'Leilani!' he cried, trying once again in vain to grasp her arm as they fell. She turned around and he saw she was smothered in pyreflies before she vanished entirely. He yelled and reached out for her again but the flowers of the Farplane reached up to him like clawing hands and dragged him down, down, down...

Auron awoke with a start, a sheen of cold sweat covering his body as he panted.

Just a nightmare, he thought, trying to push it away despite his still-pounding heart.

He bathed slowly, letting the cool water rush over him, trying to rid himself of his worried thoughts. When he exited the shower, he was surprised to hear the sounds of a raucous crowd outside. He sighed loudly, dressing and exiting his room at Rin's, preparing for a wave of onlookers and desperate fans.

I don't deserve their praise, he thought. I'm just an old man who wrote a lousy story.

He prepared himself internally for the onslaught that was about to happen, but a familiar Al-Bhed man stopped him with a gentle arm.

"Sir Auron," said Rin. "It is an honor once again."

"Thanks."

"Do you wish for me to try to disperse the crowd?"

Auron thought for a moment, considering his options. Never one for the limelight, he was tempted to ask Rin to make them leave, but decided that was a cowardly option. And no doubt dangerous for Rin – while it seemed that Spira was indeed changing, Auron was certain that grudges against the Al-Bhed still remained, and he was hesitant to be the cause of a possible riot.

"No," he said, resigned, glancing out the curtains of the doorway and mentally preparing himself.

All of a sudden, however, the loud noise of twin engines and an impressively large machina airship cut through the island, the crowd alleviating somewhat as a handful of villagers went to see their newer guests. Auron was grateful that at least some of the people had decided there was something more interesting than he and had left. Before he could exit Rin's and face the remaining crowd, however, Yuna mercifully walked through and approached the travel agency, distracting the rest of the villagers. She entered and was startled to find her former guardian already prepared to leave.

"You're ready?" she asked.

"As I'll ever be," he muttered.

"Good. Rikku, Cid, and Brother are here – thought I'd tell you just in case you couldn't hear them," she giggled softly.

Following her out of Rin's, they headed out towards the beach and the new airship Cid had built. Auron felt uncomfortable as various people clutched at them and shouted questions or offered old prayers, but Yuna kindly grazed their hands or bowed graciously, allowing him an outlet to continue unhindered. By the time they had finally reached the airship, Rikku was already on the sand, animatedly teasing Wakka and laughing. She had grown up too, Auron noticed, and smiled in spite of himself when she suddenly saw him, raced up, and threw her arms about his neck, straining to reach even his shoulders.

"I've missed you, ya big meanie!" she cried, releasing him at last and bouncing on her heels. "Ready to go?"

"Go where?" Auron asked. He recalled them mentioning a trip to see Kimahri, but his mind wandered to Leilani and he remembered Yuna's offer from yesterday.

"I assume she's back where she belongs," he had said.

"Wanna make sure?" Yuna had asked."Uncle Cid's ship can find her... That is, if she's here."

If she's here, Auron mulled. He heaved a heavy sigh. Yuna noticed immediately and gave a knowing smile.

"Before we see Kimahri," she said, "There's someone else we need to meet."

"Who, Yunie?" asked Rikku, preparing to board.

"We haven't got all day, you know!" yelled Cid from above, and they all climbed in, Yuna leading Auron to the glowing sphere in the center of the new ship as they took off into the sky.

"I see that's been salvaged," he said, pointing to the device they had once used to find Yuna when she had been taken by Seymour.

"I see you're still alive somehow," Cid snapped back.

"Hmph."

"Well, what do you need, kiddos?" he said, but his eyes followed theirs to the mysterious console. "Oh," he grinned knowingly. "Well, help yourselves. All we need is a memory."

"A memory?" Auron was suspicious, and hesitated. Who was he kidding – Leilani, in Spira? His mind could not wrap around it. Still, he stepped forward wordlessly, already thinking of the girl who had taken him in when he was alone in her world. Everyone was looking at him expectantly. Lulu and Wakka were sitting together, exchanging glances, their son at home being taken care of by a former Besaid Aurochs teammate, while Tidus and Yuna stood smiling, their hands comfortably intertwined. Rikku leaned into the console, examining it thoughtfully.

"Well, it can't hurt to try, can it?" she said softly, eagerly.

Tidus chimed in, too. "Come on, old man, one more adventure won't kill… ah, I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"

"What do I have to do?" Auron sighed.

"Well, you just stick your hands in here, and think of whoever you want to find," said Rikku, upbeat.

Auron removed the glove from his right hand, placed it inside of his robes and slowly, cautiously reached forward as if to grab the sphere. His fingers sank into it. Suddenly, a shock went through him and he felt as though he was standing inside of his own mind, a hallway of memories playing before him.

She was standing at the window overlooking her back yard, unaware he was watching her as she drank from a cup of tea and watched the sunrise.

It was raining outside and she entered the house sopping wet, her hair clinging to her cheeks in flat spirals.

Leilani was reading a book with him, teaching him the letters of her world and gazing up every now and then to catch his reaction to the story.

She was singing something softly, but she heard Auron approaching and stopped immediately, greeting him nonetheless with a genuine smile.

Her fingers were laced into his own as she breathed softly into his chest, her other arm wrapped around his waist. Auron could still smell the sweet perfume of her hair.

There was a soft mechanical noise and a musical hum and Auron stepped back as an image of Leilani appeared before them, her curled brown hair illuminated by the moon as they sat by the pond one night.

"She's beautiful," Yuna whispered in his ear.

Auron did not react beyond continuing to watch her image as it faded, a new one with her coordinates reappearing slowly.

"We GOT her!" yelled Cid.

Auron's heart beat quickly. She's here after all? He watched the glowing orb incredulously, suddenly full of hope again... and worry.

Cid gave the coordinates to the pilot and they all stumbled as the airship pitched forward.

"How is this possible?" asked Auron.

"Don't know!" he said. "Kinda fun though, isn't it?"

They all held on tight as they gathered speed and zoomed towards where the console had said Leilani would be. Auron felt a sick mix of anticipation and fear, his stomach roiling with a discomfort that had nothing to do with the lurch of airship. He looked into the sphere again, but his heart fell as he stared at it in horror. Everyone's eyes followed his gaze. Floating inside of it was a shot of Leilani and her location. She was curled up between large piles of towering debris, one arm out to the side and clutching something unseen, the other over her face, covered in dried blood. She was unconscious. Auron's stomach turned and he thought he was going to be sick.

"Hurry," snarled Cid, and the airship lunged forward again.