Note: I still do not own Final Fantasy. Unfortunately. Reviews are always welcome. I'm also thinking on cutting down on the amount of characters I will include from FFVII and FFVIII. I'm not sure yet. Not as long of a chapter as I had hoped for, but I'm working on the next chapter already, and I hope to update soon. Let me know what you think!

--Nyda

Sephiroth burst through two tall onyx doors, his long cape swirling around him. He stalked towards the center of the room, glaring at the half man half Guado in front of him. "Seymour." Sephiroth hissed, catching the former Maester's attention. Seymour turned and smiled. "Sephiroth….How good it is to see you returned with out incident. My bride, the High Summoner can often cause problems…" Seymour laughed to himself. "She causes quite a ruckus wherever she journeys." His face darkened. "Always with her guardians. And that infernal blonde boy." Sephiroth rolled his eyes and moved fluidly towards a seat at the head of a long dining table. His movements were smooth, perfectly balanced. He lounged in the chair, mindlessly listening to Seymour's rant about a blonde boy named 'Tidus'. Sephiroth slowly drew out his sword, inspecting it closely. Seymour fell silent as Sephiroth swung the sword forward, slicing into an apple with the tip of his blade. Sephiroth offered the apple to Seymour, who paled and backed up slightly. Sephiroth's green eyes shone with that strange light that always marked the sign of madness. Seymour could recognize this, and decided that as much space between him and the crazy white haired warrior was best. "She needs to be broken again" he sighed and took a bite of the apple. "It seems that my pet has more will than I first thought. She has only been out of my care for a month at the most..and yet she needs to be broken again." Sephiroth smiled suddenly at Seymour. "I believe you knew her father." Seymour froze, wary of the insane gleam that's still rested in Sephiroth's eyes. "One of you precious Yuna's guardians. Sir Auron if I remember correctly. Ring any bells?" Seymour scowled. "Oh I remember," he muttered darkly.

At that very moment a very frantic Nooj, Baralai and Gippal were sending out their factions on a massive 'Paine hunt.' Baralai and Gippal were both retelling the events of the day to a small group assembled in Besaid. Yuna stood next to Tidus and Rikku, holding onto Tidus's hand for support. On Rikku's other side was Lulu and Wakka. Wakka was clutching a blitzball to his chest, frowning. Lulu's cold red eyes were the only sign of the hope she felt now that Paine had been sighted. Lulu and Paine had formed a friendship over the past few years, and Lulu had even asked for Paine to be a godmother to her son, along with Yuna and Rikku. Lulu and Paine shared a mutual respect for each other, and the respect had slowly turned into friendship. Shinra, Brother, and Buddy were all listening to Gippal and Baralai intently. Well at least Shinra and Buddy were. Shinra was busy recording every word Baralai and Gippal said, wanting to be able to refer back to the sphere for later. Brother was glaring at Gippal with dislike. He never liked the one-eyed blonde Gippal, and his dislike grew once Cid, his own father chose Gippal to lead over him. Not to mention Gippal and Rikku had been in a relationship once upon a time, and things had not ended well. Gippal had left Rikku without a word for the Crimson Squad, and had never made an attempt to contact her. The first she had seen of him had been two years after the defeat of Sin. Kimahri stood behind the group, towering over them all. He watched Gippal and Baralai carefully, noting their distress. Nooj was apart from the group, pacing. He glared at his cane, as if willing it to disappear. He stumbled over his cane, muttering darkly to himself as he did. His mutterings were heard by his former Crimson Squad mates, and were ignored. Baralai and Gippal were used to Nooj's muttered death threats, he was always muttering about killing something. They just accepted it, recalling from the old Crimson Squad days what stress did to Nooj. Nooj did receive an odd look from Tidus however. Nooj smiled evilly to himself. He noted Tidus's discomfort, and increased his mutterings. The boy was far too happy for his tastes anyway. Nooj could not understand how any sane person could be that happy. Clearly the blonde warrior and Yuna were well suited for each other. Nooj turned and glared at Tidus, giving the blitzball player the evil eye. He was jealous of the happy-go-lucky couple. Not that he would ever let on to anyone that he was…but there had been a time when he too had been in love and happy. Then he had fucked things up. Badly. There was no way around it; Nooj had given up trying to rationalize his actions. Not only had he shot the woman he loved, he had ignored her, and started a relationship with another woman. That relationship was over now, but it hardly seemed to matter. Paine was still gone.

As Baralai and Gippal finished their recount, Yuna, Rikku, and Wakka all started asking questions. Nooj stopped his pacing and turned to the group. He watched Baralai and Gippal's futile attempts to answer the stream of questions, and scowled. All this noise was getting them nowhere and frankly, giving him a massive headache. "SILENCE!" He roared, glaring at the group in front of him. Rikku's eyes widened and she backed away from the glaring Death Seeker. Yuna froze, covering her mouth with her hands. Tidus leapt out of his skin, surprised by Nooj's shout. Nooj smirked; pleased he could still be intimidating. "Now," he began slowly, looking at each of them. "We must deal with the problem at hand. Where could Paine have gone? And how do we find her?" Silence fell over the group. Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal shared a look. Baralai looked worried, his warm brown eyes frantic. His white hair was a mess, falling into his tired, chocolate brown eyes. Gippal's green eye was gleaming with strain, anxious to be out and doing something, anything that would help him find her. Nooj's eyes were cold and haunted, the only sign of his internal suffering. Lulu suddenly gasped, her red eyed widening. Wakka turned to her, "Lu! All you alright?" Lulu pointed to her right, speechless. The group whirled, looking off into the direction Lulu was pointing in. Someone was moving towards them very quickly. As this someone got closer Tidus froze, shifting his attention from Nooj to the approaching figure. It was not possible. Tidus moved forward, his eyes wide with confusion. "Auron?"

Paine hung from her chains, her eyes closed. She opened her eyes slowly, taking in her surroundings. Beyond her cage stood three doors. The door on her left lead to the main hall, the middle door lead to Sephiroth's chambers, and the door to her right lead deeper beneath the castle. Paine had tried to escape through each of those doors before, and every time she had been caught. She had only escaped by jumping from a window into the dark water that surrounded the castle. She had been trying to escape then, but not with the intention of returning back to Spira. Her hope was to escape to the bottom of the midnight waters, and find peace beneath the crashing waves. Surprisingly enough, she had been knocked unconscious, and when she awoke had found herself on the shores of Kilika Port. Suddenly, Paine turned to her right, her eyes searching the empty chains beside her. Something was not right. She frowned, trying to sort out what was out of place. Paine shot up, her eyes widening. She was not alone. Someone was chained to her right. Paine strained, trying to get a closer look at her cellmate.