"Are you sure about this, Gerald? Are we really going to leave this base for that secret league?" Kate asked as three of us walked our way towards the Scale Section.
"Well sort of, Kate," I replied softly. "It had been a week now ever since I read those letters we got from the Maria's Base in Mandaue City. With that week, I had pondered this decision and I think it is the best for us all. In my opinion, it was a calling for us to finally change our ideology and principles. We believe that everything happens for a reason, especially that time when we grabbed those letters from the Maria's library.
"And I will just be frank about this. I know that we have been waiting for four years to get this opportunity to fight. But what had they done to us in those past years? We were caged in this base. We were not allowed to go out. It was as if we were prisoners. We were made as like these robots who are activated only when already needed."
Kate and Alexander were left silent with their eyes fixed on me. Despite of this, I continued with the words, "Let's face it. They only see us as minions for the benefit of the whole clan. They really take good care of us. Why? Because they know that we can do something for their benefit. Is this what we really want, or was this the want that was imposed to us through these years? For all those times that they explained to us how treacherous the others clans are, that they are the bad guys, that we deserve immortality more than them. Look how close minded we are! And I guess this fight has to end. In the first place, we were made equals with the same capabilities. It is better to be kept that way. No immortals. Just normal mortals."
"I guess you're right, Gerald. I sure am going to miss wearing these green Kung Fu clothes," Kate said as she looked on her Concepcion uniform.
"Me too," Alexander added sadly.
"Wait," I looked at them.
"What?" Kate asked.
"We are still going to go back here... Let's take Commander Hilda as an example. As long as we don't get caught, everything is going to be fine," I explained.
"Oh! I see," Kate smirked.
"Well, let's get back to the real deal," Alexander spoke.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I guess my parents will not be proud of me if I follow your decision, Gerald. However, in these stressful hours of intense battles we had, it would be best if I finally change my mindset and fight for peace. I don't want to live with chaos in mind," Alexander replied seriously.
"I agree, Alexander," I said as we stopped in front of the Scale Section's wooden door. "I agree."
"Well, here we go," Kate spoke as she looked at us and knocked at the door three times.
Seconds later, Commander Lorry opened the wooden door with his fair skinned hands. At the moment he looked at us, he asked, "What brings you all here?"
"Well, we would want to ask a permission from you," I replied.
"Okay... Proceed... Tell me your request," Commander looked at me with his grey eyes.
"Kate, Alexander and I would want to have a vacation in Manila for a few days, because those previous missions were extremely exhausting," I explained.
"I agree," Alexander nodded. "Actually, my love life issues were also affected by those missions. So I demand a break time from those stressful moments."
"Commander Lorry, look at my delicate skin," Kate said as she looked at her skin. "It needs a spa or a time to chill. Or else, I'm going to look like a senior citizen! Commander Lorry, I am still too young to look old. Please--"
"Okay. You really need some rest," Commander Lorry interrupted.
"Are you serious?" I asked with my eyes widened. "You don't hinder us with this."
"Of course," He nodded. "You three deserve it. Your efforts must be rewarded."
With a smile on his face, Alexander said, "Oh thank you so much, commander. Tarlac... I mean Manila, here we come!"
Kate and I looked at Alexander with a plastic smile. I asked myself, Why the fuck did he said the "Tarlac" word? Now we're doomed!
With a clever mind, Alexander managed to cover his mistake with the words, "I can't believe those missions really affected my mind."
"Yes, it really did, you asshole," Kate rolled her eyes.
"You really do need a rest," Commander Lorry chuckled.
"You got that right," I smiled.
"Anyway, here is your pocket money for the trip and use it wisely," Commander Lorry said as he lend me a white envelope filled with cash.
"Oh thank you very much, commander. We promise to use it wisely," I smiled as I received the cash.
"Very well, have a safe trip and by the way, change your Concepcion uniforms with civilian clothes. A Conception wearing his or her uniform in a public place is one step closer to disaster," Commander Lorry warned.
"Okay. Thanks," I thanked as the three of us gave him a nod and left.
~~~o0o~~~
It was about twelve o'clock in the afternoon when we arrived in the Tacloban City Bus Terminal. The sun shined brightly above us with no clouds at sight. Because of this, it felt like we were being roasted. With civilian clothes, we searched from aisle to aisle, until we had found the bus that was bound from Tacloban City to Tarlac City.
"Finally we found it!" Kate rolled her eyes.
"I hope that it is air-conditioned inside," Alexander wiped the sweat on his forehead.
"Well, there is only one way to find out," I said as we started to go inside the bus.
At the moment I stepped on the last stair towards the interior of that bus, a sudden blast of coldness started overwhelm my whole body. With delight I said to myself, Thank God! This bus is air-conditioned.
As I looked around, I realized that the whole interior was dominated with a shade of green and honestly, I loved it. In each row, there were four seats. Each of them had a free travel pillow for the passengers. Our noses were pleased with a lemon-like scent and our ears were entertained with contemporary songs. The said vehicle was partially full. So we had the freedom to pick our own seats. Luckily, the four seats at the very end of the bus were all vacant. So we took the opportunity and sat on it.
While we waited for the bus to start the long travel, Kate looked at me and said, "Well, here we go. We are one step forward to being renegades."
"I believe so," I nodded. "But I believe it's going to be awesome."
~~~o0o~~~
It was about nine o' clock in the evening. We were about two towns away from Tarlac City when Alexander started to feel uneasy.
"Al, what's wrong?" I asked with an irritated look.
"I really need to pee," He answered as he tried to hold it in.
"Just call the driver to stop the bus. In that way, you can find a nearby house to use their restroom," I spoke seriously.
"So you're telling me to shout at the driver while we are sitting at the back-most part of the bus? That is such a great idea!" Alexander scoffed.
"You can also use your feet and walk towards the driver," I suggested irritably.
"Great," Alexander scoffed as he tried to walk towards the driver slowly.
With the whole effort and concentration, he kept himself in balance from that bumpy ride.
Out of the blue, two ladies stood up and walked towards the center and requested for the bus to stop. Unfortunately, the driver did not hear what they have said and continued to drive. On the second time they requested for the bus to stop, there were still no answer.
Until one lady named Mandy (Let's just call her Mandy.) shouted, "Stop this bus, you motherfucker!"
Because of this, the driver suddenly got alert and stepped on the breaks. With this sudden halt, poor Alexander lost his precious balance and fell dramatically. To make things worse was that he accidentally bumped his head into one of the ladies' butt.
"Oh my gosh! What the fuck was that for? Bastos! How dare you hit my butt?" Mandy shouted as she hit him with her bag.
"I'm sorry, miss. I didn't do it in purpose," Alexander apologized as he stood up.
"He's obviously telling a lie," The other lady named Stacey (Let's just call her Stacey.) said as she pointed at Alexander.
"I will call the cops. This is unacceptable! Sexual harassment in a public area? I won't slip this." Mandy exclaimed as she grabbed her phone.
"Do you want the truth miss? I tried to walk towards the driver in order to tell him that the bus needed to stop, because I needed to piss. Unfortunately, you blocked the path and ordered the bus to stop immediately. Thanks to you, I fell and hit your damn butt! If you don't shut up, I'm not ashamed to piss on your narrow minded stupid face!" Alexander exclaimed.
"It's a lie!" Mandy shouted as she hit Alexander with both her hands. Her rage was so ferocious that she accidentally threw her phone right in front of me.
As I tried to grab it, I found something fishy... At the back of her phone was a sticker of an eagle's head which overlapped a letter R.
Instantly, with an alarming tone, I stood up and shouted, "Alexander, they are Rosarios!"
Upon hearing this, the ladies immediately ran towards the door. Alexander was so shocked of what had just happened that he just stood still. Seconds later, everything was already too late. The ladies had finally vanished from the dark streets.
Also shocked of what had happened, the passengers looked at us awkwardly with all their mouths sealed shut.
I walked towards Alexander and said, "Al, I know you can still hold your pee. We really need to go back to our seats."
"Okay... I'm sorry I let them go away," Alexander apologized softly.
"It's okay. After all, we have one of the lady's phones," I smirked as I placed the phone inside my left pocket.
~~~o0o~~~
"Hello? Is anybody there?" I asked as we stood patiently in front of the Mansion's tall black gate.
"I believe they are all asleep. It's already late at night, you know?" Kate guessed.
"Hmm... Maybe," Alexander nodded when all of a sudden, the gate started to open on its own and revealed to us our tan skinned friend named Christopher.
"I stand corrected," Alexander smiled as he looked at Christopher.
"Oh guys! You're here! You're finally all here!" Christopher spoke as he walked towards us.
"Yeah... We are... It's really obvious, you know," Kate nodded.
"Anyways we all really need to go inside before anyone sees us," Christopher clarified as he looked around.
"Oh! You're right," I nodded as we walked inside the Mansion.
Then, using his telekinetic abilities, Christopher slowly closed the gate.
"Well, I have to admit that having a telekinetic power is really handy," I looked at Christopher.
"Yeah, it is," Christopher smirked as we started to walk towards the golden painted door.
As he opened it, the place revealed to us the Golden Hall which was once filled with formally dressed Democrats now silent and alone. Then, we headed towards the white marbled staircase on the right and continued to walk towards a cream colored hallway called Serenity. On the ceiling of the said hallway, black colored banners with a white colored wing on its middle were hung. As I looked on the sides, black painted doors were visible.
Due to curiosity, I looked at Christopher and asked, "Why are there so many doors in this area?"
"This hallway is a home for about Three Thousand Democrats," Christopher answered.
"Did you just say Three Thousand Democrats?" I asked with my eyes widened.
"Yup," He smiled. "Actually, there are three more hallways found in the Mansion that serves a home for the other remaining Democrats. Just imagine how many people are currently living here."
"Whoa! I'm sure it's terribly many. I don't want to count," Kate shook his head.
"Yeah," Christopher smiled. "Don't worry. You are all going to have a lot of time to explore these other hallways."
"Okay. We are going to look forward with that," Alexander smiled as he looked at him.
Unexpectedly, in the middle of that chat, a thought had started to conquer my curiosity.
If those letters had made Kate, Alexander and I choose the Democrats over our clan, what had made Christopher join this league? I asked myself. How did he get here in the first place?