FilterSeason: A new reviewer, Yay! Thank you so much, but I hope you were able to read the first part, Hearing Voices. It will make a little more sense if you do.
Riny Beoulve: So very sorry about doing that to you. This time writer's block had me holding back some. I know what I want to do with this, it's just getting there.
mysterious digidreamer: Thank you very much. So here you go.
Moonlightsadness: Another new reviewer! Thanks! Yeah, Cid seems to be annoying lots of people. I didn't mean for that to happen though. I only wanted people to see how much he loves his daughter.
Neko-Yuff16: Wench? Haha, I love it! Yes, she is a wench isn't she? I hate her too, and I wrote her! But now that Auron is gone, she may have a little harder time getting Cid to hate Auron.
Chibi: Yeah, you know who you are. I got tired of typing names out, so you get to be shortened. I'm sure you would agree with Neko-Yuff. Kaleya is a WENCH! But if she didn't put the blame on Auron, you wouldn't want to kill her would you. Oh, I know, how 'bout a contest to see how she should die? And I'm sorry this took so long for you. So to make it up to you, I'll offer you this Auron plushy, it's Auron in nothing but his silk boxers. Does that help you feel better? And by the way, I am not cleaning up any more drool for this! I'm tired from those last two trips I made.
A/n: I can't believe it. I have only 5 chapters out, and 30 reviews. I think you peeps seem to like this better then the original. I guess I made my name known from that. Thanks to you all! So to all those out there, here's some FFX plushies for you. :Throws plushies in the air: And Chibi- you already have one.
Ok, I'm done this looooong response, go ahead and read now. And don't forget to review!
"We should head south and work our way on foot from there. It will give us an advantage if they decide to run." Auron said once they were on board the airship.
Cid glared at him a moment before responding. "Who are you to give orders? I am in charge here." He made sure that all who were on the bridge heard him.
"Merely a suggestion, but as you say, you are in charge." He answered before walking off the bridge to stand outside on deck. He walked in silence never giving those in the hall a second glance. He almost stopped suddenly when he heard Rikku's name being mentioned. He turned the corner and leaned against the wall to listen in.
"Tet oui caa res? Sir Auron ec fedr ic. Fryd yna fa du tu?" (Did you see him? Sir Auron is with us. What are we to do?)
"Zicd yld hunsym. Yht tu hud cbayg Spiran eh vnuhd uv res. Dra macc ra ghufc, dra paddan vun ic." (Just act normal. And do not speak Spiran in front of him. The less he knows, the better for us.)
"Ymnekrd drah. E dnicd oui ghuf fryd oui yna tuehk. Fryd uv dra kenm drah? Yht dryd lnicytan?" (Alright then. I trust you know what you are doing. What of the girl then? And that crusader?)
Now they really had Auron's attention. He had never told anyone he knew how to speak Al Bhed, and right now he was seeing that as a good thing. He would be able to wander the cooradors without suspition, and still be able to listen in.
He did not get to hear anymore since they had moved on. He made his way to the deck like he originaly planned. He stood out there deep in thought. It would be a long two days until they reached Besaid.
A young Al Bhed used a wet rag to clean the wounds of the crusader next to her. He had been beat up pretty bad before he arrived. She dipped the rag into the puddle next to her and moved onto the next cut. If she had been able to use magic she could have healed him completely with a simple cure. But the choker on her neck prevented that. She had tried to take it apart while she wore it, only to be rewarded with a shock and laughter from the two men at the mouth of the cave.
The crusader began to wake up. His eyes fluttered a few times before he recognized the woman above him. "Rikku?" He asked.
"Yeah, that's me. How you feeling?"
"My head hurts, but it will pass." He sat up and rubbed away the dizziness before saying more. "Where are we?"
"On the thunder Plaines. The two men over there," She whispered as she pointed. "Are the only ones keeping watch. I gave the shorter one a nice black eye before you woke up." She laughed quietly before coughing.
Luzzu quickly moved closer to her. He put one arm around her shoulders as he spoke. "Rikku, you're sick. We have to get you out of here soon."
"That won't be possible." She held up her arms so he could see the chains that bound her to the wall. They clanked together until she lowered them back to the floor. "You need to get out of here first. It's not you they want, it's me. I don't know why, I just know they do."
"I'm not going to leave you here. If I find a way out, you are coming with me. Sir Auron has been blamed for your disappearance. We can't let them get away with that."
Rikku gasped. "Hu, ed lyh'd pa. Oh Auron. Fro? Why do they blame him?" (No, it can't be. Why?) She coughed again earning the attention of the taller guard. Seeing it was only her, he turned back to what he was doing.
"He was the last to see you. Cid has been talked into thinking he had something to do with it."
"Kaleya." Rikku growled.
"Alright, that's enough talking you two." The shorter guard came back and pulled Luzzu away from her. She tried to protest and reach for him only to be kicked back by the heel of his boot. Pain shot through her body from her side where he had kicked her. He laughed at her discomfort. "Hey, Vina, come and help me tie this one up!"
"I told you we should have done it while he was knocked out. But you said we wouldn't have to. Now look, it's going to be twice as hard."
He said as he came to the back of the cave.
"Just shut up and help." They roughly picked Luzzu up and threw him next to the wall. The taller one, Vina, used a rope to tie his hands behind his back. While the other tied his feet so he would not be able to run. Sure Luzzu tried to fight them, but they hit the side of his head and knocked him out. A small trickle of blood ran down his face from the spot.
Rikku could only watch in horror at the way they treated her friend. "Stop it! Let him go!" She shouted, but it fell on deaf ears. She tried to reach for him, but the chains pulled her back. She started coughing again after hitting the ground.
The shorter guard turned to look at her. "Aww, look at the poor princess. Poor thing got sick while being away from home. What a shame." He mocked.
"Why...?" Rikku tried to ask, her throat too sore to be able to speak clearly. She cleared it and began again. "Why are you doing this? Who is behind it?" Her voice sounded raspy in her ears. But she had to know for sure.
"I hope you have found a place that is well hidden. They will be in your area within the next two weeks." She spoke as a woman scared. If she was caught, she would surely be put to death. Kidnapping the leader's daughter was no minor offence.
"Don't worry ma'am. We have found a well-hidden spot. Unless they can see in the dark, they will never find us. Fiends don't even come close to us." He assured her.
"They better not." She snapped. "I have too much riding on this. Once Rikku is out of the way, Kyo will surely take over in his father's stead. And once that happens, you know who will be the one making the decisions." She let out a laugh that was full of mockery and maliciousness. "But that is for a later time. I have things that must be taken care of here. Do not let them find you." She gave one last warning before hanging up the commsphere.
Kaleya glanced around the room she was in. It was Cid's private office. She needed to find the files on his family. Tapping the walls to see if any of them where hollow, a sign that a safe was hidden behind it. She was about to give up when she found it. She had almost missed it. The wall was reinforced with plaster to keep people from doing just what she was doing. The only reason she knew was because her father had done the same thing when she was little.
A smile crossed her face, "Finally." She whispered. She felt around behind the picture until she found the small groove that signaled where the edge of the safe was. The piece fell out easily and she saw the door to his safe behind it. "Now to figure out the combination."
It was a keypad with numbers and letters. She punched a few in at random each time getting an error message. Getting frustrated she punched in the names of his children. With a small beep and a hiss, the door opened. "Not very original." She remarked to herself.
She pulled the metal box out and sat behind the desk to look through it. It was a bunch of papers mostly. A lot of them had to do with his wife and sister. Sin had killed them both. She then found something on Lord Braska.
"High summoner Braska?" She questioned. Reading over it she found out that he had married Cid's sister. After sin had killed her, Braska chose to become a summoner to avenge his wife. "Well, what do you know?"
Putting that information aside she continued. The next thing she found was information on Kyo and Rikku. This was what she was looking for. Cid had talked to both of his children about leadership. Kyo had declined, but Rikku was still unsure. In small messy handwriting she saw a note had been scribbled in. She brought it closer to her face so she could get a better look at it.
Kyo does not want to take over. But with Kaleya here he may be willing to change his mind. Though I dread that thought. Rikku has a good head on her. But I am afraid with her dating that monk she may be putting herself in danger. She claims that he has saved her life, but I still wonder what his motives really are.
She laughed at how paranoid Cid sounded. She stopped when she reread the first part, he dreaded the thought of her being able to change Kyo's mind? What did he mean by that? "Tysh umt syh. Fru tuac ra drehg ra ec?" (Damn old man. Who does he think he is?)
She slammed the papers down in anger. Kaleya was not one to be taken lightly. She put the papers back where she found them and stormed out of the room.
Yuna was the first to see the airship land by the beach. She was playing with Vidina in the water while Lulu and Wakka took care of some things in Kilika for the day. She picked up Vidina and ran to see them.
Cid and brother were the first to exit. "Uncle Cid, Brother." She shouted to get their attention. "What are you guys doing here?" She asked once they were on the soft sand.
"We have a problem." Cid began.
"Rikku is missing." Someone finished his thought.
Yuna glanced over the older man's shoulder to see Auron standing there. No one had even heard his approach. "Sir Auron." She gasped. She held the boy in her arms just a little closer in reaction. She couldn't imagine something happening to him. "Are... are you doing okay?" She asked tenitively.
He grunted but said nothing. With the missing cowl Yuna was able to see he had not slept well in several days. He appeared tired and worn out. His eyes were what gave it away the most though. She could see the fear he had hidden behind them, fear of not being able to see Rikku again.
"Why don't you all come to my place? I can send Tidus out to help you search." She suggested.
Auron didn't answer but pushed his way through to head to the village. He stumbled before falling to hands and knees. He pulled his sword from his back and thrust it into the sand. Using it for support, he brought himself to his feet once more. Yuna looked on in surprise. Her ex-guardian was in worse shape then he let on. He could barely walk.
Cid thoughts were along the same line, but slightly different. He watched as the red-coated man struggled to his feet. The sheer will power he used to keep moving was impressive. He really was determined to find Rikku.
"Vydran." Brother said.
"Yeah, yeah. I see it too." He said waving a hand in the air.
The trio followed Yuna back to the village. Tidus was in the middle of town talking to one of the villagers. He turned his head to see them approach. Leaving the conversation he ran over to them.
"Yuna, what's going on?" He looked behind them like he expected someone else. "Hey old man, where's Rikku?" He asked addressing Auron.
"Gone." Was his one word answer.
Yuna pulled him to the side to speak to him with out the men hearing. "I'm going to take Sir Auron to our place. He needs rest. Could you take Vidina with you? Ask Cid what happened. I'm sure he will tell you."
"Sure, Yuna." He scratched the back of his head in confusion before taking the kid from her arms.
"Thank you." She kissed his cheek before grabbing Auron's arm and leading him away.
She prepared a room for him to rest in. It just happened to be the same one Rikku had stayed in for the three months Yuna took care of her. Yet she did not dare tell him that. He had enough on his mind.
She walked around the room setting things up as she talked. Auron could only watch through half lidded eyes. "Tell me what happened. Where is my cousin?"
"Yuna, I do not thing now is a good time. In your condition..."
She stopped what she was doing to put her hands on her hips and stare at him. "In my condition? Sir Auron, I am pregnant, not an invalid."
"I apologize. I did not mean for it to sound as if you were."
She let out a breath of air before saying more. "No, it's not you. The entire village seems to think I can't do things on my own. I took care of Rikku for the three months before you came back. That was the most dangerous part of this pregnancy. I think I can handle knowing what happened to her. Did she run away, get lost on an excavating mission, what?"
"Kidnapped."
"Kid... what?" Yuna put a hand to her chest and sat on the bed. "By who? Who would want Rikku?"
"I have an idea, but I do not dare say it. Cid does not like me as it is."
"You think Uncle Cid took his own daughter?" She asked him surprised that he would even suggest such a thing.
"No, someone else has her." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a blue headband. "I found this the other day. I knew it was Rikku's as soon as I saw it."
Yuna took the band from his outstretched hand and held it close to her chest. Rikku was gone. Her cousin and friend had been kidnapped. She couldn't imagine anyone doing such a horrible deed. "What about Luzzu? Where is he?"
"He is gone as well." Auron dropped his eyes to the floor as if he was ashamed of what had happened. If only he had gone with her. Or if he had insisted she stay with him until later. So many ifs and no answers.
Yuna's hand on his shoulder brought him out of his daze. "Don't worry. We will find her. Get some rest, we will begin at dawn." She slipped the blue band back into his hands before leaving the room.
Auron woke early the next morning. Even with Yuna's reassurance, he didn't sleep well. He moved the blankets off his legs and brought his feet to rest on the floor. He put his elbows on his knees and rubbed his weary eyes. His silk boxers twisted around his waist, but he didn't even notice.
How long had it been since Rikku had been missing? Three days, four? He thought back and counted, not it was more like five. Six if you counted today. He groaned at the though. Almost a week. He prayed that she wasn't laying in some ditch hurt or dying. If she died, he wouldn't know what to do. Life on Spira wouldn't be right without her.
A knock on his door interrupted him. A moment later Yuna's head poked in the door. She blushed when she saw how little he had on before turning away so he could keep some of his modesty. "I just wanted to let you know breakfast is ready. Tidus is already eating, but you can come when you are ready."
"Thank you, Yuna. I will... be there in a few moments."
She nodded and left the room closing the door behind her. Auron stood from the bed and made his way to the chair that he had draped his clothes over the night before. Outside the window the sun was just beginning its ascent over the trees. He got dressed and left the room to get something to eat before Tidus could eat it all. If he was lucky them maybe they would be able to find Rikku today. He prayed to any higher power listening that they would.