Late doesn't even begin to describe this chapter. It's a far too long of a time coming, but it's finally done... much thanks to Luk, who contributed a decent sized chunk of this chap. Now hopefully some writing can be done more regularily... though knowing me...

It had taken a little while to restore the cavern's roof to exactly the way it had been. The cracks in the ice had been easy enough to repair, taking no more than a few seconds and a single spell's worth of effort. It was the cracked rocks that had been more trouble than anything. His magic didn't really focus on rocks, and while he could manipulate them, he wasn't as good at it. Eventually he had settled with knitting together a few of the largest and most visible of the cracks and simply filling the others with ice. It certainly looked the same as it did before, and he didn't care enough to go for utter perfection.

He wasn't entirely sure why he even bothered repairing the cave. It wasn't as if he intended to take up permanent residence here. It would serve his purpose for a time, and no more. Already, he had allowed the glow which had led Destral and Shen to his lair to die out in all the passages and caverns leading here save the one he still lay in. Perhaps it was that it gave him something to do while he thought. He certainly had a lot to think about, and not much of it was pleasant.

One recurring thought was about the Sinister twins. Shen had left here only recently, after coming convinced that Nall held his sister hostage. Though he was finally convinced that she wasn't here, he did all but swear an oath of vengeance against Nall, a sentiment the dragon could understand. Their earlier encounter never should have come to blows.. but the twins were desperate, and Mela was furious. Not, he noted to himself, that he was any calmer. One thing led to another, and Shen wound up frozen, something Nall was beginning to feel guilty for. The changes in him...

He never should have stayed frozen that long. Nall had only meant to stick him in that block of ice as an object lesson for kidnapping him, then having the audacity to shoot at Alex and the others. However, once that the purple thing called Malock appeared, things quickly got out of hand, and when they finally left to find their scattered allies, Nall had left him inside the ice.

Allowing his thoughts to drift, Nall reached out with his magic sense into the world, trying to find the location of his former companions. It wasn't very hard to locate Mela by the ring he had given her. He gave some thought to dropping in on them, then dismissed the idea. They might not be in a place where he could do so inconspicuously, and Nall was feeling a bit to laconic to get up and go hunt them down anyway. Again he returned to thoughts of things that had been troubling him.

What next came to mind, and what may be the most pressing, were the words of the one who identified himself as the servant of 'Lord Malock Blackmoon', the demon Yora'unakken. Shifting uneasily on his shelf and stretching his wings, Nall glanced at the spot on the wall the creature had perched during Shen and Destral's visit.

The creature's words echoed through Nall's mind. "I will bid you farewell for now, dragon. Perhaps we will meet again, on the field of battle in the coming war." The real question was... what did this mean? Was Malock going to come for him? That seemed unlikely. While the large purple beast had certainly been angry... no, enraged, at Nall, it didn't seem likely that he would return with a force of other creatures. In fact, he had attempted to engage in single combat, Nall recalled.. a duel which ended only when Alex intervened. Besides, Yora'unakken didn't seem to bear any malice, which suggested something else entirely. But what? Some other menace, an enemy yet unknown? That seemed far more likely.

More than once in Lunar's history had its dragons been taken by surprise, resting peacefully and oblivious in their respective lairs only to be caught napping, each one left to their own devices to deal with an attack they never saw coming. With a look around him, Nall realized that he was already falling back into that pattern. Here, on Nu, was no place to curl up in a cave and fall asleep. Sitting upright, Nall again stretched out his wings, dislodging a few icicle stalactites in the process. No, this time the dragon tribe would not be caught completely unawares, he decided. It was time to find the others. Ruby was here, on Nu, he could feel that. Azura was as well, and finding her would also give him the opportunity to see Luna and Alex again. They were together now, he could feel that easily enough. What puzzled him was Sable. He couldn't feel the black dragon's presence at the moment, though he had briefly felt it several times before. Unfortunately, those sensings were far too brief for Nall to pinpoint his location. Perhaps Ruby would know.

With a flash of white light, the massive dragon which had occupied the chamber was gone, leaving only a slightly feline-featured human in its place. After a brief moment of consideration, Nall nodded to himself, and disappeared in a ripple of energy.

It was the sound of a bird singing in the trees above that finally woke him.

Alex yawned, opened his eyes, and stretched. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. The sun could be seen peeking through the leaves above, already high in the nearly cloudless sky, and a gentle breeze was working its way through the forest. Not only that, he'd slept well, and was feeling quite a bit better today than he had been the day before. Judging from the position of the sun, though, it was getting near noon. A much later start than he would have liked, but they were in no hurry. Alex made a note to thank Luna for letting him sleep in this once, and sat up.

It only took a brief look around the campsite to realize something was wrong. At first glance, everything seemed all right. Azura was still curled up in Alex's helmet, fast asleep. Luna, however, was still dozing near the remains of the fire, apparently having not woken up to take her watch.

And Natsuka was nowhere to be seen.

Alex slowly pulled himself to his feet, taking another look around the campsite. She was definitely gone. None of her belongings were still there, and there was a clear trail leading away from the semi-clearing the camp was in. She'd made no effort to conceal which way she'd gone, and the tracks seemed fairly fresh. Not only that, but faint rustling noises were coming from that direction. It was possible that her leaving was what woke Alex.

Looking away from the trail into the woods, Alex leaned down and gently nudged Luna. "Hey, Luna. Wake up."

Luna stirred slightly, and murmured something too quiet to hear. Another gentle prod caused her to open her eyes and yawn. Her eyes focused on Alex, and she smiled. "Good morning, Alex."

"Good morning, Luna. I think Natsuka just wandered off. I'm going to check and see if she's all right." Alex grinned. "Can you get Azura up? I'd do it, but she's mad enough at me already."

"Sure," Luna nodded, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Alex smiled again, "Thanks, I'll be right back." He then straightened, and hurried over to the path leading from camp.

>From his place up in a tree, Nall watched Alex run off. It was too easy, really. But then, Nall reflected, he knew Alex all too well. And while this might be a little mean, he'd never have the chance to do it again. Besides, it would be funny.

Luna had by now succeeded in waking Azura, though the little blue feline was none too pleased about being roused from what she described as "the best dream she'd had in months." After her second attempt at going back to sleep, however, she had finally given up and climbed out of Alex's helmet, and was now half inside his pack, looking for food.

Nall waited a little longer then slid down out of the tree, landing gracefully but audibly on the ground near the edges of the camp. Luna whirled immediately to face him, and Azura attempted to do the same, but managed to get herself tangled into the bag.

Nall and Luna stared at each other silently for a moment, while Azura continued to struggle to get free of the bag. Nall fought to keep a smile off his face, aware of how he must look to Luna. An outlandishly dressed stranger dropping out of the trees tended to be quite a shock. The complete lack of anything resembling a human fashion sense worked well in some cases, Nall reflected. Sure, Luna would be mad at him for a little while, but she'd forgive him... and this was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

It was too early for this.

Once she got over the initial shock of the random tree-leaping bum, she felt rather annoyed. At least, she thought he was a bum. His clothes were outlandish at best; tattered and the colors clashed in such a way that Luna was sure he must have made himself look that way on purpose. No one would have that horrible a fashion sense. Horrible fashion sense or no, Luna was annoyed. Incredibly annoyed. Couldn't she wake up and go through a nice, normal day on Nu without people trying to kill her, Boyfriends to cure, or a punk teenager with a strange Mohawk hairstyle trying to scare the wits out of her? Was that asking too much?

Luna and the young man stared at each other for a few long moments, neither saying a word. Luna was almost certain that the young man was suppressing a smile, the corners of his mouth curving upwards slightly, and his shoulder shaking slightly in laughter, but he somehow got his emotions under control, looking at her with a serious face. A face that looked like he sucked on a sour lemon for half an hour. Luna felt her annoyance melt away slightly at that look. It was simply too comical! Her own angry look dissolved into a small smile, and she giggled into her hand. "You're trying too hard, you know."

"Beg your pardon ma'am?" His voice had a strange accent to it. It was refined, yet seemed completely out of place for a so-called bum like himself.

"I mean... scaring me like that! If you're going to do it, you have to roar or something... or at least make some sort of threatening noise."

"Hah! Whatever miss. Saw you jump a mile there. Sorry to spook you there, young lady... just when I see such a ravishing young woman such as yourself, I feel obliged to drop down and introduce myself."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "Oh really now? You feel obliged?"

He bowed with a flourish and reached out to grab her hand, which he quickly kissed before she could snatch it away. "Why certainly Miss. 'Specially when you've got the... Ahem... ah no. I shouldn't tell you... you wouldn't be interested."

Luna blinked, and gave him a suspicious look, some of her annoyance returning. "Oh no. I'd be interested. What do I have?"

The man laughed heartily, "Why, the LOOK Miss! Bet you wouldn't guess it by my looks, but I'm a... scout of sorts. My name is, and yes, I know this'll make you laugh your socks off... Walter Butterfish."

"BUTTERFISH!?"

"My parents did a lot of hardcore drugs Miss. They died when I was littlebut something about them being hippies." He blinked and pulled out a card, "I'm serious Miss! You want proof? Here! My card." He reached into one of his raggedy pockets and pulled out a chewed up card. Luna took it from the stranger warily as she looked at the front of the card. On it, was a picture of a giant tuna fish, with the typed words "Sir Walter Butterfish, talent scout," set dead in the center of the card.

Luna rolled her eyes, "Uh huh. Right. Why do you want me, Mister Butterfish? Let me also get straight that you're a talent scout, yet you're probably no older than I am. Curious. Go on."

"Well, someone's got to make a living after you find out your parents were deadbeat hippies, you know?" He shrugged.

"Uh huh."

"Anyway, I've heard some things about you, Miss. Believe me Miss that every talent agent has wanted to speak with YOU, but I'm the only one who's got the connections! Obviously, word's been going around that you're a fabulous singer, and ol' Wally here can't turn down someone as cute as you, now can he? My starting fee is only 200 gold Miss, but I know I can get you a thousand gold pieces for your first concert, and double that the second... then probably quadruple that! For such a cheeky babe such as yourself, you'll be a sensation, you'll-"

He stopped and gulped, staring at Luna's face. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and a large scowl was present on her face. A very angry scowl.

"Ozzie sent you, didn't he?"

"Wha..?"

"Oh, I know what this is about!" Luna sneered, now very angry, "I told him last time that I was only going to sing once. ONCE! He promised he'd leave me alone! I mean, I liked the fame for a day, maybe, but after awhile the people in Mentira scared me to death! Do you know what it's like to be congratulated by a snake-woman you don't even know, and who insults you the moment you even cross-eyes at her? Do you!?"

"Uh... I don't know a..."

"Well, you can go right back to Ozzie and tell him I'm not interested!" She pouted and crossed her arms even further. "Well?! Go already! I won't stand for anyone stalking me! I've had it with the petty damsel in distress routine."

The man began to look dejected, "Damn it, this so did not go the way I wanted..."

"Oh, didn't it now?!"

"Oh shit, you hear-"

Luna growled, and grabbed a nearby stick, the one used to skewer the fish Azura gobbled up the night before. "Listen, if you do not leave here this instant, I'll beat you within an inch of your life! Do you understand?"

"C'mon Luna, just let me explain-"

"Oh, you even know my name, do you? You were stalking me! And to think I actually thought you might be a decent type of bum! How wrong I was!" Livid, Luna began to smack the man with the blunt end of the stick, getting more enraged that Ozzie would even think of pestering her now that she found Alex, and things were finally near a semblance of normalcy. "Get out get out get out!"

"Ow! Let me explain... Ow! Geez! Watch were you're pok

OW!" He fell to the ground, yet he didn't really seem hurt by Luna's blows, only slightly winded.

"Oh when I'm done with you, I'll-"

"Luna! ...Nall?! What on ...What are you two doing?"

Luna whirled around to the voice behind her, recognizing Alex immediately. He stared at both of them in a look of absolute befuddlement. It was then that the other word Alex said slowly sunk into Luna's brain. "Wait a minute...?" Luna thought, "Alex said..."

With a blank look, the stick poised harmlessly at her side, Luna turned back to the bum, who was now roaring with laughter, almost collapsing on the ground, "Oh man! OH man! That look... That almost made up for the fact that I can't act worth a... GEEZ Alex, did you see Luna's look? Did you? Oh man, that was classic! CLASSIC, I tell you!"

Luna's eyes widened, and she dropped the stick, and was dimly aware that it made a hollow clattering sound as it hit the forest floor. "You... you... You're... You're...?" Luna stuttered, unable to get the words out.

Nall grinned up at her, and jumped to his feet in one lithe movement. "Well, Luna, it's nice to know that you've got a bitchin' feminist 'whack a mole'...er... whack a male thing since the whole Ghaleon thing. I'm impressed!"

With those words, Luna promptly fainted.

Nall blinked, and looked down with at her, not saying anything for a few moments. "Uh... but we gotta work on your constitution... uh... yeah... Alex? Help please?"

After a decidedly long string of problems involving a water skin, some rope, and the straps on the bag, Azura managed to work her way free. Looking around, she noted that Luna was lying on the ground with Alex trying to wake her, and an oddly dressed man.. or perhaps a boy.. was standing nearby, looking on. she hesitated for a moment or two before a primal dragon instinct informed her that it was her duty to be a smartass.

"Who the hell are you, you circus reject?"

Nall turned toward the voice, and smiled. "Hey, squirt."

"Squirt? Who are you calling squirt?" Azura walked forward a few steps, stretching her wings. "I wouldn't talk if I looked like someone who escaped from a rubber room!"

"From a rubber room? Listen, Azura, I'll have you know that-"

"And how do you know my name? I never told you my-"

"Look, if you'd just listen to me, I'd explain-"

"You know what? I don't care! You're obviously too stupid to be-"

"Stop that! Both of you!"

Two heads, one human and one feline, turned to look at Alex, who was staring at them both.

Azura made a little 'hrmphing' noise while Nall managed to look a little sheepish. "Sorry, Alex."

A muted flash of white light went off as Luna stirred slightly, slowly opening her eyes. Nall padded over to her, now in cat form, while Azura stared in surprise.Luna sat up, and Nall sit down on the ground in front of her, fighting down another grin. "Uh.. hi Luna! Sorry about that..."

Luna focused on the familiar sight of the flying cat in front of her. "Nall... that was you?" When Nall only nooded meekly, a grin breaking out on his face, Luna folder her arms over her chest and looked at him crossly.

Tail drooping, Nall did his best to look pathetic. Luna laughed and scooped him up. "It's good to see you again, Nall!"

"I'm glad to see you too, Luna.. Alex.. it's good to be back together."

After a brief but happy renunion, punctuated with a number of questions from Azura that Nall promised to answer later, Luna dna Alex packed up their things to go. Azura rested herself on Luna's shoulder, while Nall took his customary perch on Alex. The four started off to the east, the direction it looked like Natsuka had gone. After a few hours, Alex sighed and sat down on a tree stump. "We're not going to find her."

"No, you're probably not." Nall nodded, and looked up at the sky. "And this is taking too long. Come on, let's go." Not giving anyone time to respond, Nall took off and flew over to a decent-sized clearing nearby. "We need to go find the others, Alex."

A short explination later, a dragon rose from the forest, two people and one small winged cat clinging to the fur on its neck, heading off towards the sea.

Towards Shinbi.