A/N - Once again, I want to thank all of you for the wonderful reviews you all have been writing for me! It means so much and makes me want to write more! Yay! massive love all around You guys are the best!

This chapter was a bit hard because I'm trying to piece the plot together and I'm having problems with who is doing what, but thankfully the characters got blind-sided like me and we can "fake" the confusion well. Enjoy!

Without so much as a second thought, Rikku ran strait to the back and embraced the man she hand longed to hold just once more. The tears that flooded her eyes were now cascading down her face and onto Auron's shoulder. He let out a grunt of pain, but managed to get an arm around her shoulders. "I... I knew something... Something was going on..." Her words were broken and sobbed, her face turning to brush against his hair.

Gippal turned his back on the two and sighed, taking a screwdriver Rikku handed him and continued his work on the lock. He was happy for her, but it still caused a dull ache in the pit of his stomach. In all his years, he knew he felt something for Rikku, but his ego got in the way thinking she wouldn't find anyone else. He mentally kicked himself the whole time he found out about her feelings for Auron, though.

"Are...you ok?" Rikku sniffed and reluctantly released Auron from her emotional grasp. "Oh, you look a mess." A small and worried laugh left her lips as she sat back to inspect him in the darkness. "As...far as I can tell, that is."

"Fira!" Paine's voice made Rikku turn and seen her friend use a fire spell to light a torch that was hanging along the stone wall. The small room lit up and Rikku turned back to Auron with a soft gasp.

She was right, he was indeed a mess. His hair was matted with dirt and blood, as was his whole body. Gashes along his head had blood running down his face, which had dried and created dark-red streaks. "Ah, I'm alright."

"Don't be silly." Rikku looked into her other pouch and pulled out two bottles. One was a hi-potion which she made Auron drink. The second was a regular potion, which she used to dab her scarf into and began to clean his wounds. He had opened his mouth to protest, but she gave him a serious look. "Don't even try it. Instead, tell us what's going on."

Auron sighed and smiled. He never thought he would be so happy to see both Tidus and Rikku in his whole life. True, ever since Rikku confessed her love to him a few years back, he had always thought about her in the Farplane, and he knew he had emotions for her. No doubt about that. As he looked at her under the glowing light now, he had seen how much she had changed. Her hair was longer and she was older. A woman.

"Yoohoo! Auron!" Tidus let out a laugh as he walked forward, the former guardian tilting his head down to hide the blush that almost over-powered his cheeks. Rikku just smiled as her face matched the blush and went back to cleaning his wounds. "So, what's up?"

"I...don't know." Grunting, he sat up in a more comfortable position. The hi-potion he had taken started to work, and he could feel his energy start to return. "Seymour..."

"What?!" Three voices went back at him as he chuckled.

"I don't know what exactly is going on, but he is the one who put me in here. And thanks to some...lackey, I've had daily beatings." He sighed heavily. "They drugged me with something at first, cowards knew I couldn't go down so easily." He winced as Rikku moved her scarf across a now healing cut on his head. "Anyway, I don't know what else is going on, but I do know it's really big."

"Have you seen the Farplane recently?" Paine walked forward and leaned against the wall, her head tilted to the side. Auron shook his head just a bit, not wanting to break contact from Rikku's hands. "It's a nightmare out there. The pyreflies seem to be gone and some red fog is now the outside."

Auron groaned and took a deep breath. "What is that bastard doing..." He turned to Tidus and raised a brow. "So, I guess all the pyreflies were let out, then?"

"How do you mean?" Tidus stepped closer to Auron and looked down to the older mans face.

"If all the pyreflies are gone, they can only be in one of two places. Back into bodies or fiends. You were a dream, you kept your body but came back once the pyreflies joined it." He sat up against the wall and shivered slightly as Rikku's nursing went to his scraped neck.

"Well, hey! What about you?" Tidus frowned, confused. "I thought you were supposed to be dead?"

"Tidus!" Rikku turned her head to him and scowled. "Don't have to say it like that..." She muttered and dipped her scarf into the bottle in front of her.

"No, he's right." Auron turned his head to the side and closed his good eye. "Funny thing is, I don't know why I'm here. One day I was sitting in the Farplane, and next thing I knew, Seymour threw me in here. He didn't say anything, though."

"Got it!" Gippal's voice made the other look to the front of the cell where he stood proud, holding the lock in his hands.

"You might want to put that back on." Auron frowned as Tidus' angry look met his face. "Listen, the monsters out there are not at all like the ones we fought, even at our best we couldn't touch them. Going out now would be suicide."

"What about Yuna?" Tidus waved his hand to the door indignantly. "And with Seymour?!"

Paine scoffed and moved from the wall. "Yuna can take care of herself. Besides, if all the pyreflies are gone...can any of us die?"

"I don't think so." Auron lifted his head, his mouth barely inching over the collar that wrapped around him. "But that doesn't mean no one can get hurt. Plus, who really knows." Clearing his throat, he looked from Paine and Gippal. "Uh, who are you two anyway?"

Gippal snorted and went back to replacing the lock, yet not clasping it together, just incase. Rikku frowned at him and sighed. "That's Gippal, he's an Al Bhed. And that's Paine. She's a sphere hunter with me and Yunie." Smiling, she sat back and squeezed out her scarf looking him over. "Looking better, how do you feel?"

Auron's one eye roamed to the male at the door and gave a small frown. As he turned to Rikku, his lips turned up to smile gently. "Much better, thank you."

She laughed softly and waved her hand. "Think nothing of it." Looking up at him, she frowned and rested her hands on her legs. "So, what do we do now?"

Auron shrugged and looked up to Tidus. As he opened his mouth to ask him a question, a loud buzz of static sent eyes to Gippal who was sitting by the doorway.

"How on Spira did I forget I had this?!" He angrily looked into his pocket and pulled out a mini-commsphere. "Shinra! Can you hear me?"

"No need to shout." Shinra's voice came back to him as he exhaled heavily. "What's the situation?"

"What a question." Gippal frowned and shook his head. "We found Auron, but here comes the bad news. We are captured too. There are some pretty nasty fiends here."

Shinra made a small groan and shook his head. "I have bad news as well. Baralai has been reported missing just a minute ago. Nooj made contact with us asking to look for him, but I told him we are busy with our own."

"Any good news?" Rikku leaned over to see Shinra's image in the sphere. She also saw him shake his head.

"Good news? No, but I do have worse news." He began to hit some buttons in front of him and sighed. "The readings from the clouds inside the Farplane are inconclusive. I'm finding traces of the same substance used to make spheres. But... It's very negative. Broke my machine..." He muttered angrily, but when Gippal cleared his throat, Shinra went on. "Pretty evil stuff is what it is."

"Any sign of pyreflies?" Paine asked, looking down at the sphere.

Again, Shinra shook his head. "Not a one. But we got chased out by some pretty heavy duty fiends." He sighed once more and sat back in his chair. "Where is Yuna?"

Tidus grumbled and flopped his arms to the side. "Fiends took her. Apparently Seymour Guado is here."

"What?" Shinra sat back up quickly. "Hmm. I think I might have something. I'll get in touch with you after I look a few things up." And the com went dead.

"Let's hope he's right." Gippal replaced the com into his pocket and sighed. "Hey wait!" Smacking himself in the head, he turned the mic and video output on his sphere off. "Yuna still has her sphere on! Let's see if we can pick up anything."

"Let me out of here!" Sounds of Yuna's voice and banging of bars filled the commsphere.

"Not so fast."

Yuna gasped. "Seymour!"

"What happened to Maester? Or... Husband?" His cold laugh filled the room. "We are still married you know."

"Go to hell!"

"Oh, I've been there. Not as fun as this, I assure you."

"What are you doing with this place?" Yuna's voice became high-pitched, sobbing. "Why are you back?"

"Funny you should ask. All will be found out soon enough." His footsteps echoed. "Hm? A sphere? Ah, that's right. You arrived with your guardians. I almost forgot. Don't you worry. I have people taking care of them for me."

"You... bastard!" Yuna hissed, Seymour laughed.

"Indeed I am. But, you won't need this anymore."

"NO!"

The sound of static filled the cell and Gippal shut off the sphere. "Well, atleast we got something." He replaced the device back into his pocket and sighed.

"Poor Yunie!" Rikku's hands were placed on her shoulders as she slumped against the wall. "Oh! He's such a jerk..."

Tidus stood up and connected his fist into the wall. "He's going to pay for this!"

"Calm down." Auron looked up at Tidus who looked like he was ready to tear ass through the wall to Seymour. "Getting upset doesn't do anything but make you act irrational. We need to find out what he's up to first."

"I'll go find out." Gippal stood up and walked to the gate. "I can sneak around and..."

"Don't you dare!" Rikku jumped up strait and marched over to him. "You heard about the fiends. They are probably swarming around and you don't have your gun with you!"

"It's better than staying here." He muttered and looked away from her. He pressed his head against the bars and looked up and down the halls. "I don't see anything..."

"I'm going too!" Tidus walked over to Gippal and seeing Rikku's face he smiled and placed his hands in front of him like a shield. "Look! I have a no-encounter setting on my arm-guard. They might not even notice us!"

"Then I'm going as well." Paine pushed up from the wall and Rikku's mouth opened wide. "I have my black mage sphere, if anything happens I have a lot of spells handy."

"So, what? You are all going to leave us?" Rikku waved a hand to Auron. "He's in bad shape!"

"Then you stay with him." Paine placed a hand on Rikku's shoulder and winked. Scoffing, Rikku couldn't help but laugh. "Here, take this." Paine placed a sphere in Rikku's hand. "If you need it. I know you weren't in the right state of mind to bring it, so..." Smiling faintly, Paine turned to Tidus and Gippal. "Let's go, boys."

Rikku watched as the three stealthfully made their way from the cell. Her hand caught Gippal's as he was shutting the gate. "Be careful. Please?" Her eyes bore into his good one and he sighed gently.

"I will. You take care, alright?" With a half-smile, he walked off to catch up with Paine and Tidus.

"Ah well." Rikku walked back to Auron with a grin. "Guess you're stuck with me then?"

"Doesn't sound too bad." Grimacing from the pain radiating through his body, he moved along the wall to relax his body. "What's that?" He nodded his head to the glowing sphere in Rikku's hand.

"It's my Berserker dressphere." She held it up into the light with a smile. "I mastered it, so it will come in handy should anything happen." Turning her head to look at him, she frowned slightly after putting away the orb. "You ok?"

Auron nodded his head. "I've been sleeping on this floor for who knows how long..." He muttered and shook his head. "Almost used to it now."

Rikku looked over herself and laughed. "Didn't really bring much with us, sadly."

"Nor are you wearing much." Auron raised his brow and chuckled as Rikku blushed and crossed her arms in front of her bare stomach.

"What can I say? We Al Bhed need to wear such clothes for the hot sun." She moved one hand over her shoulder gently. "Unlike this place..."

"Cold?" Auron asked, but knowing she was. Whether she knew it or not, her lips were turning a slight shade of blue. She shook her head and began to say she wasn't, but he lifted up his arm for her. "Come here." He moved his coat so she could fit into the crook of his arm with the heavy garb around her as well. "Body heat." He smiled once she began to move to him.

Who can argue with that? She asked herself, the faint warmth seeping into her cheeks as she slid down next to him. His skin was cool to the touch from staying in this place for so long, but together, a blanket of warmth began to fill his coat. She kept her hands on her lap as her shoulder moved closer to him, nestling in. Bitting at her bottom lip, Rikku inwardly fought with herself if she should tell him everything or not. I might not have this chance again, with all that's going on... She reminded herself before clearing her throat.

"You were wrong, by the way." She started, her tone almost flippant.

Auron turned his gaze to the top of her head, all that he could see, and frowned. "About what?"

"Two years ago. You told me I would forget about you when I got older. I didn't." She laughed, sniffing back tears that were trying to build up. "Not a day went by in those two years where I didn't think of you. It's weird how I couldn't give it up. Not that I wanted to, but... I couldn't accept you were dead. Something in me believed you were still alive." She turned to look up at him, catching his gaze on her. "When I seen that sphere we got of you... I guess I hoped that all my thoughts were true, and you weren't. ...are you?"

Auron sighed heavily. "No, I'm not." Turning his head to look upwards, his eye closed, a smile crossing his face. "Never was, actually. You were right. When we all defeated Sin, I promised Jecht and Braska I would go back with them, to keep the Farplane together. Since Yevon was gone, Braska thought things would go into chaos."

"Is...is that what's happening now?" Rikku turned her upper-body to him, eyes wide.

"I'm not sure. When I was taken here, I have no idea where Braska or Jecht went." He shook his head and brought a leg up to move the side of his body a little closer to Rikku. "I did miss the warm, though... Anyway, I told everyone I was dead so there would be no suspicions around in the Farplane or on Spira for that matter. If people knew the Farplane could fall apart..."

"Who knows what they'd do." Rikku finished, tone bitter.

"Exactly. That's why I was able to get the hell beat out of me and feel it all." Laughing softly, he moved one of his still gloved hands, up and down the hem of his coat. "I would have told you, but... I didn't want anyone to know. The pyreflies are already jealous of the living, if they knew I wasn't dead... It wouldn't be pretty. So we went along with the story that I had died and helped keep the Farplane together." He tilted his head back to the wall, the faint sound of the fire in the torch almost a deafening silence. "I thought about you a lot. Wondered what you were up to, if you were ok. Wondered what things would be like if I didn't leave."

Rikku pressed her face against his chest and laughed softly. "Would have been interesting, though."

"I didn't mean what I said before." He frowned, thinking back to that time two years ago. "I guess I said it to myself more than you. I knew I couldn't stay, and I wanted you to have a happy life."

She turned her head up to look at him, eyes dancing under the light. "We had some good times, us Gullwings, but, I did miss you like crazy." She flashed him a bright smile and tilted her head down. "Looks like we'll be working together again, though."

Auron nodded his head slowly before gently resting his cheek upon the top of her head. "You did a great job fixing me up, I can feel my strength returning. We'll have to go out and see what's going on soon."

"I know it's kinda mean to say, but the world could fall apart right now and I wouldn't notice." Rikku giggle and turned her eyes to him, then cleared her throat in a more serious tone. "Sorry, guess I shouldn't have said that..."

"No, actually. I feel the same." He moved his left arm, one opposite from the side she occupied, and placed his thumb and bent in pointer finger on her chin. "I should have done this before." And even before Rikku could register what he was doing, his mouth was on hers, kissing her soft lips gently.

Rikku's wide and surprised eyes began to slowly sink to a close as she pressed her lips against his, not only accepting, but returning his kiss. Her arms wrapped gently around his side, still careful not to cause him discomfort, but when his other arm pulled her in tighter, she took it as him urging her on, so she did.

Tilting her head to the side, her lips parted slightly against his when she felt his do the same. Her tongue timidly moved from her mouth to trace slowly along the outline of his lips, the spicy taste of him making her gently shiver. The sound he made in his throat made the blush across her face seem to flush through her body, warming her up more than his thick coat would ever provide. Her arm moved up and snaked around to the back of his neck just when his own tongue plunged to deepen the act of pent up affection between the two.

With a slight and gentle moan, Rikku's eyes closed tighter, emotions starting to get the best of her as tears formed a wall behind her closed eyes. Auron picked it up instantly and pulled back from the kiss. "Hey, hey... You alright?"

Ashamed of her actions, Rikku turned her head down and waved the hand that was behind his neck. "I'm... fine, really. I just don't want this to be the last time..." Sniffing back the tears at an attempt that proved to do her no justice, a lone tear fell down her soft cheek and onto his extended arm.

"Honestly, I have a feeling it won't be." Auron's lips turned up into a smile as his hand ran through her soft golden hair.

"Well, well, well." A voice from the front of the cell called their attention as their heads moved to the source. "In't dis sumptin' speshil?" The oily guy Rikku had seen in the sphere of Auron was standing at the gate with a shorter and porcine man. "'oo bad we got'a break dees love birds up."

Out of all the kiss-scenes I have ever written, this was my all-time favorite. . They are too damn cute. squee!