I hope you guys had a Happy Christmas and an awesome New Years! I certainly partied until I couldn't stand anymore. So, how about we get a new chapter read? I like that idea!
Disclaimer: I do not own Black Cat...

"See the fireworks?" I cocked my head slightly as I repeated Train's words. Train nodded and I blinked. From where I sat in his apartment things seemed so quiet and tranquil. It was just Train and I in a sea of calm. Naturally, however, this calm wouldn't last because life is a bitch and that's the way it works.

"Saya wants to see them," He mumbled and I chuckled which caused him to scowl. I stopped for a moment to look at his face before laughing even harder.

"She really gets to you, doesn't she?" I smirked, "Sounds as if the Black Cat is more than a little interested," I poked his head and blushed.

"Am not," He looked away and I stopped my giggles long enough to form coherent sentences in my mind.

"Well, I'm meeting Sephiria just now," I paused and scratched my head, "To-um discuss, well, you in fact,"

"What does she want to know?" Train suddenly got on the defensive and I put my hands up to keep him calm.

"About us," I corrected so that he could at least not freak out. He sighed. It had been more than a little awkward explaining the whole 'I'm your new enemy's sibling' deal to him, but he took it fairly easily. Well, besides the slight paranoia that followed and still hangs around him.

"Sorry, I'm just covering my tracks," He explained his motive and I rolled my eyes.

"You copy almost all my movements as if I'm a lab specimen that needs constant observation,"

"Well, I don't know if you're working with Chronos or not," He interjected and I facepalmed. Here we go, again...

This would be the fourth time I had been accused of being a Chronos agent. That's right, not even a Number, just an agent.

"For the last time, Train," I lowered my tone of voice to emphasize the point, "I. Am. Not. Working for. Chronos,"

"How do I know you aren't lying to me, Haze?" Train shot back and I got up so quickly that he tensed and took a defensive stance.

I stalked up to him and roughly pressed my lips to his. My hands rested on his neck and his rested on my waist. I pulled him closer, then, after about a minute, I pushed him away. He just stared at me, unblinking, unresponsive.

"That's how," I said and walked out of the apartment leaving an unmoving Train standing in the room...

I stood waiting outside the coffee shop a few blocks away from Train's apartment. It was a bright and sunny day and it was kind of annoying really. Considering how much Train and I had fought since last night, which was unbelievable, I really didn't need sunshine and rainbows.

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall. I stayed like that for so long that I didn't notice Sephiria come up next to me.

"Rough night?" She asked and I got a bit of a fright as I realised she was standing there. I let out a breath and relaxed.

"These injuries and the fighting between me and Train," I shook my head, "It's a lot,"

"That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about," She added and I grimaced. That sounded like fun...

She offered me her hand and I took it letting her lead me inside the cafe. It was the same cafe where I had been before Tyrant's party although that friendly waitress was nowhere to be seen. Sephiria motioned to the waiter who got us a table. Sephiria ordered for us and then turned all serious on me.

"I'm worried," She said and I leaned in closer. If Sephiria was worried that meant this was bad, very bad.

"Is it the Taoist?" I asked and she nodded grimly. I put my face in my hands. When I removed them my coffee was sitting waiting for me in front of me.

"I thought they were wiped out?" I asked, "You know, when we went to exterminate them, like twenty years ago,"

"We all thought that, then what happens last night?" She hisses, "We get our asses kicked by some bug-controlling hermaphrodite,"

I chuckled slightly, but winced as I remembered the beast that nearly crushed me to death.

"Did you discuss this with the Elders?" I questioned and she nodded solemnly before taking a long, slow sip of her coffee. I mimicked her and also took a lengthy sip of the hot, brown liquid. I grimaced and put some more sugar in it.

"They were astounded," She wiped her forehead, she was under a lot of stress at the moment and I could see it, sleepless nights and hurried days awaited her, "It's now a number one priority to get rid of them,"

"Agreed, but did you consult Mason?"

"Yes, his counsel is most needed now seeing that he knows a lot more about the Taoists than we do,"

"What about this Creed weirdo, is he going to be dealt with?" I hoped he would be dead so that Train would be safe and I could have one less worry.

"That's another thing, he killed a Number," She said sadly and I dipped my head.

"Who," I whispered, "Who did he get?" I prayed that it wasn't Jenos, it would be so boring without him to tease me every time I wanted to kill someone.

"Ash, Number Ten," She answered and I ground my teeth. Ash wasn't my favourite person, but he was still my friend.

"Here's what we're going to do," I decided to get down to business and help Sephiria with her little problems.

I mean, what are brothers and sisters for?

It was early evening while we were still planning everything. Countless papers with scribbled writings and tactical movements were sprawled across our table and Sephiria and I were deep in conversation. Coffee cups and plates of eaten food were stacked on the other table. We had been at this for hours. It was fun, exciting even to be back in power.

Ultimately, we were devising a plan to train up the Numbers even further so we could take down Creed and any other Taoists that decided to rear their ugly heads. We were talking about new weapons, if need be, new defensive strongholds and frontiers, how to launch an offensive if we were pitted against certain odds and then a long string of statistics that were relevant to anything we were putting on the paper.

We were engrossed in personnel management when Jenos burst through the door to the coffee shop. He was panting and appeared to be in a hurry. Sephiria tilted her head and beckoned him forward. He stopped by the table and quickly tried to regain his breath. His forehead glistened with sweat. I wondered if he ran all the way form the Chronos HQ.

"Creed is on the move," He panted, "Scouts saw him heading towards the docks,"

My heart dropped and it showed on my face as Sephiria and Jenos both turned to me. I stood up and took a minute to get over the shock.

"Train is at the docks for the fireworks!" I yelled as the realisation hit me yet again and without saying goodbye I bolted away from them and towards the docks. I could hear them calling my name as I ran away, but nothing could stop me now.

"Shit, shit, shit, please be okay!" I shouted as I ran towards the site of the festival. It was already getting dark and I was running out of time. If Creed was already there he could kill Saya and kidnap Train before anyone even

I rounded several corners and ran down streets like they were simply centimeters long. Things were unraveling and I had to keep them from breaking completely. I just hoped that I would be the only one to die if somebody had to...

It was dark when I reached the carnival and burst through the crowd of people. I searched for her everywhere I could think of. I pushed people out of the way and searched every stall I came across. She had to be somewhere. The lights were too bright and the people were too many. It was frustrating. You'd think you'd be able to find a girl in a kimono very easily.

"What happened to that nice lady in the kimono?" A little girl asked loudly as she walked next to two small boys. One was clutching a black cat toy in his arms. They were laughing and giggling, but I'm sure I heard them say "Lady in the kimono".

"Hey, kids!" I called to them and ran over. They were slightly afraid, but I smiled warmly as a sign that I wouldn't hurt them, "It's okay, I won't hurt you, but I need to know where the Kimono Lady went,"

"She went that way!" The boy holding the stuffed animal pointed towards a pier not far from where we were standing.

"Thanks kids," I reached into my pocket and pulled out a few bills, "Go have some fun," I handed them the money and they followed with shouts of joy and excitement.

I stepped around them and started running towards the pier as fast as I could. It took me roughly ten minutes to get to where the kids said Saya was.

Eventually I saw her sitting on an oil drum and sighed in relief that she was safe for the moment.

"Hey, what's the big hurry?" She asked as she stood up to greet me. I wasted no time and grabbed her wrist.

"Saya, we're in danger, let's go!" I pulled her with me and she drew her pistol while I led her away from the pier.

We didn't get very far when Creed stepped out from behind a warehouse. I cursed loudly and shielded Saya with my body.

"Where do you think you're going?" Creed's sacchariferous voice pierced the air, "The fireworks are about to start,"

"Saya," I said, "Run, now!" I ordered and she shook her head. I hissed at her stubbornness.

"I'm not leaving you here," She aimed at Creed and I knocked her gun down when Creed turned to face us properly.

"Saya, run, now!" I bellowed and she took a moment to decide before sprinting off to hopefully find help.

"So noble of you, Number Two," Creed clapped mockingly and I drew my gunblades.

"Stay away from my boyfriend," I warned and his face suddenly contorted in fury. I tensed and aimed at him. Train wasn't my boyfriend, but I planned to make him mine when we were done with this Tao-Creed-Uprising bullshit.

"You and that Witch!" He yelled, "You're a taint to him! He doesn't need peaceful living, he needs a life filled with killing and only then will we be at peace!"

"You're insane, you know that?" I taunted and he glared at me. I smirked at how I was stalling for time.

"You, you're an Incubus that plans to steal Train from me!" He shouted and I scoffed, "He's the solution to all the problems in my glorious plans! And you won't stop him, or me!"

"Shut up," I said calmly and he gripped his sword. I tensed again and prepared myself, both physically and mentally, for the ensuing fight.

"I'll remove your taint!" Creed lunged for me and so began the only fight in which I thought the most about my life...

Sword against sword. Orichalcum against whatever Creed's invisible blade was made out of. I twisted and fired at his head, but he evaded the bullets and swiped at my body. I dodged, but took a gash to the ribs. The cut sliced across one of my still healing wounds. I winced and lunged for Creed. We parried blows and exchanged hits for what seemed like forever.

Scars of battle littered the ground and buildings where we fought. Creed's blade was more destructive than I thought. Over the duration of the fight I received many more wounds that re-opened almost all of the old ones.

Creed was a strong opponent I had to admit. He was too powerful.

"You Taoist bastard!" I yelled and kicked him in the knee which caused him to feint to his right. I slashed down and cut diagonally across his chest leaving a hopefully deep slash in his torso. He went down on one knee. I took the chance and swiped to decapitate him, but he got up and with an unnatural amount of force knocked my right gunblade from hand. It landed a few feet behind me.

"Th-That's n-not p-p-possible!" My eyes were wide as Creed stood still healthy as he was before the fight. My stomach felt heavy and I quickly switched my left gunblade to my right hand.

I stood defensively and prepared for Creed's advance which came soon after I took the stance. I found it increasingly difficult to fend him off. He was like an uncontrollable monster. I could probably stall for another twenty minutes, but then I heard giggles and shouts of happiness.

Creed paused and I shook my head. The three kids were locked in place by fear. Their eyes were big as Creed spun on his heel to face them.

"Creed, no please! They're just kids!" I begged him, but he gave no response. I was suddenly aware of my light headedness. I was losing blood fast and Creed was unscathed. But I had to save those children.

I bolted forward and stabbed Creed through the stomach. I released my grip on the hilt of my weapon and stepped back.

"Kids, get out of here!" I screamed and they fled from us as fast as their little legs would carry them. I grinned at Creed who still had the blade in his stomach.

"You underestimated me, Creed," I stated with a grin. He laughed from where he stood and my smiled faded as quickly as it had appeared, "No, no, no, no..."

He reached around and pulled the blade out of his body and tossed it near its partner. He was still standing, he was still alive and he was healed.

"No, no, no, no, no, no-" I kept repeating like an idiot as Creed stepped towards me, "It must've pierced your vital organs!"

"You underestimated me, Demon," He quipped as he was right in front of me.

"I will nev-" I opened my mouth as blood spewed like a fountain out of it. My eyes were wide and my skin was deathly pale. The pain was so intense that the inky blackness of unconsciousness crept up faster than ever.

Creed pulled his sword out of me and I crumpled to the cold, hard ground. I couldn't even fathom Train's reaction to this. I couldn't believe I would never kiss him again, never hold him.

I did, however, want to say something to Creed, "Don't-Don't hurt him...please..." I wheezed and Creed grinned evilly and I felt tears slip out my eyes, "Please,"

But that's it. That's when it just happened. It was all over. I was so cold. There was nothing left for me. So, I just...I just died...

I bolted upright and then yelled in pain as I gripped my stomach. It took a while of me writhing in agony before I could calm down. I looked up from where I was laid. I was obviously in a bed, a soft bed, a nice bed. I turned my head to look at the rest of the room. It was similar to a log cabin. It had a bed, a wooden chair and a table which was on top of a tacky old rug. Trees were visible outside the window so I assumed that we weren't in the city anymore. The light from said window danced across my face as the trees blocked off little chunks of it.

I heard footsteps, but I didn't dare move again. Instead I just waited. Someone opened the door to my room and I tensed which caused me to whine painfully.

"Hey, relax," Sven's familiar voice said as he went to keep me down, "You're in really bad shape, I'm surprised you didn't die on that pier let alone survive the fire!"

"W-what fire?" I asked and realised that I was seriously thirsty. Although, my welfare could wait, Train's and Saya's couldn't.

"Yeah, a huge oil tanker exploded," Sven told me and I tried to recall anything after I 'died'. I pulled up blanks.

"What about the kids?" I said softly and Sven shook his head with a smile.

"They're fine," He replied, "A little burnt and bruised, but that's it,"

"Thank God," Then Train popped into my head followed by Saya, "Was there anyone else with me?"

"Yeah, Black Cat," Sven answered and I sighed with relief, but my heart caught anyway.

"Anyone else?" I queried and Sven shook his head. I felt my world spiral and then the tears slipped out again. Sven stumbled over his words and tried to comfort me, but it was done.

I failed. I failed Train. I failed Saya. I failed!

"Is he okay?" I murmured to Sven and he grinned. I took that as a good sign and just mentally thanked every religious deity ever known to humanity.

"He's been up for about a day now," Sven explained, "He was wounded, but they were survivable, unlike yours. He constantly asked after you and I told him that you were a diehard person," He chuckled.

"Could you bring him in here?" I looked up to Sven and he nodded. He motioned for someone to come in and I noticed long blonde hair, "Eve?"

"Yes?" Her soft voice responded and I was glad that she was alive and well. I shook my head softly. Sven was too nice for his own good.

"Eve, could you get Black Cat and bring him here?" Sven turned on his charm. I'm guessing Eve and Train weren't the best of friends. Eve stalked off and moments alter I heard loud footfalls.

I motioned for Sven to give us some privacy as Train burst into the room. He just looked at me, his eyes unbelieving. Sven quickly slipped out and shut the door.

"Hazel?" Train whispered and I smiled as tears fell from my eyes again. Train was by my side and I grabbed on to him even though the pain was unbearable. I cried into his shoulder while he gently smoothed my hair. My stomach screamed with pain, but I thrust it out of my mind as I held on to Train.

"Saya?" I asked him and he shook his head sadly. I pulled away from him and flopped back on to the bed. I took a few sharp breaths and then slammed my fist down on the bed.

"I failed! I failed, I failed!" I screamed and Train hugged me carefully, "I'm so sorry, Train, I couldn't protect her! Creed was so strong...He healed every inflicted wound in his body, he bested every attack I had...Saya..." I rambled and eventually the rambling turned into non-sense sounds.

"I thought you were dead, I saw you curled up, still and bleeding," Train said and I took a few more quick breaths to try and quiet my sobs, "Creed bested me too, but I fought with such rage and anger, I had to kill him for killing you,"

"I'm sorry," I mewled and he pressed his lips to mine ever so gently. I moved my lips across his and when we broke apart I felt even worse.

"I'm never letting you out of my sight again," Train said as he placed soft, feverish kissed along my neck and jawline.

"Train, I haven't been totally honest with you," I confessed and his kisses stopped, "It's time I told you the truth, but promise me one thing, please,"

"What?" He asked, his body still over mine possessively.

"Don't leave me," I begged, "You can hate me, but just don't leave me," He nodded his answer and I let out a chocked sob before starting.

"I'll start explain from after the night of Lib Tyrant's murder," I began to explain everything that happened to me, everything about me, my alignment with Chronos, everything.

But while I did it I thought about something. Saya thought Train was making a good choice by choosing me...

Saya was wrong...

He'll never forgive me...

I will no longer be able to break the barriers...

Okay, did it suck? I thought it was okay, did you? Review please! Love JenovaWolfen!