Scarlet could feel her body repairing itself. She glanced at her burnt arm and noticed it wasn't hurting anymore. She looked up at Lee Seng, who looked past her.
"Hey, you can't just push my wife like that!" Alex defensively stomped. A golden blade of light pushed itself closer to Alex's throat, singing it.
"Back off, Three." Akali warned him. "Before I actually cut your head off." Lee Seng sighed as the ground shook. Alex was furious and his fury drew his wife's attention. She looked at him, showing her healed face to him.
"You really don't believe I'm the problem." Lee Seng dropped his hands to the side. "If you did, you wouldn't have given me an opening to spook you. Now, can I see the rest of them? I'll be in and out before you even know it."
Scarlet gave a small nod and pointed down the dark hallway to her left. Lee Seng turned and left without a word, leaving the Numbers and his friends alone. After a while, Lee seng stepped out and head nodded to his friends to leave. Calis and Ritsuka got up and started to leave.
"W-what does that mean…?" Evan whispered. Ritsuka grabbed Evan and pulled him up and away from the couch. "You guys didn't clue me into what all these nods mean."
"It meant let's go." Ritsuka whispered as Lee Seng joined them.
"It could've also meant 'let's fuck them up.'" Lee Seng whispered.
"That head nod has like a billion meanings. You should do something else next time." Evan glared at Lee Seng with all seriousness. Lee Seng smiled and nodded, leaving the Numbers alone.
"Shouldn't… someone let them out?" Zoe asked, standing. "I-I'll go…?" She pointed and started to move to follow Lee Seng and his friends. Akali sighed and let her magical weapons disappear. She shook her head and turned to follow.
"'Kali?" Akio called after his sister. She turned the corner, leaving her brother and Nikolai with Scarlet and Alex. Nikolai cleared his throat and readjusted himself on the couch.
"What a wonderful reunion." Nikolai smiled. Though it was all chaos, Nikolai had missed the presence of the Numbers and Lee Seng together. He stretched and stood up while Alex helped Scarlet up. "Despite everything he's gone through, he's matured quite well, don't you think?"
"My brother?" Akio asked. Nikolai nodded. "I think so, yeah. I thought he would clearly fall for Scarlet's words. He's not the same kid I know anymore."
"He should've just left while Scarlet gave him the chance. I don't understand why he was so insistent on healing." Alex looked at Scarlet. Her burn wounds were gone but the hardened expression was still there. He tapped her. "You should rest." Scarlet nodded and let out a sigh. She locked eyes with Nikolai for a moment before returning to the darkened hallway.
"Four." Nikolai called out. Scarlet stopped and looked behind her shoulder, waiting for Nikolai to speak. "I don't understand what's happened, but your daughter will be fine." Nikolai glanced over to the direction Lee Seng and the others went. "I have a feeling he'll make it right. Get some rest for now and we'll talk more as a group." Scarlet didn't nod. She simply just turned and moved into the shadows, leaving Alex with Nikolai and Akio.
"Dude, I thought you were gonna die." Evan told Lee Seng. "It got so serious, I thought I'd have to jump in."
"They're like your family, right?" Calis asked Lee Seng. Lee Seng nodded. "I guess family fights sometimes… I didn't want to get involved. I hope that was the right choice if things really did get out of hand."
"You're fine." Lee Seng waved both of their concerns. "Scarlet's always like that. Her perfect picture crumpled into a billion pieces so she's panicking. It's no wonder why she looked upset about Sara."
"She shouldn't have done that though. She's an adult. She should know better." Ritsuka commented. "She's not setting a great example." The three other young men nodded. It was true that Scarlet didn't handle it perfectly, but that was the human behind the Number.
The four men reached the sanitation chamber. It was locked and unmoving to Evan's attempts to move in front of the door and away from the door like it was motion sensored.
"I knew you guys would need help." Zoe slowed down. The four turned to the barrier Number. She turned the computer back on from its sleep mode and started to type.
"You want to say something?" Lee Seng asked Zoe.
"Huh?" Zoe looked at Lee Seng. She shook her head and returned to typing. The door opened up and Zoe turned. "Get in."
"You guys go first." Lee Seng motioned. His friends all moved in, leaving Lee Seng.
"You go in, too." Zoe pointed. She clearly wanted to say something else. Lee Seng knew that much from the way she looked conflicted.
"You do want to say something to me. Spit it out before it eats at you, Z. I won't get physical with you."
"It's not that I'm scared you'll get physical with me… like you did with Scarlet, but…" She looked down at her feet for a moment. Lee Seng could hear Akali's footsteps coming down the hall. She grew closer, slowing to a stop as Zoe looked up at Lee Seng. "How's my Dad doing? Is he okay? Things have been hard for the last couple months with D-Dad out of commission. He can't heal their wounds if he's the one badly hurt… so…"
"Uncle V's okay." Lee Seng smiled. "The rune magic I use speeds up the healing process based on the person. There's a little magic and a lot of them in it. His wounds aren't fully healed and it wasn't like Scarlet's so there'll be some scars, but he's not gonna die." A weight of relief came off of Zoe's shoulder's. She let out a sigh of relief and found herself slipping into a small sob.
Lee Seng moved over and wrapped a hug around Zoe.
"The last two months I was thinking of all the things I said to him…" Zoe quietly spoke through her sobs. "How I always resorted to 'I'm not really your daughter' when I was mad at him… The most recent being down there a couple months ago… I learned he had different intentions and it really hurt but I couldn't bring myself to fully ignore him. We barely got out of there and he… Dad… he… took the brunt of the damage as we teleported. Dad, Carlos, and Scarlet were hurt. Very hurt by the explosion. They protected One, Three and I because I couldn't react fast enough. I-it was my job to protect them and yet they…"
"Hey, Z… It's alright." He moved his hand up and down a small portion of Zoe's back.
"It's what I was made for yet they… they protected us… One was our priority. One was supposed to be my priority and I screwed up. I panicked. I was… all over the place…"
Lee Seng sighed and looked at Akali. She was leaned up against the wall, patiently waiting for her little brother to finish comforting the Numbers' youngest member. After a while, Zoe pulled away and wiped her tears and snot away.
"And not even that… I don't know how my own brother's doing." Zoe sighed. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine." Lee Seng smiled. "He was with Akali and them when I reunited with them a couple days ago. We found our friends together and then went to the city together. He decided to go with Liz and Olivia to help them find their loved ones. Ritsuka, Evan and Calis decided to stay with me."
"That's good to know…" Zoe sighed. "He's with Liz, huh…? They're… together together or just together?"
"From the way they were acting they were—"
"They're totally together together!" Evan shouted. Ritsuka and Lee Seng broke into a laugh which helped Zoe. She smiled and nodded, turning to the computer.
"Alright, in you go." Zoe motioned. Lee Seng looked over to Akali. She pushed herself off the wall and sauntered over.
"Be safe out there, kiddo." Akali said. "Don't get into too many fights. Make sure to look after your teammates. They're counting on you for direction with this mission you've decided to go on. Don't die and come back. Akio and I will stay and help the Numbers for a bit. We'll tackle the city and help find survivors and house them here so you'll have to come back in one piece, alright?"
"Who do you think I am?" Lee Seng gave a toothy grin to his older sister. "I'm Lee Seng Chang. I'm the only student of the great fighters of Nine and Ten. There's nothing I can't do!" Akali rolled her eyes and pulled Lee Seng into a hug. Her little brother wasn't little anymore. What started as a duty, turned into a strong bond.
"Come back to us, okay? I don't know what you've been through but I can see you've changed for the better." Akali pulled away and smiled at Lee Seng. It was one of the few times she actually smiled with him. It warmed Lee Seng's heart, stirring emotions he was trying to hide with Zoe. "C'mon, cry baby, don't cry. You're about to go on a mission." Akali wiped his eyes and hugged him one last time. "Knock 'em dead."
"They won't see us coming." Lee Seng smiled. They hugged one last time before Lee Seng turned and joined his friends in the chamber.
"Alright, let's do this." Zoe shouted. The machine whirred to life and the light and sanitation mixture went off. The other door opened and Zoe waved. "Good luck! Come back, alright?!? If you see my brother, tell him to visit!"
"Will do!" Lee Seng waved. "Bye!" The men all said their goodbyes to the two Numbers before moving towards the exit and leaving. When Lee Seng was away, Akali let her emotions show just a smidge. She wiped a tear and turned.
"He'll be okay." Akio reassured his sister. "Manny and Lee Seng. Their friends. They'll all be okay. We'll see each other again." He looked to Zoe and then back to Akali. Zoe and Akali nodded and headed towards Akio, back to the Numbers.
Visit freewe𝑏(n)ovel.co(m) for the b𝘦st novel reading experience