If the waves out on the open lake had been rough, it was nothing compared to the squall they faced upon entering the narrow inlet where they would make land. It seemed as though the wind and waves themselves had been set in opposition to their quest. The craft, relatively small when compared to the sheer enormity of the lake, was tossed and thrown about like a leaf on the autumn wind. The timbers strained and pulled against their pegs, threatening to tear the craft into so many pieces. The only good thing about the storm, Haku reflected, was that he was no longer having troubling dreams. In fact, he was no longer sleeping at all. Instead, he found himself spending all of his so called 'free time' doing his best to help Mia and Nami keep the ship from tearing apart at the seams and sending them all to an icy grave.

The slippery, icy deck made moving around hazardous, however, so with the exception of ship threatening situations, of which there were many, the voyagers spent most of their time below deck patching up leaks and springs in the ship's hull. There was no end to the work that had to be done simply to keep the ship afloat, and the weary, bedraggled would-be seaspirits were much relieved when the wind and the waves slowly died down and the sea became as calm as if there had never been so much as a ripple upon it's glassy surface. For the first time since the travelers had set out over the lake, they were finally able to see their destination. The tremendous steppes of gray rock jutting proudly into the sky like so many monstrous teeth promised to make the going difficult for Nami and Haku, but for the moment, they were content to soon have the chance just to step out onto dry ground once more.

Now that the storms above the lake were behind them, Haku was once more able to take to the sky, and he did so gratefully. The cool breeze whipped through his silvery mane as he twisted and twirled joyfully among the cotton white clouds and golden sunshine. The warmth of the suns rays on his back made him forget about his worries and his problems, if only for a moment, and he reveled in the happiness that flooded through him like a golden shower.

Docking at the jetty took but a moment, and before they knew it, the two travelers found themselves once again standing on the firm, solid ground. Having grown accustomed to the rolling of the ship, they found it difficult at first to stand, and so opted to eat their meal right there on the bank. Mia choose to spend the afternoon fishing for their supper, while Haku and Nami made the most of the day by getting their bearings on the map that they had brought with them. The lake they had just crossed marked the southern boundary of the mapped out land, beneath it, most every map they had found went blank.

There was one feature, however, that was prominent on the map. Far south of the lake was a massive, truly enormous river. Even on the small map, it looked more like a very stretched out ocean than a river.

There was plenty of time before they would come to that river, however. In fact, for all they knew, they might never reach it at all. Nami looked at the map, then up at the mountains that lay before them, stretching up high into the clear blue sky. Somewhere at the base of those mountains was the cave they were looking for. He looked back down on the map. Something was wrong. They were sitting on the edge of the lake, a bank that was well defined on the map. Yet even though the mountain range was highly visible from the water, there wasn't even the slightest indication on the map that it even existed at all.

Nami turned and looked questioningly at Haku.

"I know," the dragon said. "I noticed it too."

"But what does it mean?" the fox asked.

"Simple. No one who has laid eyes on these mountains has lived long enough to tell anyone about them."

Nami shivered despite the relative warmth of the noonday sun. "We'll be okay, right?"

Haku shrugged. "I don't know. I was."

Somehow, that fact did little to console Nami.

Haku didn't like it one bit. He was a dragon; he loved the vast open stretches of sky that he could soar through, dancing among the rays of sun as they warmed his back and gave him energy and delight he could get from nothing else.

Going underground went against his very nature.

It just wasn't natural. A dragon shouldn't be made to go into a place where he can't fly, where he can't see the light of the sun.

Nami, of course, didn't seem to care. The fox was cheerfully inspecting the mouth of the cavern, pointing out interesting rock features to the mortified dragon.

It just wasn't natural.

For Chihiro, he told himself. He was doing it for Chihiro.

Somehow, the thought cheered him up just enough to convince him to take the first step into the cavern.

At the first blast of cold wind, that cheerfulness vanished.

Mia didn't mind the cold, harsh darkness of the cave. She had gotten a hold of a few torches, which were now providing the light for the intrepid explorers as they ventured deeper and deeper down into the earth.

She picked her way carefully ahead of the two young spirits behind her. She had been so pleased to see Haku again. He had been her only customer for a very long time the first time around, and since then, business had been just as bad. Plus, the dragon wasn't all that bad company, even if he didn't remember his past. She smiled secretly as she thought back to the first time they had met. He had been so arrogant, so full of himself. The trip across the lake had changed all that. The seemingly all-powerful dragon had been terrified of the waves, knowing that he couldn't escape made it all the worse. By the time they had arrived in the cove, the dragon was very much subdued; his entire attitude had completely changed.

She knew where they were going, having guided Haku there once before. She led the spirits through the dark tunnels and caverns, deeper and deeper into the very heart of the earth.

"Listen to me very carefully." She said softly. "We have to be very quiet from now on. The ceiling of the cavern from this point forward is very fragile, and there's a good chance that if you talk too loudly that it might crash down on us."

Haku and Nami nodded in consent, recognizing the severity of the situation. They proceeded further down the deep passages, slowly but surely down, deeper and deeper.

They entered a tremendous cavern, so large that had it been light, they would have seen they stood on a ledge that barely protruded into the massive, incredibly deep hole. Mia motioned for them to follow her, and then proceeded very carefully along the edge.

And then Haku slipped.

It wasn't much of a slip, but in any dangerous situation, a mistake is compounded a thousand fold. He pitched forward, trying to catch his footing, then went over the edge.

"NOOOOOO!"

Nami screamed in horror, and flung himself towards the place where Haku had fallen, peering over the edge. Haku had managed to grab hold of a rocky outcropping, hanging on for dear life as he watched the rocks that he had knocked loose as they continued to fall seemingly endlessly, into the black darkness.

"HANG ON!" Nami looked around quickly, searching for something he could use to pull Haku up. He wasn't strong enough himself, he was just a fox. In his panic, he didn't notice a small, soft cracking noise.

"Don't just stand there," he shouted to Mia, "Help me!"

Haku reached for Nami's hand, and missed. He was losing his grip. He tried once more.

As his hand grabbed Nami's, all hell broke loose.

With a resounding crack, the portion of the cave's wall and roof above them gave a mighty tremor, buckled, held, and then came loose. Rocks crashed down onto the ledge, and with a mighty heave, Nami pulled Haku up onto the ledge next to him and shielded the mortified dragon with his small form. The rocks struck the ledge with unimaginable force, shattering and sending shards in every direction. Nami winced as he felt the flesh on his back being torn away by the pieces of rock, but didn't move.

And then it was over. All that remained of the ordeal were the many new rock piles surrounding them, and a fine cloud of dust that hung heavy in the stagnant air. Haku worked himself out from under Nami, wincing as he saw the poor fox's injuries. He looked around.

"Mia?" he said softly, not wanting to cause another rock fall. "Where are you?"

He looked around him, his gaze falling onto something that made his heart go cold.

Protruding from beneath one of the larger piles of rock was a battered, crushed paw.

Mia was dead.

Well hello there everyone, long time no see, huh? It's been officially a year to the day since I last updated this story, and here's the next chapter, well overdue. I know that it doesn't do much to advance the plot, unless you consider killing off a significant character to be advancing the plot. I apologize for my long absence from this story, and hope that you can forgive me.

Keep up the reviews!

Review Responses:

Sachairi- It's been, how long since I last updated? I hope to read your fic sometime, although I have been very busy. Glad to be back, though.

Mia- Lol, no, I didn't just change the name on purpose. I made a spelling error, and just was too lazy to go back and fix it.

Everyone else that has read my story and not reviewed, shame on you. REVIEW!