Chapter 13

"I'm bored." I whine as I kick my legs in the air.

I'm currently sprawled on Anna's lap, my stomach on her thighs. My ears flopping on the side of my head dejectedly with my tail limp above the floor of the train.

Anna and Eliza giggle at my antics and Anna run her fingers through my hair, playing with some locks.

"We started only three hours ago Jane. We have nine hours of travel. Can't you sit still?" Eliza answer, a half-fond half-exasperated smile on her face.

"Whaaat?! Only three hours?! Alright that's it. I'll go explore." I exclaim as I get up from Anna's lap.

I think that's already a miracle I managed to stay still for that long. Well, maaaaybe it's thanks to the two girls taking turn in putting me on their laps and scratching my ears. No idea why they took turns, but I'm glad they didn't ganged up on me this time.

"Nope you stay here." Anna counter. She catch my wrist, pull and takes me in a crushing hug.

I squirm in her arms to try and escape, but as usual it's impossible. So I let her squeeze me for all my worth. I flop dramatically backward, pretending to be dead with my eyes glazed. I can see Eliza with her hand in front of her lips to restrain herself from laughing out loud. A giggle still escape her though and my tail, this traitor, wag slowly in appreciation of that. Meanwhile Anna is busy nuzzling my neck. Her hair tickles me so it's a little bit hard to not laugh.

"Alright Anna, let her go. She'll wilt otherwise" Eliza says calmly with a fond tone.

"What am I? A flower?" I huff slightly.

"A very pretty flower." Anna's voice is muffled in my neck. It sends shivers down my back, from both her compliment and the warm breath I felt.

"Aacejbc, please stop that!" I splutter and wiggle my body to try and escape again, my face hot.

This time she let me go, a satisfied smile on her lips. I send her a withering glare, turning around with a pout and my arms crossed above my chest. Both girls giggle again.

Will I win against them one day?

Probably not I guess. And I'm... Surprisingly fine with that. Won't stop me from trying to though.

I sigh, a smile on my lips, and make my way toward the door of the car. Earlier this week I thought it would take us around a day to reach the Academy. But my knowledge was not up to date apparently. A lot of progress have been made since I last checked.

As I pass by the wooden bar we saw when we boarded I notice a pretty lady behind, dressed as a barista. She smiles and wink at me and I return the smile, my cheeks turning a little pink.

The door takes me to a way less fancy car than ours. If our seats are spacious and seems more like sofas straight from a living room, then the ones here are packed with people. Besides the mall, it's the first time I see that many people in the same spot. Of course there is still less overall. But since the seats are so close to each other it beats the mall.

I'm walking down the aisle as I cast curious glances around me. It's a melting-pot of different races. Catkin, Dragonkin, humans and even Demons. There's some vampires mixed in, but no one has wings like my twin. I'm sure I also saw some with angel's wings. But I'm not too sure. There's the whole cast of beastkins. But not a single Foxkin. Of course I knew that, but it doesn't stop me from feeling a little sad. I have to deal with all that alone.

As distracted as I am, I don't notice the big Wolfkin walking toward me. When we reach each other he bumps against me, pushing me toward the seats on the side. By pure instinct I grip the headrest of the seat with my claws and use the momentum from the push to lift myself above it, my feet on the ceiling of the train. That Wolf doesn't even pay attention to me and just continue on his way.

I let myself drop again in the aisle and stare at the door he disappeared to. If I remember correctly a few cars after ours is an engine room.

I have a very bad feeling right now. Better go back to Anna and Eliza.

I ignore the shocked expression of the other passagers around me and briskly trace my steps back. Earlier while daydreaming and exploring I crossed multiple cars. So it takes me quite a bit of time to finally reach our car.

I find them still sitting on the sofas, chatting calmly. I let out a sigh of relief. Thanks the goddesses they are alright.

With a brisk pace I join them, my tail trashing restlessly behind me with my ears folded back.

"Hm? Already back Jane? What's wrong?" Eliza start with a smile but frown just after when she looks at me.

I don't answer her immediately as I look around us. There's no traces of that Wolf at all. Maybe I was wrong? I plop down next to her, my body tense and ready to move.

"Did you see a wolfkin pass by just before?" I ask, my voice tense.

They look at each other for a second before shaking their head negatively. Eliza takes my hand in hers and squeeze it.

"Why? Is there something wrong?" She answer, her voice soothing but laced with concern.

"I... Maybe I'm just paranoid. That Wolf gave me a very bad feeling" I say, my eyes still dart around with my tail trashing slightly.

Anna gets up and sit next to me. She catches my tail and starts to make her fingers go through the fur in a soothing gesture. I stiffen a little before relaxing slowly. I smile stiffly at her, grateful. Eliza lift her free hand to scratch behind my ears still folded against my head.

They antics helps me relax a bit. Maybe I'm really paranoid. It's just that I can't get that bad feeling out of my head. It was so sudden but so clear at that moment.

Suddenly the voice comm of the train started to make noises. A few second later a female voice rang out from it.

"Hello Ladies and Gentlemen! I am speaking to you now to announce something. We at Ouroboros decided that all of you... Should die."

Right as she finishes her word an explosion rang out, making the whole train tremble. I tense and grab Anna and Eliza's hands hard. This time the voice seems to come out from everywhere.

"I hope you will panic and run like chickens. Goodbye!"

A low growl start to rise from my chest before I can even notice. That name 'Ouroboros'. I don't know why but I hate it. From the bottom of my soul. It's weird. I don't even know why. But it's there and I don't even want to resist that emotion. That wolf was one of their members. I'm sure of it.

I see the scenery outside starting to slow down little by little, a sign the explosion earlier damaged the engine. I furrow my brows as I get up.

"Let's jump out of the train once we slow down enough." I say to the girls.

I tug at their hands to help them get up, alert to everything around us.

"I'm sorry but I don't think I'll allow that." A clear and feminine voice ring behind us. A hint of amusement lacing it. "Especially for prospective Euclydia Academy's students."

We all turn around immediately, our weapons already in hand. The one that just talked is the pretty barista from earlier. I didn't really look at her closely before but now I'm forced to.

She is tall, even compared to my twin and Eliza. She's wearing a crisp barista outfit in black and red, her cuffs are slightly rolled up her forearms and I can see a strange tattoo of a snake in a circle biting its own tail.

Ouroboros.

I have no idea why I know that. It's the first time I see that tattoo. But it's instinctive. The growl from earlier grow stronger, my fangs bared in a snarl. The woman arc a brow in wonder.

"Oh? Seems like you are quite hostile to us, Jane Denki. I wonder why. There's no record of us meeting you before today. Curious." Her voice is casual, just a little bit wondering.

I know why she can be so calm when she's alone against us three. We can't win. I feel it, her power is outside of ours. But we may be able to win some time until we can jump off. It will be hard, of course. But once again I won't let them get hurt.

"Why do you know Jane's name?" Eliza ask calmly.

She must have the same idea as me, delaying as much as we can. But the woman snorts and snap her fingers. Eight ordinary looking men comes out from the doors at each end of the train car, four in front and four behind us. They march forward and spread around us to block any kind of retreat.

Four of them are wielding a sword, two have staffs in their hands and the last two have daggers.

Well, I guess they aren't open for chit-chat.

I don't know why they are deploying that much just for the three of us. Even just that woman could have killed us alone. Then it hit me: they actually don't know what we can do for real. After all, except for that small fight with the giant wolf and the Gobelins, they never saw us fight. They have no real idea of our powers.

I barely restrain a smile from forming on my lips and my tail start to sway slowly, showing the calm settling in. If we play this right, we may be able to survive. But after that we'll have to be careful. They will know how we fight.

"Alright kill them now. Don't waste time." The previous curiosity in the woman's voice is gone, replaced by cold.

I send a look at the two girls and they answer with a nod. Lightning start to gather at my legs as I take a stance, knees bent, dagger in a reverse grip on my side and Katana in diagonal in front of my chest.

The four sword wielders lunged at the same time, three of them toward me and the last toward Anna and Eliza. I guess they decided I was the biggest unknown. Too bad for them, I got a quite skilled barrier user on my side.

As I think that, two translucent-ish blue barrier appear right where two of the swords would have hit. I burst in motion and block the last sword with my Katana. I try to stab his stomach with my dagger but he shift slightly while raising his padded knee to stop my blade.

I disengage with a push from my wrist and take a step back. The temperature in the car is slowly reducing and I know Anna started to act too.

The humidity in the air spiked suddenly and when I look where it comes from, I see one of the mages conjuring an almost solid ball of water in front of them. But I can't pay anymore attention than that, the sword wielders are again charging me. This time I dodge them all without relying on Eliza's barriers, edging little by little toward the side so my back is in the direction of the windows.

A sudden sharp sound ringed and I see in the corner of my eyes the two rogues striking a particularly thick barrier around the two girls. They don't get off safely though because the instant their dagger touch the barrier, lightning bolts hit their bodies as sharp and thin shields tear into their flesh around their wrists. Of course it's not enough to sever them, but it's good enough to impede their movements.

I dodge the ball of water that sped toward me. It hit the window and it start to crack slightly. Not enough to be noticed, but it's a start.

Eliza won't be able to help me anymore. The two rogues are attacking relentlessly. But at least the last sword wielder decided to focus on me.

This time I have to choose what to dodge, block and take. So I crouch, dodging two horizontal swings to my head, and block two blades with mine. I angle my dagger slightly to make it slide down, cutting off the handguard of the sword alongside the fingers holding it. The man drop his sword with a scream of pain and I kick him in the chest, sending a current of lightning through his body. Now he won't get up anytime soon with his nerves paralysed.

I dodge another ball of water and a wind blade. This one do clip my shoulder a little, tearing my shirt and drawing blood. It hurts, but a quick glance inform me that even if it's bone deep, it's clean enough to not be a danger for now. Both spells hit the window again and the cracks spread a little more.

My breathing is a little heavy. Dodging and blocking four, well three for now, swords and spells is draining. But the sounds echoing from the girl's side makes me unwilling to give up. We need to break out of that stalemate.

I eye one of the mages, the wind one, and throw my dagger toward him. Once it passes the swords I blink. My feet tap the floor lightly and I accelerate toward the stunned man. When I reach him less than a second later I cut off his head. It flies out in an arc, spraying blood everywhere. I don't let up though and in the same movement I throw my dagger again, this time I blink right as it reach his face and stab between his brows.

The car is suddenly silent. The assassins look at me, mouths agape. We don't miss that opportunity. A thin barrier cut the throat of one assassin while a thunderbolt charred the heart of the other. I also move, disappearing from my spot in a burst of speed. When my form is visible again it's in front of one sword wielder and I plunge my Katana in his chest.

A sudden burst of agonizing pain shoot through my side. As I look down, I see a chunk of flesh and muscles missing with the tip of a whip retreating. It's the woman. She seems ready to explode in anger. I can understand that though. She just lost six man out of eight and two are mages.

"Fucking incapables. Can't even kill a bunch of girls still wet behind the ears. I'll do it myself." Her voice is seething with rage as she make her whip crack in the air while coming toward us.

She start an onslaught of strikes I barely see. Only my instincts are keeping me alive at that point. And I still took some hit. It hurts. Some are also blocked by Eliza's barriers. The last unhurt sword wielder? Dead because he took some stray lashes.

As I weave and dodge to the best of my ability, I slowly edge toward the girls. My face is locked in a frown of concentration.

Now.

My body suddenly changes. Just like against that almost-HobGobelin, I'm wreathed in dark blue/violet lightning with my tail, ears and hair flowing like they aren't physical.

I immediately turn toward Anna and Eliza before disappearing in a sonic boom. I crouch in front of Eliza, she understand and climb on my back, her arms around my neck. I then sweep Anna in my arms and shoot straight for the window I worked toward weakening. Thanks to Anna's frost she constantly released it's even less sturdy. I drop my dagger and kick the hilt with all my strength, shattering the window.

"Eliza! Anna! Brace yourselves for the speed."

I leap outside. We are lucky, the fight lasted so long that the train slowed enough for me to stay steady as I land. The moment my feet touches the ground I shoot forward perpendicularly of the tracks. I don't know if Ouroboros posted some people around it in case someone escape. So we can't be cautious enough.

We don't have much time though. My magic and stamina reserves are about to hit rock bottom. Especially since I activated that form in my state. I still persevere as much as I can. Thanks to the boost in speed we do cross quite a long distance even in just ten minutes. It's at that moment I lost all strength. I managed to not fall and injure them.

I put Anna down and let Eliza climb down my back before I sit too, panting heavily. I'm an absolute mess. I'm bloody all over, my clothes have various holes that shouldn't exist originally and I'm covered in wounds. Mostly inflicted by that woman. I wince at the pain each breath bring.

When I look at my twin and my best friend they are in a better state and I'm relieved of that. They both sit next to me and Anna put a hand over my waist, where the first chunk of flesh got carved out.

A bright light shone from her hand. I feel the wound closing faster and I'm surprised. I knew she got the light element. But I didn't know it carried healing properties. The light spread to my whole body and it feels comfortable and warm. Like she's hugging me tightly.

"Don't push yourself Anna.." I whisper weakly, eliciting a glare from her.

"You are one to talk! Look at you!" She snap back angrily.

I shrink back a little as I give her a small smile. I grab her wrist and push her hand away before lacing our fingers together.

"I'll be fine. Thanks, just a bit of rest. Then we go to our original destination, okay?" I squeeze her hand.

Eliza grab my arm in hers, body trembling. When I turn my head toward her in surprise I see tears at the edge of her eyes. She's usually so collected...

"So much blood. Everywhere..." She whisper, her voice trembling.

Right. They never killed anyone before. Neither did I. But strangely I'm not that bothered. Yes it's disturbing. But it was a necessity.

I'm still not heartless and decide to stay silent, I just draw her closer to share my warmth with her. She lift her head to look at me, her gaze searching mine. I smile as gently as I can to reassure her.

"And you... Your blood was everywhere too. Just... Less" This time her voice is tinged with fear. "I thought... We would die here. And you first..."

I put my forehead against hers gently and nuzzle it as we close our eyes.

"It's fine Eliza. We're alive, everyone is." I whisper too. "You, Anna, me. It's fine."

Anna puts her arms around my waist and I grit my teeth slightly to not wince at the pain. I wrap my tail around her own waist.