Cheryl wished she knew more about first aid. Luckily, Vincent did seem to know something, and what he didn't, Harry did. After a while of watching Vincent work on her father's leg and watching her father watch him and give directions, she looked around the room. Looking for something to do, something to keep her from dwelling on the fact that they almost died.

Her eyes fell on Travis, at the other end of the room, staring at the pictures on the mantel.

She headed over to him. He looked so serious… and maybe a little bit sad.

Is there anything I can do to cheer him up? Anything I can do to distract him? And on the heels of these things, came a rather silly one. I wonder what he looks like without the hat? She considered that for half a second before following through. After all, it would work as a distraction, right?

She lifted up his hat and put it on her own head, turning it backwards, so the brim didn't block her view of his face. "What are you looking at?" she asked, in her best innocent voice.

He gave her a look, like "What are you doing?" and she just smiled. He didn't take it back, hold out his hand for it, or even say anything, he just sighed, and she thought she might have heard fondness in there, as he gestured at the pictures. "These. Notice anything?"

She looked at the closest one. It was of a black haired boy, standing there seriously, looking at the camera, adjusting his glasses slightly. Despite the serious tone, Cheryl noticed just a tiny bit of a smirk lurking in his eyes and along the corners of his mouth.

"It's a younger Vincent," she said and looked at him, and he nodded without looking at her, staring at the other pictures.

Cheryl remembered how she found him, this man. That huge snake monster was choking him. He'd looked helpless, powerless- but right after she saved him, he'd saved her. (And there was a thought in the back of her mind, something about fire and open doors, but it was so far back she knew she couldn't reach it, so she ignored it before it gave her a headache).

"You knew this guy when you were younger right?" Cheryl asked.

He picked up a picture and showed it to her. There were four kids in it, two boys and two girls. One of them was Vincent, and he looked different somehow. More at ease. Next to him was a small blonde girl with a shy unsure smile, but her grasp on Vincent's hand was anything but unsure.

To the right of them was another pair. A blonde boy, looking slightly older than the other three, and behind him, almost hiding but not quite, is a girl with past shoulder length black hair. Unlike the other children, they weren't looking at the camera, but at each other. The boy looked amused, smiling fondly down at her. The girl had an odd smile, as if she knew a secret, and was about to share it with him, and only him. Again came the tugging feeling at her brain. Her finger rose of its own accord and pointed at the blonde haired boy. "This is you?"

"…It used to be."

"Come on now children!" Vincent called with evil glee, clapping his hands. "It's story time!"

Cheryl caught Travis rolling his eyes and laughed. He chuckled back and they headed over to the couch.

"So," Vincent said eagerly, rubbing his hands together as they sat down, "where should I start?"

"Try the beginning," said Cheryl in a not impressed voice.

Harry, sitting next to her with leg bandaged, spoke up. "I still don't know the whole story. The beginning sounds good to me."

On Cheryl's other side, Travis just nodded. He thought he knew what was going on now, but he wasn't sure.

"A long time ago," Vincent said, "in this… quaint little town of Silent Hill, there lived four little friends. The first, the youngest, was a weak little girl named Claudia Wolf. She couldn't do anything by herself, but she had rather impressive powers. Then there was Vincent Fadan," he put both hands on his chest and smiled smugly, "yours truly. And then there was Alessa. Alessa Gillespie. She had powers even more impressive than Claudia's. She could be a bit of a brat, but even though she couldn't protect herself, she tried to protect others. A bit stupid really, but …sweet, I suppose. And then there was the oldest."

"Me," Travis said. He could almost see it, the classroom where they always met, him by the window, Alessa close to him, next to him (and in the back of his head, Lisa's words "She says she's going to marry him when she grows up," echoes but he tries not to think about them) and Claudia and Vincent nearby, Claudia chattering and Vincent looking up from his newest book-

Vincent nodded. "And all of them had at least one parent involved in the local cult. This cult believes in a god, which most assume to be female, although some say it's male, which was going to bring about paradise, but died before it could do so."

Cheryl snorted. "That's some god," she said sarcastically.

Vincent shrugged, not agreeing or disagreeing. "And it needs to be summoned in order to bring about paradise."

"What kind of paradise?" Harry asked, somewhat hypothetically.

Vincent pushed up his glasses. "Let's just say, there's a reason I'm on your side. However, Dahlia Gillespie, Alessa's mother, didn't, and doesn't, think the way I do. And she realized that by using Alessa's great power, she could summon it.

She sealed Alessa in her house, used the proper ceremony and the proper symbols, and she set the house on fire."

There was a gasp of horror. Travis wasn't sure who it came from. In his mind, he was reliving it in flashes. It wasn't like the dream he'd had after leaving his truck- he'd heard her voice in the middle of the night, screaming his name. Panicking and not thinking, he'd followed the voice without questioning, running to her house and opening the door- blast of burning air, and something rushing past, knocking him over- looking up to see Alessa running away, getting up and chasing her, had been chasing her for a while, even though he couldn't see her anymore, when Dahlia Gillespie had stepped out of the shadows.

"Do you really think you've actually helped her? You fool! You've only freed half of her! The rest of her is still back in the fire!"

"It's hard to tell for certain-" Vincent was going on. "But it seems like Alessa had learned that she was to be used as a sacrifice. So she kept a certain artifact with her called the Floros. Using that object, Alessa could focus her already impressive powers. With all that Dahlia had done, however, at first all Alessa could do was call for help. A call that she directed to the person that she trusted most to protect her." He glanced significantly at Travis. "When you came and opened the door, that was enough for her to send a portion of herself out to escape the trap. And without that portion of herself, without that portion of her power, the summoning couldn't be completed."

"What happened to it? To that portion of herself?" Harry asked.

Vincent fiddled with his glasses. "…it became a baby girl. Alessa left the baby on the side of the road, and apparently" and it was odd how he stressed that word, "someone found her and gave her a good home."

"What about the part of her that was left behind?" Travis asked urgently-if only I hadn't gone chasing after the one that was already safe!-

"She was left with burns that would have killed her if not for the thing that was, though incompletely, still summoned inside of her. Not healing but not dying," Vincent shook his head, and Travis felt better, somehow, at seeing that his old friend still did care about others. "…the three of us went to go see her at the hospital."

"I remember that. I remember Claudia clinging to your arm."

"If you hadn't been walking so far ahead and so fast, she'd probably have been clinging to yours," Vincent retorted, but the irritation was quickly replaced by unease. He hesitated, briefly, before continuing on. "… when we found Alessa, she was surrounding by the cult…your mother included."

"I was trying not to remember that part, but yeah… the whole cult knew that I'd helped her escape."

"Yes. In a way, Dahlia may have saved your life. Of course, it was only because she wanted to use you in some sort of ritual to summon Alessa back, but it kept the other members from killing you. And then your mother was arrested for trying to kill you anyway, and your father took you and moved away, out of town."

"Talk about ironic."

"So the cult was left without leads. They didn't know where you and your father were and they didn't know where Alessa's other half had gone to, so they kept her in the basement of the hospital. They did start a summoning spell for the other half, but it seemed to be a just a dull pull.

And then, years later, a man came to town. Said he was doing research for a book he was writing. Nobody paid any attention to him, thinking he was just another tourist, until he broke into the hospital and with the help of a nurse there, ran other with Alessa's other half.

According to my sources, that man's name was… Harry Mason."

Vincent sure likes his drama, Travis thought, I'd known that since you began talking. Still though, he couldn't help but turn to look at the girl next to him, sitting ramrod straight and.

"Judging by her reaction," and Vincent kept talking, "I guess you didn't tell her anything, huh Harry? Trying to keep her on your side. Not that I blame you, you sneaky guy-"

"Don't talk to my dad like that!" the girl said, fists curling.

Vincent winced and held out his hands, trying to look apologetic. "Sorry. Don't get mad."

She didn't used to be that fiery. But back then, her calmness had added to her scariness, had helped her defenses. Maybe it had been a relief for her to stop being calm, to start being loud and noisy.

"Anyway," Vincent said, "we've reached the limits of my knowledge. Mr. Mason, why don't you tell us your story now?"

Harry looked at him a moment before sighing and running his hand through his hair. Then he looked at Cheryl and put his hand on her shoulder. "You know I'm your father and I love you no matter what, right?"

She wasn't happy, Travis could tell. It was written across her face. But she trusted this man- Travis could see it in the way she smiled gamely at him. "I know. And Dad? I love you too. No matter what."

He nodded at her, still smiling gently, before he turned back to the others. "For about a month before I came to Silent Hill, I'd been having weird dreams. I'd hear laughing, of the typically evil sounding kind. And then I'd hear screaming and crying. I'd see an old big house, sometimes on fire, sometimes not. I'd see the outside of Alchimilla Hospital. And then lastly, I'd see the town sign "welcome to Silent Hill". And one day, I'd mentioned something about nightmares at the breakfast table, and then I'd learned that you were having them too. After that, I knew that whatever was going on, I couldn't afford to ignore it. I grabbed a notebook and came to Silent Hill.

It was easy to find the hospital, but I decided to save that for last. It's not like I knew what I was looking for.

I thought I'd be hours finding the house, but right after I left the hospital, I was shown the way by a small girl in blue, who never spoke. And after being led around a number of other places I kept finding pieces of a puzzle known as the Floros. After I found all of them, I was summoned to the hospital.

There I met a nurse called Lisa. I realized that she was guarding the basement. But after telling me she couldn't let me in, she was easy enough to distract with conversation. I think she was lonely. After a while, I tried to sneak in a question about the girl I kept seeing." Harry chuckled. "I guess I'm not as subtle as I'd like to be, because she immediately knew who I was talking about. She was almost panicking over it for a while, but I managed to calm her and convinced her to let me take Alessa out of there. At that point, I didn't have any plans other than that. I didn't know what could really be done for her. I just knew I couldn't leave her there.

Lisa lead me to the room where Alessa was kept- I've never seen a person so badly burned. While I was picking her up, a doctor came in, and he began arguing with Lisa. I think she called him Kauffmann. I didn't pay much attention to what they were saying, I was too busy trying to find a way past him and out of the room, a way that did not involve giving up Alessa.

Then he grabbed her, and she pulled away, yelling- and then he shot her. Right in the face, point blank range…I'm sure she died instantly.

There was nothing else that I could do for her, and he was going to turn the gun on us at any moment so I just ran, keeping a tight hold on Alessa as I ran. Doors that I knew opened to lead to unfamiliar hallways…I think Alessa must have been helping me escape.

I got to the car, put her in, and got out of town. I was going to take her to the hospital, the one in Portland… I told myself I'd take her to the hospital once I checked in at home first. When I reached the house, I saw Cheryl-" and he squeezed her hand, "out in the yard, playing. I picked up Alessa-I didn't want to let her out of my sight. After I covered her with one of the blankets we kept in the car, I went to go check on you, while carrying her.

As I got closer, you looked up at me and started to smile- but before I could say anything Alessa started glowing... she turned into a million points of light, all of which entered you. You cried out and then fainted. I rushed you inside the house and about a half hour later you woke up. You had no memory of anything that had happened that day, but other than that, you were fine.

And honestly, you not remembering was fine with me. I wasn't sure what exactly had happened to Alessa, but I knew it had been bad, and the type of thing that I didn't want you knowing abort until you were older.

After about a week where nothing happened, and after I'd taken you to a doctor for a check up and they said everything was normal, I figured it was all over. I thought that as long as I kept you away from Silent Hill, everything would be fine."

"Too bad for you, the Order is very persistent." Vincent said.

"We've noticed," Travis said, a bit dryly. "So that thing that they want to summon…it's still…"

"Inside me?" Cheryl asked, in a voice that sounded a little bit afraid, but mostly angry.

Vincent nodded, slowly, obviously not liking the answer he was giving. "It's sealed for now, but it wouldn't take a whole lot to break the seal. Any strong negative emotion would do the trick. That's why, in the minds of the order, killing either of those two" and he gestured toward Harry and Travis "or perhaps me- would be killing two birds with one stone. Get revenge and fill your heart with darkness."

"Is there a way to kill it?"

"Or at least seal it for good?"

Vincent smirked. "Yes. Mr. Mason, how are you feeling?"

Harry winced. "I've been better. I don't feel too bad, but I don't think I'm up to walking anywhere. You have a plan?"

"I do indeed. You're being stuck here will slow it down, but shouldn't make too much of a difference. If we really want to kill it, we'll need two things. The Flauros, which Alessa and Harry, have used before and a substance called Aglaophotis."

"A-what?"

"Aglaophotis. It's used for getting rid of evil spirits, among other things. That Dr. Kauffmann, the one you ran into, is also sneaky guy. I'm sure he has a sample of it. Not to mention, him being a high-ranking member, he knows where the Flauros is. If he hasn't somehow managed to get a hold of it himself.

In other words, somebody needs to go take a trip to the hospital. Of course, with his injury, it's best if Harry stays here. I can stay here with him, and you two go and find Kauffman."

Cheryl thought about it a moment and shrugged. She didn't want to leave her dad, but she couldn't let Travis go by himself. And Vincent was trustworthy. She looked at him smiling and rethought that. But even if she ignored the feeling of knowing him and trusting him, he had saved Harry's life. In front of a fellow cultist. And of course, Travis was-

Cheryl suddenly turned red at the return of memory. -She-had-asked-him-to-marry-her. But that had been a long time ago. She sighed in relief. He probably didn't remember. She squashed the small part of her that was disappointed by that.

But that just reminded her that he'd said yes. That's not important! She told herself sternly. You've both grown up and changed and he was dressed all sloppy in plaid and a puffy vest!

But you like plaid and puffy vests.

Not together! Cheryl sighed and stood up. "Sounds like a plan to me."

Regardless of any feelings she had or did not have, she trusted Travis.

"Why don't you go to the hospital, since you know where it is and who this guy is and everything?" Harry suggested, the look on his face clearly stating how little he liked this plan.

Vincent shook his head. "They know to look for me. Everyone knows my face. But while they know to look for Alessa, they don't know what Cheryl looks like. Besides, I dislike getting my hands dirty."

The other three gave him identical looks of "what are you kidding? Now is not the time."

"Don't worry Dad," Cheryl said, turning to smile at her father, "I'll be fine."

Travis (wanting to reassure him as well), ran through a list of possible things to say. "Don't worry, I'll protect her." summed up how he felt, but sounded dumbly macho and Cheryl probably wouldn't appreciate it.

"Don't worry," Travis said aloud, "she's already saved my life a couple of times."

That seemed to be the right thing to say.

Harry looked relieved and Cheryl smiled at him.

Vincent clapped his hands again. "Let's go people, we don't want to run out of time!"

OoOoOoOo

For some reason, this was a really hard chapter to write. And Vincent is fun, but I'm not sure about my characterization of him. (Sigh) and since the powers that be hadn't named him before I wrote this, I chose Fadan. I can't remember why I chose it, but it's his now. Although calling him Vincent Sparrow would've been oddly fitting (to my mind anyway).