A/N: Back with chapter ten! It took me longer to get this up. I'm sorry! But at least I'm here with another chapter! Well, thanks for the reviews! Hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Chapter 10: Thunder Plains

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Yuna hoisted herself into the Navigator witha groan. They'd been to every car repair shop in Guadosalam only to find that they were all closed. No they had to take Lily, Kiki, and Amy with them. Well, at least to Macalania.

"Thanks for taking us with to Macalania with you," Kiki said as she climbed into the middle seat.

"Yes. It's really nice of you," Amy added as she slid in next to Kiki.

"Yeah, I'm sorry you have to take us with you," Lily mentioned, sitting next to Amy.

"That makes two of us," Rikku muttered, once again sandwiched in the back seat. She looked to her right to find Lulu trying to surpress her laughter.

"Lu," Wakka muttered. He gently elbowed her, which only resulted in her repressed chuckle escaping.

Rikku then looked to her left to find Auron with one hand on his forehead. She also noticed that he wore a very sexy smirk on his lips.

"What was that?" Lily asked with a fake smile.

Does it really concern you? is what Rikku would have liked to say. But since that probably wouldn't have ended very well, she settled for, "Nothing."

"Okay, now to the Thunder Plains," Tidus said quickly, wanting to avoid any arguements.

Yuna turned her head to look at her cousin. She didn't say anything, but her eyes held concern.

Rikku gave a weak smile in return. "To the Thunder Plains," she said nervously.

The ten minute ride to the Thinder Plains was spent with Rikku wringing her hands together.

"Well, here we are," said Tidus as the pulled up to the beginning of the Plains. He looked back at Rikku and saw her turn white as a sheet. He was getting ready to suggest another route, but Rikku cut him off.

"Do we have to go through here? Isn't there another way?"

Yuna turned to look at Tidus. "Maybe we should go the long way." She hated to put her cousin through emotional turmoil.

"Maybe. But that's a lot of backtracking..." Tidus looked back at Rikku once more. She did look terrified... "Okay. Let's-"

"That won't be necessary," Auron interrupted.

Rikku jerked her head in his direction. What was he saying? He knew she was scared to death of lighting. Maybe she had placed him on too-high of a pedestal.

"Rikku, what are we in?" Auron asked calmly.

"A car..." Rikku replied, a confused expression on her face. She was still trying to figure out how he could be so mean.

"And where is the lightning?"

"Outside..."

"Exactly. It can't hurt you while we're inside, now can it?"

Why was he treating her like a child? Rikku began wringing her hands together again. "But-"

"No 'buts'," Auron said, surprisingly gently. He took her squirming hands in his.

"You better go, Tidus, before the angry mob behind us decides to get out of their cars." Lulu turned to see just how long of a line had built up, only to be greeted by a very rude hand gesture.

"Hey, buddy, I can do that too," Wakka said, having seen what the man had done to his future wife.

"Wakka!" Lulu cried. She looked behind her to see the angry driver reach for his door handle. "Go, Tidus!"

"But-"

"Go," Rikku agreed. As long as Auron kept his hand in hers, she'd be fine. Or so she thought. As soon as the first clap of thunder boomed overhead, she pulled her hands from Auron's grasp and clamped them over her head.

"Rikku," Auron said softly, pulling her into his arms. He was surprised at the overwhelming urge he felt to protect her, but he

wasn't going to ignore it.

"What? Is she afraid of thunder?" Lily asked to Amy.

"Lightning, actually," Rikku mumbled against Auron's shoulder. Auron had said it earlier; Rikku was sure he had. It was people like Lily that gave blonds a bad name.

"I guess it's not really a silly phobia. I mean, if it hits you, it can kill you," Lily scoffed.

Rikku groaned and buried her head deeper into Auron's chest. She then heard Lily snicker, obviously pleased with the effect her coment had had. Then she felt Auron tighten his hold on her and heard him let out a half growl, half scoff, which instanly shut Lily up.

Lulu gave Wakka a knowing smile, and wrapped her hand in his. Looking out the window, she saw nothing but the never-ending rain. "You know, I'm hungry," she said, breaking the silence.

"So am I," Yuna agreed from the passenger seat. She then looked out and saw the lines of traffic and added, "Look at all this traffic."

"We'll be here a while, ya?"

"Great," Rikku whispered, her head still buried in Auron's chest. He brushed his knuckles up and down her back, and Rikku had to catch herself before she sighed. She enjoyed the feeling of being in his arms, and the way he held her made her think that he might care for her in the same way she cared for him. Yevon she hoped so...

"Do we wanna stop and get something to eat?" Tidus asked. There were a lot of fast-food joints and inns set up throughout the Thunder Plains. It was usually jam packed with traffic, so it had developed into a resting stop for travellers.

"If no one minds," Yuna replied, looking around the truck for objections.

None came, so Tidus pulled into a fast-food resturaunt. After prying Rikku out of the truck, ordering their food, and picking a table to sit at, they all began to chow down.

"Um, shouldn't we say grace first?" Amy asked the group.

"To who?" Rikku asked, her mouth full of hamburger.

"To Yeveon, of course," Lily replied casually.

The original group shared a confused look.

"You know Yevon is a fake, twisted, screwed up thing, right?" Tidus asked.

Amy, Lily, and Kiki shared a horrified look.

"How can you say that!" exclaimed Kiki.

"I mean, look at all Yevon has done for us," Lily added.

After the group shared another confused look, Yuna said, "Well, if you want to, you may." She looked around to see her friends giving her more confused glances, but it wouldn't hurt to humor their new guests.

"All right," started Kiki. "Oh holy Yevon, thank you for this food, and for our new friends. And forgive those who oppose you, for they do not know any better..."

Rikku lifted her head from it's bowed position. She saw her friends all eyeing their new guests with concerned expressions. What exactly had they picked up? She didn't hear the rest of the prayer, but Rikku did hear Kiki say, " Bless us all Yevon, Amen."

Lifting her head, Kiki flashed a big smile, "Now let's eat."

"Um, shouldn't we do the other prayer?" Amy asked quickly.

"Oh, um, sure," Kiki agreed. "Go ahead, Amy."

"Oh Grand Yevon, I ask that Thee make us all one," Amy began, her voice taking on a deeper tone as she spread her hands over the food. "Make us all a family. Mold Kiki, Lily, Tidus, Auron, Wakka, Yuna, Rikku, and I into one. Let us be together...for eternity," she finished, regaining her normal voice.

The group was speechless. They stared at three women they had picked up, mouths agape.

"Well," Lulu began, clearing her throat. "Would you look at that? My burger is burnt to a crisp."

"I don't see anything-" Lily started.

Lulu quickly conjured up a fire spell and directed it towards her burger. "See? It's burnt."

"To a crisp, ya?" Wakka backed up.

"Your looks burnt as well, Honey," Lulu said.

"But-" Lily started once again.

Again, Lulu created a fire spell and sent it hurling at Wakka's burger. "Who's else it burnt?" The group shot their hands up. After Lulu successfully burnt everyone's burger, save Lily's, Kiki's, and Amy's, she said, "Well, I'm going to go get me another one. Who else want's one?" Once again the group raised their hand's.

"I'll help," Wakka said quickly.

"So will I," Amy offered.

"NO!" Shouted Lulu. "I mean, no, no. You're the guest," she started again, this time in a calmer voice. "We'll get it."

After Lulu, Yuna, Rikku, Tidus, Wakka, and Auron regrouped in the waiting line, Lulu said, "Do you see why I told you not to pick up hitch hikers?"

"Ya, Tidus. What did you and Yuna pick up?"

"I'm sorry," Yuna sighed, wondering how the whole situation was being pinned on Tidus and herself. "At least we can get rid of them at Macalania."

"I think we should leave them here," Rikku stated.

"We can't do that. Let's just check into a hotel since since it's late, and drop them off at Macalania in the morning," Tidus said.

After finishing their food, and checking into the nearst hotel, the gang decided to get ready for bed.

"I can't believe you tried to make us sleep in the same room with them!" Rikku said, running a brush through her blond hair.

"Really, Tidus. What were you thinking?" Yuna asked as she sat on one of the three beds.

"Well I don't know. I didn't want them to think we suspect anything."

"But we do. We think their nuts, ya?" Wakka replied. He streched out a bed and motioned Lulu over to him.

"I don't know how I'm going to sleep with them right beside us," Lulu sighed, walking over to Wakka and crawling into bed.

"They are odd," Auron said, pulling his shirt off and laying down on the last remaining bed, folding his arms beneath his head.

"Odd? They're psycho!" Rikku exclaimed.

Auron chuckled. "Psycho's going a little far, isn't it?"

"I don't think so. What was up with that prayer Amy said. Make us all one," Rikku quoted the words, "One what!"

Auron laughed as Yuna tried to quite her cousin.

"Rikku! Shhhh! There in the room right beside us," Yuna sighed.

"Opps. Sorry."

"So, where are we sleeping?" Tidus asked.

"I'm not moving," Lulu mumbled, snuggling closer to Wakka.

"I'm staying right her, brudda," Wakka added, enjoying the feeling of Lulu pressed against him.

Yuna grabbed Tidus' arm and pulled him down beside her. "I'm with Tidus."

"Yep," Tidus smiled, kissing her quickly on the lips.

"That leaves me and you," Rikku smiled nervously.

"If it makes you uncomfortable, I can sleep on the floor..."

"No. I don't mind if you don't mind," Rikku replied quickly.

Auron flashed her a rare smile and pulled back the covers. "Well, good night everybody."

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Three hours after saying goodnight, Rikku rolled over again for the umpteenth time. She closed her eyes, praying sleep would finally come, but was only met with a clap of thunder. Giving up, she looked out the window to watch the never-ending storm continue it's rage. Another clap of thunder boomed, and Rikku had to stop herself from pulling the covers over her head. It's just a little storm. Get ahold of yourself. Auron's right you, it's not like anything is going to happen to you. She looked over at the sleeping form next to her, and decided that was probably one of the reasons she couldn't sleep. Sighing, she rolled over to face the older man and closed her eyes.

Just when she was about to fall asleep, she heard a faint noise. Letting out a long, heavy sigh, Rikku strained to hear what the noise was. Voices? Yes, definatly voices, but where were they coming from? The room next door? The room next door with the crazy hitch hikers...She wasn't going to investigate this alone. "Auron?" she whispered. No response. "Auron?" she whispered again. Still no response. "Auron?" she repeated louder, adding on a slight shake.

"Ummhmm," Auron mumbled incoherently.

"There's something going on in the next room," Rikku whispered, shaking his arm again.

"I'm asleep," Auron replied drowsily.

"Auron-"

"It's just a little storm, Rikku. Go back to sleep."

Storm? The storm was a minor problem compared to this. The crazy's were in the next room making noise! "But-"

"Ahh," Auron exhaled loudly. He turned over and pulled to his side. It had calmed her in the truck, not that he hadn't enjoyed it as well. Hopefully it would work this time, too. He was tired.

To his delight, it did. Rikku instantly became quite and he felt her shift slightly to get comfortable. Thank Yevon, he could go back to sleep. Except now that Rikku was pressed up against him, he found it difficult to focus on anything but how warm she was. Or how small she was compared to him, or how she seemed to fit perfectly in his arms, or...

Maybe I didn't hear anything, Rikku thought, perfectly content with her new sleeping position. But just as she was getting ready to drift off to sleep, she heard the noise again. As much as she regretted moving, she had to know what was going on. "Auron, do hear anything?"

Auron, who was still think of 'or how's' didn't hear anything, so Rikku repeated her question. "Auron? Do you hear something?"

Snapping out of his trance, Auron quickly replied, "Uh, no." Thank Yevon she couldn't read his thoughts.

"Listen really hard," Rikku whispered.

He did as asked, but still didn't hear anything. And being an ex-guardian, if there was anything to hear, he'd hear it. "Rikku, the only thing I hear is rain."

"But there are voices coming from the room next door," Rikku said, pointing to the door that connected the bedrooms.

"Rikku." Auron sighed. He knew their guests were rather odd, but why would they be talking at two in the morning?

"But-" Rikku was getting ready to explain when Lulu cut in.

"Would you two please be quiet? Some people would like to go to sleep."

"Sorry, Lulu," Auron called across the room. Turning to Rikku he said, "There is nothing going on in the room next door. Now lay down and go to sleep."

"But-" Rikku tried, but was once again interrupted. Only this time it from the sound of hushed voices from the room next door.

"Did you hear that?" Yuna asked from her bed.

"Yes," Lulu and Wakka answered in unison.

"Now do you believe me?" Rikku asked Auron, who replied by placing a finger to his lips and climbing out of bed.

"It sounds like voices," Tidus whispered as they regrouped by the door that joined the rooms.

"Go see what's going on," Yuna said, giving Tidus a light shove.

"Are you joking? I'm not going by myself."

"We'll all go in," Wakka suggested, earning a quick no from Lulu.

"I'm not going in there," Rikku agreed.

"Honestly," Auron sighed as he opened the door and peeked in. What he saw made him wonder why they had picked them up.

Lily, Kiki, and Amy sat in the floor, forming a small circle, and had a large candle placed in the middle of them. Their hands were adjoined, and they were mumbling words that he couldn't quite make out.

Kiki lifted her head from it's bowed position and looked at the door to see who had entered their room. "Oh, hello Auron...and Tidus and Wakka," she added as Tidus and Wakka poked their heads in as well. "Would you like to join us?"

"Join you?" Wakka repeated, taking in the scene before him.

"We're praying to the Almighty Yevon, and giving him praise for all that he does," Amy replied casually, as if praying to a false god at two in the morning was a normal routine.

"Come on, Auron. It's real easy. I can teach you how," Lily said with a sultry look. She patted the space next to her and ran her tongue across her upper lip.

Rikku stuck her head in as soon a Lily mentioned Auron's name and watched with raised eyebrows and an open mouth as Lily openly flirted with her Auron.

"He doesn't need you to teach him anything," Rikku fumed, grabbing Auron's arm possessively. "You little-"

"Uh, no thanks. We were just trying to find the bathroom," Tidus lied quickly, seeing as how Rikku was getting ready to flog Lily. "Goodnight."

"Night," Kiki replied, shrugging her shoulders and returning her head to it's bowed position.

Tidus quickly closed the door. "They're praying."

"So we heard," Lulu replied, folding her arms across her chest. "I told you they were crazy."

"Crazy's a little harsh," Yuna said, walking back to her bed. "I'd say different."

"Different? Yunie, they are nut jobs!" Rikku whispered loudly. She then realized she was still clutching Auron's arm, and that she had just flipped out because Lily had looked at him. Rikku quickly released Auron's arm shoved her hands in her pockets.

"Anyways, we need to get some sleep," Yuna said, glancing from a very red Rikku to a confused looking Auron.

"Yes," Auron agreed, clearing his throat. "Sleep." That was exactly what he needed. That would help him clear his head. But as soon as he crawled into bed, and felt Rikku crawl in after him, he knew he wouldn't be getting much of it.

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Tidus awoke to the feeling of something brushing up against his inner shin. He brushed of the feeling and tried to back to sleep. Feeling it again, this time closer to his knee, he turned to Yuna and gently pulled him to her. "It's to early to wake up," he said, nuzzling her neck.

"What?" Yuna asked sleepily.

He looked over to see that Yuna had both of her hands underneath of her head. "Yuna," he whispered, hearing whatever was against his leg let out a low growl.

"Sweetie, go to sleep."

"There's something under the covers."

"Tidus, that didn't work last time, and isn't going to work now," said Yuna, rolling her eyes.

"I'm serious."

Yuna glanced at her boyfriend, and when she saw the look on his face, she believed him. "What is it?"

"I don't know. When I say so, lift up the covers."

"Okay."

Laying as still as he possible could, Tidus gave the order. "Okay, now!"

Doing as she was told, Yuna whipped back the covers and let out a cry when she saw what was under them.

"What is it!" Tidus asked, his eyes wide.

"What's going on?" Wakka yelled from across the room.

"It's an alligator!" Yuna screamed.

"Alligator?" Rikku said in confusion.

"What is wrong now?" Auron asked drowsily. This made the second time he had been awakened, and it was really starting to annoy him.

"There's an alligator in my bed!" Yuna answered with a cry.

Lulu flipped on a light switch. "Oh my- There really is an alligator!"

"Get it off me!" Tidus yelled, glad that the reptile wasn't moving from it's spot between his legs. What was he thinkng? Between his legs! "Now please!"

"Don't move, Tidus," Lulu said. She quickly made a water spell and threw it on the gator.

"Water! They like water!" Tidus yelled.

"Kill it!" Rikku yelled.

"Stay still, Tidus," Auron commanded. He jumped out of bed and ran over to Tidus. "Lulu, when I grab it-"

"I'll burn it to a crisp," Lulu quickly interrupted.

"Wakka, you grab Tidus when I grab it."

"Gotcha, brudda."

"On the count of three. One, two-"

"What is going on?" Kiki questioned, running into the bedroom.

"Would someone just grab the stupid thing!" Tidus yelled.

"Oh, Fifi. There you are," Amy cried, rushing over to the alligator. "How did you get out of my bag?"

"Fifi?" Eveyone repeated at the same time.

"Fifi's Amy's pet," Lily said casually.

"Pet!" they all cried again.

"Yes. Did she scare you?" Amy asked, picking up her 'pet'.

"Just a little," Yuna replied, placing a hand over her pounding heart.

"She wouldn't hurt a fly, though," Amy told them, stroking the alligator lovingly.

"I bet," Rikku muttered.

"Fifi's no heathen." Lily narrowed her eys at Rikku.

"Sorry for all the confusion," Kiki said quickly, ushering Lily out of the bedroom. She didn't want another of her episodes. "Well see you in the morning."

"Yes, goodnight," Amy said, following the other two girls out of the room with Fifi, leaving the group behind with bewildered looks on their faces.

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"Hurry up!" Tidus whispered, leading the group out of the lobby.

"Shhh! Be quite," said Yuna.

"Yeah, we don't want them to hear us," Rikku added.

"Just go!" Lulu hissed as they all ran to the truck.

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Reply to my grand reviewers...

Ashito/Rikku: Now we don't have to worry about Auron and Lily...Heh. I loved your deargodsdon'thurtme. Lol!

Cloudude: Glad you like it!

LadyinRed: Auron doesn't like Lily! That would suck! He just had to be nice to her because, because I said he did. Yeah, that works. And now they're stranded at a hotel in Guadosalam. Mwahahaha! Glad you enjoy it!

Xmaster: Heh. Maybe it is Lily the witch...who know? I don't even know. Anyways, glad you like!

Ignes Fatui: I'm glad you enjoy it!

Guan: Yeah, wouldn't you love to pick up people like that? Ha! Glad you like it!

F0revak0okys: What's NC? Was it a typo, or I'm I just dumb? Anyways, here's an up-date!

Zanara: My fic makes ya laugh, huh? Yay! And someone will drive evenually...

A/N: I finally got chapter ten up! It been done for awhile, but I've been busy. Probably about two chapter left. Yep. So, here it is! Nothing else to say except: review! Big thanks to those who have! Keep it up! Don't forget to review!