XXXIII
It was nearly five 'o' clock in the morning, now. Most everyone in the group had gone to sleep; all but she, Train, and that strange man from Chronos. Eve sighed deeply as she laid her head down on the mattress; her heart aching from all of the thoughts running through her mind. The room was quiet; so quiet that the only sound was that of the muddy-haired boy's breathing. She glanced over at him silently; a small smile tugging at her lips. His breathing was even and deep; and from the look on his face she could tell he was sleeping at least a little more peacefully then he had been earlier. Gently taking his hand, she sighed again and closed her eyes,
'At least I know, you're okay...even if that's all I know.'
He twitched a little, but remained in slumber...
"Dammit! Jeez, kid..."
----
Merrick straightened upon hearing the man's familiar, deep voice and spun around quickly; his eyes growing wide. Kneeling there was a man in a cream-coloured suit with a silver briefcase at his side. An eyepatch covered his right eye and poking out from beneath a beige fedora were long tufts of lime-green hair.
Apparently, the man noticed his staring at this point and turned to him; raising an eyebrow,
"What?"
"You," the boy began; blinking in surprise,
"You're Sven Vollfied, aren't you?"
Sven straightened; a look of confusion crossing his face,
"And you are?"
"M-Me?"
The boy stuttered; silencing a moment. He then growled as the man calmly stood up and lit the cigarette hanging from his lips,
"What the hell do you mean!? You've been harassing me non-stop for the past six months! First in Fector town...then Champais? Ring a bell??"
"Can't say that it does. You must be confusing me with someone else."
He watched silently as Sven started down the street and he clenched his fists; a deep frown on his face,
"Well, wait a minute!! What about Eve!? She's been searching for you for four years now; just hoping she'd find you alive!! Surely you've got something to say about her!!"
The lime-haired man stopped; bowing his head thoughtfully,
"Eve...did you say?"
The boy remained silent. The wind howled as it snaked between buildings; blowing leaves out of the trees all around them. He turned to the boy with a confused frown; shrugging,
"Sorry, kid... "
----
"...I don't know anyone by that name."
~ø~
The streets of Stock Town were dark, now; darker than when their scuffle had taken place. It was almost time. He glanced again at the pocket watch in his hand; sighing deeply. 5:30. A soft wind blew between the buildings; causing his long, raven bangs to flutter.
Snapping it closed, Li raised his head and set his eyes upon the inn across the street,
"Let's make this quick."
He turned to the group of Erasers behind him a deadly look in his eye,
"Take the bioweapon alive. Kill everyone else."
Then turning back to the building, he smirked,
"And leave Jenos Hazard to me."
~ø~
He lay back against the ceramic shingles; his eyes lightly closed. It had to be at least five in the morning, now. His ear twitched at the sound of movement nearby. He let out a tired yawn and quickly whipped out his pistol; aiming it at the shadows.
"Relax, Heartnet," a familiar voice began,
"It's just me."
Hobbling out of the dark was none other than Jenos Hazard. Train lowered his weapon,
"Something the matter?"
"Actually, yeah," he began, taking a seat beside the younger man,
"There's something I need to talk to you about."
"You have a nightmare?"
The mahogany-haired man snorted; shaking his head,
"No, nothing like that. It's about that eye your friend possesses."
Train straightened; raising his eyebrow curiously,
"What? You mean the vision eye?"
Jenos nodded; turning his gaze to the stars,
"Do you know how he got it?"
He nodded shortly,
"Sven told me about it in passing once. He said it was from his old partner in the IBI. He visits his grave once a year on the anniversary of his death...or at least he used to."
"Did you ever think of the possibility...that there could be more than just one out there?"
Train straightened,
"Not really, no. Why? You think there could be?"
"It's possible. Goldwynne's file said he was a registered organ donor. Any number of people could've received something from him...including the other eye."
The chestnut-haired man sighed; scratching his head,
"Yeah, but the question is..."
~ø~
"...where did it end up?"
----
"You...don't know....?"
Merrick's eye widened as the man shook his head; his fists clenching at his sides,
"What...what do you mean you don't know!?! You have to know!! You're her guardian, dammit!! Doesn't she mean anything to you!?"
Sven scowled at the boy; blowing smoke from his mouth in mild annoyance,
"Look. I already told you. You've got me mixed up with somebody else. I don't have any kids. Whoever this 'Eve' girl is she's not looking for me. See you around."
The man then calmly turned and started down the street; shoving his hands in his pockets. Shaking his head, the boy started to go after him, but stopped at the sound of a shout,
"Hey, kid! Watch where yer goin'!"
Glancing up ahead, he spotted a beastly looking man standing near a tiny, blonde girl. The girl had ruby eyes. He frowned, silently watching as Sven strode over to the man and pulled out his gun,
'I don't...'
Seconds later, the man ran away in terror.
'I don't get it...'
He watched them walk away; the air stilling around him,
'Are these...are these--?'
"Leave her alone!"
He spun around at the sound of a sudden shout; his eyes widening.
'This place...'
Mahogany pews. The velvet red carpeting. The stained-glass windows throwing a rainbow hue into the room. This was the church. The church on Dawson. And standing before him, a long gash running across his chest, was none other than...
He heard movement behind him and a strange, snake-like object flew past; barely missing his head. Staggering out of the way, Merrick gasped as what appeared to be a long-winding sword danced around the wounded man; finally burying itself in his shoulder. It slammed him against the wall and released him. He slid down to the floor, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. Merrick glanced over at the man behind the sword. He had silver-hair and a crazed look in his cold, grey eyes.
The boy straightened; his body frozen,
'No...no way! This guy...!? I remember him...! He's the one from the news reports four years ago...the one who attacked the world summit in Sangeles City!! He had a bounty of 3 billion on his head if I remember correctly...'
He tensed; swallowing hard as the silver-haired man aimed a gun directly at Sven's head,
'Dammit! I can't just let this happen! There's gotta be something--'
"Sven!!"
Merrick straightened; his eyes widening as her familiar voice rang out, albeit a bit higher than he remembered. He spun around to see her running straight for him. Holding out his hands, he tried desperately to make her stop,
"No, Eve!! Don't--!"
A gunshot rang out then and he turned back for Sven as the girl came to a halt.
Behind him now was a dark alleyway...
----
~ø~
"Finding the recipient would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Besides, I had someone a bit closer in mind..."
He pulled a manila folder from his coat and handed it to the chestnut-haired man; Train opening it curiously. Inside the folder was the picture of a young girl with cinnamon hair that bobbed at her chin and bright green eyes. She looked to be only about 16-years-old. He raised an eyebrow at it,
"Who is she?"
"Goldwynne's only child," Jenos began; turning his eyes to the picture as well...
~ø~
"Jessica."
The tiny brunette carefully placed the bouquet down on the cold, concrete tombstone and smiled,
"Hi, Daddy."
Turning back to her mother, she pouted slightly. The golden-haired woman was frowning.
"Mom? What's wrong?"
The woman sighed and shook her head, placing the flowers on her husband's grave,
"Nothing, sweetheart."
Shaking her head, the girl turned back to the grave and began telling it about how her life had been going. Her mother sighed again; rubbing at her arm subconsciously as she muttered quietly to herself,
"He didn't come again this year..."
~ø~
"Sven..."
----
Merrick narrowed his eyes as he stepped cautiously down the foggy backway. He could hear the sounds of a scuffle not too far ahead. Suddenly, a figure staggered around the corner; tumbling and falling into a nearby set of trash cans. They clattered loudly to the ground, and Merrick straightened; quickly jogging over to help,
"Hey! Are you okay--!?"
His eyes widened as he reached them and he halted. Pushing themselves up from the pile of garbage bins was none other than Sven Vollfied. His clothes were ripped in spots and stained in blood. Whoever he was fighting, he was putting up one hell of a fight, the boy noted. A gun hung limply at his side as he rose to his feet and one he quickly brought up at the sound of a distant noise. His breathing was deep and ragged. He was clearly getting tired.
The fog had set in pretty thick now and hardly anything over a foot away could be seen. Merrick frowned, as he stood next to Sven, the air dead silent,
'What the--?'
"Who the hell are you?"
The muddy-haired boy jumped his eyes wide as he glanced over at Sven,
"You...you can see me?"
"Wha--of course I can see you! Now get out of here before you get yourself killed, kid! This place isn't safe!"
Merrick snorted a little; glancing the man up and down,
"Clearly."
He scowled at the boy; his eyebrow twitching in annoyance,
"I'm serious, you little punk. Get out of here while you still can!"
As if on cue, a long, silvery tentacle shot out at them from the fog and the lime-haired man cursed; shoving the boy away from him,
"Move!!"
It wrapped itself around his neck, slamming him into the far wall. Merrick tensed; his eyes wide as it seemed to begin strangling him. He opened his mouth to shout, but another voice echoed in from the distance,
"Sven!!"
Sven clenched his teeth; choking a bit as he heard the call,
"Tr...ain...!"
The tentacle's grip tightened and he gagged; Merrick's eyes widening,
"H-Hey...stop!!"
He turned and followed the tentacle to it's source; readying himself to attack them,
"I said knock it off!!"
He raised his fist but stopped as he caught sight of their face; his heart dropping. It was him. That man...that horrible man...
"Jonas Warren."
The boy opened his eyes; completely startled. When had he shut them? Glancing around, he found himself in a completely white room with no furniture in sight. He shook his head and covered his mouth with a hand. Those things he'd just witnessed...had those just been an illusion? A dream? Or were those actually...?
"My memories."
Spinning on his heel, the boy straightened upon spotting a figure sitting in the corner of this vast, blank space. Long, ever-faded jade hair shadowed their features and their body looked fragile; skeletal. He cautiously inched his way over to them; his heart racing as he drew closer. The aura about this person was very familiar...as was their voice. But this couldn't be him. There was no way.
He swallowed hard as he knelt down before them. Their breathing was ragged and laboured, and a feeling of dread surrounded him...a feeling of death. The man weakly raised his head up to meet the boy's confused gaze; a sad smirk crossing his lips,
"Thanks for intruding.....kid."
A/N: Okay, so this chapter was actually meant to be waaaaaaay longer than this, and I'll probably edit the post a bunch later, but I'm posting it now because our computer is in danger of crashing and I'm afraid if I leave it, I'll lose the ENTIRE THING. And I don't want that. That I most certainly don't... lol
So...Enjoy! 8D