"What's wrong with her?"

"As far as we can tell, nothing." The field doctor answered with a shrug. "It seems to be a case of acute fatigue. Other than bed rest, I can't suggest anything else for her."

Ragnar turned his head back over to Cloud and Tifa. They were still holding hands, still smiling at one another. It was a happy sight, and Ragnar wished he could smile at it. Yet considering the environment of the rest of the medical tent…he had little to be happy about. The field nurses and doctors were running around everywhere. Every cot was filled, and some were resting on mats on the floor. Gunshot wounds, shrapnel damage, burns, and lacerations covered them all. Some were holding out well. Others were groaning in agony. Still others the doctors struggled with, trying to get them stabilized before it was too late. It was horrible.

The youth bowed his head, clenched his teeth, and tried not to shed any tears. He also struggled not to punch at the walls. It was the opposite of what had happened last time. Now, they were the ones who had suffered the crushing defeat. And he hadn't even been there to help. Granted, if he could think logically enough, he would have seen that his presence would have made little difference. He could have kept the deserters from leaving, but he wouldn't have been able to stop their new weapons or the sabotage. Still, he hated himself. He had saved Cloud's life…but compared to the rest of this, was that an even trade? How many people would have lived if he had stayed? How much damage could he have avoided? How big would their army still be? Would they at least have had the power to drive off the enemy as well, make it a draw? And now…all these people were suffering... Some were handicapped for life. Some were dying…

...I guess this is the ugly side of war that you wanted me to see, Master.

The young man could have easily just retreated to his chamber and mourned. He hadn't expected anything nearly so brutal and vicious. And he continued to feel the weight of guilt on himself for having not been there. It was a good thing he was a bit roughed up, dirty, and bloody. If he hadn't been, the army might have truly been furious at him for not being there, and accused him of hiding. Still…that didn't stave off his own disappointment with himself…his own feelings of regret…

However, there was no time for that. They had only bought themselves a little safety. Now, they had to get going. They had precious little time. In addition…much to Ragnar's fear…there was no telling when Wyvern could break off from Bahamut…and come back to try and finish the job. He didn't know if running would really help them, but they had little other choice.

"…Do you want me to take a look at that leg, General?" The doctor finally asked, after Ragnar had been silent for a long time. "Your head doesn't look too well either."

The young man turned back and shook his head. "It's fine. I'll live. I won't take up any more space that these people need. Doc…I hate to do this to you, but I need you to patch up the critically injured as best as you can over the next hour…then start moving the people out. We can't afford more than that."

The doctor recoiled a bit, and looked uneasy. That wasn't a lot of time. In the end, however, he bowed his head, and gave a slight nod. "We'll do our best."

"Doctor?"

The man looked up again at this. "Um…yes sir?"

"Tell me you'll do it in one hour." Ragnar answered, his face turning stern and hard. It wasn't a wish for a hope. It was a command.

The doctor was taken aback for a moment, and looked uneasy. But in the end, he stiffened himself, and gave a nod. "…We'll do it in one hour."

"Keep telling yourself that." Ragnar finished, and then turned away from him, leaving him to his work. He began to push through the rest of the doctors, nurses, and standing patients, and made his way back to the tent flap entrance. It was chaos in here. Many people were talking, and some were shouting. It was also rather thick. Outside he knew would be no better. The army was disorganized. Some officers were without teams. Some teams were without officers. Many of the people were still scared and nervous. A few had taken off and run when the retreat was given. The officers that were still there were struggling to maintain order. Luckily, most of the veterans from the first battle were holding out. Ragnar would need them to help keep things in line…

As Ragnar was about to reach the tent flap…he suddenly froze. This close to the exit, sound from outside was beginning to come in from the barely-open flap. He listened to it for a moment…and recognized what was going on. It registered in his brain…and instantly set off his emotions. His face turnedhard. His jaw clenched…and his knuckles cracked as his hands balled into fists. Nearly pushing those left out of his way, Ragnar stormed forward to the flap and threw it open, andstormed out into the night.

The rain had finally stopped. People were running around everywhere, scrambling to get things together and get them ready to move. The electric lights were already being powered down, trying to prevent a possible air strike or allowing the enemy to see where they were. Fires now lit things up. The tent to Ragnar's right across the lane was already being struck. But he ignored all of that, as did most of the people. They were focused ahead on a ring of soldiers. All of them had their guns out, automatic or rifles, and were pointing them in the center.

"Freeze!" One soldier yelled.

"I just-"

"Put your hands on your head or we'll open fire!"

"Alright! Just let me-"

"Get on your knees!"

"I need to talk-"

"On your knees now!"

"I have to talk to the general!"

"This is your final warning!"

"Just…just wait-"

Ragnar's speed increased during the time. Nearly shoving the soldiers out of the way, he marched right up to the ring and broke into it. The soldiers inside immediately held fire, turning their attention to him. But he didn't notice. His green eyes were locked on the man in the center. Until now, he had been going down to his knees with his hands behind his head. But as the man entered, he stood up once more and put his hands down to his side. His face immediately went into a tense expression, and he held his hands up defensively.

"General…please. I have to…"

That was all he got out before Ragnar slugged him across the face for all he was worth. However, despite the power of the blow, Zola's face barely shifted a few inches before turning back. He still had the tense and anxious look on his face afterward. However, Ragnar wasn't finished. Gritting his teeth, he hit Zola again and again afterward, smacking his face one way and the other. Each strike was strong enough to put a man like Barret on the ground. Yet Zola barely snapped his head one way or the other, and stepped back as he did only gradually. Growling, Ragnar pounded him in the stomach next, but the effect was similar. Finally, overcome with rage, he backed up and dove forward, seizing Zola by the throat and throwing him to the ground. He landed on his back. Immediately, Ragnar got on top of him, and crushed his throat for all he was worth.

"You bastard!" He screamed in his face. "You damn traitor! How could you do this! Huh! How could you do that to Cloud? To Tifa? To the army? To me!"

Despite how hard he was trying to throttle Zola, the man below him wasn't having any trouble breathing. He looked panicked and cringed none the less, however. "I…I had no choice… Wyvern would have killed me if I didn't…"

"Then why didn't you die!" Ragnar spat back at him. "Just like you always claimed you would for me!"

Seething in anger, the young man removed one arm from the man's neck…just so he could smash him in the face as fast and as hard as he could. Up and down his fist went while the other soldiers watched in shock, watching him beat Zola for all that he was worth. They watched until Ragnar's knuckles began to split and bleed, and bruises and swelling began to spread out on them. But through it all, he continued to hit Zola in the face.

But for all of what Ragnar was doing, in the end the only one looking hurt was himself. The other army units were surprised as they saw Zola barely move his head each time the fist came down before snapping back. He winced a few times, but never did a single bruise or contusion form on his face. In fact, at one point, Ragnar managed to hit him hard enough to force his lip back into his teeth, splitting it open. However, the cut barely managed to ooze a single drop of blood before it closed up again, and again Zola was unaffected. As Ragnar continued to try and beat him within an inch of his life, Zola called out in between blows, grunting between his teeth.

"It's…useless…to try…and hit…me… I'm too…strong to…be killed…by a human's…bare hands… And I…regenerate…from all…injuries…"

Ragnar stopped hitting at this, but nearly seemed ready to foam at the mouth. He sprung off of the creature and shot to his feet. But that was only so he could turn his bloody hand behind him and seize the hilt of Ragnarok. A moment later, and the sword of fire cut a blazing arc through the air before it was leveled right at Zola's throat. It hovered a mere millimeter above his neck.

"Can you regenerate from this?" The young general nearly snapped.

Zola's pupils shrank. He swallowed, the lump in his throat just scratching the tip of Ragnarok as it raised and lowered. He began to sweat coldly. Until now, he had looked meek and lowly before Ragnar. But now, he looked even more so. He clenched his jaw and stared up at Ragnar with timid, fearful eyes. He didn't make any display of begging. He just lay flattened against the ground, ready to be slain by Ragnar at a moment's notice.

"Give me a reason." Ragnar coldly stated after a moment. "Any reason at all…why I shouldn't kill you right now."

Zola swallowed. His tone turned insistant. "…I'm not with him anymore, Ragnar. I've turned my back on him for good. I'm with you all the way now. I don't care if he kills me-"

"That means nothing to me." The young man retorted, cutting him off. "Swearing you'll serve me meant nothing to you before. It doesn't now. You'll have to do better."

"…He told me to kill Tifa." Zola continued, trying to make his voice as steady as possible. "I'm a basilisk. He wanted me to use my power to turn her into stone, then smash her. I did turn her into stone. He was watching me when I did that. But once I was clear, I turned her back. I realized it wasn't worth losing whatever I had in this world to cater to a merciless, insane master."

"That sounds very noble of you." Ragnar sarcasticly returned.

"I ran back with her." Zola continued. "I tried to warn the army not to fire off the artillery rounds, but I didn't get in range in time. But I did get there in time to tell them not to try and detonate the cliff rockslide traps. Ask Colonel Nanaki. I talked to him myself."

"You could have just been trying to make sure you still had a place in our army after this was all finished." Ragnar replied, although his voice had lost some of its danger by now.

"I know you have no reason to believe me…" Zola went on, his voice growing insistant. "I know saying I'm sorry won't help. I know that you won't trust anything that I say. But if there's anything I've ever said before that was true, it's this. The greatest betrayal I felt today was the one I did against you. Had not Wyvern returned…the thought would have never crossed my mind. You're a great and noble spirit. You actually care about the things that the espers once cared for. Your inner light was what attracted me to you in the first place. And I hoped…I hoped that I could have one day been your friend." The creature hesitated after that, and then let out a long exhale. His eyes looked back up to Ragnar…and they started to shimmer as they nearly begged him.

"That will probably never happen now… I know I've made a terrible sin…far worse than anything that Wyvern ever dreamed up that his brother did to him. The only way I can try to atone for what I've done is by fighting now. It's the only way I can prove my loyalty again. I have to be allowed to fight, general. I have to try and make up for the lives who perished on my account. I don't care if you treat me like a dog. I don't care if I live in a dark cell the rest of my days. I don't care if you beat me daily. I don't even care if you kill me after this war is done. Just…please…please let me do something now. Let me fight now. Let me prove to you that I truly serve only you. Let me make up for the damage I caused working under Wyvern."

The young general hesitated. Inside, he still felt boiling hatred for the creature beneath him. He was a liar and a fiend in his eyes. If what he said was true…which it seemed to be given Tifa's condition…that only made him hate him more. Zola's actions had caused Cloud to run off, and had nearly killed the both of them. What more…he couldn't imagine anyone doing something so terrible to another human being. He saw his flesh exterior…but inside he knew he was a monster.

And yet…if what he said was true, then he also brought Tifa back. He had also warned the army about an act of sabotage that could have killed a hundred of them. Of course, as Ragnar had feared, he could have been lying. He could have been trying another trick, getting himself engrained back in the army to cause more mischief later. However…Ragnar was not a fool. He saw how the beast quivered beneath him, how he submitted himself totally to Ragnar's aggression. He didn't even try to defend himself here, strong as he was. He merely let his words be his only defense. Eyes were the windows to the soul…and his looked so large and innocent right now, begging Ragnar for mercy and another chance. He didn't even sound like he wanted the same status. All he wanted to do was live to fight. Like he said, a chance to atone…

But it could be another trick. It could be hypnotism…suggestion…anything. Ragnar couldn't even be sure that the pity he was feeling was his own or forced upon him. And so…he continued to hold Zola beneath his blade. A large part of him told him to simply kill the monster and be done with it. Had Ragnar been anyone else, he might have. However, there was another part of him besides his merciful portion. There was the one who loved the history of the ancient world and the espers. Vile as this creature's act had been…he still had one of the last traces of true esper blood in his body. He had lived to see the Fourth Age begin. Something so old and natural he couldn't stamp out so easily.

In the end, Ragnar inhaled deeply, and then spoke out.

"…You will be restrained for the remainder of the evacuation. Your fate will be decided afterward. As for Colonel Nanaki…I'll ask him myself about if your report was true."


Red XIII had brought some things along shortly after his initial week at the camp. A few items of reading material and projects, mostly. After all, he was still the head of Cosmo Canyon, and its chief historian. That had once been his grandfather's job…and he couldn't put it on hold that easily. It was the best way to remember him, and to hope to one day know as much as he did. In addition, it seemed that his new general had a very high interest in the ancient creatures known as espers as well as in the Cetra. With his knowledge of the Cetra language, the beast truly thought that Ragnar already knew more about the Cetra than he did. But he still wanted help…and Red XIII wanted to build a book to translate their previously unknown language as well…

Luckily, Ragnar had been kind enough to provide him with a shell house to place his material, to protect it from weather. This was where the colonel was headed now, when he was finally relieved of his responsibility of command. He too had to prepare to evacuate, and that meant he had to get his materials together as well. He feared he would have to abandon many of them…so he hoped to at least get everything that didn't have copies and hide the rest. Perhaps someday they would be back for them… As others rushed about to get their other matters done, the lion/wolf stepped through the flap and entered.

The beast was immediately on alert. The lights were on inside, and not just the natural ones. That made him pause a moment, before going in the rest of the way. He heard a loud noise. Silent as the beast was, it was impossible to hear him over it. And it was because of that…that the other occupant of the room didn't notice him right off the bat.

Red XIII stopped once inside. Oblivious to him, he saw that someone was ransacking his room. All of the books were open and the pages pulled out of them. The scrolls he brought were unrolled, and lying in disshelved piles around the chamber. It was obvious that some had been read and then discarded without any respect. And in the back of the chamber, near the cushion that Red XIII reclined on to work and read, was the perpetrator. It took Red XIII only a moment to notice that it was a female officer of the Planet Protector Army. She was tearing open another book right now and shaking out all of its notes and details. Once she had done that, she flung it to one side and then seized up the notes, beginning to look over them.

The beast sat down calmly as she continued, still not making a noise. Finally, he spoke.

"You know…it took me about four years to categorize these tomes properly and organize my notes on them."

The officer froze and immediately spun around in surprise. Red XIII soon found himself looking right at the face of Lieutenant Noonian. He felt the hair on his neck begin to bristle. He had heard Ragnar's brief rendition of the story. Although he wasn't sure about her being a monster…he believed him immediately about her being a traitor. She could smell the fear and anxiety on her as she turned, like a rat caught in a trap. For once, her sly seductive look had broken. Instead, she looked to the beast nervously. She turned her head one way and the other, as if looking for a clean escape. There wasn't one. Red XIII stood in the only doorway. After a moment, she turned back to him.

"C-C-Colonel Nanaki… I…I thought you were leading the evacuation…"

"There was no need." Red XIII calmly answered. "General Ragnar has returned with General Cloud, and he has assumed command."

Just as Red XIII suspected…he saw a flash of surprise flood into Noonian's eyes at that. She quivered a little, and she had a harder time maintaining composure. "Oh…truly?"

"You sound almost a little surprised." Red XIII asked, leveling his one good eye at her. "Nevermind that. What are you doing in here, tearing apart my private library for?"

The woman paled again. She clenched her fists for a moment.

"…I asked you a question, Lieutenant."

Noonian continued to hesitate for a moment longer. Then, abruptly, she stiffened…and suddenly turned and bolted to the side. Red XIII knew there was no way to escape in that direction, and initially he was surprised. That was…until something suddenly happened to her. Her body suddenly looked as if a liquid or something washed over it. To his surprise, Noonian became translucent, as if a cloak of reality was spread over her. It was much like it had been with Yuffie. However, she seemed to do it all on her own… At any rate, she made for the door after this.

Red XIII, however, was smarter than she thought. Not only was he blocking the way, but he could still smell her and hear her quite distinctly. Although his ability to use materia was diminished, he had enough for one more blast…and he had one other materia inside his headdress. Immediately, he snapped back, sprung onto all fours, and aimed his head at her as he yelled out his move. "Dispel!"

An invisible force seemed to strike the distortion, and it was as if she had run into a brick wall. Red XIII suddenly heard Noonian cry out as she spilled back and landed on her back. That was odd. He didn't think that Dispel had any sort of painful effect… However, his suspicions were soon confirmed. The woman had to be using some sort of technique to cloak herself. He wasn't aware of a materia that allowed one to use invisibility, but there had to be one…for now it seemed as if reality-colored paint had been thrown on her. As it did, bleeding colors of her true body began to come over her form, making her become visible once more.

But as the beast looked on, his face slowly turned into one of puzzlement and surprise. She wasn't just becoming visible again…

As he watched her, she seemed to be in pain. She writhed along the ground, and rolled over on herself, crying out. Her hands…seemed to be lengthening. It was like more bones were inserting themselves in them. Her neck began to extend as well. Her head was stretching out from her body…and her face was distorting. Her legs were shrinking, and her knees bent in backward. Suddenly…her clothing was ripped from her body. But her breasts were already melded into her chest, and it began to lengthen as well and become thin. Her hair fell out, and her skin began to turn gray as her mouth enlarged. Her arms continued todistort…and the skin began to extend out from it like some sort of flap. A long tail erupted from her back and extended behind her. Her teeth turned sharp and dagger like, and her mouth enlarged as her eyes turned reptilian.

At last, it stopped. The creature that had been Noonian flipped around and rested on its ventral side. It tucked its two clawed legs beneath it to position itself, and folded a large pair of leathery wings that had been its arms to its side. Its long neck flashed about, revealing a head that was almost like a dinosaur's…a predatory one. It flashed its reptile look over to Red XIII…and the mammal was so stunned that he backed away a step. His one remaining eye expanded as his jaw loosened. The creature didn't show fear anymore. Instead, it began to grin evilly. It unfurled its wings and began to flap. Soon, it was taking off into the air, and beginning to hover in the shell house.

"…Ragnar was telling the truth." Red XIII uttered, his mouth open and staring blankly at the thing that Noonian had become. "You are a monster."

"I guess my cover is blown now." Noonian hissed in a thin, snake-like voice. "And how unfortunate it is for you, mongrel, that you have seen me like this. Now I'll have to kill you."

With surprising speed, the creature swept down on Red XIII. Even with his reflexes and power, he couldn't dodge in time. The thing was on him and seized him by the shoulders with its outstretched talons. Immediately, it dug in, drawing blood and making the beast yell in pain. Then, with even more surprising strength, the creature yanked Red XIII off of the ground and violently flung him across the room. A moment later, the beast smashed painfully into the house, smashing the shelves on the wall, and collaping into a pile of furniture and junk. He smashed down flat against the ground, and held there a moment. His body ached with pain. He hadn't expected such a powerful attack…

Noonian gave out a cry, and began to shoot over to the beast again. On hearing this, Red XIII's one eye widened, and he quickly sprung back onto his feet. He turned to the thing, and saw it approaching. He gave a snarl and bared his teeth, and then reared back and brandished his claws. Barking viciously, he darted forward and leapt at the creature. However…Noonian simply adjusted her path to be over him, and seized him by the claws as he soared through the air at her. After digging in to draw more blood, and letting out a horrible snake laugh, she flung him across the room again, smashing him even harder into the opposing wall. Some of the Cetra lamps were smashed, and as he tumbled down…he began to feel rather bruised. Red XIII was stunned after he fell flat, and only slowly shook his head and rose back to his feet again…

That, however, was too slow. Suddenly, he felt Noonian's claws sink into his shoulders again, and he felt his body ripped off of the ground and flung across the room again. This time, he cracked a part of the wall before collapsing to the ground in a heap. Noonian seized him and flung him again after that…and again after that. The room was soon being smashed up all around them. Red XIII's papers went everywhere. The story orb for the building was destroyed. Still, Noonian cackled with delight as she tossed him about like a toy. The beast didn't even have the time to formulate a counterattack.

Finally, Noonian flung him especially hard into one wall. He nearly broke a hole through this one before collapsing to the ground. Once he fell, he lay there and panted a moment. He had lacerations all over his upperbody from talon wounds, staining his orange fur red. He didn't think he had any broken bones…but he knew some were bruised. His own body was in agony from having been beaten so badly, and he could only stiffly move. Very weakly, he turned his head over and looked up to his attacker, managing to form another growl and sneer.

The creature cackled with delight as it flew over him. Noonian was getting joy from this, just like she had felt joy in killing the New Shinra. She ran her thin tongue over her teeth as she held up her claws, letting Red XIII see his own blood dribble from them as she swished them. After that, she gave out another cry/laugh before diving forward to hit him again…

And a moment later, Red XIII saw her body violently snapped out of the air and flung across the room as well, to smash her into a wall. She cried out in pain before she hit the wall, cracking it herself, and then groaned as she slumped down to the ground. She looked like some sort of great bat that had been smacked out of the air, and as she landed on the floor she staggered about to try and get her bearings. The beast turned and looked up to see who his savior was…

He was just in time to see Cait Sith's moogle retract his spring loaded fist and reattach it to his wrist. The cat himself stood on top of it and pounded his chest in victory.

"That's how you swat a big bug!" He cheered.

However, even as he yelled out in pride…his voice slowly turned down as his enthusiasm died. Noonian hissed from where she was, before springing back into the air and flapping her wings again. She turned around and glared at the new opponent. Blood was oozing from her mouth…but as Cait Sith watched it was slowly drawn back into her jaw and then vanished. She crackedit once, and then dove for the moogle and its rider.

Cait Sith gulped in fear, and gave out a cry of surprise as the creature came forth with mouth open, seeming ready to bite him in half. However, just as she was about to hit him, in mostly a panic move, he made his moogle swing its arms up together in a double-fist blow as he struggled to shield himself. It was just right, however, and the moogle caught Noonian under the chin. The force was so great that the creature got thrown up into the ceiling, and smashed her head into it. A second later, her body went limp again, and Cait Sith slowly stopped cringing and managed to look up to it. As dust slowly rained from the ceiling, the stuffed robot blinked. Noonian's head was embedded in a crack in the ceiling, and the rest of her body hung down like some sort of decoration.

The cat blinked again, and then let out a sigh of relief. Pulling at his cape around his neck, as if it was too tight, he slowly straightened up again. "Um…yeah…like I was saying…" He said after a moment. "That's how you swat a big-"

Cait Sith's line was cut off as the ceiling was suddenly ripped down in part. Eyes flashing with violence and bloodthirst, Nooniantore her head out and sneered viciously at the robot beneath her. If the cat could have wet itself, it would have at that point. Instead, it let out a yelp of terror and tried to dive behind the head of its strange mount. However, it never got the chance. Noonian swept down dangerously, and seized him in her talons. Within a moment, he was ripped from the back of his moogle and taken back in the air, held far from where it could save him. The cat trembled in fear as one claw wrapped around his throat, and the other wrapped around his body. Hovering in mid-air, Noonian raised the robot to her mouth and glared at it.

"…Bug…" The cat finished pathetically.

"You damned toy…pathetic machination of a human…" Noonian hissed. "Why don't we find out if you have more stuffing or gears inside you?"

Cait Sith grinned innocently, his slit eyes expanding in terror, and waved his arms in a cutting motion. "No, no! I'm more gears! There's no need to look!"

The creature hissed, and began to tighten its grasp to do as it threatened. Cait Sith's smile faded, and he began to quiver again…

Before a huge roar sounded behind them both. Noonian looked up…but was too late to turn around. Cait Sith saw…and watched as Red XIII, beaten as he was, managed to get enough power to leap into the air and pounce on his foe. He spun around in a somersault when he reached her, extending his razor-sharp feather…and letting it cut a deep gash into her back, going all the way into her spine. Screaming in agony, Noonian released Cait Sith, and let him fall to the ground with another cry of panic. As for Noonian herself she writhed painfully in the air a moment. But even she couldn't regenerate that fast from this. She collapsed out of the sky and fell back to the ground once again. She sprawled out on landing, falling flat against it.

A moment later, Noonian attempted to feebly drag herself up and away. Her back was already starting to heal, but she needed more time. But that was too late. Snarling, Red XIII leapt on her back, brought his jaw down, and clamped it on her throat. He made sure to let his massive mouth enclose part of her carotid, and not just her jugular. With that done, he ripped out furiously…and tore out a massive mouthful of Noonian from the side of her neck and head. The creature yelled in agony once more. However…the loss of blood to her brain immediately made her relax. Her reptilian eyes lowered, and her cry died down to a moan. As blood fountained through the gaping wound, she groaned once and then let her head fall. She moved no more.

Red XIII spat out the wad of reptile flesh in his mouth. He looked down to her back. It continued to knit for a moment longer…but then slowed down and stopped. Blood began to flow from it. He waited until then, and then let his head fall as he panted. He wobbled a bit on his four paws. His tail only flickered about slowly. His one remaining eye drooped. However…it was over. This creature could regenerate, but apparently it only had a threshold that went so long. Severing the carotid caused it to lose too much energy before it could grow back. At any rate…it was dead.

As the beast perched over his kill, a groan was heard from within the room. Red XIII turned his head to look at the assorted rubble covering the floor. As he watched, a few smaller pieces of debris were pushed aside before Cait Sith stood…his crown a bit bent as it rested on his head. He shook it a moment later, mimicking being dazzled, and then looked to Red XIII. His face turned to surprise. He looked down at the dead Noonian, back up to Red XIII, and then down again. Realizing he had killed it, he grinned and turned back up to the lion/wolf.

"Thanks a bunch, Red XIII. You saved my…well…let's just say you saved me." Cait Sith answered, wiping its plush brow in relief. "If there's anything I can ever do to pay you back, just name it."

Red XIII panted a bit longer, but then turned to the stuffed animal. "…Just stick to using your moogle as your mount from now on…and don't use me again."

The stuffed toy rolled his eyes at that. "You're still angry about that? I told you ten times…he was getting an oil change…"

The lion/wolf sighed and shook his head. Slowly, with a bit of a limp, he walked off of the dead flying reptile. As he did, Cait Sith snapped out of his irritation, and looked back down to it himself. He gave a frown and scratched his head. "But what would a big…mean…regenerating…and, leave us not forget, talking monster like that be doing in your room…" The cat looked up at this, and gave a look around at the chamber. After that, he raised one eyebrow, and turned to Red XIII. "…Ransacking your stuff?"

"As far as what she was looking for, I have no idea." Red XIII answered as he plodded over to one of his discarded books. "But as for why she was here…that's simple. That thing was Noonian."

On hearing that, the cat's slits for eyes widened again, exposing the black dots underneath. "Um…is my audio system off? Did you just say that was Noonian?"

"You heard me correctly." Red XIII answered as he reached the book, and then began to reach down in an attempt to close it again using his paws. "I don't know what she was…or how she managed it…but somehow she was a monster that managed to find a materia that disguised her as a human." After saying that, however…the beast raised his head. His eye narrowed, and he thought for a moment. "Unless…"

Cait Sith turned his own head curiously at the beast. "…Unless what?" He asked when he didn't answer after a moment.

Red XIII paused a second longer, but then shook his head. "Nevermind that. The point was…perhaps we should have taken Ragnar a bit more serious in some of the fantasy parts of his story. He told us that Zola and Noonian were both monsters. After what just happened…it's obvious that he was at least half right."

The stuffed toy looked uneasy after hearing that. He turned back to the dead body, and winced a bit as he started to crawl over debris on the ground and get himself into a clear area, so that he could walk back to his moogle. He seemed transfixed by it. After a moment, he finally turned back to Red XIII.

"Say…you think that if Ragnar was telling the truth about Zola and Noonian…" He hesitated here, and looked a bit more uncertain. "You…you don't suppose… Maybe…maybe he was telling the truth about that other stuff? Being chosen by the Planet? Trained by Bahamut? Hearing…you-know-who?"

Red XIII paused at that, and raised his own head up slightly. Slowly, he inhaled and exhaled.

"…I don't know. But I'm beginning to think we signed up for more than we bargained for when we enlistened in this army."

"…Did I interrupt something?"

Both Red XIII and Cait Sith looked to the door after hearing that. What they saw was a dumbfounded General Ragnar standing in the frame, looking about in amazement at the wreck…and especially at the dead creature inside.


An hour later, every car that could run was moving out. They were loaded to the brim with the critically wounded. However, there still wasn't enough space, even when the doors to the flatbeds on some of the trucks were opened. Many others had to be carried out by two men teams. Both they and the vehicles themselves were surrounded by armed troopers, marching out as well. The cars weren't going that fast, just fast enough to let the marchers keep up with them. Many of these people were weighed down with extra guns, ammunition, supplies, pieces of machinery, or tent material. Still others carried them on their shoulders in teams like porters. In the end, unfortunately, much of the tents and equipment had to be abandoned. They simply didn't have the room. Everyone had been up since the crack of dawn, and were exhausted from battle. Most of them could barely march themselves, let alone carry anything out. The only reprieve they could get was hanging onto the handle of a passing vehicle.

They were a sad, weary sight as they started to move…but they were moving. After the hour, the medical team was prepared to move out. It would take a while to get everything totally abandoned, but it would happen.

Ragnar himself stood at the head of the City of the Ancients and looked back. For a moment…the thoughts of the loss and his friends left him. He instead focused just on the ancient ruin itself. And as he did…he felt an empty pain within him. Although he had been here only a few months…it felt like it had been forever. Lonely and isolated as it had been…he actually felt like this was his true home. He couldn't explain it, but he did. And now…he had to leave it to the New Shinra. There was no telling how much they would do to this place when they came through…or what they would do ransacking it while they looked for them. They might defile that one pool… However, he could do nothing for it. It hurt him to leave this place. It was like leaving an old friend… It filled him with melancholy.

In the end, he sighed.

…I'll be back someday.

With that put aside for now, he had a much larger problem to worry about. And this proved to be a greater pain than losing the city. It made him almost swear to think of it. They had lost the Cetra Valley. They had lost the bottleneck. Now…nothing was left to stop the New Shinra from marching to the sea, and then spreading out again. It would take him months to rebuild what had been done to his army and make it into a force that could stand against these invaders. But even then…it might already be too late. He couldn't fight a global war. He couldn't even fight on one front. If volunteers and help didn't follow with this disaster…then he was doomed. They were all doomed.

He hoped that Bahamut's warning hadn't proven to be a sentence…that he hadn't already failed before he could begin…

He heard some footsteps come up to his side after that. Ragnar turned his head slightly to his left, and saw who it was. Lieutenant Mack was standing there, at attention and at Ragnar's side as he stared out longingly at the city. The youth looked to him for a moment, and then turned his head back again.

"…We're going to get everyone off of this continent. We need to make for Midgar. Kalm is closer…but only Midgar has the resources we need to house and shelter these people."

Mack, on hearing that, licked his lips once. He bowed his head, and raised a finger to scratch at his temple. "Yes sir…about that…" He slowly responded. "…How exactly are we supposed to pull that off?"

Ragnar snapped out of his melancholy at that, and turned his head fully to the lieutenant. His face was twisted into confusion. "Pardon me?"

"Sir…we have two tugboats that might hold a hundred people apiece standing. We have five hundred people gathered here. And you know…there's the issue about the people who deserted us. They still have to be somewhere, and if they're panicked they probably went south. They might be trying to take the tugboats for themselves."

"Let them on with us." Ragnar immediately answered.

Mack raised an eyebrow at that. "Excuse me? Sir…they left us to die. They ran off without even firing a shot. They-"

"We have two choices regarding the deserters, Lieutenant." Ragnar cut off. "We can either leave them here to get shot by the New Shinra when they arrive…or we can take them with us, hope that they'll be grateful for what we did for them, so that hopefully they will rejoin our recently thinned ranks to help fatten us up…or at least will get to work helping with supplies, food, and weapons when we get back."

Mack frowned in response to this. He let out a slow sigh, seeing the logic in this, and bowed his head for a moment. However, it was only for a second. After that, he raised his head back up and gave a shrug. "Alright…but that doesn't solve our problem, General. We don't have enough room to even take half of these people."

Ragnar hesitated at that. Inside…he let out another curse, faulting himself for his own lack of foresight. He had been working on an escape plan…but he had been avoiding it. After all, he really didn't know what they could do after they lost the bottleneck. Even now…he didn't even know if the army could keep fighting after losing such a critical piece of territory. At any rate, he had planned for boats or aircraft to shuttle them out once they reached the southern shore. But to his sudden fear…he realized that all he had obtained so far were a couple of tugboats, and he knew that wasn't enough. A new dilemma suddenly arose. He couldn't evacuate his people. The block they had thrown up wasn't going to last long. Once the New Shinra got by, they would sweep the entire pass to the sea clear, killing anything in the way. He had to get them out somehow…but how?

In the end, he could only think of one thing.

"Alright then. Once we get to shore, gather anyone who's still up and able and get them to work cutting down the thickest, largest trees they can find. Start making them into barge-sized rafts."

Mack's eyes widened again. "…Rafts?" He asked incredulously.

"We can use the tugboats like barge ships. They can tow us across sea and to the Midgar shore." Ragnar responded.

The lieutenant frowned in response. It was obvious he was losing more faith and patience with his leader. "This is crazy… We're going across an ocean, not trying to float down river. If there's turbulent waters…"

Ragnar himself frowned, and his eyes blazed a moment. "You have any better ideas, lieutenant?" He asked, nearly shouting in growing irritation. "Because I'm just about out of them myself, and I'd love to hear them."

Mack didn't answer. He shut his mouth, and stared at him in response. Ragnar's own face continued to stay tight with a measure of anger as he stared back at him. He was losing his own patience, and he was starting to feel the tension of having to deal with such a large crisis. In the end, the officer sighed, bowed his head, and gave a nod. "…Alright. I've followed crazy plans from you before. I might as well do another one."

Ragnar gave a nod in response. His own anger began to diminish, and he looked to the man plainly in response.

After that, however, Mack looked back up, and his look became tense. "But sir…we don't have the time to make these rafts, put them in water, load them up, and then get away on them. We got maybe another hour before the New Shinra tries to run us down."

"Then I'll hold them off."

Mack froze again at that. His eyes widened in the largest surprise yet. "…Come again?"

"I can kill two hundred of them without breaking a sweat." Ragnar retorted, beginning to draw himself up again. "I'll stay behind…try to drive them into a bit of confusion. While they're out trying to get me, the rest of you can work and get out while you can."

"That is crazy!" Mack yelled in response, his face filling with shock. "You want to take them on all by yourself? The whole army? There's a good 16,000 of them still battle ready!"

"It should be me, more than anyone else." Ragnar answered simply. "I'm one of the only people who didn't fight. I'm at full stamina. Everyone else needs to get the rafts built, or needs to rest themselves up. I can't afford to ask for a division to help me out with this. Besides…I'm the fastest one out here. And I know the forest better than most of the other people here."

"But you can't!" Mack insisted. "It's suicide! One man against sixteen thousand?"

"No…two men against sixteen thousand."

Both Ragnar and Mack turned around at the sound of that voice. They soon saw another approaching them, walking away from the caravan waiting to leave. His head was still matted with some blood, and the gash on his leg was still soaking up blood from a dressing. He was limping slightly. However, his face was as dark and cold as ever, full of determination. His eyes blazed with his inner power. Finally, he already had his sword out and hefted on one shoulder as he approached the two.

Ragnar's own face finally broke out of being stern, and turned to a bit of anxiety. He shook his head to the approaching man. "No…no, Cloud. You're still hurt."

"I'm fine now." The man darkly answered, continuing to approach the two until he was right next to them. At that, he came to a stop and stood straight and tall. "I've been resting all day. Now that I know Tifa's safe…nothing's holding me down. Knowing that she's escaping while I'm fighting will only push me on more."

"I can't let you do this, Cloud." Ragnar answered back, his own voice growing firm again as his face turned serious again.

"You have no voice in the matter, kid. Whether you want it or not, I'm fighting." The ex-mercenary answered. After a pause, he added a little something more subtly. "Besides…I'm not going to just sit back after you showed me up this morning by saving my life."

The young man sighed and groaned. "Damnit, Cloud…what would you say if Tifa was trying to go out to fight?"

"She already did."

"And…?"

"I had the doctor sedate her. Getting my jaw knocked loose later by one of her iron palms is worth my peace of mind."

Ragnar frowned and sighed again. "…So why don't I just do that to you too?"

"Because I'll do a lot worse to you if you try it."

The young man rolled his eyes and groaned again. They were right…Cloud was too stubborn. Sure, he could probably handle himself, but Ragnar hadn't nearly frozen to death saving his life this morning to just let him jump back into the fray now. He had too much on his mind to worry about him too. Yet in the end…he realized there really was very little he could do about it. In the end, he turned back to the fellow general and gave him one final frown.

"…If anything happens to you, I'll kill you."

Cloud snorted in response. "Hey kid, I'm the one who's supposed to be looking out for you."

Ragnar sighed. "One of us has to be responsible."

Cloud cracked a grin at that, and managed a small chuckle. Ragnar, however, felt too uneasy to return it. He turned his head and looked out to the leaving caravan. In truth…Mack was right. This was suicide. Even he couldn't take out all of this. He couldn't even hope to hold them off that long. But he had to try. He had abandoned the army today to save Cloud. Now…he had to be there for them. He had to try and help them. They were his responsibility.

The youth exhaled, and then looked up to the night sky. The stars were coming out. It was clear at last after the day of rain. Now that night had totally fallen, they were becoming clear and beautiful. However…that wasn't all he saw.

It looked like some sort of meteor shower was transpiring. Streaks of light and balls of fire kept appearing far in the heavens. However…they didn't all go one direction. They darted around and seemed to strike each other frequently.

The young man swallowed at that.

I'll try to keep us alive, master. Don'tyou die…


To be continued...