There was a pale lamp in the middle of the circular wooden table
It was a one-room cabin
Richie was peeking through the window
Thomas sat on a wooden chair at the table
He leaned back, looking up at the ceiling
Dark circles around his half-opened eyes
Slowly, the flames in the lamp flickered
Beside him sat Autumn
Her head rested on the table
Her hand acting as a pillow
She stared into the flames
Smaller reflections of the flames shimmered in her eyes
Her short blonde hair no longer looked even
Messy and wild
Her cherry lips looked chapped and dry
Everyone sat there in silence
Across the table
At the opposite side of the table sat Bob
Head low, arms folded
There was a straw in his mouth
Ever so slowly, the lamp grew dimmer
Their shadows began to fade behind them
Suddenly, Richie closed the curtain
"All clear," he muttered
No one answered
Richie walked over
Taking a seat beside Bob
His chair squeaked as it slowly rocked
Richie rested his hands on the table
Looking at the duo
"Aight then, we need answers," he said
...
Autumn looked at him
Silence
Thomas lowered his gaze
Looking at Richie
"First off, what the hell is that guy?" Bob asked
"He's fucking invincible!!" He half-shouted, standing up
Richie stood up immediately
Hand on Bob's shoulder
"Oi!! Quit your damn tantrum and sit," Richie said
The two stared at each other for a long while
Eyes locked
Soon Bob nodded
He sat slowly
"Sorry, I guess I'm a bit worked up." He ran his hand through his hair.
Then slouched over
"It's just... we just got them back. Percy..." he muttered
"And Maxwell." Bob wiped his eyes
Not looking up
"Yeah mate... don't worry," Richie replied still standing
He was about to say something else, but he stopped
The light was now dimmer
"Where were they?" Autumn asked
"In a cell, of course, waiting to be executed," Richie answered
"Esther doesn't like people snooping around her business," he added
"Yeah... The king and his royals were hypocritical and all...they thought they were above us" Bob said
He looked both of them in the eyes
"But Esther is much worse"
Richie clicked his tongue while shaking his head
"Ah, at first we thought it would be a good distraction for us... until Percy and Maxwell found her plans"
Bob's eyes glowed blue
STORA
He muttered in an overlapping voice
A cold chill ran down Autumn's spine
Even the lamp went dark
Everyone stared at Bob's glowing eyes
Thomas tensed and automatically grabbed Autumn's hand
He raised his other hand
Igniting it.
The whole cabin glowed
Thomas stared straight at them both
"Easy there, fella," Richie said
Completely laid back, as if he expected this
A sly smirk spread across his face as he chuckled
Suddenly a circle formed above them, glowing blue
Four duffel bags fell onto the table
Richie shoved three of them to the side
And dropped one on the ground beside him as he rummaged through the bag
"Ah, here it is." He plopped a book onto the table
Richie didn't say a word
But he smirked
Thomas pulled the book closer and opened it
His eyes went wide
Autumn too
"No way..." She muttered
"Funny how I didn't realize it until earlier" Richie said
Inside the book were drawings
That looked really accurate
Drawings of Autumn...
Thomas too.
Even descriptions and displays of their abilities were written inside the book
Even team 2.
Damian, Dezmond, Lydia, and Scott
The environment around them suggested it was during their fight for the staff
She turned the pages
It was all about them
She turned again
Them
Again
Them
Then she turned the page. What she saw was–
Leo
Drawn alone
There were writings beside him
But she couldn't decipher it
"Hey! What does this say?" Thomas asked
Bob and Richie shrugged
"Royals. They even have their own language." Bob said
"But Esther... I don't know. this is different."
Silence reigned as the two skipped through the book
It was getting more and more about Leo
A prophecy:
"The one who remembers nothing, will be remembered by everything."
"He will walk where others cannot see. He will bleed, yet not end."
"And when he is called by name, the world will answer."
They saw a crown too
And a woman, must be Esther
"How did we miss this?" Thomas asked
Autumn closed the book
"We didn't. She was right there," She said "We were too focused to question it"
"What do you mean?" Richie asked
Everyone looked at her
Even Thomas
She looked at him
"The horse...the swaying horse" she said
Thomas stared at her
He lifted an eyebrow
Then it hit him
His eyes slowly got wider
"The one that teleported us" he muttered
Thomas remembered when Leo went after team 2 alone
And after he healed Leo
A horse came swaying out of the bushes like a drunken man
Its eyes wide and swirling, like a purple empty void
"W-wait, you saw the horse?" Bob asked
"Yeah?"
Silence
Bob held his head low, trembling
Everyone heard his fist tighten
Knuckles crackling.
"That thing took my father from me"
"But all they do is cover it up... and silence those who try to talk"
Richie remained silent
He closed his eyes, savoring the words
"Hmmm..." he took a deep breath
Richie looked at them
The lamp was now very pale
Richie's face was cast in darkness, his unblinking gaze fixed in them
"Morthar, the Black Omen," he said
The breeze outside,which had been rattling the window, stopped.
Everything was silent
"B-black omen?" Autumn asked
"Yeah... Many royals tremble at its name," Richie said. "Me personally though... nah, it knows who to scare"
Bob suddenly got up
He walked over to the curtain
Leaning against the wall, looking outside
Richie sighed
"Come on, mate. You know we'll catch that thing" he said
"Fuck you Richie!" Bob shouted
Richie began mumbling
His head in his hands
Autumn looked around
Bob at the window
Richie's head on the table
And Thomas staring at nothing
The light was now flickering
No one spoke
No one moved
Until
Thomas slammed his hand onto the table
The flames in his palm flared, illuminating the whole cabin
"I don't give a shit about a horse right now"
He opened the book
Turning the pages
"Look! She has Leo. She killed the royals. And she has the throne. What is she doing with them?" Thomas asked
Richie was silent
"We needed Percy for that... and Maxwell" Bob said
He was still at the curtain
Didn't even look at them as he spoke
"Look, when I broke them out... on my way to the bar, Percy told me that Esther was the new queen... she had the crown" Richie said
"So?" Autumn asked
"That crown is what kept our king alive for generations"
"He'd swap his soul into a body of the perfect match, plus almost nothing can rival its magic"
Bob suddenly gasped
He walked over and grabbed the book
Spinning the pages
Eyes wide
Small drops of sweat on his face
"Following this prophecy..." he pointed at the page
"It's about Leo"
Bob then looked at Richie
"Esther is strong... But even I could kill her if I bypassed her mind control"
Richie nodded
His eyes widened too
"Fucking hell... that bitch!!"
Thomas looked at how serious their faces were
He exchanged glances with Autumn
"I don't get it, " he said
Richie looked at him
"She's gonna merge with Leo"
No one spoke
The breeze knocked the window gently
Imagine.
Imagine Leo with magic abilities... and mind control
"Oh..fuck" Thomas muttered
"So what's stopping her?" Autumn asked
Bob looked at her
"The ritual, at the next coronation"
"Two days from now, she will be walking in your friend's skin" Richie said
His face tightened
He looked dead at the two
"And we won't be able to stop her"
...
The lamp started dying completely
Slowly Richie's face disappeared into the darkness
Until finally
Darkness
End