Yuna sxcreamed and hugged Lulu fiercely, while Wakka held Vidina close to his chest, and everyone else crowded around them. Stree stood off to the side, not sure what to do. He looked around and found that Kam was not there. He waited a few more seconds, then turned back around when he heard the thump of the doors to the building flying open. Out came Kam, her hair tied up into a braid running down her back, wearing tight fitting dark shirt and pants, a far cry from her loose, flowing hair, and white, baggy clothes.

"Stree!" she shouted, running at him and hugging him tightly. When she finally let go, she stepped back a bit and Stree remarked on her new look.

"Nice hair cut."

"I got it a little more tame. Makes it easier to fight," she said, obviously pleased with her training.

"Just finish training, huh?"

"Yeah. Baralai says that I'm doing well. Better be careful Stree, or I'll start kicking you around."

Stree smiled. "Where is Baralai?"

"He still had stuff to do inside. Said he'll meet us all later."

Stree nodded. "You going to go greet the rest of them?

Kam smiled, and ran over to the others.

Smiling slightly, Stree turned to walk inside. He was only a little way in, however, when he ran straight into Paine. "Uhh, hi," he said.

"Welcome back," said Paine, an uncertain look on her face.

The two stood there for a minute, in an uncomfortable silence.

"Ah, screw it," said Paine unexpectedly, and grabbed Stree. She pulled the taller man down to her height, ripped off the face guard, and kissed him. She reached her arms up around his neck, and, to the surprise of them both, Stree found himself wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. Everything else melted away, leaving nothing but the two of them, wrapped in the sense of each other, neither caring about anything else. Finally, they ended their embrace, and Paine looked Stree in the eyes. His eyes glowed, and heat washed off his body, but his sense did not have the same menacing air, it had when he let the flames loose, though the intensity was easily apparent. "Something wrong?" she asked, a little unsure.

Stree shook his head slowly. "Nothing at all," he breathed softly.

Suddenly, a low cough sounded from off down the corridor, and both Stree and Paine jumped. They turned, and found Yuna standing a few feet away, a big grin on her face.

"I just though you'd like to know that we're going to have a meeting in a few minutes. We need to find out what's going to happen from here." She turned and started on her way back to the main hall of the building. "I'll give you a few minutes."

Once she exited through one of the heavy doors, Stree and Paine turned back to each other, and laughed, then held each other in a way that astonished Stree in how natural it felt.

The rest of the group was waiting for them when Stree and Paine finally entered the room. Stree scanned their faces, and could tell by the looks he was receiving that everyone had a pretty good idea of what had happened. Stree had replaced his face guard, but only had the left half on, covering the scarred side of his face. Thus, everyone in the room could see the grin on his face. He sat down quietly on the couch, Paine sitting next to Yuna. Tidus reached over and nudged Stree. He ignored Tidus as best he could and looked around the r est of the rom, staring for a second and Kam and Baralai, who were sitting close to one another and apparently discussing various fighting techniques, and Cerbrus, who were sitting off to the side of the room. After a few seconds, Rin spoke up.

"Tidus has already explained to us the events of Baaj Temple, and we have been introduced to Cerberus. Cerberus and I had a talk, and we think that the most logical place to be able to find someone that has the ability to control fiends is in Zanarkand Temple. So that obviously, is where we must head."

"Okay, so why aren't we going?"

"Because of your little stunt in the woods," replied Auron.

Stree vaguely remembered setting things on fire while in the woods, but nothing beyond that. "What happened to the woods?"

"There's nothing left but fire. It's just one massive bonfire," said Yuna.

"We'd have no chance of getting through it," filled in Tidus.

"Okay, so we use the Shadow Chaser."

"Yeah. About that," said Rikku. "A fiend got into the grounds and ripped a cable that feeds power to one of the engines, with out, the ship'll blow. But unfortunately, we cant fix it because we need about a month for the parts to get here.

"So how do we get to Zanarkand if we can't go that way, and we don't have an airship?"

"I can field that one," said Baralai. "I had some of my people look into it, and they've found an underground passageway that lead from the Thunder Plains to the side of the Calm Lands."

"Oh, no, not through there again," whined Rikku. Gippal laughed and squezzed her shoulder in consolation.

Stree smiled, then turned back to Baralai. "Do you know any way we can get through without having to face hordes of Fiends again?"

Baralai smiled. "I do indeed. I have in my possession a vehicle capable of carrying twenty people, and armored to the point that not even Sin itself would be able to break through." He finished, and his grin grew at the impressed looks he was getting from the others in the room.

"Can I see it?" blurted Gippal.

"Only if you don't tamper with it," replied Baralai.

"Oh, he wont," said Rikku quickly.

"Or you," he said. Rikku sat back and started to pout. Everyone laughed.

Stree was grabbing his things from a cupboard in his cabin on the now useless Shadow Chaser, trying to figure out what he would do when he and the rest of them got to Zanarkand, except Paine kept creeping into his thoughts. He eventually gave up on his packing, and lay down on the bed, and let her fill his mind completely. His mind kept playing like a movie shere, flashing back to the kiss they had shared earlier in the day.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" he called, getting up to go back to his packing. Kam walked in, a smile on her face, her dark brown hair still tied back, though now she was wearing a jacket as well as her other clothes.

"So, had an encounter today did we?"

Stree ignored her and kept packing his things.

"Oh come on, there's no need to be like that. Come on, it had to happen sometime. Everyone but you could see it."

Stree turned around and stared at her silently for a second, a small smile playing on his face.

Kam's smile grew larger. "I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"You like her as much as she likes you!"

"I—," he never got to finish his sentence, as the wall behind him exploded inwards.