Well, I'm back. Hopefully, no one has forgotten me. lol Been gone for a long time and I apologize to everyone for it. A lots happened since last I wrote. I've gotten married again and now have a 9 week old baby girl and finally have a place to call my own. Life seems to be coming full circle for me at last. Well, without further ado, here's the next chpt of Love Bites.

The building stood silent midst the city of Zanarkand, for not a sound could be heard. Rikku and Shinra laid unconscious midst the floor of the lab close to the back of the wall, Shuyin was also unconscious and his state of existence still hung in the balance and Yuna. . . was gone. Upon drinking from Shuyin, the emotional rage that was harbored within his dark soul bled into Yuna. Therefore, transmitting the emotions of the werewolf to her. It was nothing she had ever experienced before and she could not control it, for it had overtaken her mind, body, and soul.

A light, cool breeze strayed into the building through the open door, blowing a few stray papers. Lenne crept in, taking in all her surroundings before stepping any farther. She furrowed her brow in bewilderment, unsure of what to make of everything. Something indeed wasn't right and she could feel it deep within.

"Hello?" Lenne called out as she slowly placed one foot in front of the other. "Yuna?" She rounded the corner, coming to a halt only to gasp as she looked down and saw an unconscious Rikku and Shinra.

Tidus sat on the bed in his room, looking down at the streets of Zanarkand through his bedroom window. He sighed as he tried to ignore the many memories that played in his mind like a movie. And with these memories came mixed emotions. From seeing Yuna to seeing Nhadala then the burning Phoenix to Nhadala's dead body. Sure he was angry at her for betraying him, but he never wanted to see her dead. And as for Yuna, he was feeling such intense love for her yet devastated and angered by the recent events at hand, which only left him in a dazed and confused state of mind. He just laid back on his bed, resting his hands behind his head as he slowly closed his eyes.

"Rikku!" Lenne shouted as she ran over to the still unconscious Al Bhed, kneeling down by her side and shaking her a bit to try and wake her. "Rikku, it's Lenne! Wake up!" She then shook Rikku a little more violently, but to no avail when suddenly she heard someone moaning from a distance. She slowly stood up, taking in her surroundings as she observed every distinct feature until her eyes came to rest upon a familiar face in the back room. "Oh, my Yevon! Shuyin!" She sprinted into the room, coming to the aid of her friend who was in need of blood. "Look how pale you are!" Shuyin mumbled something, but Lenne couldn't make out what was said. She shook her head, looking at her arm only to bite into her own wrist and upon seeing the blood seep out, she offered it to Shuyin. "Here, Shuyin!" Shuyin was about to lose conscious and she shook him awake. "Shuyin!" He only looked at her with ghostly, pale eyes. "Shuyin, you have to drink or you will die!" Shuyin looked and saw her offering of blood and immediately tried to sit up. Lenne gave him a helping hand and the offering of blood was at last received.

The moon hung even lower in the night sky with dark clouds lingering over it as the storm prepared to move out, however, it was in temptation of circling back around for a second storm. A woman screamed, running down the sidewalk, the water splashing beneath her feet as she protected the baby she carried in her arms. Two men also sprinted down the sidewalk behind the woman, one of them stopping long enough to look behind him, which was his first and last mistake, for there behind them glowed a burning ore of fiery blood. And this ore contained an inhuman Yuna who was beyond anything anyone could imagine. Her flesh was a pale white, her eyes hollow like an empty grave. Her hair whiped against the movement of the ore as she floated within it. Without hesitation, the man sprinted away.

"And that's the last I remember." a frail Shuyin said to Lenne who just looked away with a sigh. "I don't even know what the hell is going on now."

"Well, neither do I." Lenne scolded as Shuyin sat up, rubbing the back of his head as he let his legs dangle over the side of the bed.. "I came in here to find you nearly dead, Rikku and Shinra are unconscious and to make matters even worse and far more confusing, Yuna's gone."

Shuyin looked straight at Lenne "Wha- - Yuna's gone?" Lenne nodded her head. He shook his head with a disgusted sigh. "None of this makes any sense."

"Well, let's try to wake Rikku and Shinra up." Lenne suggested. "Maybe they hold the missing pieces to the story." Shuyin nodded his head in agreement, and with Lenne's help, he stood up from the bed and they left the back room.

Tidus' mind kept drifting back to Yuna as he laid there on his bed trying to sleep his memories away, hoping that maybe once he awakened, he would find it all to be just a dream. And the one thing that kept lingering in his mind was that one moment in time that he and Yuna shared their first kiss. Things were just so magical and felt far different from anything he had felt before. He turned over onto his left side, grabbing the pillow above him and slamming it down onto his head to drown out any sounds coming from outside.

Gippal's shift had ended at the club and was on his way home, however, just as he rounded the corner he came face to face with a panic stricken woman who screamed when she saw him and the baby in her arms begin to cry.

"Hey, hey." Gippal said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Stay away." the woman cried out, backing away from Gippal. "Just stay away."

"Would you at least tell me what the hell is going on?" Gippal asked in an irritated manner. "Maybe I can help you out!"

"She's- - she's coming!" the woman shuddered.

Gippal shook his head. "She who?"

The woman looked behind her, seeing the bright light of the orb approaching only to turn back to Gippal. "I- I- I'm sorry." the woman said as she turned and fled, leaving Gippal in a dazed state of mind. And with a shrug of his shoulders, he continued to walk on.

A pair of swirly green eyes slowly fluttered open with a few taps to her cheek. A blurred image of Lenne and Shunyin gazing down upon her were all those eyes could see as she tried to adjust her vision. She sighed, placing her hand to her head as she muttered Yuna's name, which immediately triggered her memory.

"Oh my Yevon!" Rikku shrieked. "Yunie!" She looked to Lenne and Shuyin. "Where's Yunie? Have You found her?"

"That's what we dont understand or know." Lenne said calmly. "Only you and Shinra hold the missing link to the puzzle."

"Last I remember, I was shot. And now I am here." Shuyin said.

"And I came in to find everyone laying unconscious and Shuyin nearly dead." Lenne said. "Cant you remember what happened before now?"

"Oh. . . ." Rikku trailed off. "I remember. . . nothing." Rikku stated only to let out an aggravated sigh as did Lenne and Shuyin. Rikku curled her legs underneath her to the left side as she searched her mind when suddenly there came a soft groan and everyone looked to Shinra.

Screams at last began ro reach the ears of a shattered being as he was still searching his soul for answers, however, he pulled the pillows down around his ears even tighter, but couldn't withstand the sound of the screams, for he instantly knew something wasn't right. Throwing the pillow to the floor, Tidus pushed himself up, looking down at the streets below him.

Alarmed by those same screams, Paine eased her way over to the sliding door, opening it as she stepped out onto the balcony of her apartment. Placing her hands on the banisters, she looked out at the city before her, bewildered by screams yet seeing no one in immediate danger.

"Another dose of you could be the end of me. Yeah, I'm addicted bad to you!" Gippal sang in an off key tone of voice as he walked on down the street as he headed home. "Ah, I love Sweetbox!" His smile began to faintly fade away, for the light before him was seemingly strange to him now. The more he approached it, the brighter it seemed to get. He furrowed his brow as he came to a stop, examining the light before him.

Yuna floated slowly, her eyes locked and focused straight ahead of her, refusing to look away from the direction in which she was going when she suddenly sensed a being just a few feet ahead of her. A demonic growl came deep from within her half dead soul, the light around her growing brighter and the orb shading over her with pure blood.

A sudden gust of wind came out of nowhere, clouds of ebony swarming overhead as all of Zanarkand was overcome by pitch black. Dead silence filled the ear and one by one the street lights began to come on. All one could hear was the silent whispers of the wind. Paine examined what was going on as eased her fingers around her whip and firmly grasped it. Tidus only sighed, lifting his shirt as he grasped his gun and withdrew it only to pop the clip out, checked it to make sure it was fully loaded and then shoved the clip back inside. A dark force was at hand here and both Pain and Tidus knew it, but how to stop it was a mystery in itself.

The light Gippal saw before him mysteriously dimmed, which puzzled him. He scratched the side of his head as he raised an eyebrow, however, curiosity was beginning to get the better of him. Placing one foot in front of the other, he began to slowly approach it.

A sudden vibration consumed the orb around Yuna causing it to burst. Blood fell to the pavement, which instantly caught fire. Yuna fell to the ground below her, falling into the flames. A ghoulish cry erupted from within the flames that burned her very skin, which melted from her very bones. And just as the flames slowly died, Gippal came upon a crumpled, shuttering burned body and he gasped, for he was highly unsure of who it was, what it was, and very unsure of what to do.

Suddenly, a shredded, demonic wing sprouted from within the burned corpses' back, the skin crackling like shards of burned bones. Spreading out, it began to vigorously sway back and forth as if trying to set flight. The other wing then protruded through the burned skin. The being then pushed itself up from the ground. Gippal eyes were opened wide in sheer fear, unable to believe what was transpiring before them. Scales took shape as the dead skin fell from the body. The creature slowly stood to its feet, examining the transformation it had underwent. It then turned, gazing upon Gippal with blood stained eyes. Gippal put his hands up in self defense as he slowly backed away from the creature and with a shriek of death, the creature leaped at him.