"Stand over there." Zoe instructed. She gently pushed Lee Seng over while Calis, Evan and Ritsuka moved. She brushed her hair away from her face while Alex moved through the makeshift chamber. The place was extremely close to the apartment complex Lee Seng had briefly appeared in before getting kidnapped.
The place was underground (who would've figured?) and the "guts" of the entire place had been ripped out and replaced with modern flair. Alex moved through the antechamber, a chamber of glass that locked you in and sprayed you in about thirty seconds. After Alex was finished, the door in front of him opened and he stepped out.
Alex moved over to a computer set up built into the wall and began to tap onto it. He rolled his neck as he searched through the system, finding the necessary information. He sighed as he checked the fluids.
"Someone refilled it." Alex told Zoe.
"What? Who?" Zoe turned around and walked to the chamber doors. It opened, revealing Alex, standing off to the side.
"Dunno. Someone refilled it. I thought we were out of this stuff."
"We should've been!" Zoe entered, letting the chamber do its work and appearing on the other side. She moved over to the glass where the boys could see her and motioned for them to come. "You can all go in at once then."
The group entered and listened to the mechanical door close behind them. They were sprayed with some sort of light and wet mixture before feeling the mixture disappear off them. The door parallel to them opened and the four men stepped out.
"Whoever changed it must've found more solutions. It'll last for a bit longer." Alex turned away from the computer and shrugged. "Anywho, let's get going." Alex led them down the dark corridor. Lights flicked on as they passed, illuminating the space. There were closed doors on each side. A couple doors were cracked open and Lee Seng casually peeked into them. The rooms looked like sleeping quarters.
Alex eventually took them to a room with a few couches, chairs, and a TV. He motioned over at it and looked at the boys. "Stay here for a moment. We'll be back." Lee Seng and the boys nodded, drifting their eyes to the space around them. Evan's eyes moved straight to Calis and gently pushed him in the direction of a seat.
"Sit." Evan told Calis. Calis sat on one of the couches and Evan sat next to him.
"What is this place?" Ritsuka asked. "It reminds me of a… nursing home. It's so… creepy. You think it's haunted?"
"I think all of Old Town is haunted." Evan answered. His eyes, clearly trying to hide the fraction of fear that was growing inside of him.
"Even if it is, we won't be here long, hopefully." Lee Seng squashed any imagination Evan was having.
"Why did you bring them here? It's too dangerous!" Scarlet quietly spoke. Lee Seng focused with his ears, staring off to space as he crossed his arms.
"Look, they're going to kill the Failed Ones. I thought I should—" Alex began to say.
"You shouldn't have brought them here!" Scarlet interjected Alex. "We're exposed. Get them out before something happens to us."
"Scarlet, you aren't really saying that." Zoe piped in. "He hasn't done anything."
"Yes, he has. Get them out." Scarlet motioned. "Or else I'll do it." Alex and Zoe gulped and looked over to the living room where the boys were.
"At least let Lee Seng heal you guys." Alex's voice was soft. Lee Seng could imagine Number 3 holding Number 4's hand, pleading for her to compromise on one thing. He could see Scarlet plucking her hand away and looking away, but instead of that, footsteps simply approached. Lee Seng snapped out of it and shook his daze off. He realized he was looking at the direction Zoe and Alex had gone into.
"Well, that went about how I thought it would." Zoe sighed. She looked over at Alex who looked pained by what just happened. "You guys should leave."
"No information?" Lee Seng asked. Zoe shook her head. Lee Seng sighed and muttered to himself.
"What should we do, then?" Evan looked at the others. "We don't have a lead so…"
"We go to that place five hours away by car." Calis brought up. "It's the only place left."
"We don't have a car though." Evan bit his finger.
"That's why we're going to my family first." Ritsuka reminded them. They nodded like they were all on the same page except for Lee Seng. He sighed and pulled Akio's phone out. He scrolled through it and clicked Akali's phone number and dialed it. He lifted it to his mouth and watched it go.
"What're you doing?" Alex asked.
"Calling my siblings," Lee Seng answered.
"They're missing. Hell, they're probably dead after that mission they went on."
Lee Seng ignored Alex and turned. The phone trilled for a little longer until it clicked. It was silent for a moment but Lee Seng let out a sigh.
"Akali?" Lee Seng called.
"I knew you'd call, eventually. Where are you?" Akali responded. Alex and Zoe's eyes widened in disbelief.
"At the Old Town bunker," Lee Seng answered. "Well, I guess it should be called a nursing home bunker. It fits it better."
"Why're you calling?" Akali reeled Lee Seng back onto topic. Lee Seng looked over at Alex and Zoe.
"Nii-san said you guys were trying to find the Numbers."
"We already did." Akali responded. "We got what we wanted and left them alone."
"Were they the ones who refilled the sanitation tank?" Zoe asked.
"Yes." Akali answered. Zoe's eyes widened. She didn't expect Akali to hear her. She inched closer to the phone and looked down at it.
"Did anyone see you guys? I-I thought you guys were—"
"We're here. Hiding in the shadows." Akio's voice responded aloud. Lee Seng and Zoe turned in different directions. Lee Seng's eyes went to Calis who lifted his finger and pointed to the corner.
"There." Calis pointed the energy source out. "Do you feel it?"
'I did feel that earlier but just ignored it.' Lee Seng thought. The space distorted and Akio and Akali pulled out of the shadows first. Alex and Zoe stared at the twins in shock but when the shadows moved, again, they watched as Nikolai stepped out.
"You have to be kidding me." Alex reacted in Russian.
"What you see is real, Alex." Nikolai responded. "Do not be afraid. We're not ghosts."
"Holy hell." Zoe covered her mouth. Her eyes shook as tears built up.
"I see you found some of your friends." Akio pointed at Evan and Ritsuka. "Where's the rest?"
"Went on personal vacation." Lee Seng sarcastically answered. He shut the phone off and slipped it into his pocket.
"There's no way, right…?" Zoe pointed at Nikolai. Tears streamed down her face as she turned to Alex. When Alex didn't respond, she looked to Lee Seng. "That's just a dream, right?" Lee Seng moved over to Zoe and pulled her gaze to Numbers 2, 9, and 10.
"Take a good look, Z." Lee Seng smiled. "Death was just an illusion."
"Why would you do such a thing?" Scarlet's voice broke the shock. She stood in the darkened hallway, just out enough into the light to see the scene. Her eyes shook and she looked… bad. She was badly burned. She was crying at the sight. "I could understand A-Akio and Akali but Nikolai? Y-you…"
"Scarlet." Alex whispered, moving to her.
"No." Scarlet pushed him away. "This is just a bad dream. This is just a bad dream. I'll wake up any moment and—" Her voice broke with her entire body. Scarlet crumpled to the floor. Her husband sat on the floor with her and pulled her in.
"Why'd you fake your deaths?" Zoe asked the Numbers.
"It was the plan." Akali answered. "We had to fake our deaths so we could all end this madness."
"What madness?"
"The duty that binds us together after all these years." Akio answered.
"The one that our Creator couldn't even fulfill." Akali continued.
"The one thing his son is now doing." Nikolai pointed. Nikolai moved farther into the room and gave head nods to each young man. He moved past the couches and stood in front of Zoe. The wounds of Nikolai's death were apparent on Zoe. She was mixed with emotions. Hurt. Happy. Sad. Nikolai turned to look at Lee Seng. "Why do you want to know where the Failed Ones are? They practically almost wiped everything out. They subdued the other Numbers and left us in this position. A heated hole is all that's left where the lab once was. That is the price we had to pay for not doing anything sooner. Why do you want to know?"
"Dad selfishly made me the answer." Lee Seng sighed. The Numbers and his friends looked at him. The Numbers were shocked by the words that came out of the kid they had watched grow up and be rebellious. He lifted his left hand up. "Part of the answer runs through my blood."
"What of the other answer?" Nikolai asked, fully aware.
"It's in a good place, Uncle. Now, can someone tell me where to find Brood Mother? I need to settle a score. Death isn't fun and I'd like to sock the other me that exists."
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