Note: Peh. Gomenasai! Sorry for the long delay, folks. I decided to take a short break, which evolved into a long break, which evolved into a -holy-flaming-poop-on-a-stick-I-really-need-to-finish-this-chapter-before-I-forget-what's-going-on-and-my-few-fans-abandon-me period. Whoo. I'm trying to work on two fics at once, and I'm feeling a lil' guilty about not working on the S_Files.. soo... urm, read and enjoy ^.^ Review are quite welcome. I still live off feedback.

Chapter 5-On the Road

"We were a long, long way from home." -Sister Hazel, Starfish

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The next day Black awoke to a noonday sky. Everyone was asleep except Shaker, who looked about ready to drop. Black sighed: he probably wouldn't be up to traveling a long way today… he'd have to take it easy. But they needed to get to Burmecia by tonight or tomorrow.

"Why did you let us sleep so long?" Black stood.

"You n-needed to r-rest for the t-t-trip." His fatigue seemed to make his stuttering worse.

"Why didn't you sleep, then?" Black lashed his tail in mild annoyance.

"I st-still don't t-trust you…"

Black sighed and turned to the rest of the group. He gently shook Eiko awake and moved to Quina. There he was faced with a problem. How was he going to awake the Qu without getting rolled on? He pushed on Quina's side gingerly and said,

"Quina! Time to awaken."

Quina made a murph sound and rolled over to stand on its feet and nearly flattening Black in the process. Black only escaped with a quick flap of his wings. Quina, apparently, didn't notice as it shook its head to drive away drowsy thoughts and wake itself.

Eiko chuckled softy and Shaker smiled faintly. Black shifted his wing feathers to get them in order and turned around. Since it was near the middle of the day, navigating by the sun might be difficult. He tried to scent the wind and see if he could catch any moist breezes from Burmecia, but the air was heavy and still.

"Well, we seem to have a problem. I don't know which direction we go to get to Burmecia…"

"H-here.' Shaker reached into his pack and rummaged through several pockets. After a few minutes, he produced a compass. It had two needles and text written in several languages on the face. The brass outside was delicately carved, and it had patterns that indicated water and wave designs.

"It's beautiful…" Black looked up. "But what is it?"

"It's a Gaian Compass." Shaker crouched. "Gaia has t-two moons, you see. One s-sets in the north, and one sets in the w-west. Moons are have magnetic pull. These needles inside have d-different magnetic signals, so they only get drawn to the moons and not each other. One needle is always pointing north, and one is always pointing south. During m-midnight, the moons cross over. And the needles spin. But this only lasts for about fifteen minutes. After that they switch, so the n-needle that pointed north now points south, f-following its moon. And vice versa. One needle is larger than the other, and it follows the moon that rises in the north and sets in the south. When it's noon here, it's midnight s-s-somewhere else. The needles spin, and after noon it points north. That's how we know which way is north and which was is south."

Black noted that while Shaker was explaining this, his trembling ha subsides considerably and he hadn't stuttered quite as badly as he normally would have.

"So these needles point north and south?"

"Yes."

"Okay… which way Is Burmecia from Lindblum?

"North."

"Do you have a map, Shaker?" Black looked around. "I really don't know where we are..."

Shaker wordlessly swung his pack off his back and started shifting through it. Black looked up. There wasn't a cloud in the sky... they must be far from Burmecia.

There was a rattling of stiff parchment as Shaker pulled out a relatively new world map. Black helped him hold it down on the ground. Eiko and Quina looked on.

"We'll have to pass through Gizamaluke's G-grotto before we get there... and we're probably r-really close to this forest." Shaker indicated a patch of dark green. Eiko pointed to it.

"Isn't that a Chocobo Forest?" Quina nodded in agreement.

"I th-think so."

"But that's an unnecessary detour. We shouldn't take it unless need be." Black stood up. "Up here is Qu's Marsh, I know how to get there from Lindblum. I vote we skirt the marsh and make a beeline for Gizamaluke's Grotto." He looked up. "Do you agree?"

"I'm n-not the leader of this quest." Shaker shrugged.

"Well, I agree with Black." Eiko stood up. "Let's get movin'."

After a few minutes they packed up their camp, got their directions straight, and started walking. Shaker kept the pace up but his feet dragged slightly.

The rest of the afternoon passed generally without incident. By sunset they could clearly see the distant gray outlines of mountains ahead.

Black turned to the rest of the group. "Time to make camp again. This time we'll be able to get up by dawn."

Silently the group made camp once more. It had seemed that only hours before they had done this under the stars. Black lay down, thinking. Would the Mistress send him a dream tonight? The words of the prophecy were burned into his mind. He would need to recite them when they arrived at Burmecia. Eiko was sitting nearby, toying with something in her hand. Black turned to her.

"Are you hungry? Have you no food?"

"Quina's cooking it." She looked up. "Do you know what this is?" it was a small yellow ribbon, a little frayed at the edges but still pretty. Black cocked his head.

"A ribbon?"

"Yeah... but this ribbon's unique. It belonged to a friend of mine named Mog. She had to leave, but sometimes... I can still see her."

"I'm sorry." Black lowered his muzzle.

"Oh, she's not dead!" Eiko grinned. "She just went home!"

Black nodded slowly. "That's good... have you ever been to Gizamaluke's Grotto?"

"No, but Zidane told me about it once. When he went in, the whole place was half-destroyed. Alexandria's army had gone through and killed all the Burmecian soldiers. They also took control of Master Gizamaluke, a huge water beast, and made him attack Zidane and his friends... but I think Gizamaluke's gotten better now."

Black was a little apprehensive about confronting such a monster. But they would cross that bridge when they cam to it. "Urrdu, Eiko, that information might come in handy."

"Urrdu?"

"It means 'thanks' in Shiran, my native tongue."

"Yums-yums ready!" Quina called. Black was still full after his previous night's meal. He rolled on his side and dropped into a light sleep.

----

His dream was sudden, and short. He was dimly aware of the fact that time had passed... a familiar mote of light flashed with urgency before him.

"Awake, Talsolia! You are needed!"

----

Black's eyes snapped open and he stood. It was night, and one of Gaia's moons had already risen in the south. The camp members were asleep, but something wasn't right...

"KREEEEGAH!"

Black's head jerked up. The shriek echoed over the hills, but Black couldn't see anything... he whiffed the air. It was still. Slowly he raised his wings, preparing to fly, when a dark shape hit him full-force in the side, bowling him completely over. He caught himself and glared upward.

The dark figure took a strange, but streamlined shape. As it passed over one of the moons, Black could see faint silver light coming through a thin membrane of wing, darkened in three long fingers. The creature finished its wide loop and shrieked, flying at Black.

Black threw himself to one side, crying out. "Wake up!"

Eiko raised her head groggily. The winged creature cocked its head. A single coppery eye caught the dying firelight and it dived again. But Eiko was quicker. She dodged, flinging herself into the long grass and grabbing her weapon. The assailant crashed into the campfire, scattering burning embers everywhere and causing the scorched wood to reduce to ash.

In the brief and dim glow, Black could see the creature clearly. Its head was birdlike, with a long, thick curved upper bill that had jagged teeth running along the outside of the mouth. Its neck was long and sinewy, covered in shaggy fur. It had two batlike wings instead of arms; Its hind feet were like a raptor's, with three strong toes. It lashed a serpentine tail once and rose with a heavy flap of it's wings.

By this time Shaker had risen from his light doze, spear held ready. Quina was also prepared to do battle, in what Black figured to be an attack stance. He ran to their side, and Eiko met him halfway there. They turned and the four fighters formed a battle line.

The attacker, however, did not take its place before them, as a monster of Gaia would when brought into a battle. The Battle Code was binding. No living creature of Gaia could break it. Instead it made another arc and dived straight for Eiko.

"What the-?" she had only enough time to duck under the cruel talons as it darted over her. "What's going on?!"

"That thing is Pterrian-born!" Black said. "It's called a leonæ!"

Black was cut off as the leonæ came once more, mouth open and claws brandished. This time it dove for Quina, who moved partially to one side and struck out with his fork. The Leonæ swerved, a surprised cry following in its wake.

Eiko, by this time, was calling Fenrir.

Black felt his feet leave the ground and he was weightless. But he could breathe… He seemed to be in an alternate reality. He could see the battle, but his vision was distorted. As if he were in water... a world of water. But sounds were clear and sharp.

Somewhere, a wolf howled. The leonæ twisted its head, the fur on its neck rising. Suddenly a stone fist shot up from the ground, clipping the leonæ in the wing. It cried out and swerved, its wing falling to its side with a hideous crack.

The grass was once more beneath his paws. The leonæ could no longer fly, but it could still fight. It folded its good wing and charged, moving with surprising speed. Black and Shaker jumped to either side of it, and it leaped after Shaker.

Shaker brought his spear up horizontally, and the leonæ clamped down on it. Shaker twisted his spear and the leonæ released it. Shaker noticed Quina powering a spell, so he dodged to the side.

Aqua Lung burst through the air, hurtling the leonæ with it. When it recovered its balance it was sodden and considerably weakened. Black's turn.

He charged, wings folded to eliminate any unnecessary drag. He snarled and leapt for it, digging his claws in. But the leonæ's thick fur only tangled him up, and it knocked him over and got its own claw hold.

Black twisted and tried concentrating for a spell cast, but it held fast and began beating him with its good wing. The claws sank lower, and Black could feel them tensing, ready to rip his midsection to shreds…

But the blunt end of a spear struck it squarely in the head, with Shaker following. Black rolled over and winced. He was bleeding heavily…

A bright, shimmering light surrounded Eiko as she cast Cura on Black. The wounds closed, and he ran to her side. Quina was ready for another attack, but the leonæ stood between them and Shaker. To cast a spell would most likely hurt the Lindblum guard.

Black began forward, but Eiko stopped him.

"Stay back. We're gonna have to wait for it to attack us; I'm almost out of MP."

The leonæ stood its ground, and so did Shaker. After what seemed like hours it suddenly moved, leaping in a zigzagged pattern back and forth, and sometimes forward. Shaker hefted his spear and followed its movements.

Back, forth. Back, forth. Back, forward! Back, forth.

Suddenly it ran straight and slashed at Shaker with one of its legs. It struck his side, and shaker swung with his spear. The leonæ dodged most of the attack and pinned one of Shaker's legs to the ground, lunging at his chest with it head. Shaker brought the spear into its mouth again, holding it back. It began stabbing with its good wing, slashing his shoulder, wearing him down…

Black sank his teeth into the bad wing, using his wings to backtrack into the air and ripping broken bone and bloody flash with him. The leonæ displayed its agony in a broken screech, and it turned on Black, ripping Shaker's leg. Shaker gritted his teeth, but was too faint to even cry out. Eiko desperately wanted to try a healing spell, but she needed an Ether…

As if on psychic cue, the leonæ spotted the group's pack of supplies. It ran for them, a flame rising from its mouth.

Black dove with all his speed for the leonæ, but it swerved and he plunged mercilessly into the ground. He pulled himself up and tried to fly, but soft soil and weeds stuck to his wings, making it impossible to fly.

By the time Eiko and Quina reacted, it was too late. The leonæ ripped open the pack with its talons, rooting out a healing potion. It snapped the bottle in its jaws, and the juiced spilled and littered its fur. It ate potion after potion, shattering the flexible glass-like casing with its teeth. The flame in its mouth melted this to liquid, which it spat out.

Son the bad wing was as good as new, and the leonæ was in good order. But it did not stop there. It hovered, stoking the fire in its mouth.

Black was running for the pack, but he wasn't going to make it. Quina and Eiko could do nothing; a spell or summon would destroy the pack.

Flame shot through the air, curling and glowing, incinerating the pack and bursting the bottles of Potion, Ether, Everything. The grass curled and blackened, leaving a foul smell, and magic fumes burned Black's sensitive nostrils.

The leonæ flew back to Shaker. Somehow he had gotten to his feet, and was holding his spear point-up. The leonæ hissed victory as it pulled up sharply, plummeting straight down on its wounded prey.

Copper eyes widened, a wet gurgle bubbled through its throat, along with dark blood that ran over the sides of its mouth. Shaker was trembling, his spear ran through the leonæ at the chest, crushing its feverish heart.

The wings went slack and it twitched violently, taking Shaker in its death throes. In the end it flopped on the ground, and Shaker pulled his spear from it. He was drenched in its blood.

"Cure!" he was dimly aware of Eiko casting a spell before he was plunged into shadow.

----------

Black was pacing, as felines will when they're nervous. Eiko was very tired, Quina, too. They both had too little HP to do anything else. Shaker was unconscious, shivering by the remains of a pitiful campfire. His conical helmet was removed, and his short brown hair hung over his face.

Black sighed. "What do we do? That creature knew we were here. It was hunting me down. I think the forces of Shadows are coming through. What did you say the dark force that created monsters was again?"

"Mist… could the forces of shadow revive the Mist?"

"I don't know." Black looked to Shaker. I don't think we're going to get to Gizamaluke's Grotto with him like this. And if we're attacked again…"

"What about Chocobo Forest?" Quina looked up.

Black blinked slowly. He hadn't thought of that… "I guess we could head over there. D'you think they could heal him?"

"The 'they' you're referring to is a mog and a chocobo. But, yeah, I think they could help." Eiko said.

"Right. We'll have to carry Shaker there, though."

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Dawn rose, greeting the oncoming day with a dazzling array of reds, oranges, pinks, and blues. The multicolored light spilled out onto the plains, rushing over a group of travelers who were heading east, toward Chocobo forest.

A fat Qu, a tiny girl, and a large pantherlike creature that was pulling a homemade stretcher, upon which lay a wounded man.