4CHAPTER II: Facing the Music
"Rion?!"
"Train?!"
"What are you doing here?" Rion said, her voice agitated."
"I'm a sweeper, it's all in a day's work for me to be here. I should be asking you instead!" his voice restless as well.
Rion didn't answer. "Get away from here Train."
Rion charged at Baltimore by jumping to the air to his direction. She used her crystal flute as a melee weapon, striking him in the nape and then at the back.
The blows weakened Baltimore but still failed to permanently put him in the ground.
"Cover your ears, Train," Rion shouted at Train.
"What are you doing here? Answer me, Rion!" Train demanded while the combat was still going on.
A voice called out from afar. "Loki!"
Rion looked at the direction of the voice. The guys with orange hair from earlier and a teenage girl came.
"The perimeters have been sealed, Loki," the young girl told Rion.
"Loki?!" Train was confounded by what the girl called Rion.
"Cover your ears, Train," demanded Rion.
"No! Not until you answer me!" Train talked back.
"COVER YOUR EARS!" Rion was obviously furious now.
"Loki, we don't have much time," demanded the young man with the orange hair.
With hesitation, Rion started playing her flute. The piece was Lost Souls.
"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" roared Baltimore as he was preparing his fist.
Just as Baltimore was about to charge at Rion, the tune started agonizing him. Train was not an exemption.
Rion was reaching the chorus of the piece she was playing. Train was also reaching the limit of his consciousness.
In the middle of Train's anguish, a young girl, about an age of a child, walked in front of him, and covered his ears for him, until he lost consciousness.
Somewhere, in a secret sanctuary, Rion and her comrades gathered to meet. They were seated in chairs that seem old but had a touch of royalty on each of them. Rion kept looking down on her flute as the meeting was going on.
Odin, their head, a mid-aged woman was seated on the highest seat. She had crimson red hair and eyes so sharp yet so beautiful. She was wearing a crimson suit paired with a long skirt and two swords hoisted on both sides of her hips.
"Well done, all. We have captured yet another soul we would need for the great Cause," Odin said in the group.
In the circle, there seated Thor, the man with the orange hair and long, loose sleeves. There were, also Freya, the spunky teenage girl who had short, blonde hair and was wearing a high school uniform; and Eir, the 10-year-old girl, hair of gold loosely tied to her back with some of it dangling on the side of her hair; she is wearing a simple shirt with a pink vest and a pencil cut skirt, eyes dull and cold.
"Just another day's work for us, isn't that right Loki?" Thor said in a cheerful way in attempt to get Loki's attention.
"Uhh.. Yeah." Loki answered in a sheepish way. She tried to answer even though she felt down.
"Though I must say, we set up the barrier as quickly as we could Loki. What's with the lag a while ago?" said Freya sounding finicky.
"If you've forgotten Freya, Loki and us had to double the caution a while ago to minimize possible collateral damages" Eir said in a stern but arid way.
"No matter. Whatever it takes, as long as we are all leaning forward to the cause," Odin remarked. She raised her hand and on their midst, a plant came into view. Right there and then, the plant grew and became as tall as a young bush.
"We have to find other seeds in another place very soon," Odin said.
Loki's eyes widened.
"It's about time," Thor said. "He need to act fast if we need the 'elimination' to go up and about more quickly."
"This is all for Yggdrasil. Fight for Valhala!" Odin motioned.
Thor, Freya, and Eir followed. "For Valhala!"
Rion, in a weak and late manner, followed along as well. "For Valhala…"
There was it again, the vision of a girl trying to reach out for his hand.
"Come'on Train! Let's go after the crocodiles!" the small girl coaxed while wearing a bright and innocent smile. He couldn't see her face.
Then, Train slowly woke up.
The sun was already up and that was what woke him up. The sunrays hurt his eyes a little. Horses and working men and women were already up and about.
As he slowly opened his eyes and ha saw a blurred face.
He closed them again and opened, then rubbed it a bit to see a better picture. His vision was now clear. They were purple eyes closely staring at him with worry on it.
"You ok now, Train?" said the girl with purple eyes.
Train jumped up from surprise.
"Gyah! What are you doing here?!" Train exclaimed.
He then looked around where he was. He was in an alley. In the far off corner were horses and people walking about. The sun was not up too high yet. It was still early morning. On his left was a girl who was sitting with her knees folded to the ground and staring at him, now, curiously.
"Relax Train, it's just me," said the girl.
Train was still a bit distrustful. And then he calmed down a bit only to look at her sternly. "Rion, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, it's me. Rion," she replied awkwardly.
Then, everything that happened last night came back to him. Train was filled with uneasiness.
"What did you do to that man?!" Train intensely asked Rion. "Arez Baltimore, where is he?"
"Calm down Trai—"
"And who were those people with you?! Who are you working for?!"
"TRAIN!"
Train was stunned.
"I said calm down…" Rion said in a low, sad voice.
Train paused for a while. "Ok."
"He's fine. He's in our custody," Rion said. She then stood up. "You've been sleeping here the whole night and my thighs were worn-out being your pillow for hours."
Train's daze was halted when he learned about it, and then blushed a little bit. "Well, I didn't ask you to become one!"
She dusted off her pants from any dirt she might have gotten from sitting on the brick street the whole night. "That's what I get after what I did? I had to watch over you the whole night just to make sure dogs or rats won't come after you."
Train just scoffed.
"My flat is just nearby. Come over to freshen up or for some breakfast, Back Cat," Rion said as she started walking. "Or if you want to learn more…"
"Train immediately looked at her direction.
Rion's apartment was small, but it looked lively, having peach-colored wallpaper. There were small figurines in the corners.
In the dining room, Train gobbled breakfast and has already stacked several plates aside. Yet he looked like he has not eaten for weeks. Rion was hard at work on coping with Train's monstrous appetite.
"Eh, the food tastes average," Train remarked as he devours another plate full of food and shoves down a stack of toast down his throat. "Can I get some more milk?"
"Try snacking on one of these?!" Rion said furiously as she raised one of her long kitchen knives. "I haven't made anything for myself yet, yet the supplies I just used up cost me my whole food budget for a month," she continued as she was slicing some ingredients.
After arriving with the last tray of food, Rion finally started eating. But before she could put her first spoon on her mouth, she quietly stared at Train first as he was pigging out on his food. Her stares had a faint amazement and hint of happiness on them.
"What are you staring at, woman?" Train said cruelly while munching.
Rion immediately looked away, slightly blushing. "N-nothing. I... I j-just looked at how much more of a… a pig you are rather than a human." She then finally started eating.
"Well, who invited who in the first place?" Train cut in while still chomping. "And by the way, lady, I'm a Cat, not a pig!"
Rion just scoffed and obviously irritated. She sipped some milk, but was still secretly staring at him.
"You obviously don't remember…" she said in a very weak voice.
Train paused for a while, "Come again?"
"Nothing!" she just blurted. She then stood up and then walked away. "You smell terrible. Go get a shower. Just turn to the left. There's also a washing machine there. I've readied your spare clothes too."
She walked to her room but did not close the door. Train just stared and wondered, while eating.
After eating, Train did shower and used the washer which dried his clothes immediately after spinning them. Yet, he still wore the clothes Rion spared for him: a plain white shirt and a pair of jogging pants. He took off the bell on his neck. His XIII tattoo could still be seen in the collar of his shirt.
When he checked on the living room, Rion still wasn't there.
Then, Train suddenly sensed something in Rion's room. He immediately dashed to her room: Rion was about to collapse to the floor. Just before she fell, he was able to catch her.
When Rion woke up, she was already lying on her soft, fluffy bed. Her room had flower wallpapers in its ceiling.
"You awake now, Rion?" Train's voice said.
When Rion turned to her right, there was Train sitting on a chair near her bed.
"Train? You're still here?" She said, wondering.
She looked at the wall clock on her room. It's already afternoon.
"Oh my! What happened?!" said Rion, still surprised.
"You almost kissed the floor. Good thing I just came in in the nick of time," Train answered.
"Oh? Well, I guess I'll forgive your intrusion of a girl's room for now."
Train was annoyed. "Not even a bit of gratefulness there for saving your head –?"
"Thanks, Train…" said Rion with a bright, innocent smile. Even her eyes were smiling. The afternoon sunrays were shining on her purple eyes, making its color a bit crimson.
Train's eyes widened. A vivid memory is starting to come back to him. Yet, he is filled with uncertainty.
Rion sat up from her bed. Then, she started fumbling for something from her waist and then under her pillows.
"…Was it really you?" Train said, now in a low, serious voice.
Rion paused and wondered what he was talking about.
Train took out the holster formerly tied around Rion's waist. He opened the long, sleek pouch, took out the crystal flute inside it and started inspecting it.
"The other two people with you that night called you 'Loki'. What was that all about? And were you behind the missing criminals recently?—"
"Please give Fenrir back to me, Train," Rion exclaimed.
Train was stunned.
"Fenrir, my flute. Please give it back."
So Train handed her the flute.
Out from the flute, Rion turned it into a make-shift dagger, a crystal one. But just held it in her hands. "I'm surprised that you still came with me here, even though you saw what I did—and what I can do."
Train just sat still, unmoved, but neither frightened.
"You know, now that you know about Asgard and who I really am, you deserve to be eliminated so we can keep out existence a secret," Rion said, still staring at the crystal dagger.
"Of course," answered Train. "But I know you wouldn't do that."
"How do you know that? You just met me yesterday."
"Yeah. But you could've killed me last night already if you feel like doing so."
Rion looked at Train, her purple eyes full of astonishment.
"Besides, I don't have any proof, but I feel that you're not that type of person," Train continued. "It's natural among people to be good. It's just that someone pushed them to the brink."
Rion just let out a sign and a faint grin. She transformed Fenrir back to being a flute. "I guess you really don't remember, Train."
"Remember what?" Train said in a happy note.
"Nothing," she replied with a chuckle.
"Spit it out!" he insisted like a kid.
"I said nothing!" Rion teased. She giggled softly.
"But I do remember clearly what happened last night." Train's voice became low and dark.
Rion's cheer suddenly shifted to that of uneasiness.
"Rion, I saw you take down Baltimore with your flute and working with two or three others," continued Train. "Tell me, is this the Asgard you're talking about? What is this Asgard you just told me? And why are they calling you Loki?"
Rion just smiled sadly. There was a lot of hesitation to answer.
"That's because…" said Rion as she suddenly grabbed and crumpled Train's borrowed white shirt softly. "I had to do it… for someone…"
Train suddenly faced the door. Seconds later, the doorbell buzzed.
A man's voice spoke from the front "Hey Rion! Anybody home?"
Rion gasped. "It's Thorr!"
"Who is this Thorr, Rion? Is he dangerous?" Train said, looking concerned.
Rion stood up from her bed, a bit panicking. "Quick Train, you gotta leave here, now!"
"He cannot see you! Ever!"
She started pushing him to the back door near the bathroom. The man from the front door continued calling for her. She just shouted back: "Coming!"
Train was a bit annoyed at the seemingly child's play Rion is trying to pull out. But when she looked at Rion's face, it was dead serious: full of sincere worry. So he just did what she wanted him to do.
At the door of the emergency exit, she gave him instructions on how to leave their area without being caught.
Train would have wanted to pull out an answer from Rion about what happened last night and the man in the front door. As he was about to speak, he was stunned at how Rion looked at him as he was about to leave: Her eyes had sorrow on them. And were those tears glimmering on her eyes?
The man from the door rang the bell again. That signalled Train to completely leave already.
"Go now, Train…"
Rion was still a bit stunned at his leaving. She patted her face and headed now to the front door to answer the door.
When she opened the door, a guy with bright, orange hair was waiting outside the door.
"Oh, hi Thorr… W-what's up?" said Rion.
"Come'on Rion. We're not with the Organization right now. I told you to just call me Rexa on our free time, remember?" the man said in a cheery voice.
Rion tried so hard to smile at him. Yet, Rexa noticed that she was just trying to do so.
"It's already afternoon and you looked like you just got out of bed. What's up, Rion?" he asked while walking to go inside the flat room.
"Oh nothing. I just… overslept a bit…" she answered as she closed the front door.
Before she completely did so, she stole a glance at the big hallway windows first to look at the streets, hoping that the Cat was able to run away safely.
Train's leather jacket, white shirt, and cat collar were all sitting there on top of her dryer.
The next day, Train made his way to the same café, as he always did every morning since he stayed at Ludwig City. He was hungry, as he always were every morning. This morning, he walked outside of his room without his cat collar nor jacket on.
While walking, he thought about Rion and what happened the other night. More especially, what happened in her house.
On his way, he suddenly decided to turn right to go to Rion's apartment.
There, he tried to remember correctly which door they entered yesterday, and finally found it, only to find that the doorbell was detached and outside, a post saying "VACANT" was plastered.
What is this? He just said to himself. He definitely sensed something fishy.
The café door bell chimed as Train came in. He immediately headed to the counter.
"Oh hey, Train. I've been waiting for you," said Bella as she was polishing some glasses behind the counter.
"You were?" he said inquisitively and walked closer to the counter.
From behind the counter, Bella pulled out a white paper bag and presented it to Train.
"Rion came in here today at dawn to give this to me," Bella said as she was handing the paper bag to Train. Inside the bag was his leather jacket, white shirt, and cat collar, its bell clean and shiny.
"Rion told me to give this to you. She said she couldn't give it to you personally 'because she had to go far away," Bella told Train.
"When did she say she'll be coming back?"
"She told me she plans to move to another city—permanently."
Train's eyes widened from the news.
"Well, Rion did say she'll try to visit me and send me letters. It's a pity that I had another great customer leave," Bella continued.
Where could she be? And how could she leave without telling me anything yet? Train told himself, his face winced.
Far away, Rion was travelling with a girl in a bus. The child was 10-year-old with hair of gold loosely tied to her back with some of it dangling on the side of her hair; she is wearing a simple shirt with a pink vest and a pencil cut skirt, eyes dull and cold.
"Are you ok, Rion?" the young girl asked.
"Yes Eir. I… I am…" answered Rion while staring at the view from the bus window.
"Please Rion, call me Rie," the girl said, still in a cold tone.
"Right.. Sorry, Rie…"
"Rion…"
Rion finally looked at her. Rie also came closer to her.
"Rion, if anything bothers you, please tell me. I'll be here to listen to you."
Rion was surprised at Rie's words. She smiled. "Thanks, Rie."
Back at the café, Train thought hard at where Rion would be. Until finally, a eureka moment occurred to him that made him slam on the café counter. From the shock, Bella almost had a glass slip from her hand.
"Quick Bella! Give me the cities where there are most high-profile wanted criminals!" Train demanded.
"O-ok Train," as she pulled out a laptop from behind the counter. She wore her eyeglasses as she typed something.
I'm sure Rion and her group is after thugs like Baltimore. I have to find her. And I have to stop her.
In a short while, Bella's laptop made a beep sound.
"Here it is Train," Bella said as she turned the laptop to face Train. "Muninn City."
"Muninn City, huh?"
"It's quite far from here Train, are you sure you're coming there just to hunt for bad guys?"
"I'm hunting more than just a bad guys now, Bel. I'm heading there as soon as possible."
Bella was astonished. "That's the spirit, Train!"
"But before anything, breakfast!"
Rion's bus was just entering city premises already. There were already some houses and buildings in sight. A sign that says "Muninn City, 10 miles ahead" has just passed them.
#
