It was like opening a doorway from a stuffy bedroom into open countryside. The air on Stree's face was soft and cool, and his body felt incredibly relaxed.
Then the rage returned.
He screamed in agony as his muscles started to pulse and grow again, and his body twisted and contorted. Over his screams he could just make out someone voice, trying to get him to calm down, but it wasn't working. His muscles stopped growing, so he could stop screaming, and only then could he make out whose voice it was.
"…alm down! Stree! Calm down!" shouted Paine, reaching over to grab his shoulders and try to stop him from shaking. Gradually, the pain in his head lessened as the rage bled away, and all that was left was a sore body and tiredness.
"Sleep," he croaked, in a cracked voice.
"It's alright. You can sleep later. We need you now. Only for a little while."
Stree nodded, though that caused him enough pain to groan. "All right." He tried to sit up from where he had fallen to the ground, but could only move a little. "Feel like…lending a hand?" he laughed softly.
Paine laughed as well, and reached down to help him up. His neck went limp for a second, and his head rolled to the side, so that all he could do was stare at Paine until feeling returned. "Here," she said, draping a robe around him. "Put your arms through that unless you want everyone to see you mostly naked."
Stree was so tired that he completely missed the joke, and all he could do was nod. He somehow managed to put his arms through, then Paine put his arm around her shoulder for support. "Lead the way."
The two of them started through the halls of Bevelle's New Yevon Headquarters, and Paine started to fill Stree in about Baralai. "All you really need to know is that you should treat Baralai with every respect. I know how strong you are, but he's had a thousand years of pain run through his body and he lived to tell of it, so he's earned it." Stree nodded, and the two of them made their way to the main hall of the headquarters.
"Stree!" shouted Kam, turning from Baralai to run over an hug him forcefully.
Stree grunted in pain, then reached over to return his sister's embrace. "Hey, Sis," he said quietly. Together, Kam and Paine helped Stree over to the rest of the group. Auron made sure to stay to Stree's left, out of his field of vision.
"Stree, this is Baralai, he's helping us figure out what to do next." Baralai held out his hand to Stree.
"Pleased to meet you," he said.
Stree's head drooped forward. "Sorry if I don't shake your…hand, but…I seem to be a little…drained for energy."
Baralai nodded. "Then we should get to it so you can get some rest. I've gone over everything you have all figured out, and the only place I can think of with enough magical energy stored, is the Zanarkand Dome, Yunalesca's resting place."
"But Isaaru sealed it up," remarked Yuna
"Then we just shakey-shake our way to see him and get him to open it again," said Rikku
"It's not that easy," said Gippal. "According to various sources, Isaaru disappeared a few weeks after the Vegnagun thing, and hasn't been seen since."
"So how do we find him then?" asked Tidus. "Vegnagun happened two years ago."
"His…brothers," said Stree.
"Of course!" said Yuna. "Pacce and Maroda started up their own Sphere hunting band after the Kinderguardians all got too old."
"But where do we find them?" asked Gippal.
Baralai smiled. "Ah. As it happens, Maroda is here 'developing relations' between New Yevon and Youth League."
"Huh?" asked Kam.
"One particular New Yevon member actually. He's marrying her in two days."
"Really?" asked Yuna. Baralai nodded.
"He's staying at this hotel, if you need him quickly." He wrote down an address on a piece of paper from his pocket. He reached over to hand it to Kam. She grinned and blushed as she accepted it. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to. Hopefully I shall see you all at dinner." He turned to leave, but Kam shouted out after him and followed him out.
"Want to go rest?" asked Paine. Stree shook his head.
"Take me to my room. I need to get changed."
"Are you sure you're strong enough?"
"No, but I have to. We need to go see Maroda."
Stree pulled on his leather vest armor, and attached the cloak over his shoulder, then walked back out to where Paine was waiting. "Ready to go?" she asked, clearly concerned.
"Don't worry, I'm feeling better. Really," he added with a small smile. "Let's go." Together, they walked out of the New Yevon Headquarters over to the Bevelle Hearts Hotel in the center of town. On the way, Stree spotted several Fangs and froze ready to attack, but Paine noticed and calmed him down, telling him that they were trained to pull carts of fruit along. He relaxed, but Paine noticed that he kept his hand on the dagger at his back for the whole trip, as she had made him leave Hasamune behind, as it would be too conspicuous. They finally reached the hotel, and Paine guided them to the floor where Maroda was. They stopped outside his door, and heard crashing noises coming from inside.
"Guess they couldn't wait for the honeymoon," said Stree with a smile. The two of them settled down to wait. After a couple of hours they started to get restless, when the noises stopped. They decided to wait a few more minutes before knocking. However, when the knocked, there was no answer. They knocked again, hen jumped when they heard a woman's voice call out.
"What do you want?" she asked, walking over to them.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" asked Paine.
"I am Asrika. This is my hotel room."
"You're engaged to Maroda," said Paine.
Asrika nodded.
"Then who the hell's he in there with?" asked Stree.
Asrika moved over to the lock and ran a keycard through it. "My key isn't working," she said.
"Let's try mine," said Stree, taking a step back. He focused strength to his leg, and kicked as hard as he could, smashing his way through the door, knocking it into two pieces as he did so. The three of them ran into the hotel room, where they found all of the furniture everywhere, and bloodstains on the floor.
"Oh, Yevon," murmured Asrika quietly.
"Where's Maroda?" asked Paine.
"I'm guessing in there," said Stree quietly enough that Asrika didn't hear. "Keep her away from there just in case."
Paine nodded, and Stree made his way over to the bathroom door, where the blood seemed thickest. He opened the door, and it took all of his will to not throw up. Lying in the bath, in a mixture of water and blood, Maroda had a thin piece of wire wrapped around his throat. His hands were tied up behind his back, and his mouth was gagged shut with a sock. His normally yellow clothes were soaked with blood, giving them a color similar to a sunrise, making the picture that much less believable. Stree reached down, and lifted the corpse out of the bath, and lay him gently on the floor, then noticed the mark cut into Maroda's chest. He knew he had seen it somewhere, but he couldn't remember where. He stood up, then walked back to the door, which flew inwards as Asrika came rushing through.
"Maroda!" she screamed. She rushed over to him, but Stree grabbed her. He turned to Paine. "Call your Praetor friend." He then turned to the struggling Asrika.
"Let me go, right, now!" she shouted through sobs.
"I'm sorry, but this is for your own good." He reached out and chopped her in the base of the neck, knocking her unconscious instantly. He picked her u and moved her over to a clear piece of floor in the lounge.
Paine came running back in. "Baralai's on his way. You need any help checking the body out?"
Stree shook his head, then stopped. "Actually, yes. Maybe you can figure this out. There's this mark on Maroda's chest, but I can't remember where I've seen it."
"Let's check it out then," said Paine.
Stree led the way into the bathroom, and knelt down to point out the mark. "You recognize it?"
Paine looked at him, eyes wide open. "Stree, it's the mark that on your armor."