Disclaimer: I do not own Black Cat or its characters.

Watts rolled his eyes as Nica pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. "Do we really have to sign this?"

Nica nodded and made sure it looked as if she was upset and even a little scared. "Yes. Aliane noticed Chronos following us on the way over."

Watts glanced at the woman who was supposed to be his daughter, noticing she was refusing to look at him and instead made it seem as though she was pouting while staring out the window. He knew she was really keeping an eye on the location Chronos was watching them, but he couldn't deny she was doing a good job making it look as though she was just an angsty teenager who was accompanying her mother while she got her 'husband' to sign divorce papers.

She wouldn't say Chronos was watching unless it was true. As much as Aliane likes to annoy me, she wouldn't joke about something like that.

Watts made sure his face was serious as he took the paper and pen from Nica harshly, making sure his gestures could be seen by whoever was watching them. "Don't we have to speak with Charden soon? Isn't that the real reason you came here?"

Nica nodded, noting he was making sure his lips were not visible to whoever was outside, but his gestures were.

He's probably trying to hide what he's saying in case they can read lips. That's smart. I guess I don't give him enough credit. Then again, we haven't been around each other that much lately.

She, Aliane, and Kenneth had been staying at the sweepers' hideout for longer than they expected mostly because she was waiting until she was certain Sven trusted them. Nica could tell over time the man had formed feelings for her, but was unwilling to act on them as long as she was still married. As frustrating as that was for her, she couldn't help but admire the respectful nature he was showing her, nor could she deny that was part of the reason why she made sure to get fake divorce papers.

And I can't imagine it's been easy for Sven to turn me down with how often and how willingly I've been throwing myself at him. Any other man would have jumped at the chance to be with me. Well, maybe not men like Diskenth and the Heartnet, but I know what I look like. Men have never been able to turn down my advances.

Yet, somehow Sven had. She couldn't deny that although he was their enemy, she had affections for him. In fact, she had them for quite a while, which was one of the reasons she was hoping he'd give into her flirtations. Nica wanted to be with the green haired man at least once before she knew she had to turn on them. While that would have made the pain all the worse for both of them once they finally betrayed them, at least then she could feel fulfilled in knowing she was able to bed the sweeper.

But… I can't lie to myself. That's not the only reason I want to sleep with him at least once. I think my feelings for him might be more than just an infuriating crush.

Almost all of her time had been spent with Sven since he was the one they needed to win over. However, during that time she was worried she was falling for him. The fact that he refused to deflower her only made her feelings for him grow. At first her eagerness to sleep with the man came only from her wounded pride since no one had ever turned her down before, but that soon changed to her really wanting to be with him. Then that want turned into desiring the sweeper more than she had desired any other man before.

We need to make a move soon before it gets worse than it already is. I'm used to breaking men's hearts, but I am not used to getting mine broken.

She jumped a little when Watts snapped his fingers in her face, bringing her attention back to him. As he gave her an angry look, she remembered who was watching them and was for once grateful for the man's crude manners since they made it easier for her to look uncomfortable around him. His ability to frighten her out of her thoughts of Sven made the scene appear more real.

Nica nodded and took the paper back, being sure to hide her lips from the window as well. "I signed it at the sweeper hideout already. And I made sure Sven saw it."

Watts cocked an eyebrow at her, but kept the scowl on his face. "Oh? And just why is it so important that he knew about it?"

Nica glared at him, not bothering to hide the look from the occupants outside as she put the paper away. "You know why."

Watts rolled his eyes and walked away from her. "I know what the reason should be, but I can't help but think there's more to it."

Nica hardened her glare. "Since when do you pretend to understand people's emotions?"

Watts shrugged his shoulders. "Since you made it very clear your feelings for that man are the exact opposite of what they should be."

Nica sighed angrily and slid the paper carefully in her bag. "I don't want to talk about this and it's none of your business."

Watts mocked her angry sigh as he turned his back to her. "Except it is my business since you are currently my business partner."

Aliane decided to join the conversation as she turned away from the window to face her fake father, making sure her motion looked erratic so as to fool the people watching them. "Are you sure you aren't just jealous?"

Watts rolled his eyes, but the women. "That's not it and you know it. I just know that two of you are going to get us in trouble with your relentless feelings."

Aliane put her hands forcefully on her hips. "My feelings for Train have only made it easier to fit in! And just because you're so closed off from yours doesn't mean we have to be!"

Watts rubbed his face with his hands. "Women…" He glanced over his shoulder, knowing his next question was safe to ask. "Where's the old man?"

Nica sat harshly on the bed and folded her arms against her chest as he glared at him. "Still with the sweepers."

Watts seemed confused. "Why did she come, but not him?"

Aliane glanced out the window to see if the person watching them was still there, then turned away so they wouldn't see her face. "Because we agreed it didn't make sense to bring an old man to a situation that could be potentially dangerous."

Watts cocked an eyebrow and turned his head away from the window. "But it makes sense to bring a child?"

Nica shook her head. "No. But she needs to be here for the meeting with Charden. Kenneth doesn't since he doesn't contribute much, so we used the excuse that she refused to let me come alone."

Watts nodded in understanding, then thought of another loop hole in their story. "Wouldn't that man of yours want to come and keep you safe as well?"

Nica smiled a little, careful to make sure the spy outside didn't see as she shook her head slightly to rid herself of the happy feeling. "We didn't tell him we were coming here. I 'accidentally' let him see the papers, but I left before he had a chance to ask me what was happening. Actually…" She glanced out the window with a bit of hope in her eyes. "...We might need to be careful. He's a clever man. He might figure out where we are and come after us."

Watts rolled his eyes. "Geeze, you could at least try to hide the giddiness in your voice."

Nica scowled at him, about to speak again as Aliane made a celebratory sound and threw her hands in the air. "WOO! They're gone!"

Both Watts and Nica moved a little closer to the window to see what she meant. However, they did not have the same skills Aliane had which made Watts sigh. "How can you be so sure?"

Aliane frowned at him, then pointed to her eyes that were shining a bright shade of white. "Tao, remember? It's not just my physical body that can change its state. I can see through shit like buildings and walls as well."

Nica smiled proudly and patted her fake child on the head as if she were her real child. "That ability of yours is super useful."

Aliane smiled at her fictional parents as if she were her real mother. "And your Tao will help us capture my sweet Sugarplum and bring him back with us where I can tell him who I really am and properly woo him."

Watts let out a loud, frustrated sound. "This again?! What makes you so certain you can win him over?"

Aliane glowered at the man. "Because he doesn't know who I really am! Once he sees I'm a beautiful woman around the same age as him, he'll forget all about Creed and come running into my arms."

Watts rolled his eyes and sat on the bed. "Doubt it." He glanced at Nica. "Can we call Charden now?"

Nica nodded, then turned to the window to close the shades and walked towards the drawer they hid their laptop in. When she opened it up and connected to the call, she saw Charden and Echidna were already waiting for them, their blonde leader looking rather annoyed with the tardiness.

Charden was leaning his cheek on his fist, his other hand tapping impatiently at the table in front of them as his eyes looked up at the screen. He frowned deeply and spoke in a harsh tone. "What took so long?"

Nica blinked and jumped a little, not used to hearing such a bitter tone from the man. "Sorry, we had to make sure the close was clear. Chronos was-"

Charden slammed his fist on the table, making Echidna jump next to him. "-You need to be more careful about allowing them to follow you! Unless you want to be caught and ruin the whole plan."

Nica sat frozen in front of the screen, glancing over at Aliane who seemed to be cowering away at the man's anger, Watts sitting up a little straighter on the bed as if Charden was going to scold him for slouching. She looked at Echidna who seemed to be even more concerned about the Blood Taoist's sudden outburst than they were.

What the hell is going on with him? I've never heard him yell before.

Nica took a quiet breath in and nodded her head. "Understood. We'll be more careful in the future."

That seemed to calm the man down a little and Nica readied herself for an apology. Instead, what she got was another annoyed look as he got straight to the point. "You need to make your move ASAP."

Nica blinked again. "Wh-what?"

Charden narrowed his eyes at her. "Did you not hear me clearly? You need to make your move against Heartnet ASAP. Chronos is getting closer to our location and if we have the Black Cat in our grasp, it'll make it easier to defend ourselves."

That didn't make sense to Nica and she let it be known. "Wouldn't that give them more reason to find you? And then you'd have to worry about keeping the Black Cat contained while you fight off Chronos. Not to mention Diskenth wil-"

Charden slammed his hand on the table again. "ARE YOU QUESTIONING ME?!"

Nica froze again, putting her hands on her lap as she gripped at her knees tightly. She didn't know what to say, so she kept her mouth shut, waiting for someone else to speak.

Echidna watched her partner fume for a second, then reached out and patted his shoulder gently, addressing the woman on the other side of the screen. "What Charden means is we have perfected the Chronos drug enough that we can make Hearnet do as we please. If we can get him here, not only can we get him to kill Creed, but we can control him to do our bidding for a while. And with the strength of the Black Cat, we can get a lot done in a very short amount of time. After we use him, we'll send him off to kill Creed."

Nica watched as Charden seemed to calm down when the actress explained their reasoning. She nodded in understanding, then asked one more hesitant question, worried about what her leader's response was going to be. "So… The plan has changed?"

Charden glared at her again, about to speak but Echidna stepped in again before he could berate her for no reason. "Only slightly. You are to capture him by whatever means you deem necessary and bring him back here. The only thing that's changed is what we are doing with the Black Cat once we have him."

Not wanting to ask any more questions and further anger the blonde man, Nica nodded. "Understood. Is there anything else we should know?"

Echidna glanced at Charden who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. The Blood Taoist shook his head and waved his hand as if dismissing the meeting, then stood up quickly to leave. Echidna watched him go for a minute and Nica could hear a door slam which signaled Charden had left the room. The actress's eyes stayed glued to where he left, frowning deeply with a worried look painted on her face.

Nica watched her leader for a moment before asking another hesitant question. "Did… Did something happen?"

Echidna was quiet for a minute, as if she didn't hear the woman on the other end of the screen speaking. Finally, she turned to face the camera, concern still evident on her pretty face. "Charden's just stressed, that's all. Don't worry, everything is under control."

There was something about Echidna's tone of voice that didn't sound convincing, but before Nica could ask another question, the actress asked one of her own. "How soon can you make your move?"

Nica blinked, then frowned. "Within the week. Probably within the next couple of days. We're meeting with them tomorrow to clean out a mansion or something."

Echidna's eyes widened. "What?"

Nica wasn't sure why the woman looked so shocked, and she continued. "Yeah, they said something about one of Creed's relative's dying and cleaning out his mansion. They also used that as the excuse as to why we haven't seen much of them in a month and a half."

Echidna took in each of her words, then narrowed her eyes slightly. "Why didn't you tell us this sooner?"

Nica sighed, knowing the woman was getting annoyed and tried to explain herself. "We didn't really have a chance. It's hard to get a hold of you sometimes and… I don't really think Charden would have taken that new well…" Seeing Echidna was deep in thought, she added to her statement. "Honestly, their whole story sounded like bullshit. We know they're back together now, so we just assumed they wanted to get away from us so they could be alone. We didn't know what the mansion had to do with it."

Echidna blinked. "They're back together? How do you know this for sure if you haven't seen them?"

Nica made sure she was careful with her words, since she could tell the woman was upset despite her calm tone. "Eve told us. Should we know something about this mansion?"

Echidna stared off to where Charden went for a moment, then turned back to the camera and nodded. "Yes. When they were running the Apostles, Creed had a series of mansions dedicated to hiding us. It never even occurred to me they'd be hiding there… but it makes sense." She slammed her fist lightly on the table. "Why didn't I think of that before?"

Nica wasn't sure how to respond to that and seeing Echidna was beating herself up over something, she tried to make the subject a little lighter. "So, does that mean we'll be emptying old Apostles clothes and belongings?"

Echidna shrugged. "That along with non-perishable foods. Creed always made sure every place was packed just in case we had to move at the last minute."

Nica blinked. "He did all that? Why?"

Echidna gave her a sour look. "Why do you think?"

Nica stared at the woman's face for a minute, then sighed in understanding. "Right. Train." Seeing her leader was falling deeper into some sort of weird depression, she tried to say something to make her smile. She admired Echidna a lot and didn't like seeing the woman upset. "Well, they said we're welcomed to take whatever we wanted to help keep us going since we claim to not have a lot of clothes. I wasn't going to, but now that I know some of those clothes belong to you... I have to say I'm a bit excited."

Echidna smiled a little and glanced at the woman. "Think you can pull them off?"

Nica made a mocked offended look. "How rude! I may not be as shapely as you, but I certainly make heads turn with my looks!"

Echidna laughed a little, glad she was still capable of the gesture. "You're welcomed to whatever you'd like of my clothes, but if you find a floor length black and green dress, I'd like it back please." She looked out the window wistfully, as if she was remembering a simpler time. "It was my favorite dress… And I've been missing it so…"

Nica smiled even though Echidna couldn't see the motion. "I'll keep an eye out for it. Is there anything else?"

Echidna shook her head, but did not look back at the camera. "No. That's all." In a rare moment of kindness, she looked back at the woman and smiled. "Thank you, Nica."

Nica was about to say something more, but the session ended and she was left facing a black screen. She stared at her own reflection through the glass, not sure what to make of the encounter she just had with her leaders and knew no one else in the room would either.

Despite that obvious confusion she was in, Aliane asked the question they were all thinking. "What the hell was that about? I've never heard Charden yell like that, and I know there have been many occasions where the Doctor earned his scorn, but he did nothing that extreme."

Watts nodded in agreement, staring at the blank screen with slight concern. "Something must have happened…"

Nica shook herself of her confusion and joined their musings. "No matter what it is, it doesn't matter. If Echidna says everything is under control, then everything is under control. We need to trust that our leaders know what they're doing."

Aliane sighed, then threw herself on the bed. "That was stressful…"

"I'll say." Watts added as he laid back on the bed, trying to absorb the conversation they just had, but he knew there was nothing more to absorb.

All their eyes turned to the door when they heard a loud pounding coming from the other end. Watts and Aliane stood up immediately, preparing their Tao for battle. Aliane turned half her body invisible as she sunk into the floor a little while Watts made a dozen daggers appear around his head. Nica's eyes flashed a bright shade of purple that matched the aura that formed around her hands as she stood up and approached the door. The situation with Charden and knowing they were being followed by Chronos already had them on edge, so the persistent pounding made them all jump.

"NICA?! NICA, ALIANE ARE YOU IN THERE?!"

Nica blinked at the voice as her heart skipped a beat, recognizing it right away. She sighed in relief and deactivated her Tao, smiling despite herself and her comrades' battle ready state. She turned to the other two and motioned for them to calm down and deactivate their abilities as well. "It's Sven. I told you he'd follow me."

Aliane frowned and pulled herself out of the ground, making her body visible. "I'd like to think he's following me out of concern too..." She paused, then widened her eyes. "Does that mean Train is with him?!"

Watts rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers to make his daggers disappear. "What was it you said before? Something about being able to see through shit? Why don't you just look through the door and tell us who else is there?"

Aliane slapped her forehead. "Damnit, that's right. What the hell is wrong with me?"

Her eyes turned completely white as she looked through the door. She saw Sven's agitated and worried face glaring at the door, his fist pounding heavily at the thick wood. Eve was standing behind him, arms folded but her normally vacant face was full of concern for her guardian and most likely for the women inside the hotel room.

Aliane sighed and deactivated her eyesight. "He's not there. It's just Sven and Eve."

Watts glared at Nica's back, speaking between gritted teeth as he ignored the continued banging and yells from the sweeper. "How does he know where we are?"

Nica sighed and messed her hair and clothes up a bit. "Train and Creed stopped by with Kenneth at one point, remember? Sven must have asked them where we were and hunted us down."

Watts watched her in bewilderment as she messed up her mascara with the palms of her hands and tried to tangle her hair. "What the hell are you doing? Aren't you obsessed with being neat and tidy?"

Aliane noticed what she was doing as well and frowned. "Especially if you're going to be seeing your boytoy."

Nica ripped her skirt a little as she rolled her eyes. "First of all, Sven is not my boytoy and second yes, I put a lot of time into how I look, but right now I'm putting on a show. Alaine, you should mess yourself up a little bit too."

Aliane blinked, then nodded in understanding as she began to mess up her own hair and clothes. Watts watched them both like they were crazy and spoke to Nica. "Is this really all necessary?"

Nica glared at him over her shoulder. "Yes. Now make yourself useful and start making the room look like there was a scuffle."

Watts sighed, thinking that she was going a bit overboard with their abusive relationship story, but followed her orders nonetheless. Charden and Echidna had made it very clear she was in charge of them, so he had to do as he was told. He walked over to the lamp and smashed it against the wall, earning an even louder scream of Sven as the sweeper began frantically trying to doorknob.

Watts rolled his eyes. "What a drama queen…"

Nica shot him an even harsher glare. "He's not a drama queen. He's just worried for my well being."

Watts brushed her words away and began tearing the beds apart, then flipped the nightstand over along with the armchair. As much as he thought what they were doing was ridiculous, he couldn't help but enjoy the bit of destruction he was engaged in. He had been borned sitting in that room all by himself while they swooned the sweepers, so it was nice to finally be able to make some noise and upset the man behind the door.

Nica watched as Watts threw some pillows across the room, then nodded. "Right. Now answer the door before he breaks it down."

Watts cocked an eyebrow at her. "Why me?"

Nica rolled her eyes and scoffed as if he were an idiot. "Because an abusive controlling man wouldn't let the beaten woman or her daughter near the door. Aliane, get on the floor with me."

Aliane wasn't sure what Nica's plan was, but she knew not to question the woman since all her ideas had worked perfectly thus far. As soon as she was on the ground in the middle of the room, Nica got on top of her, as if she were protecting her daughter. It clicked in Aliane's head right away what her plan was and she smirked proudly at the woman.

Once they were positioned, Nica nodded at Watts. "Go ahead."

Watts stared at them for a second, then sighed and walked towards the door. As soon as he answered it, he was greeted with Sven's angry, red face. Eve's eyes widened as she looked behind the man standing in the doorway and pointed an anxious finger.

"SVEN, LOOK!"

That was the most emotion Sven had ever heard the girl used and he followed her finger. When he saw Nica and Aliane on the floor, both women giving him a frightened look, he clenched his fists and glared at Watts. Before Watts could say or do anything, Sven pulled his fist back and punched the man square in the nose, breaking it immediately. Watts screamed and cursed as he grabbed his face and stumbled back into the room. Sven shoved him aside, the force of his push being enough to knock the man flat on his ass and onto the floor as he desperately tried to stop the blood gushing from his face.

Watts could only watch as Sven ran over to Nica, helping the woman up as Eve took Aliane's hand as well. They ran them both to the door, Sven glaring vehemently at him as she slammed the door shut behind them. As soon as they were outside, Sven turned around so he could see Nica, grabbing her shoulders as he looked her up and down.

After seeing the shape she was in, he locked eyes with her, giving the woman an angry, stern, yet worried look. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU COME HERE ALONE?!"

Nica stuttered, even though her heart was lifting at the concern he was showing for her fake pain. "I-I'm not alone. Aliane is with me."

Sven squeezed her shoulders and shook her a little. "That's not what I meant and you know it! Why didn't you tell me you were coming here?!"

Nica managed to pull out the fake divorce papers from her bag and handed them to Sven. "Because I needed to do this on my own!"

Sven blinked at the papers being offered to him, then frowned at what they said as he threw them aside to continue scolding her. "That's no excuse to come out here by yourself! You should have told me and I would hav-"

He was cut off as Nica pressed her lips against his, making the sweeper's body freeze at the contact. Aliane smirked at the duo as Eve looked her over, the bio-girl seemingly unaware of the kiss that was taking place as she made sure her student was okay. Watching the two embrace, Aliane could tell Nica wasn't doing it as part of the act. She genuinely wanted to kiss the man she had been attempting to woo for the last few months and from where Aliane was standing, it looked as though Sven was enjoying it despite his body's frozen state.

It's about damn time! I know they're the enemy, but Nica definitely likes him. Maybe now she'll be able to be with him before we have to betray them.

Nica made the kiss last longer than she intended, but then again she didn't intend for the kiss to happen in the first place. When she finally pulled away, she wrapped her arms around Sven's neck, pressing her body against the green haired man's as she nuzzled her face into his shoulder.

She smiled warmly at finally being able to express her feelings for the sweeper, even though she knew it was going to be a short lived relationship. "Thank you for always caring about me."

Sven blinked at the empty air behind her, not sure what to do at first. Finally, his body reacted on its own as he wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her close to his chest as he rested his cheek on the side of the woman's head. "What else would a gentleman do?"