Slowly, the trains chugged along the tracks to the next Shadow town in sight, setting what would be a calm and peaceful ride if not for the ruckus inside.
"Right, stop!" exclaimed Mio as she saw Right literally inhale his lunch. "You'll choke!"
"Don't worry Mio," pausing from his lunch to tap the side of his head "I can see it. I won't choke."
"That's not how it works." Mio said half-heartedly, still struggling to move the food away from Right.
Farther down the row of seats, Tokatti was busying himself with writing romantic poetry for Mio. Frustrated, crumpled bits of paper were scattered across the table. However, one happened to have rolled off onto the floor next to Kagura. Curious, she plucked it off the floor and smoothed it out so that she could read.
"Um...Tokatti?" Kagura asked. "Is this yours?"
Glancing up Tokatti noticed the rigid sheet in Kagura's hand. A few seconds passed before the horror fully registered his mind.
"Er...uh...no. That's not mine." stuttered Tokatti as he slowly attempted to reach for the sheet.
"Are you sure? It looks like your handwriting." replied Kagura with a both equally curious and innocent look on her face.
"Well...I.."
"Tokatti…"
Pausing from adjusting his glasses he glanced back up at Kagura who seemed to be rereading a part of the paper.
"Who's this goddess of beauty you're writing about?"
Immediately, Tokatti snatched the paper away and tried to make a run for the door. He would have been successful in his getaway if Conductor had not been standing behind it, thus Tokatti crashing into him.
"Good afternoon everyone!" announced Conductor as he stepped over Tokatti's body laying on the ground. "We'll be arriving in the next Shadow town in ten minutes!"
Suddenly, the trains came to a grinding halt causing everyone in the train to stumble into random seats as the lights also began to flicker on and off.
"Is this a Shadow monster attack?" Hikari asked as he appeared from the door Conductor just came through.
"Look!" Ticket announced pointing to the monitor.
Warning: Severe light waves detected. Please remain seated.
"Light waves?" questioned Right.
"Iyaa~" exclaimed Wagon as she bursted through the door "Conductor! The Rainbow Line President has called! He says it's urgent!"
"Don't worry everyone, we'll have this problem fixed soon." said Conductor even though in the back of his mind, he knew the trains were picking up more than just light waves.
"Zett….Zett.." whispered a mysterious voice.
It was one of those eerie but calm days at the Shadow Line where everyone seemed to be off doing their own thing. Whether it was Nero preparing to dismiss another Shadow into the human world, Noire sewing another garment, or Mork overseeing the Shadow towns. However, Zett was the only one to spend these days sleeping upon his throne. Of course, sleep wasn't necessary for any Shadow, nor did sleep ever bring anything but darkness. Yet, Zett took joy and comfort in this, so nobody was going to question him.
Instead of being greeted by darkness this time though, Zett awoke inside his mind to a vest expanse...of white.
"Zett...Zett…"
Startled, Zett looked around to pinpoint the direction of the voice, but he saw nothing but the vastness of white. Confused, he just decided to take a walk around as he wondered why his mind drifted to here.
"Come on slowpoke! Come and catch me!"
Suddenly, a girl raced by him, yet all he could see was the trail of dark brown hair of her's. Curious, he chased after her. Realizing she was being followed, the girl glanced back at Zett and smiled as she began to speed up. Immediately after making eye contact did Zett feel a sensation within in him so quick that it would've been hard to detect, yet it felt similar to the first time he saw light. Determined now more than ever he sprinted after her, yet the faster he ran, she ran twice as fast. Struggling to keep up, he soon found that he could no longer see her. Desperately wanting to catch up, Zett realized that something inside him was holding him back… Grita. As soon as he remembered her, his mind was plunged back into the world of darkness he was so familiar with.
Instantly, pain flared inside his heart, the feeling of Grita's presence inside of him more prominent than ever. Struggling to control her power, Zett fell to his knees gasping deeply for breath. There was nothing he could do to avoid the pain but just lay there helplessly. However, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a faint glow light. Straining to look up he was surprised to see the mysterious girl.
Kneeling down beside him, she stared at Zett with sad eyes.
"Zett." she whispered.
"How do you-" cutting him off from his sentence was another wave of pain, causing him to curl around himself.
Reaching out, the girl gently placed her hand on top of Zett's chest. Closing her eyes in slight concentration, a flow of light wrapped itself around her arm to the area around Zett's body. Weak, Zett could do nothing but watch and wait as the pain soon ebbed away. Strong enough to move now, he got up to be at level with her.
"Thank you" he said quietly, still shocked at the events that just occurred.
Another kind smile was given to him that sent a new type of pain pulsing through his heart, one that he didn't mind having. However, the feeling did not last as long as he noticed that the image of the girl was fading quickly.
"No, wait!" exclaimed Zett as he tried to reach out to her, but to no avail.
Waking up, Zett saw that he was back to the usual surroundings of the Castle Terminal. Disappointed, he leaned back onto his throne. Yet as he placed his hand over his heart, he noticed the faint lingering touch from the mysterious girl.
