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: Gippal's theory on Shuyin's behavior is revealed in this chapter. Will he be right? Who knows…? I do not own any information that Gippal brings with him in his theory. Also, no offense is meant just in case this theory hits home with anybody.
SILVER WINGS 3: Back Into My Arms
by akksgurl
Chapter Thirty: The Squeeze
She was waiting impatiently at the designated meeting place for Seymour's arrival. He was late and she didn't like that. There was simply no excuse for it. He had one simple task to accomplish and – being the psychotic man that he was – it shouldn't have been that difficult to do. It had taken her practically all morning to sneak away from Squall and his roaming band of dream-creatures long enough for the private interlude with Seymour. She had actually thought they'd show a little more emotion about Seifer's Farplane incident than they did, but the only one who had shed a tear was Quistis, and even then it had only been one tear.
She stomped her foot impatiently and continued to pace back and forth. If it wasn't for the fact that she needed him to complete her plans, she would have just killed him then and there. Sent him back to the Farplane where he belonged.
She saw his blue hair before she saw the rest of him as he came up the hill in front of her. She scowled at him, "Took you long enough."
"Don't start with me." He snapped back, massaging a fresh scratch on his cheek, "She's a hell-cat and you should be giving me more than you are for having to deal with her."
"And did you deal with her?"
"Yes. The job is done."
"Good." She stated, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. Step one was accomplished. Step two would be much easier and step three – simple. Soon her plans would come to fruition and her beloved Squall would be in her arms again. She looked at Seymour, "The next step won't be as difficult."
Seymour shook his head, smirking, "Next step? I don't think so. I'm done with you."
"Excuse me?!" she fairly shrieked, stepping toward him and hissing, "If you don't help me, the deal is off and you'll never find your wife."
"I know where she is." Stated Seymour simply, a sly smile on his face, "She caught me with LeBlanc. She was with her lover too, although it wasn't her lover. It was that Shuyin wearing his skin." Seymour shrugged, "I think I made a lasting impression on him…"
Rinoa narrowed her eyes, "What did you do?"
"It's what he did to provoke me. The bastard tried to kill me, so I shoved his sword through his stomach." Seymour paused, feigning a look of nervous upset, "You aren't…upset, are you Ultimecia?"
She shrugged, "It doesn't matter to me. He was supposed to help me and then went all noble. That's the only reason you're here. I was going to have to kill him eventually anyway. You just saved me the bother."
"Glad to be of service, m'lady, but I really must be going. I'm sure my darling wife will need comforting when her lover dies…if he's not dead already."
"You're not going anywhere." The sorceress before him stated, her eyes forming a glare that would have killed him if he wasn't already dead.
"And why not? The deal was that after I helped you, you'd give Yuna to me. I already know where she is. Now I don't have to help you."
"I think you're forgetting something."
"What?"
"I brought you back to Spira." The woman replied, "I can send you away again. You're not alive, no matter what you think. Yuna can still just send you and considering the lack of love between the two of you, I think she'd do just that especially if Tidus dies."
Seymour was silent and it was obvious that what she said was making sense to him. It was the truth – what she knew of the truth since she hadn't spoken anything resembling it in over 1000 years. The blue haired man was pensive for a moment and then frowned, "Fine…I see your point." He admitted, "What do you want me to do?"
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He was a little nervous. He knew she wasn't going to like his theory or the proof he had to back it up. It was, however, the only logical explanation for everything that was going on. So, with a knotted stomach, Gippal walked slowly into Shuyin's hospital room. Yuna was leaning her head upon his thigh. Her body was silently shaking and Gippal knew she was crying. For which man, he wasn't so sure anymore. But…he supposed that didn't really matter anymore with the information he was bringing her.
"Yuna…" he whispered.
Yuna's head shot up and she fixed her bloodshot eyes on his face. Wiping at a few stray tears that betrayed her upset, Yuna gave him a brave smile, "I thought you'd be with Rikku."
"There's something you and I need to talk about…can't wait."
"Okay." Yuna agreed, tenderly straightening the sheet cover the blonde blitzer before following Gippal out of the room.
Gippal wasn't sure where would be a good place to have this conversation, but since he wasn't sure of her reaction he thought a public location would be best. He chose the waiting area which was still relatively abandoned but out in the open enough to stop her from doing anything drastic if she became furious with him. He sat the books he had brought on the table in front of him as he sat across from Yuna on the hard sofas. He didn't quite know where to start, but figured the beginning was the best, "Do you remember what Seymour said to Shuyin…? About him having…issues?"
Yuna shrugged, "He implied that Shuyin was crazy…" she smirked a little, "Takes one to know one, I guess."
"So you think he's crazy too?"
Yuna seemed taken aback by his question and frowned, "He seems perfectly sane to me." She replied, sharply.
"Oh yeah," Gippal snapped back, "Sane people always go around killing and pretending to be other people."
"You don't know anything about it!" she shouted back at him.
"Why are you defending him?" asked Gippal, lowering his voice a little in the hopes that she'd do the same.
She did, and replied, "Why do you care? What is this all about anyway?"
Gippal thought for a moment that he should back out while the backing was good. Her reaction to just the mere suggestion was making him nervous, but he had come this far and he knew she deserved to know the truth. It might make all the difference. He reached forward and lifted the books from the table in front of him, "I went to the library today. What Seymour had said and Shuyin's behavior was really bothering me." He paused and made sure she was paying attention, "Psychology always interested me. If things had been different for Al Bhed, I might have wanted to study that."
"What do your interests have to do with Shuyin or Tidus?" Gippal didn't respond with words. Instead he handed her the two large texts that he held in his hands. Yuna lowered her eyes to gaze upon the titles and Gippal could see her spine stiffen. Her jaw set in an angry gaze and she lifted her eyes to glare at him, "Is this some kind of a sick joke?"
"No."
She slammed the books down on the table in a fury, "He is not insane!"
"It's not insanity." He replied, trying to calm her by keeping his words calm, "It is a mental condition that is perfectly understandable considering everything he's gone through."
"You're telling me that you think he's crazy!"
Gippal shrugged, "If you want to think about it like that then go ahead. I just want you to know what I think we're up against. It's perfectly curable and it's a hell of a lot better than the other things it could have been."
"Having…what was it…?" she asked, looking down at the books again, before glancing back at him, "Multiple Personality Disorder…that's better?!"
"It's curable."
"He's not crazy. He never has been and he never will be! He was just angry but he's better now and I won't listen to this anymore!"
Yuna rose to her feet in anger and tried to walk past Gippal, but he grabbed her wrist and turned her toward him, "It explains everything, Yuna! The sudden twists in behavior, wanting to be called by different names, the strange third person that spoke to us and then vanished just as quickly. Don't you get it? It's the only explanation! Shuyin is one personality. Tidus is another. And the third person is the final one. The third person is the evil one who is probably responsible for everything else!"
She sneered at him, "I liked psychology too, Gippal, and I recall one major factor that blows holes in this theory of yours." She stared at him confidently, "Sufferers do not remember what happened when the other personalities were in control. Shuyin remembers everything."
"I'm sure there's an explanation for that. The merger maybe…"
She rolled her eyes, "Face it. You don't have a leg to stand on."
"Yuna…I really think I'm right about this."
"Well, I think you're really wrong." She replied, pointing toward the exit, "I don't want you here. You'll only upset him if you go spouting off at the mouth when he wakes up. Just…leave."
"Fine." He said, "But think about what I said."
Yuna glared at the back of his head until Gippal was out the door and beyond her view. She plopped back onto the sofa and laid her face in her hands. What was Gippal's problem? Did he want to upset her? His theory made no sense at all. There was no way it was true. The fayth had told her that that Tidus was a dream and that Shuyin was the reality but the two began to merge blending that line together. That was why things were going haywire. It wasn't because of any mental condition. There was just no way it was true.
Her frown deepened when she realized Gippal had left the stupid books on the table in front of her. She had the overwhelming desire to throw them away and let Gippal deal with the library fines, but her hands grew a mind of their own and pulled the largest one into her lap.
"Symptoms of Multiple Personality Disorder." She read aloud, letting her eyes scan the pages, "Loss of Time/Blackouts."
FLASH
"What is my name, Tidus?" Yuna asked again as she took a step closer to him.
Tidus looked at her confused. He didn't know where he was for the second time that day. He looked at her in abject confusion, "Your name is Yuna." He replied, "And…uh…where are we?" he asked before dizziness overtook him and he passed out again.
FLASH
"Trance states/Talking to oneself."
FLASH
"You broke your hand…" Tidus muttered again, staring at his swelling hand questioningly. He squinted, "Did I…? Yes you did…"
FLASH
"Why'd you do that to Yuna?" was Tidus' next question to himself. He bit his lip until a little trail of blood wandered down his chin, "She deserved it. Don't think otherwise." He shook his head, "No, she didn't deserve it. Don't listen to that! She didn't deserve it."
FLASH
"Why didn't you finish her off? It's her fault things are like this? You should have finished her off." Tidus hissed, his breathing starting to get heavy and labored. Yuna's hackles rose when he said that. He had meant to kill her. She wasn't wrong about that. She felt Rikku grip her wrist tightly and she realized her cousin knew it too. Tidus started panting, "I…I…I love her…" he said between breaths, "No you don't! She doesn't deserve it. Look what she did! It's her fault things are like this for us."
FLASH
"Stop talking to me. Leave me alone!" he muttered, tears starting to flow from his eyes, "You already are alone. She doesn't love you. She never did. Nobody loves you. You're nothing but a crybaby!" he wiped furiously at his face, "You're not a crybaby! Don't listen to that! Sit up and be strong!"
FLASH
Tidus sat up suddenly, staring at her with imploring eyes, "Help me…" he begged, reaching with his good hand for her but pulling it away just as suddenly, "Don't ask her for help!" he shouted to himself, scooting backward on the bed until he was flush against the headboard, "She's just a stupid bitch!"
FLASH
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!" Tidus suddenly shrieked, pulling at his hair violently with his good hand. He slammed his head against the headboard violently, cursing under his breath and shouting incoherent sentences, "Will you calm down?! We've gotta work together to get out of this." He said, taking a breath, "Just stay calm and it'll be fine. It got to me too. Just keep fighting and it'll be okay."
FLASH
"Insistence on referring to oneself by a different name."
FLASH
Nooj smiled a little and then connected eyes with Shuyin, "Which one are you today?"
"Shuyin..." he replied quietly, "but I'm undercover as Tidus."
FLASH
"Who are you?!"
"Shutup Tidus!" shouted Shuyin, smacking himself in the head as if the taunting voice would vanish with that maneuver.
Yuna took another step back, "Where is he? What did you do to him…Shuyin?"
FLASH
"What is the matter with you? What did I do, Tidus?!"
His lips curled up in a devilish smile, "Tidus is sleeping…"
"No…" she whispered, "This isn't happening…not again."
The glint in the blitzer's eyes made Yuna shiver, "Oh but it is…"
"Why are you doing this Shuyin?" she demanded, just now noticing that Gippal had gotten the bat Barkeep always kept beneath the bar.
The blitzer grinned at her even broader, "He's asleep too…" he replied just before Gippal slammed the bat into his head, knocking him out.
FLASH
"Forgetfulness…"
FLASH
"Can you do the Jecht Shot for me?"
Her fears could be thrown out the window if Tidus successfully performed that shot. She wouldn't have to worry anymore. Her worries and sudden suspicions could be forgotten. She waited for Tidus to suddenly smile with the confidence she was used to seeing, but instead he got a confused look on his face.
It was almost as if he didn't know what she was talking about…
"Jecht Shot?"
Yuna thought for sure her heart stopped. She had died right there, she was sure of it. The man treading water in front of her wasn't Tidus. She was sure of it now. He wasn't Tidus…
But…no. He had to be Tidus. Who else would he be? He had Tidus' pear shaped birthmark on his hip. He had Tidus' goofy smile. Tidus was just having an off day. That's why he didn't know what she was talking about.
Right???
"Nevermind." Yuna said, "It's not important.
FLASH
Yuna slammed the book shut with a shaky hand. She forced herself to breath calmly and think rational thoughts. It was just a coincidence. It was those coincidences that caused Gippal to believe the nonsense. It just wasn't true. There was no way!
Right…?
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Squall stretched out on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He wondered where Rinoa had gotten to. He didn't like her being out of his sight with everything that was going on. That Wakka guy was going on and on about some Seymour person being back. Squall got the gist that Seymour was bad news. He offered his services to Wakka and the other Besaid residents, but they didn't want to take him up on it. Wakka said they dealt with Seymour once and they'd do it again – so that was the end of the conversation. Then they'd found out about Seifer and Rinoa had seemed…odd about the whole thing. Squall didn't believe her tears and upset were true, but why fake it? He certainly hadn't been upset about it. Was Rinoa using it as an excuse to get away from him?
He rolled onto his side and saw a figure move in the darkness. He jumped, reaching for his gunblade when he recognized the curvaceous body of Rinoa, smiling down at him, "Jumpy, aren't we?" she teased, leaning down and running her tongue along his ear.
Squall released the gunblade and nodded, "Where were you?" he asked.
"I had to be alone for a while." She replied, sitting down next to him on the bed, her hand creeping down his chest, "But I'm back."
He let a small smile for on his features as she leaned in to kiss him gently. He felt her hand sliding down along his thigh to his knee, working its way back up gently, "What are you doing…?" he asked her, between breathless kisses.
"Seymour's dealt with a hellcat already tonight…" she whispered, "…He doesn't want to deal with a lion…"
Squall's eyes widened, "Wha…?"
Rinoa's eyes glowed with a fiery purpose as her hand closed over him and squeezed…
Hard…
Squall let out a cry which she quickly muffled with her mouth, whispering against it, "I need you to be silent, my little lion." She hissed, squeezing harder until she saw tears forming in his eyes, "I'm sorry to do this to you, but you'd fight me if I tried to take you any other way. You're too stubborn to fall to my spells without being weakened first." Squall let out another muffled shriek as she squeezed one final time and the whispered against his temple, "Sleep…" to which he could do nothing but comply…