"I wonder what Costa Mira is going to be like," Curt said as he and Autumn leaned against the deck railing watching several seagulls fly alongside the airship.

"It's actually a lot like Sumira," Autumn noted.

"You've been there?" Curt asked.

"Once...my dad took me there. That was the last trip we ever took together...he died shortly after that," Autumn reflected.

"How did he die?" Curt inquired.

"He was a lieutenant in the military. He went on a mission to find the meteor with General Chilton and a crew of soldiers...no one ever returned," Autumn shared.

"I'm sorry, Autumn," Curt sympathized.

"It helps to know that he died trying to find a way to protect and save us," Autumn said.

"He sounds like he was a very brave man," Curt commented.

"The bravest," Autumn returned.

"Hey, look down there! What the heck?" Curt suddenly said, pointing to the ground below.

Autumn looked down at the grassy plains below and saw what appeared to be a girl riding on the back of a large gray wolf. Three soldiers riding chocobos seemed to be chasing after her, although they were quite a distance behind. The wolf neared the edge of a deep ravine and turned to the east, passing out of sight under the airship. Curt and Autumn both ran to the starboard side of the ship. The girl on the wolf re-emerged into view following along the edge of the ravine, the soldiers still in pursuit.

"Do you think we should help her?" Autumn asked.

"Absolutely!" Curt replied. "Captain Ren, hard to starboard! And bring us down close to the ground!"

Autumn ran inside the bridge to tell the others what she had seen below. Ren turned the airship sharply and began to descend.

"Increase speed! We need to get ahead of them!" Curt yelled.

The airship lurched forward, and Curt felt an awesome sense of exhilaration as the air currents began to rush past. Autumn returned to Curt's side, and together they watched as the airship finally passed the girl on the wolf. Curt looked to the east and saw the beginning of the Dead Forest. Suddenly, he turned and began running.

"Autumn, stay here and give us some cover if we need it!" Curt shouted as he entered the bridge.

"The girl looks like she's heading for the Dead Forest. We gotta cut her off. Get us down there quick, and bring us around to meet her, Captain! Mark, Paul, let's go!" Curt instructed.

Curt, Paul, and Mark quickly made their way to the hull door.

"Brace yourselves, boys!" Curt said as he hit the switch to open the door.

The three friends suddenly felt the airship wheel around and begin to hover. Wind gushed in as the hull door opened, and Curt could see the chase quickly approaching. He jumped out of the airship as soon as they were close enough to the ground. Paul and Mark followed suit. Curt looked up at the airship deck and saw Autumn shouting and waving at the girl.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you! We're here to help!" Autumn shouted.

Suddenly, the wolf stopped running, and the girl gracefully jumped into the air, flipping and twisting before landing to face her pursuers. She was still over 30 yards away from the airship, and the soldiers were now only 20 yards away from her. The wolf turned to face the oncoming soldiers while the girl drew a staff from a harness on her back and stood on guard behind the wolf. Curt could now see that the wolf was easily three times larger than any average wolf, and the girl looked like she was probably younger than Autumn. Curt began to run toward the girl with Mark and Paul close behind.

"Fenrir!" the girl shouted.

Suddenly, the wolf burst forward and lunged at the foremost soldier and chocobo. Upon reaching the pair, the wolf swiped with its right paw and continued on toward the other pursuers, leaving behind a fallen heap of armor and feathers. The wolf leaped again, this time meeting the second chocobo head on. Despite the speed of the chocobo, the great weight and might of the wolf was overwhelming. The huge wolf succeeded in knocking the chocobo and its rider backwards and then crushed them both as it landed on them. The third soldier slashed at the wolf with his sword as he rode past, leaving a gash on the wolf's left flank. The soldier continued riding toward the girl, lifting his sword again to strike. Suddenly, the chocobo let out a cry and tumbled to the ground, throwing its rider. The chocobo struggled to rise, an arrow lodged in its thigh. The soldier only had enough time to raise his head to see his chocobo struggling because a moment later he felt the weight of the wolf as it landed on him and broke his neck.

Curt and the others stood watching in amazement about ten yards from the girl. The girl turned to face them as the wolf made its way to stand by her side. Curt now had a moment to take in the girl's features: average height, slender, and fair-skinned, with dark eyes and jet-black hair. The girl glanced at the wolf's wound and then patted it on the head. Together they began walking toward the three shocked friends.

"Hey thanks, guys!" the girl shouted cheerfully. "What the heck possessed you all to stop and lend a hand?"

"You looked like you could use a little help. Well, at least that's what it looked like from the air. From where we're standing now, I'm not really sure you needed it that much after all," Curt replied.

"Well, she helped out a bit," the girl said as she pointed up at Autumn, who was still standing up on the deck with her bow in hand.

"Yeah, Autumn's pretty good with a bow," Curt noted.

"So that's Autumn, huh? And who are you guys?" the girl asked.

"I'm Curt...that's Paul...and that's Mark," Curt introduced.

"Alrighty, Curt! Well, I'm Melly! Nice to meet ya!" Melly greeted. "And this here is Fenrir. He's sorta my guardian or something."

"Pretty damn awesome guardian!" Paul commented.

"Why were those soldiers chasing you?" Mark inquired.

"There's a bounty out for me. Don't even think about trying to collect on it, or I'll have Fenrir chew you chumps up!" Melly said with a laugh.

"A bounty? How come?" Paul asked.

"I'm part of the resistance...or at least I used to be. I'm all that's left of it now," Melly said sadly.

"Resistance? What resistance?" Mark asked. "I've never heard of any resistance."

"There weren't many of us. Just me and most of the members of my village...Kalmora. It's up north, just past Lake Imend. Ever heard of it?" Melly asked.

"I don't think so," Curt replied.

"I have," Mark said. "It's a village of priests or shamans or something, right?"

"Not exactly," Melly replied. "But anywhos, they destroyed Kalmora...my grandfather and all my friends..."

"Who did?" Curt asked.

"Neil Senna and his gang. He's the one who put the bounty on me," Melly answered.

"Neil Senna? What exactly did you do, Melly?" Mark asked.

"I sabotaged his equipment up at the myrrh tree," Melly replied with a big smile.

"Sorry to interrupt, Melly, but I just noticed something...you don't have a crystal orb," Paul observed. "How are you able to survive out in the miasma?"

"It's this," Melly said, tapping a crystal pendant which hung around her neck. "My grandfather gave it to me. I fill it up with myrrh, and it protects me just like an orb would."

"Hey, Mark, that pendant looks similar to the ones we have," Curt noted. "You don't suppose...Melly, was your grandfather affiliated with the Dragon Knight Order or a man named Sven by any chance?"

"Hmmm...I'm not sure. I don't remember him ever mentioning any of those guys. Sorry, Curt," Melly replied.

Suddenly, everyone heard Autumn shouting. Curt turned to see Autumn pointing to the north. There in the distant sky, Curt could make out the shape of an airship.

"You know, that's probably Neil on his way down here right now. There were four soldiers chasing me at first, but one went off to tell him that I had been found. He's got a flying ship like yours...only it's bigger," Melly stated.

"Curt, we'd better get the hell out of here," Mark said.

"I agree," Curt replied. "Melly, you sound like our kind of friend. We're trying to find out the truth about all these myrrh shenanigans. Wanna come along?"

"A new resistance team, huh? Sounds fun!" Melly mused. "What do you think, Fenrir?"

Fenrir nuzzled Melly's hand.

"Ok, you guys got a deal! Let's go!" Melly said as she and Fenrir ran past Curt and into the airship.

"Boy, this girl is spunky!" Paul observed as he and the others returned to the airship.