CHAPTER III

Vivli bolted out of the room in a blur of orange hair. Zinkata blinked for a moment in shock.

"Crap." He sighed, having been worried that would be her reaction. Olose just gave him an annoyed stare before chasing after her.

Vivli gave an angry sob of frustration as she felt Olose grab her from behind, stopping her from running any further. She struggled uselessly, and gave up, sobbing into his chest. Olose sighed.

"Viv." He began, not really knowing what to say. "I'm sorry things worked out like this."

"He's all that kept me going!" She sobbed. "All! The only thing that made me bother to continue living! The thought I'd see him again one day! That we could be together again!" She buried her face against his jacket, and gave up, falling off her feet and to the ground, sobbing. "Why do I bother to go on? Everything bad happens to me." She wept. "What's the point?" She yelled angrily.

"Because you're a survivor. You have too." Olose told her. "You have to survive. Things will get better. It has been three years."

"And not a day passed without me thinking of him!" Vivli got to her feet and screamed at Olose in rage, tears streaming down her face. "You have no idea what that's like!" Olose paused and took a deep gulp.

"Vivli, I know exactly what that's like. I lost my wife, remember? I lost all of my friends. I'm immortal, they weren't." Olose told her. Vivli couldn't think of a comeback, so just ran. Olose grabbed her again, and again she started struggling uselessly.

"Viv! Come to your senses! Please!" He cried.

"You don't understand!" Vivli sobbed. "I was ready to give everything up! I was ready to die! To give up on life! He kept me going! And it was pointless! It was for nothing! He doesn't love me!" Olose suddenly dropped into deep thought.

"Viv. What happened to you?" He asked with a deadly seriousness. Vivli stopped struggling and looked up at him, her ginger hair flopping down her face. "It wasn't just being mugged and burgled, was it?" Olose began to figure. "Something happened to you. What? I can help-"

"How?" Vivli croaked. "You can't change the past. It happened."

"What happened?" Olose had his suspicions, but knew Vivli would have to face it sooner or later. Vivli couldn't say it. She just cried. She sobbed. She couldn't admit it in the way Olose wanted her too. She couldn't think about the memory. Olose sighed heavily. "Come here." He hugged her tightly. "It'll be fine Viv. We've still got a job to do."

Zinkata came running over to join them, alone.

"Viv!" He cried, looking at the sobbing mithra. "I'm so sorry. I would have told you, but you just disappeared from the linkshell."

"I lost it." Vivli said at a barely audible level.

"I guessed." Zinkata replied. "I'm sorry Viv, but it's been three years. I had to move on. I thought you would have too."

"I couldn't. I can't. I love you. And I thought you loved me." Vivli sobbed.

"I did! But things change! Times change!" Zinkata argued, getting more angry than he knew he should.

"Not for me!" Vivli shouted.

"That's because you live in an ideal world! You always have! You're so naïve! You think everything in this world works out for the best in the end!" Zinkata shot back. "You think there are heroes and villains and that's it. Good versus evil. That's life. Well, it's not. Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people."

"I know that!" Vivli screamed. "Of course I know that! Don't you think bad things happen to me? But you were the thing I could rely on! The thing that kept me going!" She started marching away angrily, and Olose released her. She stormed off, managing only a few steps before bursting into tears and collapsing. Zinkata walked slowly over to her.

"I'm sorry, Viv. I love Tamantha now. I want to marry her. That's my decision to make. I'll always care about you, but I got over my feelings for you a long time ago. You need to do the same."

"I can't." Vivli sobbed. "I just can't. You don't know how important you were to me. You don't understand."

"Of course I understand. You were like that to me at first but-"

"No!" Vivli cut him off, turning up to him, her eyes bloodshot. "I was-" She paused, and croaked. "I needed you. I needed the thought of love still being out there. To keep me going. After what happened." Zinkata assumed she was referring to the Light Warriors being broken up, but didn't realise just how wrong he was.

"I know Viv. And I do love you. Just not in that way. I'm sorry." He said softly. Zinkata turned and walked away. Olose sighed and helped Vivli up. Vivli began to walk away.

"Viv?" Olose asked.

"I need time on my own." She managed to say, wiping the tears streaming down her face away with her sleeve. "I'm sorry. I'll meet you later." Olose nodded and let her leave. He decided to keep an eye on her in case she did anything stupid to get herself in trouble, but wouldn't let her know that he was watching her.

The first thing she did was retreat to the inn where Olose had dropped off their stuff. He waited outside as she disappeared within. Vivli marched over to the bag Olose had brought for her from Jeuno. She had packed plenty of things to bring with her, and then realised (much to her embarrassment) the bag was far too heavy for her to lift, so Olose had carried it and left it in the inn. She slipped out of her robes and pulled out a pastel blue dress, and put it on, changing her boots once more for her usual shoes. She was glad to be back in her normal, more comfortable, clothing. She had given up on the idea of adventuring. There was no point. She didn't even have her staff anymore. She had lost it in the battle with the assassin. At least some things never changed. She decided she didn't need a new one. She wasn't going to be fighting anymore. She almost laughed at the thought she was supposed to be a hero of legend. One of the four that had saved Vana'diel from total annihilation, more than once. She was pathetic. Even the newest of new mages training in Windurst seemed to look down on her as if she was the weakest thing in existence. And sometimes she felt like she was. She had needed Zinkata. She had needed him to make her feel like she had any worth. And he had abandoned her. Fallen in love with somebody else. She wasn't made at him. No. She was mad at the concept. Just the idea. Somebody else was there stealing his love away from her. He was supposed to love her! They were supposed to live happily ever after!

She broke down into tears on the bed before she paused, considering Zinkata's words. Maybe she really was naïve. She wanted everything to work out fine, of course, but who didn't? The worrying thing was that maybe somewhere in her heart she had always believed it would. And now she had to face the fact that it wouldn't. Things weren't going to sort themselves out. She'd lost him. Forever.

She suddenly felt very claustrophobic, sprang to her feet and left the room as quickly as her feet could carry her. It was good to get outside, to breath fresh air, to try and not focus on what she had lost. She headed towards the docks, the one place in Windurst where her mind could be truly free as she looked out across the ocean. From a safe distance of course; she hated water.

That was the plan at least, sadly it never came to fruition. She got to the docks, and saw two figures stood, watching the sun set. Sun set? It had been that long. The day had flown by like it was a blurry dream. Those two figures. Zinkata. And his fiancé. Vivli's replacement. They were both still in guard armour. Vivli's eyes focused on her. She was taller than Vivli, stronger, with long flowing blonde hair and much prettier looking. Same species too. There was no competition. Vivli's legs failed her and she collapsed.

What was worse was that there was nothing wrong with her. She couldn't hate her. She just couldn't. There was no reason to. She was a nice kind person it seemed; she had to be if Zinkata loved her. Tamantha. She played the name around in her head. She couldn't hate it. She couldn't hate her. She'd need a reason. Hate was too powerful to have without a reason. Vivli started sobbing to herself. It wasn't fair! He'd fallen in love with someone else, and she didn't even have a reason to hate her! She had to like her! What next? Was she going to have to be her friend?

She felt somebody take her hand and lift her to her feet. She opened her eyes to see Zinkata smiling warmly. For a moment, just a moment, she forgot everything and felt like throwing herself into his arms. Tamantha smiled from his side and Vivli let out another involuntary sob.

"Are you alright?" It was Tamantha who spoke first, not Zinkata.

"Yes." Vivli lied.

"Viv, look, I'm sorry." Zinkata tried to speak, but Tamantha signalled for him to be quiet.

"Zin, go talk to Olose. There must be a reason he visited." She advised. "I want to talk to Vivli."

"Oh, fantastic." The little mithra grumbled.

"Come on, I just want to be helpful." Tamantha told her.

"That makes things worse." Vivli managed to say.

"What? Why?" Tamantha asked.

"I want to hate you. You took Zinkata from me. But I can't. You've done nothing wrong. And now you're being kind to me. I can't hate you. I can't do anything with all the anger and jealousy I'm feeling. It would be so easy to shout at you and yell about it, but it's not fair to do that! You've done nothing wrong so I can't. It's not fair!" Vivli started sobbing again.

"I know how you feel, Vivli." Tamantha told her. "I mean, don't you think it's easy for me to hate you?" Suddenly Vivli looked up in surprise. "I mean, all I know is that Zinkata used to love you deeply and you still love him. It's easy for me to see you as a threat. It's easy for me to want you to be gone. It's a case of controlling those emotions." Vivli sighed heavily as Tamantha spoke.

"I can't." She wept. "I can't control them. I'm not strong enough!"

"It's not going to be easy, you need to learn." Tamantha explained.
"That's easy for you to say! You have him to hold you and love you and protect you! I don't!" Vivli shouted, and Tamantha just sighed, releasing she was unleashing all of those emotions that she had spoke about.

"Well maybe you should look at what you do have!" Tamantha said much louder than she would have liked; it sounded like she was shouting.

"And what's that?" Vivli sobbed. "What do I possibly have anymore? I've lost everything!"

"You have friends." Tamantha told her. "As much as I hate to say it, Zinkata still cares about you. A lot. Olose will do anything to protect you. And the other Light Warriors are out there." Vivli looked up tearfully at the taller woman.

"It's not the same." She wept.
"It's enough. You just need to learn that it is." Tamantha explained. She then sighed. "If you two are here, I know you're taking Zinkata away on a mission. It's the only explanation. I have to let him go, my duty is here as a guard to the emissary. If I let Zinkata go with you, how do you think I feel?" Tamantha paused. "Letting my fiancé explore the world with his ex-girlfriend who I know still has feelings for him? I have to let that happen. And I can. You need to learn to have the same control." Vivli sighed heavily, and began crying again. She couldn't stop. Tamantha looked on sadly, and gave her a sisterly hug.

Zinkata paced for a moment, after Olose had explained the problem and told the story of everything that had happened up to that point.

"Why did you choose us?" Zinkata inquired.

"An excuse to reunite you at first." Olose admitted. "But it seems that the organisation behind this act sent an assassin, provided they're who I think they are. If that's so, they fear the Light Warriors. Not me. The assassin was aiming for Vivli. I think they fear the champions of Vana'diel being united. It's possible they even had a hand in manipulating events to separate you."

"Do you have any idea who this organisation is? And what they have to gain through initiating a war?"

FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT YEARS EARLIER

Olose turned slowly as he sensed another presence approach. A hume woman stood before him, with long brown hair and dark dangerous looking brown eyes. Her body seemed well toned and her face was plain. She wore simple brown clothes, nothing ornate. Behind her stood a mountain of a man; a hume that looked more like a galka, the same size and build, and completely bald, with dead looking grey eyes.

"Olose Sampson?" She inquired.

"What do you know. My crew was right. A secret admirer." Olose quipped. "Although I'm not so sure about the other guy."

"He's called Bear. He doesn't say much, but he does his job well." The woman replied.

"Bear eh? I can see that." Olose turned to the woman, and looked directly at her. "And what is his job?"

"To find and break people I don't like." She replied venomously.

"Oh." Olose managed to say. "And you are?"

"Leanne." There was a long pause.

"I meant in relation to wanting to see me." Olose explained. Leanne smiled.
"I know." She shot.

"So, why send the letter? Why request my presence?" Olose inquired.

"I know what you are, Olose Sampson." Leanne told him. "And I'm here to make you a once in a lifetime offer." Olose paused.
"Great. Advertisers." Olose grumbled sarcastically. Leanne shot him an angry look.
"Our offer is not to be mocked, Olose." She warned him. "The entire future of Vana'diel is about to be decided, and you can either participate, or die."

FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT YEARS LATER

"No, I have no idea who they are." Olose said after a long thought. "There are many possibilities, but none really worth considering."

"We need to find out." Zinkata decided. "And stop them before they do something serious."

"Of course. That's why I'm here." Olose smiled. "We need to find Bootus and Voldos and then get out into the ocean, explore the area. We'll follow any leads from here." Olose paused. "Of course, this means you and Viv will be on an adventure again. You alright with that?"

"It's her I'm worried about." Zinkata shot.

"Me too." Olose grumbled.

"Give me a day to prepare, I need time off from my work at the emissary, and want to do something for Tamantha before I leave."

"Understandable." Olose nodded. "Viv'll probably need that time to come to her senses anyway." Zinkata smiled in agreement.

Vivli had left Tamantha and was stood watching the airship depart. Her mind was racing. Old memories flooded through her brain.

That final battle so long ago. She had been so scared. They were fighting the lord of the demons, evil in its ultimate form. They stood no chance. But they fought. They had too. The fate of Vana'diel and the entire future of everything hung in the balance. Nothing could have stopped them. They fought and they won because they had too. After that, every time danger rose up they were there to fight it. They were the saviours and protectors of Vana'diel. She couldn't let any harm to come to it. It was her job to protect it!

She looked at her own skinny arms and sighed. Some protector. She couldn't do anything. She could barely cast spells, she didn't have a weapon, she was useless. Any adventurer in any city could do her job better than her. Olose's words rang through her mind.

"You're a Light Warrior. A destined protector of Vana'diel."

Destiny? Was this truly her destiny? To lose everything she held dear? And to have that happen to her?

She couldn't think about it. Her skin began to crawl and she began to cry at the memory. She found herself running, despite the fact there was nothing to run from and nowhere to go to. She eventually managed to bring herself to a stop, sobbing. She found herself screaming aloud at herself, hating herself for being so pathetic. She had no idea what she was screaming. Just words. Rage. Anger. She had to let it out. She screamed as loudly as her tiny lungs would allow her, sobbing in the middle of the street.

Some time later a very sombre looking mithra approached Olose. Her shoulders and arms hung loosely and her face showed no expression.

"Viv?" Olose asked.

"Let's go." She replied, almost in a daze. Olose rose an eyebrow, worried.

"Are you okay?" He asked quickly, and she just turned to look at him, making no gesture. Olose frowned. "We'll be leaving in the morning. You alright until then?" Vivli said nothing, but instead just turned and walked away. Olose frowned for a second time.