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[It seems like a calm sight at first. Vincent walks towards the ShinRa Mansion after a long day, still wielding Cerberus but ready to cash in for the night. He passes through the gate, to the front door, and...

Pop! Out comes a SOLDIER zombie, foaming at the mouth and screaming. The sudden monster catches the ex-Turk off guard, a hard blow slamming him into the closed gate. With his altered body, the attack is no majour problem, but... something else seems to be happening. A crimson light engulfs his form, two dark, torn wings snapping and cracking out of his back, the rest of his body shifting and convulsing into something less than human.

The creature is on all-fours now, snarling and snipping at the monster and moving forward with breakneck speed. Its claws lash out, with no need for a gun or any other weapon. It's eager to fight, eager to destroy. The other monster is ripped apart almost entirely, what's left of its body clumpling to the ground in a smoldering heap.

Groaning at a bright white light in its chest, Chaos reverts back to Vincent, the worn man standing in the battlefield gasping for breath. If it had been anybody else, it would've been a terrifying experience.

Exhausted, disoriented, and just plain confused, he falls back against the gate again, slipping into unconsciousness.]

[He'll wake to reply, but he won't be too coherent right now.]

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[And apparently, he didn't get very far from when they'd last spoken.

He still sits against the gate, having fallen asleep once more. There are no external injures, save for the blood from the SOLDIER he'd killed before. The front yard is a torn-up mess, parts of it still on fire from Chaos' energy.]

[She carefully makes her way over to where he's passed out and crouches next to him. She didn't see any injuries but, something was obviously wrong with him. She sighs and attempts to sense a possible cause. She really wished she had worked on extrasensory stuff more. It would probably come in handy right about now.]

Vincent?

[She reaches out to maybe try to wake him.]

[Vincent, by all means, is a light sleeper. So when Hazel's touch came, he immediately stirred, turning his head away. He gives a low, unintelligible mumble, opening his eyes slightly.]

...mm?

[She frowns slightly, unable to figure out what is wrong. She doesn't move her hand when he wakes.]

You keep falling asleep. Did you do something to wear yourself out?

[She debates trying to get him to go somewhere less monster infested to sleep.]

[He attacked something... there was foreign blood all over his arms and torso. He could feel his heart finally beginning to slow down but he had no memory of the attack itself. His eyes slide shut as he tries to think.]

Chaos?

[Thinks for a second that he fella sleep again. Is a bit relieved that he hasn't when he speaks.]

You were for a bit. Would that wear you out this much?

[By now she really hopes he's just worn out because she can't figure out what else could be wrong.]

[He tries looking up again, a certain, deep exhaustion lingering within. He fights it, however, trying to explain to Hazel.]

Chaos is something else entirely. I can usually control it...

[But even the Protomateria has its off days.]

Leave me be.

[She feels incredibly bad about keeping what she knows from him now.]

I know.

[Looks at the damage to the area and the monster's remains. She wasn't going to leave him here right now if she could help it.]

You... you should go somewhere less monster infested to rest.

[He's trying to focus on her words and his surroundings at the same time, but it's difficult. The noises start to fade out, the last of his energy dropping out of his body. His voice is barely above a whisper, head lolling limply to the side.]

I'll be... fine...

...

[Yeah, he's asleep again.]

[She sighs and fidgets while considering her options.]

Stuborn.

[Her levitation spell was a bit spotty but, she was pretty sure she could at least manage to get him into the life-boat with it. It seemed a good option but, she didn't try it just yet. Instead poking him to see if she might be able to do it without waking him.]

[Whether he is asleep or just ignoring Hazel now, he doesn't stir. Levitation may wake him, but the poking proves to have no effect.]

[When her poking gets no response she decides to try getting him into the boat. She looks around for immediate threats before going to get it and maneuvering it next to Vincent.

She carefully begins the spell. It gives her a bit of trouble so she probably won't notice right away if he wakes up.]

[The levitation certainly garters his attention, crimson eyes cracking open and awake when she starts lifting him. He sighs once, shaking his head and allowing her to carry him. If he transformed... that would be worse.

No telling if he'd strike back at her or not.

So he watches silently, too drained to protest.]

[She doesn't notice that he's awake until he's in the life-boat. she gives him a somewhat sheepish look.]

You can't really have expected me to leave you here.

[Then she turns to the controls and starts carefully sailing the life-boat towards the Big house in the Woods. She would have to levitate him out of the boat when they got there but, she was pretty sure it would be preferable to Frog.]

[He simply watches the endless sky, laying in the boat with no desire to move. Not yet, anyway.]

I could have walked.

Didn't seem like it when I decided to do this.

[She's not going to push it too much as long as he seems to be going along with it. She slows down when they reach the woods. She really doesn't want to crash into a tree at the moment.]

[Regardless of what he said, Hazel wasn't going to believe it. So he sits up marginally when the hovering boat slows to a stop, slowly regaining some energy.]

I'll be fine from here. Don't waste any magic.

[Hazel watched him closely but, didn't argue. She was more willing to let him be now that they were away from the immediate danger of being surprised by a random monster... and letting him walk was easier than trying to control an unmastered spell or bringing the boat in through a big window and dumping him on the couch.]

It's not a waste if it's necessary.

[She supposed bringing up Sora and Frog would have been blackmail and resisted the childish urge to mention it.]

[It was worth a try.

He manages to pull himself over the side of the boat, leaping off the vessel and onto his feet next to it. It's obvious the movement is a bit more strenuous than at first glance, but he's determined to keep it from showing. He walks forward, one hand still running on the side of the boat, but the change in his breathing, and the stiff way he moves is enough incentive to get inside quickly.]

You've seen what I can do and you still don't avoid me. Why do you exert such generosity?

[She noticed that he seemed to be having a bit of trouble but, didn't move to walk next to him. If he was gonna fall it was more likely that she'd be squished than be of any help. This was one of those times she wished that she wasn't so small.

She was startled by his question and took a long moment to try answering.]

We're friends, right?

[She almost felt physically with what she said next.]

But, there's a crazy reason I'm not scared of you.

[She kinda hoped she hadn't said that loud enough for him to hear but, expected that she did.]

[He stops abruptly, eyes wide and in disbelief of what he'd just heard. With it came a tinge of sadness, though he kept his face carefully blank.]

...friends?

[Quickly shaking it off, he addresses her other comment.]

And what would that be?

[His disbelief at being called a friend was saddening but, she was distracted from that by his next question.]

It's... complicated. Maybe we should go inside first.

[She really hoped he wasn't going to push it immediately.]

[Numbly, he nods and follows silently, running out of boat to cling to and wobbling on his feet a bit as they reached the front door.]

[Hazel shivered a bit as she entered the house. She hadn't noticed how cold it was outside before now. Seeing as the couch was the most convenient resting place at the moment she headed to that first and wondered if now was the best time for this conversation.]

[After so long laying in the coffin, he'd lost all sense of hot or cold, his body strengthening against both. So when Hazel shivered, he simply walked in and sat down carefully, leaning over his knees. He would wait for her to say something first before responding.]

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[action] - I-I can change if this doesn't work. He's just really wiped right now. ^^;

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