Disclaimer: Do I really hafta repeat this? Fine… I will… But only because I'd like NOT to get sued. I only own the things that I created. That's pretty much it. Oh, and the plot. The plot and my creations are MINE.

Chapter XIX

What One Doesn't Expect, Happens

All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream. -Edgar Allan Poe

XxXxX

"So you've known Paine for about a year?"

Yuna looked at the man in the chair beside her. "Yes, she had joined the Gullwings shortly before I had," she answered. While Nooj rested, she had explained most things about her and Spira to Squall. She hadn't told him much about what she knew about Paine because she didn't think it would be right if she did; it was Paine's past, she would tell him if she wanted him to know.

"Nooj-" She moved to stand by his bed as he slowly sat up.

"Where…am I?"

"You are in, um," she looked back at the man in black. "Esthar hospital?"

"Yeah, Esthar hospital," he had nodded, then continued speaking, "A couple guards found you and your friend and brought you straight here."

"Esthar…friend?" As if all memory of what happened came back to him in a sudden rush, his eyes went wide. "The girl, how is she?" He sat up fully, reaching over to the table beside the bed for his glasses. He put them on and looked at Yuna and Squall. "Yuna, you're okay."

"Yes, I am fine."

"But…the girl?"

"She…is not okay," the man answered. "The doctors say she may be in a coma."

"What! No, no, no, that can't be true-" Nooj was shocked by this, anyone could tell. But when he looked over at the girl in the bed next to his, he lowered his eyes. "Perhaps she'll wake up…soon…"

"They say if she hasn't woken up by now, she's not ever."

Yuna put a hand on Nooj's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "No, it's not your fault. She obviously knew what she was doing."

"What do you mean?" the man asked, a bit confused.

"First, who are you and where are the others?"

"Name's Squall Leonhart," Squall answered, leaning back in his seat.

"And as for the others, they are safe. We arrived here in Gala this morning, but they are at Balamb Garden now." Yuna reassured him. "But what happened to you? Did the storm hit Mushroom Rockroad, too?"

He nodded, saying, "Yes," he decided to start from the beginning, so he leaned back on the pillows. "The three of us --Gippal, Baralai, and myself-- were at HQ when Baralai had to go back to Bevelle. I don't know why exactly, though… That's when machina attacked and the storm hit. Haven't seen Baralai since…"

"And Gippal?" asked Yuna, worriedly.

"He… The girl wanted us to get some rest before she answered some of our questions, and Gippal wanted to check up on the Al Bhed, so he went back. It was only until morning that I got up and Gippal contacted me through the CommSphere. He told me about New Yevon being there and that he could handle them himself. Later, he contacted me again. The storm had shown up. And that's when I got disconnected from Djose."

"And what about the…girl?"

He looked over at Squall. "I don't know much about her. Not even a name; but she's been helping us, kind of. She was the one who told us Paine was here, in Gala, and that she was safe, but that was days ago. Before the storm hit HQ, we had been attacked by a fiend she called T-Rexaur. The battle went…well…"

"But?" Yuna looked at him; she knew there was a 'but', and no matter how much Nooj didn't want to tell them, he knew he may have to. Maybe. "…only after the battle, did this man show up. He tried to convince me Paine wasn't all right, but I didn't believe him. He had something to do with both Gippal's and Baralai's disappearance, I just know it. After he…disappeared, the storm hit us and strangely, we appeared here." He didn't exactly lie, just didn't tell all of the truth.

"Did this man have black hair and wear black and red clothing?"

He looked at Squall, surprised. "Y-yes, yes he did. How did you know?"

"Because that man is the person who kidnapped Paine just days ago," he answered, slowly.

"What!"

"I had been…watching her up until the time she ran off at Bevelle, looking for Baralai. I…thought since the place was empty… I…didn't know he was there and that he was after her. If I had known-" I had been stupid. I should have ran after her. If I did, would she still be here? Squall pondered. No, I have to focus on the present; I've learned my lesson before.

Nooj remembered what the girl told him and the others about the group Paine was --had been with. "You couldn't have known. That man, he's not human."

"I know…" Leonhart had a stern look in his eyes, obviously remembering back to when he first met the man.

"I don't get it. Why did he want Paine? Why isn't Gippal and Baralai here if you're here? All of this is so…confusing." Yuna sat down and put her hands in her lap.

Nooj sort of knew the answer to the second question: the girl brought him here, but how --he didn't know.

The lights above flickered, making all three look up at them. A second time flickering, then they blew; the room completely dark. It didn't help that it was almost night outside, as Nooj, and probably the others, just noticed.

"What the hell?" Squall walked over to the door a second later, looking out into the hall. "Where is everyone?" Stepping back inside and closing the door, he looked at them. "No one's out there."

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

He flinched when that female laugh echoed throughout the hospital. It sounds…almost familiar… he thought, curious about the laugh, yet confused; that person had to be the reason why the power went out, right? But…why? The laughing echoed away, leaving three very confused people in the now silent room. Squall slowly walked further into the room, glancing around as if to make sure that they were the only ones in the room. He looked as confused as Nooj and Yuna felt. But something seemed to catch his eye…

He walked over to the window, looking out into the darkness. It appeared that all of the city had lost all power, also. But that's not what caught his attention… It was the glowing red eyes that seemed to stare back at him. As the eyes stared at him, a shiver went up his spine.

"What's wrong?"

He blinked, hearing the voice of Yuna, but now as he looked outside, the eyes were gone. "I thought I saw something."

"There's nothing now," Nooj stated, now standing beside him. He hadn't even heard him get up because he was so focused on those eyes… "Who do you think was the one laughing?"

"I don't know," he said, still not completely focused… Something nagged at his mind; that something he knew, yet, he didn't. He couldn't quite figure out what that something was…

XxXxX

For probably the first time in years, he thought while walking. It was what he was thinking about that would surprise a lot of people. That woman… That damn woman that kicked his ass… He wasn't thinking about her hatefully, nor lovingly. Worriedly? Yes, but as to why? Oh, he knew. He liked her; the woman had guts, especially to stand up to him. She was also strong --any moron could tell-- both physically and mentally. Most of the time he was sure she knew what she was doing.

So why was he worried, exactly? He knew --no, had a feeling that something bad was going on; I mean, someone freakin' kidnapped the woman he almost envied. Almost. But he felt that things were going to go from bad to we're-all-going-to-hell-in-a-matter-of-minutes worse. This situation, whatever it was, was not good nor normal. His gut told him that evil, an impossibly amount, was out there, somewhere.

Too stuck in his own thoughts, he bumped into someone --or rather, they ran into him, literally.

"Oh, sorry!" She giggled. "Guess I need to pay attention to where I'm walking more often."

He looked down at the girl. Blonde hair, but that's not what caught his eye. Strangely, it wasn't the bikini she wore; it was her freaky lookin' eyes. Green and swirled… He didn't remember seeing her here before. "What's your name?" he asked, nearly forgetting that she had ran into him.

"Rikku! What's yours?"

"Seifer… Hey, you just arrive here or somethin'?"

She nodded, hair following her movement. "Yeah. What happened to your face?"

He just remembered that the spot where Paine had hit him had bruised up around his left cheek. "Got hurt during a fight. You're not from around here, are you?"

"Nope."

Neither was Paine. "Do you know someone named-" He didn't get to finish the question he didn't even know why he was asking.

A blond (what hair he had left) young man in trousers and tattoos elsewhere, walked up to them, his eyes the same freaky color as Rikku's.

"Rikku! You are not to talk to strangers while we are here."

"Hey! You ain't the boss of me! Besides, he isn't a stranger. Brother, meet Seifer; Seifer, meet my brother, uh, Brother."

"I don't want to know him! He is a stranger and strangers are bad!" Brother shouted.

"Since when did you become so paranoid?" asked Rikku, tilting her head to the side.

"Tuh'd oui vunkad fryd rybbahet du Paine. Cra dymgat du cdnyhdanc yht cra tecybbaynat," said Brother in this freaky, freaky language.

"Hu, cra fyc gethybbat, oui sunuh! Gethybbat!"

Seifer just looked at Brother. He may not have been able to understand their freaky language, but he understood the "Paine" part. "Wait, you know Paine?"

"Yeah, sure do. She's one of my best buds! She may not have talked much, but I could tell she liked me," Rikku winked, looking at Seifer. "You know her too?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Stay away from my sister. Go, go!"

He wasn't even threatening his sister… "I'd like to see you try to make me leave." He stood at his true height, which was taller than Brother.

"Uh, Brother…look at the size difference. He's like a shoopuf while you're this tiny moogle." Rikku demonstrated the sizes with her hands; stretching her arms our wide for the shoopuf, whatever the hell that was, and then putting her hands in front of her, a foot away from each other for the moogle.

Okay, they're both insane. What the hell is a shoopuf? He didn't really care about the moogle because obviously it was small, but the shoopuf… He thought he should be taking that as an insult.

While the two argued in their very freaky language, he turned and walked away.

"Oh, Seifer…"

He froze, the voice sounding familiar, yet…not… As he looked around, he saw that he wasn't alone, but it was merely just the other kids here in Garden. So it could've been anyone here, but something told him it wasn't.

"Seifer…"

Now this is seriously creeping me out… He looked around again, everything here, other than him, was calm. Slowly, he started walking again, this time toward the dormitory. Maybe he just needed sleep…

"Amazing how you kan ignore me so well."

He stopped, turned, and walked toward the infirmary. Dr. K. will just tell me I'm going crazy and need to be put in the asylum. But seriously, that voice sounded familiar…

"Sleep tight."

"What?" His vision started to blur.

XxXxX

Trepe had been coming from the west side of Garden when she saw Seifer walking in her direction. She normally watched the man closely, but this time it was different. She watched him now because she was worried about him, not because she was worried about others' safety.

His face was unusually pale, and he used the wall for balance as he walked. "Almasy, are you all right?" she asked, walking closer to him. She took his answer as a 'no' as he collapsed against the wall, falling to a sitting position. Moving quickly, she was right beside him. "Someone call Dr. Kadowaki!"

XxXxX

"Is he going to be all right?" Quistis asked, looking at Dr. Kadowaki. The expression on her face told her the news was not good.

"I'm sorry, he…appears to be in a coma."

"What? But --how?" This shocked Quistis.

The doctor shook her head. "I don't know. I'm as confused about this as I am about Paine's condition. I suggest you tell Squall about this; he's at the Esthar hospital."

Trepe nodded and walked over to the phone. She dialed the correct number and waited. Nothing, not even a busy signal.

"This is Cid Kramer. Will the following people come up to my office: Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, Irvine Kinneas, Selphie Tilmitt, Laguna Loire, Rikku, Brother, Buddy, and Shinra." He repeated the list of names once more before he clicked off the intercom.

Hanging up the phone, Quistis left and headed for the elevator. She was more than curious about what Cid wanted to talk to them about, and the other names he said. Who was this Rikku? And Brother?

XxXxX

Cid stood near the window, looking out at the dark sky in the distance. What worried him the most was what Edea had told him; Rinoa had had the same feeling that Edea had, and with both being sorceresses… He was highly worried.

The last of the people he called stepped into the room --he noticed it was Quistis as he turned around. Now that everyone now stood in the room, the new people on one side of the room, the others on the other side, he decided to explain why he had called them. Rinoa, being the one who was the first to be in the room, sat in the chair, legs stretched out.

"I have called you all here today because we have a big problem," he started, putting his hands behind his back. "A couple days ago, our guest, Paine, was kidnapped --by whom, we don't know yet, we are still looking into that." He adjusted his glasses with one hand as he continued, "And now, just minutes ago, both Edea and Rinoa come to me, saying that they sensed a familiar evil within Garden. Fortunately, they were able to identify who it was. It is who it is that worries me."

Getting worried looks from the ones form Garden, and confused looks from the off-worlders, Cid decided to explain --mainly for the off-worlders, who listened curiously.

"Four months ago, the group to your left, plus Squall, defeated a dangerous enemy. That enemy's name was Ultimecia, the sorceress from the future. Ultimecia had tried to put the world in 'Time Compression'; now, she's up to something else."

"You mean she's--" Quistis' eyes were wide, jaw dropped in a silent gasp.

"So witch lady's back?" Zell punched the air. "We can kick her ass like we did last time."

"It won't be that easy, Zell," Edea explained, walking to stand beside her husband. "She is up to something, and it's not like her to just show up and disappear seconds later."

"Seifer…"

All looked at Quistis. "You mean the guy in the trench coat?" asked Rikku.

"Yes, that's Almasy," Quistis let her hands fall down to her sides. "I found Seifer in the hall, and he didn't look too well, so I went to check up on him. He passed out and is now in the infirmary."

"Does Dr. Kadowaki know what's wrong with him?" Edea asked, very worried.

"Yes, I do," Dr. Kadowaki entered the room. "Seifer is in a coma. How he got in one, it's a mystery."

"Thank you, doctor. But do you know if he'll recover?" Cid placed his hands on the desk.

"I honestly can't tell. He could wake up in an hour, or a year." Dr. K. explained.

Removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes, Cid sighed heavily. "Quistis, I would like you to stay here and watch over Seifer, while the rest fly over to Esthar to get Squall and Yuna. I can't seem to get through to them via telephone --nor anywhere in Esthar, for some odd reason."

"But didn't Squall take Ragnarok?" asked Quistis, crossing her arms.

"Yes, but I was hoping Brother would be kind and let us borrow Celcius." Cid looked at Brother, a hopeful look on his face.

Sighing and hunching over slightly, Brother waved his left hand. "Fine, fine. You may borrow Celcius," he straightened and pointed at himself. "but I am the pilot!"

Al Bhed Translations:

"Tuh'd oui vunkad fryd rybbahet du Paine. Cra dymgat du cdnyhdanc yht cra tecybbaynat," -- Don't you forget what happened to Paine. She talked to strangers and she disappeared.

"Hu, cra fyc gethybbat, oui sunuh! Gethybbat!" -- No, she was kidnapped, you moron! Kidnapped!