Cece: Don't worry. Like Sky said, he deserved it.
General G: Alright you three, are you ready to go?
Lilli: Wait! We're leaving right now?!
General G: Do you prefer staying here?
Lilli: No! I mean...I just didn't expect...for this to be happening so fast.
Cece: We were up all night working to make this possible. Look around you, the HQ is empty. So trust me when I say this. This is only the beginning. Now come on, we shouldn't keep an old couple waiting.
The kids follow Cece and the General to the back of the base, where they are led outside. Once outside, they see a parking lot filled with ten armored cars, five on each side, and a little further ahead, a small airstrip. As the kids continued following The General and Cece to a car, the airstrip suddenly started to retract exposing a ramp leading to an underground section of the base. While standing by the car, the kids noticed that it was their ship that was slowly coming up from under.
Jake: So that's where they had our ship.
Cece: I'm surprised that they're only now leaving.
General G: … You guys can get in the car now.
They all get in the car and buckle their seatbelts. The General starts the car and begins to drive off. Worried about Rai and Sky, Cece pulls out her phone and decides to call them.
*Ring* *Ring*
Rai: … Is there something you need?
Cece: Just wanted to see if everything is okay. Is… everything okay?
Sky: Everything is fine and dandy.
Cece: Do you guys know how to use that thing?
Rai: You put in the coordinates, turn on autopilot, and it takes you where you wanna go. Pretty self explanatory. Anything else?
Cece: Like I said, I just wanted to see if everything was okay.
Sky: No need to worry or stress. I'll make sure that he's on his best behavior. Promise.
Cece: Alright then, We'll leave you to it. Stay safe and don't do anything stupid...Rai.
Rai: Whatever.
He hangs up, leaving the car in silence.
Lilli: That dude needs a chill pill.
Cece: Ahh, he's okay. He's actually a big softie once you get to know him. But, that's enough about them. Enjoy the ride, or catch up on some rest. We'll have time to talk later.
With that, the kids took the time to relax. Not only are they on an entirely different planet, with different rules and a different way of living. But they were already getting a new home, making them feel as if they'll never actually get to go back to the only home they ever knew. Galatalia.
47mins. Later
General G: Alright, we're here.
Lilli: Kayleb...get up.
Lilli gently shakes Kayleb's shoulder, waking him. He looks around in all directions trying to figure out where he is. Suddenly, his eyes widen as he continues to look around in confusion. Lilli shakes his shoulder once more, and giggles, reassuring him that everything is okay.
Lilli: It's alright, Kay. We're at the house. Nothing bad is happening.
Kay: Oh!
Cece: Are you coming in, Genny?
General G: Not this time. I'll be waiting outside.
Cece: Okay, suit yourself. Let's go you guys.
Cece picks up a black work case from between her legs and steps out of the car. The kids get out as well and follow her to the house.
Kay: Woah! This is a nice neighborhood. A lot nicer than I had imagined.
Lilli: Yea, it's so pretty! Look over there, there's a water fountain in the center.
Cece: … Come on, you guys!
Kay: Coming!
The kids catch up to Cece and patiently wait for what's next. Cece then knocks on the door, and a couple moments later, a woman opens it and shrieks.
Woman: Aaahh! La mia bambina! It's so good to see you!
The woman moves in as fast as light to hug Cece, twirling her around with excitement.
Cece: Hey mama! It's good to see you too! Look ma, these are the kids we told you about last night.
Woman: Ah yes! Come in! Come in!
The kids follow Cece and the woman inside. The first room they see as they make their way inside is the living room. There's a tv hanging on the wall to the left with black furniture facing it. And to the right of the room is a staircase that leads to the upper area of the house. A little past the living room was a small section that led to the dining room/kitchen. In the kitchen, a man had just finished drying his hands making his way over to greet them.
Man: Cece! Long time no see!
Cece: Hey papa! It's great to see you too. I have some people here I'd like for you to meet. Mama, papa, this is Lillien, Kayleb, and Jake. Lilli, Kayleb, and Jake, this is Mrs. and Mr. Baker.
Woman: Aww, stop it with the formalities! Please, call us Lisa and Gerald.
Lilli: Nice to meet you!
Lisa: Come on, have a seat. Make yourselves comfortable.
Lilli: Thank you. Also, thank you for allowing us to stay here, especially since it's so out of the blue.
Lisa: It's no problem my dear. We don't mind it at all. We've actually been looking to adopt for a while now, so this works out for us.
Cece: Sorry to interrupt, mama, but I can't stay long. Genny is waiting for me in the car.
Gerald: I was wondering where he was. I outta teach that boy a lesson for not coming in to say hello.
Cece: I'll make sure to let him know for next time. But before I go, I have something for the three of you.
Cece pulls out three test books and pencils from the case she was holding onto. While she passes them out, she explains what they're for.
Cece: These are placement tests. They're to help determine your grade and the classes you'll be placed into for tomorrow. There are a hundred multiple choice questions and they are all randomly ranged from basic to advanced. Now, fair warning, these tests are very hard and you only have ten minutes to complete them. Obviously, I don't expect you to finish, but just try your best. If you just so happen to complete them, just say "done", close your books and place your pencils on top. Just let me know when you're ready so we can start.
The kids skim through their books and see what they're working with.
Kay: I'm ready.
Lilli: Ready.
Jake: Ready.
Cece: Okay. In three, two, one...you may begin.
A couple moments later, Gerald raises his eyebrows in awe by the sheer speed in which the kids were taking their test. He looks over to Lisa and sees she's quietly giggling to herself. As for Cece, her eyes were wide open from pure shock.
7mins. Left
Lilli: Done.
5mins. Left
Jake: Done.
4mins. Left
Kay: Done.
Gerald: I have never seen anyone take a test so fast in my life. Are you sure you guys didn't just answer anything?
Lilli: Nope, I memorized which number some of the questions were on. So when I got to that number, I just colored in the answer.
Gerald: Wow! I suppose you two did the same?
Jake: Yup.
Kay: Yea...I kinda got stumped on some questions though, but for the most part, I think I did pretty good.
Cece: I think you did better than good. I didn't expect that from you guys. Really.
*Honk* *Honk*
Cece: Oh crap. I got to go. I'll be taking these.
She takes the test and places them into the case.
Cece: Oh! Mama! One more favor. They don't have any clothes, so if you don't mind-
Lisa: Okay! Okay! Now go, before you get yelled at!
Cece: Thanks, you're the best. Love you!
She rushes out through the door and quickly makes her way to the car to avoid the General's wrath. The car honks once more and Lisa waves her goodbye's while watching them leave. Once they're out of her sight, she closes the door behind her and joins back up with the group.
Lisa: They're gone.
Gerald: Alright. So...what do you guys want to do? Are you hungry?
Jake: Very!
Kay: Me too! That test made me extra hungry.
Jake: Right! So...much...brain power. Aahh!
The boys burst out laughing from Jake's joke. Embarrassed, Lilli covers her face, while Lisa giggles at her reaction.
Kay: Not...enough...brain!
Lilli: Alright you two, that's enough.
Gerald: Aww, it's okay. They're just having fun.
Lisa: Gerald...
Kay: {Come on, Lil, we're just having fun. Stop being such a buzzkill.}
Jake: {Yea, Lil, you gotta relax. You don't have to be in mom mode 24/7.}
Lilli: {With you two, I most definitely have too.}
Kay: {Buzzkill.}
Lilli: {I will beat your ass.}
Kay: {Do it.}
…
Gerald: Okay Everybody! Our first stop will be Jerry's! Last one to the car is a rotten egg!
Gerald springs up and sprints through the front door, Jake following close behind him. Kayleb, before running after them, pulls down his eye and sticks his tongue out, taunting Lilli. He then quickly gets up and chases after the others.
Lisa: Your brothers sure are lively!
Lilli: If by lively you mean tiring, then yes, I agree with you.
Lisa: Come on, let's not keep them waiting.
Lisa and Lilli exit the house and catch up with the others.
~~~~~
Gerald: Welcome to Jerry's, the greatest place on Earth.
Lisa: Oh, stop it Gerald. Let's just go inside.
They walk inside and are greeted by their hostess. She takes them to their seats and politely instructs them to wait for their waitress. Soon after their waitress arrives, but before she can greet herself, Lisa excitedly shouts her name.
Lisa: Vanessa! Oh my, how big you've gotten.
Vanessa: Hey Mr. and Mrs. Baker! It's been a while.
Lisa: Most definitely. How old are you now?
Vanessa: Twenty-one.
Lisa: Wow! I can't believe it's been so long. Are you going to take over your fathers restaurant?
Vanessa: Yea, why not. He'll be packing up soon, but I'm sure he'll want the restaurant to live on.
Lisa: That's good!
Vanessa: So! You two are on my father's loyals list, but I see you guys didn't come alone today. So, what will the kids like to drink?
Lilli: I'll have a glass of water.
Kay: Do you have lemonade?
Vanessa: Of course! We have regular, strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry flavors.
Jake: I'll take the strawberry one.
Kay: And I'll like the blueberry.
Vanessa: Strawberry and blueberry. Got it! Here are your menus and I'll be right back to take your orders.
Lilli: Thank you.
Vanessa: No problem.
...
Gerald: You guys wouldn't mind if I ask some questions, would you?
Kay: Nope.
Gerald: Alright then, where are you from?
Lilli: Oh! Uhh...We're from U...mo island. Yea, that's it.
Jake: {Real smooth.}
Gerald: No. I mean where are you really from? Like...your planet.
Lilli: Umm...I don't think I understand your question Mr. Baker. We were born and raised here on Earth...like everybody else.
Jake: {You're really selling it.}
Lilli: {Please, shut up.}
Vanessa: Here are your drinks. Are we ready to order?
Jake: Uhh...yea. I'll take a mega burger.
Kay: I'll take one too!
Vanessa: And...what will the young lady be having?
Lilli: ...Oh. Right, I'll just take a salad.
Vanessa: Alright, I'll be back shortly with your orders.
...
Gerald: Oh, okay, I see. Look here kids, this restaurant belongs to my good friend Larry. Matter of fact, the majority of the customers are friends with Larry. And as you can see, we're not exactly spring chickens. Most of us here have probably been around longer than your parents. So, you have nothing to worry about. Those rules only apply outside of this restaurant. So, let's try that again shall we? Where are you from?
…
Jake: We're from a planet called Galatalia.
Gerald: Galatalia huh? And what's the reason for leaving your home?
Jake: A black spaceship showed up and we were pretty much forced to leave.
Lisa: That's so terrible. I'm sorry to hear that. Do you guys at least know how to control your powers?
Jake: Lilli and I do, and the twins as well, but our little cousin Luna and Kayleb aren't very skilled with theirs yet.
Gerald: Twins? Luna? Were there supposed to be more than just you three?
Jake: Well, yeah. But unfortunately they couldn't make it.
Lisa: Are they on their way?
Jake: Hopefully.
Gerald: And what about your powers? What's your thing?
Jake: I can control earth.
Kay: It's fire for me.
Gerald: And you?
Lilli: …Oh, uhh, I can control lightning.
Gerald: Earth, fire and lightning. Nice.
Jake: What about you guys? Tell us about yourselves, like how you two met, or if you have any kids. You know.
Gerald: Well...I was a great chef back in my day, one of the greatest on the planet if I do say so myself. By my side was my great friend Jerry. We traveled the world having fun and feeding hungry bellies. People loved our food!... Haha, actually, one day Jerry and I visited a small farm village, and it was there that I met the most beautiful woman in my life. At first she hated my guts, she thought I was there to trick them and take over. But after seeing her village enjoy the food we made, she started to warm up to me. We ended up falling in love and she wanted to join us in our travels. After years of roaming the world and spreading joy with our food, we came to a town called Dia at the time and decided to settle down, make a restaurant. We named it...Jerrald's. Ahh, ahh, pretty clever right?!
Lisa: Get on with it.
Gerald: Anyway, later that year, Lisa and I had a miracle baby boy.
Lisa: We named him Charlie. He was the most precious thing ever.
Gerald: He sure was. Eighteen years later, he had grown into an independent, loving, well-educated man. He was ready to follow in his old man's footsteps. Haha!...
Kay: Where is he now?
Gerald: Well… there were these horrible monsters that attacked us and destroyed everything. Unfortunately, our son was a casualty of that attack. That was twenty years ago. I had quit the food business and spent the passing years with my wife. Jerry wanted me to get back into the food business, but I just couldn't. I told him to continue on without me, and so Jerrald's became Jerry's. Since then, we've just been living life, hanging in there… anyway I-I think that's a pretty good short summary of our life.
Jake: Wow!... I'm sorry for what happened, and about your son...If it makes you feel any better, all of our parents are dead.
Lilli: Jake!
Jake: What?! I didn't expect their story to-
Lisa: It's okay, really. It was a long time ago. We were blessed to have a son like him. Not only that, but four years later, a baby girl pops up on our front step.
Kay: Cece?
Lisa: Yes! It was like the Gods were listening to our cries. Knowing that we couldn't bear any more children, they decided to give us one.
Vanessa returns with their food.
Vanessa: Two mega burgers and a salad. And the usual for the Bakers.
Kay: Thank you! This looks amazing!
Vanessa: You're welcome! Enjoy!
Gerald: Now, I don't know about you guys, but all this getting to know each other made me hungry. Whaddaya say?
Jake: Lets dig in!
Gerald: Alright!