Villain Retirement

"We should just break out, mother."

"For the last time, Riley. We do not want to cause any scene."

"We will not, mother. There is no causing trouble if there is no one to be troubled."

"...What?"

"We kill everyone. It's alright, we can do it."

Aerith and Riley were still inside the metal box. They have probably been there for days, only being provided food from the little hole that opens at different parts of the wall from time to time. It was a good thing neither of the two needed to defecate or anything like that due to their body's abilities... because it seems like these aliens– these people would not be providing them a bucket.

Right now, however, Aerith was starting to wonder if she likes Riley more when he was silent. He had been insisting he had lost his memory since the moment he woke up, but by the way he was talking… it didn't really seem like it.

"Remember what I told you?" Aerith could only roll her eyes as she faced Riley, "You save lives, Riley, not take them. You were… planet Protus' greatest superhero."

"..." Riley squinted his eyes as he returned Aerith's gaze, "Then why did we leave this planet Protus, exactly?"

"B… because it blew up," Aerith stuttered as she quickly removed her eyes away from Riley.

"Then I didn't save anyone at all in the end. Did I, mother?"

"...They found a new planet to live in peacefully," Aerith once again turned her head, this time to the other side. Perhaps it was now safe to say–

Megawoman was extremely bad at lying.

It was a good thing that before Riley could ask any more questions, another hole opened on the wall of the metal box they were in. This time, however… the hole was almost the entire wall.

And from the opening, a familiar face showed himself.

"Let's start this over," it was Ruman, the purple-skinned humanoid that was stationed at the gate and the one that ultimately got them inside the metal box. And behind him, once again, were the guards that were fully clad in armor.

Riley tried to take a step forward when the guards started to surround them, but Aerith pulled him back before he could do anything. And as soon as the guards seemed to be in position, Ruman finally approached the two.

"We checked our database, there is no planet Protus," Ruman then placed some sort of sphere on the ground; but instead of rolling as expected, it suddenly opened up. Riley was once again about to step forward but was once again stopped by Aerith.

"It's just a map," Aerith whispered; and right after she did so, the entire metal box was filled with floating lights, almost as if they were surrounded by a hundred stars.

"We also can't find this Sol section you referred to," Ruman then said as he started waving his hand, causing the stars to slightly blur as they changed position, "We have also become aware that we have no record of you or your ship entering our atmosphere; add to that the expired ID you showed me earlier and entering the city without permission– we would have no choice but to float you if you don't cooperate."

"...Float us?" Aerith's eyebrows began to furrow, "That's quite a drastic response, don't you think? It wasn't like this 500 years ago."

"So you were alive 500 years ago?" Ruman squinted 4 of his eyes, "There are only about a dozen species in our records that are capable of living so long. I am afraid we're going to have to scan the two of you and check if we have you in the database."

"That's not necessary," Aerith finally stepped forward as she looked Ruman in the eyes, "We'll just be on our way, we just came here to rest for a bit. We're not going to cause trouble."

"Guards!"

And with Ruman raising his hand, the fully-armored guards that were quietly standing on the side all raised their weapons– a spear, similar to the weapons of the strogans that invaded the Earth, but smaller.

"You and your companion are clearly hiding something," Ruman breathed out, "But we'll find out soon enough what it is once we scan you."

"You don't want to do that," Aerith's voice no longer held any sort of softness in it as she looked at the guards.

"There's no use in–"

"Not for my sake, but for you and the other people living in this landmark."

"You… are threatening me?"

"I'm warning you," Aerith shook her head, "Why don't we all just calm down, I tell you who I am, you don't tell anyone, then we just leave. That would be the best course for everyone."

"..." Ruman once again squinted four of his eyes. They have the guards, and there truly was no way for these two individuals to escape. But still, they seemed too calm; especially the woman's companion. Was… he some kind of android or something?

Do they not understand their situation? Even if they managed to escape, there would be more than a hundred guards waiting outside.

"..." Ruman then once again looked at Aerith, before letting out a sigh and shaking his head, "This could have been solved without violence…

…Scan them. If they resist, you are authorized to use force."

Ruman then turned around as the guards slowly approached the two step by step; almost like a march as their feet drummed in the air. That drumming did not last long, however, as it was replaced by a whisper that made Ruman look back.

It was the woman's companion. He seemed to be saying something to him, but he was talking in a language that he couldn't understand.

"What… is he saying?" Ruman's four eyes looked back and forth between the guards and the woman's companion, "Is… he doing this?

"...You don't want to know what he is saying," Aerith could only roll her eyes as she once again grabbed Riley's arm and pulled him away. And so, once again, the two spoke in a language that Ruman has never heard before.

But that wasn't the most important part right now– the guards in the room have stopped moving. Even if they no longer had the proper budget to maintain the landmark, their security still received most of the city's income. Their armor should be capable of resisting any external forces up to a certain level.

Could it be…

"...Are the two of you from the Higher Races?"

"We're not," Aerith quickly stopped talking to Riley as she immediately faced Ruman, "We… we're from Proton."

"Protus," Ruman said.

"..." Aerith shut her mouth, and the two just stared at each other for a few seconds; until finally, Ruman breathed out almost to the point he emptied his lungs.

"The two of you are free to go," Ruman then said as he tapped the wall, which immediately slid open, "You should have just said you were from the Higher Races."

"...We're not," Aerith let out an awkward chuckle as she grabbed Riley's wrist and dragged him away, "But we are leaving."

"You can stay on the planet for a while," Ruman sighed, "But I am warning you, stay long and they are bound to find you. I understand the two of you probably got bored and all that and tried to run away, but Hotis 4J isn't some playground you two lovers could just waltz in."

"...We're not–"

"Yes, yes. Go," Ruman waved his hands, "You think the two of you are the first children from the Higher Race to try and hide here? Go, just go."

"..." Aerith almost choked in her own breath from being called a child. She… was here when Hotis 4J was still being developed. But Aerith didn't really say anything further as she just smiled and dragged Riley away.

And finally, as their silhouette disappeared, the guards were finally able to move.

"Tell your chief to prepare for some unnecessary trouble," Ruman then said as he also stepped out of the metal box, "We…

…have runaways from the Higher Races on the loose again."

***

"You're really bad at lying, mother."

"That makes two of us."

"Oh, I believe I am very good at lying, mother."

"Did you just admit that you didn't actually lose your memory?"

"No, I don't remember anything."

"..."

And so, once again, the two were walking through the streets of Hotis 4J. But judging by the fact that the guards were looking at them whenever they passed by, then they were surely being watched.

"...We can't stay here for long," Aerith then sighed, "We need to leave after a few days. I just need to sleep in a proper bed."

"The comfort of space is better than the comfort of a bed, mother. Trust me, you dragged me for almost an entire year and I didn't even feel uncomfortable once."

"I'll stick with the bed. I would also need to explain a lot of things to you if we're going to proceed with this little adventure of ours."

Aerith's numerous sighs were enough to leave a trail on the street. If it weren't for the busy market around them; the people haggling and shouting at each other, then her sighs would probably be the most prevalent thing in this city right now.

"If you told me I would be babysitting someone in space years ago, then I would probably just be laughi– Riley?"

Aerith turned around… and Riley was no longer following her. And so, once again, Aerith sighed. It wouldn't really be that hard to find Riley, maybe just a few seconds; but Aerith was sure, that by the time she does find him...

...something would have already happened.

"...I should've just stayed on Earth."