Thalia and Theo ran to catch up with the vice-captain, who was casually skipping toward the monorail station. Thalia had half a mind to fly and keep up with the vice-captain. However, this time, she would stick to a pace Theo could keep up with. Oddly enough, though, Theo kept up with her just fine, even at a sprinting stride.
Theo's body underwent a transformation to a certain degree. His muscles now look fully grown and developed, causing his clothes to fit weirdly. The top button of his button-up collar shirt popped off due to the rapid development of his clavicle and chest muscles. Thalia figures that Theo underwent such a drastic change because, unlike Thalia, she was already at her pique. She exercised every day, and her body was already in top condition. While Theo spent the majority of his time studying.
So when Theo became an official contractor, his bond and authority must've jumpstarted all his neglected muscles, which caused a scary amount of growth within his muscle mass. Theo is probably not aware of his own sudden transformation. He does, however, catch his sister staring at him.
"What? Is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me like that?" Theo says between breaths.
"It's nothing. Just keep running, dummy!"
They arrive at the station, where two large men in black and green Apex polo shirts stop them. "Relic, please," they say simultaneously while holding out their hands. The two siblings look at each other and shrug. Thalia pulls out her storm fan and hands it to the men, and Theo does the same with his new necklace.
Thalia figures that since the two men look identical, they must be twins. The color of their hair was the only thing that made them stand apart. The man she handed her relic to had red hair, and the man Theo gave his relic to had blue hair. Thalia honestly thought they were a bit too odd-looking to be in the shadow Corps. Thalia knew from the moment she saw them that they were in the Shadow Corps. They both have a black wolf pin on the collar of their polo shirts. The black wolf is the insignia for the elite unit of trackers and informants.
This group is special even amongst the combat units in the Expedition Corps. The infamous and ever-beautiful Monica BlueRose founded it. She is the heir to the illustrious BlueRose family, who controls all of New Roark's oil supply. Monica was also a vital member of the Legends assault squad. She was known for her beautiful brain and ability. Once the squad was disbanded, she joined the Shadow Corps. Once there, she created the black wolf unit.
The black wolves are known for creating the black web. The black web is a network of informants in each district of New Roark. The black wolves control the flow of information in and out of the institute. They also keep track of all relics contracted to any agent of the Apex Institute. Their primary objective is to assist in retrieving and recovering illegal and unregistered relics.
After handing the relics to the huge lumberjack-looking twins, the one that took Thalia's relic placed both her fan and her brother's necklace in the suitcase the other twin was holding. Thalia could only guess that the suitcase was some relic related to cataloging different items. "Here you go. Have a good rest of your day." The twin with the blue cotton candy hair says, handing Thalia her fan.
Thalia still needed clarification about what had just happened. "Thank you. I guess." She shrugs, taking the storm fan and tucking it in the waistband of her skirt. "Theo, let's go!" Theo looked like he was about to say something else but decided not to and followed his sister. They walk onto the monorail platform just before the rail pulls into the station.
"So what exactly was all of that?" Theo asked as he dropped into the window seat of the rail. "I honestly don't know, but I assume it has something to do with how they keep track of all the relics in the institute," Thalia says, looking at the vice-captain, waiting for an explanation.
"Ah, those men are responsible for keeping track of every relic inside of the institute. The man with the blue hair is contracted to a peculiar relic that can track anything placed inside it." Alexander removes his top hat, placing it on his lap.
"Wait, so what if we had picked a larger relic than the suitcase?" Theo unbuttons his shirt and places his silver necklace around his neck.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I once saw them place an entire great shield inside their little suitcase. It's a cheap parlor trick if you ask me." Alexander yawns and places his hat over his face, slumping into the seat.
Thalia leans over and taps Theo. "Hey, when you two were talking in the vault. Did you ever ask him about that eye patch over his right eye?" Theo looks out the window, his eyes caught on a bird flying parallel to the monorail. "No, I didn't even try and ask. The vice-captain is a conundrum I don't even want to try to solve. Also, I can tell that whatever is behind that eye patch is scary enough to make the "other guy" nervous."
Thalia straightens out her skirt. "Speaking of the "other guy." You almost lost your cool back there. Get a grip on yourself. What would've happened if I wouldn't have stepped in?" Theo shrugs casually. "It's fine. I'm in control again. That is all that matters.
The Monorail bells chime three times, indicating they are approaching the docking platform. The train pulls into a much larger docking station than the one for Pandora's Vault.
Alexander jumps up from his seat like a zombie being reanimated, flipping his hat back onto his head. "Come on, kiddos, it's showtime!" Alexander skips off the train and does a whole spin, waiting for the siblings to catch up. "Hey, vice-captain, how many people are in our unit?" Theo asks, swiping his wristband across the entry platform and opening the gate.
"Oh, you will meet them soon." Alexander leads them into a wide corridor. "You have been to the arena, yes?"
Thalia couldn't help but grin real wide. "Yeah, I am fairly familiar with it. I have been permitted to enter for private training here twice."
Theo gulps and slows his pace. "We're meeting at the institute's training grounds." Thalia slaps Theo on the shoulder. "Yes, little brother, isn't it exciting? This a perfect chance to try out our newfound powers." Theo scratches his head. "Yeah, right, sounds fun, " Thalia's green eyes danced with excitement. "I can't wait to see what your bonded relic is capable of doing."
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