Author's Notes: I am alive. College is suffocating. Here's a new chapter. Cool.

An alien made as much sense as a parasite or a clone at this point, but that did not stop Fang from doubting the reality. Why in the world would Zelos think that it was an alien and why had he not mentioned the theory until that moment? Fang could not answer those questions on his own so he had found himself wandering the streets of Triet, eyes glued in front of him but not really seeing anything that helped eliminate the confusion.

If these were aliens that were doing this (which Fang reluctantly admitted seemed possible, considering that Fang was from another planet himself), what did they look to profit from by taking over the positions of a couple of war heroes? Fang thought it through again and again, coming up empty handed each time he rolled the thoughts through his mind.

Fingers tightly clenched into his palm, his hands shoved deeper into the depths of his pockets. One dirty shoe kicked at the sand right as a gust of wind whipped the tiny rocks up and into his eyes. Scowling, Fang shut his eyes and began to wipe away the dirt from his stinging dark orbs.

When he reopened his eyes, he found himself face to face with the small oasis that Triet centered its life around. He sighed and lurched forward slowly, easing into a squatting position as he looked out at the waves.

There was also the fact that Zelos was delusional. Anything he said had to be taken with a grain of salt, Fang grudgingly noted. He ran a hand through his hair, taking off his black mask so that it hung around his neck like a newly invented scarf. The people in Triet were so far from Meltokio that they had either no means to report Zelos and himself or they didn't want to. Either way, the town had become a haven over the past week, further amplified in safety by the fact that Genis was there.

Fang's stomach curdled at the thought of Genis. He was a sour boy of his own age, but something about him rubbed him raw after more than a few moments. Although he appreciated the silver-haired mage's help, he didn't trust him any more than he trusted the nameless inn keeper who had given them a discount for their rooms.

"This is the first time I've seen you without that mask on your face. Why is that?"

Fang turned his head, lifting his chin up to look into the honeyed brown eyes of the woman who had spoken and found himself surprised by what he ended up seeing.

She had a raspy voice, which had made him suspect an older woman worn by age and the world around her. Fang had pictured something tougher than the blonde girl before him. She was tall by the standards of a normal human, although she didn't hold a candle to Fang's own height. Probably around 5'10" but the heels on her boots made him second guess himself. The brown boots were as dark as mahogany wood and they reached up to the middle of her calf. The boots were curtained by a sheer red skirt that gave just a peak of the girl's tanned skin before a thicker red skirt underneath the transparent layer covered her from just under her bottom up to the clinging cut that rested the skirt comfortably above her hips. Her shirt was white, long sleeved only for the sake of decoration, as it too was sheer and thin. In fact, the only part of the shirt that had enough clothe to actually hide her body, Fang realized with reddening cheeks, was the white stripe of thickened fabric that ran across the girl's bust and lifted her breasts up for support.

There was no jewelry on her neck or wrists, but two tiny hoop earrings made of copper hung from her left ear. All of her long frizzy blonde hair had been braided and twisted so it only rested on the right side of her head. She was pretty. If Fang had seen the girl in normal clothes and simply glanced at her, he would have thought she was Max. Upon anything longer than a two second glance, though, it was clear that this tanned and yellow-haired girl was not Max at all.

"You don't say much do you?" She smiled a small smile, accompanying it with a tilt of her head and the sliding of both of her feet so, in just a few short moments, she was now sitting right beside him with caramel eyes locked on his face.

"I was just… thinking about something." Fang turned away from her to look at the water because he wasn't sure just how long he could look at this girl's face without his eyes wandering to her chest.

"Hopefully you were thinking so hard so you could answer my question."

"What?" Fang looked back at her for just a moment before turning back to the water.

"Your mask!" She leaned over and into his personal space, lifting her hand to grasp the black fabric around his neck. She tugged a few times, causing Fang to lean back in compensation so he didn't fall over. A scowl came to his lips and he flicked her hand away. "I've never seen you without it until just now. What's up with that, pretty boy? I thought you might have been deformed." She smiled larger and let her hand rest on the ground between them, still leaning close towards him.

"What's your name?" Fang asked, scooting away from her just a bit so there was a bit space between them.

"You never answered my question."

Fang arched his eyebrows and smirked, sending her a silent 'I don't really give a shit' look.

"My name is Vinny," she announced.

"Fascinating," Fang said.

"Don't be a shit-head. You're the one who asked," she snipped. The smile turned into a pout and she glared at him. "Why the mask all this time?" she demanded once more.

"I have a rare skin disease."

"What's it called?"

Fang stared at the water and said nothing.

"Fine," Vinny exasperated. She stood up to her feet. "I can take a hint."

"Could have fooled me," Fang mused, a light smile forming on his lips.

"You turn away many more girls and keep hanging with that she-man and people will get the wrong idea," she warned.

Fang turned and looked up at her. "You've seen him?" he inquired.

"Well, it's a tight-knit community. Genis told us you two were on our side and a little about each of you. Granted, we got more information about the pretty-boy than we did about you." Vinny rocked back and forth, rotating a bit with the help of her heels. "He said we could trust you though." Her eyes locked onto his eyes, saying nothing now.

There was a silent inquiry in her gaze that made Fang feel suddenly guilty. The reason they were in Triet was to make allies and here he was turning this girl away simply because he wanted to sulk.

"You can trust us," Fang assured.

She smiled again. It was a chipper sort of smile that gave sight to an endless energy. "I hope so. We've been waiting for a messiah, mister." She turned to walk away from him, getting about ten steps away before Fang stood up.

"Vinny!"

She turned her head and arched her left eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"My name is Fang." He was standing now too. His face was oddly serious for such a casual sentence.

Vinny smiled. "Nice to put a name to the face," was all she said before turning and sauntering off to the inside of the city.