*RING* *RING*
.
.
*RING* *RING*
Both Luke and Leo waited patiently for their call to connect to Earth as soft smiles spread across their faces at the thought of talking to their mother.
"Luke… Leo, is that you?" A familiar voice said as soon as the call connected, as a smiling image of Elena appeared on the video screen.
"Mother!" The two brothers exclaimed simultaneously, grinning ear to ear at the sight of their mom.
Unlike their old and worn-out apartment, Elena seemed to be in a much better place today.
Their call seemed to have connected to a posh safe-house with wooden flooring and an impressive interior which was a stark contrast to what they were used to in their old and beat up apartment, as Elena seemed to be wearing some expensive clothes too, instead of her slightly torn and used garments that she used to wear at home.
"Jacob! Jacob! Come here … the kids are calling" Elena said excitedly, as she called her husband over to join her in the frame, however, at the very mention of his name, the faces of both Luke and Leo darkened.
As an old man, which looked like a Xerox copy of Leo if he were old, walked into the frame, both brothers glared straight at him as if trying to assert their dominance.
Jacob stood silently beside Elena, as he alternated his gaze between Luke and Leo, before eventually saying "Thank-you for saving your mother's life. Without your help she would have died".
His voice sounded coarse, however, his speech pattern was eerily similar to Luke and Leo's own speech, as the blood similarities began shining as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Don't mention it. Of course we would save our mother who went through so many hardships to raise us... alone" Leo replied as he squinted his eyes slightly, trying to make Jacob feel uncomfortable, however, the man clearly had thick skin as he remained unfazed by Leo's remarks.
"Boys, the house you two have shifted me into is so much better than our previous one!
It's a presidential bunker, the kind that only the super rich get and it's stabilized by a gyroscope.
No matter how much the Earth shakes or what natural disaster strikes outside, we are completely safe here, with good food, good clothes and uninterrupted electricity" Elena said excitedly, as she seemed to have forgotten what luxury felt like after all these years of rationing for survival.
Looking at her excited face, the expressions on Luke and Leo's faces softened, as the two brothers listened patiently to Elena explaining her excitement over kitchen appliances and what sort of dishes she can cook now because of them.
Although this cost them valuable MP the longer the call lasted, the two seemed to be in a splurging mood today, as they enjoyed watching the excited face of their mother as she explained her awe about the simple things in life.
"Also, Mr.X is super helpful kids, is he one of your friends?" Elena asked joyfully, as Luke and Leo looked at each other and tilted their heads in confusion.
"Who Mr.X?" Luke asked, as Elena tilted her head the same way the brothers did and replied cutely "The guy who came to save us from under the rubble…. I thought Leo sent him…"
At that moment Leo finally realized who she was talking about as he remembered how he had paid upwards of 950 MP for someone to rescue their mother and protect her until the next round of Arc Ships departed.
"So that guy's called Mr.X, what race is he?" Leo asked, as it was Jacob and Elena's turn to be confused now.
"His skin is white I think, so maybe he is European?" Elena replied, as Leo instantly realized his mistake.
He had forgotten that racism on Earth was still categorized on petty things such as nationality and skin color and that the meaning of 'Race' for earthlings was different to the meaning of 'Race' for TNO players.
For players like him, race meant species, as to whether Mr.X was a human, elf, beastman or some other race, however, apparently Elena still did not understand that concept.
"Well he always wears a hood and a mask and speaks in such a low voice that I don't know what race he is for sure, but could be Asian or European…. even American I think" Elena said shrugging her shoulders, as Leo decided to ignore her response and instead focus on giving her the good news about her ticket.
"Mom, forget about his race… let's not be racists" Leo said, as Elena nodded her head cutely to his words, seemingly agreeing that one's skin color should not matter.
"Instead, let me tell you why me and brother called you today…" Leo said, as he looked towards Luke who broke into a knowing smile.
"We are sending you two B class tickets to the Arc Ship and we are also going to pay for your kidney regeneration surgery that you will undergo on the very first day of your journey.
Mother, don't worry…. You will not have to live your life as a one kidneyed patient anymore… soon everything will be alright" Leo said emotionally, as he felt like a heavy burden had been lifted off his chest when he spoke these words.
It was their mother that had sacrificed her kidney to send the two brothers to the arc ship and ever since that day, Leo felt guilty about this new life on the arc ship, knowing that it cost his mother her kidney.
However, today as he was setting everything right along with Luke, he felt like he had finally paid back her mother's love and affection as best as he could, and from this moment onwards Leo could truly begin to enjoy his new life, knowing that his past debts had been paid off.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the GT Target, good job everyone! ///