“AHH!!” The twins braced themselves.

Right as Forsyth begins she was interrupted, “Arthur…?”

Her sight shifts to a cold corner of the room as she lets out an unpleasant expression.

A small female figure clothed in a beige tattered cape levitating on thin air high up on the ceiling stuck to the walls– sort of like a spider on its cobwebs. They slowly descended down and took notice of the whole situation.

“Weren’t you supposed to be under exile, last time I checked around 54 years ago your sentence was still fresh.” She folded her arms in a commanding manner.

“You should remember that a mere penalty doesn’t work on me.” Forsyth responded cunningly as she fiddled with her sharp fingertips.

“Sigh… torturing apprentices again-” Her oddly coloured silver eyes almost bulged outward on seeing the captives. “They’re not… mortals are they..?” She gulped in anticipation.

“They sure are mortals.”

“WHAT?!”

“Somehow managed to enter my lair as well. Now I’ve invited them to get my hands dirty once again.”

“You must jest! They are humans!! Did 78 years in dormancy mess up your noggin!?”

“Maybe.”

“Now hold on for just a minute! Any form of contact with humans is forbidden, what do you suppose you’re are going to do to them?!”

Arthur clasped Forsyth’s shoulders and shook them frantically. Forsyth’s indifference was concerning.

“What the actual #%$* is happening..?” Demi sounded from her chair with an unpleasant look.

Everyone in the room turned with widened eyes, even her brother, to her vulgar words.

“Hold on, I thought this was PG-13?” Arthur murmured.

“Well..?” She continued.

“Syth, Release them now...” Arthur pressed her forehead.

“Just when things were getting good.” She grumbled as she reluctantly released them from their misery.

“Take them back to where you caught them.”

“Wait! We’re not done! We still have more information to ask..!” Dylan screamed one last time as he reached out to the two but then found himself back at the school gates.

“Huh..?? We are back?” Dylan looked around.

“That was so freaky! I literally cannot digest any of that..”

“We just got teleported didn’t we… and those people are not humans…” Dylan said with chills.

“This would definitely interest a whole range of geeks, but those people… we should never encounter again…”

Demi pressed her fingers against her lips in deep thought. It was a bizarre moment for the both of them and will surely have a hard time explaining to Will.

“Oh shoot! School..!” Dylan screamed as he took off whilst looking at his wrist watch.

Demi bolted from behind to catch up.

“I guess we missed a few classes..”

“Ha! On the contrary! It’s still 10:30 am!!”

“What?” Demi wanted to see for herself.

It was indeed 10:30 am the same time they had found Forsyth and magically transported away. They hadn’t missed a single class for it was still recess.

“Is this what she meant by time alteration? So this happened the last time at the forest as well…!” Demi was shocked at her own understanding.

“Freaky…” Dylan was not as enthused.

Later in the evening after university ended for the day, Will had to go pick up his Siamese cat from the vet. Although it is difficult to tell, the cat is surprisingly old and has to frequent the vet regularly. Even though Will’s wallet is dented from the visits his cat means the world to him and would go above and beyond for the little critter. Same can be said for the people he holds close and dear. Today, he was elated to go pick him up from the hospital since the reason the cat was rushed in was a little serious.

“Angus!!” Will cheered as he reached with open arms hoping the cat would bounce right in. Unsurprisingly and much to his dismay, it was an instant rejection.

The cat turned around and lifted its uneven lean tail high.

“I feed you everyday, show some respect, fur-ball.” Will, who is very used to his cat—which tended to have mood swings like a hormonal teenager— picked him up gently and tucked him in the carrier.

“Okay! Time to go home!” Will triumphed and marched out.

The air was refreshing and cozy, although so many bizarre things occurred he could not help but push them aside when he was with Angus. His attention is always towards his cat when out and about– no matter how lazy Angus looks, it’s always up to no good especially outside. There were countless times Angus snuck out from the kitchen window and returned almost a day later preferably with a little present of course.

“Huh? 34 texts? Who…” Will was shocked to see the amount of calls and texts he had gotten all at once from the twins. All the messages basically screaming at him to attend their calls.

He readily called Demi the last one to call on his recents and placed the carrier down between his legs as he stood in a shady corner under an outdoor dining area.

“Hello?”

“ABOUT DAMN TIME, WILL!” He hadn’t heard Demi shout so loudly before. She’s usually a little on the tolerable side when angry compared to her brother, but this time…

As the whole cascade of events poured out the phone and into Will’s ears, a clatter was heard from below.

Without a doubt, Angus had finally started his plans on becoming a fugitive or world dominance—it is difficult to translate the wondrous language of felines— and this one certainly wasn’t your typical easygoing Siamese.

He dug his paws out of the metal rods and fiddled with the lock and clang! It came right off and the cage opened wide. All of this right under William’s nose and he didn’t notice a thing, he was way too occupied on the phone.

Angus squirmed his tiny body out of the carrier and slipped past William’s legs which failed to guard properly. Soon the cat found himself in a street with multiple eyes fixated on him. A little unsettling for the feline to have so many eyeballs staring from every corner—the daily life of a celebrity, how hard must it be.

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And from the crowd emerged a figure with loud clacking shoes far too painful for the cat’s delicate ears and as a natural response turned away from the sound. Angus continued onward but this time trying to avoid the noise of those shoes but it kept growing louder and louder. And just as he tried to make a run for it he was caught by the stomach by an icy cold touch of a hand.

“Meow..?” He turned in shock and continued to wiggled away from their clutches.

“Hush, kitty! You could have died out there.” They spoke as they looked at the speeding vehicles on the road.

“Now are you a stray or a pet?” They looked for a collar. “It could be nice if you were a stray. I could use another vessel now that this one’s withering…”

“HEY!!” A loud voice came running from the street.

“That’s my cat!”

Will was panting for air and was still on the call with Demi but then immediately hung up.

“Oh! Is it now? Wait…” They squinted their eyes as they finally glanced a look at the human. They laughed on making the connection. While the other stood mortified.

The neatly styled blond hair and emerald blue eyes and pale skin, it was like looking in a mirror. Will immediately came to an awe and lowered the phone. Completely speechless at the sight of himself in the most untimely of places.

“Sigh… another bother.” They soon disappeared into thin air leaving Angus stranded in the sky and he quickly fell and thankfully stuck the landing.

Will instantly caught hold of Angus inside his arms and kept him close. The cat refrained from any sudden movements and quietly snuggled in.

“What the heck? Was that the blank human they were talking about…? It looked exactly like me. Showing up like this in plain sight… is that really okay?” He pondered as he finally took notice of the little thing below. He gently patted Angus’ head to give himself and his cat comfort.

“You okay buddy?”

Just as he calmed down a man shoved him from behind, “Watch it, kid! Your blocking the path.”

“O-Oh! Sorry…”

He moved to the side but couldn’t make sense of what just happened, “Did they not see what happened…? Strange…”

“Hello..?

HELLO!”

“ARGH! He cut the call!”

Demi almost sent her phone flying from fury.

Both Dylan and Demi were incredibly frustrated. They were still in school since Demi had her after school club to attend. Dylan decided to stay since they felt it wasn’t safe anymore for either of them to be alone. They were currently in the empty basketball court getting ready to leave early whilst trying to get a hold of Will.

They both sunk their heads in despair beneath a tree looking like they had just been robbed of their entire life’s expense. After a while Demi became restless and decided to walk off her troubled mind. She walked adjacent to the main building and just as she reached the end and was about to turn back around to join Dylan, her legs got caught by an invisible force causing her to lose balance.

“Woah! Careful..!” A voice with great concern suddenly appeared and also happened to be the reason Demi lost balance.

Her eyes which she had shut for just a moment opened to witness a hand around her waist and soft peridot eyes just inches away from her amber ones.

This situation might seem to be the perfect setting for a budding romance but clearly development wasn’t very necessary.

“Hi, Lin..?”

“What are you doing?” His expressions were full of judgement.

“I dunno..? Falling…?” She looked down and noticed him still holding onto her. Just a stare straight into his eyes was enough to make him let go all flustered and red.

“I meant, what are you doing running off midway through the session?” He pretended to be cool.

She wasn’t paying attention to whatever he was saying, her mind was adrift with amusement from his expressions earlier than she couldn’t recover from.

She shot a sneaky smile, “You don’t have to blush that hard.” She was obviously joking and teasing Lin, it was worthwhile every time.

“Please stop, we’re still at school…”

“Oh? And what did you think I was going to do?”

“Presumably nothing, right?”

She didn’t say a word to that statement, it was true she didn’t mean to do anything but the circumstance was a little tempting nonetheless.

His focus shifted to the wooden benches and on Dylan, he then finally remembered what he was here for. He then waved to Dylan to catch his attention and walked over to him along with Demi. Dylan didn’t seem all that enthused upon Lin’s arrival, which was unusual and certainly unlike Dylan to react in such a manner towards Lin.

“Is everything alright?” Lin was concerned for their well-being and would always be the first to worry when mentioned of their troubles.

Being fully aware of his personality, Dylan goes, “It’s nothing serious, man..”

“Well, Taekwondo is over so you should head home now, it’s getting late isn’t it?” Lin crouched down in front of Demi and reached for her shoelaces. It seemed to be untied probably from her running off early in a total rush midway through their taekwondo session. That was about half an hour ago and the twins were trying to call Will from then on.

“Oh, thank you..” She tousled his hair in a playful manner. “I guess, we have no choice but to head home now. If anything, Will probably couldn’t understand what we were saying either.”

“It was pointless then..?” Dylan sighed.

“Guys, how much longer are you going to do this mysterious twin-talk of yours?” Lin asked unable to comprehend the problem those two were facing. They were the same during lunch as well and it was about time Lin wanted answers.

“It’s really nothing..! We were just worried about Angus.” She lied although a minor amount, certainly not what she is truly capable of. But like anyone she found it difficult to lie to someone she held dear so blatantly.

“Oh? Is that what it is? But I do remember you saying you’ll get to see him today.”

Demi shoved her elbow against her brother indicating him to speak up. “Y-Yeah..! He’s coming home today, but I’m… still nervous to know about his condition.”

Their was a slight tinge of tension in the air, both did not wish to lie to Lin, but it was inevitable. If they were to tell him who knows how it would affect everybody. And from their current well-being it was best nobody knew of their new discoveries certainly not their friends.

“Cheer up, Dylan. Last time I checked Angus is a tough cookie. Things will eventually get better and we have to accept certain things even if they are a hard pill to swallow.” Even Lin realised how cheesy his line was but the twins didn’t think so. They found it to have been the right words they wanted to hear. The existence of afterlife and vessels were all part of their new reality and that was something they had to accept and swallow. Even if tomorrow brings them more pills to consume they would still have to push forward.

“How is it that you always know what to say?” Demi was impressed. “Free therapy right there..!” Dylan joked. It seems the dread they felt not too long ago melted away.

“Haha! Glad to be of service.” Lin bowed in a respectful gesture and played along.

“Bye, Lin!” Dylan waved from almost 3 meters away.

“Bye, Lin. Get home safe, okay?” Meanwhile Demi stood close by turning away from Lin.

“I will, same goes for you two as well.” Lin smiled while waving.

“I mean it though. Really, careful, okay?” Demi instructed cautiously, it was the only thing she could do besides tell the whole story outright. All the while she walked away from him to join Dylan.

Lin was slightly confused but supportive nonetheless, “I meant it too, you know..! See you tomorrow!” He waved one last time before leaving.

“Almost forgot something.” Demi turned back and rushed to Lin’s side. She pulled him by his shoulders and gave him a peck on his cheek.

She smirked as she dashed off waving goodbye. She definitely had a talent for making Lin flushed out of nowhere with no warning whatsoever. Nevertheless he wasn’t one to complain though he quite liked those surprises.

“At this point I should just walk around with a sign board saying ‘Your local Third-wheeler!’..” Dylan said pridefully.

“Finally become self aware, have you?” Demi snickered.

“But you don’t seem too thrilled to kick me off the iconic trio just yet…”

“How could I ever abandon your lonely lost soul like that..?!” She placed her hand on her chest making an overly exaggerated expression of disbelief.

“Okay that’s enough mockery for today…” He looked away all sulky.

Dylan eventually turned and stared a little closer at his sister. “So… how does it feel?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know! To finally go out with him and stuff.”

“Hmm… it’s great I guess..”

“Huh? That’s a little weak. I was expecting a truckload of answers…”

“I mean, it’s only been a month or so. But we’re taking it slow. I don’t really mind it as long as he’s comfortable, I suppose.” There was a slight hesitation in her voice suggesting she was holding back her true feelings.

Dylan is very quick to catch on when it comes to things like this.

“But what about you? Are you alright with the way things are?”

The question was answered in silence .

“…Let me guess, you guys still haven’t kissed, have you?” Dylan sighed.

She cleared her throat. “Assuming one the cheek doesn’t count..?”

“I’m not an expert at relationship advice, but I do know both of you like the back of my hand. Relax, you know how he is! He can’t express his affection physically but he sure has a way with words..”

“Hm?” She looked at her brother intently. “You seem to know more about him than me…” she squinted her eyes in suspicion.

“Gasp! Are you gonna steal him away? I already had to deal with that nonsense once and I’m not up for one more!” She joked.

“I’m surprised you can joke about it now… And also why would I steal him away?!”

“We were rivals since birth… or maybe even in the womb..”

“Now you are making it weird…”

“But seriously though, I’m fine with the way things are. But there are times when I feel I overwhelm him. Honestly, I don’t know how I’d feel if Lin were to start making the first moves…” Her head suddenly began to spin on imagining the possibility.

“Oh~” Dylan chuckled mischievously.

“Argh! Stop being gross..” She pushed his face away.

“Not the face, you piece of…”

Their footsteps and also many others, echoed through the concrete pavement and down below towards the sewers. They were loud and clear beneath but the clatters and splashing underground never reach the surface. The lurkers below dared to never set foot at dawn and remain dormant until now. But some of the adventurous types seemed to like the surface more. They would occasionally bend through the rusted metal grates to reveal their true nature—mirroring the breathers of the mortal realm.