Disclaimer: All characters and situations from the games FFVIII and FFX are property of Squaresoft. I do not claim ownership of any of them. However, I do own any characters that I created myself or my co-author, i.e. Vira Eronwil, Dorin Vachon, Kravis, etcetera. That's about it. You know the drill. We do this for fun and no profit.

Chapter 5
Reunion, Part I

"Hell is other people." - No Exit, Jean-Paul Sartre


1. Hurtful Truth, Shattered Illusions


"It's Vira!" Rinoa repeated as she knelt down next to Vira, pushing away the blade. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

Vira blinked a few times. "What?" She shook her head a few times, putting a hand to her forehead. "Must've had enough to cause damage or somethin..." she muttered to herself. They had to be illusionsthere was no way that it could be real. Vira couldn't wrap her head around the concept. She wasn't Xanawhy would anyone think that? How? She died. Wouldn't they know that? It must've been all the whiskey. It was giving her a violent reaction. No one was there. Not her friends.

No, that was a lie. A comforting lie. Even through the inebriation Vira knew that the worst had happened. How could they not believe in her enough to know she'd survive? Why would they believe in her mother before her? What kind of friends were those? Vira's common sense was slipping, the alcohol making her feel a bit nauseous, and was beginning to feel like her world was crumbling around her. Everything stopped making sense. What a freakin fabulous day it'd been. It made Vira want to scream out of frustration, but she didn't have the energy.

Rinoa smiled slightly. "Not quite," she said, helping Vira into a sitting pose.
"Feel better?"

Vira blinked and shook her head. "Soyou're really Rinoa"

"Yes I am."

"And that's really Quistis, Squall, and Seifer."

"Yes."

Vira sighed. "Shit."

"We thought you were Xana," Quistis said quietly.

In her sitting position, Vira felt around to see where her bottle had fallen to. Oh, what a fortunate day, it hadn't broken when she'd been knocked down. Vira reached over and grabbed the bottle, taking in a large sip. She wiped the excess from her mouth and frowned. That feeling of hurt was being clouded over by anger. How could they? The only thing worse than jumping her in an alley is if all of them had beaten her down and killed her. That would've been the only way it could be worse. Vira was having enough damn trouble separating herself from her mother due to the sorceress power's she'd inherited. She didn't need her old friends making the trouble of the distinction between the two as well. Viradead as a goddam doornail. Her ghost might be making Vira feel insane, but no one else saw her. Xana was dead. So much for the illusion of having her friends come looking for her-not her mother-and saying how much they missed her and were so happy to see her. A delusional dream right down the tube. Fantastic.

"That's very encouraging," she finally said.

"We're sorry," Rinoa said apologetically. "We've been traveling all around Spira for the past few days, and we've been hearing about an 'evil sorceress'. So we thought Xana had somehow survived."

"And you didn't think it was me?" Vira asked, perplexed and angry.

Squall shook his head. "We knew you wouldn't be doing all the things they said you were."

Vira sighed again. "Figures."

Of course, they'd only hear the bad stories and none of the good ones. End up just like the stupid old woman and her happy mob of anti-sorceress morons. Good job, guys. Very objective. Maybe you should've talked to the bartenderMr. My-Name-Rhymes-With-A-Whiskey.

"We heard about this incident outside the stadium earlier today..." Squall started.

Vira snorted. "Oh, right. That thing. Boy, that sure was fun."

Fun in the sense of complete and utter freak out. Yeah, great. Now Vira had her problems multiplied by ten. Enemy to crazy old ladies and their mobs, insane and seeing ghosts, drunk, andattacked by the first friends she ever had! If there was a way to make Vira's day any better, she'd loved to hear it. Open to suggestions. Perhaps another mob could jump out and help Squall, Rinoa, Seifer and Quistis beat Vira up. Bring the kids, see the amazing Vira who can easily be mistaken for her bitch mother, Xana! Vira chuckled bitterly. Wouldn't that be funny.

"The people we heard were saying that shefroze people, and it just didn't sound like you," Squall finished. He looked at the bottle in Vira's hand. "That and you didn't seem like someone who'd be in a bar at night."

"Shows what you know then, doesn't it?" she replied. Showed what Vira knew about her friends, too, she supposed. "Sorry, but you can't have any."

Rinoa giggled. "Looks like you've had a bit much yourself. Do you have a room at the hotel? We can talk more there if you'd like."

Vira frowned and pushed herself to her feet, wobbling a bit. "Yeah, I'm expected at the hotel. Hours late. So thanks for dropping by. Next time, feel free to just drop the formalities and go right for the kill."

"Vira?" Quistis began.

"Vira, we're sorry!" Rinoa exclaimed.

Vira rolled her eyes as she stumbled out of the alley. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Got it. Look, I've had a really bad day, and I'd like to get to bed before some other catastrophic event comes to bother me."

"We didn't mean tohonestly, we didn't know it was you until-" Rinoa started.

"It was too late," Vira finished, her mouth set in a thin line. Enough with all of that. Apologies and 'I-So-Sorry's only worked for so long, and Vira was definitely not in the mood to hear about it. Damage was done. Her confidence in her friends was at an all time low, and all Vira wanted to do was crawl into her bed and sleep everything off, hoping it'd be a nightmare in the morning. Sure, they didn't mean to. Yeah, they're sorry. Didn't change it. Vira didn't understand what kind of SeeDs were they if they couldn't even figure out who she was. For the first time Vira could remember in a very long time, she felt betrayed. That was the price she paid for trying to be friends to people. Maybe things would look better in the morning when she wasn't sodrunk, but now, they hurt. Badly. And the only weapon Vira had left to communicate how she felt was biting sarcasm. So she used it. "Uh huh. Well, I'm just brimming with the confidence in staying alive you all have in me. I'm so brimming with it, I think I'll go sleep some of it off. Say hi to the others for me."

Before another lying word came out of their mouths, Vira walked off towards the hotel, though her walking pattern was getting more erratic by the moment. Rinoa watched her leave, her face full of guilt and pain for not seeing it before. Squall looked at Rinoa. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll see her tomorrow at the hotel," he said.

Rinoa turned to him, her eyes glassing over. "How can you be so cool about this? You said she was one of the easiest people to talk to that you ever knew. And we just made her feel like we betrayed her. How can you just stand there and be so calm?!"

"Because someone has to be. I don't like it. We messed up badly. But nothing we say now will get through to her. She's angry, upset, and very drunk by the looks of things. It would only get worse if we tried to talk to her more" Squall paused and sighed, his expression going softer and sad. "It's not like I don't feel bad about it. I do. I missed her a lot, and now I'm worried she won't speak to me, or us, again."

Quistis hugged herself, rubbing her hands up her arms compulsively. "I should have known. I don't make mistakes like that. I thought I knew" She hung her head down. "I can't believe we did that."

Seifer frowned, heaving his gunblade over his shoulder. "Eronwil's always been tough, from what I saw, she'll get over it. It's not like I actually drew blood with her or anything. You guys stopped it before anything really bad happened."

Rinoa walked up to Seifer and smacked him on the back of his head. "That's not the point and you know it! What we did made her feel betrayed. It didn't matter how far we went. Iguess I can understand how she feelsYou wouldn't like it if your old friends just came out of nowhere and mistook you for an evil relative of yours, would you? Mistaken for a Sorceress's Knight again?"

Seifer's frown deepened. "No," he replied. He looked around at the group and sighed. "Let's just find Selphie, Irvine, Zell and Dorin. I've screwed up and I'd like to go sleep it off if you don't mind."

Quistis nodded. "Yes, I think things will be clearer in the morning. Maybe Vira will feel better."

The four walked out into the street, once again bathed in the soft yellow lamplight. Rinoa sighed and grabbed Squall's arm for support. "I hope soI wouldn't want to lose her as a friend as soon as we got her back" she said softly.

*****

Vira stumbled towards the hotel, frustrated, angry, and confused. How could they have gotten here? And why didn't they know it was her? If they were her friends, they should've recognized her immediately. It didn't take a genius to tell the two of them apart. Xana always seemed tallermaybe that was just because of how nuts she was. And she always seemed to be standing on something high up. But her hair! Vira had blond streaks. What kind of idiot can't see that?!

She went to tug at her hair, and realized her hood was still up. Growling, Vira tugged it down. Now that would've made it a problembut Xana had a fondness for dresses that Vira would never have. Dresses? Those things totally sucked. No one could fight with those. She never understood how Quistis and Selphie had been able to do it with their skirts and jumpsuits. Since when would Xana change into a nifty little pants ensemble?

As Vira drew nearer to the glowing lights of the hotel, her frustration grew. She let out an irritated noise that sounded half like a groan and half like a growl. Her emotions were kicking into high gear for once, with the whiskey helping it along. Vira knew that it was a rarity for her to go off on such a tangent with her emotions, at least on the outside. Most of the time, her pain was inside and she didn't let it out sovehemently. Vira always thought she was a calm and collected person, but her self control was gone. Her bad day had to rank among the worst of bad days there were. Her nausea was getting worse, her head was beginning to ache, there was just no end to the problems cropping up. Everything had seemed so clear a few hours ago. Make the demons go away. Make Xana and Dorin's apparitions disappear. Hide from the crowds that hated her. It all had been working. Her day had been bad before this, but she had been managing. She had been dealing with itin a manner of speaking. But then the demons turned into real people, and the whiskey was taking its toll fast. How could her plansand her emotionstake such an awful turn in such a short time?

Vira didn't think it was fair. But, she then relented that nothing in her life ever seemed all that fair. This was just making matters worse.

"Some friends," she muttered as she walked into the hotel, stumbling more noticeably this time, her stomach beginning to do somersaults. "Ooooh, maybe Rinoa was right, I guess I did have too much..."

She glanced around the lobby, her eyelids getting heavier by the second, trying to find the staircase. The plush red sofas that lined either side of the room were empty, everyone already having gone to bed. The front desk was busy, though. A man in black stood at it, arguing with the man behind the desk. The front deskman looked annoyed, his lips pursed.

"I don't care who she's traveling with, I just want to know what room she's in!" The man in black demanded at the front desk. His voice was familiarit was a voice with an aristocratic accent and forceful tone

Vira looked at the man as he turned around, and for an instant, they made eye contact.

"Vira?" Dorin whispered.

Not now, thought Vira. Got rid of the ghosttalking to the deskmanreal? This is too muchnot all at once

"Dorin?" Vira mumbled. Her senses finally gave out from under her. Reality and her insanity were blurring in front of her, as did her vision. Darkness crept in from the sides, and her legs gave out from under her. There was only so much she could take. Her limit had been more than reached. Vira slipped into unconsciousness in a heartbeat.

Dorin caught her just in time as she passed out. From the smell of her, she'd been hitting the alcohol. And hard. Sighing, Dorin hefted her into his arms and turned back to the man behind the counter. "Now, which room did you say she was in?"

The man frowned and pointed to the stairs. "Room 117. I will notify her traveling companions of this. They were expecting her hours ago."

Dorin nodded and turned to go upstairs. Well, he mused to himself, it could've been worse


2. Tomorrow It May Change


Vira opened her eyes slowly and closed them again when she realized how heavy they felt. She put one hand on her forehead and groaned. That was one massive headache she had. Definitely no more drinkin-paloozas for Vira. She tried opening her eyes again, and found it easier this time. Vira was staring at the ceiling of her hotel room, though her vision was a little fuzzy.

Waithow'd she get back to the hotel? Something was off, more so than all the whiskey she'd taken in. Vira tried to remember the night beforefight with crazy old woman? Check. Hide for hours? Check. Go to bar and drink? Check.

There was a blank, dark space between when she left the bar and the new day that laid before her. Must be what people affectionately called a 'hangover.' Duh. It bothered Vira that there was a span of time she couldn't account for, it left her feeling like there was a hole in her head. But, she figured it would come back. Sometime. Sometime later.

A knock at the door came, and Vira flinched. It felt like a small moggy construction crew was taking a jackhammer to the inside of her skull.

"Hooibit" was her muffled reply as she drew the covers over her head.

Wait, it must be Yuna with the 'wake up brigade' of Rikku. Who else would it be?

"Yuna, I'm really not feeling too good right now, it'll have to wait," Vira said from under the covers. "Unless it's the magical hangover taking away fairy. If that's the case, send her the hell in."

Yuna chuckled as she walked in. "I don't think that's in the job description of a what I do, but I think I can try" She cast a healing spell over Vira which did wonders, getting rid of the headache and most of the grogginess in one go.

Vira poked her head out of the covers and sat up. "Thanks," she said, holding her forehead in her hand again. "Sorry about missing dinner. It woulda been too hard to lay low in a giant hotel restaurant."

"Yes, I suppose it would," Yuna replied, sadly. "Though, you should've come to us when it happened. It's a terrible shame what they did. People can be very close minded sometimes! Spira's always had a problem of people being blind to the truth of a matter"

Vira nodded. "Yeah. That's true. Sorry. I'll make sure to let you know next time a mob decides to take me on."

Yuna sighed. "Rikku certainly knew what she was saying when she told us to be incognito." She paused. It was obvious to Vira that this bothered Yuna, deep inside. But she pushed it away and put a pleasant smile on her face. "Anyway, feeling up to some breakfast? They're serving some in the café, and I'm pretty sure no one will attack you while you're eating."

"Sure, sure," Vira said. "That's what they always say, but then a meteor crashes into the cafe and crushes me while I'm eating."

Yuna shook her head and smiled. "What a lovely sense of optimism you have."

"I try," Vira replied, wryly. "I'll be down in a minute. You go ahead."

Yuna nodded, walking to the door. "Don't take too long, or Rikku will eat all the waffles without you."

Vira smirked. "I'll remember that."

Yuna nodded. "And you must thank your friend that carried you up to us too. He was very polite and said that he was an old friend of yours."

Vira frowned and stared at Yuna intently.

Old friend? What the hell does that mean? They're all back home doing whatever the hell they're doing

"What? I don't have any old friendsnot here"

Yuna quirked an eyebrow. "He was dressed in all black and had some sort of uniform on. I believe you mentioned him before"

Vira sighed and shook her head. Yuna was being weird too, and Vira wasn't in the mood to deal with it. Everything could wait until later. A little perspective on the day. And getting the hell out of Luca would be nice, considering how they didn't seem all that hospitable to Vira. "Whatever. I'll deal with it later. Just go ahead. If you don't, Rikku will have eaten her own weight in waffles, I'm sure."

Confused, Yuna nodded again. "Alright then. See you downstairs," she said, opening the door and disappearing behind it.

Vira stared at the door for a moment. She scoffed at it. "My insanity won't be a problem now that Spira's gone nutso itself"

Vira looked around her room, looking for her boots and coat. They'd ended up on the other side of the room, the coat draped on a chair, and the boots placed carefully underneath. Vira frowned. Her memory of the night before was hazy at best. She went over the events of the day before in her mind again. Being attacked by a mob, yeah, she remembered that, getting a disguise and hiding for a good several hours, yep that too, going into the bar and drinking a lot of whiskey from a bartender named Dravilyeah, that too. But there was an inbetween time. After she left the barwell, damn. That's what you get for drinking. Vira sighed and figured that if it was really important, she'd remember it eventually. And maybe by the time she got down to breakfast, Yuna would make some more sense.

After lacing up her boots, Vira threw on her new coat, and stood in front of the full length mirror, buttoning it up. There was no way she'd wear the "come persecute me!" walking target wear from the day before. Maybe in Besaid, but not in Luca.

Vira frowned. What was it she was forgetting? And why did it bother her so much? Why did the pit of her stomach nag at her? She hadn't felt like there was something locked away in her mind since the memories of her childhood had flooded back into her consciousness in her nightmares. It had been important then. Why did it seem so important now? Why was that same feeling ebbing at the edges of her mind?

Sighing, she shrugged it off as nerves and left the room and walked to the stairs leading down to the lobby, where at the foot stood-

"Ohhhh hell" Vira muttered.

In the bar, drinking had made the apparitions of Dorin and Xana go away. Before that, Vira was never quite sure what did it. But, Vira hoped that closing her eyes would do the trick this time, because she was definitely not in the mood to listen to some cryptic nonsense given to her by a Dorin look-alike who would turn into Xana in the blink of an eye. He was smiling at her, as if he'd been waiting for her there. It wasn't the best way to kick off the morning. And in public, it just made Vira feel more insane. She'd get rid of it.

"Not there, not there. Stupidit is" she mumbled to herself.

She shakily descended the stairs, trying to ignore the Dorin phantom. It smiled at her again slightly and nodded to her. "Vira"

Vira scowled. It was still smiling.

Oh, yeah, I'm sure the whole going on a bender was really funny to it. No doubt it will start going on about how hilarious it was.

Vira sighed and continued towards the café.

The ghost blinked as she walked past. "UhmVira?"

Vira sighed again, this time in an exasperated tone. It sure as hell wasn't going to leave her alone until she said something. Wonderful way to start the day. How come everything was beginning to get difficult again? Hadn't she deserved a longer rest than this? If you could even count the last two years a rest. "If what you're going to say is about how funny yesterday was for you, then shove it. Not interested. Besides, talking to someone else no one can see is not very good for sanity. So move along," she whispered harshly, though she never looked directly at the apparition. It'd be worse if she did. Looking into Dorin's eyes used to make her stomach clench and twist, but in a good way. His eyes had always been the most expressive things about him. Even if his face was set in this expression of stone, she could still see something in his eyes. The apparition's eyes would just be a mockery of what Dorin was. Vira couldn't take that.

The ghost said nothing, though it seemed rather hurt by what she said. She didn't care, it wasn't real. She smiled to herself. That ought to show Xana. That's right. She wasn't gonna take shit from something that wasn't real. Even if she had to suffer the rest of her life with a ghost of her mother that decided sometimes it'd be fun to look like Dorin, she could not take it lightly. If she couldn't get rid of it, she'd make damn sure it wouldn't have fun with her problems.

Vira continued towards the restaurant, but then paused for a second. None of what she said had ever botheredwhatever the hell the thing wasbefore. Why would it be hurt now? Vira let out a frustrated groan. She wanted to scream, but it was definitely the wrong place to do so. Going back to bed and waiting until the world made sense again was beginning to seem like a very good idea. For some reason, from the moment she'd woken up, everything was wrong, nothing added up, and even her own signs of insanity were being weird. What the hell was going on?

Luca's hotel had a pleasant restaurant for their guests, with the same red decor as the lobby and lounge. Light wood tables with matching chairs were all around the room. Each chair looked comfortable with garnet colored cushions on them. A few potted plants stood proudly in the corners, with a wall of windows on either side, letting in the beautiful morning sunshine. In the back were double doors, colored a very non offensive gray to match the walls, with two circular windows in them, obviously leading to the kitchen. People were already settled into their tables, eating, drinking, and Vira was sure she could hear some people towards the back laughing. It was comforting in a certain way. Yuna and Rikku were sitting, sharing some idle chitchat at one of the tables in the middle of the room. Yuna was cutting a waffle on her plate into little pieces and popping them in her mouth inbetween moments of speech on her part. Rikku took a more direct approach as she drenched her waffles in butter and syrup, taking the entire waffle by the fork and taking big bites of it.

"Vira? You okay there?" Rikku asked as she sat down, her waffle sagging off her fork.

Vira slumped into her chair, frowning. "Not exactly. Nothing is making a whole lot of sense and I just woke up. Makes me doubt how well today is gonna turn out. Sohow about you?"

Rikku shrugged. "Okay I guess. By the way, the guy who carried you up to your room last night? Very hot." She winked at Vira, giggling.

Vira's jaw dropped. Well, that certainly explained how she got back the hotel. "Say what? What guy?"

"The man in black I was telling you about before," Yuna said. "I passed him on the way down, you should have seen him."

"Uhhwas I supposed to?" Vira asked. A sense of dread was creeping up on Vira, like she knew she'd just made a colossal mistake.

Rikku sighed in exasperation. "I just saw you walk right past him! He smiled and said something to you but you ignored him!"

Vira was now utterly confused, and suspected that embarrassment would be just a second away. How could she mistake that man for an apparition of Dorin? Well, easily considering she'd been seeing things, and Dorin was probably doing something official in Draconia as she ate her breakfast. Still, a big mistake was looming over Vira's head. "I did? I didn't think there was anyone there"

"Yes you did, and he looked pretty hurt after you past by," Rikku replied.

"I saw him leave after you past," Yuna said. "Did you say something to him?"

"Well" Vira started.

Shit. Way to go, Vira. Screw up again. Smart. Insult the guy who dragged you back into the hotel when you obviously passed out from the booze. Good one. Freakin idiot

"Ithat aren't there. It's...a sorceress thing, I guess. I" Vira smacked herself in the forehead, and quickly pushed her chair back and stood up. "Where'd he go? I think I just did something stupid."

"I think he left the hotel, ya better hurry," Rikku said. Vira jumped up and ran into the lobby. He wasn't there, and she raced to the door. She couldn't let the man get away without apologizing. It would bother her to no end. She'd brood about it and get that frowny face she got, and she already had enough to deal with, what with the missing time from the night before and finding lost friends. More than enough. Vira needed to apologize. She sighed. That was the theme of her life, it seemed. And what was she supposed to say anyway? 'Sorry, I mistook you for someone I knew a few years agowell, just an apparition of him actually.' Oh, yeah, that sounds perfect. Vira rolled her eyes at herself. Sorry, plain and simple would have to do it. There, outside near the edge of the street that overlooked the ocean, she saw him standing, hands behind his back as if in thought.

"Hey!" she called out, momentarily forgetting she didn't want to attract attention to herself. "S'cuse me! I wanted to apologize about a few minutes ago, Ithought you were someone else" Vira ran the rest of the distance over to him, and tapped him on the shoulder. "S'cuse me"

He didn't turn to face her, but kept staring out into the ocean. "Has it been that long that you've forgotten about me?" he asked. His voice sounded muffled over the noise of the crowd around them.

"Huh?" Vira said, confused. "Forgotten?"

What? Did I save this guy from something?

"Do you even recognize me?"

Vira frowned slightly. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure I've seen the back of that head before" She rolled her eyes, then she sighed. "I said I was sorry, okay? I thoughtit's hard to say what I thought, but I guess the simplest explanation is that I thought you were something else. My friends told me you brought me back to my room last night and I wanted to thank you. I really can't remember much of last night. So, sorry, and thank you."

He turned to look at her, and Vira's throat caught. It couldn't be, it had to be a hallucinationbut she knew she wasn't, not this time. Was this what she forgot? It was amazingnever had she thought she'd run into him like this. She'd hoped she'd see him again someday, but it was sooner than she had though. Dorin was real, and he was standing there in front of her. Vira was shocked. Utterly shocked.

"Dorin?" she muttered.

Dorin smiled sadly. "Yes."

Vira stumbled over her own words, and felt very stupid while doing so. This hadn't happened before. There was that urge to just hug him and tell him she missed him all this time, but there was a lot holding back. She couldn't do it. What held her back?

The nightmare. She hadn't had it the night before, but she had the night before that, and the night before, and so on. The image of his face before he died at her hands came to the forefront of her mind. He might be standing in front of her, but in the end, it'd just be better if she kept her distance. She wouldn't want to hurt him. It was the smartest decision to make.

But, she was definitely feeling very stupid at the moment. How could she not know it was really him? "Ioooh, sorry"

Dorin let out a heartfelt sigh. "It's alright. I suppose after this long it can't be helped."

"Well, it's not exactly what you thinkI mean, uhm" Vira sighed. "I wouldn't be able to explain it without sounding completely nuts. Though, that might be a bit of an improvement of me in your opinion" She strained a nervous chuckle. Dorin was finally in front of her and what had she done? Act like a complete nutso and hurt his feelings. Oh, good show. Vira couldn't believe how much of an idiot she was. Words wouldn't describe it.

Dorin smirked and shook his head. "I suppose. I guess there's a lot we need to talk about don't we."

Why don't you be more nervous? Try stumbling over more words, I'm sure it'll make him feel more at ease. What the hell is your problem? You never had a hard time talking to anyone before, even him. Bring it together, girl, and be yourself...y'know, the crazy one.

"Uhhyeah, I think there is. Lots of questions, and such," Vira replied. "Ihave some people waiting for me inside, thoughwhy don't you come along?"

Dorin nodded. "Of course."

Vira motioned towards the hotel and started walking. "Heh, I probably shouldnt've been so noisy," she said, glancing around. "Coulda had yesterday all over againhow've you been?"

'How've you been?' Could you possibly find a stupider question to ask? Two years and the best question you come up with is that? You suck. Idiot. Moron. Surprised he even wants to talk to me.

"I've been well," Dorin replied. "The others should be coming by soon. They'll want to talk to you as well."

"Others?" Vira asked, frowning.

"Yes. Squall, Rinoa, and the rest are here as well."

Inside the restaurant, Vira saw Yuna and Rikku waving at them to come over. Vira walked over to them, but the strange feeling that something was off was bothering her again. "Are they? Listen, I heard from my friends that you brought me up to my room last night, and I honestly can't remember it. I must've been pretty out of itMy bad."

Dorin smirked slightly. "Yes you were. You reeked of whiskey, I'm surprised you don't have the mother of all hangovers right now."

"Yuna took care of it. Still a little tired, though," said Vira.

"I see. Rinoa will be interested in learning their magic then," Dorin replied as they walked up to Rikku and Yuna's table.

Yuna stood up and bowed slightly as they arrived, while Rikku waved and shoved her hand at Dorin to shake it. "Hi! I'm Rikku!" she proclaimed.

Dorin shook her hand and bowed deeply. "Lord Dorin Vachon of the House Vachon," he replied.

Rikku giggled. "Sounds really official. So, are you taken or are you Vira's?" she asked, giving Vira a sly glance.

Vira scowled at Rikku and slumped into her chair. "Hahahah, funny, Rikku. Really funny"

Dorin stuttered. "Ah, w-well, I'm not sure, that is to say-"

"It's okay," Rikku replied. "I just wanted to embarrass Vira."

"Mission accomplished," Vira grumbled. "Now sit down and eat your waffles."

"Oh yeah! Waffles!" Rikku plopped down into her seat, savagely stabbing another waffle with her fork trying to devour it with large bites.

Yuna laughed. "Rikku is into jokes. Don't mind her. Please, sit down and join usbefore Rikku eats it all"

"Yesh, ish very good!" Rikku exclaimed, her mouth full with waffle.

Dorin smiled. "I see. I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced yet. You are?"

"I'm Yuna. The man at the desk told us you brought Vira back to her room last night," Yuna said, smiling. "Thank you. We were worried."

"You're quite welcome," Dorin replied.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" asked Vira. "Or howwhichever. I mean, this is beyond weird"

Dorin sighed. "How long are you going to be here, because it's a very long story."

"Talk fast," Vira replied. "You said we needed to talk and here we are."

Dorin nodded and began to tell them of events that happened after the Siren sank. He told them of the raising of the Siren, their entering the portal, and entering the ruined Zanarkand. At that point, he relayed how they all saw what seemed to be ghosts of the pilgrimage and that two of the girls had looked remarkably like Yuna and Rikku, and the blue lion man who later turned out to be Kimahri in Mount Gagazet. Yuna very quickly explained that it was the pyreflies, and of her pilgrimage two years before. Dorin listened intently and then told them of his travels around Spira with Squall and the others, and how it led them to Luca. He told Vira what Rinoa and Squall had related to him of their botched attempt at apprehending her.

"So, Rinoa's blaming herself for not recognizing you sooner, Quistis is blaming herself for not stopping Seifer, Seifer's mad because he thinks everyone's blaming him, Zell and Irvine are blaming Seifer, Selphie is disappointed because she wants to have a party for you, and Squall iswell, Squall," Dorin finished, chuckling slightly.

Yuna and Rikku stared at Dorin, wide eyed and overloaded with information. Vira frowned. "I knew I was forgetting something important about last nightShit."

Dorin nodded. "They're terribly appalled by what they did. They're afraid you won't forgive them."

Vira grumbled and stuffed a piece of waffle in her mouth.

I sure as hell don't want to go up to them and have a good ol family reunion with them. Mistake me for Xana? Oh, yeah, I really want to trade stories with them now. Ingrates

"Where are you all heading?" asked Yuna, attempting to get rid of the oncoming silence.

"Besaid," Dorin replied. "It's the only place we haven't been to yet."

"Oh really? We're heading back there later today. We'll all end up on the same boat," Yuna said.

Rikku grinned. "That'll be cool!"

Dorin nodded. "We look forward to it."

Vira smiled thinly. "Yeah. Great." As if she really wanted to spend a day's boat ride with her old friends now that she heard what they did. It certainly made sense why she'd block it out. Who would want to remember her friends doing the basic equivalent of betrayal? Not Vira.

"It'll be good to get out of here." Rikku leaned towards Dorin and added, "Yuna's hoping to find her guy Tidus back in Besaid. We thought he was here."

"Rikku!" Yuna exclaimed, turning pink in her cheeks.

Rikku gave her an innocent grin that made her look positively elfish. "What? It's true and you know it!"

Dorin smirked. "I see. I hope that you find him then."

"Oh, we'll find Tidus," Rikku said cheerfully. "He'll be in Besaid by the time we get back!"

Yuna smiled softly. "I hope so"

Vira looked up from her breakfast. "He'll be there. He's not here, so he'll have to be there," she said. "And that's the last time I'm gonna repeat that to you. He. Will. Be. There. So relax."

Rikku stuck out her tongue. "C'mon Vira, let the lovesick be lovesick."

"Rikku!" Yuna exclaimed, turning red.

Rikku shrugged. "Just saying."

Vira chuckled and looked back down at her breakfast. "Fine. Just saying she doesn't need to be so worked up about finding him. She can focus her energy on what to say to him when we get there."

Yuna's eyes grew wide. "I hadn't thought of that"

Rikku and Vira looked at Yuna, dumbfounded. "You mean you're gonna see your boyfriend who's returned from the dead and you haven't even thought of what you're gonna say to him?!" yelled Rikku.

Yuna shrugged and looked at them nervously. "WellI've just been so caught up in finding him that I haven't thought about what I'd say to himshould probably do that"

"Well, don't take any tips from Vira. You saw how she handled Dorin. Y'need to say somethin nice andLike you are!" Rikku exclaimed, winking at Vira.

"Do you want me to kill you with my waffle, Rikku?" asked Vira, glowering at her. "Because I can do that, y'know."

"It'd be interesting to see in the school of lethal breakfast pastries," Dorin said.

Vira snapped her glare at Dorin, shaking her waffle at him. "Don't you start." Grumbling to herself, Vira looked back at her breakfast and stuffed the piece of waffle in her mouth.

"I'm just funnin ya, Vira!" Rikku said, elbowing her in the ribs.

Vira gave Rikku a silent stare as she ate her breakfast. Rikku rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay! Yeesh! Was she always like this?" Rikku asked.

Dorin merely shrugged. "Nothing I haven't seen before."

"Dead men tell no tales, Dorin," Vira stated.

"Yes ma'am."

"How long did you say it'd be before your friends arrived?" Yuna asked Dorin. "Because if we all have to make the boat, we'll have to be going soon."

"They should be coming-ah, here they are," Dorin said, turning to the entrance of the cafe where Squall and Rinoa stood, waving them over to their table.

"How convenient," Vira mumbled.

Rinoa smiled at the group as she approached the table. "Hi. So, Dorin, I guess you found Vira, huh?"

"The rest are coming. Selphie just misplaced a boot or something. She's looking for it in her room," Squall said as he came over.

Dorin rolled his eyes. "Trust Selphie to do something like that. Ah, Lady Yuna, Lady Rikku, this is Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly, two of my traveling companions."

Yuna and Rikku stood up, Yuna bowing slightly, and Rikku sticking her hand out and shaking Rinoa's. Squall didn't offer his hand, but Rikku didn't seem to notice as she took it and shook it as she grinned at them.

"Pleased to meet you," Yuna said.

"Yeah, what she said," added Rikku.

Squall blinked. "Let's not introduce Rikku to Selphie right off."

Vira paled. "No, dear Hyne no."

Rikku looked at them with confusion. "Huh?"

"Never mind," said Vira.

Yuna smiled. "I heard we're all going to be taking the same boat together today."

"You're going to Besaid too?" Rinoa asked.

"I am from there," Yuna replied. "I live there with some of my friends."

Rikku nodded. "Except me, because I have to go around, showing people how to use machina and stuff like that. Oh, and Kimahri 'cause he teaches all the little Ronsos up in Mount Gagazet. But I'm here to help Yunie find her boyfriend Tidus. We think he's in Besaid since he's not here."

"Yeah, and we'll miss the boat if we keep sitting around here and eating waffles," Vira said.

"Well then let us be off," Yuna said, leaving the gil they owed for the breakfast on the table as they left.

The group left the hotel restaurant, walking down the long hallway to the main lobby. Sunshine filtered through the windows above them next to the staircase. Everything in the hotel just felt of the calm and freeing feeling that only late spring or summer could bring. A clear, bright, innocent and crisp feeling. More plants, similar to those that adorned the restaurant, lined the hallway underneath a red carpet that matched the motif of the hotel. As they walked, Rinoa looked over at Vira. "Are you feeling better today?" she asked quietly.

"I'm tired," she replied, monotonously. At that point, Vira already felt overloaded with information. It left her feeling torn in half. Half of her was genuinely happy to see them again, and understood how they could've made the mistake of thinking she was Xana-hell, those days she was having a hard time keeping herself separate too-but then the other half was hurt. The other half whispered accusations of betrayal, that no one had believed in her. Had they ever believed in her? The thought shattered her perceptions of the last few years, and the reason she'd bothered to feel any emotion in the first place. Emotions really were double edged swords, and Vira never handled hers deftly. Vira wasn't sure whether to yell at them in anger, feel sad and hurt, or just grateful she actually was seeing them again. Confusion. Vira hated being confused more than nearly anything. It ranked very high on the 'things Vira hated' list along with Xana, Kravis, dresses and the color pink.

"We're sorry, for last night I mean," Rinoa said apologetically. Vira looked into her eyes and saw she really meant it.

"Okay," Vira said, looking away. "I'd say that'd be a good reaction."

"For mistaking you?" Rinoa asked. "When we got here, all we heard about was an evil sorceress did this or the evil sorceress did that. So we assumed the worst." She paused for a moment. "I did feel her inside you."

Vira frowned. She wasn't in the mood for being Miss Share again. Things had been all about Vira sharing what was going on way back when, and for a while, it hadn't been. Attention had been equal all around. Now she felt the tables shifting back at her again and didn't like it. Excess attention on her problems that she was trying to deal with only made her feel more pressured to just gush about them and then feel fine. "I am related to her. And it was her power."

Rinoa nodded and shivered. "It's so strong though. Stronger than it should be."

"What are you getting at?" Vira snapped.

"N-n-nothing!" Rinoa stammered.

Vira's frown deepened. Rinoa was trying to make Vira share again. That wasn't good. Nope, definitely not peachy keen. "No, I think you were getting at something."

Rinoa sighed. "II'm just worried about you is all. Our powers are blessings and curses."

Vira sighed. "Yours is more a blessing, mine is all curse."

Rinoa smiled sadly. "I wouldn't say that. Being junctioned to Adel is something I still have nightmares about to this day."

"Every night?"

Rinoa's mouth creased into a line. "Sometimes. Sometimes it's the fight with Ultimecia, and others it's seeing Father die in my arms."

"I mean the same nightmare, every night. And that each night it reveals more and more that's worse. You have that?" asked Vira.

Rinoa shook her head. "No. Most of the time they alternate."

"Okay then," said Vira.

"Have you been having nightmares like that?"

Vira frowned. Wow, Rinoa was trying to outdo Dorin in the 'most stubborn' person. Vira wondered how much this annoyed Squall when he first met Rinoa. "Maybe."

"Nothing you want to talk about, right?" Rinoa supplied.

"Look, a part of me understands why you people made the assumption you did about being evil and everything, but there's a big part of me that is disappointed you weren't here looking for me and that I was mistaken for my mother, who I still hate very much. I never want to end up like her," Vira said. She sighed. "Besides, I don't think talkin will make much of a difference. I'll end up becoming the center of attentionagain."

Rinoa nodded. "Okay, I understand. Justif you ever want to, I'll always listen." She smiled softly before she went to catch up to Squall.

Vira grumbled to herself. Damn, even after mistaking me for Xana, she's still all nice and wanting to be there and lend an ear if I want oneDamn conflictionsdamn emotionswhy do I even bother to have any if all they're gonna do is rebel against me? Geez, she thought.

As the group entered the main lobby, they spotted the rest of Squall's friends, milling around the front desk. The deskman from the night before was back on the clock for his job, keeping a suspicious eye on the group. He stood behind his light wood desk, 'tsk-tsking' the entire group. Once again, his mouth was pulled into a taught line. A few passersby would walk from the stairs to the front entrance, or to the restaurant, and some others came in from the outside. The main lobby was also filled with the welcoming sunshine that felt just like summer. Above the double doors that led outside was a large circular window that provided most of the light in the room. Seifer was tapping his foot impatiently while Quistis stood next to him and was trying to calm him down. In front on the stairs stood Irvine and Zell, talking about Spira's lack of hotdogs. Irvine shook his head, tipping his hat back at Zell's exasperated whining. Selphie was hopping down the stairs, pulling her boot on with one foot. Her flip hairstyle bouncing up and down as she hopped, making her look eternally like a hyper-active child.

"Coming! Coming! I'm coming! Just a sec!" she panted, trying to hop down the stairs and pull her boot on at the same time.

Despite herself, Vira smiled slightly. "At least some things never change."

Selphie finished putting on her boot as she tripped the last step and fell on Zell. The two of them fell onto the carpeted floor, Zell cursing under his breath. Selphie quickly hopped up and gave Zell a hand as he tried to get himself on his feet again.

"Sorry Zell, I missed that last step," she giggled.

"No kiddin," he grumbled. "A world with no hot dogs, and then you constantly hittin me in the ribs and knocking me over. I ain't your fall guy!"

"Oh, sure ya are!" Selphie said, grinning, her perkiness practically overflowing. "We're like a comedy duo."

"No, you and Irvine, that's a comedy duo," Zell said, snickering.

Selphie stuck her tongue out at him. "Meany."

Vira chuckled. "Nope, no changes whatsoever."

Selphie turned and saw her standing there. "VIRA!" she squealed, hopping over to her and giving her a big hug, squeezing tightly. Yeah, it was very apparent to Vira that two years hadn't changed Selphie one bit. She might've been twenty, but she had the demeanor of a happy five year old. For most people, it was an endearing trait. Vira wasn't quite sure if she fell in that category. Especially with Selphie squeezing the living daylights out of her.

"Selphie" Vira grunted.

"Oh, sorry," Selphie replied as she let go, her emerald eyes gleaming in the filtered sunshine. "But this is soooo great! We're gonna have to have a party and everything! We'll need food and lot's of balloons"

Vira looked over her shoulder at Dorin. "Help," she pleaded.

Dorin held up his hands in surrender. "I have nothing to do with it, therefore I'm not involved."

Vira glared at him. "Traitor" She looked back at Selphie. "Uh huh, yeah, nice to see you and everything butNo. Party. N-O. No reason to party. Going to miss boat now, therefore, I go."

"But we're going with you, so we got time to plan!" Selphie exclaimed brightly.

"Well, let's put the party business on hold for right now, sunflower," Irvine smoothly interceded, winking at Vira. "We got ourselves a boat to catch."

"But breakfast-!"

"Hey, you lose your boot, you lose your breakfast," Zell said, striding in front of Selphie. The grin he wore was just like the one someone has when they see karma in action. He stopped in front of Vira before moving on, giving her a genuine smile of happiness and put his hand out for Vira to shake. "It's great to see you again Vira."

Vira reluctantly shook Zell's hand, which he then grabbed forcefully getting her into the so-called 'manly' hug, as he patted her on the back a few times with his free hand. "We all missed you a lot."

"Agh, more hugging" Vira said, pushing Zell off of her. She sort of forced a smile as she added, "It's good to see you too, Zell."

Feeling satisfied by Vira's response, Zell continued ahead, disappearing out the front doors of the hotel.

Selphie pouted, her lower lip pushed out so far Vira thought it could pass as a tongue it she pouted any farther, and followed Zell. "There better be tasty snacks on the boat"

"I'm sure there will be darlin," Irvine drawled as he ushered her out. To Vira, he whispered, "Good to see you again Vira!"

Dorin chuckled. "And thus, life goes on."

Vira rolled her eyes. "It's so very encouraging."

"It could be worse, she could've had her morning coffee by now."

Vira cringed. "Ughthis touchy feely crap makes me feel even worseblech."

Dorin laughed as he shook his head. "Come on, let's head to the docks."

"Fine," Vira replied as she followed the group out the hotel and into the morning sunshine.

The deskman's tight lipped expression relaxed. He could tell there was something different about that group of people, and the quicker they were out of the hotel, the better.


Author's Notes: Wow! Not too slow on this one, eh? Okay, next chapter will involve everybody on the boat from Luca to Kilika. That one always takes a night to get there, so there will be lots of catching up for all. Vira will catch up a little with Dorin, and have yet another curve ball thrown at her, which leaves her feeling as confused as she had during Iron Will. She wants to handle it better than she had, but has she grown enough to cope with it all? And can she find it in herself to truly forgive everyone for their mistake? When will we see Yuna and Tidus finally reunite? What's up with the ghostly apparition that Vira keeps seeing? Will it come back, along with the nightmare? Can someone stop me from asking questions? Stay tuned for the next chapter in this story that has ended up much longer than I had anticipated already! Please read & review to let us know how the story's going. We love the attention! ;) Until next time!