a/n Alright...chapter 3... My endoscopy went well by the why. It was the first time I'd ever gone under anesthesia and I also discovered how much I hate laughing gas. According to my grandma, who was taking care of me so my dad could work, I started speaking Spanish when I woke up, which is kind of hilarious cause the closest thing my family has to any hispanic/latino blood is basque. I have taken up to Spanish 2 though, so I'm nowhere near fluid but...I manage.

Vexen finished making breakfast and began setting it out for the children in his care. He and Marluxia had been running the shelter for a few months now, and they had five children in their care. Yuffie, the youngest at six with easily the most unpredictable powers, had the ability to turn invisible. What Vexen had discovered was that she was less actually making herself invisible and more that when she willed it, the light reflecting off her body wouldn't reach the eyes of the people around her, meaning her power was light based, kind of like Roxas's.

Cloud was his newest charge, at the age of eight. The boy didn't talk much, but his power was classified as mental, like Zexion's. However, well Zexion was able to create illusions, Cloud was able to read the memories of others. Vexen had yet to understand how it worked. Was it possibly emotional brainwaves that somehow managed to be incredibly specific? Did his aura encompass that of others?

Leon was the only other boy at the shelter, and the first child they took in. He was nine, and also their eldest. His registered name was Squall, but he refused to go by it. He said he wanted a new life, a new start, with a new name. Leon's ability was...problematic for Vexen. The boy was able to open portals, taking him from one side of the shelter to the other in seconds. Vexen believed it had something to do with simply opening a way into another dimension where the distance was merely a few centimeters, and coming back out the other side. Of course, he had yet to actually prove there were other dimensions.

Aerith was another of their girls, seven years old. Her powers hadn't exactly been categorized, as Vexen didn't know exactly what to label them with. Her primary ability involved healing. She could heal other people, animals, and plants. However, she couldn't heal herself, which had led to complications as she was easily the weakest of the children.

Finally, there was Tifa. She was eight years old and an incredibly strong girl, the first girl who came to the shelter, shortly after Leon. Her ability was one Vexen thought was particularly astounding, the ability to change her very physique. This usually took place in creating strong punching gloves that had destroyed shelter walls before. She was also the only child yet to summon a weapon, in the forms of her gloves.

The children filtered in one by one, each taking a seat at the table and beginning to eat their food. Marluxia came out after them and grabbed a cup of coffee.

"When is Xigbar coming?" Marluxia asked.

"Sometime after lunch." Vexen replied. He quickly wiped off Yuffie's face, knowing she would never do it himself. The girl was incredibly messy and childish, and never cleaned herself. "Cloud, he's going to talk to you, okay?"

"Is he the pirate?" Cloud asked. "He looks like a pirate."

"Cloud how many times have we told you to not look in our memories." Marluxia scolded him.

"I don't mean to." The boy muttered.

"Well you need to not do it to Xigbar." Vexen said, eating his food. He wasn't the best with children, but these ones needed somewhere to go and it gave him the opportunity to study children with powers. It was a good trade off, so he dealt with it.

Xigbar knocked on the door and blinked a little in surprised at the frazzled Vexen opening the door. Marluxia could be seen in the back writing something on papers, likely business oriented, while Vexen was left to deal with five very powerful children. Xigbar had never seen Vexen in a state like this, but considering the situation he was in, it was understandable. However, Xigbar certainly didn't envy him.

"You! Take the blond!" Vexen yelled, pushing a small blond child. "Go to the park or something!" The door was slammed shut in his face, and Xigbar looked down at the small child. A pair of sky blue eyes looked back up at him, and the kid, presumably the 'Cloud' Xigbar had told about, began walking down the sidewalk.

"Hey!" Xigbar called after him, catching up quickly because the boy was...well, a child. "What're you doing buddy?"

"I decided to mosey down to the park." Cloud said. "Vexen said we could. I saw you in his memories, but he's better at building walls than most people. Are you a pirate? You look like a pirate."

"A pirate? As if." Xigbar said with a small laugh. "That would be pretty cool though. Nah, kid, I run a restaurant with-"

"With your friend Xaldin." Cloud finished. "You two took a long time to be friends though, because you both loved the same person. His name was Lu-"

"You're pretty creepy, you know that kid?" Xigbar said. Cloud shrugged and jumped up onto a swing. Xigbar sat on the swing next to him, swinging himself lightly with his own foot. The boy next to him swung a bit and looked up at the sky, sighing a little. "You have a lot of questions don't you?" The boy nodded. "How about we trade, a question for a question. I'll go first. Where are you from."

"If I don't answer the question do I not get to ask one?" Cloud asked. Xigbar nodded. "...Fine. I used to live in some slums with my older brother Zack. Who was Luxord?"

"Luxord was...a very important person..." Xigbar said. "He was very special." Cloud nodded, though of course the child had a limited understanding of the specialness he was talking about. "What happened to your brother."

"He...he made me run away while he fought the monster." Cloud stopped his light swinging and stared at the ground for a while. Xigbar reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but the harsh glare he received notified him that physical contact was...less than appreciated. "What happened to Luxord? You're blocking that part of your mind, like you don't want to remember it. I can't get to it."

"Good. It's not something a kid like you should see." Xigbar looked up at the sky, not quite sure how he should explain the event to the boy. Cloud was likely already familiar with death by the sound of it, but Xigbar wanted to be careful. "He's...gone."

"You mean he's dead." Cloud said. They were both silent for a while before the boy spoke again. "Zack is dead too."

"I thought so." Xigbar nodded. "Anyway, my turn. What do you mean by monster?"

"I don't want to do this anymore." Cloud said, poison practically seeping out of his voice like poison. Xigbar was a little astounded by how quickly the boy's attitude had changed, but he nodded nonetheless. He couldn't force the child to answer his questions. It was great he managed to get the child to say anything at all. "The monster wants to come back."

"What are you talking about?" Xigbar asked.

"He said he was protecting Zack from scarier monsters. Monsters that wants us to kill other people." Cloud looked away to the small group of trees nearby. It was then that Xigbar noticed the array of shadows near the trees. "Those aren't the same as the monster. I think they're here for both of us."

"It's okay kid, I'll protect you." Xigbar said, standing up. "Stay behind me." He summoned one of his guns and began walking towards the group of trees, Cloud keeping close to his leg. "Come out now and I won't kill you!"

"Xigbar." A voice came from behind him. Xigbar turned to see a man in a with a mustache and beard and slicked back black hair. The man was dressed in a dark blue business suit with a red tie, but was entirely unarmed. Xigbar looked behind him and saw the shadows were not people, but in fact oddly shaped robots. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do you want?" He asked the man, who crossed his arms.

"My name is Reeve Tuesti, an agent of Rufus Shinra, and I am here to take you into custody."

So, what do you think people? I played Spooky Scary Skeletons for pretty much the entire chapter. I don't understand the fact that this cured whatever writers block I had.

...I think I breathed in too much laughing gas my head feels numb...