"Gina is missing."

Momotaro dropped the files he had on his hands and turned his head in Lorcan's direction. The folders opened and the papers flew to the floor.

Another addition to the list. Every time he entered the office a new report of a missing member managed to sneak in. The sting of Stefan's power turned into a permanent mark, a pain to remember him about the suffering his people experienced as a result of his ineptitude as a leader.

"How long?" He asked as he kneeled on the ground to clean up the mess.

"Six days. The worst thing is that I found out by chance," answered Lorcan. He grabbed a few papers from under a chair and gave them to Momotaro.

"What are you waiting for? Tell me everything you know, I'm not in the mood to squeeze every drop of information out of you." The new leader dropped the folders on the desk. "Let's take a seat. I need to read these reports, you can talk while I do that."

"Are you sure this is a good time? I can talk with Gellert, he can take care of it. You look like you need a break, I could see your baggy eyes from miles aways."

"You don't look any better. I doubt you've been sleeping properly since Agatha disappeared. I can hear what you have to say, it's my responsibility, not Gellert's."

"Guess we're on the same boat," Lorcan dragged a chair next to Momo and sat on it. "I went with Demir to talk with Agatha's parents, while we were talking about her, they mentioned that her neighbor's daughter went missing and that she received her bloody clothes. We asked them if she reported to the police or if she needed the Protectors' help, they said she already informed the police and they thought we knew about it because she's one of us. So I asked for her name."

"And that's how you know is Gina. Did you speak with her mother?"

"I went to her house after I finished talking with the Loewen but no one answered. I thought about sending you a message but Demir convinced me to come here, he said something about not giving delicate information over the phone"

"He's right about that and I bet you missed me after not seeing me for an entire day. Did you talk to anyone else about this?"

"I told Stella she should come to the office, I imagine that you'll want her to dig some information."

"Great, don't tell anyone else about it."

"She's not the first one to disappear, isn't she?"

"No, she isn't. Stefan warned me about this before he left. It seems that someone is trying to get rid of us. They all disappear without a trace, not even Stefan could sense the danger before he stopped feeling the connection to them. It's strange, in a second I can feel his presence and suddenly they're gone."

"It wasn't the same with Agatha, I felt her fear and her pain before she vanished. I'm assuming that she's a special case."

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Momotaro didn't need to ask to know who was on the other side.

"Come in," he said.

Stella entered the office, carrying a folder with Gina's full name on a label attached to the flap. She placed the file on top of the others.

"That pile is getting too big." There was not a trace of her usual smile. "Do you think they're still okay? Do we have any chance of finding them?"

"Any important information about Gina?" Momotaro avoided the questions.

"She was last seen three days ago at noon. She had finished a long watch, apparently she had a night watch but the person who was supposed to replace her arrived four hours later. She returned to the headquarters to make the report and then went to her house. Something happened to him on the way from the headquarters to her house."

"She's the first one to disappear during the day. Whoever is doing this is gaining trust. We have to find them before it gets worse." Momotaro hit the table and got up from his seat. "I'll pay a visit to her mother, maybe she has information that could be useful to us. Can you see if there's any other missing member that we don't know about?"

"I'll start right now." Stella left the office.

The young man put the folders in the desk drawer. He sighed, there was no room left to add more files. At this rate he would soon have to get a safe to store the information on the missing. He locked the drawer and arranged the chairs before leaving the room.

Momotaro crossed the corridors with firm steps. He allowed his anger to show in his eyes, hoping to drive away people who got in his way. He had no time to play the hero. He was beginning to understand that giving false hope to the Umbra was not his responsibility, he couldn't be what others expected, but at least he could fight to keep the members of the Protectors safe.

He didn't say a single word on his way to the entrance of the headquarters. The greetings he received were answered with a nod, he didn't even speak to Celina when he went through the infirmary to pick up Titán.

"Ready for a ride?" He asked, opening his car door so his dog could climb in. "We're going to visit Gina's mother, we have to ask her some questions so prepare your best cute face."

Titan barked before getting into his designated seat. Momo put the belt on him and caressed his neck. Once he made sure that the pitbull was ready, he got into the vehicle.

"Do you want to listen to some music?"

The movement of the dog's tail told the young man everything he wanted to know. He reached out and turned on the stereo.

They were bobbing their heads in time to the second song when a high-pitched scream tore through the air. Then came the tremor.

Momotaro lost control of the vehicle. The car windows vibrated. The young man gripped the steering wheel tightly and turned away from the sidewalk, avoiding the crash.

"Looks like we're going a bit off task."

They got out of the car. Careful not to step on the glass shards scattered across the floor, they crossed the street. Titan lifted his head and sniffed the air, he barked for his owner and began to run. Momo followed him.

The smell of smoke mixed with the air, flying between the houses. Some disoriented people peeked out of their houses, looked in all directions and tried to gather information by asking the neighbors.

The young man sped up the run, ignoring the commotion. He jumped on the wires, branches and light poles that crossed his path. They turned a corner. They were greeted by a setting that Momotaro could not have imagined.

A beast similar to a dog was attacking Bertram, Noah and Lorcan's brother.

"Is that thing on fire?" He asked Titan who stood in front of him in a defensive position. "What's going on here?!"

"I have the same information as you," answered the redhead. He ran out of the way of a fireball. "Kid, I told you to stay back!"

The hellhound jumped in Bertram's direction. The teenager created a portal to his right and crossed through it, appearing next to Momo.

"I can't stay behind while you have all the fun," answered Miles. He opened his mouth and took a deep breath.

"Don't scream!" Noah warned him. "Is your head full of shit? You'll destroy what's left of the street. Let us take care of this."

The four young men surrounded the beast. Momotaro drew his pistol and took two steps back. The animal lunged at Miles, the fire in its mouth about to touch him.

Noah ran to the teen and pushed him out of the way. At the same time Momo fired her gun. The bullet embedded itself against one of the hind legs. The animal let out a long cry. With short steps Bertram and Momotaro approached him. Cornered, the hellhound began to growl.

"Should I open a portal under it? I don't think it can run."

"No, we take him down now," answered the leader. "I'm not taking any risks. Titan, go with Noah."

Bertram took aim at the beast and fired. The bullet grazed its head. The hellhound looked around, the fire in its body growing. The growls grew louder, rumbling through the streets. As if fueled by anger, the flame continued to rise.

Momotaro raised his pistol.

A fire explosion covered the area.

The leader saw the flames approaching him, he could already feel the intense heat.

A portal opened below him.

"Thanks for that," he said to Bertram after he crossed the passage.

"Don't even mention it," answered the teenager.

Noah stopped up next to them. He was carrying Titan in his arms and Miles on his back.

"Where's that ugly dog?" Asked the redhead. "Is it death?"

"I'm not sure, I couldn't see anything besides the fire," said Momotaro. "I think you owe me an explanation "