Chapter 591 Welcome Home

David and Lisa screamed as the light blinded them. Keng pushed the sword away, darting away. He wanted to sap the teenager boy for energy, but he didn't need another reason for them to be angry at Lee Seng.

Keng cleared distance in not time. Hydrosphere shrunk back into their regular dagger forms as he rushed into one of the tall buildings. He could hear David shouting as they ran after him. He threw open the stair doors and ran up them.

'I need to get somewhere that girl won't be near. I need to teleport now!' Keng thought to himself.

5th Floor

Keng could hear them entering the hall. David rushed forward as Lisa looked up.

"It looks like it's time to use it." Lisa sighed. Her body convulsed as pain covered her face. Her back erupted in bat wings. The flapped, lifting her up into the air as she fired up towards Keng.

"Dammit." Keng cursed. He landed on the sixth and a half landing and turned to look at the glass window. Without much thought, he fired a blast as David grew louder. Keng turned, wind whipping as he turned to face the stairs. He swung Hydrosphere, watching a cosmic line of energy appearing on the stairs. The building began to shake and Keng jumped out of the six and a half floor window without thought.

'The rest goes to flying.' Keng rocketed himself away as the building crumbled behind him.

Keng didn't know how long it took him to feel safe, but it lead him to the Academy District. He landed, stumbling onto the ground as heavy breaths went out and in of him. Keng had reached Energy Depletion, twice, tonight. He could feel his body seizing up. It was going to grow heavy and he wouldn't be able to move. If his pursuers managed to somehow still find him, he was going to really die. Keng pushed himself up, arms and legs shaking.

'I walk upon the land of the dead and wish to enter the land of the living.' Keng chanted. The first few seconds, he felt nothing. He wasn't getting any messages from the AI that he couldn't teleport. Just as he was beginning to think he wasn't going to be able to teleport, his body warped and he felt himself on the same exact spot. It was colder. Way colder than Limbo and his breaths were appearing before him.

"Thank god…" Keng whispered. It took him forever, but he eventually made his way home. He was shocked he even remembered the way home. To the new home. Keng moved up the steps, his body feeling heavy. He felt like he ran a marathon with a ton of bricks on him.

Keng made it to the top step and opened the screen door. He rang the doorbell and used the screen door as a moment to rest. The groans of metal grew as footsteps rushed towards the door.

"Who's that?" Liz asked. "Are you guys expecting anyone?" The locks unlocked and the door flew open. A tired looking Keng stood in front of Liz and Olivia. Evan and Ritsuka peeked their heads from the couch while Manny was nowhere to be seen. The TV was on and they seemed to be watching something together.

"Lee Seng?" Olivia's voice chirped up. "You're back already? Why do you look—"

"Like shit?" Liz asked. Liz gave him no time to answer as she helped him in. "Oh god, why are you heavy? Did you use your powers or something?" Olivia moved over to help him in as Evan and Ritsuka rushed over.

"Take him." Olivia told the boys. Ritsuka and Evan exchanged spots with Liz and Olivia. The two of them could feel the difference as they slowly moved the heavy Keng over to the couch. They set him down as best as they could. Evan let out a sigh of relief as Liz and Olivia came from the locked door.

"How'd you get back?" Ritsuka asked, sitting next to him. He was studying Keng.

"Were you wearing that before?" Evan pointed at the clothes.

"Oh these…?" Keng looked down. "I got them from the lab." The others nodded, seemingly buying it. "Just you guys… here?"

"Yeah." Liz replied, plopping back into her seat. "Manny's out if you wanted to know."

"Why?"

"He got mad he couldn't go with you to the lab." Evan answered.

"So you're watching… TV on a Sunday night?" Keng asked.

"Yup." Olivia nodded. "You hungry? Want anything to eat? Maybe we should get you an energy pill." Olivia walked off to the kitchen while Ritsuka's stare seemed to grow.

"What?" Keng asked.

"N-nothing. You look like shit, that's all." Ritsuka deflected suspicion. He settled into the seat next to Keng as Evan settled into another spot since Keng had taken his.

"Thanks." Keng chuckled. Olivia came back and handed Keng a pill and water.

"Can you take this yourself? Do you need help?" Olivia asked. Keng took it from her.

"I'll be fine." He ushered her away. Olivia nodded and turned to move back to the kitchen, stopping in her three-fourths turned position to look at him.

"We made lasagna like a day ago. Want leftovers?" Olivia asked.

"Loads." Keng replied. He threw the pill into his mouth and slowly brought the cup to his lips. He drank it and instantly felt a relief wash over him. He felt lighter as he finished the cup. He set it onto the table and leaned into the couch, allowing it to take him for a minute.

"What happened to you anyways? Why didn't you call us to come get you or something? Did you walk all the way back here?" Liz asked. She had, rightly, assumed he had appeared from a telepad from the school.

"I thought I could walk it off, but it stayed longer than usual." Keng quietly answered. He was feeling sleepy. He started to drift as the microwave beeped, waking him. Olivia opened the microwave and pulled the lasagna out and shut it. She moved over to Keng and handed him the hot plate of food and fork.

"Here ya go." Olivia smiled. "Enjoy it. Ritsuka made it himself."

"It's the best!" Evan shouted happily. Ritsuka smiled, trying to hide his embarrassment from Evan. "I love your cooking. You and your siblings cook the best food!"

"Oooo." Keng sat up looking at the food.

"Shut up, Evan." Ritsuka looked down. "You're being too nice."

"He's embarrassed." Liz chuckled. Ritsuka grew more red as he turned his head towards Keng. The feeling between Lee Seng's friends felt warm. It made him miss Lee Seng as he took a bite of the lasagna. The entire thing melted in his mouth. It tasted perfect in his mouth.

Keng's eyes shook as he looked at the lasagna. Ritsuka noticed it first. He straightened his back out and watched Keng hide his tears as he ate.

'Something happen?' Ritsuka wondered. Ritsuka thought about the two months Lee Seng was gone. He was in a tough spot, fighting some battle he didn't understand, fully. Keng was gone and Lee Seng was a wreck. Lee Seng even started to act weird and now he was back in front of him… Trying to not cry?

"Let's continue it. We can finish this episode and go to bed. Got a long day tomorrow." Evan told the group.

"Sure." Liz nodded. The TV unpaused and a show played.

Keng eventually finished his food and excused himself for the night. His friends assumed he was tired from the last two months and said good night to him. Keng drank a couple more glasses of water and cleaned his dishes before descending to Lee Seng's room. He made it to his room and flicked the light on when Ritsuka's voice called out to him.

"Lee."

Keng turned and spotted Ritsuka coming down the hallway. "What's up?" Keng asked.

"You alright? I, uh…" Ritsuka scratched his cheek. He didn't want to point it out to his friend that he saw him crying. "You must've had an exhausting couple of months on the run and… y'know. I just wanted to, uh… Check up on you… See if anything got better… And hear the truth about… that night."

Keng thought about it. Did he want to allow someone to know about the truth? He didn't even understand the whole truth himself, but Queenie had given him a piece of information he couldn't push down. He stepped into the room, not really motioning for Ritsuka to follow, but Ritsuka did. The door clicked shut and Ritsuka leaned against it.

"What's up?" Ritsuka asked. "What happened?" Keng opened his mouth, not really sure what to say. He needed to say something, but he didn't really know where to start. He sat on the bed and looked at his hands.

'Do I want to drag him into this? It could make things a bit easier for me, but at the same time… It's not his problem…' Keng thought.