Ace opens his mouth, showcasing sharp teeth and a long slimy black tongue behind the strings of red skin that stretch over them. His voice is deeper than usual and has an eerie feel to it.

     " Looking for me ? "

     " Yeah... You look... Different. Did you cut your hair ? " I'm trying to go with a friendly and slightly comical approach, I still don't know if he's himself or not.

     " I'm gonna kill you either way, but for your information, I did not. "

He bolts forward and grabs my neck with his hand. He strengthens his grip and I can already feel a death by asphyxiation in my near future. Bright blue light emanates from my hands and I push him away with a blast of ice, pinning him to the opposite wall of the room. I bend over and gasp for air. I hear Ace's temporary prison breaking down and make a large icicle shield around me before he charges again. It won't survive long, I know he's got fire powers, but it's all I can do. I tighten my ponytail and create a sword out of ice. A large wave of fire crashes upon my protection and melts it away. I crouch down and crawl hastily towards the kitchenette. A wall of fire blocks me and as I raise back up, he throws a fireball in my direction. I stop it at the cost of my weapon. In a desperate try to knock some sense into him, I scream.

     " ACE, STOP ! "

     " Sorry, Diamond... I can't. "

What does he mean ?! That's when it hits me. Not the other fireballs he threw at me, I made a huge icicle barrier appear between us to win some time, but a possible reason for his transformation. After all, logically, the son of Satan must be a demon..! Demons, especially ones that spend long periods of time hiding their true nature and form, are highly sensitive to Darkness. Anyone can be sensitive to Darkness, but it's very rare among species other than demons. Darkness can be anything. A thought, a situation, an object, a person, whose goal is to cause harm in the present moment or is a manifestation of past harm. Per example, a dead body that has been savagely ripped open... Sensitivity to Darkness will often have the same result. When in presence of it, the demon will instantly show its true appearance. Sometimes, overwhelmed by Darkness, they'll experience unexplained and complete rage, leading to violent gestures, such as killing anyone in sight. Either Ace killed my best friend, or he saw what happened, like I thought so. Anyway, I'll only know if I find a way to calm him down. Maybe he'll react better to a psychic intervention..? " Ace, don't let Darkness take control. " Red flames appear in his empty eye sockets and he fires an especially deadly-looking fire arrow in my direction, destroying my barrier. I'm projected to the ground along with the shards of half-melted ice. Spirals of black smoke come out of his wings and head towards me speedily. I narrowly manage to roll over to the right and take refuge behind the island. It explodes a second later and I'm thrown against the cabinets behind me. I fall onto the floor, panting. My t-shirt and jeans are ripped and burned in multiple spots. I exhale to remove a streak of my hair from my face and turn around to face my opponent. My back hurts from using my wings and the impact against the cabinets then the ground. I wearily raise back up as he stomps to meet me. " Ace, I know we've just met, but..." I can't even finish sending my thought that he pushes me roughly to the ground. A sharp fire spear starts forming in his right hand. Breathing shakily, I still try reaching his first layer of thoughts, I talk to him again through it. " Listen to me ! You don't want another death on your conscience, once you've killed me you'll only get worst and spiral into Darkness until you lose yourself..! " He looks at me with a blank yet blazing stare. He throws the fiery spear at me. I deploy my wings to shield myself, wincing, and let out a scream of pure pain as the fire spike crosses, rips and melts my left wing. I creep away, hang weakly onto the sink and turn the cold water faucet frantically. An icicle shoots out of my hand, slicing away the metal spout. I slide miserably onto the floor, trembling as lavender blood spills out of my wounded wing. A blast of fire and dark energy makes me lose consciousness for a brief moment.

I cough, feeling something wet and freezing against my face and in my nose and mouth... Water. Cold water. I broke the sink's plumbing... I broke the sink's plumbing ! I get on my knees. Water beats fire. Holding on to the sink, I turn around. My wings are torn and bleeding and my back hurts like hell, but I now stand a chance against Ace. He's flying over the rapidly raising amount of cold water. His fire powers are useless and no one can fly forever... He roars angrily and swoops down to pick me up by the front of my shirt. He slams me against the ceiling only by the strength of his left arm and swirls of dark smoke come out of his right palm. He prepares to kill me as the smoke becomes to transform into a very material looking dagger. " Ace, please, don't... " I guess everything happens for a reason. Any ice formation would melt against his boiling skin. The only thing I can do now is prepare myself to join Heather.

I sigh and tears fill my eyes. They freeze immediately, my powers are trying to get out any way possible since I'm freaking out. I blink to try at least seeing something during my last minute of life without blinding myself with ice shards. That's what you get for having villain blood running through your veins... I'd really consider kissing Prince Charming right now... Wait, what if..? It's worth a try, isn't it ? And it'd be kind of awkward to die at like 65 years old without ever having my first kiss... He plunges his fist towards my chest and I catch the dagger, which goes right through my hand. Ignoring the agony and blood, I tilt my head and lean downwards. Our lips touch and it's like time stops. His peeling skin stretches back to form his perfect warm lips, his crooked razor-blade teeth and long creepy tongue disappear. In a matter of seconds he's back to being human-looking, his black feather wings not considered. The dagger vanishes into thin air and gravity makes us fall into the water below with a loud splash. He sits back up, and we're still kissing. He pulls me in with his hands firmly holding my waist. I put my arms around his neck and our kiss takes a more passionate turn. I follow his lead, letting my instincts take over. I forget all about Heather, Winnie and Narbeth... The water level keeps raising around us as his hands start exploring under my shirt. I grab the front of his jacket and finally push him away for a second. I pant and as he tries to continue what's happening, I whisper.

     " Wait, stop... "

     " Why ? "

His voice has a kind of hoarseness in it and his wine colored eyes are sparkling with desire. My heart is beating out of my chest and I'm trembling. My hands move along his torso, ending up on his broad shoulders. I distractedly move my fingers across them and feel myself leaning in towards him, but come back to reality in time and say.

     " I have to ask you something... We have to talk about how you were gonna kill me just now. "

     " You're the worst... " He whispers, his breath brushing my ear. He then bites it softly. I jump, startled. He backs off, getting up and walking towards the broken sink and busted kitchenette. Ace snaps his fingers and it's suddenly repaired, he also makes all the water evaporate. He turns to face me and holds his hand out with a sneaky grin on his face. I accept it and he pulls me up, making me bump against him. I take a step back, desperately trying to stop my pounding heartbeat. He chuckles silently, burning me alive inside with his insistent stare. I snap.

     " Alright, I know you were consumed by Darkness. Now, you tell me why. "

     " Not before you're healed. " I sigh and glance reluctantly at my butchered wings, my scarred skin and my hand which still has a donut hole-like cut in the middle of it. I do feel weak and my whole body feels like it's been run-over eighty times by a large truck, but I have to settle this whole murder thing.

     " No... My best friend just died, Ace. I know you were there. You've got some explaining to do. "

     " Fine... I'll tell you what happened. "