A/N: Well I had a lot of free time over thanksgiving break so I am able to post this chapter a little sooner than I thought. With the holidays coming up, I thought I would be nicer to my characters in this chapter. Yeah well, I tried to be nice anyway. So to all my readers, be warned there is no bloody battle in this one. So sit back and enjoy my version of a festive chapter, and as always Review.

Apocalypse Rising.
Chapter 13: Calm Before the Storm ....................................

The cold dawn was slowly rising over the cliffs surrounding the Northern Crater. The cliffs were completely silent and empty. Empty except for a single form standing at the edge of one of the highest cliffs in the area. The figure was clad completely in black. His hood being pushed back by fierce winds revealing large spikes of black hair. The figure didn't move a muscle; he just stood there letting the icy wind blow against his face, staring out over the horizon with his glowing green eyes.

Without warning the quiet was broken by high-pitched inhuman shriek. Snapping to attention the figure looked to the skies. There, flapping its broken wings was one of Hojo's harpies. The creature was covered in scorch marks, and its wings had several hole in it. The cords dangling out of its skull were sparking erratically. One look at this shattered creation told the figure all he needed to know. That idiot Hojo had failed, this pathetic excuse of a warrior was all that was left from his strike.

The harpy could no longer maintain flight and crashed a few feet behind the dark figure. Lying in a mass of metal and sparks the beast let out an inhuman shrieks. With a growl the dark figure crushed its skull with his boot.

" Such anger Zack? I must say I am disappointed in you, but then again you are only human. " Crassus chuckled as he appeared out of the shadows.

Zack quickly regained his composure and bowed to his general. " My lord, Hojo has failed us."

" Yes I know, to tell the truth I am glad to be rid of that fool. However, something tells me that your temper has nothing to do with that worthless filth." Crassus growled.

Zack looked at the Crassus for a moment, before speaking. " Well, ...Sir. I have done all the jobs that you have requested of me, and my men. We have distributed your beasts all around the continents. Soon every one of the small cities will be destroyed. And now I would like to take my reward, I wish to kill Cloud." Zack said in an almost commanding tone, with only the slightest hint of subservience.

" Oh do you now. Well I am quite sorry. I have word that Cloud might become a key player in our battles, in fact I am going to offer him a chance to join us. I trust this won't be a problem?" Crassus said raising his voice slightly, and flashing Zack a cruel smile.

" What! His death was promised to me! I have done what you asked now let me take my rightful vengeance!" Zack yelled.

" Don't dare question me mortal! You will have your vengeance, in good time. Till then you will do as I command, without Hojo we will need some warriors. Without the Black Materia my generals have to store energy to gain physical form." Crassus muttered, all trace of pleasure replaced only by furry, as he pointed to the six stars forming a halo over the Northern Crater.

" I meant no disrespect sir, of course I will obey your orders. " Zack growled.

" Good now that that is settled we can get to business, I have a job for you to do, you will leave by nightfall." Crassus growled, and with a final menacing smile he disappeared, leaving Zack to tremble in his fury as the sun rose overhead.

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It had been three days since Wutai had been saved. In that time the city was slowly rebuilding itself. The wreckage of the pagoda was being cleared and many homes were almost repaired. Vincent was staying in a small relief shelter for people who had lost their homes. No one knew who was, just that he was someone of great importance, and was friends with the new empress. Vincent had made sure to rid his appearance of any demonic traits; his wings were gone, as were his claws.

Vincent was not wearing his usual clothes; instead he was wearing an ornate black vest and shirt. His pants were made of black silk. The whole outfit seemed ridicules, but he would not complain. Today Vincent would be going to the ceremony for the people who had died. Following that was the hard part; he was going to be declared a hero by the country, him and two other poor saps that had been fighting with Yuffie.

Yuffie, now that was a person he hadn't seen for a while, she had been busy planning everything and probably trying to get adjusted to going form a carefree child to a leader of a nation. The poor kid, sometimes it really sucks to be royalty. Tifa was also with her. In fact Tifa hadn't left her side. Vincent was almost glad that she was gone. He wasn't sure if he could talk to her. There were just too many questions he would have to answer. First about Aeris, and then about his new form, just thinking about him was painful. With a final sigh Vincent headed to the ceremony.

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Yuffie was in hysterics. It was half an hour till she had to appear in front of her entire nation, and everything was going crazy.

" Oh gawd, I can't do this. What was I thinking? I can't go in front of all those people. Tifa you have to get me out of this." Yuffie pleaded as she ran towards her friend, only to trip on her ceremonial gown.

The gown was a horrible thing in itself, a dreadfully large thing that had so many layers that Yuffie felt like she would die of heatstroke. The thing was also very heavy and showed more of her chest than she felt comfortable with. Yuffie had hoped that she could appear in her normal clothes, but her advisors had insisted that she wear the dress.

" Yuffie calm down. Everything will go fine; nothing bad is going to happen. Remember you led these people and won Wutai back, this is easy in comparison." Tifa said soothingly as she caught her friend.

Tifa was in a gray kimono, with a pattern of a golden dragon curling from top to bottom. Her hair as tied in a bun, and like Yuffie seemed very uncomfortable in her new outfit.

" Yeah but, fighting is easy. You don't have a million people watching your every move." Yuffie protested as she tried to calm down.

" Just don't think about it. Try focusing on something else."

" Alright, ok let's see, have you talked to Vinnie yet?" Yuffie asked with a bit of a sly smile, as the panic slowly left her.

Tifa was slightly taken aback by the question. " What.. No, no I haven't talked to him since you last saw him. I guess its just too weird I mean what with the ..."

" The whole demon wings on a human body deal? Tell me about it. You leave the guy alone for a few days, hear that he is dead, then he just up and appears with demon wings without transforming. I mean is he demon, is he normal, what? Inquiring minds want to know?" Yuffie said, panic filling her voice again as she sees a crowd of people heading to the center of the city, awaiting her arrival.

" I was going to say, with the fact that I was part of the reason that he was banished from Midgar. I just don't know if I could stand it. He probably hates me so much right now." Tifa muttered sadly, and then promptly looked down at the floor.

" That's it? That's the reason you haven't talked to him in three days? Just because you listened to dumb old Cloud? Which wasn't a smart idea I must say love, but still you should at least talk to him."

" And what would I say?" Tifa said a little bit annoyed.

" Oh I don't know, how about what did Hojo mean when he said you were dead?!" Yuffie said as started pacing back and forth.

" Wait, just a second. Hojo said he died?" Tifa asked her voice filled with shock.

" Yeah, and then Vinnie comes back good as new and doesn't even tell me what happens. Oh wait, did I forget to tell you what Hojo said?" Yuffie said as she saw the shocked look on her face.

Tifa was about to scold Yuffie, when the door opened suddenly and a servant walked in.

" Empress, the ceremony is ready to begin." The servant stated before quickly walking out.

" Oh gawd, this is not good." Yuffie practically yelled, before she began to hyperventilate.

" Yuffie, it is going to be alright, I will be right behind you." Tifa said before giving her friend a push out the door.

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Vincent had arrived at the gardens. The ceremony was about to begin. Vincent could see the other guys who would be honored. The general, Loki, or whatever his name was. He was pacing around eyes darting around, almost like he was expecting another attack. Vincent couldn't help but chuckle, that guy was a funny kid. The other one, Shadow or something like that, was just sulking in a corner. Vincent couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for that guy.

The stage for the ceremony was very beautiful. Red roses were hung around a white arch, and the roses were littered around the staging area. Despite its beauty there was something wrong with it. A nagging feeling that something wasn't right, was floating around in his head.

Vincent turned to one of the servants who were walking the grounds.

" Sure is a nice stage, thing you have here." Vincent said, very uncomfortably. Smalltalk not being one of his skills.

The servant looked at him perplexed for a moment before speaking. " Oh yes, great what they have been able to do in such a short time."

" Yes very nice, but tell me are the flowers supposed to be that way?" Vincent asked uncertainly.

" What, oh yes the roses. You have a very good eye sir. No in normal circumstances, the roses would be black. However, the gardens with the black roses were destroyed in the battle. That is a good call for a foreigner. Have you ever been to one of these ceremonies before?" The man said very quickly.

" NO, no I have never been to one of these before, thank you for your time." Vincent said distractedly. The servant just smiled and walked away.

How had he known about the flowers? As far as he could remember he had never been to Wutai outside of his trip with Avalanche. Vincent rubbed his head for a moment. It must be some effect of the fusion with Chaos. Maybe they were the demon's memories. But what would a demon be doing at an honoring ceremony?

Vincent didn't have time to contemplate the issue, for at that moment Yuffie arrived. She looked horribly nervous. In fact it would be almost comical if it were at any other event. She stood there for a moment. Looking out at the crowd. Slowly she seemed to gain some composure, and begin her speech. It was quite a wonderful speech. Very sweet, obviously she had some help writing it.

When she was done talking Vincent saw the other two walk up to her. Following their lead he followed. Each of them bowed their heads, and Yuffie would put a medal around their necks. As Vincent bowed his head, he made brief eye contact with Tifa. She too looked astonishing. When the medals were all around their necks they rose and turned to the crowd. All of the people bowed, and cheered ready at last to celebrate their freedom.

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Shade was the first one to leave the grounds. He could hardly keep himself from attacking anyone who bumped into him. He walked the streets very quickly, never stopping. He finally reached his destination. It was a very small cemetery. There in the far back, by an old willow tree was her grave. She had always wanted to be buried there, right next to her family. Shade kneeled in front of the tombstone. With his index finger he traced the engraved letters. Tears began to slowly flow from his eyes.

" Hey there. So I'm back...Yeah not that you would notice or anything. Well the ceremony was kind of funny. That prick Loki was there, you remember him right? That stuck up fool. There was this other guy too. He looks a little like a thief, very dark. You would have liked him. Yeah...th.. they even gave me a medal. Probably not even worth two gill." Shade said slowly with a smile.

He stayed there for a moment, not moving, almost like he was listening for something. Then the moment passed, his sad face contorting with anger.

" God damn it Eva, why did you have to fight? The city could have burnt to the ground for all I cared. Why did we have to go there? Why did you have to die." Shad growled, using all his self-control from screaming at the top of his lungs.

" I hope you are at peace. I will be joining you soon." He said sadly before turning to leave.

Just as Shade was about to leave, he heard something. The sound of leaves breaking from beneath leather boots. Quickly turning he could just make out a figure in the shadow. " Yeah who the hell are you? What do you want?!" Shade yelled at the form. The shadow made no reply, it only beckoned him to follow, as it headed deeper into the darkness.

Shade stood there for just a second, unsure of what to do. Then with a gruff shrug, he followed the shape, until he was surrounded by darkness.

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The temple of Wutai had just been repaired. Now it was filled almost to capacity, with soldiers, generals, and many of the people who had been fixing the city. This night was not for mourning, it was a night of celebration. Vincent was sitting alone on one of the tables in the back. Not quite sure why he was here. It reminded him a lot of when Avalanche had celebrated his victory over Sephiroth.

" So are you a demon?" Came a gruff voice from behind him.

Vincent turned to see the boy Shade standing right behind him holding two drinks. Vincent didn't bother to answer. Undaunted Shade pulled up a chair and slid one of the drinks over to him.

" Yeah so are you or what? I even hear you have wings. Maybe that was just a rumor." He said a drunken slur obvious in his voice.

" You should probably sober up before you talk to Vinnie." Cam Yuffie's voice, as she walked over to them.

" Oh it's the damn empress herself, gracing our humble table with her presence. Oh how may I serve you, would you like me to draw you a chair? Or perhaps get you a drink? Oh what am I saying, you're not even old enough to drink yet are you? So why don't you just get lost, and leave the men to talk." Shade said almost incoherently.

" Get lost kid." Vincent said to Shade. Shade looked surprised, but then clumsily got out of his chair and staggered away.

" How have you been Vincent? You haven't come by lately. Is everything alright?" Yuffie asked taking Shade's seat.

" Fine Yuffie, but how are you?"

" Oh you know can't complain, just lost my dad, got a job I don't want, on the bright side I have access to a lot more materia now." She said with a slight chuckle.

" I am sorry for not being there."

" It's alright, I mean apparently you were too busy becoming a new sort of demon-man thingy. Can you tell me where the wings go? I mean do they melt away, or do they sort of collapse back in? Oh yeah, and when are you going to go and talk to Tifa?"

Vincent stayed silent a moment, his face cold and detached, but inside he was trying to figure out how to answer Yuffie's questions.

" Now is just not a good time."

" Do you have any idea how much you are hurting her by not talking. Not to mention bugging the hell out of me. If one of you doesn't start talking to the other, I will lock you both up in jail, and I'm the empress now, I can make it happen. Also don't think you're distracting me, I want answers to the other questions as well." Yuffie said very quickly.

Not liking the way this conversation was going, Vincent took a deep swig of the drink Shade had brought him.

" Now is just not the time. I promise to answer your questions, just not tonight please." Yuffie nodded her head, and got up to mingle with the other guests.

The night dwindled on, and soon Yuffie was back at Vincent's table along with Loki and Shade. The four warriors who had lost the most during the battle all sat in silence. Only a few words spoken, and those were surprisingly spoken by Vincent. Lifting his glass he said a toast. " Here is to all those we have saved. Here is to us. Most of all here is to all we have lost." Silently the heroes of Wutai drank.

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Hours past, and the night got darker. Vincent tried not to look at Tifa, but every time his mid wandered so did his eyes, and soon he found himself staring at her from across the room. How beautiful she looked in that kimono. How wonderfully the candles made her hair look. How beautiful that kimono would be stained in her blood.

At that last thought Vincent snapped to attention. That wasn't his thought, it was Chaos', but it had no voice. For a moment he was frozen, almost scared. He had thought that when he merged with Chaos, their still might be some distinction between the two. This was not the case, he kept finding himself thinking of blood, and slaughter.

Trying to get control of his thoughts, he didn't notice Tifa walking over to him. When he saw her, so close to him, he could barely control himself. Half of him wanted to push her away, the other wanted to grab her by the neck and open one of her veins.

" Vincent? Um sorry to bother you, but I was uh just wondering if you would like to talk for a bit?" Tifa asked quietly.

" No! Please Tifa just get away from me all right? Just leave me alone!" Vincent said much louder and meaner than he had intended. He could see how upset he had made her, but he couldn't do anything.

Tifa quickly walked away and disappeared into the crowd. Vincent quickly ran out of the building and back into his room at the shelter. His head hurt greatly, and he almost passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow. He just hoped that sleep would stop this nightmare.

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Vincent awoke very cold, and his body very sore. His hands felt sticky. Slowly he opened his eyes and saw that he was no longer in his bed, but on the cold stone streets of Wutai. Quickly rising to his feet, Vincent almost slipped on the stone. Looking down he saw why his hands were so sticky. All around where he had been lying was giant pool of blood.

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A/N: All right, I do apologize for this chapter. I am not that good at writing fluff. But I was nice to my characters except for the end of course. So yeah, this was my holiday chapter, don't worry it won't happen again for a long time. Can you tell how bad I am at romance? So yeah this chapter is done, and now I have to go work on the next one. I should have one posted by winter break. So thanks for reading, sorry again for this chapter. Also Please Review, if not I will send Vincent to your house and have him attack you. So thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed a little of it. Thanks and bye.