A/N Hey, guess what I've been writing instead of the fourth chapter of my story? Hahaha.. I actually wrote this a long time ago but had to revamp the ending because Cryptic Angel clued me in to the randomness in it. I don't quite remember what happened the whole story since I wrote it such a long time ago, so I hope the ending makes sense. But besides that, the author's note at the bottom is extremely important! Read it before you review!
She woke to the sounds of birds chirping outside the window. How…peaceful… she thought, sitting up.
Getting up in silence was such a rare occurrence.
Slipping off the bed, Eve padded over to the window, smiling happily as a small bird flew onto her outstretched hand. She admired its grace and poise. Only a creature that could fly could carry itself so delicately. It was moments like these that the human wish to transcend came to her.
The young girl tentively reached out her fingers to pet the top of the small creature, only to have it suddenly move away with a flap of its wings, and hover out of her reach.
I suppose it takes time to trust.
Some time later, Eve slipped on her boots to go meet Sven in the kitchen, where she found him smoking his trademark crumpled cigarette. As she came up behind him while he made his morning coffee, she wondered why cigarettes were always crumpled. Fancying the idea of someone carefully tearing off the plastic of a new pack and pulling out a crisp and new cigarette, she stood on the tips of her toes to tap the bearded man on the shoulder.
The silence was nice, it gave her access to thoughts that otherwise were difficult to come by. But still, it continued to feel lacking. "Where's Train?" she asked, wondering why the annoying ball of energy was missing. She was answered with a snort.
Rocking back on her heels she listened as he spoke, "That fool, he'll do anything for food." The long-haired blonde continued to stare questioningly at the man, having not received her answer. "He's gone off on a date with that thief."
"Boy, Train, you sure can eat." Rins stirred her strawberry lemonade slowly with her straw. She leaned her elbow on the small table to tilt her head in a smirk.
"Ya! I sure am indebted to you for this Rins. Your a lot nicer than I thought you were," he replied, between throwing food into his mouth. Errr.. She'd take that as a compliment. How he could talk clearly and eat at the same time amazed her, but all the same, this man amazed her in almost every way.
"I thought we should get off on better feet, Mr. Black Cat. Even if we spent most of our time bickering, I wanted to get to know you better, possibly become a friend."
"Friends? That would be cool! Specially with such a pretty lady like you." He went back to his plate, it didn't even seem like it had fazed him.
She had frozen in shock, the continuous circles made by her straw resting, allowing the ripples to fade. Was that a compliment? Or was that just his childish innocence bubbling up again? Either way, it flattered her.
"Besides, I have another favor to ask of you."
"Favor?" he peered at her over the rim of his bowl, yellow eyes curious.
Stealthily, the purple-headed beauty scooted her chair closer to his general vicinity, "Ya…I've been working on this persona for awhile. Elena Pierce. A wife from a nouveau riche family from Lork. I've been calling my connections for some time now, trying to weld myself into their society." Her eyes glittered proudly as she held up her fist in a triumphant gesture. "And finally, my hard work has paid off, Madame Freesia has put me on her list for her annual ball. She is the absolute richest person around and --"
"I know that…" he mumbled.
She continued as if he hadn't interrupted, "-- it is quite an honor to be invited, besides the thieving opportunity." She flashed him a smile, but he only saw teeth.
Evil-evil-evil Train set his bowl down, to see her better 'my dear', little red riding hood's wolf whispered in his ear.
"And wouldn't it be terribly silly," she persisted, leaning closer, "to ruin everything and go alone? I mean, a married woman arriving to one of the most illustrious balls without her husband? People will talk."
He continued to glance at that face suspiciously, but openly at the same time. There was some connection he was missing here…
His thoughts were cut off abruptly as he felt her small hand slip into his. His eyes widened in surprise as she began to lean closer to him, eyes half-lidded and lips opened slightly in a pouty gesture, "And I was really hoping…" she stopped just beneath him, "that you could accompany me there and become my darling." The heat that rose to his cheeks was quickly subdued with his utter shock. Mouth hanging open in the complete absurdity of the whole situation, the only thing he could do was continue to stare at her.
"So?" she questioned, pressing against him and beginning to rub her thumb along his.
"No."
"No?" she pulled back, her turn to be shocked. She unclasped his hand to hide hers within her hair. She had always been able to steal a man's heart… but these were just the things that amazed her about his, and caused her to like him more. Pulling herself together she grinned cockily at him. "Fine, I guess that I'll just have to leave you here with this huge bill of yours."
A game of tag, she had passed the shock back onto him.
"You wouldn't" evil-evil-evil
"Oh, it would be only to easy, especially since you don't consider us to be that well of friends…" She said it jokingly, but maybe a thief and sweeper really couldn't coexist in harmony.
"I don't really have a choice, do I?" he replied, slumping in his chair.
"Not even a small one." She sounded happy for such a malicious statement…
"Sven told me to watch out for you."
She wore his usual grin.
((sorry bout the rins rape scene there.. I actually found it kind of funny to write… I shouldn't have read that creed/trains fic…))
"What did I tell you?" Train slumped in his seat, he seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.
Eve swung her feet while sitting in the back seat, watching their current match.
"I told you, she tricked me!"
"And I told you that she would! This is all your fault… me being forced to become your chauffeur…"
Train pouted, but the one-eyed man remained oblivious, or at least acted like it. This innocent fool deserved these things sometimes.
"It makes me so angry! No dinner for you tonight!"
"No way!" shocked again, even his companion was turning against him. It was as if overnight he had become God's personal taser gun tester… Musing on these thoughts after he decided that Sven wasn't going to give an inch, they pulled in front of the huge oak doors.
"Have fun, and don't do anything stupid."
Sticking out his tongue would have been the most appropriate comeback he would usually have thought of, but he was feeling a slight bit depressed at the prospect of no dinner.
Eve waited till she saw him disappear through the fanciful doors before transferring herself to the front seat.
"So, Sven, what are you going to do?"
He tipped his hat in a gentlemanly manner, but left it resting on his nose.
"Sleep." he offered as a response, before beginning to snore. She sighed, leaning back in her chair. Maybe they didn't trust her either.
What a silly thought, they trusted her, it had been the wings that held none. The freedom to fly… and fear to be tamed. She snuck a glance at the breathing Sven, running her eyes over his wrinkled suite and hat. He did remind her of the protective folded wing of the dove, or of an angel. Sweet thoughts. He also reminded her of a wrinkled cigarette. Oh, how characteristic.
She laughed.
Train entered the foyer, straightening up and looking around coolly. The ambience of the place forced you to act differently…
"Hey! Over here!" yelled a waving Rins. After catching up to her she flashed a winning smile at him. "Bout time you got here. Thought you were going to be late."
She was actually more worried that he wouldn't show. She'd never be able to face him after… how flattered she was that he came… though she seemed to have forgotten that she coerced Train into it. Ah, well, let women have their revelries.
"Nyeh." he scoffed, "cats are never late, everybody else was just early."
She rolled her eyes. A line like that deserved no answer.
Sticking his tongue out at the beauty for her disbelief, he was met with her back. She had already turned to move them toward the check-in area. "You know that my deal only extends to you checking in. After that I'm eating….Sven's refused me dinner."
Rinslet Walker wasn't listening to his mild complaints though, she had already engaged herself in a conversation with the woman behind the booth.
"…and here we were all thinking you didn't actually have a husband, and that you were just saying that…to keep men off your back!" Her laugh tinkled through the air. She seemed nice, but he didn't trust any of these rich people. They were all here for…scary reasons…
Rins laughed in response, "Wow, I'm flattered, but no," she wrapped her arms round his left, "I'm married, and I don't lie."
Who said she could touch me?
"Well that's good," answered the woman smiling broadly, allowing a glint to cross her eye, "because Madame Freesia doesn't associate with liars."
"Right!…Uh…" Train stepped in hurriedly, drawing Rins away from the woman and slowly surrounding guards. "…Moving along…"
"Yes…" continued Rins, in a high-pitched, nervous voice, "Moving on," she kept her eyes on the silent bald-headed men until the two of them had blended in with the crowd. "Weird." she commented, still feeling the heat of their eyes burning her back.
"Your weird for actually wanting to come to this stupid ball."
"Are you calling me weird, Train?" she said, tapping her foot.
"Would I do that?" he answered, leaning forward and grinning lopsidedly into her face.
"I'd whack you one if we weren't in the presence of refined people." Rins responded, crossing her arms and blowing air sharply out of her nose.
"Eh, I suddenly love this ball…"
Her frustration was brought to an abrupt halt as she noticed an elegant old lady board the stage.
"Look Darling!" she gasped gleefully, entwining herself around his left arm.
"Don't call me darling!" he growled menacingly, or as menacingly as he could make it. He didn't actually mind…
Only for a moment he let his guard down, as he watched her eyes sparkle as she gasped in shock (tag) and mumble something. She was cute when she was genuinely happy, just like…
He offered her a small smile when she half-turned to glance at him, smiling at some statement, or maybe smiling back, then giving her attention back to the stage.
Looking around, making sure there were none of those odd men around, he slipped away.
It took time for him to trust someone so completely like that again. He needed to collect his thoughts…
The blonde haired girl could hear the silence permeating through the walls. Her deprived mind could not fathom what all those people could be doing in there…and her curiosity and restlessness got the better of her. Turning her head one last time to check Sven's level of limbo, she opened the door silently and glided off to explore the area. Voices seemed to be coming around from the back…
The lavender-eyed woman swiveled her head around once the speech finished, "So, Train, what shall we do --"
Gone.
Right, he had said that…she folded her arms together to keep her silk shawl from falling off, rubbing her upper arm. The moment was over so fast…she had wanted to spend more time with him.
"It's almost ready, am I right?"
"Yes Madame Freesia." saluted a tall, shaded man.
"Good, this should be the best surprise these rich buffoons ever lay eyes on. They'll see how my caste flies above theirs…"
"Uhm, yes Madame."
"And hurry up and put on some music or something. I don't want them with such ample time to talk about me…I hate making speeches…"
So conceited.
She stood their awkwardly for a moment, before joining a group of giggling ladies who seemed to be looking in her direction. After exchanging the usual pleasantries, the snide looking one near the left wasted no time in beginning to interrogate her. Smirking, she smoke, "We haven't seen you around the country clubs or anywhere before, how does the Madame know you?"
Why should she go around explaining herself to this woman.. She even hated the way her teeth looked… "That really isn't any of your concern…" she trailed off, twisting the skirt of her dress between her forefinger and thumb. Did they suspect…?
"Well, none of us seem to know who you are, and---"
Rins cut her off, what a nosy, lousy, "WELL," she started, stressing the word, "obviously someone knows me since my husband and I were invited."
"Husband?' the woman looked taken aback. What? Were woman not allowed to make their own money in this day and age? What a stupid philosophy for someone who trailed after Madame Freesia's shoes… pathetic.
"You two don't wear rings, though, and didn't arrive together. That creates suspicion. And we're looking for a certain suspicious person."
She began to retort angrily, saying something along the lines of we can do anything we want… before noticing that the words had not been uttered by the ladies ahead of her, but in fact had come from behind. As she began to slowly turn on her heel, heart pounding, she felt those idiots dissipate into the crowd, leaving her alone. "Mrs, you might need to come with me. We need to confirm your identity."
Oh, fuck.
Before she could respond, the guard's and her attention wavered as they both heard a crash sound from the other end of the room. This was her chance to get--
The next thing she was coherent of was standing next to the stage, heart still throbbing, hand gripped in..
"Train?"
He grinned crookedly at her, before beginning to move away from the open stage.
"Wha--Why--Where did you go, you bastard?"
"Eating."
"Obviously…stuffing your face…obviously." She shook her head, her way of hiding the light blush on her cheeks. She blushed deeper when she noticed her hand still within his. She pretended to be admiring the chandelier, while continuing to shake her head. She hadn't blushed like this since she was a child. She only took her eyes off the dangling masterpiece when she felt them stop moving. A look crossed her face.
Obviously. All you think about is food Train! That was what went through her head at least, the only thing managing to stumble out of her frozen lips being, "…food…"
She noticed him laughing out of the corner of her eye, she squinted in his direction.
"Cat got your tongue Miss Walker?"
Her squint quickly turned to a glare.
"You pompous…" she reached her hand into the bowl nearest her, throwing its contents at that smug face.
A lone strawberry arced through the air, rammed into his nose, and slid down to the tiled ground, two pairs of eyes following it.
After a couple of seconds of Rins shaking with anger, Only ONE? and Train shaking with laughter, he beamed, "How fitting, right Rins? A strawberry!"
"Train…Heartnet…" her voice shook, along with her small fists, irritatingirritatingirritating.
"What!" Train asked, backing away quickly, Agh! How did she get mad so fast? (tag) "But I thought you liked strawberries!"
How did he know that? She voiced her opinions.
"You were drinking that strawberry drink thing…"
"My, aren't you attentive." her turn to grin wickedly.
She confused him sometimes… "But it smelled disgusting! You would have to really like it to drink it…"
"Train! What kind of assumption is that!" Here she was arguing with him again, but she felt most comfortable around him in situations like this… "You think every drink besides milk is disgusting…"
"Which is true."
She sighed exasperatedly.
"Well," he searched for a comeback. "All you eat are strawberries."
Resisting the urge to sigh again: "Which is NOT true."
"I know you like them."
"I know I do. Why do you care?"
"Well, why do you even like strawberries? Their not even purple…"
"Because I just do! Why is that relevant? Besides… there is no purple fruit…"
"HAH!" he shouted triumphantly, "Besides the fact that I can now prove that you are obsessed with purple, you are wrong!"
She raised an eyebrow skeptically, leaning her weight on one foot.
He continued, crossing his arms and nodding his head in the affirmative, "Grapes."
"HAH!" she pointed her finger at him. "A common misconception! Shine a light on them one day Mr. Attentive, they're actually dark red."
Train's face fell, and her ringer remained level with his face.
"Nyeh." he stuck out his tongue.
She stared confusedly around the corner. Trucks weren't supposed to rock, were they? Moving closer, wanting to examine this strange, steel-enforced thing, she heard people speaking.
"Did you see the size of that containment box?"
Crinkling, then the sound of a lighter clicking. So people did smoke new cigarettes.
"Dude, totally, what is she transporting, a freakin' elephant?"
Another lighter flicking.
"More like a herd."
The truck started banging about more fiercely, small dents starting to form around the edge. Whatever was in the compartment, it would be better viewed from a safer distance.
She flitted back to her position behind the corner, only half-way there when she heard a loud 'bang' sound through the area. She ducked before turning around frantically. That things had got loose, she just knew it.
"Hey, didja hear that?"
The first man had said that, then a pause.
"No, there aint even nothing to hear."
Another pause.
"Whatcha lookin---"
Screaming, blood-curdling screaming, yet her feet stuck. helphelphelp. After finally willing herself to move, she rounded the corner, she couldn't just let them die!
Pause.
She was to late. She could have saved them, yet they died. She had been met with a swishing tail, disappearing into an opening in the wall. A tunnel. Connected to the building. It's heading toward all those people. She had to save them this time.
Oh God, give me speed. Give me wings.
Many insults and trays of food later, Rins began picking out the faces of the guards from behind Train's head.
"Ah! Gotta move!"
"Huh?" answered a bewildered Train, looking in all directions. "Why?"
She had already begun pulling him into the crowd of dancers. "Gaurds!"
Butting himself in the head with the base of his palms for every word; Why. Did. He. Not. Notice, "Where are you taking me?"
"Any---"
"Wait," he breathed, pulling her into a halt. dangerdangerdanger. "Something bad's about to happen."
"More reason why we should move…" she pressed, beginning to pull him again.
He rose his nose to sniff the air, the sensation had gone.
"Train?"
She had stopped moving. "What's going on?"
He looked back to her worried face. "Nothing, Rinslet, it's passed." He believed it too… ((A/N: Maybe someone was distracting him….shut up Nyeh.))
Maybe it was a delayed reaction because of the guards? Or something else… She couldn't sense anything though. Either way, she had been right, danger completely changed his demeanor.
Despite her thoughts, she forced a smile, "Train, if nothing's wrong…" she pulled him into an embrace. "Dance with me."
He pulled back in shock. (tag again) "What?"
He hadn't even reacted like a lunatic, completely changed. "Dance with me."
He had words in his head, his mouth just moved without saying them. The only sensible one seeming to be 'What?'.
Her sly face quickly morphed into an exasperated one, this would be the last time she tried with him…She pressed her nose onto his, staring unblinking into his eyes. She whispered back, "let's pretend I read your lips wrong, I'm going to pretend that you've evolved enough to understand the word 'why'."
He continued to stare at her, unreasoning. Was this even right, being here with her, on false pretences? And he had sensed something…
She switched their positions, in sync with the music and others surrounding them. "Those guards…are looking for us Train, I don't know why, but they are. And two solitary people in the middle of a group of dancers is sorta conspicuous don't you think?"
He finally reacted, picking up his head to sift through the throng of people. It would seem strange. "Fine, but I don't trust you."
"You don't trust the woman who threw herself off a building to save you?" She blinked at him, pulling one of his hands up with her own, and placing her other in the crook of his elbow. She lowered her voice, eyes downcast. "You never really thanked me either…"
She had said it more to herself, a wish meant for fairies.
"I figured this whole thing was thanks enough." Almost nonchalantly he replied…
"Ya…"
He was handling this horribly…
He drew his right arm around her waist, in position, but not quite…moving along.
"We're not dancing."
"What the heck Train…" she banged her head against his chest, "You're the one whose supposed to start."
"Uh-huh."
She tilted her face upwards, blinking.
He blinked back.
"I'm also going to assume you haven't evolved enough to learn to dance?"
He pouted, "Just not this dance…"
She threw her head back, cracking an authentic smile. "Ok, we'll start with forward. Follow…" She took a step backwards, him tentavily following. She smiled at him again, his head was bent, looking at his feet. Here he was, the mot skilled fighter on the planet, and she was teaching him something. He looked back up at her, as if checking to make sure he was doing everything right. "Now, forward for me…"
Her eyes were sparkling again. She was happy, just like before. She really was beautiful when she wasn't tricking him… He continued to gaze at her, forward had she said? His cloud was blown away when he collided into her.
"Ow." he heard her muffled voice say into his jacket, before releasing her and scampering back.
"Agh, sorry Rins."
She laughed. "It's okay, it's only one---"
She was cut off by a high-pitched shriek. They both swiveled their heads in the direction, dangerdangerdanger. Now the alerts were going off in his head.
A deafening roar was the next assault on the crowds ears, Rins quickly covered her ears with her hands as her eyes traveled up to the now vibrating chandelier. An instant of two later, she heard the crack of the ceiling, and almost in slow motion, saw it come crashing to the floor. What? It had been like someone pulled a switch, the former stunned audience now began to swarm towards the doors. She shut her eyes tight, trying to find her balance. Woman screaming, men shouting… her eyes shot open. "Train." She saw him, farther away now, being pulled away by the crowd. She radiated fear. Her words getting stuck in her throat, she reached out an arm to him. Her feet couldn't even touch the ground anymore.
"Train!" Her strangled cry was lost in the surrounding sounds. She could almost make out his arm reaching back out for her.
"Please don't leave me alone." she whispered.
The shaded man she had been talking to earlier approached her. "Madame Freesia…"
Another man came up, leaning into whisper in the first man's ear. "Sir, the workers in change of installing the cage in the main hall are missing, I'm almost positive Flora has already…"
"Yes, I understand," answered their leader, "But in the current situation, our only choice is to shoot her…"
"Shut your trap!" yelled the old woman, hell's fury burning in her eyes, "I've already spent several billion on Flora's resurrection, now could I possibly lose her that way?"
She fell to her knees, gasping for air. The throng of fear-filled people continued to scatter, leaving her there to brood. She'd brung this gun…didn't think she'd need it… maybe against that infernal guard…how irrelevant, now. He was in there, with that THING! A dinosaur! How goddamn useless was her gun NOW…
She hadn't known she'd been tackled until she hit the floor, looking down on the panting girl who lay on top of her, she voiced "Eve!"
"Rins!" she yelled back, "Run! It's dangerous! There's a--"
"I know, I saw it Eve," she said back, picking the girl up, she could see the words pass through Eve's mind, toslowtoslowtoslow
"Where's Sven, Eve? Train's still inside, we have to get him,"
"Train can take care of himself!" the young girl shouted abruptly, "But we need to save the other people inside!"
Right, Train could take care of himself, of course he could, she had forgotten it for a second there.. Out of fear maybe… "How? Do you actually mean killing that thing?"
"No, never killing it…" she noticed the tinge of sadness her voice revealed. "It's just lost, it doesn't know…it doesn't know."
"Eve," she placed her hands on the sad girls shoulders, "I now you want to save those people, but how do you expect to go about it? Let's go find Sven---- Hey! Where are you going!"
She had ripped away from her hands, entering the front doors.
"I will not fly away. They need to be saved!"
"Eve, wait!" She wouldn't let her go too, and she would be running straight into danger. She didn't know what she herself could do per say, but it defiantly wasn't nothing.
Rins skidded into the hall, having dropped her scarf and purse long ago and now held her gun in front of her, ready to attack.
"A Tyrannosaurus Rex." she whispered, staring at its beady eyes, framed against the vaulted ceilings. Eve stood in the dinosaurs path, un-attacking.
"…come here…I…will deal with you."
Oh, God, she really intended on fighting this thing.
With the agility that Rins didn't expect from such a huge lizard, it lunged forward, huge jaws held wide, making for Eve. At the last moment, Eve ran off to the side, and using the wall as a trampoline, jumped toward it's head.
She must be trying to knock it out…
"Metamorphosis Giant Hammer!" Eve shouted, bringing the heavy object down on the female T-rex's head. It only reacted with a growl, lunging for her again. For an instant, all she saw were its glinting teeth…
"Shield!"
Stopping those huge jaws from crushing her, she transformed her arm in the midst of its mouth.
The giant lizard bellowed in shock, or at least that's what it sounded like, before beginning to wildly shake its head back and forth, sending her arcing through the air toward the opposite wall.
She was not cold-hearted enough to allow a child to fight on her own.
Reaching under her dress, she pulled out her whip, expertly using it to catch Eve and bring her back to her.
The poor girl was breathing heavily, a sheen of sweat on her face.
"Rinslet," she whispered.
"It's okay now." She drew her into the confines of her arms, "Everyone here has gotten out safely. I just wish…"
She repositioned her gun in front of her, eyeing the pupil-less eyes of the monster, "that I'd brung a rocket launcher."
Before she could fire, a huge foot came crashing down in front of her, sending the two of them sprawling.
Rins grunted, swinging her arm around, trying to get a clear shot at the lizards eye.
Oh, God, this was it.
Eve shot her eyes open after realizing she had scrunched them shut. Here she was again, being protected by people. She had freedom now, a freedom to save them, not hurt them. She was living for people now, she had people she wanted to protect, her friends, the people she could trust.
The tail came crashing toward them, but all to late.
Rins glanced down at the glowing form of the girl in her arms, "Eve…" she breathed.
The people she trusted, her friends, her friends. "Give me wings…"
Moments before the crash, long feathery wings sprouted from her back, lifting her up into the air, Rins dangling from her hands. Keeping them both in the air strained her wings, she wouldn't be able to dodge if it attacked, and it was already eyeing her. As it sized her up, she quickly swooped to the floor, depositing Rinslet on the ground, before rising back into the air.
"Eve, wait!" she called, having it once again fall on deaf ears. Watching the girl fly rapidly through the air, dodging various attacks and attempting others. When one particular attack sent the animal reeling backwards, she finally noticed her proximity to the ongoing battle. If I can't help her, I should at least move out of the way.
Standing up she made to turn, pain suddenly flashing up and down her leg. She fell to the ground, hard, before turning to her ankle, yanking at the heel which held fast in one of the cracks caused by the giant reptile's weight.
"Damn shoe."
She started to slip her foot out, oblivious to the T-Rex's tail swishing above her head. At long last pulling her foot from the straps, she prepared to move, but lay rooted to the spot when her peripheral vision noted the incoming tail. She didn't even breathe as she felt the rough scales graze her face.
She squeezed her eyes shut, cringing for the inevitable.
Then nothing.
Rins gasped, her lungs expanding brutally with air.
Still nothing.
Am I still alive? Opening her eyes slowly, she felt her eyelashes brush against skin before focusing on the person facing her.
"Train?" she murmured, stunned. (tag)
His only response was grinning, before taking aim and firing at the side of the dinosaurs head. Beckoning to Eve, he waited till she landed, before turning to run out, leaving the T-rex smarting.
She scampered hurriedly after him, bare feet slapping against the tiled ground, and even in her panicked state, she blushed when she felt his hand still wrapped around hers.
It was not till they reached Sven's car that they stopped to rest. Rins panted, leaning a hand on her knees. Her other still gripped his.
Train knocked on the driver's window, and getting no response, gradually had it evolve to kicking it wildly. After what seemed like hours, the old sweeper rubbed a tired hand over his face, opening his bleary eyes.
"What's going on? Why's it so noisy?…"
Rolling down the window and peering out at the trio, he continued in a half-dream like way, "is I because some celebrity's arrived at this hotel?"
Rins' mouth hung open from her jaws, had he really not noticed the masses of chaotic crowds that no doubt ran right past here? She turned her head to look at Eve, who had begun hitting her head with the butt of her palm.
"What?" Sven said, glancing around curiously.
An ear-shattering crash answered him, followed by the inevitable echoing roar. For a second the supposed named 'Flora' pet stomped through the street behind them, and into the city. Sven's eye traced it's path, wide open in shock. (TAG)
"I hope you guys don't mind…" he started, turning to face forwards, "but I'm assuming you all are a dream, so I'll be going back to sleep now.
What a glutton for sleep, it was infuriating, really.
Train laughed, before grinning madly, "How'd you like to catch a dinosaur with us, Sven?"
"Us?" he replied blinking and shaking his head back and forth. "You mean Little Princess too?"
"Yes!" Eve shouted again, using the same tone she had formerly used with herself. "and at this rate, they'll kill her!"
She jumped then, sprouting her newly gained wings. Rins noticed the strain she seemed to be under, and confirming her suspicions, Eve only managed one flap of her wings before shaking violently and falling to her knees on the pavement.
"Whoa there, Little Princess," Sven soothed, stepping out of the car to kneel next to her. Train looked concernedly at her too, and reached out to pat her head.
"You guys…please…" she gasped harshly "..stop it, before they kill her."
"Stop it how? You really mean don't kill it?" Rins asked, finally finding her voice.
"It is the same…as me…both of us were created artificially…with no place to go…knowing only how to create chaos." She breathed heavily between every few words. She shouldn't have let her transform so much during the fight, she hadn't learned to fully control the nano machines yet.
"It is innocent…" she continued after a moment, "but if this goes on they will kill it."
There was a silence between them, punctuated only by Eve's ragged breathing. Sven and Train both nodded simultaneously before Sven scooped the exhausted girl up into his arms and placed her into the passenger seat.
As Sven began to situate himself behind the wheel, Train opened the back doors while getting in, pulling Rins in tow. She interlaced her cramped fingers with Train's without thinking, leaning forward to whisper into Eve's ear. "Don't worry Eve, these guys have got it handled, they'd do anything for you."
Sven turned to share a hidden look with Train before sending the car rocketing towards the city.
"So what's the plan, Sven?" Train questioned, automatically lightening the mood.
"How am I supposed to know? I have absolutely no idea what's going on!"
Sven stood outside the car, subconsciously protecting Eve, messing with his "self-manufactured" attaché weapons case. "Ready for the surprise attack, Train?"
"Always." his eyes glinted, and he cocked his gun. Rins stood next to him, warily eyeing the street spread out in front of them. The demolition of a building marked the entrance of the terrified dinosaur, and it turned its head frantically, looking for an exit. Scattering the huddle groups of frightened civilians, it began to run down the road, heading in the trio's direction.
Rins involuntarily flinched, seeing the giant formerly-extinct reptile hurtling down the path, clenching Trains hand. Sven made to slow down the approaching disaster, leaving Train with ample time to turn twinkling eyes towards her. "Scared Rins?"
"It's abnormal for you not to be…" she murmured as he once again focused on the incoming T-rex, quickly firing four shots.
After watching the huge reptile come crashing down, he slipped his gun into his holster, chuckling. "It makes me more efficient, I think."
She sighed, rolling her eyes and grinning back at him.
By this time Sven was shouting at them from the vicinity of the vehicle, "Nice idea there Train…shooting between the toes…now lets get going, we need to get Eve home. Come on you two… I said come on!"
Rins let out an explosive sigh, standing before the mirror in the bathroom, drying her hair with one of Sven's towels. She'd been getting mixed signals from him the whole evening. But he had saved her twice… though he probably would have done that for anyone. It was natural for someone to extend a helpful hand whenever they saw another person in danger….
She sighed again, running her fingers over the gathering water littered over the counter top. But he did hold my hand…for a really long time…and he never pulled away.
She blushed furiously, throwing her towel down on the skink and scrubbing away the water harshly. There was no doubt within her, she liked him…a lot. He was one of the nicest guys she had ever met, one of the first to never have…scarred her…too deeply. And he was so honest. Really, really, honest. And innocent. Not to mention amazingly cute…
She slapped the towel over her face, to stop the heat from rising in her cheeks. She tapped her nails on the counter, breathing into the soaked towel. Scrubbing the red from her face, she wrung it dry, twisting it between her fingers to relieve her frustration. It hurt her to think that it was the way she was, but maybe…maybe Train couldn't. That vicious…Creed…had mentioned someone…Saya…maybe he had already given his heart away, maybe she, herself, wasn't the right person for him. She probably never had been…me and my stupid illusions.
"Train…" she sighed, her heart aching, while checking her face in the mirror. Shaking away the sadness she entered the living room. Maybe it's time I left.
Sven sat, musing over the news while Eve recuperated on the couch next to him. She interceded abruptly…
"What a horrible shower! The hot water was on and off!"
"Eh?" Sven said, raising his eyebrows, " Using someone else's shower and having the gall to complain about it?"
She giggled faintly before taking note of on a couple of the news highlights. "I feel sorry for the poor thing now, it's alive but living as a prisoner."
Eve let a small smile grace her lips, "I think…I am glad. As long as there is life, there is hope."
Hope… she thought. Right. Well, maybe…she would give herself one more try.
"Well I'll be going now!"
"So soon"
"Yup, and by the way, where's Train? I wanted to say bye to the lug…" She tried to sound nonchalant…
Sven rolled his eyes. "That guy went out saying 'there's nothing to do.' Geez, he always disappears to suddenly."
The milk that comes in paper cartons is actually pretty good.
He sighed inwardly, leaning over the barrier that blocked the road from the view over the river below. He had been in turmoil, so total and complete. He let his head bang on the rail, he wasn't even sure what to think now. He really had spent the whole evening with her, and hadn't ever, to be truthful, done that correctly in his life before. And to continue to be truthful, it had felt a little strange; but there was no doubt within him that after today, he knew that he cared for her.
He slowly began to crumple the carton. He knew it, he knew it, and that was what caused this mood.
He knew, but he wasn't sure.
He wasn't sure…how…how to open himself in that way…to be able to trust someone with himself. What if…he couldn't do that?…or ended up pushing them away. Maybe the question was, could he trust himself?
He finished crumpling the carton, slipping the small thing into his pocket. Oh, he was sure he knew how… it was just….maybe…yes really, he was afraid of it. Of all of it. Of someone to be that near to him.
He leaned back against the railing. "Oh, Saya." he whispered. "What's wrong with me." He was afraid…of himself…of trusting that deeply…it really was quite, he grinned, abnormal. No, but she had said it was abnormal not to be afraid. It was possible that it wasn't just him…that everyone was frightened by the same thing…even her.
"Ah, there you are Train."
"Eh?" he spoke, bringing himself out of his reflections. "Leaving already? Your one of those people that come and go on a whim." She stood facing him, with a long coat wrapped around herself, grinning through the slight cold.
"Ya, well, I thought it was time I got going." She walked till she was standing in front of him, "But before I go, I wanted to…thank you for being my 'lover for a day'!" she smiled happily, a pink tinge playing across her face, from the cold, he thought.
"You came here…just to tell me that?" he spoke with an air of disbelief, a questioning look on his face.
"What? You don't think it's appropriate? Especially since when I come back asking for another favor---"
"What!" he yelped, "Stop joking around…next time I won't be so easily fooled!"
"What can I say?" She shrugged her shoulders, holding her hands out helplessly, "I think you're really innocent and naïve, Train!"
"Naïve?" she thinks I'm naïve? Maybe he was…in a way…but it came with trying to suppress feelings he couldn't handle…but his other emotions did tend to play across his face…
With her not responding, he struggled with words for a few moments, finally coming up with the idea to stick his tongue out…Which resulted only in her laughter. She really was cute when she was happy…
"See! That's what I mean Train! You really are very innocent."
He grumbled something in response…no use arguing on that topic…he believed almost everything she said.
She sighed, averting her eyes, then settled back onto the road block. "Sooner or later Train…" she trailed off, turning her violet orbs to the river. "…someone's going to take advantage of that sort of thinking and harm you…" she trailed off again, but had seemed to finish. To harm him…he would rather trust someone that push them away…he should therefore trust himself…he should trust her. But there was still that fear.
He grinned lopsidedly, hiding behind his naivety, "…are you concerned for my sake? How unexpected." In his mind he groaned, he shouldn't be sitting here taunting her…so many other things he could have said…
She didn't answer, but continued to stare in every other direction but his, Look at me, please Rins.
"It's about time I got going." She said it softly, but obviously tried to act careless. Jumping to her feet she patted herself off, before turning to walk away. "Bye, Train."
She was really leaving. He stood watching her stroll off. His mind screamed at him to move, go after her, but even the words stuck in his throat. She turned the corner…out of sight.
She was leaving. No, she couldn't, he couldn't just let her go and pretend he didn't care. But Satan's cold fingers refused to uncurl from around his feet, piercing and deathly. Even the comforting smell of her, of a friendship, had vanished.
Suddenly the air seemed to close, and the tall buildings too daunting. There was one last forlorn look at the lonely corner she had rounded, before he could finally release his feet and head back to the room. He couldn't let her love him, he couldn't let himself love her. Under any other circumstances.. if he could have been anyone else. If only... If only if only. The words teased him, because he wasn't allowed hopes and dreams. Not in this life. He was to dangerous, there was too much bad luck that surrounded him. Wasn't the saying that if you loved them you'd let them go? And she was It, tag, Tag, the demon. His demon, unrelinquished love, love that he had fought for, murdered for, had left everything for. And here she was, the final physical formation of it, but he could not take that. He coud not watch her die, whether mentally or in reality, and have it bebecause of him. She was safer when she stayed away, and he was safer staying inside himself.
Walking under the cover of deep-set night, and arriving at the doorstep with the small halo of a streetlamp, he was met with the gaze of Eve, stubbornly holding a cell phone to her ear. If he wouldn't let her trust him, how could he let Eve continue to stay here? Because that old man upstairs would take care of her, that's why, and Sven just refused to die.
He let a shadow of a smile grace his face. "What you up to, Little Princess?"
"Experimenting with this phone. Sven gave me his old one." She clasped it possesively in her hand, a determined glint coming into her eye, "Besides, you had one, and I didn't."
He let his face fall, sighing inwardly. It might've been funny, but, really, he wasn't in the mood to think about it like that."Well,I suppose if Sven trusts you with a phone..." he left off the rest of his sentence wistfully, turning toward the entrance motioning for her to follow him.
Pocketing the new treasure, she walked as tall as she could to follow her "rival" whom she'd show up one day. She found him staring at the ground, trying to maneuver the door around a new hatchling.
"Train," she stated as loudly as she could, to seem more grown-up, "you look like an idiot. Why don't you just move the bird?"
He mumbled something incoherently. Hmphing flusteredly, she pulled out her cellular and dialed him up swiftly. The abrubt ringing of his cell phone seemed to pull him out of his thoughts as he turned his gaze from the stubborn bird to the stubborn girl in confusion. "I couldn't hear what you said." She stated innocently enough she thought. Really, she was just looking for an excuse to use her new-found power.
"I heard somewhere that we're not supposed to touch the babies...then they'd be left to die."
There was a slight depressing look in his eyes when he said it, nothing like his usual self, she had imagined him saying I don't think I should get too close, cats eat birds you know or something dumb to that extent. Of course she had planned a whole arguement with her winning in the end. Marching up to him, she brused him aside with a flick of her wrist. "Train, every animal deserves to live, like Flora. If you left it here, it would die anyways." Morphing her hands she gently lifted the small creature to a higher perch on the roof, turning back with a sense of purpose in her eyes. A new rivalry, a new life, and a new goal.
There was a moment of silence at the door as he focused on her new sense of confidence, and as she continued to feel the oppressive sadnesss that somehow emanated from him. "Besides..." There seemed to be a missing statement in their conversation, something that would tell him of her rivalry, something that would bring the threads of today into a knot, something that would answer that feeling of questioning that she thought she was getting from him... "Besides, Train, doesn't it seem like it trusts you enough to risk that? It's a living creature, it's going to want to live."
Alright. I hope that made sense. Now for the important announcement.
THIS ENDING IS REALLY DEPRESSING.. SO ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO WRITE AN ENDING THAT TAKES PLACE AFTER THIS IS TOTALLY WELCOME TO. I ACTUALLY HAD ONE IN MIND BUT DON'T WANT TO WRITE IT IN MY MISERY FOR LOSS OF INSPIRATION. SEND IT TO ME AT AND I'LL GIVE ALL CREDIT TO YOU. OR YOU COULD JUST POST IT ON BUT JUST GIVE ME SOME CREDIT FOR THE INSPIRATION OR SOMETHING K?
Besides that... I think Eve got really OC from the way I wrote her in the beginning. But we're just going to view that as Eve growing up throughout the fic. 2: Just so you know, the reason the guard was looking for 'suspicious people' was because he got a tip that he assassin Ruguto Won would be there. So yes he is in the story. Just in a little more subtle manner. 3: Why is it when Rins was carried out the front door she didn't see Sven's parked car? Answer being.. there are multiple entrances :cough: 4: I apologize for the arguement that made no sense. Obviously meaning the food fight. The other obvious purple fruit being plums. But there are no plum drinks or foods or anything ever relating to it so whatev. Deal. 5: I think I mentioned somewhere in the story as Rins' eyes as being violet. That is in fact wrong and they are green. I couldn't find all the instances so I just left it be. Consider them typos.
Other that that there really isn't much to say. Mebbe I'll post the original ending someday.. if no one ever write's one or something. Just to have a sort of happy ending. But I still want to write an extension of this. So that might come along one day. Over the rainbow.
Oh, and finally, I want to apologize for the fairy tale references that I'm sure were in there. Like I've said before, I think there's a haunting spookiness about fairy tales that remains unspoken. Therefore the movie 'Hoodwinked' was made. Hahaha.. anyways. I hope my usual reviewers review this! This is a very important fic for me.. ever since I read the chapters I've wanted to write something off of it. But the inspiration never struck until I was inspecting a cluster of grapes at the Tom Thumb next door and noticed how they weren't purple. Therein lies the source of all my fic problems. They come randomly while pulling at things in the air. But once again I thank Cryptic Angel for her undaunting help and putting up w/ my randomness about leaves of currency and my strange sleeping habits. Look out for her new oneshot coming out! And remember (when) to pause (rewind and rethink) and review this extremely old oneshot of mine by (candlelight) the little button underneath this!
That was so cool.. putting all my fics in the last statement. My finger's amaze me. Haaha... conceited moment ;D