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.
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Author's Notes: Dun…dun…dun…da dun!! Okay, that's it for my attempt at dramatic music. You might not even think that this chapter is overly dramatic. I mean, maybe you think I'm dragging stuff out, but if I am it's only so that things are more heightened with drama when everything finally comes to a head so bear with me. (Oh, and in case you're wondering – the beginning of this chapter overlaps with the end of the last chapter so if you see things repeating themselves that is why)
SILVER WINGS 3: Back Into My Arms
by akksgurl
Chapter Twenty-One: Eyes On Me
She swung the door open in her quest to tell Cid about Shuyin and completely forgot that the man was still sitting on the floor behind her. She spun back around and glowered at him, "Get up and come with me."
"You have got to believe me…" he whispered.
"No I don't." she replied, angrily, trying to hoist him from the ground but finding that he was a lot heavier than he looked. Her feet slid out from under her on an especially hard tug and she ended up flat on her bottom in front of him with her legs spread. She reddened as she realized her provocative positioning and noted that Shuyin noticed it too. Squirming to her feet again, Yuna struggled to remain composed even though the nearness of him was making her question her sanity.
As if she wasn't doing that already…
"Come on!" she cried, exasperated, "Just do something nice for me for a change and come willingly!"
He stared at her using Tidus' eyes which were an exact duplicate of his own. It was a strange reality that Yuna found herself in and she found herself vaguely wondering if Tidus was looking out at her too when she realized that Shuyin was rising to his feet, "I guess there's no convincing you, huh?"
"I'm not as dumb as I was before." She stated simply, grabbing his wrist roughly and pulling him toward the door. She was surprised that he was coming willingly. She thought she'd have to fight him more on it.
Maybe he had changed…
She shook her head at the crazy notion. He'd just tried to murder her cousin and Gippal. He hadn't changed at all.
"I never thought you were stupid." He said after a few moments of silence.
Yuna cast a glance over her shoulder at him and found him looking back at her and he gave her a small smile when he caught her eye. She frowned a little and ripped her gaze from him and back onto the elevator doors that were getting closer with each step, "Well, I thought I was…" she whispered.
"What's with the wrist bands…?" Shuyin asked of her as they walked down the plank to Besaid beach. Yuna lifted her free hand into her eye line and looked down at the black cloth wrist bands that she had there. She had almost forgotten she wore them. Tidus certainly hadn't mentioned them. Of course, they hadn't exactly been on speaking terms for 90% of his return.
She knew the scars on her wrists were still there, though not as prevalent as before. She was just afraid to look at them. She saw them as a sign of her slip into madness and as she glanced at Shuyin again, she knew for certain that she was going insane…
If she wasn't already there…
"No more talking." She said finally, "I just want to get you to my uncle so that you're no longer my problem." And to Yuna's surprise, Shuyin didn't utter another word as they went along the paths that led past the waterfall and into the town of Besaid. She saw Seifer vanishing into the temple just ahead and Rinoa wandering toward the forested area next to the temple wondered what they were doing, but knew that worrying about him was not the most important thing right now. She needed to deal with the matters at hand first.
"I won't help a Yevonite!" a voice came from inside Wakka's hut, "He's a mixed breed! Let one of his Yevonite friends help him! The Yevonite's have treated the Al Bhed terribly for decades. I won't help to save one!"
Yuna looked at Shuyin and he at her before both looked at the door to see it swing open and a very angry Al Bhed with a doctor's bag walk out followed by her uncle who was pleading with the man in Al Bhed to come back.
"Who's the Yevonite he's refusing to help?" Shuyin asked, "Ultimecia hurt two Al Bheds…right?"
Yuna ignored his reference to Ultimecia for the moment as a sudden sense of dread filled her. Rikku was as pure blooded as they came, but Gippal…
"He saw his eye!" Yuna suddenly cried, grabbing Shuyin's wrist and breaking into a run to clear the distance remaining between them and the hut.
"Who's eye?!" shouted Shuyin, struggling to keep up with her.
They both burst through the door together and she saw Squall's hand instantly go to his gunblade but she shook her head and shoved Shuyin into a corner, "Stay." She ordered with a point of her finger. He nodded, but his eyes weren't on her. They were on the girl in the corner who was staring at them.
"Rikku!" howled Yuna, running to embrace her cousin in a tight grip.
Rikku smiled at Yuna and then glanced over at Shuyin who was in the corner, "Why do they think Tidus tried to kill us?"
Yuna opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by a slamming door and her uncle's curse, "The damn bastard left!"
"Uncle Cid…" Yuna whispered, "We can get another doctor."
Cid seemed to notice her for the first time as his head shot up and a smile formed on his wrinkled face before it disappeared, "Where is he?!"
Yuna pointed to Shuyin, "We had a very enlightening little chat."
"What did you find out?" asked Squall.
Shuyin's eyes bored into hers and seemed to ask her not to tell. They begged for her to stay silent but it was something she could not do. She averted her eyes from Shuyin's gaze and stated, "Tidus is innocent. The man sitting in the corner is Shuyin."
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She'd seen more violence in the last few days than she'd seen in her whole life – even when fighting for Timber's independence. When she'd suggested in Trabia before meeting up with Tidus that the group try to find another way to end the Ultimecia conflict, Rinoa had truly hoped they'd take her suggestion to heart.
She was scared…
She didn't want to admit it out loud. She didn't want Squall to look at her like a fragile china doll. He'd done that when they'd first met. He had looked like he was scared to break her. He still did that sometimes, but she'd proven herself capable of handling herself in different situations with varying degrees of danger.
But what she'd just seen was something she couldn't wrap her mind around. How could someone try to kill another human being simply out of anger or a desire to get even?
And why did a part of her like what she saw…?
As she strolled along the outer rim of Besaid, Rinoa gripped the small Griever ring that hung loosely from a chain around her neck. When Squall had given it to her, she never imagined that the ring would come to be so important to her. It had even saved her life when she was stranded in outer space without a hope in the world. Seeing it had given her a reason to hang on and it had given Squall just enough time to reach her.
Her blue duster whipped in the sudden breeze that came around her and as she rounded the temple to a quiet and secluded spot just behind it, she noticed how dark it had become almost as if a storm was approaching. Then she noticed that the darkness and wind only seemed to affect her immediate surroundings. It was bright and cloudless just a few feet away from her on either side.
My last night here with you…
Same old songs, just once more…
Rinoa spun in circles as the voice echoed around her, singing her mother's song "Eyes On Me". It was a song that always reminded Rinoa of Squall, but now it filled her with dread as she recognized the voice singing it as her own but realized that her lips were not moving in time with it.
My last night here with you…
Maybe yes; maybe no…
"Who's there?!" Rinoa called out, her spinning starting to make her dizzy. The wind was picking up and she found herself tangled in strands of dark black hair and her own blue duster but she kept spinning, hoping to catch a glimpse of the intruder into her thoughts.
As the winds died down, Rinoa smoothed her hair back into submission and caught sight of a silhouetted figure standing a few feet in front of her. She took a step closer and then another but as she made to take the third, the figure spun around and Rinoa gasped.
The woman was her…
It was her, only older with a few more lines on her face. The circles under her eyes foretold of a future Rinoa wasn't sure she wanted to know about. As Rinoa took a step back, the woman took a step toward her and their dance continued until Rinoa found herself backed up against the wall of the temple. The woman grinned at her, "Maybe yes; maybe no…" she whispered.
Rinoa opened and closed her mouth like a fish. She didn't know what to say. She was seeing a duplicate of herself and it was making her blood run cold. Finally she managed, "Who….?"
"I am you. You are me." The older Rinoa replied, her grin replaced with a look of seriousness, "Only I am the real one. You are the dream. A dream born of fayth who wanted to fix the past by creating a new present. I am using this to my advantage."
"What…?"
The older Rinoa reached forward and gently played with the ring that hung from the younger's neck. She was thoughtful for a moment and then continued, "Zell never did make me a version for myself. I ended up having Squall's ring until the day he died. Then I buried it with him."
Rinoa's eyes shot open, "He…died…?"
"Shot in the head at the celebratory party for the defeat of Sin. He died in my arms on the balcony where we shared our first kiss." The woman lowered her gaze back to the ring and then up into the wide brown eyes of the young lady in front of her, "I am here to fix the mistakes of the past by taking full advantage of the fayth's dream residents. You have my body and you have dream Squall's heart, but that will soon change."
"What are you going to do?"
The older woman frowned a little, "Well normally, I'd just wave my hand and my Squall would be back and then I'd erase you and your pathetic friends from the face of the world. Unfortunately, for some reason Squall is inaccessible to me." She shrugged, "I'm not sure why, but it won't be an issue for much longer."
"Why…?"
"Well, that's none of your concern dearie." Said the older, condescendingly, "All you need to know is that I need my original body back to get close enough to your Squall so that when I bring back my Squallie, he'll have a place to go. Shuyin will be helping me with that…"
"Who's Shuyin?"
"Never you mind, dearie." she shushed, removing her hand from the ring and placing it over the younger woman's eyes, "Now close those pretty brown eyes and take a deep breath. This won't hurt a bit…"