A/N: What can I say- college and work really don't leave much free time, so fanfiction hasn't been my priority lately. I haven't abandoned it completely, however, and I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing and if you're still interested in this story after all this time, many hugs for you. It really means a lot to me to hear that there are still people enjoying this thing after so long.

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I glanced outside the hospital window and noticed the sun was beginning to set. After the incident at the police station, Gippal and I went back to the hospital. We talked with Cid for a while before he drifted off to sleep. He asked us how the search had been going, and we told him about Ian, but left out the part with Derric and the Luca office. It wouldn't do any good to tell him, it'd just get him all worked up and mad when he needed to rest.

Gippal had been silent most of the time. He looked like he was thinking very deeply about something. He had dark circles, making him look much older than he was. And to think it had only been one day since Rei had gone... it really felt like an eternity.

Paine, Yuna, and Tidus had stayed behind at the police station. Yuna told us that as soon as anything came up, they'd let us know... it had been a few hours since then. My stomach growled, reminding me of my recent lack of food. I couldn't eat, though. Not when my baby was out there... I wondered if her captors would be kind enough to keep her from starving. I wondered where she would be sleeping tonight, if she slept at all.

My train of thought was interrupted by the sound of heavy boots on tile approaching the room. I glanced over at the doorway in time to see Paine enter.

"We've got a possible sighting. Come on, there's a 'ship waiting outside."

This seemed to break Gippal out of his trance, and before I knew it we were out of the hospital and getting on the law enforcement airship. It was fairly small inside, and the five of us plus the officers made it pretty crowded. I waited until the noises of the 'ship taking off had subsided to speak.

"Paine... where did they see him?"

"Kilika. An old woman saw him leaving a house with a young woman and a little girl. She talked to the authorities there, who then contacted us. Gann had sent the warning out about Ian to them a few hours ago so they knew we were looking for him."

"Leaving the house? So they're gone?" I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice.

Gann sighed. "Probably. But we're going to investigate, anyway. It might help us determine where he's going next."

"I wonder who that woman is with them," Gippal said, his voice hoarse. "And what they were doing in Kilika, of all places?"

Gann paused, then glanced at the floor. "The woman who saw him went to check on the house after they left. Said the guy was yelling and creating such a ruckus she wanted to make sure everything was okay with the homeowners, since she knew them." He paused again and sighed. "She found her neighbors' bodies inside the house. They had been murdered."

In that moment I was hit with such a shock that it felt as if all my air escaped my lungs, and I gasped. My fears were beginning to be realized. This man was more than capable of attempted murder, as the attack on Cid proved. But to hear about him actually succeeding in murder made me literally sick. This man was truly a ruthless killer, and he had my daughter.

"What was the victims' connection to Ian? Why would he... do that to them?" Gippal asked.

"I'm not sure," Gann replied. "The male victim's name is Aydan. I'm having his name searched on our database and if anything of importance is found, we'll be contacted."

The ride to Kilika was long and filled with an awkward silence. Why, of all places, would Ian go to this peaceful little island? The citizens of Kilika have put up with so much suffering in the past, mainly during the time of sin and, afterwards, the whole civil unrest between New Yevon and the Youth League, and now they were just looking for some peace. Maybe that's what Aydan was there for; just looking for a simple, peaceful life. Either that, or he was hiding from something...

The glow of the commsphere prevented me from expanding on my thoughts. Gann glanced down at it and grinned. "You found something?"

"Yes, sir. Something very interesting," the female officer grinned. "Aydan made a visit to our station about six months ago. He wanted to talk to us about a man and a project that he refused to name. Said he was afraid for his life if he did. Anyway, there was this group he was a part of. Once again he refused to name it, but he said that they were a group for the advancement of the Al Bhed. He gave us vague details about how they formed a few years ago as a simple, peaceful group, dedicated to the fight against Al Bhed discrimination. Aydan thought it was a good cause, but he was a little put off at how the leader insisted on keeping their existence completely secret. Despite this, he was a good friend of the leader, so he joined. After a few months, the meetings began to include mentions of violence against the non Al-Bhed. Aydan said the leader started talking crazy, about how peace wasn't going to work and if the Al Bhed were to regain their rightful place in the world as its leaders, then violence against anyone not in support of complete Al Bhed rule would be necessary in order to ensure and maintain their domination."

The officer was silent for a moment, allowing all the information to sink in before she continued.

"Anyway, a lot of the members started getting freaked out. They stopped attending meetings and eventually Aydan was the only one who would even talk to this guy anymore. The leader began making threats to the members who dropped out, saying he would hunt them down and kill them and their families, and so on. Aydan told the leader he couldn't take full part of it anymore, that he made up some story about his wife wanting to move and they couldn't attend meetings regularly. The guy was angry, but he didn't threaten to kill them or anything. Aydan said he was still a little freaked out and that he was going into hiding with his wife. He told us that the leader had made frequent mentions of killing famous Al Bhed that were, in his opinion, too sympathetic and friendly toward our oppressors."

"Cid," I said without thinking, "Cid would have been one of them."

The officer nodded. "Gippal is on the list as well, among many others. Aydan said he told us all of this because he wanted us to keep an eye out for any threats, however subtle, against the lives of these people. That was the last we heard of him."

"So you think this leader he was talking about... could he be Ian?" Paine asked, her eyebrow raised.

The officer nodded again. "It's very possible. We can't say for sure if it's true, but it would explain a lot."

"Like why he killed Aydan, of all people," Tidus added, his arm around Yuna. I noticed that Yuna had remained very silent throughout the ride, and her face was slightly paler than usual.

"And why he went after Cid. It still doesn't explain, though, why he decided to take Rei at the last minute," Paine added.

"Well, it's likely he had been present at the concert where he would have found out about Rikku and Rei's relationship to Gippal. He may have thought that this would be a good way to get to him... or maybe he wants something from us, and he'll use her for ransom. It's hard to determine at this point," Gann said, "in any case, we should know at least a little more after visiting Aydan's home. I want everyone on this ship to know that we're visiting a crime scene. It's not going to be pretty, and I understand if you want to wait outside," Gann glanced at me and Gippal, and we both shook our heads. As much as it would hurt, I needed to see that house.

The rest of the way was filled with more silence as everyone became absorbed in their own thoughts. I asked Yuna at least three times if she felt okay, and she just nodded her head. I didn't believe her, but I figured the ride combined with pregnancy was making her a little nauseous.

We arrived after what felt like the longest ride of my life. It was night now, and we attracted quite a few stares from the locals, who were all out of their homes and observing commotion. There were many airships surrounding the island, and there was crowd of law enforcement surrounding a small hut wrapped in crime scene tape and lit up with lights. As we approached it, I noticed a group of curious children being shooed away by an officer. A few other citizens looked on from a distance, obviously curious as well. Events of this nature did not happen every day in this tiny community, after all.

When we reached the hut I could see that a lot of the investigative work was winding down. An officer greeted Gann and they spoke in private, leaving the rest of us to wander. We were let right through the tape, and I noticed an older woman speaking to an officer. She looked over at us and sighed.

"You must be the girl's family. They told me who they thought the little girl was, you know. I am very sorry."

I faked a smile. "Thanks. I'm sorry about your neighbors. Um, can you tell us what happened?"

"Aydan and Kaila were such a pleasant young couple, very much in love. They were to be married in a few weeks, right over there on the beach. They talked to me often, and I helped make Kaila's dress. I finished it only two days ago, Kaila was supposed to visit me and make the final adjustments on it today. Such a tragedy, what happened. Who would do such a thing? I know they were Al Bhed, but..."

"That is what we need your help on, ma'am. If you can tell us what happened, we might be able to figure out where he's going and find him."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Anyway, I was sitting in my home, taking a nap when I heard some yelling. At first I thought it was some noisy children, my hearing is not that great in my age, but it grew louder and I heard a scream coming from their home. I looked out my window and did not see anything out of the ordinary, and I was about to go to the house when I saw a man I did not recognize come out the back door. He was followed by a young woman who was holding on to a little girl, Al Bhed by the looks of it. They argued for a minute before disappearing and then coming out of the front. They walked down the dock and got in a ship. After they left I went over to the house to check on them, and... and I found Aydan and Kaila."

We all stood silent for a moment, letting it all sink in. I barely noticed Gippal's hand slip through mine, and Paine motioned for us to follow her at the entrance to the house. I figured I was ready, despite Gann's warning. I had been to a crime scene before, and it while this was tragic, the previous one had been more personal.

Spira, was I wrong.

The home was small, and the two figures covered in white sheets were sprawled a few feet from each other. Furniture was knocked over, and puddles of blood covered the floor. There was so much of it, and I was afraid to step in it. Feeling slightly nauseous, I walked over to the desk where Paine was flipping through a photo album. I looked over her shoulder to see various pictures of the couple, and it pained me to note that they did indeed look very happy and in love. One of the pictures in particular caught my eye, and Paine grabbed my arm when she saw it.

A tall man, whom I assumed to be Aydan from the previous pictures, was standing in front of an airship with a man who looked very much like Ian. He appeared in several other pictures standing amidst a group, and I could only assume that Ian, Aydan, and the mystery group were all connected in some way.

I was suddenly overcome with a strong urge to leave the house. I could feel Gippal's gaze on me when I left, and I didn't stop walking when I went back out into the chilly night air. I noticed Yuna and Tidus sitting on the edge of a dock, and I sat down next to them. Tidus had his arm wrapped around his wife, and Yuna still looked a little pale.

"Are you okay, Yuna? You don't look so good," I put my hand on hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm fine, just a little sick from the ride. I think I'm stressing out a little too much. I just need to relax for a while, is all." She turned her head to look at me in concern. "How are you holding up, Rikku?"

"Fine, all things considered. I think we're getting closer, though."

"But doesn't it bother you... what he did to those people?"

I paused a moment before answering. Of course it bothered me, but I was trying really hard not to think about it. "Yes, it does. But the lady who saw them didn't say anything about Rei appearing hurt or anything. We are getting closer. We'll find her soon. She has to be here to greet her little baby cousin into the world, after all," I patted Yuna's large stomach and gave her a small smile, trying to calm her fears a little. Yuna being stressed out would definitely not be good for that baby, and I'd be damned if something happened to either of them because of all of this.

Yuna looked at me thoughtfully. "How do you do it, Rikku?"

I stared at her, surprised. "Do what?"

"Stay so optimistic all the time. No matter what happens... you're always so happy. We could be staring the end of the world in the face and you could make us laugh. You've always been so positive about everything, you know?"

I gave her a small smile. "Not always."

"Well, I think so. And it's part of the many reasons why we love you, Gippal especially. "

"You think?" I grinned.

"Yes, I do." Yuna squeezed my hand and grinned back.

The night was getting late, and several people in the town offered to share their homes with us so we could finish in the morning. We gladly accepted, and soon I found myself curled up on a cot with Gippal. While I really did not want to sleep and thought I couldn't even if I tried, I settled in anyway. It just didn't seem fair to try and rest when my little girl was still out there Would she be sleeping tonight, wherever she was? Was she being treated well? The emotional and physical toll of the search finally took over, and I found myself unwillingly drifting off into a deep sleep.

I was startled awake the next morning by a tall figure hovering over my bed. I gasped and grabbed Gippal's arm, waking him, but relaxed once my tired eyes finally focused and I knew who it was.

"Um... excuse me. I hate to intrude, but something big just came up. A villager came out of the woods and said something about having seen a large airship parked on the other side of the island, about twenty minutes ago. It matches the description of the one Ian took off in earlier."

"You mean... he's back? He's here?" Gippal asked, sleep still evident in his voice.

"We believe so. We're going to search for him now."

That was all the convincing we needed to get out of bed. It seemed like mere seconds before we were outside on the dock again, waiting in the late morning sunlight for the others to emerge. Before long, Tidus, Yuna, Paine, Gippal and I were heading off into the woods with a group of officers. Gann had warned us to all be on our guard, but don't get our hopes up. Despite that, I could not help be excited at the possibility that this would be over soon, and my little girl would be back. I squeezed Gippal's hand tightly as we navigated the trail.

We walked for several minutes before a villager came running up to us, breathless. "I saw them, toward the southeast end of the woods. The man saw me and darted off toward the shore, and there was a lady holding a little girl that ran off the other way. The man was armed so I didn't dare chase him."

Gann looked at him, astonished. "Thank you, sir." He turned around toward the group and began yelling commands for the officers to follow. Yuna, Gippal, Paine and I were to go with two officers and go after the woman and Rei, while the other officers were going after Ian. Tidus decided to follow the officers, and he gave Yuna a long kiss before he quickly left.

The pace of the search definitely intensified. I found myself wishing Yuna had stayed behind in Kilika, because she was growing noticeably paler and her breathing grew much louder. If we were not so far into the woods already, I would have demanded that she go back and rest. Now, however, she would just get lost. I found I could do nothing but hold her hand and give her words of encouragement, and we continued walking for what must have been at least a mile before she stopped completely and gasped.

Startled, I turned around to face her. Yuna was clutching onto her stomach, her eyes wide and mouth open in surprise.

"Yuna? Yuna, you're scaring me," everyone else stopped after that, turning around to look.

When she said nothing, I walked over to her and grabbed her arm before her knees buckled and I guided her gently to the dirty ground. She stared at me with large eyes, her breathing very loud and quick.

"I think... I think my water... my water broke."

"Your... oh Spira. Yuna, you're early. Too early... you didn't... are you sure?"

Yuna rolled her eyes at me, still breathing much too quickly. "I think the evidence... speaks for itself," she said, pointing her head to a puddle about a foot away from where we stood.

So there we were, lord knows how deep into the Kilika jungle, on the trail of the kidnapper of my daughter, and Yuna is in labor with no one around who knows how to deliver a baby.

This was so not going to be a good day.