Hello everyone! First off, I would really like to thank lioncousin and ElektraMackenzie for their many reviews and compliments. Thank you both so much, it really does mean a whole lot to me. Second, this chapter is three times as long as some of the previous chapters. If at any point, this chapter gets confusing to read, tell me which parts, and I will rewrite them. I want this to flow as smoothly as possible, so any problems, just let me know.

Dante curses loudly and looks down at Mona in his arms.

"Nero! Go get the fucking car and pull it around. Now," Dante barks out sharply.

Nero is gone by the time Dante says car: he doesn't need to be told twice. Dante holds Mona too him tightly, not knowing what to do. Blood slowly oozes out of the corner of her mouth. Anger seeds in the back of his mind: god help the next demon he comes across. Dante gently picks Mona up, an arm under her shoulders and one under her knees. Quickly, but very carefully, Dante carries her downstairs and out of the doors. Trish stands up and looks worried as he passes her. Nero already has the car out front and is honking his horn loudly.

After laying Mona in the backseat, he jerks Nero out of the drivers seat and gets in. before getting run over, Nero hops in back with Mona, placing her head in his lap. Tiny little seizures still wreck her body. Dante turns a corner sharply, forcing Nero to grab on to Mona, preventing her from falling to the floor.

"Where are we going?" Nero shouts.

"To see Doge." Dante turns another corner sharply.

"Dante…Dante!" Nero screams.

"What?" Dante snaps back: he doesn't have time for this. He needs to pay attention.

"She's not breathing," Nero says quietly, disbelieving.

~/~/~/~/~

Mona slowly opens her eyes, looking up to a lilac colored sky. She tilts her head to the side, curious as to why the sky is the strange color. Carefully, Mona moves her hand, almost as if it's been asleep for too long. Warm and soft grass rubs against her hand, almost like a cat. A warm breeze blows across her skin, warming not only her flesh, but also her soul.

"My Stars, look how you've grown," a familiar voice muses from behind her.

Mona sits up quickly and spins around. Tears swarm to her eyes as she views her grandmother in front of her. She's dressed in a light pink long sleeved dress with a v-neck. The skirt of the dress flows out at her feet, making it appear that she is wearing water when she walks. Her hair is braided, as it used to be, long and draped over her shoulder: delicate gold chains and feathers braided in with it.

Mona stands up quickly and rushes towards her, the grass growing to her knees. She stops just in front of her loved one, afraid for a moment that it's simply another trick.

"How I have missed you," her gran smiles as she speaks.

"Gran? You're…How?" Mona looks around her surroundings and then back to her gran with fear. "Is this heaven? Am I…Am I dead?"

"Do you wish to be?"

Mona doesn't answer right away. Instead, she wraps her arms around her grandmother, hugging her tightly. It feels so good just to be held by her again. Gently, as she did when Mona was a child, Nizoni runs her fingers through her granddaughter's hair.

"I don't know," Mona whispers.

~/~/~/~/~

Dante screeches to a halt fifteen minutes later in Doge's driveway. Nero picks Mona up and passes her out of the car to Dante. By the time Nero gets out of the car, Dante is kicking down the door to the warehouse. Mona's chest harshly pumps up and down, almost as if something is pushing on it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you fuckbucket!" Doge screams out in a heavy Scottish accent.

"We need your help," Dante says as he places Mona on a table in the center of the room. Carefully he moves her arms to her side so they don't dangle off of the table.

"Oh, no. I know you did not bring this fucked up possessed bitch to my-"

"You watch what you fucking call her!" Nero screams as he starts to pull out his weapons.

"Kid, I will reem your ass six ways from Sunday. Your own mother wouldn't be able to recognize you when I'm done with you. Don't be stupid, put it away," Doge threatens as he crosses his arms.

"Dog, we don't have time for this. You fucking help her right now, or I swear to God, I will drag you into Satan's mouth myself," Dante growls as he stares down his friend.

"Fine. God dammit, Dante. This is the last fucking time," Doge grumbles as he pulls glasses out of his shirt pocket and puts them on. "Let's see who we're dealing with here."

"Don't you mean what?" Nero asks curiously.

"No, I mean who."

~/~/~/~/~

Nizoni holds her granddaughter's hand as they walk along a crystal clear river.

"What is this place?" Mona finally asks, breaking the comfortable silence.

"The Inbetween. It's not hell, nor heaven, nor purgatory. Think of it as…the waiting room," Nizoni explains, nodding.

"The waiting room?"

"Mm. For you to figure out what is going to happen to yourself."

"I can decide that?" Mona asks confused. She wasn't aware a person could choose to live or die. She just assumed that you either lived, or you died.

"Always. God is not cruel or unkind, darling. God himself would welcome Lucifer with open arms, if Lucifer would only ask for forgiveness," Nizoni speaks quietly and kindly.

Mona walks with her gran in silence for quite sometime. The landscape changes from the river to a seascape, then finally, to a desert. Mona looks up from her feet, and sees a woman in the distance. Her dark skin is complimented perfectly by the turquoise skirt she's wearing, and the turquoise jewelry adorning her.

"Is that my mother?" Mona asks, her voice barely a whisper.

Nizoni smiles and pulls Mona closer. "No, Stars. That is my mother, that is Abi.

~/~/~/~/~

"Why is she breathing like that?" Nero asks nervously.

"Kid, you've asked me the same questions for the last twenty minutes. I'm telling you, I don't know. I didn't know five minutes ago, and I don't know now. Go sit over there, you're bugging me," Doge grumbles out.

Dante sits quietly, and as still as a statue in the corner. His elbows rest on his knees, and his hands are folded under his chin, his fingers resting on his lips. On the surface, he is still as marble, but underneath, his thoughts race a mile a minute: each thought about Mona.

"She still has a pulse. It's faint, almost non-existent, but it's there. Has she always had these markings?" Doge asks as he looks at the patterns on her body.

"I just noticed them tonight," Dante states numbly.

"Before she kicked your ass through a wall?" Doge chuckles.

Dante doesn't reply, but simply closes his eyes. He can't help but to feel that this is all his fault. He should have protected her better, put up more barrier protections, something. Sighing, he leans back in the chair, and closes his eyes to his surroundings.

"What's this here?" Doge asks quietly to himself.

~/~/~/~/~

Abigail smiles as she approaches her daughter and great-granddaughter. Mona can't help but to smile back at her ancestor. She is beautiful: her eyes look like Mona's. Abigail holds her arms out to Mona, pulling her hands in towards her. Mona lets go of her gran's hand, and walks into the open hug. Abigail feels warm against Mona's suddenly chilly skin. Mona makes note of how comforting she smells: vanilla, lilacs, and cloves.

"Hello, child," Abigail says softly with a smile. Even the sound of her voice is enough to make Mona want to cry: it's soft and tender, like a mother's love.

"Hello," Mona whispers. She feels like she's known this woman all her life, even though she's never met her before.

"As pretty as your grandmother." Abigail brings her soft hand up to Mona's cheek and strokes it softly. "If I would have known how beautiful you have grown to be, I would have not died at such a mediocre age."

Mona can't help but to laugh at her.

"My daughter was right: you have a great destiny about you, my Stars." Abigail pauses as she looks Mona's face over. "A very great destiny."

"What is it?" Mona asks hesitantly. She's not sure if she wants to know what her destiny is. All she knows is so far, it's not looking so good.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you. People often think that their fate is already prescribed, and there is nothing you can do to change it. Those people are fools. Your fate, your destiny, is here," Abigail taps a finger above Mona's heart. "Your heart, it is a map. It keeps track of all things: love, fate, heartache, paths, thoughts. Everything is linked through to the heart. Your fate is in the stars, child. And stars can always be moved and rewritten to suit our needs."

"You once asked me, why I called you my Stars," Nizoni says softly beside Mona. "I tell you now, it is because the Stars are our loved ones. They guide us through our lives. They give us hope."

Mona can feel the tears rise in her eyes at her Gran's words.

"God, is always watching us, Stars. He only throws at us, what we are strong enough to take. Even if we don't think we can take it." Abigail strokes Mona's hair softly as she speaks.

"I don't believe in God," Mona says.

"That's okay. He believes in you, Mona. We believe in you," Nizoni says as she takes her granddaughters hand.

~/~/~/~/~/~

"So you're telling me, that she preformed an exorcism on her self?" Nero asks dumbfounded.

"In a manner of speaking. I think this…Matrem bitch tried to possess her tonight. And she failed miserably. Mona is too strong for her in her current state," Doge explains as he roots about dark and dank cabinets for things.

"Her current state? Her current state is dead!" Nero shouts. This man is a quack, he thinks to himself.

"She ain't dead, you bag of bollocks. Not yet, at least." Doge pulls out a ruby encrusted blade and lays it on the table. "This one here is a fighter. I shall like to meet her if this doesn't kill her."

Nero resists the urge to beat the shit out of the man in front of him. He has to constantly remind himself now that this man is trying to save Mona. Nero needs him alive…for now. But when Mona makes it through this, he'll beat the shit out of him. Slowly, Nero reaches his hand out and takes hold of Mona's.

"Don't get sentimental on me now. She may not pull through this," Doge says softly and kindly.

~/~/~/~/~

"It's time to go, my Stars," Nizoni whispers quietly.

Mona looks up to her gran. She doesn't want to leave yet, she's not ready to make her choice yet. She feels lost and so very confused.

"You have two options. You can stay here and move on, or, you can return and live. I will not lie to you, my Stars: you will suffer, undoubtedly. Though I give you this comfort: it is our suffering that makes us enjoy our happiness so much more," Abigail says to her great-granddaughter. "I'm afraid I must leave you now." Abigail hugs Mona tightly, her hand going to the back of her head. "I am honored that you wear my rosary."

Mona watches as her great-grandmother walks away from her and then disappears on the horizon. Slowly, she turns around and looks at Nizoni. Her gran smiles at her comfortingly, and takes her hands in hers.

"I'm scared," Mona whimpers. It's the hardest truth she's ever had to admit.

"It's okay to be scared, Stars. It's what you do in your fear that counts," Nizoni says kindly to her granddaughter. "You have a decision to make. Do you stay here, or do you go back?"

Mona looks around her: staying here is the better option.

~/~/~/~/~

Nero paces the floor quickly, his hands clasped behind his back, his head looking down at the notches in the wood. If he doesn't stop soon, he's going to wear holes in it. Slowly, light fills the dark room as the sun finally starts to rise up. Doge has been working on Mona for hours now: Nero lost track at twelve. Because at twelve hours, Dante fell asleep, and Nero lost track has he beat him up. How dare he sleep when the woman they were supposed to protect is dying in front of them?

"You two will want to see this," Doge says in a disbelieving tone.

Nero is on him in two seconds, crowding the space behind him. Dante is the slower in getting to Doge. He makes sure to stretch his sleepy muscles as he strides over to the table. Mona looks horrible lying there like a corpse. Her skin is starting to turn a sickly shade of gray, and her breathing is short and forced.

"What are we looking at?" Dante asks as he peers at a computer screen.

"That," Doge says as he points to a dark space on it.

Nero leans in closer to look at the screen, his nose only inches from it. Dante has a very hard time not shoving his face into it.

"Is that…No way," Nero denies in disbelief.

Dante whistles and crosses his arms. "Well, look at that. I can say I've never seen that before."

~/~/~/~/~

"I want to go back," Mona whispers. "I want to go back," more forcefully this time. "I think I need to, Gran. Right now, that's where I belong," Mona tells herself more than her gran.

"Do you love these boys? The two with silver hair," Nizoni asks with a smile on her face and one eyebrow raised.

Mona smiles as she looks up towards the sky.

"And I have my answer," Nizoni chuckles at her granddaughter.

Mona hides her smile from her gran. Then suddenly, very seriously asks, "Will you be with me?"

"I am always with you, my Stars. I love you more than a bird loves the sky."

~/~/~/~/~

"Something's happening," Doge says as he watches Mona's breathing stop.

"Do something," Dante growls out the command.

"I am not a doctor, Dante. You should have-" Doge is cut off my Dante's hand on his throat.

" . If she dies, I'll figure out a way to kill you," Dante's threat does not fall on deaf ears.

"Fine. Go get me that little green vial," Doge grumbles.

Nero, ignoring the both of them, takes Mona's hand in his. He will apologize a thousand times over if she wake up.

~/~/~/~/~

Without warning, Mona's lilac sky turns a deep shade of red and the grass turns into pitch-black thorns that cut into her skin. Her paradise is now her hell, and she knows just who turned it that way. Bracing herself, she raises her head up high and stands strong. She may be afraid, but she does not have to show it, least not to those who cause it.

Slowly, Matrem rises up out of the now blood red river. Her head is the first to come out of the water and her eyes remain closed until she's standing on top of the now violently moving water. Her white pointy teeth stand out strongly from her black scaley skin as she smiles. Mona struggles to remain where she is, when all she really wants to do is turn and run from her.

"You must be strong, my Stars. You may feel fear, but you must not show it. This is no longer my place. I must leave you now. Remember what we have told you," Nizoni whispers into Mona's ear before she leaves.

Matrem does not move from her place on the rushing water, her eyes never leave Mona's face. If Mona looks too long in them, she's certain she'll see her death. Matrem's face is hard, violent, and menacing. Mona can tell that her hands ache to be around her throat. Why hasn't she attacked her yet? Now would be her perfect chance to do it. Nero and Dante aren't around to protect her: she's defenseless. Then it hits her.

"You can't touch me, can you?" Mona questions Matrem, trying to hide the smirk on her face. "That's why you need the others isn't it? You can't touch me! And you can't possess other people like they can, because I'm the only one that you can possess… But why haven't you been able too?"

"Oh I did, foolish girl. Tonight, when you were at the dance studio, with a little help. I even had to do something as disgusting as kiss that half-breed. I would have had his gun in my hand had you not insisted on fighting me inside the puny little head of yours," Matrem hisses.

"Why can't you possess me?" Mona asks in a demanding tone. "Why! Is it because I'm too strong for you?" Mona asks with a smile.

"You are not stronger than I! You are sheep!" Matrem screams so loudly, Mona has to cover her ears.

"You're awfully defensive about it," Mona states as she walks closer to Matrem. "You're too weak to possess me. Here I thought I should be afraid of you, and you're too weak to even touch me. It would have killed you, wouldn't it have? Staying in me would have killed you because I'm still too strong for you," Mona explains to herself with satisfaction.

"One day they won't be able to protect you," Matrem hisses hoarsely.

"No, you're right. But when that day comes, I'll be able to protect myself."

~/~/~/~/~

Nero jumps when Mona jerks straight up on the table, Dante curses and reaches for his gun on his hip, and Doge just gives a satisfied smile.

Mona turns and looks at Nero, horror on her face. "She's here," she croaks out.

Dante straightens, his hand pulling out his weapon. That's just perfect, he thinks to himself. He knows in the back of his head that Doge doesn't have barriers on this place: meaning they're completely vulnerable. Somehow, he thinks that was all Matrem's plan. Now he feels incredibly stupid for bringing her here.

Nero swallows and looks to Doge. "You're going to want to start putting barriers up. Or arming yourself. It's only a matter of time n-"

Mona's scream is harsh enough to shatter windows. Doge covers his ears and curses.

"I'm getting fucking tried of this shit, Dante! What the fuck is the matter with her?" Doge screams over Mona.

Nero grabs Mona and holds her tightly to him. Her scream of pain is enough to make him want to vomit. Dante grabs Mona's arm long enough to hold it still. Where the black markings are, black scales start to push through her skin. Mona grabs onto Nero's arms around her chest, and cries. Doge looks at the markings on her stomach, his fingers reach out and trace along the scales. Quickly, he jerks his hand back when he gets cut. Dante looks over at his bleeding friend and furrows his brow.

"Make it stop!" Mona yells. She feels like she's on fire. Not to mention the scales coming through puts her in unimaginable pain.

Mona wants to vomit as she watches her skin fall away bloody and in patches where the scales are coming in. She is instantly reminded of the way Matrem's skin looks. Horror washes over her: she is becoming Matrem.