DISCLAIMER:  I do not own FFX, FFX-2 or any of the characters and locations affiliated with it.  I do, however, own the story "Silver Wings" and all references to dialogue not originated by Square-Enix.

Author's Notes:  The italicized lines in this chapter are flashes of memories that Tidus doesn't understand.  For right now, the lines are from the game but in subsequent chapters the lines might be from 'Silver Wings' so again, if you  haven't read it, I suggest you do.  This story is meant to mostly stand on its own, but it does refer to dialog and characters from 'Silver Wings' and it won't be completely explained until the end of the story.  Also, Tidus calls someone by a different name in this chapter.  This WILL NOT be addressed further.  It is up to you to decide whether this was a "mistake" or whether this person really used to be who Tidus briefly thinks.  I can't even say for sure whether I know.  All I know is that I hadn't thought about this possible connection when I created my character in Silver Wings but now looking back I suppose these two characters are similar to each other.  

SPOILER WARNING: Yuna tells Tidus about her journey in FFX-2 in this chapter.  Therefore there are spoilers in this chapter.  She doesn't get specific but she does discuss what happens after the defeat of the final boss. 

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SILVER WINGS 2: 1000 CONFESSIONS

by akksgurl

Chapter Two: Memories

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It was truly amazing how many people had turned up in Besaid to welcome Tidus back.  He hadn't gotten a chance to breath without someone else grabbing his hand and wishing him well.  Once she finally got him alone, it was only to introduce him to a few new friends he hadn't met yet.  With his gloved hand gripping hers tightly, Yuna led him toward the Gullwings.  She pointed at Paine and said, "This is Paine.  She's a member of the Gullwings like I am." She grinned at him, "The Gullwings is a sphere hunting group and I joined up when Kimahri found this sphere on Gagazet that looked like you in it."

Tidus smiled at Paine, "Nice to meet you." He said as he extended his free hand.

Paine stared at him without a smile.  Her eyes roamed up and down his body before she nodded curtly and said, "I suppose you were worth all the trouble."

"Um…thanks?" Tidus asked with a question in his look to Yuna.  His blue eyes focused back on Paine and he asked, "Are you related to Lulu?"

"No." came the curt reply as Paine turned and walked away.

Yuna's bicolored eyes danced as she laughed and said to Tidus, "Paine's always like that, but she's one of my closest friends."

"Second only to me, right?!" a shrill shriek came from across the way.  It was Rikku and Tidus's eyes widened as the half-naked, completely drunk Al Bhed girl made her way toward them.  Yuna had to stifle a giggle at the way Tidus was staring at Rikku.  It wasn't in a lustful gaze that would make her jealous.  In fact, he was staring at her as if wondering if the circus had come to town. 

And she thought he'd been shocked by her outfit. 

"Rikku?" Tidus asked as if half expecting her to say no.

The blond nodded and lurched toward him before bracing herself against his chest to keep from landing face first in the sand, "Yeppers…"she said.  She poked his stomach and said, "You'd better get back into shape if you're going to be ready for the game tomorrow."

"What game?" Tidus asked.

"The Aurochs got a game tomorrow, ya." Wakka's jovial voice came from behind him. 

Tidus spun around and smiled at his best friend and Lulu who was holding tiny Vidina in her arms.  He ran a hand through his matted blond hair and said, "I still can't believe you two got married…"

"Well, believe it, ya!" Wakka said laughingly, "I got the papers to prove it!"

Tidus laughed and wrapped an arm around Yuna's waist, "So where are you guys playing tomorrow?"

"Luca."

Tidus' eyes gleamed and he looked at Yuna with an excited look, "That means we'd have to take the airship." He winked, "I really want to ride that thing…"

Yuna laughed, "Of course you do." She replied, "So we will."

---------------.

After the party, Yuna and Tidus had retired to the crew quarters on the Celsius.  The other members of the Gullwings had decided to stay in Besaid for the night to give them some time alone.  As she watched Tidus strip down to his boxers, Yuna's hand started trembling a little.  She felt stupid for being so afraid of asking him to make love to her.  What if he didn't want to??  That was a question that plagued her and forced her to keep her mouth shut as he climbed under the sheets with her and wrapped an arm around her waist, "I want to hear all about your journey." He said.

Yuna had partially been dreading this too.  She was afraid that he'd be upset when she told him she thought Shuyin was him.  In retrospect, he and Shuyin didn't look very much alike to her.  They carried themselves differently and Shuyin's hair was long and hung into his eyes, their clothes were different too, but back then it had seemed like they did really resemble each other and Tidus might be upset that she couldn't tell the difference between them. 

She took a breath.  She had to take the chance.  He asked and she said she'd tell him all about it, so she will, "Well, like I said it all started with this sphere of you.  At least, I thought it was you.  Kimahri found it near Gagazet and it is what caused me to join the Gullwings and what ultimately led me to you."

"What was the sphere of?"

"It looked like you, in a cage, being held prisoner.  It turned out that it wasn't you, though.  It was someone named…Shuyin."

"Shuyin…in a cage?" Tidus repeated as if trying to place where he'd heard that name before.

"If you'd stop attacking, there wouldn't be a war!"

Tidus spun around and looked frantically around the room.  Where did that voice come from?  Yuna placed a worried hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

The blonde blitzer nodded as he returned his attention to the beautiful former summoner, "I'm fine, just thought I heard something." He smiled at her, "Go on."

"After I joined the Gullwings, we went on journeys all over Spira to find more spheres with who we thought was you in them.  We found several more and one was with Shuyin standing before the colossus, Vegnagun."

"You know you're all I can count on to save Lenne." 

Tidus let out a startled cry and jumped to his feet, "I know I heard something this time." He said as he dropped to his knees and crawled halfway under the bed in search of the mysterious voice.  His torso was completely under the bed when he realized he couldn't get any further.  The bed was too low to the ground. 

"Tidus?" Yuna called as she leaned over the bed and pulled on his legs, "Come out from under there."

The blitzer complied and slowly climbed back onto the bed next to Yuna, "I'm really sorry.  I just keep hearing someone."

"I don't hear anything." Yuna whispered, "Do you want me to stop?"

Tidus shook his head, "No, I said I wanted to hear all about it and I meant it."  He kissed her cheek, "Keep going."

"Anyway," Yuna continued, still with a worried look in her eye, "It turned out that years before, Shuyin's soul had possessed Nooj – you'll meet him tomorrow – and now was possessing Baralai – and you'll meet him tomorrow too." Yuna squirmed on the bed and laid her head on Tidus' shoulder, "Anyway, we finally realized that Shuyin wasn't you and in fact he had lived in Zanarkand – the real one – 1000 years ago and had been killed by Bevelle soldiers along with his girlfriend, Lenne."

"You must stop!  That's enough!"

Tidus jumped a little but forced himself to remain calm.  He was hearing voices, sure, but that was no reason to upset Yuna.  It was probably just an after effect of being brought back to life by the fayth.  He smiled at her concerned look, "I just got a chill.  Go on."

"Shuyin was determined to destroy Spira because he blamed all of Spira for the death of himself and Lenne.  For some reason he thought I was Lenne but when he realized I wasn't and we had destroyed Vegnagun, he attacked us.  That's when we defeated him."

"What happened to him after that?"

Yuna shrugged, "He's in the Farplane, I guess.  Lenne's essence was in my songstress dressphere so whenever I put it on I could feel her emotions and had her memories.  I suppose I became her briefly.  After we stopped Shuyin, she walked out of my dressphere and disappeared with him." She smiled, "I'm glad they're together."

Tidus brought his lips down upon Yuna's in a soft kiss.  His tongue played at her mouth until it opened to allow him access.  He pulled the girl down on top of him and caressed her face with his eyes closed.  He slowly opened his eyes and gazed into her deep brown orbs…

Brown??

The girl on top of him resembled Yuna but it wasn't her.  Her hair was too long, her eyes were brown.  She even smelled differently.  Yuna smelled like vanilla.  This girl smelled like lavender.  Tidus slammed his lids shut and then opened them to find Yuna in her place above him with a concerned look on her face.  Her scent was vanilla again, her eyes were blue and green, her hair was short.  Tidus could feel his hands beginning to shake, "I'm pretty tired," he said, "So I think I'm going to go to sleep now." And with a quick movement, he rolled Yuna off of him and then quickly turned so that his back faced her. 

Within minutes Yuna could hear his steady breathing and frowned.  When he had begun kissing her, she had hoped that they wouldn't have been going immediately to sleep.  Something had stopped him, though.  He had looked at her like he'd never seen her before.  Didn't he love her?  Didn't he want her? 

Did she make a mistake in wanting him back? 

---------------.

Luca was just as big and glamorous as Tidus remembered and he squeezed Yuna's hand in excitement as they got off of the Celsius near the boating dock the following day.  It reminded him of the time during her pilgrimage that they'd docked in Luca, only this time neither of them was going toward their deaths. 

The last time in Luca had been an exciting time for Tidus.  He had been part of the Aurochs and looking forward to helping them bring the crystal cup back to Besaid.  It was also the first time the group had met their nemesis, Seymour Guado.  Tidus hated Seymour from the first moment he laid eyes on the half human, half guado.  Maybe it was the way Seymour seemed just a little too nice.  Maybe it was they way everyone was bowing down to him like he was a god.  Then again, it was probably just the way he looked at Yuna.

"I just love Luca.  Don't you Tidus?" Rikku asked him as the permanently perky blonde bounced head of the group.  Tidus couldn't understand why Rikku's head wasn't pounding from a hangover.  The Al Bhed had downed almost an entire keg of beer on her own and with her tiny frame, she should have been unconscious on the floor. 

"It is a beautiful city." Tidus agreed as his eyes played about the city.  Even after the defeat of Sin, it didn't come close to comparing to Zanarkand in size and grandeur, but Tidus couldn't help but really love the city. 

Rikku nodded and her blonde braids bounced in her eyes, "Oh yes, so beautiful and…" she stopped and made a face, "Fryd tu oui fyhd." She said to a blonde man with an eye patch and a swagger that was making his way toward them.  He was with another blonde man, a blonde woman, and a man with a robotic arm. 

"Du lraan dra Aurochs du jelduno." The man replied to Rikku's cold stare.  He turned to Tidus and said, "The name's Gippal.  It's nice to finally meet the guy Lady Yuna's been nuts over."

Tidus smiled.  He decided right then and there that he liked this Gippal person.  He reminded him of someone, but he wasn't sure who, "It's nice to meet you too, Gippal."

Pointing to each as he spoke, Gippal said, "I used to lead the Machine Faction.  This is Baralai, former leader of New Yevon.  This is Nooj, former leader of the Youth League." 

Tidus' eyes locked with the woman next to Nooj.  If Gippal reminded him of someone, then this girl definitely did.  It was the way she was standing.  She carried herself with a self important air about her.  He knew her…

Gippal continued, "And this is Nooj's ladylove…"

"Allyn?" Tidus whispered half to himself.  Who the hell was Allyn?? 

The woman laughed haughtily and waved her fan in front of her face, "Sorry love.  The name's LeBlanc." She leaned closer to Nooj and asked, "So who's Allyn?  Fancying someone more than Yuna already?!"

Tidus shook his head and tightened his grip on Yuna's hand, "No, I don't know where that name came from.  Sorry about that."

LeBlanc shook her hand in the air, "Not to worry, love.  No harm done."

Tidus tried to ignore Yuna's concerned look and focused on the buildings that lined the streets as he followed the four new people toward the stadium.  The Aurochs – including Wakka – had already made their way to the locker room.  Tidus was disappointed that he wasn't playing with them, but had already discussed with Wakka the possibility of rejoining for the next season.  Since this season had already started, Tidus needed to sit out, but he was welcoming it.  It gave him a chance to spend time with Yuna without blitzball practices getting in the way.

Yuna nudged him softly and pulled his head down to hers to kiss his lips gently, "I love you."

"I love you too." Tidus replied as he rubbed his nose against hers, "Always and forever…"

A noise caused the duo to break apart and Tidus burst out laughing as Gippal and Rikku began to gag themselves.  Rikku elbowed Gippal and pointed to Tidus and Yuna, "Kind of gets you right here," she said as she smacked herself in the stomach, "doesn't it?"

Gippal nodded, "Yeah, you two.  This isn't a soap opera!"

Yuna felt her cheeks blush crimson and she said, "Stop teasing me!" Grabbing Tidus' hand, the group started to walk up the steps that led to the blitzball stadium grandstand.  It had been a long time since Tidus had been here.  The last time was two years before, when Tidus was a scared little boy who didn't understand the world that he had suddenly been thrust into.  He had been scared and alone, but this was the place that Auron rejoined him.  This was the true beginning of his journey.  Before Luca, Tidus had just been following along behind a group of people he didn't understand just so that he could feel as though he belonged, but Luca was the place that made him realize that he really did belong.  This was the place Tidus was told that his father, Jecht, had been turned into Sin.  This was where he knew that fighting alongside Yuna was his destiny.

"Sir Tidus!!!" a shrill shriek came from behind him and Tidus spun around and unconsciously put his hand on the butt of his sword before he realized that the shriek came from Shelinda, the Yevonite that they had run into several times during Yuna's pilgrimage.

The woman was still dressed in her signature green dress but this time was armed with a microphone and a cameraman, "What's going on, Shelinda?" he asked, eyeing the cameraman suspiciously.

"I'm a reporter now, Tidus.  I was so happy to hear about your return!" the redhead said, "I was wondering if you'd grant me an interview."

Tidus scratched his head and looked at Yuna who gave him a grin and took a step back, "He's all yours, Shelinda." Yuna said as she shot Tidus a teasing look and stood next to Paine, well away from the cameraman.

"Great!" Shelinda cried as she ran next to Tidus and signaled for the camera to start rolling before Tidus could say anything, "This is Shelinda and I'm here with Sir Tidus, High Summoner Yuna's former guardian and current boyfriend who has just returned to the public eye after being out of sight for almost two years."  She smiled at Tidus and asked, "So where were you, Sir Tidus?  The public is dying to know."

"Dying…" Tidus said with a laugh, "that's what I was doing, actually."

Shelinda's smile faded and she cocked an eyebrow, "Why, whatever do you mean?"

Tidus shrugged.  He looked at Yuna briefly and then said, "I was a dream of the fayth who had recreated Zanarkand in a dream state.  I was one of the residents but was sucked into Sin and sent to the real world.  After Sin was defeated, I vanished since the fayth stopped dreaming, but when Yuna stopped the destruction of the world for a second time the fayth made me real as a reward."

Shelinda looked as though someone had hit her with an airship.  Her face held abject confusion in every muscle and it took her several minutes before she spoke again.  She looked at the camera and spoke, "Well, apparently those rumors in the Spira Inquirer are true." She said, "And this reporter doesn't know what to say.  Therefore, this is Shelinda, signing off."

"How'd I do?" Tidus asked with a half grin.

"Well, I suppose you did…fine," Shelinda replied, "I mean, I wasn't expecting such candor.  I also wasn't expecting the truth to be so completely insane either."

Yuna took her place next to Tidus again and smiled at Shelinda, "It is a crazy story, but it's also fascinating and I think it's going to cause the ratings to skyrocket."

"Oh I hope so!" Shelinda replied, "I desperately want to be a good reporter.  Then maybe I can get promoted to a nice desk job.  That'd be wonderful." She smiled at the group before turning to the cameraman, "Paublo, let's go." She demanded, "It was wonderful to see you all again" she called over her shoulder as she and her cameraman vanished from sight.

------------------.

The score was 2-1, in favor of the Kilika Beasts.  When the whistle blew for intermission, Tidus felt Yuna's hand caressing his hair and he turned to her, "They'd be winning if you were out there." She said with a smile.

Tidus kissed her gently and replied, "Hey, at least they scored a goal."

"That's true." Yuna agreed with a laugh.  The Aurochs hadn't improved much in the two years since Tidus faded.  They were still the worst time in history but their fan base had grown quite a bit.  It was probably because one of High Summoner Yuna's former guardians was the captain and Yuna herself was a big fan.  Whatever it was, Tidus was happy that the Aurochs were finally getting the cheers they deserved. 

"Excuse me…pardon me…let me through." Came Gippal's voice from down the aisle a bit.  The Al Bhed was climbing over Nooj, Baralai, LeBlanc, and Rikku to reach his seat next to Tidus which he had vacated a few minutes before.  Plopping himself down, Gippal said to Tidus, "It's like a war zone in here!"

"It is pretty crowded." Tidus agreed, placing a hand on Yuna's thigh.

"Since its intermission," Gippal began, "I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk to you about something you might be interested in."

Tidus cocked an eyebrow, "What is it?"

Gippal grinned like a Cheshire cat and said, "This idea hit me when I found out how upset Yuna was that Cid turned Zanarkand into a theme park."

"A theme park?" Tidus asked as he looked at Yuna and said, "That doesn't sound so bad.  I like rollercoasters."

Yuna laughed and put her head on his shoulder, "Not that kind of theme park, baby." She whispered, "Cid turned it into a tourist attraction.  People just walk around and don't treat it with the respect it deserves."

"So I came up with a way to fix that," Gippal replied, "Since the world has been saved twice and Tidus is back here with you, Yuna, there's really no reason for Zanarkand to remain a 'holy place' per say."

Yuna lifted her head and looked at him skeptically, "Just what do you want to do, Gippal?"

"Using Tidus for the details," he replied, "I want to rebuild Zanarkand the way it was 1000 years ago."

Tidus felt suddenly excited.  He desperately missed Zanarkand and everything about the 'city that never slept'.  The opportunity to bring it back to life was something that Tidus had never thought he'd get.  He opened his mouth to tell Gippal what a great idea he thought it was when Yuna spoke first.

"No." she said, "Absolutely not."

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AL BHED TRANSLATION

Fryd tu oui fyhd: what do you want? 

Du lraan dra Abes du jelduno:  To cheer the Aurochs to victory.

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NOTE:  In Chapter 20 of Silver Wings, the fayth told Lenne that she would be reincarnated as Yuna.  I know that this chapter makes it sound like that isn't true, but it is true.  You'll see where I'm going with this in subsequent chapters.