Chapter 700 My Childhood Friend

Manny stood there awkwardly as he tried to form sentences in his head. The entire group only made him more nervous. He didn't think this could come up. What did his personal feelings have to do with anything?

"Well…" Manny rubbed his arms. "I just… I don't…" He let out an exasperated sigh and mustered enough courage to look at Lee Seng. His childhood best friend looked at him with deep brown eyes. They seemed to tug at Manny and for a moment, everything disappeared. The others faded away, leaving Lee Seng and Manny looking at each other.

Twelve Years Ago…

A curly haired dirty blonde boy quietly played with his toys underneath the shade of a large tree as a woman watched. He made noises to the pterodactyl attacking the ship. Screams erupted out of his mouth as the little boy tossed the ship straight into another little boy.

"Manny!" A woman shouted. The curly dirty blonde boy turned and looked at his mother coming over to him. "Don't throw it! You could've really hurt Lee Seng!" The woman turned to Lee Seng and checked the young boy. He had black hair and wore a striped red and gray t-shirt with cargo shorts and strapped on shoes. "Are you okay, Lee Seng? Did Manny hurt you?"

Little Lee Seng simply shook his head and looked over at Manny. Manny noticed Lee Seng and quickly froze. Lee Seng smiled, showing his huge grin and dimples as Manny's mother patted the sand on Lee Seng's behind.

"All good to go! Why don't you two play together, hm?" Manny's mom suggested. She turned to look at her son, who turned away, seemingly embarrassed by something. "What's wrong, dear? Are you okay? It was just a mistake, Manny. All you must do is say sorry and hug it out." Lee Seng watched Manny's mom move over to Manny and check on him.

She whispered to him and soon Manny was all smiles. Lee Seng turned and ran up the ramp, drawing Manny's attention.

"Come on." Manny's mom pulled her son up onto his feet. "Go play with your friend, hm? I'll take Mr. Ptero and toys and keep them by me. Go play with Little Lee." Manny nodded and ran after Lee Seng. He giggled as Lee Seng patiently waited for him near the slide.

'Maybe it was then,' Older Manny thought. 'I honestly don't remember, but I always looked at Lee Seng with such… admiration.'

The scene shifted. Manny and Lee Seng were about eight or nine now. Manny's eyes scanned the pages of the book.

'It's quiet.' Manny thought. He looked up, noticing Lee Seng was nowhere to be found. Another scan around the living room and he found Lee Seng, who was curled up on the couch, asleep. Manny slid the bookmark into place and shut it. He slowly stood up, noticing Sara was also sleeping on the other end of the couch.

"They fell asleep." Manny whispered. His lips curled into a frown as he hobbled over to Lee Seng. Manny had a huge cast on his leg and instead of listening to his dad, he walked around on it. He dropped to the floor, resting his head on his hands as he stared at Lee Seng. "Lee Seng? Lee Seng? Are you really sleeping?"

A curious finger pulled away from underneath Manny's head as he slowly moved it towards Lee Seng's cheek. From this distance, Manny could really see Lee Seng's eyelashes. They were 'pretty' like Sara and his mom had mentioned. Manny's finger slowly landed on Lee Seng's bouncy cheeks and a smile grew on his face.

'Or was it then?' Older Manny wondered. The memories faded and there was Lee Seng, staring back at him. The hums of the air conditioning came back, flooding every other detail he had blacked out for just a moment. Manny nodded and turned away from Lee Seng, not noticing Lee Seng's eyes diverting themselves towards another part of the room.

"Well?" Liz asked. Manny scratched his arms and let out a yawn.

"Of course, I love him." Manny braved a smile. "We've grown up together, why wouldn't I think of Lee Seng like my brother?" Lee Seng glanced at Manny, again. He wasn't expecting that comment. Lee Seng had his hunch that Manny did like him more than a friend… More than a 'brother,' but hearing it felt…

'It doesn't matter right now.' Lee Seng shook his head.

"You sure?" Ritsuka asked, not buying it. Manny nodded.

"If I feel anything else, why does it concern you guys?" Manny asked. The others nodded. They had practically pinned him and forced him to say what he felt. Manny turned to look at Lee Seng. "I just wanted what was the best situation for me regarding Lee Seng… I'm sorry if I came off as controlling or odd… I… It's been a year."

"Agreed." Lee Seng nodded. He stretched his arms and smiled.

'It's better he doesn't hear it right now.' Manny thought. 'I can't put more on him… I like you, but I don't want to ruin anything else… You need my help right now.'

Knock, knock!

Lee Seng and the others turned to look at the door. Lee Seng unlocked the door and opened it, revealing Felicity and Shang along with a couple of other Foxes Lee Seng wasn't aware of.

"We got news." Shang spoke in a serious tone.

"And… It's not good, Senior." Felicity finished the sentence. Lee Seng gulped and opened the door wider, revealing the rest of his friends. "We need you to come with us. All of you."

"The Commander has given their orders. Y'all need to hear them." A Japanese looking Fox Spirit spoke. Lee Seng looked at her, waiting for someone to introduce the rest to him. Felicity noticed this and took a step back, pushing Shang out of the way.

"I'm sorry, Senior. I forgot to introduce you to all of us. Like I said, I'm Felicity. You've met your little fanboy Shang. This is Amhya. The boy next to her is Igor. We're the new additions to Commander's team." Felicity introduced everyone.

"Commander's tasked us with bringing you and your friends with us." Amhya told them. "So, please, come with us. It's urgent." Amhya, Igor and Shang began to turn, leaving Felicity when Lee Seng noticed these four were very human-like.

"You guys are like me?" Lee Seng asked.

"Like him?" Igor whispered to Amhya. "What does he mean by that? We aren't twins." Amhya shushed him as Felicity nodded.

"Human origin, yes. God King found us shortly after you, I believe. He planted us in different regions of Daros to learn." Felicity answered.

"So, they're practically you and Keng's younger siblings?" Ritsuka asked. Lee Seng turned, noticing Ritsuka and the others were huddled behind him. Lee Seng stepped out of the doorframe, past Felicity and allowed the rest of his friends to come out.

"You could say that." Shang nodded, happily.

"Can we please go? I don't want Commander Chimera to wait. This is important." Amhya impatiently asked the others.

"Let's go." Lee Seng nodded. "Maybe they have answers for our decision." Lee Seng looked at the others, who nodded back at him. Manny gave a small nod and followed with Liz pulling him along.

The four led them up to the fourth floor. Fox Spirits noticed the Foxlings and greeted them. They instantly noticed Lee Seng and the others and greeted them, curious about what was going to happen next. The four Foxlings led them down the hall to the right and stopped at the end of the hall. Shang knocked on the door three times before waiting a couple seconds and then entering.

"We've brought them!" Shang excitedly informed whoever was in the room. The group filed into the room, passing the Foxlings as they all studied the two new faces. Felicity shut the door behind Liz and Manny and stood at attention next to the wall as Commander Chimera, General Halys, and Ysa all turned their attention to the group.

"Good, you're all here." Halys nodded. "We've got some… Unfortunate news. Ysa?" Ysa nodded and clicked the device in her hands.

"This just in! In an unfortunate attack on the top of the Earl Duche Apartment Complex building, it was speculated that this was a terrorist attack on the Captiol! Information has poured in in the last hour and our sources tell us that the Creator's son, Lee Seng Chang, was living in the penthouse due to circumstances revolving around the murders that happened a couple months ago. Chang, who was originally found with the bodies of twenty emergency response personnel dispersed throughout the lab, was framed for the murders." The news anchor spoke.

"Our sources have pulled together some footage of the nearby security granted to us by the Earl Duche Company. Please watch." The image fades and a security footage image of guards walking in. There are two guards patrolling the area before Manny and Liz are spotted walking up to these guards. They converse for a while before the guards allow both to go inside. "It seems like Damion Valentin, son of Dr. Valentin and younger brother of Zoe Valentin, was found going into the building shortly before the explosion. Could the explosion be caused by Damion Valentin?"