It was late at night. From a mass of writhing flesh arose the naked body of a woman basking in the shadows. A cell phone had been ringing, prompting the woman to reach beyond one of her lovers and grab the device. Upon answering her call she felt herself become overwhelmed with fear. In seconds, she switched on the bedside lamp, exposing her bare flesh to the light. Lucky for her, her lovers were knocked out from exhaustion. Their pleasurable evening left them drained of any will to remain conscious. The woman left her bed and put on whatever clothes she could find.

The woman’s figure was slim and curved in all the right places. Her skin was fair, healthy and complimented her alluring face. Her violet eyes shone like amethysts in the light of the bedside lamp. The alluring creature pulled a white shirt over her ample breasts in one quick motion. Even the simplest of tasks looked majestic when performed by this natural beauty. She reached behind her body to pull up her long pink hair out from inside her shirt. Locks of long fuchsia flowed down her whole back like a waterfall of rose. Soft bangs draped just above her glaring, jewel-like eyes. She pulled a pair of skinny jeans over her slim, yet fleshy thighs before running out the door of her apartment in haste. Something had upset this beautiful creature. Something that would turn a graceful smile into a blood-thirsty snarl.

The woman ran with fear clutching at her heart. Fleeing from her Center City apartment she made haste towards the scene. Every footstep carried an immense emotional weight. Every second the woman could breathe she found herself hoping and praying that the news wasn’t true. She desperately wished that what she had worked so hard to keep hadn’t been destroyed.

"Please. Please still be there…"

The woman kept running. Block after block she felt the cruel fingers of fear grip tighter and tighter at her heart. She had to fight the urge to stop and rest. Her body couldn’t keep up with her mind. Her mind kept pushing her body to keep moving. She had to make it. She had to see it with her own eyes. She had to see what waited for her at the end of her sorrowful journey. The Center City Gardens.

The rain was getting heavier. Rainwater drenched the woman's clothes, which now clung to her skin. She continued to run with immense determination as the rain continued to assault her. Finally, she was getting closer to the Gardens. Her fears only worsened as the smell of smoke invaded her nostrils. Soon she began to see the faint glow of embers fluttering in the rainy air. At last, she rounded the block and came to a stunned halt. Before her, was the road leading to the Gardens. She could see with her waking eyes the place she called her home away from home. It was set ablaze. A raging hellfire consumed the one thing she held dear in this world.

The woman took several more wounding steps forward. She trudged forward through heavy waters that flooded the streets up to the curb of the sidewalk. Her eyes widened with disbelief, yet she couldn’t find the strength to rub her eyes or pinch her cheek. She knew deep within that this wasn’t a dream. She was staring into cruel reality’s grimace. It would only take a few more seconds before that terrible reality broke the poor woman. Finally, she fell to her knees before the burning spectacle. It was not long before her sadness grew too much to bear. The woman's parched lips parted and from the depths of her heart cried out a single, guttural scream of sorrow. That night would be the worst night in her life. She would struggle to face the cold hard truth that the life she had worked to keep was no more. In the blink of an eye, her work was destroyed.

*****

Two whole days had gone by. The woman sat alone at her small dining table. The loss of her garden was still weighing down on her. She had done as much as she could to aid in the repairs. But seeing such natural beauty reduced to ash left a sour impression upon her. As the woman sat at the table she silently checked her voice mail. A familiar voice spoke from the phone as the woman sulked.

"Fiona… It’s Mark. I hate to have to be the one to tell you this, especially given how much you loved the Gardens. But, due to the increasing repair costs, we are going to have to let some people go. I am terribly sorry Fiona, but you are among those being let go..."

The woman felt her heart descend deeper into the pit of her troubles as the message concluded. Tears welled up in her eyes as her career ended in one small message. The life that this woman worked so hard to build and preserve had shattered in a mere moment.

Another message followed. This one was from an even more familiar voice.

"Flora. It’s Lockhart. You haven't answered any of my calls. I do hope you are okay. Remember if you need anything, you will always be welcome at the Cocoon."

Flora was the woman’s name. She was a Demon created by Professor Lockhart. Unlike her counterparts, Flora chose to live outside the Cocoon. When Flora was created, she couldn’t bear the thought of living within the Cocoon for the rest of her life. She loved living, she loved the Earth. To her, Nature was her closest friend, one she would dedicate her life too. Because of her strong bond with the world, Flora requested that she be allowed to live life as she once did. Her motivations to be reborn were understandable and noble. But, Flora wanted no part in the battles to come. She joined the project to be a shining beacon of progress, not a soldier. She couldn’t understand how the others willingly threw themselves into the chaos of battle. To Flora, warfare was Nature’s cancer. A tumor that had to be cut out to achieve progress. Flora disagreed with the idea that the Director presented. The idea of exploiting worst case scenarios disgusted her. She didn’t like the idea that the only way forward to the future was a bloody one.

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Those ideas still held true in Flora’s mind. Even as she struggled to hold back the oncoming torrent of tears filling up in her eyes. But those same ideas were waning like the moon. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold on to her ideals. The world she struggled to build around her fell to pieces.

Finally, Flora couldn’t hold anything back anymore. The memory of her good life was flashing in her head. She knew deep down that it was all over. She knew she would have to face the Demon she was. But she was scared to do it. She was scared that she would have to fight one day. But part of her knew that she had the strength. She couldn’t avoid it any longer and that was what broke her in the end.

"So… Are you finally going to let me in?" a foreign voice asked with a whisper.

Flora knew the voice quite well. It was the voice of her Second Personality, Fauna. For the longest time, Flora had shut Fauna away deep within her own mind. But in that desperate hour, Flora lowered her guard. The voice of the thing Flora feared most came crawling back from the depths.

"Flora?" Fauna called out.

"Why did you come back?"

"I never left."

Flora sighed and did her best to wipe her tears as she leaned back into her rickety chair. She couldn’t believe what she was doing. That fire destroyed her life's work before her eyes and now she was talking to a voice in her head. But even after all the doubt, Flora still gave in and finally spoke to her other half.

"What do you want Fauna?"

"I want in. We both know who did this. If you let me in you will have the strength to fight back," Fauna declared with her deep, tempting voice.

"No! I am not a weapon!" Flora screamed as she stood up from her seat, knocking it to the floor.

"You’re right. You are not a weapon, but you are a weapon wielder. Every human in this pitiful world has the power to wield weapons. Every object in existence has the potential to be lethal. Even gravity kills people every day."

"You just want me to accept you so you can take over my body!"

"That’s not how it works. I can control your body whenever I wish, but only with your approval. As long as your subconscious opposes me, I will never be able to use your body. All this time your subconscious has been trying to force me out. All because you refuse to accept what you are. Because you have been pushing me away all this time, the life you avoided has been trying to catch up with you. I hate to break it to you, but it finally caught up."

"Why?"

"You chose to become the next step in humanity. It’s time you took up the mantle. Now look alive, you have a visitor."

Fauna’s voice faded into the back of Flora’s mind as a simple knock emerged from the door.

"Flora? You in?"

Only seconds passed before the girl knocking at the door entered the apartment. Much to the guest’s surprise, she found Flora leaning against her kitchen window in a sorry state. The girl rushed to Flora upon seeing her succumb to her fears. Flora immediately fell into the girl's embrace and spoke to her in sobs.

"I’m so glad you’re here Krysta."

Krysta was another Demon and the only one who Flora related to. Their relationship walked a strange line between lovers and sisters. The two even wore their hair the same way, long and flowing like a river of grace. Though while Flora’s hair was a vibrant shade of pink, Krysta’s was a platinum shade of blonde. Krysta herself was a pale, graceful, and resolute young woman. She held her head high at all times and carried herself with honor. She held the values of a knight of old close to her heart. While her figure was that of a petite lady, the gaze in her emerald eyes was unyielding. Her face was angular and sharp like a sword. Her whole look was the perfect blend of maiden and warrior.

Krysta’s clothes were quite simple for someone whose attitude boasts such chivalrous character. Her slim torso wore a simple white collar shirt with the sleeves rolled up. A blue and white striped tie draped down the curve of her perky chest. Long fingerless gloves, decorated with blue and white stripes, wrapped themselves around Krysta's arms. At her feet, Krysta worse simple blue sneakers with black trousers over her legs. A simple garb for a noble woman.

"I haven’t seen you lately. I thought you might have died in the fire," Krysta said softly as she comforted her weeping friend.

"I’ve been here by myself," responded Flora.

"I guess things haven’t been so good for you since the Gardens burned down."

"Krysta… I lost my job…"

Krysta felt the weight of Flora’s words fall onto her heart as she held the poor girl tighter in her embrace.

"I’m so sorry Flora… Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Flora stepped away from Krysta and rubbed the tears from her eyes. Krysta offered a tissue which Flora accepted and used to blow her stuffy nose. After finally collecting herself, a new air began to emerge from Flora. One of anger and hatred.

"Tell me where she is Krysta."

"Who?"

"Tell me where Nina is hiding."

*****

Lockhart had called Terra, Genesis, and I to his office. He had some important assignments for us to take care of. There was a lot happening in the city. Ever since the battle with CAPRA, we began to realize just how careful we had to be with our movements. Though there were some issues that could not be ignored.

"I’m glad you all came. Let’s get right to business." Lockhart said as we stood before his desk.

"Two days ago, Nina attacked Heaven and Terra in the Center City Gardens. The battle resulted in the Gardens being burned to the ground. Ever since I have lost contact with a certain Demon."

"Which one?" Genesis immediately asked.

"Flora the Demon Scattered Roses."

"Flora?" I asked, seeing as my knowledge of the other Demons was quite limited.

Lockhart took a second before nodding to me. Finally, he began to clue me in on who Flora was.

"Flora was an interesting case. She voluntarily accepted becoming part of the project on one condition. She wanted to live life as she once did. I had no problem with her conditions and provided her as much support as I could. I gave her the necessary funding to get her life back in order and helped her get a job at the Center City Gardens. It was the job she always wanted due to her appeal to plants. But her hidden life would come at a great cost. We all knew that someday the responsibilities of a Demon would catch up with her. Though I never wished for her to be dragged into the fight against Nina. Now that she lost her old life to Nina I fear she may take the same path Heaven did."

"Has Krysta been in contact with her?" Terra interjected.

"It is possible. Sorry Heaven, Krysta is another Demon. She is the Demon of Frostbite, and a close friend of Flora’s. I need you and Terra to keep an eye on those two and keep them from facing Nina. As for you Genesis, CAPRA has been quiet and I want you to watch their movements. Things are only going to get rough here on out. Do your best to come home alive."