Chapter 699 Team Zephyr Huddle!

'A deep breath in…' Lee Seng inhaled slowly so he sat on the floor of the white room. 'Hold it… Now exhale.' Slowly, Lee Seng released the air, blowing it out of his nose. He did this for a while as he let his mind clear. Once his mind was cleared of Manny and his feelings with the assassination attempt, Lee Seng quietly asked himself what was next.

"What do I do now?" Lee Seng whispered. His arms slowly folded together as he straightened himself. Lee Seng's eyes wandered up towards the ceiling, slowly letting himself onto the ground as he thought of what to do next. "I've been attacked multiple times ever since I got to school. That's just a fact. Just like Keng is sealed within me and I don't have access to those powers right now. This Captain Childs lady is going to find me… Most people will think I'm dead, so I have to be careful until then. Guards probably saw everyone come in, so the group is probably in the same boat…"

Lee Seng sat up and sighed. He held himself up with his arms on the floor as he uncrossed his legs and casually moved his feet left to right. He stared at the floor for a while until knocks came at the door. Lee Seng stood up and walked over to the door, opening it. In front of him was the rest of the gang with Shang wildly grinning at Lee Seng.

"They wanted to come back, so I brought them here! They were insistent on seeing you." Shang reported.

"Ah, come in then." Lee Seng stepped out of the way and allowed the group to enter. Lee Seng stepped back into place as Shang almost bumped into him. "Thanks, Shang. I think my friends and I have to talk and figure out what we're going to do, collectively as a team. You can go."

"Y-yes, brother Lee Seng. I-I'll tell Valen what a great job I've done. If you need anything just ask!"

Lee Seng nodded and slowly closed the door. As soon as the door closed, he turned and leaned against the door. Ritsuka and Evan sat on the floor while Liz sat on Lee Seng's bed. Olivia stood in the furthest corner; arms crossed. None of them said a thing. They allowed the silence to rest in between them as Lee Seng slowly turned to observe each person.

'Liz is smart. She does well with her grades and even takes advanced classes like Ritsuka and I. In terms of power Liz has scary potential… Evan – timid and sometimes drags himself down, but when it comes to it, he steps up to the plate. Ritsuka's smart. He struggles to understand some of the stuff in class but makes up for it with damn good fighting sense and experience. A plethora of knowledge from his older siblings sitting in him.' Lee Seng thought as he looked at each person. He finally landed on Olivia, who was staring at him. 'And Olivia… She—'

Knock, knock!

Lee Seng snapped out of his thoughts and turned. He opened the door and noticed Manny standing there. His head lowered and shoulders hunched. Lee Seng sighed and opened the door wider, pulling Manny in. Manny's feet hit the ground loudly as he was pulled into the room. Lee Seng closed and locked the door before turning. The entire group was looking at Manny. Manny stood a couple feet in front of Lee Seng, unmoving.

"Good, we're all here." Lee Seng cleared his throat. "Help me figure out what we're going to do next. Are you guys going to go back to the Academy or are you going to stay with me?" The entire group, including Manny, turned and looked at him. Manny's face said it all. 'You're actually giving us a chance to voice our opinions?'

"I've tried to think of what I could do, but I realized I couldn't come to a conclusion because it involved the rest of you." Lee Seng crossed his legs and folded his arms together. "No matter how I try to spin it, I don't think I can make a big decision like this without your opinions. So, what do you guys think?"

"Well…" Olivia spoke up first. "I think we shouldn't risk showing ourselves in public for a while… What if they really do think we're dead? Showing ourselves would essentially lose whatever surprise factor we have with that pyromaniac and her goons."

"I agree." Liz pointed.

"Same." Evan raised his hand.

"Yeah. I guess." Ritsuka nodded.

"You guess? Why?" Liz asked.

"Well… The three of us, at least, can get out scot free. We were in Calis's apartment which was nowhere near Lee Seng's, so we could… Technically use that." Lee Seng watched the Ritsuka, Olivia and Evan lowered their heads. Lee Seng couldn't tell what Manny was thinking, but assumed since he was still slightly hunched over, he was still very much not thinking of much.

"So… Do you think we could ever… Go back to our regular lives if that's the case?" Evan asked. "I mean… I'd like to see my friends and family… Even if I don't like some of them… I just don't want them to think I'm dead."

"What do you think we should do?" Liz asked Lee Seng. She looked at him for an answer. He bit his lip and looked at the others.

"What do I think we should do…? I need to dig into these Deimons. If they're breaking through the Realms, I'll need to figure out how I can stop them." Lee Seng answered. "I can't do it alone, though."

"What would you need us for then? To back you up?" Manny asked. There was an electricity between them. Liz watched, nervous, of what could happen. To everyone's surprise, Lee Seng folded his hands together and tapped, obviously thinking.

"Honestly, I don't know." Lee Seng answered. He turned to look at Manny and then turned to look at the others. "The worst case scenario is all of you are suspected dead and can't return to your homes. The best case scenario is they don't know you guys were there at all and we could use that to gather information."

"So we need to figure out whether or not the cameras really caught us or not." Olivia sighed. She brushed her hair to the side and looked up at everyone. "Can the… Commander or whatever figure out if this is true or not?"

"If we're just waiting, we should ask. I think the others were trying to get some more info on what's happening." Lee Seng pointed behind him. "We could go check if you guys want to." The group looked at each other and shrugged. They all turned their sights onto Lee Seng and Manny. Lee Seng sighed and looked at Manny, who only returned it with confusion.

"What?" Manny asked.

"I think we should talk about the elephant in the room." Evan spoke up. Lee Seng and Manny turned to look at Evan, who was starting to stand. "I get we were in a predicament, but couldn't you have waited until after the meeting with the Commander and the General to voice your opinion, Manny?

"I get that you're worried for Lee Seng, but have you really looked at the big picture? Lee Seng is practically dead in the eyes of millions of people in the city! Hell, maybe the world! We all have no clue on what to do and you want him to due nothing? Could you sit and do nothing while someone's pointing fireballs and light beams at your back?"

Manny glanced downwards. He rolled his tongue across his cheek and rubbed his arm.

"In all the time I've known you, Manny… I don't think I've ever seen you act like that for anyone." Liz said. Her voice drew Manny to look up at her. Liz's lips curled inwards as she stood up and turned to face him. She glanced over at Lee Seng before continuing on. "I've known you for three years. We've become close since then and we practically know enough about each other to understand what's going on, but when you noticed Lee Seng at the dorm… No, when you noticed he was at the entrance exam, something changed within you. Is there… something I'm not seeing? Something we're not seeing with him? I-I get he's your friend but…"

"Ah!" Ritsuka groaned. "What she's tryna ask is what is you relationship with Lee Seng? Is he just your childhood friend whom you care so much for or is it actually something more?" It was obvious Manny was bi-sexual. The whole Academy knew it. Hell, the whole city probably knew it.

Lee Seng watched, not out of curiosity that his childhood friend was in love with him, but because he wanted to distinguish what that whole argument was even about. Manny curled his lips and took a deep breath before turning to take a peek at Lee Seng. The two eyes met and Manny immediately turned to look at the others.

"Well…" Manny gulped. "Yes… and no." Manny bit his lip. He sighed in frustration and lifted his head up. "How do I explain this? It's not what you think it is… It's…"