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. 

I am truly sorry that I have to do this, but given the recent turn of events, I feel that I must. 

DO NOT COPY MY STORIES!!

Although my stories have been removed from the website that "Paine" posted them on, I have noticed that several others are still there under her library.  For fanfiction writers reading this who are interested in seeing if their story is there, I have posted the link to this website under my profile. 

To all my loyal reviewers, thank you for informing me of this thief and please continue to do so if you find my stories anywhere else.  I hope that you will inform other authors if their stories are stolen as well. 

If anyone wants to post this story or "Silver Wings" anywhere else, please just ASK and then give me credit for writing it.  Please email me at akksgurl@yahoo.com with any requests. 

Now.on with the story.

Author's Notes:  Now, please remember that Tidus slammed his head against the doorframe at the end of the last chapter and went unconscious.  It is very important in order to understand the first section of the story.  Something happens to Tidus twice in this chapter.  Also, I wasn't going to initially dive deeper into when Tidus thought LeBlanc was Allyn, but I decided to, so there is going to be a little more of that in this chapter as well. 

SPOILER:  This chapter discusses some things from sidequests in FFX-2 and also from the Crimson Spheres. 

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SILVER WINGS 2: 1000 CONFESSIONS

by akksgurl

Chapter Four: Concern for the Fallen

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He awoke a moment later, rubbed his head and stretched his limbs, using his eyes to see as if for the first time.  Yuna was kneeling beside him with concern in her eyes, "Are you okay?"

He let out a small smile and replied simply, "I'm fine."

"You're fine?" repeated Baralai incredulously, "You just hit your head against a doorframe and knocked yourself out.  How can you be fine?!"

"I have a hard head," replied the Abes blitzer.  Standing and dusting off his clothes, he said to Yuna, "I'm going outside now."

"But it's raining." She said, but that didn't stop him.  He was already halfway out the door by the time her voice reached his ears. 

He knew they were following him, but that didn't matter.  It felt good to have control again, although he knew it wouldn't be a permanent thing for a while.  He was pleased to see that most of A-East was intact.  It would make the rebuilding that much easier.  Now all he needed to do was figure out how to make the ghosts of the past into something real and lasting. 

"My house." he whispered.  There it was.  It wasn't in perfect shape, but it was still there and that filled him with joy.  His car was gone, but he could easily buy another one.  That didn't bother him. 

He heard her footsteps behind him as she whispered, "Really?!"  Her excitement was evident in her voice.  He nodded as he ran into the front door and stood in the living room.  The group followed him and she took her place next to him as she said, "Is this really your house?"

He scoffed, "Lennie, you know this is my house."

Yuna thought that her heart stopped beating for a moment.  He hadn't even flinched when he called her that name.  Nobody said anything.  All eyes watched him as he continued to pace around the room and survey his surroundings.  She was scared of the answer, but had to ask the question, "What is my name, Tidus?"

At the sound of that name, his head began to pound as the blood pumped in his ears.  He reached up and rubbed his temples in an attempt to fight the pain that was forming, but it was no use.  He couldn't hold out.  He'd have to visit again later, when he was stronger. 

"What is my name, Tidus?" Yuna asked again as she took a step closer to him. 

Tidus looked at her confused.  He didn't know where he was for the second time that day.  He looked at her in abject confusion, "Your name is Yuna." He replied, "And.uh.where are we?" he asked before dizziness overtook him and he passed out again.

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

Yuna stared at his handsome face as he slept soundly in the crew quarters of the Celsius.  The sound of his head connecting with the doorframe still sounded in her ears as it had the entire time Baralai and Gippal struggled to carry him back to the ship in the rain.  Everyone had decided it would be better to have Tidus awaken in a location he was familiar with rather then have him wake up in an unfamiliar place and practically kill himself again.

He had called her.Lenne.

He stirred a little and she moved the ice pack on the bump forming above his left eyebrow, "Shhh." she whispered to him as he opened his eyes slightly but shut them just as quickly and returned to his world of dreams. 

"How's he doing?" came Rikku's hushed voice as she climbed the stairs toward the beds.

Yuna shrugged and whispered, "He's still out, but that's a good thing I suppose."

"Come on," Rikku said, "We're going to have a meeting about what happened."  Yuna nodded and placed the ice pack down on the table beside Tidus and then followed her cousin down the stairs and out into the elevator that took them to the bridge.  The card table set out again and Gippal, Baralai, and Paine were already seated. 

"He called me.Lenne." Yuna whispered as she sat next to Paine, "I still can't believe it."

Rikku nudged her cousin as she took a seat next to her, "Actually, he called you Lennie.  There's a subtle difference."

Yuna laughed at the sheer insanity of that 'subtle difference' but was grateful for her cousin's sense of humor anyway.  She wished she knew why he had called her that.  She wished she knew what was wrong with him!

"First off," Gippal began, "Has he been acting oddly before today?"

Yuna shrugged, "Not really," she replied, "Just a little jumpy.  He also said he's hearing voices."

"And you don't think hearing voices is odd?" Paine asked sarcastically.

"I just thought it was a side effect of the Farplane." Yuna said.

Baralai nodded, "It might be.  He's only just been brought back.  Part of him still could be connected to the Farplane."

"Did he say who the voices belonged to?" Gippal asked. 

Yuna shook her head.  Tidus hadn't told her anything about the voices except that he was hearing them.  They were scaring him obviously, but he hadn't told her any details about them.  He didn't even know what they said to him.  She frowned, "Also, two times he's looked at me like he's never seen me before."

"Yuna," Paine said, "I think that is relatively strange behavior.  What about it doesn't seem strange to you?"

"None of it, I guess," Yuna replied with a blush.  She supposed that the main reason she said that it didn't seem strange was the fact that she wished it wasn't.  She really wished that his behavior could be explained away easily.  Dealing with something serious was something she didn't think she could deal with.

Gippal cracked his back against the chair and said nonchalantly, "Well, since he came back after Shuyin was defeated, he's probably just possessed."

"Oh, is that all?!" Baralai said sarcastically, his eyes flashing in the dim light.

"Yeah," Gippal replied, "No big deal.  We just call the Gullwing exorcists and we'll be all set."

Baralai's brown orbs were cast downward as he said, "You really think it's that easy?" he frowned, "You're an idiot, Gippal." He hissed as he stood and left the room before Gippal could form a reply.

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

Gippal just didn't understand and that realization infuriated Baralai.  Gippal didn't get that possession wasn't just this simple little thing that was easily curable.  Nooj had done things he regretted with his entire being while under Shuyin's control - like shooting Gippal, Baralai, and Paine after getting out of the Cave of Woe during their trial for the Crimson Squad.  Possession was the complete loss of control.  You knew what you were doing but were helpless to stop it.  Baralai had done some horrible things under Shuyin's control and it was only with the help of his psychiatrist that he was able to start putting these things behind him.

"Gippal is a moron, but he didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Baralai smiled to himself with his back to the lovely Al Bhed that had joined him at his perch on the roof of the Celsius.  Rikku took a place beside him and Baralai turned his smile toward her, "I know that.  He just doesn't understand."

"Gippal doesn't want to understand." Rikku clarified, "I've known him my whole life and when he's scared of something, he tries to make a joke."  She nudged Baralai playfully, "It's a dorky way to handle things, but that's just Gippal.  A big dork."

Baralai cast a sideways glance at his beautiful counterpart whose eyes had focused back on the horizon.  After Tidus hit his head, the group had retired back to the Celsius but was still at their landing site near Zanarkand.  The stars always seemed brighter near Zanarkand for some reason and even brighter to Baralai now since Rikku was there.  There was something about the girl that he really liked, but he didn't know what.  Normally girls like her - with their constant cheerfulness - drove him insane, but in her case he found it oddly comforting.  Maybe it was because he knew her perky nature hid a very talented fighter.  Then again, maybe he had just reached a point in his life when perky was preferred to solid and stoic.  He'd moved from his desire for stoic - Paine - and onto his desire for cheerful - Rikku.

Thinking about Paine made him blush a little under his tanned skin.  She never knew how he had felt about her, and if he had it his way she never would.  Looking at her now, he didn't understand the attraction, but back then she had him completely flustered.  It was the way she had looked at Nooj that had made Baralai more determined then ever to win her attention, but in the end he had failed.  It sickened him, but he was partly happy that Nooj had shot her too.  It had effectively ended her infatuation with their long-haired leader.

Baralai let his eyes slowly caress Rikku as she continued to stare ahead of her.  He still couldn't quite place what it was that made him want to be around her.  He supposed it started when they had first met.  Yuna had assumed for a moment that he was the Praetor's son and that she had turned down his marriage proposal.  Once that was cleared up, Baralai had noticed Rikku covertly for the first time.  His astonishment at her beauty was short lived when he saw Paine struggling to hide from his line of vision. 

Rikku's red lips moved a little as she sighed and Baralai was overwhelmed with a desire to kiss her, but he quickly squelched that desire as Rikku said to him, "I don't think its possession anyway."

"Why's that?" Baralai asked. 

Rikku shrugged, "There aren't any pyreflies." She replied simply, "When you were possessed there were pyreflies that floated out of your arms and legs.  That's how we knew.  Tidus doesn't have any pyreflies."

"That's very true," Baralai replied, "What do you think it is then?"

Rikku grinned at him and spun to face him.  Jumping in place like an excited child on their birthday, Rikku grabbed Baralai's hand to turn him toward her and squealed, "I was hoping somebody would ask me that, because I have a really good theory!"

"So what is it?" Baralai asked with a laugh as he squeezed Rikku's fingers tenderly.  Neither removed their hand from the other and neither seemed overly concerned with it either.

"Well, I had been thinking about why Tidus looks like Shuyin and it hit me," Rikku began, "Tidus is Dream Zanarkand's version of Shuyin.  He's not exactly like him, but he's close just like Dream Zanarkand is close to the real Zanarkand."

Baralai nodded, "Makes sense."

"So I think that after Tidus faded and was in the Farplane, everything was cool until we defeated Shuyin and sent him there too.  This was the first time both had been near each other," Rikku smiled, "It screwed Tidus up in the head since he was near the real star of the Zanarkand Abes and he's just confused right now, but he'll be better soon."

Baralai squeezed the small hand he still held, "That is brilliant, Rikku.  It makes perfect sense."

Blushing, Rikku grabbed Baralai's other hand with her free one and said, "Gippal would have just thought I was stupid."

"Well, we have determined that Gippal's an idiot." Baralai joked.

Rikku laughed and impulsively stretched out on her toes to kiss Baralai on the cheek when Gippal's voice came from behind them, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."  The Al Bhed's voice came out harsher then he had intended, but he hadn't expected to see Baralai making a play for Rikku.  He noted how quickly the former priest dropped Rikku's hands once he realized that Gippal was standing there and Gippal relaxed a little.  He didn't appreciate the way Baralai was looking at Rikku as of late.  Gippal had always considered Rikku his girl even though they had never had a real date and now knowing he had competition for her affections brought out his natural Al Bhed competitiveness. 

If Baralai wanted her, he'd have to fight for her.

Baralai stepped away from Rikku a bit, embarrassed about being caught but not entirely sure why, and he said to Gippal, "Rikku was just telling me about her theory on Tidus' strange behavior."

"I want to hear it!" Yuna cried as she and Paine joined the trio on the roof.  She looked at Rikku, "What do you think is wrong with him?"

So Rikku explained her theory and waited as they mulled it over in their minds.  Gippal was actually impressed with her theory.  Rikku had never seemed like the sharpest pencil in the box, but maybe he just hadn't given her enough credit, "I like that idea, Rikku." He said, "Now we just need to see if it has as much validity as I think it does."

Yuna looked at Gippal with confusion in her eyes, "How do we do that?"

"LeBlanc," Baralai replied, knowing exactly where Gippal was headed, "She likes stuff concerning the Farplane.  It's a hobby of hers."

"What a depressing hobby." Rikku muttered to herself and then giggled at Paine's nod of agreement.

"Who has a depressing hobby?" Tidus asked.  After awakening, he went in search of his friends and figured that if they weren't in the ship, they must be on the ship.  He was surprised at their looks when he came toward them.  All of them looked like they'd just been caught doing something terrible.  Tidus cocked an eyebrow and asked them, "Did I say something funny?"

Yuna shook her head, "No.  We were just talking about going to see Nooj and LeBlanc today."

"Oh." Tidus said with a smile, "Sounds like fun.  Let's go."

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

"Noojie, I'm bored."

Nooj looked up at his girlfriend, LeBlanc, who was sitting cross-legged on his desk directly next to his pen.  He pushed a strand of brown hair from his eyes and gave her a half smile, "Why don't you read that book about the Farplane that you insisted I spend my Gil on?"

LeBlanc smiled and leaned down toward him, letting her loose fitting robe hang low, "I already read it." She whispered seductively in his ear, "And I was hoping we'd do something a little more.physical."

"As much as I'd love to," Nooj replied, running his thumb along her exposed skin, "I really have to finish up this report for the next meeting in Luca."

LeBlanc pouted, "But Noojie-Woojie!"

"No buts, LeBlanc." Nooj said more firmly this time, "This is important.  I'm sorry."

LeBlanc heaved an aggravated sigh and pushed herself off of Nooj's desk.  Sauntering out the door, she bumped firmly into Ormi and shoved the short and chubby little man out of the way, "Move you idiot!  I'm not in a good mood!"

"Yes, boss." Ormi said obediently as he and Logos stepped out of LeBlanc's way.  They didn't want to face her wrath.

There was a knock at the door and LeBlanc screamed furiously, "Logos!  Get that!"  She could hear Logos' feet pattering across the marble floor of the former Youth League Headquarters that she now called home.  Although she still owned Chateau LeBlanc, she rarely spent time there.  LeBlanc collapsed on the chair situated in the room she and Nooj shared and let out a huge sigh.  Nooj was always obsessed with his work and now that he, Baralai, and Gippal had taken to running Spira he was busier then usual.  Mainly because that damned Al Bhed and that former priest were out with Yuna trying to rebuild Zanarkand.  LeBlanc thought the entire thing was a fool's errand.  Yuna should be focusing her attentions on that boyfriend of hers. 

LeBlanc became thoughtful for a moment.  There was something about that Tidus person that didn't sit right with her.  She got a bad vibe from him when they'd first met and she really hoped that she never would have to see him again.  Just seeing him made her feel like someone was walking over her grave.

"Boss?" came Ormi's timid voice through the crack in her ajared door.

"What is it?!" LeBlanc answered sharply.  She hated it when she was interrupted.

Ormi opened the door a bit more and said, "You have guests, boss.  Lady Yuna and her friends say that they need to speak with you."

LeBlanc stood and straightened her robe and hair.  Although Baralai and Gippal were losers when it came to running a country, they were nice to look at.  She hissed at Ormi, "Well, take me to them!!"

The tall blonde female followed her short servant to the foyer where he'd left their unexpected guests.  She smiled at them all and said, "Yuna, love.  To what do Noojie and I owe the pleasure?"

Tidus stared at the woman again.  It was that same feeling that he knew her but it seemed stronger than before.  She gave him an odd half smile and said, "Can I ask you something.

. before you leave?" The girl in front of Tidus was no longer LeBlanc.  It was another woman who looked similar and yet completely different.  This girl's hair was long, almost down to her hips.  Though the same color as LeBlanc's, this girl's hair was shinier and had a wave in it.  Tidus couldn't hear the end of LeBlanc's question to him.  All he could hear was the conversation this woman was having with the man inside of his head.

"What is it?"

"This may not be the most appropriate time to ask this, but I'm curious anyway.  If Lenne wasn't in the picture, would you come back to me eventually?  I'm not hoping she'll die, mind you.  This is strictly hypothetical.  Like, if she left tomorrow and I was still around."

"Probably."

And as quickly as it happened, the girl was gone and LeBlanc was left standing there with an odd expression on her face, "Are you going to answer me, love, or are you going to keep staring at me like that?"

Tidus stammered, "I.uh.I'm sorry.  What was the question?"

"What did you do to your head?"

"Oh, this?" Tidus asked as he touched the black and blue bump on his head, "I hit my head on a doorframe." 

A sudden sleepiness overcame Tidus at that moment and he let out a huge yawn and stumbled a little where he was standing.  Yuna was by his side in a moment, "Are you okay?"

"I'm just really sleepy all of the sudden," Tidus said, yawning again.  He looked at LeBlanc, "Is there a place I can lay down?"

LeBlanc cast a worried look at Yuna before she said to Tidus, "Sure there is." Craning her neck to see around him, she shrieked, "Ormi!  Logos!  Take Tidus to the guest room to let him sleep."

"Yes boss." The duo said in unison as each took one of Tidus' arms and led him down the hallway. 

Once they were gone, LeBlanc ushered them all into Nooj's office.  Nooj looked up, annoyed, when his door was flung open but quickly quieted his comment when LeBlanc motioned for Yuna and her friends to follow.  Placing his papers into a folder on his desk, Nooj reached for his cane and slowly rose from behind the desk to greet his friends, "Hello everyone.  What can I do for you?"

"There's something wrong with Yuna's boyfriend, love.  They came to ask us some questions."

Nooj's eyes took on a note of concern, "What's wrong with Tidus, Yuna?"

Yuna didn't know where to begin.  The more she thought about his behavior, the more she realized that something really was wrong.  She just didn't know what it was.  Tidus didn't even seem to know and that's what scared her most.  Sighing, Yuna went into the long and sordid story starting from the day she first met Tidus up until the present and when it was finished, LeBlanc said, "Well that is one complicated tale."

"Tell me about it." Rikku said, "I was there during all of it and I still don't believe it."

Baralai smiled at the pretty Al Bhed who was seated between himself and Gippal.  Nudging her playfully, he said, "Why don't you tell LeBlanc your theory."

Rikku grinned, "Okay." She said, "I think that the reason Tidus is acting so weird is because he's dream Zanarkand's version of Shuyin and when Tidus and Shuyin came in contact in the Farplane, it confused Tidus." 

"That makes sense," LeBlanc replied, "since it was the first time the two souls came in contact with each other."

Yuna tried to listen to the conversation that was revolving around her, but her mind kept wandering to Tidus.  She was very worried about him and stood to excuse herself from the group when she saw a shadow go past the door and out toward the foyer.  Rikku had seen it too, as did Paine who said, "Was that Tidus?"

Everyone at the table looked at each other, each seeming to know what the other was thinking.  He wasn't looking for them.  He'd walked right past their room without a second look.  He was up to something.

With Yuna in the lead, the group followed several yards behind him.  He followed the stone walkways down to Mushroom Rock Road and it seemed to Yuna that he was heading toward Djose but a sudden turn stopped that thought in its tracks. 

"Why is he going down there?" Baralai asked, his voice tight with fear.  All eyes watched as the blonde they tracked slowly climbed down into the gulley below Mushroom Rock Road.  There was only one thing down there and Yuna couldn't imagine why he would go there.  All she knew was that she was bound and determined to find out. 

He was at the entrance to the Cave of Woe for several minutes before his followers reached it.  Hiding behind several boulders so as to stay out of view, they watched him. 

He stared hard at the door in front of him as if thinking that the power of his stare would cause it to open.  Putting a frustrated hand on his hip, he cursed, "Well this is just fucking lovely.  How the hell am I supposed to get in there with this damned door in the way?"

Yuna felt a tremble forming in her spine that traveled the length of her back as she watched the man wearing Tidus' form struggle with the door.  Whoever that was, wasn't Tidus.  Tidus didn't talk like that.  She couldn't remember a time when he cursed at all. 

The blonde took the sword he had hung in his belt loop and stuck it in between the two doors.  Tilting it back and forth several times, the door was pulled open far enough for him to be able to push it the rest of the way by hand.  With fresh air being able to circulate the cave, he smiled to himself and slung the sword back into his belt, "Stupid thing comes in handy for something."

With his move into the cave, the group snuck out from their hiding place and crept in quietly behind him.  It was dark in the cave so they hugged the walls in order to remain relatively invisible to him.  Once he reached the back of the cave, he dropped to his hands and knees and started digging around in the dirt, "Where the hell is it?" he cursed to himself as he threw rocks out of the way since they were baring his search, "I can't believe I lost the damn thing.  It's big!  It's not like it should be that hard to find!"

He looked out the cavern door at the sun which was rapidly beginning to rise and he swore, "Shit." Climbing to his feet, he brushed the dirt from his legs and shorts, "I'll just have to come back later.  If they find him missing, there will be hell to pay."

The group dared not even breathe as the blonde man made his way out of the cavern, deciding to leave the door open so he didn't have to struggle with it later.  Once they were sure he was out of earshot, Gippal dared to speak, "So now he refers to himself in the third person.  This is more serious then I thought."

"That wasn't Tidus." Yuna said, almost to herself, "Tidus doesn't curse like that."

"I was thinking the same thing, Yunie." Rikku agreed.  She elbowed Gippal in the side, "What do you think he was looking for?"

Baralai took a step toward Yuna, "Are you sure he doesn't curse like that?  Maybe he just doesn't around you."

"I suppose that's a possibility," Yuna admitted, "but he even looked at that sword like he'd never seen it.  Wakka gave him that!  It belonged to Chappu!  Tidus loves that sword."  Yuna noticed Paine staring at something strangely and followed her line of vision.  The sight was so crazy she had to laugh.  Gippal and Rikku were crawling around on the ground near where Tidus had been, while digging through the dirt and trying to find whatever it was that he had been looking for.

Gippal's hand brushed something and he recoiled quickly, "I found something, and I hope it wasn't what Tidus was looking for or else we got more problems on our hands."

"What is it?" Rikku asked as she climbed to her feet and dusted herself off. 

Gippal made a face as he reached for the object again and brought it into the light.  Rikku shrieked and spun around only to bury her face in Baralai's chest.  Gippal frowned but still rose to his feet. 

In his hand, was a human skull.