Author's Notes: Okay, extreme apologies on my part. Did you know it's been six weeks since an update? Coming from the person who used to update daily. I'm extremely sorry. I've been very, very lazy. I've also been struggling a bit with this plot, but I think I'm beginning to work it out now, which is good. Although I do get the distinct impression I should have left it as a trilogy without doing this story. But anyway, I am extremely sorry for the delay. I am seriously planning on updating better, but may actually be extremely busy over the next couple of weeks with a university production, so if I fail to update again, urm, just send me an e-mail shout or something. That'll kick me into gear and help me find the time.

I noticed a big flaw in this story, actually. Well, not big. But I've been referring to Promethia as Prometheus, who is a Greek titan. Promethia is the FFXI god. I haven't gone back and corrected this, but if you hate errors like that, just pretend Prometheus is a nickname people have for him, like how some gods have different names. It'll be correct from hereon.

Also the problem with these slow updates is that writing style can change a bit. Like Remasa changed between "Remasa" and "Remmy" in the prose. Sorry about that too. That's just me being a bad writer. But sorry all the same.

Either way, enjoy this chapter, sorry it was so long in coming. If you're bored between updates, post on the forums I made! They've been dead for a while and I'd love it if they came back to life. So check them out. You can yell at me for not updating there too.

Anyway, enjoy, and sorry again.

CHAPTER XVI

Leanne walked into the massive cave, dragging Talia with her, and knelt before a hooded figure, seated on a massive chair. Abaj Tuh, as living as ever.

"Why have you brought my daughter before me?" Came a simple question.

"She freed Olose and conspired with him." Leanne explained. Abaj took a step from his throne and began to walk down to face her.

"The way that I saw it, you freed Olose when you woke him up to gloat. You were warned that the spell could not hold." Abaj explained.

"No. It was her failure-" Leanne began to explain. But it was all that she said. Abaj drew a silver sword and sliced off her head in one smooth movement. Talia jolted in shock.

"Five hundred and fifty years and she continues to fail me. Discipline was long overdue." Abaj spoke from under his hood, horrific scars all over his mangled face clearly visible. "I'm disappointed in you, too, Talia. I had hoped that you would not be taken in my Olose's lies."

"I'm sorry, father." Talia stated coldly. "I did try to destroy him for you."

"It doesn't matter. Things are in motion now that cannot be undone." Abaj explained. "And it is no ancient prophecy or scheme of the gods. It's these mortals. All we had to do was push a few buttons and they're marching on each other. Bastok has dispatched its armies to confront San d'Oria. By tomorrow, the two nations will destroy each other. Windurst and Jeuno will surely try to intervene. And all shall die." Abaj paused, just to smile to himself. "And the irony is that they will have destroyed each other. From the ash we will rise to rule and guide the new nation. We shall be the new masters of Vana'diel."

"I am aware of the plan, father." Talia said dryly, not quite understanding Abaj's tendency to explain evil plots in such detail.

"Then you are probably asking why I am in such a good mood despite Olose's escape? This is all average stuff. Our plot finally coming to light. I have planned this. It is not enough to make me pleased. It is the result of a simple calculation." Abaj began to tell his fake daughter.

"So what are you so happy about?" Talia asked.

"We've found him." Abaj grinned in response.

Vivli opened her eyes wearingly. She was now under what looked like a blurry big leaf. She could hear rain falling. She struggled to move, but just gave up with a groan. She felt something damp and cool on her forehead. Olose stood over her and smiled.

"I decided ripping up my shirt was a little more effective than leaves." He told her, holding a wet rag evidently made from his shirt. His battered leather jacket still hung around him. "You're still burning up. Not much better."

"It's raining." Vivli weakly observed.

"Yes, it is. Luckily there are some gigantic plants here. The leaf will keep the rain off you." Olose explained.

"But rain is cold." Vivli muttered, still clearly somewhat delirious. Olose just smiled.

"I'll collect some for you. You can have a drink." Olose told her.

"Where's Zin?" She ventured as he went to leave. Olose paused, and sighed.

"Out hunting with the others." He stated.

Zinkata smashed into a tree and dropped down with a groan. A gigantic monster roared at him, and charged. Bootus dove out of nowhere tackling it. It spun around and hissed, a mighty green tentacle wrapping around his leg and hurling him into a nearby river. An arrow thudded into it from Voldos, who sighed.

"I hate Malboros." He commented, the rain dribbling down his face. The heroes had in fact been lucky, having successfully recovered their weapons from wreckage. Without them, encounters such as this could have been much deadlier.

"I must admit," Zinkata began, getting to his feet, "This one is particularly annoying." Bootus sprang out of the river and started slicing with his scythe, dicing the long arms of the creature. The Malboro turned and hissed at him, spreading its bad breath and leaving the galka feeling quite dizzy.

"Now that's what I call comeuppance!" Voldos joked.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Bootus protested, just before the beast slapped him back into the river with its many arms.

"Shame Viv isn't here to enjoy this." Voldos added. Zinkata ran at it while it was facing the other way and leapt, driving his sword into its back. It howled, its tentacles flying everywhere, and it finally collapsed. The three Light Warriors regrouped, panting.

"Why is it wherever we go there's monsters?" Zinkata sighed.

"Well. We got food." Bootus grinned.

"It's a Malboro! You can't eat a Malboro!" Voldos pointed out.

"Sure you can." Bootus countered. "It's considered a delicacy in some parts of the world."

"Yeah, the crazy parts." Voldos countered.

"Maybe Viv's sophisticated princess taste buds will survive it?" The galka suggested with a grin.

"We should have a rule. Like, 'don't mock the sick'." Zinkata suggested.

"But where's the fun in that?" Bootus complained.

"Well, guess we should keep searching then." Voldos groaned.

"Yeah, just try not to get attacked again." Zinkata sighed.

"Hey! It totally went for Bootus first! Not me!" Voldos protested.

Zinkata sighed for a second time.

Olose lifted Vivli up into his arms. She seemed to be asleep. He couldn't help but smile to himself. She felt unnatural in his hands, almost as if he was holding a person made from silk. The white magic released inside her body had had a strange effect. Not only was her hair blonde, but as a whole, she seemed pure. Her soft skin, her delicate features seemingly emphasised, he even noticed she always had a sweet smell about her (despite days of suffering from a fever washed up on a beach). Of course, she still had an anorexic appearance that he didn't find particularly attractive, but the rest of her awed him.

Remasa was sat down the beach and seemed to smile as she noticed Olose looking at Vivli. For an immortal, she found him surprisingly easy to read.

Vivli seemed to awaken with a cat like yawn, and she saw Olose holding her. She simply smiled, and then her face contorted with effort. It became clear she was trying to achieve something, but for a moment, Olose was unsure of what. She spread out her arms and tried desperately to sit up, seeking for the strength.

He eventually figured out that she was trying to hug him, and helped her the rest of the way.

Talia gave Abaj a blank stare.

"Found who?" She asked simply.

"Furcas." Abaj replied, smiling with a horrible kind of joy.

"Furcas?" Talia questioned. "Who is Furcas?" Abaj merely laughed.

"You don't know?" He asked simply. "Furcas is the first of many. The original werewolf created by Promethia to spread his curse to the rest of us. Furcas is a demon soldier. The demon soldier that carried the plague of lycanthropy."

"And we've found him because?" Talia asked with a confused look upon her face.

"Furcas fell into a deep sleep after he began to spread the plague. Nobody knew why. But I found out. He was manipulated by a force upon this planet. The Destroyer of Worlds."

"The Destroyer of Worlds? You mean that creature the Light Warriors killed?" Talia questioned, beginning to feel she understood.

"Yes. Almost four years ago they destroyed him and freed us all from his manipulations. In doing so, there is now nothing to prevent Furcas from awakening." Abaj explained.

"So we get a powerful ally because of what they did." Talia smiled.

"No." Abaj stated. "We're going to destroy him."

Talia gave Abaj yet another blank stare.

Vivli sighed, resting against Olose.

"I'm sick." She stated simply.

"Worked it out yourself?" Olose lightly mocked. "And they say you're blonde." Vivli frowned at him. "Sorry." He laughed innocently.

"I mean, I'm sick. And I'm a white mage. It's not right." Vivli explained. She promptly shut her eyes and looked very much like she was concentrating hard.

"Urr, Viv?" Olose questioned.

"Shh!" She snapped, her eyes flying open for just a second, before they sealed again.

Vivli felt her own cure spell wash over her body as it normally did, but this time she focused intently inwards. She felt her own bloodstream flowing through her. She felt more than that. She felt the cells. Individual cells floating around in plasma. She felt even deeper, and could feel the individual cells that didn't belong. She could feel the fever. She concentrated on it, and in a flash of magic, it was gone.

Vivli gasped and opened her eyes, feeling woozy.

"Viv? You alright?" Olose asked quickly.

"I'm fine." Vivli stated, getting up. She ached, but the illness had left her. "I'm fine." She repeated, a little surprised. Remasa began to walk over to her, a confused look upon her face.

"You cast out the illness with magic?" Remasa questioned.

"Yes." Vivli nodded happily, managing a smile.

"But…that isn't possible." Remasa said, more to herself than to Vivli. "We can't cure all illnesses with white magic. We never have been able to." Vivli looked away, shyly.

"I know." She admitted.

"You think this has something to do with the whole…" Olose stumbled, searching for the right word. "…blonde thing." He finished, deciding that was the best way to sum it up.
"It's possible, if her abilities with magic were increased beyond a normal level by that. I can't think of it ever happening before-" Remasa began, but was interrupted.

"It's happened." Olose stated. "And on a much grander scale than with Vivli here. When magic is repressed, when it's restored it normally ends up as being much more powerful. I guess that's what we're seeing here."

"So I'm a better mage now?" Vivli beamed, finally finding something she could be proud of.

"That's how I figure it." Olose smiled to her.

"You could be becoming more powerful than even the High Priestess." Remasa said comfortingly.

Of course, the happy moment didn't last long. This particular time it was disrupted by a rustle from the bushes nearby.

"Running would be good!" Came the cry of Voldos as he dove into view. Zinkata and Bootus came up behind him. Voldos stopped to fire an arrow backwards, but apparently it didn't stop whatever was perusing him, because he quickly began to run again. Vivli and Olose scrambled to their feet, and Remasa, who was already standing, began to run. Vivli let out a shriek as she ran out into the rain, feeling the water wash over her and plaster her hair down her back. "Hey, Viv, you're up!" Voldos observed with a smile.

"I got better." She smiled back.

"Seriously, running time is now!" Bootus panted. Vivli looked back, and couldn't help but feel like the entire jungle was coming alive.

"We sent you for food, and you've doomed us all." Olose casually mumbled as he began to sprint, taking Vivli's hand to drag her behind him. "You suck." He said simply.

"It wasn't our fault!" Voldos protested. "Well, Bootus's maybe."

"Oh, don't try and pin this one on me, elf boy!" Bootus countered.

"Let's get to the beach!" Zinkata decided. "Out in the open. From there, maybe we can plan something. Anything!"

"I've been better thirty seconds and already we're going to die." Vivli grumbled to herself, and then sighed. Olose just pulled on her arm and got her to run faster.

Talia eyed Abaj with an expression so puzzled it even made Abaj slightly uncomfortable.

"We've found Furcas, the original werewolf, the most powerful of us all, direct servant of Promethia, and we're going to kill him?" She questioned in total confusion.

"Yes." Abaj stated simply. "Furcas was created by Promethia to spread the plague. He is not a werewolf like us, but a demon. A demon that is the pure form of lycanthropy. He spread it into Altana's creations. He is the vessel that Promethia used to spread his corruption. His power is beyond any of us. And he serves no one but Promethia himself. He's unpredictable and he's dangerous. And now that the Destroyer of Worlds is gone, there's nothing to stop him waking up." Abaj explained. "We cannot afford to have him interfere. He'd take over. He'd change our plans. We'd lose everything to him!"

"So you wanted to find him first and kill him so that he can't?" Talia guessed.

"Exactly." Abaj answered. "And now we have." Abaj walked over to the wall of his lair and drew a silver long sword. "With Olose and his cronies missing, and Furcas destroyed, we will at last be the only power on Vana'diel worth anything. The land will be ours."

The six heroes ran out onto the beach, and turned around just in time to see hoards of malboros emerging from the jungle.

"When I said you were good at making friends, I didn't mean like this." Remasa panted to Bootus.

"It's not my fault! They followed me!" Voldos snapped in an automatic defence.. "Oh, you were talking to Bootus, right?" He corrected afterwards. "Nevermind."

"Don't you just love this place." Olose sighed. "I count at least twelve."

"Think we can take them?" Zinkata asked calmly, salvaged sword at the ready.

"They seemed a bit tougher than usual." Voldos observed. "And there's a lot."

"Tougher?" Vivli squeaked in fear, trying not to look too much like she was hiding behind Olose (which was, of course, exactly what she was doing).

"Wuss." Bootus sighed.

"Work some magic mojo you two!" Zinkata ordered to Remasa and Vivli.

"Magic mojo?" Remasa repeated sceptically.

"Now is not the time to criticise my choice of words!" Zinkata protested. "Just keep them away from us! Concentrate your fire on one, maybe you can take one or two down before they get here!"

Vivli focused on the malboros, seemingly slithering towards them, slowly. They didn't need to rush. Their prey was trapped by the expansive sea. She shut her eyes, and Zinkata's orders faded. She began to focus on each malboro. She began to summon the magical energy required to attack, but usually when she attempted it in a situation like this it just filtered down, and she had to target one. This time it felt different. The power surged up through her, and she could feel every single malboro approaching them.

"Holy Flare!" She screamed at the top of her voice, and massive explosions of white light hit every one of the vile creatures. Remasa's eyes went wide.

"What was that?" She asked quickly. Vivli seemed to be panting heavily after the casting, and turned to Remasa.

"I have no idea." She gasped, still desperate for breath. She looked at the fried malboros, and gulped as they began advancing again.

"Can you do that again?" Zinkata asked in his usual business like manner. Vivli felt slightly hurt. She'd of at least liked some praise from him.

"N-no." She answered sadly. "I need to rest. Refocus. That took everything I had."

"And it didn't stop them." Remasa pointed out.

"Not to mention 'Holy Flare' is a really stupid name." Bootus grumbled. "You need someone else to name your spells, methinks."

"Other issues here, guys!" Zinkata cried.

"More are coming." Vivli half gasped, half sobbed.

"Who thought we'd go down like this? To a bunch of stupid run of the mill monsters?" Voldos muttered, firing pointless arrows, trying to slow them down.

"We're not going anywhere!" Olose snapped.

"That doesn't sound like a good strategy." Remasa commented. "I would have thought getting as far away as possible would be better."

"Figure of speech." Olose grumbled.

"Well, where can we run to?" Zinkata asked, looking back at the ocean.

"Can't swim!" Vivli quickly shouted, before anybody could suggest it. A sudden sound tore through the air. The beating rotor blades of an airship.

They all looked in relief.

"That'll do." Zinkata quietly whispered.

Abaj plunged his silver sword into the heart of the sleeping beast. Furcas looked like nothing Talia had ever seen. For a moment, she thought he had resembled Bear in his werebear form, but he didn't. He was large, yet not quite the size of the fully transformed Bear, and was covered in a black sludge. He seemed to have a permanent wolf form, yet not like the other werewolves. This one was smoother, and the same black as the sludge that covered him. And he was sleeping, peacefully. Or he had been. Now he was dying. Such an intimidating creature, writhing and dying by their hand.

For the first time in a long time Talia actually felt like they were doing good.

And then there was an impact like a meteor crash to Abaj's chest and he rocketed across the room.

A rope ladder fell down from the airship, and the heroes quickly jumped on without a thought.

"If you want to, come on up!" A man cried from the deck. "Well, I mean, if you think you want to. After all, who knows what anybody wants? They always say we don't know what we truly want. So maybe you don't want to. But if you think you want to, then I suggest you come up here, because you're going to be eaten, and even if you actually want to be eaten and you don't know it then you'll think you want to get up here so it's best to climb up."

The entire group sighed depressively, except for Remasa, who blinked in confusion.

"Hi Steve!" Vivli beamed, waving.

"Not again." Bootus groaned.

"Just get up the ladder!" Zinkata ordered. Bootus grabbed Remasa and threw her on his back, the ladder blatantly not made for tarutarus. Vivli tried to climb up, but as usual couldn't hold herself on the rope ladder. Things were even more difficult as her now considerably softer hands just slipped as she tried to pull herself up. Olose smiled to himself as he took her and carried her up. He saw any excuse to hold her as a gift.

Furcas stood at his full height, and Talia suddenly felt the need to reassess her previous thoughts on him being shorter than Bear. The silver sword was still lodged in his heart.

"This is your bane, corrupted, not mine." The creature growled, pulling the sword from his heart and throwing it aside. Abaj stumbled to his feet, looking on in fear. "You are all corrupted creatures of Altana. I am your creator. Your weaknesses are yours. They do not concern me." He began to slowly advance on Abaj.

"W-what do you want?" Abaj stammered.

"You are in my servitude." Furcas announced.

"Yes, my master." Abaj walked before Furcas, bowed, and suddenly launched himself into an attack. He drove his fist into Furcas's body with as much power as he could manage. "Fool! I serve no one!" Abaj bellowed. Despite the force of his punch, Furcas seemed un-phased, His body jolted from the blow and he grabbed Abaj's hand before he could retract it, and snapped it clean off. He lifted up his leg and kicked Abaj, sending him flying back again.

"You are in my servitude. There is no choice." Furcas stated. Talia, panicking, launched her most powerful fireball at the monster's back. It slammed against him, exploding spectacularly. Furcas turned, unaffected. "Fire, from a corrupted?" Furcas pondered. "You have access to the magicks. You are of use to me. You too are in my servitude." Talia swallowed, hard, beginning to quiver. "You!" Furcas bellowed at the pained Abaj, clutching his bloody arm stump. "You asked me what I wanted. I desire to destroy them. To destroy them all."

Abaj listened intently, and slowly his expression of horror turned to a sinister smile.