Warmth.
Aerith did not know what it meant at first, but for some odd reason, she always seemed to crave for it. It was almost like thirst or the need to breathe for her. And in a way, she thought she was getting it from their mother– or whoever it was that was pulling their strings.
But now, with the hand she was currently holding; the feeling she was getting from their mother was completely different. Silvie's hand was gentle, almost caring. Her hand wasn't necessarily warm, no; in fact, it was a little cold. But for some reason, also unexplainable, she felt warmth.
"…"
"…"
"Uhmm… You can let go of my hand now, you know?" Silvie then said as she let out a small but awkward chuckle. Aerith has been holding her hand for almost a full minute now, with seemingly no intention of letting go.
"Ah, y… yes. Of course!" Aerith then quickly pulled her hand away, but soon, a small chuckle also escaped her mouth.
The jubilant breaths that were coming out of their mouths were almost in rhythm with each other. They had the same tone and even the same voice– and as soon as the two realized this, for some reason, their laughter became even stronger.
"Can… can I also hold hand?"
Their peals of laughter, however, were disrupted as one of the younger clones approached the two of them; her eyes, seemingly craving to touch Silvie's hand.
"…Of course," Silvie then let out a small sigh as she retained her smile, "You c–"
And before she could even finish her words, the young clone chittered her way towards her and hugged her hand. And it wasn't only her, soon, the rest of the clones started hugging her.
"W… wait," Silvie slightly moved, careful not to hurt the children.
"We… we have two big sisters now!"
"Big sister! Big sister!"
"I'm…" Silvie could only blink a couple of times as she took a small glance at Aerith, "…Yes, I'm your new big sister."
And as Aerith heard this, the smile on her face also lit up. It slightly died down, however, as she remembered that their mother would not be able to call them again since Silvie crushed her phone. What… would they do from now on? She had always been following their mother's advice.
"Is it because you are imperfect clones?"
And then, out of nowhere, Riley spoke as he once again looked at Aerith and the other younger clones, "Your emotions and decisions are easily swayed… certainly a product of an underdeveloped emotional intelligence."
"…You know you're not really one to talk about undeveloped emotions, right, little bro?"
Hannah, who just finished watching Prophet's farewell video, slowly made her way towards Riley and Silvie; the others followed beside her.
"At least these girls are more expressive than you."
"…Do you want me to physically express my emotions more, sister?"
"…Please don't," Hannah quickly shook her head, "For everyone's sake, please don't."
And as Hannah said that, the others could not help but let out a slightly uncomfortable chuckle as they saw the weird growing smile on Riley's face slowly fading away. They can't lie– Riley's smile was probably one of the creepiest things in existence due to his unusually wide mouth.
Of course, Silvie and Tomoe didn't seem to think so.
There was one, however, that was pretty shaken– Daniel Espinoza. Why even smile? He thought. Was Riley actually enjoying this moment? Is all this confusion and chaos actually fun for him?
"This government facility where you were being kept in…" Silvie then asked after everything calmed down, "…Can you tell us where it is?"
"I… It's far from here," Aerith said, "We got on a large ship to get here."
Although Riley's earlier words were blunt, he did have a point– Aerith was completely aloof when they first saw her… but now she was just freely answering Silvie's question. It could be a trap, but the innocent shine in her eyes would say otherwise.
"A ship? Is it possible you were hidden somewhere outside the country? Perhaps a remote island?"
"I… don't know."
"Whatever the case is," Hannah then stepped in and joined the conversation, "We need to get them somewhere safe first. We can't do anything here and quite honestly… this forest is giving me major serial killer vibes."
"Right? I've been saying that since earlier!" Daniel said… but no one seemed to care.
"Anyway, we also need to find Prophet's killer… but we need to give this phone to his husband first," Hannah then let out a small but deep sigh as she handed Prophet's phone back to Riley, "I… didn't even know he had a lover."
"Did you know he was gay, though?"– said both Gary and Daniel almost at the same time. The two quickly looked at each other, a spark of rivalry almost connecting both their eyes.
"This team already has comic relief," Gary muttered, "Go find your own troubled prepubescent adults to annoy."
"Huh?" Daniel raised his eyebrow, "Who are you calling a comic relief?"
"…"
"…"
"So, where are we going?" Silvie then said after watching Gary and Daniel almost duke it out.
"I know a lot of safe houses… but since dad is directly involved in this cloning shit, we can't really go there since he might be watching," Hannah sighed as she looked at Silvie, who quickly shook her head.
"My house… isn't even my house," Silvie whispered.
Hannah then looked at Gary, who also shook his head. "You know why we can't," he said.
"I live in Harlem, so…" Bella raised both her hands as Hannah's gaze fell to her, "…expect us to be on the news in less than a minute."
Hearing this, Hannah could only once again sigh as her eyes went straight to Tomoe.
"Did… you just skip me?" Daniel muttered.
"My mother has a studio in L.A," Tomoe suggested; her already small eyes squinting as she placed her hand on her chin, "It should be empty right now since she is staying in the Academy."
"That's literally on the other side of the country, hello?" Daniel gasped as he looked at everyone, "I know a place that–"
"Distance is not a problem," Hannah did not let him finish, "We have a flying truck."
"Wha– Are you even licensed to fly that!?" Of course, Daniel knew they had a flying truck; everyone in the Academy did.
"I'm even licensed to pilot a spacecraft," Hannah scoffed as she started to turn around, "Let's go, we'll pick up Riley's van along the way."
"There is no need, sister," Riley shook his head, "I can just buy another one before my Mega Student privileges are over."
"Let's go, baby!" Gary then roared as he clapped his hands several times, "Hollywood, here we come! I think there was news that there's a villain there, but YOLO!"
"Don't we need to go back to the Academy!?" Daniel screamed.
"Relax, homes."
The only response Daniel received, however, was Bella's arm on his shoulders,
"Bulwark gave us a whole week, relax," Bella breathed out, "Aren't you excited? We get to jam with the Baby Crew."
"What do you mean excited!?" Daniel could only exclaim as the rest of the group started walking away like they were just going on a picnic– even the clones were looking at him like he was the odd one in the group.
Government conspiracies, assassination, clones, adultery…
…Just what exactly has he gotten himself into?
***
"Is your mother a famous painter or something?"
"No idea," Tomoe said as she entered a passcode on the door in front of her… on a rooftop that had its own helipad. But alas, a beeping sound followed by a red light showed that whatever she entered, it was the wrong combination.
"…You said you weren't rich?" Silvie's voice was quite solemn as her eyes looked around… to see nothing but the sky, as well as a 360-degree view of the city of Los Angeles, "In what way is this not rich?"
"We're not," Tomoe answered; her eyes closed as several numbers raced through her mind, "My mother's… lovers are."
"…Lovers? Your mother is–"
"Gary," Hannah subtly punched Gary on the side to stop him from saying anything else.
"I got it," Tomoe then breathed out as another beep rang in the air; this time, however, the light that followed it was green, partnered with a clicking sound as the door slightly popped in place.
"…Is it safe?"
"I don't hear anything suspicious," Silvie nodded. And so, with one final look around them, the group started to enter the building one by one.
"What the hell… this is fancy as fuck!"
And as soon as they entered Tomoe's mother's so-called studio, Gary greeted it with his colorful words of excitement. But it wasn't only him, even the eyes of the clones were shining as they started running around the spacious… loft suite.
The others were expecting some kind of studio similar to those photo studios or art galleries… but this just looked like a fancy hotel room.
Aerith tried her best to calm them down. But alas, even she was swept by their enthusiasm. The window wall probably had the best view of the city– and it didn't help that there was a pool that almost merged with the sky adorning it.
There were also lots of paintings scattered on the walls or just lying on them; with empty and unused canvases lying around neatly, waiting to come alive. Tomoe seemed like an expert in editing photos… so she more than likely got her knack for art and finer details from her mother.
"Is… is this high society?"
"Don't touch that."
Besides Tomoe, the only ones that were not shaken were Riley and Hannah. After all, Whiteking did not lack the resources. He probably had hundreds of places like this all over the entire planet.
"Okay, let's all calm down and–"
And before Hannah could even get the chance to settle everyone, her phone rang.
"W… wait," she then stuttered as soon as she saw who was calling, "I… need to take this call."
"Ooh, is it the new boyfriend?" Bella said as she twinkled her pinky finger, "Everyone's been talking about it."
"I don't know, man. The dude's hella suspicious," Daniel scoffed, "Anyone who uses their name as their superhero name is a fucking psycho."
"Jealous much?"
"W– what do you mean 'jealous'!?"
"W… wait, Julius, let me move somewhere else," Hannah could only furrow her eyebrows at Daniel and Bella before walking away to somewhere quieter,
"Why are you calling me at this time?"
[I'm worried. Where are you and your brother right now? Are you not back in the Academy yet?]
"N… no, we're just–
–How did you know I'm with my brother?"