This is the sequel/epilouge thingy to Time after Time. Reading that isn't nessasary, but it might help. It's only two chapters long, so I'm gonna post them at the same time. Now can I get back to working on my original story?

I do not now, nor will I ever own any of these characters. If I did, that Rikku game would have been made instead of stopping at X2.

--

"Hey, come back. I'm not done talking to you!"

Those were the last words he heard from her as he left the inn room. She had run out into the main foyer area after him after they had their little talk. A lot had happened since then. Yuna had decided she wanted to take the time to find all the celestial weapons. If Sin was as tough as they believed, then they would need them.

He knew Jecht was waiting for them, but it seemed he would be waiting for just a little longer. The group was almost ready. Just a little more and then maybe. Tidus had suggested they go back and speak with they fayth once more. Most of the group groaned at the idea, but Yuna was eager as well. In the end it proved most useful.

Rikku hung closer to him then even before. But yet, she still did not push. He had told her that maybe, just maybe there could be a chance of something between them. She knew his secrets, at least most of them. Secrets the others, besides Tidus, did not know.

"I think we should rest here for the night." Yuna spoke up as she glanced around at the fields around them. They were in the Calm Lands hunting fiends. "We almost have enough to make the trainer happy. In the morning we can collect the last three we need."

"Good idea, Yunie. I don't think I could walk anymore if I wanted to!" Rikku spoke up as she flopped down on the grass where she was. Wakka laughed at her before she stuck her tongue out in retaliation.

The group laughed at them as they tried to decide on watch partners. It was decided they would couple up according to compatibility. That left Lulu and Wakka, Kimahri and Auron, and finally Tidus and Rikku. They would be taking watch in that order. Yuna would essentially join Tidus anyway, so there was no point in trying to make her sleep all night. Everyone knew this.

As they made camp, Wakka walked around the edge making sure no fiends were nearby as Lulu started a small fire that would keep them all warm. As the rest of the group settled into their tents, the night watch began.

Three hours later, Lulu entered the girls tent as Wakka entered the guys to wake up the next shift. The two oldest of the group glanced at one another before getting to work. Being the middle shift it was the hardest to stay awake. But both of them were experienced warriors and knew what to expect from the night life.

Only one fiend dared come close enough, and it was quickly taken care of at the hand of Auron's katana and Kimahri's spear.

Three hours later, it was time for the last watch. As Auron woke up Tidus, he could see Kimahri having trouble with Rikku. He chuckled to himself as he saw her fight to stay asleep. With a little persuasion from Yuna, Rikku quickly joined Tidus as they circled the camp.

"I trust you will remain quiet so the rest of us will be able to rest?" Auron teased her as she yawned loudly. He was rewarded with a glare. He smiled at her making Rikku blush, before ducking into the tent. Though for some reason he was unable to sleep. So Auron brought his hands behind his head and listened to the night.

Outside the tent Tidus, Rikku, and Yuna entertained themselves by playing a small game. It kept them awake, but was not distracting where they were unable to keep watch.

Auron noted that when he was unable to hear Yuna anymore she must have fallen asleep. He knew for sure when he heard whispered commands coming from Rikku about how Tidus should "Watch her head." and "I'll get the door." They must have been carrying her back to bed.

It was quiet again for a few moments before Auron could hear Tidus talking.

--

"Hey, Rikku?"

Rikku looked up from the fire she was trying to keep going. It was slowly dieing and she was using a stick to push around some of the timber.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Do you think Zanarkand will ever be the same?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know." He leaned back against a log as he spoke, hands behind his head elbows out. "Just, when we saw it, the city was so dead. Do you think Spira would ever try and rebuild Zanarkand?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe. Maybe after we beat Sin, you can help do it!"

"I don't think so." He sat up and leaned closer to Rikku as if he just had a great idea. "Hey, Rikku. You're Al Bhed."

She looked at him not sure what he was getting at.

"Well since your home was destroyed, maybe your dad would want to rebuild. And maybe he might rebuild in Zanarkand."

"Tidus, why you thinking this now? What's so exciting about the city? After what we saw I would think you would want to forget about it." A spark flew from the fire she had managed to get started again and landed on the glove over her left hand. With a quick pat, she put out the ember before it could burn.

Tidus watched her fascinated. He never knew why, but every time he saw her, it was never without that glove. He could only imagine how hard it would be to do even simple things with it on.

When Rikku noticed he was not going to answer, she glanced up at the blond across the fire from her. "What?" She finally asked when he didn't say anything.

"You didn't even flinch." He answered.

Rikku glanced at her glove before staring back at him wide eyed.

"I thought you looked familiar." He whispered so she was unable to hear. "Rikku, before we met Yunalesaca, have you ever been to Zanarkand?"

'Crap, crap, CRAP!' Rikku shouted inside her mind. Auron said he didn't recognize her. What was she to do now? Quickly thinking, Rikku answered, "I did some scouting near the city with pops when I was younger." Would he believe her twist of the truth?

"Rea-lly?" Tidus leaned back against his log in thought. "Guess everyone does have a twin somewhere then. I thought it was only a joke."

Rikku's heartbeat sped up. She stood and brushed dirt from her bottom before circling the camp in search of fiends. She found one, but not quite what she was looking for. A Marboro slithered up attracted to her fear.

Pulling grenades from her pouch, she began throwing them at the fiend. Tidus must have heard the explosions, for he was next to her sword drawn in an instant.

"You have a way of finding trouble!" He joked before running in and chopping off a tentacle. This must have angered the fiend, for seconds later, Tidus was chewed and spit out again. However he was not without injury. The attack had left him blinded.

"We so need help!" Rikku shouted as she was about to take off from the fight. She was stopped when a figure in red joined them.

"Looks like you need help." He remarked before charging in for his attack. He evaded as the Marboro tried to counter attack.

Rikku watched as relief passed over her seeing he was uninjured. She reached into her pouch for a vial of eye drops and threw it to Tidus. In his blind haze he was unable to see the vial. It fell to the ground where it shattered.

"Oh no. That was my last one too." She cried. In her sorrow, she failed to see the fiend coming for her.

"Rikku, look out!" Auron tried to warn, but it was too late. A cloud of poisonous gases spread out over her.

Rikku coughed and tried to clear her lungs unsuccessfully. She fell to the ground rubbing her eyes and still gagging. With a inhuman growl, Auron lunged at the fiend. He brought his sword over his shoulder and swung it like a stick. The fiend went flying far away from the camp landing somewhere on the other side of the lands.

He dropped his sword and rushed to the small Al Bhed's side. "Rikku, Rikku. Are you alright?" He barely managed to keep the worry from his voice.

Tidus stumbled over next following the sound of his mentor's voice. "What happened?" He asked as he scratched his head.

"Rikku was poisoned. Do we have any extra Al Bhed potions? They will heal the both of you." Auron asked as he turned to face the boy.

"Uh, I think so. Hold on." Tidus reached into his pocket and fished around for vials. He found three. "Will any of these work?"

Auron glanced at them as he held Rikku close to himself. She was rasping for breath and had to sit up on order not to to suffocate on her tongue. Grabbing for the center one he thrust it in Tidus' face. "Drink that." He commanded.

With a shrug, Tidus did as he said. The eye drops worked instantly. "Great! Now, what about Rikku?" He asked with a frown as he glanced at the remaining vials in his hand. An echo screen and potion.

"She is unable to continue watch. I will take her place." Auron answered as he stood up with her in his arms. "We will allow her to sleep this off. It is not necessary to waken Yuna."

They walked back to the fire, Rikku now asleep, and sat down. Auron tried to set her next to the log where she would be warm, but had trouble getting her to release his coat. With a sigh, he held her in his lap.

Nothing was said for a while as Tidus watched them. He noticed that every now and again Auron would drop his gaze to see if Rikku was waking anytime soon. After knowing the man for ten years, he could see that he was quite worried.

"Why do you look at her like that? I thought Rikku annoyed you." He finally spoke after some time.

Auron lifted his single good eye from Rikku's face. "When have I ever stated she annoys me?"

Tidus scooted back away from the older guardian. "Umm, never?" He squeaked out an answer.

Rikku's arm fell onto the ground as Auron shifted under her. As it did so, her glove slid off her wrist only slightly. It was enough for Tidus to see. His eyes opened wide in shock. Auron cursed to himself.

"She's got..." Tidus tried to say, but found the words stuck in his throat.

"Yes, she has a hand like the rest of us." Auron retorted in sarcasm.

"No, that's not what I meant." He moved closer to remove the glove which covered her left hand.

"Don't." Auron warned as he glared at the boy. "You will respect her privacy."

"Aw man. I wasn't gonna hurt her or anything." Tidus sat back down with the fire on his back dejected. "What happened to her anyway? Fiends?"

"No." Auron left it at that leaving Tidus wanting more.

"It almost reminds me of a girl we knew in Zanarkand. You remember her too, right?"

Auron sighed. Tidus would not let up until he knew the truth. Rikku stirred in his arms as Tidus kept talking.

"I think her name...oh what was it? I think it was Lenna."

At the mention of the name, Rikku spoke up in her sleep. "Wha..who ec ed?" She said in a mixture of Al Bhed and Spiran.

"Confusion." Auron said with disdain.

"No, Auron. I think she knew what I said." Tidus moved closer as he leaned over Rikku. "Lenna, can you hear me?"

Rikku turned her head to his voice and Auron cursed again to himself. This was bad, he wasn't supposed to know her.

Rikku sat up suddenly bumping heads with Auron. She fell back again rubbing her head in pain. "Ohh, what happened?" As of yet, she did not notice that she was being held in Auron's arms.

"You picked a fight with a fiend. Auron helped us after we both were attacked."

"Auron?" She questioned as she searched for the aforementioned man. Tidus laughed as he pointed over her shoulder. She turned her head to see him nodding at her. Rikku jumped from his lap repeating apologies over and over.

--

When they managed to calm down again Tidus asked Rikku about Zanarkand once more. Auron knew he should go back to bed, yet stayed up anyway.

Rikku once more played with the fire in front of her as the two men watched.

"I remember Zanarkand. Auron liked a girl there once." Tidus said as he tried to make small talk.

"What is this obsession with Zanarkand all of a sudden?" Rikku asked not looking up. Auron grunted, but did not say anything himself. He had already figured it out.

"I think, I think I just remembered something important. There was a girl there. She always hung around Auron and I. I remember how much they used to fight at first."

As Tidus talked Auron watched as Rikku's eyes widened in shock. She kept her head down so Tidus would not be able to see too.

"I really liked her. She was so much fun to be around. I remember she had blond hair and green eyes. I asked her what her name was once. That's when she told me to pick a name out for her. I had a friend named Lenna, so that's what I chose."

Rikku's glare turned to face Auron. Her expression shouted "I thought he didn't know!" at him. Auron shrugged one shoulder in response.

"But just before she left, Lenna lost her hand in a machina accident. She always wore a white glove over it after that incident. It was exactly like the one you wear Rikku."

"No it's not!" Rikku shouted at him. Wakka stirred from his tent.

"Be quiet out there, ya. Some of us are trying to sleep."

Rikku blushed before standing up. "Sorry." She called back. She turned to Tidus and whispered. "Look, it's not what you think."

"That machina on the thunder plains. You knew what it was, didn't you?"

Rikku huffed now that she was put on the spot. Auron came to her rescue. "I believe that's enough."

"No way. The one time I actually know what's going on around here, and you tell me to drop it. I don't claim to know anything but Spira, but I do know Zanarkand. I'm tired of secrets."

Rikku glanced back to Auron with an almost sorry expression. "He's right. You know." Sitting down next to Auron, Rikku began to remove her glove. Underneath was a working machina hand. "Not even pops knows about this." She stated. She flexed the digits before slipping the glove on once again.

"So you really are Lenna." Tidus exclaimed happily. "I knew it! But why didn't you say anything?"

Silently Auron began rubbing small circles on her back as she spoke. "I couldn't. Think about what everyone would think. They already thought you were affected by Sin's toxin when they found you. Can you imagine what they would say to me?"

"Guess you do have a point there. But what about you and Auron? You two had a past. Why do you act as if you hate each other?"

"It's hardly that simple." Auron answered almost too quiet to hear. Both teens turned to face him. "Many would not have approved. And those who would have, would have had questions. Rikku did not enter Zanarkand by normal means."

"Well I know she rode Sin, right?"

"That's only a part of it."

"So explain it to me." Tidus said exasperated.

"Well it all began in the Thunder Plains.." Rikku began.

--

Welp, I was going to make this one big one-shot, but I'm afraid I'm going to end this part here. I'll have the rest in another chapter. I want to include the fight with Jecht and Yevon scenes. But I don't think I'm going to put them here without risking running to almost twenty pages. That's how much ideas I have for it. See you then! Gin