Hello all you faithful and (hopefully) forgiving people! I'm here with another chapter for your enjoyment.

Tidus: What gives? I thought you said that you would post sooner this time.

V: I said that I would try to post sooner. I've had a lot of things to do in my life so I have to have priorities on what I do.

T: What in the world did you have to do that was so important that you had to put off this story for so long!

V: Well, for starters, studying for finals.

T: What! Finals! At this time of the year!

V: Hey! School for me ended at the end of June. (Darn snow days. I don't like snow all that much anymore and the weather here is crazy so, for example, one year there isn't any snow but the next it may snow several feet at a time.)

T: Fine. I'm over it. Stop rambling and hurry up with the story already.

V: Alright. This is Chapter 24. A time of reminiscing about the "Treasured Memories". But little does anyone know, something is watching from the distance. Ooo, Sends chills up my spine.

T: Must only be you.

V: Be quiet and read!

Chapter 24: Treasured Memories

Auron acted as though stopping wasn't an option at the moment. There was something in the air. Something that was best avoided. No one else seemed to notice it though. Rikku continued to bound around with her seemingly endless energy while Zen looked at his surroundings with complete awe. There was nothing he had seen in Zanarkand that could compare to the beauty of this place.

"Hey Auron!" Tidus called to his companion with a wave of his hand. "Mind if we take a little side trip?"

Auron paused for a moment and looked over his shoulder to all of the others. "It's best that we keep moving."

"Come on Auron." Rikku said, knowing Tidus's reasoning. "Be a pal."

"Please Auron?" Yuna asked.

Auron was silent for a moment as he pondered on weather the side trip would lead to trouble or not. "Alright," he finally said.

Tidus smiled and nodded his thanks before taking Yuna's hand and leading her away.

"Where are they going?" Zen asked as he started following.

"Hey, Zen," Rikku said as she tugged at his arm in order to prevent him from following the two, "come with me. There's something around here I have to show you."

No words were needed as the two approached the lake. As Yuna watched the beautiful scene before her, Tidus kept his eyes on her face. A face that never stopped entrancing him.

"I never thought I would see this place again." Yuna said in her soft voice. "It almost feels... to good to be true."

"Yeah," Tidus started as he pulled her closer. "I know what you mean." Tidus sat down as he came close to the shoreline. He looked over to his side to see Yuna still standing, staring off in the distance.

"Yuna? Are you alright?" The way she was acting reminded him of how she looked back on the landscape on their journey. That look which almost seemed to be saying "good-bye" to the land.

"I was just thinking." Yuna said as she sat down next to him.

"Yuna... you don't have to keep your feelings bottled up inside, you know? You can tell me about anything that's on your mind." He saw a tear slowly sliding down her cheek. He brought his hand up and wiped it away as he turned her head so she faced him. "If there's anything you want to talk to me about, you can. I don't care if you think that it will hurt me. If you don't speak up then I'll never know your upset or not."

"No, no... It's not like that." Yuna said as she wiped another tear away. I'm happy right now. I really am." She averted her eyes to the ground. "I was just thinking about how I had felt after I had woken up."

"Woken up?"

Yuna nodded slightly. "When I woke up and thought that being with you had only been a dream... It hurt... so much... but it's different now. I feel as though we'll be together forever. Like nothing can get in-between us."

Tidus smiled and pulled into a tight embrace. "I feel the same way." He whispered into her ear. "After waking up, I became so depressed...thinking that I would never see you again... but after I found you I felt like...like I... I don't know how to describe it."

"I understand." Yuna whispered as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to rest in his arms.

Tidus picked a small stone up and threw it out over the lake. Yuna smiled as she saw it skimmed over the surface.

Skip, skip, skip, skip, Plunk!

She picked up a rock of her own and threw it out over the lake.

Plunk!

Tidus tried to hide his amused smile beneath his hand as he watched her face set into a look of confusion. "Here, let me show you how to do it."

He picked up another stone. "First of all, the rock you use has to be kinda smooth." He placed the stone in her hand and picked up another one. "Now, hold it like this."

Yuna studied his hand and tried her best to mimic his grasp. Tidus nodded when she got it right and continued his lesson. "Now you have to wind your arm back, almost as if you just want the stone to glide over the water. The release it as fast as you can."

He threw the rock.

Skip, skip, skip, skip, Plunk!

Yuna watched and tried to imitate it.

Skip, Plunk!

"Not bad for a first try." Tidus said with a smile. Yuna loved whenever he smiled like that.

She moved in closer to him and waited for him to wrap an arm around her shoulders. Tidus slowly slid down to lay on his back, keeping Yuna close to him, and relaxed as he stared up at the crystalline tree branches that reached out above them. It seemed like hours had passed or maybe it was just minutes. Time had no meaning for them when they were alone together.

"Maybe we should get back to the others." Yuna whispered into his ear.

"What's the hurry?" Tidus mumbled. "Let's stay here a little while longer."

Yuna reluctantly nodded and pressed herself closer to him. Something didn't feel right anymore. She could feel it in the air. Something that didn't feel safe.

"Hey, are you alright?" Tidus asked as he rolled over onto his side to look at her.

"Something doesn't feel right." Yuna whispered.

"What do you mean 'something doesn't feel right'?"

"It feels like there's something here. Something that shouldn't be."

"Something that shouldn't be here." Tidus echoed as he stood up onto his feet. Now that she had mentioned it, he could feel that something was wrong. Almost as if they were being watched. He slowly drew his sword and approached the edge of the lake.

"Whatever you are, come out!" He called out over the lake.

There was silence for a moment as he stood there. He was tense, waiting for anything to happen. More time passed and still nothing happened. He looked back towards Yuna who had gotten up onto her feet. Maybe it was nothing.

"Maybe we're just imagining it." Tidus said back to her.

That was when it came. Rising out of the once serene lake was an enormous blob. More and more pyreflies gathered together, forming the bulk of the undulating mass. Tidus turned back just in time to see it hardening into a block. He dived out of the way just in time to avoid being squashed flat.

"Damn, what is that thing doing here." Tidus muttered as pushed himself back up onto his feet. "There's no way we can beat this thing by ourselves."

"What are we going to do?" Yuna asked, worried as it started coming closer. She didn't have a weapon to fight it.

"The only thing we can do." Tidus whispered before taking a hold of her wrist and moving in the opposite direction. "Run!"

V: Ah ha! Another cliffhanger!

T: Gee, haven't had one of those in a while.

V: I know, and what a perfect place to put one!

T: If you say so.

V: Well, I do!

T: Yeah, alright. I just hope you know what's going to happen next. I'd hate to see what the readers will do to you if you disappear for another month before posting.

V: You mean what they'll do to you, don't you?

T: What... What do you mean? (starts looking worried)

V: Well, it seems to me that whenever I mess up, you take the blame and the punishment. I'm seemingly invincible!

T: Oh-no.

V: I'd go into hiding if I were you.

T: Already on it. (Disappears into another room)

V: Hey! You can't leave now! How am I supposed to continue without my inspiration? Oh well... He'll come back. He always does. That wraps up Chapter 24. Chapter 25: Restless Spirits will be posted soon.

T: I hope by soon you actually mean soon!

V: Ah ha! there you are! Come back here!

T: Uh... Gotta go. Good bye!

V: Get back here!

End Transmission