𝐀 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 /// ᴋʜᴜɴ ᴇᴅᴜᴀɴ - Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Everyone was now gathered in the hall in front of the sleeping car. A heavy silence filled the room as the present party was obviously tense. "I wonder how many people will come," Bam muttered as Khun turned his direction.
"I'm not sure... my speech might have scared them off yesterday," he stated as Lilith gave him a side eyed glance.
"What exactly did you tell them?"
The blue haired male huffed. "Just enough that they need to know without it being too obvious. Plus, there's no reason for Boro and Sachi to help us anymore... though Hockney might come for his picture."
"Even by assuming that they won't show up, we'll just go on our own," the jeweled eyed woman added, trying to reassure the brunette.
"Right..."
"First you told us to gather here, and now you're planning on running off by yourselves again?" A voice came booming from the dark halls of the train. Everyone present turned towards the source of the voice to see the rest of the group standing before them. "Take us with you too," Boro grinned as the rest nodded in agreement.
"Guys! Sachi, Boro! Hockney!! Candy!!! You all came!" Bam yelled as he ran towards the group in relief. While everyone else was rejoicing, Rachel sat alone in the corner with a bitter expression on her face like always.
"Those irritating idiots..." she muttered under her breath, but it did not go unheard. Lilith's jeweled eyes glared at the blonde haired girl, sensing a new presence with them in the hall. But it soon disappeared as if it was never there to begin with. It was apparent that Hockney noticed as well.
Four hours later, the group began their way towards their destination. Everyone was marveling at the rather peculiar looking hallway. Boro began explaining how this was one of the few special routes on the train where boss level enemies appear. This had everyone on edge, thus Yuri suggested that they split up.
"Bam, you follow behind slowly with your companions. Khun and Endorsi will come with me to beat the boss," the princess ordered as the rest complied to what they're told.
"This place is creepy, where the heck are we heading?" Bero Bero complained.
"It's not that far from here. Just be patient--" Lilith's eyes widened as she felt shadows lurking overhead. "WATCH OUT! FROM ABOVE!" She screamed, just in time for the monstrous sized birds to swoop in.
"They're coming at us from every direction!" Boro yelled as everyone got into fighting position. Lilith quickly scanned their surrounding to assess the situation, her gaze falling on Rachel. A monster was lurking right above her. Just when she braced herself for the impact, a giant stingray appeared next to her, completely obliterating the beast into nothing but a pile of feathers.
'It protected her?!' Lilith thought to herself as her eyes grew to the size of saucers. She never saw such a thing with her from their previous encounters, meaning she must have acquired it recently. 'That Gustang, what did he give her this time?!'
"Lilith! Be careful!" Sachi yelled. Lilith turned around to find a monster right behind her. Reaching out her hand, she formed two bangs around her, but the monster was obliterated from shinsu coming from a different direction. Turning towards the source, stood Bam who immediately killed all the enemies with a single blow. The noirette's lips tilted up slightly with pride as the boy came checking on his comrades in worry.
"That bastard... so much bang, and form all different angles too..." Boro muttered, Sachi nodding in agreement. "It certainly is impressive, isn't it?"
Lilith had a proud smile on her face like a mother would give to a child, but her eyes tell a slightly different story. The two males turned towards her direction at the statement. "Yeah, it really is..." the redhead replied, before his brows squinted with worry. "But what about you, Lilith. Are you okay?"
"Hm? Why do you ask?"
"Well... you're a wave controller too, aren't you?"
The woman simply smiled. "So? It's already pretty obvious from the start that Bam is way more gifted in this than I'll ever be. I'm just proud of how far he came since Evankhell's floor." With that, the topic was dropped.
'Though, I'm falling behind faster than I thought.'
"So that's the entrance to the 'Room of Time Past'?"
"Yeah, but it's probably the entrance to the other side. I tried crossing, but since it's not nine yet, the door won't open. It's not like we can force it open too, so we have no choice but to wait," Yuri explained as soon as the group met up again.
"So then we wait till nine?"
"Well, since we still have a couple hours left, we should just relax," Khun reasoned as he referred to a pile of snack sitting in the corner. "I think we got food as a reward for beating the guardian. Although they all look pretty strange..."
Just as everyone began to settle down, Hockney pulled Bam and Khun aside to discuss something in private, most likely about the mysterious entity accompanying Rachel. Yuri invited Lilith to join her and Endorsi to sit in the other part of the room, but the latter kindly rejected her offer. She grabbed two cans of drink from the box and boldly made her way towards the blonde female that everyone was throwing snake-eyes at.
The wave controller gave her a kind smile as she held up the two drinks. "Want one?"
Rachel's face squinted in wariness before she turned her head. "No." It was obvious that her frame grew even more tense than it already was. Lilith ignored the obvious sign of discomfort as she made herself comfortable on the floor right next to her. "Well, your loss," she muttered as she opened her own can.
It was just heavy silence between the two as the noirette acted like it was two friends just casually hanging out. Humming a light tune under her breath, she maintained her kind smile. Taking a sip of her drink every now and then, it was evident that she was provoking the other to speak first.
"What are you doing here?" Rachel finally managed to get out. The young woman simply looked at her with an arched brow, acting like she just asked a stupid question. "What do you mean? It's not like you own this part of the train. I can sit anywhere I want."
The female clenched her fists as she her eyes were filled with irritation and confusion. She was already tense enough as is, and this woman was pushing it. "What do you want from me?! If you have questions, I'm not telling you anything!"
Lilith sighed as she waved her free hand dismissively. "Geez, you certainly need to calm down..." she placed her can down next to her before standing up. "I just want to get to know you better. After all, Bam is rather fond of you. And I really want to see why," the young woman held out her hand for a handshake, as if mocking the latter.
Rachel groaned as she slapped her hand away. "I said I don't--" she was cut off as Lilith harshly cupped her cheeks with the same hand she extended. "My, you certainly are stubborn, aren't you," the noirette muttered in irritation, her eyes immediately shifted from feigned welcoming to pure loathing. Rachel's own eyes widened as she felt her demeanor took an immediate turn.
"I'll make this quick. That thing you have with you..." Violet jeweled eyes immediately shifted to behind her. "...how did you acquire it?"
Every instinct told Rachel not to fight back. It was as if she feared that she could be killed at any moment. The blonde never truly perceived the wave controller as a threat compared to the others. Nothing about her was truly outstanding. She was just... average at best. But why? Why is the one regular that she looked down on all this time able to scare her to the point of almost spilling everything she's been working for? Was she hiding her true potential? But why would she keep it hidden for so long?
"I-I--"
"The gate's opening!" Yuri shouted as Rachel immediate felt the harsh grip release her face. The kind smile returned as Lilith picked up the cans. "It was nice talking to you, Rachel~" Her voice came out sweet, but the way she said her name sounded bitter. The said girl realized that she was panting as she felt the back of her neck. Was she sweating?
Everyone made it past the area and to the door, only to find certain unexpected guests already there before them.
"KARAKA!!" Yuri shouted as she got into a fighting stance. "I wondered where you were hiding, and here you are!"
People started recognizing their companions among the two parties, but such heartfelt reunion cannot be allowed. With the two rankers locked in battle, Bam took the chance to rescue Miseng who was barely even conscious at this point.
"I expected that you would come to this girl first, Jue Viole Grace," Karaka exclaimed as he had a shinsu orb ready in hand.
Everything happened so quickly before anyone can process anything. Shouts were being thrown around before they were all consumed by a blinding light.
The door was opening.
And everyone was getting sucked in.
Lilith felt like her body was floating as she took in her new surroundings. Khun, Hockney, and Endorsi were present with her. "Is everyone okay?" She shouted, hearing some groans before signalling that they're fine. The noirette's eyes shone worry before sensing something emerging from below.
"Khun!" She yelled as the blue haired male took notice of the incoming robots as well. Blocking the attacks just in time, the female managed to destroy some with a couple of bangs to help.
"Damnit! What's with these toy-looking things?!" Khun groaned as the amount of enemies seemed more and more endless."Hockney, do you see anything?! Like where Bam or Rachel is?!"
The white haired male was still hunched over, barely managing to reply. "I... I don't know. I can't see anything at all. I've been feeling n-nauseous since we got here..." he groaned. "I think I might throw up..."
"What?!" Khun shouted in disbelief. Lilith sighed as she half listened to Endorsi complain about not being with Bam while trying to fend off the incoming opponents. Sadly, she wasn't paying enough attention because she was just as confused as everyone else when Endorsi tried to get away using Bong Bong.
"Wait! Endorsi! Where are you going?!" She exclaimed, before realizing her friend began plummeting as soon as the pink glow surrounded her.
"Gah! Lilith! I'm falling!" The princess yelled as her voice grew more and more distant. Lilith could only stare in disbelief, Khun sharing the same sentiment.
"What is she doing...?"
Before they knew it, the toy soldiers began to retreat. A large mirror scale took its place in front of them. It began explaining the conditions of having a sworn enemy as soon as they enter the hidden floor. Khun and Hockney stared in confusion as they try to process the newly given information. Lilith felt her eyes narrow at the device.
'It certainly brings back memories...' she thought as she shielded her eyes from the blinding light that began surrounding the group.
'Let's hope I don't run into anyone I know.'