A/N: Well, here's chapter four, I might just stop writing this if I get no reviews. ..; Ah, hell, who knows. –listens to HIM at 7:10 in the morning- Well, enjoy.

I won't answer questions you have about the fic, because I want you to come back to read and get your questions answered. D Sorry! (And there is a reason why I chose the lyrics I do. D But you might not know it.)

Disclaimer: Don't own any of them. All belong to SquareEnix, or whatever it is now. Squaresoft was better. O: I'm only saying that 'cause it's the cool thing to do, not because I actually… know. XD; I'm actually just like: Whatevazzz. Anyways, here's chapter four.

And watch my purple sky fly over me (flowers)
I linger in the doorway,
Of alarm clock screaming
Monsters calling my name
Let me stay,
Where the wind will whisper to me
Where the raindrops
As they're falling tell a story

In my field of paper flowers,
And candy clouds of lullaby (flowers)
I lie inside myself for hours

And watch my purple sky fly over me (flowers)

Imaginary, Evanescence

Her eyes were wide, mouth still slightly ajar; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did he just say that he could actually take her to Zanarkand, the one that was one thousand years ago?

As if he was reading her mind, "Yes, the one from a thousand years ago. You don't have to say yes, take some time, and think it over. I'll be at the Macalania temple if you care to deliver your answer there." Seymour paused, looking over to Yuna, "Dear Yuna, I'd love to see you again, if you would make a stop at the Macalania Temple, it would be more than wonderful if we could speak to the Fayth together."

Tidus didn't like the tone of voice that Seymour was giving Yuna. Or even that look, or that hair, all right, you get the point. Tidus didn't like anything that Seymour was giving Yuna. Doing his best to keep a straight face, doing his best to avoid showing the jealousy that was burning him on the inside. Did Seymour think that he could have Yuna just like that because he was a Maester, because if he did, he sure had his place to learn? On the other hand, because he was a Maester, he got all of those special privileges; everyone wanted to be like him, everyone thought that he was a God, that he was powerful. That he deserved everything. Sighing, he glanced to the side, avoiding looking over at Seymour, staring over in the direction of Wakka and Lulu, who seemed to pay more attention to Yuna than Seymour. Which made him smirk a little bit.

"I think we need to be going, we've got to get moving on the pilgrimage," Auron finally spoke up.

"I'm dreadfully sorry to have hold you up for so long. Please, I'll see you to the door," Seymour smoothly said, passing by everyone, while pausing as he passed Auron. Leaning in to sniff his left arm, "Ah, scent of the Farplane, I do enjoy it."

This statement caused Auron to give a death glare to Seymour, narrowing his eye slightly. Remaining unbelievably still and calm, Rikku watched this intently, her eyebrows rose, while remaining quiet, unbelievably.

"You should take a visit to the Farplane before you leave, you might find it comforting." He said this before he began to smoothly move across the floor, as if gliding on ice. Leading the seven-person party to the front doors of the mansion. "I'll have to part with you here. Do make safely across the Plains, they can be incredibly dangerous, especially in some times like these. Now I take my leave. Good day." With that, Seymour left slowly, with two Guado men at his side.

Rikku tilted her head to the side for a moment, were they really going to go to the Farplane? If they were, she better come up with a good excuse as to not go in and why, because, I don't think the excuse that she was more than deathly scared of it was good enough. Why not wing it? You did pretty good when trying to cover up your real reason to go looking at the portraits of the Guado Maesters. The group of people seemed to make their way in the opposite direction of Maester Seymour Guado. Rikku found herself almost reluctant to follow the group; it was completely obvious that she did not want to go to the Farplane.

Murmuring something quietly under his breath, becoming increasingly annoying with how slow Rikku was moving. So he made one final decision.

"Ow!" Rikku cried, leaping two feet in the air and hands clasping the small of her back. What was that for!

It seemed Auron had just thrust his knuckles into the small of her back to make her move faster. "We can't dawdle and lollygag, we're on a schedule."

"But you didn't have to do THAT!" Rikku cried, beginning now to actually jog after the group, mostly to avoid getting sharp knuckles stabbing her spine. That really did hurt; she'd be feeling it in the morning.

The cries of Rikku made Auron chuckle a bit, albeit, silently, can't let her know that he found her silly cries of pain funny. I mean, they were over exaggerated, they were loud, and they were obnoxious. And the fact that they were coming from a fairly short, young teenager just seemed to set off Auron's sense of humor. Though he couldn't let anyone know, he had a stoic reputation to keep. Can't have anyone knowing that he could actually laugh, right? Right! Wouldn't that be awful? But of course! Within a moments time, the party of seven completely different people, and a Ronso, arrived at the more than famous Farplane.

"Are you sure that you want to do this, Yunie?" Rikku asked in a small voice, her shoulders were almost up against her ears, and her eyebrows rose, giving her more of a scared look.

"Yes, I believe that I must go speak with my father. He'll know what to do. I just need some guidance, you know what I mean?" Yuna explained, giving a soft and gentle smile. The same smile that she used whenever there was hardship going on, and everyone needed some kind of support, or a reason to continue with the pilgrimage.

"Do you mind if I stay out here?"

"Do whatever you please." Gosh, her voice was so calm and warm, how did she keep it like that?

"Thanks, Yunie."

With one last smile, Yuna turned around to face the rest of the party. Giving them a small nod to signify that she was ready to go into the Farplane. As everyone followed, Tidus just had to look back, looking utterly confused.

"Hey, Auron, Rikku, why are ya' guys staying back? Scared?" Tidus asked, with a smirk on his lips, and, well, in some kind of taunting way. But what could you expect from him? I mean, this kid was probably scared himself.

"It's not real, it's just a figment of your imagination that you see. That brings back memories that you might not want to remember because they're too hard to think about," Rikku paused, looking down, and looking quite sad. But then she looked up, and there was the brightest smile that Tidus had ever seen her wear. "It's great if you just want to see what your missing one looked like, ya know? Helps you picture your memories better. But I keep mine in my head, locked away, because they're my memories. And they'll only stay there, ya know?" Rikku paused, and laughed softly. "That made no sense."

"Of course it did," the usually silent Lulu put in.

"And what about you Auron, why aren't you going in?" Tidus asked, placing a hand on his hip, and tilting his head to the side. In a manly way, you dolt!

"I don't belong." He left it at that; he felt no need to continue with an explanation on why he didn't belong. If Tidus wanted to, he could think about it, if not, that was all right with him, too.

"Huh." With a small shrug, Tidus turned back around and jogged up the stairs and standing right next to Yuna in front of the entrance. Which alternated colors, looking much like moving liquid. This would be an experience to remember, considering Spira was so much more different than his home of Zanarkand.

"Are you all ready?" Yuna asked softly, looking back down at the group.

"When you are." Wakka responded.

"I am ready, then," with a smile, Yuna slowly stepped through the portal-like thing. Tidus following soon after her, Kimahri, Wakka and Lulu quickly followed. Which left Auron and Rikku at peace, in total and utter silence.

To be quite honest, Auron enjoyed this silence, he found it soothing, and he found it relaxing and calm. He was seated on the dirt steps that lead up to the Farplane. Occasionally, he'd tilt his head back to see it. Not even bothering to speak to Rikku, there was nothing to say, and besides, a quiet Rikku was better than one who was talking. Statue-still, stiff looking, yet on the inside, he felt as if he was just plain loose and tranquil, if some kind of feeling like that is possible for Auron.

At the bottom of the path leading to the Farplane, feet quickly paced around and around in a circle. Arms crossed in sheer boredom, yes, just boredom. She needed something to do, something to keep her mind busy. Something that would-

"Will you calm down? They'll be back soon, you don't need to be so restless," Auron finally said, breaking the unnerving silence.

"I'm not restless, I'm just bored," Rikku responded, turning her body so that she was facing Auron.

"You are restless, if you weren't, you wouldn't be pacing about as if someone was going to die."

"You're talking to me as if I'm hiding something."

Raising an eyebrow, he was finding this conversation to be increasingly interesting. "No, I never said you were."

"I'm not restless though, I'm just trying to find something to do, ya know?"

"No, I don't know."

"Go figure," she murmured under her breath shaking her head slightly. The look in his eye though wasn't the same look that he had earlier when they'd met. It wasn't the same look that she got when she whined, when he'd look as if he was about to kill her. Rip out her lungs and tear out her liver. No, it wasn't like that anymore, maybe he was beginning to actually trust her? Nah, that couldn't be, it'd take more than a miracle to make him trust her. Right? Right. I mean, she was an Al Bhed, right? Which brought her curiosity to its peak. Tilting her head to the side for a moment, she placed her hand on her cheek for a moment, furrowing her brow. Contemplating the right way to phrase the question that she had in her mind. "Why did you let me become a guardian?"

"Simple, Yuna wanted you to be part of her pilgrimage," he answered, flatly, unemotionally.

"That's the only reason?"

"Yes."

"And you allowed it?"

"Yes, Rikku, I did. And yes, I do know you're an Al Bhed."

"But if you knew I was an Al Bhed, why did you let me become a guardian?"

"Because Yuna wanted it."

"So you just, like that, let some completely random Al Bhed girl join the pilgrimage? An Al Bhed that could strike at any time and ruin the whole thing to stop her from continuing on with the pilgrimage."

"Yes, I did, just like that, let you join the pilgrimage. Because if you tried to stop the pilgrimage, your head would be on top of a pole in the middle of the thunder plains."

"But,"

"Do you ever stop asking questions?" Auron interrupted.

Hearing this, Rikku looked down to her feet, noticing them shifting uncomfortably in their spot. There was no need to answer Auron's sarcastic remark; it'd only get her deeper into his disliking of her. Swallowing hard, she folded her arms across her chest, but due to restlessness, she dropped them back to her side, beginning to pace in circles again. Looking at the palms of her hands, hm, they looked incredibly dirty. Shrugging once, her green eyes glanced back up to Auron, maybe you should try talking to him again, he can't be that bad of a person, can he? How long was Yuna going to be? Why couldn't she stop asking questions? Humming a small tune, she held her hands behind her back, and then stiffly walked off in the opposite direction.

Giving a soft grunt, he shook his head slightly, debating on whether or not to go after her. If he didn't, she'd get lost, never be able to get back there because she'd die of starvation or something considering she wouldn't be able to find her way back to the pilgrimage. That wouldn't be a bad thing, would it? Of course not, in fact, that'd probably be for the better. On the other hand, Yuna would get barmy; irritated that he had let Rikku go off on her own in a place that she doesn't know well. Then they'd have to go back and look for her, wasting another three or so days just to find her. After that, it'd be another two to three days just trying to find the path to Zanarkand again. Sighing, he rubbed his left temple in frustration, standing up slowly, beginning to trail silently after Rikku. The consequences for letting her go off by her own and getting lost just didn't outweigh her not being there anymore. "Rikku. Wait."

"Huh?" hearing his voice, she arched a single eyebrow, turning to face Auron. Auron and the billowing red coat of doom; it'd be the last thing you saw before he took that katakana and sliced off your head.

"Wait."

"Why?"

"Can't get lost."

"I won't!"

"Yuna would make us go after you if you did, though."

"And that'd be a burden, wouldn't it?"

Grunt. Emotionless look. That's all.

"Thought so," she whispered under her breath as she turned back around to continue in the direction that she was going in. There was a smile on her face as she was smirking at the answers that he was giving her. Because, well, they were so predictable of Auron, and no surprise that he had said them. Maybe a nice tree to climb would be nice, for a view of the place, wouldn't that be great? Yeah. It would. Scratching the back of her neck, she continued down the path that she was taking, without a worry in the world. Past the mansion, till she found herself on the top of a smaller knoll, a few of the Guado style trees sprouting from the ground. Gosh, they sure were big, and those branches looked like something you'd see on an Ent. (Copy write Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein) Staring up into the branches, a smile came into play on her facial features; she jumped, catching herself abruptly on the lowest branch. Slowly pulling her weight over the branch and sitting on it for a second before standing up. Then she repeated the same steps over and over.

Staring straight ahead, Auron almost began to look frantic, thinking that he'd actually lost Rikku. Can't have that happening, especially right now. Because there were people who'd be outside of the Farplane whenever, and they had a pilgrimage to continue. Continuing as if nothing was wrong, passing the occasional Guado, his red coat billowing in the gentle breeze. Pants giving a 'swoosh swoosh' as he walked quickly, with that 'don't mess with me' look. As he came close to one of the soaring trees, he looked up, only to see something rustling about in the leaves. It was… Green. A bird? Hey, it was getting closer too, why did he have to be curious right now? Tilting his head to the side, he noticed that the green object getting closer and closer to him was… Was…

WAS RIKKU! What! Having slipped from her place on the tree, Rikku was moving so fast through the air, occasionally hitting an out of place branch with her leg, wrist or head. Wouldn't that just hurt like crazy? Yeah, I think so too.

WHUMP. Auron found something large falling on top of him, and then collapsing to the ground under the weight of the object that had fallen from the tree. His eyes were closed at the impact, so he had no idea what it was that fell on him. It was kind of soft, though. Opening his eye slowly, he saw an eyeful of blond hair, and two feathers were tickling his chin. Squinting, it took just a second or so to realize that the heap on top of him was Rikku. He didn't seem to react at all, bringing a hand slowly up to his forehead, rubbing it soothingly.

In complete shock, her eyes wide in terror, which contradicted the fairly happy laugh that escaped. Within a moment, she realized that she was atop Auron, and immediately afterwards a bright red blush snuck onto her cheeks without warning. In embarrassment, and only in embarrassment, so she felt the need to apologize. "I'm sorry, I just slipped, you know?"

"Get off, you're heavy," he murmured, rolling his eye, and taking in a deep breath before sighing irritably.

"Well, if you're going to be like that, I'm going to take back my apology!"

"…" The only movement that Auron made was shaking his head slowly. Then he repeated. "You're heavy, please get off."

"You could at least say that it's all right, you know?"

Giving a grunt, he finally just shoved her off of him and onto the grassy earth beneath them. Quickly standing up, brushing off his red coat. The red coat that was amazingly untainted, no stains, no dirt, completely clean; how did he do it?

"Hey! That was rude!" Rikku cried as she scrambled off the ground to regain composure, or at least attempting to.

Tilting his head to glance back at her, he raised an eyebrow, shrugging one shoulder as if to say 'Oh really?'

"I'm serious! You shouldn't treat a lady like that, it's degrading."

Auron took a few steps closer to her, eyeing her down, doing his best to make her feel small and to make her feel like he was the leader. After all, he pretty much was the leader of the pilgrimage. Sure Yuna was the main character in the party, but that doesn't mean she's the leader. Continuing to stare her down, Rikku swore she saw smoke coming from the middle of her forehead from his heated glare. "If you expect to be treated like a 'lady', then perhaps you should act like one." With that, Auron hid a small smirk behind the more than large collar of his coat, pivoted on his heal and began to head back towards the Farplane. "We need to go."

Eyebrows raised, she felt somewhat hurt. Maybe he was right; maybe she needed to start acting like a lady. And maybe, just maybe, pigs would sprout wings and start to fly. Sighing in despair, her mind had settled on the fact that there was no use in fighting Auron, just no use. He'd win because he was the Legendary Guardian. The one who had to have everything perfect, and everything go his way because that was the right way. Reluctantly she trailed behind him, but not too close, occasionally rolling her eyes and making mocking faces behind his back. Hey, this is Rikku we're talking about; you shouldn't be so surprised. The faces that she made almost made her glad that Auron never glanced back to check on her, 'cause it'd be the end of her life if he did catch her. He seemed like the kind of guy that wouldn't tolerate such 'silliness'.

They traveled in utter silence the whole way back to the Farplane, where no one was, save for the guard that was standing before the entrance for it. Auron took his seat back on the side of the steps, and Rikku calmed down, sitting on a small pillar at the bottom of the stairway. Glancing back as soft footsteps were heard. Ah, there they were, and they looked ready to go.

"Sorry for taking so long." There goes Yuna talking again, in that same old voice she always used.

"No need for apologies." Auron responded as he looked up to Yuna for a moment, standing as he spoke.

Yuna returned this with a smile. "Right, shall we continue, then? We've got a long ways to go."

"We're ready when you are," Tidus enthusiastically added.

This made Yuna give another smile. "Right." Then she took off quickly down the stairs, followed by the rest of the crew, save for Auron, who delayed momentarily, giving the Farplane a look, a look that was perhaps frightened, angry, or a mixture of both. Though within a small amount of time, he was ahead of the group, leading them through the land of Guadosalam. Onwards to the next destination. While Rikku replayed the events that happened while the others were in the Farplane in her head, which made her giggle occasionally.

A/N: Sorry for this chapter, it was crap. I know. I ran into writers block while writing it. And I know it took me forever. I apologize. I luffz0rz you Mawlee. (: Eh, hope you still like it!