DISCLAIMER: I do not own any locations, characters, or names associated with Final Fantasy X or Final Fantasy X-2. I do, however, own this story J
Author's Notes: This chapter will get into two of the major conflicts in this story. The first conflict involves Allyn and is totally from my own imagination. The second conflict involves Vegnagun and belongs completely to Square-Enix.
Below is chapter 7. Leave a review and let me know what you think J
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SILVER WINGS
by akksgurl
Chapter Seven: Out of Control
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"So how did it go?" Zaon asked the next morning as he and Shuyin ate their breakfast at a table outside of their favorite restaurant. The two always met there once a week since Zaon had gotten his license and it was a tradition that they had continued. The husband of Lady Yunalesca was very anxious to hear how his best friend's date with Lenne had gone the night before. He hoped that, despite Allyn being back in town, that Shuyin would be willing to give it a decent shot with Lenne.
Shuyin took a long drink from his cup of juice before saying, "It was nice."
"Just nice?!" The two men looked in the direction of the voice and smiled when they saw Skirpa and Bruttam sauntering towards them. Skirpa – who had spoken – plopped down in one of the spare chairs with Bruttam in the other and said, "You went out with the hottest thing to hit A-East in years and it was just nice?!"
Shuyin gave them a confident smirk, "Yep. It was nice."
Bruttam placed a hand on Shuyin's arm and looked at him pleadingly, "What we really want to know is, did you get laid?"
"Maybe." Was the blitzer's response. Zaon saw a glint in Shuyin's eyes and smiled a little. He knew that glint. It was when Shuyin was enjoying driving people crazy. Zaon also knew that it wasn't the glint Shuyin got in his eyes after having a date that ended in bed.
Yunalesca would be relieved to know that Lenne's virtue remained intact.
Unfortunately for Shuyin's fellow teammates, they didn't understand the blitzer the way Zaon did and his answer was driving them crazy. Skirpa slammed his hand onto the table, "Maybe?! Either you did or you didn't."
"Come on, Shu!" Bruttam begged, "you gotta spill!"
Shuyin shook his head, "What happened between Lenne and me is our business. It's not yours."
Skirpa and Bruttam looked from each other to Shuyin several times before Skirpa looked at Zaon and asked, "Did Bevelle soldiers kidnap the real Shuyin and put a fake one in his place?"
Laughing, Zaon said, "No, I just think he's growing up a little. That's all."
Skirpa frowned and looked at Shuyin, "I liked the immature you who would spill everything the day after. Did Lenne swear you to secrecy? We won't tell anyone if you tell us. We swear!"
Shuyin shrugged, "I didn't sleep with her." He stated, "We made out for about 20 minutes and then I left." The blitzer leaned forward, "And no, she didn't swear me to secrecy about anything. I was just screwing with you guys."
Bruttam smacked him on the back of Shuyin's head and, as Shuyin rubbed his skull, his friend hissed, "Well, that is just mean."
"Yeah!" Skirpa agreed before adding, "Anyway, I figured she'd make you leave. She doesn't strike me as the type that would go that far on the first date."
"Is that a bad thing?" Zaon asked.
Skirpa shook his head, "Not at all. Besides, Shuyin gets all the easy ass. It's about time he has to work for it."
The three guys started laughing but Shuyin sat with a confident smile on his face and after a few minutes of mirth his friends noticed it. They looked at him questioningly and Shuyin said with a grin, "I didn't say she made me leave."
Zaon looked from Skirpa to Bruttam then finally focused on Shuyin. If he understood what his friend was saying then maybe Skirpa was right. Maybe someone had switched Shuyin with someone else. The Shuyin that Zaon knew never would have left if he thought there was a possibility that he'd get laid. It was a behavior that Zaon had come to expect from Shuyin. He wasn't thrilled with it, but he'd come to expect it. If Shuyin had left even after Lenne asked him to stay…Yunalesca would have no reason to hate Shuyin anymore. That was for sure. Pushing a strand of his blue hair from his face, Zaon asked, "What are you saying?"
"She wanted me to stay." Replied Shuyin, "I said no." It was exactly as Zaon had assumed and his shocked look caused Shuyin to choke on his gulp of juice as he laughed, "It's really not that shocking, Zaon! If I had done what Lenne wanted then I would have run the risk of her hating me and I don't want that." Shuyin wiped some juice from his chin and said, "Besides, even if she didn't hate me, Yunalesca would have had me castrated and I don't want to be a unich, thanks. Especially if Lenne wasn't mad at me."
The blitzer winked and the entire table burst into laughter that was quickly squelched when a voice echoed from behind them.
"Glad to see you're in a better mood today, Shuyin." Allyn said as she approached, running a tapered finger through Shuyin's hair. Shuyin tensed and moved his head as Allyn whispered in his ear, "Heard about your date with the singer. How'd that go?"
Shuyin turned to face the woman behind him. His breath caught for a minute when he realized she was wearing the necklace he'd bought for her but he quickly recovered from the shock and replied, "It went fantastic, Allyn. Best date I've ever had."
The female leaned down a little further and Shuyin tried to hide two distinct feelings at the sight of her cleavage – disgust and desire. Allyn said, "Better than the dates we used to have?" she asked with a lilting tone and a wink.
Shuyin knew she was referring to the non-dates they would have where they wouldn't make it out of her front door before they were ripping clothes off of each other. The memory of those dates was something that Shuyin didn't want to be reminded of. He didn't want to remember how much he'd loved the whore in front of him. It sickened him to think about it. The blitzer gave her a smile and said, "It was 100% better, Allyn."
That was obviously not the answer the woman wanted to hear and she snapped back up and put her hands on her hips as she hissed, "You honestly like that prissy little virgin more than me?!"
"Yes, I do." Was Shuyin's response.
Allyn's eyes caught sight of Lenne and Yunalesca approaching from a few yards away. They were far enough away to see them but not close enough to hear their words. Suddenly a wonderful idea came to her. Grabbing a shocked Shuyin's shoulders, Allyn pressed her lips against his and, although she felt him stiffen, he didn't immediately pull away. She knew that Shuyin couldn't resist her for long. She was just about to congratulate herself when she suddenly realized that he'd shoved her away but before she could react she ended up with her butt firmly planted on the cement. Shuyin glared at her and wiped his mouth hard and purposefully before hissing, "Don't you ever do that again."
She could see Lenne's shock at the entire scene as the songstress and her friend stopped a few feet behind Shuyin. Allyn calmly climbed to her feet, "You used to love that." She said, "You used to love me."
"That was a lifetime ago, Allyn." The blitzer said, "I don't anymore."
It was then that Lenne moved closer to Shuyin and put a hand on his shoulder, "Morning." She said. Allyn felt her fury mount when Shuyin smiled up at the songstress and kissed her gently before saying good morning to her.
Allyn poked Shuyin hard in the shoulder and, when she had his attention, asked, "What? Do you love her now?!" Shuyin's lack of an answer frightened Allyn. There was no way that Shuyin was falling in love with that songstress, right? She leaned over and hissed in Shuyin's face, "She's just a distraction. You'll be running back to me in no time."
"Don't bet on it, Allyn."
Allyn seethed, "I heard you got her a job as the Abes opening act. Couldn't she find something on her own or is she completely helpless?"
It was Lenne's turn to speak. In her sweetest tone, she said, "Why don't you stop worrying about my job and get back to yours. Isn't there a street corner you should be working or something?"
Shuyin let out a laugh and Allyn rolled her eyes, "Laugh it up, Shuyin. The bottom line is, she is just a distraction. You know I'm right." Turning a little, Allyn said, "Good luck in the game tomorrow. I just hope your little girlfriend isn't too much of a distraction." Glaring at Lenne, Allyn walked off in the direction the hover station.
When the furious female was gone, Shuyin patted his lap and said to Lenne, "Have a seat. There aren't anymore chairs." Lenne smiled and accepted his offer with Yunalesca doing the same with her husband. Once Shuyin's arms were safely around Lenne's waist, he said, "I guess I have some explaining to do."
Lenne shook her head, "It's not necessary. Yuna told me everything that Zaon told her last night." She turned a little and smiled at him, "Everybody has a few skeletons. Yours just happens to be in the form of an obsessed ex."
Skirpa made a face, "She's such a slut, I swear. The way she used to rub my thigh all the time…"
"She did that to you too?!" Zaon cried.
Laughing, Shuyin reached for his juice glass, "I think she did that to every man that was nearby. She really is a slut." He took a sip before saying, "She's also totally out of control."
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The city of Bevelle was the second largest in Spira. It was second only to Zanarkand in size and population and it was because of this that Bevelle had taken to hoarding and creating an army of machina. They wanted desperately to top Zanarkand and therefore become the best. Since their location in Spira made extending their city virtually impossible, their only hope was to become the most powerful.
Years ago, Bevelle and Zanarkand had been allies fighting together to defend each other and the sacred mountain, Gagazet, from invaders from Luca and the various Al Bhed nations.
After peace had been brought to Spira and there was no more fighting to be done, the leaders of Zanarkand and Bevelle started to drift apart and eventually the two nations became the bitterest of enemies. The citizens of Bevelle envied the citizens of Zanarkand for their size while the citizens of Zanarkand envied the citizens of Bevelle for their power. The sacred mountain that both nations used to defend together had become the only means of keeping them apart aside from the city of Nagi that sat between the two on a spacious frontier just behind Mt. Gagazet.
That particular morning, the leader of Bevelle and its army, Reiber Ackmard, was going over the most recent report he'd received from his men on their newest machina, Vegnagun. So far Vegnagun had failed every test they'd given it in terms of response and this morning's was no different.
The damned thing seemed to have a mind of its own.
He threw the paper down in disgust and stepped out of his office and onto the balcony to breath in the fresh air. It was beginning to look like using Vegnagun wasn't going to be an option. All the tests indicated that if it was used, the machina would probably destroy Bevelle as well. Reiber couldn't let that happen. Going to war with Zanarkand was years overdue and the fact that Bevelle relied totally on its machina rather than Zanarkand's pathetic reliance upon summoners guaranteed Bevelle's victory. Bevelle had enough machina to make Zanarkand bleed without using Vegnagun.
That colossus was overkill.
No date had been set between himself and his generals on when the invasion would be. His meeting with the leader of Nagi would determine that. Once the treaty allowing Bevelle soldiers to cross Nagi lands was signed, Bevelle could attack their enemy and Zanarkand would be blindsided.
Of course, the invasion also depended on when Reiber's daughter decided to leave the Zanarkand and come home to Bevelle. For reasons Reiber didn't understand, his only child had taken a liking to Zanarkand several years before and moved there against his wishes. He kept telling her that war was inevitable and that he could only hold it off for so long. He wanted to make her understand that once those papers with Nagi were signed, his generals could invade Zanarkand and the bombs could start dropping and there was very little Reiber could do to prevent it. Although he was the leader of Bevelle and, therefore the army, the true power in war belonged to the generals who could override his decisions and demands if they so desired. It was written in the laws of Bevelle and, although Reiber thought it was ridiculous, he couldn't change them. It was to protect the people of Bevelle from a tyrannical leader and if he changed them, he'd have a mutiny on his hands.
Hearing the door to his office open and shut, Reiber turned and was greeted by the sight of his daughter. He rushed back inside from the balcony and cried, "Please tell me that you've come to your senses and are coming home!"
She shook her head, "Honestly, daddy. I'm not finished in Zanarkand yet. You can't blow it up just now."
"Allyn!" Reiber said, "I meet with the Nagi leader today. Once those papers are signed, Zanarkand's fate is sealed. It's only a matter of time."
"Look." Allyn said, "It's taking a little longer than I expected to get Shuyin back. He's distracted by someone. I just need a little more time. Another month or two maybe and he'll be mine again. Then he and I will move to Bevelle and you can start dropping the bombs."
Reiber sighed, "I can't guarantee anything, sweetheart, but I will try." He touched his daughter's hair fondly, "Who is Shuyin distracted by? Who on Spira could be more wonderful than my sweet baby girl?"
Allyn frowned, "Oh, she's positively vile, daddy. A total witch." She pouted a little then got a grin on her pretty face, "But don't you worry. I'll have Shuyin back soon enough and then we'll get married just like we're supposed to."
Smiling, Reiber put a hand on his heart and said, "And I just hope that you don't get distracted by someone like you did with Georg. That guy was a huge mistake, you know."
"I know, daddy. Shuyin's still a little mad about that, but he'll come around when he sees how much I love him and how sorry I am." She looked at her watch, "I need to get going. I've got a hover waiting and those drivers charge by the minute." She laughed and kissed her father on the cheek before saying, "I just need a little time. Stall!"
