"Well, that's one person down." I recounted, "Not that it means anything in particular, since he didn't tell us anything about where the others are hiding."

"They can't have gone too far on foot." Pry reasoned, "Let's try and search the area around us. Perhaps Elegy may be in one of the many buildings scattered throughout the streets?"

"Mn, he wouldn't be that obvious..." Sheep mulled it over for a bit, "Yeah, knowing Elegy, he's already halfway across the entire district by now. We'd have better luck trying to get the others to out him."

The others... Barring Sab, that leaves Hats and Nerys. Personally, I know next to nothing about both of them, but it's true that they might have a better idea as to where Elegy went exactly.

"They don't know where he went either." Selz shook his head.

"They've known him longer than we have." Sheep remarked, "It's a way better chance than just randomly searching every house in the district, especially since he'll know to avoid us the entire time."

Gahh, so annoying! I wish I could just call him and tell him to get his butt over here! Heaven's 2.0's technology is next to nonexistent....

"Why aren't phones a thing here...?" I asked the Gods, "It shouldn't be this difficult to get into contact with someone in a place as huge as this."

"What're those?" Energy's voice sounded puzzled.

"Sigh, ignore my random bumblings." I went to quietly sob, longing for the most convenient device in human history since the invention of the wheel, "Those aren't a thing here."

"Migu, you have phones, though." Pry furrowed his brows.

"What was that?" My head perked up eagerly, "I do?"

"Honestly, a better question to ask is what you do NOT have in that house of yours..." Selz snickered, "Indeed, among the many gadgets you longed for in your human life is a phone. Plenty of them, too."

Oh right, my house is the spitting image of what a needy, materialistic person would most want in the world. So wait, if phones are a thing here, then how would they work? I obviously need a number, then there's the question of how I would get connected to the other line... Ugh, no use thinking about it.

"I'd like to ask as well what these "phones" are." Sheep chimed in.

"How about I show you?" A wry grin grew on my face, "Take us to my house, Sheep!"

"Migu, we don't have the time for that." Selz sternly replied.

"With Sheep's speed, we'll be in and out in a jiff." I assured him, "Besides, my place is a treasure trove of items! Who knows, you might even find something you'll like."

"Ooh, we get to keep it?" Pry sounded interested.

The Gods kept bickering amongst themselves until they reached a begrudging agreement.

"Don't let her words get to you, Pry."

"What's the hurry, Selz? Not like Elegy can leave the district anyways."

"You never know with that man. Besides, the cherubim awaits."

"It's waited this long, it can wait a little more. Besides, not like we announced ourselves to it ahead of time or anything."

Feeling that arguing like an old married couple would by this point waste more time than just actually going on this little side tangent, Selz ultimately allowed us to hop inside Sheep and make our way to the house. Thank you, God of Meditation!

"Ahh, home sweet home!" I sniffed the nostalgic air as soon as I walked in, "Blegh! What the Hell is that smell!?"

"What did you expect a cesspool of dust to smell like?" Selz picked up an old gas mask from the floor, dusted it off and put it on his face, "I will be borrowing this."

"Any more of those for me?" Pry pleaded.

"No, just the one."

"Oh..."

Poor guy, and after all he's done for us. Eh, he'll live. The only real issue would be if he was allergic... Hold on, could Gods have allergies!? N-No, no way that'd happen. It'd be funny, sure, but Selz also would never purposefully make their dispositions anything less than the apex of health, surely.

"Selz, about what crossed her mind just now..." Pry gulped anxiously.

"No need to worry." Selz exhaled, "I only made you allergic to cats."

"Why!?"

"Does it matter? There aren't any cats in Heaven 2.0 anyways."

"But what if we run into one!? Selz, you're saying I actually won't be allowed to pet it?!"

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It seems Selz was enjoying teasing his friend here. Still, it's a bit of a low blow to make a happy guy like Prylos unable to touch cats.

"No one's stopping you from petting one if, somehow, we ran into a cat in Heaven 2.0." Selz said through the mask, "You're just gonna get a nasty rash all over your body and die from being set on fire."

"Pretty sure that's not how allergies work-" Energy whispered.

"Shh!" Sheep and I shut him up, "Don't make this harder than it needs to be."

Upon finding out that he was in fact allergic, albeit not to anything that could be found within this place, Pry melancholically dragged his feet around the living room as he looked for the phones. I wonder, would Meditating help with that? Nah, you can't fix the broken heart of a man who's just learned he's allergic to cats.

"We'll check the first floor." Selz turned to us, "You three go upstairs. And please, do try and hurry things along, would you?"

"Geez, we get it." I rolled my Eyes, "Same to you, apologize to Pry and cheer him up as best you can by the time we find the phones. I'll extend our stay unless you two have made up."

"Negative. We will leave once we find those blasted devices." He glared, "End of debate."

"Just be a good friend for once?" Sheep and Energy sided with me.

"Grrr... Whatever." He glanced back at the mopey Meditation God, "Just get going already."

***

While those Two were working things out between them below deck, we decided it would be best if Energy, Sheep and I searched the upper level of the house. Despite how much I hope for it, this floor always greets me just as messy as the one below it. This is gonna be so tiresome...

"Then-"

"I call dibs on the left side!" Sheep bolted in front of me.

"Gah, I was about to say that!" I yelled.

"Does it even matter?" Energy groaned disinterestedly.

"It very much does!" Sheep and I shouted in unison.

Thing is, the right side of the hallway has the bedroom, guest room and study, whereas the left side has the closet and bathroom. See the difference? That's right, the left side has one entire room less to go through! It makes absolutely no sense to give all that extra work to me when Sheep is the speedster here!

"You snooze, you lose~" Sheep jeered as he entered the closet, "Don't worry, I'll help out a bit once I'm done checking this place out. Gods know I'll be done before you."

"Bastard...!" I grinded my teeth at him.

"Migu, we've got rooms to search." Energy cleared his throat.

"Urk, alright..."

First up was the bedroom. Yep, this is where it all started, so to speak. It's always a familiar, warm and comfy sight. The Yellow walls certainly help with that.

"So many clothes..." Energy scowled, "By the way, you don't have to take me out of the bag. I can see just fine from inside it."

"You deserve some time outside. Consider it a treat for being well-behaved." I joked, "On a more serious note, we've got some stuff to discuss."

Immediately, he realized what was up. Not gonna say anything too revealing, 'cause the Gods are probably listening in on this conversation, but it's got something to do with him locating Sab.

"Sit still if yes, hop around if no." I told him.

"Sigh, Migu..."

"Oh right, you can't actually move at all." I giggled, "I totally forgot."

Well, this isn't gonna work. I wanted to try encoding our convo, but without a way to communicate without words, it's just a dead end. Never mind, let's just continue to look for that damned phone.

"You never did explain what that thing we're looking for is." He noted, "What does it do? Or at least describe what it looks like."

"It does all sorts of things, honestly." I shrugged, "You can talk to someone from any distance in the world, and sending messages is instantaneous."

"Get outta here, there's no such thing!" He sounded intrigued.

"I'm being serious! It exists in my era, and most everyone has it!"

"...So you're actually telling the truth?" He was stunned, "Wow, just imagine how much easier life would be in the Infested World with those around..."

"I think phones require some sort of maintenance for the antenna towers, so they wouldn't do much even if they existed." I broke the news to him, "And they need regular charging, so again, no-go."

"Oh..." He sulked.

"Don't worry, we should be able to use them here, if we're to believe the Gods." I comforted him, "They newest models look really cool, and the ones I always wanted had all sorts of useful features, like a clock, a calendar, and even an alarm clock!"

"Ehh~? At that point, what can't it do?" He inquired.

"Exactly! See gramps, you get it!" I patted him a bit as a reward, "Look for a round-edged rectangular plastic device about... this small."

"That's tiny! It could easily fit in one's pocket!" He gasped, "You suck at measuring."

"No I don't, it's actually that small." I smirked proudly, "As a matter of fact, it has the ability... to flip over and double its size! That's right, the latest model with the most versatility and style—the flip phone!"

Yes, prehistoric ancestor! Mire at the beauty you're picturing in your head, for this is the peak of modern technological advancement! The flagship of the era, the defining invention—flip phones will one day rule the world! ...Well, once I find one to show off to him, of course.

"It brings a tear to my Eye..." He sniffled, despite neither having an Eye nor a nose.

"And why's that? Finally realized us youngins ain't so bad after all?"

"No, nothing like that." He explained, "In the Infested World, few were the moments where people would truly believe their will to live on meant anything."

"Oh..."

"I don't remember them by name, but it seems to have happened often enough for me to consider it a part of life." He choked up, "The deaths of comrades, suicides aplenty. Folks just couldn't handle the stress of such a cruel environment, especially the ones who knew what it was like before the Rotted took over."

"...But I'm here." I smiled, "And I'm from a future where no one even remembers what the Hell a Rotted even is."

"That's why I'm so happy." He said, "My efforts to survive, to last just that one day longer. People like me who gave it their all to hopefully build a better future for our offspring, we probably never got to see such a world clean of Rotted in our lives. I do have to admit, I'm thankful to the Gods for creating this opportunity in Heaven."

"Energy..." I felt a tear drop down my cheek as well, "Wow. And to think, our generation only knows about zombies and the like from cheap horror movies. In comparison, you went through the real deal."

"Zombies? Is that what you call them?" He chuckled, "The Rotted sound way cooler."

"I-I know that..." I blushed.

Out of the corner of my Eye, I spotted a glimmer just as I said that. Immediately, I sprinted to it as if the item would disappear had I not hurried. I picked the device up, its reflection glinting in my Eyes. A round-edged rectangular device that flipped open to reveal its true potential.

"You found one." Energy was left baffled.

"Yeah, that's one." I smirked, "But a phone is useless when it's all alone."