trainsgirl113:

last two chapters were awesome. I can't wait to read the next one. Thing I find are starting to get really good! I can't wait to see what exactly it is Kara is supposed to be doing and I want to know what exactly it is that Riley has planned and how Angel has to do with it. And Kara too! Please update soon.

Me: Me, too. Any suggestions?

Train: YOU STILL DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING?

Me: You're lucky you found Angel at all. I told you. Every word is made up on the spot.

Train: Slacker.

Me: It's the complete opposite of Third! X3

The New Adventures of Black Cat

An Unusual Group

Sven was reading the newspaper at the table. There wasn't anything particularly interesting in it, but it kept anyone from bothering him.

"Sveeeeeeeeen," Train drawled, slumping his arms over Sven's shoulders and hanging on his back. Spoke too soon. "Sven, I'm hungryyyyyyyy."

"You ate all the food."

"But I'm still hungryyyyy!"

The door swung open and banged against the wall noisily. "Did somebody order pizza?" Kara beamed cheerfully. She had six pizza boxes in her arms.

"Where did you get the money for all that?" Sven gasped.

"I pawned off some of my old stuff so we could celebrate finding our lead!"

Train couldn't bring himself to speak. He weakly stumbled over to Kara with outstretched arms. He was about to envelop her in a joyful embrace, but he took the pizzas from her instead. He sat at the table and started wolfing it down like his life depended on it.

"Charming," Kara muttered sarcastically.

"You should not take it personally," said Eve without looking up from her book. She was reading some thick, advanced book that Kara had never even heard of. "Train is incapable of using manners."

Train glanced up at the mention of his name, melted cheese hanging from his mouth.

"How's whoop-whoop?" Kara asked.

"Angel?" Sven dared to reach in and take a slice out from under the ravenous cat's nose. "She's still out cold. James is watching her."

"Wow," Kara chuckled, "she really can't take a hit."

"Perhaps we should wake her up with force," Eve suggested. The quiet girl's words rendered everyone else speechless. No one had expected Eve to be thinking like that.

"You want to smack her around a bit?" Kara confirmed.

Eve shrugged. "It was just an idea."

"I'll go in and check on the kid," said Train over the mush of food in his mouth with a clap. He stood and clopped off down the hall. He opened the door without knocking. "How's it going?"

James was on the floor with his legs stretched up the wall. He looked bored. Angel was handcuffed to the bed, still unresponsive.

"It's not," James complained. "Let me wake her up."

Train ambled over and looked down at the young woman. She was quite a looker with full, red lips and dark, cascading hair. Still, she was of no use like this.

"Pretty please?" James begged.

Train stepped back into the hall. "We're waking her up," he yelled.

"Wait a second!" he heard Sven call back.

Train gave James a nod. James rolled over and pulled himself up. He grabbed a stick to poke Angel with. At least one of them was smart enough not to get too close to her.

Sven, Eve, and Kara came into the room behind Train. None of them objected, but Eve was the only one who actually didn't seem to mind.

"Wake up, you hag," James snarled. "Wake up!" He smacked her in the arm.

Angel awoke with a sharp breath and jumped up, only to be yanked back with a cry of pain because she was handcuffed to the head of the bed. She groaned and gripped her elbow.

"We have some questions to ask you," said Sven, regaining his calm demeanour and getting just close enough to blow his cigarette smoke in Angel's face. "First, where's this boy's father?" Angel smirked wryly but didn't reply.

"Maybe Eve had the right idea when she said about using force," said Kara.

"Do you think a smallfry like you could get me to say anything?" flowed Angel's gentle voice. Kara clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. It had become evident that she hated being called short or small.

"You're a Taoist," said Train straight-forwardly, leaning up against the door with his arms folded. Angel nodded. "Who are you working for?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yes, that's why I asked."

James seemed to realise that there was more going on than he knew, and he sat back for a while to observe the interrogation from the sidelines.

"Rough her up," said Kara, growing impatient.

"She's a lady," Sven pointed out. "I'm not going to rough her up."

"You're too nice for your own good, Sven" Kara grumbled.

"Maybe you shouldn't say that to the guy that just met you this morning and gave you a place to stay." Kara had no comeback.

"We need to find this boy's father," said Eve. "Do you know where he is?"

"Yes," Angel answered simply.

"Where is he?"

"You'll find out. In fact, I'm counting on you to find him."

The room fell silent. What did that mean? Perhaps it wasn't a coincidence that Train and the others had found James. Perhaps there was something bigger going on. Someone wanted them, or maybe they wanted Kara. So far, she was the only one that had been targeted directly.

"I'm going to be killed," Angel sighed.

Sven exchanged a quick glance with Train. "We're sweepers," he said. "We're not going to kill you."

"No, not by you." Angel's expression had become rather melancholic and a little depressed. "I've been caught. Even if I escape without releasing any information, I'm going to be killed." She smiled again and turned her gaze to Sven. "Unless..."

"Unless?" Sven echoed suspiciously.

"Unless I agree to help you. If you can keep me alive, I can give you back to boy's father and show you to my boss."

"Can I kill her?" Kara requested.

"First, tell me why you took my dad," James cut in.

"He's a very special scientist," Angel explained coyly. "He was helping us."

"With what?" Eve asked. Angel didn't answer.

Train saw something out of the corner of his eye. A pink blur raced by the window. He instinctively dashed over and climbed out.

"Where are you going?" Sven called.

Train climbed up on the roof and looked around, but the yutaka-clad girl was gone again. Who was she?

Something else suddenly caught Train's attention. He recognised that head of pale violet hair and that love-heart necklace Rinslet always wore. Train sat himself down with one leg out and the other pulled up for him to rest his arm. "Hey, Rins!" he shouted with a wave.

Rinslet held up her hand to block the sunlight from her eyes. "Train? Is that really you?"

"The one and only."

"Now, there's a familiar face," said Sven, poking his head out the window.

"I was looking for someone named Angel," Rinslet explained. "I was told that a man in a suit, an young girl, a man with a tattoo of the number thirteen, a surly kid, and a little lady with goggles caught her."

"You figured out that it was us just from that?" Sven frowned in surprise. "You've never met Kara or James."

"You guys seem to draw strange company," Rinslet teased. "So, if you hand over my target, I'll be on my way!"

Sven slumped over the window sill. "That's really all you came for, isn't it?"

"Yep!"

Sven took Rinslet inside and explained all that had happened and why they couldn't let her have Angel.

"Oh, it's horrible," Rinslet groaned, "and I'm caught up in it all over again!"

"Is that really what you're worried about?"

Rinslet sat back in her chair with a pout.

"So, what do you need her for?" Sven asked.

"Some guy hired me to find her," she said. "He told me she had something of his."

"Oh, yeah? What?"

"Beats me. I'm just supposed to say that Riley sent me, and she'll apparently know what that means."

Sven put out his cigarette and tried to piece together something logical. "Maybe he's an ex-lover or something."

"Could be," Rinslet shrugged. "He was good-looking enough to be with someone like her."

"Better looking that Jenos?" Sven chuckled with a broad smile.

Rinslet smacked him clear across the face, nearly causing him to fall out of his chair. "WHY THE HELL IS THAT STILL THE JOKE AROUND HERE?"

"IT'S JUST A JOKE! THERE'S NO NEED TO HIT ME OVER IT!"

"Are you still up here?" Kara queried, climbing up onto the roof with a struggle.

Train looked himself up and down. "I think so."

Kara slipped with a yelp, and Train had to pull her up onto the roof. Train rested with his arms behind his head and stared up at the sky. Kara copied his posture and did the same. There was a long silence, and, for a little while, Train forgot Kara was even there.

"Why do you go like this when that girl in the yukata comes around?" she finally inquired. "You're like a different person."

"Really?" Train chuckled lightly. "I guess it's because she reminds me of someone a used to know—a good friend of mine."

"Girlfriend?" Kara guessed.

"No, not really."

"Well, maybe it is her. Maybe she found you again."

"It can't be. Saya's dead."

Kara sat up and looked down at Train with her wide sapphire eyes. She seemed to be wanting the rest of the story, but Train didn't want to tell her, not yet anyway.

"How's it going with Angel?" Train asked.

"She still won't talk." Kara almost seemed to forget what they were talking about just a moment before. "She seems calm, but I think she really needs us to protect her."

The summer breeze blew past the pair. The trees whispered quietly amongst each other. It was a beautiful day with tragic circumstances.

"Train," Kara began, "why did you leave Chronos?"

"To live the live of a stray cat instead of a pet," said Train plainly. "I was tired of being a puppet."

"A puppet," Kara breathed to herself.

Riley: Wait, did you call me attractive in this chapter?

Me: No, Rinslet did.

Rinslet: It's not my fault you created him like this.

Riley: With devilish good looks?

Kara: He's devilish, alright.

Me: Okay, Riley. You're hot. I confess.

Riley: Hellz yeah!

Me: But I only have eyes for Train.

Near: Bull!

Me: AAH! CROSSOVER!