My name is Elisa Hill. I'm fast, I'm strong, I heal quick, I'm good with weapons, and I can drink anyone under the table. Don't mention that to my ex-boyfriend, though—he found it more than a little embarassing. I happen to be a Daywalker, which is something of a vampire/human hybrid.

Right now, I'm in the parking garage of Corinston International. And I'm looking in the face of some sort of lion-type creature. Not the strangest thing I've ever seen in my life, but it's not exactly an everyday thing, either. He roars and springs towards me. I try to dodge out of the way, but his claws knick my shoulder.

My hand reaches down to my thigh where I've got my gun strapped. I unholster it and bring it forward. I don't even bother aiming, I just flick the safety off and start shooting. I figure something's gotta hit him sooner or later. A few bullets hit their mark, and I see him reel in pain. He looks down at the wounds in shock, but comes towards me once more. Silver bullets didn't work, so I guess that rules out vampire.

He lifts up my car—my car—and throws it at me. For a minute, I just stand there, but then I roll away and cover my head as it strikes the spot where I was just standing. I realize that the gun's not very useful, so I return it to its holster and I draw a pair of daggers. I turn and throw them at him. One strikes his throat, the other his heart—or where I think his heart should be.

He cries out in pain, and his hand wraps around the hilt of the dagger stuck in his throat. He pulls it out, leaving a gaping hole with blood pouring out of his throat. He drops the dagger to the side, and then reaches for the one in his chest. Same effect. Then, he rushes towards me. I leap in the air, and my legs strike his head. I use him as a spring board to put some more distance between us.

Okay... time to analyze this.

Silver bullets, tried those. Didn't even slow him down. That means silver doesn't work.

Used daggers to inflict what should be fatal wounds. From the looks of it, it hurt like hell for him. But he pulled them out. And he doesn't even seem to care about the blood pouring from his wounds.

In other words, this is not good.

Plastic handle.

Silver blade.

Pain.

I bite my lip hard as the blade cuts into my forearm. I taste blood.

Not my blood.

Pig's blood.

But I taste it nonetheless.

I hate the taste of it.

My body tenses up at first. It stiffens and becomes rigid. This always happens with the first cut. After the second and the third, my body begins to accept it.

Accept the pain.

Don't resist me, you fucking bastard, just accept it.

This is what we are.

This is what we have to live with.

And if I gotta be in pain, I'm gonna make sure that the pain is worth i—

*NOK*

Who the fuck is that?

I hear the doorknob turning.

Should've locked that fucking door.

I pull my sleeve down over the cuts just as the door opens, an' one of the Asian twins walks inside. Can't remember her name, they both look alike to me.

All humans look alike to me.

"Whistler?" she asks.

"I thought I told you not to disturb me," I tell her. "Aren't you supposed to be testing out those UV grenades?"

"I was," she says. "They work fine."

"Test 'em again," I tell her. "We gotta be sure if we're going up against Hunger."

"I'm wondering if you saw Mikado," she says.

She's looking for Mikado. That means she's the other one... what's her name... Nosha or Mosha or Misha or something.

"Not since she said she was gonna train," I reply.

"I've searched the entire area and I can't find her anywhere."

"Don't worry about it," I say. "She's a big girl, she can take care of herself."

"...you don't know Mikado," she says. "Not like I do. We have to find her."

"Look at the time," I tell her. She glances over to the clock on the wall and sees that it reads 1:00. PM.

"I'm not up for working on my tan if you know what I mean," I say.

"I'll go search for her," she says.

"Don't bother," I say. "It's just a waste if you don't know where she is."

"I don't like the idea of my sister running around alone."

"It's daylight, no vamps are gonna attack her."

"It's not her I'm worried about."

Okay... not good.

This creature... whatever he is... has me pinned to the ground. Drool is dripping from his mouth onto me. He's getting drool on my favorite coat. My only coat, come to think of it.

"Stay away," he growls.

"What is with you demonic types and bad breath?" I ask. "You're evil, I get that, but does that mean you can't afford some Tic Tacs?"

He growls again, and moves his head down to my neck.

"Hey, I'm not that kind of girl!" I exclaim, trying to force him off me. It doesn't work. He's much stronger than me. And I can feel his fangs about to pierce my skin. Why would a demon want to do that? Could he be a vampire?

I hear another growl, and at first I think it's him, but then I see that his head goes up to. He seems surprised. That's when something tackles him off of me. I sit up, and I see a fox-like creature standing over him, growling. And now I'm really confused—weird animal creatures? I'm supposed to go on vampire hunts, not safaris.

The fox-like creature begins to tangle with the lion, and I reach to my side and draw my sword. There's still one thing I haven't tried against this thing, so I figure now's as good a time as any.

While the fox creature tangles, I move in, and take out a stake. I jam the stake into the lion's arm, and he turns to face me. He swings with his clawed hand, but I'm one step ahead of him. I sidestep, and bring my sword down. His arm falls to the ground, and he cries out. The fox jumps on his back and bites down on his neck. He grabs it and throws it off.

"Hey Simba!" I shout.

He turns just in time to see a flash of silver. It's the last thing he sees. His head falls to the ground, and his body follows. The fox -like creature moves over to the body, and I keep my sword ready in case it attacks. It just looks at me and stands upright. I watch as the animal's features begin to change shape. The fur seems to retreat into the skin, the snout shrinks, and the body becomes less animal and more human. Then I realize who I'm staring at.

"Mosha...?"

"No," she replies. "Mikado."

"How did you—?"

"Later," she says. She motions to the dead body lying on the ground in a pool of blood. "What do we do with him?"

"Let's take him to Whistler," I tell her. "Maybe he can tell us something about where this thing came from."

"Fucking bitches..." mutters Scab, as he sits on the floor of the bar with a bucket and a brush. He scrubs the floors vigorously, trying to get out the blood. "Gotta come in here and fuck shit up... The least they can do is clean up after themselves..."

The door opens suddenly.

"Fuck off, we're closed!" exclaims Scab.

"Ask me if I care."

The voice gets Scab's attention, and he turns to see Hunger floating above the ground.

"Oh shit!" he exclaims. He drops the brush in the bucket and immediately stands. "Mr. Hunger, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize it was you."

Hunger runs a finger along an indentation made in the wall, and he looks over at Scab.

"By the looks of this place, I take it you had visitors."

"Yeah, fucking hunters," he says. "From Blade's crew. He's back from the dead."

"So I've heard."

"Things were going great, y'know?" says Scab. "Business was booming. And since the Slayer's over on the west coast, that meant things were going great here."

"What did you tell them, Scab?"

"Wha?" asks Scab. "Nothing, nothing at all."

"You do realize that I'm psychic, don't you?"

"Uhh..."

"Why are you lying to me, Scab?"

"No, I'm serious, I didn't tell them how they can find you!" exclaims Scab. "I just told them about an audition, that's it!"

"That brings them one step closer to me," says Hunger. "Not very bright."

"Look, I'm sorry, but y' gotta understand somethin'—they were gonna kill me! Look, they cut off my fucking toes even after I told them what they wanted to know!"

He begins to pull off his shoe, but Hunger simply lifts up his hand.

"No need to do that, I believe you."

"You do?"

"Of course," replies Hunger. "Tell me, is Blade a man or a woman?"

"Huh?" asks Scab. "What are you talking about, he's a man. Everyone knows that."

"You're an idiot, Scab."

"What?"

"Blade isn't alive," says Hunger. "He's dead."

"But then..."

"I know what you were told," says Hunger. "The truth is, the person claiming to be Blade is a Daywalker, yes, but she is an imposter."

"She?"

"Yes, Scab," says Hunger. "A woman."

"Oh..."

"You were tricked."

"Heh... oops?"

"Yes," says Hunger. "Oops."

"Everyone makes mistakes though, right Mr. Hunger?"

"Scab, you've been operating here for quite some time, correct?"

"Yeah."

"And you have been providing information to Blade and his associates."

"Not really info, I just—"

"I don't tolerate insubordination, Scab."

"A fox?" asks Whistler.

"That's what I saw," I say. "You two been hiding something from us?"

Mikado looks down at the ground, and Mosha just sighs.

"Mikado... she isn't human," says Mosha.

"There's a fuckin' shocker..." mutters Whistler.

"What is she then?" I ask.

"A kitsune," replies Mosha.

"A what?!" Whistler and I ask in unison.

"It's an ancient Japanese demon," says Mosha. "They're demons that take on characteristics of foxes and they can alter their appearence. Mikado is only part-kitsune, however."

"Are you a kit-whatsie too?" asks Whistler.

"Kitsune," replies Mosha. "And no."

"But you're twins, right?" I ask.

Mikado and Mosha nod their heads.

"So how does that work?" I ask.

Mikado walks out of the room.

"What's with her?" I ask.

"She doesn't like talking about it," replies Mosha. "Remember when I said our brother was killed by vampires?"

"Yeah," says Whistler.

"It was only a half-truth," says Mosha. "In reality, he was captured by a vampire cult. A cult that wanted to have a kitsune demon working for them. They tried the ritual on our brother, but Mikado intervened. She joined in the circle with our brother, and as such, a kitsune demon inhabited both their bodies. The result was that each of them were only half kitsune."

"So what happened to your brother?"

"...Mikado killed him."

"Why?" I ask.

"Kitsune's have dueling personalities—yin and yang," replies Mosha. "When the demon was forced to inhabit two different hosts, the two different aspects of the personality switched. Our brother received the... less pleasant one. The pair of them first killed the vampire cult, and then Mikado turned on our brother. I found her sitting in his blood, crying. That's why she's so vicious—because of the kitsune that's become bonded to her."

"Can't you seperate them?" I ask.

"No," she replies. "The two enities have become dependent on each other. Mikado tries not to invoke the kitsune unless it is absolutely necessary, though."

"Whoa..." says Whistler. "And here I thought she was just a bitch."

"Anyway... did you find out anything from our little friend?" I ask, turning over to Whistler.

"First off, he is a vampire," replies Whistler.

"He is?" I ask. "How come nothing I did affected him then?"

"He obviously doesn't look like a regular suckhead," replies Whistler. "Remember that heist at TCRI?"

"Yeah," I say.

"I did some digging on them," says Whistler. "Turns out TCRI has been involved in genetics for years. There's a lot of mystery surrounding them, but my guess is that Hunger stole their technology and used it on this poor sucker."

"But if he's a vampire, then how come silver didn't have any effect?" I ask.

"Silver, sunlight, garlic, all of that is a genetic defect," replies Whistler. "Maybe this technology allows Hunger to compensate for those genetic defects."

"Luckily they still need heads to survive," I say.

"We need to stop him before he has more of these creatures out there," says Mosha. "That explains what those 'auditions' were for."

"Mosha, go get Mikado," I say. "We're gonna pay a visit to Scab."

Mikado kicks open the door of Scab's bar and knocks it off its hinges. Mosha gives her an exasperated look.

"Was that necessary?" she asks.

<"Dramatic effect,"> replies Mikado.

"What did she say?" I ask.

"She's just showing off," replies Mosha.

"Whatever," I say. I push past them, and walk into the bar. "Scab!"

No answer comes. I reach for my gun just in case. Mosha and Mikado follow suit and we begin walking through the bar. The scent of blood hits my nostrils, and I can feel the thirst begin to well up inside of me. I try to ignore it, but instead, follow the stench. That's when I hear a low mumbling. I walk into the next room, and I see where the sound and the stench is coming from.

Scab is pinned to the wall by stakes. His legs and arms have been cut off, and he keeps mumbling. I move closer, and I see why he's not screaming his head off.

"I found him," I say. Mosha and Mikado come into the room and they see the same thing.

"Why doesn't he speak?" asks Mikado.

"His tongue's been cut out," I reply.

"Oh shit..." says Mosha. "What now?"

I reach for a stake and them jam it into his heart. He instantly turns to ashes, and I turn to walk out of the bar.

"Why did you do that?" asks Mosha.

"He's no use to us now," I reply. "Better to put him out of his misery."

"What do we do?" asks Mosha.

"Hunger did this to send us a message, otherwise he would have dusted Scab himself," I reply. "Now, we take the fight to him."

"What?" asks Mosha.

"Hunger wants a war," I reply. "So we'll give him a fucking war."