Rachel, who had been instructed to meet Izmir in the passageway on the second floor, stood there frozen..utterly confused.
Two bodies lay sprawled on the ground.
One was unconscious.
The other had a very dead, very twisted neck.
Not exactly the warm welcome she was expecting.
She knew Izmir was still inside LUNES WORLD. Before she could crouch to check their pulses, a frantic doctor came sprinting out from the surveillance room, panting as if he'd just run a marathon in crocs.
"Hey! I saw John snapping his own neck on the camera-did he just… commit suicide? But why??" he blurted, turning to the two security personnel behind him. "Bring two stretchers and report to the head office. Now!"
Rachel, not interested in playing detective with corpses today, turned and started walking away.
"Maybe I was late," she muttered under her breath.
---
Before the flying dragon train could complete its descent into the city, it abruptly tilted, taking a sharp U-turn toward the dense forest.
Chaos erupted.
Passengers screamed and stumbled in the hallway outside their cabin. Heavy footfalls and the sound of panicked shouts echoed like a bad concert warm-up.
Inside the cabin, the four of them....Izmir, Rachel, Ray, and Snow-exchanged wary glances.
And then, as if this wasn't dramatic enough, a man crashed through the window, wielding a laserblade sword like he was auditioning for an action movie. The glass shards sprayed across the cabin .one slicing Izmir's cheek. The others shielded themselves as best they could.
"Hand over the LUNES STONE!" the intruder growled, oozing the confidence of someone who clearly skipped the planning phase of his heist.
Ray calmly pulled a pistol from his trench coat. "Nice entrance. Got a card? Or do I shoot now, ask questions later?"
Snow, who had been quietly gripping a pen like it was Excalibur, didn't wait for the guy to answer. He stabbed him in the neck. Efficient, messy, poetic.
"Man.....this is the second time this week," Ray sighed as the man collapsed into a growing pool of blood.
"You can have the sword if you want," Rachel said, crouching beside the body and digging through his pockets.
"Any card?" Ray asked.
Rachel shook her head.
Izmir's thoughts darkened. No card. That means he jumped in without a backup… maybe the rest of his group has raided the train already.
"A failed attempt," he muttered.
Ray stretched, cracking his fingers. "Alright, time to deal with this hijack situation."
"Let's go hunt some LUNES STONES!" Rachel added, with far too much enthusiasm for a person surrounded by blood and broken glass.
The four of them stepped into the hallway. Izmir, now armed with the laser sword, pulled out his card. It had been showing mysterious text before but now, it was blank. Only a strange symbol glowed faintly.
He sighed.
"Hey! Kyle! Watch out!" Ray yelled, pointing to a man dashing toward them with literal flames in his hands.
Right. Kyle. That was his name here. Izmir still wasn't used to it.A little thing like identity crisis slips your mind when you are literally being shot with fire.
"Can you handle him, or should I step in?" Ray asked.
"No way you're letting a newbie take on someone with fire magic," Snow said, stepping forward.
Izmir's eye twitched. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
"I'll take this one. You guys move ahead," Snow declared, conjuring an ice sword .
"This is so cliché," Izmir muttered.
"My name is Flame!" the fire-wielding man shouted.
Do they just name themselves after their powers now? What's next, 'Explosion Guy'? Izmir thought.
"Ice vs. fire....how original," Ray smirked. "Let's go."
Rachel sprinted toward the next coach but skidded to a stop when the floor cracked open. A hole appeared, revealing the forest below.
Without hesitation, she jumped across.
Izmir hesitated for only a second, then launched himself after her, landing hard on the other side.
"Wow," Ray said, clearly impressed. He leapt after them, throwing a glance back at the fireball that exploded behind them. Snow blocked it with an ice shield.
"Move it!" Izmir called back as the train trembled underfoot.
The trio continued toward the driver's cabin, only to find it blocked by two guards.One with a gun, the other with a sword.
Rachel slowed. "Looks like we're going to have to fight."
"I'll handle this," Ray said, taking out his pistol.
Rachel lashed her whip, cracking it against the cabin door. The guards noticed and sprang into action.
"No, wait....I lied. You guys deal with the guards. I'm going in through the top." Ray winked and promptly jumped out the window.
"Tsk," Rachel gritted.
Izmir, seeing no other option, charged with his laser blade..only to get shot at with a gun. He dodged backward.
Rachel's whip wrapped around the gun, yanking it from the guard's hand. The swordsman grabbed the whip and sliced it in two.
The gun spun in the air. Izmir leaped and caught it mid-air.
"Its over." He reloaded and fired. One bullet hit a leg, but the guards retreated into the cabin.
"We have to follow them," Rachel urged.
"No worries...Ray's probably already inside," Izmir replied.
As if summoned, Ray reappeared on the roof, wind tousling his hair. He had taken out the intruders inside and now climbed back in through a random window.
"Where were you?" Rachel snapped.
Ray grinned. "Enjoying the breeze. But there are still a few pests left."
Izmir rushed to where Snow had been battling Flame. But the cabin was empty ,black scorch marks licked the walls. A hole in the floor was now iced over, melting fast.
"Did… Snow lose?" he wondered aloud.
Rachel and Ray arrived.
"Maybe they both jumped," Ray said cheerfully. "Though honestly, fire does beat ice."
"Or maybe they both got thrown out," Izmir said, frowning.
"Whichever it is it applies to both," Rachel added, already opening the next cabin door.
Inside, blood. Lots of it.
"Ugh! Blood makes me nauseous," Ray groaned. "Looks like they jumped too."
"People would jump out of a moving train rather than handing over their STONE," Izmir muttered.
Then a voice echoed from the next coach:
"WHERE IS IT?! ANSWER ME?!"
They rushed in.
A man had a woman by the neck, choking her. She clutched a knife, too weak to fight back. With one last breath, she stabbed herself in the throat..deliberately, violently.
Her blood splattered on the attacker's hands, causing him to recoil. The blade had pierced his fingers too.
"This bitch killed herself before answering my question!" he roared.
Izmir's heart stopped.
That woman… her face…
He staggered forward, kneeling beside her body.
It was her.
His mother.