Two days had passed since the incident in the woods. Noah was still missing from school, presumably deep in training hell with the Old Man.

Jin sat perched on the roof of an apartment complex across the street from the high school. He had a pair of binoculars and a bag of chips. He was bored out of his mind.

"Crap, this is boring," Jin muttered, tossing a chip into his mouth. "I'd rather be sitting in math class listening to Mr. Henderson drone on about polynomials. This is all that damn donkey porker's fault. If Leven hadn't lost his shizz, I wouldn't be stuck playing rooftop gargoyle."

He scanned the schoolyard below. Nothing. Just students eating lunch and playing basketball.

"Holy balls," Jin sighed, leaning back against a ventilation unit. "I wish something would happen. Anything. This sucks a big fat one."

"Careful what you wish for, darling."

The voice was like warm honey-sweet, sticky, and dangerous.

Jin spun around.

Floating a few feet above the roof was a creature of stunning, terrifying beauty. She had skin the color of bubblegum, curling ram horns, and large bat-like wings that beat silently against the air. She wore little more than a confident smirk.

"Who are you?" Jin demanded, dropping into a combat stance. "And what do you want?"

"Aww, Jin," the demon pouted, landing softly on her hooves. "Why so rude?"

"How do you know my name?"

"There isn't much I don't know about you, Jin Motozawa," she purred, walking toward him with exaggerated sway. "By the way, how is Luna doing? Must be hard to keep her safe when you're suspended from school. Tsk tsk."

"Who the hell are you?" Jin growled, Ki flaring blue around his fists. "You better start talking before I take your head clean off."

"Oh, calm down," she waved a hand dismissively. "I'm not here to battle you. At least, not this time. I am a messenger."

"Then what do you want?"

"I've come to tell you to rejoice!" She threw her arms wide. "For the Almighty Balthazar shall soon take over this world. In his great wisdom, the Demon Lord has found you worthy. He would like you to join his ranks as a General in his army. To be given this great honor... all you must do is hand Luna over to him."

Jin stared at her. "Oh really? That's all I have to do, huh? Well, I must say that is one hell of a deal. Let me think about it."

He paused for dramatic effect.

"NO!"

The Succubus sighed, inspecting her nails. "I figured as much. But at least I can tell my Lord I tried. You truly are a fool, Jin. His power is absolute. You should just lay down like a dog to his master and accept your fate. Any other action is futile and leads to a painful, drawn-out death."

"Well," Jin grinned, cracking his knuckles. "I guess I'm just a dumbass who likes doing things the hard way."

"What a shame," she licked her lips, eyeing him hungrily. "And I was looking forward to making you my little plaything, too."

"Yeah... that's never going to happen, Demon Tits," Jin scoffed. "So why don't you go back to King Demon Douche and tell him I'm coming for his head."

The Succubus's eyes flashed red. "You dare?!? YOU DARE?!?"

"Oh, no, I dare. I double dare."

"Die, you miserable flea!" She thrust her hand forward. "DEATH SHARDS!"

A barrage of black crystal spikes materialized in the air and shot toward him like missiles.

Jin dove to the right, rolling across the gravel roof. He sprang up, charging a Kinetic Punch. "Take this!"

He lunged, but the Succubus flapped her wings, shooting backward into the sky.

"Catch me if you can, hero!" she cackled, flying off toward the city center-away from the school.

"Damn it!" Jin cursed. He sprinted to the edge of the roof and leaped, chasing her shadow across the skyline.

Meanwhile, inside the school, lunch break was in full swing.

Luna and Lynn were washing their hands in the second-floor girls' bathroom.

"So," Lynn said, fixing her eyeliner in the mirror. "Are you worried about Noah? Three days is a long time."

"A little," Luna admitted. "But he can take care of himself. Probably."

The bathroom door creaked open.

Luna glanced in the mirror, expecting another girl. Instead, a boy from their history class-Timmy-shuffled in. His eyes were glazed over, staring blankly ahead.

"Um," Lynn turned around. "Ex-squeeze me? This is the girl's restroom. Can you read?"

Timmy said nothing. He slowly walked toward Luna, arms outstretched like a zombie.

"Hey!" Luna shouted. "You little pervert! GTFO!"

He kept coming. His hand reached for Luna's shoulder.

"Nope!" Lynn grabbed his arm, spun him around, and delivered a knee strike to his groin that would have felled an ox.

THWACK.

Timmy didn't even flinch. He didn't make a sound. He just stumbled back, regained his balance, and reached for Luna again.

"WTF is with this guy?" Lynn gasped, backing up. "I put everything I had in that knee!"

"What do you want from me?" Luna yelled.

"Luna," Lynn warned, her voice dropping. "Don't let him grab you. Something isn't right about him."

Luna backed into a stall door. Timmy lunged.

Luna panicked. She squeezed her eyes shut and started throwing punches-wild, frantic swings. Thud. Thud. She hit his nose, his jaw, his chest.

He didn't stop.

"Okay, enough!" Lynn grabbed Timmy from behind, locked her hands around his waist, and executed a perfect German suplex.

SLAM.

She transitioned instantly into a hammerlock, pinning his arm behind his back.

"Okay, weirdo!" Lynn shouted, cranking the arm. "Knock it off or I'm going to break your arm!"

"Holy crap, Lynn!" Luna stared. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"What, this?" Lynn grunted, holding the struggling boy down. "Girl, having five older brothers, I picked up a thing or two about kicking ass."

Timmy continued to struggle, his joints popping, his hand still clawing toward Luna.

"Okay, I warned you!"

CRACK.

Lynn broke the arm.

Timmy didn't scream. He didn't cry. He just kept reaching.

Lynn let go, scrambling back in horror. "Okay. What the hell?"

"Come on, Lynn!" Luna grabbed her hand. "Quick! Let's just go get a teacher or something!"

They burst out of the bathroom into the hallway.

The scene was a nightmare.

Dozens of female students and female teachers were lying on the floor, slumped against lockers, completely unconscious.

"What is going on?" Luna whispered. "Why is everyone knocked out?"

"No idea," Lynn said, scanning the bodies. "But you notice it is all just girls?"

"Hey, you're right..."

"Lynn, look over there! It's Maya!"

They ran down the hall to where Maya was sprawled face-down near the water fountain.

"Maya!" Luna shook her. "Maya! Wake up!"

Maya groaned but didn't open her eyes.

"Luna, look out!" Lynn screamed.

Another boy-a senior from the football team-lunged at Luna from a classroom doorway. Luna rolled out of the way just in time.

"What is up with people trying to grab me today?!" Luna yelled.

"Luna... look."

Luna turned around.

At both ends of the hallway, male students and male teachers were shuffling toward them. There were dozens of them. Their eyes were glassy, their mouths hanging open. They moved in unison, a silent tide of zombies.

"What is wrong with all of you?!" Luna shouted.

They said nothing. They just moaned-a low, guttural sound of obsession.

"I don't know what is going on," Lynn said, backing up against the lockers. "But they are acting like they're possessed or something."

"Well, whatever their deal is," Luna grabbed Maya's arm, trying to lift her. "They seem to be obsessed with you."

"Let's get the heck out of here!"

They abandoned Maya-she was too heavy to carry while running-and sprinted toward the stairwell. They dodged grasping hands and tripping bodies.

"Where the hell is Jin?!" Lynn yelled as they burst into the locker room and barred the door. "All these guys are obviously after you! Isn't he supposed to be just across the street watching over everything?"

"What if whatever happened to all the guys here happened to him too?" Luna asked, voice trembling.

"Well if that happened," Lynn slumped against the door. "Bottom line, we are S.O.L."

"Don't say that. We'll figure something out."

BANG.

Fists pounded on the locker room door. The wood splintered.

"Luna, look out!"

The janitor, Mr. Henderson, burst out of the supply closet inside the locker room. He lunged for Luna.

Lynn tackled him, sending them both crashing into a row of lockers. "RUN, LUNA!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

"GO!"

Luna scrambled out the back exit, bursting into the main lobby near the principal's office.

She stopped dead.

The lobby was full. Fifty boys blocked the exit. They all turned to look at her at once.

"Well," Luna whispered. "We're screwed."

Lynn caught up, panting. "Quick! The side door to the field!"

Before they could move, a hand crashed through the glass window of the office. It grabbed Lynn by the ponytail.

"AHH!"

Another possessed student grabbed Lynn's arm.

"Luna, get the hell out of here!" Lynn screamed, kicking at them.

"I'm not just going to leave you!"

"Dang it, Luna, GO!" Lynn shoved Luna hard toward the door.

Luna stumbled, tears blurring her vision, and ran. She burst out the side door into the bright sunlight of the football field.

She ran until her lungs burned, but figures were emerging from the bleachers, the dugout, the gym. They were everywhere.

She backed up until she hit the brick wall of the equipment shed. She slid down, curling into a ball.

Crap crap crap, she thought. Lynn has been captured. Maya is out cold. Jin and Noah are nowhere to be found. What am I going to do? Someone, anyone, please come help.

A shadow fell over her. A possessed student reached down.

"AAAAHHH!" Luna screamed.

WHAM.

A fist connected with the student's face, sending him flying ten feet.

"Get your damn hands off her!"

Noah stood there, chest heaving, fists raised.

"Noah?!" Luna gasped. "Where did you come from?"

"Don't worry about that," Noah grabbed her hand. "We need to get out of here."

He dragged her toward the center of the field, punching through the line of zombies with newfound strength.

"Ok, so we're here," Luna panted as they reached the fifty-yard line. "Now what?"

"I don't know," Noah admitted. "I didn't plan past this."

"What?!?"

"Well, I mean, at least we are out in the open. No one can sneak up on us now."

"Ok, Luna," Noah cracked his neck. "Here's the plan. Get behind me. Once they make their way over here, I'll start pounding them. While I do that, you run."

"Noah, are you crazy?" Luna stared at the hundreds of students closing in. "You are going to take on the whole school?"

"I know, I know, it's crazy," Noah grinned, a wild look in his eyes. "But it's just crazy enough to work."

"That was dumb. This isn't an action movie."

"Just let me have this one."

The circle closed.

"ALRIGHT!" Noah yelled. "BRING IT ON!"

He charged.

BOOM.

A figure fell from the sky like a meteor, landing between Noah and the horde. The impact sent a shockwave of dust across the field.

"Yo," Jin stood up, dusting off his knees.

"Motozawa?!?" Noah skidded to a halt. "How the hell did you get here?"

"I jumped," Jin said casually.

"Jumped?!?"

"Jin!" Luna screamed. "Where the hell have you been?! While all these guys have been chasing me all over the school?!"

"You're fine, right?" Jin glanced back. "They didn't hurt you?"

"Yeah, but..."

"Well then," Jin turned back to the crowd. "Shut your face and let me do my thing."

"Rude!"

"Step back, Noah," Jin ordered. "I've got this."

"What?" Noah bristled. "You think you can just come flying in from nowhere at the last minute and get all the glory? Hell no! I can handle this!"

"Noah, go sit down somewhere."

"No."

"Fine."

Jin slammed his fist into the ground. KINETIC WAVE.

The ground rippled. The shockwave knocked the first three rows of students backward-and knocked Noah flat on his butt.

"Hey! Watch it!" Noah yelled from the grass.

"I told you to move," Jin shrugged. "But you didn't want to listen."

"You know, you really get on my nerves."

"Move, stupid!"

CRACK-BOOM.

A bolt of black lightning struck the ground between them. The Succubus descended, hovering above the field with her wings spread wide.

"What the heck is that?" Noah pointed.

"She is a Succubus demon," Jin explained, eyes locked on the target. "She tried to attack me on the roof earlier. I chased her, but she led me on a wild goose chase. She was distracting me."

"So, she is the one behind all of this," Luna realized.

"Jin!" the Succubus shrieked. "You had your chance to join us! Now I'm going to kill you and your little friend there and take Luna!"

"First of all," Jin said. "He is most definitely not my friend. And B... that is not happening."

The Succubus raised her hands, charging a massive ball of dark magic. "DIE!"

THWIP.

A pink streak of light shot from the school doorway. It slammed into the Succubus's back.

"AHH!" She faltered, the magic dissipating. "What the...?"

She turned around.

Maya stood in the doorway, bow raised, shaky but standing. Behind her, supporting Maya's weight, was Lynn.

"Oh come on!" the Succubus screamed. "How are you even awake right now?"

"I woke her up," Lynn smirked, holding a smelling salt packet. "Never leave home without it."

"Great," the demon growled. "Just great. All you jerks just wrecked my plans."

"Make a move," Jin challenged, Ki flaring around his gauntlets. "But with Maya and Dumb-Dumb here... I have to say I like my chances."

The Succubus looked at Jin, then at Noah, then at the glowing arrow nocked in Maya's bow.

"Okay, screw this," she scoffed, crossing her arms. "I'm not in the mood for this crap today. Kill you later, Jin."

With a flap of her wings, she shot into the sky and vanished into the clouds.

As soon as she disappeared, the possessed students groaned. Their eyes rolled back, and like marionettes with their strings cut, they all collapsed onto the grass, unconscious.

"It's over," Jin breathed, relaxing his stance. "For now."