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"Yu...ffie?" It really held no common characteristics with the girl he knew, except that the body was wearing a leg brace, and a shruiken lay not far away, one of its deadly points buried in the earth. Her arm was bent grotesquely, as though it had one too many joints. A yawning gash from the top of her left shoulder to right hip was clearly infected, and the source of the terrible smell. She was completely still, no rise and fall of her chest.

She was... gone.

He wanted nothing more than to lay down next to her, join her in eternal sleep. But he had a duty to carry out, much as he hated to disturb her grave.

Unbuckling his cloak, he wrapped the ninja up, a crimson burial shroud for the White Rose, and carried her out into the light. She was lighter than he remembered, little more than a breath in his arms.

Must have just passed...she isn't even dissolving yet. Too late. I'm always too late to save them.

In the sunlight, she looked even worse, sallow-skinned and broken. Vincent lay her on a slab of rock, feeling his throat tighten. Whoever did this to her would pay, and pay dearly. He reached up to brush away the dirt on her cheek, and felt what he never expected to feel- the slightest breath warming his palm. He reached for her wrist, feeling for a pulse. Eyes widening in shock, he sat back.

It didn't make any sense. With the severity of her wounds, she should have been dead three times over, yet, every thirty seconds, there was a quiet wheezing noise a puff of warm air, and an accompanying heartbeat.

With renewed hope, he used up his entire supply of curatives, but strangely, the wounds would not heal, getting no better, but not degrading, either. He pressed against her pulse point again, and found that it was strong, if a little fast. He jumped as a corpse-like hand snapped up to grab his wrist. Silver eyes focused on him, burning in intensity. Her voice was like cold water on a hot day- shocking, but gods, did it feel good.

"You need to run. I can't control-she'll-I'll..." and then her harsh grip relaxed.

As she lay still again, her color rapidly returned, the wounds miraculously closing. In mere moments she looked more like the old Yuffie, but at the same time completely different- perceptible differences in the set of her face, the way her features seemed sharper, streamlined. It was almost as if someone had taken out the human element, replacing it with something perfect, yet stone cold.

She stirred slightly, then sat up, pinning him with eyes the color of molten rock, a bright, fiery gold. Vincent tried to move back, but he couldn't even blink. His entire body was immobilized.

Not-Yuffie wrapped two long arms around his neck and pulled his head down, so close that their noses touched.

Nare se to kai-e-ta sere to re ro xaoc?

The voice echoed in his mind, a metallic language that was unfamiliar to him. In getting no reaction, the Yuffie-thing tried in a much more familiar tongue, still mentally, you smell of Chaos, Hume. Why?

"Chaos?" he asked, aloud, adding, "What does he have to do with any of this?"

Speaking is difficult for me and requires much energy. If I fall unconcious—well, never mind that. I will relay information to you via thought transference. Respond if you understand. Her voice held a mixture of derision, humor, and curiosity.

"Uhmm…" Distrust and confusion colored his voice. "What did you do to Yuffie?"

The woman smirked. Demonic possession sound familiar?

"You're… one of them?"

Her face wrinkled in displeasure. If you mean to insinuate that I am on the same level as your Hellmasker, or the Galian, YOU ARE WRONG. Then her expression became smirkingly superior once more. But yes, I am what your lot call a demon. You can call me Azara. It's a close approximation in your language.

Something in her face reminded him of Chaos, which hardly did anything to help his mood. "Where. The. Hell. Is. Yuffie?" he growled. He could feel the remaining demons straining to get free, fueled by his anger.

The ninja girl? She's in limbo. Not in good shape, though. Which brings me to my next point. Azara steepled her fingers and looked at him slyly. You see, we're in a bit of a time crunch. I managed to keep her stable for awhile, and she remained at the threshold of death. I can only hold this form for about, say, four days. And when time runs out and she changes back, she will be in the same state you found her in. When that happens, she will only have a few short minutes to live. Unless… The being grinned, exposing fanglike incisors. Unless you help me.

"Help you?" Things were going downhill at a remarkable speed.

Help me find Chaos and bring him back. I see now that you were a host to my mate. That explains the smell. She had been perusing his thoughts as one might a novel; Vincent glared at her, and tried to close off his mind. It didn't work, so he switched gears, and tried to distract her.

"Mate?" The idea was foreign to him; the demon had always seemed violence obsessed—not a nurturing bone in his body.

Yes. Is it so strange that demons love? We are children of the Planet as well, perhaps better children for not destroying our Mother. Yes, we love. We do not marry- such a flimsy bond is unbecoming of our ancient, noble kind. My life-bond with Chaos can keep him in check, like the protomateria.

Even in his head, the voice seemed full of…. Regret? Sadness? It was hard to tell.

Suddenly she seemed to jerk herself away from the topic, regaining control of the conversation, voice returning to the catty, superior tone she had abandoned when speaking of Chaos.

I need to know how to implant a demon into someone's consciousness. Unfortunately, we cannot truly exist unless we are given a human in which to inhabit. We are energy, you are mass. Combined, we become a force to be reckoned with- strong and fast beyond words, immortal.

"Tell me first," he said conversationally, "how exactly you came to inhabit the body of my friend."

I was part of the material that was absorbed by Nero the sable. When the girl, Yuffie, was also consumed, her life force drew me in. She reeked of demons- not just Chaos, but other, less powerful ones as well. I admit, I was...curious. I reached out to touch her- the next thing I know, I'm like this.

She gestured to her body, which Vincent realized too late was still wearing Yuffie's shredded clothing. She still wouldn't give him his muscular control back, and he was getting quite the eyefull.

When I recovered slightly, I tried to speak with her. Unfortunately, she did not respond well to my presence, or the physical changes I brought. Her body tried to protect her by shutting down, but, in her delirium ,she had a rendezvous with an armed man, and was badly hurt. I could have helped her, but even then, her resistance was remarkably firm. I managed to get her to this mining town before she bled out completely. Human strength of mind is quite admirable. She broke free of my influence and made it to this cave system- I suppose- to die alone, not wishing danger on others, knowing that she was not in total control. Quite noble of her, really.

The story fell perfectly in with Reeve's theory, and Vincent had no choice but to believe that this...thing...was the remnants of his friend.

"I accept your offer. As long as the girl is unharmed, then I will assist you in finding your mate. "

Good. But first, a few conditions…

XXX

I feel uneasy because I didn't edit this section as much as I did the others. I really couldn't find anything else to do it it though, aside from a few wimpy-ass corrections I made to the dialogue. Meh.

Leave a review. No reviews, no updates. I have other things to do, ya know. But I see a few of you are enjoying this, as you have subscribed. I am most flattered. For that, I thank you. Until next time...or not...heheheh...

WALD

PS: My parents finally sold our old house, and since I am going to community college and still living with them, I get to help drag stuff around. Really, the nerve! Anyway, point is, there probs won't be any updates for awhile. :(