DISCLAIMER: I do not own FFX or FFX-2 or any of the characters or places associated with it. I do, however, own the twisted idea for this story.
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Author's Notes: I was going to put this chapter as another section in the previous chapter, but decided that this was a pretty good stand alone chapter. Adding it to the previous one would have just made it a bit too bulky, IMO. You're probably going to see that I stole a little idea from the Verizon "Can you hear me now? Good" thing. Changed it a little, but I'm sure you'll recognize it. Just seemed to fit that scene. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.
TWISTED DESTINY
by akksgurl
Chapter Nineteen: Boo
Mushroom Rock Road…
It didn't look anything like a mushroom and it never had. Tidus never truly understood where that illustrious name came from. It seemed rather silly to him. That wasn't really the point, though. He was just trying to focus on anything other than the fact that they were marching blindly toward a place that was obviously off limits for a very good reason. It wasn't that Tidus trusted Seymour. Quite the contrary, actually. He didn't like or trust anything about the man. But he also figured that if there was something bad about the cave, it'd be best for Seymour to be on the receiving end of it. Then again, he could also understand where Yuna was coming from. If there was something bad in the cave, Seymour shouldn't get his hands on it for fear of what he'd do.
Seymour shouldn't get his hands on anything…especially Yuna.
Tidus was still seething at the way Seymour pawed Yuna back in Guadosalam. Yuna hadn't given him any details of their private conversation, but he could tell Seymour had said something that had upset her. And the way he'd looked at her, practically frothing at the mouth had made Tidus want to rip the blue-haired devil's arm off.
Yuna came to a stop in front of large stepping stones leading down to a foggy lower level. She wrinkled her nose, "I never noticed this on my pilgrimage."
"Neither did I." Lulu admitted, stepping forward and leaning down a bit to see into the abyss. Judging from her disdainful expression, Tidus was willing to bet she didn't see much.
"I guess we should go down…" Yuna murmured more to herself than to the others with her. Tidus opened his mouth to tell her that it wasn't necessary when she took the first step down followed by another and another. Auron, who'd been unusually silent since leaving Besaid, shrugged at Tidus and proceeded to follow Yuna into the darkness. The others followed suit until only Gippal and Tidus were left standing there.
Tidus turned to tell Gippal he could go first when, for the first time, he noticed the Al Bhed was an insipid shade of green as he stared open mouthed down toward where the others had disappeared to. Tidus touched his shoulder and Gippal flinched slightly, wrenching his gaze away from the darkness and up toward Tidus. Tidus raised a brow, "Are you okay? You don't look so good."
Gippal forcibly swallowed and nodded slowly, "I…I'm fine."
Tidus wasn't totally convinced. In fact, he wasn't convinced at all and Gippal could obviously tell because the Al Bhed straightened his shoulders in an act of confidence and took a few shaky steps toward the abyss.
"You guys coming!" Rikku shouted from below.
"Y…Yeah!" Gippal stammered, "Hold your chocobos!"
"Seriously, Gippal." Tidus said again as he saw the pallor on the other man's face grow deathly pale, "Are you okay?"
"F…fine." The other insisted again as he lowered himself onto the first step. Tidus sighed and followed him.
Soon enough they found themselves immersed in the fog that overtook the lower level of Mushroom Rock Road. Darkness and fog didn't mix, but Tidus found that if he squinted hard enough he could make out his surroundings. His squinting rewarded him with a lovely shot of Yuna's derriere as she bent to retie her boot. He made his way carefully over to her as she stood and he cupped her rear possessively, "Hi there."
"You're wicked." She said with a wink and a kiss on his cheek. She looked around quickly and pointed forward from the base of the stairs, "That seems to be the only way."
"Then let's get going." Auron ordered, taking the lead through the fog. Normally Tidus would have been a little annoyed with Auron's display of arrogance but in this instance he was grateful that the taller man was going first. It'd keep Yuna safe that way. Yuna grabbed Tidus' hand and led him along behind Auron with Wakka and Lulu behind them. Tidus faintly heard Rikku ask Gippal the question he'd asked him himself.
"Are you okay?"
But he didn't hear Gippal's response. He assumed it was the same as before, though, because he heard them fall in step behind Wakka and Lulu.
The strange path reached a sharp right bend about a half mile from its beginning. The wall on the right side had ceased to exist a quarter mile back and Tidus hugged the left wall as much as possible for fear of plunging into the abyss below on the right side. There didn't appear to be anything underneath the path besides death.
Auron stopped abruptly causing Tidus to slam into his back. The older man glared at him, "Watch where you're going."
"Stop slamming on the brakes without fair warning!" Tidus shot back.
"Don't follow so close then."
Tidus opened his mouth to retort but closed it again. He couldn't deny that he'd been following closely and didn't want to admit that he'd been doing it because he was scared out of his mind. He thought it best to just be quiet. He'd save face that way.
Yuna took a few tentative steps forward, cutting in front of Auron and looking to her left. She pointed, "I see a doorway over here." She didn't wait to hear responses as she walked in the direction of her point. Tidus and the others fell in step behind her, walking through a cavernous opening into a large open space.
It was the entrance to a cave, or at least it looked like it; a domed room perhaps. The first thing Tidus saw was a set of large double doors against the far wall. The doors had an odd design on them consisting of several circular indents and from those indents, lines leading to one location – the handles. They resembled the stadium doors back in Zanarkand.
Yuna walked up to the door and touched it gently, flinching as if she expected it to whip out and smack her in the face. It did nothing. Her delicate fingers traced the circular indents and the lines carefully before placing her hand firmly on the handle of one door and pulling.
Nothing happened.
Gippal let out an uncomfortable giggle, "Well…it's locked." He said with a shrug, "Oh well!" and he spun to get away as fast as he could but Rikku grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"What's your problem?"
Tidus was beginning to wonder the same thing.
"N..nothing." the pirate-man stuttered, "I…I just don't…don't see why we should…I mean…it's locked."
"That doesn't mean we give up!" Rikku cried in her excited and annoying tone. She bounded forward to Yuna and grabbed the handle, "Come on, Yunie. I bet if we pull really hard it'll come open!"
The girls pulled as hard as they could and nothing happened. Lulu attempted to assist, Wakka too, but nothing changed. The door was shut and locked. Yuna sighed and frowned, "Well that takes care of that, I guess."
Tidus hated seeing Yuna disappointed, but there really wasn't anything they could do. It was pretty obvious to him that the door required something in the circular indents to open it. Spheres of some kind, most likely. It was a complicated locking system and since Bevelle seemed bound and determined to keep everyone out, Tidus was sure it wouldn't be easy to get it.
Yet…
"Rikku?" he asked, stepping toward the now frowning blonde, "Do you still have those knife things on you?"
"My claws?" Rikku asked, her frown deepening as she looked down to the weapons in her holster and then back up at Tidus, "What do you want them for?"
"I want to try something."
Rikku looked at him suspiciously, "What?"
"I'm not going to break them, Rikku." Tidus snapped, holding his hand out for them, "Hand them over."
Rikku's eyes flashed and she glared at him, "Did you just order me around?"
"Yes."
Her ire disappeared just as quickly as it had come, "Oh…" she said, "Okay!" and she handed the weapons to Tidus without further complaint.
Tidus cast a sideways glance at Yuna who was struggling to hide her smile and failing miserably. He just shrugged at Rikku's behavior and made his way to the door. He wasn't quite sure what he was doing. The only reason he thought this might work was because the door looked so much like the ones at the stadium. Maybe they were designed the same way. If that was the case, then this would probably work.
Tidus held the pointed part of Rikku's claw out and pushed the tip between the two doors before pausing. He hadn't done anything like this in a long time. To be technical, it'd been over 1000 years. He tried to remember exactly how it'd been done.
He and Shuyin had been 14 and they wanted to play blitzball. It was a storming day so playing outside wasn't an option. It was always a bad idea to play in a lightening storm. That was how Zane Buchot had gotten his fingers singed off.
Anyway, they had made their way through Zanarkand to the blitzball stadium to use the blitzsphere since Abes practice was over. It'd be another year before either boy was on the team. They hadn't expected the doors to the stadium to be locked and didn't have the sphere keys needed to get in. They'd both been about to give up when Shuyin saw a sharp piece of metal lying on the ground and got an idea. He'd stuck the metal in between the two doors and applied pressure downward while pushing to the right until they heard a click and the doors had come flinging open.
Sure, they'd set of the silent alarm and were playing blitzball when the police had arrived to arrest the intruders. Sure, Auron had been their only phone call and he'd been less than thrilled with having to bail his wards out of prison. That hadn't mattered though. It had been a fun day anyway. And the knowledge just might help Tidus now.
He closed his eyes and tried to picture exactly how his brother had forced the door open in Zanarkand. He heard Auron chuckle behind him and knew that the older man knew just what he was thinking. He opened his eyes and grinned back at Auron, "Aren't you glad I have that on my record now?"
"I wouldn't say glad." Auron replied, "Besides, Shuyin was the one that actually did it unless you were lying to me and the police."
Tidus shrugged, "I'm just as capable."
"Capable of what?" Rikku asked, eyeing her weapon warily, "What are you gonna do to my claw?"
"Nothing. It'll be back to you in one piece. Promise."
Yuna was watching him too, but more in interest than worry. She glanced up at him just as he was about to begin, "You're going to break in, aren't you? Like on those cop shows Lenne made me watch."
He nodded, "Yep, unless you have a better idea."
"No, not really."
"We could leave." Gippal muttered to himself.
Tidus smiled at Yuna, trying to ignore the feeling in his gut that maybe Gippal was right, and closed his eyes again. He could picture his brother as clear as day in his mind, forcing the lock on the blitzball stadium open. Tidus pushed the pointed end of the claw in, just like Shuyin was doing in his mind's eye. Then he pushed to the right and pulled down.
Rikku shrieked as the lock clicked, "You broke my claw!"
"No I didn't." Tidus retorted, pulling the claw out in its entirety and handing it back to her, "I just opened the door." And with a quick movement, he pulled the door open, revealing the blackness of the cave. A whoosh of cold air went over him and Tidus instantly glanced back at Gippal. The blonde was as white as Yuna's blouse. Nobody seemed to notice, though, as they bounded into the cave.
Gippal backed up slowly, eyes staring straight into the opening. Tidus was worried, "You okay?"
"Get them out of there…" the man muttered, "Before…"
"Before what?"
"They're gonna kill each other…"
Tidus stared at Gippal, completely dumbfounded. Was the man out of his mind? Hallucinating? He supposed it didn't really matter. He put a hand gently on Gippal's shoulder and led him to a small rock on the opposite side of the small cavernous room they were in, "Just wait here. I'll get them." He lied. He wasn't going to make them leave. Not when it was just a cave. Unless something weird happened, he was going to let them keep exploring. He was intrigued too, if he had to admit it.
Gippal nodded slightly. If Tidus hadn't been watching him closely, he never would have even noticed the movement.
The cave was dark, but there was enough light streaming in from the outside to allow Tidus to see. Yuna was with Auron and Rikku exploring the right side. Wakka and Lulu were exploring the left. Tidus decided he'd take the middle so that he'd be within easy reach of both groups should the need arise.
Tidus had always believed himself to be relatively normal when it came to mental stability and the like. He'd never believed himself to be even slightly off kilter. There'd never been a reason. He'd never believed in sixth senses or anything like that. He'd always thought they were bunk. He believed in things he could touch. Yet at that very moment, if he believed in it, he would have sworn someone was watching him. Really watching him. Staring, maybe. He knew it was impossible. Gippal was outside in a practically catatonic state. Yuna, Auron, and Rikku were busy staring at the markings on the walls and Wakka and Lulu were arguing in the corner about something. None of them were looking at him. So why did he feel like he was being watched?
Tidus glanced behind him automatically. It was a self-preservation tactic he'd had since he was a kid having to watch out for his old man and his temper. There was nothing behind him except a few pyreflies and they certainly weren't what was watching him.
"Tidus?"
The voice made Tidus jump and he spun around again, certain it had come from
behind him. It was a low voice, impossible to make out but it sounded
familiar. In fact, this whole place was familiar. There was
something about this place. He felt like he knew it. Or, at the
very least, knew something in it.
"Tidus?" Tidus spun toward the sound and saw Yuna gazing at him from a few feet away with her hands on her hips, "You okay? I thought you stayed outside with Gippal."
The blonde made his way toward Yuna quickly, grabbing her in a tight hug and kissing her soundly before letting her go, "He's fine. I wanted to be with you."
Yuna grinned at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, "That's nice. I feel better when you're around."
He felt better when he was around her too. He felt safe. Not that he had anything to feel unsafe about. It was just a cave. Gippal was just making him a little jumpy with all his gloom and doom talk. Tidus leaned in and kissed her again.
"It's about time."
Tidus pulled his lips away from Yuna's and turned his head to the left and then the right. There was nothing there. There was nobody there. Yuna looked at him with concern lacing her duel-colored eyes, "What's wrong?"
"Yeah, Ti, what's wrong? Hearing things?"
The voice was taunting him now. Teasing him. He recognized it. At least, he thought he did. There was no way what he was hearing was right. It was impossible. His overactive imagination combined with Gippal's weird reaction was causing this. Then again, there had been Seymour's shocked horror on his face, talking to him like he knew him when he couldn't possibly.
"How did you get here, anyway?"
"Tidus?" Yuna was getting really worried now, that much was obvious. Wakka and Lulu had joined them and Tidus was soon flanked on three sides by Yuna's friends. Tidus felt his breath catching in his throat and he backed off. He knew he was acting irrationally but there was no other way to act. He was hearing things. He was hearing…
He was hearing Shuyin.
"I…I think I'm gonna wait with Gippal." He said quickly, turning toward the door before Yuna or anyone else could respond. He had to get out of that room. He had to get away from that voice. Why was he hearing it? Why was his mind doing this to him? Was it punishment because he hadn't taken the time to grieve properly for his brother? But no, that wouldn't explain why from the moment he walked into that cave, he'd felt Shuyin's presence. It was odd. It was strangely distant. But it was there.
"Don't you want to hang out with me?"
Tidus' feet moved faster with every word. The voice was pounding in his head. What was going on? Why was this happening?
"Tidus!" Yuna shouted. He heard her coming after him but found himself unable – or maybe unwilling – to stop. He just wanted to get out of the cave. Get away from the voice. She reached him quickly, grabbing his right hand and forcing him to a stop, "What's wrong with you?"
Tidus grabbed her, pulled her close to him and buried his face in her
hair. Just breath. That's what he needed
to do. Just breath. She was there and
everything was fine. He kissed her head softly, "I…I'm sorry. This
place is just giving me the creeps."
"Well that's not very nice."
Tidus jerked away from her, backing up and spinning in circles to see where that voice was coming from. Yuna reached out for him, "What's the matter with you!"
"Don't you hear that?" Tidus cried, still spinning. He hoped she'd say yes. Hoped he wasn't going crazy. But she said no and he knew he had to be.
"So only you can hear me? Interesting."
Tidus put his hands to his ears, trying to drown the voice out. He was
going crazy. Or maybe he already was crazy.
"Let's try an experiment, shall we? Since only you can hear me, lets try
making only you see me."
"Where are you?" he shouted at nothing. Yuna tried to reach for him again but he spun out of her reach and tried to break for the door again. He just needed to get out. He just needed to get away. Then everything would be fine.
He was a few feet from the door when several pyreflies formed before him. He stopped suddenly, gasping for air.
"Can you see me now?"
Tidus blinked as the pyreflies started to take shape and he saw the face he
thought he'd never see again even though it was the same as his own. His
throat closed up. He knew that. Otherwise Tidus was sure he'd have
screamed. Instead, his eyes rolled back in his head and he felt himself
falling…
"Good."
Then everything went dark.
