"We got a case! We got a case!" the hyper-active ninja yelled, tearing through the small building housing The Avalanche Paranormal Society.
"Goddammitt, kid! Calm yer ass down!" Cid shouted after her, crawling out from beneath one of the TAPS vans.
"Cloud! Tifa! We got a big one!" Yuffie said, chest heaving as she skidded to a halt.
Cloud turned to look at the teen, eyebrow raised.
Tifa rolled her eyes at their leader, standing up from where she had been leaning on Cloud's desk. "Go on."
"A family left their house suddenly after living there for three weeks. They claim something shoved the mother down the stairs. The kid saw, and had, blood on his hands from where it appeared on a door handle. It attacked the father, the guy I was talking to, and tormented them. He, the ghost, pushed the kid's dresser in front of the door so they couldn't get to their son. He hasn't talked much since he saw it."
"What's it look like?" Cloud asked, resting his elbows on his knees.
"He won't say."
"Let me talk to him, then," Tifa whispered, turning to the blonde.
"Ok. Yuffie, tell Barret to get the equipment ready. Tifa, call Nanaki. We're going to need him. These people need help, so let's hurry."
The two women nodded, heading out of the small office.
Cloud sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Please, Minerva, watch over us and protect us as we do your work at ridding this world of demons and monsters create to torment innocent souls…"
"This is it," Cid said, pulling the lead van into the driveway.
Cloud nodded, climbing out of the vehicle and examining the exterior of the building.
Tifa quickly joined him, laying a hand on his arm.
He shrugged it off, approaching the small family waiting near the front door. "Hello, I'm Cloud Strife, founder of The Avalanche Paranormal Society. This is Tifa Lockhart, co-founder and paranormal sensitive. Barret Wallace is tech specialist, and this is Nanaki. He's a demonologist from the local Native tribe nearby. He'll be assisting us as well," Cloud informed them, gesturing to each member as he introduced him.
The black-haired man nodded, shaking each member's hand. "And these two?" he waved toward the two darting in and out of the vans.
"Cid Highwind is our transportation director, and Yuffie Kisaragi is our case worker and video and audio analyst. They'll be monitoring our investigation from the vans with our live feed cameras. They'll let us know if anything happens elsewhere in the house."
Zack nodded, turning to his wife. "I'm Zack Fair. I'm a combat instructor for the garrison in Midgar. This is my wife, Aerith, and Denzel, our son."
"Can you tell us what's been happening?" Cloud asked, glancing up at the windows.
Each of the parents recounted what they had experienced, but the boy remained silent. Tifa knelt down in front of him, whispering to him. He shook his head, looking up at her.
"Denzel, can you tell us what happened?"
He nodded, glancing at the door.
"He can't hurt you out here, hun."
The boy fell quiet for a few minutes before he began recalling his own experiences.
"What did he look like?" she whispered, watching him carefully.
"He…"
"He's not going to hurt you anymore, Denzel. We won't let him."
"He had long, silver hair, longer than yours," he answered softly. He had green eyes, like a cat's. He was really tall, taller then that guy," he muttered, pointing to Barret.
"Anything else?"
The boy shook his head, going back to his spot between his parents.
Tifa glanced up at Cloud, then at Yuffie. "Start talking to the neighbors. See what you can find out about the house's history.
The teen nodded, bolting off next door.
"I'll get started settin' up. Where's the hot spots at?" Barret asked picking up some of the cases of equipment.
"The stairs, for one," Aerith said, running a hand through her son's light brown hair.
"Denzel's room and the laundry room. You can try the basement, too. We've never been down there, though," Zack told them, handing them the key.
Cloud nodded, gesturing to the tall man. "Go ahead. Red, you and Tifa wait out here. We'll let you in to wander after the cameras are set up," he directed them, heading in after his friend.
"Yo boss, you sure about this one?"
"They need help. No one else will help a case this severe."
"Okay…"
