The boy drew in a deep breath. Strange…for the first time he could remember, he didn't wake up cold. He felt pleasant and warm, and the feeling nagged him to go back to sleep. However, his memory registered that he had already slept in several times, and he had to get up and help gather more food for his family. And so, he blinked a few times, and slowly opened his eyes.

As he did, his memory registered. Last night, he had been out hunting… Yes, he had decided to use the forbidden spear. He had too. His sister was sick…maybe dying. And somehow he talked his brother into helping him. He made the spear, his brother stabbed with it. But they found out. Of course, all of the village found out. They got him…they got both of them. They dragged them before Griever. They stood accused of their crimes. He let them keep the deer…but they had to be punished. Then his brother…

The boy suddenly sat up in a rush, now covered with sweat and his mind racing with fear. Now, all of the nightmare of last night came back. His brother was dead, and he had been issued as a sacrifice to Griever. That night, Griever was to come for his soul. And he couldn't remember anything after that… Was he dead then? Was he condemned? Where was he?

The boy realized he wasn't at the tree, first off. He was in some chamber made of rock…a cave or something. Right ahead of them, there was the opening. The gray morning was already shining out, and the cloudy sky was visible again. He could see the tops of trees as he looked out. Tops of trees? That had to mean he was high up…but high up where? Where was he? Was this the netherworld? Was this his horrible punishment, to be in this rock cave forever? What awaited him? It didn't look so bad…

The boy looked down to himself, and was shocked. He saw why he was warm. He was laying on a bear fur and was covered with three deer furs. His fear at incurring further wrath at the hand of Griever came up in an instant. He quickly scrambled off of the hide and threw the other hides off. The rock floor of the cave was cold, but it was better than the alternative. He breathed hard after doing so, and looked back up and around to see where he was again.

About that time, the boy realized that there was a large red scaly mass on his left side. Not only that…but it was warm…and it was moving slowly, like it was breathing. The boy swallowed, and turned his head to the other side. He gasped again…for there was a large blue scaly mass over there, also breathing. The boy gulped, and looked through the cave again. He was shocked once more. The masses were part of very large bodies of very large lizards. They had monstrous looking serpent faces with huge teeth poking out, and had massive forearms with cruel claws, giant wings, and large scaled tails. They were breathing slowly…but they were on either side.

The boy gasped and began to retreat for the back of the cave. He was trapped. This was his punishment, to be stuck in this cave with these two monsters for all eternity. They'd rip him apart, burn him, and devour his entrails forever and ever. The young man sweat terribly. He shuddered with fear. His pale naked body shrank against the wall and he looked out in terror as he cringed into a ball. Finally, unable to take his fear and pain anymore, he opened his mouth and screamed in fright as loud as he possibly could.

"AAAAAAH!"

Bahamut snorted, and opened his serpentine eyes. "Uh…?" He muttered, his wits sleepy.

Wyvern let out a large yawn. "Nah, mom…let me sleep in another hour…"

Bahamut blinked a few times as his memory registered. But then, all of his memories returned. They were in the dark world, in a cave, and they had a human with them. And he had just gone through a most miserable, cold, and rocky night. Human with them… That definitely wasn't Wyvern screaming. As the scream went out again, the esper perked up his head and wheeled it around to the source. He saw the pile of hides turned up, and that the human was quite awake and healthier looking. He was cringed against the back of the cave. Bahamut immediately turned back to Wyvern.

"Wake up!" He yelled at him. "The human's up!"

The boy continued to whine and shrink away as the hideous snake demon awoke its red companion. It let out a large yawn and grumbled something. The blue one said something back, and with a tired look the red one woke up. Both of them turned their heads toward the back of the cave. They gazed at him with their serpent eyes, and soon both of them rose on all four of their legs. They turned fully around and gazed to him. The boy gasped. They were going to rip him to pieces. They'd devour him. He hadn't a prayer. Terrified, he suddenly fell to his knees in front of them.

"P-p-please, demons of Griever! Please tell him I'm sorry! I'll never do it again! I'll burn…just go away!"

Wyvern frowned. "What's the thing babbling about now?"

"Something about Griever, and begging him to take him away from two rather fearsome monsters that look like nightmarish versions of us." Bahamut responded. "I guess it's safe to say they've never seen things like us before."

Wyvern snarled, barring his teeth. He shot his head over to the human's and snapped at it angrily. "Shut up, you dumb critter! You're voice is obnoxious! We're not here to eat you!"

The boy turned his head away and cried out loud as the red creature bellowed at it, showing all of its razor sharp teeth and beating down on him with its fiery breath. He couldn't take it. He had never been so scared in his entire life. He only got more scared when the blue one began to bellow at the red one. The red one angrily roared back, and all of it was too much for the child. He couldn't take it. He began to hyperventilate…and lose control.

"You're scaring the heck out of-"

"What the heck is it doing now?"

Bahamut cut off his tongue lashing, and turned his head toward where Wyvern was looking. The young human, in the midst of shivering like a leaf and trying desperately to shield itself, now had a liquid coming out of a small organ in its groin area. Wyvern scratched his head.

"Is that a defense mechanism?"

"I…uh…think it's so scared it wet itself." Bahamut replied with a blush.

Wyvern rolled his eyes. "We're not getting anywhere."

Bahamut groaned. "I was trying to tell you…if you just let me do something for a moment and read his mind, try to get an association between his words and his thoughts, I might be able to learn his language."

"Well don't just stand there, do it!" Wyvern snapped back.

Bahamut sighed, and looked back to the young human. He was still recoiling from him, offering no resistance. The esper sighed, thinking that it was going to urinate again if he tried to touch it. But he had no choice. He could penetrate into minds only when having physical contact. He would just have to try and stop the feeble little creature from doing anything to him. Finally, he reached forward and clenched the young human's head with one claw. The young human panted and shook more fiercer than ever. But Bahamut closed his own eyes and focused, penetrating deep into the young human's mind…dipping into its reserves…all of its libraries of knowledge…all of what it knew about language, how to talk, and what its words meant…

The boy knew he was doomed. The creature had him by the head. It'd rip it off or eat it soon. He was finished. He couldn't do anything else.

But then, most suddenly…the thing let his head go. He continued to cringe, however, not moving and keeping tucking in a small ball. He wouldn't turn to him in the least or look anymore at the demon things. But then…he suddenly heard something, in a powerful voice.

"We're not going to hurt you. We're not monsters."

At that, the boy blinked, and suddenly opened his eyes. Who had said that? He turned his head, and looked to where the demons were. They were still there, and still looked huge, fearsome, and terrible. But the blue one was staring right at him, and yet was doing nothing. There was no one else there. Who else could have spoke to him? The boy swallowed, and spoke to him.

"Uh…are you…talking to me?"

"Yes." The blue one answered.

The boy recoiled at this, frightened once again. But the blue one continued to stare at him calmly, not looking offensive or dangerous, despite its frightening appearance and huge body. The young man swallowed, and after a moment was able to lean a bit closer. "So…so Griever…forgives me then?" He asked in puzzlement.

To this, the blue one looked confused and uneasy. The red one snorted and roared something. The blue one whirled its head to him and snapped a bit, then turned back to the boy. The sudden change of tone made him recoil again, but the blue one spoke in a slow and calm voice again, trying to reassure him it seemed. "We're…we're not with Griever. It's a long story of what happened last night. But in short, we took you off of the tree you were on. You aren't going to die."

The boy blinked at this for a moment. He wasn't going to die? These creatures took him off the tree? Suddenly…fear jumped into his mind. He hadn't been sacrificed after all. He was still alive. These creatures had picked him up. But if he was alive…that meant his village was doomed to destruction. He had never been sacrificed! Terror gripped the young man's soul. He winced, and his eyes began to fill with tears. He feared for his mom, his dad, his sister…all of them were going to die just like his brother! His heart was full of terror, and he began to cry loudly. He fell to the ground and buried his face against it, weeping out loud.

"Oh…now what!" Wyvern snapped viciously.

"Hush!" Bahamut answered sharply. "I'll try to find out!"

Bahamut turned and went back to the young human, and began to speak in its babbling language again. Wyvern sighed and waited. He had to figure out how to do the mind reading as well. If he didn't, he'd never get to learn the creature's language. Like it or not, the mystery was keeping him intrigued in the matter as well. At any rate, the young human cried for a long time before he managed to halfway look up and start rattling off gibberish to Bahamut. Bahamut himself seemed to have a hard time understanding it, and talked to the young human again several times. Each time, the human responded. But it still took a few minutes of talking to him before Wyvern finally got some answers. Bahamut finally turned away from him, leaving him to cry, and looked to Wyvern.

"He's sad because he thinks that his parents and family are going to die." He told the fellow esper. "According to the rules of their village, where they were living last night, if someone breaks the rules and Griever says they have to be sacrificed, they have to be put against that tree and wait for Griever to come for them. Only then will the village be spared."

Wyvern looked puzzled at that. "Who is Griever anyway? And what does he have to do with that thing that came to eat the runt last night?"

Bahamut hesitated a moment, but then shrugged. "I guess I'll ask him." With that, he turned back to the boy.

"Excuse me…but who is Griever?"

The boy continued to cry for a short moment, but then suddenly ceased. That had been the dumbest thing he had ever heard. He thought everyone in the world knew who Griever was. He raised his gaze and looked to the monstrous creature, but he looked just as innocent as ever. The boy scratched his head a little, and for the moment forgot about all the terror that awaited him and his family.

"You don't know of Griever?" He asked.

The beast shook its head. "No. Could you tell me?"

The boy blinked, and scratched his head. "You have to be pretty dumb not to know about Griever… But sure. I can tell you about him.

"Griever's our ruler. He reigns over us and protects us. He drives away wild animals that come to eat us, gives us fire so that we can stay warm, and shows us where to hunt for animals. Everyone looks to him for blessings and help. He knows a whole lot, and he shows us how we're supposed to avoid evil."

"Fire…that glowing stuff on those dead pieces of big grass?" The blue thing asked.

The boy looked even more puzzled than before. Everyone knew what trees and fire were, right? "Uh…yeah…" He slowly answered.

"So…you humans need to be told how to avoid evil?" Bahamut asked.

"Oh yes." The boy readily answered. "That's what Griever tells us."

"How do you?"

"Well, you can't wear clothes for one thing." The boy answered. "Those are forbidden. They make you less dependant on nature. And most people aren't allowed to have hides either. I know I'm not…" Here, he bristled a little bit, and grew nervous. But he toughened on. "It's horrible to wear the skin of other living things. That's why only the sick can. You can't make your own fires either. Otherwise you'll destroy the world with them. Only Griever can make fires that don't burn down the wholeforest as well. Also, you're not supposed to help out younger or weaker people. If you do, that will make the whole human race weak. Only the strong must survive. You can't use tools, because that's oppressing nature for personal gain. And you aren't allowed to have more than three deer on a hunt." The boy hesitated a moment, and remembered again his own violations of Griever's law. He turned his head down and began to look regretful. "I…I broke the rules when I made that spear…"

"Spear? That's one of those sticks with a rock tied to it, right?"

"Uh-huh… The village had to put me to sacrifice…or they'd be destroyed…"

The blue one focused on the boy longer, but he no longer noticed. He bowed his head, beginning to think again of the terrible fate that had taken place. By now, Griever had to already have destroyed his entire village. All of his family members…all of his friends…all gone. It broke his heart, and he began to cry again. But then again, now that he thought of it…Griever had been merciful last night. That's why he didn't destroy the entire village at once. As the blue one turned and began to roar at the red one, he began to feel a glimmer of hope. Perhaps Griever wouldn't destroy the village. Perhaps he only wanted to work vengeance on him. But if he did…the boy realized in terror…then he was going to die even more horrible than before...and receive a far worse punishment for eternity than two demons devouring him forever. The boy couldn't take it. He shook, and began to cry loudly.

Wyvern frowned, seeing the young human after Bahamut finished explaining what he had said. "Sure cries a lot, doesn't it?"

Bahamut frowned at him. "The poor creature's terrified. And I'd be too if I was living under the oppression of that thing."

Wyvern looked to Bahamut with puzzlement. "How do you know they don't deserve it? They are supposed to be evil."

But Bahamut would hear no more about it. "I believe now…no, I'm sure…that the humans aren't what is evil here. It has to be that Griever fellow. Why else would he hang around with such an evil thing as his minion? This boy has evil just like you and me in his heart, but his heart is mostly pure. He never thought of himself or anything evil when he did what he did."

Wyvern still wasn't convinced. "Maybe you're just being the devil's advocate. Look, that Griever guy just might be giving them what they're punishment should be for doing evil things."

Bahamut didn't give in so easily. "I don't think so. Odin and Starlet wear clothes and have tools. We can pick flowers and eat honey and nectar without end, and Crusader never yells at any of us." The blue esper frowned. "I think it's Griever who is the evil one. Maybe he is the nanny for this world, and that's why all of the humans have to follow such bad rules."

Wyvern thought about this for a short while. It seemed somewhat possible to him. After all, they only had one rule where they lived. They had broken it, and they weren't being hounded by large creatures. This Griever person was the ruler of this world. Crusader had said that she was the ruler of Ultima Nexus. Perhaps Bahamut was right. Maybe Griever was the only thing that made this world evil. Perhaps Crusader only thought the humans were evil because they had to do everything Griever, an evil person, said to them. Wyvern thought for a moment longer, and then finally nodded.

"You could be right, Bahamut. But what difference does that make?"

Bahamut sighed and turned his head back to the human. He was still sniffling and sobbing on the ground. The blue esper heaved a large sigh when he saw him, remorse and trouble welling up in his eyes. "It's not right." He stated. "The poor human… He has to live in all this fear and terror just because he lives in this dark world. Look how sick and pale he looks."

Wyvern looked to him. Sure enough, the human did look pretty pathetic. He stared at him for a short while, and thought for a moment. He sighed. Yeah…he had to admit, he felt a little sorry for the poor creature too. Wyvern remembered what it was like to be bullied by bigger kids, or to be dragged underwater by Leviathan or Ogopogo. Only this creature had to endure it and face horrible consequences if he didn't, horrible deaths…or being eaten by that monster. It was pretty bad. And, despite his own reservations, the thing was kind of a cute little critter. It looked so miserable and unhealthy, and Wyvern couldn't blame it, if it lived in this dark world. If it lived up above, it would be strong and vibrant and-

Suddenly, a wily grin spread across Wyvern's face. Another idea entered his head.

Bahamut saw this in the corner of his eye, and turned his head with a great look of worry to Wyvern. "You've got that crazy look in your eye again."

Wyvern grinned and turned his head toward Bahamut. "I've just had a superb idea."

"What?"

"How would you like your very own pet human?"

Bahamut and Wyvern both stared silently at each other. Both of them slowly turned their heads out and looked to the boy. He was still sniffling and looking scared, but he looked up now as both of the creatures stared at him. Both of them slowly turned back and looked to each other. Wyvern kept grinning, and Bahamut slowly shook his head.

"No."

"Yes."

"No…"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"We could never keep this human in Ultima Nexus!" Bahamut cried. "Crusader would never let us!"

"Crusader doesn't have to know, Big B." Wyvern simply replied. "He's so small he could be tucked in any corner. Crusader doesn't even look in half the places we could stick him, and she comes around so infrequently now that it'd be no problem."

"Not in a million years!" Bahamut shot back.

"Aw, come on!" Wyvern exclaimed. "You want that little human more than me. He'll be a great hit. All of the espers will like him. Heck, Phoenix and Starlet already make pets out of the bees and butterflies. Imagine how they'd like this thing!"

"No, Wyvern!"

Wyvern merely grinned and slid in closer to Bahamut. "Aw…come on, brother of mine… Look at him…" Here, he motioned to the boy, and Bahamut looked. "All cold and naked and alone…nobody loves him…most people want him dead… And you know, if he stays, he'll just be found by that Griever character. You wanted a human so badly to begin with… Now you can really have one…"

Bahamut hesitated a moment. Wyvern was right. The human couldn't stay here. He'd never last one day out on his own, without that substance called fire to keep him warm or any warm clothes or tools. And what about that monster they saw last night? It'd be looking for him too. He wasn't safe as long as it was around, or Griever for that matter. The boy was already scared out of his mind. And he was so little and weak and all alone… He looked so hungry and helpless… Bahamut couldn't deny the growing attraction toward the creature, an animal whose intellect matched its strange physical makeup in the virtue of intriguing. Perhaps…perhaps he could even teach the creature things. And there was so much more that the human could teach him…

It was risky. It was nuts. It was a danger. But nevertheless…Bahamut was willing to take the chance. He knew the human would be happy in Ultima Nexus. He'd love it there, just as all the espers did. He'd never be cold or hungry again. At last, he turned to Wyvern and sighed.

"I'll ask him."

The blue creature turned back to the boy, and began to approach him. The young man kept crying a bit, but managed to dry his tears and stand up in front of the huge beast. It stepped closer to him, and lowered his head slightly. The boy wasn't so afraid of it anymore. It didn't look mean. It had meant well trying to take him off the tree.

"Human…" The creature addressed. "I have something to tell you. How would you like to be in a world without Griever?"

The boy blinked at that, and shook his head. "Oh, that's not possible. Griever is everywhere."

"We come from a land that Griever doesn't live in."

The young man was very amazed to hear this, and was taken aback for a moment. But after a short moment, he shook his head. "No…you're lying. There is no such land."

"There is." The blue creature responded. "We come from it. That's why I asked you about Griever. We come from a world where there is no Griever, and no rules about clothes or tools or anything else. There's plenty to eat there, and it's always warm. And most of all, Griever will never find you."

The boy blinked his eyes for a moment, staring at the beast. But then, he frowned. "You're a liar." He stated firmly. "There's no such place."

The creature sighed, and kept talking. "Human…you're scared of what will happen if Griever finds you, right? If you were to come to the place where we come from, Griever would never find you. I swear."

The young human hesitated at that. It had to be a joke, or a fib. These creatures had to try and be kidding with him. Yet as he heard them, he realized how sincere the beast sounded. What more, they did honestly not seem to know about Griever. Why wouldn't they unless they came from a land without him? That possibility entered the boy's mind, and he grew a bit curious, perhaps even a bit hopeful. Perhaps…if he was to leave…Griever would never find him. He might even think he was dead. The boy quickly silenced such thoughts, thinking he was bringing worse doom onto himself by thinking them. Yet the seed had been planted now, and he couldn't resist the possibility. Maybe…if he just disappeared…if he went to the world without Griever…Griever would think he was gone, and wouldn't take it out on his family or village either. Perhaps…there was a way for him to live through this.

"There is a condition though." The beast continued. "We can take you to this world, and you'll be safe there. But you won't be able to come back for a while…maybe ever. Even knowing that, would you still like to go? I swear there is such a place, but you have to decide whether or not you want to come."

The young man hesitated a moment. These beasts were rather monstrous and fearsome. He had only met them a short while ago, and they had broken a lot of rules last night in getting him. But as near as the boy could tell…there was no rule about leaving the world. Still…he had to think hard. He would never see his mom and dad or sister again… But then again, they already thought he was gone, and he'd make it worse on all of them if he came back. And where else did he have to go? He could wander around on this world…face the judgment of Griever eventually…after he died or was eaten by creatures. Would it be really that much worse to go to somewhere else? It was folly to think Griever wasn't everywhere…but perhaps…well…regardless of whether he stayed or went, he was stuck. And there was no rule against going to another world. The decision was made. The boy had something to lose either way…but only a slim, impossible, dream of a chance of gain one way. He feared he made the wrong choice, but finally managed to speak.

"…All right."

The blue beast seemed rather pleased at this. He grinned a toothy smile at him, and bowed his head a bit to him. "I'm Bahamut. This is my brother, Wyvern. He doesn't know how to speak your language, but he will soon. What's your name?"

The boy hesitated, hoping he hadn't made the wrong choice. But then, he bolstered his courage and spoke again. "I'm…I'm Palad."

"Ok, Palad. We're going to your new home."

The day was once again gray, but much brighter and warmer compared to last night.Now thathe knew something about the dark world and had a new pet, Bahamut was overjoyed. He had to restrain from doing any flying tricks in the air, however…because now he had a passenger. Luckily, Palad wasn't much weight, if anything. The boy was wrapped in the tooth and claw hide and pressed close to Bahamut's chest to avoid the frigid winds of the dark world. He still looked uneasy about wearing any type of clothing, and he hid his face in terror from watching the flight. He tried to grasp on with an iron grip to Bahamut, but it made no difference. Bahamut had him secure.

Wyvern flew nearby, a little bit upset that he now had to carry all of the hides of the creatures called deer (That was what humans called human food). But Bahamut wanted to bring them. The human boy would probably have the same needs as Starlet and Odin, which meant he'd need clothes and a place to sleep. Bahamut could hardly wait to get start making it. He marveled at the thought of how the young man would react to everything. He wanted to relish every moment of it. He only hoped the boy could survive the trip. They were getting very high now, and not only was there a lack of heat, but a lack of oxygen. However, his heart was still beating plenty strong against Bahamut's chest. He was hanging in there.

They had been flying for a few hours now, back the way they had come. Between the two of them, they had an excellent sense of direction. Sure enough, at this point, Bahamut began to see the hole in the clouds above, the portal that they had entered through last time. Bahamut pressed the boy closer against his body. He wouldn't for the world lose him now. With that, both he and Wyvern began their ascent into the clouds.

"Hold on tight, Palad. We're nearly there."

The boy did as he was told, as if he could hold on even harder than he was already. The two espers continued to climb, up and up into the air. The sea and the land below grew smaller and smaller as they entered the range of the sky. They continued to climb, higher and higher. Bahamut had to pump his wings rather hard to keep them going, but he had the strength. He felt fortified from all the eating and sleeping, and he could do it. Wyvern flanked to his side, and they two of them drew closer and closer. They saw the sky beginning to swirl above them, indicating the portal, and saw the hole in the center of it. They continued to fly higher and higher, and at last went into the hole in the center.

Ultima Nexus…here we come!

A tunnel of wind was soon pressing down on both Bahamut and Wyvern. However, the pressure lessened, and the oxygen increased the moment they entered the tunnel. So both of them pumped their wings harder and continued to climb. They parted through the clouds, and entered into the blackness of the interior. Winds rushed around them invisibly, rustling them all over, as they pushed on higher and higher into the sky. Bahamut and Wyvern didn't give up. They continued to rise, knowing what awaited them on the other side. It took a long time for it to happen at last, but still it seemed faster than the first descent that Bahamut had made. Light began to emerge again after a short while, and soon the clouds began to surround them again too. Bahamut and Wyvern, now grinning, continued to fly a bit higher, pumping themselves more into the sky. Finally, at long last, they parted a circle of rock, and broke out of the tunnel of wind. Once again, they found themselves in regular air, and they were surrounded by rocky mountains under a dark sky.

"We're home!" Wyvern cried triumphantly.

Not scared at all anymore, the twin espers soared right over the mountain range and went to the other side. The clouds broke up, the cold weather vanished, and soon the sun was beating down nice warm rays. All was light again, so much brighter than the world below. Palad clung to Bahamut a bit longer, but then suddenly felt the warmth and the light. He pushed away from him for a moment, and looked to the clear blue sky with the yellow sun. He stared a moment, then suddenly cried out and hid his gaze.

"Ow!" He cried. "What's that thing in the sky? It hurt my eyes!"

Bahamutlooked puzzled. "What? The sun? Haven't you ever seen it before?"

"I don't even know what a sun is." Palad replied, rubbing his eyes.

Bahamut seemed a bit unnerved at that. How could Palad not know what the sun was…unless he had never seen it before? Was the world he came from really so bleak that the sun never even shone? He didn't know, but he merely swallowed and continued to fly.

Just ahead, Wyvern and Bahamut began to see something. There were multicolor shapes standing on one of the wide, grassy regions of Ultima Nexus. As they drew closer, they saw who it was. Phoenix, Starlet, Leviathan, and Ogopogo were all on the ground. Bahamut was instantly surprised, amazed that even Leviathan and Ogopogo would come out. They were all staring in awe and wonder of something. As the two espers continued to look, they saw what it was in amazement. Odin was out, but he wasn't alone anymore. A small, six legged, strange looking bluish-gray creature was with him, and he was on top of it and riding it around the area. Everyone was totally amazed at the sight, and Bahamut and Wyvern were likewise amazed as well. Seeing as they were going to introduce Palad to the others anyway, they looked to each other, nodded, and then dove down toward the ground where the others were.

In a moment, both of them had landed. Bahamut kept Palad relatively obscured, and Wyvern immediately dropped the deer hides. However, no one seemed to notice that much right away. The four, nevertheless, turned to them and frowned.

"Where in the world have you two troublemakers been?" Starlet scolded.

"Probably making more trouble, as always." Leviathan spoke with a smug look.

"Yeah, as always." Ogopogo echoed.

"Where were you guys last night anyway?" Phoenix asked.

"Gosh, I didn't know you cared." Wyvern spoke slyly in response.

"What's up?" Bahamut asked.

Starlet grinned, and indicated toward Odin. The dark esper was still riding around, still on that strange bluish-gray creature that had some sort of strange thing on top of it that Odin sat on. The esper said nothing, just ran around on the creature with a confident look. "Check it out… Before Crusader left, Odin got a new gift because he was finally old enough. It's called a horse."

"Its name is Slepnir." Odin coldly responded, sounding a bit insulted by that. As he said this, he pulled up his steed toward the others. Once there, he pulled the reins to a halt, and then quickly leapt off the side of the creature. He patted it on the neck afterward, and after snorting and whining a little, the creature turned and ran off toward the rest of the valleys and hills. "He'll answer only to me. He can do anything." Odin continued. "He can jump across the entire length of Ultima Nexus, jump higher than either of you can fly." Here, he indicated to Wyvern and Bahamut, the former of which frowned. "And he's faster than all of you put together. Only I get him, because I'm the warrior esper."

"What's a warrior?" Phoenix asked in puzzlement.

Odin merely groaned, and rolled his eyes at the bird esper. Phoenix innocently shrugged her arms in response. Bahamut and Wyvern didn't need to be psychics to realize that Odin must have been the talk of the town yesterday into today. All of the other espers marveled at him, or more specifically his horse Slepnir. However, Wyvern had a confident look when he heard this. He held up a claw and waved it at Odin.

"Hmph…well, your little horse is all fine and dandy. But look what we brought here."

With that, he turned to Bahamut. His brother, smiling in response, removed his arms from his body, revealing fully Palad. He set him down on the ground, and the nervous human immediately looked around with a mixture of fear and tension at all of the espers surrounding him. Only two of them looked human, but even they were giants for the human race. A multitude of gasps instantly went out from all of the espers. Even Odin turned a puzzled eyebrow at the creature, especially when he noticed how much it looked like him. Palad swallowed and trembled in the middle of them.

"Wow…" Leviathan couldn't help but exclaim. He lowered his head closer to the young human, who in return shrank away in fear. "What…is it?"

"It's a human." Wyvern proudly replied. "Our new pet human. And this pet, everyone gets to use." Here, he turned an especially dangerous look to Odin. The dark esper merely stared silently back.

Starlet stepped forward. She looked totally captivated by the creature, especially how close it looked like to her. She easily stood twice as tall as him, but she bent over and marveled at him none the less. He looked up in a bit of fear toward her, but still preferred her to everyone else, even though she was wearing clothes and looked rather powerful.

"Oh…he's adorable!" Starlet cooed. "He is sooo cute! Do we really get to keep him?"

"Of course." Wyvern smugly answered.

Odin crossed his arms and glared at the creature. "Hmph." He snorted. "Where did you find it, or did Crusader give it to you?"

Wyvern began to pale at that, and swallowed a lump in his throat. Desperate to change the subject, Bahamut quickly spoke up. "Er, uh…anyway…his name is Palad. He's a male human, a young one actually. He doesn't speak our language. I managed to learn his from mind reading, but it'll take a while to teach the rest of you that language."

Leviathan perked his head up at this. "Mind reading? Your mind-reading trick actually enabled you to learn the creature's language?"

Bahamut proudly nodded. "Of course."

Leviathan blinked, and looked back down. Bahamut might not have known it, but Leviathan actually was also a pursuer of knowledge. Until now, he had thought of Bahamut as being little more than a fool, no matter his pursuits. But once he heard that his one mind trick had enabled him to master the language of another creature, the esper was not so sure. His mind would be more calculating and considerable from now on.

Palad looked about in fear. There were bigger snakes now…and a monstrous looking human, and a nice-looking yet-clothed human…and a big bird that looked like it was made of fire. This place was full of all sorts of giant monsters. He was rather terrified, and wondered if Griever was going to come after him in this place after all. They were saying all sorts of things that he couldn't understand right now, so he looked about merely in unknowing fear. But still…it did feel rather warm here…and the grass was soft for his feet. It wasn't so bad…

Finally, Bahamut turned to him. "Palad," He spoke in his own language. "Let me introduce you to my brothers and sisters. That's Starlet, and she really likes you. That Phoenix…Leviathan…Ogopogo…and that big one is Odin. They don't know your language yet, but they'll know it soon."

After this, Bahamut turned and began to babble a little bit with the others once again. All of them spoke for a few short moments. Bahamut was right about Starlet, however. She spoke to him in a nice voice. Despite being so scared and confused, Starlet's voice soothed him. Just hearing her tone, though he couldn't understand it, made him feel more relaxed and at ease. No matter what she said, everything always seemed to say underneath, "everything's going to be alright". At the very end, Starlet turned her head back to him, bent down, and smile.

"Hel…lo…Palad…" She managed to slowly say.

Palad swallowed, but managed a weak and nervous smile. "Uh…hello."

Starlet put a hand to her mouth and instantly giggled, seeming overjoyed at having managed to speak to him. Palad swallowed a bit as well, uneasy about this reaction. However, the laughter did help him to ease up somewhat, and stave away his fears a little. At length, he managed a small smile, and did so to all the people surrounding him.

Well…it looked like he was one of the family too now.

To be continued...