Chapter 783 A Heartfelt Cry

Lee Seng went with the guards to retrieve his friends. He didn't really know how they would act if the guards didn't properly tell them Lee Seng had finished the mission. He thought most of his friends would try to "go out with a bang" and Lee Seng didn't want that to happen. Lee Seng was led to Calis, first, since he was the closest.

Calis was locked up in a similar room Lee Seng was locked in. Spacious, nothing in it and it didn't really do anything to dampen his powers. He was smart, unlike Keng, and didn't use his powers to show he trusted Lee Seng. The door opened and Calis's eyes immediately looked up.

"Hope you didn't get too comfortable." Lee Seng grinned. Calis stood up and met Lee Seng halfway.

"You're back already? I thought it would take much longer." Calis commented. Lee Seng nodded.

"I thought so, too. C'mon, let's get some rest in an actual place, hm?" Lee Seng motioned. Calis nodded and followed Lee Seng out. The guards looked at Calis, warily as the guards that led Lee Seng here, turned and led the way.

One by one, Lee Seng gathered the group who greeted him similarly to Calis. They questioned him on how he did and some – Manny and Evan – thought Lee Seng hadn't done his job properly and they were being tricked. With a head grip from Lee Seng, the two believed him and they were all led to their 'complementary stay.'

"It might not be what you're used to, but this is all we can afford to give you." Guard 1 stuck the key inside the door and opened it. Lee Seng and the others walked inside and noticed it was roomy. There were three rooms, a living room with a couch, and a single bathroom.

"This'll have to do." Lee Seng turned and smiled at the guards. "Thank you for your help."

"If you need anything from us, let us know." Guard 2 told Lee Seng.

"If you wish to eat, you can go to the barracks." Guard 1 continued. "And if you wish to run the course…" Guard 1 leaned in and whispered, "Let me know. I'll gather the others for a couple rounds." The guard chuckled and saluted in unison with Guard 2 before leaving Team Zephyr alone.

"Man, this place looks new! Why'd they put us in such a nice place?" Evan asked. The group flooded into the living room as Lee Seng turned and stood with his back to the open door. He let out a sigh and the key flew out of the keyhole, into Lee Seng's pocket and then shut the door. It clicked and Lee Seng waited for his friends to settle into the room before speaking.

"Are you… okay?" Ritsuka asked. "Y-you came back so that must mean y-you handled it, right?" Evan was antsier than usual. Ritsuka's stutter was coming out in full force. Manny looked like he wanted to avoid the conversation and disassociate while Liz acted like she was listening. Olivia looked like she had something on her mind while Keng and Calis were the only ones who were truly listening. Lee Seng sighed and walked over to the armchair and plopped a seat in it.

"Are you guys okay?" Lee Seng asked. "You don't look… so good."

"Should you really be worrying about us when… You were just about to die?" Manny looked up. He stood up and pointed out the door. "They forced you to go on this mission to kill the Curse because they thought you were that Deimon. A-are we gonna gloss over there? Y-you just woke up months ago and you act like everything's fine? W-what if something went wrong and you-your powers didn't work? W-what if—"

"I'm okay, guys." Lee Seng leaned forward. "I'm more than fine. I don't feel as trapped as I did in Limbo. I am okay. Nothing went wrong. Delete all of those what-if scenarios in your mind. Do you see me standing here in front of you all?" Lee Seng stood up and lifted his arms up. "I'm not a figment of your imagination. I'm not in a coma. I'm not trying to burden myself by taking on everything. I'm truly just here… with you guys."

"But you risked your life, again!" Liz blurted out. Her voice shook while her face looked visibly upset. "A lot of things happened, and you act okay and like nothing has happened, but a shit ton of things happened! I-I get it's hard to equate what you remember to only feel like it's been recent but for us it's been years! We watched you sleep for years!'

"And on top of all of that, we couldn't just… stop practicing. We couldn't stop and grieve our hearts for Olivia's grandmother and village." Evan added. "We had to keep running until we got a hold of someone who took us to Daros."

"And even there we couldn't just sit and do nothing!" Ritsuka stood up. All of them looked hurt. Lee Seng looked at Keng and noticed the hurt he was hiding behind his eyes. Calis sighed and kept looking down. He thought about leaving and letting the group have their time together. Ritsuka moved past the coffee table and stood in front of Lee Seng. "W-we cou-couldn't just m-move on."

Lee Seng sighed and nodded. He smiled at Ritsuka and watched Ritsuka's eyes release the tears they had been desperately trying to hold back.

"How was I supposed to grieve and continue on…?" Olivia quietly sobbed. "How were we supposed to do that? We were only juniors in high school! Juniors!" As Olivia's voice raised, her anger grew. She stood up and tried her best to hold it, but it was pouring out. "You were gone. Just like that… What were we supposed to do? How am I supposed to get rid of these feelings inside of me? I tried to talk to you about it when you were asleep, but it didn't work! I-I didn't know what to do when you woke up and I tried to be nice and keep things as they were before all of that happened, but I couldn't handle it! I can't fucking handle it!"

Lee Seng nodded and sighed. Olivia marched over, pushing Ritsuka to the side as he almost stumbled over Keng and fell. Keng caught Ritsuka as Olivia punched Lee Seng's chest. Snot and tears ran down her face as she angrily looked at him.

"What am I supposed to do with these feelings?!?" Olivia shouted. "What am I supposed to do?!?" Lee Seng reached in for a hug, but Olivia fought against him. She pushed him away and shook her head. "You think one hug will fix all of it!?! I suffered for two whole years! You think it's—"

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you." Lee Seng pulled Olivia in. Olivia fought to rip herself away from Lee Seng, but he kept her close. "I'm sorry you guys couldn't move on… I'm sorry for what happened. I really am. I know you guys want me to ease back into things, but I don't know how much time we have left… I lost two years… and I want to desperately make it up to all of you. I'm sorry."

"Don't feel guilty that you were asleep for two years!" Liz cried. She moved over and hugged Olivia and Lee Seng. Lee Seng adjusted himself to include her as the two girls cried and got snot all over his shirt. Keng quietly consoled Ritsuka while Evan and Manny held themselves together.

Team Zephyr was hurting. They were all hurting and each one of them tried to bear the pain instead of looking out for each other and carrying it together. It wasn't something that could change over time. It was something that would have to constantly be worked on and Lee Seng knew that as he shut the door. He had gotten Liz and Olivia to bed after they cried their hearts out onto him…. That and their snot and tears. Lee Seng pulled the shirt off and sighed as he pulled a new shirt out from the Void and tossed his shirt onto the couch. He plopped down onto the couch and slipped his shirt on.

Calis, Keng, and Lee Seng were the only ones left. A bunch of tissue-like paper was in "trash cans" and some small snacks were barely touched on the coffee table. Lee Seng moved the snot-filled shirt onto the edge and sighed.

"How long do you think they were waiting for this moment?" Calis asked, quietly.

"A looooong time." Keng yawned. He rubbed the tired tears in his eyes and kept his head propped up with an arm. "I was waiting. I didn't expect all of them to do that at once." Lee Seng tiredly stared at the snacks. He wanted to eat, but he was so exhausted. He cried. He consoled them. He listened. Calis's stomach growled, loudly and the two twins chuckled, quietly along with Calis.

"I wish we asked for food." Calis said. He patted his stomach. "I didn't think these snacks would amount to nothing."

"There's barely anything to eat in here…" Keng commented. "Didn't you hear the guards earlier? We gotta go to the barracks for food…. If you want food, go get it!