Two weeks later…
The month passed in a blur. The world left May and entered June. The sun hung above the heavens, shining down upon the earthy plane. On an empty road between the plains of Rome, a certain RV drove. Within sat the King and his brother, heading towards their next destination. Dante leaned back in the driver's seat. He had activated self-driving a two hours ago after they had left Bologna. The panel displayed the directions to their next destination – Vatican City.
'Just five hours left… Well, at least I don't have to drive…'
Dante stretched his arms and took out his phone. He scrolled through social media while they steadily cruised along. He wore a cream T-shirt with green trousers and his old pair of white sneakers
In the passenger's seat, Missio sat with one leg with on his seat. He wore a white shirt with a white trousers that had the same design as Dante's blue trousers and a pair of black sneakers. His seat leaned back a little, comfortably holding his body. He eventually grew bored of scrolling, heading over to his chats. He stared at Henry's profile for a good while. He drew a deep breath and exhaled.
"Well, it's better late than never…" He muttered under his breath.
He tapped on the screen, face-timing Henry. After a few seconds, his friend picked up the call wearing a tank-top.
"What's up, Henry?" Missio waved.
"Missio!" Henry exclaimed. "How have you been?"
"Great, actually." Missio replied. "We just got out of Bologna."
"Is your brother there?" Henry questioned as Eira snaked up behind him.
"Yeah."
Suddenly, Eira leapt at the screen, pushing Henry away. She wore a dark blue shirt with a light blue flower pattern spread across it.
"Hey! Missio! Long time no see!" she exclaimed.
"What's up? How you've been?" Missio smiled.
"Amazing! It's been absolutely bombastic!" Eira snatched the phone from Henry. "Henry just got promoted to Lieutenant General!"
Missio paused, closing his mouth. He blinked – he didn't feel any sorrow. His lips couldn't help but curl into a smile – not out of regret but of happiness for his friend.
"That's amazing!" Missio exclaimed. "When did he get promoted?"
"The ceremony was held yesterday but he got the title a week ago!" Eira replied.
"Matches up with my time…" Missio rubbed his chin. "So, anyways. How's Krishna been?"
Another tussle occurred between the couple on the other side of the screen. Missio stared blankly as Henry took his phone away from his fiancé.
"Why… don't you find out for yourself?" Henry grunted.
He invited Krishna to the call. His profile appeared on the left side of Missio's screen. After a few moments, Krishna picked up the call. The enforcer held his phone close to his facing and rubbed his chin in a wise manner.
"Would you poop in the sink or sink in the poop…?"
Missio, Henry and Eira blinked simultaneously. The next second, they all burst into uncontrollable laughter. Dante raised his head, looking at his little brother who was tearing up at his friend's joke. A smile couldn't help but make its way onto his face. He went back to scrolling, letting Missio live in the moment without him.
"What… What the hell was that?" Missio caught his breath, wiping his eyes.
"I've been thinking about that for the last week, man… The special ops is something different."
"Why?" Missio inquired further.
"BECAUSE THEY PULLED ME OUT MID-POOP TO FIGHT A CHAOS FRAGMENT ACROSS THE DAMN CITY!!!" Krishna screamed.
The trio laughed in sync once more, forming an uncanny beat with their uncontrollable laughter.
"Okay – Okay, dude. That's not that bad…" Henry coughed.
"I have PTSD, bitch." Krishna pulled the camera closer, staring into Henry's soul.
Henry clutched his chest, curling his lips. The latter held back laughter as Missio spoke next.
"Where's Mary?"
"Oh, she's with me." Krishna turned his phone.
Missio saw Mary sitting on his best friend's bed. He blinked – twice.
'Am I seeing this right…?'
Mary waved at them, smiling. She wore a white shirt with a chore coat over it, a dark skirt and white socks. Her hair, left untied, fell onto her shoulders. Missio locked eyes with Henry. Henry locked eyes with him. He then locked eyes with Eira. The couple nodded. Missio nodded with them. Krishna pulled the phone towards himself.
"How often does she visit?" Missio asked.
"How often does she… visit?" Krishna's eyes narrowed to a slit. "I dunno. Ask her."
He pointed the camera at Mary again.
"Mary, how often do you visit Krishna?" Missio inquired.
Mary raised a brow. "Like every week? Why?"
"No reason." He replied.
Krishna pulled the phone back to himself. Mary stood up and watched their conversation from behind. The group caught up with each other, chatting about their lives.
Suddenly, the RV shook violently. Dante glanced up as the self-driving automatically turned off. He placed his phone in the middle and gripped the wheel. His eyes caught the problem – a chaos fragment. It rumbled the skies and vibrated the air. Chaos beasts began crawling out it. Dante pressed the accelerator. The RV sped past the fragment. The beasts roared and rushed behind it. Missio poked his head outside.
In an instant, multiple daggers made of titanium emerged from nothingness and stabbed into the beast's heart. Missio continued to watch his massacre until they got far away. He heaved a sigh and sat back.
"Sorry, it's just a chaos fragment." He stated.
"Just a chaos fragment?" Krishna blurted. "I had to take a day break for today because of one and you're just casually brushing it off?"
"Missio seems to have grown stronger over these few months." Mary commented, leaning in.
"What have you been doing, Missio?" Eira questioned.
"Well… I've been climbing the Pillar of Tra–"
Missio's voice halted before he could say anything else. Dante whistled, activating self-driving. Electricity danced around him – sign of his attribute activation.
"Careful, little bro. That's top secret."
He let go of his little brother. Missio gasped for air. He then met his friend's eyes again.
"…Can't say it, sorry. It's top secret."
"Bummer…" Krishna said.
"But…" Dante snatched Missio's phone away. "I do have something to tell you."
"My lord!" Krishna saluted which forced Mary back. "Please, tell us your wisdom!"
"Stop with the praise." Dante sneered. "I wanted to tell all of you – My little brother's friends, that you're all invited to my wedding."
"You're having a wedding?" Eira blurted. "When?"
"Some time in December. You're all invited. Wear your best clothes." Dante chuckled.