Lightning

-7- 「Questing」

Storm began to awaken. He felt disoriented and heard voices echoing. His head hurt, he was panting, and at first, he saw nothing but a black void. He heard the voices become louder, and suddenly he saw Rena in front of him. She smiled softly and walked towards him barefoot, in the void. Suddenly blood began to drip from her, falling to a black floor. As Rena neared him, Storm began panting faster, but he found that he couldn't speak.

He couldn't do or say anything. Her irises and pupils faded, her eyes completely black. There was a hole gaping through her chest and blood spilling to the floor. She now smiling wider, gritting her teeth, breathing heavily. Storm wanted to speak, but couldn't, and he couldn't move either. He felt bound by a supernatural force. Rena took the boy and pressed his head to her chest softly. Storm still felt fear as she did so, the void silent. Rena began to speak.

"You let me die..." she said to Storm, her voice distorted, almost demonic.

Storm shook his head in defiance and tried to move but found himself in that frozen state. He then blinked.

Storm awoke in shock, jumping up in surprise. He looked around and saw that he was in a small room, on a bed, another twin sized bed beside him. The floor was a beige colored carpet, the walls a faint yellow color. An entertainment center stood across from where the boy laid, a small television set there playing the news. A desk sat to the right of this.

There was a window to the far right of the room, horizontal blinds letting some light in. Panting from his graphic dream, Storm rested his head back on a soft pillow, closing his eyes. However, this bliss lasted for half a second because he realized he was tied up. He felt like his arms were tied with a thick rope under the bedsheets he was in, his knees and feet bound as well.

"...The hell?" Storm muttered to himself, looking around the room.

He then noticed a mini fridge and a flat screen television on a table. He saw a phone as well to his right, with a card on it that read 'HOTEL'.

"Hello! Anyone there!?" he yelled aloud, hoping someone would come. After waiting a few moments, he sighed and laid back.

On the off chance that he had been kidnapped, he needed only to gather his strength and he'd be able to break the rope. Storm contemplated what he'd done the past two days. Escaping practically a god, leaving his dimension, fighting someone from the supposed Nigramala group, and now he was trapped. He didn't exactly know who kidnapped him and began to process this information. What if it was Timekeeper? The boy then stopped and shook his head.

"Not how I imagined this would go down. If I had to guess though..." Storm muttered to himself and closed his eyes.

He then heard a lock click and a door open, along with some footsteps. Blaze walked in with Scion. Scion sat on the bed beside the one Storm aid in while Blaze sat backwards on a swivel chair, the two silent. Storm looked at the two as the two looked back. The room was silent.

After a few moments, Storm sighed. "What do you guys want? You're gonna torture me, or something?" he asked.

The two looked at each other. With the silence, Storm began to wonder whether they were going to. Blaze raised his hand to Storm, motioning for Scion to speak to him. Shrugging, Scion began to speak as Blaze had suggested.

"No, that's not it," Scion began to speak, rubbing his forehead.

"That took a while," Storm commented. Scion ignored his jab.

"I've come to terms with the others, and...we—I actually, figured out you aren't part of Nigramala," he said, and Storm nodded.

"I'm not. If anything, I was trying to escape those guys," Storm said, and spoke of the events prior to the beach.