The Stranger

By Xenomorph666

Disclaimer: I own only the characters of Wraith, Skalla, Perf, Captain and Beano. 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.

Bizarre Miracles

"This place gives me the creeps." Captain said as we entered.

The group had asked me to come along with them this time, hesitantly I did, although I still stayed outside the field as we went along. The first thing I noticed in this dead town were the number of chests just lying about. My first feeling about this so conveniently placed containers, was that they were trapped. However I soon learned that some of the chest's were the trap, as on sprang forward at Perf with a howl of pure evil. They easily took the false chest down.

"Amazing, how they mimic such an inanimate object." I observed as I checked the broken remains. As I noticed the group becoming more and more uneasy around me in this place I decided to go scouting for them. Moggly of course followed me very quickly.

==

Perf was not at all surprised by the sudden disappearance of Wraith, in fact he had been expecting it since he first entered. He wouldn't have been surprised if Wraith was from here originally, but now he and the caravan were busy explaining the finer points of teamwork to Skalla.

They had managed to get just about everywhere in the dead city, but right now a rather confusing puzzle had Skalla stumped as it would have had the others had this been their first trip.

"Skalla, stand on that button when I say 'go', ok?" Perf shouted above him, hoping the selkie would listen.

"Ok, say when." He hear her shout back.

"GO!" Perf shouted, a second later the platform below him rose up to greet him. He quickly ran to the strange symbol that would unlock the last locked door in the city. As he passed through the field and into the miasma he felt a sudden push and was again inside it. When he looked up he saw Wraith with the symbol walking casually towards him.

"Not much here since you guy's got it all." He said chucking the small disk at Perf.

"Yeah, now we get some treasure." Perf said as he jumped down a slide on the side. "Alright follow me, Captain you got C.D. now."

"C.D.?" Wraith asked jumping just beside the caravan's leader.

"Chalice Duty, means he carries it until we get to the door this unlocks." Perf said, waving the disk at him. "Why don't you got look around, after this we're going for the myrrh." Wraith simply nodded and walked away.

==

I found Perf's dismissal of me quite irritating. He didn't seem to care about how I had helped him and his group, he just waved me off. As I sat on the roof of an abandoned home I began to think about what my life might really be. I though that maybe my family was a blacksmithing family like Perf's, after all it would take quite a talent to make the daggers I know carried at my side. But they could also have been Tailors, or merchants or even alchemists. However the more I thought about it the more I dislike the idea of having such an important family, I would much more prefer a simple farmer or even a rancher.

"All these thoughts and nothing seems familiar." I muttered as I felt a low rumbling in the ground. They must have opened the front entrance. I hope they'll be okay." I knew otherwise though.

==

Perf entered first and was immediately aware of the fact that the two magic orbs that held the Lich's force field up were now covered in a strange glowing force them selves. Then he noticed the Lich itself, it was no longer the intangible life sucking ghost as it had always been, now it was a tall cloaked monster with razor sharp fangs and had just finished feeding on a large Cerberus.

"Come in, young ones." It's eerie voice beckoned "Come in and feast with me." It's evil laugh filled everyone's ears, and though they wanted nothing more than to flee, they couldn't it was like a magnet drawing them in.

"My what a pretty child…" It said admiring Skalla's body. "She will make an excellent slave." It dug a large nail into her cheek and cut it, letting her crimson blood flow freely. "Ah, but where are my manners, I am the Arch-Lich, reborn. Yes I am stronger now, perhaps it's because of that strange dark mist or the fact that I've started to eat my fellow monsters, but I don't care. I only care about my next meal, which is I am glad to say, you." He pointed to the three males of the caravan.

==

I felt it like a cold chill down my spine, a great evil force, beckoning me. I dropped to the ground silently and as soon as I did it began to shake. I barely saved myself from toppling over, but to my horror the shaking was not just a simple earthquake. The dead were rising, and I could feel the evil stench on them. I wasted no time in attacking.

The first few that fell, did so with ease, but soon they were swarming me, attacking from all sides. I couldn't help but feel my anger well up inside as it had done before at the dead town of Tida and once again I leapt into the air and released it. They fell after that and I ran through their corpses, only to discover that they were not down permanently.

I was quickly dragged beneath their own swarming mounds of flesh, and I could feel their teeth gnashing onto y body parts, oddly though they felt more like a vice than a death grip, as if they were there to delay me rather than to kill me. It didn't matter though I fought back immediately and tore through their numbers with ease.

When I came to the end of the fleshy maze I was greeted by an unwelcome guest. A man clad in a black cloak was in front of me, pale skin and two sharp fangs told me he was not a friend.

"I congratulate you. Not many would have made it past my zombie army. Of course, thay have served their purpose, as your friends are now firmly with in my grasp." It laughed an evil cackle.

I jumped at it, my daggers bared in front for the attack, but he simply dodged me. I tried once more and again he dodged me with ease, as if he were the wind. On my third attack however, his raised hand stopped me, as I felt a dark energy grip me and drain my energy.

"Fool, I am the Arch Lich and though you are speaking to my mere shadow you should not dare attack me unless you plan to die!" It roared in anger at me.

As I was beginning to feel the effects of his attack, I felt a sharp poke in my side. At first I thought it was my mind, but then I noticed Moggly, caring the gift Skalla had given to me. With out thinking I grabbed it and flung it at him with all my strength. To my dismay however, he caught it and gave me an evil grin, before he launched me into the air and threw the weapon at me.

"You know, the girl will make an excellent slave, and you shall make an excellent trophy." As he mention Skalla, I felt the shruiken pierce my chest. I went to grip it in pain, but t my surprise I found my energy renewed and my strength came back ten fold as well as an energy well, I knew I had to release. As I watched the Arch Lich's shadow I thought of releasing it on him, but something else called to me. A voice in the back of my head told my to turn around, when I did I saw the top of the tallest building in the dead town and suddenly I saw through another's dying eyes. I saw Skalla and her friend's the smallest of which was being held by a giant fanged beast, ready to devour him. I released it then, knowing my target was insight, though I did not know how I knew.

==

"SHRUIKEN'S OF LIGHT!" The shout broke through the Arch-Lich's spell as Captain stirred to reality. He barely had time to scream though, before a blinding light tore through the western wall. When he opened his eyes once more the entire building was shredded, the entire west side was split open and half of the roof was missing.

"Ok, I'm officially freaked." Captain said as he noticed his friends snapping to.

"Jeez, what happened?" Beano asked as he noted the condition of the room.

"I'm guessing that." Perf said as he noticed Moggly struggling to keep Wraith in the air long enough to be sat down in the room.

"He saved us again?" Captain asked as he ran to the unconscious Wraith. "Come one guys help me here." Captain said as he started to drag Wraith to the center.

"Right one Cure coming up." Beano said as he concentrated his thoughts onto a glowing green ring. Soon a bright light enveloped Wraith's body, but nothing happened when it faded.

"Um, is he okay?" Skalla asked as she turned him to face up. The sight before he though shocked and disturbed them all. Wraith's face was not visible as it was before, instead it was hidden in a layer of darkness and the bright blue eyes were dimmed to a dark cyan.

'What is he?' Perf thought to himself as he watched the strange young man with narrowed eyes.

"Time to get the myrrh. Skalla, Beano carry him." Perf said, as he swiftly turned and picked up the chalice. The others followed immediately.