GoodGurl: Hi everyone! Awww, I was hoping for more reviewers, but I guess people are too busy with school and all. To Murphy: Thank you for your truthful words. I understand I suck and yeah it was rather confusing. I guess that's my problem with the way I write my stories, I tend to just blabber on and on about things and I do notice it. Thank you for your honest review. I appreciate it if you could give me more hints and help me out on my metaphors! ^_^; I guess I'm not that good. LOL. Anywayz, I hope I get more reviews from you. I mean I don't mind if you give me more critiques, because I do need that. I plan on just keeping it simple and not carry on with the metaphors from now on. Enjoy!

Chapter 9 - The Continuing Storm
Once more, the moon greeted him with a simple smile of its glowing rays. He has no idea how long he's been staring up at the sky with his thoughts back to his past. He went to school in Besaid, met Braska and Jecht as a young man and became his close friends. A year later, a fourteen-year-old girl appeared in his life, by the name of Cess, who was his neighbor then. After that, the four of them became inseparable. Auron was staying with Jecht and his family and immediately became one of them, despite his differences with Jecht. Every morning, the boy in his sixteen years would train with his gigantic sword and remembered every lesson his Master taught him about offense and defense when in battle with the sword. Despite his name as a 'swordsman,' he was still premature in battle alone.

Auron sighed. There were still so many things he has to learn about sword fighting, despite his age. Master Roshu told him once that he was pass his thirties before he mastered all the techniques of a sword. "The sword is a difficult weapon to wield, because it holds the spirit of the one who fights with it," his Master told him. The man took a deep breath, thinking about his Master's words. Auron placed his sword in between the palm of his hands and stared ahead, closing his eyes, forcing his mind to focus on his energy. "The most difficult sword technique there is to master is the Apocalypse," his Master's voice still speaking to him. The Apocalypse, he thought. Auron opened his eyes and put his sword at his side. His mother's words came back into his thoughts. "You are like a butterfly, my dear son... a butterfly that if you are caught, then there is no room for you to spread your wings and fly away from pain."

"Enough with the butterfly," the swordsman said to himself. Shaking the words of his mother from his mind, Auron turned around, placing his sword back in its sheath and left the area quietly. He needed to go for a walk- a time to think things through, without his Mother or his Master to tell him anything. He let himself out through the gate and into the quiet neighborhood. The night was getting late, he could tell because not many people were out and the sky was getting brighter- not from the moonlight, but from the large bright sun that wants to leave its bed and wake up. He didn't know where he was going, but something was drawing him to that house where Lulu grew up in. An image of her crying about the past flashed in his mind. He couldn't stand it when women cry. That was his only weakness. Cess used that tactic when they used to date, when he wouldn't help her out when she needed it. It was even more difficult, when Auron wanted a break from their relationship and Cess just started crying her heart out. It took him minutes, until he convinced himself not to fall in her trap.

He walked pass two houses, before he made at the front of Lulu's house. Ahead, he noticed a figure standing there as well, just staring at the door. It took him a couple more minutes, before he realized it was her... Lulu. Auron walked up to her, letting his footsteps be known so she wouldn't be startled by his presence. Lulu turned around, her face showing a little bit of surprise when she noticed him there. "Couldn't sleep either?" she asked casually, turning back around towards the door.

Auron nodded. "There were many thoughts in my head and I found myself unable to sleep. Is that the same with you?"

Lulu sighed and answered his question with a simple nod. "It keeps coming back to me... that night." She took a step towards the door and lifted up her hand to the doorknob. At first she hesitated and after a while, finally opened it to reveal a cozy and roomy living building. Lulu stepped inside and Auron followed suit, making sure he was close enough to keep a close eye on her so she wouldn't break down again. He followed her to a small, dusty living room, one that consisted of a couch, a fireplace, a rocking chair and a small round table in front of the couch where three people could sit in it. The fireplace looked like it hasn't been used for ages, while the corners of the walls in the area were filled with spider webs. Lulu approached the rocking chair slowly and watched it for a while, until Auron couldn't take it anymore with the curiosity kicking in his mind.

"What is it?" he asked, looking around the house.

The Black Mage sighed and looked up, frowning. "This rocking chair was where my mother rocked me to sleep when I was just three years old." She looked down on the rocking chair and smiled, thinking about that night. She turned and approached the fireplace and picked up the picture that was sitting up on the mantle. Auron was unaware of the picture's presence, until Lulu picked it up and studied it with dreamy eyes. "This is a picture of me and my parents." She held it out so Auron could see.

Auron joined her near the fireplace and looked at the picture. A young Lulu- maybe at the age of ten, was sitting on her father's lap, smiling, while her mother, sat beside them, her hands holding her husband's. "You look really happy," he replied, looking at the smiling face of the young Lulu. The man hit himself mentally for asking such a dumb question. He knew how must it hurt Lulu to think about her past, when her past fled from her in this present time.

The Black Mage frowned and put the picture back on the mantle, then turned around to look at the house some more. Without a word, she walked pass Auron and walked up the stairs to the second floor. Auron followed her as well, even though he had no right to do so, but he was curious. He ended up following her to a small hallway and to the first room they saw. Lulu left the door open for him, knowing full well he was behind her and entered the room, holding her breath for this moment. How long has it been? She didn't remember.

Auron joined her a couple seconds later. He looked around the small room cautiously. This room was much smaller than he had thought, but with the pink wallpapers around the room and the small bed and the desk, indicated it was for a little girl, not more than six years old. "Is this your room?"

Lulu nodded. She sat down on the small bed, which was far too big for her and stared at it, placing her hand on the soft mattress. "This is where I slept whenever I was tired and where I cried whenever my father came home from work drunk. I was scared of him when he was drunk, because I knew he would come to my room and beat me."

The swordsman closed his eyes in shame for asking such a personal question. He was going to say something, when Lulu found something that caught her attention, which brought curiosity in Auron, so he pursed his lips together. Underneath the blanket of the bed, she reached inside and took out a small, stuffed moogle, one that had a pink ribbon around its little antenna at the top of its head. Lulu looked at it for a while, holding it in the palm of her hands and brought it to her chest to embrace it. Tears dwelled inside her, threatening to fall, but she held it back against her will. She had to be strong for this one. It was just remembering the past. If she cried now, she will never be able to find strength in herself to let the past go. Choking back the tears, Lulu blinked and pulled the stuffed moogle so she could look at it again. The eyes of the toy were made of large, round black buttons and it was an off white color, unlike the color of her other moogle which she left back in the cave where they stayed. It was smaller than her other one, but it was just small enough for a little girl who needed a friend named, "Mavis."

"This was the friend I had when I was a child. My mother gave this to me on my sixth birthday and whenever I was sad, I would talk to this toy and pretend it was my friend who comforted me when I needed to be. She was like my only companion in this world of Sin." She pulled it against her chest once more and hugged it as tight as she could.

Auron just watched her. Her hands were shaking and he knew she was trying to hold back tears again. "Lulu, you don't need to hold them back. You can cry if you want to. This is your home."

Lulu shook her head and looked up, her eyes now filled with the tears she was blinking away. "I don't want to cry, Sir Auron."

The swordsman, without thinking, walked up to her, stopping just in front of her. "Why not?" he asked. He didn't want to bring back the memory that she had indeed cried in his arms. Maybe it would humiliate her even more. "There is no shame in showing your tears," he added.

Lulu stood up, putting the moogle back on the bed and sighed, not looking at Auron straight in the eyes. "Because I want to stay strong for this. I don't want to be weak any longer. If I am to be strong, I must face this fear of being here so I can defeat Kai myself." She looked up and looked at Auron, then turned and walked away.

Auron watched her leave and before she could disappear behind the wall, he said, "What is your fear Lulu? You have already conquered all of it."

The Black Mage paused by the doorway. She stood there for a couple of minutes, before walking out of the house completely.

*************************************
"SHIT!" he swore, kicking the side of the airship. He looked up at Giron, who was being treated for his wounds and gritted his teeth. "How the hell do we fly now? We need to get the damn engine runnin'! What the hell is the problem with this thing?!" Cid kicked the side of the damaged ship again. "I'm going to look for Tidus and Yuna. Giron..." He glanced at his pilot. "You take charge of everyone here. Do what you have to do to fix this thing."

Giron nodded. "Yes, sir," he replied, nodding. "But, are you really going to go out there into the storm?"

Cid glanced over his shoulder and smirked. "What does it look like?"

Giron pursed his lips and watched his Captain leave the shelter of their ship. Cid stepped into the platform and felt his feet step on to the ground. A slight wind blew his long coat behind him and a chill ran down his spine. The bald captain wrapped his coat tighter around himself and began to trek towards the forest and disappeared quickly into the shadows.

Trees already surrounded him. The storm was only miles away and he knew that if he didn't come back sooner or later, he would be trapped under the storm's anger and pull both him and if by any luck, Tidus and Yuna as well into the abyss. The storms around these parts were stronger than any other places he could remember visiting. Cid marked the trees he passes by with his dagger so he would find his way back to the ship and continued forward. He pulled his eye protectors over his eyes and examined the place.

...Nothing but trees. He glanced to his right and noticed the same tree he marked the first time he stepped into the forest. He was going in circles. "Dammit, if I keep this up, I will never be able to find Tidus and Yuna." Cid closed his eyes. "All right, think, Cid! I have to concentrate. You are, after all an Al Bhed. Al Bheds know their way out of a situation like this." Sighing, the bald Al Bhed looked around for another way out and to his left, the one place he knew he hasn't been to, was another path. This one was different than the path he went to. This one actually had a light coming through. With any luck, if he finds a cave, he knew for certain that Yuna and Tidus would be there. They couldn't have been thrown more than fifty feet into the air and landed somewhere together. It was always hope and faith that saves them from death and that never separates them from each other. Now thinking of his daughter, Cid turned around and glanced at somewhere behind him, towards the direction of the mountaintops where Rikku and Wakka were. "I hope you're all right, kiddo," he whispered to himself, before deciding on taking that path.
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"How long do you think the storm will continue on like this?" she spoke, the voice in her ear sounding hollow. She glanced to her side at him, who was trying to rub two stones together to make fire, but it just kept dying on him. Yuna smiled, put Lulu's stuffed animal down on the log beside her and joined Tidus near the firewood he gathered nearby. "Here, let me do that." She closed her eyes and pointed a finger towards the collected firewood. Fire burst from her fingers and burnt the large sticks collected. Soon, the cave was surrounded by light and warmth.

Tidus sat back down on his seat across from Yuna and sighed. "It's very hard to tell when storms end in this region, but don't worry, I'm sure everyone else on the ship found a way to survive. Cid would never let anyone die, not even his crew. Eventually, he will find us."

Yuna nodded. "You're right." She picked up Lulu's doll once again and wrapped her arms around it, surrounding it with her warmth, and then clutched it close to her heart. "Do you think Lulu and Auron are all right?"

The blond boy opened his eyes and threw a small stick in the fire, then looked up at Yuna's worried face. "Hey, don't you worry about that. You and I both know that Lulu and Auron would have found a way to survive even the worse possible situations."

"You're right. I shouldn't be negative about this," Yuna responded, taking a deep breath. She stood up and made her way around the fire towards Tidus. She sat down beside him and laid her head on her shoulder. "No matter how hard I tried, Tidus, I am still frightened for them. I know they're strong, but sometimes the strongest can become weak when the right rope is cut."

Tidus wrapped an arm around Yuna's shoulder and leaned his head on top of hers. "You're just going to have faith in them, Yuna," he replied.

They broke into silence after that, letting the sound of the howling wind and the taps of the large drops of rain on the ground is their noise. It was too dangerous still to risk going outside and to find the Al Bhed ship. Tidus turned his head towards the storm. He would have gone outside himself, but he couldn't leave Yuna alone. Not only was there a storm to worry about, there were dangerous monsters to worry about as well. Along with their condition-- the minor injuries that inflicted both him and Yuna, there was no use at all to go outside.

Who would be foolish enough to go outside in weather like this? Tidus thought, closing his eyes from fatigue.
**********************************
The night once again surrounded them. She walked on ahead, without looking back to see whether Auron had followed her, although she didn't need to know if he was following her. His footsteps were always a dead give away and after a couple of seconds, he was already right at her side. She couldn't quite understand why he kept following her. There was no point anymore. It was time for her to go back to bed and sleep so she could release herself into her dreams. "Sir Auron, I think it's time for me to head on back." She glanced up at him and gave him a lopsided grin. She couldn't smile. Not yet. She wasn't ready to smile completely. "I need rest."

Sir Auron just nodded as Lulu turned around the other way, back towards the inn. He took a deep breath. He had to tell her everything about how he felt. If he kept this up, he knew he was going to regret it for the rest of his whole if he didn't tell her.

A sudden thunderstorm interrupted him from his thoughts. Auron looked up towards the mountains. A storm was coming this way and it sounded bigger than before. Auron looked back at Lulu, whom he could still see walking ahead of him. For him, a storm meant that it wasn't the time to tell Lulu the truth. Either Lulu heard that storm and couldn't care less about it or just didn't hear it at all. Either way, a storm wouldn't harm them both. She must have been used to the fact that storms this big comes to Presia every season so she had no reason to worry.

Another thunderstorm rumbled. Auron looked longer towards the clouds this time and watched as the storm began to move towards the village. The wind blew heavily against him, almost pushing him back from the force, but Auron managed to keep his balance. The trees were swaying back and forth from another gust of wind that blew by. He looked up once more at the moving storm and he realized that the storm was moving faster than it should. He looked closer. The clouds weren't moving and he noticed that far beyond the forested area, the only thing moving was the ground. He realized it was more than just a storm. Before he could call out her name and tell her that it was no ordinary storm, Lulu was already inside. He looked back at the storm and sighed. Being in too many battles gave him a reason to be suspicious about everything. Taking a long deep breath, he decided that there WAS nothing to worry about. So, he turned and walked back inside the Inn. Lulu was already heading up the stairs when he stepped inside. He heard her say, 'goodnight,' before climbing up the steps to her room. A few seconds later, he heard her close the door of her bedroom.

"Is there something the matter, Auron?" he heard a voice speak. Auron adjusted his eyes into the darkness and looked inside the living room. Clyre Mirkie was standing by the fireplace, just staring at the burning flames.

The thunderstorms grew louder. "Does the storm get this strong every season?"

Clyre looked up and nodded slowly. "Yes and there is nothing for you to worry about, Auron. We have dealt with storms this big before and we managed to escape with our lives."

"Aye, he's right, doncha know, Auron?" came Mira's voice from the kitchen.

Auron nodded. Both of them were right. He was just being paranoid, but something was just not right about that storm moving towards the village. "I just feel this is no ordinary storm, Clyre."

Clyre shook his head and laughed. "You youngsters these days...worry too much about everything. You are in Presia, after all, a village where storms come and go all the time. You best be sleeping now and soon the storm will pass us and I assure you, it will never harm any of us."

Auron stared at him for a moment, and then decided there was nothing for him to worry about. Nodding his head, he turned, said his 'goodnight' to both of them and left the room silently. He walked over to his side of the room and closed the door slowly. Despite Clyre's reassuring words, he couldn't help but have this odd feeling about the storm, that it was more than just thunderstorms and rain.
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Lulu felt her heart sore the moment she felt him there, his arms around her, kissing her worries away. She looked up and gasped. She couldn't see his face. It was shadowed by the darkness and the only thing he could see of him was his silhouette moving with her. She could only feel his lips kissing the nape of her neck and his arms around her waist. There was no reason for her to doubt who it was, for her mind was stuck on one man. "Chappu..." she whispered.

Suddenly, an earthquake woke up her up from her dream. The figure disappeared from her mind and she found herself back on her bed, the blankets pulled back away from her and her body filled with sweat. She sat up from her comfort zone and looked out the window. A large twister was coming her way and it was moving rather fast. Her eyes widened. Lulu wanted to jump out from her bed, but she couldn't move, as if the twister was pulling her towards it.

It came closer...

And closer...

And closer...

Until it was close enough that she felt its force ripping the window apart. The glass shattered into tiny pieces and the window completely broke off from the wall. She felt the twister now, pulling her harder. Lulu landed on the floor and crawled quickly towards the door and twisted the knob quickly with all her might. The moment she felt the door open, Lulu ran for cover, where she noticed Auron coming up the stairs, probably to get her. He held out his hand for her and Lulu reached out to take it, but before she could, the twister had completely ripped the second room in half and it was falling apart on top of her. The staircase was ripping apart as well, forcing her to stumble backwards. Auron hung on to the side, stretching his arm wider to take Lulu's weak hand before she could completely fall back.

"Come on! We have to get out of here!" Auron yelled. He grabbed her and pulled her over the gap between the second floor and the first floor, then began dragging her behind him. He ran as fast as he could, Lulu trying to keep pace with him. She was not much of a runner, especially when she was wearing a long dress that reached the bottom of her ankles. She followed his stride and followed every move he made. He was leading her out the door, but, unfortunately, the front door was blocked from the outside. The trees must have fallen due to the strong winds. The swordsman looked around again for a shelter to hide, but there was no other place for them to go. They were trapped.

"I know another place where we can go! It's a small storage place and I doubt we will be able to fit in, but it's the best I can think of to get shelter from the storm!" Lulu yelled over the noise of the storm. She couldn't understand why this storm was stronger than before. "There's a small door hidden underneath the carpet of the living room."

As if reading her thoughts, Auron followed her instructions and ran with her to the living room. "This is no storm, Lulu. Can't you tell the difference between a storm and Sin?" He kneeled down quickly and pulled the corner of the carpet away. There, on the floor, just as Lulu had said, was a small door with an oval-shaped doorknob. Moving fast, he grabbed the doorknob and pulled as fast as she could. The small storage door opened and he turned to Lulu. "Come on, you first!"

Lulu was still stuck with Auron's words about Sin. "Sin? That's impossible! Sin never comes this way! What about the people of this village? I have to go save them!" She started to get up, but Auron grabbed her hand and pulled her back down, shaking his head.

"It's all right, I told Clyre and Mira to tell the others to find a safe place where they can go to hide from Sin. There is nothing for you to worry about. Right now, we have to worry about our lives. Come on you first!" Auron took her hand without permission and pulled her down inside the small storage room. The swordsman looked up quickly towards the storm. The large wind that Sin was forcing out had damaged all top half of the Inn.

"Come on!" he heard Lulu yell.

Auron looked down and nodded and joined her down inside the storage. Quickly, with all his might, he closed the door above them and saw nothing but darkness after that.

Lulu felt Auron's heat from his body against her own. It was too dark to notice how close they were, but she could feel that they were rather too close for her own comfort. She wanted to back away, to have the space, but she couldn't. The area was too small. She remembered being small and she used to hide here when she played hide 'n' seek with Kai. Outside, she could hear the commotion. Sin was destroying everything in its path. Lulu closed her eyes. She prayed that no one in the village was hurt.

Both her and Auron looked up, wondering how long it would take Sin to pass them.

"Are you all right?" Auron asked, without looking at her.

Lulu sighed and nodded. She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. It took a couple of seconds to realize that there were no breathing holes in this storage room and that this room was far too small. She felt like this whole place was closing in on her. She began to panic. "I... Auron? I can't breathe..."

Auron looked down at her in concern. "What are you talking about?" He couldn't see anything in the dark, so he couldn't tell how serious Lulu was.

"I... I can't breathe in here. It's much too small." Lulu's voice was hollow.

The swordsman placed a hand on her shoulder and frowned. "Just a couple more minutes, Lulu before Sin disappears. You need to hang on." He couldn't breathe either, but he didn't want to show it to her. He felt Lulu leaning towards him. Without thinking, he wrapped an arm around her and let her completely lean in towards his body. He felt her body against her own and for a moment, he felt comfort when he felt her. But... she was slowly fading away and so was he. "A couple more minutes Lulu... just a couple more minutes..." He gasped. He was losing air as well. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to jump in this small space in the first place. This could end their life, but they shouldn't give up. "We can't give up yet, Lulu. We can't die like this." He wrapped his arm tighter around her so she could lean in closer. He leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes.

Lulu closed her eyes. She felt comfortable in Auron's arms, but she didn't need it. No matter how hard she told herself not to, she was falling towards Auron. She was getting weak and the longer they stayed inside, the weaker she'll be. She could tell Auron was getting weak as well, with his body leaning against the wall behind him.

They could still hear the rumble of Sin outside, telling them it was not over yet. Auron shook his head and opened his eyes. He couldn't give up yet. Looking down, he noticed Lulu was no longer breathing. He shook her gently. "Hey, Lulu, not yet. You can't die on me here!"

No respond.

He shook her again. "Dammit, Lulu! This is the second time you've done this! What kind of Guardian are you just giving up easily! Yuna's counting on us to be BOTH alive!"

"I'm the type of Guardian who will protect Yuna of course," Lulu replied with a weak voice. She leaned back, just a little bit away from Auron and looked up, her face pale and tired.

Auron felt himself breathe a sigh of relief.

"Sir Auron, I need to ask you a question," came Lulu's voice, stronger this time.

"If it keeps us awake, of course," Auron replied.

"You...(gasp) could have (gasp) gone with the others and saved yourself, yet you came back here to save me... why?" Lulu asked.

The swordsman looked away. "Like I said before...(gasp) we Guardians must help each other." He looked up wearily and listened to the commotion outside and there was none.

"I already knew that answer long before you did, Auron."

"Then I will keep answering that same answer until you understand it." He didn't look at her when he answered, he was too preoccupied with realizing that Sin had passed them and it was time for them to get out so they could breathe. He slammed his hand against the door to open it, but it didn't budge. The small door would not respond to his pounds. "Dammit, the door must be blocked from the debris outside."

Lulu stared at him suspiciously and sighed, giving up. He didn't answer her question. She watched as Auron took out his sword, trying desperately to open the door, but the sword was far too big for the room they were in. If he took it out, the sharp end would injure those around him, especially Lulu. He put the sword back in its sheath and weakly leaned back down. He closed his eyes and felt his heart beating faster. He was losing air quickly.

Tiredly, Lulu looked up and put her palms towards the door. "Here, I'm going to cast fire to burst it open." She was getting weak as well and if she used too much fire, then she will burn out. Lulu suddenly felt a warm hand on one of her wrists.

"Don't..." Auron spoke quietly. "It's far too dangerous for you to use that here. It could heat up the whole place and it would really kill us."

Lulu put her arm back down and sighed, opening her mouth slightly to breathe.

Auron looked back up. "We have to wait until someone comes looking for us."

Lulu closed her eyes and frowned. Suddenly, a pang of pain hit her. She was losing air quickly as well. Once again, the Black Mage leaned forward, getting weak and she looked for Auron to support her from her fall. As if reading her mind, Auron held out his hands to her and grabbed her shoulders to keep her steady.

"We have to keep our eyes open until they find us." Auron told her.

But Lulu was far too weak to understand what he was talking about. With one last breath, Lulu stumbled forward and closed her eyes, her head making contact with Auron's chest. Auron caught her by surprise and wrapped an arm around her once again to support her weight. He knew he was also getting weak and sooner or later, he was going to join Lulu in the process. He held on tightly to Lulu and looked up. With one weak hand, he clenched his fists and pounded on the door, then, with his last strength, he yelled, "CAN SOMEBODY HEAR US?! WE'RE DOWN HERE! SOMEONE! WE'RE DOWN AT THE STORAGE ROOM! Someone... get...us..." Auron felt his eyes getting heavier and before he knew it, all he saw was darkness. 'At least we're together on this,' he thought, before he felt his body fading away.


*********************
"What's that? Is that SIN?!"

Rikku and Cess both looked up at the same time. They stared at Wakka curiously. "Wakka, what are you talking about?" Rikku asked, standing up. They have been on the hill for at least thirty-eight hours now, making camp just nearby so they could sleep. They were waiting for her father's call from the ship, waiting for his orders on what to do. And for that, they have waited for those long hours.

The tall Blitzball captain pointed down below and just far into the distance towards the center of the forest. They noticed dark storm clouds and a large, flying creature hovering just above the trees. It was moving towards a hidden village that they hadn't seen before. Wakka turned back towards the two women and gave them a face of despair. "Sin is gonna destroy that village over there."

Rikku quickly stood up, wide-eyed. "We have to help them!" She started to run towards the direction of Sin, but Cess had grabbed her hand before she could go. The blond girl turned around and eyed her suspiciously. "What are you doing? Let go! We have to go help those people down there!"

Cess shook her head. "We're waiting for your father's signal, are we not? Sin can wait."

Rikku frowned. "Don't you have any heart?! Those people are going to die because of Sin and we can't just sit here and watch them get killed!" She jerked her arm away from the older woman and began running down the slopes.

"Rikku!" Cess called.

Wakka looked back at her and shrugged. "She is right, ya? We can't just sit here and do nothing.' Beating Sin isn't the only reason we fight. We do it to save the lives that are suffering because of it." With that said, he turned and ran after Rikku.

Cess sat there for a moment, thinking about what Wakka said. Why would they fight for people weaker than them? All her life, she has fought to survive and whoever got in her way, no matter how old or how young they were, she would still continue on without looking back or hesitate. She has learned that... as a swordsman and as an assassin.

GoodGurl: WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! It took me so long to finish even though it's not that long of a chapter, but I was far too tired or too lazy or too busy for that matter to finish the ninth chapter! Sorry you AurLulu fans out there! I didn't mean to make you wait! ^_^;