I followed Quinn as fast as I could, but I was still unable to close the distance. He was fast. He dashed into an old antique store. I followed but didn't enter. The store was called Dusty's. It was owned by Ace Dusty, and he was an interesting guy. During an alien invasion, he would be the one to jump into a flaming spaceship to save an alien, but he would also be the one leading the attack on the aliens. Almost everyone in town called him Uncle Dusty. Except his nephew. His nephew called him Uncle Ace. "Uncle Ace!" Quinn yelled. "There you are! I'm in the back," called Dusty's voice. Quinn raced into the back. I faced a decision. If I wanted to hear them, I'd have to enter the store. But if I entered the store they would know I was there. "Cale?" a shaky voice asked. I turned. It was Kiera. "Your-your house..." she stuttered. "Yeah, I saw," I told her. "Is Tara....?" "I- don't know," I fibbed. Kiera paused. "Did you... did you see the giant?" Kiera asked. I looked at her, shocked. "You did, didn't you?" she whispered. I nodded. "I saw it too," said a voice from behind. Kiera and I jumped. "Alan!" I cried, "Don't sneak up on us like that." "Sorry," Alan said. "Why are you here, Cale?" Kiera asked. "When the giant came and took Tara, Quinn was the only one on the street who saw it. I thought he might know what it was, " I explained. "Quinn?" Alan said, "He just went that way." Alan pointed. We could just see the very back of him as he turned the street corner. "Shoot! When did he leave the store?! Come on!" I yelled. We took off after him. We turned the corner and he stood right in front of us. "Stop following me," Quinn said. He then continued down the street and turned another corner. Our town has a ton of street corners. "What are we going to do?" Kiera asked. "We ignore what he said and keep following him," I yelled. We ran after him... but he was gone. "Dang it," I said.

Earlier, in Quinn's POV

I ran home. There was another attack, and still nothing I could do to stop it. And there was no way to get the thing I needed from it either. Darn. I knew Cale was following me, but he knew where I lived and he can't stop me from going into my own home. "Uncle Ace!" I yelled. "There you are! I'm in the back," he called back. I went in back. Cale waited outside. "Quinn, don't tell me you went after that Flamen Grande. Not after last time one of them attacked," Uncle Ace said. Now I felt bad. Bringing up last time always made me feel guilty. Because it was my fault.... "Last time it wasn't your fault," he said reading my mind, "But I don't want anything to happen to you. I don't want to loose you." I knew I was going to regret starting this conversation up but I did. "But if we can do something, shouldn't we at least-" "Quinn! Don't even go there! You know we can't. If we did, we'd be risking not only our lives but the chance that he might find you! I'm not going to allow you to endanger yourself like that. I am still your guardian. You may not get involved with ANYTHING that has to do with Kurea. End of discussion," Uncle Ace said firmly. "But-" "We're done." "Uncle-" "Enough!" Ace snapped. "Go to your room. Stay there until you understand that we cannot do anything! Do I make myself clear?!" he yelled. "Yes, sir," I said softly. "Quinn..." Ace started, but I was already upstairs. I was not planning on staying in my room. At the very least I was going to talk to the school's resident Flamen. I figured that with a Flamen at our school, there would be no more Flamen Grande attacks but I was wrong. So I climbed out the window. Others had joined Cale by now but I hoped I could escape without them noticing. I took off. I nearly made it before they noticed. I stopped. I might be able to discourage them. They turned the corner. "Stop following me," I said. Then I took off. Turning a street corner, I grabbed onto a hanging sign and pulled myself up to the roof. I hid there for a moment, watching. Cale, Kiera, and Alan turned on to the street. "Dang it," Cale said. The kept running, hoping to find me. I hopped down from the roof. I continued on. I finally spotted the Flamen. "Flint!" I yelled. "Quinn?" he asked, surprised to see me, "Is something wrong?" "Yes! Why was there a Flamen Grande attack? I thought they were supposed to stop," I pressed. "Yeah they were but- wait, how do you know what they're called- I mean, what giant monster thing? There was no-" "Drop the act, Flamen," I told him. He sighed. "They were supposed to stop. I don't know why they did it. And I can't reach home to figure it out. I don't know how you know about Flamens or Flamen Grandes, but you should probably mind your own business. It could get dangerous. I'd go back and check but I don't have a way to get to Kurea," Flint said. After a moment of silence, I relented, "Alright, thanks for the tip. And for the information." A random thought came to mind. "Do you know who it took?" I asked. "Oh yeah, it took Tara, Cale's sister," Flint told me. My breath caught. So that's why he was following me. I completely understand. And with that in mind, I made a decision. "Thanks. I'll see you at school," I said, taking my leave. I went down a couple of streets and waited. Cale and his crew would be turning the corner shortly. I would be waiting. They turned. "There he is!" Cale yelled. They ran down towards me. But I just stood there. They stopped in front of me. "Well?" I asked. "Where's my sister?!" he yelled at me. "I don't know exactly but I can help you-" "Where did she go?! Who took her?! How do I get her back?!" he continued. I said, "Cale, I can only answer one question at a time..." "Answer me!" Cale yelled. "I'm trying-" "ANSWER ME!" Cale screamed. And then he grabbed my shoulders.

Same moment, in Cale's POV

I knew I shouldn't have done it but he knew about my sister. I had to know. "ANSWER ME!" I screamed. And then I grabbed Quinn's shoulders. His eyes widened and he froze. I suppose I haven't mentioned it yet, but Quinn hates being touched. Or more accurately, he's deathly afraid of being touched. That's why he didn't accept Flint's fist bump. People at school tended to pick on him and make fun of him because of it. The only person I'd ever seen touch him without him flipping out was Dusty, and even then he got really tense, like he was trying to hide it. "Let go of me," Quinn whispered. "Cale," Kiera started. "Tell me what's going on," I demanded. "I'll tell you if you let go of me.." Quinn said shakily. I knew he was going to run away the instant I let go, so I didn't. "I just want you to tell me-" "LET GO OF ME!" Quinn screamed. I finally caved. This wasn't something I wanted to do. I released him. To my surprise, he didn't run away. He stood there, shaking and breathing deeply. He looked at me with fear. I gulped. "Look, I'm sorry. Really. I just-" "I understand," Quinn said, "I didn't come here to fight. I came here to tell you what I know. And to offer my help. But you have to let me talk, you know." I was shocked. "I- thank you. I won't interrupt," I told him. Alan and Kiera approached as well. "The thing that took your sister was a Flamen Grande. Flamen Grandes are different from regular Flamens because Flamen Grandes are giant and made of lava. Regular Flamens are similar to humans, but with fire ability. Flamens and Flamen Grandes rarely get along, but they have a mutual agreement. Due to this, the Flamen Grandes weren't supposed to attack our world anymore, especially not this town," Quinn started. "Wait, THIS world? You mean there are others?" Kiera asked. "Yes. The Flamens, the Flamen Grandes, and many other beings are from a world called Kurea. That's where your sister is," Quinn told us. "Can you take us there?" I asked. He paused. "I assume you all want to go?" Quinn asked. Alan, Kiera and I nodded. "I'll take you. But on three conditions," he told us. "Name them," I told him. "The first, poison," Quinn stated. "Poison?" Alan asked. "Yes, the Flamen Grandes have a certain type of poison they use sometimes. I want a sample of it," Quinn somewhat explained. I didn't know what he was going to do with the poison, but, "Alright." "Second, if you hear any mention of the Blood King or the Blood Troop or anything along those lines, you tell me exactly what you heard and then we get the heck out of there. I don't care if your sister is two feet away, if you hear someone say the Blood King, you tell me and we leave. Understood?" I paused. "Yes," I agreed. I didn't know who that was but "the Blood King" didn't sound like the name of a friendly guy. "The third, you get Flint to come with us," Quinn decided. "What?" Kiera asked. "Why?" I demanded. "That's not my place to say. But that is my final condition." "We'll get him to come with us," I agreed. Quinn nodded, "Then it's settled." "When do we leave?" came a voice from behind Quinn. Alan, Kiera, and I jumped. Flint stepped out of the shadows. "I was wondering when you'd come out," Quinn said. "How'd you know I was there?" Flint asked. Quinn just smiled. "Anyway, to answer your question, he wanted me to come because I know where the Flamen Grande live. The reason for that is, I'm a Flamen. Though I'm not sure HOW he knows I'm a Flamen," Flint told us, muttering the last part. "Wait, you're a Flamen?" I asked.  "Yeah. I came here because this was where most of the Flamen Grande attacks were occurring. I figured my presence would stop them, but I was wrong. I didn't actually have amnesia, I'm just from another world. They don't have juice boxes in Kurea," Flint explained. "Ahh, so that's why you curse on fire terms," I realized. "I just gave you a detailed explanation telling you I'm basically an alien and the only thing you got from that was WHY I CURSE IN FIRE TERMS?!" Flint yelled. "Does it really matter?" Alan asked. "Anyway, to answer Flint's original question, I want you all at Remotely Blank, the internet cafe by my place, at 6:30 tomorrow morning," Quinn told us. "What?! Why that early?! And why not now?!" I asked. "Because the only gateway to Kurea that I have access to can only be opened at sunrise. That's at 6:55. I made the time early so we have time to discuss plans and handle any difficulties. And here, you guys may need these," Quinn said, pulling out a container of pills. "What are they," Alan asked. "These will convince parents or guardians that you're at camp or something so that they don't worry. I'll make sure to give them to our teachers," Quinn explained. I took one for my dad. Kiera took one for her aunt. Alan took two for his dads. Flint took none. "I'll see you all at Remotely Blank tomorrow morning," I said. Then we went our separate ways until morning.

Shoutout to TheSebastianButler for helping me come up with the name for the internet cafe.

New characters:
Semi Important:
Ace Dusty (Quinn's uncle)

Also, for this story, I'm going to ask you to comment your favorite ships wherever you find the need. I'm not guaranteeing I will make them all canon but I will take your opinions into consideration so if you like a certain pairing, let me know and it may just happen.
              -Dell