Chapter 203

>
> *Such a waste.
> A strong, young man like him could've been so much more, yet he decided to do **that** kind of thing.*
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>
>
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*- Valerie sounds familiar...*

## Summary

After a bus ride, Remi and Arlo arrive at Cafe Royal. Arlo guides her to the table where his Aunt Valerie is already waiting. Valerie remarks that Arlo's gotten taller than her since the time they saw each other last. Remi watches as they exchange pleasantries, awed at how tall people in their family get. Being in the company of a family of giants only adds to her feelings of being out of place in such a fancy establishment. As Arlo introduces the two, Remi realizes that Valerie seems somehow familiar, though she can't quite determine why.

After they sit down, Valerie invites Remi to ask questions about her work. Remi begins by telling of how her brother Rei was the vigilante X-Static. After he was murdered by EMBER, the Authorities began an investigation into the matter, but Remi's family never got a response. Valerie offers her condolences, and asks if Rei was a high-tier. When Remi confirms it, Valerie remarks that it was such a waste that he chose to be a vigilante. She elaborates that such a strong young man could have become so much more, yet he chose to be "that" kind of thing. Upon hearing this, Remi snaps when she realizes why Valerie seemed so familiar to her. She had once heard the same words spoken almost verbatim by Volcan! She shoots up out of her seat and exclaims "YOU!", much to Arlo's surprise. Valerie, on the other hand, calmly asks if something is troubling Remi. While Arlo tries to figure out what's this was all about, Remi excuses herself to go to the restroom. Arlo apologizes for Remi's action, saying they come from grief. He continues where Remi left off by saying that he also knew Rei personally, saying that he only ever had good intentions. Valerie finds it interesting that her nephew thinks so.

In the restroom, Remi splashes water in her face in an attempt to calm down and think clearly. The voice was similar, and so were her facial features and build. Could Valerie really be Volcan? If so, were the Authorities connected to EMBER after all? And most importantly, why did they need to kill Rei? Was it simply because he was a vigilante?

Remi returns to their table and apologizes for her outburst. Choosing to keep the Volcan issue to herself for the time being, Remi instead asked Valerie if the absence of news updates on the EMBER case was due to a lack of progress made by the Authorities. When Valerie answers that the matter was confidential, Remi expresses clear disappointment. Valerie tries to express sympathy to Remi's loss by saying that Arlo's account of Rei informed her that the world lost a saint. However, the fact is that vigilantism is a dangerous lifestyle. If people wish to make the world a safer place, then their best option was cooperating with the authorities. She tells Remi that if she studied hard, followed the rules, and diligently trained her ability, she could become a part of their mission to protect. Remi voices strong doubts about Valerie's words. She explains that, not too long ago, she learned that the Authorities were largely unresponsive, especially when it came to threats to low-tier districts. Forced to self-govern with no additional support, Remi notes one can't help but wonder why. Valerie says that with the hundreds of cases they see every day, some take priority over others. Remi demands to know why a single mid-tier capable of threatening an entire district isn't considered a priority. Arlo tries to get his firey friend to chill out, but she totally ignores him and continues her line of questioning. If the authorities were having so much trouble handling such supposedly minor situations, wouldn't it be better to accept help from vigilantes than to condemn them constantly? With their power, it seems to her like a no-brainer that they should work towards a common cause together. Valerie says no, since vigilantes follow their own dangerous impulses only to fix surface-level issues while failing to resolve the root causes of problems. Remi still asserts that this was better than nothing. Valerie asks if other vigilantes are as trustworthy as Rei. Even if they seem to be doing good now, there was no guarantee that all of these unchecked high-tiers wouldn't eventually give in to greed. Remi passionately insists that they deserve a chance to prove their worth before they're tossed aside and forgotten.

Having had enough, Arlo grabs Remi and pulls her aside, requesting that his aunt to give them a minute alone. Outside the cafe, Arlo chews Remi out for getting unnecessarily worked up. Remi replies that she only doing what she came here to do: asking questions. Arlo snaps that what she's doing is attacking his aunt. He warns her to watch her manners around a high-ranking member of the Authorities. Remi asks if he expects her to just sit quietly while Valerie insults Rei's efforts when she barely does her own job. The exasperated Arlo says that the world is bigger than just any one family. There's a million things going on in the world, and that Valerie's experience in dealing with all that demands respect. Arlo orders Remi to apologize to her when they walk back in. Remi refuses to do anything of the sort until she hears what ability Valerie has. Puzzled by this condition, Arlo tells her that she has the same Barrier ability he has. These things were hereditary, after all. Caught completely off-guard, Remi vividly remembers Volcan's Fire Claws and wonders if her hunch was way off.

## Appearing Characters

* Arlo
* Remi
* Valerie
* Volcan (flashback)
* Citizens of Branish