HEY everyone! Remember me? Yeah…I suck at updating…and I suck even more at actually finding the MOTIVATION to write. Funny how that works, huh? I really wanted to update earlier but things were swept up in all this craziness called school and life and…well…I didn't succeed until now. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!
This chapter really gets us into the action of things. I hope you like it. We're revisited by Mason (don't we love him…), and CREED! YAY for all my Creed fans! No, no, nothing "interesting" happens between Train and Creed, but they are reunited and will be for most of the end. I needed something dramatic, and Creed's entrance fit the cause. I hope you all like it.
No worries, Sven will continue to be a main character, as will Train, and Sephiria will eventually return. I hope none of you are big Rinslet fans…she sort of got cut out…so did Tearju. I really don't like Dr. Tearju…she's boring, and Rinslet, well, I just don't see the point of her in this story.
ANYWAYS, that's enough from me. Here is the latest chapter in this story of mine. Thank you all SO much for your reviews, comments, sticking with me, and just READING this story. I appreciate it beyond words…I can't even go into it without sounding like a crazy person who love you all too much (or just the right amount X3). Please enjoy the latest chapter, you're all amazing!
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A Painful Greeting
The darkness engulfed as we waited, the sounds from outside slowly dying as they realized we weren't coming out. We listened carefully, our eyes directed towards the other as we tried to sift through the murky darkness we had found ourselves in.
Footsteps neared the doors before coming to a stop. Words muttered as they spoke to one another, most likely trying to figure out how to get in-or how we got in. I flinched as something large slammed into the doors from the other side, making them shudder. It came again. And again.
"They're trying to break their way in." Sven breathed as he was still trying to slow his breath.
"Who knows how long it'll take for them to get in," I replied.
"Probably not long." Sven replied as the doors shook again.
"Then we should get moving." I replied as I turned, squinting as my eyes attempted to adjust to the pitch black darkness.
How was it possible to see something through nothing? Whether it was or wasn't possible we tried all the same. We stood slowly, feeling the walls around us, before I reached out and took hold of Sven's shoulder, making him jump.
"It's just me," I snickered. I could almost feel the glare he was giving me. "This way we won't lose each other."
"Well if you run off to get yourself kill could you remember to let go?" He asked sarcastically as we slowly moved forward, one foot after the other.
The fingers of my free hand dragged against the cold, metallic feeling wall, hoping to find a break in the straight path we were walking. A turn, a door, anything would be helpful. But going straight didn't make any sense to us. We had ended at the nap of the neck of Eden, there was no way we could go straight forever before we reached a dead end…and dead ends weren't exactly what we needed.
"There's something here," Sven said at the foot advantage he had over me as he was walking in front. "I think it's an elevator."
"An…elevator?" I asked. It didn't seem possible that something like that would exist in something like Eden. Then again, it didn't seem possible that something like Eden should exist at all…
We felt around blindly for any sign of controls for the machine when my fingers stumbled over the smooth, round indentation that I knew was a button. I jammed it down, the small circle glowing beneath my thumb. No matter how small it was that tiny bit of light gave me the smallest hint of hope through the darkness we had been traveling through.
We waited for several uncomfortable seconds before we heard the elevator grinding upwards, the gears groaning in protest as if it hadn't been used in years. It came to a stop and the doors slid open, the lights inside blinding us temporarily.
I had half expected someone to be waiting for us-to jump out and attack, but no one was there. Somehow it was eerier to be greeted by the empty elevator than to have had someone be inside. Was anyone in this thing? Had it been set on auto pilot? Or was this all an elaborate trap to lure us deep inside the thing so we'd never find our way back out?
We glanced at one another before stepping into the small box. There was only one button the control panel and it pointed down.
"Looks like we don't have much of a choice." I shrugged before Sven reached forward and pressed it.
The doors slid shut silently before we began to descend into the unknown. The gears screeched and groaned again as the lights flickered in and out of life, leaving us in temporary, uncomfortable moments of darkness. The small room shuddered several times before coming to a jerking stop, my stomach threatening to work backwards on me.
I took in a deep breath, my fingers falling to Hades as we waited for the doors to open. We had no idea what awaited us beyond this point, then again we had never really known. We knew Eve had to be somewhere down here and in the end that was all that mattered.
Sven grabbed my arm as the doors began to open, his eyes searching for mine as he spoke frantically.
"Train-Train I don't have a good feeling about-"
He never had a chance to finish his sentence as what felt like a wall slammed into us. My head hit the back of the elevator hard as my knees buckled and I slid towards the floor. I slumped to the side as I tried to regain control.
I opened my eyes slowly to the dimly lit elevator floor-the carpet far too detailed from my point of view. Sven lay just out of view, his hand all I could see as his fingers barely succeeded at holding onto his attaché case.
I groaned quietly as I pushed myself up onto hands and knees, taking in a shaking breath as the shock of the initial impact began to fade.
"Sven," I said as I reached out to him and shook his shoulder. "You okay?"
"Yeah," He groaned as well as he began to stir, pulled his case towards him. "I think so. What was that?"
"I have no idea." I shook my head as I slowly stood, my joints aching in protest, warning me that if I did that again that would be it.
I slowly stepped towards the door of the elevator, peering out into the dimly lit room that waited beyond when the doors slammed shut, missing my foot by centimeters.
"Whoa!" I threw myself backwards into the farthest wall again, breathing hard as I took in what had just happened.
"What happened?" Sven cried as he stood up quickly, aiming his case at the doors as I pulled out Hades, ready to fire when the doors opened next.
"No idea," I shook my head as we stared at our distorted reflections in the elevator doors. "But I think you were right about your bad idea."
The elevator shuddered violently as something slammed into the pair of double doors. The lights buzzed and flickered as we stood in silence, the violent shaking coming to a slow and steady halt.
"What's going on?" Sven asked slowly as we braced ourselves for another blow.
"Someone's out there," I said slowly, studying the doors. "Who doesn't want us to be here."
"Or they do," Sven breathed slowly. "And they want us to come out and play."
"Nice," I said, looking at him out of the corner of my eyes. "You make me feel so much better about this situation."
The elevator shook again as the doors were attacked once more, over and over until the metal on the inside was beginning to dent inward. It wasn't until several blows later that the metal exploded, forcing Sven and I to throw ourselves to the floor.
We sat up slowly as the elevator rocked back and forth in the shaft. The doors were entirely demolished, a nicely cut hole pierced right through the center. We looked behind us to see a piece of the doors cut deep into the wall directly where we had been standing.
We looked at each other slowly before turning our attention to what lay beyond the broken doors. There were quiet footsteps from somewhere far off that slowly came closer-echoing off the walls and sending a chill up my spine.
My initial reaction was to wait and see who it was-to size them up before I attacked, but something told me that if I didn't move now we were screwed. I stood quickly, pulling Hades up and aiming through the hole in the doors. I was ready for whoever they were, I just wasn't sure I wanted to know who it was.
I forced myself to stand stationary as a pair of hands reached in and grabbed the broken sections of the doors before pushing them apart until there was a clear opening so that we could see who stood beyond.
I tried to see through the murky light-tried to make out their features but before I could their hand reached out and wrapped around my neck. I took hold of their wrist, struggling with the fingers before trying to kick them off. I held my breath, trying to keep what little I had in my lungs, as I struggled against them.
With one fluid movement they ripped me out of the elevator and into the dim light before throwing me across the room. I slammed hard into the wall, Hades flying from my hand and skidding across the floor.
I coughed and tasted blood as I rolled onto my arms, pushing myself onto hands and knees as I tried to clear my head. Their footsteps retreated-back towards the elevator.
"Sven!" I yelled as I realized what was going on-they were going back for him.
I looked around frantically before locating Hades. I stood and dashed across the floor, scooping it up, and aiming towards the elevator.
I heard a loud bang and Sven yelp, followed by a sickening thump. They slowly turned towards me, their body covered in a golden, metallic armor except for their head, which I could see perfectly as my eyes adjusted. His smile was more like a smirk as his eyes fell on me, and I could see nothing but evil there.
"Mason…" I breathed as I continued to aim Hades at him.
"Number Thirteen." He nodded, but I knew it wasn't out of respect.
"What are you doing?" I yelled through the empty room, my voice bouncing off the circle of columns that surrounded us. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Stopping you," He said calmly as he stepped away from the elevator. "You see, I knew you would come-in fact I had hoped you would come. You were always my favorite, Thirteen, no matter how angry you made us. I knew you had potential and I had hoped that one day you would take my place once I had retired or become an Elder.
But you disappointed me far more than you had before. You left, Thirteen, and I knew then that you would either be a commodity or a nuisance."
I glared at him as I breathed hard, pain shooting up my back with every breath and the taste of blood faint in my mouth. I wanted to get to the elevator-to check on Sven, but Mason was in my way and I knew he was planning to kill me.
"What do you want with Eve?" I asked, through I already knew-I had to take up time. "What's the point of Eden?"
"You already know, Thirteen," He spoke with a hint of annoyance. "I need Eve to give life to Eden."
He looked around at the room as he said this, a crazed look in his eyes before he turned back to me.
"Eve gives Eden her power-Eden must have an Eve to exist, should it not?" As if I should know the answer to his strange question. "Eden will create a new world for us, Thirteen. I have successfully destroyed Chronos and the Apostles of the Stars, as they are of no further use to me, and next I shall destroy the unworthy people of this earth. They will help Eden to grow-to become the perfection she's meant to be."
"You don't make sense," I snapped. "You haven't destroyed Chronos or the Apostles of the Stars. They're still going-they're here to stop you and your stupid machine."
"You know so little," He smiled, but his expression changed rapidly to one of hate. "And those who know little often speak far more than they should."
He wrenched his armored arm back before throwing it forward. For the second time an invisible wall slammed into me, throwing me back against a column. I took in a painful breath as I slid down to the floor, my hand catching me as I tried my hardest to ignore the pain.
"I told them to convince you to come to me," He spoke with a calm anger as he walked towards me. "I told my Apostles of the Stars to convert you to my side."
"Y-Your Apostles of the Stars?" I coughed as breathing became even more painful.
"Like I said, Thirteen, you know so little."
He reached down and took hold of my collar, wrenching me upwards until we were face to face-my feet dangling off the ground as his armor seemed to add several feet to his once short height.
"I created the Apostles of the Stars," He said, his eyes boring into mine. "I told them to defy Chronos-to destroy it if they could-and above all to attract the most powerful and worthy."
"But-Creed-" I choked as I held tightly to his hand with mine.
"Creed was recruited to the Apostles of the Stars shortly after leaving Chronos," He replied quickly. "He left to follow you but I offered him something far more attractive…power.
I told him that once he had joined he must find me the most powerful and unique individuals he could find and we both knew exactly who we needed. The ex-assassin who had left Chronos to find his own way-the one who hated them-the one who wanted a new life. We needed you Train Heartnet-Number Thirteen-but you wouldn't come easily."
I struggled at this, feeling the strain on my neck as I tried to find the floor beneath me. I watched as Sven stirred within the confines of the elevator, his eyes opening and slowly moving upwards to the scene in front of him, but there was nothing he could do as Mason flung me against the farthest wall, my body crashing to the ground.
My limbs shook as I pushed myself up, refusing to go down that easily. He slowly walked towards me, looming over me in his shining armor.
"But now I have you," He smirked as he reached down again, but I moved faster.
I ducked away from his armored hand and rolled to the side. I stood and stumbled backwards, the pain bearable, but just that, painful. I wrenched Hades up, my fingers bleeding as I aimed, before pulling the trigger.
The bullet bounced off the gleaming metal of his armor, causing him to throw his head back and laugh…a maniacal sound. I shot again, and again, and again until I knew I only had a few shots left-but it barely made a dent. It refuse to fall weak to the barrage of bullets I had set loose on it, and I knew it wouldn't be long before it would be his turn.
I felt my legs weaken beneath me and I fell slowly to my knees. Sven watched from the elevator, his eyes filled with fear as he tried to reach for his attaché case. Mason smirked, the idea of victory swimming through his eyes as he moved towards me.
"Surrender to me, Thirteen," He said as he looked down at me. "Surrender to me and I will spare you life."
I didn't respond, merely knelt before him, my body shaking and my mind screaming.
"Accept my offer," He knelt down to my level and looked into my eyes. "And you will live."
I looked up slowly, my fingers tightening subconsciously around Hades as I felt my arm tense up.
"Thanks," I said, my voice sharpening as I whipped Hades up and pressed it against his temple. "But compared to you death seems a lot more welcoming."
My finger tightened but before it could his hand whipped up and took hold of my wrist, wrenching it upwards as I pulled the trigger, sending the bullet into the ceiling above. His other hand wrapped around my neck painfully, his armored hands digging into my skin as he pulled me onto my feet.
"Not so fast," He scolded as he snapped my hand to the side, pain shooting through my fingers and Hades falling to the ground with a clatter as I clenched my teeth together against the throbbing of my bones. "You're foolish to think I'm that easily defeated."
I sucked in a desperate breath as his fingers tightening further around my throat, forcing a muffled cry out of me as my spine felt as through it were about to snap.
"You will never join us, Thirteen," He said, his voice sounding the not least bit sad. "So I have no other choice but to eliminate you."
He lurched forward and I felt my back collide with the ground beneath us hard, my head hitting the cement, sending splotches of white into my vision. He wrapped both hands around my neck and slammed my head into the ground again, as through he felt the first time wasn't enough, over and over until I could barely tell what was and wasn't in pain.
He stood quickly before his foot collided hard with my ribs, sending me rolling onto my side in sheer pain. He reached down and took hold of the back of my shirt before slamming me painfully into one of the columns, then throwing me into a nearby wall.
I slid to the ground, my head hitting hard as I fought for consciousness. He was too strong-far stronger than he had been before, and Hades had absolutely no effect on him. Normally I would be able to out run, out jump, and outsmart him, but he was different now, as if he had been hiding behind an act all this time until now.
I opened my eyes to the room around me, the shapes swimming in and out of one another as everything meshed together. His footsteps approached from behind me, my back facing him as I wished I could sink into the floor. If I didn't do something he was going to kill me, but what could I do? I had been taught to wait until the opportune moment when faced with an enemy that was stronger than you, but in this situation I was being faced with a constant barrage of inopportune moments.
My fingers slid against the floor as my hand tightened into a fist. I couldn't die here-not here. Eve was somewhere inside this place, and I knew Sven was next after me in Mason's mind. This was now how I was going to go, this was not how I had planned it…though I had never really thought this sort of thing through.
"I'm impressed," He said from above me as he nudged me with his sharp foot. "You're still alive."
I held in a cry of pain as another one of his invisible walls slammed into me, pushing me further into the broken ground around me. A small piece of rubble tumbled past my vision as I lay there, feeling my blood as it dripped down my skin, my bones as they ached inside me, and my breathing as it began to slow.
"Train…" I heard Sven's voice call from the elevator, filled with the effort of ignoring pain.
I squeezed my eyes shut, praying Mason wouldn't turn his attention onto Sven, but I knew he hadn't when his hand reached down and forced me onto my back.
I stared up at him with weak eyes, my body refusing to show the strength I wished it would. He studied me for several silent seconds before speaking.
"If you will not join us then you must fall at our feet." He reaching his hand out towards me and I knew he was planning another attack-one I was sure I wouldn't survive.
There was a loud bang somewhere behind us and the room was flooded with a painfully bright light. I turned my eyes slowly to look behind me-a dark silhouette standing just beyond the doorway in the blinding light.
"I'm afraid it isn't Train who has chosen not to join us," A familiar voice spoke, flooding me with hope. "It seems the rules have changed in our favor…not yours."
There was the sound of metal against metal before a spray of blood splattered against the wall just behind me. Mason's eyes widened with shock before he fall backwards with a loud crash.
I took in a slow, painful breath as I realized what had just happened. There was the sound of rushing footsteps before his face filled my vision, a look of worry in his eyes as he hands covered just above my face, afraid to touch me.
"Train," He spoke as through he were trying to keep me awake. "Train are you alright?"
"I think," I trailed off as I looked up at him. "I think I broke something."
He did a quick once over before looking back to me, his eyes darting back and forth between mine as he seemed to feel a hundred different emotions.
"You're-you're hurt," He said, his voice strained. "You need help. I can-"
"I'm-I'm fine," I said nonchalantly, feeling as through my mind were on drugs. "I just ran into a wall a couple of times."
"Train, be serious," He said, his expression changing to a determined one. "You're seriously injured. You need help or you won't be able to finish the mission."
A wave of heat slammed into me as he spoke, his words filled with little meaning as my head felt light and dizzy. The room swam in circles as I squinted to hold onto it. My mind was turning upside down, and I felt as through I were falling and flying at the same time.
"Train?" His hands made contact with the sides of my face now, shaking me slightly. "Train, stay with me. Train? Train!"
I blinked slowly. Once, twice, and then the darkness failed to go away.
