The moment the world ended, Seth was taking a bathroom break.
He'd spent most of the morning handling boxes containing books, materials and weapons and transporting them to other council members like a delivery boy from a local company, as usual. Most had just accepted it with a curt nod or just ignored him, but others had thanked him with a smile and an offer of a drink or a biscuit. Of course, that tend to be followed by a request to transport more things, but since they'd given him food and drink Seth couldn't really do much but accept it and head off riding to the next destination.
Of course, he still had to accept for the ones who'd asked for another transport somewhere without an offer of food or drink, but since Seth's working description was after all a delivery boy, he couldn't exactly refused, could he?
It was a good thing he knew his way around the city.
But that's not the point here. After finishing his last delivery, Seth decided to take a bathroom break before heading off to the museum. He was a couple of hours early, Xander would probably be glad to have someone to talk to and he could check up on Dan at the same time. The kid had looked a bit jumpy this morning, although he'd just claim excitement for the museum when Seth had asked. Maybe he was nervous about that homework?
Of course, that was before the building rumbled.
The fuck?! Seth staggered, quickly gripping the basin before he fell over. Momentarily thankful that the rumble hadn't happened while he was, well, doing his business, Seth let go and sprinted outside as quickly as he could, not quite willing to die via collapsed bathroom in case it really was an earthquake. He did not want to be found dead in a bathroom, thank you very much.
It wasn't an earthquake.
It was something far worse.
"Holy shit." Seth muttered the words without thinking, a horrified, almost awed tone to his hush voice as he saw the scene. A beam of light was shooting out into the sky like a special move from a videogame. As he watched, eyes widening, the beam of light rapidly expanded, red and blue hues mixing together until it flared upwards through the clouds in a neverending column of light almost too blinding to see. Squeezing his eyes so that only a smidgen of it was left, Seth waited for the light to die off before looking around, blinking rapidly to get the white spots out of his eyes. Leaning his back against a wall, Seth reached up and activated the comm link in his ear.
He winced as a jumble of noise came through the speaker. Reaching his hands up to his ear, Seth rapidly adjusted the volume until it wasn't earshatteringly loud, tension rising through him as he began to make sense of what the other members inside the council were saying on the main channel.
"-did you see that light-"
"-oh my God do you think it was the Order-"
"-Pandora's box might have been found -"
"-the beam of light came from the museum-"
Seth's blood ran cold. His heart stopped.
The museum. The museum, where he was heading to. The museum, where Xander and Dan were. Where his best friend and his best friend's cousin (who was young, so young oh God) was in -
Seth's heart started to pound hard in his chest, beating to the tune of a wardrum.
Stay cool. Stay calm. Think. The words ran ran through his head like a mantra, and Seth clung to it like a drowning man to a lifevest.
He had to think rationally. Max Ackermann, Seth's caretaker and the one who had introduced him to the world of the council, wasn't anywhere near the museum. He was with the other council members planning a stakeout - it had been part of the reason why Seth had been playing carrier boy. His mentor was safe and could defend himself. Xander was tough even if he smiled like a little kid, and Dan had been taking martial arts lessons for years even if he was a scrawny little brat who looked like he couldn't benchpress a bench. They could take care of themselves, even if they were at the heart of the veritable magical crapstorm.
But that wouldn't mean squat if they were caught in the beam of light, Seth's thoughts whispered, a second voice that cut through the first thought. They can take care of themselves, but against the order with their amulets? Against what they don't know?
Rational. He had to be rational.
Deliberately, he strode over to his bike. The black mountain bicycle had remained miraculously upright despite the quake, and Seth began to unchain it, gritting his teeth with focused determination as he forced his fingers not to tremble and waste precious time. Chain unlocked, bicycle free, Seth took a moment to look and make sure noone was looking at him (they were gaping at the now-gone beam in the sky instead) before he swung his leg over the seat and directed the bicycle towards the direction of the museum, eyes narrowed with determination.
Under his shirt, a small silver winged sneaker charm glowed, and Seth took off like a rocket. Moving so fast he was a blur, Seth cycled past people leaving nothing but wind in his wake. Long brown hair trailing behind him in the slipstream he was making, Seth made it to the museum in seconds (passing through a red wave of energy) and came to a halt with a squeal of rubber, swinging his bicycle in a ninety degrees turn to the right as he braked in front of the museum.
Panting for breath, Seth stared around him for a second, eyes widening as he took in the scene. His jaw dropped. "The hell?!"
The place was pure chaos. Corpses and injured people lied everywhere, the museum was on fire, and alarms mixed in with the screams of the people from the cars that were destroyed like a monster truck rally at opening night. And there were weird monsters - where'd they come from?! - flying around everywhere. Seth ducked as a a half-lion half-eagle hybrid (a griffon, he registered from the back of his mind) flew over his head with a screech only to land on a car a few feet away.
Seth's first thought at seeing the monster probably shouldn't have been a sense pf elation and Hah, knew they existed!
That was quickly demolished when Seth watched the Griffon beginning to squeeze the car roof into crumpled pieces with its clawed feet. A girl who looked no older than 18 scrambled out of the car with a scream, barely dodging the Griffon's jab towards her head. The griffon tried again, but all it did was scratch the girl's arm before she was out of reach, huddling behind an upturned car as she sobbed and clutched her bleeding arm.
Holy fuck, what the hell happened here?
Well, monsters. That was pretty obvious. Also the beam of light. Where they came from, though, could wait. For now, he had to help the survivors - and find Xander and Dan. Shaking off the shock, Seth shot a look back at the girl and his surroundings, noting the area analytically.
The girl was safe. She was running towards a shop filled with people. The guy with the shining hair on the ground a few yards away, however, was not. The glowing hair would probably make a good beacon for the griffons - a bit like saying 'hey, one meal here! Come and get fresh human!' - but so far, dude seemed unharmed. Cycling towards Lightbulb (since his hair was like a glowing light), Seth got off the bike and quickly checked his pulse. No point rescuing a dead person, after all.
Lightbulb was alive, good. "Mr- uh - Dude, can you stand?" Seth asked, reaching out an arm to hoist him up. "Let's get out of here before the birds notice your head."
