||To Change a Destiny||

{~Chapter 10: Timer~}

Weeks went by after Red Son joined them. Possibly even a month or two. They didn't find MK, however they had quite a few other hectic things happen to them.

For one, they ended up having to destroy a giant dumpling that was spiraling down to earth from the Celestial Realm. In order to do that, Red Son, for some reason, reluctantly suggested Guan Yin's vase to suck up the soup inside the dumpling. They found it weird how strange he acted around the subject of Guan Yin, but didn't push anything. Red Son ended up having to do several magic signs on the seal at Flower Fruit Mountain in order to temporarily break it. In the end, they did manage to stop the dumpling from boiling everyone to death, however the city was covered in dough and meat for a while.

Tick tock, tick tock.

Then Pigsy got an addiction to this Ping Pong table after the gang had suggested he try to take a small break. What followed was a great deal of property damage and the table being reduced to ashes by Red Son. They steered clear of anything Ping Pong related after that little event.

Tick tock, tick tock.

After that, not too much happened. Pigsy did get a invitation to a Food Wars competition by rival restaurant Speedy Panda, but he turned it down. Why should he go to some competition when the kid was probably somewhere dangerous, all scared and alone?

Tick tock, tick tock.

They still weren't getting much luck. It truly was as if MK had simply vanished off the face of the planet.

The gang felt like they were quickly running out of time to find their dear friend. Like they were on an invisible timer, and that timer was slowly and yet rapidly counting down the final minutes.

Tick tock, tick tock.

Pigsy yelled much less now, and instead spent the time when he wasn't searching for his child figure pacing anxiously around the noodle shop.

Mei's energetic, cheerful persona seemed to be fading away, bit by bit.

Tang seemed to have built up a wall around him, unresponsive to anything except when leaving the shop to search for MK.

Red Son somehow became more aggressive, snapping at and nearly burning anyone who so much tried to touch his shoulder to get his attention.

And Bai He... Bai He couldn't help but feel responsible.

She didn't know why. Maybe it was because she was the last known person to have seen the delivery boy just before he vanished. What if she had stayed there a little longer? Would things have gone differently? And if so... would it have been for the better?

Those questions left the little girl feeling bitter. 

She didn't want to be the cause of so much pain.

She just wanted to help them.

But time was running out. She could feel it more than the others. The precious time they had was vanishing.

However, the question remained.

When would the timer eventually count down the final seconds?

Tick tock, tick tock.