Still in Cydonia, in early brunch time
Kremidal and Misty sat on one of the block balconies. He wore a denim jacket over a red hooded shirt, khaki corduroys, black forces — his leg bounced under the table, one arm braced heavily on top of it. Misty sat across from him in silk pajamas, legs crossed, stirring her tea. Steam curled from her mouth as she sipped.
"So the big man's gone, hey?" Kremidal said, arms crossed.
"I suppose so." She took another sip. "Why do you look on edge?"
He clicked his tongue. "No, I'm just — thinking what's our next step."
"Relaaaaax~ this is perfect for us. Why don't you sit back, I'll make you some tea?"
He shook his head. "No, it's alright. Everything's weighing on me shoulders lately, and it's adding up. I'm not sure I can keep the church up." He rested his hands flat on the table.
Misty cupped them with both of hers. "Hey. Don't be hard on yourself, you're doing great." A pause. "It's just that some things don't go the way you'd expect them to.
Also — what's the news with the relics?"
Kremidal tilted his head. "We've sold it all." He rolled his eyes. "Still not enough."
But caressing her fingers back, he notices something hard. Glancing down he found a ring "Luv, you didn't tell me you're married?"
She held her hand up showing the ring "Oh this ol' thing? Nah, this is just an accessory" She proceeds to pull it out and slides it in her breast pocket.
POP PIP PO PO POPIPO
Kremidal's phone rang. "Excuse me."
He picked up, recognizing the same thick French accent. "[Mon ami, I have a special case for you. You might want to bring some extra friends.]"
"Err… sorry, kinda busy right now."
"[It needs to be now, at ze terminal chin of Cydonia — we cannot afford to lose zem!]"
"Hold on, why are you so hung up on this one? Who's the client anyway?"
"[I am ze client zis time! Zat luxury train is my property, and zere are terrorists planning to destroy it!]"
Kremidal shook his head. "Look mate, I really can't at the moment — me hands are full. Besides, that luxury trip's gonna cost me a pretty penny."
"[Who says you're going to pay?]"
His eyes perked up, lips pursing as he clicked his tongue. "Well… in that case, I'll call Zephyr and Poppy."
"[Thank you, mon ami. But one more thing — make sure the other passengers don't notice they're in danger.]"
Kremidal stood from his seat. "Since I can't hop on the wagon, the only promise I can keep is to get the job done."
"[Eugh… fine. Remember — minimal damage, minimal commotion. Understood?]"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! See you tomorrow. Oh, by the way — how'd you know people are gonna attack your train?"
"[One of my moderators found a discussion on one of ze channels — zey've been coordinating an attack for a week now. Zey posted a photo of a rifle in a bag, and in the very station ze train is arriving in. I had ze moderators reverse-search ze images and zere were no matches.]"
"Dear god, so they wanna send a message, hey?"
He dialed up a group call with Poppy and Zephyr.
Fast forward into the day
Down at the chin of Cydonia, a terminal resides — its platforms crowded under a lattice of iron and glass, sunlight cutting through in long, dust-flecked beams. Vendors clamor over one another, hawking roasted nuts, cheap trinkets, tickets to shows nobody's heard of; a busker plucks out something half-familiar on a battered guitar, his case scattered with coins. The smell of grilled skewers mixes with diesel and hot metal. Onlookers drift between it all, half-listening, half-distracted, phones out, snapping the grand marble arch that marks the terminal's entrance. The sun blazes high in a bright yellow sky — it's about noon, and the heat presses down on the crowd like a held breath.
Zephyr arrives at the station, wearing a brown suit, with leather patches on the shoulders and elbows, a white shirt underneath with a red tie, then finally a pair of pants with a darker hue of brown with matching Joker 1s. He looks at his silver smart watch for missed calls…
There were none, so he whispers to himself "Where is she? The heck is making her take so long?" as he taps his foot impatiently, flapping his collar, gusting the air out in between his clothes. Then the station finally chimed
"[ATTENTION! LUXURY TRIP FROM CYDONIA TO CAVÉZ AVINOLIA]"
The train finally arrives as it blares its horn, sounding like a chord of trumpets; breaking as it hisses, then finally making a full stop.
Zephyr whistles "Holy shit…"
He arrives at the train station gazing at the gigantic luxury train. In ivory white with gold linings, the front is shaped like a kingfisher's beak, windows are tinted like a limousine stacked on top of each other, as nothing can be seen from the other side. The entire surface was gleaming against the sun. The doors opened each one had a person waiting in the door way, while at the very cockpit the conductor steps out.
"Everyone please fall in line and present your tickets before you board!"
All the people fell in line, Zephyr on the other hand was still tapping his foot against the pavement, waiting for Poppy
"Kindy hand over your luggage to our fellow collectors after entering"
Zephyr whispers "It's boarding time; where the fuck is she?"
Suddenly somebody tapped his shoulder
"What? Can't you see I'm—" Before he could finish, he turned and saw Poppy — her hair down and fluffy like Dolly Parton, wearing a baby blue trench coat over a yellow frilled dress that reached her knees, several Alex Skeffington rings on her fingers, white Kobe 9 Highs on her feet.
"Hey Zeph! Sorry I'm a little late."
"What took you so long?" Then he caught sight of Claire behind her. "Oh no — we are not bringing her on the trip."
"Look at her, Zeph! She's not looking too good, I can't just leave her alone in my apartment like this."
He took a closer look. Claire's nose was red, her cheeks flushed, her skin paler than usual, dark bags under her eyes. Before Zephyr could touch her forehead, she let out a few sickly, gurgling coughs.
"Oh, you poor thing." He touched her forehead anyway, then pulled his hand back. "Damn — she's like a boiling kettle. You got any paracetamol, Pops?"
Poppy shook her head.
"How are you feeling, pipsqueak?" Zephyr asked.
Claire moaned. "Ough. Everything hurts."
"Can you walk?"
The moment she took a step, her body gave out. They caught her before she hit the ground. Poppy hooked an arm under her shoulders, and they moved on. The conductor spotted them.
"You there! Is that girl alright?"
"No — she's sick, she can barely walk!" Poppy called.
"Medic!" The conductor waved over a group of first aid staff, who laid down a stretcher and carried Claire inside.
"You two, present your tickets."
Zephyr stepped close and whispered, "Eyes of Charlotte."
The conductor's eyes narrowed. "Passkey?"
"He who sees all."
The conductor bowed without hesitation. "Your service is welcome here, sir."
"Have you been informed of any threats?" Zephyr asked.
The conductor squared his shoulders. "Yes — I've received the big boss's call. Let me know if you need any help."
Poppy leaned in. "Has there been any sign of concealed weapons?"
"Not yet, ma'am. We'll conduct a baggage inspection once everyone's boarded."
Zephyr and Poppy bowed and boarded the train. Claire was already seated by the front window; Poppy sat beside her, digging a fever patch out of her pocket and pressing it to Claire's forehead. "Have they given you any medicine yet?"
Claire only nodded.
"There, there. Rest easy."
Meanwhile, the conductor was looking at his smart tablet, checking if there are more passengers that haven't boarded yet. The conductor shouted
"FIFTEEN MINUTES UNTIL DEPARTURE!"
The entire train chimes "[Please fasten your seatbelts. Extracurricular carriages will be open 5 minutes after departure]"
After a few minutes the train finally rushes off to the next stop. Literally in seconds the train reaches breakneck speeds, all of the passengers' bodies pressed against their chairs. A few more seconds after the carts had finally stabilized, a few people stood up from their seats, walking towards the activity carts. One of the train staff approaches Poppy. Zephyr and Poppy nodded at each other - Zephyr went to the direction where the conductor's cockpit resides while Poppy and a staff member pressed on to the baggage cart.
Zephyr reached his destination first. "Mister conductor, keep your eyes peeled on the security cameras, We're gonna need some birds eye view" He throws a walkie-talkie to the conductor and caught it mid air "are you catching anyone suspicious yet?"
"No one yet"
"Good to hear" he pulls his own collar in which a mic is clipped onto it. "Yo princess pinky, 'found any weapons yet?"
Poppy taps the headphones she's wearing in one ear "Negative baby eagle, we haven't even reached the baggage cart yet. It's waaaaay far back. Has Tengu (Kremidal) informed you of our targets?"
Said Poppy while her and a staff member were walking through the dining cart "we've got 4 assailants, Tengu has already sent me the weapon photos"
"Oh Pinky one more thing"
"What?"
"Knive's out; no explosions"
"Uuuuuuuuuugh! Whatever!" She turns off her head set and mutters "bossy faggot"
Zephyr was still at the conductor's tank staring at the security cameras, he spots Poppy and a staff member finally arrived at the baggage cart. They check each and every one of the bags, scouring for weapons.
Suddenly something was heard on one of the cameras
BLAM BLAM
Gunshots were fired right in front of the baggage cart
"Gimme the radio" shouted Zephyr as it was immediately given to him
"Train staff listen, do not - I repeat DO NOT let the passengers know that the train is currently being terrorized, the Eyes of Charlotte are defusing the situation. As of now, gunshots are heard at the cart next to the luggage cart!" He taps the conductor's shoulder and gives him a gun "Here G, protect yourself" he got out of the front tank, then he came to check on Claire. He spots her sleeping on her passenger seat, still wrapped in a blanket, still had a fever pad stuck to her forehead. Touching her forehead with the back of his hand, he can still feel she's hot to the touch "Stay strong kiddo".
While that's happening, Poppy quickly reaches for the door to get out of the luggage room "Keep checking man, I'll go check outside.
Once she grabbed the door knob and twisted it.
It's locked
"D- did you lock this door?"
"N- no! No ma'am"
"I'm sure Charlotte wouldn't mind" She winds up her leg so high that her knee reaches her ear then BRAG she kicks the door open. Darting her eyes all over the place, the passengers were no longer there, but at the stairs of the cart she spotted someone scurrying, she commanded the staff member "Stay there! If you hear gunshots duck for cover"
She hurried onto the upper floor of the passenger cart. Upon arriving there were also no passengers to be seen; squared up she slowly walked, the low rumbling of the train filled the room, with each step her shoes would crunch up on the carpet's fibers. She quietly pulls out a knife from her trench coat.
As she stepped towards the middle, someone tried to grab her by the leg. Feeling the touch as before the grip was tightened, she pulls her leg back in just in time; then she hurls a throwing knife, hitting it right into the attacker's shoulder.
With the attacker recoiling, he tries shooting Poppy, but she kicks the gun off of his hands, then she kicks the attacker's head, snapping it back into the wall. He dropped, eyes rolling white, out cold
She taps her headset "Baby Eagle, I caught one, this one's out cold. Any news on your side?"
"I'm working on it pinky, how's Claire?"
"Wha- weren't you supposed to look after her since you're the closest to her?"
"Don't sweat it, I just saw her wrapped up like a burrito"
"Go easy on her Zeph... she's been through a lot"
"Y'know, I kinda see my younger self in her"
Poppy's face lit up right before she sparked a smug face "Y'know despite being a raging incel, you've been really nice to her, is there something I missed?"
"J- just call the conductor about the guy you caught and focus on the mission"
Poppy just scoffed in response.
She tapped on her headphone again to change channels, this time calling the conductor "Err… guys a little help here? This one's out cold… Uhhhh, guys?" She said as she pulled the body by the shoulders.
While that's happening
Zephyr speedwalks to Poppy's direction, observing the passengers as he walks by. Glancing at their eyes, on the first cart he hasn't found anyone suspicious, no returning glances. Thus he slows down, with each glance he observes their body language, highlighting ones that are restless. Cart after cart these people don't seem to budge, until one cart once Zephyr enters a person stands up, hands in their pocket. Zephyr spots a gun barrel protruding through his jacket
He followed the man, however the man was about to exit. Zephyr sped up his walk, in response the man became more frantic. Opening the cart door to enter another. As Zephyr hurried, he opened the door the man entered, and there was another door, twisting the handle was futile, the door was locked. Luckily the door knob wasn't sophisticated, so he pulls out one of his cards.The door clicked, he could twist it but the door itself wouldn't open.
He wriggles it even more, still wouldn't budge.
So he lodges his foot to the bottom of the door, then he slams his shoulder to door.
BANG
This startled the entire carriage, darting their eyes towards him; one of those eyes is Mantra. She was smirking while slanting her eye brows
His eyes darted left and right, sweat began budding up his forehead "Err… apologies, door was stuck" He spots the terrorist side eyeing him across the cart.
"Ahem- I must be going"
Mantra stood up from her chair, blocking Zephyr's way "Zephyr Aguila! I didn't know you rode a luxury class?"
"M- Mantra, it's nice seeing you but I really need to go-"
She steps to further block his way "Why are you in such a hurry? Don't tell me you're running from somebody are you? What did you do this time?"
"Woman, I really don't have time for this!" he said as he pushed her away, naturally Mantra shoved him back.
"Stupido! How dare you shove me with your filthy hands!"
Zephyr looked to his side, the terrorist had escaped to the next cart. He whispered "Shit"
Mantra recoiled "I'm sorry what did you call me?"
"ARGH! I don't have time for this!"
He pushes her away as he proceeds to the next door, then on the next cart- it's locked again. He punched the door in frustration. BAM BAM BAM BAM He pushes and shoves the door over and over again, slamming his body against its surface. Then it finally loosened.
Because of his momentum, he tripped off balance yet didn't fall.
"Zeph?" It was Poppy, she opened the door.
This cart was the cart next to the luggage area, so it was dead empty of passengers. He sees her dragging the unconscious body of the terrorist, she asks "Have you seen security?"
"No, must be on the upper floor"
She bends her back backwards groaning "UUUUUUUGGHHH! WHATEVER MAN!" then she just throws the body to one of the chairs.
As soon as Zephyr was about to turn around to give way to Poppy, Mantra blocked both of their ways.
"*gasp* What are you two doing?" she rests her hands on her hips "What is going on here?"
Poppy swiftly pulls out a knife, pointing close onto Mantra's face. "Ma'am we don't have time for this, I'm gonna have you ask you to step away." Then she looks at Zephyr "Zephyr, where are you going?"
Then Zephyr's eyes widened right before shouting "LOOK OUT!" He grabs hold of Poppy, tucking her in his arms, then
BLAM
Zephyr was shot on the back, weakened, he lost his balance as he was about to fall to his knees, Poppy caught him, pulled out a knife with each knuckle then threw the volley of it onto the terrorist, lodging 4 on the torso and one on the shoulder.
Then she flashes out the finger guns, however Zephyr grabbed her hand right before she could slam her thumb-hammer "Poppy no! No explosions!"
The terrorist was about to aim again. Poppy was still carrying Zephyr by the shoulder
The gun cocks then
BLAM
In a second, Poppy flinched as soon as she heard the shot; Closing her eyes, pulling Zephyr against her body tightly.
But the bullet didn't hit anything, it just tinkled onto the doorway
"Hoy, rosa bonita!"
Poppy lifts her head up as she opens her eyes. It was Mantra whom created a water shield acting like a door.
"Hit him where it hurts!"
In one swift motion, Poppy pulls a knife from her hair. Mantra opens a hole on her shield, in a blink of an eye, the knife lodged into the terrorist's neck. Making him puke blood all over the cart carpet.
Mantra finally drops the water-shield turning her head to Poppy "Bonita, what exactly is going on?"
"No time to explain, help me with Zephyr!"
In a few seconds Mantra looks at the both of them. Poppy lays down Zephyr onto one of the carriage chairs, leaving him to lay on his side, she tears a frill off of her dress and pulls out a knife.
"Hold his shoulders, keep him still for me please" While Mantra does that, Poppy took off his jacket and shirt only to reveal there was kevlar armor, but the bullet seemed to pierce through regardless. She was using her knives to get rid of the bullet; as the bullet fell- it was a hollow point bullet, a round that can pierce lightweight armor. Then she rolls up the fabric she ripped and plugs it onto his wound.
"Zeph can you walk?"
He hisses "Yeah- yeah, I still got it!" but she still groans as he stands up "That's one down, three to go!"
Poppy looks at Mantra "Ma'am could you stay here and watch him for me?" said Poppy as she was sticking Charlotte's sigil onto the corpse.
Mantra's mouth opened, then closed. She looked down at Zephyr — pale, jaw clenched, blood already soaking through the fabric Poppy had plugged into him — and for a moment she said nothing at all. The memory of Zephyr disowning her as a girlfriend had her clenching her fist that it's cracking a few knuckles, biting her lip as she looked away. But the words caught somewhere behind her teeth, and instead she found herself staring at the rise and fall of his chest, too shallow, too fast, and thinking that hating someone was supposed to feel simpler than this.
"...Ma'am?" Poppy pressed.
"I—" Mantra's jaw tightened. She looked away from him, out toward the door, anywhere but his face. "Fine. Fine. Go before I change my mind."
Poppy didn't wait to be told twice — she was already up, already moving. Mantra knelt down beside Zephyr instead, hovering, unsure where to put her hands. She settled for pressing down harder on the wound, more out of habit than kindness, she told herself.
Zephyr looks behind "M- Mantra, what? get out of here!
"...dumbass," she muttered. "You could've just let her get shot."
Poppy just kept walking carriage after carriage; the dining room, the sleep cart, the gym, cinema, and even the passenger carts. Until finally she arrives on the cart next to the cockpit, she checks up on the chair where Claire is sleeping. She gasped
Her heart sank.
Claire was gone, all that's left was her blanket
She checks the toilet on the carriage; unlocked and not there. She quickly climbs on the upper floor, there are still passengers aboard, some seats are even empty. She said "'Scuse me everyone" and she caught their attention "Have you guys seen a girl; short hair, skinny, looks like she's dying and eight bananas tall?"
Most of them said no or shook their heads.
Sighing, she quickly climbs down when suddenly she hears a loud thud on the conductor's cockpit. Opening the hatch, she discovered that the conductor and other engineers had been knocked out, and the other was wearing an engineer's uniform and was holding a gun. However there was no blood on sight, and on the very corner she saw Claire, tied in duct tape.
By reaction, Poppy threw a knife straight out of her trenchcoat, striking him in the hand. The impostor dropped the gun, but someone struck Poppy from behind, knocking her out.
Claire squirms as she screams through her muzzle. Then the impostor kicked her on the stomach while she was still on the ground, causing her to gag and curl in pain.
"Can it brat!"
"Boss there's another one, that pink one actually killed our other guy… should we waste her?"
"No, let 'em come, besides we've got our muscle to have 'em occupied, or smoke 'em in a good day"
Meanwhile at the other end of the train
In the same cart where there are no passengers, Zephyr was still sitting on the passenger seat while Mantra was still pressing her hand against his wound. He starts squirming, attempting to stand up, Mantra however pulls him back down
"Where are you going?"
"There's still another terrorist on the loose. I have to stop them before they do something to the train… or worse the passengers!"
"Cállate! You are not in a condition to fight, you need to stay here!"
Zephyr looks at Mantra with sharp eyes "Look who's fuckin' talkin'? You can't even fight either, what are you gonna do? Squirt on them like a water gun?"
Mantra was about to slap the shit out of Zephyr. But then a barrel of a plastic gun barrel came to greet them at the doorway.
SLAM
The door was kicked open, it was the same guy that Zephyr was chasing, his sleeves were rolled up, revealing dozens of straps wrapping shotgun shells up to his biceps.
The muscle points the shotgun at the two
In a flash freeze, Mantra erected an ice-wall from thin air
BANG
Lead pellets shatter the ice wall. But as it breaks down Zephyr and Mantra disappear from the seats.
BANG BANG BANG BANG
He quickly spammed his shots on the chairs, each shot making the fabric and foam explode, flying down to the ground.
"Outta the chairs pussies!"
"Way above ya"
TWANG
Zephyr drops from the ceiling with wet clothes, slamming a metal rod right onto the muscle's head. He looks back at Mantra right after she also dropped from the ceiling - also with wet clothes "Good thing I remembered you can do that"
"Where did that thing come from?" She asks, pointing at the metal rod Zephyr is holding.
"It's retractable" He says as he squeezes it perpendicularly, folding into a short stick of metal.
"Amor look out!"
Still conscious, the muscle had blood flowing down from his head, he swung the shotgun right at Zephyr's face. Stretching it back open, Zephyr uses the metal rod to block the swing, however he gets knocked to the side.
He sees Mantra, he quickly aims at her. She uses an ice pillar to misdirect his shot to the ceiling. Stepping in, she breaks the ice she used to steer the barrel, turning it into an icicle, stabbing him on the side of his stomach. This causes him to hunch down.
Zephyr took this opportunity to extend his metal rod, PANG slamming the tip square on his face, it was charged with kinetic energy, this made the man's eardrums explode, and drop on his knees.
Weakened, Zephyr pulls out the shotgun out of the man's hands - points it at him and
Click
"Shit" It's empty
The man pulls out a pistol then PEW, shot Zephyr by the leg
"Why the fuck am I always getting shot in the leg!?" he says as he hunched down
Mantra sees the man's head was open alongside the door being open inside. She uses her foot to pull the door shut, hitting both Zephyr and the man, dazing them both, having Zephyr snapped out of it first, he spotted that one of the shotgun shells had fallen from his arm. So he threw it onto mantra
"Catch!"
She caught it and immediately loaded it right before the man to snap out of the daze.
"Oi!"
The man looks at her, only to find out that the very shotgun he was using was pointing at him.
"Buenas noches… *gun cock* cabron!"
BANG
His head exploded as the pellets hit, scattering bits and pieces of his brain, skull and face on the cart, luckily there was no one but them.
"Zephyr can you walk?"
He hisses "Fuck- yeah, I think I can"
"We have to find your girlfriend; you take the ground floor, I'll take the upper" said Mantra
"She's not my- ugh! Lock the door when you're done" He shook his head, then proceeded to walk out of the bloody mess, locking the cart as soon as he left.
Meanwhile on the conductor's cockpit
Poppy was now also tied down with duct tape, still squirming for an escape. While Claire was moaning in pain through the duct tape muzzle.
"Argh! This kid is starting to piss me off!"
"Relax boss, this'll be over soon, we already have the train travelling 800 km/h" The man that knocked Poppy out was looking at the security cameras, spotting Zephyr and Mantra quickly walking towards the cockpit. "They're here boss, also isn't it getting a little bit colder in the cockpit?"
"Heh, lucky bastards always gettin' the special treatment- where are they now?"
"They're still in the dining halls boss, but they're comin' in hot"
"Ah! We can finally smoke one of these girls" He cocks the gun and points it at Poppy.
From lying down, Claire got up on her knees screaming under the muzzle as one can hear the faint 'POPPY' under the duct tape.
Suddenly the windows of the cockpit began to fog up due to the cold
"B-boss- the windows"
"Just turn the AC down. How's our speed?"
"Going 843 km/h now boss"
"Aight, let's ditch 'em- let's head to the back carriage"
As they were about to step out, they suddenly couldn't. They glance on their feet only to discover
"It's frozen?!" He snapped his head back. "Which one of you is doing this?!"
Poppy and Claire looked at each other. Poppy shook her head. Claire only shrugged.
The boss pulled out his pistol and shot at his own feet to break the ice, freeing himself enough to turn and aim at Claire.
Poppy tried to get up, but the side of her body was frozen to the floor too. All she could do was scream Claire's name through the duct tape over her mouth.
Claire closed her eyes.
Until —
BAM
Zephyr broke the door off its hinges and slammed it down onto the two terrorists, pinning them to the floor. He used his retractable rod to propel himself down onto the door, keeping them crushed beneath it.
"Mantra, cut their tape!"
Mantra sprinted forward, reaching Claire first — an icicle sliced her free in one motion. Then Poppy — but for her, Mantra just ripped the tape straight off her face.
"OW!" Poppy shouted. "You could've at least warned me!"
Zephyr bore down on the door, pinning the two men beneath it. "Why are you doing this?!"
"The people will face the wrath of the Eyes of Charlotte!" the boss shouted
Zephyr's grip on the door faltered. Poppy's mouth hung open, words caught somewhere she couldn't reach. They looked at each other — the same question passing silently between them, neither one able to say it out loud first.
With a dead stare, Zephyr pried the door up. Leaving the two terrorists frozen in confusion.
Zephyr charges his metal rod, then-
THWANK! THWONK!
He left the two of them out cold, as their ears bled and so did their noses
He hits the both of them unconscious
"What the, Zeph?! Why didn't you finish them off?"
"Kremidal needs to hear this"
Poppy looking at the cockpit control panel "Uhhhh… Guys? I think we've got bigger fish to fry" she points at the train's speedometer showing 999km/h
All of their eyes widened.
Zephyr grabbed the conductor by the collar even when he's still unconscious, so he shakes the guy's body. "Wake up man! We need you!"
The cockpit started to chime "[WARNING EXCESSIVE SPEED DETECTED, TRAIN AT RISK OF OVERSHOOTING]"
Claire started scrambling the controls on the cockpit, turning on and off other things like the AC, the wipers, and even the window shade. Then Mantra pulled a lever that has a cover that says "Emergency"
Poppy spots the speedometer, reducing to 997 km/h "Guys, keep up whatever you're doing because it's working!"
However they see Cavéz Avinolia through the cockpit window
Claire's eyes widened "Guys we gotta slow down the train or we'll crash through the rails!"
Mantra darts her head at Poppy "Rosa bonita! Is this train maglev (magnetic levitation)?"
"Yeah, why?"
"No amount of friction is going to stop this, we have to cut the power off!"
Zephyr stammered "B- but it's gonna cause a commotion-"
Claire wheezed out "But we have no choice! *cough* *cough*" Her voice clears a little "If we don't do it, we'll die regardless!"
All of them began looking around the cockpit. When suddenly Poppy asks "Can somebody gimme a boost?"
Mantra nodded, she erected an ice pillar for Poppy to hop on. As she does so, she drags her fingers on the ceiling, looking for hidden bolts.
"I got it!" She pulls out a knife and uses it to pry open one of the rubber covers, but her face got pale when she found out. "Shit! These things are allen screws!"
Zephyr notices a tool box under the dashboard right next to Claire, so he shouts "Hey kid, kick me that toolbox underneath!"
As she does so, Zephyr quickly opens it as he frantically searches inside, sweating like a pig despite the cold temperature of the room. "Found a set of em!"
Poppy reaches her hand out frantically "Gimme gimme gimme!" She catches the set, then she frantically pulls out the ones closest to the hatch's size, finally one fits just right
"YES!!!"
She quickly unscrews 3 out of 4 bolts, but she drops the allen wrench right before she could insert it
"FUCK!"
They're getting closer to the terminal, Zephyr screams "HURRY!!!" Then throws her the allen wrench back.
They were now eerily close to the terminal, but the speedometer has reduced but it still says 740 km/h, which is still at breakneck speeds
Mantra looks at Zephyr with sharp eyes "Zephyr, if we die I'm dragging you to hell with me!"
He just stammered while pointing at himself "What the- why you saying 'fuck me' for?! THE FUCK DID I DO?"
Then Claire steps in between them , then holds her hand to the both of them. Mantra held it without hesitation. Zephyr however was reluctant that he even pulled his hand in a little, right before fully reaching out for Claire to grab it. The three of them face the window, staring at it with no words to speak; Mantra droops her eyes with a frown, Zephyr closes his eyes shut while gritting his teeth, and Claire stares at the window right before gently closing her eyes.
All the while Poppy was scrambling in the ceiling in search of a power supply.
The train inched closer
And closer
And closer
It's as if in this moment the world stopped
PEEN PON
The train chimed "[ARRIVED AT CAVÉZ AVINOLIA]"
Zephyr opened an eye, his body relaxes as the train had finally stopped
"Are we dead?"
The rest of them also relaxed their bodies from crippling tension
Claire glances on the side, only to find out that the conductor was awake "The conductor!"
"Holy shit! I thought we were actually done for, thanks man!"
The conductor rolled his head back "'Thank me?' No, no, all terminals have emergency slow downs, even if we did let go of the controls, the terminal would still handle it"
The three of them had their jaws dropped as their eyes are wide and bulged open
"Oh you captured the terrorists, you didn't kill anyone did you?"
Zephyr bombastically sideeyes Mantra as she does the same, Zephyr said "Um… about that"
Poppy drops down from the hatch "yeah, we kinda made a mess at the butt of the train. Also…" she glances at Claire smiling ear to ear, right before sweeping her up her feet to carry her
"You didn't tell me you had ice powers?!"
Claire giggled back "I never knew I had 'em!"
Zephyr rests his fists on his hips "So, Cavéz Avinolia huh? Was this city always this empty?"
Claire's smile disappears right after she sharpened her eyes in reply
"No, I don't think so"