediately.*

- "..." Blyke remained silent and sighed.

- "I guess this is it..." He bluntly said.

- "Well, you were super obvious, just go there and accept any punishment that they'll give you." Isen said while patting Blyke's back.

- "Maybe Vaughn will be lenient with you if you do that." Remi commented while patting Blyke's back as well.

- "You're right..." Blyke agreed.

- "Well, I'll see you guys later and tell you how it went." He said with a positive tone.

After this, Blyke changed directions and went to the main office.

Although this didn't last for long, as a girl bumped into him before he could leave.

- "I'm sorry! It wasn't my intention to do that!" The girl said.

- "It's okay, but why the rush?" Blyke asked.

- "There's a huge fight in the main campus right now! You can't miss it!" She commented with excitement.

- "That's not something to be excited for." Remi scolded the girl, but she wasn't severe nor soft in her voice, but serious.

- "S-Sorry..." The girl said while her face becomes gloomy.

- "But I heard Arlo was challenging John for his title, so I had to go watch the fight!" She tried to explain her behavior.

- "What?!" The three of them asked at the same time.

- "So Arlo went and did it anyway..." Blyke let out.

- "What do you mean by that?" Remi asked right away.

- "A few days ago, he asked me to help him, I refused him on the spot, though." Blyke answered.

- "But he already knows that John can't face him without an ability! Why asking for help?" Isen commented.

- "I don't know... but he was really weird at that time." Blyke pointed out.

- "But honestly, Arlo has that fight pretty much in the bag." Isen analyzed.

- "I have to go." Remi said with a worried tone.

- "I have a bad feeling about this..." She added.

- "Are you worried that he could get hurt?" Blyke said, trying to guess why Remi was getting worried.

- "Kinda, but that's not all of it, I can't avoid having this bad feeling about..."Remi explained. 

- "I don't like that, I'll go too." Isen said while walking along with Remi.

- "Me too." Blyke said at last.

- "Hey, they didn't call you just a while ago?!" Isen asked while getting irritated.

- "I'll go later! We have to go there first or things may get out of hand!" Blyke answered.

- "Then let's go!" Remi said, leading the way.

--- Wellston's Campus ---

*Sh*t! No matter what I try, I can't land any good strike on him!* John thought while trying to make enough time to create another plan.

John's strategy until now for dealing against Arlo was striking him on weak points.

But Arlo's body armor was protecting him from any dangerous hit.

Thus, John's only option was trying to land a strike on Arlo's eyes, as his most exposed vitals.

But even that option was shut down by Arlo, as he took a fighting stance covering his face.

This time, Arlo was taking John as a serious threat.

Without playing around.

John knew that this strategy could work on an opponent who didn't take him seriously.

As he tried to pull a new trick he learned a while before, a product of his training with Remi, but couldn't make it.

The reason why he couldn't pull that out was that he was too agitated.

So until now, John was just using hit and run tactics, waiting for a chance.

*Calm down! I need to focus!* He repeated that inside of his mind, but he couldn't reach a consensus.

As he barely managed to dodge Arlo's punches.

- "Tch!" Arlo let out as his punches were getting dodged.

*Although it doesn't matter if I keep missing... I will land a hit eventually.* Arlo thought, knowing that a long fight would benefit him.*Unless he can manage to copy an ability, he's powerless, but that's impossible for him in these circumstances.*

And this pattern stayed for a few minutes.

The fight was just getting into a stalemate since John couldn't land any decisive strike, and Arlo couldn't land any punch.

But this stalemate wouldn't last much longer.

*BAM!*

Eventually, that strike that Arlo was waiting for, finally came.

This forced John to take his usual parrying stance, to deflect serious damage that could make him unconscious.

One after the other was reaching John.

But none of those punches were good enough to seriously damage him, as he parried every hit.

Although, John's hands were beginning to strain and feeling numb for him, because of the tension his hands were being subject to.

*BAM!*

This little chain of events happened in a few seconds, triggered in a delayed reaction, due to the numbness in John's hands.

And eventually, that guard was broken down by Arlo's punches, leaving John with a swollen arm, on the verge of breaking.

Followed by a body blow.

- "UGH!" John let out, before starting to cough blood.

This followed to a straight punch right onto John's face.

This strike made John reel, falling on his knees.

Then, Arlo walked by closer, to finish this once for all.

And when Arlo finally got closer, John grabbed Arlo's ankle.

Why does always has to end up like this?

I'm sick of this.

As John managed to put a barrier to protect himself from Arlo's finishing strike.

But how did he managed to do such a feat?

Aura Manipulation is a complex ability.

As an ability that allows John to freely manipulate his own aura and change it at will, by sampling another person's aura.

And as the fruit of the diligent training he had with Remi, he managed to pull it out.

The hardest way he could imagine in order to overcome that weakness.

By sampling people's aura from inside of their bodies, as he could place his own aura where the source was, and watching all the process, as he concentrated aura in his eyes to make this possible.

Although is quite limited, since he can only sample abilities he has already seen and comprehend beforehand, due to the lack of physical feedback.

- "WHAT?!" Arlo couldn't believe what just happened, as his hand took the full brunt of his own strike, because of the reflective damage of his own ability.

- "WHAT KIND OF TRICK DID YOU-" Arlo managed to say before getting interrupted.

- "Shut up." He said, kicking Arlo in the stomach.

*BAM!*

- "ARGH!" Arlo let out, while blood was coming out of his mouth.

The kick was immediately followed by a right elbow, right onto Arlo's face.

And with nothing else to lose, due to the sudden increase in John's strength, Arlo had no choice but to activate his own ability.

Although that didn't help at all, since John had already overpowered him.

Even if he put his own barrier, John was barely taking reflective damage.

Then, Arlo finally noticed that John's hands had a sphere-like shape.

*He's... protecting his hands with barriers?! But that's impossib-* Arlo couldn't even manage to finish his own thoughts.

*BAM!*

The heavy sound of that punch resonated around.

Again.

And again.

And the students watching the fight couldn't believe what was happening.

As Arlo was finally beaten down, losing all trace of consciousness.

While John was standing there...

I did it...

I could finally be able to change something on my own.

I guess...

I'm not powerless anymore.

Victorious.

*Tap*

*Tap*

*Tap*

Sounds of footsteps could be heard getting closer to where John was.

- "Deactivate your ability in this instant, John!" The man quickly said.

And so, without thinking twice, John deactivated his ability.

He instinctively reacted out of fear to his order.

His hands were shaking.

When he turned back, he hoped that all of this was just a bad dream.

A silly delusion for an inescapable reality, as he immediately recognized that man's figure.

A figure that John would never like to see ever again in his life, as he was slowly remembering those days in that hell.

- "K-Keon..." John said while shaking.

- "It seems that you did not learn anything after all." Keon said in a severe tone while activating his ability.

--- Joker's Aftermath and Transition, Chapter #40, END ---