Disclaimer: I do not own Black Cat or its characters

Sephiria sat in front of a large wall of television screens, flipping through the files Number X just placed on her desk. The various screens showed her multiple cities, everywhere she thought the Apostles might show up.

It's been six months and they've barely moved. The most that's happened is a replay of their previous videos, except they've been edited to remove Train as much as possible.

Sephiria knew that must have been a hard task to accomplish considering how much the Black Cat was featured in those videos. But, somehow they managed they cut him out, and Number One had a feeling Creed had nothing to do with it.

Creed would never cut Train out of anything. Even if the Black Cat left the Apostles like he said he was going to, there's no way Diskenth would ever remove Train from anything. He was too obsessed with him.

This made Sephiria believe the group was either falling apart, or slowly being taken over by someone else. She noticed a blonde man with a tall hat and a green haired woman she recognized as Echidna Parass had been appearing at the end of each video. The blonde man identified himself as Charden, and he seemed to be using Echidna in place of Train in hopes her fans would come crawling to join their organization.

So, they're trying to replace an underground celebrity with a pop star? That's an interesting choice. They will most definitely get more attention, but will it be the right kind of attention?

Echidna Parass was considered to be one of the most beautiful actresses in the world and her fanbase was huge and quite devoted, but Sephiria didn't think they were the kind of people that stood a chance against Chronos. The Black Cat's fans were mostly killers, which made them more of a threat and better allies for the Apostles to have in their ranks. However, Sephiria couldn't help but wonder what company the group may be welcoming with an actress as their icon.

I can't brush any new members off so casually, though. After all, fans have done crazy things for the people they worshipped. And I'm sure the Apostles will make use of anyone who's willing to join their ranks.

Sephiria also noticed how charismatic this Charden was. It was different from the charm Creed gave, but there was definitely something about him that the Chronos' leader could see people being drawn to. The biggest difference she noticed between the two was their dedication to the cause. Creed always came off as a bit personally disjointed from their goal, as if he didn't really care about the cause whereas Charden spoke with such passion and conviction she knew he wanted nothing more than to dismantle Chronos.

This made sense to her, since she knew Creed was only trying to take Chronos down for Train. Now that he was gone, chances were he had all but given up on their war, but the group wasn't ready to pass the leadership on to someone else. Sephiria thought she knew the reason for their hesitancy. They probably feared that changing leadership would make them look weak and drive people away instead of bringing them in. After all, who wants to dedicate their lives to a group that can't keep their leaders?

And it looks like they might have lost both Train and Creed. However, at this rate, they might not have a choice. If they keep being silent and still like this, the world will forget about them altogether and their whole organization will fall apart.

Sephiria knew Train leaving was the beginning of the end of Creed and she hoped that meant by proxy the Apostles, but she wasn't going to let down her guard yet. As long as there were people who opposed Chronos, it was her sacred duty to stop them at all costs. Chronos was necessary for the world to function orderly and peacefully and she refused to let them fall. She had given up her life for this belief, and she wasn't about to throw her hands up in defeat just because her enemies had been laying low entirely too long.

If they don't make a move soon, we'll be able to find them and destroy them while they're still weak. Clearly, they've lost both their leaders and are scrambling for members, so now is the best time to strike… We just need to find them.

This was the most infuriating part. No matter what she did or who they sent looking for them, Sephiria did not know where they were. The standstill the Apostles were at also created a standstill for Chronos.

I can't give up. We will find them. I'm sure of it…

She glanced through the papers Number X had given her and watched the screens on the television. She noticed the message Charden added at the end of Creed's usually just reinforced what the swordsman had said, but always felt more authentic. It was also strange watching the videos now and seeing Creed look to the side constantly at nothing. There were even a few times she could see Hades enter the screen which only reminded her they lost their strongest member.

They somehow made it too obvious Train left. I understand they still want to get their message across, but what are they waiting for? Do they really think Creed will move on from Train and they'll get back on track? Do they really think that madman has the ability to lead after the Black Cat left?

Losing the legendary assassin hurt them in more ways than one. She knew there must have been members that only joined because of the Black Cat and most likely left when he did. They also clearly lost their next strongest member since she had no doubt after seeing these new videos that Creed was utterly useless to the group.

I hate to say it, but at this point they need to just move on. As much as it might hurt their cause to see a new leader take over, they're no better off repeating their same messages from a man who is most likely broken beyond repair.

This thought reminded her of Train and she felt a bit of pity stab at her heart. When she last saw him six months ago, he was completely devastated. She had never seen the Black Cat look so pathetic and weak and honestly wished she had never seen it. After rewatching their old videos, Sephiria had a feeling what their relationship had become since they left Chronos. She was shocked when she put the pieces together, but mostly because she couldn't believe Train had ever grown any form of affection for the crazed man.

I know Creed would do anything to have Train in… that way, but I can't imagine how hard it was to convince Number XIII to return his feelings. Train was always so closed off to any emotions, which is what made him such a formidable assassin, but to actually make him feel something beyond kinship with another person is startling to me.

She also knew that must have had something to do with the sweeper girl. It wasn't until Saya Minatuski stepped in did Train started to be more in touch with his emotion. The irony of Creed killing the girl that essentially gave him Train for that year was not lost on her. If he had never killed her, Train would have still left Chronos, but might have gone with the girl instead of the swordsman. If Creed had never killed her, Train never would never have given him a second glance.

I'm just glad I was able to convince the Elders that the Black Cat is no longer a threat. It took a while, but they eventually caved and dropped the bounty for him.

However, Heartnet had been awfully quiet as well. She had no doubt he was hiding from Creed, but Sephiria made sure to have eyes on him as well, just in case he went against his word and returned to Creed and the Apostles. But, there was nothing. He was even quieter than the Apostles were. It was almost as if he had disappeared off the face of the planet.

I know the Black Cat is famous for being able to vanish without a trace, but we've always been able to track him. With the exception of when he joined Creed, we always knew where he was, even if he didn't think we did.

While she didn't necessarily need to know where Train was, she was only able to convince the Elders he wasn't a threat based on her promise that the numbers would keep an eye on him. However, with nothing to report to them, she was beginning to worry they would renege on their mercy and order her to find and kill him.

And I really don't want to kill the Black Cat…

"Have you found anything new, Number One?"

Sephiria didn't need to turn around to recognize who the voice belonged to. Belze always had a way of showing up when she was deep in somber thoughts. She didn't know if he did it on purpose, but it was always nice to have someone bring her back to reality before she could fall too deep into her own melancholy.

The swordswoman shook her head. "No. While Number X's research is valuable, it's still nothing more than we already had."

Belze stood next to her and eyed the documents, then glanced at the screen. "Have you been able to decipher the new messages from the Apostles?"

Sephira sighed and leaned back in her chair, looking at the screen with Number II. "Not much. The most I can work out is they are in the middle of a leadership change."

Belze nodded. "That's good, isn't it? That means they're vulnerable and most likely losing members due to the shift. I also can't imagine how many remain after the Black Cat left."

Sephiria couldn't help but smirk at the man. His reasoning was so similar to hers.

That's why the Elders made him Number II. We work better together than anyone other partnership in this group.

"I agree, but this Charden character doesn't appear to be much less of a threat than Diskenth. If anything, his dedication to take Chronos down is stronger than Creed's. And they've been showing off Echidna Parass to entice her fans into turning against Chronos and towards the Apostles."

Belze nodded. "Yes, but I don't think a few of Parass' fanboys will be anything we can't handle."

Sephiria smirked again at the likeness of their thoughts. "True, but I also wouldn't brush them aside so easily. You never know what kind of people will come out of the woodworks for celebrities. Besides, having the media turn against us won't be good."

Belze sighed and grabbed a stack of papers to look through himself. "Understood, Number One. Rest assured we won't let our guard down." He flipped through a few pages then changed the subject to Creed. "It makes sense they are going through a leadership change. We already knew Diskenth was worthless without Heartnet. He was never anything but trouble when the Black Cat wasn't around while they were with Chronos. I can't imagine what he's like right now."

Sephiria sighed. "I would imagine he's quite volatile, but he hasn't had Chronos'... Influence, shall we say, in over a year now. Who knows what he's like without that stimulus being injected in him."

Belze knew what she was talking about, but did not push the subject further. He knew it bothered his leader to talk about what Chronos did to its members, and she seemed stressed enough as it was. Reminding her of the levels the Elders sunk to to keep their more problematic assassins bloodthirsty would only make her job harder.

And right, now, her job is pretty damn hard.

He frowned at a particular document Shaolee had handed over and flipped through it quickly. "Who is Sven Volfied?"

Sephiria rewound the video she was watching and zoomed in during the edited portions of it. "He's a sweeper Heartnet has been friendly with. We've been keeping an eye on him just in case the Black Cat made contact with him."

Belze nodded in understanding. "And that girl with him?"

Sephiria leaned forward as she watched the tape for the hundredth time. "The bio-girl? She's a nanomachine infused girl that Volfied took in over a year ago. She's been traveling with him since. She's not a threat to Chronos."

She made sure to add that last part in before Number II could ask the question. Eve was another person that she had to convince the Elders wasn't a threat. As far as Number One could tell, she was a normal little girl with supernatural abilities and she only used those abilities on low grade criminals to help the sweeper out.

Sweepers are actually helpful to Chronos' cause. They lock up all the low level trash so Chronos can concentrate on bigger threats like the Apostles. They've even helped lead us to higher level criminals. That's why the Elder have us put out sweeps every so often.

This is why they currently had a reward out for Creed and his group. She didn't expect anyone to actually be capable of handing him in, but they might at least lead them in his direction. All in all, Sephiria appreciated the sweepers. They were a bigger help than she thought the rest of the world knew.

They may be a bunch of misfits, but they have their purpose in society.

Belze put those papers down in favor of another stack that was still related to Sven. "Shaolee has a lot of information on this sweeper and his child…."

Sephiria sighed. "Yes, he does. Number X has an interest with Hearnet, so he's been concentrating more on finding him than dealing with the Apostles."

This fact bothered her a little, but it was fine since the rest of the numbers worked harder to find Creed.

Belze eyed her wearily. "An… interest with Heartnet?"

Sephiria smiled at him, a gesture she found she could only show him. "Not exactly like Creed's interest in him. Shaolee is more of a… laid back fan of the Black Cat, but we both know Diskenth was obsessed with him."

"Is obsessed with him." Belze corrected as he took a seat next to her, deciding she could use an extra pair of eyes on these documents. He knew she must have been tired and there was a good chance she had missed something in her exhausted state.

I don't even remember the last time I saw her out of this room let alone rest. She's barely eaten either. Who knows, maybe I'll find something she's missed?

Still, he felt concerned for his leader, so he voiced his thoughts. "Sephiria… Why don't you rest for a bit. I can look through the rest of this and let you know what I find."

Sephiria felt herself smile at his worry for her, but shook her head. "No. I'm fine, Belze. But… Thank you…"

Number II frowned at her and took another stack of papers that sat unread in front of her. "Well, then at least let me read this new pile…"

Sephiria didn't stop him since she was too busy studying Charden. She had a feeling he was going to become a bigger threat than the Elders realized, and when that happened she wanted to be ready with knowledge of the man. The more she knew, the easier it would be to take him down.

I wish I knew what his powers were. I saw Creed and Train's in that battle we had, but not knowing this man's abilities has me more worried than having to deal with either of our ex-members. At least I knew what they had to offer.

"Sephiria… Have you seen this?"

The blonde woman turned to her second in command and cocked an eyebrow. He pushed a stack of papers together that showed a picture of the sweeper man reading a letter he had received in the mail. Sephiria looked at Belze curiously, not sure what he was implying.

The man smiled warmly at her. "I knew you were tired… Sephiria, look at his face…"

Number One glared at him quickly for his comment, then did as he requested. Sven looked shocked as he read the note, which intrigued Sephiria.

"Why does he look so interested in this letter?"

Belze pointed to the teen girl in the background. "This girl is Kyoko Kiraski, correct? The girl with a crush on Hearnet? The look on her face is utter delight, which leads me to believe the note is from a certain ex-assassin…"

Sephiria could have slapped herself at missing this picture. It was such clear evidence that Train had been in contact with the sweeper man. Kyoko had been traveling with them since Train's disappearance and this photo was several months old. Train must have been staying in contact with them while he was gone.

Belze looked at his leader's serious face and handed her the picture. "What are your orders, Sephiria?"

Number One stared at the picture, feeling relief at knowing Train was okay. But, she didn't think this actually changed anything. Their priority was still Creed and his organization. Hearnet was simply a side quest. Someone they needed to keep an eye on in case he joined Creed.

However…. If Train is in contact with this man, that means Diskenth will have his eyes the sweeper as well… So if we watch Volfied, we may find Train… Which will lead us to the Apostles…

Sephiria nodded and stood, feeling a surge of confidence she had not felt in a while.

"Order Number X to increase his investment in Sven Volfied. This may be the break we've been looking for…"

Shiki watched as one of his bugs entered the room, sighing when he knew it hadn't found the Black Cat. Creed had ordered him to send as many bugs as he could into the world to find the gunman, and Shiki was starting to lose his patience. None of his bugs were able to locate the cat, and the short Taoist knew Train didn't want to be found.

This is a complete waste of our time and resources. We should be focusing on taking down Chronos! Creed has been totally useless these last six months!

He was currently sitting in the common room of the same mansion they were in when the Black Cat left. Shiki was shocked Chronos still hadn't been able to locate them after all this time. It only gave credit to how good Creed actually was in his leadership skills, but he bug Taoist still had had enough of his obsession with Heartnet.

I swear, if it wasn't for Charden's convincing, I would have broken into Chronos headquarters and taken them down myself.

Over the last six months, Charden had stepped up and started to slowly take control of their group which Shiki was grateful for, but also hesitate about. He knew Creed had a certain charm about him that drew people to their group, but with the Black Cat's departure, he had become completely and utterly useless and that charm was nonexistent.

Pathetic. He's absolutely pathetic. We should have kicked him out that night the Black Cat left. It was made clear then who his allegiance was with.

The image of their leader sobbing in the mud was etched in his mind for all of eternity. Shiki had already thought Creed was a useless leader who was only trying to take down Chronos for Train, but that night confirmed it. The moment the Black Cat left, Shiki knew they had seen Creed's true colors and he didn't like them. The swordsman had done nothing but wallow in his own self pity since Train left, and the bug Taoist was growing tired with their plans to wait for him to recover.

He's not going to get over that damned cat. We may as well cut our losses and move on.

Still, he couldn't deny their need for Creed. Not only was he one of the most powerful members of their group, but his ingenious plans proved to work time and time again. He also couldn't deny their need for Train either. The presence of the Black Cat brought in a strong Shooting Star's group, and Hearntet himself was not a foe to be reckoned with. Especially after that night when they saw how the cat's abilities had leveled up, Shiki couldn't deny having Heartnet on their side was a huge benefit to their cause.

The members Echidna's presence has enticed haven't been ideal. They pretty much just follow her around all day, but there have been a few useful members that joined because of her. However, the people that came to see the Black Cat were more desirable, so I can't deny we could use him for that.

This is why he agreed with Charden when he said they needed the Black Cat. Not only would Heartner's presence bring Creed out of his hole, but their organization would be stronger for it. It was an undeniable fact that they were better off with both Creed and Train working together, but Shiki couldn't shake the feeling that the cat wouldn't be coming back.

Not with the way he left. He wanted Creed dead. And I doubt that will change even after six months.

It also didn't help that the gunman had completely disappeared. Creed had him constantly searching and Charden encouraged this, since he believed they needed both men in order to be successful. However, Shiki couldn't help but think it was about time the blood Taoist just took over so they could progress with their plans. He was getting sick of editing the Black Cat out of videos and sitting still while they searched for the Train to soothe Creed's aching heart.

So pathetic… I can't believe I was foolish enough to follow a man who was so completely enamoured with another man that he would be totally worthless without him.

"So… What's next?"

Shiki's thoughts were interrupted by Eathes who was sitting lazily on a large chair, staring out a window dully.

Shiki sighed and crossed his arms as he stared out the same window. "Why not ask our de facto leader? He seems to have all the answers right now anyway…"

Charden laughed sarcastically as he sipped his tea, deep in thought as Echidna took a seat next to him, rubbing his shoulder tenderly. He smiled at the actress, then turned back to the rest of his group that looked all but defeated. The blood Taoist knew Shiki had grown tired of their rested state, Eathes bored beyond belief and Leon and Durham had all but checked out due to their inactivity. Maro was just as bad as Shiki, if not worse, and Doctor was constantly locked away in his lab, claiming he could have an answer to their problem if they just gave him time. That was one of the reasons Charden chose to stay still, no matter how much it bothered him as well.

I can't deny we are weak without Creed and Train… But I also can't ignore the fact that the Black Cat will most likely not be returning and if he does not, Creed will never emerge from his hole.

Charden stirred his tea and looked up, knowing the silver man was sitting in Train's room, wallowing in his own self pity, staring at the crystal ball Shiki had given him out of frustration of constantly being asked where Train was. There was no doubt in the blonde man's mind that their leader was crying wildly as he waited to see his beloved partner's face appear in the ball.

It's hard to believe I ever respected the man enough to follow him… He's truly insignifiant without the Black Cat.

Charden sipped his tea again and decided to finally answer the question seeing as all eyes were on him. He sighed and put his mug down, addressing the rest of the group as he spoke.

"Has there been any word on the Black Cat's location?"

Shiki growled. "No. You know I would tell you if there was…"

Charden nodded cordially at him, then crossed his legs as he leaned back in the chair Creed used to always sit in. He clasped his hands together, glancing at Echidna for strength before he said his next words.

"...I don't know how much longer we can wait for Creed to recover before we make our next move."

Durham made a relieved noise and stoof quickly. "Finally! Where are we going to hit next?"

Charden gestured for him to sit and remained calm as Shiki growled again. "There is no solid plan yet. I'm just voicing our need to make a move soon. If we plan on taking Chrono down, we can't just keep sending out edited videos."

Maro punched the wall he leaned against. "That's what Shiki and I have been saying! Creed is useless without the Black Cat! We need to move on without them both."

Charden gave him a warning glare, knowing it didn't work as well as Train or Creed's did, but knowing it was the best he could do. He had learned to try and lead with his logic and charm rather than the fear like his previous leaders did. He didn't have that killer instinct in him, but he found that his intelligence seemed to be enough to control the group at least to some extent.

"Maro… You know if we come right out and say the Black Cat left and Creed is meaningless without him, we'll not only lose more members than we already have, but we'll shoot ourselves in the foot. We need to make it look like Creed and Train willingly handed control over to someone else, and we can't do that so carelessly."

This time Shiki growled. "We all know that leader is going to be you. Just take control already so we can get moving!"

Charden glared at him this time. "Did you not just hear what I said? That's a ludicrous plan. We need to wait a little longer. Otherwise we'll look weak."

Eathes groaned loudly. "But it's been six months. How is that not long enough?!"

Charden sighed, realizing this group of eccentrics was harder to deal with than Train or Creed made it look.

They both really had a way with leading the group, I can't refute that.

"Trust me, I understand the frustration of sitting still far more than you realize. I seek the destruction of Chronos just as much as the rest of you, but I won't jeopardize the group to feed my own desire. Doctor says he has something that could potentially narrow down the location and find the Black Cat, and I believe after we talk to him, we'll know what our next steps should be."

Shiki rolled his eyes. "The Black Cat isn't coming back. Creed and Doctor both need to get over it."

Eathes sighed. "I hate to agree with the munchkin, but he's right. As much as I'd love to see his new abilities, Heartnet isn't coming back."

Charden ignored the argument that broke out between the monkey and the bug Taoist in favor of Eathes statement. That night when Train left, he showed signs of a far stronger ability than just telekinetic. The blood Taoist knew the Black Cat's abilities were only just awakening at that point. By now, he had probably perfected them to an inconceivable level. By now, he was probably an unstoppable force, which is why it was so easy for him to hide.

The Black Cat was always a foe to be reckoned with, but I can't imagine what he's capable of now. He's had six months to perfect his ability, which is more than enough time for a man like Train Heartnet to become invincible.

"I prefer not to think about the Black Cat's new ability. If he is going to return and come for us, I'd rather not think about what he's become capable of…"

Maro's words reflect Charden's thoughts pretty well, but not perfectly. "On the contrary, if Hearnet is coming back to take his revenge on Creed, we need to know what his abilities are. That way we know better what we're dealing with."

Echidna smiled at Charden and nodded. "The better we know our enemy, the better we can prepare."

The blood Taoist returned her smile. He was happy to see she had stepped farther away from Creed. He cared a lot for the woman, but he knew about her fixation on the swordsman. He knew it was still there, since she always went running to the broken man whenever he called, tending to his needs. Echidna never hesitated to be there for Creed, and Charden could only hope she would soon realize how futile those affections were. Train's escape was only further proof of Creed's devotion to the man. He hadn't thought of anything outside of finding Train since he left.

Which makes him all the more useless. I don't know why this enchanting woman wastes her charm on such a love struck man.

Charden knew he had a special place in her heart as well, but it still wasn't quite what he wanted. However, he was willing to wait for her full attention. He knew she was worth the wait, so he wasn't going to give up just because she couldn't quite get over their hopelessly devoted leader.

She's getting there. One day, she'll see how unwise her feelings were and move on from the man. It'll be for her own good. She's only hurting herself in the meantime.

Shiki sighed and finally turned away from the window to face the rest of the group. "Fine. We wait for Doctor. In the meantime, can we at least make a new video featuring you and Echidna? I'm getting sick of editing the Black Cat out of videos and hearing Creed's retired and empty promises of change…"

Shiki knew now that everything Creed had said to convince him to join the group was a lie. He was only ever doing it for Train, and now that the cat was gone, the swordsman had no reason to live let alone fight Chronos.

Charden rubbed his eyes and removed his glasses, allowing the group a glance at what he truly looked like. "Almost… I think we should use clips of Creed in new videos, but I will certainly say more against Chronos and what our plans are for defeating them. Echidna, are you comfortable recording more videos with me?"

He always wanted to make sure she was on board with his plans. He didn't want to do anything she was uncomfortable with or she felt might hurt her image. So far, her fans and the media had been nothing but supportive, and his plan to become mainstream buy using a pop icon was working. The Apostles had become a popular figurehead, which worked more to their advantage than he thought the rest of the group realized.

Echidna looked at his slightly exposed face and blushed, turning away quickly. "Yes. Whatever it takes to bring Chronos down."

Charden smiled at her and replaced his glasses. He knew his classic good looks would sway the woman away from Creed and towards himself, but the last thing he wanted to do was manipulate her. He wanted her feelings for him to be true, so he wasn't going to use his natural beauty to persuade her.

She'll get there. She gets closer and closer every day. She hasn't even mentioned Creed in three days.

Charden nodded and turned to Shiki. "I know it's not much, but it's a start. With or without Creed, we'll be making a move soon. I'm sure of it."

We can't wait much longer anyway…

Shiki sighed in frustration, but nodded in agreement. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew Charden was right. Before they pulled completely away from Creed, they needed to know for sure he was tapped out of their organization. Once they knew that, they could come up with a proper plan as to why they changed leaders and move forward with their goal to destroy Chronos.

I also can't deny it would be good to know if the Black Cat intends to attack us. Especially after seeing his new abilities come to life, it would be good to know whether or not he intends on seeking his revenge against Creed. He was a formidable foe before… But now I don't know if even all of us could take him on at once.

"Can we get back on the subject of what Hearntet's abilities are? We all thought it was telekinetic, but after that night… I'm at a loss and curiosity is killing me!" Eathes sat up a little, hoping someone would join him in his inquisitiveness.

"If I had to guess, I'd say something to do with weather control. He was practically on fire with electricity, and the storm was only focused around Creed." Shiki said, sitting on the arm of the chair the monkey Taoist sat in.

Maro nodded in agreement. "That storm was not a coincidence, that was the Black Cat taking out his rage on Creed."

Echidna entered the conversation this time. "Do you think it connects to his emotions? Similar to Creed's Imagine Blade?"

"How astute of you, Ms. Parass! You hit the nail right on the head."

The entire group turned to see Doctor standing in the doorway, adjusting his glasses as he smirked at the actress.

Shiki sighed in relief. "Finally! I was starting to think you died down there! Any updates on tracking down the Black Cat?" As much as he hated to admit it, he agreed with Charden that they needed to know where he was and what he was capable of.

The Black Cat was not an ideal emeny to have in the first place, but now…. I don't know if we can defeat him if he decides to come after us…

Doctor glanced at the short Taoist and threw another smirk at him, then sat leaned against the doorway. "I haven't found him yet, but I may have found a way to track him down."

The scientist felt all of the groups' prying eyes on him and he crossed his arms as he spoke. "I'm not sure how happy you'll be to see what my studies have led me to, though…"

Shiki punched the arm of the chair he sat on. "Don't pull that one, Doctor! Have you found something or not?!"

Doctor glanced at him again, then looked at Charden, as if asking for permission. "Are you sure? It's not for the faint of heart…"

Charden sighed and gestured for him to continue. "At this point, Doctor, I don't think we have the moral high ground to stand on against your experiments. What do you have?"

Doctor nodded and stepped into the room a little, making a gesture with his hand behind his back, causing Charden to raise an eyebrow and wonder if he had done the right thing by asking the Doctor to continue.

Or even if it was the right thing to put him in charge of finding the Black Cat. We all know his sick interest in Heartnet.

"As you all know, I was intent on conducting experiments on the Black Cat, but Creed would not let me near him…"

Maro rolled his eyes. "Heartnet didn't want anything to do with you either."

Doctor smiled at the large man, ignoring the fact that he was unable to make the gesture look sincere. "Correct. However, I was able to get my hands on enough of his DNA to make something that might be able to track him down."

Shiki shook in disgust. "His DNA sample?! I don't think I want to know how you got that…"

Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "It's really not difficult. All of your DNA is floating all over this mansion. If the technology existed, I could clone all of you a thousand times over."

There was something about the way the man said that sentence that did not sit well with Shiki. As if Doctor did have the technology to clone them all, and very well may have at this point.

Whether he's done it or not, it's unsettling enough that he most likely has all of our DNA samples set aside… Just in case.

He chose not to think about what the case would be to use these samples and instead eyed the scientist to continue.

"As I was saying…" Doctor looked at Shiki to see if he was going to interrupt again. Seeing he wasn't he continued. "I was able to gather enough for the Black Cat's DNA and was able to confirm that yes indeed, he does have weather controlling abilities that are linked to his emotions. I think it's easy to figure out what weather he creates with his emotions based on his interaction with Creed that night."

The group nodded, but Eathes still seemed confused. "I know what the rain, thunder, and lightning was about. But what about the fog?"

He remembered Creed being shrouded in fog, which was the only thing he couldn't work out what it meant.

Charden answered that for Doctor. "Probably something along the line of being left in obscurity. Creed had been lying to him for a year, so the Black Cat must have had that lie in his mind which created the fog."

Doctor smiled at the blood Taoist. "Correct. What we thought were telekinetic powers were really Heartnet controlling the atmosphere around an object or a person. Similar to Leon's wind control, except the Black Cat's powers go far beyond that."

Leon growled at the belittling statement. "My powers are not weak…"

Doctor looked at him curiously. "I don't think that's what I said or implied. I'm simply stating that Train's powers go beyond just wind control. I don't think you can deny that's a whole other level than what you can do."

The kid grumbled under his breath, but did not fight the man. He knew he was right, but didn't want to voice it.

"Great, so now we know what he can do, but can we get back to tracking him down?" Shiki didn't think there needed to be more talk on what the Black Cat could do. They already knew he most likely mastered his abilities by now, so he didn't see the point discussing them further.

Now we know how to better prepare ourselves for an attack against him, but I want to know when that attack might happen.

Doctor nodded at the short Taoist and continued. "Well, I also don't know if you are aware I tracked down the man who was originally going to give us access to nanomachines and was able to get a hold of them as well."

Shiki growled. "So… We are using nanotechnology now…?" He turned slowly to Charden as if he approved this.

The blood Taoist did not look at him, but answered his question. "Seeing as we lost our strongest member and our only remaining leader is essentially incapacitated, we could use the extra power. Doctor only plans on using them for his experiments, so don't lose your cool too much." Now he turned to face the bug Taoist. "Added to that, the Black Cat is now our enemy. We need to use whatever we can get our hands on to defend ourselves against him. He knows all of our abilities far too well, but we've only seen a glimpse of his. We need to have something he isn't expecting if we're going to fight him."

Shiki growled again, but decided not to fight. He couldn't deny that losing the Black Cat was a hard hit and Charden was right in having a new weapon that Train doesn't know about to fight against would be helpful.

Plus, as long as Creed stays as pathetic and weak as he has been, we've lost another strong member and therefore need the manpower to make up for it.

"If it's only to develop new weapons, then I can't see the harm in using it…" Shiki shared a look with Maro who also didn't look comfortable with this, but seemed to agree with Shiki's internal reasoning.

Doctor nodded. "Yes. I will be able to make great use of this technology. We will have many powerful weapons soon." He gave Charden a grateful look, then tried to get back on track again with his original purpose for leaving his lab.

"Moving on. With both Heartnet's DNA and nanotechnology, I was able to create something that might be able to track the Black Cat down…"

He stepped aside and gestured for something to enter the room from behind him. Charden's eyes widened and Echidna gripped his arm at what they saw. Shiki jumped up and readied a seal while Maro took a fighting stand behind him. Leon floated himself in the air, Durham aimed his gun, and Eathes sat up and gawked at the creature, pointing a shaky finger at it.

"IS THAT A PANTHER?!"

The monkey's word really was the best way to describe the creature. It looked exactly like a panther, except at least three times as big. The Apostles weren't sure how they missed such a large beast standing behind the scientist, but Kanzaki was able to answer their unspoken questions, along with Eathes verbalized one.

"In a sense, yes. I actually got her from the same zoo Creed found you at, Eathes. Do you recognize her?"

The monkey glared at Doctor, then turned his eyes back on the creature, just in case it decided to attack him.

"This is Aja, and you could say she has a… special connection with the Black Cat."

Charden shook his head in response to the scientist's statement. "You don't mean…"

Doctor smirked at him and put a hand on the panther, which nearly towered over him. "Yes. With a combination of Heartnet's DNA and nanomachines, I believe Aja will be able to sense where the Black Cat is or has been. She shares the same thoughts and instincts Train does, along with some of his abilities."

Kanzaki could see Charden's interest peak and the man adjusted his glasses and removed his hand from the creature.

"Aja, blitz." (1)

At Doctor's command, the panther disappeared with a flash of lightning then reappeared on the opposite end of the Apostles. The group jumped at the change in her position, Shiki and Maro changing their fighting stance to face the creature in her new position.

Doctor snickered and approached Aja, scratching under her chin as he gave another command.

"Aja, zusammen." (2)

This time when the flash occurred, Doctor vanished with her and appeared back at the doorway they were originally standing. The Apostles were dumbstruck, unable to say anything as Kanzaki cooed at the creature, scratching behind her ear as Aja purred at the affection she was being given. None of the rest of the group were able to comprehend Doctor's softness towards the panther or the creature's enjoyment of said softness.

Feeling the eyes on him and hearing the silence of the room, Doctor turned to his comrades and smirked widely. "She only seems to be able to use the lightning ability Train exhibited six months ago, but this means we now have two members who can transport us wherever we want to go."

"I understand the need for Heartnet's DNA, but what do the nanomachines do?" Echidna asked as she kept her hand tight on Charden's arm.

Doctor smirked, pulled out a knife and stabbed her. Aja roared in pain, but calmed down quickly as the Doctor spoke soothing German words to her. Within seconds, the wound healed up and disappeared as if it had never been there.

He smiled back at the group. "They also combined quite well with Train's DNA which seem to further increase her instinct and connection with him."

The willingness Train's DNA took to the nanomachines only makes me want to get my hands on him even more.

Echidna blinked. "How… How do you know she can bring you anywhere?"

Doctor smirked at her. "I've already tried it. It leaves you feeling a bit warm with minor nausea, but it works beautifully."

"Does she talk?!" Eathes asked this time, peeking his head out from behind the large chair he sat in.

"No." Doctor shook his head. "She understands my commands, but she does not understand anything else, nor can she verbally respond. I have a feeling she gets the general idea of what is happening around her and can speak through her body language like most animals do, but she cannot speak."

That seemed to calm Eathes down as he sighed in relief. Shiki lowered his seal a little and asked his own question.

"What language were those commands in?"

"German." Doctor said simply as he stroked the panther next to him. "Both Creed and Train speak multiple languages, but I think other than English, German must be Heartnet's strongest one, since that was the only language I could use to get her to respond to my commands."

Charden decided it was time to say something as well. "Doctor… Why do you think this… creature can track down the Black Cat?"

Doctor turned to him, happy to be back on their original subject. "As I stated, she shares a lot of Heartnet's instincts. I believe if you allow me to travel with her freely, she might eventually bring us to wherever Train is hiding."

Charden was hesitant, but nodded in understanding. "What will you do after you've found him?"

"Bring him back here, of course."

The rest of the group jumped at the question.

"What?!" Shiki said, gawking at the scientist.

Kanzaki nodded his head. "What else would I do? Don't we want to talk to him? To see what his intentions are with our group? To see if he can bring Creed out of his despair?"

"You don't actually think he'll come back willingly, do you?" Maro said, cocking an eyebrow at the man.

Doctor shook his head. "No. I don't think he'll ever have any intention of rejoining us, but we still want to know what he's thinking, don't we?"

Durham rolled his eyes. "Can't you just read that creature's thoughts to find that out?"

The scientist turned towards the gunman as he spoke. "While she shares similar thoughts to Heartnet, they are not the same being. Aja has her own will and can't simply read the Black Cat's mind."

"Then why do you think she'll be able to track Heartnet down?" Maro asked, relaxing his fighting stance.

Doctor sighed and rubbed his eyes. Aja seemed to sense his frustration and rubbed against him lightly. Kanzaki scratched her head and answered the large man's question.

"As I stated several times now, they have the same instincts. I'm not one-hundred percent positive about this, but it's worth a try, isn't it?"

Charden watched as Doctor turned to him at this question, sighed, and nodded his head. "Yes… I would have to agree. But if you bring him back here, then we need to make sure we have a room prepared to talk to him. He's not going to talk willingly…"

Doctor nodded at their de facto leader. "Of course, and I've already prepared that. There's a room in my lab I made specifically for the Black Cat."

Shiki rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised at that?" He turned to Charden as he said these next words. "And what do we do if the Black Cat does intend to take his revenge out on all of us?"

Charden looked at the short Taoist from the corner of his eye. "Dispose of him, of course. And what better place to do that than in our own home? In a room Doctor has made specifically to restrain the cat?"

Shiki folded his arms. "Why not just dispose of him no matter what his intentions are?"

Doctor answered that question for him. "Because if we can avoid fighting the Black Cat, especially now that he's had all this time to stew and perfect his abilities, I think that would be wise." He looked at Charden to see if he agreed. When the blonde man nodded his head, Kanzaki turned to face him fully. "May I begin my search now?"

Charden sighed then nodded. "Take Shiki and Maro with you. While they didn't have the best relationship with Train when he was here, they are the most equipped to deal with him."

Charden put up a hand to Durham who was about to protest, signalling him to stop before he even got started. Shiki nodded and approached the large cat, eyeing Doctor wearily. Kanzaki smirked and nodded reassuringly.

"She won't hurt you, Shiki. She recognizes everyone in this group as part of her pact. I made sure to embed you all on her before bringing her up here."

The short Taoist looked at Maro and gestured for him to stand with the creature as well. Maro was the only one in the room who was almost as tall as the creature, yet he was still uneasy with the situation. Doctor waited for both men to put a hand on her, then gave the command for her to transport them somewhere in the world the Black Cat might be.

Charden watched the spot they vanished from, noticing the sparks that floated in the air, then died off slowly. After a few minutes, he waved for the rest of the group to go about their day, but held Echidna's hand so she would stay. The actress blinked at the blood Taoist, sitting back down next to him.

"Yes?" She asked curiously, not sure what he could possibly still have to talk about.

Charden was quiet for a second, then decided to speak to her bluntly. "Do you still think we need Creed to take Chronos down?"

Echidna blinked at the man, not sure how to answer the question. There was a part of her that was hurt seeing their leader so destroyed, but there was another part of her that couldn't believe she ever had affections for a man who was so utterly useless without the Black Cat.

However, I can't ignore how strong he is. I'm actually surprised he's still here. I know Hearntet told him not to follow, but that never seemed to stop him before…

She was grateful he was still with them, since she didn't want to have to fight both Creed and the Black Cat, but she also had a feeling it was only a matter of time before it became too much for the swordsman and he abandoned them completely.

She looked at Charden and sighed, knowing his question meant more than just if the Apostles needed Creed. He was also trying to gage her feelings for the man. Echidna knew she cared about Creed, but she couldn't deny her feelings had changed. After all, it was hard to keep a flame alive for a man who was so obviously and pathetically in love with someone else. Creed had shown his true colors these last six months, and Echidna didn't like them.

"That's a hard question to answer, Charden…. Creed is… very strong. And I think we can both agree he has a way of swaying people."

Echidna waited to see his response, then continued once she saw the man nod.

"We were at our strongest when both he and Heartnet were working together and I know even without the Black Cat we could still be a force Chronos wouldn't want to reckoned with, but… I don't know what our future will be without Creed."

Charden nodded in agreement and gestured for her to continue. Echidna sighed and put a hand on the man's shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"However, I also know Creed's goals for starting the Apostles have now been made clear. He never had any personal vendetta against them, he was just doing it for Train. And now that Train is gone… I don't know how much longer he'll stick around."

"Yes, but as you said, he is strong. Probably our strongest member now and if he goes against us, we will have to deal with both the Black Cat and Creed…"

Echidna nodded. "My thoughts exactly. As much as I hate to admit it, we could still use the Black Cat's strength as well, but I don't think he'll be joining us again no matter what. But… If we could somehow convince Creed…"

"Will you be prepared to fight Creed if it comes to that?"

Echidna froze for a second at his question, then nodded. "Yes. I will fight Creed if it means the destruction of Chronos."

Charden smiled, happy to see she was on the same page as him with regards to their broken hearted leader. "You know how we've been discussing how much Creed has changed since forming this group?" Echidna nodded and he continued. "And right now, is he acting as you thought he would if the Black Cat left?"

Echidna frowned and looked up, knowing the swordsman was locked in Train's room, most likely sobbing uncontrollably as he watched the crystal ball Shiki gave him.

"No. I would have expected him to go on a killing spree. It's almost as if the killer in him is completely gone."

"My thoughts exactly… But one thing we never talked about was Heartnet's change in personality." Charden leaned back in his chair and folded his hands together. "When he was here, didn't you notice while he still made threats and had that deadly look about him, he never actually killed anyone?"

Echidna's eyes widened a little at the thought. "Yes… That's true. In fact, I think he actually saved more people than he hurt."

She remembered Creed telling her about the cat saving that bio-girl and thief at Freesia's birthday party, and she also remembered on several occasions when they were out causing havoc, Train made sure no one was harmed or killed. She always thought it was strange to see the legendary assassin act so kindly towards people, but she saw it time and time again.

Charden smirked as he watched the woman's face, knowing she was piecing together the same thing he had. "While I believe the Black Cat's presence certainly helped soften Creed, I have a feeling there's something more behind it. Like you said, Heartnet is gone, yet Creed is still showing no signs of murderous rage."

Echidna studied the handsome man's face and nodded again. "And I believe that sweeper girl softened the Black Cat, but the killer inside of him was gone before we even started this group and she's dead." She smiled at Charden, impressed with his intelligence.

Charden returned her smile and patted the hand she still had on his arm. "I have a feeling Chronos has something to do with it. They had to be giving their assassins something to keep them so bloodthirsty, don't you think?"

"Yes. I can't imagine keeping that many killers under control is easy. They must be doing something extra to keep them in line…"

The blood Taoist stood and straightened his clothes. "I think while Doctor, Shiki, and Maro are off cat hunting, we should do a little research of our own. Who knows, maybe we'll find a way to control Creed that doesn't involve the Black Cat." He turned to the woman and offered him her arm. "My dear?"

Echidna smiled at the blonde man and took his arm, then opened a portal for the two of them. They walked through together, feeling a new determination as they began their first movements in what felt like ages.

"Oooh! Is that from Tra-"

Sven slapped his hand over the teen's face, learning quickly that was the only way to shut her up. He could see why Train was so annoyed with her and he couldn't imagine how much worse it was for the gunman considering her infuriating crush on him.

The green haired man shot her a warning look as he let her go. "How many times do I have to tell you not to say his name when we're outdoors? You know how many people are looking for him right now."

Sven watched as a strange looking bug flew by his head and he shoved the letter in his jacket. These bugs had been following them for the last six months and the sweeper had a feeling it had something to do with Train. However, no one had made a move against them during the time the ex-assassin had been gone, which told Sven that they didn't want to hurt him, Eve, or even Kyoko. They just simply wanted to know where Train was.

Well, even if they do show up demanding to know where he is, I won't be able to tell them. Train's letters never say where he is and I don't think he'll tell me even if I asked.

Sven didn't want to mention to the girl that he had actually seen Train about once a month. Whether he wanted to or not, the Black Cat would use his lightning ability to transport them to a hole in the wall diner, demanding lunch and company.

He even roped Eve in a few times. While it's nice seeing him, I wish he'd give us some warning.

But he knew why Train didn't. It was the same reason why, even when they saw the cat in person, he wouldn't tell them where he was going or where he had been. He always said he just wanted to see friendly faces, then disappear as quickly as he had appeared.

So no matter what, I don't know where he is.

Kyoko whined as she followed the older man back into their hideout, throwing herself on the couch as she complained into a pillow.

"But I miss Kuro-samaaaaa!"

Sven rolled his eyes and read the note that was indeed from Train. He sent them letters about twice a month, just to let Sven know he was okay. Six months ago when he told Train what Creed had done, the gunman confronted his ex-partner and then returned to ask Sven to watch Kyoko for a little longer while he continued searching for whatever he was looking for outside of Chronos and the Apostles.

How could I say no to such a request? As annoying as she is, she is just an innocent kid who got wrapped up in something far beyond her understanding. Not to mention she actually is pretty useful in gathering sweeps.

Kyoko had been traveling with them and helping collect sweeps. It was nice having an extra pair of hands to catch the bad guy, but he could really do without the girl's constant complaints.

"Why couldn't I go with Kuro-sama? Why do I have to stay here?!"

Sven sighed and put the note away, seeing it was just another check in from Train. "You know damn well why. There are more people after Train than there are after us."

Kyko pouted as she rolled on her back, crossing her arms as she stared angrily at the ceiling. "Kuro-sama could protect me… Kuro-sama could protect me better than anyone else!"

Sven growled quietly at the girl and stepped to the kitchen, getting himself a drink and smiling at Eve as she read peacefully in the dining area. Before Sven could answer her question, Eve spoke first.

"Train's ability to protect you is besides the point. The Black Cat is being trialed not only by Chronos, but by the Apostles of the Stars as well. As strong as he may be, he can't defend himself against both groups and protect you."

Sven smiled at the girl. She had really grown up since he saved her a year and a half ago and was happy she was much more understanding of the situation than Kyoko was. The bio-girl also didn't seem to be as annoyed with her as Sven was, which was nice since Eve often had to step in to calm Sven down before he choked the girl or kicked her out.

Kyoko whined again and sat up, turning towards Sven as he drank his coffee silently. "Was the letter from Kuro-sama?"

Sven rolled his eyes and flicked the letter at her. "Just read it yourself. He doesn't mention you at all, I don't know why you insist on reading everything he says."

Kyko caught it quickly and squeezed it to her chest, as if it was Train himself. "Kyoko doesn't care. She just wants to know Kuro-sama is okay!"

"And my word isn't enough?" Sven said, his eyebrow twitching.

The teen opened the letter and shook her head. "No. You might lie to Kyoko so she won't lose her mind and set something on fire."

Sven sighed and rubbed his eyes. "You haven't used your ability since Train left. What reason do I have to believe you'd use it now?"

Kyoko shrugged her shoulders and laid back on the couch, humming happily about her crush as she read his note over and over again.

Before Train left, he made Kyoko promise not to use her abilities. Not only did he not want her to hurt or kill anyone unnecessarily, but Train also knew if word got out that a girl breathing fire was collecting sweeps, that would just be asking for Chronos and the Apostles to find them. The only time Train said she could use her fire breath was if someone from the Apostles or Chronos attacked them.

Well, we do know the Apostles are already looking. I know these bugs have to be a product of the Apostles. What I don't understand is why they haven't made a move yet?

He had a feeling they only planned on making a move if Train showed up, which he had not. Wherever he was hiding, it must have been good. Otherwise, these bugs would have gone away and stalked the man they were actually looking for.

Sven knew Creed had no interest in him or his friends. He was just the only connection the madman had to Train, so he probably thought if he followed Sven long enough, Train would show up and he could finally make his move to whisk the cat away.

And I have no doubt that's what Creed's plans are. After seeing Train that night, they definitely had some kind of relationship with each other and I'm sure Creed isn't happy about Train's disappearance.

The sweeper offered for Train to tag along with them, but the gunman declined. At least for now. He made it sound like he was going to come back, he just didn't know when. Sven could tell when he left he needed some time alone to figure things out, but the green haired man was starting to get worried.

I know he can take care of himself and as long as these bugs are around that means Creed hasn't found him… But what about Chronos?

Train reassured him that Chronos wasn't after him anymore, but Sven knew from the tone of his voice the cat wasn't totally convinced yet. This was another one of the reasons he wanted to disappear for a while. He needed to work through some stuff in his head, but also wanted to see if Chronos was indeed going to leave him alone.

And while I'm sure Creed has the resources to track him down, Chronos has even more at their disposal and if they don't come for him after all this time, that must mean Sephiria was staying true to her word.

It was a long conversation they had before Train left, so Sven was able to learn a lot about Chronos and the Apostle. Train made sure to tell him about every member of both groups abilities, strength, and weapons, just in case he ever had to deal with them. Train also made sure to tell them their weaknesses, and Sven was thankful for it.

However, that doesn't mean I want to deal with any of them. Hopefully they'll continue staying away and Train can continue to be safe.

Sven was honestly surprised how much he cared for the ex-assassin. He couldn't explain it, but he felt a sort of brotherly protection for the man. Which was strange considering he was the infamous Black Cat and could take care of himself.

Still… He looked so… broken when he left. The look in his eyes was angry, but also defeated. As if he had just lost a battle he had no idea he was in.

A knock at the door brought his attention away from his thoughts. Before he could react, Kyoko leapt off the couch and ran to whoever it was.

Sven sighed. "You know it's not going to be-"

"KURO-SAMA!"

Sven's heart skipped a beat and felt himself moving forward, being convinced by the girl's tone of voice that it actually was Train even though he knew it most likely wasn't.

Rinslet face palmed and shoved past the girl. "Why do you always think it's that cat?"

Kyoko pouted and threw herself back on the couch, whining once more about her missing crush. "Oooh, Kuro-sama where are yooooou?!"

Sven sighed and walked back over to the kitchen to finish his coffee. "Rinslet is right, Kyoko. Stop answering the door like that. You got my hopes up too."

The sweeper noticed Eve had put her book down as well and made a move to stand. He smirked when he saw the girl frown and sit back down. She never wanted to admit she cared about the cat, but Sven knew she did.

Rinset looked offended at the people in the room as they all grimaced over the fact that she was not Train. "Jeeze, sor-ry I'm not your precious Black Cat. Do you really think he'd just knock on the front door anyway?"

The thief hadn't only met the ex-assassin once very briefly, but she could tell he had left a big whole in their hearts. "What's so special about him anyway?"

Kyoko glared at her from the couch and allowed a little fire to escape her mouth. "Watch your mouth. Don't talk illy about Kuro-sama…"

Rinslet rolled her eyes again and flicked the girl's forehead, knowing full well she wasn't going to hurt her. "Oh, come on. You know what I mean. Why are you waiting so eagerly for him to come back? Why do you even think he will? I sure as hell would stay hidden if two secret organizations were looking for me."

Sven finished his coffee and put his mug down. "Chronos isn't actually looking for him. They're just keeping an eye on him."

"Sure. Whatever. Doesn't change that I wouldn't want to be found by either one of them if I were him."

Eve glanced at Rinslet over her book. "Aren't you dating a Chronos number?"

Rinslet blushed brightly and stared down at the girl. "Jenos and I are not dating. I'm just using him to get information for all of us."

Kyoko pointed at her face. "Rinslet-san is dating a Chronos number?! Which number, which number!?"

Rinslet smacked her on the head. "I already said I'm not! And even if I did, what would it matter? You already said they're not a threat."

Sven shrugged his shoulders and sat at the table across from Eve. "It doesn't, and your romantic life is none of our business."

He gave Kyoko another warning looking and the teen stuck her tongue out at him, laying back down on the couch as he looked at her phone aimlessly.

"When's our next sweep anyway? I'm starting to get bored…" Kyoko flipped through some pictures she had of Train, smiling happily at each image of her crush.

"That's actually what I'm here for!" Rinslet said as she slammed a picture of a strange looking man on the table Sven and Eve sat it. "This is Ray Leggan. There's quite a high price for him and I need your help in tracking him down."

Sven took the poster and read over the details of his case. "Jeeze, he's robbed five banks successfully?"

Rinslet nodded and headed into their kitchen, helping herself to a glass of water. "Yup! Not only that, but he's killed several bystanders and has kept hostages in most of those robberies. And he doesn't work alone. He runs a gang that victimizes pretty much everyone they come across. He's bad news. I can't take him down on my own."

Sven eyed her wearily. "He sounds tough. What makes you think we can take him?"

Rinslet winked and gave him a knowing smile. "Because there's no one better than you!"

Sven flinched at her fake kindness. "That look may work on Jenos, but it doesn't work on me. Give me one good reason we should put our asses on the line for a single dangerous sweep that involves more than one person and we'll only get half the cut?"

Rinslet sighed and leaned on the counter that separated the kitchen and dining area. "Because I'll give you more than half the cut…"

Kyoko jumped from the couch and punched her fist in the air. "I'M IN!"

Sven glared at her then looked back to Rinslet. "There's a catch. You've never offered to give us more than half before…"

The woman smiled nervously and scratched her cheek, avoiding eye contact with the man. "I'm just…. In a giving mood."

"Sure… That makes sense." Sven's voice was sarcastic as he kept his eyes on her, not believing a word she said.

Rinslet sighed and folded her arms. "Fine. Leggan isn't my real target. He actually answers to a woman by the name of Allie Hue. She runs pretty much every gang in this town and the next town over. Her influence is even spreading to distant towns and the price on her is far higher than Leggan."

Sven nodded, accepting that answer. "And what will you give us for catching her?"

Rinslet narrowed her eyes at him. "Nothing. I'm keeping her reward myself."

The green haired man glared and shook his head. "No. If we're helping catch all these people, we're getting at least seventy percent."

Rinslet gawked at him. "No way! I'll give you forty percent of both Leggan and Hue!"

Sven turned away and brushed the woman aside. "No way. If you aren't going to play fair you'll just have to find someone else to do your dirty work for you."

Rinset growled. "You know I can't do that…"

The green man smirked, knowing full well she was right. With her thief background, any other sweeper would turn her in for the price on her head. The only reason he never did was because she brought them a lot of high end sweeps. She was also quite useful to collect their bounties.

Eve sighed and put her book down, deciding to intervene before the adults started arguing. "How about this: Rinslet will give us forty percent of Leggan and Hue, but we'll keep the reward for all the low grade criminals working for them. Deal?"

Sven and Rinslet looked at the girl, then each other. They sighed in unison and nodded. "Fine."

Kyoko jumped back in the air. "HORRAH! Let's go get 'em!"

Sven sputtered as she ran towards the door, grabbing his Attache Case as she made her way outside. "Wait, you idiot! We don't even know where they are!"

Rinslet rolled her eyes and followed after them. "I know how to find them, Sven. I'm coming."

Even sighed and closed her book, standing slowing as she grabbed a key to their hideout and locked the door behind them. As she caught up to her strange family, Eve saw a bug flying next to her and she frowned. The girl turned her hair into a fly swatter and killed it, smiling proudly to herself.

"Sorry, Apostles. We won't be handing Train over to you without a fight."

The girl knew they didn't have Train, but she knew he would be coming back and when he did, he would be a part of their family as well. They wouldn't give him up just how Sven never gave her up. Eve knew in her gut they would see Train again, but she also knew she would never admit she was actually looking forward to seeing the ex-assassin.

Creed jolted awake from another nightmare, clutching his chest tightly as he panted heavily in Train's bed. The swordsman looked over at the crystal ball quickly, gripping it rapidly then sighing painfully when he saw it only showed Sven and Kyoko getting the mail.

Creed tried to look over the sweeper's shoulder to see if the note was from his cat and growled when the green haired man glanced at the bug and shoved the note in his pocket. He then followed the teen into the house and slammed the door before the bug could get inside. Now Creed was just staring at their new hideout, in the town the silver man was kicking himself not not checking.

It's literally right next door to the girl's apartment! Why did I not think to check it?!

This was something Creed was never going to be able to forgive himself for. Apparently, while he was checking Kyoko's apartment, his love was in the next town over, talking to Sven and being told the truth about who killed Saya.

And then I lost Train… I lost him forever…

Creed knew not checking the town wasn't his only regret. Not a day had gone by when he didn't curse himself for killing the girl in the first place. He now knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was wrong. He knew his beloved left him for a very good reason and there was nothing he could do to bring him back. There was no apology big enough in the world to make up for what he did to Train, and now Creed was going to spend the rest of his life alone and miserable without his Kitten.

I really am trash… I'm so pathetic and useless without him. Why didn't he just kill me that night? Why didn't he just take his revenge out on me then… Why did he let me live?

His nightmares had been playing that night over and over again in his head. Train's angry words echoed in his ears harshly, giving Creed a constant headache. The look on his beloved's face was not one he would ever forget, no matter how many times Creed tried to replace it with images of his love's look of pleasure. He made sure to memorize what he cat looked, tasted, and felt like the last time they were together, but now that he knew what it was like to be with Train, it made the pain worse.

And now I can't even see him… Even when we were at Chronos, he at least tolerated me enough to walk down the street with me. At least I had some contact with him, but now… Now I may never see him again…

Creed sobbed decrepitly into Train's pillow, trying to imagine that it was his beloved's chest soaking up his tears. His love's other pillow was still torn and the rest of his room had gone untouched by Creed or any of their servants. The swordsman refused to let anyone clean up the room, since Creed wanted to leave it as a constant reminder of what he had done to his Kitten.

This room is the pain Train felt when he left… The pain that I caused him… And I can never forget I'm the reason he left…

Creed knew how selfish he was being in that year he had Train and he wasn't going to give himself any relief. He was going to leave his love's room exactly as it was so he would never forget what he did.

Train was right… I did it all for myself… I broke my promise to him… Which is why he broke his promise to me…

The idea that Train broke his promise to Creed popped into his head every so often and at first he tried to use it as an excuse to feel sorry for himself, but he was quickly able to push that thought away. The only reason Train broke his promise was because Creed broke his before the Black Cat even belonged to him.

...And he didn't ever belong to me… I just convinced myself he did to justify my own selfish desires. Train did everything right in our relationship, but all I did was lie and claim ownership of him… I'm just garbage.

Creed breathed deeply into Train's pillow, trying to smell any traces of his love and sobbing loudly when he didn't. It had been six months since Train graced this room and almost all fragments of his presence were gone. The only things that were left were some of his clothes which Creed wore every day. It was all he had left to feel close to his beloved, and he wasn't going to give them up as long as he lived.

Unless Train came back and demanded they be returned to him. I would give him all of my clothes and more if that's what he wanted….

However, even his love's clothes had started to lose Train's scent. Creed did everything he could to keep his beloved alive in this room, but time was a cruel mistress who wouldn't allow the silver man to be happy no matter what.

Six months… Half the time Train loved me… But only a fraction of the time I've loved him…

Creed felt another sob quake through his body.

I can't go on another day without seeing him… I'm going to waste away without him…

Creed had barely eaten since Train left. Only when Echidna forced him to eat did he actually consume any food and even then it was hard to keep down. Not only that, but he felt weak. He hadn't picked up a sword or trained at all since his cat left and he knew with the little amount he moved around the mansion, his muscles were growing weaker every day.

I can't even remember the last time I left this room. The furthest I think I've gone is to the roof to stare at the sky my Kitten adored so much.

Creed pulled away from the pillow and wiped his eyes, looking around the wrecked room and sobbing again. It hurt him to look at the mess his love left every day, but he still refused to clean it up.

I deserve to feel this pain…

Creed glanced at the crystal ball again and sighed heavily when he noticed that thief woman was now knocking at the door. Apparently her name was Rinslet, and she had some kind of connection to Number VII at Chronos. Creed had learned a lot about these people over the last six months mostly because he had Shiki track them in case Train showed up, but also so he could learn more about them. He thought maybe if he learned about them, he might understand why Train was drawn to them.

Maybe… Maybe if I understand why he was so attached to Saya… To her way of life… Maybe I can join him in his new life… He won't take me, I know that. But maybe it can be like how we were at Chronos. Maybe I can love him from afar and grant his wishes at a distance. At least then I could see him again…

The silver man looked over at the pile of pictures he had drawn of his beloved and took them into his lap. This was the closest he had gotten to seeing his cat and he knew there was no way he could ever truly recreate how beautiful his love was. Creed sighed shakily and watched as a tear fell from his eye and stained one of his drawings. He couldn't even be mad about it since none of these images equaled his beloved's majesty.

Creed pushed them off his lap, not caring as they fell to the ground aimlessly and curling into a tight ball. He sobbed violently into his knees, not sure how he still had tears left after all the crying he had done. He thought by now he should have died of dehydration, but unfortunately life intended on letting him live out the rest of his days a wretched, empty husk of a man.

The thought of taking his own life had crossed his mind several times, but he had a feeling that wasn't what Train wanted. He knew his cat too well to think the gunman would want him to take the easy way out and kill himself. Creed knew his beloved wanted him to suffer the rest of his life to pay for what he did to Saya… To Train…

If my suffering is what my Kitten wants for me, then I'll gladly give it to him. I'll write a memoir of my pain if that's what it'll take to ease his own pain…

He had already kind of started something similar to that. Creed began writing his beloved apology letters, hoping that maybe when he did die alone in his love's bed, Train might see them and finally be able to forgive him. But, by then Creed knew he'd be long gone and the apology would only be for his love's peace of mind. And that's all that mattered to Creed.

Train is all that matters… He's all that's ever mattered and I shouldn't have been as selfish as I was. I should have told him the truth and accepted his hatred much earlier…

Creed knew that meant he would have never had Train the way he did, but that didn't matter now. What mattered was that his cat was happy and Creed knew he did the one thing that would ensure his cat would never be happy again.

"I guess…our love was just, always meant to be."

Creed watched as the memory of his cat sitting in his lap played in his head. The day after they first made love and confessed their feelings for each other. The first day when their relationship progressed to the next level.

"I can't believe all of this is all real. You sure this isn't a dream?"

To Creed's surprise, Train pinched his cheek, rather roughly. Creed pulled back and shot his eyes open.

"Convinced now?"

Creed rubbed the spot Train squeezed, attempting to make the feeling go away. He made a pouting look as he let his hand fall. "You never pinched me in my dreams…"

"Then that should be more proof this isn't a dream." His beloved said, smiling mischievously.

"But everything else is just like in my dreams. How can I be sure this just isn't something new? I mean, I might not really be feeling this pain. It could all be in my—OW! Stop that!"

Creed's hand fell back to his cheek as his lover began to laugh merrily. "You are always overthinking everything!"

Creed sobbed as he watched his old, happy self tickle his beloved. His heart shattered as he watched Train look at him lovingly and kiss him deeply, desperately trying to feel his cat against his lips again, trying to remember what his beloved tasted like again. Creed hugged himself and tried to feel his cat in his arms, crying even louder when he felt only his own, fragile frame shaking uncontrollably with sadness.

"Train…" He whimpered painfully, curling into a ball again.

"I understand you, and why you are the way you are. You have your reasons, and damn good ones at that. You are no longer just a friend or just a partner… you are my lover. I may not know how it happened, but I know that I love you, more than I love anyone else in the world… And I was a fool to never see your love before, and to have waited so long to return it."

Pulling back, Train noticed the euphoric smile on Creed's face and wiped away the last tear that fell. "I make a promise to you, here and now: I will never leave your side. I will never let you be alone. I won't let anything or anyone harm a hair on your silver head." Train kissed his forehead lightly, "…And I will always love you."

Creed heard Train's heartfelt words playing in his ear and felt a familiar coldness take over his body. He trembled dramatically as he lifted his head and hoped to see his cat saying these words to him again. He prayed that Train would walk through that door and tell him he still loved him and intended on keeping his promise to him.

However, Creed also knew this was never going to happen. He had betrayed his belove in a way that Creed knew could never be forgiven. He killed his cat's best friend, and there was nothing he could ever do to bring her back. He knew he deserved to be alone after that.

I never deserved Train… I never deserved his love… I don't even deserve to say his name let alone hold him in my arms again…

He sobbed again as another memory played out in front of him.

"Come on, Train, you have to wear it." Creed said in a tired tone.

"Does it have to be so tight?!" Train exclaimed as Creed once again began to tie the stupid thing.

"I'm sorry, Kitten, but it does. That's how ties work."

Growling, the pale man pushed him on the bed, pinned his hands beneath his knees and tied the knot once more. Train gurgled loudly and whimpered as Creed breathed heavily and sat back.

Smiling victoriously, Creed patted Train on the cheek. "Good kitty."

Train glared as Creed got up off of him and helped him stand. He straightened out both his suit and Train's as he looked his beloved up and down. Creed felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight of his beloved. The suit worked exactly how the swordsman had intended. Better, in fact. Creed was sure he was drooling and even wiped the corner of his lips to be sure.

"You look gorgeous, Train."

Creed watched the memory of his first date with his beloved fade as he stared at the closet. He left the bed tiredly and dug through Train's closet to find the suit. Creed found it and pulled it out, frowning at how torn and dirty it was. When they came back that night, Train was going to just throw it away, but Creed insisted on keeping it. Even though their date did not go according to plan, that night was still a memory Creed wanted to hold on to.

Creed brought it to his chest and hugged it tightly, as if he could feel his love's arms around him as they danced at the party. As if he could still spin, twirl, and dip his love elegantly across the floor, feeling all eyes on him and his lover again as the world disappeared around them in each other's embrace. Creed even felt himself swaying back and forth, smiling as he allowed himself to get lost in the memory, since they were all he had of Train now.

Creed felt another harsh sob leave his throat as he pulled the suit away from him, setting it down on the bed as he turned to the window. Ignoring the torn curtains, Creed climbed out the window and up the stairs to the roof. He stood at the edge of the roof, staring at the spot his love always slept in.

"Jsi tak krásná."

Train smirked. "Sám nejsi tak zlý."

"You know Czeh, too? Will you ever stop surprising me, Kitten?"

The golden man pinched his cheek lightly. "I told you Chronos had me learn a lot of languages. Probably more than you since I was a number."

"Oh, Chronos didn't teach me any languages."

Train cocked an eyebrow at that. "Is that so?"

"It is indeed so. I learned those languages on my own. Most of them even before I joined Chronos. You know me, I've always been fascinated with works of art. Language is just another form of art."

"That makes sense. There's so many different forms of art around the mansion I'm starting to lose track. I guess I shouldn't be surprised how much you love beautiful works of art. You've always loved painting, piano, dancing-"

"-You."

"How dare you."

Creed blinked. "What?"

Train chuckled. "How dare you say something so sweet and then give me such a cute look. That's not fair."

"Well, it's true. You are a work of art." Creed sighed blissfully as he watched his fingers glide gracefully along his cat. "Out of all the works of art I've ever seen, ever heard, ever spoke. None of them are as beautiful as you. The smile of Mona Lisa pales in comparison to yours. The sound of Michael Nyman's The Promise, cannot hold a candle to the sound of your voice. And every romantic language in existence can never express the love I feel for you, my Dear Train."

Creed fell to his knees as he watched himself cuddle against Train and sobbed into his hands. He tried to use this memory to make himself feel better, but all it did was remind him that this was one of the last civil conversations they had with each other. Shortly after this, Train began asking more questions and started to distance himself from Creed.

Unable to bear the memory anymore, Creed ran back down the stairs and back into his love's room. He looked over at the piano and watched as his cat swooned at his musical skills, then approached Creed sitting at the bench. Creed reached his hands out to his cat as the memory of Train wrapped his arms around the silver man, as if he was trying to protect his love from himself. As if he was trying to warn his beloved that the man he was holding in his arms was a monster. As if he could stop himself from taking advantage of his cat yet again as they made love on the bed Creed refused to leave the last six months.

Creed stared at the bed and watched the memories of all the times Train let the swordsman have his way with him. He longed to be inside his cat again, to kiss and touch every inch of his body. He wanted so badly to hear Train call out his name in pleasure again. His ear ached to hear Train say his name over and over again. Creed wanted nothing more than to hear Train say he loved him once more.

The silver man turned to the piano and stared at it for a second. It was one of the only things in the room Train hadn't destroyed before he left and Creed couldn't stop himself from thinking maybe his beloved left it unharmed on purpose. That maybe Train didn't want to break the instrument because he still cared about Creed and this piano allowed Creed to perform a representation of their love.

Creed allowed his hope to take over as he sat at the bench and played his song for his cat again. He glanced at the crystal ball again, holding back a sob when he didn't see his love's face appear and turned back to his piano. The swordsman played their song again, closing his eyes as he imagined his cat watching him again. Picturing his love's glorious golden eyes on him as music for Train filled the room, giving him a moment's peace. For those few minutes, Creed was able to leave his pain behind and think only of the good times he and his cat shared. For that brief moment, Creed was able to feel what it was like to be loved by his cat again, and he didn't want it to end.

When the song ended, Creed stared at his hands regretfully.

"Don't follow me."

Hearing his beloved's venomous voice in his head again, Creed gripped his hair roughly and sobbed again.

"Train…"

"You will never touch me again."

Creed felt the coldness take over again and he shook his head, trying to rid himself of his beloved's angry words.

"Train… You promised..."

"And you said you would never hurt me. You broke your promise first! YOU BROKE IT BEFORE YOU EVEN TRICKED ME INTO MAKING MINE!"

Creed screamed and stood from his piano, taking out his Imagine Blade and slicing the instrument in half. He breathed heavily over the broken object, panting as he heard his weapon crying painfully. Even when he tried to be angry, Creed knew he wasn't and his blade reminded him of that. He wasn't capable of feeling anything other than sadness and loneliness anymore.

"You are no stallion. You are a devil. And you'll never have my heart again."

The silver man fell to the ground again, dropping his sobbing blade as he buried his face in his hands.

"Train… I'm sorry…"

He sat there for a few more minutes, crying uncontrollably, his body shaking fiercely as he watched his cat walk away from him again. Creed felt so weak, so useless, so worthless without Train. There was nothing he could do to stop his beloved from leaving, and he knew following his cat was out of the question this time. Train used to tell him not to follow him all the when they were in Chronos, but back then, his love didn't care one way or the other about him. Now, Train hated him. Train hated him more than he hated anyone else in the world and there was nothing Creed could do to change that. And following him would only make everything worse.

If that's even possible…

Creed looked at the crystal ball again and noticed it had gone static. He ran over to the orb and picked it up, shaking it viciously as if that would fix the problem. Seeing it didn't, Creed threw it on the bed and left the room to find Shiki. He didn't want to waste a second without having eyes on that sweeper, just in case Train showed up. While he knew that didn't mean he could go to Train, it did mean he could at least see his beloved.

And that's all I need. If I could just see him again and know he's okay, I'll survive… For at least a little longer…

Creed knew despite what his love's wishes may have been, he couldn't stop himself from dying without his cat. The pain of his loneliness was too much to handle and Creed knew it wouldn't be much longer until his physical body gave up.

The swordsman ran out of Train's room and began his search for the bug Taoist. He knew Shiki was sick of setting up spy bugs for Creed, but he couldn't care less what the short man thought of him. Nothing mattered anymore anyway, so what did he care what some worthless Taoist thought?

Creed had made his way around the mansion rather quickly. It was amazing how the mere thought of seeing his cat gave him the motivation to move this fast. However, he couldn't find the bug Taoist anywhere. It wasn't just Shiki he couldn't find, Creed didn't see anyone. Even that wind child and monkey were missing, and they never had anything to do outside of this castle and this group.

Where the hell is everyone?

Confused, Creed decided to check the basement as well, knowing Doctor almost never left his lab. He was shocked to see Kanzaki left the door open, which is something the man never did for fear of someone walking in.

Or something walking out…

However, Creed had lost all will to live so if Shiki wasn't anywhere else, what did it hurt to check in here? If something did try to kill him, he'd welcome it. With Train gone, Creed was ready to die.

The silver man stepped in tentatively, calling out to Doctor or Shiki and hearing no response. He took another step inside and glanced around the room. He had been in here once before, but didn't take the chance to actually look around. He was too busy searching for his love to notice what else was in the room.

Or that smell… It's not really a bad smell. It's more like… inhuman. There are too many chemicals to ever smell of anything that even vaguely is human.

Creed fingered the glass cases that held strange looking creatures, not bothering to figure out what they were. Again, he was too numb to care anyway. He just wanted to find Shiki and get another bug on Sven before Train showed up and he missed it.

However, he passed by a glass cage that had something written on it Creed couldn't ignore. He stopped and turned back quickly, his eyes locking onto the words written across the cage.

"Black Panther Experiment: Success to Heartnet DNA"

Creed felt his heart freeze when he read those words. He didn't know what they meant, but the fact that Doctor had something with Train's name on it wasn't good. Creed knew how obsessed that man was to get his hands on his beloved to perform some kind of sick experiments on him and it scared the swordsman beyond belief to know the scientist might have finally gotten his way.

He was about to tear the lab apart to search for his cat, then stopped himself as he re-read the words again.

Wait, calm down, Creed. Train isn't here. It says "DNA". There's a thousand ways he could have gotten Train's DNA without actually kidnapping Train.

Creed took a deep breath and started a new search. He still wanted to find Shiki, but now it seemed more important to know what Doctor was doing with his love's DNA.

And why does it say Panther instead of Cat?

Creed went to the Doctor'a filing cabinets and skimmed through every piece of paper he could. He was moving quickly, just in case Doctor came back and trapped the silver man in his Warp World. Creed knew the rest of the group had pretty much lost all respect for him and didn't fear him anymore, so he knew Kanzaki wouldn't hesitate to trap him in order to stop Creed from finding out the truth.

Finally, Creed was able to find a stack of papers with his beloved's name on it and put everything else back where he found it. He flipped through the pages quickly, his eyes widening as he passed by each page, feeling his heart shake in fear for his cat. The first thing he found were blueprints to a room that looked as if it was made specifically to keep Train.

Creed was able to figure out where the room was in comparison to Doctor's lab and looked over at a door he hadn't noticed when he first walked in. He approached it quickly, turning the knob and growling to see it was locked. Luckily, he could easily break into any room, something he fondly remembered Train complimenting him for when they were in Chronos, and did so hastily.

Once he was in, Creed stepped into the room and looked around. It was completely empty, except for an examining bed with locks on it. There were no windows and the room was padded, most likely to make it sound proof. Creed touched the padding and noticed it was rubber, making him growl angrily when he realized that was to prevent Train from being able to use his powers.

Curious, Creed walked over to the bed and touched that as well. He punched the bed in rage, learning that it was also made of rubber. Even the locks were rubber, which would mean if his beloved tried to electrify his whole body like he did six month ago, nothing would happen.

Also, with this room being underground, it would be hard for him to summon wind or rain. The most he would be able to do to defend himself is fog. And I'm sure Doctor has something ready for that as well.

Creed looked up and saw the vents in the ceiling and he had a feeling they weren't normal vents. They were most likely meant to disperse or suck up any fog his cat might create.

I don't know what else Train can do. I know it has to be something with weather, but how far do those abilities go? Can he create earthquakes? Tornados? Blizzards? Doesn't matter, I'm sure Doctor has something ready for anything my Kitten can summon.

He saw a wall full of buttons and didn't bother to press them. Creed had a feeling it might change the room based on different weather patterns and he didn't want to change anything in case the Doctor noticed. He turned and left quickly, making sure to lock the door behind him.

He walked back over to the cabinet and began reading the rest of the documents about his love. As he flipped through the pages, he felt his stomach turn at what he was reading.

No… This can't be… He used Train's DNA and nanomachines in order to hunt Train?!

Creed didn't need to know that Doctor getting his hands on Train would be bad. He also knew the rest of the group would probably be seeking the Black Cat out to either recruit him back to the group or try to see what his intentions were with Apostles now, but he knew Train didn't want that. He also knew that if Doctor got his hands on his beloved, chances were he wasn't going to let him go.

Creed knew he needed to stop them before they could find his cat. As much as he wanted to see Train again, he needed to respect his wishes and let his love live his own life.

But if they bring him back, he'll think it was on my orders and hate me even more… If that's even possible.

Creed shook his head to get rid of his selfish thoughts.

No, stop that! It doesn't matter if Train hates you. What really matters is that Train is left alone and gets to live the life he wants to live. I can't let them ruin whatever peace he's trying to find. I can't let them interfere with his new life…

Creed knew his beloved's new life didn't involve him, but it also didn't involve anyone else in the Apostles and that was all the knowledge Creed needed to make sure his cat was left alone.

The silver man put the documents in his pockets and began a new search for the rest of his group.

And if that happens to lead me to Train… I'll be sure to keep my distance. No matter how much I want to see him again.

Jenos sighed boredly and stretched his legs out of the long table in Chronos' briefing room. He yawned loudly, ignoring the angry look Baldor gave him and leaned back in his chair.

"Does anyone know why Sephy-san asked us to come here? And so early in the morning?" Jenos kept his eyes on the ceiling, not really wanting to see the look Badlor was giving him.

Kranz growled in the direction he knew Number VII to be. "Would you stop calling her that ridiculous pet name? It's demeaning to our leader."

Baldor slammed his fist on the wall and glared at Jenos. "And get your feet off the table! That's disrespectful to the Elder, Sephiria, and all of Chronos!"

Jenos rolled his eyes but removed his legs. "Seems like a bit of an overreaction, but fine."

Nizer glanced at the door he knew Number One and II would come from and felt himself getting a bit frustrated as well. "Not to agree with Number VII, but I'm starting to get a bit impatient myself. There's been a whole lot of nothing going on, and hearing her finally calling us all together got my hopes up."

"I'm sure Number One will be here soon and let us in on whatever this urgent matter is. She's never left us waiting before." Lin Shaolee leaned on his hands, smiling kindly at the rest of the group.

Kazuki glared at the new Number X, tossing one of his sai in Lin's direction, the sharp end getting stuck to the table in front of him. "Don't talk about Sephiria as if you know her, Numer X…"

Lin smiled innocently at him now, tilting his head slightly as he spoke. "Now, now, just because you've developed a little crush on our leader is no reason to take it out on me."

Kazuki blushed slightly, but was able to shake himself of the unwanted color quickly. "As if you're one to talk. When's the last time you stalked the Black Cat?"

Lin brushed his words aside, fingering the weapon in front of him delicately. "I'm just following orders…"

Baldor decided to interrupt their conversation. "Your orders are the same as the rest of ours: Find both the Black Cat and the Apostles of the Stars."

Lin looked back at him and smiled again. "Yes, but Sephiria has asked me specifically to search for Train Heartnet."

Kazuki spun his other sai on his finger, leaning back in his chair as he kept glaring at Number X. "I'm pretty sure we all have the same orders. You're just more interested in my predecessor."

Lin put up his hands in defeat. "I can't say I'm not interested in him, but I promise Sephiria did order me to find him."

Kranz scoffed. "And why would she pick you specifically to do that?"

Lin brushed his words away. "Because Train Heartnet doesn't know who I am. As our younger member oh so nicely pointed out, I'm new and therefore, the Black Cat wouldn't know who I am. Also, I can disguise myself as anyone, so I can get close to him if need be."

"And you really don't think Heartnet wouldn't be able to work out that you're a number on his own? He's not to be taken lightly." Nizer butted in, eyeing the new number strangely.

Lin turned and winked at him. "Oh, trust me… I am not taking the Black Cat lightly…"

Kazuki grimaced at his tone of voice. "See what I mean? You're almost as bad as how they've described Diskenth to be when he was a part of Chronos."

Jenos laughed. "Oh, I don't think anyone could compare to Diskenth's obsession with Heartnet!"

Baldor shook. "That's true. That man was… Not right in the head."

Lin shrugged his shoulders and dislodged the sai from the table, twirling it on his finger similar to Kazuki, smirking widely when he saw how much it annoyed the young man. "I'm offended that you find my fascination with the Black Cat is similar to Creed Diskenth's. I haven't even met Heartnet yet."

Nizer rolled his eyes. "Then I guess you should start doing a better job at your mission."

Lin nodded, but kept his eyes on Number XIII, enjoying watching his annoyance grow. "Oh, I will most certainly find him. The question is, what will I do with him once I do?"

Blador sighed and rubbed his eyes. "You will keep an eye on him. Just as Sephiria has ordered the rest of us to do."

Lin smirked teasingly. "If he's as cute as his picture implies, I'll keep more than an eye on him…"

Kazuki pointed an accusing finger at him. "See! Told you!"

Lin shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for a pretty face and a strong man. Sounds like Heartnet is both."

Jenos chuckled. "Better not let Diskenth find out your feelings for the cat."

"If evidence has shown us anything, it's that Diskenth had his chance with the Black Cat and he blew it. Time to let someone else step in." Lin turned his smile to Jenos, who chose to ignore his gaze.

Kranz rested his head on the table in aggravation. "Can't we please stop talking about the Black Cat in such an… intimate way? I thought we moved past that when Diskenth left."

"Apparently not…" Baldor said, clearly as annoyed with the choice of topic as his fellow number was.

"Jenos, how's it going with that thief?" Lin tried to change the subject, but knew this one would be no better for his group.

Number VII blushed and turned away. "Rins-chan is… Awesome."

"No!" Baldor said as he pinched the wall again, breaking it a little behind his strength. "We will not be discussing anyone's love life! It is unbecoming of Chronos."

Lin giggled. "Tell that to Sephiria and Belze. We all know they're more than just a Number One and her Number II."

Kazuki growled a little and used his jetpacks on his sai to get it back from Lin, smirking at Number X's startled reaction. "I agree with Number VIII. Let's stop the relationship talk."

Lin shook his hand, frowning at the minor burn mark Number XIII's weapon left. He sucked on his finger that had a cut on it and smirked at the man. "Jealous?"

"All right, all right, cool your jets. Literally and figuratively. Sephy-san will be here soon." Jenos said as he put his feet back on the table.

Baldor scowled at him, stormed over, and knocked his feet down. "I told you to stop disrespecting Chronos like that. You're almost as bad as that cat was."

"Oh, did Heartnet disrespect the Elders often?" Lin said, suddenly over his small wound in favor of one of his newest favorite subjects.

"It's why he was locked up before he left. It would have gotten him killed if he didn't leave on his own accord." Kranz said, lifting his head a little to rest on his hand.

Lin sighed and fingered the table in front of him. "Still hard to believe he took on the whole headquarters on his own without a weapon..."

Baldor sighed in frustration as his dreamy sounding voice. "He wasn't alone. Diskenth helped him."

"Yeah, but not the whole time. Not gonna lie, it was pretty impressive." Jenos smirked at Baldor, seeking out his revenge on the man by encouraging Number X again.

Nizer cleared his throat and addressed the group. "I vote for silence until Sephiria gets here."

Kranz raised his hand. "I second that vote."

"Third." Baldor said, raising his hand.

"Forth…" Kazuki said, still glaring at Shaolee.

Lin rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. Sorry for trying to get to know my fellow numbers better."

"You've only asked questions about the Black Cat…" Kazuki said angrily.

"Not true! I asked about Jenos' girlfriend." Lin said, happy to see how easy it was to get the man to talk again.

Baldor began to approach the bickering men when Kranz stood and gestured for him to stop. "Wait. I hear them coming."

A few seconds later, Belze walked through the door, holding it open for Sephiria to enter. The rest of the number sat up straight, eyes on their leader as she took her place at the head of the table. She gestured for Baldor to sit, which he did quickly as Belze took his place next to her.

"Thank you all for gathering so quickly. I'm sorry for my tardiness." Sephiria bowed to her group slightly as she apologized profoundly.

Jenos brushed her apology aside. "You're fine Sephy-san, we found a way to entertain ourselves."

Baldor glared at him for using that ridiculous pet name again then addressed his leader. "Let's just cut to the chase, Sephiria. Why did you need us all here at once?"

Sephiria smirked and scanned the group. "The Apostles have made a move."

"Finally!" Kazuk said, throwing his hands in the air. "Where are they?"

"All over." Sephiria said as he handed them each a map of every location they've been at. "And they're traveling fast. We know one of their members has the ability to transport them quickly, but they're moving as if they have a second member with that ability."

Nizer raised an eyebrow. "I thought they were losing members, not gaining them."

Sephiria nodded. "It's true that since the Black Cat's departure the Apostles numbers have dwindled, but showcasing Echidna Parass has added a few more to their group."

Kazuki snicker. "What kind of members could an actress attract?"

Belze sent him a warning looking. "I wouldn't dismiss any of their new members. There is only a certain type of person who would willingly join an organization like that."

Sephiria smiled at Number II and nodded. "Well put, Belze. It's never wise to underestimate your enemies, XIII."

Kazuki nodded, but shot a disgruntled look at Belze, slumping in his chair slightly as he finally put his sai away.

"Back to the matter at hand. Where are the Apostles now?" Baldor asked, leaning forward in his chair a little.

Sephiria gestured to a particular document and motioned for everyone else to do the same. "Last time we saw them was at a sweeper bar called the Cait Sith. A place we know the Black Cat was seen at six months ago."

Lin's interest was peaked at the mention of the ex-assassin. "Has there been any sighting of Heartnet?"

Number One gave him a look. "I should be asking you that question… Do any of these locations they've looked at seem familiar to you?"

Shaolee looked through the papers quickly and frowned. "These are all the locations Hearnet has been spotted at. Are they looking for the Black Cat?"

"We believe so. For what reason, we don't know. But we do know Diskenth hasn't appeared to be in charge, which leaves us to believe they are either looking for Heartnet to recruit him and bring Creed out of his hole, or kill him."

Kranz scoffed. "I'd rather they just kill him. Then we wouldn't have to track him down anymore."

Sephiria gave him a warning look. "Train is not our enemy. We are simply keeping an eye on him in case he returns to the Apostles."

Lin shook his head. "I don't think he will. Based on where I've heard rumors, it sounds like he's become a sweeper."

Jenos cocked an eyebrow at the man. "A sweeper?"

Lin nodded. "I know it's hard to believe, but it seems like the case. However, whenever I do manage to hear a rumor about him, he's gone before I can get there."

Kazuki rolled his eyes as Lin's sad voice. "Don't worry, Number X, your precious cat will show up somewhere."

"And I have a feeling wherever he shows up, the Apostles will also show up." Sephiria's voice was confident as she addressed her numbers.

Belze smirked. "Two birds with one stone…"

She gave him another warning look. "As I said before, the Black Cat is not a threat. There is no need to start a fight with him. Especially since we don't know how his abilities may have progressed."

"Do you really believe it may have leveled up like Diskenth's did?" Nizer questioned uneasily.

Sephiria nodded. "I'm sure it is. This is the Black Cat we're talking about."

Belze agreed with her. "I would be surprised if it didn't."

"You don't have to agree with everything she says…" Kazuki mumbled under her breath.

Sephiria ignored his comment and gestured for everyone to pull out another map. "Based on their arrival at the Cait Sith, we believe they are getting closer. Our best course of action is to go to the town that the bar is in. We believe they'll be there a while."

Jenos raised an eyebrow, unable to hide the unease in his voice. "Why do you think that?"

Sephiria glanced at him, hearing the slight fear he spoke with. "Because we have a feeling the Black Cat will show up there soon."

Jenos pushed his question. "But, why? Why now after all this time?"

Belze answered for her. "Are you questioning our leader?"

Jenos sighed and waved his question away. Sephiria frowned at the man. "I know you're worried about that thief, but you should know we wouldn't cause any innocent bystander harm."

Number VII eyed her wearily. "It's not Chronos I'm worried about."

Sephiria tried to give him a reassuring look. "Jenos, we won't let Rinslet get hurt. I promise."

Jenos nodded and took a deep breath, seeming to calm down from her promise.

"When do we move?" Belze asked eagerly.

Sephiria smirked at him. "Immediately. Gather your weapons. Once you're ready, we head for the Cait Sith bar."

With that, she turned on her heel to leave, smirk never leaving her face.

We finally found them. And this time… We won't let them get away.

Shiki sighed in frustration and choked back his bile, still feeling nauseous from their travel as he watched Doctor coo and pet Aja affectionately. "Could you please tell me why we're still here? There haven't been any rumors of the Black Cat's presence in this town for six months."

Doctor glanced at Shiki, but continued petting the panther. "Just trust Aja's instincts. She doesn't want to leave and she hasn't been at a location the Black Cat has not frequented yet."

"Yes, but he wasn't at any of those locations. He's moved on from every town we've been to." Maro added, clutching his stomach uneasily as he leaned forward, just in case he threw up again.

Doctor nodded. "Yes, I think Aja is just catching up to Heartnet. Give her time. This is her first time being out in the world. She's just stretching her legs."

Shiki growled. "Can she stretch her legs where the Black Cat is?"

Doctor continued stroking Aja's black fur. "She is. As I said, just give her a time."

"Why would the Black Cat come back here? We already know that sweeper and his bio-girl are here. Hell, even that annoying teen is here! I don't think the Black Cat is stupid enough to return to his friends and lore us right to them." Maro added, glancing down the building they stood on.

Shiki nodded. "I agree with Maro. Besides, my bugs are constantly on watch here. This seems like a pointless stop if you ask me."

Doctor chose to ignore them both in favor of a scene that was unfolding on the streets below them. "Quiet. I think the sweeper has returned."

Maro and Shiki looked down and saw Sven, Eve, Rinslet, and Kyoko walking down the street, back to their hideout. They looked pretty beat up, but they looked more emotionally defeated than physically injured.

Sven glared at Rinslet. "Remind me again why I take jobs from you?"

Rinslet returned his glare. "Because I know where the big bucks come from. It's not my fault you're too useless to catch one guy!"

"That was not one guy! There were over a hundred thugs there!" Sven yelled at her as he tried to brush his hat off.

"I told you Leggan was the leader of a gang! You should have been ready for that! What more information did you want?!" Rinslet yelled back, throwing her hands in the air.

"YOU SAID THEY WOULDN'T BE READY FOR US IF WE ATTACKED NOW!"

"AND CLEARLY I WAS WRONG!"

Eve rolled her eyes as she heard the adults fighting again, smoothing her dress out as they walked down the street. "We'll try again later. No need to fight."

Kyoko spun as she walked, not seeming to care at all about the conversation. "Do you think Kuro-sama will be back by now?"

Rinslet sighed at the teen. "As I said before, it's been six months. What makes you think he's coming back? Didn't he leave to keep you from harm?"

Sven nodded, then lit a cigarette to calm his nerves. "Yes, but he also said he'd be back. And can we stop talking about him in the open? We have no idea who's watching."

"I took the bug out." Eve said bluntly.

Sven looked at her uneasily. "Really? And nothing happened?"

Eve shrugged her shoulders. "You tell me. I did it before we left and it's been four hours."

Sven wasn't sure how to feel. They agreed not to destroy the spy bugs just in case that alerted the Apostles in some way.

However, if nothing comes of it, I'll be glad to be rid of it. I was beginning to lose my mind knowing we were being watched.

Sven nodded and took a drag on his cigarette. "Well, I'm glad to know we're no longer being watched, but I can't say that was a good idea. Next time, let us know before you do that."

Eve sighed in defeat, angry she could never win with her guardian. Suddenly, she stopped and froze, the rest of the group walking ahead of her as she stood wide eyed in the middle of the street.

The rest of her unconventional family took notice of her change in demeanor stopped to stare at her, Sven growing worried at the look in her eyes. He knew that look too well.

"Eve…? What's wrong?" He asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Eve shook a little, then looked up at Sven. "I smell blood…"

Rinslet pulled out her gun and Sven his Attache Case. Kyoko took a fighting stance as well, looking around the sidewalks for any signs of danger. She may have only been a part of their strange group for six months, but she learned quickly to listen to the young girl's instincts.

"What if it's Kuro-sama?" Kyoko asked hopefully, but didn't change her stance.

Sven glanced at Eve, questioning her with his eye if that was the case. She shook her head.

"No. This isn't him."

They stood still for a few minutes before the silence became too much for Sven. He growled and shouted in the air.

"SHOW YOURSELF!"

Finally, they heard a voice from the shadows, one that made Sven's skin crawl even after all this time.

"Have you seen Train?"

Sven turned in the direction of the voice and growled again. "If you're so interested in finding him, then come out…"

The voice sighed. "Trust me, I'm not here out of malice. I'm here to warn Train."

Rinslet narrowed her eyes on the alley she knew the voice was coming from. "Warn him about what?"

A few moments of silence, then the voice responded. "The Apostles are looking for him."

Sven rolled his eyes. "We knew that! Aren't you the one ordering them to find him?"

A pause, then a sad response. "No…"

Sven cocked an eyebrow, surprised at the response. "What?"

"No. They are not working under my orders. They haven't been for a while now."

"Then explain the bug!" Kyoko said, knowing all too well who the bug belonged to. "If you aren't spying on Kuro-sama, explain why Shiki is sending bugs at us!"

Another paused, then a said, shaky sigh. It was as if the speaker was holding back tears. "...I just wanted to see him… I was going to leave him alone… For the rest of his life if that's what he wanted…"

Sven was getting tired of not seeing his enemy, especially one he knew to be a dangerous psychopath. "Why don't you show yourself so we can even the playing field?"

"I didn't come to fight."

"Then all the more reason to come out…" Eve said, turning her hair into blades just in case.

"...If I show myself, I might put you in danger."

Sven rolled his eyes. "Since when do you care about the well being of others."

Another sad, shaky sigh. "Since I realized how much you mean to Train…"

Rinslet growled and took a step forward. "Just show yourself! If we're going to be attacked, it would have happened by now already."

There was another long pause in which Sven aimed his Attache Case at the shadowy figure, Eve turned her hands into hammers, and Rinslet pulled another gun from her leg. Even Kyoko heated up her fire breath, remembering that Train said she could use her Tao abilities if they should ever run into the Apostles.

Finally, Creed stepped out of the alley and Sven felt himself falter at the sight of him. He looked thin and fragile, his pale face even whiter and the clothes we wore hung off his body pathetically. His eyes looked beat red and crushed, as if he had given up on life and his body was moving out of necessity. The sweeper had a feeling it had something to do with Train's long absence, but he wasn't about to let his guard down. He knew what Creed Diskenth was capable of.

Creed stared at him weakly, putting his hands in the air to show he came in peace. "I mean you no harm."

Sven gestured to the sword at his hip. "Then why are you armed?"

Creed glanced down at his sword, then back at the green haired man. "Because if the Apostles show up, you won't be able to protect your bio-girl without help."

Sven scowled at him and tightened his hold on his weapon. "Aren't they already here? Aren't you their leader?"

Creed shook his head in confusion. "I… I don't know what I am anymore…"

Sven became more confused at his response. This was not the same man he saw kill Saya a year and a half ago. "What do you want?"

"I told you, I'm looking for Train."

Kyoko narrowed her eyes this time. "Kuro-sama doesn't want to see you and we haven't seen him."

Creed was surprised he still had enough anger in him to glare at the teen. "Don't test me, girl…"

"I thought you came here in peace? Why are you threatening a kid?" Rinslet said as she steadied her aim on the ex-assassin.

Creed sighed again and looked down. "Sorry…"

For some reason, Eve believed him. "...After all this time, why are you just now reaching out to us to find Train?"

Creed looked at her, allowing himself to seem vulnerable, since he didn't care what she thought or what she did to him.

As long as I find Train and warn him before anyone can kill me, that's all that matters…

"...Because the Apostles are going to make a move against him… They may have already done so."

Sven lowered his Attache Case slightly. "And they are doing it of their own accord?"

Creed nodded. "Yes. I planned on leaving Train alone. Th-that's what he wanted…"

Eve frowned at the sadness in his voice, feeling a pang of pity for the broken man. "What do they plan on doing with him?"

"I...Don't know exactly, but I know if Doctor gets his hands on him… It won't be good…"

Sven blinked, remembering Train mentioning the mad scientist briefly in the past. However, before he could respond, a giant black panther jumped in front of him, causing the sweeper to fall backwards and gawk up at the science in question. Doctor smirked down at him from his sitting position on the creature, adjusting his glasses as he shouted something in German.

"Nieder!" (3)

The creature ducked low enough that the man could slide off and look Sven in the eyes. There was something about that look that made the green man shiver uncomfortably, getting to his feet quickly and ponting his weapon at the new enemy.

"Doctor, I presume?" Sven said tentatively.

Creed already had his Imagine Blade drawn, but did not start a fight yet. Doctor looked back at his pathetic leader and rolled his eyes.

"That weapon may have scared me six months ago, Creed, but now I don't think it's capable of doing anything but crying. Similar to yourself."

"What do you want?!" Rinslet said, pointing her gun at the man.

Suddenly, she felt the world around her get heavy and she was shoved to the ground. She looked over and saw Kyoko, Sven, and Eve had also been pinned to the ground, leaving her to believe this was due to another Apostles' arrival.

Maro appeared in front of her, crouching down to scoop her chin up so she looked at his face. He smirked as he spoke to her in a condescending tone. "I think Creed has already made that clear."

Sven heard his statement and glared at Creed. "I knew you were lying!"

Creed shook his head, his body shaking from the gravity force as well, but he was not pinned to the ground. Whether that was due to his own strength or Maro going easy on him, Sven couldn't tell.

"NO! I'm not lying! I would never look for Train in such a brutal manner!"

"Yeah right!" Sven spat, struggling to lift his head. "When have you ever told the truth?!"

"Actually, he is telling the truth right now." The new voice came from a small Taoist who sat on top of a large bug, the rapidly flapping wings causing a wind tunnel in front of Sven's face. "Creed has been utterly useless these last six months. We're simply here to handle the Black Cat since Creed will not."

"LEAVE TRAIN ALONE!" Creed screamed, activating his blade to level two, knowing there were tears in its eyes, but still able to feel the rage coursing both through himself and his beloved weapon.

Shiki glanced at Maro. "Why aren't you pinning him down?"

Maro's face looked pained as he looked at his comrade. "I am! He's fighting it!"

Shiki looked surprised. "What?!"

Doctor smirked and entered the conversation now. "It doesn't matter. It's true we are here for the Black Cat and we are not following Creed's orders, but we are also here in part due to Creed."

He turned to his leader, watching as he struggled against the gravity force of Maro's ability. "We're trying to help you, Creed. Don't you want to see Train again?"

Creed glared at him, but heard his sword weep sadly at the statement. "More than anything… But he doesn't want to see me… And I refuse to go against Train' wishes anymore."

Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "Well, we're also trying to see what Heartnet's intentions are. If the Black Cat does intend to attack us, we want to be ready."

Creed slashed his sword and pointed it at Doctor. "That room you have set up for Train is proof that you're ready for him! I know you intend to do more than just question him!"

Doctor gave Creed an interested look. "Oh? So you finally left your beloved cat's room to explore the mansion? And you ended up snooping in my lab?"

Creed did not answer. He was trying to give the man the deadliest look he could muster. It was hard considering how empty he still felt without his beloved. It was impossible to feel anything but despair without Train.

Stop it! You need to do this. For Train…

"We don't know where Train is!" Sven screamed, trying to stand against the pressure being applied to him. "If we did, don't you think he'd be here by now?! Don't you think he'd be fighting you right now?!"

Doctor nodded. "True, but I have a feeling he'll show up any minute." He pet the creature next to him. "I think Aja is predicting his movements now. I think Heartnet is on his way as we speak…"

Creed felt his heart skip a beat at the thought of seeing his beloved. "Aja…?"

Doctor heard the swordsman's whisper and smirked at him. "Yes, Creed. This is Aja. I have a feeling you read all about her before you got here."

Something clicked in Creed's head when Kanzaki said this. He looked at the panther and narrowed his eyes.

This is what they're using to track Train? This… thing has my beloved's DNA in it?!

Creed felt his grip tighten on his blade and heard the sword no longer weeping. It was now beginning to growl, reflecting his inner feelings perfectly with its snarl.

"How dare you…" Creed said as he locked eyes with Doctor. "How… dare you use Train's DNA to hunt him like an animal…"

Doctor, Shiki, and Maro all turned their full attention to their leader, shocked to see a bit of life return to him.

Creed felt his fury building, something he hadn't been able to feel in over six months, but now felt like an old friend he had been forgetting to visit.

"HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT TRAIN LIKE THIS!"

The silver man screamed loudly and felt all the pressure of Maro's gravity force disappear. Shiki threw a seal at him, which Creed was ready for and sliced in half. Doctor shouted a command at Aja, the panther launching itself as Creed which he avoided elegantly, jumping and flipping in the air over it, landing directly in front of Doctor. As he made a move to attack the scientist, Shiki managed to throw a seal at his feet, creating a swarm of bees to surround him.

During this time, Maro lost his focus on keeping the sweepers still to try and throw a gravity ball at Creed. This gave Sven the opportunity to shoot at Doctor, who stepped out of the way and on top of Aja quickly. Eve flew herself in the air towards the man, slicing with her hair blade as Rinslet aimed a shot at Shiki.

Just as Kyoko was about to stand and enter the fight, a portal opened in front of her, revealing the rest of her former comrades. Kyoko jumped back and towards her sweeper friends, alerting them of the new arrival. The green haired man yelled at Eve to warn her, but it was too late as another portal appeared next to her head, the young girl getting sliced across her cheek as Echidna cackled at her pain.

"EVE!" Sven shouted, shooting at the hand that disappeared quickly.

Sven cursed and felt himself getting lifted in the air, then thrown into a brick building. He groaned and pulled himself out of the brick, now locking eyes with a small boy that looked about the same age as Eve.

Leon smirked at him, then laughed loudly. "What's wrong, old man? Can't take on a kid?"

Sven growled and aimed his Attache Case at him, rolling to the side quickly as a stream of blood shot across his face, splattering against the sidewalk gruesomely. He turned to see Charden, a man he recognized from the new videos the Apostles had been releasing.

He smiled at Sven and took his hat off, bowing politely as he introduced himself. "Now, now, Mr. Volfied. We didn't come here looking for a fight. We simply want to know where the Black Cat is."

Sven growled and reached into his back pocket for a grenade. "I'm getting sick of saying this… We don't know where Train is!"

He threw the grenade at the man, but watched in shock as Charden fell backwards into a portal, his bomb exploding useless in the vacant air. Hearing a scream, he turned to see Eve being slammed to the ground by Maro's gravity force, then being kept there by a seal belonging to Shiki. Rinslet cried out her name and ran towards her, but was pushed back by Leon and thrown into a window of an adjacent building.

Kyoko tried as well, gearing up her fire breath, but was stopped as Eathes copied her form, beating her to the punch with her own ability. The teen girl had now become too preoccupied with her battle with the monkey to protect Eve, making Sven scream again, desperate to reach the bio-girl.

"EVE!" He screamed, jumping to his feet but being stopped as another stream of blood came rushing at him. Except this time it wrapped around him, pinning his arms and legs together, causing him to drop his Attache Case and fall face first to the ground.

"Come now, Mr. Volfied. We know you've made contact with the Black Cat. Just tell us where he is and we'll be on our way." Charden said as he approached the fallen sweeper, Echidna readying a portal next to him.

Sven growled at them then looked back at Eve who was now earning the interest of the Doctor. Kanzaki smirked widely at her, then knelt down to cup her chin, his eyes sparkling with an unknown emotion Sven did not like.

"EVE!" He screamed again, then stopped when Echidna's hand appeared next to his head, a gun point at his temple.

Charden sighed. "Mr. Volfied, don't make this harder than it has to be…"

Sven felt weak as he remained trapped in the blood, not sure what to say to get them to let Eve go. He truly didn't know where Train was, but that didn't seem to be enough for them.

Damnit! What do I do?!

Suddenly, he heard Echidna scream and her hand retreated. Next, he saw a white blur run to the window Rinslet had been thrown through, pulling her out and standing her up straight. Then Sven saw a crazed looking blade slice at Eathes, drawing blood as the monkey fell backwards, giving Kyoko a chance to land a blow on the Taoist.

Sven watched in shock as Creed ran to Eve, stabbing Doctor in the arm then slicing the binds that held Eve down. Creed pulled her up and threw her in the air, knowing the girl was able to fly and giving her the chance to do so. He then jumped over to Sven, standing in between him and Charden.

Creed glared at the blood Taoist, pointing the tip of his blade right at his neck. "Leave them alone."

Charden looked amused, but also genuinely confused. "Creed… Since when do you care about anything other than the Black Cat?"

Creed growled, feeling his blade copying his actions. "Since Train cared about them…"

Sven was shocked to be protected by the man he feared for the last year and a half.

Not only that, he just saved the rest of the group…

Sven looked over and saw his friends holding their own for the most part. He knew they couldn't last long, even with Creed's help.

Shit, this isn't good. We need to get out of here.

However, he was still tied up with this blonde man's blood and scowled at his uselessness.

Damnit! This isn't good…

"Apostle of the Stars!"

This voice came from a woman and Sven did not recognize it. He turned quickly to see the source of it and gawked at what he saw. Standing at the end of the street were the Chronos numbers, weapons ready to strike as they glared at the Apostles. Sven spotted Jenos right away, noticing he was watching Rinslet with worried eyes. However, Sephiria kept her eyes on Creed and Charden, as if she wasn't sure who to attack.

Charden answered this question by turning to the woman, pulling his blood back from Sven and readying it to attack Number One.

"Well, well, well… Looks like we've gotten more than we asked for in our search for the Black Cat…"

Creed's stance did not waver against Charden as he looked at Sephira through the corner of his eyes. The woman noticed his stance, and narrowed her eyes at the swordsman.

"Diskenth… Who does our battle lie with?" She asked as she slowly unsheathed Christ.

Creed moved his eyes back to Charden, making sure he was ready to strike just in case the blonde man decided to turn back to him.

"I'm here for Train's sake. Consider me to be on Train's side."

Even though he's not here…

Creed couldn't let go of the fact that his beloved still wasn't there. He found himself looking off to the distance every so often, just in case his cat did show up.

Sephiria nodded slowly and addressed Charden. "Shall I consider you the Apostles new leader then?"

Charden chuckled and glanced at Creed. "It seems as of right now… Yes."

"Well then…" Sephiria said with one more glance at Creed, noticing he was actually helping Train's sweeper friend stand up. "Let's end this."

She launched herself at Charden, the blood Taoist dodging her blade as he threw a wave of blood at her. Sephiria blocked it with her sword, throwing it back at him as she leapt into the air, spinning and throwing herself down at the man, eyes widening when a portal opened in front of her. She found herself landing gracefully on the pavement, turning around quickly to continue her battle with the blood Taoist.

Jenos ran for Rinslet immediately, pushing her back and blocking a seal Shiki threw at the woman. Rinslet glared at him and stood back up.

"I can handle myself, Jenos!"

Jenos turned and smirked at her. "I know, but I'll never forgive myself if I let anyone hurt you."

Rinslet growled at him, but felt her face redden.

She once more felt herself being thrown to the side, barely missing another attack from Maro as Nizer glared at both of them. "Number VII, stop making googly eyes and focus on the battle at hand! These are not men to be taken lightly!"

Rinslet jumped out of the way as Maro threw another ball of gravity at her, landing behind Jenos as they stood back to back, ready to fight the Taoist together. Nizer threw himself at Shiki, choosing to attack the bug Taoist since the other two were handling Maro.

Eve was flying through the air with Leon, blocking and dodging his wind attacks, throwing blades at him, swinging her hammer hands in the air as she flapped her wings violently. She saw a large metal ball being thrown in the air at the small boy and gasped when it collided with his chest. Eve looked down to see Baldor smirking wildly, saluting her as he called his weapon back.

"Stand down, little girl. The adults can take it from here."

Eve glowered at him. "I can handle him myself! You'll only hurt him!"

Baldor rolled his eyes and jumped to the side to avoid a blast of air from the boy.

"Shut up, old man!" Leon shouted at Baldor, then glared at Eve. "I can take you both on…"

Eve sighed and avoided another attack from him, making sure to try and protect him from any blows Number VIII threw that may have been deadly, much to the assassin's displeasure.

Kyoko was still trying to handle Eathes, but now it seemed Durham had entered the fray as well.

"So, you're betraying us as well for that cat? Man, what is it about that guy that makes people crawl to him?" Durham growled as he aimed his gun at the teen.

Kyoko blew a rather large breath of fire at him, glaring as the gunman jumped to the side to avoid it. "Don't talk about Kuro-sama that way!"

Durham rolled his eyes and shot at her, making the teen slide backwards. Eathes then tried to attack from behind, but Kyoko was able to move just in time, then pout at the two of them.

"Hey! No fair! Kyoko doesn't have back up!"

"Don't be so sure of that, little lady."

Kazuki appeared next to her and threw his sai at Durham, the hit landing on the gunman's shoulder, causing him to miss his shot that was aimed at Kyoko's head. The teen turned to the man, frowning as she had to look down to find him.

"You're Kuro-sama's replacement? I thought you'd be taller…"

Kazki sputtered and shouted at her. "Shut up! I just saved your ass!"

Kyoko grimaced. "Kuro-sama's also a lot better looking than you. You look like a punk."

Kazuki growled and dodged a shot from Durham. "Just concentrate on the fight, you brat!"

"YOU'RE A BRAT!" She yelled as she leapt out of the way of another attack from Eathes, throwing her own fire breath back at him.

Sven slid against the pavement as he avoided another attack from the actress, watching as Creed ran off to deal with Charden. His attention was brought back to his fight when he heard Echidna cackle at him, then disappeared into her black void. Sven looked at his feet and saw a grenade, jumping away just before it exploded. He felt a gun pressing against the back of his head, signaling she had reappeared behind him. When he felt it pulled away, he turned around and saw Kranz standing in her place, nodding at him.

Sven returned the nod and shot behind him as Echidna tried to slip in a sneak attack on the number. No words were shared between the two men as they continued dodging and attacking the woman, working silently together to stop her from getting any blows in on each other.

Sephiria slid on the ground, stopping herself from hitting a building with her sword. She glared at Charden who smiled at her, blood hovering above the palm of his hand as she wiped her mouth.

"I never expected drawing blood from my opponent would actually be helpful to them."

Charden chuckled. "You need to keep an open mind, Number One."

Sephiria tried to stand but found it more difficult that it should have been.

I'm not injured… What's going on?

She watched as her arm flew up in the air and her wrist snapped back, causing her to drop her sword. Number One grimaced and choked back a cry of pain as her arm twisted behind her back. She felt her knees buckle and she fell to the ground, her head lurching up so she could look Charden in the eye.

The man smirk at her and flicked his wrist, making Sephiria wince as she felt her other arm be pinned behind her back.

"You know, Ms. Arks, it's not just my blood that is a danger to you…"

Suddenly, the blonde man felt himself being thrown into a build as Creed's Imagine Blade wrapped around him and launched him in the air. Charden was able to react in enough time to stop his body from smashing into the brick by encasing himself in a blood ball. When he crawled out of his shield, he locked eyes with Creed and sighed.

"Creed… Is this really what you want to do?"

Creed glared at him. "I don't want you to come after Train."

Charden glared at him. "We were doing it for you, Creed."

Creed felt himself holding back a sob and clutched his blade tighter. "Train doesn't want to see me… We need to leave him alone…"

Charden shook his head in disappointment. "...We can't until we know what his intentions are!"

Creed screamed and slashed at the blood Taoist. "LEAVE TRAIN ALONE!"

"DISKENTH!"

Creed was distracted by Sephiria's voice and missed his attack on Charden. He turned to her furiously, but watched as she regained control of her body and pointed at the sweeper group.

"If you really want to help Heartnet, then I suggest you protect his friends!"

Creed saw the sweeper group struggling against the Apostles' attack and frowned. He knew the numbers were a great help, but based on the short display he saw of Charden's abilities, he knew his team had improved their skills a lot in the last six months. The silver man glanced at Sephiria, who nodded reassuringly.

"Belze and I will stop him before he can get to Train. Don't worry."

Creed nodded and ran off to help Train's friends. He went to Eve first, since Baldor didn't seem to care if he hit her or Leon. The silver man blocked a blow from Baldor that was meant for the boy, but almost hit Eve. The girl gaped at him in shock, then nodded slowly.

"Thank you…"

Baldor watched as Creed took a hit for the girl and cocked an eyebrow. "Since when do you protect little girls, Diskenth?"

Creed barely heard Eve's thanks as he fell next to Baldor. "Since they mattered to Train. Would you watch your attacks, Number II? You'd think a skilled assassin such as yourself could hit a kid on a skateboard!"

Creed ignored the man's curses and launched himself at Rinslet, pushing her aside as he sliced a seal aimed at her back. Rinslet didn't know what to say as she got back to her feet and shot at Shiki, but it didn't matter since Creed had run off towards Sven.

Sven felt himself being pulled back by the collar of his shirt as Creed took a shot to the chest from Echidna. The green haired woman frowned at Creed, not sure what to do with her gun pointed at her former leader's heart.

"Creed… Are you sure you want to stand between us and these sweepers?"

Creed narrowed his eyes at her. "I won't let you hurt Train's friends. I won't let him get hurt any more than he already has been."

Echidna growled and fired another shot Creed easily avoided. Sven couldn't make heads or tails of the situation as Creed jumped in front of him again, taking another shot to the back for him. Creed glared at him, then shouted angrily.

"WOULD YOU PAY ATTENTION SO I CAN STOP GETTING SHOT FOR YOU?!"

Sven returned his glare. "I DIDN'T ASK FOR YOUR HELP!"

Creed blocked another shot from hitting Sven's leg and yelled again. "Well it certainly looks like you need it!"

As a grenade appeared at Creed's feet, he cursed loudly at being distracted by the sweeper, but felt himself being pushed aside by a man he didn't recognize. Number X stood in front of him, smiling sweetly at him as he offered the silver man his hand.

"You must be Creed Diskenth. I assume we're on the same team as of right now?"

Creed looked at his hand and smacked it away. He noticed the tattoo on his chest.

"New number?" Creed said as he stood himself up.

"Yes! And if you have a minute, I'd love to pick your brain about the Black Cat. You seem to know him better than anyone else."

Creed wanted to be angry with the man for speaking so casually about his beloved but didn't have time as he saw Sven leaping away from another grenade. He growled loudly and pushed past the new number, kicking away another grenade that fell behind the sweeper.

Lin tried to talk to him again and Creed turned and shouted at him. "NOT NOW!"

Creed saw a flash of electricity bolt in front of him and felt his heart race at the idea of seeing his love appear before his eyes. He growled when he saw the Doctor sitting on top of on a large panther, smirking demently at him.

The swordsman gritted his teeth and stared up at the man. "What the hell is this thing, Doctor?! What do you intend on doing with Train?!"

Doctor snickered and spoke German to the creature, making him vanish then reappear behind Creed. He leaned forward and whispered in his ex-leader's ear, licking his lips as he spoke.

"While the rest of the group wants to know Heartnet's goals… I want the same thing I've always wanted from him… To learn what makes the Black Cat tick…"

Creed screamed and slashed at the man who spoke another command at the panther, making the scientist disappear once more. The silver man felt the panther's tail smack him in the chest and throw him across the street. When his body stopped, he looked down and saw a tear in Train's shirt, exposing the burnt flesh of his chest.

This was one of Train's favorite shirts…

Creed was on his feet again and came at Doctor. Kanzaki laughed and disappeared again with the large cat. Creed looked around to see where they went, but when he saw his love's friends struggling again he growled, deciding to deal with the Doctor later.

Train's friends come first. I know he'll never forgive me for what I did to him… For what I did to Saya, but at least I can protect the other people he cares about while he's gone.

Creed nodded and entered the fight again, not caring at all of his well being as he made sure to take every blow he could to keep his cat's friends safe.

The battle between Chronos, Apostles and sweepers raged on, demolishing buildings and destroying the street. Creed was bouncing around, trying to make sure to protect all of his beloved's friends as best he could, but felt himself getting tired. It had been a while since he trained and his body was weak from laying in bed for the last six months. He cursed his own weakness as he took another blow for Eve, cracking his head into another building as he flew in the air from Leon's attack.

Creed groaned and felt the back of his head, noticing the blood on his fingers but not caring.

It doesn't matter. My pain doesn't matter. I just need to keep Train's friends alive.

The swordsman looked around at the battle occurring. The numbers were holding their own very well, but it seemed as though his team had been training hard these last six months. Some of them were even portraying new abilities, ones Creed had not seen before. He felt angry with himself for slacking so much these last six months, pushing himself out of the building he was thrown into.

He looked over and saw Kyoko about to be burnt by Eathes and ran at her, jumping in front of the teen he hated, shouting as his shirt caught on fire, the skin of his chest searing from the fire as he landed on ground next to the girl. Kyoko watched him curiously, then jumped to the side to avoid another attack.

Creed was on his feet again, his blade eating a large bug Shiki threw at Rinslet then ran across the way to take another shot for Sven. As he launched himself back in the air to protect Eve again, he felt his vision starting to blur, knowing he couldn't keep this up much longer.

Why do my Kitten's friends have to be so weak?! And why haven't the numbers been able to take any of the Apostles down yet?!

He looked at Sephiria and Belze who seemed to be struggling more than they should have with Charden. The man's strength had increased, and it seemed he was now able to control other people's blood as well as his own. Creed noticed a few times he had taken control of Sephiria's arm and even made her slash at Number II.

I can't be concerned with that. I need to protect Train's friends.

As Creed was thrown into the pavement he felt blood fall from his forehead. He clutched his head tightly and groaned in the ground, trying to gather his bearings after the second head wound he received.

"Train... " Creed called out, as if his love would hear him. As if Train would even care about his pain. "Train… Where are you?"

A large cloud appeared above all of them, making Creed frown in confusion, wondering if he was blacking out. He could hear thunder rumbling in the background, which made some of the Apostles stop and freeze. Static filled the air as the thunder got louder and Creed felt his hair stand on end as he sat up quickly, looking around for the man his heart had been aching to see for six months.

"Train?!"

Nine bolts of lighting struck the ground, one for each Apostle including Creed as the swordsman flipped backwards to avoid the strike. Creed looked around and saw the rest of the Taoist standing still, waiting for the unseen force to appear before them. Another nine bolts struck again, each of the Apostles barely avoiding it, a few of them hissing in pain as they were burnt by the strike.

Suddenly, a large bolt destroyed the ground in the middle of the battle, leaving a crater in the pavement as Train Heartnet stood intensely in the hole, his body sparking from the lightning he just dispersed. Creed sat on the ground and stared wide eyed at his beloved from several feet away, feeling goosebumps cover his whole body as the Black Cat illuminated a brilliantly beautiful blue, his deadly golden eyes flashing with electricity as he smiled cheekily at the people around him.

"Wow, had I known there was a party being thrown in my honor, I would have shown up sooner!"

Train adjusted a man who was tied up on his shoulder, clearly knocked out as the golden cat addressed the group as a whole.

He licked his lips and turned his golden eyes into an inhuman, electrified azure.

"Miss me?"

Translation:

German: Flash

German: Together

German: Down