Chapter 14: Highway Troubles

Although Charlene was dead asleep, she still felt a draft seep through her blanket and she snuggled closer to the heat source lying next to her. Suddenly, as if in response to her efforts to get closer, a strange arm draped itself over her side. It was not enough to awaken her completely, but it caused her to open her eyes and look around. At first, all Charlie could see was a blur, but then her vision cleared and she realized that she was lying in bed; her forehead pressed against Auron's in what was probably good blackmail material, if anyone walked in and took a picture. Startled, the young woman shrieked and pulled away from him, rolling off the bed and hitting the floor with a loud thud. "Jesus friggin' Christ!" she swore as the swordsman sat up.

"Is there a problem?" Auron asked, staring down at her with more than a little amusement.

"Goddamn it, you scared the hell out of me!" she snapped, glaring back up at him.

"It isn't my fault that you sleep like the dead." He listened to the sounds of people milling around in the hallway, and then got out of bed. "It's time to get up anyway."

Charlene continued to scowl at him, despite the fact that he had turned his back to her. Auron was wearing the Spiran equivalent of a t-shirt, which he quickly peeled off as he reached for his armor. "Wow, he really does look that good!" her mind murmured appreciatively as she got to her feet. Then, she noticed a large, shiny mark on his shoulder, almost like a burn scar. "That looks really bad! I wonder what happened…"

Apparently, the swordsman felt her eyes on him, because he suddenly turned around and caught her gaze as he finished fastening his armor and picked up his coat. "Why are you staring?" he demanded, his voice neutral.

Charlie flushed, trying not to squirm, and stammered, "I-I was looking at that scar on your left shoulder. What happened?"

"A foolish mistake I made a long time ago," he replied shortly.

Seeing the anger briefly flash in his eye, Charlie decided to let the subject drop and went about her own business, picking up her tiny yellow jacket and staring at it as if it were the most fascinating thing in the universe. "Dude, don't start in on me this morning!" she silently pleaded. "I didn't mean to piss you off, but I'm not in the mood to have my head bitten off, so please don't say anything!" The young woman let out a sigh of relief when she heard the door close, wincing slightly as some of the bruises from last night made themselves known. A faint image of the angry black wolf from her dream in Besaid ghosted in front of her eyes, and she shook her head. "God, I'd hate to be the poor son of a bitch who manages to do more than irritate him!"

…

A little while later, Charlene walked into the front room of the Travel Agency and looked around. When she didn't see any of the others, she figured that they were waiting for her outside, so she hurried toward the door and plowed into a man dressed in a yellow shirt and black pants as he walked in. "Byntuh sa," said the stranger, helping Charlie to her feet.

"What?" she replied, eyeing him warily. "You know, he sort of looks like a pimp in that outfit."

The stranger was a tall, dark-skinned man, with shoulder-length blond hair and eyes like Rikku's; green with odd spiral pupils. "Ah, forgive me, madam," he said, an unfamiliar accent coloring his voice, "I meant to say 'pardon me', but it came out in Al Bhed."

"You're an Al Bhed?" she asked. "I thought so! His eyes are just like Rikku's!"

"I am Rin, owner of this establishment. Hela du saad oui."

"Excuse me?" Charlie was confused.

"It means 'nice to meet you'," he explained.

"Okay…well same to you, too," she replied, not really knowing what else to say.

Rin smiled, and then walked over to the nearby bookshelf. "If you are interested in learning our language, then let me give you this, in commemoration of our meeting." He handed her a small book bound in blue leather, titled "Introduction to Al Bhed". "Once you've finished this one, you can find the next one at any of the Travel Agencies across Spira, if you like…although you might want to be careful where you speak our language."

"Yeah, some people might not take it that well," Charlie sighed, thinking about Wakka. "God, how could a nice guy like him have such an awful character flaw?"

"Ed ec y crysa," the Al Bhed sadly agreed.

Suddenly, a loud scream from outside caught their attention. "Somebody help the chocobos!"

Before anyone could say or do anything, Auron came back inside and said, "That's our cue, let's go."

Without waiting for a response, the swordsman turned on his heel and left again, and Charlie drew her own weapon, but before she could leave, Rin stopped her and pressed a couple of Potions into her hand. "Thank you for your help. Please, use these," he told her.

The young woman nodded, pocketing the vials, and said, "Don't worry; we'll take care of that monster!" "I hope…"

She rushed out the door and spotted Lulu, who pointed to the fenced-in enclosure and shouted, "To the chocobo corral!"

The group tried to push their way past the panicked birds, but to no avail. Suddenly, a loud roar bellowed out from overhead, and they all looked up and saw the chocobo eating fiend standing on the roof of the Travel Agency. It was rusty brown and gray, with short legs, absurdly long arms, and a body mostly comprised of a giant, fang-filled maw. The weird-looking beast roared again, further terrifying the chocobo it held captive in one monstrous hand, and jumped off its perch, landing heavily enough to shake the ground. The chocobo squirmed and struggled, trying to get free, but finally managed to do so after biting its captor's finger. The monster screamed again, this time in pain and rage, and then turned its attention to its would-be attackers, eyes narrowing in anger. "Oh boy, it looks pissed!" Charlie said, watching it carefully.

The fiend roared once more, and the fight began. Wakka and Lulu, having long-range attacks, distracted the creature while Auron, Kimahri, and Charlie closed in and struck at it from various points in the hopes of keeping it off-balance. Their efforts paid off, and the would-be predator fell over on its back, completely helpless against their attacks…or so they thought. When Wakka struck the prone monster with his blitzball, it waved its arms wildly and a great burst of ice exploded in the air, knocking everyone back and giving it enough time to get to its feet and renew its assault on the party. "Damn it! Why won't this thing die?" Charlie yelled, barely evading the massive fist that tried to smash her into the ground.

Then the fiend dropped to the ground, as if it were finally succumbing to the numerous wounds all over its body, and lay there, not doing anything. Charlene stared at it confusedly, wondering what triggered the sudden collapse. "Uh…what just happened here?" she asked, edging closer as everyone else continued to watch it warily. "One minute it's trying like hell to kill us and the next it just falls over?"

Suddenly, as if it found a second wind, the creature staggered to its feet again, bellowed in fury, and backhanded Charlie across the clearing. The young woman sailed several yards, and then landed heavily in the grass near the ravine while her sword fell over it. Dazed and unarmed, all Charlie could do was shut her eyes as the enraged monster barreled down on her. "Oh shit! I am SO screwed! Some help I turned out to be…"

Charlene's eyes snapped open when she heard a sickening crunch, followed by an ear-shattering scream of agony, and she almost couldn't believe what she saw. Auron, of all people, stood between her and the wildly thrashing fiend, dark blood dripping off his sword. She struggled to get to her feet, but just as she succeeded, the ravening monster exploded in a burst of pyreflies and force, blowing both her and her rescuer over the edge of the cliff. The two of them plummeted toward the ground, branches and other such plant life slowing their descent, but not enough to stop them. Charlie saw the ground rushing up to meet her with dizzying speed, and then her world exploded in a burst of red light and intense pain that gradually faded to black emptiness.

…Flash…

Charlie and Marcus waited for the light to change, the motor of his old Buick idling quietly. "This stupid light always takes forever to change! Sometimes I think it does it on purpose!" Charlie complained, glaring at it accusingly.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Marcus replied with a laugh. Then, he turned to her, an oddly nervous look in his gray eyes, and said, "Charlie…I…there's something I've been meaning to ask you, and…" Just then, the light turned green, and he shook his head and said, "Never mind, I'll ask you later."

Suddenly, as their old car was crossing the intersection, a blue Eclipse appeared out of nowhere, completely ignoring the red light, and smashed into them from their left. After the sounds of shattering glass and tortured metal faded, Charlie struggled to stay conscious, but the pain was overwhelming and the darkness quickly claimed her. "Marcus? Oh God, Marcus! Somebody help!"

…Flash…

Charlie awoke to more pain, but welcomed it, as it meant she was still alive. She opened her eyes, bemusedly staring at the greenery around her for a brief moment before remembered where she was and noticed the slightly battered Auron staring down at her. "Welcome back," he said as she struggled to sit up.

"How long have I been out?" she asked, gingerly putting her head in her hands.

"About an hour. How are you feeling?"

"Like someone beat me with a brick stick, but other than that, I'm just fine. I take it you used some Potions on me?"

Auron nodded, "You'd have probably been out of it until nightfall if I hadn't."

The young woman looked at all her partially healed cuts, bruises, and abrasions, and then back at him, eyes narrowed in accusation. "I've got a question: why do I look like hell, while you look relatively okay?"

"I managed to catch myself about halfway down, and then I just climbed down the rest of the way," he explained.

Charlie looked around suddenly, as a familiar twinge worked its way through her protesting injuries, and struggled to her feet. She only managed to take a single step, however, when a sharp pain shot up her leg. "Damn it all to hell!" she hissed, sitting back down and glaring at her throbbing left ankle.

"Are you okay?" Auron asked.

"Yeah," she replied, getting up again and shifting her weight to her good foot. "I probably just need to walk it off, that's all."

The swordsman gave her a penetrating look, but she ignored it and limped off in the direction of the mysterious pull. The feeling led her to the far end of the clearing, where she found a decrepit wooden chest nestled in the bushes, along with her missing sword. "Charlie, what are you doing?" Auron demanded, stalking up to her.

"Look!" she exclaimed, turning around and showing him the contents of the box.

It was a flat iron disc, engraved with tiny swords pointing toward a hole in the center. Inscribed on the outer edge of the mysterious object was the word "Ma'adim". Somehow, it seemed strangely familiar to Auron, but he didn't know why. "What is it?" he asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that I get these strange pulling sensations whenever one's around. So far, this is the third one I've come across, and they all look like they're missing a piece." Charlie stared at the odd look in his eye. "Auron, did you want this one?"

"You keep it for now." He turned around and started to walk away. "We need to get going if we want to catch up with the others."

…

Later that evening, the two of them finally stopped for the night in the narrow confines of the road at the bottom of the ravine. "God, I'm glad I didn't leave ALL my stuff up there!" Charlie sighed, propping against the cool stone of the cliff face after they started a small fire.

"Take your shoe off and let me take a look at that ankle," Auron ordered, giving her a look that she had no trouble interpreting. "Either take it off willingly, or have it removed by force."

Charlene flinched slightly, but did as she was told, grinding her teeth to keep from whimpering in pain. After a brief, but thorough, inspection, the swordsman released her leg and said, "I don't think it's broken, but you shouldn't have walked on it."

"Well, what the hell was I supposed to do, just let you leave me behind?" she snapped. "We don't have any Potions left and it's not like I can just sprout wings and fly, or hover six inches off the ground!" Then she looked away, closed her eyes, and said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't take it out on you."

Auron just stared at her, not saying anything, and she continued, "I know I wasn't supposed to be here…hell, I'm surprised I've even made it as far as I have…" "God, he probably thinks I'm the most useless thing in existence! Why did he even bother saving me? All I've done is cause more trouble…he wouldn't even be down here if he hadn't saved me!"

Charlie felt tears prick her eyes, and she quickly scrubbed them away. "Oh no, you don't! Don't you dare start crying! Auron's already stuck with you as it is…he doesn't need to deal with your useless blubbering!" Finally, she managed to get her emotions under control and said, "Anyway, thank you for saving me earlier. Hopefully, you'll never have to do that again." "No, he won't do that again! I need to stand on my own two feet and stop relying on others all the damn time! I may be useless, but I WILL NOT let myself become a burden!" Finally, she snapped out of her dark musings and looked Auron. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Back in Luca, when you asked Yuna if she refused your services…what would you have done if she said yes? Would you have followed her?"

Auron stared at her, but didn't say anything. "Is she trying to be funny?" "Actually, I hadn't thought about it," he began after a few minutes, "But now that you mention it…yes, I would have."

"I thought so," she yawned.

"Anyway, you should try to get some sleep," he told her. Before she could make any sort of protest, he added, "Don't worry, I'll wake you up in a few hours."

Charlene was too exhausted to argue, so she leaned back against the wall and shut her eyes. She slept fitfully, waking every few minutes due to the throbbing in her ankle, and felt like grim death when Auron finally woke her again. "What time is it?" she asked, blearily rubbing her eyes.

The swordsman looked up at what bit of the sky that remained visible at the bottom of the ravine and said, "About a couple hours until dawn."

"What? You can't run on just two hours of sleep!"

"I…don't require as much sleep as I used to," he evasively replied.

"All right," Charlie sighed when no further explanation was forthcoming. "Just don't come crying to me later when you're completely burnt out."

Auron snickered at that, but didn't say anything else, so she turned her attention to the darkness outside the circle of their slowly dying campfire. "Please let the rest of this night pass in peace!" she silently prayed.

Fortunately, whatever force might have been listening took pity on her, because no fiends attacked by the time the gray light of dawn descended on the camp. "Auron?" Charlie whispered, scooting toward him and touching his shoulder. "Auron, it's time to get up."

Auron's eye snapped open as he pulled a dagger out of his boot, and laid it against her throat, quick as a striking snake. "Don't sneak around like that," he told her, returning the blade to its hiding place. "I almost mistook you for a fiend."

Charlie swallowed hard, and nodded mutely, backing away as got to his feet and kicked dirt over the smoldering remains of their fire. "Good God, that was close! Next time, I'd probably better make more noise, or I might end up dead."

Due to their circumstances, the two of them managed to break camp rather quickly, and after Charlie hobbled to her feet, she said, "All right, let's go."

The swordsman stared at her, his expression impassive. "You're not walking on that ankle," he told her.

"We don't have a choice, Auron!" she cried with exasperation. "We can't stay here, and you can't carry me, or we'll both be vulnerable to attack! I managed to walk yesterday and I can do it again today."

Seeing her stubborn expression, Auron shook his head and sighed, "As you wish."

…

A while later, Auron and Charlie arrived in an open field filled with Chocobo Knights training on and around the ruins of what appeared to be an old house. "What are you doing all the way down here?" Lucil demanded when she spotted the two of them.

As Auron explained their situation, another group of chocobos entered the field and the captain went back to overseeing her troops. "Hey, you guys made it!" Charlie shouted, waving at Yuna and the others as they approached.

"Charlie! Sir Auron!" Yuna cried, sliding off her chocobo and running toward them. "Are you two all right?"

"We ended up using all our Potions, but we're pretty much okay, save for my ankle. Somehow, I twisted it in the fall and it hurts like bloody hell."

Yuna, without pausing, knelt down in the grass. "Sit down," she ordered, sounding a lot like Auron.

"Yes, ma'am!" "She'll probably bonk me over the head with her staff if I don't listen."

Charlie sat down as the summoner picked up her foot and stared at it, a strangely unfocused look in her eyes. "No, it's not broken, but you definitely shouldn't have walked on it!" Yuna scolded, casting a Cure spell. "I'm sure Sir Auron would have carried you, or at least let you lean on him."

"I didn't want to be a bother," the young woman replied.

"I dunno…you two seemed pretty close the other night," Wakka grinned.

"Really?" Yuna looked at Charlie, full of curiosity.

"It wasn't what you though it was, Wakka!" the young woman yelled, her face turning a lush crimson. "We were just practicing sword fighting, that's all!" "I don't like Auron, no matter how good looking he is! He's arrogant and rude…and he just irritates the living hell out of me!"

Wakka just continued to grin, while Yuna giggled and Lulu cocked an eyebrow. Kimahri, on the other hand, ignored everyone in his effort to keep his dignity and remain seated on his rather unhappy looking chocobo. Finally, Auron snickered at Charlie's scandalized expression and said, "You act like it was horrible."

"WHAT? We both tripped and you fell on me, you…WEIRDO!"

The swordsman ignored her, and mounted one of the rider-less chocobos the others had brought with them. "Let's go."

Some time later, the six of them, all riding the chocobos Rin had loaned them, arrived at the checkpoint at the end of the Highroad. Charlie had some trouble with riding one of the large yellow birds at first, but somehow managed to get the hang of it quickly. At the end of the road however, the round-faced Chocobo Knight they had met a few days ago stopped them and said, "I'm sorry but you have to leave your chocobos here."

They gathered their supplies and left the birds with a nearby Al Bhed woman just as Dona and Barthello sauntered into the area. The snobbish summoner and her guardian tried to go past the gate, but a Crusader stopped them. "I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't let you pass," he said.

"But I'm a summoner!" she protested, her dark eyes flashing angrily. "I have to pass through to reach the next temple, you fool!"

"Sorry ma'am, no exceptions," the guard stubbornly replied.

"You dare to impede a summoner's pilgrimage?" she demanded.

"No exceptions!" he repeated.

"Useless!" Dona spat, before storming off to the side of the road, Barthello at her heel like a faithful puppy.

Just then, the chocobo caravan accompanied by Luzzu and Gatta arrived, the wagon shaking violently as its contents hissed and growled. The Crusader at the gate met them, and they saluted him in response. "Gatta and Luzzu reporting, sir!" the dark-haired boy announced, sounding quite official.

"This should be the last of them," Luzzu said, patting the side of the still-shaking wagon.

The gate guard inspected the caravan, and once he made sure everything was in order, nodded and allowed them to pass. "Good to have you with us."

As their wagon rolled past the checkpoint, Luzzu turned to Wakka and said, "Wait around. We'll have Sin beaten in no time!"

Once the two Crusaders left, the blitzer sadly bowed his head and muttered something unintelligible under his breath. Wondering what was going on, Charlie walked up to the guard and asked, "What in the world are you guys doing out here?"

The Crusader gaped in disbelief. "What, they didn't tell you?" When she shook her head, he continued, "We're bringing Sinspawn here from all over Spira. Sinspawn inevitably draw Sin, so we're going to use them to lure it into a trap! We're calling this mission 'Operation Mi'ihen', and it's an Al Bhed/Crusader joint mission. We Crusaders are going to lure Sin in, and the Al Bhed are going to strike it down. They hate Sin as much as we do, you see, and they've managed to salvage some ancient machina as powerful as the mighty aeons! You already know that machina are forbidden by Yevon…uh, on second thought, let's not go there." The soldier shifted uncomfortably. "All the Crusaders taking part in Operation Mi'ihen have been excommunicated. My own family won't even talk to me now! We have to beat Sin…otherwise, there's nowhere else for us to go."

Charlie walked back to the others, her thoughts tumbling over each other like a waterfall. "They're going to fight Sin with machina? How? I'm pretty sure a machina as powerful as an aeon would have to be as strong as a nuclear bomb, at the very least! There's no way they could survive a strike like that!" She stared at Yuna, and asked, "Did you hear all that?"

Before the summoner could respond, the sound of footsteps caught their attention, and everyone turned around in time to see Seymour arrive, along what could only be a pair of Guado lackeys. "Oh God, not him again!" Charlie thought, barely suppressing a shudder. The maester bowed to Yuna, performing the prayer, and she copied his gesture. "So we meet again, Lady Yuna," Seymour said, his voice oozing enough sweetness to gag a chocobo.

"Y-yes?" she stammered, clearly in awe of him.

"You look troubled," he said, feigning concern, "Is there anything I can do?"

Yuna looked at the gate, and then gave him a helpless look. "I see," Seymour said, striding over to the guard.

"Maester Seymour, let me show you to the command center," the guard said, saluting the Guado.

"Hold, I have a request," he replied, raising a long-fingered hand to silence the soldier.

"Yes, Your Grace?"

"I need to have Summoner Yuna and her guardians let through to the command center."

"But Maester Seymour, sir!" the Crusader protested.

"Do not worry, I will take full responsibility," the Guado said.

The guard, his fears allayed, nodded and stepped aside. "Very well, they may pass."

Satisfied, Seymour turned to Yuna and said, "It is done."

"Thank you, Your Grace," she replied, bowing deeply as he walked away.

Once he and his flunkies disappeared from view, Lulu smiled and said, "Yuna, it's time to go."

"Right!"

The party walked past the gate, earning a sour look from Dona, and Charlie, who was extremely happy that Seymour didn't even glance at her, said, "Boy, he's sure all high-and-mighty, isn't he?"

"He's a maester," Wakka told her, "Better get used to it, ya?"

"I don't want to get used to it! I'd rather stay as far away from him as humanly possible!"

…

Mushroom Rock Road was a wide dirt trail; walled by the ocean on one side, and a cliff of oddly shaped red rocks on the other. The sky was ashen and the wind carried a hint of a storm on its wings, making for some eerie and rather depressing scenery. The sudden change in weather had very little effect on the Crusaders, however, as they continued their preparations with much enthusiasm. "All hail Maester Seymour!" one guard shouted, drawing the attention of all the soldiers.

The Guado raised his hands and, in a loud, oratory voice, said, "Brave Crusaders of Spira, protectors of Spira, believe in the path you have chosen! Let faith be your strength! I, Seymour Guado, maester of Yevon, will bear witness to your deeds today!"

"Sir!" shouted all the Crusaders as they saluted in unison.

Wakka witnessed Seymour's little speech with shock and dismay. "What's goin' on?" he cried. "Why's Maester Seymour backing the Crusaders, eh? They're using the Al Bhed's machina! They're violating the teachings!"

"Damn it, Wakka, just shut up about the teachings already! I'm tired of hearing you badmouth people for not thinking the way you do, so just stop already!" Charlie wanted to scream it aloud, but decided against it in the end. "Whatever…I don't feel like fighting right now, and I don't need to have everyone here pissed off at me for 'heresy', anyway."

"Even going against the teachings, they're willing to risk it for the greater good," Yuna replied. "Wakka, I think Maester Seymour sees that, too."

"Lulu?" the blitzer asked, looking at the black mage.

"Hmm…I can only speculate," she replied, ruby eyes thoughtful.

"Ask him yourself," Auron said.

As if on cue, Seymour strutted up to them, a slight smile on his face, and stared first at Yuna, then at Auron. While his attention was on the others, Charlie slowly backed away, until the wall halted her progress, praying, "Please don't look over here! I'm invisible, I'm forgettable, and you DO NOT want to look at me!"

"Ah, Sir Auron," Seymour exclaimed, looking pleased, "It is an honor. I would be most interested in hearing what you've been doing these past ten years."

"I've got nothing to say about it," Auron coldly replied, stalking away.

"I…see." For the briefest of instants, Seymour looked angry, but his expression quickly changed to a more pleasant one as he turned his attention back to Yuna. "Sir Auron must be a great asset as a guardian."

"Your Grace!" she gasped.

"Please, there's no need for formalities."

Just then, Wakka cleared his throat, and after much squirming and toe scuffing, said, "Excuse me…Maester Seymour? Why is your Lordship…presently…present here, sir?"

"Way to go, Shakespeare!" Charlie held back her laughter.

"Please, speak as you normally would," Seymour replied, looking slightly pained at Wakka's mangled speech.

"Isn't this operation against the teachings of Yevon? Aren't you gonna stop them?"

"It's true…I should, however…" Here, the maester drew himself up into an "important" pose. "Both the Crusaders and the Al Bhed truly wish peace for Spira, and this Operation Mi'ihen was born from that wish they share. Although it may be sacrilege to Yevon, their intentions are pure, and I, Seymour Guado…the person, not the maester of Yevon, as a denizen of Spira, wish them well in their endeavor."

Wakka, confused, scratched his head and asked, "But using machina…that's bad, isn't it?"

"Pretend you didn't see them," Seymour replied.

Yuna, Lulu, and most especially Wakka gasped, appalled at the Guado's answer. "Beg your pardon, but that's not something a maester should say!" the blitzer cried.

"Then pretend I didn't say it."

The maester started to walk away, but then he noticed Charlie standing next to the wall. "No, don't come over here! Go away!" Unfortunately, her luck had left her for the moment, because Seymour stopped and stared at her, his cold eyes burning into her just as they had on the dock in Luca. "What are you doing all the way over there?" he asked, clearly enjoying her discomfort.

"Trying to avoid you, you creepy son of a bitch!" Charlie wracked her brain for a response that wouldn't get Yuna in trouble, and finally said, "I'm a stranger here, so the conversation had no meaning to me…Your Grace." She nearly gagged on those last words.

"Ah, yes, I've heard about you. You claim to come from another world, much like Sir Jecht, or so I am told."

For some strange reason, Charlie, despite her fear, felt an odd compulsion to abandon her hiding place, and she quickly rejoined the group in spite of herself. The maester continued to stare at her, and a cold, sickly feeling wave passed over her, as if she had fallen into a pit full of slugs and other slimy creatures. "Stop it! Stop it! If he touches me, I swear to God that I'll either throw up or scream! Maybe both!"

"I would like to hear more about this…otherworld you come from, but I'm afraid that now is not the time."

With that, Seymour turned and finally left and Charlene desperately wanted a bath. She hid her revulsion, however, and followed her friends as they continued up the road. "What the hell was that? Jesus Christ, he scares me more than anyone else I've ever met! To make matters worse, everyone else actually LIKES him! Well…except Auron, and maybe Kimahri. There is something really twisted about him, and the way he looks at me makes my skin crawl! Maybe he thinks that I'm as twisted as he is? Oh God, I hope not…"