Hat Thirteen - Beret
Ceil looked at the uniform in the unmarked foot locker. The outfit was a standard-issue, unremarkable and plain, and with no name tag or other identifier.
It had belonged to Zero.
Giving him the uniform in a small ceremony had served multiple purposes within the Resistance at the time. It granted a sense of much-needed unity, at the time when resolve wavered. It had strengthened the resolutions of several members, when desperation gripped their minds. It was a show of courage, when fear clenched their hearts. It was a sign of hope for the future, though so many had been lost. It was determination when wills had been shaken.
Most of the Resistance wasn't formed of warriors; they were civilians, without training and without armor. When Zero had removed his helmet and replaced it with the hat to rally the Resistance, then ignored the danger and charged head-on into a division of pantheons... With Zero, there had been no such term as 'impossible odds,' just them and us, and he wouldn't let anything stop him until there was no longer a them.
Ceil picked up the hat. It was the only piece he'd ever worn.
Outside, fireworks exploded for a silent crowd, representing the falling debris of the Ragnarok satellite. The sign of a free Neo Arcadia. Ceil remembered the original flashes of light that darted across the sky hadn't made a sound. Only static, no matter how she'd called, had begged for a response.
She clenched the hat as she refused to forget the sacrifice.
She clenched the hat and cried.
In memory and honor of those fallen. Next hat: Sep 19th
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