Gee walked for what seemed like ages until he came to the only teashop in the Romulus District. A sign above the door read "Hot Leaf Juice". Gee opened the door and entered the shop. He was immediately greeted with the sweet scent of hot coffee and tea, and steam clouds arose from freshly baked cookies, scones, and teacakes. The interior decoration looked like if a Japanese Starbucks went steampunk. The walls were dusty mint colour, and gilded pipes snaked around them carrying different beverages from the kitchen to the counter. Gee only remembered being in this shop once, right before Mikey disappeared.
He walked towards the counter to see a line at least five meters long. His heart sank. There's no way he'd be able to get to the front within the hour at this rate! Suddenly, he felt a sharp burning sensation behind his eyes for about half a second. He had unknowingly unlocked one of his abilities. The Spark of Sass. He placed a hand on one hip and flipped his hair in the sassiest way possible.
"Nope! Not waiting." He said casually. He stepped right into the line of people, giving off a brilliant red glow. The sheer power of how sassy Gee was pushed apart the line like two same sides of a magnet push apart. When he got to the front, the glow faded and he stopped and looked up at the cashier. Sure enough, the cashier on duty appeared to be a wizened old man with an extremely long white beard wearing a suit of Titanium-biosilicon battle armour. He looked very cranky, and eyed Gee like he was the last person he wanted to see.
"Whaddaya want, kid?" He grumbled.
"Umm.. my grandmother Helena told me to go here to get my brother back." Gee replied calmly. The man's face lightened.
"Well, why didn't you say so!" He said cheerily. "Follow me." He walked over to the a door behind him. Gee scrambled over the counter and ran over to the door. The man shouted over his shoulder,
"Mreee! You're in charge until I get back." Gee turned to see a pastel pink cat with a jet black spiked collar leap up onto the counter and start taking customers' orders.
When the man opened the door, a rush of tropical air drifted through. They stepped inside and closed the door. Instead of a room, it was a gigantic forest of oversized coffee trees and tea plants of all varieties. Fields of wheat and sugarcane for pastries swept the remainder of the open land. A narrow marble path lined a trail to stay on. A huge glass dome served as a greenhouse to it all.
Gee looked around in awe. They began to walk down the road.
