Hola peoples, this is A Raven's Call speaking, I apologize for being a bit longer than I expected on my update because of school and a lot of extra work I piled on myself. Well, I'm sorry if this is a bit fast paced, feel free to comment on that, but I hope you enjoy this story on a lovely stream of time!
Chapter Three: I Should Have Cut Her Paycheck
"Mason, I thought you would never arrive, or at least be late," Sephiria Arks grinned mysteriously, the type of grin a fox would utilize the split second before it pulled a fast one on some unfortunate animal and flee, guffawing it's head off, maybe with stolen goods in its hands. She casually sipped from her crystalline glass, filled to the brim with sparkling water, though she offered him some, he vehemently shook his head, Mason had no time for petty drinks, he had a mission to fulfill, not a cocktail party he was expected at.
"I don't drink with enemi-"
"I already know that Chronos considers me a renegade," Sephiria interrupted him, taking another swig of the fizzing water as she surveyed Mason with a deep dislike. "Did you think I did not realize that you would come after me-I rewired the security system so I have unlimited access to it, and the Communication Room was bugged, another handiwork of yours truly."
"So, you fully intend for us to be enemies," Mason felt a slight pang in his heart as he surveyed his former charge with sympathetic gaze, "after you became our most important member, more powerful than the Elders, more powerful than even me, and the strongest of them all. I understand that you do not appreciate certain policies, but really, it would make those deaths before utterly pointless, and make your creation a waste of time, those sacrifices you experienced, do you really want them to be all for nothing?"
Sephiria's azure eyes turned up the heat in her stare, a passive mask stretching over her face in a breakneck wave, as Mason cautiously backed into the wall, pressure began to emit throughout the room, causing it utter pain to breathe. The glass was crackling ominously as Aria's eyes began to become a ghost of her haunted self, the smile playing about her lips causing Mason to be reminiscent of her days as the Devil's Advocate, the cause to the numerous massacres in the Taoist War, and the sole reason Chronos had obliterated the enemies within a month.
"I'm sorry you feel that way," Sephiria tactfully responded, "I had not realized that even the great Mason had feelings, perhaps you really did care for me all those years ago, however, you do understand why I'm doing this, I promised on the last day of the war I would never allow something like that to happen again."
"This saddens me," Mason narrowed his eyes, readying his armor, shooting forward as if released from a taught bowstring, he rushed toward his former Captain, his grey eyes transforming to their usual cold that chilled even his own soul upon gazing into the recesses of the iris. He was unsurprised to discover empty air, as he glared up at the ceiling where his hawk eyes located his target chuckling within slashing range.
"Mason, you're moving awfully slowly today," Sephiria smirked, as she began to brandish the same dagger she once held in her childhood, "you obviously should have realized by now that I had already knew that you were coming, did you really believe I would not be prepared?" Reaching into her black jacket pocket, she wiggled a hand grenade teasingly, the blinking light on the side signaling Mason's military mind to flee, as he barged out the window, evidently aware of the arising danger due to Sephiria's grenade modification specialties, her intonation sounded in his head, "You have ten seconds Mason, then the real race is on, I can promise you that."
-X-
Train was surprised at the smoking room with Sephiria gripping his hand and dragging him out, her blue eyes holding the same concentrated look as they had in Creed's island. "What the-" Train began, however, Sephiria placed a finger to her lips as she pulled him into his room, her ears practically on edge as a Chronos mob raced down the hallway, once they had passed, Sephiria turned to him, her face solemn.
"Hurry up and get Eve, and Sven," she muttered, "we need to get out of here quickly."
Train analyzed her for a second, then raced out without further question, slamming open Eve, and Sven's hospital quarters, he quietly murmured, "Sephiria's ordering us to evacuate, follow me, no questions, NOW."
Hauling the two to his chambers, he discerned Sephiria clicking keys agitatedly out the window, her normally compassionate blue eyes were unwavering as she heard the faint sounds of a vehicle arising to the window's ledge, she instantly demanded, "Get in and hurry up, they're going to be here soon."
"Who?" Eve asked, her naïve eyes flashing in concern as Sephiria pushed her into the most eccentric vehicle Train had ever seen, however, Sephiria appeared to be in a heightened sense of trepidation at the slightest movement in the hallway, the shouts and screams of orders echoing from outside. Finally, once they were all boarded, Sephiria turned the ignition on as the vehicle speedily ascended to the skies, her apprehension vanished once they hit the cloud cover, however, Train, on account of his deep trust within her, had not questioned her, decided now was the time to do it.
As Sephiria breathed a sigh of relief as the vehicle sped to who knows where, she turned around in the pilot seat to face the stunned Sweepers while checking her pocket watch, absently commenting, "Five minutes into the safe zone, not bad, anyhow," her eyes turning solemn, "I suppose you want to understand what just happened."
"That would be kind," Sven grumbled in his seat way in the back, "why don't you explain?"
Sephiria sighed, "I would prefer to say it at a more private time because of...certain circumstances, however, you three have something Chronos desires to exploit for purposes that I have repeatedly told them I am resolutely against, therefore, before they could get to you, I chose to aid you all to abandon the Chronos infested Hospital to freedom."
"And I'm sure you didn't do it out of the goodness in your heart," Sven muttered sarcastically, readying his briefcase aggressively, "I don't want whatever you want effecting Eve, understood?"
Train interjected as Eve glared heatedly at Sven, "Sephiria, you abandoned Chronos for us, I didn't mean for our relationship to cause you to just desert Chronos for me in a turn of a hat-"
"WHAT RELATIONSHIP?" Sven hollered, "HOW COME I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IT?"
Sephiria shrugged apathetically, "It only started a couple of days ago, however, the point is not about our relationship Train, though that did make it easier, I need to talk to you both in private, without Eve, Eve could you go to the backroom please?"
Grumbling, Eve reluctantly obeyed, as soon as she exited the room, Sephiria glanced back to the two of them, her mouth twisting into a reluctant expression, "I was only made aware of this plan before the raid on Creed's palace, honestly, Chronos was in reality the backers to Torneo Rudman's nanotechnology project, we virtually created Eve in order to use in a machine called Eden that will absorb every living being on this planet, utilizing their life source to keep Eden running and allow humans inside of the machine to live in total contentment. If this fails to work, Torneo created a backup program, which would allow Chronos to reprogram Eve to respond to our every command, creating an obedient weapon in the process that will obliterate everything in its path."
"Oh." Sven gaped, his jaw hanging open as he turned to Train, "I thought this was about a counter conspiracy theory for Masons to take over the world."
"Actually, I thought that organization was the Illuminati," Sephiria rolled her eyes in exasperation, "the basic idea of the plan is to keep Eve away from Chronos because once they install the weapon program, you can't change Eve back."
"Just short circuit the program," Sven retorted, his eyes flashing protectively in response to his foster child, Train sensed Sephiria's sadness as he placed a shielding arm around her shoulder, as if his touch would somehow provide instantaneous comfort.
Sephiria nuzzled into him tenderly, her azure eyes diverting from Sven's accusing ones, "If you short circuit the program, you kill Eve, and even if that program touches Eve, Eve won't be Eve anymore, she'll just be a mindless weapon, which I think is even worse than death."
"Why do you care about Eve so much, or do you just hate Chronos because of this abusive factor?" Sven demanded, Train felt Sephiria tremble underneath him, as she was about to open her mouth, a sharp rat-a-tat of bullets hailed upon the craft.
Cursing, Train gripped Sephiria in one hand as he hung on to the rails on the sides of the craft for dear life, hollering over the hail of bullets, "Sven, go and get Eve in here now!" While Sven raced off to defend his daughter, Sephiria pried herself off from Train's withholding grip as she flipped into the pilot's seat, as the vehicle sprang to life at her slightest touch.
"Transform into speed mode: Rocket, missiles activate, GPS aim to hit the vortex of the atmosphere, computer: prepare to enter space, seal airship," Sephiria demanded as she placed on the headphones, her blonde hair trailing behind her as she desperately worked the controls out of the pursuing jets path, "ascend to space once secure."
"Can I work the guns?" Train questioned her as he placed a hand around her neck, "I never tried firing a gun using an airship's machine guns..."
"The seat for that is right next to me," Sephiria gestured to the seat beside her, indicating that he should put on the helmet, "this is all thought controlled, just think shooting and hitting the target, and you'll get a hundred percent accuracy, I should know, I made this bucket of bolts."
Grinning, Train was astonished at the pinpoint accuracy of the screen as he viewed fourteen jets flying in a v formation behind them, the bullets bouncing off the aircrafts' metal plates, focusing on destroying all the planes, he was pleasantly surprised when he discovered that the helmet responded to his every will, the bullets mowing down the entire squadron in seconds. As Sven and Eve arrived frantically into the control area, Train looking quite satisfied informed them, "Enemies all gone, from yours truly and Sephiria's amazing bucket of bolts."
"Entering orbit to Earth," the automated computers feminine voice echoed in the silent room.
"Thank you Shirley, that will be all for now," Sephiria breathed a sigh of relief as she surveyed the surrounding three people resignedly, "welcome to space, enjoy it because we'll be here for quite a while..."
Train, his amber eyes horrified, moaned in agony, "What! HOW LONG AM I SUPPOSED TO LAST WITHOUT MILK?"
Ah milk, a grave necessity of life, did I tell any of you I'm a milkaholic? Anyhow, please read and review people, constructive criticism is great! ^_^ P.S. Thank you Princess of Doctors for your review, and I apologize for the error of Train against Heartnet, I promise I will Endeavour long and hard to prevent that. Thank you! (And no, this is extremely heartfelt, not sarcastic, sorry it's just kind of hard to tell online because the person is not in front of you physically talking…) Ah well, there's still more coming up! ^_^