As everyone did their chores, they kept an eye open for somewhere to hide Cloud. Brett and Devon moved from person to person, keeping an eye on all seven of them. When the chores were finished, everyone met in Attlin's room.

"So anyone find anything?" Preston asked.

"It's only been one night," Grim told him. "How do you expect us to find anything on the first night?"

"Calm down Grim," Xander said.

"So where's Cloud going to stay tonight?" Kyrton asked.

"He can stay in my room again tonight," Preston said. "We'll put him somewhere else tomorrow." Everyone headed to their rooms. Preston found Cloud in the closet again.

"So I'm staying in your room again?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, though you'll be somewhere else tomorrow." Cloud nodded.

"How long will I be here?" he asked after a few minutes.

"I'm not sure," Preston said honestly. They stopped talking and went to bed. Preston left for school in the morning, but Cloud had been up too.

"So where's he staying tonight?" Preston asked Xander on the bus.

"He can stay in my room."

"You probably have the best chance of finding a room for him since you go all over the orphanage," Preston said.

"Hopefully you'll find something soon," Rystan jumped in. They both looked at her. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear."

"That's fine," Xander told her. When they reached school, everyone waited for sixth hour to come. They met Mr. Cert outside again. Once out there, it began to rain. Mr. Cert handed out the new partners and they split up.

Attlin and Grim started sparring right away. Attlin stopped to hand Grim back his dagger, but spun his stick again when Grim launched another attack. One of the daggers hit and flew off in another direction. The other stuck in his stick. Attlin pulled out the dagger and tossed it back to Grim. Grim caught the dagger and picked up the one on the ground. He and Attlin began circling one another again. Grim charged and switched directions at the last minute. He knocked Attlin to the ground, but Attlin threw Grim off with his stick. Mr. Cert showed up at that point.

"Good tactic of switching directions," he told Grim. "Nice use of your weapon to deflect Grim's daggers," he said to Attlin. He continued to another group. At the end of class, they went back inside to change. The seven of them rushed to the bus.

"I can't believe it's a Thursday already," Rystan said.

"It seems like it was Monday only yesterday," Kyrton added.

"So over the weekend we can talk to Cloud and figure out what to do with him," Attlin told them.

"We still have to find a place to put him," Preston pointed out.

"I think Xander is our only hope for that," Grim said. They talked the rest of the way back. Upon reaching the orphanage they met up in Xander's room.

"So why did you tell us to meet you in here?" Grim asked.

"I think we need to talk to Cloud as a group," Preston told them.

"Why can't we do this over the weekend?" Eline asked.

"Because the longer we wait, the more trouble we can get into." Preston answered her. He opened the closet door and Cloud stepped out. Xander made sure the door was locked. Cloud looked at each person, ending on Preston.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"We want you to tell us the last thing you remember before you found us fighting Reno."

"I had been following Reno outside of Nibelheim," Cloud told them. "I wanted to know what he was doing there. I followed him into a forest when he started running. I assumed it was because he realized he was being followed. I lost him for a while, but then heard battle sounds, like gun shots and yelling. I followed the sounds and found you guys fighting Reno." Xander spoke up first.

"So you don't remember anything strange when you entered the forest?"

"No."

"Maybe Reno knew about something in that forest," Rystan said, "like a portal to our world. Cloud didn't know, and he came from one forest into another so he didn't notice anything different when he followed Reno in."

"That's possible," Preston said.

"Need I remind everyone that he is from a video game," Kyrton said.

"We know that Kyrton," Preston said, "but do you have any other explanation for this?"

"No."

"Someone's coming," Attlin announced quietly. Preston quickly shoved Cloud back in the closet and Xander unlocked the door. Wilkan came in.

"What's going on in here?" he asked them.

"Just talking," Rystan answered.

"We'll do our chores when we're done with our homework," Xander told him. Wilkan looked surprised, like Xander had read his mind.

"Don't try to skip them; Brett will be keeping an eye on all of you." He left them.

"Did you read his mind to answer his question before he asked it?" Eline asked Xander.

"I just wanted to get him out of here," Xander said. Everyone laughed. They went to their own rooms and finished their homework. Then they did their chores. Xander was the last one done, instead of Attlin. He went to Preston's room right away.

"I found a place to keep Cloud," Xander told Preston.

"We'll have to wait until everyone's asleep," Preston said.

"I know. I'll come get you when it's safe." About an hour later, Xander brought Preston and Cloud to a hidden attic. "I found it when I was cleaning. I'm the only one with the key."

"So I'll stay here from now on?" Cloud asked.

"Yes. We'll still bring you food and stuff, but it'll be easier to keep you hidden up here," Preston told him. They went back down to their rooms. The next morning on the bus, the others noticed how tired they were.

"Didn't sleep well?" Rystan asked.

"No, it's because we found a place to put Cloud," Preston explained.

"Where?" Eline asked.

"There's a hidden attic in our orphanage, and I have the only key," Xander said.

"And that's why you're tired?" Grim asked.

"Yes," Preston said. They arrived at school and headed to their classes. At lunch they continued talking about Cloud.

"Even though we know who he is, we don't know much," Attlin said. "We should continue playing the game so we learn more."

"I agree," Eline said.

"We'll have to make sure Wilkan doesn't find out," Attlin continued.

"That's obvious," Kyrton said. "Besides VII, shouldn't we start playing some of the other games, in case characters from those start popping up?"

"That might be a good idea, since then we would already know who the person is, if they somehow showed up," Rystan jumped in. They talked some more, then headed off to their classes. When sixth period came around, they changed quickly and headed outside to get their new partner assignment.

"What!" both Rystan and Eline shouted.

"Is there a problem?" Mr. Cert asked them.

"We have to fight each other?" Eline asked.

"Yes, and you aren't getting out of it," he told them. They looked at each other.

"I'm guessing you never had to find the spot to practice, did you?" Rystan asked. Eline shook her head. "Me either. Let's get going so we can get this over with."

"At least this will be interesting," Eline said.

"Yeah, interesting. I wonder who else is partnered up." They found a spot and began practicing. Rystan threw her coat to the side, and Eline pulled out a gun.

"So how do I practice shooting people effectively when I only get to use blanks?" Eline asked. Rystan shrugged. "I'm not going easy on you either."

"I wouldn't want you to." Rystan smiled.

"So you're my partner?" Kyrton asked Attlin.

"That's right." They found a spot and pulled out their weapons. Attlin braced himself when Kyrton ran at him. Kyrton's sword sliced through the pole up until it hit the metal in the middle. Kyrton pulled it out quickly. Attlin retaliated and swung at Kyrton with his pole. "You forgot about the metal."

"Who cares?" Kyrton blocked the pole with his sword. When he pulled it out, he pulled the stick with it. He grabbed it and threw it back to Attlin, who nodded his thanks. Again Attlin came at Kyrton with the stick and knocked Kyrton down. Kyrton then put his sword out in front of him to keep Attlin away until he got back up. He then swung wide and Attlin hit him in the stomach. Kyrton threw his sword, which sliced the side of Attlin's arm.

"Stop for a minute." They both turned and saw Mr. Cert standing to the side. "You both fight very well, but there seems to be some tension. That was quick thinking to use your pole to knock Kyrton off his feet, Attlin. And Kyrton, you were smart to use your sword to block any of Attlin's attacks while you got back up.

"I don't think it was the smartest move to throw your sword. It may have hit him, but after that you would have been without a weapon for the moment. And Attlin, when you saw Kyrton coming towards you, instead of countering you just waited. Next time use his predictability to your advantage. I'll let you continue now, but try not to cause each other too much pain. And I know I've said to keep bloodshed to a minimum in this class or I'll be out of a job and you'll have to find a new sixth hour class." Mr. Cert left them.

"He gave us some good advice," Attlin said.

"Oh whatever," Kyrton remarked. "Let's just finish this."

When the class was over, everyone headed back to the class on their own. The seven changed and headed quickly to the bus. They took their seats and breathed deeply. Grim began asking Eline how her practice went, while Rystan talked to Kyrton about practice.

"So you were partnered with Eline?" Kyrton asked.

"Yeah. It was fun, but I think I'll be glad when everyone's back to normal. What about you? Who was your partner?"

"Attlin." Rystan turned to Attlin, who was sitting behind them. "You two were partnered together?"

"Yes. It was an exhausting battle," Attlin told her.

"Yeah, but in the end I won," Kyrton said.

"No one wins Kyrton," Rystan teased him. She noticed the way Attlin was holding his arm. "What happened to your arm Attlin?"

"Kyrton got a good hit in with his sword." Rystan turned to Kyrton.

"Did you forget about Mr. Cert's rule of no bloodshed?"

"The rule is actually keeping bloodshed to a minimum," Kyrton corrected her. When she continued to stare at him in disbelief he added, "I was only protecting myself from the wrath of Attlin's pole." Rystan smiled. They continued talking the whole ride back. At the orphanage, there was a van parked out front.

"What do you think is going on?" Eline asked to no one in particular.

"Let's go find out," Preston said. They walked in and saw some boy sitting outside Wilkan's office. He looked up when they walked in.

"You guys live here?" he asked them.

"We wouldn't be here otherwise," Kyrton answered him.

"Who are you?" Grim asked.

"Travis. I'm the new kid that transferred from another orphanage."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Grim. This is Kyrton, Attlin, Xander, Eline, Preston, and Rystan." Travis merely nodded to each as their name was said.

"It will take me a while to remember all those." Wilkan came out of his office, along with someone else.

"He'll be fine here, don't you worry," Wilkan was saying to the other man. The man looked happy.

"Good luck Travis." The man walked out and the drove away in the van.

"Well, it's nice to have you here Travis," Wilkan told him. "I see you've already met some of the orphans staying here. I would suggest finding a different group of friends to hang out with. These seven here are trouble makers."

"I've always been more of a trouble maker myself," Travis told him with a smile. Wilkan looked shocked.

"Well, chose your friends wisely. Preston, show Travis to the empty room on the second floor." Wilkan walked back into his office and shut the door.

"So you all are trouble makers? I think I've found my group of friends." Grim showed him to his room while everyone else made their way to Attlin's room.

"Looks like Grim's found a new friend," Eline said.

"Yeah, but will he tell him about Cloud?" Xander asked. The room went silent for a minute. They heard Grim and Travis coming down the hall. Grim opened the door and walked in.

"Okay, it's way too quiet in here. What happened?" Grim asked.

"Travis, would you step outside for a minute?" Preston asked. "It has nothing to do with you; we just need to speak to Grim about something." Travis closed the door after he left.

"What was that for?" Grim asked again.

"Did you tell him anything about Cloud?" Preston asked.

"No. If he's going to hang out with us though, we should tell him soon." Preston was still thinking and looking at Grim when Travis knocked on the door.

"You guys done talking about me yet?" Travis asked.

"Yeah, we're done," Xander told him. Travis came in. "Have you ever played any Final Fantasy games?"

"I've played eight and ten. Why?"

"Just wondering," Xander said.

"Hey, I hate to break up this wonderful meeting, but we all have chores and homework to do," Eline said.

"Why do you guys have chores? Do all the orphans here have chores they have to do?" Travis asked.

"No, just us. We have them because we're 'trouble makers,'" Grim told him. "Since you're here now, are you going to go to the Academy?" Travis nodded. "Cool. See you in the morning."

Travis said good-night and headed off to his room. The rest of them left to do their chores. When everyone was done, they all met up at the attic. When Xander finished his chores, he unlocked the attic. They found Cloud practicing with his sword. He stopped after a few minutes, when he noticed them.

"Having fun?" Kyrton asked.

"It's the only thing I can do while I'm up here," Cloud told him.

"So where were your friends when you followed Reno here?" Xander asked.

"Most were back in their hometowns. The only one that was with me at the time was Vincent. I'm not sure what happened to him."

"Do you think he could have followed you without you knowing it?" Eline asked.

"I doubt it. Why are you keeping me here?" he asked them suddenly.

"You wouldn't really fit in out there," Grim said.

"I should be looking for Reno. You don't know what he could be doing out there right now."

"That may be, but for now you need to stay here," Preston told him.

"What was that van doing outside here today?" Cloud asked again.

"A new orphan was dropped off, that's all," Preston answered. "We need to get back before Wilkan knows we're gone, so we'll see you tomorrow." They went down to their rooms.

"I'm so glad it's finally Friday," Kyrton said.

"Yeah. It'll be nice to have a break from the battles in WT," Rystan said.

"How did your fight with Eline go?" Xander asked her.

"It was fine. I won," she added with a smile.

"Yeah right, I totally beat you," Eline argued.

"Whatever. I had the most points," Rystan told her. The others watched this argument for a while before eventually going to bed. They stopped fighting when they realized they were alone.

"See you in the morning," Eline said.

The weekend passed quickly. They got to the third disc of Final Fantasy VII, and started a game of Final Fantasy VIII. Then Monday came. Grim helped remind Travis it was time to get up by dropping a water balloon on his face in the morning. Grim quickly ran out of the room and Travis chased after him.

"You'll regret that!" Travis yelled. He rounded the corner, but didn't see Grim. "I'll find you." He walked down the hallway and rounded the corner.

"That was weird," Grim mumbled. He came out from behind a plant. "It was still pretty obvious where I was hiding." He walked back to his room and finished getting ready. He met Travis down by the bus.

"You'll pay for that," Travis told him.

"Why didn't you just tackle me in the hallway before?" Grim asked him.

"You weren't in the hallway," Travis said. They got on the bus and continued to argue the whole way over. Eline interrupted at one point when they were close to the Academy.

"Do you have your class schedule?" she asked Travis. He handed it to her. "Every one of your classes has one of us in it. You even have WT with us."

"WT?"

"Weapons training," Grim told him. "So you have calc honors first. Preston can show you to that class. Then he'll show you to history with Eline and Rystan. Then go with Rystan to chemistry. From chemistry you'll go to lunch, and after that you can go with me to humanities. Then there's WT. Mr. Cert will have to find you a partner before we start."

"Okay, you lost me after calculus honors. Can you start over again?" Travis asked. Grim sighed dramatically. He gave up and just told him what to do for his first class.