"We will," she said. "Whatever world he's in, you know, there's a Reno out there who's not gonna sleep until that kid's okay again."

She unbent her legs, one at a time, and stretched them out in front of her, curling her toes out and back again.

"I don't know," Rikku said softly. "I can't tell if I should be. I'm never gonna see her again. I cried when she left and I'm never gonna see her again. She called me Mommy and I'm never gonna see her again. And maybe she's out there somewhere with a version of me, and she's happy, and maybe she just ... stopped existing. The timeline collapsed, and she's never gonna be real anywhere ever again. Maybe that's why she's not here."