DISCLAIMER:  I do not own FFX, FFX-2, FFVIII or any of the characters and locations affiliated with it.  I do, however, own the story "Silver Wings", "Silver Wings 2: 1000 Confessions" and all references to dialogue not originated by Square-Enix.

DO NOT COPY MY STORIES!!

If anyone wants to post my stories anywhere else, please just ASK and then give me credit for writing it.  Email akksgurl@yahoo.com with any requests.

Author's Notes:  No Tidus again in this chapter (except in flashbacks so SPOILERS FOR FINAL FANTASY X will be around), but he'll be in the next one.  Do enjoy the twist at the end of this chapter.  There will be another one in chapter 10. 

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SILVER WINGS 3: Back Into My Arms

by akksgurl

Chapter Nine: The Praetoress, the Farplane, and a Beet Red Summoner

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"Kome in…" came the new Praetoress' soft voice, accenting hard "c" sounds from the darkened entranceway as Yuna and Nooj walked slowly and cautiously inside.  Yuna couldn't fight the uneasy feeling that was bubbling up in her stomach at the thought of meeting this woman.  The stories she had heard about her strange behavior was enough to make even the former Summoner uneasy.

Rinoa's shadowy figure appeared to Yuna's right and she had to force herself to not reach for her guns in an act of self defense.  Yuna nodded politely toward the woman, "Hello Praetoress Rinoa.  It's a pleasure to meet you.  My name is…"

"Yuna…" Rinoa said in a voice barely above a whisper, "I am aware of who you are, my dear."  She walked ever closer to Yuna, but still remained hidden in shadow, "I, however, would prefer you kall me Ultimecia.  I'm sure your male kompanion informed you of this."

Yuna took an unconscious step backward, slamming into Nooj's chest and smiling up at him apologetically.  She turned back to Rinoa, "I am sorry, my lady.  I forgot."

"It's quite all right." Rinoa said.  The shadow of her slim figure nodded curtly toward Nooj, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to have a quiet konversation alone with the summoner."

"I…" Nooj began, but then appeared to think better of it.  Nodding his agreement, he said to Yuna, "I'll be waiting for you on the boat." 

"Okay," Yuna said, wishing that Nooj wasn't going to leave.  Although the ship the duo had arrived on was docked very close, Yuna couldn't help but fear that it wouldn't be close enough.

When the man had left their presence, silence permeated between the two women until Rinoa spoke, "You seem unkomfortable, dear.  Why is that?"

"I'm sorry, Lady Ultimecia, it is just that I am uncomfortable with the fact that I have yet to see your face."

The shadow nodded, "I understand that.  Allow me to turn the light on."  A shadowy hand reached toward a table and with two sharp clicks, light illuminated the small room the two women were in. 

The first thing that struck the former summoner was the youthfulness of the face that stared back at her.  She found it hard to believe that she was 1000 years old like most people suspected.  Her hair was still black and had a healthy sheen to it.  She wore it pulled back sharply in a tight braid that hung to the small of her back.  Her small, pert nose contrasted sharply with the rounded features of the rest of her face and her brown eyes seemed to wait for some reaction from the woman who was perusing her features so carefully. 

"Do you recognize me, Mrs. Guado?"

Yuna gasped and took a step back.  Recognition dawned upon her as sure as if she had been struck by lightening.  It seemed ages ago when she had first set her eyes upon Seymour Guado and his posse of followers that day in Luca.  She barely remembered the lovely female that had followed behind the pack, but she did now.

"You worked for Seymour!" Yuna choked, taking another step back and putting her hands on the butts of her pistols, "What do you want from me?"

"I think we kan help each other, my dear." Rinoa said, calmly, "No need for firearms."

Slowly, Yuna loosened her grip on her weapons and gradually allowed her arms to drop to her sides.  Fixing an uneasy stare on the female before her, Yuna whispered, "How do you figure that?"

"We both know what it feels like to lose the one we love." Rinoa began.

"I didn't love Seymour!"

Rinoa nodded, "But the one kalled Tidus…he has your heart."  Yuna nodded her agreement, not entirely shocked that the woman knew this.  Everyone knew of her love for Tidus and their sacrifices for each other.  Still skeptical, but nonetheless interested, Yuna allowed the woman to continue, "I know how to get your love back."

The words seemed to echo in Yuna's brain before taking shape and becoming a coherent thought.  How was that possible?  The woman was a sorceress, but was she powerful enough to bring someone back from the dead who never really existed in the first place?

As if sensing her questions, Rinoa continued, "The one you love is in limbo between this world and the next.  He is not dead, but he is not alive either."

"What do you mean?"

A smirk formed on Rinoa's face, "Have you heard of a place kalled the dream world?"

Dream Zanarkand was the first place that flew to her mind and Yuna took a step back from the woman again.  Her eyes narrowed to a glare, "What kind of fool do you take me for?" she fairly wailed, "Dream Zanarkand or the 'dream world' as you call it, is gone!  The fayth stopped dreaming and everything faded away!" 

"They had stopped, ruining my plans, until a certain blonde haired youth convinced them to dream again, for a time frame of three months."  Rinoa paused, scratching her chin as if thinking of something before she said, "His name was Shuyin…"

Yuna blinked back the tears that threatened to flow.  How dare this woman throw around public knowledge and twist it to give her false hope.  Yuna glared at the woman and hissed between clenched teeth, "I don't know what kind of game you are playing, but you're wrong.  I saw him die so there is no way what you say is true.  None!"

"Are you so certain of that?"

She was certain.  She was positive.  Right…?  Yuna swallowed hard, trying to fight the sudden surge of hopefulness that was forming.  She couldn't bear to have her hopes dashed again.  He had died – burned to death – right in front of her…right?  She had heard his screams of terror as they faded into oblivion.

Faded??

His screams did seem to fade away as if he was getting further away from her.  Wouldn't they have – shouldn't they have just quieted? 

Shaking her head violently, Yuna reached for her pistols, bringing them upward to ward off her counterpart, "You lying bitch!  I don't believe you!"

Rinoa simply smiled, "When you kome to realize that I am telling the truth, then we kan talk about how you kan help me in return for Tidus' safe return.  Though, not too late, I hope.  I am working on a time constraint." Her wrist flicked quickly and the lights disappeared from the room, "Good day, dear Yuna."  Her voice said as the shadowy figure disappeared.

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The Farplane was much like Rikku remembered it from her last visit several months before with Gippal.  However, this time Baralai's ghostly presence didn't join her.  She made a concerted effort not to call forth any entities until she was completely prepared for them. 

Fear trickled down her spine as she stood quietly in the middle of the Farplane.  Although she had gotten over her Al Bhed fear of the place, Rikku still didn't like it.  She still firmly believed in the old Al Bhed motto.  The one she had told Tidus that day which seemed so long ago.

"You're not really going to see the dead, more like your memories of them.  People think of their relatives and the pyreflies react to them.  They take on the form of the dead person--an illusion, nothing else."

"Hmm..."

 "Well, have fun!"

"What, you're not going either, Rikku?"

"I keep my memories inside."

"Huh?"

"Memories are nice, but that's all they are."

Rikku glanced around the Farplane furtively.  She had thought of Tidus and he hadn't appeared.  Thinking that it was just a fluke and wanting to further investigate, Rikku closed her eyes.

"It's 'cause you eat too fast!"

"Hey!  Hello there. What is your name?"

"Rikku."

"Whoa! You really do understand! Why didn't you say so earlier?"
 
"I didn't get a chance to!  Everyone thought oui were a fiend."
 
"Uh..."we"?"
 
"Oh, "oui" means "you"."

Rikku opened one eye slightly, then another eye.  There was still nothing and hope filled her chest.  However, she felt it necessary to try just once more.  For all she knew Tidus might have been busy and was taking a little time getting to the Farplane to visit her.

"Rikku! You're Rikku!  Hey! You're okay! How you been?"
 
"Terrible!"
 
"Yeah, you don't look so good. What happened?"
 
"You beat me up, remember?"
 
"Oh! That machina... That was you?"
 
"That really hurt, you know. You big meanie!"
 

"W-Wait! But you attacked us!"
 
"Nah-uh. It's not exactly what you think."

When Tidus didn't appear or the third time in a row, Rikku felt jubilant.  Crying out her thanks to whoever might be listening, she bounded toward the exit of the Farplane.  Armed with the knowledge that Tidus was alive somewhere, Rikku was going to immediately report to her cousin.  YRP would rise again and search for a certain blonde haired man that had the worst tendency to die – but not really be dead - repeatedly.

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

Yuna was tense and annoyed when she returned to the Celsius.  Nooj had dropped her off and hadn't asked about her visit.  She assumed that he could tell by her sour mood that it wasn't a positive experience.

What angered Yuna the most was the fact that the woman had instilled in her a hope that Tidus was alive somewhere even though she knew it wasn't true. 

Storming angrily toward the crew quarters, Yuna thrust open the dresser and grabbed a towel, deciding that a hot shower would ease her aching and tense muscles.  It barely registered with her that the light to the closest bathroom was on until Yuna had already opened the door. 

Gippal had just stepped out of the shower, his body still glistening from the water he hadn't had the chance to dry off.  He hadn't had a chance to reach for a towel to cover himself before Yuna stood gaping in front of him.


"Damn it, Yuna!" he cried, grabbing frantically at the towel closet to him and pulling it tightly about his waist, "Why didn't you…?" but Yuna didn't stick around for the end of that sentence.  Just as quickly as she had entered, Yuna ran from the room trying to push the sight of Gippal's naked body from her mind.

How could Rikku stay angry with him…?

She felt her face flush crimson as she reached her bed in the crew quarters and stopped.  She was mortified beyond believe and it wasn't even her fault.  It was not like she had intended on seeing him like that! It was a pure coincidence that she wanted to shower too.  She didn't realize he was already in there.  He should have been working in Zanarkand until dusk like he had the day before.


"So... did you like the view?" Gippal asked as Yuna heard the door to the bathroom shut behind her.  Tentatively she turned and was relieved to see that he had dressed before coming out.   

"I... I didn't mean to! I ...I didn't know someone was already there!" She tried to explain.

Gippal chuckled, "Don't worry about it, Yuna.  Its not like you've never seen a naked guy and it's not like you're the first girl to see me naked." He scratched his head and shrugged, "It's actually kinda funny when you think about it.  Don't you agree?"

"If you say so," Yuna said, still blushing feverishly, "but I'm really embarrassed by the whole thing."

"Why?" Gippal asked her, stepping closer to her until his face was inches from her own, "Did you see something you liked?"

Before Yuna could react, Gippal's lips pressed against hers in more than just a chaste kiss between friends.  Swept up in it, Yuna lifted her hands to his hair, running her long fingers through his silky locks.  Her mouth opened slightly, allowing him entrance.  His tongue played with hers, daring her to attempt to take control.  Yuna pressed her body against his and made the kiss more aggressive.

Gippal placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer to him, making her fully aware of his arousal.  Gippal's right arm snaked around her waist to keep her pressed against him as he abandoned her mouth to move hot kisses down her neck. 

In one swift motion, Gippal swept Yuna up into his arms and lay her down upon the bed, crawling slowly over her body until he lay over her, lust evident in his eyes.  With her help, Gippal quickly doffed the clothes he had so briefly been wearing before turning his attentions toward her clothing.

"This needs to come off…" Gippal whispered, hoarsely as his hands made slow and languid work of her clothing.  He seemed bent on torturing Yuna with his slow movements and grinned as the girl beneath him squirmed in an attempt to make him move faster.

With clothes discarded, Gippal moved to seal the joining of their bodies getting a moan of approval from his female companion.  Her nails raked his back gently, causing the man to whisper softly, "Yuna…"

"Yuna…"

"Yuna…?"

Yuna snapped back to reality to find herself standing in the crews quarters with a confused Gippal staring at her.  The blonde lifted an eyebrow in confusion, "Did you hear what I asked you?  I asked if you agreed that what happened a second ago was funny."

"Uh…umm…yeah…ye…yeah, sure." Yuna stammered, spinning on her heels and running from the room leaving a very confused Gippal behind.