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 akksgurlyahoo.com with any requests.
PLEASE NOTE: "PaineOfBevelleSairysSkyeWind" is a fic stealer!! Watch out for her. She is also known as "Paine" and "Paine of Spira" I am sure I am not the only one she is stealing from so be sure to keep an eye out for my fics as well as others on other sites. She has been known to post on apocalypse.com, adultfanfiction.net, and nfiction.com.
Author's Notes: Poor Shuyin…first he dies, then he messes up trying to get Lenne, then he "dies" again, and now he's got Ultimecia to contend with. Unfortunately for our little "anti-hero", this isn't all he has to deal with.
SILVER WINGS 3: Back Into My Arms
by akksgurl
Chapter Nineteen: Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me
"Arrest him!"
"Bastard!"
"Son of a bitch!"
"How could you?!"
Shouts, pokes, prods, and angry hisses came at him from every angle but the reaction that affected Shuyin the most was Yuna's. She stood quietly in the corner, wringing her hands together and letting silent tears fall from her eyes and pool at her feet. Her eyes flickered over his for a brief moment before they fell away again. He wanted to tell her that he didn't do it. He wanted to tell her that not only was Tidus innocent, but he was as well. He wanted to tell her that he wasn't Tidus, but he thought better of it. They wanted to draw and quarter him as Tidus. If they knew he was Shuyin, things would only get worse.
Wakka's fist connected with his skull first followed by the red-head's foot, "We trusted you, ya! How could you do something so stupid?!"
Squall's eyes flashed as he pulled his gunblade on him. Shuyin hadn't seen his cousin in years and, although this was a dream version, everything about him was the same as his introverted cousin.
Especially his gunblade…
He knew that Squall didn't mince words. With one sweep of the blade, Shuyin knew he'd be dead and he closed his eyes to accept his fate when he heard a small whisper, "Don't…"
It was Yuna's voice and it was weak with her tears, but she stepped forward bravely and placed two fingers on Rikku's neck, and then on Gippal's, "They aren't dead." She said finally.
Rinoa stepped next to Yuna, "Shall we?" she asked and at Yuna's nod the two women released cure spells simultaneously. Shuyin still felt his cousin's gunblade at his neck but he realized that Squall was watching the show before him, his eyes firmly glued on the beautiful brunette beside Yuna.
His mind flashed back to the last time he had seen his cousin.
It was a few months before he had met Lenne and Squall had just become a SeeD. In celebration, Shuyin had attended the party afterward and was leaning against the wall with Squall watching the girls – although he doubted Squall was doing much more than staring into his wine glass.
"You want some more?" he had asked and Squall had grunted in reply and handed his glass over. Shuyin hadn't really wanted another drink. He'd actually wanted to talk to the pretty waitress that was handing them out and he used the excuse to his advantage.
The music changed while he was talking to the girl and when he'd cast a glance back over to Squall he saw that his cousin was being dragged onto the dance floor by a beautiful girl in a gold dress who had vanished into thin air moments after the song ended.
It was the same girl who was casting spells with Yuna.
Rinoa Heartilly and…
Ultimecia…
Rikku stirred slowly after a few rounds of cure but Gippal remained motionless and he felt Squall's gunblade pressing more firmly into his neck. He leaned down and his dream cousin hissed, "I should kill you now, but for some reason I can't. I guess I'm just getting soft…"
"Call Cid. Get help." Yuna ordered Wakka and the red-head ran to carry out the command. She cleared the space between herself and Shuyin in a moment and raised her hand to Squall's wrist, pulling the blade slowly away from Shuyin's neck. Squall backed away obediently and let Yuna kneel before Shuyin. Her eyes delved into his as if searching for some hidden truths that Shuyin desperately wished he could give her but knew that – for her own sake and his – he couldn't.
"Cid will be here soon." Wakka said as he came back into the room, "He's with Shinra picking up some things in Kilika. Buddy and Brother are going to get them."
Yuna nodded, but didn't remove her eyes from Shuyin. There was a slight flicker in her eyes that Shuyin didn't remember seeing before and she rocked back on her heels ever so slightly before a strange expression manifested itself on her features and then vanished just as quickly.
A smirk…?
…No…
It couldn't be…
Could it…?
Shuyin figured that he must be losing his mind. Or maybe he'd lost it long ago. He just didn't understand what was going on and why shit always seemed to happen to him. When the fayth had told him he'd merge with Tidus and vanish, they hadn't said there was an out for him. They hadn't said that someone with power could bring him back. Why didn't they? Didn't they know that could happen?
But they had to have known! They were fayth! They created dream Zanarkand and Tidus along with it. They had to have known all the loopholes that came along with that.
Right…?
And who was this Ultimecia person? The girlfriend standing across from Squall now seemed like a nice girl. Shuyin would never guess that under that beautiful exterior beat the heart of an evil witch. Of course, that evil wasn't there yet. Squall hadn't died and so Rinoa hadn't become Ultimecia. Shuyin couldn't wrap his mind around any of this.
With a little wave of her hand, she could bring anyone back…?
Was that even possible? Was she telling him the truth? Was she lying? Was she trying to trick him into helping her or was she offering him Lenne for real? And if it was true, was she referring to Lenne or was she talking about someone else…?
What was Ultimecia planning…?
"Frana yna drao?"
"Uncle Cid?!" Yuna called at the recognition of her uncle's voice. Her eyes never wavered from Shuyin's, "We're in here."
Cid came storming in and brushed violently passed the teenagers that stood in his way. He was followed closely behind by Brother, Buddy, and Shinra. Shuyin tried to slide away from him on the floor but Squall was quicker and grabbed the neckline of his shirt, pulling Shuyin to a standing position just in time for Cid to punch him hard in the gut, "You damn bastard!" the elder cursed, slugging him again for good measure, "I could just kill ya for what you've done, but I won't. Yuna wouldn't be happy with me if I did."
Shuyin's eyes were watering as he caught sight of a streak of black hair running passed the room in the corridor and then turning in his tracks upon realizing he'd missed the room. Laguna didn't look any different than he had in the real Zanarkand except that this uncle was staring at him like he'd never seen him before. Shuyin supposed that was true.
Tidus had never killed anyone…
"H…h…how…?" Laguna stammered.
Squall shook his head at Laguna and pressed his gunblade more firmly against Shuyin's neck, "Don't waste your breath on him." He ordered Laguna before turning his eyes to Cid, "You seem to be the law around here. What do you want to do with him?"
Cid grunted, "I'm not the law around here, but I sure as hell won't let the attack on my daughter and her beau go unpunished." Turning to Brother, Buddy, and Shinra the quartet spoke in hushed voices.
"Fryd cruimt fa tu fedr res?" Cid asked.
Brother shouted loudly, pointing with wild gusto at Shuyin, "E cyo fa gemm res pavuna ra gemmc ykyeh!"
"Fa cruimt mad dra zicdela cocdas tu edc zup." Came the calm voice of Shinra.
Buddy cocked an eyebrow, "Cu, oui drehg fa cruimt ynnacd res?"
Cid grunted again and turned back to Squall and Shuyin, "It's been decided." He said, stepping closer to Shuyin and glaring down at him. He motioned for Squall to back away which the brunette did with the utmost caution as the elder stood staring down at Shuyin. The blitzer wanted to back away but found himself stuck between the angry Al Bhed and a wall.
Cid leaned down and grabbed Shuyin by the shirt, lifting the man to his feet and spinning him around so his face slammed hard into the wall, "I may not be a recognized law official in Yevon territory," Cid whispered into Shuyin's ear, "but I don't think anybody is going to mind if I take you into custody myself." With a hand firmly placed on the back of Shuyin's head, Cid pinned him against the wall, and forced his hands behind his back where Cid firmly held them both within his iron grip.
"Tidus Rayor, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Rikku Denel and Gippal Liton. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney…"
As Cid spoke, Shuyin's mind wandered. He couldn't believe the situation he was in. He hadn't done anything wrong (at least not lately) and here he was being arrested for trying to kill two people when in actuality the one person wasn't hurt at all because it was she who had shoved the other guy down the stairs while possessed by a sorceress who was supposed to be dead. They had to be told! They had to believe him!
What was he thinking…?
He didn't even believe it!
"Uncle Cid…" Yuna spoke after Cid had finished going on about what Shuyin was allowed to do, "Shouldn't we tend to Rikku and Gippal first?"
Cid paused and frowned down at his daughter and Gippal who were still in their positions on the floor. Rinoa, Quistis, and Selphie were tending to them as best as they could, but they really needed a doctor. Without releasing his grip on Shuyin, Cid turned to Buddy, "Call Tony. Tell him we need him here as fast as he can."
"Who's Tony?" Yuna asked as Buddy ran to do his task.
"He's an expert Al Bhed doctor. He'll have them up and walking around in no time." Cid replied, but with a tone that led Shuyin to believe he was trying to convince himself of that. Cid wrenched Shuyin around to face the doorway, "And as for you, you're coming with me."
Shuyin didn't even want to fight it anymore. He was going to take the fall for this and even if Ultimecia did come to help him, it wouldn't matter. She was only going to force him to do something even worse – of that he was sure.
Squall's gunblade was still in his hand at the ready and Shuyin briefly wondered if he should just impale himself on it and end this misery quickly, but before he could make that decision he heard Yuna's weak voice again, "Uncle Cid…"
"Yes girl?" Cid questioned.
"I'd really prefer it if you'd take care of Rikku and Gippal first," she explained.
"And what about Tidus?"
Yuna sneered at the blitzer in her uncle's captivity, "Just leave…Tidus…with me. I'll watch him."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Yuna…"
Yuna put her hand up to silence any complaints, "I insist on this. I need to talk to him alone and I'm fully capable of taking care of myself should the need arise."
Cid looked around the room as all eyes focused on him for the final decision. Gruffly, he nodded his ascent and threw Shuyin back down onto the floor, "You touch a hair on her head and you won't live long enough to know what pain feels like."
Shuyin nodded dumbly and watched in muted awe as several of the men carried Gippal and Rikku out of the room while the rest followed single file out the door. Yuna followed them most of the way but stopped short of walking through the portal and Shuyin watched as she took a ragged breath and closed it quietly. She let her head land gently against it in almost a forlorn expression of lost hope. He wanted to run to her and tell her that everything was okay, but he couldn't.
He knew Cid would kill him if he touched her…
"Is he okay…?" whispered Yuna, so low that Shuyin almost couldn't hear her. He didn't respond and instead stared at the lovely lines of her neck until she lifted her head and turned slightly to face him. With a deep breath, she asked a little louder, "Is he okay…?"
Shuyin instantly felt his hackles rise and he wasn't sure why, but he felt like he needed to protect himself from an attack he felt was eminent, "Is who okay…?" he asked cautiously.
"You know who I'm talking about…"
Shuyin let out a sigh of relief. He should have known Yuna was worried about Gippal – especially after what Ultimecia had told him transpired between the two. He still found it hard to believe that Yuna – his Lenne – would do something like that, but he supposed that he'd have to believe it. He wasn't sure what Ultimecia had done to Tidus because he hadn't heard from his body-mate since he'd suddenly woken up in the Celsius, but he knew that Tidus firmly believed what he'd been told about Yuna and Gippal.
Tidus wouldn't believe something about Yuna that maligned her character unless there was reason.
"You said yourself that he's alive." Shuyin replied to her.
Yuna shook her head and her brunette locks brushed her cheeks softly, "I'm not talking about Gippal…"
Shuyin froze and Yuna took a step closer to him, followed by another and another until she was mere inches from him. He could feel his hands starting to tremble as she knelt in front of him, "W…wh…who are you talking a…a…about?" he stammered.
"Don't play dumb with me!" she suddenly shrieked, slamming her hand into the wall above his head so hard he was afraid she'd broken it, "Just tell me if he's okay!"
"W…w…who…?" he asked again, although he was relatively sure he knew who she was referring to now.
Her lower lip began to quiver and she reached forward to grip his shirt in her fist, pulling him closer to her until he could feel her ragged breath on his face, "Stop the games, Shuyin." She hissed, "Is Tidus okay?"
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AL BHED TRANSLATION
Frana yna drao?: Where are they?
Fryd cruimt fa tu fedr res?: What should we do with him?
E cyo fa gemm res pavuna ra gemmc ykyeh!: I say we kill him before he kills again!
Fa cruimt mad dra zicdela cocdas tu edc zup.: We should let the justice system do its job.
Cu, oui drehg fa cruimt ynnacd res?: So, you think we should arrest him?