Kingdom Hearts Fic; Awakening the Inner Demon

[chibi_aeris027]

One of my latest fic... during the first chapter I had never played KH, but by this time, I've played it and beat it about 6 times... here's my fic, atleast the 1st chapter.

Awakening the Inner Demon- Chapter 1; "Bones and Joints"

This is a Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy fic. I do not own any of Square/Disney's characters or references, blah, blah, blah... on with the story!

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"Cloud my eyes and tell me what to see,

I'm falling, everyway I turn, the same disease,

But I like it, brace myself and hit the wall with thee,

I'm colliding, I'm not minding the pain,

I've been down here before, all my bones & joints are sore,

Pick my way out of the wreck again

I've been down here before, lost myself and so much more,

Find my way out of the game again,"

Finger Eleven, Bones & Joints

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"Sora? Sora, are you alright? Wake up." A familiar voice rang into the boy's ears. "Hey, snap out of it!" Sora's blue eyes slowly opened and he found Leon lingering above him. He sat up in bed. "What happened to me?" Leon shook his head. "I dunno. I just found you out there lying on the ground." Sora blinked. "Where is Aerith?" he asked. Leon frowned. "I asked her not to, but she went to the Colosseum to look for Cloud." Sora frowned sadly. "She's actually gonna look for him?" Leon nodded. "She said something strange when I noted the claw on his hand and the cloak he wore to her. Something about another friend of hers."

"What'd you tell her?"

"I only gave her his description. Exactly how you told me."

"Wh... what'd she say?"

"Nothing, really. She just stormed off in the middle of the night."

"How strange of her," Sora noted. "Cid may know something... but you can never be too sure about him.." Sora frowned. "We have to go look for her. She can't go there alone." Leon blinked in confusion. "Why?" Sora's eyes narrowed and he remembered why he was lying in the middle of town when Leon found him. "Because, Sephiroth has possessed Cloud. The devil is inside him. If he finds her, he'll murder her in cold blood. We can't let that happen."

"So... Sephiroth had possessed his body?"

"Yeah... there were some strange screams coming from the dungeon in the colosseum.... I think he was killing somebody." Leon's eyes widened. "It sounds very serious..." There was a long silence. Suddenly, Leon interrupted it. "I almost forgot. Your friend also managed to get here somehow, too. He's outside right now."

"My friend... who?"

"I believe his name is-"

"Riku!" came the voice of Sora's close friend. Sora gasped and saw Riku standing in the door way, a smirk on his face. Riku slowly approached him and slapped him on the back of the head. "Ouch..." Sora said, blinking in confusion. "First of all... how did you get here? and second of all... why're you acting strange?" Riku shrugged. "Thought I would try to lighten up the mood, that's all. And I don't even know how I wound up here." Sora jumped out of the bed and grabbed the change of clothes Leon had for him. "I'm gonna go dress... then can we go to the colosseum?"

Leon nodded. "Why are we going to the Colosseum?" Riku asked. "Going to save Aerith. Cloud's there, but Sephiroth possessed his body." Riku frowned. He had heard a few rumors that Sephiroth was his father. A few moments had passed and finally Sora walked out in his new clothes. He wore a pair of beige cargo shorts with a white t-shirt and he held a jacket in his hand. "Hey, kid, not too shabby. Now, I got you some new gear too and I made you a custom weapon." Sora approached a case that Leon was pointing to. He slowly got on his knees and opened it. "it's a new keyblade. Better than the last one you had, hard as it seems to be to believe. I studied you're sword, then I made a better model... it's kind of like the gunblade that belonged to an old comrade of mine." Sora examined it, wide-eyed. "Wow... thank you, Leon!"

Riku smiled and gathered his things. "We'd better get going before it's too late." he suggested.

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While the three were on their way, Aerith had finally reach the entrance of the colosseum's dungeon. "He must be here!" she screamed internally. "I must find him!" Suddenly something started to smell. Aerith frowned. "What is that horrible stench?" she wondered. She walked a little further and the smell grew twice as worse. She covered her nose and her eyes began to burn. "This dungeon reeks of rotten blood and corpses." she thought, coughing. "But I must go in... this has gone too far!" She let a muffled moan escape her mouth. "Did he kill all these people?" she wondered. She stumbled further down the halls, and suddenly the sound of heavy breathing reach her ears. "Is there somebody still alive down here?" she wondered. The breathing noises turned into faint mumbling and she looked around desperately to find where the noise originated from. "Hello?!" she called through her hand, squinting. The horrible smell was so strong now, it was nearly unbearable. She looked around her in the cells, all she was seeing was rotting bodies. Suddenly her green eyes stumbled over a bloody heap of flesh, something began to spark and she heard a scream of pain.

"Hello?" she called. She shuddered at the horrible smell that reach her nose again. Suddenly the shaking person weakly turned their head to look at her. His face was very pale and blotted in dried blood. He was trembling and stared at her like a crazed maniac. Aerith's eyes grew wide when the man got up and approached her. He grabbed the steel bars, causing Aerith to jump back. She stared in amazement after she covered her nose again, when she noticed that one hand was nothing but bone, the skeleton of his hand. "Oh my goodness... it can't be...!!" She noted the metal that covered the rest of his left arm. "Vincent?!!!" she cried, causing him to fall backwards in shock. "What did he do to you?!" she asked. Vincent shuddered. "He tried to kill me... Sephiroth has possessed his body, and he's looking for you." Aerith covered her nose again, looking for something to open the bars. The smell was enough to make a person sick.

She found that the keys were hanging on the wall. She grabbed them, there were only 3 keys. "Where is Cloud now?" she asked, trying to open the cell. "I... don't know... but he left a week ago..." Aerith finally found the right key and opened the cell. Suddenly something sparked again and Vincent screamed. Aerith noticed that it was the electrical wires from where his claw used to be. "We have got to get you out of here." Vincent frowned. "I don't know if I can ...walk that far," he said. "I lunged myself at ...the bars, because he stabbed me in the leg... Numerous... times." Suddenly Aerith heard footsteps and looked behind her. It was Leon, Sora, and Riku. "This is horrible," Riku said. "I've never seen so many bodies..." Aerith shook her head. "Please! We have to get him back to town! He's in horrible shape..." Leon frowned. "Who is he?" Aerith frowned. "He's my friend! He's part of the reason I'm here!" She retorted through her muffled mouth. Riku eyed Vincent sadly. His blood-covered limbs, his disheveled hair, the sparking wires on his left arm, then he noted the cell. It's walls were smeared in blood, nearly completely covered.

Leon put Vincent's right arm around his shoulders. "If I help you, you think you can apply some pressure to your hurt leg?" Vincent nodded. Aerith started gagging, the stench was starting to get to her. The two teen-agers covered their noses and Leon was breathing through his mouth. Sora's eyes were wide as he followed Aerith, and Leon, who was trying his best to help the nearly-dead Vincent. 'Cloud's gone insane. This is horrible.' It wasn't long before they exited the colosseum. To their surprise, Cid was there with an airship. When he noticed the bloody body Leon was toating, he walked over to examine it. "Oh my god... it's Vincent!!" Aerith was gasping in air, it was a total relief to be breathing fresh air at last. "Damn, he's barely even alive!!" Leon frowned. "We have to get him some medical attention, or he may not make it." Cid smiled. "Well, I know a medic! And I can fix that short-circuited arm of his..." Leon lifted Vincent onto the airship and laid him down on a small bed in the back.

Aerith and the two boys entered. She was surprised to see a familiar woman rushing back to see Vincent. "Shera?!" she asked in bewilderment. Shera frowned. "What happened to him?!" she asked. "Cloud tried to kill him," Sora spoke softly. Aerith approached him slowly. "The look on his face when I saw him.... I've never even saw him *scared* not to mention, *terrified*!" She reach behind his head and untied his signature headband. She removed it with care. Shera frowned. "I can't do anything til' we get back to town." Aerith frowned disapprovingly, but nodded, understanding why. "We're headed there now!" Cid said, starting up the newly crafted Hybrid.

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Leon carried Vincent into Cid's house, followed by Shera, Cid, Aerith, Sora, and Riku. Cid slowly approached his friend and opened the cover of his metal arm with a pair of wire cutters, snipping one wire at a time, then he slowly removed the metal covering, leaving Vincent's bony arm exposed. Suddenly another woman rushed in. She was at least 50 years old. Aerith gasped. "Mama!" The woman looked at her and frowned. "Aerith, there's no time for this now! Your friend here needs some care now, so give me 15 minutes, then Shera can doctor him up." Aerith only frowned at Elmyra's comment, but understood completely. "Leon?" Leon looked at the old woman. "Please bring him back here for me, dearie." Leon picked up the man and carried him into the back room.

Actually, 20 minutes had passed, but Elmyra had finished and Leon picked Vincent up and carried him into the room where Shera and Cid waited for him. Aerith frowned sadly when she noted that Most of Vincent chest was also covered in the metal, as was most of his back. She and the others patiently waited. It was about 2 hours later when Shera finally walked out of the room. She heaved a sigh, removing her rubber gloves. "He sure is a survivor... you have a clue how many veins were broke? He was in a lot worse shape than he looked, I tell you. It's a miracle he lived this long, but now I'm sure he'll be okay." Leon looked at Shera a minute. "Why isn't he out here now, then?" he asked. Shera smiled. "Cid's doing something to his arm... the one where the claw used to be." Leon looked at Aerith. "Then, that's why you got so shook up when I mentioned the claw." Aerith nodded. Riku looked up at Shera. "Then... well, is he awake now?" Shera nodded.

Riku got up from his seat and slowly walked into the room, where Cid looked up at him. "He's fine now, kid. No need to worry. His wounds just need some time to heal. He'll probably be on crutches for some time, but other then that..." Vincent forced himself to sit up. Riku smiled. "I'm really glad to see that you're okay." he said. Vincent blinked in confusion, but remembered that he was one of the two teen agers that came to the colosseum with Leon. "So am I... I thought I'd die before the day was through." Riku smiled again. "You still need some food, though... don't you?" Vincent nodded. "I haven't eaten in nearly a week. I'm surprised I didn't starve to death." For some reason, Riku felt a strange connection to Vincent. "I don't even know you, but I'm really glad you're better now." He said, smiling. Leon, Aerith and Sora walked in. Sora eyed him a minute. 'Cloud really hurt him, didn't he? If he had a few more bandages, he'd look like a mummy!' he thought, feeling immense pity for Vincent.

Cid laughed. "Check out your arm, Vince, Should be better than your last one." Vincent examined his new arm and gasped. "Cid, it's-"

"Real? No, but almost. Told you you'd like it." Vincent only smiled to himself. "Thank you, Cid." Cid smirked. "Not a problem, bud." Aerith looked as if she were ready to cry. "What's the matter, Aerith?" Cid asked. Aerith smiled. "I'm so happy he's alive, that's all!! I would hug him, but I'd squeeze too hard." Cid laughed. "Never thought you'd say that, Aerith." Aerith giggled. "I'm gonna go talk to mamma now." she said, leaving the room. Leon smiled. "How 'bout I go get you a change of clothes?" he asked. Vincent nodded. Leon left the room. Sora watched Vincent curiously a minute. "I never thought Cloud would be able to hurt his friends, even if he *was* under Sephiroth's control." Riku was starting to hate all the rumors he'd heard about his father. "I've heard a rumor," he started, getting the two's attention. "That this... Sephiroth... is my Father. If he is, I... I don't even wanna meet him! He's a monster. To hurt somebody as badly as he hurt Vincent... to kill all those people who were in the dungeon..."

Leon walked back in the room with clothes in his hands and sat them by Vincent. Vincent smiled when he noticed that the metal on his chest was gone. Aerith walked back into the room. "We've got a room ready for you, Vincent." she said. "We could really use your help once you get better." Just then, Cid walked into the room with a pair of crutches. "I guarantee you'll need these." he said, leaning them against the bed Vincent sat on. Vincent slowly got up, his pair of clothes in one hand as he tried his best to support himself on the crutches. Everyone in the room watched curiously as he walked out of the room, followed by Cid. Leon smiled. "He will make a great ally." he said. Aerith nodded in agreement. "What kind of weapon does he use?"

"A gun."

"Do you know the elemental stats of his last gun?"

"Umm... do you know about materia slots?"

"Yes. You place materia in them, and that enables you to use magic."

"Alright... it was called the Death Penalty... do you want me to write it down?"

"Go ahead."

Aerith wrote down all she knew about Vincent's last weapon. Leon picked it up slowly and read over it.

"Attack: 99, Attack %: 115, Materia Holes: 8 Linked, Growth: 0..." Leon read to himself. "All the info I need!" he said aloud, exiting the room. "I'll be getting to work now." Aerith looked at the clock. "It's only 3:00 in the afternoon!!" she whined aloud.

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If you liked it I'll post Ch.2!

[Leia Avenrose]

My... my .... I've never played Kingdom Hearts, but when my brother played it, he'd call me down to the basement where the PS2 was hooked up and he'd make me sit through some of the events that took place, including the ending, which I must say was amazing... The beginning was just as good, probably my favorite. Sephiroth and Cloud = hotlikewoah.

And Leon... holy, the transformation they gave him... damn, Squall.. *swoonfaint*

I loved the little Seifer implication...

It's all very good, the only thing I found bothersome was that you had everything bunched together in paragraphs when they shouldn't havve been. Other then that the story was great, I loved it. Keep up the good work; can't wait for the next chapter.

[chibi_aeris027]

Ah, phooey. All my writing is bunched in paragraphs... I do need to work on that, no? Hee hee. Glad you liked it. I'll post ch.2 tomorrow...

[chibi_aeris027]

Wait... it is tomorrow since I can't sleep... so I'll just go ahead and post it... and yes it's bunchy too, sowwy....

"I am a little bit of loneliness,

a little bit of disregard,

A handful of complaints,

But I can't help the fact that everyone can see these scars,

I am What I want you to want,

What I want you to feel,

But it's like no matter what I do I can't convince you to just beleive this is real,

So I let go, watchin you turn your back like you always do,

Face away and pretend that I'm not,

But I'll be here cause you're all that I got,"

Linkin Park, "Faint"

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Cid sat down on the porch by Shera. "Thank god you've got medical skills, or else he woulda' been a goner." Shera smiled at him. "Thank you, Cid." she said. Just then, they heard a few faint grunts and footsteps along with the clicking noise of crutches, also a faint curse of 'damn crutches'. "Speak of the devil," Shera noted, giggling. "Damn... I haven't had to use these things since I was 13." came Vincent's voice. Cid laughed. "Leon's working on a new weapon for 'ya." He said. "He is?"

"Yeah, Aerith gave him the stats of your last gun and now he's designing a new one for ya'."

"Oh... leave it to Aerith."

"Why not, I mean she has a great memory!"

Vincent took a seat on the steps. "Wonder when Yuffie'll be gettin' back..." Shera wondered. "Right now!" came the ninja's voice. Aerith popped her head out of the second story window. "Yuffie!" she called, delighted to see her friend. She ran downstairs and out onto the proch. "Glad to see you made it back, Yuff." she said, a grin on her face. Vincent blinked in confusion. "Yuffie?"

"Vincent?"

Suddenly the two simotaneously shouted: "How did you get here?!" Aerith giggled. Sora and Riku walked out onto the big porch. "Hey, brat!" Yuffie teased. Sora looked up at her and smiled. "Hey, Yuffie." Yuffie looked around. "Where's Leon?" she asked. "In his work room." Yuffie ran off in that direction to find him. Riku sat down on the steps. Vincent watched as the sun faded into the distance and the skies turned into a beautiful sunset. Suddenly, Yuffie ran out of the workshop, dragging a very confused Leon behind her. Cid got up from his seat and followed them. "I'll be back. You know me... nosy ol' Cid!" Riku and Sora got up and followed also, as did SHera. Aerith smiled. "Guess they all wanna know..." she said. "I feel like I should go, but I don't want to if I don't have to." Vincent replied. "She porbably found somebody who knows him, more people from different worlds."

There was a silence until Aerith sighed. She sat down by Vincent. Suddenly the group came back, with about 3 more people than before. "Who are *they*?" Aerith wondered. "One girl is holding Leon's hand. She must be his girlfriend..." She smiled. The group arrived near the house and Aerith, after helping Vincent up, went to see who else was with them. "Hello!" she greeted kindly. The whole group looked up at her. Vincent slowly approached, not seeming too fond of the crutches he had to use. Leon smiled as the girl he was with rested her head on his shoulder. "And who is this, Leon?" He only smiled even more. "Rinoa." he said smiply. "I'm his girlfriend." she said. Aerith smiled. "You never told us about her, Leon." There was a blonde man standing there, seeming very short-tempered, also a young woman with light brown hair that curled. Sora gasped. "Selphie?" he asked. The girl looked up at him. "Yeah?" she asked. "How are you here now as an adult?!" he asked. She frowned. "I'm not the Selphie *you* know, kid. She was a clone of me." Sora blinked in astonishment.

Selphie approached the blonde man, seeming very worried. "Zell, it's okay. Atleast there are some people around here, and they all seem very nice." He only gave her a cruel glare. She sighed hopelessly and turned away from him. Finally, Vincent made it to where they were, suddenly stumbling on the crutches. "Damn crutches," he cursed under his breath. Selphie took a seat on the ground beside Zell. "You know, Zell... it's really getting old... everytime somebody tries to cheer you up you get really violent." Zell only made a "Tch," noise and closed his blue eyes. "So now you're gonna' ignore me, huh?" Suddenly they heard yelling from the other end of the beach and looked up. Sora blinked. "Those voices sound familiar..." he thought. "Why, gawrsh, are you sure he's here?" Sora listened intently. "Yes, I'm sure! Look at the tracker!" He smiled "sounds like-"

"Well, I guess you're right... Hy-uck!"

He laughed. "Donald and Goofy!" he said. Vincent blinked a moment. "Are they from the other world?" he asked. Sora nodded. "SORA!!" The duo cried, running towards their friend. Vincent smiled indifferently. "I met somebody from there while I was in the colosseum... I beleive his name was... Hades." Sora looked back at him, as did Donald and Goofy. "Hades?!" Goofy asked. Vincent nodded. "Cloud was working for him then... but sometime after that, Sephiroth possessed Cloud... and now he's intending for nothing but death." Donald gulped. Goofy frowned. "Gawrsh... how you know all this?" he asked. Vincent frowned. "I was there. Aerith just found me today. I got lucky... I may have been dead by now if it weren't for her and the others." Goofy smiled. "Lucky you... have a girl as pretty as her find you." Aerith blushed. "A toon is calling me pretty?" Vincent smiled. "You know, I've never seen you smile so much." Aerith said. Leon looked up. "He's proud to be alive!" he said, a grin on his face.

Vincent sighed. "It's getting late now... I'm going to bed." he said, turning to leave. Riku ran to catch up to him. "I'll make sure you get there in one peice, then I'm hitting the sack." he said. Vincent smiled and headed towards the house, followed by Riku, yelling a curse when he nearly fell over. "Damn crutches!!" Aerith smiled good-humoredly. "I might as well go, too." She said, waving goodbye and wandering off. Selphie got up and looked at Cid. "Where do *we* stay?" she asked. Cid laughed. "This house has plenty of guest rooms. 'Bout 15 bedrooms total!!" he said. "Might as well have been a hotel.." Shera said. Selphie turned to her friend Zell, who still sat in the sand silently. "Zell, are you--" suddenly he got up and headed for the house. She sighed sadly, then headed for the house. Cid smiled and headed towards the house also, followed by Shera, who gripped his hand. This left Leon and Rinoa. Rinoa only smiled. "How 'bout we talk some?" Leon smiled and sat down by her on the porch. "Yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked. Rinoa kissed him on the cheek. "I missed you, Squall." she said. Leon blushed slightly. "They call me Leon around here." Rinoa laughed. "Well then... I missed you, *Leon*." He only smiled back at her. "It *is* getting kinda' late..." he noted. "Yeah, let's go to bed." The couple headed off to the house to get a good night's sleep.

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It was early morning. Vincent was first up, and as usual, having trouble with his crutches. Finally he got down the stairs with a few curses, and went to sit on the porch. The peace of the morning made him remember many things. Suddenly, a song popped into his head, one his mother used to sing. "When you feel all alone, and the world has turned it's back on you, give me a moment please, to tame your wild wild heart..." Suddenly another voice began singing the song. "I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you, it's hard to find relief and people can be so cold, when darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can't take anymore..." the voice halted and he turned to see who it was. He saw Aerith smiling down at him. She giggled. "I love that song... you know you were singing?" he blinked a minute. "I... was?" she grinned and nodded. "You're not bad. Better than Cid singing in the shower... heh heh. You can hear that from out here, it's so bad." she laughed. Vincent smiled to himself. "Aerith?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you..."

"What? Why?"

"You found me down there... if you had left, I'd probably be dead by now."

"Umm......"

"And I must thank Leon, also. He toated me back here..."

"Oh..... you're welcome."

There was a silence. Aerith wasn't quite sure how to react to his kind gesture. "Would you like some breakfast?" she asked kindly. He looked up at her and smiled again, nodding. She scurried off into the house to cook. Vincent watched the sky, many thoughts running through his weary head.

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Selphie's green eyes slowly opened and she sat up in bed. She felt a horrible pain in her stomach. "God... I feel so sick." she thought. She curled into a ball and lay on the bed sheets. "I think it's cause of those guys... when they kicked me in the stomach... I was trying to get them away from Zell..." She felt tears welling up in her eyes. She got out of bed and walked into the bathroom to take a shower. She locked the door. "They hurt him pretty bad... not nearly as bad as they hurt me..." she slowly took off her Purple shirt and noticed a greusome bruise on her side. She shivered and put her shirt back on, exiting the bathroom, tears in her eyes. "And he never even thanked me..." she thought. She slowly walked down the hall, suddenly bumping into someone. Zell's eyes narrowed. "Watch where you're goin'!!" he yelled. She only bowed her head. He watched her a minute, something suddenly striking him. She lost balance and hit the floor. His eyes narrowed. "You're sick, Selphie. You shoulda' stayed in bed." She got up and slowly walked back into her room. He eyed her as she closed the door behind her. "Am I being too harsh?" he wondered. He frowned and walked downstairs. "Where's Selphie? She okay?" Rinoa asked. Zell only ignored her and walked out of the house. He was going to the beach.

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The day was progressing, slowly, but surely. "How's bout we go to town for a few?" Cid suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Selphie, who was still in her room sick, and Zell, who was still nowhere to be found. "Perhaps get Selphie some medicine..." Aerith suggested. They all headed off towards the town centre. Selphie lay in her bed, still feeling miserable. She was fevered, sick... it was horrible. She knew that everyone had left, but she was surprised to hear a door shut. Suddenly, she felt something in her throat, she could taste her own blood. She got out of her bed and bolted towards the bathroom. Zell heard the doors and ran up to see what was wrong. He saw Selphie bent over the toilet spewing out blood. He stared in horror at her. Not only was most of the bathroom floor covered in blood, but so was she. He ran to her side to see if she was still alive. "Selph! Selph! Dammit, ANSWER ME!!!" he yelled. She murmedered softly, unable to be understood. He shook her. "Get a GRIP!" he shouted at her. Suddenly she fell backwards. "Selphie!" he shook her again. "Aw, SHIT!" he cursed. He touched her blood-streaked forehead. "Oh my god... she's burning up..." He turned the cold water on in the tub. "Shit... shit!" he cursed, not sure of what to do. He removed her shirt quickly. "She's gonna kill me for this..." he thought, removing her pants and lifting her into his arms. He slowly lowered her into the icy cold tub and dunked her once, getting a shiver from her. "Alright, you're still alive," he said. Her head slowly fell back. "Damn it, Selphie! Wake up!!" he yelled, dunking her again. She gasped, shuddering at the cold feeling. "Damn!" he slowly opened her mouth and poured some of the stil-running water into it, causing her to spit it back out. Suddenly she began to cough. He thouched her forehead with his dry hand, releived to feel that she wasn't as hot as before.

Her teeth chattered and he pulled her out of the tub. He put a towel around her body and his eyes narrowed when she looked at him, shocked. "Dammit, Seplhie! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" He eyed her as she started to cry. Suddenly he pulled her to his chest in a warm hug, causing her to gasp in utter shock. "I'd be lost if you weren't there to bug me all day." he laughed slightly. She still didn't understand his sudden change. "I'm sorry... for the way I've been acting lately. You tried to make me change my ways, but it took *this* to finally make me understand." Selphie squirmed in his tight grip and he let her go. "And I still haven't thanked you." She blinked in confusion. "For distracting those men. Thank you." Selphie looked down a minute. She was crying. "You're.. you're welcome." she whispered, wiping her nose. "I miss the old Selphie, the cheery Selphie." he said. Selphie frowned. "You made me depressed." she said back. He helped her to her feet and wlked back to her room with her. She lay down in bed. He smiled. "I'll be back..." he said, going downstairs a minute. She shed her cold, soaked underclothes and put a small nightgown on. Zell entered the room exactly when she had settled back into her bed. He sat a large bowl on her nightstand and rung out a small rag that was in it. He layed it on her forehead. "I'm not exactly Dr. Dincht, but I helped you..." she looked feebly at him. "You're really sick, aren't you?" he asked. She nodded slowly. "You tired?" She nodded again. He sat on the bed with her a minute. "Want me to stay here? Keep an eye on ya'?" She blushed slightly, but nodded in confrimation. He leaned back against the headborad. "Can't have you getting sick again."

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Rinoa and Aerith wandered upstairs with the medicine for Selphie they had gotten. Rinoa stopped in front of the bathroom door, noticing the blood. She covered her mouth. She then ran to Selphie's room. She was VERY surprised to see that Zell was there with her, and she was lying in bed asleep. Zell smiled. "She's fine, Rinoa. I was really scared at first, but I dunked her in cold water, now she's gonna be alright." Rinoa grinned. "I'm just surprised to see that you were actually worried about her!" she said. Zell turned his head away. Aerith smiled. "It's allright to worry about people, Zell. You know that, right?" He nodded. Selphie feebly turned to watch the three. She closed her eyes and rolled back over. "She looks miserable..." Aerith whispered into Rinoa's ear. "She's been like this for weeks now." Rinoa whispered back. There wasz a silence until they heard a loud crash in the hall, then Vincent's angry voice shouting, "DAMNED CRUTCHES!!!" Aerith and Rinoa popped their heads out of the door. Aerith only persed her hand over her mouth and giggled. Leon sighed and yanked Vincent up from the floor. "I have never seen anybody worse than you on crutches, Vince." Vincent scoffed at Leon. "C'mon... it's almost 11:00.... we need to be going to bed..." Leon said to nobody in particular. "Yes, *Leon*." Rinoa teased. Vincent made another loud crash when he tried to shut his bedroom door. "Damn crutches!" he cursed. "You can hear him comin' from a mile away." Zell said in a cocky manner. He sat back against the headboard of Selphie's bed. He felt her forehead for fever, then rested his head on his hand. "This'll be a long night."

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Jope you like it too, for any readers....