This World

by Lee, TD

  I get to Drake’s apartment only to remember that he didn’t give me a key or anything. How am I supposed to get in? I knock on the door and to my surprise Drake is on the other side.

  “You’re back,” Drake says, a bit sluggishly. He stumbles a bit as he walks and falls on the couch.

  I walk over to him and as I get closer, my nose gets a whiff of a strange scent coming from him. It’s a weird stench that’s not exactly repulsive, but definitely strange. I look at the coffee table next to the cough to find several knocked over bottles of alcohol. Ah, there it is.

  “Are you okay?” I ask.

  “Mm, what does it matter?” he responds with a yawn.

  I scratch my head. “Well you don’t look too good.”

  “I drink to forget kid,” he takes a deep sigh, which causes a stream of alcoholic air to be blown in my face. “I’d much rather forget what happened today at the agency.”

  “Do you really believe King?” I ask.

  He sits up right, and rubs his forehead. His head shakes as he says, “I don’t. Or at least I don’t think I do. The night you guys met me at the bar and when I talked to Adele, she knew things and said things that I am completely for which is why I agreed to help. But after King’s speech I can’t help, but keep thinking that he’s right. Adele knows a lot of stuff and has been a bit too prepared and convenient. But it’s King, he’s known to be manipulative. I can’t let him do that. Adele has my support.”

  It’s good to hear him be pretty calm and supporting Adele. I was a little worried that he was just going to abandon the case.

  “You’re really articulate for being drunk,” I remark.

  “Believe me, it’ll take a lot more than what I had to get me fully drunk. I’m just a bit tipsy, and tired. I haven’t slept soundly in a long time,” he says, yawning. “You might want to get some sleep, you’ve been up since the incident this morning. Have a good one.” He waves me away as he plops back on the couch.

  “Yeah, have a good night,” I say before going into Drake’s bedroom.

  I lie down on the bed and my whole body feels absolute comfort, almost as if my exhaustion is being absorbed into the bed. It’s nice to finally just lie down and relax.

  Shit, it’s been an information dump of a day. I’m exhausted. Even though King’s words did ring a bell in my head that Adele knows more than she should, it’s hard to dismiss the fact that Adele has been really helpful. Her heart is in the right place and I believe in that and I’m glad that Drake does too. I’m worried about Ainia though, she’s an angry one. Kirika I’m surprised was pretty angry, but maybe she’ll calm down by tomorrow. It’s been a pretty emotional day too. Ainia, Drake, and Dom told me their history and it was just a lot to take in in one day. Drake and Dom both said that I’m easy to talk to. I still don’t quite get it, but I’m glad that they seem better after talking to me, even if I had nothing interesting or appropriate to say back to them.

  Before I know it, my thoughts start becoming empty and my eyes drift off to sleep.

  Chapter 29

  I’m woken up by the seemingly never ending buzz of my phone. My eyes groggily adjust to the brightness of my phone screen. I have some missing calls, but a ton of unread messages. My fingers slowly unlock my screen and I find a bombardment of text messages from Dom, surprisingly. The next keep coming, but they are essentially repeating the same thing. I read through all of the messages, and even the ones that are still being sent and what I gather is a huge surprise.

  Wake up and get your ass over here! Adele was arrested for murder! Get over here now!

  What? Adele arrested for murder? How, what, when, why, where, what? My body immediately gains this weird surge of energy as I shoot myself up and run to the living room. Drake is still sleeping on the couch with the TV on. I shake him and tell him to wake up until he actually does.

  “What? What? Why are you shaking me?” he tiredly asks with his eyes barely open.

  “Have you seen your phone? Dom has been texting me saying Adele was arrested for murder!” I tell him, still shaking him.

  His eyes shoot open and shock. “She what?”

  “She got arrested for murder, or at least that’s what Dom has been texting me. We should head over to the agency,” I suggest.

  “Yeah, yeah, give me a sec,” he says, groaning as he gets up from the couch. He stretches his arms and back out and starts walking over to his balcony. “Let’s go.”

  I move over to him. He positions himself with his back facing me. I take this as a cue to jump and hold onto his back rather than having him carry me from the front. This seems safer. I hop onto him and he immediately takes off into flight.

  The sun is starting to rise, sot here’s an orange glow throughout the sky. And I don’t know how, but it seems like Drake is flying faster than normal. I don’t understand how anyone has control over that, but I’m impressed. Ridley no, this is the wrong time to be thinking like that. Adele was arrested. For murder too. Adele isn’t capable of something like that, right? With what King was saying through Mari yesterday, it’s a weird coincidence that something like this would happen. Adele couldn’t have done it. She’s just not that kind of person. Or at least according to Dom she isn’t.

  Drake lands at the agency and we run inside. We hear loud thrashing inside the office. When we go in, it’s Dom who is angrily pacing around and punching the walls. Shiko is in here, but he looks a little more scared than anything else.

  Dom notices that Drake and I arrived and she says, “Where the hell have you been!? I’ve been texting you two for hours!” Her eyes are fighting to stay open. Has she been up all night?

  “Sorry, people need sleep,” Drake apologizes. “What happened though? What do you mean Adele has been arrested for murder?”

  “Exactly that, she was arrested for murder last night!” Dom yells. Her voice is annoyed, frustrated, and frantic. “Those dumbasses said that Adele was the last to see Mariana and the accompanying cops that were taking her to HERO HQ therefore implicating her as the murderer. It’s a stupid reason, but they had no other suspects, or so they say.”

  “Wait, back up. Mariana is dead?” Drake asks.

  Dom nods her head and explains, “Yeah, she and the two other cops that took her away. They were found with, get this, heroic weapons lodged inside their bodies. So basically they died the same way that Mariana would kill supers and anyone else.”

  “Did they not think that she caused the deaths?” Drake inquires.

  “I don’t know, I’m not them,” Dom answers sassily.

  “How was Adele throughout the whole thing?” I ask. This is all so weird.

  “At first, she was fighting against them to be arrested. But after a while she submitted to them. She said not to worry and left with them. How the hell can I not be worried?” Dom answers.

  “So she went willingly after a bit?” Drake responds. “She must have something up her sleeve or absolute faith in you to figure out what to do.”

  “But that’s the thing, I have no idea what to do at all! I’m used to her bailing me out of situations, not the other way around,” Dom says, exasperated about the whole situation. “They won’t let me visit her at all,” Dom remarks angrily. “And they might have banned me from entering the place since I beat up most of the security team.”

  “Where’s Vesper right now?” I ask.

  “With Adele. When they came to get her, he immediately hitched onto her shadow. Smart move considering he can break her out,” Dom says.

  “So why not just wait to have him break her out?” Drake questions.

  “Because if that happened, then it should’ve happened by now. Adele has a clean record and this is something that’s major. I’m sure that if she were to break out, they would kill her on the spot since they consider her such a danger to the public.”

  “So what do we do?” I ask.

  “Hell if I know! If I knew, I would’ve done it by now and not have you guys all come here,” Dom answers,
gritting her teeth.

  Drake scratches his chin a bit and says, “I’ll try talking to her. She’s being held at the HERO HQ?”

  “She is and how are you going to do that?” Dom asks.

  “I may be hated, but I’m still a part of HERO. It wouldn’t be hard for me to talk to her. I can act as if I’m one of the people assigned to her or whatever. I’ll figure something out,”

  “That is better than doing nothing at all and not knowing what to do,” I say.

  Dom takes a deep sigh. “Yeah, do that. Let us know if you find anything out.”

  “Will do,” Drake says, leaving the office.

  “What should I do?” I ask, “If there is anything I can actually do.”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. I hardly know what to do. But keep yourself occupied somehow. Talk to Ainia if you can, have her know that Adele isn’t a mastermind and have her help,” Dom replies.

  “I’ll try talking to Ainia,” I say. It’s not a bad idea. We need all the support we can get right now and Ainia is a part of this entire thing.

  “Good, I’ll try talking to Kirika then. Neither of the two have responded back or showed up, so I hope they do or I will hunt down their asses and kick them until they can’t sit,” Dom remarks.

  “Alright, well, keep me updated if there’s anything new,” I say before leaving the office.

  As I leave I notice Shiko follows after me. He must be pretty scared of how Dom’s reacting right now. Poor pup, but then again he can become a giant monster so I don’t know how exactly he can be scared. Wait, now’s not the time to be focused on that. I need to call Ainia, maybe she can help out.

  I take out my phone and call her. It rings, but no one picks up. Come on Ainia, I know you’re a stick in the mud, but now is not the time to be ignoring calls. I call again, but the familiar ring tone and silence answers me instead. Shit. I keep calling, but there’s no answer. Ainia’s probably still angry, she’s the type of person to take a while to simmer down once she’s upset.

  I don’t know what to do now. Ainia won’t pick up, Adele is arrested, and just things seem to be spiraling out of control. How did this all happen? And how are the police thinking Adele is the one that committed murder? Damn, I really wish I knew what to do right now.

  A long sigh escapes my mouth. I look around and find myself in front of a familiar bakery. Maybe I should take a small break, clear my head from the confusion and refocus. I push the door open and an accompanying bell echoes throughout the bakery. As soon as I walk in I can smell a sweet scent in the air, like freshly baked bookies. No one's at the counter, but I hear a voice call out, "Someone will be right with you!"

  Shiko is panting happily and taking deep breaths. His tail is wagging so happily. I wonder if he knows what’s going on. Are Evolmon just like animals or are they smarter or dumber? That’s something I’ll have to ask an expert.

  A couple of seconds later, I hear something rolling from the kitchen and a familiar voice, "Ridley?"

  "Hi Sadie," I greet her with a smile that I manage to muster up. Looking at her now, she looks significantly better than she did at the hospital. It's good to see her so much more alive. Although, I’m a bit surprised she’s here considering it’s still a school day.

  "It's been a bit, how have you been?" she asks, tilting her head and smiling me.

  "Really busy. I've been meaning to visit, but never really found the time, sorry," I say.

  "It's okay, we all have our own lives,” she says. She is able to peek over the counter a bit and see Shiko. “Who’s your adorable friend?”

  “Oh, this is Shiko,” I introduce. Shiko politely barks and continues to pant.

  “You’re adorable! I would love to pet you right now, but work ethics and all that,” she says with a small smile on her face. Anyway, what can I get you?" she asks, her hands ready on the cash register.

  I look up at the menu and the assortment of food that's on display. There’s so much and it’s not like I had anything planned. I just game in here on a whim. "Um, uh, um. I have no idea to be honest."

  Sadie smiles and laughs quietly. "You sound like Hiro. How about I get you what I normally would get for him?"

  "Sounds good," I answer with a nod. It'll be interesting to see what Hiro liked.

  "Okay, I'll get that ready for you and we can talk after," Sadie says rolling herself back into the kitchen.

  I take a seat and just look around. There’s a couple of other people here just minding their own business, little do they know that something big might happen because of King. Then again, I was like that too. I didn’t care about any super stuff, but look at me now. Sucked into this weird vortex of turmoil. How did this happen? A couple months ago I wouldn’t even believe I’d be in this kind of situation.

  The bell of the door opens, I habitually look at who enters and I’m surprised to find Kirika. She moves over to the counter without noticing that I’ve been just staring at her.

  I hear Sadie’s voice call out from the kitchen, “Sorry, I will be right out as soon as I can!”

  Kirika nods her head and looks around. She and I make direct eye contact, but I immediately look down at the table as if I didn’t see her. I can see her, in my peripheral, start moving towards me and she sits down right across from me. “Ridley, I didn’t expect to see you here.” She pulls off a couple of earbuds that were in her ears.

  “Er, uh, hi Kirika, yeah I wouldn’t have expected to see you here too,” I manage to say. Oh God I didn’t except for her to actually talk to me.

  “Have you put any thought in what King was saying about Adele?” she directly asks me.

  I look up at her face and it’s serious, a bit scarily so. “Y-yeah, I have. I’m going to trust Adele. Sure she may seem to know more than she’s letting on, but she does things because she cares. So, I believe in that goodness that she has.”

  Kirika leans back onto the chair and nods her head. “I see. That is probably the wisest choice you could make in this situation.”

  “What about you?” I ask. Out of the three that stormed out of Adele’s office yesterday, she did seem like the calmest one out of them all.

  Kirika takes a deep sigh. “I’m still undecided. On one hand, I understand King’s explanation, however we cannot trust that man’s words. But on the other, King does raise a rather good argument against Adele. She knows quite a bit more than I shared and has been rather convenient in her work. It’s a situation that I hate to be in.”

  “She had you use, um, Hag powers right? What is that?” I ask, hoping that it’s not insensitive to ask about.

  Kirika’s eyes go from serious to sad within a second as soon as I mention the Hag powers. “It was a bad time in my life.”

  “Um, are you okay telling me? I’d like to understand since it’s something that seems to be really weighing on you,” I say. “Out of everyone, I feel like you and I haven’t really gotten to talk to each other all that much.”

  “You’re right, we haven’t really interacted at all ever since we joined the case. Although, we have seen each other before, but it was I that was doing the advice giving,” Kirka says with a small smile on her face. “Regardless, if you would like to know I can tell you.”

  “Um, yeah, I’d love to know since I don’t know much,” I remark.

  Kirika nods her head and takes several deep breaths. “How long have you known about me?”

  “Um, several years I guess. I listened to your music when I was younger, but kinda fell off of it until recently,” I answer.

  “Do you not know what had happened? It was quite the headline at the time,” she responds.

  I scratch the back of my neck. “Uh, sorry, I don’t. I never was one to pay attention to super stuff back then, or sorta now too.”

  Kirika slightly smiles a bit. “Well, I was a Magical Musical Melange Maid. I went by the codename Forte and had the ability to manipulate plant life. I had lost all of that when I became a Hag.”

  “You became a Hag?
Sorry, but what’s a Hag?” I ask.

  “You really are quite unaware of the world around you,” she laughs lightly, “not too long ago we had a potential world ending event involving a Hag. A Hag has the ability to warp reality and completely alter perception. The Hag not too long ago made things look like a cartoony pop-up book. Fighting something on a 2D plane is quite the nuisance.”

  Oh right that weird giant monster thing. Hag, got it. That was Hiro’s first world ending event. “So, you were one of those Hags?”

  “Years, ago, yeah, I was,” she answers me sadly.

  “How?”

  Kirika takes another deep breath, her eyes looking down at the table in sad reminiscence. “Being a public influencer or figure is a difficult thing Ridley. One moment, fans love you, the next, they hate you. It’s always such an ambivalent situation that I was never quite sure how to handle. It got to me though, trying to please the masses. I grew jealous of the fellow Musical Maids. We were all competing against each other for popularity and public adoration, to the point that we never quite spoke to each other. We would only see each other during practices or training, nothing else. Then drama would happen. First it was Sharp who grew so jealous that her passion became something more dangerous, she started to kill. Then there was Slur, her passion became tainted and she resorted to drug abuse. Then me, my passion to become someone to inspire everyone because so corrupted that I would knowingly sabotage situations to paint me in a better light. It started off nicely to staging rescues, then escalated to more sinister things such as starting rumors about teammates, posting secrets to the public. Once the public found out about it, I snapped and I became a Hag because I was far too corrupted.”

  “How does that happen though? How do you become a Hag because under usual circumstances you would get chastised yeah, but not become a monster,” I question. All of this super stuff is still pretty new to me.

  She answers as her eyes gaze outside the window, “Musical Maids are found and put into a contract by, what’s essentially a godly being. That contract promises many amazing things that amplify our passion to do good. It gave us our powers, it allowed us to save people. Only a pure heart can form the contract. But the thing is, there’s a dark side to this contract. We’re locked into it forever until we turn into a Hag and die. The contract halts our aging, so we were the same age for far too long. I was fourteen for about five years. Then I became a Hag. The pure soul that first agreed to that contract became tainted and fueled my anger. I became a Hag that almost destroyed the city. I was so far gone that I went on a rampage. At the time and to this day, I don’t remember exactly what I was doing. I just remember feeling this relief of letting out all of this anger. All of the pain was finally being released and it felt good. But I hate that it felt good. I hate that it felt nice to be destroying the very things I was supposed to protect. I was finally stopped and somehow I remained alive. To this day I don’t understand how I was able to stay alive, but I did.”