Thanks for the feedback! :D And also, a big thanks to Pikana who's been pushing me to write by tempting me with videos of my favorite pairings! XD

Warnings poorly written building friendships and more hinted slash. :D

~~~Line Breaker~~~~~

"I've got a few questions before we head in."

Heather paused, looking back at James, who looked an odd mixture of uncomfortable that he had everyone's attention and determined at the same time. She nodded, knowing that it would have to happen sooner or later, and she was a bit surprised that they hadn't had this conversation already. Still, it surprised her that James would be the one to ask them.

James looked away, seemingly pondering how to word whatever he was going to ask. "How prepared...are we all going back?"

There was an uncomfortable silence. She noticed immediately though that Alex strayed a bit closer to James, reminding her vaguely of a puppy. She raised an eyebrow at the older man.

"What do you mean?"

"Last time I was here..." He hesitated, green eyes flashing. "I had to kill not just monsters...but also people. If that's what it comes to, can we really do that?"

Henry shifted, rubbing something on his upper chest that none of them could see through his shirt. "Yes."

"I'm not proud of it, but I had to kill a lot of Order members last time..." Alex muttered, shrugging. "It's going to be them or us, there's nothing really to consider-"

"It's different when you're alone though." James gently cut him off, sighing. "You can force yourself on, convince yourself that it's okay. But we're in a group of people that'll be watching what we do."

Travis nodded. "We're all also all fucked up in some way that we were called into Silent Hill in the first place."

Heather sighed, tapping her Pipe against her leg. "I understand where you're coming from, but we'll have to deal...we gotta get moving, and I don't want to enter this place at night."

"Where are we checking?" Alex asked. "Silent Hill's a big place, are we just gonna walk around and hope we find something, because that got really old the first time we all did it."

"We'll each pick a place." Henry offered.

Heather nodded. "That sounds like a good idea...We'll all pick one place to check, if there's still nothing, we'll do it again."

"Hospital." James said immediately, causing them all to shudder.

"...The Order Church..." Alex muttered darkly.

Travis and Henry shrugged, though the younger male offered, "I guess the Wish House...But I don't know where it is."

Heather sighed. "I guess...either the Amusement Park or the School..."

"The School's the closets one to us..." Alex had his map out already, looking at it grimly. "I've never been here before, I was mostly around the hospital and church..."

Travis nodded. "One more thing," He turned to Heather, a smirk on his face. "How old are ya?"

"Too young for you." she shot back, rolling her eyes when the trucker laughed. "I'm 19, thank you very much. And before you all start, I'm the youngest here, and the only girl, but I can still kick your asses."

"Yes, ma'am!" Alex saluted, grinning when she glared at him.

"We'll stay in this group unless absolutely necessary." She went on, kicking Alex in the shins when he wasn't looking. "It might be harder with us all grouped together, but strength in numbers and all that."

As they readied themselves and started down the road, Heather hesitated, causing them all to look at her. "Really though, thanks for this...I know it's not fair that I dragged you all into this, but..."

"We were going to have to come back anyway..." Henry replied. "We're here for our own reasons as well."

She nodded and led them down the abandoned highway road, all of them sticking close once the traditional fog began to roll in. Travis was brining up the back, handling a rather impressive looking rifle in his hands and carrying a large bag much like James's.

They came to Midwich Street, the place naturally deserted and devoid of any form of life. Alex and Henry looked around in an odd form of curiosity since they'd never seen this side of Silent Hill (or in Henry case, Silent Hill itself since he'd only explored the forest in the Walter Incident).

"Hasn't changed." Travis muttered, bumping shoulders gently with Henry as they walked. "Never fucking changes..."

"Do we all have our radios on?" James asked the group.

They all made noises of consent, with the exception of Henry. He paused and looked at them all oddly. "...Radio?"

They looked back at him with equally confused looks. Then they noticed that Henry didn't have a flashlight or a radio, making them all gape at him. How did he get through this horrible place without the essentials and lifeline?

"How did you survive without a radio or a flashlight?" Heather asked.

Henry shrugged. "I technically never entered Silent Hill itself...I was always on the outskirts, like the forest..."

The blond girl shuddered. "That's why you mentioned the Wish House..."

He nodded. Travis sighed and went through his bag, pulling out an extra flashlight and handing it to him, showing him how to attach it to his breast pocket.

"Are we really going to go to the school first?" Alex muttered as they walked, feeling disturbed at the lack of enemies. "I get the feeling that place is really going to suck."

"It does..." Heather and Travis both groaned, causing the dyed blond to glare at him as he grinned.

As they stood in front of the Elementary School, though, they all felt oddly at ease now. They were still vastly afraid of what they were going to fight, or what they would find (or in some cases, not find) but at least they knew that they relay on one another.

"Do we have any clues to go on, at all?" Travis asked as they began walking towards it.

"Nope."

"What're we looking for?" Henry asked quietly, examining the sign next to them that read, 'Midwich Elementary School'.

Heather frowned. "James, do you have a picture of your daughter?" As the blond man went into one of his jacket pockets, she turned back to the group. "We're looking for James's daughter, for one...the Order Cult, and there's supposed to be a book that I need..."

She briefly shared a look with Henry, who just stared back at her. She jumped slightly when James showed her the photo of his daughter, sharing it to everyone in their little group. Heather found herself smiling at the picture of the young girl.

"How old is she?" Travis asked, gently taking the picture from him.

James visibly swallowed hard. "Eleven...her name's Laura, she went missing and the police can't find any sign of her...I met her when I was here last."

"So you think she'd come back here for some reason?" Alex muttered, only giving the picture a brief look before looking away. He hated looking at kids.

The green-eyed man hesitated and nodded. "I hope that's the reason...unless someone brought her here..."

He pocketed the picture once they all looked at it, readying his pipe as Heather led them inside the school. Inside, it was murky and foggy still, the atmosphere moist and heavy. Everything looked like it was decaying around them, but still oddly preserved. A look at Heather's face revealed that this was probably normal.

"Dare we call for her?" Travis wondered, leaning over Heather's shoulder when she pulled out a map. "We haven't seen any monsters yet..."

Heather shook her head, staring at the map. It took a moment before the trucker noticed her hands were shaking. He glanced around to see the others exploring the entrance area, so he gently nudged her.

"Are you okay?"

She jumped, cursing at herself for letting the odd nostalgia get to her. Still, Travis was waitinf for an answer so she just nodded. "Y-yeah, fine...Just, this map was...was my Dad's."

"He went through Silent Hill?" He couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. It was odd, meeting a group of people that had survived the place as well, but a family?

"He killed God."

She could see that it meant something to him, the way he stiffened. A fuzzy memory weaved itself over her eyes, of a younger Travis's clean-shaven face over hers as he seemed to carry her out of flames. 'Travis...met Alessa all those years ago?'

"Found another map, just in case." James's voice cut them from whatever memories they were reliving as he walked over and showed her said map, clean despite the obvious aging.

"I'll keep hold of it..." Alex offered, pulling out a red pen from his jacket. "I loved marking the maps."

Heather smiled. "You're such a kid, Alex."

He just stuck out his tongue, grinning when James handed him the unmarked map. "You're just jealous my map is prettier than yours."

"Ladies," Travis cut in. "We should get going. I'm surprised at how bright this place is, we should take advantage of it."

The only female took lead once again and brought them through the double doors, and into the first coridor. Ahead was more double doors, and if Alessa's memory served her right, there was a Courtyard beyond it. 'Apparently, I don't need Dad's map...' That didn't mean she'd give up on using it though.

"Laura likes to draw...and she's really good at English..." James muttered, leaning over Alex's shoulder to read the map. "So the music room and the classrooms we're going to need to check."

Heather nodded. "And the libraray...I doubt the school would have the book I need, but better to check and be wrong..."

"It looks like it'd be a lot easier to split up..." Henry commented. "Though the groups would be uneven...and we risk falling into a trap if this cult you mentioned is still around."

"I thought the whole reason for this little get-together was not to split up?" James muttered but didn't oppose the idea. He just wanted to find Laura quickly.

"But we don't want to waste daylight." Alex pointed out, frowning.

Travis glanced at Heather. "It's up to you, Ms. Leader."

She bit her lip, thinking. She hated the idea of separating, but a large group like theirs would attract more attention. Rolling her eyes, she nodded, motioning for them to decide on groups.

"I'm going to the right." James said immediately. "There's more classrooms, so there might be a sign of Laura."

"Me and Heather are looking for the same thing." Henry muttered. "I'll stay with her."

"I'll travel with them if Alex stays with you." Travis shrugged as he put a hand on Henry's shoulder. "I'll look after the kids. Then we got even amount of weapons in case anything attacks us."

Henry's eyes narrowed slightly but otherwise he didn't argue. James smiled, nodding. "Alright. Make sure they don't get into too much trouble."

"Hush up, old man!" Heather stomped away, dragging both of her new partners with her.

"...Not that old." the blond muttered, ignoring the way Alex chuckled and offered an arm in case he got tired. "Brat."

They checked the Infirmary before going into the next coridor, looking for more supplies. Inside, there were two Health Drinks and a notepad. The paper was so worn that they could only make out '-ason' as the signture.

"Hey, James," Alex began as they walked, getting annoyed that the first classroom door was jammed. "What made you come here the first time?"

James stopped walking, face pale. "I...I just..."

Immediately, Alex held up his hands, feeling horrible that he had gotten such a reaction. "You don't have to tell me...Actually, just forget it, I'm not ready to answer that either..."

"It's stupid..." James muttered, eyes lighting up briefly when the second classroom opened up. "Maybe I'll tell you someday..."

They entered the classroom, shinging their flashlights in case anything was waiting to jump them. Once it was deemed safe, James searched the front of the room while Alex headed to the back. He paused, seeing a piece of paper waiting on one of the desks.

"Hey, James." He called, picking it up and skimming through it. It was covered in blood stains, and he paused when he saw a familiar name in it. "Come look at this."

The older man took the offered paper, frowning.

'To the bearer of the Red God,

'We welcome you back to Silent Hill. It has come to our attention that you thought you had escaped from your duties here but that has been fixed. And not a moment too soon, as we have gained a new guest here to be judged.

'Laura is waiting for you in your special place, under the watchful eye of the Angel of God. If you want her back, you'll need to win over your new companions.

'Eagerly awaiting.'

James's hands shook. Next to him, Alex swallowed hard, wondering if he should say anything. Someone had taken Laura...apparently, to bait James into returning. Why? What connection did James have to this place?

"Red God..." The younger man jumped slightly, hearing the hate and fear in the other's voice. "'Bearer of the Red God'..."

"Who's the 'Red God'?" Alex asked, watching as he folded up the note and pocketed it.

The blond didn't reply at first, staring at nothing. Then he sighed, and motioned for them to keep going. "No one. He's dead."

~~ With Heather's Group ~~

"I can't believe these are all broken." Heather snarled, kicking a door that refused to open for them. "What a waste of a trip."

"James and Alex might be waiting for us in the Storage..." Travis gently reminded her, amused when she just kicked the door again.

Henry watched as the trucker pulled the girl away, continuing past the stairway and into the last coridor on this floor. He glanced down at the map, having taken it from Heather when she started kicking things. It was a rather scary sight.

"Ah, there they are." Travis said once his flashlight caught sight of Alex and James, both of them waiting outside the storage room. "Any luck."

They remained silent as the blond man pulled out a dirty note and handed it to him. Heather snatched it from his hands and read it, brow furrowing further at each line.

"The Angel of God..."

"I've heard of the Red God..." Henry mumbled, face blank when they all looked at him. "In Wish House, a few books mentioned him. That's all I know, though, he didn't have anything to do with my trip..."

Seeing that James wasn't going to say anything, Alex added. "James said he's dead, though..."

Heather frowned, handing the note back to James. "Don't worry too much, okay? The Angel isn't violent, he's a guardian. He's probably protecting her from the other monsters."

"Who is this so-called Angel?" Travis asked. "How do you know him?"

The dyed blond let out a rush of air, blowing back her bangs. "He's the caretaker of the cult's God, named Valtiel. I met him when I was here, sorta...he never attacked me, and whenever I got hurt too badly, he'd show up and ward off the other monsters until I healed...Like I said, he's not violent. He'll protect Laura until we can find her."

"Let's do a quick sweep of the upstairs." Alex said, putting a hand on James's shoulder. "Then we'll get the hell out of here."

They all agreed and went up the stairs, keeping their guard up as they explored. Every single door was jammed though, and they noticed that the light was slowly leaving them. Despite what their instincts said, they decided to go directly to the Library rather than check the rest of the school. There was an odd sense of dread among them now.

"Fucking jammed!" Heather slammed her hands on the door, hoping that maybe it'd buckle and open. "I hate this place!"

"Think we'd be able to knock it down?" Travis asked, looking between Alex and James.

James shrugged. "Never seemed to work any other time, but we were alone then..."

Seemingly ignoring them, Heather kept kicking the door, muttering curses under her breath about the town. Shaking his head, Travis went to pull her away when suddenly, the door opened.

Unable to stop herself, Heather went flying inside, letting out a cry as she crumpled on the floor. Immediately, they all ran in to see if she was alright. She just groaned, pushing herself up.

"That...has never worked before."

A pause, before out of nowhere, Henry gave an odd mixture of a laugh and a snort, causing them all to look at him in surprise. He stared back, face blank. It might've been the lighting, but they could've sworn his face was tinted pink.

"Well, now that my dignity has been sacrificed, let's take a look around, okay?" Heather muttered, though she was smiling.

They all did so, searching through the large bookcases and asking her if they had found anything useful. However, once Alex began listing off every single book on the shelves, she called for them to stop.

"It's a tome." She explained, sighing when Alex rolled his eyes. "It kinda looks like a bible, but it's entitled, 'Recalling the Powers of God' and I think it was colored a dark blue..."

"See, if you had told us that before..." Alex muttered, continuing his search through books.

James smiled next to him, chuckling. The dark haired boy smiled with him, proud that he had managed to make James feel better.

"I'm not seeing any blue books." Travis grumbled, getting annoyed at the cute little titles glaring back at him.

"Our best bet would be the church." Henry commented, having already looked through the books on his side.

"I was afraid of that..." Heather sighed, running a hand through her hair.

Henry nodded, leaning against a table as the rest of the group continued searching. "Wish House was apparently under the care of a different set of the cult...make me nervous about the rest of them, if that was only a tiny group."

"We got nothing." Alex said, dusting himself off.

Travis sighed. "What should we do? We could keep going, but we might need a safe place to sleep..."

"Safe?" James raised an eyebrow. "You want a safe place...in Silent Hill?"

"I'm going to jinx it, but it has been safe so far..." Heather pointed out, frowning. "No monsters, no noises from the radio...it's been totally empty."

Henry rubbed his forehead. "There's nothing really close to us, is there?"

"The only place I think we should head to is the Balkan Church." Heather pulled out the Silent Hill map itself, pointing to said building. "Let's head there, and if needed, we could have someone take watch while the others rest."

James frowned. "We need to head to the Lakeview Hotel as soon as possible, that's where they're keeping Laura."

"But if we're tired and get killed, then no one can save her." Travis said, patting him on the back. "Don't worry, James, we'll get her back."

He nodded, looking displeased. "Alright...then let's get out of here."

They all agreed and left the room, making their way to the entrance of the school. And again, there were no monsters or shadows blocking their path, making all of them uneasy. What was stopping them? Why?

What was powerful enough to keep the monsters at bay?

~~~~Line Breaker~~~~~

Thank you all for sticking by me with this! :D

And before anyone asks; this will have Murphy of Downpour in it, so there will be spoilers to his game eventually.

Also, I'll go into why the town seems to safe for them later! :3

MRIMO