Bahamut had worse nights.

Still, it was rather hard for him to sleep. In his new body, he felt like he wouldn't need sleep for a month. Most of the time he spent lying on his makeshift bed, hoping that he would eventually nod off. But he couldn't. If nothing else…he was not used to sleeping with the scent of another so close. Terra was nearby, but she didn't sleep well either. Bahamut knew that. He knew enough to know what a sleeping body sounded like, and she didn't settle into the rhythms of a normal individual. She tossed and turned far too much. Yet, she was part human, and eventually her own exhaustion took her down. After that, Bahamut was left alone to lie there in the darkness of the cave.

It was still well before dawn when he decided to get up. He made sure to be very quiet, not waking the woman or the children. He very slowly pulled his blanket off, rolled up, and got to his feet. Afterward, he made for the door, and rather than risk it squeaking simply put a mute spell on it before calmly opening it, not making the slightest noise. After that, he carefully crept past the sleeping children and to the exit door. This too he muted, and slowly opened up. Soon he went through this as well, and after shutting it behind him he was in the clear.

A minute later, Bahamut emerged outside. It was still early, but not as cool as yesterday. Summer heat was coming, pushing out the spring chill. It felt good to be out in fresh air, however. He stretched his limbs from being in that cramped space and walked around a bit. He thought of transforming to really stretch, but then thought against it. He didn't want to risk anyone seeing his true power yet. Eating wasn't an issue either. His new body could go for days without food, and he wasn't the least bit hungry. That left him with very little to do to satisfy the needs of the body…other than ease nature. As it turned out, that was what he did.

After doing so, Bahamut cast a mute spell on both guard dogs and walked to the front of the ruined city. Both soon barked their heads off at him, but they soon stopped when they realized nothing was coming out. A bit frightened at this predicament, they tucked their tails between their legs and backed down. That gave Bahamut a free look at the surroundings of the town. He didn't like what he saw. This area was very vulnerable. The cliffs managed to protect the east and west somewhat, and the waters below and above helped. But other than that, there was nothing. Anything could walk down the main street and annihilate anything in its path. That was probably why that Phunbaba creature had continuously attacked this city. It was an easy mark, and filled with young manflesh. These dogs were the only defense they had. But to anything bigger than a fox, these dogs would serve only as an alarm. That Phunbaba creature was likely very stupid, or it would have killed the dogs at night and come in while they slept.

That, however, was only one item of disdain Bahamut had for the town. Most of it was still rotting since it had been destroyed. There was a lot to still be salvaged from it. One of the buildings, an old store, was pretty much intact. On examining it, Bahamut found that even the door and lock still worked. It was small, but it was a good place to possibly use. Most of the ground hadn't been cleared either, to make room for a bigger garden. There was no extra escape path save for the tiny little crawlway Bahamut had seen yesterday, and there was no way to call for help if one of the children became sick or injured. The esper frowned at Terra's earlier reaction. She should have been thanking him for reawakening her esper side. Now she could use her own ability to heal the children rather than have to risk them dying in an emergency.

At last, Bahamut released the mute spell on the dogs and then traveled back to the garden. On reaching it, he looked over the area and gave another frown. This garden was practically a mess of wild foods. It wasn't properly hoed or dug, it was surrounded by mole tunnels, the weeds had their roots left in the soil that had been pulled, and there was too much emphasis on variety and not on making sure they had enough of any one thing. The great esper supposed he couldn't have blamed them. It was unlikely that they even knew how to garden. And the kids couldn't help that much. Still…by far the worst part was the damage from the other day. On turning and looking at it, Bahamut sighed and shook his head. They probably couldn't have gotten by with the full crop…but without it they were in trouble.

"You're up early."

Bahamut raised his head calmly to that sound. Standing near the doorway of the ruin with the shelter, looking over Bahamut and the garden, was Terra. Her face was grim and melancholy again, but it was more active than yesterday too as it stared at the great esper.

Bahamut hesitated a moment, but then nodded. "I have trouble sleeping on a human's time frame."

Terra didn't seem to hear that, or at least care. She looked down over the garden as well. When she did…a sigh escaped her lips, and her worry increased. Slowly, she walked down off the porch steps and began to come over to the garden. She put her hands on her hips and stared at it.

"I don't know what I'm going to do about this…" She finally remarked, her voice sad and worried. "Especially now that we have another mouth to feed."

In reply, Bahamut raised a hand in a stopping gesture. "Oh…don't worry about me. I can hunt my own food."

"Then the children will start wondering why you never eat."

Bahamut merely shrugged at that. "I'll just tell them the truth. That I get my own food."

Terra sighed again, shaking her head at the garden. She crossed her arms in front of her soon after. "This is not good… I don't know how that thing got past the dogs yesterday, but it might as well have attacked the children for all the damage it might have done to us… This isn't enough."

The great esper paused for a moment, looking down at the garden itself.

"…I could catch food for you all as well. I can just say I hunted it."

Terra looked up and cast Bahamut a momentary glare. The esper caught it, and he recoiled a bit. The type of look automatically gave a clear message to him, even though he didn't read Terra's mind.

I don't want your pity or charity.

"Most of the meat around here is poisonous to humans." She responded. "All of these foul creatures are diseased and rotten."

Another pause of silence between the two of them. Bahamut recovered a bit, while Terra looked sad again as she stared back at their meager crop. The esper, however, was not finished. There had to be other options yet available to them.

"…You'll just have to replant."

Terra groaned, put a hand to her brow, and shook it. "It's no good. The planting season is over. It'll die before it's time to harvest. Besides, we're out of seeds."

"Then you'll need to travel to the nearest town and purchase food."

Terra frowned a bit at this, although she mostly looked tired. "With what money? I don't have a gil on me. Any money I managed to get during my travels with my friends I spent on getting these kids through the winter. Besides, I can't carry anything back without help. And Duane and Katarin would have to stay and watch the children. I don't have the money to rent a chocobo and a wagon. Besides that…even if we did have more plants we'd still be in trouble. The children need milk. They're going to be growth deficient if they don't get it. But even if I could find the time to clear this land, even if I could find the money to buy a cow, even if I could find the space to raise it, even if I could build a barn to house it…the creatures around here would break in some night and eat it."

Terra ended this all with one large sigh. Her arms dropped in frustration, and she shook her head in confusion and futility. Bahamut saw this, and saw a great weight come upon her. Obviously…she had been worried about this all for some time. She knew full well that there was a lot she could do to make this town better, but she hadn't the time or the resources. She was just one woman, struggling to keep the kids alive in an unforgiving wilderness. She had no one else to help her in this endeavor, and she was struggling not to just give up…

And to all this…Bahamut found himself impressed.

This woman wasn't even twenty yet. She was still a young lady in most terms, at an age when other girls would be worried about getting married and having fun. But she had taken on a tremendous responsibility with these children. She loved them and cared for them, and spent her every waking hour trying to think of how to better care for them and get them through the day. She was in dire straights right now, and yet even here she refused to accept Bahamut's help in procuring food. The esper was justly amazed. It was rare for a human to take on such hardship so willingly, and attack it so strongly day after day. And if there was one thing Bahamut admired…one thing that seemed to stand out in his history that made the difference between the dead and the living…it was determination. Determination to survive and win against overwhelming odds.

In choosing to be the matron of these children, Terra had taken on a great responsibility, and evoked great determination to succeed.

Bahamut wasn't fully aware of it yet…but from that day on, he began to admire her.

At last, Terra sighed again, shook her head, and then turned back to the house. "…I've got to start making the kids breakfast…" She remarked aloud. "You can come in whenever you want."

Bahamut didn't move in response to that. Terra didn't seem to care. She just walked herself back up the porch and back into her house.

And despite the mass of problems that he had to deal with in order to make his own way in the world…Bahamut suddenly found himself beginning to think about the problems that Terra was forced to deal with.


A bit later in the day, after the children had eaten yet another meager meal, they came out. Bahamut went on and stayed outside, awaiting them. The children had been fearful that he had left already before coming out, but they seemed very pleased to see him when they went out that day. To keep up his proper personality, Bahamut smiled at them and gave them a wave, before settling down on a large piece of wooden debris. After that, he merely leaned back and watched what was going to happen that day.

Much like the time he watched, things played themselves out. Terra and Duane were the big difference. They went to work on the garden, pulling weeds, doing some hoeing, and trying to get the roots they had missed. It would help, but Bahamut knew right away that it was hardly enough to make that large of a difference. The best they could do was save the crop they had. As for Katarin, she began to play with her own small child again. The other five children ran around with each other. The great esper watched this all…and still couldn't help but think about what Terra had to deal with. He frowned a bit at the thought. He should have been focusing more on how to get Terra on his side, or what he was going to do to recover what he had lost. But he kept thinking about that instead…

"Mr. Tumahab!"

Bahamut was most surprised, however, when he suddenly heard his name being called. He turned his head over to the source, and found that the five kids were standing in a crowd. An old leather ball was being held by the smallest girl of the group, a child who Bahamut now knew was named Athena. She had been the one who called out to him.

"Could you come over here?"

The esper was puzzled. Why did they need him? However, he only held for a few moments. Then, a bit confused, he rose from where he was and made his way toward the other children. He towered over them powerfully, easily dominating them in size. But they were used to him by now, and just stared up to him when he joined them.

"Yes?"

"Could you play dodgeball with us?" Athena asked innocently. "We only have five players. We need three on each side."

Bahamut was a little taken aback. Unknowingly, his eyes opened a bit and he caught himself. They wanted him…to play a game? Bahamut had never played any games with children other than with Wyvern when he was younger, and most of those were things these humans didn't need to be playing anyway. Some of the espers like Leviathan occasionally went out and played with the kids, but Bahamut had never done anything like it. But now…a crowd of children were actually asking him to play with them. Despite how simple a request it seemed…Bahamut found himself nervous. He didn't know why. He had never played with children before, he supposed. Even his own dragon offspring had been self sufficient… And he had never come so low as to actually play a game with humans… Well, except maybe Palad, but that was different…

"Er…um…" Bahamut uneasily replied, shifting in place. "I…I'm not sure how to play…"

"Oh, it's easy!" Yu immediately responded. The boy ran away from the crowd and out to the wide open space that he and the others had been playing in. He took up a stick from the ground, and proceeded to draw a rough line that managed to generally divide the space in half in the ground. Once that was done, he threw the stick aside and ran up to Athena, taking the ball from her. He ran back to the line, and set it on the middle, right between the two sides.

"The ball starts here." He explained. "We say one, two, three, go…and then we both run out and try to get it. Once a team has it, they try to throw it at the other people and hit them with it. If it hits them, they're out."

"But you can't go over the line." The oldest boy, Marcus, added in. "You have to throw from your side, or you're out. And if someone catches the ball you throw, you're out. Once everyone on one side is out, the game is over."

Bahamut took these rules in. They seemed simple enough…although he was still uneasy about actually playing a game with kids. "…Ok. So…whose team am I on?"

"You can be with me and Yu!" Ai immediately suggested.

Marcus frowned at that. "That's not fair! Then me and Essner are stuck with Athena! And she's too slow!"

The little girl crossed her arms and frowned. "I am not!"

"Hey, don't get into a fight about this." Bahamut immediately spoke up, quieting the children down. After a moment, he turned to Ai, and then pointed to the other two boys. "Ai…why don't you be on that team, and Athena can be on me and Yu's team."

The girl paused at that, a bit regretful that she couldn't be on the same team as Bahamut, especially after seeing him throw yesterday. However, she also liked a chance to get even with her brother for calling her a fraidy cat. In the end, she smiled. "Ok!" She chirped, before running over onto the other side. Athena soon switched and ran over to Bahamut and Yu's team.

After that, the two respective teams went over to their respective sides. Bahamut took the right side of his court, Athena took the left, and Yu took the middle. As for the other side, Marcus took the middle, Essner took the left, and Ai took the right. The ball was already in the middle, and so there was no need to set up. The two teams hunched forward and prepared to go for it. All except Bahamut, that was. He looked this set up over for a moment, and then he understood. It seemed that you had a gamble when you went for the ball. If you got it first, then your opponent, who would be right next to you, would be an easy target. But if you didn't make it first, then you would be vulnerable. It was very important that you get to the ball first when the game started.

"Ok! I'll count to three!" Essner called from his side. "One…two…three…go!"

Marcus and Yu had just taken the first step to get to the ball…when they froze.

Before Essner's voice had even finished sounding the "go", Bahamut was already in the middle and holding the ball.

The kids were stunned. They hadn't even seen Bahamut move. As for the great esper, he held the ball for a moment on his side of the court. But when he looked around and saw that the children were now staring at him with their jaws hanging loose…he felt himself break into another sweat. He had forgotten. He was far stronger than these kids. He hadn't adjusted to his new strength that well yet, and he had accidentally used it full power. He had to watch that. At full strength in his human body, he could probably put the ball through the cliffs on either side of him. He had to be more gentle.

Smiling sheepishly, Bahamut slowly began to back away from the line doing a backward hop, and made ready to throw the ball. Slowly, the other kids snapped out of it. The game resumed, and they began to get back in. Marcus' team began to hop around on their side, getting ready to dodge. As for Yu and Athena, they turned to Bahamut and began to cheer him on.

"Come on, Mr. Tumahab!"

"Get them out!"

"Go for Essner! He's the slowest!"

"Hey, be quiet!" The middle boy yelled back.

Bahamut looked around at the kids on the opposing side. He swallowed a bit. He had to be gentle. If he wasn't gentle, he could seriously injure them. He had to be as soft was possible… Finally, he picked a target. He aimed for Ai, pulled back, and then threw as gently as he could.

The children were soon stunned in silence again, but not because the power was great. Rather…Bahamut had gone too far. Now, the ball sailed forward a whole two feet before dropping to the ground and rolling over onto the opposing team's side.

Bahamut tried not to smack himself in the forehead. He had no idea impersonating a human could get so frustrating. Now, the children were even more confused as to why, after having related how he harpooned the spider the day before, was barely able to get his ball over the line in a dodgeball event. Especially after moving in the blink of an eye to get the ball to start with. Perhaps he should have spent that morning practicing using his strength properly…

At any rate, Marcus soon took up the ball. When he did, the others snapped out of it. Athena and Yu began to move around, and Bahamut himself snapped out of it and quickly moved back to his side of the court. He tried to put a bit more strength into his moves, and hoped that it was the right amount. As he did, Marcus' side began to cheer him on and encourage him to get one out. Bahamut thought back to the rules. If you caught it, the other side was out. But other than that, you couldn't touch it.

After a moment, however, Marcus grinned a bit darkly as he zeroed in on Athena. Athena herself began to get frustrated, and pouted in disgust. She was always the first to get knocked out. She was too little to move as fast or as quickly as the other children. She could only struggle in vain to try and avoid Marcus' own accuracy. But as she tried to make herself a moving target, Marcus reared back and took careful aim at her legs. Moments later, he let the ball fly, and Athena winced and tried to twist herself out of the way…

However, the ball never hit her. Again, the children froze as they saw what had happened. Rather than stay on his own side of the court, Bahamut had rushed over in a lunge and had snatched Marcus' ball out of the air before it could touch Athena. He did a somersault on landing, and quickly used the force to force him back on his feet. His team was stunned, staring at what he had done. Athena was the most shocked of all. The other side was likely surprised. Bahamut himself swallowed, and looked over the area. In the end, he turned to Marcus, and gave a shrug.

"…I think you're out, Marcus."

The oldest boy was simply too stunned to care. He stood amazed at how his ball had been so easily caught. Even when he finally snapped out of it to walk off the side, he was still too shocked to be that mad about it. However, once he was off the field, the teams once again began to snap out of it. Ai and Essner started to run around, while Bahamut's team slowly recovered and began to cheer him on again.

"Come on, Mr. Tumahab! Do what you did to the spider yesterday!"

"Put everything you have into it!"

The esper swallowed at the thought of that. He most certainly wasn't going to do that. But he did have to use more strength. What he had just used to snatch the ball seemed like a good level. And so, he turned his head back to the opposing team, licked his lips, and readied himself to throw again. He decided to target Essner this time. Focusing his strength at the proper level, he reared back, adjusted his course, and threw the ball.

…I just can't get a break, can I?

That was the thought that ran through Bahamut's head a moment later as the ball sailed right into Essner's chest and knocked him right off his feet. He had been in a prime position to catch it, but the force was so great that it knocked him down before he could grab it. Now, he fell to the street, and let the ball limply roll from his grasp. He wasn't knocked out, but he was stunned. After lying a moment, he moaned and began to look around in puzzlement, wondering how he had got there. As for the other children, they once again were shocked. They turned to Bahamut, and then back to Essner, and then back to Bahamut again.

Bahamut began to turn red. This day was not starting out too well.

"Um…can we play hide and seek instead?"


Things went better as the day went on. Bahamut managed to eventually adjust his strength, but as it turned out the children liked him when he was stronger. Their shock gradually gave way to awe, and soon everyone wanted him on their team in various games. He was the tallest and strongest of them all. He was faster than anyone else and could climb anywhere to retrieve a lost ball. He was able to find everyone when playing hide and seek, and he made a good monster when the children pretended. They were able to all jump on him at once and beat on him for all they were worth, and unlike Terra, Duane, or Katarin he never got hurt or tired. He was soon their favorite playmate.

And, much as Bahamut may have been ashamed to admit it…he actually had a good time. It had been a while since he could just relax and let loose. He had never really played with children before…but this was a bit…fun.

When everyone went in for the day, Bahamut saw that the garden had little improved for all the work that Terra and Duane had put into it. He frowned at the sight, and found himself thinking of it again. Once inside, the esper made the announcement that he was expecting a friend of his to come along with a wagon once he managed to purchase one, and he would be leaving on that. But he wasn't sure when he would be by, and until then he wanted to know if he could stay there. The children, by now, all pleaded with their matron to let him. Katarin, seeing how good he had been with the kids, agreed. Duane was irritable, of course, and Terra was uneasy. But she wasn't going to say no, knowing that this was all fabricated anyway. And so, it was settled.

The rest of the day went by much like the night before. After lunch, the children played indoors for a few hours. Bahamut mostly sat this time out. Ai and Yu actually went up to Terra and asked if they could go out and play with Bahamut more, just for today. But she refused, and Bahamut told them to listen to her. Inside, unfortunately, there was little Bahamut could do with them that wouldn't reck the place. As it was, the children were so riled up from roughhousing with Bahamut that it was hard to calm them down. Yet as they played, Bahamut kept an eye on the older people. He watched as Duane, his own head bowed and quiet, talked softly with Katarin, and after he was done her own face looked worried. As for Terra, she bathed her own red, rough hands in water, from having dug so much.

Dinner came and went. Bahamut passed for tonight, stepping out instead and telling the children he'd get his own dinner. They were amazed by that, seeing as he had no hunting weapons, but once outside Bahamut did little other than pace around and practice using his strength. He still wasn't hungry, and he probably wouldn't feel the need to eat for the rest of the week. At any rate, that time had soon passed as well, and Bahamut reentered again. When he did, Terra and the kids cleaned up their things, and soon they began to get ready for bed. As for Bahamut, he went off to his own room and shut the door behind him. Once there, he lied down on his own "bed" and tried to sleep.

Again, he had too much energy to do so. The children never made him break a sweat that whole day. But even so…he couldn't sleep that easily. He was thinking too much…about what had happened that morning between him and Terra. He thought again of this young woman…struggling to survive against all odds in the wild. She was a brave person, and truly devoted to these children. And as for them…he found himself actually smiling a bit at the thought of playing earlier that day. It had been a new experience, but it had been…a bit amusing. He supposed he felt a bit of regret at not being able to go out and play with them more. Sure, he had his own childhood…but compared to the eons in which he had been an adult, he supposed…he liked the opportunity to be a "boy" for a few hours.

Yet still, this was a serious problem. Terra and the children couldn't stay like this. They either had to move to a new town or alter their situation here. Bahamut frowned at the idea of them moving. He had a feeling Terra did too. If they went to a town, conditions would improve, but not much. They would need to make money, and there was no way that Terra could support all of these kids herself, assuming she could even find a job. Human nature would probably think she was some sort of harlot for having all these children and no husband. Duane and Katarin could help, but none of the others were really old enough to take care of Katarin's child yet. One would have to stay at home. Even then…what would they get? Some dingy hard labor job for a meager salary. If they could live on this land, then it would be theirs. No one would take it from them. They could keep up this life they had now, for hard as it was they were all happy and together. That wouldn't be possible, however, unless they did something, and did something soon.

Bahamut had offered to hunt, but he realized that Terra was telling the truth. All of the creatures around here smelled unnatural. That was why he was putting off eating. Besides, she wouldn't accept his help. She was still angry at him for what he planned to do with her. Yet still…he thought it would be wrong to just ignore this. After all, he did owe them something for sheltering him. There had to be something he could do…

Then, at long last…some of Bahamut's large wisdom came to mind…along with some of his recently reawakened playfulness…and he got an idea.

There might be one way…


Bahamut again didn't sleep that night. But instead, bringing up his infinite patience, he lied on the ground and waited for next morning to come. When Terra came in after reading to the children, he pretended to be asleep. She tried calling to him to wake up, but he merely acted like he was down too deeply, until she wouldn't risk alerting the children. Bahamut was curious there. He wondered if she considered risking taking the children and leaving. But if she did, she didn't ask on it. After all, she had no idea how he had found her in the first place. Soon, she went to bed, and the lights went out, leaving Bahamut to wait through the long hours of the night.

Finally, it was the same time as Bahamut had arisen yesterday. He quickly scanned Terra, and saw that she was asleep. With that, the great esper proceeded to slowly disengage himself from his "bed", get up and to the door, and then exit the room without a sound. Once that was done, rather than go to the exit, he turned his attention to the larger room where the kids were sleeping. Luckily, his infrared vision allowed him to see everything clearly, and he made his way through the darkened room and to the nearest bed. It was Ai's bed, and she was still sleeping soundly, hugging a big stuffed moogle to her chest that had seen better days. The great esper waited until he was at her side, and then slowly bent down next to her. He then put his head next to her ear, and whispered very softly.

"Ai? Ai?"

The girl winced a bit, disturbed from her sleep. But as Bahamut continued to whisper, she eventually moaned once, and then raised a hand to her eyes and rubbed them. After a moment, she pulled back and blinked, waking up fully. She soon saw Bahamut leaning over her, and addressed him at full volume.

"Mr. Tuma-"

"Shh." Bahamut immediately hushed, putting a finger over her lips. He looked up after that and quickly scanned around the room. He was most satisfied to see that no one had changed. Everyone else was still asleep. After that, he turned back down, and gave Ai a big smile. "Good morning."

Ai was alert now, but she also looked puzzled. "Why did you wake me up?" She asked in her own whisper.

Bahamut continued to smile. "We're going to give your mama a surprise."

On hearing that, Ai immediately brightened up, and soon grew excited. "A surprise!" She called in a louder whisper. "What kind of surprise?"

"I'll tell you when we get outside. For right now, I need you to wake up your brother, Marcus, Essner, and Athena. Don't wake up Duane, Katarin, or Seras. Just go right outside to the porch. I'll be right behind you."

Ai blinked in confusion at this for a moment, but then nodded and whispered back. "Alright."

The girl soon began to get out of bed to do as Bahamut had said. As she did, Bahamut turned away and slowly and silently made his way back to his room again. He was so quiet, that it seemed like only Ai was awake, because only she made any noise as she went to Yu's side and began to shake him. Bahamut didn't pay much attention to this, however. He soon was back inside, and once he had shut the door he quickly and quietly made his way over to the shelves on the walls. Continuously checking on Terra to make sure she still slept, he gathered up all of the gardening tools from the wall. There were only two hoes, two small shovels, and a small soil aerator, but they would suffice. Holding them all close to him, and trying not to make a sound, he turned and crept back to the door, slowly made his way through without rattling, and then closed it again. With that done, he made his way up the stairs.

In a few minutes, Bahamut was making his way to the front door and out it. The sun still hadn't risen, and it was still mostly dark out. There was enough light to see one's way, however. The children were all standing on the porch, waiting for him as he came out with his arms full of tools. They were mostly still in their nightclothes, and Athena still had her own stuffed chocobo with her. But they looked at him regardless and waited to see what was up.

"Good, you're all here." Bahamut announced. "Everyone, follow me to the garden."

The children did as they were told. Soon, the whole group was moving off the porch, around the side of the ruined building, and out to Terra's meager vegetable patch. Once they were there, Bahamut dumped all of the tools on the ground next to it, and then turned to the field itself. The other children pressed in close, while he looked over the area for a moment. He quickly calculated the corner of this field to go all the way to the Cliffside, and then the back of it to go all the way to the first tree. It was a pretty good distance. A couple acres at least. Well…it would be if he put his own muscle to work. Once he saw this, he turned and looked to the kids. Some of them were picking up the tools already.

"Oh, don't worry about those just yet." He told them. "We won't use them right away. Alright everyone. Here's what we're going to do. Your mother wants to grow a bigger garden, but she doesn't have the time or the power to do it. That's why she's been so sad lately. So we're going to dig one for her, so that she can grow lots and lots of crops."

The children seemed to get a bit enthusiastic at this. After all, they loved the chance to make Terra happy. Marcus looked around for a moment, and then turned back to Bahamut. "How big will we make it?"

Bahamut turned and began to point around him. "We're going to do it from there…all the way to over there. Then there will be plenty for you guys to eat, and extra."

Essner frowned at that, however. "But…there's trees in the way." He protested, pointing to the nearest one.

To this, Bahamut formed an innocent look, as if he hadn't noticed that before. "Trees?" He asked simply. Essner nodded, and kept pointing. Bahamut turned and looked to it, and then turned back with a mock confused expression. He jabbed a thumb behind him. "What? Those trees?"

The other kids, seeing this, immediately nodded.

Bahamut didn't know why…but he thought it would be nice to have fun with this. And so, he formed a mock concerned expression, and scratched his chin as if he was confused. He made a thoughtful sound, and then slowly walked over to the tree while seeming to puzzle over it. Soon, he was right next to it, and he looked up and down it while continuing to stroke his chin and look confused. Then, abruptly, he gave a simple shrug, put both of his arms around the tree, summoned some of his power…and with a slight grunt pulled the entire tree out of the ground like it was nothing more than an oversized weed. The stump and roots came with it.

The children gazed in astonishment. Their jaws dropped as they stared at Bahamut with the tree. Meanwhile, Bahamut simply began to whistle, turned, and walked over to the side, away from his planned area for the field. Once he was there, he moved as if to toss it to the side…but then he stopped and smiled at the kids. "Don't want to make too much noise and wake up mother before we're done." He explained, and then proceeded to slowly set the tree down on its side. It still made a tremendous amount of noise as the branches cracked and buckled, but it wasn't as loud as dropping the huge thing.

The kids blinked and gaped. Yu rubbed his eyes as if he was dreaming. "How did you do that?"

Bahamut merely smiled as he walked back toward them. "Oh…it's a little magic trick I know." He simply answered. Soon he walked back to the others, and stood in their midst. Gradually, the surprise of the others gave way to more awe. They beamed at Bahamut in astonishment. Now, their admiration of him grew even more, and soon they were smiling at this legendary superman in their midst. As for the esper, he clapped his hands together in an eager fashion, and then looked over the kids.

"Alright…it's time we get started. First we're going to pull up all the boulders and stumps from this field and throw them over by that tree. I'll pull up the rest of the trees too while you guys are doing that. Then, I'll show you guys how to dig and plow this field so that lots of things can grow in it. But we've got to hurry and do this. Your mom will be up in an hour, and I'll want her to see all the hard work you did."

At that, however, the smiling vanished momentarily.

"But Mr. Tumahab…we can't do all that." Athena protested. "We're too little."

"I tried moving that boulder before." Essner threw in, pointing out to the field to one of the medium sized rocks. "I couldn't budge it."

"And how can we do this all in an hour?" Marcus asked.

To this, Bahamut gave a knowing smile, as if he had a great secret in mind. "Oh…you guys can do it, alright. Didn't I tell you I pulled up that tree with a little magic trick? I'll tell you guys a magic word that will make you all fast and strong like me. But it will only last until we finish working, so don't get too excited."

Hearing this, the children immediately brightened up.

"Really!" An enthusiastic Yu responded.

"Sure, sure. But we better do it quick." Bahamut responded, getting the kids back on task. "First of all, you guys all need to get together and close your eyes. Then I'll whisper the magic word in each of your ears. After that, I'll stand out here, and I'll count to three. After I do, we'll all say the magic word together, and you guys will be able to do all I told you. Alright?"

"Ok!" All of the children cheered in response. Trembling with eagerness, they all quickly got into a group as Bahamut had said and closed their eyes. They all grinned and bounced around excitedly. They all loved the chance to be as strong as Bahamut, and they could hardly wait to be like that. After they were all ready, Bahamut leaned over and whispered a word into each of their ears. He started with the youngest, and made his way to the oldest, one at a time. He had to shush them from speaking it out loud at first, but finally he told them all what it was. After that, he stepped back from them a moment.

"Alright everyone. Now…this will be our little secret. It will only work when all six of us are together and say this word at the same time. Now…keep your eyes closed, and get ready."

The kids began to giggle and move in place, but kept their eyes closed. As they did, Bahamut looked over them all a moment…and then waved his hands in a strange gesture. As he did, he felt an extension of his own power flow out from him. He sent it into each one of them, not filling them with strength, but taking ahold of their faculties and giving them each a degree of magical power. They knew nothing of it, other than feeling a slight tingling that only made them laugh and giggle more. Once he had it all in place, Bahamut closed his own eyes, and focused.

"Alright everyone…one…two…three!"

As one, all six of them said the same word.

"Hyper-velo!"


Terra woke to hear something far away. It sounded almost like…a rustling of some sort. She wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it sounded almost muffled…faraway. It confused her a little. She moaned once, and rolled around a bit on her pillow. She finally opened her eyes, but she saw nothing. In fact, after she did open her eyes, the rustling noise stopped. She blinked a few times, and then inhaled sharply and stretched. Once she had done so, she reached over to her lamp. She began to reach for her tinderbox…but then stopped. She wondered if, after what had happened…she could actually use a fire spell to light up the lamp like she used to. But in the end, she refused to do it, and frowned at the thought. She took up the box, struck it, and soon lit the lamp. After doing so, she adjusted it for maximum brightness, and with a sigh turned and looked in the room.

Again, "his highness" had left early. His bed was in pieces again, and he was nowhere to be found. Terra merely looked tiredly at it, and sighed. She knew by now that him being here wasn't a dream, she thought as she rose out of bed and to her feet. He was here…and eventually, he was going to take her away from everything she loved. These children…this life…it may not have been the greatest thing in his estimation, but it was the only thing she had and it was what had changed her life. It was what gave her purpose. It was the first memory she had made for herself that she felt would mean the rest of her life. She couldn't just stand here and let him devalue it with his own rendition of existence. She wanted nothing to do with espers anymore. They were gone…and most of her life involving them had brought pain and misery. She still couldn't remember everything of what had happened in Vector…and she began to feel as if not all of it was due to the Slave Crown. Some of it was probably her own memory blocking it out. She hated the fact that she could remember the Narshe mission alone…

Anyway, the point was she didn't want to go with him. She might have attacked him by now if she could. She might have assaulted him in his sleep, dirty as it sounded. And yet…she couldn't bring herself to do it. On seeing him, she felt herself overwhelmed. His presence…his power…everything about him just dominated her. It filled her emotional threshold, and she had to struggle just to be cross with him. What was happening to her? Was he doing this? In truth…he was handsome, by human standards. He looked perfect, and both old and young at the same time. But she didn't care for that. Relationships like that didn't matter to her…

Or do they?

Terra snapped her head up at that thought. What was that? Was that something Bahamut had planted in her mind? She thought a moment…and realized it wasn't. It had come from her. At that realization, she sneered and shook her head. She didn't want to waste time thinking of such childish things. And frankly, she shouldn't be thinking of Bahamut either. As she opened the door to her room, she needed to focus on her children…

But as Terra opened the door, she froze again. The light from the lamp spilled out into the other room…and she saw that the beds were empty and unmade. None of the five children were there. Duane, Katarin, and Seras were in the back, but no one else.

The woman paled. She cupped a hand to her mouth as her heart raced in fear. What had happened? Where were they? Was it Bahamut? Had he done something to them? There were no signs of blood… Had he spirited them away from her? Taken them somewhere far, so that she wouldn't be attached to them? She didn't know…but the thought didn't make her sad so much as terrified. Her chest began to feel cold and she looked around in terror, fearing that he had done something to them…and left her alone with him…

However, that didn't last. She heard noises from upstairs. They were very faint…but she thought she could recognize the children. Terra didn't waste anytime. Immediately, she turned and raced through the secret door and into the basement of the ruined house. Once there, she quickly turned and ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and went into the main building. She could hear them more clearly from here, but she couldn't make them out. Her own nervous breathing and heartbeat kept her from identifying them. The front door was open, and the sun was just clearing the horizon. She hesitated only a moment, before tearing out the front door and to the outside. Once there, her ears quickly told her that they were coming from the side of the house with the garden. She ran around the building side quickly to see what had happened…

And immediately, she froze in utter shock.

"Hi mama!"

"Look what we made for you!"

Ai and Yu had called out to Terra, but for the moment she was powerless to answer. She could only stare in amazement. The children were all here, it seemed. The noises she had heard had actually been them laughing and playing. But she didn't notice them so much, save to ascertain that they were present and alright. After doing so…her full attention turned to what was under their feet.

Three acres of land had been cleared and plowed, far deeper and better than their own meager garden, which took up one corner of this new region. The soil was deep, brown, and rich that had been dug up to the surface. It was obvious that each one of these lines had been plowed better than you could do with a team of donkeys and a heavy plowhead. Where there had been scattered trees, debris, and even the old foundation of a ruined house, there was nothing now but long acres worth of farmland just ready to be seeded. The only testament that it had been anything else an hour ago was a large pile of trees and debris stacked over to one side.

Terra was awestruck. She merely gaped and blinked at this, trying to figure out how it had happened. The children, a little dirty from their work but proudly holding their gardening tools, quickly ran back up to Terra. The spell Bahamut had put on them had worn off by now, and it was at regular speed. As for Bahamut himself, with a calm smile he leaned against one side of the building with his arms crossed. Terra still couldn't speak. This was amazing. She had hoped to one day have all this land cleared…but she thought it would have taken intermitant work on her part over the better portion of six years to do it. But now, it was already plowed and ready. At last, she turned her head. But she didn't look to the children, she turned all the way to Bahamut.

"You…" She slowly murmured. "You… Did you…?"

Bahamut, however, calmly shook his head. "Oh no. It wasn't me. I pulled out some of the bigger trees, but they did all the rest." Here, he gestured to the children, who now proudly stood before Terra, beaming with pride. Bahamut looked to them and called out. "Right guys?" He asked with a wink.

They turned just to see this, and grinned and winked back. Then, they turned back to Terra and nodded. "That's right! We did it all by ourselves!" Marcus proudly stated.

"Mr. Tumahab just showed us what to do, and we did it!" Ai added.

Terra blinked in disbelief. She looked over the kids at this, and saw how they were dirty and had obviously worked. As she looked them over, she still couldn't comprehend it. "…But…why?"

"We saw you were feeling bad because our garden was too small." Essner explained.

At that, Terra paled a bit. She had hoped that none of the kids had noticed this. That was why she had waited until they were playing to say anything to Duane about it. She had tried to look as bright and happy as possible over the past few disastrous days, for their sake. But at this…she realized she had failed, and she began to look anxious. "…You did?"

"But now you won't be sad anymore!" Yu brightly responded. "Now you have a nice big garden!"

"And Mr. Tumahab said you can grow any kind of plant here!" Athena added. "I want tomatoes!"

Terra couldn't respond. She didn't even know what to think. Suddenly…she had all this farmland, and the kids claimed they had done it themselves. Of course they hadn't…there was no way these five could have plowed on row of it in one day, let alone all in one hour. But they thought they did. And they had done it because of her. Again, they had seen her sad, and they had tried to cheer her up by doing this. And somehow…Bahamut had to have given them the means. Somehow he made it possible. She looked back up to him for a moment, but saw him merely smile and shrug. She turned back to the kids afterward, and they continued to beam proudly at her. Seeing this…Terra felt her heart moved with happiness. These little dears…they could be so sweet and kind…

At last, Terra went down on her knees, and up to the children. She stretched out her arms, and they all immediately ran forward and shared a large group hug. A genuine happy smile spread across Terra's face as she closed her eyes and let herself feel them, dirt and all.

"You children…you're the most wonderful gift I could ever have. Thank you all."

The kids blushed with pride, but hugged their matron tighter. They all held for a moment. Unseen by Terra, Bahamut, back at the wall…actually found himself smiling at this scene too. Seeing all this…all of this constant love and affection between Terra and her charges…it made him feel things he hadn't felt in ever. Espers had become so cold and businesslike. They could be friendly, but they weren't that affectionate…except for maybe Starlet. He had this kind of experience with Crusader, but he hadn't felt it since. Seeing this between this small group, he actually marveled at it. This unit had so much love for each other, that they were willing to do such nice things for one another, and none of them demanded any recompense for any of it.

…Why couldn't all humanity be like these people? Bahamut found himself wondering.

At last, the six broke. Terra sniffled and wiped back tears of happiness, and rose to her feet once again. When she did, she looked over them all for a moment, her mood looking much better, and then gestured to them. "…Why don't you all go back in the house and wash up for breakfast? I'll be down soon to start making it." She hesitated at this, and gave a sudden knowing look. "And you know…I'm going to have to give you all baths now."

The cloud to their silver lining came up, and all of the kids frowned for a moment and groaned.

"Go on." Terra answered with a smile, not able to help herself from doing so.

The kids, their happiness dimmed a little, nevertheless managed smaller smiles, then turned and marched back the way they came. Terra watched them as they went, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Bahamut turn and watch them as well. Soon they were at the porch and walking back inside. Terra kept watching until they closed the door behind them. After that…her face fell a little. It didn't turn as dark or depressed as yesterday, but it did become blank and lost its smile. She turned back to Bahamut, who was still smiling and leaning against the wall.

"…Why did you do that?"

Bahamut merely shrugged. "I told you. They did it. I just gave them the boost they needed."

"But why?"

"I knew you were having trouble with food. So I thought I might as well do it myself. So long as I sleep under your roof, I should have to do something to pull my own weight, shouldn't I?"

Terra paused, and developed a slight frown. "…But what does it matter to you? You don't eat this. You'll be taking me away from here soon enough."

To this, Bahamut merely leaned off from the wall and stared back simply at Terra.

"Didn't I tell you there was a difference between being a slave and a servant? A servant has benefits. I'd do the same for any member of my race who was in need."

Terra's frown faded as she leaned back a little, not expecting that reply. Until now…she thought that Bahamut didn't really care. After all, he didn't care that leaving these children would be the hardest thing she had ever done. He seemed to just give orders for her to obey. But doing this… Doing something that actually helped them. That was a different matter… The truth was, she needed this. They needed to expand the farmland, but she never had the time or energy. Now, they had more than enough room plowed. Like it or not, Bahamut had done something that had helped her greatly. And regardless of what she felt about him, she couldn't deny this.

At last, the half esper turned back to the field. She stared at the nice long rows for a moment. But then, she inhaled deeply and sighed.

"...Planting time is over. All of this land will go to waste."

"Wrong."

Hearing that sudden, flat response, Terra turned back around to Bahamut. The great esper leaned off of the wall and began to walk toward her calmly. As he did, he began to explain.

"There is a hardier type of grain in the world. It's not as good as traditional wheat, but it has nutritional value and it's good when cooked right. My brother used to call it 'Midsummer's Wheat'. It's called that because you plant it in midsummer, and you harvest it early winter. This is a good plains climate, and you can grow it here with just a little maintenance."

Terra hesitated at that, and then sighed. "I don't have any money for seed."

"I doubt you'd find it at any market, anyway." Bahamut answered. "But I can gather it. I can find it easy enough, and it grows in patches. I'll get you the seed if you're willing to grow it. That's not the issue. There's something else in mind.

"Now…you could sow this entire field with Midsummer's Wheat, and in doing so you could supply yourself and your family with grain up through next spring. You'd all be fed, but as you and I both know, that's not enough for growing children. They need a variety in their diet. So here's what you do. You keep eating your regular crops for now, and sow this wheat. By winter, you should be done with your normal crop and able to harvest this. Once that is done, you save some to eat…but you take the rest down to the nearest town. No one else will be selling fresh crops at that point. You'll monopolize the market and get a good price for all of it. Use that money to buy all the extra food you need, clothing, medicine, and a milk cow or two."

Terra hesitated again. "We…don't have a pasture or barn."

"Me and the kids can clear out enough room for a pasture." Bahamut responded. "And I'll convert one of these ruins into a barn. You can buy oats, or sow another field for them. And I'll tell you something else," Bahamut paused for a minute here, now up to Terra's side. His powerful presence washed over her again, and she felt herself grow a bit nervous. But the esper merely straightened up, inhaled deeply, and then spoke somewhat slowly. It was as if he was coming to a difficult decision, but had decided on it.

"…I'll let you stay here at least until next spring, until you've taken your charges through a growing season. Provided I get to stay here as well."

Terra was most amazed at this. She thought Bahamut would only let her stay a few weeks at the most, but suddenly she found herself set for the rest of the year. She was surprised, but the esper only continued to look calmly back at her. She blinked for a few moments, not understanding this. Given his attitude in her dream, she thought he would drag her out kicking and screaming the next day. But now…she couldn't believe it.

"Why…?" She finally asked. "Why…why are you doing all of this for me?"

"I hate repeating myself, but like I said before," Bahamut calmly answered. "I'd do the same for any esper. A king is of no use to his subjects if all he does is make them wait on him hand and foot. A true king is the supreme steward of his people. And I never said I would take you from these children without seeing to it that their futures were well provided for. And…" Here, the great esper paused a moment. He closed his mouth and licked his lips. Terra was puzzled at this. Did Bahamut look…nervous? The great powerful esper…he was nervous?

"And…to tell you the truth…" He finally answered, somewhat less easy than before but still very calm and controlled. "…I kind of enjoy doing something nice for you. I haven't had an opportunity to do something like this for a long time. What more…I haven't really interacted with humans, or anyone, in a very long time. This is an interesting experience for me. I see no need to rush it at this time."

Terra blinked and looked back to him, unbelieving what she was hearing. And yet, as she stared at him…a little part of her broke down. Until now, she had seen Bahamut as a cruel, oppressive monster. Maybe he was even as bad as those who once controlled her. But now…she was starting to see another side of him. And it wasn't just here. It was with the children too. He seemed like he was having fun with them, and when he saw her own children delight to be around him…she couldn't help but be happy. Their happiness was her happiness, in the end of things. And she was glad that they brightened up around him. And also…she had to admit, she was grateful for what he was suggesting. It was a good plan. If it worked out…she and her family would never have to go hungry again. They could be self sustainable here, and actually be able to stay where their homes had been. And she did enjoy the feeling of seeing her children go to bed well filled and properly nourished. And if she could make money…then perhaps she could even afford nicer things for them. All of this would be due to the esper she feared in front of her. And on hearing that…she couldn't help but feel grateful. With their departure put off by at least a year…Terra also felt far more at ease.

For the first time genuinely, Terra found herself bowing her head slightly in front of Bahamut, and saying something that she truly felt to him, without any coercion or masking for the sake of the children.

"…Thank you."

Bahamut hesitated for a moment before her. He could have rushed her on, said something to get her to move, or boast that it was nothing. However…to hear this woman…this esper that had feared him so much and hated him actually open up enough to say those words to her…he found that this made him happy as well. And so, to his surprise, he found himself smiling as well.

"You're welcome."


To be continued...