Chapter 114: Monsters Inside Us

Silvie was still staring at Hannah and the others from the trailer, her eyes blinking as she saw how relaxed everyone was; with everyone sitting on the ground with blankets and pillows-- all cooled by being placed above Tomoe's ice platform.

...Why did they even have a fire in the first place if they were going to just lay down on a cool sheet of ice-- Tomoe!

"Tomoe!"

The last thing that Silvie remembered before she lost consciousness was everything around her being thrown away due to her roar, including Tomoe.

"Are you… are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Tomoe only nodded as she sipped from a small glass.

"Are you su--"

"Aha! Our little soldier girl finally joins us! Yes ma'am, yes sir!"

Gary then quickly clapped and saluted his hands as soon as Silvie stepped on the ice platform.

"Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am," Gary then sheepishly repeated what he said as he placed a finger above his lips, pretending to have some sort of mustache, "You are under arrest for taking away an old woman's make-- Ugh!"

And before he could even finish his words, Hannah slapped her on the head, "Stop it!"

"W… what?" Gary stuttered, "She went all heil hitler on the dude."

"...Hitler?"

"Yeah, you know… the crazy dude that Mega Woman stopped before he went totally--"

"Enough," Hannah then shook her head as she approached Silvie, "Don't mind him, here. Join us."

"This is…" Silvie then furrowed her eyebrows as Hannah handed her a green bottle. She then looked around, only to see that this is also what Tomoe was drinking as she poured herself a glass.

"It's soju, a Korean alcohol," Hannah then said as she took a sip from her own bottle and returned to her spot, "Since we're parked on a grocery, it would be a bit inconsiderate not to buy anything."

"But… we're not allowed to--"

"We're not inside the Academy, relax."

"Heil Hitler! Heil--"

"Can you stop!?"

Gary's head once again met with Hannah's palm-- of course, he wasn't really feeling any pain, but still, he started rolling on the ground before crawling towards Riley, crying to him to seek revenge on his stead.

"..." Silvie watched as the others started bickering, but after a few more seconds, she twisted off the cap and proceeded to sit near Riley and Tomoe.

"Are… you sure you're not hurt?"

"I'm not. You do not have to worry about me, Silvie," Tomoe shook her head, "We're the ones that should be asking that to you," Tomoe then said as she raised her cup towards Silvie.

"I… think I am also fine," Silvie then muttered as she also raised her bottle and took a sip with Tomoe at the same time.

"...Wait," Gary then stood up as he pointed at Tomoe and Silvie, "Why hand Silvie a drink but not me!?"

"You?" Hannah almost snorted alcohol from her nose as she heard Gary's words, "You can't even handle a shot of alcohol and you want a bottle of soju? These things might look cute but they hit differently."

"You think the Dragon Monarch can't handle a simple beverage!?"

"No," Hannah, Silvie, and Tomoe all said in unison.

"You… betray me!?" Gary then raised his voice as he flicked his heavy cape, "Riley, don't tell me you too!?"

"I do not like alcohol, Gary," Riley quickly muttered before taking a sip from the straw of whatever it was he was drinking,

"It is too bitter to my liking."

"..." Hearing Riley not joining their play, Gary could only let out a small but deep sigh as he returned from his seat. Even Tomoe almost stopped drinking as she heard Riley's words, but Hannah gestured to her that she was being too… obsessive.

And so, the group just sat around the fire, looking at it as they all let out their breaths to release all the fatigue that was wrapping around their bodies.

"..."

"..."

"So… what happened out there, Silv?" And after a few more seconds, Hannah finally broke the silence that was pestering the air; opening up the topic that everyone seemed to want to hear.

"I saw the recording in your feed. You… crushed the guy's hand."

"Is… is he alright?" Silvie's voice then suddenly started to tremble as she hugged her legs, slowly burying the shame of her face on it.

"Yeah, he's going to be fine," Hannah muttered before taking a sip, "The police and ambulance arrived a minute after you lost consciousness. Tomoe carried you back here."

"That's… t… thank you," Silvie then slightly glanced at Tomoe, who only shook her head, "I… I don't really know what--"

And before she could even finish her words, small hiccups came out of her mouth as tears started to trail on her face.

"I… I'm sorry… it must be the alcohol," Silvie forced a chuckle as she wiped the tears off her face.

Of course, she knew herself that was a lie-- alcohol doesn't have an effect on her.

"You don't need to cry, Silv," Hannah let out a small sigh as she patted Silvie's shoulder, "at the very least, you took a thief away from the streets."

"But… he… he told me he has a family he needed to feed… I… I am remembering what I did now," Silvie once again covered her ears as she could once again hear almost everything around her, "I… I could have just neutralized him without… without him getting hurt, but I…

...I think I wanted to hurt him."

Silvie curled her body even tighter as her words became muffled, "I don't know what's happening to me anymore. It's getting worse and worse."

"..." The others could only look at each other as Silvie's cries whispered in the air; trying to find words of comfort, but none emerging as their friend was starting to lose it.

"I… I want to help people-- I really do… I think it's all I ever wanted to do ever since I discovered I could do things," Silvie gripped her arm, almost to the point that her costume made of layers of kevlar started to crinkle, "But… I don't think I'm a good person now, it feels like something… something inside me is just trying to come out. I… It's like a monster waiting to--"

"Well boohoo," and before Silvie's cries could grow louder, Gary suddenly grabbed her bottle and started gulping it down,

"We all have monsters inside us, you're not that special," Gary then said after letting out a loud and long burp,

"Tomoe and I are in the Potential Villain list, remember? Your monster is a baby compared to us. As for Hannah, she's too hot-headed and violent, like there's a raging gorilla hiding beneath that sexy body."

"..."

"And Riley…" Gary then slightly stuttered as he looked at Riley, "Actually… scratch that, one of us is special. But you get what I mean?"

"N… not really," Silvie sniffled as she wiped the tires on her face.

"What I mean is…" Gary then let out a small sigh as he looked at the fire.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I… forgot what I was going to say," Gary then burst out in an awkward chuckle, "But I swear it was something profound!"

"You stupid fuck, I was actually looking forward to that!" Hannah then rushed towards Gary, trying to kick him but he was able to dodge as he started dancing while holding the bottle.

"T… thank you, everyone."

Silvie then nodded her head as she grabbed another bottle from the ice platform, "To… to our monsters!"

"...Yeah," Hannah nodded as she quickly stopped chasing Gary, "To our little monsters."

"Hm," Tomoe also raised her glass.

"To infinity and abo--"

And before Gary could finish his words, the sound of Riley's straw slurping whispered in the air.

"..."

"To me," Riley then raised his cup as he joined the others.

"Pft."

And with Riley's words, the others suddenly burst out in laughter, except for Tomoe, who clearly knew what he meant.

"...Trouble."

And as the group was having fun, Silvie suddenly stood up from the cold floor.

"...What?"

"We have company," Hannah also dropped her bottle as she looked towards the almost dozen cars that entered the parking lot.

And soon, those cars quickly circled their group, with the people in it stepping out with all sorts of guns and knives in their hands.

"...Fuck," Hannah then clicked her tongue as she recognized one of the gangsters-- the cyclist she had arrested earlier,

"I knew it."