Twee! On to the next one!

I'll be posting the remains of Chapter 7 this morning, then, if Tea gets the second half of Chapter 8 back to me today, those will go up tonight. Coren024 already beta'ed the first half of Chapter 8...

Alright, let's go!

"Where's Mieu when you need him?" -Selenia

I raced through up the stairs, barely even noticing who all had followed me. Ion and Asch were with me, that was all that really mattered. My mind was dancing around in the lobby still, but even though I knew there were dozens of people there, I couldn't gather much more than that.

I hit the upper floor, grabbed the guard rail, and pretty much jumped over it so I could run out onto the bridge above the lobby. Asch was right on my heels, Ion and three others lagging behind a bit.

I came skidding to a halt on the bridge, coming just short of throwing myself over the railing as I looked down at the scene below, where my brother and the rest of our friends were surrounded.

Jade was preparing an arte, Luke and Guy had their swords drawn, Tear seemed ready to start singing, and Dark and Natalia both had weapons drawn and aimed, and Anise seemed ready to bolt. Sorylle growled at the Oracle Knights, and I cursed as I saw Dist walking—yes, you read that right—up to them.

"Don't resist, Jade. Unless, of course, you'd rather I kill this woman," Dist said, his chair floating along after him. Noelle was unconscious in it.

"Well, that doesn't look good."

I glanced up at Noir. "What gave you that idea?" I snapped, looking back down. Weapons had been confiscated, as had wing packs, and now only Sorylle and Dark looked ready to keep fighting.

*Don't do it,* I ordered Dark, knowing what he was thinking from the stance he had taken. *Any weapon they don't know you have is a weapon you can use to get out of this later.*

*Assuming we get a 'later,'* Dark replied before forcing himself out of the defensive stance he'd taken.

"I want the Malkuth colonel and Daemione locked up here. The rest will come with me to Baticul," Mohs said. I frowned and moved to the other side of the bridge, finally spotting the pompous bastard. Deciding I'd rather pay attention to my friends, I moved back to the other side of the bridge. "And someone get rid of that damn liger!"

The soldiers converged on them, Dark growling at Sorylle, who gave him a look similar to the one she'd given him right before he used Sacrifice. I frowned, but was forced to watch as he growled at her again. She reluctantly unleashed an Ice Stream, the shock of the ice attack clearing enough space for her to make a break for it. She ran across the lobby, to the door that lead to the room with the fonic glyphs.

"Twilight," I started. He growled, already moving back to intercept her and the Oracle Knights that were bound to follow her.

Jade and Dark were chained up, and the soldiers started dragging them outside. Probably planning on going through the outside entrance to headquarters... well, it was a shorter distance to the dungeons.

Natalia and Luke were the next ones arrested, with Anise, Tear, and Guy being kept separate. Dist had a couple of Oracle Knights carry Noelle down to the dungeons with Dark and Jade, before he reclaimed his place in his chair.

I kept an eye out for the two soldiers who had taken everyone's things, and even when they passed out of sight, kept track of them with my mind. With any luck, they'd... Nope. Damn...

That was when Dist looked up. The two of us just stared at each other for a moment before he tilted his head to the side, as if amused.

Then he turned around and floated off.

"What was that about?" Seth asked. I glanced back, noting that there was no way Dist could have been looking at him. He was standing just past the doorway, while I was in the middle of the bridge.

"Dunno," I admitted. I crossed my arms and looked at Noir. Then I glanced back at Asch. Then back to Noir. "Asch is going with you. Get Jade, Dark, and Noelle out. Their equipment has been left in a room in Headquarters, not too far from the inside entrance."

"And what are you going to do?" Asch asked, arms crossed. I smirked.

"Oh, me? I'm going to the sephiroth. The less Van can keep closed off, the less pressure on the passage rings, and the more time we have," I said.

"What about Reighn?" Seth asked. "He's still with Aerith."

I looked over at Twilight, who had just returned with Sorylle. *Can you find them? You won't be a lot of help in the volcano... No offense.*

*None taken,* he replied. *I'll go.*

I nodded and started walking. "Seth, Ion, Sorylle, Selenia and I will go to the sephiroth. Asch and the Dark Wings will deal with Headquarters. Twilight's heading out to get Reighn. Any arguments?"

"You walking off like that isn't leaving much space for any," Selenia noted light-heartedly. Asch chuckled.

"That's pretty normal."

I made it up to the next door and opened it, stepping through with four of the others behind me. I crossed my arms as I finally remembered something that had been bothering me for a while. "Ion, Selenia, go on ahead. I need to talk to Seth," I said. Selenia tilted her head to the side.

"What if we get lost?"

I sighed. "Don't worry, it's a straight shot from here. Besides, we'll be right behind you."

She nodded, skipping on ahead with Ion behind her. The green-haired teen shot me a concerned look, but didn't argue. Sorylle glanced between us and decided to pad along up ahead with the two of them while Seth and I followed.

Seth looked like I'd caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. "You knew." He didn't have to say more than that.

"I suspected."

"You never called me out on it."

"I saw no need to. You weren't the only mole. I trust you more than I trust the other."

Seth stopped, and I stopped a moment later so as to avoid leaving him behind. "There's another?"

I nodded. "Anise. She's leaking info to Mohs... Though she's doing it to protect her parents," I said. Seth took a deep breath.

"I see."

"When did you decide to cross?"

Seth didn't answer for a while. In fact, we'd reached the door that led to the library hiding the room with the fonic glyph to Mt. Zaleho before he did.

"When you introduced me in Theor Forest." I looked up at him, and he sighed. "You called me Seth Balfour. Up until then, I'd never even considered that as a possibility. Seth Arlynde was a member of the Council, and he would do as Zion ordered because he didn't know any better."

I smiled. "I think I like Seth Balfour. And I think Jade does, too."

Seth fidgeted. "That's questionable."

I laughed, moving around the bookshelves and noting Ion, Sorylle, and Selenia standing around near a table looking rather confused. I froze, recognizing the girl who stood there even though I'd only met her once before.

What the hell is Rialle doing in Daath, though!?

"Here. Sync wanted to make sure this got to you guys," she was saying, handing Ion a big, dusty book. Ion smiled.

"Thank you." Then he paused, frowned and blinked a few times. "Wait... aren't you one of my Fon Master Guards?"

Rialle giggled. "Yep. Though from what I've overheard Sync saying, it sounds like he's going to be coming back as a God-General. I might just put in a transfer request."

Ion continued to blink, before he sighed. "He is. Fifth Division, right back where he was before he left," he admitted.

Rialle smiled. "Thanks! That actually simplifies things!" She turned and walked past me, and I certainly didn't miss the amused wink at me as she did so.

"Who the heck was that?" Selenia asked. Ion looked baffled.

"She's one of my Fon Master Guardians, but beyond that, I can't tell you much. My guess is, she's been following Sync around long enough to figure out the differences between us. Sounds like he trusts her, too," Ion said.

I nodded. "He would. She may look like she's younger than you, but she's actually seventeen. Very good at keeping secrets, and very friendly. The kind of person that Reighn would probably employ as a 'contact.' Hell, she might be one of his contacts," I said, barely censoring my words. Ion looked up at me curiously.

"You know her?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Sort of." Yes. We had a rather strange conversation in Belkend.

"What was her name?" Seth asked.

"Rialle," I said simply. Hmm... Wonder what happened to Bela...?

"Yes... Rialle DeSeto, if I remember correctly," Ion agreed. I took a deep breath and turned, walking to the back wall and then wandering along until I was about halfway down the line of bookshelves.

"I don't get it. There's a sephiroth hidden in the cathedral?" Selenia asked. I shook my head.

"No, but the only really reasonable way to get to it is via fonic glyph. Now where's the... Aha!" I kicked the bottom edge of the bookshelf and watched as it slid back and then to the side. I crossed my arms and smirked at the others. "It's right in here," I said, indicating the door set into the alcove where the bookshelf had been. Ion blinked.

"I had no idea that was even there," he said. I nodded.

"Yep. Come on." I stepped through, walking straight across to stand on the glyph. Sorylle followed without protest, Seth doing the same. Selenia and Ion took a moment to gawk, but they eventually joined us, and I let loose fonons on the glyph. Light surrounded us, and I felt the usual upheaval of my stomach attempting to surface as it faded again, leaving us in the area with that thrice-damned fonstone where Ion dies.

I walked right past it, heading straight for the sephiroth. The others lagged behind a bit, at least until I had to stop and tap my foot. With the Daathic Seal over the doorway, I was a little stuck.

"Oh, I'll get that."

I looked off to one side, not saying the words that had popped in my head. Not out loud, at least. 'Yes, that's why I'm standing here waiting on you.'

Ion lifted his arms, the set of rings spinning almost immediately, and I raised an eyebrow, impressed at how quickly he could break through it. Even Sync, who had gotten quite a bit of practice in over the last year or so, couldn't break it that fast.

Just goes to show, no two people have the same strengths. Ion still couldn't use Akashic Torment without nearly falling over.

I stepped in, leading the way down, and cursed when I realized that the torches weren't lit. Selenia sighed.

"Where's Mieu when you need him?" she muttered. I shrugged.

"With Luke." I slipped half out of my body, summoning up the same Energies I had the last time I'd been forced to do this. Once the torch was lit, I walked across the bridge, ignoring the drain on my strength.

This was not going to be a fun sephiroth to do a second time.

"Hey, can I try using Fireball on the next one?" Selenia asked. I stopped, blinked, and thought it over. Well, no reason not to let her try it.

"Why not?" I agreed. If nothing else, any excuse to put off having to use magic again.

Selenia grinned and started skipping again, and I sighed, smiling at her enthusiasm.

It was... oddly uncomfortable, walking through the sephiroth with the group I was with. I'd gotten used to Ion and Seth. But Sorylle wasn't Twilight, and Selenia wasn't Dark, Reighn, or Natalia. Or Asch, for that matter. I watched as she let off the trio of fireballs, and smiled when they successfully lit up the torch.

"Thanks. That was actually really tiring," I admitted as we walked across the next bridge. Selenia looked up at me and flashed me a grin.

"I thought it might be. I figured I'd at least try. After all, you're going to be tired enough after dealing with the passage ring," she said. I laughed.

"Too true. Too true..."

It took another set of fireballs to light up a third torch, and then we were home free. I walked up to the passage ring, no longer with a care that the miasma was about to surge into my body.

Once I'd torn down Zion's riddle and then re-opened the valve, I started looking at what Asch and Jade had done previously. With a few moment's work, Mt. Zaleho was accessible remotely... as long as one was willing and able to input the correct passwords and whatnot. I'd kept the hymns in place, thrown a new riddle on, and then set up a password for the remote access. Interestingly enough, the passage rings gave me the option of adding remote access to the other four that had our extra locks.

I found it amusing that I was able to do all of that in about half an hour, when Luke told me it usually took him, Van, and Zion about an hour just to seal the valve and lock it back up.

Well, I suppose it helps that I'm from a world with rather more advanced technology. And I've had plenty of practice.

Once I shut it down, I walked away from the terminal and crossed my arms. "We should get back to Daath. I'm too far away to reach Asch from here," I said. The others nodded, though Ion looked worried. Selenia seemed concerned, too, but not quite so much.

I smiled. "Hey, I'm fine. I've been doing this a lot longer than Asch and Jade," I said. Ion sighed.

"That's what I'm worried about..." he muttered. I shrugged it off and started walking.

We got lucky, not having to fight any monsters. We made it back to the cathedral in about twenty minutes.

I reached out, snagging Asch's mind. It had been a little over an hour and a half since Luke and the others had been arrested.

*Find Jade!* Asch ordered before I could speak. I frowned and started searching, feeling my throat get tighter with every minute I didn't find him. Then, finally, I slipped past something, and nudged it.

*Jade?*

A general feeling of confirmation was my only response. I started trying to figure out just where he was, before I realized something, something that boded ill for Jade.

*Heh... Looks like the gossip about a seventh level is true,* I said, though it was dry and humorless.

I felt ice dripping into my body, because even though he was doing his best to hide it, I could tell that Jade was in a lot of pain. Mohs had done something to him.

Fun Fact: The reason this took so freaking long to post? That scene with Rialle? Since Kairi is heavily based on me, and Rialle is one of my oldest characters... Kairi recognized Rialle... as a character she'd created! No! Nono! And then Bela just made it worse a couple chapters later. So yeah. I was cleaning up that mess.