Relic-Verse: Champions of Hope

Chapter 22

-- Part 1 --

Vishnu huffed slightly, stepping out of his car and into the early morning light. His hair was brushed down but slowly returning to its typical disheveled state. He slightly loosened his tie and looked around the parking lot, tilting his head to the side upon noticing the unusual number of cars. Weird... Someone must be throwing a party.

He slowly got into his apartment building, taking the stairs up to the second floor and loosening his tie. His eyes faltered a moment as he got to the top of the stairs and turned the corner, and stared at three blurry figures in the hall. He reached up and rubbed his eyes, before recognizing the figures from the parent meeting.

"What are you all doing here..?" His eyes finally focused and looked between Von, Clay, and the bat lady, each of them having looks of varying distress.

"We were looking for you! Where is my daughter!!" The lady's ears drooped down as Clay reached over and gently rubbed her back.

"One thing at a time, Tera." He sighed and brushed down his suit before reaching his spare hand out. "Nice to properly meet you, Vishnu. Evan's told me a bit about you, so when I woke up and he wasn't home, we decided to try and find you."

Vishnu accepted his hand, shaking it lightly before moving to his door, fumbling his keys as he unlocked it. "Yeah... Samuel gets up to some wild stuff some times, not surprised you all came here. Let me just go in and change, I know where he likes to hang out."

He slowly opened the door, taking a whole step inside before freezing and facepalming. The parents tilted their heads in collective confusion before peaking over his shoulder and mimicking his action. All of the 'missing kids' were currently passed out across his living room. Evan and Catherine were on the couch, nearly laying on top of eachother with how close they were. Next to the couch on a beanbag chair Avery was covered up in a bundle of blankets, somehow more than Vishnu thought he owned, and snoring. And on an air mattress in the middle of the floor was Samuel and Arica, laying at opposite ends of the bed and almost hugging each other's legs.

Tera and Von stared in shock at the sight, but before they could protest Clay pushed them out of the room and sighed. "Damn it is way too cold in there."

Vishnu turned to face him in confusion before widening his eyes and sighing, "Yeah, Samuel complains way too much about the heat, but never about the cold!" He awkwardly chuckled, and the explanation for their kids being so close together seemed to calm the distraught parents.

"Understandable. Arica and... Thatcher used to go into fits when it was too cold, so I resorted to installing heaters in every room of the mansion just so they would leave their sister alone." Von's voice shook slightly at the mention of Thatcher before taking a deep breath and smiling. "Well, since we know where they are, I have a crucial meeting to get to." Von folded his wings behind him and bowed, "Thank you three for your assistance, I will be sure to remember it, but I must be off." Without another word he quickly turned and nearly ran out of the building, making the others frown in confusion.

"Well, he seemed to be in an awful rush... Excuse me, Vishnu, can I come in and take my daughter home?" Tera turned back to the door and smiled at the sight of her daughter.

He quickly shook his head and chuckled. "Nah, you never know how late those kids were up. With Samuel in the group, I wouldn't be surprised if they fell asleep shortly before we got there."

She sighed and stepped back. "I suppose you're right. Can we at least trade numbers so you can text me when she wakes up?" Vishnu smiled and nodded, prompting all three of them to take out their phones and swap numbers. Seeming satisfied, she pocketed her phone, waved to the two dads, and promptly left.