(Veronia hiding behind a thick barricade) Hi everyone…. Please don't hurt me! I know this chapter is super late, but if you were me then you would understand my predicament. Driver's Ed, work, and school have taken up a lot of my life now. Not to mention out of school events. I've been so busy that I haven't even been able to come here to visit Tidus…Wait a minute… Oh no! I left him locked in his room!

(Runs to Tidus' room and breaks right through the door to find skeleton on the floor with blonde hair and a blitzball out fit)

V: NOOO! I'm to late! Why did this have to happen!

Tidus: (jump from hiding spot) Ha! Fooled you! You should have seen the look on you face!

V: You jerk!

Bonk!

V: I though I really killed you!

T: Nope. You can never kill an animated character. And you must really be an idiot if you think I would stay locked in this room for the whole time you were gone. You've obviously underestimated me.

V: Then how'd you get out?

T: That's a secret.

(Veronia looks over to the open window)

V: I've got to put a lock on that thing.

Back to the chapter. I know it's late, but you should know that I haven't forgotten about you this whole time. So I put the best into this chapter. I hope you enjoy it enough not to sent threatening letters.

Chapter 27: Rikku's Fear

"You lied." Auron stated when he got a closer look at Tidus's injuries.

"What do you mean?" Tidus asked as he tightened one of the loosening bandages on his forearm.

"About you saying that you aren't hurt." Zen interrupted. "What else would he be talking about?"

"Don't you start in on me about that too Zen." Tidus said as he tried to get up on his feet.

Zen put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. "You've given me no other choice man. Every time you get hurt, you try to brush it off and say that you're fine when you're clearly not. You're only hurting yourself more when you do that."

Tidus looked over his shoulder to Yuna to try and find an ally, but she nodded her head in agreement with what Zen had said.

"You don't have to act like nothing is bothering you." Zen continued. "It's okay to cry sometimes or just let someone know that something is wrong."

"You know, the more you hang around Tidus the more you sound like him."

Zen jumped and spun around to see Rikku sitting on a low branch. "Rikku! How long have you been there!"

"Long enough to hear every word you've said." Rikku answered as she jumped to the ground. "I had no idea you could be so sentimental Zen."

Zen tried to reply but only a series of undeterminable sounds escaped his throat.

"Shouldn't you be with Wakka and Kimahri?" Auron asked when the little Al Bhed came up to him.

"Well…yeah. I guess so." Rikku said while looking down to the ground. "But we kinda got separated when I wandered away." She looked up to see Auron glowering at her. "But don't worry. Kimahri is better then me at getting un-lost. It shouldn't take them long to get back."

They all settled down for a much needed break as they waited for their two companions to return. There was no sense in getting lost too while searching for them. Both Auron and Zen went through their packs. Taking inventory of everything they had left. Meanwhile, Tidus got the rest he desperately needed. He lay on the ground with his head resting in Yuna's lap and tried relax enough to fall asleep.

After a short while, Zen brought his hand up to his nose and mouth. "They're coming."

"How can you tell?" Tidus asked as he slowly woke up from his nap.

"You have to ask?" The smell of wet fur was strong.

Kimahri wandered into their little camp, dripping wet from head to foot.

"Man, Kimahri you really stink."

The Ronso let out a slight growl before walking right up to Zen and shaking the water from his fur. Soaking Zen.

"Great. This is just great." Zen said bitterly as he tried to wring the water from his clothes.

Rikku fell to the ground, clutching her stomach from laughing so hard.

"There's no time for these childish pranks." Auron said as he stood. "We should get out of here before some other fiend decided to attack us."

"Absolutely right Auron." Tidus said as he got up. His quick nap had given him enough energy to get around on his own now. "I'm not in the mood to get anymore injuries."

"Finally, he's showing some common sense." Zen said he gave up on trying to get all the water out of his clothes. They would just have to dry on their own.

The group packed up and left in a hurry. Most of them were very eager to get out of Macalania Woods. They had spent too much time there already.

Rikku was the only one who didn't want to hurry. She knew what came next.

The sound was faint at first but as they neared the end of the crystalline woodlands, it became clearer. Therumble of thunder.

Rikku froze and backed up a few steps when a loud boom shook through the ground. "Let's go back and find another way around."

"Huh? What's wrong?" Zen was the only one who didn't know about Rikku's strong fear of lightning. "It's just a storm. There's nothing to be worried about."

Rikku didn't even notice his words and continued to take baby steps backwards. "Let's camp here for the night." There was a bright flash and Rikku dropped down into a crouch, covering her ears. "Eak!"

"This storm will never stop." Auron said as he pulled Rikku up. "It's better to go through quickly then to waste time doing nothing but complain."

"It'll only take a day or two to get though." Tidus said, trying his best to comfort the Al Bhed into going.

"Alright." Rikku whined but another bolt of lightning sent her down to the ground.

Auron forced her onto her feet again and half-dragged her along.

"What's up with her?" Zen asked Yuna in a hushed tone.

"The Thunder Plaines are next." Yuna answered. "And Rikku's really afraid of lightning."

"Is there anything particularly dangerous there?"

"Beside the fiends," Tidus said, "not much. It's best to keep moving though to avoid getting struck by lightning."

"Lightning can hit you?" Zen was becoming fonder of Rikku's idea of finding another route. "Why would anyone travel through there?"

"It isn't as dangerous as it sounds. There are tall towers there to divert the lightning." Tidus explained. "They... just don't always work."

"Just great." Zen mumbled.

Rikku became so scared of the loud crashes of thunder that she was soon was unable to walk on her own and Zen was forced to carry her.

"Ow! Loosen your grip a little." He said constantly every time Rikku dug her little fingers into his arm or shoulder. "You're hurting me."

Rikku would just nod and loosen her grip a little but the next bolt of lightning or crash of thunder would scare her again.

"Ow!"

Zen was finally relieved when they found the small lodging close to the center of the plains.

"Let's stop here for a while." Rikku said as they passed the front doors of the small lodge.

"Yeah." Zen said, wanting nothing more then to get the Al Bhed off of his back. "I think stopping would be a good idea."

Auron paused for a moment to look back at them and continued moving ahead. "This storm will never stop, if that's what you're hopping for. It's best to keep moving."

"Oh come on…please..." Rikku pleaded. "Just for a little while."

Auron continued walking away.

"You're mean! You're cruel! You're mom would be ashamed of you!"

"Maybe we should stop here." Tidus said. He knew that if they didn't stop then Rikku would never stop whining. "It's a safe place and we could all use a little rest."

Auron stopped again and looked over at the rest of the group. It was true they all did look rather weary. "Fine. We'll stay here but only for the night."

Rikku jumped with joy but another bolt caused her to grab onto Zen's arm with fear.

"Ow! Stop that Rikku!"

Yuna and Rikku were the lucky ones in the group. They were the only ones who had been able to get their own rooms. Rikku had argued the fact that since they were the only girls, they would need their own rooms for privacy.

"I have my eye on you Zen." Rikku said as she stood in the doorway of her room. "No peeking."

"What kind of a guy does she think I am?" Zen mumbled to himself as he made his way into the room he had to share with both Wakka and Tidus.

"Actually, the way you sometimes act around her, I can see her point." Tidus said after Zen dropped down onto his bed.

"Are you kidding? How old is she? Ten? I'd never do something like that."

"She's fifteen"

"Well, she sure acts like she's ten." Zen pulled the covers around himself. "Now if you excuse me, I'm trying to get some sleep."

Tidus got up and walked out of the room. He hadn't planned to stay anyway.

Yuna tried to make herself as comfortable as she could underneath the warm blankets. Even with everything that had happened over the past few days, she found that she couldn't sleep.

Her room was completely dark except the times when an occasional lightning bolt would brighten up the whole room.

Yuna was pulled from her dreamy thought when she felt a sudden weight shift on half of the bed. The sheets lifted and a form slipped up to lay beside her.

"Hi." Tidus whispered into her ear. "Did you miss me?"

"You have your own room." Yuna said as she turned round to face him, but her smile showed her true feelings.

"Yeah, but it's so crowded there and besides," Tidus said before kissing her lightly on the lips, "I like the company here much better."

Tidus wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close as he possibly could. Hr pressed his mouth against hers more forcefully this time. He slipped one of his hands underneath her shirt and lightly rubbed his fingers up and down the length of her back. Yuna realized his intentions and relaxed even more in his arms. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her, but a thought crept into her mind that made her hesitate.

"Tidus, maybe we shouldn't do this now." She whispered as she pushed herself back slightly. "What if one of the others comes in?"

Tidus just smiled and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "There's no reason to worry. I already thought of that and blocked the door. Not even a master thief could get in here."

As soon as he spoke those words there was a knock on the door. "Yunie. Are you in there?" Rikku's muffled voiced called trough the door.

Speak of the devil and he will appear, Tidus though to himself.

Yuna started to get up to answer the door but Tidus pulled her back down. "And where do you think you're going?"

"I'm answering the door." Yuna answered. "What if she needs something important?"

"Then the other's will deal with it." Tidus said as he pulled her back. "We need to have some alone time together."

Yuna gave a slight smile and nodded before slipping back under the covers.

"Yunie. Are you in there?" Rikku called out as she knocked again. "Please open the door."

"Rikku, what are you doing there?" Auron asked as he came down to find her trying to force the door open.

"I wanna be Yunie. The lightning scares me."

Auron didn't have any sympathy for the little Al Bhed. She was the one who wanted to stop there. "Don't pester Yuna if she wants to be alone. She's probably already asleep."

"But I'm scared." Rikku whined.

"Then go to Kimahri."

"Kimahri scares me even more then the lightning."

"Then you'll just have to find a way to deal with this on you own."

"Rikku started moping on her way down the hall but a loud crash of thunder sent her scurrying away to her room.

"Hey, Auron." Wakka said as he came from the other direction. "Have you seen Tidus anywhere? I've looked all over da place but I couldn' find him."

"Hmm. Maybe Yuna isn't asleep after all." Auron muttered to himself.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing important." Auron said before going back down the hall to his room.

V: Yay! Another Chapter finished!

T: Finally…

V: Well, I tried to put as much asI could into this chapter. Doesn't that count for anything?

T: Just a little. Not enough though.

V: Hey… all you readers out there. I was thinking this a while ago and thought that I would like your input on some things. Every time I get a review it helps me push myself forward into putting more into the next chapter. Well, now I'm asking for something a little different.

I want to know who your favorite characters are in my story so I can put them in as much as possible. (Sorry all you Lulu fans. She won't appear until close to the end of the story. It's just the way things seem to be turning out)

Call it an unofficial poll if you will, to help me make my writing better for you all. The candidates are Tidus, Yuna, Rikku, Zen, Wakka, Kimahri, and Auron.

IMPORTANT NOTE!

Do NOT sent your votes as reviews. (This would just be a waste) Send it to my e-mail instead. Don't know what it is? Look at my info page.

I will tally the votes and try my best to keep your favorite characters in the most. (side note) Since Tidus is my favorite character, it doesn't matter who is your favorite character, he will always be in the spotlight.

T: Gee…thanks (said sarcastically) Is that why I'm always the brunt of peoples' anger towards you?

V: That could play a part in it. See you later everybody.

T: Hopefully.

End Transmission