Final Fantasy X and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy X storyline (such as Rayne and Marcus) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(Back to Business)

When the party arrived at the hotel the next morning to retrieve Auron and Rayne, the door was already open and the two of them were gone. Taped to the door was a note, written in Rayne's uneven scrawl.

"'Be waiting at the Highroad. Get here before noon if you don't want to suffer the training crash course from hell.' Gaaah!" Tidus groaned, smacking himself on the forehead, "I hate it when the old people gang up on us!" He glanced down at the rest of the scrawl, "'Oh, and Tidus, I'm going to hurt you for saying that.'" He deadpanned.

The others laughed, Wakka elbowing Tidus and saying, "Lady Rayne sure knows you well, don't she?"

At the steps to the Highroad they found Rayne and Auron standing side by side, and the first act of the former was to walk up to Tidus and smack him upside the head with her staff.

"Ow!" Tidus cried, rubbing his head, "What was that for?!"

"For the old joke." Rayne replied, sheathing her staff, "And for locking us in a bedroom." She then pulled the boy into a sudden hug, laughing when he froze, "And this is for helping us."

"Alright, that's enough." Auron said gruffly, nodding when everyone was facing him, "Let's get back on the road, shall we?"

"Need you ask?" Rayne asked, running up the stairs and waiting for them at the top. Once they were there, she crossed her arms and tilted her head, "You know, I've been thinking…"

"Oh no…" Wakka muttered, earning himself a block of ice upside the head.

"As I was saying," Rayne growled, "I've been thinking, and I think there may be a lot on this journey that we missed."

"Like?" Wakka asked, rubbing his head.

"Aeons, for one." Everyone turned and stared at Lulu in surprise, while the woman shrugged, "It's far more than plausible. After all, remember the Temple of Remiem?"

"There's that," Rayne nodded, "And there may also be items and weapons; hidden locations with powerful fiends we could use to gain experience…"

"And just what are you proposing?" Auron grumbled, crossing his arms and glaring at her.

She turned to him and quirked a brow, "You and I already know that you know what I'm asking, so why do you bother acting like you don't know?"

Auron narrowed his eyes, "No."

Rayne smirked, "All those in favor?"

When everyone's hands but Auron's raised, Rayne quirked a brow and nodded, "Then, let's be off in search of legends."

They walked down Mi'ihen with purpose, none of the younger guardians realizing until some time in that they really had no set destination.

"Uhhh…" Tidus began after a while, "I know that we're looking for things we forgot, but what exactly are we looking for if we've forgotten it?"

Rayne was about to snap at him for being stupid, but then she realized that he was… right. "That… is an excellent question. Lemme… consult a friend." She promptly took out the ItemFinder.

"Hold on…" Tidus began slowly, crossing his arms and furrowing his brow in confusion, "Was that… a compliment?"

"Yes, it was." Rayne answered cynically, poking around on the screen, "I have been known to give them when they are, indeed, due. Unfortunately in your case, this is a rare occurrence. Aha!" She grinned down at the screen, "Perfect."

"What?" Tidus asked, leaning close to the ItemFinder only to get himself smacked upside the head.

"Coordinates and passwords to hidden items and locations, courtesy the Al Bhed." Rayne smiled and hugged the machina, "How I love the Al Bhed."

"How many are there?" Rikku asked, getting as close as she dared to look at the screen.

"Six coordinates, three passwords." Rayne answered, studying the script closer, "But it's all written in the same language as the one used on the Fahrenheit…" She sighed, shook her head, then looked at the others, "Let's get to Rin's Travel Agency and contact Cid with the save point. We'll need his help with this…"


"So, what's the plan of action?" Cid asked while looking at the group as they gathered on the bridge of the airship.

"We'll split up," Auron answered, ignoring the glare Rayne threw at him, "Different groups will take charge of certain areas that the coordinates and passwords lead to while Rayne and at least two others continue to revisit the temples. It'll go by much quicker that way."

Rayne scowled and crossed her arms: She had had no say in the matter when Auron planned that particular part of the expedition, because if she had she would have made sure that it would drag out much longer. Auron had known this ahead of time and immediately taken charge.

Grumbling, she bent over the world sphere in the center of the upper deck and poked around on it, entering the coordinates and passwords. The others gathered around as nine other points appeared on the map, joining the highlighted locations of Spira.

They were silent for a moment, then Cid said, "Well, I can tell you this much, you definitely don't want to send individual groups to these two places." He pointed to two dots, one on the ocean west of Besaid and one on a small chain of islands southeast of Macalania. "Those are some dangerous places." He glanced at Tidus, "The ocean dot is actually where we found you."

"Baaj Temple…" Everyone looked at Rayne, who had a glazed look in her eyes.

Yuna reached out and touched her shoulder, "Rayne?…"

Rayne shook her head, then frowned, "Cid's right. Baaj Temple and the Omega Ruins are definitely two places that we'll want to take as an entire group. We'll divide the less dangerous ones differently…" She bit the nail of her thumb, then glanced at Auron.

Auron sighed, closing his eyes and rattling off, "Tidus and Rikku will go to Sanubia, Yuna and Wakka will take the three Besaid sites, Kihmari will head back to Mi'ihen as well as Mushroom Rock, and Lulu and I will go to the Battle Site and meet up with Rayne near Macalania." He glanced at his wife, "We'll drop you off at Djose and you'll have to go through the Moonflow, Guadosalam and the Thunder Plains on your own. Think you can handle it?"

"Don't patronize me, Auron dearest." Rayne purred, throwing him a sardonic look.

"Fightin' already?" Wakka smirked, crossing his arms, "You two are good at this marriage thing."

"Shut it, Wakka." Rayne and Auron snapped at the same time.

"Where are we now?" Rayne asked, glancing at Cid.

"Setting down near Djose."

Rayne nodded, exchanged brief parting words with the others, then turned to walk out of the room, throwing Auron a glance. He took the hint and followed after she had left the bridge completely.


"Don't get yourself killed."

"Says the one who's sending me through Guadosalam."

"…Would you rather contact Cid and wait for Lulu and I on the ship?"

"No. I'd rather not inconvenience anyone, especially not if someone does something stupid and gets injured. The fayth should be done with me, so if I go through fast and don't make any stops I should be fine."

"Alright. So, we'll either wait for you or you for us. Don't jump the gun; Macalania is still dangerous ground for us to tread on."

"I can imagine; we'll more than likely be attacked."

"…Rayne…"

"…? …! Mmmmm…"

"…Heh, you look flustered."

"What, now that we're married you have the right to attack me with your lips whenever you want to?"

"Hah! You're hilarious."

"…I love you, Auron."

"…And I you. Don't get yourself killed."

"You already said that."

"Then that should only emphasize the point."

"…I'd better go now."

"Stay safe."


Rayne stared up at the sky, watching as the Fahrenheit rose and doubled back to drop Kihmari off at Mi'ihen.

Sighing, she turned and walked up the road towards Djose.

"I wonder if the people here have heard of our betrayal?" She wondered out loud as the temple came into sight. She then scoffed to herself, "If backwater Besaid has heard of it, then Djose will have definitely heard of it." She shook her head, "Forget it. I'll just get in and out before anyone notices."

Once she had reached the front yard of the temple, Rayne did something she hadn't found necessary to do for years; not since the last big tsunami in Besaid. She pulled up the hood of her jacket and zipped the front closed.

'Well, that effectively cut down my image by at least forty percent.' She thought as she slowly made her way across the yard. 'Too bad my colors and Anaxagoras work against me…'

She had almost made it to the temple doors before she was stopped.

"Halt!"

Rayne froze, looking up at the two men standing at the temple doors. "Yes?"

"By the order of Grand Maester Mika," One of the men said, "All who enter the Temples are to state their name and purpose."

"Why?" Rayne frowned, "This has never happened before."

"And never before has a Summoner betrayed Bevelle." The same guard grumbled, "Now state your name a purpose."

Rayne paused, then said, "I am a Summoner from the isle of Besaid, departed recently to bring honor back to my home after the former Summoner Yuna's most disgraceful actions. Now, please, I am here to pray for my aeon."

"Bah!" The second guard scoffed, "A likely story! Now, 'Summoner', show us your face!"

Rayne balked a bit. 'Damn.'

"Is there a problem, My Lady?"

Rayne froze at this. 'It can't be…'

Gatta walked up beside Rayne, frowning at the guards, "Why have you not entered the temple, Lady Aurora?"

"Who are you?" The first guard asked.

"Sir Roland." Gatta declared, "Guardian of the Lady Aurora. Now, tell me, why have you stopped a summoner from entering the Djose Temple?"

"She… is a summoner?" The second guard asked.

Gatta nodded, "She is. Now, I demand you let us pass least Bevelle hear of this."

The two guards exchanged glances, then turned and opened the doors for Rayne and Gatta, bowing to them.

"My Lady." Gatta bowed, gesturing to the door.

Rayne nodded, then walked in. Inside of the Cloister, she turned to Gatta and bowed to him, "Thank you, Gatta."

"It was nothing, Lady Rayne," Gatta frowned, "Though I must ask why."

Rayne shook her head, pulling out her pendant, "Long story that will be much shorter if you see this." She turned back towards the Cloister door and held out the pendant, the symbol of Ixion forming and shooting out an electric blue beam to connect with the silver beam coming from the necklace.

Gatta watched this in shock, muttering when it was over, "A-a gift from the fayth…"

"Yeah." Rayne nodded, "It unlocks my magic." She paused, turning to the Crusader, "I thought you were going to Bevelle."

"I was," Gatta nodded, "But when I heard Lady Yuna was branded a traitor, I couldn't go. I knew that Lady Yuna wasn't a traitor, so I could not ask anything of Bevelle. I was actually just on my way back to Besaid." He paused, frowning, "Where is Lady Yuna now? And Wakka and Lulu, and the others?"

"We have temporarily split in order to complete several side quests. Gatta… I have something to ask of you."

The Crusader nodded, "Anything, Lady Rayne."

Rayne nodded and smiled, pulling out a sphere.


On the banks of the Moonflow, Rayne stood away from the crowds and waited for the shoopuf to return, thinking about what she had left Gatta to do.

'Should things turn out like I think they will… Yuna will get that sphere…'

Sighing, Rayne crossed her arms and closed her eyes, already feeling the pull of the Farplane tugging at the corners of her mind.

'I will definitely have to get past Guadosalam as quickly as possible.'

She was able to relax a total of seventeen minutes before the shoopuf returned and the Hypello were calling for passengers.

'Well, looks like it's back to business.'