A/N: Wheeeee- my first fanfic. Yes, I added a few original characters, don't hate me! ; I didn't model them after myself, I'm not THAT conceited. And I tried to keep the original characters as close to their normal personalities as possible…though I may have handled Dagger kinda roughly…sorry! ;
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 9 or any of it's characters…though I wish I did. ;
Warning: May be spoilers! Be warned!
Final Fantasy 9.2 Resurrection
CHAPTER 1
Her crystalline eyes quickly scanned the hallway. 'No one coming!' She thought excitedly. Slipping through the door, her black tail swayed in excitement. 'Almost there…'
Creeping down the hall, she eased her way past open doors and away from open windows. At the end, she came to a huge set of old oak doors, kept up through the years. 'Yes! ' Her hand reached for the knob. Using a little Thief trick her father taught her, she began to work on opening the newest lock her parents had put in place. Footsteps began to echo from the end of the corridor. Surprised at the new noise, sweat began to gather on her brow. ' I can't be caught again! Mom would KILL me!' Looking around, she spotted a ledge she could hide on above the doors. Shimmying up, she clung to the wall. 'Please don't see me! Please don't see me!' She prayed to herself. A Red Mage passed beneath her in a hurry. Breathing a sigh of relief, the girl climbed down and resumed work on the lock.
After a few long minutes, the lock clicked open. Taking once last look down the corridor, she backed through the great doors…and into something new. "Eh?" Reaching behind her head, her hand felt the soft something she had bumped into.
"Miyaki, what are you doing here?" Looking over her shoulder, Miyaki saw what her hand was grabbing at. Taking it off his face, she turned and sheepishly made a quick half-bow to the tall blond man behind her.
"Umn, hi Daddy." Standing as straight as she could, she avoided looking into her father's eyes, so eerily blue as hers were. Running a hand through his daughter's mussed brown hair, the great man laughed.
"I guess you really are my daughter, aren't you?" Rolling his eyes, he playfully pushed her out the door. "Come on now, you have your lessons with Beatrix again."
"Awww…. But Dad, I hate those stupid etiquette lessons," Miyaki moaned "I don't want to spend my life here in the castle, I won't need etiquette to go traveling across Gaia."
" You never know when a few manners will help get you out of a sticky situation. Didn't I ever tell you how I met your mom?"
"Ugh," Miyaki groaned. Her father loved telling her the story of how he 'kidnapped' her mother and they ended up saving the world.
Walking down the hall and down some stairs, Miyaki and her father made their way to the main hall of Alexandria Castle.
"Zidane? Did you find her?" A beautiful brunette approached, calling Miyaki's dad. Grinning ear to ear, he quickened his pace to go meet her. Rolling her own eyes, Miyaki gagged to herself. Her dad was ALWAYS like this when he greeted her mom, Queen Garnet Til Alexandros the 17th. It was a testament to their long-standing love, but it still seemed silly to Miyaki. After all, who needed love?
"Of course I did, Dagger dear," Zidane said, winking at the queen "It wasn't hard, she was in Brahne's room again."
" Oh, Miyaki…" Garnet sighed "You really are your father's daughter- always finding some way to get into trouble. Well, you might as well skip Beatrix's lesson today. You've missed half of it already, and I've got some good news to share, though you might not like it as much anymore."
"Really? What?" Miyaki perked up a bit.
" We're going to be going to Lindblum tomorrow to see your Great-Uncle Cid. We'll be staying there for a week…" her mom started
"Seriously? Awesome! I love Lindblum! What makes you think I wouldn't like seeing Uncle Cid?" Miyaki chirped excitedly.
"Well…since you seem to insist on pushing buttons, you won't be coming to Lindblum with us," Garnet said.
"What? Aw…well, ok...So I'll be staying here?" Miyaki asked. 'Maybe I can finally sneak out to Treno when they go…' she thought. Zidane shifted uneasily. "Um, Miyaki…" He went to stand beside her mom "We're actually sending you to the Black Mage Village for the rest of the summer."
"WHAT!" Miyaki was shocked. "Why!"
" Because we don't trust you by yourself in the castle. You've been caught in my mother's room 5 times this month, teased the Knights of Pluto constantly, and skipped too many lessons to count," her mom stated "So we're sending you to stay with your Aunt Mikoto until you learn to behave."
" But…but…" Miyaki backed up. Tears began to well up, but she banished them with her anger. "Fine! Go to stupid Lindblum! But I'm NOT GOING TO THE BLACK MAGE VILLAGE! I hate it there!" She turned and ran back up the stairs and through the halls until she reached her room. Slamming the door behind her, Miyaki proceeded to tear her room apart in a fury. She was a temperamental girl, and such a blow like that news wasn't taken easily.
An hour later, when she had calmed down, Miyaki began to think. 'Great,' she sighed 'They'll watch me like a hawk now, after that little outburst. I screwed up any chances I had at escape now…stupid, stupid!' Pacing, Miyaki tried to think about what she could do in the Black Mage Village for the whole summer. 'Wait…' Miyaki was struck by a sudden idea 'I may not be able to escape on this continent, but I can probably get away from the Village to Conde Petie, or Madain Sari or something… I can pretend to go along with their plan, and then "alter" it at the end…' Smiling at the plot unfurling in her mind, she began to pack for the trip.
Garnet sighed. She hated being 'the bad guy', but Miyaki was out of control. Garnet looked at Zidane. "You don't think I was being too hard on her, do you?"
"Nah," he shook his head "She needs this. Somehow, she's managed to gain a serious temper we need to fix."
"It's my fault," Garnet lowered her head "If I wasn't so busy being a queen first, I could have been able to watch her more." Zidane looked at her sympathetically.
" It's ok, Garnet- you did what you thought was best. It's not like I helped her by watching her. In fact, I'm probably the cause of her wild personality. We just gotta do better when she comes home after the summer's over, ok?" Garnet smiled at her husband. He could be really comforting at times like this, and always seemed to know exactly what to say.
"Right," she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.
The next morning, bright and early, Miyaki brought her bags to the airship dock. Looking around, she found her parents.
"Mom! Dad!" she ran over to them " I just wanted to say…. I-I'm…um…"
"Sorry?" Her dad smiled "It's ok. We forgive you. But you're still going to the Village. We'll write to you, ok?"
" Ok," Miyaki gave a 'Aw-I'm-so-bummed-but-I'll-be-ok' smile. " Mognet as usual, right?"
" Yes," her mom hugged her "You know we love you, right?"
"Yeah," Miyaki blushed a little. She wasn't quite used to her mom being all…mom-like. It was weird.
Garnet straightened up. "We'll be taking the Hilda Garde VII- Uncle Cid sent it for us. Beatrix will be escorting you on the Briar Rose. You'll be stopping at Mognet Central first though, to pick up her son, Allan. Ok?"
"Ok…?" Miyaki was puzzled. Usually, it would be easier to stop at the Black Mage Village first, then continue to Mognet Central. But whatever- it just gave her another chance to escape. "Wait- she had a son?"
"Yep!" Zidane laughed "He's about your age. But Beatrix and Steiner sent him to a secret Knight's camp of some sort so he could train to be a knight. He's been there since he was 5. Beatrix and Steiner visit him every month or so, and they finally decided he was ready to come home."
"Oh. I don't remember him at all." Miyaki shrugged.
"Couldn't expect you to, kiddo," Zidane mussed her hair again, smiling. "But you did used to play together a lot."
" Princess Miyaki!" Beatrix's clear voice rang through the dock "It's time to depart!"
" Well…I guess it's time for me to go…" Miyaki bent to pick up her bags and looked up. Her mom was…crying? That was unusual… For a moment, Miyaki felt a pang of guilt about her plan. Mom wouldn't be happy with her if she went through with it…But she shrugged it off and smiled.
"Aw, don't cry Mom, the summer'll be over before you know it, k?" Garnet smiled through her tears.
"Of..of course." She sniffed "H-have a good time, sweetheart."
" Yeah, stinker," Zidane smiled weakly as well "Don't cause too much hell for you Aunt Mikoto, ok?"
"Ok," Miyaki carried her bags to the ship. Handing them to a steward, she looked back to see her mom crying into her dad's shoulder, and her dad waving to Miyaki. The guilt returned. Smiling awkwardly, Miyaki waved back before getting on the ship.
The Briar Rose was a fairly small ship, but it was cozy. Carpeted with red velvet, it held an air of regality even when in battle. The dark mahogany walls glistened from a recent cleaning. Miyaki carried her bags to her cabin suite- the second-best room on the boat, with the best being her parents'. Decorated in various shades of red, the room always gave Miyaki a very calm feeling. Setting her stuff in a corner, Miyaki rummaged through one of her bags for a more comfortable set of clothes. Wearing 'nice' clothes all the time had been so constricting. Finding an outfit she liked, she pulled it out and began to change. Slipping a black sleeveless tunic on, Miyaki brushed her hair out of the collar and pulled on soft leather leggings. She cinched the tunic's waist with a wide belt and hung her lucky ruby charm onto it. After wrapping a matching garnet choker around her neck, she quickly tied a red ribbon onto her tail and pulled on a pair of knee high boots and matching leather gloves. Satisfied with her new look, Miyaki headed for the upper deck.
The Briar Rose was well up in the air at this point- a chilly wind blasted across the deck at odd intervals. Miyaki grasped the old airship's side railing and shivered. The skies were clear, but these higher altitudes made summer days seem like the worst winter nights. Beatrix walked up and stood beside the princess.
"Princess, it's warmer below deck. Come on in before you catch a cold or something," Beatrix said, motioning for Miyaki to follow her back into the ship's belly.
" Nah, s'okay," Miyaki smiled " I want to see when we arrive at Mognet Central."
" Well, at least wear something warmer," Beatrix shook her head "I'll bring you a cloak."
" Thanks," Miyaki watched Beatrix go back into the ship fondly. Beatrix was the closest thing Miyaki had to a hero- she was powerful and kind. The only fault Miyaki found in her was her 'other half'- Captain Adelbert Steiner, leader of the Knights of Pluto. He was the most useless person Miyaki had ever met. 'His son's probably the same,' Miyaki sighed, thinking to herself 'But with any luck, he might have gotten one good quality from his mother, at least.'
" Princess?" Beatrix had returned with a thick white cloak with red triangles decorating the hem.
"Thanks again," Miyaki took the cloak gratefully. Slipping it over her tunic, she looked out onto the horizon. " Hey, I can see Conde Petie from here! We got here fast," she exclaimed.
" The Briar Rose was just upgraded in Lindblum," Beatrix informed her "We had the latest in airship technology replace the older, worn-out Mist-propelled systems,"
"Oh, cool," Miyaki had heard about the Mist in stories from her dad- how the Supreme Black Mage Vivi had been created from it, how it used to cover the entire planet, and how it was made from old souls, or some such a thing. She had never seen it, but that was because her father had apparently saved the world with her mother and their friends.
" I will be below, Princess," Beatrix bowed "We should arrive at Mognet Central in about 20 minutes."
" Ok," Miyaki turned to look out onto the horizon. There was only one cloud in the sky today, a little puff of white amongst the clear blue. Miyaki watched the little cloud for a while. It seemed to sink and swoop through the air with the ship's graceful flight. She giggled. 'It's like a mid-air dance' she peered over the railing 'The cloud's dancing with the ship.' Miyaki started a bit. 'Wait a minute…' she thought 'Clouds don't dance…Or follow ships…Something's not right here,' The wind began to blow harder.
"Beatrix?" Miyaki called "Beatrix- something's wrong!" Then a gust of wind blew Miyaki off the rail. Sliding across the deck, she desperately tried to get a grip with her gloves on the ship's deck. The old airship creaked under the strain of the wind. The cloak Miyaki was wearing swirled around her body, getting the over-large bell sleeves in her way.
"Wagh!" Miyaki cried as the air in the cloak lifted her off the deck "Help me!"
Beatrix ran onto the deck, stumbling around with the ship's rocking. "I'm coming, Princess!" She cried. Miyaki fought with the cloak while Beatrix came as best she could. Miyaki finally managed to slip it off and fell into Beatrix. The new wind howled around them as the ship became engulfed in the lone cloud. Miyaki climbed off of Beatrix.
"Sorry about that!" She shouted over the wind.
" It's ok, Princess!" Beatrix yelled back " Get behind me, I'm going to try to cut the wind apart!" Beatrix pulled out her sword. Miyaki clambered behind her. Swinging the sword in front of her, Beatrix charged her attack.
"SHOCK!" She cried, and a huge shockwave erupted from the sword and plowed through the cloud. The strange cloud glowed a bit, then grew.
"It didn't work!" Miyaki cried.
"This isn't an ordinary cloud," Beatrix shouted "It's a monster! Hold on Princess, I'll protect you!" A clap of thunder burst through the storm, and lightning shot through the air and struck Beatrix.
"Aaaaagh!" she screamed, the force of the blow crushing her into the deck.
"Thundara?" Miyaki stepped back "It IS a monster- I have to help!" Miyaki looked around the deck. 'Nothing!' she thought 'Anyway, nothing that'll help me defeat an unseen creature! What can I do!'
"P-Princess…" Beatrix coughed, lifting herself up "I'll be ok- give me a potion!"
"Wha? Ok!" Miyaki threw her a little bottle, which broke in midair, engulfing Beatrix in magic, healing her. Standing tall again, Beatrix was ready to issue commands.
"General Beatrix!" A crewman came racing onto the deck "The ship can't take the force of the winds! We're going down!"
"Where are we!" Beatrix barked.
" About a mile west of Mognet Central, luckily enough Ma'am!"
"Control the descent as best you can! I'll take care of the clouds!" Beatrix faced the cloud again. "Stay behind me Princess, you don't need to be caught in this blast! CLIMHAZZARD!" Power blew up from Beatrix's sword, engulfing the cloud in a massive energy blast. Smoke swirled in place of the cloud as the ship began to fall.
The crewman ran back to help control the ship. Beatrix picked up Miyaki, lifting her off the deck completely and raced her into the ship's belly.
"Stay here!" Beatrix commanded, quickly throwing Miyaki into the safety of her own quarters. Dazed, Miyaki looked around a bit. She had never been in Beatrix's room before. Decorated in shades of maroon and brown, it would have been very comfortable if the ship wasn't crashing. Miyaki stood uneasily, the floor beneath her tilted quite sharply. Looking in a cabinet, she found a long length of chain with a small harness/lock attachment on one end. 'This could be useful,' Miyaki thought 'Uncle Blank had taught me how to use weapons like this when I ran away with Tantalus for that one week.' Blank wasn't really her uncle, but Miyaki liked to think he was. After all, he had been like her father's brother in their younger days, and had helped Zidane raise Miyaki. Even though Blank was more of a swordsman, he had enough experience with other weapons to teach Miyaki the basics of most of what she could get her hands on. Grabbing the chain weapon, Miyaki latched it onto herself and ran out of the room to find Beatrix. She was determined to help the fearsome warrior.
The ship lurched- it finally hit the mountains near Mognet Central head-on. Miyaki could hear the hull crumpling up like a wad of paper.
"Oh, shit." She whispered. Looking down the hall, Miyaki could also see the wood chunks from the hull coming up on her fast. She began to run to the rear of the ship. Beatrix appeared in the hall in Miyaki's way, causing them to collide again.
"Oof! Beatrix, the ship!" Miyaki cried. Flames erupted from a gas leak that had sprung open.
Beatrix looked around at the chaos, assessing the situation.
"I'm sorry, Princess!" She apologized, picking Miyaki up again "Please forgive me for what I'm about to do!" Standing in front of a large window, she kicked it open.
"You're only a few yards above the ground- you should land your fall well enough to be ok with these few potions."
"What? Beatrix, what are you-"
" Go to Mognet Central as soon as you can- find Allan, let him know there's been a problem. I will meet up with you later!"
" But, Beatrix, what about-"
" Be careful, Princess!" with those final words, Beatrix threw her out the window.
" AAAAAAAHHHH!" Miyaki plummeted to the ground, bouncing off trees and onto the ground. Rolling down the mountainside, she couldn't think straight.
'Get it together, Miyaki!' she thought ' You gotta get it together!' Miyaki grabbed at the ground, slowing her fall. When she finally managed to stop, she looked up to the sight of a huge fireball where the Briar Rose was.
" Oh no…Beatrix!" Miyaki bowed her head "Beatrix…please, no…" Holding back tears, she used a potion to heal herself a bit. Standing, she tried to gather her senses. 'Ok,' she rubbed her temples 'The Briar Rose has crashed. For all I know, I'm the only survivor. Beatrix told me to inform her son at Mognet Central. But then…what do I do?'
"Something was wrong with that situation," she told herself " I can't just go on to the Black Mage Village and pretend nothing happened. I have to do something!" Stumbling a little, she began to make her way out of the woods. Wincing in pain that some of her deeper wounds left, she grabbed a tree for support.
" Of course, I have to make it out of this godforsaken forest first. Friggin' mountain…I have to conserve my potions, though…" Miyaki climbed the mountain, stumbling and avoiding any monsters she heard. As night began to fall, she started to get pissed.
" Gragh!" she screamed in frustration " I should have been there by now! Where the hell is it!" Swearing for a few minutes, Miyaki stopped to rest a bit. Taking a deep breath, she began to talk to herself a bit.
" Ok, what do I know right now?" she sighed "A: I'm pretty useless. B: This sucks. C: Beatrix might've died and it would be my fault. D: This REALLY sucks!" slamming her fist into a nearby tree, Miyaki held back tears. "Why is this happening to me?" 'What did I ever do?' she thought. Memories flooded her mind: Breaking Vivi's staff when she was 6, stealing Steiner's helmet and filling it with moat sludge when she was 12, and more recently, running off with Tantalus every so often.
"Ok, so I deserve this!" Miyaki yelled, "I just wish I knew how to get out of here!" Another memory came, sending Miyaki into a flashback.
It was seven years ago. Miyaki was with Tantalus again, and her father was there, too. Uncle Blank was talking with Zidane about how they had gotten out of the Evil Forest so many years ago. Zidane was smiling, and picked Miyaki up into his lap.
"Miyaki-chan," he had said, sounding very fatherly "If you ever get lost anywhere, you can always escape if you know where the sun is, ok? Remember that."
Blank had laughed. "What are you babbling about? You never used the sun as a guide once! You always used a path that was ahead of you, Daddy." Miyaki had laughed at her dad and Blank talking like that, then went off to play with Cinna and Marcus.
"Geez, Dad…" Miyaki smiled weakly " Great advice, but there's no trail for me to follow, and the sun's setting. How is that going to help me?" Leaning against a tree, Miyaki began to think.
'The setting sun…kind of useless, I guess. Just sinking into the Western sky like that…' Miyaki stood up straight as she thought of something. 'Wait! The sun sets in the West! And our ship crashed about a mile West of Mognet Central! I just have to find where the ship crashed again…' Climbing onto a boulder, Miyaki scanned the horizon, searching for the remnants of the Briar Rose.
'There! About 500 yds. East of me, so I just have to walk for a few minutes away from the sun!' Miyaki set off, smiling. She finally had an idea of where she was going.
About an hour later, Miyaki finally reached Mognet Central. The sun had long since set, and the chilly mountain air was making her sleepy. Pushing open the doors to the main building, Miyaki stumbled in. Alone in the building, Miyaki collapsed for some well-earned sleep.
"Is she alive, kupo?'
"Um, maybe? Kupo!"
"Poke her, kupo!"
"Uuuhhhn…" Miyaki groaned, rubbing her eyes. The moogles around her jumped back in surprise. "Where am- oh, right." Sitting up, she looked at her surroundings. She was in a very clean room, in a plain bed- very hospital-esque.
"Kupo! Are you ok, miss?" one of the moogles came forward " We found you in the hall this morning and brought you to the clinic, kupo."
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine, now." Swinging her legs off the bed, Miyaki stood. "What's your name, lil' fella?"
" I'm Muugo, kupo!" he chirped "Who are you?"
"Me?" Miyaki was surprised they didn't recognize her. " I'm…um…I…don't remember?" she finished lamely, hoping her cop-out would work.
"Kupo! That's not good!" Muugo cried, "Everyone needs a name! How about I give you one?"
"O-okay…" Miyaki rejoiced in her mind. These moogles were going to help her out of a boring palace life and they didn't even know it!
" Let's see… how about Jake?" Muugo suggested.
"Jake! That's stupid, kupo!" wailed another moogle. "It's a boy's name!"
"No! That's ok, I like it." Miyaki intervened before the moogles made a huge fuss "So I'll be Jake."
"So, Jake, do you have total amnesia, kupo?" asked Muugo
"No, I remember a few things," Miyaki lied "Like…I need to find an Allan Steiner. Do you know where he is?"
"Allan? Kupo! I saw him this morning. I'll take you to him, kupo." Muugo waddled towards the door. "Come on!"
"Oh! Okay!" Miyaki followed the squat little creature. The odd pair traveled out of the little clinic and down a quaint little dirt road to the main path and to the central control area of the Mognet. As they approached, a tall young man came into view. Standing to the side of the path, his honey-blonde hair was cut in short, chunky wisps. Wearing a simple outfit of a grey vest over a plain white shirt and brown leggings with matching boots and belt, a large sword hung at his hip as he stood, watching the skies.
"Kupo! There he is, Jake. Go on ahead and talk to him, I need to go back to the clinic, ok, kupo?" Muugo nudged her ahead a little and turned back down the path.
"Thanks!" Miyaki called to the departing moogle. Walking up to the guy, Miyaki found herself getting nervous. How was she going to tell him that she might've killed his mom?
As he heard the approaching footsteps, the young man turned to face Miyaki. She almost stopped. Allan seemed to take after his mother in the looks department, he was stunning.
"Um, hi," Miyaki said, "Are you Allan Steiner?"
" Why yes, I am," Allan replied, surprised "Why do you ask?"
"Well… I have news about the Briar Rose. I…I think you should know that it crashed yesterday, approximately a mile West of here," Miyaki explained "I don't know if there were any survivors other than myself."
"What? But then, who are you?" Allan looked worried
"I…" Miyaki faltered. Should she tell him the truth? It might blow her later plans. But he deserved to know, right?
" I was a member of the crew. I lost some of my memories, including my name, but I've been renamed Jake. Will you help me search the wreckage?" Miyaki said, decided. She would reveal the truth later, when the time was right.
"Of course!" Allan grabbed the hilt of his sword "My mother was on that ship, I need to find her. Lead the way, Jake."
"Right," Miyaki started down the main path, then into the woods to the West. Checking the sun every so often, she led towards the airship's ruins. As they crashed through the dense bushes, Allan began to ask questions about the crash.
"Do you remember anything about the accident, Jake?" he called ahead to Miyaki.
"Y-yeah," Miyaki panted, tired from pushing aside brush. "It's one of my few intact memories. It was so weird…I suspect foul play,"
"What happened?"
"Well," Miyaki swatted a fly out of her face "We were sailing quite well when a cloud started to…it sounds weird, but the cloud followed the ship. Eventually, it surrounded the ship and sent ferocious winds into the deck, pummeling the ship. Beatrix- I mean, the General tried to blast the cloud away, but she ended up getting into a battle with it. With the combination of the gale-force winds and the battle, the engine stopped working and we ran head on into the mountain,"
Allan was silent for a moment. Then he asked the question Miyaki had been dreading.
"So, how did you survive?"
"I…" Miyaki faltered again. She had no idea what to say. "I don't really remember. I guess I was thrown off the back of the ship by the force of the crash."
"Oh…" Allan remained silent. After fighting their way through more forest, Miyaki stepped into a clearing.
"Here it is," she said softly "The remnants of the Briar Rose."
The only thing to distinguish that it was once a ship was the charred back end of the ship. The hull was reduced to splinters, and what hadn't broken was burned. The ground around the ship was scorched black, and the only intact pieces from the ship that littered the ground were some little metal trinkets. Miyaki and Allan just stared for a few minutes. The wreckage was horrible, and a huge shock to Allan. Eventually Miyaki shook her head.
"Well, we can't just stand here gaping," she said, moving forward " We should start looking for signs of survivors, useful equipment, clues, whatever may be helpful." Allan jumped a little, returning to reality.
"Clues?" he asked, looking at her strangely.
" Yeah," Miyaki started shifting some rubble aside " I said I suspected some foul play, right? Well, we should look for anything any possible perpetrators may have left behind. You know, clues."
" Oh- of course." Allan started to walk around the clearing, looking for signs of people. They dug and searched for hours. Exhausted, they both leaned against a chunk of wall.
"Gah, I'm tired," Miyaki sighed "And we haven't found anything besides some food that is still ok. It's almost hopeless."
"Well, we still haven't searched the surrounding woods or inside what's left of the ship. We must conduct a thorough investigation." Allan said
" I know. But we gotta rest for a few minutes- I need to eat," Miyaki stated bluntly "Thankfully, we managed to find that food, or we may have had to go back to Mognet Central. That would have wasted time."
"Right," Allan agreed "I'll grab that food now, in fact." Allan walked away for a minute. As he found where Miyaki had set the food, he heard a growling noise.
'She must really be hungry,' thought Allan 'If I can hear that over here…' Picking up the food, Allan straightened up…and looked into a massive sea of fur in front of his eyes.
"I wonder what's taking Allan so long?" Miyaki murmured "It's not like I hid the food or anything…" Suddenly, a yell penetrated the forest silence.
" YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"
" Steiner!" Miyaki jumped up. Something must have gone wrong.
END CHAPTER 1