Well That's Not Good

Chapter Two - Well That's Depressing

Sun streaks though the kitchen windows, bringing an inviting glow to the fields outside. True stirs his coffee absently with a teaspoon as Lox processes the events of the night before. Finally, he nods.

"Okay. So Seto tried to stop himself from being robbed, got stolen, and you want to... what exactly?" he questions. True sets the spoon down.

"Get him back. He deserves it, and he'd do the same for us." Lox shakes his head and leans back, putting his feet on the table.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Set. He's great. But... he kinda did this, right? And we don't know he'd come for us, this is crazy! How do we even find him?" Sky frowns, but nods along with Lox's rant.

"I get what you mean... but we can't just leave him, right? And it's not just Seto, they took some crazy stuff. Like that smoothie he made yesterday!" The three get quiet again Seto so often made dangerous things in bottles he had almost forgotten about the zombie bottle. Sometimes Seto's things didn't work, and he had said he wasn't planning on using it, but if it was out of his hands...

"We need to save him. Maybe we can search his house?If there's anything that can help, it might be there," True decides. Sky nods and Lox shrugs, swinging his feet off the table and standing up.

"Alright, but we better do this quick. I only got a week of battery in me."

Seto's house, to be kind, is a wreak. Papers are scattered across the ground, his door laying in the middle of the yard, chairs and stools knocked over. While he never had the best design taste, having basically built a house out of dirt (a comment Seto always defended by clarifying it was pete) it wasn't hard to see the difficulties in keeping it tidy. That said, Seto would never let his home come tothis. Sky jumps as broken glass cracks under his feet and True tries not to wonder what liquid is now spilled across the floor.

The search lasts several hours before they find anything worthwhile. Lox goes through shelves, Sky runs into shelves, and True tries to see if Seto somehow built secret passageways into the walls. It's not untilSky trips over True's foot and runs into Seto's kitchen counter that they find anything- a hollow, echoing thud. It doesn't take long for the three to feel their way around and pull open a loose board to reveal-

"A book?" True picks it up, placing it on the counter. The worn leather cover is stained with who knows what, and bookmarks stick out of many of the pages. Flipping it open, his eyes go wide.

"Not just any book... This has records. I think-look! It's how he made water flow up! And this is how be bottled fire! I think this is everything he's ever done," True says, voice dripping with admiration. Lox frowns, reaching over and flipping to the most recent pages.

"And there's his... he actually called it a zombie smoothie. Dork."
"Where does he get half the stuff he puts in these? That can't be legal."
"Can you guys read what you're seeing? It's too bright in here."
"Right, sorry."

As True describes the words and images across the pages to Sky , he starts to get anxious. While some things in this book seemed harmless, others... well, others were zombie smoothies. He knew Seto was harmless, they all did, but clearly the men in black thought otherwise. That, or they knew Seto would never hurt anyone,and they planned to just use his abilities and ideas. Or worse still, there was more than he knew.

 Seto sits up and puts a hand to his head. His ears ring, his fingers burn,and he's cold. At first he can hardly see, blinded by bright white lights, but as his eyes adjust he still fails to understand what is happening. 

The room is white. White walls, white ceiling, white floor, all the same smooth texture. The only break in the patters is where black has been smeared. It smells like smoke, and a quick glance at his hands and clothes says he maybe caught a little bit on fire.

Oops.

Seto gets to his feet, body aching. The shock finally starts to make way for panic, and he tries to swallow down the fear. Maybe it was all an elaborate prank, a joke by Lox they'd laugh about later. Or maybe he had simply dreamed it all, and really the farm had caught fire and he was in some weird hospital. If he hadn't woken up on the cold floor, he might have been able to convince himself of the second.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Seto waits, but hears nothing but the ringing in his ears. He waits, counting in his head, numbers interrupted by restrained panic.

Worst. Sleepover. Ever.

As Seto tries to get his bearings,he focuses on the walls. Clearly, he got in here somehow, and yet he doesn't see a door. This both fascinates and worries him, but he chooses curiosity for his own sanity and begins feeling around on the walls. If he's going to be a hostage, he might as well be an amused hostage. He runs his fingers across the smooth walls, leaving dark smudges. For his own sake, Seto tries not to worry about what he looks like. There were times before where things had gone wrong and he found himself on True's doorstep, splattered with dirt, slime, or some other substance. He smiles at the thought, finding some comfort in it. This was just like any other accident. Something goes wrong, it gets fixed, and they all laugh over it later.

...right?