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:  This chapter contains direct dialog from FFX, so there will be some spoilers although nothing major. 

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SILVER WINGS 2: 1000 CONFESSIONS

by akksgurl

Chapter Sixteen: Back To The Beginning

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Yuna came slowly back to consciousness after feeling as though she'd slept for years.  The feeling of the grainy sand on her back brought her to reality as she opened her eyes and blinked out the sunlight that threatened to blind her. 

The Celsius was gone.  That was the first thing she realized. 

Shuyin was gone too.  That was the second thing she realized.

"What happened?" she asked, surprising herself with the groggy feeling that she was trying to shake from her limbs. 

The tiny diamond glittered in the sunlight as Gippal pulled it from his pocket, "He put this on your finger and you collapsed.  Do you know what it is?"

"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…."

"That's the diamond from the songstress dressphere." She whispered, "He said that he could turn me back into Lenne using that." She looked at her fingers, which were clasped together in her lap, "Am I really Lenne?"

Yuna didn't wait to hear the answer from her friends as she quickly climbed to her feet and began the long walk toward Home.  Deep inside of herself she already knew that the answer was yes.  Maybe she had always known.  Maybe it had only started to seep in after the initial meeting with Shuyin.  She wasn't sure.  However, when he had held her on the Farplane that first time, it wasn't a completely unfamiliar feeling that circulated in her veins.  She knew, if only for an instant, that she had felt that way before.

"Well, not to be rude or anything Yunie, but we've got bigger problems then whether you're Lenne or not." called Rikku from behind her.  Her cousin turned and gasped a little at the large cloth tied tightly around Rikku's thigh as the Al Bhed was being carried by Gippal. 

"What happened to you?!"

Rikku rolled her eyes, "That damned asshole shot me.  Remember?"

"Oh…yeah." Yuna replied in a whisper.  She wasn't completely herself yet and was worried sick about Tidus.  If Shuyin was gone, then so was Tidus.  Where were they?"

"We've gotta figure out where Shuyin went," Rikku continued, "and I think we should ask the source."

Yuna didn't want to ask who the source might be.  She didn't want to think about any of this anymore.  She wished she had the power to turn back the hands of time.  She wanted nothing more then to have the last two years back.  She would have done things so much differently.  She knew it would curl the hair of her friends if they knew how many times she had thought about killing herself after Tidus faded. 

If she lost him again, she wouldn't just think about it anymore.

The cold air inside Home was a nice surprise compared to the sweltering conditions in the desert just outside.  Yuna didn't know where she was going or what they were going to do.  She couldn't think straight.  Her mind was focused on finding Tidus and getting rid of Shuyin.  Damn what the fayth had wanted.  They sent her Tidus and that was who she loved.  Shuyin be damned!

The next few hours passed in a blur as Cid and Shinra shuffled them into the conference room to share information.  Yuna barely listened to all of it.  Her mind was moving a mile a minute and every thought was of Tidus.  Their time together had been so short and fleeting and yet it filled her entire being with a love that could never be rivaled.

"I'm Yuna.  Thank you so much for your help earlier."

"I'm sorry about that. Wasn't that…Wasn't I not supposed to…Guess I…kind of overreacted."

"Oh, no.  I was…overconfident."

"Um, I saw that aeon thing.  That's amazing!"

"Really?  Do you think can become high summoner?"
 

Rikku and Gippal discussed their conversations in the Farplane and the realization that Shuyin killed Baralai and let Gippal take the fall for it.  They discussed how the fayth was actually a friend of Shuyin's and how he had created Tidus in order to fulfill a promise he had made to Lenne. 

"In Zanarkand, we do this to cheer on blitz players.  You try it too.  Put your fingers in your mouth like this."

"Like…this?"

"Uh-uh, not like that, like this.  Then, you just blow."

"It's not working."

"Practice!"

"Okay."


"Hey, use that if we get separated.  Then I'll come running, okay?"

Gippal explained to Cid and Shinra about Shuyin's use for the diamond from the dressphere.  She heard them all trying to figure Shuyin's ultimate plan.  There were whispered theories on where he was and why he was back. 

"Leave now!  Please!"

"You're coming with us!"

"Don't worry!  Go!"

"This is foolish.  If you fall, you'll die."

 
"Don't worry.  I can fly.  Believe."

 
"Yuna!"

They were trying to figure out just how long he'd been pretending.  They wanted to know if he really had feeling for Yuna like the fayth believed or if he was just acting like he did.  They were even speculating on whether the fayth was involved in this somehow.

"That's right! We're all guardians!  Yeah, and you know what that means?  Yuna... Anywhere you go, I'll follow!"

"Anywhere I go?"


"Yeah, anywhere!"
 
"Well, then!"

"Let's go!"

Yuna could have answered any of those questions for them.  She knew most of the answers.  Shuyin had spilled his guts to her when he feared for his life.  However, she was too busy in her own world to worry about answering their questions.  She couldn't stop thinking about Tidus and the promise they had made at the lake in Macalania that night.


"Stay with me until the end. Please."


"Not until the end...Always."
 

"Always, then."

Tidus had promised her always and always had been taken from her once.  They had a second chance to have that always and Shuyin threatened to take it away forever.  Yuna scowled.  She'd fry in the depths of Hell before she let Shuyin ruin her chance at happiness.  Standing suddenly, Yuna held her hand out to Gippal, "Give me the ring."

The Al Bhed was surprised, but did as he was ordered, carefully placing the tiny ring into her palm, "What do you want it for?"

"Tell Lenne what's going on.  Maybe she'll know where Shuyin might be.  We'll let her deal with him." Yuna replied as she slipped the ring onto her finger and felt the world go black.

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

It was the people from her dream staring back at her when Lenne opened her eyes what felt like mere moments later.  She looked around, confused and lost.  She didn't know where she was and she couldn't see Shuyin.  She was, however, wearing the same clothes as before so at least one thing hadn't changed.

"Where am I now?" she asked the blonde girl in front of her.

The girl squirmed a little closer to Lenne, trying not to bend her leg which had a large cloth wrapped tightly around it, "Lenne?"

"Yeah," replied the songstress, "And you are…?"

"I'm Rikku," replied the girl, "That's Paine, Gippal, Nooj, LeBlanc, Cid, and Shinra."

Lenne stared at her company, suspicion forming cold and deep in her gut.  Something was going on and in her heart she knew it had to do with Shuyin.  The lack of his presence made her extremely concerned for his safety as she noted that each and every person in front of her, with the exception of the child, had some sort of a weapon within easy reach.  She sat up a little straighter, self-consciously pulling the skimpy material of the shirt taut against her breasts, "Where am I?  Where's Shuyin?"

"That's what we needed to talk to you about." The one called Rikku replied as the handsome blonde man helped her to her feet and then assisted her into sitting in a nearby chair.  Lenne wondered vaguely what happened to her thigh and must have been staring at it because Rikku answered her unspoken question, "He shot me."

"Who's 'he'?" Lenne asked, something in her gut telling her she wouldn't like the answer.

"Shuyin."

Lenne climbed to her feet quickly, fury rising in her like a tidal wave.  She didn't know who this girl was or what she was trying to do, but Lenne would never believe that Shuyin was capable of hurting anyone unless she saw it for herself.  She glared down at the blonde girl and then passed that glare onto every other person in the room, "I don't know what kind of sick game you all are playing," she cried, "but Shuyin wouldn't hurt a fiend.  He's the most gentle, wonderful person I've ever met.  Now where is he?"

"We were hoping you could help us figure that out." The stoic girl called Paine replied, "You see, after he shot Rikku – and he did shoot Rikku, mind you – he stole our airship and took off."

Lenne shook her head, "He wouldn't leave me here."

The man with the robotic limbs stepped forward away from a tall female who Lenne instantly thought seemed familiar.  Nooj frowned, "You really don't know what's going on, do you Lenne?" with a perplexed look, he glanced at Gippal, "I really thought Shuyin would have told her something."

Lenne laughed a little, "Shuyin wouldn't tell me something if he didn't think I'd approve." She admitted, "Besides, we were too busy fighting over whether or not I'd go back to the front.  By the way, how is the war going?"

"Goodness, love.  He didn't tell you anything, did he?"

Lenne frowned at the familiar girl, "What do you mean by that?"

Nooj sighed and pointed at a mirror on the opposite end of the room, "Maybe if you look in that mirror, you'll be more receptive to what we have to say."

Raising a speculative eyebrow, Lenne walked cautiously over to the mirror and stared into the face that reflected back at her in the glass. 

It wasn't her face…

Lenne let out a horrified shriek and reached a hand up to touch the stranger's face.  But, it wasn't a complete stranger staring at her.  It was the girl she'd seen in her dreams; the one that was with Rikku and Paine after they had stopped Shuyin from reactivating Vegnagun. 

But…

How was this possible?  Shuyin had told her it was a dream.  She had told him about everything and he had said it was a dream!  Had he lied?  But, why would he lie?  What would he gain from lying?  And if he had lied…

Lenne stared into the face of High Summoner Yuna and felt tears forming in her eyes.  Her lower lip started to tremble and Lenne clutched the table in front of her to regain her balance as she felt her legs lose their feeling.

She hadn't been dreaming.  The piercing pain as the bullets shattered inside of her had been real.  The empty feeling after her spirit had left her body was real.  Her conversation and subsequent deal with the fayth had been real.  Shuyin being left for dead in the cave had been real.

She was dead…

Taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm, Lenne turned back to the group behind her, "Tell me what's going on."

And they did.

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Shuyin felt like an idiot.  Not only had he lost Yuna and Lenne, but the ring as well.  The only thing he had managed to gain was the Celsius and the damned thing had run out of gas as soon as he had gotten back to Zanarkand.  At least it had gotten him to his destination, though. 

The rebuilding had barely begun when he had killed Baralai which meant that Zanarkand was still as much of a wreck as it had been the last time he was there. 

Taking a breath, Shuyin sat down on the pier from which he would watch his favorite sunrises during his life in Zanarkand.  It was the same location he had his first conversation with Lenne.  Slipping his shoes off, he let his feet dangle in the water as he tried to plot out his next move. 

He needed to talk to the fayth.  Imagine his shock when he'd discovered upon his entrance into the Farplane that Bruttam was the fayth that had created Tidus and this complete mess in the first place.  He and Bruttam needed to have a talk.  However, how was he going to do that with the Celsius out of commission and Gippal surely to have sent the entire Al Bhed army out looking for him.  He could tell that Al Bhed was thirsty for blood and if he knew Gippal at all, he knew that he wouldn't rest until he got what he wanted.

Shuyin had been at Zanarkand most of the day and hadn't decided upon a place to stay, although either his house or Lenne's seemed like as good a place as any.  Both homes just needed a little dusting.  He hadn't bothered to check Zaon and Yunalesca's place although he imagined that it looked pretty similar to the rest of A-East.

What sounded like an engine caught his attention, and Shuyin rose quickly gripping the sword that Wakka had given Tidus.  Shuyin never saw much of a need for a weapon until recently.  After his interaction with Yuna and her pistols, he decided that something sharp might just come in handy. 

It was an engine and it belonged to a small motor boat that was circling around the inlet and coming toward the pier.  Shuyin squinted his eyes to get a closer look of the person inside and gasped.

It was Yuna…

He froze.  How had she found him?  Why was she coming alone?  Or was she alone?  He quickly scanned the nearby areas and found that no one seemed to be following her.  What was going on?  Had she decided to join him?

The boat pulled up next to the pier and she extended her hand to him, "Are you going to help me out or not?"

Shuyin's hand grew a mind of its own as it extended to grab hold of Yuna's left hand.  Something cold connected with this skin at the contact and his eyes were drawn downward where his breath came out in a shocked gasp.  She was wearing the ring.  He lifted blue eyes up to her, "Lenne?"

"Hi there, handsome." She replied with a smile, "Happy to see me?"