Hello hello!

I am finally freeee! It's such an amazing feeling I can't even begin to explain it. Anyway, here is the next chapter, and I am already working on the others. But first, just wanted to answer some of the reviews, as usual:

PersonaOfBetrayal: Well, I did ask for constructive criticism and that definitely was one. I will keep your comments in mind and fix the dialogs to make it less confusing! Regarding the use of commas, I guess it must be because I am French, and in French that's how we usually construct our sentences. And it's just how I write, I suppose. But I will definitely try to make it less snappy! Thanks for the review! :)

And to YunieCorn, mihosaki and fanclove2014, thanks so much for the reviews as well, I am really glad that you like it so far!

See ya! :*

Chapter 6 – New travelling buddies

Sixth Stop: Djose road and Moonflow

Their little troop was strolling across Spira, taking their time to enjoy it all, and to talk to random people. They had to take many breaks, since Nooj had an artificial leg and couldn't go on for very long. He would never complain about it, not even mention it, of course, but the others quickly realized that he would usually lag behind after a while spent walking. So they would randomly find excuses to stop and rest for a bit, like Rikku pretexting she had low HP—Which would usually result in Gippal teasing her about being pretty poorly trained, for a legendary guardian, and they would bicker for a bit—it was all they ever seemed to do. The point was, everyone wanted to respect Nooj's pride.

Everyone was pretty efficient in defeating fiends, and, one fight after the other, they quickly began to function like a well-oiled machine.

Gippal and Rikku, as thieves, were stealing all sorts of items on them, usually allowing them to save up some Gils on potions and phoenix downs. They could also mix them up to inflict a lot of damages, or instantly enhance and heal all the team, and many other diverse things only them two, as Al-Bheds, seemed to understand. They were also, along with Tidus, the quickest among the team, very useful with fast and flying beasts. Gippal was using a huge sword-gun—Rikku told him he was definitely overcompensating for something with that thing, to what Gippal proudly replied she perfectly knew how well equipped he was, and she blushed furiously, taken aback by his outspokenness. Thankfully, the others had the decency to act as if nothing had happened. Rikku had left her famous Godhand at home, replacing it with two spiky daggers, doing twice the damage she used to do.

Nooj's style resembled Auron's, although he wasn't as strong—probably a bit rusty. Pressing a button on his walking stick, it transformed into a deadly weapon. A big sharpened blade would emerge on the iron staff. It was a gift of his friend and co-worker Gippal.

Lucil knew a bit of dark magic, like how to drain enemy's HP, or how to blindfold them, and she was usually pretty fast. She was fighting with a thin, long sword, that seemed to be able to cut through anything—even a flan. It reminded Yuna of Yojimbo's katana, yet less powerful.

And, finally, Yuna could both heal her allies and kill her foes, aided by her powerful magic. Although she couldn't summon the Aons anymore, she was still a summoner, as it was her birth given gift, which meant her magic skills were enhanced, making her a very valuable asset in the team—but everybody already knew that, by now. Her adventures as a Gullwing member had also toughened her up, and she would sometimes hit the fiends with her staff, and inflict quite a lot of damage.

- "So… You and Yuna, huh?" Gippal teased, moving his eyebrows up and down in Tidus' direction, a smartass smile playing on his lips.

- "So… You and Rikku, huh?" He proudly counter-attacked.

They were walking behind everyone, Gippal and him, as they were reaching the end of Moonflow's forest. He found it weird, that he had never seen this guy before. Then again, they only ever had been at Home once, as it was getting destructed by the Guados. And the Al-Bhed were completely dispatched across Spira.

- "Haha. Touché", he admitted, both his hands risen in defeat.

- "Whatever happened between you guys anyway?" Tidus asked, suddenly curious.

- "Well... I've always known Rikku, you know?" He started, giving a kick in a little stone he found on the ground. "She's Cid's little girl, and he used to be our leader. Everybody knows Rikku. But then I started to train as Cid's second when I was 16, about two years ago, after you guys destroyed Sin. And we travelled the world to fix and teach people about ancient machinas together."

Yuna had told him about Rikku and him, briefly, the night before. After everyone had gone to sleep, Tidus had silently gone out of his room to meet up with her. They had spent all night talking again, among other things. Everything felt great between them, but they still—and most of all, Yuna—didn't want to make it public. It was their "secret" for now. Everybody who knew Yuna a little bit, or who wasn't entirely dumb already knew something was going on between them. But that didn't mean they felt ready to speak it out just yet.

- "And you got to spent more and more time together and fell in luuuv?" Tidus guessed, teasing.

- "More or less, I guess." Gippal replied, scratching his head. "We weren't that serious or anything, but I liked spending time with her. Rikku's always good for a laugh. But yeah, her dad figured out we were a thing, and he wasn't pleased, for some reason."

Yeah, Tidus thought, that sure looked like Cid. He was a great guy, and Tidus had a lot of respect for him, but he could be so stubborn about random stuff sometimes. He had decided something, and things would be as he wished, or he would find a way to make them. It could be good, since, thanks to his iron will, he had succeeded in bringing most of the Al-Bhed back together for a while. But sometimes, like in this case, it could also be bad.

- "He didn't want anyone touching his little girl, I guess." Gippal went on. "And the man is stubborn, but I think he would have let it go eventually. Hell, I can be stubborn too, you know? But Rikku decided it was better that way. She wanted to go and hunt spheres anyway, and I got stationed at the Djose temple, so it would have been complicated."

That didn't seem like Rikku, to give up on something because her dad had told her so. If the girl had inherited one thing from his dad, it was her stubbornness. She had been the one who, along with Tidus, had first decided to think of another way to defeat Sin, one that wouldn't mean Yuna had to die. The girl was driven, and Tidus couldn't imagine her letting anyone telling her what she could and couldn't do. Especially not her dad.

- "But you know, he concluded, I'm completely over it now, so it's all fine." He said, glancing at her in a way that Tidus would not classify as an "over-her" kind of look.

Yuna and Rikku were far up ahead, already admiring Moonflow's lake. They were followed by Nooj and Lucil, silently walking side by side, and then here they were, Tidus and Gippal, walking at their own pace. They had instantly bonded, the afternoon before, as Gippal had explained to him how most of their important machinas worked. Tidus knew his bit about them, being born and raised in a machina city. It felt good to talk about it with someone who understood and valued them. Even though they weren't forbidden anymore, people still saw them as somewhat evil devices. It would take time, probably a few generations, they thought, before people would accept them entirely.

- "What are you guys plotting, over there?" Rikku shouted in their direction, as if her sixth sense had tipped her off and she knew they were talking about her.

- "Nothing!" They replied in unison.

They hurried to catch up with the others. Gippal's secret was safe with him. Well, except that he would probably tell Yuna. They had no secrets for each other anymore.

It was almost nightfall, and the sky was growing darker and cloudier, the moon still fighting to impose its shining white light, faintly spreading it in a small circle, far away. The lake seemed to go on forever, only stopped by dark, hazed mountains.

So many white and purple water lilies covered the surface of the water, swiftly moving on their round ship made out of leaves. And then, suddenly, a yellow-green shooting light came out of the calm waters and into the sky, fading after a few fleeting seconds of life. Others followed, lighting up the dark sky. The layer of mist seemed to deepen, slowly covering the lake, blurring out the horizon.

All of them stood there, admiring this beautiful, moving painting Spira seemed to have lied out for them. It had been a tiring day and they were all looking forward to stopping at an Inn to have diner and rest.

- "Hm. I see. That does sound like Cid."

Yuna's chin was resting on her arms, both crossed on Tidus's bare chest. They were both under the blankets, in one of the Inn's room. They had decided they would take the Shoopuf—Yuna couldn't wait—on the next day, since they had spent all afternoon fighting fiends and needed their rest. Tidus and Gippal were really getting good pals, and the four of them, along with Yuna and Rikku were getting along great. Yuna had always been very fond of Lucil, too, but it was hard to get to know her, she never seemed to let down her guard, in combat nor in conversation. And Nooj was about the same, always so guarded and silent. He really reminded them of a younger Auron, very wise and secretive, never revealing anything unless he needed to.

- "I know, right?"

He was laying on the bed, one hand under his head, the other lazily playing with Yuna's hair. It was getting tougher and tougher not displaying any PDA in front of the others. When Yuna had healed him, after a fight earlier, he had been so close to kiss her 'thank you'. Or back when they were walking, he had had to remember not to take her hand, or wrap his hand around her waist. It seemed more and more natural, touching her and hugging her, that sometimes he just did it without thinking. They hadn't talk about it, yet. But he could feel Yuna wouldn't like him doing any of that.

- "Do you think we should play matchmakers?" Yuna said.

Tidus laughed, amused by her sudden idea. It sounded ridiculous, especially coming from her. She laughed as well, her cute creases below her eyes deepening. He kissed her forehead.

- "I don't think they would like that. Either of them. They are way too proud."

- "You're right." She replied, a little bummed out. Her cheek was getting smooched on her hand as she looked distractively at the wall.

- "Have you seen how much they keep teasing and messing with each other? "

- "Yeah I know!" She said, raising her head, excitingly agreeing. "There's so much sexual tension between them you could cut it with a knife!"

- "Why Lady Yuna, such strong words coming out of such delicate mouth," Tidus said, surprised by Yuna's outburst.

She made a fake-offended face, her mouth open, and he kissed her smoothly, his hand delicately raising her chin to the perfect height. Her hands got lost in his blond locks as she deepened their kiss and closed her eyes, letting Tidus take her away. Gippal and Rikku weren't the only ones with a lot of sexual tension between them.

- "Shtop himsh! Shtop the shiefsh!"

As they awoke very early on that next day, panic seemed to have spread on their little Inn. The team quickly gathered on the entrance, only to find the Hypellos completely beside themselves. Someone had come during the night and stolen all the Gils from the cash register. With one look at each other, all of them knew they'd have to help them find the thief. Their awakening had been so sudden and abrupt they looked haggard and a bit lost. Rikku's hair was a complete mess, Gippal couldn't stop yawning, Tidus had trouble keeping his eyes open and Yuna missed her warm bed terribly. Nooj and Lucil, on the other hand, seemed as usual, perfectly dressed, perfect hair and perfect complexion. Rikku decided she kinda hated them for that, this morning.

But, as professionals, they shook it off, had a quick breakfast, and, after a dose of Yuna's Curaga and of Tidus' Boostaga, they were ready to go. Nooj decided that they should split up. Gippal had just the thing: he gave each of them a small watch, all linked to each other. By pushing the little red button on them, it would send the exact localization of the holder to the others. Once someone had found the track of the thief—or thieves—they could alert the rest of the team and all meet up.

- "If that guy was there during the night, he could be anywhere by now. Lucil and I will explore ahead, around Guadosalam."

- "Good idea. Yuna and I are going back, towards Djose." Tidus said, his thumb pointed at his face.

Rikku looked at the four of them, and gave a quick, desperate glance at Gippal. She let her arms drop on either sides of her waist, the power of the movement dragging her upper-body down a bit.

- "Oh maaaan… Are you guys really going to make me handle this guy on my own?" She whined, pointing an accusing thumb toward the blond guy who stood behind her.

- "Stop being so obvious Rikku, please. You so want me, it's, like, getting embarrassing."

- "What?!" She jumped, outraged, and turned to face him. "You need to stop dreaming Gippal, and step into reality, since, like, yesterday!"

Yuna, Tidus, Nooj and Lucil looked at each other, very much annoyed. The two of them never seemed to catch a break.

- "Read my lips Rikks", he started, pointing at his face, bringing his face closer to hers. "You desperately want the G. It's time you assume it once and for all and stop lying to yourself."

- "Yunie, could you please tell him that…" She started, but stopped mid-sentence, her arm in the air, as she realized that her cousin, along with their three other teammates, had already left.

Her left arm noisily fell from the shock, slapping her thigh. She let her head fall backward, looking at the skies, as if to wonder what she had done to deserve that they'd torture her so. Gippal just laughed and shrugged, passing his hand through his hair.

- "Well, shall we go look for this guy in the forest, or what? Just you and me?" He said, winking at her, his usual smartass smile full on.

- "Let's go, idiot." She said, pushing his head back, her hand unceremoniously smooching his face.

Oh shit, that was a mistake. Definitely not his brightest move.

But people had to understand, he was desperate. Really desperate. He had tried everything else, to win back some money. He had worked double, triple, he had sold almost everything he owned, he had tried to do new things, with new partners in business. But nothing, nothing he ever tried would work out, in the end. He still couldn't understand why.

So yeah, he had had downs before. But here, today, he was at the worst place he had ever been at. He didn't mind that much having debts, and having to work extra-hard to get out of trouble. No, the problem today was who he owed money to. And he had known, from the very beginning, that those guys weren't exactly of the permissive kind. But what could he say? He was a hopeless optimist and he couldn't help it. He genuinely thought his business was going to work out, this time, and that he was going to pay those guys back in no time.

And now, here he was, forced to steal from some of the nicest creature of Spira, Hypellos. But he had had no choice. His creditor had given him three days to pay him back the Gils. Three days! It was madness, pure madness. He didn't have 800 000 Gils. That's why he'd borrowed them in the first place!

He was tried, he was hot, and all those fiends didn't make his escape any easier. He wasn't that great in combat, and his HP were dangerously low. He looked in his bag, only to realize he only had two potions left. Oh boy, was he in trouble.

If only he could reach the lake, then he'd be safe. After stealing the money, he had want to stop for a bit, just to catch up his breath. Only, he had fallen asleep for three hours. And now, he was still in Moonflow, with the entire content of a cash register stuffed in his green backpack. People were probably already looking for him. His only hope lied in the fact that they'd think he was already far away from here, and so they wouldn't look for him there. He stopped running, struck by an idea. It was so crazy it could actually work. All he had to do was hide, and wait.

It was a brilliant plan. What could go wrong?

Truth was, she was not over him, per say.

He was so annoying, so full of himself, so ridiculous and immature sometimes, and yet… She was madly attracted to him. She couldn't explain it to herself, but she at least had to admit it. He was super attractive, and she did want the G.

She had had the G, actually. A few times. But it was not a good idea to go back there. They had fun, and got along great, apart from their constant bickering—it was their way of communicating. But Cid had decided that he was "too old" and "too impetuous" for her. And she wouldn't have cared, nor listened to him, if it wasn't for his threats. Yes, her own pops had threatened her, could you believe it? She should have disowned him as her Dad, or something, back then. But that wasn't even the thing. The biggest problem was that the threat didn't really concern her personally. No, it concerned her good ol' friend Gippal.

Rikku was madly walking over the leaves, cutting every branches that was unfortunate enough to get in her way, passing her nerves on Mother Nature. Oh, the thief was going to regret ever stealing that Hypello Inn, she could tell you that much. She sighted heavily, deeply annoyed by the chuckles she was hearing behind her. She looked over her shoulder, meeting with Gippal's broadest smile, and a little wave. He was enjoying this way too much.

Then came a garm, a sort of wolf with what looked like a big violet stain on its neck, out of the woods and directly towards Rikku. Without even blinking, she stroked the poor fiend right on the neck with her left dagger, and it instantly fell, lifeless, at her feet.

- "Wohohoo", Gippal let out in bewilderment, his fist covering his mouth. "You need to chill, Rikks. Seriously, what's wrong with ya, girl?"

- "Nothing! I'll chill when we'd have found the bastard." She replied, as sharp and cold as her dagger.

- "Ok, ok, you're the boss." Gippal said, raising both his hands.

Truth was, he didn't mind her rage. It was actually pretty funny to watch. And to be stuck on a crappy mission with a beautiful, crazy blond girl, well, he could find worst things to be doing on an Ifritday afternoon.

- "He doesn't seem to be here, sir."

- "We'll look a bit more, and then get back." Nooj said.

The pair didn't talk much, but then again, they didn't need to. They communicated very well just with their body language, and understood and interpreted each of the other's reactions without needing to speak, which resulted very useful when they had to be as silent as could be, to catch an enemy by surprise.

They had taken the shoopuf to get to the other side of the Moonflow. It was pretty unlikely the thief had used it, but then again, the water wasn't that deep, and the path was short enough. It would certainly have been the way he would have gone, had he want to take the least practical route, hence the least likely, to fool his pursuers. It was a bit twisted, but hey, wasn't the mind of an outlaw?

Lucil remembered the Hypellos not letting her Chocobo, only survivor of Operation Mi'ihen, on the huge elephant-like animal, but she wasn't one to hold a grudge. The Hypellos were nice people nonetheless. And they certainly didn't deserve that some idiot stole all their hard-earned money.

She squatted, looking at some prints on the ground. Recreating crime scenes with only mere hints Mother Nature had left her was her specialty. She was very observant, and had the thief gone through this part of the forest, she would find out very soon.

- "Lucil! Could you come look at this, please?"

- "Yes sir, be there in a sec."

Lucil could proudly say she had a great boss. Nooj was a just, good-spirited man. He always had the interest of others at heart, so much so he would usually neglect his own. But that was part of Lucil's job, too. To remind him to take care of himself. Sometimes, she would think to herself that the pair of them was a bit like a platonic couple. They shared everything—not everything, since they were both very secretive, but they trusted each other completely—solved many problems together, took care of each other. The only line separating them from mere co-workers to something more was physical contact. They would avoid it, almost instinctively, and just ignore any kind of physical attraction that could occur between them. But she at least had to be honest with herself. Nooj was pretty damn hot.

He had had a tumultuous relationship with that evil blond girl, Leblanc, but he had recently cut off all contacts. She had always wanted more from him than him from her. He just wanted someone to share his bed with, some lonely nights.

Truth was, Nooj didn't seem to care about any women, nor men, for that matter. From what Lucil had gathered, thanks to their many months of closely working together, he was still mourning his special someone. She didn't know whether it was a she or a he, their name, what had happened, how long ago. But she could feel it. This was a man who had deliberately chose to close off his heart, because he had been burned by love in the cruelest way. Sin was probably the one responsible, as he used to snatch loved ones from so many Spirans' grasp. But she couldn't know for sure, and it was out of the question to ever ask him.

He was looking at some weird traces on the ground, and she came closer to have a look at it. It seemed like ruins of an old fire camp. The wood had almost entirely burned off, leaving a black burned stain on the earth. Someone had definitely been there, and pretty recently, Lucil concluded, looking closely at a bit of burned earth between her fingers. This fire had been up and running 5 hours' prior, tops. But was it their thief? Or just a mere traveler stopping to eat his diner? She glanced around the small camp, looking for more clues. This was like a game to her. Reconstituting the puzzle of the past, recreating a scene, now over, in her mind.

Nooj looked at her, used to see her skills in action, but impressed nonetheless. That woman was the strongest person he knew. Life had been so rough on her, and yet, here she was, still getting up in the morning, fighting for Spira with all her strength. He didn't know much, as she never talked about it, but he knew enough to wonder how she could still be that clear-minded and optimist. If he had to sum her up in one sentence, he would say: "Where there's a will, there's a way". It was what she would always say to him whenever he would feel like giving up on something.

She was about seven, when all her family had gotten killed during a tempest caused by Sin. She had had to get out of her destroyed house, the only survivor, for some unknown reason, and go deep into the night by herself. Only to imagine the little girl, lost, walking among the debris of her home, horrifying images of her family in states Nooj preferred not to picture, and his heart would clench. Elma had told him once-she was a talker, the opposite of her friend-sister-co-worker Lucil-that the girl had walked, alone, cold, scared and probably hungry, for days and days before she had finally reached a shelter. That's where she had found Elma, two years younger than her. She had also lost her parents, and her uncle had left her there, since he already did not have enough money to take care of his own kids and himself. They had instantly bonded, and quickly became like sisters. Elma said Lucil had almost raised her, even if they were only two years apart. They had also met Clasko, orphan as well, and the three of them made quite the team. They had formed a new family in the midst of the chaos left by Sin.

It was upon her fifteenth birthday, after a visit of the Crusaders at the shelter, that Lucil had found her calling: she, too, wanted to fight for Spira. Elma and Clasko had chosen the same way, as they wanted the same things. And so they had trained hard and, in time, won some respect amongst the other Crusaders members, enough to become proud Chocobo Knights, ten years later.

And even after the Crusaders movement had disappeared, shortly following the failure of Operation Mi'ihen, Lucil still wanted to devote her life to Spira, to make it better and safer for everyone. That's when she had met Nooj, as he was just starting off his Youth League project, at the beginning of the Eternal Calm. Lucil, Elma and Clasko were in Luca, helping out and trying to come up with a new life plan, when he gave a conference at the Stadium, to motivate people to join him, to help him make his vision come true.

And there they were, two and a half years later. He could never have done all that he had without her. She was his strength when his would get weary, his brain when he needed new ideas, and his best friend always. That's partly why the cause of the orphans was so dear to him, because it was to her. He couldn't fix her past, but he could change the future. And he could try and give those children the loving homes she had never gotten.

- "What's wrong, sir?" Lucil asked, puzzled by his unreadable expression as he looked at her.

- "Nothing," he said quickly, brought back to reality. He shook his head, laughing nervously. "Nothing. I was just lost in thoughts, is all."

Lucil smiled and nodded, although still a bit confused. She turned and kept looking for clues. But she was almost 80% positive, their target hadn't chosen this route. This was someone else's. A dangerous someone else.

- "Didn't you hear something, just then?"

- "Probably the sound of all the little Moogles, living inside your empty head?" Gippal offered, while his mouth made what was almost an upside-down closed smile and he nodded for himself, proud of his own come-back.

During a brief second, she pictured herself yelling furiously and smashing her fist deep in his smug little smartass face. But instead, she closed her eyes, breathed in, and then out, and the feeling passed. She chose to ignore him, and looked around her, following her instinct. They were deep in the forest, and up until then, no sign of the guy. Rikku was about to give up when she heard a noise: someone, or something, moving leaves. It could have been a fiend, but then again, he probably would have attacked them by now.

She heard Gippal breathe in, about to speak, and she immediately shushed him, her eyebrows furrowing. She titled her head to her left side, letting him know she really thought something was there. He nodded, for once in his life looking the tiniest bit serious, and he followed her. They both walked as silently as they could, and, as they stood behind the bushes from which Rikku had heard the noise, they looked at each other, silently communicating. Rikku counted on her fingers: 1, 2 and…

3! They both drawn their weapons as they jumped below the bushes, only to find a small rabbit looking at them funny. It was chewing grass, and seemed awful relaxed, its eyes only half-opened. Gippal couldn't stop himself from bursting into laughter as he dropped his sword, and Rikku crossed her arms, giving him a dirty, tired look.

- "Hahaha! A rabbit! A mother-fucking stoned rabbit!" He held his arms across his stomach, in what Rikku thought was an overly dramatic move. It wasn't even that funny to begin with.

She sighed, and smacked her clenched-fist into a tree nearby.

- "Damn it! We're never going to find this guy."

- "Aaaaaah! Wasps! Waaasps!" Someone yelled, but it wasn't Gippal, Rikku realized, looking at him. He was just as puzzled as she was, suddenly not laughing anymore.

A loud thud echoed next to them, as they saw a figure falling ungracefully from a branch of the tree, its head first. A cloud of buzzing bugs followed, stopping to punish the intruder, and leaving just as quickly.

- "Aouch. Gosh that hurt. "

The guy looked up, only to find himself face to face with Rikku and Gippal, both of them with their arms crossed over their chests. Ok, this was bad, but he thought he could still lie his way out of this, and even make a bit of money, why ever not?

- "Welcome to O'aka's!" He sang in his Cockney accent, his arms opening wide.

But then, his backpack fell from the tree to land between his hands, bills and Gils coming out of it. Karma, he bitterly thought. He had definitely been caught red-handed.

- "O'aka? Really, you're the thief?" Rikku let out, smacking her hand in her face.

The merchant scratched his head, laughing nervously. To think he had been this close to successfully escaping. Well, let justice be made.

- "Why didn't you reach out to us? We've helped you before, haven't we?" Yuna said calmly.

They were back at the Inn, and O'aka, after presenting his deepest apologies to the Hypellos and giving them back the money he had stolen from them, had explained everything to the team.

- "Right, because that's not the first time this happens to you, as I seem to recall." Gippal remarked bitterly.

Not too long ago, the merchant was in debt of the Al-Bhed, and he had hidden out on board of the Gullwings' ship until he was solvent again. For a merchant, he sure didn't handle his affairs very well. He told them about his business with Cid at Mt. Gagazet's hot springs failure, how Cid had saved his own skin before it was too late and left him on his own. He had wanted to give it another shot, and borrowed some more money to some really bad and dangerous people—he didn't dare tell them who—to better his project, but it had failed again.

Yuna, Rikku and Tidus were still very fond of him, and couldn't stay mad at him really. He had been so helpful during their pilgrimage, staying faithful to them even after they were branded traitors of Spira by Yevon. Rikku offered that he'd work on Bikanel digging fields to win back the money he owed. Gippal grumbled a bit, but ended up accepting.

- "Oh thank ye, Gippal sir, I will work hard, I promise!"

- "Yeah, well you'd better."

Since they eventually planned of going there too, it was decided by the majority that O'aka would journey with them. It would both prevent his creditor from finding and hurting him, and allow them to keep an eye on him, and make sure he wouldn't try anything stupid again.