POV: Cynthia / LOCATION: Galactic Energy HQ
Cyrus finally comes out of his office when the sun begins to set.
"What happened to 'I'll be right with you?'" I huff.
"I thought you left," he says flatly.
"I was promised an audience with the CEO."
"You waited for me?"
"Yes!"
Cyrus is looking at me weird. As if I had just declared that I loved all his imperfections with all my heart. I'm not exaggerating. He seems really rattled at such a simple statement.
When he finally speaks, his reply is as intelligent as you will expect from a CEO of a clean energy company.
"Oh."
To ensure that I don't lose his attention, I say, "Who was that woman?"
"Jupiter. My deputy." He straightens. "She is very capable."
"She's capable of kicking your ass."
Cyrus snickers. Nice. He's semi-back to normal.
The tension somewhat lifted, I move on to the heart of the matter. "Did I get you in trouble?"
"Why would you think that?" he says, genuinely astonished.
I tell him about the way Jupiter was looking at me. Unveiled hostility turned disbelief when she transferred her gaze to Cyrus, who was so still you'd think he was caught red-handed committing a sacrilegious crime.
"Then why was everyone so tense?"
"That's how it is when you have to talk to me."
Before I know it, Cyrus has herded me into his private quarters.
"How are your memories?" he says.
"I remember where I live. Celestic Town."
"Good. Anything else?"
I have the sudden impression that I am a specimen squirming under a microscope. "Nothing. Speaking of which, how much did you know about me?"
Cyrus mentions for me to sit. "I know as much as everyone else."
"Mars said that you were always reading about me."
"When hasn't the newspapers dedicated a column for our beloved Champion?" he says to anywhere else but me.
Exactly what I expected him to say. I go in for the tease. "You like me, don't you?"
The books slip out of his hands. His back is to me, but I don't need to see his face to know that I have made him very, very uncomfortable.
"Oh Cyrus," I coo. "Instead of bringing me to the hospital, you took me to your place because this is your first and only opportunity to be in the same room as the Champion of Sinnoh? A childhood crush come true! How wonderful!"
I slide off the couch and make my way to him, deliberately placing one heel over the other, swaying my shoulders to allow my luxurious hair to flare behind me like a cape.
"Your hard work certainly earns you a reward. What'll it be? An autograph on your vest? A picture taken in your very room? Or… a kiss on your giant forehead?"
Cyrus sprints past me.
"If you run away, then you admit to having that crush!" I call out.
He freezes. I coyly lean up against the wall, blocking his exit.
"What'll it be, Mister Spaceman?"
"You truly wish to hear my answer?" His voice has no inflection.
"Certainly."
"I loathe you, Champion Cynthia."
He said it with such cold finality that I immediately stop grinning. When he faces me, his eyes are ablaze in black fire.
Suddenly, all that rage vanishes, and a wide smirk appears.
"My apologies. That was a tasteless joke."
Joke? His idea of a joke had my heart pounding in my throat! "That's not funny!" I bark.
His laugh is brittle like dead leaves. "Yes yes, I am a wasted excuse of a human being. Allow me to make it up to you. I have a story that might pique your interest."
"You think you can be forgiven with a silly story?"
"I'll bring you fried chicken."
Damn you, Cyrus. You worm your way into my heart through my stomach. What other weaknesses of mine will you exploit next?
One bucket of honey fried chicken later, I have forgotten why I was mad at him in the first place. Something about a childhood crush…
"A renowned historian such as yourself is familiar with Sinnoh's legends, yes?"
"I've heard it all," I say dismissively. Downplaying my prestigious reputation, of course. "The Creation Myth. The Horrific Myth…"
"How much do you know about the myth of the Time Gears?"
Time Gears? I don't recall reading about that in the Sinnoh League's famous library. Nor in the archives of Celestic Town, home to all things that have withstood the corrosive effects of time.
"You mean the myth about Dialga?" I say. "According to that legend, time started to flow when its heart began to beat."
"Not this time." His eyes crinkle at his own groan-worthy joke. "According to this legend, there are these curious objects known as Time Gears that are hidden in secret locations around the region. A forest, for instance."
Here he gives me a long, almost hungry look. Receiving nothing but a blank stare, he continues as though as nothing had happened.
"Or a lake in an underground cavern. I've even heard whispers of a stairway that leads to the sky. At the heart of such places is a Time Gear. They exist to protect the flow of time."
A light sprinkle taps the window. On the streets below, colorful umbrellas bloom like flowers in springtime. Soon grey clouds overtake the city, and the rain pours down, dusty and unrelenting.
Cyrus adjusts the thermostat. "Tell me, Miss Cynthia, what do you think will happen if a region loses its Time Gear?"
"Time will stop." Obviously.
"Stellar guesswork. You'd expect that even the most heartless criminals know to avoid messing with them."
"No duh. If it's so dangerous, why in the world would anyone steal them? You'd have to be completely crazy!"
A particularly powerful flash of lightning stains the world white.
Cyrus says, "You needn't worry about that happening any time soon. After all, it's all make-believe." He smiles. "I hope that purely fictitious myth satisfied your curiosity. Pleasant dreams, Champion Cynthia."
Though he left a while ago, I still can't get his smile out of my mind. He was smiling as if he was caressing something so precious… when all his eyes reflected was a magnificently grotesque dream.
