Until the end of time

○ t w o ○

"There's one thing I don't understand!" Allen shouts as the trio and the finder are hurrying to catch the train.

"Not now! Worry about the train!" both Freya and Kanda said in unison.

"Please hurry! The train is here!" the finder said.

"Whoa! We're getting on that train?!" Allen asked, surprised by the sight of the big train.

After landing on a wagon, the four passengers get inside, scarring a poor mam from the staff.

"You can't be in here! This is the first class car. All the other passengers are in the second class car. Besides, you can't enter from there." he talked frantically.

"We're from The Black Order. Prepare us a cabin." the finder said.

"The Black..." the man trailed off, realising who they really worked for after looking at the symbol on Kanda's coat. "I'll arrange one immediately!" he bowed before taking off.

"What was that?" Allen asked, confused.

"The rose crosses on our chests grant us permission everywhere in the name of the new world alliance." Freya explains.

"By the way, I am Toma, a finder. I will accompany you to Mater. Pleased to meet you." the finder spoke.

After Freya, Allen, and Kanda got into the cabin and took their seats, the white-haired boy and the redhead sitting across the samurai, Allen came back to his question.

"So, about my question earlier..." he trailed off. "What does this mysterious legend have to do with Innocence?"

"Tsk." was Kanda's reply, earning a glare from Freya.

"The Innocence... for the most part, they've been altered into different forms since The Great Flood. They probably originally somewhere on the ocean's floor." Frey began to explain.

"The Innocence's mysterious powers may be guiding them, but humans end up finding them. They don't exist in their original form." Kanda added as he looked out the window. "But they always cause some kind of unexplainable phenomenon. For some reason..."

"So the Innocence might be the cause of the ghost of Mater?" Allen asked as he pieced everything together.

"Yeah." Freya confirmed. "Wherever there's a mysterious phenomenon, there's an Innocence. That's why The Order investigates every suspicious location. If they think the possibilities are high, they send us." she added.

"This is... This is true." Toma spoke outside the cabin, grabbing the trio's attention. "I was a member of this expedition, so I have seen it with my eyes. The ghost of Mater is..."

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The team was dashing through the night on their way to Mater, guided by Toma.

"The ghost of Mater is a doll..." Allen trailed off.

"It is only possible if the dolls were made using an Innocence." Kanda said, and Freya nodded approvingly.

As they approached the city, the three exorcists got a chilling feeling down their spines, making them stop in their tracks.

"What happened to the finders?" Allen asked, looking for any kind of life form.

"We got here as soon as we could because Toma's radio  couldn't get through, but... they're probably dead." Kanda explained, making Allen go silent at the last word. "Hey, you! Let's get one thing straight! If I think you're hindering our mission, I'm not going to save you, even if you're about to be killed by the enemy.  Casualties of a war are inevitable. Don't think of me as a friend." he added, his voice cold and stern.