A/N: Huge apologies for the ridiculously long time before an update, I never intended for it to be this long. The death of two friends and the start of college really delayed the writing of this chapter. Sorry it took so long, but hopefully it was worth the wait :)

oooooooooo

I entered the hospital and jogged to the desk, completely breathless from running nearly the whole way there. Gippal was right behind me and he had to stop and bend over to regain some air.

"Rikku, I... know you are... excited but... we didn't have... to run... all the way... here, you know," he muttered in between breaths.

I just ignored him and glanced over at the receptionist. "Ma'am, we were told that Cid had woken up..."

"Oh, yes, we've been expecting you. Follow me."

I tugged on Gippal's arm and he reluctantly followed me into Cid's old room. Cid was awake, but he still looked really groggy. Brother was sitting in a chair next to his bed and I was surprised to see two officers standing on the other side. One of them walked up to me and smiled. He was tall, very tan, and had shoulder-length hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. He looked more like a wrestler than an officer.

"Hello, Rikku. My name is Gann, and I'm from Al Bhed Law Enforcement. We've been waiting for you. Now that you're here we can start."

"Start what?"

"Well, now that Cid is awake he can tell us what happened. We're here to write it all down so we can put it in the report."

"Oh... well, okay." I really didn't know what to say. I thought I would be able to talk to Dad a little before they started the whole police business up. I didn't know if I was ready to hear what he might say, but I had no choice. I was going to find out what really happened, whether I liked it or not.

"Cid? Cid, are you with me?" Gann hovered over his bed and waved his hand over his face.

"Stop that! Of course I'm awake!"

"Dad! He's trying to help you!"

"Wavin' his hand in front of me isn't helpin'!"

I sighed. Dad is back to normal, all right. "Let's just get this over with."

Cid grumbled. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Doesn't matter. How about when you got home?" Gann took out a pen and got ready to write.

"Oh, all right. I took Rei home from the concert while the kids went to their party thing. She took a bath and did all her stuff to get ready for bed. She was picking out a story for me to read to her when I heard a knock on the door. I told her I'd be right back and to keep lookin' for one.

"I went to the door and opened it a little to see who was there. It was an Al Bhed man with hair stickin' out every which way, and he was wearing all black."

"Did the man look like this?" The other officer handed a picture of Ian over to Cid, who glanced at it and nodded. "Yeah, that's him. Would recognize that hair anywhere. Kids these days, I tell you, they got messed up hair and clothes and no ruttin' respect for anybody..."

The other officer and Cid glared at him. "As I was sayin', he was a crazy lookin' kid in all black. He told me his airship had broken a ways down and asked if I could help him fix it. Well, I normally would have, but this boy gave me a bad feelin' and it didn't help that he looked downright crazy. I told him that I was sorry, but I had to watch my granddaughter and that he should try asking my neighbor, 'cause he's real good with ships."

I went to shut the door but he pushed against it, trying to break it in. I slammed my body to the door and tried to push it shut while he went all crazy and started running into the door. I got it shut and was about to lock it when he kicked it, knockin' it clear to the floor and pushin' me back. I punched him in the stomach and he doubled over. Rei came running in 'cause of all the noise and I turned around and yelled at her to stay in her room. That's when he first got me with the knife, and I turned around and punched him in the face, knockin' him on the floor. Rei started cryin', and I was about to start runnin' to a commsphere but the guy tripped me and I fell too, right next to the couch. He rolled over and stabbed me a couple more times, and I gave 'im a good kick in the ribs before he got up."

Cid stopped and closed his eyes for a moment, then sighed. "He stood up and started wavin' his knife all around like the crazy man he was. He told me that I had to die. Said somethin' about a revolution, that if it was gonna happen me and some others had to die. He said it was the only way."

"A revolution? Did he say anything more?" Gann asked, obviously curios.

"No. He just kept goin' on about 'the revolution that will change all Al Bhed,' and that he was gonna be leader 'cause it was his rightful place from the start. He wouldn't tell me anything more about it. Just kept telling me I had to die, and he was sorry 'cause he always admired me or somethin' but I had to die."

Cid took another deep breath and rubbed his forehead, as if he had a headache. "I tried to get up but he hit me in the face and I fell back down, where he felt he had to stab me again. Rei ran over, holdin' her bear and cryin' and telling the man not to hurt her grandpa no more. She hugged me and told me she was gonna call the doctor for me but the guy told her no one was callin' anybody. He looked at Rei for a minute, then got this big old grin on his face like he just thought of somethin'. He walked over, and... he just grabbed her."

I could feel Gippal's hand tightly squeezing my own, and the room went deathly quiet. Cid looked like he was about to cry, but he kept on going.

"I yelled at him to bring her back, that she had nothin' to do with any of this and it was between me and him. He just smiled and got up all close to my face, and told me that it had everything to do with her. He told me he was sorry before he stabbed me one last time and he headed out the door. Rei dropped her bear and started screamin' but the guy put his mouth over her face and walked away. I started crawlin' on the floor to the doorway but the man turned around and told me if I alerted anybody he would kill her. So I waited until he left and I started feelin' real woozy and out of it 'cause of all the blood loss. I don't know why, but I turned back over to the couch and started crawlin' to the bedroom. I kept grabbing the walls and I don't remember much else 'cause that's about when I passed out."

"Did you see where the man walked off to?"

"Oh... I think it was west of the house, off to the horizon. He looked like he was goin' off into the desert."

"He must have had a spaceship waiting, then. I doubt he would just walk into the middle of the desert. Did he happen to say anything at all about where he was from, or where he might be going?"

"No."

The room grew awkwardly quiet again as everyone became absorbed in their own thoughts. I was faced with the realization that, once again, we were stuck and had nowhere to go.

"So what can we do?" Gippal glanced over at Gann, his face worried. "I mean, there has to be something... "

"We can start by sending out Ian's file to other stations in Spira and ask them to look for him, if they can. But this will mainly be in our hands."

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go." Gippal grabbed my hand and I mouthed a goodbye to Cid before we left, although it looked like he was already asleep.

When we got to the station, we found everyone else still waiting for us in the lobby. Yuna was sitting on a couch next to Tidus, who looked asleep. Paine looked up from her coffee and yawned.

"How's Cid doing?" Yuna asked, shrugging Tidus off her shoulder and standing up.

"Fine. Tired, but fine."

She embraced me in a tight hug and I could hear her smile. "So, did you find out anything?"

"No. The officer is going to talk to the other stations, though. Hopefully we'll be able to find this guy."

"Yeah. Don't worry, Rikku, it will be fine." She hugged me again and pushed a strand of hair off my face. "Let's go watch them talk to the other stations. Maybe somebody has seen him already."

She took my hand and Gippal and the others followed as Gann led us into a small room with a large commsphere in the middle of a table. We all gathered around it.

"I thought we'd try Luca first, then make our way down to the smaller towns." He pressed a few buttons and a large screen of static slowly materialized into a police station, much larger than the one in Home. There were many people walking around and everything looked so rushed and busy.

A young and pretty receptionist rolled her chair over to the screen, and smiled. "Thank you for calling the Luca Law Enforcement Agency. How may I help you?"

"Hello, this is Gann from the Al Bhed agency. May I speak with Chief Officer Derric?"

"My, that's quite the crowd you have, sir," the lady smiled, then looked over at Yuna. "Goodness, is that the Lady Yuna? You look absolutely stunning today."

"Um, thank you," Yuna blushed. After all of these years, she still was easily embarrassed.

"Yes it is. But that's not why I'm calling... can I please speak with the Chief?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir- he's really busy at the moment, handling a high profile murder case, you see..."

"Who is it?" A old man's voice echoed from off the screen.

"It's an officer from the Al Bhed agency who wants to speak with you, sir. But I told him..."

"I'm not busy right now. I'll take it from here, thank you."

"Oh, okay. It was a pleasure seeing you, Lady Yuna." The woman smiled and she rolled off the screen. A gruff looking man soon replaced her. He had short, graying hair and his face looked tired and worn. He grinned slightly when he saw Yuna.

"My, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Nice to see you again, Derric." Gann said sternly, and Derric's eyes moved away from Yuna.

"Well, yes. It's been a while... the stations haven't needed to communicate as much without Sin or the New Yevon and Youth League situations anymore, you see. Not much going on nowadays."

"Yes, but I would like to ask your help in a case I'm working on. I'm faxing the file over to you right now." Gann held up Ian's picture, and Derric raised his eyebrows.

"This man's name is Ian. He is wanted for the attempted murder of Cid of the Al Bhed and the kidnapping of a two year old girl, Cid's granddaughter, and daughter of Gippal of the Machine Faction. We believe he may have left Al Bhed territory and is going somewhere unknown in a stolen airship."

"And what do you want me to do, Gann?"

Gann frowned. "Well, I was hoping you could just hand his picture out to some of your officers. Be on the lookout for him, you know. If we find out what airship he has we will let you know."

Derric laughed and rubbed his forehead. "And why would I do that?"

Gann opened his mouth, stunned. "Excuse me, sir?"

"I'm busy. I've got a very important murder case right now, dealing with a very prominent man in Luca and all of Spira is watching. I don't have time for this junk."

"Junk? Sir, I know you are busy, but this won't take long and..."

"I'm not going to deal with this, Gann. I don't have time to deal with your little Al Bhed problems right now. Go... I don't know, fix up a machina scanner or something and find it, that's what you people do, isn't it? I'm sure he's hanging out in that little godforsaken desert of yours somewhere."

"But... but you've never had problems helping me before. When Sin..."

"When Sin was around, it didn't just involve your little Al Bhed tribe. It involved me, and all of Spira, because Sin was everybody's problem. Now this is your problem. One extra crazy Al Bhed don't mean nothing to me."

"Derric, if you could only..."

"ENOUGH!" Derric had stood up and slammed his fists onto the table, causing papers to fly around the desk and nearby people to stare. "I already told you I don't give a damn about your case. I thought you were a good guy, Gann. Smart, especially for your kind. Turns out you don't know when to back the hell off. Don't call me again unless it directly concerns me, you hear?"

The screen turned to static again, and there was silence.

Gann looked like he was trying very hard to keep his composure, as was everyone else in the room. I could feel Gippal almost shuddering with anger at the way this man was treating us. To him, we were garbage. We were just another little "Al Bhed problem," and nobody cared.

Yuna was the first to speak. "How could he say those things? I thought... nobody really talks like that anymore, do they? People have changed..."

Gippal shook his head and bit his lip. He looked at the ground and ran his hands through his hair, obviously distressed. "Some things never change, Yuna."

oooooooo

Lea sat in the passenger seat of the airship, mindlessly braiding a few strands of hair. The sun was pouring through the large window and the heat was starting to become uncomfortable. Ian wasn't about to waste any fuel on climate control, however. She sighed and twirled her chair around to face Ian.

"When are we going to reach Kilika?"

"I don't know. An hour or two, maybe. Why do you care?"

"Just wanted to know. Why are we going, anyway?"

"Taking care of some business."

"Is it just you going?"

"What do you think I am, stupid? I'm not going to leave you here with the ship. You'll run off with it."

Lea sighed. "Well, we'll have to get some good clothes for the girl. She can't go around Kilika walking around like a blood-soaked mess, you know. Might draw some unwanted attention."

Ian grumbled. "Find her something to wear, then."

"I don't carry toddler clothes with me."

"THEN MAKE SOMETHING. And stop talking, you're pissing me off."

Lea sighed and got up out of her chair. She wasn't very enthusiastic about her sewing skills, but she'd have to throw something together for Rei in a couple of hours.

She walked to the back of the ship by the bathroom and opened up a closet. She searched through piles of towels and sheets in hopes of finding some kind of fabrics or something, but she didn't find any.

Great, looks like she's wearing a sheet.

Lea grabbed a Lilac sheet and in another drawer took out some scissors, a sewing needle and some thread. She entered her room, where Rei was sitting on the floor and staring at the carpet.

"Hi, sweetie. We're going to be in Kilika in a little while, so we should get you cleaned up, okay? How does a nice bubble bath sound?"

Rei looked up at her and grinned. "Lots of bubbles?"

Lea laughed. "As many as you want." She watched as Rei happily jumped up and ran for the bathroom, almost running into the door in the process. She grabbed the bubble solution off the desk and walked into the bathroom, grateful for the tiny luxuries the stolen ship had given them. She started filling up the tub and Rei watched with happiness as the pink bubbles filled the tub.

"Toys?"

Lea frowned. "No, I don't have any bath toys, sweetie. But you can watch me make your dress, if you want. I know it's not as fun, I'm sorry."

Rei didn't seem to mind. As soon as the tub was done filling Lea helped her in and wasted no time in washing her hair. Bath time went quickly but she still managed to get a decent sheet-dress done. Lea thought the ankle length, sleeveless dress looked kind of lopsided but it would have to do. She got her dressed and was brushing her hair when Ian busted in the room.

"I just thought of something. You need to cut her hair. Some people might be lookin' for her. Oh, and we're almost there, so when you're done get out in the cabin and we'll leave. Be quick."

He shut the door and Rei looked up at Lea sadly. She could tell she didn't want to get her hair cut.

Lea gave her a reassuring smile. "I know you don't want to cut your hair, Rei, but you have to, or else he'll be mad. Besides, it'll grow back. And I'll style it really nice and pretty for you."

Rei seemed to understand, because she climbed up on the small stool and covered her eyes, as if she didn't want to look. Lea smiled sadly and grabbed the scissors. She knew her hair cutting skills weren't great, but by the time she was done she had Rei's new chin length hair looking pretty even. She even tried doing layers, and Rei seemed to approve. She found a little flower hair clip and pulled back some of her hair.

"Alright, we should be going now, sweetie. Remember, no matter what happens, don't say anything, okay? Even if somebody asks you a question. Ian will get mad at you if you say something you shouldn't, and then it'll be hard for your mommy and daddy to find us because he will keep us hidden. Do you understand?"

Rei nodded. Lea was astounded at how smart this little girl was. She seemed to be perfectly aware of what she had to do, and it put Lea's mind more at ease.

They stepped into the cabin and Ian was waiting, cleaning his knife. When he saw them he grumbled impatiently and then stashed it in his bag.

Lea stopped in her tracks. "What are you doing with that? I thought you were meeting somebody."

Ian stared impassively at her and opened the door to the airship. "I told you, taking care of some business."

"What business?"

"MOVE."

Lea walked out of the airship and into the sunlight. Kilika was as beautiful as ever, but the tranquil scenery was doing nothing to settle the knots that were forming in her stomach. Taking care of business was never a good thing with Ian.

They walked across the long docks in silence as the citizens of Kilika bustled around them. Rei looked longingly at a group of children laughing and chasing a dog across the beach, and Lea's heart ached for her. Ian was getting weird looks every now and then, and she wondered why he would go to Kilika, of all places. Was he out of his mind? This place was a small community, and they would immediately take notice of an outsider, especially one with an airship.

They weaved through a few more paths until they reached a small, grassy hut on the water. Ian just walked right in the home and they followed. An Al Bhed man was sitting at a small table and holding hands with a young Kilika woman. He looked up at Ian with surprise.

"Ian... um... what an unexpected pleasure. Can I help you?" There was fear in the man's voice, and Lea grew immediately scared.

"Aydan, who is it?" The woman asked, confused.

"Aydan?" Lea smiled. "I didn't recognize you. It's Lea, remember?"

He glanced at her for a moment, and grinned. "Yes, I know you. How could I forget my first girlfriend?" He chuckled. "Wow, you've changed. Look at you, you're as pretty as ever." His gaze wandered over her, and Lea blushed. "This is Kaila, my fiancé. Is Ian your guy now? And you didn't tell me you had a daughter..."

"Look, this is all very touching, but I don't have all day. I have to talk to you, Aydan. Alone." Ian interrupted, his voice full of irritation and impatience.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it in here. In front of everyone."

"No, I can't. Don't make this harder than it has to be." Ian opened his bag and took out his knife.

"You're the one who is making this difficult, Ian. I don't even know what this is about." Aydan's eyes wandered over to the knife, and he hovered protectively over Kaila.

"Oh, but you do know." Ian grabbed him by the neck and pushed him up against the wall. Aydan started to struggle but he soon stopped when the knife was placed against his neck.. "You were interrogated by the police. And you gave them some information... information you were supposed to keep secret. So now you're hiding here like a coward, hoping I wouldn't find you."

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Aydan choked out, glancing over at Kaila who was watching in fear and horror.

"Yes, you do. You told them about the project, three months ago, did you not? It's on file somewhere, and they're going to figure it out soon enough. They're going to connect it back to me, and then all will be ruined. I trusted you, Aydan, and you betrayed me, like a coward. And you know where betrayers go, my friend?"

Aydan glanced over at Lea, and gave her a desperate pleading look. Like she could do anything.

He looked over at his fiancé, his eyes wide and desperate. He knew what was coming, and a moment passed where he had a faraway look, like he was seeing his life flash before him... or maybe what his life could have been. Tears streaked down his cheeks and he let out a choked sob.

"I'm so sorry, Kaila, I love you..."

"WHERE DO BETRAYERS GO, AYDAN?" Ian thundered, his voice deafening in the small hut.

"I love you...so much..." he was crying desperately now, sobbing, and Kaila held out her arms as if she wanted to grab him but Lea stopped her.

"WHERE DO THEY GO?"

"Please... please don't hurt her..."

"MY PATIENCE IS GONE, AYDAN. WHERE DO THEY GO?"

Aydan looked over at Ian, then back at his fiancé, giving her one last look of desperation. "For...forgive me, Kaila, I..."

"THEY GO TO HELL, AYDAN, TO HELL!"

And in one swift, merciless motion, the knife cut through Aydan's throat and he sputtered, falling to the ground with a loud thump. Kaila screamed out in horror and jumped over to his body, throwing herself over him. Ian grabbed her by the hair and threw her back against the wall before stabbing her once, near her lungs, and she cried out in pain and despair.

Lea rushed over to Aydan's body and turned it over. His face was expressionless as the life drained from his body and spilt on the wooden floor. She whipped around and faced Ian. "Why did you have to kill both of them? WHAT DID SHE DO TO YOU?"

"Leave no witnesses, Lea. She would have told the police."

"And what did Aydan do to you? WHAT DID HE DO?" Lea screamed desperately, completely forgetting about little Rei huddled in the corner and absolutely frightened.

Ian walked over to Lea and struck her hard across the face, sending her reeling to the floor. "Quit making so much damn noise! And you heard me, he betrayed me. Just because you were once his whore doesn't make him worth anything to me. Now clean up, you can't walk out in there covered in blood. Oh, and let this be a reminder of what happens to people that betray me. Remember."

And with that, Ian walked out the back door and onto the beach, wiping his knife off with a piece of cloth as he went and humming.

Lea let the tears fall as she glanced over at Aydan's expressionless body. He was no longer breathing, and his eyes remained wide and open to the world. Lea sighed and shakily closed his eyelids with her fingers.

She got up and went to the bathroom, washing the blood from her hands and arms. Even after it was visibly gone, Lea still felt it on her skin. She felt it with her when she walked out and picked little crying Rei up in her arms, rocking her gently.

"Shhh... sweetie... it's okay... it's going to be fine," she whispered as the sobs escaped her lips, "it's going to be okay." But Lea had her doubts.

With a silent prayer for Aydan and Kaila she walked out the back door and into the unforgiving sun. And as Rei cried desperately, frightened, clutching her shoulder, the feel of blood still strong on her hands, she knew that it was far from over.