"Can you help me?!" the young woman sobbed bitterly as she grabbed senselessly at a passing stranger. "Please, he's dying! Save him!"

"Look lady, I don't know what your on and I really don't care." the man said dislodging her grip from his shirt.

"SAVE HIM! HE'S DYING!" she clawed at a passing woman, shoving a lucid black and purple crystal shard in the passer bys face. The woman drew away in repulsion, hanging from a shattered edge of the matter was a strange piece of stinking flesh that when touched by the ravenous black flies of decay, sizzled and melted them with a strange body fluid.

"Get away from me!" the woman cried alerting a near by Krimzon Guard with this strange woman's behavior. As the woman withdrew from the estranged ones' presence, the Guard listened to the disturbed ones' strange tale of a great blood red beast in Haven Forest.

"He's dying! Help me save him!" the young woman cried clutching the crystal shard to her chest, her blood flowing freely from her mutilated palm. She was a sight that disconcerted the military man, something not easily done to one of the Krimzon Guard.

"Look lady, your not making sense! I can't help you or this guy, Haven Forest isn't my problem." he spoke curtly, trying not to lose his cool as Torn told him not to.

"NO! NO! No, no, no!" she cried grabbing onto his shoulder, her talon like nails cutting into the metal of his armor. Now the poor fellow was terrified. This bloody-tear streaked woman, who from the flesh in the crystal, missing pieces of flesh on her face and hands, who seemed beyond all pain, just to save this guy she kept going on about, he was impressed .

"Please?" she whispered, her claws cutting into his shoulder plate. With a grinding snap, he could feel those claws ripping through the padding of his suit. Alarm etched itself across his masked face as a warm liquid ran from his shoulder, down his arm, accumulating in a small puddle on the ground. Looking down, he saw himself, a crimson warrior reflected in a crimson pool. With a grunt, he ripped his shoulder from her grasp, snapping off her nails in the process leaving them embedded in his shoulder.

"What are you?" he asked bewildered with the sudden pain.

"Please?" she whispered taking a step forward, arms outstretched, eyes set squarely on him. "Please." The guard baulked and stepped back raising his shock stick.

"Please?" His cruel training flooded back with his fear and pain as this unstoppable woman came forward step by slow step. Blue electricity arced through the air leaving the estranged woman on the ground. The unfortunate Guard left her there in the bazaar, cradling his wounded arm.

"Hey!" a voice called in the darkness. "Hey!"

"Maybe she's dead Jak." a second irritating spoke and she vaguely wondered if someone was rubbing a steel bristle brush over her ears.

"I thought Torn told the Guards not to ruff people up like this any more." the first voice spoke.

"Maybe one's a sadist!" the irritating voice spoke. She felt comforted at the sound of the first voice. He could help! She felt a hand gently lift her right hand, turning it over to look at the bloody stubs of her claws. Striking like a viper, her hand lashed out and snagged the collar of the man's shirt before he knew what had happened. Drawing him nearer to her, her head lolled up and her eyes snapped open.

"Help me!" she hissed through clenched teeth near his ear.

"Jak, what have I told you about helping people." the irritating voice wavered with concern. Her eyes flicked to the source of the irritating voice. It was a small orange rodent perched on the man's shoulder.

"Hold on Dax. She's messed up pretty bad, we have to help." Jak spoke softly. "Who did this to you?" Shaking her head vigorously, she held out the crystal.

"No, no, not me! He's dying! The Forest, the forest, he's there. We have to go, NOW!" she snarled leaping to her feet.

"What is that?" Jak asked prying the crystal from her hand. "Dark Eco. Where'd you get this?"

"It came from him, we have to go, have to help! Medic, he needs a medic!" she spoke hysterically.

"Alright, calm down, I'll call Samos, he could probably help." Jak said pulling out his communicator.