Disclaimer: Square-Enix Incorporated owns all copyrighted material this fanfiction may include. All other materials, such as characters, events, dialogue, et cetera, all belong to Zeshin-kun.

Author's Note: I'm really sorry for not updating in virtually a month. School and my friends kinda started tearing me away from most of my usual activities… save E-mail as akksgurl would know. LoL Anyway, I'm really sorry for taking so long, but at least I don't think I left the fic off on a cliffhanger or some intricate moment.

So far, Shuyin and Rikku are on their way to Mt. Gagazet to find the body of Kirin, still restored by the power of the former dream Zanarkand… or is it? Well, since I don't want to freak Rikku out with the disemboweled body that Shuyin got to see back in my last fanfiction, I think I should leave her untarnished. But for now, that doesn't matter. Before they took off on this lovely trip, another somebody had some problems with Shuyin's presence. I'm not talking about Paine…

Spira: The Eternal Discord

Chapter 3: The Dream of a Madman?

Tidus

"He did what!" I screamed after Yuna explained things to me. That Shuyin guy tried to off my Yuna! Why was she defending him? Why didn't she tell me this before? Why did she hide something like that from me?

It was later in the day. Yuna had set Shuyin up in the same place I'd stayed in when I first arrived. I was rather glad now that the Aurochs had gone off to train for an upcoming tournament. Who knew what that maniac would've done. I didn't know why she was so shaky when she saw Shuyin at first. When I was brought back to Besaid by the fayth, she only told me really simple stuff. "It all began when I saw this sphere… of you." She said that kinda strangely, but then she went on to explain that it wasn't really me. She never showed me that sphere and she was always hesitant when I wanted to know more about Shuyin, but I never would have guessed he was that much of a psycho.

"You don't understand!" She returned, turning from me, "Shuyin was… he was confused. He was lost. It was a thousand years and he was separated from Lenne. Do you know how painful it was for me… how painful those two years had been? I couldn't imagine losing you for a thousand years. I…"

"So you think you'd end up like that guy? Go "Oh, why don't I blow up Spira today."? Yuna, I know you too well to even think you'd do something like that. This Shuyin… he's just crazy. We should get to him and lock him up." I replied, knowing way too much about her to even consider that she'd do something like that.

"You think that locking him up would help anything? I already told you what happened to him. I told you what he's been through. Bevelle tried locking him away but he got out. The cave where Paine and the other members of the Crimson Squad found him, I told you what he did there, too. Yevon tried to seal him away then. It still didn't work. You don't understand how strong his resolve is. And… you didn't feel what I felt in that cave. You don't know. Shuyin doesn't quit or lose hope when he's angry or depressed. He becomes enraged. There was so much hate, so much pain in that cavern. When he lost Lenne, it was almost like he lost his humanity with her. If we try to lock him up now, he'll only feel betrayed and grow bitter again. I don't want Spira to suffer again. Our world's been through enough." She pleaded, tears falling from her eyes.

I still didn't fully understand. Over the time I had spent with her on her pilgrimage, I grew to understand that she only cared about others and not of herself. That was why she didn't mind sacrificing herself to take out Sin. Now, with this Shuyin having been around after I vanished with the rest of the fayths' dreams, she seemed so different. She'd definitely been afraid for herself and Spira when I knew her, but she was always able to hide that. Shuyin was making her question her resolve. He threatened Spira, but she wouldn't stop him like we had with Sin. What made her change like this?

"Yuna, what's Shuyin done to you? I've never seen you like this before." I told her, voicing my thoughts.

She walked up to me slowly, "There is a difference between what we went through and what I had to go through alone after you disappeared. Shuyin… he didn't do all those horrible things just because… He wanted to end suffering and making people's lives even more miserable just seemed like the correct path in his twisted mind. He wanted to show people how horrible life was and that it would be the right thing for him to just stop it all. It reflects his death."

"I still don't really understand, Yuna, but for now, I'll just be glad I was made out of what Zanarkand's fayth thought that guy was like." I told her. This Shuyin that seemed to be who the fayth had modeled me after was nothing like me. Even when I first met him, he didn't act like me. Although, with what Yuna told me, he's got the same screwed up thought as that Seymour. I think he was always talking about how death was peace. Both of them are crazy if you ask me.

The night grew ever darker and it was time to get to sleep. I agreed with Yuna that we should think on this at some later time since we weren't going to get anywhere thinking it through in one day. I was never very good at thinking up other ways something could turn out. When I first saw Seymour, I didn't like him. I never accepted anything he said. It was lucky that the guy actually turned out to be a jerk. By what Yuna said, Shuyin really went through a lot to get where he was so I probably should think a little more into it. For now, I don't like him. A guardian has to protect his summoner and my instincts told me not to trust that guy.

"Yuna, me and Rikku are going on a trip to Gagazet to see Kirin since Rikku's been dying to see her. We should be back soon. Oh, and Rikku's taking the Celsius. Here she is." I heard my voice say when I woke up. "Hiya Yunie! Don't worry, I'm just gonna borrow it. Shuyin seems to know who it used to belong to. Well, anyway, we're going to Mt. Gagazet so you don't have to worry about me. I'm sure you know why! Well, bye bye Yunie! See you soon!" That was also a familiar voice. It was Rikku; it had to be. I bolted from the bed immediately and saw Yuna off to the side, her back to me.

"Rikku… No…" She muttered, obviously not knowing I was up.

I moved over to her and put my hands on her shoulders, "She went with him? This isn't good…" Rikku was in the hands of some guy that almost offed Spira before. He wasn't exactly the best person for a naïve and trusting girl like Rikku to be with. "We have to find her!"

"We already know where she is… Gagazet, right? That's where she and Shuyin went?" Yuna replied quietly, probably realizing that I was right about that guy. Of course, she also pointed out that I missed out the fact that both Rikku and Shuyin already said where they were going so we didn't really need to look for them…

"Uh, yea! But how are we going to get there?" I asked her, trying my best to cover up for my mistake. She thought for a minute. I started thinking on what we could use to get there, too. "Wait! What about the Celsius! Brother and Buddy are still here, right? Can't we just get a lift from them?"

"Didn't that sphere say Rikku took the Celsius with her to get to Mt. Gagazet?" I heard a distinct sarcastic voice mouth from outside the tent. I knew who it had to be: Paine… She always seemed to have it in for me. It kinda reminded me of how Lulu was in the beginning of Yuna's pilgrimage.

"Oh… right… Well, any other ideas?" I asked, scratching the back of my head with my right hand.

"Well… We definitely need to use an airship. But, without the Celsius, what other airship do we have?" Yuna asked, her hand on her chin as she thought to herself.

What other airships were there? My brain got a blank for an answer and it frustrated me a lot. "Damn it! Why did Rikku have to trust that wacko? Shuyin… when I get my hands on him…" I started to grumble, worrying about time at every second. It wasn't like when Seymour had the Guado kidnap Yuna. I knew that loser wasn't going to do anything to her. He was just sick and wanted to marry her. But… this guy, this Shuyin guy could do anything to Rikku. And what could Rikku do? Yuna told me what happened the last time they fought. He used my overdrive, but he called it some other name, and he almost killed both of them. He shot Yuna in the legs! I'll kill him for that. "Oh! I can't even think! That guy makes me so mad!"

"Well, shouting about it isn't doing us any good! I hope Rikku will be alright. I don't want anyone else hurt because of that menace. The guys, I lost my life back there… Rikku shouldn't have to go through what I did." Paine slowly stammered, losing me on what she was talking about, "We should just concentrate on one thing and that's finding a way to get to Rikku so we can keep her from Shuyin!"

"Wait… what happened to you 'back there'? Who are 'the guys'?" I asked, even though I probably shouldn't have distracted her or Yuna from thinking up an airship location.

"Can we please focus? I mean what's past is past, okay? Right now you should only be thinking about how to save Rikku from… him… Shuyin…" She told me. I knew right there that Shuyin had done something bad to her, too. Man, who else did he mess around with? Did Rikku come next on his checklist? Poor girl, what was he going to do to her?

I started to think about where there was another airship. Yuna's Spira wasn't anything like my Zanarkand… even if it was only a dream of the real Zanarkand that I lived in. In my Zanarkand, airships were very common. Actually, you'd probably never be caught in a situation like this, thinking about where you could find one to take you somewhere. Then again, Mt. Gagazet was pretty close to Zanarkand when I went there with Yuna. Maybe the Gagazet near my Zanarkand was close by, too. If that was the case, we'd probably just go by foot.

"Are you thinking about saving Rikku's life or something totally irrelevant again?" The stoic woman asked. Jeez, she had it in for me.

"For you information, I was thinking about how to save Rikku. I was thinking that… uh, never mind." I thought about saying what I had been thinking, but then again, thinking about how easy it would be to save Rikku from Shuyin if we were back in Zanarkand wasn't really helping. "Why are you always so angry anyway?"

Yuna laughed, finally saying something to help me out, "Oh don't worry, Paine's always like this. We've grown accustomed to it. She really cares about us. Think about it like how Lulu used to always be grouchy when you first met her. She wasn't so bad later on, right?" With that said, she gave me her usual warm smile and resumed brainstorming.

I thought for a minute. Lulu… she'd been on my case from the beginning, too. The minute she saw me, she knew about Wakka and wanting to make himself believe there was a Chappu out there somewhere and he was just lost like I was. Later, it almost seemed like she didn't like me on the sole reason that I looked like Chappu. Then again, I was kinda clueless and that probably would get on people's nerves. Well, Yuna never seemed to have a problem with me so Lulu shouldn't have been that harsh. Well, she did lighten up towards the end and I knew she didn't want to see me go anymore than Yuna did.

"After we beat Yu Yevon… I'll… disappear." I had told them all. It surprised them all because all this time, even I had believed I had simply traveled a thousand years into the future.

Lulu, which was even more surprising for me, was the first to respond, "What are you talking about!" I never would have expected it. I guess we just grew closer as the pilgrimage went on. I smirked to myself. Guess it meant I could leave an impression.

"You got anything yet?" Paine asked Yuna. My love returned without anything, but continued to think on it.

I wondered for a moment, "Hey, Paine. You were in the Crimson Squad, right? Yuna told me that one of the members was Al Bhed. Wouldn't he know where to find an airship?" It seemed like a logical place to start. The Seltzer… wait, that's not right... Oh right, the Celsius was Al Bhed owned after all.

"No, Gippal doesn't have any airships. His mode of transportation is usually by hover." Yuna corrected and it was back to the drawing board.

"Even if he did have an airship, how are we supposed to get to Djose from here without another airship? We're wasting time and not getting anywhere. Since there's no airships around, we should just go the long way and hope we'll get there before Shuyin does anything." Paine suggested, beginning to make her way to the beach and the port.

I thought long and hard. We couldn't just go the long way. It had taken us at least a three or four days to get from Besaid all the way to their Zanarkand. By then, Rikku would be sushi. Then it hit me… "Wait, we could contact Gippal from here. We can contact almost anyone from here. Don't you remember those tele… er… something spheres that… that… kid put up?"

"Yes, but what would Shinra's comspheres do for us if we have nobody to contact. We still don't know anybody with an airship." Yuna said, slightly upset over this problem.

Again, an idea hit me. It must have come from just coming back to Spira. All my memories ended with my disappearing from Spira after Yuna sent the fayth and Sin. I remembered it all so clearly. I doubt an airship was lost to us. Even knowing what the owner was like, I'm sure it would still be around. Well, I had to take my chances. "Yuna, I know where we can get an airship. Get on the comsphere…"

Author's Note: Well, this one is definitely one of my shorter chapters. Tidus just isn't informed and as up to date as the rest of the cast. Therefore, all I could really have him think is stuff about Yuna's pilgrimage. Therefore, he'd start comparing everything to back then. But… it did help him out in the end. Yuna has been through two years since then. She's remembered the most important aspects to her pilgrimage, but minor details would play with the mind… and also I just really had to drag this out so I could get Tidus to show more character. ;;

Hope you enjoyed it. Next Chapter: Rikku and Shuyin reach Gagazet and see Kirin, but a mysterious figure looms in the recesses of Mt. Gagazet. Who is this character and what is my reason for putting up this really lame spoiler? Find out next time! oO