Chapter 24 : THE TRAIN TO GRIFFNINE

12:29 PM

"4 tickets? That'll be 2000 Satu."

Zoar pulled out 2 Satu Bills worth 1000 Satu each and handed them to the train station clerk.

She handed him back 4 tickets for a ride on the train to Griffnine.

"I forgot to ask where the Hell you got all this money from?" Maurice said as they walked towards the waiting area of the station.

"I had a lot of money saved up from my old job in my bank account," Zoar said.

"I see your greedy little..." Maurice began mumbling to himself.

"The train isn't gonna be here for over an hour, so... what are we gonna do while we wait?" Kasstia said while stretching her arms.

Zoar didn't realize just how early they were.

"I brought the cards!" Krycella said.

"Well, there you go," Zoar said.

•••

12:58 PM

"I understand the situation..." Klara said.

"Thank you, ma'am! I truly am grateful for your help! Accept my payment..." Blitray said holding out 50000 Satu in bills.

"This is... 20, no! 50000 Satu!" Klara was freaking out.

"Yes... it is so you can take care of her and yourself." Blitray said, looking at Ami.

"Why, this is way too much money! Are you sure it's alright!?" Klara said holding out the money.

"Yes! I am sure... now I must be going... I have a flight to Gr- I mean Suffane, The Capitol of Reddane in a couple of hours... I highly appreciate you, Klara... May you and your son reconnect mentally again one day..." Blitray bowed and started towards the door.

"No, thank you! Thank you for helping me, my son, and all of the friends he's made! I truly am grateful..." Klara said, watery-eyed.

Blitray did a fake smile.

"Goodbye..." He said and walked outside.

"For the love of Cyrus... that bitch is so annoying... I was so tempted to just off her right then and there... but that would ruin my plans..." Blitray said, gripping the railing beside him.

"That damn..." Blitray took a deep breath and sighed. He walked downstairs.

"Now I need to find a host..."Blitray looked around for anyone standing alone.

He saw a little kid who seemed to be lost.

"Young... but good enough..." Blitray said.

Blitray summoned his magic and created a DARKNESS tentacle. It crept up behind the little boy and knocked him unconscious. The tentacle picked him up and sent black energy into his mouth. The tentacle sat the boy down on the ground. Blitray recalled his magic and the tentacle faded away.

Blitray infected the boy with something much worse than the disease he called 'black coma'.

Blitray himself wasn't sure of what to call it, but he knew very well what it did.

This one was like his ability to infect animals, but different. This one could infect only humans and it doesn't turn them into feral beasts. It injects them with a small amount of DARKNESS that they would slowly adapt to and be able to harness the ability one day.

If the host has children while infected, the children would be born with the virus.

The host's mate would also be Infected.

This was only a small step to Blitray's plan.

"I shall bring forth a new race... The name I choose is... Shadow People..."

•••

1:28 PM

"He's drawing near, sir," Cecil said.

Neal puffed on his cigar and coughed.

"Good." He said.

"He'll be a day early, but that's fine," Neal said.

"May I ask why you need him here? Isn't the machine going to work fine with anyone far away?" Cecil asked.

"Yes, it's a flawless device. I need him here so I can kill him with his magic as he tries and struggles to kill me!" Neal started to laugh and it turned to cough.

"Ah, I see. It's for pleasure!" Cecil chuckled.

"You never change, huh?" Cecil said.

"You know me best!" Neal smiled.

Neal coughed again.

"Are you okay, sir? You've coughing a lot lately." Cecil said.

"Just the cigars, nothing more." Neal stood up from his seat.

"When I do steal all the world's magic... I plan to kill Blitray." Neal said, looking out the glass behind him.

"May I ask why?" Cecil asked.

Neal puffed on his cigar and walked towards the glass.

"Military is a dangerous threat to me... to everyone in the world. You know of his many abilities, correct?"

"Yes sir. The ability to infect living things with various infections, his manipulation skills can be considered a magical ability, his overwhelming power of DARKNESS and-" Cecil was cut off.

"We shouldn't waste time on that matter." Neal turned to Cecil.

"Just have it be known that he may be hiding many things from us, which is why I must kill him before he becomes a problem..." Neal put his cigar out on the ashtray laying on his desk.

"He could take over the world if he wanted to."

•••

1:50 PM

"There's the train!" Krycella said aloud.

"About damn time!" Maurice stood up from the bench he and Zoar were sitting on.

"I hope you all can handle an almost 6-hour train ride," Zoar said.

"Shit... How long would it take by car?" Maurice asked.

"16 hours," Zoar said.

"All aboard!" Maurice said and started to the training area.

Zoar and the rest followed him.

The train was a GEOTRANGA TYPE VIII. It wasn't the fastest train, but it was faster than most.

Zoar handed the conductor his tickets and they all walked in.

It wasn't anything fancy inside, but it wasn't bad.

Cushioned black seats that all faced one way and were in rows of 4 on each side.

They all had seatbelts as well.

Kasstia sat near the window, Zoar next, Krycella third, and Maurice fourth.

"Oh, Cyrus..." Maurice said.

"Six goddamn hours..."

Krycella patted his shoulder.

"It's five hours and thirty minutes." She said.

"That didn't..." Maurice gave up.

"It won't be that bad," Kasstia said.

Zoar closed his eyes.

"Almost there," he said to himself.

•••

7:27 PM

Zoar awoke to the loud sound of the train's brakes.

Kasstia was asleep on his shoulder. Krycella and Maurice were up playing a card game.

"I lost again!" Maurice said.

"Can't get payback cause we're here now!" Krycella said, enthusiastic.

Kasstia suddenly woke up.

"We're stopping?" She said, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah. We made it." Zoar said, looking out the window.

Griffnine looked just as beautiful as Astran.

Tall buildings, colorful lights, bustling streets, and more.

"What the Hell is that?" Maurice said pointing at something.

Zoar looked.

It was an area that was closed off by tall fencing. In the middle of the area was something that had a giant tarp over it.

The tarp had the NEO Earth logo on it.

"Looks like whatever that is, is related to Neal..." Zoar said.

Zoar knew whatever was in there was the device to help Neal steal the world's magic.

"We still have a free day tomorrow. So we should use that time to plan out what we're doing." Zoar said.

"I'm kinda nervous..." Kasstia said.

"I'm sure we all are somewhat," Krycella said in an attempt to comfort Kasstia.

"Let's all cool our heads off by getting g a good night's rest!" Maurice said.

"Right." Everyone else said.

•••

7:58 PM

They found a good hotel shortly.

The hotel had rooms built like apartments.

The room they chose had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living area, and a kitchen with a dining room built into it.

It cost only 1,000 Satu which Zoar could afford so he got it.

Everyone was settled into their rooms.

Kasstia and Zoar sharing the master bedroom.

"The big day's almost here... huh?" Kasstia said, locking hands with Zoar.

"Yeah. Tomorrow will be a real brain testing day." Zoar said as Kasstia rested her head on his shoulder.

"After the fight... what do you think is gonna happen?" Kasstia asked.

Zoar never really thought that much about the topic at hand. Anything could happen. Someone could be dead, Everyone could be dead or he could.

The thought sent a shiver down his spine and Kasstia could tell he was bothered.

"Sorry..." Kasstia got up from the edge of the bed and got in front of him.

She grabbed both his hands.

"Don't worry about anything right now... just try to relax your mind and let your mind melt..." Kasstia said.

"I'll try..." Zoar said, staring into her eyes weakly.

Kasstia smiled.

"Then let's get to bed then." She let go of his hands and got under the covers.

"Yeah..." Zoar said and sunk into the bed beside, lying next to Kasstia.