PART XVIII

Emilen and Voldos sat opposite each other at a small round table in the streets of Windurst. The new found sunlight reflected off the water on the ground, which would occasionally cause a dazzling flash of light. It had become very hot since the rain stopped, and the two's clothes had almost dried out.

"So, this what you normally get up to?" Emilen asked curiously. "Asking girls to teach you things then going out for lunch?" Voldos paused.

"Urm, not really." He admitted. He suddenly paused. "Not that I don't always make it this far with girls, you see. Yeah, they all fall into my arms all the time!" He quickly added in a gloat. Emilen laughed.

"You're a terrible liar." She told him.

"Lucky I wasn't lying then." Voldos shot with a grin.

"Voldos!" Came a cry. Voldos groaned.
"Who's that?" Emilen asked.

"Just the guy who's going to ruin everything." Voldos sighed. He saw Bootus thundering over towards them. Emilen laughed.

"Save me Voldos!" Bootus cried sarcastically. "I've spent the morning in the tavern with Vivli and Zinkata! If I see any more lovey-doveyness I think I'm going to die!" Voldos and Emilen shot a look at each other.

"Well-" Voldos began.

"You can join us." Emilen said quickly. "There's no love here." She shot a playful glance at Voldos, who played off his disappointment with a cocky grin. He had no idea what he was grinning about.

Meanwhile, Vivli and Zinkata had left the tavern, and headed back to Vivli's room at the monastery. Zinkata groaned, waiting while Vivli was looking through various dresses she owned.

"How long is this going to take?" He asked, still being playful in his question.

"Hey, you can't just ask a girl to a dance and not expect her to think about what she's going to wear." Vivli told him with a smile. "Besides, you have to find something to wear as well." Zinkata looked dejectedly down at his armour. "You're not wearing that." She quickly said.

"Yes ma'am." He sarcastically snapped, with a mock salute. Vivli put her hands on her hips.

"Well you're not." She stated. "Ah ha." She pulled out a long elegant white gown. "This is what I was looking for."

"You own things like that?" Zinkata asked in surprise.

"I'm not purely a robe person." She told him in a patronising voice. Zinkata laughed. She jumped down on the floor and began digging through the shoes she had.

"Oh great. I thought we were done for a moment." Zinkata sighed. He knew he was playfully mocking her, so didn't have to worry about her getting upset.

"I know what I'm looking for!" She cried. "They're around here somewhere."

"If you didn't own so many shoes you wouldn't have this problem." Zinkata told her.

"Found 'em!" She cried, pulling out the highest pair of heels she owned.

"You're going to lose your balance in those." Zinkata said with a sarcastic grin.

"Hey, I need all the height I can get." She said, standing up in front of Zinkata. "I'm not going to miss out on kissing you because I'm too short." She added.

"You're going to miss out if you fall over." Zinkata taunted.

"Better make up for it now then." She said playfully, and the two kissed.

Bootus, Voldos and Emilen were still sat around the table, sharing stories and having a surprisingly good time. Voldos was impressed by how little he actually minded Bootus interfering, as the talk and jokes seemed to be helping him fair far better than he would on his own.

"Right, so there we were." Bootus began in his telling of another story. "Out in the Yhaotor Jungle. And this goblin comes by, kidnaps Vivli."

"Oh, not this story." Sighed Voldos.

"She gets put to sleep by a spell from nearby battle, and this goblin just drags her off, right?" Bootus explained. "Anyway, so, as usual, me and Zinkata come to the rescue, running, weapons drawn."

"And where was Voldos?" Emilen asked with a slight smile.

"That's exactly it." Bootus explains with a grin. "He unleashed and fires two arrows, planning to take the goblin down in two shots." He paused as Voldos had a growing look of shame crawl across his face. "And suddenly me and Zinkata feel two arrows thud into our backs and go down. He somehow managed to completely miss the goblin, and hit both of us, taking us out." As Bootus finished Emilen laughed quite loudly.

"Hey! We saved Vivli, didn't we?" Voldos protested.

"It's not actually that challenging." Bootus said with a grin. "She'd get kidnapped by an angry ant."

"I think you guys should give her more credit, ya know." Emilen suggested.

"No, I'm serious." Bootus explained. "There's a funny story about that ant."

"Oh, that one." Laughed Voldos, remembering the tale. "That wasn't really 'kidnap', was it?"

"It was similar!" Bootus protested.

"I don't think I'm going to ask." Sighed Emilen.

"Well, I'll tell you anyway." Bootus began. "We were-"

"I'm sure she doesn't want to hear that." Vivli laughed nervously. The three looked up. Vivli, now in her long flowing gown, and Zinkata, who was dressed in the same shirt and trousers he wore in San d'Oria, were stood over them.

"What the hell are you two up to?" Bootus asked. Vivli breathed a mental sigh of relief. She thought she'd never live down the ant story.

"Zinkata's taking me to the dance." Vivli said cheerfully.

"Aw, that's sweet." Emilen commented.

"That's purely opinion." Bootus grumbled.

"At least it's warm now." Voldos pointed out.

"Yeah." Vivli sighed happily, resting against Zinkata.

"Where is this dance then?" Bootus asked.

"Down by the water." Vivli said, sounding excited. "So you get the moon reflecting off the sea and everything."

"Yeah, and the romantic sound of the airship thundering in and splashing down." Bootus said sarcastically.

"The airships aren't flying tonight." Vivli said, childishly sticking out her tongue.

"Well, remind me to avoid the docks." Bootus said to Voldos and Emilen. "I can't stand just these two, let alone a whole dock full of romantic dancers."

"Galka's have no spirit." Vivli sighed.

"Hey, just because we don't pathetically fall into the arms of the first girl we see doesn't mean we don't have spirit!" Bootus protested. "We just have fighting spirit, not this girly loving spirit." Zinkata rose an eyebrow.

"Bootus, shut up." He said simply.

"Won't the dance be starting soon?" Emilen asked. "The sun is setting."

"Yeah, we had better go." Zinkata told them. "See ya later."

"Sun is setting?" Voldos exclaimed. "This has been the longest lunch ever."

"Bye!" Vivli called cheerfully, following Zinkata.

"So, there was Vivli, and suddenly she saw this ant." Bootus began as soon as they had left.

Vivli and Zinkata arrived at the docks, where a group of bards were playing gentle music. Zinkata took Vivli in his arms, almost awkwardly.

"I really don't know what I'm doing here." He confessed as he started to dance.

"I'm not convinced you ever know what you're doing." Vivli smirked. Zinkata kissed her. "Well, sometimes." She giggled. Zinkata held Vivli by her bare shoulders, running his hands down her smooth arms. She giggled again. His hands were coarse and rough, a sign of the rough life he had led, and it tickled her slightly. Zinkata looked down on Vivli, and sighed. He was hopelessly in love with her, but felt pain whenever he looked on her. She was small and fragile, and he knew he had to protect her no matter what. But he couldn't. Whenever she was with him, she was in danger. The four Light Warriors made a living out of dangerous situations, and she was often at the heart of them.

"Viv." He said gently. "I don't know how much longer I can do this."

"Do what?" Vivli quickly asked, clearly concerned. She stopped dancing.

"Keep adventuring. With you." He sighed again. "I can't stand it any longer. The thought of you being in danger, being in pain."

"You said that before." She muttered. "I did alright against Illuga, didn't I?"

"Vivli. You almost died. He almost killed you." Zinkata paused. He had actually given this a lot of thought, but it was only at this moment, in the warm evening air, with the sea rolling in around them, the romantic music playing and Vivli stood before him, he became certain. "I want to give up." He said. "Give up adventuring. We'll go find a house somewhere. Live together. We don't need this life anymore. We're heroes. We don't need the money, or the fame." Vivli paused upon hearing this.

"I never did it for the money or the fame." She said softly. "I did it to help people."

"Well, you can get a job as a healer. You'll always be able to help the sick and wounded, and without risking yourself. I can still be a freelance mercenary, you know, going on small quests, coming home everyday. We'd never have to worry again." Vivli considered this. She actually hated adventuring. The fighting and the danger she could barely stand. But at the same time, something about being the ineffectual girl who spent her time at home worrying about her loved one didn't sit well with her.

"What about Voldos and Bootus?" She asked. "We can't just turn our backs on them."

"They'll visit. We'll see them all the time." He paused again. "Hey, they can even get a house near us. I mean, our lives as adventurers can be over now the world has been saved again." Zinkata almost smirked to himself, he never thought he'd retire from adventuring. This is to protect Vivli he told himself.

"Zin, I'd love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you." She moved closer, hugging him, resting her head on his shoulder (her heels had given her the extra height required). "And to never have to go into battle again? That's certainly something I wouldn't miss." Zinkata hugged her tightly.

"Then it's settled." He said with a smile. "We'll leave behind this path. I mean, I can still go out and fight while you heal others at home." Zinkata wasn't entirely prepared to abandon adventuring completely.

"Leave me on my own everyday?" Vivli looked sad.

"Viv, this is to protect you. I can't stand seeing you in danger. I can't stand to see you out there, in the harsh wilderness. This way you'll be safe, and we can spend all of our time together." Vivli smiled at him.

"Being safe would make a change." She smiled. A new song began, and the two started to dance once more.

Time passed, and soon the moon rose high in the sky, reflecting off of the water in a beautiful sparkle. The music continued to play, but Vivli and Zinkata retreated to the waterfront, looking out over it. Vivli was nestled snugly in Zinkata's arms. He held her, looking out across the ocean. Vivli was distracted, looking into his eyes.

"I love you." She whispered. Zinkata smirked.

"And I love you, Viv." He stated. Vivli kissed him once more, but this time Zinkata drew back. Vivli looked at him curiously. "I'm sorry." He stated, pushing her hard. She fell back, crashing down on the wooden planks.

"Ow!" She cried. "Zin? What are you doing?"

"Haven't you figured it out?" He asked. "Little girl." He added. Vivli's eyes went wide with terror.

"No! No! It can't be!" She sobbed. Zinkata's eyes crackled with yellow energy. "It's supposed to be over! No!" Zinkata grinned, and began to walk away. Vivli staggered to her feet, and ran after him. Grabbing him she turned him around with all of her effort. "Zin! Come back! I love you!" She sobbed. Zinkata let out an angry growl, and flung her to the ground.

"You couldn't save Illuga. You can't save me." He growled. "You never saved Sigmund either."

"Sigmund?" She whispered as tears streamed down her face.

"He was once a respected lord of San d'Oria." Zinkata smiled. "But he became corrupted. He too was innocent. But you had to destroy him, didn't you? And then Illuga, who was innocent, but had to perish. Now me. You want to stop me, little girl, you know what you have to do."

"No! Zinkata!" Vivli sobbed wildly. "Who are you?"

"I am Zinkata." Came the statement. "Only touched by Lavos. Now, I shall take the staff, and summon him. The Day of Lavos is at hand, little girl." He smiled, walking off of the wooden docks and onto the hard ground. Vivli ran after him, but he grabbed her, and flung her down again. She crashed against the stone floor with a yelp.

"Don't do this, Zin!" She cried. "You must be able to break it! You have to! Please!" She sobbed uncontrollably. Zinkata paused.

"It is too late for me." He managed to say.

"You are there!" She cried. "You are! I love you! Please! Fight it!"

"You will see the true power of Lavos yet, little girl!" He roared. Vivli let the tears flow freely down her face.

"The staff is guarded!" She sobbed. "They'll never let you get to it! They'll kill you!" She choked on her own sobs at the thought.

"No mere guard is a match for the great Zinkata, Light Warrior!" Bellowed the hume. "I will crush all that oppose me."

"Please don't do it, Zin!" Vivli managed to say, despite her streaming tears and now uncontrollable sobs. Zinkata drew a dagger from his boot, and Vivli's eyes went wide. "Zin! Don't!" She cried as he advanced on her, running his finger across the lethally sharp blade. Blood tricked down his finger just from the smooth action, and Vivli shut her eyes, realising just how sharp that meant the blade was. Zinkata licked the blood from his own finger.

"Goodbye, little girl." He stated. Vivli couldn't believe it. She was going to be killed by the person she loved. She heard a loud thunk. The sound of the dagger being hurled into the ground. Zinkata smiled. Despite the solid ground, his strength and the blade's sharpness had proven effective, and it was neatly embedded in the floor. Vivli looked confused, at first unable to see it. Zinkata turned to leave.

"Zin!" She cried, running forwards. She found herself falling to the floor. The knife had run straight through her flowing gown, and embedded in the rocks. The sharp edge faced inwards, leaving the blunt edge facing the outside, something she couldn't tear through. She struggled to follow Zinkata, but was held down by her dress. The fabric rubbed against the dull side of the knife, but wouldn't rip through it. She dove down, grabbing the knife, and trying to pull it out of the ground. It was too far in, and this proved useless. "ZIN!" She sobbed. Zinkata stopped, turning. She gulped. "Zin, please let that be you." She sobbed. He bent down to her on the floor, and took her in his arms. She hugged him tightly. "You're back!" She cried triumphantly.

"No." He snarled. She froze. "Now, little girl, rest. Sleep." He brought his hands up to her ears, and began to gentle rub them. Vivli felt the sparks of pleasure run through her body, overriding everything. She was in Zinkata's arms, he loved her, she loved him. That was enough. She cuddled warmly up to him, unable to do or think of anything else. She was tired, and slowly dropping off into sleep. Her brain couldn't process anything else. She was falling to sleep, completely unable to come to terms with the fact Zinkata was now evil.

Zinkata's now electrified yellow eyes glared down at Vivli's sleeping form as he grinned. They crackled away for a moment.

"Goodbye, Vivli." He managed to say, a tear running down his face before they crackled back to their evil form. "Sleep tight, little girl. Next time we meet, I will not let you live." He turned and left the docks, the scene having gone unnoticed by all those around, passed up for another moment of drunk arguing.

Author's Note: And that, my friends, is my temporary bail-out from the romantic writing. It is also why it was so important to establish them as incredibly happy before that happened. Yeah, I actually had this planned for quite a while. So, the good news is you don't have to endure any more awkward romance scenes for a few chapters, and hopefully by then, I'll be better at writing them!

I'd also like to reiterate there is no ant story. I just thought it was funny. I have no idea what the actual story is. Maybe that can be my next spin off project.

I also thought I should point out about killing off Illuga. That was a bit sudden, and not part of the original plan. But I decided somebody had to turn evil so I could have the set up for this latest plot twist, and Illuga, who was going to be the fifth Light Warrior, was the perfect candidate. He was a void of a personality anyway, I had no good character for him, and just seemed (to me at least) to be detracting from the usual four, so I decided to get rid of him. Just in case you were wondering why I randomly seemed to kill him off. It was also a nice set up for the idea that the last two servants of Lavos have been killed, so how will they save Zinkata?

Back on the topic of love, it will be back, it has to be, but I don't want it to be as crap. So, any help I'm still happy to receive! I know it was said by TheFrogKiller that he preferred the subtle relationships, with more implied talk. I can see why, but I didn't quite understand why they would act like that. I mean, they're madly in love, and everybody knows it, so why don't they show it all the time? The one thing I am aware of is that my dialogue is horrible in these scenes, which really hurts it, but I can't write good romantic dialogue, so again, any help there would be greatly appreciated. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little break from the romantic relationships. Hopefully none of you saw that twist coming. At least you know Zinkata will survive, because I said the relationship comes back. Or wait…do I mean with somebody else? Maybe he won't survive? Well, I have to keep some suspense.