The Stranger
By Xenomorph666
Disclaimer: I own only the characters of Wraith, Skalla, Perf, Captain and Beano and Moggley. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles and all related artifacts are owned by Square-Enix
Summary: He arrived with no knowledge, no family, no way of knowing that the miasma should kill him. Now the strange young man journey's with the caravan that has welcomed him as they collect their myrrh, while he journey's for the truth of his past.
AN: Moggley is like little hyperactive fountain of craziness, like Calumon. Enjoy.
RoseSama35: It'll be explained as the story goes on. I expect this to be a long one so I hope you have the patience.
Stranger than fiction
I don't know why they all kept looking at me oddly as I traveled along side their caravan, just outside the energy source. I wasn't comfortable in that strange energy, it unnerved me. I decided to occupy my time by scouting ahead of their caravan as I was faster than their beast of burden. I leapt along the branches of the trees that lined the roads, taking in the sights of this world. It was beautiful and serene as calming as I could fathom.
"You gonna stay there all day?" I heard a small voice below me ask, it was one of the small furry creatures that Perf had called a moogle. I jumped to the ground with ease and met the creature face to face, my curiosity growing.
"What are you?" I asked as I grabbed it's wings and pulled at them, they almost didn't seem real.
"AHH! MOOGLE EATER! AHH!!!" The creature screamed as I poked at it some more, and then let it go as I realized it was not liking my curiosity.
"I apologize." I said as it looked at me warily.
"Yeah, hey it's all right." It fluttered around me in it's own curiosity. "Strange, not a selkie, not a clavat and most definitely not a yuke or lilty. So what are you, what's your tribe?"
"Tribe?" I asked confused by his question.
"Yeah, you know the group of people you grew up with. Your tribe." It said as it landed on a log in front of me.
"I do not know." I sadly looked to the ground. "I have no memories of 'growing up' as you called it." The little creature looked at me with a sadness in it's eyes.
"Oh, that's to bad. Hey you can be a moogle!" It said cheerfully. "My name's Moggly, what's yours?"
"Wraith." I said simply, observing the cheerful little creature as it hopped around me.
"Yay, I got a new friend named Wraith, a friend named Wraith have I, yay!" It giggled a little causing me to crack a smile and pat it on the head.
"You're a lively little one aren't you?" I said as I started to walk back to the caravan.
"Yup, I like being alive. Yes I do!" He giggled some more as we walked back.
==
Perf was still uneasy about their new guest, but everyone else was flat out freaked. Skalla even accused him of being a witch the first time she realized he was in the miasma. While Beano could only stare in wonder. Captain seemed the least affected, and just simply ignored him.
"Where is he? Is he hiding in the mist waiting to jump us and drink out blood? WHERE IS HE!" Skalla screamed in a self induced terror.
"He's coming this way, with a moogle too." Beano said as he spotted them from atop the wagon.
"A moogle, he's turned the moogle into a blood sucking mouse of doooom!" Skalla screamed, grabbing Perf's collar.
"Skalla, calm down before we have to make you rest again." Perf threatened. "So far he isn't a threat, just different." He said as he brushed Skalla's hands away. "Now be nice."
"Wraith, anything up ahead?" Perf asked as the green clad mystery man came into earshot.
"Not unless you count little flying puffs of humor." He said in response and patted the moogle at his side gently.
"HI I'M MOGGLY!" the little white fluffy being flew up in front of Skalla's face. She immediately screamed.
"Ugh." Perf said as the selkie ran from the small creature in giant circles around the wagon. "She seriously needs to calm down."
"She has been a bit high strung since…" Beano said, looking at Wraith who was outside the chalices energy field once again. "Well since she saw him stay outside the field all day."
"Yeah, I know. I don't get it, I though only monster's and moogle's could survive miasma." Perf said scratching his chin. "Better not let him out of our sight, just in case."
"In case what?" Beano asked.
"Let me put it to you this way, you ever see the Black Knight carry any crystals?" Perf said looking at his friend.
"I thought I was supposed to be the intelligent one." Beano grumbled as he took notice of his surroundings. "Didn't we just pass Daemon's Court?"
"Yup, the town council wants me to pick up something in Rebena Te Ra." Perf said coldly, as he noticed Beano freeze.
"Are you insane?" The yuke hissed in his leader's ear. "What if the Lich's gone as insane as Armstrong? We'll be mashed or worse!"
"That's what they want to know. I told them about Armstrong and him. They want' to know if all large monsters are being affected."
"Perf, listen to me there are easier ways to…" Beano was cut off.
"The lich has the highest magic resistance around, if it's affected, then it got to the others." Perf said.
"What, that doesn't make the smallest bit of sense! We don't know why it flipped out, it could have been a malfunction or something."
"We go on the town's orders or have you forgotten why we do this?" Perf said looking at his second in command angrily.
"Right, sure I'll walk head on into doom, but if we die the town dies remember that." Beano stomped towards the front edge of the chalice's field.
Captain on the other hand was in a heated argument with Skalla, over her behavior towards Wraith. He insisted that she apologize, while she insisted there was nothing to apologize about.
"Skalla, you called him a monster. The least you could do is say you were sorry." The lilty said.
"I don't have to apologize to anyone, my father's the richest merchant around." Skalla said defiantly.
"Then he should buy you a lesson in manners." Captain grumbled, seconds later he felt Skalla's hand hit his head.
"What was that turnip boy?" The angry girl said.
"Nothing…" Captain managed to choke out, then he shook some sense back into his head. "Look all I'm saying is, he hasn't hurt anyone and seems to protect us, so he can't be that bad." Captain watched as the strange young man sprinted ahead of them faster than his eyes could detect, and a shiver went down his spine.
"Yeah, well if that isn't a sign he isn't normal…"
"I never said he was normal, just a friend." Captain interrupted.
"Yeah well…" The selkie was unable to argue anymore as she slumped back into the wagon. "All right when he get's back." She grumbled.
A few minutes later she felt a sudden weight on the wagon as everyone pilled in for the night. She noticed that Wraith was not among them and was a little concerned he might not get back in time for her to apologize.
"Where is the green freak?" She asked, crossing her arms.
"Driving, says he's not tired." Captain said, Perf instantly responded by jumping to the outside, a few seconds later the caravan wagon stopped.
"What was that about?" Skalla asked as Perf came back.
"We have a stream to cross in the morning, I told him to rest." Perf said as he got in his sleeping pack.
"Wait, so where exactly are we going?" Skalla asked.
"You don't want to know." Beano grumbled.
==
The night sky was beautiful as Moggly and I lay on the top of the wagon, staring straight up at the twinkling night lights. A few minutes after the lights went down in the wagon I heard a rustling and soon Skalla appeared on top of the wagon.
"Captain wants me to apologize." She said glumly.
"Oh, what for?" I asked as I sat up, crossing my legs.
"For calling you a monster." She said.
"It's all right, for all I know I could be one. Your friend, Beano, he told me that only monster's and moogle's can breathe the air outside the fields.
She nodded, "Yeah, toxic air isn't all that nice to some of us." She said sarcastically, I couldn't help but smile.
"Hey, you can smile that's a good sign." She said.
"A good sign?" I repeated.
"Yeah, my grandma always said that only beings with hearts can smile and that only five beings have hearts, the tribes and moogle's." She brushed some strands of hair behind her ear as a soft wind blew.
"Yes, but how does one live with out memories?" I asked, the sadness of my condition hardning my mood.
"Hey, are you gonna let a few lost memories stand in your way? Just go make new ones, it isn't that hard. Besides, the more you chase something the harder it is to find." She smiled at me, but I was lost in my sadness until she handed me a small star shaped object.
"What is this?" I asked looking at it oddly.
"it's called a shruiken, I was gonna add it to my list tomorrow, but you should take it. As a symbol of a great memory." She smiled again.
"What great memory?" I asked confused by her logic.
"Why saving me of course." She said it with such coolness I couldn't help but let a small laugh out, it startled me, but she seemed un-phased.
"So you can laugh too, huh? Well night, try to get some rest. Perf's pushing us extra hard tomorrow." And with that she slipped back into her wagon.
"I think she likes you!" Moggly giggled as he sat up and looked at me.
"I think I like her too." I said lightly, I don't even think Moggly could have heard me. I fell asleep not to soon after that, or at least I think I did. If I did it was a dreamless sleep, dark and plagued by violent images, nightmares. Not dreams.
When I woke however, the wagon was moving and was coming close to a strange forest like cavern. I was told to stay where I was so the group could move ahead carefully. As I watched them move through the dangerous craggy area, I noticed the odd sparkles in the wind, and for a moment I thought I saw a bright light pass by, and I don't know why but that light made me more uncomfortable than the field I was in.
When we got to the end it was another day's uneventful travel to a strange crossroads, and when Perf told Captain to take their animal and wagon north, I felt a chill run cold down my spine. What I felt was raw unadulterated evil, and it was lying just ahead in the towering dead city they called Rebena Te Ra.