Chapter Ten
Holy Water

Part One
The letter arrived at the B.P.D. just a few days later. Wakka was the first to see it, and he immediately ran to show Lulu. "Lu! We just got this anonymous letter from someone, says he knows where Rikku is!"

Lulu snatched the letter out of her partner's hands. "Praise Yevon," she breathed. "There's even a map." She looked up at Wakka, her red-brown eyes burning. "We can get her – we can get her today," she said, her resolve evident in her voice. "It says here that 'the Master' is out, though it doesn't give us any indication as to where we might find him."

"That's not important right now, Lu," Wakka said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We can find him later, after Rikku's safe and sound back here."

Lulu chewed on her lower lip, something she only did when she was deep in thought about something that made her nervous. Wakka liked that he knew this about her. She looked back at Wakka. "We shouldn't tell Auron. Not yet. We can't have him barging in there and blowing our cover and everything that we've worked for. It could be a trap, and we can't risk LaGuard. You, Paine, Gippal and I will go in after her, and then we'll send her home with you."

Wakka looked puzzled. "Why me?"

"You're the last person that Seymour will suspect. He knows that Auron has – feelings – for her, he knows that she and I were becoming friends. We sure as hell can't send her back to Yuna's. Besides, you are the only under-the-radar male in this scenario, and of course Seymour is going to expect her to be with a female for safekeeping."

She almost laughed at the look on Wakka's face. She touched his hand reassuringly. "Enough, Wakka! You'll be fine. Besides, you're a good listener and non-threatening, and she might need that."

Wakka still looked uncertain. "If you say so, Lu," he said slowly.

"Good, we're agreed. Go call Paine and Gippal. Don't tell them anything over the phone, just get them down here. And if you see Auron, just tell him that we have some new leads on Seymour, but nothing more," Lulu instructed as she walked back to her desk, letter in hand.

Wakka left, and Lulu picked up the phone and called Bevelle General Hospital. There had been another sheet of paper along with the letter. Lulu had skimmed it quickly and deduced that it was the components of whatever Seymour had used to drug Rikku.

"Bevelle General," a chipper voice answered on the other end of the line.

"Is Dr. Summers available?" Lulu asked.

"Hold please."

A few minutes later, Yuna was on the phone. "Dr. Summers."

"Yuna, it's Lulu."

Yuna immediately bristled on her end. "Yes?" She always feared bad news when someone from the P.D. called.

"When do you have your lunch break?" Lulu queried.

Yuna looked at her watch. "In about a half hour. Why?"

"I need you to come down to the station," Lulu said brusquely.

"Why?" Yuna asked, her heart thumping wildly now.

"I can't discuss it over the phone. Just come to my office as soon as you can." With that, Lulu hung up the phone.

Yuna was there in less than forty minutes, looking pale and frantic. "Lulu, what's going on? Is it Rikku?"

Lulu looked at Yuna evenly. "We received an anonymous letter today. We're not sure if it means anything or if it's an extremely clever trap set by Seymour. But whoever sent it, also included this." She handed the young doctor the list of components. "Does any of this look familiar?"

"Well, this one – is oil from the Ahriman, and this one here," she pointed to an item, "is basically scales from a Malboro. The rest of these are agents that can be used to erase ones memory," Yuna said slowly. She continued reading the list and her face went pale. "Some of these are – permanent mind-benders. You hardly ever see them used any more, because they are so dangerous. I think that this one here is actually illegal."

"Leave it to Seymour, right?" Lulu said dryly. "Do you think you can make an antidote based on this list?"

Yuna took a deep breath. "I know a few of the lab technicians who probably will be able to, but Lulu – like I said, some of these are permanent. Even with an antidote or remedy of some kind, Rikku still may not remember everything."

Lulu looked at her quizzically. "What exactly are you saying, Yuna?"

Yuna looked down. "I'm saying that because of the introduction of some of these agents into her system, some of her memories may be lost forever." She looked back at Lulu. "But we have some really amazing lab technicians, and they might be able to come up with something."

Lulu smiled sadly at Yuna. "I won't keep you any longer," she said gently. "See what you can figure out at the hospital, and we'll let you know when we have more news."

Yuna nodded and stood to leave. "Thanks, Lulu," she said.

"Stay safe," Lulu said.

Part Two
He was gone. Thank the gods, he was gone. Business or something. Rikku didn't know, nor did she care. All that mattered was that he was away from her, and maybe, just maybe, she could find a way out.

She didn't know where she belonged, but she knew that anywhere had to be better than here. She stayed hidden in her room all day the first day he was gone, trying to figure out her escape route.

The only problem was, she didn't know where this house was – and even if she did, she doubted she'd remember enough to find her way around. She began to feel like maybe it was all completely hopeless, and she was tired of thinking. She curled up into a ball on the huge, ostentatious bed and pulled the blankets up over her head.

Maybe they'd all just forget about her, and let her die in peace ...

... Dying was apparently not on the agenda for Rikku that day, or any day following it. A few hours after she had cocooned herself, she heard voices in the hallway, and then heavy footsteps coming her way.

She sat up quickly, and nearly came out of her skin when the bedroom door was thrown open. Two people, dressed from head-to-toe in black, stood there. "Rikku!" the man's voice exclaimed.

Rikku's green eyes widened. He knows my name! He knows me! Rikku jumped up quickly and ran to them. She threw her arms around the neck of the man, feeling tears threatening. "For the love of the gods," she hissed, "get me the hell out of here!"

Wakka looked over at Lulu, who was looking helplessly at the younger girl. Lulu nodded at Wakka. Sighing, he scooped up the petite blonde and carried her out of the house.

Part Three
"You're not going to tell LaGuard?" Wakka asked Lulu later that evening, after they had gotten Rikku settled in at his spartan apartment. He peered over his shoulder at the couch, where the shaken girl was wrapped in a blanket, her hair still wet from the shower she had insisted on taking.

Lulu shook her head. "Not until we get an antidote. It's upsetting enough, to have her back without her memories. He doesn't need that right now. And neither does she. It will only hurt them both more." She patted Wakka's arm gently. "I'm going to go see Yuna. I'll bring her back here in an hour or so."

Wakka nodded. "Should I, uh, go and talk to her?"

Lulu smiled. "She seems to trust you, at least a little, so I think that you should sit with her, try to jog her memory." Lulu cast one last glance at the girl, and then left Wakka's apartment.

Wakka walked over to the couch and sat down beside Rikku. "Are you all right, Rikku?" he asked gently. "Do you need another blanket, or some food?"

Rikku looked at the man beside her, studied his face. "Why do you know me?" she finally asked.

Wakka grinned at her. "Because, you belong here, ya."

"Here?" Rikku queried.

"In Bevelle. Lulu went to go get Yuna." When the name didn't seem to strike a cord with Rikku, he went on. "Yuna's your cousin."

Rikku's head shot up. "My – my cousin? I have – family?" Inexplicable tears came to her eyes. "He – he told me – that I had no family. That – they abandoned me, and that I should be grateful to him for taking care of me."

Wakka's eyes narrowed. "Some care he took of you," he said sourly, looking at the girl's blackened eyes, and severely bruised arms. And that was just the parts of her that he could see. If he'd been a betting man, he would have guessed that there were even nastier scars and bruises elsewhere.

"But you – you know me, right? You aren't lying to me?" Rikku seemed desperate, as the tears fell down her face.

Wakka's compassion took over, and he reached out and put his arm around her small shoulders. "Hey, it's okay, ya? You'll be fine now. Me and Lu, and Yuna, we're gonna take care a' you. And you can trust us, okay? It's that lousy son of a shoopuf Seymour that you gotta watch out for."

Rikku nodded miserably and sank against Wakka's shoulder, sobs wracking her small frame. Not knowing what else to do, Wakka just sat there, arm around her lightly, and let her cry herself to sleep.

Lulu, Yuna, and Tidus showed up about an hour later, and were taken aback by the scene before them. Wakka still sat with Rikku, his arm around her, and she was nestled into his side.

"Aww," Yuna said, tears in her own eyes when she saw her cousin. Then she got closer, and saw the condition Rikku was in and became livid. "What the hell did he do to her?"

Wakka looked up at the doctor. "I think the better question is, what didn't he do to her?" He turned back to the sleeping girl beside him. "Rikku? Wake up, ya?"

Rikku's eyes fluttered open, and she visibly started to see herself resting in some stranger's arms. Yuna rushed to the front of the couch, and knelt before the broken girl.

"Rikku, it's Yuna," she said.

Rikku recognized the kind, gently pretty face from somewhere deep inside her heart. "Yuna," she repeated. "My cousin." She reached out and touched Yuna's face softly. Smiling sadly. "My heart knows you, but sadly the rest of me does not."

Yuna nodded, tears in her eyes. "It's okay, we're working on a way to fix it. We're just so glad you're home!" Gingerly, she reached out and hugged her cousin.

Rikku winced in pain. "My – ribs," she gasped.

Wakka nodded. "I think that he broke them, and they haven't fully healed yet."

There was fire behind Yuna's unique eyes. "He's going to pay for this," she said firmly. She looked back at Rikku. "Don't worry, he'll pay for this."

Rikku bit her lower lip. "Why – why can't I remember you?"

Lulu sank down beside Yuna. "Seymour injected you with some kind of serum. They are working on an antidote at the hospital right now."

"Serum?" Rikku looked confused. "He – he told me I was kidnapped, and when I tried to escape, I was clubbed over the head."

"You were kidnapped," Tidus chimed in. "By him. And obviously the only clubbing that got done was by his own hands."

"Who did he say kidnapped you?" Lulu asked.

"Some cop. LaGuard – or something?"

"Dammit ..." Wakka said.

"What?" Rikku asked.

"It's just typical of Seymour, that's all," Lulu told her. "Auron LaGuard is his biggest rival. He's the one man standing in the way of Seymour's total domination of Spira." Noting the concern on Rikku's face, she quickly explained. "But there is nothing about Auron LaGuard that you should fear. He'd never hurt you."

Rikku sat there, amidst the people who claimed to know and love her, and she felt as isolated now as she had before, maybe even more so. Here were these wonderful people, opening themselves up to her, and she didn't know them, and it was killing her.

But if what they were saying was true ... maybe her memory would be back soon, and she could finally get back to whatever her life really was.

And maybe, just maybe, she could find the love that she had left behind, the love that had kept her strong these past few months, the love that she had been dreaming of.

And the dark-haired man that she knew was waiting for her ... somewhere in these clouded memories.

A/N: I know it may seem like this is winding to a close, but I've got a LOT more twists and turns coming, and a lot more BAD stuff too ... Things can't get too happy, too quickly, now can they? Oh, and DON'T worry about the Wakka and Rikku thing. I just had this idea that I would make them good friends. Don't worry, I'm not about to get all crazy and Wakka/Rikku CRAZY up in here. Like I've said a hundred thousand times before -- this is an AURIKKU. It may take a while to get to anything Aurikku-ish, but that's the heart of the whole story! So bear with me while I throw in all my little wrenches and twists and turns. And as always, R&R and make me HAPPY! Rhianna