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 is the first chapter where the war is in full swing and death begins.  This is also the chapter which will lead up to the shooting of Shuyin and Lenne.    

Below is chapter 15.  Leave a review and let me know what you think J

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SILVER WINGS

by akksgurl

Chapter Fifteen:  Dreams, Schemes, and Blitzball Teams

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"You know, you're all I can count on to save Lenne."

Shuyin's eyes flew open and he quickly squinted against the morning light that poured in.  He shifted in the small hospital bed that Lenne had suggested he sleep in with her.  It really wasn't made for two people and was proven since Shuyin was wedged between his sleeping girlfriend and the bar on the side of the bed.  After Yunalesca and Zaon had told them that they were at war, Lenne had taken to casting Curaga on herself repeatedly until Shuyin had to pin her arms down to stop her from over casting. 

"You must stop! That's enough!"

Shuyin shook his head hard as he sat up.  He had been having some odd dreams that night, none of which he could remember.  All he knew was that something was going to happen.  He didn't like it.  Lenne's eyes opened as Shuyin climbed out of the bed and she smiled, "Just where do you think you're going, mister?"

Shuyin spun on his heels and smiled at her, "I needed to stretch.  That bed isn't made for two you know."

"You could have slept on top of me," Lenne said with a wink.

Shuyin laughed, "Me on top of you is only comfortable for one thing.  Sleeping isn't it…"

Lenne laughingly agreed and then stretched herself.  After her recovery and subsequent use of Curaga, the nurses had taken the IV's out of her arms and she was healing quite rapidly.  Shuyin had never seen someone cast spells before – not even Yunalesca – and the entire thing frightened him.  It made it all too clear that Lenne was a summoner and if this war got out of hand, she'd be sent to fight. 

His beautiful Lenne rose to her feet next to him and cast another Curaga spell on her wounds before accepting the clothes that Shuyin held for her.  He had brought a change for her in preparation for her awakening and now she greedily grabbed the only clothes that Shuyin could find – her songstress dress.  Lenne dropped her hospital gown to the floor – not even slightly embarrassed by her lack of clothes – and pulled the dress over her head while saying, "So I heard that Allyn replaced the stuff that was stolen."

"That's right."

Lenne straightened her hair and the dress before locking eyes with him, "Why did she do that?  Is it for the reason I think?"

"I know it's hard to believe," Shuyin replied, "but she was shocked that you were attacked.  I don't think she had anything to do with it."

"Morning you two." Zaon said as he and Yunalesca joined them in the room. 

Lenne smiled at her friends and then turned to reach for her shoes, "Any news on the war?"

"It's going strong," replied Yunalesca, "The border troops were demolished last night so Daddy sent reinforcements to try and hold them off.  The last thing we need is Bevelle storming Zanarkand with machina."

Shuyin cocked an eyebrow in surprise, "But I thought your father was working on a secret plan.  I figured he was creating a huge machina army."

Yunalesca groaned and threw her hands in the air, "That would have been the intelligent thing to do," she admitted, "But no.  Daddy has been pouring over his summoning books since the wedding.  He thinks that there is a summon that can stop the war."

Lenne smiled, "That would be nice, wouldn't it?" she said dreamily, "Imagine a summon powerful enough to end a machina war.  It's too bad it doesn't exist."

"Maybe it does." Shuyin said.

Lenne shook her head and her long brown hair fell over her shoulders, "Summons can hold machina off for a while, but they can't defeat them.  Especially not the kind that Bevelle has." She sighed, "That's why I hope Yu has something up his sleeve because otherwise when the other summoners and I are sent to the front lines it will be for nothing."

Shuyin's eyes flashed, "You're not fighting."

"Yeah, Lenne." Yunalesca said, "You don't have to.  The Summoner Army is totally voluntary.  Daddy has already told me that I'm not allowed to fight since he's got a 'greater purpose' for me so there's no reason you have to go either.  We can both do this 'greater purpose' thing together."

Lenne shook her head and looked at all of her friends before finally focusing her eyes on Shuyin, "When I became a summoner, I knew that one day my job would be to defend my home and the people in it.  This is my destiny and I am determined to fight for my country as a summoner.  Come what may…"

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"This is my destiny and I am determined to fight for my country as a summoner.  Come what may…"

She hadn't misunderstood.  That stupid little bitch was actually going to go to her death for her country!  Allyn had to stifle a laugh for fear that one of the four would see her lurking about outside.  She'd come in another attempt to bring herself closer to Shuyin by showing concern for Lenne, but instead she'd stumbled upon the most wonderful news she'd ever heard.  Allyn didn't understand how or why Lenne was up and walking around so soon, but it didn't matter anymore.  She was going to go to war and she was going to die.  Shuyin would be all hers soon.

With a smile on her pretty face, Allyn quickly snuck back out of the hospital without being seen and was halfway across the parking lot when she stopped dead in her tracks.  Her smile faded.  She froze.

There was no guarantee Lenne would die.  What if she didn't?  What if she survived somehow and came back?  Allyn didn't know how long the war would last so there was no guarantee that she'd have enough time to win back Shuyin's heart before it ended and Lenne returned and stole him again.  There had to be a way to guarantee…

The idea hit her like a bolt of lightening to the brain.  It was simple.  It was brilliant.  It was brilliant in its simplicity.  This sort of thing happened all the time and there would be no reason Shuyin would connect it to her.  Even if it did, she could tell him that she did it to keep Lenne safe which – in essence – she was.  It was perfect!! 

Quickly hailing the first taxi that crossed her path, Allyn made her way to the hoverstation and Bevelle.  She needed Benedict's help with this.  He had sworn to help her and she was going to make sure he followed through.  Although she was a little concerned about him following orders, the concern was quickly banished.  This was something that even Benedict couldn't screw up.  Besides, if for some reason he got overzealous and killed Lenne…summoners die all the time.  No big deal…

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Lenne's first steps into her house were nervous at best.  She hadn't been there since the attack and was nervous although Shuyin was right behind her.  She felt his hand on her back and took comfort in knowing that he wouldn't leave.  Her hand trembled as she touched the doorknob and finally let it fall away, "I'm not ready yet." She said, "I really just want to relax for a little.  Can we go to your house instead?"

Shuyin nodded, "Anything you want, beautiful."

The couple smiled at each other and then climbed back into Shuyin's car for the short ride to his house.  Lenne felt more comfortable entering Shuyin's living room than her own and promptly kicked her shoes off and spun around with her arms extended before running to him and wrapping those arms around his neck, "Make love to me."

"Later," Shuyin said, "I want to talk about the war first.  You're not seriously considering going are you?"

Lenne's eyes took on a stern light and she dropped her arms to her side and stepped back, "I'm not considering, Shuyin.  I've decided.  It's my job and I'm going.  End of discussion."

"No, not 'end of discussion'.  This is crazy!"  Shuyin grabbed her arm, "Doing your job doesn't mean sacrificing yourself for people who aren't even going to remember your name!"

Lenne pulled her arm away from Shuyin and glared at him, "So now you think I'm crazy?"

"No!" cried Shuyin, "but I think that going to war is stupid.  Especially when you don't have to."

"Oh!  So I'm stupid and crazy now!" she shrieked and turned her back to him and began walking back toward the bathroom, "I'm going to take a shower, okay?"

Shuyin stood stunned at how she had dismissed him so abruptly.  As the door to the bathroom closed he scowled.  No way, it wasn't ending there.  He was going to talk her out of this suicide mission and that was the end of it.

Storming over to the door he flung it open and stepped inside.  Wearing only her underwear, Lenne's hair hung over her shoulders and she stood in the middle of the bathroom with a frown on her face, "I don't remember saying you could join me." she said, turning her back to him.  She pulled the rest of her clothing off of her body and then looked over his shoulder, "Could you leave please?"

 "I don't think so, m'lady." Shuyin replied as he pulled her naked body back to press against him, "This is my house and I say that we're going to talk about this first."

Lenne struggled away from him and put her nose in the air with the feeling of self-importance as she stepped into the shower and slammed the door shut behind her.  She didn't hear Shuyin's retreating footsteps and knew he still stood just outside.  She hated arguing with him and fully understood his upset and anger at her decision, but it was her decision.  He had to accept that.  Turning on the water she let the hot spray rush down her body and as she reached for the soap she heard the door fling open. 

Turning in surprise, Lenne saw that Shuyin had stripped down and joined her.  Her eyes flew open in shock as he handed her the soap, "If you insist on showering before talking, I've decided on a compromise.  We shower while we talk."

"There's nothing to talk about." Lenne said firmly as she turned her back to him.  The feeling of his strong arm around her waist aroused her immediately and the feel of his lips on the back of her neck caused a small moan to escape her lips. 

Spinning her around to face him, Shuyin grinned down at her, "I love that sound you make when you're horny."

"I don't make a sound." Lenne insisted, embarrassed that he noticed something like that about her, "and I'm not horny."

"Are you sure about that?" Shuyin asked as he lathered his hands, "You asked me to make love to you no more than five minutes ago."

Lenne's breathing became staggered as he moved his soapy fingers over her breasts, "That was before you called me crazy and stupid." She managed.

"I didn't call you crazy and stupid, I called the action that." His fingers slipped between her thighs and Lenne let out a louder moan.  Shuyin smiled at her, "Still mad at me?"

Lenne shook her head incoherently as his fingers moved slowly over her.  He slowly reached around her and turned the water off but before Lenne could ask why, he had lifted her up in his arms and was carrying her into the bedroom.  Laying her softly onto the bed, Shuyin rose above her and Lenne welcomed him.

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The trip to Bevelle was short and Allyn was the first to climb out of the hover onto Bevelle soil.  She knew that the longer the war went on, the harder it would be to get back and forth to Bevelle, but she had to make this last trip.  It was of the utmost importance. 

Her feet slapped against the pavement as she ran toward the palace and into the soldier's quarters and Benedict's office.  Shoving the door open she barged in as Benedict looked up at her with a smirk, "The lovely Miss. Ackmard.  To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Allyn sneered at him, "I've got a job for you, Benny." She replied as she leaned seductively over his desk giving the commander full sight of her breasts, "and I intend on making it worth your while."

"As much as I would love to help you, Allyn," Benedict replied, "I have my work cut out for me with this war so I can't help you scare Lenne anymore."

Allyn shook her head and ran a long finger over Benedict's jawline to connect his eyes with hers, "This little job will coincide with the war." Having effectively grabbed his attention, Allyn took the opportunity presented to walk around his desk and prop a long leg up on his desk, drawing her skirt higher upon her thigh to give him a look at her leg.  She knew that Benedict longed for her and she would use that information to her advantage.  Smirking, she said, "I need you to kidnap her."

"Kidnap her?  How does that coincide with the war?" Benedict asked, though not taking his eyes off of her thigh.

"Well," replied Allyn, "Lenne is a summoner.  Zanarkand's summoners will be going to war shortly.  Take her as a POW when she's there." Benedict's eyes left her thigh and joined her green orbs as she continued, "I don't care what happens to her after that.  Just keep her alive.  That way if this is traced back to me, I can tell Shuyin that I did it for her safety."

Benedict smiled, "And if she doesn't come back, you get Shuyin…"

"Right," Allyn agreed, "but either way, I have him to myself for a while."

Benedict slowly ran a hand up her thigh and inched his way up her skirt but never took his eyes from hers, "And what will I get in return?"

"If you have to ask," replied Allyn, "you're not as smart as you think you are."

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Later, Shuyin and Lenne separated and dressed slowly on opposite sides of the bed.  Neither had spoken of the war or her possible involvement although the conversation hung in the air unspoken.  Lenne rounded the bed first and headed toward the door that led back to the living room, "How about I make us something to eat?"

Shuyin nodded his assent and followed her but the couple only got so far as the living room when Shuyin grabbed her arm, "I don't want you to."

"No food?" Lenne asked.

"You know what I'm talking about," replied Shuyin, "I won't let you go to war."

Lenne's eyes flashed and she pulled her arm away from Shuyin as she stormed across the room before finally turning to face him, "You won't let me!  Who in Spira do you think you are?  You can't tell me what to do, Shuyin!"

"You are my girlfriend!  I don't want…Lenne, I don't want to lose you!" Shuyin crossed closer to her, "I almost lost you and I couldn't deal with it if I actually did.  I think I'd go crazy!"

Lenne downcast her eyes and put her hands on her hips, "It's my job, Shuyin." She replied, "You left me to go to your job and I was attacked!  Is your job more important than mine?"

"Wait just a second!" hissed Shuyin, "Are you saying you blame me for your being attacked?"

Lenne shrugged, "Maybe if you'd have been here the attacker would have just had two people to stab.  Then again, maybe if you'd have been here, I wouldn't have been hurt!  We'll never know, will we?"

Shuyin threw his hands in the air and let out an exasperated yell, "I can't believe this!" he cried, "You blame me!  You're trying to make me feel guilty so that I will let you go to war!"

"I'll go to war," hissed Lenne, "whether you let me or not."

"Oh no you won't!"

"Oh yes I will!"

Shuyin scowled at her and opened his mouth to respond when he caught a look at the clock.  It was 3:45pm.  His eyes widened, "Oh shit!  I'm 45 minutes late to practice!"

Lenne spun around to look at the clock, "I'm supposed to be there today too!"

Grabbing his blitzball bag from the corner, he opened the door and looked at Lenne, "We'll finish this conversation after practice.  Come on."

The ride to the stadium was tense and silent.  The couple stared out of the windshield and didn't speak to each other.  Neither wanted to admit that they knew where the other was coming from.  Lenne didn't want to go to war and was secretly grateful that Shuyin was so worried about her.  Shuyin understood where Lenne was coming from, but he didn't want anything to happen to her.

Pulling into the parking lot, Shuyin rounded the car to let Lenne out and then grabbed his bag from the backseat.  The two walked in tense silence toward the stadium when Shuyin stopped her, "I love you.  That's why I'm like this, you know."

Lenne nodded, "I know that, Shuyin.  I lo…"

A deafening sound from the sky stopped Lenne in mid-sentence and caused both Shuyin and Lenne to look up.  Streaming down from the sky was what looked like a huge meteor.  Shuyin's eyes caught the retreating lights of an airship and before he could voice his realization of what was falling from the sky, the bomb hit with full force and knocked Shuyin and Lenne backward on the parking lot.  Their lungs filled with smoke and the heat of the fire ignited by the explosion touched their skin as they sat up on the pavement.  Shuyin's eyes adjusted to the light around him as he realized what had happened.

The bomb had landed directly on the blitzball stadium in which the Zanarkand Abes were practicing.  What had once been the center of entertainment in Zanarkand was now a pile of burning rubble. 

A scream of anguish echoed in Shuyin's ears and it took him a moment to realize that the sound came from him.