I'm...back! :D

Thanks so much for the wait everybody! I'm sorry it was so long, but alas; my old computer crashed along with all of my BLaCK Wings files...and my backup hasn't came back but I'm starting again!

You are all awesome! Thanks for all of the reviews while I was gone; they were really appreciated~

Train Heartnet and the Black Cat series is copyrighted to Yabuki Kentaro-san.

Ese is copyrighted to me.

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Black Wings

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Hit Eight - Mental Problems and Rubeck City

"Tell me what memories you saw!" Train demanded. Ese stared fearfully as she tried to recall whatever memory she happened to have...all she can remember was the visions, the screaming...and that noise...

"Get..." Ese mumbled, tears brimming her eyes spontaneously.

Train stopped for a moment, suddenly seeing his harsh actions. He was about to ask again gently but Ese fell to her knees, grabbing her head and curling up.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" She screamed painfully. She sounded as though she was being tortured...

As her screams continued, Train grabbed her by the shoulders, "Ese!" he cried, "What's wrong!? What is it!?" He kept asking.

"They're there...here...everywhere...OH NO!!" She broke away from Train and started to jerkily jolt around, her wings rocking and spewing feathers. All the while she kept holding her head tightly and didn't look up once. Her screams lurched from her throat, causing Train to flinch.

He couldn't figure anything to get her to stop screaming...until he noticed the gun in its halter...

"Ese, I'm so sorry!" he cried, yanking out Hades and jumping towards her...

...and her head made a loud crack as the hilt of Hades collided with her skull...

--

"Ese..."

A voice in the murkiness startled her. She wasn't sure where it was coming from, who or what it was coming from...she felt a throb in her head as she tried to focus.

"I think she's dead." Another voice in the dimness.

"She's not dead, she has a pulse," continued the third voice. Deep. Raspy. The voice of a smoker.

"S-sven?" Ese weakly croaked.

"Ah, see Eve?" Sven said with a grin, "She's awake."

"So she is alive..." Eve mumbled, cocking her head.

"Where am I?" Ese asked, sitting up and feeling a large welt on her forehead.

"Rubeck," Sven mumbled, taking out a cigarette and setting it on his lips, "You've been out for three days. We were worried sick about you."

"Th-three days?!" Ese asked, surprised. Even after the fall at Lunafort tower, she had been fine; up by the next day. Or even at the gunshot to the head; she was up 3 seconds afterward. So she gets hit in the head and she's out for three days? This confused her and added onto the pain that was already there. She moaned.

"Are you all right?" Sven asked, standing. "You want some medication? Ice?"

"Where's Train?" Ese asked, wincing.

"He's in the front," Eve mumbled, looking out the window, "We're getting ready to see a friend of Train-san."

Sven nodded. "While you were...out, we had gotten a request by the mayor to come to Rubeck and help...remove a murderer." Stress lines creased in Sven's tired-looking face.

"Friend...of...Train?" Ese asked, her head still pounding. "May I request to...stay here?"

For a strange reason, this brought out an unexpected response from Sven. "You...don't want to come with us?"

"Her head still hurts," Eve said, coming away from the window and standing next to Sven. "Doesn't it?"

Ese nodded. Her head hurt like the dickens...she didn't think she could deal with all of the information being dealt with in a mission.

Sven swiped a look from Ese to Eve and sighed. "Well..." he muttered, taking a small drag, "I suppose we'll head out...Ese, you take it easy? We'll be back in a few hours..."

Ese nodded again and laid back into her soft bed. She hadn't noticed, but she wasn't wearing her usual clothes; she was just wearing a cotton tank along with cotton shorts. Pajamas...she was very comfy. Sighing, she leaned back into the pillows and started to drift...

--

Maniacal laughter...that's all she heard. Scratching as the window was removed from its frame. Cracking as the wood heaved something...or someone...heavy.

Ese cracked her eyes open...her head was still pounding but she felt a sense of urgency.

The smell of testosterone from the night that she woke up and met Train was familiar in the room. The smell made her want to heave but seeing as she hadn't eaten anything in three days, that didn't seem possible...but she still knew that something wasn't right. The curtains weren't hanging; they were on the floor. Someone had ripped them off.

"What a pretty girlie..." She heard a man growl.

Focusing was a tedious task with the bump on her head, but this voice...was close. And dangerous. Suddenly everything became clear as crystal.

Someone was in her room.

She felt a sudden grip around her ankle and she then let loose a drum-shattering shriek of horror. She jumped and wildly flapped her wings, attempting escape. The grip yanked her down back on the bed and she kept screaming, despite the ache in her head.

"QUIET!" The voice bellowed, bringing his fist down on her back.

Ese felt a warm, thick liquid ooze from her mouth...blood...something was wrong. She couldn't feel her legs anymore. But nonetheless, she kept the struggle up, weaker however.

"Let...me...go!" Ese screamed, trying to squirm her upper torso away while whatever was wrong could heal.

"I said quiet!" The voice bellowed again, bringing his fist down once again on her back.

Only this time, the crack in her back went further...to her neck...and she felt it disconnect.

Her mind was alert for only a few more vital seconds as what just happened registered; her neck had been broken. And she was being kidnapped.

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Thanks everyone! Sorry for the wait; here's a chappie to fill you in before the good stuff gets -a goin. ;)

I'm sorry that all of you had to wait for so long. D: Computer issues, so to speak...but I promise to get back on track ASAP!

So...enjoy the latest chapter!

-R-i-e!