"No-!" Creed cried but it was too late.

There was a flash of light before Eve let go of Creed and she sagged back a little breathlessly. Sven was there to help Eve back to her feet while Echidna leant down to check on Creed. He was perfectly fine although extremely dazed with the knowledge that he was, once again, just a human.

"Are you alright, Eve?" Sven asked worriedly, but Eve just smiled at him wearily.

"I'm fine."

They all looked over as Echidna struggled to her feet, Creed leaning almost completely against her as she held him up by her shoulders. A portal opened up right in front of the female Taoist as she made it to her feet - but she paused.

"Is it really okay?" Echidna asked warily, glancing back over her shoulder at Train and his friends. "Letting us leave like this?"

"Yeah. Do as you like." Train shrugged before nodding at Creed's back. "Take care of that idiot."

Echidna examined the former Black Cat for one long moment before she turned away. She gave no word of thanks but they could all feel it; and the next words that were exchanged quietly between her and Creed confirmed them.

"Echidna…" Creed croaked as she helped him away. "Why… didn't you stop them?"

Echidna paused at his question before she admitted softly, "The truth is… I've always wanted you to stay human. I was afraid… you'd become a being that was out of my reach."

Creed's eyes widened before his head bowed in thought… and almost, almost acknowledgement. It was good enough for Echidna at any rate as she whispered soothingly just before she and Creed disappeared into the portal and far away from Train or Chronos.

"It's going to be alright. I'll protect you."

Train watched as the portal disappeared behind the unlikely couple before he looked back at his companions. Sven and Eve were still staring at where Creed had disappeared, as was Sephiria.

The leader of the Chronos Numbers was clearly unhappy with Train's solution but she was powerless to stop him or argue. She had failed to stop Creed before and she would have died if not for Train, who had been the one to ultimately bring Creed down. What Train decided to do once he had succeeded was his decision and there was nothing Sephiria could do. Nothing she would do. Her gaze as she turned her clear eyes to Train confirmed it before Train's attention was diverted.

"So, let him go and let him repent on his sins, huh?"

"Yeah," Train agreed as he turned to look at his Sweeper partner. Noting the various scrapes and cuts on him and on Eve, Train added apologetically, "Sorry, Sven, little princess. After you went through everything that you did-"

"I don't mind." Sven shrugged, cutting Train off. "This is a harsher punishment for him than plain prosecution."

Train smiled slightly. "Thanks."

Then, with a sigh, Train turned to face the proverbial elephant in the room.

Lia didn't meet his gaze as she instead looked out without emotion at the surrounding forest. As soon as Creed had gone, the Number had stepped away from Train's side and moved to the stone railings of the bridge they all stood upon. Train knew why - the weapon gleaming at Lia's side was a reminder that was hard to miss.

Still, he knew Lia would honour her own promise to him just as Sephiria's would stop her from following Creed, so Train didn't hesitate as he had done so many times before.

"Jules."

She turned to him reluctantly but still she met his gaze as he had known she would. She had promised him five minutes and she would give at least that to him. Sven and Eve stepped back to give them a sense of privacy while Leon and Eites (who had both been sitting in the far corner of the bridge) looked away as they sensed this was something they were not privy to witness. Train didn't pay them any attention as he kept his steady gaze on Lia as he continued.

"I love you. All I want is for you to be happy."

Lia's eyes filled with tears again but they didn't fall; they never did. Train went on, taking one step closer to her with each word.

"I'm not particularly smart and I don't have a doctorate or any kind of expertise. But I know that forgetting is impossible and moving on is far easier said than done. At the same time, I'm selfish and all I want is for you to be able to smile again."

Train stopped right before Lia, who continued to stare at him silently. He reached for her hands, gently taking them in his own even when she flinched briefly away at the initial contact. Train glanced down at her hands, as calloused but still oddly soft against his skin as he remembered them, before he looked back into her conflicted silvery-grey eyes.

"If my leaving and never seeing you again is what it'll take for you to be able to smile again, I'll do that. But before I can do that, I need to know you'll be happy, Jules."

"I already told you, Train." Lia was not angry as she had been in the warp world; but it was worse now because she just sounded defeated. "I can't. Not anymore."

"Yes, you can." Train's gaze matched the unwavering belief in his voice. "Because you deserve to be."

"I don't." Lia withdrew her hands from Train's, her gaze haunted once again. "I know you mean well, Train, but you keep missing the key point: I'm not the girl you used to know."

"But you're still more than the man I was." Train answered calmly. "And I can still remember what you said to me two years ago when I asked you why you would choose to believe in me."

Lia closed her eyes and a tear escaped her, sliding down her cheek. Train wiped it away gently as they both recalled the day.

Two and a half years ago

"Jules, I need you to leave."

Jules stared at Train in shock at his unexpected declaration.

"What? Why?" She asked, bewildered from where she had just set down the groceries in Train's small studio apartment. Train inhaled deeply before he said three words he could no longer remember having ever said and had thought he would never say in his entire life.

"I love you."

If she had been surprised before, it was nothing to Jules's reaction now. Her jaw dropped as she looked at Train; but he was relieved when he saw a glimmer of understanding starting to appear in her eyes. He grasped onto that understanding as he continued uncomfortably.

"I never thought it would be possible for me, but it's true. I've fallen in love with you and that's why you need to leave."

"Because you're afraid I'll make you weak?"

Train frowned at Jules's question but she had continued before he could answer.

"Or because you're afraid I'll be hurt if your enemies ever found out?"

Train's frown deepened at Jules's cool tone.

"Jules, I'm dangerous." He reminded her in a slightly incredulous tone; he'd thought she understood. It wasn't exactly a secret and she knew first-hand the dangers posed to Numbers, not just from living with him for almost four months but from her experience with her brother. After all, it wasn't pure chance that there were very few Numbers who were over forty years of age and only one older than fifty. Assassins and particularly ones as notable and reputable as the Numbers rarely reached retirement unless it was in a very permanent way.

"Yes." Jules nodded patiently but Train was not thrilled by the way she arched a brow at him. "So, am I to assume this means you think I wouldn't be able to take care of myself?"

"I don't want you to have to take care of yourself." Train corrected, feeling a flash of annoyance at the way she rolled her eyes at him. "I'm no expert but I'm fairly sure that that's a part of what loving someone means."

"You're right; but you're also right that you're not an expert." Jules answered calmly as she walked up to where Train was standing in the centre of his room.

"Loving someone means wanting to protect them and it means making sacrifices."

"I know that." Train replied, annoyance returning. After all, that was exactly why he was asking Jules to leave him before someone could figure out Black Cat's weakness which would likely prove to be more fatal to Jules than even to him.

"But it's because you want to be happy together. Because nothing is more important than the strength that you have with the other person. It's about taking risks, whether it's giving away your heart or accepting the other person has dangerous enemies, because you trust each other."

Train stared at Jules as she stopped in front of him and looked up at him with silvery-grey eyes filled with the warmth he was used to seeing in them. A warmth he was suddenly starting to understand meant something he hadn't ever thought (or dared to) before.

"Have you figured it out yet, dummy?" Jules asked with a smile as she watched the way Train's gold eyes had widened. He hesitated, so she decided she would need to spell it out for him after all.

"I love you too, Train. I don't want to leave because not being with you would hurt far more than anything anyone could do to me. I'm not afraid of Black Cat or his adversaries; I'm only afraid of losing you."

"How..." Train struggled to formulate his question as he stared at Jules as though she had grown two heads. "How can you? I'm not..."

Jules shrugged, understanding his question despite his lack of coherence.

"I'll admit, I never imagined that I would one day love the man who was Black Cat." She admitted before she grinned wryly.

"But then, I never imagined what Train Heartnet was like. You may not be warm but you're not nearly as heartless as you think nor is the determination and discipline that you've needed to become the Number you are today necessarily a bad thing. You're more considerate than you give yourself credit for and I believe your heart's in the right place. It's more like you were led astray and got lost but I've seen how you've been finding yourself again lately. And the Train I see, beneath the mask you've worn for too long, is a man I'm proud to love."

Present

"It's not the same." Lia whispered brokenly, opening her eyes to stare at Train.

"Isn't it?" He countered, gently taking her face in both his hands as the tears started to fall. Something he knew instinctively Lia hadn't allowed herself to do in over two years; after all, he was very experienced in how it felt to shut completely off from the world.

"You were lost and I left you to be, whether intentionally or not. For that, I can't apologise enough. But don't stay there, Jules. Please. Even if you won't let me be the one, let us, let someone, help you find yourself again. Because I know you're still there. Not the same person you were before, but someone who can find different joys and life in the world. The loyal and fiercely determined person who refused to budge from her beliefs. The woman I still love, even though you're not the girl I knew."

Train brushed aside yet another tear, his gaze tender.

"Please, if you won't let me stay beside you then promise me you'll try to find that person again."

Lia stared back at Train, her eyes filled with pain; and then her eyes moved past him to Sephiria. Train's heart constricted as Lia's eyes filled with despair even as she finally shook her head and she looked back at him.

"I still love you." She admitted so softly that Train almost missed it even though he was right in front of her. "I never stopped even when I told myself I should despise you. I will always love you, Train. So please understand when I say I want you to leave and never come back."

Train's eyes filled with pain but he understood even without Lia continuing in barely a whisper.

"I told you back then that nothing was more important than our happiness. And you could never be that if you came back to this life. I gave my oath to Chronos and I can't leave my brother forever."

His hands traced Lia's face gently before he dropped them as she finished in a whisper.

"I will promise to try like you asked. I give you my word. But neither of us could ever be that if you weren't free."

Train swallowed but he nodded; she was right. Train could never be truly happy if he was back to within reach of Chronos's clutches. But Lia was a woman of her word and, more importantly, her brother was too dear to her for her to be happy if she were to lose him. And lose him she would if she defected from Chronos. He would have to believe her that she would find her way back to happiness even if he couldn't see her.

The sound of a helicopter approaching made them all look up and Train sighed when he spotted a familiar figure. He looked at Lia to find her staring back at him. Her silvery-grey eyes shone with the rest of her unshed tears but they also glimmered with an emotion he had once been used to seeing in her gaze. It was no longer as warm and uninhibited as it had been back then, but Train couldn't stop himself from leaning in and pressing a kiss on Lia's lips as he answered her love with his own. It was quick but they both felt it before they broke away.

Lia stepped away, heading to Sephiria's side while Train simply watched her go, both knowing this would likely be the last farewell. Sven and Eve slowly rejoined Train, both looking at their friend in concern and sympathy while the helicopter landed not far from the group.

The door slid open to reveal Jenos, who had separated from the rest of the successful Numbers in order to find his sister and Sephiria while the others returned to base to report to the Elders. The Number's face was emotionless; clearly he had seen Train and Lia's kiss and he wasn't happy about it. Although whether his unhappiness stemmed from his dislike of Train for breaking his baby sister's heart or from his concern for his sister's future without Train was not clear as the Number hurried toward the group.

"Lia." Jenos greeted, hugging his sister briefly. He felt the way her hand tightened a little too much for a brief moment before she let go but he didn't comment on it; he would deal with possibly picking up the pieces of her heart all over again later when they weren't being scrutinized by Sephiria.

"Thank god you're alive."

"I'm not that easy to kill." Lia answered quietly and Jenos nodded.

Turning to his commanding officer, Jenos ushered Sephiria toward the helicopter as he said in concern, "Seph-nee, we'll get you medical attention immediately."

Sephiria allowed Jenos to lead her away but as Lia started to follow behind them while Train and his friends watched silently, Sephiria suddenly spoke.

"Number VI."

"Yes?" Lia asked, confused as Sephiria stopped in her tracks.

The Captain of the Chronos Numbers didn't turn around and her voice wasn't loud but she was still clearly heard despite the whirring noises of the helicopter blades. Although every single one of the group was sure they must have heard wrong by the end of what Sephiria had to say.

"I am feeling incredibly weak, and not fully aware of my surroundings. I may be suffering from blood loss and was temporarily incapacitated due to my injuries." Sephiria's abrupt statement caused several people to frown in confusion. While the leader of the Chronos Numbers was certainly worse for wear, she was very obviously not in that serious of a condition. "Therefore I did not see when or where you disappeared."

Julia blinked, before her eyes widened as Sephiria continued meaningfully.

"It could be that you didn't survive the battle against Creed Diskenth, who has also disappeared though it is certain he will be no further threat to Chronos. I'm sure Jenos will attest that neither you nor Creed were anywhere to be seen by the time he found me. However, Chronos will not look for either of you, as we will have more pressing matters to deal with now that Creed is gone. Perhaps one day we will have the time to track you down… but I do not believe we will ever find you."

Sephiria glanced back at Lia at last, her clear eyes soft and kind as she gazed at her (now former) subordinate. Jenos was looking torn between shocked and delighted but Lia herself could only stare at Sephiria in stunned silence. This was the woman who had been born for Chronos - literally. She had been born and created by Chronos solely to be their assassin. Her loyalty was to Chronos above everything and everyone else; and yet, here she was in an act of possibly the highest treason.

"Sephiria… I…"

Lia didn't know how to respond but Sephiria understood and she simply smiled just a little bit.

"I've said before that you would have a healthier life away from Chronos." Sephiria murmured softly, gazing at the younger woman with a warmth in her eyes that surprised Sven.

"I know very well that you only stayed for Jenos; and then, once you were a Number, I could not let you go nor did you care to leave at the time. But that has changed. You are once again torn between duty and family, and the freedom you once could never have lived without. And I know you will never again be the operative that Chronos needs."

Sephiria's eyes moved briefly to look at Train before she looked back at Lia.

"Take this chance to slip away unnoticed if you wish, Lia. Do not fear my eyes; I will close them this one time. Follow your heart and live again."

Sephiria's gaze moved to rest on Train once again.

"Both of you."

Train nodded his thanks at his former captain, unable to speak but he didn't need to. Sven and Eve still looked more surprised than anything at Sephiria's announcement while Jenos was positively delighted. And Lia… her mask was completely broken down as she stared after Sephiria when the captain walked (or, limped) away without another look back.

Lia jumped when she felt a hand on hers and she turned to stare at Train, who simply gazed back at her as she looked up at him with conflicted silvery-grey eyes.

"You can still follow them." Train simply stated fact and he didn't indicate whether the thought the choice was wrong or right; because there was no wrong or right. At least, he thought there wasn't.

But as Lia stared up at Train, her entire world once again upturned, she knew that there was a right choice. Tightening her hand on his, she turned back to where Jenos was grinning at her over his shoulder even as he helped Sephiria into the helicopter. Was her brother happy she was back together with Train? Probably not exactly (Jenos was not known to let go of grudges easily even if he appeared light-hearted) but it was clear that all he wanted, like always, was for her to be happy. Train wasn't the answer but he was the path toward the answer - that, Lia knew for certain.

"Sephiria!" Lia shouted just before Jenos could shut the door to the helicopter. "Thank you!"

Sephiria made no indication she had heard as the helicopter took off; but Jenos smiled as he saw the soft smile on his captain's face as Sephiria gazed off into the distance. Meanwhile, down on the bridge, Train turned to look at Lia as she stared at the disappearing helicopter.

Once upon a time, he would have reminded her of everything he couldn't provide for her as a poor Sweeper and the dangers she was now at risk of by leaving Chronos's protection. But instead, now all he said was, "I take it this means I can stay beside you?"

Lia turned to him, her silvery-grey eyes filled with lingering daze at what had just transpired, apprehension, a touch of sorrow, relief, longing and most importantly determination.

"I probably won't let you leave ever again." She warned, her tone serious and with a hint of the doubt and fear that still lingered. Train just smiled.

"That makes two of us, Jules - I'm never going to let go." He answered before he leant down. And then fell over.

"Train!" Sven yelled while Eve gasped.

"I… think I might need… some help…" Train croaked, his eyes spinning as the blood loss really hit him and his exhausted body refused to support him any more.

Lia stared at Train, lying in a heap in front of where she had knelt instantly beside him when he'd fallen over. And, even if it could really only be described as a tiny tilt of the corners of her lips… she smiled.

Two and a half years ago

For a long moment following Jules's confession, there was only silence.

As Train continued to stare at her in a mixture of disbelief and awe, Jules huffed.

"I just poured out my heart to you - are you really not going to say anything?" She demanded cheekily and Train finally shook his head at her.

Neither disbelief nor awe had won out as he said in wonder, "Sometimes, I really don't understand you, Jules."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She muttered before she looked him squarely in the eye. "But so there, I'm not going anywhere. And you'll just have to live with that."

"I can live with you, Jules; if anything, I do think nothing would make me happier." Train answered in the softest tone he had ever used even with her. "But I won't be able to live with myself if something happened to you because of me."

"It won't." Jules answered firmly, placing her arms around his waist and hugging him lightly even while she kept her gaze on his face. "Nothing that could happen would be because of you, Train. Love is a two-way street: I also fell in love with you. And I choose to be with you, no matter what might happen, because to me, it would be worse to be 'safe' and live without you."

Train's lip curled into a smile and he bent down so his forehead was resting against Jules's.

"I love you." He repeated quietly, his gold eyes shimmering with joy that he wasn't used to expressing just yet and reflecting the love he was just beginning to learn to voice.

Jules's answering smile was so bright it could have blinded even the sun.

"I love you, too. Now, are you going to kiss me or am I going to have to get old waiting?"

His answer was to silence her as he had never silenced anyone before. Jules easily melted into him, giving him her heart as he gave her his. And even when they were interrupted by a victorious Saya moments later, Train was certain he had never been happier than he was in that moment as he held Jules in his arms for the very first time.

*A/N Song of the Day: Dear You, instrumental version this time. I love this version, and I think it's a nice completion of the circle for Train and Lia. The link is: /fcWiEcXNjkk