Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X. My characters and creatures belong to me.

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So, I know the whole romance part has hardly showed its face...but don't worry cause I'm working on it. :) More moments with Cynyr and Auron to come!

I know you all are going to love this chapter. :)

Instant Heat

The freezing water was practically killing us as we stood or sat around beneath the ice, beneath the temple. We had killed a maester, almost killed several other Guado and now we were stuck under an ice block freezing to death. It's just one thing right after the other. We just can't get a break, can we? I sat on a large stone rock, once part of a building, with my knees drawn up to my chest.

You've always got to be on your guard, Cynyr. Ida said softly. I know. There's just so much…first shadow, my blindness, Auron, Rin… I stopped as I suddenly thought of Rin and what Shadow had told me back in Macalania Forest. If that's true…then I need to get his shadow back.

Shadow lives for power…and he takes whatever power he can from the lives of others. Ida explained. He cannot thrive without the will power of human's.

"It's almost like he's a fiend." I whispered aloud. How can I defeat him? And what about Rin? Does it mean that Rin is dead, now that Shadow has his shadow? For several long seconds, Ida didn't answer and I became worried. Shadow can control a person's mind once he has their shadow. The only way to save those he has stolen from is to destroy him once and for all.

And how do I do that? This time, there was no answer from Ida and I took it she had to leave. I've got to find a way to save Rin. I pondered. Oh, that power! Enerugi. But…I still have to learn how to use it…but then, how can I do that, either! I guess that's also why he's after me too. I've got more power than any regular human…

"Cynyr." I snapped my head up to attention.

"Auron," I began, "how is Yuna? And the others?"

"They're holding on their own. Yuna's resting…" I nodded silently as I absentmindedly raised a hand to my throat. The knife that Tromell had held to my throat had apparently cut me and now it was beginning to sting. Not only that, but my neck was a little bruised from when Seymour had tried to choke me. I wonder how long we'll be down here.

"What's wrong?" Auron suddenly asked and I turned my head back up.

"Nothing." I said softly, but then I heard his footsteps slashing through the water towards me and he knelt down. I kept my hand over the wound.

"They hurt you."

"It's just a scratch."

"I should have known they would go after you-"

"Auron, it's fine. I'm here now…that's all that matters." I said softly but sternly. He was silent a moment and then he reached up. I felt my heart beat faster inside my chest and then his hand touched mine.

"Let me see it." He asked, and I hesitated a moment before dropping my hand. He remained silent until pressing gently on my neck, then began to murmur quietly to himself. Slowly, the pain faded, the wound healed over, and the bruise was but a memory.

When Auron removed his hand he didn't get up or speak. He just looked at me.

"Thanks." I said softly. Why is he looking at me? What's he thinking? I heard him move his hand again, but then he stopped and began to rise.

"Come on." Auron finally said and I slowly rose from my sitting position, wondering what he had been about to do.

"Do we have a plan on how to get out of here?" I asked as I stood next to him.

"We'll have to climb out." Auron replied before turning to walk in another direction. I quickly followed, our footsteps splashing as we walked through the freezing waters. While we walked, the voices of the Fayth slowly began to synchronize together in song as they sang softly down on us. I smiled a small smile to myself as I listened, memories of my childhood coming back to me.

Then, I shivered from the cold and stopped when I heard the others splashing noisily towards us, forming a group to discuss our situation.

"I wanted to confront Maester Seymour about Lord Jyscal." Yuna began to explain. "I wanted to convince him to turn himself in to Yevon's judgment."

"In exchange for marriage?" Lulu asked.

"Yes…if that's what it took." For several seconds there was just silence as we all looked at Yuna.

It would have worked if Seymour wasn't so twisted in the head.

"So, what did Seymour say?" Tidus asked.

"He didn't…say anything." Her voice was full of disappointment and regret as she said this. I couldn't blame her. She thought she could negotiate with Seymour by herself, but her plan hadn't worked as she had hoped.

"Now- now I don't think it was even worth it. I should have told you what I was going to do." Yuna admitted solemnly.

"Enough!" Auron exclaimed suddenly and we all turned to him in surprise. "Dwelling in the past is futile."

"Hey! You don't have to say it like that!" Rikku scolded immediately.

"You want to waste time listening to her regrets?" He scowled. I raised a brow in surprise at this. Calm down, Auron! Rikku sighed.

"You don't have to say it like that." She muttered.

"We forgive you Yuna." I began as I crossed my arms. "But don't worry about it so much. It's all in the past."

"Yeah! It's okay Yunie!" Rikku chimed in and Yuna smiled a small smile.

"Our immediate concern is Yuna's Pilgrimage." Auron changed the subject as he walked a few steps away before turning back to Yuna.

"Are you willing to go on?"

"Yes." Yuna said with confidence. "But then…do you think Yevon will allow it?"

"The Fayth are the ones who give the summoners powers," Auron began, "not the temple or the teachings. If the temples try to stop us then we will defy Yevon if we must." This took us all back with a bit of surprise.

"Count me out." Wakka immediately said, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "We have to atone for the sins we've committed," He continued, "of course, it's not like I ever liked Maester Seymour, ya? No way I'll ever forgive him for killing Lord Jyscal and for trying to do us all in, you know. But still, the bunch of us going against Yevon? No way!"

"But still, we have transgressed and must face our punishment." Lulu pointed out.

"We must go to Bevelle." Yuna advised. "We must speak with Maester Mika and explain what has happened. There is no other way, I think." After a few seconds of silence, Wakka finally spoke.

"I agree." The rest of us nodded in agreement.

"Sir Auron?" Yuna turned to her red clad warrior.

"So it is decided?" Auron stated more than questioned.

"Will you come with us?" Yuna asked hopefully.

"I am the troublemaker after all." Auron replied. Tidus immediately agreed to this.

"Yeah! That's right! You can always count on Auron to complicate things."

"I never asked you to follow me."

"Hey- but that's what friends are for! Right?" Tidus exclaimed.

"Yep." Rikku replied. Finally, starting with Auron, we all turned and began to walk off in search of a way out.

"The singings' stopped." Lulu suddenly pointed out, and we all stood still and found this to be true. Suddenly, the ground beneath us began to shudder violently.

"There's something here!" Wakka exclaimed as the ground continued to shake. I maintained my balance the best I could, my knees slightly bent and my arms away from my body.

"The ground!" Auron shouted. Duh! Abruptly, the ground stopped shuddering and there was the sound of deep breathing, like a huge creature near by breathing right above us. Yuna gasped and the air filled with a dull zapping sound.

"Sin!" Wakka shouted.

"The toxin! Watch out!" Lulu exclaimed as the zapping sound grew louder and more intense. Then, everything went silent.

I stood alone in the darkness, but for some reason this darkness was different.

My Fayth mother was there. She stood before me with a smile on her face. What shocked me was that I could see her. My hands flew to my face where I felt my eyes, then I looked down at my hands. Looking back at the Fayth, I called out to her.

"Mother!"

"My child, your journey has begun." She said softly, and I gave her a questioning look.

"What? You mean Yuna's Pilgrimage? Wait…do you mean that I have a story too?" She laughed lightly.

"Everyone has a story, my dear."

"But- what story? I've been here for ten years; nothing's changed! I've searched and searched for a new way of life- a new way to live- a reason to live!" I exclaimed in desperation.

"What you seek can only be found in your heart."

My heart? Does she mean by what I want from life? I looked at her curiously and was about to ask what she meant when I realized she was slowly fading away.

"No!" I shouted as I tried to run after her receding image, but as I ran she seemed to stay the same distance away from me. Never getting closer, but never really getting farther away; just disappearing.

"Wait!" I tried again as she became more of a blur. I reached out with a hand, desperately trying to grab for her, and then I realized something else. She wasn't physically vanishing, my sight was, for my hand in front of me was also fading from sight. I clutched at my eyes, shutting them as I shook my head. No, no, no! But it was done. It was completely dark and silent. Again.

It seemed like only seconds when I finally awoke. The sun was beating down on me and I realized that my entire body felt hot and sticky. Opening my eyes, half expecting to see light, I gasped and immediately sat up from where I laid.

"A vision?" I whispered to myself, then noticed that the ground beneath me was hot as well.

"What's…going on?" I thought aloud, then clenched my fists beside me, around what felt like warm sand. I slowly lifted a hand to let the sand slip through my fingers, listening to the soft pound it made on the ground.

"Where am I?" I asked the space around me, but it was rather obvious that I wasn't in Macalania. No, I was much farther than that. I was in the Sanubie Desert. I shifted my head upwards and took a deep breath.

"Hello!" I called, but there was no answer. Panic rose inside my chest and I took another breath.

"Helloooo!" I shouted much louder. Still, silence greeted me. Hot winds blew through my hair and irritated my skin, which felt like fire. I knew I had to have been out in the sun long enough to burn me. If I'm in the desert...then Home isn't to far from here.

I sighed, swallowed, my mouth and throat dry as the sun beat down on me from it's throne at the top. I had lost my canteen somehow, and I figured it must have been when we had all fallen through the ice. I sighed heavily.

How will I find everyone else? I thought as I remembered how Sin had come and transported us into the desert. Talk about instant heat. I decided to save my voice in case of becoming dehydrated to quickly.

It nagged at me that had no water with me, and only moment ago we were walking in it.

I decided to stay sitting where I was until someone found me. If I were to try to find the others on my own I'd only become more lost than I already was. Not only that, for all I knew the others could actually be very near and could find me so long as I stayed put. It would be something Auron would suggest to me, anyway.

The right side of my cheek felt itchy and when I reached up to scratch it I felt sand fall from my face. I began to rub it off and then started to rub the rest off my arms. My legs were already in it so there was no point in rubbing the sand off there. I wonder how long it will take for someone to find me.

I sighed, bored already. It was so hot. I wanted water more than anything. All I had was dried meat, but that would only cause me to become more thirsty. I pulled my knees up and laid my arms across them as I slouched forward and sat quietly, listening for any fiends that might try to attack.

It would be easy for them now because I was in a vulnerable situation, plus, I only had myself to protect against the fiends. I had none of my fellow guardians to take my place if I were to be wounded badly.

With this thought in mind I prayed that no fiend would find me until the others had found me first. I wonder if Yuna's okay. Oh, Yevon I hope someone's found her,or, otherwise, is with her and keeping her safe! I sat up straighter with that thought, but I couldn't do anything about it, whether I knew Yuna was safe or not.

I could only be patient. Patience? I wonder if this could be a test. I scratched my burning head, sand falling from some of the strands of my hair. I could pretend it is a test…to pass the time. I decided, but there was little to do in such a test.

I slouched again, feeling bored all over again. Oh, Yevon, I know I don't ever pray to you, but now would be a great time to send me one of my friends over. Knowing there wouldn't be any answer, I began to wonder what kind of fiends there would be out in the desert. I guess desert fiends…ha! Go figure.

I laid myself back down in the sand as I found myself rather tired and even more thirsty as the sun continued to burn all my energy out. So, I closed my eyes and tried to relax.

I swear, I could feel my body evaporating up into the sky as I laid there in the heat. Are they here yet? When will I be found? I sighed heavily and folded my hands over my eyes.

After about thirty minutes had passed I was suddenly aware of voices and footsteps on the sand several yards away. I tilted my head a little towards the sound then began to wonder if I was just hallucinating. Well, if I am delusional, I'll just lay here and wait for them to come to me.

The voices became more clearer and louder as they came closer to where I lay.

It sounded like three people. I could only catch a few words, but they meant nothing to me. I continued to wait. Hey, maybe it's Yuna or Lulu…wait, no I can hear…Tidus? I made no move to get up or call out to them, just in case I really was hallucinating. I wanted to save as much breath and energy as I could. This is really going to suck when I find out I am delusional!

Now, I could detect whose voice belonged to who. It was Tidus and Lulu speaking to each other, then there was a familiar humph that came from the all to familiar, Auron. Abruptly, the voices stopped. Yep. I had imagined it all. Yo, when I said I needed my friends to come find me, I wasn't talking about my imagination! I mentally scolded Yevon, but it was useless cause he was dead anyway. I sighed with devastation.

"Cynyr! That's Cynyr!" I just about jumped out of my skin as I heard Tidus shout my name from close by. Then, I heard him running towards me.

Hmm…so I'm not hallucinating?

"Cynyr?" I heard Auron say as he to began to run down to where I lay. Lulu did not run. Just as I was about to move I felt someone's hand rest over my forehead."What's wrong?" Lulu asked suddenly. I opened my mouth to speak, but I found myself to tired to even try. Not only that, my throat was so dry I thought that the effort of talking would be cut my throat open.

I slowly closed my mouth and found that the sun was to bright for me to hold my eyes open. The heat was so intense it felt as though my eyeballs were drying out whether I blinked or not.

"Lulu." Auron spoke urgently and Lulu stepped up then crouched next to me. She laid a hand on my throat and began to murmur something under her breath. Almost instantly I felt Cura wash over me and my throat no longer felt dry, but I was still thirsty. I felt the energy I had lost fill me back up and I slowly began to move.

"You must have been out here for a long time." Tidus said as I sat up. I felt Auron's hand at my back as I did and I sat back on my elbows.

"Yeah…I kind of was. I was beginning to worry no one would find me out here."

"H-hey, don't go that far." Tidus stammered. "Any one of us would have found you, eventually."

"Yeah. Either dead or alive." I said with slight sarcasm. Tidus laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

"Can you stand?" Auron asked and I nodded.

"I think so." Slowly, I began to get up from the ground, both Tidus and Auron standing on either side of me in case I were to fall.

"Where are the others?" I asked when I was finally standing.

"We haven't found anyone else yet." Lulu replied.

"You got any water?" I finally asked.

"Oh! I do!" Tidus exclaimed. The,n he pulled out a canteen he apparently had somewhere on his person, and handed it to me.

"I filled this when I found myself in a water hole." Tidus explained as I took it and took slow gulps of the refreshing water. When I handed it back to him I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand.

"Lucky." Tidus shrugged but didn't reply.

"So where should we start looking for Yuna and the others?" I asked.

"We could go in different directions." Tidus suggested. "Then meet back here!" I shook my head at this.

"Right. I'll just go left and use my trusty night vision to find Yuna." Lulu made a small noise in her throat and Auron harrumphed with slight amusement.

"Ahhh…well what I meant was-" Tidus stammered uneasily, but I cut him off. "It's fine." I placed my hands on my hips and sighed softly to myself.

"But we can still split up!" He exclaimed and I gave him a questioning look. "Yeah…me and Lulu will go off in one direction while You and Auron go off in another!" He explained, causing me to raise a brow. I guess… But, deep down inside I perked up at the idea and immediately agreed.

"Okay. How about you, Auron?" I turned in his direction.

"Humph. The best plan Tidus has ever been able to come up with."

"Cool."

What did he mean by that! I thought as I began to think that he'd said it because he wanted to be with me. I bit my lip as I felt my face get hotter, and it wasn't from the heat.

"You feeling alright there, Cynyr?" Tidus suddenly asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. I crossed my arms as I suddenly felt vulnerable and transparent.

"Cause you seem a little flushed-" Tidus added, but I turned abruptly and began to walk off.

"It's just the heat. Lets go." I snapped.

I swear I'm going to pummel Tidus into the sand! I thought with clenched teeth. Surprisingly, they listened to me and we began to go our separate ways. I could hear Auron coming up fast behind me with his long strides, and soon we were walking side by side.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." To my relief, Auron didn't question me further. As we walked in silence for a while, I suddenly felt a dull pain between my shoulder blades and almost gasped aloud as I recognized it immediately.

I don't have much longer…I can feel it. It's almost here- time really is running short. I bit my lip nervously, deep in thought now. Suddenly, Auron stopped and I heard him unsheathe his sword.

Just as I pulled out my own sword there was a loud screech that came from the sky and a whooshing sound as the fiend swooped down.

I heard the bird swoop down low, coming at us with a large snapping beak. "Watch out!" Auron shouted as we both ducked.

"I can hear the bird, Auron." I retorted as I stood back up and ran at the beast with my sword raised. Just as I was about to swing the fiend flew upwards, then came down fast, ready to skewer me. Before I could do anything, Auron shoved me hard, away from dangers way, and plunged his sword into the fiend's head where it sunk deep into its brain.

I landed on my side in the sand with a gasp then I heard the Pyerflies take flight. Irritated, I began to stand back up. My sword had landed a few feet away from me in the sand and I quickly picked it up, my palm burning from the hot metal. I ignored the pain as I sheathed my sword and crossed my arms to glare in Auron's direction.

I heard him sheath his sword and he must have finally looked up at me. I sauntered over to him, making sure to get close too. "Don't ever do that again." I warned, then stepped to the side and began to walk off. Auron chuckled from behind me.

"You take a lot of pride in battle." I stopped short and turned to face Auron again. This time he was close to me. "No. I just don't want to be branded as the blind, helpless guardian that Yuna picked up on the side of the road because she felt sorry for me." Auron couldn't help but laugh at this.

"More like stubborn."

"And you're rude." I snapped. Auron laughed lightly again, but I didn't see anything amusing about it.

"You're the one to talk." He finally remarked.

"What?" I raised a brow.

"You heard me." Auron began to turn as he said this and I clenched my teeth as I finally got my bearings.

"Auron."

"What?"

I paused to take a breath.

"We need to talk."

I felt my heart beat faster inside my chest as I waited for him to reply, causing me to sweat more than I already was. This is it…I'm finally going to say it.

"There's nothing to talk about." Auron remarked as he began to turn away again. "Yuna's waiting for us." I immediately went to stand in front of him so that he had to face me, and I "looked" up at him in determination.

I'm not backing down now.

"Alright," Auron began slowly, "if it's so important, then what is it?" I let my arms fall to my sides, finding it hard to word out what I wanted to say. Just say it! The truth has to be told. Auron stayed silent, waiting patiently for me to speak as I turned my head away from him. Then, finally, I said it.

"Why doesn't your heart beat?"

Uh oh! Another cliff hanger! XD

So, she's finally told him she knows. How will he react? How will she react?

Answers are in the next chapter.

Review, please and thank you. :)