Blessed by Night

Chapter 301  The Peak of Civilization!

After leaving the ruins of the Deep South, the girls and Malachi realized just how much the world had really picked back up.

It wasn't until they saw debris becoming less and less frequent- instead being replaced by moving cars and sometimes flying individuals.

Malachi and Sei were high above the clouds following along perfectly with the truck on the ground.

Serosh was not only capable of running at great speeds on land, but he also possessed the ability to run in the air too.

Length aside, their journey was a relatively smooth one, aside from the fact that Sei was going on her own personal rants and using Malachi's ear as a garbage disposal.

Part of a long lasting relationship means learning how your partner communicates best.

Mal had long discovered that sometimes Sei didn't actually want him to say anything, she just wanted him to be next to her while she ranted to herself.

"I just don't understand why she acts so hyper sexual towards the boys she dates! I don't want her to rush into things with another boy again like she did with Ryo."

'Apophis is a pretty good guy though all things considered. He seems to genuinely like her.'

"What if she gets carried away and repeats my mistake of having a baby young?? She's not ready for that, she still sleeps till noon everyday!"

'Well atleast she'd be having a baby by a prince. Can't say she could do much better than that if I'm honest.'

"I mostly wish she would just stop throwing herself at him in front of other people. It's dreadfully embarrassing for me…"

'We haven't really been shy about public displays of affection even once since we started dating… and even less so once we got engaged.' Mal thought.

Sei finally exhaled after a long bout of one sided conversation between herself and her fiancé.

She tightened her grip around his midsection and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks for listening, honey. I really appreciate it."

Malachi sometimes thought that being engaged was a lot easier than people sometimes made it out to be.

Or maybe he just got lucky with good women.

"If the happy couple is done with their chatter now, I believe that there may be something that you need to see." Serosh interrupted.

The lion dipped just below the clouds to allow the pair of lovers to see the world beneath them.

Malachi hadn't really been outside of his home state a whole lot, so for him, seeing New York for the first time was just a little bit eye opening.

While this place did look to have seen some damage, it was either on the verge of full repair or already completed.

Making it nearly as impressive as it was before the world fell.

He could see the girls' car stopped at a checkpoint and surrounded by a surplus of armed guards.

"Hold on tight, love." He warned.

"Alright."

Serosh suddenly did a steep nosedive towards the ground.

It let out a deep roar that reverberated all the way to the road; startling the soldiers.

The men surrounding the girls' car immediately jumped back when a lion larger than any horse suddenly fell out of the sky.

"W-What the hell kind of beast is that?!"

"Defensive formation! Sound the alarm!"

"Call the higher ups! We're being attacked!"

"Gonna save you a bit of time on that…"

Ajani suddenly shot out of Mal's body and blocked off any potential escape routes for the soldiers.

"Just take us all to see the big boss, yea? You can tell him that his 'Uncle' came to visit." Mal smiled.

With two of his beast aspects removed from his body, Malachi's skin and hair reverted to a much more recognizable appearance.

Various infusions of power and instances of having his body destroyed had made Mal significantly more attractive since the last time he appeared on tv, but he was still something akin to a household figure in the world. Like Lebron James, or Santa Claus. "I-I thought he was a monster now.."

"Jesus..."

"It's really him..."

Among the murmuring soldiers, one held up his hand in timidly. "Sorry, sir... We've been told to expect you, but I'm still supposed to call this in...please tell your lion not to bite my hand off when I reach for my walkie.."

Malachi didn't really consider it unorthodox for Arias to expect him, even though he was just a bit irritated by it. Just as he said he would, the soldier reached for the walkie strapped to his vest and communicated the situation to some higher ups. Malachi listened to everything that was said via his heightened hearing. He kept a relatively stony expression for the most part, that is until he heard Arias' whereabouts and his brow shot up like a rocket.

In the back of his mind, he told himself that he was just misunderstanding the situation and should wait. The soldier turned back to Malachi with a small grimace on his face. "Sorry, Mr. Saint... I'm afraid that he's at work right now."

Malachi however, didn't come all this way just to wait around. "Take me to him anyway."

-

"Welcome to McDonald's, how can I help you today, sir?" Arias asked with a smile. Malachi: "..."

Sei: "..."

Bianca: "..."

Luna: "..."

Joanne: "..."

Serana: "...No fucking way."

Anna: "I'll have a ten piece nugget with a large fry, and-"

"Anna!" Bianca hissed. "You're right, B." Anna realized. "Make that a twenty piece and- Oww!"

Joanne grabbed Luna by her heavily pierced ear and pulled her towards the back of the group. Malachi pulled his dark glasses down as he stared at his distant family member with a slack jaw. "...You're fucking with me, right?"

"Whatever do you mean, sir?" Arias asked innocently. "Aren't you like the head honcho around here...?" Nadine asked. "Why are you working at a fast food restaurant?" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Arias shrugged.

"I believe one shouldn't accept money when they take on a roll that is in service to the people, so I don't take a salary.

I work part time jobs to cover the few expenses that I have, since my living conditions are free." (He turned his office into a penthouse so that he wouldn't have to pay rent.)

"...You're fucking with me, right?" Was all that Mal could ask again. "Not at all. This also helps me so that I never lose touch with the needs of the common man. Two weeks ago I was working in construction!"

"...You're fucking with-"

Arias scoffed as he gestured to his workers' shirt and hat. "Does it look like I'm joking? And we don't allow pets in here I'll have you know."

Malachi looked down at baby Serosh who was sitting on his shoulder and baby Ajani who was wrapped around his neck. "Now, do you all want this meal or not?? I do have other customers to see to."

Anna wormed her way back to the front of the group with a greedy look in her eye. Don't get her wrong, Anna wasn't necessarily a glutton, but before the world fell apart her diet consisted solely of fast food, caffeine, and alcohol. Her fast metabolism and occasional tendency to forget to eat was the only reason she wasn't 200 lbs. "Ah, should I ask how you will be paying for this?" Arias suddenly looked up. "This'll be twelve credits."

It was worth noting that Nightfall did possess some amount of money.

The problem was that their money was taken from their raids on the Revival Regime, not the New Day faction. So in this part of the country at least, they were flat broke. The feeling of not having money brought back certain memories for Anna, and before she knew it she was doing the same thing that she did when she was 14. Robbing poor bastards to feed herself. "...Give me your fucking wallet." Anna cracked her knuckles audibly. Gobsmacked, Arias looked around for help from Anna's family, but found no one willing to stop her. Mostly they just looked embarrassed...

"A-Are you just going to let her-"

"Yes." They all answered at once, but they didn't look proud of it. Serana suddenly wormed her way to the front too; wearing an innocent look on her face. "Add on another large fry to that order. Also, is your ice cream machine working?"

"...It's down right now."

"Holy shit, this really is a real McDonalds!"

As Arias handed over his wallet to Anna, Malachi once again felt like he hadn't quite gotten a firm grasp on this situation. "...You're fucking with me, right?"