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: A warning first. This chapter takes some scenes from my previous story's Chapter 27. For my old reader's, you know what I'm talking about. Graphic violence up ahead. You have been warned.
To my reviewers, WOW I got some reviews! 8D… Anyway, now that we're beyond that:
Thanks Kazekirin, the Endless Eternal Flames, Pein, the Crying God, and Haruka.
Hehehe, sorry for taking too long, Haruka. If it's any consolation, I am releasing these chapters along with the mini-fiction in Ga-Rei Zero.
Yuna's been captured by Areth. Now our heroes are forced to go and rescue the former high summoner else risk losing her forever. We all know what our favourite blitz ace is going to do, but what else is on his mind? Through the many interventions by Areth, can Tidus actually be his target? What do the others plan to do about it? YRP has seemingly accepted their former foe and want to work towards ridding Spira of its pestilence once and for all, but can this party hold together with all the hooks prying it apart?
Spira: The Eternal Discord
Chapter 31: Horrors of History
Tidus
"You want this girl back?"
Yuna was gone… Yuna was just gone… Two year ago, I promised to protect her and keep her alive. A few months ago, she went out of her way to save some moron who was lovesick and now she's just gone…
"Yunie… What are we going to do?" Rikku whimpered, clinging to Shuyin's arm for support.
"Well, we've got a good source of information regarding Areth's motives. Maybe we could consult it?" Paine sarcastically commented, walking over to lean against the computer chair.
"Where do you think we should go first, guys?" Buddy added, trying to change the subject after sizing up the situation, "I'm not really getting any big blips on screen, but each of the cities are showing some activity."
"Yuna is we must found her! Gullwings attention is give me now! We need to go find her quickly soon and send the Areth back packing to Farplane!" Brother screamed, his grammar suffering even more since he was worried and scared for Yuna.
Seeing me, he grabbed me by the collar and yelled something in Al Bhed that I was still unable to hear and Rikku yelled something back that stopped him, though he left for the Engine Room cursing something else in Al Bhed. Rikku would come to my side after that to check on me, but even in a language I could understand, I couldn't hear her. The only thing I really, clearly heard ringing through my head was:
"You want this girl back?"
"You want this girl back?"
"You want this girl back?"
"… You want her back, right?" My own voice awoke me from the din echoing inside my head and I lifted my head up to see Shuyin glaring at me, his hands on my shoulders.
Without another second, I grabbed Shuyin by the collar and pinned him against the railing toward the back of the bridge, "Of course I want her back! She wouldn't even be in this situation if your old baggage didn't decide to show up and mess up the Eternal Calm!"
"I realize that, I really do. Still, it wasn't my choice to come back and get back into all this nonsense again. You heard it from Yuna herself, I was sent and content with my fate. Even so, even though I was brought back, I'm coming to terms with this life without anyone from my past and I've learned to accept this second chance despite all these problems it's presented us."
"These problems are only here because of you!" Okay, so I wasn't thinking clearly. There's some truth to what I said, though, right?
"Yes, let's keep pointing fingers and get on with the in-fighting. That ought to get Yuna back to safety faster." Paine noted, passing us on her way to the map grid up the stairs.
"… You're right… I'm sorry, I just don't know what I'd do…" I started to say.
"Yuna'll be fine. I'm not going to allow this future to fall into the same traps we fell into back in my time. Nothing'll ever change that way." Shuyin stated, moving forward to the holosphere.
"Where to, big guy?" Buddy asked.
"Omega… Take us to the Thunder Plains. We'll need to get to the entrance to the Omega Ruins. He'll be there. I'm sure."
"You know where to find me."
Walking up behind the guy, I asked, "Omega Ruins? What's there?"
"A monster…" And then he would just walk off to the lift.
"Rikku, what's at Omega Ruins?" I asked her, thinking Shuyin most likely told her about it.
"I don't know. Shuyin gets like this sometimes when telling me stories and then he just goes quiet and looks away. It's impossible to talk to him after that. Maybe it was something too upsetting to think about."
While I nodded to her, accepting her answer, my mind had a different response, 'Or maybe it's something he's hiding. He's got a lot of those, too.'
Try as I did not to think about that, I couldn't help myself. After Yuna first told me about what he did as an unsent and especially after seeing just how cruel Dark Shuyin was, I just couldn't honestly believe in a completely reformed Shuyin. What's worse, lately, Shuyin's also acted differently than he did before his freak-out Berserker rampage. He used to be incredibly depressed and serious, always regretting something about his past. After fighting that white tiger thing, he seems to hide more about himself and his past than regretting it. I know that can easily be because he decided he accepted his new life so he wants to bury his past, but to me it also seems like he's trying to keep us away from stuff he knows wouldn't sit well with us. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it and we've been going back and forth with that just way too many times. It's just that I know Areth and Dark Shuyin would love it if our group were to cast doubts again, but with what's been happening, I can't help myself.
"We have arrived in the Omega Ruins. Gullwings…"
"Enough already! We're at Omega Ruins. Got it! C'mon guys, we have to save Yunie!" Rikku cut Brother off, hopping over to the lift where Shuyin was already ready and waiting.
I was the last to approach the lift, Shuyin's glaring eyes never leaving mine. Even after I got on and we were heading down, he kept staring at me, his face in a disturbing scowl as he held his arms crossed. When the others exited, I stayed back as if frozen by him. As I took my first step out, though, he immediately moved in front of me.
"There's something you should probably know." He said, pulling me off the airship.
"What is it?" I asked him eventually seeing as how he was only dragging me to catch up with the others and hadn't followed his words with anything else.
"I… It's something that might come up, but I wanted it to stay buried." He mumbled, still pulling me on.
Paine and Rikku reached the entrance to the ruins and we were hastily making our way there, as well, but Shuyin had been mumbling the whole time. From what I understood of his fast-paced ramble, there was some woman named Trista, who Areth had mentioned himself, that was a rival to Lenne as a summoner, or as Shuyin added in rant, that annoying bitch Lenne finally took a NovaBurst to. After mentioning her death, his tone of voice suddenly dropped a few rungs and his mumble got worse. I only made out that something really really harsh happened between her and him and that it would draw old doubts back about our faith in him, which was already happening with me.
The moment we got to Rikku and Paine, Shuyin and Rikku divided us into two groups to make a faster search and also to lessen the chances of everybody getting caught in Areth's trap.
"So me and Shuyin will take the left and you guys can go to the right. We'll have the coms to keep in touch and Buddy's monitoring us from the Celsius. If you run into trouble, holler right away." Rikku instructed, hopping to Shuyin's side.
"And… be careful. Areth's not the pretty boy he used to be. He's an angry unsent who wants nothing else but to see me suffer… I'm sorry…" Shuyin added, taking Rikku off on their path right after.
"Hey, we should get moving." Paine told me, waving me over and heading off.
Taking one last look at Shuyin's back, I turned and went to catch up with my partner. The tunnels seemed quieter than I remembered. We barely had any fiends follow us, and even then, they didn't attack us on their own. If it wasn't for Paine lashing out at them from time to time, I don't think they would've even caused us any trouble. I would've talked to her about that, too, but part of me was afraid she'd stab first and ask questions later.
After a while, I decided to step in before another poor fiend got to meet Paine, "Hey, what's up with you?"
"They're fiends. We kill them… or so I've heard."
"Yea, but they're not even attacking us. Maybe we should just keep walking, calm ourselves, and you know, maybe ignore them?"
"Don't you think they might be around for a reason? Fiends aren't known for their friendly hospitality." She suggested, pointing at the many eyes staring at us from the dark corners.
"Hey, our mission objective is to find Yuna. Stopping every now and then to kill fiends isn't getting us closer to that." I insisted.
"Whatever. Let's…"
Quickly, I grabbed Paine and pulled her close as I sidestepped an incoming attack. I wasn't quite sure what I was seeing, but it looked like Shuyin was charging right into us, sword in hand ready to swing. A girl was opposite him, her hands held out. She was dressed in almost the same thing Yuna was wearing during her pilgrimage, but the look on her face showed so much pain and anger, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. Meanwhile, Shuyin cruelly pulled to her side and sliced off both her arms. The scream was unbearable… and then they were gone. It had been an illusion, but it was so real.
"Hey, what do you…" I started to say to Paine.
Without batting an eye, she just mouthed a "let's keep moving" and kept walking.
"But…" Still she ignored me, and just pushed past several of the fiends that weren't attacking us.
The way Shuyin and that woman was, I was honestly concerned. Was it for real and if it was, what would possess him to go slicing through her arms like that? Although, Shuyin did say to be careful here and was very worried about something that might happen. Areth's illusions could feel so believable, maybe all of it was made up and Shuyin predicted that the guy might try it.
"Paine, you think this is all just Areth pulling tricks on us?" I asked.
Silence and a quickening step would be my answer. The two of us ended up on the platform where, over two years ago, we fought Ultima Weapon. At first we were alone, even the fiends had decided to stay away, but suddenly, it got dimmer and the temperature dropped by a lot just like it did back when the weapon was around. There was a weird echo that sounded like a person laughing and it slowly grew louder. Paine immediately took her sword into a defensive position and I followed suit. From laughing, the echo turned into someone weeping in sorrow. In the distance, the darkness gave way to the reappearance of that same girl, her hands held at her sides balled into fists as the laughter returned and got louder. Light exuded from behind us and, as we turned, a silhouette appeared, slowly revealing itself to be Shuyin, his face twisted into a really creepy grin as he continued to snicker at the girl.
"Guess you've been chosen as the lamb to the slaughter, eh?" He cackled viciously, steadily approaching the girl like a predator to its prey.
Paine tried to grab me and pull me forward, past the girl, but just as we made it to her side, she lifted her hands and started casting Black Magic at him. Turning my attention back to the scene unfolding before us, I saw Shuyin move at impossible speeds, dodging all the Ultimas and Flares while howling with sadistic glee. This was what we saw before, with Shuyin bounding for her and mutilating her. But just as he was about to reach her, she suddenly hid behind us, her form trembling in terror as her shaking hands clutched onto my sleeve tightly. Shuyin, having stopped in his mad rush because of this, struck a piercing glare right at me, his grin widening as he shifted the blade in his hand. After finding his path, he gripped the weapon tight and dashed toward us, ready to cut us both cleanly in two. Without warning, Paine stepped out from behind me and swung her own sword down, scattering the pyreflies that made up the Shuyin image. Likewise, the girl cowering behind me vanished and the two of us were left in the dark with the surrounding fiends inching closer.
"Let's keep moving." She grumbled, pushing my shoulder as she moved on.
Following the platform was that same long thread of rocky ledges that eventually lead to Omega's platform. As we navigated its climbs and descents, I noticed Paine visibly upset, but I wasn't sure what she was thinking so we just kept moving. Something else that got my attention was the presence that was all around us. I knew I could feel something watching us in the shadows and it wasn't just the fiends that still didn't launch any attack. It had to be Areth, but he wanted us to be seeing that whole thing with Shuyin and that girl before he could be brave enough to show his face.
In the end, my patience wore down and by the platform before Omega, I lost it and shouted, "Okay, enough spying! Get your ass out here now and bring back Yuna while you're at it!"
"Shut it! Have you lost it? We know he's baiting us so let's just keep going. Who knows what he might do to Yuna if we don't let him play out his sick games." Paine scolded, turning back to continue on right after.
I was about to give her an answer, pissed off as I was, but my chance was lost when she ran straight into Shuyin or "Shuyin". At first, Paine dismissed him, but after she realized she couldn't pass through him, she quickly jumped back to where I was and took out her sword.
"You see, the answer lies in whom you fell in love with." "Shuyin" began to say, putting his face extremely close to Paine's, "The treachery of those who betray knows no bounds, not even to love. Isn't that right, Paine?"
After that, his eyes narrowed and focused on the warrior and I could tell she was shaken. Yuna had told me about what Shuyin had done to her before as Nooj who she cared about. Nooj had shot her straight in the chest and she felt betrayed, but then she found out it was actually Shuyin who forced the guy to shoot her and forgave him. Now, even though this was just an illusion of Shuyin created by Areth, those wounds were reopened.
"It'll be okay, Paine. You'll see. I'll bring Spira an eternity of blissful peace and all the betrayals and hate will fade into oblivion." The illusion continued to say, though his voice was weird.
Understanding what was about to happen, I jumped forward and pushed Paine out of the way just in time to catch "Shuyin's" sword with my hands as it came in for a stab. Areth's face suddenly replaced Shuyin's and smirked at me before the entire illusion collapsed and we were back in the dark. Paine was furious after getting back her senses, growling before she ran to the final segment before Omega's platform.
Just as I was about to follow, though, that same girl popped back in front of me and so did creepy Shuyin. As I looked on, I saw the tip of Shuyin's sword emerge from the girl's back, blood spewing from the wound and covering the weapon and Shuyin on the other side. The guy only laughed more, plucking his sword back out like it was just a joke. Then, he looked at his fist, saying a simple, "I was told to rip it out and squash it!" before shoving it into the girl's chest and pulling out her still-beating heart. I looked on horrified as he just watched the heart come to a stop before dropping it on the ground and crushing it under his boot. Taking a look at my hands, I could actually feel the girl's blood all over me, my clothes soaked in it just as much as Shuyin's was. Again, Shuyin just laughed at all of it, laughed while the girl fell to the floor, laughed as he went on with this disgusting murder.
"Still alive? Good… I wouldn't have wanted you to miss this." He said just before he cut off her head.
Picking up the severed head, he walked right to me, staring at it with a sick sneer. Then, he took that look to me, eyeing me up and down, "Pathetic. You could never do what's needed of you. That's why I'll eventually have you all at my mercy."
The image disappeared again and when I confirmed that there was no blood on me, I went to catch up with Paine. By this point, she was already on the platform where we fought Omega Weapon during Yuna's pilgrimage, sword drawn in two very shaky hands. Concerned about her, I stood behind her and held out Brotherhood to be able to cover most of her weakest areas. I didn't need Areth popping up on her when she wasn't ready. It was bad enough what he was doing to her with all the Shuyin illusions.
Still, I had to admit I was confused about it, myself. The messages directed at us directly were obviously that assclown's doing, but what about all the other stuff? Why was that girl always the same? Her clothes made her look so much like Yuna and to have Shuyin murder her like that, it couldn't have been real, could it? Although, Shuyin was worried about something. Was this murder it? Did he really do all this?
"You already know the answer to that." The voice of Areth echoed all around, bringing my full attention back to the ruins.
"Show yourself!" I growled.
"Take it easy. That's what he wants. He seems to excel at getting us off our game." Paine hissed, her voice telling me that she was already suffering from that effect.
"Paine Paine Paine, you'll have your proof soon enough. Or is your newfound faith born out of newfound lo-"
"Are you going to keep ranting or are you going to grow a backbone?" Paine spat.
"The latter." Both of us grew wide-eyed; the answer had come from very close.
I felt a stiff kick to my back just as I heard Paine's gasp. When I recovered, I saw Areth in the distance with a struggling Paine, her feet flailing about while he choked her. His other hand had taken hold of her sword-wielding arm, giving her few options to retaliate. Rushing to her aid, I found myself being assaulted by her weapon when Areth took hold of it with some of his pyreflies. While I was stuck clashing swords, Areth slammed Paine into the back wall, knocking her out before turning back into pyreflies. Other pyreflies then surrounded the blade, turning back into that sadistic Shuyin from the illusions.
"He's not just an illusion, you know." Areth's voice sounded from the darkness, "At one point, this Shuyin brutally murdered my love, Trista."
Blocking a downward slash, I said, "That girl, you mean? Why would Shuyin do that?"
"You know so little about him. Maybe that's why you two are so different. Even Yuna said it, didn't she?"
"Give her back!" I roared, managing to put a clean gash across the illusion's chest.
"I have to say, you do share the same temper, though. That's why I've come to you, only, though. That's actually why I needed to take hold of Yuna. You know, Shuyin let his love for Lenne turn him into a monster. He was so afraid of losing her that he was ready to do anything to keep her alive. In the end, even she didn't want him to go through with it."
"I already heard that story, jackass. Shuyin told me himself that I succeeded where he failed, but we had the same goals. If you and Bevelle hadn't started that war, he wouldn't have had to go nuts like he did." I spat, digging Brotherhood into the illusion's shoulder.
"And I agree about that, believe me. But Shuyin obviously didn't tell you who really wanted the war between Bevelle and Zanarkand. Also, I'm sure he only briefly mentioned what he did to Trista, if he even did that. You have a very unique opportunity, kiddo. You've just seen what Shuyin's capable of. You should know people don't one-eighty that easily."
"Like you? I know enough about you to know that you were always this manipulative. You really think all this storytelling can win me over?" I returned, slicing apart the illusion's sword arm, disarming him for my final blow.
"Hey, you're at the controls, mate. Just remember what fear can do to your perspective." Areth purred.
Without saying anything else, I went for an overhead swing to finish off the illusion. Its pyreflies fizzled as my sword came down and dispersed just in time for me to see Yuna at the center. I stopped Brotherhood just in time and caught her unconscious form in my arms as Areth reappeared in front of us.
"Think this over, T. You are better than him." He said, putting his hand on my shoulder.
"Areth!" I heard my own voice shout.
Back on the path, I saw Rikku and Shuyin racing to reach us. When they did, Shuyin immediately bounded for the guy, swinging down to take him down and nearly hitting Yuna as he did. I pulled away just in time to see that he actually used his Spiral Cut variation, Spin Cut. At such a close range to us, he could've easily hit us, too. Did he not get that? Or did he not care?
"Shuyin, Paine's hurt!" Rikku called over.
"Areth, your business is with me. Leave them out of it." Shuyin said, holding his arms out.
"They got themselves involved the minute they let you in." Areth answered back, beginning to fade into pyreflies. Right before he faded away completely, he turned to me and gave me a wink to confirm his motives.
Shuyin went over to check on Paine as I brought Yuna to them, as well. Rikku, almost on reflex, switched to her and checked on her condition, opting to get everybody back to the airship straight away. Meanwhile, Shuyin started checking the altar behind Omega's platform, lost in his thoughts. When I called him, he just looked back to me, then took a breath, a furrow in his brow like he was thinking about something.
"Let's go." Was all he ended up saying, heading off for the airship and helping Rikku carry Paine.
With Yuna still in my arms, I was left looking at his back in wonder. Shuyin… what is going on?
Author's Note: Just what is Areth's plot? Why is Shuyin being so abrasive about it? His past dealings with Trista and its bloody conclusion has been revealed to the rest of our cast, but he still seems so secretive. Can there be more to Shuyin accepting his new life than meets the eye? Is there really something the former plague of Spira is hiding to keep his own plots under the shadow's veil?