Once the trio were done for the day, they exchanged contact information as they headed towards the platform. Apparently, this too counted as a Platform 7, so they could use it to reach any other Platform 7. So long as they designated a location that was underground, it was possible to reach it with this platform, but not everything they arrived at would have a Platform 7.
It was also possible for Platform 7 to even take them to Boundaries, Reflections, and even a number of alternate realms and pocket dimensions, although none of them wanted to try that at the moment.
"Still though, those books can be quite intense".
They had avoided the books that make you train to earn it, but there were other books that posed quite the issue. Some crafted elaborate puzzles, others posed questions and occasionally shocked one for a wrong answer. Others were at least a bit nicer to you, telepathically reading it into your mind as you read along, in a rather loud voice though but not too loud, to help you remember as it made you vocally recite it as well.
There were plenty of normal books as well, but the ones that weren't normal stuck out way more.
As the trio approached the place looking exhausted, their stomachs let out a collective grumble.
"Where do you think we should go for dinner?" Toko asked.
"I know a great place near Terminus, it has some of the best burgers in the city" Bell mentioned. "It's just..."
Maze looked back at Bell. He had been eating at home the entire time since his transformation because he found it more relaxing to not use suppression, and depending on how long it would take, and how many were there. As such Bell was a bit hesitant, in case something happened.
"Oh, I guess he is still having issues with suppression? I suppose it would be difficult if you were not used to it".
Bell nodded. "If I use the bathroom at the start, it should be fine. It's not like I cant do it, it's just...I don't feel like I can properly relax while I am suppressed".
It was a bit hard to explain. Unless he really pushed his time limits, it no longer gave him a lot of discomfort. However, it was a feeling that while he could endure and manage, he would prefer not to. But prefer isn't really the right word, it was stronger than that. Greater. But at the same time, not urgent either.
He tried to convey that the best he could.
"Yeah...I guess that is hard to put into words. So its like, you can, but something inbetween don't want to and shouldn't?"
Bell seemed puzzled himself. "Something like that".
"Hmm. There are some things that might help, but it would take some research" Toko muttered.
"And school is nearly back, so that doesn't give much time" Bell responded.
They went over to the ticket booth, and asked for transport to Terminus. Toko mentioned that they might come up with something as they went, and it would be good to practice anyways with school coming up, so they ended up going to the Burger Place anyways.
Of course, the ticket booth operator just confirmed their destination, and when they looked back, the subway train was already there, waiting for them with open doors. Not a single one had heard it arrive, but that seemed to be normal according to Toko.
They quickly left and headed towards their location, although for a moment Bell thought he heard a fourth set of footsteps behind him. He turned around, but no one was there.
"Bell?"
"Sorry, probably just my imagination".
Maze shook his head.
"Tell us, in detail".
"I thought I heard footsteps behind us. A fourth set. But no one is there so...".
Toko looked outside the windows as the doors had just closed, and they were moving.
"Foxkin sometimes have premonitions. So while it could absolutely be in your head, it could be you perceived something that couldn't normally be perceived, or it was a metaphorical perception. If you heard footsteps behind us, then perhaps...someone might be following us. Or perhaps something Supernatural entered the train with us".
"Great..."
Bell groaned as he learned he would have to deal with things like that from now on. Now that he thought about it, he had been able to see through Le Fey's words and behaviors, as well as sense that she was inherently dangerous. So perhaps that had been a part of that too.
As the train continued along the path, there were no other incidents or weird feelings. Nothing of the sort seemed to appear, and no one attacked them. Bell did think he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye for a moment, but it didn't appear to be anything of the sort.
They eventually made it to the Terminus Location of Platform 7, making it out and heading up the stairs. Thankfully they didn't need to go back to the tracks, and they were given a special train pass so they would be able to reach Platform 7 again, although they would still need to reach a platform location somewhere in the city first. Even so, it was a big help for them, and they made it into the bustling crowds of the normal tunnels of the underground. Then, they finally surfaced as they came out into the central area of Terminus. It was a huge space in the Underworld. Over a dozen floors in this chamber, with central pillars and such that rose up. Each floor was wider then the one below it, so even if one fell over the barrier, not even a railing but a barrier that went all the way to the floor, connected perfectly, and seemed to be made of glass or something like glass, they would only drop to the next floor, not down a dozen. It was clearly designed with safety, and just general intelligence, in mind.
There were catwalks and bridges overhead, as well as stores and locations built into those places. There were quite a number of residential homes and apartment buildings down here as well, and even though it was underground, natural sunlight filled the area. There were artificial lighting as well, but the Sola System was the most advanced and developed here. Using special mirrors, lenses, and tunnels dug that came straight down, it caussed natural light to easily be around here. The ceiling itself was also part of the ground floor, and there were actually three barriers made of special glass so one could even see the night sky. Supposedly, the glass kept out harmful rays as well, but it also allowed sunlight to pour through still and gave it such warmth. There were multiple layers for safety reasons though.
It wasn't quite the same as direct sunlight of course, but it was still nice and helped make it clear that despite its name, the Underworld was not some bleak, dreary place where people were hidden from view. No, it was a place for everyone. Tourists, citizens, rich and poor and everyone inbetween. It was also a vital part of their transportation network, so everyone used it. And anyone who lived in this city would come through Terminus many times.
"Looks like we have plenty of daylight left, so that is good at least".
"Why is that good?"
"...right, you really don't know about yourself Bell. Foxkin's gain power from the moon, so it will be harder to keep yourself suppressed at night. Especially on nights with clear skies, and the larger the moon, the more power" Toko explained.
"That is a big piece of information!"
"It honestly should be something you noticed yourself!"
Toko couldn't help but retort to what Bell said, but Bell just looked a bit shocked. "I mean, I literally have only had these powers for like, a week! You think I am in a state yet to calmly notice everything?"
"It's true. He needs to focus more on learning everything he might need to. It's a very big deal after all" Maze pointed out as they took a turn and got into an empty elevator. "Knowledge is power, after all".
"I suppose power is something everyone needs, regardless of their situation" Toko muttered, half to himself, as they went up.
As they made it up, they made it to the top of the shaft and then exited, heading down a tunnel and towards the stairs that would take them out.
Once they got on the street level, the late afternoon air of the city greeted them. The air was nice and clear as well, probably thanks to there being little pollen and also because of the overwhelming amount of public transportation in the city. That, and over 80% of vehicles were electric these days. Rumor had it oil wells were becoming more and more scarce, but even the few cars that were still on the streets a lot that used gas were hyper efficient hybrids. As such, pollution had gone way down, and also as many vehicles had solar panels on their roofs, it was far cheaper to keep them powered and running.
It was nice and pleasant, although they were a bit shocked to see a large scale security robot used by the police to help patrol pass right in front of them. They had many non-lethal armaments, as well as something more powerful when absolutely needed. They also were not designed to be humanoid, instead having wheels on each "leg" at the bottom, and plenty of flexibility. They could turn on a dime, and even turn their torso around. It was a bit of a bulky and jagged one, but the "legs", although it was more like a quadracycle then legs, were also bulky enough to support it.
They regularly patrolled, but usually more wide areas and streets. They were still in a narrower area, although it was outside of the tunnels so it was wider.
"I wonder if something happened?"
"I am checking the news...it seems that there were some major assaults in a nearby city, and all along the road to here, Caspien City. I guess they are on the lookout because they think this person might head this way. A few people even died, so the police must be increasing patrols to help people feel safe".
"Huh".
Security Robots were very well programmed, there has been zero friendly fire, and zero civilian casualties, so many people liked them. Their weird shape oddly enough did look kind of endearing, and many children loved to play on them. They were also equipped with first aid kits to help people as needed, and often put themselves inbetween criminals and innocents, using themselves and their heavy plating as a shield.
Leaving in the other direction, they continued to walk as they spotted other security features. Perhaps it was because they were looking for them, but it felt like they were being watched. Security cameras were all over the place, some well-hidden, some in plain sight.
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"Looks like they put new motion sensors in the sidewalk as well" Bell noticed, pointing them out. Even if one where to blot out the cameras or disable them somehow, the motion sensors could still be used to track movement.
"And there are audio sensors too. Anything too loud, like a gunshot or screams for help, and they pick it up and record it".
"You can really only see this much security in the city center and Terminus. Apparently it's a budget issue".
As they talked, a bus came to a stop nearby.
"Ah, this bus will take us there faster" Toko noted. "Glad we didn't miss it".
The trio got on the bus, and quickly went to take a few empty seats. They were young enough to ride for free after all.
As the bus started to move, Bell couldn't help but notice something.
"They didn't announce a destination..."
"...and I didn't hear the engine start".
"Uh oh".
The moment they said that, suddenly from the arm rests and seats, metal restraints popped out and wrapped around their wrists, arms and upper torsos, each leg, necks, ankles, and waists. It was something right out of a spy movie, and they were completely incapable of escape or moving. Bell's suppression ended the moment it happened as well.
"I can't move!"
"These shackles appear to be disrupting magical abilities!"
"The hell is this?"
Suddenly, the other people on the bus all disappeared except for six, having apparently been illusions. However, they had, for some reason or another, apparently been ninjas, or ninja like people. They looked like traditional ninjas, but with some western futurism in them as well. The driver got up as the bus seemed to be driving itself, and came to face them all. He was wearing a white long sleeve collared shirt, dress pants, a sweatervest, and a top hat. "Welcome, young boys. I am Malvolio Diavolo. It's a pleasure to be the one to bring you large amounts of misfortune and misery today".
He spoke with a gentle and police voice, but his words were anything but.
"What the hell do you want with us?!" Bell shouted.
"Don't think I am going to collect this bounty so easily!"
"Well now, what an interesting catch I have here. I had been expecting you, young Timekeeper, but not the boy with the large bounty, nor the Blue Card Hunter, who has more enemies than both of you two others put together".
"...exactly how active have you been?"
Maze averted his eyes to Bell's question.
"But my business here is with the Timekeeper today. You have something I am quite looking forward to obtaining".
"Shut it. You think you can catch me and make me talk?"
"Well, I already caught you" Malvolio pointed out.
Bell tried to break out, but it was no good. Unfortunately, Foxkin did not have inherent super strength, so even if his strength did increase, it wasn't by that much for sure.
"Now, you will give me the Chronomatrix, or I start poking holes in you and your friends" he said, pulling out a dagger. The trio went into quite a panic, as they were quite literally helpless.
But right as they began to panic, a ninja came up to him distressed.
"Sir, the bus!"
Malvolio turned around and looked, and saw they had crossed into a Boundary. "Impossible, I captured them, there is no conflict. Why would a boundary..."
The moment he muttered that, he went wide eyed as a swarm of bats hit the bus. Pelting it with their bodies, they charged into it as a swarm while avoiding the other vehicles in here. It appeared to be full of traffic, but all the vehicles were totally empty. They were phantoms, created as part of the Boundary. But the bats on the other hand, were anything but.
They shattered the glass and flew in, with some that flew so fast it was hard to see them with the naked eye. Their wings stretched out, and they cut through the restraints like a hot knife through butter, freeing the boys. The bats then parted ways, revealing a child in a raincoat.
Toko recognized him immediately. "It's The Blood Brat! Also known as the Bloody Bat, or just Bat".
The hood was down far enough and there were so many bats, no one could see their face.
"You know him? Is it a him?"
"Yeah. Very few people know what he looks like, but he is considered one of the big mysteries of the city. No one is quite sure what his actual goals are, a wild card who gets themselves involved randomly. This...is not the first time he has saved my life. Or the second or third even".
Guess he isn't here because of me this time.
The Bat did not say a word, just stared at Malvolio.
"Well shit. But, can you really fight me and protect them from my ninjas at the same time?"
At that response, The Bat just shrugged.
"...wait, a shrug? That is all that gets?"
The Bat just put his hand out flat, and put it quite low to the ground.
"...are you saying my ninjas are weak?"
The Bat then gave a bit of a rotating shrug as he tilted his head a bit.
"Yes, I know, I am Italian, Ninjas are Japanese, but the world is quite multi-cultural at this point you know? That seems quite a rude assertion".
The conversation seemed a bit ridiculous, especially since one side was communicating purely through gestures, but in truth the two had been staring at each other. It was hard to read Bat, but Malvolio had clearly been looking for any opening or weakness as bats flew around and filled the bus.
At the same time, Bell got a call. He checked his phone, and it was from Ruu. He picked up quickly.
"Ruu?"
"You forgot to call me back! Did you find the library?!"
"You know it's kind of hectic right now".
"I see. Not surprising honestly. Anyways, I just also wanted to let you know I am eating at Dave's Burgers tonight, to see if you wanted to join in. You can tell me all about it when you get here".
"Yeah, can I call you back? Thanks!" Bell said, as he hung up and put his phone away as the ninjas closed in. They released some sort of wind magic blast, so the trio hopped behind the seats. The ninjas jumped over the seats and them, and now had them surrounded. Toko took hold the pocketwatch around his neck, and activated it as he held onto both Bell and Maze. The ninjas all released attacks right at them at the same time.
The next moment, time had stopped.
"...wait, you can stop time?"
"Well, sort of" Toko said as they walked out of the encirclement, only for Toko to point back. They saw themselves, standing there. "This will only last for a few moments, and we snap right back to where we were. Furthermore, we cant to any real damage to any of them. And I can only use this three times a day".
"Then we better get started" Bell said, as he proceeded to tie their shoelaces together. Maze dropped the pants on a few of them, and Toko proceeded to toss their weapons out the window. Bell looked over at Bat, wondering what he looked like, only to see Bat checking his phone as he waited on them. "You excluded him as well?"
"No...no I didn't. But he seems to have some natural ability to resist Time Magic. There are a few immortals who can honestly".
"Huh".
Right as they were doing some more sabotage, they suddenly snapped back to place. Bell raised a barrier to block, but the ninjas got momentarily disrupted by their antics which let them deliver a counterattack and spread them out before they regrouped. However, they recovered fast and attacked them immediately. Maze shot a few with magic energy shots, while Toko summoned a sword that looked like a minute hand from a clock into his hand, and blocked their attack. Several magical sparks appeared around him, and he fired them all at the ninjas who were forced to block.
Bell meanwhile turned the floor to ice, but the ninjas seemed to have little issue with the ice as they charged at them.
Toko froze one of the Ninja's in time, while he blocked the other and then launched a magical pulse from his hand to knock them back. The ninja was able to block, delivering a powerful kick into Toko's guy and knocking him back into a wall. A ninja meanwhile bounced off the wall, ceiling, and then wall again rapidly, landing right behind Bell as he took a kunai out and went to stab Bell. Maze shot him, but then the ninja kicked him away as well, using one of the hand rails to move himself around.
"We need to get outside to the roof. They have too much advantage".
Maze nodded, and threw down a grenade. The entire chamber filled with smoke, as the sounds of powerful clashes echoed out throughout the bus. When everyone lost vision, The Bat and Malvolio went in for a full clash. Their strikes against each other shook the whole bus, but the trio were able to dart out the open window and climb up onto the roof. The ninjas followed them of course, but at least now they stood a better chance. They were still drastically outnumbered however, as Malvolio's ninjas had twice as many as them.
Bell however saw something weird in his vision. For a brief moment, it was like a line, that then branched out into many lines. In that moment, he saw something else as well.
"Arc Valancia!"
Bell stretched out his hand and shot out a lightning bolt. The ninjas seemed to dodge, but then it turned around and hit several of them in a straight line before dissipating. They were still alive and even conscious, but it had clearly caught them off guard.
Even though the ninjas had been fast and dodged, Bell had hit them perfectly.
This feeling...now that I think about it, I feel like this happened with the Swordsman fight as well. I got aggressive and suddenly kind of just...started doing things well.
Even though it was really his first offensive spree, he ended up doing quite well. At least for a novice.
The ninjas all attacked Bell, when suddenly Maze fired off a shot. The ninjas seemed to dodge it, but then they got knocked back by an invisible force and dragged back into the wall, taking quite a bit of damage.
Another two came forward, but found themselves reversed suddenly. Furhtermore, Toko fired several bolts at them, but then the bolts summoned again and fired again, hitting the ninjas repeatedly as a time loop of magical energy bolts came. Bell went wide eyed.
The ninjas forced them to step back however when they tossed many bombs, but Bell had a fire in his eyes.
"Did you guys...feel that?"
"Yeah. It was just for a moment though".
Maze nodded. "Yeah, same".
"Then I think its time to kick it up a notch. We need to take control of the pace! Let's do this!"
The ninjas charged at them, but Maze threw some grenades into the mix to disrupt them as well. Toko slowed them down, and then the grenades detonated. Two ninja seemed to escape the effects and went for each of them, as the remaining four went after Bell. Bell dropped down, dodging their attacks and going between their legs as he pushed off his hands as he twisted around, doing a backflip and a turn to see them as he unleashed several ice spikes at his enemy.
The ninjas gathered, as Maze shot the one that tried to approach him and Toko also repelled them. A golden thread began to appear in front of Bell, although it seemed invisible to his enemies. Bell charged forward, taking the ninjas by surprise, although they still attacked. Shuriken came at him. He dodged most, but one cut his cheek and hurt like hell. Still, he unleashed a lightning storm right at point blank range, causing them plenty of issues as he summoned forth a torrent of magical energy.
Maze then fired a scatter shot, with a rather strange magical progression. No damage, but instead lines appeared to now connect them all, made of magical energy.
And that was when Toko stepped in, calling forth earth as he made several rock spikes and launched them at the ninjas. They had seen him only used Time Based magic and pure magical power, so this came as a shock and they got sent flying. They all landed on their feet though.
However, in the eyes of the three boys, the set up was already complete.
"Bell!"
Bell rushed forward, taking out the knife and slashing up at top speed. They might not seem like much, but then he summoned countless lightning bolts, as well as freezing the floor.
"Toko!"
Toko suddenly jumped in, and seemed to create a large number of Bells all of a sudden. It was tjust too much too quick.
And when all these time clones came in, Toko looked back.
"Maze!"
Maze then rushed forward, and fired off a burst attack. Countless shots at everyone. The ninjas were suddenly caught in a continuous chain team attack set up by those three, and with all the attacks coming this way, they were soundly defeated.
The moment that happened, the Reflection ended, and they found themselves back inside the bus. It appeared to be a normal bus this time, but none of them wanted to try and sit on the chairs this time. The ninjas appeared to be gone, but so was The Bat and the one he had been fighting. Everything seemed to have been cleaned up.
"...so just to be clear, we are all being hunted?" Toko asked for confirmation.
"I...think so? Anyways, lets just get something to eat. I am starving and I refuse to talk about what just happened until I have had some juicy burgers.
With a validish complaint, the trio decided to get lunch first, before something else happened to interrupt it.
----------------------------------------
"Ahhh, so this is Caspian City huh?" a girl said, her red hair tied up in a pony tail as it fluttered in the wind, as if a flame flickered and burned behind her. Her eyes had a similar kind of red, a passionate red of strength and desire. She gazed upon the city, and all that it contained.
Behind her were a bunch of thugs, all of them armed with guns, swords, and other weapons. There was at least two dozen of them thrown around, and large scars left in the earth and trees, at least, the trees that were still standing. She herself had a sword at her waist. Some of the thugs were still conscious and breathing, while others appeared to have either passed out or died.
In addition, there was about a half dozen robots, similar to the security robots, but lacking their insignias. Combat models. They were all torn apart, violently ripped to pieces and shredded. Not a bit of them remained that looked like it could be reassembled, at least easily.
"Y-you monster" one of them cursed out, and she just looked back at him.
"Don't blame me just because you are weak. If you have to rely on numbers, you are weak. Simple as that".
She then looked at a phone in her hand, that showed Bell and his bounty.
"Someone with a bounty almost as high as mine though...I bet they will be fun for sure" she said, as she checked her own bounty. It was a few million higher, and it had various marks on it as well, with notes added about her by those who had hunted her in the past and failed.
She had a scary looking predatory smile on her face, as she proceeded to walk towards the city limits.