The Heart Of Alchemy

We Need to Talk

Varian knew he would most certainly be screwed as of now. There was no way to avoid it. There was no way in denying how much Varian wished he had pleaded with his friends to travel to somewhere other than Corona. Varian could go as far as to create a time machine to go back and rewrite this whole mess, and it probably would've turned out in a similar format. (But if he could go back, he'd first go to prevent a few other incidents from happening). And after what seemed like a race to tell everything that has been happening in the quickest amount of time as possible, he was relieved when Hugo let him lean on him for support.

"Well. . . it could be worse. . ?" Yong tried to lighten up the mood with a small smile present on his face.

"It probably will get worse," Varian sighed, rubbing his fingers against his temple as his voice rose. "The only thing is that I don't know why this is all happening!"

"Woah, woah, calm down, Goggles. Take a breath, okay?" Hugo rubbed Varian's back and leaned his forehead against the other before turning to Nuru. "So, Princess, got any ideas as to what's going on with Goggles and I?"

Nuru shook her head and placed her hands on her hips. "I've never read about anything like this before. And, Varian, I know you're stressed, and you're valid to feel like this, but remember that we're all going to help you figure this out."

"What about me?" Hugo pointed to himself.

Nuru waved a hand off to him, "that guy, too."

"Hey!"

"But you don't understand, this is bad. Like, really, really bad. If people see Hugo and I doing this freaky, glowy eye thing, they're going to start making connections, and everything's going to go downhill." Varian roughly ran a hand through his hair, millions of possibilities running throughout his mind, trying to figure out what course of action would be the safest choice.

They were coming back to get him. He is coming back to get him. How did he even get out in the first place? If he was working with someone, then. . .

"When you guys were in the dungeon our first day here, who was down there with you?" Varian asked, twisting his fingers around his wrist."

"Um, some guys who looked like pirates, I guess?" Hugo rubbed the back of his neck. "Both were redheads, but one had an eye patch and the other had sideburns."

Suddenly the world around Varian fell silent. He remembers Eugene telling him about them. Brothers who once wanted the grandest of riches in the entire world, and later on wanted something even pricier: Eugene's life itself. Their cell was by Varian and his own. And last time Varian remembered, the Saporians' cell was the same one he and him had shared-

The symbol of Saporia flashed in his mind.

"Did you tell either of them anything?"

His voice didn't sound like his own; it was lower and more distant. Actually, everything felt as though it was miles away from him. All he heard were the bare muffles of Yong's voice. Only seven words filtered through. Powerful words that shook the ground below him and his very own hands; words that would've been safe for anyone, anyone at all, but him and Hugo.

And it was Hugo who said those lethal words.

". . . Goggles is not my husband. . . Not yet. . ."

Just like that, the world came crumbling down.

~

In the long run, Hugo hadn't realized what Varian was asking for until Yong told him. Everything made more sense. Just like before, he solely put them all in danger, all because he (Yong as well, but Hugo didn't want Varian to hate the kid, too) didn't shut his stupid mouth. He screwed up this time, and now it was all his fault Varian was freaking out.