YAY! The next chapter.

Thank you for loyal readers reviewing the previous one: Daisy19971, CattyGothLoli, Happy Happy Punk, XxTrain'sCherryBlossomxX, and jeune rye. You supported me well all this time. Moreover, thank you for the recent reviews from new readers: TrainXIIIChronos (OMG! We're from the same country!) and lorraine019.

I LOVE YOU ALL.

~Avedici

Chapter 16: I Smell Blood

Adam POV

"As the annoying key was-"

I stopped speaking as he shot me again repeatedly, fast and intense. He didn't even care that he hit my chest, the vital spot, knowing that I transformed my skin into a thick metal.

Burst bullets, my mind informed me as I saw some of his bullets that he shot could explode right after touching the objects.

He's getting wild now!

A few minutes later, I felt my body tense, signaling my limit. At this point, I couldn't transform all my skins into metal. I grunted as the skin on my face slowly changed back into the normal one.

I should kill him fast before I lose my energy, and my sanity.

He shot once, using a common bullet. As I wasn't ready for the attack, something rolling on my face right after I heard the sound of shooting. I touched my cheek carefully, seeing the red liquid covering my palm. How dare he- Wait! Did he know and give it a try?

I glared at him. His golden eyes shone watchfully, waiting his chance to attack again. Obviously he would not waste even one open move from me. One wrong motion, and I would pay dearly.

Hades was held tightly in his grasp, ready to shot at any time. I slightly trembled, seeing determination in his eyes. Did he really mean to shot my head? I thought he had a sweeper feeling, not shooting directly to the target.

Before I had a chance to think it deeply, he did a Triple Quick Draw with burst bullets. It was a good thing that Triple Quick Draw was easy to be avoided or defended as it aimed at one direction. So I protected myself with my big shield.

"What a cheap attack, Black Cat!" I mocked, dropping my shield. But suddenly my eyes widened as he appeared right in front me.

So he used Triple Quick Draw to deceive me?! I was shocked, unexpectedly dropping my guard and realizing that it was too late to do some additional transformations.

He kicked my jaw swiftly, making me fall to the ground. I felt like my cheek bone was broken as it stung like hell. Casually I wiped my chin with my hand as I felt something wet there. Sweat?

I gritted as I saw the red liquid on my hand.

I glared at him. One simple kick from him had already made my face so battered?!

Trying to sit and activating my healing ability, I saw he was standing before me, pointing Hades at me.

Would it end this soon?

Rinslet POV

"All the files needed had been moved. Are you done?" I asked to Numbers Captain.

She nodded. She had decided the place for landing and made it to operate automatically to a secluded mountain.

"Whom do you call?" I asked when she placed her phone on her ear.

"Heartnet's, and it's inactive. Maybe it was switched off," she muttered.

Soon we left, heading to the helicopter.

In the helicopter, Sven eyed me with curiosity, waiting for confirmation.

"Don't worry. Everything's fine," I comforted him.

"But why is he so late?" He demanded.

"Because he's dealing with Adam," Troy replied, restraining himself for not killing Jock Morris.

Sven grabbed the boy's neck, asking infuriatingly, "What do you know about him and the base?"

"I've j-just met him, and I never operate the base. I-I don't know them well," he stammered.

"Tell us about them." Sephiria stared at the main scientist sitting at the corner. His hands were handcuffed. She continued, "What's his plan?"

"Well, he betrayed me," Jock weakly replied.

"YOU BETRAYED ME!" Troy screamed.

Suddenly the scientist yelled, feeling upset, "SHUT UP YOU BRAT!"

"MAD SCIENTIST!"

"IDIOT!"

Before they had a chance to continue their verbally assaults, I hit Troy. Now he remained silent, but there was a big lump on his head. He looked annoyed at me.

I glared at Jock. "You will tell us, will you?"

He sighed. "I don't know. But for your information, 90% of the base system was made and developed by Adam. I'm a system user, not programmer like him."

Adam POV

"Do you want to kill me?" I asked, leaning my back against the wall while sitting on the floor. Although Hades was pointed at my left chest, I didn't think I would die because of it. I could transform all my skin into metal again, although I had no energy left after that.

He didn't answer. Instead, he ordered, "Now you'll tell me how to open or break the tank!"

"What if I won't?"

"You will!"

"Just go …." I muttered. I believed that he would not shoot me. "… your mission completed after all."

He said nothing.

I said again, "Your friends had captured Jock. They took him and the data of Eden Project and Number's files to the helicopter. Your mission was accomplished. You don't have any good reason to be here."

"Good reason …" He mumbled.

Train POV

I stared at him thoughtfully. What was that? It was obvious that I had it. Needless to tell him directly.

He told, "Sephiria only asked you to capture Jock Morris and return the data to Chronos. Your friends did them. Just get out now."

I sighed, restraining my desire to shoot him. Was this boy so stupid? Or was it a trap? I growled, "I'll go if I want! Don't need orders."

He sneered, "Sure. You wanna save Eve, right?"

I remained silent. Secretly, I thanked him for not having me say it out loud. It was not that I couldn't say it. The problem was that I had a trust issue. I would not let everyone know my true feeling.

Both of Zaguine Axeloke and Chronos taught me to hide that thing. Showing feeling meant weakness, and weakness meant death. That doctrine had been ingrained in my mind and consciousness all this time, successfully making me a reserved person.

Until now, I had been trying hard to erase that cruel principle and tend to follow what my heart said. I started being more opened and cheerful. Yet, what I did was only hiding my true side, covering it with immaturity and silliness. It was so unbearable, happy at the outside, but guilty inside.

He sighed tiredly, "You should let her go, Black Cat."

I glared at him, giving him a chance to spill it out.

He continued, "Now you're rescuing her. But then you'll leave her, like what you did before. Why do you have to give her hope again?"

I swallowed hard. Rescuing and leaving …. Yes, those were what I did to her. And the result? I still remembered the conversation between Sven and me when I came to Princess' and his house a few days ago.

FLASHBACK

"Hey, Sven. I think she's mad at me, but I don't understand why. She didn't say anything to me on the bike," I whispered worriedly to him.

"You left us suddenly. You didn't even give her any chance to say thank you or anything."

END FLASHBACK

I could imagine at this time she would hate me after this rescuing incident as I would leave her again. Everyone might think that I was a cruel person. It was too bad they didn't know I did have a valid reason.

I, actually, was uncomfortable to admit this: ever since Sven told me that the one who asked him to save me after facing Creed at the Night Festival was Princess, I started having a stronger strange thought towards her that I could not describe. If she thought of me as her enemy, or worse, prey, why did she do that? Why didn't she just let me die there? Why did she take care of me when I was hurt and unconscious? When I wanted to die so badly because I had no more reason to live? Why?

Why did then she give me the bell, telling that it could change me into a good cat? Why was she always trying to compete with me? Why did she always look like someone to protect? Someone to save? Did she do it on purpose? Did she realize that her ways just made me drawn to her instinctively? Like a moth to a flame?

Why? Why?

I could no longer control many why-s in my mind. I had no control over these thoughts. I shouldn't have these thoughts from the start. But it was too late. Thus, I was afraid, realizing that I should stay away. I should retreat. I should avoid her

... because I had no plan for future.

Yes. My reason for leaving her is that I'm not a settled person. I preferred doing something spontaneous in my life. Therefore, I couldn't be with her. She deserved someone better, and I would make sure that she was safe and fine until that someone came in her life, though I wished that he never appeared.

"It's none of your business." That was the only answer that I could say.

"Let me tell you something. I have a good reason for taking the decision to be a nanomachine," he said firmly.

"I don't know what a genius thought," I mumbled.

"My adopted father worked in nanotechnology project. He was one of Tearju's assistants. He died when Torneo destroyed the base. Then I went back to the orphanage until Jock Morris asked me to join him," he told me. "Before he died, he told me about Eve and his prediction if she would be a successful sample. She would be alone in this world. So that, I wanted to be a nanomachine human too."

I stared at him hard. Now I didn't know whether I should see him as a foe or a pitiable creature. He didn't look as bad as I thought.

I asked, "What's your plan?"

"As a son of a man who helped bringing Eve to the world, I thought that she's my responsibility. So she'll stay here with me."

"Do you plan to pour nano-rain, ruling the world?" I started interrogating him.

He shook his head and chuckled bitterly. "Jock Morris only did a nanomachine research, especially the research about me, but I'm the one who made the base construction and system. I didn't make any system or project about nano-rain. I just want Eve and I live here. It's better for us, the nanomachines, and humans to live separately. I would be her brother. Her friend. Her family. And if she loved someone but he couldn't return her love, I long for replacing him. I'll make sure she'll never feel that she's the only one different, because she has me, and I her. Beside ..." He asked with sarcasm, "... aren't Adam and Eve created to be meant together?"

I looked at him silently as I realized there was something shattered inside me, and it-damn-hurt. Was he someone better than me? Someone who deserved Princess? Someone that I ever thought and never wished to appear? Someone who would take Princess away … from Sven's and my protections? How come?

Suddenly something inside me wanted to snap, denying what I previously thought. I didn't care anymore if he was someone whom I was afraid to come into her life. There was no way I would let him.

"You can't make her stay here." I snarled. "She has many friends. She has a father. She's not alone. She has … me. You know nothing about how she would feel if she left us."

He smirked. His voice was full of rage and hatred now, shouting, "Nonsense! I am a nanomachine human. I'm automatically connected towards my kind. It can make me feel what she feels. I know she's hurt, and that's because she's waiting for you, because she chooses you though you'll hurt her again!"

I was stunned. Princess chose me?

Adam POV

I carefully controlled the cannon set at the corner of the ceiling, using the remote control in my pants pocket, until it directed to my opponent.

Right after pressing the button, it shot fast to the target. But Train avoided it well by jumping aside, unintentionally freeing me from his melee target.

"Splendid reflex!" I insincerely praised, taking this chance to stand and hit his jaw with my hand transformed into metal one.

He was thrown to the floor.

"Stand! Stand again! It's not over yet!" I cried out menacingly, looking at him watchfully as I was afraid that he would attack suddenly.

He tried standing, wiping the corner of his bloody mouth with the back of his hand and growled, "Don't worry. I'm still in." Soon he took something from his pocket, revealing his shattered cellphone. He tossed it onto the floor.

I chuckled. I was sure it was wrecked because it hit the floor right after I punched him.

"Hey, what was you talking about again, Adam? Princess chooses me for what?" He asked icily.

"Stupid cat! The answer is obvious. Don't you realize it?" I seethed. But suddenly my body ached, trembled. I cursed silently as I reached the limit to keep my transformation. And if I forced to make it, maybe it would be the last for this fight.

I glared at my opponent. He alertly stood, raising a gun before his face, ready to fight and defend. I knew that he was strong, but I never guessed that he was this tough and persistent. It would be worst if he had greater stamina and endurance than I had predicted.

"This could be the last. Why don't we bet?" I teased, transforming my hand into a weapon that I could grab, to be precise, a spear with a nano-slicer. I also created a pair of black wings on my back. "I'm ready for round two now!"

I jumped, my wings kept me in balance in the air. When I was close to him, I attacked him fast and repeatedly, making sure there was no opening for him to strike back. Unfortunately, he realized the sharpness of nano-slicer, as he made sure it would not chop him.

Screw him and his incredible speed! I cursed inside as he always managed to dodge my attacks.

Suddenly, he ran to Eve's tank as if he hoped that I would cut the tank with nano-slicer accidentally.

I smirked confidently. "I can read your plan, Train!"

I flied, chasing him and giving him the same kind of attacks like before, but much faster. This time, he didn't try to avoid my attacks anymore as he used Hades to block.

"That's it! No more escaping!" I smiled, satisfied.

For almost a minute, there were some loud and fast clashings when my nano slicer hit Hades. Where? When? I looked for my chance to break his instinctive moves. Come on. Come on!

"Got you!" I moved my spear horizontally, making a cut on his stomach.

Blood was spurting from his body, staining Eve's tank.

I smirked, eyeing red liquid rolling down the transparent glass and mocking, "Red blood, huh? It's too good for a cold blooded killer like you. I thought it would be black or-"

I stopped speaking as I saw something surprising.

Two small palms touched the glass from inside. Her beautiful amethyst eyes were gazing at her surroundings innocently and curiously.

As she was in the tank, I could not hear what she said. So I read her lips. They were like saying,

I smell blood ….

And it was Train's blood.

To be continued …

A/N: As I have many exams and projects, it looks like the next chapter will be posted late, but I try my best.