"Hey, uh. Lera...thanks for the help yesterday. I don't know what I'll do without your Casts..." Tommy, a childhood friend of hers said as he leaned over the fence. "Don't worry about it." Lera said, looking at him while holding onto a bucket of Lita's newly sewn fabrics. "If you don't...don't mind, can I thank you over a drink at the pub?" Tommy asked, his eyes darting side to side as he swallowed nervously. Lera's eyebrows rose slightly, and she let out a chuckle, "Only if you want to!" "Thanks, Tommy." Lera said, bringing her hair back behind her ear with her fingers and smiling lightly, "But...I am busy tonight..." Well, that was a big lie. For the past two weeks that Lera has been back at home, she has never been busy at any time during the day. Instead, she kept herself busy with whatever tasks that Lita has around the house. Perhaps that's just the way she copes, or perhaps that's just the way things always should have been. Without Wu there besides her, Lera simply carried on the rhythm of a typical small-town girl, living from one day to another. Dropping off the washing by the riverfront, she then sat and watched the water flow, wondering if there were any Fuel Rocks granules that were brought along the way. If Wu had been here...he would have... Perhaps she does need a drink. Lera let out a sigh and rinsed away the pieces of fabric before returning home. Dropping off the bucket, she sniffed a lungful of the Sunshine Valley freshness as the rays of sunshine bathed her body. What perfect day to drink it all away? Funnily enough, she had actually saved up all of her stipends from the Pinnacle Research Institute until now, and as Lita pushed her away from doing the rest of the housework, Lera found herself strolling towards the pub located just on the side of the river. When Lera got there, the shop owner poked his head out from the window and chuckled. "Here you are, the most famous girl ever out of Sunshine Valley!" The shop owner's named Mark, and he has been running the shop for over thirty years now. "Famous?" Lera tilted her head in confusion as Mark let her in. "Yeah." Mark said, pointing to the billboards on the wall with the issue of her bounty and deletion of her bounty, all stickered next to one another, "Nobody believed you were behind the attack to the Institute, and we booted those foot soldiers away when they tried to hang up your posters. But now...this one, we can." He said, pointing towards the latest of the news which told the stories of how Lera played her role in taking down the three suspects of the Inverted Questions who were not only behind the attacks on the Kingdom, but also the assault on the King himself. "Whatever juice or meals you want today, it's on us!" Mark said, flipping the sign over and opening the windows as Lera helped him light up the Lighting Casts located all around the bar. "I...want a drink." Lera said, looking out of the window at the workers in the fields, "A proper drink." Mark didn't say anything, and Lera turned to see him slightly stunned. Then, he cracked a smile and nodded, "So she's grown up at last." "I guess you can say that." Lera said as Mark filled her glass up with a semi-transparent red liquid, "What's this?" "The local brew, made from the freshest and sweetest of berranges." Mark said, "Like I said. All your drinks are on us today. Since you are about to get so rich from the bounty, HA! Just don't forget to pay us a visit when you are loaded!" Remembering Mark's words, Lera held onto the massive glass and waddled outside. Rows of chairs were stacked together, but a handful was left out for the early customers right within the shades of a tree. Far out in the distance, the river ran across the planes, separating the green with a strip of blue. Lera sat herself down, and she slowly set the drink by her side. A wind blew past her before a slight chill traveled through her body as pieces of leaves danced around her in the air. It's an absolutely brilliant day, though far out in the distance, packets of dark clouds loomed. Soon, the bar will be packed with workers as their day would be rained off. It is one of those rare days in the Sunshine Valley, it seemed. She heard the sound of footsteps coming from the wooden floors of the bar before another patron also walked out, holding the same drink and the same glass. He's wearing a dark hood that's tossed back behind him, and his skin and hair color looked eerily similar to Wu's. Lera glanced towards him as he slowly sat down on a chair a few meters away from her. His face are not even remotely close to Wu as Lera confirmed after a glance under the hood. Lera looked down at her drink, wondering if that's the alcohol's doing. She took a slow sip and set it back down again as her unexpectedd companion also held the glass to his mouth. However, he didn't stop until the entire glass was downed. Setting the glass down, he leaned back into the chair and let out a burp. "You might want to slow down." Lera said, looking at him with slight amusement, "The drinks of Sunshine Valley are strong." "And I am already feeling it." The man chuckled, rubbing his temples, "But for what I am about to do, I need all the liquid courage I can get." "Oh?" Lera asked, taking another sip and leaning forward, "What are you going to do, slay a dragon?" "I wish." The man laughed, "No. I am about to...apologize to someone I care for." "Right..." Lera shrugged, "Can't help you with that." "No you can't..." The man said. "You don't look like you are from here?" Lera asked, "You looked like someone I know, but..." "I...I have traveled a long way to get here." The man admitted, "I heard the views of the Sunshine Valley is incredible, and the weather is always brilliant." He stood up and pointed towards the pack of rainy clouds far out in the distance, "Perhaps today's my lucky day." "Perhaps." Lera murmured, finishing her drink and leaning back, "Might as well enjoy the sun while it lasts." "Yeah..." The man agreed, sitting back down. His movements appeared loose and slightly uncontrolled, but at least he won't fall on his face just yet from the drink. "So...if you don't mind me asking..." Lera said suddenly, "what happened with you and that person?" "I...betrayed a friend." The man sighed, looking and holding his face as the dark clouds continued sneaking up on the unsuspecting town, "I thought that's what I have to do, but I just ended up using her." "I know betrayals." Lera said coldly, "It hurts." "It hurts everybody." The man said, scratching the back of his head, "It hurts everybody..." A clap of thunder cracked overhead, and the handful of drizzles started to dot around the valley. "Well, I would recommend you take your regrets and move inside quickly," Lera said, standing up from her seat and heading back with the empty glass jar in hand. The man nodded, watching as Lera's figure disappeared back into the bar. When Lera went into the bar again, the workers and villagers had already come in rounds after hearing about the latest news. And it wasn't long before she was surrounded by the congratulations and cheers from the villagers. Lita came by the bar to see if she's okay, and she went home early after seeing the villagers dancing on the tables to a piece of folk music, holding Lera overhead. At that moment, she felt as if her body's floating in the cloud, and the weight on her mind lifted alongside her body. At the end of the night, Tommy helped Lera back home through the pouring rain. After she waved goodbye to her childhood friend, she turned on the Lightning Cast around her home, lighting up the garden only to see a man in a dark hood sitting down on the ground in front of her front door. When he saw her coming, he stood up and took off his hood. "Who-burp...who are you again?" Lera asked, her visions blurry and the entire world unfocused. Then, as the man moved closer, the dark outlines of his hair and golden skin caused Lera's jaws to drop, "Wu...Wu.....is that you..." "Lera." The man said as everything came into focus, and Lera realized that it's the man from earlier. "You...How do you know my name?" Lera asked, turning around and standing between him and her home, "Who are you?" "I..." The man bit his lips and looked away with hesitation. "WHO ARE YOU!" Lera shouted, her trembling voice waking Lita, "Why are you here?! Who are you?! Why do you look so much like him?! WHY! WHY ARE YOU HERE?!" "Lera!" Lita came out out of her room in her robes, and she saw the man standing meters away from Lera as she cried while standing, "Everything okay? What are you doing here?" "I...am...him..." As Lita held her arms around Lera and prepared to boot the man away, he undid his dark hood and gently pressed into an invisible line around his cheekbone. A light went around his face, and the distinctive facial features slowly started to shift. His eyebrows became thickened, his nose dropping lower, and his eyes shifting in shape, becoming more oval. "Lera." Wu's voice came through as Lera dropped onto the ground, "I...am sorry." "No! No!" Lera shook her heads quickly from side to side until everything became dizzy again, "This is a trick! You are lying! You can't possibly be him!" "Le..." "I think you should leave." Lita said, her voice firm as Wu reached his hand forward. He was about to say something before Lita slowly guided her daughter back into the house, slamming the door shut behind them. Wu stood in the puddle of water as the rain poured ever fiercer, and he sewed his mouth shut as the lights were shut off from the garden. With the rainwater beating down over his shoulder, Wu simply stood there in the deathly silence.