Last Station - 2

The last station. That was the name of the place where the Hell Train would finish it's long journey. In all aspects, it was quite an unimaginative name, but still a fitting one.

The actual structure was enormous.

It was larger than any other station, except for Train City, from where the Hell Train would start it's journey. It sprawled out like a collection of rings within rings. Large pillars of pale blue suspendium rose from the rings like ribs, forming a giant ceiling overhead. Further down the line, a large deck was erected for the docking of the hell train and the entrance way was equally opulent and showy.

Indeed, it was everything one could hope for after going through the arduous journey of the Hell Train. It was truly paradise.

And yet, today, this paradise seemed to be fraught with tension.

Warships of all shapes and sizes littered the sky above and below, covering the last station in the shadow of conflict. The station, which would otherwise be teeming with life to welcome the people that passed the hell train was now deserted.

And in the main control room stood a man.

He had spiked blue hair and an eyepatch over his left eye. His attire consisted of a blazing blue jacket emblazoned with lightning and electric symbols. And in his hand was a spear. This was Khun Bamidau Himel.

"This is totally like a war." He commented dryly and with a large smile. He felt his throat turn a bit dry as he looked at all the screens. "This is the first time I'm being included in such a large conflict you know."

He turned back to look at his companion. Seated on one of the chairs was another blue haired individual. His hair was kept all the way back and extended down to his shoulders. He wore a baggy coat, inlaid with fur and breathed plumes of pale mist every now and then.

This was Khun Huddon Garnac.

Garnac stared down his half brother and commented in a bored tone.

"It's all the same. We probably won't get to see any action."

"Really!? That's a relief." Himel sighed, keeping a hand to his chest. He looked back to the screens and asked with a wry smile. "It's cause of the mothership, right?"

"That's right."

Both their eyes fell on the same screen. One that depicted a large ship, floating silently like a fortress.

"That's the first division battleship and the fifth is on it's way. Rumours are, Adori Jahad is on there."

"Damn." He sucked in a sharp breath. "All that for the silent Leviathan?"

"Not exactly." Garnac chuckled with an icy breath. His eyes took on a mischievous tone, but his voice betrayed his seriousness. "There's a rumour. I was with the third division for a while before I was transferred here for the time. There, they say there's a new enemy in town... Well, an old enemy."

"Old enemy?"

"They call them... what was it? Ah, right. The tarot cards." He smiled.

"Tarot cards?"

"That's right. They say they're an ancient group from before even Jahad's time. Apparently, they're reawakened because of the recent chaos in the tower." He nodded.

"And we're not only cornering the irregular. Through some reliable sources, I've come to find that we're cornering one of the strongest of the tarot cards."

He leaned in, adding to the dramatic flair.

"'The Lovers.'"

"Puff!" Himel suddenly laughed, keeping his spear to the ground and leaning onto it.

"What kind of a name is that? Seems like some old play."

"Old play?" Garnac scowled, breathing out icy plumes. "Tch! Tch! You wouldn't be talking like that with the stuff I've heard about him."

"What stuff?"

He turned back to the screens, the blue light casting an eerie glow over his face.

"They saw that the Lovers isn't an individual. It is, just like the name, a group of individuals; but one and the same.

"They say 'He' is a thousand beings and then one. Each of them can possess others, gathering into their souls and taking over completely until nothing but them remains. Each soul they possess belongs to their ever growing legion."

He saw his half-brother shiver from the corner of his eyes and couldn't help but laugh.

"Scared already? Now you know why there's such a lineup. Next thing we might find is that the moment the Hell Train lands, not only is every regular on there a part of the Lovers, but also half of the armada is part of them. And then we're fighting a losing battle where you're constantly doubting your own companions."

Silence.

"Damn."

Garnac chuckled again.

"And that's not all. I've heard some top secret stuff from people of the Po Bidau family and some of the upper echelons of our own. If you heard of how 'He' can steal away your fate without showing any anomalies, you will be even more terrified."

"Steal away my fate?" Himel asked, feeling wary and puzzled.

Garnac's icy voice sighed.

"'He' will follow you back. Then, you will discover that your parents will be making 'Him' their son. Your wife will see 'Him' as her husband. Your child will treat 'Him' as their father. Everyone you know, all your friends and loved ones will see 'Him' as you. And you will be the unlucky one. You will lose all connection with the real world and slowly die."

Himel felt a chill travel down his spine and his legs seemed to lose their strength. He felt like he had been stabbed in the back with an icicle.

"What the fuck... man, don't even joke about that."

"I'm not." Garnac shook his head. "One of the family heads, none other than Arie Hon found one of the Lovers who had stolen away the fate of his close concubine. He was furious. Of course, it was all confidential information."

"And... they've only found one such instance?"

"Maybe the Lovers was just experimenting. Or maybe 'He' is just that good at doing it. You never know. I could be one of them and you would have no idea." Garnac closed his eyes and chuckled. He turned his eyes towards his half-brother. "Still feeling that this is too much, brother?"

"Hell no." Himel chuckled anxiously. Silently, he looked at the screen that depicted the mothership and offered a silent prayer to the gods of the tower.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, a priest stood in the darkness behind them, looking at them with a serene smile. He wore a white robe and a cross hung from his neck.

His eyes were also riveted to the mothership.

...

...

"I want to release them." Bam's voice echoed in the room, breaking through the stiff silence.

His words were instantly met with looks of bafflement from almost everyone present.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Endorsi, ever the voice of reason spoke out immediately, brows furrowed in annoyance. "She tried to kill us all multiple times! How can you think of releasing her after all that?!"

Wangnan nodded incessantly.

"I say we cut off her legs and leave her for crippled!"

"Damn..." Zarhan muttered after hearing Wangnan.

"I'm all for it." From the side, Prince and Miseng raised their arms. Yihwa also nodded along, "She's too troublesome to be kept alive. I say we throw her off the train."

"I don't like her." Hockney chimed at last.

"I second throwing her off." Amon also raised his hand, smiling as he said so.

Hearing all of their opinions, Bam shook his head.

"I.." He seemed to be at a loss for words. His eyes silently glanced at Khun, Rak and then Winston. Khun and Winston had an unreadable expression while Rak looked as if he had eaten a lemon.

"Nhhhhh." Rak groaned.

"What's wrong, gator? You seem like you're constipated." Khun said with a chuckle.

"Waaah! I can't take it anymore!?"

"Quick! Go to the bathroom!"

"Shut up! Blue turtle!!!" Rak yelled at Khun's face and turned to Bam.

"Hey! Black turtle! Stop following that useless yellow turtle around!" With his small size, although he was yelling at full force, it looked comical more than anything.

"Okay."

"Eh?" Rak's face instantly became stupid.

"I'm done chasing her around." Bam said finally. And instantly, it felt as if the tension in the air disappeared.

"YES!" Endorsi yelled, throwing her hands into the air. Winston patted her back with a smile.

"Don't you get too excited yet. You've won the battle. The war is yet to come." He whispered in her ear. Endorsi blushed at his comment and elbowed him in the ribs.

"But." Bam continued. "I'm still indebted to her. When I was outside the tower and had no one, she kept me company. She taught everything I know. She taught me how lonely I really was when I was trapped. She was the reason I came to the tower as well.

"And in my eyes, I think that warrants a final mercy. I will have nothing to do with her after this."

Everyone quieted down after that. No one could truly argue with his reasoning, but it still seemed wrong.

Winston, who had been least affected by any of Rachel's antics felt that it was quite fair. A final goodbye.

Furthermore, as someone who knew Bam's fate, he felt that it was quite fitting too.

And so, he clapped his hands, drawing their attention.

"Alright then!" He said. "It's final. We shall release her at the last station." Winston quietly omitted the fact that the last station had transformed into a battlefield.

A wave of displeasure went through the crowd but no one said anything.

And so, the meeting adjourned.

...

A/N: Ye.

Sadly, the Re Zero fic didn't do as well as I'd hoped. But I'll continue writing it. Too many ideas in my head to not do it. Also, this fic will end in about 40 or so chapters, give or take, with volume 2 being only about 5 chapters off.

Comment on which verse I should make a fic on next.

Cheers!