Disclaimer: I don't own Haunting Ground. I don't own Haunting Ground. (said it twice 'cuz I forgot to put it in the last chap.)

And my twisted, horribly modified story continues . . .

Recap . . .

"Is the original Belli still alive?"

"Yes, but barely. He's been creating extremely weak philosopher's stones to stay alive until he finds a good enough Azoth."

"And that would be me, right?"

"Not if I can help it."

"Thank you . . ."

"Don't mention it." That marked the end of their conversation. They reached the other side of the bridge, and saw that there was a mansion entrance.

Chapter Two- Innocent Freak.

Before them stood a huge mansion. It was beautiful, but Fiona knew better than to think that its beauty would be present on the inside. They walked up the stairs, passing a figure that looked human. It was just flesh. It had a head, body, and limbs, but no details. It was faceless. It seemed to be mumbling something, but Fiona couldn't make it out. She approached it, reaching out with her arm, seeing that it still hadn't moved from its spot. Before she could touch it, it lashed out at her. She jumped back, right into Draven.

"Sorry."

"It's alright," he chuckled, "These homonculus are harmless, it's the small ones you have to watch out for."

"Small ones . . ?"

"You'll see." He led her up the stairs and through the double doors. They entered a relatively small hall. It had a statue at the center with a scale. The scale was tipped to one side. An inscription near it said that in order to get out, they scales would have to be balanced. They both agreed on looking for something to balance the scale with. Draven seemed to know the layout of the Mansion, so he led her to a door to the right of the statue.

At first it looked like a boiler room. There was another homonculus here, but instead of mumbling, it was banging its head on the wall. It made a disgusting sound, and Fiona couldn't bare to watch. She cringed, shifting towards Draven.

"Do your best to ignore it, they don't feel anything anyway. You shouldn't feel for them. They're just corpses." He took her hand and led her to one of the machines that looked like a boiler. A small window revealed it to actually be filled with blood. There was a hunk of meat submerged in the liquid. It had several tubes sticking into it.

"Oh my god. What is that?"

"That, is another kind of homonculus. It's halfway through its development, and that's why it looks like that. When they aren't completely developed, well, as complete as they can get," he pointed to the one banging its head on the wall, "and wake up, they thirst for blood. A few good kicks destroy them, but they are still a pain." Fiona looked closer and saw that it looked like an egg with arms and legs.

"Let's go, this place is creeping me out."

"This is just the tip of the iceberg, from here, it probably gets worse. I haven't set foot in this mansion in a very long time." He led her back out of the room. The went to the next door, which was on the left. The next room looked at bit like a cavern. There were also two small homonculus waiting to attack. They attached themselves to Fiona's legs, drawn to her by the Azoth. All she could do was stand there, having the blood sucked out of her because her legs were constricted. Draven managed to kick them away from her, but it did leave her a bit light-headed. She couldn't walk without being in danger of falling over. She collapsed onto the floor, on all fours, trying to get the dizziness out.

"My head is spinning, I think I may have lost too much blood."

"You're right, come on, I'll carry you." He picked her up bridal style, and began to navigate through the halls more carefully, looking for a place for Fiona to rest. They encountered a few more homonculus, but because of her lack in energy, the Azoth didn't attract them as much, which gave Draven excellent opportunities to kill them. After being carried for over an hour, Fiona began to feel bad for Draven. He had gone up and down stairs, opened doors, and traversed a decent section of the mansion, without letting go of her at all. They were in a garden now. They could see a gate a few steps away.

"Draven, I think you should put me down. Aren't you tired?"

"Not really . . ."

"Please put me down anyway, I feel like I'm taking advantage of you." He did as she said, and set her down gently. She began to look at the trees and plants, noticing that there was a strange stone in one of the tree branches. "Draven? Could you give me a boost? I think I see something in the tree." he went over to where she was, and knelt, so that she could stand on his shoulders. He lifted her carefully, until she could reach the branch. It was a beautiful red stone. It was nestled among eggs, so she was careful not to disturb the nest. "Got it." Draven knelt down and she got off.

"That's a philosopher's stone. How did you notice it?"

"It just kind of stood out, I suppose."

"I'll bet that's probably what we need to balance the scale." Fiona nodded, and they turned to the gate. As they approached it, they could hear loud thumps that sounded like foot steps.

Dammit, not him, too . . . Draven immediately grabbed Fiona, pinning her to the wall with his body, and one hand on her mouth. She got the idea of not making any noise, and he put both his arms around her waist, holding her closer and burying his face in her neck, his breath sending shivers down her spine. This movement caused Fiona's pulse to increase dramatically. All she could do was stand still, with her hands on his chest. She couldn't move because of his steel grip. The hurried thumping of footsteps matched the rhythm of her heart, beat by beat. The footsteps began to fade, along with the calls of 'Where is you?'

After the threat was gone, the only thumping was the beat of Fiona's heart. They stayed in that position for a few more seconds until Draven pulled away. Why had his closeness affected her so much? She had been so busy concentrating on her heartbeat, that she hadn't noticed that Draven's pulse was just as fast. But, he pushed it away as a reflex, a reaction to the threat. Fiona was the first to regain her composure enough to speak.

"What was that about?"

"The gardener, Debilitas. He was trained into seeking out potent Azoth. He also extracts it in a very brutal way. He literally rips it out of you. He's like a dog, he sniffs out his target. With my scent overpowering yours, he couldn't find us as easily as he would have, had we been separated. That's why I held you so close, to mask your scent."

"Oh . . . Shouldn't we hurry, before he comes back?"

"Yeah, let's go." They left the garden the way they had come, and searched for a way around the gate. They went through a few more disturbing rooms, such as one where a homonculus was on all fours, licking something off the floor. Fiona had to avert her gaze, and felt like fainting, so Draven took her hand and put his other arm around her waist until they left the room. After about another hour of walking, they finally made it to an underground tunnelThere were entrances blocked by walls of fire, but Draven knew how to put the fires out. He drew strange symbols on the ground in front of each wall. Then, he muttered something under his breath as he pressed his palms to the marks he made. When he was done, water rose out of each marking and put out all the fires at once.

Fiona was taken aback, but then remembered that he was the clone of a powerful alchemist, which means he inherited a talent for it as well. They went up a flight of stairs and came to a small patch of grass by a window. Fiona noticed that there was a smell of burnt meat was coming out through the window. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was a human child being burnt to death.

That was finally the last tug that her heart and mind could take. She couldn't stand anymore, and she fainted, falling back into Draven's arms.

When she woke up, she was in some sort of video room. There were shelves with film and a screen, along with one of those old machines people used to watch really old home videos. She was lying on the floor, so she stood up, eager to look for Draven. She didn't want to be separated from him because of what he had said before. She hurried out the only door there was, and realized that she was in a library. She walked along a narrow cat-walk, reaching a ladder and seeing that she had been walking on bookshelves. She left the library, and walked on a path that was underwater, where she could see several strange fish. She hurried through the path, not wanting to be anywhere near those fish. She went up some stairs and found herself in the tunnels. Draven must have taken me there straight from that horrible place.

She continued to walk along the winding paths, and finally found the exit. She went up another flight of stairs, and found herself on the other side of the gate. She went over to it and unlocked it, so they wouldn't have to go underground again. She left the garden through another entrance, and eventually found herself in a small room with a metal bridge. On the bridge, it read, BALANCE. She figured that this what was they had needed the scales for, and that Draven must have gone ahead and was waiting for her somewhere. She crossed the bridge and left the room, coming to a long hallway. Suddenly, she heard a thumping sound, and knew it was Debilitas. He would find her this time, because Draven wasn't around to shield her. The door burst open behind her, and she fell forward. She scrambled to get up and turned around. Before her stood an abnormally large man with a disfigured face, and large, round, child-like eyes. He had a menacing grin on his face that threw Fiona into full panic. (a/n- of course, I couldn't go through the story without her panicking).

She barely registered what was going on, and knew only that she had to run and hide. She ran through the hall, searching every door for a good hiding spot. The majority were locked, until she came to the last one. Thank God, a couch! was all she could think. She scrambled to hide underneath it, to find the slightest bit of safety. Seconds after she was completely under the couch, Debilitas barged into the room. He sniffed around, but the couch's moldy old smell shielded her Azoth scent. Two 'Where is you?''s later, he left, and Fiona's panic had gone down. She got out from under the couch, and decided to inspect the room. She found a small key on a table and took it with her, leaving the room. Careful not to make any noise, she tried the key on each of the locked doors. She was at the last door when the key worked. She entered a large room that had a pillar of ice protruding from the ground. She went over to it and climbed it, reaching the top in a few seconds. She got off and entered a messed up library. She looked around and found journal entries from an extremely long time ago, marking the beginning of Belli's immortality project. She looked around some more, and found another key. She exited the way she came, wanting to check if the key would work on the locked doors from before.

Fiona realized that was a big mistake. Climbing down was harder for her. She sprained her ankle on the way down, and limped. She turned to leave but saw the door burst open again, signaling Debilitas's entrance. She could do nothing more than fall. She just sat on the floor, staring at the monster in front of her. He approached her slowly, somehow knowing that she would not be able to stand. He kicked her, hard, sending her sliding and crashing against the wall. She hit her head on the impact, and scratched her face against the rough wall. She began to lose consciousness as she saw Debilitas get closer. He knelt over her, ready to rip her to shreds, his weight on her, unbearable. That's when she heard it, and ear-piercing screech. She heard Debilitas yell and felt him get off her, before she completely blanked out.

This time when she woke up, she felt as if she were floating, and something very warm and firm was by her. She opened her eyes and saw Draven's chest. He was carrying her again. She looked up to see his face, worried.

"D-Draven?"

"Fiona! You're awake, I thought I'd lost you." She felt an urge to say, You'll never lose me, but decided against it. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. My head hurts, though. So does my ankle, I sprained it."

"I can fix that." He set her down by a curtain, and took her bare left foot, after she pointed which one, and muttered some words. The pain immediately left and all the remained was the one in her head. They both stood and he put his hands on either side of her face. His middle and index fingers of both hands on her temples, massaging them, while he muttered a few more incomprehensible words. She closed her eyes as the relaxed feeling swept throughout her entire being, beginning at her head and going all the way to her feet and fingertips.

Seeing her with her eyes closed and so vulnerable almost pushed him over the edge. He had an urge to kiss her, but did his best to stay focused on taking her pain away. After a few more seconds, he sensed that it was all gone, and that he could stop. But, when he tried to remove his hands, she wouldn't let him. She stopped him with her own hands, pressing his palms against her cheeks.

"Wait . . . ." She barely whispered the word, but Draven heard her. "Don't stop . . . Not yet . . ." She relish the heat emanating from his hands, the way they cupped her face so perfectly. She wanted him to kiss her, but knew that, if he had wanted to kiss her, he would have done so by now. Her eyes fluttered open, and she studied his face. He barely looked like the portrait at all. How much of Belli was in him, anyway? She removed his hands from her face, and smiled at him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." They turned toward the door near them, and tried to open it. It was locked, so Fiona used one of the keys she had found. It worked and they left the hallway, entering a room with a spiral staircase. They had to stop at the first landing, because rubble blocked the rest of the way. There was no need to see what was up there, anyway. That was where Daniella's body was, pinned to that mirror by a huge glass shard. After that fight, Hewie had led her away to the forest through the gardens. They had walked for an extremely long time, which explained why she had been caught and put in a cell so easily. They went through the door that she knew led back into the mansion. They arrived in a rectangular room. They went down a set of stairs and Fiona noticed that the room had changed. It now had a spiral staircase, going even lower.

They went down the stairs and noticed pedestals. She had seen an identical pedestal in the music tower. She turned it and it shot a moon beam. She tried the same thing with the ones here and saw that one did the same, but the other didn't move. It was missing something. She remembered that she had found a lunar refractor (reflector?). She placed it in the hole and moved the pedestal, capturing the beam and opening an interesting looking door. They went through the door and down a spiral staircase, which ended at another door. The opened it and saw that it was a partially lit hallway. You could only see parts of the floor, everything else was in darkness. Draven lit his hand with an eerie glow and put his hand in front of him, checking where it was safe to walk. As they carefully navigated through the hall, Fiona decided to ask a question that had been burning hole in her mind.

"Draven? Exactly how much of the original Belli is in you?"

"A microscopic amount. Enough to give me small details, like the shape of my face, and my expressions, but that's it. Very difficult to find with a DNA test."

"How do you know about DNA tests?"

"Did you think Ugo was the only one who ever ran away? No one ever pays much attention to me, so it was easy to get away for a few hours a month."

"Oh, ok." They finally reached the end of the hall and opened the door. It was a cathedral used to worship a goddess of some kind.

"I've never been here before . . ." They went up to the altar (A/N-wedding bells!-not). There was a statue there, which held a key. Fiona took the key and turned to leave the room with Draven.

When she turned, Debilitas was there. Draven was fighting him off to keep him away from Fiona. She looked around, trying to find an alternative to having to fist fight the giant. She saw the ropes and mechanisms that held the the chandelier up, and had an idea.

"Draven!" He kicked Debilitas and looked to see what Fiona was looking at. She pointed at the mechanisms and he understood. He baited Debilitas to one, while Fiona did the same with the other. Debilitas himself broke the golden pulleys. He broke Fiona's first, so she headed to the altar. Then, noticing that Debilitas had once again set his sights on Fiona, Draven used all his might to break the second pulley. Debilitas was too slow to react to the falling chandelier, and the fear stunned Fiona. Draven moved with adrenaline enhanced speed and pushed Fiona out of the way, putting his arms around her. As they fell, he turned so the he would fall on his back, to avoid hurting Fiona. The chandelier fell on Debilitas, knocking him unconscious.

Fiona looked down at Draven, never having been happier to have met someone before. She hugged his neck, resting her cheek on his chest.

"Thank you. I've lost count of the times you've saved me . . ."

"Don't worry about it." They heard Debilitas stir beneath the chandelier before Draven had a chance to return the embrace. Fiona jumped off him and he sat up. They stood and looked at Debilitas, who was moving the chandelier, and getting up. He walked towards them, not in a menacing way, but a humble one. He bowed to them, and turned to leave. Once he was gone, confusion filled both of them.

"Does this mean he won't come after me anymore?"

"Only one way to find out."

Well, that's Chap #2. I'm passing pretty fast through this story, aren't I? There'll probably 2 or 3 more chaps before it's over. I'm not going to start any long fics until I get out of school, which is in about a month, so expect random oneshot songfics.