This is the sixth 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

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

Rating: R to be safe for strong language and minor violence

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!

Newfound Realities

My lips smacked, the sound unusually loud in the room.  My arm reached across the space next to me and my brows drew together when I touched nothing but cool sheets.  Doing the same on the other side I could feel a pout pulling at my lips.  Why had I been sleeping alone?  I couldn't come up with a single reason for it.

I cracked one eyelid open and sighed harshly.  It could be because I wasn't in MY room.  My head throbbed painfully.  It felt like the morning after, only I couldn't recall the night before.  The only thing I could vaguely remember was the strange dream I'd had before waking up.

Sighing I rubbed a hand over my face and sat up in bed.  My bleary eyes took in a room done in a modern theme.  I didn't think it fit with either Maggie or Lija's taste, but I had been wrong before.  This wouldn't have been the first time.

I threw my legs over the side of the bed and let my feet sink into the plush carpeting.  That was one thing that all the rooms had in common, a carpet so thick you could sleep on it and still feel rested.  I pushed up off the bed and walked to the connecting bathroom.  This bathroom continued the modern theme, done tastefully in black and white marble tiles.  A sunken tub and huge three-headed shower took up one wall.

Standing there I debated whether I wanted a bath or shower.  The shower won out because I needed to clear my head it would wake me up.  I headed for the shower unconcerned about my lack of clothing; I rarely slept in anything anyway.  I adjusted the temperature until it was just shy of scalding.

I let the water cascade over me and sink into my skin.  The heat assuaged all the aches that seemed to be plaguing my body this morning.  Turning I scanned the few bottles of body wash, shampoos and conditioners sitting on the ledge.  I could feel a frown pulling my brows together and the corners of my mouth down.  None of my scents were present.  I thought for sure that we'd made certain that they were in every bathroom in the house, with the exception of the barracks in the basement.

My fingers ran over the few selections in the shower and chose the peaches and cream body wash.  Peaches, that thought brought a smile to my face and reminded me of the dream I had of Spike and Angel.  I was going to have to stop watching Buffy right before bed.  It was having strange side effects on me.

I lathered up the black poof, making sure that I had used enough soap to complete the job.  I washed quickly.  There were too many things that I had to take care of and not enough time to get it all done.  My hands faltered with the shampoo as I realized I didn't even know what day of the week it was.

The fact that I was so oblivious left me feeling a bit shaken.  I closed my eyes taking stock of myself.  My beast rolled under that unseen hand happy and sated for the time being, but there seemed to be something missing, something important.   Then it hit me.  My connection to Maggie and Noah seemed lost or at the very least closed off.

I could feel the panic mounting as I stood under the spray of the shower that had only moments ago seemed soothing.  Concentrating I finally found that I could get a bead on them both. It was vague at first but the more effort I put into, it the clearer the picture became.

She was angry.  He was sorry.  I was confused.  What was happening?  Why did they feel like they were so far away?

Maggie's face was set in sharp lines.  Her blue eyes were tinged silver, a sure sign that she was so very *not* happy.  Her pajama top was familiar, but why?

Noah's eyes were full of sorrow and red rimmed as if he hadn't been sleeping well.  His clothes were rumpled, a dead give away that he'd either slept in them or he'd grabbed the first thing at hand.  The bedding was recognizable.

Suddenly I knew where they were; the shock and anger shut the link between us down before I could gather anything else.  I wrenched the handles of the shower off, and stepped quickly from the stall.  I grabbed a black fluffy towel and wrapped it around my body as walked back into the bedroom.

Pulling open dresser drawers I stopped short.  Nothing was where it should have been.  None of my clothes were in here.  There were pants and shirts but none of it looked like anything I owned.  I shrugged that off.  I didn't have time for trivialities right now, like why the hell my stuff seemed to be missing out of the rooms at Haven.

I pulled a black t-shirt and black Levis out of the drawers and slammed them shut.  I threw the clothes on the bed.  Turning sharply I gasped as I got my first good look at my reflection.  My hair was much longer than it had been *ever*, and my skin was so pale it looked like marble the blue of my veins startling in their contrast.  I collapsed onto the edge of the bed.

Desperately I tried to recall my last memory.  My eyes closed.  My breaths were deep and even as I tried to sort what was fact and what was fiction.  The last clear memory I had was watching Maggie head to bed.  Lija and Noah were both out of town; for how long was up for debate.  I remember thinking that this was the only chance I was going to get to do this.  But what was the "this"?

It hit me with all the force of freight train.  The spell!  I had done a spell to enhance Maggie's abilities by taking some of my own power.  I hadn't known then that the spell was only meant for use by one witch to another.  The fact that I was a lycanthrope had altered the spell drastically.  I'd had to prove myself, and by extension Maggie, worthy, and to do that I'd had to... that's where my thoughts became hazy.  It was something horrific; of that much I was sure.  Deciding to let my mind have its way, I left it alone.

The clothes lay forgotten on the bed.  I drew my knees up to my chest and rested my forehead against them.   Tears came quickly and I let them fall freely.  I had been so stupid, so sure I knew what I was doing, *despite* the warning from Raven.  Sobs wracked my body and my shoulders shook from the force of the tears.

Eventually the tears dwindled down then stopped all together.  I dried my eyes on the towel and slowly walked back to the bathroom.  I found a comb and a couple of rubber bands for my hair.  I worked the comb through my tresses until it fell around my shoulders and back like a sleek black curtain.  Taking a closer look at my hair I noticed something else.  There were blood red streaks mixed intermittently through it all.  I briefly wondered if they were permanent then shook the thought off; no need to get off on a tangent.

I pulled all that hair back into a ponytail.  Once that was done I braided the length, wrapped it around the first rubber band and pulled the rest through the loop.  It shortened it but not by much.  Instead of hitting me around the knee it now hit the bottom of my back.

For the first time in a long time, I felt naked, not nude but naked.  I snatched up the pants and pulled them on.  They were just a bit less form fitting than I was used to, but that was a good thing considering how I was feeling.  The shirt was snug though; I couldn't help how I was built.  I knew that if a cool breeze blew I was going to be giving a weather report.  I shook my head.

Glancing around the room I looked for my gun.  A frown marred my features as I realized it wasn't anywhere in the room.  That made me strangely uneasy.  I did *not* go anywhere unarmed.  So the question was, where the hell was my Browning?

I stalked over to the door and my frown turned into a scowl as the handle of the door wouldn't budge.  The absurd thought that my own people had locked me in this room had me fuming.  I gripped the doorknob tighter and tried again.  Sure enough it didn't move.

Now I was pissed!  I pounded on the door.  My voice was loud enough to have been heard on the other side of Haven.  "Aries!  Damn it!  Open this door!  Right now, or so help me GOD..."  I paused and took a deep breath.  My forehead was pressed against the solid wood door and I waited, my ears straining for the sound of approaching footsteps.

"They're going to be sorry when I get out of here," I muttered under my breath as I headed once again into the adjoining bathroom.  I searched the drawers and medicine cabinet before I thought to look under the sink.  Sure enough amongst the other clutter was a screwdriver.

Retracing my steps I stood before the door and growled as if it was the source of my irritation.  I took the screws out of the door and tried pushing the door forward.  It was not going to budge.  My upper lip peeled back from my teeth.  I took a step back and kicked the door with all the force I could muster.

The sound of wood splintering filled the air as the door sailed into the next room.  I stood in the doorway looking perplexed.  I got the sinking feeling that I was not where I thought I was.  The room I was looking at shouldn't have been there if I was still at Haven.

It begged the question; if I wasn't at Haven, where was I?  I frowned at the room.  My eyes scanned the surroundings hoping that I was just in some remote part of the Lair.  Somehow knew I was not even close to St. Louis.  SHIT!