There's nothing particularly interesting about Reid Cavan aside from the fact that he can't die and that his family is awfully rich. Aside from that, the guy is pretty much laid back and casually optimistic which Faro yet again considers incomprehensible. He took one long drag from his cigarette, downed the last of his coffee and exited through the kitchen door with Reid tailing him.
Faro was certain he heard Reid gasp, confused that the door opened to a half empty parking lot rather than the manicured vegetable garden back at the Lighthouse. It was one of Faro's many talents, bending and looping reality, using doors to move through space, time and those grainy parts beyond the margins of existence. He dropped the last of his cigarette and stepped on it without thought. For an entity with the world's end at his fingertips, Faro was perpetually bored.
Reid composed himself from Faro's recent trick and blinked at the low yet large building before them. At least they were still in Cebu and thankfully in a place he recognized. It was one of those grocery store his mother goes to and often he comes with.
Yet something about the place seemed not entirely right, a discrepancy he couldn't point his finger to. He followed Faro into the store and waited for their trip to make sense.
It was a typical weekday morning. Right about the hour when the store has just opened and there hasn't been that many customers scanning aisle after aisle. Reid followed closely after Faro who broodingly grabbed a large pushcart and loaded it with merchandise. Somehow, Reid observed, Faro's mood deflates if he's without a drink at hand.
"Every second and fourth Wednesday of the month I go here for groceries." Faro started.
"Right." nodded Reid, hiding his confusion. Today was supposed to be a work or field orientation day, show how they go about their everyday task right? Why groceries?
"So, what did you noticed?"
Faro leaned on the cart and paused by an aisle with an array of detergent brands. For such a long time, he never met a Cavan who has poor observation skills. Or was poorly performing at anything at all. He scratched the stubble on his chin. "Everything. What do you noticed about your environment?"
Reid paused thoughtfully. "Nothing much, although everything seems hazy along the edges and some of the brands here are like in its old designs. You get what I mean?"
If Faro could role his eyes he would have done it but he doesn't have his sister's sass, "That's half right, you should have Rhys check your eyes. But those aren't old designs, it's current by perspective--technically, we travelled and went back about fifteen years from our timeline."
Of course time travel exist to these guys. How come not?
Still it was a difficult concept to accept despite how Reid had already lived in a world where excess human emotions take up space and shape forming into harmful phantoms. Did Faro really solved space-time? Can this guy even recite the Pythagorean theorem? Much more detail the elusive equation of string theory?
"How?" Reid asked as if he has been begging for food after a year of starvation, the physics-loving side of him threatening to kneel in this half crowded grocery store for the answers to time.
Faro frowned at him, "Not how but why. I come here in this year because it's the only time where they sold this Mongo Ice Cream." he replied pointing at the stack of five 1.5 liter mongo flavored Selecto Ice Cream in the cart. "Oh and also, I haven't solve the anomaly in aisle thirteen." he pointed. "Brought Seth here one time, but apparently wormholes aren't his expertise. Yeah sure he can jump into different realities and all, but I forgot the part that it is an involuntary action. Like sneezing or coughing. 'Dude bro, I'm a victim of the Universe not a scientist, bro' Disappointing. I guess I have to be the one solving every fucking mystery in this whole goddamn universe, then."
Reid felt his shoulder slag. How is that even possible? He left Faro where the guy stood complaining and headed down to aisle thirteen without premonition.
There's a sphere floating in the middle of the aisle.
Wormholes are puncture wounds in the fabric of space time. Get a paper. Fold it then pierce a hole through it. If you spread it flat again, there are now two holes apart each other. That's the purpose of a wormhole, they connect two spaces across by folding the fabric of space. What appears as a flat hollow circle on the surface of a two-dimensional object would, of course, logically appear as a sphere in a three-dimensional realm. Reid was losing his shit.
"What. You haven't seen a sphere before?" Faro chuckled behind him.
"What's on the other side?"
Faro shrugged. "The past. It's always a different one each time I get through. But it's always the ones when I killed my sister."
Reid turned to him, mortified.
"Don't be confused, I've killed my sister multiple times thus when I pass, there's a different scenario."
Whatever, Reid thought to himself, it's best not to take seriously anything Faro says. He's that lad who's sober when drunk.
Without as much as a warning, Reid stepped into the wormhole, his body morphed into a blur along with the sphere before disappearing. Faro remained where he stood, overall indifferent, leaning casually against the push cart while his mind drifts to the next concern. However, the thought of his sister lingered, how he almost forgot to grab her some napkins.
He should head home after, Reid wont be back for days.
They were standing at the top of the Phylon II tower, looking downwards to the midnight stillness of Cebu. It's been a long night, however this wont be the last task in the list. There seems to be a never ending list of things to do. There's always work to be executed. All day and all night.
Some remnants of the Pacific breath course through the port, kissing chills on his bare skin. Reid tucked his hands in to the pocket of his jeans and quietly pondered about that jacket he left in the car, foolishly thinking his long sleeves would suffice. He miscalculated his sensitivity to the cold. His brother however, seemed to be doing fine with his overcoat, an unusual garment against the tropical Philippine climate, but it was efficient enough to provide heat. Somehow, to their father's curiosity, both brothers aren't oriented to low temperatures.
A lone car coursed through the nearby parts of SRP, catching Reid's attention momentarily. To no one in particular, he said, "This is the part I hate the most."
Rune turned and carefully observed his younger brother against the blinking red light of the tower. What Reid lacked in character he made up with his features; against the dim, his face merely lit by the milky shine of the moon and the harsh red emergency lights, he looked oddly like their father.
Reid continued, "I hate waiting. The absence of action, the boredom extending the minutes, the apprehension mixed with the anticipation of the arrival. I hate the thoughts that swim in my head the most."
A faint smile curved on Rune's lips, surprise at the agony of his usually complacent optimistic nihilist of a brother. He can confirm it's an agony, for Reid rarely speaks unless he is asked, the complaint in itself is evident enough. "It seems to me that you're problem mostly concerns with yourself."
Reid frowned but said nothing.
Tonight's task was to intercept a cargo vessel heading down to the port coming from Mindanao. Board on it (via controlled drop from CCLEX 's Phylon) before it arrives to the pier. Once they're safely on board, next step is to make a routine check on the cargo and the rest of the ship. Security on family business normally falls on the appropriate authorities but this one ship is special since it was captained by their father's old teammate, one of the best men in his time and yet, about two hours ago, he sent an emergency signal to a nearby fishing port south of Cebu before going radio silent for the remainder of the journey.
The ship was finally close just a couple of meters before they jump. Rune squared his shoulders as he stood by the baluster and watch wordlessly each step his brother takes before jumping. It's a fine night embracing Cebu yet his guts turn in that almost spiritual way of knowing. The moon was almost a full circle image against the black starry sky, Reid jumped first and as Rune watches his brother land clumsily on deck, he felt the first stirrings of something not right.
His landing was safely executed, rolling by his shoulders to distribute inertia. Upon his arrival he can see a couple of stowaways, those typical low-grade phantoms that are indigent in the country and as prevalent as a stray cat, not the kind to put trouble on an experienced Hunter such as Captain Amorsolo.
"Check the quarters below, I'll take the bridge; meet me by the main mast after five minutes," he said to Reid to which his brother followed without question.
Not the strangest thing but one that is abnormal nonetheless, but Rune couldn't see anyone around. The bridge, the accommodation--empty. There's no one else here other than the both of them.
He climbed up to the Mast and waited for Reid, it's roughly three minutes since they boarded. From up here, Rune noticed the phantoms forming a circle on one of the large metal containers. Every stowaway congregated on it, as if called to for feeding. When Reid arrived, Rune pointed the group to him. "What do you think about it?"
"I've never seen them act like that before. Should we check it?"
The phantoms didn't even scattered away when they approached, it appears as if whatever was inside that container was more important than self-preservation. The container was those standard size with temp control on one end. This one is no doubt new judging by the pristine red paint on its exterior. It has a hatch on top of it, which makes it convenient to check although hatches like this aren't typical. Rune pulled out his platinum cutting and morphed it into the shape of the locks interior opening it without sweat. Cavans are a powerhouse in both Shaman and Corporate world. The gods favorite, it would seem, as they were gifted with the talent to control the elements. In a family of prodigy there stood out a couple of geniuses like Rune and their father, the few men who can control platinum and mercury.
As he opened the hatch, Rune felt a sort of confirmation to the dread he felt earlier. In the darkness, although unseen, stood a presence waiting. He stopped Reid before jumping "Age before beauty" he said. Call it paranoia and maybe it is, but one can never be too careful.
He landed not on metal but on concrete and as he felt Reid jumped and stood near him, the sound of a switch could be heard, and the lights went on to reveal a spacious white-painted office.
At the other end of the room was an aquarium containing a smiling fish, an orange koi with human teeth. Standing next to it is a man in a pressed black suit wearing a furry mascot head of a rabbit. "Hello." spoke the fish.
"We are momentarily hid from the Balancer's eye, but not long enough for a proper introduction. And so, may I leave you with this" Spoke the one with the rabbit's head as he then turns to Reid "Ra, you once told me how you prefer to keep your friends close and the devil closer, well... I am at your door now."
Rune couldn't catch up, the next thing he knew was that the Bunnyman was only inches away from Reid in just a blink of the eye. He drew and his platinum and reshaped it into a bolo, but it just wasn't fast enough. As the bolo formed, the Bunnyman pressed his hand into Reid's chest, whispered something, before Reid's body exploded into an ugly mess of blood, viscera and minced flesh, painting the white room, red.
Only then did the bolo made contact with the Bunnyman's neck, cutting off the head covered with that stupid mascot.
The headless man then pick his head and applied it back to where it was cut. "Impressive Master Cavan. As always, men from your family never fail to display ideal human strength. I have high regards for your clan and will not deprive it of its heir therefore I wont kill you. It was a pleasure, goodnight and have some rest, I will soon be hunting you all down."
"Sex is overrated" was printed on Faro's shirt when he walked into aisle thirteen barefooted, hand-carrying a basket full of Mongo ice cream and beer. "How was it?"
"I need some--" was what Reid could muster before he vomited into the aisle. Body swinging, his mind still flashing images of his blenderized version painting the walls red. "air."
"Okay just let me cash these real quick then we'll head back to the Lighthouse."
The waves were crashing violently against the cliffs, the clouds were an overcast, the weather was cold without the rain.
"How. How is that a wormhole? Time. Time in this dimension moves forward not backwards. Why did it brought me to the past?"
Faro shrugged, lighted a cigarette before saying "I don't know, man. That wormhole's not supposed to be there anyway. What was it you saw?"
"This guy with a rabbit mask turned me into a supernova."
Faro's brow furrowed. "A man with a rabbit mask, you say."
"Yeah and there's this big goldfish who can talk."
"A man in a furry mascot head of a rabbit, about ten feet tall, wears a suit and has a condescending attitude of a million peso butler?"
Reid paused, "How did you know."
"Yeah that guy's an asshole."
