- Dad, finally. I was already-

A male voice, quite young, caught their attention.

As they turned around, Lee and Clementine were surprised to see a familiar but different face approaching.

And once Kenny Jr, or Duck, recognized them, he was as surprised as they were.

Kenny alternated his gaze between them, and smiled slightly.

- Duck, I think you already know these two. But, just to be clear, these are-

- Clem!

Duck exclaimed excitedly, running over to the girl and hugging her. Clementine was confused for a while, as well as very surprised, but, she returned the hug... a little awkwardly.

- Ah, I guess no introductions are needed.

Kenny said, standing next to Lee and smiling at them both.

- It's good to see you again, Duck. You've gotten a lot bigger since the last time we saw each other.

The girl said as they broke away from the hug, and she noticed Duck more.

He was tall, a little shorter than Kenny, maybe. His features were changed, more mature, although he still had those childish features, similar to how he was when he was younger.

- You, on the other hand, haven't grown up much.

He sneered, receiving a slap on the shoulder and a frown from the girl, just as she did when she was younger.

His eyes then focused on Lee, and that's when he was even more surprised.

- Lee?! Is that you?!

he asked, running his eyes over the scars on the man's face, his hand, his eye, and finally his beard.

- How are you, Duck? You've grown a lot, in a while you'll be bigger than your father.

Lee said with a small smile, squeezing the boy's hand, who was still staring at him.

- I hope so.

Kenny said, and Lee let out a nasal laugh.

- Does my beard scare you that much?

Lee asked amused, and the boy shook his head.

- It's not that, it's just... you look very different. Besides, my father was worse than you are before he found me and Carley. By the way, where is she?

the boy asked, running his eyes around. All three of their faces became a little heavier, and the smile on Duck's lips died.

-... I'm sorry. One of the crazies from the new frontier killed her.

Kenny said, and Duck crossed his arms, staring at the ground.

He huffed in frustration, closing his eyes tightly and biting his lower lip.

-... I didn't even get to say goodbye... or thank her for everything.

He said in a distant tone, and Lee became a little uncomfortable. Carley's death, in a way, was his fault.

He didn't kill Ed when he had the chance.

- I... I think we'd better go to Viviane, you'll have a chance to talk later.

Molly said, and they nodded at her.

- Yes... hm... excuse me, I-I'm really happy to see you two again, especially after so long, it's just that... Carley helped me a lot.

Duck said.

- Don't worry, we understand. We'll talk later, Duck.

Clementine said, and she started to follow Molly, with Lee right behind her, right after she said goodbye to Duck.

They went up the stairs to the second floor, and stopped in front of a door, an office.

Molly knocked on the door, and a guard opened it from the inside, looking at them suspiciously.

- It's me, Billy. Can Viviane talk now?

Molly asked.

-... Who are they?

The man asked, staring at both Lee and Clementine, who simply ignored him and ran their eyes around, getting used to the environment.

- Some people who helped us. Just open this door.

Molly said, a little more out of patience, and after a while, the door was opened.

They entered, and their eyes fell, almost immediately, on the woman sitting in a chair in front of them.

She was writing something on some sheets of paper, and didn't seem to take much interest in them.

Lee ran his eyes around the office. There was only one door, one window, and a ventilation duct that could be used to get out. She was smart to leave four guards with her at all times, one in each corner of the room.

She had short brown hair, white skin, Asian woman, features that were a bit stiff, but at the same time, delicate. She was young... well, considering. She must have been in her thirties, forties.

- You took your time. Lenna said you didn't follow her orders.

The woman said, finishing writing something on the paper, but still not looking at them.

- With all due respect, that woman can go fuck herself. You must already know the plan she used, using us as bait. As a consequence, Carley died. I wouldn't obey shit after that.

Kenny said, placing Aj carefully in an armchair beside him, drawing, for the first time since they entered that office, the woman's attention, who looked at the boy, and then alternated her eyes between Lee and Clementine.

-... We were at war, we are prepared to lose people all the time.

The woman said.

And in a way, she was right. In those days, people could die at any moment, in a heartbeat.

- Yes, by enemies, not by our own people. I'm not going to let myself be used as someone's tool.

Kenny said again, crossing his arms.

The woman rested her back on the chair, watching him for a while. She had a certain power, a certain grandeur.

No wonder she was apparently the leader of the place. Even though Lee suspected that there were a few other people in charge of leading that community. She couldn't have done it all by herself... probably.

-... May I know what you went to do, at least? I see you brought an unknown child, a girl, and a man here.

she asked, and Kenny stepped forward.

- I know them. That's Lee and Clementine. The one in the armchair is Aj.

The woman arched an eyebrow.

- The ones you mentioned when you ended up here? Hm, what are the chances?

she said, crossing her arms.

- They had also been captured by the new frontier. They take care of the baby. Aj was taken by them, and I went to help them get him back.

Kenny said, and the woman was silent for a while, until she sighed.

- Okay... you seem to trust them, which is rare. You still don't trust half the camp... Lenna said they attacked Will and that boy, Leo. Will, it seems, got his hand messed up pretty bad.

The woman said, staring at Lee this time, looking him up and down. Lee just stared back, he was used to that kind of stare.

She was doubting, or simply, refusing to believe that a cripple had beaten the shit out of someone.

Normal, he wouldn't believe it either.

- If you'll excuse me, ma'am, I don't usually try to have a conversation with someone who is pointing a gun at me.

Lee said, and she arched an eyebrow.

- I didn't attack him because I wanted to. In the middle of all that confusion, we could easily be mistaken for members of the new frontier, just another reason why I did what I did. And neither did they seem very willing to talk.

Lee explained, and they stared at each other for a while, until the woman stood up.

- Yeah, I figured that was the case. Kenny seems to trust you both, I heard Molly say that you and the girl helped them get out of there, plus you both beat two men in perfect condition. Don't get me wrong, forgive the disbelief, but considering that you two are... crippled, I find that hard to believe.

She said, approaching Lee, and occasionally staring at Clementine, who, like him, just stared at her, although she was bothered by the guard who approached and stood directly in front of her.

- Don't worry, I also wouldn't-

Lee was interrupted, being forced to throw his head to the side when the woman tried to punch him, deflecting the blow.

He stared at her wide-eyed for some time, prepared to dodge another blow, which didn't come. Instead, she looked at him curiously.

- For someone without one eye, you have good reflexes.

She said, turning to the girl, who, like him, had dodged a blow from the guard.

- So, what did you do to be taken prisoner by the new frontier?

She asked, leaning on the table behind her, and Lee straightened his posture, though attentive.

- What they did for us, actually. We helped some people who were being attacked by them and killed them. They followed us, destroyed Prescott, and took us with them.

Lee said.

- Helped?

she asked.

- They were accused of stealing, and because of that, they were attacked, and almost killed if we hadn't shown up.

Clementine explained, and the woman stared at her for a while.

She seemed to enjoy staring at people, and it bothered her. Although the girl knew it was only a way to show dominance.

-... Where were you before you met with these people? What were you doing?

she asked.

- We stayed on the road. We were just walking, looking for the next place to spend the had to settle some scores with a guy who sold us defective merchandise in Prescott, let's leave it at that.

Lee answered, and again, she stared at him, with a small spark of surprise in her eyes.

- Didn't you have a group? You weren't in a community?

- No. It was just the three of us, for some years now.

He answered.

-... The boy... is he your son?

she asked, looking at AJ.

- No, we knew his mother. We started taking care of him when she died.

Clementine answered.

- Wandering alone in the world while caring for a baby... So this means that you are quite capable... was this before or after you were mutilated?

she asked.

- Before.

Lee answered.

- Do you think you can survive out there even in this state?

She asked, narrowing her eyes slightly, and Lee was thoughtful for a while.

- Yes.

- Really?

- Not the way I did, some things would have to be limited, but, absolutely.

Lee said, and the woman looked away.

-... What about you, girl?

she asked Clementine.

- I say the same.

She answered, as decisively as Lee, and the woman straightened her posture.

- Well, all things considered, then, I think you will be useful, even if you are limited in some ways. I have to say I'm surprised, not many people would have all this confidence, or do what you did if they were in the same situation.

The woman said, turning the table around and sitting down again.

- Molly, you can take them to their room. Room one hundred and three.

The woman said, throwing a key toward the woman, who caught it in midair.

Lee and Clementine looked at each other, and both smiled slightly. Lee turned and picked Aj up carefully on his lap, not wanting to wake the boy.

- Kenny, I understand that you are frustrated by Carley's death, believe me, I'm not happy to hear it either. But try to understand, that people die. What Lenna did may not have been the best of ideas, but she got the job done.

The woman said, and Kenny crossed his arms again, huffing in a stubborn way, making the woman sigh again.

- Well... you may go. Oh, and Molly, take some products to their room, this man Lee, right? Don't get me wrong, but you need to get yourself... fixed up.

She said, and Lee turned to her with a small smile.

- I know. Too bad, I always thought it made me look scary.

- It does. But here, it can cause some problems. We have all kinds of people in here.

she said. Lee nodded to her, and they turned around, leaving the office quickly.

- This feels weird.

Lee said with a slightly nervous laugh as he felt his beard disappearing. He was so used to that thing that it gave him the feeling that he was without a chin.

- It might be weird...

Clementine said, wiping the cloth over Lee's face, and walking away. The girl stared at him for a while, and then smiled broadly.

- But I'll tell you, it's much better.

The girl said, and he stood up, walking to the mirror beside him.

As soon as he saw his reflection, his smile died, and his eye widened. The man he saw in the mirror was not him, but a stranger.

A different person.

A more normal looking person, with a different, even a little intellectual air around him.

He looked so different that it even scared him. Those scars didn't even bother him anymore, not even that huge scar around his gouged out eye.

There, he looked more like the old Lee. The nice history teacher.

It was as if he had become about ten years younger. The mane that he once had turned into a small, well-groomed beard.

His hair, once huge, was now short and neat.

- You know, if I had known you would look like this, I would have made you do it sooner.

Clementine said beside her, with a wide smile on her face, and Lee stared at her, also smiling.

- Jesus, this is so... strange. I look like a different person.

He said, running his hand through his beard, trying to get used to that feeling.

- I'll admit that's true. But a much better looking person now. I can't remember the last time I saw you like this.

She said, and Lee laughed in a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

-... Aj is going to freak out.

He said after a while, and the girl laughed a little.

- He will be scared. Absolutely.

- Scared? He won't even recognize me. Argh, he's going to hate this.

Lee said, still trying to get used to his new appearance.

- Well, the sooner we show you to him, the better. Come on, we have to meet Kenny and Molly soon anyway.

The girl said, walking out of the bathroom of that room.

Lee followed her with his eyes until she was out of his line of sight, and turned around again, staring at his reflection.

He looked great, to be honest with himself.

He looked normal. But he was far from that.

And that only made it weirder.