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.
DO NOT COPY MY STORIES!!
If anyone wants to post this story or "Silver Wings" anywhere else, please just ASK and then give me credit for writing it. Email akksgurl@yahoo.com with any requests.
Author's Notes: I've had this chapter planned out since I initially thought of this story. By the end of this, everybody knows everything and Shuyin's in desperation mode which is never a good thing. Enjoy!
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SILVER WINGS 2: 1000 CONFESSIONS
by akksgurl
Chapter Fifteen: Confessions of a Desperate Man
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Shuyin felt like his stomach had dropped into his feet. What had he said? What had he done? What could possibly have clued her in? She hadn't been acting as though anything was wrong. Everything seemed to be fine. What was going on?!
"Where is he?!" Yuna shrieked, her shrill voice cracking with hysteria.
"What are you talking about, Yuna?" Shuyin asked, deciding at the last minute to play dumb. Maybe he could convince her that nothing was out of place and she was acting crazy, "What's the matter?"
"What's the matter?!" she cried, shoving the gun barrels closer to his face as if to threaten him, "You aren't Tidus! Tidus would know the Jecht Shot! His father did that! Tidus would know how to whistle! Tidus taught me how to whistle like that!! Who are you?!"
Shuyin gulped and felt as though the walls were closing in on him. He hadn't expected this. The way Yuna had said 'you can do it' made him think that she believed Tidus could whistle but wasn't sure. That was the only reason he had told her he couldn't
"I told you she'd figure it out." Taunted Tidus, "Now what, Shuyin? Looks like you're busted."
"Shutup Tidus!" shouted Shuyin, smacking himself in the head as if the taunting voice would vanish with that maneuver.
Yuna took another step back, "Where is he? What did you do to him…Shuyin?"
So she knew who he was. Shuyin hadn't expected that so soon. He didn't know what to do. He was staring down the barrels of her guns, knowing full well that he couldn't kill her even if he had wanted to. Everyone knew they were together. Everyone would now that he had done it and would probably realize he had killed Baralai too. He had to try and convince her that he wasn't Shuyin. That was the only way, "Shuyin? Yuna, what's gotten into you?"
The sound of a cocking trigger sent chills up Shuyin's spine. She wasn't buying it. Her eyes narrowed and her look hardened, "Don't give me that shit. Where is Tidus?"
"You'd better tell her the truth, or we're both dead." Tidus whispered, sounding almost afraid, "I've seen that look before. She means business."
Tidus knew Yuna better then anyone. If Tidus was nervous, then Shuyin had better take heed. He put his hands up in a motion of defeat, "If you shoot me, you'll kill Tidus too." He said.
The look on Yuna's face showed Shuyin that she desperately hoped she had been wrong. She took another step away from him, tears forming in her duel colored orbs, "Where is he?"
Shuyin pointed to his chest, "He's in here somewhere. I'm not possessing him, if that's what you're thinking. I'm correcting a mistake that was made."
"Sh…Sh…Shuyin?" her stammering was a sign that she was terrified, but the guns pointed at his head prevented him from feeling comfortable in that, "How…how long have you been…pretending?"
The truth could get him shot, but a lie could do the same thing if she figured it out. He figured the truth was the best way to go, "About a month."
The color drained from Yuna's beautiful face and Shuyin knew instantly that she had done the math. Her hands lowered involuntarily and Shuyin stepped toward her only to have her furiously throw the guns back up, "Don't get near me!" her eyes were almost on fire with her rage, "How could you?! How could you…do….do that?! How could you let me…do that?!"
"I'd like to know the answer to that one, myself."
"Shutup Tidus!" shouted Shuyin to himself.
"Where is he?!" Yuna asked, her voice had almost a begging quality to it, "Where is he? Please, let me talk to him. I have to apologize!"
"Tell her that it's not her fault."
Shuyin wanted to let Yuna talk to Tidus, but he couldn't. He couldn't let Tidus have control for even a second. He was getting more and more difficult to control and Shuyin wasn't sure why. He shook his head, "I can't let you talk to him, Yuna, but…he's not angry at you. It's not your fault."
"Why are you doing this?"
"You know what it's like to be away from the person you love. Imagine knowing that if it weren't for you, that person would still be alive!" Shuyin ran a hand through his frazzled hair, "Then imagine if you found out that the person you loved requested a second life with you. A second chance! But it was taken from you and given to someone else!"
Yuna trembled visibly, "What are you talking about?"
"Damnit Lenne! You know what I'm talking about!!"
Yuna's eyes narrowed and her trigger fingers tightened slightly. Every word she said was deliberate and angry, "I'M….NOT….LENNE!!!!!!!!!"
"Yes you are!" Shuyin shouted back, desperation tingeing his voice, "You were Lenne 1000 years ago! When you died, the fayth turned you into Yuna."
"Wha…"
Shuyin saw an opportunity to convince her of the truthfulness of his words and ran with it, "You asked the fayth for another chance with me, but for some reason he created Tidus instead. Tidus wasn't even made as a good copy of me! I mean, what the hell is a Jecht Shot anyway? The only shot my father ever taught me was a bicycle kick! And Tidus can whistle while I can't! I mean, what the hell is that all about?! I didn't even know you had wanted to be with me again until recently. That's why I'm here, Lennie. I'm trying to fix this."
"St…stop calling me Lenne!" she shrieked, "I'm not Lenne! I'm not! I don't care what you say!"
Yuna's face was scrunched up as the tears started to flow from her already bloodshot eyes. Shuyin wanted to step closer to her and wipe the tears away but he didn't dare. She was a confused and upset woman with two loaded guns pointed at his face. The odds weren't in his favor.
"I want him back…now." Yuna said after a few minutes, her tears drying and leaving a crusty line down her cheeks.
"The merger has already begun," replied Shuyin, "Even if I wanted to, I can't."
"What are you talking about? What merger?"
Shuyin took a breath, "I'm the original soul. Tidus is the copy. We both can't exist, so we're merging together. Eventually Tidus won't even exist anymore."
Yuna's eyes narrowed and for the first time, Shuyin saw in her eyes an emotion he'd never witnessed before. Sheer unadulterated fury. She motioned with the guns, "Move it. Come on." Shuyin took a cautious step, unsure of what she wanted, until he saw her duck around behind him. Feeling the cold sting of the gun at the small of his back, he felt her push him forward slightly with it, "I said MOVE!" she shouted, forcing Shuyin to take a few steps forward.
"Yuna…." He whispered, taking a few more tentative steps toward the
stairs. Was she going to shove him down
them?
"I said move, don't talk!" she replied, harshly.
Shuyin clamped his mouth shut. As he started down the stairs with Yuna's guns at his back, his mind was racing. How the hell was he going to get himself out of this mess? Trying to convince her that he wasn't himself didn't work. Telling her the truth had only made her angrier. What the hell was he going to do?!
"You're going to lose." Tidus answered him, "That's what you're going to do."
Shit. Tidus was right. For the first time, Shuyin realized that his plans weren't going to work. He was going to lose. He briefly thought for moment about the ring. If he turned Yuna into Lenne then the two could run off together! That thought was quickly deflated, though. Lenne was angry at him. Lenne wouldn't run off with him without then wanting to go to the frontlines of a war that was 1000 years over.
As the duo entered the elevator down the hallway, Shuyin watched as Yuna chose to go to the bridge. She leaned against the wall with her guns never wavering from Shuyin. She wasn't crying anymore. Her face held no emotion. It was almost as if she felt nothing.
"Yuna…"
"I said Shutup!" she hissed at him, the ding of the elevator coinciding with the opening of the doors to the bridge.
Shuyin frowned as she forced him out of the elevator and down the short hallway that led to the bridge. He was grateful that no one was on the ship yet. He just wished he knew what Yuna was planning.
"So do I."
Shuyin stopped at the small balcony that overlooked the bridge, "Put the guns down Yuna. We both know you won't shoot me."
"Don't be so sure, Shuyin." She replied, "Now move it."
She shoved him hard in the side with the butt of one of her guns, forcing him to trip slightly and fall down the five stairs that led to the bridge floor, "Ow!" he whined, "Damnit Yuna!"
"Don't make me shoot you next time." She warned, "Now get up and move."
Shuyin rose to his feet, the familiar feeling of sheer fury seeping through his veins. He glared at her, wondering just what it was that he had liked, "You won't shoot me and we both know it."
"Oh really? And why is that?"
Giving her a triumphant smile, he replied, "Because if you kill me, you kill Tidus too." He waited for a look of terror or a realization that what he was saying was truth, but there was nothing. Yuna stood there, her guns pointed directly at his head with a small, half-smirk on her features. He waited several minutes as the silence passed between them until his curiosity got the better of him, "Say something…"
"You really must think I'm stupid, Shuyin," said Yuna finally, shaking her head as if to scold him, "You just said that you're merging with Tidus and eventually he won't exist anymore. So what exactly is stopping me from putting a bullet into your head to stop you?"
This had to have been some sort of sick nightmare that Shuyin was having. He couldn't imagine a more cruel twist of fate. He had put the final nail in his own coffin. Panic set in then and he felt as though he was going to hyperventilate, "You don't mean that!"
Yuna shrugged, "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't." she waved a gun, "Get over there." She insisted, motioning toward Shinra's section of the bridge. Shuyin did as he was told without putting up a fight. The sudden realization that there really wasn't anything stopping Yuna was seeping into him and filling him with fear. She stopped him short of the chair, "Did you kill Baralai?"
"Just tell her the truth. Don't bother lying. She'll see right through a lie."
Shuyin knew Tidus was right so he nodded his ascension, "Yes I did, but I didn't want to. He cornered me. He knew my plans and I had to stop him from telling you."
"What plans?"
Shuyin thought for a moment. If he told her the truth, she might let him live. If he lied, she'd shoot him. However, telling her the truth would ruin any chances he had of fulfilling his plans. He noted that her hands weren't shaking anymore and held steady aim on his head. He decided to go with the truth, "I stole the diamond from the inside of your songstress dressphere. I mounted it onto a ring and used it to turn you back into Lenne. That was when you blacked out. I wanted to have Lenne back and when I found out that you all were going to rebuild Zanarkand, I thought it was like the fates were telling me to go ahead with my plans. However, Lenne hadn't changed. She still wanted to sacrifice herself and we got into a big fight. Then the plans sort of changed…"
"Changed how?"
Shuyin stared into her cold eyes, searching for any hint of warmth. With a frown, he said, "You're so much like Lenne and yet so different. I was meant to be with you in this life and to love you in this life and – although it's later then the fayth had planned – our fate has been completed."
"What are you talking about?!"
"I'm saying that…I love you, Yuna."
"Oh please!" Tidus spat, "You actually expect her to believe that crap?"
Yuna didn't respond right away and Shuyin felt the sweet taste of triumph forming. She believed him. Who cares if it wasn't completely true? The important fact was that she believed him, and she just might feel the same way. Wouldn't Tidus be pissed?
Taking a step closer to him, Yuna gave him a smile, "Really?" she asked, "That's what I've always wanted."
That wasn't something Shuyin was expecting. Yuna had wanted him for a while? He had underestimated his manly charms. Even as a ghost, he still had it!
Yuna's eyes took on a lustful look, "What girl wouldn't want you?" she asked, her tongue trailing over her lower lip, "You're handsome, you're sexy, you're smart…" she paused and Shuyin smiled a little, letting his eyes start to close as Yuna brought her lips closer to his. He could feel her warm breath on his face as she whispered, "You're also dead."
His eyes flew open as Yuna created a distance between them again, the guns pointed at his chest, "You're dead! You're a murderer! You're a pervert! You're crazy!" she shouted, "Do you actually think that I'm going to believe that you've miraculously fallen in love with me?! If you loved me, you'd let Tidus go! You'd forget this damned merger and let me be happy with the man that I love instead of going on this selfish mission!"
"But!"
"There are no buts!" she shouted, taking a step closer to him with fire in her duel colored eyes, "There is no excuse for what you've done. You don't think I'm being serious, but I'm going to show you just how serious I am."
A flash of light and the sound of a gun firing was accompanied by a sharp pain on his arm and a hiss of electrical equipment behind him. It took Shuyin a moment to realize that Yuna had shot him, letting the bullet skim easily off of his left forearm and smack into the computer equipment behind him.
"Shit! Yuna, you shot me!" he shouted, trying to dab the blood away with his shirt sleeve.
"I told you I was serious." She said simply, "I won't play your games anymore, Shuyin. I may seem stupid and easily manipulated, but let me assure you that I am not."
Shuyin's mind went back to the ring again. It was firmly planted in his pocket where he had placed it after Yuna had discovered its existence. He wished he could use it, but knew that he didn't have enough time to get it on her finger before she shot with a better aim.
"Listen, Yuna…"
"No!" shrieked the brunette, "you listen! I'm sick of being lied to and manipulated by people who think they are better then me! Seymour did it; Mika did it, now you're doing it. But I won against both of them, Shuyin. I'm 2 for 2. Do you want to make me 3 for 3?"
"Yunie!!" came Rikku's shrill cry from the entrance of the Celsius. Shuyin didn't have time to ponder why Gippal was with her. He didn't care that she came complete with four friends. She didn't care that all of them had weapons and he had none. He didn't care that he was hopelessly outnumbered. He saw an opportunity and he took it.
As Yuna's attention was momentarily taken away from her prey, Shuyin lunged forward, grabbing the brunette from behind. Grabbing both of her wrists, he bent one toward her face, pushing her own gun into her chin and pointed her other gun toward her friends, his finger on the trigger. Shuyin was once again in control.
"Get down, all of you!" he shouted, pulling Yuna's body closer to him, "Get down or she gets it."
Luck was with Shuyin that day. Yuna's friends were afraid of something happening to her, so they did as they were told, dropping to the ground and huddling together in a shaking, frightened mass.
"Shuyin, let her go."
Shuyin's panic had risen to the highest heights in the recent events, but now he wasn't afraid. He laughed, "Get over it, Tidus. I'm in control now."
"Tidus help me!" Yuna screamed, trying in vain to struggle from Shuyin's grasp, but the stronger man tightened his grip and forced the gun harder into her chin.
"Don't make me hurt you, Yuna." He whispered to her, "I don't want to hurt you. I'm not a killer."
"Gee, is that what you told Baralai?" came Rikku's sarcastic question from where she was huddled.
Shuyin had never liked Rikku. She was an insult to his senses and now was no different. He narrowed his eyes at the perky blonde, "All you do is bitch. Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch!" he hissed, "I'll give you something to really bitch about." And in a quick move, Shuyin aimed the gun and shot, getting Rikku in the thigh with stunning accuracy.
Rikku wailed loudly and Shuyin instantly regretted shooting her. Now she'd be completely unbearable. He momentarily entertained the thought of shooting her in the head to put him out of his own misery, but decided against it. He didn't want two murders on his conscious if he could manage it. Gippal crawled closer to Rikku, trying to help Paine bandage up the Al Bhed's wound, "Shuyin, you're unbelievable."
He smirked, "So you know who I am. Impressive." He said, glaring at Yuna as she tried again to struggle away, "Sorry about the whole 'framing' thing, Gippal. I didn't do that on purpose. Just the luck of the draw, I suppose."
"Let me go!" begged Yuna, hysterical sobs threatening to form, "Please, let me go!"
"Yeah, Shuyin. Please let her go. Don't do this anymore. Lenne wouldn't want you to do this anymore."
The thought of Lenne made Shuyin smile a little. His beloved Lenne. She was so close to him. He grinned widely as he wrapped his entire arm around Yuna's waist to reach into his pocket and remove the tiny diamond.
"Don't do it Shuyin!"
Yuna saw the diamond and her eyes widened. He knew she remembered what he had said to her. With a wink, he whispered, "Yuna, let's get married." Before he slipped the ring onto her finger.
Yuna dropped quickly into a heap on the floor as soon as Shuyin released his grip on her. With both arms free, he pointed the guns at the group, "Alright folks. Let's move it." He said, motioning toward a corner on the opposite side of the entrance, "We've got five minutes."
Everyone except Gippal moved – or in Rikku's case, was dragged – across the floor. Gippal stood and stared down at Shuyin. Neither blonde male spoke or moved until Gippal said, "Not until you give us Yuna."
Shuyin laughed, "You see, Gippal. I'm the one in charge here. You don't have any options other then the ones I give you. Now MOVE!"
"Actually, Shuyin. I'm the one in charge here." Tidus replied, "And I am going to be giving them some options that you may not like."
Shuyin raised a questioning eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something when a blinding pain formed in his head. He lost his grip on the guns and their clanking on the ground only caused his sudden migraine to worsen as he lost his balance and fell onto the floor next to Yuna, clawing at his head as if to make the terrible hurt go away. The world was darkening around him and he didn't know why. Tidus shouldn't have that kind of power, and yet he did. How could he have that kind of power?!
"Run!" he heard Tidus shout at his friends. The world was a dim outline and Shuyin vaguely saw Gippal pull the ring off of Yuna's finger and pocket it, dragging the unconscious female into his arms and over his shoulder as the rest of the group dealt with transporting Rikku.
"Go! Don't worry about me! Save Yuna!"
Shuyin wasn't able to move as the group scurried down the plank and out into the desert, but as he realized his plans had once again been foiled, Shuyin felt anger grow hot and deep in his stomach. Focusing all of his energies, Shuyin closed his eyes and strained, forcing Tidus back into his sleeping world where he belonged. Finally able to move again, Shuyin thought about going after them until he realized that they'd taken Yuna's guns with them. He was alone and weaponless. What was he going to do now?
As if answering his own question, Shuyin noticed for the first time that Brother had left the ignition code to the Celsius in plain view. Shuyin didn't know how long it would take for the do-gooders to get the entire Al Bhed army after him, so he punched the code in. Hearing the blissful sound of the engine starting was music to Shuyin's ears as he guided the Celsius into the air and watched as Yuna and her friends became tiny spots below him.
