An Idol Takes The Stage!

After a surprisingly refreshing night’s sleep, Merrit woke up to find that his wounds were feeling a lot better. His body felt lighter, and he felt a lot stronger. Maybe this was the result of finally having a nice bed to sleep in.

He booted up the computer, and after a few more futile attempts at breaking into their database, he sighed and gave up. The one thing he had managed to find was the payment account details of whoever owned this laptop before, probably some researcher. He looked into it, and there was quite a sizable sum of money in there.

His parents had raised him not to steal but… whoever owned this account before probably wouldn’t be needing it again, judging from how Ren ran them through with a large plank. And before the funds were transferred out, it wouldn’t be wrong if he used them, right?

Justifications made, he was ready. When he opened the address bar, the first in a series of 5-minute unskippable ads began to play-Thus, he lowered himself and the laptop into the wheelchair near his bed, and went to brush his teeth to wait it out.

As he was washing his face and brushing, the ads finally ended and he was taken to his destination, where he was greeted by another set of unskippable ads. Finally, the livestream began.

There was a sound of a loud crash, followed by a bright, energetic voice ringing out at full volume-

“Whoops, knocked over my mic- Good blooming day everyone! It’s your favorite virtual superstar…Rosemary Everbloom!”

“What the-?!”

A voice muffled by the sound came from behind Merrit, and he hastily lowered the volume, slightly embarrassed.

Ren assumably had shown up to go wash his face as well, but as Merrit turned around to see the source of the voice, he saw someone completely foreign. A muscular, fit, blonde young man was standing there, slightly younger than him, effortlessly attractive, eyes sparkling in the morning light.

“Who the hell are you?!”-exclaimed Merrit wildly.

Suddenly, Alice crashed through the door, frying pan in hand-

“Merrit! Are you ok?!”

Seeing the foreign intruder, she raised the pan and leaped at it.

The young man swiftly picked up a heavy tray and parried the blow from the frying pan-

“What are you doing?! It’s me, Ren!”

Alice pushed Merrit back-

“It’s a shapeshifter! It must have gotten in while we were sleeping- get out of here-”

Inspecting closely, Merrit spoke-

“Wait… no, it’s probably him. He’s got those dead fish eyes and that ugly look on his face.”

Alice swiftly tapped a finger to the man’s forehead.

“Yeah… I guess it is you. You’ve got those memories…”

“Can you stop looking into my head whenever you feel like it?”

Ren looked in the mirror to see himself, surprised.

“What happened to you? Did you drink a youth potion or something?” - asked Merrit.

“Well… I haven’t had the chance to smoke in a while. Someone always used to tell me that was bad for you.”

Merrit was dumbstruck.

“Also- I finally took a shower and ate a full meal, at Alice’s insistence. Apparently now that we’re heading somewhere I have to look presentable. I also got more than an hour of sleep, for once.”

“And when was the last time you did any of those?”

“Not since I got unfrozen.”

“Well… I guess that’ll do it.”

Alice sighed.

“Well, since you’re so revitalized, can you come help me make breakfast, Ren?”

“Alright.”

She waved goodbye to them, and headed back out to the living room.

Ren walked over and took a closer look at the livestream Merrit was watching.

“Who is this?”

Slightly sheepishly, he responded- “Rosemary Everbloom. She’s a… I don’t know how to describe it in a way you’d understand. A bard?”

“I’m not that old. So she’s a singer? Actually, is she even real? She looks like some sort of… 2d character.”

“There’s a person behind there. It’s like-motion captured. She sings, plays games, dances, talks… all sorts of things. Listening to her songs is always a comfort to me when I feel down.”

“How’d you even see this? You had internet in the Red Zone?”

“It was just really slow… I had to hack into a communications tower for access. Anyway, you seem interested-Have you seen her somewhere before?”

“There was someone dressed like this, back in my time. She was a singer, an entertainer- a lot of her songs were really famous. It looks like whoever is doing this now is singing them, too… I never understood the appeal. Always generic stuff like ‘Chase your dreams, always be yourself, always have faith…’ How is anyone supposed to enjoy that?”

“I like that stuff…”

“... Well, to each their own, I guess.”

Merrit suddenly drew closer to the screen, in rapt attention.

“Ok everybody! Today’s that special day! As you know, I’m planning to do a face reveal soon-”

The chat log on the side suddenly was flooded with messages.

“-Anyone who subscribes today is going to be entered into a special raffle, and the winner gets to have a special chance to meet me in person!”

Seeing Merrit’s entranced reaction, Ren’s expression morphed into one of slight pity.

“Just when I was starting to have some respect for you…”

“You don’t get it- look, someone just subscribed!”

The animated figure on the screen began to speak.

“Big Axe Man 24, thanks for the 200 donuts! ‘You always brighten up my day… I wish you the best in future’... Awww, thanks! From the bottom of my heart, I hope your days continue to stay bright.”

“What? 200 donuts? How much is that?”

“Probably like… 500$?”

Ren was bewildered.

“I can’t believe people like this person that much… Although I guess one of my party members was obsessed with her, in my time.”

“I’m not surprised. Her songs mean a lot to people. She always sings about hope, about a better future- You mentioned that people have it hard in these times, and something like this is probably a good escape for them. At least, that’s how it was for me…”

Ren considered for a moment. In the end, he thought- there were probably worse things in this world.

“You’re still not going to donate, right?”

“I… I want to at least support her, and I won’t lie that I want a chance to see her… Wouldn’t you want to have the chance to see someone you’ve always admired?”

“Unfortunately, everyone from my time is either dead or soon to be… But I think I can at least understand the feeling. Do you even have any money, though? I doubt Alice will lend you any for this.”

“I managed to snag the payment details from the guy who owned the laptop. Since you stabbed him, I doubt he’d miss a few dollars going missing. Apparently he even has an account on here! I can probably just use it. I’ll just give the rest back to Alice as payment for her generosity.”

“Suit yourself…”

__

A few hours later, Merrit found himself in front of a hospital. He had never seen such a clean building in his life, and wondered how much it would cost Alice to keep him here. He felt guilty at the thought of it.

Before they rolled him in, Ren took him aside, and handed him a small box.

“This is for you. Keep it close.”

“Didn’t take you as the type for gifts…”

Ren sighed.

“It’s a gun. I hope you didn’t want a box of chocolates.”

“What?! A gun?”

“Yeah… that’s what I just said. You’re a good shot. I don’t know what’ll happen in the future, but at least you’ll have something to deal with it.”

“How’d you even get this? And won’t they just confiscate it?”

“Just keep it in the box. I don’t know if you’ve noticed from the lax security when we entered the capital, but the only trouble or punishment you’ll ever get is if you mess with any company property. I’ve been carrying this giant sword and case on my back forever, and I’ve seen people get into shootouts with each other in the streets-nothing happens.”

Merrit was now almost unsurprised.

“As for how I got it… I was looking into those black markets you mentioned. I couldn’t find anything on the serum, but I met some mercenaries, and they offered me some discounts for saving their lives once.”

“Well… thanks, I guess. I’ll be careful.”

“Also don’t tell Alice I gave you this, or she’ll ask why I didn’t get her anything.”

Merrit chuckled, and entered the hospital doors.

__

The setup and paperwork took them late into the night, and they had finally reached the end.

“Don’t forget this card, ok? These are my insurance details. If you don’t use it, they’re going to charge something ridiculous. And make sure to call us! “

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I will. And thanks for everything.”

“Make sure you eat and sleep well, ok?”

“You mentioned you had a little sister, right? She must be really glad to have someone as caring as you.”

Alice froze. Slowly, she gave him a gentle smile.

“Yeah… I hope so.”

As Ren and Alice prepared to leave, Alice elbowed Ren, hard. Ren sighed and walked over.

“Well… see you around.”

“Why are you talking like that? We’ll see each other again, right?”

“...”

Ren had a strange feeling. At his front and side were Merrit and Alice, his present. Being with them made him feel things he hadn’t felt in a long time. And in this moment, he realized… however slight, however small, there might be a reason, a justification, for him to be in this world, for him to still exist. But still, behind him- there were scenes, faces, and regrets that he couldn’t forget, pulling him away, pulling him down. Who knows what would happen next when they got to the Church? But still…

“I hope so. But don’t count on it.”

He turned swiftly, and began walking away.

Alice fondly tousled Merrit’s hair, and went to follow Ren, hands clasped behind her back.

“He just can’t admit it… See you around, Merrit.”

Seeing them leave, Merrit felt a slight sense of melancholy. They had only gotten to bond for a day or two, but suddenly he felt like they had been with him for so much longer… Would this be another case where he said goodbye for the last time, without ever knowing it?

“Later…”