PART XVI

"Watch out! Bats!"

"Oh, come on. Just lie low."

"If your parents find out we're-"

"They'll never find out. When do they ever come to this cave?"

"Might get sent here hunting."

"Yeah right. We're perfectly safe!"

"By the end of this, you'll know this cave like the back of your hand."

"That's the plan. I love exploring caves."

Voldos had lost this love quite some time ago. When he was a child, he'd run around the caves just outside San D'Oria all the time, hiding from the beasts and having fun with his best friend. When they were teenagers, and learning the way of the warrior, the cave became a training area. After that, it lost all appeal.

Now he was trapped in one, and he knew all to well air would run out very soon. Or Chaos would find and destroy them.

"Well, what do we do now?" The elf sighed.

"Wait to die." Muttered Bootus.

"Check the rocks. See if there's a way out." Zinkata ordered, slightly more willing to try and find a solution. Voldos ran to the other side.

"No way back." A quick assesment informed the ex-thief.

"There's a tiny crack here, leading into darkness. Means we get air." Zinkata shouted back.

"Oh, good." Remarked Bootus. "At least we can breath until Chaos kills us." Vivli was huddled against the wall, petrified in the dark.

"Chaos won't come down here, will he?" She asked in a mix of shock and fear. She knew the answer, but couldn't bring herself to say it.

"This hole is our only way out." Zinkata ignored her, knowing it was better not to dwell on it. "But it's far too small for us." One by one, the adventurers turned to Vivli. She could just make it out in the dim light.

"What?" She said, seconds before realisation dawned on her.

"No." She stated with folded arms staring at the tiny hole.

"Vivli, this is no time to be childish." Voldos warned.

"It's about the size of my hand!" She protested, pointing to the small gap in the pile of rocks.

"You can squeeze through there easily." Zinkata explained.

"And then what?" She asked. "Run away and leave you to die? What am I going to do on the other side?"

"Find help?" Voldos suggested.

"But I'm in a dress!" Vivli changed her tune. "I climb through there, and all of you guys'll look straight up it."

"Vivli, I think we have bigger concerns than that." Zinkata grumbled. Vivli turned to the dark hole, staring into the blackness beyond.

"See, told ya you'd fit." Zinkata laughed as Vivli struggled through the tiny hole.

"Easy for you to say." She grunted, wriggling up to her waist. Her head emerged in the inky blackness on the other side of the rocks. She shivered. She was unable to see anything. She tried to squirm forwards further, but couldn't move.

"I'm stuck!" She yelled back, trying to wriggle out of the hole backwards to no avail. There was no response, but she did hear Bootus laughing. She stopped, with an unamused expression on her face (not that anybody could see it).

She kicked and squirmed a little more before hearing a deep roar from the darkness. She froze in terror. Out of the darkness, she spotted eight slimy eyes. She suddenly remembered the spider.

"HELP!" She screamed. "PULL ME OUT! NOW!" She kicked furiously as she struggled to move. She felt them grip her feet and pull just as the spider lunged for her.

Zinkata fell back as the tiny mithra landed on top of him. He watched as she sprang to her feet in panic.

"What is it?" Zinkata asked. Vivli didn't have to answer. A gigantic black spider's leg stuck through the hole.

"S-s-s-s-spider." She spluttered. The rocks crumbled. The leg suddenly disappeared. The warriors drew their weapons. The evil arachnid rammed the rocks, and the roof began to crumble.

"Great. On one side, we have Chaos, the Lord of the Demons. On the other side, we have a giant spider. If we stay here, they crush us under rocks." Voldos paused. "How do these things happen?"

"I'd like to take our final moments in this lifetime to point out this is Vivli's fault."Bootus stated. The wall was rammed again. Vivli didn't respond to this. She had sunk down against the stone wall, and curled her knees up to her chest. Her combined fear of the dark and spiders had pretty much overloaded her thinking.

"We need a plan! Quickly!" Zinkata yelled.

"Thanks for that, Zin, really helpful." Bootus grumbled as he dodged a falling rock.

"We might get lucky, perhaps we can fight past the spider." Voldos suggested.

"If we're not crushed first!" Zinkata yelled back.

I'm a Light Warrior. Vivli's thoughts were almost mocking her. I can't be. I'm pathetic. I'm scared. I'm always scared. How can I be a Light Warrior? Why do I have these memories of somebody so very different? Suddenly, her eyes opened. She was still scared. She was shaking furiously, yet struggled to her feet. She knew as a Light Warrior, she'd been braver. She wanted to help. And she had just had an idea.

"Get back!" She yelled. The others just looked at her. "Move! I'm going to cast a spell!" They did so.

"What are you casting?" Zinkata asked.

"Dia. Get ready to run." She unleashed her spell on the spider. Although dia, a spell of white magic that drained the creatures health slowly, wasn't that painful, the bright light was enough to shock its eyes and send it reeling back. "NOW! DIVE THROUGH THE HOLE!" The four bolted, jumping through the widened hole the spider had made.

"Right! Let's take it down!" Zinkata yelled.

"I've done my bit. Can I go back to being scared?" Vivli requested as the light faded and she was plunged into darkness.

"Stop moaning!" Bootus snapped. "Hey, ugly!" He cried to the spider. "Let's see what you're made of!"

The gigantic spider scuttled towards them. Vivli shook as it approached, desperate to hold her ground with the others, despite every part of her body was telling her to run.

"Okay. There's nothing to be afraid of." She started saying out loud. "It's just a bug." The spider roared. "A bug with very large teeth. And legs. And eyes." The spider lunged at Zinkata. The warrior dived aside, cutting into its leg. It recoiled. The heroes watched it, afraid to attack. Vivli plucked up enough courage to cast a spell. A blue shield shimmered in front of each of the heroes, designed to stop physical damage. The protect spell Bootus had given her.

This attracted the giant monster's attention, and it thundered towards her. She dropped down into a ball with a screech. Luckily for her, Zinkata leapt between the two, thrusting his sword upwards into the spider's jaw. The spider let out a roar, and knocked the human warrior aside with its gigantic leg. Zinkata crashed down painfully, letting out a groan. Voldos lifted his own blade and charged the beast. It snapped at him with its legs. He dodged them skilfully, but was completely unable to get an attack in. Bootus charged, and was flung aside like a rag doll.

"Li! Heal them!" Ordered Voldos as he attempted to hold off the beast. Vivli rose to her feet, but attracted the beast's attention. It just let out a squirt from its rear of web. It impacted with Vivli's feet, sticking her firmly to the ground.

"I can't move!" She screamed, struggling.

"Just cast, dammit!" Voldos yelled as the spider spat poison goop at him. Vivli obeyed, and a soft white light engulfed Zinkata. He rose back to his feet. Vivli was struggling to cast on Bootus, but the spider was in the way, and she couldn't get a clear view of him to focus the spell.

Bootus got up anyway. He wasn't going to let some gigantic spider throw him around. He ran at it, and slashed its back leg. With this missing, the spider scuttled back a little. The gigantic black apendage dropped down, spewing blackened blood everywhere. The charging galka ran under the monster, tearing up its under side with his claw.

The galka soon emerged at the front of the beast with the other heroes. Vivli quickly went about curing him while Voldos and Zinkata held off the snapping jaw of the spider. Voldos took a few steps back.

"Cover me!" He yelled to Zinkata. Zinkata did so, fighting back the beast, blocking thrusts from its mighty legs with his own sword. Voldos fired an arrow, and hit the monster square in the eyes. Zinkata took this as a sign to drive his sword upwards into the beast's mouth. It staggered back, and with a slurp, swallowed Zinkata's sword.

"I didn't see that coming." A surprised Zinkata muttered.

"What do we do now?" Voldos yelled.

"Run?" Bootus suggested.

"Run? You can't run! I'm stuck!" Vivli cried, pulling at her feet in a blind panic. "Don't leave me! Please! Don't!" Bootus laughed aloud.

"I'm a galka. I never run. But your reaction was priceless." He yelled to her.

"Aren't we only in this situation because we were running away?" Voldos pointed out.

"Quiet you." Bootus said quickly.

"Use this!" Voldos suggested, throwing Zinkata his sword. "I'll hold it down with arrows!" More shots flew in at the spider, driving it back further.

"Bootus! Give me a boost!" Zinkata cried. The galka did so, picking up Zinkata and throwing him into the air. The warrior landed on the slimy hide of the spider.

Zinkata slipped a little, steadying himself. He drove Voldos's sword deep into the spider's head, and it lurched forwards, trying to throw him off. He twisted the blade and the spider collapsed. Zinkata was thrown off.

He looked up from the ground. The spider had stopped just in front of Vivli. It seemed dead.

"AH! GET IT AWAY FROM ME!" Vivli struggled furiously, staring at the lifeless face of the spider. She was expecting it to snap back into life at any moment. Bootus wondered over with a laugh.

"I don't think it's going to be doing anything." He said with sarcastic sympathy. Vivli was still worried.

"Just free me!" She quickly snapped. "This is the third time I've been stuck in front of a giant spider today, and it's not funny anymore!"

"Once again, I respectfully disagree." Voldos stated with an irritating smirk.

"Shut up!" She paused. "Get me out of here!"
"I'm not doing anything with that attitude." The galka stubbornly said.

"Please?" She begged.

"I don't know. You need to make up for your previous rudeness now." Bootus folded his arms.

"Just pull her out and let's get out of here!" Zinkata snapped. "Chaos won't be far behind after that battle." Bootus obeyed unhappily, picking up the little mithra by her shoulders, and then dropping her back down roughly.

"Let's move!" He cried, half dragging Vivli with him.

They bolted out of the caves after much running, finding themselves back in a rocky canyon. Vivli doubled over, panting from exhaustion.

"Come on! We can't stop!" Bootus snapped.

"Where to?" She panted in response. "There's nowhere we can go."

"I have a suggestion." Voldos said. Everybody looked at him. "Let's go up."

All four adventurers craned their necks upwards, seeing a gigantic hovering airship, painted in the colours of the Grand Duchy of Jeuno. There was a rumble from within the cave.

"It had better hurry up!" Zinkata yelled, over the increasing sound of the beating rotor blades that kept the airship going. Somebody on board threw a rope ladder over the side. The party were quick to scramble up it, literally falling onto the deck.

"Ah, it would appear I arrived in time." The Grand Duke told them, stood over the pile of heroes laid out on the deck. They sprang to their feet in shock.

"Urm, yes, sir. Highness. Sir, highness, sir." Voldos didn't have a clue how to speak to him.

"Sir, with all due respect, we need to move away from here as soon as possible." Zinkata advised. The Grand Duke nodded.

"Plot a course for Jeuno!" He ordered.

"Yes sir!" Replied the man at the wheel.

Chaos toyed with the idea of blasting the airship out of the air. He could easily blow it to smithereens with his magic, killing all on board. He shook his head. No. He knew where he would confront them. And it would make his final victory so much sweeter.

"I considered the evidence, and decided you were telling the truth." The Grand Duke told them as the airship cruised through the air. "After you went missing I headed directly to the library to investigate the old legend. When I discovered the word 'Garland' I knew something was wrong."

"Thank you, sir." Zinkata said with a bow. "You saved our lives."

"And I'm counting on you to save ours." He paused. "All of ours."

"No pressure then." Bootus sighed.

"I have something that can help." The Duke told them. "The crystal shard that was entrusted to Jeuno."

"Jeuno was entrusted with a crystal shard?" Vivli asked, subconsciously fiddling with the crystal shard she had hanging around her neck.

"Yes. I was under the impression it was the only one that had been found." The Duke said with a very slight tone of surprise. Vivli tucked her shard back under her dress where it had been hidden.

"It belonged to the monastery." She said nervously. Surprising the Grand Duke wasn't the sort of thing Vivli felt comfortable doing.

"I will pass it to you as soon as we arrive in Jeuno." The four heroes responded with a bow to show their appreciation.

Zinkata fiddled with the crystal shard he now wore around his neck. Some time had passed, and they were back in Jeuno. He was slumped in a tavern on his own. Once the high from the adventure had worn off, Zinkata had slumped into a bit of a depression. He had, of course, been betrayed again. The party had, as a group, decided to give the second crystal shard to him. The others had disappeared now. Vivli was in the library, looking for clues to the location of the other shards, and Bootus and Voldos were heading to the auction house to see if they could get any new equipment for cheap. And so, Zinkata sat alone, slumped at a table, swirling his drink around miserably.

The door opened, and he looked up slowly. Vivli walked in, looking almost cautious. She was now comfortably back in her robe, and peered around the dingy tavern, looking for the ex-thief. She soon spotted him and hurried to him.

"Hi." She said, worried by Zinkata's scowl. "I, urm, think I found a hint." She didn't want to upset the already irritated looking warrior.

"Who cares?" Came a surprise response.

"Well, it is about the fate of the world." She nervously gulped.

"You say that. What's the point in saving the world?" He paused. "Who do we know who won't just betray us?"

"I know how you feel." Vivli said quietly. "But not everybody's traitorous. I mean, Fiorel wasn't."

"Yeah, and he's dead. Or had you forgotten?" Zinkata snapped. Vivli was visibly taken back. She fought back tears at the very thought she'd forget Fiorel.

"Urm, I'll go." The tiny mithra whimpered, before turning about to leave.

"Wait." Zinkata cried as she walked to leave. "Wait. I'm sorry!" He cried, and she stopped just before the door. "That wasn't a fair thing to say." Vivli paused for a moment. She didn't turn around. Tears were running down her face and she didn't want Zinkata to know. Not while he was feeling down.

"You're right." She told him. "Fiorel was the one man who stood by our side. And he's dead." She let out a sob that was a little more audible than she would have liked. "We seem to have a choice, have friends that betray us, or have friends that die." Of course, a moment pondering this made Vivli realise this wasn't the best thing to say. "Hey, why do we need friends? We've got each other, right?" It was an attempt to cheer herself up as much as Zinkata.

"A bickering galka, a moronic elf and a cowardly mithra?" Zinkata snapped. Vivli looked to the floor with a whimper. "Sorry." He sighed. "I didn't mean to-"

"To what?" She sobbed. "To upset me? To insult me? Or to tell the truth?"

"It's not the truth. I just-" Zinkata tried to apologise, but couldn't finish. Vivli had slumped down on a chair, and was crying her eyes out. "Hey, look," Zinkata felt the stereotypical male protective urge, and instantly went about comforting her, "I guess we're all a bit stressed. I'll forget this conversation ever happened if you do." Vivli smiled.

"So, you want to hear my idea?" She asked, wiping away a tear.