::I know you guys prolly don't wanna hear about all this, but I need to rant to someone other then my boyfriend. You don't have to read this or respond...

I can't even begin to go through everything that has happened recently to me. I swear to god I can't get anything done! I have so much homework that I have not played video-games all semester, have not been able to read a book NOT assigned by my classes, and haven't been able to even get on the internet.

I used to go on Facebook every day, I haven't been on in forever. I haven't worked on this story AT ALL because I've had to read a minimum of 200 pages a day, sometimes more for my classes. I have 16 books for my 4 classes this semester, and my teachers are determined to make me read every word of them. My brain feels like someone stole it, hit it with a meat tenderizer a few hundred times then stepped all over it for good measure.

Not to mention that the weekends I've spent cleaning my grandma's house who was just re-diagnosed with Cancer, and this time its not just in her breasts and my other grandma's house who is now nervous thinking she's gonna get HER Cancer back.

Sooooo yeah. This is a 5 minute update. I didn't go over this chapter like I normally do because I have a 2000 page paper that is due on Tuesday and two 10 page papers that I have to get legitimate starts on for inspection by Monday so forgive me for any mistakes!

Flarire - I'll give the demon a name soon I'll slip it in after things calm down.

Aranae - I'll try to update soon, but I can't make any promises. My life has been really tough recently and very busy. Heck, when I get a day off from school and the work involved with it I usually sleep O.o

SweetxPandemonium - I'm glad you think my story is good enough to put up with never updating on time! lol. As for the demon thing, she'll just have to get used to it. Hell, Vincent did!

Cori Rain - Metaphorical? I may use colorful comparisons, but nothing more then simple language that isn't always literal to give a good push to one's imagination and make my writing more picturesque. *looks at the onion* wtf? Onion? O.o lol

.xox - Why am I getting meds shoved down my throat? O.o And if u wanna gimme antioxidant stuff gimme green tea Arizona Green Tea *drools* yum XD Kitten? Evil kitten of sneezy death? o.O I am being worshiped? Wow I uh... dunno what to say, lol

Luna of the Black Moon - Thanks for sticking with my story! As for the demon being Chaos' companion, its pretty much impossible because Vincent has been with Chaos for a while and Chaos was with Hojo before that, plus Reixez took the demon from its home in the recent years.

Emaya Taku - Hehe, ya know now that you mention it people have told me that I have a knack for description, but thank you for reminding me! Gives me more incentive to make my writing sparkly.

Chapter 25

Vincent tapped his foot impatiently on the tile floor. It had been almost an hour since the water in the tub had frozen over, trapping Mae inside. He had pulled back, trusting Chaos' word, but he was growing nervous. What if the demon decided it didn't need Mae to keep the body stable? What if it was destroying her right now? What if it decided to keep her, but confine her in the corners of her own mind? It could easily go through her memories and learn her behaviors, masking its behavior with hers.

With all of these pessimistic thoughts in his head, Vincent found himself ready to pounce on Mae the moment she woke up. Chaos' voice rang throughout his head.

"It is done…" Vincent felt his adrenaline spike, he sat up in his chair, his body tense and ready to spring forward. He watched as the frost over the surface of the ice began to grow more transparent. It a matter of seconds it was gone and the surface grew watery. Vincent's patience left him when Mae did not move. He drew back his fist and plunged it into the icy water.

Pins and needles assaulted his senses as he reached for Mae. When he touched her, he was surprised to find her body exceptionally warm. Strange; she had been encased in ice, she should be frozen and her skin blue. But when he pulled her out of the water, he found her skin flush with color and rosy spots on her cheeks. Bits of ice that clung to her hair and body soon melted.

Water cascaded off of her, weighing down her curly hair and making her clothes cling to her skin, revealing her curves and beauty, but also her scars and wounds. Vincent carried her over to where he had laid out a towel before in preparation and set her down. He then grabbed another fluffy white towel from the pile he'd collected and began to rub her down.

It was only then that he noticed she wasn't breathing.

Tifa was laughing at Cloud. He was sulkily beating eggs for their dinner in a fluffy pink apron with the cute phrase "Kiss the cook" in bright red letters across it. To Tifa he was utterly adorable. She reached over and took the bowl and beater from him. He pouted and reached behind him to take the apron off.

Tifa got a sudden urge and, with a nervous smile reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek. Cloud;s face turned beat red and a flash blinded them both. When the spots disappeared then looked up to see Cid holding a camera with a big smile on his face.

"Hehe, aren't you two cute."

Cloud wanted to crawl under a rock and die. Preferably a big rock because Tifa looked like she wanted to follow him, her cheeks had suddenly turn a startling shade of pink. Cid turned and left, laughing loudly and claiming that he had this year's Christmas card picture.

Cloud contemplated going after him but instead he sighed and finished taking off the apron. Tifa looked up at him sheepishly.

"Hey Cloud…?" He turned to look at her and upon seeing her face, knew that there was only one thing to do in this situation.

He kissed her.

Tifa felt her heart jump and swell, filling her chest with a powerful surge of emotion. She threw her arms around Cloud and kissed him back.

In the other room Cid pocketed the camera and sipped at his tea, content with his mischief. He heard a clang of metal from the kitchen breaking the silence and grinned.

"That-a-boy Cloud…" Cid set down his tea and his gaze traveled to the stairs… where a fine mist was creeping down the stairs. "Mother F-!"

Tifa and Cloud broke apart at the loud curses coming from the other room. They had just enough time to look at each other in confusion before the kitchen door burst open and Cid slammed it behind him. He looked around wildly, mumbling about wilting flowers and needing a towel.

"Cid!" Cloud grabbed his shoulders and made the older man focus on him for a moment. "What is going on?"

Tifa stood in the middle of the kitchen, the bowl of batter on the counter and the beater in her hands, dripping egg and powder all over her apron and the tile floor.

Cid looked back and forth between them, his mouth opening and closing, trying to form words. He got more and more nervous as the seconds passed and eventually pushed past a befuddled Cloud to grab the pink apron he discarded to stuff in the crack under the door.

"Cid, what are you…?" Tifa started. Cid didn't let her finish.

"There is a fog, a… a mist coming down the stairs and it wilted the flowers on the desk and there's something behind it." His words were rushed and unusually panic stricken.

They were both shaken by the out of character fear in the pilot's words. Cloud immediately got serious, all playfulness and confusion gone from his face.

Tifa saw the glean in his eyes and felt reality descend. She put down the beater and took off the apron. Calmly she reached for the gloves in her pocket and slipped the cool leather over her hands, gaining comfort in their rugged feel on her smooth skin.

Cloud grabbed his sword, grateful that he had ignored Tifa's request to leave it in the other room. He lifted the heavy metal, feeling a steely sense of strength wash over him. He was ready to face whatever came with the fog.

Cid grabbed a knife from the drawer and mourned the lack of his spear, propped up by the stairs the mist was currently creeping down.

"It made the materia's glow fade…" he said, his back to the couple.

"What do you mean 'fade'?" Cloud said in a low voice.

"When the mist reached Venus Gospel the materia's glow started to fade. I didn't see if it faded completely."

Cloud opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a loud bang in the other room. They all jumped at the sudden sound. Loud, slow footsteps took their time moving from the stairs, off to the left of the flimsy wooden door they were all staring at avidly, watching for the slightest movement. As the sound moved closer to the thin barrier between them and the mysterious mist, the group became tense, their breathing became labored, and they froze, readying themselves for the first strike.

Vincent felt the blood drain from his face. She wasn't breathing. Forcing his lungs to take in air, Vincent leaned down and tilted Mae's head back. He pressed his trembling lips to hers and emptied the air from his lungs into hers. He then carried out the rest of the steps for CPR, the whole time praying to and cursing whatever gods there were.

After 3 more tries Vincent leaned down, placing his ear to Mae's chest, straining to hear even the slightest sound. Nothing. Vincent felt the panic double back on him and he began the procedure again. He breathed air into her lungs and counted off the times he compressed her chest with his hands. 1…2…3…4… breathe… 1…2…3…4… breathe…

After another 3 times he leaned down again, listening for her heart. Chaos was silent in his head, and the silence was more deafening and distracting, then if he had been talking or growling. Vincent heard nothing yet again. He was about to go through the motions again when a loud noise from downstairs caught his attention. He turned towards the bathroom door, his eyes leaving Mae for only a second.

His eyes left her, and hers opened.

Vincent cursed under his breath and turned back to Mae, his breath catching in his throat. She sat up slowly, her wet hair tumbling down her shoulders and sticking to her face. Her clothing clung to her body, outlining the curves beneath. Her eyes were glowing slightly, the same radiant aqua color, framed by the same heart shaped face and sooty black eye lashes.

But her eyes… they were different. Her pupils were dilated, but they were slowly contracting. Vincent felt his stomach sink when they became feline slits, wild and feral, not at all like the sweet vulnerable eyes that normally gazed upon him.

Her full cherry colored lips stood out against her pale skin and dark hair, and Vincent dimly noted that they were moving. His head was in a fog, and everything seemed so far away. He couldn't figure it out. Should he be happy she was alive? Should he be worried because she was different, maybe not herself, but the demon?

Chaos growled deep in his mind and Vincent felt himself snap back into place in his body. Mae's voice, shivering and thin floated over to him and he heard it for the first time.

"There is something here Vincent, something in this house. We have to go, we have to leave…" The slits in her eyes were slowly evening out and rounding back to their normal state, and color began to light the top of her cheeks.

Vincent blinked stupidly, staring at her with a blank look on his face. He was even more pale then she, and even more out of it. Mae frowned, her brows knitting together with worry. She reached out to touch his face and in a flash his arms were around her and she was being held tightly against his warmth.

"V-Vincent?" she said, stuttering from the cold. "What's going on?" Vincent stepped back from her and wrapped his coat around her. In the second Mae's eyes were off of his he'd composed himself.

"What were you saying a moment ago about there being something in the house?" Mae opened her mouth, taken aback by the warmth of the hug, and the strangely uncaring way he asked the question. She shook off the feeling, chasing it away with the thought that it was irrational.

"I'm not sure, my whole body is on edge and I feel like there is something here. Something threatening, something I need to run away from…" Mae's frown deepened as Vincent shut his eyes.

As soon as Vincent quieted his mind he felt the same urge to leave the area as Mae, but he also felt a tinge of blood lust. Whatever was in the house was off to the right and below them…

"Shit…" Vincent muttered. He grabbed Mae's arm and pulled her to her feet.

"What's wrong? What is it?" Vincent put his finger to his lips and Mae got the hint. He leaned against the door and listened. Mae felt the silence get thick as even their breathing became quiet. The drip, drip of water falling from her hair to the tile floor became so loud it was almost unbearable.

A series of muffled curses reached their ears and Vincent opened the door, intent on rushing downstairs to remove the disturbance.

Cold air and the sight of mist assaulted his senses as the door flew open. The circle of bare floor around the door allotted the door to open, but where the wood and mist met it rotted and became brittle, frail.

"Vincent!" Mae grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him forcefully back into the bathroom before even a wisp of the mist touched him. They both watched as a section of the floor seemed to age and melt into the level below.

Everywhere the mist touched began to age, began to rot. A dank musty odor crept along the hall and the walls began to creak and moan, the wood splintering under weight it could no longer hold, dilapidated, tired.

More shouts from downstairs made Mae jump into action. She stepped in front of Vincent and reached out her hand. It was only an impulse, and Mae felt a fool the moment she did it, but much to her surprise and Vincent's the mist backed off. Mae took a tentative step into the hall and it retreated further from her person. Vincent stepped into the hall behind her and slowly, cautiously the made their way towards the stairs.

One look at the stairs however, was enough to stop them from trying their luck. They were rotted and covered in pock marks and holes, as if they had been overrun with termites in the recent past. Mae looked back down the hall to see that the mist was slowly reclaiming the area she'd cleared.

"I'm going to hop down the stairs. Don't linger ok?" She leapt down the flight of stairs before Vincent could respond. She felt the strange free-fall feeling you get when you expect a fall to end sooner, and then felt her feet touch the floor. The cacophony of groaning, shattering, splintering wood jarred her worse then the hard dirt that greeted her in the basement.

Unable to find another alternative due to the advancing mist Vincent leapt down into the hole, making sure not to land on Mae who was lying stunned on the ground. He helped her up and began to brush her off, but Mae gently stopped him and put her finger to his lips before he could respond.

Vincent felt Chaos shift and heard him growl in his head. He lifted his crimson eyes to the rotted floor above and they began to glow. Mae felt the cold in her mind shift to her arms and legs and strength replaced the little bit of apprehension that had taken over her.

The hollow echo of footsteps was moved around above them…

:: CLIFFY! Sorry, couldn't resist... XD::