A Different Fate

by Musal

What if Train didn't know Creed killed Saya? What if he believed it was Chronos? What if Train helped Creed create the Apostles to get revenge on Chronos? What happens when Train learns the truth? CxT

21. Saving the Enemy

Disclaimer: I do not own Black Cat or its characters

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A flash of light and a loud crack echoed against the walls of Doctor's lab revealing Creed and Aja, the swordsman dwarfed by the giant beast. The panther roared as it knocked over all of Kanzaki's equipment, barely able to fit in the lab anymore due to her growth invoked by the nanomachines. Creed grimaced as the large cat threw a tantrum, waiting for the creature to slam him into a wall to the ground in rage.

"Entspanne." (1)

Creed turned his attention toward the door of the lab to see Doctor standing there, brushing off the static Aja's transportation left on him. The silver man glared at the scientist, but was surprised when he felt the panther's tail stop flailing and lower itself down, laying on the cold floor of Doctor's lab.

Kanzaki sighed and fixed his glasses, looking at Creed as if he was a complete disaster. "This is… Disappointing, Diskenth-sama. In more ways than one."

Creed did not respond to his statement, just kept his glare on the man. Doctor sighed again and took a step forward, gesturing for Aja to lower her tail a bit more so he could see eye to eye with his former leader. Creed was still wrapped in the beast's tail, but his feet slightly grazed the ground. The silver man tried to pry himself free, but knew before he even started moving his arms it was futile. There was no way to break out of this massive panther's grasp.

Doctor rolled his eyes and walked forward until he was in front of Creed, utterly dissatisfied with this entire situation. "Are you really going to leave us too, Creed? For the Black Cat?"

Creed glared at him, knowing the gesture was weak. "What's the worth of staying at a place that doesn't have Train?"

Doctor showed a bit of rage at the swordsman, which was a strange enough emotion for him to show, let alone at a man he had spent almost two years fearing. "Well, if you hadn't interfered and just stayed here wallowing in your own self pity, you would have been reunited with him in a safer scenario."

Creed spat his next words. "There is no safe scenario for Train as long as you're involved!"

Doctor eyed him for a second longer, then slowly stepped away. "What's so wrong with wanting to learn more about what makes the Black Cat tick? What's wrong with wanting to obtain knowledge about an infamous killer? Knowledge I can use to help us achieve our goal?"

Creed narrowed his eyes at the man, knowing he wasn't telling the full truth. "Train isn't a specimen that exists solely for your experiments! And you know just as well as I do you have no interest in using anything you learn to take Chronos down."

Doctor turned and smirked at the man as he dug through a few drawers, looking for something Creed didn't want to think about. "That's not entirely true. I do intend to use whatever information I find out about Heartnet to create powerful weapons. If those weapons just so happen to bring down Chronos, so be it. However, the more important thing is the knowledge I obtain."

Creed kept careful eyes on the man, trying to figure out what he was looking for. He didn't care if Doctor killed him right now, but he also didn't trust him not to make the death painful as part of an experiment.

Doctor saw his former leader's unease and widened his smirk. "I'm not going to kill you, Creed, don't worry. I have a feeling the Black Cat is coming for you."

Creed blinked at his reasoning, then shook his head. "No. Train won't come. Train hates me…"

He choked out the last words, then swallowed back a sob. It was bad enough he was in the humiliating position of being held captive by someone who used to take orders from him, Creed wasn't about to add crying pathetically over his beloved to the list.

"That may be true, but he went through an awful lot to try and save you. He could have left you for dead and escaped with his friends, but instead he re-entered the fight for you. He even let that nanomachine girl heal you."

Creed wanted to hold on to the hope that Doctor's words meant Train still cared about him, but he knew that wasn't true. His beloved had made it very clear that he was only saving him because he didn't want to see anyone die. For whatever reason, that actually made Creed feel worse.

He cares so little for me he'll treat me how he treats everyone else. He doesn't even care enough about me to want me dead...

Creed pushed aside his depressed thoughts in favor of addressing the Doctor's statement. "That doesn't mean he'll come for me. As far as he's concerned, I'm home."

And I hope that's true. As much as I would love to see Train again and have him whisk me away from this place, I hope he stays far, far away. I don't want him to get hurt.

"No matter. You prevented me from grabbing the Black Cat which means you owe me."

Doctor was finally able to find what he was looking for, but was frustrated with how long it took to find due to Aja's destruction of his lab. The panther seemed to sense his annoyance and cooed sadly at him. Kanzaki pet her large snout reassuringly, smiling at the purr the panther let out.

Creed felt uncomfortable with the unusual display of affection coming from the normally emotionally cutoff man, but also knew questioning it would get him nowhere. Instead, he was going to question what he meant by Creed owing him.

"Doctor… What're yo-"

"It was the right arm, correct?" His question seemed to be more asking himself than Creed and Doctor stabbed him in the arm with a rather large needle, drawing a fair amount of blood.

Creed gritted his teeth at the pain. Needles didn't normally hurt him, but this one was at least four times the size of any other needle he had ever seen. He also never had that much blood drawn at once and Doctor wasn't exactly being gentle. Judging by the smirk on his face, Creed could tell he was actually enjoying watching him flinch in pain.

When the blood from Creed's arm was drained, Doctor walked away quickly and put the contents of the needle in a fridge. The silver man felt a little dizzy from the ordeal, his vision blurring slightly as his arm throbbed painfully. However, he managed to focus on Doctor again, just in case he tried anything else.

The scientist turned back to him, smirking as if he had just collected a stolen artifact. "That should be enough."

Creed glared at him. "What do you plan on doing with that?"

Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure yet, but I'm sure I'll think of something. In the meantime, let's get you somewhere more comfortable while we wait for the Black Cat to arrive."

The scientist walked over to the room Creed knew was meant to keep his cat hostage and struggled even harder, even though he knew it was useless. While he knew the room wasn't a danger to him, the fact that Doctor was so convinced Train was going to come for him worried him that his beloved would end up getting trapped in there.

"Damnit!" He cursed as Aja reached her tail in the room since she did not fit.

The panther set him on the table meant for his love and Creed felt the rubbed locks snap around him automatically. Within seconds, his arms and legs were clamped down, then one more wrapped around his waist, pinning his body to the table. Creed tried to struggle against the bonds, but found they were almost as strong as Aja's tail.

Doctor ignored his struggles and curses in favor of checking a communication device Creed knew the Apostles used to talk to each other. The madman smirked and put it away, turning back to his fallen leader, grabbing Creed's Imagine Blade from his hip and passing it off to the panther. Creed watched as the beast wrapped her tail around the hilt of his blade, pulling her limb back out of the room and resting her head on the floor.

"The others will be here soon. Apparently, the Apostles decided to make a retreat when they saw I disappeared. I guess they think I got the Black Cat."

Creed glowered at him. "So, your goal really was just to capture Train? You didn't care about fighting Chronos?"

"Chronos was an added bonus and I would say we fared rather well against them. But, yes, our primary goal was to get the Black Cat. Although, I think Echidna and Charden had a private goal to attend to as well."

Creed cocked an eyebrow at that, but quickly decided he didn't care what his two ex-teammates were doing. "Why is everyone going along with your obsession to get Train?"

Doctor looked at him, surprised that he didn't understand. "I thought I told you. They're doing it for you."

Creed blinked. "What?"

Kanzaki folded his arms across his chest. "Yes. Well, that and they want to know what Train's intentions with our group are. Which I think we'll find out very soon."

Creed still didn't understand, so he asked again. "But… Why would they want to bring Train back for me? What do they care about my happiness?"

Doctor rolled his eyes. "No, I'm sure they don't care whether or not you're happy, but they do want you to snap out of your depression and lead this group again. We haven't been as strong without you and Heartnet in charge."

Doctor adjusted his glasses and walked away again, this time towards the door to see if anyone had entered through his lab.

"What's taking them so long? Can't that woman just transport them here instantly?" He glanced back and forth and re-entered the room.

Creed tried to pull his arm free again and growled. "As you said yourself, you fared pretty well against Chronos just now. You seem to be doing just fine without Train and me."

"And maybe we will be, but we also can't deny how much stronger we'll be with both of you back. And they reasoned if we got the Black Cat back, you would come out of your sad hole and lead us again." Doctor turned to him. "Is that not true?"

Creed kept his glare on him and stopped himself from crying. It was true and he knew it. He would do anything for Train and that included if his beloved decided he wanted to take down Chronos after all. If Train wanted to rule the world, Creed wouldn't stop until every last leader on the planet was destroyed so his beloved could control everything.

"So, I guess you could say we're after both of you right now. We know if we get Hearnet back you'll come crawling back, which is why we were focusing more on him. Well… Why they're focusing on him. I think we both know what my interest is."

Creed growled loudly at him and tried to break free again, screaming when he realized how useless his efforts were. Doctor chuckled and leaned against a wall.

"I have to say, it's rather amusing watching you struggle. I never thought I would have the upper hand on you." Doctor glanced at the door where Aja still stood, laying down as she peaked at him through the frame since even her head couldn't fit. "Although, I do have to say, I am curious what Charden and Echidna discovered… I think they were looking into something else to control you outside of Train."

Creed gave him a confused look, but before he could answer, a portal appeared before him, revealing Charden, Echidna, Maro, and Shiki. The rest of the apostles were not present which led Creed to believe they were dropped off in their individual rooms to recover.

That must explain why it took them so long to get here. Like Doctor said, they should have been here much quicker.

Based on how they looked, Creed knew the rest of the group was probably worse for wear. Three of their strongest members stood right in front of him and they looked pretty bad so he couldn't imagine what everyone else looked like.

Maro frowned at Creed then turned to Doctor. "I thought you were getting the Black Cat?"

Doctor nodded. "I tried. Creed got in the way."

"Why is he tied up?" Echidna asked, a bit of her concern showing through her voice.

Kanzaki glanced at her this time. "Are you worried about him?"

The actress shook her head. "No. I just don't know if it's a good idea to chain him up."

"I don't think Doctor had a choice. You saw his actions in the fight. Not only was he helping Chronos, but his Imagine Blade leveled up again."

Shiki scoffed. "Figures the most useful he's been in six months is when he's helping the enemy."

"To his credit, he wasn't helping Chronos. He was helping Train." Echidna added as she finally closed the portal behind herself.

"Which brings us back full circle. Where is the Black Cat?" Shiki growled at the scientist, losing his patience quicker than usual. It was bad enough they had to retreat, but now seeing they failed in another aspect made everything worse.

Doctor walked over to the door where Aja tried to peek her head in and scratched the beast's chin. "I told you, Creed got in the way. But don't worry, I think he'll come for our former leader."

Charden looked at Doctor curiously. "What makes you sound so confident?"

"Didn't you see how the Black Cat tried to save Creed? He was actually successful for a minute, before I was able to get away from the fight and find them." Doctor smiled at Aja, who was enjoying his pets.

Charden smirked and turned to Echidna. "Then I think this might be a good time to test out our findings…"

Creed felt his adrenaline pick up as the actress returned the man's smile as they both turned to Doctor. The woman pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to Kanzaki, the scientist's eyes lighting up at what he saw, but Creed could not see it. He could only imagine it was some other kind of drug. It wasn't hard to figure out they planned on testing something out on him.

Shiki eyed the woman curiously. "How did you get that?"

Echidna shrugged her shoulders. "Chronos headquarters was empty. They sent everyone after you lot, so we were able to sneak in and out quickly."

Maro rolled his eyes. "Seems pretty dumb to leave your headquarters completely unmanned. Even when we leave there are guards."

"Well, there were guards, but not anything we couldn't portal pass." Charden smiled proudly at the actress. "Echidna's abilities are quite useful."

Doctor left the room, ignoring their conversation as he addressed his teammates as he stepped out. "I need a minute to get this ready for injection."

That answered Creed's unspoken question and he struggled harder against the binds, cursing at his ex-lackey's to let him go and leave Train alone. Shiki rolled his eyes and turned to Charden.

"What exactly did you find?" The bug Taoist glanced at Creed a few times, giving him a disgusted look.

Charden looked at Creed, then at Shiki. "We can discuss it later. I'm not about to spill our whole plan in front of the enemy."

"Isn't it our goal to make him not the enemy? I thought that was the whole point of getting the Black Cat back." Maro sat on the ground and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Charden nodded. "Yes, that is the hopes of all this, but we can't ignore the fact that it may not work. If that's the case, I'd rather not tell Creed everything."

Creed growled. "You know I can hear everything you're saying, right? You're being quite counter productive right now."

Shiki turned to him. "It's not like we've said anything of value. I'm surprised you can manage to talk about anything other than Heartnet."

Creed pulled at the restraints again and spoke harshly to the bug Taoist. "Leave Train alone…"

Maro chuckled. "I can't believe we used to actually fear this guy. It's hard to imagine that use to be our leader."

Charden gestured for Maro to be quiet and addressed Creed. "Creed, we're trying to bring Train back for you. We need you both to help us defeat Chronos."

Creed turned his furious eyes onto the blood Taoist. "Train doesn't want to come back! He doesn't want to take down Chronos! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

He doesn't want me… He doesn't want to be with me and he never will again...

Charden sighed and took his hat and glasses off, finally letting Creed see his face for the first time. "Creed… Is this really what you want?"

Creed spat at him. "I'm getting sick of being asked that. I want whatever Train wants. And if Train wants to be free and left alone, then that's what I'll do. I won't let you hurt him!"

Shiki was growing more irritated with the man and made sure it was known to everyone in the room. "Pathetic. This is absolutely ridiculous. Do we really need the Black Cat and Creed that badly? We nearly took Chronos down on our own just now!"

Charden rubbed his eyes, beginning to wonder the same thing. Echidna saw his stress and rubbed his back gently, earning a smile and a nod as he answered Shiki's question.

"This will be our last shot. If this doesn't work… Then we'll leave them be." Charden wasn't sure about what he said. Even if this didn't work, would Creed just team up with Train and come for them?

If Creed does whatever Train wants and Train decides to take the Apostles down, would it be better just to kill them both?

Charden decided to voice his questions to Creed. "Do you know what the Black Cat wants?"

Creed harshened his glare at him. "I already told you, he wants to be free. We need to leave him alone."

Charden nodded. "Yes, I understand that much, but beyond that, what does he want?"

Creed frowned at him, not sure what he meant.

Train has never been one to beat around the bush. My Kitten would never say one thing and then do another.

Creed tried another tactic, hoping this would entice them to leave his love alone. "Train doesn't want to kill me, so I doubt he will want revenge on the Apostles. I'm the one that betrayed him."

"But how do we know he doesn't think we were in on it?" Maro added, leaning against the wall he sat in front of. "How do we know he won't come back for his revenge?"

"Besides that, how do we know Heartnet's not lying?" Shiki added.

Creed rolled his eyes. "Because Train doesn't lie like that. If he doesn't want his revenge on me, he's certainly not going to take it out on you. Just leave him alone!"

Echidna sighed and addressed Charden. "He's probably just saying this so we'll let him go and stop bothering with the Black Cat. He'd say anything to keep Heartnet safe."

Creed growled at her as Charden responded to the actress' statement. "While that's true, no one knows the Black Cat better than Creed. And since we can't question the Black Cat, then we need to question Creed."

"And I just told you what Train wants! He wants to be left alone! If you do that, he'll leave you alone!"

And me… I'll probably never see him again after this…

Creed bit his lip to stop himself from crying, trying to concentrate everything in him on being angry, something that seemed harder and harder for him to feel every day.

While Charden understood Creed knew Train better than anyone else, he also couldn't ignore what his teammates were saying. Creed would say or do anything to keep his precious cat safe, so he could just be lying now.

And he had plenty of time to talk to Train on the roof during our battle… Who knows what they were talking about?

It was true Train clearly seemed to still be angry with Creed, but that didn't change the fact that he saved his ex-partner. Not just saved him, but jumped into a battle between Chronos and the Apostles to get to him. He braved an unknown creature being controlled by Doctor to get to Creed.

That says to me he either doesn't hate Creed as much as he says he does, or has softened to the point where he doesn't want to see anyone die. And if that's the case… the Apostles would not be an organization he wants to exist. Especially knowing he's the one that created it, he might think it's his obligation to take it down.

"Let me ask you this, Creed…" Charden stepped forward so he could look in his former leader's eyes. "Would you say Train has changed in these last six months?"

Creed blinked at him, trying to figure out the best way to answer his question. "...Yes. He's softened even more. He doesn't want to kill anymore. That's why I know he won't come for you."

"And what do you think this new Train Heartnet would think of the Apostle of the Stars? Now that he is against killing?"

Creed looked confused, then realization dawned on him. He tried to hide what he had just figured out, but saw Charden had already seen his reaction and pieced the puzzle together himself.

"My thoughts exactly…" Charden turned away from him and put his hat back on his head.

Creed pulled at his binds again, desperate to break free to warn his cat what Charden had just pieced together. "NO! No, you're wrong! Train won't want to take down the Apostles! He just wants to live freely! HE WANTS TO BE LEFT ALONE!"

Echidna seemed to realize the same thing Charden did when she heard Creed speak and looked at their new leader. "...And if that's what Heartnet wants-"

"-Then it's what Creed will want. And they'll join forces." Charden finished her sentence as he wiped his glasses off, then put them back on. "And that's certainly not something that we would want."

Shiki growled. "Then let's just kill Creed right now. That's one less person we have to deal with."

Maro nodded and stood. "I agree. Let's kill him now and deal with the Black Cat when he gets here."

Charden addressed both of them. "Did you see what the Black Cat was capable of? We can't handle that just yet. We couldn't even capture him just now."

Shiki was growing more annoyed. "We couldn't capture him because we were distracted by Chronos!"

"Yes, but I don't think we've yet seen what else Hearnet is capable of. We've seen what he can do with lightning, but apparently he can control ice as well. Who knows what else he could do?"

Maro punched the wall. "So you're saying we're too weak to take down Chronos or the Black Cat?!"

"As we stand now, yes. And if Creed and Train won't rejoin us, we'll need more time to master our abilities and give Doctor time to work with the nanomachines."

Creed pulled his arms again, leaning forward so he could see Charden better. "What happened to not revealing your plan in front of an enemy?"

Charden smirked at him. "You're a smart man, Creed. Nothing I'm saying isn't something you wouldn't have been able to work out on your own."

Creed growled at him again and tried to pull his legs out, despite knowing it was completely pointless. He really just wanted to get out and warn Train, since now it looked like they were going to go after him no matter what.

They can do what they want to me. I don't care if they kill me, as long as I can get to Train before they do that!

"So then why don't we just kill Creed right now? Why wait for the Black Cat since he's apparently too dangerous to handle?" Shiki sounded angry as he spoke, but he knew his words were true. Charden was right. As they stood now, they wouldn't be able to destroy Chronos or defend themselves against Train.

"Because… We might not be a match for Train… But Creed is." Charden adjusted his glasses as he spoke, smiling at the short Taoist.

Shiki resisted the urge to laugh. "Yeah, the old Creed might have been able to, but not this weak piece of trash!"

Charden shook his head. "I disagree. Even at his weakest, Creed was able to awaken the next level of his Tao. Not only that, he was able to protect the Black Cat's friends from us and Chronos all while staying alive. And this is after six months of doing nothing."

Echidna smiled in agreement. "And if we use our new findings on him…"

Charden smirked at her, happy to see she was on the same page as him once again. "Exactly, my dear."

"Are you forgetting how obsessed Creed is with Hearnet? He'd never hurt him willingly. He'd rather die than lay a hand on his hair." Maro glanced at Creed and saw the panic in his eyes, knowing what he said was true.

"And that will be solved once the Doctor gets back with the injection. Just trust me when I say… We're about to see the old Creed return very soon." Charden took his spot next to Echidna once more, waiting for Kanzaki to return.

As if on cue, Doctor walked back into the room, syringe in hand and a devious glint in his eye. Creed still wasn't sure what was going on, but after what he heard his ex-teammates were saying, he was able to gather that whatever Doctor was about to inject him with was going to be enough to make him want to hurt his beloved.

"NO!" Creed screamed as Doctor approached him. The silver man struggled against the binds as tightly as he could, feeling his skin break against the clasp that kept him on the table.

"NO!" He screamed again, tears falling from his eyes as tried to pull his shoulder away. "NO! I WON'T HURT TRAIN!"

It didn't matter what he said or did. He was strapped to the bed meant for his cat and helpless to defend himself. Even if he wasn't bound, his sword was gone and he was surrounded by enemies. The people he once considered comrades were now trying to kill him and his beloved.

Train… No, no I won't kill Train! I won't hurt Train! No matter what they give me, I won't hurt Train!

Charden looked at Doctor as he put the shot away and pulled out another, stabbing Creed's arm for a second time and injecting him with the liquid inside.

"Is two really necessary, Doctor?" Charden asked, curiously.

Kanzaki nodded. "Yes. We can't have just the Creed from Chronos, we need him to go beyond that if he's going to hurt Train. We need to make extra sure he's blood thirsty enough to attack the man he loves."

Echidna watched as Creed struggled and asked her own question. "How do you know it will work?"

"I don't." He answered matter-of-factly. "If it doesn't work, then that just means I need more time to perfect it."

"What could it do to him if it doesn't work?" Echidna asked, but it wasn't hard to tell she wasn't asking out of concern for Creed anymore. She was curious if they should prepare themselves for some awful side effects.

Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "It's hard to say since I've had literally no time to study this. If it doesn't work, we'll need to find out more about it before we try again. Especially if we plan on using this on the Black Cat."

"WHAT?!" Creed shouted, feeling a familiar rage take over him. His breathing was already getting heavier and he could feel a mania slowly taking over. Now he really knew he needed to get out of there. This was something else his beloved needed to know about right away.

Not that he'll believe me. He'll probably still think I'm lying and just using this as an excuse to get closer to him.

Creed tried to think of his love to stop his angry thoughts from taking over. It was getting hard to focus on anything but violent ideas, and he knew it was because of that shot Doctor just injected him with.

"The way I see it, the worst that can happen if it doesn't work is he dies. Which after what we discussed isn't such a bad thing anymore." Shiki crossed his arms and watched Creed struggle and scream against the binds that held him still.

Charden looked as Creed's blue eyes began to chance to their old, murderous red one. "It appears to be working so far…"

Doctor nodded. "Yes, but we should still keep him tied up. At least until the Black Cat gets here. If he really is going beyond his old self… I don't particularly want to be near him when that happens. Especially with his new upgrade to Imagine Blade."

The silence that followed seemed to be them agreeing with each other, all eyes on Creed as he slowly slipped into madness once more.

---

Sven dry heaved as he leaned his hand against a tree, trying to prevent whatever was left in his stomach from coming out. He spat a little and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Oh, God, why do I feel so sick?" Rinslet asked, the thief leaning her back against a different tree as she covered her mouth with her arm.

Train stretched his arms and answered her question without looking at her. "Happened to me the first few times I traveled with my Tao. You'll get used to it."

"But why didn't we feel it when you transported us back there?!" Sven yelled, immediately regretting it as he started to dry heave again.

The cat shrugged his shoulders. "Probably because I've never flashed that many people at once. Not gonna lie, I'm feeling kind of drained from it."

Lin, who seemed to be handling the travel better than everyone else, walked up behind Train and wrapped his arm around the cat's elbow. "You're looking perfectly fine to me."

Kyoko leapt up from the ground, forgetting her own motion sickness as she wrapped her arm around Train's other elbow. "I told you to stop clinging to Kuro-sama! I have dibs!"

Lin rolled his eyes at the teen. "Take the hint, little girl."

Kyoko glared at him and warmed up her breath subtly. Train groaned and ripped his arms away from both of them.

"We don't have time for either of your nonsense. Let's just get Creed and get the hell out of here." Train stepped away from them and through the woods, towards where he knew the Apostles mansion was.

He could feel his anxiety rising as he walked, shocked he had actually come back here. The last time he walked through these woods was when he was coming back to tell Creed he found out the truth about Saya. Back then, he'd thought he'd never walk this path again. The fact that he was back was more than he could take.

Train looked to the side and could see an image of himself from six months ago walking beside him and he did not like what he saw. This ghostly apparition of his former self looked so broken and defeated, it was too much to watch. He could see the anger in his reflection's eyes along with the hurt and the tears. This was when Train was at his lowest, and he never wanted to be there again.

And walking through these woods is not helping my resolve to save Creed. If anything, it's making me want to turn around and let the Apostles do whatever they want with him.

He was able to push the thought aside until they reached the edge of the woods where he confronted Creed for the first time after learning what he did to Saya. Train watched as his past played out in front of him and saw the electric sparks fly around the Black Cat's frame. This was when he first discovered his powers had leveled up, but back then, he didn't have time to experiment. At the time, his ex-partner had been the only one to feel the full brunt of his Tao, and he watched as the whole thing played in front of him again like a horror movie.

"I KILLED SAYA!" Creed said and felt his body collapse in the storm, his wailing pain now taking over his body as he tried again to reach his cat, unable to fight the storm his love's pain was creating.

"I… I killed Saya…"

Train felt his anger grow as he watched his ex-lover confess to him. He watched with a sick satisfaction as Creed cried wildly in the mud created by his storm. While he knew it was wrong to take pleasure in someone else's pain, knowing that someone else was the person who killed Saya, somehow made him feel better. Instead, he chose to enjoy watching Creed suffer and struggle behind the storm of his betrayal. He saw it as a small retribution for what the swordsman had put him through.

"I killed Saya! I killed her! She was going to take you away from me! She was going to make you leave me! I… I couldn't let her! I love you, Train… I love you so much that I… I couldn't let her have you. I… I refused to lose you to that witch!"

As soon as he said those last words, Train stepped in front of him and pointed his gun at his forehead. Creed continued staring into his beloved's eyes as Hades sparked with electricity he now knew came from his cat's rage.

"Don't. Ever. Call her that again."

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Train was brought out of his thoughts when Lin was suddenly next to him again, taking a light hold of his wrist as he looked curiously into his intense golden eyes. The cat blinked down at the smaller man, then at the hand that held his wrist. He hadn't noticed that he had actually started sparking from the rage he was reliving. However, Number X's words did not help since it brought him back to another memory between he and Creed.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Train frowned as his partner tightened his hold on him, confused by the tears that left his eye. Instinctively, the Black Cat reached out to wipe it away, feeling the overwhelming urge to comfort his lover.

"That must have been a really bad dream. Do you wanna talk about it?"

This was a moment Train not realized was one of the many times Creed had lied right to his face. After he left, he was able to work out what all those strange moments he had with the silver man when he seemed to be lost in tormented thoughts were about. It was obvious to Train that Creed had been forcing himself not to tell the gunman the truth, for fear of him leaving. All those nightmares Creed had been hiding from him must have been related to his fear as well.

And he was right. I did leave. But not just because he killed Saya. Yeah, that would have been enough to make me leave, but the fact that he lied to me about it for so long erased any forgiveness I could ever give him.

"Train?" Lin's voice interrupted his thoughts again, which was probably a good thing because he felt a cold chill surrounding him now. "Where do you keep going?"

Train only glanced quickly down at the man who was speaking to him. He really didn't want to relive this memory with someone he had just met. However, it seemed like Lin was persistent with his concern as he stepped in front of him so they would stop walking and put both his hands on either side of Train's face, forcing him to look the number in the eyes.

Shaolee cocked an eyebrow at him, searching into those bright golden eyes for any signs of what was wrong. "Are you okay?"

Train blinked at him again and felt his face get a little red then, paled almost immediately as he pushed the man away. The closeness Lin was creating, the way he was holding and talking to him only reminded him more of Creed, and he felt himself getting both angry and flustered.

No one's been that close to me since I left Creed and I don't think I'll ever let anyone get that close again.

"I'm fine, Lin. Let's just keep going." Train took a resolute step forward, trying to push back all the regretful memories the closer he got to the mansion.

Lin frowned as Train walked away, catching up quickly. They were still several yards away from the Apostles hideout, so he was hoping he could get answers out of the Black Cat before they had to face the enemies.

"Are you sure?" Lin slipped his arm around Train's elbow and pulled him close, trying to make eye contact again. "I know it must be hard coming back here, but-"

"I said I'm fine, Lin." Train glared down at him quickly, then brought his eyes back forward. "Why do you care so much, anyway? You don't even know me."

Lin frowned. "That doesn't mean I'm not allowed to care. We may have only met each other a few hours ago, but I've known you far longer than you realize."

"Oh, that's right. You've been stalking me…"

Almost as bad as Creed…

Lin giggled, then clung a little tighter to the cat as they walked, happy to see he hadn't pulled his arm away yet. He was kind of hoping Train had just forgotten he was holding on.

That or it doesn't bother him.

"Stalking is such a harsh word. I was ordered to follow you." Lin leaned against the gunman a little, trying to test the depths Train would allow him to go with his affection. Even though they just met, Shaolee could already feel his attachment to the man growing. "Creed wasn't ordered to follow you when you were in Chronos…"

Train eyed him wearily, knowing he didn't mean to say that last sentence out loud.

Is he seriously jealous of Creed? I barely know him!

He suddenly decided Lin was too close for comfort and pulled away. "While I won't fault you for following orders since I used to be no better, that doesn't give you permission to cling to me. You're already starting to be almost as bad as Kyoko."

"ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT ME, KURO-SAMA?!"

Train groaned as the girl appeared next to him, allowing his body to flow with electricity before she even had a chance to latch on. The teen saw his body flare a bright blue and, having learned from her previous actions, made the wise decision to not grab his arm. The cat nodded, happy to see his warning had worked.

Lin smirked at her. "I think I might have just cut the line."

Kyoko looked at him behind Train and glared viciously at the number. Before she could say or do anything in retaliation, Train stopped walking and froze. Lin and Kyoko walked a little farther ahead, then stopped and looked back at the cat. It seemed like he was reliving another memory and Lin was beginning to worry about him again. Just as he was about to reach out and comfort the gunman again, Sven stepped up from behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"What's the plan, Train?" Sven asked, trying to get the cat concentrating on anything other than his inner pain.

Train looked at his friend, then smirked. "Who said anything about a plan?"

Sven felt his eyebrow twitch. "Train… We can't just waltz into the Apostles lair without a plan.

Rinslet stepped forward to agree with Sven. "Yeah, at that point, it's not a rescue plan, it's a suicide mission."

Train winked at her. "Exactly."

The thief blinked in confusion. "Wh-what?"

Train smirked and looked back at the castle. "They're expecting me. I know it. If I go running in there first, it will give you time to find Creed."

Sven groaned and shook his head. "How the hell are we supposed to find him in a place this big?! We have no idea where they'll be keeping him!"

"Yeah, but I do. I can give you directions." Train said, not sure why his plan wasn't a good one.

Eve decided to express her thoughts as she took a step behind the Black Cat. "I agree with Sven and Rinslet. There will most likely be someone watching Creed. Probably Doctor. He's the man that took Creed, correct?"

Train glanced over his shoulder at her. "Yeah…"

"And isn't he the one you said you don't know what his abilities are?" Sven added.

Train felt himself sweat a little. "Yeah…"

"Then that's all the more reason we shouldn't go busting in there without a plan. If we just take two seconds, we can think of something better than you shooting up the place." Rinslet added, folding her arms across her chest.

"How do we even know they're back? Weren't the Apostles still fighting Chronos when we left?" Kyoko questioned out loud, tapping her index finger on her chin.

"They are most certainly back. When I left the battle, I overheard the blood Taoist saying to Parass that they needed to retreat soon." Lin stood in front of Train, eying him up and down before continuing his statement. "Besides, their goal was Train. When Doctor disappeared, they probably retreated soon after. They were outnumbered."

Train glanced at him, not sure why he was giving him that look. "...Did you contact
Sephiria about where we were going?"

Lin smiled at him teasingly, then winked, but did not answer his question. "However, as cute as you may be, Train, your friends are right. We can't let you just burst in there and draw all their firepower."

He stepped away from the Black Cat, enjoying the angry blush his compliment got him and turned back to the mansion. "We should split up. If Train knows where Diskenth is, then he should go find Creed and the rest of us and make it look like the Black Cat has broken in."

Kyoko frowned in confusion. "But… Isn't that exactly what Kuro-sama is doing?"

Lin rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, but if you listened to what I said, you would understand what I'm actually saying."

Sven smirked, understanding exactly what he meant. "So, if we make a big enough commotion within the mansion, the Apostles will come running as if it were Train, but in reality he'll be sneaking in to get to Creed."

Lin looked over his shoulder and smiled at him. "Exactly. And if we split up, we can make more of a ruckus, send them running all over the place, and hopefully not have to fight anyone. No offense to you sweepers, but I don't think any of you is capable of taking down an Apostle on your own. We need to keep moving to avoid a fight."

Train looked at him curiously. "Since when does someone from Chronos not want to fight?"

Lin smiled warmly at Train. "Not everyone in Chronos is brought on for the sole purpose of killing. Sephiria knew this when she made me the new Number X."

Train blinked, not sure how to handle that response. As far as he knew, everyone in Chronos was an assassin. Especially the numbers. It was just something they did, it was part of the job. That's what they were about. Their job was to kill their enemy or anyone who was a threat to Chronos or the so-called 'world order' they were trying to achieve.

And yet, he seems sincere. He also doesn't strike me as a killer. And he said he was ordered to follow me, but not kill me. Has Chronos ever even ordered him to kill anyone?

Train shook his head so he could refocus on the task at hand and turned to Sven. "I'm not letting you guys risk your lives for this. Not for Creed. I may not want him dead, but I don't want you to die in the process of me trying to keep him alive."

That was something Train was absolutely sure of. If saving Creed meant risking the rest of his friends, he wasn't going to do it. Or he may at least push it back to a later date when his friends weren't with him. He was pretty sure the Apostles wouldn't kill Creed right away. Especially if they were trying to use him as bait to get the Black Cat to their lair.

No, I won't risk them. Not for the person who killed Saya. Not for Creed.

Sven slapped his back. "I told you you're not doing this alone. If we let you convince us to turn around now, we know you'll just sneak away later and do it on your own."

Train frowned at his friend's ability to read his thoughts. "That's not-"

"-Besides, I'm pretty sure this was Eve's idea anyway. You just decided she was right." Rinslet added as she stepped over to the bio-girl, patting her on the head as if she were a proud sister.

Eve pouted at being patted like a puppy, then addressed Train. "We're not letting Creed die. You can't make us turn around, Train."

Train turned around to look at his friends and smiled. It had been a long time since he felt like he could trust someone let along care enough to try and protect them so instinctively. However, it was a refreshing emotion to have again. It was nice to know he could still care enough about someone to not only have faith in them, but want to make sure they were safe. After what happened between him and Creed, he thought he would be broken forever.

It's good to know I can still feel compassion for others. I'm really glad I met Sven so he could introduce me to these strange people and the sweeping world.

He knew he also had Saya to thank, but he had her to thank for everything. Train didn't need reminding of that.

Train jumped a little when he felt two hands slither up his back and to his shoulders, turning him around so he could face Lin again.

The number smiled fondly at him, then put his hands on either side of his face again. "We've got your back, Train."

The Black Cat narrowed his eyes and pushed Lin's arms away. As much as he had learned to trust others again, he wasn't ready for the kind of contact Lin seemed intent on pushing on him. Train moved away from the front door and to the side, where he knew several entrances were.

"If that's the plan we're going with, then I should show you different spots you can enter through. Over here is where I can get to the Doctor's lab quickest, which I'm pretty sure is where they're keeping them. There's also several entrances in the back and on the other side. Some are easily accessible which means you can also slip out pretty effortlessly as well."

When he got to the entrance he planned on using, Train rolled his eyes when he realized none of them understood what he was saying. Train took a stick and drew a picture of the mansion in the dirt, realizing it would be better to draw a map for everyone.

"This entrance is the best spot for me to get the Creed. I think Lin should enter through here, since it's also closest to the lab and, as much as I hate to agree with him, he's the most equipped to deal with the Apostles one-on-one."

Lin smirked happily at Train's comment and glanced at Kyoko who didn't seem happy with what her crush had said. Train sighed in frustration, knowing that two of them had taken what he said out of context. He pointed to Kyoko, which seemed to make up for what he had just said about Number X.

"Kyoko, you should know the mansion as well as I do, and you've trained with all of the Apostles. I think you enter through here which is also pretty close to the lab. With the both of you creating a distraction in either direction, they'll probably come running since it's obvious I'll be trying to get to the lab."

Kyoko frowned. "Then… Shouldn't Kuro-sama come through somewhere else?"

Sven shook his head. "No. This may sound strange, but since that's what they'll be expecting, they'll probably prepare for the exact opposite."

"Plus, this is the Black Cat we're talking about. It's impossible to prepare for anything when Train's involved."

The cat gave Lin a strange look, not particularly fond of the dreamy tone the number used when talking about him. It was another thing that he did that reminded him of Creed, and he really didn't want to have to deal with another Creed in his life.

One is too much as it is.

"Anyway, I think Eve should come through here-" Train pointed to a window that led to the second floor. "She's the only one the can fly, and if our goal is to make them think I'm breaking in, then it would make sense to cover all our bases."

Sven looked uneasy and Eve rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, Sven."

Train chuckled quietly. "You've got to cut to umbilical cord sometime, Sveny-baby."

Sven glared at him. "I told you not to call me that."

Rinslet rolled her eyes and leaned between Sven and Train, pointing to a spot across the way from the lab. "Is this an entrance here?"

Train looked at where her finger was. "Yes. And I can already see where your thoughts are going and I agree with you. I think you should enter through there. It's the furthest away with the easiest escape route. Best spot to completely avoid a fight."

He didn't want to say it, but he knew Rinslet was probably the least equipped to handle the Apostles on her own. Train glanced at her and she brushed away his thoughts.

"Trust me, I'm not offended by that. I'm not looking to die today."

Train nodded, happy to see she was reasonable. He then pointed to another entrance that was near the one Rinslet was going to enter through. "Sven, you should go through here."

Sven frowned at him. "Don't treat me like I'm Rinslet."

"HEY!" The thief shouted, smacking him on the back of the head.

Sven grimaced at the strike then glared at her. "What?! I don't want to be too far from Eve!"

"I told you I can take care of myself…" Eve sounded annoyed as she spoke.

Sven glanced at her. "That doesn't make me worry less."

"Get over it, Sven. I said what I said. You're entering through here." Train said as he pointed to a door, narrowing at the sweeper.

Sven sighed and nodded his head in agreement. The Black Cat looked around the group, still kneeling on the ground to gauge their reactions. "So, we ready?"

"No quite." Lin said as he approached Train from behind, putting his arm around his back unnecessarily. "We need to decide the order in which we enter."

Kyoko growled at him touching Train, but asked a question about his statement. "Can't we just all enter at once?"

Lin gave her an annoyed look. "No. The point is to try and make them think Train is moving around the castle. If they think it's just us, they're not going to move and he won't be able to get to Creed. They're goal is the Black Cat, not us." He looked the teen up and down. "I doubt they'd consider most of us a threat."

"HEY!" Kyoko and Sven both said, but the sweeper calmed down far quicker since he knew it was true.

Lin brushed her aside and continued his thoughts. He leaned in front of Train and pointed to the spot he was going to enter. "I think I should enter first, following by the annoying fire girl-"

"HEY!" She yelled again, folding her arms across her chest.

Lin ignored her and continued. "Then I think Eve should enter, then Rinslet, then Sven. The way the mansion appears to be laid out, this would make the best sense of where Train might head in order. Since he's able to transport quickly, I don't think they'll question why he's moving so fast. If they are as intent on capturing him as it looked back in town, then I think this plan should work."

Train looked at the number, then the rest of them. "Just so you all know, I can't actually flash in doors. I can only do that outside."

Lin smiled kindly at him. "The Apostles don't know that, right?" Train shook his head and the shorter man patted his cheek tenderly. "Then it should be fine. We'll make sure to meet you outside after you have Creed."

The cat looked at him strangely again, then stretched and eyed the group. "How do I know when to enter?"

Sven dug in his bag and checked what bombs he had. "I'll set off a regular grenade, then a smoke grenade. When you see the smoke, that's your cue."

Train smiled and nodded at his friend, then glanced to Lin as he patted his shoulder. "Honestly, how did the Black Cat ever survive without making plans?"

The cat smirked weakly at him. "Guess I'm just that lucky."

That wasn't the entire truth and he knew it. While he knew he was lucky, he also knew that wasn't the only reason he was still alive today. As much as he hated to admit it, Creed had a lot to do with that. When they were with Chronos and with the Apostles, Creed always came up with the plans that kept him alive and Train knew when he didn't follow the plans, Creed was always there to protect him.

He made back up plans for his back up plans… And no matter what, he never let me get hurt.

Train felt himself get angry again at that thought. This was the reason he used to trust Creed completely. This was the reason he had originally fallen in love with him, but all of that was negated when he learned what the man's true intentions were. After all those years of Creed keeping him safe and forming all these plans for him, Train used to think it was because he cared about him.

But, my first instinct when we were in Chronos was right. He's just an obsessive, possessive stalker who wanted me all to himself. He wanted to own me, so he did whatever he could to do that… Including killing Saya.

Train gripped his fists and felt his body growing cold while sparking with electricity. These last few hours had taught him he could control two weather patterns at once, but apparently it also happened with his emotions. His cold thoughts and angry feelings made him summon a chill around himself and thunder which the rest of the group could hear.

I wish I could trust him again. I tried to convince myself to trust him again, but I can't. I can't move on from this hatred I feel, this distrust. He ruined anything we could have ever had and what he did have was a lie…. My whole relationship with him was a lie...

Train felt a hand on his fist and shot his eyes down at Lin, who was smiling kindly at him. Sven and Eve also smiled at him, knowing the thunder and the chill in the air meant he was working through some painful memories.

"KURO-SAMA! Don't be upset! We're here for you!" Kyoko tackled him from the side, making Train shout out in surprise as he groaned loudly.

Train pushed her off and addressed the group again who all had eyes on him. He really hated how he couldn't hide his emotions anymore, but sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Let's just get this over with." He looked at Lin who smiled at him one more time, then took off to the door he was going to enter through.

Train watched him go, then waited a few minutes and turned to the annoying teen. Kyoko saluted and smiled happily at him, then also disappeared in the direction she was instructed to go in. Eve was already flying in the air when the girl left, ready to start her distraction as well and after hearing Kyoko set a few things on fire, she decided to take her exit. Rinslet ran off as soon as Eve flew into the air, knowing she had a bit of a distance to travel and wanted to make sure she was there on time.

Before Sven left, he turned to Train, worry in his eyes as he addressed the cat. "What do you intend to do with Creed after you save him?"

Train didn't look at him as he spoke. His eyes stayed on Eve, who was taking it upon herself to move to another window and cause a ruckus there. "I… I don't know yet, Sven. Right now, I can only think about the present. We'll figure out the future later."

Sven smiled and patted the cat on the shoulder then ran off. Train watched him go and rubbed his face when the sweeper turned the corner. He still couldn't believe he was actually going to risk his own life and the lives of his friends to save the man that killed Saya. While he knew that's what she would do, it didn't make him feel better. There was a part of him that wanted to leave Creed and never see him again, but his gut was telling him that wasn't right.

And I decided to listen to my gut from now on. It was trying to warn me of Creed long before I found out the truth, and I didn't listen. I was too stubborn and brainwashed to listen to my own feelings and all it did was cause me pain and heartache.

Train blamed Creed for most of his emotional problems, but he also knew he wasn't entirely blameless. If he had just listened to his dreams the first time he had them, it would have saved him a lot of heartache. If he just caved into the questions and sought answers sooner, he wouldn't have given himself so willingly and readily to Creed and he wouldn't be so distraught with his emotions now.

I would have left far sooner and saved myself a lot of time and pain. I should have just listened to gut…

The gunman saw the smoke rise in the distance and knew that was his cue. He smacked himself in the head to rid him of these distressing, self-hating thoughts and ran towards the door he knew was closest to Doctor's lab. He glanced up to see Eve had flown to the other side of the mansion and smiled.

It's good to know I can trust them, at least…

Train put his hand on the door knob and shocked it quickly, smirking as it fell off and pushed the door open easily. Over the last six months, he learned this was the best way to break into a place. It was quick and easy which made a lot of his sweeps go much faster with far less bloodshed. He hadn't killed anyone in any of his jobs, but it was also good to have this skill since it helped stop him from hurting anyone unnecessarily.

It was also helpful since he couldn't flash himself into and out of buildings. He had learned quickly he could only transport himself and others to outside locations since he needed access to the sky to summon the lightning. This was something he didn't want the Apostles to find out, so the sooner here got the Creed the better.

And then I need to get him and everyone else outside so I can move them all to safety. Hopefully they'll be doing their best to stay outside anyway so they don't get trapped in this hellhole.

Six months ago Train called this place home, but now that it brought back nothing but unwanted memories, he couldn't see it as anything more than a prison.

Stop it. Don't drift off again. Concentrate so you can find Creed and get out.

Now that he was inside, it was getting more and more difficult to not think about how much it hurt to be back here. The fact that he was seeking out the only place he refused to go even when he felt safe here made it worse. It also happened to be down the hallway from the last room he was in before he left. His thoughts started to drift again and he shook his head, choosing to think about what he was going to do when he found Doctor.

I know he'll be here. He's most likely the reason they're working so hard to find me. There's no way he'd leave the lab knowing I'd be able to figure out that's where Creed is.

It also happened to be the place where Creed had let him know was a special prison for him and Doctor was smart enough to know Creed was going to tell him about that. Train had enough time to at least get somewhat of a conversation in with the man to let him know that bit of information. While Trian didn't have the chance to take the documents from Creed, he at least knew about this place.

However, there is the chance that Creed is lying. But, why would he lie about that? He wants me to come back more than anything and telling me about what Doctor has been up to would only make me want to stay away more. Creed knows lying about this would only be shooting himself in the foot with winning me back. I hate to say it, but he's right. I really don't have a choice but to listen to him.

Train made his way down the hallway, feeling his adrenaline increase the closer he got to the door. He noticed it was cracked open a little, as if inviting him in. This confirmed to him that Creed was being kept in there and most likely in the one room the cat didn't want to go to no matter what. His instincts were telling him this as well the closer he got to the door, feeling his stomach turn at the idea of being caught by Doctor.

The Black Cat stood in front of the Doctor's lab, trying to listen if anyone was in there and the silence that emitted from the room was eerie. It was so quiet that Train actually questioned if Doctor and Creed were in there. He had a feeling that panther wasn't going to leave Kanzaki's side, so the idea that something that big wasn't making a sound made Train very uneasy.

No, he has to be here. This is the only place the Doctor can contain me. My prison is in here which means Creed is definitely in here.

Deciding it was now or never, Train pushed the door open and leapt inside, gun pointed forward, sparks flying from the barrel. While he couldn't summon full on lightning indoors, he could create sparks and shocks. This was something he was also able to focus into his gun and bullets, similar to Durham's, but he knew what he did was better.

No one was in the lab, not even that beast. Now that Train thought about it, he didn't think that thing could fit in his room let alone travel inside. If its abilities were the same as his, it wouldn't be able to transport indoors either.

That doesn't mean anything. I can't make assumptions about it. If Creed is right and it has my DNA in there, it might be able to copy me, but could have other abilities as well.

Train took a few steps forward towards another door he saw open. Considering there weren't any other doors ajar, Train assumed this was where Doctor wanted him to go. It was pretty obvious this was the room intended to keep him prisoner and while Train knew it was probably a bad idea to take the bait, he knew he had to.

And Doctor knows I have to as well. God, I still can't believe I'm risking imprisonment for Creed.

Train walked over to the door and peeked inside. He saw the silver man tied to a bed, seemingly unconscious, but saw no one and nothing else. The Black Cat looked around the room, noticing the rubber padding everywhere and grimaced when he realized Creed was right. Doctor may not have known he couldn't control lightning while indoors, but the rubber was definitely going to impede his ability to shock.

Especially since it looks like that's what the bed is made out of too. Doctor has to have other things up his sleeve as well. There's no way he'd only prepare for lightning. He's not that stupid and careless.

Train growled at Creed's sleeping form, angry at the man for being so weak to pass out and so stupid for getting caught in the first place. He frowned and raised his hand up, creating a small whirlwind of snow and cold air, creating a snowball to form in his hand. Luckily, weather such as snow and cold air was something Train could still control while indoors since it didn't come from the sky.

The Black Cat smirked then threw the ball of snow at his former partner, holding back a laugh as it hit him directly in the face. Creed's eyes shot open and turned to Train, blinking a few times to focus in the room around him. When his eyes turned to Train the gunman jumped a little at what he saw and pointed his gun at Creed's head. These were not the eyes of his former lover and partner. These were the eyes of a killer, the eyes of the man from Chronos that didn't care about anything or anyone. Train knew this look all too well and knew something had gone wrong in the time he was taken captive.

I've seen that look before, but I've never seen it directed at me. He's never been able to look at me with anything except that infuriating love sick puppy dog look. What the hell happened?

What was more surprising was seeing Creed's reaction to the snowball colliding with his face. He began to struggle against the bonds angrily, like a wild animal who desperately needed to be released to hunt for its dinner. Creed clawed viciously at the clamps around his wrists and pulled his arms fiercely, trying to free himself from the binds. He arched his back forward and pulled his legs as hard as he could and Train was beginning to think he was going to break something.

Whether it be the binds or his bones, I'm not sure. But I'm not so sure I even want to take him out right now…

Train decided to try and talk to Creed to get his attention. He didn't see Doctor, but he was sure the scientist was around there somewhere. Chances were he was waiting for Train to walk into the room so he could close it behind him, so the cat was trying to make sure that was the last thing on his list that he tried to do.

"Creed…" Train whispered, hoping the man would look at him again. With the first stare he received, it was almost as if his former partner didn't recognize him, so he wanted to see if Creed would know who he was based on his voice.

"Creed… Are you okay?" The question was asked more out of concern for what Doctor might have done to him than his physical well being. Not that he wished for Creed to be hurt, but he had a feeling something had been put in the swordsman's system that was making him react this way.

When Creed heard his name said a second time, he turned in the direction of Train and growled ferociously. However, when he locked eyes with the cat, Train saw a tiny bit of the blue return to them. They softened slightly and he began to pout, his hand now reaching out to the gunman in a loving way.

"Train…" Creed moaned as he tried to reach his beloved, then felt an indescribable rage take over him again as his longing hand changed to an angry fist. He felt a growl escape his control and he screamed, trying to fight back the fury that was taking control.

Train watched as his ex-partner's demeanor changed drastically. He blinked in confusion, not sure what to make of it. While he was used to Creed's mood changes when around him, this was something he had never seen before. Creed had never looked at him with such violence in his eyes and he had especially never seen him change from a loving, yearning look to a frenzied, savage one.

"Why don't you come get your ex-lover, Black Cat?"

Train backed away from the door a little as he heard Kanzaki's voice. He couldn't quite tell where it was coming from, so just to be sure he wasn't going to take chances that he was standing behind the door, ready to push him inside.

Train glanced around the room, then responded to the question. "I'm not about to risk being caught in your little 'Black Cat' prison to save Creed. The reward highly outweighs the peril."

The cat looked at Creed quickly and saw a flash of blue that formed behind them. It was fast, but in that second, Train could see an unfathomable pain Creed felt which gave the cat a moment of pity for the man. He was able to shake it off hastily, knowing now wasn't the time to drop his guard and feel sorry for the restrained man.

He could hear Doctor laugh at his response then saw him appear from another side of the room Creed was in, one Train couldn't quite see from the angle he was sitting at. He smirked at the gunman, then walked over to Creed who was once again growling like a beast and scratching at his arms, desperately trying to break free.

Doctor looked down at his former leader, still smirking as he patted the man's head like a pet. Creed tried to bite the hand but Kanzaki moved it away quickly, then turned back to Train.

"You know, before he fell into this state, all he could talk about was you."

Train rolled his eyes. "Is that supposed to make me feel bad enough to walk in there? Since when doesn't he talk about me?"

Doctor laughed and took a step away from Creed. "That's a fair response. However, it wasn't my plan to get you in here, Black Cat."

Train cocked his gun and aimed it at Doctor, sparks flashing from the barrel as he pointed it directly at his head. "As cozy as it looks, I won't be joining you in there."

Doctor's eyes glinted with a sickness Train only knew the scientist to have. "You won't have a choice."

Before Train could react to his words, he felt something large push him from behind and into the room. Doctor shouted a command in German and the door shut. As Train stumbled forward and made a move for the door he could see a glint of golden, cat like eyes, leading him to believe Aja had been in the room he was just forced out of. As much as Train wanted to know how something that big could hide in such a small space, he knew now wasn't the time.

He tried to push against the door, slamming his body as hard into it as he could, but it wouldn't bunge. When he tried the knob, he could see that it turned, which meant the creature must have been sitting in front of it. Desperate, Train put both his hands on the door, electrifying them and seeing the sparks disappear pathetically. Train cursed to himself, realizing the door was also a thick rubber, angry he hadn't noticed that before.

He heard Doctor snicker again and turned around, instantly pointing Hades at his head as the scientist stepped further away from Creed, pulling something out of his pocket. Train eyed the object suspiciously, and frowned at what he was holding.

"You gonna pop out a TV and put on a movie, Doctor?"

Kanzaki smirked and put his arms behind his back. "It's for future use."

Train didn't like that and decided to voice his opinion. "Why wait? What better time than now? Seeing as you're about to have a bullet in the head."

Doctor laughed loudly at this. "You and I both know you won't kill me. That Black Cat is dead."

Train chose not to respond to his statement, knowing it was true, but not wanting to say it out loud. When he heard Creed snarl and fight against the table again, Train took this opportunity to try and figure out what was going on.

"What did you do to Creed?"

Doctor looked back at the swordsman and smirked again, taking another step away from the former Apostles' leader. "I've simply brought out his true colors, Black Cat. You always knew he was a monster after all, didn't you?"

Train tightened his grip on his gun, not sure how to respond. "He may be a killer, but this-" He gestured to Creed with his head. "-Is not even human. Creed's acting like a wild animal you chained up. Even at his worst he was not this bad."

Doctor shrugged his shoulders, continuing to step further away from Creed. "Maybe you just never really knew who Creed was."

Train narrowed his eyes at the Doctor, getting angrier by the minute but his body unable to spark due to the rubber floor. He didn't like how the man was using his old and new feelings for Creed against him. Kanzaki was trying to weaponize his past relationship with Creed against him, and he wasn't going to let that happen. He didn't spend six months away from the world just to become a slave to his feelings again.

"How about you just shut up so we can get this fight started." Train surrounded himself with a small blizzard, signalling he was ready to attack.

Doctor snickered and eyed the cat coolly. "That sounds like a plan… Except I am not your opponent."

Train gave him a perturbed look, but before he could fire any shots at the man, Kanzaki pushed a button on the remote, then shouted a comment and he disappeared with a flash Train knew all too well and was able to piece together that it belonged to Aja.

The cat gasped as the scientist disappeared, not sure how the panther's abilities were able to work in this room, but didn't have time to think any more about it as Creed was leaping at him, sword suddenly in hand which made Train curse himself for not noticing it had been hanging from his hip sooner. The gunman was able to block the blow immediately with Hades, looking shocked as Creed snarled viciously in his face.

Train pushed away his former partner with Hades, then flew himself in the air away from Creed as he launched at him again. He couldn't go far since Doctor had built this room with low ceilings, which Train knew was to keep him from getting too high. Creed was able to catch him easily, throwing himself in the air and slashing at where Train was. The cat wasn't able to flash himself away and with the speed Creed was moving he wasn't able to block the second blow. Train bit his teeth as the second form of Creed's Imagine Blade sliced into his arm, leaving a large gash from his shoulder to his forearm.

The gunman landed on the ground harshly, rolling away immediately as Creed was on him again, slashing wildly, with no rhyme or reason. Train knew Creed fought erratically, but he had a feeling this had something to do with what Doctor had done to him. He could also tell that each of his attacks were also aimed to kill, which is something Train was not used to Creed doing. With every training session that ever had, the swordsman always went out of his way to avoid any of Train's vital spots. However, in this battle, it was clear the silver man was trying to kill Train.

And he's moving awfully well for someone who's been doing nothing by crying in bed for the last six months. What the hell is going on?!

He didn't have time to finish dwelling on that thought as Creed was slicing at his neck now, the cat barely able to avoid it as he spun to the side and into a wall. Train touched his neck and saw blood had been drawn, but he didn't have time to assess the damage as Creed was aiming for his back. The Black Cat pushed himself off the wall and launched himself across the room again, floating himself in the corner of the ceiling as he looked down at his ex-partner.

"Creed! Snap out of it! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Train heard Creed growl and scream again and watched as the mouth of his Imagine Blade flew towards him, its teeth dripping with saliva as it tried to wrap around his waist. Train flew himself across the ceiling, his back sliding against the rubber padding encasing the room as he landed on the floor at the other end. He looked down at himself and noticed his shirt was torn open, exposing his stomach and part of his chest. Again, he didn't have time to look himself over as Creed's blade was coming at him again, this time the sword's mouth grabbing his leg and throwing him in the air and into the ceiling. Luckily, the padding cushioned his clash, but it still knocked the air out of him and he could feel his leg throbbing in pain.

Creed's weapon was still wrapped around his leg as it pulled him closer to the madman. Train laid on the ground in front Creed, staring into his crazy, violent eyes, trying to see if there was any form of the man he was once partnered with. He knew he had a violent streak, and he knew what he had done to Saya, but this was not normal even for Creed.

"Creed, I'm trying to help you! Can't you see that?!"

The silver man's eyes shone a bit of blue when Train said that. "T-Train…?"

Train sighed and tried to reach that hint of humanity his former lover was beginning to show. "I'm here to save you, Creed! Not fight you!"

Train watched as a tear fell from Creed's eye as the red took over again. The swordsman was snarling once more which quickly changed into a scream as he yanked his blade back and threw Train into another padded wall. Again, the cat was grateful to have the cushion, but he could feel his body already starting to bruise from the constant collisions.

Damnit! I can't even get a hit in on him! He's moving so fast and I can't flash myself like usual!

As Creed was running towards him again, Train tried to use the space between them to his advantage. He took in a deep breath, then released it onto the floor, creating ice to form on top of the rubber. Creed lost his footing and slipped comically, which Train couldn't help but laugh at. He flew himself into the air quickly, using both of his hands to cross against his chest which bent the ice around Creed, encasing him in a roll of frozen liquid.

Train sighed in relief when he saw his ex-partner unable to move, floating himself closer to the man so he could get a better look at his face.

"Creed… I'm not here to fight." He saw another tear leave the silver man's regretful red eyes and frowned. "And I feel like you don't want to either."

Now that he had a chance to get a better look at him, Train could see the pain behind the fury. Creed looked utterly desperate to stop himself, but he wasn't able to. The depths of his sorrow was almost too much to look at, but Train forced himself to, hoping that would break him out of whatever curse the Doctor forced on him. He hated that he felt pity for the man, but it was hard not to when he gave him such a furiously sad and defeated look.

"T-Train…" Creed managed to gasp out between his savage grunts and groans. "T-Train… Kill me…"

Train blinked. "What?!"

Creed growled and fought back a scream, trying to get his words out before the drug took over again. "Kill me! I… I-I can't c-control it… The rage… The anger. K-Kill me, Train! I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU!"

The cat stared at him for a second then shook his head. "That's not happening. If I was okay with you dying, I wouldn't be here right now."

Train didn't have a chance to see the man's reaction to that as he saw the floor begin to change colors. Its original black tile changed to a bright red and he could feel the heat radiating even from the spot he floated on. Train looked at Creed and saw the ice around him beginning to melt, the frozen substance now turning back into its liquid form and releasing Creed.

The silver man screamed again and threw himself at Train, slashing at the air aggressively, trying to reach Train. He was able to dodge each slice and cursed, realizing Doctor had prepared the room to stop his cold abilities as well.

Which means he probably has this room prepared for anything. Damnit, what the hell am I supposed to do?!

He had been holding back because he didn't want to hurt Creed, but he also thought attacking the man would only make him more angry. Train was also aware that whatever Creed was given must have increased his abilities to some extent since he had never seen his ex-partner fight like this.

Unless this is what he was always capable of but never let me see for whatever reason. Maybe he thought I'd look at him differently?

That didn't matter right now and Train rid himself of the thought fast as Creed stabbed at him. Train moved to the side, but screamed as the tip of Creed's blade sliced the side of his stomach. The cat's hand flew to the spot immediately, holding it tight to keep his blood from spilling anymore than it already had. He growled as he looked at the red liquid slipping between his fingers, cursing himself for being so useless right now.

Damnit, I'm trying so hard not to attack him that I'm getting my ass kicked! Not to mention none of my abilities work in this stupid room, but Creed seems to be better than ever.

Just hours ago, Creed was getting beaten to a bloody pulp and barely able to hold his own, but now he was fighting as if he had done nothing by train since the Black Cat left. Train was at a loss as to what was going on and found himself fighting to stay alive and try to talk Creed out of whatever trance Doctor had put him in.

"Come on, Creed!" Train shouted, jumping away from another attack then flipping to avoid another. "Are you seriously going to kill me?! Of all people in the world, you're going to let Doctor win and kill me?"

Creed slashed his sword down to slice Train in half and stopped. The Black Cat did not move as he stared directly into the swordsman's eyes, pointing a gun at his forehead, but made sure to keep his eyes on the crazed man. He knew Creed melted every time he made eye contact, and he was sure it would work this time.

Creed gripped his sword tightly and gritted his teeth, trying to fight the demonic voices growing in his head. Just moments ago, all he could hear were his inner thoughts and his mother's harsh words about how worthless he was. He heard over and over again how Train hated him and would hate him forever. The voices reminded him of the pain he caused Train and how he loved Saya more than he could ever love him. They told him he would be alone forever, so he may as well kill everyone now. At least then, he would be alone of his own volition.

However, as Train spoke and reminded him of who he was attacking, he stopped. When he saw those eyes, he felt a bit of warmth return to him. He felt himself begin to falter at the beauty of his beloved and felt his rage filled red eyes returning to their normal, adoring blue whenever he was looking at Train. His arm started to fall and he felt his body relaxing, reminding himself of how much he utterly loved the man he was about to strike down.

"Train…" He whispered, slowly falling to his knees, but never taking his eyes off his cat. "Train…"

He reached out to his love, hoping he could at least touch him before the madness took over again. This was short lived as Doctor decided to interrupt his wonderful reunion with his love and spoke harsh words to the swordsman.

"He left you, Creed." Doctor said through speakers that were placed in the room. "He left you for that sweeper girl. He loved her more than he could ever love you."

Train glared at the ceiling, not sure where the voice had come from, but knowing it had to be up there somewhere. "Doctor…"

"Train doesn't love you and never will. Saya made sure of it. She made sure he could never love anyone except her. Even killing her did not give Train back to you. Her spell is too strong. The only way to save your precious cat from her is to end his life."

Creed felt his rage returning as Doctor spoke. He imagined that girl talking to Train, holding Train, kissing Train. He pictured Saya loving Train and his Kitten returning that love in a way he could never love Creed. His drug filled mind reminded him of how Train was never his in the first place and Saya only ensured that by making contact with him and placing a spell on him. He saw his beloved going towards her, embracing her in a way he had never embraced Creed and felt his insanity slip away once more.

Train watched this change happen right in front of him. He saw every emotion pass before Creed's eyes with each of the Doctor's hateful words. Although he couldn't say exactly what was going through his ex-lover's head, he knew Kanzaki was hitting every button he could to set him off again. The sweet, loving, innocent, blue eyes Creed reserved specially for Train disappeared within minutes and were soon replaced with the cold, heartless, red eyes of a killer finally finding its victim. Train narrowed his eyes and cocked his gun, ready for the man's next moves, but not sure what they would be.

"He doesn't love you, Creed. And he never will again. He only has eyes for her…"

Creed tried to fight the violent urges as best as he could at Doctor's last words. He tried to use his beloved's eyes as his guiding light, but it didn't matter. As the scientist finished his sentence, Creed knew it was the truth and he was lost. Saya had taken his love away from him and even her death didn't end Train's attachment to her. No matter what he did, Train would never be his. He was going to live the rest of his life a lonely shell, waiting for the only person he ever had affections for to return his feelings.

That was all the reminder he needed of how hopefulness life was. Doctor had put it back into his head that if he couldn't have Train and was going to die alone, why not just take the rest of the world with him? He lifted his arms again, his Imagine Blade back in hand as his eyes became a furious crimson once more. Without another loving thought in mind, he sliced down at Train, no longer able to see the man he loved. All he saw was another body he needed to dispose of before death came to claim his soul.

Train cursed loudly and rolled out of the way, barely avoiding the attack. He felt his cheek get cut terribly, his hand running to the spot instinctively to try and keep blood from flowing too much. Again, he did not have time to worry about his physical state as Creed was on him again, this time slashing to the side and slicing at Train's waist. The Black Cat ignored the pain and flipped away, landing several feet away from the swordsman, trying to reassess the situation.

However, he wasn't even given a chance to think as Doctor's voice echoed across the room once more.

"And now those new sweepers are swaying him in their directions even further! They are in league with Saya! They are persuading Train to join them and luring him even farther away from you! They are finishing the job that sweeper girl started!"

Train threw himself in the air and landed behind Creed, but had to jump away quickly as the man screamed painfully at Doctor's words and turned around to slash at him again. Train did his best to make eye contact again to try and break him out of it, but he didn't have the chance. Creed was moving too fast and acting too emotionally to give him a minute to remind him of what he was doing. No matter how angry the man was, Train knew he didn't want to hurt him. No matter how violent or furious he was at the world, the number one thing the gunman knew was Creed couldn't kill him.

Shit, this is bad. What do I do? I can't keep holding back. He's going to kill me if I do. But… If I let myself go…

Train didn't need to finish that sentence. His moral code not to kill was still new and there was still a part of him that hated Creed enough to kill him. If he let himself slip back into that mindset, he might end the mandman's life, and especially now seeing how little control he had of himself due to the Doctor's influence, he knew that was wrong. He couldn't let himself slip.

Saya wouldn't want that… I don't want that.

This fight had made him realize he wasn't killing Creed just for Saya. He didn't want to kill him because he truly believed it was wrong to end his life. He had no right to end another person's life, no matter what they had done. No one had that right. This was something he was beginning to realize more and more, but this fight shined a light on it that refused to go unnoticed. No matter how mad he got, no matter how much pain Creed had caused him and countless other people, it was not Train's place to decide whether he died.

And that's what you meant, isn't it Saya? We are not Gods. We don't get to choose other people's fates. No matter how strong we become, it's not our place to say when someone deserves to die.

As Train ran from another attack he realized now what he wanted from Creed. He wanted his former partner to do the same thing he had been doing: Repent. He wanted Creed to think over his past sins and learn from them. He wanted Creed to realize how wrong he had been and understand on his own why it was wrong. He didn't want Creed to make the choice because of Train or any other outside influences. Creed needed to learn every life he took was his decision and his alone. He couldn't blame it on anyone else and needed to reach that internal realization on his own. Even if he was ordered to kill by Chronos, he was still the one that delivered the final blow.

And he can't do that on his own…

Creed was thrown further over the edge than Train had ever been and his ex-partner's kill count was worse than the Black Cat's. While Train had killed many people, the amount that Creed had killed for the sheer thrill of it was staggering. There were several times Train actually had to stop Creed from killing someone. And with the dependence he had on Train, the gunman had a feeling Creed was going to need his guidance.

As much as I hate to admit it… I think I know what needs to happen after I get him out of here…

The cat cursed and jumped from another attack, holding back a scream as Creed made contact with his arm.

Strike that. If I get out of here.

Train spun to avoid another attack, then ducked and threw himself across the floor. When he stopped against a rubber wall, Train shot his hand out and threw another sheet of ice at Creed. It reached the swordsman's feet and wrapped around his ankles, causing the silver man to freeze in place, then fall forward on his knees as he tried to run forward, not seeming to realize he was frozen to the ground.

Train watched as the floor around Creed turned a bright red and the ice melted away. Train cursed again and jumped in the air to avoid another slice from the Imagine Blade. He floated above Creed and tried to think of what else he could do without hurting him. He didn't want to injure Creed too badly, since he knew he wasn't himself right now and it wouldn't be right to go all out on him.

Not just that, but I can't use my Tao. This is so frustrating!

He launched himself across the room as the mouth of the blade tried to wrap around him again, then flew to the floor to avoid another slice. Train ran across the room to create some distance between him and Creed, stopped, turned around and aimed his gun at the man.

Guess I need to do this the old fashion way...

Train shot at the wall behind Creed and watched as his bullet hit the rubber, bounced off it and landed directly behind his ex-partner's left thigh. Creed yelled out and fell to his knee, but was on his feet again in an instant. Train jumped to the side, dodging a stab from the tip of his blade, then rolled on the ground so he was behind the bed, facing Creed. He fired another shot at the wall behind Creed, this time it bounced and landed in his right calf, but made an annoyed sound as it still didn't seem to stop the man.

This is absurd! What the hell did they give him?! Can he not feel pain? Or is he just too angry to even notice he'd been shot twice.

As Train spun away from another attack, he managed to make eye contact with Creed and noticed he had been crying. He saw a tear fall from his eye before, but now it looked like he was sobbing uncontrollably, as if his heart was desperately trying to tell Train something. As if Creed felt like he was dying with each strike he made at Train.

He asked me to kill him before… But that's not going to happen. Talking before seemed to help him, but it wasn't enough. Doctor's words and drugs are stronger than my words. What else can I do to snap him out of it.

Train jumped away and tried to say something to Creed one more time. "Creed, remember who you're attacking! Try and remember who I am! Do you really want to hurt me?!"

Creed screamed and sliced at the air in front of Train again, his body shaking as he tried to stop himself from hurting the man he loved. "N-no… D-don't… Don't want to hurt you… N-never wanted t-to hurt you… I-I love you…"

Despite his words, Creed did not stop. He cried out in agony as he sliced at his beloved again, begging his body to stop, praying Train would kill him so he wouldn't hurt his precious cat. With each swipe he made with his sword, with each drop of blood he saw his love spill, Creed felt a little more of himself die on the inside. If Train wasn't going to fight back or try to kill him, Creed knew he had to do it himself.

Creed was able to stop himself enough to turn his sword and aim it at his own neck. Train saw this and his eyes widened, realizing what the man was about to do.

"NO!" Train shouted as he ran towards his former partner, desperate to stop him from doing something the Black Cat didn't want.

Train collided with the man, knocking him to the ground and pinning his arms to the floor. Creed screamed and pushed himself upwards, knocking Train over so he was now on top of his cat, sword still in hand as he raised it in the air, ready to bring it down on the only person he ever gave a damn about.

The Black Cat saw the tears and pain in Creed's eyes and froze, not sure what to do. Creed looked so defeated, yet so furious. His eyes were still a dark crimson, but Train watched his body quake with sobs and his arm shook with fear over what he was about to do to Train. Creed gritted his teeth, trying to fight his body from giving his cat the final blow, but he didn't think he could hold out much longer.

MOVE TRAIN!

Creed screamed this in his head, not sure why Train was just staring at him. He knew his beloved was capable of breaking free, so he wasn't sure why he wasn't. If he stayed there much longer, Creed knew he would lose all control again and slice open his neck. And he knew as soon as that happened, Creed would turn his sword on himself.

As Train stared up at Creed, a memory began to return to him.

"Is that really all it takes to make you stop?"

Train made a strange face and cursed at himself for realizing what he could do that would most definitely snap Creed out of it.

Especially since it looks like he has somewhat control over himself right now. But… Am I really going to do this? What will the repercussions be?

Train continued staring at him for a few more minutes, trying to think of anything else he could say to Creed that would bring him out of his drugged state. He really didn't want to do what he was thinking, but he had a feeling it was going to be the only thing that would work. And at this point, unless he decided to kill Creed or let him kill himself, he was out of options.

Creed screamed and felt his last bit of control leave him and lowered his swords quickly down on his beloved. However, he stopped when Train reached forward and grabbed his shirt, pulling his face down so it was in front of his Kitten's. Creed's eyes widened as Train pressed his lips against his, the silver man freezing in place as his drugged brain tried to comprehend the situation.

While his head wasn't sure what was going on, his body acted instinctively. Creed dropped his sword which had returned to its normal, empty handle and fell on top of his cat. He wrapped his fingers eagerly through Train's hair and slid his tongue into his beloved's mouth. Creed felt his whole body relax into his love, holding as tightly as he could to his head, diving his tongue as deep into his Kitten's mouth as he could. It had been far too long since he was able to feel his beloved, taste his cat and he didn't want to let a second slip by without having those sensations in his life again.

When Creed dropped his sword ,Train felt relief flood over him and relaxed his body a little, ready to pull away from the kiss. However, when the swordsman fell on top of him and began caressing his hair with such earnest want, he was starting to wonder if this was the right decision. He felt Creed's tongue enter his mouth fervidly, as if the silver man thought he was going to die without feeling every detail of his mouth. He heard Creed moan in bliss and Train could tell how badly his ex-lover had been wanting this.

Train allowed Creed to continue kissing him and opened his eyes to see where his Imagine Blade had fallen to. Just to be safe, Train reached out and grabbed it, subtly attaching it to his hip. He figured if when the kiss ended and Creed was homicidal once again, at least he wouldn't have his weapon anymore.

Creed's heart was on fire as Train let him do whatever he wanted. He pushed himself as hard into his beloved as he could, reliving the time he was happy when he and Train were together. In that moment, Creed forgot about everything that happened six months ago and pretended they were lovers once more. He knew it wasn't true and Train most likely was in agony right now, but he didn't care. His cat was allowing him to be selfish for a minute and he wasn't going to let that opportunity slip by.

Train knew the drug was starting to wear off, but he could still feel a bit of violent tension in his ex-partner's body. He tried to relieve that last bit of rage by slipping his hands up Creed's back and to his shoulders, pulling the man closer and deepening the already deep kiss. While Train really didn't want to be doing this, there was also a part of him that had been lonely the last six months. When Creed first touched him like this and they shared their first night together as lover's, Train realized how amazing all those sensations were and had been craving them again more than he knew until this moment.

As much as he hated to admit it, it felt good to be kissed like this again. Each of Creed's caresses with his hands and stroke of his tongue brought him back to a more peaceful time. A time before he knew what Creed had done. A time when Train was truly happy and content with the world around him. Before he knew it, he was shutting his eyes and allowing his physical desire to take over, washing away the emotional hurt the man on top of him had caused him.

After a few minutes, Train's eyes shot open and he pushed Creed away from him, wiping his mouth off with the back of his hand and looking uneasily at the silver man.

"...Are you back?" Train was trying to catch his breath from both the kiss and the fight, but managed to get out that quick question.

Creed rolled on his back and stared at the ceiling, blinking wildly as if he had just been woken up from a terrible nightmare. He looked over at his beloved as he asked his question, then nodded his head. When Train kissed him, he felt all his pain go away. In that quick moment of heaven, Creed remembered what it felt like to be happy again. He remembered how amazing Train felt, how delicious he tasted and his body craved more. As he laid on the ground next to his love, his heart ached with yearning and he felt his hand reaching out to his Kitten, desperately wanting to touch him again.

He smiled warmly at his beloved, his heart returning to its broken state when he saw the discomfort in Train's eyes. "Thank you… Train."

Then, he registered his cat's current physical state. While deep down he knew what he had been doing to Train, he didn't fully understand the level of pain he had caused his love until just now. His shirt was torn and blood was seeping from his stomach. The cuts were shallow, but that did not make Creed feel any better. Both of his shoulders had been slices as well and his face was bloody and bruised. He watched as Train ran a hand through his hair, still trying to catch his breath and felt himself cry when he saw his Kitten leave a trail of blood from his hand on his flawless face.

Without thinking, Creed moved himself over to Train and took hold of both his shoulders. He looked his beloved up and down, tears falling from his eyes and guilt began to wrack his body. Creed sobbed loudly and buried his face into Train's chest, wrapping his arms around his cat's back, pulling him as close as he could.

"I'm so sorry, Train…" Creed felt his body growing weak as he held onto Train, as if he was going to pass out. "I'm so sorry, Train… I love you so much… I'm so sorry, I love you…"

Train felt Creed go limp against his chest, signaling that he had passed out. His arms were still wrapped tightly around his body which the cat was not surprised at. The gunman sighed and rolled his eyes, not sure what had caused him to become unconscious since he was pretty much unharmed from their fight.

Is it an after effect of the drug? Adrenaline wearing off?

He shook his head and looked towards the door. It really didn't matter what the reason was, all that mattered now was they got the hell out of there. Train wasn't sure why Doctor hadn't said or done anything yet, but he had a feeling that if he didn't start moving now, something bad was going to happen.

Looking down at Creed, he frowned.

Why did I kiss him back like that? Am I really so desperate for intimate contact that I'll accept it even from him?

This was something else he decided needed to wait and be evaluated later. They couldn't stay there and contemplating a make out session he had with his ex-lover wasn't going to help either of them right now. He was upset enough knowing that he was going to have to carry Creed again, adding in self-hate for kissing a man he saw as his enemy wasn't going to make anything better.

With a disgruntled sigh, he stood up, taking Creed with him and putting one arm under his knees. He wanted to just throw the man over his shoulders, but seeing as Creed had a tight hold of him already, he was forced to carry him more delicately. As he adjusted the man in his arms a little, Train sighed in annoyance as Creed made a happy sound and rolled over so his face was pressed against his chest again.

"Je t'aime tellement mon chaton" (2)

Train didn't know how to respond to that, but also knew it didn't matter since chances were Creed wouldn't hear him anyway. Instead, he decided to ignore it and the other sweet nothings he kept whispering to him in favor of walking towards the door. There was a part of him that hoped the silence from Kanzaki meant he had left for whatever reason and maybe that meant Aja was no longer blocking the door.

The knob turned and the cat was able to push it open with ease, making him smile happily as he stepped through the door with Creed in his arms.

"Vous êtes si belle, Train." (3)

Train sighed at Creed's words and made his way carefully through the lab, ready to drop Creed and attack if Doctor or that beast came back. Now that he was out of the prison, he could feel the electricity flow through him and he smirked, feeling whole once more now that he was back to full strength.

Well, maybe not full strength. I'm pretty banged up. But, I've had worse. I can move just fine and none of the blows he landed on me were lethal.

As Creed nuzzled his head into his shoulder, Train grimaced in pain, reminding him of how much damage he had taken during their fight. As if feeling his hurt, Creed whined sadly and moved his head somewhere else.

"I'm so sorry, Train…"

Now the cat was starting to wonder if he was actually awake. That was too coincidently for him to be asleep. "Creed… Are you awake?"

Creed didn't respond and continued whispering loving, French words which led the cat to believe he was actually unconscious. It just appeared as though no matter how dead to the world he was, Creed still somehow knew what was going on with Train at all times.

"Je suis vraiment désolé, mon amour. Je suis vraiment désolé." (4)

Train stopped before he exited the lab and looked down at Creed, seeing he was crying once more. The way he apologized just now made him feel as though he wasn't saying sorry for trying to kill him now. His apology sounded deeper than that, as if he had been waiting all this time to tell him that.

"You didn't deserve that hurt… You didn't deserve that pain…"

Again, Train had a feeling Creed was talking about something else and felt himself growing annoyed as he realized what Creed was apologizing for. Some sparks flew from his body as he pushed his way through the door and out of Doctor's lab, not caring when Creed let out a painful, quiet yelp from the lightning that flew through his body. Train glanced down at him again, seeing if that woke the man up and got angry when he saw the depressed, agonoize look on his slumbering face.

"Shut up, Creed. Now's not the time." He knew the man couldn't hear him, but wanted to get out how mad he was at hearing his apology.

Creed continued apologizing to Train as he made his way down the hallway and up the stairs. Train was doing his best to ignore every sorry, every plea, every beg to forgive him, but it was nearly impossible. He was so annoyed at Creed's words and he wasn't even sure why. The silver man apologized to him a million times that night he found out what he did and the night before Train left. He didn't accept his apologies then and he wasn't going to now.

"It's too late to apologize, Creed…" Again, he knew the man couldn't hear him, but felt like this needed to get out, even if he'd have to repeat it to Creed later. "You did what you did, and you can't undo it. I don't want to hear it…"

As if understanding what Train said, Creed stopped apologizing and returned to his sweet words of love for the Black Cat. Train felt this was more acceptable than the apologizes and although he wasn't sure why, they were easier to ignore. He reached the top of the stairs and found himself pushing Creed's face further into his chest, earning a blissful sigh from the unconscious man and rolling his eyes at Creed's reaction.

I'm definitely going to have to make sure he's not reading into this after he wakes up. I need him to be quiet so we can sneak out of here before and Apostles show up.

That was the real reason he pushed Creed harder against him, but he knew the swordsman was making himself believe it was something else. Again, Train didn't have time to worry about this right now since he heard fighting happening down the hall from him. He was about to turn the opposite direction when he realized it might have been one of his friends.

Damnit! If they get hurt I'll never be able to forgive myself!

He looked down at Creed and growled angrily, aware he couldn't just put the man down and jump back into battle. He also knew he had taken a beating just now and fighting the Apostles wasn't something he was ready to do just yet.

I have to get Creed out of here first. Then I'll come back to get Sven and them.

With this thought in mind, Train ran down the hall towards the door he had entered through. He heard a loud scream followed by a crash and saw a piece of the ceiling fall down in front of him. Train looked up into the large hole that was there now and saw Jenos smirking down at him.

"Hey, there, Black Cat! What are you doing here?"

Train frowned up at him. "I should be asking you the same thing. Did Lin tell you how to get here?"

Jenos laughed. "Who else would?"

That was when he noticed who Train was carrying and made a strangled face. However, before he could ask anything else, Train heard Shiki yell a common and saw the short Taoi throw a seal across the hole Number VII was looking down. Jenos was soon too distracted by his fight to continue the conversation with Train, but the gunman felt a bit better knowing Chronos had arrived.

Guess I owe Lin my thanks. Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all.

Train ran faster towards the door, hoping the arrival of the numbers meant his sweepers friends had been able to escape. Just as he was about to approach the door, he saw a flash of blood cut him off, wrapping itself around the door, sealing it shut so Train couldn't use it.

The cat turned around and took a fighting stance, ready to drop Creed as Charden eyed him from down the hall.

Charden looked at Creed curiously, then to Train. "Are you seriously taking him with you? Unharmed?"

Train narrowed his eyes at the man. "I'm not going to let him die."

Charden sighed and shook his head. "Guess you really are both just useless…"

Before Train could respond, he watched as Sephiria leapt at him from down the hall, slicing at the air he had managed to move from, flipping down the hallway and out of Train's sight. Sephiria was about to follow him when she caught a glimpse of the cat and widened her eyes at who he was holding.

"Heartnet… What are you doing with Diskenth?"

Train locked eyes with her and responded with his own question. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

Sephiria took a second to respond, trying to make sure she chose her words wisely. "It looks as if you are rescuing him. Is that the case?"

Train nodded. "Yes."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Then you don't intend to get your revenge?"

"Oh, I do. But, my idea of revenge is different than what it was six months ago."

Sephiria blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Have you forgotten you're in the middle of a battle, Number One?!"

The voice came from Maro who Train could not see down the hallway, but knew what his voice sounded like. His thoughts were confirmed as he watched Sephiria fall to a knee from an unknown force, her face strangled as she tried to look over at her attacker. Train watched as she tried to stand against the gravity and growled in frustration as he put Creed on the ground.

Train ran down the hall and slid in front of the number. Maro's eyes widened when he saw Train and tried to ready an attack, but was too slow as Train threw him up in the air and shot a blast of ice at him. The large Taoist shouted curses at the Black Cat as he moved closer, continuing his ice attack as he encased him in the frozen liquid. Train looked up at Maro and laughed at his position on the ceiling. The gunman had encased him in a block of ice, pinning him to the ceiling allowing only his head to stick out.

"You should see yourself right now, Maro! You look ridiculous!" Train clutched his stomach as he laughed, trying to ignore the pain his injured body felt from the gesture as he pointed up at the Taoist. "I can't believe the ice is enough to hold you up there! How has the plaster now fallen from the weight?!

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH, CAT!" Maro screamed as he struggled against the ice.

Not wanting to hear more of his curses, Train shot one more blast of ice at his mouth, sealing his lips shut so he could finish his conversation with Sephiria.

"Now, now, sweetie, we'll come back to you later. Mommy and Daddy are talking." Train turned back to Sephiria who was looking at Maro in shock. The cat smirked at her as he spoke. "You didn't think I spent all that time away just to plot my revenge, did you? I'm not the Train you knew at Chronos."

Sephiria glanced at him, then down at where Creed laid on the floor, mumbling incoherently to himself. "I'm starting to understand that…"

But I'm not sure what exactly is different this time…

Train had gone through so many changes in the last couple years, and Sephiria was beginning to lose track of who he actually was.

Or if I even knew that in the first place…

She shook her head and pointed her sword at Creed. "What do you intend to do with him?"

Train looked at Creed and frowned. "If I gave him to Chronos… What would you do with him?"

Sephiria eyed the cat strangely. The way he asked the question was somewhat hopeful. As if he knew what she was going to say but wanted to hear something different so he could hand him over.

"You know what we'll do, Heartnet."

Train sighed and rested his head in his hands. "Then… I guess I'm taking him with me…"

Sephiria narrowed her eyes. "So… You still have feelings for him?"

Train glared at her. "No. But that doesn't mean I want him to die."

Sephiria sighed and looked down the hall, making sure no one was going to interrupt them with another attack. The rest of her team had the Apostles pretty distracted, so she was confident she could at least finish this conversation with the Black Cat before he returned to the fight.

"Your friends are safe. They're waiting in the woods for you." Sephiria made sure to get this out first before Train began to worry.

The gunman sighed in relief and nodded. "Thank you, Sephiria."

"I didn't do it for you, Heartnet. I don't want to see innocent civilians be killed."

Train smiled at her. While he knew that was true, he also knew she did it because she wanted to protect his friends. He didn't need to hear her say that, though. It was enough to know they were safe.

"What do you mean you're taking him with you? What about your revenge for that sweeper girl?"

Train looked at her, then at Creed. "As I said, my idea of revenge has changed. Saya wouldn't want me to kill him."

Sephiria felt betrayed by that. Six months ago, he wanted to kill her for what he thought she had done to Saya. Now, it seemed as though knowing Creed had been the one to do it, he had changed his mind. "What changed your mind?"

Train looked her in the eyes, knowing what she was feeling and making sure she understood where he stood. "I was beginning to realize killing in Saya's name was wrong long before I found out Creed did it. I don't want anyone to die."

Sephiria looked him in the eyes and nodded his head. Somehow, that statement was enough to get her past her thoughts of the Black Cat's hypocritical actions. "Then what's your plan?"

Train sighed. "I don't know yet… I'll figure that out as I go. All I know right now is I need to get him and myself out of here. This battle has nothing to do with either of us anymore and as I said before, I don't want to see anyone die."

Sephiria continued staring at him, not sure what to make of his new resolve. "...Understood."

Train smiled at her then turned to run back down the hall. He got about half way before he stopped and looked back at Sephiria, calling out to her before she could return to her fight with the Apostles.

"Are you going to come after him?"

Sephiria stopped herself from running off and looked back at Train. She frowned at him and furrowed her brow. "I cannot answer that just yet. For now… Just keep him hidden. You'll have your answer soon."

Train gave her an uneasy look then ran down the hall, scooped Creed back up and turned the blood covering the door into ice. Train then took out Hades and shot an electric bullet at the frozen water, waiting as it exploded the dried blood. The cat kicked the door down and ran outside as fast as he could. He ignored Creed's happy moans as he clung back to his chest, snuggling as close as he could and resuming his adoring words about Train.

As Train ran through the woods, he stopped when he heard Sven yell his name. He sighed in relief and approached his friends, happy to see they looked mostly unharmed.

"What happened?!" Sven asked, seeing the state he was in and Creed was passed out in his arms.

Train looked down at himself and sighed at Creed who was speaking to him lovingly in Russian now. "Long story. For now, we should leave."

Sven looked at Creed wearily, then back at Train. "Are we taking him with us?"

Train glanced at Creed, then back at Sven. "I can't leave him alone, Sven. Who knows what they'll do..."

Rinslet wasn't sure about his idea either and decided to voice her concern as well. "What makes you think he'll be any better off with us? Or we'll be better off with him?"

Train shook his head. "I don't think we'll really be better off with him, but I know he'll be better off with me. Saya was my guiding light back to the world, and, as much as I hate to admit it, I'm Creed's."

Neither of them were convinced of this so Train tried a different tactic. "We already know I can't leave him here and we know if I give him to Chronos they'll kill him, and that's not what any of us want." Train grimaced again as Creed managed to snuggle into another damaged part of his body. "And I'm not saying it's forever. It's until I feel like we can trust him not to go on a killing spree. When I think he's stable enough and knows the difference between right and wrong, I'll kick him out of the group."

Sven was about to speak, but Train interrupted him again since he was pretty sure he knew what the older man was about to say. "If he ever shows any signs of danger, I'll hand him over to Chronos. No questions asked. Deal?"

Sven sighed uneasily, then nodded his head. "Deal…"

Train smiled at him and gave him a look of thanks and gratitude. Sven turned and took Eve's arm, walking down the path that had led them away from the Apostles' lair. Rinslet patted Train on the back as she followed after the bio-girl and her guardian, the Black Cat breathed a sigh of relief as he walked behind them as well. He glanced back down at Creed again who was smiling affectionately in his arms, continuing to tell Train how much he loved him.

"YA tak sil'no tebya lyublyu, Treyn." (5)

The Black Cat grimaced as Creed nuzzled into a wound on his shoulder again and bit back a curse.

Am I really going to try and help this guy?

Train ignored another loving sentiment from his ex-partner and looked at the sky. He smiled as a cloud moved and allowed the sun's rays to caress this slightly tanned skin. Feeling Saya's reassurance surrounding him, Train nodded and walked faster after his friends. It was going to be hard, but he knew this was the right thing to do.

---

Translation:

Relax

(1) "I love you so much, my Kitten."

(2) "You're so beautiful, Train."

(3) "I'm so sorry, my love. I'm so, so sorry."

(4) "I love you so much, Train."