Bad Luck Strikes at Midnight

by ReneeDenim

Kirsten Lusk is a Sweeper who has suffered amnesia. With her partner, Sven Volfied, they take down bad guys and take bounties. But when the two encounter Black Cat and Chronos and a mysterious organization called the Apostles of the Stars, Kirsten discovers that there's a lot more she forgot. Lives will be risked, sanity will be challenged, and love will grow for two unusual people

11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The Revolution

"So, Creed is alive?" Train's voice had become hard. I was just as upset as he was, but his hatred for these guys was much deeper than mine.

For a moment no one spoke. The whole area felt like we were standing on an undiffused bomb. I heard the sound of spinning blades and felt a strong, consistent breeze. When I looked up I saw a helicopter just above the buildings.

"Train, ignore them!" Sven yelled above the roar of the helicopter. But to be expected, Train instead ignored Sven.

"He's alive." Chardon replied. "And let me tell you, Black Cat, he can't wait to see you again."

"Tell me where I can find him!" Train demanded.

Chardon looked from Train to me to Sven and Eve behind us. "If you wish to meet with Creed, he'll be in Sanzers City three days from now, waiting for you."

"I'll be there too!" Kyoko chimed in.

"What's going on?" Train yelled.

"A wonderful celebration will begin." The wind picked up as the helicopter descended a few feet to the ground and lowered a rope ladder to the two. "Please, all of you join us." Chardon and Kyoko grabbed onto the ladder and the helicopter rose. "Until then…"

"Bye bye!" Kyoko sang.

Train whipped out Hades and shouted "STOP!"

Just then a Gatling gun from the bottom of the helicopter aimed at Train.

"GET DOWN!" Sven and I both cried.

I ran and knocked Train and myself both out of the range of bullets just as several rounds hit the ground and ran over the spot where Train was just standing a minute ago. A large cloud of rubble and smoke flew into the air.

When the cloud settled, it was too late. The helicopter was too far into the air and too far away to do anything about it. All we could do was stare after it, and I just knew that Chardon was mocking Train from where he was.

"Train…?" Sven got up, with Eve's help. "Are you alright?" Train didn't answer Sven. "Train..!"

Eve looked at the pink dress Sven was wearing. "Sven look, your dress."

"Aw man!" Sven cried. "There's no way I'll get my deposit back now!"

I looked at Train, who was now standing and watching the helicopter disappear into the distance.

"Train," I got up and brushed cement particles off my jacket. "I know what you're thinking, but I think we shouldn't-" My voice froze midsentence when I finally got a glimpse of his face.

Pure rage burning in his eyes, and they screamed out for vengeance. Train was planning something, I just knew it. He was going to go after Creed in Sanzers City.

"We need to get out of here." Sven said. "We'll leave the police to take care of this."

"Right," I grabbed Train by the shoulder, and he came back to the present. "Train, let's go."

"…sure…" Train said quietly.

Defeated we went back to our headquarters at the low budget motel room. From Rubeck City, Sanzers City was a three day drive. Although, we had no idea on if we wanted to go to Sanzers City. Of course, if something was going to happen, we couldn't just stand by and let it happen.

Either way, we needed to go past Sanzers City on our trip, so while Sven worked on paying for our one-night room, I took Eve and dragged Train along to find some milk.

"I thought we could use some refreshments." I said, trying and failing, to get Train to talk to us. Earlier we had found a small grocery store that sold milk, so I got enough for all three of us. "It'll be a long drive." I took a sip of the cold liquid.

Eve nodded and Train didn't say anything.

"Hey you!" a voice called. I looked and saw the old man from the bar from yesterday.

"It's you!" I said as he came to me with a concerned look.

"You weren't planning on leaving without saying goodbye, were you?" He asked. I gave a guilty look, but the old man smiled. "It's quite alright. I won't keep you from your work."

Eve looked at me, questioning me silently, but not asking anything.

"No, no," I said. "It's okay, work is kind of slow."

The old man looked at Eve, and then at Train, and then back at me. "I wanted to say thank you. It's all over town; a small group of Sweepers took care of Gyanza."

"You're welcome, buddy." I smiled. "It's a Sweeper's job to take care of bad people like Gyanza."

The man nodded and looked me in the eyes. "You're a good young lady. And if you find yourself in town again, we'll have ourselves a toast."

"Yeah," I said. "I'll make sure I come back one day."

The man gave me one more smile. "Take care of yourself now." He glanced over at Train. "And take care of that young man too."

I chuckled and nodded. "I will,"

The old man gave us a farewell, and then walked down the street.

"…I see…" Eve said. "Is that what it means to be a Sweeper?"

I watched the old man walk away. "Well, there are many meanings to being a Sweeper. But to me… being a Sweeper, is being someone who gives people a reason to stop crying…"

Eve smiled. "Then I will give people a reason to stop crying."

"That's good." I sighed. "Alright, we better head back to Sven. Let's go Train-" Then I noticed that Train was gone. "Train…?" I looked around. "Eve, did he walk off somewhere?"

Eve looked around. "I didn't see him."

"Train…?" I called. And then I saw the empty milk bottle on the ground.

I told Sven that Train had run off, and we both had a pretty good idea on where he went. Immediately the three of us started our drive to Sanzers City.

"It takes three days to get to Sanzers City by car," I said, looking out at the road for any signs of a walking Sweeper. "How could he get ahead of us?"

"It's Black Cat we're talking about." Sven said. "He could already be at Sanzers City by now."

"Pro assassin or not, he likes his sleep." I said. The sun was just barely rising on our final day of driving. Sanzers City was another three hour drive from our current destination.

"Still, he has surprised us more than once." Sven said. "Get some sleep while you can. Something tells me that you'll need it."

"We should pull over than so you can sleep." I said.

Sven shook his head and glanced over at Eve; who fell asleep while reading a book about Calligraphy. "I had a good few hours before. You haven't slept much ever since Train went missing."

I was too exhausted to argue with Sven, so I leaned my head against the window and stared out at the moving scenery. "Wake me up in an hour."

I eventually fell asleep, the car's movement was soothing in some way, and it didn't take me long to drift off.

I ended up at a desk, and there was a picture done in crayon in front of me; the picture was of a man, and little girl holding hands. It was very artfully detailed, and it looked more like a high school artist had drawn it. I saw a small pair of hands, covered with black gloves, pick up the drawing and walk over to a table on the other side of the room. There was a man standing there, but the work lights were so bright I couldn't see his face.

I watched at the child tugged on the man's jacket, and offer the drawing. The man did take it, look at it for a second, and then pat the child on the head.

"Very good," He said, and his voice was vaguely familiar. "But play time is over now. It's time to work."

At the word 'work', I felt uncontrollable anger consume me, as if I were suffocating.

"I know you don't understand it now." The man took the child's hand and led them to a door behind the child. "But you'll be helping me out very much."

The child tried to turn the man's attention away from the doors by walking back towards the drawing table, but the man picked up the girl.

"Now now, don't be difficult; the sooner we start the tests the sooner you can get back to your drawings." He lightly rubbed the girl on the head. "You do want to help your father in your research, right?" The girl nodded.

Father…? Why does that sound so… familiar?

The car ran over another mountain sized bump and the impact shocked me awake. I blinked, yawned, and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. "What time is it?"

Sven seemed just as awake as ever. "Only about nine in the morning, you didn't miss much, believe me."

I blinked. "Sven, I told you to wake me up after an hour."

"You need sleep," Sven replied. "Especially if we're running into this guy, Creed, we all need the strength." He glanced over at me. "Kirsten, I want you to answer me honestly."

"What?"

"Do you have any idea who this guy, Creed, is?"

I knew he was going to ask that question eventually. "What if I promised not to tell anyone about it?"

He sighed. "We're partners. You can tell me anything."

I didn't know how much to tell him, so I said "He was there, at the oil tanker explosion."

Sven stopped the car for a red light. "Did he hurt you?" He asked, worried.

I bit my bottom lip. "Yes… You saw the injuries."

"Damn it!" Sven hit the hard plastic of the steering wheel, also honking the horn. "That man… they found a body at the docks that night…"

I felt like I was going to throw up at the thought of the police pulling Saya's body from the explosion sight. "Yes, Creed killed her. She… she knew who I was and…" I felt my shoulders shaking. "I couldn't save her…"

"Kirsten," Sven looked over at me, concern in his face. The light turned green, and then Sven pulled forward. After a minute, he stopped the truck in the parking spot outside a twenty-four hour café. Then I felt his hand on the top of my head. He lightly ruffled my dark hair and gave me an encouraging look. "Then we have to turn this guy in; for Train's and Saya's sake, alright?"

I stared at him, and smiled a bit. "Right,"

Sven chuckled, and then his face shifted to a serious tone. "Now, let's get inside, we need a plan of action."

We exited the truck and just as we were about to enter the café, several large armored trucks and police cars drove past us towards the center of the city.

"What's with the police?" I asked to no one.

The TV hanging on the wall behind us flashed to a young reporter. Apparently, the broadcast was coming from this city.

"We're live at Sanzers City, at the sight of this year's World Summit, where world leaders have gathered to discuss the proposal for the Unity of Continents. The eyes of the world are focused on this summit because if this plan is agreed on, would span the globe in a unilateral ceasefire, bringing peace to all roaring nations. Due to recent reports of possible terrorist attacks here at the summit, security…"

Well, that answered my question.

The door to the café opened, announcing a new customer.

"Looks like they've enacted martial law…" Sven replied.

"It's all just posturing for the visiting nations of the summit." said the customer that had just recently entered, or Rinslett Walker, actually. "The truth of it is, is that without major support from Chronos, they can't even take care of themselves."

"That guy wearing the hat…Chardon." Sven stared at the TV, thinking of something. "I wonder what he intends to show us by inviting us here."

Rinslett turned from the TV and looked at Sven. "Didn't he say something about the start of a celebration?"

Eve stood up, curiosity in her eyes. "Will there be fireworks to see?"

I gave a nervous look to Sven, and he looked at Eve. "I don't think he was talking about that kind of celebration, Eve." Sven chuckled.

She scowled slightly. "How boring," Then she sat back down. Sven sighed.

"I wonder if he was talking about something to do with the Summit." Rinslett wondered out loud.

"Who knows?" Sven said. "I'm more worried about Train. The instant he heard the name Creed, he disappeared, and now I have no idea where he's gone."

"Creed's possibly connected to Train's past in some way… huh." Rinslett said.

I felt a knot in my stomach. I just knew, just knew, that somehow in some way, Creed was also connected to my past as well. He knew my name… and that man I met in the alley in Rubeck City knew Creed… But I couldn't say that, not now.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Sven continued. "If Train and Creed come face to face… something awful is bound to happen."

Rinslett gave a sly smirk to Sven. "You came all the way out here because you were worried about your little buddy?"

"That's not it at all!" Sven protested. "I have to find a way to pay for the dress I destroyed since another bounty went down the drain." Sven looked tense. "I figured… we could make some quick cash here, that's all."

"You're not fooling anyone, so don't even try the tough guy act on me." Rinslett said. "And by the way, I did some research into that eye of yours."

Sven smiled to himself, clearly he hadn't heard her. "That's right…I just need to get a little cash together…" Then he realized what Rinslett had just said. "WHAT, YOU'RE SNOOPING AROUND MY EYE?!"

"Sorry, I was curious, okay? And you're so tight lipped about it…" Rinslett said. She also looked at me. "So tell me, are you and Black Cat a thing now?"

"WHAT, NO WAY!" I cried. "I mean, no."

"Your reaction gave it away." Rinslett chuckled.

"No… we're not a 'thing'," I said, facing the window. "We can't be a 'thing' what with everything going on now…"

"Oh come on, you're no fun!" Rinslett pat me on the head. "I mean he's only about twenty three, you're not that much younger than him!"

"Actually he's twenty one." I said.

"See? You already know a lot about him!"

"Rinslett, you don't seem to understand." I looked down at the counter. "He's a good guy, really he is. But with the way things are now, I can't possibly think about that."

"Hmm…" Rinslett stared at me with suspicion. "Well, it must be serious."

In truth, I haven't thought about Train and I being more. After all, we barely get along as is. And… how could any sort of 'relationship' work if I had amnesia?

Suddenly a loud explosion rang out through the air and seemed to shake the very earth. Everyone in the café cried out in surprise and I stumbled backwards.

"WH-What the hell was that?!" I cried.

"It sounded like an explosion!" Sven cried.

The news flashed back to the young reporter. Behind her several S.W.A.T. Team members ran towards the sites of the explosions.

"I'm not sure what's happening, but I can hear explosions in the distance. Unconfirmed reports are saying that a security helicopter was shot down only moments ago and an attack is eminent! We urge all citizens to find shelter immediately!"

"It's them, I'm sure of it!" Sven said, getting up from his seat and heading towards the door.

"Hold on!" Rinslett cried. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna find Train and come back." Sven said, adjusting his hat.

"But you don't even know where to look for him!" Rinslett argued.

Sven glanced at her, anger boiling behind his brown eye. "Then I have a lot of work to do." He looked at me. "You stay here with Eve."

"Come on, Sven, wait!" Rinslett said. But it was too late; Sven had already run out of the café and was going down the street.

"We have to go after him!" I said, starting to go after him.

"Oh no, you don't!" Rinslett said, grabbing the back of my jacket. "Are you kidding?! I don't like Sven going out there! You're defiantly not going!"

I glared at Rinslett. "Yes, I am!" I slapped her hand away. She released me and I made a sprint for the door.

"Kirsten!" Rinslett cried.

As soon as I reached the outside, I heard another explosion from a few blocks away. I have to hurry. I sprinted towards the site, past crowds of police men and security vans. When I reached a new street, I saw an armored truck rolling towards the site.

Just then, someone leapt onto the hood of the truck. It was that girl from Rubeck City, Kyoko, I think. She blew a kiss to the men inside the truck, and then to my surprise, she breathed fire that engulfed the car.

It screeched to a halt and four men were able to escape the car before the thing turned into a pile of melted metal.

"Holy crap…" I gasped. Is this the power of Tao?

"Jesus, what the hell was that?!" The men cried.

"Now now, Kyoko…" A male's voice said from behind the men. It was that other guy from Rubeck, Chardon. "You must let go of your emotions when you fight… and finish what you start…" Chardon held out his right hand, palm up, towards the officers. Suddenly, a dark cloud of red exploded from his hand, and a red skull-like monster rushed to the men.

"Leave them alone!" I yelled and ran towards Chardon. Just as I was about to reach him, there was a gunshot, and the red cloud burst into a pile of liquid. Blood, I realized, Chardon could manipulate his own blood. It was both awesome, and disgusting.

I looked to where the gunshot came from. Could it be? I looked at the top of one of the buildings just as the four S.W.A.T. men ran away screaming "They're monsters!"

Sure enough, at the top of a printer store, was Train Heartnet, aiming his gun at the enemies. "I came, just like I promised I would!" He called.

Kyoko ran past me, blushing harder than a geisha in makeup. "Mr. Black!"

"Tell me where Creed is!" Train demanded.

Chardon smiled at Train, pleased that he had come.

"Train, no!" I yelled just as three more explosions rocked the air. They sounded far away, but they were strong enough to send small earthquakes through my system.

"Kirsten, what the hell are you doing here?!" Train noticed me and yelled. He leapt off the building. I almost screamed when he did, but then remembered 'Oh right, he does this all the time'. And sure enough, he landed on his feet right in front of me. He wasn't happy. "Why can't you and Sven leave me alone?"

I glared at him. "You ran off without saying a word and we came all the way here to try and find you! You're welcome by the way, for us making sure you don't get yourself killed!"

"Sure, whatever," he turned to face Chardon and Kyoko. "Now go away, this isn't your battle."

"Oh no, you don't! This is my fight just as much as it's yours!" I argued.

"I get you were also friends with Saya, but I'm the one going to make Creed pay!"

Just before I could say anything else, Kyoko ran towards Train. "Mr. Black, you came! You actually came!"

Train, annoyed, aimed his gun at the girl. She screeched to a halt. "I want Creed."

"But what about me..?" Kyoko whined.

"Try to have some patience. You'll see him shortly." Chardon said.

"I don't have any more patience." Train said, anger radiating off him like a hot stove.

Chardon outstretched his arms, in a gesture of peace. "Calm down, Train, and take a good look around you." Several armored vans and S.W.A.T. members had barricaded the block off.

Just then another security helicopter flew over head, but just as suddenly, some unforeseen force crushed the helicopter into a ball, as if giant, invisible hands were wading up a piece of paper. The helicopter crashed into a building behind us, creating another earth shattering explosion.

I instinctively put my hands over my head, protecting myself from falling debris. A wave of heat blew over us and I could smell kerosene and burnt meat. I almost threw up at the thought of smelling burnt meat.

Train, however, didn't flinch. He didn't take his eyes off of Chardon.

"Tell me," Chardon said as several S.W.A.T. members ran in all directions, shouting orders and crying out in surprise. "Is it to your liking, Train? These are the fireworks I was referring to…"

Train grunted, and I knew why. Fireworks… weren't they the very thing that Saya loved to watch? And the very last thing she saw before her early demise?

"Soon, we will release mankind from the grip of corrupt dictators! We will purify this tainted world, and restore it to the glory it once was!"

Train, really losing his patience, fired a warning shot into Chardon's tall hat. It created a bullet hole in the dark fabric. "Bring him to me before I get angry!" Train ordered.

"Train, no!" I grabbed his arm tightly. "You're being too rash about this!"

He turned his anger on me then, and I felt like an insect under his gaze. "Why are you defending Creed? I'd think that out of all people, you would understand how much it hurts!"

"I'm not defending him!" I yelled back. "And I can't kill him, not yet!"

"Oh yeah, and why the hell not, what is so important that you'd want a murderer running around?!"

I felt anger and stress bubbling inside me, building up. I was so sick of his argument, and then, to my horror, I boiled over and exploded on him, and told him the one thing that I was never, ever supposed to tell him, not like this anyway. "IT'S BECAUSE HE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS WHY I LOST MY MEMORIES IN THE FIRST PLACE, YOU IDIOT!"

"Your… memories?" Train asked, not as angry, but still upset. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Such impatience…" Chardon said, fidgeting with his hat. "Fine then, as you wish." Chardon gave Kyoko a look, and she nodded. Then the two stepped out of the way, as if Creed was going to appear right between them. But… there was only a brick wall.

Suddenly, the earth shook, and a blue light sliced through the wall. A light I recognized as the sword Creed used to kill Saya.

"Watch out!" I cried as the blue light ripped through the earth and destroyed the building behind us, the one where the helicopter had exploded before. It went through Sanzers City, destroying anything unfortunate enough to get in its path; buildings, cars, people, it destroyed it all until it reached the center of the city where the building holding the World Summit was located at. The light died down and the city was consumed by dust and dirt.

Train, and I and the remaining S.W.A.T. members stared at the path of destruction in shock and horror. Then I saw something at the end of the path.

Standing in the cloud of debris was a figure, raising a sword sheath over his head. "There you are…" he said softly.

"CREED…!" Train cried.

The dust finally settled, revealing the maniac. But he was different from the last time I saw him at the docks. His blonde hair was a mess, and he wore a fur-lined, black trench with an intricate interlace at the front with no undershirt. He looked at us, smiling.

Train broke free from my grip and ran towards Creed. "Train, no!" I yelled and ran after him.

Several large screen TVs that had been broadcasting GNN, the World Summit, changed to a close-up on Creed's face. He was holding a red rose, of course and he spoke up, still smiling.

"Well hello Train, it's good to see you again." He said. His voice echoed through the destroyed city, and there wasn't another living person besides police and military member's destroyed vehicles. "Did you see it; the extent of my power? I must admit, when I heard that you had actually accepted my invitation to meet me here today…"

I didn't hear the rest, the sound of blood pounding in my ears almost made me go deaf. I had never run so fast in my life. And I knew, just knew that I had to stop Train. If I didn't… he'd be killed for sure.

Train leapt off of chunks of street ripped in half, and didn't stop. I followed, although I wasn't as athletic as him, so it took me a while.

"Train w…w- wait!" I gasped.

Finally, after running for about eight blocks without stopping, we finally reached the ruins of the Presidential Hall; we finally came face to face with Creed Diskenth. But he wasn't alone, no. He was accompanied by several people. Some were adults, and a few were kids, but they all had the same insane look about them.

"Let me introduce you…" Creed said. "…to the Apostles of the Star!" Train aimed Hades right at Creed's heart. "Congratulation, Train! You've arrived just in time to witness this defining moment for our crusade!" Creed laughed. "Now, your only option is to join me and-"

Train fired Hades, but Creed moved his head to the left just in time for the bullet to miss him and hit the rubble behind the lunatic. "Train, don't!" I cried. Just before I could grab him, Train planted a hand against my shoulder and shoved me away from him without even giving me a glance. I hit the broken concrete hard and quickly scrambled to regain my footing.

"Tell me, why did you have to kill Saya?!" Train demanded.

"Those eyes, that evil look inside them!" Creed said, his eyes were glittering with madness. "That's what I remember so well about you!" Creed, in his giddiness, crushed his rose in the process. "I'D KILL THAT WITCH AGAIN JUST TO GET ANOTHER GLIMPSE OF THAT RAGE!"

Train tensed. "DAMN YOU!" Then he fired four bullets at Creed, but it was all for naught as Creed was able to slice through each of them with only a few swings of his invisible blade. "YOU'RE DEAD!" Train ran towards Creed, but was halted when the insane man sliced the earth, creating that same blue flash that shattered the ground and pushed Train backwards. Train didn't give up though; he fired two more bullets just before he was thrown backwards. Again, all Creed had to do was slice them in half.

"Now, don't waste your energy, Train." Creed said, in a mocking sort of way.

Train screamed and tried again and again to try and attack Creed.

"Train, STOP!" I yelled and grabbed his arm with so much force; I felt my fingernails dig into his skin. Still, it stopped him for a few seconds.

Creed looked at me and made a few tsks. "Kirsten, I'm surprised. You've really changed over the year."

"What is he talking about…?" Train said, getting angrier at me then he was with Creed. "Did you know about this?!"

"NO!" I cried. "I mean, I don't know!"

"Still suffering a bit of memory loss I see…" Creed said.

"Memory loss… what are you-" Train began.

"Oh? Didn't she tell you?" Creed turned his dead gaze towards me. "That girl over there lost her memories."
"How… How do you know that? How could you possibly know me?" I cried.

"I know quite a bit about you, Ms. Lusk." He said. "In fact, I know almost everything about you. Including that box you hid in your jacket."

I gasped. No… how could he know so much about me?! Who was this guy?! No… who am I?!

Train broke free of my grip and charged at Creed again. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER!"

Creed sent Train flying backwards again. "No, it's you who doesn't know anything about her."

"SHUT UP!" Train cried and tried again to strike at Creed.

"You're lying…" I said. "You… YOU DON'T KNOW ME!" I cried.

Creed smirked at me, I could deny it all I wanted, but it was still true; Creed knew something about me.

"Then if you really do know me…" I felt angry tears well up in my eyes. "Then tell me this much… how… how do I know someone like you?!"

Creed slashed at Train again. "Well, I don't want to spoil anything for you. But I guess I can give you a hint." He looked over at Train. "I didn't take away your memories. But Chronos did have something to do with it."

"Chronos...!" Train and I both cried.

"In fact, why don't you tell her, Train?" Creed asked. "Tell her why she lost her memories."

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Train yelled. He looked at me. "I swear I had nothing to do with that." Then he glared back at Creed. "You… You're a monster… You killed Saya, and think you can tell her this kind of crap?!"

"If you don't believe me, then that's just you." Creed said. "Ah that anger… maybe if I killed this girl you'd be just as angry?!"

"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!" Train tried to rush Creed again.

"Train, NO!" I cried. "That's just what he wants you to do!"

There was a gust of wind, and then shortly I heard someone yell at us. "TRAIN, STOP IT! NO TRAIN!" I turned to face who was yelling, and saw Sven running towards us.

"Sven..!" I cried.

"Your anger is blinding you to the fact that my abilities outweigh your own." Creed said, holding Train at sword point. "But that's not a problem…" Creed drew his sword back. "But once you accept and harness the power of Tao…" He sliced again at Train.

"NO! I'll never forgive you for what you did!" Train emptied Hades of empty bullet shells and then placed a bursting bullet in the chamber. In seconds he had the gun loaded and he fired directly at Creed's heart.

Creed stumbled backwards and his back arched. Did he do it? Did Train kill Creed?

Just then, Creed straightened, and he stared at Train. "Amazing, truly, but it makes no difference. I'm not the man I was before." Then the bullet hole in Creed started closing in on itself, healing, until there wasn't a trace of it left.

"That's impossible…" Train gasped.

"This is just one of the virtues of Tao, isn't it great?" Creed said, brushing dirt off his shoulder. "You can have the same power if you wise up and join me."

"You make me sick!" Train spit. Then he grunted. Then all of a sudden, he fell forward and hit the ground hard.

"Train, are you-" I stopped midsentence. I felt as if the ground were holding me in place. "I… can't… move?!"

"Heavy, isn't it?" asked one of the people standing by Creed; he was dressed in what appears to be a type of traditional clothing from a Japanese country called Yamto, and had the build of a sumo wrestler; only it was all muscle. "I just made that pistol weigh about four hundred pounds. And you…" he looked at me. "Don't even try moving at this point, the slightest movement could break every bone in your body…"

"You… bastard…" It felt as if a pressure were coming at me from all angles. I couldn't move.

"Receive; Binding Insect Curse!" A short man in blue robes, decorated with the yin/yang symbol on a loin cloth, with blue wrapping around his face, concealing everything but his right eye, which appears white. He threw a piece of paper that looked like a Japanese charm towards Train, but it transformed into some sort of grotesque insect that wrapped around Train, trapping him.

"Now, come with me and I'll make it stop." Creed said, offering his hand to Train.

"No way, Creed, I would rather die than join you!" Train yelled, pulling every ounce of strength to aim his gun at Creed.

"You're much more stubborn than I imagined." Creed said.

"Train…!" A voice yelled. We all turned to face Sven. He was gasping for air, and he didn't have his eye patch. He had used the vision eye.

"What the hell are you doing here?! Get back!" Train cried.

"Let… go of me…" I yelled. I forced my legs forward and sprinted forward.

"Who is this scum?!" Creed demanded. "How dare you interfere with our reunion..?"

I sprinted with all my might to try and get to Train's side. "Get back! You'll just get stuck too!"

"I can't do that Train, I-"

Before I could register anything, there was a loud bang. It was a gunshot, but not from Hades. I turned around just enough to see Sven dive in front of Train and I, and then hit the ground clutching his left shoulder.

I heard running footsteps; it was Eve and Rinslett.

"Oh no…!" Eve cried.

"Sven..!" Train cried.

"Oh god, Sven..!" I ran to his side, he was starting to bleed through his shirt sleeve.

"Sven?! Oh no, he got shot in the shoulder!" Rinslett and Eve ran over to us.

"Durham…" Creed growled. "Why'd you shoot? Damn you!" I saw who he was yelling at, a man who had a typical western cowboy appearance, complete with a tan, high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat, a tan jacket, and a red ascot. What made him unique was a mask that obstructed his mouth and nose, which extended out like a bird beak with sharp, canine teeth that protrude from the upper half of the jaw.

Durham looked away from Creed, not even mildly concerned with his rage.

"I'm so sorry about this, Train," Creed apologized. "This is not what I had planned for today. I wanted our reunion to be special!"

Train growled at Train, with all the anger of a scorched cat.

Creed was taken aback slightly by Train's rage, but he sighed. He seemed genuinely sorry. "It's too bad. I guess I'll just have to be content with seeing you, but I won't give up." He looked over to a woman among his group.

That woman, I recognized her as the famous movie actress, Echidna Parass. She had a rather gothic appearance, with dark make-up and long, green hair covering her right eye. She wore a red undershirt, with a white jacket, decorated with red roses. She traced the air in a circle, and a black circle appeared.

Creed gave Train a serious look. "Make no doubt about it, Train. You will join the Apostles of the Stars in due time, just wait…" The insect holding Train down evaporated like smoke, and Train was able to get up. Creed gave me a glance. "Don't worry, you'll remember everything eventually…" He said as each of his members of the Apostles disappeared into the portal. "And don't believe death will be a way out of this, for either of you, I won't allow it." Creed walked towards the portal.

"Damn you…" I growled.

"Wait!" Train cried and sprinted towards the portal, just as it was closing behind Creed. Sven lurched forward and grabbed Train from behind. "Get your hands off me Sven!" Train cried, trying to shove him off.

"Stop it, Train! It's not worth it!" Sven cried as sweat rolled down his face.

Train aimed Hades at the portal. "DIE!" He fired round after round at Creed, but the portal was too small to hit now, and all that Train managed to shoot at was rubble. Train cried out in anger and frustration as the portal vanished into thin air, taking Creed and the Apostles with him.

Train stared at the spot, and lowered his gun in defeat. Sven, too exhausted by his injuries, released Train and slid to the ground. Then Train grabbed him by the collar and shook him.

"DAMN YOU SVEN, WHY'D YOU STOP ME?" Train cried.

Sven glared at Train. "CAN'T YOU SEE HOW RECKLESS YOU'VE BECOME?! IT'S AS IF YOU WANT TO DIE!"

"BUT IT'S MY LIFE AND I CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT-" Suddenly Sven swung his fist, and clubbed Train in the face so hard he flew backwards and hit the ground painfully.

"Stop acting…" Sven groaned as he stood up, trembling from anger and pain. "Without us, you'd be worthless, why can't you see that?!" Sven pitched forward.

Eve ran to his side before he could fall forward. "Sven, stop it!" She cried.

"You can't get stressed!" I cried, running to his side. "You'll lose more blood!" I was afraid, so much so I felt my entire body shake.

I had never been so scared ever since I met Sven.

That evening, Eve was able to patch up Sven. Because you can't just pull bullets out of yourself, we had to leave it in his shoulder until we could get a real doctor to take care of Sven. He sat leaned up against a tree by the harbor of Sanzers City, and Train lay on a hill over-looking the water. I sat on the top of the hill, watching the sunset.

Rinslett stood next to me, looking down on Train. "How long are you planning to sulk?" She asked. Train hadn't said a word ever since we got back from the site where Sven got shot, and he still wasn't talking now. "So what's it feel like acting like a child, causing trouble for everyone who cares about you, and to top it off, getting slugged in the face for it?" Rinslett stared at Train. "I feel sorry for Sven; he shouldn't have risked his life trying to save someone who doesn't even care about him." She looked at me. "You try talking to him, because he obviously isn't going to listen to me."

"Me?" I stared at her. She walked away to check on Sven before I could say anything else. I sighed, stood up, walked down to where Train was sitting, and sat next to him. We both didn't say anything, but then I spoke up "You really are reckless. After we saved your life twice, all we get in return are bullet wounds and bills." Still nothing, so I stared off into the harbor. "You know why Sven is able to see a few seconds into the future, right? The truth is, it isn't his eye." I remembered Sven and me visiting a town where that person was buried, and I remember Sven telling me the story. "You see… seven years ago, Sven was a member of the International Bureau of Investigation…

"Sven had a partner named Lloyd Goldwynne. The two of them were really close friends, and always worked together on cases. Lloyd was born with an odd power, the power to see a few seconds into the future, only with both eyes. I think the earliest memory Lloyd had of that power was seeing his parent's murdered a few days before it happened. He became determined to help as many people as he could with his vision eye.

"On a particular case, Sven and Lloyd were going after a group of mafia members. But that night was Lloyd's daughter's fourth birthday. Sven was left alone, and the mafia group ganged up on him and beat him up so bad that his right eye was completely destroyed. Lloyd had a vision though, he knew Sven would need help, but in return he knew that he'd get killed in turn.

"Even so… Lloyd went to the Mafia's hideout to help Sven… and he got killed in exchange… A week before that, Lloyd signed up to be an organ donor, and knew that Sven would need an eye transplant later. So that's how Sven got the vision eye; the final gift from his best friend and loyal partner."

I looked over at Train. He didn't seem to be paying attention, but I wasn't sure. "Sven is a good guy." I continued. "He saved my life, even though I didn't want it. And I'm grateful for that. He's my best friend, and I don't want to see him get killed, especially for someone who wouldn't appreciate it."

Train shifted, and then he glanced over at me. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I frowned. "Because it's common sense; we took you in when you had nowhere else to go, so it's expected that you-"

"Not that," Train interrupted. "Why didn't you tell me that you had amnesia?"

"Oh…" I had completely forgotten about that. "That… well… believe me, I was going to tell you. But there never seemed to be a right time and place for it."

"So you really don't remember anything?" Train asked.

I stared down at the grass. "No… nothing but a name and age… and now, I remember knowing Saya."

"So Creed knows you?" Train asked.

I shuttered at the thought. "I don't know… but I hope he was bluffing."

Train sat up and looked at me, the light from the setting sun reflected off his eyes, making the gold in his eyes more apparent. "You should've told me." Train said. "If we're working together, I deserve to know if my friend has amnesia or not."

"Friend…?" I was surprised.

"What? Why is that so surprising?"

I turned away from him. "I… I didn't think you thought of us as your friends. I always thought you only viewed us as people who could pay for your meals and let you sleep in the truck."

"Are you kidding me? You saved my life, twice." Train said. "I think that makes us friends."

I looked back at Train, and wished I hadn't. He was staring directly at me, and the sunset made him appear a lot more handsome than the last time I remembered. Oh god, why did I just think that?

"Well… I, uh…" I was struggling for words. "Well, I'm glad you think we're friends. But you really do owe Sven an apology."

"Right…" He looked towards the water. "And I also owe you an apology."

"I wasn't the one who got shot." I said.

"I meant I'm sorry about your condition." Train said. "It must be hard not remembering who you are."

I also stared at the water, hearing sirens in the distance. "It can be frustrating. But, I've made plenty of new, happy memories. So it isn't a total loss."

Train smiled. "Memories of Sven and you, I guess?"

"Sven, Eve, Annett, Rinslett, Saya, and you…" I said.

"I thought I always ticked you off."

"You do tick me off, but you have your moments."

"Really, like what?"

"Hmm…" I thought back. "How about when you saved me from falling to my death back at the botanical gardens…?"

"That's a good memory?"

"Well, it beats all the other times where you've wolfed down more food than humanly possible and almost messed up our Sweeper missions." I said. "Oh, and the time Sven clubbed you at Torneo's mansion, that was pretty awesome. But, yeah, other than that, that's pretty much it."

"Ugh, I need to step up my game then!" Train said. "Otherwise you'll just hate me forever!"

"I never said I hated you." I said. "You're more like a cat that can get annoying from time to time."

"And you, well…" Train trailed off. "Well, I can't say anything about you other than the fact that you pretty much are the person who keeps me in line, most of the time."

"Well, I guess I also need to be better." I said.

I felt him place a hand on my head and chuckle. "There's nothing wrong with you! It just helps if you'd stop and smell the roses sometimes."

I smiled. "We'll see…"

"Alright, tomorrow I'll apologize to Sven." Train said. "Because right now, I might end up in the ocean if I try to make up now."

"Good…" I said.

"Oh, and one more thing," Train said. "Thanks, for uh… coming after me, I guess." I looked at him; he was standing now, but his face was turned away from me. "If you didn't come after me, I probably would've been killed… so thanks."

I grinned. "Sure, cat boy."

The following morning, the sun rose on a broken Sanzers City. Sven was leaning against the same tree from yesterday when I woke up.

"I'm sorry for running off…" I said to him.

He looked over at me, surprised to see me awake this early. "You shouldn't be up so early. You're young, and you need sleep."

"I couldn't sleep, not with the thought that I was a part of the reason why you got hurt."

"Kirsten, you didn't run off after Creed." He said. "And besides, I can't stay angry at you."

"Really, not even a little bit?" I asked.

"Nope," He said, pouring himself a cup of coffee from a portable coffee pot and maker.

"Well, you should be at least miffed."

"You apologized, so you are forgiven." He said. "Don't worry about it, really. I was impaled just a few weeks ago, this is nothing."

Before I could say anything, a hand came from behind Sven's head and wacked him. Sven looked behind him. I did too, and saw Train leaning against the tree. "I'm hungry…" He said. We both stared at him with our mouths open agape. "But nothing special," Train continued. "You know; bacon, eggs, milk, and a side of toast would do me fine. And I won't even ask for dessert this time, okay?" He gave Sven a smile. I guess this was Train's way of apologizing.

Sven gave Train an evil smile. "You know, maybe I didn't punch you hard enough back there…" He then slugged Train in the face, again.

"Ow! That really hurt!" Train cried.

"Oh, that hurt?! Compared to the damn bullet lodged in my arm that was only a love tap!" Sven cried. Train reeled his arm backwards and then slugged Sven in the uninjured arm. "You're unbelievable, attacking an injured man!"

"Oh give me a break!"

The both of them spent a good few minutes beating the crap out of each other, until Rinslett and Eve woke up and had to separate the two.

"They're nuts…" Rinslett and Eve both said.

"Yeah, they are." I agreed.

But at least they were friends again.