Author's Note: Yeah, yeah. I know I didn't include a disclaimer, but hey. If I owned anything of FFX-2, d'you think I'd be writing this? x3 Anyways, I just wanted to thank my darling Kristenems for being all rubbery for bouncing off ideas and stuff. I love ya, darling!

"I wish I could've known sooner."

How much longer until the end? How much farther will she fall before she reaches the bottom? Will she make it all the way down, down to where the secrets lie? There is only one way to find out. The darkness will choose her fate. Now that she's come this far, it's all or nothing. The secrets or death. It wasn't her choice anymore, all she could do was drift slowly towards the place that haunted her dreams. Down. Never-ending. Sinking, oh so slowly. Down, down to where the secrets lie.

-

She was not granted movement nor a voice. She was simply falling, the black waters surrounding her, testing her. She wanted this insanity to end, she wanted to know exactly where the hell she was going, what was happening. Was this reality? Had everything before this been the dream? And what was the place that loomed so close in the darkness, the place she had been dreaming of for weeks on end. The darkness was driving her crazy, she couldn't see a thing, but then again she wasn't really sure if she wanted to. If there was something out there, she'd rather be blissfully unaware of its presence. Her mind was racing through possible outcomes or causes of this anomaly, but she could find none reasonable enough. Yet, would sensibility even matter? She was floating down through impeccably dark waters that she wasn't even sure really existed. She'd lost all control of all her senses. She could see nothing but the blackness, could feel nothing other than a cold numbness, couldn't move and couldn't hear. It was all too creepy to be real. She'd have given anything just for a small reassurance that she could function.

And then a familiar sensation brushed against her back. The feeling of sand. But it was not the welcoming warmth of a beach on a sunny day, it was cold as ice. She didn't care that it burned and hurt, she didn't care that she landed right on a mondo bruise Paine had given her. She didn't even pay heed to the fact that the pangs of severe hurt flooded through her body. All she cared about was that she could see and hear and feel and move again! With her quick thief-like reflexes, she stood up and whirled around, sadly finding herself unarmed. Whatever kind of hell she had just fallen into didn't seem like a place that you'd wanna be without anything to protect yourself with.

The scenery she was greeted with, though gloomy and bleak, was welcomed vehemently. It was much preferred to the perpetual blackness. The distance was dark and foreboding, lined with shapes that would have given the devil himself goose bumps, and Rikku was just a few steps away from fleeing in panic. But what would that accomplish? She began to wonder if she had a purpose here, if there was a reason for her to be in this place. Well she'd find out later, 'cause that big black moving thing to her left was starting to get a little bit bigger and a lot bit closer. She wasn't going to stick around to see if it'd be named Fluffy or Killer. With a quick turn on her heel, she bolted off in the opposite direction.

She kept her eyes focused on the distance, which never seemed to get nearer. She thought that maybe if she ran fast enough, she could reach those shapes and maybe find a way out. Maybe, just maybe. However, it didn't take long for her to realize that it wasn't going work that way. Curious, she peeked over her shoulder and saw that the big black thing was moving way faster than she could ever hope to match. She was screwed, done for, toast. Or at least until she saw someone she knew all too well just a few feet away.

Well, wouldn't you know it. Mr. No-Heart would just happen to be in a place like this. Standing there with that familiar little smirk and those ridiculous sunglasses. Though now was not a time for her pathetic opinions. Just seeing him there brought a smile to her face and she scampered behind him, clinging to his warm red coat. Warm? Wait a second, Mr. Legendary Guardian, King of all the stiff, cold-hearted meanies... radiating warmth! And wasn't he supposed to be floating around in the Farplane? This made no sense... but had anything made any sense since she tumbled into this pit? Oh well, he was here, he had a big sword. He'd protect her, just like he always did.

"Um, hi?" She squeaked, standing up on her tiptoes and resting her chin on his so very high shoulder. Fluffy just kept coming nearer and nearer. She wasn't so afraid now that she had a big bad man with a big bad sword to hide behind. A deep, rumbling chuckle escaped him and he shook his head in the way he always did whenever she did something stupid. Which seemed to happen quite often. "Mind getting rid of Fluffy, there?" She asked, her voice still rather squeaky.

"Fluffy?" He asked, mildly amused, though Rikku knew he didn't need an explanation. She offered as good of an innocent grin as she could muster and pointed to the even closer blob. "As you wish, Princess." With that, he took off towards the black chunk of Jell-O, katana drawn. She winced, she hated it when he called her that. If anyone could be the least princess-like it was probably her. She watched as Auron sliced the Jell-O to pieces and came wandering back, looking as if he had hardly done anything. She was passed the point of wondering what the hell was going on, and was glad to see him.

"So, um, Auron.. What're you doing here?" She asked, hoping to get an answer from him, unlike usual. He stood maybe three feet away from her, and as he took a step forward, she was overcome with an inexplicable bout of dizziness. She crashed down onto her knees as everything went spinning into a muddling mixture of grays. Before falling to sweet, sweet unconsciousness she heard a very distinct voice in her hazy mind.

"Dammit Rikku. You're in farther than I thought." She didn't have time to ponder these words as everything faded to blackness. A sick, familiar darkness that she wanted to fight but had no strength to. Shit.

-

She came to who knows how many hours later, greeted with more darkness. Damn it all. She made a mental note to herself that when and if she ever got back home that she was replacing everything black she owned with yellow and other such bright mind numbing colors. Oh, and look now. Mr. Stick-Up-His-Butt was nowhere to be found. She snorted and gazed around the new area. It seemed to be a cave of some sorts. Really dark and really creepy. Even worse than the sandy place where she saw Auron. As she was about to stand up and scream at the top of her lungs for some trace of normality, something glittered at her side. Shiny things always attracted her attention and as she looked closer, she found it to be Auron's special katana. That bastard.

She picked up the blade and looked at it carefully, finding a slip of paper near the handle. A note from Lord Emotionless? She pulled the paper from the katana and unfolded it. Sure enough, in that perfect handwriting of his, was a little note addressed to her. There was something intriguing about the ink, as it seemed to glow in the darkness. Was there anything that man couldn't do? She sighed and scooted around to get comfortable before she began to read it.

Good morning, Sunshine

You've probably realized by now that I have gone. This is not where I belong and it is not where you should be in the first place. I'm sure you have plenty of questions racing through your mind right now, and I shall try my best to answer them in this simple little letter.

This place you have found yourself in, it has no name, no location, no visible entrance nor escape. It exists within you, in the darkest regions of your heart and mind. You are the key to the entrance and the key to the exit, though you will have to learn this yourself. This place exists in every single one of us. It is a place haunted by darkness and secrets, a place we all try to hide away from the rest of the world. We enter here when we are most vulnerable and most confused. For only in the darkness, in the depths, in the shadows is where our answers can be found. Down, down where the secrets lie. Some people never make it out, but you are pure, Rikku. You will find the exit, and I will be waiting there for you. Do not fret, I can help you along the way because we all get lost sometimes. You may not know it, but you were the one that almost helped me escape my own darkness, my own secrets. It is the least I can do for you, Princess.

I have already set you on the right path. There is only one hint I can give you for the trials approaching. Listen to your heart and never doubt yourself. Though you may not see me, I will be there with you, your guardian spirit. And maybe, just maybe, if we do this right, there will be a surprise waiting for you when you wake up. Keep everything you learn here with you forever. This is not only a journey of self-discovery, it is also one that will benefit you for the rest of your life.

Always listen to your heart, Rikku. Always.

Love,

Auron.

She folded up the note and stuffed it in her back pocket, lifting the katana up and shouldering it, the way he always used to. She was surprised at how light it was for being so big.

"Well, Rikku, ol' girl. Lets get this over with. We'll go down, down to where the secrets lie."