"Ugh..."

It wasn't the most elegant of expressions, but it was the one that most accurately conveyed Natalie's current feelings. The young girl slowly opened her eyes, finding Darren kneeled over by the bed, a wide smile across his face. "Good to see you too," he joked.

Natalie pulled the covers over her head. "What time is it?," she wondered.

"It's a little after midnight."

"...and you couldn't let me finish sleeping?"

Natalie could hear Darren laughing to himself from under the covers. "Ever been to New Malstron?," came his voice a moment later.

"No..."

"Would you like to go?"

There was a brief pause as Natalie slowly pulled the covers down, just enough so that her blue eyes could regard her friend. As she had expected, Darren was smiling. "You can get us to New Malstron?," she repeated.

"Yup."

"Why New Malstron?"

"Why not?" Darren shrugged. "It's as good as any place to start our aimless wandering. Besides," he added. "I've got a couple of friends living there that I wouldn't mind visiting."

Natalie sat up a little more in the bed, taking care to keep the cover at chest level. She wasn't wearing much, and figured it wouldn't be a good idea to flash her childhood friend at this time. "Sounds good to me," she responded between a yawn. "So how are we getting there?"

"A friend of a friend of mine has to deliver some cargo by airship, and is heading out that way in the morning." Darren stood to his feet and stepped away from the bed, leaning on his desk some distance away. "Oh, and to pay for passage, I've sold you off as a concubine. I told him you were pretty mean, but still fairly cute." As he had anticipated, Darren had to catch the flying pillow he earned for his joke from Natalie, who continued to sit in bed, smirking. "The crew's the superstitious type, so we'll have to ride with the cargo. It's a fairly short trip, so I don't think it'll be too uncomfortable"

Natalie smiled and nodded slowly. "As long as he's not shipping pigs or anything. So when do we leave?"

"Six in the morning, local time..."

Darren was suddenly cut off as Natalie pulled the covers back over her head in one swift motion. "Good," she quickly remarked. "Now I can finish my nap."

"Yeah right, like I'm going to let you lounge around here on my last night in Ardonis!," he retorted, tossing the pillow back at her. "I'm going out to have some fun, and I'll be damned if I'm doing it alone."

Natalie said nothing as her arm snaked out from beneath the covers just long enough to grab the pillow and pull it in with her. "Then you've got two choices," she eventually remarked from under the covers. "You can either drag me out of bed, or hope you make some new friends tonight."

Darren nodded. "I have considered your options, and have made my decision."

The young man quickly went over to his bed and grabbed the sheet, and with a sudden yank, pulled most of it off the bed. Only then did he realize he was staring at a panty-clad Natalie, her arms crossed and barely covering her very naked chest, a wide grin stretched across her face.

"Hi Darren."

Natalie broke out in a fit of laughter at the sight and sound of her friend shouting and turning a bright shade of red before hastily tossing the covers back over her head. She poked her head out of the covers to see Darren turn his back to the bed -even with the darkness of his complexion, she could tell that he was still blushing heavily.

"Cripes Natalie, why didn't you tell me that you... were like, naked and stuff?!," he shouted. "Man, I am SOOOO sorry...! I feel like some dirty perv! Gah..."

"Relax Darren, it's OK," Natalie managed between laughs. "You act like you've never seen a half naked woman in your bed before..."

"So what are you trying to say?," he responded with a grin, peering over his shoulder.

"Could you hand me my clothes, Darren?"

He nodded slowly, reaching for the red shirt and black skirt lying neatly on his chair and handed them to her before heading out of the room to let her change. "I'll be in the living room," he quietly remarked before disappearing.

"Darren?"

"Yeah?," came his voice from the next room.

"You really need to loosen up some."

There was a brief pause, followed by some laughter. "Some things never change." 

It proved harder to be up and ready by six than they previously had thought, but neither Natalie or Darren had considered adding a hangover to their timetable. They had managed to actually make it on time, although the only details Natalie could recall were pretty much a blur. She vaguely recalled being introduced to the jovial captain of the ship, a tall and slender red-bearded man named Marcus Dusari. She unfortunately also recalled quite vividly the image of losing her meager breakfast over the edge shortly after taking to the sky. Now she rested in the cargo hold, curled up in a tight ball to avoid moving. Darren sat close by, constantly keeping an eye on his friend. "Feeling better?," he wondered.

"Ugh... no."

"You want some water?"

Natalie looked up to answer yes, but Darren was already holding his canteen within her reach. She quietly smiled as she took it and enjoyed a long sip of the cool water -after losing everything moments prior, it felt good to have something in her system again. "Thanks," she managed between gulps.

"You can keep the canteen," Darren teased. "I don't want to get any of your cootie germs or anything."

Natalie made a valiant attempt to say something back, but could only manage a light groan as the airship lurched slightly. She sat up and waited for it to happen again, and when it inevitably did, she quickly returned the canteen to her friend before burying her head in her knees. "Cripes, not again...," she moaned.

Darren, who didn't seem terrible phased by the idea of flying several hundred feet above ground, stood up on a nearby crate and took a deep breath. "Hey, we must be landing already!," he cheerfully noted. "Wow, that WAS quick!"

Natalie only groaned as she clutched her legs even tighter, trying her hardest to not move. She had nothing else to lose save the water she had just drank. Not only would have it been nasty for her to lose that little bit, but it also would have been rude to do it in front of the one that gave it to her in the first place. Darren finally took note of his friend's predicament and kneeled down next to her.

"Listen," he quietly began. He reached his hand out to her. "Would it help if you held my ha...ACK!" Before he could even finished his offer, Natalie was clutching his hand tightly. It came right on time, for the ship lurched again as it continued to descend. The lower the ship got in altitude, it seemed Natalie's grip got twice as strong.

"Na... Natalie... you're crushing... my hand..." 

"I think I need to see a doctor," Darren quietly mumbled to himself, taking a moment to flex his hand. Natalie didn't hear his remark -she was too busy taking in the surroundings of new city. As they walked away from the makeshift airfield in which they landed, the duo had passed a number of buildings being built, streets being paved, homes being constructed. Even with the labor that was going forth, it seemed that no one didn't take the time to at least wave and say hi to the duo before returning to their tasks. While most of the New Malstronians were human (at least in appearance), Natalie would see several large reptilian men and women from time to time. A team of short, thickly muscled blue skinned men dug trenches some distance away from them -despite the obviously tiring work the group was engaged in, their jovial, deep voiced singing formed a cadence as they continued their task. It reminded Natalie very much of some Dwarven miners that had passed through Kari once, back on Sukata. Posted on the side of the makeshift dirt road was a large wooden sign with the words 'Welcome to New Malstron' etched across it in bold, golden letters. Natalie turned towards Darren and saw that her friend was smiling broadly.

"I like this place," he simply stated. He paused for a moment to wave to a group of basket-carrying women, his eyes lingering on them for a brief moment before turning back to Natalie. "This is what Haven's all about," Darren added. "Proving that no matter what happens to everything else, the human spirit can't be destroyed. They're actually working _together_!"

Natalie smiled and nodded quickly. There was a certain atmosphere about the forming city that left Natalie with a sense of respect and pride for the individuals working around her. "So how do we find your friends?," she absently wondered, changing the subject.

Darren opened his mouth to begin to acknowledge that it was indeed a good question, but almost as if on cue, a loud cheer erupted from the air some distance away. The two looked around and could make out a small crowd of individuals grouped together about the outskirts of the camp, watching some sort of event. Upon seeing a brown, oval-shaped object arc above the group, Darren's face suddenly lit up.

"Beat me if I'm wrong, but I'm willing to bet over here!," he responded, taking Natalie's hand and leading her towards the spectacle. 

The group was playing some sort of game that Natalie had never seen before, and had gained quite a crowd. From as near as she could make out, there were two teams on the field -both were huddled on opposite ends of the clearing, and Natalie could see the oddly shaped ball on the ground between the two forces. After a period of a few seconds, both sides shouted something loud amongst their groups, accompanied with a loud clap as they once again took to the field. Both sides lined up and faced each other in a formation, while a large reptilian young man placed his hand on the odd ball and squatted down. A dark-haired young man stood behind him, shouted something about some colors and numbers, and finally said 'HIKE!'

Both sides erupted into a flurry of motion -one team seemed to be trying to destroy the young man with the ball, while the other seemed intent on keeping him safe. The man with the ball ran about madly, and upon seeing someone from his team some distance down the field, lobbed it at him at a high rate of speed. His team mate (a young man in baggy black pants and dark tank top) caught the ball, causing a sudden cheer from the crowd. The man continued to run down the field, deftly dodging defenders with ease, his eyes apparently set on reaching the opposite end. When it became obvious that no one would be able to stop him, the man took to high-stepping as he crossed a line etched into the field. He then slammed the ball into the ground and did a quick backflip in celebration as somebody shouted 'TOUCHDOWN!' His team erupted into cheers as they rushed over to congratulate him, while the other team looked a little annoyed at the whole process.

"What...," Natalie slowly began. "...are we watching?"

"An Earth sport called 'American Football'," he quickly answered, grinning. "Some of the settlers learned how to play from a couple of realm-hoppers who were from there originally." There was excitement in her friend's eyes, and Natalie knew that Darren wanted to go out there with them. While true, he did also realize that they were in the middle of a game. "Let's sit down," he offered, leading her towards the crowd that had gathered to watch. She sighed and, not having much else to do, decided to follow.

Much to her delight, the game didn't last much longer -from what she could tell, the team that scored the final 'touchdown' were the ones that won the game. She and Darren made their way to the makeshift field and into the midst of the celebration. As they made their way through the crowd that had gathered, Natalie noticed something about one of the players for the first time. She tapped Darren on the shoulder and pointed towards the dark-haired young man that had thrown the last 'touchdown'.

"Hey, didn't I see him in that picture on your wall?," she quickly wondered. It was kind of hard to forget him, even though there were several others in the shot. As she recalled, the guy was on the front row, holding Darren in a playful headlock.

He quickly nodded. "Yeah, that's..." As he turned around, Darren suddenly noticed that the guy had disappeared from where he was standing only a moment before.

"... over here, big guy!"

Natalie almost jumped when she heard the strange voice come from behind. She managed to avoid making a sound -instead, her blue eyes merely shot open to roughly the size of twin grapefruit. She turned around slowly and deliberately, trying her best to retain her composure.

As she turned, she saw Darren and the dark-haired young man shake hands and engage in what only could be described as a manly embrace -there was a closeness to it, as if to say 'You are my friend, and it is good to see you', yet enough distance between them that said to the casual observer 'If any of you assuming something uncool about this embrace, we are both willing and capable of harming you'. Natalie snickered lightly to herself. Men were the same everywhere.

It seemed that it was louder than she thought, because she soon found herself looking into the dark eyes of the guy, who was grinning broadly. "Hi there," he greeted. He was about an inch shorter than Darren, but regardless of that fact, he was about as wide. His dark brown hair was a little tossed from his game, and a few stray strands of hair had escaped from the short ponytail in the back of his head. "I'm Neil," he introduced, extending his hand.

"Natalie." She took his hand. There was a boyish charm about him, and Natalie caught herself smiling back.

"So where's the rest of your horde hanging around at?," Darren quickly wondered, looking around the area some.

Neil shrugged. "There's no telling with that lot," he responded with a grin. "Narek's on patrol with ol' ninja boy, Sulay's helping take down some trees for lumber, and I'm supposed to be meeting Jimmy in a few minutes so we can engage in the glorious task of unclogging one of the irrigation ditches." Neil grumbled to himself lightly for a moment before quickly shaking his head and looking back up. "Anyway, Dietra's floating around here someplace. I'm sure we'll see her."

Natalie figured it would happen from the moment they had arrived in New Malstron. Darren was always a worker, and as she expected, he had excused himself in order to help out with some of the tasks around New Malstron. She didn't mind in the least -she even found herself involved with a task or two before the day was out.

During the course of the day, she had been introduced to Dietra, whom she recognized as the short, smiling lizard-woman from Darren's photograph (she later found out that Dietra preferred to be referred to as either a 'Kutossi' or 'Chameleon', as opposed to 'lizard-woman'). There was a certain cuteness about the young Chameleon -she was barely five feet tall, and her short, bright red hair seemed a little out of place, but it added a certain charm to her presence. She had an even yellow complexion that made her bright green eyes all the more prominent.

Dietra had broken down the story to Natalie of how Darren and Neil knew each other. Several months prior, there was a tournament held in Ardonis, sponsored by some of the local martial artists. Neil was captain of a small team from New Malstron (of which Dietra was a part of), who came to Ardonis in order to compete. As a local, Darren was asked to make sure the team was comfortable during their stay in the city. During the course of their stay, he became friends with the members of the team. Once the tournament was over, Neil told Darren that should he ever be in the area to stop on by.

Night had fallen in the area. As she expected, Darren wasn't back from working yet. Having not much else to do, she and Dietra had taken to walking around the forming city of New Malstron. Most of the workers had turned in for the evening, but there were still a few of the younger individuals running out and about at that time of night. "Not bad for just six month's work, no?," Dietra remarked, looking around the area. Her voice was slightly accented, but Natalie had no trouble understanding her.

She nodded. "It's impressive."

There was a brief silence as they continued to walk. "So what part of the world are you from?," Dietra absently wondered, hopping to rekindle the conversation.

"Ardonis, but I didn't stay there very long," Natalie answered. She sighed. "After we ended up on Haven, I did some traveling around the continent. I spent most of my time between a couple of the small cities in the south. I've only recently returned."

"Ah yes, I'd love to do some traveling of my own," the Chameleon answered with a short laugh. "Except for our trip to Ardonis, I haven't been outside of New Malstron."

Natalie nodded. "I'm the type that can't stay still for too long. I like to keep moving. If I stayed in one place for too long, I'd probably lose my mind." Dietra laughed again, placing a tiny hand on Natalie's shoulder.

"Amen to that! Hey listen, I..." Dietra suddenly fell silent as she began to look about the area, in particular to the trees. "Can you feel that?," she whispered hoarsely. Natalie tensed slightly and nodded -should could feel the same thing that the Chameleon did.

They were being watched. Normally that would have been perceived as being relatively normal, but the two found that they had wandered to the outskirts of New Malstron during the course of their conversation. A few trees had been cut down in the clearing, and pieces of wood littered the area, most of which was tied in neat bundles and stacked. The area had to have been recently cleared out, seeing as there was no trace of construction going on in the vicinity. A light breeze blew through the clearing, disturbing the trees slightly.

Correction... It wasn't a wind that disturbed the trees. It was something jumping out of the nearest one.

Both Natalie and Dietra backed away slowly after seeing a figure land on the ground so quietly that, had they not seen it, they wouldn't have known it was there. It stood up slowly, revealing it to be a strange man that neither recognized. He wore a dark cloak, the hood pulled back onto his shoulders. Black baggy pants and boots were slightly visible behind the folds of the cloak, and a navy blue piece of body armor adorned his chest. Oddly enough, his hair the same shade as the armor. Even in the shadows, his eyes seemed to radiate a light of their own. "Evening ladies," the stranger greeted, nodding his head slightly.

An awkward silence followed. "Evening, stranger," Dietra slowly responded. "Kind of late to be jumping out of trees, don't you think?"

There was a light chuckle from the stranger. He carried himself with a sort of dignity that just didn't seem befitting of men who jumped out of trees late at night. "It's just not the same when you do it during the day," he calmly retorted. A smile slowly made its way onto his face. "And as frequent a visitor I am," he added as an afterthought. "I'm no stranger."

Natalie almost jumped as she felt Dietra reach out and lightly touch her hand. "Well, we've really got to get going," the Chameleon remarked, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "Seeya!" Natalie was about to say something, but fell silent as Dietra turned around and faced her. There was fear in her eyes as she mouthed a single word.

Run...

She felt the grip on her hand tighten. Dietra was starting to sweat. This was no joke.

Without a word, the two turned away, but before any could take a step, they found that the stranger was no longer behind them.

He was standing in front of them, smiling.

Instinctively, Dietra fell into a fighting stance as Natalie quickly drew her sword, while the stranger did not do so much as even flinch. He grinned, seemingly amused by the action. "Was it something I said?," he casually wondered.

"Get away from us," Dietra snarled. Natalie cast a quick glance at her, still not fully understanding who this man was or why Dietra had been put so on edge by his presence. However, she knew that now was not the time to ask. Her stony continence was quickly shaken as she found the man staring right at her.

"And what of you?," he wondered. He paused for a moment to look Natalie up and down. He smiled, and looked her up and down once more. "Do you have something to say?"

Natalie shook her head. "I believe actions speak louder than words."

"And I agree fully!," the man quickly answered. He brought his hand up to his left shoulder and undid the clasp binding his cloak. He continued to hold it, as if he were not ready to let it drop yet. "I agree fully," he repeated. His grinned stretched even further. "Come, let's see what you have to say!"

If it was a fight he wanted, it was a fight he was going to get, whoever he was. Before anyone could move, however, the man's eye's quickly darted up. He grinned wickedly, and in a sudden blur of motion, he swept his cloak off and leapt back. An instant later, about twenty shuriken tore into the cloak, pinning it to the ground where he was standing a mere second earlier.

In a move that quite simply denied human understanding and limits, the man backflipped through the air and landed gracefully on one of the thick branches of the trees behind him. His laughter filled the area as he landed soundlessly. "It appears that I've overstayed my welcome!," he acknowledged. An instant later, three black-clad ninjas landed on the ground behind Dietra and Natalie, weapons in hand. Both of the young ladies sighed deeply -it seemed that the stranger's presence had been noted by the local night watch.

"Kaiser Dark is my name," the stranger announced with a bow. "Remember it, as I'm sure we'll meet again."

"Not if I can help it, you freak," the ninja at the head of the patrol responded. He glanced at the other ninjas. "Kazu, get these two out of here." Without a word, the two remaining ninja leapt in the trees after Kaiser, who in turn took to fleeing through the trees also. The remaining ninja (Kazu, Natalie assumed), took the two ladies by the arm.

"Come with me."

His voice was calm, but stern. Without a word, Natalie and Dietra quickly followed him back into the camp. Dietra seemed much more relieved that things were over, but Natalie was anything but. The man's presence disturbed her greatly, and she knew now was not the time to start asking questions. She wanted to find out everything the New Malstronians knew about this Kaiser Dark, because strangely, she felt that his parting words were not just an idle warning. Deep down inside, she believed that they would indeed meet again.