"Lexi is taking far too long," Makina said, still curled up in Cross's chair. Cross had long since moved to the window, his head pressed against the cool glass. While he agreed, he chose to remain silent.

The choice did not sit well with the Spirit Goddess and Cross felt the temperature in the room begin to drop. His breath fogged up the glass and he reached out and traced a line on the condensation.

"Calm down," Cross said softly. "Lexi will be here soon."

"How do you know?"

Cross sighed and once again went silent. Lexi was taking too long, and she wasn’t answering her Phoenix Stone. If it were just him, he would have already gone looking for her, but he wasn’t alone.

The room grew colder and he made a mental note to invest in a scarf.

The sound of footsteps broke the silence and Cross pushed himself off from the window and moved closer to Makina. When she started to rise from her seat, he put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her in place.

"Wait," Cross ordered, keeping his eyes firmly on the door, his other arm rising up and his ring finger tensing.

Makina started to protest but a small squeeze on her shoulder from Cross was enough to silence her.

The footsteps grew louder before coming to a stop outside of the door with a loud click. Cross's body went tense as the doorknob slowly twisted and the door swung open.

"Lexi!" Makina leapt from her seat as Cross's grip on her relaxed and he let out a heavy sigh.

"I found, Lara," Lexi said slowly as Makina bounded up in front of her. "She is waiting, for you outside, Makina. You should go, to her."

"I knew it!" Makina cried.

"Makina, wait!" Cross called out, taking a step forward. He fixed his eyes on Lexi. "Lex, where is Banksy?"

"He is, waiting outside, as well." Lexi replied, her words coming out terse and uneven. "Makina go, outside. Now."

"Where did you find them?" Cross moved closer, beginning to reach out towards Makina.

"That is not, important,” Lexi replied as she snapped out her arm and caught Makina by the wrist. With a hard tug she pulled Makina to her side. "They are waiting, for you, Makina."

"Lexi, what are you-" Makina was cut off as Lexi gave her a rough shove into the hallway before slamming the door shut behind her.

Makina screamed and was abruptly silenced.

"Makina!" Cross threw himself forward, but Lexi lashed out her foot and caught him in the stomach. Cross was lifted off the ground and sent flying backwards into his desk.

Lexi was on him before he could recover, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and throwing him against the chalkboard.

"Lex, what the hell are you doing?" Cross hissed as he slowly got to one knee. Lexi didn't answer as she stepped up to kick him in the head. Cross threw up his arms and blocked the blow. With a grunt he pushed her back a number of steps and returned to his full height, rubbing at his bruised arm.

In front of him, Lexi bounced from one foot to the other before lunging forward and slamming her fist into his cheek. Cross staggered back, managing to block her next punch, but not the follow up that connected with his ribs. He heard a crack and a hiss of pain escaped his lips. He tried to step back, but Lexi caught him by the arm and pulled him in close before slamming her elbow into his chin. The strike spun him around and Lexi planted her foot into his back and kicked out, sending him sliding face first along the floor.

Cross groaned as he slowly got to his feet. He took in a pained breath and glanced over at Lexi.

She stared at him through blank, unseeing eyes, her scarf fluttering ever so slightly with her every breath. Slowly, she lowered her center of gravity and spread her feet in preparation of another attack.

"Right, then," Cross sighed as he brought up his own fists. "I guess I do owe you a sparring match still."

Lexi charged towards him, leading with a punch that he deflected with is arm before returning with an uppercut that she twisted away from, coming to a stop to his left. She brought up a knee to his side, but Cross swung his elbow down and blocked the strike before sliding back and avoiding her follow up kick aimed at his knee. He tried to slide back to gain some distance, but Lexi wouldn't allow it, keeping herself within striking range and throwing a quick series of rapid-fire punches.

It was all Cross could do to keep up his defense before Lexi managed to slip one small fist through his guard and caught him hard on the cheek. Stumbling, he threw himself to the side and narrowly avoiding an elbow strike aimed at his head.

Rolling along the ground, Cross wasn't able to make it back to his feet before Lexi pounced on him, slamming her knee into his side and sending them both sliding across the floor.

Lexi recovered first, pulling herself on top of Cross and landing two quick jabs to Cross's face before he managed to get his arms up to protect his head. Lexi didn't relent, slamming her elbow down on his forearms repeatedly until his guard faltered. As her elbow came down on his exposed face Cross swung his arms up and twisted his body to the side. Thrown off balance, Lexi’s elbow glanced off his cheek before slamming into the ground. As her body shifted forward Cross managed to pull in his leg between them and kick out, throwing Lexi off of him and into the air. As she lightly landed on her feet, he struggled to stand up, his breath coming in short, painful gasps.

"Well this was fun," Cross grit through his teeth as he gingerly touched his ribs. The sharp pain he felt with every breath informed him that Lexi has indeed broken at least one of his ribs. He would have liked to say it was the first time she had ever done that, but it would have been a lie. "Let's call it a draw, then?"

Lexi closed the distance between them in a single bound. Flying through the air she slammed her knee into Cross's chest before he could even bring up his hands to defend himself. She landed lightly in front of him and pummeled him with a punishing series of strikes before sending him to the ground with a spinning heel kick that caught him across the side of the cheek.

Cross's world exploded into stars for a moment and his body went limp. Stunned, he could only watch as Lexi dropped on his chest, pressing down with one knee to keep him in place as she wrapped her hand around his throat. He tried to lift up his arm to defend himself, but Lexi slapped it away and pressed down on his throat with more pressure. Cross struggled as his ability to breath ceased completely, but Lexi did not relent. Her fingers were cool against his throat as she continued to tighten her grip. His vision began to fade

"That's enough, dear."

Lexi's fingers went limp and she released Cross before standing up. With the pressure gone, Cross greedily sucked in gasps of air and rolled onto his side. He watched as Lexi approached a figure hidden in the shadow of the doorway.

"Eliza?" Cross grimaced.

"Hello Cross!" Eliza called out cheerily as she casually walked into the room and paused beside Lexi. With a content sigh she reached out and brushed a lock of jet-black hair from Lexi's face that had fallen out of place during the scuffle. "It seems we're having our second date earlier than expected, I hope you don't mind I brought Lexi along."

"Don't touch her," Cross growled as he tried, and failed, to make it up to his feet before collapsing back down to one knee.

"Oh don't worry Cross, I won't hurt her. There is no need. She is completely under my control right now, as you no doubt have realized. I hope she didn't hurt you too badly. I only wanted her to restrain you. It seems she is stronger than I thought. Or perhaps you are weaker?" She slid behind Lexi and placed her chin on Lexi's shoulder as one of her hands came to rest Lexi’s waist as the other gently caressed her breast.

"What the hell are you?" Cross said.

"Oh, I guess you aren't as clever as I hoped." Eliza tutted as she lifted up her hand and pulled Lexi's scarf down, exposing her face. She ran her fingers along Lexi's delicate jaw. "I suppose you would call me a Succubus, Christian. Or should I call you Cross?"

Cross glared at her, but didn't respond.

"I think I like Cross. It suits you better." Eliza said after mulling it over. She smiled at him. "Don't look at me with such a hateful look, Cross. After all, we're going to know each other for a long, long time."

Cross didn't rise to her bait. "What did you do to Makina?"

"She's fine. I simply subdued her for the time being. Trust me, I have no intention of hurting any of you. Not yet, at least." Her smile widened. "You're worth much more to me alive, after all."

"What about Banksy, then?"

Eliza's smile vanished and her fingers tightened against Lexi’s flesh. "That little bitch, she attacked me before I could take him. But don't worry, I'll find him soon enough, her as well. I've grown tired of playing this game with her."

"Who?" Cross said, desperate to keep Eliza talking as he recovered from his fight with Lexi. Whatever he was going to do, he wasn't likely to get more than one chance to do it.

"Lara!" Eliza spat the name like a curse, her eyes widening. "She knew this is my territory, but she didn't listen. I gave her a chance to leave and what did she do? She tried to get me caught. So there was no other choice, was there?"

"You hurt the students."

"She made me!" Eliza's snapped, her calm demeanor beginning folded. "Do you know how much trouble she has caused for me? She tried to break my holds and keep me from feeding. What are a few years of these girl’s life? It's nothing! They don't even notice. But no, the little bitch, she has to protect them. Her precious, human friends. I warned her, but she ignored it. I told her people would get hurt, people would die, but she still wouldn't leave. She just can't understand. She isn't a true succubus. She doesn't understand the rules. But I'll show her." Eliza bared her teeth. "I'll kill every single one of her friends before I let her take what is mine!"

“A bit more greedy than the legends let on, then,” Cross spat out, along with a generous amount of blood. “Shouldn’t you suck one person dry before moving to the next?”

Eliza took a deep breath and her smile returned. “Those who don’t adapt are doomed to go extinct, Cross. Just as humans are no longer wallowing in mud and hunting for every meal, I have changed as well. What I am doing is no different than the domestication of cattle that human practice. Quite efficient, don’t you think?”

“You’re a monster.”

"Oh, I'm sure you'll think differently soon, of that I have no doubt. You know, I'm actually quite interested in you, Cross. Normally, I'm not much of a fan of men, they don't hold…a pleasant scent." She pressed her face against Lexi's neck and took in a deep breath. "Not like this one. Do you know what she smells like? It's very unique, you know."

Cross's fingers tightened into a fist, but he didn't dare move.

Not yet.

"She smells of confidence and violence and blood, but underneath that… underneath that is a desperate, desperate hope. I wonder what its for?" She smirked at Cross. "I'm sure I can find out. With enough time, I'm sure I can even turn it to despair."

She released Lexi and slowly strode towards Cross, her heels clicking loudly against the marble floor. She stopped in front of him and bent over so she could grab him by the jaw. She roughly tilted his face up and stared deep into his eyes. Cross felt his limbs grow heavy.

"You, however, your smell is even more special to me. You have an overwhelming scent of apathy. I was actually quite curious when you asked me out, considering your entire being radiated nothing but indifference towards every word I spoke. The same for our date…

“I have to admit, that made me curious. I wanted to know if there was something, anything, hidden underneath. And I think I found it!" She twisted his head until he was looking at Lexi. "When you look at her I can smell it. What a passionate devotion. It's such a delicious scent." She shuddered in pleasure. "I can't wait to taste you all. These schoolgirls have so much life, but they are so bland. But you and your friends…"

"We won't let you," Cross grit out, drawing a laugh from Eliza.

"While I can admit you are talented, you're far too late. When I kissed you after our date, I was sure you would be under my control. That's no matter now. I'll just give you something… more." She moved her head closer to Cross, so close he could feel the heat radiating off her skin. Her grip on him tightened, locking him in place as her lips pressed against his. She held him there, her tongue probing his mouth, before she pulled away, a predatory smile on her face. "Now, you will be mine, Cross. Mine forever."

She slowly pulled herself back up. With her hand still on Cross's chin, he was lifted up with no resistance, a blank expression on his face.

"Now then." Eliza let go of him and turned back to Lexi. "I think it's time we found the others."

"Well, we could do that,” Cross said lightly. "But I think I have a better idea."

Eliza whirled around and found herself staring down Cross's outstretched arm.

"How?" Eliza hissed, her eyes widening as Cross's ring finger curled in.

"Funny thing about being a Seer. Your charms? I can see through them, too.” Cross gave her a grim smile as he flicked his finger, activating the bracer hidden underneath his sleeve. The flashbang burned through the thin cloth of his shirt and impacted with Eliza's face before exploding with a flash of sizzling light and noise.

Screaming, Eliza clawed wildly at her face as the shot burned deep into her flesh. Cross rushed past her and came to a skidding halt in front of Lexi. The Hunter stood rigidly still, staring blankly ahead, completely oblivious to the chaotic scene in front of her.

"Right, then. Sorry about this Lex." Cross grit his teeth before he brought his arm back and slapped Lexi across the face with every ounce of strength he could muster. "Time to wake up!"