Author's Note:
A big thank you to Radpineapple who has agreed to beta the rest of this story! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter (and the rest of "Companions") as much as I enjoy writing it!
Ray's eyes went wide as he walked through the symposium doorway, "Sara? Leonard? What are you two doing here?"
"Turns out, Italian wine won't be good for another century, so we came here," Sara said, sounding slightly less firm than usual.
"Did you know… that there's-" Leonard began to whisper, "there's a cult which believes getting drunk brings followers closer to the god of wine, Dionysus? We told them we were fellow members, and they've been giving us free drinks for hours."
"Okay… Where's Mick?" asked Kendra.
Sara looked around and said, "Oh, I guess he has been gone for a while, hasn't he?"
"Well, he was a little dizzy after you two started that drinking game… probably good he went out to get some fresh air," said Leonard, slurring slightly.
Kendra turned to face Ray and rolled her eyes, "You get Captain Canary here back to the ship and I'll track down Mick. He can't get into that much trouble, right?"
"...You better get going." said Ray
"Yeah, good idea," Kendra marched out the door of the symposium and jogged off in search of Mick.
"Captain Canary... huh. I like that," said Leonard quietly.
"You would," Sara said with a smirk.
The two then accepted defeat and walked back to the ship with Ray, who couldn't help but smile at how happy they seem together.
Kendra, however, was not smiling. She was squeezing her way through the overcrowded streets of ancient Rome searching for their lost, drunk pyromaniac.
Rip's voice suddenly rang behind her, "Kendra?"
Kendra stopped and closed her eyes. Rip was going to be furious. She slowly turned around, "Rip, look, we lost Mick and-"
As luck would have it, the voice did not belong to Rip but to Rory Williams.
"Kendra, it'll be okay! We lose The Doctor all the time. Speaking of which, where-"
Amy interrupted, "We need to find Mick, yeah?"
"Yes! Yes, we have to find Mick... before Rome gets another Great Fire."
Rory shook his head and placed his hand on Kendra's back, leading the worried warrior through the city streets. "In that case, Kendra, I think know exactly where he'll be," and the trio headed off towards the Roman Forum. "When I lived here, one of the other guards told me this story about his daughter being chosen to become a Vestal Virgin. They are the only full-time clergy worshiping a goddess... they worship Vesta, the goddess of fire." Rory explained.
The crowd became thicker as they reached the Forum, though Rory continued to stop and point out any landmarks he remembered. At the base of the Palatine Hill, there was a large wall enclosing several trees and a small circular building. The circular building, The Temple of Vesta, rested on a mud-brick platform so the floor was at a passerby's waist. Strangely, despite being full of people, the space around the temple was empty.
"Rory, if the city is so crowded, why build a wall so far around the temple?" asked Amy.
"Hesta is one of the most honored goddesses in Rome. Fire is such a huge part of city life; the people are happy to designate space for the priestesses to come outside. Their main job is to keep the sacred fire in the center of the temple burning; however, I fear Mick will take advantage of their love for fire."
The trio could not see into the temple itself. The temple had a white marble base with rectangular designs. The walls resembled ornate grates; metal designs cut into sheets of metal. The glow from the fire pit within could be seen even in the daylight. As they walked around the wall towards the gate, they could see the marble steps. As they were only a few years old, the steps were polished with crisp edges. The ornate doors contested only by the carefully crafted tile roof. However, these were not the things which Kendra, Rory, and Amy noticed as they walked towards the Temple of Hesta.
Just past the steps, a large man was on his knees before the fire pit. On each side opposite him, a priestess was watching over the flame and ensuring the temple was respected. Though they need not have worried about Mick Rory disrespecting fire.
Rory stopped at the entrance to the temple, "You two should go in without me."
"Why?" asked Kendra curiously.
"They don't usually welcome men into the Temple of Vesta. Many of their rituals are reserved only for female worshippers, I'm surprised they let Mick in. Though with his worship of fire, who wouldn't assume he was a dedicated follower?" said the centurion with a shake of his head.
"Well, at least someone appreciates us!" said Amy jokingly and turned to hop up the staircase.
Kendra smiled at the young couple and followed Amy into the temple.
The priestesses turned their attention from Mick and looked to the two newcomers.
Kendra walked over to the younger one and asked, "How long has he been here?"
"Since mid-day, miss."
Kendra shuddered.
Mick has been here for three hours. Not good.
"Mick? Mick, it's time to go. Leonard and Sara went back to the ship with Ray, and I think we're going to leave soon."
"Leave," said Mick quietly, his eyes never leaving the sacred flame of Hesta. "I have finally found those who appreciate fire as much as I do. I want to stay here."
Amy noticed one of the priestesses smiling.
"Mick, Mick listen to me" Kendra pleaded. "You can't stay here. You have to let us take you back to the ship. We need to go home."
"Mick, look," said Amy, who was quickly growing weary of Mick's inaction. She realized tough love was the only way to reach the man. "You need to get up right now or else, so help me, I will put out this flame!"
Suddenly, the priestesses weren't smiling anymore. Mick's head snapped to Amy's.
"No, miss! You can't, miss! Rome will fall in a day and we will all be buried alive for failing in our duties! No, miss! Please, don't do it!" the priestesses cried.
"Calm down, calm down! I'm not going to do it… if Mick leaves with us," Amy smiled.
"No," Mick said in a low voice. "No, I'm not going anywhere. First Leonard drugs me and forces me to join this team, then he drags me out of Star City 2046. Now you think you get to decide whether or not I stay here! You're all starting to sound like the time masters."
"Mick. I thought you'd recognized the pattern by now, but I guess I'll have to explain it to you. Mick you run to fire when things get too emotional because it's an escape. It's what pyromaniacs do. And I think I know why," said Kendra slowly.
"You're upset about Leonard and Sara, aren't you?" said Amy with wide eyes.
"There is no Leonard and Sara," said Mick quietly.
"Yes, there is. Everyone except them knows it. Look, I know Leonard is the only friend you think you have, but you're part of a team now. You have all of us," said Kendra slowly.
"You're not really losing, Mick, either. The Doctor thought Rory and I would stop travelling when we got married. He almost left without even saying goodbye! But we didn't. We're still with him and he didn't lose us. We just added another person to the equation," said Amy happily.
"I'm not so good with equations," said Mick. "Much better with fire."
"Do you want to lose Leonard? Because I don't think you do. Not really," said Kendra.
"Fine." Mick said suddenly. "But we're stopping for rum on our way back. They haven't put restrictions on alcohol content yet, so it's nice and strong."
Amy looked at Kendra, who shrugged as if this happened every day.
As they left the temple, Rip's voice (and it certainly was Rip's voice because Rory was standing next to them) came over the coms, "Everyone report back to the ship immediately. Turns out the… uh… the aberration was sort of our fault."
Snart's drawl then rang through the coms, "What do you mean by 'sort of our fault", Rip?"
"Well, it seems the Doctor took it upon himself to help the architect of the Library of Alexandria add a sprinkler system and elevators. How is Mr. Rory doing?'
"I'm fine Captain, what's up?"
Rip sighed with defeat and said quietly, "How would you like to be the one to start the most famous fire in ancient history?"
Mick's eyes went wide, but unlike everyone else's, his were wide with excitement!
"Kendra and I are going to go in first to save a few scrolls though!"
"Well, you're welcome to go in, Pretty Boy," Mick said. "Can't guarantee you'll make it back out."
With that, the pyro walked off towards the ship victoriously. Kendra looked over at the Ponds, whose faces were frozen in identical expressions of shock.
"Come on," said Kendra. "You can't tell me it doesn't make sense."
Rory gave a sideways nod of his head, and grabbed Amy's hand. She just smiled and said, "Anyone else craving s'mores?"