The safe point was hidden in the cellar. It was the lowest point and staff members and neighbors, alike, were down here. They froze up when Lee Seng and the others descended down with the Head Maid and the butler.
"Head Maid!" Another maid cried out. She ran and hugged her, quickly checking to see if the Head Maid was alright.
"I'm fine dear. You did well to run here." The Head Maid patted the maid's head. Butler Jonas and a couple other members moved forward.
"And you've brought Master Evan's friends and himself here. I knew it was impossible that such a thing would ever happen." Butler Jonas's voice shook. "That you would really just die." Evan pulled out of the group and hugged Jonas. "Are you okay? How have you been all this time?"
"Fine, Jonas." Evan replied. "I'm okay. I've been working with my friends for a while. I'm not the only one suffering." He looked at his friends. "We all are." Jonas nodded and stepped away, letting his Master hug the rest of his friends.
"Master Evan!"
"Master Evan! I knew you didn't just die!"
"I missed you!"
"This makes me miss my family." Ritsuka whispered to Lee Seng and Keng. "I hope they're okay." They watched Evan pull away from the group and smile. Lee Seng and Keng could tell some of the people were watching the twins in particular.
"Are you sure those two are really fine?" A neighbor asked, pointing directly at Lee Seng and Keng. "He caused enough trouble. I remember the whole thing. Who's to say this isn't his fault, either?"
"What do you mean, old man?" Another neighbor asked. "He's never looked anything like this. I don't ever remember him having a brother, either."
"I know something's wrong here! You all think I'm crazy but I remember it clearly! The Creator's son had a single tail and now has eight of them!" The old man shouted.
'He knows the truth.' Lee Seng thought. The group became loud, fighting over the old man's crazy spectacle. They called him crazy and it only made Lee Seng more sure of it all. 'She definitely had a role in this.'
"I think I should leave you be. You have strong enough people here to protect yourselves." Evan stepped away. "Plus, the bunker can lock down and survive pretty much everything. There's enough food and areas to sleep down here, too."
"Master Evan…" The butlers and maids said. Evan waved and turned, hiding his emotions.
"Ready to go?" Manny asked.
"Let's go." Evan nodded. He walked over to Teresa and smiled at her. "I won't be gone long. I'll be back before you know it."
"If you come across your Father or Mother, go say hi. I'm sure their worry would disappear." Teresa told him.
"To only be replaced with another worry." Evan smiled. He hugged Teresa, soaking her wonderful light in. "Be well, Mrs. Teresa."
"Be safe and may the light guide you, Master Evan." Teresa pulled away. "And thank you for coming to aid us."
"I'd do it in a heartbeat." Evan waved his goodbyes and the others said their goodbyes before leaving. They climbed out of the bunker and into the cellar, watching the bunker disappear.
"I really appreciate it guys…" Evan looked down. "Thanks for following me…"
"We would've followed anyone who did the same you did." Manny side hugged Evan. "We're not going to leave you behind."
[You've gain 50,000 souls due to Transcendent Tails! 299,754/1,000,000]
Evan's eyes finally released the tears. The group huddled around Evan, hugging and comforting him.
Lee Seng was the first to pull away after a long moment of comfort. His eyes glazed over as he conjured a map. He zoomed out and realized they were much further than he thought they'd be.
'The beach is a couple hours away…' Lee Seng reminded himself. 'I guess we'll have to portal our way to somewhere much closer…' His eyes eventually found his apartment. He thought about whether or not he should go there, but it was dangerous. 'One of my cars is in the garage. If we did manage to get into the apartment, we could grab a car and drive to the lab… Ahh, this is frustrating…!'
Lee Seng rubbed his eyes and ruffled his hair. He didn't know whether or not this would be the best course of action. His phone buzzed, snapping him out of it. He pulled the phone out. It was a message from Chrono.
Chrono: Where are you within the city? Did you go to the old base?
Lee Seng: I did go to the old base. I understand what you meant by that warning now.
Chrono: Did you get out? Are you okay?
Lee Seng: I'm fine. We're all fine. We portaled to a beach hours away. Ended up helping Evan's loved ones.
Chrono: It's not much better on the outskirts…
Chrono: Sent you a location.
'This location…' Lee Seng thought.
"What's up?" Manny tapped Lee Seng. He turned, remembering his friends were there. "Did you hear what I said?"
"Hmm? I was kinda in the middle of talking to Chrono. She sent me a location." Lee Seng showed him the texts.
"Isn't that… really close to here?"
"That's what I'm saying. Does that mean they found something?" Ritsuka asked. The group huddled, looking at the location.
Lee Seng: You're really close to me. What's going on there?
Chrono: Enemy hideout. I figured I'd give it to you off of the whim you said 'beach.'
Lee Seng furrowed his eyebrows. 'What does she mean by that? She wouldn't know where I am… Plus, there are many man-made beaches around Captiol City's outskirts… How could she—'
Chrono: !!%@!#(**
"Did she mistype?" Liz asked.
"I dunno." Lee Seng whispered. "Do you think someone stole her phone and is trying to trap me?"
"We're better prepared now than ever." Keng reminded Lee Seng. "Especially after whatever happened with… the smaller you."
"What?" Manny looked at Keng and then at Lee Seng.
"He connected with his… I guess the easiest way I could say it is his 'inner child'? Did I use it right?" Keng looked at Lee Seng. His brother nodded and Keng continued. "He healed his inner child… It's like that inner child people talk about all the time but it was actually like another part of him that was hidden deep inside of him, but it wasn't… It's really confusing to explain."
"What did this 'inner child' do to you?" Olivia asked. Lee Seng looked at Olivia and thought for a moment.
"It's like another part of me that never really got to grow with me." Lee Seng attempted to explain. "Part of an experiment from a long time ago yet always there… A test from the Failed One? Not sure, but I'm digressing too much. What should we do about this location? Should we try and see what it leads us to?" Lee Seng's phone pinged and another message from Chrono came.
Chrono: Will you come… or will you stay away? I wait at the specified location…
"That's… creepy." Keng commented. "Definitely a trap."
"A trap worth exploring?" Liz asked.
"Do we have any other leads to go off of?" Evan asked. "We're here to figure out answers ,right? The Deimons are taking over the city as we chat and the walls are going on lockdown…"
"My brother and sister will need to get into the city…' Lee Seng whispered. "So we'll have to take over the wall somehow…"
"There'll definitely be enemies around." Manny added.
"Do we tackle this cryptic message or go for the wall?" Keng asked.
"We need as many allies as possible. Let's get the wall first." Lee Seng replied. He slipped his phone into his pocket and turned away from the group. He put his energy together and pulled the cosmic energy apart, creating a portal. "Wanna go cave delving?"
"No. No way. We are not going there!" Manny turned. "You almost died there!"
"So?" Lee Seng stepped aside, revealing the portal. "It's the closest thing near the wall. We could even find a path from the hole, too."
"There'd likely be less people there too." Olivia was the first to agree.
"We'd be on the opposite side of the wall. The area they're looking out for." Evan said. "It would only make things worse for us if we get caught."
"I can map out the underground and see which path will lead us directly underneath. We can blow it up." Lee Seng suggested.
"And get crushed? No way!" Ritsuka shook his head.
"That's why Lee Seng and I are doing it." Keng moved over and stood by his brother.
"Won't that make it harder for the city?" Liz asked. "The monsters could very well infiltrate…"
"True." Lee Seng whispered. He waved the portal, pulling away from the specified spot. "We'll have to attack the gate somehow and let them in at the specified time… The only way that could happen is if—"
"One of us spots them." Manny sighed. "Which will be hard because we don't know which side they'll be coming from."
"I guess that means all of those times going up with my sister to see the wall controls will come in handy." Ritsuka smiled. The group turned to him and Ritsuka's eyes twinkled.
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