Blue Haired Men
Complete Edition
( Includes All Three Parts of Beware of the Blue Haired Men )
by  
S.D. Rasheed
All rights reserved

This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

"The history of our world isn't as black & white as one would imagine. 
There are incidents that time has forgotten; men that walk among us who threaten 
our very existence. These men have had an impact on our world but we remain 
oblivious to that fact. Who are these indiviuals? " 
                                                                                       -Historian Badr Iskandar

She died with her eyes open. The last person she saw was likely her killer. 
Sometime between 11:00 pm and 9:00 am twenty five year old Crystal Michaels was murdered. Her nude body was discovered by a chambermaid this morning lying face up on the queen sized bed in her apartment at the Star Mountain Inn. Her mouth is half way open; something Detective Diana Young found peculiar. 
A single thread of blue colored hair located on the bed's white sheets also catches her eye. The victim appears to be a natural blonde which makes the blue hair found at the crime scene significant. Wearing a pair of plastic gloves,Young carefully examines this piece of evidence before tightly securing it in a plastic bag.
The thirty year old detective was one of the first on the scene after the local authorities were notified of Miss Michaels' death. Diana has become accustomed to the sight of a dead body. However, as the circumstances of this case unfold Diana will soon learn that there's more to Miss Michaels' death than anyone could ever imagine.
As the crime scene investigators thoroughly examine Miss Michaels' room Diana Young's middle aged partner, Detective Tyson Price, arrives at the hotel room. Price walks with a limp in his right leg; the result of a gunshot wound he received nearly a year prior. His injury, along with his old age, makes getting around as fast as he used to somewhat difficult.
   "So what's the story?" Price asks his partner.
   "According to the drivers license found in her purse the victim's name is Crystal Michaels," Young responds, "Also discovered in her purse was a few hundred dollars in cash, credit cards and family photos.The killer obviously wasn't after her money."
   "Any visible wounds on her body? How'd she die?"
   "So far the cause of death is a mystery. There're no gunshot wounds or any other kind of wound on her body. The chambermaid claims that the door was locked when she got here around 9am and there are no signs of forced entry."
   "What makes you so sure this woman was murdered then? Maybe she had a health problem."
   "I don't know why. I just have one of those feelings."
While the two detectives are talking a curious red haired woman steps over the police tape outside of the door of the room and walks inside. As she does she witnesses a C.S.I covering Crystal's lifeless body with a white sheet.
    "Crystal?!?" the red head exclaims. Her shout catches Diana's and Tyson's attention. "Oh my god! What happened to my sister??"
Moments later Diana and Tyson have taken the distraught woman to a vacant room on the same floor of the hotel. During this time the grieving woman identifies herself as Joan Michaels, Crystal Michaels younger sister. Joan also provides additional information that could prove helpful.
    "Last night my sister and I went on a double date together with a couple of guys we've been seeing for a while. After a few hours my boyfriend and I left Crystal alone with her boyfriend."
    "Do you remember what time you left them?" asks Diana.
    "Uhm....I don't know..Maybe around 11pm?"
    "Do you know the name of the person your sister was with?" 
     "I..think his name was Reuben...Reuben Wolf. Tall, thin guy with long hair that was dyed blue. It matched his eyes. Do you think he may have had something to do with my sister's death?"
     "That's what we hope to find out," Tyson responds.
Thanks to Joan Michaels the detectives now have a person of interest to track down. However, until the Coroner can provide a cause of death, the authorities won't be able to arrest Wolf but that doesn't mean they can't question him.
Sometime later at the police precinct Young and Price begin a digital search for the man called Reuben Wolf, only to come up empty. After an afternoon of searching through records they find no one that fits Wolf's description in the criminal database, nor is the name registered in the state's department of motor vehicles. 
        "It's like this guy doesn't exist," Diana notes.
        "I ran the name through the popular social network hangouts. Nothing there either." Prices adds, "Reuben Wolf is sounding like this guy's alias." 
        "If that's the case then he definately has something to hide."
        "With any luck that blue hair you found will lead us in the right direction."
        "Yeah..."
Sitting in her chair staring at the report on her desk, Diana Young's thoughts drift to a moment in time she had forgotten. A memory locked away since she was six years of age. The sound of a woman's playful laughter echoes in her mind but before Diana becomes completely lost in thought the Coroner knocks on the open door of her office.
In his hands he holds the preliminary results of the autopsy he performed on Crystal Michaels. Because Miss Michaels' body exhibited no cause of death, the Coroner autopsy report was deemed inconclusive.
      "Miss Michaels' appeared to be in good health with no obvious signs of health issues," explained the Coroner.
      "What about drugs?" Diana aks.
       "I didn't find any traces of known drugs in her system. However, we won't be able to rule everything out until the toxicology results are completed in a few weeks."
      "Another dead end," Diana says as the Coroner leaves the office.
      "She was obviously with a man in her apartment but no traces of semen was found in the room or on her body. Nothing's adding up in this case."
     "You let me worry about cracking this one, Tyson. After all, this is your last day on the job."
     "Yeah, but I hate to leave you here to sort through this mess."
     "You've got nothing to worry about. My new partner will be here Monday."
     "Already replaced, am I?"
     "You know no one can replace you, Tyson."
      "Damn straight."
Diana gets up from her chair and insists that the two of them go out for drinks. Price has never been one to turn down spending time with Diana. With no children of his own, Diana has become something of a daughter to him. They both leave Diana's office and travel the short distance on foot to their usual hangout; a bar located around the block called Foxies. Diana lets Tyson enter first because, little does he know, there's a surprise party waiting for him.
Inside the bar dozens of Tyson's fellow officers and detectives shout "Surprise!" as he enters the establishment. It seems as if the entire precint was on hand to celebrate Tyson's retirement from the force. Diana gives Tyson a big hug before they both join their friends and enjoy the party. As Tyson's retirement party continued until the wee hours of the morning, Diana left early and returned to her apartment a few blocks away. 

After showering Diana turns in for the night. As she falls asleep the mysterious factors surrounding the Michaels' case weighs on her mind. Her  dreams are mixed with memories as Diana relives a portion of her childhood she chose to forget. 
In the home where she once lived as a child with her mother, a six year old Diana walks slowly down a dimly lit hallway until she reaches the door to her mother's room. The door is cracked open enough for Diana to peep inside. Even though she's unable to see anything she can hear the sound of her mother giggling. Her mother's not alone this night but before Diana can discover the identity of this person the ringing of her alarm clock awakens her from her dream.
It's 5:00 am Friday morning.
Continuing her regular morning routine, Diana gets up to jog a few miles in the park before she heads to work.While jogging she tries to concentrate on the mysterious death of Crystal Michaels and not on the dream she experienced over night. An hour and fifteen minutes later Diana heads for work; ready to take a fresh look at her current case.
Diana returns to her apartment for a quick shower and change of clothes. She then walks the three blocks to work. She takes the elevator to the fifth floor where her office is located. On her way there she stops by her partner's office. Tyson is inside packing dozens of files and folders into cardboard boxes. He pauses for a moment to stare at a picture of him and his late wife, Lillian. Lillian lost a five year battle with ovarian cancer a short time ago. Because of his work, Tyson wasn't there when she died; something he'll always regret.
Unnoticed by Tyson, Diana continues to her office down the hall when she's approached by a young Forensic Scientist named Tears Lamar. He has the test results of the strand of blue hair found in Crystal Michaels' apartment.
   "I don't know what to make of that hair you found," he tells Diana.
   "What do you mean?"
   "Well, I was able to determine that the hair came from a person but there's no indication that it was dyed blue." 
   "Are you sure it's not dye?"
   "Positive. It sounds weird but blue is natural for whoever this guy is."
   "Okay. What else?"
   "This is where it gets strange. If I didn't see it for myself I wouldn't have believed it. The D.N.A I found in the hair sample is definately male but here's the kicker: I only found two Y chromosomes. Normal men carry both the X and Y chromosomes. On top of that, his cell structure is entirely different from yours and mines."
    "So you're telling me this person is some kind of..genetic mutation or something?"
     "I don't know what he is, to tell you the truth. If you ever find out let me know."
After their conversation Tears walks away and a Diana puzzled enters her office. The more she uncovers about the blue haired mystery man Crystal Michaels was involved with, a lot more questions arise. Double Y chromosomes, natural blue hair; just who is this person and how did he murder Crystal Michaels?, she wonders.
In search of clues Diana opens her laptop and begins searching through crime files and news reports. She's looking for any information that may lead her in the dirrection of a blue haird man in the city of Acres, Missouri. She finds many stories and pictures of young people with dyed hair but none of them seem to match.
Suddenly her cell phone rings. An private invesigator also working the Crystal Michaels case has discovered surveillance footage of Michaels and her male acquaintance on the night of her death. Diana rushes out of her office to meet with the investigator and see this footge.On her way out she encounters Tyson. 
He's finished cleaning out his office and is now taking a moment to say goodbye to his former colleagues. 
    "Don't you turn into a couch potatoe now Tyson," Diana jokes.
    "I won't make any promises. I do want to be kept in the loop about the Michaels case though. Let me know how this one plays out."
   "Will do."
On the sixth floor of the building Diana meets with a surveillance technician and private investigator Reed Turner. After Crystal's autopsy results failed to reveal a cause of death the Michaels family turned to Turner with hopes that he could get to the truth. This isn't the first time that Diana and Reed have crossed paths. 
The two worked together on a murder case a few years prior. They also dated during this period of time.Their relationship ended after Diana made it clear that she had no interest in replacing Reed's young daughter's dead mother. 
Despite his young age Reed is a very old fashion  person when it comes to personal relationships and the roles a mother and father play in the family. Diana's unwillingness to quit her job as a detective to  become a full-time mother drove a wedge between the two lovebirds which resulted in the end of their personal releationship.
Despite their breakup the two still remain close friends.
    "What do you have for me, Turner?"
    "Hopefully something helpful. Nice to see you again, Diana."
    "You too, Reed. How's Molli?"
    "She's well. Her seventh birthday is coming up in a couple of months. I'm going to have to start chasing boys away from our door soon."
Turning to the surveillance footage playing on a computer, Turner explains how the mystery man last seen with Crystal Michaels was caught on camera entering the social club, Calm Before, on the night of Crystal's death. 
Crystal, Rueben, Joan and her boyfriend can all be seen on the audioless footage walking over to their table in the club.The group is too far away from the camera to get a good look at Rueben but his blue hair stands out.
The footage also backs up Joan Michaels' earlier statement in which she told Diana that she left her sister alone in the club with Rueben. Soon after Joan and her boyfriend are off camera, as they apparently leave the establishment, Crystal and Rueben can be seen vacating their table as well. 
    "Finally. A face behind the mystery man," Diana states.
    "It gets better," Turner says, "There was a camera located on the floor of Crystal Micheals' apartment that shows her and Rueben as they walked to her room after leaving the club. We get a closer look of our blue haired friend on this one."
As Turner confirmed, the second surveillance video shows Crystal and Rueben entering the hallway of the Inn. The camera is positioned on the wall facing Crystals room located at the end of the hallway. To the right the couple can be seen entering the camera's view as they exit the elevator. 
A bubbly Crystal steps off the elevator first and heads to her apartment door. Rueben follows closely behind, pausing for a few seconds to glare in the direction of the camera before turning away. Diana finds Rueben's leery blue eyes disturbing as she watches the footage. Something about this blue haired man seems eerily familiar to her but at the moment she doesn't know why.
     "At 11:42 pm Crystal Michaels and her blue haired friend enter apartment number 6D but neither of them leave," Turner states as the surveillance technician fast forwards the tape to the next morning. This is when the chambermaid enters Crystal's room.
    "That's impossible," Diana says in disbelief, "Someone must have tampered with the security camera."
    "I thought the same thing but after analyzing the footage we found zero evidence of editing. Either our guy is a magician or he survived a seven story drop out of Crystal Michaels' apartment window."
     "Neither of those explainations are plausible, Reed."
     "Neither is a man with natural blue hair or someone carrying double Y chromosomes. I talked to your forensics guy. Have you told anyone else about what the lab discovered from that strand of blue hair?"
     "Not yet. I'm still trying to sort all of this out myself. But no matter how this Rueben Wolf  got out of Crystal Michaels' apartment this footage proves that he was the last person to see her alive. That makes him our primary suspect."
Shortly after viewing the surveillance camera Diana's next stop is the office of Lieutenant James Grant Sr. When Diana enters his office she finds the 55 year old man with a receding hairline in the middle of a coversation with the city Mayor. The two are discussing the close of a high profile murder case, unrelated to the Michaels' case. Shutting the door behind her, Diana waits patiently for their conversation to conclude.
Once the Lieutenant is finished, Diana wastes no time updating him on the new developments in the Crystal Michaels' case.
    "Sir, I have new evidence that proves Rueben Wolf  was with Crystal Michaels the night of her death. Both of them were captured on camera entering Michaels' apartment. That's enough to put a warrent out for his arrest."
    "I thought the Coroner ruled Michaels' death as inconclusive."
    "He did but ,sir, I strongly believe that Miss Michaels was murdered by Wolf ."
    "You could be right but you know that we really can't arrest a man based on your intuition."
    "It's more than that..."
    "Diana, I know you want to hold someone responsible for Michaels' death but unless the toxicology results indicate that foul play was involved with the young woman's death we'll have no reason to arrest anyone. Now, what you can do is bring Reuben Wolf  in for questioning."
     ".....Yes sir...."
Diana returns to her office disappointed by Lieutenant Grant's decision. She sits in front of her laptop contemplating her next course of actions. How am I supposed to bring Wolf  in for questioning when I can't locate him? 
With few options at her disposal Diana decides to search the police database for reports of similar deaths on her laptop. For hours she digs through dozens of police reports from around the country until she discovers what she's looking for.
According to a report published sixteen months ago by authorities in a small Louisiana city called River Town, there was an incident where a single woman was found dead in her home. Similar to the Michaels' case there was no evidence of murder or suicide.The autopsy results were inconclusive as well, with no traces of drugs in the victim's system. Days before the woman's body was discovered she was last seen at a Halloween party with an unidentified man; a man with blue hair.
Diana's discovery is enough to convince her that this blue haired indiviual in River Town is the same person responsible Michaels' death. Unfortunately she has no way to prove it, yet. Unable to travel to River Town herself to investigate further Diana calls private investigator Reed Turner for help. Unfortunately, Reed isn't answering his cell phone so Diana leaves a message on his voice mail.
      "Reed? I just discovered something that may help with the Michaels' case. Call me back as soon as you get this message."
The reason why Reed missed Diana's call was because he's currently at Acres' high-speed rail station with his daughter going through security. His cell phone is off as he participates in the usual security measures for the ride. Reed's train to Baton Rouge, Louisiana is expected to depart shortly.

                                                            ************

An hour later Reed's train arrives in Baton Rouge. 
From the station the private investigator rents a car and travels to the ranch house where Molli's grand parents live. Walter and Dorothy Connor are the sixty year old parents of Molli's deceased mother, Amanda. They live on the outskirts of Baton Rouge. Besides paying a surprise visit to his in-laws, Reed plans to have them look after his daughter while he continues his investigation in Michaels' death.
      "Hello? Anyone home?" Reed asks as he and Molli enter the Connor ranch through an unlocked screen door. "In the kitchen!" Dorothy Connor replies.
Molli runs into the kitchen ahead of her father to great her grand mother who is seated at the kitchen table peeling a basket full of freshly picked pears. Before following his daughter into the kitchen Reed notices an invoice letter laying on the table. It's warning the Connors that their mortgage payment is past due. If not paid soon the Conners could be foreclosed on. 
      "Gran'ma!" Molli exclaims as she jumps into Dorothy's lap.
      "Molli what a pleasent surprise! Let me have a look at you!"
      "Daddy bought me a new dress. Do you like it gran'ma?"
      "Yes, it's quite exquisite. You're look like your mother when she was your age."
Reed steps into the kitchen and leans against the doorway. He proudly watches Molli show off her blue dress covered with little white butterflies to her grand mother.
      "Daddy! Gran'ma says I look like mommy!"
      "I'd have to agree with her."
Molli's mother died in a car accident when she was eight months old. The six year old's only memories of her mother are what her family have showed her through photos and home movies. Hearing that she resembles her mother makes her happy.
       "Molli, why don't you go upstairs and wash up. When you're finished I'll have a bowl full of your favorite flavor of ice cream waiting for you."
       "Okay!"
       "No running in the house, young lady," Reed tells Molli as she streaks pass him.
       "Okay, daddy!"
Dorothy turns to the kitchen sink to wash her hands. "I wish you had called before you came," she says, drying her hands on her apron, "I could have prepared a special meal for the two of you."
    "I wanted to surprise you and Walter. Where is he by the way? I didn't see his old truck when we pulled up."
    "Oh, some of the Watkins' cattle escaped their fence this morning. Walter went over to help round them up. He should be home soon."
     "How have the two of you been doing?"
     "We're doing fine," Dorothy responds as she removes a bowl from the cabinet, "I should ask you that question. Have you given up looking for a mother for Molli?"
      "I wouldn't say that, but I've been pretty busy with work so I don't have much time for a social life."
Molli speed walks into the kitchen just as Dorothy is dishing out big scoops of chocolate chip, peppermint bark vanilla ice cream. Molli watches closely as each scoop is added to the bowl. When Dorothy is done Molli jumps in a chair at the table prepared to eat her dessert. Before she does her father reminds her that she forgot something.
      "Molli, aren't you forgetting something important?"
      "Huh? Oh! Thank you gran'ma!"
       "You're very welcome."
With Molli preoccupied Dorothy and Reed move their conversation to the living room. Dorothy tells her son-in-law to have a seat while she clears off the pieces of mail and magazines scattered on the table. Reed sits down in a rocking chair that's positioned so that he has a clear view of Molli in the kitchen. Dorothy sits on the couch and kicks off her house shoes.
   "Feels like I've been peeling pears nonstop for a week."
   "You're still making homemade pear preserves?"
   "Yeah. I plan to sell plenty during next month's farmers' market."
   "Because you two are about to be evicted? I saw the notice on the table."
   "You never stop being an investigator do you?"
   "If you and Walter need money I can help you guys. All you have to --"
   "Walter and I are doing fine. We just missed a couple of payments, that's all. Sales of used cars have slowed a bit but Walter is certain that business will pick up again at his dealership."
      "And if it doesn't?"
Ready to end the conversation, Dorothy gets up from her seat and decides that it's time that she got started on dinner. "How long are you two staying?" she asks. "Probably just for the weekend," Reed replies. 
As Dorothy walks into the kitchen Reed retrieves his cell phone located in the inner pocket of his leather jacket. He checks his missed calls and notices Diana's message. After listening to her message Reed gets up from the rocking chair and announces that he's stepping outside for a short period. While outside on the front porch of the house Reed returns Diana's call.
    "Diana? Hi, I just checked my messages. What have you found?"
    "There was a similar death reported in a city in Louisiana a few years ago. The woman was found dead just like Michaels. I think the town's name is---"
    "River Town," Reed interrupts as he watches an old Ford truck approach the house. Walter Conner is returning home.
    "Yeah, that's it. You've heard of it before? Why didn't you tell me?"
     "I didn't find out about it until this morning, before I showed you the surveillance footage. I'm in Louisiana now. I'll let you know what I find out when I get back."
     "I hope it's solid proof that Wolf  is preying on women or else these murders may go unanswered."
    "Talk to you soon."
Reed hangs up his cell phone just as Walter pulls into the driveway. He waves to Walter as he exits his vehicle. Just then an excited Molli bursts through the screen door, running down the porch stairs to greet her grand father. Walter bends down so Molli can jump into his arms and give the old man a big hug.
After a long night with his in-laws, Reed oversleeps the following morning. The fresh smell of country air is a welcome change from the pollutants found in the air back home. The sound of Dorothy and Molli downstairs in the kitchen awaken him. 
A groggy Reed rolls over to check the time on his wrist watch which is placed on the dresser next to his bed. The time is 9:25 am Saturday morning. Realizing he has some place to be in less than an hour, the boxer shorts wearing investigator rushes out of bed and heads to the shower. 
Eight minutes later Reed walks down stairs wearing a white-button down shirt underneath a black blouson jacket, black jeans and matching business boots. 
Molli is in the kitchen with her grand mother watching her prepare the pears she peeled the day before for preserves.
   "Thanks for letting me oversleep, Molli."
   "You're welcome, daddy."
   "Would you like some breakfast Reed?" Dorothy asks.
   "No thanks. I need to get going. I have to meet with someone in town. Keep an eye on Molli for me? I won't be gone long."
   "Of course dear."
Reed kisses Molli on her forehead and tells her to listen to her grand mother while he's away before he leaves the kitchen. Dorothy follow him on the way out. When Reed gets to the driver's side of his rental car Dorothy stands on the front porch to ask him a question before he gets inside the vehicle.
    "Reed? Was that Diana Young I heard you talking to yesterday?"
    "Grand 'ma Dorothy, were you eavesdropping on my conversation?"
    "Yes I was. And it's a good thing too. I hope you're not chasing after that woman again. Not after the way she broke your heart."
    "She didn't break my heart."
    "She turned down your proposal, didn't she? I don't know how you can even continue to socialize with that woman."
    "I'll make you a deal, Dorothy: You don't mention Diana and I won't bring up your financial problems. How does that sound?"
Dorothy doesn't say another word. She watches Reed as he gets into his car and drives away. An hour and twenty minutes east of Baton Rouge is where the small town called River Town is located. 
A local coffee house is where we find Reed meeting with a young man named Daniel Hall. His twin sister, Donna Hall, was the woman who died inexplicably over a year ago. Reed looks over photos of Donna given to him by Daniel. The family photos were taken long before her untimely death. 
    "You were the one who found your sister's body?"
    "Yes. We both worked at the same diner here at the time. When she didn't show up for work that Monday I called her house, I texted her, I sent her emails; no response. So I stopped by her house and that's when I found her upstairs in her bedroom."
    "You told the authorities that the last time you saw your sister was during a Halloween party. She was there with a blue haired man right?"
    "Yeah. Some guy named...Ramsey, I think it was."
Reed shows Daniel a photo of Rueben Wolf  taken at the moment he's seen looking at the camera in Cystal Micheals apartment building and asks, "Is this him?"  
Daniel takes a close look at the picture. He places his left hand over Rueben's eyes and stares at it for a moment before giving his answer.
    "This looks like the guy. At the party he was wearing a mask that covered half of his face, so I didn't get a good look at him. His hair was longer too."
    "You said his name was Ramsey? What was his last name?"
    "He didn't say. I didn't think to ask. The party was the first time I had actually met the guy.The cops said my sister died from unknown causes. She wasn't murdered, was she?"
    "That's what I'm trying to find out. This man was the last one seen with another woman in Acres, Missouri who died like your sister. Did Donna happen to mention where she met Ramsey?"
    "It was on some dating website. I remember because a few months before she met him I warned her about the kind of nutcases that lurk on places like that. But she was desperate to find someone. She wouldn't listen and now she's dead. If this guy murdered her--"
    "Thanks to your help today I can assure you that he won't get away with what he's done. One more question: What was the name of the dating website where your sister and Ramsey hooked up?"
Later that evening Reed returns to the Connor's ranch house. Holding a lit tobacco smoking pipe, Walter is seated in a chair on the front porch watching the sun set slowly in the horizon. Reed exits his car and joins Walter. 
    "Done with your work?" Walter asks.
    "For now."
    "Well, Dorothy fixed you a big meal. You'd better go wash up and eat before she comes out here and drags you inside."
     "I will in a minute."
Reed looks inside the house through the screen door making sure Dorothy isn't watching. Molli is in the living room with her eyes glued to the TV but there's no sign of her grand mother at the moment. Reed takes this opportunity to hand Walter an unsealed envelope filled with five hundred dollars.
   "Take it." Reed insists.
   "Reed, we don't need your money."
   "I'm not taking no for an answer. I know you guys are struggling to make ends meet. I can't go back home knowing that my daughter's grand parents could be kicked out on the street."
    "Now Reed, it's not as bad as it looks. Used car sales always slow down this time of year. Everything will pick up soon."
    "Are you sure about that Walter?"
    "Positive. Now get inside and eat your dinner before I get to it. Dorothy made the best beef pot roast. Talk about some good eating!"
Reed concedes for the time being and enters the house. Molli insists that her father watches television with her. "In a minute, Molli,"  Reed responds as he walks up stairs. 
Reed sneaks into the Conner's bed room unnoticed where he hides the envelope filled with cash under some clothing in Walther's shirt drawer. Afterwards he returns downstairs to join his daughter for a few moments of television.

************

As the sun rises over Acres, Missouri early Monday morning detective Diana Young is out on her morning jog through the city park. The streets are still wet from a heavy rain storm that dropped two inches of rain on the city over night. When Diana finishes jogging she looks at her watch and prepares to leave. That's when a nearby commotion catches her attention.
A group of three tourists from overseas, two women one man, are standing on the edge of a storm drain. Although they're speaking in their native arabic tongue Diana can tell by the sound in their voices that something is wrong. When she approaches the group they point to the rushing water in the river in a panic. They are screaming about someone named Naji. It doesn't take Diana long to connect the dots. Someone fell into the river.
The water in the river is moving faster than normal thanks to the rain storm. Diana follows the flow of the water downstream until she spots a young child being carried away by the river. She runs as fast as she can in an attempt to get ahead of the boy. When she makes it to a small pedestrian bridge Diana finds herself in the perfect postion. 
Without hesitation she leaps into the river just before the child passes under the bridge. She's able to grab the frightened child but as the two get swept away with the current Diana quickly realizes that saving him was the easy part.
Diana holds on tight to the child while she attempts to fight the fast-flowing river with little success.The detective struggles to keep her head and the head of the boy above water. As the river flows into a wooded area the chances of someone noticing the two in the water diminish. The only chance they have to survive is if Diana can successfully grab on to a tree branch that's hanging just within reach.
The detective makes her best attempt to reach one of these branches but she misses on her first try. The second time she manages to grab a weak branch that snaps instantly. She knows that the longer the two of them are in the water their window of opportunity is closing rapidly. Diana spots one more tree branch that's dangling over the water. This may be her last chance.
Diana reaches for the branch as soon as it is close enough. To her surprise it's not the branch she grabs onto; it's a human hand. 
Diana and the child are pull out of the fast moving water by a mysterious dark haired man. Diana and the boy both cough up water once on dry ground. But other than being cold, wet and exhausted the two are alive and well. Just to play it safe Diana decides to call for an ambulance but she lost her cell phone in the water. Lucky for her their dark haired rescuer, who appears to be in his late twenties, is already speaking with 911 on his cell phone.
    "Paramedics are on their way," the unnamed man says, as he hangs up his phone, "Are you two all right?"
     "I believe so," Diana response, "It's a good thing you were here."
     "It was luck actually. I overslept this morning and missed the bus to work, so I decided to walk."
     "Looks like we both were in the right place at the right time then."
Diana and her unnamed rescuer both wait for the paramedics to arrive on the scene. The child's relieved relatives have also made their way to the area. While they don't understand english too well, they express their thanks to Diana and the dark haired man the best they can. 
For safety measures the paramedics decide that it may be best if they took the young child to the hospital. They insist on taking Diana as well but she refuses. 
The child and his family all ride along in the ambulance, leaving Diana and the dark haired man alone and wet.
    "Looks like I'm going to be extremely late for my first day of work here in Acres."
    "Atleast you have a good reason."
    "That's true.Well,I'd better run back to my apartment and get into something dry.Take care of yourself."
As the dark haired man runs off into the forest Diana realises that she didn't introduce herself to him. Looking back at the rushing river she also wonders how he managed to balance himself in the fast moving water without being washed away.
Later that morning Diana arrives at work wearing a new set of dry clothes. She doesn't speak of her adventure in the river to anyone. Instead she heads straight to her office where she discovers a familiar face sitting her chair looking through her files on the table; it's the man who plucked her from the river.
    "It's you..!" a shocked Diana says.
    "Well, this is certainly one for the books. You're Diana Young?"
     "Yes I am. You're the man from the river. How--Why are you here in my office?"
     "I'm your new partner. Nileas Boanerges is the name." Nileas announces as he stands up to shake Diana's hand, "You can call me Niles."
     "Oh, wow. I've been so busy lately that I completely forgot you were coming today. You're the new guy they sent here from Franklin?"
     "That's me. I hope that you don't have a habit of taking dangerous swims on a regular basis or else I may have to rethink my transfer."
     "That's just the risk you're going to have to take. Speaking of which, how did you hold yourself up against the river currents and pull me and that boy out of the water?"
     "Y'know, I'm not too sure myself. It must have been the adrenaline. They say people can do almost anything when a life is in danger."
The detectives' casual conversation is suddenly interrupted when the phone in Diana's phone starts to ring. Diana answers it to find P.I Reed Turner on the other end. He has some encouraging news to share with her. Standing in the doorway to Diana's office, her new partner listens in on their discussion.
    "What did you discover in River Town, Reed?"
    "A lot. There's definately a connection between Michaels and Hall's deaths. Donna Hall's brother positively IDed the man last seen with his sister alive as Rueben Wolf. But while he was in River Town he was calling himself Ramsey."
    "I knew it."
    "And just like the Michaels' case no one's seen Ramsey since Hall died. I also found out that Donna had met Ramsey through an online dating service called, "At First Sight". Do you know if Michaels visited a place like that as well?"
     "No but I can find out. I'm going to meet with Crystal Michaels' sister later today."
     "Mind if I tag along?"
     "Sure. We're meeting at her house around 1:00 pm."
     "Okay I'll see you there. I'll fax you a copy of everything I found in River Town shortly."
Diana hangs the phone up feeling more confident than she's ever been about locating the man she believes to be responsible for the deaths of two women. Going through the files on her desk Diana tells Nileas to grab a seat. "We've got a killer to catch."
That afternoon Diana and Nileas arrive at the suburbian home of Joan Michaels in a dark gray, two door Ford Mondeo. Reed's white Chevy Camaro is parked in the drive way. Both Diana and Nileas exit the automobile and make the short walk to Joan Michaels' front door. 
Before Diana can ring the doorbell, Joan opens the door and welcomes them inside. Joan leads the two into the living room area of her home where Reed can be seen rubbing the stomach of Joan's three year old Carrin Terrier named City. The small female dog has taken an immediate liking to Reed but once Nileas enters the room City's attitude changes drastically.
Upon setting her eyes on the tall dark young man, City begins to bark and growl as loud as her little lungs allow at Nileas. Joan quickly walks over to pick up City, attempting to calm her down but the dog keeps barking.
     "I'm sorry," Joan says,"City is usually friendly to everyone she meets."
     "Except him." Reed observes.
     "What can I say? No matter what the species, women just love to hate me," Nileas jokes. "I'll wait outside, Diana."
After Nileas leaves the house Joan places City back on the floor. The dog then runs to the curtain draped widow and continues to bark at Nileas as he walks back to the car. Hearing the dog's barks Nileas stops to turn and glare at City. Suddenly City stops barking, runs under the living room table and quietly sits on the carpeted floor. Reed pays close attention to City's behavior.
     "I'm guessing that guy's your new partner?"
     "Yeah. His name's Nileas Boanerges."
     "Interesting name."
     "I believe it's Greek.I didn't ask him."
     "You must have lost your cell phone again. I called you a couple of times this morning but you never got back to me."
      "Kind of. I lost my phone in the river this morning. I have to get a new one later."
      "In the river? What were you doing in the river?"
      "I'll tell you later."
Joan walks back into the room holding a platter with three coffee cups and a hot pot of coffee. She places the platter on the table and pours her guests a cup. 
      "How have you been holding up since your sister died?" Diana asks as Joan hands her a cup of coffee.
      "It's...been hard but the rest of my family and I have really come together to help each other cope with our loss. In a tragic way Crystal's death has managed to bring our family closer together. We really want to find out why she died. You wouldn't happen to be any closer to uncovering that, would you?"
      "I think we are," Reed replies, "First we need to ask you something: Do you know if your sister ever frequented online dating sites?"
     "Yes we both did. That's where we met our boyfriends."
     "Was it on a website called At First Sight?"
     "No, not that one. It was a different website. Um...One Click Love, that's the name."
     "Have you closed out your sister's account there by any chance?"
     "I've been meaning to but I never got around to doing it."
     "You wouldn't mind giving us your sister's account information, would you?"
Ten minutes later Diana and Reed exit Joan's home. Leaning up against the driver's side of the Ford, Nileas watches the two closely.
      "I'll let you know how our search turns out, Reed."
      "Thanks. After I pick up Molli from kindergarden I'm going to have a long talk with her about staying off the Internet. I don't want her ending up like Reuben's victims when she grows up."
    "I think you've got a few years to worry about Molli and boys."
    "You'd be surprised Diana."
Reed gets into his car and leaves while Diana walks up to Nileas. 
     "How'd it go?" he asks.
     "We're on the right track. This Rueben Wolf, or whatever his real name is, has been picking and choosing his victims from online dating sites. C'mon, we've got a lot of work to do."
The heavy rains return over night as Diana and Nileas burn extra hours working on the Michaels' case in her office. 
Two empty Chinese Food containers sit on the table. On her laptop, Diana searching through Cyrstal Michaels' personal account on One Click Love while Nileas sits across the table from her on his laptop. He's surfing through numerous dating websites for a male profile that matches Rueben's.
On Crystal Michaels' account Diana discovers that the single woman had exchanged messages with six different men on the dating website. One of them is Rueben. Upon further investigation Diana discovers that Rueben Wolf's account is still open but it's been inactive for over a month. 
    "I had no idea there were so many dating website out there," an overwhelmed Nileas states.
    "You can take a break from that for now. I've found our guy."
    "Have you?"
Nileas leaves his seat to get a better view of Diana's discovery. On the computer screen is a profile picture of the blue haired man known as Rueben Wolf. According to his profile Rueben is a thirty five year old doctor who lives across town. Diana makes a note of his home address and rushes out of her chair. "Let's go pay Doctor Reuben Wolf a visit, shall we?" 
Sheets of rain fall from the angry clouds above making the drive to Wolf's home a hazadous one. Thirty minutes after the two detectives left their office Diana's Ford Mondeo pulls up in the dark empty driveway of Rueben Wolf's home.
     "Doesn't look like anyone's here," Nileas says.
Wearing raincoats, both detedtives exit their vehicle and approach Wolf's house. Armed with a loaded Glock 23 pistol, Diana is the only one of the two carrying a weapon.When they reach the front porch of the two story house they realize that there are no curtains covering the windows on the first floor. Nileas checks the front door and finds it unlocked.
Firmly gripping a flashlight in her left hand and her weapon in right, Diana slowly enters the house. Plastic covers the furniture inside of the home giving the appearance that no one has lived here in a very long time.
      "Hello? This is Detective Diana Young from the A.P.D. Is there anyone here?"
After getting no response Diana and Nileas seperate as they continue to search the premises. Dust has collected on many of the sufaces in the home. Using his flashlight Nileas locates a light switch on the wall as he steps into the kitchen. He flips the switch but nothing happens. In the kitchen area the cabinets, countertops and refrigerator are all empty. It's the same situation on the second floor where Diana finds no evidence that would lead to Wolf.
The two detectives regroup downstairs before leaving the home. They rush through the rainstorm and return to the dry vehicle.
     "Looks like Doctor Wolf used a fake address in his online profile," says Nileas, "Chasing after this guy is like trying to catch a ghost."
     "We just need more eyes. Once the Lieutenant sees the new evidence we have on Wolf he'll have no other choice but to get the media involved."
Diana removes her raincoat and searches her pockets for her cell phone until she remembers that she doesn't have one anymore. "Remind me to buy another cell phone tonight," she tells her partner, "Do you have your phone on you?"
     "Never leave home without it."
     "Call the Lieutenant. He should be home right now. I'll give you his home number."
Across town we find Lieutenant Grant sound asleep in bed with his wife of 25 years lying next to him. The sound of rain hitting the windows of the couple's bedroom is drowned out when the phone begins to ring. The sleepy   Lieutenant tries his best to ignore it but after the fourth ring the he turns over to answer it.
   "It's 1:13 in the morning. This had better be important."
   "It's Detective Boanerges, sir. Sorry to wake you but we've got something you need to hear. It's about the Michaels' case."
   "Like what? A confession from that Wolf fella?"
   "Uh...no, not yet..."
   "Has the toxicology results come in?"
   "Not yet, sir."
   "How about an eyewitness to what happened the night of Michaels' death?"
   "Nothing like that, sir, but--"
   "Then whatever it is, it can wait until morning."
With that said, Lieutenant Grant hangs up the phone and returns to bed. 
    "He hung up," Nileas tells Diana, "He said it can wait until the morning." 
    "That's what he thinks."
Diana starts the car and pulls out of the rain soaked driveway. The rain begins to let up as the two detectives travel back to the otherside of town where Lieutenant Grant resides. Diana wastes no time exiting the vehicle. She marches to the front door of Grant's home and rings the doorbell.
     "I'm not leaving until you come to this door, Lieutenant!" she shouts.
After ringing the doorbell several times Lieutenant Grant finally gets out of bed, puts on his robe, and walks down stairs to answer the door; turning the lights on along the way. 
    "Do you know how tempted I am right now to suspend you for this, detectives?" he grumbles as he opens the front door. Diana doesn't wait to be invited inside. She walks past Grant anxious to inform him on what she's learned.
    "I know that you'd rather wait for the toxicology results, sir, but we've discovered damning new evidence that proves that Reuben Wolf is a serial killer." 
      "I'm listening."
Nileas hands the Lieutenant a folder that contains Diana's report on the Michaels' case; including what P.I. Reed Turner uncovered during his trip to River Town. The Lieutenant puts on his semi-rimless pair of reading glasses and sits down in a recliner to read the report.
    "We have an eyewitness that IDed the man we know as Reuben Wolf as the last person to see a Louisiana woman named Donna Hall alive eighteen months ago. Hall's cold, dead body was found the same way Crystal Michaels was.."
    "Wolf has also been selecting his victims from online dating sites," Nileas chimes in, "Both victims met Wolf online on two seperate websites, under two different aliases."
    "Who knows how many other victims are out there. We need to let the public know that a potiential serial killer is on the loose."
After reading through the report and listening to the detectives Lieutenant Grant removes his reading glasses and agrees:
    "Contact your sources in the media but don't mention this stuff about serial killings or the case in Louisiana. We need to keep that quiet for now. All the public needs to know is that we're looking for a young man with dyed blue hair and that he's not a suspect. We only need to question him."
      "Thank you sir," a relieved Diana responds.
The following night along the crowded streets of downtown Mill City, Minnesota a group of people stand around a shop window. On the otherside of the window a big screen television is airing a local news broadcast. The male news anchor is reporting that authorities in Acres, Missouri are looking for a man named Reuben Wolf for questioning in the death of a local woman. 
A picture of the blue haired man taken from surveillance footage is also depicted on the news report, along with a number to call for those who may have seen Wolf. Although Wolf's image is being shared to the public at that very moment, no one seems to notice the same tall, blue haired indiviual as he stands among them watching the newscast.

************

A week after Reuben Wolf's face was aired on numerous national and local news broadcasts the Acres police department's tip line is still buzzing with calls. Unfortunately, none of the information provided led to the blue haired man in question. Without any solid leads the Michaels case grows colder by the day.
The situation is frustrating for Detective Young but she hasn't given up hope. When a news crew for a local channel comes calling for Diana she anticipates details on Wolf. To her disappointment it turns out that the media has learned of Diana's heroic actions during the week before when she rescued a young boy from the river and are here to interview her, live.
Meanwhile, at his medium-sized apartment complex downtown, Reed Turner is chasing his daughter Molli through the hallways of their two room apartment. It's time for her to take a bath but she's not cooperating. After a brief chase Reed catches Molli and picks her up. He carries her to the bathroom where he has prepared a warm bath for the six year old.
     "No more running around now, Molli. You're going to be late for kindergarden if you don't bathe right now."
     "But I'm ready to go now. Why do I have to take a bath?"
     "Well, let's see. If you stopped taking baths you'd begin to stink. Then you will start attracting bugs and flies. After that the bugs will get in your hair and then--"
     "EEEEE! No buggies in my hair, Daddy!" Molli exclaims, running into the bathroom with her hands on her head.
     "Make sure you clean behind your ears." Reed says as he closes the bathroom door.
He then steps into the walk-in kitchen and picks his cell phone up from the island table. As he checks his messages he glaces at the portable television that's sitting on the counter. Diana's interview with Channel 5 is airing live from the police department. 
Her partner, Nileas, is standing next to her. Reed grabs the television remote off the table and raises the volume.
      "....It was a lucky coincidence that Niles spotted us in the water and pulled us to safety," Diana tells the reporter, "The young child and I owe him our lives."
     "Anyone else would have done the same," a bashful Nileas says.
     "And the two of you had no idea you'd be working together the day of the---"
The reporter's inquiry is interrupted when Molli calls for her father from the hallway.
     "Daddy, I can't find my new shoes!"
     "Are you finished bathing already?"
     "Uh-huh."
     "That was fast. Hold on, I'll help you look for your shoes."
When Reed turns his attention back towards the television he discovers that the interview with Diana has concluded. He turns off the TV before leaving the kitchen. 
At the police department the camera man is packing up his equipment while the reporter, Grace Ngo, is thanking the two detectives for their time as well as their service to the community. 
Diana and Nileas' acts of bravery has given everyone in the department something to be proud of as they give the two detectives a standing ovation. 
This is the first time anyone in her department had heard of the rescue in the river. For a brief fifteen minutes Diana had managed to forget about the Michaels case but all of that soon changes when the elevator doors open and Reuben Wolf nonchalantly walks off of the elevator.
Wearing a long dark grey, wool trench coat with conventional cuffs, matching dress pants and shoes, and a black dress shirt, Reuben sports the look of a casual aristocrat. Despite his wardrobe it's his wavy, shoulder length blue hair,which he has parted to the left, that catches Diana's attention.
Reporter Ngo takes one look at the tall, blue haired man as he walks past her. With her eyes fixated on Reuben, Ngo tells her camera man to start recording. "That's him!" Ngo whispers to her camera man, "That's Reuben Wolf! The guy the police have been after."
The moment he walked into the room everyone stopped what they were doing and took notice. The women in the room are the most infatuated by his presence; with the exception of Diana. She watches Reuben approach her. Despite viewing his image in pictures and on camera several times before, seeing the man she has been chasing for weeks in person have begun to stir up old memories for the detective.
Standing behind Diana, Nileas makes eye contact with Reuben for several seconds. Like everyone else in the room Nileas doesn't take his eyes off of Reuben who stops six feet infront of Diana and says in a slightly deep voice, "I believe you're looking for me." 
Minutes later Reuben is lead to a small police interrogation room where the two detectives will question him on the Michaels case.  Diana, Nileas and Lieutenant Grant stand on the other side of the one-way mirror observing Reuben as he patiently awaits his interrogation.
    "I understand this guy made quite the entrance," Lieutenant Grant comments, "I think one of the feamle officers fainted when she saw him walking in."
    "He's good at what he does," Nileas says.
This is the moment Diana has been waiting for since the discover of Crystal Michaels' dead body. You'd think she'd be more than eager to question Reuben but right now Diana has been overcomed by a bit of anxiety. After taking a deep breath, Diana follows Nileas into the interrogation room. 
Reuben casually sits back in his chair while the two detectives take their place in the room. Diana places a photo of Crystal Michaels on the table before the suspect. "Do you recognize the woman in this photo, Mister Wolf?" she asks.
Without moving his head, Reuben looks down at the photo for five seconds then shifts his dark blue eyes back at Diana and answers, "I do."
    "Crystal Michaels," Diana says as she sits in the chair opposite of Wolf, "She was found dead over two weeks ago in her apartment. We've got witnesses statements and surveillance footage that all indicate you were the last person to see Miss Michaels alive the night she died."
As the Lieutenant watches the interrogation Reed Turner enters the room. Diana had called him beforehand about Reuben's arrival at the department. He rushed over as fast as he could just for a chance to see the infamous Reuben Wolf in person.
   "Did you and Miss Michaels have sex that night?"
   "No."
   "What happened the night of her death?"
   "She had too much to drink. I took her home, then I left her apartment."
   "Was she still alive when you left?"
   "As far as I could tell."
Nileas stands behind Diana with his arms folded. Listening closely to Reuben's story, Nileas never takes his eyes off of the blue haired man.
   "About what time did you leave Miss Michaels' apartment?"
   "Before midnight."
   "You said she was drunk. Did she pass out instantly or was she sobber enough to change clothes before you left?"
    "I don't recall."
    "Is your real name Reuben Wolf?"
    "It is for now."
    "What do you mean 'for now'?"
    "What do you think I mean?"
    "Are you admitting that you're known by different aliases? Like Ramsey, perhaps?"
    "I've called myself that once before."
No matter how much she tries to hide her nervousness Diana can't stop her hand from shaking as she writes down notes from the interrogation.
    "You look familiar. Have we met before?" Reuben asks.
    "I don't believe that we have," Diana responds.
    "Of course not. How foolish of me. That was your mother."
Diana stops writing the instant Reuben mentions her deceased mother. She grips her ball point pen tightly before asking, "What do you know about my mother?"
     "Was it painful to watch her die?"
     "I...don't know what you're---" Diana begins. 
Before she can complete her sentence Diana suddenly realises that she's alone in the room. She looks around for Nileas, who had been standing behind her only seconds ago. He seems to have disappeared without a trace. She calls his name but gets no answer. She calls for the Lieutenant but gets no response. She's alone with a potential murderer; that scares her.
   "Jessica Young was her name. I enjoyed my time with her. But what I enjoyed the most was the moment when I drained her of every ounce of her being," Reuben brags as he gets out of his chair, "Consuming human souls is what keeps us alive." 
With Reuben walking towards her Diana quickly leaves her seat, stepping back until her back is up against a wall.
   "Stay away from me!" Diana orders.
Standing in front of Diana, Reuben puts his right hand against the wall and lends closer to the detective. Diana's heart beats faster and faster. She raises her right hand to slap Reuben but he catches her attack with his left hand. Diana turns her face away from Reuben when he moves in closer. Using his right hand Reuben forces the detective to look at him. He moves in as if he's about to kiss Diana only to stop abruptedly. 
    "I see he's laid his claim," he says.
Suddenly Diana feels someone's hand on her shoulder and jumps out of her seat. Nileas is present in the interrogation room again, standing next to her and Reuben is still seated in his chair. It's like the events that occured sixty seconds ago didn't happen. This leaves Diana to believe what just transpired between her and Reuben was all in her head.
    "Are you alright Diana?" Nileas asks, "You look shaken."
    "Yes..I...What just happened?"
    "You spaced out for a couple of seconds."   
    "If there are no further questions, I'm going to have to call it a day." Reuben says, getting up from his seat, "I do have a life to live."
    "We're not finished here Reuben," says Nileas.
     "Let him go, Niles." Diana says, "I...I don't have anything else to ask him."
     "Fine. Just don't leave town Reuben."
     "Or else what Nileas? Are you going to track me down?"
     "You know that I will."
     "Then I look forward to it," Reuben responds with a menacing smirk.
Reuben leaves the room and proceeds to exit the building. P.I. Reed Turner follows him. Reed trails Reuben on foot as he takes the stairs out of the building.Once he enters the crowd of bystanders on the sidewalk Reuben manages to give Reed the slip. 
Reed searches the immediate area for the blue haired man but it seems as if he's vanished without a trace.What the P.I. isn't aware of is that Reuben is watching him, perched on the roof of a nearby six story building. The blue haired man vanished then reappeared on the roof of this building.Reuben's teleportation may have gone unnoticed by Reed but not everyone.
From across the busy street, reporter Grace Ngo and her camera man witnessed Reuben's actions.
     "Please tell me you got that..." a dumbfounded Grace says.
     "Oh I got it all right," the cameraman responds, "Question is, what do we do about it?"
Inside the station Reed returns to Lieutenant Grant's office where he, Diana and Nileas have gathered. 
A shaken Diana sits quietly on Grant's couch trying her best to hide how terrified she is. She hadn't felt this helpless since she was a young child, growing up without a mother.The Lieutenant is partially seated on the edge of his desk while Nileas stands by the door. When Reed enters the room he closes the door behind himself before informing everyone that he lost sight of Reuben.
    "That guy moves fast," Reed tells the group, "So what now?"
    "There were a lot of discrepancies in Wolf's statement," Nileas says, "Like how he claimed to have left the victim's apartment when the survelliance footage tells a different story."
    "So he's a liar but we haven't proven he's a murderer," Grant responds.
    "He is. Trust me," Diana assures.
    "That may be the case but unless you three can uncover some concrete evidence proving that Reuben Wolf murdered those women, my hands are tied."
    "While your hands are tied, Lieutenant, that blue haired freak has a free pass to take any life he wants," Diana states as she storms out of the office. Reed follows her. 
He catches Diana as she's about to enter the elevator.
    "Diana, wait a second."
    "I really don't feel like talking right now Reed."
    "We'll get this guy. But if you give up now you're letting him win."
    "I haven't given up, I'm just exhausted. We've done all of this work, then this killer strolls up in here like he owns the place and is allowed to walk free. It's frustrating."
    "I know how you feel but look at it this way: if we don't play by the rules Reuben will never pay for what he's done."
    "Why should we play by the rules when he doesn't?"
    "Why are you taking this so personally? I know you want to punish this guy--"
    "I need to go some place Reed. Just, please, leave me alone."
Diana walks on to the elevator and faces Reed as the doors close. Observing their conversation from afar, Nileas watches as Reed walks away.
Later that night a Channel 5 news van pulls into the dark, vacant parking lot of an amusement park that's currently under construction. Inside the vehicle Grace Ngo and her cameraman, Tosh, are on the hunt for what Grace believes could be a major news story that will move her up in the Channel 5 news ladder. 
After witnessing him traverse from rooftop to rooftop, the news crew followed Reuben as closely as they could for most of the day until losing track of him around the vacinity of the amusement park. Camerman Tosh puts the news van in park but unlike the anxious reporter he isn't too thrilled about going any further.
   "I have a bad feeling about this Grace."
   "About what?" Grace asks, as she unbuckles her seat belt.
   "About what?? We're following someone that can leap tall buildings in a single bound, and guess what, he ain't Superman."
   "That's why we need to get the exclusive. The public needs to know about this guy."
   "This guy could be dangerous. He's suspected for murder for crying out loud. He's probably one of those vampires, or werewolves or worse. Those freaks kill people Grace!"
    "Vampires bite you. Werewolves eat you. What Reuben is accused of doing doesn't fit into either M.O," a confident Grace rebuts as she exits the van.
    "All the more reason for us to get away from here Grace!"
Grace quietly closes the van door and turns on her flashlight. Walking slowly she surveys the dark area ignoring Tosh's objectives. The determined reported smells a story. She has no plans to let it slip through her fingers.Tosh reluctantly leaves the safety of the van with his camera in hand and rushes to Grace. Tosh turns his camera's night light on for a better view of the area.
    "Okay he's not here. Let's go," Tosh whispers.
Although there's no sign of Reuben Wolf in the dark surroundings, Grace isn't quite ready to leave just yet. 
   "Let's take a quick shot of me explaining where we are on our search right now. We can piece the footage together back at the station."
   "Then we go?"
   "Yes, Tosh."
As Grace prepares for the shot, Tosh raises his camera ready to record. He dims the night light on his camera so it's not too bright for Grace. "Are you ready?" he asks.
When Grace gives the okay to begin a figure moving in the shadows behind her catches Tosh's attention.
    "Who the hell was that??"
    "Where?"
    "I saw someone behind you just now."
Grace turns around to check Tosh's sighting. She uses her flashlight to look over the area but sees nothing. 
   "Tosh, you Fraidy Cat, there's no one here," Grace says as she turns her attention back towards to cameraman. To her surprise she discovers that Tosh has mysteriously disappeared. His camera lays on the ground where he once stood, still recording. 
    "Tosh?" Grace calls, "Tosh, where'd you go to? Quit fooling around."
    "Tosh can't hear you," an unfamiliar voice responds.
Someone's standing behind her; so close that she can feel his body next to her's. Grace is frightened out of her mind but she's not ready to become a victim. Slowly Grace reaches into her pants pocket and pulls out her self defense stun gun. 
Without hesitation Grace fires her weapon at Reuben delivering 100,000 volts of electricity through his body.To Grace's dismay Reuben stands before her with a devilish grin, unphased by the weapon. He yanks the stun gun's wires from his chest and throws them to the ground, prompting Grace to scream for help. Reuben quickly covers her mouth with his right hand and lifts the helpless woman off of the ground.
Looking into the illuminating blue eyes of her Reuben Wolf, the terrified reporter knows she's about to die. 

************

A week later at the home of retired detective Tyson Price a phone is ringing. It rings constantly until the answering machine picks up the call. Diana Young leaves a message for her former partner.
      "Tyson, it's Diana. I...just called to..uh..see how you were doing. You said you were planning a fishing trip with some of your friends so..I guess I missed you. Well, I'll call you back in a few weeks then. Enjoy your trip. Bye."
On the busy streets of Acres, Diana sits on a bench outside of a green twelve story building with her cell phone in hand. It's a sunny afternoon but at the moment, Diana's mind is clouded. Her interrogation of Reuben Wolf days prior has left her with too many unanswered questions.
Is it true what he told her? Did he really kill her mother? Consuming human souls keeps him alive? To get to the bottom of this mystery Diana is about to search for something that she's been trying to avoid almost all of her life; the truth. 
She enters the green building and takes the elevator to the tenth floor.This is where Diana plans to meet with therapist Brook Abraham.With Brook's help Diana hopes to unlock memories buried in her subconscious; memories she has been running from for a very long time. Brook and Diana get acquainted before Diana is induced into a hypnotic trance. Brook questions Diana about her work, her personal life and the portion of her memories she seeks to relive. After reclining on a couch in Brook's office their first session begins.
Once this portion of the session is over and with Diana relaxing confortably Brook places the detective under hypnosis. Diana's subconsious drifts back to the night she witnessed her mother's death. 
That night a young Diana left her bedroom after awakening to the sound of voices in the hallway. One of the voices belonged to her mother, Jessica Young; she didn't reconize the other one. The hallway is dark. The only source of light in the second floor house comes from underneath her mother's closed bedroom door.
As Diana approached the door she could hear Jessica laughing playfully at first. Out of curiosity Diana turns the door knob and slowly opens her mother's door. Jessica is no longer laughing. The entire room has become eerily quiet. Pushing the door open just a little bit more, Diana is now able to see her mother laying motionless on her bed. There's a man on top of her; a blue haired man. 
At first glance it appeared that this man was simply kissing Jessica, but he wasn't. He was draining Jessica of her life force; consuming her soul. When he was done this blue haired indiviual glanced in Diana's direction. For the first time in twenty-four years Diana was able to identify the person responsible for taking her mother's life. It was Reuben Wolf. At that point Brook removes Diana from her hypnotic state.
     "....It was him...." Diana acknowledges, "He killed my mother, just like he admited."
     "I wasn't expecting to make so much progress on our first session," Brook states, "But I'm not too sure if your memories of your mother's death are accurate."
     "What are you saying?"
     "No one can inhale the life of another human being. I believe that this portion of your memory may be the result of your current investgation. You're trying to find the answers to the unexplained deaths of two women as well as your mother. This may be your subconscious attempting to solve those deaths."
      "Maybe....but that doesn't explain everything that's happened.That doesn't explain him."
The next morning Nileas arrives at work ahead of Diana.Walking through the department he notices the day's local newspaper left unattended on a desk. 
On the front page of the paper there's a full page article about missing Channel 5 reporter Grace Ngo and her cameraman.The two were last seen over a week ago leaving the department after Ngo's interview with him and Diana. Channel 5 is offering a $20,000 reward for information on their whereabouts.
Carrying the newspaper, Nileas then proceeds to Diana's office where he finds an unlabled DVD disc sitting on the table.Written directly on the topside of the disc is the word WATCH. Nileas picks it up for closer inspection when Diana walks into the room. 
     "Again I find you in my office while I'm not around, Niles.Why is that?"
     "You're just not getting here?"
     "Yes. Why?"
     "This was on the table," Nileas says, handing Diana the DVD disc.
     "What's on it?"
With the door to her office closed, Diana inserts the DVD into her laptop and taps the play button. The two detectives have no idea what they are about to watch. The footage on the DVD was shot from Tosh Mackenzie camera which is laying on its side on the pavement. The unattended camera is recording, capturing the last moments of Grace Ngo's life. 
Several feet away from the camera Reuben Wolf can be seen holding a kicking and screaming Grace on the ground. Diana and her partner watches in horror as the blue haired man locks lips with his victim and steals her life. Grace's body slowly stops moving until she's finally dead. The recording ends immediately afterwards. 
   "That bastard!" Diana exclaims.
An infuriated Diana gets up from her chair and exits the office. Standing outside of her office door Diana asks those in the busy area of the department if anyone saw someone in her office at any point of the day. Her answer is a collective no. Diana then returns to her office, slamming the door behind her and begins pacing back and forth.
   "This footage looks like it was taken at that amusement park downtown," Nileas observes.
   "Someone has to stop this...this demon!" Diana says.
   "Reuben Wolf isn't a demon."
   "Well he's clearly not human. You can see that for yourself."
   "We need to go search that amusement park. We might be able to find their bodies there," Nileas states as he prepares to leave the office.
   "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Did you just watch the same thing I did?' Diana asks, stopping her pacing for a moment.
   "Of course I did."
   "Then why aren't you the least bit surprised to see Reuben suck the life out of that reporter?"
    "Because I....I think I know what Reuben Wolf really is."
    "How could you know that? Is there something you're not telling me Niles?"
    "Yes, but it's better that I show you."
In Diana's Mondeo, the two detectives leave the department to embark on a five hour road trip across the state of Missouri.With Nileas behind the wheel Diana can't help but wonder what awaits her at the end of the journey. 
The midday sun shines brightly in the windshield of the Mondeo. Continuing south westward they leave the busy interstate and follow a long secluded road. Here the pavement soon gives way to a less maintained route with very few houses. 
     "Where are you taking me?" Diana questions Nileas.
     "To someone who can explain everything," Nileas responds.
Near the Oklahoma and Missouri border on dusty dirt road, the Mondeo stops in a vacant wooded area. Nileas gets out of the car and tells his partner that they are required to walk from this point to their final destination. Diana hesitates to leave the car at first. She removes her pistol from the vehicle's glove compartment before exiting the automobile.
     "I guess you're still not ready to tell me where we're going?" she says, tucking her loaded weapon into the back of her pants.
     "Trust me. We're almost there."
Nileas leads Diana on a brief trek through the forest until they come upon something one wouldn't expect to find in an isolated area such as this; a rather large plantation house. Huge oak trees ,that nearly conceal the house's presence, line the grass driveway of this white colored house.
The lush green grass around the house has been recently cut and the rose garden surrounding the exterior of the home has also been properly maintained. As the two detectives follow the path that leads to the front door of the manor Diana can't help but ask, "Who lives here?"  
   You'll see, is the only response she gets from her partner.
The wooden floor of the plantation house creeks softly with every step the detectives take. Nileas doesn't bothering knocking on the door of the house. To Diana's surprise Nileas simply turns the door knob and opens the unlocked door.
Inside, the house is furnished with 19th century decor. Before they step too far into the living room Nileas calls out for someone named Iskandar. 
    "Iskandar? Are you here?"
    "Nileas? Is that you, young man?" an elderly old man asks from the second floor.
Seconds later a geriatric short man appears on the second floor balcony. The balding old man sports few wrinkles for his apparent age. He is dressed in a plaid dress suit and black bow tie. He adjusts his pair of rectangle framed reading glasses that have slipped from their position so he can get a clear look at Nileas and Diana.
     "Ah, it is you. I'll be right down."
Iskandar takes his time as he walks down the stairs until he reaches the bottom. Upon his arrival Nileas introduces Iskandar to his partner.
    "Iskandar, this is my partner Diana Young. Diana this is Historian Badr Iskandar."
    "How do you do young lady?"
    "I'm fine. Thanks. Nice to meet you."
    "Likewise. Likewise. So what brings you two way out here to visit an old chap like me, hmm?"
    "I wanted to show Diana some of your recent discovers; about the blue haired men."
    "Oh really? I thought you didn't believe in them young Nileas."
    "That was before."
    "I knew you'd come around. There's much we don't know about this world we live on. Come with me. I will show you these blue haired creatures."
As Iskandar begins to lead the detectives upstairs he suddenly remembers that it's time to feed his cat, Mr. Pickles. Nileas offers to feed the feline for him but Iskandar turns him down. Like Joan Michaels' dog, City, Mr. Pickles isn't friendly towards Nileas. Iskandar tells Nileas to show Diana around while he tends to his cat.
   "How do you know Iskandar, Niles?" Diana asks, following her partner up the stairs.
   "It's a long story. "
   "I'd like to hear it someday. There seems to be a lot I don't know about you."
Upstairs Nileas and Diana enter a room that's twice the size of Diana's apartment. Hanging on the walls are over a dozen collection of paintings, drawings and other pieces of art from around the world. Many of the art seems to be depict centuries long passed. 
Nileas points Diana to one particular painting on a wall that shows a group of men dressed in 18th century Chinese armor armed with pikes preparing to do battle with a blue haired indiviual.
   "This is what I wanted to show you," Nileas says, "Men like Reuben have been around for a very long time."
   "Who's the author of this painting?" Diana asks.
   "That portrait is a copy of an original that's currently being guarded by Buddist monks in Tibet," Iskandar explains,walking into the room, "It took me sometime to convince the monks to allow me to make that copy."
   "The monks also spoke of a pale skinned male whose hair was the color of the morning sky. This creature was said to have been responsible for the deaths of fifty people in a village during the Summer of 1782. According to the monks the blue haired man was a soul eating demon who fed on the lives of humans."
   "So that's what they are? Demons?"
   "Not quite."
Diana follows Iskandar as he walks over to the opposite wall. Located here is a different painting. This one features a group of Roman peasants worshipping what looks to be a stone sculpture of a tall, slender male whose blue hair is the only colored portion of the statue. 
   "The name of this portrait is called 'Offering to a Pandora', Iskandar explains, "I found it in an old museum in Italy. Noone there could tell me who painted this piece of art at the time. Apparently these Pandora were feared so much that some had begun worshipping them, hoping that by doing so they wouldn't fall victim to their appetite for human life."
   "You're saying that this blue haired thing that feeds on the soul of humans is called a Pandora?" Diana aks.
   "That's what I've managed to deduce after reviewing all of the information I've gathered about these people over the past decade or so."
   "Another thing Diana," Nileas chimes in, "These Pandora are a race of men."
   "That explains the double Y chromosome. Okay, Reuben is a Pandora then. Do any of you know how to stop him?"
   "I've yet to discover anything concerning a defeated Pandora," Iskandar states, "However, I have more material on them in the other room that may provide the answers you seek. You two have a seat in the living room. I'll bring you the information I uncovered and a cold glass of tea as well."
    "We'll be down in a minute," Nileas tells Iskandar as he leaves the room.
Diana stares long and hard at the 'Offering to a Pandora' portrait. All she can think of is how something like what's being worshipped in the painting is responsible for the death of her mother and many others. 
   "It's getting late. We probably should be getting back to Acres soon," Nileas says.
   "Not yet. I want to hear what else Iskandar knows about these things first, "a determined Diana tells Nileas, "Reuben Wolf killed my mother. I'll be damned if I'm going to let him get away with what he's done."
Later that evening the sun begins to set in the distance. Diana sits on the front porch of Iskandar's home flipping through the pages of a thick scrap book. This book contains hundreds of pages dedicated to the blue haired enigma known as Pandora. Dozens of civilizations throughout history seem to have documented their existance at one time or another, yet few in the modern world have heard of them.
Soon Diana is joined by Iskandar's orange, short haired cat, Mr. Pickles.The friendly animal rubs against her leg, purring softly. Diana is too entralled in the scrap book to give the cat any attention. It's not until Mr. Pickles' fur stands on end and he begins to growl angrily in the direction of the front door does Diana take notice. Seconds later Nileas walks through the same door, prompting Mr. Pickles to hiss at him before running away.
    "Animals really don't seem to like you," Diana observes, watching Mr. Pickles run towards the back of the house.
   "Are you ready to go?" Nileas asks,"It's a long ride back to Acres."
    "I suppose so," Diana replies, turning her attention back to the scrap book.
Nileas takes a seat next to Diana on the porch. He stares at Diana as she turn the pages of the scrap book for a while before striking up a conversation with her.
    "You said that Reuben killed your mother?"
    "Yes. When I was a child. I didn't know who...what he was at the time, but I saw it happen."
    "That must have been traumatizing."
     "It was. But enough about me," Diana says, closing the book, "Are you going to tell me more about this historian that you just happen to know who just happens to be the only person on the face of this planet with knowledge of these Pandora."
    "Ah, well..."
Before Nileas can finish his thoughts Iskandar steps outside and on to the porch.
   "Are you two spending the night? I have plenty of room here for guests."
   "No sir. We were just about to leave," Nileas responds.
   "Awh. Mr. Pickles and I were looking forward to the company."
   "Maybe next time," Nileas promises.
   "Iskandar? Would you mind if I kept this scrap book for a little while?" Diana asks.
   "No.No. No. No. No. I can't let you take that with you."
   "Why not?"
   "I don't want their attention."
Diana relunctantly hands Iskandar the book then she and Nileas depart. Iskandar waves good-bye to the two as they walk down the driveway. 
  "Don't be a stranger, Niles," Iskandar says.
  "I'll try not to."
  "So, Reuben Wolfe is a mythical creature that preys on humans, and there are more where he came from," Diana says, "How are we supposed to stop them?"
   "I'm sure we'll find a way,"    
While the detectives are away P.I. Reed Turner makes a quick stop to Diana's office late that afternoon only to discover her absence. Reed leaves Diana's office and calls her new cell phone number. When she doesn't pick up Reed leaves a message for her:
   "Diana, I thought you might want to know that I may have a lead on Reuben's Wolf's whereabouts. I'm going to follow up on them and see what I can find. I'll be in touch."
Immediately after Reed finishes his call Lieutenant Grant walks up to him holding a file in his hand.
  "Hey, Turner. Have you seen Detective Young or her partner today?"
  "Can't say that I have. What's up?"
  "Crystal Michaels' toxicology results just came in. There was no sign of drugs in her system. I'm going to have to close this case."
   "I wouldn't do that just yet, Lieutenant. We all know Reuben is responsible for what happened to Michaels."
   "It doesn't matter what we think we know. What matters is the evidence and none of it points to Reuben Wolf. I'm sorry but there are a whole mess of other cases that could use those detectives' attention right now. If you see Young before I do tell her to meet with me in my office first thing in the morning."
With the deaths of two women soon to go unaccounted for, Reed is determined now more than ever to nail Reuben Wolf for their murders. 
No matter what it takes.

  
   ************

It's now 11:13 pm.
Diana and Nileas have returned to their place of work with a new perspective on the person calling himself Reuben Wolf. The pair of detectives sit in the Mondeo for a few minutes to discuss what they've learned today.
   "Do we tell the Lieutenant about Reuben?" Nileas asks, putting the car in park.
   "What are the chances that he'll believe us? That anyone will believe us for that matter."
   "We still have the DVD Reuben sent you in your office. I think that's a good start. But we need to keep Iskandar out of this. Even though he's been looking into their existence for some time now, if the Pandora believe for a second that Iskandar knows too much they won't have any trouble silencing him."
    "I think now is a good time for you to tell me how you met Iskandar."
    "All I can say is that Iskandar found me on the streets of Greece one day when I was twelve and raised me like a son. I...was in a bad place, mentally, when he found me. I don't know where I'd be right now if he hadn't have adopted me. That's why I want to protect him. I just hope I didn't put his life in danger today."
   "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about Iskandar but I do plan on paying him another visit. There has to be a way to stop people like Reuben." 
  "Right. Let's go inside and show the Lieutenant the DVD. Hopefully he's still in his office."
As the two exit the vehicle and proceed to enter the precint Diana checks her cell phone for messages. There was no cell phone signal out at Iskandar's manor so the detective expects she has missed many calls.
While searching through them Diana comes across the message Reed left for her earlier. Before she can listen to it she meets Lieutenant Grant as he's exiting the elevator on the first floor. Grant had just left his office moments ago and was about to leave the building for the night when he ran into the two detectives.
   "Where have you two been?" the irritated Grant asks instantly, "I've been waiting all night for you two to show up.
   "I'm sorry sir. Niles and I were...chasing a lead on the Michaels case."
   "There's been a new development in that investigation. Let's discuss this in my office."
Upstairs in the Lieutenant's office, Grant turns on the lights and Diana and Nileas follow him inside.Nileas closes the door behind them.Grant picks up a file folder that's laying on the table and hands it to Diana.
   "What's this?" Diana aks, taking the folder from the Lieutenant.
    "It's the toxicology results from Crystal Michaels. There was no foul play involved with her death."
   "Yes there was. Just nothing that had to do with drugs or poison or anything like that," Diana says, flipping through the files.
   "Look, you two had your chance to tie Reuben Wolf to this woman's death but the evidence proves that our hair dying friend had nothing to do with it."
    "You're wrong Lieutenant. He had everything to do with what happened to Michaels.We can prove it," Diana insists, throwing the files down on the table.
Diana storms out of Lieutenant Grant's office and walks quickly to her office located at the end of the hallway. Upon entering the room Diana flips on the light switch and walks over to her laptop. She's expecting to find the DVD of Grace Nguyen's last moments still inserted in her laptop's disc drive.
When she doesn't find the disc where she left it Diana begins searching through the papers and folders that litter the table. Soon Nileas enters the room to find Diana in the process of turing her office upside down as she searches for the disc.
   "Did you move that DVD, Niles?"
   "No. I left it in your laptop. Is it gone?"
    "It's not in the laptop. It's not on the table. It's not in this room! Damn him!"
Nileas helps look for the DVD as Diana frantically continues her search. Lieutenant Grant walks into the room shortly afterwards. 
  "What are you two looking for in here?"
  "Do you know if anyone was in my office today, Lieutenant?"
  "The only person I saw in here today was that P.I."
  "Reed?'
  "Yeah, I think he was looking for you. Just like I was."
  "Did you see him take anything?"
  "No I didn't.What's all of this about?"
  "There was a DVD disc in my office of Reuben. He was....attacking that missing reporter from Channel 5. I don't know where the DVD came from. Niles and I watched it earlier but now it's not here."
   "You're telling me you two were sitting on important evidence yet you failed to tell me about it?"
  "We were going to but...."
   "Something came up," Nileas interrupts.
   "I suggest you two find what you're looking for or else you've both screwed up big time!"
Lieutenant Grant leaves Diana's office,slamming the door behind him. After he leaves a disgusted Diana violently uses her right hand to knock items off of a bookshelf. She's visibly upset with the situation.
    "He's right. That mad man is going to get away with murder all because of one stupid mistake!" she exclaims.
   "Maybe Reed took the DVD. Call him and ask," Nileas suggests.
   "He did leave a message for me. Perhaps it was about the disc," Diana replies, taking her cell phone out of her pants pocket.
Diana plays Reed's message then returns his call. After several unanswered rings she decides to leave a message for the P.I: 
    "Reed, it's very important that you call me as soon as you get this message."
    "He didn't answer?" Nileas asks, "Maybe we should go pay him a visit."
    "No...no. It's late. I don't want to wake his daughter," Diana responds, sitting down in a chair, "If I don't hear from him by tommorrow morning then I'll stop by his place. In the meantime, you should go home and get some sleep, Niles. There's nothing else we can do here."
    "Do you want me to drive you home?"
    "No. Thanks. I'll...I think I'll stick around here for a while longer. Maybe I'll find that disc."
    "Leave the door open, okay?"
    "Why?"
    "So someone can hear you, in case you need help."
    "Okay," Diana response, smiling.
 It's close to midnight but there's still a bit of activity taking place in the precinct. A number of cars remain in the parking lot as Nileas leaves the building.
The streets of Acres are alive with constant traffic tonight. From the parking lot Nileas walks the sidewalk past several open businesses before he turns down a dark, vacant alley. Out of view from the public eye and under the cloak of darkness, Nileas leaps from the ground and does something no human can; he takes flight.
For the next fifteen minutes Nileas flies over the city and over some of its tallest buildings, going completely unnoticed by the citizens below. A black and brown colored Lacy Dog chained to a shortleaf pine tree in the back yard of a residential home spots Nileas' as he flies across the city.The dog barks continuously even as Nileas' becomes out of view. 
Nileas' flight comes to an end when he lands on the highest point of a 1300 foot building. From here he has a clear view of Diana's office which is half a mile across town. Through her window he watches the detective as she searches for the disc until she eventually falls asleep after a long, tiring day.
7:26am the following morning at Reed Turner's apartment complex, Diana knocks on the P.I's door. On the other side she can hear the pitter-patter of someone with tiny feet running towards it.
    "Who is it?" Reed's daughter, Molli, asks.
    "Molli? It's me. Diana.Your father's friend. Is he home?"
    "Hi Miss Diana! I will let you in."
Molli is able to unlock the door but she's unable to reach the brass key chain lock. "I be back!" Molli says, running away from the door. To Diana's surprise Molli calls for her grandmother instead of her father to help her unlock the door.
Within seconds Dorothy Connor walks up to the door and it's obvious by the look on her face that Diana is the last person she wants to see. Dorothy removes the chain lock and steps into the hallway to speak with Diana.
   "You have some nerve showing your face here," Dorothy bluntly tells the detective, "What do you want?"
   "Mrs. Connor...I... had no idea you were here..."
   "Not that it's any of your business but Reed invited me to spend time with my granddaughter while he was out of town."
   "He's out of town? Do you know where he's gone?"
   "Reed doesn't tell me these things. I'm assuming he's working on a case."
   "I need to check his apartment for something. It's very important."
   "Oh no.You're not setting one foot in here.What is it that you claim to be important? I'll look for it myself after I take Molli to kindergarden."
   "It's...it's nothing. I'll...just wait for Reed to get back."
Dorothy keeps Diana in her sights with her watchful eye as the detective walks away. When she's gone Dorothy returns to the apartment, locking the door behind herself. 
Fifteen minutes later Diana sits in the driver's seat of her Mondeo,which is parked across the street from the complex. She watches Dorothy and Molli leave the apartment complex.
The grandmother is unaware of Diana's presence as she securely straps Molli into the booster seat located in the back seat of the tan minivan.With Molli ready to go Dorothy gets inside of the vehicle and drives out of the parking lot.
With them gone Diana exits her car and hastily enters the complex.When she makes it to Reed's apartment Diana slides a credit card between the locked door and the frame in order to gain access to the apartment. She then sticks her hand into the partially opened door to unlock the key chain.
Once inside she begins her search for the missing DVD disc. First the detective searches Reed's bedroom. She carefully inspects the P.I's dressers and closet space but is unable to locate what she seeks. 
As she searches through the last drawer of Reed's dresser Diana happens upon a small black jewerly box that holds the engagement ring Reed offered to her some time ago.
She opens the box to find the .84 carat diamond ring still sitting inside. Diana can't help but stare at the ring;the same ring she turned downed when Reed proposed to her. 
She eventually closes the box and places it back where she found it. Seconds later her cell phone begins to vibrate in the back pocket of her pants. She looks at the caller ID which reveals it to be Reed who is calling her. She answers it immediately.   
   "Reed! Where are you?"
   "I'm in Minnesota. Did you get my message?"
   "Yes I got it. I need to ask you something. Did you take a DVD disc out of my office yesterday?"
   "No. Why?"
   "It's that blue haired freak. He's taunting us," Diana says, taking a seat on Reed's bed.
   "Speaking of which, thanks to a few solid leads I was able to trail Reuben Wolf to his new stomping grounds here in Minnesota."
    "You're following him?"
    "Not at the moment, but according to my contacts I have a pretty good idea on where I'll be able to find him. How much do you want to bet that this guy already has his next victim on his radar? If I can catch him in the act..."
   "Reed, you don't need to be doing this. Reuben is dangerous."
   "I know he is."
   "No you don't. You really don't. Where are you in Minnesota?"
   "Mill City. Don't worry. Reuben doesn't know I'm here. I'll call you back with an update later. I need to go now," Reed says, as he hangs up.
Diana tries to warn Reed before he hangs up but it's too late. She leaves the apartment, locking the door behind her and rushes out of the building. On her way to her car Diana calls Nileas on her celluar.
   "Niles, where are you?" the detectives asks, getting into her car.
   "I'm at work. Where are you? The Lieutenant is looking for you."
   "Don't go anywhere. I'll be there in a few minutes."
Within fifteen minutes Diana arrives at work. She takes the elevator to the fifth floor where she finds Nileas in the middle of a discussion with a female officer. She walks over to the two and interrupts their conversation as politely as she can. She then pulls Nileas aside to talk with him without anyone overhearing them.
   "Reed doesn't have the disc," she tells her partner in a soft spoke tone, "Even worse he's followed Reuben to Mill City."
  "What?"
  "We have to go warn Reed before it's too late."
Suddenly Lieutenant Grant approaches the two. Judging by the expression on his face he's not too happy this morning. He clears his throat loudly to get their attention. Folding his arms across his chest Lieutenant Grant orders the detectives into his office.
    "The Michaels case is officially closed," Grant informs them, "I'm assigning the two of you to that missing Channel 5 reporter case. Now get into my office so I can---"
    "No!" Diana interrupts,with a stern tone.
    "Excuse me?" says the Lieutenant.
    "You heard me! That bastard Reuben Wolf is the one who killed the reporter. Just like he killed Crystal Michaels and Donna Hall.There's no point investigating their murders because we'll never be able to prove it! Do you want to know why?!"
   "...Diana..." Nileas says, trying to calm his partner down.
   "Because Reuben Wolf is NOT HUMAN!"
Diana's outburst has managed to capture the attention of everyone around them. Not human? What's she talking about? Is she on crack, many wonder.
   "Have you lost your mind detective?" Lieutenant Grant asks.
   "No,sir, I haven't."
Diana takes her badge from her belt, grabs Grant's right hand and places the badge in it. She then removes her shoulder holster which holds her loaded pistol and drops it on the floor.
    "I quit," she tells the Lieutenant. 
Unwilling to wait for the elevator, Diana takes the stairs out of the building. She's followed by Nileas who rushes to catch up with her.
Diana paces down the flight of stairs, ignoring her now former partner's calls for her to stop and talk to him.When she makes it to the last flight of stairs Nileas leaps over the railing and lands firmly on the ground below, ahead of Diana.
  "I'm going to Mill City. Don't try to change my mind Niles."
  "Reuben will kill you."
  "He'll kill Reed if he finds out he's following him! I can't let that happen!"
  "Then you're both going to die. Just let me..."
  "Let you what?"
  "...Let me come with you. Maybe...maybe we'll have better odds if we face Reuben together."
  "Are you sure? If come with me I don't think Grant will welcome you back."
  "Bringing Reuben down for his crimes is more important."
As Diana and Nileas prepare to travel to Mill City by way of high speed rail, private investigator Reed Turner is in the city searching for a killer. 
Mill City is home to over four hundred thousand people, four times as many that are in Acres. Still, Reed believes that locating Reuben Wolf in this city should be easy thanks to his blue hair. 
While standing at a pedestrian crossing waiting for the the bright red 'DON'T WALK' warning to change, Reed is in the middle of a conversation with one of his contacts from the city. The person he's talking to claims to have seen a man that matches Reuben Wolf's description somewhere in the immediate vicinity earlier in the day. 
When it becomes safe to cross the intersection Reed makes his way to his rental car parked on the other side of the street. He concludes his phone conversation before entering the two door vehicle. Once inside the car Reed removes a city map from the glove compartment. Using a blue colored magic marker he circles three areas on the map. These mark the portions of the city where sightings of Reuben had been reported.
When he's done the P.I. refolds the map and tosses it on the car's darshboard, that's when he notices he's not alone. Through the rear-view mirror Reed spots Reuben seated in the back seat of the car. The Pandora's leery eyes are staring directly at him. 
Before he can react, Reuben covers Reed's mouth with his right hand with lightning speed. His dark colored finger nails gradually grow longer until they pierce the skin on Reed's face; not only drawing blood but also temporarily paralyzing Reed from the kneck down.
With Reed still in his grasp Reuben leans toward the front of the car and whispers in his 
ear, "Were you looking for me?"

                               			************

Former Acres, Missouri Detective Diana Young and her ex-partner Nileas Boanerges have arrived in Mill City, Minnesota. They are on the trail of a dangerous indiviual named Reuben Wolf. Reuben is responsible for the deaths of at least five people. With the help of a psychotherapist Diana was recently able to clearly recall the night her mother died at the hands of this blue haired man over two decades ago.
Diana has learned throughout her investigation that Reuben Wolf isn't just any homicidal serial killer; he's a member of an uncanny race of male supernatural beings who flaunt blue hair and prey on human life.They are called Pandora and tonight Reuben Wolf has his sights on his next victim.
Diana and Nileas have left the high speed rail station and have now begun their search for private investigator Reed Turner. Reed left Acres the day before on a search for Reuben, hoping to catch him in the act of another murder. Diana was unable to warn Reed about Reuben's true identity before he left town. She's been trying to get in contact with him ever since she departed Acres but Reed is not answering his cell phone.
The sheer size of Mill City will make their search a daunting task but Diana is determined to locate Reed before Reuben does.With her cell phone Diana makes her seventh call tonight to Reed's cellular, praying for a response. After three rings someone answers however, it's not Reed's voice Diana hears on the other side.
    "Hello? Reed?" Diana asks.
    "I'm afraid Reed can't come to the phone right now," Reuben responds.
Hearing Reuben's voice sends chills down Diana's spine. "What have you done to Reed?!" she shouts into the phone but Reuben chooses not to answer her. He hangs up the phone leaving a tormented Diana to fear the worst.
Overwhelmed with anguish Diana drops her cell phone on the concrete sidewalk. Her hands begins to tremble uncontrollably as she covers her mouth, trying to fight back tears. "Reed's dead," she tells Niles, her voice beginning to crack.
    "How do you know? Was that Reuben on his phone?"
Diana nods her head in response to Nileas' question. The emotional former detective falls to her knees,sobbing in remorse.
    "Diana, what did Reuben say? Did he tell you Reed was dead?"
    "He said...he said Reed couldn't come to the phone..."
    "I don't think he's dead Diana."
    "Why wouldn't he be? Reuben has no reason to keep him alive...does he?"
Without answering Nileas turns away from Diana. He sets his sights on the night sky; intensely scanning the skyline as if he were following a trail only he could see."I need to get higher," he whispers to himself. 
Diana picks herself up from the ground,wiping the tears from her eyes. Nileas has given her hope that there may be a chance that Reed may still be alive.
   "Nileas, what aren't you telling me?"
   "I'm certain that Reuben hasn't hurt Reed, not yet anyway."
   "How do you know this? What are you hiding from me Niles?"
   "Reed doesn't have the time for me to explain. We know that he took the train here so maybe someone spotted him," Nileas suggest, turning back toward Diana, "Do you have a picture of Reed on you?"
    "I..I think I have one on my cell phone."
    "Good. Show it to the station attendants here. See if anyone remembers seeing him. I'll go ask around the bus station or the car rental place. I'll call you if I find anything. "
    "I hope you're right about this Nileas."
Diana begins walking back to the train station as Nileas sprints across the street. Instead of entering the station Diana pays close attention to Nileas. Her detective instincts are urging her to follow him. Nileas knows more than he's letting on and the only way to prove it is by keeping an eye on him.
Downtown, on the roof of Mill City's largest commercial high rises, Reed Turner lays unconscious. Blood from the wound where Reuben's fingernails dug into his left cheek slowly drips down onto the cold, slightly angled, glass tiled roof. His slow awakening is hastened by the sound of his daughter's voice screaming, 'Daddy!'
Reed is wide awake now. 
   "Molli??" he calls, expecting to see the six year old but she's no where in sight. Still suffering from Reuben's paralyzing touch, Reed struggles to stand on his feet. He only has enough strength to balance himself on his hands and knees.
   "Molli?! Where are you??" 
Before he can call out for Molli again Reed looks up to find Reuben standing immediately before him. Dressed in all black with a matching trench coat Reuben blends in with the darkness of the night. His blue eyes amplifies glow brightly. Reuben lifts Reed up off of the roof by the collar of his denim jacket with one hand.
  "Where's Molli??" Reed asks.
  "Right here," Reuben answers.
While holding Reed with his right hand Reuben raises his left one which holds a glowing white orb the size of a baseball. The pulsating orb appears to contain a steedy flow of energy with small electrical waves constantly emitting from it. Staring closely at the orb Reed eventually sees glimpses of Molli inside of it. Her entire short life seems to be playing out within the orb.
   "What is that?" 
   "It's your offspring's soul. It's a pure soul so let me know how it tastes."
With an evil grin on his face, Reuben slams Reed to the ground and holds him down. He then forces Molli's soul into Reed's mouth, keeping his hand over it so that the P.I. doesn't spit it out. Despite Reed's struggles he's incapable of gaining control of the situation.
    "Don't make this difficult. After tonight you're going to thank me for freeing you of this pathetic life," Reuben claims. Just then a male voice only Reuben can hear speaks to him. "I need to have a word with you Reuben."
    "Can it wait? I'm busy."
    "No it can not wait!"
By the time Reuben finishing talking to the mystery man Reed has stopped struggling. After being forced to swallow his daughter's soul Reed's body has shut down but he's still breathing. That's when Nileas confronts the Pandora. He stands behind him armed with an unsheathed samurai sword that has a blade length of approximately 25 inches.
   "I won't let you get away with this."
   "I hope you know how to use that thing," Reuben says, referring to Nileas' weapon of choice.
Nileas doesn't respond to Reuben with words, he lets his blade do the talking for him instead. He grips the swords handle firmly; his right hand placed below the curved weapon's guard ( Tsuba ) while his left hand remains closer to the end of the handle. He was trained how to handle this weapon.Tonight is the first time he will actually use it against a living enemy.
With unhuman speed Nileas rushes toward Reuben with the intent to strike him down with his katana. The deadly weapon cuts through the air, narrowly missing Reuben who is able to dodge Nileas' head on attack with ease. 
Nileas quickly follows up his first strike with a second, then a third. Each attempt to cut Reuben down is unsuccessful. Moving just as fast, the blue haired Pandora is able to avoid each one of  Nileas' attacks with little effort.Undeterred, Nileas prepares another strike. 
Reuben removes his trench coat and throws it at Nileas.With one downward cut the coat is sliced in two by Nileas' katana. The coat serves its purpose as a momentary distraction. With Nileas' eyes briefly focused on the piece of clothing Reuben makes his move.
Reuben unleashes a powerful roundhouse kick that lands directly on Nileas' chest, causing him to lose his stance upon impact.The force of Reuben's attack would collapse the lungs of any man but Nileas isn't a man. Nileas goes on the defensive instantly as Reuben follows up his attack with a second swift kick aimed for his head.
The heel of Reuben's foot misses its target when Nileas cartwheels out of its path. However, it does manage to crack one of the glass tiles that line the roof of the building. While crouched on the roof Nileas swings his katana in the direction of Reuben's feet.To avoid Nileas' strike Reuben backflips a good four feet off of the ground. The blade of Nileas' katana glides directly underneath him, missing him by inches. 
Mirroring the graceful moves of a gymnast Reuben somersaults through the air until he lands, feet first, on the very edge of the building's roof; facing Nileas. "We'll have to continue our little dance later," he tells Nileas, before taking flight into the night. Before he can pursue Reuben Nileas is distracted when Diana calls for Reed. She had been watching the entire fight from the safety of the roof entrance. Now that Reuben is out of sight she runs to Reed's side.
   "Is he alive?" she asks Nileas.
   "He should be. Diana..I.." Nileas hesitates.
   "You're one of them aren't you? You're one of those Pandora."
   "Yes, but not by choice. Look, we need to get Reed someplace safe. Reuben's trying to Condition him."
   "What do you mean by condition him?"
   Reed walks a short distance to pick up his katana's black, wooden Saya ( scabbard ). He carefully sheaths the weapon before answering Diana's question.  
   "Reuben wants to turn Reed into a Pandora. I didn't get here in time to stop him from feeding Reed a human soul. That's how the process begins but it's not too late to save Reed."
   "What? A human soul? Reuben's killed someone else then..."
    "It was...Reed's daughter."
    "Oh my God! Molli..How could he do that to a child??" 
Diana turns to the unconscious P.I. and hugs him gently. "I'm so sorry Reed," she whispers to him, shedding a tear for Molli, "You have to kill that monster Niles."
   "I will. I promise. Now let's get off of this roof before someone discovers us."
Nileas kneels down to pick up Reed and carefully throws him over his shoulder, head first. He then extends his other hand to Diana. "I hope you're not afraid of hieghts," he tells her. 
Once Diana grabs his hand Nileas pulls her close to him, wraps his arm around her waist, then leaps into the air. Diana holds on tight with both her arms fastened around Nileas' neck as he carries her and Reed nearly a thousand feet above the city below. The wind in her hair gives her a soothing feeling despite the unnatural circumstances she finds herself facing.

************

Miles away in an open field located far from the sights and sounds of Mill City stands a man with long, slicked back blue hair that falls inches short of reaching his waist. He's dressed in a dark grey warrior's cassock with a high collar and long flowing panels.Vertically along the chest of the cassock four sturdy velvet straps with gold buttons are fastened tightly. Underneath the sleeveless robe he wears a pair of black denim jeans. 2 inch boots of a similar color make him taller than what he really is.
The blue haired man is a Pandora named Kessler. He's patiently awaiting the arrival of his younger 'Brother', Reuben who soon lands on the grass covered ground behind him. Although his advent was silent Kessler is completely aware of Reuben's presence. Looking over his left shoulder at Reuben, Kessler seems to be in an unpleasent mood.
   "You seem to be making a name for yourself Brother," Kessler comments.
   "I'm in the middle of something.Why did you want to see me?
   "Because you're stirring up too much trouble that's why," Kessler says, turning to face Rueben. Holding a recently published nationally syndicated newspaper, Kessler reads excerpts from a front page article:
    "Police in Acres, Missouri seek the public's help to locate a caucasion male with blue eyes and dyed blue hair named Reuben Wolf. This man is wanted for questioning in the death of a local woman..."
  "That article is old," Reuben points out.
  "That's not the point!" Kessler says, throwing the paper to the ground," Your reckless actions are putting us in danger!"
   "Did Father send you here?"
   "I don't need Father's eyes to show me how your behavior is threatening all of the progress we've made over the last three centuries."
   "What progress? Hiding in the shadows while our enemy grows in number?"
   "It's not about fear. It's about being prepared, which we are not. There will come a time when you'll be free to do what you please with the humans but that time is not now!"
Kessler steps closer to Reuben and looks him squarely in the eyes.
    "I'm warning you right now, Brother; Stay away from the humans. If you don't heed my will then you're going to find youself with very few allies."
Reuben remains silent as he watches Kessler walk away from him. Kessler slowly shifts (teleports) from the area as he presses ahead. When he's gone Reuben smiles. He has no intention to obey Kessler's order.
It's a chilly night in Acres, Missouri. Leaves that were once green have now become brightly red and orange in many parts of the city. Autumn is here.Unfortunately, Diana has no time to admire nature's splendor this year.
In her single bedroom apartment her focus is on the man that could have been her husband at one point. "Bring him in here," she says, turning on the light to her bedroom.
Nileas carries the unconscious Reed Turner into the bedroom. Diana quickly clears her messy bed of books and magazines that are scattered on it before Nileas places Reed down.
   "He's burning up," Diana observes, touching Reed's forehead.
   "There's nothing we can do for him right now."
   "When will he wake up? Do you know?"
    "It's...hard to say."
Diana steps out of the room to grab a utility stool located in the living room area. The red light on her answering machine is flashing but she doesn't notice. Back in her bedroom Diana places the stool on the side of her bed, close to Reed and takes a seat. She never takes her eyes off of him.
Nileas has been hiding his feeling for Diana since the first day they met. Seeing her concern for Reed is enough for him to keep his love for Diana to himself.
   "I'll be in the other room," he says, turning to leave.
   "Niles.." Diana calls.
   "Yeah?"
   "I want you to tell me everything; about you, Reuben, what he's done to Reed. Everything."
Nileas turns around, removes the strap from around his chest and places his katana on the floor up against a drawer next to the door. He looks at Diana and asks, "Where do you want me to begin?"
   "Before you said you're a Pandora but not by choice?"
   "I was Conditioned...by Reuben when I was eight. He was calling himself Andres at the time. He killed my parents, my two older sisters and brother while they slept in out home in Veria, Greece. He fed me their souls; one by one."
   "Like he did to Reed..."
   "Yes but Reed will have to consume more than one before he loses his humanity. The quickest way to speed up the process is by feeding the victim souls of his loved ones. Then after that...the soul of a demon."
    "He did all of this to you but why isn't your hair blue like Reuben's?
    "Because I'm Conditioned. I'm not a natural Pandora like him."
    "I wonder how many innocent people he's done this to."
    "Too many. Only males can be Conditioned though."
    "Do you...does a person who has been Conditioned crave human souls too?"
    "Regrettably."
    "Have you...?"
Eventhough she doesn't complete her question Nileas knows what Diana's asking. Has he ever killed anyone like Reuben. Nileas hesitates to answer that question because the truth may change the way she feels about him. Diana may never trust him again if she knew but being honest with her was a gamble he had to take.
   "....Why else would Reuben set me loose on the streets? It took me a while to control the urges..but I did and I haven't taken a life since."
Nileas can tell by the look in Diana's eyes, the look of uncertainty, what she must be thinking. She really doesn't know the who the man standing in front of her is; how dangerous he could be. But despite Nileas' admission Diana knows that right now he's one of the few people she can trust.
There's a pause in their conversation for nearly a minute. Diana wants to know more but she's afraid of what she'll learn. She picks up Reed's right hand and holds it up to her face. 
   "His hands are cold," she says, "His hands are cold but he's sweating bullets."
   "I'll stay in the other room. Reuben may try to finish what he started."
   "Oh my God! Dorothy..." Diana says to herself.
   "Who's Dorothy?"
   "Molli's grandmother. I forgot. She was watching her while Reed was in Mill City. Do you think...Reuben got to her?"
   "Most likely."
Diana stands up and searches her pockets for her cell phone. Once she locates it in her back pants pocket Diana dials Reed's apartment number. Reed's home phone just rings. It can be heard throughout the dark, empty house. Located on the tiled floor of kitchen lies Dorothy Connor's lifeless body. This is where Reuben sucked the life out of her before moving on to young Molli.
    "She's not answering..." Diana says.
    "Then she's dead and Reuben probably fed her soul to Reed."
    "No..." Diana gasps.
    "If that's the case then I can't say if Reed will ever be the same when he wakes up."
While Diana and Nileas are keeping a close watch on Reed, Reuben has crafted a plan to retrieve the private investigator. Downtown at the city Zoo the Pandora shifts into the panther exhibit where five of these large cats are being held. Thanks to Reuben, these caged animals will soon experience freedom again but for a price.
The sun will rise over Acres in an hour. Diana spent the night next to Reed, holding his hand the entire time. She's fallen asleep. Just outside the door to her bedroom Nileas stands guard. By the serious look on his face one would assume Nileas was watching over a room filled with gold bullion. He stands up against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. If Reuben sets foot in Diana's apartment Nileas would be the first to know.
Still in her slumber, Diana dreams of the moment when Reed awakens. He opens his eyes and calls for her. She's relieved to hear his voice. Still laying on his back in bed Reed raises his left hand to touch Diana's face. The warm touch of Reed's hand on her cheek pleases her, but in an instant Diana's happiness turns to horror. 
Reed yanks her by the hair and pulls her closer to him. His thin lips locks onto hers. Reed immediately begins to drain Diana of her life.When Diana opens her eyes she realises she was only dreaming. She sits up in her chair and breathes a sigh of relief. That's when she notices Reed's eyes are open. He's watching her every move.
    "R-Reed? Are you...are you okay?"
Reed doesn't respond. He only stares at Diana, looking as if he can see right through her. The change in his condition has startled Diana, the dream she had isn't helping her either. She gets up from her seat and slowly walks away from the bed.
    "Niles? Reed's awake."
When Nileas steps into the room Reed takes his eyes off of Diana to focus on him. 
    "He's creeping me out," Diana whispers to Nileas, "He won't say anything to me."
    "Does he recognize you?"
    "I-I'm not sure."
Diana sets her fears aside for a moment and approaches the foot of the bed. Standing behind her Nileas grasps the handle of his katana. He's expecting Reed to attack Diana. He stands ready to kill him if that happens. 
   "Reed? It's me Diana. Can you hear me?"
   "Am..I dead?" he replies.
   "No. No you're not. Why would you think that?"
   "The last thing I remember...was seeing Reuben's eyes. He was choking me with..with... Where's Molli?"
   "I'm sorry Reed. Molli's...gone. Reuben..he.."
   "He killed her and forced you to swallow her soul," Nileas interrupts.
   "No, that's not what happened..." Reed denies.
When Reed attempts to sit up Diana rushes to his side. Nileas lets go of his katana's handle, believing Reed isn't a threat..for the moment. 
With Diana focused on Reed Nileas turns his attention to the only window in the bedroom. He walks over to it and scans the car jammed streets below and then the sky. He can feel something is heading towards the twelve story building but he can't tell what it is right now.
    "Molli can't be dead. She can't be," claims Reed.
    "She is Reed. It happened just like Niles says."
    "Then why do I hear her voice calling for me?"
    "Reed, I don't know how to explain it to you but Molli is gone," Diana tells him, looking him in the eyes, "We found out that Reuben is...he's not human. He stole your daughter's soul and made you eat it. That's why you're hearing her voice, I guess."
Reed doesn't know what to think after listening to Diana. He puts his head in his hands trying to come to grips with reality. Diana sits on the bed next to Reed and hugs him. The distraught P.I. hugs her back.
Diana and Reed's embrace is cut short when the sound of a heavy bookshelf being pushed across the floor catches their attention. Nileas is moving the piece of furniture to block the window. 
     "What are you doing Niles?" Diana asks.
     "We've got company coming."
     "Is it Reuben?"
     "Not exactly. Find something to defend yourself with Diana. They're coming fast!"
As the sun rises over the highway below four fast moving panther-like creatures can be seen. Not too long ago these were living panthers at Acres Zoo. That was before Reuben Wolf decided to convert the animals into weapons under his control. They are called Lixes now and are the size of a full grown lion with slender bodies and long dreadlocks flowing down the backs of their necks.They run along the highway against oncoming traffic. 
Alert drivers on this stretch of road promptly swerve out of their path while many others only notice these four legged beasts when it's too late. Medium sized automobiles that impact these creators are wrecked beyond repair, leaving the cats unharmed. These cats aren't going to let anything stand between them and their destination; Diana Young's apartment.
Acting on Nileas' advice Diana rushes into her walkin kitchen and searches for the biggest knife she can find. She pulls out a 12 inch long butcher knife from the drawer. Reed staggers out of the bedroom, determined to help fight whatever's coming their way. Diana's not convinced that he's in any condition to help.
    "Reed, you have to get back in bed. You can barely stand," Diana insists.
    "I can do this, Diana. I...just need the room to stop spinning first."
    "I don't think this is a good idea."
    "Let him stay," Nileas says, using his katana to cut of the bristle end of a broom, creating a sharp edge in the process, "They're after him, so it's best that he stays where I can see him."
Nileas hands Reed the broom handle and walks over to the double windows in the room. In the distance he can see plumes of dark gray smoke rising from the highway. Several cars have piled up after the Lixes plowed through the early morning traffic. Dozens are injured but there's no sign of the cats anywhere outside.
    "Should we leave? Try making it out of the building?" Diana asks.
    "Shhh," Nileas replies, looking up at the ceiling.
The horrific screams of a man and a woman can be heard coming from the floor above them. It sounds like they are running from something. Then, as quickly as the screms began, they stopped. With Diana's and Reed's attention on the room above them, Nileas is the only one aware of the noises coming from the room beneath them.
Suddenly four long,sharp talons rip through both the ceiling and the floor.The Lixes are clawing their way inside. Nileas doesn't wait for them get in. He runs up along a wall at an angle then jumps off of it. He then impales his katana into the ceiling where the talons are located. The blade of his weapon cuts clean through one of the Lixes above, killing it instantly.
Nileas lands back on the floor too late to stop the second one from breaking into the room from below. Nileas stands between the creature and his friends. The Lix slowly walks around the room, keeping its glowing blue eyes on its target. Nileas and the Lix wait for each other to make the first move. The urgency to attack hastens when the sound of a window shattering and a  bookshelf toppling over emits from the bedroom. Another Lix is in the apartment.
     "Get out of the building. I'll cover you," Nileas orders Diana and Reed.
     "Are you sure?" Diana asks.
     "Yes. Now go. Quickly."
Diana and Reed make haste to exit the apartment. When Diana opens the door she finds Reuben on the other side waiting for them. "Fancy meeting you here," Reuben says, smiling.

************

Nileas takes his eyes off the Lix after hearing Reuben's voice. He sees the blue haired man knock Diana to the floor but before he can do anything about it one of the Lixes attack him.
The Lix sinks its teeth into Nileas' left arm and clamps down. The second one emerges from the bedroom and lunges at him. With two vicious creatures attacking him Nileas falls back to the floor, breaking Diana's glass table.
Smoke begins to fill the hallway where Diana lays knocked out on the floor. Reuben has set the apartment building on fire. Panicked screams from the residents in the building fill the air. 
Face to face with his daughter's killer Reed attempts to punch the Pandora with a strong right hook. Reuben catches Reed's attack with his left hand, gripping the P.I's hand firmly. He twists Reed's hand until the sound of bones breaking is heard. Reed falls to his knees in pain but he's not ready to give up.
With his good hand he picks up the broom handle and rams it into Reuben's chest, straight through his heart.The Pandora stands unfazed by Reed's attack. As he pulls the broom handle from his chest there is no sign of blood in his wound or on the object. Instead, the broom handle is surrounded by small black tentacles as Reuben pulls it out of his body. The hole in Reuben's chest instantly heals before Reed's eyes. 
Grasping his broken hand in excruciating pain, Reed collapses to his knees again. Reuben kicks him in the face causing Reed to fall backwards to the floor. Reuben then sits on top of Reed, with an evil grin on his face.
     "Pain makes you weak," he tells Reed, "'But don't worry, I plan to fix that."
     "Why are you doing this?" Reed asks.
     "Because we need you."
Inside Diana's apartment, the two Lixes are trying their best to tear Nileas apart. One is gnawing on his leg, ripping and tearing at his flesh while the other stands on top of him trying to bite Nileas' face off. Nileas is preventing it from getting to close to him by holding its head back with both his hands. After a short struggle Nileas is able to snap the neck of the Lix on top of him. He tosses its limp body to the side then kicks the other off of his leg.
Blood is flowing from his wound; bloody claw marks cover his face but Nileas hasn't been defeated. With Nileas' flesh hanging from its large teeth the Lix jumps at him, aiming for his jugular. In the same instance, Nileas picks up a broken piece of glass and stabs the Lix between its eyes just before it could land its attack. With both creatures disposed of Nileas gets back on his feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in his leg and arm.
White smoke from a fire racing its way upstairs has filled the hallway by the time Nileas stumbles out of Diana's apartment. He calls for Diana but she's not in the vicinity. To his right he sees Reuben on top of Reed. Reuben has his mouth over Reed's, breathing another human soul into the helpless private investigator.
   "Stop it Reuben! Leave him alone!" Nileas demands, trying to stand on his badly wounded leg.
Reuben sits up on Reed's unconscious body and turns his head in Nileas' direction. "Are you going to waste precious time trying to stop me and let the woman burn alive?" he asks.
    "Diana..? Where is she??"
    "I can't say," claims Reuben, standing up over Reed with his back facing Nileas, "One of my new pets dragged her off somewhere."
Nileas has to choose between saving Diana or Reed. Save the woman he loves or the man she loves? Nileas has never been in this predicament before but he knows he has little time to decide. Fighting Reuben right now, as wounded as he is, would be suicide. He'd likely die at the hands of the Pandora, Diana would be dead and Reed would be at the mercy of Reuben for the rest of his life.
Nileas makes a choice that will likely haunt him for a long time. He decides to find Diana, meaning Reed will eventually be Conditioned like he was. Nileas tries not to think about Reed's fate as he limps through the smokey hallway. Reuben watches Nileas walk away until he's engulfed in smoke. "Good choice," he says to himself.
To locate Diana through the smoke Nileas relies on the extra senses given to him when he was  Conditioned. He's listening for the sound of a human heartbeat. He soon hears one behind a locked door. It's beating fast, an indication that the person is scared.
   "Diana? Are you in there?"
After receiving no response Reed forces the door open by ramming against it with his shoulder.Visibility is nearly zero in the room due to the smoke. Nileas continues to call for Diana as he follows the sound of the heartbeat which he discovers is coming from behind a closed closet door. 
When Nileas opens it he doesn't find Diana; he finds a scared little girl hiding inside instead.
The child had been left home alone by her parental guardians.She's clinging to a stuffed bear, crying. Nileas reaches out to the child, trying to calm her down. 
   "Come on. I'm not going to hurt you. I'll help you out of here."
    "Y--You're bleeding.."
    "It's nothing. Now come on. We don't have much time."
After some hesitation the girl takes Nileas' hand and they leave the apartment together. The girl covers her mouth and nose with her stuffed bear, trying to keep from inhaling the smoke. But as her little coughs indicates, it's not working too well. 
As they carefully walk down a flight of stairs Nileas hears the sound of another heart beating. Enduring the pain of his leg wound Nileas walks as fast as he can until he comes upon the source of the heartbeat. This time it's Diana. She's out cold, unaware of the Lix dragging her by the hair to an open flame emitting from  the stairway. Nileas tells the child to stay out of sight then he catches the attention of the Lix.
    "HEY!" he shouts.
The Lix stops dragging Diana and starts growling at Nileas. The creature then runs toward him, leaping out to attack him. Nileas locks his fingers together and smacks the beast out of the air. He then uses his good leg to kick the Lix like a soccer ball. It slides across the floor, dazed but not defeated. Nileas jumps on top of it before it can collect itself and breaks its neck.With the Lix dead Nileas calls for the frightened child.
    "Climb on my back and hold on as tight as you can, okay?"
    " Okay."
Nileas then picks up Diana then exits the burning building through an open window. The billowing smoke conceals Nileas' flight out of the apartment building from the fire fighters who have arrived to put out the flames. 
The flying man goes unnoticed by many of the onlookers on the street below, save one. Retired detective and Diana's former partner, Tyson Price, is the only one who sees Nileas. Tyson was on his way to visit Diana who hasn't responded to the messages he left on her answering machine. He doesn't know what to make of what he just saw. He heads back to his four door car and speeds away in the direction he saw Nileas fly off to.
Two blocks away Nileas lands in an empty alley. Across the street he spots a uniformed police officer sitting in her parked squad car. He tells the girl to run to the officer and inform her with everything she needs to know.With her bear in hand the child does as Nileas suggests. 
  "Thank you Flying Man," she says before running off.
  "You're welcome," Nileas responds before he flies away with Diana.
With Diana's apartment building up in flames Nileas has few places to go. He has no home of his own. The entire time he has been in Acres Nileas spent his nights on the rooftops of the city. Sleeping and eating hasn't been a necessity for him since he was Conditioned. 
He's lost a lot of blood during his fight with the Lixes and now it's starting to take a toll on him. As he begins to feel light headed Nileas knows that he has no other option but to find a secluded area to land before he passes out. 
He sets down in the vacant portion of the city park. The moment he steps foot on the ground Nileas looses his balance, dropping Diana on the soft grass. He then falls to the ground face first and loses consciousness. Blood from his wounds cover the surface of the grass.

************

Hours later and thousands of miles to the north in the Canadian city of Tower Falls, Ontario, entrepreneur Ein Herjar is conducting a board meeting with seven important members of his company.To the outside world Ein is just another businessman who founded the billion dollar technology company called Einherjar Tech ten years ago. In reality Ein is actually a powerful Pandora who has the ability to conceal his natural blue hair from society
The company that the blonde haired thirty seven year old bachelor with a thin goatee runs is one of the largest producers and sellers of the types of chips used in some of today's popular electronics. After going over Einherjar Tech stock details and sales information the panel of six men and two women adjourn for the rest of the day.
As the seven professionally dressed men and women leave the small conference room Ein removes his reading glasses and places them on the long wooden table. He doesn't need to wear them, he just likes the way they look on him. 
He leans back in his chair as someone behind him closes the long white colored curtains that drape over the large window in the room. That person is Kessler.
    "We have a problem," Kessler tells Ein.
    "Go on."
    "Reuben is out of control. He's been making trouble with the humans, exposing our existence to the demons in the process."
   "That one has always been a bit of a loose cannon," Ein smirks.
   "What are you going to do about him?"
Ein stands up from his leather seat, grabs his suit jacket that he has thrown across the back of the chair and puts in on.
   "What would you have me do with him Kessler?"
   "Be rid of him."
   "Even though we need every one of our kind alive for the coming war?"
   "We can manage without someone like Reuben."
   "There are approximately two hundred and eight pure Pandora that exists in this world, Kessler. The demons outnumber us a million to one. Killing Reuben for acting out won't do us any favors."
    "I thought someone mentioned my name," Reuben says, sitting in the chair opposite of Ein's, his legs crossed on the table. He shifted ( teleported ) into the room without being noticed. Kessler scoffs at Reuben's presence. 
Ein adjusts the collar of his jacket before addressing him, "I've been told you've become quite the mischief maker, Reuben."
   "Kessler tends to exaggerate."
   "Get the hell out of here Reuben. Father and I are speaking in private."
   "That's fine," Reuben claims, getting up from his seat, "But I thought Father may be interested in my latest project."
   "And what would that be?" Ein asks.
   "I may have discovered a way to help even the odds in our favor where the demons are concerned."
   "What's that?" Kessler asks, uncovinced.
   "What if we use the humans and Convert them to Pandora?"
   "A Conditioned human can't hold his own against a high level demon," Kessler points out.
   "I said Convert, not Condition. There's a difference."
   "I'm interested to hear more Reuben," Ein states, picking up his briefcase, "But not right now. I have someplace to be at the moment."
   "Well, by the time you return our first Converted human should be ready."
   "I look forward to it," Ein says, opening the door to the conference room, "Be sure not to kill each before I get back you two." 
As he exits the room Ein closes the door behind himself, leaving Kessler and Rueben alone together. Kessler stares at Reuben with animosity in his eyes before shifting away.
Later at an undisclosed location Reed Turner sits alone at a table in what appears to be an underground bunker. A grassy terrain can be seen outside of a small, bar covered window located seven feet to the left of him. A huge root from an oak tree has dug its way through the one of the concrete walls of the bunker.
Reed sits in a mahogany colored wooden chair at a small round table placed in the center of the room. There are three doors in this room. All of them are locked. Reed's disheveled hair falls over his eyes and parts of his face. He's hanging his head down and breathing heavily as if he had just completed an intense, physical workout, but he hasn't.
Since Reuben abdupted him Reed has been force fed half a dozen human souls and one demonic. His broken hand has healed completely without the use of medical attention; a sign that his body is changing. Soon Reuben shifts into the room. He sits backwards in a chair located on the opposite side of the table. He's here to play with Reed's mind; make him believe that he's not who he thinks he is. 
   "We've been busy haven't we?" Reuben says, "In a short amount of time you've managed to kill a little girl and her grand parents."
    "I..I didn't.."
    "Yes you did. I was there."
    "..You're lying..."
    "Don't tell me you've forgotten. You must remember how you went into the child's room and drained her of her life while she was sleeping."
    "I didn't do that...!"
    "Then you slit the old woman's throat from behind and stole her soul as she breathe her last breath."
     "...No..."
     "The old man put up a fight though. That's how your hand was broken, wasn't it? It's all better now right?"
    "I didn't do those things!" Reed shouts, reaching over the table to grab Reuben by the collar. Reuben doesn't flinch. He continues his mind games knowing that it's only a matter of time before Reed cracks.
    "Then why are their voices in your head? They'll subside eventually. They always do."
Confused, Reed lets go of Reuben and puts his hands on his head. He's trying hard to ignore Reuben's story but he can't silence the voices in his head.
Reuben gets out of his chair and walks over to Reed. He pulls his head back by his hair to get a look at Reed's eyes. The hazel pigmentation in his eyes is being overtaken by blue. The roots of his light brown hair are changing as well.
   "We're making progress," Reuben says with a smile.
Reuben leaves Reed at the table to unlock a door in the bunker. Located in this small room is a teenaged girl restrained to a bed by her wrists and ankles. Her mouth is duck taped, muffling the sound of her screams for help. She's terrified by the sight of Reuben. Is he going to rape her? Kill her?
Reuben kidnapped the young woman as she was walking home from cheerleading practice. She's still wearing her cheerleader uniform. Tears flow from her eyes as Reuben approaches her. When he pulls the tape from her mouth she starts pleading for her life.
     "Please don't hurt me! Please! I-I'll do whatever you want just don't hurt me, please!"
     "I'm not the one you have to worry about," Reuben tells her.
Reuben steps out of the room without saying a word to the teen. He walks over to Reed and tells him, "The girl in the room has a pure soul. It's hard to find one at her age in this society. I want you to take it from her very slowly. Like you did with so many others."
Reed puts his elbows on the table, grabbing his hair with his hands.The girl in the other room is screaming for help at the top of her lungs. The urge to silence her is growing inside of him despite his attempts to fight it. Reuben shifts out of the bunker, leaving Reed alone with the helpless teen. If he willingly takes her soul Reed will lose more of his humanity.
   "HELP ME! SOMEBODY! HELP!!" the teen continues to screams.
Reed clinches his fists, trying to withstand the desire to take her soul but the more she screams to stronger the urges become. The whimpering young woman stops screaming as she tries to wiggle her right hand out of the ropes that restrain her. The knots are tightly secured around her wrists, making escape impossible. 
When she takes her eyes off of the ropes she sees Reed in the doorway. He's using the side of the door to hold himself up. The look of terror fills the teen's eyes as she watches Reed stagger towards her.
    "No..no..please don't hurt me...please.." she whimpers, tears rolling down her face.
    "Be quiet...!" Reed tells her, "I..don't want to hurt you...but I...I can't control it..."
Reed works to untie the girl's hands. His hands are shaking as he frees her left hand. He then leans over her to untie her other hand. He can hear her heart beating rapidly. While untying her he looks down at the helpless girl and stares into her scared eyes. The desire to taste her soul compells him.
   "No! I won't do this...!" he says, grabbing his head in agony. Reed collapses to the floor holding his head. "Go! Get out of here while you can..!" he tells the teen.
  With her freed hands the teen hurries to untie her ankles. Once she's done she crawls out of the bed, over the foot of it and runs out of the door. She rushes over to one of the closed doors in the room only to find it locked. She then runs to the second closed door which is locked as well.
    "Help! Is anybody out there?!" she screams, pounding on the metal door with her hands. When she notices the security bar covered window she runs over to the table in the room and grabs a chair. She places the chair under the window and steps onto it. Standing on her tippy toes give her a view outside but just barely.
   "Help! Somebody, please, help! They're going to kill me!!"
Without warning the chair she's standing on is knocked away under her shoeless feet, causing the teen to fall on her butt on the concrete floor. The next thing she sees is Reed standing over her. He has succumbed to temptation. 
   "S-Stay back!" the teen shouts, crawling backwards with her hands and feet. When she turns to run Reed grabs her by the arm and pins her up against the wall. She kicks and scratches Reed, trying to break free. When she tries to scratch out his eyes Reed grabs both of her wrists with his left hand and holds them over her head. He then grabs her by the neck with his right hand as the girl begs for her life. Her pleads fall on deaf ears. 
Reed slowly moves his mouth closer to hers. At first he kisses her then he begins to pull her soul from her body. Within seconds Reed drains the sobbering teen of her life. Her eye, once filled with fear, slowly close. When it's all over Reed lets her lifeless body fall to the floor.
This is the first time Reed has willingly taken a human soul; the first time a human has ever been Converted to a Pandora. Now there's only one step remaining in Reed's transformation.

************

It's now late in the evening.
The sun is setting over Acres, Missouri. Thin gray sheets of alto-stratus clouds fill the sky. Located in the suburbs, miles away from the city lights and crowded streets, is the two story brick house owned by Tyson Price. This is where the retired detective has taken Diana and Nileas after finding the two laying unconscious in the park earlier today.
He had spotted Nileas flying out of the fifth floor of Diana's burning apartment building so he decided to follow him in his car. He eventually located the two unconscious in the park. Nileas was laying in a pool of blood but Tyson couldn't find any wounds on him. By the looks of Nileas' clothes Tyson is under the impression that he was attacked by a pack of wild animals. His assumption isn't that far from the truth.
Tyson gentle shook Diana until she woke up but he couldn't get Nileas to do the same. Diana helped Tyson carry Nileas to his car then they left the park for Tyson's home. That was eight and a half hours ago. Nileas has remained asleep the entire time while Diana explained what's been happening to Tyson.
Inside of Tyson's home in a guest room on the second floor, Nileas begins to open his eyes.
It's been a long time since he has slept. It appears that his body needed the rest. Tyson's house is unfamiliar to Nileas; he has no idea if he's in a safe enviroment or not. He gets out of the bed and quietly leaves the room through the open door. He carefully traverses the empty hallway until he come upon the second floor balcony.
He can hear Diana's voice coming from the floor below. She's seated on a sofa while Tyson sits on a chair across from her in the living room. Nileas stays out of sight, listening to their conversation.
    "I spoke to my old contacts at the Fire Department," Tyson is overheard telling Diana, "They said that everyone in your apartment building got out alive. They didn't find any bodies either."
   "That doesn't make me feel better," Diana replies, holding herself as if she's cold.
   "You really believe Reuben Wolf has Reed? That he's trying to change Reed into something like himself; a soul sucking demon?"
   "I told you. Reuben isn't a demon. He's a Pandora."
   "If I hadn't been your partner for so many years I'd be convinced that you were nuts Diana. What you told me today sounds..."
   "You don't have to believe me Tyson. The only thing that matters to me is finding Reed," Diana says, jumping out of her seat, "I'm going upstairs to check on Niles."
   "I just came from up there. He's still asleep," Tyson says as Diana walks up the stairs.
Diana gets halfway up the staircase then stops once she notices Nileas standing near the balcony.
   "Niles, you're up."
    "Yeah..uh..I-I'm sorry if I worried you."
    "I wasn't worried. I knew you'd be okay."
Diana hurries back down stairs followed by Nileas. Her mood has visibly changed. With him awake Diana feels confident that they'll find Reed again. Nileas stops on the last step of the staircase while Diana stands a few feet away from him. Tyson remains seated in his chair.
    "um..Niles this is my old partner, Tyson. He found us in the park earlier." Diana says, "Niles, can you tell me what happened back at the apartment? The last thing I remember was seeing Reuben outside of my door. How'd we get in the park and where's Reed?"
Nileas hesitates to answer Diana's question at first. He looks her in the eyes then sits down on the stairs, dropping his head.
    "Diana..," he begins, "About Reed, I- I had no other choice. I'm sorry."
    "Wh-What do you mean?"
    "The Lix was dragging you to a fire. Reuben was...he had Reed on the ground. I had to choose."
    "You didn't..." Diana begins, fearing the worst.
Nileas looks up at Diana and confirms her fears, "I let Reuben take Reed so I could save you. I'm sorry."
Diana gasps. Her heart is broken by what Nileas is telling her. She finally was able to hold Reed in her arms only to lose him again. This time she may have lost him for good all because of Nileas.
   "You son of a bitch!" she exclaims, "How could you let that monster walk away with Reed??! You know what he's going to do to him!"
    "I had to Diana. Your life was in danger and I was in no condition to fight Reuben. He would have killed me if I challenged him. Then we'd both be dead right now."
    "I may as well be dead! Without Reed..!"
    "We still have a chance to find Reed."
    "We ? There is no we. Not anymore. You left him at the mercy of a madman once. I'm not giving you the chance to do it again Nileas." Diana says, turning to exit the front door.
    "Diana! Wait..!" Nileas says, grabbing her arm.
    "Don't touch me!" Diana exclaims, slapping Nileas in the face with her right hand.
Diana storms out of Tyson's home in a mad fury. Nileas calls for her but she ignores him as she runs down the sidewalk. Nileas begins to follow her but Tyson advises against it.
    "She's upset right now," he tells Nileas, "It's better that you let her be."
    "But..she shouldn't be alone. Not with them out there."
    "You love her don't you, kid?"
    "Is it that obvious?"
    "I've been around long enough to recognize the signs."
    "It doesn't matter how I feel. She'll never look at me the same way she does Reed. Not after today."
    "I don't know what went down today but from what I can tell you made the right call. I'm certain Diana will realise that once she cools off. Don't give up on yourself  and definitely don't give up on finding Turner." 
    "I won't. I'll bring him back for Diana. I have to." 
Nileas runs a few steps out of Tyson's door and takes flight.Tyson watches with amazement as the young man flies away. "I need a drink," he says to himself, as Nileas disappears into the evening sky.
With the light of the sun now gone Nileas flies over Acres under the cover of darkness, making sure to stay well above the city lights below. He makes his way back to Diana's badly damaged apartment building. The fire Reuben started is completely out but the residents of the building aren't allowed back inside for the time being.
Nileas enters through an open window on the fifth floor. All the walls on this floor are covered with soot from the smoke. Nileas takes the stairs and returns to Diana's apartment, searching for his katana he dropped during his struggle with the Lixes. Once he finds the weapon and its sheath Nileas prepares to exit the building through the broken window in Diana's bedroom.
Before doing so a picture taken of Diana,Reed and Molli catches his eye. 
The photo fell out of a book that was placed on the bookshelf in Diana's bedroom. When the Lix knocked the shelf over the picture fell out of the book and onto the floor. The photo was taken during happier times several years ago. 
Nileas picks up the photo,staring at it for a minute before returning it to the floor. He then walks over to the broken window and leaps out of it. Nileas free falls five stories out of the apartment, pulling up just before he hits the ground. 
For the moment he doesn't care if someone saw him. He's upset with himself for the choices he made today. But he knows that if he had to do it over again the outcome would be the same.
The following day at the underground bunker, Reuben is overlooking something that wasn't there the day before; a web-like cocoon. It has formed along the wall, secured in place by numerous veins that stretch in many different directions.
Reed is inside of the cocoon clothless and surrounded by a thin liquid. He appears to be sleeping. His once brown hair is now dark blue. Seeing that Reed's Conversion to a Pandora is complete pleases Reuben. He lengthen his fingernails six inches and uses them to cut open the cocoon.Once open, Reed falls out of the sack covered in the fluid.
Soon both Kessler and Ein shift into the bunker to get a good luck at Reuben's creation. At first Reed is on his hands and knees. As he stands up a dark colored plasmic substance surrounds him from the bottom up. This is how a Pandora changes his attire. 
The plasma covers his body from his feet to his neck, taking the form of dark brown colored denim pants, a matching duster and boots while leaving his chest uncovered. No longer is he a brown haired, hazel eyed mortal. Reed Turner is now a blue haired, blue eyed Pandora.
   "Very interesting," Ein says, rubbing his goatee covered chin, "And you say this was once a human?"
   "He was," Reuben confirms, "It took a while to break his will but with some persuasion he finally turned."
With his arms folded across his chest Kessler looks at Reed as he stands silently before them. Unlike Ein, he doesn't seem to be as impressed by what he's seeing.
   "Not all humans are strong-willed though. Converting others may not take as long," Reuben says.
    "Well we certainly can't go around plucking people off of the streets or from their houses without drawing attention to ourselves," says Kessler.
    "Actually, we can. I've traveled the world long enough to know that there are some humans that have been rejected by society," Einherjar notes, "So much so that their disappearance will go unnoticed for quite sometime."
   "Allow me to do the plucking then," Reuben volunteers.
   "Not so fast," says Kessler, "I want to see what this Convert can do."
   "What do you suggest?" Reed asks, speaking for the first time since his Conversion.
   "I want to see how you handle yourself against a mid level demon."
   "An excellent idea Kessler," Ein states, "I would like to see this as well."
   "There aren't any of those types of demons in this area," says Reed, "Do you have a target in mind?"
   "Come with me."
Kessler turns to walk away, shifting while doing so. He's followed  by Reed, Ein and Reuben who all shift out of the underground bunker.
Elsewhere at the plantation home of Historian Badr Iskandar, a heavy rainstorm continues to drop inches of water on the surrounding area. Rain drops fill the Monde River located behind Iskandar's home. The storm is expected to last well into the night but Iskandar isn't bothered by the wet weather. 
Sitting in a chair in one of many rooms, Iskandar enjoys the company of a thick novel based on a war fought long ago in the country that's now known as China. Iskandar's cat, Mr. Pickles, sits at the very top of a bookshelf in the room. The sound of rain drops falling on the roof has put the cat to sleep.
As Iskandar turns the page of the novel his reading is interrupted by a knock on his front door. "Who could that be?" he wonders aloud. He places a page marker in the novel before getting up to answer the door. The impatient person knocks on the door for a second time before Iskandar can reach it. 
   "I'm coming," Iskandar announces, taking his time down the stairs.
He looks through the door's peephole to see who's on the otherside. It's someone he recognises so Iskandar is happy to unlock the door. On his porch stands Diana, soaking wet from head to toe. Iskandar hurries her inside.
    "Come in. Come in."
    "I'm sorry to drop by like this unannounced," a shivering Diana says.
    "It's no problem at all. My word, you're drenched. Come, sit in the kitchen while I find you a warm blanket."
Iskandar leads Diana into the kitchen where she sits at the tableclothed covered table. Iskandar leaves the room for a short time and returns with a heavy quilt. He places it over Diana's shoulders and helps her wrap it around herself.
    "Thank you," Diana says.
    "You're very welcome. Would you like a hot cup of tea?"
    "No I'm fine, thanks."
    "Where is Nileas? Is he coming too?"
    "No, he's not."
    "Oh?"
     "I came here to get away from him, from everything. Could I stay here? Just for a little while?"
     "Of course you can. Any friend of Nileas is more than welcomed in my home.There are some dry clothes upstairs and plenty of rooms for you to choose from. Just give me a minute to tiddy one up a bit."
    "You don't have to make a fuss over me. I'll sleep on the couch while I'm here."
    "Nonsense. Couches are meant for sitting on not sleeping. Besides there are many empty rooms upstairs just waiting for company."
    "Help yourself to anything you want if you're hungry. I'll let you know when your room is ready," Iskandar tells Diana as he walks up the stairs. 
Diana sits quietly at the kitchen table, listening to the old wood floor squeak under the weight of Iskandar's feet as he walks around upstairs. She pulls the quilt tightly, wrapping it around her wet clothes. Staring out one of the windows, Diana can only wonder what's happening to Reed right now.Will she ever see him again?
Somewhere along the Southern Hemisphere, at that exact moment, Reed is following Kessler to a hidden lair located deep within the Rainforest. Humans rarely travel to this part of the jungle. Those that do never return. Their disappearances are usually blamed on the jungle's natural predators. However, an unnatural maneater has taken a liking to this area; a demonic one.
The Pandora's journey ends at a huge pond. In the center of it a naked pale skinned woman appears to be standing in the murky water. Only the upper half of her body is out of the water. Her breasts are covered by her long green hair which extends well into the water. The woman is what Kessler calls an Anarchy Demon; a powerful mid-level demon named Priscilla.
   "This is the demon?" Reed asks.
   "She's tougher than she looks," says Kessler.
Kessler hands Reed a greatsword with a ten inch long blade made from fine, hammered steel. The handle of the medieval weapon is forged in the shape of lion's head, with the blade extending from its mouth.
    "Her soul should grant you with an incredible power," Kessler says, as Reed takes the weapon from him, "Just be sure to take it from her before you kill her."
With her arms extended to the side, Priscilla slowly walks through the water. She's humming to herself, seemingly unaware of the Pandora that have arrived to slay her. When Reed steps into the pond the disturbance in the water gives him away. Priscilla stops what she's doing then turns around to see Reed behind her near the bank of the pond.
   "You must be lost," she says with a smile.
   "Not really."
   "Well, then you must be here to keep me company," she says, opening her arms to Reed, "It's been ages since I've had a..visitor. Come closer, handsome."
Priscilla raises a scaly bridge out of the water for Reed to walk on. She smiles tantalizingly as Reed approaches her, swaying her body left and right. 
Once Reed is within her reach Priscilla runs her cold waterlogged hands along his chest. As a demon that feeds on humans Priscilla thinks she has found another easy meal but unbeknownst to her, Reed has other plans. 
He grabs her by the hair then forces his mouth over hers, draining the demon of her soul. Priscilla's eyes are wide open; she realises that the man sucking the life out of her is nothing to play with. That's when the bridge under Reed's feet collapses and he plunges into the water.
   "Pandora!!" Priscilla screams, wiping her mouth with her arms.
The angry demon rises out of the water revealing the second half of her body. From the waist down Priscilla's body is in the form of a Hydra. Eight huge reptilian heads burst out of the water, each with a mouth full of huge, deadly fangs.
   "I don't know how your kind walk the Earth again but I'll make you regret attacking me!" 
Priscilla directs four of the heads into the water where Reed fell into. She soon screams in pain when two of the reptiles resurface, headless. The key to weakening this demon is by cutting of the eigth heads. Reed jumps out of the water holding a bloody sword, ready to attack Priscilla. Another head spits water missles at Reed while a second one breathes large chunks of ice at the Pandora.While in the air Reed deflects the attacks with his weapon.
Priscilla continues to put pressure on Reed with one assault after another, making sure he keeps his distance. From the jungle Reuben, Kessler and Ein watch the fight closely. If Reuben's Convert is to prove himself Reed has to defeat the Anarchy Demon alone.
Three of the serpent heads lunge at Reed at once, an attack easily dodged. Reed then lands on the neck of one of them and runs down it straight for Priscilla. Another serpant head appears in his way, breathing fire at the Pandora. Reed runs through the flames unscathed, severing the serpant's head. Reed then leaps into the air with the blade of his sword aimed directly at Priscilla.
His attack falls short when a serpant grabs him from behind. The beast sinks its sharp fangs into Reeds back with no intention of letting go. Another one wraps its body around Reed's and digs its fangs into his chest. If he were still a mortal Reed would have died instantly but as a Pandora the venom from the hydra's fangs have no effect on him.
Priscilla cackles at the ensnared Pandora, believing she has the upperhand. Reed soon proves her wrong when he rips the head of the serpant locked onto his chest clean off with his bare hands. He then reaches behind himself and grabs the mouth of the serpant on his back. With one powerful move Reed tears the serpant's mouth apart.
Priscilla feels the pain of each head that Reed has destroyed.When Reed dives back into the water to retrieve his weapon the ice breathing head freezes the surface of the pond with a thick layer of ice. The injured Anarchy Demon is not willing to wait around to see if Reed survived being frozen. She slides through the surrounding jungle as fast as she can but she doesn't get very far.
Reed shifts in front of the surprised demon, impaling his sword through her stomach. Dark yellow vital fluids ooze from her mouth and her wound as Reed drives his weapon into Priscilla's body. The Pandora then proceeds to consume the Anarchy Demon's soul. Once he's done Priscilla's limp body falls to the ground, crystallizing then shattering into millions of pieces.
Upon taking Priscilla's soul a large flash of energy emits from Reed's eyes and mouth. The Pandora has been empowered by the soul. He's now much stronger than he was before.
    "Looks like he passed your test Kessler," Reuben boasts.
    "Be that as it may, I'm still not comfortable with the idea of using humans to fight our battles," Kessler responds.
    "I don't hear you coming up with any better ideas," Reuben says.
    "What we should be doing is hunting down and slaying as many demons as we can find. Their souls will grant us with the power we need to defeat thousands of their kind."
     "Going around killing demons will only draw attention to ourselves," Ein says, "Using Converts is our best option at the moment. Now, allow me to gather some resources so we can secure enough structures to begin mass producing these new Pandora." 

************

As dawn turns to dusk the rain continues to pour at Iskandar's manor. The occasional rumble of thunder and flashes of lightning has rattled Mr. Pickles' nerves. The restless cat roams the halls until Iskandar calls him into his room. Mr. Pickles runs inside, seeking shelter under his owner's kingsized bed. Seconds later a bright flash of lightning strikes somewhere in the nearby forest, knocking out the electricity.
   "Oh dear.There goes the power," Iskandar states.
The old man carefully traverses the pitch black hallway until he arrives at its end. There he opens a closet door, feeling around for a kerosene lantern and a book of matches. He places the lantern on the floor, strikes a match and lights the wick. Iskandar carries the lantern to Diana's room which is two doors down.
    "Miss Young?" he calls, knocking on her door, "I'm sorry to disturb you but the power has gone out. I have a lantern for your room if you need it."
    "Just a second," Diana says.
She stumbles in the dark in the unfamiliar room before she's able to reach the door. She closes her nightgown before opening it.
    "I'm terribly sorry for waking you," Iskandar apologizes, "You can have this lantern while I get more for the other rooms."
   "Thank you. Would you like me to help?"
   "That won't be necessary. Please, go back to bed."
   "I've got too much on my mind to sleep. Plus this storm is keeping me up anyway. Let me help you."
   "If you insist."
Holding the kerosene lamp Diana follows Iskandar to the closet where he grabs two more lamps. He places one on the dresser next to his bed then lights it. The second one he sets on the kitchen table.
    "I don't know about you but thunderstorms tend to give me the munchies," Iskandar says, lighting the lamp, "Would you like something to eat?"
    "No, thank you. I'm not hungry."
    "You haven't eaten a thing since you got here. Have a seat. I will fix you one of my favorite vegetarian sandwiches."
     "I-I guess I'll have a quick snack."
Lightning crashes over head as Diana and Iskandar sit at the kitchen table enjoying their midnight snack. Diana gobbles her sandwich down in a matter of minutes. She hadn't eaten anything in days. She had been too worried about Reed to put food in her stomach. Iskandar, on the other hand, has only eaten half of his sandwich .
    "Finished already? I thought you said you weren't hungry."
    "I didn't realise just how hungry I was until I bit into the sandwich you made. Are you sure there's no meat in this? It's really good."
    "No meat at all. Only fruits and vegetables. It's a family recipe. I could share it with you if you like."
    "That sounds nice."
    "If you don't mind me asking, why are you trying to avoid young Nileas?"
    "We....I'm not sure if I can trust him anymore."
    "What has happened?"
    "...Nothing. I really shouldn't get you involved in this."
    "Nileas is like a son to me. I think I'm already involved."
    "He did something I don't agree with. Something that has put the life of the man that I love in jeopardy. I don't think I can ever forgive him for it."
    "Oh? I'm sure young Nileas had good reasons for what he did. He's quite fond of you, you know."
    "He..told you this?"
Iskandar gets out of his seat, picks up his saucer which holds his half eaten sandwich and places it in the refrigerator. "It's not something he would admit but I've raised him long enough to know when he's been smitten."
Thanks to Iskandar Diana now realises he reason why Nileas chose her over Reed; it's because he's in love with her. She's been blind to it the entire few time that she's known him. Diana sits in her chair, wondering if she had been too hard on the young man for saving her life.
    "I'm going to get some sleep. Maybe the power will be back on in the morning," Iskandar says, walking out of the kitchen, "Oh, just put that saucer in the sink. I will clean everything tomorrow."
As the light from the lamp flickers Diana sits quietly in her chair; alone with her thoughts. Reed may be lost ot her because of Nileas but she knows now that Nileas' actions were out of his love for her. She wonders how she could have been so oblivious to Nileas' feelings all this time.
Meanwhile, perched on the roof of Einherjar Tech, Reuben Wolf scans the city streets 1576 feet below him. 
He's looking for an easy target to add to the dozens of humans he and Reed have already collected this night. He's soon joined by Kessler, shifting onto the roof besides him.
    "I've discovered an alternative to your method of Conversion, Reuben."
    "Always trying to one up me Kessler?"
    "If we use your way we'd run the risk of exhausting human souls. As I suggested to Father it would be better if we were to alter the subjects' soul; infuse it with one from a demon. A low level demon is good enough to use we just have to be careful not to arouse suspicion."
    "Have you tested this alternative of yours?"
    "Not yet but I do know of a powerful alchemist who can aid us."
     "If you and Father believe using an alchemist would be sufficient then I won't argue with you. It does take the fun out of a hands on approach, though."
     "I never imagined you and I would agree on anything."
     "Hell froze over last night," jokes Reuben, "It was all over the news. How could you have missed it?"
     "Well, I've got work to do," Kessler states, turning to walk away, "One more thing Reuben: Father wants you to Convert that boy you Conditioned in Greece. You can use your 'hands on' approach with him if you prefer."
Kessler shifts away, leaving Reuben to devise a plan on how he's going to capture Nileas. It doesn't take his deranged mind long to come up with an idea.
The following morning at an Acres internet cafe named Juste's, many different people enter the popular establishment but a tall red headed young woman with a hime cut hairstyle stands out in the crowd. She's dressed in a red long sleeves coat with black pants and black sheepskin high heel knee-high boots. Her name is Annabelle. Few know of her and even fewer know who she really is. 
Annabelle generously holds the door open for a small group of teens exiting the building. She then enters the cafe. She walks past a few vacant seats in the front of the cafe, settling for a cozy spot in the rear. She removes her dark shades and logs into her personal email account where one unread message awaits her.
The subject of the email reads BHM, an acronym for Blue Haired Men. The person who sent her the email is Nileas. She opens the message and reads its contents: "I think I may have messed up." The red read smirks. She types, "I think so too," as her response then  forwards her reply.
While waiting for new mail a waitress at the cafe walks over to her, asking if she would like to order something. Annabelle politely refuses. After the waitress leaves the read head returns to her email exchange; she has a new reply.
    "I thought locating Reed would be easy but I can't sense him anywhere in the state."
    "Then they've taken him elsewhere."
    "Reuben has been off the radar as well. So what now?"
    "You'll just have to wait until they make their move. I have to say though, the Caveat is not too enthused with how you handled your confrontation with the Pandora."
    "I did what I thought was right. I'd do it again too."
    "Don't let your emotions be your undoing, Nileas."
    "I need help finding Reed.Can the Caveat do anything or am I on my own?"
    "Meet me in outside in five minutes."
After concluding her email conversation the red head deletes the history from the computer she was using before leaving the cafe. Nileas, seated at the opposite end of the room, does the same, waiting five minutes before leaving the building.
When he steps outside the red head pulls up in a silver Porsche Carrera GT with its sun roof down. "Hop in," she tells Nileas. 
Once Nileas steps into the convertible the red head drives off. She speeds down the highway,swerving in and out of traffic.Annabelle doesn't believe in a slow commute. Her leadfoot prompts Nileas to strap on his seat belt, a move that Annabelle finds humorous.
The wild fifteen minute ride ends when the Porsche comes to a stop at the bank of the Monde River. There's noone around this portion of the river, making it the perfect area for Annabelle to share with Nileas news he doesn't want to hear.
    "Check the glove compartment," Annabelle tells Nileas.
Nileas does as he's told, pulling a brown 9x12 envelope from the compartment. Inside the envelope he finds satellite photos showing Reed's fight with the Anarchy Demon, Priscilla.
    "This is..?"
    "That's your friend, Reed Turner.They've turned him."
     "He..he has blue hair now..How is this possible?"
     "That's not all. He fed on the soul of that demon meaning he's extremely dangerous now, like the other Pandora who were watching the battle."
 Nileas looks over each of the nine photos carefully. He can't believe what he's seeing. He didn't expect the Pandora to change Reed so drastically.
    "Where were these photos taken?"
    "A short time ago in South America."
    "They've discovered a way to completely change a person into one of them. I can't believe this."
     "Believe it. Because if it worked on him it'll work on every other human they get their hands on. The stakes have been raised Nileas."
     "You said other Pandora were around when this happened? Was one of them Reuben?"
     "I couldn't tell you. They were hidden in the jungle.We were only able to identify them by their tell tale heat signitures."
     "There has to be a way to change Reed back."
     "Don't be naive. He's one of them now.You can see that for yourself."
     "If I give up on him then Diana will never forgive me. It's my fault he's like this."
Nileas steps out of the car and begins to walk toward the river. He's clearly upset by what has happened to Reed. Annabelle pops the trunk of the automobile then exits it. She walks to the trunk and opens it. She pulls out a metal sword case that's decorated with Japanese related art and symbols.
     "Nileas."
     "What?"
     "These are for you."
Carrying the case, Annabelle walks up to Nileas and places it on the ground next to him. She opens it to show him a pair of Samurai swords. The 27 inch blades each have a different colored Tsuka ( handle ); one gold the other black. The gold handled katana has an eagle shaped Tsuba ( hand guard ) while the black one has a Tsuba crafted in the form of a dragon.
    "These were forged by one of our blacksmiths with a different type of metal."
    "I couldn't even land a hit on Reuben during our last fight. New weapons aren't going to help me against a Pandora. I need more training."
    "I've taught you all that I know."
    "Obviously that wasn't enough."
Annoyed by Nileas' negativity Annabelle kicks him off his feet, causing him to fall on his back on the hard ground. Before he can get back up Annabelle forces him down with the heel of her boot. She points the sharp end of the golden handle katana dangerously close to his chest.
    "What happened to the young man who was screaming for revenge after a Pandora killed his family and forced him to feast on their souls?"
    "I still want to kill Reuben."
    "Do you? Do you really? Because right now all I see is a whining, love sick little boy who will end up either dead or a mindless Pandora wannabe like Reed Turner."
    "That's no going to happen to me."
    "Which one? Death or becoming Reuben's bitch?"
    "Neither! Now get off of me!"
    "Y'know, the Caveat sent me here to help you but if you're going to continue behaving this way..."
    "I said get off me Annabelle!" 
Annabelle removes her boot and the blade from Nileas' chest, allowing him to get up off the ground. She offers Nileas a hand but he refuses to take it. He stands on his own two feet without any help.
   "A Pandora killed my family, ruined the lives of the people close to me and I end up collaborating with a demon to bring them down..."
  "You know what they say: The enemy of my enemy..."
  "So, I'm guessing you have some idea of where we're going to find Reuben?"
  "I don't know where he is now but I'm pretty sure you know where he'll be later."
  "I do?"
  "Yes. You do," Annabelle says, walking back to her car twisting her hips.
Annabelle's answer has left Nileas with a confused look on his face. How would he know where Reueben will be? he thinks to himself. Then he realises Annabelle may be referring to Diana. She could be Reuben's next target. He picks up the sword case and rushes to catch up with Annabelle who is now seated in the Porsche, ready to go.

************

The overnight thunderstorm at Badr Iskandar's home has given way to partly cloudy skies the following morning. The electricity returned before sunrise while Diana and Iskandar were asleep. The light of the sun revealed downed tree branches and leaves that litter the green lawn surrounding Iskandar's home. He and Diana spent the early hours of the day clearing them up. 
Even Mr. Pickles pitched in to help. 
The feline picked up a small branch with his mouth and carried it to the pile where his owner had placed the bigger tree limbs. Diana found the cat's actions adorable and rewarded him with the attention of a few loving pats on the head.
Once they were done outside Iskandar prepares to make a short trip down the river where he plans to ride a Water Taxi into town. Diana heads to the upstairs portion of Iskandar's home to read up on the Pandora.
With no job or home to return to Diana has more time to research the blue haired men that have played a role in her life since she was a child. She's looking for anything that will help her locate the man she loves. 
Diana picks up the scrap book Iskandar had showed her the first time she was here with Nileas. She places it on a table then removes her cellphone from her back pocket. For a brief moment she contemplates checking her messages or even calling Nileas but she doesn't. She lays the phone on the table and sits in a chair, ready to take a closer look at the details found in the scrap book. 
Before she can begin Iskandar calls for her from downstairs.
    "Miss Young? Are you upstairs?"
    "Yes and, please, call me Diana. Do you need something?"
    "No, no. I'm about to walk down the river to the Water Taxi. I'll be in town for a few hours. Could you feed Mr. Pickles his lunch if I'm not back before noon?"
    "Of course."
     "Thank you, Miss Young."
     "Diana."
     "Oh, that's right. I have his piece of salmon already diced in the refrigerator."
     "Okay. Have a good time in town."
     "I should return shortly."
From upstairs Diana can hear Iskandar exit the house through the squeaky back door. She walks over to one of the two windows in the room to watch the old man, leisurely walking down a gravel path to his destination. She then returns to the scrap book. 
Even though she has looked through it once before the former detective is hoping to uncover something, anything that will help her locate Reed. She comes across a page that has a photo of an Egyptian hieroglyph taped to it. According to the cursive writing found under the picture the hieroglyph was found fifty years ago in an unmarked tomb by European archaeologists.
It depicts Egyptian soldiers who look to have fallen to a  long haired Pandora.On the back side of the page a second photo of a hieroglyph has been taped down.This one shows two Pandora standing over the same fallen soldiers, only this time a shorter haired Pandora seems to be challenging the one from the previous photo.
Diana grabs her cellphone and snaps a picture of both pages. Flipping through the book, she continues to take pictures of what she finds.Suddenly, a small gust of wind blows in the room. Diana brushes it off  for a moment until she remembers that all of the windows in the room are down.
   "An interesting book you have there," a familiar voice says from behind her. Diana recognises the voice immediately; it's Reuben Wolf.
    "Do you enjoy making my life miserable?" she asks without turing around.
    "Actually I do."
    "Well I'm not going to let you control my life any--!" Diana begins,standing up from her seat, turning to face the Pandora. That's when she sees both Reuben and Reed standing across the room from her. Diana's shocked by Reed's new look.
    "Reed??"
    "Do you know this woman Reed?" Reuben asks.
    "Should I?"
    "No. You shouldn't."
    "Wh-why is his hair like that? What have you done?!"
    "Not a thing. Reed has always been this way."
    "No he hasn't and you know it!"
Reuben smiles as he walks over to Diana, who puts some distance between herself and him. He picks up the scrap book and flips through it. As he does so Diana takes a long, hard look at Reed. Reed looks back at her with an emotionless expression. She's looking at him thinking how this isn't the man she remembers; the man who proposed to her years ago; the father that would do anything for his child.
   "Where'd you get this?" Reuben asks, referring to the scrap book.
   "Why'd you do this to Reed?? Wasn't it enough that you killed his little girl?!"
   "I ask the questions here. Now tell me where you found this."
Diana doesn't answer Reuben. She runs out of the room, down the stairs and torward the front door. When she reaches for the brass door handle Reuben shifts infront of her, still holding the book. He grabs Diana by the neck and lifts her off the floor with one hand.
   "Just because Nileas owns your soul doesn't mean I can't take it from you."
Reuben throws Diana to the floor before calling for Reed who instantly shifts into the room after being summoned. "Remove her soul from her body," Reuben orders. Diana hurries back on her feet as Reed approaches her. She picks up a nearby cast iron fireplace poker to defend herself against the Pandora.
   "Reed! Stop! It's me, Diana! Don't you remember???"
Although she has the poker pointed at Reed, Diana can't bring herself to use it. Her hands tremple as Reed walks up to her. Before she knows it he has grabbed her by the jaw and forced her back up against the wall. She squirms to break free but Reed is too strong, much stronger than he was before.
    "This won't hurt a bit," he assures the terrified former detective.
    "Reed, you don't want to do this.You can't..!"
Diana's words are cut off when Reed places his mouth on hers. 
At this moment numerous thoughts race through Diana's mind. She witnessed Reuben kill her mother and a reporter this way. She never thought she'd share the same fate at the hands of the man she loves. 
She breathes heavily, feeling the life being sucked out of her. She wishes she had more time to talk to Reed; to try and change him back. But as she begins to close her eyes she knows her time is up. 
Suddenly, like a cannonball fired from a cannon Nileas bursts through the front wall of the house from outside, grabbing Reed and continuing to fly through the house until they both crash through the back wall. Diana falls to the floor coughing. If Nileas was a second late Diana would be dead right now.
Upon Nileas' arrival, Reuben sets the scrap book he had been browsing through on fire with just a thought. He tosses it aside and shifts out of the room.
The book lands too close to the cream colored linen window curtains in the living room. Diana knows that if they were to catch fire it wouldn't be long before the old plantation house is engulfed in flames. She staggers to her feet, light headed from Reed's attempt to take her life, and kicks the book away from the curtains.
While outside Reed and Nileas tumble five feet down the Monde River embankment that's located behind Iskandar's home. They come to a stop on the water's edge. Nileas is the first on his feet in the ankle deep segment of the clear water river. He unsheathes his dual katanas from their Scabbards strapped securely on his back.
   "You're not a Pandora Reed," Nileas says, standing ready for a fight, "You've been brainwashed. You need to fight what they've done to you."
   "You have no idea what I need to do."
Reuben soon shifts onto the scene with a weapon for Reed. It's the same sword Reed used on the Anarchy Demon in South America. 
   "It's about time you showed up Nileas," Reuben says, handing Reed the sword, "I knew you weren't going to resist saving the life of that woman. That makes three times that you've come to her rescue, doesn't it? I doubt she knows what it means for a Pandora to save a human, even a Conditioned one."
   "Maybe for you Reuben. But I don't choose to protect humanity for ownership of their souls."
   "You keep telling yourself that."
On the roof of Iskandar's home, out of view from those on the ground, Annabelle has ditched her casual waredrobe for a leather red body suit that's unzipped in the front, revealing her cleavage. Through her dark shades the demon keeps a close eye on the situation below her with the help of the scope located on her Dragunov SVD sniper rifle. 
This human designed weapon has been modified by the demons with special bullets created for the specific purpose of wounding a Pandora. She has Reuben Wolf in her crosshairs with her finger is on the trigger.
Inside the house Diana has managed to put out the fire but the scrap book has been burned severely. Still woozy, she stumbles her way to the hole in the wall that Nileas and Reed caused when they exited Iskandar's home. She can hear voices coming from the river but she's unable to see anyone from her vantage point. 
Struggling to stand, Diana soon falls to her hands and knees. She crawls to the edge of the embankment wher she can clearly see Nileas preparing to battle both Reed and Reuben alone.
   "In any case, Reed and I are here to take you back with us and we won't not taking 'no' for an answer."
Before he can make his next move a flash of light seen in the river catches Reuben's attention. The sun has appeared from behind the clouds, reflecting off Annabelle's sniper rifle seconds before she pulls the trigger.The sound of the gunshot piercing through the air from above startles Diana.
Reuben shifted out of the bullet's path before it could hit him. Annabelle knows she may have just missed her only opportunity to take Reuben down the easy way. She quickly drops her gun then backflips out of the path of Reuben as he makes a hard landing where she was once positioned, destroying her rifle in the process.
   "A demon? Working for the humans?" Reuben observes.
   "Whatever it takes to bring you down Pandora."
Annabelle doesn't wait for Reuben to make his move. The demon quickly closes the distance between them, jumping into the air and executing a tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown on the Pandora. This move is common in wrestling, a sport Annabelle enjoys to watch on her free time. Annabelle follows up her assault with a quick high kick.
Her left leg passes over Reuben's head, as the Pandora ducks under the attack. Annabelle then launches a spinning kick with her right leg. Reuben is able to deflect her leg with his left hand. He thrusts his other hand forward with unprecedented force, creating a shockwave of air that knocks his opponent off of her feet.
Seconds before she would hit the ground Reuben moves at the speed of light to inflict another attack on the demon while she's still in midair. He jumps into the air and plants both his feet on Annabelle's stomach, forcing her through the roof and the second floor of the house. The two land on the tiled kitchen floor of the house. Reuben applies all of his body weight on Annabelle who finds herself sandwiched between a Pandora and the hard floor.
Diana hears the impact of the two inside the house but she doesn't bother to investigate. She keeps her attention on Nileas and Reed who have begun their sword battle in the river. The two are moving at unhuman speeds, making it nearly impossible for Diana to keep track of them.
Reed's large sword makes his movements slower than Nileas', who's able to parry or dodge his strikes. 
It's obvious that Nileas doesn't want to hurt Reed. Every chance he gets to land a direct hit on the Pandora with the sharp edge of his katanas Nileas deliberately holds back. It's not long before Reed takes advantage of his hesitation.
Reed drags his sword behind him through the river, cutting a path in the water. He swings it up at an angle in Nileas' direction. Nileas raises his katanas to deflect the attack, exposing himself for Reed's next move. Reed spins around and fires a water based projectile from his hands that hits Nileas in the chest. The power of the attack knocks Nileas several yards back. Now on his back, Nileas only has seconds to react as Reed jumps toward him with his weapon.
With no time to spare Nileas rolls out of the path of Reed's attempt to impale him with his sword. Reed's sword digs deep into the ground where Nileas once was. Dripping wet, Nileas returns to his feet as Reed yanks his sword out of the water.
   "Did you gain that water attack from the demon you slayed in South America?" Nileas asks.
   "I don't know how you found out about that, but yes. Consuming that demon's soul gave me the ability to manipulate water."
Reed stands in the river with his hands extended to the side. He's raising the water to his hands, commanding it to swirl around and up his arms with just a thought. 
    "I haven't had a chance to play with my new skill since I aquired it. I'm more than willing to test it out on you." 
Reed's new found ability shocks Diana. Seeing this diminishes what little hope she had of ever returning Reed to his former self. From inside the house the sound of dishes breaking can be heard from outside but Diana continues to ignore the noise.
Reuben throws Annabelle against a wall where cooking utensils hang. She bounces off of the wall and lands on the floor, feet first. With Reuben closing in for another attack, Annabelle hits the Pandora in the jaw with a strong backflip kick. Reuben's body floats backward through a wall, coming to a stop on the floor of the living room. He's able to take control of his fall and land safely on the floor.
Annabelle charges out of the kitchen ready to go on the offensive. She lashes out Reuben with a barrage of lightning fast palm strikes. A few of her attacks hit their mark, hitting the Pandora hard in his chest and face. However, it's not long before Reuben is able to track her attacks and predict her next move.
He catches her hand and throws her on the floor. Upon hitting the floor Annabelle instantly vanishes into a puff of white smoke. The smoke trails splits into two opposite directions around Reuben. Soon the smoke takes the form of two indenitcal Annabelles.
Duplicating herself is Annabelle's demonic trait. She can create as many body doubles needed to get the job done. It's also an ability that any Pandora that feeds on her soul will be capable of utilizing. The thought of gaining this type of ability entices Reuben. 
    "I'm going to enjoy devouring your soul demon wench," the Pandora smirks.
Neither of the two Annabelles respond to Reuben. They simultaneously begin their advance, each attacking the Pandora with a different move. Reuben is able to hold his ground against the twins by blocking and deflecting. He soon goes on the offensive by surrounding himself with a powerful dome of air that knocks everything within range yards away from him, including the twins.
One Annabelle is sent flying through the wall of the home by the invisible blast. When she lands uncontrollably on the front lawn outside the Annabelle instantly splits into a third multiple. The two quickly return to their feet, preparing to rush back inside. Before they can do so Reuben throws the other Annabelle outside into one of her multiples, causing the two to become one again.
Afterwards the entire front portion of Iskandar's home is blown apart. Pieces of wood, windows and the front door are all sent flying in every direction. The person responsible for the destruction walks out of what's left of the plantation house as it falls apart around him. Reuben's eyes have turned entirely white, including his pupils and iris. Electric waves of energy flicker around his body causing his hair to flow as if he were standing in a wind storm. The Pandora has tapped into the type of power he only reserves for a demonic enemy like Annabelle.
While at the same time Reed's and Nileas' battle in the river presses on. Like Reuben, Reed has taken the fight to the next level with his liquid based attacks. With the water around him at his command, Reed has created a lenghty whip and uses it as a dangerous weapon against Nileas. The water whip gives the Pandora a long range attack. Nileas is having a difficult time closing the gap between them. Observing the fight from the top of the embankment, Diana yells out a piece of helpful advice to Nileas.
    "Get him out of the water!" 
    "Why didn't I think of that?" Nileas thinks to himself. 
Armed with his katanas Nileas prepares to act as Diana suggested. He charges at Reed head on, fully anticipating the Converted Pandora to use his water whip against him. As expected, Reed cracks his whip at Nileas, attempting to wrap it around his neck. Nileas cuts through the water whip with razor sharp precision.
Realising Nileas' strategy, Reed begins to shift out of his path but it's too late. Nileas grabs on to him by the collar of his denim duster and leaps into the air. With Reed in tow Nileas flies over Iskandar's home before landing in the surrounding forest a short distance away. Nileas holds Reed on the ground with the sharp edge of his katana centimeters away from is throat. Although he may have the upper hand for the moment, killing Reed isn't Nileas' intention.
    "Listen to me Reed. I don't want to hurt you. Reuben forced you to become a Pandora but it's up to you to fight for your humanity. If not for yourself then for Diana."
Reed looks Nileas in the eyes then he begins to laugh brazenly.
    "I don't care about Diana. I tried resisting what I've become until I realised it was a waste of time. I actually like being this way."
Reed's confession shocks Nileas. He had been under the assumption that Reed wasn't capable of controlling himself. That's obviously not the case. 
Reed grabs the blade of Nileas' sword, cutting his hand in the process. A pure Pandora doesn't bleed but a Converted one does. Blood flows from Reed's hand and down his wrist as he pushes Nileas' weapon away from his neck.
Nileas jumps back from Reed, allowing the Pandora to get up off of the ground. Dark red blood drips from Reed's hand but he feels no pain. The wound has already begun to heal. 
   "Reuben wants to Convert you but I'm not here to bring you back with us,"Reed explains, "Once I kill you Diana's soul will be free for the taking, and I do plan on taking it."
   "I don't believe that. There has to be some part of Reed Turner left to save in that body. If you can bleed then you're more human than you think."
   "You're entitled to believe what you want but prepare for a rude awakening."
 Close by Diana stays out of sight behind an oak tree. After overhearing most of Reed's and Nileas' conversation a terrible feeling of despair overwhelms her. 
Could Reed really be lost to her? What did he mean when he said her soul belonged to Nileas? Reuben had told her the exact same thing earlier. So many unanswered questions crowd her mind but can she bare the answers?
The battle between these four supernatural beings can be seen from the skies above. Located in Earth's uppermost atmosphere a private observation satellite records every minute of the fight. Every second the satellite captures still images of the Pandora and the only demon in the area, instantly transmitting them back to a computer network located in an unknown area in Australia.
Seated in a dark room surrounded by monitors displaying the satellite images of the Pandora is the leader of the demonic group called Caveat. This is the sect of female demons that Annabelle belongs to. The leader of this group is a silver haired demon named Jezebeth.
Her bare legs are exposed by the lenghty slit in her long, dark red 13th century dress when she crosses her right leg over her left. Her eyes are focused on the Pandora seen in the footage. The demons once thought they had witnessed the last of this race of blue haired men over a millenia ago during a bloody war between the two beings; a war Jezebeth was on the frontlines of. 
Now that the Pandora have resurfaced Jezebeth is certain that a new conflict between the two species is on the horizon.

************
Just over two and a half years ago one quiet Summer evening in Acres, Missouri, Diana Young and Reed Turner were enjoying each other's company at their favorite Italian restaurant, Durante's. Dressed formally for the dinner, Diana had her long, light colored brown hair styled in a casual updo. Her halted neck lenghty black dress was an eye catcher at the time. For the night out, Reed chose to keep it simple by wearing a dark brown dinner jacket, white button down shirt and dark brown dress pants to match his short, wavy hair.
After finishing their main course for the night it's now time for dessert. On previous occasions the couple had stuck to their usual dessert selection but tonight Diana is hoping to delay an inevitable discussion concerning Reed's recent marriage proposal by taking her time to look over the menu. Her tactics only work for so long. Reed swirls the beverage in his wine glass for a moment before asking the question Diana has been trying to avoid answering: 
   "So, have you given any thought to my proposal?"
   "Have you tried the Zabaglione yet? I hear it's pretty good."
   "Diana," Reed responds, impatiently.
   "...I told you. I need more time."
   "I've given you time. It's been almost three weeks since I asked you to marry me. I even showed you the ring."
   "Reed, you know I love you..but..I don't think you want to marry me for the right reasons. You want a mother for Molli. You want someone who is willing to put her life on hold to raise your daughter."
   "Is there something wrong with that? I make enough money to support us. You don't have to work."
   "But I want to. Being a detective is my life's dream Reed. I've worked hard to get where I am today. I'm not ready to drop everything I've accomplished over these years to be a full time mother."
   "I guess that's it.You don't want to marry me."
   "I do Reed. Just not right now. Please understand my position here."
   "I understand."
Disgruntled, Reed gets up from his seat, removes his wallet from his pants pocket and leaves the right amount of cash on the table to cover the price of their meal. Though he's not putting his anger in words, his body language makes it clear that he's not happy with Diana's decision.
   "Reed, I don't want you to be angry with me.."
   "You say that you love me but you can't commit to me. Why is that?"
   "Why does committing to you come with so many conditions Reed?" Diana asks, trying to avoid making a scene by keeping her voice low.
   "You know what? Forget it. Forget I ever proposed. Have a nice life Diana."
As Reed walks away from the table and out of the room Diana knows that she broke his heart. At the time she believed that there would be other chances for her and Reed to patch things up, even make a life together eventually but today Diana isn't sure what the future holds for her or the man she loves.
At present, it's ten minutes past noon on a Fall day in Missouri. The night she and Reed broke off their relationship is the farthest thing from Diana's mind right now. Over the past week Diana could do nothing as the life of the man she loves was destroyed by a supernatural race of blue haired men called Pandora.
His six year old daughter along with her grandparents all lost their lives at the hands of a Pandora named Reuben Wolf. To Convert Reed into one of them, Reuben fed him the souls of his dead family and those from many other innocent victims. Because of that the Reed Turner Diana remembers may be gone forever.
Reed and Diana's former partner Nileas (who was also unfortunate enough to fall prey to Rueben Wolf ) are locked in a deadly conflict where only one of them will walk away from. From a safe distance hidden behind an oak tree, Diana watches and listens as the two dual. Nileas has no other choice but to fight Reed. If he looses to him then Diana's soul will be free for the taking. In the past Diana had given Reed her body now ,as a Pandora, he wants her soul.
Thanks to the soul of an Anarchy Demon he willingly consumed a short time ago Reed has the ability to manipulate water. Utulizing the rain soaked ground they currently stand on, Reed is able to create as many water projectiles needed as offensives weapons against his katana armed rival. Despite Nileas' best effort to deflect the pencil sized projectiles a certain number of them inflict damage; ripping through Nileas' sleeves and skin.
To Nileas it feels as if he has just been stung by an angry wasp but it's going to take more than just water pellets to get the best of him. Still refusing to harm the Pandora Convert, Nileas resheaths his samurai swords securely on his back. He intends to beat some sense into Reed with his fists. 
Moments ago Historian Badr Iskandar stepped off of a River Taxi and is now on his way to the plantation house he's called home for over a decade. En route to his home Iskandar is greeted by his orange short haired cat, Mr. Pickles. 
The animal is running down the narrow, gravel path that leads to Iskandar's home as if it were being chased by a pack of dogs. The feline stops when he sees his owner just a few feet away from him. Once Iskandar calls for the cat, Mr. Pickles skips up to him, relieved to see the old man. Iskandar bends over to pick up his cat then holds him in his arms.
   "Why are you rushing down the road here, hm?" he asks, rubbing the cat on his head, "Did Diana forget to feed you? Come on. Let's get you some food."
As Iskandar proceeds up the hill to his manor, Mr. Pickles jumps out of his arms and runs back down the path in the opposite direction. Iskandar doesn't know what to make of his feline's behavior but he's not too concerned with the cat at the moment. The historian continues on his way. If Mister Pickles could talk he'd inform his owner of the dangers that awaits him up the road. Oblivious to the ongoing battle just up ahead, Iskandar continues on the path that will lead him home, or what's left of it. 
The old plantation house has seen better days. Reuben Wolf has nearly demolished the house in an effort to defeat his demonic adversary, Annabelle. During the early minutes of their fight Reuben was not taking the battle seriously. It wasn't until Annabelle stepped up her game by creating duplicates of herself did the blue haired man decide to take it up a notch. Unfortunately the demon is learning that even with her nine multiples constantly attacking Reuben, this fight is not in her favor.
None of her multiples are able to land a hit on the Pandora, who is swatting them away like pesky flies with his extremely powerful physical attacks. Annabelle knows she has to rethink her strategy, quickly, if she wants to survive this fight. With Reuben distracted by her clones the real Annabelle slips away into the surrounding forest. 
She has precious few moments before Reuben defeats all of her clones; she has to move fast. Annabelle leaves her fight with Reuben to join Nileas who happens to be a short distance away. He and Reed are engaged in a fist fight over Diana's soul. Both Reed and Nileas has been altered by the Pandora but Reed's tranformation is more advanced, giving him the advantage over Nileas in both speed and strength. This is demonstrated when Reed easily catches Nileas' right leg after his kick fails to connect.
Holding Nileas by his leg under his left arm, Reed uses his right hand to unleashes a water based attack that impacts Nileas in the chest, knocking him several feet back. Reed then shifts to catch Nileas seconds before he hits the ground. He grabs him in the face, wrapping the fingers of his right hand around Nileas' face then he slams his head to the ground. The force of this attack creates a crater in the ground where Nileas head was slammed down with ruthless force.
Reed continues his assault by repeatedly slamming Nileas' head on to the ground. Reed's brutality towards Nileas is more than Diana can stand. She runs out of her hiding spot and tries to push Reed off of Nileas. 
"Stop it Reed!" she shouts, but without hesitation Reed slaps Diana to the ground with the back of his right hand; splitting her lip in the process. This is something Diana didn't expect. The Reed she once knew would never raise his hand at her. Then again, the Reed she knew before wasn't a soul sucking Pandora.
   "Reed, please, stop this!" Diana begs, wiping the blood from her mouth. "I know you're still in there somewhere. You have to be."
Reed has nothing to say to Diana. He turns his attention back to Nileas when suddenly Nileas grabs him by the neck with his right hand. As blood streams from his nose and down his face, Nileas pulls Reed's face closer to him. 
    "You don't want me to kill you, do you?" Nileas asks softly before pushing Reed away from him. "I think you'll be dead before me," Reed chuckles as he watches Nileas stagger to his feet.
Breathing heavily, Nileas wipes the blood from his nose with the sleeve of his shirt. He clushes his fists, realising he has no other option but to kill Reed, the man Diana loves. 
Nileas looks over at Diana who has distanced herself from the two. He looks into her concerned eyes for a few seconds then looks away.
    "I'm sorry, Diana," he says, reaching for his katanas.
    "..Nileas..don't. I can save him..."
    "This isn't Reed. Not anymore." 
Nileas slowly unsheaths both katanas and stands ready to use them again against Reed, despite Diana's objections. Reed smiles. He's eager to finish their fight because the sooner Nileas is dead the sooner he can take Diana's soul from her. For a Pandora a human's soul is tantamount to a hundred extra lives. Taking a soul from someone like Diana ( someone who has a strong connection with him ) would grant Reed ten times the normal amount of lives he'd gain from a random person.
Before Reed and Nileas can continue their fight to the death, Annabelle lands on the ground between them.
   "Nileas, get Diana and go," she orders, facing Reed.
   "Annabelle..what are you doing?"
   "Your pal Reuben is tougher then I expected. I may have to resort to Plan B."
   "What's that?"
Just before Annabelle can answer Nileas, Reuben tosses one of her multiples on the ground next to her. The multiple disappears into a plume of smoke upon impact. Diana takes cover behind a tree the moment Reuben arrives on the scene. 
With her attention focused on Reed and the others, Diana is oblivious to Iskandar approaching her from behind; not until he makes his presence known to her.
    "Diana?" Iskandar whispers, tapping Diana on her shoulder.
    "Iskandar? You scared me," a startled Diana responds.
    "I'm sorry. I was trying not to attract the attention of those blue hairs over there. This is exciting, isn't it? The Pandora are real."
    "Yes, they're real but they are evil and dangerous. You may want to get far away from here."
    "I will. I will but first I want to witness and document what they are capable of. I've been researching these phantoms for quite sometime. It thrills me to know that they are real beings."
    "You may find it exciting but I don't. These monsters have corrupted my friend, Reed. He tried to kill me earlier."
    "Hunh. I've not read anything suggesting they could do something like that. This is intriguing indeed."

Some yards away hidden from those in the general area, another Pandora has arrived but this one isn't here to challenge Nileas or Annabelle. He's here to kill Reuben. Kessler walks through the surrounding forest, making no sound as he steps on the dry, dead leaves that have fallen from the tall oak trees around him. 
Sending Reuben to capture Nileas was his idea, despite his claims that Ein Herjar ordered it. Kessler is no fan of Reuben; he has hated him for quite some time. His excuse for his animosity toward Reuben is his wild, uncontrollable behavior; traits Kessler claim are a threat to the survival of their race. That may be truth but it's not the real reason Kessler hates Reuben. Noone but the two of them really know why there is such tension between them.
Getting Reuben and his creations in one place at the same time is the ideal opportunity for Kessler to eradicate his problems. A dark mist begins to swirl around Kessler's right hand. This mist soon takes the form of a Kessler's favorite weapon of choice; a slender, black pistol that resembles a Beretta. One of the differences with this gun and the human one it's inspired by is the length of the barrel which extends five feet.
The long haired Pandora raises his weapon and takes aim at his target, Reuben Wolf. "If I say I'm sorry for this, Brother, then I'd be lying," he says to himself, as he prepares to pull the trigger.
Although he's preoccupied with Annabelle and Nileas, Reuben briefly senses another Pandora in the area however, he can't make out his identity. Kessler is masking his presence making his arrival nearly undetectable by his brethren or the demon.
  "Shall we end this?" Reed asks Reuben.
  "Not yet..." Reuben responds, attempting to 'lock on' to the other Pandora in the vicinity but it's too late. 
Without warning three shots are fired back-to-back from with in the forest. Within seconds the first plama bullet pierces through Reuben's chest from behind. The second one aimed for Nileas misses after Annabelle knocks him out of its path, taking the shot to her shoulder instead. Reed narrowly escape being shot in the head by the last bullet by shifting instantly after Reuben was hit.
Witnessing the events unfold both Diana and Iskandar are shocked by what just happened. After being shot by Kessler Reuben falls to his knees then to the ground. Reed shifts to where the shots originated but noone can be found; Kessler has escaped the scene unnoticed. 
Still on the ground with Annabelle on top of him, Nileas carefully moves the injured demon off of his body. Dark red blood is rushing from her wound.
   "Annabelle, are you all right?"
   "Unh! You clueless fool! Why didn't you move out of the way?!"
   "Out of the way of what?"
Nileas soon notices Reuben, who is lying face down and motionless on the ground. 
"What the hell happened?" Nileas asks. Diana slowly leaves her hiding spot to investigate. She approaches Reuben cautiously as she tries to determine if he's still alive. 
  "Diana, don't get too close to him," warns Nileas.
  "I-I think he's dead," Diana replies.
Suddenly, Reed shifts next to Reuben, startling Diana. He quietly stands over the fallen Pandora, looking down at him.
  "Which one of your demon friends is responsible for this Nileas?" he asks with an angry tone in his voice.
  "We can't kill your kind, remember?" Annabelle responds, putting preasure on her wound, "Only a Pandora can kill a Pandora. We can only wound and bind you."
   "Another Pandora..? But who would...?"
Before he can finish his thought Reed realises which Pandora would want Reuben dead; Kessler. Though his new life as a Pandora is still in its infancy, Kessler has never tried to hide his feelings toward Reuben whenever Reed was around. 
Reed kneels down and places his hand on Reuben's back. He's silently mourning Reuben's passing, something Diana just can't understand.
   "Are you really upset over this...this murderous bastard's death? Reed, he killed your daughter. Why can't you see what he's done to you?"
   "What Reuben has done... makes no difference now."
   "You can't believe that."
   "This conversation is over. Nileas, once the person responsible for Reuben's death pays for his treachery we'll finish what we started here." 
With nothing left to be said Reed shifts out of the area, taking Reuben's body with him.

					************

Half an hour has passed since Reed disappeared to parts unknown. Standing directly infront of his partially destroyed home Iskandar looks over the damage inflicted upon it. "I don't think my home insurance covers acts of Pandora," he jokes. Parts of the hundred year old house is still falling apart, long after the Pandora have gone.
Meanwhile, Diana hasn't left the wooded area where Reuben was shot dead. She sits alone on a fallen oaktree. Reed's transformation into a Pandora is hard for her to accept. His reaction to Reuben's death is even harder for her to comprehend. Perhaps Nileas was right. Perhaps Reed is gone for good.
Nileas soon walks up to her. He's hesitant to get too close to her but the feeling to comfort Diana overcomes him.
   "I wish there was something I could do to help Reed, Diana. Him being the way he is...it's because of me."
   "No, it's not Nileas. I know I blamed you before and I'm sorry for that. I know that there was nothing you could do to save him from Reuben," Diana sighs, dropping her head into her hands. "I can't believe this has happened. Everything feels like a bad dream that I can't wake up from."
   "Atleast Reuben is out of our hair," Annabelle states as she walks up behind Nileas. "I checked around. There's no sign of that other Pandora that killed Reuben."
   "I don't get it. Why would a Pandora do that to one of his own?" Diana asks.
   "Who can say? Whoever it was, he did try to take out Nileas and Reed too, so I don't know what's going on around here."
Diana sits up on the log and looks Annabelle up and down with her eyes. While this isn't the first time she has laid eyes on the sultry demon, this is the only time she's had a chance to get a good look at her attire. She doesn't think much of a woman that's dressed the way Annabelle is. On top of that she's a demon that's apparently close to Nileas. She doesn't like that either. 
   "Why are you associating with someone like her, Nileas?"
   "Someone like her?" an offended Annabelle asks.
   "You're a demon."
   "And you're an ungrateful bitch," Annabelle says sternly.
Before Diana and Annabelle's conversation escalates into a war of insults, Nileas interupts by first placing his hand on Annabelle's shoulder, then telling her to calm down. 
   "Settle down Anna."
   "When you're done talking to this..woman you and I need to have a serious talk about our next move Nileas."
   "I just need a minute to explain something to Diana."
   "Fine."
Annabelle glares at Diana before turning to walk away, her hips swaying with every step she takes. Annabelle's sexy posture would turn the heads of any man, save Nileas. Although Nileas pays Annabelle no mind as she leaves, Diana does. Shaking her head in disapproval Diana looks up at Nileas and asks him, "Is she your girlfriend?"
   "Annabelle? No. No, she's not," Nileas quickly responds. "She's...just someone I met a long time ago."
   "You're quite the man of secrets, Nileas."
   "Yeah well, speaking of secrets, there's something I need to tell you. You heard what Reed said earlier about me owning your soul?"
   "Reuben said something like that too."
   "Do..you remember the first day we met, in the river?"
   "How can I forget?"
   "I-I'm the reason why that boy fell into the water. I was expecting you to pass through the area on your morning jog. I knew you'd save the kid so I pushed him into the river."
   "Why would you do that? He could have drowned."
   "Because I needed to get to your soul before Reuben. I set it up so I would have to save you. By doing that I would be able to take ownership of your soul. It would be worthless to another Pandora."
   "And the only way they can get it is by killing you first....? That's what Reed meant?"
   "I know putting that boy's life in danger was wrong but I had to do it. I don't regret it."
   "Why are you telling me this now?"
   "Because I thought you needed to know how the Pandora operate."
After his confession Nileas turns and proceeds to walk away leaving Diana is at a lost for words. Whether she likes it or not the Pandora have played an intricate role in her life for over two decades now. Her mother and the man she adores were both taken from her by the same blue haired man. If the Pandora's goals were to ruin her life then they succeeded in doing so.
Diana wipes her hands over her face then runs them through her long hair, taking a deep breath.  The thought of giving up, letting the Pandora get away with what they've done, tempts her but as someone who once made it her life's work to bring criminals to justice, Diana is nowhere near ready to concede. It's time she fought for what's hers, starting with Reed. 
Nearby, Nileas and Annabelle are in the middle of a serious discussion concerning the events that unfolded today. 
  "The Caveat were paying close attention to what happened here today," Annabelle informs Nileas. "I can tell you right now that they are not happy." 
  "So what?"
  "So what? Need I remind you that these are extremely high ranking demons? If it wasn't for the two of us The Caveat would not think twice aboy destroying everything around us if it meant flushing out the Pandora."
  "If The Caveat is so powerful why can't they locate the Pandora themselves then deal with them?"
  "Are you giving up on me, Nileas? Reuben's dead so you think your part in this war is over, is that it?"
  "Like you said, Reuben is gone. The only reason I hooked up with you was so I could get strong enough to take him down. Now that he's dead, I don't see why I have to continue fighting these things."
  "Let me guess," Annabelle says, folding her arms across her chest in disagreement. "You plan on settling down with Diana and live happily ever after together? Spoiler alert: As long as the Pandora are around there is no happy ending; not for my kind and definitely not for Diana's."
Nileas looks away from Annabelle in the direction of where he left Diana as Annabelle continues to make her case. He knows the demon is right about the threat the Pandora pose to humans, he just doesn't want to face off against Reed again because the next time they cross paths one of them won't walk away. Killing Reed isn't something he's looking forward to.
    "...Do you know what I was going to do today if Reuben hadn't been killed?" Annabelle asks, getting in Nileas' face. "Plan B was me giving you my soul."
    "What?" Nileas asks, shocked.
    "You haven't fed on a soul from a demon. Mines would give you an edge against the Pandora."
    "It might also completely Convert me into one, Annabelle, just like Reed. Promise me that you'll never do that."
    "It takes a Pandora to kill a Pandora. If I have to sacrifice my life to make you stronger, then that's something I'm willing to do."
With that said Annabelle takes four steps back from Nileas, smiling while doing so. "You just promise me that when I do give you my soul you won't let it go to your head," she says. Annabelle then leaps into the air, flying through the tree tops before turning on a dime and flying away at a high rate of speed.

Sometime later on this snowy night in Tower Falls, Ontario, Einherjar Tech founder and Pandora/entrepreneur, Ein Herjar is the guest speaker at an extravagant black tie affair. At this dowtown location, a classy decorated ballroom is filled with Canada's brightest young men, women and members of the media. 
They have gathered together here tonight to meet one of the city's most affluent businessmen who is sharing his advice for others hoping to follow his example. Of course, no one in the room knows who Ein really is, outside of being one of the most admired, and riches men in the world. To continue with this facade Ein shares a fabricated speech about his life that motivates many in the audience:
 
     "...At a young age, growing up in an orphanage in Ontario, I was never told that my life on this world was important. I was just another abandoned soul who dreamed of a different world. A world where I could make a difference in someone's life; someone as misfortunate as I was. As I later discovered, dreams are the foundation of the future. Without them, without the desire to achieve them, Canada wouldn't be one of the world's leading economic super powers. The future of this great nation will soon be in the capable hands of many of you here today; our youth of tomorrow. As we move forward into the 22nd century it will be up to the millions of young people to continue dreaming and to continue making those dreams a reality. Canada and the rest of the world depends on you and your visions for tomorrow."

After concluding his inspiring speech, Ein receives a round of applause as he steps off of the speakers' podium. Over the next twenty minutes Ein mingles with the crowd, shaking the hands of his young admirers and is introduced to other well known philanthropists. Once he finds a moment alone a beautiful blonde haired woman dressed seductively walks over to him. She's holding two half filled champagne glasses; one for her and one for Ein.
   "Drink?" she asks, handing Ein one of the glasses.
   "Thank you," Ein responds, removing the glass from her hand. "I was just about to track down a waiter."
   "Looks like I came just in time. I'm Dawn. Dawn Foxx," she says, gestering to shake Ein's hand. But instead of shaking the young woman's hand Ein takes her hand and kisses it, causing Dawn to blush. This is the first time a man has greeted her in this fashion.
   "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Foxx."
   "Please, call me Dawn. I was really moved by your speech earlier. It inspired me to continue pursuing my passion of becoming a model."
   "I'm glad to hear that. Nothing pleases me more than knowing that I've made a positive impact on our future generation."
   "Oh, you don't know how-" Dawn begins before being interrupted by the ringing of Ein's cellphone.
Ein removes his phone from the inner pocket of his dress suit and checks the number. "Excuse me for just a moment," he tells Dawn before answering the phone. "Of course," says Dawn, leaving Ein alone to take his call.
    "I'm assuming this is important," he says.
    "Reuben's dead," Reed announces.
    "Are you sure?"
    "Come see for yourself."
Following Reed's call Ein calmly informs the organizers of the event that he has to depart. After leaving the premises Ein is driven back to EinHerjar Tech headquarters in a black limousine. When he arrives Ein takes the elevator to the seventh floor where he enters the conference room. Upon stepping inside the first thing Ein sees is Reuben's lifeless body located on the large oval table in the room. Reed stands at the head of the table where Ein is usually seated during meetings. Ein quickly closes the door behind himself.
   "What happened?" he asks.
   "Someone ambushed us while we were on a mission. Reuben was shot in the back."
   "By who?"
   "You tell me. Where's Kessler?"
   "You're accusing Kessler of this?"
   "Whoever killed Reuben targeted me as well. I can't say if it was Kessler for sure but I'm willing to bet it was him."
   "I haven't seen Kessler since we left South America. If he is responsible for this I'll find out."
   "You haven't seen him since South America? Are you sure?"
   "I'm certain of it. Why?"
   "Kessler is the reason why Reuben and I left to bring in Nileas. He claimed it was your idea."
   "I see..." Ein says, rubbing his goatee. "I'll get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, I suggest you let me handle Kessler."
   "If you say so," Reed says before shifting out of the room.
Ein stands over Reuben's dead body, taking a long look at the fallen Pandora. The last thing he wants to see is a Pandora dead at the hands of another. However, Ein isn't ready to bury Reuben just yet. 
   "Abraxas," he summons. Seconds later a younger Pandora with medium wavy blue hair dressed in dark clothes shifts into the conference room.With his back turned toward Abraxas Ein only has five words to say to him; "You know what to do."
Abraxas nods his head slightly in response. He then shifts away, taking Reuben's body with him. Unlike Reed who needed to be in physical contact with someone in order to teleport with them, Abraxas is able to transport Reuben's body without touching him. Now alone in the empty room, Ein contemplates what his next move will be regarding Kessler's apparent betrayal.

Around the same time in a large French renaissance castle located in a remote portion of Australia, Annabelle walks down a lenghty hallway within the compound. The castle itself is hidden deep in a thick forest where few dare travel. 
Annabelle's footsteps echo throughout the passageway as the demon continues on her way. This is the headquarters of the faction of female demons called The Caveat. For decades this group has called this portion of the country their home while the human race remained oblivious to their existence.
Just before Annabelle reaches a wooden double door where she is to have an audience with the head of The Caveat, one of her colleagues steps out of the door. This shapely, dark skinned demon with short silver hair closes the doors behind herself after exiting the room. Her name is Nevelyn, she has been awaiting Annabelle's arrival.
    "Welcome back Anna."
    "Thanks. Is Jezebeth inside?"
    "You just missed her. She was called away to a meeting with the other members of The Conclave."
    "When will she return?"
    "In a few hours perhaps.Your encounter with the Pandora today have given them much to discuss."
Nevelyn begins to walk down the same hallway Annabelle just traversed through. Annabelle turns around to follow her. Soon the two are walking together through the passage.
   "Have you any idea what they may be planning? What's our next move against the Pandora?" Annabelle asks.
   "We've uncovered what could be the headquarters of quite a few Pandora. Have you heard of Einherjar Tech?"
   "Can't say that I have."
   "It's a technology company based in Canada. A short time ago our satellites captured images of two Pandora hanging around on the roof of the building. This isn't the first time they have been spotted in the vicinity of Einherjar Tech."
Before reaching the end of the hallway Nevelyn stops and faces Anabelle.
    "The founder of Einherjar Tech doesn't appear to be a Pandora at first glance, but as you and I both know, looks can be very deceiving."
    "How many Pandora do you think may be in that building?" Annabelle asks.
    "Four at the least, including the new Convert."
    "Reed Turner?"
    "Yes."
Nevelyn pauses then looks down both ends of the hallway making certain that no one is within earshot of their conversation.
    "You didn't hear this from me, but the moment we find out that Einherjar is a Pandora nest, The Caveat is prepared to take initiative. I'm only telling you this because I know how you feel about protecting humans. An attack on this corporation will lead to a lot of dead civilians." 
    "But no dead Pandora."
    "If we can do enough damage to them we'll be able to swoop in and restrain them with the Five Chains. That's the plan anyway."
    "Thanks for sharing it with me Nevelyn," Annabelle says, walking away.
    "Where are you going?"
    "I've got my own plan for the Pandora."
Nevelyn watches Annabelle as she continues on her way. She can't help but wonder what Annabelle has in mind, however, she doesn't bother asking. She can only hope that whatever Annabelle may be planning doesn't put her at odds with The Caveat.

					************

Over 35,000 kilometers above Earth, a reconnaissance satellite owned by The Caveat is fixed on a man made structure located in the Canadian Rockies. As the satellite zooms in closer and closer,  Kessler can be seen standing in one of the many entrances to the stone temple carved out of Mount Columbia, the second highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.
This is where the Pandora is keeping hundreds of humans in captivity while they are underoing the lenghty process of becoming Pandora Converts. This method of transforming human males into Pandora was conceived by Reuben Wolf. It's a slow process but by recruiting a Pandora that specialises in a form of Soul Alchemy that deals with the manipulation of multiple human and demon souls at a time, creating an army of Converts has become a speedier task. 
As Kessler marvels at the beauty of the snow covered mountain range, the advent of Ein's arrival doesn't go unnoticed.
    "I was expecting you to find me much sooner," Kessler tells Ein.
    "Is it true?" he asks, stepping out of the shadows.
    "If you're asking if I'm the one who killed Reuben, then yes, it's true," Kessler responds with his back turned toward Ein.
    "You're not even going to deny it?"
    "There's no point in denying it."
    "I told you that killing Reuben would not benefit our goals."
    "And I told you that he was a liability and a threat to all we've accomplished!" Kessler states, turing around to face Ein. "Thanks to him the demons have become aware of reemergence."
    "How can you be certain of that?"
    "There was a demon fighting alongside Reuben's Conditioned Pandora. She's well aware of our existence thanks to him."
    "Our numbers are few, Kessler, and killing Reuben won't raise our odds against the demons." Ein says, firmly.
    "We don't need him. In a matter of days we will increase our ranks with dozens of Converted Pandora." 
Kessler starts to walk away from Ein who is stunned by his arrogance. Before allowing him to leave Ein has one last question for Kessler.
   "You and I both know that Reuben's antics isn't the source of your quarrel. How long are you going to hold the past against him?"  Kessler stops long enough to address Ein's comment saying only, "Trust me Father. We're better off without Reuben."
Ein isn't convinced by Kessler's reasoning yet he's unwilling to punish him for what he considers an act of treason. For what he's done Ein would have little difficulty cutting Kessler down where he stands. Instead Ein decides to allow the over confident Pandora to live.

It has now been just over thirty-six hours since Reuben was struck down by Kessler's plasma bullet. There have been no signs of Pandora activity; no leads on where Reed Turner has gone. With his plantation home in ruin, Iskandar and Mr. Pickles have relocated to a mansion he owns in a rural area just outside of Acres, Missouri. 
The historian invited Diana and Nileas to move in with him but both declined his offer. Diana realised that she put Iskandar's life in danger by staying with him before. She doesn't want to repeat that mistake again. Hoping to get her life back on track, Diana withdraws her savings from her bank account ( $1,780 total ) and moved in to an affordable motel room. With no source of income she knows it won't be long before her funds are depleted, yet finding a job isn't her top priority; locating Reed is.
As Diana lies on her single size bed she stares at the paint peeling from the ceiling, fantasizing about Reed joining her in bed. Even though Reed claims that he has no interest in returning to his old self Diana refuses to believe him. No matter what he says she'll never lose hope on being with him again.
The sun is setting in the horizon. From the roof of a six story building blocks away, Nileas keeps a close watch on the motel where Diana currently resides. Despite making amends after his battle with Reed, Diana has asked for some time alone. Nileas doesn't mind granting Diana her wish, however, he's determined to be her bodyguard whether she's aware of it or not. 
Soon Annabelle flies over the building where Nileas is seating and lands on the edge of the roof. She has come to relieve Nileas of his self appointed duties.
   "Don't you ever get tired of being Diana's little guard dog?" she asks Nileas.
   "Not really," Nileas answers.
Annabelle starts walking along the roof's edge, balancing herself perfectly while doing so. She takes a few steps forward before raising her next question: "Did I ever tell you about my parents, Nileas?" Nileas leans back in his chair and replies, "Why would you?"
Annabelle stops and turns to face the setting sun. She squats down to watch the celestial object as it descends in the evening sky. For the next thirty seconds nothing is said between the two. Nileas gets up from his seat then walks over and stands next to Annabelle.
    "How'd The Caveat respond to the Pandora situation?"
    "I don't know. The head honcho has been called away for a meeting so I didn't get the chance to report to her directly."
    "A meeting with who?"
    "That's confidential, I'm afraid. And that's not why I'm here."
    "Then why are you here?"
    "Well," Annabelle begins, stepping down from the ledge and onto the roof. "I'm here to let you in on a little secret. I'm not a pure blooded demon. My father was seduced by what you call a Siren one night while he was travelling at sea with a group of Marine Biologists. Anyway, long story short, I'm only half demon. Which is why fighting by your side to protect weaklings like Diana has become important to me."
    "But you still obey the demons. Whenever the Pandora are dealt with creatures like your mother will still be using humans as their playthings, even meals. Demons, Pandora, you're all threats to the human race," Nileas says, returning to his seat.
Annabelle disagrees with Nileas' assumption that all demons are the scum of the universe and as the sun's light disappears over the horizon she's ready to prove it. Annabelle climbs on top of Nileas' lap then begins to kiss him, widly. Nileas immediatly grabs her by her arms and pulls her away from him. 
  "What's gotten into you?" he demands to know.
  "Relax for once Nileas," Annabelle responds. "Imagine I'm Diana."
Still seated on Nileas' lap, Annabelle removes her blouse revealing her plump breasts. She then continues kissing Nileas while at the same time digging her fingers under his shirt which is tucked into his pants. After pulling Nileas' shirt off Annabelle drags her tongue down his neck, then his chest before returning it into his mouth. 
Nileas gives in to temptation and has begun kissing Annabelle back. Then without warning the chair Nileas is seated in breaks under their combined weight. Both chuckle after the chair collapses drops them on the hard roof.
The next morning Nileas has fallen asleep after having sex with Annabelle.With the sun rising off in the distance, the noise from the streets below pull him out of his slumber. He opens his eyes to find Annabelle sitting on top of his naked body. As he focuses his eyes he notices that Annabelle is holding one of his katanas. Before he can asks her why, she pulls the weapon back and stabs him in the chest with it.
The blade ( forged with the purpose of wounding a Pandora ) pierces Nileas' flesh and inflicts series damage to Nileas' internal organs. Blood pours out of the wound when Annabelle removes the weapon from his body. Nileas is in excruciating pain with blood filling up his mouth and streaming out of it. As he hacks up blood Annabelle knows he doesn't have long to live. 
She lays on top of him then whispers in his ear, "Remember, don't let it go to your head." Next the demon places her lips on Nileas and proceeds to breath her soul into his body until there's nothing left inside of her. Once the transfer is done, Annabelle's nude, lifeless body collapses on Nileas. 
By giving her life to a dying Pandora Annabelle hopes it will empower Nileas with the extra power needed to defeat the strongest Pandora he encounters. Giving him her body meant that she trusted him; making her soul worth a lot more. Although the sword wound Annabelle inflicted on Nileas has healed completley within seconds, the Conditioned Pandora is now overcome with a different type of pain.
Nileas rolls over onto his side, grabbing his chest. His entire body feels as if it's on fire. Annabelle's soul is changing him but his evolution is more than he can bare. He doesn't want to sream in agony. That would attract unwanted attention. Instead he rolls on to his stomach, grinding his teeth and clinching his fists as the throbbing pain felt all over his body grows, unrelentlessly. When it reaches the point where he can no longer stand the severe affliction, Nileas passes out. 
As all of this is taking place Diana is exiting the motel that she now calls home. She enters her car then drives away. Her destination; across town to the apartment complex where Reed Turner once lived with his daughter. When she arrives at Reed's apartment located on the second floor of the complex, Diana finds the door locked. She digs through her purse hoping to locate something she can use to pick the lock. That's when the stocky landlord eases his way over to see what's going on.
   "May I help you?" he asks.
   "Uh...yes, I suppose. You're the landlord here right? I remember meeting you before."
   "Yes and I remember you too. You dated the man who lived in this apartment, didn't you?"
   "Yeah, I did. Um...is he home? I knocked but noone answered."
   "Haven't you heard? The police found the body of Mister Turner's daughter and his mother-in-law here a few weeks ago. Well, actually I found their bodies," he boasts."Then I called the cops. The poor old woman had her throat slit."
   "That's terrible. Do they know who killed them?"
   "It had to be Turner. Noone has seen him since the bodies were discovered. The cops are still trying to find the guy."
   "Sounds like it's a good thing I broke it off with him when I did," Diana says, acting as if she doesn't know what really happened.
   "You're right about that."
   "So, um, could you do me a favor? I left something inside of Reed's apartment and I really need to get it back."
   "Oh. Let me get the door for you then."
The landlord removes a key chain from his pocket that holds every key to the building. He searches through them until he comes across the one that opens Reed's apartment. He then steps over to unlock the door for Diana. 
    "I don't know how you can go inside there, with all that's happened..." the landlord shivers as he pushes the door open.
    "I was a detective. I've gotten used to stepping into crime scenes."
    "Well, I can't stand the thought of it. Even being on the outside of the place makes my skin crawl. Lock the door on your way out."
    "Thanks. I will."
After walking into the apartment Diana closes the door behind herself. She walks slowly through the area, looking around as she does so. Eventually she makes her way to Reed's room. There she searches through Reed's drawer where the engagement ring he bought for her is hidden. She finds it in the same place where she left it weeks prior. With the ring box in her possession Diana exits the apartment, locking the door behind herself. 
When she makes it back to her car Diana sits in the driver's seat then opens the ring box. She removes the .84 carot diamond engagement ring from inside and places it the ring finger of her left hand. She finds herself staring at it longer than she did when Reed first presented it to her.
Once she finally takes her eyes off of the ring she starts her car and pulls out of the parking lot. The reason why she wanted the ring is so she can use it to help Reed break free of the hold the Pandora have on him. The next step is for her to lure Reed out into the open. 
Diana travels to the outskirts of the city, miles away from another living soul. She drives along a long, isolated dirt road until she comes across an open field with rolling hills. The green grass that once filled this area has died as Fall settles in. 
Sitting in her parked car Diana tries to work up the nerve to step outside and get Reed's attention. She eventually exits the vehicle and steps onto the field. She walks five yards from her car before calling for Reed.
   "Reed?" she says loudly but not exactly shouting. "Reed, if you can hear me I want to speak you." Diana pauses, waiting for a response that never comes. So she tries again.
   "I know what you said before, about not caring for me anymore, but I don't believe you." Diana raises her left hand into the air, showing off the engagement ring. "Can you see this? I'm wearing your ring. If you didn't love me anymore then you wouldn't have kept this ring all of this time. Reed, I want to be with you. I want to help you." 
Again she waits for a response; any sign that Reed is listening. She doesn't get one. Undeterred, Diana stands alone in the field anticipating to hear from Reed. But as seconds turn into minutes and minutes turn into hours, Diana's hopes are dashed. A cold wind blows around her. Temperatures throughout the state are expected to dip into the upper thirties over night as an early taste of Winter blankets the midwest. Diana returns to her car, looking back at the empty field one last time before sitting down in her vehicle and heading back to town.

					************

It's thirty minutes past noon when Diana returns to her motel room. Her car barely hade enough fuel for the round trip. As she unlocks the door to her room she calls Nileas' cellphone. She wants to pick his mind about ways of getting in contact with Reed. To her dismay, Nileas isn't answering his phone leaving her to wonder why. When she opens the door to her room she's greeted with an unexpected surprise; Reed.
The Pandora Convert is leaning up against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. He's staring at Diana with animosity in his eyes.When she called for him Diana never expected that he'd appear in her room. Here she feels cornered; like she has no place to run if Reed tries to steal her life again. Despite her fears Diana slowly closes the door without taking her eyes off of Reed. 
  "Reed, I-I'm glad you came. Does..this mean you.."
  "This means I'm here for your soul."
  "No it doesn't. You came because you want me to help you."
  "No I don't," Reed claims, unfolding his arms and stepping away from the wall.
  "You still love me, Reed Turner. I know you do despite what Reuben has done to you."
Reed doesn't say another word as he walks up to Diana. The six foot tall Pandora Convert stands over Diana, lifting her chin with his finger. Diana looks him in the eyes, trying to hold back her fear of the person he has become. She raises her left hand and shows Reed the engagement ring she's wearing. "The answer is 'yes', Reed. I will marry you, even if you're a blue haired man now." 
For a moment Reed's eyes are fixated on the ring that Diana's wearing. Memories of him searching numerous online retailers and jewelry shops for the perfect ring to give her flood his mind. The moment he asked her to marry him, a memory he had lost when he was Converted, plays out in his head. Attempting to block it all from his mind Reed turns away from Diana, from the ring.
   "You rejected me...I hated you for that!" Reed exclaims.
   "I know. I hurt you and I'm sorry, but I never stopped loving you Reed."
   "I don't believe you!" Reed shouts, grabbing Diana by the neck and slamming her back up against a wall with such force the wall rattles on impact. "You're only saying that so I won't kill you!"
   "That's not true...!" Diana insists, trying to free herself from Reed's grasp. The angered Pandora Convert tightens his grip around Diana's neck, slowly shoking her to death. Miraculously, he lets go of her seconds before killing her. Diana falls to the floor coughing, trying to catch her breath. Reed places his hands up against the same wall and leans forward, dropping his head.
He's struggling to come to grisps with reality, with the man he has become. Diana doesn't know if she should try to reach out to him or not while he's like this. He did just try yo kill her...again.
    "There's no turning back for me Diana. I've done too much..."
    "I don't care what you've done Reed. What's happen isn't your fault. You have to know that."
    "All I know is that Molli's gone because I wasn't there to protect her. Now I'm this...this thing...and there's nothing I can do to change that."
Feeling it's safe to approach him, Diana places her hand on Reed's shoulder then she runs it across the side of his face. 
    "Hey," she says softly,stroaking her hand in Reed's hair, "I think the blue hair is kind of sexy."
Reed finds Diana's comment funny. He starts to laugh out loud briefly, long enough for Diana to feel as though she has made a break through. Reed moves away from the wall and faces Diana, but he can't bring himself to look her in the eyes. 
    "Diana...I'm..."
    "Shhhh..." Diana whispers. She puts both of her hands on the sides of Reed's face and moves in to kiss him. For the first time in years Diana and Reed share a passionate embrace. After their tender kiss Diana wraps her arms around Reed's waist and holds him tightly. She then lays her head on his chest. Reed hesitates at first but he eventually hugs Diana back. Nothing could pry Diana's arms away from Reed at this moment. This is the only place she wants to be and for her, nothing else in the world matters right now.
  "Why are you living in a place like this?" Reed asks as he looks over Diana's abhorrent motel room.
  "It's all that I can afford. I quit my job and my apartment building nearly burned to the ground."
  "Would you like a change of scenery?"
  "Why? What do you have in mind?"
  "I'll show you."
Reed takes Diana by the hand and shifts out of the room in the blink of an eye. Diana doesn't know where he's taking her but she trusts him; she'll always trust him. 
Back in Australia where the faction of female demons roam, the leader of The Caveat has returned from her meeting with members of The Conclave. Jezebeth is searching the castle grounds for Annabelle. The Anarchy Demon has new orders for her subordinates, Annabelle included. After Nevelyn informed her that Annabelle hadn't been seen in the castle in nearly fourty-eight hours Jezebeth wonders where she has gone. 
When Jezebeth arrives on the floor where Annabelle's room is located the demon detects the presence of her greatest enemy, a Pandora. She unsheaths the long sword she has strapped on her waist from its scabbard and cautiously walks down the hallway. 
As she gets closer to Annabelle's quarters the Pandora's existence grows stronger. Without hesitation Jezebeth opens the thick wooden door to Annabelle's room, ready for battle. Within the room Jezebeth witnesses a blue haired Nileas laying Annabelle's nude, lifeless body on her medieval style canopy bed.
   "What do you think you're doing Pandora?"
Before he responds to Jezebeth, Nileas takes a long look at Annabelle. With her soul now apart of him Nileas knows everything about The Caveat and their plans. Jezebeth looks at Annabelle and assumes Nileas is responsible for what has become of her.
   "You're going to regret your actions," she declares.
   "It wasn't my idea," says Nileas. "Annabelle willingly gave me soul."
   "Do you expect me to believe that?"
   "No, I really don't."
Nileas steps away from the bed and walks toward the open window he used to enter the castle. He stops a few feet from the window to speak with Jezebeth before he departs.     
   "Annabelle wanted me to stop you from attacking the Einherjar Tech building in Ontario because a lot of innocent people would be caught in the crossfire. She also wanted me to be strong enough to face the Pandora there. That's why she gave me her soul."
   "That fool. By giving you her soul she also gave you access to all of our secrets. All she has done is create another problem for The Caveat."
   "I'm not your enemy as long as you don't give me a reason to be. All I ask from you is time to fulfill Annabelle's last wish."
With nothing left to be said between them, Nileas exits the room the same way he entered it. Jezebeth rushes over to the window to ensure that he's gone then she closes it. Turning her attention to Annabelle, Jezebeth runs her hand along Annabelle's cold forehead before slapping the deceased demon in the face. Jezebeth will never approve of the young half demon's actions but she understands her motives behind them.
If Nileas' next destination is Einherjar Tech Jezebeth isn't willing to give him the time he requested. By launching a full attack on the building while both he and the company founder are there the Anarchy Demon will be able to take down both Pandora with one assault. This is an opportunity she's not willing to pass up.
In a seperate portion of the castle six members of The Caveat are seated on the floor of a dimly lit room. The only source of light in this area is generated by the moon's light shining through a small window near the ceiling. 
The female demons have taken postions around a symbol carved on the floor.This is no ordinary symbol; it's what The Caveat call The Seal of Buer, a very powerful and ruthless demon. By breaking the seal The Caveat plan to unleash Buer upon the Pandora hiding in plain sight. He will be armed with the only weapon that can weaken then bind a Pandora, the Five Chains.
All that's needed to begin breaking Buer's seal and bringing him to this world is Jezebeth's order. The Anarchy Demon soon enters the area through the only door in the room. "It's time," she commands. "Time to bring forth Buer."
Much later at Einherjar Tech, Nileas walks into the building with his katanas sheathed on his back. His weapons draws the attention of nearly everyone who is either entering or leaving the building through the revolving glass doors. The armed security guard standing feet away also notices the blue haired, sword carrying, dark dressed man and immediatly springs into action.      
   "Sir, you can't bring those weapons into this building," informs the guard but Nileas ignores him and continues to walk toward the only free elevator on the floor. 
   "We could have a problem in the lobby," the security guard says, speaking into the walkie talkie strapped to his shoulder. "There's a guy down here carrying swords. Send some guys down here, I'm going to try to subdue him." The security guard draws his Smith & Wesson .45 Colt Mountain revolver from its holster strapped to his right leg and aims it at Nileas who, at that moment, has his back turned towards him. 
  "Stop where you are and remove those weapons, sir."
  "Mind your own business," Nileas tells the guard.
  "Remove those weapons and place your hands where I can see them. If you don't comply I will open fire."
Nileas could have entered the building without attracting attention by bypassing this floor altogether but he chose not to. Creating a scene in which people would fear for their safety would prompt an evacuation of the building. Meaning fewer civilians would be caught in the crossfire should Einherjar Tech come under attack by The Caveat. Nileas raises his hands in the air slowly then turns around to face the guard. When Nileas starts walking closer to him, the guard orders him to stay where his is or else.
Staring down the barrel of the security guard's revolver, Nileas takes one last step then shifts, disappearing from sight. Everyone in the room gasps at the sight of Nileas' disappearing act. Some begin to panic, making a beeline for the exit while others pull out their cellphones to record everything that's happening. 
With his gun still drawn the security guard looks around the vicinity for Nileas as additional guards arrive on the floor via the elevator. Unlike the security guard these lightly armed men are equipped with submachine guns; they are a part of Einherjar's special security crew and are trained to take down any hostile threat.
    "Where is he?" one of the security crew asks the guard.
    "I-I don't know. He just vanished into thin air."
Seconds later Nileas appears infront of the security guard. He first disables the firearm by pulling the slide off of it then he swings his left elbow around and rams in into the security guard's jaw, knocking a couple of his front teeth out of his mouth in the process. As the security guard falls to the floor, Ein's well armed security crew opens fire on Nileas but everyone of their bullets miss the Pandora as he shifts out of the line of fire. 
Over the next five seconds Nileas is able to take down the armed security crew by shifting from one to another; dominating each one of them with powerful blows. With the four guards now lying on the floor unconscious and Nileas standing over them, the remaining civilians in the lobby all drop what they are doing and flee to the exit in a mad panic.
Soon four more of Ein's special security crew step off of the elevator and rush onto the lobby. They only find the downed guards moaning in pain on the floor; Nileas is no where in sight. The Pandora has shifted his way to Ein's office which is located on the tenth floor of the building. Here Nileas finds Ein awaiting his arrival.
 From the moment Nileas set foot inside the building Ein had been watching his every move captured by security cameras. He's not the least bit surprised when Nileas shows up in his office brandishing both of his samurai swords. Seated in his black leather chair, Ein browses through the  company documents on his desk as Nileas approaches him.
  "You're the one aiding the demons I presume," he says. 
  "I'm not here to talk," responds Nileas.
  "No, I guess you're not."
Tightly gripping his swords, Nileas rushes toward Ein and leaps over the oak desk with the intent to kill. Unfortunately for Nileas Ein is able to stop him in his tracks without laying a finger on him or getting up fom his chair. Ein uses his ability to control moving objects to freeze Nileas in place. Ein's blonde hair changes to its natural blue color whenever he uses this power; a power he gained from the soul of a demon long ago. 
With the wave of his hand Ein sends Nileas flying into a wall. This is when a member of Einherjar Tech calls his office to warn him of the "armed intruder" somewhere in the building. Ein responds to the call by saying; "Keep me updated on the situation." 
Buttoning the top button of his dark navy dress jackey, Ein stands up from his seat while Nileas regains his footing.
   "It's a shame how divisive our race has become," Ein says, walking around to the front of his desk. "There was a time when the only thing that mattered to a Pandora was the eradication of our enemies."
   "I wasn't born a Pandora. I could care less about your creeds."
   "Why don't you save your energy for the demon that'll be here shortly?"
   "What demon?"
   "The demon whores that call themselves The Caveat have summoned a highly powerful entity. It's on its way here as we speak."
   "How do you know this?"
   "I thought you weren't here to talk."
Suddenly, what sounds like a thunderous sonic boom can be heard from inside Einherjar Tech and all around the city. The entire complex rattles uncontrollably; windows shatter instantaneously as a huge unidentified object falls from the sky, lands outside of its doors, crushing automobiles and creates an impact crater that's half the diameter of a football field. 
People in the surrounding area are stunned and confused by what's happening around them. When the dust settles their confusion turns to horror as an eight foot tall, wolf-like creature, standing upright, leaps out of the impact zone and on to Einherjar Tech. 
Wrapped around both its arms are what The Caveat calls The Five Chains. These weapons extend five feet from the beast's wrists and seperate into five indiviual chains of equal length for Buer to use against the Pandora. The demon runs up the outside wall of the building on all fours, further damaging it with its three inch long claws. Buer leaps through the shattered window of Ein's office where it expects to find its targets. To the naked eye the room appears to be empty but Buer can see things humans can't.
After scanning the room Buer spots Nileas crouched high up on the wall above the beast, invisible to the naked eye. Buer swings its chains around at Nileas' position, narrowly missing the Pandora as he leaps out of the way. The attack leaves the chains' impression deep into the wall. 
As soon as his feet hit the ground Nileas leaps into the air in Buer's direction. His katana is inches away from Buer's neck when the demon knocks Nileas aside with its long, reptilian tail. Buer's attack sends Nileas flying uncontrollably out of a broken window.
Nileas regains control of his fall and is now standing on the side of the building, defying the laws of gravity. Buer charges towards the Pandora, running on all fours. When Nileas attacks Buer with one of his katanas the demon catches the sword in its mouth. Its teeth clamp down on the razor sharp weapon making it difficult for Nileas to remove it from Buer's grasp. 
Nileas has no other choice but to let go of the weapon. When Buer spits the sword out of its mouth the katana lands several yards away, piercing through the roof of a parked car and narrowly missing the groin of the occupant of the vehicle who is seated in the driver's side talking on his cellphone. 
While back inside Einherjar Tech, Ein is accompanied by several armed security guards who are escorting him through a secret exit located beneath the building where a dark colored SUV awaits. With Ein safely secured in the back seat, the automobile leaves the area travelling under the city by way of a tapestry of tunnels few know exist. The thought of assisting Nileas in his battle with Buer never crossed Ein's mind. He wasn't about to risk exposing his true identity to the public this day, no matter what.
However, Ein isn't going to allow a soul from a powerful demon like Buer get away. On his car phone Ein makes a call to Abraxas, ordering him to collect Buer's soul and to meet him at a certain rendezvous area when he's done. 
As Ein makes his escape, Nileas is attempting to lead the demonic wolf away from civilians by running to the top of the Einjerhar Tech complex. After following him for the most part Buer takes a huge leap, jumping up and over Nileas then landing directly in front of the Pandora on all fours. Nileas doesn't flinch. 
He presses ahead running directly into the path of Buer's attack. The beast takes a swipe at Nileas with the Five Chains but as the weapons seeminly make a direct hit, Nileas vanishes into a puff of smoke. Creating multiples of himself is a new ability Nileas learned after consuming Annabelle's soul. 
Immediately after his clone falls the real Nileas appears infront of Buer with his katana drawn. He stabs the demon in the chest with his sword and proceeds to run up the building. When they reach the roof Nileas flips into the air and lands behind Buer. 
A news helicopter circles the sky yards above them. A camera man can be seen hanging out of the door recording the fight below. What the camera man isn't able to capture is Nileas who is shifting in and out of view, moving too fast to be caught on camera. Everytime he shifts Nileas lands one attack after another on Buer, cutting the beast with his sword. 
The speedy Pandora is able to inflict serious damage on Buer yet it's still not enough to bring the demon down. He attempts one more shift but unfortunately Buer has become wise to Nileas' tactis. The second Nileas reappears ready to attack Buer's head, the demon catches Nileas' katana with its chains and tosses the Pandora aside. Nileas is still holding on to his weapon but he's not able to react in time when Buer makes its next move. 
Using the chains on its right arm, the demonic wolf snares Nileas around his right hand then yanks the Pandora into the air. With the chain wrapped tightly around his wrist Buer slams Nileas back and forth against the roof, over and over again.
During one of Buer's swings Nileas is able to take control and, in midair, he pulls on the chain and yanks the 8 foot tall demon towards him. In response Buer uses its other chain to catch Nileas' other hand. While in contact with the Five Chains no Pandora can use his shifting ability. The longer they remain exposed to the weapons the weaker a Pandoea becomes unil he eventually loses consciousness. This fact hasn't escaped Nileas. He has little time to free himself from the chains or risk being bound forever by them.
Nileas uses both his feet to kick Buer in the face when it gets within range, causing the demon to fall backwards. While doing so Buer pulls Nileas down with him. The two first crash through the concrete roof of Einherjar Tech then freefall through five floors of the 90 story building before coming to a stop in an executive business lounge. Buer hits the floor first leaving a huge indentation of itself while Nileas crash lands on a glass table. 
Moving as though they are living, the Five Chains have spread up both of Nlieas' arms and around his neck. Despite his best efforts to stop their progression, there's nothing Nileas can do to free himself as the chains steadily sap his strength.
Buer swings Nileas around the room a few times before slamming him into a wall. With the chains binding him, Nileas can't put up much of a fight at this point. Thinking it has the upperhand, Buer uses the chains to drag the near unconscious Pandora across the floor. The Five Chains continue to wrap around Nileas' entire body. 
Considering its job done, Buer walks over a huge broken window. Dozens of police cars and emergency vehicles have gathered around on the street below. However, what Buer doesn't notice is the presence of another Pandora in the building, not until he makes his move.
The adolescent Pandora Ein refers to as Abraxas, armed with a ten foot long sword with a slender blade, drops down from above Buer. His sword glows red as the Pandora cuts the demon in half, from top to bottom, in one fell swoop. 
Before it splits in two, Abraxas pulls Buer soul from its body by reaching into the demon's chest. A number of yellow streams of light exits the demon's body then forms into an orb of a similar color in Abraxas' right hand. This is Buer's soul; without it the demonic wolf crystalizes. Both halves of Buer fall out of the window and shatter into millions of fine pieces upon hitting the streets below. 
Law enforcement officers make haste as they try to avoid being hit by what's left of Buer. Abraxas laughs at the sight of the fallen demon. "Not so tough now, are we?" he mocks. With Buer defeated the Five Chains have relinquished their grip on Nileas but it will take several minutes for him to regain all of his strength. He staggers to his feet to have a word with Abraxas.
    "Did Ein send you here?"
    "Not to help you if that's what you're thinking."
    "Where is he?"
    "Sorry, but that's confidential."
Abraxas waves good-bye to Nileas before leaping out of the window. The risk taker falls backwards out of the window allowing himself to dive all the way to the street below before shifting away at the last second. His actions made it appear to those on the ground that he passed through the street like a ghost. 
Back in the lounge room Nileas stumbles to the window where Abraxas once stood. As he looks down at the streets below Nileas can hear a S.W.A.T team outside of the door. Seconds later the heavily armed S.W.A.T unit forces their way into the room prepared to face off against whoever is inside with deadly force if need be. However, to their surprise the room is unoccupied. Nileas is long gone.

					************

Later that same day, on the bottom half of the world where the castle The Caveat has called home for a very long time is located, Nileas arrives to have a word with Jezebeth but to his surprise he finds the castle empty. If there was ever a faction of female demons here, you'd never tell by the now rundown appearance of the old caslte. 
Just hours ago this place was fully decorated and upkept, now it looks as if noone has lived here in centuries. As Nileas stands in the lenghty, empty hallway it's clear that The Caveat as a whole has abandoned this place with haste, yet one remains.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
The sound of hands clapping echo throughout the surrounding area.When Nileas turns to face the direction in which the sound originates he sees a female figure approaching him from the dark, empty corridor. It's Nevelyn, one of Anabelle's closes friends within The Caveat. Her applause is for Nileas, congratulating him for defeating Buer. 
   "I don't think any of us could ever imagine Buer falling at the hands of a Pandora," Nevelyn tells Nileas as she stops clapping. "His defeat was a real eye-opener for The Caveat."
   "I wasn't the one who killed him."
   "That doesn't matter. We know what we're dealing with now."
   "I see Jezebeth doesn't care about honoring Annabelle's last wish."
   "As far as Jezebeth is concerned Annabelle created another enemy for our kind when she gave you her soul. She's not too thrilled about that."
   "We don't have to be enemies," an angry Nileas insists."All I ever wanted was to rid the world of Reuben Wolf and others like him. But now that I'm one of them it's obvious that I can't trust any of you demons.You can tell Jezebeth that the next time we meet, it won't be on friendly terms."
Nevelyn watches Nileas as he turns to leave. Hesitating at first, Nevelyn decides to pass along important information to the Pandora. "There's going to be some fireworks on Mount Columbia in a few short hours. Don't miss it."     
Nileas stops after hearing Nevelyn's comment. When he looks back to address her he discovers that she's no longer there. Nileas decides to shift out of the old castle and into the motel where Diana is staying. It's been sometime since they last spoke and right now he could use a friend to confide in. Nileas appeared directly infront of the door to Diana's room. He knocks on the door a few times but Diana doesn't respond. Out of concern for her well being Nileas shifts into Diana's room only to discover it empty. 
Diana's purse containing her driver's license, credit cards and other items she retrieved from her burned out apartment building is resting on her bed where she left it. Nileas also notices something that few others can; an invisible energy trail of a Pandora that had been here. Not just any Pandora either. Reed Turner was here and he and Diana left together. The question Nileas wants answered is did Diana leave with him on her own free will. 
The temperature throughout the state of Missouri is forecast to dip well below freezing tonight; marking the first frost of the season. This type of weather isn't expected on the small, uninhabited tropical island where Reed and Diana currently reside.
It's a sticky eighty three degrees here still at the nine o'clock pm hour on this island paradise located miles off of the coast of Brazil. Reed and Diana are making things hotter as they make love to one another on the beach. The couple have been inseperable for several hours. Diana has been with Reed before but this time the sex is different, better. Reed's performance seems to have been enhanced when he was Converted. He hasn't broken a sweat during their entire time together. 
They continue for another half hour until Diana has had her fill. For the rest of the night the two lie unclothed together under the stars on the white sands of the beach. Diana falls asleep in Reed's arms. Right now she has no care in the world. She and Reed are together and that's all that matters. Reed, on the other hand, doesn't want to sleep. 
Laying next to Diana he can hear her heart constantly beating. He can also smell the compelling aroma of her life essense everytime she exhales.With his heightened senses the enticing scent of a living thing's soul is the first thing a Pandora notices. He almost tasted Diana's soul a short while ago before Nileas stopped him. There's noone here now, though. No one to stop him from taking what he wants.
When the sun rises over the ocean the next morning Diana awaken on the beach alone. With Reed nowhere in sight, Diana picks up her button down blouse laying in the sand nearby then puts it on before going to look for Reed. Sand wedges in between her toes as she walks across the beach. 
   "Reed?" she calls out, with no response from the Pandora. Diana stops to look around. She never thought to explore the island when Reed brought her here. She was too estatic to have him back to think about anything like that. 
With no sign of Reed on the beach Diana steps into the surrounding jungle area to search for him. The sound of a water steadily crashing against rocks nearby catches her attention. When she investigates the area she sees a beautiful five story tall waterfall emptying into a river. She also notices a shirtless Reed seated on a rock formation on the edge of the river with his back turned towards her. 
   "Reed? Is there something wrong?" she asks, walking up to Turner while watching where she places her bare feet.
  "...No. Nothing," Reed claims.
  "I don't believe you," Diana responds, taking a seat next to Reed on the rocks. "Tell me. What's on your mind?"
  "This place just reminds me of...something..."
  "Something bad?"
  "I killed my first demon in a place like this. I took her soul from her as she was dying. What bothers me about that moment was how much I enjoyed sucking the life out of her. How much I still enjoy it."
   "But she was a demon. You shouldn't beat yourself up over what you did."
   "You don't know everything that's happened. I've murdered people, innocent people."
   "Reed..."
   "I'm afraid of what I've become Diana. The urge to feed on another person's life is hard for me to resist."
   "I'll help you get over this," Diana insists, wrapping her arm around his. "It'll be all right."
   "No it won't be!" Nileas barks, yanking his arm away from Diana. He stands up from the rocks and steps closer to the riverbank. Holding his head down in shame Reed tells Diana, "Last night....I was tempted to take your soul while you slept."
   "But you didn't,Reed."
   "I could have. One day I will. You can not trust me, Diana." 
Before Diana can respond to Reed Nileas walks up to them. He has just arrived on the island and has been eavesdropping on their conversation in order to assess the situation. He wanted to be certain that Diana's life was in danger before he attacked Reed but so far it doesn't look like Diana is in need of rescuing. Still, Nileas isn't letting his guard down just yet.
   "Overcoming the desire to feed on another living soul isn't an easy task. I should know," Nileas chimes in as he approaches.
   "Nileas, what are you doing here?" Diana asks, closing her blouse.
   "I thought you might be in trouble, Diana, but I can see that's not the case."
   "Your hair...It's blue now too?" Diana observes. "What happened to you Nileas?"
   "That's not important. Reed, you can control your urge to kill if you really want to. It's just going to take a lot of will power on your part."
   "I don't trust myself to do the right thing anymore."
   "That's too bad," Nileas responds, reaching for one of his two katanas. "If you can't control yourself then I'm going to have to kill you."
   "Nileas!" Diana exclaims, jumping from her seat. "You're not helping. Reed needs our support not death threats!" 
   "No, he's right Diana.If I can't overcome this.."
   "You will," Diana insists as she runs over to Reed's side. "I trust you Reed. You have to trust yourself too. I'm not giving up on us. Not again."
Inspite of everything that's happen, Reed and Diana's love for each other has grown much stronger.This is something Nileas can clearly see. He alos notices the ring on Diana's finger. For a while Nileas thought he might have been in love with Diana but he's convinced himself that he simply confused his desire to protect her with love.
Reed and Diana are soulmates, which means Nileas has no right to Diana's soul; it belongs to Reed.
    "I'm trusting you with her life Turner," Nileas tells Reed as he lowers his hand away from the handle of his katana. "Don't make me regret it."
    "I can't make you two any promises....but I'll try my best to resist these compulsions."
    "That's all I ask," Nileas says. "By the way, Reed, you wouldn't happen to know the location of the where the Pandora are holding humans against their will, would you?"
    "I..know of one place in Yukon. I could show you where."
    "Thanks but that won't be necessary. I'll find them."
As Nileas turns to walk away, Diana calls his name. To his surprise, Diana runs up to him and gives him a loving embrace. "Thank you, Nileas.You're a good friend and a good detective," she says. 
    "You and Reed need to be careful. The demons and other Pandora may come calling one day." 
    "We'll keep our guard up. You be careful too Nileas and stay in touch."
Diana kisses Nileas on the cheek before letting go of him. Nileas waves good-bye to the couple then he jumps into the air and flies away. Diana waves back to him and watches Nileas until he's out of sight. Standing behind Diana, Reed places his right hand on her left shoulder as she's looking up at the sky. The two have an uncertain road ahead of them but, as Diana takes hold of Reed's hand, she's more confindent about the future than ever before.

Hours later, in the hidden facility located deep within Mount Columbia, Kessler is watching the Soul Alchemist called Ciaran work his magic in a room full of cocooned human males. As though he is casting a spell, Ciaran holds both of his hands forward; the oversized bell sleeves of his jade colored velvet robe slip back, revealing the Pandora's pale skin.
Glowing streams of light emit from the two dozen silver colored cocoons attached on the wall and then back to the Soul Alchemist's hands. He's attempting to alter the souls of the helpless mortals with the help of the power from a demon's soul.
This process of Converting humans into Pandora can take upwards of three hours to complete. This makes Ciaran's fifth attempt to Convert humans at this location using soul manipulation. If all goes as planned this would be the first time he has had success. Thus far Kessler's method of  Conversion has not paid off as the Converted humans die before the process is complete. And to Kessler's disgust the trend continues. 
Almost immediately after Ciaran is done, each of the cocooned humans' hearts begin to fail. The procedure is too much for them to bare. They're dead within seconds causing Kessler slams his right hand against the wall in anger.
   "Why does this keep happening?!"
   "The humans, their bodies are too weak for this method."
   "Don't give me that! I know for a fact that a human can be Converted in a matter of days! There's no excuse for this not to work!"
   "I would like to see this Convert you speak of. Perhaps he was a special case."
   "That's a possibility but I've had enough disappointent to last me a lifetime. We're done for now."
Frustrated, Kessler waves his hand and dismisses the Soul Alchemist. Ciaran bows his head slightly before shifting out of the area leaving Kessler to contemplate his next course of action. Converting humans into Pandora was Reuben's master plan. The race of blue haired men is outnumbered greatly by their long time enemies, the demons. 
Using humans to increase their numbers exceptionally in a short amount of time sounded like an easy task. Unfortunately it seems that the only thing the process has accomplished is alarm high ranking demons of the growing threat the Pandora pose. This includes The Caveat, an all female group of demons who won't rest until the Pandora are wiped from the face of the Earth.
Armed with her signiture gold bladed, longsword and winged shield, Jezebeth has lead a hundred of her female soldiers ( Nevelyn included ) to Kessler's hideout on the icefields of Mount Columbia.The spear weilding soilders are each dressed in full, red plate mail that's designed to both protect them and complement their curves.
Jezebeth wears a golden breast plate and matching gauntlets that extend slightly above her elbows. Theya are each lined with feathers. Her long red dress flaps uncontrollably in the brutally cold winds that blows on the mountain. 
Jezebeth and her troops cease their advance yards away from the first step of a two story stairway that leads to the entrance of the temple. At the very top of the staircase stands Kessler holding the same weapon he used to shoot Reuben in the back. As he looks down on the large army it's obvious by the expression on his face that Kessler is in no mood for unannounced visitors.
    "May I help you?" he asks, politely.
    "The Caveat is not going to allow you to proceed with your scheme to Convert anymore mortals Pandora," answers Jezebeth. "The time has come for the annihilation of your kind."
    "Is that so?" Kessler smirks.
The Pandora leaps down from his position at the top of the stairs to the frozen tundra below, feet first. The Caveat hold their ground with Kessler now standing before them. A stream of dark smoke that swirls around Kessler's left hand soon develops into a second identical gun. 
   "Your timing couldn't be better. I'm in need of something to vent my frustrations on," he informs the demonic army. 
The determined leader of The Caveat doesn't allow Kessler to intimidate her. Having faced down Pandora in the past Jezebeth is more than prepared for this moment.
   "Caveat! Strike him down! Hold nothing back!" Jezebeth orders, pointing her blade in Kessler's direction.
Acting on command, dozens of Caveat soldiers advance on Kessler's position. Although he's greatly outnumbered Kessler doesn't flinch at the sight of his opponents as they charge towards him. Nevelyn's spear is the first to cross paths with Kessler's guns. As she swings her weapon at the Pandora, Kessler raises his gun in defense. 
After blocking her attack with one gun Kessler uses his other long barrel gun to shoot Nevelyn in the chest. Her thick armor protects her from the direct hit, however, the powerful plasma blast is strong enough to send her flying back into a group of soldiers.
When three more soldiers attempt to crowd Kessler simultaneously from different directions, the Pandora shifts away to avoid being impaled by the sharp end of their polearms. He instantly reappears behind one of the soldiers and puts her in a chokehold. Using her body as a shield, Kessler shoots at the two other soldiers. The plasma bullets from his weapon knocks the two demons off of their feet, cracking the soldiers' armor . 
One soldier moves in to strike the Pandora from behind but when Kessler shifts out of sight at the last second, the demon he was using as a shield finds herself on the receiving end of her comrade's weapon. As the spear pierces clean through the demon's chest armor Kessler returns to shoot the soldier who attempted the sneak attack point blank in the head, vanquishing her where she stands. 
Nevelyn jumps forward to challenge Kessler once again. This time she has enhanced her spear with lightning based magic that electrifies the air around it with every swing. With both feet still planted firmly on the ground, the agile Pandora bends over backwards to dodge the sharp end of Nevelyn's spear.
Nevelyn follows this attack by slamming her charged spear down to the ground at an angle. Kessler avoids being impaled by the weapon by back flipping into the air. While still airborne Kessler fires his weapons at the group of soldiers below him. The five plasma shots explode upon impact; creating three foot craters on the frozen ground and knocking numerous soldiers off their feet.
Nevelyn escapes a direct hit by leaping into the air where Kessler hovers. She's accompanied by several other Caveat soldiers who move the battle to the sky. Kessler blocks a head on attack by two of the soldiers by crossing the barrels of his guns. While he is distracted Nevelyn chargers her spear with energy by rotating it clockwise. 
As Kessler takes down the soldiers Nevelyn unleashes a lightning blast from her spear in Kessler's direction. Although the blue haired Pandora doesn't notice the attack unil it's nearly upon him, Kessler manages to move out of its path, avoiding a direct hit. 
The blast barrels past Kessler, knicking him across the face as he dodges it at the last second. The blast also created a two inch long scar on Kessler's left cheek but it's not enough to slow him down at the least. 
When Nevelyn lunges at Kessler once more with her spear, the Pandora grabs the weapon above the spearhead. Still holding onto the weapon with one hand Kessler raises his gun on the demon and pulls the trigger. Nevelyn has to react fast with a lightning based projectile she created in her left hand to deflect Kessler's shot. She then releases the spear so that she can launch three additional lightning balls Kessler's way from both of her hands.
Kessler shifts out of the path of all three of Nevelyn's projectiles then reappears directly in front of the demon. He immediately covers her face with his smooth, strapping right hand, extending his jagged fingernails into Nevelyn's skin. He then forces the demon to the ground twelve yards below, head first. Receiving the full brunt of their decent has knocked Nevelyn unconscious. 
Caveat soldiers swarm Kessler the moment he and Nevelyn hit the ground. 
Over the next ten minutes Kessler shifts in and out of the wave of Caveat soldiers taking one of them out at a time with his guns. Meanwhile Jezebeth watches the battle from the top of a nearby frozen cliff. One by one her loyal soldiers all fall to the Pandora. This is an outcome she anticipated but the Anarchy Demon still has one card left to play in this conflict. The time will soon come when she will be ready to strike.

					************

Poised at the highest portion of Kessler's hideout sits Nileas. He has quietly been observing Kessler's battle with The Caveat since it began. The human side of him doesn't want Kessler to win the fight against the demon army but his Pandora half is hoping that Kessler is victorious. Ever since the day Annabelle gave Nileas her soul he has been trying his best to retain his humanity. It's not an easy task but Nileas isn't in favor of the alternative. He continues to watch the battle as one of the last Caveat soldiers is defeated by Kessler.
The long haired Pandora stands in the middle of the battlefield surrounded by fallen Caveat soldiers. As the wound on his face has completely healed his torn clothes are the only indication that Kessler was engaged in a fight to the death with a hundred demonic soldiers.
Although a majority of his enemies are dead today's battle is far from over. Bloody and bruised, Nevelyn staggers to her feet. She's unwilling to concede just yet; not until she has given this fight her all.
   "We're not done here Pandora," Nevelyn insists as small bolts of lightning emits from both her hands.
    "I think you're wrong," Kessler responds, raising one of his guns on the demon.
The two are standing fifty yards apart from one another. As she breathes heavily pulses of lightning surround Nevelyn's hands while the barrel of Kessler's gun begins to charge with energy. They are waiting for each other to make the first move in this tense standoff but in the end Jezebeth is the one who decides Nevelyn's fate.
The Anarchy Demon appears behind her subordinate and runs the blade of her sword through Nevelyn's heart, taking her by surprise. Nevelyn is dead before her body hits the cold ground. 
    "You'll have to forgive me Nevelyn," Jezebeth says. "But your sacrifices here today are necessary for our victory."
Jezebeth's actions puzzle Kessler but he doesn't question her motives. He doesn't have to. As she wipes Nevelyn's blood from her sword with the skirt of her dress, the Anarchy Demon explains her strategy to Kessler. 
  "It's never easy watching your sisters die but in order to destroy you, once and for all Pandora, it had to be done. This battle has only just begun."
Suddenly, blood flowing from the fallen Caveat soldiers begin spread around the frozen battlefield. It soon takes the form of a demonic seal and Kessler finds himself standing in the center of it. Once the seal is completed the blood begins to illuminate brightly. The bodies of the dead soldiers also begin to glow a blindingly bright yellow color. 
  "To evoke the power of the Phenex the blood of a hundred demons needed to be spilled," boast Jezebeth. "Now those same demons will rise again, empowered with the needed strength to defeat you Pandora."
Now completely embodied by a golden aura the fallen soldiers have risen. Although they stand again, there's no sign of life in their pupil-less eyes. The soldiers are no more than shells of their former selves yet they are much stronger than before. Taking them down this time won't be as easy as it was before for Kessler but he's not deterred by the face of the new army that surrounds him. 
Brimming with confidence, Jezebeth charges forward with her army of undead soldiers. Kessler stands his ground as the wave of soldiers close in on him from all sides. His guns begin to glow as he charges the weapons for immediate use, but before he can make a move Ein joins the battle, unannounced.
The founder of Einherjar Tech drops from the sky above, landing directly in front of Kessler. Ein's high speed descent causes a ripple effect when the business dressed Pandora makes a hard landing on the ground. Many of the surrounding soldiers, including Jezebeth, are sent flying in the opposite direction instantly after Ein hits the ground. 
As the dust settles the shaken soldiers return to their feet, ready to do battle. The sight of a second Pandora on the battlefield is a cause for concern, yet Jezebeth remains steadfast in the face of her adversaries.
    "Your assisstance isn't needed here," an ungrateful Kessler tells Ein.
    "As I've told you before, Kessler, if we're going to win this conflict against our enemies we'll need to do so as one. Not as indiviuals," Ein responds, rolling up the sleeves of his business suit. "Now let's finish up here. I have a press conference to attend shortly."
With a wave of his hand Ein utilizes his telekinetic abilities to rake dozens of soldiers off of the side of the mountain.With her sword and shield at the ready, Jezebeth lunges ahead of the army with Ein in her sights. Before her golden sword can connect with its target Kessler appears between Jezebeth and Ein. The barrel of one of his guns crosses with Jezebeth's blade. Kessler then fires his other gun at the Anarchy Demon who blocks the shot with her shield. Jezebeth spins gracefully to the ground then leaps toward Kessler for another attack.
She steps to the side to dodge another round of plasma shots fired from Kessler's gun. As Jezebeth swings her sword Kessler blocks it yet again with his gun. Every attempt Jezebeth makes to land an attack with her sword is deflected by Kessler until she changes her strategy. Jezebeth swings her sword once more, fulling anticipating Kessler to use his guns to block her attack. When he does so Jezzebeth feints at the last moment, swings her sword around and cuts through Kessler's sleeve, wounding him across the arm.
As Kessler staggers briefly from the burning pain caused by the cut of the blade, Jezebeth moves in for another strike but the Pandora shifts out of her path. He reappears directly behind her, hoping to catch her off guard but Jezebeth senses his approach and deflects his plasma bullet with her shield. She then performs a swift high, middle and high reverse roundhouse kick in succession that knocks Kessler to the ground. The instant he hits the ground Kessler springs back up on his feet just as Jezebeth attempts to land an additional attack with her sword.
Meanwhile, Ein has managed to reduce The Caveat soldiers' numbers by more than half in a very short amount of time. Despite their renewed strength the soldiers are finding it impossible to get close enough to the Pandora to attack him. Ein literally moves parts of the mountain with his telekinetic abilities to bury the soldiers under tons of Earth, ice and snow. The resurrected Nevelyn makes an attempt to challenge Ein with her fully electrified body but she soon learns her assault is an act of folly.
With one hand extended outward, Ein stops Nevelyn in her tracks. He then sends her flying into an oncoming group of soldiers. From the top of Kessler's stone temple Nileas watches as Ein uses his mind to rip the limbs off of each and everyone of the remaining soldiers left standing. Nileas is seeing first hand just how powerful Ein is as the demonic army is shred into tiny pieces with the flick of his finger.
This is an game changer for Nileas. There was a time when he thought that he was a match for Ein but all of that has changed. If he's going to stand against something like Ein he'll have to get stronger, and the only way he'll be able to do that is by hunting demons for their souls. It doesn't matter who wins this scirmish today on Mount Columbia. Protecting the human race from either one of these beings is going to be a significant challenge for Nileas. Not willing to stick around to see who wins, Nileas shifts off of the mountain; there's much work for him to do.
While Ein needed only a few minutes to decimate her soldiers, Jezebeth has spent the same amount of time trying to weaken Kessler's defenses. The demon has managed to land a few hits on the long haired Pandora but nothing serious. As she weighs her options Jezebeth soon realises that the battlefield has grown quiet. She looks around expecting to see her soldiers only to find that they are nowhere in sight. Ein stands ten yards away from her with no visible indications of being in a battle.
   "You've destroyed my army?" a baffled Jezebeth asks Ein.
   "You sound surprise," Ein replies, wiping dust from the front of his dark suit.
These Pandora are far stronger than the ones Jezebeth encountered long ago. Faced with only two options, fight or flight, Jezebeth calmly sheaths her sword into the inner portion of her winged shield and chooses the latter.
    "I see I underestimated you Pandora," Jezebeth admits with a determined look on her face."It won't happen again."
In what could be considered as a cowardly act, the Anarchy Demon leaps into the air and takes flight as fast as she can. Not willing to let her escape, Kessler begins tp pursue Jezebeth until Ein advises him against it. 
    "Let her run," he tells Kessler.
    "Why should I? She tried to destroy us today. You know she'll try again."
    "That's what I'm counting on."
As the frigid mountain wind blows around them, the Pandora's eyes are fixed on Jezebeth as she flies away. Today's events are just the beginning of bloody conflict between demons and blue haired men; a concflict where humans will be caught in the crossfire.

Four and a half  months have passed since Diana Young, Reed Turner and Nileas Boanerges began investigating the mysterious death of a young woman in Acres. At the time Diana had no idea that her search for a killer would unearth a race of blue haired men who would eventually Convert Turner into one of them and murder his family. She never dreamed that her investigation would lead her to the person responsible for the death of her mother.
Now Diana and Reed seek to put the recent events behind them as they begin a new life together. But in order to do so Reed has to first clear his name in his daughter's and mother-in-law's death by turning himself in to Acres authorities. Because of Reed's unexplained disappearance he had become the prime suspect in their murders.
After being grilled by detectives for hours, Reed was able to convince them that Reuben Wolf was the one responsible for the murders and that he had spent all this time trying to track Wolf down. The detectives were still skeptical of Reed's claims; his dark shade of blue hair and eyes lead them to believe that Reed was trying to change his appearance to avade the police. However, with Diana backing his story they had no other option but to take him for his word. Reed was now free to go but he wasn't free from suspicion.
Both Diana and Reed know their lives will never be the same; they accept that. But the couple have made plans to wed in the Spring and they're going to do so at Iskandar's plantation home. Diana fell in love with the old house so much so that she talked Reed into funding the repairs for it so they could live there, with Iskandar's blessings. 
As Diana and Reed prepare for their future together, Nileas spending his days and nights hunting demons. He's traveled the world tracking these creatures for their souls. Taking a soul from a demon empowers a Panodra and after witnessing Ein decimate a huge demonic army, Nileas is determined to become as strong as possible.
This day, Nileas' journey has led him to a remote portion of the world, Tristan de Cunha. This archipelago of small islands is located some 1,700 miles from South Africa. With just over 270 inhabitants, these isolated islands under U.K. jurisdiction are also home to low level demons who thrive in secluded areas such as Tristan de Cunha.
One of those demons is a class of arachnid type predators that feed on small children and other indigenous animals that call this place their home. Since it's seperated from the modern world if someone goes missing in a place like Tristan de Cunha there's no hope of finding him or her alive. Nileas hopes to change all of that, one demon slayed at a time.
Meanwhile, back in Acres, with Reed away from the plantation house for a short visit into town, Diana is home alone. Over the past week or so she has been experiencing bouts of nausea and fatigue as well as vomiting; all signs of pregnancy. If she is pregnant it would be good news for Reed since he lost Molli. But before she informs him of the possibility Diana wants to be certain that she is carrying his child.
In the upstairs bathroom Diana takes a home pregnancy test. Ninety seconds pass before the results are in, confirming that she's pregnant. Diana's face lights up after veiwing the results of the test. She can't wait to tell Reed that he's going to be a father again. Unfortunately, she'll never get that chance. 
As she turns to exit the bathroom, Diana is in for the shock of her life. With a mischievous look in his eyes Reuben Wolf stands quietly between her and the exit. She nearly screams at the sight of the Pandora. The last time Diana had laid eyes on him was the day Kessler killed him in cold blood.  How is he here now?
Frozen stiff with fear, Diana heart races as Reuben steps closer to her. 
   "How-how are you alive?! I saw you die!"  
   "I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." 
   "Reed will kill you and make sure you stay dead if you lay a finger on me!"
   "I wouldn't count on that."
Diana flinches as Reuben runs his hand across her stomach. When she grabs his hand to make him stop, Reuben grins devilishly. He grabs Diana by her waist and forcibly pulls her closer to him.With nowhere to run and face to face with the essence of evil, Diana cringes as Reuben whispers in her ear, "Welcome to the family." 

					************

During my travels around the world I've encountered many stories and myths about the mysterious race of blue haired men. On the east coast of North America, I happen across a young Native American male who spoke of an interesting story that had been told to him by his grandparents. 
According to this indiviual ( who wishes to remain anonymous ), the unexplained disappearance of the Roanoke Colony in the late 16th-century may be attributed to these blue haired men. During their last night on Earth, as the colony was preparing to move to Croatoan Island they were visited by a tall, pale skinned man with long blue hair. It is said that this blue haired indiviual flew in from the night sky with featheredwings for arms;like a bird. 
It was on this night that all of the 90 men, 17 women and 11 children lost their lives at the hands of this creature, as stated by the Native American. Whether or not this story is true, there is recorded evidence of these blue haired men by dozens of other civilizations around the world, throughout history. 

However, this marks the first time that they were documented in North America.
                                                                                              
								-Historian Badr Iskandar