This is the eleventh Part of Luna's Point of View of the latest scheme from Luna and Maggie.

If you're trying to keep track, the first part was Newfound Depths by Luna.

The Second was Unusual Depths by Maggie.

The Third was Newfound Desires by Luna.

The Fourth was Unusual Desires by Maggie.

The fifth was Newfound Strength by Luna.

The sixth was Unusual Strength by Maggie.

The seventh was Newfound Determination by Luna.

The eighth was Unusual Determination by Maggie.

The ninth was Newfound Dangers by Luna

The tenth was Unusual Dangers by Maggie

The eleventh was Newfound Realities by Luna

The twelfth was Unusual Realities by Maggie

The thirteenth was Newfound Existence by Luna

The fourteenth was Unusual Existence by Maggie

The fifteenth was Newfound Enemies by Luna

The sixteenth was Unusual Enemies by Maggie

The seventeenth was Newfound Adversaries by Luna

The eighteenth was Unusual Adversaries by Maggie

The nineteenth was Newfound Longing by Luna

The twentieth was Unusual Longing by Maggie

Now comes Newfound Hope from this corner... notice a theme? LOL.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as we are enjoying writing it!

Love ya,

Luna

Disclaimer: Laurell K. Hamilton and the Berkley Publishing Group do not authorize this author. All characters that you recognize belong to either Laurell K. Hamilton or Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB, and UPN own all rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Except for the ones created by the people in this group. This is solely for entertainment purposes.

Rating: R for language and adult situations.  Hints of non-consensual.  If that offends you please stop reading NOW!

Author's Note:  A special thanks must go to my beta and friend Maggie, without whom I would be hopelessly lost and constantly behind.  I'd also like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed thus far.  It's been a hoot to write this I hope that you continue to enjoy our meager efforts to amuse and entertain you!

Anything Else: *Indicates emphasis*, ~ indicates mental communication.~

Newfound Hope

I drifted slowly to awareness.  A yawn passed my lips as I stretched.  Slowly my lids fluttered open to stare at the stars twinkling merrily above me.  My brows pulled together.  Taking stock I realized that I was still asleep, which meant that I was still tucked all safe and sound in bed between two vampires back at Wolfram and Hart.

Getting to my feet I brushed dirt and debris from my backside.  Looking around I noticed with some trepidation that this scene was eerily familiar.  Trees surrounded me on all sides.  A pale moon hung in the sky.   There was no lake but its scent was in the air.  It was similar to the last dream I'd had.  I could feel a frown marring my features.  "Jean-Claude, this isn't funny," I shouted as I reached up to shred the dream.

Twigs snapping and branches being brushed aside reached my ears.  The sound was coming quicker now.  I took a defensive stance.  I would give whoever had created this little reality the chance to explain him or her self.  I never expected to see the lovable blonde that came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the clearing.  She, yeah she, gave me a tremulous smile before she said, "Well I've been accused of being a lot of things lately but I must admit, the French Fop wasn't one of them."

I gasped.  No!  It couldn't be.  I reached out a trembling hand to touch her but drew it back before it ever made contact.  I was too afraid she'd disappear if I tried to hold her.  "Maggie," I asked breathlessly.  Tears coursed down my face.   I let them fall unchecked.  I missed her so much.

The one person I had wanted to see more than any other was standing a few feet from me.  She took a couple of steps toward me.  Tears coursed down her sweet face.  She reached out and cupped my face in her small hands, gently wiping away my tears with her thumbs.  "Yeah it's me Looney Tunes. You'd think you missed your kitten or something."  Her voice was thick and choked with emotion.

It was real.  *She* was real!  I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly.  God how I had wanted this, to be able to hold her in my arms and know that she still wanted and needed me.  There was a part of me that knew she was angry with me.  I had made her different, something I *knew* she desperately didn't want to be.  "I'm so sorry," I whispered over and over brokenly.

Maggie held me tightly as I cried, rubbing my back, stroking my hair.  As she continued to hold me I could feel the love radiating from her. "Shhh...it's okay. We'll sort all that out later."  She kissed my cheek before pulling back to look into my eyes.  I knew my gaze held the confusion I was feeling.  "Am I happy about what you did? No, and we will be having a talk about doing things that involve me without my permission eventually."

Her smile softened the harshness of her words as she continued.  "Right now I am just so happy to see you. I know your actions whatever I think of them were motivated by love. I don't know how much time we have, and there is a lot to cover. But NEVER doubt I love you."  She gave me another hug and giggled.  God, I had missed that sound falling from her lips.

To know that she'd forgiven me was more than I could have asked for.  I knew that there would be issues to work through but they would have to wait.  We couldn't do that while I was still trapped here in... Hell.  Yeah, that pretty much described where I was.  Okay, so, technically it wasn't the hellish dimension I had previously been in.  However, knowing that when I woke up I was going to have to deal with both Spike and Angel was a type of hell.  I sighed and let my fingers intertwine with hers.  "I've missed you so much Maggie," I could feel the tears welling up again.  I took a deep breath.  "I thought... I thought I was never going to see you again.  Never get to tell you how much I love you.  I want to come home!"  The last sentence was nearly a wail.

My sweet soul sister gave my hand a gentle reassuring squeeze.  She led me past a stand of trees into another clearing.  This one had a bench where we could sit and talk.  We walked over to it and she sat down, pulling me with her and wrapping her arms around me.  She brushed the hair away from my face.  Maggie shook her head.  I wondered what she would say when she realized that these changes were actually how I looked now.

"Luna I want you home too. That's why I'm here. I don't know how much time I have but I want to get you home soon. I have Jean Claude at bay for the moment."  She raised a hand to keep me from interrupting.  "Long story. Suffice it to say he's very interested in my new abilities and I am not taking any shit from him. Noah and the kids are helping me. So is Raven, which brings me back to getting you home.  I tried one spell to bring you home but that apparently just made you dimension hop. Raven is helping me set up a Portal spell to make a doorway between worlds. So, first off, I need to know where the hell you are."

I couldn't help it.  I laughed.  I laughed until my sides ached and tears trailed down my face.  I had been so sure that *I* was going to have to find a way home that it never even crossed my mind that Maggie could do it.  Swallowing I turned to look at my sister.  She was not amused.  I couldn't say that I blamed her either.  "First off, I don't think you're crazy.  I think I've finally gone 'round the bend."  I could still hear the amusement in my voice.  I swallowed again.  "Maggie, you're not going to believe me.  Hell, I'm here and *I* don't believe it."

Maggie?s blonde head fell to the side as she studied me, probably trying to figure out my sudden mood swing.  "With what I've been through lately, I wouldn't be so sure I won't believe you."  I knew I probably didn't look convinced. Squinting her eyes at me, she sighed. "What exactly am I not going to believe Luna?"

I stared at her for a long moment before I finally said, "You have to *promise* not to laugh.  I mean it too or I'm not saying another word."  She promised.  Closing my eyes I sighed heavily.  "I'm in Los Angeles.  At Wolfram and Hart."  I was hoping I wouldn't have to explain it to her.  'God, please let her be able to figure it out,' I prayed silently.

She stared at me obviously waiting for me to say more.  There wasn't going to happen, not unless I absolutely had to spell it out for her.  Confusion was etched on her pretty face.  She gasped.  "You mean like Angel's Wolfram and Hart? The vampire show you make me watch...not that that guy isn't cute but that place?"  She couldn't keep the incredulity out of her voice.

'At least she didn't laugh,' I thought.  "Yeah Maggie, that place," I said sounding as tired as I felt.  "And let me tell you it's not all it's cracked up to be."  My arms crossed over my chest and I could feel a pout pulling at my features.  I knew I was being childish but I couldn't seem to help it.

Biting her lip Maggie laid her head on my shoulder and grinned up at me.  "Well, I'll just have to bring you home if you don't want to play with the cute vampires anymore."  Something must have occurred to her because her lovely face became serious as she raised her head.

"Luna, Jean Claude has been trying to piggyback on my astral journeys so I can't stay much longer. It's too dangerous. What is the safest place at Wolfram and Hart to put the portal for you? Do you have help to anchor it on your end or are we going to have to just try putting a protection spell on it from our end and hope for the best?"  At my confused look, she waved my question away, "I've been spending a lot of time studying with Raven. Now what about the rest."

At her mention of Jean-Claude and the trouble he'd caused her I wanted to hit something, hard!  I stood abruptly and began pacing.  I raked my finger through my long dark hair.  "Maggie, is there any way, now that you know where I'm at, that you could do a locator spell that would tell you exactly where I am at the time before you open the portal?"  I turned to stare into her azure eyes.  God, I had missed those eyes.  "I was sleeping in a suite of rooms I had commandeered.  You could always try there."  My eyes widened slightly as I realized what I'd just implied.  "Please, don't let her have noticed," I begged.

Maggie's confusion was evident when she spoke.  "You were sleeping there? Aren't you asleep there now? You do know this is a dream I used to contact you don't you Luna?"  I bit my lip, refusing to answer.  I didn't really know what to tell her that wouldn't make me sound like a total ho'.

She got this speculative look on her face before saying, "I could talk to Raven about it but if we thought a locator spell would work, I would have tried it rather than the dream. Maybe now that we know what dimension to look in, it might be easier. I'm trying to limit the magic I use so I don't attract too much unwanted attention. If I do try it though, I will start in the suites of that damned place and work my way out so try to be close."

Turning my back to her I shook my head slowly.  "Maggie, there's something in that place, something evil."  I wouldn't look at her while I said this because I was afraid to see the disgust that would surely be there.  "It' It did something to me.  I don't know what but I don't feel like myself and yet I'm not that different either."  Now I did look at her because I needed her to understand.  "Im doing things that I know aren't right but it's like I have no will of my own.  It scares me," my voice had dropped down to a whisper.

My sister stood, walking over to me and running her fingers along my cheeks.  "Evil touches us all at one point or another. It doesn't leave any of us unchanged."  She leaned up on tiptoes and kissed my forehead then smiled at me.  "But you are still good at heart. You're too connected to me not to have that core essence. Whatever has crossed your path just tried to block that connection. Now that I know where you are, I won't let anyone separate us again. You do have the strength to fight it. It's just lying to you, trying to make you forget your sources of strength, love of family, belief in your destiny, the will to see it through.  You have all these things. Lean on them until I can bring you home. I will bring you home Luna."

She squeezed my hands as tears gathered in her beautiful blue eyes.  "But for now, I fear I've stayed too long. I can sense other presences trying to intrude."  She hugged me tightly as if trying to stave off something, or someone, unseen.  She laid a gentle kiss against my cheek.

As we stood there I did the only thing I could.  I slid my cheek against hers and buried my nose behind her ear.   I breathed her scent deep into my lungs.  She smelled of pard, but more than that I could smell Tara, Aries... and Noah.  I wallowed in those precious scents wrapping them around me like a second skin.  I knew she would have to go soon.  I could feel a pull from my side as well.  They were waking up.  "I love you Maggie," I breathed.  "Never forget!"

Maggie cried, "I love you too Luna. I'll find a way to bring you home, SOON!"

The dream shattered.  I slowly blinked my eyes to stare that the ceiling above me.  A slight smile curled the corners of my mouth.  The shower was running so that left me alone with... whom?  Turning my head slightly I saw Angel.

He was curled on his side.  The sheet had slipped down and rode low over his hip.  His face was so peaceful right now.  He looked so innocent and so much like his name.  His eyes were closed but there was something that said that he was sleeping not dead in truth.  It was hard to explain I knew he wasn't dead.  I drew the only conclusion I could given what my gut told me he was asleep.  I couldn't look for the normal clues, deep even breathing or the like.

Sliding across the small space that separated us I propped my head on my hand.  Gently I placed a hand on his upper arm.  He was cool to the touch, not that chill they had when I first arrived but like he had be out from under the covers for too long.

Reaching down I pulled the sheet and blankets over him.  Tilting my head to the side I studied the man before me.  My fingers brushed over his brow down his face to trail along his neck and shoulder.  Angel's arm snaked out and pulled me against him broad chest.  "Take a picture," he said groggily.

Shocked I jerked my head up to meet those dark sleepy eyes.  A slow smile spread across his face.  It made me instantly wary of him.  Pulling back as much as his arm would allow I stared at him.  "What," I asked suspiciously.

His face nuzzled my neck and I could feel my body relaxing, almost against my will.  "You smell..." he trailed off.  Angel's head jerked up his eyes golden.  With a low growl he flipped us.  He held my hands over my head; his body pinned me to the bed.

My pulse sped up.  I was fighting the terror clawing at my throat.  I had no idea why he was acting this way.  Trying to buck him off me only succeeded in wedging him firmly between my thighs.  My eyes widened when I realized he was hard and ready.

"Who are they," Angel asked through clenched teeth.

"Who," I asked shrilly.  I tried to understand what he was asking.  Panic made it difficult to think.  The fact that this could so easily turn into a rape scene didn't escape me.

Angel leaned in again, his nostrils flared.  "The men Luna.  Who are they?"

"Angelus there's nobody.  I've been here all night with you and Spike."  The more I struggled the more he seemed to like it.  I could feel tears beginning to well up in my eyes.

"Don't lie to me," he roared.  "I can smell them all over you."

"Angelus, listen to yourself," I pleaded.  "Maybe I could have gotten past one of you, but not both."

That seemed to reach him and his eyes faded back to their normal chocolate brown.  He lowered his head to my chest as he released my wrists.  "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

Not knowing what else to do I cradled the back of his head with one hand and stroked his back with the other.  He finally settled down and was able to pull himself together.  He raised his head and we stared at each other.  A long moment passed neither of us saying a word.

Finally unable to stand the silence Angel said, "I don't know what came over me."

I had several choice retorts but the sincerity in his eyes killed them before they even had a chance to form.  "Its this place," I said simply.  "It does something to you.  If you really want to help people... get the hell out of here and fast.  Good intentions pave the road to hell.  Trust me, I'm a walking advertisement for that cliché."

Angel nodded but not like he believed me.  He was going to have to find out the hard way.  Tilting my head on the pillow I realized that the water had been cut off.  Suddenly my bladder let me know it had to be relieved.  "Okay, bonding moment over," I said tapping his shoulder.  "Get up."

"Don't wanna," he complained and buried his face in my chest.

"Angelus, honey, human here," I said hoping he would get my drift.  His arms tightened around me.  "I have to go to the bathroom.  Now get off."

He sent me a lascivious grin.  I groaned.  "Not like that.  Get off of ME," I gritted out.

With a sigh the vampire rolled off of me.  Grateful I slid out of bed and brushed past Spike just as he was coming through the door.  "Wha's the bleedin' hurry?"

Feeling much better I left the bathroom and wandered back to the room.  I paused at the doorway.  Spike and Angel were talking in hushed tones and it was clear they didn't want me privy to it.  Knocking on the doorframe I said, "Can just anyone join the conversation?"

Both men looked up.  The expressions on their faces were FAR too funny.  They looked surprised, annoyed and guilty.  I didn't know a face could hold that many emotions at the same time.  I couldn't help it.  I laughed.  There was a snort and exasperated sigh.  Getting my laughter under control I apologized, though I don't think they believed me.  It might have had something to do with the ear-to-ear grin I was sporting.

Before any of us could say anything the phone rang.  Angel answered it on the fifth ring.  Whatever he heard on the other end clearly upset him.  "Harmony's not coming in," he said before we could even ask.

"So wha's the problem mate," Spike asked.

"I have no receptionist," he answered tightly.

I tilted my head to the side.  "Doesn't Wolfram and Hart have an office pool that they can pull from," I asked.

"Yes they do and no I'm not going to use one of them."

"Why ever not, Angelus," I was starting to get annoyed.

"I don't trust them," he answered.

"Do you trust me?"

The elder vampire stared at me for a long moment.  "About as much as I trust anyone who drops in out of the sky."

"Cute, very cute for a centuries old vampire," I snapped.  "If you're going to be that way you can just be receptionist-less."

Angel looked shocked.  "You'd be willing to fill in?"  His gaze narrowed.  "What's the catch?"

Sighing I ran a hand through my hair.  I sent an annoyed glare his way.  "There is no catch Angelus.  I just don't want to be stuck doing nothing all day.  You need help and I've got nothing to do."

"Why don't you get dressed, and I'll have a talk with Peaches here," Spike said.

I nodded.  If I stuck around I was liable to say or do something that would guarantee I'd be bored out of my mind.  Turning I started for the door.  "Not that I mind luv, but don't you think you should put something on first," the bleach blonde asked me.

Startled, I looked down and realized I was completely nude.  It was strange I didn't feel naked like I had last night.  I felt nude.  There's a difference between naked and nude.  Naked usually meant that one would feel exposed.  Nude meant that one was simply unclothed.

"Here," Angel said gruffly as he threw a shirt at me.

Shrugging it on I turned and left them to their "talk."  I was pretty sure they were going to continue the conversation I'd interrupted earlier.  All my purchases from the previous evening were in my suite of rooms when I arrived.  I changed into a pair of black slacks paired with a blood red sweater set.

I don't know why the others were shocked to find me manning the phones for Angel's office.  As a college student and then before I'd gone to the academy I'd held all kinds of jobs, ranging from retail to secretarial.  Once I'd been shown how the phone actually worked it was a piece of cake.

Two days later we received word that Harmony had been transferred and that Angel would have to find a new receptionist.  He was not happy in the least.  I was filling in until he could find a replacement.  Basically, I think I was stuck with the job until he was forced to bring someone else in.

It wasn't what I would have liked to be doing with my time but it sure kept me busy.  Maggie had said that she would be trying the spell soon and I was reluctant to leave the building for any reason.  As two days turned into three and three into four I began to think maybe she wasn't having as much luck as she thought she would.  I began looking for way to get the hell out of there.

Not to be forgotten was the fact that my body continued to reproduce more blood than I could possibly need.  It made going anywhere a major project.  When I felt the need to be outside the furthest I would go would be to the roof.  Those excursions while seemingly solitary usually meant I had a fanged shadow.  If I didn't find some answers soon I was going to let the blood well up and choke me.

Life or what passed for life around Wolfram and Hart fell into a routine for the next few days.  We researched.  Well, I researched while the others continued to attend to their functions during the day.  Wesley kept saying that we were close to finding the answer to what had attacked me.  I was less than sure of that assumption.

Angel and Spike regularly fed from me.  It was both a pain and a pleasure.  I didn't like the fact that I had to depend on the vampires for my health and safety.  Jean-Claude would have a field day with that if he ever found out.  However, it was nice to catch them staring at their reflections.  Part of me hoped that once this thing was over they'd still be able to keep that ability.

It was about a week after the altercation with Angel that we found the answer.  It seemed that the senior partners had sent a minor demon to, for lack of a better word, possess me.  It brought all my fears to the surface.  That wasn't all of it though.  The senior partners wanted to know what and where my weaknesses were.

The gang had plenty of ideas about that.  Angel was surprisingly quiet and for some reason that disturbed me.  I finally said what I'd been thinking since he had attacked me the first night.  "What if they did it to get Angelus?"

"What do you mean," Wesley asked, leaning forward.  His arms were resting on the long conference table.

"Just what I said.  What if they did this to bring out Angelus?"  They all stared at me.  I think they were beginning to see where I was going with this.  Angel never let me out of his sight and if I was I had to be accompanied by Spike.  The others didn't comment on it but I'm sure they had thought it was strange.

The glare the elder vampire sent my way could have melted steel.  He didn't like to be reminded of what he'd almost done in his rooms.  I stared pointedly at Angel, daring him to say something, anything.  He didn't.  I wasn't all that surprised by that either.

Casually I strolled over to his desk and picked up some ancient blade that was laying on the surface.  I twirled it through my fingers, testing the balance and weight of the dagger.  "Well," I asked when the room remained silent.

Angel's hands were open on the table in front of him.  His eyes were following my movements.  Without warning I slammed the knife through the flesh of his hand.  My eyes snapped up to meet his chocolate brown gaze.  Something was moving in me.  It was forcing me to act in ways I didn't normally, even when under stress.  "Notice how I managed to miss each and every bone in there," my voice full of malice and unsuppressed bitterness.  "Now, I would like for all of you to get this loud and clear," my gaze swept the group at large.

I'd had all I could take of their hemming and hawing.  It was time to remind them of exactly who and what I was.  "I am *not* some cute and cuddly leopard you can pat on the head knowing that I'll never bite.  I'm not evil, of that much I'm sure," I paused; the thing shifted again the anger and rage I'd barely kept leashed coming to the surface.  My eyes once again scanned the group.  "Now, either you'll help me or you won't, but do *not* jerk me around."

Switching my hold on the knife I slid the blade out of his hand.  I couldn't help the watering of my mouth or the change I could feel sliding through my eyes.  Without conscious thought I brought the knife to my lips.  My tongue flicked out catching a drop of blood before it could fall to the table below.

Angel looked like he was going to say something but may have thought it unwise.  Instead he compressed his lips and curled his injured hand into a fist.  His eyes held a clear and unmistakable message.  We would be talking about my little stunt later.  I rolled my eyes as I continued to lap the blood off the blade.

Spike snatched the knife out of my grasp.  I turned a baleful glare on him.  He patently ignored it.  "It's not nice to stab the help luv," he said blithely.

Folding my arms over my chest I glared at him.  "Well if you guys were actually helping maybe I wouldn't feel the need to commit random acts of violence."

None of them would meet my eyes.  I was beginning to get angry, which combined with my fatigue and frustration was wearing my nerves down.  The only one that could possibly sympathize with me was Fred.  However, she and I were currently not speaking to one another.

Taking a deep breath I sat down across from Wesley.  "So what do we know?"

"Ah, well," he flipped through the note pad in front of him.  "According to what you've told us it seems that something has infested your body.  We're not sure what so..." he trailed off.

"Hence the research," I said tiredly, rubbing my eyes with the heels of my hands.  "Not to sound stupid or anything, but why do we even need to know what it was?  Isn't there some kind of cure all that we could use?"

"I'm afraid not," the former watcher said.  "Each organism, if you will, has a specific way to rid the infected body of the intruder."

"Wouldn't the video from the weight room prove more valuable?  Then you'd be able to see the way this thing moved and operated."  They all stared at me.  It was making me uncomfortable.  "What," I asked sharply.

"How do you know that there's a video system in this building," Angel asked.  The suspicion was thick in his voice.

I rolled my eyes.  "Angelus, you don't have a building this large and not have a security system in place, which for most means video surveillance."

"I suppose you'd even be able to pull it up on this computer wouldn't you," Angel asked snidely.

"As a matter of fact I could.  Your system is outdated and manned by people, which always leads to faults," I snapped.  "With as much magic as this place projects you'd think that they'd at least have wards to protect the sensitive areas.  This firm is too sure of it's own safety and that's its downfall."

I strode over to the computer and let it boot up.  "The problem with people in power is that they're blinded by their own superiority."  Sitting behind the desk I navigated my way through to the security data log.  "Angelus, please enter your password."

"No," he said crossing his arms over his chest.  "You said you could do this.  Well let's see it."

With a deep sigh and a mental eye roll I said, "Fine have it your way."

My fingers hovered over the keyboard.  I closed my eyes and thought of Noah.  What would he do in this situation?  I knew that despite my own issues with the other leopard he was one of the finest code crackers I'd ever seen.

In that moment something clicked.  It was like I could see through his eyes.  Breathing deep I could smell the surrounding forest.  Ahead of me I could see Maggie's blonde head bent her mouth compressed.  Just behind her Aries stopped and turned to stare at me.  I guess it was actually Noah that he was staring at, but it felt like he was seeing *me. *

~Luna, ~ Noah's voice asked me.

That broke me out of my stupor.  ~Superman, I need a favor. ~

~What, ~ he asked and even through our mental link I could hear the uneasiness in his voice.

~I need to know how to get into a security system. ~

Through our bond I could hear him sigh and noticed Aries drawing closer.  He was silent so long that I was sure he wasn't going to help me.  ~Show me where you're at. ~

I did him one better.  Instead of just showing him what he wanted to see I let him watch how I'd gotten to where I was.  There was a shift in our link.  Suddenly I knew that it was Noah's fingers that were flying over the keyboard typing in code after code.  It only took about three-dozen tries before I was in.

~Thanks, ~ I whispered to him.  It hit me then just how much I missed him, not just Maggie, but *all* of them.  I could feel tears gathering in my eyes.  ~If you guys don't get me out of here soon I don't think I'll ever be coming home. ~

~What do you mean, ~ he asked urgently.  ~Wonder woman, you can't drop a bombshell like that and just expect me to let it go! ~

I could feel the others pulling at me from my end and knew I didn't have time to explain.  ~Ask Maggie she'll enlighten you.  I gotta go.  I love you! ~

~Luna.  Luna?  Luna! ~

Just like that the connection was broken.  Noah's panicked cries echoed in my head, reminding me that for better or worse we still cared about one another.  I closed my eyes and could feel the tears leaking from beneath my closed lids.  Brushing them from my cheeks I took a shaky breath and opened my eyes.

A small smile lifted the corners of my mouth.  He'd done it.  I was inside the security main frame.  It took me a while to find the data I was looking for but find it I did.  "Turn on the TV please," I said without looking up from the computer.  I got the segment set up and saved onto a floppy disc.  Something told me that once it was played the video it was going to be gone.  I finally turned to the rest of the group.  "You ready?"

Angel nodded.  I pushed play and let them watch it.  This was something I didn't need to see again I'd been there for the main event.  It had terrified me then.  I didn't need any more nightmares by watching it again thank you very much!

When the screams reached my ears I remembered what it felt like to have that thing clawing at me from the inside.  I pressed a hand to my chest hoping to ease the pressure.  It didn't.  In fact it seemed to make it worse.  The last time I'd reached out to anyone willing to help me.  That had brought Jean-Claude.  I wasn't dumb enough to make the same mistake twice.

I tried to draw on my strengths.  There were many, my stubborn streak, my independence, and most importantly my pride.  These things would help me get through whatever was trying to break me.  If untold decades in a hellish dimension couldn't break me then whatever now inhabited my body stood even less of a chance.

There was never really any chance of breaking free. One moment I was fine the next I felt icy fingers curling around my heart to squeeze.  I stood abruptly, truly aware, for probably the first time, that I was not alone in my body.  The others were staring at me.  I could feel their gazes as if they actually touched me.

Once again something shifted inside me.  It was a sickening feeling.  It felt slick, oily, as it glided through my entire system.  Squeezing my eyes shut a wave of nausea swept through me.  I opened my eyes again and the first thing I noticed was that Fred was missing.  That set off warning bells in my head.

Part of me insisted that I was just being paranoid.  Another part said there was some merit to beginning to panic.  I was at war with myself.  My head began to throb.  I did *not* want to be in a room filled only with males.  It hit something in me at gut level and wouldn't leave me alone.

Spike grabbed my shoulder.  My eyes snapped up to his.  His eyes were clouded with emotions.  The predominant ones seemed to be anger, ownership, and lust.  It was the last that shook me.  'They're going to rape you,' a sickly sweet voice wheezed in my head.

Panic was now in full control.  My hands closed into fists.  I swung at Spike, knocking him back a few paces.  "Don't fucking touch me," I snarled.  From the corner of my eye I could see Wesley and Gunn approaching rapidly.  I grabbed the former watcher by the front of his shirt and threw him at Angel who'd been trying to sneak up on my other side.

Gunn was holding Spike at bay.  That was fine by me.  I turned and fled the room, knocking down the now returning Fred in the process.  I could hear the pandemonium that I had caused and smiled inwardly.  In case they were trying to pursue me I made a winding, hard to follow trail.

I was now stuffing things into a knapsack.  This place wasn't good for me and neither were the people here.  They'd already proved that.  I was getting while the getting was good!

The backpack was secured and I was turning to leave when I saw him standing there.  "Get out of my way.  I don't want to hurt you," I threatened.  I could hear the growl in my voice.  My beast was close to the surface.  He held his hands out in front of him.

"I'm not going to stop you Luna.  But where are you going to go," he asked.

"I don't know.  I haven't thought that far ahead.  Getting the hell out of this place was as far as I got Gunn."

He nodded his head.  "You going to come back?"

"Depends," I said.

"On what?"

Moving forward I walked until I was well inside Gunn's personal space.  Of it's own volition my hand cradled the back of his head.  My fingers massaged his scalp.  Without thinking about what I was doing I leaned up and claimed his lips.  Teeth and tongue teased his lower lip until he opened his mouth to me.  I slipped my tongue into the warmth recesses of his mouth and coerced his to duel with mine.

Only when the need for oxygen became an issue did I draw back.  His eyes were heavy lidded his breathing ragged.  I ran my tongue along his full lower lip dragging a groan from him.  There was a self-satisfied smirk on my face as I gazed into his glazed eyes.  "If you can find me," was all I said before I dashed out the door and into the Los Angeles night.