The ride back to the safehouse was tense, the hum of the bike's engine the only sound between them. Aria's mind churned with images of the rift, the flickering figure of Mara, and the explosive chaos they'd barely escaped. She glanced at Elias's back, his posture tense as he guided the bike through the darkened streets. He wasn't saying anything—and that silence was more unnerving than his usual playful banter.
They arrived at a new safehouse, hidden in the industrial sector of the city. It was another rundown building on the outside, but once inside, the space opened into a sleek, well-equipped command center. It was clear that Elias had planned for every possibility, and it only made Aria more suspicious.
"You've got quite the setup," she said as they entered, her tone sharper than she intended.
Elias didn't respond, dropping his bag on the console table and starting to unpack their equipment. Aria's frustration boiled over. "We were so close, Elias. She was right there."
He paused, his back to her, and then turned around slowly. "I know," he said softly, his face unreadable. "But if we'd stayed, we wouldn't have made it out. You know that."
"I don't know that!" Aria snapped, her fists clenched. "Maybe we could have saved her. Maybe—"
"Maybe you would have been captured or worse," Elias interrupted, his tone firm. "You have no idea what the Tribunal is capable of when they catch someone in a distortion."
Aria opened her mouth to argue, but the words died on her tongue. She wanted to scream, to rage at him for pulling her away when Mara was so close. But he was right—she didn't know what the Tribunal would have done. And that made her feel even more helpless.
She turned away, staring at the wall of monitors, each one displaying data from their recent mission. "Why won't you tell me the truth?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Elias ran a hand through his hair, the tension visible in his jaw. "What truth, Aria? That I don't have all the answers? That I'm just trying to keep you alive long enough to make a difference?"
She shook her head. "No, that's not it. You're hiding something. I saw the way you looked at the rift when Mara appeared. You knew something."
Elias's eyes darkened, and he took a step closer. "I told you, the more you know, the more dangerous this becomes. There are things I can't—"
"Then why did you even bring me along?" she shot back, her frustration spilling over. "If you don't trust me, then why am I here?"
Elias's face hardened, and he turned back to the console, tapping a series of keys. "You're here because you're the only one who can help me stop them," he said flatly. "But if you don't want to be, there's the door."
The coldness in his tone hit her like a slap, and for a moment, she considered walking out—leaving him and his secrets behind. But the thought of Mara, trapped in that rift, held her back. She couldn't walk away. Not yet.
"Fine," she said, her voice steely. "But if we're going to do this, then I need more than half-truths and vague warnings. I need to know what we're really up against."
Elias didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, sleek device—a holographic projector. He activated it, and a series of images appeared in mid-air: blurry photos of anomalies, timelines, and records stamped with the Tribunal's insignia.
Aria's eyes widened as she recognized one of the documents—it was a file on her sister, Mara, marked with a red stamp: Priority Target.
"What is this?" she demanded, her voice tight.
"This," Elias said, his tone heavy, "is everything the Tribunal has on Mara. They've been watching her for years, long before her disappearance."
Aria's heart skipped a beat. "Why? What do they want with her?"
"Because Mara was involved in something she shouldn't have been," Elias said quietly. "She knew things about the Tribunal's experiments—about time manipulation—that no one outside the organization should have known."
Aria's mind raced. "You're saying she was targeted?"
"Yes," Elias replied, meeting her gaze. "And she wasn't the only one."
He flicked his wrist, and the images shifted—displaying a list of names, each one accompanied by a date of disappearance. Aria recognized some of them from the photos in the previous safehouse—the faces of those who had vanished under mysterious circumstances, just like Mara.
"They've been collecting people," Elias continued, his voice low. "People with knowledge, skills, or connections to time travel technology. The Tribunal takes them, erases them from the timeline, and uses what they know for their own ends."
Aria felt a cold knot form in her stomach. "And you knew this the whole time?"
"I suspected," Elias said, his expression guarded. "But until now, I didn't have concrete proof. That's why I needed you. You're the missing piece, Aria—the one person who might be able to undo what the Tribunal's done."
"Why me?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice steady. "What makes me so important?"
Elias hesitated, and she saw the walls go back up, the light in his eyes dimming. "I don't have all the answers yet," he said, deflecting again. "But I know you're not just here because of Mara. You're here because you're part of something much bigger."
Aria's frustration spiked, but she swallowed it down, knowing she wouldn't get more from him now. "Then what's the plan?" she asked, forcing her voice to stay calm.
"We need to get to the next anomaly," Elias said, turning back to the console. "It's a crucial one—linked to the Tribunal's central data archives. If we can access it, we might be able to download their primary records."
"And expose them?" she asked, her voice hopeful.
"Exactly," Elias said, his eyes narrowing with determination. "But it's not going to be easy. They'll be expecting us."
Aria's lips thinned. "Let them. I'm not afraid."
Elias gave her a small, approving smile, the first genuine one she'd seen in hours. "Good. Because we'll need every bit of courage we have for what's coming."
Before Aria could reply, an alert flashed on the main monitor—a surveillance camera outside the safehouse had picked up movement. Elias's eyes darted to the screen, his body tensing. "We have company."
Aria's heart leapt into her throat. "Tribunal?"
"Most likely." He moved swiftly, grabbing the bag of equipment. "We need to go. Now."
Aria followed, her mind still reeling from the revelations. As they exited through a hidden passage, she couldn't shake the feeling that Elias was still holding back—that his secrets went even deeper than what he'd shown her. But for now, all she could do was run.
They slipped into the shadows just as a squad of Tribunal enforcers stormed the safehouse, their movements precise and coldly efficient. Aria's chest tightened as they crept away, leaving behind yet another hideout and any illusions of safety.
Elias's hand brushed hers as they moved, and she felt a brief, reassuring squeeze—an unspoken promise that they were in this together, even if the secrets between them remained.
But as they vanished into the night, Aria made another silent vow: she would uncover the truth about Elias and the Tribunal's plans, no matter the cost. Because this wasn't just about saving Mara anymore—it was about stopping the Tribunal from controlling the fabric of time itself.
And if she had to betray him to do it, then so be it.