AN: Ack! I noticed a few errors between chapters 4 and 5 _ One is "Seymour PRESSED (not dressed ^-^;;) his lips to her neck" and the other is "Auron had been silent THROUGH (not threw) it all. That's what happens when you re-read. XP And somewhere at the end of chapter five is "et" but it's posta say "let". I'm starting to wonder how I did better than more than half my grade in writing on the PSATs XD What was my score? Sore wa himitsu desu! ^-~

OOOH! And I had another realization (which are very rare). I think I was wrong, and the group went to the trials BEFORE Seymour appeared. @_@ ACK! I can't remember, it's been so long!!!! ::cries:: Because Yuna has Shiva (aka ???) during the battle with Anima... XP Help me! I'm losing what brain cells I have left! And there aren't that many!!!! ^-^;;

Disclaimer: Don't own Final Fantasy X. Squaresoft and some nice other people do ^-^

Anyway, this is the chapter where I'm going to alter a little bit of FFX history/events ::grins:: ^-^

~*^-^*~

Rikku shivered as the group walked down a small slope inside the trials. Her breaths came out in small puffs in front of her. She held her arms close to her body. The strapless dress was even less cover up than her normal outfit. All she wanted to do was go home and take a shower. Home? Where was home? She had a few of her memories, but all were small and fuzzy. She remembered her brother and all about the Al Bhed and their language. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember anything else.

"Eek!" She shrieked as she stumbled on a patch of ice. Normally, had she been fully healed, she would have been able to steady herself. Now, with a large amount of blood loss, she tumbled into Auron's side. He grunted and looked down at her. Without his collar to cover his face, his expression was completely visible, and Rikku had to fight off a stare.

"S-sorry."

Her teeth chattered as she talked, and she wrapped her arms around herself, careful of the drying blood on the dress. She looked down, blushing, and was surprised when a blanket of warmth enveloped her. She glanced up at Auron, who was now coat-less (again).

"Thanks." She mumbled and hurried to catch up with Tidus, who seemed to be doing most of the work with the orbs. A click was heard and they were out free. Rikku sighed happily, until she saw the mass of guards waiting outside the door.

"You assaulted the Maester of Yevon. That is a violation, and we must take you in, now." A guard walked forward and grabbed Rikku, the closest to the door. She yelped and struggled against his grip. Auron used the hilt of his sword and knocked the guard unconscious. Rikku smiled meekly and backed away from the rest of guards.

"Run!"

Tidus swiped his sword at the guards, who parted in caution. Quickly, with Tidus in the front and Auron and Khimari in the rear, the group was able to get free from the advancing guards.

"That was too easy." Lulu said as she glanced behind her. Wakka nodded. Tidus seemed oblivious to the suspicion and took off ahead.

"Tidus! Wait!" Yuna hurried after him. Rikku glanced behind her one last time before following everyone else.

~*^-^*~

"So this is why they didn't follow us!" Tidus watched as the Guado Guardians died, but not before casting berserk and a protection spell on the Wendigo. The battle took a while, but eventually with Wakka's sleep attack and Auron's power break, they were able to wear it down. Rikku stole a few items before Lulu cast one last fira spell and the beast screamed. Rikku, who had tripped on the coat Auron had given her earlier, handed it back to him, blushing. He accepted it silently.

"I'm beat." Tidus collapsed on the ground, and Rikku had to agree, falling next to him. She gasped and sat up when she heard a faint melody being played.

"Is that?"

"The songs of the temples. But why?" Lulu looked around for a source of the sudden music, but couldn't find one. Rikku began to feel lightheaded, and she swayed. Luckily she was still on the ground, or she would have fallen. She let her eyes shut and let the music of the temples wash over her.

~*^-^*~

Rikku moaned and opened her eyes, which was a big mistake. The sun glared at her, and she had to hide her face from the prodding light. What happened? Where was she? She rolled onto her stomach and slowly lifted her head up and scanned the area. She was in a desert, she noticed, a desert that seemed painfully familiar. She pushed herself up on all fours, and found trouble moving in the small black dress. She sat down and used her teeth to rip the bottom of the dress. She smiled, satisfied, when she heard a loud ripping noise and a tear formed in the fabric. She continued to rip the dress until the bottom, which had once fallen to her ankles, now came up a little past her knees. It was revealing and hugged her hips tightly, but it would have to do.

"Where is everybody?" She stumbled to her feet and glanced around her. Sand filled between her toes, and it was then she realized that the black sandals that had appeared with the dress were gone. Sighing and trying to not sink her toes into the hot sand, she closed her eyes. She gasped as a vision washed over her. She fell to her knees, much like the first time she had a flashback.

~*FLASHBACK*~

A tall Al Bhed man stood before a young Rikku. She was only seven or eight, and her outfit had looked similar to what it did now. They were talking in Al Bhed, Rikku's hands moving animatedly as she spoke. A young boy entered, about thirteen, and he ruffled Rikku's hair. She frowned, but then quickly smiled again.

~*END FLASHBACK*~

"Home" Rikku muttered as she lifted her head from her hands. She was home. And those people had been her father and brother, the one she had yelled at in the machina. She knew where she was, and she knew just how to get home to the safety of the Al Bhed house.

"Rikku!!!"

"Huh?" Rikku snapped out of her daze and turned to look behind her, still on her knees. Tidus and the rest of the group were coming up the dune. She smiled and stood, brushing the sand off her knees. Auron hesitated in mid step as he saw the alteration Rikku had made to her dress. He shook his head, clearing the image. He had seen her in shorter articles of clothing than that before. That made his visions vary even more, and he cleared his mind, determined to stay focused on the task at hand.

"You okay?" Tidus asked as soon as they were at the top. Rikku smiled and nodded, then tugged on his sleeve.

"C'mon! I know where we are! I'm almost home!" She smiled, excited about being able to see her father and brother.

"Rikku, you remember how to get there?" Yuna asked, both amazed and happy that her cousin's memory was returning. Rikku nodded and pointed off in front of her. "Yea, it's this way. Come on!" She ushered the group forward, stumbling ahead. It was hard running through sand, especially without shoes. (AN: You ever try that at the beach? I have, it's hard. This one time..I'll stop XD)

After about a half hour of walking (stumbling/jogging) through the desert, Rikku turned to the weary group. Auron briefly wondered how she could stay so energetic while walking through a desert in a black dress, (AN: Black conducts heat ^-^) but quickly shrugged it off as a Rikku trait.

"It's right here!" She climbed the last way to the top of a sand dune and gasped. Her legs shook as she fell to her knees. Yuna quickly hurried to her, and then gasped. The group came up seconds later. The large Al Bhed home was in flames, pillars of smoke billowing out of windows and doors. Yuna helped her cousin to her feet, holding her up with an arm around her waist. Rikku pushed her away and quickly stumbled down the hill, tripping about a dozen times. Her father was there to greet her at the entrance. "Rikku!" He looked at her in shock. Apparently, he either hadn't expected to see her alive, or he hadn't expected her to visit. She threw her arms around him as a couple of people rushed out of the burning building. Cid drew back and looked Rikku in the eyes. "Your brother is dead." He said it softly, as if only Rikku was meant to hear it. She shook her head and backed away, eyes wide and full of fear.

"You're lying." She laughed dryly as she continued to shake her head, not believing. She had just seen him less than a day ago, and he was fine. They were bickering. Cid looked away, and Rikku felt tears well up in her eyes. She pressed her hands against her mouth to keep from screaming.

"Rikku.."

Yuna put a hand on her cousin's shoulder. Rikku took a deep, shuddering breath before turning around and forcing a smile.

"C'mon! We've gotta help anyone else who's in there!" She ran forward, but Auron caught her wrist. She fought against his hold, but found it useless.

"Don't rush into things blindly. It'll only get you killed."

"Killed? Like my brother?" She whimpered and let Auron hold her wrist tightly. Her head hung loosely on the shoulders, like a marionette who's strings had been cut. No one said anything as they watched the two before them.

"Let me go. I have to help them." She jerked her arm away, and Auron let her. She looked at him, surprised that he had let her go so easily, then sprinted towards the burning building. The group hesitated a minute before running after her. Auron stayed behind. "What happened here?" He turned to Cid, who was cradling his head in his hands, mumbling what could be a prayer in Al Bhed. Cid glanced up at him.

"The Guado attacked. I don't know why they decided now, but they did." He shook his head and ran towards the building.

"After you're finished in here, bring everyone to the docks, I'll fly us out. Please, protect my daughter." He stared meaningfully into Aurons' eye before turning and hurrying into the burning building. Auron took one last look at the dead bodies littering the ground before following.

~*^-^*~

"It's hopeless, Rikku! There's no one left alive!"

Tidus grabbed her arm but the Al Bhed refused to listen. She was digging through ash and rubble, hands bloodied and bruised. Yuna gently took her hand in hers;, preventing her from digging. Rikku sniffled and looked away.

"Looks like we have company!" Tidus said, eyeing the group of Guado Guardians and a Wendigo. Rikku, frustrated, tired, and angered, ran into battle with Auron and Tidus by her side. One of the five guardians was bigger than the others, and Rikku did not like the way he was eyeing her. He whispered something into another Guados' ear and it nodded, also looking at her. She shuddered and focused on the berserked Wendigo. All at once, the Wendigo plowed into both Auron and Tidus. Both guardians went sprawling to the floor. Rikku gasped and hurried over to them.

"Auron? Tidus?"

She knelt by Auron's side. He nodded, too winded to talk. Rikku had just sighed with relief when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap tightly around her waist and lifted her up. She shrieked and kicked, but the thing kept a tight grip on her. Spinning around to face her attacker, she realized it was the giant Guado from before. He grinned and began running towards a small snowmobile that was waiting for him.

"Stop it! Yunie! Auron!"

Rikku reached for the group. Auron and Tidus were both up now, sprinting after the Guado. He sensed this and quickly jumped onto the snow mobile. Rikku screamed and fought desperately against his grasp. Auron was close now, and Rikku reached out her hand. His fingertips brushed hers, and for one moment she thought she was safe. Then, the snow mobile lurched forward and the connection was lost.

"Auron!"

Rikku struggled to reach the guardian. The roar of the engine muffled her cries, and in the distance she could see Auron, still running after her.

~*^-^*~

AN: Bwahaha! Evilness! Poor Rikku..something is always happening to her ::sigh:: Anyway, if you didn't notice (or remember) Yuna isn't with the group on the trip through the desert (cause she's off getting married to Seymour). Sooooo...I changed FF history a little ^-^

~*Neoshipper*~