Two strange people stood in front of Lee Seng as he obediently sat in his chains. The person on the left wore a bird mask and had a distorted voice. The other was all smiles, curly black hair, mustache and dark skin. He leaned in, pushing the light further away and revealing more of the abandoned factory.
"So this one's the one, huh?" The jolly curly haired man looked at the bird mask person. The bird mask person stared at Lee Seng.
'Why's this dude lookin' at me like that?' Lee Seng wondered. The curly haired man waved his hand in front of the bird mask man, whistling.
"Yoo hoo! Anyone there?" The curly haired man asked.
"Stop." The bird mask man smacked the curly haired man's hand to the side. He took a step forward and all the chimes went off in Lee Seng's head. The man in front of Lee Seng had a lot of Dark Matter - more than Lee Seng.
"What do you want from me?" Lee Seng asked. The bird man cocked his head and then scratched his neck. He pulled away and looked at the curly haired man.
"Carlisle." The bird man spoke. Carlisle, the curly haired man, nodded and looked past Lee Seng.
"All of you, out." Carlisle ordered. Lee Seng watched people shuffle out of the room. There were more people than he initially thought. They had all somehow gone unnoticed until Carlisle told them to get out. Carlisle turned to the bird man and simply put a hand on his shoulder before leaving.
When everyone was gone, the bird mask man pulled a chair over, dragging it to sit in front of Lee Seng. He muttered something under his breath and the desk and light moved away. The bird mask man wore business clothes; something strange in today's world. You didn't leave the comfort of the walled cities without armor and a weapon. This bird man had none of that.
The two of them stared at each other for a while. Lee Seng was calculating ways to get out, but all of the scenarios ended up in flames. He could simply be told to 'stay,' again and it would be the end of it.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Lee Seng asked. "Y'know you just kidnapped an A-ranker, right? My teammates and the Guild will be looking for me." The bird mask man leaned in his chair, lifting a leg to rest near his knee. "Let me go and your punishment won't be as rough."
"Cocky." The bird man scoffed. "You can try all you want, but you won't be able to get out." Lee Seng gritted his teeth and tried for the bonds, again. He could feel them open for a moment and then snap back into place. "I've been watching you for awhile and I know your antics. You may have a new face, but your personality and your mannerisms… I know them all."
'He knows who I am?' Lee Seng could feel his goosebumps. Whoever this was, knew his actual identity. 'A Biohuman can see through my shapeshift? There's no way.'
"You got the wrong person, bird brain." Lee Seng brushed it off. "I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not that person."
"And what if I am right?" The bird man asked, cocking his head. "If I'm right, what would you do?"
'I can't do anything with these on me.' Lee Seng looked down.
"You can't do anything, so just hear what I have to say." The man set his foot on the ground and leaned forward. He raised his hand to his mask and Lee Seng watched the mask hiss. It released some cold smoke. A distinct set of noises went off. The four elements: water, earth, air, and fire had specific noises that went off when Lee Seng was anywhere near those energies. This man, he gave off the energy that he had them at the palm of his hand.
The man adjusted his mask and cocked his head to the side, again.
'Why does he keep doing that?' Lee Seng wondered. The mannerism was too odd. It felt like someone he knew at one point.
"I'm here to make a deal with you. Hear me out and maybe you'll come to see that our interests… align." The bird mask man said.
"Interest?" Lee Seng's eyes narrowed. The man leaned back into his chair and nodded. "What interests could I have with someone who's obviously not above ground?"
"You're as bright as ever." The man chuckled. "Why would you think that? I could be someone who's working 'above ground' and just needed somewhere suspicious to talk to you about something."
"You wouldn't have binded me with these stupid runes, then." Lee Seng motioned.
'He knows.' Nikolai smiled behind the mask. Lee Seng shook in his seat as he tried to move them.
"Get these runes off me. I can't hurt you without my power." Lee Seng growled.
"Why would I do that?" Nikolai asked. "You could very well just beat me with that insane strength you have. Y'know a normal person wouldn't be able to move those binds as far as you did. It's a precaution put in place for my team's safety."
"Your team? Not you? Are you that sure you can beat me?"
"I can beat you just fine."
"What do you want? The longer I'm gone, the more worried my friends will get."
"It seems like the lonely kid I knew grew up and got some great friends." Nikolai sighed. Lee Seng narrowed his eyes at the man.
"You know me?"
"I know you very well, Lee Seng Chang." Nikolai leaned forward. Lee Seng's binds flew off in a second. Lee Seng jumped at the bird man, reaching for the man's throat.
"Freeze." Nikolai spoke. A cold energy flew out from beneath the mask and froze Lee Seng in an instant. Nikolai sighed and pushed the chair backwards, standing. He pulled the mask and let out some more cold air. Lee Seng could hear his teeth chatter. "I should've made them tighten it to full capacity. You've really out done yourself, Lee."
'Nobody calls me that unless they're close to me.' Lee Seng thought. 'Who is this guy?' The man pulled the bird mask away, revealing his face. Roman Numeral two burned brightly on Nikolai's cheek as his blue and gray eyes settled on Lee Seng. Lee Seng could feel his goosebumps shivering.
"It's been awhile, kid." Nikolai smiled as he lowered his hand. "How've you been?"
"Nikolai." Lee Seng managed to whisper. The ice flew off and Lee Seng fell forward, hitting the ground. Raspy breaths escaped his lips as he tried to take the information in. Lee Seng didn't know what to do. He pushed himself off the ground and swung at Nikolai. Nikolai didn't move as the fist stopped short of Nikolai's face. "You're supposed to be dead!"
Lee Seng sucked sharp breaths. His jaw shook along with his fist as he wondered what he should do. Nikolai smiled. The kid he knew was still very much the same. Lee Seng's fist shook as he lightly tapped Niko's face before wrapping his arms around him. He let out sobs and Nikolai let out a sigh. He hugged Lee Seng, squeezing him hard.
"I thought you died…!" Lee Seng whispered. "They said you didn't… that you… You left me and then Mom did… And now… Everything's messed up…!" Nikolai sighed and rubbed Lee Seng's back.
"I know, kid. I know." Nikolai whispered. Lee Seng sniffed and pulled away. He wiped his tears and nose and looked down. He didn't know what to do in this situation.
"What're you doing here?" Lee Seng asked. "Why do you want me?" Nikolai frowned.
"Straight to the point." Nikolai sighed. "Sit and let's talk, hm?" The two sat in front of each other. Lee Seng didn't look at Nikolai. He wanted to, but he couldn't. Nikolai smiled, lovingly, at Lee Seng. The young boy he had taught so much to was a man now. "Where'd you disappear to? You've been gone for two years. Did something happen?" Lee seng wiped his eyes and snot and shifted back to his human form. He looked at Nikolai with his red-purple and blue-purple eyes.
"I was somewhere safe for two years." Lee Seng answered. "Resting."
'I can't tell him the truth.' Lee Seng thought. 'If I tell him the truth, he probably won't believe me…' There was a larger reason why Lee Seng held the truth, but he simply chose to believe the lie he told himself.
"You ran away from Capitol City and that's when I lost track of you. I've been searching everywhere for you and you somehow show up in California of all places…" Nikolai sighed. "I wasn't even trying to find you…"
"What're you doing here?" Lee Seng finally looked up. "What're you planning, Niko?" Nikolai scratched his cheek and brushed his bread. He looked up at the abandoned factory ceiling and thought for a moment.
"Are you all on the run?" Nikolai asked. He looked at Lee Seng, waiting for an answer.
"I can't tell you." Lee Seng replied. He looked away and then looked at Nikolai, again. "But I can tell you I'm going to go back."
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om