Daemon Encounter !!!

[Argus Steele]

The first thing Eve noted as Argus pulled up to where Jared was waiting for them, was that the street/house address was wrong. They were at least three blocks away from where Amber logged the street into their GPS. Argus put the SUV in park, then met up with Jared in front of the still running vehicle, where the two held a brief conversation. "What about the rookie? She packin' this round?" Both men would pause, then look at her in unison before shaking their heads collectively.

"Frail's not ready yet. Can't be pushing her too hard this soon. Doing that enough already. Remember what happened with Amber?" And back they went to talking like she wasn't there ...Going over last minute plans, and doing a weapons check. One thing Eve would discover with the two of them ... One always had a counter point to the other, no matter what the topic. They would even pick the strangest times as well. "So you know all those zombie movies? I'm thinkin' that's a perfect cover for Daemon, man. Blend right on in with them. Hell, they probably infect us with some sort of bad mojo to get all brain eating and stuff." Argus just shook his head, motioning to Jared to get in the back seat of the SUV.

"You're half right, bro. The Daemon infect the dead, animate them to where they either affect other humans, or kill them out right. A win-win situation..."

She'd wondered why they'd stopped so far away from the address. She'd even opened her mouth to ask, then was cut off as the two started to talk...about *her.* Eve snapped her jaw shut with an audible click of her teeth, just listening for a moment. They were telling her more than they might have realized, both by actions and words. Weapons check. Either they were both very cautious, or they were expecting something. Hard to tell, just yet....


"Two points, gentlemen. First of all, you never actually told me what a Daemon is." This mostly put in Argus' direction, followed with the arch of a brow. Then she half-twisted in her seat, enough to have both men in sight. "And two..." Here she dropped her voice to a stage whisper, raising one hand as if she were trying to tell them a secret. So very dramatic. "The frail can understand you!" The words were softened with a grin. Just a reminder that she *wasn't* a vegetable or as fragile as they might have thought. "So what are we expecting, hmm?"

You would have thought she pulled out a gun on them by the way they just looked at her for several moments without responding. Argus would get that soon to be known trademark smirk on his face before replying back. "First point frail, I did show you a form of a Daemon, several DVDs you saw, one of them called the thing. That was how some of the ways they can adapt human form. Two? We know you can hear us, Elf we are not tha ..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa ... Did you just call her an ... Elf?" Jared turned his head in Eve's direction looking at her silently before cutting loose with a loud burst of laughter. "I like it!!! Elf!!! Guess that makes you part of the brood for real tho'. And yeah, we are being a little on the cautious side ... Especially what happened *last* time when we..."

Argus suddenly made a very sharp right, which threw Jared to one side of the SUV ... "Sorry Pirate, she don't need to be hearing that little tale ... Not right now." Staring at Jared from the rear view mirror, just giving him ... a certain look. During all of that, Eve's phone would ring once again, It was Amber giving her some ...Interesting news. The store owner had attacked the police at the station and was shot dead. It on the wire a few minutes ago ...And while all that was going on ... His store somehow caught fire, and by the time the fire trucks arrived, it was way out of control. They suspected arson, because the fire consumed the building way too fast, even with all the books/paper products inside ...


"Yeah, for thick-skulled people like me, you have to clarify what I'm looking at. Could have been some bizarre form of doppleg?nger for all I knew." A shrug of her shoulders, settling back into her seat. "So stop *acting* like I can't hear the two of you, Tommy." Oh yes. If he was going to call her 'Elf' from now on, she was gonna have to use the 'less manly' name. Unless they called a truce, that was, but until then... The news Amber passed along caught her a little off guard. More than a touch creepy...hadn't she told Mortimus he'd deserved to have his store burned? "Well, our pierced up friend is dead, and apparently, his store...um...burned to the ground." Admittedly, she bit the inside of her lower lip a little at that, mulling that over. Had to be a coincidence, unless she'd picked up some delayed pyrokinetics she had yet to find out about.

...And if she had, God help her. "She said it burned fast. Too fast, so they're thinking arson."


Argus looked over at her right then ... ready to give her a little grief about the Tommy comment ...Business first. She'd get off lucky. This time. "You didn't do that ... Mmmm, you did say something about burning it to the ground and all ..." Jared had now placed himself in the middle of the back seat to get a view of both of them ... "No way!! The Elf is a firestarter, like Drew Barrymore??? That could come in handy if we ever face the undead, right?" The zombie debate continued until the trio reached the home of the girl, pulling up behind one of those mini vans that had the silly looking panels on the sides.

Jared rolled his eyes, before passing Argus what appeared to be a twenty dollar bill. The house was ... Well, plain. White picket fence, with cute little flowers all lined in a row. There was even the traditional welcome mat sign and a doorbell that played Gone with the Wind, when pushed. Argus coughed, as Jared muttered under his breath, handing him yet another twenty. There was a sound of a yapping dog from the other side of the door, a peek from the curtains, as the door would open with a apron wearing woman shushing the dog...

"Can I help you? Elvis!! You better settle down, or it's the cage for you!!! I'm sorry, he's like this around strangers." Jared stepped forward, flashing his best smile. "Not a problem, ma'am. We are here to talk with your daughter about what happened? I know it's been a short time since the incident, but we need to do this while it's still fresh in her mind."

She looked over the three of them with a slight narrowing of her eyes .... "But the police said, it was all due to bad drugs."

Jared would smile again ... "But what do you believe, ma'am?"

"Well...." Fidgeting with her apron, before glaring down at the still yapping dog that suddenly stopped, whined a little, and sat by her feet. "Molly Ann's always been a good girl, until she started hanging out with those frat boys. I knew they were .... I'm sorry, what are you again?" Jared flashed her a badge ... "Police Special Division, representing the school. We are not here to cause any more stress for her ma'am, but we don't think it's all about drugs either. "

[Argus Steele]

The dog reminded her why she was a cat-person. She'd never had the patience for those yapping little creatures, especially the ones that seemed to be nothing but a ball of eyes, teeth, hair, and voice box. Eve stood quietly, taking in the scenery, trying to ignore the cold feeling that was settling in. Not exactly from anything in the air - but nerves. She was a little afraid of what was going to happen here. Maybe something, maybe nothing - and the prospect that she might have to touch the girl and possibly have to *try* to see more of those events didn't exactly sit right with her. Eve didn't doubt for a moment that she could do it, though; but doing so and then remaining clear enough of mind to relate what she'd Seen...that might be something else altogether. Watching the interplay, watching Jared flash that badge, Eve was breathing quietly, deeply. Trying to distance herself a little, just focus on facts rather than the possibility of more gruesome details.


Opening the door to let them all inside, the tiny dog growled at Eve in passing, stopping once the owner glared at it once again. "Molly Ann's been sitting up in her room since coming home. Won't talk much. Won't eat. I'm not sure if bringing it back up so soon is a good idea for my baby ..." Jared nodded before sitting on the offered couch, while Argus had that bemused grin on his face, looking down at the mutt which did not seem to care for Eve at all. "Ma'am, would it be okay to ask a few questions, and if she starts getting upset, we'll stop it right there."

"I'll have to check with Curtis, down in the basement. Please excuse me ..." The tiny dog would remain, while the mother went into the kitchen, and down into the basement. Meanwhile, Argus had started whistling the theme to Leave It To Beaver ... Jared was looking around the interior of the home ... It was 100% Upper middle class, before looking over at Eve. "We might have to send you up there to talk to her, okay?" The mother had returned with a tray of cookies and milk... Luckily Argus had his shades back on, while Jared was trying *very* hard not to smile or laugh. "Curtis said one of you can talk to her, but only for a few minutes. Cookies?"


"Yeah. I already kinda figured that." Her voice was very quiet, but even in tone. The outside of the house had been...quaint. Cutesy. But the inside...it was just edging on creepy, now. It reminded her of her parents house; even the behavior of the girl's mother. Eve had declined to sit down, instead looked out one of the windows, arms neatly folded. And pointedly ignoring the annoying little dog. Dogs could smell oddities; cats could see them. At least cats were generally quiet about it. "Now it's a matter of asking the right questions the right way..." She'd wanted to ask more about that, about any specifics she needed to pick out...but then the girl's mother had returned. And with cookies and milk, on top of that. Oh yeah...she had to get away from that. "I'll go, then. Where is she?"


"Last room on the left, with the ... Disturbing poster ....Just go up the stairs there, dear." Eve could feel Argus and Jared's eyes on her as she left them. The steps were carpeted in a baby blue color to off set the bright yellow walls. There were pictures on the wall of family and friends, so painfully normal. Molly Ann's room wasn't hard to find, and there was that poster of the group Disturbed. Parents. Gotta love them. The door was closed.


"Not 'disturbing.' Disturbed." She was familiar with their work. She'd been considering the woman's wording about the poster as she'd climbed the steps, and it hadn't taken but a second to find it. Standing in front of the door, Eve took a deep breath, then untangled her arms from one another and knocked. Well...this should be...interesting. She only hoped she didn't freak.


(m) "It's unlocked." Simply stated. The room was a teenage girl's dream. Posters of every cool alternative/goth band out right now. Various mags on the floor as far as the eye could see. The walls of the room were painted gothic black, and Molly Ann was sitting at her window, with her back to Eve. Nothing else was on, and it was so quiet, you could probably hear the paint dry. "So... You here to tell me it was all in my mind too?


The girl was more aware than her mom seemed to be giving her credit for. Eve took a moment outside the door, eyes flickering over it before settling on the girl. "Sure. It was a weather balloon." Yeah, really awful attempt at humor, but she had to break the tension somehow. Too bad that probably didn't do it. "My name is Eve Lizt. Mind if I come in?" Not much of an age difference; Eve was only 19 herself, though she could come off as older or younger according to circumstances. Still, the bedroom was the girl's private space...So what are you gonna do, stand in the door and ask questions? She wanted to roll her eyes at herself, and with a shrug, stepped through the door. "But, yes. All kidding aside, I'm here to talk to you about that night."


Molly didn't turn around. The only response Eve would get was a slow rise and fall of shoulders dressed in dark purple and blood red. "A friend knew of a real cool party where I wouldn't be carded. Free drinks and fun had by all. Bunch of older guys there, not like in high school, you know? These guys were cool. And they were into the arts, and boasted about doing some summoning. I was so there!!! Mandy was all drunk by then and told them all how old I really was ... Derek was all made and nuts, because they could get in trouble for having a minor there and stuff, so they threw me in the closet and locked it. Told me if I keep quiet, they let me out when it was over ... Like after midnight! I would be so grounded!!! So big freaky looking dude showed up ... and they started painting stuff on the walls and doing some weird chanting. I begged for them to let me go, but the freaky guy pounded on the door told me to not make a noise, and it would be over."

Her eyes narrowed as she watched the girl, took a few steps closer, folding her arms again. "Could you see anything? What did you hear?" She was going to have to touch the girl; she could already see that. Molly might have been telling Eve what she knew, or she might not; for the most clear picture, there was going to have to be contact. Drawing a deep breath, Eve stepped up closer, hesitated a moment...then put a hand on the girl's shoulder, close enough to the girl's neck for her fingers to make contact with skin. She was braced, mentally, and the feeling was strange, almost perceptible, opening her mind to search for the events she was looking for.

Wait ... Something Amber had mentioned ...'The girl had been found gagged and bound ...' Then how was she able talk to ... Mortimus? As for the contact? There was nothing there. The touch produced ... Nothing. Like a thick void of nothingness. "A friend knew of a real cool party where I wouldn't be carded. Free drinks and fun had by all. Bunch of older guys there, not like in high school, you know? These guys were cool. And they were into the dark arts, and boasted about doing some summoning. I was so there!"

It was a feeling that reality had slipped. If a touch would yield nothing, then something was seriously wrong...particularly if Eve was actually extending, opening up to it. The tone of the girl's voice, the calm, almost slurred way of speaking reminded Eve a little of some of the other patients in Stonebridge. "Look at me, Molly." Something wasn't right...felt *beyond* wrong. Her hands twitched, and before she could give herself another second to hesitate, she'd grab the girl by a purple and red clad shoulder to jerk her around...then skitter back at the sight of the girl's face. "Jesus.." Barely breathed. She looked...dead. It was a look Eve was too familiar with; some of those that lingered, disembodied, would still carry that look...though there was often more blood and wounds involved.


(m) " Please ... Help me." Molly's eyes would make contact with Eve's though the voice now coming from the girl wasn't the same ... "Hullo, little mouse. Set out enough cheese, and you just never know what you'll catch. Or how many." The door would suddenly slam shut, Molly Ann's body falling to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. However, the owner of the voice continued to speak to her inside the now locked/secured room with her. "Maybe I should turn on the lights?" Suddenly the room was filled with a bright blinding light, as Eve found herself in a room filled with mirrors. On the walls. On the floor. On the ceiling. And in the room with her? The woman she seen back at the coffee shop.


Somehow... she just wasn't surprised. Eve drew a deep breath in an effort to steady herself, shooting a narrow-eyed glance around the room. "Mmm. And here I was starting to wonder if you'd forgotten me, even though I can't really imagine what you'd want with me in the first place." A shrug. Oh, so humble. She stuffed her hands in her pockets, which wasn't an altogether new thing with her..though this time she made an adjustment. Slid a fingertip against the keypad of the little cell, feeling for the right button. The one with a tiny dip in the center...hit it. Eve wasn't even sure it would work, but she figured it couldn't hurt to hit the speed dial number for Steele's phone. "Aren't you missing someone?" Mirrors. She *hated* mirrors, was more than a little afraid of what might come slinking up in one of them.

[Argus Steele]

Man, I hope Eve ... Elf, whatever her name is right now, is having better luck than me and Argus. I mean, we went into this with our eyes open, ready for a trap, and what happens? We fell into a trap! Shxt! Sorry, I reckon I need to bring you all up to speed on what's going on, huh?

The name's Rico. Jared Rico. I'm a long time friend of Argus T. Steele, cofounder of Night Walkers Inc. Doesn't ring a bell? Well, we are not exactly in the yellow pages yet, sort of more like a really scaled down version of the Ghost Busters meets Buffy/Angel meets the X-Files ... In my own opinion anyway. We were doing the neighborhood watch for things that went *bump* in the night ... Or day, depending on how daring those little demons and daemons are.

That was until Argus came across some nasty little files about kids being doped up and placed into wards and crazy houses due to things that they had seen or hadn't seen. Argus had this theory about the daemons being behind all of this, because those same kids could see and sense them and rat them out to the known populace. As bad as the world is getting any more, not too many folks are going to shed a tear of some mentally unbalanced teens hooked on meds, right?

Ol' Argus actually had this one right on the nose. First there was Amber (I'll let her tell her own story *providing* we get out of this alive!) Due to a lucky pick, Eve had been next out of a bunch of files. Argus even volunteered to look this one up himself, finding the girl working at a coffee shop. Long version? Go back and reread the earlier stuff. Short version? She's part of the crew now.

"Mmmm! Homemade cookies? Been ages since I've had ... Chocolate chip? This is what I'm talking about! Um ... Heh, sorry about the outburst, ma'am." She gave me that Brady Bunch mom smile ... "Quite alright. It's quite refreshing to have someone appreciate my cooking. And how about you? Would you like some cookies?"

Argus just looks at her for about a second, then shook his head no. "Perhaps you would like to talk to Curtis downstairs? He may have more answers for you as far as what the Doctors told us with Molly Ann." I don't know if Argus thought it was a good idea on her part, or he was just using it as an excuse to get away from her before he started laughing himself sick, but off he went, leaving me with the mother.

She had set the cookies aside, joining me on the couch ... She had that Julie Andrews type voice that was seconds away from singing *A Sthingyful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down* (A true classic for all you twenty somethings out there.) "They hire you boys younger and younger these days any more, hmmm? You don't look that longer than my Molly Ann." I just smiled at her, washing my *first* helping of cookies down with the milk ...

"Is there anything you can tell me about the frat party, or any of the boys?" Parents always have this knack of being able to pick out the bad apples of the bunch, maybe mom here might have seen something ...

"No, Molly never made it a habit to bring any boys home, Curtis could be so overbearing at times!!! She's not a baby any more, but don't go telling him that!!!" Whoa. I guess Curtis didn't let the wife engage in too much company either, because she certainly had no problem gabbing with a complete stranger ... Then again, it's the smile that gets them. Women dig the smile.

I figured I'd do my part and keep her talking in hopes of finding out something important ...

Until her hand rested on my thigh ... And I could have sworn her top was buttoned all the way when we first got here, instead of the first three being undone, offering me a subtle hint of cleavage ... not that I was looking .... -coughcough!-

Hopefully Argus wouldn't be down there with Curtis *too* long!

Boy was I WRONG!

[Argus Steele]

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(m) "What the fuck?"

Talk about bad timing ... Who would be trying to call him *now?* Needless to say, it alerted the beastie to Argus' whereabouts.

(m) "Shit."

At least he had time to reload.

Mere moments before ....

Looks like a basement, smelled like a basement, had basement stuff in it ...Well, it was safe to assume it *was* a basement. Argus left Rico up there to see what he could learn from 'Mrs. Cleaver' ...Truth be known, the whole smiling with the cookies and milk thing was making him sick to his stomach. Middle class America. Gotta love it.

His nose remained scrunch up, the steps offering a slight moan of protest as his full weight were placed upon them while descending. There was the man in question himself, simply known as Curtis, the father of Molly Ann. A sigh of relief did escape Argus upon meeting her father face to face, finding him repairing a microwave in a makeshift workshop, with a local baseball game being played on a small color TV. That in itself got a small smile from him. "Who's winning?"

"Hell if I know. I just keep the volume up loud enough to drown out that annoying yapping bitch, and the dog. What do you want to know about Molly? damn girl's a bitch whore like her mother, always going to those damned frat parties. Doing drugs!! What do they call it? Heroin, Cocaine, Xtacy, Crack and other mind-altering substances. What you're looking for is over there in the mini fridge."

That got the eye brow arch over the top of the shades right then. "Mmmmkay ... And what am I looking for, sir?" Making his way over to the mini fridge, gripping the handle, and pulling it open to reveal .... A head. Without a body. A severed head. A severed head that looked a lot like ...

(m) "Curtis ... Fuck."

"Fucked? Fraid so, meat sac. No use in trying to run up the stairs now, and your friends? They are being ... Taken care of. It's just me and you." All this time, 'Curtis' had not turned around. Either this guy was incredibly stupid or very powerful. Or both. Argus already had his weapon out 1.2 seconds after opening the fridge, the laser sight targeting set.

"So let us get down to business, shall we?" Sounds of loud sick bone popping, resulting from the head turning all the way around likethe Exorcist, soulless eyes glaring at him. The next sickening noise would be of rupturing flesh as countless anime like tentacles were freeing themselves from its host, with Argus being their target. While the daemon was fast, Argus was faster, blasting several tentacles into so much ash. That smug expression would quickly turn into one of astonishment as several more took their place, smashing through furniture and other solid objects, placing Argus on the quick defensive.
Hoping to even the odds pretty quickly, blaster fire took out all lit light bulbs, leaving the basement in total darkness, save for the bits of light coming in through the closed windows. Crouching behind stacked boxes, Argus held his breath, listening for any other sound, while reloading ...

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(m) "What the fuck?"

Talk about bad timing ... Who would be trying to call him *now?* Needless to say, it alerted the beastie to Argus' whereabouts.

(m) "Shit."

[Argus Steele]

"Why are you so important to them, little mouse? You're nothing more than a wee slip of a girl, quite...*fragile!*" The sudden scream vibrated to the very core of Eve's being, the mirrors shaking like they would crackle and break any second. Instinctively, Eve dropped into a crouch, covering her head with her hands...just in time. Without further warning, the mirrors exploded around her, showering her with deadly shards of glass. The harsh echo of the shriek and the shatter of glass soon subsided, and Eve would raise her head to find herself surrounded by images of...

Herself.

Eve, the Child with invisible friends.
Eve, the troubled Adolescent.
Eve, the Patient at Stonebridge.
Eve, the Server at the coffee shop.

The feeling that the world was on a tilt had set in, threatening to engulf her and spiral her away to some dark place. It was a feeling of unreality to be looking at herself; Eve had a habit of avoiding mirrors, and had no photos of herself as a child. She'd done relatively well, to this point...but it wasn't herself she'd been afraid of slinking up - not that this comforted her any. None of those versions of herself looked terribly happy, the most recent even less so. Glass crackled as she moved, looking around to take in the full scale of this new horror, and rose slowly to her feet. "What the hell...?" Breathed, but just barely.

"Hell?" This from the version of herself that was still dressed in dull Stonebridge blues. Her dark curls were a mess around her pale face and shoulders, arms folded, shoulders straight. Her expression was suspicious, brows drawn together in a scowl. This was the thinnest version of herself present, strung out on the various medications forced on her by the staff, and complete with dark circles beneath her eyes. If this was all a product of her mind, Eve decided, then her memory was indeed *too* good. "You think you know hell?" Even her voice was tinged with anger. So strange, hearing it from another perspective. "You don't know a damned thing. Stupid girl."

"Shut up!" The Adolescent version of herself spoke - or more appropriately, yelled in a voice that was still high of pitch with youth. It was with mild horror that she realized the young girl was dressed in a ballet costume - deep blue toe slippers laced up calves dressed in light blue tights, and a pretty, sparkly dark blue dress that flowed freely to her knees for dance. Her hair was even pulled up, dressed in glittery barrettes and pins, and she was wearing makeup. It was the same costume she'd been wearing when she'd..."You've caused more problems than you've ever helped solve! Why can't you ever just-"

"You're always yelling!" The youngest Eve chimed in now, the one that looked to be around five. The little girl clapped her hands over her ears in an effort to drown out the shouts, upsetting the pink ribbons that restrained her dark locks into high pigtails, a pink that matched her little dress and the ruffles edging her tiny socks. "Stopitstopitstopit!"

Eve winced herself. She knew that feeling, and knew it was worse on the childish image of herself. She'd heard things clearly then - not only the voices of those yet living, but also of those dead. Now it was a little more difficult to hear *them* - she'd either lost a little of that portion of the ability over time, or had formed some sort of mental block against it.

"One at a time." This not from Eve, but from the version of herself clad in the basic uniform of the coffee shop - neat jeans, a little black apron tied at her waist, and a tank top with a button-down pulled on over it. The most recent version of herself - but looking quite self-assured and composed compared to the others. She didn't shout, didn't raise her voice at all, but the calm sound had been enough to pierce through the din. A note of sanity in a world that decidedly wasn't. "None of this is helping."

The other three quieted. The Child dropped her hands from her ears, folding the tiny fingers primly in front of her. The Adolescent heaved a silent - if not dramatic - sigh and nodded, dropping her gaze to watch to the tip of a toe-shoe nudge at a shard of glass. The Patient went quiet, but was silently glaring, shifting her stormy gaze between the present and most recent past version of herself.

"What is this?" Eve thought her voice was dry, shaky, even to her own ears. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "I mean...is it real? Or is this some warped thing my mind has come up with?"

The Adolescent blinked at her. The Child looked at the others as if for explanation. The Patient laughed bitterly. The Server smiled indulgently. "Does it really matter? Either way, no one would believe you, and it doesn't matter if they do or not - this is all meant for you, you see."

Blink, blink. Eve opened her mouth to retort - that of course it mattered, or something along those lines, but the Patient spoke, this time a little more reasonably. "You're lost, girl. Again. You need to get back on track. Figure out how to deal with all of this."

"Huh?" Oh, very intelligent. Eve gave her head a shake, ignoring the crackle around her as a few pieces of glass fell out of her hair. "*I'm* lost? You're one to talk. Besides, none of this was my choi-"

"Of *course* it wasn't your choice!" The Server sighed. "Look, no one is ever *willingly* born with this. It's got a way of seriously screwing with your head, as you can seen. And maybe it was even worse for you in some ways, but...look, the point is-"

"Get over it, use it, and get on with life." The Patient had a short temper. The scowl refused to leave her face, darkening and hardening her features. Funny, Eve had never thought of herself as an angry person, but...okay, maybe bitter to some extent. "Stop your d**n whining and denial and hunting for a way out." This passed for a moment, in which Eve opened her mouth to respond, before the Patient quietly shot out, "Coward."

"Now wait just a minute here-!" Eve started to retort just in time with the others. Apparently, none of them liked the Patient's name-calling either...

Even the Server, the seeming voice of sanity in this place, couldn't quiet this din. The Child started to cry for them all to be quiet again, covered her ears. The Adolescent had taken to passionately, tearfully defending what she'd done to the Patient. The Patient ignored her, shouting retorts of her own back at Eve and the Server alike. The Server was making an attempt to quiet everyone, to bring everything back to a reasoning level, but everyone was ignoring her.

How long the argument would continue, Eve couldn't say. Nothing was settled, naturally, and Eve herself only began to forget her own fears in the face of her severe annoyance with the Patient. Had she really been that terrible then? If this was any indication...

The fuss only ceased when a sudden sound cut through the din of feminine voices. A low rumble, and almost grate of stone-on-stone, more felt than heard. All voices faded off as Eve realized that all of them were looking just *behind* her...and turning, she found a door where none had been before. A chill breathed across the back of her neck, slid down her spine to draw a cold shiver from her. It was happening again, she realized dimly as she eyed the door. That cold, that warning. It always meant there was something there she didn't want to see....

"What is it?" Half-turning, she looked back at the others. The Child had taken to covering her eyes, the Adolescent to biting her lower lip, fingertips worrying the transparent overlay of her dress. The Patient's face had gone stoney, eyes wide and unblinking, unreadable, jaw set. Even the Server's features had taken on a carefully blank set, but Eve knew the look. Eve knew the expression on each face, though it had changed over time: they were all afraid. Terrified, actually.

"What does it look like?" The Patient, ever the gutsy-one, spoke up first. "It's a door, genius."

"But where does it go?" Eve spoke very softly, almost whispered. She was afraid to ask, afraid to know. She had the feeling that it was something she didn't want to see, something she didn't want to know. It was something evil - or at least, very dark.

"It's for you to see..." The Adolescent turned away from them, still tugging at the transparent layer of the dress. Something to do with her hands.

Eve groaned inwardly, bit the inside of her lip, and half-turned from the door, shoving her hands in her pockets again. She didn't like the way the younger her had said that. It meant that...

"Open it." Not just one voice, but all four of them at once, right on cue. Apparently they were all in agreement, she thought blithely.

Naturally, Eve hesitated, and did so for a long minute. She *really* didn't want to know...but she had the feeling this wasn't going to end unless she did so. That bone-chilling cold was still burrowing its way into her muscles, leaving cold skin in its wake. She felt the changes taking place as she crossed to stand before the door; her expression went blank, her muscles tensed to ready for movement. The crunch of glass under foot had seemed too loud, and for a moment she hesitated in front of the door, hand on the knob...Then turned it.

[Argus Steele]

She couldn't say what she expected to be behind that door; some monster from her own psyche, or perhaps one of her own personal demons. It had even flickered through her mind that it might be absolutely nothing...or a gateway into a reality she wouldn't understand.

Perhaps not so dramatic as that, but what stood there looking back at her *did* cause her to cease breathing momentarily.

Eve was looking at...herself. Again. This time however, it was quite...different. This version was clad in tight leather-and-lace, accentuating the curves the snug material restrained and displayed all at once. Her hair was a little longer, dark brown curls left to tumble freely down her back, eyes artfully lined with black khol. The set of her delicate features was altogether harder, grey eyes more calculating. This woman exuded an aura of absolute confidence, and something in her expression was smug, hinting that she knew more than anyone else should.

This was no *former* version of herself, Eve fast understood, and didn't like the implications of that at all.

The cold, crawling sensation on Eve's skin hadn't gone away, and didn't feel as if it would anytime soon. The knowledge lingered about the edges of perception, something she was distantly aware of but questioned little. Her hand fell away from the doorknob, and she took a step back as this new variant of herself stepped forward. Leather-and-Lace even *looked* sleeker, and had more of a sway in her step. Her dark mouth twisted slightly as she glanced past Eve to the past forms of herself. It was a look Eve knew well from her time at Stonebridge: Pity. It surprised her a little, as she'd expected disdain or outright disgust. Eve knew that this newest form of herself considered them *all* to be...lesser.

But there would have been little for Leather-and-Lace to gain in forgetting or trying to erase the past outright; instead, the power would come with remembering it to make herself stronger. After all, it seemed all of them had come together somehow to make this new version into what she was now...or what she could become.

Needless to say, Eve wasn't fond of the idea; she seemed the complete opposite of Eve herself. What kinds of paths had she taken to reach that? Cold, harsh, egotistical....and yet utterly self-assured. In control, not only of herself and her emotions, but also of her *abilities.*
As if Eve hadn't already been chilled enough, the realization made her shiver.

Leather-and-Lace looked at Eve once more and smiled; it wasn't reassuring. More like the cat that had caught and crippled the canary. "Hello, Eve. Welcome to the meeting of the minds. Mind. Yours." A nod toward the past versions behind them. Eve could sense the two younger versions of herself fidgeting, the older two standing absolutely still. Waiting. "Theirs." Leather-and-Lace's expression quckly changed, a sneer flashing across her features. "Ours."

[Argus Steele]

Reality seemed to be spiralling quickly away; Eve had the feeling that the ground beneath her feet shouldn't even feel solid, that the crunch and grind of broken glass beneath their shoes shouldn't even had that awful distinct sound; perhaps it should begin to squeal or bark or cry instead. It didn't though, and somehow, Eve managed to keep from simply dropping down, covering her head and trying to deny it all.

Not that it was easy; in fact, it was horribly tempting in the face of all of this. But she wasn't a little girl anymore, wasn't that distraught teen, and wasn't heavily medicated and locked away from everyone. She knew what reality was; it was what she could taste and touch and feel. Everything *seemed* solid enough...it was just that everyone around her *was* her in one form or fashion.

So ride it out.

Drawing a deep breath, Eve forced her shoulders straight, turned to look at the apparent future for herself as she strode about, examining each of the others in turn. The Child darted over to cower behind the Server; everyone else held their ground, though the Adolescent dropped her gaze and continued to fidget with the beaded overlay of her dress.

"Mine, you mean." Eve spoke quietly, trying to keep a close watch on Leather-and-Lace and remain aware of everything else at once. Not an easy task. Faintly, she wondered if trying to speed-dial Steele on the cell had worked...*if* she'd done it at all. That detail was a little fuzzy at this point, but she didn't have time to consider it much. "As I see it, they belong here. You're just...a guest that I'd like to evict." Why bother putting up a front or pretending. As the distaste from Leather-and-Lace was heavy in the air, Eve was sure her own dislike of this new variant was as well.

They shared the same mind, after all, even if it seemed to be different points in time.

Leather-and-Lace had been reaching up as if to touch one of the Patient's tumbled curls, even as the Patient was giving her a stone-faced stare. Eve's voice had made her stop, turn instead once more to face her. Her mouth curved up into the cat-that-killed-the-canary smile, and she drew something out of a pocket and held it up. A little cellular phone. *Eve's* cell phone. The all heard the Adolescent gasp, and Eve knew she'd begin to bite her lower lip again. The Child latched her arms around the Server's waist, sobs muffled against the woman's back. The leather-clad woman threw the phone on the glass-littered floor and smashed the heel of a boot against it, splintering the little screen in a tiny shower of sparks. She then looked up, expression mild, as if nothing had happened.

"Eve, that is the problem, you see. We depended on someone else to do what we *always* could. Not our fault, really. Just Mom and Dad doping us up because they thought we were some kind of freak." Leather-and-Lace made a throwaway gesture with one hand. "...You *do* know Dad wanted to kill us on different occasions, but Mom threatened to leave him and take us away? Guess that explains those *loving* stares, huh?"

"My parents didn't understand, and you *know* it." ...Something was touching about the edges of Eve's consciousness. Something wasn't right, something in her speech..."Besides, I *am* a freak, but I know I'm not the only one anymore." She was being baited, she realized. Nudged toward something...

"You know, they wished that we'd died that night, don't you? Can't have a crazy daughter ruining their *good name* after all." Leather-and-Lace examined her nails casually, each carefully manicured and painted some dark hue. "They took it pretty far, too. Even *told* everyone we died." Eve stared at her for a long moment, then shook her head. "I don't know what you want, but you're not going to get it. Leave. Now."

Leather-and-Lace stepped closer to Eve, standing eye-to-eye with her. "But that's just it. I *can't* leave. We're one and the same, even if you're too stupid to know that yet."

Leaning forward just slightly, Eve drew a sharp little breath, seeming to consider her words carefully before speaking. "No, we're not. I *refuse* to be *you.*"

She stared at Eve for a long moment, her features set into a scowl at Eve's sudden boldness; Eve had the feeling that she hadn't believed it was in her present incarnation. Eve was angry, but it was focused, directed by will and far from blinding. Tightening her jaw and refusing to blink, she continued in the standoff with Leather-and-Lace, refusing to back off, to even let her gaze flicker away. Finally, the future variant nodded slightly, the corners of her mouth tugging up again. Not exactly a smile, more like a baring of her teeth. "If that is how you want it..."

Eve wasn't even given a second to respond; she had a strange feeling, another chill racing through her. Abruptly, Eve was aware of movement close by; not any of her prior selves, or even of the possible future. It was...Molly Ann. It made Eve's perceptions spin briefly. Had the girl always been there, unnoticed, or...? She couldn't say, but didn't think that noticing the girl's presence right now was a good thing.

"...Then I'll have to go about it another way!" The sudden shout was punctuated with Leather-and-Lace spinning on her heel to kick Molly Ann in the face. The move floored the weak girl, throwing her face-down on the broken shards of glass. Eve saw her hands scrabble as if to try and get purchase, push herself up again...just before Leather-and-Lace shoved a boot into her back hard, grinding Molly Ann down onto the floor. The girl screamed, cried out for her to stop. Leather-and-Lace obliged her by pulling her foot away...but Eve Felt something else happening. It trickled down her spine like cold sweat, and Leather-and-Lace was holding one hand out, palm down, fingers splayed wide.

Forcing Molly Ann against the floor, but by force of will alone rather than any normal physical means.

Attacks on herself were bad enough; Eve would have rather Leather-and-Lace had attacked one of the prior versions herself, or even her directly, than bring the girl into this. Eve was not actually afraid to die, though not as willing to embrace it as she had been on that one attempt to take her life. To bring drag someone else into this, to make them suffer for *her* was perhaps, to Eve, the most vile thing that Leather-and-Lace might have done. Fear came on quickly, disgust welling up fast on its heels. The fear threatned to freeze her, to make her do nothing, to prove her to be as weak and powerless as this future version of herself seemed to believe her to be.

Rage.

Eve had never before been so angry in her entire life; it was like opening a box to find some hidden give inside, lighting a candle where only there had been darkness. For all of a heartbeat, it threatened to take over, consume her. The blind, unfocused rage would leave her open, black her out, drain her will....

Focus.

It was a moment of clarity, stunning and pure. Eve *knew* things, understood things in ways she never had before...but there was an odd sense of detachment with it. She knew what was happening, could see it and feel it, but she had the sense of almost standing back, watching herself react. "Stop!" The word carried weight, and she knew that Leather-and-Lace had an understanding of her own just before the force alone struck her, staggered her. By this time, she'd began to twist poor Molly Ann on the ground, grinding her body into the glass. Blood streaked the floor, and the girl wasn't sobbing so much as gurgling and struggling for breath. Leather-and-Lace stopped what she was doing momentarily, turned to look at Eve...and only *smiled.*

Eve Felt them come in. The cold was still in her skin, burrowing into her bones, but she ignored it. She was aware of them in the same way she was aware of her own breathing and heartbeat; there were others coming to help Leather-and-Lace.

Daemons.

[Argus Steele]

She could Feel them in her head just as much as on her skin; they were like points of light scattering around the room; two heading toward those past forms of herself, one coming directly for her. Eve heard the Child scream, the Patient cursing and the Adolescent and the Server talking quickly, trying to figure something out. None of them were in the right frame of mind, she realized....

If the daemons destroyed or wounded her previous selves, could they damage her? Eve didn't know, and hoped not to find out.

A loud crackling, sickening sound drew Eve's attention back to Leather-and-Lace once more. With Eve's attention elsewhere, the woman had taken the oppoturnity to finish Molly Ann, to grind her into the floor, *crush* her against it. The snapping sounds had been from the sheer pressure and force of Leather-and-Lace's will against the girl's spine and ribs and the back of her skull. It was an awful sight, one that threatened to shake her, make her lose her will.

Leather-and-Lace herself was what saved Eve from it; she'd moved away from Molly Ann's broken body to a doorway that Eve hadn't seen before. It appeared blank at first, shimmered...then the haze within took shape. A wide stretch of carefully manicured lawn surrounding a stately two-storied yellow house. The image wavered dreamily, but Eve recognized it for what it was: her parent's house.

The knowledge struck her, settled into her mind as if it had always been there. Leather-and-Lace wanted full control, wanted to take Eve's place now, and kill her parents. "You don't deserve to be in control, Eve. I'm far stronger than you will ever be."

One of her prior selves screamed her name; Eve turned to find that one of the daemons had snatched up the Patient by the throat, and was shaking her like a rag doll. Eve's eyes widened slightly, and she lashed out without thinking. It was a very strange feeling...like physical movement, but without being so. It was powerful, that telekinesis; she could move more than she ever had hope of using her physical body. There was the sense of motion, even the sense of the daemon's weight and texture of its skin as it was tossed into the air itself, thrown against the far wall. The Patient was still in its grasp, went with it, but on impact, the daemon lost its grip and she skittered away, ignoring cuts from the glass.

Everything...flickered. It was so quick Eve almost missed it, wasn't even positive she saw it, lost within an eyeblink. She willed the other two daemons up from the ground quickly, slammed them together repeatedly...and saw it then. Reality flickered around her, revealing glimpses of...a room. And not just any room - black walls, posters, a window and a door. Throwing the daemons aside, right onto the first she'd thrown that was getting back up, Eve turned back to Leather-and-Lace.

Eve was only a split-second faster than Leather-and-Lace this time. She felt the force of the other woman's will against hers, but only increased her own against it. Pushing against her, wanting her to feel the same thing she'd made that poor girl, that Molly Ann feel....

Her surroundings shimmered again. Molly Ann's room....and it wasn't *herself* at all she was fighting against. The woman from the coffee shop was staring balefully at her, more than a little startled to realize that Eve was able to pierce the illusions and break free.

Eve was startled herself. It confused her for an instant, left her dizzy, wondering what was real and what wasn't...before she decided it didn't matter.

"Kill them." Snarled by the woman from the coffee shop, pointing at Eve's past selves with a sharp nail. And then she was moving, going for that door.

Two things happened at once, and Eve wasn't even sure how it happened; she ran for the woman from the coffee shop, physically tackling her and dragging her down from behind before she could reach the door. At the same time, Eve's will was reacting, reaching, pulling, twisting, *breaking* the demons. To feel bone and cartilage snap in an unreal grasp was beyond strange, more than little sickening. Eve wasn't actually a violent person, but she couldn't let this happen for numerous reasons. Daemons howled and shrieked; the other four of herself screamed or cried or recoiled respectively. Now, she couldn't really worry about what they were doing.

Something hit Eve, but not physically; it was a crushing weight within her skull, causing a black wave to pass her vision, her to momentarily lose grasp of...everything, as it felt like her brain should be dripping out of her nose and ears. By the time she regained control of her senses enough to realize she'd lost her grip on the woman, she'd gotten loose, was back on her feet.

And commanded more daemons to enter and attack.

The door to Molly Ann's room creaked open. Eve was expecting an entire horde, but instead...it looked like one. A very big one, bathed in the bright crimson of fresh blood.

Just...*wonderful.*

[Argus Steele]

It was right out of one of those countless horror movie moments. Sans the music that usually had more of a effect on the nerves that the actual scene you were viewing itself. Real life? You were too scared to move, losing bodily functions, or breaking a track and field record.

Time all but stopped right then, a creature that was almost too hideous to describe stood in the door frame of Molly Ann's room, obsidian eyes seething with naked malice, bile dripping from its bared crooked fanged teeth. A very forked tongue escaped its mouth as if it had a mind of its own, while overly muscular long arms with flesh rending talons, scraped the floor, its boiled covered misshapen body was threatening to shatter the surrounding door frame.

Those soulless eyes would transfix themselves upon Eve, a voice best described as *sounding* hissed ...

"I am going to enjoy you in every conceivable way, before you die."

That was when a bolt of what appeared to be made of pure energy pulsed from the latest arrival. Only its head suddenly exploded in bone and brain matter and gore, before falling to the floor with a less than graceful thud. The energy pulse discharged continued ... Not once, not twice, bypassing Eve, finding their true target, striking Taynia repeatedly with scores of wounds being opened upon her flailing form, life blood shooting and spraying in every random direction, screeching until her throat was raw. The barrage paused long enough for the smoke to clear, Eve would be addressed in a somewhat familiar gruff, deep tones ..

"Got yer call, frail. Sorry I'm late. Had a little trouble down in the basement."

A series of quick blinks would show a figure standing over the unmoving nightmare, it was none other than a very much blood drenched Argus Steele, who resumed to firing his weapon upon the familiar, completely discharging it until she was very much dead. Not moving. Still. Deceased. Prone. Rigor Mortis. Stopped. Taken care of. Dealt with. 86' d. Annihilated. Destroyed.

"How's the kid?" Molly Ann was huddled up in the corner of her room, eyes wide and unblinking, offering hints of being unresponsive/in a deep state of shock. But alive. If you wanted to call that such. Argus didn't even appear to mind that he was covered in blood. Hell, it's not his. Comes with the job. Sometimes, anyway. Reaching for his cell phone, he called Amber to have her contact their CSI contact, saying only three words ....

"Bag and Tag."

Another voice would be heard coming from down stairs ... "Steele!! The Elf and the girl okay? Stupid dog ruined my jacket, and the mother I had to ..." Jared was about to go into one of those post assignment rants, which meant they were done here. Shaking his head slightly, while picking off several pieces of ... Of ... Something or another from his hair, he reached inside the jacket pocket for a fresh pack of smokes. To Hell with the gum on this one. He *really* needed a few strong drinks, but the smokes would have to do right now.

Leaning against the wall, he would finally allow himself to relax once the faint sounds of approaching sirens were becoming louder, his gaze rested upon the latest addition of their Night Walkers Inc clique. Lighting up, he inhaled deeply before blowing two smoke rings into the air. "Welcome to the jungle, frail. That ..." Pointing over to the now smelly decomposing blob. "...Is a bona fide grade a daemon."

That would be all he'd say for now, letting her tend to the girl until the professionals arrived. Was he reflecting on the entire episode? Sort of. It was more like mentally prepare to do all that fxcking paper work, including getting detail statements from his crew. thingying his head to one side, Argus studied Eve, really looking at her. Body language, her eyes, how she talked and handled herself, before slowing nodded to himself. She made it through her first real trip out into the field, and lived to tell about it. That was good enough for him right now. They'd have that private chat later, once she had time to sort it all out, process it, grab a hot shower, and some decent grub.

He'd give her another smile before turning to meet the group of various CSI agents that were making their way to the upstairs level of the home.