I'm surprised I got this done so quickly!! It didn't come out exactly how I planned it, but I still like it. (Another interesting note: all of my Al Bhed Names translate into a name) Thanks for all the reviews, they really mean a lot to me. I really put some effort into this chapter, seeing as it's the first time you see this character. And badkidoh, I haven't forgotten about Auron. Alright, alright, I'm done babbling now.

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You have no idea how glad I was to finally escape from that Wakka lunatic. The second I heard one of the Al Bhed calling my name, I was out of there (but not before I noticed the dirty look Wakka gave me).

"Tu oui ghuf frana du ruug drec ib?" An Al Bhed who I think was named Puppo was motioning frantically at a huge piece of machina. Do you know where to hook this up? After a moment of deciphering what he had said, I nodded.

"Dinh machina ynuiht." I ordered, hoping I said it correctly. Turn machina around. He did so, and I instructed him on how to power and work the dinosaur.

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To keep things short, the operation was a complete failure. Unless you want to hear the details of how sin disintegrated about a hundred crusaders and blew up some Al Bhed with their own machina and then left. Yeah, I didn't think so.

Wakka was probably laughing at the failure. I'd bet anything. Well, almost anything.

Then, while I was lying half-dead on the sand surrounded by the bodies of my fellow Al Bhed, guess who showed up? No, not Rikku (too bad). Not Yuna. For damn sure not Wakka.

Auron.

What was he doing there? Did Sin take him there, too? Whatever his deal was, he looked like he hadn't changed one bit.

"You're still here." He said in that weird voice of his. Well of course I'm still here, smart one. I think I would notice if I wasn't. "Many stories ended here today." He continued. "But… Yours goes on, I see." Ummmm… stories? "Come with me." He ordered. "There is something you need to hear." Oh, great, he was probably trying to tell me about Sin and how it could never be defeated.

I managed to stumble behind him until we found a rock overhang. The only other inhabitants were crusader's bodies.

I guess Auron wanted to cut to the chase, because the first thing he said to me was "Sin is Jecht."

Whoah, whoah, whoah, whoah, whoah. Hold up for a second. Jecht? Alright, go back to that first thing I said about Auron way back when. He's insane. Nuts. Psycho. How would my old man be Sin? If Auron hadn't noticed, he's dead. He's been dead for ten years! And even though eh was heartless and uncaring, I really don't think he'd kill all of those people for fun.

"Sin is Jecht." He went on. For one terrifying second I thought he really had read my mind, but then I realized he'd been talking the whole time. "He came here for you." [Sorry I used the original dialogue, continue]

"What, so he killed all those people just for a chance to see me?" Gee, wasn't I special.

"That is what Sin does." I rolled my eyes. Where the heck did he get this crazy theory, anyway?

"Yeah, so, Auron, I've got to get back to the Al Bhed." I lied. There weren't that many left, and I doubted they needed any help from me. But I needed to get away from whacko man.

To my surprise, he let me go. "I have told you what you need to know." He said dismissively.

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I was helping the remaining Al Bhed load their remaining machina back onto that horrible ship when I noticed something. A familiar something.

There was a small blonde girl on her hands and knees in the shallows of the water coughing her lungs out.

Completely forgetting about everything else, I splashed over to her, kneeling down so I was at her level.

Rikku!

It was her! It was really her! There was no doubt about it.

"Rikk-" I began, but at that moment she looked up, looking frightened. I reached out, but she shied away from my touch. There were bruises all over her face and arms and there was a long, bloody gash along her side. My eyes widened. "Rikku, what happened to you?" I whispered. She shook her head quickly but remained silent. That was when I knew something was wrong- well, other than the fact that she looked like she'd been run over by one of those snowmobile things. "What's up?" I asked gently. She still wouldn't let me touch her. In fact, she was still shrinking away from me. "What's wrong? It's me, Tidus." Now I was really worried. She looked absolutely terrified of me.

"I…" She croaked. "I'm not…" She winced as the movement in her lips pulled on a long scratch along her cheek. "I'm not Rikku."

Not Rikku? How could she not be Rikku? Every single thing about her looked identical! All the way down to the sweet swirls in her green eyes. "Who are you, then?" I didn't even mean to say it.

"I-" She stopped to cough some more. "I'm… I-I'm Rikki."

Rikki? Why would there be someone who was identical to Rikku with one letter different in her name? Was it just a coincidence? Did Rikku have an identical twin she never told me about? It was then that I noticed an insignificant yet different detail: Rikki had green tassels. Hm. I had to admit they went better with her eyes than the blue. "Do you… know Rikku?" I decided to take a stab in the dark.

"K-kind of." She replied. "I met her… a-at the lab a f-few days ago. They were mad 'cause she wasn't c-cooperating." Well that was an interesting little piece of 411.

"Lab? What lab?" I tried to be curious but had difficulty disguising the demanding tone in my voice. She just shook her head frantically as if to clear it.

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I took a long time to convince Rikki to come to Home with us. She tried to tell us She could manage on her own and didn't need to bother us, but we all knew she was lying. The girl was half dead for crying out loud. The only thing she was willing to tell me about her injuries was that "they" didn't need her anymore and left her for Sin.

And she refused to tell me anything else about Rikku. Believe me when I tell you I was not happy about that. If I didn't find Rikku soon I thought I would explode. Never a good thing.

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I couldn't think of anywhere to go from there so I cut it a little shorter than I would have liked. My chapter ending are so sudden. Sorry. I'm sure some of you are happy that things didn't go too well with Tidus and Yuna. Well, I guess I've left you guys hanging long enough. I'll tell you: This is a Tikku fanfic. There. Now don't keep nagging me!! But Rikki will be here for basically the whole story, and I've already started the chapter where Rikku comes back (no, it's not the next one, it's WAY off, hehe I'm giving too much away so I'm gonna shut up now).