Author's Note: This is the second chapter (unsurprisingly, since it comes, you know, second), and where the first real hints of the far more mature theme are. I apologise if it disturbs anybody, believe me, I feel bad enough writing it, and have had serious second thoughts about removing it, but the final decision was to leave it in to emphasise tragedy. I hope it works, but do deliver the warning it can be considered seriously disturbing.

I know it sounds arrogant of me to think that my own writing has that power, but this subject matter is very delicate (you'll notice I can't even bring myself to say it) and left me feeling very shaken after writing it, and I know from discussions on the inclusion of this theme I'm not alone in that feeling, so I hope you don't think I'm being arrogant, and if you are the type disturbed by very dark themes in stories (you may be able to guess what I'm referring to by now) then please don't read it. It's not seen, simply an event that has occurred, hence why it's not directly shocking (and something I could never write in a million years).

I'd love to hear feedback on how people react to this however; am I over-reacting? Am I naturally just more of a wuss than everybody else? Or is it even worse than I think, and should be removed completely from the story? If you have an opinion, please tell me either through review or e-mail, because it's very important to me. Thanks.

CHAPTER II

FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT YEARS EARLIER

The ocean was peaceful and quiet. Birds fluttered through the sky gently. The sea seemed a beautiful shade of blue as the rays of sun played across it.

The water broke as a huge ship crashed across it. The name "Destiny II" in clear view upon the side of the obviously aging warship. Stood proudly upon it's deck, holding onto one of the ropes running from the sails stood Olose Sampson, with a different face, different hair, a different body, but it was him none the less. He seemed to be grinning as the mighty ship made progress.

A male mithra looked confidently up from the wheel; Jeren, newest addition to Olose's crew who had proven himself time and again as the best person behind the wheel of any ship. A small tarutaru ran up onto the deck as the ship creaked; Phabrizoe, the expert on ships charged with maintaining the vessel and making sure it came to no harm. A black clad mithra walked across the deck and came up behind Jeren, placing her hand on his shoulder; Trevia, ninja assassin and the fighter of the crew, as well as Jeren's wife, as well as Olose's first mate, replacing their last who was lost. A smaller mithra skipped across the deck happily, looking out across the ocean, noticeably without a tail; Suse, taken in by Olose when she lost her tail by his hand, and had nowhere left to turn, now working the miscellaneous jobs on the ship.

Olose grinned happily at his assembled crew as the ship made it's progress before suddenly his smile vanished with a sharp creek. There was a sudden crash and something fell from the ship.

"What was that?" Olose suddenly asked in shock.

"That was the anchor!" Phabrizoe cried.

"Did the anchor just snap off the ship?" Olose yelled in disbelief.

"If that snags on the ocean floor at this speed, we're screwed!" Jeren observed. Olose ran across the deck towards the chain holding the anchor, now rapidly being pulled out. Suse peered over the side, observing that indeed the support that held the anchor on the side of the ship had fallen off.

Olose dove, grabbed the chain, and used all of his strength to stop the anchor's descent, crashing against the edge of the ship as he began to haul it back up.

"Bloody elvaans!" He grumbled as he did so, managing to overcome the anchor's huge weight due to his immortal strength. "They give us a ship, and here I was thinking it might be a good one."

"Just wasn't built to last, Cap'n." Phabrizoe smirked.

"I thought elvaans werrrre all wise and stuff." Suse muttered.

"More to sailin' than wisdom." Phabrizoe explained.

"Yeah, you have to have a ship that doesn't fall to pieces." Olose growled, struggling with the anchor.

"Shall I lower the sails?" Trevia asked, walking across the deck towards them. "Slow us down in case you drop it?"

"I'm not going to drop it!" Olose shot back. Unfortunately, as he turned to deliver this comment, the chain slipped from his hands and the anchor started tearing downwards through the water again. Trevia rose an eyebrow and smirked, and Suse giggled. "Often." He added, grabbing the chain again. Trevia came to his side, and started to help him with it.

"Hey, Captain, make sure my wife doesn't strain herself too hard!" Jeren cried out. "There's stuff we want to do later!"

"I did not need to know that!" Olose replied.

"Don't worry sweetie, I'm fine." She smiled, only taking the back of the chain as Olose bore the full brunt.

"Yeah, so just you concentrate on making sure the sails don't fall off or anything." Olose grumbled, pulling the anchor up finally and dumping it on the deck, before falling back panting.

"Oh, you wuss." Trevia mocked playfully.

"Hey! An anchor is really heavy." Olose pointed out.

"You can punch people through buildings!" Trevia countered. "It took a year to repair the damage you did to Tavnazia last time you had a fight there." Olose's face suddenly fell firm, and Trevia's heart skipped a beat. She had just brought that up. "Urm, sorry, Cap'n." She quickly added. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine." Olose cut her off, raising to his feet. "How far are we from port? I don't want anything else falling off."

"Just an hour or so now." Phabrizoe replied, also filling in for a navigator.
"Land!" Suse cheerfully cried. "I like land!"

"I think we all will after this trip." Olose sighed.

"Us especially." Trevia said with a smile to Jeren. Olose rolled his eyes.

"With any luck she'll hold together 'til then." Olose sighed.

FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT YEARS LATER

The peaceful sky was disturbed just as the ocean had been so many years ago as the mighty airship tore through the sky. Vivli shuddered upon deck.

"I hate these things." She stated, putting her hand to her mouth. Olose smiled.

"They're not that bad." He laughed.

"Easy for you to say!" Vivli replied. "Maybe not eating anything is a good thing." She added thoughtfully. "At least I can't get travel sick now." The ship shook slightly and Vivli quickly put her hand to her mouth. "Urm, I might have been wrong about that one." She blushed.

"You'll be fine." Olose laughed. Vivli sighed, and sat down on the deck, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"I hope so." She was trying to ignore the feeling she had that she had just turned a ghastly shade of green. Olose slumped down next to her. "Thanks for coming to get me." She said softly. "I can't wait to see Zinkata again."

"What about the others?" Olose asked.

"I can go another day without seeing Bootus." Vivli smiled sarcastically.

"I bet you miss him really." Olose mocked. Vivli sighed.

"Yeah." She admitted. "And Voldos!"

"He married Emilen, ya know?" Olose grinned.

"I know. He told me via linkshell before I lost-" Vivli stopped herself and decided to change the subject. "Urm, I can't believe Voldos got married."

"Yeah, it was pretty odd." Olose laughed. "Do you think he still tries to hit on every pretty girl he sees?"

"Hey! He never hit on me! You trying to say something about me?" Vivli protested with a giggle.

"Oh come on, you know you're pretty." Olose countered happily. Vivli blushed. "No, I don't think Emilen would let him near any other girls, let alone hit on them." Olose joked.

"You may have a point there." Vivli laughed before falling silent.

"So, what happened to your link pearl?" Olose asked after the pause. Vivli sighed heavily. She was worried that question was coming.

"Urm, I got mugged." She answered. Olose's face became distorted with concern. "Often." She added, it happened even more so.

"What do you mean? What happened?" Olose had to ask the further questions, despite the fact Vivli seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"There was a man who started praying on me every day after work in the hospital. He found out my shifts, knew when I finished. He took everything I had every night when I left." She stopped, and began sobbing. "I tried to fight him off, but he was too strong. After a week I went to the guards. They promised to escort me home after that." She paused, and let a tear run down her cheek. "He-" She paused, sobbing.

"It's okay." Olose hugged her. "You don't have to tell me the rest." He said gently.

"I want to." Vivli managed to say. "I have to tell somebody." She continued to cry.

"Tell somebody what? It got worse?" Olose asked fearfully, hugging her tightly. Vivli nodded, resting against him.

"He disappeared after the guards came, until one night, he-" She paused, barely able to say it. "-he was waiting for me in my home. He had found out where I lived. He took everything." She continued to cry. "And he-" She paused again. "He-" She apparently couldn't bring herself to say whatever happened next.

It didn't matter, as Olose's mood had already completely changed.

"VIVLI! GET DOWN!" He threw himself over her, pinning the tiny mithra beneath him. An arrow thudded into his back and Vivli shrieked in terror. He sprang up to see a figure stood on top of the cabin of the airship. Three more arrows whizzed in, hitting Olose in the chest and knocking him off his feet. The figure rose from one knee, the position he had been in to fire the arrows. He was dressed in gleaming full white armour and a full helmet, only a small slit giving him a field of vision. The armour was clearly divided into sections, a striking contrast being made visible by the black jumpsuit he wore beneath it. Some form of emblem was on top of the helmet, but it was too hard to make out what it was.

The figure drew a long white sword that shone brilliantly in the moonlight. He leapt from cabin and charged at an incredible speed, swinging downwards at Vivli, who was still on the floor, terrified. The sword never hit her, and instead clanged off another one. Olose held out one of his own blades, blocking the attacker. He pushed upwards and outwards, and the figure stumbled back. Olose quickly drew his second sword, and began to attack.

The attacker was driven back in surprise at Olose's speed and aggression (especially considering the fact that he had three arrows lodged in his chest and one in his back). Olose jumped and kicked the attacker to the ground, and he crashed down. The attacker drew a dagger and threw it, it hitting Olose's wrist and causing him to drop one of his swords. Olose ran in and swung down with his remaining blade. The attacker blocked it and kicked Olose from the ground before slowly raising to his feet. He spun the blade in one hand and ran in at Olose again. Olose deflected each of his blows and hit the attacker in the helmet with his free hand, leaving a slight dent. The attacker stumbled away, before launching himself at Olose. The two crashed to the ground and Olose threw his foe over his head, causing him to crash down on the other side of the airship.

The two combatants rose, the attacker pausing, confidently. Olose was certain he was smiling under his armour. Of course, Olose was grinning as well, despite the fact both of them were now unarmed. Vivli, who had spent most of the battle crouched in terror, had finally risen to her feet, and stood behind the attacker. She swung her staff, finding it awkward to wield, but knowing not to miss such an opportunity for a strike. The attacker sprang out one hand and grabbed the staff, much to Vivli's horror. He turned slowly.

"I'll deal with you soon enough kitty." He spoke in a low growl. Vivli gulped. "But for now, why don't you be a good girl and sit?" He kicked out powerfully, hitting Vivli in the stomach and sending her flying back, crashing against the edge of the airship. She collapsed completely, doubled over in pain. The attacker hurled her staff over the edge of the ship and turned back to Olose, only to see his fist fly in and hit him.

Olose had used the distraction to get close, and threw a punch full of anger and rage at what he had done to Vivli. The attacker crashed to the floor with a grunt. Olose kicked him and he flew back against the small rail against the edge of the airship. Olose charged in, striking him again to the face with such force the helmet flew off.

A figure looked up below, with tangled black hair, dark skin and a scar running down his left cheek. He spat blood with an angry growl. Olose grabbed the helmet, and used it to hit him in the face with, beating him over and over again. A blade sprang out of the attacker's gauntlet and he thrust it into Olose's chest. Olose stumbled back, grabbing the attacker and bringing him along. Olose dropped backwards, and kicked the assassin over his head with all of his strength. The assassin flew through the air, and sailed directly off the edge of the airship. Olose looked slightly surprised, forgetting how strong he was. He sighed and rose to his feet, the wound in his chest closing up. He removed the arrows, and those wounds too quickly healed. Olose thanked his own immortality, and quickly walked over to Vivli, who was still curled up, sobbing in pain.

"Are you alright?" He quickly asked. Vivli looked up at him weakly, and he lifted her up. She stood on her feet, but didn't have the strength to remain there, and Olose held her.

"I-" She began. "It hurts so much." She wept.

"It's okay." Olose said softly as she doubled over, holding her stomach where she had been kicked. "Can't you cure it?" Vivli nodded, and began casting a small cure spell. It took her much longer than normal, Olose observed, and was just a basic one once it had been cast. Olose rose an eyebrow.

"I can't cast properly." She explained, beginning to stand upright again, the pain was lifted, but it still ached. "I haven't cast spells in so long. I can't feel the magic anymore, like I used too. I wish I could have cast Holy to help you, but I simply couldn't." She dropped down, and Olose held her up. "I'm so useless." She sobbed.

"Stop saying that. It's beginning to get annoying." Olose joked.
"Sorry." Although it seemed Vivli couldn't tell.

"Listen, you're not useless, just out of practice. Cast a few spells and it'll come flooding back to you." Olose told her with a confident smile.

"He only kicked me." She said in a daze. "And I couldn't stand up. I couldn't take the pain. Just a kick." She looked at him. "He shot you four times and stabbed you. I got a kick, and couldn't handle it."

"I am immortal Viv." Olose pointed out. "Besides, if you weren't so fragile you wouldn't be so cute." He added, not entirely sure whether he should have said it or not. Luckily for him, Vivli just giggled.

"Who was that guy?" She asked, sounding sweeter than normal. Olose had a feeling she was playing up the 'cute' factor now, after he had said that.

"I don't know. A bounty hunter I guess, just hired to attack. Distinctive armour, lots of weapons, he reminds me a lot of one. Used to know a hired assassin a lot like him. 'Course, she was better, figured out I was a werewolf so used silver weapons."

"How'd you beat her?" Vivli asked as Olose walked over to the helmet, still on the deck.

"Threw her out a window." Olose smirked. "Seemed like a simple solution." Olose picked up the helmet. "Hang on. I don't think he is a bounty hunter."

"What? Why?" Vivli ran over to him, placing her hands behind her back and going up on her tip toes to peer down at the helmet Olose held.

"Okay, stop with the cute thing now." Olose grinned. Vivli laughed as Olose passed her the helmet. "Look at the emblem." He instructed her as she took it. Vivli tried to, but instead just fell to the floor with the weight of the helmet. She blushed brightly, righted herself, and tried to lift it. She could only just get it off the deck however, and couldn't support it, so gave up. She blushed even brighter, clearly very embarrassed. "It's okay. Armour can be heavy." Olose shrugged, not actually having noticed the weight. Vivli peered up at him, and then down at the emblem. It was a fancy tribal style picture of a wolf's head, with two blades on either side. Vivli looked up at Olose again.

"What does it mean?" She asked, running her finger over the emblem. The metal was cold, and made her glad of her heavy but warm robes. They were high in the sky, and it was late at night, it could get very chilly at times. Olose bent down beside her. Vivli had wanted to hand him the helmet, but wanted to be spared the humiliation of trying to lift it again.

"It means we're in serious trouble." He stated.

FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT YEARS EARLIER

Olose walked into the tavern, looking at the letter curiously.

"What is it, Cap'n?" Jeren asked casually.

"You got us another mission already?" Trevia added, her arm around Jeren.

"Maybe." Olose replied. "Take a look." He passed the letter to her, and she looked over it, Jeren peering at it too.

"It just says 'meet at noon by the docks'." Trevia said curiously. "Captain, either you have a secret admirer, or it's a trap."

"There's a symbol there too. A wolf with two swords." Jeren pointed out, his finger landing at the top corner of the note.

"Yeah, I know." Olose replied. "That's some kind of seal. A stamp denoting organisation. So that rules out a love letter." He flicked his hair back sarcastically. "Not that any woman could risk my charms, of course."

"Of course, Captain." Trevia laughed.

"Hey! Just remember she's married to me." Jeren shot in with fake jealousy, prompting the three to laugh. "So, what do you make of it?" He added after a pause.

"If it's a trap, then I'm willing to spring it. We're far out here, and the anchor still needs repairing, which requires money."

"Sir, you're married to one of the richest women in Tavnazia." Trevia pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's so emasculating to go running to her every time I need money." Olose replied. Trevia smiled and Jeren laughed. "So I figured I should go and see if it's a job. Besides, need something to do until the ship is repaired. Provided it doesn't fall to pieces in dock."

"You goin' alone?" Trevia asked.

"Well, the note was addressed to me, so I figured they just mean me. I don't want to do anything to annoy them if they are offering a job." Olose paused. "Now listen, if it is a trap and something happens to me-"

"-yes sir, I know, gather up the crew and get out of here." Trevia finished.

"What? No!" Olose cried. "You come and you rescue me!"

The three laughed again.

FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT YEARS LATER

Vivli slept gently against Olose. Olose had dismissed her question about what the emblem meant, but was still awake, thinking about it. He couldn't tell her. After all, it might not be them. It might be possible that the emblem was just reused from ancient legends. But then, why target him? Yet, if they were targeting him, why not use silver weapons that would kill him?

Vivli snuggled closer to him, still asleep and apparently cold. He smiled and held her gently. His face suddenly fell. The assassin wasn't after him, he was after her! Vivli! Why attack Vivli? If they were who he thought they were, they had no connection to the Light Warriors. It made no sense. It was entirely possible it was who he thought it was, easily they could have survived, but nothing seemed to make sense. That attacker was a trained hume, not one of them. Why not send one of their own? Why give him the emblem on his armour when they could have kept their identity secret? Did they want Olose to know that they had survived? Why do something that cocky? And how did this all tie into the original Destiny, there was nothing of significance about that ship when it was sunk.

His brain ached with all the questions, but luckily he was snapped out of it when the airship landed with a thud. Vivli awoke, and looked up at him startled, unaware she had even fallen asleep, let alone ended up resting on his lap. She sat back and quickly pushed her long hair back, drawing a hairbrush from apparently nowhere and tidying it. Olose smiled. He was deeply concerned about what had happened to her back in Jeuno, but didn't want to bring it up again. Not yet.

"Are we here?" Vivli asked, before feeling rather stupid, realising there was nowhere else they could be.

"Yeah." Olose replied. "C'mon. Zinkata should be easy enough to find. He's an emissary for Bastok after all."

"They never let us have each other's addresses." Vivli said sadly. "So that we couldn't sneak out and visit each other. You have an idea where he is though?"

"Yeah, by the Bastokian Embassy of course. That's what I meant when I said he was an emissary." Olose rolled his eyes.

"Okay, don't patronise me." Vivli said with sarcastic anger, rising up on her tip toes to get closer to Olose's face.

"But it's so easy!" He mocked.

"Watch it, you're starting to sound like Bootus." Vivli warned. Olose laughed.

Sadly, Vivli's stamina didn't match up with her enthusiasm, and she was soon left panting from exhaustion. Olose dragged her along and the two walked through the doors to the embassy, and suddenly Vivli exploded in joy. Stood resting against the wall in an amazingly charming looking roughish style was Zinkata, apparently on some kind of guard duty. His hair was cut short, but well styled, and it just made him look more handsome, and he seemed to be smiling, despite not even noticing that she had entered. She rushed directly into his arms with a cheerful smile.

"ZIN!" She cried, overjoyed. Zinkata was completely caught off guard, not even recognising the mithra. He quickly set her down and looked in shock.

"Viv?" He managed to croak. "What are you doing here?" He asked in a shocked whisper. Vivli was obviously very disappointed, having expected some huge romantic response.

"I-" She paused, reconsidering her words. "Olose came. We're needed Zin. He's got some mission for us. All of us."

"Viv, it's been three years." Zinkata muttered in shock, his voice still above a whisper.

"I know!" Vivli beamed. "It's so good to see you again!" She threw her arms around him again. Zinkata broke away and suddenly her face fell. "What is it?" She asked, sounding very worried.

"It's been three years Viv." Zinkata said painfully. "You can't just walk in here and throw yourself at me." Vivli's eyes swelled up with tears. Zinkata eyed her with concern; she was looking anorexic and more fragile than ever, and he still felt like he had to protect her, like the little sister she had always been in the group. But he had to tell her somehow.

"Who's this?" Came a voice from the door. An attractive blonde hume in tight blue armour walked in with a strange look to Vivli.

"This is Vivli." Zinkata answered.

"Vivli?" The hume seemed utterly shocked. "The legendary Light Warrior? Zinkata has told me all about you." Vivli beamed a happy smile. "Not quite what I was expecting, though." Vivli wrapped her arms around her small and weak looking frame and suddenly felt very embarrassed.

"I'm just a white mage." She said softly. "Who are you?"

"Sorry. This is Tamantha." Zinkata pointed to her. "My fiancé."

Vivli's world suddenly collapsed around her.