:: Hey everyone! I'm putting this chapter out now, but I don't know how soon I'll be able to get the next one out. This chapter is nice and long to make up for the lack of story in the last one and the delay from the coming chapter. I'm having a hard time writing anything decent for some reason, but I just got done reading Stephen King's Rose Madder which was surprisingly good. Like, OMG THAT WAS FREAKING AWESOME good. And I don't even care for his books all that much. It's a very well written book though, and I would definitely recommend it.

WARNINGS!

So yeah, anywho, everyone reading these next few chapters are to be warned, due to reading Rose Madder (which happens to have a really creepy bad guy who's mentally messed up, kinda like my bad guy O.o) I'm using more violence and naughty language, so my recommendation is that if you don't like that sort of thing, don't read it. If you really wanna know what happens but don't want to filter out all the curses and such, I'm having Reno do a puppet show at the end of this chapter to summarize XD

Reno: Eh? I get to play with puppets?

Me: Yup, but you can't curse or be perverted, and no sharp objects

Reno: *not listening* SWEET! *runs off talking about kitchen knives and stuffed animals*

Me: O.o

Disclaimer: I don't own any Final Fantasy characters or equipment, but I do own all original characters and ideas and all other such original awesomeness. If you try to steal I will sick Norman on you (read Rose Madder to understand)

Ps: You should really read Rose Madder. Like, seriously. It's really good. Like, I read it nonstop for 2 days and forgot to eat good. How will you know if you like it? Well, if you like the story you are reading now, you will like it. Trust me. Reixez Norman; Rosie Mae, kinda deal. The situations are different and stuff, and Stephen King is definitely a better writer then me, and his story could be real, which makes it all the more creepy, and its really good. Did I mention its good? Lol, ok I'll stop.

Reno: finally!

Me: *pushes Reno into traffic*

Reno: O.O

Me: XD

Ahem...

Caos-lust: Aw no crying! *gives you tons of cookies* Hey, *nudge nudge* maybe you should threaten people again cause you're the only one who commented on the new chappy : ( I need reviews to live! If I don't get enough my motivation does a nose dive. I get writer block and then move on to other stories and leave the one I'm supposed to be working on behind and I don't want to do that with this story, cause I really like writing it!

Yes people! I'm guilt tripping you into giving me reviews! How does that make you feel! Huh? HUH!

Reno: *steals my cookies*

Me: NOOOO!

Vincent: Please review so that I don't have to keep making cookie runs. *looks over at me and Reno trying to eat the same cookie* You two are pathetic...

Chapter 36

Tifa swayed in her chair, battling sleep ineffectively. It was quiet and the only light in the room was a small lamp by the bed. She had stopped crying a while ago, but as one often does, she felt tired afterwards. She'd tried to find a comfortable place to lay, but there wasn't much else in the room besides the bed and her chair, and she wasn't going to move or lay next to Mae's body. So she stayed in the chair, shifting back and forth, trying to keep the wood rungs on the back from digging into her.

She had begun to notice little things while sitting there. The way the light made Mae's skin look a little less pale, the way she lay, so stiff and quiet, the way her eyes seemed to follow her even when she knew they weren't moving. She wanted to close them, but she didn't want to touch the chilled body.

She now understood why Cloud had gotten so spooked. She found herself in a state between grief and fear and almost left the room and joined Cloud in the hallway. Only guilt made her stay behind. Even though she was nervous and antsy, she soon felt sleep gathering at the corner of her mind ready to wash over her like a wave, and try as she might it was getting harder and harder to resist.

She nodded off at one point, sleeping shortly. Her neck fell at an uncomfortable angle and soon woke her with small sharp pains. When she opened her eyes she was immediately aware of the darkness in the room. At some point the little lamp must have been switched off, by Cloud or Cid turning off one of the breakers to reserve energy. She felt a little pin prick of fear when she couldn't make out Mae's body on the bed, but she scolded herself quietly for even trying to play that particular trick on herself.

Mae had to be on the bed. If she wasn't on the bed then it was because they had moved her before she woke up. But wouldn't Cloud wake her up? Maybe… he might still be angry, but would he just leave her there? Tifa shook her head in the dark to clear of these distracting thoughts. She didn't even know why she was worrying about it. Mae was still on the bed and Cid blew a breaker, that's all. She had nothing to be afraid of.

But she was afraid. Besides, why wouldn't she be there? If Tifa was being perfectly rational, and she was trying very hard to be rational, then there was nothing to be afraid of. Poor Mae, may the gods watch over her, was dead. They had all checked her and tried to revive her. And yet her fear was still there, hovering in her stomach and twisting into painful knots.

Something wasn't right, just like Cloud had said, and now she was regretting her decision to send him away. She shivered and chose to not sit there and cower until the lights miraculously went on or Cloud decided to poke his head in and ask if she was alright.

So, after gathering her courage, Tifa stood up and stumbled forward into the dark room, her hands out and searching for the light. She bumped into the wall first and then felt along it, trying to find the small night-stand the lamp had been sitting on. She felt her leg hit the table seconds before a loud crack alerted her that she had just stepped on the lamp.

Tifa knelt down, carefully put her gloves on and sifted through the broken glass to find the bulb still intact. She felt along the cold metal and gave a sigh of relief when her fingers touched the rough little switch that would give light to the dark room.

She flicked the light on and found a pair of bright aqua eyes staring into her own. She let out a small squeal of fright and fell back bumping into the small night-stand.

Mae was sitting on her haunches staring avidly at Tifa. She was wearing a simple white dress that Tifa had forfeited so that she wouldn't have been buried in the tattered, bloody shirt and jeans they'd found her in. The dress was almost as white as Mae's skin.

"M-Mae?" Tifa said the fear receding a bit. The woman looked ghastly, but that is to be expected when you are supposed to be dead. "Oh gods, you almost gave me a heart attack…" Tifa said with a nervous laugh. Mae didn't move when Tifa shifted forward, attempting to stand up. Tifa looked back into her eyes and moved away from her again. "I'm so glad you're ok," she said anxiously, a dark suspicion rising in her mind.

Tifa's mind was screaming, there's a freaking dead girl staring at you! What are you doing? And yet a small part of her mind was still saying, why are you afraid? You all wanted her to be alive didn't you?But they had checked her, and she hadn't been alive… right?

Mae's eyes were wide, her skin pale and drawn, and she showed no sign that she'd heard a single thing Tifa said. It was unnerving to say the least. But it became downright terrifying when Mae inched closer and Tifa noticed that the woman's eyes were trained on her neck and there were fangs poking out between her pale blue lips.

"C-Cloud!" Tifa squeaked. She began to frantically try and retreat from Mae's frightening form, but the small woman effectively had her pinned against the night stand and bed frame.

Mae moved closer to Tifa stopping only when the woman began to scream bloody murder. She shifted slightly, annoyed that her meal was being very noisy, and then bared her fangs in pain as her stomach twisted in hunger. It hurt and she wanted it to stop. She was so thirsty that her throat burned and the woman in front of her was flushed with terror and had a heart beat that made her head swim. She wanted the red life blood running through her body, her eyes locked onto the rhythmic pulsing of the large vein in her neck.

Nothing else mattered.

The door burst open and a tall man with annoying blond hair rushed into the small room. His heart was also making that annoyingly alluring pitter patter that was driving her crazy. She also noticed that he had a very large metal sword and was shouting at her. He raised the sword in a threatening gesture and Mae slunk back against the bed, hissing and baring her fangs. She decided she didn't want these two. They were too much for her to deal with right now. Maybe

after she got a meal somewhere else first.

She curled in on herself as a wave of blinding pain hit her hard. Her stomach felt like some one had drop a bucket full of hot coal in it. She let out a horrible screech and doubled over.

Cloud lowered his sword and grabbed Tifa's arm pulling her to him and holding her tightly to his side. He never took his eyes off of Mae. He thrust Tifa behind him when she looked up to him, shivering and panting.

"Get away…" she said in a haunting voice. Her eyes hard, life and fear in them for a moment before another wail escaped her lips and she convulsed. Cloud began backing down the hall way, shouting at Tifa to run and lock her self in a room.

Mae picked herself off the floor, all senses lost as she felt the pull of Cloud's heartbeat pulling her down the hall. She looked up and saw them. All inhibitions were thrown away. She bared her fangs and ran down the hallway, her eyes adapting a feline shape. She tore down the wood floor after Cloud and with a shout he shoved Tifa into a closet and squeezed in behind her. He closed the door. There was a moment of silence before a loud slam followed by heavy breathing and scratching. It stopped and Cloud looked over at Tifa who was tangled in a series of brooms and coats covered in grease and smelling of cigarettes and alcohol. Her hair was a mess, hanging in her face and covering all but one of her terrified eyes.

The door began to shake and an enraged growl sent shivers up Cloud's spine. As suddenly as it started, it stopped.

Mae doubled over, holding her stomach. Her head was starting to hurt and she felt as if she hadn't had anything to eat or drink in weeks. She hobbled off towards the old smell of blood.

Vincent floated in a haze of pain and nausea. He didn't know anything but pain. His head hurt, his body hurt, and his heart was screaming. He knew he should know why, but it seemed so very far away at the moment. He heard a distant sound… it sounded strange, muffled, but very loud. It was a mixed emotion that it brought up as well, one of anger, the other of pain.

What surprised him was that there was no fear.

No fear at all. But shouldn't one fear the unknown? Oh but was it truly unknown or just forgotten? He wasn't sure, and it seemed like a large task to be trying to tackle right now.

And so he slipped back down into a darker abyss. It was nicer there and the pain was muted. Well, not all of it. The one in his heart seemed to hurt more here, and he found that it was a lot less bearable then the other pain. He felt himself frown.

Wait… frown? He had lips? Ah yes… there they were. He could feel them now. There seemed to be some pain coming from there, a pulling pain, small and not very important he decided.

This phenomena intrigued him, so he moved his senses around a bit. He had other body parts he could feel now too. Two arms, both of which were very heavy and a little sore, though he wasn't sure why just yet, a stomach, which hurt much more, two legs, both of which had pins and needles running up and down them, and two feet.

Now, the more he explored these different feelings, the more he felt something different. Up by his hands there was a distinct cold feeling. The same with near his feet. There was also something around his neck that was making it hard for him to breath. He was starting to feel more of the aches and pains that were muted before. A few of them were nothing really and he ignored them, but the pain in his stomach was growing and he found that it was pulling him away from that dark place.

And the worst part was that the further he got from the comforting dark of his mind, the more he remembered. And he did not want to remember just yet. It hurt too. He swallowed and more pain erupted from his throat. It burned and itched and he felt himself grimace in response.

"Oh! Look who's decided to wake up!" The voice brought anger flaring back to life in him and his eyes began to peel open. That hurt too. His whole face seemed sore for some reason, but unless he found a mirror soon he wasn't going to figure out why, though he had a pretty good idea.

"Fuck you," a voice that sounded not unlike his own rasped out. Ah… now he remembered. He closed his eyes again. 'Oh gods… Mae…'

"We-he-heeeelll now…" Reixez said cheerfully. "Aren't we touchy this beautiful morning…" Vincent opened his eyes to spear the disgusting bastard with all of the rage and hatred he could manage to fit into his gaze. Reixez saw this and put his hand to his chest mimicking pain. "Aw! If looks could kill!" He erupted into laughter as if he'd made a funny joke. In his hand was a small rusty knife.

Vincent tried to growl, but the sound was cut off by a series of painful coughs. His neck had some sort of chain around it and it was making it very hard to breath or swallow.

"Whoopsie!" Reixez said merrily. "Must have made your collar a little too loose…" He gave the chain a tug and Vincent choked. Reixez erupted into more laughter before loosening the chain. "Such a shame," he said wistfully. "Though I'd love to strangle you to death, there are far to many other fun things to do…" A wicked smile spread across his face.

Vincent had had enough. He tried to throw himself at the smug murdering bastard, but the chain around his neck wasn't the only thing holding him back. Reixez had seen fit to chain down his legs and arms as well. His arms were strung from the ceiling and that's why they felt so bad. All the blood had rushed out of them and it ached just to move them. His feet were touching the ground, but just barely. His neck was chained to the wall behind him, probably to keep him from moving around too much in any given direction.

Reixez watched Vincent's attempts with bold glee and he couldn't help but taunt him more, hoping that he would asphyxiate himself. Vincent stopped, panting and feeling more then a little foolish. When he looked up again Reixez was pouting.

"Awww… no more fight in you? That's no fun… Mae never stopped fighting you know," he said pacing the half circle around Vincent, playing with the small knife. "Not once," he said stopping directly in front of Vincent. "Killing her was much more satisfying then I ever imagined, but it lacked a certain spice to it…" Reixez said with a pout.

Vincent bared his teeth and managed to control the anger running through him. He didn't have enough energy to break the chains. He'd lost too much blood. He let his anger drain and in its place came pain. He'd failed Mae… He'd failed to protect her too. He failed them both and now he was going to receive his just punishment.

Reixez saw the defeat in Vincent's eyes and he grew angry. A pet that didn't fight was no fun at all. He was about to tear the half demon limb from limb when a little light in his head turned on. A smile grew on his face. He knew how to get the fight back into him. He walked up and placed his lips near Vincent's ear.

"But I have to admit, it was so fun raping her until she bled…"

Vincent felt his heart stop. 'No…'

"She moaned for me you know," Reixez cooed, tasting the change in Vincent's demeanor in the air. "Cried out and even swallowed when I shoved my cock down her throat."

Vincent felt his heart break again and his anger came rushing back. The pain did not leave though. 'Gods… please tell me it isn't true…'

Reixez cackled in his ear and Vincent lunged forward, ignoring the bite of the chain at his neck and ripped out a chunk of Reixez's. Reixez jolted back, surprise evident in his eyes.

"You bit me!" he screamed. He pulled his hand from his neck and stared at it for a moment. Vincent triumphantly spit the hunk of skin out of his mouth and swallowed the bit of blood he got. It was disgusting, but it afforded him a little bit of energy.

Reixez began to laugh quietly. "Well, well. It seems there's some fight in you yettttt-" Reixez's fangs came out and his eyes flashed yellow. "Mmmm… Shall I tell you about how I tore her open and drank her blood?"

Mae stumbled out onto the deck and the smell of her own blood made her salivate. She felt her stomach cramp in hunger again. She moaned and stumbled towards the thin metal railing. She fell forwards using the metal to hold herself up.

"Mae?" God the entire deck reeked of her blood. Timothy crinkled his nose, ignoring the small pang of hunger that rushed through his stomach at the thought of blood. Mae was facing away from him, leaning over the rail in a flowing white dress. For a moment, he wasn't even sure if she was really there. Then she turned and he felt like some one had punched him in the gut. Her pupils were slits, her fangs extended and her skin pale.

Mae took in the sight of this new presence. He was big, but she did not feel threatened by him like she had the other male. He was looking at her strange, but she didn't really care at this point. She smelled the air and did not like the way his blood smelled. It smelled too similar to the old blood soaking the deck they were standing on. The wind shifted and a smorgasbord of tantalizing scents hit her like a ton of bricks. Her knees went weak and her body jerked towards the source. A mile off was a small town. She could see the people milling around in the streets, completely oblivious to her pain and growing need. God the thirst was killing her…

Timothy saw the bloodlust in Mae's eyes and launched himself at her. Mae threw herself over the railing and landed safely on the grassy hill beneath the Shera. Timothy wasn't far behind her. Mae raced towards the town.

There was a small child playing with a ball in the street. He laughed and giggled, watching it bounce towards the bubbling stream next to the cobblestone road. Mae saw him, the burning in her throat intensifying, and locked on. A small target is an easy target. He chased after the ball, giggling and completely unaware that danger was racing towards him.

Timothy saw the child and raised the alarm. "Look out!" The child looked up and saw Timothy chasing Mae. At first he was mystified and stood there watching them thinking maybe they were playing some sort of game, but his mother was under no such impressions. She quickly grabbed her child and ran to the nearest house, begging entrance. Mae saw this and narrowed her eyes, leaping at the woman. Timothy was faster though and tackled her. They both fell into a small stream that ran through the town.

Mae thrashed about, screaming and scratching and biting, but to no avail. Timothy was not about to let his daughter become the monster she'd evaded for so many years. Mae let the alien presence in her mind burst forth and used its strength to throw her father from her and send him crashing into a house. A bunch of cats tumbled out and ran into the streets trying to escape the damaged house.

Mae was vaguely interested in them, but then a thin girl came running down the street brandishing a rather large shuriken. Yuffie had been at the temple praying when a fellow student came barreling in yelling about a woman in white and a huge man who was chasing her. Naturally, she had grabbed her beloved shuriken and ran to quell the incident. The sight that had greeted her was disturbing and perplexing to say the least. She watched as the woman in white threw the mountainous man into a house and then calmly get up and walk down the street.

The worst part was that she knew that woman.

"Mae?" she said lowering her weapon a little. She didn't want to let her guard down completely. After all the last time she saw the woman she'd been trying to kill her, and she didn't want Mae returning the favor. She was grateful for the small bit of common sense to keep up that guard when she really took a good look at Mae.

She was beyond pale, her eyes were little slits of anger and she had... gods were those fangs? When Yuffie brought her shuriken back up to her shoulder Mae crouched down low and hissed at her, baring her teeth. Yuffie didn't quite know what was going on, but she knew she had to protect her town. And it looked like Mae was out to do some damage.

Yuffie felt guilt in her heart for the attempted murder, and even more when she thought that earlier she would have loved to have been in this situation removing an obstacle to her affections. But now… well now she was praying she wouldn't have to hurt her. She was hoping Vincent would show up and explain that everything was all a big mistake and that they would both leave and never come back. She wanted to be left to her own devices a while and was done with love.

'Especially if it does this to you,' she thought.

Her body pulsed with the need for blood, and Mae no longer cared that the nearest meal was holding a very large very sharp method of protection. It was the nearest warm body and she needed sustenance. The pain and bloodlust were blinding her to all but that one basic need.

Yuffie leapt back when Mae ran at her. She used the side of her shuriken to bat the woman's hands away, but Mae didn't even bat an eye. Before she knew what was happening Yuffie was on the ground and Mae was trying to bite her. Yuffie called out and stopped Mae's advance with a hand to her throat. She thrust her shuriken up against the pale throat and warned her that she would kill her if she didn't back off.

Unfortunately, Mae was past hearing her or understanding simple human speech and all her attention was focused on the pulse thumping wildly in Yuffie's neck. It was because of this that she didn't feel the bite of Yuffie's blade as she pushed herself against it and the trembling hand trying to hold her back.

The young ninja watched the blood begin to well and dribble down her neck as her shuriken broke Mae's skin and cried out for her to stop, pulling the blade back in an attempt to refrain from hurting her more. A few of the other trainees from her dojo came running down the street and a few ran up trying to help her. Mae's eyes locked onto them, noticing that most were unarmed. She immediately tried to wrench herself from Yuffie's grip.

Yuffie saw this and threw her arm around Mae trying to hold her back from the others.

"Get away!" she cried emphatically. "Get away from her! She's to strong!" Most left and ran to a safer distance, but two stayed behind, determined to help Yuffie. One tried to grab Mae and haul her off of the petite ninja, but she lashed out and bit his wrist, tearing it open when he pulled it back on reflex. He cried out and his friend helped him get away and apply pressure to the wound, bleeding profusely now.

Yuffie was concerned for the poor boy, but her attention was soon pulled back to the thrashing female, still trying to go after the injured boy. She'd had a taste of his blood and having it taken away when it was so close was absolute torture. She ended up cutting herself multiple times on Yuffie's blade, none of her wounds healing because of the lack of blood.

All of her wounds were bleeding slowly, not because they were healing, but because she had very little blood left. Suddenly, as if someone had flicked a switch all of the fight went out of her. All of her pain was still there, and so was the driving need for blood, but all of her strength was leaving her. At the corner of her eyes black was filtering in.

Yuffie pushed Mae off of her, watching as the woman threw her head back; eyes locked onto the sky and struggled to breath. She suddenly felt terrified. What had she done? Had she killed her again? Even though she had been justified by the need to protect herself and the others around her, she didn't think she could endure the hateful starts of her friends and their accusations. It would be too much to bear.

Yuffie let her shuriken drop to the ground and felt along Mae's neck for a pulse. It was still there, but it was painstakingly slow. She looked at the haunting aqua eyes as they darted around. The pupils had been feline slits, but now they were dilating and returning to a normal size and shape. Her eyes then darted to Yuffie's and she began to shake.

: Me: Ahem... Introducing the Great Renoldo!

Reno: Wtf...

Me: Uh... sorry O.o

*Reno: *rolls eyes and opens up a big black suit case. Inside are a bunch of sock puppets* Ok, so here's what happened,

*in a high squeaky voice* 'Hi I'm Tifa! I'm afraid of the dark!' *has a sock with a brown haired barbie head glued on it and two plastic bowls*

Me: uh Reno... are those... her boobs?

Reno: Look, you wanted me to do a puppet show. You aren't in the puppet show, so be quiet.

Me & Vincent: -.-'

Reno: Anyway, *pulls out a Mae sock puppet with two blue eyes glued to it and a poorly painted on face* 'I'm evil! Rawr!' *makes Mae go after Tifa, then throws Tifa's puppet and pulls out a cloud puppet with corn holders glued on for his hair*

*still in a high pitched voice* 'I'll save you!' *throws Cloud puppet and pulls out a Yuffie puppet that has only a bandana and eyes on it*

'I'm stupid!' *makes the Yuffie doll and Mae doll fight*

Me: Uh Reno thats not how it happened...

Reno: *throws the Yuffie and Mae puppets and pulls out a Vincent puppet that had two large fangs drawn on and black hair taped on it and a black sock with two blue buttons glued on it for eyes*

Vincent: I'm insulted...

Reno: *in a deep voice as Vincent* 'You killed my woman!'

*in an annoying voice as Reixez* 'I like men!' *starts making the two puppets fight and then grabs a ketchup bottle and squirts it all over both of them*

Me: O.o uh Reno...? *dodges ketchup as Reno makes screaming noises and flings it all around the room* Abort! *jumps out the window*

Vincent: ... I'm going home. :