Chapter 346: A meeting, with the Captain

Rhys sat in the meeting, the voices of his people filling the air as they watched them speak on the giant projected screen. It wasn’t the same proper setup that Rhys had at his Guild, but it would do. It was actually a bit distorting to be on the other side of the setup and seeing how much work Hill and Pamela had put into it.

He’d researched it as well, not wanting to be completely blind to what they were asking of him, but he was very appreciative of what they had put into place. He was proud as he watched them function with ease, the team they had built being able to do whatever they asked. That was all Hill and Pamela, with a sprinkle of Casper as well.

Rhys was glad that he was able to fall back on his people, with a few of Sergei’s people in the conference room as well while they discussed the next steps.

It was early in the morning, and Rhys had kissed Kellen in the threshold of their apartment before they had both gone their separate ways that morning. As much as this was a serious situation, Rhys was happy that he still got to have these domestic moments with Kellen. That they were still a unit, together, and honestly, Rhys was beginning to forget the time when he didn’t have Kellen in his life.

It was a distant memory, one he didn’t want to recall.

Rhys tuned back into the conversation that the others were having. It wasn’t a part where he needed to pay attention, which was why his mind had drifted elsewhere. That in itself was a gift. So many competent people were around him, agreeing with Kellen’s viewpoint and mission, and Rhys was just there to help facilitate it. Much like how Sergei was doing the same for Brent, while also getting his own revenge.

Reading Sergei’s briefs of what he and his team had gotten up to that week to disturb the general public was a true pleasure. Rhys had not thought that Sergei was a mischievous person, and he could tell where some of the ideas were from Brent, but some of the plans had to be his own and they were crafty.

They had the people who he was ’pranking’ practically rioting at the Phoenix Guild’s steps. Of course, Dina denied any involvement, which truly only made the spectacle worse. Sergei was deriving great pleasure from it, which was probably why he allowed Rhys to take over his role in the meeting today instead of joining him. After all, they needed someone to keep an eye on their Field Guides.

Even if both men didn’t consider that they needed anyone to look out for them and would take offense if either Rhys or Sergei said that. It was rather odd that Rhys was able to form a bond with Sergei. He had been working with the man for over a decade now. He was one of the first S Classes that Rhys had spoken to after he had awoken, and he was also one of the few that had already established himself by the time that Rhys was beginning his own Guild.

There had always been a kind of rivalry between them, but Rhys had been so focused on his own world and his own life that he had worried that Sergei was the one who would have taken things too far. However, Sergei had mostly left him alone. In the years that Rhys and Sergei had lived in the same city, worked on the same front line, the worst Sergei had really done was antagonize him and get a few jabs in.

A couple of petty squabbles, some fights here and there, that was the most that Sergei had done to him. Sakura had been a little strange to Rhys, but never anything that made him worried. She just...transformed in front of Rhys’ eyes in a way that Rhys felt was natural to herself. In fact, he’d seen her transformation several times over, and he was glad that she didn’t need to be nudged into the future that was the best for her.

She’d naturally found it on her own.

Either way, Rhys was glad that Sergei and Rhys had developed a kind of bond and understanding that allowed them to rotate between protecting those most precious to them, even from themselves, and doing the work that was practically ingrained into their very souls.

Which was which, well, that was where Rhys felt they got to choose.

However, something didn’t quite feel right today. Rhys, of course, was unable to see any future at the moment because Kellen was so interwoven with any future in the Phoenix Guild that he couldn’t see a damn thing. It was terrifying, truly, that he couldn’t use his powers. He felt powerless, but it was Kellen who was helping him deal with these emotions.

Kellen was in tune with their shared powers in ways that Rhys had never considered, and they were learning from each other. Kellen was teaching Rhys a lot about how to use his powers outside of the ways that the D.E.C. and others had taught him, including how the older Time Espers he’d met had used their powers and how Kellen could draw on so little of his power but make the most of it at the same time.

Rhys watched him do it, all the time. His eyes never glowed when he used his powers, where Rhys’ glowed even when he wasn’t consciously using them but was using them on a subconscious level. He required constant guiding, while Kellen never did.

Of course, they hadn’t been able to fully test how Kellen used his powers, but Rhys could tell. He’d been teaching Kellen about his powers more, without his eyepatch, and his words were true. Neither of them had lit up when he’d tried to use his powers the way that Kellen had taught himself, but when it came to trying or at least attempting to use his powers like Rhys did?

His eyes lit up like high beams. One sky blue, one bright yellow.

Rhys still shuddered at the vision. He didn’t like to see it. Not because he didn’t think that Kellen could handle being an Esper, but more because it just worried Rhys. What would happen if Kellen started losing his mind? The strain that would put on Kellen, his family, those who cared about him? The strain that would put on him?

His promise to Gunther would have to go out of the window because there was no way in hell that Rhys wouldn’t try to reverse time on Kellen if that was the case. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to reverse time to before he became an Esper, but maybe he was gifted these powers to be able to help Kellen and his sanity. That was the only hope he could have when he considered that terrible situation.

Still, as Rhys’ mind wandered during the meeting, he noticed that something wasn’t quite...right. Something felt off.

He checked his phone, checking the time and found that a half an hour had passed but no one else seemed to notice. Huh.

Everyone was still talking, still speaking. The meeting was going on as if nothing was happening, but as Rhys sat there and watched, he realised with a slow, creeping horror, that the conversations weren’t different. They weren’t changing. He’d already listened to these conversations, picking up the words even when he’d been lost in his thoughts.

They were repeating.

Rhys felt his blood run cold, panicking because he’d been so caught up in thinking about Kellen, Sergei and the others that he hadn’t realised something was wrong. Immediately he stood up, all hair on his body stood up as he glanced around.

No one even glanced at him. Holy shit. Rhys had never seen this kind of use of Time magic before. The cost it had on someone was immense, and Rhys felt his body drain of all colour. Why was this happening? What was going on?

Where were Kellen and the others?

Rhys shoved his chair away from the table and rushed for the door, only to find that it was locked. Rhys grunted, feeling his own powers surge in response to Rhys, the S Class, unable to open the door before him.

With one mental apology to Dina, who was sitting behind him repeating the same few sentences over and over, Rhys reeled back and slammed his leg into the door.

It groaned, complaining against the force, but it did eventually give in and the door flew across the hall, slamming into the wall on the other side. It was only after the door had imbedded into the wall across the hall that Rhys realised there was something even more wrong.

The lights were out, a hum of a nearby generator making Rhys’ skin prickle. Light filled the hallway from the bright windows on either side, and as Rhys turned his head, he realised that there were people in the hallway.

Two sets of big, wide, sky blue eyes stared back at him. Guides. Terrified, and Rhys swallowed.

"How long?" Rhys asked. "How long has this been going on?" One of the sets of eyes blinked, turned downwards as they raised a phone to their face.

"A-Almost an hour, Captain." The Guide whispered. Rhys swore.

"You’re from the research team, yes? Elevators are out? Is everyone else safe right now?" The other Guide spoke up as Rhys’ eyes adjusted and he could tell that the first one who spoke was shaking.

"Elevators are out and we’re...we’re safe. For now. Someone or something is trying to break down the door to this floor." Rhys’ senses spike and a low, dangerous sound left his lips.

"Go back to your room, then. I’ll deal with it." Rhys promised. "You’ll be safe, I promise. I’ll deal with this issue and then we can discuss the next step." Rhys promised and he could see the open relief on the tear-streaked faces of the Guides before him.

Rhys’ heart squeezed in his chest, his body tense as he apologised to Kellen. He was going to have to use a lot of powers just to get to him, and he hoped that he wasn’t angry when he found him. Because he would find him. There was no doubt about that.

He would find Kellen, alive, and there was no other option. Sergei was with him, he was with his workout group, and Kellen was the most resourceful man that he knew. Now, it was Rhys’ turn to find him.