Chapter One

Ten years after Creed's defeat, Train Heartnet was thirty-three years old. He didn't feel old if that's what you were thinking. The former Chrono Number felt more alive than he had when he was an assassin. Train had traded his white dress shirt for a sleeveless one and a long-sleeved dark blue jacket, which the zipper was halfway across his stomach. Train still wore a red choker with a tiny bell attached to it, and the XIII tattoo engraved on his chest remained the same. Hades, which Train considered a token from his past, was always by his side. The ten years had not changed his personality or demeanor, and again, he felt more alive than ever, and Train's golden eyes gleamed with pleasure at the sight of the captives moving into the police's van.

Train, Sven, and Eve had captured the notorious gang of the town that they were in. The gang had been terrorizing and plundering the town for some time when Train, Sven, and Eve had arrived looking for work. As sweepers, the three were constantly moving, gaining bounty money… and hungry. Train's appetite and their debts had not decreased over the years, and now Train, Sven, and Eve were desperate to pay off their debts and satisfy Train's hunger. When the three found a bounty for fifty thousand dollars, Sven and Eve, especially Train, couldn't say no. The gang was easy to find. Hidden in an abandoned warehouse, the members of the gang were arrogant enough to think that nothing could stop them. They did not expect the former Black Cat, a young woman in the form of a bio-weapon, and a man with an attaché case to cause their downfall. The gang quickly relented, and soon the police aided Train, Sven, and Eve in rounding them up and transporting them to prison. Benny Stocker was going to prison as well, even though at nineteen, the youngest of the gang members.

"You shouldn't smile, Train." Eve said as she signed the paperwork. She didn't look up from the paperwork at the grinning ear to ear Train. "The gang was terrorizing the people of the town."

"I know that!" Train feigned anger at the young woman standing in front of him as she handed the paperwork in. "The gang was horrible. Now we can officially eat!" Train's voice rose in his unmistakable excitement.

"Eve does have a point, Train." Sven appeared carrying his attaché case. Unlike Train his clothing attire hadn't changed, and the only notable difference about him was the flecks of gray in his hair. Train liked to point out that it was because he was forty. "We still have to give the people their stolen belongings before we eat. However," he said with a glance at Eve, "we can pay some of our debts."

"That's right, Princess." Train said gleefully. Even though Eve had a sweeper's license and was twenty-two, he still insisted on calling her by her childhood nickname. "Soon we'll be debt free, and our worries will melt away."

"I wouldn't be certain of that," said a voice from behind Train. The man was about medium height and had straight brown hair. He was sitting down in a chair, relaxing. His face was grim, and judging by the license on the table, he was a sweeper.

"He's right," another sweeper said, presumably his partner. His eyes were wide. "There's a rumor of a war between the Chrono Numbers and their enemies."

"War?" Sven echoed. He fingered his cigarette box while contemplating this news. Train and Eve silently watched him. "Certainly there have been wars before, and powerful as the Chrono Numbers are, they would have defeated them quickly." Sven paused. "This group, whoever they are, must be powerful."

"Yes." The sweeper that had first spoken nodded. "I heard a rumor that they are even more powerful than the Apostles of the Stars combined."

Eve looked surprised at this but Train remained calm. Sven watched the sweeper cautiously. The three vividly remembered their individual battles with the Apostles of the Stars, and fighting them had nearly cost them their lives.

"My sources say that the group is formed of rouge assassins and former members of the Apostles of the Stars. They want to take over the world in Chorons' place." The sweeper sighed.

"Cheer up!" Train seemed oblivious to the dire information. "If there is a war, we can defeat this group with a sweeper alliance like we did ten years ago!" A crowd had gathered around the five sweepers.

No one seemed to hear him. "I heard that one of the members of this group is Lugart Won," whispered one of them, unsuccessfully suppressing a shudder.

Now Train paid attention. His eyes widened slightly and they gleamed as he remembered meeting the assassin known as Lugart Won.

Lugart Won was a Class A assassin with a bounty of two hundred thousand dollars. He was a quite formidable opponent, specializing in a martial art known as the unparalleled technique. Train had only won by his swiftness and agility. Lugart Won had been discouraged and questioning his own abilities then. He vowed to come back and defeat Train one day. Train hadn't seen the shady assassin since.

"Why… why would you bother? Saving people you don't even know? You owed those men no allegiance. They were not your family, not your friends… Why take the risk?"

"In our world, you don't help strangers, you don't take unnecessary risks… Those who allow their sentiment control their judgment die… These are the rules by which we live."

"One day… I will return to finish this… I will be back… once I have trained myself to counter your gun technique! Your skills shook my confidence! And the only way to regain what I've lost is to defeat you!"

"What will happen now?" Eve questioned. They were walking back to their safe house.

"What, Princess?" Train asked. Train had eaten most of the meal at a restaurant that Sven picked out to eat at. His stomach slightly bulged and he sighed contentedly.

"The sweeper said that the enemies of the Chrono Numbers were former assassins and members of the Apostles of the Stars. If they're more powerful than them, we might have to get involved, presuming that the war isn't in secret."

"You're too serious for your age, Princess!" Train teased. "Why should we involve ourselves? The battle with Creed was different."

"The enemies of Chronos might come after you, Train." Concern echoed in her voice. "Even though you defected from Chronos twelve years ago, the group my still consider you a threat. You were the Black Cat, after all."

Train had no answer for her, although Eve thought she saw the former Black Cat smile.