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.

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 with any requests.

I have had problems with my fics being stolen. Reviewers of the Silver Wings trilogy know all about the situation. Please keep an eye out for this story or any of my others posted on any other sites. I only post here and I only use the name "akksgurl". If you think my story has been stolen, please contact me so that I can look into the situation. Thanks a lot in advance for your help.

Author's Notes: By the end of this chapter reviewers of the Silver Wings trilogy might think I'm ripping off of myself, but I assure you that's not the case. This is going to play out quite differently than SW so don't worry. FFX dialogue and FFX-2 minor spoilers.


TWISTED DESTINY
by akksgurl
Chapter Nineteen: Questions and Answers

"They say you don't practice anymore. That you're going to retire." Tidus said, creeping closer to his father as the older man sat hunched over on his lounge chair, a bottle of beer cradled in his hand.

"Let them talk!" Jecht snapped back, thumbing his chest and puffing it out in pride, "I'm still the best."

"They say you're no good cause you drink all the time." Tidus hedged again, another step closer to him.

Jecht lifted his bleary eyes and focused them on Tidus, "I can quit drinkin' whenever I want!"

"Then do it now."

Jecht's bloodshot eyes narrowed, "What did you say?"

Tidus swallowed his fear and took another step toward his father, "You just said you can!"

Jecht scoffed at him and swallowed another gulp of beer, "Heh. Tomorrow, maybe."

"Why not today!" Tidus screeched.

"Why do today what you can leave for tomorrow?" asked Jecht, tilting the bottle until the last of the liquid dropped into his mouth. Tidus felt his lips quivering at the failure of his intervention and Jecht sneered at him, "There he goes again…crying!"

"Stop drinking!" he squealed angrily, reaching for the bottle that was now out of his reach.

Jecht's eyes flashed his drunken fury and Tidus knew instantly he'd gone too far. The vein in his father's neck was bulging, indicating impending doom. Tidus made to run but was frozen in place as Jecht slammed the bottle down on the table, glass breaking into sharp shards, "Don't you ever tell me what to do again, boy! You hear me?"

The world went black, white, red. Tidus blinked and cried out, stumbling away from his beligerant father only to find himself slamming into Yuna, "Would you take me to Zanarkand?" she asked him with a shy smile.

"We've already been there." Tidus replied, reaching for Yuna but she stepped out of his grasp.

"Hey!" his father shouted from behind him, "Quit dreaming! You, with a woman!" he scoffed angrily, "You can't even catch a ball." Tidus felt hot tears flowing down his cheeks and lifted his hands to wipe them. His father laughed, "Oh, what's the matter? Gonna cry again? Cry…cry. That's the only thing you're good for."

Tidus dropped to his knees, "I hate you."

"What'd you say?" Jecht asked.

Yuna jumped up and down happily, "You need to speak loudly!"

"I hate you!" Tidus screamed.

"You do?" Tidus lifted his gaze to see Shuyin watching him tentatively, "What'd I do, Ti?"

Tidus opened and closed his mouth like a fish, "Its not you. Its Jecht."

"Jecht's dead." Was his brother's simple reply.

"So are you!"

Shuyin reached out for him, touching his shoulder. Tidus felt cold and horrified, closing his eyes from the sight before him, but it was even visible behind his lids. Shuyin and Lenne, the bullets piercing their skin like knives. Shuyin and Lenne collapsing on the ground, their blood pooling around them. Shuyin dying in his arms.

"Help me, Tidus." His brother whispered, "Together, we'll make them pay."

Tidus sat up screaming, blinking against the sudden light in his eyes. For a moment, he didn't know where he was. All that mattered was that he was terrified. Then he realized that Yuna was holding him tightly, his head was resting on her shoulder as it must have landed when he'd sat up so suddenly. He lifted his arms slowly and wrapped them around Yuna, pulling her tighter against his chest.

"You okay?" she asked him softly, her breath warm on his neck as she said the words.

Tidus thought about telling her the truth but thought better of it. It was just a weird dream after all. No need to worry her, "Yeah, I'm fine."

She pulled back and eyed him quizzically. She wasn't buying it no matter how sweet his smile was, "You fainted and then woke up screaming."

"Yeah." Tidus nodded, lowering his eyes and then lifting them after realizing he was currently in a bed, "How'd I get here?" he paused and then asked, "Where is here?"

"Auron carried you. And this is the guest hut across from Wakka's hut. You have to share with the Aurochs, but they won't be back until late this afternoon from practice at the beach." Yuna replied as if it made the most sense in the world. Honestly, the fact that Auron had carried Tidus like a child made Tidus feel suddenly less of a man. Yuna touched his cheek, "You were acting so strangely. I was really worried. What happened?"

"Claustrophobic." Tidus said. It wasn't a lie. He was claustrophobic. It just wasn't the reason he'd passed out in the cave. He didn't want to remember the reason. Shivers of fear still went up his spine when he remembered it.

Yuna seemed to believe him since she smiled serenely, "I didn't know that. Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's not something a guy likes to announce." He admitted. He also didn't want to tell her that his fear came not from birth but from Jecht locking him in a trunk on the deck of the houseboat when he was 5 and forgetting about him all afternoon.

"Male pride, huh?" her lips turned into a teasing smile and she leaned closer to him, "Don't worry. I won't tell anybody."

Tidus wanted nothing more than to flip Yuna underneath him and love her all day long, but his fear of the cave was overshadowed only by his curiosity about it. He licked his lips nervously, "Where's Gippal?"

"Gippal?" Yuna asked, her spine stiffening in shock – or annoyance. Tidus couldn't tell. She wrinkled her nose, "What do you want Gippal for?"

"I need to ask him something."

"What?"

"I just need to ask him something."

Tidus could tell Yuna was annoyed that he wasn't telling her anything. He no longer feigned ignorance about her feeling. It wasn't shock that stiffened her spine. He knew that now. She stood laboriously and gave him a sugary smile, "I'll just get him for you." She said, making her way toward the door while muttering, "Yevon forbid he wants to spend some time with me after regaining consciousness. No…he wants me to fetch Rikku's love toy."

Rikku's 'love toy' – as Yuna so aptly put it – arrived a few moments later with an even more puzzled look on his face than Yuna had had a few moments before. Tidus found himself tempted to tell Gippal what Yuna had said, but then thought better of it. It was pretty obvious that Gippal was into Rikku – at least, it was obvious to Tidus – but he didn't want to get into the middle of a sorta-relationship when his own was so screwed up. He was no matchmaker and now was not the time to start.

Gippal plucked absently at the elastic of his eye patch, "What did you need me for?"

"What did you mean back at the cave?" No use beating around the bush. Tidus was a firm believer in going straight to the heart of the matter.

"I said a lot of things." Replied Gippal evasively.

"You said they'd kill each other." Tidus clarified, "What did you mean by that?"

Gippal shrugged, "It means exactly what it sounded like."

"But why did you say it? There had to be a reason."

"Not really."

Tidus knew Gippal wasn't going to give this up easily, and he wasn't quite sure why but he wasn't about to give up just yet either. He squirmed in the bed, pushing the sheets from his limbs and placing his feet on the floor, "It has something to do with that Crimson thing Rikku said you were part of, doesn't it?"

Gippal paled noticeably and Tidus knew he'd hit his mark. The eye patched man bit his lower lip in thought. Tidus couldn't tell what the man was thinking for sure, but he was willing to bet he was trying to decide whether or not to confess the truth or continue with the lie. Finally, Gippal sighed and nodded, "Yes. It does."

"Why don't you tell me what happened to that group. It doesn't sound like they amounted to much."

"They didn't." Gippal admitted with a shrug, "Only four of us made it."

Tidus was surprised, "Only four of you made the squad? What happened to the rest?"

Gippal shook his head, "No. Only four of us made it…made it out of the cave." He explained, swallowing a stutter of fear, "Everybody else died. They…they killed themselves after they went into the cave."

"What!" Tidus' voice came out louder than he'd wanted, but he couldn't help it. An entire squad committed suicide in the very cave where he'd seen his brother's apparition…heard his brother's voice. Tidus' heart started to beat erratically as his panic rose, "Why?"

"I don't know." Gippal said quietly, his fingers twiddling together in consternation, "From the moment I went into that cave I felt a despair and an anger I couldn't control." The words started flowing from him now as if all these years of keeping it bottled in had been just a bad dream, "My group were within inches of killing each other when our recorder broke the spell over us and we got out of the cave. Kinoc – one of the Yevon maesters – ordered his men to shoot us after he'd told us we had passed the test. We ran as hard as we could to the Mihen Highroad before deciding it'd be best to split up. We said our goodbyes and I turned to go when I heard a gunshot and felt this horrible pain in my back. I fell and Baralai fell next to me." Gippal swallowed, his Adam's Apple bobbing at the effort, "I saw Paine fall and realized Nooj had shot us. Then I blacked out. When I woke up, Rin – he's a friend of my mother's and owned a shop nearby where I was shot. Anyway, Rin was there. He nursed me back to health and told me that it'd probably be best if I kept my mouth shut about everything that had happened. No use making waves, you know. Nobody believes an Al Bhed anyway."

"But what about the others?"

"Baralai is okay. He's a priest in Yevon now, just like he always wanted to be." Gippal smiled, "I'm happy for him."

"And Paine? What about him?"

Gippal shook his head, "Paine's a girl. I don't know about her. I haven't seen or heard anything about her since."

"And…Nooj?"

Gippal frowned, "Nooj is fine too. He and his girlfriend are the leaders of some new sect called the Youth League. They want to change Yevon's ways. Its small now, but I think he'll be successful." The blonde stopped and bit his lip before saying, "I don't think it was Nooj that shot us. He was our leader. He loved us. He wouldn't want us hurt."

"But you just said you knew he did!" Tidus cried, growing exhasperated.

"His body shot us." Gippal said softly, "But I don't think he willingly did anything." Gippal scratched at his patch, playing with the elastic with his other hand, "There was something in that cave, Tidus. I don't know what it was, but whatever it was, is what I think made Nooj shoot us. I'll go to my grave believing that."

"And what do you know about Seymour?" Tidus asked, not sure why he was asking other than the fact that he knew Seymour was involved with the cave somehow.

Gippal shrugged, "He's Yuna husband through some sort of a trick. He knows something about the cave, but isn't saying. And…" Gippal backed away from Tidus then as if he'd told him too much and the wrath of Yevon would crash down upon his head for it.

Tidus jumped on it, "And what? Tell me."

The taller blonde shrugged nervously, "It's…nothing really. Just something Seymour wanted me to do, but I didn't do it. No big deal.. I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"But you have to!" Tidus cried, his eyes pleading, "Please tell me."

Gippal swallowed hard, "Seymour just…as my first mission as a Crimson Squad member I was supposed to…to kill…Yuna's guardians…and bring Yuna to him." He frowned deeply, lines creasing his face, "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I gotta go." And he was gone in a flash.

Tidus sat there in silence for several minutes after Gippal left. The knowledge that Gippal had bestowed was supposed to make Tidus feel better – at least, he'd hoped it would, but it just made him feel even more horrified. Seymour was as horrible as Rikku had made it sound, but that wasn't what was truly concerning Tidus. He was more worried about the unknown than the known.

"Shuyin…" he whispered, fingering the Zanarkand Abes necklace around his neck absently, "What are you doing…?"

"What is who doing?" Yuna asked from the doorway. She was holding a tray with a bowl of soup and a glass of water on it.

Tidus cleared his throat, "Just wondering what I'm doing still sitting in this bed like an invalid." The lie came so easily, Tidus felt guilty, but squelched it. He didn't want Yuna knowing about this. Not yet.

"What did you and Gippal talk about?" she asked as she put the tray down on the table beside the bed and sitting down with him.

Tidus licked his lips to allow himself a second to think up a good story, "Just wanted to ask him about the cave." He replied, hoping that this modified version of the truth would be good enough.

"Oh." She replied quietly. Tidus thanked his lucky stars that she seemed happy enough with his response. Yet he still didn't want to take any chances. He wanted to get her mind completely off of it. And he also wanted to distract himself from the worry in his gut and focus more on the lust pooling in his groin as he looked down her gaping shirt while she reached for his water glass, "Drink this." She insisted, pressing the glass to his lips.

Tidus pushed it aside, "Not thirsty."

Yuna reached for the spoon she'd placed next to his bowl of soup, "Then eat."

"Not hungry." His hoarse voice replied.

She lifted a brow, "Then what do you want?" she asked him.

"You." He replied, reaching for her and pulling her towards him, his lips crashing down on her own. She moaned and reached around him, her fingers trailing softly along the nape of his neck. He pressed her down on the bed and rolled so that he was in the dominant position, his fingers playing with the ties on her shirt until the garment came loose under his touch.

Yuna wriggled beneath him, "There's no door, you know. Just a curtain." She whispered as his mouth trailed hot kisses along her chin and down her neck, "Someone could hear."

He lifted his head and winked at her devilishly, "Then somebody is going to have to be very quiet."

"I am quiet!" she retorted in a loud whisper.

He laughed softly, "It's a good thing we're 1000 years into the future because otherwise my neighbors would be happy to tell you what a liar you are."

Yuna rolled her eyes, unable to come up with a good retort. She just winked back at him, "Shut up and kiss me." She said, pulling his mouth down to hers.

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Yuna woke up later in the afternoon to an empty bed. She didn't realize it was empty at first until she rolled over, her eyes still closed, and grasped a cold pillow. She opened one eye, then the other gazing around the room conspicuously, "Tidus?" she called. When he didn't answer, Yuna slid from the bed and put her clothes back on quickly. She didn't want someone to inadvertently come in and find her standing there in her birthday suit.

Another cursory glance around the room revealed that he must have left a while ago. His side of the bed was cold. His soup was practically frozen. The only thing missing was the water he must have downed at some point after she fell asleep.

She walked out of the hut and into the road, shielding her eyes from the setting sun to glance this way and that on the path. No sign of Tidus was anywhere. She made her way across the path and into Wakka's hut. Rikku was sitting cross legged on the floor arguing with Gippal over some imagined slight.

Her cousin's big green eyes focused on her the moment Yuna walked in, "Oh hey Yunie! We thought you were gonna sleep all day long!"

"Tidus said you were pretty tired." Gippal added, giving Yuna a silent wink behind Rikku's head.

Yuna felt her face getting hot and forced herself to not blush. Using Gippal's sentence as a starting point, Yuna said, "Speaking of Tidus, have you guys seen him lately?"

"No." Rikku said with a shrug, "And trust me, if I'd seen that hottie around anywhere, I'd have held onto him with both hands for you, Yunie." Rikku held her hands out at arms length and flexed all five fingers on both hands simultaneously in what Yuna took as an indication that Rikku wanted to feel her boyfriend's butt. Yuna felt herself blushing again.

Gippal rolled his visible eye at Rikku, "You are so pathetic. The guy barely even knows you're alive."

"And that's the way it should be!" retorted Rikku with a smirk, "He's in love with Yunie. I wouldn't want to steal her boyfriend away with my feminine wiles."

"Feminine wiles?" scoffed Gippal, "Please."

"They worked on you, didn't they?"

"I was 16 and really, really, really stupid."

"And now you're not?"

"Yeah!"

Yuna held her hands up, "Guys! Guys! Please!" she waited until she had both Al Bhed's attentions before saying, "There's really no need to argue. I'm just looking for Tidus."

"Don't know where he is, Yuna. He just dropped in a while ago to tell us to let you sleep." Gippal said again, "If we see him, we'll tell him you're looking for him."

Yuna wasn't sure why she felt a growing panic in her stomach, but there it was; powerful and all consuming. Tidus had been acting strangely and then he disappeared without a word. Could it possibly have something to do with the future changing because of Sin? Could he be disappearing because of it?

Or maybe…

She bit her lip and looked at Gippal, "What exactly did Tidus talk about earlier?"

The man paled noticeably and Yuna realized she may have just hit on something. Gippal shrugged softly, "He just wanted to know about the cave and … Seymour."

"What about Seymour? Did he look angry?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

Was Tidus going after Seymour? She hoped with all her heart that he wasn't. Seymour would kill Tidus if he tried anything. Yuna knew that even before Seymour had given her the knowledge that he was afraid for her safety from the blonde blitzball player. Yuna didn't want to think of a future without Tidus so she pushed the horrible thoughts from her mind and ran from the hut, her feet flying to take her down to the beach. She prayed silently to whatever diety might be listening that Tidus was just there watching the Aurochs practice. It seemed to take her longer than ever to reach her destination although it was barely a half mile down to the shoreline. Her worry made it feel as though she was running through waist high water.

"Wakka!" she shouted as she came to a stop in the sand a few feet from the Aurochs' coach, "Have you seen Tidus?"

Wakka shook his head, "Haven't been down here long, ya. I was in the temple most of the morning with Lulu praying for a way to stop Seymour."

Yuna licked her lips nervously and ran over to Datto who was a few feet to Wakka's left, "Datto, have you been here long?"

"Ya, Lady Yuna. All day."

"Have you seen Tidus?" she asked, frowning when she realized the man had probably never even set eyes on her boyfriend, "Shaggy blonde hair. About 5'10". Freckles on his nose."

Datto thought for a moment, "Ya, Lady Yuna. That sounds familiar." He pointed toward the boating dock on the far end of the beach, "Saw someone looking like that get on board that ship for Luca."

Luca? What did he want in Luca? Then fear gripped Yuna as the realization hit her. He didn't want anything in Luca. He was following the path they'd used to get to Guadosalam. He really was going after Seymour. She shouted her thanks to Datto as her feet flew her to the boat and she slammed some coins into the ticketmaster's hand, "I've gotta get to Luca."

"Right away, Lady Yuna." The man replied with a smile.

She ran aboard the ship and paused only when she reached the bow, gazing out into the water, "Please don't do anything stupid, Tidus. Please…"

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Tidus felt really stupid at that very moment. He hadn't brought any weapons or defense equipment. He hadn't really even thought the whole thing through. He hadn't intended on making love to Yuna and then waiting for her to fall asleep so that he could sneak out undetected. And he certainly hadn't planned on being gone for so long. It just worked out that way.

He frowned at his stupidity. How he thought he could make the trip to and from before Yuna woke up was beyond his comprehension now. She was probably awake and searching for him as he stood there, trying to decide whether he wanted to go in or not.

"Well," he decided, "Here goes nothing." Tidus was never one to chicken out, no matter how much he wanted to so he found his feet moving him forward into the darkened cave. He clutched his necklace as if it'd ward off whatever evil was permeating the walls of this cavern. He definitely should have brought something with him. Or maybe even someone. Anything would have made him feel better about going into this cave.

"Shuyin?" he called in a hushed whisper. He heard his voice echo off of the walls, but no other sound was evident in the silence of the cavern, "Shu?"

He was starting to feel really stupid as he continued his way back, calling his brother's name every few seconds only to hear his own voice echo back at him. What was he doing? He'd probably just imagined the entire encounter. Yuna was going to think he was insane for doing this. Maybe he was.

Tidus held his arms out in front of him as the cave got darker toward the back and a few moments later felt his hands touching the far wall. He sighed angrily at himself. Why had he even bothered? There really was nothing in there. Seymour probably just wanted to scare everyone and Tidus had fallen right into his trap. Annoyed with himself beyond measure, Tidus spun around and let out a horrified scream.

Shuyin stood behind him, smiling serenely. Tidus backed up against the wall as he gaped at him…or rather, gaped through him. Tidus could distinctly see the light leading to freedom shining through his brother's head, the walls of the cavern visible through his arms and legs.

"Did I scare you?" Shuyin asked with a smirk that said he knew damn right well he had and he was proud of himself.

Tidus didn't want to give this Shu-ghost the satisfaction and shook his head, "No, I just…my legs went numb all of the sudden. Must be the cold air."

"Ah." Was Shuyin's only response as he turned and walked a few feet away before spinning back, "How'd you get here, Tidus? That's what I'd like to know."

"I walked." Tidus replied. It seemed like a rather silly question to ask, but Tidus wasn't about to mention that to Shuyin. He didn't want his brother turning into the murdering ghost everyone seemed to think he was.

"Not here!" Shuyin replied with exasperation, "Here. This time. You should be dead."

"So should you."

Shuyin laughed, the deep guttural laugh that Tidus had grown up with. It was the laugh that always told Tidus that Shuyin was laughing and he knew he was the only one who thought it was funny. That was certainly true in this situation. Shuyin's mirth ended a few seconds later and his serious expression returned, "I am dead. But that doesn't explain about you."

"Yuna was telling the truth." It was all Tidus needed to say to see a look of understanding and realization dawn on his brother's visage. Tidus took advantage of the moment and asked, "Why did you do that to me earlier? What was the point?"

"Why did I scare the shit out of you, you mean?" Shuyin smirked, "Which time."

"Last time."

Shuyin shrugged, "I needed to practice and you seemed like the perfect guinea pig."

"Practice what?"

Shuyin smirked, "Ghosts can do a lot of things that I didn't realize. I just needed guinea pigs to practice on." He scratched his chin although it was obvious his fingers weren't touching his face, "I've mastered the ability to show myself to groups and be heard by groups. I've mastered the ability to control people. And now, thanks to you, I've mastered the ability to show myself to one person and to be heard by just one person.

Shuyin turned away from his brother and began to walk. Tidus noticed with growing surprise that Shuyin was almost glowing – emanating a bright light as he moved and it took Tidus a few seconds to realize that Shuyin wasn't glowing. It was the pyreflies that surrounded his brother in their glow. The Shu-ghost turned back a few moments later, "Do you know what I thought in the last few seconds of Lenne's life, when her eyes were moist with tears she wouldn't shed just so that she'd look strong?" Tidus shook his head and Shuyin continued, "I thought about how I'd failed her. I'd told her everything would be fine and it wasn't. If it wasn't for my stupid idea, she and I would have lived happily ever after just like she wanted us to."

"I'm sure she didn't blame you, Shuyin."

Shuyin spun around, nodding wildly, "Of course she didn't. And you know what, I don't blame myself either anymore! Its their fault!" he shouted motioning toward invisible enemies on the far walls, "They're the reason that she died. I was just trying to fix it. Its their fault. Using those enormous weapons against us. They started the war and I just wanted to end it and instead they made us casualties." His eyes were burning with hatred now and Tidus backed away slowly, "Well now they're going to be casualties. Casualties of the war I'm going to bring down upon them!"

Tidus felt his mouth go numb as his brother's tirade continued. He damned Spira. He damned Auron. He damned Vegnagun. He even went so far as to damn Yuna for showing up and telling him what was going to happen in the future. And the angrier he got, the more agitated the pyreflies became forming flashes of Shuyin's last moments on Spira – from his perspective – echoing against the walls.

"Shuyin…please…this won't solve anything."

Shuyin stopped his tirade, furious eyes focusing on Tidus alone, "What do you know about anything?" he shouted, moving closer to Tidus until Tidus could feel his breath – if Shuyin had had any, "You've got the girl. You've got the life. You're still breathing!" he screamed, "Why didn't they kill you too! Why? Why was it just Lenne and me? What makes you so damn special?"

"Shuyin, you've got to stop this! It was war. They did what needed to be done!" Tidus cried, afraid to move for fear of antagonizing his brother.

Shuyin lurched around, running toward the far right of the cavern, the pyrefly light giving illumination along the way until he stopped and pointed directly to the floor, "Did they need to do this!" he shrieked. Tidus lurched closer, slowly, until he saw what his brother was pointing at. Two skeletons…at least, what was left of them. Heads and limbs scattered this way and that in the tiny corner where they lay. They were so enveloped in darkness that no one would have even noticed they were there and would have just thought it was stones crunching beneath their feet. Shuyin's eyes shone bright with anguish and rage, "Did they have to cut our bodies up and dump us in a cave like trash? Did they have to do that? It was barbaric!" Shuyin kicked out toward one of the skulls but his leg went sailing right through it, "I hate them. They're going to pay for what they did."

Tidus felt immensely happy that he hadn't eaten any of the food Yuna had offered him. Otherwise he was sure it would have been on the cavern floor. He wretched his eyes off of the skeletons and looked back at his brother, "Why are you here, and not Lenne?"

"She went to the Farplane." He replied simply, "She was a summoner. She was always ready to face death and she went willingly."

"Then why don't you go too?"

Shuyin looked back at him and hissed sarcastically, "Trying to get rid of me already?"

"No…I just…I think maybe it's time to move on."

Shuyin shook his head calmly, "It'll never be time to move on. Not ever. Not until I get my revenge." He smirked wickedly and moved toward Tidus, "And to do that, I need transportation."

"Excuse me?" Tidus asked, suddenly very afraid.

"Nooj worked for a while, but his body is broken. Baralai will be good for having quick access to Bevelle when I need it, but I need someone who I won't feel uncomfortable in." his wicked smile spread into a leer, "I'm so glad you're here, Tidus."

"You leave me alone!" Tidus shouted, tripping over his feet as he tried to make his way to the cavern entrance and out into freedom.

Shuyin suddenly materialized in front of him and Tidus slid to his knees in his efforts to stop, "Now, now, now. Think of all the times I drove you hither and yon while you were incapacitated." He winked, "Just think of it as returning the favor."

Tidus felt a pressure inside of him, felt himself growing weak as the pressure increased. He shook his head vainly, "Don't…Shu…" but he never finished his sentence.