I'll Travel Through Time

Author's Notes: EI EVERYBODY! Hope you all liked the prologue! Well, here's chapter 1! I'm gonna be really busy since the exams are coming up… Well… I dunno what else to do while I'm not playing WWE Smack Down! Here Comes the Pain™…

So… I hope you all love it! Read and review and have a nice day! (Got that from Mick Foley… Heheh)

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Rikku groaned as she felt numbness in her body. 'What? I'm still alive? Lucky me!' She thought. She opened her eyes a crack and looked around. She then realized she was in a hut. And she was either in Kilika or in Besaid. And suddenly she heard voices from outside of the hut. Familiar voices to be exact…

"My Lord, have you gotten the last aeon that we need?"

"Yes, yes, I have gotten Valefor… and we could now go on towards the Calm Lands…" A second voice said.

"Well, what about the lady we found at the shore?" A third one asked.

"I'll go check on her, Jecht."

She froze as she heard Tidus' father's name. Probably she still was disoriented, she thought. 'I'm just not thinking straight. Or probably this is all a dream. A really strange dream… But it seems so real…' thought Rikku.

She then saw a man in a red coat get in the hut. And her eyes widened in surprise. 'This just can't be true!! Au-Auron is here… the younger one… this isn't really happening…'

"You're awake…" The 25-year old Auron said as he went towards her. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I don't know if I'm feeling so well… A-am I dreaming?" She asked. She knew it was silly to ask that question.

Auron raised an eyebrow and replied. "As far as I know… I think you're awake…"

"Oh, I see…" She looked down on her body covered in a blanket. 'I must've traveled in time! But how?' She thought for a second and realized something important. 'THE WAVE! It's just like how Tidus got to us!'

Jecht and Braska then went in the tent… "Oh, you're awake, may I ask your name, miss?" Braska politely told her.

"Umm… it's Rikku…" She replied.

"Rikku? Same name as my niece… And you're Al Bhed too?" Braska asked her and she just nodded which made Auron eye her suspiciously. "I am Braska, a summoner and these are my guardians, Auron and Jecht. It's nice to meet you, Rikku."

"Nice to meet you too." She said silently. "Umm… say, Braska… I mean, Lord Braska… umm… could I be one of your guardians? Well, I have a lot of experience and I know how to fight fiends real good."

Braska looked at Jecht who had no interjections actually and at Auron who looked at Braska with that she's-Al-Bhed-look.

"Lord Braska, she's… she's Al Bhed." Auron told him. "And Al Bhed people are not supposed to be guardians. It is the teachings of Yevon…"

Rikku looked offended. Young Auron was just the same as Wakka. Though he was not very forward… and she heard him say, "And they disobey the teachings of Yevon. Not to mention they use the forbidden machina!" Or maybe not… He was very straightforward when it came to Al Bhed…

"Well, I'm so sorry for being an Al Bhed. I didn't know it was such a sin to be one!" Rikku argued with Auron.

"Well, if you Al Bhed wouldn't use the forbidden machina, maybe I'd think of your race differently!" Auron replied.

"And you think all Al Bhed are the same? You just don't understand us, that's why! You don't have to judge us that way, you know!" Rikku argued. She liked the old Auron better… the one who didn't judge anybody and didn't care if she was Al Bhed.

Auron glared at her for a second. He still didn't trust this very girl in front of him. 'She just might be acting. She might get Lord Braska as soon as we start trusting her!'

Braska sensed his guardian's doubt and said, "Auron. She would do me no harm. I could tell that she really wants to become a guardian." He put his hand on Auron's shoulder. "What about my wife? Wasn't she Al Bhed?"

"But… my Lord…" Auron looked at Braska with worried eyes and Braska just smiled.

"I know that you're worried about me, Auron. I will be fine. Trust me. And trust her." Braska told Auron with a smile.

Auron sighed and said with defeat, "If you insist, my Lord…" He knew Braska well. Braska wasn't stupid enough to trust just anybody. But he looked at Jecht… 'Then again… maybe Braska could make mistakes too.'

Rikku smiled widely and said. "Thanks so much, Braska!! I mean… umm… Lord Braska."

Braska chuckled. "No, it's alright. Just call me Braska."

"Okay, Braska!" Rikku gave him a thumbs-up. "So, when'll we leave?"

"Probably tomorrow… that's the latest boat ride towards Kilika." Auron answered in a soft voice.

Rikku sensed that Auron wasn't at all pleased at her joining the pilgrimage. "Oh, okay… please, don't let me be a bother. I'm a good girl! You can trust me!" She looked at Auron who wasn't even looking at her. 'Hmph. Meanie.' She then looked up at Braska. "So, how many Aeons left?"

"I've got them all here, Rikku. Now all we have to do is get to Zanarkand in one piece." Braska said with a smile.

"Oh, okay. I hope we become good friends in this pilgrimage! It's nice to meet you all!" Rikku said extremely cheerfully.

Jecht smirked slightly. "Heh. For an injured girl, you seem to be so cheerful. What about if we have some dinner tonight?"

Rikku sweat dropped. "Uh… no thanks… I'm not at all injured actually. If I just mix some of my potions and drink 'em then I'm all well!"

Later that night, Auron was sitting outside, staring at the blazing flames of the fire. 'Another Al Bhed… How could she be different from all the other Al Bhed? I mean yeah, Braska's wife is different… I trust her because she's Braska's wife… But this girl… She is just a stranger to all of us… No one of us knows her… Lord Braska, this decision of yours may lead to you not finishing the pilgrimage…' thought he.

"Auron… it's late already." Braska said as he approached his most loyal guardian. "You should go to bed." He sat down right next to him.

Auron looked at Braska with THAT worried look. "What about you, Lord Braska? Aren't you tired from getting the Aeon Valefor?"

"I already rested a while ago, Auron. I feel fine." Braska replied.

Auron smiled a bit. "That's good." He looked back at the fire and thought about Braska, his summoner, no… his best friend's fate. "Where's Jecht?"

"Resting. You better do the same too. We have to travel tomorrow. We have to take a boat to Kilika then to Luca." Braska told him.

"Yes, yes, I know." Auron replied.

Braska smiled. He liked it when they weren't journeying. Auron would loosen his tie a bit and talk less seriously. It made Braska feel at ease that his best friend wasn't worrying about too many things.

Then they both heard someone get out of the tent. It was Rikku. "Hey, how come you guys are not sleeping yet? Aren't you two tired?"

No reply from Auron, except for a slight frown. Braska just smiled at his guardian's reaction. "We're alright. We're just talking."

"Mind if I join in?" Rikku asked as she sat down next to Braska.

"No, we don't." Braska said.

'You don't… but I do.' Auron thought as he frowned even more. But he didn't say anything at all as the two spoke to each other. He wasn't even listening.

"Hey, Auron! Why don't you speak or tell me anything?" Rikku asked the other guardian. He didn't reply. "Hmph. Fine, be like that." Rikku stood up and stormed off towards the hut.

Braska stood up and followed her and said, "I'm sorry, Rikku. It's just that something happened in the past between him and the AL Bhed. That's why he doesn't want to trust you so easily. Don't worry; he'll warm up to you sooner or later…"

Rikku just nodded and thought about Braska's statement. 'Something happened between him and the Al Bhed? I wonder what…' And she just looked at Auron with worried eyes. 'I hope I would be able to change him…' she thought.

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Well, that's end o' chapter 1! Hope ya liked it! Thanks and please review! I'll try to update as soon as I can!