The city was quietest in the dark hours between midnight and dawn. The moon had gone, vising some other place perhaps. Ren didn't know where the moon went, or where the sun was at night, or what the stars were; but those questions never interested him anyway. At the moment, Ren was thankful for the additional darkness of the moonless night. The only lights (besides the stars) were the beacon lanterns of the Niijima Estate gate and the dull lanterns of the Azabu road system. They all blazoned in the grey world of Ren's dark vision- bubbles of bright color in a monochrome world.

Ren waited, attempting to be as still as his horse which waited in the dark with him, the clockwork beast as quiet and still as a rock. Ren was confident that he was fully enveloped in shadow under the decorative brush of the Azabu roadside. No human would possibly spot him, and even a vampire would need to look long and hard to discern him within his shield of oscillating foliage; a cool breeze was keeping the world subtly moving about.

But of all things, Ren was not currently thinking of the movement of celestial bodies, nor of vampires and how to hide from them; He was thinking of Makoto and her critical condition, and that this attempt to get back into the Niijima Estate, unseen, had better work.

But how much time, Morgana? How much time does she have without you? Did that old symbiote do any good?

**I still don't know! Like I said the last dozen times: I need to see her again! Aren't you satisfied the guards are gone?**

No, Ren was not satisfied. Two junior guards stood sleepily near the inside of the gate. While they were armed with rifles, they didn't seem particularly formidable. Meanwhile, the two diminutive female guards were nowhere to be seen. Those were the two Ren was worried about. There was something about them…

They'd been here when the carriage had arrived, and they'd challenged Ren when he arrived shortly after on horseback with Dr. Takemi. The guards had watched him leave the estate, exiled by Niijima Sae, the prodigal elder sister. But now, after Ren had wasted a bit of time in the nearby area and then snuck back: there was no sign of them. No sight. No smell. No sound. It was unnerving. Humans were generally not that good at stealth.

Ren again gazed at the two guards at the gate. He thought they were perhaps more attentive than they seemed. Their eyes were droopy and they stood in lazy positions, but their heartbeats seemed to indicate alertness. Though alert or not, they wouldn't see Ren when he made his move, he was sure of that. The real defenses were certainly beyond and within the estate grounds itself. Those two little women were in there somewhere, and their absence from the obvious places gave Ren pause: they were either patrolling or waiting in ambush. Ren assumed the later. It was what he would do.

Infiltration of a mansion was a challenge on its own, but it became an entirely different game when the guards were on high alert and expecting an intrusion. If Ren had the choice, he wouldn't go near the estate for several weeks- but even the several hours he'd waited so far was nigh unbearable. Makoto might quite literally be dying slowly in that house, and he was the only one with the power to save her.

Well- Morgana had that power…

But Ren had Morgana! So… it added up to the same thing!

Unfortunately, the small breeze which created the useful swaying of the local vegetation also played havoc with Ren's nose- he couldn't trust it, couldn't trust which smell was who and when. Though the neighborhood was sparsely populated with large houses, many people had passed in and out of the Niijima estate recently. There were multiple guards of both genders inside the grounds, moving around unpredictably- there was simply no way to trust his nose. Ren would need to rely on his eyesight to avoid whatever ambush may be waiting inside the Niijima walls, and the downside to that was: if one could see the guard, the guard also had line of sight back. Some humans could see well enough at night to be dangerous, and the porch of the semi-distant house had enough bright lanterns to cast illumination nearly everywhere inside. Crossing the lawn was going to be a big problem.

Ren hadn't heard any movement in quite some time. He didn't smell anything new or changing. And the Niijima wall blocked him from seeing anything useful of the lawn, so he would just have to make that part of the plan up as he went along. Desperate, foolish, trusting to luck. It was a terrible plan.

But now was the best time to start.

Ren slithered into motion, gyrating his body to avoid undue contact with the bushes and branches which helped conceal him. The first challenge was to cross the open road which, unfortunately for Ren, totally surrounded the estate: Tock-Yo had long existed inside its walls, very little land was open and wild, and none of that amount was in this desirable district. What land that wasn't estate was open road, walls, and thin strips of aesthetically appealing greenery.

Ren's chosen infiltration point was far from the main gate where there was a gap in the street lanterns- a small pool of shadow. Either the lantern-lighter had neglected this one lantern in the monotony of his work, or there was some sort of defect in it which had snuffed out the flame in the earlier hours of the evening. Whatever the cause, it was a fortunate aid to the beginning of the infiltration. Ren could cross the open and reach the Niijima wall while remaining entirely in shadow.

Ren stepped out into the dark road, his eyes already on a the tip of a likely bush growing just on the Niijima side of the wall. He could hop over the stone and plop down behind that bush and safely plan his crossing of the estate grounds. From there he could maybe-

A flash of light on the apex of the mansion's roof. Ren felt the wind of something buzz past his face, and it struck the tree behind him with a wooden thunk. Nigh simultaneously, the quiet night was broken by a distant:

Crack!

Ren threw himself backward, desperately leaping back for the cover of the shrubbery. More flashes went off, two sources, one still on the roof, another on the manor's porch.

Crack! Crack!

Bullets thudded into earth and plants around Ren. One ricocheted off Ren's horse: CLANG!

Damn! There was a trap all right, and Ren was already in it! The lantern wasn't dark from happenstance! It was the bait, and he'd walked right into it! Somehow, they'd seen him make his move.

Ren crawled through the brush, went under his statue-like horse, and then clung to the opposite side of the metal beast. It was unlikely a human sniper could hit him in the dark, but they were certainly missing by a narrow enough margin to be worrisome. The last thing Ren needed was to take a round and waste time healing. He reached up for the reins and started the mechanical beast moving forward, barging through the small public garden which decorated the intersection between estate lands and into the open road.

Ren braced himself for more sniper fire, but none came. Perhaps the shooters thought the horse was real and didn't want to hurt it, or perhaps they were simply satisfied he was on his way out and away from the estate. Whatever the reason, Ren quietly guided his horse away, clinging to its side like a fly, furious at his own failure.

Eventually finding a new hiding nook, far from the Niijima estate, Ren glowered in the darkness. He idly fingered a fresh bullet hole in his cloak. Was it from Niijima's Sae bullet? Or one of the ones from the snipers? It was those two small women. Ren was sure of it. Those two diminutive guards were obnoxiously observant for humans. And they moved constantly, maintained no patterns, and spent so much time on the grounds that their scent seemed prevalent all around the perimeter. How the hell was that possible? Did they… urinate in the bushes? They did keep watch all night…

Also: neither were virgins. Not that it mattered. But Ren could tell.

Ren reached up and unconsciously twirled the hair of his bangs, going deep into contemplation. The sexual history and the bathroom habits of the guards were irrelevant. The crux was that Ren needed to get into the house and have Morgana continue healing Makoto. And Ann, for that matter! Human medicine was too primitive. At best, Ren worried Dr. Takemi could do little but slow death's approach. The injured women needed Morgana, but even if Ren made it past the guards, Makoto's insane older sister was there- and she seemed to hold rank over the Butler in a way Makoto didn't. So, he couldn't count on his influence to keep Big Sis from blowing Ren's brains out, no matter what he said.

From experience, Ren knew that Morgana's healing abilities required touch, so there was no way to apply it at a distance. If only Morgana could shoot it somehow, or- or…?

Oh! Yes. Yes! Might that work?

Ren stood from his hiding spot and began hunting for something. Another creature of the city, full of pumping blood and vibrant life. Though these things he could not smell, since his nose was not tailored to their scent like it was to human smells. But Ren could see them and hear them, if he listened closely. There was sure to be a few about the area.

While he hunted, Ren turned his mind inward in the way that allowed him to speak directly to his symbiote: Morgana- You suggested I could have transferred you into Makoto to help heal her? That's possible?

**Yeah, but- so? Being joined wouldn't have helped her. I needed help, not a new perspective on the injury.**

But it would be possible, Morgana? To transfer you to another body? If needed?

**Sure. It's actually easy if you're willing, Ren. Its the forced transfers that are bad. When the host is against it… But otherwise; all a willing host would need to do is this: **

It was like Ren suddenly remembered something he knew long ago but forgot: How to transfer a symbiote. Not as intricate as he'd thought it would be, but he not exactly call it easy. Certainly straightforward, but not easy.

What if the symbiote isn't entirely willing, Morgana?

**Wouldn't really matter. We don't really get a say in the-….Wait. What are you-**

…

**Ren! You're not serious! Not- don't do that! Do something else! Anything else!**

But I haven't even told you my plan.

**I live inside you! I can SEE your plan! DON'T!**

The night air was full of adventure, and that was why Junabelle loved it so. There were crickets chirping, mice scurrying, and moths fluttering around lanterns. The cool night breeze ruffled through the grass, through Junabelle's silky black fur, and past her small moist nose. It brought her all sorts of interesting smells, and…

And what was that smell? That was new.

Junabelle paused mid-stride, one front paw frozen in midair as she considered the strange scent. Her mind began filtering it from the other smells in the air: There was the usual stuff; mice droppings; cricket scent; flowers- but there was also something else…

It reminded Junabelle of the giant, two-legged creatures which wandered everywhere and mostly ignored her- but it wasn't quite that scent. It was a little different in a strange-

Something heavy thudded to the ground just behind Junabelle. Something large. Alarm bells rang up and down Junabell's spine, her fur standing up, her tail doubling in size. Her mind devolved into a ball of instinct and it shouted to every fiber of her being to:

RUN!

She took a single bounding leap but something snagged her by the back of her neck. She felt herself lifted into the air. She flailed. She yowled. Hissed. Spat. Claws out, trying frantically, chaotically, desperately to get at whatever had her by the scruff.

A hairless, five-toed paw of a two-legger clamped to Junabell's face. She bit it, but her teeth only sank into a leather glove. She tried to bite again. She had to hurt the thing! Hurt it! Make it let her go! Get away!

Hurt the… thing… and get away…..

Get… away and… damn.. It…

Damn it… damn him… dammit. REN!

You put me IN A CAT!?

I'M NOT A CAT!

Ren gently set the pacified cat onto the ground. It trotted angrily in circles a few times, the tip of its tail flicking this way and that in aggravation. Then it sat down and glared at him with two blue eyes, clearly unhappy.

"I hate you for this," said Morgana the cat, "And I'll hate you forever."

"You'll get used to it," said Ren.