Rewriting Time

Chapter 4

A/N: Part 2 of Round 3 - Write three chapters with a total of 4.5k words

Word Count: 1.5K

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"My memories? What the hell are you talking about?" Sebastian said, frowning at the mild expression on Solomon's face. How could he look at me like I'm the one who's lost his marbles? Sebastian thought with irritation.

"I'd like to show you something," Solomon said, rising to his feet. "I'm sure this will help explain everything to you."

Sebastian's first instinct was to snarl at the man, but what happened to him earlier was still fresh in his mind. He must find out what those images meant.

"Alright, I'll play along. But if I'm not satisfied with your explanation, I'm gone. Deal?"

"Fair enough," Solomon said, nodding.

"Fair enough? Father, you can't just let him-"

Solomon clamped a hand on Tobias' shoulder, silencing him with a stern look. Sebastian wasn't really interested in Tobias' opinions, but it made him wonder why Solomon had cut him off that way. Was it just because he was fed up with his son's belligerence or was he preventing him from revealing too much? Sebastian added that tidbit to his list of questions to ask later.

"I'm sure Sebastian will find no reason to doubt us after seeing The Machine," Solomon said, smiling beatifically at Sebastian.

"We'll see," Sebastian said, jumping to his feet.

Solomon nodded and walked down the corridor. Sebastian and Tobias walked side by side in silence. When he reached the end, Solomon glanced back at the younger men before turning right. It was very brief, but Sebastian still caught the impish glint in the older man's eyes.

"Try to behave yourself, Chase," Tobias said. "I don't want you upsetting my father unnecessarily with idiotic questions."

Sebastian snorted. "Well, you better refrain from talking, then." He was disappointed when Tobias didn't rise to the bait. Casting a sideways glance at the man to see if Tobias was rolling his eyes at the remark, Sebastian was bewildered when he saw amusement instead of annoyance. Will this man never cease to surprise him?

"We're here," Tobias said, stopping in front of Solomon. Behind the older man was a metal door very similar to a submarine hatch door.

"Are we going underwater?" Sebastian said before he could stop himself.

"No, but we're about to enter a room with a strictly controlled atmosphere," Solomon explained as he slipped paper shoe covers over his gleaming, black oxfords. After making sure that both feet were perfectly protected, Solomon grabbed a pair of white, long-sleeved overalls and stepped into them. Tobias took two pairs of shoe covers and two overalls from the rack and handed one of each to Sebastian. While putting on his protective gear, Sebastian glanced around and took stock of his surroundings.

In his preoccupation with Tobias' fluid demeanor, he failed to notice the glass doors that had slid apart to let him into this small ante-chamber. It was as white as the rest of the hallway and had an antiseptic smell that reminded Sebastian of hospitals. Cold air was blasting from a large overhead vent, cleansing them of unwanted debris. Sebastian followed the two men's example and zipped his overalls all the way up to his chin. Strangely, it seemed to fit him perfectly, like it was actually made for him.

"Are you ready, son?" Solomon asked, peering up at him with a twinkle in his dark eyes.

"As ready as I can be," Sebastian replied with a chuckle. He found that he could never really get mad at Solomon. The Toledano patriarch was just too amiable to dislike.