It was all happening too quickly after they met Muzét and recovered the waymarker from Julius. The death of the fractured Milla, the order to go after the last waymarker...the last waymarker being Ludger's fractured self and Elle's father. All the things crushed the agent with their weight, but the silverette never faltered. He continued pushing forward despite the depressed state he was in, he faked smiles so his friends wouldn't worry and he often invited everyone for dinner to distract himself from gloomy thoughts. That was, until he was about to go and save Elle from Bisley and read the letter his brother had written about the way to get to Canaan. His whole world seemed to be slowly crumbling around him, like a destroyed fractured dimension. There was no way he could kill Julius, no way in hell. And what made it even worse was the fact that all his friends have left him alone to his thoughts as they set off to 'Talk to Julius', as they said. Good thing Nova came around to uncover that blunt lie.
"Ludger...your friends were talking weird stuff about building a soul bridge without you or something...", she shook her head, not understanding what was up. Thus, the shocked expression the current vice president of Spirius had shown surprised her a lot and the way he dashed away to catch the next train to Marksburg even more so.
Let me make a prediction for you. You'll regret leaving this place for the rest of your life.
Rideaux' last words echoed in his mind on repeat. "Damn it...", he cursed as he ran as quickly as his feet would carry him, accidentally running into a few other passengers. He didn't even have the time to apologize to any of the people he ran into, all of his mind was set on Julius.
Please be safe Julius. Please, please, please. Julius, brother...be safe.
He mentally called out to the older Kresnik as he rushed over to the Rieze-Haven in Marksburg. He saw Gaius bring down his huge sword to take his brother's life the instant he arrived and he immediately jumped in between, blocking the sword with his arm. He got a deep cut, but at least he saved his beloved older brother. "What were you thinking, lying to me like that? You wanted to 'talk' to Julius, didn't you?"
He was panting, partially from his rage, partially because he was running the whole way at the maximum speed his body would allow.
Jude and Alvin looked down in shame, Milla groaned, Gaius and Rowen were frowning and the other three remained silent. Inner Muzét was ashamed however, he clearly heard the voice in his head. "Oh no! I am such a terrible friend...I hope he doesn't hate me! I really didn't want it to happen!"
Elize quickly rushed over and treated his wound, whispering quiet apologies. She knew they were being unfair to Ludger..She knew that building a bridge to Canaan without him would mean that the agent never saw his brother's last smile, never heard his last words. She felt really terrible for almost doing that.
Julius looked up after his brother's arm was healed, confused by what just happened. He sighed and shook his head. "Ludger. I wanted it that way..it's either you or me. I know you don't have the guts to kill me, so step aside."
The blond wanted his brother to hate him. He wanted him to be angry at him, not at his friends..that way it would hurt him less to part from him, right? He wanted his brother to live, to find love and to fulfil his dream of opening a restaurant. Ludger would make so many people happy with his cooking, his kindness, his smile and the fact that he would pass Origin's trial.
"Julius.", the silverette only managed to say as he kneeled down to his brother and placed a hand on the taller male's cheek. "Isn't there any other way? Does it have to be one of us?", he was desperate. He loved his brother. His brother was the reason he kept going. His brother was the only part he had left of the thing called family, the last mental support he had, preventing him from breaking down.
The older of the two brothers shook his head and gave in, speaking in a gentle voice. "Ludger. Please, don't let your life go to waste for me. And don't waste the sparse remains of my life."
Before the younger Kresnik could ask what that was about, Julius pulled off his glove and showed Ludger the fact that he was about to become a catalyst. His hand was pitch black. "I will die anyway. Don't let my life go to waste.."
Tears welled up in the silver-haired male's eyes, yet he didn't allow himself to cry. Not in front of the others. His voice cracked in hysteria, he placed both of his hands on the blonde's shoulders and shook his head. "T-There has to be another way! There has to! I can't kill you..."
Alvin shook his head. It was too painful to watch that. He wanted to help, but he didn't know how. He knew that he was about to say something stupid and wanted to prevent that, but his lips moved anyway, betraying him. "It's your brother's wish, Ludger.."
Before he could finish, Leia cut him off, also close to crying. "It's not that simple!" She sounded angry, but in fact she was just as desperate as all of them were.
"I know that, damnit!", Alvin cursed at his own helplessness. He wanted to do something. Hell, if there only was more time...
Ludger's eyes shifted from his friends to his brother, then back to his friends. He was honestly thinking if he should kill his friends and escape with Julius. And yet, something about the way Jude, Leia and Alvin looked made him decide against that. He realized that they really were just as helpless as he was himself. He bit his cheek painfully and let go of Julius, standing up and pulling his double blades out.
"So you have decided. Allow me to be a good brother one last time. Allow me to test whether you're ready for the gruesomeness of Origin's trial.", the taller of the two called out and pulled his own blades out, lunging at his brother.
They have fought fierce, neither of the two holding back despite the fact they cherished each other so much. Or maybe that was exactly because the two brothers loved each other that they couldn't allow themselves to hold back in a battle of life and death. The rest of Ludger's group couldn't do anything but stand by and watch as Ludger swiftly switched between his pistols, blades and the sledgehammer to inflict damage on his brother and exploit his weak points. Julius, in response, unleashed his Mystic Arte on his brother just to be met with Ludger transforming into his Chromatus, miraculously surviving the attack. The older of the two didn't hesitate to transform as well, his Chromatus was already one level higher than Ludger's.
"If your resolve isn't strong enough, you'll never awaken the full Chromatus and you won't pass the trial!", the blonde hissed out as their lances met, their faces just inches apart. He unleashed his Mystic Arte at his brother, already sure that this would damage Ludger badly. It didn't though.
As if reacting to that, Ludger let out a vicious cry and pushed his brother back with ease, his Chromatus changing, covering more of his body with the armor-like gold and black surface as he used his own Mystic Arte, making Julius smile proudly. He had raised Ludger good and it made him feel like he wasn't that much of a bad brother, after all. He couldn't fight any more, his body was already almost fully gnawed away by the catalyst transformation.
"I see. So your resolve is already that strong...", the older brother smiled softly as Ludger's lance pierced right through his stomach. After that happened, the two disappeared, entering a fractured dimension.
Ludger found himself standing in the hallway that led to his apartment and gasped as he saw the door open. He quickly hid behind a pillar and watched the scenery. He saw a fractured version of himself exiting the door, it was his typical day before the train hijacking took place. He was late, probably due to oversleeping and then due to spending a few minutes longer on cooking breakfast for Julius so that the tomato omelette would be perfect. Of course, he wouldn't leave without promising his brother pasta margherita for dinner. After his other self left, he headed to the apartment Julius just disappeared into. After entering the all too familiar key code at the door, he headed in.
"What's wrong, Ludger, did you forget something? You really are an airhead.", the blond smiled at him as he said that.
That gentle smile, those familiar words. He would have to destroy them forever. Ludger lowered his head and clenched his fists to hold his tears back. He couldn't falter now. Julius seemed to understand the situation immediately.
"I see how it is..too bad, I would have liked to eat pasta margheritta one last time..", he said in a half-joking way, putting his newspaper aside and standing up to give Ludger full access for killing him a second time, to destroy his dream world.
Of course Ludger didn't want to do that, hell, he would have even stayed in this fractured dimension forever, but as soon as he took a step closer to his brother, his Chromatus reacted to him as the catalyst of the dimension and his lance pierced through the stomach of the taller one. Unlike other catalysts, Julius didn't shatter into million pieces immediately, instead he slowly bled out, like a normal human. The sight of his brother's blood made the silverette finally break. He allowed tears to fall from his eyes and soft sobs escaped his lips. He kept his head lowered, ashamed of showing that pathetic face to Julius.
"Ludger. Don't cry..", the taller one put a hand to his brother's cheek, smiling weakly. "Sometimes it's not too bad being pushed around by your little brother. That's something...I learned..from you."
After he said that, he started humming the hymn of proof, yet this time it sounded feeble as Julius passed away. Just before he died, Ludger remembered all the good moments they had. The moment he found Rollo and Julius came looking for him, the way Julius would hum him a lullaby as he was younger..the time he tried to teach Julius how to cook, the last memory being Julius' sleeping face.
Make it stop...I don't want you to sleep forever...please, brother, open your eyes..
As he snapped to reality, he saw the blond lay limp in his arms before the dimension shattered around him. He quickly wiped away his tears and put on a blank mask. He couldn't drag his friends down with this. He needed to get back to Trigleph as soon as he was back, he needed some time alone...
As soon as he was back in the prime dimension, he found himself standing next to a long trail that started at the Rieze-Haven and went all the way up to Canaan. He looked down into his hands as he realized he held something in both of them. What he saw was Julius' broken watch in one hand and Julius' dual blades in his other one. He held the silver watch to his heart and smiled feebly. "I will never forget you, brother.", he whispered so quietly that nobody of his friends would hear. Most of his friends proved to be really compassionate, with only the exception of Milla and Gaius, who told him they should hurry onward. He didn't blame the two though. Gaius was a king and had to return to his duties as soon as Origin was taken care of and Milla had already said that she doesn't have much time left due to her physical form using a lot of mana.
Yet, in the end everyone agreed that it would be better to let the agent rest a little, returning to the hotel in the Rieze-haven, leaving Ludger to his thoughts. Alvin would have nothing of abandoning the agent like that though. So instead of leaving Ludger to his depression and grief, the merchant decided that it would be better to have him accompany him, Balan, Leia and Yurgen. He waited until all the others were gone before he approached Ludger.
"Hey. Ludger.", the taller male rubbed the back of his head as he looked for the right words. "I know that's not the best time to ask that, but Balan wants to go to the bar in Duval since Yurgen and I are working together again..I wanted to ask you to come with me...after all, I wouldn't have achieved any of that without you.."
The silverette opened his mouth, then closed it. He was considering to decline the offer, since as Alvin said himself, that wasn't really the right time. He actually wanted to be alone right then, but he also didn't want to seem rude, so he decided to opt out with a half-lie. "I still got a debt to repay to Nova..I can't spend too much money.."
Having foreseen something like that, the merchant hummed. "You forgot who you're talking to, huh? I'll pay for you. So, will you come along or not?"
Reluctantly, the agent nodded and let Alvin drag him into the bar. The only minor in their group was Leia, who settled on drinking juice while everyone else had beer. Alvin turned to Ludger as he noticed that he didn't yet have a drink."So, what will you drink?"
For a moment, the shorter one considered ordering tomato juice, but bit his tongue and shook his head. "I'll have what you're having, Alvin.", he simply replied. Tomato juice wouldn't taste the same without Julius nearby, without him teasing Ludger about how he buttered his brother up with tomatoes and how it always worked.
"That a boy. I see why we get along so well.", the brunette winked at him and waited until the waiter brought Ludger his drink. "Cheers!"
Ludger wasn't an experienced drinker. Mostly because Julius always told him not to drink alcohol with anyone else than him since drinking too much mostly ended up badly. Not that Ludger had any friends up until now either. Thus, after about three beers he started to feel drowsy and leaned on the ex-mercenary's shoulder. "Alvin...let's go home..", he muttered as his turquoise eyes searched for contact with hazel ones.
They were lucky that everyone else had already went home. Balan had a meeting with the investors for Spyrite-research the next day, Leia had to work on an article that was due in two days and Yurgen had a pregnant wife at home, so he was the first to leave.
"Geez, you really don't take booze very well, do you?", Alvin had to smile a little since Ludger finally relaxed. "Let's get you to Trigleph before we miss the last train."
After paying the drinks for him and Ludger, the merchant led his tipsy friend to the train. It was a wonder that Ludger didn't fall asleep on the train since he kept his head on Alvin's shoulder for the whole ride. Other than that, the ride was short and uneventful since Duval and Trigleph were only one station apart. Only as they exited the Trigleph train station, Ludger spoke again. He pulled on the brunette's sleeve to stop him from walking further and to make him look into his eyes again.
"Alvin..Can you stay in my apartment for the night?", he asked with the same puppy eyes that nobody could resist. Alvin was no exception, he fell right for the cute, sparkling turquoise eyes staring at him in a pleading manner.
Usually, he would have made a sarcastic remark before accepting, but today was different. Today he was determined to show that he actually cared for Ludger and that he was there for him, so he agreed immediately. A smile appeared on the shorter male's lips and a soft, whispered 'Thank you' that followed soon after made Alvin's heart skip a beat. Ludger was being really sweet.
Despite his tipsy state, Ludger made a straight walk home and seemed pretty normal otherwise as well, with the only exception that he was more clingy than usually. That didn't bother Alvin. Actually, he was quite happy that the agent knew his limits and was still more open after the few beers he had. They arrived back at the apartment quickly and the silver-haired male pointed to his bedroom the instant the door opened.
"You can use my bed, Alvin. I'll sleep on the couch.", he said absent mindedly and went over to the couch, sitting in the spot Julius would usually sit in as he read his newspaper. Rollo approached him and crawled onto his lap almost instantly, earning a smile from Ludger.
Alvin chuckled a bit "Are you sure? I don't have a problem with crashing the couch, you know?"
The turquoise-eyed male looked up at his friend and shook his head. He knew that Alvin was just being considerate and he appreciated it. "You see, if I leave this couch, Rollo will be very disappointed."
It was a joke, yet the cat gave a satisfied mewl. Alvin shrugged and shook his head with a small smile. "Alright then, there's no helping it. Good night, you two."
With that said, the ex-mercenary disappeared into Ludger's room and the agent sighed, lifting Rollo up and cuddling him. "Don't worry, Rollo. I'll have more time for you soon." He promised so to the cat before setting him back down. As soon as he did though, the cat jumped down from the couch and walked out through the cat door for his midnight stroll. Cats were selfish creatures, after all.
Being left alone, Ludger suddenly felt cold. He wanted to go to his room and fetch his spare blanket, but he didn't want to disturb Alvin. He knew that he already demanded too much from the merchant. Instead of doing that, he went over to the laundry bin and pulled out the first coat he had found, with which he had covered himself before drifting off to sleep. The scent of his brother enveloped him and lulled him into sleep. He could swear he still felt a soothing hand of his brother in his hair and heard the soft lullaby being hummed to him. He wasn't able to hold back his emotions then.
"Julius...", he whispered, clinging to his brother's coat and letting a tear roll down his cheek, and another. And another.
Forgetting about his friend next door, the agent sobbed and cried freely soon, behind his closed eyelids all the memories had played out so vividly. "Julius", he whispered again. "Julius" His voice became slightly louder, as if calling his brother's name would bring him back. As if this name was a spell to help him be strong again...He started whimpering from the amount of tears he had shed, his breathing was ragged and he was close to falling back into hysteria.
Please come back, Julius...
In the agent's room, Alvin had laid in bed, not finding any rest. His mind was racing, his heart was pounding hard. He just wanted to help Ludger, to protect him, to make him smile again...
Julius...
He heard a soft call next door, followed by equally soft sobs. He quietly crept up to the door, pressing his ear against it. He could now clearly hear Ludger cry and call out to his dead brother, he could hear every so little sound he made. The way he wailed his deceased brother's name, the way he shifted on the couch to find some comfort, the soft sobs...
It broke Alvin's heart.
If he would ignore the crying and go back to bed, pretend that nothing happened...he knew that it wouldn't change anything in their relationship. He knew that if he chose to do that, he would hate himself for the rest of his life for letting Ludger crumble down like that and not doing anything. That is why he decided against that option. He quietly opened the door and approached Ludger in the dark living room.
"Ludger", he softly called out and sat on the edge of the couch, next to his beloved silverette.
The moment he did call out his name, Ludger looked up at him like a deer caught in the headlights, as if crying was some sort of crime and Alvin was an officer about to arrest him. The lips of the younger male quivered for a second before he let out a hysteric, shaky laugh. "Sorry.. I don't know what had gotten into me.."
Ludger tried to wipe away his tears, but more and more kept coming. They wouldn't stop and the agent wouldn't stop apologizing.
Sorry, Alvin. Sorry, sorry.. I'm sorry..
That chant didn't end until Alvin finally wrapped his strong arms around the slender waist and pulled Ludger close. That was when the turquoise eyes widened before closing again, Ludger's hands clinging to the merchant's red shirt as his tears stained the fabric of it.
"Alvin...I miss my brother.", he whispered close to the ex-mercenary's ear while literally crying on his shoulder. He allowed Alvin to soothingly stroke his back with his big, warm hands and stroke his tangled silver hair in almost the same way that Julius did. His crying slowly stopped under the gentle touches and the sweet, soothing whispering of Alvin's husky, deep voice. It was so unlike the Alvin that everyone else had known. It wasn't the mean bully that always teased Teepo. It wasn't the businessman that fooled everyone to increase his profit. This was the sweet, gentle, loving Alvin that only a selected few had ever seen before.
"Alvin...thank you.", the agent looked up at the taller male, his eyes were still glassy, but he stopped crying. He didn't make any attempts to back away, still keeping the embrace with the merchant. Their bodies were so close and the face of the silverette was so cute with those glassy eyes, the pink blush that spread over his cheeks and his lips that were red and swollen from all the times he bit them to keep his tears in.
Alvin was tempted to use the weakened state Ludger was in, to kiss him, to exploit every weakness and to exploit the longing for someone to fill the big hole that was created by Julius' death. And yet, the brunette didn't do so. He knew that he would hate himself for doing so. But he did exploit that a little bit nonetheless.
"I don't think you should be sleeping alone tonight. Let's go to your room, your bed is big enough for both of us.", he offered. He didn't want Ludger to have another breakdown like that and it would certainly come if he cuddled with Julius' coat like that.
Still in a haze, the agent nodded, blushing a little more and muttering. "Just...Just keep that a secret from the others. Crying in front of someone is so embarrassing..."
Without further ado, Alvin nodded and picked Ludger up with ease, carrying him into his bedroom. He noticed that the agent was slightly pouting at that and he could see what Ludger was about to say. He knew that the silverette hated to be treated like a child, but he shook his head before the young Kresnik could even get a word out.
"I'm just taking care of you. It doesn't mean I think of you as a child. Hell, you are more mature than I am at times.", he said that with a smile and laid the shorter male down onto the bed. Before he could pull back, Ludger grabbed his shirt and held him in place.
"Can you...read my thoughts?", the agent's eyes were wide with wonder and he tried to find an answer in that intense, warm, chocolate brown color of the ex-mercenary's eyes.
Instantly, a familiar smirk appeared on Alvin's lips and he kissed Ludger's forehead teasingly before lying back next to the silverette. "Maybe I can? What would you do if that was the case?"
The silverette beamed with pure interest. "You can? Then again, we have been linked up in battle for so long. It's a wonder I haven't gotten the ability to read your thoughts yet." He finally realized that Alvin was joking from the way he was grinning, so he decided to let the matter rest. Thanks to the brunette he was able to smile again. "Thank you, Alvin. And good night.", he whispered softly, closing his eyes and relaxing against his pillow. Since they only had one pillow, the silverette was resting his head close to the ex-mercenary's chest. Despite barely touching, their bodies shared their warmth, so even after Alvin stole the blanket from the agent somewhere during the night, Ludger didn't freeze, keeping warm by pressing closer to the well-built body of the brunette.
Ludger woke up upon Rollo's scratching on his bedroom door. He had a slight headache, so it took him a moment until he opened his eyes. The smell of cologne lingered in his nose and he felt a comforting warmth, a feeling of safety washing over him. It took him a moment until he realized that the comforting warmth was Alvin. He was resting his head on the taller male's chest, cuddled up to him, while Alvin's muscular arm was draped around his waist. Their legs were tangled in a way that it was impossible for the silverette to get up without waking his friend up. The blanket was long forgotten, laying rumpled on the floor.
Ludger felt blood rush to his face, tainting his cheeks the darkest shade of red. He had never been that intimate with anyone except Julius. He never hugged anyone else than Julius, he never shared a bed with anyone else than Julius...and he most certainly didn't let anyone else kiss his forehead or see his tears. "Alvin.", he called out softly as if to test whether the brunette was really asleep or just pretending for the sake of warmth and laziness.
A low grumble of disapproval was heard as the salesman turned so that he could pull Ludger close and hold him with both of his arms. The agent's face was now fully buried in his chest and the silverette let out a cute surprised squeak at that. "A-Alvin!", he called out a bit louder, with more protest in his voice. He was embarrassed, but he knew he couldn't compete with Alvin on pure physical strength despite being capable of easily taking him down in a combat (as he found out during their training). All he could do was tilt his head to look at the former mercenary with his lips pursed, looking like a helpless puppy again. "Please let me go.", he finally managed to say as his friend had shown no reaction.
Finally, the brunette reacted and opened his hazel eyes just to be met with that puppy look of Ludger's. "I wouldn't mind waking up to that face every day.", he said truthfully, but the way he had to laugh at the cute face made the agent think that Alvin was joking and teasing him, as usual.
"D-Don't tease me!", he quickly protested before changing his priority and averting his gaze. "And more importantly...let go of me."
Noticing how flustered Ludger was, Alvin had to smirk. He had achieved his goal for that day, so he finally let go of the shorter male. He tried not to sound serious as he looked down at the agent again. "Don't like being touched by me, eh?"
Instantly, the silver-haired male shook his head a little too quickly. "No, no! It's not because of you." His cheeks got redder and he lowered his gaze once more, ashamed. "Don't tell the others...I've never had any physical contact to anyone else than Julius. I only ever hugged him, shared my bed with him when I was having a nightmare..."
He stood up and patted his own cheeks to stop thinking about his brother's death. He needed to move forward. Julius wouldn't stand seeing him like that, so he should stay strong. "We need to go to Canaan today. Julius gave us this opportunity and we shouldn't waste it. I don't know how much longer the soul bridge will stay intact...after all, unlike Rieze-Maxians we don't have the power to channel spirits.", he said mostly to himself before turning around to face Alvin and smile at him brightly. "Thank you so much, Alvin. Is there anything special you want for breakfast? I'll cook for you."
The two of them had soba omelette as requested by Alvin and then Ludger contacted Jude via GHS to tell him to gather everyone at the Rieze-Haven in Marksburg. "We should go there soon too, Alvin.", he said with a smile and put on his tie, earning a disapproving sound from Alvin.
"Ludger. I have thought long about giving you that gift, but now the time seems appropriate. Come with me, will you?"
The agent looked baffled, but nodded nonetheless. "A gift? It's not my birthday yet though."
"Come on, it's just a little something for you from me, as an acknowledgement for all the things you have done for us...for me.", the brunette winked and took Ludger's hand before he could protest, pulling him along to Balan's apartment where he had put the clothing he bought for Ludger. He handed the package to the agent as soon as they entered. "Here you go, I hope you like it."
"This is...clothing? It looks very expensive...", Ludger said as he unwrapped the package and took out the red shirt which almost matched Alvin's. "I've never worn such clothes..." He was stunned, but didn't hesitate to take the clothing and turn to Alvin. "Where's the bathroom? I'll change into these."
"Are you ashamed of showing your body to me? We're both men, there is nothing I don't know, anyway.", Alvin shrugged, but pointed to the bathroom nonetheless. "There it is, you can change your clothes there if you are too shy about your body."
Ludger fell for the ex-mercenary's trap and pouted a little before undressing right in front of the brunette. Despite having a slim body, he had quite a lot of muscle. His skin looked white in the dim light of the room, tempting the ex-mercenary to let his gaze wander all over the skin but before Alvin could stare too much at his body, Ludger covered it with the black pants and the red shirt. "Despite saying that there's nothing you haven't seen, you're staring quite a lot..", the silverette murmured in a shy tone as he put on a yellow tie that Alvin had also given to him as a present. Despite the fact that he had a completely new outfit to wear, Ludger still chose to keep the suspenders from his old outfit.
The taller of the two chuckled at that comment. "You just look really great in those clothes..", he covered up the actual reason he was staring by complementing the agent's looks. "I was right when I thought that red would suit your pale skintone very well."
Surprised by that confession, the silverette looked at his friend in surprise. "I never knew you are such a fashion expert, Alvin."
"Well, good looks are half of my charm, so I have to keep it that way.", the brunette winked and grinned slyly. "Let's go and take down Chronos with style, now shall we?"
The cheerful tone gave Ludger a new resolve and he nodded eagerly. "Let's go meet up with others."
Upon arrival, the two of them earned quite a few curious looks from the rest of the party, but nobody had yet said anything about the outfit Ludger was wearing. The agent cleared his throat to draw everyone's attention away from their matching outfits and to speak out clearly to his friends. "At first, I'd like all of you to know that I'm grateful that you have come with me such a long way and I am really happy that I have made such great friends. However, I also want you all to know that I wouldn't blame any of you for backing out now. Just as Milla had said, this is a task that might be deadly. I wouldn't blame any of you for backing out and enjoying your life, you all still have dreams and plans for the future, after all. With that said, I would like to proceed today at noon, right after I have made all the preparations considering the weaponry and the medicine supply. Please come back after you have made your decision and feel energized."
It wasn't usual for Ludger to show that strong, almost intimidating presence and it wasn't usual for him to talk as much as he did now, which only underlined the earnestness of the situation. Everyone nodded silently and went to the hotel to meet their decisions, only Alvin, Milla and Gaius stayed with the silverette, following him around as he upgraded their armor and weaponry and restocked on orange, apple, lemon and pineapple gels. Ludger was expecting Milla and Gaius but it quite surprised him that Alvin was determined to follow him and accompany him on that