A/N. Please don't yell at me for what I'm about to tell you, but I'm about to leave for another week…Gah, I updated 14 days, so I'll update this one for you loyal readers who are still mad at me for the last chapter.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Black Cat.
Sven heard a sickening crunching sound from his sprawled position on the bakery floor, and the shout of anger that followed it didn't help his fear. He scrambled off the floor, ignoring the shattered glass that cut his hands. Blood dripped down his palms as he gripped the door frame and stumbled out into the street, where what he saw made his blood run cold.
Train was sprawled out across the street, a rib bone picking out of his side and an ominously large puddle of blood growing from his still form. The green haired sweeper couldn't tell if his friend's chest was moving, but then his attention was drawn to the little blonde girl standing protectively over the panther. Eve's eyes seemed to be glowing with the intensity of the hatred shining for the assassin who stood little over five yards away from the bleeding animal. For a moment, Sven felt a shred of pity for what the man had coming, but then a loud voice stopped everything in it's tracks.
"Eight! What are you doing?" All four heads, for Rinslet had regained her feet, turned towards the source of the noise, which happened to be a young man with long black hair who was leaning against the light pole. A black glove adorned one hand, and Sven could barely make out the letters VII before Rinslet's shout made him wince.
"Jenos!" the purple haired thief stumbled out of the bakery and looked over at the Number curiously. Jenos Hazard walked forward, his lethal wires trailing behind him.
"Hello Rins. Mind explaining what's been going on here?" Eight beat her to the punch.
"Shove off Hazard. Number One sent us to find the bio-weapon, and we found Heartnet as well. I was just finishing him off." He actually raised his massive weapon once again, but then Eve was on him like the panther she had tried so desperately to protect. Claws actually sprang from her fingertips, and from the fingertips of her hair fists, and soon she was clawing her way at the assassin, desperately trying to inflict all the pain she was feeling on the one who had caused her despair. It took Sven shouting her name seven times and a pitiful moan from Train's direction to halt her, and when she froze, she froze good and long.
Because the man underneath her seemed near death. His face was black and blue and several long and painful looking cuts scissored across his arms and chest, one even traveling up his neck and cutting across his jaw. Her claws vanished, and had she been able to look at herself in a mirror, she would have noted that her pupils retreated from their slit form. The blond backed away from the limp Number, not really noticing that Four came over to help, or that Jenos was helping Rinslet pick her way through the glass strewn street. Her foot bumped into something soft, and she whirled around to see glazed amber eyes staring weakly up at her. Train's tail flicked weakly before it stilled, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.
"Train?" She shouted, and she knelt down next to his limp form. Sven heard her shout and started running over to her, Rinslet and Jenos following. Sven's white hat blew away from his head as he dropped to his knees next to Eve, automatically stripping his jacket off.
"How do we stop it?" Eve asked in a whisper, staring in horror at the shiny white bone that poked out of Train's side. Sven shook his head, scooting over so that Rinslet could kneel next to him.
"Start winding the jacket around his wound-I wouldn't suggest you tie it though…I guess I could wrap my wires around him to hold it in place…" The three friends hadn't even noticed that Jenos was hovering over them, and Sven jerked backwards involuntarily, accidentally jarring Train.
"Sorry, but there's no way I'm going to let you touch him after the damage your buddies did to him." Rinslet shoved him, but Sven was staring at Jenos, who had a peculiar expression on his fae that almost looked like regret.
"They weren't supposed to be here. No one was. After Heartnet started protecting Eve, and Seph-nee said it was ok, we were supposed to stop. But Four and Eight had a mission before that to eliminate Heartnet. They never set out to do it, because we found out Heartnet was safe. They still hate him." Every one was silent for a few minutes after the speech, and Sven started considering that maybe the Number really wanted to help.
"Sven, we should trust him." The one eyed sweeper glanced over at Eve and nodded.
"Alright. We're taking him up the road to a friend of mine's. Could you help us until we get there?" He asked, and Jenos nodded.
"Sure." Sven inclined his head as thanks before he lifted Train gently and started to wrap his coat around the bloodstained fur of his best friend. When that was done, Jenos gently wound his wires around Train's still form and secured his ribs momentarily. Sven still eyed the Number warily as he lifted the unconscious form of the panther to his chest and started walking for their car. A small grunt stopped him, and Sven turned his head to stare at the Number, who was carefully holding his gloved hand level with Train.
"Yes?" Jenos looked at Sven apologetically before he made his suggestion.
"I don't believe it would be an easy situation if we try to fit Train into the car. Why don't we take mine?" He suggested, and he nodded carefully towards the other side of the road, where a beast of a car waited. It was all black, a massive, armored Jeep by the looks of it. Sven raised an eyebrow in skepticism, but allowed Jenos to lead the procession over to the giant car.
With a flourish, he opened the trunk to reveal a space that would have easily seated four children. As it happened, Train would take up the space of three children. Eve was the only one who would possibly fit, and Rinslet was about to remark on this, but the small blonde had already scrambled up into the trunk and was waiting with her legs crossed beneath her. Jenos laughed.
"I guess this seat's spoken for. Let's lift Heartnet up." Sven still watched the man warily, but was glad when he assisted him in lifting Train into the back of the truck. The oversized panther whimpered pitifully before his head was settled against Eve and he relaxed slightly. After making a few adjustments, Rinslet helped Jenos carefully extract the wires from around Train. As soon as the weapon was fully returned to the Number, Rinslet backed away so that he could slam the door closed. Eve started slightly, but then settled comfortably back against the seat, realizing that she could fully extend her legs-diagonally, at least. Train's head interrupted the line, so Eve carefully lifted it so that it lolled next to her ankles. Sighing, she carefully folded her arms across her midsection and tilted her head back to lean against the soft seat.
Up front, Sven climbed into the shotgun position while Rinslet gratefully stretched out in the back seat. At the odd look she got from Sven, she shrugged her shoulders defensively.
"What? I'm tired, and it's not like I know where we're going." With that she decisively dropped out of the conversation and was asleep in a matter of moments. The rumble of a powerful engine brought Sven's attention towards Jenos, who had begun to drive the car into the street.
"Where are we going?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the road. Sven closed his eyes, trying to remember the map he'd laid out when trying to ascertain the Doctor's location.
"Um, you're gonna want to take a right at the next intersection, and then you go straight for a while." Jenos took the order without question and turned right in between a grocery store and a library onto a dirt road shadowed by large trees. Sven heard a soft gasp of longing when Eve finally saw the library, but then it had vanished, and everything was silent.
It was definitely an awkward silence.
Eve wasn't really in a position to hold a conversation, and so had busied herself with staring out the windows and flicking train's tail back and forth from where it lay near her waist. Sven still didn't exactly trust Jenos, so the only words he spoke were directions for half an hour.
Professor Tearju lived a long way from the town.
Eve couldn't help but be a little annoyed with the woman as she watched Train's life literally seep out of him and onto Sven's jacket. A bump in the road jostled Eve against the side of the car and woke Rins, who jerked up in the back seat only to slam her head into the handle near the roof of the car. She grumbled, ignoring the snicker that came from Sven. But then they all fell silent, because Rinslet wasn't the only one woken by the bump.
Eve let out a small shriek of surprise when Train slid into the back seat and jerked awake, golden eyes snapping open and his mouth expanding so that he could let out a howl of pain. Sven jumped in the fron seat and twisted around to see Eve standing in the trunk, desperately trying to keep the distraught panther calm.
"What's going on?" At the unknown voice, Train hissed in fear and tried to scramble to his feet, only collapsing backwards when his hand leg gave out on him and sent him crashing to the ground.
"Drive!" Sven shouted, and Jenos automatically stomped his foot on the gas, jerking the car forward and thus sending Train flying. He howled again. Eve dropped to her knees next to the cat and pressed him down gently, forcing him to be still as Jenos took on turn and then another, directed by Sven until the car screeched to a halt. Train was panting, but Eve ignored that as she leaned over him to catch a glimpse of a large house with ivy growing everywhere, and smoke pouring from an open window.
They had arrived at Tearju's house.
A/N. Well, hope that's good enough for ya! As I said, I won't be updating for a week, so I hope this isn't too much of a cliffie for you guys. Until later-review!
Thx-
TOAS
