Disclaimer: None of the characters mentioned herein belong to me. They are the rightful property of Square Enix.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading this piece of fanfiction, and bigger thanks to Summoner Lenne, who has reviewed the previous chapters so far. I will say, however, that chapters may be quite spread out after this point, as I have a series of exams on the horizon and will need to do some work towards them.

I hope you enjoy this chapter,

icedragon6171

Saviour No More

Chapter 2 – Mistake

Yuna couldn't breathe from the shock, and already she could feel her panic rising. Tidus arrested? For what? It couldn't be true… it couldn't be.

The guard tried to usher Yuna out of the main doors, but she refused to move, struggling against the guard's efforts to get the High Summoner to safety. She scratched and kicked, before finally breaking free, and putting a few metres distance between the guard and herself.

"What has he done?" Yuna cried, panting from the struggle , "Why has Tidus been arrested?"

The guard looked uneasy, and again tried to gain a hold of Yuna's arm, but failed in so doing. Resigned, he told her the answer.

"Praetor Baralai is dead; murdered. Sir Tidus killed him." He mumbled, looking at the floor. The man was clearly not comfortable with the charges.

Yuna refused to believe that Tidus had done such a thing. He was not the type of man to kill something for no reason, especially not a person. Tidus didn't even know Baralai anyway. However, the loss of her friend also hurt Yuna, and she put a clenched fist to her chest in grief, as a sob escaped her throat. Baralai was a good man, striving for peace. He didn't deserve to die.

Once the sobbing had stopped, Yuna gathered the courage to ask the nervous guard – who still stood in front of her, clearly unsure to do with the weeping High Summoner – of Tidus's whereabouts.

"Sir Tidus is being held in the Praetors view box, on the second level," he said, pointing to a room around the top of the stadium with a large glass window. "We are waiting for the Bevelle authorities to collect him from our custody, and take him to his trial."

Clasping the guard's hand, Yuna gave him hasty thanks, before running off in the direction of the stairs. On the way she thought of what she could do to escape with Tidus. So far she had no clue as to what she could do.

Yuna rushed through the halls of the Luca stadium, taking several wrong turns in her hurry. It only served to heighten her panic. She couldn't afford to waste time she didn't have.

Finally coming upon the door to the Praetor's view box, Yuna encountered a dozen or so guards huddled about the door, blocking the entrance. She didn't have time for trying to persuade them to let her through, and so slipped between them, hoping they wouldn't stop the High Summoner. For once, their reverence of her position was welcome to her, as it got her past with no questions asked.

The Praetor's view box was furnished with the best of everything. A few large, padded seats lined the window, and tables made of the finest Macalania crystal glittered in their midst, each holding a vase of freshly picked Kilika roses, expensive flowers with a sweet fragrance unlike any other. Several large portraits hung on the walls, depicting past owners of the stadium, as well as a few choice still life's, and one or two pictures of events held in the stadium. To finish the room off was an ornate Ronso carpet, in shades of blue and green. The view box was a vantage point that any person would have sacrificed a limb for. However, the decoration wasn't Yuna's concern, instead the blonde man sat slumped in a chair to the right end of the room, his hands tied behind the back of the chair, and surrounded by guards with weapons drawn.

Yuna rushed up to Tidus, pushing a guard out of the way and ignoring his warning. Tidus looked like a frightened child, obviously not understanding the reason for his arrest as much as Yuna did. She clasped his face in her hands, inspecting him for any sign of harm, and gazing into his deep, cerulean eyes. He was, at least, in one piece. The guards gave them as much freedom to talk as protocol allowed.

"Tidus, listen to me," she said, quietly, still holding his face. "If you tell me you didn't do it, I'll believe you. Please, tell me you didn't do it." Yuna gauged Tidus's reaction, bi-coloured eyes locked with his.

Tidus's mouth worked as he tried to find the right words to say. "Yuna, I… It's a mistake, I-".

Yuna quieted him immediately by putting a single finger to his lips.

"Just tell me Tidus; Yes or no?"

"No."

"Thank you," she whispered, drawing him to her in as much of an embrace either the chair or his bonds would allow. "Oh, Tidus… what are we going to do?" Tidus stayed silent. He was as stumped as she was.

"Wh-Where's Baralai?" Yuna asked Tidus a few moments later, remembering the reason for which Tidus was arrested for.

Tidus shifted uneasily, before indicating behind Yuna with his head. He looked away, not wanting to look at the person shaped lump on the floor, which had been hastily covered with a white sheet, now soaked with crimson blood in several places. The beautiful Ronso carpet, once blue, had turned a deep purple black. The sight made Yuna's stomach wrench, and she almost brought up her lunch there and then. She turned back to Tidus, heart hammering and head light. She could only imagine the sight of the actual body.

"How… How did it happen?" Yuna asked, voice quavering. She still wasn't sure whether the contents of her stomach would stay where they were.

Tidus shifted again, jostling Yuna's head which now lay in his lap.

"I don't know…" He said, frustrated. "When I got here, the guy was just lying there, covered in blood, and the guard kicked me in and locked the door. I could hear him running down the hall and yelling 'He's killed the Praetor! Sir Tidus has killed the Praetor!'. Then before I knew it, I was surrounded by guards saying I'm under arrest. They won't believe me when I say that I didn't do it."

Yuna lay in silence, until she was sure that she was going to be okay. She sat up slowly, and surveyed the number of guards. It appeared there were only five now, as most of the crowd outside had dispersed. The guards near them had moved to the door, and now had their backs turned.

"I'll get us out of here." Yuna whispered to him, through the corner of her mouth, so as to not alarm the guards present. Tidus's eyes lit up.

"How?" he asked, trying to keep his voice down. A guard at the door glanced over his shoulder, but seeing nothing amiss, turned back to his fellows.

Yuna whipped her half-skirt back to reveal a garter with a small knife in it. She handed it to him discreetly. Tidus looked impressed, although she suspected it wasn't only that she had managed to get through with so many weapons. She frowned at him, but he forced a look of innocence.

"Use that to cut through your bonds," She whispered, while watching the guards. "I'll get them out of the way, and then we can run to the Celsius. Brother left it docked not far away, so we can run there and escape. We'll have to be quick. By that time the majority of the city guard will be after us." Yuna hoped the plan would work.

Almost as soon as Yuna had finished, a man burst through into the room. A messenger.

"The Bevelle authorities will be here in approximately ten minutes, Sir!" The man announced, loudly, to the commanding officer. He looked meaningfully towards Tidus, who visibly blanched. "Prepare the prisoner for exchange."

The messenger promptly left, while the commanding officer, a tall man, with large muscles which showed through his uniform, ordered two of the guards in the room to prepare Tidus, and then left with the remaining guards, presumably to greet the incoming vessel.

"Hurry…" Tidus whispered urgently to Yuna, as he sawed frantically at the rope binding his wrists. It wasn't yielding much at all.

Yuna smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, it's going to be easier than I first thought." She replied. She stood and moved aside.

The guards advanced on Tidus, one making as if to grab his arm, but neither guard managed to get much further as Tidus brought his foot forcefully up between the legs of the first guard, and Yuna knocked the other out with the butt of one of her pistols, which she had drawn behind their backs. The gun had collided with the back of the guard's head with such a resounding crack that Tidus wondered whether the man's skull was still intact.

Tidus's bonds finally broke, and he sprang to his feet, following behind Yuna who had already made her way out of the door, to clear the hallway.

A hand grabbed Tidus's ankle, pulling his feet from beneath him and sending him crashing to the floor. The knife flew from his grasp to settle beside the shrouded body. He was defenceless against the guard who now had a blade pressed to Tidus's jugular.

Tidus struggled as much as he was able as the man dragged Tidus upright, and made to tie his hands again. He couldn't risk thrashing, as the knife was already painfully pricking through his skin.

Bang! The guard slumped to the floor, quite dead, blood flowing freely from a puncture in his chest. The bullet had passed clean through his chest and out the other side, leaving a splatter of red across the white wall and a framed picture of Yuna's concert two months ago. Yuna stood, smoking gun raised, in the doorway, although she was not aiming at Tidus. She was shocked. She had killed a guard, an innocent man, and was now likely to be put under the same sentence as Tidus.

Tidus approached warily, and lowered Yuna's arms. A hand flew to her mouth and she let out a stifled sob, her watering eyes turning to him. He said nothing, instead taking her gently by the wrist and pulling her down the hall to the exit with him. They had to hurry; the Bevelle vessel would arrive any minute now.

They emerged into the open air outside the stadium a minute later, Yuna still with tears running down her face. She dashed them away, however, and took over lead, now making a beeline towards the dock at which the Celsius waited.

Not as second had passed since they came into sight of the red hull of the airship when the alarm sounded, and a voice over booming loudspeakers announced the escape of the criminals Yuna and Tidus. Guards sprang out of nowhere behind them, and sprinted after them in pursuit. The Celsius lay only a few hundred metres away now, and already the two of them were tiring from fighting their way through the crowds that constantly filled the streets of Luca.

The ramp of the airship lay open, and Yuna dragged Tidus up behind her into the metal safety of the engine room, thumping the button labelled 'Close Door' in bright red letters. The ramp began to rise, agonisingly slow, but Yuna did not stay to watch it's sluggish progress, instead taking the steps two at a time to reach the lift. Tidus laboured after her, his ragged breathing loud behind her.

The bridge was strangely quiet, considering the nature of the Gullwings. The whole crew, save Barkeep, who never left his bar except in emergencies, were assembled in the spacious room. They looked surprised to see Yuna and Tidus burst through the door, red-faced and panting. However, Yuna didn't waste time answering questions, heading directly for Brother and ordering him to take off immediately.

"Do it!" She growled, looking ready to throttle him when he gave her a questioning look. "We don't have time to wait around. Take off, Brother!" Rikku looked ready to choke, and Paine was shocked, although she concealed it far better Rikku.

He didn't hesitate under her harsh glare, and turned on the engine. The Celsius roared to life and began to rise. Water sprayed from beneath the engines as the air blown out of them blew it into the faces of those assembled on the pier. The Celsius sped away into the blue sky.

~*~

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, as it took me a hell of a lot to write it. Please leave a comment, and I will endeavour to update as soon as I possibly can.

Thank you,

icedragon6171