Wow, thanks for the reviews guys! I really appreciate them.
Disclaimer: I do not own Black Cat...
"You're not coming with me," Train growled as I pulled on my shirt. He scowled when he realised he wasn't going to win any argument he started. It was evident that he didn't like that. By the look on his face he seemed determined to get me to stay here where he deemed it was safe.
"You still need time to heal," he protested and I shook my head. He needed me there. I knew and I'm sure he did as well.
"For a guy who said that he didn't care, you appear to be showing an awful lot of concern,"
"I can't handle babysitting you and catching a target all in one night," He hissed and I glared at him. If anyone would be doing babysitting it would be me. The air was tense and you could probably have cut it with a knife.
"You're not going into this alone," I told him flatly and he looked away. By now I was already fully dressed and slipping my holsters around my back so that they hung neatly at a comfortable level.
"I don't need a partner," He stood from where he sat and held his ground. I laughed and he cocked his head. The light swayed slightly and I noticed how tired he looked. Did he sleep at all?
"No, you don't, but you do need someone to be there for you when you need it most," I refused to budge. How was he sleep-deprived? I thought he went to bed shortly after I did.
"I don't need anyone," Train said coldly and I stepped closer to him, our faces only centimeters apart. I could smell his warm breath as he exhaled, his only show of surprise. It smelled sweet, but fresh at the same time. It was as if he just had naturally clean breath.
"Well, good luck trying to get rid of me," A wry smile formed on my lips and by his lack of response I knew I had won. He averted his eyes and stepped away, the battle lost and his ego bruised.
"That settles it then!" I grabbed his arm and yanked out of the door. He didn't struggle or complain. He just followed as I pulled him down the stairs and into the darkness of the alleys...
Torneo's mansion was enormous. It was too big. The property itself was big. It looked like a palace that had too many adjacent courtyards. An obese house if there ever was one.
A large wall surrounded the expanse of the estate. It was high as well. Solid concrete. No problem for Train and I as we merely vaulted over it with the help of a nearby tree. We hit soft grass and pressed against the wall. We surveyed the area. There were several guards that dotted the grounds. They were armed, as usual.
Train and I bolted from where we stood, taking out guards as we passed. Bullets flew from left, right and center until eventually we had incapacitated all the guards. I was surprisingly fast event though I was injured, but I chalked it up to an iron will and a lot of painkillers.
I hopped through a window and raced through the halls with Train fast at my heels. He took out the cameras we encountered and I took out the security forces that tried to block our path. It was an effective system that ensured we both lived. Soon enough Torneo's vision would be severely limited and his army crippled.
As I was knocking down an unsuspecting guardsman the floor beneath me began to crack. I grabbed Train and threw him to the other side of the corridor. The cement eventually gave way and I tumbled down. Train scrambled and reached for me, but like any clichéd movie he couldn't reach me in time. Once again his eyes were his only parting gift.
Then I fell.
I fell for what seemed like forever until I hit cold steel.
And a girl...
"Hey get off of me!" She yelled and I rolled over, coughing and gasping. I gave myself the once over. I was virtually unscathed save for a few minor cuts and scrapes. I could probably use a bath right about now though. And a really strong glass of something.
"Thanks for breaking my fall," I mocked the girl as I sat up and met a pair of light blue eyes. I managed to grab the girl's hand before she could slap me through the face.
"Hazel," She said coldly. I smirked. She remembered me. I certainly recalled her. Except she had long, free-flowing brown hair when she was Senna's handmaiden. Now her lavender hair fell to just below her jaw. The pendant still hung from her neck. I knew her anywhere.
"Rinslet Walker," I grinned as I hugged her tightly and for the first time actually felt like a bit of a jerk when I was teasing someone.
"Let go, you asshole!" She pushed against my shoulders and I winced. I was still tender from the fall. I think her elbow caught me in the chest when I landed as that was the most painful spot.
I released her and she frowned. I was still smiling like an idiot. A small smile spread on her red lips even though she tried to stop it. Sly, but coy.
"So, where are we?" I asked her as I pulled myself to my feet. I looked around. Cold grey steel lined every inch of the halls. We must be underground because it certainly felt like it, not to mention how long I had actually plummeted before landing here.
"Torneo has a lab somewhere here," She said as we walked over the rubble and further down the passageway.
"Bioweapons I presume?" I asked and she gave a curt nod. She was also surveying her surroundings cautiously. Luckily enough my gunblades had remained with me during my little adventure from one floor to the next.
"That's the idea," She answered and then suddenly stopped, "Why didn't you rat me out to Senna when you found out I was a thief?" She spoke softly. She must've wanted to ask that for a long time.
"By that time I had already begun my transition away from Chronos and didn't want to kill anyone unnecessarily,"
"Then you just up and killed Senna," She countered and I laughed.
"It was my mission to murder her anyway,"
"After three months of surveillance?" She argued and I nodded.
"At first that was the only thing I had to do," I paused as we rounded a corner. This place seemed deserted, "then the order came that she had die, so I killed her like a good little puppy,"
"Yet you still helped me escape even though you still had a quick exit to make,"
"Well, I couldn't leave poor, defenseless, Sarah all alone, could I?" I used her alias at the time and she scoffed. Sarah Jene, handmaiden and lair extraordinaire.
"Hey, Sarah, could take care of herself!" She yelled and I rolled my eyes.
"So you could've staved off that attack by the Red Guardian Squad all by yourself?" I raised an eyebrow and she scowled.
"No, I couldn't have," She continued to stare at the continuous flow of steel that encased everything down here. A small tremor shook through the halls. Train must've found something.
"Hey, look here," I pointed to a small card locked door, "You're a thief, you can open these, right?"
"You bet," She whipped out a plastic card and swiped it, "You better work, you weren't cheap,"
The door slid open to reveal a large room filled with computers and databanks. Or what was left of them. The place was scorched and there were holes in the walls. The smell of burnt electronics filled the room.
I strode past a few of the desks, checking for anything salvageable, but found nothing. A tube at the end of room was shattered. On a small holder was a stiffy disk that had seen better days.
"Tearu Lunatique?" Rinslet asked me as she removed it from its safe spot and I shook my head. Whoever this Lunatique person was, she was definitely wanted by someone. Perhaps a scientist.
Just as I was about to leave I noticed another dimly lit room through an open door at the far corner of the room. Rinslet had noticed it too as she pulled out a small pistol that was nestled somewhere on her person.
We stalked through the door with weapons at the ready to find a monster staring right at us...
"Bwaa!" Rinslet shrieked and fired a shot that shattered the glass tube that held the beast. It flopped to the ground. It was lifeless, but still I shot it just to make sure.
"Failed experiments," Rinslet whispered and I nodded. This was insane. A whole room filled lines of tubes that contained the scariest mutations. Torneo was playing God.
"Torneo is a sick man indeed,"
I walked slowly past the other tubes that held the other monsters. This was weird. All these mixes between animals had mutated into so much more than ordinary creatures.
A ladder was bolted to the wall and I guessed that that was the only way up from this point. Another quake shook the room. What was going on up there?
"Going up?" I grinned as I spoke to Rinslet and she nodded. I gripped the metal rungs and began climbing up. Seriously, what was up with this guy and steel? Couldn't he have some softer materials in this place? I thought back to the crushed velvet interiors of my apartment and snorted at how I was probably just being prissy.
I pushed the trap door at the top of the ladder open to reveal the outside of the mansion. This place was even bigger from here. Where was here?
A balcony apparently. East of the main entrance. It was situated on the roof of the East wing's lounge. I pulled Rinslet up through the hole and she gazed out over the estate. The lights filled the darkness with a serene calm.
"He destroyed my hometown," She mumbled and I stood next to her, "That was where Eve was created and he wanted her so bad that he kill hundreds of people,"
I slipped my arm around her shoulders even though it hurt to do it because of the constant beating I had been taking lately. The stars lit everything even more so it was enough for us to see that there were no guards around. That should buy us some time to find Eve.
"I wonder where Sven is," She said and I sighed. He was probably off being a gentleman somewhere inside. A large rumble tore through the side of the mansion as Eve, or what used to be Eve, broke through the wall.
"Oh shit, Train!" I yelled for him from where I stood as I gaped at the monster the small girl had become. She was using the nanotechnology inside of her like there was no tomorrow.
"Sven!" Rinslet stood next to me as she called out to him as well. Sure enough they were both there. One was trying to kill Eve and the other, redeem her.
It was only when Eve slashed the balcony did I notice the rectangular card on her chest. Bullets went everywhere and large fissures from the Eve's weapons scathed the ground in strange shapes. The smell of burning laced the usually crisp air. Eve slashed at everything while letting out animalistic howls.
"Walker, what does that thing do?" I asked Rinslet as she recovered from the fright she got. A large gash now separated the balcony into two halves. The half we stood on began to lean at a dangerous angle.
"I'm guessing it stimulates the Nano machines inside her," Rinslet answered as we watched Train fight of the ever changing offensive tactics that Eve possessed. The balcony began to fall apart even more. I grabbed Rinslet and we jumped off the roof only to land safely on top of one of Torneo's very expensive cars.
"Oof!" Rinslet groaned as she smacked her side on the bonnet. Good thing we jumped when we did because the whole East Wing had collapsed. The rubble piled higher than I had expected and I quickly moved us to the safety of the perimeter walls.
Train was dodging every attack neatly, but Eve was really quick and I was positive that Train wouldn't be able to keep up his side for much longer. The only solution was to pull that card off her, but how?
"Sven, are you crazy!" Rinslet shrieked as she saw him running full speed towards Eve. He leaped on to another one of Torneo's expensive cars and jumped towards Eve.
I averted my eyes for a moment and when I returned my gaze I grimaced. Sven had been skewered by Eve's sword, but not before he could remove the card from where it had been placed on her chest. Rinslet was also very stunned and I wondered if Sven would survive.
Train threw me a glance before he walked over and I realised that now he had to make a choice. Either kill Eve and save himself, or save Eve and kill himself...
"Very flashy for something Black Cat does so discretely," Sephiria commented as she stared at the monitor that was focused on Torneo's burning palace.
"The place was rigged to blow before we got there, the underground lab destroyed and all data either lost or rerouted to an archive somewhere else," I informed her as I paced around the forested area high above the city. It had a nice view of Torneo's house as it was reduced to shouldering ash.
"Who cares? The mission was completed and we all get to sleep easy tonight!" Mason yelled happily. The only happy Number I knew was Jenos, but then again Mason was older and wiser so he could be optimistic.
"I've done all I can, what remains is Train's decision," I said as I continued to walk around the dark trees. The cell phone grew hot in my hand. I needed to get back to Train, but this report was taking forever!
"Very well, good work, Hazel," Sephiria and Belze commended in unison and I rolled my eyes. Strange people those two were. I ended the call and stalked back to where Rinslet sat with a bandaged up Sven and Eve.
Train had his gun trained on Eve again. I sighed. This boy really likes to point his gun around.
"Come on Black Cat, it's over now," Sven tried to coerce him and Train was actually listening. He glanced over at me for support. I stood by him and put my head right next to his ear.
"Do what you think is right in your heart," I whispered and he scowled. That obviously didn't help him much, "Either way, I'm going to stand by you,"
Train took a moment to decide before he lowered his gun. A small tear escaped my eye and I brushed it away.
"I'm done with Chronos," He announced to me, but he said it loud enough so that the others could hear as well.
"Then...I'll stand with you," I smiled a fake smile. He noticed, but didn't push the subject. His eyes were already softer though. He started walking away and paused when he didn't hear me following.
"I'll catch up, give me a minute," I said to him and he nodded. Soon enough he disappeared from sight. I slowly made my way to Rinslet before kneeling and burying my face in her knees. She was surprised, but I'm guessing her maternal instinct kicked in because she began stroking my hair.
I cried into her knowing that I had to be the one to kill him. Nobody asked me why I was crying and for that I was grateful. Train had just signed his death warrant. He had to be dealt with. They wouldn't let him go. They wouldn't let me go either. Willzark had literally just ruined my life with his stupid little mission.
Why was I crying about it though? Because no matter what happened, I was already chosen to be his executioner...
And because I liked him a little...
Or maybe a lot...
Maybe I really was falling for Black Cat...
Fuck it, Belze!
Hope you liked it! Well, I'm on holiday now so I should update within the next four or five days. Review please, they are really appreciated!