A/N: Thanks to Dragonsrulllz for the review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. I didn't own it during the last chapter, either, but I forgot about the disclaimer, heh.

Everything was going according to Prammel's plan. Or rather, Trommel's plan, the plan of the Guado, but the plan Prammel was executing. The summoner Yuna and the other traitors were going from the Calm Lands towards the Thunder Plains. Their route was odd, but Prammel didn't mind. He had waited long enough to execute the plan; he could wait a little longer.

"The airship will arrive here soon," Sir Auron, the hero-guardian turned traitor, said.

"Excuse me," Prammel said, "but what is this 'airship' you're talking about?"

"You'll see," Auron replied.

"It's okay," Wakka said to Prammel. "The airship, it scared me when I went on at first. But it works, yah? So I say, might as well ride it."

Prammel ignored him. Prammel wasn't a friendly guy, Wakka could tell, but he could at least try to be polite.

Wakka walked away. He looked at Lulu. She seemed to be thinking about something important.

"What ya thinking 'bout?" he asked her.

"Nothing," Lulu said. She glanced at the little doll she used for casting spells, and then back at Wakka. "You did a good job in that blitzball game."

Wakka could still remember the game…the fresh smell of the chlorine pool, the thrill of a goal…even the exhaustion he had felt through the first half of the game was a welcome memory. But no, that time was over. He had won the tournament, and now he was a full-time guardian. Tidus still played some blitzball, though.

"Thanks," he replied. "That all you thinking about?"

"No," Lulu replied. Oddly enough, her voice didn't have its normal vague contempt. "Wakka, what do you think you'll do once Sin is gone? Once Yuna has finished the pilgrimage, and the Calm fills Spira?"

"I dunno," Wakka said. "I think…I dunno. It's better to leave those things for later. We have to worry 'bout Sin for now."

Lulu bit back a smile, as if there was some inside joke in what Wakka had said. "Somethin' funny?" he said.

"No. It's just…interesting. That sounded like something I'd hear myself saying."

"Oh."

The airship was about to land, and Tidus was talking to Auron. "He's leading us into some kind of trap, you know."

"Of course," Auron replied. "But better to face a trap, knowing it's coming, then be caught by surprise. If we don't take this on now, we'll only have to deal with it later."

Prammel was in the Thunder Plains with the guardians now. He hadn't appreciated the transportation—the Al Bhed machina had short-circuited many of traps the Guado had laid—but he knew there were enough just here to finish the guardians.

The airship took off.

"This way," Prammel said, and pointed in a direction that would take them through the most dangerous part of the plains, no lightning towers for a while. Fortunately, he was wearing a Yellow Ring, solid protection from any lightning bolts.

A bolt hit one of the guardians, the Al Bhed girl. She squealed, but didn't seem hurt. Apparently, Prammel wasn't the only one with protection from lightning.

Prammel walked for a while more. It was about ten minutes until he smelled what was coming, a nasty odor at first similar to the Farplane's aroma but somehow repellant. The fiend would appear soon.

There was a quick blink of light, and Tidus at first thought lightning had struck. He glanced at the lightning towers nearby, to see which one had the hot amber color marking it had just been struck by lightning. There weren't many around, now, Tidus noticed, and none of them had been struck by lightning. He kept on walking.

A few more blinks, and still no sound of thunder. Tidus looked around a little more, and noticed something in the sky, like a black shadow in front of a cloud. He turned to Yuna.

"Do you see that?" he asked, and pointed.

Yuna looked a little worried, but kept her composure. "It's probably nothing."

"No, look, it's getting bigger. Hey, it's…"

Suddenly, Auron flew forward, and hit Prammel with the flat of his blade, knocking him to the ground unconscious. "That's a fiend! And no doubt Prammel knew it would be hear."

"Should we head back towards the towers?" Tidus asked.

"No, too late. Quick, all of you, get ready for battle."

It was less than ten seconds before the fiend reached them. It was actually quite beautiful, in a fierce way—unblemished, black skin, shimmering with energy, powerful wings behind it, and a surprisingly humanoid body. It reminded Tidus of Yuna's aeon, Bahamut, but not as colorful, and much sleeker. It's face was reptilian, with a pointed nose, and odd things, apparently ears, shaped like rams horns, on either side of its head.

At this point, Tidus felt ready to go. His Haste magic had him moving fast, and Lulu and Wakka had both used the best of their supportive abilities. As soon as the beast was close to the ground, he flew at it.

The creature knocked him back with a blow that wasn't as much painful as forceful—Tidus went flying backwards, but the creatures didn't even break flesh. The wind knocked out of him, he dashed back towards the beast.

He saw Lulu use a powerful attack—a huge blast of water struck the beast, and it hit the ground. Auron moved in and bludgeoned it with his sword, leaving a red stripe along its back. The creature didn't look like it had much left in it, but it managed to bring itself aloft.

Retreat so soon? Tidus thought. Looks like Prammel didn't pick the right fiend to fight us. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the fiend. Tidus let the air out of his lungs in a sound of both relief and exhaustion. He was glad the fight was over so soon.

But when he looked up, he noticed something. The fiend wasn't on the ground. It was up, and stronger than it had been before. Auron barked some statement.

"What?" Tidus asked, confused.

"It absorbs lightning," Auron repeated.

Tidus sighed. This'll be quite a fight, he thought.