[...{Meanwhile}…]

The apartment seemed to fill with bitter silence the instant the zombie fled the room. Conrad didn't actually mind, although he did find it a little...unsettling...That Hanna was so still. Before that day, Conrad wasn't even sure that kid could get sick. Nothing ever put him down - Except maybe the attack from that one ghost, and maybe Adelaide, but she did that to everyone. Glancing nervously over his shoulder, the paranoid half of Conrad Achenleck couldn't help but wonder if Hanna had been assaulted. Zombie had said they'd been to that hack already, and if Worth couldn't fix Hanna, there was obviously more to the story.

Deciding he would wait till Hanna woke up to ask questions, Conrad made himself comfortable on a chair across the sofa, finally getting a better look at Hanna. The redhead was practically gasping for breath, although the way Zombie had laid him down made him look casual, almost conscious, with his right arm thrown over the side of the couch. But there was something different...Conrad leaned forward, squinting to get a better look at Hanna's palm. There were two runes there...Neither of which he'd seen before. Both seemed to be fading away. But before he would think about the foreign runes, Conrad was startled as Hanna opened his mouth and let out a raspy cry. He sprang to his feet, and looked over Hanna with pity and guilt. He'd almost dumped him on Zombie, who wouldn't have had the necessary aid to help the kid.

"...Hanna?"

Conrad stepped gingerly towards the couch, still instinctively afraid of catching Hanna's fever. however when Conrad got closer, he realized two things; one, Hanna's mouth was filling with blood, and two, when Hanna opened his eyes, they were both yellow. Jaundiced. Conrad began to panic. Should he have gotten water for the blood, or should he take Hanna to Worth? Conrad began to feel horribly dizzy, realizing Hanna's blood was making him thirsty. Quickly covering his nose with a rag he'd gotten to wipe up possible spew, Conrad lifted Hanna from the sofa, his human instincts kicking in. It was then that Conrad came to the third conclusion; that gurgling sound Hanna was making? He was trying to scream. Conrad didn't know where the zombie had gone, but he knew that he was the only one who actually knew anything about Hanna's disease, because Conrad didn't have the time to cart the kid to Worth's.

"Fine, I'll start out, then. I'm Claus Cross...And you are - ?"

My face turned from blankness to something close to a grimace. It didn't seem Claus was out to harm, although he was throwing an icicle into the air and catching it again, as though it was an instrument of sorts. I tried to focus on his words instead of his weapons; I detested that tone - that overly-earnest tone. Motherly, almost, as though I didn't know how to be a proper human being. At my side, my fist curled, and judging by the twitch in his lips, I'd venture that Claus had noticed it. But I had to be careful - I'd come for answers, or at least clues, not a confrontation. I tried looking away from Claus, tried ignoring him, but my eyes were met with a sickly sight; in the dry grass behind Claus lay several dead birds. There were thin and sharp icicles sticking through each of them.

"I don't have a name...But I know one you might be interested in...Tell me what you did to Hanna."

Claus's eyes narrowed at the mere mention of Hanna. Other than the instinct to compose myself, I couldn't help but watch the apparition in bewilderment; he was very different from the ghost of Lee. Whereas Lee had been bony and solid-appearing, Claus looked to be nothing more than a silhouette behind a cloud of colored smoke. Or at least, he did when he was bothered.

"I've seen you two together - you treat him like he's a good person."

"...Isn't he?"

"Are you kidding me - didn't you see the memory? Hanna shot me when I was in diapers. I'm pretty sure that makes him the bad guy."

I raised a brow. How could Claus possibly remember something from his pre-childhood years? He had no proof that Hanna committed the execution. The investigators had no evidence binding Claus's death to Hanna.

"I saw the memory, I saw the thief - "

"Oh, please. That's what the doctor thought. I'll let you in on a secret; they're Hanna's memories. He implanted the robbery. When he went into my room that day, he planned to shoot himself and I. The idiot just forgot to put two bullets in. You can choose to believe what you will; I know the truth."

I had to stop myself. I was here to help Hanna, not get him in trouble. I could see Claus shaking in the anger of his death, and my voice became slightly softer to suit the change in mood.

"I choose to believe my friend, and stand by him...But won't you help him? He's fallen sick and -"

Claus couldn't seem to stop himself from exploding with laughter, so I waited for him to finish, suddenly finding myself thinking about Jekyll and Hyde. But as I observed...I could see Claus becoming...More - Well, solid. Could a ghost become solid? I wasn't sure if it was wise to ask, although it was a good distraction to keep myself from attacking him.

"Hanna Cross doesn't get sick. Not naturally sick, anyway. Only humans can get sick."

"Well I'm certain he's not faking to get out of gym class-,"

"Then make double certain. Hanna is about as human as I am. Actually, he is as human as I am - I suppose..."

Before I could even open my mouth to question Claus's statement, I heard to my far left the screeching of gates and the unmistakable shouting of Conrad Achenleck. Glancing forward to see Claus's reaction, I was only half-suprised to see the ghost's mouth become a appalling grin at the sight of his dying brother. But the longer I looked at him, still more solid he would become. By the time Conrad was clawing his way up the hill with Hanna on his back, Claus almost looked human, aside from the grin and the blood on his face from the frozen-in-time gunshot wound.

"His eyes are all yellow - he's been screaming, but he just stopped - Who the hell is that...? What happened to his face!"

"Claus Cross. Oh, good...you brought Hanna."

Thanks again to Kirsten-Korona, who helped me out a lot with the making of this chapter, and to everyone else who reviews and reads! It means a lot, guys!

Only a couple chapters left - and maybe an epilouge! I plan on making it a tear-jerking ending, though, so get ready!
And I've already got an idea for my next project!
Tessa owns HiNaBN, clearly, and I own the fanfic and the character Claus.

Should be an update on Friday or Saturday! Sorry again about Tuesday.