"You guys didn't need to bring all this food for us. You should save some for yourselves." Rudy looked up at the twins. Lee Seng smiled and shook his head.
"We have too much food. Plus, we're going to Earth, so it's just going to be Lily, Fae, and River left." Lee Seng explained.
"Even still, this is a lot—"
"Give it to the rest of the soldiers. I'm sure they'll be glad to not have to cook everyday with leftovers." Keng smiled. Rudy hesitantly nodded. Soldiers walked in and out of the barracks, noticing the twins as they passed. Rudy rubbed the back of his head with his other arm propped up on his side.
"A-alright, Saviors. T-thank you for your generosity." Rudy saluted.
"You need us to bring it somewhere specific?" Lee Seng asked. Rudy shook his head and waved his hand.
"I can have some guys take this. You've already done so much for us. I'm sure you have other things to attend to too."
"Oh, that reminds me." Keng snapped his fingers and looked at Lee Seng before turning to look at Rudy. "I was wondering what you guys do when you send Foxes out for their journeys. Fae and River recently got their second tails and we were wonderin' what the process is like."
"You've been training them on the basics, right?" Rudy asked. The twins nodded. Rudy shifted in his spot and nodded. "Well, they'll need to be taught the spell that takes them to the In-between. There, they'll have to use their Energy Senses to guide them to the place they're supposed to meet the Yuha. The Yuha will provide them with bead options like you two know about." The twins nodded. "Just make sure anyone you send in there is ready for this journey. Two tails is the requirement for Foxes to go into the In-between. There's enough growth and energy for them to navigate their way there. All you can really do after that is pray for their safe return."
[Yuha: The Hat Man/the God of Limbo, Cain]
"Alright, sounds like we're doing well, then." Lee Seng nodded. Keng nodded in agreement.
"Rudy!" A soldier shouted. Rudy turned to look behind him. "It's almost time for the meeting."
"Alright!" Rudy replied. The soldier saluted at the twins before turning around to go back the way they came. "Oh, Haro!"
"Yea?" Haro turned around.
"Can ya get some guys to take this food the Saviors are giving us?"
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Sure thing, boss." Haro saluted before continuing on his way. Rudy turned to look at Lee Seng and Keng, giving a small bow.
"Thank you, again for the food. You didn't need to give us so much." Rudy thanked them. Lee seng and Keng waved their hands and shook their heads.
"It would spoil before we got through all of it." Keng responded. "You got more mouths to feed, anyways."
"Thanks for the info on Limbo. We'll get outta your hair now." Lee Seng bowed, again. Rudy saluted, smiling brightly.
"It's been a pleasure, Saviors. I hope we can work together again!"
Back at the Temple
Manny, Ritsuka, Evan, Olivia and Liz sank into the living room seats. The temple was now squeaky clean and smelled of lilacs and disinfectant.
"Those two still haven't returned…" Evan groaned. "We cleaned the whole place…"
"Efficient cleaning. If it was cleaning like how it's done back on Earth, it would've taken forever." Manny sighed. The boys leaned their heads backwards while Liz and Olivia leaned on each other. The doors to the temple opened and closed. A moment went by and Lee Seng and Keng appeared.
"Yo, it's already cleaned." Keng tapped Lee Seng. The twins had a cup of meat skewers in their hands. Lee Seng tore the meat off of a skewer and set it in his cup. The group took one look at Lee Seng and Keng and erupted in shouts.
"You went to get food?!?"
"You were supposed to help us with cleaning!"
"No wonder you took so long!"
The boys all swarmed Lee Seng and Keng, fighting for skewers as the twins dodged them.
"Gimme a skewer!" Manny shouted. "I want one!"
"No!" Lee Seng shouted.
"There they go again…" Liz sighed.
"At least you know they're not out of energy." Olivia stretched. The boys plucked a couple skewers out of the cup as they yelled and laughed.
"Hey!" Liz shouted at the boys. "Shouldn't we talk about what we're doing next?" The boys stopped, leaving Lee Seng thinking that he was safe from prying hands. Ritsuka snagged the last skewer in Lee Seng's cup and quickly ran away with his reward.
"Hey! I was gonna eat that!" Lee Seng ran after Ritsuka. Ritsuka turned and slid the meat off with his mouth and sucked it into his mouth.
"All mine!" Ritsuka smiled. Lee Seng frowned as he jumped over the couch and sat down next to Olivia. He set his cup on the coffee table and pouted. Olivia and Liz laughed at this while the rest took their seats.
"Okay," Manny sighed, sitting down last. "What's the plan? Are we just gonna take the nearest portal back to Earth and waltz back into Capitol City?"
"We don't have information on what's happening there." Ritsuka replied. "We would need to scout things out and see what's changed."
"True." Olivia agreed. "We're all in the dark as to what's happening. Things could be worse than what we're thinking of now."
"And that would be 'Deimons took over and everyone we know may potentially have succumbed to the Deimons?'" Evan summed up. The group nodded in agreement.
"We can't go to Capitol City because its dangerous…" Lee Seng whispered. "And we probably can't get into contact with the Foxes there, either…"
"There's an option we could take, but we're going to the other side of the country…" Liz shifted forward. She let out a sigh and thought about it for a moment.
"What are you proposing?" Manny asked. Liz straightened herself out and looked at everyone.
"We could go to New Angeles." Liz proposed. "We could go there and gather some information on what it's like in Capitol City."
"New Angeles…" Manny whispered. "That's on the West coast. Wouldn't that be more of a hassle? What if someone notices who we are? I mean, between my looks and everyone knowing who Lee Seng is, it'll be hard to blend in."
"It's been two years. Technology may keep people in the loop but Capitol City would blow up if any of us stepped into that city. At least with New Angeles, we could register in a Guild as a group, work for some creds and gear ourselves up better."
"We need identification cards if we're going to make that work." Olivia sighed. Ritsuka looked at Lee Seng at this exact moment. There was a twinkle in his eyes that told Lee Seng Ritsuka knew something.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"What?" Lee Seng asked Ritsuka. The others looked at Lee Seng. Lee Seng motioned at Ritsuka, drawing all of the attention to him. Ritsuka sighed and shifted in his seat.
"You're proposing we go to New Angeles and figure things out there first, right?" Ritsuka asked.
"Yes." Liz replied.
"Well," Ritsuka leaned forward. "I may know a place outside of New Angeles where we can forge IDs. It's been a long time since I've been over there, so I'm not sure if it still exists, but it's a shot."
"Why do you know that?" Keng asked.
"I have siblings who work in the police and guild force." Ritsuka answered. "Of course one of them would've said something about this in passing."
"Wouldn't that break some laws? Y'know, secrecy and what not?" Olivia asked.
"Would these pass inspection?" Evan asked. "What if we get caught with forged IDs and when we're questioned, they see doctor and Mr. Model's face here?" Evan motioned to Manny and Lee Seng. Lee Seng smiled at Evan's compliment. Evan noticed this and sighed, scooting farther out of his seat.
"You act like I can't change into any person I choose." Lee Seng scoffed. "I can just change my face."
"But I can't." Manny raised his hand.
"Exactly!" Evan snapped his fingers. "We'll totally get caught!"
"We haven't even executed the plan and you're being a debby downer." Lee Seng retorted. "Do we have any other options?" Lee Seng scanned the group. They all shook their heads, leaving Evan. Evan let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head.
"So we're going to do this then?" Keng asked, eating his last skewer. "Portal to this New Angeles place, find an ID and gather info?"
"What about a place to stay?" Olivia asked. "Will a Guild provide that?"
"No… but a shitty motel shouldn't cost that much." Liz replied. "We'd just have to take our chances."
"And if all fails?" Evan asked.
"Guns ablazin'." Lee Seng and Manny answered in unison. The two looked at each other, trying not to laugh. Lee Seng grinned and the two erupted into laughter.
"Ah, we're so screwed…" Evan buried his face in his hands.
"Everyone in agreement with this plan?" Manny asked after clearing his throat. He raised his hand and looked at everyone else. One by one they each raised their hands, leaving Evan. "Evan?"
"Ah, screw this. If we die, we die." Evan lifted himself up and raised his hands.