god line

chapter 20

"This again!" Ore groaned, slamming a piece of paper onto the table. "They're practically mocking us now!" Fay picked up the letter and made a face. "What's it say?" Foster asked curiously. "You have 3 days or we're killing the blonde one." Fay tossed it to Ayumi, who cautiously handed it back to Ore. "Seems like they wrote it in beet juice. Or blood. I dunno." Ore put the paper down again. "We're gonna have to go there again." They said quietly. "Yeah well obviously! Mother of god, they could be tearing away at Wilbur's mental state as we speak..." Foster put his head down on the table, making a noise like a balloon being deflated. Ritsuko patted his back for reassurance. "He be ok." Ore put their hands on their hips. "If you really wanna get him back that badly, we need to go now. Ready yourself though, cause I doubt that they're going down without a fight. And Ayumi, no, words will NOT work better than violence." Ayumi made a small "aw" sound.

Lyra waved to Ore and them through a window, before walking out her door. "Hi." She said. "Just lead us to that gate again." Ore glared down at Lyra, who nodded and did as she was told. "What do you need to see them now for?" She asked curiously, ducking under trees and around bushes. "I think it's best you don't know. In fact, once we get there, just go on home again. We'll find our way back." Ore looked around, making silent notes of the terrain and paths. "Okay..." Lyra mumbled, and they continued on the trip silently. "Here we are!" She said, motioning to the gate again. Ore patted her on the head and waved, as Lyra ducked behind a tree and disappeared. "Well." Ore sighed, looking at the gate. "Let's go on in." Ayumi stopped them. "Shouldn't we have a plan or...?" Ore turned to look at Ayumi. "Hmph. Fay and Ritsuko, you devise a distraction. Ayumi and me will go get Wilbur. And you..." they pointed at Foster. "You just hang back and wait." Foster nodded and mumbled a small okay. "Okay then! Let's go." Ore pushed open the gate, taking a deep breath. "C'mon." They said, shoving everybody else through the gate. Ichiro walked out of the shack as if on cue, playfully stepping towards Ore. "Where's Wilbur?" Ore asked without hesitation. "Wow okay! You're feeling BOLD today!" Ichiro laughed, flinging a pebble into Ore's face. "I'm not telling you where he is." Ore crossed their arms, sighing and shutting their eyes. "See, I'm willing to negotiate with you on this..." Ore looked towards Ritsuko and Fay, as if telling them to continue the conversation. "Ah yes. Ahem. Just give us Wilbur, and we'll surrender. We won't end operations unless you convince us though." Fay walked in front of Ore, Ritsuko next to her nodding and shooting sparkles into the air. Ore and Ayumi silently sneaked off while Ichiro conversed with Fay, Foster standing close to the gate and nervously looking back out into the forest. Ore pushed open the door to the house, peering in. They motioned to Ayumi to follow, stepping onto the wood floor with a loud creak. Everything went silent for a second. Ore immediately brandished a weapon from thin air, while Ayumi put her fists in the air. "Do we have a guestttt?" Richie's voice droned from the other side of the house, before a small door lock followed by footsteps was heard. Richie appeared a few feet away from Ore and Ayumi, holding a needle that was half empty with a mystery liquid. "What do you want creep?" Ayumi asked uncertainly. Richie's expression darkened. "For you to bleed, obviously." Ore chuckled. "Good luck with that." Three other people poked their heads out of doorways, peering into where Ore and Ayumi were. Ore mumbled a curse under their breath as they all pulled some sort of weapon out. "You're outnumbered." Richie stated. "Yeah no crap!" Ayumi scoffed. "Question. Is there concrete below your house?" Richie gave Ayumi a confused look. "What? Of course there is wh-" Ayumi cut her off. "Trick question." Vines slowly began to grow around the room. "What the hell?" Richie stared up at the vines, which were slowly starting their way down the hall. "Was that planned orrrr?" Ore looked at Ayumi. Ayumi shook her head. "Gonna be honest, didn't think that would work."

Once Ayumi's vines had tied up Richie and the others (Ichiro was also thrown in), it was time for questioning. "Where is he?" Ore asked, pointing the sharp end of their spear in Benji's direction. "I don't know! U-uh... Richies the one with the key!" "You snitch." Richie stared daggers at Benji. "Alright then. Give it up." Ore poked Richie with the spear. "Or what?" Richie smiled nervously. "You see, Ritsuko here is an excellent marksman.." Ore pointed to Ritsuko, who nodded and playfully beeped in agreement. "Ugh fine. Here." Richie brandished a skeleton key from her pocket, handing it to Ore and groaning. "Thank you." Ore walked off into the hall, examining which doors had keyholes. "Are we just gonna leave them there?" Ayumi asked, following after Ore. Fay stared at Ayumi like she'd just said the dumbest thing Fay had ever heard. "Well of course we're gonna leave them there! It's like you wanna open all the cages in a zoo.." Ore inserted the key into a keyhole at the end of the hall and turned their hand. The door unlocked with a small click. Ayumi uncertainly pushed open the door, peering inside. Wilbur snapped his head around to look at them, his face lighting up. "You came!" He exclaimed. "Yeah yeah, now come on, Foster might throw himself off a cliff if he doesn't get to see you in the next couple of minutes." Fay untied Wilbur, staring at his multitude of bruises and cuts on his arms and face. "Dear Clara, what did they do to you." Wilbur nervously laughed. "Uh... long story." Fay shrugged and pushed open the door again to let him, Ore, and Ayumi through. "We got him. Let's go home now." Fay pulled Wilbur by the arm, making him wince. "Don't pull him!" Ayumi looked at Fay like she was crazy. Fay mumbled a "fine" and let go. "You're acting like I'm a dog." Wilbur mumbled, rubbing his wrist. "You might as well be. Foster might've put up missing posters if we didn't tell him otherwise." Fay pushed Wilbur out of the house, the door closing with a slam. Muffled talking was heard shortly after. Wilbur looked around at the empty field. Something in the corner of his eye moved, and he stared directly at it. It was Foster, who looked simply star struck before running at Wilbur and hugging him. "Ow ow ow. Okay. Be careful." Wilbur patted Foster's back awkwardly. "Sorry.." Foster sniffled and pulled back, before starting to cry again. "Hey! Don't cry please." Wilbur pulled Foster into a hug. "C'mon, you're getting my shirt all wet." Foster sniffled again, laughing slightly. "I thought I'd lose you." "Hey noooo! That'll never happen! Don't cry! C'mon.." Wilbur pulled back, looking down at Foster. "I'm not going anywhere. Alright?" Wilbur beamed at Foster, who wiped his face and nodded. "I missed you." Foster said after a few melancholy moments. "I missed you to." Wilbur planted a kiss on Foster's forehead, before letting him go. "Well," Wilbur turned around. "You should probably get in there." He pointed at the shabby looking house. "Yeah." Foster nervously laughed. "Um. I'll see you at home." Wilbur nodded. "See ya." Foster disappeared into the house, closing the door. Wilbur sighed and looked out over the open field, which felt even more empty than before. "Psst!" A small voice next to a gate whispered. Wilbur turned around to look at the gate in question. "Pssst! Come here!" It said again. Wilbur looked around, before walking closer to the gate. A small girl seized him by the arm, pulled him over the gate and next to her. He looked up at the girl in a frenzy. She stared at him with pupil less eyes, and although her expression was unreadable, she looked somewhat.. angry? "What are you doing here?" The girl demanded. "What's your name?" She stood up, towering over Wilbur although he seemed to be 8 years older than her. "W-woah. I'm Wilbur. Look, I just got taken here and.." The girl sighed, sitting back down again. "Sorry. I was trying to seem scary. Did it work?" Wilbur nodded. "Ah. Sorry for scaring you. I'm Lyra." Lyra smiled at Wilbur, who smiled back before looking at the ground again. "My question still stands though." Lyra looked up at the sky. "What's a mortal like you doing all the way out here? You look terrible." Wilbur laughed. "Thanks." "Your wel- OH! OH OH NO! I didn't mean it like that!" Lyra sat up quickly, waving her hands frantically. Wilbur grinned at her. "No it's fine. I mean, a black and blue face can't be doing me any compliments."

"Lyraa! What did I tell you!" Ore put their hands on their hips. Lyra looked down at the forest floor shamefully. "For me to go home..." "And what did you do?" Ore's tone was that of somebody scolding a child. "Stayed behind.." Lyra drew circles in the dirt with her foot. Wilbur stood back watching this unfold while Foster clung to his sleeve. "Oreeee. Can we just go home nowww." Ore looked up at Foster angrily before their expression softened. "Sure. Fine. I mean, we all deserve it." Everybody mumbled something in agreement. "I think this is the one conflict we've solved without any blood being spilled! Well.. if you ignore Ritsuko almost burning down the house and Fay's constant threatening and attempts to strangle the Syndicate.. we didn't do any harm!" Fay scoffed at Ore. "You literally stabbed the skinny one with your spear." Ore gave Fay a sharp glare. "Poked is the correct word." Fay rolled her eyes and scoffed again, turning to whisper something to Ayumi. "All right then! Let's go on home. You too Lyra, sorry you had to see this..." Ore patted Lyra softly on the back, Lyra nodding and looking at the ground. "Oh, and Wilbur," Ore looked up. "I'm sorry you had to participate in this. And be a victim. No mortal should have to worry about godly affairs such as our own." Wilbur smiled brightly. "Oh don't worry about it. I have a high pain tolerance and I married Foster sooo.. It's nothing to worry about." Ore nodded at that. "Well, I say we get home and sleep, we all deserve it so.. goodnight. Again, Lyra and Wilbur, my apologies. Foster, Fay, Ritsuko and Ayumi, thank you for your help." Everybody mumbled something in thanks or other responses, beginning their trek back through the forest. Wilbur smiled down at Foster. "Welp. At least we can go home now. I feel like I haven't slept in weeks." Foster huffed. "Trust me, me neither." Ritsuko walked next to Foster, picking up a flower and handing it to Wilbur. "Flow." She said blankly, the expression on her face unreadable. "Ah yes.. flow." Wilbur nervously chuckled, picking up the flower tenderly. "She said flower." Foster mumbled in Wilbur's ear. He nodded in response. "Oh. Right."