Izzy growled and stumbled slightly when her fist met only emptiness as his misty form rode the air to his weapon once more. She spun back around toward where his cross had landed as he returned to his physical form. Which, it seemed, he took on only long enough to retrieve the cross and hurl it at her again.
	So much for the brilliance of the comic books.
	Her teeth ground together as Episode spoke, her eyes never wavering from his weapon. She inhaled and dodged aside, doing a quick roll on the ground and springing back to her feet as the hunter finished his sentence.
	She took a breath and held it as he finished speaking, trying to push aside the thought of what losing would mean. She could not--[i]would[/i] not--let that happen. Not willingly, at least. She would not give him the satisfaction of her surrender.
	“Well, don’t you think you’re Mr. High-and-Mighty!” Izzy eyed him, her body tense and retaining a slight crouch. The next time he threw it, she decided, she would try to beat him to where it landed. Even if she could not wield it, it provided her a short window before he transformed. If she could make it before he picked it up. “And you thought [i]I[/i] was the pompous one?”
	When Izzy’s name sounded in the night, it made her cringe and inhale. Confusion replaced the surprise at hearing her name as reorganization hit.
	[i]Trevor?[/i] Izzy spun toward the gates, trying to keep an eye on both her friend and Episode. “You shouldn’t be here!” Izzy snapped, her eyes widening slightly, unsure whether her voice had carried over to him. The last thing she wanted was for him to get caught in the crossfire.
	When Trevor shouted to her again, trying to help her, Episode’s soft voice drew her full attention as she noticed the short movements that preceded a throw. She readied to dodge once more, to race after the weapon to try beating him too it, but the angle was wrong.
	“NO!” she shouted the moment the weapon flew from his hands toward her only friend in the world, and raced after it, her voice ringing in her ears and echoing through the field. Her terror-filled eyes on Trevor, she pushed herself harder than she ever had. She jumped into the air, to hop over the cross. For a fraction of a second, the sole of a shoe brushed the metal and she kicked down in an attempt to push it off course before she lunged to try pushing Trevor out of its path.