Reed tapped his fingers on his desk, gazing into nothing. He looked around without really seeing anything. He was jerked out of his thoughts by a loud, thumping crash from upstairs. He leaped up and started for the stairs. Venn's shriek made him start running. 

He reached the living room, panting. "Venn! Are you alright?!"

Venn stood near the edge of the room with his silver dagger in hand. His eyes were fixed on a broken bookshelf on the opposite side of the room. Piles of books had been scattered from the shelf collapsing. He turned his gaze to Reed when he spoke, his eyes glittering like dark coins. There was something more sinister in the way he looked at Reed.

Reed took a half a step back. "Venn?"

Venn turned to face Reed. He advanced slowly. "Look out, Reed," he hissed, his usually smooth and calm voice turning cruel and mocking. He spun the dagger around one finger and tossed it from hand to hand. "I may not be sensitive to silver, but I know you are."

Reed took another step back. "Venn, this isn't you. Come back."

Venn sneered. "This is me. This is what I am now, you just haven't wanted to see it. I'm a specter. I'm dangerous." He lunged at Reed, lashing out with the dagger.

Reed jerked back, bringing up an arm to shield his face as he stumbled back. "Venn please! Don't do this!"

Venn ignored his friend's plea and followed Reed as he left the living room and started for the stairs. "Running away are you? Pitiful. I expected a fight, Ponytail."

Reed winced at the sound of whatever his friend had become calling him by Venn's usual nickname. He leaped onto the first stairs, slamming the door in Venn's face behind him. He took the stairs two at a time, making it half way before the door burst open again. Green ghost fog flowed past Reed's ankles. His own pale blue fog drifted around his fingers.

"Come on Reed," Venn called, following much more slowly. He obviously considered the battle already won. "I just want to have a bit of fun!"

Reed shivered. He reached the bottom of the stairs and glanced back. Venn's posture and expression were calm, but deep in his eyes the real Venn was panicking. Or maybe that was just Reed's imagination.

Reed ran over to Venn's worktable. He sorted quickly through the pile of silver and iron. His hands burned each time he touched either metal, but he ignored the pain. There was an iron net in here somewhere. If he could find it...

Venn grabbed Reed's right wrist, squeezing hard and forcing Reed to turn around to face him. Reed made a surprised yelp and tried to twist away. He could have punched or kicked Venn to get free, but he didn't want to hurt Venn. Venn, however, had no such barriers. He slammed Reed's hand flat against the table.

"Venn snap out of it!" Reed pulled and twisted his hand, trying to pry Venn's fingers away with his free hand. His fear was building. Venn was going to kill him.

Venn glared coldly at Reed. "Snap out of what? I see no issue here."

Before Reed could say anything, Venn drove his dagger through Reed's hand and into the solid wood table. Reed bit his lip hard to keep from screaming in pain. As it was, his knees almost buckled from the sudden shock. Venn smirked and stepped back.

Reed tasted blood from his lip. He turned his gaze back to the table, trying to ignore the burning pain from the silver dagger through his hand. He finally located the iron net as his blood started to drip from the edge of the table. Without bothering to remove anything that was on top of it, Reed flung the net into the air toward Venn.

Venn tried to duck out of the way, but the net caught him in the face. He tried to push it off, but only succeeded in getting his arm wrapped in the iron coils. He fell to the floor. All attempts to get the net off only getting him more ensnared until he looked like an iron cocoon squirming on the ground.

Reed slowly sank to his knees. He kept his right hand up on the table, not wanting to move it or the dagger quite yet. He gazed at Venn in his net, silently grateful that he hadn't actually stopped Venn from creating the iron net. Venn had stopped moving for the most part, but Reed could see he was shaking.

A few more drops of blood fell from the table and Reed closed his eyes. He would need to free his hand sometime soon, but didn't have the energy.

Somehow, in a way that Reed could never explain, he drifted into painful sleep.