Author's Note: Okay so this was the hardest chapter I've ever had to write for this story. Thing is, I knew this part of the story was gonna be the hardest to write since the very beginning. I'm sorry it's so late. I try to get these out monthly. This one's a little shorter than my previous chapters, but to keep my updates coming sooner, I decided to do that. I'm currently interning at my city's newspaper (call me Lois Lane) and so between articles/events I've been writing this. I've had severe writer's block. Some days, I just sat in front of the screen...for hours...but nothing came out. I was stuck. So in the meantime, I was listening to lots of Coldplay...though too much Coldplay can make you kind of depressed, lol. I got through my writer's block, though. Obviously...because otherwise the chapter wouldn't be here, lol. Some of this chapter was inspired by Ms. Kreatopita's, "25 Ways to Irritate Black Cat Characters."
Let me know if you guys like it, or feel free to ask any questions. Happy early Fourth of July (think of Eve when you look at those fireworks)! Enjoyyy!
Sins and Sinners
Friend deceives friend,
and no one speaks the truth.
They have taught their tongues to lie;
they weary themselves with sinning.
Jeremiah 9: 5
The bright, golden dawn seemed promising enough as it sat on the horizon, but the camp was grim with the weight of the responsibilities towering over them. It was New Year's Eve, and that night, they would all be battling to save Eve.
Sven walked with Train through the tents. They knew the news concerning X being an impostor would reach everyone in due time.
Sven stopped walking just before they reached Tearju's tent.
"I'll meet with you in a little while," he said. "I have to talk to Tearju."
Train cocked his head to the side.
"About X--er--or the guy who's pretending to be X?"
Sven nodded. Train returned the gesture, but his eyes betrayed that he knew something else was wrong.
"Good luck," he said, and walked away.
Sven cleared his throat at the tent's entrance and was greeted with a, "come in."
He entered and spotted Tearju sitting on the edge of her chair, holding her forehead in her left hand.
"Are you alright?" he murmured.
She looked up, startled.
"Oh," she breathed. "I'm fine."
Sven put his hands in his pockets.
"Did you hear the news?"
"Yes," Tearju whispered. "And it only points out how little we truly know about our enemy." She raised her head. Sven could tell she had little sleep the night before. She looked exhausted. "It leaves me wondering. How much would they know about us?"
Sven sighed and looked away.
"We can't let that thought scare us. What's going on now is bigger than us, than just Eve. The whole world's involved now...we have to do what we can."
She nodded, not knowing whether he looked her way or not, and stood.
"I'm sorry."
Tearju stopped, pulled out of her thoughts by those words, and turned to face Sven.
"About last night," he continued. "What I did—" He shut his eyes and shook his head. "It was wrong. I want to apologize but I don't know how I can make up for—"
Sven opened his eyes when he felt a hand touch his shoulder.
"The person you care most about has been missing for a year. I helped create this person as my clone. It was my decision that we should look the same and only your mistake that for a moment, you wanted to forget everything that had happened."
Sven looked at Tearju confusedly.
"What I mean to say," she continued, "is that I understand. And that I forgive you."
Tearju nodded once and Sven took her hand in both of his.
"Thank you," he murmured.
She nodded again, blushing slightly and moved away to check on a screaming tea kettle.
"Would you like some?" she said after pouring the tea into her own cup.
"No, thanks," Sven replied.
"Are you sure?" she said, turning around with cup in hand. "The tea is a special blend of my own. It's designed for clarity of mind and endurance—just the right thing to drink before the battle ahead of us."
Sven smiled kindly.
"Alright. I guess it won't hurt."
She pulled out another cup with her right hand and poured the tea. Picking up the saucer she walked towards Sven.
"Careful," she said. "It's very—"
Tearju didn't finish. She tripped on a root and fell flat on her face. The tea went flying. Sven wailed as he covered his face with his hands.
"HOOOT!!!!"
Outside the tent, the campsite paused at the startling sound of Sven's cry of pain.
Train shook his head.
"Some things never change."
"All the preparations are in place, brother," said Y, kneeling before X.
"Good. See that our guests get a proper welcoming."
She nodded gravely and exited the small room. X turned.
"Eve," he sang. "Eeve..."
She lifted her head and sat up on his bed.
"Soon. Soon you'll be able to wreak all your revenge. You'll be able to make them suffer, darling."
Eve tilted her head and blinked.
"Yes," she said softly. She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. "I'll do whatever you ask of me."
"Did you give Tearju the disk?" asked Train as soon as he met Sven rubbing his sore skin in the middle of camp.
Sven nodded. Fortunately the disk hadn't been ruined when she spilled that hot tea all over him. It had been in his coat pocket and has somehow managed to stay dry.
"Yeah, but she had already seen it. Apparently Leon and River gave it to her," he said. "As soon as she finished getting the information, she told me that she wants to see everyone as soon as possible so that she makes sure we all know." Train and Sven walked together silently until Train stopped suddenly and turned east.
"Someone's coming," Train whispered under his breath.
As if on cue, they heard a motor blast and a rush of people making a commotion on the eastern border of the camp. They ran to the source of the noise, where a group had already gathered.
Train and Sven shouldered their way through the crowd.
"Annette!" Sven cried.
Annette was leaning breathlessly on Woodney's motorcycle.
"Where have you been?" Train asked.
"I was there. I left camp while everyone was asleep," she coughed. The winds picked up and sand whirled violently around the crowd.
"Did you see Eve?" asked Sven.
Annette shook her head.
"There are legions—"
Leon looked quizzically at Jenos and then back at Annette.
"Legions of what?"
"Soldiers," whispered Annette. "There are Nation soldiers everywhere, as far as the eye can see." She looked up. "The entire world is against us."
In less than ten minutes, everyone was gathered around the center of the camp. Tearju, Jenos, Sven, Annette, and Train stood in the front.
"Recently, investigations were made about the unsolved explosion of a science lab in a remote country west of here about thirty years ago," began Annette, who had already recovered from her harrowing drive back. "They were working for the government, and no one knows how the building caught fire, what experiments were being made, or how there were no survivors—until now."
The camp was dead silent. A pin drop could be heard.
"Lin Shaolee and Anubis assisted me with the investigations. Their connection to the higher ups in the government proved useful, because we found out that these people: X, Y, and Z...they weren't only responsible for the founding of Chronos, but were responsible for this explosion." Annette took a deep breath. "The experiments were first made on animals to perfect methods of breeding children with special powers whose purpose would be to exclusively serve the government. X and Y were test tube babies. Biological twins, in fact. They were put through training to assist the country's army, but their intelligence proved to surpass the scientists who had created them, because they escaped and killed everyone who had lived inside the facility. At the time of the incident, they were ten years old."
"Holyyyy shit," whispered River.
"I say 'they' very carefully. At least the disc—which carries scraps of surviving surveillance footage saved from the fire—shows two young children making the attacks on the scientists. Some of you have already seen these videos." Annette shook her head. "It's not pretty." She sighed. "Thing is, that there is also complied footage of the death of the young boy months before the escape was made. The boy was buried at the side of the complex. His corpse was recovered recently. The remains are confirmed to be his. This gives us reason to believe that the man who claims to be X is not who he says he is. We don't know if experiments were made on other children, but it appears that X and Y were the only ones. Z was an adult prisoner at the time of the explosion, but he escaped and joined X and Y in their later endeavors. Despite the fact that he was older, he was always a subordinate to X and Y. This proved useful when they settled down in cities as they traveled because Z posed as their father in order to raise no suspicion. Z lost his mind when the scientists performed experiments on him—but what made him exceptional were his fighting abilities. He was a loose cannon—which is why X and Y were created—but his skills were first-class. In any case, whoever this man, this X is...he's been lying to his teammates for twenty-nine years."
"What happened after they escaped?" River asked.
Annette turned to face him.
"They left. Disappeared for a while and then came here. They founded Chronos from behind the scenes with no suspicion from any outside party. The elders—the pseudo heads of Chronos—answered only to X, Y, and Z."
Annette's jaw tensed.
"All of you have to know....they've surrounded Eve. When I first saw it, I was in shock. I've never seen anything so well-guarded in all my life. Nation soldiers for miles around are surrounding them. It's going to be a real challenge to infiltrate."
Sven nodded.
"Their numbers aren't something we've completely anticipated," he said, "but our plan can still work despite that. If we scramble their communication in an effective way, they won't be able to take orders and that'll lessen their power dramatically." He clenched his jaw and looked at his friends. "All of you have risked sacrificing your own lives for protecting Eve. I could never be more grateful." They stood silently, but proudly awaiting for him to give them orders. Sven smiled. "Alright, so we know all that we can to help us. Let's split up from here and move out." He looked at Train. "Tearju, Rins, and Train are coming with me."
Jenos nodded in unison.
"Sephie, Belze, River and the rest of you sweepers tag along with me. Leon, there's been a change of plans. You go with Silphy, Woodney and the rest of your gang to back them up."
"What? Why?" he said fretfully. He had wanted to go with the ex numbers to prove himself.
Jenos walked over to Leon, put his hands on Leon's shoulders and spoke quietly so that no one would hear.
"We didn't think the numbers of nation forces would be this high. They're gonna need extra protection. From the heights you can reach, you'll be the best lookout for them. Your job is important. If the army finds Silphy scrambling signals, they'll be in huge trouble. If the nation forces are desperate enough, they might send jets to bomb them overhead, and you're the only one that can stop those jets."
"What about Eve?" Leon asked anxiously. "Won't they try to bomb her, too?"
Jenos gave him a sardonic grin.
"I'm sure X and his team have prepared for that in advance. That ugly mechanical heart will be able to withstand a lot. The old bus won't."
"Right," Leon said, nodding in understanding. "I'll do my best."
Jenos' smile faded as he walked away.
"Good luck, kid."
From there, everyone regrouped and gathered their things to leave. The camp had already been taken down. In under five minutes, everyone was gone.
Train, Rins, Tearju and Sven all rode in the same jeep. Sven drove quickly through their charted territory. They were to drive twenty miles, park the car, and sneak their way through the last five. They were expecting heavy surveillance on not just X's side, but on those who wanted to destroy everything inside the mechanical heart--including Eve.
Train was bored and showing it.
"Hey remember that time that they gave you the senior citizen discount at the movie theater without even having to ask what age you were?"
"Traain," warned Sven.
"Or how about the time me and Jenos handcuffed you to the booth at that Chinese buffet by our house and made you watch us eat it all and then left you to pay the bill?"
"Traiiin!"
"Or that time that Rinslet got mad at you and burned a few hundred dollar bills in your face just to spite you and then asked you how much you were in debt?"
"Traaaiiiiinnnn!!!!"
"Or how River always asks you to look in the future with your vision eye and tell him what he'll eat for lunch tomorrow or if he'll be rich and famous or if Creed's girl, Echidna, will ever go out with him?"
"Train I'm going to--"
Train smiled.
"Hey, partner, I'm just reminiscing on some of the good times."
"Good times, my ass," Sven muttered.
Rins laughed. "Actually, those were some good times. I remember--"
"Rins, I'm warning you..."
She laughed a second time. "Don't worry, Sven, I'm not going to poke at your old age."
"Fine," he sighed.
She smiled mischievously.
"I was just about to say, I remember when you tried to tell Eve about the birds and the bees, and she ended up lecturing you instead of the other way around."
Sven groaned.
"Haha, yeah, I remember," said Train. "What was that word she used? Uh...what was it..."
"Coitus?" Tearju interjected.
"Yeah!" Train laughed. "And Sven didn't know what it meant, so Eve had to explain it for him."
"Hahaha! You're right. That was priceless. I'll never forget it. She totally made Sven blush." Rins giggled. "Geez, I couldn't forget that day even if I wanted to."
Sven smiled.
"Yeah, me neither."
Their laughter died a little as they remembered the trials of the present, and the ride was silent the rest of the way there.
Eve stood next to X at the top of their tower. As far as the eye could see, they were surrounded by soldiers, but she was unaffected by their numbers. They were no match for her.
There was some other reason for her to become unsettled. Every passing minute, her heart began to beat faster and faster.
"Something is coming," she whispered darkly.
X turned to look at her.
"Ah, you feel it too?" He looked out again at the soldiers that surrounded them. They hadn't attacked yet. He knew they were waiting for all their troops to arrive to attack at once with full force. "Such fools," he laughed. "The only ones equipped to fight us have not yet arrived."
He smiled, grabbed Eve, and forcefully kissed her. He pulled away from her.
"When this world is destroyed, I will recreate it with you, and we will start a new generation of mankind," he whispered into her ear. "Our children will be all-powerful. They will be kings and queens of the New Earth."
"Yes," she said softly.
"You have to greet our guests properly. It is time to prepare you for the final battle."
Y appeared without command, as if willed there by X's thoughts.
"Take her. Put her in the room and connect her to the heart. She is the force that will power this machine."
Y looked sadly at Eve, who looked back without emotion.
"I will do as you ask, my brother."
X nodded once.
"Good. See that you do."
With that, Y took Eve by the hand and led her to the center of the heart.
Train, Sven, Rins, and Tearju didn't have to travel far to see the signs of the troops that had passed by. The desert looked trampled on, like the battle had already begun. They soon reached their checkpoint and left the car.
"We go the rest of the way on foot," said Tearju. "If I'm not mistaken, there should be a series of stone tunnels that wind their way under this desert. If we take the right paths, they can lead us right below the heart. We will split up in the tunnels right before we arrive."
"Alright," said Sven. "I'll go first. Train you hold up the rear."
Train nodded and they all followed Sven into the darkness.
"There has been a disturbance in the frequencies, general."
The old, gray haired man looked up from his station. He had fought many times in his life and this one of many countless battles. Though he always fought with intelligence and tact, he was tired. After all the things he had seen, part of him thought that this might very well be the end of the world.
"Check the lines again and make sure that they're in tact," he said. "We need to keep in communication with the rest of the troops. Find out where this disturbance is coming from and destroy the cause."
His young subordinate nodded once quickly, saluted, and exited the tent.
"Damn," whispered Silphy as she looked at the screen. They had been testing ways to cut the troops' communication, and in one of their trials, they set off an accidental discharge from their vehicle. They were using Leon's Volkswagen bus as a center for scrambling signals and infiltrating the messages sent in between the forces. She hoped against hope they didn't notice.
"Stupid," said Leon. "Why did you have to spill that coffee on the console while we were working? The signal wouldn't have gone off if you hadn't done that!"
"I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I needed that coffee," argued Woodney, who looked longingly inside the empty cup.
"Well you--"
"That's enough!" said Silphy. "We've prepared a long time for this day and we're not gonna mess it up by bickering and making another mistake." She looked at Woodney. "It was an accident."
Woodney stared back at her gratefully.
Leon sighed.
"Fine, sorry."
Silphy waived her hand and pointed to the door.
"Go make sure that we don't get found out."
Leon stood up.
"I'm gonna get a bird's eye view. If you hear any disruptions nearby, let me know."
"Sure thing," Silphy replied.
The trek into the tunnels had been relatively quiet. They did not want to take any chances, and otherwise, they had very little to say.
They saw a break in the tunnels ahead and slowed down.
"This is where we part ways," said Tearju.
Train lifted his right arm to wave it at them, but made a face when nothing happened.
"Uh....guys...."
They all looked over at him.
"What?" Sven asked.
"Shit," Train whispered and pulled at his right arm with his left. Still no response. "I can't move my right arm."
"What??"
"I said I--"
"I know what you said, you idiot," Sven muttered. "What's wrong with it?"
"It's numb. I can't feel it. It won't move."
"Let me see it," said Rins, walking towards him. She touched his arm, raised it, and smacked it against the stone wall of the tunnel.
Train looked a little dazed, but he hadn't made a sound.
"Yeah, it's numb alright."
Train glared at her.
"I hate you."
Rins smiled at him sweetly.
"I think it might be an effect caused by going so near to Eve in her present state," said Tearju. She pushed up her glasses. "I know just what Eve's body is capable of because I helped create it. They've built this large machine in order to amplify her powers many times over. I'm sure that their plan involves using her powers against the entire globe, and for that kind of damage, those powers need to be increased. I'm sure that the changes in her energy have caused a reaction in your body because of the nanomachines Creed infected you with years ago."
"Why hasn't it affected me?" asked Sven. "I feel fine."
She turned to face him.
"Probably because of the shot you were given by Train after that hallucinogenic episode of yours. Train's nanomachines are lying dormant in his body, but yours were paralyzed by the nanomachines in the vaccine I created."
"Peachy," Train muttered. He sighed. "I can use my left hand, but my right is still my shooting hand. I've gone through enough training, though." A smile suddenly lit up his face. "I can still kick his ass with my left hand,"
"That's what I like to hear," Sven said, putting a hand on his partner's shoulder.
"We're going to mess with the controls in their tower and get it to self destruct," said Rins. "Don't forget--once we've sabotaged it, you'll only have a short time to get out."
Train and Sven nodded.
Tearju suddenly turned to Sven. "Remember what I said. You might very well be attempting suicide to enter that room, because there is no way you can fight an Eve armed with that kind of power. Whoever enters is meant to exchange their life in forfeit."
"I don't care what happens to me," Sven said resolutely. "As long as Eve gets out alive...that's all that matters."
Tearju looked at him silently for a moment and nodded.
"Good luck," she said, and turned away, walking toward the left side of the forked tunnel.
Rins hesitated, staring at them both, memorizing their faces in the event that this was the last time she looked at them. She nodded at them quickly and followed Tearju into their side of the tunnel.
Jenos stood on the summit with Belze, Sephiria, Annette, Kevin McDougall, River and Tomoe. There were mountains on the borders of the desert, and they were waiting on the closest one to Eve. From where they stood, thousands of soldiers could be seen, and at a distance, the large mechanical heart that held Eve inside, marred the desert.
"That's a shitload of nation soldiers," said River, flexing his gloves.
"They're well trained," said Sephiria.
"How do you know?" said Kevin McDougall.
She blinked.
"Because I helped train them."
"Oh super!" River mumbled nervously.
"Don't worry," said Jenos. "They're well trained, but Sven was right when he said they'll lose it if they don't have orders. Their weakness lies in the fact that they can't work independently. Break their communication, and they'll be like ants chaotically running around a destroyed anthill."
Belze furrowed his eyebrows.
"We'll still need to be careful. One ant bite is nothing, but hundreds of ants will do their damage. Don't forget there's strength in numbers."
Kevin and River nodded.
Annette stood back, smoking a cigarette. "There's one thing I don't understand."
They all looked at her.
"I mean, asking this is kind of a waste because there's nothing we can do about it now, but something's been bothering me ever since this morning..." She shrugged and puffed out a stream of smoke. "We knew that there were gonna be troops surveilling this area because a huge mechanical structure popping up like a daisy in the desert is enough to get any country's attention...but these numbers are ridiculous for just surveying something out of the ordinary. We knew what was gonna happen inside that thing because Tearju was smart enough to crack their plan--she's the one who created Eve, after all....but...the nation soldiers...there are so many of them..." Annette grimaced. "How the hell did they find out about this?"
Jenos and the others stared at each other in a short silence. The answer was obvious, but they were all amazed that they hadn't asked the same question of themselves earlier.
"Damn," Jenos cursed and pounded his fist into the rock wall. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the sea of troops below them. "Someone in our group leaked information."
The stuffy air of the tunnels was getting to Train and Sven as the day turned into night. As time progressed, their breathing grew more labored. When Train and Sven had reached the end of their wits, they had finally reached the end of the tunnel.
"Train," Sven said suddenly. He looked gravely at his partner. "Whatever happens in that room, I need you to let me do it alone."
Train remained silent and looked away.
"I'm not going to lose a partner," he replied softly.
Sven gripped his briefcase.
"Please Train...let me do this alone," he whispered. "I'm begging you."
Train looked fiercely at Sven.
"I won't get in your way...if you promise to come back."
Sven grimaced.
"Is that all?"
Train nodded. Sven smiled determinedly.
"It's a deal," Sven said.
They made motions to rise to the upper end of the tunnel, to where they supposed the heart would be, when Train stopped.
"Listen..." Train said, turning on Sven. "I know what Tearju said, but don't go in there thinking that you deserve punishment. If you do, you won't come out alive with Eve. Go in thinking you'll bring her out of this mess. Tonight is going to be the start of a new year...things can be the way they were before."
Sven nodded gravely.
"I will."
Train cocked his gun with his left hand.
"Good. I got your back. Let's go."
They ran up into the dim light. When they reached the surface, they blinked in surprise.
They were surrounded by nation soldiers.
Train chuckled nervously. "Sven, I think we made a wrong turn."
Next Chapter: Sven and Train fight the Nation Soldiers only to be captured. How will they get out in time to save Eve? Eve regains her memory for a short while and must make a choice: either save the world, or save herself.
Author's Note: Remember, if you guys have any questions, feel free to ask. And just for the heck of it...tell me what you think so far. The review button is...right....there.
