Disclaimer: I do not own, or pretend to own, Final Fantasy X-2 and any of the characters, storylines, or other rights that belong to Square Soft and it's copyright holders.

Hello, I am Rose Northe, and this is my first fan fiction. I'd like to apologize in advance for any and all heinous grammatical and spelling errors, as well as any random sentences that make no sense, other sentences that are missing random words, and even random words that are missing random letters (I really should increase my pitiful vocabulary …). First of all, I except any and all reviews, flames and otherwise, and I will always finish my stories so you need not wonder about that. Anyway, I've wasted enough of your time on with the story …

Summery: What if the world in which they live is corrupted and twisted by lies? What if the meeting of the summoner girl and Zanarkandian boy was manipulated to appease those lies? What now would happen when the lies start to corrode away? Will those searching for peace and happiness be then satisfied? Or will they be cast into hell? Eventual Tidus x Yuna Takes place after X-2, minus the ending where Tidus comes back to Yuna. Rated T just in case, steeped more in the dark side of things. Probably most of the characters will be out of character.

Tears of a Forgotten Summoner

Chapter 1: After the End

Just once more …

The man slipped in and out of the shadows, practically invisible to the crowds gathered around the streets of Luca. Although he knew the consequences of being seen and recognized here were dire and more than his already battered body could handle, he still felt the need to risk it.

I need to see her …

Nearly three long years had passed since then. Traveling along with them hadn't been a problem in the beginning, he just played his part and obeyed all he was told to do, even though his very nature screamed at him that it was wrong. The one who orchestrated all this and simultaneously held the man's fate in his hands had deemed it necessary. He had set up a meeting, even made the man go through a background illusion just to make his performance 'real', and leeched off the man's powers to make that girl look like a summoner.

That's all I need …

He had done it so many times before, played a part, manipulating one person or other to make a different decision than they would have originally made. In truth, he had forgotten how many times he had repeated the same scenario.

Make them believe you are who you pretend to be. Don't worry, it won't hurt them. You're only helping them and getting shards of your soul back.

His eyes squeezed shut against those ugly rules and ideas that he had lived by for the last thousand years. Truth be told, he was only in this to regain his soul in its entirety, but somewhere along the way he had seemed to have forgotten exactly why he needed his soul back.

To live? … Hardly.

To die? … Maybe.

To get revenge? … Probably.

He shook his head slightly, trying unsuccessfully to bring his mind back from the ever present trap it was heading for. His chance to live had been stolen years ago. His chance of dying in peace was just as improbable. Revenge … well, everyone he had wanted to pay for what they did were long dead and rotting in their graves. Good enough punishment.

Now he was simply without a purpose. He had hit a wall. No shards of his soul were in sight, maybe they had just stopped existing altogether. Those who had ruined his life and who possessed most of the pieces of his broken aura were missing or already departed to some happy, or fiery, afterlife.

His longing for revenge and insatiable rage was something that he had previously thought constant, but under his latest façade, he found them lessening slightly. Even though he was swathed in one of his most disgustingly false disguises yet, she had somehow found a way to worm her way around his mental armor to get under his skin.

The damn woman, who did she think she was? She was so trusting, kind, loving, beautiful, innocent. It almost made the man sick. Almost. Sweet intoxication had swept over him in waves whenever she was near, making him both fear and adore her. That woman had made him feel (for the first time in centuries) more like himself. The real him, not one of his many guises, but the man behind the mask, the man that he himself had begun to forget.

He nearly chuckled at that, he didn't even know himself at all, did he? Maybe this was his warped equivalent of a mid-life crisis? In all honesty, he didn't know what to call this. He had always been fast on his feet with manipulation, but she was manipulating him better and more completely than he cared to admit.

Was it love? Was it understanding? Was it kinship?

Who knew? Certainly not the person who was feeling this hopelessly tangled mess of emotions.

A wild cheer woke him from his reverie and the man stepped out into the crowd, careful to keep his face covered and head bowed. This was all he needed, all he wanted. He had bled and fought hard for this, her by his side. The peace that reigned supreme was testament to their struggles, and she the symbol of it; the innocent, beautiful creature that had calmed his heart. He had followed the rules, he had played the game of the one who controlled his fate, he had been the tragic hero that saved the day and then faded away into myth …

The man snorted, 'fading' being the operative word, that had been exceedingly hard to pull off, even for him, especially the falling off into thin air part. Being that it was just an illusion and quick sleight of hand, the hardest part had been pulling off the fall, he had to time it just right, too soon and he'd fall right down to the hard earth, too late and he fell all the same.

A wry smile twisted his lips, it was true that he really couldn't die, at least not completely, but he didn't fancy the idea of spending eternity in a million pieces, or splattered all over some sidewalk.

The smile faded, he hated lying to her. Her last words to him had been 'I love you'. Meaning that she loved the guise he donned. She loved a man that didn't exist, and never would. By the same token, he understood why they could never be together, seeing him as the creature he truly was would destroy her.

He was a liar.

Master manipulator.

Summoner.

Murderer.

Demon.

Devil.

Monster.

Abomination.

He was Tidus.

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A/N: Please review! I want your opinions so I can make the story better!

Here's the deal: Review and I update. Don't review and I still update. Review and I update faster. Get it? … Got it … GOOD!

Be safe

Rose Northe