No one got to sleep much that night.

They had tried to go into their Planet exercises next. But the espers soon learned that after childbirth, baby comes first. The babies cried and whined for food, and they had to be fed first. So the espers had to go out, find food, chew it up, and regurgitate it for them…seeing as Starlet was the only one with milk and she was absent for the moment. It took forever to get them quiet, for then they wanted to be held and burped and put someplace comfortable. They all soon had to have their own cribs made. Not only that, the group had to go out hunting until well past nightfall for pelts, hides, and bird feathers to make into bedding for them. They did discover that they could make pouches out of fur and then fill them with bird feathers to make a comfortable object…and soon after returning Starlet wanted one for herself, and would not stop talking to them about how she would have another baby in nine months. What more, Odin had to destroy his cape…because the babies didn't seem to know how or where to go to properly urinate and defecate. Cloths had to be tied around their middles to keep them from soiling their bedding. But at last, they were all asleep. After that, Bahamut decided on a new rule.

"Let's only have children every fifty years, alright?"

"I agree."

"Me too."

"Me three."

"Definitely."

It was partially a population control measure. They couldn't just run around making babies all the time. But on the same token…the espers realized they were in for a good five years of hell now. After they were done, they wanted to skip on meditation. But between Bahamut's urging and the new powers of Leviathan and Starlet, no one was willing to let it go. And so, they sighed and submitted themselves to it. They had gotten a good few hours in before the babies woke up, demanding a late night feeding. Soon, the espers were being run ragged again to get them their food. The rule was nearly changed to a century after that first night. But in the end, the morning broke, and the haggard espers managed to put their children down again.

Groggily, the six espers dragged themselves into the main chamber in the morning. They all looked worn out. They barely moved forward. Leviathan and Bahamut nearly collapsed into piles. Ogopogo curled up and snored. Odin looked ready to employ the Zantetsuken once again. But they were still up and ready.

"Alright, everyone…" Bahamut groggily announced. "We have more work to do today. We need to blast out more chamber, then start decorating. And if you want wood furniture…" He looked to the sleepy Starlet at this. "…Get it yourself." He finished grumpily.

"Here, here." Ogopogo answered.

However, there was one esper that was different from them all. Wyvern alone seemed to be bright and chipper that day. He had been awake like the others, but he was forcing himself to look up and bright. "Wait a minute, everyone." He suddenly announced, turning to all of his sleepy siblings. "Before we do any of that, I want to get into something that I think is going to be rather important."

"What is it?" Starlet asked with a yawn.

"Well, there's going to be more of us now. There's going to be a lot more." Wyvern answered. "And as we have children, they'll have children too. Who knows how many they'll soon be? And humans too. They're going to have a lot of children as well. Soon, the world will be filled with them. And it's because of all that…that I want to make a proposal." Wyvern paused, and inhaled a deep breath at this, as if eager to say it.

"I think…we should elect a king of espers."

This woke the others up. They all rose and stared at Wyvern in response. They said nothing for a moment. However, Odin snorted after a moment. "King… What do we need with a king?"

"Well, think about it." Wyvern responded. "We need someone to make the decisions around here. We're going to be facing a lot from now on. We're going to need rules about childbirth and contact with humans and care of children. We're going to need to see what parts of this mountain get devoted to what. And what if the humans start to do something bad? What if something else comes up? Some one needs to organize them. We need someone to settle all of our arguments and be some moderator and arbitrator. Look at what we've done so far. We've already had to make decisions to leave the humans, decisions of where to settle, and decisions about children. We managed to agree with those, but when there are more of us, who's going to decide?"

The espers hesitated at this. Odin was still skeptical. However, Leviathan, Ogopogo, Starlet, and Bahamut realized the utility of what Wyvern was saying. Bahamut didn't like the idea of another ruler over them, but he couldn't deny the fact that a lot of hard decisions had to be made. In the wealth of knowledge he now possessed, he saw room for many more decisions to be made. And they could be serious or dangerous. They had gotten along well enough now, but in the future they might not. Once the others were on his level, they'd be less apt to want to make decisions together. There had to be one. There did need to be someone to settle the arguments and get them moving on. Perhaps it was a good idea.

"That argument may be valid…" Leviathan admitted.

"Of course it's valid!" Wyvern shot back, almost angrily. "So who's with me? Anyone else agree?"

"Well…I guess it would help things out around here…" Ogopogo admitted.

"And we could split up tasks more easily…" Starlet commented.

"Seems we already have a leader…" Odin grumpily answered. "But whatever."

"Bahamut?" Wyvern asked, turning to the esper.

Bahamut held a long time. He still wasn't sure he liked the sound of this. It did leave room for another Crusader in the future, something he never wanted. But they could always agree on rules and restrictions on power later. And his brother was giving him that look again…that look that pleaded and begged for his support. Finally, Bahamut caved in. He shrugged. "Alright. Let's do it."

"Great!" Wyvern answered. He immediately began to raise a hand. "All those in favor of-"

"Whoa!" Leviathan answered in a stopping gesture. "Hold on! We can't just jump into this. We need time to think about it. It's an important decision. And it's better that we don't all speak our vote out loud. We can make this secret."

"How?" Starlet asked, as Wyvern impatiently dropped his hands.

"Like this." Leviathan answered. Immediately, he drew a symbol in the rock where he sat. Then he went over to Ogopogo and drew another symbol. He moved on to Odin and drew another new symbol. He kept this up and moved all around the circle, putting a symbol for each one. Then, he returned to his place. "There. Each one of those symbols now represents our names. Today, each one of us, at some point, will find a stone piece and write the symbol of who we want on it. Then we'll secretly put all of our stones into the center of this room. When that's done, at the end of the day, we'll read the stones and see who has the most. Alright?"

The other espers thought this over, but all nodded in the end. Even Wyvern gave a nod to that.

"Alright." Bahamut announced. "Let's get our work done for the day."

It was around noon later in the day. Bahamut had been blasting out another room. They had just fed the kids for 0the afternoon and set them down for their naps. Ogopogo was waving away the drag-ons to keep them from pestering them. But as for Bahamut, he was pausing in his new corridor. He was trying the technique that Starlet had for shaping objects by trying to turn a boulder into a simple tile. However, his own power only managed to make a haphazard, crooked, misshapen block. That only enhanced his unbelief that Leviathan had learned it so quickly. However, he was learning…they all were.

"Hey."

Bahamut turned around at that. At the other end of the new stone walkway, Bahamut saw Wyvern. He sighed in relief. For some reason, he had felt nervous around him. But then, he gave him a nod. "Hello, Wyvern. What's up? Finished that tunnel yet?"

Wyvern bowed his head and swallowed a bit. He held for a brief moment. But then, he suddenly looked up, and began to walk forward to the esper. He didn't stop until he was face to face with him. Bahamut looked puzzled at that, but kept silent as Wyvern looked up. He froze for a moment, not saying anything. But then, he began.

"Bahamut…we've been friends forever, right?"

Bahamut rolled his eyes a bit and gave a playful sigh. "Wyvern, you're not going to bring this up now, are you?"

"It's important!" Wyvern shot back, nearly yelling. Nothing but dead seriousness was in his eyes.

Bahamut looked back to him. He stared tiredly for a moment. But then, he gave a nod. "Yes, we have."

"We've done everything together."

"Yes, we have."

"We even beat Crusader together…in a way."

"…Yes."

Wyvern inhaled sharply for a moment. He looked at his brother hard. Then, in the end, he spoke again. "That's why I wanted this vote, Bahamut. And I want to tell you what I'm going to vote, and I hope you do the same. I'm voting for both of us to be the kings of the espers."

Bahamut blinked, but didn't answer to that. His face was perfectly blank. "Wyvern…"

"Think about it, Bahamut." Wyvern went on. "We're easily the two strongest of all the espers. We have the greatest friendship…the likes of which none of them can even imagine. We found the humans. We made the agreement to save them. It was all our idea and our quest. Odin? He only cares about being a bigger fighter. Starlet? She's baby crazy. And Leviathan and Ogopogo? Please. Those two are the most useless of all."

Bahamut felt himself struck at that. "Leviathan's been a big help…"

"But he's nothing compared to us." Wyvern protested. "Both of us are easily the strongest. We have the power and the drive to get things done. We always have. If it hadn't been for that dare, none of this would have ever happened. They all owe us, or they would just be Crusader's puppets. Now, this world belongs to us."

"It belongs to the humans and every living thing as well."

"Oh, come off that crap, Bahamut." Wyvern waved off. "You know we're the only real concerns here. We're the only real power. We could do whatever we wanted to the humans. And I almost suggest we do. What if some of those idiots keep worshipping Crusader? What if they do what they did to Palad before, only to all the new people? They'll kill them all and go back to worshipping a false god that doesn't even exist. They'll torture themselves for nothing. Do you want that?"

Bahamut paused in response to that. He couldn't answer right away. He inhaled deeply. "…I don't want any humans to die."

"Of course you don't! I don't either. But they're out of control. And none of these others ever really cared for them so long as they could satisfy their own desires. We're the only real ones. Who's going to look after them? Who's going to take care of them?"

"We all agreed not to rule the humans."

"I know, I know…but there's no reason we can't just push them in the right direction. No reason we can't just make their lives a little easier. Bahamut…I'm counting on you for this. You're the only one I ever counted on for anything. I made a big sacrifice back in the fight with Griever so that you could win. Would it hurt you to just do this? And it's not hurting any of us really. It's just giving us more of a say. We deserve this more than anyone. You deserve this more than anyone. So please, come on." He paused a moment, then smiled. "Be a pal, Big B."

Bahamut managed a smile himself at that playful nudge. Wyvern smiled wider at the sight. He seemed to take that as an affirmation. And so, he gave him a pat on the shoulder…a little too rough again, then turned and began to run off back to his work. Bahamut kept smiling as he saw him run away and leave.

But once Wyvern was gone…his look turned to a frown, and his heart filled with anxiety.

Evening finally came. The espers had all put their stones in at this point…except Ogopogo, who whispered to Leviathan that he didn't remember which one was which. After saying so, he turned back to the tiles and put his own in face down. After that, the espers assembled around the Crystals again. They all sat in their appropriate spots, and Wyvern looked merrier than ever. He leaned back with a happy air, and seemed satisfied with the result. Bahamut, on his part, felt a nervous twist in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know what the reaction was going to be in a moment.

Leviathan rose, and slid his way over to the side of the pit. Once he was there, he tiredly looked around. No one had slept in two days now. "Alright, let's get this over with before the babies start crying again." He murmured. With that, he dipped his tail into the pit. Moments later, he drew out the first one and read it.

"Bahamut."

No one reacted, and he put the rock aside. He pulled up another.

"Bahamut and Wyvern."

Wyvern smiled at that, and turned to Bahamut to give him a wink. Bahamut swallowed and didn't look back.

"Bahamut."

Wyvern shifted a little, but kept his smile up.

"Bahamut."

Bahamut bowed his head and sighed deeply.

"Bahamut."

Now, Wyvern began to lick his lips and shift a bit more. His face seemed impatient. Bahamut dreaded his reaction as Leviathan dipped into the pit. Moments later, he came out with the last one, held it in front of him, and read.

"Bahamut."

Wyvern's eyes widened. Bahamut bowed his head more and sighed deeply. His brother turned and looked to Bahamut, then looked back. His face filled with surprise and shock. He hadn't expected this for even a moment. At last, he turned to Leviathan. "Excuse me, I think you misread your own handwriting. I don't think you got mine."

Leviathan bowed down and looked to the rocks for a moment. After a second, however, he grabbed the second one, and held it up to Wyvern. "Is this yours?" He asked.

"Yes…"

"It reads 'Bahamut and Wyvern'. I called it."

Odin snorted a bit with a small grin at this. Wyvern's face turned to surprise.

"It was never a question for me." Ogopogo announced. "Bahamut has the most brains, the most strength, and he's made pretty good decisions so far. Why shouldn't he be the leader?"

"Did you misread any of them?" Wyvern protested, his voice growing curt.

"I didn't, Wyvern." Leviathan simply answered. "Some were rougher than others, but yours is the only one that clearly has two symbols. The others are clearly Bahamut. Bahamut is the new leader."

Wyvern seemed stunned. It was like he had been knocked senseless. He looked around in confusion for a moment, not getting how this could happen. But at last, he looked up to his brother. Bahamut was desperate to look away, but forced himself to stare back. He could at least have the dignity to face him after doing that. He said nothing…only gave Wyvern a look that said he was sorry. At last, Wyvern rose up from his position and looked to Leviathan. "Excuse us." He simply said to him, still looking stunned and frazzled at what had happened. Then, he turned to Bahamut.

The esper didn't need another word. Immediately, he rose to his feet. He began to follow Wyvern as he walked out of the chamber. But honestly, he didn't know what to say. He didn't know how he could explain this. If he didn't want to hurt his brother…he dare not say the truth. But there was no suitable lie for any of this. His brother looked hurt and shocked…even betrayed. It seemed as if nothing else Bahamut had done could have surprised him. Finally, both were out and in the hall. After walking a little bit, Wyvern turned and faced him.

"Bahamut…what were you doing?" He asked, half accusing, half hurt. "What did we talk about earlier? We were going to vote for the both of us."

"I'm sorry, Wyvern…" Bahamut answered, head bowed and still mournful.

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Wyvern shot back, nearly making his voice angry. "How could you? We're brothers, Bahamut! We're practically joined at the hip! We're closer than peas in a pod! Yet you just voted for yourself? Why?"

"Wyvern…" Bahamut tried to answer. He tried to think of something, anything. "Wyvern…it has nothing to do with you. Nothing at all. You are my brother. I love you more than anything. It's just…I thought that since you still hadn't learned everything, that it might have been better."

"Better?" Wyvern shot back incredulously. "Then why don't you just let me learn? Teach me. Stop wasting your time with the rest of these bozos." He waved an angry hand at them. "You used to never even like them. I would have been perfectly happy if we had just broken off from them and made our own way…"

"Wyvern, they're our brothers and sisters."

"You're my only brother. They're nothing to me. They never cared about us, so why should I care about them? Why should we have even given them a vote? We can just go in there and declare ourselves the leaders. They can't do anything to stop us. Let's do it…" Wyvern actually turned to walk back in.

Bahamut shot out an arm and stopped Wyvern. The esper wheeled angrily on Bahamut at that, his eyes momentarily filled with fury. "Wyvern, don't."

"Why not!" The esper shot back accusingly. The voice revealed everything. He was forming new opinions in his head about his brother, and none of them were good.

"They have every right to speak as we do." Bahamut answered. "And they did help us beat Griever. But besides all that…Wyvern…" He paused again. He didn't want to say this. It got dangerously close to the truth, and it filled him with terror and coldness. He had to spit it out in the end. "…You can be reckless sometimes." Pause, then immediately an apology. "I mean, it's not your fault. And you're still a great-"

"Reckless?" Wyvern shot back. His face was filling with anger now. "You think I'm reckless! And what of it! You think that would make me a bad leader, don't you! And what, I suppose you think you're just the perfect image of calm? That you are as smooth as butter? That you just have the perfect disposition!" Wyvern's words were biting and hard.

"Wyvern, I never said I was without my faults…"

"Oh, cut it!" Wyvern snapped back. "You think you're better than me, don't you!" He accused viciously.

"Of course I don't!"

"Don't lie! If you thought you weren't, then why'd you just vote for yourself?"

"I told you! I thought I had more experience!"

"Experience!" Wyvern snapped, wheeling around fully to Bahamut. "Experience! What about loyalty! Friendship! Brotherhood! Does all your 'experience' make up for that! Is that so much more precious than snubbing your own best friend…your twin brother!"

"You're being irrational!" Bahamut shot back, his own voice rising. "I don't think any of-"

"Oh, so now I'm irrational, huh!" Wyvern snarled. "I forgot! You think I'm the reckless one. You think that you're perfect and flawless and I'm just the stupid little hot-headed brother, eh?" He angrily shoved Bahamut in the chest at this, pushing him back. Bahamut looked shocked at this. Wyvern had never gone to violence with him. "And with all your new power you don't give a damn about anyone but yourself and your knowledge! Who's acting like Crusader now?"

"Shut up and get ahold of yourself!" Bahamut suddenly screamed, unable to take anymore. Wyvern was actually taken aback at that. He snapped a little back, as Bahamut's face went into a rage. The espers within went silent, and they clamored to the door to look out at them. The babies began to cry, both the espers and drag-ons. "You see! This is what I'm talking about!" He yelled. "You're acting like a big baby! You're putting words into my mouth and you're making me into this big monster! I don't care about my power and my knowledge! I just want what's best for everyone! Maybe you'd see that if you looked past yourself for five minutes! And I don't care to be your brother when you act like this!"

Bahamut was horrified at the words that had escaped his lips. He wished he could take them back immediately. But they were out, and he was too stretched with rage to go soft. Wyvern was acting totally crazy, and he couldn't stand it. He never acted like this before. But it had been a change long coming…and getting worse for months now, ever since they had their new powers. Wyvern stared back in stunned silence. His face went normal and showed nothing. Bahamut's echoes persisted through Terratopolis. But then, in the end, Wyvern did react. His face turned cold, and he shook his head at his brother.

"…Traitor."

With that, Wyvern turned and took off. Bahamut's rage broke, but he was still too petrified to move immediately. It wasn't until Wyvern was nearly down the hall that Bahamut snapped up. He called out to him. "Wyvern!"

Wyvern didn't answer or stop. He kept running. And so, Bahamut took off after him. At full power, he would have easily caught up to him. But at his current state it was hopeless. He was soon wearing himself out as he ran down the hall, struggling to get back to the entrance. He ran and ran, but Wyvern still gained on him, and soon he didn't even see him as he turned the corners. He was soon lost, but Bahamut didn't stop. He ran all the way to the entrance, knowing he was going there. And at last, almost at the end of his puny strength, he burst out through an opening and came into the twilight of the evening, far overhead.

But when Bahamut looked up, he saw he was too late. Wyvern had already taken off, and was now shooting for the opening of the mountain. Bahamut panted and sweat. He couldn't chase after him. He could only stand there. At last, his own pride broke, and he called out to him

"I'm sorry!"

But it was too late for that too. Wyvern either didn't hear or didn't respond. The other espers came out and looked up. But they saw nothing. Wyvern vanished over the rim, and was gone. No one was left, and there wasn't a sound in the sky. The espers stood and stared up, but their brother did not return. He was gone.

Odin frowned, and then turned and went back. Ogopogo looked up ruefully a moment, but then turned and began to go back as well. Starlet lingered, but on hearing the babies crying she left Bahamut and ran back to tend to them. Soon, only Leviathan and Bahamut remained on the field, looking up. There was a long pause between the both of them. Bahamut was frozen. His heart was aching, and fear and hurt was inside him. He would have given anything at that moment to change his vote. If only it would bring his brother back. Wyvern had never done this before, and he never before had seen such a change in him. It was so full of betrayal...and anger.

Finally, Leviathan turned to Bahamut. He gave him a pat on the shoulder, then began to go back in. "He'll be back." He reassured, and then turned and left as well. Bahamut alone was left standing there, staring up at the sky…staring at his lost brother…and feeling his heart ache all the more on the inside.

The 'king' didn't reenter for three days…during which he never looked away from the sky, hoping to see the red wings flying back.

A seed of evil has been planted...and one day it's fruit will be bitter poison...

To be continued...