"Be back later," Tidus said as he walked up the ethereal stairs of the Farplane. Pyreflies swirled in helixes and arcs to the left and right of the path that led upward to the blue barrier. Rikku waved at him fondly and sat down on the wall, her bare legs dangling down into the misty void. Strangely, she didn't feel afraid. The smoke from below her felt warm, somehow. Like it wasn't a cold place. Like there was something below.

However, she was acutely aware of Auron behind her. Somehow, she knew that he wouldn't go up. She wouldn't have minded seeing her mother again on the Farplane, but she wanted to stay with him. They didn't get much time alone together, and she just liked to be near him. She pulled at the fringe of her shorts, quiet, enjoying the calm silence of the world of the departed.

"Don't fall," he said suddenly. She looked back over her shoulder at him, sitting hunched on the stairs, his red coat falling around his knees like crimson wings. His long hair, pulled into its usual ponytail, hung over his left shoulder, resting against his black chestplate. Behind his glasses, she could see his eyes looking her way.

"What's down there?" She wondered aloud, looking back down at the mysterious smoky emptiness.

"The world of the dead. No one really knows." He stood and walked over beside her, looking calmly down into the void. "It could be heaven. It could be emptiness. It could be anything."

"You know something, don't you?" She looked playfully up at him. "Spill. What do you know?"

"That'll be part of your story. You'll find out eventually." His mouth tipped in a slight smile. "Don't depend on others for things you can discover yourself."

"That's just mean." She stood, looking up at him. "Why do you always have to be so mysterious?"

"That's my secret."

"That's exactly what I mean!" She stuck her bottom lip out. Looking up at him, something occurred to her. "Where did that scar on your eye come from?"

"A fight. A long time ago." He blinked slowly.

"That's not an answer either." Slowly, she reached up and took off his glasses. From the amount of time he spent looking over them at people in judgement, she knew he didn't need them. He stiffened, twitching his head back, but remaining still. "Let me see." She reached up, hesitantly, with a gentle hand, and touched his closed eye, tracing the scar from his forehead to his cheekbone. "It's deep…"

He didn't speak, but breathed deep.

"Wow." She let her hand trail down to rest on his cheek. "Did it hurt?"

"Yes," he said slowly. "More than I could bear."

"I'm sorry," she said, apologizing for nothing. She felt his pain. It seemed to emanate from him. This was the Auron that no one ever saw- the Auron that she wanted to know.

He didn't reply. But as she looked up into his eyes again, her hand still against his cheek, she wanted to comfort him. She wanted something that she couldn't describe. So, standing on her tiptoes and pressed her lips, ever so softly, against his.

He didn't move. He didn't even stiffen, like he usually did with physical contact. He just stood there for the three seconds that it took, and then looked down at her with a gaze that communicated confusion. Auron was never confused. This was new to him.

After a short pause, red rushed into Rikku's face. "I'm sorry," she said, lowering her hand back to her side. "I just …"

"No," he said, interrupting her. He inclined his head and silently pressed his lips against her temple, breathing in the scent of her hair. The quiet hum of the pyreflies around them made it a serene atmosphere, and they stood close together for some time. On the Farplane, time was said to stop; between the two guardians, time slowed.

"Auron…" Rikku said softly. He pulled away and looked down at her through his one golden-brown eye. "What… does this mean?"

He said nothing, but looked thoughtful. He looks strange without his glasses. More… human. "Yuna's journey should be first," he said finally. "Everything else comes after that."

"So you and I…"

"Can't." He drew back. "I'm sorry."

"So, all this… it's just void?" Frustration overflowed in Rikku's heart, and she clenched her fists and looked at the dusty ground. "After all that we've been through?"

"It's not in the story."

Nothing came to her mind but anger and indignation. After all this… after a kiss, after holding her, after rescuing her… nothing? Nothing at all? He just sat there on the steps, unchanged, his red coat fluttering around him. She turned her back to him, hot tears escaping her eyes. She didn't know what to answer.

"Hey guys," Tidus said, coming down the steps. She forced herself to stop the crying and face him with her usual, pasted smile.

Rikku leaned on her elbows against a webbed wall in Guadosalam, her mind in turmoil. Yuna had gone down to Seymour's palace to give her answer to the stiff, blue-haired, vascular maester. Now, the six of the guardians waited in various parts of Guadosalam. While Tidus ran around in circles, buying new supplies and equipment, talking to random Guado, the rest of them stood and waited. But her thoughts weren't on the strange atmosphere of the Guado city.

Her mind first lingered on the day that Sin destroyed their first Home. It had been on an island south of Bikanel, beautiful and lush, full of peaceful valleys and stands of trees. She had been young when it was destroyed, but she remembered being happy. But one thing she did remember clearly was the day that Sin came.

The clouds were heavy in the sky that day. She and Ciku had been out under the stands of trees near Home, playing with their father. Suddenly, a strong wind blasted the trees and the grass under their feet. Cid yelled something into the air, picked her up, and grabbed Ciku by the hand as he ran. The wind blew too hard for her to hear anything, but she could feel the fast beating of her own heart. Then, Cid put her down and pressed her and Ciku beneath him, lying down beneath some kind of shelter. She heard a horrendous cracking and bursting, like… a bomb exploding.

Suddenly, she felt water underneath her and the sand moving. Cid screamed something, and she heard Ciku sobbing about wanting to go Home and Mommy. Cid grabbed them and ran. She blacked out and didn't remember anything.

When she woke, she, Cid, and Ciku were in a boat. Ciku was on the floor, crying, and she was in Cid's lap. When she looked up, she could see tears dripping from Cid's face. She didn't realize until later that they'd lost everything- Home, the island, her mother.

She shifted her position, clasping her hands together. Below her, Guado mixed and chatted calmly, their faces holding a similar expression. Guadosalam seemed so peaceful. She almost wanted to stay in a place like this forever. But she knew, with Yuna, she'd never be able to stop. Not until Yuna was safe, with or without her consent.

"Hey, Rikku." Tidus drew up beside her, her gloved hands shoved into his mesh blitzball-friendly pockets. She smiled at him, still leaned on the wall. "What's up?"

She thought quickly for an excuse. Fortunately, the thought that had been frightening her for hours came from the back of her mind to the front. "We have to cross the Thunder Plains next, you know…"

"Yeah?" He nodded, not understanding. "What's so bad about that?"

She didn't answer. She didn't want to disclose what scared her so much about thunder… not yet, anyway.

"Well, you'll be okay," said Tidus, walking away down the stairs to her left. She was alone again, but now with the thought and fear of the Thunder Plains ahead. Her mind was consumed with the terror of flashing light, devastating the ground from the sky.

"Hey, Rikku! Seymour's in Macalania! We have to go!" Tidus called from below, interrupting her frightened reverie.

"Lord Seymour." Rikku could hear Shelinda's irritating voice next to him.

She reached out unconsciously onto the railing for a hand to hold to, but of course, there was nothing there. She forced a cheerful smile, hoping to feel it eventually, and followed him down to the level below.