<b>Luna, 5:32 PM</b><br/><br/>“Equipment, huh?” Luna repeated from behind Alex. A black sedan a short distance from them chirped cheerfully at his remote. ‘Equipment’ was a strange choice of words; not luggage, not belongings... equipment. If the giant knife and the pistol were any indication, his ‘equipment’ could be grenades and dynamite. But that was fine, she told herself, as long as they’d blow up a demon. It wasn’t as if she had to worry about the police anymore. “Sure. There’s plenty of room,” she said, opening the passenger door.<i>And hey, if Rae wants to kill me when she gets back, I’ll deal with that if I’m still... sane.</i><br/><br/>She fastened her seatbelt, then reached down to help Vergil up onto her lap and shut the door behind him. “Just turn left onto Cobble up ahead, then drive until you hit Sunset. I think it’s... two sets of lights down?” She tilted her head. “I think so. Anyway, then you just turn right onto Sunset and it’ll be the big apartment building on the right.”<br/><br/>Truth be told, she was terrified. She’d been thrust into a world she knew nothing about, taken away from the comfortable life she knew. She was completely unprepared to deal with the horrors that lurked in the shadows of her memories. From what Alex had said, it seemed like he could have dealt with the warg without too much of an issue, while it had easily overpowered her. Yet he practically seemed to worship her and considered himself nothing in comparison. Would she really be able to deal with the monsters even Alex couldn’t face? Well, she had one ‘advantage’ she could think of: if Alex had no magical powers, they would simply kill him, where they’d toy with her, strip her, claim her... maybe in that time, she’d have a chance, like she had with the warg. On the other hand, if she lost, her fate would be far worse than his...<br/><br/>Luna shook her head, absently stroking Vergil’s soft fur. “That’s it there,” she said, motioning at a twenty-some storey building out her window. “Parking garage entrance is around back.” Parking was included in the rent, although she’d never really had to worry it until now. She hadn’t had to worry about lots of things until recently...<br/><br/>The car came to a stop, and she let out a breath. “Almost home,” she said, almost too quiet to hear.<br/><br/>The air in the parkade was cool and damp, matching the dim lighting. Distantly, she could barely hear the rumble of traffic and, somewhere, the steady dripping of water. She shivered, hugging Alex’s leather jacket tightly around herself. Terrible things always happened underground in horror movies, so she made a point of marching to the elevator - with Vergil and her bag in her arms - as quickly as she could.<br/><br/>Thankfully, no one joined them in the elevator; Luna wasn’t sure she could’ve handled the stares. A toned man with several weapons, a girl dressed in only a leather jacket, and a puppy weren’t exactly the most... average elevator companions. So, luckily, they were able to ascend to the fourteenth floor without being disturbed. Well, any more disturbed than they already were.<br/><br/><i>1406</i>, the door announced, white and unassuming except for the black room number and a small peephole just below. After rummaging through her bag for a few seconds for the key, Luna unlocked the door and pushed her way inside. She spun around after they were all inside. “Welcome to... home, I guess. It’s not much, but...” She gave a small shrug. “Just leave Rae’s stuff alone and she probably won’t kill any of us.”<br/><br/>It was a cosy little place. A living area with a table, a comfy-looking couch, a bookshelf filled with books, and a fairly large flatscreen TV served as the centre room of the apartment. Several plants lay happily in pots around the room and several landscapes lined the walls. To the right, there was a small kitchen which was well-stocked with food, although there was a bit less than usual since Rae was away and Luna didn’t want anything to go bad. To the left, a little hallway lead to the two bedrooms and the bathroom.<br/><br/>“There’s a bunch of food in the kitchen, if you’re hungry,” she said as she tucked her shoes and bag into the closet. “I don’t know if Cerberus...es... need to eat, but there’re a few cans of tuna in the pantry you could have, if you want.” She glanced between the two and then toward the bathroom. “So... I’m going to have a shower. You guys... make yourselves at home?” She smiled apologetically. It felt awkward to just leave them standing there, but...<br/><br/>She slipped out of Alex’s jacket, grabbing a towel from the bathroom closet to use instead. Quickly, she darted out of the bathroom and handed Alex his jacket. “Thanks,” she said softly, her eyes studying the floor. Then she swept back into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.<i>You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?</i><br/><br/>With a little sigh, she hung the towel from the rack and stripped out of the only clothing the warg had left her. As she stood naked in front of the mirror, she didn’t really know what to think. She felt vulnerable now, but still felt safer than she had since she’d been attacked. Somehow, her reflection looked different than she remembered. Her build was still the same: a slender waist curving softly into shapely hips, a smooth, level stomach punctuated by a small, shallow navel, firm, fair-sized breasts... but the way she held herself was a bit different, somehow straighter, more on edge. And the depths of her blue-green eyes had changed, too: they were deeper, darker somehow.<br/><br/>Luna shivered, hugging her chest. She didn’t want to be different. She didn’t want to be the target of demons or monsters. If she could give away her powers... She shook her head. The shower burst to life at her touch, a stream of water pattering against the fibreglass stall. Steam began to rise into the air, hot and damp against her bare skin. She couldn’t give away her powers, and if she could, it would be the most horrible gift she could give. She couldn’t just hide away from everything and leave others like her to suffer in her place. Her mirror image was soon hidden by condensation, and she stepped into the shower, letting out a quiet sigh as the hot water embraced her naked form.<br/><br/><i>All those girls that disappeared...</i>They hadn’t been kidnapped at all, she realised. Even the heat of the water couldn’t stop the goosebumps that blossomed across her skin. No, she couldn’t just sit back. If she could save even one person from the fate she’d almost suffered, save one person because she’d been chosen, then it would be worth it.<br/><br/>What worried her most was how little she knew. She knew her past self supposedly slept within her, but she really didn’t have any proof of that beyond scattered visions and distant dreams. She didn’t know anything about her power, except that she could sense magic and make barriers and huge explosions of light. Maybe Vergil already knew who she had been based on the powers she’d used. Maybe those powers were the only ones she could use, and Alex would simply look at her with disgust when he realised how weak she was and leave her to the demons.<br/><br/>Worst of all, she knew pretty much nothing about the demons or their powers other than what she’d seen. Some were wolves and some could become invisible. A lot of them seemed to have an oppressive aura she could sense when she reached out and that had some sort of sexual effect on her. Well, at least she<i>hoped</i>it had an effect, otherwise she hoped that a giant wolf licking her breasts wouldn’t have felt so... nice.<br/><br/>“It’s gone now,” she said quietly. “It’s dead, and more will be dead before the night’s done, I hope.”<br/><br/>***<br/><br/>About ten minutes after her shower, Luna emerged from her room. Her hair was still the slightest bit wet, and there was a healthy flush in her cheeks. She’d slipped into a dark green blouse and a black pair of jeans this time. She would’ve put on armour if she’d had any, but she wasn’t so lucky. “Well, I’m ready if you are,” she said, to both Vergil and Alex. “Is there any place we should start?”<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>