The Mineral River ran through Elementopia rather peacefully that afternoon. The mood juxtaposed the Aquatecture exam site completely; peaceful, tranquil, serene. The river passed under bridges, roads curved and weaved with it, uncompromising. One could say the river ruled over all.
The afternoon flows were nice and warm, inviting for anyone to go and have a dip - not that they could anyway, as the Elementopia government prohibited swimming in the river years ago.
But a lone satchel didn't care about breaking those rules. It preferred risking breaking the law to flow in the warm waters, careless and free. Except it wasn't.
The river began to defy physics itself, diverging into a small stream and carrying the satchel along with it.
Except that was no stream...
That was a water person.
The stream began to slosh itself into being, and out walked a fatigued Wade, climbing through the minerals and sand to get back onto a road nearby.
He walked an evidently tired walk, stumbling out hunched over. His satchel slung itself over his watery body, and out flowed his shirt, fitting itself onto his body perfectly. He preened himself to look appealing enough to get by, straightening his shirt and slicking his hair.
Last night was rough for both him and Ember, but he had no idea what it did to her. To him, that day felt like a whole wad of nothing.
He slowly reached a hand into his bag, taking his phone out and looking at it.
4:30 pm
He let out a heaping exhale, putting it back into his satchel and grabbing out his notebook.
Thankfully, the first working week in Elementopia neared its conclusion. Only 30 minutes and EBID stood between him and the weekend.
He looked it over, and the notes were lucrative. Considering how rough the night before was, he was lucky he could muster the courage to work that day. Alas, he did. He felt he had to.
Reaching the road, he strolled along in a pedestrian-like fashion, EBID ho.
Following a lengthy walk back, Wade arrived at the embrace of EBID HQ. The thought of the worker's week ending was all he could think about. What to do on that weekend remained uncertain, but anything was better than the week he'd had.
To his curiosity, the EBID HQ was eerily quiet. A bit too quiet - perhaps it was quitting time already. He looked up and read a clock in passing by;
5:00 pm
He let out a subtle chuckle in relief as he headed through, over to Groucho's office with citation notes in hand.
He strolled through, passing by Mutrick's office. Wade felt an air of tension as he walked past it as if the office itself were animate. For whatever reason, the door was wide open, but Wade really didn't want to know why. After all, no boss could have received the same amount of disrespect over a week that Wade had toward Mutrick.
He let out a shrug, walking past it confidently through to Groucho's office.
Wade arrived, knocking on the closed door.
"Come in," Groucho called out.
Wade slowly opened it, looking about as he entered. The room was as silent as the hallways before, giving Wade a rather odd feeling as he took a seat across from Groucho.
Without a word needing to be spoken, Wade reached into his satchel. He pulled out his notebook, gently placing it on the desk.
"How were those jobs I sent you on today?" Groucho asked.
Wade let out a tired exhale, wiping his head with an arm.
"Oh- they were fine. The morning proved to be pretty easy, then the other two across the afternoon, even easier. It was actually a nice change of pace after the last couple of days." Wade said respectfully.
"Well, that's good." Groucho admired.
A slightly awkward silence followed. Wade's attention wandered, looking about all the lovely flora and fauna in Groucho's office. He'd be uber thankful to have an office, let alone one like this. It felt like a wildlife sanctuary.
Mr Groucho took a sip of his afternoon coffee, leaning back. He let out a slight retch, pushing it back.
"Blegh- Mutrick's coffees always taste like dirt," he remarked.
Wade stared blankly at him, scratching his neck awkwardly.
Groucho shrugged, looking over at Wade.
"So tell me, how did last night go?" he queried.
Wade's eyes widened instantly. Groucho was completely out of the know of what went on last night. Everyone was. As a result, Wade let out a frazzled exhale, a bit stressed in not revealing too much.
"Whew. Well, last night was pretty... full on." he began.
Groucho let out a respectable chuckle.
"Full on? Well, I didn't expect it to give you such a rush," he remarked.
"Yeah! That part, it was... pretty nice, actually." Wade admired.
As he spoke, Wade looked down, exhaling and losing his smile a bit.
It became evident to Groucho that what they were talking about wasn't the only thing that went on last night. He could tell something was irking him about it.
Alas, he didn't want to delve into it too much. Wade was an overly emotional person, after all. An air of professionalism had to be maintained.
Groucho looked over at his digital clock to his left.
5:05 pm
"Any reason you haven't clocked off?" he queried to Wade.
Wade sharply looked up at him, a frazzled stare abroad his face.
"Oh! Clocking off- yeah, right!" he remembered.
He got up in a blank manner, rigidly turning and beginning to walk out with a satchel in tow. By this point, Groucho could tell that something was wrong. Wanting to help but needing to remain professional, he spoke up.
"Excellent work this week, Ripple. See you next week." he wished.
Wade sharply stopped with a hand on the door about to exit. He let out a gentle smirk, turning back to Groucho. By the time he faced him, his smile at his superior turned into a genuine one.
"Thanks, Mr. G. I appreciate your help." he admired.
Groucho leaned in his chair, taking another sip of his coffee and retching again.
"Blegh- it- it's my job, Mr Ripple. Go. Have a good weekend." Groucho wished, gesturing a hand for him to leave.
Wade let out an appreciative nod, turning to leave the room.
"I will." he admired.
As he pressed a hand on the door to leave once more, it was almost as if his weekend had fallen onto him like a piano.
He didn't know what was going to happen that night. He didn't know whether to return home to Ember, whether to take the time to roam where he wanted to or to do something a bit more drastic.
He lost his smile a bit as he opened the door, exiting and gently closing it behind him. He tugged on his satchel as he left down the hall, letting out a sizeable sigh as he walked out.
"In other news, architecture giants Aquatecture received a fiery boost in attention as one of their interns had a particularly bad experience during a mid-year examination held earlier today."
He sharply stopped his mopy walk down the hall as he overheard that paragraph. He looked up to his left at a TV in the hallway. He was horrified to realize that a recent news report was playing on the TV. A helicopter shot of a construction site-esque plot was visible, with a burned mound of glass being cleaned up.
"The victim involved was a woman of fire in her early 20s who lost control, causing a sizeable inferno. Luckily, nobody was harmed in the incident, but thousands of dollars in property were damaged."
Wade let out a sizeable gasp, a deep flow of regret falling through his body. He stood still like a statue, staring at the TV in horror.
"Ember..." he whimpered.
"Aquatecture representatives spoke on the matter a short time ago, claiming this was an isolated incident, and will never happen again." a reporter said.
Wade bruxed his teeth, shaking and feeling guilt all over.
"The intern involved went missing shortly after. Witnesses describe her as roughly over five and a half feet tall with an hourglass figure."
"No..." Wade whimpered.
He pitter-pattered in his spot up and down, shaking his hands with impatience.
He looked side to side in a panic, unsure of what to do. In his frantic darting around, his gaze quickly locked onto a key rack in the hallway.
To his genuine surprise, all of the keys were there. They never were. Every day of the week, his coworkers would have them all, never giving him a chance. A rather dastardly idea hit him, causing him to smirk. Realizing that it might be a bit too drastic, he shook his head, knowing he'd get in trouble for taking one.
With intrusive thoughts evading his mind, he resumed to charge out of the EBID HQ.
However, a gargantuan, stabbing utterance of his name stopped him in his spot the moment he passed by Mutrick's office.
"Ripple!"
"Ugh- not now!" Wade thought.
He slowly peered his head through the door. To his intrigue, Mutrick and his three favourite employees were sitting in wait, arms folded.
"Afternoon," Mutrick stated.
Wade held his hand on the doorframe, a little confused by the huddle.
"Uh- hi. Have a good night." Wade said.
Careless of anything they had to say - especially considering he wasn't on the job anymore - Wade readied himself to walk out.
"Ah!" Mutrick sounded.
Wade stopped in his spot by the jabbing sound, looking back at Mutrick unenthusiastically.
"Where do you think you're going?" Mutrick scowled.
Wade let out a childishly impatient exhale, hanging his arms low. He knew exactly where this was going.
"I... I really have to go. Someone I know's in real trouble." Wade announced.
"Please take a seat, Ripple," Mutrick spoke ignorantly.
The impatience within Wade began to grow, becoming exasperated and clenching fists.
"I'm sorry, but no. I'm going. I'm not on the clock anymore." Wade retorted.
One to have a domineering, slack aura about him, Mutrick juxtaposed the idea and stood up from his seat, arms firmly clenching his desk.
"Sit down! That's an order." he barked.
Wade sharply stopped in his spot, his impatience turning into frustration. He began to bubble angrily, and a frown exhibited on his face. He wanted so badly to deny Mutrick's disrespectful request, but alas, the idea of keeping his job held on for dear life. Wade shook his head, entering the room spitefully and taking a free seat with displeasure.
"Please- I really have to go after this." he pressed.
As he let out his utterance, his attention wandered from a disrespectful Mutrick over to his cohort. Wade was astounded to find that Rocky, Dusty and Boulder had changed a lot in just one day. The three were stained black, and cracked all over, staring with disapproving and disgusted stares.
Wade's frustration in the situation waned as his personality began to shine through in an instance where it didn't need to. In a rare moment, Wade felt genuinely worried for the three.
"Whoa. What happened to you guys?" he asked.
"Have a good night?" Rocky ignorantly retorted.
A short pause followed as Wade's caring nature was already being tested.
"Yeah. It was fine." Wade carefully told.
Rocky slammed a fist on his desk sharply, leaning over to Wade with a snarl.
"I'm glad you did." he scowled.
The sharp feeling of tension Wade usually felt in that room returned tenfold. He knew something like this was bound to happen, especially considering last night.
Mutrick sat back on his seat and leaned forward onto his desk in the calm, awful manner that Wade had come to expect from him.
"Any idea about what happened last night?" Mutrick pressed.
Wade's expression fell blank from all the passive-aggression emanating around the room. Knowing that if he spoke up too much, it could land him in more trouble than he was willing to get into. He bravely chose not to answer like the respectful water man he was.
Mutrick's manner was the complete inverse; choosing to scoff at his subordinate, whom he already had little respect for.
"Very well. Allow me to recap it. Your cohort here was involved in a serious brawl thanks to a relative of yours." Mutrick told.
And without a moment's hesitation, Wade's mouth fell agape in worry.
"What?" he murmured.
"We talking bout your crazy girl," Dusty interjected.
Wade looked between them, raising an eyebrow. What did this have to do with them?
"Now, we don't promote any violence in the workplace. Such a disgusting act can be a firable offence." Mutrick said.
Baffled by the already-incorrect scene, Wade became rather defensive. He leaned forward toward Mutrick with a confused expression.
"But I wasn't on the job." he pressed, gesturing his hands out.
"Please remain quiet." Mutrick retorted.
Wade hung in the air with hands held toward Mutrick. The unfairness of the situation was already evident to him by that point, and he knew that things could get far worse. He had to choose his words carefully - the thought sticking with him close as he looked over to his charred cohort.
His eyebrows lowered, and a borderline offended look sat on his face.
"So that's what you told him?" Wade queried.
Rocky neglected to look his way, smirking and shrugging carelessly. Wade's frustration already wavered - not one to take conflict too well, much like his eternal flame and stress.
Wade looked at Mutrick, body language shifting to the offensive.
"Want to hear my side of the story?" he queried.
Mutrick fanned a halting hand in the air.
"Not necessary-" Mutrick disallowed.
Wade clenched his fists harder, his breath beginning to shorten in impatient frustration.
"It is." Wade sharply interjected.
"Mr Ripple, compose yourself." Mutrick shushed.
Wade stopped in his spot, nearly to the point of tears.
Mutrick and his coworkers were always so unfair to him. He didn't understand. He did his best at work, and all they gave him in return was utter disrespect. What made it worth it?
Then it dawned on him...
Perhaps it wasn't anymore. Perhaps his retaliation was due. After all, that's something Ember inadvertently taught him - watching her stand up for herself.
Taking that motive literally, Wade stood up from his chair, silencing everyone in the room. They looked his way attentively - as attentive as a group with no respect toward him could.
"I was out last night - off-premises - by myself. Then..." Wade began.
As he spoke of the night, it began to return to him scene by scene. He looked down, a tinge of regret about him.
"I did my girlfriend wrong," he said.
Dusty rudely let out a guffaw, rolling his eyes. Wade sharply looked at him in disgust, shaking his head and refocusing on the room.
"She and I had a misunderstanding. And while out, the three here somehow entered the equation. I don't know, but... that was what she told me afterwards." he admitted.
"True," Rocky interjected.
"But from what I understand, considering how they act in the workplace, this was done as a manipulation tactic to get to me." Wade continued.
"False," Rocky remarked.
Wade sharply turned his head to him, ready to retaliate, but instead wisely choosing to continue without hesitation.
"They had no right to stalk and threaten her, especially considering that the problem lay between her and I alone," Wade argued.
Clearly not interested in his argument at all, Mutrick let out a disgusting shrug, averting even acknowledging Wade.
"That's it?" he queried unenthusiastically.
Seeing that he had little hope of getting through to them, Wade stared Mutrick dead in the eyes, gradually leaning toward him over his desk.
"Yes. This has nothing to do with them, and they abused every basic elemental right in doing so." Wade argued.
"Mr Ripple-" Mutrick said.
"The right of privacy, the right of safety-" Wade elaborated.
"Mr Ripple!" Mutrick refrained.
"The right to defend yourself from an attack!" Wade escalated.
"Sit down!" Mutrick barked.
Mutrick leaned forward as he delivered the line, causing Wade to stumble back slightly. He stood back straight and tugged at his shirt, staring Mutrick down with disrespect written all over him.
"Simple stuff anyone should understand." he pressed.
With the tirade over, Wade gently sat back in his seat, a cold air of guilt and tension overcoming him. The cold grew colder as silence followed.
Mutrick stared at Wade with even further disrespect, nonchalantly pointing Rocky and co's way with arms folded.
"Care to hear their side of the story?" he queried.
Wade sat hunched, shooting the three a side eye and shrugging carelessly.
With the debate ensuing, Rocky stretched his fingers out, standing up on his chair excitedly.
"A'ight - so last night, the boys and I were on the town!" he began.
Wade rolled his eyes. He knew where this was going.
"Pretty night, not too warm, not too cold! We were looking to have fun, as any guy our age should!" he argued.
Mutrick pouted his lips, looking upward and nodding in agreement. In the background, Wade sharply facepalmed, shaking his head.
"So we hit a few drinks, having a little fun! Then this flamin' lady walked past, and let's just say- we wanted to get acquainted." Rocky elaborated.
"Literally a recipe for assault." Wade snarkily interrupted.
"So we asked if we could join her... and she said that she was fine with that!" Rocky persisted.
"And that was a blatant lie," Wade whispered.
"Ripple. Shh." Mutrick shushed.
"A'ight- so we hit the town, then she started to get all mad about this dude." Rocky continued.
He sharply pointed to Wade, causing him to tightly fold his arms and roll his eyes.
"So we thought 'Sure! We'll tag along and see what happens!' Sure enough, things got heated! Well, as heated as a flame girl gets. So eventually, the guy got caught doing shady stuff!" Rocky said with a laugh.
"Shady stuff?!" Wade exclaimed.
"Mr Ripple!" Mutrick escalated.
Wade fell silent once more. It became obvious that he was far from happy - to the extent of intrusive thoughts interjecting. He held both hands on his face, groaning in frustration.
"So we stuck by her! We backed her up! And the crazy thing is, this crazy water guy must've cast a spell on her or something, cuz then she turned on us! Next thing we know, we were cornered in an alleyway and got all burned up!" Rocky exclaimed.
"None of that is true!" Wade barked.
"Mr Ripple!" Mutrick exclaimed.
Rocky shifted his attention over to Wade, standing stiff in anger.
"You gotta keep your damn girl in check!" Rocky barked.
The statement hit Wade like a bath of fire would. He sat in his spot, his hands lowering from his face slowly. He gradually shot Rocky and his cohort a disgusted expression. The room's mood shifted from passive-aggression to outright hostility.
Wade slowly got off his seat, swinging his satchel behind him and walking over to Rocky. He towered over the little rock guy by at least 2 heads, fists clenched.
"How dare you? Who are you to even comment on last night?"
"Last night, I was having fun with the boys, and suddenly, it coulda cost my life! And it ain't letting that slide." Rocky snarled.
He sharply pressed a finger onto Wade's chest hard, causing him to lean closer.
"It had nothing to do with me." Wade pressed.
"Oh yeah?! Then who did it have to do with-" Rocky exclaimed.
"You!" Wade screamed.
Far long overdue, Wade's composure completely snapped. He began to bubble profusely, staring with eyes afire.
"All of you! I was trying to get away from this place and have a night to myself, but no one will let me. Drop- when I'm around, it's like I don't matter at all. Now that you need something from me all of a sudden, you act like it's the end of the world!" Wade cried.
"Mr Ripple, be civil!" Mutrick yelled.
"And you!" Wade exclaimed with a point.
Mutrick stood in his seat to oppose an unruly Wade. He slowly shifted his attention to his superior, getting up and leaning far over Mutrick's desk toward him.
"You are the worst boss I've ever had, and you always will be." he scowled.
"That is enough." Mutrick retorted defensively.
"Not even close! The amount of disdain I feel toward you could turn me into a fire person." Wade continued.
Boulder let out an inappropriate laugh in reaction, causing Rocky to hit him with the back of his hand.
"What? It was funny!" Boulder exclaimed.
"Ripple- you haven't been anything but an augmentative brat." Mutrick scowled.
"Because you have been nothing but sub-Elememtals. If you're what we're evolving into, then I'd gladly have done what Ember nearly did. No hesitation." he retorted brashly.
"Mr Ripple, that is quite enough!" Mutrick yelled.
Wade was moments from letting another exclamation fly out of his mouth at Mutrick. Something quickly halted him, however. His face went from a scowl to a blank look.
"You know what? You're right." he recognised.
Without hesitation, he exasperatingly clenched his name badge off his chest. He grabbed Mutrick's wrist, pulling his hand toward him and placing the badge in it.
"I quit. Unemployment is better than this." Wade seethed.
"You need 2 weeks in advance," Mutrick advised.
"Then Groucho will get his 2 weeks. Not you. Because he's the only one who's worth sticking by." Wade scowled.
He let Mutrick down, concluding his time as Mutrick's subordinate by backhanding a keepsake bobblehead Mutrick had of himself to the wall. He slung his satchel over his torso, sending all four in the room a rightfully disgusted stare.
"Awful knowing you." he wished.
With everyone in the room speechless, Wade headed out the door, slamming it hard behind him.
Instantly, he let out some tears, shoving a fist in his mouth and biting it to compose himself.
Alas, his mission now had changed completely. He didn't need to worry about them anymore.
He gently composed himself, resuming his march out to save his eternal flame. After all, she'd do the same.
He passed by the key rack on his way out, heading to the front door. As he had a hand on the door, he sharply stopped.
He looked back toward the inviting key rack, thinking to himself for a moment. He let out a grimace, shoving a hand into his satchel. He tore out his notebook, writing a note down on it and ripping it out.
He marched back over to the key rack, taking one of the vacant keys and slamming the note onto the rack.
He resumed his march out of EBID for what would be the last time on a mission.
His Ember depended on it.