Note: I do not own any of these characters or Final Fantasy. Not mine..although I wish they were. This story was started a long time ago and needs to be edited. I just recently found it and decided to start working on it again. I'll be updating it from time to time..And feel free to give suggestions on pairings.. I will be including characters from FFX, FFVII, and FFVIII. These are the characters that do not have pairings decided yet:

-Paine

-Nooj

-Baralai

-Gippal

-Rikku

-Auron

-Seymour (Yes he is coming back!)

-Squall

-Zell

-Rinoa

-Quistis Trepe

-Irvine

-Laguna

-Seifer

-Cloud

-Sephiroth (Evil Laugh)

-Vincent

-Aeris

-Tifa

-Yuffie

-So as you can see I'll need some help…And even if a character is not up here, you can still suggest pairings.

Return

It was barely a year since the defeat of Vegnugun. People were out in the streets, happy and carefree. The Lady Yuna and her fiancée Tidus were hosting the yearly blitzball tournament. Luca was lit like a torch, and the city could be seen from miles away. The roar of applause and shouts thundered from the city, and echoed into the night. A solitary figure sat on top of a black airship hunched over. Her pale skin made her seem almost ghost like under the harsh city lights. The figure, clad in black, watched as many groups of people walk by through cold crimson eyes. She stood, and turned to go back inside the airship. As she entered the lift, sphere casts all over Luca displayed the image of the three leaders of Spira. The woman's eyes narrowed slightly, and she turned her head away, allowing the lift's door to close. She moved down to the engine room, and out once again into the night. She paused as the sphere casts replayed images of the three men shaking hands and making speeches. Her face darkened, and she moved on. She entered into the fringe of the city, and made her way through the crowd. The streets were packed, yet with a blood-chilling glare she made her way through. Near by, a blonde AlBehd girl called out to her, "Byeha! Frana ryja oui paah? Oihea, Kebbym, Huuz, Pynymye, yht E ryja paah muugehk vun oui!" She kept on walking, until the girl ran towards her. "Paine!" The blonde shouted. Paine ignored her, plunging into the crowded streets. "Tysh!" the blonde exclaimed, catching an amused look from a few other Al Bhed. Paine moved forward, her palm resting on the hilt of her sword. She scowled as she caught sight of a too familiar form making his way to her. "Paine!" She turned, flinching slightly as her name was called. Moving towards her at a quick speed was a tall, tan, white haired man. People scurried to get out of his way, calling out greetings to the Praetor of New Yevon. He stopped in front of her, his eyes bright. "Where in Yevon's name have you been? We have been so worried…Gippal had half the macina faction looking for you, and Nooj…" He paused. "Nooj has become, if possible, even more depressed." Paine stared back through her eyes, showing no sign of any emotion. "You shouldn't have worried. I'm a big girl Baralai. I don't need my own personal guard." She moved to turn away, but was prevented by a strong hand on her shoulder. "Paine…" Baralai half whispered, his brown eyes displaying hurt. Paine looked back at him silently. Baralai frowned, his hand tightening his grip on her shoulder. "What the hell has happened to you?" His shout caused many people to turn their heads in the two's direction. Paine struggled from his grip, and hissed at him coldly. "Lower your voice Praetor, someone might hear you." Baralai recoiled as if he had been punched. "I have no idea who you are anymore Paine. Your not the same person you were even a year ago!" Paine laughed, dark emotions playing upon her face. "The Paine from the Crimson Squad and the Gullwings is long dead." With that she turned again to leave, plunging through the crowd.

Baralai stared after her for a moment, then plunged in after her. "Paine! Wait!" He called, fighting to keep her retreating form in his view. Suddenly he rammed into another person and crashed downwards. "Lai!" the figure shouted. "Watch where you are fucking going!" A sandy haired, one-eyed Al Bhed sat dazed on the ground. "Your Praetor staff almost removed my good eye!" And with that, Gippal rose offering a hand to Baralai. Baralai accepted, but turned to see the leader of the Youth League watching him through cold brown eyes. "Still the same foolish children I knew two years ago." A faint smile formed on Nooj's face. Baralai returned the smile, and then started. "I just saw Paine…" He stopped to gasp in pain as Nooj's macina hand clamped onto his shoulder. "Where!" The Death Seeker demanded, raw emotion in his voice. "Here! "She…" He stopped again. "She has changed." Gippal rolled his eyes. "Yes Lai, people do change." Baralai started off in the direction Paine was headed calling over his shoulder, "You'll see soon enough Gippal." Gippal's smile faded, and he and Nooj plunged in after Baralai. Paine pushed her way through, ignoring angry stares of the people she brushed to the side. She had returned to the airship to try and ease back into the way things were before. She felt out of place, a stranger. She allowed her mind to drift back to the events of the past year and winced in pain. After the defeat of Vegnagun, Paine had reestablished her relationships with the three most important people in the world to her. Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal. Then one day, while on a sphere hunt with Yuna and Rikku, she just simply vanished. No, she had not just vanished. She awoke into a world foreign to her, and unlike anything she knew. Then, she met him. Paine shivered and increased her pace, heading straight for the High Road. She entered the highroad, paying a hover and riding to the edge of Mushroom Rock Road. She slipped into the shadows, past the Youth League guards, and towards a too familiar ravine. Exhausted, Paine stumbled down the steep steps, slamming into the cold, unforgiving earth. She rose to her feet, touching her head where blood was streaming from a gash. Her gray hair darkened, mixed with blood. She surveyed the rest of her self and found she was bleeding in quite a few other places. She limped forward, through the ravine. Collapsing, she found herself in what was called the 'Den Of Woe.' She closed her eyes, flinching at the wave of memories that struck her.