Firestorm: Origins

Chapter 6: I Found You, You Found Me

"You're what?" Maris asked.

Aryn smiled nervously in response while shifting uncomfortably on the couch in their apartment. "Guildmaster Kova wanted Milo and I to go to Yrhidan with a couple other teams. We were his first pick, apparently, so that's cool. Why did they pick us first, anyways, Milo?"

Maris shook her head worriedly. "Hold on, why are you going to Yrhidan? That city is full of crooks and androids and-"

"Bellhallow has fallen to the temporal singularity," Milo interrupted. "Lady Redwick was unable to stop it, and now that entire region of Varius is suspended in time. She transported the survivors to Yrhidan."

Quint's breath shook at that news, but his expression betrayed nothing as Maris looked at him in disbelief. "Bellhallow... Quint, how long ago was this?"

"Guildmaster Kova received the transmission like twenty minutes ago," Aryn said. "Maris, I know it seems scary, but both guildmasters think that the Temporal Sword is the cause of the temporal singularity. So we'll just find the other pieces and fix it!"

Maris closed her eyes slowly in an obvious attempt to calm herself as Quint spoke into this. "I agree with them; Tell me Milo, does this look familiar?" he turned his laptop around and played a video from the news, which conveniently displayed an image of the Sovereign's scepter that matched Milo's vision exactly, with a massive news ticker beneath it and a blonde, female reporter standing in front of the building that he had seen in his first vision the night he stayed here.

*We're standing in front of one of the most startling acts of burglary in recent history, as one of the crown jewels of London was stolen right from its pedestal. Not many details are available as of yet, but we know that the Sovereign's Scepter, boasting the largest diamond in the world, has gone missing. There are no eye witnesses to the event and all security footage of the theft has been corrupted-*

"I... No, I don't recognize this," Milo said.

The video paused as Quint turned the laptop back around. "How can you see the future, Milo?"

"The future? No, I'm not... I don't have the gift you have!"

"Really?" Quint closed his laptop and placed his elbows on his thighs to prop himself up while leaning forward intently. "What you saw... a scepter being stolen... is exactly what happened here, about fifteen minutes before the news of Bellhallow."

Milo tensed up only slightly, seeming to become defensive. "I didn't see anything. I have no idea what this is."

"Aryn, go pack your bag. The journey to Yrhidan on foot is long," Quint said. "I'd recommend ten changes of clothes to be safe."

After Aryn left the room, Quint's eyes gained a dangerous glow to them as he turned to Milo. "Why are you lying to us?"

"I'm scared." his breath quivered as tears lined the edges of his eyes. "I didn't know what it meant, and I'm still trying to remember my life. I thought it might have been a key to who I was, but it's not, and I don't know what to do! I don't want to hurt Aryn..."

Quint exhaled through his nose, seeming to retract his hostility as he leaned back into the couch. "There's no reason to lie to us, Milo. We're here to help you both. Who else knows of Bellhallow?"

"Just the Quarter-Moon Guild," he said. "And the residents that Lady Redwick managed to transport to Yrhidan."

Quint nodded solemnly. "Wise of them to hide the news. Very well. If Kova chose you to journey with him, I won't question his judgement."

Seth and Lucerna came into the room a moment later, rummaging for snacks in the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Maris asked them after hearing the fridge being opened several times and silverware being pulled out of drawers.