"No I don't want to find who hurt them! Because if I do then you'll kill them!" Paine yelled at Baralai.

"If you knew half the things those people did years ago," said Baralai as calmly as he could, "you'd want them dead too."

"I doubt that!" You killed her! Paine thought, although she wanted to scream it, she had kept her anger inside so long it was about to burst out of her. It was people like you who killed Rachel! I lost the only mother I had because of them; I won't lose the closest thing I had to a sister too. She shook with fury. "I'm not going to help you anymore! And that's FINAL! I'm out of here." And she turned around and stormed off.

"Paine! Paine wait!" Baralai hurried after her retreating back. "What's you're problem!"

"You!" She yelled over her shoulder, picking up her pace, "who knew you Yevonites were such asses. Oh wait…I DID."

"Then why are you here!" Paine stopped so abruptly it took Baralai about a second to notice. Then she turned right around and walked up to him determinedly, and punched him hard in the face and he fell to the floor.

"So I could do that."

"You punched him?" Paine sighed and leaned back in Shinra's chair. Gippal was laughing his head off in Djose at the moment.

"Yes, yes, yes!" the warrior said impatiently, propping her feet up on the console. "Now can you help me?"

"What, smuggle you're fugitive friend out of Kilika right under Baralai's bloody nose?" he started laughing a little again, "Sure I'll help. But even if he did find out, it's you; he wouldn't kill you, no matter who your mother was."

"Rachel wasn't my mother." Paine said blankly, looking away. "But this is about Crys, not Rae or my mom. Can you pick her up tonight?"

"I can go right now; we should be there by dark. But still Dr. P, think about it-"

"Gippal!" she said warningly. "People live on this boat with me, if they overheard you…!"

"Rikku, Shinra and Buddy wouldn't care, you know that. Tidus and Brother probably don't know what Alchemists are. Yuna, well its Yuna, enough said. Where are the others anyway? Your little friend didn't hurt them too much right?"

"They're in the Cabin. Baralai could stand long enough to order his 'posse' to bring them back to the airship, they're all sleeping. They should be fine."

"Thanks to you of course," said Gippal.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go, after I call Crystal and tell her what's going on."

"No, I'll do it. Get some sleep; you've had a long day."

"Thanks, Gippal," Paine said, hanging up on the Al Bhed. She stood up and rubbed her eyes, she was so exhausted. "Ten years," she muttered to herself as she walked up the stairs and into the hallway and towards the elevator. "That's how long it's been since I've seen her…Maybe I shouldn't have left her with that Al Bhed. But I couldn't have taken care of a five year old girl by myself." Paine didn't even realize she was already halfway down the hallways leading to the cabin. "She probably hates me now, or maybe doesn't even remember me."

"Who doesn't remember you?" The girl's head snapped up. Tidus was sitting on a barstool, looking at her.

"Oh, hey Tidus. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, that girl was kinda freaky wasn't she?"

"Yeah…," Paine said. She made to walk past him towards the stairs but he stopped her.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"No. Everything is fine," Paine lied. "And if there was, why would I tell you?" Tidus smiled at her.

"Good point," he said. "Going to bed?"

"Yeah. Goodnight." Paine walked upstairs and over to her bed. Yuna and Rikku were still asleep. Gippal was right; her friends would not care if she told them her secrets. Or would they? There was just too much doubt and distrust in her mind to bring herself to tell anyone. So she would not tell anyone. Not just yet.

Sierra had been awake for little over an hour. In that hour she had done nothing more than sit on a cold stone floor in a dark and empty room, wondering where she was and where her necklace had gone to. In the ten years she had that necklace she had never let it out of her sight, it was that important to her.

There was a door that led out of the small room, it was ajar slightly but there was no light in the other room either. And she was afraid to leave the room in the dark.

She was freezing and her legs had fallen asleep by the time a light did come on. Shakily, Sierra made her way over to the door and looked outside. The other room was full of a variety of things, weapons, sphere-screens, different machines, and even a large amount of test-tubes, flasks and beakers almost all of which were filled with different colored liquid, most were shades of yellow or blue. What's going on here? She asked herself. Suddenly she heard footsteps and the same masked woman who had captured her in Kilika came into view.

She looked much smaller and less menacing without all her weapons strapped to her. Then she reached up and pulled off her headband and brushed her shockingly white hair out of her face and Sierra saw why she wore the headband over her eye. She was blind in it. Next she took off her mask and threw it onto a table. Her one working eye found its way to the door where Sierra was hiding. Sierra feared at first that the woman could see her but apparently she was nearsighted or Sierra was too hidden, or both.

Another door off the side of the room opened and she turned her head away from Sierra's hiding spot. "What do you want? I told you not to disturb me unless it's-"

"I'm sorry miss," said a rushed male voice. "But the Praetor wishes to speak with you."

"The Praetor? Hmm," the woman smiled and her eye traveled for only a moment back to Sierra's room. "Very well, tell him I'll be right there."

"Yes ma'am." And the door closed again. The strange woman went over to a coat rack that Sierra had not noticed before and took a blue lab coat off of a hook, then she rushed out of Sierra's line of sight and Sierra heard the door open and close again.

"Come in!" Baralai told the visitor knocking at his office door. The door swung open and an older woman, early thirties, walked in. She had on a long blue coat, had snow white hair, and stunning green eyes. One, however, was sightless and there was a scar that stretched from one inch above it to one inch below it. "Oh, it's you, I'm glad you could make it here so quickly!" Baralai gestured to a chair in front of his desk. "Please, sit down." The woman sat down obligingly.

"Now, what is it you wanted me for Praetor Baralai?" she asked politely. "I'm quite busy, so if you could please make it-"

"Oh, I won't take long," Baralai assured her. "I just wanted to ask you a few questions about a young woman you used to work with."

"Crys Meyer," said the woman knowledgably with a small nod.

"Uh, yes."

"Well then, I'm afraid I can't help you. I haven't been in contact with Crystal in years. And I'm sure I can't help you find her if that's what you're after."

"But maybe, since you worked with her-"

"Not gonna happen."

"And why-?" She pushed a few stray bangs out of her eyes so she was sure Baralai could see her injured eye clearly. "Oh," he muttered, looking down at his desk.

"We had a small disagreement, way back when, and she tried to kill me because of itbut only succeeded in permanently damaging my eyesight. That's also why we aren't working together anymore…go figure."

"I didn't know," said Baralai. "Well may I ask-"

"What the disagreement was about? What do you think it was about?"

"Maybe her family? Or friends?"

"Friends," said the woman calmly. She smiled inwardly; everything was going according to plan. As long as she chose her next words carefully she could have Baralai eating out of the palm of her hand. "Rachel Nock would be the friend in particular. And family I guess too, because of her…children." Baralai nearly fell out of his chair and she fought to hide her smile.

"C-CHILDREN?"