Read Strike 3: The Returning Sunrise for Free Online Page A

liked me, you know. Never, ever. I bet he told you that I’m crazy.”
    “He said that anyone who can see what you can see—anyone who has access to all that information about time, and the future, and the past…No one should have all that in their head at once. That it could…”
    “Drive a person crazy?”
    Tobin nodded. “Yeah, pretty much.”
    “Well, he’s right. It could drive a person crazy. But it could also be a wonderful gift. And that’s how I choose to look at it.”
    Tobin glanced down at the table in between the chairs. “I came here...I don’t really have any other choice. I need help with something.”
    The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a diagram drawn on a piece of paper. It was a detailed description and blueprint of the Chrono-Key—the blue, translucent pocket watch with the ability to send its holder back through time.
    “Do you know what this is?” Tobin asked, showing the Time Queen the drawing of the Chrono-Key.
    The Time Queen fell into a state of total euphoria. She took in a deep breath and held the air a moment, with her hand against her heart.
    “Do you have it?” she asked. “Do you know where the watch is?” She held out her hand. “Is it real? Can I…?”
    Tobin handed her the piece of paper. “I need to hear everything you know about this watch.”
    As the Time Queen clutched the diagram against her chest, she swiftly entered a trance-like, hypnotized state. Her body swayed rhythmically, and her breath came out in long, slow exhales. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and when she did, Tobin saw that they were now light purple, and without any pupils.
    “Oh my god,” she said. “I’ve been waiting...I can hear the watch, speaking to me. With this, I would be able to see everything. It’s clear. It’s finally clear. My whole life I have—it’s real. The Chrono-Key is real.” She suddenly grew emotional, closing her eyes and crying. “Thank you. Thank you, Tobin.”
    Tobin stared back at her, with his eyes wide. “Uh, no problem. Can you tell me about it, though? I know it allows people to travel through time, but...”
    “It’s talking. The watch speaks...the same way that I speak. It can see everything. It’s showing me everything. The past, possible futures. It’s so clear. It’s...the watch tells me that it has only been used twice in thousands of years. Once by you, and once by a man named Rigel.”
    Tobin’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me about when Rigel used it.”
    The Time Queen held the blueprint closer to her and concentrated, her brow furrowing and her mouth pursed. Suddenly, as her fingers released the piece of paper, it began hovering in the air above her.
    With the Time Queen’s hands now free, she slowly waved her fingers out toward Tobin. As she moved her hands, they began to emanate colorful wisps of smoke, and soon Tobin could see an image of Rigel—the red-skinned giant—made of smoke and floating in the space in front of the Time Queen.
    “Rigel stole the Chrono-Key from you,” the Time Queen said. “Not long ago.”
    Tobin watched the dancing wisps of smoke and light; he realized they were showing him images of himself and Rigel, in the pyramid dungeon, two months ago. As Tobin hung from the wall of the pyramid, beaten and bloodied, Rigel reached forward and ripped the Chrono-Key from his neck.
    “The red giant used the Chrono-Key to fulfill a powerful dream,” the Time Queen said. “A wish—a wish he shared with the person closest to him in his life.”
    Tobin watched as Rigel used the Chrono-Key in the pyramid control room and disappeared. When the red giant reappeared, he was suddenly standing outside of the grocery store where Tobin worked, at the far end of the store’s empty parking lot. It was night. As the red giant gripped the Chrono-Key in his hand, he walked across the asphalt, staring ahead at the entrance to the grocery store.
    Inside the store, Tobin could see himself, talking to Orion.
    “Rigel went into the