Chapter Twelve
Everytime

Part One
Rikku didn't know what to make of this tall, dark and handsome man walking toward her. She looked at him, her eyes full of questions. When he reached her, he didn't even pause before taking her into his arms.

The warmth ... she sighed in spite of herself. Why is he holding me like this? I don't know him!

"Oh, Rikku," he breathed. "Where did you come from?"

Rikku stepped back, trying to gather her thoughts. "Uh, first of all, do you do that with everyone who asks you a question?" Her green eyes were searching his face, looking for anything that might trigger a memory or an image.

"Rikku, it's me. Auron."

At the name, Rikku took another step back. "Auron. Auron LaGuard?"

Auron managed a smile, the first time in months. "Yes, Rikku, Auron LaGuard!"

Rikku put her hands on her temples and shook her head, trying to shake the fog from her memory. "I don't know you! Why does everyone talk about you to me like I know you? I don't!"

Auron looked at her in disbelief. Could Seymour have possibly done this much damage to her? I'll kill him. I will kill him, and I won't even blink when I do it. "Rikku, you do know me," he told her gently.

Rikku looked at him, noticed the beautiful copper color of his one good eye, the long, cruel scar that ran down the right side of his face, the hopeful look on his features. He looked tired, haggard, like someone who hadn't slept in a very long time. Like a man who had lost someone that he ...

Rikku's eyes widened. "You," she breathed. Then her features crumpled, and she looked completely heartbroken. "NO!" she cried out. "No, I don't want it like this! I should know you, right? I should be hugging you back – but I can't remember a damn thing! And I hate it! I shouldn't have come here. I can't – I can't see you right now. And you shouldn't see me, either."

Auron stepped toward her and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but Rikku shrugged it off as if it burned. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and turned to go.

Wakka stood in the doorway behind her, and he looked terrified. He looked down at Rikku, who had her hand over her mouth, choking back sobs. His expression changed from one of fear to one of deep concern. Carefully, he reached out and touched the top of her head.

Rikku looked up and the dam in her eyes broke. "Oh, Wakka," she sighed. "I'm so sorry." She threw herself at him and let him hold onto her while she cried her entire heart out.

Wakka looked at Auron, and saw the pained look on the older man's face. He knew that he wouldn't be having lunch with Lulu today.

"Take her to Lulu," Auron told Wakka in a cool tone. "And then you come back here. We need to have a talk."

Wakka nodded and walked off wordlessly to Lulu's office. Lulu looked up when he entered, and her eyes narrowed when she saw Rikku, clinging to his arm for dear life.

"What in the name of Yevon is she doing here? And why is she crying?" Lulu demanded.

"It's not his fault, Lulu," Rikku began. "I got bored, and I decided to come and see you guys. But, Wakka wasn't – wasn't in his office, so I went to look for him. I stopped to ask someone if they knew where he was, and it was ..."

"Shh, Rikku, it's okay," Wakka said soothingly. "I'm sure Lulu can figure it out from there." He turned to his partner. "She needs to stay with you, because I have to go back and talk to LaGuard."

Lulu bit her lower lip again, and Wakka knew she was nervous. Was she nervous for him? "Is he upset?" she asked.

Wakka tilted his head. "Wouldn't you be?"

"Dammit," Lulu swore under her breath. She waved her hand in the direction of her door. "You better go. I'll come down later, if I can find Tidus and have him take her home." Wakka nodded and headed back to face the firing squad.

Lulu turned back to Rikku when Wakka was gone, and looked at her sternly. When she saw the anguish on the younger girl's face, though, her features softened. "Rikku," she said in a quiet tone.

"I'm sorry, Lulu, I know I shouldn't have come down here. I just – I didn't realize that he would be here," Rikku stammered, tears still flowing freely from her eyes.

"What happened?" Lulu asked her, kneeling down in front of the chair Rikku sat in.

"I was looking for Wakka, and um, his door was the only one that was opened. So I just asked if he might know where Wakka was, and when he heard my voice, he looked up. And when he saw me, he walked over, and he took me into his arms." Rikku's voice broke and gave way to a new round of tears. "I know he's the one, I know he is. It was the same as my memory. But I don't know him, at all. There was no recognition of his face or his voice, or anything. Do you know what that feels like?"

Lulu shook her head. She could not even begin to comprehend what Rikku was going through right now.

"I want to recognize you guys, I really do. But I don't. I'm getting to know you, but it's not like we're getting reacquainted or something, it's like we are complete strangers!" Rikku explained. "Even Yuna, who is my cousin. And the man who was – what was he to me, anyway?"

Lulu looked down. "Wouldn't you rather figure it out on your own?"

Rikku jumped out of her chair. "Yes! I would! But, Lulu, I really don't think that that is going to happen any time soon! My head hurts constantly from trying to remember, and yet no matter what I do, or what any of you do, I just can't remember." She crossed the room until she was standing by the window. She stared out over the city of Bevelle and sighed almost imperceptibly. "What if it's gone forever?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Part Two
"Two and a half weeks?" Auron bellowed at Wakka. "You've had her for two and a half weeks? And nobody has said anything to me?"

Wakka couldn't even meet the man's gaze. He had never in his life seen anyone as pissed off as LaGuard was right now. "Well, uh, we were just trying to avoid this whole situation," Wakka said lamely, knowing that what he said wasn't going to matter one iota to Auron LaGuard.

"And why, of all people, is she clinging to you?" Auron wanted to know.

Wakka winced. "Because, sir, she's, uh, been living at my apartment," he mumbled.

Auron stopped pacing and just stared at Wakka for what seemed like an eternity. "With you?" he asked, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Lu figured it was safest. I would be the last one anyone would suspect. And you know, she did kinda have a point," Wakka explained.

"I could protect her better than any of you," Auron said harshly.

Wakka crossed his arms across his chest and glared stonily at the older man. "But Seymour's after you. Do you really want to risk that girl's life again just so you can keep your claim on her?"

Auron shot Wakka a deathly glare, but Wakka refused to stop. He wasn't scared of LaGuard now. His only interest now was keeping Rikku as far away from Seymour Guado as was humanly possible. "Look, Auron, I realize that you had a bit of a shock, ya? But you did not see her when we got her from that monster's place. Black an' blue from head to toe, broken ribs, eyes swollen shut ..." Wakka shuddered, remembering how Rikku had hung like a rag doll in his arms as he carried her out of Seymour's.

"But I could make sure he never touched her again!" Auron exclaimed.

"Auron, it's not just that!" Wakka shot back, jumping up out of his chair. "I don't want that poor girl to ever have to even see his face again! After what he did to her, I'm ready to go find him and kill him myself, ya?"

Auron paused and looked at Wakka, studying him. "I see," Auron said quietly.

Wakka noticed the look on Auron's face and was quick to explain. "I see you thinkin' them funny thoughts, LaGuard, but you gotta stop. I want her to stay safe, and I want her to get her memory back, and I want to see Seymour rot for what he did to her, but that is all. So stop lookin' at me like I'm your competition, and start treatin' me like your ally here. We are both working to save the same girl, here."

Auron sat down at his desk and put his face in his hands. Wakka was right, and he was making a jackass of himself.

"I'm sorry, Wakka," he said after a long pause. He stood up and crossed the room until he was standing by the window. He stared out over the city and sighed. "You're absolutely right. And she probably is safer with you than she would be with me. It's just – been a long time since I cared about someone more than I cared about myself."

Part Three
Isaaru Brothers paged Yuna down to the laboratory later that afternoon. She hurried down to the lab and smiled at the head of the laboratory. "Is it done?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She noticed that he had made sure to bring her down here while everyone else was on their lunch break. When she had asked Isaaru for his help, he had understood that this was a highly confidential matter.

Isaaru held up a vial of bright blue liquid. "It's all right here. From the extensive research we have done, we have found that this should clear up almost 98 percentof the memory loss. She may be a tiny bit more forgetful than she used to be, but she'll remember the important things."

Yuna squealed and threw herself into his arms in a very unprofessional manner. At this point, she didn't care. This man was a genius and soon, Rikku would be good as new! "You are my hero!" she told him, taking the vial. "Is this all of it?"

"It took us almost a month to get that much just right. Don't lose it," he warned. "With the stuff that was used on your cousin, the longer it is in her system, the more damage it will do to the long-term memory."

Yuna nodded. He didn't need to continue. "And I should give her all of this at once?"

"Yes, inject all of it into one of her veins. It'll make her sleepy, and she may be out for a few days, but when she wakes up ..."

Yuna couldn't fight the grin that was creeping up on her face. "This is so wonderful. You should get an award or something."

"Indeed," a cruel voice said from behind Yuna.

Yuna closed her eyes and turned toward the doorway. Her heart sped up when she found herself face-to-face with Seymour Guado. "What are you doing here?" she hissed. Behind her back, she motioned for Isaaru to go out the back way. Isaaru wanted to protest, he didn't want to leave her here alone with this man, but she was forceful in her motions that he "get the hell out".

Isaaru understood. He checked the inner pocket of his lab coat for the vial before darting out of the room. He had made one backup – but he hadn't told anyone. He had to alert hospital security, quickly, before this madman did something to Yuna, and then he had to get to the Police Department. He may be Rikku's last hope.

Yuna's attention was on the maniac before her. "You think you have it all figured out, don't you, daughter of Braska?" he sneered. "He too, was brave, right up until the very end."

"You did kill him," she hissed, fighting back the tears that were threatening.

"I've killed lots of people," Seymour said noncommittally. "What's one more?" Yuna forced herself to stay calm as he walked toward her. "Of course, there are things worse than death."

He paused mere inches from her. He traced the curve of her face with one long, snake-like finger. Yuna's skin crawled, but she managed to stay calm. "What do you want, Seymour?" she asked him.

"I want my wife back," he told her. "You took what didn't belong to you."

"Really? Didn't you take her first?" Yuna countered. It was getting harder for her to breathe. She had never been so terrified in all her life. She knew that was staring into the face of Death itself.

"She married me of her own accord. She's mine now," Seymour said threateningly.

"You drugged her! That's why she married you. But soon, she'll hate you too," Yuna hissed.

"Oh, really? Because of this?" Seymour took the vial from Yuna's hand, and she bit her lip. "I heard the little lab rat say that this was it." With a sneer, he dropped the vial on the floor and watched it shatter. "Poor little Rikku," he said.

Yuna watched it shatter, and her hopes along with it. No, no, no, no, no! She kept repeating over and over to herself.

Her eyes widened as Seymour pulled out a syringe. Was he going to drug her the same way he had drugged Rikku? Seymour could see everything she feared written in her eyes.

"Don't worry, little Yuna," he said in a falsely comforting voice. "You'll have all your memories."

With that, he stuck the needle into Yuna's arm.

She gasped in pain. The room began to spin and get blurry, and she vomited, several times. After what seemed like an eternity, her world went black.

Seymour stared down at her limp form, lying on the floor of the lab. "You'll have all your memories, yes," he said again, brushing Yuna's dark hair off of her face. "But you won't be awake to share them with anyone."

He quickly left the hospital so as not to be found when security showed up. He knew that coward lab rat had gone to page them.

All security found when they got to the lab was one Dr. Summers, passed out on the floor, all but lifeless.

But for all Seymour's devious machinations of destruction, he had overlooked one key player.

Isaaru was on his way to the police department, holding a very precious vial in the deep pocket of his lab coat.

A/N: Yay, another chappie! And quickly too! I hope you guys like this! See, I can be really shifty, sometimes. Just when things look like they are gonna get better -- BOOM! -- another Seymour moment. Well, I need more reviews guys! Please please please R&R and let me know what you think so far! I'll try to get more up as soon as possible. You know, I really do love writing this story, but it's not so much fun when it seems like no one is reading it ... Anyway, I really just hope you guys like this, and look for another chappie very very very soon! Enjoy and take care till next time! Rhianna XD