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Chapter Eight
    "W-Who's there?" Jillia called.

    "Perhaps I should be asking you that question, as you are the ones on forbidden territory." it said.

    Masama was successful at lightning another fire. They heard and saw two giant white and tan speckled wings flap once, extinguishing the flame in the huge gust of wind the creature created.

    "However, since I am kind and noble, I shall answer your question. I am Oscuro, member of the Viporas Astucia. You are in my home, and must be eliminated, as I believe you were informed of. Did you not see the sign?" he said. His voice was calm yet forbidding.

    "Ah...must've missed it."lied Mallumo, cowering from the being.

    Jillia squinted her eyes. She couldn't really see what the creature looked like, but could make out an outline. When it moved, it was tall, yet when it was resting its head was lower to the ground, as if it were lying on its belly. She could also see the huge wings. They appeared to be more downy than the feathers of a phoenix.

    "Well," said Oscuro's voice, this time from the other side of the camp, "I suppose that you have already figured out that this means that I shall have to kill you. It's nothing personal, mind you, but unfortunately necessary."

    "We've already defeated one of you, so bring it on?" Sirak challenged.

    "One of us...?" questioned Oscuro.

    Sirak stepped closer towards the voice. "Yeah, Ira, we tricked hi-"

    "Shut up!" hissed Jillia, too late.

    "So, Ira has already tried and failed to apprehend you? How moronic of him. Well now, enough talk. Prepare yourselves for your demise."


Oscuro's wings sliced through the night air as he soared away.

"Um...where did he go?" Masama pondered.

Jillia was about to respond when she felt a short beak bite into her shoulder, creating a bloody wound. "Help!" she screamed, trying to claw at Oscuro to no avail. He started to lift her into the air.

In an act of courage that was abnormal for him, Mallumo pounced at Oscuro, but at the time where he should have felt flesh under his claws, there was only shadow. He fell to the ground with a thud.

"Ow!" Mallumo exclaimed, "Where'd he go?"

"How can we fight what we can't see?" Sirak wondered.

"I think he's trying to separate us. Stick together!" Jillia observed.

"Brilliant deduction, young walkese." said Oscuro's voice. It greatly bothered Jillia that along with not being able to see him, his downy weathers also prevented them, even Sirak, from hearing his wings.

"Can't you make light?"Mallumo asked Masama.

"Whenever I try to make a fire, Oscuro puts it out!" Masama argued.

Shika, who had remained quiet throughout their encounter with Oscuro, spoke up. "But what if he were to be too busy?"

Jillia thought about this. "I think I have a plan." whispered Masama. After some quick, quiet discussion they launched into action.

Oscuro swooped in once again, attacking Shika. This time they were ready. Masama flew at Oscuro, but she didn't attack. She set herself ablaze, lighting up their campsite and exposing their attacker.

Oscuro was an avian, as Jillia has predicted. He had a flat white face with huge eyes and a short, pointy beak. The rest of his head was tan. His feathers were plush and soft-looking. He had a white belly.

The strangest part was below his chest. His lowers torso and legs...well, they weren't there. In their place was a huge, flowing tail with fins that looked like it was made for swimming, not flying. It was purple and sparkling with gold.

Oscuro flapped backward in surprise. Now that they could see him, he was a much easier target. Everyone except for Shika, who was still cowering in fright, pounced on him. He wasn't very good at real fighting, which was probably why he stuck to hit-and-run tactics. His wings and tail were useless in combat, so he could really use was his tiny beak.

He eventually gave up. With a great flap of his wings, Oscuro shook off his assailants and soared away. They chased after him for a little while, then lost sight of the large creature.

"That bird will probably go blabbing to his buddies." Sirak said. Jillia noticed that word 'bird' again. Maybe it was an insult?

Masama nodded. "So we'll have to move quickly."

Mallumo groaned. "But we never really got to sleep!"

"But they'll come after us if we stop." Jillia agreed.

"Fine, whatever." Mallumo muttered.

They gathered what they had into the black pouch and started walking again. After a couple of hours, the sun was rising.

"Why are the nights so short here?" Jillia wondered.

"The amount of daylight varies depending on the area." Masama explained, "It has to do with the angle of Araw, or Sun in your language."

    "Doesn't the Sun, like...move around or whatever?" Sirak asked.

    "Um, yeah. It goes up and down, like it always has. Why do you think they call it sunrise and sunset?"Mallumo said.

    Sirak just shrugged and kept walking.

    "I believe we are almost arriving at the main hideout." said Shika who was reading the map.

    "I wonder if it'll be like a castle, or a shack, or a..." Sirak speculated. Jillia cut him off.

    "Or it's a cave." she said. Right in front of them, almost completely covered with sand was the mouth of a shadowy tunnel that seemed to forebodingly whisper "Turn Back".

    "I'm really starting to rethink this..." Jillia said. Masama and Mallumo nodded uneasily in agreement.

    Shika shook her head. "No. We made a promise." she reminded them quietly.

    Sirak trotted on, unfazed. "Alright, let's go beat up some bandits!" he cheered enthusiastically.

    "Sh!" hissed Mallumo, "We have to be quiet. This is probably another trap!"

    Suddenly, a giant shape burst out of the sand. It was almost like a snake, but not quite. No one really got a good look at it, because they were running for their lives into the tunnel.

    "Lilililili!" it screamed, long red tongue flicking in the air.

As soon as they entered the tunnel, safe from the strange thing, they heard a slam. The cave entrance had collapsed, and they were trapped.

"I was wonderin' when you five would show up! We been waitin' here for hours!" said Ira's voice as he stepped forward.

"Now now, I'm sure they hold very busy schedules." responded Oscuro, coming to rest next to Ira, with his fish tail spread out on the floor and his upper torso raised. They heard a creepy laughter, that changed into a sort of barking.

"Oscuro's correct. Besides, I'd like to know what y'all were doin' in mah territory." This third voice was a strange drawl that put a strange accent on vowels. The bandit's speech made him sound unintelligent, yet he spoke and moved with a certain confidence that would make anyone nervous.

The weird voice belonged to yet another sly-looking creature. Its head was brown, long, and reptilian. His torso was slim with a bushy tail. His body, tail, and front two legs were amber and furry. His back legs were scaly with long finger-like appendages. He slunk towards them.

"We're not afraid of you guys!" yowled Sirak, "Give back what you stole!"

"Ya mean somethin' from me? Well, jus' come 'n get it." Aullidos challenged.

"Eh, Aullidos, should we..." Ira began to ask. He was cut off Oscuro lifting up his wing.

"We shall wait until our next command." said the large feathered bandit.

Sirak and the others charged forward towards the leader. Aullidos simply leaned forward and smiled maliciously. Jillia couldn't help but think that this was too easy.

Once they were almost upon him, he...changed. Around his neck, a huge orange frill popped open and shocked everyone, including Sirak. They stumbling backwards in surprise.

"What's wrong with y'all? I was jus' adjustin' to the latest fashions, is all." said Aullidos with a smirk. He let loose another chilling laugh.

"Block the exit, boys, looks like we're in for a wild ride with these bunch." their leader cackled. Ira and Oscuro did as they were told.

"What now?" asked Mallumo as he backed up in terror, only to be knocked forward by Ira.

"Only way we can. We fight." Sirak growled. Masama shook her head.

"We're too weak, though..." she murmured. It looked like they would be defeated. Suddenly, Jillia had an idea, though she didn't think it would work. She fished around in Ira's bag and produced a small blue, shiny stone circled with gold.

"Hey! That's mine!" barked Ira.

Oscuro's eyes widened. "The Eye of the Northwest! Such a valuable treasure!" he exclaimed.

Aullidos' eyes narrowed. "And you were fixin' on keepin' it all to yourself, weren't ya, Ira?"

The canine in question strode forward. "I didn't want you petty thieves to have it for yourselves." he growled.

"Perhaps I shall just, ah, hold on to the jewel as you two settle your disputes..." Oscuro said, moving towards the shining object. Ira and Aullido both snarled and all three bandits started attacking eachother fiercely.

"Now's our chance! Let's go!" called Jillia. They ran towards a tunnel at the back of the cave. It split into multiple other passageways.

"Which way do we go?"asked Sirak, dashing along beside Jillia.

"Uh..." Jillia stammered, trying to focus, "Outside is this way, I think." She ran down the tunnel path farthest to the right. She led them down a long series of winding tunnels.

"Um, Jillia, I don't mean to bother you but I believe we are going deeper." Shika commented.

"Yeah, Shika's right, I think we're lost." Mallumo agreed.

Jillia shook her head in annoyance. "No, this is definitely the right way. Just trust me, okay?" she said.

She heard a muffled shout that was far away, but she could tell that whoever it belonged to was picking up speed. "They're nearing the treasure room!" it said. It sounded like Ira. Jillia heard the others as well, but their voices were too quiet to make out.

They entered the next tunnel and felt the ground disappear from beneath their feet. They fell for a few seconds before landing with a thud on the dirt floor of a hidden cave.

"Where are we?" wondered Mallumo, rubbing his bruised head.

Masama made her feathers glow, lighting up the cave. They were all breathless as the contents of the cave became visible.

Treasure. Unimaginable riches lay in front of them. Anything you could possibly think of: gold coins, diamond rings, bejeweled crowns, it was there. The light reflected off of the treasure, making it shine brightly.

"W....wow." Jillia stammered.

Sitting at the top of the huge mound was something that seemed almost out of place. It was a worn piece of nylon with a wooden pendant on it. The cloth was frayed and the design on the charm was faded away. There was also a small, rusted copper bell.

"There it is!" said Sirak, motioning to the thing. He began climbing up the pile.

"Stop! Thief!" came Ira's voice. He rushed into the cave, joined by Aullidos and Oscuro.

"We're trapped!" said Masama. It looked like that was true, since there were no visible exits. Still, Jillia sensed that this was not the end of the line.

A snarling Aullidos lunged for Masama, the closest creature. Her light was momentarily put out, but Sirak pushed off the phoenix's attacker and they could see again. The two groups fought,the cave flickering between being lit up and completely pitch black.

Meanwhile, Jillia felt along the wall of the tunnel. She suddenly sensed something. There was a small section of the roof that was much thinner than everything else.

"We need to get up there!" Jillia motioned. She made her way up the treasure pile, gold doubloons and other priceless items sliding around as she ran. As she got closer, she realized that the spot she had noticed wasn't dirt. It was only made to look like dirt.

"An' where do y'all think yer goin'? Get 'em, Oscuro!" Aullidos ordered. Oscuro nodded, soaring towards them.

Masama made it to the exit first. She seemed doubtful, but apparently trusted Jillia. The phoenix collided with the fake portion of ceiling, revealing it to be made of canvas. She lifted it up and the cave was flooded with bright sunlight.

Oscuro was blinded, hovering above the treasure pile. Shika took advantage of the thief's condition and jumped on top of him, then out.

"Sorry." the alicorn apologized. Sirak followed her lead, but not before snatching his precious item.. Jillia was about to, then noticed someone was missing.
    "Mallumo!" she called down to the young dragon. He wasn't moving either, but he was dazed by something other than the bright sun. He stared at the pile of treasure wide-eyed.

    Jillia dashed down, grabbing the prince by his tail and dragging him up. He broke out of his trance and followed her. The thieves were collecting themselves and closing in on them.

    "We have to jump!" Jillia observed. Mallumo nodded and swallowed nervously.

    "One, two, go!" she said. They leaped, and felt a strong beak lifting them up out of the hole.

    Sirak placed them on the ground and they started running.

    "Sorry about that." said Mallumo, "Dragons are born with an uncontrollable urge to hoard treasure."

    Jillia nodded. "I know." she said, somewhat bitterly as she thought about how dragons had stolen walkese land. They finally escaped the canyon, the thieves apparently having given up on their chase.

    "Thanks a lot for helping me get back my collar, guys." Sirak said, placing the 'collar' around his neck.

    "No prob-...wow." Maasama said in shock.

    "Sirak, what...what are you?" Jillia trailed off. Standing in front of them was a creature she had never seen before. It was...

    "A cat. Duh, what else would I be?" Sirak replied simply.

    "Sirak, please remove your collar." Shika requested.

    "Uh, sure, whatever." Sirak obliged, taking it off. When he did, he reverted back to his gryphon form.

    Mallumo looked around and spotted a small pond.

    "Sirak, you had better come over here." he said. The gryphon walked over beside Mallumo. He was starting to look a little irritated.

    "What is wrong with you guys? I don't...what the hell is in that water?" Sirak said. Suddenly, a look of realization came across his face.

    "Is that me?" he asked.
    "You mean you never realized?" Masama said in disbelief.

    "I believe I understand." Shika commented with a nod. "Sirak, where did you get that?"

    "My mom gave it to me. She said that it was really important that I wear it constantly. Then she....um....I don't remember." Sirak furrowed his brow as he thought, trying to think of something.

    "This collar turns you into a...cat. I do not understand why, however." Shika deduced.

    "Look, all I know is that I was living a perfectly happy life with my human before I ended up in this weirdo place.

    "Are there a lot of cats where you come from, Sirak?"

    "Uh-huh, a ton. I don't understand where you're going with this." Sirak insisted.

    Masama spoke up, putting together what Shika was getting at. "You were born here. In Mystic."

    "I...I don't believe you. It can't be." Sirak denied.

    Mallumo rolled his eyes. "Well, how else would you explain everything?"

    "But, then, now, where do I go? There's nothing familiar here, I don't understand..." the gryphon looked weak and small as realization dawned on him.

    "You could come with us." Masama offered. "Maybe once we'll meet some other gryphons who will know something."

    "Really?" Sirak asked. The decision seemed unanimous, since everyone, even Mallumo, nodded.

    The young dragon yawned. "This has been an exhausting day. Can't we please sleep now?"

    They all seemed to agree on that as well.