Villain Retirement

"...I still want to play."

"Quite an arrogant little fucker, aren't you? As expected of Whiteking's son."

With the thick ocean of dust drowning their entire vision; it was almost as if they were akin to being blind already. But even so, their exchange of words traveled ever so clearly'“ one taunting the other.

Their whispers, however, were subtly disrupted by all the screams and rumbles that whistled from the outside of their artificial cloud. It was almost a certainty that the destruction reached outside; with people panicking and running; Sophie and Riley, however, seemed to be completely lost in their own ocean.

"But I wonder if you can keep this facade?" And with the distance between Sophie and Riley getting shorter and shorter as Sophie approached; her silhouette finally turned into color. Her face, somewhat surprised as her eyes landed on Riley.

"Your skin'¦" She muttered as she looked at Riley's skin, which was now wrapped entirely with some sort of silver chrome, "...I see you're careful not to reveal your identity. But why not just wear a mask?"

"You wouldn't like it if I wear my mask, Miss Sophie," Riley breathed out as he adjusted his hoodie to cover most of his face. The wind was blowing the hood away'“ but soon, it completely became still.

"..." Seeing this, Sophie could not help but squint her eyes as she could feel her long purple hair touching her cheeks as it danced in the air; the dust floating around them was also completely unmoving'“ only flowing when Sophie gently raised her hand, but returning to their position after.

"...You really are quite the little monster, aren't you?"

"That is debatable."

"Want to just join hands together instead? I swear I can make it worth your while," Sophie then slowly stretched her already raised hand towards Riley, "I swear I would let you have your fun," she then said, the tone of her voice quite'¦ alluring.

"We shall see, Miss Sophie."

"..."

"..."

And without sharing any more words, Sophie's gentle hand was no more as she violently waved it towards Riley.

An opening appeared on the cloud of dust; a crack that violently, but also elegantly pushed its way through the murky air.

And now, with all the dust in its way, Sophie's once invisible and mysterious ability finally revealed its shape'“ a sword; a giant sword.

"..." Riley quickly tilted his body to the side to avoid this invisible giant sword from threatening to slice him in half. And judging from the screams and the slight rumble of the earth after doing so, the neighboring building next to the ruined nightclub might have been destroyed.

And hearing the screams of the people whispering into his ears, a smile once again slowly crept on Riley's face'“ his eyebrows, slightly trembling as his breaths slowly became fettered.

"..." He then once again moved to the side as another invisible sword shot straight towards him, but this time, before his foot landed on the ground; he also waved his hand forward.

And as soon as he did so, a streak of light appeared in front of him'“ a red and flat glowing crescent, almost like a side of the moon flooded in blood.

And although Sophie was caught a bit off guard from the sudden crescent beam flying towards her, she still waved her hand forward, splitting the red beam in half and missing her entirely'“ the red beams continued to fly, however, once again causing screams to echo from outside the ocean of dust.

"Just how many abilities do you have?"

"I do not want to answer that, Miss Sophie."

"Y'“"

And before Sophie could even say another word, Riley suddenly ran towards her, waving his hand and summoning several crescent beams as he did so.

"...Rude," Sophie breathed out as she also waved her hands, neutralizing all of Riley's attacks without moving a single step from her spot.

"You really are trying to have fun, aren't you?" She then let out a small sigh as she noticed the weird smile on Riley's face, "But for how long?"

And as soon as Sophie said that, Sophie's feet began to move in a sort of pattern; half a dozen invisible swords then emerged around her'“ all the size of a bus.

And as if performing on a stage, Sophie began rotating her body with a subtle elegance; gracefully waving her hands as the swords around her began to dance; not allowing even a single of Riley's crescent beams to scratch even a single strand of her purple hair.

"..." Noticing this, Riley could not help but stop; his eyes moving erratically as he tried to follow the dancing swords.

"This is a beautiful power, Miss Sophie," Riley then said as the smile on his face shifted into almost that of an amused child.

"Finally someone who appreciates art when they see it," Sophie slightly hummed as she continued her dance, "It is just too bad that you are too young, too ignorant'¦

'¦and too dead!"

Sophie then clapped her hands'“ and without even any pause in their graceful movements, the once dancing swords all violently shot towards Riley, spinning as they did so.

Riley, however, instead of flying away and trying to avoid these violent blades, rushed forward.

"..."

Riley leaped into the storm of blades, carefully rotating his body and adjusting the fold of his limbs, completely avoiding the violent barrage that threatened to mince him into pieces.

"Fool," Sophie then said as she flicked her hand. And as soon as she did so, the invisible force all merged'“ pinning Riley into a cushion'¦

'¦or at least that was what's supposed to happen.

"...What?"

A small thud then whispered in the air as Riley landed on the ground seemingly completely unscathed; with not even any of his clothes ripped.

"I apologize, Miss Sophie," Riley then said as he let out a small sigh, "My telekinetic abilities'¦ act on their own to defend my body against any and all threats, I got it from my biological mother."

"Oh?" Sophie only smirked, "You better use them to attack, then. I am telling you now that that's the only way you would even have a chance to defeat me."

"I beg to differ, Miss Sophie," Riley shook his head, "If I use it, I am afraid our play would not even last a single second."

"You'¦" Sophie's eye twitched as soon as Riley's words reached her ears, "...You are starting to get on my nerves, kid."

And with that, Sophie once again started her dance as multiple swords once again emerged around her'“ this time double the amount but smaller in size.

But before they could fly once again towards Riley, he suddenly disappeared from his spot; destroying the ground beneath him as he leaped forward. His fist, tightly clenched with Sophie's face as its target.

"...Oh?" Riley's fist completely stopped just a foot away from Sophie's face, however, as multiple layers of swords blocked its path. He then quickly leaped back multiple times, swiftly avoiding the rain of swords that threatened to turn him into barbecue.

"This is truly fun, Miss Sophie," Riley then whispered, "Maybe we could'“"

"It's coming from there!"

"..." The smile on Riley's face quickly disappeared as a familiar voice started to whisper into his ear from afar.

"I can't see anything with all the dust!"

"Leave it to me!"

And with those words, a strong gust of wind blew through the air.

"The'¦ the dust isn't disappearing!"

"..." Riley could only shake his head in disappointment. And as he did so, the cloud of dust instantly dispersed along with the gust, finally revealing Riley and Sophie to the rest of the world.

Riley quickly looked around, only to see their surroundings in almost complete destruction. Large crevices everywhere, no doubt sponsored by Sophie and Riley's attacks. He then carefully turned towards the group of voices, only to see Hannah and the others approaching their location.

Riley then looked at his hands, making sure that his skin was still covered in silver armor.

"Oh? Your reinforcements are here," Sophie chuckled, "Maybe it's time to say hi and intro'“"

And before Sophie could finish her words, she felt a cold touch covering her lips as Riley suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Shh, Miss Sophie," Riley then leaned his head; his warm whispers traveling through Sophie's ear, "Let's continue this somewhere else."

"It's them!" Hannah's roaring voice then traveled in the air as she pointed at Sophie and Riley, "They're the ones who'“"

But before the Baby Crew could reach them, Riley suddenly embraced Sophie before they suddenly flew to the air.

Hannah's entire body was quickly engulfed in fire as she readied herself to chase them, but before she could even lift her feet from the ground, Silvie grabbed her arm.

"Let's prioritize saving the people first."

"..." Hannah only looked at Silvie in the eyes, before nodding as the fires surrounding her body withered, "Glad to see you back with us."

"...No," Silvie shook her head, "There's'¦ still something wishing to come out from inside me. But'¦

'¦the safety of the people always comes first."

"Well said, Mega Girl," Hannah smirked, "Gary! Make sure no one is trapped beneath the debris!"

"Dark Frost, set up a perimeter so that no one would enter the danger zone!"

"Yes."

"And'¦

'¦where the fuck is my brother!?"

***

A small rumble whispered in the air as Sophie's body dragged across the ground; thrown violently by Riley as they flew west of Miami, towards the vast and empty glades away from the city.

"...Shit. This is grey tiger's fur." Surprisingly, though, Sophie just casually stood up. Her words, clearly pissed as she carefully checked her tattered robes. But after a few more breaths, her eyes focused on the individual slowly landing in front of her.

"But you'¦ just what exactly are you?" Sophie then said, "Whiteking's secret weapon or something?"

"No, Miss Sophie," Riley shook his head as his feet touched the ground,

"I'm Darkday."