***
"Calm down little girl I cannot carry you if you incessintly squirm in my arms !" Vincent scolded. Marlene cried even more.
He was halfway to his resting place. Morning would come shortly and he had to hurry.
"What are you going to do with me you monster ! You're going to eat me ! I wan't my dady ! " She cried even louder.The thing
who was carying her with it's metalic claw , placed her on the ground near a small cave.
"If you won't stop crying then I'll shurly have to eat you to shut you up !"
He showed her his Fangs and she immedietly stoped crying exept for small hicups and sobs.
" Ahh.. That is much better..."
It took the remaining food that he had put in his cape on the floor of the cave they had entered. Marlene hadn't any choice but to
follow him since he could persue and catch her easilly. He put aside some of the food and gobled up the rest very quickly.
"This will be your share , I will have to go hunt tonight and what I catch , you eat or you won't eat anything." The monster had a
very raspy voice. Marlene though that it was kinda familiar though it's characteristics where not. She hadn't seen it's face and
body very well since it was night. The only thing she could see was it's fangs , eyes and the outline of it's body.
"Why did you take me away from dady if you don't wan't to eat me ?" Marlene asked sitting as far away at the strange shadow as
possible.
"With you gone , they think I've killed you and eaten you...it suits my plans..." He refuse to give her any other information.
"What's your name mister?" Marlene asked the eyes of the beast looked at her strangely.
"I am no mister." It replied coldly as it continued eating it's prized goods. Dawn came quickly and it blocked the passage to the
outside with a door made of wood. he climbed up some rocks and tied two of the endings to some hooks it had made from
something. Only a small square of light shone through the makedoo thing.
Marlene watched as the thing curled up in a corner and as her eyes grew acostumed to the darkness she looked at it's form. She
gasped in surprise as she realized what it actually was...
"Uncle Vincent ?" Vincent slightly groaned at his name but other wise did not arrise from his slumber.
***
"Waky waky !"
"Hmm?" Marlene opened her eyes to see Vincent's crimson ones shining in the dark. She was startled but then calmed down.
"I've brought you some food for these next couple of days. And enough salt to last someone a life time." Vincent opened the flap
of hiscape. He had tied it so that it's product wouldn't spill. out of it came at least acouple of dozen pounds of salt.
"What are you going to do with all that salt Uncle Vincent ?"
He smiled "It's to preserve this mea...." he froze "what did you call me ?" He looked at Marlene who scrunched in a corner as if
she had said something wrong.
"Uncle Vincent ?" She replied with a faint tone.
Vincent looked at her one eye more so opened then the other. he then turned to his prize and replied.
"I am not your uncle." And he continued to shuffle , his back turned to Marlene.
"Well shure you are ! Dady even told you , because Dady doesn't have a brother of Sister and Momy died , he told you that
you're my Uncle Vincent ! And you said 'yes' and.." She was cut abrutly when he jerked her violently on the wall and faced her.
"Do you think that just because you're a little girl means I'm not going to hurt you !? Do you think that because I had some kind
of feelings for you in the past , means you're safe with me ? Well guess what little girl ? Vincent isn't here anymore ! Because
Vincent wouldn't have claws for feet and hands and fangs instead of canines and he wouldn't kill anyone for NOTHING !"
Vincent stoped then sagged away to what he was doing earlier. Marlene still leaning on the wall and staring to where Vincent had
been yelling to her revised all that Vincent told her.
"Does that mean...?" She hoped not.
"Yep" he said in a child nonchalant voice "You guessed it. I'm the one who killed all those people in Gongaga." He jerked
something but was still facing his back to Marlene so she couldn't see.
"B ..bu...but why ?" Marlene babled she sat on the ground.
"Because I was hungry." Vincent stated coldly. He finnished what he was doing and then opened the wodden door again.
"If you wan't to look at what I was doing then go ahead...I'm warning you though , you won't like it." Knowing the curiousity of
kids Vincent left the cave and wen't to look for something.
Marlene (obviously!) was very curious with what Vincent hadsaid. Like other children she leaned in to look at what he was
doing. Only to be revolted and she jurked bnackwards. He had killed an animal and gutted it ! it was still halfly inclompleted
though and the innerds still hang out. She faced the other way and started to silently cried.
***
Vincent opened the wodden door with a bunch of dry sticks startling Marlene from her sleep.
"Better get used to sleeping the day and staying awake at night because I'm not going to work silently."
He opened the wooden door and put it at the side of the cave. Pilling the wood between the entrance of the cave and the rocky
door he lit it with something that Marlene couldn't quiete make out.
He hummed the air intently sniffing it very solemnly.
"We will have to move soon..." He positioned a Rock near the fire and sliced a piece of meat and it placed on the *know* heated
rock.
"Why ?" Marlene asked.
"Because... I said so..." Vincent said calmly.
"Why ?" She asked again.
"This cave belonged to Kalm wolves they'll be coming back here soon." Vincent coffed a bit when the smoke flaped in his face.
"Why would they come back if they abandonned it ?" She took the slabs of food Vincent gave her in a hurry.
"Because they need it for something else." Vincent proceeded eating too.
"For what ?"
"WILL YOU STOP ASKING AND EAT FOR GODS SAKE !" He paused Marlene starteled stoped eating.
"Or do you wan't me to explain you the hôle process of Migration and reproduction of the Kalm wolves and such !?" He started
to calm down. Taking deep breathes.
Marlene shook her head and started at him a moment waiting till he continued to eat until she did so herself.
Vincent glared at her from time to time , but didn't seem much interested in hurting her. To Marlene's total and otter releif. He
suddenly grew more animated and seemed to sniff the air.
"What are you doing ?"
He looked at her a while and ignored her , still procupied with sniffing an eating. After most of the food he had brought was gone
he started to pick some big strips of leefs he had dragged with the corp and lay them on the ground , he also picked up the fur of
the slaughtered meal and ran astone along it's inside to scrape off some bloody slabs.
He layed it out to dry then did something out of Marlene's curious site. He seemed to be pushing something away , it must be
very heavy for him because he was breathing very loudly , after he had placed it where he'd wanted he sighed a bit. But she
couldn't say for shure if it was really that he was actually doing....
"What did you do ?" She asked after he'd layed his back to the wall and stared to the fire blankly.
He turned his head to her his eyes a hint angry or maybe just annoyed.
"You'll know that , in time..." He simply said.
She realized that her uncle's new features where more changed now. His ears where pointy like an elf's but a couple of spiked
srands where on one of the rims of his ears. His eye colour was glowing eerily. She shivered slightly. He probably caught her
fear because he giggled slightly.
After the fur had been sufficiently dried he pitched it towards Marlene. A fur blanket. He had niftilly crafted one for her ?
"Thank you ." She smiled and rapped herself with it. Dawn was near and she could see Vincent was getting pretty tierd. She was
too but had forced herself awake all night because of him. Now they both fell asleep and the crackling fire burned and died
steadilly through the day.
***
Marlene woke up at the sound of Growling. She looked at the bamboo door and saw at the bottom pairs of wolfpaws scratching
at it. She stiffled a cry of fright and found Vincent in a cronere of the cave , still sleeping. It was sunset but he hadn't woken up
yet.
"Uncle Vincent Uncle Vincent wake up !" She pushed him a little and he moaned.
The kalm wolves where bitting and clawing the door. It wouldn't hold out more then a couple of minutes if they continued. Sme
of the paws where already sticking out of holed they had made.
"Vincent please wake up !" She pushed him again and Jerked back when he planted a golden claw into the ground , on the same
spot she had been standing before. He had almost kiled her.
THe Kalm wolves barked and howled and Marlene cried. The golden hand dug out from the ground and propped Vincent into a
sitting position. His eyes where totally rd this time. No white , just red. He looked druppy eyed and pale but other wize awake.
He looked at Marlene and looked towards the wooden door which just now looked like it was about to collapse and he....yawned
?
Marlene looked baffled as Vincent lazilly stood up and went to the door. The Kalm wolves heard him come and barked. He
opened the door quickly and raised his Golden hand , he cast a Fire lvl 3 spell from nowhere and crisped wolves in the front. The
other wolves rushed up to pounce on him but he clawed at them so fast , Marlene could only see a blurr of his golden claw , and
the remainder of the wolves fell dead on the ground in a pile of their own blood. The sun wasn't interilly set and Vincent closed
the remainer of the wooden door and paced back to his corner of his cave and crumbled back onto his sleeping place.
Marlene stared dumbfounded at Vincent and collected her thoughts. Their had been at least 20 Kalm wolves and Vincent literally
defeate them single handedly with ease. She nervously sat in another corner of the cave eying Vincent nervously , having just
beheld his true strength.
***
Night
Vincent dragged the bloody corpses of 6 heavy Kalm wolves , most of them binded by the foot with a thick root rope , the little
girl was ordered to drag a small one also. They left a trail of blood. And durring their walk Marlene cried silently. Every so often
Vincent would leave one of the corpses behind making shure the bloody trail was very visible.
After a very tiering Walk and after dumping all but Marlene's small Kalm wolf . Vincent found a small forest that would provide
good coveredge for them during the day. HE picked the kalm wolf easilly and placed it on a big rock. He started gutting it with
his golden claw and throwing the innerds out from the forest. Marlene turned her gaze , but noticed that he seemed to be leaving a
trail of somekind. He built a fire and they ate the coarse but comestible mealmade from the meat of the kalm wolf. Vincent ate
hungrilly but Marlene looked repulsivly at her share.
Their are berries in the woods that look like these. Vincent held out his right hand and showed a bundle of black and red
Rasberry lookig things.
"Their are many around our camp you may pick them , but make shure you are within my sight."
Marlene took the berries carefully out of the purple redish inhumain claw and went to the bushes next to him , she ate them
hungrilly .
****
"That no good !#%@#! Bastard ! I'll kill him !" Barrete stomped around the Villa , pausing then and again around the room
Marlene had been kidnapped from. The man seemed near Tears.
Cloud and TIfas wedding had been cancelled , every one gathered at the villa to talk. Yuffie seemed more or less shocked. Tifa
was in tears. Cloud tried to confort her. No wonder she felt more sadness then anyone else by this situation. Tifa had become the
unofficial mother for Marlene and she felt like her child had just been killed.
"Calm down Barret ! We don't know if he's killed Marlene !" Red XIII Tried to stop Barret's shouting , but just started to get him
more mad.
"You saw what the freak did to Gongaga , their where 4 year olds in that pile of dead corpsees , he wouldn't hesitate to kill her the
!#?%# !!"
TIfa cried harder.
"Please calm down Barret or I'll have to ask you to leave , and we will decide on how to track him without you." Cloud held Tifa
in his arms and hugged her more.
Barret Cursed some more and sat down deeply breathing. Yuffie had little tears in her eyes. Cloud had suspected that Yuffie had
had a crush on the X-Turk. The young Shinobi must of admired how Vincents' stealth could be undetected , even sometimes by
her.
Nanaki broke his thoughts. " If he would of killed Marlene he would of done so to Cloud and Tifa as well. The insident in
Gongaga tells us alot.
