Manny slammed against the large kinetic wall, groaning as the entire space shook. Liz's body floated in the air as the clouds pulled in and out, shooting purple lightning bolts in every direction. A bright light grew from Liz's body followed by Keng hitting the floor as Liz's body continued to shake. Smoke rose off Keng's body as his wounds began to heal.
Keng's body flickered as his eyes fluttered open. He threw himself up, noticing Liz's body was floating mid-air. Keng grunted as he forced himself up.
"You!" Manny managed to shout through his pain and the whipping noise of wind. "What did you do to her?!?" Keng ignored Manny's shouts as he watched Liz's body. The storm raged, seemingly never-ending. Manny threatened he would kill Keng after his stunt, but Keng continued to ignore him. A familiar jingle of bells came to Keng's ears as he raised his hands.
An orange and black starry energy exploded from Liz's body, instantly calming the storm. The clouds pulled towards Liz as Keng's energy flew off him. Keng orchestrated the energy, continuously pulling the cloudy storm energy back towards its owner. This went on for about ten minutes before the energy completely settled. The orange and black starry energy lingered in the air as Liz's body started to wiggle.
"Liz!" Manny called out. He pushed himself off the wall Evan had made and pulled his hand away from his heart. He was still bruised up but wasn't showing any signs of electric burns. He rushed underneath Liz and put his arms out to catch her. Keng grunted, his mind losing concentration on holding Liz up as he fell to the ground.
He watched Manny catch her and let out a sigh of relief as he laid on his side.
"Ritsuka!" Evan shouted trying to grab him. Ritsuka jogged over to Keng, blocking the view of Manny and Liz as he knelt beside him. The kinetic wall disappeared, revealing Olivia and Evan moving over to check on their friends.
"Are you okay?" Ritsuka asked. Blood dripped off Ritsuka's face as he tried to check on Keng. Keng managed to let out a chuckle, looking at how messed up Ritsuka was.
"Ritsuka." Keng managed to speak aloud, quietly. Ritsuka's attention focused on Keng as Keng managed to see someone standing off to the right of Ritsuka and him. "Do you think… He'd be happy I did this?" Ritsuka nodded without hesitation.
"Lee Seng would probably be glad you did what you did." Ritsuka comforted Keng. "I'm sure a weight's been lifted from him."
"Good…" Keng chuckled.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Are you really telling the truth?" Evan asked. "That you're actually from Lee Seng? You're not an enemy?"
"Of course, he's an enemy!" Manny shouted, setting Liz on the floor and standing to turn and face the small group around the strange enemy. "Why do you protect him, Yamada? You owe him or something? He blackmailed you? Just say it was that and I'll forgive you." Ritsuka started to stand as Keng managed to grab his arm.
"Ritsuka." Keng began to speak. Ritsuka gently pulled his arm away and turned to face Manny. Manny was furious with the doppelganger.
"I'm telling the truth. I wouldn't lie about this sort of thing." Ritsuka replied.
"Lie? You've withheld information from us about him! Lee Seng isn't here, and that doppelganger is the reason why Liz is in the state she is." Manny shouted. He may have butt heads with Ritsuka the most, but this was different from the last fight regarding Lee Seng. Manny was seething with rage and the killing intent was growing in his eyes.
"You really want to go there right now?" Ritsuka scoffed. "Let's bring you up, then! You knew the entire city got their memories altered or wiped and didn't say a thing! If you want to talk then we should at least talk about your actions!" Manny flew forward, grappling Ritsuka. The two tumbled backwards, hitting Keng as they flew over him and tumbled onto the ground.
Manny and Ritsuka swung at each other, rolling around on the ground as Keng watched Evan move around him and try to get the two separated.
"You bastard!" Manny shouted, punching Ritsuka in the face. Evan grabbed Manny and tried to yank him away. Manny pushed Evan away, ignoring him as he tumbled into Keng's head and almost fell backwards. "I never liked you from the start anyways, you friend stealing, lying bastard!" Manny continued to pummel Ritsuka, who defended himself.
Ritsuka took the hits, trying to push Manny off. Manny would regrapple and continue to pummel him endlessly screaming slurs and profanities at Ritsuka.
"Guys…" Evan's voice shook. "C'mon, not now…" Olivia sighed and stood up. She marched right over and grabbed Manny's hand mid air and yanked him away with ease. Ritsuka took the chance to leap into action as Olivia quickly landed a kick in his balls.
"Argh!" Ritsuka gasped, tumbling.
"Stay." Olivia spoke. She turned as Manny flew forward.
"Hahah serves you ri—" Manny froze in her spot, noticing the familiar sign Olivia's hands made. Olivia let out a frustrated sigh as Manny tried to shout at her.
"You stay still for a second, too." Olivia told him. She moved past him and stood above Keng. He was still frozen in place and the energy Olivia was immanating scared him. "You." Her foot hit him hard enough so Keng could tell she was speaking to him. "What did you do to Liz?"
"I…" Keng gasped for air. "Nothing… She did that… herself… I just… wanted to know… What the spell looked like in her… head."
"What spell?" Olivia asked, kicking him lightly again.
"The spell that… Altered your memories."
"What?" Evan muttered. "That's it?" Olivia took a step back nodding.
"There you heard him." Olivia addressed the boys. "He isn't lying either."
"That's what I've been… trying to tell you guys." Ritsuka groaned, clutching his privates. "But you beat me and kicked me in the balls? Could've been a little nicer, Liv."
"I would've been nicer if you stayed on the ground." Olivia flatly told him. She wandered in front of Manny and folded her arms. "You." She snapped her fingers. Manny's mouth freed as he began to demand Olivia to let him go. Olivia shut her fist and watched as Manny's mouth froze.
"Are you mad at the fact he isn't Lee Seng or that he entered Liz?" Olivia asked. "Or are you just mad that someone else other than you is closer to Lee Seng than you?" Manny's facial expression moved just enough to indicate an obvious answer. Olivia sighed as she shook her head. "What you did is unacceptable, Manny. You deliberately steered away from the truth and only addressed it when he was caught. You know exactly what happened in November then. You need to spill everything you know, or we'll leave you here. So, talk or else I'll gladly leave you here."
The force on Manny lifted just enough for him to talk and move his head. Manny lowered his head, thinking of a way out as Evan made his way over to Ritsuka to help him up.
"You okay?" Evan asked.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"That was a harsh kick…" Ritsuka coughed. He wiped his mouth as Evan pulled a cloth out and wiped the blood away from Ritsuka's eyes and mouth.
"Dude you're fucked up. Just stay still until we get this figured out."
"You have the floor, Valentin. I'd suggest you talk now." Olivia ordered in a more serious tone.
"I can't tell you anything other than what I already told you. I was one of the few who were able to keep their memories." Manny told them. He raised his head, glaring at Olivia. Liz's body twitched as Olivia took note of it.
"Why were you one of the few? What was your task?" Olivia asked.
"What? Why do you think I was—"
"Because someone as idiotically smart as you would be used for some sort of purpose. Who ordered you, hm?" Olivia asked. She assumed someone higher up gave him the order. Manny scoffed; licking his lips as he eyed Olivia.
"What makes you think that hm?" Manny asked. "Aren't you hiding something, too?" Olivia kept her composure. When she didn't answer, Manny threw his head back and laughed. "Of course, you're hiding something. We all are. But I think in this case…" He looked at Olivia with a cocky smile. "You remember everything, and you didn't tell anyone either."
"Mmm, not quite, Valentin." Olivia sarcastically smiled at him. She took a step forward and slowly began to circle him. "You wanna know a secret, Valentin?" Evan and Ritsuka were watching her as she casually glanced at them. "Do you all wanna know a secret about me?" She stopped in front of Manny, lifting his head up with a finger. "The memories came back when our friend came home."
"What?" Evan asked. Olivia let go of Manny's head, scratching him with her nail as she walked around Manny and stopped by Keng. "What do you mean you remembered when our friend came home?"
"You." Olivia addressed Keng.
"Hm?" Keng asked, still unable to move.
"There are very few people who I can't read." Olivia told him. "And Lee Seng's one of them."