The guard tower sentry was probably the best job in Icicle Inn. You were well above whatever could happen below. You could see a far distance. And, best of all, the heavy gun was up here, waiting to pick off anyone who caused any trouble. Of course, there hadn't been any trouble in quite some time. No one was running around causing problems anymore. The town was pretty quiet. That was why most New Shinra soldiers had long since moved to the New Shinra HQ Dome or the factories, leaving this place in peace.

Most of the rest of the street was filled with soldiers. Street was a preferable term to streets, because there was really only one main drag through town, and every house was connected to it. Residents only were allowed out of their homes with an escort. Usually, they were committed to some task. Digging, moving, loading, unloading, seemstressing…anything that they needed done on a given day. Today was a pretty calm one, however. There wasn't any necessary business. Because of that, the residents spent their times in their homes, allowed to use whatever hadn't been confiscated. During that time, the soldiers ruled the snow-covered streets. Just as traditionally observed, there were some twenty on the road right now. However, another eighty were holed up in the inn, waiting for their shifts on duty. It didn't pay to run around in a town eternally covered with snow year round on down time. And usually, that was all they had.

The sentry at the tower slowly sighed, and looked around the landscape lazily with the firing scope. It was easier than hoisting up a pair of binoculars, and it worked just as well. There was nothing to see. The same clear surroundings…with not an enemy in sight. After all, no enemy even knew they were here. So why should there be anything? And even if there was an enemy, so what? New Shinra still had the largest military in the world by far, and it was getting bigger. So this was a pretty easy job. Of course, there were times during a storm when it grew absolutely frigid up here. But he dealt with that.

As the guard swept his scope around, he glanced by a dark spot on the horizon. He was so used to seeing nothing that he ignored it initially. However, his mind snapped out of it a moment later, and turned back in a flash. A man was coming over the edge of one of the snowdrifts, and was coming on top of a hill. He had something balanced across one of his shoulders…and it gleamed periodically in the day's sunlight. He also had something else in one of his hands. The sentry couldn't make it out. At any rate, he was walking forward.

Seeing this, the sentry looked away and called down. "We've got a body. He's headed for us."

Hearing this, the other soldiers looked up in surprise. However, they responded quickly. One of the higher officers motioned to the others. Immediately they moved forward and down the road. Within a few moments, they had come to the entrance of the town. They pressed themselves against the buildings in a guard fashion, and they put one hand on their weapons. However, they didn't draw them or level them. The sentry could see farther than them, but soon they too saw a dark shape on the horizon. It was slowly coming toward them.

One of the soldiers slowly exhaled, but stayed straight and tall. He wasn't in auditory range yet, and so he said nothing. But as the man drew closer, they made out more detail. He was a young, skinny man. He was dressed in loose clothing with a gray cloak over it. He also had something shiny on one shoulder, and was carrying something with his other hand. They couldn't make it out either, far away as he was. All of the soldiers at the front of the street were watching him now, along with the sentry. At last, the first soldier held out a hand.

"Halt! Identify yourself!"

The person didn't respond. He continued to walk calmly forward.

"This is a restricted area!" The man called out. "Turn back at once!"

Still nothing from the person. He continued to calmly walk forward. The officer frowned for a moment at this. However…a sudden, panicked voice from overhead cut them off.

"Oh my god…he's got a head!"

This part was screamed, and it came from the sentry. It was so loud that everyone on the street heard it. The soldiers snapped around and looked to the sentry. Others looked ahead to the road in front of the town. Villagers went to their windows and looked out anxiously. The people in the lead stared at the man as he approached. As they did, they began to make out that he was young…and that he had a dark expression on his face. But in addition to that…they saw what he was holding. It was indeed a head…a bloody, severed head.

On seeing this, the soldiers immediately acted. More of the force moved out into the center street. All of the morning patrol took their positions there now, and all focused on the man ahead. Most of them ran out from where they had been reclining or guarding before. Two of them came from cracks between the buildings, small alleys, and rushed out onto the street. One of them began to run around from one side of the street to the other, looking disorientated, and asking each soldier he ran into what was going on. As for the people in the lead, they all drew their weapons and aimed it at the man.

"Freeze! Put your hands up!"

The young man continued to walk forward now. His movements were slow and calm, and his face was cold and hard. He showed no expression of any emotion. However…he did put his hands up. He put one hand up high, holding the gleaming object. It was a great shining sword, and it shimmered like it was flame. The other hand, however, held the head high. And it wasn't in a sign of surrender. It was in a sign of showing the head for everyone to see.

The other soldiers began to see this as the young man neared, and they paled in disgust. Who was this psychotic madman? They too focused on him, and raised their weapons. It wasn't long before all twenty of them were aiming at the person. Each one of them was unnerved by him…how calmly he was walking forward with his grisly sight. One of the soldiers began to climb up the ladder of the sentry tower. Halfway up, he stopped and aimed his own weapon at the man from his improved height. The person on top aimed his weapon down as well, preparing to rip the young man apart with his bullets.

"I said freeze! Drop the weapon!"

The young man didn't appear to hear. He continued to walk forward calmly. His expression was so still and focused. It was cold and void of anything but steel determination. His eyes blazed with an unnatural power. As the soldiers looked at this, that unnerved them more than anything. He seemed so in control…so fixated on his goal. And still, he continued to walk forward slowly, drawing nearer and nearer to the entrance. The soldiers stared at him, transfixed…even mesmerized by how calm he was with his gruesome prize and his single purpose. He didn't seem to even notice how many guns were aimed at him. He only moved onward.

The officer clenched his teeth. "This is your final warning! Drop the weapons and freeze! We will fire on the count of three!"

The young man didn't answer. His cold gaze didn't change. He only continued to walk forward, staring back at all those staring at him. The officer tightened his jaw, and released the safety on his own weapon.

"One!"

The young man kept closing. He was almost to the first row of houses now.

"Two!"

The heavy machine gunner aimed at the youth as he came forward. He stared through the scope and aimed the crosshairs right on his head. His steady arm kept it on as he walked forward, and his finger rested on the trigger.

"Three!"

Right before anyone could pull their triggers…blasts went off all up and down the street. Eruptions of rain barrels, buckets, snow, and some debriscame from wherever the explosions were. The sudden feeling of impact, the snap in the ears, and the feeling of snow and wood smacking against the sides of the people who were too close to it, caused a massive distraction. The soldiers were stunned. Right at that same moment, the young man turned his blade inward and aimed up. A reflected ray of the sun went straight into the end of the targeting scope of the heavy gunner. A cry out of misery came from overhead, and the gunner reared back and fired wildly. His heavy bullets tore up the snow in front of the young man, blasting huge clouds of it up before him. The moment it did, the man dropped the head, turned, and bolted for the nearest building. But no one saw where he went from there. He disappeared.

After a moment, the soldiers recovered and turned back, just in time to see that their quarry had escaped. They cursed, wondering how those explosives were set and where he had gone. None of them suspected that as the one soldier ran around to each guard…he paused long enough to drop a blasting cap out of his pocket and into the snow at each location. And now, he was lost in the crowd as well, just another blue uniform with a gun. Everyone had been so preoccupied with the man holding the head that they ignored all else. And now they had lost him too.

Swearing, the officer yelled out orders. Soon, the soldiers were spreading out. The ones in the rear, twelve of them, made for the building sides, flushing themselves against the homes so that they couldn't be hit from behind. Another small group of eight formed in front, and were motioned forward, led by the officer. Each held their weapons at the ready, and made for the edges of the homes in front of the town. They moved silently, creeping up to the sides of either building. They fanned out in proper support of one another, making sure to give coverage. Two of the ones in the lead began to inch forward, toward the corners of their buildings, and prepared to look around to see if the young man was still there…

Just before they could, however, a scream and collision from behind them distracted them. They snapped back around, and saw a shocking sight. The homes suddenly came to life. The doors were smashed open, the windows were shattered, and ragged, dirty men brandishing pick axes came out. Each one leapt out from their hidden place and jumped upon the soldiers that had been hiding there. They immediately struck down. Within moments, eight of the soldiers were dead, struck completely by surprise.

The other four who were in the rear group turned around. They all raised their weapons and prepared to open fire on the surprise attackers. That was before one of them instead turned on the others, and proceeded to shoot them in the back with marksman skill. Despite being an automatic weapon, each one was marked exceptionally well. The eight in front were shocked. They fully turned to this ambush, and raised their weapons to attack this newest person…

Only then did the swordsman make his appearance. His blade abruptly sliced through the edge of the building he was at, and cut down the man who had been about to turn the corner, but was now looking away. A death cry caused the others to look back. Shooting by and flashing his sword like lightning, the young man ran past and brought his sword down again. This time, he killed the soldier on the opposite side. Shortly after, he vanished behind the opposite building side. The soldiers raised their arms to fire at him…only to hear gunfire behind them again. One of their troop abruptly opened fire on them from behind too, cutting down five more. The other soldiers turned around and saw this, and were about to open fire…when two more men with pick axes sprung from the opposite side of the building, and struck them down with their weapons.

None of the soldiers had noticed that while they were totally preoccupied with the ghastly sight of the man coming toward them…the surrounding snowy forests and rocky hills had been filling with these dirty men with crude weapons. They had gone as close as they dared and then hid…until the explosions went off. In the chaos that followed, they came in the rest of the way and dove behind their homes. It was a small matter of breaking in through the back doors, or any other secret entrances they knew of, and then to come out and attack their guards as one.

Now, the sentry overhead began to panic. His whole unit was being wiped out below. The streets had turned into chaos as they flooded with the prisoners. At last, he got enough bearings to swing his gun down and prepare to fire at them…

However, he never got the chance. Abruptly, someone seized his head from behind and smashed it forward, onto the barrel of the gun. After that, his dazzled body was yanked back, and his ambusher threw him over the side of the tower. It was none other than the soldier who had climbed halfway up earlier. In the confusion after the blasts, he used his opportunity to climb the rest of the way to the top and take the gun. Now, he moved himself in behind it instead.

Icicle Inn's doors finally burst open. As they did, ten new soldiers began to run out with guns at the ready. However, they had barely cleared the doors when the swordsman reappeared again. Dancing and swirling in a deadly manner, he came forward and let his blade flash like lightning. The first two soldiers were struck down on either side, and slicing again on his opposite sides took two more. The fifth tried to shoot him, but he drove his sword forward into him before he could, and then used him as a fulcrum to lift himself in the air, spin around, and kick the sixth in the head with killing force. As he landed, he pulled his blade back out from the fifth man and guarded it in front of him. Gunfire finally did open on him, but with his blade the way it was the shots richocheted harmlessly off. His sword was indestructrible to them. The four remaining soldiers gaped at this, shocked that their weapons had been stopped so easily, and in the moment of hesitationthe swordsmandropped out of it and came forward. He swung his sword across one more time to take two at once, and then brought his sword down on the ninth before swinging it up and hitting the tenth.

The remaining garrison was pushing into the door at this point, and they were all taking aim at the swordsman at once, ready to hit him from different angles so that he couldn't block them.The youth hesitated here from striking down his last foe, and looked out at them. He saw them for the briefest moment, but then reacted. But he did not attack them. He merely sprawled his arms out, fell back, and landed back first in the snow.

The soldiers at the door looked puzzled at this…before they realized that the heavy gun was no longer in their possession.

A hail of heavy bullets, almost as thick as railroad spikes, came out and began to tear up the front of the building. The huge bullets tore through their initial targets and hit the ones behind as well. The new gunner spread out his fire, and went to the walls of the building too, making a huge spread across the entire facility. He made sure that they pierced every part of it that a soldier could hide in…or at least, what he considered to be places to hide. He kept his spread going for a minute, making sure that he got every soldier that was still in their "barracks". But once he was satisfied that he had all of them, he cut off the firing. Then, nervous and shocked at what he had done, he panted and stared out ahead of him.

Parts of Icicle Inn were burning. Glass slowly fell out of its pane and smashed against the ground. Blood was everywhere. Slowly…the weak doors of the village opened up, and out walked the nervous residents who had been left behind. They tensely looked out at what had happened in silence. All was quiet except for the cooling of weapons and the burning of houses. The ex-prisoners looked around as well, stunned at what had happened. The whole thing had to have taken less than three minutes, and two of those were the heavy gun firing. But now…it was over.


Lying in the snow, his exposed skin freezing, Ragnar slowly let out a long sigh. Then, he rolled forward and began to rise to his feet once again. Once he was up, he wiped his blade off against the snow, and then slid it in behind him into his sheath. He looked around the town for a few moments, seeing all that had happened. And slowly…he began to realize it had worked. His plan had worked. They had done it. They had liberated the town. Twenty-five poor country miners, slaves for three years…had defeated a garrison of a hundred men and not lost one of their own. They won. Three years after they had come, Ragnar had beaten them and freed his city again.

Slowly, the realization came to everyone else too. And slowly…they began to smile, realizing that they had done it. They had kicked out the people who had tortured them and used them for years, making their lives a living hell. They had freed their families. With that in mind, they began to look out in enthusiasm, realizing that it was over at last. Slowly, the rest of the people began to come from their homes too. They began to look around and see what had happened, before looking to who had done it. When that happened, mothers ran out and embraced their older sons. Wives and children ran out and embraced their fathers. The whole population began to come out, and run to the former prisoners. People began to cry, but also show their joy at how everyone was safe and had escaped.

At last, on one side of the street, one man in a New Shinra uniform, hugging a young woman with one arm, called out. "Hey!"

At that, everyone broke off for the moment, even those in the midst of embracing their families. Ragnar himself looked to the source. The man threw off his helmet after this, and revealed himself. It was the gaunt man from earlier. Ragnar saw him, and realized the woman with him must be his sister. It didn't look quite right… Her hair was a pale blond. She was also dressed more formally and masculine, looking used to work. However, her face was thin and smooth like the man's, and that seemed enough for him. He now turned to Ragnar, grinned, and waved his fist at him.

"Three cheers for our new leader! Hip-hip!"

Hearing this, the other men smiled and turned back to Ragnar. It was true. He was the one who had led them here. He was the one who made the plan. He was the reason they were all safe and free now. And so, they raised their fists and shook them at him as well.

"Hooray!"

"Hip-hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Hip-hip!"

"HOORAY!"

Ragnar couldn't help but feel nervous at that. Strange…after the deathtrap he had just waded through, only now did he feel anxious. He turned a bit red as he stood there, and winced uneasily. However, he managed a somewhat nervous smile, and a wave back to them. But he thought to what the man had said.

He had called him…leader.

The youth was stunned at that. He was a leader? Well…he had organized this. They had all acted under his orders. But did that make him a leader? What did? In truth, he hadn't known exactly what was supposed to make him a leader. It had escaped him until now. It was some quality that he hadn't discovered in his training with Bahamut, although the esper kept telling him it would come. He kept saying he had the inner qualities for it…that he had something inside that would come out in the end. And thinking of that…Ragnar realized that he might have been right. Maybe he did have it inside him. Maybe, just like everything else…he only needed the one push to let it out.

Still, it didn't make him any less nervous. He had never led anything before. But now, he quickly began to realize that was who he was now. These people had come this far under him. They probably expected him to have other plans as well. And they had to. After all…they had won the day, but they were far from in the clear. It wasn't going to take long to send a patrol to find out what all the gunfire and explosions were. Or to wonder why radio contact was gone. After that…they'd be swamped again, with more soldiers and weapons than they could combat. No…they were most certainly not in the clear yet, and Ragnar realized now that he was responsible for these people.

As the youth thought of all this, the townspeople began to become more joyous, along with their family members. However, the thin young man now began to approach the upstart leader. His sister followed closely with him, smiling all the way as she came. Within moments, they were in front of him. On seeing this, Ragnar snapped out of his private thoughts, and turned back to them.

The thin man grinned. "You certainly did it, Mr. Vice. Or should I call you, Sir? You are our new commanding officer, aren't you?"

Ragnar, on hearing this, turned a bit white for a moment. "…Excuse me?"

The man snickered at this. "Well, I thought for sure that this is only the first step of our rebellion against New Shinra. I mean…I'm correct in assuming that we're fighting against them now, right?"

The young man hesitated at this. Commanding officer? Rebellion? He hadn't expected all this. He began to feel a little overwhelmed. However, it was a bit late to be worrying about that. He had already passed the point of no return. To his amazement…he realized that was exactly what was going on. He had planned to fight the New Shinra someday…and he had opened the hostilities. Like it or not, he had reached the point where he had become the leader Bahamut wanted him to be. There was no turning back now.

It was a bit of a staggering thought… However, the young man wasn't going to turn away. He thought about it a bit harder. Yes…why not? Bahamut had told him that he wouldn't be able to do it alone. He had to raise an army…so why not start here? These people were with him. They saw him plan. He had led them well. And they respected him already… So why not? It was a bit sudden, and a little overwhelming to think of… But Ragnar decided in favor of it.In the end, he reached the conclusion in the positive.

Ragnar turned back to the man, and gave a nod. "Yes. Yes we are."

The man grinned. "Can't wait to get started." He held out a hand to the young man after this. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Zola. Or…Private Zola now, I suppose." He hesitated a moment, and then smiled. "General Ragnar."

The youth chuckled at this…a bit uneasily…and then reached out and took his hand. He gave it a shake in reply. "Glad to have you. You handled that weapon pretty well out there."

Zola gave a shrug. "To be honest…I have actually had some training in weapons. Just never a gun. Here…this is my sister, Noonian. She's quite the fighter too. Better than me, I think."

The woman smiled in reply to Ragnar. When she did, Ragnar felt himself feel a bit uneasy on seeing it. He couldn't help but get the feeling she was a bit more voluptuous than normal. Something about her mannerisms…made her seem slower and sly…and she seemed to move more easily and flash her smile a bit wider than normal. It was odd…almost like a seductress, it seemed. "Hello, General." She answered with a nod.

The young man hesitated a moment, but then gave a nod in reply. He said no more to her.

"Hey Ragnar!"

The youth turned and looked up to the new voice that had called. It was from the tower. The soldier there had discarded his helmet as well, and revealed himself as Mack. "What do we do now?"

Ragnar called back in a booming voice, making sure everyone heard him, and placing his full commanding power into it once more. "Everyone…get as much food, clothing, medical supplies, and weapons as you can manage, or anything else you think we might need. We're leaving this town in five minutes."


It was a rough trip, but they made it by late afternoon.

No one had anything for transportation. The people would have to hike through the snow all the way back to the City of the Ancients. Luckily, when one was hiking, the heat they gave off tended to offset the feelings of cold, and it was a clear day. The people were also loaded down. As many people as possible got out their backpacks and loaded them with all the supplies they could manage. There wasn't as much as they liked. The New Shinra were intelligent in the regard of taking away anything that would enable escapees to hide in the frozen wilderness. As far as weapons, the New Shinra had long since confiscated anything that could be used against them. But there were plenty of dead soldiers now to gather from. Most able bodied people were able to grab a rifle or machine gun. Of course, there were also some elderly citizens…all the ones that the New Shinra hadn't eventually dealt with…and children too. Two of them were infants. Those people had to be let alone to be able to carry their own children. Ragnar himself took as much as he could carry, and led them down the trail.

For hours they trudged through snow, coming down off of the Icicle Inn area. They left an easily defined trail, unfortunately, but it couldn't be helped. Their motley crue kept going until they reached the bare rocks that Ragnar had crossed months ago. They were even more exposed now, and they took a rest there around noon. One in the back with binoculars constantly kept a lookout for enemy patrols. Luckily, there were none. They were hopefully preoccupied at the moment with the destruction they had caused. At this point, hard as a trip it would be (especially on the older and younger citizens), Ragnar led them to the mountain ridges to the west and over it, taking a shorter, yet harder to cross path. That took quite some time to get across. The worst part was dragging the heavy machine gun. Yes…it had proven so useful that Mack had insisted it be dragged along, and Ragnar agreed. That was the biggest nightmare to take over the mountain, but at last they did.

Once across, it was a small matter of working their way back into the valley, and then winding their way through the narrow passages back to Ragnar's entrance. They once again had trouble when they reached the cliff, having to lower most of their equipment down (or throwing what they could), and then climb down themselves. But once through, it was an easy march into the City of the Ancients itself.

Ragnar led the group straight back to the grove. For now, it was the safest place. He could assign them to homes later. At that, they began to dismount and unload. It was getting late now. The sun was nearly down. Most of them were exhausted, and wanted to go to sleep as soon as possible. The children especially. Ragnar led them to the main house, and then had the others wait for a moment. Until now, he had been content to lie low, but at this point he posted a guard. He dismissed the people to move about as they wanted to for now, but that eventually they would have to have some sort of order.

It took a few hours to get everyone situated, but once they were and things had calmed down a little, and people began to wander around the City looking for good places to do their business, or potential houses to get shelter in, Ragnar broke off from the others. He was sweating a little, and feeling rather tired himself. It had been a very long day for him. He had barely slept last night, and he had to march twice as far as everyone else. Also, leading everyone around was a bit of a strain. It soon became obvious that everyone thought that Ragnar was the one who knew what he was doing, and had some great plan for them all. In truth…the young man was winging this, planning as he went along. And now that he had time to think, he went over to Mack. The other young man was currently posted in front of the supplies. He had his arms crossed and looked down at them dismally.

Ragnar walked up to him. "So…what do we have?" He asked a bit tiredly.

"Well, we have the coats and clothing on everyone's back…" He muttered. "Then we have this. Near as I can figure, we have enough to feed everyone for maybe a week."

Ragnar's eyes widened. "A week? That's it?"

Mack merely shrugged. "About ten sleeping bags…three full sets of camping cooking gear…four tents…about forty machine guns with eighty magazines…including the ones in them…twenty rifles with about a hundred shots…one heavy machine gun with about two hundred rounds left…six sets of binoculars…five first aid kits…and eight bottles of children's cough syrup."

Ragnar groaned and placed a hand to his face. "Great…"

Mack sighed as well, and shook his head at it all. In the end, he turned back to Ragnar. "So…what now?"

The young man sighed too. He looked around the area for a moment. What now? He didn't know where to begin. They had water and shelter here. They could make fires. But they'd need a lot more than just grubs and berries now. And the amount of weaponry they had wasn't going to last them long against anything. It certainly wasn't enough for an assault. The youth crossed his arms and frowned at what they had. Starting to think about this, he turned and began to look around at the group, and out into the surroundings…

Suddenly…he caught a flash of fabric just ahead.

On seeing that, Ragnar froze. A chill went through his spine. He had almost forgotten about that… Now, he stared ahead silently, his eyes wide and showing his emotion. Mack quickly picked up on this. He furrowed his brow slightly, and then leaned in a bit to the side, to look to Ragnar's face. "Hey…you alright there?"

The young man continued to stare ahead for a moment. Then, he slowly blinked. Without turning back to Mack, he uncrossed his arms and began to walk forward, out of the grove. "Yeah…" He halfheartedly called behind him as he moved. "I just…need to check something. I'll be right back." Soon, he was walking away from him, and focusing all his attention on the exit to the grove as he approached it.

Mack opened his mouth to protest, but it was too late. He was already off. Frowning slightly, the man shook his head, and then looked back down to his supplies. He groaned on looking at them. He wished they had enough shots to at least practice using them…


Ragnar was well away from the others when he reached the edge of the city. Ahead of him, the forest loomed. The setting sun had already cast it into shadow in the valley of the mountain ridges. It was silent here again. The voices of everyone in the grove had been cut off, and Ragnar was alone out here in the dimness of the closing night. Only his footsteps echoed as he stepped out from the shell path, and onto the soil that was beyond it. He looked around from side to side, casting his eyes deep into the forest. He could see nothing in the mist…but he knew better. He knew he was there…and that made him swallow in anxiety.

"…Master?" He called out at last.

There was silence from the forest. Not even an insect chirped. Ragnar felt his stomach turn and swallowed again. However, he then heard a rather quiet, somber voice behind him.

"Did you really think you had me fooled?"

Ragnar spun around at this. To his surprise, Bahamut was right there. He had his arms crossed and was leaning against the last tree outside of the wood before going into the city. His head was bowed, and it was obvious that he was frowning. He looked especially dark and cold tonight. Ragnar could almost feel his aura coming off of him…and it made him tremble. He shook a bit as he saw him there, and swallowed again.

"I…I thought I had gotten away last night…"

"You got away because I let you leave." Bahamut immediately retorted, keeping his head to the ground and his eyes nearly closed. "You think I didn't hear you go? I had been reading your thoughts all night. There wasn't a single thought that wasn't about trying to escape me, no matter how clear you thought you were being. I smelled your anxiety. I heard your heartbeat accelerate. And in the end, I calmly and patiently watched you leave, looking right by me while I stared right at you, with you never knowing the difference. I knew all along you disobeyed me."

The esper looked up slightly at this, enough to pierce Ragnar's gaze with his own. It was so cold and shocking he stepped back a little.

"And now…you're going to face the consequences."

The young man slowly exhaled, but then stepped forward and protested. "Master…it was a success though. I did it. I freed everyone from the mines. I freed everyone in my town. Not one person died. We escaped to the city."

"Oh, I've been watching that too, Ragnar." Bahamut slowly and darkly answered. His voice was so void of mirth and positive feeling that it made Ragnar shudder. His own optimism was quelled. Slowly, the esper stood up from his tree and began to walk forward. "Well, well…General Ragnar Vice, is it?" He addressed him, his voice nearly mocking him. He began to encircle him slowly, looking down on him as he did. As he did that…he made Ragnar feel rather low and small. Ragnar always did when Bahamut looked down on him, because he respected him so much. "You have a new army now, correct?"

"…That's what you wanted me to do, wasn't it?" Ragnar finally managed to respond, nearly choking the words out. He forced himself to look up and look at Bahamut again, though he couldn't look him in the eye. "You wanted me to be a leader. I am. And we've already had our first victory."

Bahamut walked forward a bit more…but then halted. He was right in front of Ragnar now. His gaze was still cold, and glared down on him. Ragnar tried to look up and look him in the eye. However, under his gaze…he felt small again. He could feel Bahamut's aura come over him, and it made him feel uneasy and sick.

"Did you now?" Bahamut simply answered. "Tell me, Ragnar…is your force large enough to take on the New Shinra yet?"

Ragnar blinked a moment, but then shook his head. "No, of course not."

"Of course not." Bahamut echoed, as if that was the natural response. "But…you're force is large enough to be considered a threat, yes?"

The youth hesitated. "Well…um…"

"The answer is yes, Ragnar, whether or not you think that's the case." Bahamut answered. "You've raided a prisoner's mine, attacked an enemy barracks, staged a revolt, and killed about 100 of their soldiers. So yes, you are considered a threat.

"So now think of this… The enemy thinks you are a threat, and yet you are not yet in a position to fight back." Bahamut's voice began to rise in volume and emotion. "The New Shinra is able to send out an army of 20,000 at any given time on short notice. And once they find out where you are…they will be sending out that army with fully armed troops, machine soldiers, heavy artillery, and goodness knows what else…which you now have to fight off with less than a hundred basic guns, untrained people, and while protecting children. You have nodefenses or supplies toforce or weather a siege.You have no exit plan in case they fall on you. You have no back up or place to seek asylum. You don't even have a boat to get these people out from the Northern Continent. Add to that fact that all other prisoner camps in the north will now have twice the amount of guards posted to keep this from happening again…and the fact that this move will cause New Shinra to launch its plans early to try and take the rest of the world…and I would say, for lack of a better phrase…you are in pretty deep crap. Don't you agree?"

Ragnar felt about six inches tall. He hadn't been thinking of any of that. But it was true. Even if he didn't trust Bahamut's judgment, he could hardly argue against any of it. At the thought of that…he paled inside and bowed his head. He felt like such a fool. His master had been right. This whole time, he had been trying to keep him from doing something stupid. That's why he wanted him to stay. But he didn't listen. He was right…he shouldn't have violated the first tenet. And now, he realized he was going to suffer badly for it. He raised his head and looked hopelessly to the esper.

"Well…why didn't you stop me then?"

"Don't use me as an excuse." Bahamut nearly hissed back. "I'm not your mother. I'm not going to keep you from wandering into a busy street. You're a man. You make your own decisions, and you live with the consequences. And if I did…you'd only resent me more. You had already decided. Even if I had told you any of this, you wouldn't have believed me. You wanted your little 'revenge', and that's what you decided on. What I told you wasn't going to make any difference. If I stopped you last night, you would have just looked for another opportunity to get away, and don't deny it."

Again, Ragnar was humbled. Bahamut was right again. The young man felt like both an idiot and low now. He kept his head bowed to the ground. The esper looked down on him. His anger was apparent…but it didn't last. He couldn't stay mad forever at his student, after all. However, as the anger began to fade away, a look of fear began to replace it…and of deep worry. He slowly shook his head at the young man as he looked at him.

"It's no use feeling bad now, Ragnar." The esper stated. "For better or for worse…you're on your own now."

Hearing that, the youth's eyes widened. He looked back up and to Bahamut's face. "…What?"

"I'm done." Bahamut simply answered. "You know it's not my policy to get involved in these things. I won't violate that now. You're on your own. This is your army now. I wanted to give you six more months of preparation…but it's over now. You'll have to make do with what you have, and learn the rest as you go."

The young man was still astonished. "You're…leaving me?"

"I never said this was my battle. It was yours. I don't affair in the battles of humans. My goal was to be your mentor. Nothing more. My time has passed, and the age of the espers has finished. The world will have to find new heroes to defend it. Now is your time."

Ragnar was shocked. He didn't know this would be what it meant. "But…you can't leave me now…" He began to insist.

"You're the one who wanted so badly to start now. So go to it." Bahamut simply answered. "I can't trust you to listen to me anymore. Besides…if you only do what I tell you, you're still dependant on me. You're supposed to be the leader. If you feel yourself unready…you should have thought about that before running off last night."

Ragnar still stepped forward, and got into Bahamut's face. "But I need you! We need you!"

"You know how I hate repeating myself." Bahamut coldly answered, staring back at Ragnar without yielding. "I said I don't meddle in human affairs. If you want me to serve you…then you will have to prove yourself my better in combat, just as always. Do you seriously wish to try in a battle to the death?"

The youth hesitated at that. He stared back at Bahamut, his face flushed with growing fear and anxiety. However, in the end, he swallowed, and then lowered his gaze. Very slowly…he stepped back and away from him. Bahamut watched him coldly as he did so, until he was back in his previous position. The young man slowly inhaled, and then exhaled once again. He shook his head. There was a moment of silence, but then he spoke up quietly.

"…You're right." Ragnar finally said. "This was my choice. I'm the one who formed this force…who led the attack. It is my responsibility. And I can't just let other people tell me what to do if I'm supposed to be a leader…" The young man hesitated here, and slowly sighed. He began to feel very nervous and fearful within…but he also began to realize his duty, and what he had willfully chosen. "I said to myself last night, no matter the consequences, I was going to do this. And now…I have to live with the consequences whether I like it or not."

The esper continued to stare expressionlessly back at Ragnar. As for the youth himself, he tightened his sweating fists nervously. He hated himself now for being so stupid in the end…for refusing to listen to Bahamut. But now, it was too late. And he was right…the time of the espers was over. It was his time now, and his age. He couldn't expect Bahamut to fight this war for him. Now…he was a leader. These people counted on him. He had to try and take care of them now. It was his duty as their leader, a duty he took on himself when he led that first attack back at Icicle Inn. Somehow…he had to keep them alive. He had to lead them to victory. He had no idea how or where to begin…but he had to try.And as best as he could, he would do so.

As Ragnar resigned himself to this fate and feared how he was going to act in the future…he slowly felt a warm grasp rest itself on his shoulders. It was comforting…and encouraging now as he found himself having to abandon being an individual child and become a man. It seemed to feed him strength through his body. He looked up, and saw that Bahamut was standing over him now, looking down on him. His look had turned somewhat somber at this point. However, his blue eyes focused hard into his, and held his gaze.

"…I can tell you this much." He finally began. "Start by gathering whoever you can to fight with you, and establish a base with enough supplies and weapons to sustain them. Then go from there. I'll give you your first step…but that's all. From here on in, I'll only tell you what the Planet wants me to tell you."

Bahamut removed a hand from Ragnar's shoulder, and dipped it into his coat pocket. A moment later, he emerged with a simple paper envelope. He handed this to the young man. Ragnar stared at it a moment, but then took it from his grasp.

"Follow the instructions inside, no matter what they say." Bahamut informed him. "They'll get you started. After that…you're on your own."

Ragnar looked back at him silently, but gave a nod. The two continued to stare at each other for a few moments. Both were silent. In the end, Ragnar inhaled deeply, trying to steel himself inside as much as he could, and then spoke up.

"I guess…this is goodbye."

"For now, yes."

The two looked on a bit longer. One to his favored student, the other to his adored master. They were silent again for a short while. Then, at last, Ragnar leaned forward and embraced Bahamut. The esper was surprised by this for only the briefest moment. Then…he slowly embraced him as well. Though they had been together only a short time, there was a bond between the two of them now. In spite of everything else, they were friends.

"Thank you, master."

"Good luck…my pupil."

The two held for a moment longer, but then finally broke away. Ragnar looked up to Bahamut as he looked back at him. After another pause, Bahamut finally looked away. His face was calm, and his gestures were calm. He looked past Ragnar andinto the Sleeping Forest. Slowly, he began to walk towardit. Ragnar saw him, and followed him with his own gaze. He turned and watched as he went past him and into the mists.Thesilent, mystical wood slowly surrounded him as he moved into it, keeping his back to Ragnar as he did and letting the mist shroud him. Darkness continued to fall, and the trees blocked his view. At long last…he brushed past some leaves…and was swallowed up into the wood. Ragnar saw him no more.

After this, Ragnar inhaled deeply, steeling himself again. Then, he turned away and began to walk back toward the City of the Ancients. As he did, he tore open the envelope, pulled out a piece of paper inside, and began to read the instructions.


"You're leaving?"

"For a week." Ragnar answered a bit later. The sun was down now, and night had fallen. Ragnar had returned to the grove. Many of the people were asleep now. However, a few of the men, Mack included, were still awake and either standing guard or touring the city for a feel of the location, or anything else they'd need. Currently, Ragnar had drawn Mack aside and back to the entrance of the grove. He had read the instructions by now, and he knew what he had to do first. He had disobeyed Bahamut once and suffered the consequences. He wasn't going to do it again. He didn't whisper now, not caring if other people heard. He informed Mack at full volume of his intentions.

"We need food, supplies, and weapons." Ragnar answered. "We won't last up here for very long. Plus, I need to see if I can recruit anyone else to help us."

"I think we'd have to settle for mercenaries." Mack grumbled in reply to this. "And I don't know about you, but I'm a little light."

"We've got no choice." Ragnar answered. "I'm going to head south and try and get a ship to the lower continents. I'll see what I can do there. I'll be back in a week with whatever I can manage."

"What if you can't manage anything?" Mack responded.

Ragnar sighed. "Come hell or high water, I'll be back with a boat to take us off the Northern Continent. Even if I have to sell myself back into slavery or my organs to science."

"What if you can't even get off the Northern Continent?" Mack insisted, still sounding worried and uneasy. "What makes you so sure you can even find a ship taking you off the Northern Continent? There aren't many ports up here…"

The youth leveled his gaze at the man. "You have any better ideas?"

Mack hesitated at that. He stared at the young man for a few moments longer. In the end, he sighed. He crossed his arms and frowned sourly at their upstart leader.

"…You have got to be back in a week. After that, there's no telling what the people here will do."

"I will. I promise."

With that, Ragnar turned and immediately began to walk out of the grove. Mack kept his arms crossed and shook his head as he watched him march off. He let him go for a little while, before he finally called out to him again. "Aren't you even going to take any gear? Food? Sleeping bag?"

"Save it for the others." Ragnar called back over his shoulders, and continued to walk away.

Mack shook his head again watching him. He hoped that escaping hadn't been a bad idea, and that Ragnar knew what he was doing. His ideas had paid off so far…but they hadn't known him that long. He hoped that he could trust him with this too. If they couldn't…they might have only shortened the amount of time it would take for the New Shinra to kill them.


Zola was patrolling the outer rim of the City of the Ancients, near the Sleeping Forest, when he heard a man coming down the path. On doing so, he turned and looked west. It was dark out, but he was able to see well enough past it to detect a shape moving far ahead down the path. It looked a bit like Ragnar. He was marching down and out of the city on the shell walkway. Zola continued to watch him for a moment, keeping his head turned that way, until he saw him step off of the path and go into the woods. After a few moments longer, he had disappeared.

The man merely shrugged. He supposed Ragnar had his reasons. Maybe he was only going to the bathroom. He turned around and looked back to the forest to continue his patrol…

…And found himself staring right into the angry, passionate face of a ghost.

Zola's eyes widened. "You…!"

The man couldn't get out anything else before a hand clamped around his throat. Talons began to break out of the skin on the end of the fingers, and dig into his flesh. Bahamut, sneering at him in human form, lost the human look to his eyes, and they blazed yellow and reptilian instead. He whirled the man around and slammed him against the nearest tree so hard that it cracked a bit underneath the pressure. With that done, Bahamut glared darkly at him with near murderous intent. Zola himself paled and looked down at him in terror.

"You survived for over two thousand years after I left…" The esper sneered. "I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised to see you still here after five hundred. Tell me…do you have any reason I shouldn't kill you now?"

Zola swallowed. He was being held against the tree by the neck, in such a way to let him know that Bahamut could snap it at any moment, but he could still speak and breathe. He shook his head desperately and looked to the esper innocently. "Bahamut…please…you've got me all wrong…"

"Do I?" Bahamut hissed back. He raised his other hand. With a flick, his talons sprung out of the end of it, and he brandished them before the man. "You never show up without him… Where is he? Is he still alive?"

"Bahamut, you know as well as I do that he's dead." Zola stammered in answer. "And even if he wasn't, I wouldn't care. You heard him that day five hundred years ago. He was going to kill me and Noonian, after everything we did for him. I have no loyalty to him anymore."

"Yet you have loyalty to a human only a fraction of your age?" Bahamut challenged. "What do you want from him? What are you plotting?"

"We're plotting nothing!" Zola insisted. "We've been living as humans since that time! We have nothing else! We were captured along with the rest of the townspeople when the New Shinra moved in. We didn't escape from them because we didn't see a point to making ourselves fugitives of humanity again. When the boy showed up, saying he wanted a revolution, I encouraged that! I see this as having something to live for!"

"You declared war on humanity five hundred years ago." Bahamut coldly answered. "Why the change of heart now?"

"Without Wyvern, I have nothing to crusade in favor of." Zola answered. "I formed my own life. I've been living among humans for years now. So long as I look like one of them, they don't cause me any trouble. They haven't been bad since the last of our kind died out. And this one…this kid who was with you…he actually wants to help out the Planet. That makes us on the same side. I don't want to see it destroyed or hurt anymore than you do."

"Really?" Bahamut declared in obvious doubt.

"Bahamut…" Zola went on, being more quiet and slow. "You may find this hard to believe…but with Wyvern gone and me finding my own way in this world…I've had a change of heart. I've seen humans taking care of their own children, laughing, playing…doing everything we do. I've noticed how much we're the same after I change appearances. I actually believe in some of the things you used to believe in now. I want to change from the person I used to be. If I serve Ragnar, that's a way for me to do it. I can actually help the world and atone for some of my crimes. Besides…you know that without Wyvern I have nothing to gain from betraying him."

"Nothing obvious, at any rate…" The esper darkly retorted.

"Would I lie to your face?" Zola innocently asked.

"Only if you wanted to die slowly…because I can see right through you."

With that, Bahamut released his grasp on the man. Immediately, Zola fell to the ground in a heap. Bahamut hadn't choked him, but his throat still throbbed in pain. He reached up and clutched at it, feeling the bruises along it. As for the esper before him, he sheathed his claws and his eyes dimmed back into human form. But he continued to glare down on the man.

"If you or your sister step out of line…I'll be back. I don't meddle in human affairs, but where espers, or half-espers, are concerned…you can count on it."

With that, Bahamut walked by Zola…finishing by giving him a light kick in the side as he did so. The kick had to be light, because as painful as it was, and much as it made Zola fly to the opposite direction and moan in pain…it didn't break any bones. Soon, the esper went back into the woods, and was vanishing into them once more.

As for Zola, he winced as he recovered and then breathed slowly. Most of all, however, he felt tremendous relief at having escaped death. He turned back to the woods and looked nervously out after the esper. However, he did not return. He had disappeared again…or at least appeared to disappear…and had left the half-esper alone. Zola slowly recovered a bit longer, and then rose up from where he stood.

Soon after, he turned and began to make his way back to the City of the Ancients. He had lost his desire to patrol for tonight…


To be continued...