"…For courage under fire and outstanding leadership capabilities, I hereby award you the rank of lieutenant."

A chorus of applause came from the gathered forces as Ragnar presented the former corporal across from him with the award that would upgrade her uniform. He didn't fasten it onto the woman's uniform…for she had none. Ragnar was still the only one with a uniform, which looked a bit ragged at the moment. Red XIII had suggested they come up with a special award for bravery, but Ragnar wasn't of that mind set. Sure, he wanted to congratulate the people who had done incredible acts in his force, but he had gone to long lengths to say earlier that he wasn't presenting awards or honors, and his recorded speech was still saying that on the other continents. Perhaps later he would think of something, but not now.

It had been a day since the battle. Ragnar had awakened the next morning to find many people congratulating him on his planning and bravery, in leading their own tiny force to victory over a much larger and more sophisticated one. But the cheers and celebration had to be put on hold again. There were many to clear out of the valley, and many of their own dead to be buried. Out of respect for the dead, Ragnar also ordered that the New Shinra soldiers be buried in a mass grave, but that their dog tags would be read so that there would be a record for who fell. It was a monumental job. Injured were still being tended to after yesterday as well, and they still needed to be serviced. Some needed to be shipped to real hospital facilities. For now, materia was used until they could secure a way to get them off the continent and back down south. Word was also sent back to Reeve about their victory, so that it could be worked into the propaganda as soon as possible. There was a lot to do, and by the end of the day much was still undone.

The initial meeting tent had been opened up halfway, so that it served as more of a small vestibule from which people could speak. Spread out ahead of it was the army and most of the family members with them. Everyone who could had brought out a chair, but those that couldn't merely sat on the ground loosely in their companies. The high officers sat in front, including Red XIII, Tifa, Cloud, and Barret, and they had brought Denzel and Marlene up with them. Ragnar was glad that Denzel was focused on Cloud now instead of asking how many people he had killed. This meeting here served as a follow up to the previous fight, and also a chance to award various honors to the people around them. That helped their spirits, and made them feel more like a true fighting force.

The former corporal placed the pin in her pocket, and then looked up to grin at Ragnar with her sly, seductive smile. Ragnar struggled not to grimace at it. This corporal wasn't any ordinary officer…it was Noonian. Zola had given her that rank shortly after assuming command of his own unit. She appeared to be good at it, especially after what she had done yesterday along with her brother. Had Ragnar truly grasped what she had done, he might have been anxious. No one could really pay attention to anyone else in the chaos of battle that had transpired yesterday, but if he had…he would have noticed that Noonian and Zola showed battle capabilities that matched…if not rivaled…those of Ragnar's new friends. Neither of them had even broken a sweat that whole fight. However…what Ragnar did remember about Noonian yesterday was how she had laughed…so loud and merry that it sounded almost sadistic…

At any rate, Noonian saluted the general. Ragnar snapped out of it, and saluted back. The audience was still clapping, and Zola, way back in the group with his own unit, stood and clapped hard as well. The woman soon turned shortly after, and then returned to the crowd and to her brother's side. Once she left, everyone else began to quiet down again.

Ragnar looked over the crowd as they did so, and then spoke up again once all was silent. "I have one last award to give out tonight. It is a result of what happened to me in our last battle. I know that I was knocked unconscious for the final portion of it. It worked out this time…but next time we might not be so lucky, and I'll need a second to defer to when it happens. You all know this man already…trust him…and he's already high ranking. However, this will simply make things far clearer in the future. Effective tonight…" Ragnar paused at this…and then looked out to the front row. His eyes soon rested on Cloud. The man, in response, raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely puzzled. However, the youth pointed to him none the less.

"I am promoting Colonel Cloud Strife to the rank of General."

The ex-mercenary's face turned to surprise. But it was too late. The people around him were already applauding. Denzel's face lit up, and he turned to Cloud with a large grin of joy. Soon, everyone was expressing their enthusiasm to the latest news. Cloud himself was a bit flabbergasted. He looked from left to right, and finally back to Ragnar. Once there…his blue eyes narrowed briefly to give him a cold stare that shot daggers. But after that, he swallowed slightly, and then bowed his head uneasily and raised one hand, just to show everyone that he acknowledged them. Denzel, and now Marlene, continued to grin at him as he lowered his hand again and tried to look rather small and inconspicuous. After that, the people began to quiet down again, and looked back to their leader.

"Everyone…" Ragnar announced, taking a more solemn air. "Thank you. Thank you for coming this far and not backing down in combat. I hope you all realize some day how important what you did yesterday was not only to the Planet, but to everyone else on Gaia. I hope they will realize it soon as well, and come to join us. Tomorrow, we have a lot of work to do rearming ourselves and making ready for more troops and equipment. But for tonight…I hope you can all relax and celebrate with your families. You've earned it."


Ragnar looked out at the city from his grove. It was empty, more hallowed now that the army had settled in. And personally…Ragnar didn't want any of his forces drinking beer around this lake. It was too sacred. Here, in his grove, Ragnar felt a bit of silence and peace. He enjoyed it. That wasn't to say that he didn't feel happy for everyone. That also wasn't to say that he wasn't incredibly grateful for all that they had done, and felt that they didn't deserve this. But he found that enjoyed having time to himself to think, and now was one of those times.

Outside the grove, lights from campfires and torches blazed. The sounds of laughing and cheering were drifting in through the entrance. They were breaking out the beer supplies they had tonight. They had little else to celebrate with. Just getting a night off was a pretty good reprieve in and of itself, Ragnar thought. But hopefully, they would have more to celebrate with soon when the news of their victory spread. Of course, things were only going to get worse from here. The New Shinra had extended one of its fingers…but only the smallest and weakest one. Now that the Planet Protector Army had responded by breaking it, they would come back with more. Yet it wouldn't be so easy to gather the troops this time. And they knew that their enemy had the valley well guarded. They had bought themselves a bit of a breather for now. Ragnar really had to pray that they would increase their strength in this time. They needed to be as mighty as possible to have a chance against the next wave…

Ragnar's thoughts were interrupted, however…when he suddenly felt himself seized around the neck from behind. Gagging in surprise, the young man was dragged down a bit and into a hard fist, which began to dig its knuckles into his head. It was rather painful, and caught the youth off guard. He sprawled and struggled to break free.

"Hey! What… Let go!"

In response, his unknown captor released him, letting him fall to the ground in a heap. Ragnar sprawled out on landing, and felt a sharp stab of pain go up his side from a rock he rested on. Gritting his teeth slightly, he looked back up to see who was responsible. He was just in time to see Cloud's tall form cross his arms in front of him.

"You know, when I volunteered for your force…I was alright with being named a Colonel." The ex-mercenary began a bit crossly. "I hated being ranked so high…I would have preferred a Lieutenant. But now you've made me equal to your rank. I didn't ask for that kind of responsibility when I signed on, and I might have reconsidered if I had known that."

Ragnar looked up to him a moment longer, but then sighed and began to push up from the ground again. He bowed his head and shook it as he got up. "Cloud…I thought about this, and I really think it's for the best. You have the most experience with leadership in a crisis situation. You stay cool under fire. You're prudent too. I need a person like you for this position. If I fall down, I'm going to need you just to get the troops out of the area alive."

Cloud frowned as Ragnar finished getting to his feet. "I thought this would have been obvious by now, Ragnar…but I'm a loner. Even when the others were with me, I thought of them as more of tagging along on my own quest rather than me being responsible for them. If you think I'm some sort of great leader, I'm afraid you're sorely mistaken."

Ragnar finished standing and leveled his glare at him. "Cloud…you may not want to admit it, but you're a better leader than anyone else out here. I don't need a person to be responsible for everyone. I need someone who won't lose his head in the middle of a battle, and someone that can organize and motivate people when they're losing theirs. And I know you can do that."

The man rolled his eyes again and kept his frown. Ragnar stepped in and grew more insistent.

"I need you, Cloud. I really do." The youth continued. "I don't know anything about this world or how a military runs. You do. If nothing else, I need your input for that. I don't have enough experience in combat yet. So please…couldn't you help me out with this until I'm fully on my feet?"

The ex-mercenary paused again. He kept looking dark and disagreeable. However, Ragnar's eyes continued to plead with him. He really did need him. Without him, he didn't know how long before he would make a mistake, or what would happen if he fell. He trusted Cloud more than anyone else with him. And so he continued to stare at him. After a few moments more, Cloud sighed and turned back to him.

"…You're not going to make me do your paperwork, are you?"

Ragnar shook his head readily. "No. I'll handle all that stuff. I just need you as a backup or a second. You don't even have to do much more than you're doing now. But I need you in this title. I have to know I can count on you."

The ex-mercenary seemed to frown more at that, and sighed again. He turned away from Ragnar and looked out to the exit momentarily. However, after another pause, he sighed and shook his head, rolling his eyes again as he looked back to Ragnar.

"…I'm going to regret this…but fine."

The youth grinned in response. He felt awave of relief come over him. "Thanks, Cloud. For this and for everything."

The ex-mercenary grimaced and sighed again. "Yeah, yeah…" He murmured back in response. "I just hope this victory does inspire some more people. We did alright this time, but we sure as hell won't next time if we try the same strategy."

Ragnar was well aware of that, but he managed to smile none the less. For now, he was glad that Cloud had agreed. It was some more good news, and news he was eager to receive. After the exchange, both men were silent for a moment. Cloud looked outside again and slowly exhaled. The youth watched him, waiting for him to make a move. For a long time the man did nothing but stare. As the irritation of the new rank passed…Ragnar saw something new come into his eyes. His calming down allowed him to focus on something else. In the end, he slowly exhaled, and then turned back to the young general.

"That wasn't the only reason I came back here." He finally told him. "I also wanted to say…thanks."

Ragnar's brow turned in puzzlement to that. "For what?"

"For making this pool off limits."

The young man paused again. An image of the lovely person came back into his mind, as well as the possibility of who she was. However, on hearing how Cloud said this…on how somber his expression became…and how slow he said this, yet with perfect sincerity, he knew the truth. Ragnar's own face turned a bit dark. Slowly, he turned his head down and toward the clear water, still crystal and beautiful.

"…She's at the bottom of this pool, isn't she?"

Cloud hadn't heard about the incident that happened when Ragnar bathed in the pool, but he had told the young man that an area like this was where they laid her to rest. On hearing this, Cloud looked to the pool as well. He inhaled deeply. His powerful eyes focused on it and turned to stone, not shifting in the least.

"…I thought of jumping in more than once." Cloud finally announced. "Just to see…see if her body was spoiled at all by when they poisoned the water here…"

Ragnar slowly shook his head. "It wasn't."

To this, the ex-mercenary turned his head to Ragnar in slight alarm. "…How do you know?"

The youth looked up, and tried to keep from turning white. He hesitated a moment, realizing he had made a bad slip. "Well…I don't think it would be, at least." The young general finally sputtered out. "I mean…she wasn't the kind of person…from what you said…that sounds like she would have that happen to her."

Cloud stared at him a moment longer…but in the end seemed to accept this. He sighed slowly, and turned back to the water. "…I don't know." He answered the young man. "Sometimes…I'd like to see. But I can't even stand to stare into the water sometimes. I'm afraid…afraid that I'll see her. I don't know what I'd do if I saw her again… Maybe that's why she never let me see her face when we talked after that."

Ragnar stood silently in response. In truth…he didn't want to see her face again either. The last look had enraptured him, even though the woman was dead. And he was still struggling to forget that face that was etched in his brain…

The ex-mercenary snorted and shook his head. "It upsets me sometimes." He went on. "I don't like thinking about her. It doesn't matter that she forgave me. It's…" He hesitated, and then sighed again. "It's…that I don't think I should be thinking about her when I'm with Tifa. It seems…wrong. I honestly don't know if there would have ever been anything between me and her. That night on the gondola…she was the one who leaned over and kissed me. I was just sitting there waiting for it to end… But it's been a year now since I came back…and still I haven't mentioned the 'M'-word once to Tifa. I'm practically a father already, what with Denzel…and even Marlene. But…I'm wondering if I've got something in my mind that won't let her go…and that's why I can't tell Tifa…"

Cloud trailed off here. Ragnar was still listening, and so he turned his head to him when he suddenly stopped. After a moment, the man frowned and shook his head. "Well, look at this…" He snorted. "I barely ever talk to any of my friends, and here I am spilling my guts before a kid I met less than a month ago."

Ragnar grinned and snickered a bit. "It's alright. I don't mind. Goodness knows I told you enough about myself."

Both men were silent after that. Cloud was still staring at the pond. Ragnar looked to him, and saw that dark expression in his eyes… The young man licked his lips, and finally reached out and placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "So…you want a beer?"

Cloud stared at the water a moment longer. But then, he slowly looked up and to the young man. He managed a small smile. "I don't drink…but I better make sure a kid like you doesn't either."

Ragnar smiled and snickered a little, but then began to push a little on Cloud's shoulder, leading him away from the pond. The ex-mercenary hesitated only a moment before complying and turning with him, and then let himself be led away and back to the opening. Soon, both men left the pond behind and passed through the entrance to the grove back into the rest of the city. The cheering and celebration grew louder.

"Hey kid?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell Tifa what I told you…and I'll break your kneecaps."

"Duly noted."


General Leers set down a long case on the railing. Colonel Martiza calmly stepped to his side with a smaller case on one arm, and then waited. Leers hesitated here, and looked out the open window for a moment. It wasn't really a window, in truth. It was the great sliding metal panel in front of his office. Now, it had slid open, and both he and his officer had stepped out into the cold day, feeling an occasional icy breeze whip by them. However, it was nothing. There was more than enough warm air from indoors coming out over him. He was left with a great view of the outside, andin particular the long concrete patio before him.

He was not happy at what he saw.

A battered, dented tank barely managed to drag itself onto the concrete along with two others that were far less damaged. A multitude of troops followed them…but it was a much, much smaller multitude than had left. There were only abouttwo thousand now. Many of them were injured, either burnt or slashed or cut, and were being helped along by their comrades, or were being carried on stretchers. Many had discarded their guns and equipment to be able to move forward easier. Some were swathed in bloody dressings and almost dragging themselves forward. The sweepers that had survived the bloodbath had broken down long ago, and had been abandoned into the snow fields or at the former New Shinra camp.

This…this broken down, weakened, wounded, limping mass was the remains of the 1st Army of the New Shinra. Yesterday evening, Leers had received the news…and now he saw what was left of them on his front lawn. This army that should have secured the entire continent…that should have wiped the insurrection from the face of Gaia…who should have called this evening to tell Admiral Ashiah that the fleet could begin to move south…was smashed. Destroyed. Barely crawling back.

And Leers was not happy.

The general turned to his case. A moment later, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. On doing so, he used it to open locks on latches on the case. Once they were open, he readily popped them, and then turned back to the outside. A small fresh garrison was gathered there. Only about two hundred soldiers, and one red-clothed officer leading them. They stood in perfect formation and attention now, ready to intercept the army as it returned. The three tanks were in the lead. Very slowly, they began to drop their velocity as they neared the front line. Once they reached a mere twenty feet from the red officer, they ground to a halt. The weakened tank sputtered and chugged pitifully before a sound of grinding metal came out…and the tread snapped as it halted. The machine began to belch smoke. It too was a wreck now.

The hatch on the middle tank began to open. As it did, Leers opened his case. A moment later, he pulled out a rather long, almost pole-width barrel. He reached inside again soon after, and pulled out some sort of machinery array, which he began to screw onto the end of it the barrel. He looked back out again while he did so. The hatch was fully open now, and clamboring out of it was none other than the white-haired, black moustached Colonel Zed. He had survived without his tank getting a scratch, it seemed. He looked about as pale as his own white head of hair as he stepped out, nervously taking up his officer hat and pulling it over his head. He trembled slightly as he slid down the edge. Leers continued to watch him as he pulled out a stock from his case and screwed it onto the end of the array. The man smoothed himself out on the field, and then took in a deep breath, trying to steady himself. With that, he began to walk toward the red officer. As he did, Leers removed a scope from his case and screwed that on top of his new assembly. With that, it was complete. It was some sort of rifle, but it looked almost like an anti-tank-gun from how large it was.

As Zed reached the red officer and they exchanged salutes, Leers twisted a few levers and systems on the rifle, lowering its penetration power, and deploying a fixed tripod. He placed that on the railing, and set his gun at the ready, with the stock leaning against him. After doing that, he turned to Maritza. The woman smiled in response with her wily appearance, and then opened her own small case. After doing so, she presented the contents to Zed. It appeared to be six large caliber rifle bullets resting in black foam. Leers let his fingers hover over them a moment before taking the second one from the left. He pulled it out and held it up. In addition to having the normal head and back of a bullet, it also appeared to have some sort of clear area in the middle that contained some sort of green liquid. Seeing this, Leers turned back to his rifle and pressed another button. An automatic motor went off, and opened a small panel in the side of the machinery portion. He inserted the bullet into it, and then pressed another button to shut it. After that, he leaned a bit closer, leveled the gun steady against his shoulder, put his arms around the barrel, and then placed one eye against the scope.

Through the telescopic lens, it was easy to see down and survey the field below. It took only a second for Leers to turn the barrel, and the cross-hairs on his lens, over to Zed and the officer. The lower officer was passing Zed an envelope at this moment, one that Leers had prepared personally with a large, bold-typed message. The colonel hesitated, but then took the envelope from the man. As he began to open it, Leers adjusted the crosshairs so that they were set right in between Zed's eyes. With expert marksmanship, he went almost motionless, holding it there. However, he then waited…waited as Zed opened the envelope. Waited as he took out the paper… Waited as he unfolded it and read it, and Leers read over the words he had written on it just as Zed himself read it…

I don't accept failure.

Leers waited for the slightest hint of surprise from Zed before pulling the trigger.

Martiza's latest sniper rifle had the ultimate in silencers. Leers heard nothing more then whatsounded like a "pft" from a blowgun before he saw blood splatter out from Zed's head. Of course, any true killer knew that shooting a person in the head, even for a sniper, could be unreliable. The brain and skull were ballistic surfaces. The slightest change could cause the bullet to go anywhere, including into a non-essential part of the brain. That, however…was why Leers had Maritza invent the special rounds. Even as Zed fell to the ground…smoke began to come from the head wound. Blood leaked from his ears on landing. After that, the red officer began to step back in growing shock as he saw the forehead of the dead officer begin to cave in on itself as more smoke came from the rapidly enlarging head wound…

Leers stopped looking at that. He had seen enough. On pulling back, he began to unscrew his scope to replace it. Maritiza kept her wily grin as she watched him go about his work.

"Do the acid rounds match your specifications?" She asked, almost merrily. "That was a great shot, by the way…"

"Once it has finished reacting," Leers responded while disassembling his gun, ignoring the colonel. "Take pictures of what's left and make sure the next high officer to move out sees it. I want them to be well aware that if they can't come back without completing a simple mission, then they had better not come back at all. As for the rounds…they're heavy."

Maritza's smile vanished for a moment and became an uneasy grimace. That faded too after a moment, however, and she tried grinning and shrugging again. "It really wasn't his fault, General. From what he wrote in the report, there was no way of knowing that this rebellion would grow, or of knowing that they would have turned the valley into a deathtrap."

Leers paused in the middle of unscrewing his stock, and turned an eye to Maritza. It was cold and piercing…and immediately made the woman pale and hold her tongue.

"Are you trying to defend his utter failure, Colonel?"

The woman continued to look uneasy for a moment, all of her mirth and slyness gone. "Not at all, General. I only…"

"Colonel Zed was somehow stupid enough to lose over 17,000 soldiers to a band of less than 400. He waltzed right into a blatant ambush, and ran away from country folk barely able to lift a rifle, let alone shoot one straight. Now, any hope I had of forcing them to surrender or abandon their defense is gone.In the time it takes me to assemble another force, they'll be fortifying their position and increasing their ranks. I hoped to make a month-long route of the rest of the world…and now, thanks to Zed's utter debacle we have lost the element of fear against the cities of this world. They'll know we can be beaten, and they'll start to organize under this rebellion led by an ex-prisoner. The least he could have done was drove his tank into a kamikaze into their barricade…but he had the audacity to return with his tank not even having fired a shot."

Leers glared at the silent, humbled Maritza a moment longer. She stayed silent and meek. In the end, however, he turned and resumed disassembling his weapons. "Instead of mourning him, Colonel, you should be trying to develop a weapon that will help us be rid of them." He continued as he put his barrel away next, followed by his machinery. "In the meantime, I'm assembling the 2nd and 3rd Armies."

Maritza looked up at this, and raised an eyebrow. "Two armies? Isn't that a bit excessive…?"

"I heard a similar reply to my statement to send the 1st Army." The general darkly retorted. "Right now, I want that insurrection stamped out so badly that I'd send a squadron of Gelinkas to turn that valley and city into rubble if I didn't know it would block the valley from us being able to pass through it."

"…It won't work."

Both Leers and Maritiza snapped around at the sound of the third voice. In a flash, Leers had dropped his barrel, swung into his uniform coat, and returned with a special-looking handgun that fired mako bullets. In less than half a second, the gun was pointed back at the entrance to the room. Both he and Maritiza were silent now as they stared at who had spoken.

Only now, snapped out of the initial surprise…did both officers feel uneasy. That voice…it had been so cold and dark that it seemed to suck the warmth from their bodies. The room seemed to be dimmer now…and the shadows that surrounded the figure on the other side of the room seemed to lengthen. It felt as if an invisible force had gone into their brains and forced down their bravery and strength…and made them feel fear in its place. Leers nearly forgot his own resolve and power on turning. However, he managed to stabilize himself, along with Maritza, and looked beyond.

A humanoid figure stood there. It wore some sort of long, black cape/coat, and it kept the hood drawn low over its head. It hands and feet were both clothed in black, and what looked almost like chains were crossed in front of it, holding the coat closed. For its face, one could see nothing but darkness. It stood there motionlessly as the sliding doors to the office slowly closed behind it, never moving or showing any sign that it was anything more than a wraith…

"Send all the troops and weapons you can devise…" A slow, thick, male tongue continued, its voice deep and dark. "They will all be destroyed. You cannot beat them…nor the one who leads them…so simply."

"Who the hell are you?" Leers responded, at last getting enough courage and force to speak. "How did you get up here?"

A short, cold laugh came from beneath the hood. It seemed to make Leers' and Maritza's hearts freeze as it sounded. A black gloved hand began to raise from the figure's side. Leers prepared himself to fire. "Perhaps…this will show you how."

The general frowned, and nearly pulled the trigger. But before he could…what felt like an invisible line on his gun was yanked hard. The force was so strong that to his helpless shock he saw the weapon ripped from his grasp. Both he and Maritza continued to gape as they saw the pistol go straight away from Leers, and sail right for the new visitor. When it reached him, he calmly finished raising his hand to snatch it from the air. After that…he calmly and easily made a fist. To the surprise of both officers, the gun was immediately crushed like arotten bananna. Fragments of metal and ammunition dribbled from the closed black fist of the man…before he simply opened his hand and let the wreck of a weapon fall to the ground.

"You silly humans and your toys…" The mansnorted at the gesture.

Leers was frozen. He forced himself to keep a straight face, but by now he was growing fearful. Whatever this thing was, it couldn't be human. And it had great powers too… This wasn't…Sephiroth, was it? He was supposed to be dead by now, right? He didn't know. It was all he could do to maintain his expression and poise. However, after a moment more, he had to truly restrain himself from stepping back as the figure took a step forward.

"I can smell the fear you're trying so hard to hide from me." The dark voice sounded from the hood. "I'll tell you right now…you have no reason to fear me. Relax. I'm the answer to your small dilemna named Ragnar Vice."

Neither officer moved. Maritza looked once to Leers, and then back to the dark figure. The general himself straightened up a bit. This figure, whatever it was, seemed to be interested in that. And as a result, he realized he didn't have to be afraid at the moment. He might soon, but for now, he turned his attention away from the sudden appearance of this man and how he came, and turned solely to what he said. "Are you, now…?" He answered as calmly as he could. "And who might you be? A mercenary? An ex-SOLDIER?"

Another dark laugh sounded, making the general stiffen.

"Please… Just think of me as…an interested third party. To me, it doesn't really matter whether or not your army is defeated by this new Planet Protector Army. However…there are certain individuals within it that I am very interested in…as well as the person they represent. And to that end…I'm willing to help you reach your goal."

Maritza leaned in a bit, and cocked an eyebrow to this new arrival. Her own confidence was returning a bit, now that the initial surprise had passed. "Oh really?" She returned. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

"Like I said," The figure answered. "In terms of straight physical force, you cannot prevail against this enemy. I know who backs them. However…they are very susceptible to being destroyed from within. I do not think even they realize how vulnerable they are at this point. But I do. And all I want in return is the chance to indulge myself in their vulnerability."

The officers were silent again. To Leers…this sounded rather mysterious, and a bit crazy. It was also rather vague. What was this man talking about? What was he after? The General hated the idea of listening to him, and had he been anyone else he would have thrown him out. However…after what he had done to his pistol, he was willing to go on faith for a little while longer. He was much calmer now, and managed to take a step forward toward the man…a bit deeper into the darkness that surrounded him.

"…And…exactly who would I be giving this chance to?"

Another light laugh from under the hood…the darkest yet. After that, however, the black gloved hands slowly raised up and lightly pulled back the hood. The man beneath was revealed. His hair was slicked back and long…and was as dark as a moonless midnight. His skin was pale and nearly as white as snow, looking like it hadn't seen light in ages. His face was cruel and yet handsome, twisted back into some look of sadism or maliciousness. His grin was like that of a death's head. Finally…his eyes. His burning, red eyes… They were a deep blood red, and yet…they seemed so much older than the man who owned them…so much stronger than his body was…

"My name…is Nrevyw."


To be continued...

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok...by now some of you are groaning, some of you are sighing, and others are probably saying: "Oh come on...not again!" However, before you do, I'll go ahead and tell you that this is going to be the last "Wyvern Battle" in "The Wyvern Battles". After this, "The Wyvern Battles" portion of "The Servant" will finally be over. (I told you it would last a while.) In terms of what I have written down and not posted, I'm nearly finished with "The Wyvern Battles". After that, I'll finally move on to the fourth saga of "The Servant"... So hang tight. This time, it's not going to simply be "Bahamut meets Wyvern, Bahamut fights Wyvern, Bahamut and Wyvern kill each other, Bahamut waits to come back so he can fight Wyvern again". I promise.