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Chapter II

Denzel couldn' believe it. He was cured. He was healthy. That black ooze on his forehead was gone. No more bandages. No more days spent in bed, too weak to move. And now Marlene was free too. She wouldn't have to look after him anymore. Gods, that girl had done so much for him. She'd constantly looked after him, which in turn had practically saved Tifa. He'd have to thank her.

If he could only find her.

Marlene had disappeared ages ago, and he hadn't found her since. Hell, it'd gotten so that Tifa and Cloud had actually gone to look for her.

What he couldn't figure out was: Why the hell had she left? Wasn't this a celebration? Wasn't she as happy as the rest of them? Why walk out when everything was pretty much perfect? And why hadn't she at least invited him?

Sighing, he pushed his wavy fringe off his forehead, once again feeling the smooth, perfect skin. And once again feeling happy. And still worrying about Marlene. His good mood was dampened, so he drifted to the sidelines and sat there, staring absently into space.

And he remained sitting there, until he heard a new set of footsteps. They were much to heavy for anyone he knew. Heavy and clumsy. They stopped just in front of him. Startled, he jumped to his feet, suddenly finding his face burried in a cascade of dirty silver, shot through with red. It also smelled... coppery... metalic... like... he gulped.

The strands that hung around him smelled of blood. Almost fresh. What would be soft hair clung to his face with sticky globs of maroon. Swallowing a scream, he jumped backwards, stummbling and falling.Terrified, he glanced up, painfully aware that the room had gone deathly quite. He saw why immediatly.

Cloud was the owner of the footsteps, but not the owner of the hair. No, the shock of silvery grey belonged to one of them. One he recognised. Standing tall and proud, slender frame held with such elegance, his movements done with such grace. His head constantly cocked at an angle. And those eyes, demonic, feline, watching, waiting, observing everything from beneath sooty lashes and snowy bangs. This was the one to stand on the right of the one with shoulder length hair. This was the one to watch with no emotion. Not even amusement. Just a calculating look. This thing that Cloud was carrying, it was evil beyond a doubt.

His feelings must've showed on his face, because Marlene suddenly appeared beside him, her features twisted into an expression that was half apoligising, half pleading. He knew she wanted him to hear them out. But, no-one else seemed to want to, and he really didn't. He was on his feet faster then he thought he could move, glaring angrily at Cloud. Several of the people that Tifa had referred to as 'friends' also crowded around the blonde man with the captive in his arms.

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He felt... uncomfortable. His weight was not really being supported. Somewhere in the haze that had become his mind he realised that he was being carried. By someone with bulky arms, thick shoulders and a wide chest.

Loz... it had to be Loz. Loz was the only one he knew that was built like this who'd take the time to carry him. His brother ... was still alive? And so was he, apparantly. Smiling softly, he snuggled closer to his brother's shoulder and started to drift of completely.

An explosion of noise, however, errupted just as his mind began to blank. And that held him between the waking world and sleep. He groaned and twisted in his brother's arms. Loz tightened his grip, holding him still. Loz held so tightly that it hurt. Angrily, he jerked again and pried his eyes open.

The world around him was a mess of colours, running together and moving before his eyes. He couldn't even begin to determine where he was, let alone how bad Loz was. Clearly not that bad, as he could walk. But he had to have been badly injuired. He blinked several times trying to clear his vision and slowly the colours arranged themselves into shapes. Fuzzy images that slowly became sharper.

The face staring down at him, the one that belonged to the one carrying him was first to come into focus. It wasn't Loz. It was the last person on the whole fucking planet that he wanted to be near right now.

"Cloud," he growled. Well, it was meant to be a growl. It came out as a harsh squeak. Oh, go on then! Add insult to injury! Why the hell not?

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Denzel began shouting, a torrent of emotion spilling from him. Anger, pain, hurt, and betrayal. Cloud had betrayed him by bringing it in here! It was supposed to be over! Why couldn't he have just left it out there to die? It was all it deserved after everything it had done. It had hurt so many people! It had hurt him! It had hurt his friends! And they happened to live in this house! The thing that had caused them all so much pain had no right to come into their home. And Cloud had no right to let it! Because Cloud was never here. Cloud wouldn't have to look at this thing every day! Cloud didn't understand! Cloud refused to understand! Why couldn't he just think about what was happening to the people around him for once?

And somewhere in the midst of this, it had begun to come to. Squirming in Cloud's arms, whimpering. It caused him to pause, and before he could even think of starting again, Tifa had run up and wrapped her strong arms around him in a tight hug. She started whispering to him, calming him. Willing him to at least try and understand. To at least listen to Cloud and let him explain. Because there was a good explaination for this.

One they were not destined to get, as it decided to kick up havoc.The slim frame had managed to twist itself out of Cloud's grasp, landing with a hard thump just inches in front of him. Long fingered hands, also streaked blackened crimson, fumbled in the depths of the coat. Obviously looking for some weapon. One it didn't find.

Its unnatural eyes jerked up, eyeing the opposition warily. The entire group that had defeated its monster... against one. Despite himself, Denzel felt a rush of sympathy. It was quickly smothered.

The man in the red cape stepped foreward, his hand reaching out. But it wasn't a threat. It was a gesture meant to calm.

"Come on now," the man muttered, "None of us want to hurt you. We want to help you."

Whatever those words were meant to do, they didn't work. It went berserk.

Ah man! I ended on a cliffie? Well, I won't be updating for a while anywayz... Anyway. OK, so maybe Denzel was a wee bit OOC. I just have a feeling that he would get a little upset if one of the trio was brought back. Just, y'know, they did try to use him with the whole freaky water thing. So, yeah. Just me. And was Vincent OOC? I really don't know.

Well, please review?