Chapter 18: Chapter 18 - Dilemma
"Fable!" Sarah shouted into her phone within 2 seconds of it vibrating on her lap.
"Sarah, are you alright? I'm sorry I had to leave you without warning." Fable's tired voice sounded out from the other end.
"It's alright, my brother picked me up. Are you? I saw the news." She replied, tightly clenching the phone with both hands.
Fable let out a sigh as an audible clutter could be heard in the background. "Yeah, we just arrived back home after finishing the conference." His voice clearly tired as he could be heard crashing onto a bed.
"What happened at the conference?" Sarah inquired as she also began laying down, resting her head on her pillows, staring intensely at her screen."Well, we talked about the gate raids," Fable began letting out another loud sigh. "You remember when the boss died during the raid?"
"Yeah?"
"I didn't want to worry any of you, so I didn't tell you," Fable began, with a slight indecisive tone.
"Tell me what?" Sarah's interest piqued,
"…What the boss said before it died." He explained after a short pause, giving up on his little dilemma on whether to bring Sarah into the whole mess.
"The boss said something before it died?" Sarah raised an eyebrow, sitting back up. "What'd it say?"
Fable could be heard hesitating once more before spilling everything he has told during the conference.
"A King?" Sarah frowned, a little taken back, "You think there might be a 'King' behind all this?"
"Yeah, it all really complicated right now. The Major says he has a clue on who this King might be, but he won't reveal who it is. Just that he's sending some people over to investigate and surveillance the area. I have no idea what's going on in that man's mind." Fable ranted.
A long silence could be heard from both ends as either of them spoke before a burst of loud hysterical laughter suddenly rang out of Sarah's end, causing Fable to simultaneously lean back from the phone with a slightly shocked expression.
"Sarah?" He raised an eyebrow, "Are… are you alright?"
"I-I'm sorry," Sarah tried her best to stop laughing, "But I mean who the hell calls themselves a 'King' are they a Chunnibyou? Are we looking for an 8th grader? What next, they turn out to be wearing an eyepatch, crown with a bandaged up arm?" She couldn't hold it in any longer and began bursting out in laughter again, which led to a small chuckle from Fable's end.
"I think that's enough from you, Missy." Fable's scolding voice interrupted her, "You should go rest, you've had a long day." He said as if fully knowing the pain and suffering she had inflicted upon herself during his disappearance. "I'm really tired, I really need to go rest,"
"Okay," Sarah answered after composing herself,
"Fable…" She quietly muttered,
"Yeah?"
"No, it's nothing. Goodnight." She smiled, looking out the window at the moon, shining through the glass.
"Goodnight to you too."
The call hung up as Sarah laid in her bed with a satisfied smile,
——
Hours pass as the moon crept higher, slowly reaching its peak before eventually descending beyond the horizon once more.
"Sarah. Wake up." Marcus' voice called out from beyond her door as she hazily awoke from her slumber, rubbing her eyes.
"We're having breakfast. Come join us." His voice called out once more.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming. Wait a second." Sarah yawned, stretching her arms and putting on a jumper on top of her pajamas before leaving her room.
"Sarah! I'm so glad you feel so much better!" Their mother exclaimed, running to give her a hug before grabbing her hand and taking her to the dining table. "I made pancakes."
Laid out before them were large plates. Each plate decked out with at least 5 whole pancakes layering on top of each other, perfectly made and plated.
"Thank you, mum." Sarah smiled, taking her seat and digging in.
"What were you laughing so hard about last night," Her mother inquired with a warm smile, sitting down as well while Marcus also took his seat and dug right in. She was finally able to see the lovely and talkative daughter that had been missing for over 2 days.
"Oh, It's nothing. My friend just started talking about something funny." Sarah giggled, cutting a piece off the pancake and popping it in her mouth.
"Mm! It's really good!" She gasped, taking another piece.
"Thank you," Her mother beamed with pride.
"What did you guys talk about that was so funny?" Marcus suddenly inquired, looking over at his sister with a raised eyebrow, having not heard his sister laugh so loud a long time.
"It's really nothing. Just about some Chunni guy calling himself King of the Gates or what not…" Sarah muttered slightly embarrassed, "In retrospect, it's not really funny…."
Marcus' hand froze the moment he had heard the 3 words he had never expected to come out of his sister's mouth, "King of Gate? Who told you that?"
"Fable. He had a meeting with some really important people last night, I think." She answered nonchalantly.
"What else did he say?" Fable continued to question.
"Uh…" Sarah raised her head to think, "Oh, they were going to send some people to investigate or something. I don't know what he means by that…"
"Is that all?"
"Uh… " Sarah frowned as she continued to think, "He said something about they already had a suspect? I have no idea." She shrugged, "I mean I guess it won't be too difficult to spot a monster in this world. I bet they've already cornered and captured it." She said, continuing to eat her breakfast, not realizing her brother's internal dilemma.
Marcus could feel his skin run cold the more his sister spoke. In the eyes of everyone around him, he was a monster. Of course, he was, he already ended up killing 2 people. He knew that even if he tried to prove himself to be good; to be on their side. In the end, he was given the role of Gatekeeper. Once they found out, that title would become his sole identity. The only name people would remember him by. But why, why him. Even with thousands of hours thinking and rethinking, he could not think of a single plausible answer. He's not special. He's not powerful. He wasn't even important. Just what about him stood out enough for him to be given a special role.
"Marc… Marc!" Sarah's voice interrupted his thoughts, "What do you think?"
"Think about what?" Marcus blinked, clearing his downward spiral of negative thoughts, and tilted his head in confusion.
"I'm thinking joining Justice. The one lead by Fable and Rein." Sarah announced.
Marcus and their mother simultaneously frowned as they all just stared at her blankly.
"Why?" Marcus asked,
"Well, Fable wanted me to be the Head Secretary." She blushed, looking to the side, only to see her mother give her a sly 'Oh, I see what's going on here' look.
"As long as you're not in any danger," Her mother chuckled, giving her a small nudge under the table, in which Sarah only looked away with embarrassment.
"But, mum!" Marcus turned to face his mother in surprise.
"Let her do what she wants," His mother replied, "If she enjoys it and has fun, she can continue doing what she loves, just like how I encouraged you to continue your study as a teacher. Give her a chance to pursue what she wants."
Marcus could only glance down with a hesitant gaze. "But the moment she puts herself in any danger, she has to stop." He suggested,
"What danger could I be in, with 2 S-Ranked Hunters, my safety is basically guaranteed." she boasted with a chuckle.
*Knock Knock*
The sound of someone banging on their front door suddenly interrupted their conversation as their mother stood up to have a look.
"Oh! How may I help you?" Her voice echoed down the hallway, clearly being heard by her two children. "My husband? Honey!"
A reluctant grunt could be heard from within the parent's room as Sarah's and Marcus' father opened the bedroom door and walked out.
"What is it?" He asked, looking down the hallway and seeing the figures of two men wearing black suits and sunglasses standing outside their door. "We don't have a conference today," He frowned, confused about the appearance of the suited men outside his house. They were the same two men who were usually present to escort him to the conference whenever it was being held.
"Unfortunately the Major wishes to discuss with you about a… personal matter. It'll only be a few minutes of your time. He's right outside now." one of the men replied, stepping to the side to allow their father to follow them out the house.
"Lead the way." Their father acknowledged, closely following them out the house.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
May_Song
May_Song Thanks for reading. Hoped you enjoyed the chapter. Something big coming soon. Nearing the end of Vol 1.
Hoped this chapter came out okay. Really want to pump these chapters out, but I just didn't feel as creative as usual, so some wording and stuff may turn out not as good as it could be.
Thank you for reading nonetheless. Love yall~.
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