Chapter 3

Bella's thought processes at the moment went something like this.

'Ooh shit, shit shit! Whatthehellis he doing here? My presence is screwing something up, isn't it? That's it, isn't it? Damn my luck! My trice damned Potter luck! Wait...it's not my fault I'm here! Yes, it's not! So all I have to do is explain that it's all a misunderstanding, right? But what if he's here because he thinks I'm trying to get away from him? Like Riddle? I did kind of escape him a couple of times. Maybe he's upset? Oh God, what is he doing here?'

It must have shown in her face because he chuckled. Chuckled! Wait, he can read her mind, so, it is either showing on her face and that was amusing, or her thought process was amusing…. Still! Death was chuckling at her expense and the sound was friggin terrifying! Sounded dark and foreboding with something crackling, like broken glass, as background noise.

" You need not worry for I am ot here for any of those reasons. My business with you lies elsewhere."

Ok. That was relieving to hear. It did nothing though to quell the anxiety and underlying fear the voice of the Grim Reaper caused. "And what is your business with me?" might as well get it over with. She braced herself for his reply.

"I am here to discuss the meaning and details of you new title."

She knew instantly what he meant. The Master of Death. Well if he held resentment for that she couldn't really blame the guy… " I am not exactly resentful about it, more about your ignorance about what possessing ghe title entails. But then again this is not your fault either."

This was actually not as bad as she imagined it. And for all the scare factor, Death was actually very polite. "Ok then, please tell me all that I need to know." She said as decisively as she could.

"Splendid. Please have a seat. This is going to take some time and it would be best if you got comfortable." She realized she was still standing in the farthest from the Reaper corner of the room, both hands flat to the wall along with her back, which was firmly attached to the corner. Thank God her knees were neither trembling nor buckling.

After she had sat comfortably against the headboard, she motioned to Death, due to courtesy really, to take a seat opposite of her. Terror does not excuse a lack of manners, as her "dear" aunt taught her. He looked surprised for a moment – seriously, how can a featureless face make expressions? – but settled, somehow, in front of her. It was like the end of the bed was deing swallowed by darkness.

"A good place to start would be the actual meaning of your new title. You see "The Master of Death" is not just another of the many frivolous titles the British populace tends to bestow on the object of their… affections." He didn't sound very happy with the British. She could understand the notion. "In truth, you are the first Master so far. I suppose congratulations are in order." He said dryly.

She raised a hand in question. "Before we get to that I would like to ask something. Are you my world's Death or this one's. Could you please tell me where I am for that matter?" she asked hesitantly.

He nodded and went about answering "Well, death is something unchanging in all worlds. The only thing that changes is the name with which I am referred to. As far as where we are now, this is the world closest to your original one. This world also holds a minor connection to your's. You being here is also connected to your new title and the responsibilities that come with it." He said patiently.

Ok. So she was close to home at least. But apparently there was a reason she was here, so it really wasn't a coincidence. There was one thing though….

"Really? So you are responsible for all the worlds in the multiverse? Isn't that tiring?" and that was genuine sympathy there. To anyone from Clock Tower multiverse meant Zelretch, and the thought alone was enough to make them shudder.

The being looked confused again. " You're not used to sympathy, are you?"

"Admittedly no. People tend to see the job and judge the one doing it in accordance to that." He said a bit mournfully.

"Ok. Another question to clear something up. Is a certain trolling vampire involved, in any way, shape or form?" even though she was dreading the answer.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, he was the one to send you here."

'I knew it!'

"Shall we continue?" The Reaper actually tilted his head a bit to the right. Creepy.

She gave a affirmative nod. " As the Master of Death you are considered my equal, which would normally mean that you would be a "Grimm Reaper" too. However your presence among the living hinders you becoming my true equal." He paused and she nodded that she understood, so he continued his explanation. So far things sounded reasonable. "That means that you can't take up all your duties at once. Of course there are also certain…bonuses. Do you want to know of your duties or your new advantages first?"

"Business first, pleasure later." No hesitation. She's seen what power does without the proper head to manage it.

"But this is why you are the first one so far. Because you never sought power so you are the best to receive it." He read her mind again. "I believe that teacher of yours said that the human mind is not a book so ypu could read it." There was a tick that was starting to form on her brow. "Don't start the technicalities. Also this is annoying and creepy. Would you kindly stop it?" "Yes, my apologies."

He didn't look the least bit apologetic.

"Back to the topic at hand. What does my job entaiI?" Let's just hope it's not another save-the-world fiasco….

"You are to investigate discrepancies in the matters of the living in order to uphold the balance of souls between the worlds of the dead and the living. You do not have to worry yourself about finding the anomalies from scratch. I will be providing you the basics myself. You only have to resolve the situation." He explained and she despaired. This did sound a lot like a save-the-world fiasco.

Also, the ''basics'' didn't sound like much.

"When I do die, how will my duties be… upgraded?" she sighed. He paused a second, as if contemplating.

"Once you die, you will ascend and share my duties as a true equal." Wai-what?

"EH?!"

"You see, death has many aspects, faces and duties connec-"

"I kind of understand that! The question is why and why me?" and no, she was not hysterical.

"You yourself said that the workload is big, do you blame me for wanting help? And none of the Reapers under my command can really take on such duties. As for "why you" you are the first person to gather the hallows and truly understand suffering, in order to be kind. Your "saving people thing" as you so eloquently put it, derives from that understanding. You strive to help others so they don't have to go through what you did."even if the speech was delivered in a matter of fact tone and completely emotionleslly, it still made her cheaks redden slightly.

"Really though? I think you could do better than an insomniac, PTSD suffering, paranoid twenty year old."

"You don't give yourself enough credit Master. And your PTSD is minor." retorted Death doing a dismissing gesture. "Now, concerning your new exploits, you may have noticed some of them. Your sences are sharper and your magical ability has increased considerably-''

''Wait a minute! I have noticed no such thing!''

''That is because of two reasons. You sould vividly remember when you volunteered for those twin wizards you are so fond of. About trying some transformation cookies that were still in the experimental stage. The ones that would turn the user partially into an owl. If I remember correctly, it was something about paying homage to your own departed owl by taking part in the development of the owl themed cookies." Death sounded really amused about continuing "especially since they were snowy owl themed. Some parts of the transformation never went away as you noticed and that has masked the enhancement. The hearing and vision stayed after the 'reversal' and not just the feathery quality your hair has acquired. The only reason you keep wearing glasses is because they hinder oclumency attempts against you, right? As far as magical potential goes the only reason you didn't notice is because you chalked any improvement up to the training you had after you distanced yourself from the British magical community. And the same goes for your physical abilities as well."

'Ah.' "I see. Please continue." She answered embarrassed.

He gave a pause, preparing to continue. "You have also gained access to a few abilities. You can now call me whenever you wish and you can recognize if someone's passing was natural or premature. You can feel the life force of others and their intent, if you concentrate for that matter. You also have jurisdiction over the Reapers stationed in the world you're on and have the ability to make your own Reapers. You can of course ask me to harvest any soul you want and I will try to grant your request if it's within reason. You will be long lived and are now more resilient to injuries. Really, nothing sort of an instantly fatal blow will be able to kill you. Also, your wounds will heal much faster. Do you have any questions before I explain the reason you are here?" he clearly understood that things like that were hard to take in so he was giving her time.

There was a thing that was bugging her." You keep speaking of Reapers. What are they?'' She asked him puzzled.

Death nodded and replied. "Reapers are souls that after their passing choose to serve me and collect the souls of those that die. You should be able to recognize them without much trouble. They have a sertain aura around them. When I say that you can make your own I mean that you can empower souls of your choosing to be your helpers. Where regular Reapers are invisible to the living though, those chosen by you will be able to interact with the living world, so they can be more efficient in helping you. You can employ regular Reapers to various tasks too, as long as they don't interfere with their duties too much. Be careful though because there is an elite squad of bodyguards for this world's…governor you could say, that dress very similarly." So that's what he meant. It reminded of something she had watched at some point back in Clock Tower. An anime a fellow student had gotten her hooked on…what was it called again…

''If you mean Kuroshitsuji, or Black Butler in english, then yes, you are correct. Some of the Reapers have mentioned the similarities."

"Seriously, stop doing that."

Sombering up she continued ''Do those souls I choose have to be human?" she asked with hope evident in her voice. She wanted her beloved owl back.

"No, not necessarily, but they need to be, to a degree, inteligent." Death answered with a knowing tone.

"Wonderful! Walk me through the process." Bella demanded giddily.

"What, right now?"

"Yes, right now."

Five minutes later she was holding a confused and disgruntled Hedwigh to her chest and nuzzling her cheek to the owl's head like an overexcited kitten, while repeatedly proclaiming her love and adoration to the owl that looked ready to nip the daylights out of her if she didn't stop.

She did. Death looked amused.

"What about my parents?"

Death shook his head in pity. He couldn't blame the poor thing for wanting to adhere to what little love she had ever felt. "Unfortunately, their souls have been damaged due to the killing curse and wouldn't be able to withstand the power the process would give them. They would need to recover first which usually takes time."

"I see." She deflated.

"Your godfather on the other hand is already a Reaper. I could assign him to you if you wish." Like he hoped she cheered up immediately. Too much for that matter because she tackled him in a grateful hug.

"Thank you!"

"Shall I go on to explain the reason you are here?" his tone was dry like sandpaper.

"Oh yes, please do." She blushed, embarrassed again. Death had an odd ability to make her feel like a child it seems.

He coughed, as if to clear his throat – how? The darkness in that particular spot was almost see-through. "You may have noticed the stench in the air of this world. And since I caught up to you in this particular village, you may have been able to connect it to the reactor."

So her assessment was indeed true. That means she would have to dig especially deep on that subject. The witch indicated for the being to continue his lecture, while she listened intently, gnawing softly her bottom lip. "You see, those reactors are providing electricity to the people of this world by drawing energy from the planet itself." Oh that didn't sound good.

"Let me guess. They are drawing too much?" because really, why else would she be here then?

He hummed in affirmative. By Merlin, how could a sound like that be so terrifying? That one was like a growling, gurgling noise that you only heard in horror movies. Is there some kind of philosophy behind all this? You know being utterly terrifying? "That is correct. Your duties lie with the fact that the same lifeblood of the planet consists of the departed souls of its people." Oh no. This wasn't good. Not at all. "I have to save the world. Again." Bella deadpaned. "I'm never gonna wash my hands of of this shit, am I?" she lamented miserably.

And Death had the gal to chuckle!

"Well, you did a rather god job the last time."

In other words, not bloody likely.

Perfect.

"So. Any questions?"

Fuck her life.

Linelinelinelineline

In the end, she didn't sleep a wink again. Damn.

Taking of her nightclothes, she couldn't help but think how much of a waste of time it was. Maybe she should start sleeping in her regular clothes?

While pulling on last day's shirt – after a cleaning charm, who did you think she was? – she caught a glimpse of her tattooed arms. Ah, what memories did that bring. Rebellion is so sweet. Maybe she shouldn't have put so much green in her closet though.

'*Sigh.* Should I hide these? They are magical tattoos after all.' Cloud must have seen them, but then again she did tell him she was a witch. 'Meh. Let them be.' She decided before exiting the room, making sure she was quiet. Waking up her hosts at the ungodly hour of 5 pm would be bad…

Hmm, she had more time than yesterday. What to cook this time…? Questions, questions. Something complicated. Maybe she could delude herself that the night and early morning wasn't filled with questions to a horseman of the Apocalypse.

linelinelinelineline

Cloud woke up, again, by a heavenly smell coming from the kitchen. This time he knew though that Bella was cooking. The day was of to a great start.

The sight that greeted him this time was more surreal that the last time though.

Bacause: a) he was pretty sure their table was smaller that that, actually, was that their real table for that matter? He didn't remember the glossy finish, nor the pretty and complex engravings.

b) his mother didn't own or use pans like that. What kind of pan doesn't have a flat bottom?

c) did he forget to mention the fact that the food was being arranged at the table by itself?

"You do know that you don't need to do any of all that, right?" he said voice inquisitive and full of incredulity.

She looked at him as if the very though was unimaginably impossible. "But of course I have to. It's the least I could for you since you opened your home to me so graciously." And really the village did not deserve these wonderful people. "Anyway, I've made us some lunch and a snack for later. Yesterday we weren't well prepared."

'Seriously?' "I don't think that we will have time to eat at all. The Mansion is packed with monsters." He said in a deadpan tone.

The witch gave him her own deadpan stare. Yikes! He didn't stack up very well against her. "Didn't you learn anything from yesterday? Don't you worry about a thing! Everything's under control." She ended it with a cutesy wink and a title of the head. During the short speech one hand had ended on her waist and the other was brandishing the ladle like a wand. " Now sit down and eat. I recommend starting with the rice."

Oookay…

He sat down dumbly.

At that moment his mother came to the kitchen.

"You know that you don't need to do any of this, right?"

linelinelinelineline

Half an hour and a heavenly breakfast later, they were out on the front yard, waiting for Bella to fasten her trunk – why? – to her side and take out her broom – a broom!

"Why do you need that anyway?" indeed, why did she need the trunk? Wouldn't it be at least a liability when fighting?

"You see Cloud, I need it to fight. My fighting style is all about practicality, as thus, I incorporate anything that could be useful. My trunk is very useful, I can tell you. Just wait and see~." She was very cheerful for some reason.

"I see…"

"Come on, we got a big day in front of us." She urged him to mount the broom. Once he was on and holding the handle tight the broom started rising and they headed towards the mansion. The looks on the villagers' faces were even funnier this time. They probably hoped that they imagined the first time.

This time Cloud was assisted by daylight, so he could observe hos surroundings from the air. And it was awesome! Everything looked so much smaller. The monsters in the forest didn't even look threatening.

Wait a minute…

"What about the dragons?" he asked with trepidation in his voice.

"I wasn't able to find one nearby, unfortunately." She sighed mournfully.

'What?!' this woman was crazy!

''Hold on a bit tighter. I'm accelerating.''

linelinelinelineline

They reached the Shinra Mansion without problem and landed in front of the front doors. Bella leveld her wand at him and mumbled something, a protective charm she said. ''I don't know what kind of space I'll have in there. Speaking of…" she cut off at the end absently and fished out an ornament from a pocket of her coat and then attached it to the head of the wand. Oh! It was an attachment!

"What does that do" he asked curiously. The attachment was like a trident, only the two side prongs angled to the inside, precariously holding in place a small clear orb. Its base was a decorated cylinder, which was how it attached to the head of the wand, by locking in place with the two curved metal pieces.

"It's a specialized head that makes my spells much stronger. Well it would be more correct to say that it increases the provided output, as in it multiplies it without draining me as much." She sounded proud. " You see, only high level professionals are distributed licenses in order to acquire them." Oh. That's why.

So she was good at her job, whatever that was, good enough to be allowed special equipment.

Cloud had a feeling that he should have been more surprised.

Bella turned towards the door hyper. "Ready?" there was that shine in her eyes again. Excitement.

He gave a nod. He really shouldn't be. The place was dangerous. But, somehow, he knew it was gonna be fine, and thus turned determined to the door of the mansion.

That determination lasted for all of five seconds because the moment they opened the door, the were accosted by three Dorky Faces. Cloud will forever deny that he hid behind Bella's skirt, fisting his hands in it, terrified beyond belief. Bella on the other hand gave them a look, snorted and then gave him a look too. "Seriously? They look like a bunch of leftover Halloween pumpkins that decided to fail at being scary. I mean, what's with the flower petal dress? Had it been, say, black tatters, it would have been scarier."

Eh?

At that moment, one of the Dorky Faces attacked, spewing purple gas at them. The witch swept her wand in a wide arch quickly, before the gas hit them, generating a strong gust of wind and blowing the attack back at the monsters faces. And they… sneezed? It got them!

''What are those things again?'' was it wise turning her back to them? But then again the Confuse took hold.

''They are called Dorky Faces. That gas was their attack. It could Confuse you. How did you turn it back to them?''

She snorted ''What kind pf name is Dorky Face? And you were scared?'' she turned back tothe monsters '' Anyway, I used a spell called Deprimo.It generayes a strong wind with the purpose of causing damage usually. Although…is that normal'' she asked puzzled.

And she was refering to the fact that the monsters had turned on themselves and attacking each other.

''Well you did turn the Confuse back to them. It disorients you making you think your allies are enemies.''

''Oh. So that's why.'' She perked up ''Let's get this over with then. Incedio!'' and a stream of fire came out of the tip of the wand incinerating the Dorky Faces quickly.

''Before anything else decides to jump us, here.'' She promptly handed him a materia. ''It's an Ice one. I have it double and its unmastered. You can keep it.'' She smiled.

''What? Really? Are you sure?!'' he was elated!

''Of course silly! I wouldn't give it to you otherwise. And now is the best time to teach you how to use. There is no better teacher that battle!'' 'Wai-what?' ''I'm going to make you the best!''

''U-um…maybe y-''

'' Come along now. Let's find the next monster. We will have this place cleared by lunch!'' she said enthusiastically dragging him by the arm towards the stairs.

'What have I gotten myself into?'

linelinelinelineline

He could feel a disturbance. And power. So much power. It suffocated and comforted him at the same time.

Hmpf. Comfort. He didn't deserve it.

But still it was there. At the edge of his consciousness. Tethering in and out of range. There was a sence of dread following it. A vague familiarity. It invoked long forgotten feelings in him. Fear. Dread. Anxiety. Despair. Comfort.

Comfort. This one was different than the one he had felt before. More warm- no, that was wrong. He couldn't place it.

The feeling you get after finishing a long hike (the hike never finished). When you return home to a warm meal after a tiring day of work ( there was no rest and never someone waiting for him). The feeling of the end aproaching, to make things better (they never got better). He never got better.

His demons were stirring. Trying to inch away, but they couldn't. They were stuck with him.

They were afraid.

That was when he recognized the familiar feeling. It the same feeling he had when that bastard shot him, with darkness encroaching. The darkness was his friend.

Death.

linelinelinelineline

''Now remember, envision what you want to happen and focus on seeing it happen.'' Bella was instructing gently. And she didn't admonidh him of he didn't succeed in casting the Icespell. She just told him to try again.

He focused and imagined a shard of ice being launched at the Dorky Face – seriously, the place was crawling with the damn things.

"Freeze!" well…he didn't get as big a shard as he wanted, not even half of it, but it was something. He sighed.

" Good job! And you even grazed it this time! You're getting better!" she rubbed his head proudly. Cloud blushed and stuttered out a thanks.

Her look turned softer.

And that's when the petrified monster decided to break free. And Bella set it on fire without even looking at it. It was actually pretty comical.

"Let's move on shall we? Oh there's a safe in here!" she exclaimed while opening the door to the right. They were on the second floor and not even a moment had passed without being jumped every other step. Gaia, had the ground and first floor been a nightmare to deal with. I mean damn! Just how many monsters did the place have? On the upside the had picked up a weapon in the most eastern room on the ground floor – it looked like a kitchen? Bella had tsk-ed at the state of the room. It looked like two sickles joined at the hilt. It was really cool looking. Bella had twirled it in one hand and then dropped it in the trunk that was in no way big enough for the thing to fit inside. And she just laughed at him! Meany.

"Maybe we should check the rest of the first floor and leave the safe for last?" that sounded like a good idea.

"Sounds good." He agreed. "If we clear out the floor then we won't have to worry about monsters surprising us."

"That sounded straight out of an MMORPG." She giggled.

"A what?"

She froze. "What?"

"What?"

"You don't know what an MMORPG is?" why did he feel like he was committing a crime?

"No…?"

She patted his head and gave him a look so full of pity it was almost overflowing. "Don't you worry dear. We are remedying that crime when we get back." Eh?

"Moving on!" and she was back to cheerfully exploring. Was this woman bipolar!

The room next to the one with the safe was a small greenhouse, the plants thriving in a stark contrast to the rundown state of the mansion.

There, behind one of the benches was a metal contraption that looked like it attached itself somewhere.

"That's an arm canon. It gets attached to an arm stump and acts like a weapon." Said Cloud.

"You know what this monstrosity is yet not what an MMORPG is?" Bella gave him a deadpan stare. " *Sigh* Whatever." And there it goes, dropped in the unknown expances of the trunk.

Next to the greenhouse was a bedroom with three beds in it. It was a bit more disheveled than the rest of the house. It seem the occupants either had a fight or they left in a hurry. Nothing really noteworthy other than a large portrait on the wall.

Exiting to the hallway, they headed to the eastern part of the floor. There was a smal l corridor vertically to the main halfway that connected two rooms. The first one looked like an office but it was bare of personal touch. The only noteworthy thing were some papers that were left on the desk. Bella decided to check them later. The other room was probably a sitting room and had another door that led to a library. Now that was interesting. If what Death had said was correct, and Shinra was indeed a Company that was essentially controlling this world, then this place could be a goldmine. All that was left to do was check the safe now.

"It seems there's nothing in here after all" came Cloud's dejected voice. She ruffled his hair affectionately and giggled when he swatted the hand away and scowled, again. She couldn't help it! Honest! He was just so adorable.

"Now, now. Don't be like that, we still have that safe to check out~." She said in a sing-song voice.

"You're right!" he said, his enthusiasm returning. He run out of the room heading towards the room that had the safe at the other end of the hallway. Bella looked at his retreating back with a small, soft smile on her face, while following him in a more sedated pace. It was nice seeing him act his age. Poor thing was putting on a strong front but in reality he was so lonely.

Once the reached the room she headed towards the safe ready to open it and stopped short. She had a bad feeling. Concentrating, she could feel the twisted life force prowling behind the metal door.

Disgusting.

She cast the strongest protection charm she knew on both Cloud and herself and backed out of the room. Cloud was looking at her in confusion but also worry.

"Cloud, if what I think is going to happen, does happen, I want you to do exactly as I say." She was serious about this.

"Ok."

Once out of the room she grabbed his hand tightly in hers and leveled her wand at the safe. "Alohomora!"

At once, a creature burst out of the opened safe and lunged at them. They immediately run down the stairs to the main hall. They would need space.

"Cloud, I want you to stay away and try to provide support from a safe distance. This is not your regular run of the mill monster. I can feel it" she said seriously, slipping to her "Keeper" persona. It wasn't the first time she encountered such bumps while cleaning out magical spaces.

''What aboutyou?''

''I'll be fine. I've dealt with such thins before.''

Taking a better look at the monsters she couldn't help but cringe. Half red and half purple, the red side had a tentacle for an arm that transitioned to yellow while the purple's side was exaggerated and green at the end. The same with the legs, one tentacle-like and red ,becoming yellow at the end and the other purple and muscular and green at the end.

It looked like those crimes against creation itself that occasionally came out of those game character creators.

The monster tried to hit her with its claw but she managed to avoid it and cast an overpowered Incedio in retaliation. Cloud was a ways back and managed to successfully launch a small ice shard at its face.

"Good job dear! Next time aim a little more to the right and you'll take its eye out."

She cast a Deprimo followed by a Depulso to make it lose its balance then coated the floor under its feet with water with an Acuamendi. It slipped on the water and fell backwards. Well, she didn't have that in mind specifically but…

"Cloud, don't hit the water with the ice Ok?"

"Ok!" Cloud had a inkling to what she was planning.

She quickly took out a Thunder materia and overpowered the Bolt spell she cast. The monster's wet feet completed the circuit and the electricity passed through it wonderfully, inflicting damage, if its howl of pain was anything to go by. So why was the thing standing up like it wasn't affected at all and swinging at her again? So it was resistant to some degree...

At that moment an ice shard was imbedded in the monster's eye on the right side, the purple one, and damn did it howl. Wonderful. With the monster distracted she fired a cutting curse at the tentacle. It sliced right through and the tentacle fell to the ground, green goo coming of of the wound.

"Good job Cloud!"

"You too Bella!"

They couldn't celebrate though just yet. The monster started charging a magical attack and Bella could feel the power building up. And just when it was about to unleash it…

It turned to Cloud.

Damnit!

Bella apparated to Cloud, grabbed him and then apparated again to the top of the stairs where she deposited him. With fury burning in her eyes she turned to the creature and from her elevated position she fired the most overpowered Incedio she could muster on its turned back.

But no. She wasn't done yet. Oh hell no. While keeping a steady stream of fire she dug through her trunk and fished out a vial containing a sickly green liquid. She threw the vial at the monster's feet where it broke and she stopped the spell. The monster started morphing but it didn't matter. The liquid when it came in contract with the air turned into gas. Highly poisonous gas. Also highly flammable.

The monster started hacking and convulsing, caught mid morph. Bella scooped up a bewildered Cloud with one arm and took what looked like a grenade from the trunk, threw it at the monster and immediately run to the room that had the safe, huddled in a corner and cast the strongest shield she knew.

Just as she was done, a mighty boom shook the mansion. Bella highly doubted that there were any monsters left on the ground floor. After she had deemed it safe she let go of Cloud and stood up. Cloud himself seemed to be in shock. Oh no, was that too much?

Snaping her fingers in front of his face he seemed to snap out of it. His wide eyes instantly went to her.

"That was so cool!"

"Really?" she wasn't sure how to react to the excited nine year old.

"Yes! You completely decimated it!" he didn't seem to realize in how much danger he could have possibly gotten if the monster had hit him. Meh. She wouldn't burst his bubble.

Looking at him she froze. His eyes where wide and sparkling with excitement. His smile was just as wide and joyful. He made such an adorable image!

"KAWAI!"

*Glomp*

Nope. She wasn't bursting that bubble.

When he was released Cloud instantly distanced himself from her, eyeing her warily. She pouted. It wasn't her fault he was so adorable.

"Hey look at this. The safe did have something good in it after all!" he exclaimed happily holding a red materia on his hand, high above his head. In the other hand he had a key but held more subdued. Couldn't blame him really. For a kid a materia was more exciting. Where could that key be going though? Well what were Point me spells for?

"Here." Cloud was presenting her the materia and the key. She only took the key.

"You keep that one, sweety. You did good for your first actual battle." She ruffled his hair again.

"But you did all the work." Cloud said incredulously. Why was she refusing a summon materia? Was she crazy!?

"But I don't need. And between me and you, I wasn't really going all out." Well that was true. If she was on her own and didn't have to worry about getting Cloud caught in the crossfire, the battle would have been shorter. A lot shorter.

"WHAT?"

"Close that mouth. You're catching flies. "

Exiting the room they stopped at the top oc the stairs and just stared at state of the foyer. Everything was blackened by the blaze and there were cracks and indentations by the force of the blast.

"On second thought, I believe you. Isn't this though a bit excessive?" Cloud's flat monotone made her blush. She needed to control her emotions better. This wasn't mid war England nor had the monster targeted Cloud specifically because he was close to her. She doubted it even had the mental capacity to make that connection.

She sighed. A scrougify and reparo later she had a pristine foyer and gawking Cloud.

"What? I told you I was a witch. Now let's see where this goes…Point me matching lock." She intoned while pointing at the key for good measure.

The wand hovered a bit over her hand and pointed to something probably past the wall of the corridor, maybe in the sitting room or the library.

It led them to the library, and more specifically to a wall that was curving inwards. Hey wasn't this where the tower should be, at least from what she saw from the outside? Ok. Any person with eyes could figure that something was wrong!

The lock was situated on the side of the frame that had the selves and inserting the key caused the frame to slide back wards and the sideways, revealing a hollow tower with a narrow, winding staircase.

"I do not trust these stairs." Cloud deadpanned.

"Neither do I Cloud, neither do I. We're using the broom."

They were halfway down the tower when something dropped from the ceiling hanging from a chain. This monster had the appearance of a robust, dark skinned, blonde man holding onto the chain. Well at least from the waist up, because from the waist down it consisted of a big, sharp pendulum shaped blade.

Seriously. What kind of shapes were these?

It tried to hit them with its bladed half, but Bella dexterously maneuvered the broom away from the attack and cast a cutting curse on the chain suspending it from the ceiling, causing it to plummet to the ground with a surprised screech. And sent a blasting curse its way for good measure. There was a thump when the creature hit the ground followed by a crashing sound where the curse impacted and then…blessed silence.

She paused in the decent, feeling for any more monsters, and actually discovering three of them trying to sneak up on them from behind. Oh no sir, not happening!

"Hold tightly and be ready to cast" she whispered in his ear. At his tiny nod she turned around quickly and cast a freezing spell parallel to Cloud's Ice one. The Glacieus reached the monsters first and the ice shards that followed shattered them, a feat in and by itself since these monsters were shaped like scales with faces.

"Well I was right. Battle is the best teacher. We've only been here for a couple of hours and your accuracy has gotten much better." she congratulated him.

"You're a good teacher too Bella."

"I might know some people who would disagree with you. My methods were a bit rough for them." She mussed, recalling the training club in 5th year.

"Not all people can handle battle." He answered while leaning back across her front tiredly. All the casting had depleted his energy.

Seeing this, Bella loosened the strap of the trunk, pulled it over Cloud's head and tightened it again until it rested across his chest, security him to her front. At his confused look she smiled gently and answered "You're tired, I can see it. You can rest while I clean up anything that's left. I can't feel too many monsters left." He nodded tiredly and leaned his head on her collarbone to drift of. He was so adorable!

While Cloud was resting she descended the rest of the way down the tower which opened up to a long and wide cave area with chains hanging from the ceiling, where, in a trope she was getting too used to, she was attacked by a creature that looked like a kappa with elongated limbs holding a trident and a couple of overgrown bats. She then proceeded to stick them all together via sticking charms and take them all out with a blood boiling curse. Well it was more like experimenting to see if the curse would work, which it did, so no complaints there.

At the end, the cave was divided in two separate rooms. On the right the cave went for a little longer before leading to a door, while on the left there was a door immediately.

Concentrating, she was able to feel a presence to her immediate left while the right room was empty, so she chose that one first. It was a laboratory and God did she cringe once she entered. The feeling of helplessness and despair was so strong it almost made her double over. There large tubes around the room glowing a fluorescent green and on the desk there were papers and vials containing various liquids. She knew that this place was one of many of Shinra's hidden skeletons but that didn't make it any easier being in the room. She could imagine the depravity that had taken place.

She couldn't be out of there fast enough. So she headed toward the only room left. Opening the door carefully, while having flashbacks of the monstrosity that had come out of the safe all the way, she peeked cautiously into the room. Only to see coffins lining the walls and one extra on the middle. She was having flashbacks of 'Dracula' now.

Closer inspection revealed that the coffin was locked so with no small amount of trepidation she unlocked it and opened the lid.

She was greeted by the sight of a sleeping man. His spiky and unruly black hair was held out of his face – mostly – by a red headband. His lower face was also covered – again, mostly – by the high collar of his...cape? – Ok, if that didn't scream "Vampire" then she didn't know what did.

Aaand her musings were interrupted when the man turned his head, opened his eyes revealing blood red pupils and stared at her dead in the eyes.

She was proud of herself for not screaming, but her yelp was a close thing.

"Who are you?" the man's deep voice was not threatening, but cautious.

"Bella Potter. My sleeping companion is Cloud. What about you, and what are you doing here for that matter?" her voice steady but curious. He didn't feel like vampire but this was another world and it wouldn't hurt to be cautious.

"I do not know you. This place is the beginning of a nightmare. You have no place in here. Get out."

God save her the doom and gloom.

"Mh, that's funny, that's what introducing yourself is for. As far as nightmares go I've had my fare share and the only nightmarish thing in this dump is the room next to this. And business? Well I'm here for a reason. This place has me already strung up as hell. Save me the gloom and introduce yourself like a civilized member of society." And nobody could blame her for being grumpy. The last time she had to do so much cleaning was in Grimauld Place.

He was taken aback. The girl had almost screamed when he looked at her. This was the one generating the aura of Death? And now she was exuding a level of authority he had last seen and felt from Veld. He didn't answer though.

The girl sighed. She gave the room a cursory glance and waved the wand she was holding. He tensed, waiting for an attack.

That never came.

Instead, the coffins around the room closed, and flew across the room were they got neatly stacked in the corner. Another wave and the tip of her wand lit up brightly. With an upward motion the light flew to the ceiling, lighting up the room and allowing the two to look at each other a minute, she was floating on a broom.

A wand and a broom. The only thing missing was the pointy hat.

"I'll need to give those a proper burial" his enhanced hearing caught her disgruntled and sad murmur. She then looked at him with her emerald and glowing eyes. Had SOLDIER started recruiting women while he was sleeping. It would explain whatever kind of business she was here to take care of. Or was she an experiment of Hojo's? Was that bastard here?

"My name is Vincent Valentine. What is your business here? Are they still experimenting on people here?" he stood up better to study the girl in front of him. She had pitch black hair in a bun on the top of her head and she was pale, but not unhealthily so. She was wearing a white garment on top of a black one. He wasn't able to tell with the boy sleep on her chest.

Bella was studying the man as well. His hair was longer than what she had first thought and was far more tame than what it had seemed in the coffin. He was wearing black leather clothes under the red cape and his left hand was in a golden claw. "No, I wasn't experimented on, the place has been abandoned for almost twenty years now. The reason I am here though is mostly curiosity. The rest of it is, well not really confidential but I doubt you would believe me. I wonder, are you the one mentioned in the note I found upstairs? Something about getting in the writer's way."

"Probably. So it's been that long. That's fine. Go and let me get back to sleep." The man sounded so sad and tired.

She sighed "I'm sorry, but I can't leave yet. Chances are that I will be staying for some more days. Why do you want to go back to sleep? You've been in there enough time I think." Her voice was soft, coaxing.

"I must atone for my sins. Now leave me alone."

"I would think that to atone one would have to actually act." She murmured. "Anyway it's about lunchtime. Would you like to at least eat something before going back to sleep?" she was nudging the boy sleeping on her chest who began stirring.

"I go to sleep for five minutes and you end up meeting a vampire" were Cloud's first words after waking up, delivered in his signature deadpan tone. Which was completely lost by the fact that his eyes were still hazy with sleep, his hair even messier due to sleep and the fact that the sentence was interrupted because of a yawn in the middle, causing little droplets to gather in the corners of his eyes.

"KAWAI!"

*Glomp*

"Gaia-damnit, will you stop that!?" the tries to dislodge her were futile though because poor Cloud was still strapped to her front.

Vincent on the other hand had to cover his ears because the screech was that shrill. He wouldn't be going back to sleep, would he?

A black plastic box was thrust into his field of vision containing sweet smelling skewers, pink, white, green and brown.

''Have some, at least one before you hole up in the coffin.'' She offered him the box.

Was this really the one reeking of Death's aura?

Taking one of the skewers and making clear he was taking no more, he watched as she took more boxes out of the trunk she carried with her, or more specifically, the boxes floated out of it by themselves. The two on the broom ate quickly as the girl, Bella, explained to the boy ehat he had missed while he was dozing. All the while conveniently forgeting to loosen the strap and let the poor boy free. Cloud looked dejectedly accepting at this point, letting the overafectionate woman cuddle him.

Biting into the skewer, he found it sweet but not overly so. It was nice.

''Well, we need to be going, I will be seeing you again in the future Mr. Valentine.'' And with a crack the were both gone, the only proof that they had been there the half eaten skewer on his hand.

And he could breathe easier, not being overwelmed by the strange girl's aura anymore.

If she was to come again indeed he wouldn't be sleeping at all.

'I would think that to atone one would have to actually act.' Those words rang in his mind. Was he perhaps going at it the wrong way.

A long sigh escaped Vincent's lips as the clawed hand came up to cover tired eyes.

'Sephiroth…'

linelinelinelineline

A short and nauseating "ride"later, they had appeared with a crack in his house front yard.

"I prefer flying if that's OK with you." Cloud weezed doubling over and holding tightly on the broom. Bella pat him gently on the back. "Everyone does dear. It's an aquired taste really."

She quickly loosened the strap, dismounted and then helped a still weezing Cloud get down.

"Why did we leave so suddenly?" Cloud was pouting. He wanted to fly again.

"Because the man was very sad and wanted to be left alone"

"Does he own the place or something?" he grumbled. Bella in return giggled. "Or something" her oclumency however told no lies and she knew the man needed to think her words over. She wouldn't have dropped them otherwise. "Anyways" her eyes glinted "he have a crime to rectify for~." A shiver went down his spine. "So tell me, what do you know about video games?"

He felt like a dead man.

linelinelinelineline

That night, after an exhausting video game marathon – including Legend of Zelda, Doom and Mortal Kombat amongst others -, Bella was ready to head back to the Mansion.

With a silent crack she was back at the Mansion's second floor and heading toward the first library she had seen. Of course, after an encounter with a mirror monster Cloud had called a Mirage, she decided to head to the entrance and inscribing runes and setting up wards to prevent the monsters from getting inside. After that she swept the entire place up only finding a Dorky Face two more Mirages and another one from the hanging ones, Ghiro-something. Then she headed back to the library.

Which is how Vincent found her, having felt her aura suddenly appear in the Mansion. There, sitting comfortably in a conjured armchair, knees tucked under her and going through books like crazy. Was she looking for something particular?

"Hello Vincent, I hope I didn't wake you up." Her voice broke him out of his musings. Under the dim lighting and so focused on het task, he realized that she was actually very pretty.

"What is really your business here?"

She spared him a glance. "Trying to find as much information on Shinra as possible. It puzzles me though that an electricity company would dabble in genetics. It is quite obvious that the company is nothing but a front but what genetic research I've found so far is so…extreme. I was not expecting a Hitler wannabe."

'What's Hitler?' "Shinra only started as an electronic company. That was only the stepping stone to the President's true desire, which is power. That is the reason Shinra has an entire private army at its disposal." Vincent's tone became bitter. "The company had a science department that was trying to create perfect warriors for that reason. Hojo, the head of the department had his base of operation in this Mansion."

Bella turned her emerald gaze at him. "I presume that you are talking about SOLDIER? And I can also presume that you were one of this…Hojo's test subjects? A failed subject that he proceeded to lock in a coffin and leave for dead? Despicable." There was no hiding the fury and disgust in her eyes. If not from that, the suffocating pressure that made itself known, surely drove the point home. "I have my work cut out for me." She sighed mournfully.

"What are you?" the question came out before he could process it.

She just stared at him in surprise, before the surprise was replaced by mischief. "Why don't you try and guess?"

She then put her book aside and picked up another one.

Linelinelinelineline

The rest of the night had passed in silence and when the sun started to come up, Bella had apparated back to the Strifes' home. She had to cook breakfast.

This time was different from the rest though. For when she was finally over, she felt an overwhelming amount of drowsiness hit her. That was new. She would usually have another fay at her disposal. But she had used a lot of magic, cleaning out that Magic-damned Mansion and then set wards and runes and keep fueling magic to her glasses - that had the extra function of helping the wearer read faster, sort the information and memorize it – for hours on top of that.

On the third day of Bella's stay, Cloud woke up to a heavenly smell coming from the kitchen and was greeted by the sight of the table set with a wonderful breakfast along with a note on the middle of the table. It read:

I am very sorry for not being present today.

I seem to have exhausted my magic resources and am thus extremely tired at the moment.

Do not worry for this is normal for me and I will be sleeping it off until I am better.

Have a good morning.

Cloud felt something heavy in the pit of his stomach. She wad protecting him all the time in the Mansion and had tired herself out. But she treated it like a common occurrence. He really hoped she was Ok

On a positive note, her case of extreme tiredness didn't not make her any less badass, only more human.

linelinelinelineline

When Bella woke up it was about as bright as if was when she went to sleep. So either the early in the next morning or evening. It was not the hour at which she woke up that was strange though. No. It was why? Specifically, because something big, black, furry and heavy was resting snugly on top of her chest and she couldn't breathe.

And then the black lump of fur raised its head and she was looking at two human-like blue eyes.

"Padfoot?"

Phewww! Damnit was the chapter like pulling teeth! And it's long too. I tried to do my best though.

The Nibleheim part is over. She leaves at the next chapter, and u have a lot of ideas for that.

Also….cliffy! Because I like those.

Should you find mistakes or have questions don't be afraid to point them out to me and I will try to clear them up to the best of my ability.

There is an update status in my profile along with additional information but for any who haven't seen it, I try to update once a month.

Please review because it warms my soul, and have a nice day.

~Sil.