The shouting froze Flare’s entire body and her fist halted mere inches from its target. Her eyes slowly widened as she realized who she was looking at. Pressed against the elevated dais, face illuminated by the orange glow from her fire, was the same person she had been worried sick about—the red-haired boy she had hired the previous day.
"Fucking damn it!" He hissed and backed away. "I swear to god if you-"
"You..." Flare opened her mouth, but the words betrayed her. She glanced at her burning fist and quickly retracted it, shaking her hand to put out the fire. "You’re safe..."
"Safe? Yeah, I was safe, until you almost burned my face off." He clicked his tongue. "And here I was trying not to startle you. What’s the goddamn point if you’re going to attack anyway?"
She stared at him for a moment then narrowed her eyes.
"You sneak up on me in this situation and you expect me not to get startled?"
"Would an enemy tap you on the shoulder in the middle of a fight?"
"I don’t know. Why wouldn’t they?"
In the short time she had spent in the hexagonal cage, Flare had imagined how their reunion would be. She would break out then find and rescue him, but the young man would act all annoyed, complaining that he didn’t need saving, or that he didn’t want to see her again. In the end, things turned out just like how she had imagined, minus the saving part, obviously.
"But... why are you here?" She looked him up and down as she asked, relief finding its way to her heart when she noticed no injuries on him. "If you were able to escape then-"
"Stop," he held a hand to her face, shutting her down. "I don’t get what’s happening either."
Seeing him shake his head, Flare got the impression that he had gone through the same experience as her. She fell into a hole that appeared out of nowhere and the next thing she knew was that she had escaped the cage.
The hole was clearly an ability of some kind, and since it was used to help her and the red-haired youth escape, there was no doubt that whoever used it was their ally.
"Anyway, we need to decide what to do next." The youth said as he moved her aside so he could peek around the corner. "This place belongs to Caligo. They’re the ones who’ve been moving Catalyst around."
"... who?" Flare could only blink back at him.
"They’re the gang running a big part of Factory Town." He said. "Didn’t you do your research?"
"O-oh yeah, I remember hearing about them..."
Of course, she had done her due diligence and learned what there was to learn about the criminal organizations in Factory Town, but one couldn’t blame her for forgetting all about it.
"I’m guessing you defeated that bronze guy, didn’t you?" He asked.
"Y-yes?" She raised an eyebrow, then her eyes widened. "You saw!!?"
"They thought they could use it to question me but cut it halfway through." His uncaring tone showed how uninterested he was in what happened. "See the short guy with the mask?"
Flare quickly suppressed the nervousness his previous statement stirred inside her and peeked around the corner as well, doing her best not to think of how close the two of them were right now.
The Gathering she had seen before had retreated beyond the nearest exit from where they previously stood. They hadn’t bothered to close the doors behind them, which is why she could still see them, even if they were a bit far.
"I... met a woman wearing similar clothes earlier..." Flare squinted her eyes and stuck her head out. "I don’t see her with them, though..."
"A woman?" The red-haired youth gave her an inquisitive look. "There was someone like that?"
"That short guy is one of Caligo’s higher-ups, I think. He was talking about filming some ad to boost the sales of their drug." He said. "If there was someone else like him around, then they’re probably another one of Caligo’s top."
Flare was slow in making the connection, but she finally understood what that Delta woman was talking about earlier. If they were trying to sell an illegal drug that grants people superpowers, having footage of their clients using it to fight a hero would be the best advertisement they could ask for.
Noticing him back away, Flare turned to face the red-haired youth. She didn’t know what to say, so the two just stared at each other.
"So?" He asked after a while, but the question went right over her head, causing him to sigh. "What do you plan on doing now?"
Even though he elaborated, Flare still found herself unable to answer.
"Did they hit you on the head or something?" His face scrunched into a frown. "Those are the bunch you have been after this whole time! Are you going to just let them go?"
A switch flipped in Flare’s head and a light bulb lit up over her head. That’s right. The reason she came all the way here was to solve the Catalyst case, and the perpetrators were right in front of her. If she manages to arrest and bring one of them to justice, it would only be a matter of time before the rest of the criminal organization follows.
Being held captive might have messed up her thoughts, because she had almost forgotten all about her goal. That said...
"No," She suppressed the voice telling her to chase the criminals and made her decision. "We should find a way to escape."
"It’s too dangerous. We must prioritize our safety first."
Flare had been aware that the BEO only ever assigned her to strictly controlled missions, ones that had a very low chance of failing. Tired of being coddled all the time, she decided to tackle a mission of her choosing, but after coming this far she was starting to realize why things had been the way they had.
She had overestimated her abilities and because of that not only did she put herself in danger, but she also dragged an innocent person into it. Well, he might not be entirely innocent, but he wouldn’t have been involved in the case if she hadn’t insisted on getting his help.
The best course of action right now would be to ensure he gets to safety. After that, she could get in contact with the BEO and have them send reinforcements.
It was the logical plan, one that would ensure her safety and the safety of her hired helper. She expected it to receive his approval, but when she raised her head to check, the red-haired youth wasn’t in front of her anymore.
Alarmed, she whipped her head left and right looking for him. To her relief, she found that he hadn’t gone that far, but when she saw what he was doing, her entire body froze.
The youth bent down and snatched a rifle from one of the gunmen she had knocked out, and as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, he removed the magazine, glared at it for a second, then inserted it back in.
"Ah, were you saying something?" He turned to her with a blank look as he loaded the weapon. "If not, get your ass moving already. We are chasing after the bastards."