The Hideout

Umbra pressed a wet bundle of paper towels against Time's forehead, hoping he'd come to. Esper hovered beside him, offering more damp towels to bring convenience to Umbra.

During the sprint to the restroom, Time had lost consciousness completely, becoming sheer deadweight on Umbra and Matthew. They struggled to lay him down on one of the couches in the rather spacious 'family' bathroom.

The first portion of the restroom (where Silver Moon had taken up camp) was like a small living room, with several pieces of furniture to sit on, a changing table for babies, and even a vending machine full of drinks and snacks. There was a door which led to a room with the actual stalls and sinks one would expect from a public bathroom.

"Time," Umbra hissed, keeping his voice low. He was still trying to fulfil Time's desire of being kept incognito, but it was becoming quite the hard quest, as Time's name itself revealed his identity. Luckily, the rest area they were in was empty, so he didn't have to worry about blowing his cover at that moment. "Wake up!"

A groan grabbed the attention of the rest of Silver Moon, who had been leisurely awaiting Time's recovery. Matthew, Aunora, and Victor drew forward, watching Time's eyes flutter open.

"Wha-" Time murmured, rubbing his head. "What happened?"

"You passed out," Esper responded calmly, pressing the Überdragon down as he tried to get up. "Are you feeling any better?"

Time sighed, unbuttoning his shirt a bit to let in air. "Yeah, I'm fine now. But we need to hurry." He pushed Esper's well meaning hands aside, weakly sitting up. "I can feel my powers draining as we speak."

"Time," Matthew said, frowning. "You look like you're used to this. Have you done this before?"

Time looked uncomfortable, shaking his head. "'Cha. Right before I came to rescue Umbra, I blacked out in Beijing. Luckily, the guy I was looking for was a doctor. It also helped that I was in my harmless pregnant lady avatar, 'cause that really brings the sympathy points. He laid me up in a Chinese hospital and told me to take it easy." Time looked bashful. "I haven't exactly been following his orders, to be honest."

"Do you think you can make the portal?" Umbra asked, his arms crossed.

Time nodded. "Oh, totally. I still got some juice left in me. But you're gonna have to carry me again, though."

"Whatever." Umbra was adjusting his tie, trying to straighten up his outfit. "We need to leave right now, if you're ready, Time. For all we know, Asher could already be gone."

As Esper helped Time to his feet, Matthew smiled. "If he's gone, we'll find him again! Right, Victor?" He patted the child on the head, startling him as he slowly ate a candy bar.

"I could track him, I guess. But only if I had a scent to go off," Aunora grumbled. "But I'm assuming we don't, huh?"

"I'll try my best to track him, so don't worry." Time murmured, holding out his palm. His fingernails turned longer and sharper, gleaming in the artificial light of the bathroom. He cut into the air, the runes he traced leaving an blueish afterglow as the spell activated, and a portal appeared before them.

"Ready?" Time said, squinting at the swirling lights contains within the vortex.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Umbra whispered, holding out his arm as Time, transformed into a ferret, crawled onto his shoulders.

With that, they teleported.

~~~~

Umbra immediately braced for impact, bending his legs slightly as they made contact with the ground so he could remain standing.

Umbra had picked up on that teleportation technique after going through hundreds of portals, as he found that it made him look more graceful and professional. Nearly every creature had their own way of hitting the ground; it was almost like a signature move or catchphrase.

Umbra blinked the spots out of his eyes, looking around. Esper, Aunora, Matthew, and Victor had made it through fine as well, Victor the only one that looked slightly affected. Matthew, like Umbra, was used to Victor's troubles in travel, so he had his arm firmly around his son's chest to keep him from toppling over.

Time was wrapped around Umbra's neck, his tiny weasel claws gripping the collar of his shirt with a certain ferocity.

"Where are we?" Was the first question out of Aunora's mouth as she glanced at the scenery that surrounded them.

The portal seemed to have taken them to a large dirt clearing. All around them, clustered forestry towered over the group, the leaves in a colorful state due to the October weather. On the horizon, giant, tree-covered mountains were visible, their sides a collage of yellows, reds, and oranges. Thick, white fog engulfed the sky and twisted around the mountain peeks, giving an ominous, almost eerie setting.
Esper crouched down, touching a leaf and rubbing it between his fingers. "This is a common type of tree in the southern portion of the United States. Are there any other distinguishing features that I can't see?"

"Fog," Matthew answered. "Fog and mountains."

"Well, then I guess that narrows it down to East Tennessee, in the Smokey Mountains." Esper said thoughtfully, putting the leaf in his pocket.

"Wonderful," Aunora muttered, "we're in some backwoods, redneck prison, huh? Where do you think Asher ran off to?"

"I'm going to assume he went over there." Matthew had his back turned to the team, staring up at a massive structure that had been built behind them.

It seemed to be some sort of giant mansion, with at least three stories and minimal amounts of windows. Its colors were variations of dark green and beige, like its manufactures had meant it to blend into the mountains around it.

"That seems most likely," Umbra agreed, tapping Time on the head. "Time, do you sense Clockwork in there?"

The ferret yawned, having been awoken by Umbra. "Mmhm," he asserted, nodding his head. "I can tell he's there...but I can't figure out where he is. My internal radar is messing up. I can't even tell where the time anomalies are now..." he let his head fall weakly back on Umbra's shoulder.

"We need to cover ground fast." Matthew said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I believe splitting up is the best option. I'll take Esper and Victor."

Umbra gave a scathing glace at Aunora, who seemed just as unhappy as he did. He bit back a sour remark, as he knew Matthew was right. Time was fading fast, and this mission needed to be completed.

Staring at the massive house before them and contemplating the potential dangers it held, Umbra allowed himself to smirk.

"Silver Moon," he murmured, "move out."

Author's Note- aaaand we're about ready for the climax! Sorry I've been updating so much lol I just really like to write hahahaha

Also: art in media is by MimiWonderDoodles