Rubble surrounded Angel, showing him just how dangerous this earthquake had been. Not many people lived on Third Street, but the fate of many that did was grim. First responders had only just begun arriving in the area, and were desperately trying to save whoever they could.

So far fifty-one people had been escorted out of nearby buildings, and Maria Santiago didn’t seem to be one of them.  Only five minutes had passed since the earthquake started.

Angel ran toward the apartment building as some of the first responders shouted at him to stay back. He jumped down from the door of the apartment building to the collapsed floor, which caved a few more centimeters under his feet.

Careful not to step too many times on more vulnerable parts of the floorboards, he leaped across the room on the higher, more stable parts of the floor and towards the stairs. The elevator wouldn’t be working with damage like this, that’s for sure. Taking the stairs just meant that he’d have to leap across a large hole to reach them. As he looked down, its depth was pretty uncertain.

He pulled a quarter from his jacket pocket and dropped it down. He couldn’t hear it hit the ground.

That’s not good… Still, it’s not like I have any choice. Angel took a step back, got a running start, and leapt across, landing on the second step of the staircase. For a moment he almost lost his balance, though luckily he didn’t quite fall into the bit behind him. I’ll have to look for something to lay across the pit while I’m up there… There’s no way I’ll be able to make that once I’ve got Mom.

The stairs creaked even louder than usual, probably because the earthquake damaged its supports. Angel figured somebody could hear someone coming up from several floors above them.

Well, he thought, that doesn’t matter now… 

The door had been knocked off its hinges, and looked like it had been bent at the middle. As he stepped through the doorway and onto the toppled door, he saw what he had dreaded: blood. A trail of it led to the left. Why would she go into the kitchen if she got hurt? Angel cautiously peered into the room, where he found his mother leaning against the counter. 

A few moments passed, and yet she didn’t say a word. Angel stared at his mother with an intense look on his face, but even then she didn’t even seem to notice him.

Not too far away, feet came crashing down onto the first floor stairway, and a couple smaller - albeit still loud - landings followed.

Whatever… He started toward his mother as he reassured her, “I’m gonna get you outta here.” The closer he got, despite trying to ignore the strange thoughts he was having, the more a feeling crept up his spine.

Then, a hand was placed on his back, stopping that feeling in its tracks. Angel wasn’t sure how to interpret it, which didn’t make it easy to decide what he should do. “You should learn to trust your instincts more.” Ren had managed to catch up with Angel and had followed the trail of blood into this room. He created a blade of fire from his index and middle finger, though maintained his relaxed posture. 

That ring from before was back on his chest, now looking like it was beginning to gravitate to the arm with the flames.

Ren narrowed his vision on Maria Santiago, apparently never having even looked in Angel’s direction. With his free hand, he tossed a pistol from his suit jacket over to Angel, who stared at the gun with terror. “Use this to protect yourself. Your mother may be fine, but there is definitely something wrong here.”

A deep anger swelled up inside Angel as he screamed, “It’s you that’s wrong here! Ever since you came to the coffee shop, nothing makes any sense! You’ve got fire outta your fingertips and you burst into my mom’s apartment…” 

Ren glanced over at Maria Santiago, not paying much mind to Angel. She was still standing where she was, but now had her eyes fixed in Ren’s direction. Her eyes were wide open. Then, glancing back over at Angel, he wondered if the panic had prevented him from noticing something that he of all people should have.

Angel pointed the gun at Ren. “Well? Say something!”

I doubt he’d pull the trigger, but… “I gave you that gun to protect yourself, not to kill someone.” He finally seemed to shift his full attention toward him as he started, “Look, Angel…” 

“How do you know my name?” 

Ren glared at him. “You said it over the phone - I was there, remember?” This was true, but Angel had only seen him in his peripheral vision. Angel seemed to recall that, much to his surprise. “I have a job to do, and hurting your mother isn’t part of it. Quite the opposite, actually.”

Angel lowered the gun slightly, as at that moment, he caught something in his peripheral. Then, three things happened in only a few moments: First, a hand was placed on Angel’s shoulder, which sent a wave of clarity through his head. Second, he turned toward his mother and met her gaze. She had already closed a considerable distance between Ren and herself. Finally, he raised the gun in his hand and pulled the trigger.

Shocked. Ren couldn’t remember the last time he had been quite this shocked, or all shocked at all, really. As Maria Santiago’s body came crashing down, having a bullet in the foot, Ren couldn’t help but shout. “You shot her?!”

Meanwhile, a ringing sound reverberated in Angel’s ears which covered Ren’s voice. Angel had trusted his instincts, and had immediately regretted it. He was paralyzed. At least he only hit her foot. It’s just that - even in the split second I was able to look at her - I was able to see that look in her eyes... There’s no way those are her’s.

The room was quiet again as a thick liquid began to come from Maria Santiago’s foot. Angel gagged and promptly looked away, believing it to be blood. However, Ren had been able to get a good look at it. That was not any shade of red. The liquid was black.

“I have an idea…” Ren shortened his blade of fire while keeping his eyes on Maria’s body. “If I’m right, the demon I’m after is inside your mother’s body.” He held up his hand and explained, “The reason my family has such success hunting these things is because of their reaction to heat. If you let me use my fire on the leaking black mass of the demon, then we should be able to save your mother. I just need you to promise me that you won’t shoot me if I try.”

Heat? Angel’s mind slowed for a moment, giving that some thought. That hand before seemed like it gave me energy I didn’t have before. It felt like my body was on fire. “You don’t have to worry about that. Just do what you have to.”

Ren nodded. Then, as Maria’s body got up to attack, the two entered into combat. The demon jumped over Ren. Then, he quickly tried to slash her foot, but had to pull his arm away as the demon sent a knife flying across the room, stabbing into the wall behind him. 

Where did that hand come from? Angel looked over at his shoulder where he had felt its touch before. As he did, a green, marbled hand with a green ring behind its wrist began to materialize. 

The fire inside Ren redirected from his left hand to his right, passing through his core. The flame was just powerful enough to allow him to prevent another one of the demon’s attacks. Maria’s body twisted and managed to land the first hit on Ren with another kick. 

I know this hand… It might not look like it, but I can just feel that it’s the same one… It’s fitting that it’s appeared again now of all times.

Blood began to drip from Ren’s now broken nose. He quickly redistributed his flames as before, this time expelling flames from both his feet. He burst toward Maria’s body and pinned the demon against the wall. 

Angel asked, “You said they were weak to heat, right? Well, I think this’ll do the trick.” Angel pointed at Maria’s foot, shooting the hand toward the wound as it pointed to match Angel’s own hand. It stopped right as it hit the demon’s black slime. “This hand is what gave me the energy I needed to make the shot earlier… So, I thought if heat is just energy…”

The demon’s mass began to be forcefully expelled from Maria’s Santiago’s body, dripping down the floorboards until there was nothing left. It worked.

“... then this should work.” Unlike before, Angel didn’t have that drained feeling he’d gotten before. Maybe that effect only happened because he’d been the one to get the burst of energy.

Ren’s eyes widened as he saw the now fading hand. Angel has a Dream?  He loosened his grip and slowly set Maria down and began checking for a pulse and any other injuries. I suppose he’s more in touch with his instincts than I thought if he was able to understand his Dream that quickly.

“She should be fine; there doesn’t look like she has any real injuries other than the bullet. Thank you, Angel.”

Angel crouched down beside Ren. “I should be the one thanking you… I almost shot you, but you still saved my mom. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve died.” He picked up his mother, planning on taking her to the hospital. 

Ren stood beside Angel and pulled out a small sticky note and began scribbling something on it. “My family’s company has a private surgeon in our Liberty City headquarters… I can give you the address and handle the expenses. I’ll notify them ahead of time.”

“Aren't you leaving too?”

He shook his head as he continued to write. “I still have to clean up the situation here.” Then, he scribbled something else on the sticky note. “But I’d be happy to meet up with you tomorrow or whenever convenient for you.” Ren handed over the sticky note, which was written in perfect cursive.

It’s just another day to him, huh? Well, I guess I can’t complain if he’s willing to help mom get better like that… Angel read the note, finding Ren’s name written under the phone number. “Thank you, Ren.”

Ren gave him a smile, something Angel thought didn’t match his character. It’s my job, but… “You’re welcome.” 

As Angel cautiously carried his mother out of the building, Ren turned his attention back toward the black slime that had been expelled. While most of it had disappeared, a small, pulsating, relatively solid chunk of black slime remained on the floor.