Fran wasn't entirely sure why Squalo wouldn't let him go into the building with him, but he did know that he was very uneasy sitting in the parked car by himself outside the building; other cars were flying past him, and he was almost certain that one of them would hit him.

"Squalo…" Fran pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them as he stared at the tall building next to him. He wasn't sure how many floors there were to it, but there sure were a lot of windows.

The boy wanted Squalo to come back already, finding it difficult to cope being by himself in the car with so many others rushing past him; all he could remember was the fragmented memory about his own accident that had returned to him.

Fran knew that if he stayed in the car any longer, he was going to throw up from how frightened he was – and if he did that, Squalo would not be happy with him at all. Should he stay in the car and wait it out? Or should he get out and go find Squalo?

What if Squalo would be mad with him for disobeying orders? …But then, he'd still be mad if the boy threw up in his car…

Maybe if I try and find him and explain to him about how I'm feeling… Fran nodded to himself as he unlocked his door and opened it, stepping out onto the sidewalk.

The cold air sent shivers down Fran's spine as he walked towards the same building he had watched Squalo enter earlier, completely unaware of the fact that a Varia uniform usually meant trouble – and he was still wearing his, believing it to be nothing of importance.

~~Squalo~~

The body count Squalo was creating continued to grow as he searched for the man he had been told to kill. He was worried about Fran, hoping the boy would stay in the car – hopefully sleep while he was alone – and not cause any more trouble for him.

However, the man couldn't help but shake the feeling that Fran hadn't listened to him after all.

Nothing I can do about it now, Squalo thought to himself as he moved on to the next room. He questioned the occupants about their boss' whereabouts, only to receive nothing but fear in return. He sighed, ending their lives as quick as he could – he was starting to care less about his mission and more about going out to check on Fran.

The Varia's Rain didn't know how long he had been in here for, but he did know that he had searched at least ten floors already, and he had yet to find the target for his mission.

This is fucking – voi! What the fuck is Fran doing here?! Squalo's eyes widened as he heard his comrade cry out for him, almost as if he were frightened. Shit!

Squalo put his mission to the back of his mind, focusing instead on finding Fran – he didn't know where the younger was or what was happening to him; all he knew was that he had to protect him.

"Fran!" Squalo tried following the Mist Guardian's voice, and it eventually lead him into one of the rooms he had recently vacated, having not found his target in there earlier.

By the time the older Varia member came face-to-face with the man in the photo he had been given during the mission briefing, he also found Fran tied to a chair with a blindfold hiding his teal eyes.

The man in question who had a hold of the boy was a dark-haired burly man, with squinty eyes and yellow teeth. He held a knife to Fran's throat, a droplet of red liquid sliding down the younger's throat.

"Voi!" Squalo raised his sword, pointing it at the man. His eyes narrowed, angrier than he had been all day – and he just wasn't sure who he was angry at or why; Fran was disobeying orders and getting used as a hostage? Or this fat fuck who was using him like this? "Let him go!"

The man sneered, pressing the blade deeper into Fran's throat. He didn't speak, but Squalo had been in this business long enough to know that the shorter male was afraid; the way he tried to hide his trembling body and act all cocky gave it away – the only card in survival he had was playing with Fran's life.

The boy, who was terrified himself, cried. He shook his head desperately in an attempt to get the blindfold off, but it was no use – not until the man ripped it from him.

"S-squalo!" Fran shivered as he cried out, too scared to know what was happening – all he knew was that he and Squalo were in danger. "Squalo, help!"

"Hold on, Fran!" Squalo ran at the man, intent on at least getting him away from the boy.

Fran didn't know what he had done, but all of a sudden, he felt a pressure in both his head and his eyes seconds before the room caught on fire.

Squalo cussed, wasting no time as he cut down the man. He cut the ropes binding the boy to the chair and, with one strong arm, picked him up and carried him out of the room.

The teal-haired male was horrified – everywhere they went, his head started throbbing as fire seemed to follow them everywhere they went. His superior, however, knew exactly what this was – without knowledge of his own powers, Fran's real illusions were being used as a last resort to protect him, and he had no idea he was doing it himself.

"Fran, you need to concentrate!" Squalo roared as he flew down the long flight of stairs. "Fran! Don't focus on your fear! Empty your mind! Now!"

Fran just whimpered and shook his head, burying his face in Squalo's chest.

The Rain Guardian had no choice but to keep running, lest they be consumed by the fire swallowing everything behind them. He really had no idea how Fran used his illusions, but he could only imagine the fire was a manifestation built on his terror – if he could just get Fran to stop thinking…!

Exit! Squalo sighed in relief as he saw the doors he had entered the building through pop up from around the corner. He quickened his pace, trying to get out as fast as he could, but –

"Squalo!" Fran screamed as the ceiling above them fell to the floor, a mess of fire consuming them.

Squalo blocked Fran beneath his body, gritting his teeth as he felt his body burn like a piece of paper. He pushed Fran out from beneath him, muttering for the boy to run before his world went black.

Fran could only stare at Squalo as tears ran down his cheeks, watching as the man was eaten by the ravaging fire. It was then his head and his eyes started to hurt more than he could ever remember them hurting, and a loud boom! was all he heard before everything went black.