Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Black Cat. All street names used are fake and any correlation they have with real world street name are merely coincidental.

A/N: Finally more exciting stuff happens...YAY!

Chapter 5

Eve came back with a T-shirt and sweatpants. "Are these okay?" she asked me as she handed them over. "These will be fine," I said as I took them. "We are the same height after all." I had learned to embrace my shortness a long time ago. "Hey, Ryan!" Train called. He was already sitting in front of his own suitcase with another set of clothes in hand. "These look about your size." He tossed over another set T-shirt and sweats. "Thanks, man," Ryan called back. He caught the clothes in midair. "We both can't thank you enough," I told them all. "Don't worry about it," Train said, pulling a thumbs up sign. "You guys are our friends now."

It was a relief to finally change out of my cook's uniform after such a long day. Ryan went into the closet while I was in the bathroom. The shirt was pretty long; it went almost up to my knees. The sweatpants were snug, not too tight and not too loose. Overall, it was extremely comfortable and suited my taste. I stepped out of the restroom to find Ryan was already waiting for me outside with everyone else. We looked like exact opposites. I stood in front of the bathroom door with my clothes folded into a neat stack in my arms. The midnight blue shirt brought out my now silvery blue eyes. My raven-black hair remained tied in its Sacajawea-like braid, matching the black sweatpants perfectly. Ryan wore a pale yellow shirt and baggy camouflage pants, as if the outfit was color coordinated to correspond with his dirty blonde hair and forest green eyes.

"You two are as different as night and day." Sven took the words right out of my mouth. I piled my clothes on top of Ryan's on the closet floor. "Ryan takes more after our Dad," I said. "And Luna is almost an exact copy of Mom," Ryan added. Then he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Now, let's get on with assigning beds," he said before shooting his hand up eagerly. "I volunteer to sleep on the floor!" Typical, I thought. He still loves building pillow forts. Sven had a perplexed expression on his face. "Sure," he agreed hesitantly, not wanting to disappoint the eager little kid. Ryan wasted no time in taking the extra sheets pillows off the beds. While Ryan was busy building his bed, Sven turned to me. "Luna, you don't mind sleeping with Eve do you?" "Not at all," I replied cheerily. "It'll be like having a little sister."A small grin played on Eve's lips. I wasn't the only one who dreamed of having a sister.

Eve went to change in the bathroom. I got myself settled into bed, not really wanting to wait any longer. The day had been very eventful, to say the least, and I was ready to sleep like a log. Sven went ahead and turned off all the lights, leaving the room with only the glow from the street lamps outside. "Good night," I called into the darkness. Without a second thought, I closed my eyes and fell into a much needed sleep.

About 2 hours later

I woke to the "click" of a gun being loaded. I sat straight up in bed. What was that? The silhouette of a man stood at the foot of the bed. My first instinct was to defend myself. I reached for the phone on the bedside-table, but someone grabbed my wrist and put a hand over my mouth. My eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room and I recognized my captor. Sven looked me straight in the eye. Quiet. He let go of me and pointed to the light coming in underneath the door. A shadow lay in the middle; someone was standing outside.

I looked around the room. Eve was already sitting up next to me; she had woken up the instant she felt me move. Standing guard in front of our bed was Train, facing the door, gun in hand. Eve slipped herself out from beneath the sheets and tiptoed to the closet. Silently, she came back with her boots, Ryan's worn-out Nikes, and my denim flats. Meanwhile, Sven crept over next to the window, to where Ryan was sleeping. Thank God he isn't snoring. He shook Ryan awake as gently as possible, trying not to startle him. Ryan pushed himself slowly up once Sven showed him what was going on. Eve and I stepped softly across the carpeted floor with Ryan's shoes in hand. We waited for him to put them on, and Train backed up towards us. The shadow in front of the door had grown, blocking almost all the light from the hallway; whoever was there had brought reinforcements. All five of us stood by the window. Ryan already had his duffel bag with him and Sven had his attache' case. Train leaned towards us. "Sven, Eve, you guys are going through the window, got it?" The two nodded in agreement. The hairs on my back raised. I won't pretend I wasn't scared. On the contrary, I was terrified. This was was too much like that night. The last night we ever saw Dad alive.

His blue eyes were stern, though I could sense the fear they concealed beneath. "Luna, take your brother and run. Out the the balcony window and down the tree." "But what about-?" The doors burst open before I could finish my sentence."RUN!" Blood spattered behind us as we turned to run and gunfire ensued.

My hand moved on its own, grasping Train's shoulder tightly. "What about you?" I whispered desperately into his ear. I couldn't hide the panic in my voice. "You can't stay behind." Train turned to face me and saw the fear plain on my face. His serious expression softened. "Don't worry," he whispered back confidently. "I'll catch up." He gave me a knowing smile and then looked at his gun. "Hades hasn't let me die yet." He was so sure of himself and so calm. I settled down a bit and gave him a wary look before letting him go. I still didn't want to leave him behind, but I didn't have much of a choice. He'd made up his mind. "Be careful." He winked at me. "I sure will." Then he glanced at Sven and Eve. "On the count of three?" he asked. Sven started, "One..." Eve, "Two..." Train aimed his gun at a spot in the door. "Three," he said quietly and pulled the trigger.

The door burst open and a gang of suited men gathered outside opened fire. Somehow, Train was able to keep the bullets from hitting us. Sven swung his attache' case and broke the glass of the window. Sven grabbed Ryan's shirt and looked him in the eye. "JUMP!" Ryan didn't hesitate and tossed himself over the ledge. Sven went closely after him. Then it was the girls' turn. My stomach flew up to my chest, my heart into my throat, as we free-fell to the sidewalk below. Eve took hold of my arms, and in a flurry of feathers, wings sprouted from her back. I stared in amazement as she flew us past another bunch of black clad goons on the ground.

I turned and saw Sven and Ryan holding onto the attache' case for dear life. It had shot a grappling hook into the hotel wall and was lowering them down. The men we'd just passed gathered below them while two others continued to run after us. We lost sight of Ryan and Sven and began losing altitude as Eve carried us around the corner. "We'll have to run," Eve shouted as we glided down. "No need to tell me twice!" We hit the ground running and headed down the dimly lit road. No one was out but us and whoever was after us. The thugs fired at us from behind once they were within shooting range. The sound echoed off the building walls and down the silent street. "SHIT!" We picked up speed to avoid getting hit. Windows lit up along the street as people woke up to the noise outside.

The suits gained on us; they were close enough for us to hear their footsteps as they sprinted along behind. I looked over at Eve."Do you have anything else up your sleeve that could help us out right now?" "Not yet!" she hollered back, whatever that was supposed to mean. My legs were screaming both in pain and panic. I didn't think I could keep running for much longer. The sound of each gunshot pounded against my head. Think, Luna. THINK! I looked for anything familiar about the buildings and alleys we passed. We needed to get out of the open. An alleyway, a side street, an empty trash can – anything that we could hide in, even for just a second. Down the street, a small sign read Mr. Nickle's Pawn Shop. Perfect! "Eve, follow my lead!" I ran up in front of her towards the intersection.

Eve ran after me up until the intersection. While I took a right. She stopped and turned to face the guys chasing after us. I slowed down, until Eve called back to me, "Keep going! I'll catch up!" I still hesitated until she shouted, "Trust me!" At the same time, fists formed at the ends of her blonde locks. There was no doubt she could take care of herself. I kept running down the street and went down a small, dark alley. Strewn everywhere was broken bottles, crumpled paper, and lead pipes. At the very end sat an old dumpster, the same place it'd been sitting for the past five years. Weapons and a hiding place. I picked out one of the longer pipes and propped open the dumpster hood. As I jumped into the half filled trash box, Eve ran into the alley. She quickly hopped in after me. I had already started digging at the far corner of the dumpster. She looked at me confusedly until I pointed at the hole I'd been digging. "Hurry up!" She saw the faint light in the wall at the edge of my hole. "Here." Her hands turned into shovels, and she took the digging over completely.

Outside, I could hear the footsteps of the two men from before. They strolled down the alley. "Come out, come out wherever you are," one of them sang. The other laughed gruffly. Eve was half-way through. I stuffed my hands into the trash and threw it out of the way. We needed to get out fast. A bullet shot through the wall of the dumpster missing my head by an inch. Keep digging, keep digging, I reminded myself. This was not the time to panic. Their footsteps stopped outside the dumpster. The space in the wall was almost wide enough for us to get through. I shoved all the trash through and rolled after it. Eve tumbled after me as the two thugs opened the lid of the dumpster.

We landed in a heap on the cement floor of an old warehouse, as the two men were scrambling into the dumpster outside. Next to us stood an upright piano. I got up and tried to slide the heavy wooden instrument over the opening. Eve helped me give it a shove and together, we closed off the space in the wall. The two guys outside pounded against it for a few seconds, as if we would let them in. Their knocks echoed with the "tang" of the strings inside the piano. Finally, they gave up and silence filled the room. I sighed in relief. Then I looked around the room we were in.

Figures shrouded in white were spread out in the room. Some were shaped like grandfather clocks while others looked like pianos. Dust moated everything, even the floor. A small light came from a hallway light that someone kept on to make sure no one tripped over any of the merchandise. The familiar place was comforting, especially after what had just happened. I turned to look at Eve. "We're safe for now," I said, then stopped once I saw how she looked. She was a tinge green and a shade paler than normal as she leaned on the piano for support. "What happened to you?"

I helped her sit down against the wall. "Are you hurt?" "It's nothing really," she said weakly. "I'm just...tired." She gave me a wobbly smile. My brows furrowed. This didn't look like just "nothing". I thought back to the chase from the hotel. "Does this have something to do with...when you changed?" She closed her eyes a bit as she rested. "Yeah. When I transform, it takes a bit of energy for me to do it." Eve looked like she was about to fall asleep. "We'll stay here until you're up to walking," I said smiling. "No," Eve mumbled, opening her eyes. "We need to keep moving." She put her hand on the piano once more and pulled herself up. I would've protested, but I knew she was right. The small fear that whoever was after us would break into the building still lingered. I stood up and took her arm putting it over my shoulders to support her as best as I could. "There's a fire exit upstairs," I said as she looked at me, startled. "What are you doing?" she asked. I smiled. "I had to help Ryan walk home one time after he got into a fight," I explained. "That's what big sisters are for, right?" Eve smiled faintly. "Thanks, Sis."

We walked across the room and into the wide hallway. Further down to the left was an elevator door. I pressed the arrow pointing up and we stepped into the lit carriage for our ride. "How do you know this place?" Eve asked as I pressed the "2" button. I grinned at the memory. "My family came here a couple of times about a piano we used to have. When Ryan and I were little, we would explore the different things Mr. Nickle had. We found that huge hole in the wall behind a table that used to stand there. Our parents showed it to Mr. Nickle, and he said some rats from that alley on South St probably made it. Ryan and me looked for it last year when we were bored. Good God, did we stink that day." I shook my head and chuckled. "Mr. Nickle's going to go berserk when he sees that we moved one of his pianos. He's really high-strung about where everything goes." Eve laughed a little at that. She was quiet compared to most girls her age, more reserved about her feelings. Maybe that's why Ryan likes her. My brother had never been the type to like drawing attention to himself, even if he couldn't help but say what was on his mind.

The doors of the elevator slid open to a dimmer, more narrow hallway on the second floor. At the end, we could see an old pink neon light buzzing from a neighboring building outside. "There's the exit." We went up to it and looked outside. Nothing moved in the alley below except for the occasional rat scuttling around. I realized the fault to my plan when I remembered that we'd have to climb down the fire escape. Eve was in no shape to be monkeying around a fire escape, and I definitely wouldn't be able to carry her down. The adrenaline rush from the chase had worn off, leaving me exhausted.

I set Eve down so that I could try and look for a way down for the both of us. That is, I tried to set her down, but a loud shriek tore through the dark, scaring me half to death and making Eve practically fall over.

"What the hell was that?" Adrenaline pumped back into my veins as I searched fervently around the hallway and out the window for the person screaming. Eve pulled a plastic box out of her blouse pocket. "It was this," she said as I eyed the thing. On closer inspection, I found it was a mini two-way radio. Eve switched it to life and began turning the knobs on it until a familiar voice came through. "Princess, Luna, are you okay? Where are you? Princeeeess!" Train called into the other end. Eve pressed a button on the side of the radio. "We're right here Train. Quiet down," She made no attempt to hide the irritation in her voice. I leaned over her to try and get closer to the radio. "Train, do you want us to die? Dammit, you gave me a frickin' heart attack!" Train laughed at the other end. "I told you I told you not to worry about me. And I knew you'd be okay! Ryan over here was worried sick." "I was not!" I could almost here him the color of his cheeks in the background. Train ignored him and continued. "Where are you two? Sven and Ryan are with me in the car."

I took the radio from Eve and looked out the window to read the street signs. "Tell Ryan we're in a warehouse at the corner of North and East St. Mr. Nickle's Pawn Shop . We're by the fire escape in the alley to the right. He should remember the way here." "Alright. I'll send him over. Oh and Luna, how would you like me to buy you some new clothes?"

That caught me off guard. "W-What? Why?" There was some sort of scuffling sound and a protest from Train, "Hey!" Then, Sven's voice came in. "We'll tell you why once we get the chance. All you need to know is that you won't just be staying the night with us. Looks like you and Ryan will be joining us for a while." After everything that had happened so far, this didn't really surprise me. It's not like we could get any more tangled in this mess. "We'll pick you up when we get there," Sven continued. "For now you and Eve sit tight." He cut off and all we could hear from the little box was static. I sat myself down next to Eve, processing what I'd just heard. I suddenly felt exhausted, the lack of sleep and running so much catching up on me. Eve was already napping soundly. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. A few seconds later, I perked up to the "clank" and "crash" of someone pulling down the ladder at the bottom of the fire escape. Soon enough, Ryan's face popped into the window's view. His face was covered in comical black smudges, and his hair was sticking out in all directions.

"Did you get struck by lightning?" I asked him, laughing. Ryan smiled. "Something like that. You look like you just got out of the dumpster." He noticed that we were sitting on the ground, and his smile was replaced by an expression of concern. "Are you two okay?" Eve was still deep asleep. "Eve looked like she was gonna pass out a second ago, but I think she'll be okay when she wakes up. I just need some help getting her down." Ryan started turning a bit pink. "Do you want to go get Sven or Train up here instead?" I suggested. He looked down the ladder behind him uneasily. "Train's standing watch, and Sven's guarding the car. And we don't know if those guys plan to pop up out of no where." He sighed, then shrugged. "I guess there's no way around it." I couldn't help but agree with him. I didn't want to waste any more time than need be. He climbed in to join us on the floor of the inside. Eve was truly out cold; she didn't make a peep as Ryan lifted her up onto his back and climbed down the ladder. I made sure to keep close underneath him in case he or she slipped.

We got down safely into the alley with Train waiting at its entrance. He was a bit taken aback at the fact that Ryan had to carry Eve down, but he seemed pretty calm about it. He knew how much energy it took her to transform and it was obvious I couldn't have brought her down myself. Sven, on the other hand, didn't take things so lightly. He would've snatched the girl right off of Ryan's back had she not been asleep. I'd tell you what he said, but there's a level of cursing that even I can't tolerate being seen on a page.

Train was able to calm him down, but there still seemed to be an almost murderous intent in Sven's one visible eye as he watched Ryan get into the car. When Sven wasn't looking, Ryan shot me a look from his seat next to the fatherly figure. His face screamed, "Help me!" But what could I do? Ryan was better at directions than I was any day. Plus, Sven didn't look too keen on letting Ryan sit in the back with us girls. I gave him a resigned shrug. "Sorry, I can't." I wasn't sure if I heard Ryan whimper as the engine roared to life.

Train sat in the window seat to my right and watched the shadows passing by. On my left, Eve slept, her head leaning slightly towards her window. We were all tired and rode in comfortable silence. My mind felt foggy, my eyes were as heavy as lead. I sunk into my seat and gladly welcomed sleep. I closed my eyes and darkness engulfed me. And then the dreams began...