CANNONFIRE 2

Part 1: A Revival of a Legacy

Reath never knew what life would bring him next. He'd become an anomaly after a dimensional warping incident and had been with Flick ever since. Flick was Reath's faithful partner and, although he could be a little rash, he tried his best to always keep a level head. Since teaming up, there wasn't a single job the two didn't do together. Lately, though, one incident had gotten the duo on their superiors' bad side to the point where they were now on the precipice of being fired if they made one more wrong move.

The event had happened not too long ago, but knowing exactly what had happened requires knowledge of a part of the organization of the Time Agents known as "The Cannonfire Exchange". Cannonfire was a city set into a pocket outside of reality. It was where those who were threatened with being put out of reality could find a safety before they would be eliminated from existence. It was the one place where those who don't exist could exist. These people were different from anomalies in the fact that they had been completely removed from their timelines, as anomalies were only eliminated from their timelines past the point where they became an anomaly.

The Cannonfire Exchange was the process of rescuing these people before their timeline was reset and they completely ceased to exist. It made use of a special train that took people from reality to Cannonfire. A special cannon was also used and would reset the timeline and fix reality when fired. The event in question happened on the train. Two children that were due for Cannonfire, Jupiter and Dante Speed, had escaped from the train and ended up in their timeline's past. While there, reality began to warp and tear. It took the two Time Agents a while to reach the children and, by the time they did, reality was messed up so much, that they barely made it to the train before the cannon was fired and the timeline was reset. After that, Flick and Reath were given a warning and had been under strict watch ever since.

"Reath!"

Reath immediately perked up. There was no mistaking that yell. That was Flick calling out for him. Reath then noticed Flick racing toward him, looking distressed. In his hand was a rolled-up piece of paper, which he was clutching tightly.

"Is everything all right?" Reath asked hesitantly. Something was definitely wrong. Flick wasn't one to let something petty frazzle him.

"There's something very, very, VERY bad happening. Even Anora's in over his head trying to sort things out."

"Seriously?" Reath gasped. Anora, the head of the Cannonfire Exchange, was usually the go-to for any situation involving the Exchange. He stayed calm and collected through most every situation and it was rare to see him worried about anything.

"Anora needs every single one of us on the job," Flick continued, "Every line's running nonstop today."

"Every one of them?!" Reath exclaimed, "What in the world is going on?!"

"Take a look at this," Flick said, tossing Reath the paper in his hand. Reath unrolled it to find a long list of names printed on it. Taking the time to skim over the list, he found multiple names he could recognize and some names of those he knew personally.

"This can't be right," Reath said, "What is this list?"

"It's exactly what you think it is," Flick replied. Reath's face grew pale in shock.

"This can't be real," Reath muttered, "There's no way that that many people..."

"Believe it," Flick said, "The letters have already been sent out. We've had to get people from multiple different departments to work this job with us."

Reath's eyes scanned over the list once more. A lump began forming in his throat, rendering him unable to speak. That's when his gaze fell on two names in particular.