Chapter 13
The Black Cat and the Golden Lion
The new morning had just arrived. With a cup of coffee in hand, Felix yawned as he headed to the training ground. He rolled his aching shoulders as he mumbled out, "Stupid Shaw. Stupid Matrix Key… it wasn't even the right thing."
His eye bags were darker than usual as he carried himself lazily across the halls full of people.
He clicked his tongue as two people walked past him without so much as a greeting. But his mind was still weighed down by what had happened a few nights ago. His brows curled as he felt discomfort spiraling in his chest, causing the coffee to spiral in the cup.
With a frustrated expression, he gulped it all down and crumpled the cup.
Headed opposite his path was the chief's assistant, Murphy.
"Murphy, could you deal with this." He said as he placed the crumpled cup on top of the documents Murphy was carrying.
"Ah, certainly, sir…" The old man awkwardly responded.
Felix scratched the side of his head while wearing an irritated scowl, "Why are there so many people?"
On his path, he saw a heavily dressed young woman with dark brown hair holding a paper bag.
She looked to Felix, but he paid her no mind and continued to cross the halls.
"E-excuse me." The young woman called out to him.
"Mhm… what is it?" There was a slight hint of annoyance in Felix's voice as she looked at him.
"Do you remember me?" She asked as she walked up and looked at him.
She was a quiet, and somewhat gloomy looking woman. Her distinguishing features were the braids on the sides of her brown hair. Her eyes were visibly tired with dark circles under them, and spoke with a slight, raspy restlessness in her tone.
"You're… ah, from Cygnus, right?" His expression immediately softened.
She smiled and introduced herself, extending her left hand, "Carol Thomas, codename CT-2."
"Didn't recognize you without the armor."
"It feels weird not wearing it." She said, lifting up a paper bag as she breathed into her palms, "I came to formally thank you on behalf of Cygnus Enterprise."
Felix let out a soft smile and shook her hand, "You're welcome. I'm Felix Aster, but I guess you already knew that. So how are you feeling?"
"Better now, but I don't think I can go out in the field yet. I'd offer to go get some coffee, but I see you already have some, so please, take this instead." Carol handed him the paper bag.
"What is it?"
"High-grade Hawaiian coffee. I didn't know what to get you, but from what I've heard, I thought you might like this." Her voice was soft, with a slight hint of raspiness.
"You heard right, thanks." As soon as Felix took the paper bag from her, she blew breathily on her palms.
She placed her hand on the side of her neck, cracking it, "It's my way of showing gratitude… You did carry me to the hospital while I was in a full suit of armor."
"Saving your…"
The image of Asahi immediately flashed in his head, the recent memory vividly replayed in his head, "She saved our lives, protected us from the calamity and told us to run."
It was the man his sister had saved once — the same man whose life he had been forced to take nights before.
A horrified expression formed on his face, his grip crumpling the paper bag.
"Then…" Carol gulped, stepping back, "If you'll excuse me…"
As she turned around, he instinctively grabbed her shoulder, "W-wait."
"What is it?"
Felix scratched his cheek and awkwardly tried to come up with any excuse to get her to stay, "I'd… feel bad if you had to leave so quickly. I was headed to the training hall, but if you want to…"
"Ah, I could help you train if you want. It's the least I could do."
"Ah… uhmm… thanks. But you're still healing, aren't you?"
"It'll be fine, don't worry. I may not look like it, but I'm pretty strong." Carol smiled, patting her own bicep.
They walked together, the path growing increasingly crowded.
"To be honest, I was tasked on that mission alone, so I wasn't aware that we had back up." Carol commented.
Felix sipped from the coffee and replied, "We were also on a mission, so it was actually just by coincidence that I was in the area."
"Was it now?" She lowered her head with a gentle smile, "It was a good coincidence."
As they talked, a number of people rushed between them.
"For the most part, the Chief was just glad that we finished our mission without any prob— hey!" One of the passerby's hit his shoulder.
"Rookie, what's the hurry?" Felix asked in an annoyed tone.
The recruit in question turned around, it was the girl with curly orange hair and an excited smile, Kaitlin. Up ahead, Rico stood in wait.
"Ah." He blurted.
"S-sorry sir Felix, there's a match in the training hall! One with the second rank, so we're going to watch! Rico, wait for me!" The young lady hurriedly rushed to Rico's side.
"A match? In the training hall?" Felix echoed.
Carol turned to him, "Should we go and watch?"
He nodded.
With a slight change in plans, the two headed to the training grounds to watch.
As the two made it to the crowded area filled with cheers, a vein pulsed as the two entered the training ground.
Despite the wide area, it still felt cramped. The crowds filled the air with cheers that reached up to the bright golden brown pillars that held up the ceiling.
He glanced all over the dirty marble floors with a clearly irritated look as he thought to himself;
So many shoes in the training ground.
But he immediately turned his head to the side as he smelled a familiar sharp scent, and his mismatched eyes were drawn to the trail of a gray mist.
Felix wore an annoyed scowl, "Chief?"
"Good morning, Felix." The chief replied with a cigar in her mouth, her back leaned against the metallic walls.
"Y-You must be… Chief Vivian Nguyen?" Carol spoke with a hint of anxiety in her tone.
The chief tapped the ashes off her cigarette, much to Felix's chagrin, "And you are?"
"My name is Carol Thomas of Cygnus Enterprise, sir."
"You're the one Felix assisted, I take it?"
"That's putting it lightly. He saved my life, sir."
"Not the first time an Elite Agent saves another," The chief bit her glove as pulled it off, revealing a mechanical hand as she continued, "So, did you come here to express gratitude?"
"Y-yes. I actually did, sir."
"Then what favors has Cygnus Enterprise come to offer?"
"I'll have to ask my senior officers…"
"Don't worry. Just give us one of your HERCULES power suits and we'll call it even."
"But—"
"Chief, stop making her feel unwelcome." Felix interjected.
The chief shrugged, "I jest."
"So, care to tell us what's going on here?" He asked.
"See for yourself." The chief pointed towards the center of the room, where three individuals fought fiercely.
Felix looked with an expression of disbelief, "Is that…?"
"…the Golden Lion?" Carol finished.
"Oh, so you know of her?" Chief curiously asked.
"Ah, only from the rumors and um…" Carol elaborated the little information she knew.
Chief smirked and remarked, "Yes, the pride of this agency."
"Was that a pun?" Felix scoffed
"Unintentional, but I stand by it." She shrugged once again.
"Allison Aurum… The second rank agent and the strongest chimera, but… who are the two sparring with her?" Carol's thoughts trailed as she watched the three combatants.
"So they made a ring, huh?" Felix's eyes fixated on the match in the middle of the training ground, not on the golden-haired woman, but the two red-eyed individuals she was dominating.
"Those two are Aetherion Energies' new pets, Nero and Isabelle." Chief answered Carol.
"He's the one who broke Marie's door." Felix pointed to the blond one.
"I see… So the check goes to Aetherion."
He placed his hand on his hip, "So how long will she be here this time?"
"She's only here for a visit, she's still suspended."
"Suspended?" Carol tilted her head
"A lot of complications and issues spawned because of her… And after an incident that involved Russian and American security, and well, death… of important people."
"How could that even…?" She meekly spoke, breathing on her palms once more.
"The twelve organizations and the government aren't exactly on the best terms as of late, and she pushed her luck… Like I said, it's complicated. CIA, FBI, MI-6, all organizations we'd rather not have to deal with."
The Chief groaned as she turned her head towards Felix, "Sigh, two of my largest headaches stand before me in a single room."
"Speaking of headaches, where's Marie?" Felix replied.
"I don't know, but I sure hope she's working on her personal data." The chief groaned as tried to take another puff from her cigar, but before she could put the cigar on her lips, it was already in Felix's hand.
"No shoes, smoking, or alcohol in the training ground, Chief." Felix scolded as he crushed the chief's cigar in his hand.
The chief frowned slightly and replied; "Well that's just rude."
Felix walked ahead closer to the arena, and Carol mumbled out, "Felix?"
"I'm gonna watch up close, I wanna see how far I still need to go. Don't you?" Felix smiled.
"Then, I'll watch— wait. Actually, um… I just remembered", She raised her finger upward, "I have to go pick up my little brother."
"Little brother? I-I see, well, take care then." Felix waved awkwardly as he heard those two words.
With a finger on her lower lip, Carol tilted her head down and asked, "Before I go, is she named after the agency, or is the agency named after her?"
"The answer should be obvious." The chief smugly shrugged her arms.
As Felix squeezed through the crowds to watch from the front row, where he saw a familiar face sitting at the front, enjoying the show.
"So this is where you were." He greeted his partner.
"Hm, what's in the bag?" Maria asked, taking notice of the brown paper bag in his hand.
"Coffee."
"why do you have coffee in the training room?"
"It's a gift from Carol."
"Ah… the woman from Cygnus, right? I'm surprised she wanted to pay you back, I expected her agency to do that."
"It's not uncommon. People tend to repay you in different ways." Felix answered as he scratched his cheek, his face slightly red. He then asked, "So, how are things looking?"
"Well, the one who broke my door is currently having his ass handed to him on a silver, err, golden platter."
"I see that. It's oddly enjoyable." He responded with a satisfied sense of vindication.
"Right!?" She beamed excitedly, the two of them reveling in the blond man's suffering.
Felix gazed up at the three individuals in combat, watching their battle reminded him of the battle against Harbinger. A two-against-one fight that was somehow on the one's favor.
"I've read up about her. Project CHIMERA's number one human weapon. Loss of all ethics, there." Maria stated.
"Rich, coming from an enhanced human." He responded in a disinterested voice, still watching.
"Don't shoot the messenger, poster boy." She folded her arms, "Not when you were also involved in CHIMERA."
Felix turned his head to her and blurted out, "Huh?"
"Nothing." She nudged his stomach, "So, looking to take her on?"
"Not really up for it…"
"Didn't you say you wanted to be number one?" She teased and poked his cheek.
"Rankings are determined on the number of missions finished efficiently, not your ability to fight."
"Isn't it a way to gauge how strong you are, then? You're the strongest, right?"
Felix pursed his lips, conceding without saying a word, "Maybe after their fight."
As the three battled, their styles were clear and distinct from one another. Nero's attacks were fast but direct, swiftly swinging his wooden sword, while behind him, Isabelle kept her distance and assisted in-between their clashes by throwing the rubber knives at their opponent.
While their weapons danced and swayed, the Golden Lion's preferred weapons were her own arms and legs, countering each of their blows.
She slid beneath Nero's staff, snatched Isabelle's arm, knocking her off balance, before hurling her against one of the four golden brown pillars that formed their arena.
"Ahk!" Isabelle yelped as her small frame smashed against the pillar, saliva bursting out of her.
"Isa!" Nero shouted.
Realizing he was distracted, he spun back to face his opponent. But as he threw the staff forward, she grabbed it by the hand, yanked it back, then struck his forehead with the other end. His grip loosened, and she then took hold of the staff and swung. As it struck the side of his head, it shattered into splinters.
Felix gave a pained, yet smirking expression, clearly enjoying the view. Only for Maria's eyes to narrow beside him with a sly smirk.
The Golden Lion was about to land her knee against Nero's throat. But before she could drop the finishing blow, her emerald eyes were suddenly drawn to Felix, who had been pushed into the arena.
"Aye, it's your turn~!" Maria happily shoved him with a wide smile.
Catching his breath for a split second, Nero took advantage of the situation, and a faint red enveloped him, bursting from his body and sending Allison back.
That red energy again.
Felix thought to himself, watching Allison gracefully fall like a cat.
"Isa!" The blond shouted.
Isabelle groaned, following his lead.
The two red-eyed guests then took advantage of the distracted Felix, grabbing his arms.
"Your turn." Nero slyly grinned, holding his left arm.
"Good luck!" Isabelle added, holding his right arm.
Both of them pulled him into the ring and made their way into the crowds.
"H-hey!" Felix yelled as his feet landed on the floor mats.
"Just now… that power was…" He blurted out as he looked for the two, but they already hid among the audience.
Felix suddenly felt an intense stare from behind. As he turned to look at it, he saw a vision of a pack of wild lions surrounding him.
"That's some intense bloodluuuuu—"
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