Whee! A totally random update for a discontinued fic! How often does that happen eh? Assuming that people actually still wait for updates for this which is like sooo unlikely. Lol. Anyways as it's been so long, I'll have likely forgotten some picky details of the story which all you guys & girls will have to forgive me for. This update also does not mean that I've decided to finish the story. But I admit that I was just missing it (specifically Zane and Vreya interaction XD)) far too much, and I decided to type up the next chapter since it pretty much leads into the Zane/Vreya arc of the story. Who knows where it'll go from here? XD It's v. unlikely I'll get much else done as I've got 2 other fics that are priority over this but hey, enjoy the new content for now. Anyways, if any of my dear old readers do read this, I do hope you'll enjoy it : )

Chapter LV: Enigma – Part I

The snake-like monster's leering face was a hideous sight to behold. The muscles in Zane's right arm screamed in protest and agony as he ignored his injuries and reached desperately for his sword. It was within his grasp, but it became all too apparent to him that he hadn't the time to retrieve it. The stench of the creature's breath made him want to gag, but he fought against the overpowering urge to cough and clear his lungs. It hissed and drew a heavy claw back, ready to deal the finishing blow.

At the last moment, Zane's fingers found a sharp, long shard of broken glass. They closed around the weapon tightly, and with the reflexes of a trained fighter he lifted his aching arm and stabbed up, straight into the monster's chest.

It let out a hiss of anguish, and in its rage again attempted to kill the human beneath it. But Zane didn't relent, stabbing and slashing at it again and again until he felt its weight above him lighten. The instant it did, he summoned all his remaining energy and shoved it off, backing away and grabbing hold of his sword again.

Panting as he regained his feet, his eyes darted away from the writhing creature and locked onto Vreya. She was still surrounded. His mind raced, trying to find some way, any way, to get some of the monsters away from her.

But he wasn't given long to formulate a plan. A hiss alerted him to two lizards that were standing, tilting their big, ugly heads almost mockingly at him.

He gripped his sword tightly, gritting his teeth in frustration. He braced himself, having only enough energy to either defend or attack; not both. As one of them stepped forward, Zane heard the sickening sound of bone cracking. The lizard let out a pained sound, faltered and fell. Its companion looked at Zane, confused, and then turned, only to be met with one end of Selphie's Strange Vision nunchuks. A few seconds later and the brunette girl had made short work of the foe.

Gen, who had accompanied her and knocked out the first lizard, looked visibly impressed. She sure was fast.

Selphie placed her weapon proudly on a tiny shoulder, pointing her fingers in a pistol-esque motion at the fallen bodies.

'Bang, bang, I shot you down!' She exclaimed, before turning bright green-eyes to Zane. 'Heeey! Sorry it took us so long, we had to wait for a good opportunity before we could slip by.'

Gen peered at him. 'Are you alright?'

Zane declined to respond.

Selphie examined his injuries with experienced eyes and winced. 'Ouch! You're pretty badly injured. C'mon, lemmie fix you up a little!'

The taller young man was not impressed as he allowed her to cast healing magic. How much longer would he have to keep relying on the magic of his team-mates? The battles were becoming harder and Zane was becoming increasingly irritated.

What was the point of being a Chosen child when he didn't have the same privileges the others selected by the planet had? Why would nobody give him the answers he sought?

Once Selphie had finished, he felt as good as new. She turned, and they looked back toward where the fight was still raging. The sky was an explosion of brilliant lights as GFs and Elementals materialised over and over again. But still the enemy came, as if replicating itself.

Quistis deposed of another goblin and watched as more rose up from the ground. She killed another, and watched Seifer destroy a fourth. It was then that realisation sunk in as her intelligent mind did the math.

'These monsters...they're coming out from the same spot the last one you kill sinks into!'

'Say what?' Zell asked, narrowly avoiding a lunging lizard-man as he tried to get in close enough to strike.

'The position they rise from is determined by the location the ones before them fall to; it's...like a trigger of some sort!' Quistis informed them.

'So you're saying that as long as we kill these freaks on ground...' Seifer began, as he parried a goblin's attack.

'They'll keep rising, yes!' Quistis nodded.

'Wait, wait, how is that even possible?!' Sara demanded, as she helped Roxy take out another monster. 'Are you saying they've all been...coded, or programmed, or something?'

'That's insane!' Costa exclaimed.

'No crazier than anything else we've come up against.' Ash said, eyes moving worriedly back to where Vreya was surrounded. He moved forward in an attempt to aid her again.

'So what now, guys?' Lila demanded, stepping back to catch her breath for a moment.

'You need a change in strategy!' Fleck yelled voice barely audible above the commotion.

'Vreya, help Vreya!' Jez was screaming and gesturing madly.

Roxy and Ash were trying to do just that, summoning spells and attacking the monsters that surrounded Vreya from a distance. But they kept re-materialising like the others.

'If I'm correct in my theory, they should only be able to regenerate provided the bodies of their fallen comrades touch the ground.' Quistis stated.

'So what're you saying, we kill them in the air or something?' Zell asked.

Quistis glanced at her friend.

'That's exactly what I'm saying.'

'Err...how are we supposed to do that exactly?' Lila questioned. 'Our wind spells don't last long enough for us to kill the things suspended in midair.'

'Use Tempest.' Quistis looked to the brunette. 'He can keep them locked in place can't he?'

Lila stared back incredulously. 'I...I don't know, can he?!'

Zell grinned, readying his fists for a fresh wave of fighting. 'Yo, I think you need to put a little more faith in your spiritual friends.'

Seifer was growing bored of the useless chatter and swiped at the air before him with Hyperion.

'C'mon! Let's wreak some havoc!'

'Lila, summon Tempest! We have to save our magic stocks, remember?' Ash called back to her.

'Ok, ok!' Lila nodded, and closed her eyes, focusing.

'Everybody, form a circle and make sure nothing interrupts the summoning!' Sara ordered.

Meanwhile, Gen, Zane and Selphie were trying to think of a way to help Vreya.

'Just charging in is out of the question.' Gen said, looking at Zane. Zane glanced back at him. What was the boy implying? That he was ready to just blindly jump in without considering the consequences?

'Just charging in would be stupid.' He retorted.

'Wait a minute, wait a minute guys!' Selphie jumped up and down excitedly. 'I think the others have a plan!'

Sure enough, Zell was gesturing for them to stay in place.

'What're they up to?' Gen wondered out loud.

'It better not be some dumb ass plan.' Zane muttered, placing a hand on his hip in premature exasperation.

Selphie blinked, and grinned at him. 'Wow, you really are more optimistic than Squall!'

Zane gave her his trademark 'whatever' look, which prompted her to giggle. He didn't know which was more annoying; her constant perkiness, or his inexplicable inability to actually form a steady dislike for the cheerful girl. Normally, people so happy and hyper irritated him. He looked away from her and back toward where Vreya was holding off a fresh circle of enemies.

She had held her ground well up to that point, but Zane could tell from the way her slender form was beginning to hang that she was starting to tire. And there were only so many times she could heal without rest. His eyes moved back to where the others had formed a circle around Lila.

'Hang on, Vreya!' Sara called out. 'We're coming!'

Tempest materialised and unleashed his element. Gen, Zane and Selphie watched, expecting the usual, but were surprised to see the elemental change his attack. As the monsters were sent flying into the air, he held them into place with carefully controlled, powerful wind energy.

'Payback time!' Seifer yelled, and an explosion of sparks and the clang of metal erupted in the air, as the others moved to finish the creatures off.

'Huh? Why're they finishing them off in mid-air?' Selphie asked, perplexed.

Her answer followed closely behind as Lorne's minions disappeared in a puff of thick, purple smoke which was blown into oblivion by the remaining wind.

'I was right.' Quistis breathed, as no further monsters rose from the ground to replace the ones slaughtered.

Gen nodded in understanding. 'They must've been linked to the ones coming out from the ground.'

'Quisty figured it out!' Selphie exclaimed. 'Woohoo! Way to go Quisty!'

Zane was already running forward, sword ready to hack at the monsters surrounding Vreya. On the other side, Zell, Seifer, Lila, Ash and Roxy were moving toward the same goal. As they all closed in a sudden, blinding white light forced all to shield their eyes. The ground rumbled and shook. They were all forced to stop.

When the blinding illumination subsided, they were shocked at what they saw.

Many more monsters had materialised; new creations they had yet to encounter.

'Shit!' Seifer cursed, instantly recognising some of the hideous creatures.

'The hell?!' Zell yelled. 'Ochus and Cockatrices?!'

'Forbiddens and Death Claws?!' Selphie screeched.

'Status-changing enemies!' Quistis exclaimed, thinking it was no mere coincidence that they had all appeared together.

But the greatest horror was still approaching. Vreya found her feet, sensing a terrible presence behind her as the ground shook.

She whirled – just in time to see an enormous red dragon thundering toward her, wings flaring at its side, eyes a malicious, dark crimson. Its roar was devastating and she stood, frozen in shock and horror.

'A Ruby Dragon-!' Selphie was gob smacked, her smile completely wiped from her face.

Her friends were obstructed by the new, more powerful enemies. Assisting Vreya was now an even harder task than it had been before, especially with the new addition of the menacing, fire-breathing dragon.

'Oh shit, SHIT! Vreya, look out!' Costa shouted frantically.

Lila, Sara and Roxy screamed in terror.

Ruby Dragon lunged – Seifer, Ash and Zane did the same – but the momentum from its weight meant that it was propelled forward faster than the human boys. Vreya raised her arms, mind blank, ready to cast any spell in defence, but the glint of a spinning blade broke her concentration. It sliced into the front of the dragon, and another followed. The Dragon released an angry roar, setting a mighty foot down to stop itself in its movement and turn to address the new threat.

Seifer, Ash and Zane, who had all fallen short of their target, stared from their positions on the cracked ground, as a figure in a dark, hooded cloak slashed at the dragon with a speed and agility that was undeniably impressive. The stranger's movements were a near blur to the untrained eye.

Quistis looked away, back at Zell, Lila, Roxy, Sara and Costa.

'The Ruby Dragon is being taken care of, let's clean this up!'

'Who is that?' Lila asked, jaw hanging. She couldn't see much from where she stood – just a flash of dark clothing and twin steel blades.

Sara just shook her head. A stroke of luck had saved them. Gen rejoined them, looking stunned.

'Did you guys see that?'

'Where the hell did this show-off come from?' Costa demanded.

'Whoa, I dunno, but I'm betting they're on our side!' Roxy said excitedly, and with renewed vigour she faced the new enemies.

'These are monsters from our world, so listen up!' Zell stated.

As he and Quistis guided the Fated Children with battle strategies, Ash, Seifer and Zane were on their feet, watching as a complete unknown took on a hulking mass of a monster. They had reached Vreya, who was staring at the fight ahead of them with wide eyes.

'We've gotta help.' Ash said at length.

'Hey, how do we know if this tough guy is on our side?' Seifer challenged, echoing Zane's exact thoughts.

'Why else would he or she stop the dragon?' Ash replied.

'Where did he or she come from?' Zane backed Seifer.

Ash looked at them, and shook his head. 'So what, we don't know who it is, we just wait for them to die to find out? That's pretty stupid guys.'

Both Seifer and Zane glared at him.

'Shut your mouth.' The blond ex-knight retorted. 'I say if they're so keen to take it on alone, they can go ahead. Saviours don't just randomly show up.'

Zane silently agreed. But Vreya turned to him, and met his eyes.

'Yes they do.'

Zane stared at her blankly, before realising that she was referring to his saving her from the bikers, the first time they had met. He averted his eyes, annoyed that he didn't have a counter-argument to offer on the spot.

Ash looked between them, confused. Seifer huffed impatiently, deciding he preferred action to letting someone take the glory, even if it was a stranger.

'Fine, ok, own the dragon then pull the mask off. Let's move, kids!'

As he and Ash moved forward, Vreya made to do so also, but Zane turned back to her.

'Not you.' He instructed, and turned and followed the others before she could protest.

So she stood, between where two sets of battles were being waged. Behind her, Quistis, Costa, Roxy and Gen had teamed up to take on one group of monsters, and Selphie, Zell, Sara and Lila another. Ahead of her, she watched as Seifer, Ash and Zane joined in the dragon slaying fray.

She tried to keep her eyes on the cloaked figure, but it was difficult to track them. Their movements were so swift and graceful, twisting, turning, hurtling a blade up and catching the other, all the while avoiding danger.

Seifer, Zane and Ash were trying to get closer to the stranger, trying to glimpse beneath the mask – to no avail. The Ruby Dragon clawed at them, forcing them to disperse before letting out a great breath of fire.

'The dragon's almost finished!' Seifer called to the others. 'Two more strikes and it'll be out – but watch out for the final breath of fire!'

'Got it!' Ash replied, moving in to strike again. But the stranger's blade hacked once, and as he fell through mid-air he recaptured the first blade and hurtled it toward the dragon's abdomen again. It scored four consecutive slashes. The dragon roared in pain and fury, faltering and taking a deep inhalation of air.

'Look out!' Seifer warned, as Ruby Dragon exhaled a devastating stream of molten fire; its final, dying attack before it disintegrated in an explosion of bright light. Zane and Ash scattered, barely avoiding the scorching flames.

The rays blinded Vreya, and she felt the heat carried along a great gust of wind even as far back as she was standing. She shielded her face with her arms, and squinted, struggling to see clearly. A blur to her right caught her attention, and she lowered her arms marginally, ready to fire a round from her projectile weapon.

It was then that she realised the cloaked figure was heading straight toward her at breathtaking speed. She faltered, indecisively, uncertain of what to do; the enigma had helped to slay the dragon but even so – were they friend or foe?

They were rapidly incoming, and she dizzily noticed that the twin blades in the stranger's gloved hands were pointed away from her. If the person had any intention of attacking, they would be pointing toward her.

But when the person suddenly raised their left arm, alarm filled her.

'Vreya, look out!' Ash's voice came to her above the sound of rushing wind.

The stranger tossed their blade and it hurtled toward Vreya. Something, instinct, told her to stand her ground. The sword spun through the air, curving around her in an arc at the last moment. She heard snarls and hisses behind her, and turned to find four enemies that had been creeping up on her, slain.

As the blade tore through the last enemy, it curved around Vreya again and returned to its master's hand. The individual caught it with a professionalism that was impressive.

Vreya was dazzled by the display of sheer skill. Who could the stranger be?

As the robed figure reached Vreya, it seemed to marginally slow down. As it came close by her right side, she struggled to see the stranger's face.

Her eyes widened at what she witnessed next.

The individual's head turned to the right; a slight fraction toward her. The face was cast by shadow from the hood, but the light from the magical battle taking place behind them was a source of illumination which cast a golden glow to the right side of the stranger's face, which was concealed to just above the tip of their nose.

Vreya's breath hitched in her throat as she caught a glimpse of stray strands of impossibly silver hair – and green, green eyes.

A boy.

The green eyes framed by long dark lashes which sharply contrasted with the silver strands, widened marginally on meeting her gaze. Then he had passed her, and was gone.

She stood, stunned, not quite certain of what she had just seen.

Behind her, the robed figure finished off three more enemies, as Quistis and the others deposed of the rest.

As the smoke cleared, and no more enemies materialised, the mentors ran to the teenagers.

'What the hell happened in there?!' Jez demanded.

'Phew that sure was tough.' Bo said, rubbing the back of his neck stressfully.

Roxy, Lila and Sara were looking around frantically.

'Where'd they go?' Roxy exclaimed. 'The cloaked person?'

'Who was that?' Sara questioned, turning her eyes to Fleck, who shook his head.

'I...really don't know.'

'Are you kidding?' Costa said incredulously, clutching his left arm. 'If that's someone who's on our side then why the hell don't you know who it is?'

'Because to our knowledge there isn't anybody else!' Harris replied.

'It seems you may be wrong.' Quistis remarked.

Selphie nodded, big eyes blinking pointedly.

'That person saved Vreya.' Gen stated.

'I don't get why they just disappeared.' Lila frowned, as she helped heal Costa's arm.

Jez shook her head.

'We'll have to ask Morgan. There's little we can do if Mr. Hero just vanishes into thin air!'

'Did any of you guys get a glimpse of this person's face?' Bo asked.

They all shook their heads.

'We'll figure this out later.' Fleck said, and looked to his far left. 'Vreya! Seifer, Ash, Zane! Let's regroup and move out!'

'We couldn't save all the people.' Lila remarked miserably. 'I guess that means we failed.'

'No.' Harris replied. 'There're always going to be losses. The aim is to save as many lives as possible.'

'If you hadn't shown up, many more people would have died.' Fleck agreed. 'You did a good job – good teamwork and good strategy. You're definitely getting better and faster at dealing with enemies.'

Despite the supportive words, the town was a ruin. All humans had abandoned the location, save for the unfortunate victims of the monsters. Roxy looked away from the bloody, mutilated bodies, tears forming in her eyes.

'This...this is so awful guys...' She whispered. Zell put a sympathetic arm around her.

Sara shook her head angrily. 'The cops and emergency services aren't even here. How useless are they?'

'Remember who's controlling the majority of them now.' Jez reminded her.

'We've healed and saved everybody we could.' Harris said. 'That's the most important thing.'

Seifer, Ash and Zane reached Vreya, who was still standing in the same location. Zane and Seifer silently passed her, but Ash stopped by her side.

'Vreya?'

She slowly looked up at him, meeting his cool blue eyes, which reflected concern.

'You ok?'

'Yeah I...' Her voice trailed off, before she affirmed, 'I'm fine.'

At the unconvinced look on Ash's face, she insisted, 'Really.' and gave him a smile for good measure. Then she surprised him by linking her left arm through his right one.

He was pleased that she felt she could seek comfort from him; but he was more surprised to realise he wasn't pleased in the way he imagined he would have been months earlier.

They walked back to the others and Jez scolded her charge as Ash left her side.

'You were standing like a deer caught in headlights! Those monsters were right behind you and if that stranger hadn't flung their sword-'

'Oh here we go, always criticising.' Sara snapped. 'She held off a lot of monsters on her own.'

'She bought us time to execute our plan.' Gen defended.

'Yeah, give her a break, seriously.' Costa frowned.

'No! These are novice mistakes and she – and all of you in fact, can't afford to make those kinds of errors anymore!'

'We'll talk to them.' Fleck said, giving Jez a look which told her to drop it. Seeing Vreya down in spirits, he walked over to her and put an arm around her.

'You did well Vreya. Those were a lot of monsters to hold off alone.'

'But...the people...'

'You can't save everybody.' Seifer stated flatly, surprising Selphie, Zell and Quistis with his uncharacteristic attempt to be comforting.

Selphie stepped in next, taking over from Fleck and throwing an arm around Vreya.

'It'll get better Vreya! You'll get better! We'll all get better together! And you'll see, more and more lives will be saved. Now that's worth fighting for!'

'Hell yeah.' Zell grinned, pulling a goofy face.

Seifer snorted. 'Chicken-wuss.' He muttered.

'Say what, Seifer?!'

Quistis sighed heavily.

Vreya smiled faintly at their kind attempts to cheer her up.

'Ok, back to the vans.' Fleck ordered. 'We've done all we can here.'


From his carefully concealed position, Richter watched as the vans pulled out. Everything had gone according to plan and he thought he had pulled off a convincing job. More importantly, he had succeeded in catching the eyes of the girl, and he could tell that she had been instantly troubled by the encounter. All he had to do now was to wait until sunset, when he would make his way to their base.

He looked at the small electronic tracking device in his right hand, which highlighted the location of both vans. A small smile curved his lips. This was proving to be almost too easy.


Back at base, the mentors filled Morgan in on all the details of the battle and the teenagers were given some time off to rest.

'Yo, Squall, Rin, Irvine.' Zell greeted his friends. 'S'up.'

'Hey, guys.' Rinoa replied. 'How'd it go?'

'The toughest battle we've had yet.' Quistis replied.

'The monsters wouldn't stop coming!' Selphie gestured dramatically and Irvine reached over and snagged her from behind, causing her to squeal.

'What happened?' Squall asked, looking up from the scrap weapons pile he, Rinoa and Irvine had been asked to sift through by Locky, Tai and Rica.

'Monsters, shit-loads of them.' Seifer replied, waving a hand dismissively. 'Nothing I couldn't handle.'

'Tch, as if you took them all on alone.' Zell retorted.

'Actually a stranger came to our assistance.' Quistis explained.

'A stranger? Did you find out who it was?' Rinoa asked.

She shook her head. 'I'm afraid not. They were cloaked.'

'Too bad, coz he sure was handy.' Zell exclaimed.

'Maybe he wasn't a he.' Quistis said.

'He fought like a guy.' Seifer replied.

'Sexist!' Both Rinoa and Selphie stuck out their tongues.

'Whatever...' Squall shook his head. 'Do you have any leads to find this person?'

'They just randomly appeared on the scene. I'm guessing we just keep an eye out next time we're on the battlefield.' Quistis shrugged.

'Oh, Squall! We fought Ochus, Cockatrices, Forbiddens and Death Claws!' Selphie informed him.

'Blast from the past, much?' Irvine commented.

Squall looked at Selphie intently. 'What else?' He asked.

'A Ruby Dragon.' Quistis, Seifer, Zell and Selphie said in unison.

'Huh?' Irvine exclaimed. 'Are you serious?'

'That can't be good.' Rinoa bit her lower lip, and glanced at her knight. 'That means the bigger monsters are gonna start appearing, right?'

Squall was frowning lightly at the news. The bigger monsters from their world were very tough to beat. The Chosen children from Earth had to be absolutely prepared to face up to the challenge.

'They've got nothing to worry about we're familiar with all those circus freaks.' Seifer bragged.

'Right! Irvy, we've got some time off. Let's go bowling!' Selphie said, grabbing her boyfriend's hand.

'Go what?'

'Bowling! It's a sport the people play here! Costa says he should be able to find an abandoned bowling parlour somewhere.'

'Isn't that uh...immoral?' Zell asked.

'Who's gonna catch us, chicken? The corrupt cops?' Seifer rolled his eyes.

'Shut your mouth Seifer! At least I have a conscience!'

Quistis put a hand to her forehead in dismay. Zell just couldn't keep his big mouth shut. But Seifer took it surprisingly well, simply snorted, stated he was going to unwind, and left the room.

Irvine, Selphie, Quistis and a muttering Zell followed after him, leaving Squall and Rinoa alone. After a few more minutes of sifting through the metal, Rinoa huffed loudly.

'Geez Squall, this sure is boring.'

'...' Squall was staring intently at the remains of an old sword. Maybe something could be salvaged from it.

Rinoa frowned and shifted in her position on the floor beside him. He wasn't paying her his full attention. She had to change that. Reaching out, she plucked the piece from Squall's hand and threw it back onto the scraps pile.

'Boring!' She stated again.

Squall gave her a look. 'Rinoa. They asked us to go through this.'

'We have! We've sorted out that big pile there! That's enough for now, right?!'

Squall looked back at the unsorted pile. Rinoa leaned over and reached out, turning his face back to look at her.

'Is that lump of junk more interesting than I am?' She pouted, stroking his cheek. He rolled his eyes.

'So what do you want to do?' He asked.

She looked up at him innocently, but a small, mischievous smile played on her soft pink lips.

'Bowling.'


'Bonita, we're going bowling.' Costa said to Vreya. 'Coming?'

'Costa's desperately trying to maintain an ounce of normality in our lives.' Sara remarked.

'What a lost cause, man.' Ash shook his head. 'We're bound to encounter monsters.'

'Fleck and the others said it'll be good practice for us to go out on our own.' Costa argued.

'Yeah, let's go bowl!' Zell exclaimed. 'C'mon man!'

'You're only going because you heard hot dogs might be on the menu.' Lila pointed out.

'Eheh heh...no, no that's not it, I'm a keen sports player!'

Selphie sniggered at that. 'Yah right Zell!'

'Well I'm going to win so move your lazy behinds!' Seifer roared from the doorway.

'How about it Vreya?' Ash asked.

'No thanks.' Vreya replied.

'Oh c'mon, don't be a spoil sport!' Roxy pouted. 'We're all going.'

'Asides from 'I'm Such a Boring Ice-Cube', obviously.' Costa muttered.

'Thanks guys, but there's something I need to talk to Morgan about that really can't wait. Umm...when I finish, I'll catch up to you, ok?'

'Do you promise?' Lila gave her a stern look.

She smiled. 'Sure.'

'Make sure you bring one of the others with you.' Squall told her, and she was touched by his consideration.

'I will. Thanks.'

'Well, suit yourself.' Sara shrugged. 'Gen, let's go.'

'Coming. We taking the van?'

'Yeah. Fleck's said we can use one.' Ash replied. 'It'll be cramped though.'

'Oh, oh girls will sit in laps!' Roxy giggled with Selphie.

'See you later, Vreya.' Rinoa called.

'I'll call you if you're not there in an hour!' Lila told her, and they all left the room, clattering up the stairs and piling out of the base. A minute later, she heard the van outside start up. It was terribly quiet without the rest of them, and the place instantly felt lonely and empty. She sighed, and turned, leaving the room. Making her way down a level to where she knew the mentors were having their meeting, she approached the door and was about to knock, but her hand froze when she heard muffled fragments of the conversation that was taking place inside.

'...needs a knight, and fast.'

'...have a lot more confident in her skills and abilities if she did.'

'...She needs to focus more.'

'...doesn't teach her to be independent.'

Her hand dropped.

'...split up and keep her within a small team.'

'...and maybe if we keep them together, he'll agree.'

She turned away, only to find Zane leaning against the doorway which had been empty just moments earlier. His arms were folded and his eyes were on her.

'They just don't get it.' He stated, and she instantly knew that he was referring to the subject of being her knight.

She didn't reply, averting her gaze. Her thoughts moved to the green-eyed stranger who had saved her life earlier in the day. She had been so convinced that Zane had been the one in her dream. But now, after her unexpected encounter, she didn't know what to think. The way the stranger's eyes had widened had suggested some form of recognition. She was confused and until she saw the stranger again she couldn't clear up her confusion.

The sound of footsteps walking toward her caused her to snap out of her thoughts and she raised her head to find that Zane was now standing before her.

For a moment, he simply searched her face with his eyes. Something didn't seem right about her; ever since they had returned from the battle, she had kept uncharacteristically to herself. He was suspicious that it could relate to the mysterious cloaked figure, but she didn't seem willing to talk.

His eyes met hers and when she couldn't hold his, he knew she was hiding something.

'What?' He asked at length.

The irony struck her as almost amusing. Here she was, beginning to have doubts about Zane being the green-eyed boy from her dream after one random encounter with a complete stranger – and here he was, reading her like a book. He always seemed to know when she was concealing something.

Maybe she was jumping to conclusions. Perhaps she had imagined it. Perhaps it was meaningless. But it was the look the stranger had given her that was troubling her. She considered telling Zane. Then in a moment of bravery, she took the plunge.

Taking a deep breath, she began,

'The...dreams the planet sent us...'

There was a pregnant pause.

'What about them.'

She tried to ignore the disinterested and clipped tone to his statement. Why was he so protective of her in battle and so uncaring and blunt away from it? Was that really all he viewed her as – just the One, and not an individual with feelings? She didn't have the strength to deny that it upset her deeply, for reasons she didn't fully understand; reasons she didn't want to admit.

She was frightened to admit it, because to feel for someone like Zane was a lost cause, one that would bring her only pain and misery, despite everything Rinoa had told her about people's abilities to change. Zane wouldn't change, because he couldn't. Not unless something Earth shattering happened – and even in the midst of their world breaking, he still stubbornly stood by his own, selfish principles.

She almost gave up. She was almost ready to just step around him and tell him it was nothing, in much the same way he usually treated her. But Krysta's voice in her mind was a source of encouragement.

She said, 'Continue'.

With great difficulty, and without looking up, because she knew his eyes were fixed on her, she carried on,

'I...you know that I...my dream had someone with green eyes and-'

Zane's mind jumped to the wrong conclusion, linking her words to the issue of her needing a knight.

'I don't want to discuss that.' He replied curtly, wishing he hadn't bothered asking.

'No, that's not what I-'

'Whatever, Vreya.' He turned away and she was hurt. How could she let him understand if he wouldn't even listen to her?

'Zane – I don't mean that – wait!' She caught onto the sleeve of his left arm. Although this annoyed him, he didn't pull away instantly, turning his head and looking down into big, troubled eyes.

How expressive her eyes were always bothered him. They always had, from the very first day he had met her.

'I didn't mean – it's about what happened today when-' She began again, but was cut off once more.

'Is everything alright?' Came Rica's voice behind them. Zane glanced back to find her standing with Tai, Locky, Fleck and Jez. Vreya stiffened at the sound of the interfering voices. She had lost her chance to confide in Zane first. He pulled his arm from her grasp but before he could leave the room first, she shook her head and passed him, disappearing down the hallway.

Zane stared after her, a light frown settling on his brows.

'What's going on?' Fleck asked.

'Did you upset her again?' Rica demanded.

'Geez, you really are a jerk.' Locky muttered.

Zane's head whipped around and he glared at Rica. 'If you hadn't come out and opened your big mouth, maybe I would've been able to tell you.'

'I told you we should've stayed inside a little longer.' Tai mumbled.

'So, go follow her and ask her.' Fleck said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world to do.

Zane snorted. If Vreya wanted to approach him, that was her decision. He wasn't going to go following her and giving her ideas that he was concerned about what was on her mind.

'I've got a better plan. You ask her, and I'll go home and rest up.'

'Zane!' Fleck exclaimed in exasperation. 'She was going to tell you, not us! Will you grow up?'

'And get old like you? No thanks.' Zane retorted, and turned, leaving the mentors gaping after him.

Locky couldn't help but laugh.

'I can't believe this guy.' Tai said incredulously.

'He's something else entirely alright.' Rica sighed.

Fleck shook his head. 'Let's just round this meeting off and then I'll go and find Vreya.'

Author's Note:

Yeah so I haven't really spell-checked or gone over this super long chapter, so ignore any horrid type-o's. That said, I really hope at least one of my old readers sees/checks out this update. I'll definitely be writing up Enigma – Part II, and I'll see how things go after that. XD No promises or anything! Anyways please leave me reviews if you do read this. I'd super appreciate it. Though I'm only expecting about 5 at most loool. I'm semi-reviving a dead project after all! Oh and if any of ye old faithful do read, let me know if you think my writing's changed since the last chapter too! That'd be interesting to know XD Thanks!

Oh and a final note, think of the cloaked stranger's sword hurtling as similar to the awesomeness presented in the Kingdom Hearts: Deep Dive trailer. That's kind of the coolness I was aiming for : )