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Emelyn looked at Zachary with a slow, 'hell if I know' shrug. "Insanity? A desire to fulfill some strange path he thinks is his destiny? He says its for medical knowledge, for some grand purpose, like curing cancer- but personally, I believe more the 'mad scientist' theory."

So that was it. A mad scientist with a penchant for turning humans into half-animal creatures. But somehow, he felt drained of emotion. He should be scared, horrified. Nothing came to him.He looked back at Emelyn a moment to look very hard at her hairs. Every spine stuck directly out of her skin. It was not fake at all, he realized with vague sadness. How selfish of him to think it was all a game.

At the loud yell of greeting, he snapped his head to the side to see who it was. A whimper escaped his lips. A woman with claws and pointed ears.

She was all it took to make him crack.

"I don't want to become an animal! I want to go home! I'm scared - I..." He ended with a dry cough from lack of air. He was already siezing up with terror, cutting him off from the breathing he desperately needed to keep crying aloud. Tears formed in his eyes. He believed it now, all of it. He just wanted to get the HELL out of this new nightmare.

He turned his face away from Emelyn and the newcomer. He was ashamed of himself enough as it was.

Lauren nearly jumped as Zach had spazzed out just after looking at her. She looked at her claws and her small tail, Damn I'm not that bad am I? She thought to herself.

"Oh my... did I come at a bad time cause you know... ho crap are you alright?" Lauren asked the newcomer. She felt akward and wasn't sure exactly what to do.

"Don't be," she said, referring to his apologies, and speaking in a soothing, milky voice that was honeyed with dulcet tones of understanding. "It's a very big thing, and you have every right to be upset. You're not stupid at all."

Emelyn looked up at Lauren, who looked half-frazzled at her attempt to say hello, and eased a calming look in her direction, as well.

"He just found out what the island is all about," Em explained, "it wasn't because of you- he's just upset, is all. ...I'm sorry, Lauren, this is Zach, and Zach- this is Lauren." She knew it wasn't the most socially acceptable place for introductions, but even so... it was the right place, based on the circumstances. Perhaps they could distract one another- even in the minutest way.

Shaky, he let his gloved hand fall from his face and instead shoved it into the sand, taking the rest of his body down with it in a curve. He tried to end the sobbing, it was embarassing. Get a grip on yourself.

This was not a time for him to be formal. He still couldn't look up due to the sunlight. "Hello... Lauren. Y-yeah, now that I t-think about it I was ensnared." He kept his eyes on the sparkling sand. "They offered me a job s-spelunking. It sounded too good to be true. It was..."

Lauren's question was one he couldn't answer. "No, Em is the first person... who's said that name to me. I got my shot from Sabin Duvert." He hoped that would help her. He wanted to meet this Moreau now, and Duvert at the same time preferrably, if only to stick it to the sadistic bastards.

Thank god they handn't confiscated his gear. He had a few heavy tools he could use persuasively.

Lauren looked a little shocked. Maybe Moreau wasn't back, maybe Sabin had taken over the island and now it would be him toying with them for the rest of their lives. She had heard lots of bad things about Sabin from Jolie, and now he turned the island back into action. Maybe... he killed Moreau?

Oh god, Lauren tried not to panic herself. She was, unlike Zach, highly skilled at hiding her feelings. "Yeah... part of the club." She said softly, looking down. How could she be sure Sabin would take care of her like Moreau did?

"Well, any time, really," Em said, a carpet of soft concern still the foundation of every word. "In fact, if you ever need anything, I'll do whatever I can to help." She looked down at her hands, which had returned winding the grass fibers about themselves, and remembered that she wasn't exactly easy to find these days. She smiled, mostly to herself, shaking her head down into the depths of her basket. Then she looked up at Zach once more.

"If you ever look for me in the village, though, I can assure you won't find me. I've decided to live out here. Ever since... well, suffice it to say, Moreau pulled a dirty trick on us all, and I'd rather not continue to live within his hypocricsy. Oh. ...Lauren," she said, pinning on the words as she recalled, "...I'm sorry." Her voice didn't hold much true remorse in it, but she didn't yet know if Lauren still felt the way she did about Moreau. And regardless how she felt about the man... he may be the only person the girl had ever trusted in her life- or perhaps a sort of mentor, father figure to her. No matter what her entanglement with the red-headed, blue-blooded monster had done or might do to rot her soul.... Emelyn was unwilling to sacrifice the girl's comfort and happiness for even... the truth.

Zach nodded at Em, his eyes still red from crying. "Thank you so much. I guess... maybe we'll see each other again some time?" He hoped so. "I'll keep a lookout for a redhead doctor."

After a moment, he snapped his fingers. "The intercom in my room! I'll try giving them a buzz and seeing if I can find out what they say is going on. I'm new here, so I can still play dumb for these laboratory doctors."

Lauren's sudden screaming shocked him, even causing him to jump. It seemed even shriller than a normal wail. Wasn't she on their side? Was she... did she want the changes she so obviously had?

He really needed to find out who this Moreau guy was. Everyone's lives here seemed hinged on a recent conspiracy.