Crossed Fates

Chapter 22: Faith and Hope

The Peeps are back at the inn. Tuckered out from their mentoring from Toby. They learnt quite a bit, and they still have more room to grow.

Tyler: "Hey guys. What's good?"

Luke: "Nothing much man. I'm tired."

Tezuka: "Hi Tired, I'm Tezuka."

Luke: "..."

Luna: "Ahh... I think I could just go ahead and sleep..."

Tyler: "Oh yeah?"

Luna: "Yeah..."

Hanako: "Well... It is getting quite late. You've been outside all day."

Toby: "I did well mentoring them, Tyler."

Tyler: "Yeah, sorry to make you go and do that."

Toby: "Hey, it worked out in the end. They've all learnt something. I could use the same teachings myself."

Hanako: "It's good you're self aware."

Tyler: "Exactly. You're all doing good."

Liv: "Hyahahaha! I know I am!"

Toby: "But yeah, we're all tired."

Luke: "Yeah. Training's taken a huge toll on yours truly."

Tezuka: "My legs ache. They usually do, since I mainly use my legs. But Toby's taught me to utilise my mana and shape it into other things."

Tyler: "Oh yeah?"

Tezuka: "Yeah."

Toby: "Yep. Anyways, I think i'll be going to the inn-"

???: "Excuse us!"

???: "Excuse us!!!"

Two little girls walk into the training camp.

Hanako: "Huh? Oh, sorry girls... I'm just about to close-"

Girl 1: "Noo!  We need help! We need it!"

Girl 2: "Yeah, please help us, scar-face!"

Hanako: "Ey! Listen, I can't help right now, I was just going to-"

Girl 2: "Please???"

Girl 1: "Pretty please?"

Hanako lifts up her finger.

Hanako: "No."

Girl 1: "Aww... but we need it!"

Hanako: "If you were nicer, then I would have-"

Girl 2: "Hey, hey! Sis! Look! It's him"

The girl nudges her sister, and points at Luke.

Luke: "Huh? You speaking to me?"

Girl 1: "Yeah! You gave us money to buy cake and stuff!"

Girl 2: "We're still thankful, mister!"

Luke: "Oh geez..."

Tezuka starts chuckling.

Tyler: "Huh? What's so funny, Tezuka?"

Tezuka: "Hehe... Nothing. Nothing at all."

Girl 2: "Can you help us-"

Hanako: "No, he can't! He's busy, and going to bed."

The girls dash and hide behind Luke.

Girl 2: "Ahh! Help us, Mister!"

Girl 1: "She's scary! Scary scary!"

Luke: "Hanako... Maybe we should hear them out?"

Toby: "Yeah! We should hear them out!"

Luna: "Yeah. I'm with these guys."

Liv: "Meh, I don't care."

Hanako: "Oh, come on... Tyler, you're on my side... right?"

Tyler: "Ehh... They're just little girls. What harm could they do?"

Hanako: "God damn it."

Girl 1: "Yay!"

Luna: "So, what're your names, kids?"

Girl 1: "Names?"

Girl 2: "Uh... We kinda forgot."

Luna: "Seriously..? Well, do you have parents around?"

Girl 1: "No... We don't know who they are. We kind of just appeared here. I don't remember anything except who my sister is."

Luke: "Oh man. That sucks. I hope the money I gave you helped."

Girl 2: "Oh yes! It did! We got so much done with the 10 thousand gold you gave!"

Tyler: "Woah, 10 thousand gold? Where'd you get that kinda money?"

Tezuka: "He took it from your secret stash."

Tyler: "Are you fucking kidding me, Luke?! Seriously?"

Luke: "Oh... come on... We're a team! We should share funds."

Tyler: "Man! I would have been happy to give it to you if you ASKED! Straight up stealing it from me?"

Luke: "Sorry. I used it to buy a huge fish, and Tezuka some sunglasses."

Tyler: "Uh huh. Like that'd make me feel any better."

Tezuka: "You should see me with them on. I look awesome."

Tyler: "Whatever."

Girl 1: "Well... Thanks for funding us, mister broken arm!"

Tyler: "Without my knowledge... Sure, you're welcome."

Luna: "Anyways... You girls want names?"

Girl 2: "Ooh! Ooh! Yes please!"

Luna: "Who do you want to name you?"

The girls both point at Luke.

Luke: "Hmm..."

He thinks for a moment.

Luke: "Well, uh... I don't really know. What're your elements?"

Girl 1: "Ooh! I can bend the earth! Watch!"

She summons and lifts up a rock in the air. She grins.

Tyler: "Hey, a fellow earth element."

Girl 1: "Ooh! Really? Show me what you can do!"

Tyler: "My arm's broken... So I'll just..."

He lifts up his other arm, and an earth version of Tyler appears. He seems to have normal human movements. It starts dancing.

Girl 1: "Woahh!!! That's awesome, Uncle Rock!"

Tyler: "Uncle Rock? Uh, Yeah. Glad you liked it."

The earth Tyler disappears.

Luke: "What about you?"

Girl 2: "I can bend metal!"

Hanako: "Metal bending? That's rare. Never met one of your types."

Girl 2: "Heehee! I know! I'm so awesome!"

Luke: "I got it!"

He points at Girl 1.

Luke: "Faith!"

He points at Girl 2.

Luke: "Hope!"

Liv: "Uhh... Do their names even correlate with their elements?"

Toby: "No. They don't. Why the hell did you even ask their elements?"

Luke: "It's the first thing that came to mind! I also asked because I was curious."

Faith: "I like them, mister."

Hope: "Haha! I love our names! I can finally call my sister something else than Sis!"

Faith: "Yeah!"

Hanako: "Very cute... But what did you need help with?"

Faith: "We need to show you, we need to show you!"

Hope: "Yeah! Let us show you!"

Hanako: "If you two weren't kids, I would not have come with. I won't lie."

Liv: "Oh boy. Another thing to do before I go to bed. SOOOOOO excited. This better be worth it."

Faith: "Yay! Follow us, Follow us!"

The girls run outside. Everyone just decides to follow them. They lead them into some sort of secret area of Lusni. They enter an area that seems to just only have walls and a roof. The entrance is covered up by a curtain.

Hanako: "Huh, I've never been to this part of Lusni before, and I've lived here my whole life."

Hope: "This is where me and Faith live! We just kinda sleep here. We had nowhere else to go."

Toby: "That sucks."

Faith: "Oh well! We're still alive."

Tyler: "True... So... What did you bring us here for, anyways?"

Faith: "We wanna show you this! Hope! Pull the curtain!"

Hope: "Okay!"

Hope pulls the top part of the curtain, since it's made of metal. The curtain opens, and it reveals a mech made out of rocks and metal!

Luke: "Holyyyyyyyyy shit."

Toby: "Woah!"

Luna: "Oh, wow!"

Liv: "WHAT?!"

Tyler: "Ayy!"

Hanako: "W-what?! How did you two make this?"

Faith: "Simple! We-"

Tyler: "Man... Impressive. Very impressive. Hanako, remember when we tried doing something like this? But we didn't have any metal so it couldn't move very well?"

Hanako: "Yeah... We only had Earth and Plasma. It was doomed from the start."

Hope: "Plasma? You have Plasma, lady?"

Hanako: "Yeah. I do."

Faith: "Yay!!! We can finally make it move!"

Hanako: "Eh?"

Hope: "We built a core! But we needed plasma to power it. We couldn't find anybody with Plasma that was willing to come here..."

Hanako: "Ah. So... you're asking me to-"

Faith: "Please power it! We would be forever grateful!"

Hanako: "I dunno... You two aren't evil, right?"

Hope: "Evil? We don't hurt people!"

Luke: "Well, you two hurt my soul!"

Tezuka chuckles once again. She leans onto Tyler.

Tezuka: "Hehehe... my sides... oh... my sides..."

Tyler: "What the hell is so funny?"

Tezuka puts on a higher pitched voice, replicating the girls.

Tezuka: "Ahh! Please don't rape us, Mister!"

She snorts and laughs once again.

Luke: "Stop replicating them! Jesus christ!"

Faith: "Oh yeah..! We're sorry. We were just scared."

Hanako: "You're serious?! Who taught you those words, girls?! I won't power your little mech here if you don't tell me!"

Hope: "We don't know! Honest! We just kind of... know?"

Faith: "...yeah!"

Hanako: "Promise you won't say anything like that again?"

Faith & Hope: "Yes Ma'am..."

Luna: "Aww. I don't blame them. I don't remember how I learnt words like Fuck, Shit, Ass, and-"

Faith: "Fuck Shit and Ass?"

Hanako: "Luna!"

Hope: "Fuck Shit and Ass!"

The girls start repeating it to each other. Hanako looks furious, and Tyler's chuckling.

Hanako: "God damn it, Luna!"

Luna: "What?"

Hanako: "They're still very impressionable! Don't just throw out those words!"

Luna: "Oh yeah. Sorry kids. Don't say those words."

Hope: "Okay, Zappy Elf."

Luna: "Zappy Elf?"

Faith: "Yeah! You look like an elf... that has the electric element!"

Luna: "Do I?"

Tyler: "Yeah. That is true. That's a smart analysis, Kids."

Faith & Hope: "Thanks Uncle Rock!"

Luna: "Aw."

Liv: "So! Hanako! Power that freakin' mech already! I wanna see that baby in action!"

Hanako: "Not today. I promise to do it tomorrow, though. I'm too tired to actually use my powers."

Faith: "Yay! A day! A DAY!"

Hope: "A dayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

Luke: "Hey, you guys... You sleep here?"

Faith: "Yes?"

Luke: "Well, that's it! I'm adopting you two!"

Hope: "REALLY?!"

Toby: "Seriously? You're adopting these two?"

Luke: "Yeah, duh. You two aren't going to be part of the Peeps, though. You're too young, and I don't want you getting hurt."

Hope: "Peeps?"

Faith: "Yay! Does that mean I can call you dad?!"

Luke: "What?"

Hope: "Yay! Dad! Dad!"

Luke: "Oh... fuck. I forgot about that."

Liv: "Haha! Dad! You should take them back to the inn! Maybe tonight they're gonna have to sleep in Daddy's room! Haha!"

Luke: "Well... err! Who do you two want your mother to be?"

They both point at Hanako.

Hanako: "What!? Me?!"

Faith: "Yeah! You're awesome!"

Hope: "Please, Mommy?"

Hanako's face flushes. She seems embarrassed.

Hanako: "Well... I couldn't say no to your faces. Alright. You two can come with me. I'll let you stay in my house."

Hope: "Yay!"

Hanako: "You guys should go back to the inn. I'll take these two to my house. You guys seriously need some rest."

Tyler: "Alright."

Hanako: "Oh, Tyler... There won't be room for you anymore, the kids'll be taking them. Hehe. Sorry."

Tyler: "Shit."

Tezuka: "Oh boy. I get to share the room with you again."

Tyler: "Ugh..."

10 minutes later... At the inn... Luke & Luna's room.

Luke: "Hey, Zappy Elf."

Luna: "You've been enjoying calling me that name, haven't you?"

Luke: "Come on... It's super funny."

Luna: "Eh, Sure."

Luke: "Anyways! Did you hear about what's going on at Lusni tomorrow?"

Luna: "No, what's going on?"

Luke: "There's a festival. A lot of townspeople are going to go to the main hall and dance."

Luna: "Oh, really?"

Luke: "Yep. I was thinking of bringing everyone along."

Luna: "Tyler's arm is still broken though, will he be able to make it?"

Luke: "Wait... Wait a second. I think I could do something."

Luna: "Huh?"

Luke: "TYLER!!! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!!! I WANNA SHOW YOU SOMETHING!"

After 20 seconds, Tyler comes into the room.

Tyler: "I'm still mad at you taking money from me. What do you want?"

Luke: "C'mere, boy."

Tyler: "Eh... No."

Luke: "What? Why?"

Tyler: "Don't call me boy."

Luke: "What? Oh. Just lemme see your arm for a second."

Tyler: "My arm..? Just what do you plan to do, asshole?"

Luke: "Nothing. Just... Repaying my debts?."

He grabs a tight hold of his broken arm. He then pushes all of his mana and power towards Tyler's arm, and begins to heal his bones.

Tyler: "Ow, ow ow ow ow! Ow?"

Luke: "Move your arm."

Tyler gulps, and tries moving his arm.

Tyler: "Oh, hey! I can finally move it again. Err..."

Luna: "Wait, didn't you heal everyone during the fight with Moros? Why didn't his broken arm heal then?"

Luke: "Dunno. Maybe it only healed their outer injuries."

Luna: "But Moros literally had his entire body ripped apart by bullets."

Luke: "Maybe it touched the insides and healed him that way?"

Tyler: "Oh, was that when Rin was controlling me?"

Luke: "Yeah."

Tyler: "I dunno, then. Maybe you just focused on certain types of healing. Not all injuries get healed from basic healing. Like broken arms, or... uh, Cancer."

Luke: "Huh... Well, it's fixed now."

Tyler: "Well, this is convenient. Well... Now what?"

Luke: "Oh yeah, there's a festival tomorrow. I wanted all the peeps to attend it."

Tyler: "Lusnayin P'arraton?"

Luke: "Yeah! How'd you-"

Tyler: "I grew up here, dipshit."

Luke: "Oh yeah. Well, do you wanna go?"

Tyler: "Got nothing better to do, so sure."

Luke: "Hah! Great!"

Tyler: "Now, if you excuse me..."

Luke: "Yeah yeah, go back to your room."

Tyler: "I was planning to... Oh, and Luke? I forgive you for stealing my money. Thanks for fixing my arm, buddy. Oh, and MAKE SURE YOU ASK NEXT TIME YOU WANT MONEY."

Luke: "Alright! See you tomorrow."

Luna: "Huh. How nice of you, Luke."

Luke: "I know. I'm just the best."