Chi-Chi and Asoh

"Who are you guys?" I whispered as the knife was released from my throat.

"Doesn't matter, follow us," The girl with the eye patch said.

We snuck through the bushes until we reached that pathway, staying out of Yonoa and Troy's view. Our footsteps would be left behind in the dirt if the two girls holding Alex and me at knife point weren't messing them up. They were experienced. How dead were we?!

"Now that we can talk at a normal volume, I want to apologize for the confrontation," The purple-eyed girl said.

She carried herself confidently, just like the one with the eye patch and green eye, but as soon as she didn't have to be confident in scaring us, she reverted to a personality that resembled how I used to be.

"That was scary! Asoh, we need a different form of interrogation!" The eye patch girl said.

"Chi-Chi quit worrying about that shit. The job got done, and it wouldn't have otherwise. Look, I hate to keep you two in the dark, but we need to ask you some questions about this city... and about your new inhabitant," Asoh told us.

I had a feeling I knew what she was talking about...

"Like what?" Alex spoke up before I could, rubbing the dirt off of his shirt.

"Sky Asterio, do you know about him?" Asoh said in a demanding tone. I could only imagine what would happen if they got the answer to their question.

Sky was tackling a ton of obstacles right now... he could probably handle whatever these two girls would throw at him, but the problem isn't that, it's that he deserves a break.

I looked at Alex, then down, and then back at the girl named Asoh.

"I might know a little, it depends on who's asking," I replied in a snarky tone. If they wanted something out of us, they would have to do a lot more.

"I think we should bring them to The Queen," Chi-Chi said to her friend, but Asoh shook her head in response.

"Why can't you tell us here?" Asoh asked us again, she was getting closer like she wanted to beat us up.

"Why do you need to hear it here? Why don't you go in there and ask for Sky Asterio specifically? Why did you need us to tell you what we know about him?" Alex asked for me. We were on the same wavelength right now, good.

"Look, I can't answer your questions... but if I listen to Chi-Chi and bring you to The Queen, you better be ready for a heavy presence. She doesn't take kindly to strangers... and you can kiss your strands goodbye if you can even use them," Asoh added.

"Kiss my strands goodbye? Why's that? Can she take them?" I asked. This information we were gathering would be invaluable if we could somehow transmit it to Sky.

"The Tower is a place where no strands work. It doesn't matter who you are. Not even The Queen can use her strands," Chi-Chi explained. Asoh seemed upset that she revealed that, but shrugged it off and looked at us. It seemed like we had a decision to make.

"Our friends would be worried if we weren't there with them. We'll have to refuse," Alex said... but I wasn't thinking the same thing as him.

"Alex... you go back to everybody. I'll go with you guys," I courageously said.

"What? No way. I'm going with you if you're going to their Queen. Count me in as well. We'll see if she's worthy of the information we possess," Alex said.

"So be it. Your people won't have any leads on your location, so you'll be forgotten with time," Asoh said. She turned around, demanded us to follow her, and began to walk the path to The Queen, or so she's called.

…

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--Lily's Perspective--

With my back against the thin walls of the military compound, I could hear everything going on right outside the walls.

I was tasked by Hiyochi to find an injured soldier and tend to them as part of my training... I decided to first aim for Charlie and Alex since I at least knew them a little. I couldn't find them, but I heard their voices outside the gates... talking about being taken away.

I immediately put my tools in my backpack and peered around the gate as the voices faded, following as close as possible, and tracking their location. So long as I memorize where they went, I can get somebody to help me bring them back.

I snuck around the bushes outside of the gate and peered ahead. It didn't look like they were being held hostage, but if I revealed myself, they might get hurt.

When I was training to be a soldier at Orion's Castle, I learned a lot about stealth rather than anything else. I'm naturally a quiet walker, and he saw that strength and made sure I could exercise it. I haven't had the need to admit this skill, nor use it, but right now, I was reliving my days in his compound.

They were ugly days, and I don't miss them, but I have to admit that without that training, I couldn't effectively follow the two.

There was a path that looked custom-made along the trail they were taking, but they weren't walking on the trail, only beside it.

There were small hills in the distance with clouds over them. It was almost symbolic, watching the storm form ahead. Who knows what awaited... should I turn back now?

I believed that I should get closer. As close as possible in fact, but I might be spotted by their guards before I know they were there.

Those two girls leading Charlie and Alex away... I almost worried that they were connected with the recent terrorist attack on the city. No, that couldn't be, right? Those two girls look... bathed... and normal. Like they're apart of a different city.

And I assume the reason they showed up here was that they probably heard what was going on. Is Zealous in danger?