"Unluckier?"

A bolt of lightning hits Wakka!

...or would have if Wakka hadn't dodged at the last second.

"… Did you seriously just dodge a lightning bolt."

"Yeah," he says, sounding slightly smug.

"Are you all very conveniently just totally immune to lightning damage one way or another?"

"Immune? No. But—"

—Kaede casts a spell on her, and she's suddenly surrounded by a pale flickering yellow light—

—and she's hit by lightning and the light goes away, leaving her intact. "Very resistant."

"– Do you have lightning precognition or something?"

"No, just very good reaction time."

Theo pauses and then moves closer to Kaede and asks, "Can you do this for Rikku too?"

"Of course," he says, and now Rikku's protected, too.

"Aaaah!" she screams when she sees the yellow flash... and calms down once she notices what it is.

… Theo feels slightly bad about that but at least there is less chance of her being dead now.

They walk on, and a couple of towers and more than that fiends later they can make out an old familiar man standing under the protection of a stone ledge projecting from a particularly large tower.

"Hello again," greets Theo.

"Why if it isn't the summoner and his most varied group of guardians! It is a pleasure to see you again."

"How've you been since – I don't actually remember when I last saw you, a few days ago?"

"I have been splendid, yes. The Moonflow is truly gorgeous, and Guadosalam breathtaking. Not that the vast Thunder Plains are a sight to be ignored, either. Say, would you like to hear a thing or two about them?"

"Uh," says Theo, looking around quickly. "Sure? I'm not sure how much of a rush we're in, though, so it might have to be quick."

"Let's pause here, please," Rikku whines.

Auron does not seem to object.

Theo shrugs and settles in to listen.

"Very well," he says, and clears his throat. "Let me tell you about the Crossing. A long time ago, this place was a traveller's nightmare. 'Plains of lightning, plains of thunder, those who cross are torn asunder,'" he intones. "Or... so they used to say. Then a man named Bilghen appeared. Using machina, he built towers that served as lightning rods across the plains. Finally, travellers were able to cross in safety. Bilghen was building that tower over there..." he points, "when he was struck and killed by lightning.

"Bilghen was an Al Bhed. Our history books never mention him.

"And that, as they say, is that."

Wakka squirms a bit uncomfortably.