Hello wanderers,

So I've had some people ask when the drama/action would start-up again. After reading this chapter you'll realize that the answer is soon. I can't just slam chapter after chapter of drama or action or romance at you guys, it wouldn't mean anything anymore that way. Beside, I like to develope characters and plot too. :)

Also, I want to thank you guys for continuing to be so damn cool. I love each new reviewer I get, and I just can't believe how popular this story is already. It seems that just yesterday I was playing a stupid flash game called "Zombie girlfriend (I saw her standing there)" and thought of this fan-fic. Speaking of which, here is the way to that game (None of the game plot matters to my plot, by the way. It's just a cute little flash game)

If anything, play it just to hear the music. Half the time I write chapters to this playing in the background.

Go to Addicting games dot com

Type in zombie girlfriend

That shit pops right up

Cool as balls, huh?

Alright, I think that's all I have for you today. Thanks so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews!

~Eliza

"You want to WHAT?!" I stood up and hollered at Riku.

We were all seated in the living room having a "family" discussion that Riku and Aerith called to order. They had apparently been talking and could find no medical basis on which Riku was immune to the zombie bites.

"Sora, calm down. I'm not a pathologist; I can't identify what in the world happened to Riku, and that makes me uneasy." Aerith stated. She was sitting next to Riku on the love seat near the fire-place, and I was on the opposite side of the living room sitting on the couch next to Selphie and Olette.

"Well, Riku leaving the safety of the Cabin makes me uneasy." I looked at her in disbelief. She could not seriously be okay with this!

"Look, I'm not asking anyone to understand, okay?" Riku spoke up. I snorted.

"Of course you're not, because nobody does!" I rolled my eyes.

"Sora, would you just calm down?" Aerith snapped at me. We stared at each other for a moment, steel in each glare. Neither of us backed down.

"Leon, you can't be okay with this!" I turned my attention to my brother-in-law, who had his head down and wasn't making much of a fuss. He looked up to me and I could see defeat in all of his features.

"I'm sorry, Kiddo. She got to me first." He motioned to his wife and then resumed his beaten down position. I was appalled.

"Look, I don't feel so good about this either. I mean… It's really dangerous out there." Yuffie shuffled her feet around from her spot next to Cloud.

"Yuf is right. It's miserable out there and you know that Aerith. This all just sounds like a horrible idea that Riku wouldn't make it back from." Cloud brought up. I could feel my throat tighten at the idea of Riku never coming home.

"No." I disallowed the entire idea.

"Pepper, you don't—"

"Don't you Pepper me, Riku! I said no, and that means no! I already lost you once; I'm not doing it again!" I crossed my arms and shouted so he'd know I was serious.

"But Sora, you don't understand! I'm immune! I need to figure out what it means. I just have to." Riku tried to plead with me, but I said nothing in response as the fire crackled in the background.

"We just got you back." Axel's voice cut the air with intensity. Unspoken words were laced into his verbal ones. We just got you back, you stupid idiot. You think we're going to let you go out there by yourself and die so we can go through that torture again?

I felt the same way. What kind of moron did Riku think I was? There was no way in hell I was going to let him go out there and get torn to pieces or killed by bandits or simply die from the cold!

"You're not going to lose me. I'll be careful." Riku tried to reason with us but he could see that it wasn't working.

"Where would you even go?" I looked up to him and kept the tears in my eyes. He cracked a little, but my pitiful expression wasn't enough to sway him completely.

"I don't know. We'd find a refuge with more doctors." Riku explained. Leon straightened up and glared at the Silverette.

"What do you mean, we?" He spoke slowly and calmly, though there was venom in his voice.

"I told Riku I'd go with him." Aerith stated. I couldn't help but smile as all hell broke loose. Leon was now on our side.

"YOU WERE GOING TO TAKE MY WIFE OUT INTO THE ZOMBIE INFESTED WILDERNESS IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN FUCKING ASK ME? YOU LITTLE SHIT. GET BACK HERE SO I CAN FUCKING KILL YOU. RIKU! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!" Leon roared and chased Riku out of the house. Axel and I shared a look of triumph before Aerith sprinted past us. She raced outside and could be heard shouting at the two men and dragging them back to our "discussion".

"You don't get to decide what I do or do not do, Leon!" Aerith fumed as Riku shut the screen door behind her and Leon followed her back inside, practically spitting flames.

"And you don't get to keep things like this from me! You said Riku was going by himself, and I wasn't even okay with that but you managed to talk me into it! But now you've lied to me about it. I'm with Sora on this one. You both are staying right here." Leon shook his head and sat back down in his spot, completely ignoring any of Aerith's interjections.

"Leon, I'm sorry. I thought she told you." Riku apologized but Leon nearly stood up and strangled him.

"Whatever." Leon looked away from the Silverette and dismissed his apology.

"Alright, so it seems settled then! No wilderness trip for you two." I gleefully stated before getting up to leave.

"Sora…" Roxas said my name in a way that obviously meant I wasn't allowed to go.

"What?" I snapped before looking in the direction that my best friend was pointing.

Riku had crumbled to his knees, clutching his head in his hands as Leon and Aerith screamed at each other in the corner. Cloud and Yuffie were arguing with Olette and Hayner, and Kairi and Selphie had gotten up and left because they didn't want to deal with all the fighting. Larxene sat observing everyone, and Demyx did he best to look as small as possible so that no one would call him out.

"Rox, I don't think that—" Axel started to speak, but Roxas cut him off.

"Just listen to what he has to say. Then you two can say no all you want." Roxas reprimanded the both of us. I swallowed my pride and took Axel with me to go see what Riku was being so dramatic about.

He was sitting on the ground with his head hung low and his hair covering his face. I sat down on his right and Axel sat down on his left. The two had apologized to each other and shared what could have gone down in the history books as the world's biggest "bro"-hug; there were no hard feelings between them even though Axel never explained what made him mad and Riku never admitted to being wrong.

"Riku?" Axel nudged the Silverette. Riku lifted his head and looked at his tattooed friend. His eyes looked tired and he had a melancholy expression.

"You guys don't get it. You just don't understand." Riku shook his head.

"We're going to try to listen, if you're willing to talk." I rubbed his arm lovingly and leaned my head on his shoulder, trying to show him that I was willing to try.

"I can barely hear my own thoughts, let alone express them." Riku commented about all the noise around him. Axel took it as his cue.

"Hey!" He shouted and everyone turned to look at us, momentarily stopping their bickering. "Riku wants to talk, if you all would be so inclined to shut the fuck up." Axel politely smiled.

"Thanks Ax," Riku smiled softly. He remained sitting on the floor while he talked. "Um… I know you guys aren't really big fans of this idea but I want to justify myself. I have no idea why I'm immune to the biters, but I have this gut feeling that it's for a reason. I need to figure it out, or I'll go absolutely insane."

"But it's not safe out there." Leon piped up. Riku sighed.

"How long do you think all fourteen of us can stay in this Cabin? Another year, maybe, before all the supplies around us run out completely. Then what? What do we do then?" Riku asked.

"We'll find someplace else…" Cloud stated warily.

"There is no place else. We spent months making this place as safe as we could, and one of us still was bitten." Roxas reminded us.

"Exactly. We can't all hold up here much longer. If there is any possible way that me being immune might lead to a cure, then I want exhaust every possible option I have to find one. This could help people." Riku looked around at all of us to see how his words were settling.

"You're not going to help anyone if you're dead, Riku." Axel brought up the possibility of Riku not making it.

"I have to try, don't I?" He sounded desperate.

"No, you don't. You could stay right here where it's safe and I don't have to worry about you." I pouted. Riku sighed and pulled me into his lap.

"We all understand where Sora's coming from. It's crazy out there." Yuffie looked terrified as she spoke. "You couldn't drag me back out there if my life depended on it. Especially after that horde attacked us, and Riku was bitten. That's some crazy shit."

"But this could be detrimental to the entire world's survival!" Aerith exclaimed, trying to back up Riku's side.

My thoughts were at war. My left brain, the analytical and reasonable side, kept telling me that there was truth to what they were saying; this was a chance to put all of this zombie madness to an end. But my right brain, the emotional and unpredictable side, was screaming at me to not let Riku out of my sight.

"I'm going, no matter what any of you say. Even if Aerith can't go, I'm not letting any of you stop me. I just wanted to inform you of why I'd be gone at the end of the winter." Riku stood up and left the room, no matter how many times we tried to bring him back. The rest of us that stayed (Aerith, Leon, Cloud, Yuffie, Axel, Roxas, and I) stared at each other dumbfounded.

"What do we do?" Cloud asked, looking mostly to me for guidance.

"I'm going with him." Aerith stood and stormed out of the living room.

"The hell you are, Aerith- Aerith, get back here!" Leon stomped away after her.

"What do you think?" I ignored my sister and looked to Roxas and Axel. The red-head seemed torn, but my best friend was calm when he spoke.

"I think that he's not going to change his mind no matter what." Roxas shrugged.

"Then we just let him go?" Yuffie asked.

"…I'm going with him." I felt my stomach leap up into my heart when I spoke.

Was I really going to risk my life for a stupid aspiration of Riku's? But the more I thought about it, was it stupid? Was I just selfishly trying to cling to my lover, even if it meant that we'd all eventually die in the long run? Was it not better, and the moral thing to do, for us to at least try to find a cure? My head was spinning.

"Are you insane?" Cloud asked me.

"I must be…" I shook my head and looked up to Axel.

"Well, if you're going then I am too." The red-head said in a tone that made it seem final.

"But what about Roxas?" I asked, motioning my head to the blonde who sat with a stern expression on his face.

"Roxie?" Axel turned to his lover and spoke to him with his eyes. I couldn't understand what was passed between them but I recognized the way that they were communicating; Riku and I did it all the time.

"Well," Roxas sighed. "I'd hate to go with-out seeing your pretty little ass for that long," He poked Axel. "So I guess I'm in."

Axel's face lit up while he processed his boyfriend's words. Once he came to terms with them he was tackling Roxas and kissing him all over his face. I chuckled softly and turned my attention toward Cloud and Yuffie.

"Count us in," Cloud said, right as Yuffie exclaimed, "Count us out!"

The couple looked to each other in a moment of disbelief before arguing and storming off much like Aerith and Leon. I was left alone in the living room while Roxas and Axel made out on the couch, and slowly shuffled away without drawing attention to myself. I snuck into my bedroom and sighed at the back of the door.

"Did you come in here to yell at me?" Riku looked up with a pitiful expression. I could tell this whole ordeal was hurting him more than he thought it would.

"No, I stopped in to tell you that I love you." I smiled at him softly. His expression shifted.

"What?" He questioned me. I laughed to myself before wrapping my legs around him on the bed.

"Riku, I don't always understand why you do the things you do, but that doesn't mean I don't support you. I can see that this is eating away at you, and I don't want you to be miserable. I'm just scared." I explained to him before kissing him softly on the lips.

"I'll be fine, Pepper. I know it's terrifying—hell, even I'm terrified. But I couldn't live with myself if I knew I never even tried to figure this out." Riku kissed my cheek.

"I know. I just don't want you going alone." I stated.

"I'll be—" I cut him off.

"That's why I'm coming with you." I didn't expect Riku to freak out, but he was instantaneously livid.

"I didn't take a bite to the shoulder so you could throw your life away, Sora!"

"Oh, nice double standard! You're allowed to go out in the world and I have to stay locked away in the Cabin?"

"You could get bitten!"

"So could you!"

"I already have!"

"Just because you can't turn doesn't mean you can't die!"

"I am not going to die out there."

"Of course you won't, because you'll have Roxas, Axel, and me to protect you."

"You got them involved?" Riku snapped at me.

"Of course I did! They're our best friends!"

"This isn't about them!"

"Of course it is; it involves you!"

"Sora, I'm so mad at you right now."

"Ditto." I snarled.

Riku blew out the candles and we went to sleep as close to our edges of the bed as possible.