Monday, July 8, 5:14 PM
HONK HOOOONK!! HONK HOOOONK HONK HONK!! HOOOONK!
"Make it stop..." Yumi pleaded, sobbing.
"What a jerk... Claude, get a radio!" Vincent shouted over the noise from the horn.
"Shut up! I'm trying to concentrate." Claude yelled back, listening to the response from
another car. They had been using morse code to talk to each other with their horns all day.
"Cool!" Claude yelled. He honked out a a short response, and, to the relief of everyone else
in the car, stopped. They were so glad to just have the terrible noise stop that they didn't
notice that they were taking a detour...
7:42 PM
"Claude..." Vincent said a few minutes after he woke up, looking out the window.
"Yeah, Vinnie?" Claude answered from the front.
"That's not my name!"
"Uh, sorry. What do you want?"
"I want you to stop apologizing and call me VINCENT!!"
"Claude," Tara mumbled, "Stop provoking Vincent."
He chuckled. "Sorry. Really, Vincent, what is it?"
Vincent stopped yelling. "Claude, this isn't the way to my sister's house."
"Huh? Oh! I know. Don't worry, it's only a bit out of our way." Claude said in his I-Know
What-I'm-Doing voice.
"Okay..." Vincent said, still unsure. "But remember, I said to expect us tonight when I
called her."
"Oh! Looks like we're here now." Claude said, turning. He pulled over. Vincent and Tara
looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Claude had been following the other car...
"Well, everybody out!" Claude shouted. Tara turned to wake Yumi up. Vincent kicked Cid in the
shins.
"Ow! Would you stop that?!" Cid yelled at Vincent, even though it hadn't really hurt.
"Sorry," Vincent said with a grin, "But Claude said to get out."
Cid grumbled and climbed out, as did everyone else.
They were at a hospital. The other car was parked next to them and a man was leaning against
it with a goofy grin on his face. Claude was talking to the him, and Tara ran up to them.
"Hey, Sean! What're you doing here?" Tara asked cheerfully.
"Hi, Tar! I'm a doctor here now. It's really great. I'm going to show you and your freinds
something really cool!"
Claude nodded. "Come on! This is so cool! Cid! Yumi! Vin... cent!"
"These are your friends?" Sean asked.
"Yup!"
"Cool! Let's go. Oh, if you're squeamish you might not want to see this..."
"Squeamish? Claude--" Vincent started.
"Squeamish. You know, easily grossed out?"
"That's not what I--
"Come on!" Claude said, taking off after Sean.
Everyone else glanced at each other and ran after them.
7:59 PM
Sean took the group to a window. Inside was an operating room where people who needed minor
operations gave permission to let people see it. Sean explained what the operation was and that
the window was a mirror on the other side so that the doctors wouldnt get distracted.
"Shway!" Claude said with a grin. "Hey, did you finally agree with me about egg?"
Sean turned around and glared at his chidhood friend. "What? Of course not!"
But Vincent didn't hear any of it. His eyes had glazed over upon sight and he stared through
the window.
"Um, Claude...?" Tara said nervously, staring at Vincent.
Claude didn't hear. He and Sean were arguing.
"Vinnie... are you... okay...?" Yumi asked cautiosly.
Vincent slowly nodded, never taking his eyes of the scene before him. How cruel to put it
behind a glass panel! He wished he was on the other side...
"I'm hungry..." He murmered as he placed his fingertips out on the window, his look changing
to one of longing.
Cid burst into laughter. Vincent spun around, glaring. "What's so funny?!"
"Just the sight of this makes everyone else want to lose their lunch, and you want to eat it
for your's!" Cid chuckled.
"Cid! Cut it out!" Vincent yelled.
"Sorry, Vinnie." Cid said, calming down.
"I am not Vinnie!"
"Whoa... down, boy!"
Vincent stopped and blinked. "Huh...?"
Cid shook his head. "Never mind..."
Vincent shrugged and walk up to Claude. "Claude! When are we leaving?! I'm hungry!"
Claude blinked. "Well, why don't we go down to the cafeteria, then? A bit longer won't
matter, right?"
Vincent's eyes lit up. "Of course not! Claude, you're the best!"
"I know." Claude grinned and ran his fingers through his spikey blond hair. It stayed down
for a minute and then sprung back up, making everyone blink.
8:32 PM
In the cafeteria, everyone but Claude was hungrily gulping down everything in sight. Claude
was still arguing with Sean about how to pronounce "egg."
"It has a long A sound, not short E! Everyone knows that!" Sean said.
"If you say it like that then how come it has an E at the beginning?!" Claude shot back.
"Because whoever made up the English language was an idiot!"
Vincent stopped eating long enough to bring up a subject other than the one they had been
hearing for the past half hour. "Claude! When are we leaving?! My sister is expecting us
tonight!"
"Oh... well, it's kinda late now... Why don't we find a place to stay--"
Vincent stood up, slamming his hands on the table. "No!! She's expecting us tonight! We had
better get there by eleven fifty-nine or else your going to regret it!!"
Claude winced. "Um... Steam off, Vincent! Everyone is looking..."
"I don't care!"
Tara jumped in. "Come on, Vincent, sit down. I'm sure your sister won't mind if we're late.
Why don't you call her?" She shot a glare at Claude, who grinned and whipped out his cell phone.
Vincent glared at him, but took it. "I'll be in the van." He said, and left.
"Wow, Claude, you're in trouble. Now where are we going to stay?"
"I know some people who are always glad to take in anyone. Um, if you don't mind all the
kids, that is."
"Well, I don't know... Wouldn't it be kind of rude?" Claude said.
"No way, man! I'll call them and make sure, then you'll have a better place to stay then some
hotel somewhere. Besides, they owe me one." Sean said confidently.
"Cool! So how many kids did you say they have?" Yumi asked.
"Well, I lost track a while ago. See, they're all adopted... maybe eight?"
8:38 PM
On the way to the van, Yumi pleaded with Claude.
"Please? I promise I won't wreck it like last time!"
"No! You can't drive!" Claude said.
"But I want to!"
"No!"
"Claude, let her do it. She's got her lisence now." Cid said, tired of the arguing.
"But last time, she got in a wreck so bad traffic was backed up for twenty miles!" Claude
said. "Besides, I'm the leader. I get to drive!" Claude insisted.
"Hey, what's Vincent doing?" Tara asked. He was still talking to his sister, yelling so
loudly they could hear it.
"Looks like he's yelling at his sister. "Hey, Vin- cent! Let us in!" Claude yelled, pounding
on the door.
Vincent glared at them, said something else to the person on the phone, and hung up. He
opened the door and hopped out. "Claude, you have the keys."
"Oh, yeah..." Claude said, grinning and sticking his hand behind his head.
"Can I please drive? Plllleeeaaassse?"
"No! What, do you want me to have to pay for two of these things in a week?!" Claude
exploded.
Yumi stamped her foot. "Claude! You did NOT have to pay for this van! And besides, it's
Vinnie's van!"
"Stop calling me that!" Vincent yelled.
"Stop yelling!" Cid shouted over the noise.
"Yumi, forget it. Let Claude drive, and we can cut his hair while he's sleeping." Tara said.
"Um... okay!"
"Hey! NO ONE is touching my hair!" Claude said protectively.
"You're right, it's too sharp. We might cut ourselves on it." Tara aid.
"Yeah, and besides, it'd probably break the scissors if we tried." Yumi agreed.
"I don't care what you say, Yumi, you're not driving! Now everybody better hurry and get in
the van before I leave you behind." Claude snapped, and climbed into the driver's seat.
"Somebody needs a nap..." Cid said under his breath. The girls giggled. Vincent just ignored
them.
9:10 PM
When they pulled up to the house that Sean had given them directions to, Vincent was muching
on cookies, Cid was teasing him about the operation again--and being ignored--, and the girls
were talking excitedly about their favorite subject-- Square's latest VR games.
"Well, do you guys wanna stay in here forever?" Claude asked as he jumped lightly to the
ground.
"Um... C'mon, Vinnie!" Cid said, grabbing Vincent by the wrist and pulling him out of the
van, cookies and all.
"Hey! How many times do I have to tell you, don't call me that!!" Vincent demanded, holding
onto his precious chocolate for all he was worth.
"And I heard that you'll be able to create your own main character, and the VR system will be
able to figure out an interesting and comprehensive storyline with that and random side
charatcers!" Yumi chirped as she jumped out of the van neaxt to Tara.
"Shwaaaaay, that's right!" Tara gushed, "And you can go with some pre-configured characters
as well. Did you see the comercial about Sephirious Lucree?! I have got to get that game!!"
"Oh, me too me too! I absatively posolutely cannot WAIT for Final Fantasy XXXII to come
out!!" Yumi giggled.
Vincent blinked. "You mean they actually have a character named that? In a video game?"
"Yeah. What's the big deal, Vinnie? You look freaked. It's not like they named him after a
real person or anything..." Yumi said, puzzled as to why Vincent would even bother with anything
concerning VR. He and Cid were the only ones who weren't hooked on the stuff, and at least Cid
played sometimes. Vincent was just exasperated at the thought.
"Oh, forget it." Vincent said, and shoved another cookie into his mouth.
Claude looked over his shoulder at them from where he was talking to their hosts, Mr. and
Mrs. Haroldson, and shouted, "I can't believe you're being so rude! You don't even have the
courtesy to introduce yourselves."
Tara gasped. "Oh! I'm really sorry, I didn't realize! I'm Tara Lockehart. Pleased to meet
you." she smiled as nicely as she could in hopes of looking more polite.
"Hi, I'm Yumi Branden!" The other brunette greeted, not nearly as concerned with being polite
as Tara was.
Vincent nodded. "Vincent. My occupation is...... oh, forget it."
Silcence.
All eyes turned to Cid.
"zzzzzZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZzzzzzZZZZzzzzz.............."
"CI-ID!!" All three yelled at the exact same second.
Cid awoke with a start. "Shera, what in spoony heck are you doing down there?!?!?!?! .......
Oh. Did I miss something?"
He was only answered by a groan amoung his companions.
9:32 PM
Vincent sat at the kitchen table at the Haroldson residence, his left elbow propped on the
table and his left temple resting on his fist of the same side. He didn't like this place, it
was boring, there were too many kids, and he had a nagging headache, which could only mean one
thing. He would have told the others about it, but someone else was always in the room with him,
and besides, Claude had joined the FFXXXII discussion, and Cid was off somewhere doing...
something.
"So, Vince-- may I call you that?" Mrs. Haroldson asked.
"No." Vincent answered shortly.
"Oh, all right. It's such a cute nickname for you, though. You really should let people call
you that, Vinnie."
Vincent's eyes narrowed. "VinCENT. Call me Vinnie and you die."
"Oh... I'm sorry." She laughed lightly, as though he had made a joke of it. "I suppose I just
heard Cid call you that and I picked it up. Oh, and I thought it was even cuter than Vince."
Vincent smiled sweetly at her and said, "Excuse me for just a moment, please."
"Oh, certainly!" Came the reply.
Vincent turned, grabbed Claude, and hissed, "I can't take it anymore! The high-pitched voice,
the cute words! This is my worst nightmare! And on top of that, I've been having a terrible
headache ever since I got here. You know what that means!"
Claude blinked and said in a normal talking voice, "Yeah. Why don't you take an asprin or
something?"
"Claude!"
"Sorry, couldn't resist."
"Listen!" Vincent whispered feircely, "Take Cid and find the other vampire. Tell me who it is
and I'll take care of the rest."
"Um, are you sure? You're gonna do it like last time? Is that a good example for the little
ones?"
"I don't care!" Vincent shouted. "Just find Cid and GO!!"
"Ow! Okay, steam off! You don't have to yell in my ear. I'm going!" Claude said, standing up
and leaving the kitchen, grumbling all the way.
9:43 PM
Cid and Claude made their way around the attic, Claude peeking into every dusty nook and
cranny, Cid just standing around and whining.
"How come we have to do this, anyway? And why are we on the dusty old attic?"
"Because, duh..." Claude said, opening a trunk and choking on a dust cloud that rose from it,
"Vampires turn into bats, right?"
"Yeah."
"And bats like dark, creepy places like attics and caves and stuff, right?"
Cid scratched his face. "I guess so."
"Well, there ya go! If there's a vampire here, it'll be in the attic." Claude said
triumphantly.
"Uh, I guess there's a certain logic in that..." Cid admitted.
"Hey! What do you think, is it my color?" Claude asked, holding a silk dress up to him. Cid
thoroughly boggled at the sight of his getting-giddy freind in a braided wig, feather boa, and
ballroom gown. Luckily, it was just his mostly just his imagination.
"I am the horror that flaps in the night!" a voice came from somewhere.
Claude and Cid spun aroundand Claude dropped the dress at the sight of a duck-boy in a cape.
Well, that's what he resembled.
"I am Darkwing Goose!"
"Kid, you look like a duck." Cid said, raising a critical eyebrow.
The boy looked indignant. "I am not! I am Darkwing Goose, the super-super hero!"
"Uh... Hey, would you know any vampires around her, kid?" Claude asked, nudging the dress
aside with his foot.
Cid rolled his eyes and put his head in his hand. What was he thinking?!
"Oh, you must mean Michael. Second floor, first room on the left. Can't miss it." The kid
directed.
"Hey, thanks!" Claude said.
"No prob." The super-super hero impersonator grinned, "Uh... But he's kinda weird. He likes
to... um... well, sometimes he gnaws on people."
Cid and Claude exchanged looks.
"We know someone just like that..." They said in unison.
11:55 PM
Vincent closed his eyes. Finally, peace... no more chattering, no more arguing, no more
anything, except blissful, dark sleep...
"Vincent! Vincent, get up!!"
The vampire's eyes shot open as fast as lightning. "What?" He hissed, making it clear he did
NOT like being disturbed while trying to sleep off a year's worth of frustrations that had
happened all in one evening af stress and tension.
Claude blinked. "That was kinda wordy. Anyway...! Vincent, we've found him!"
"Hey, how come he gets to break the fourth wall?" Cid mumbled.
Vincent bolted up. "What? Where? And how do you know?"
"Well, he tried to chew on my arm." Cid explained. "Can we go to sleep now?"
Vincent paused. Something was wrong. Everything was too quiet, even for half the house being
asleep.
"Sounds good to me..." Claude agreed, stretching. "I can't wait to get into my nice, warm bed
and--"
"Wait."
"Huh? What for?" Claude asked Vincent, blinking.
"Is it one of the kids?"
"Yeah, his name's Michael." Claude informed him. He whistled. "I think he's one cookie shy of
a batch. No, make that five."
Vincent spun around, glaring lightning at Claude. "And what, exactly, is that supposed to
mean?"
Cid smirked. "Yeah, Claude, are you saying that vampires are insane?"
"No! Just... um... that.." Claude stammered, backing away from Vincent. It was no use. For
every step he backed up, Vincent took one.
"Is that what you're saying, Claude?"
"Yeah, is it?" Cid chimmed in, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"No!! Steam off! Breathe, Man! BREATHE!! Well YOU wouldn't wanna snack on Cid, of all people,
would you?!"
"Hey...! No fair, cheap shot!" Cid protested, not enjoying himself quite so thoroughly
anymore.
Vincent stopped and glared at Claude for a second, then grinned. "Gotcha."
Claude sweatdropped and sighed in relief. "Vincent, I would appreciate if you didn't stress
me out like that..."
Vincent turned around and looked purposefully at the closed door.
"Hey, do you have X-ray vison?" Claude asked brightly.
Vincent rolled his eyes. "That was a stupid question. Of COURSE I don't have X-ray vision!
Whaddaya think I am, some kind of freak?!"
Fortunately for his right arm, Claude refrained from answering that question.
"So if you're not staring through the door... why the interest?" Cid asked, raising an
eyebrow.
"Well, it's hard to explain. You guys stay here, I'll be right back." Vincent said, and he
left, closing the door behind him.
"I don't get it." Cid said with a blink.
"Of course not, you're going senile, old man." Claude grinned.
Cid cleared his throat. "Well, Junior, at least I'm not delusional enough to think that
weaponry is the latest hairstyle."
"Ah-ah-ah! Don't dis the 'do, dude!" Claude said, raising one finger.
Cid blinked cluelessly.
Tuesday, July 9, 12:00 AM
The sight that awaited Vincent in the hall was an expected one, ideed. Well, to some extent.
They were the only two around, and Vincent wasted no time in reverting to his more vampire form.
The boy in front of him wasn't very old at all, perhaps six or seven. He was wearing fire
engine red, which momentarily struck Vincent as strange because his wings were a midnight color.
"Hi. Are you Michael?" Vincent asked softly.
He didn't answer for a moment, and then said, "You're like me."
Vincent blinked, but smiled. "Yeah, I guess I am."
"Did you come to take me away?" Michael asked cautiously. "I don't want to go."
Vincent shook his head. "You don't have to go anywhere."
He studyed Vincent hard for a moment. An incredibly strong craving suddenly hit Vincent full
force, if only for a second, and left him blinking.
Michael glared at him and yelled, "Go away! I'm not going to let you hurt us! So leave!"
Vincent stepped back a bit, slightly confused. "I'm not going to hurt anyone."
Several people had heard Michael yelling and had either run to the hall to see what was the
matter or had poked their heads out of the doors. They didn't seem surprised at all at the sight
of two vampires in their house, but they did give them plenty of room.
This was apparantly something they were used to.
Vincent looked back as Claude and Cid threw the door open and came out of the guest room they
were staying in. They looked worried, but at the same time sure that Vincent could handle
whatever was happening.
"Which isn't your hair." Cid whispered to Claude. "Hah! See? you're not the only one who can
do it!"
"Not while we're trying to build up tension!" Claude hissed.
The writer got so tired of her characters breaking the fourth wall that she bopped them both
over the head with the keyboard, thus breaking the fourth wall in her own bizzare way. Claude
and Cid decided to be quiet after that.
Vincent shook his head at their whispers and turned back to Michael, who said, "I don't
believe you! I don't beleive anybody!"
Vincent raised his hands in defeat. "Hey... all right, we'll leave."
"Hey, wait a minute!" Michael said before Vincent could go back into the guest room.
"Yeah?"
He paused. "Are you tired?"
"Very." Vincent answered. He grinned. "You could even say I'm dead tired."
"You must be to make a bad crack like that..." Claude said under his breath.
"Or someone else is." Cid pointed out, only to get bopped on the head double hard.
Um, then... you're with humans, right? No others people like us?" Michael asked, eying
Vincent carefully.
"Unfortunately... yes." Vincent admitted.
"Well, you can stay... but you have to leave tomorrow! And if you're lying, you're gonna be
really sorry." He warned.
Vincent gave the kid a warm smile. "Got it. No funny stuff."
Michael crossed his arms and glared.
12:15 AM
Vincent finally, finally, finally closed his eyes, ready for what he suspected would be the
best sleep of his life. He was drifting closer and closer to the blissful slumber, when he was
rudely awakened by Cid saying, "Hey, Vinnie?"
If Cid had been able to see the look on Vincent's face, it's possible he would have wet
himself.
"What. Is it." Vincent half-hissed, half-snapped.
"How come you let that kid boss you around?"
"If you don't shut up, you will spend the rest of your life in extreme pain. And beleive me,
you will live a long, long, long, long, LONG life."
Silence.
Utter, complete, total silence.
Utter, complete, total, BLISSFUL silence.
It may have been violent, but it was the best dream Vincent ever had.
fin.
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