"Let me get this straight…" Ragnar spoke in a dark voice, accenting his mood about this. "You want me to help you bring Shinra Inc. back from the dead."

I can't believe Reeve would do this to me…

This was the man that he wanted him to meet, sitting down in one of Reeve's meeting rooms at the table. Though it had several chairs, it was obvious that the main ones were intended for him and for Ragnar, across from him. He had prepared a sizable presentation, it seemed, complete with lots of papers, charts, and maybe even an overhead transparency or two. However, Ragnar had not even entertained the notion of taking the chair across from him or hearing anything this man had to say. It wasn't that he hated this man. It was more that he wasn't going to put any stock in what this presentation was about.

The man was none other than a well-cleaned, proper-looking Rufus Shinra.

Reeve was in a suit standing nearby and looking rather nervous about this, as well he should. He knew that Ragnar would be against this from the start. That was why he purposely hung up the phone. He held up his hands in a stopping gesture. "General…just please, hear him out."

Ragnar shook his head immediately and began to turn. "I don't want to hear him out. Shinra is the reason that this planet is in its sorry state, and even if the company as originally designed has changed it also left the legacy of the New Shinra."

Rufus spoke up from where he was at this. "General…in all fairness, Cloud brought me here to try and help out your cause. This is what I see as being the best way."

Ragnar stopped turning, and rotated back to him. "Yeah…the best way to make yourself another few million."

"No one forced anyone to buy our products." Rufus simply answered with a shrug. "True, we ended up eliminating our competition in the end, but that would have been impossible if we hadn't been favored first."

"I don't have time for this." Ragnar groaned, and then turned completely. He began to walk for the door.

As he began to walk, he heard Rufus' sharp voice behind him. "You'll be making a deadly mistake, Ragnar. You're going to have to go with one company in the end. Any one of those you take a chance on with this. If you think that my company was the only one with ruthless businessmen in the world, you're wrong. But my company is the only one that is willing to take a pro-environmental stance. And mine is the only one that can only expand into the military sphere. All other ones can use this war as an excuse to become the next Shinra itself. I'll tell you now you're taking a much greater risk with them than me. At least I'm in your pocket."

Ragnar halted. His face showed nothing but agitation, and he breathed in place for a moment. In the end, however, he finally turned his body around and stared back at Rufus. The ex-President had risen from his chair, but had not moved forward.

"…You've got five minutes."

"If you're going to do this, then you owe it to yourself to do it right." Rufus began. "Corny as that sounds, it's the truth. The New Shinra are going to be throwing all of the latest technology they have your way. They have one of the best developers on their side. Your only chance is to outdevelop them and out produce them. They got their hands on all of what exists up there, but here in Midgar is the facilities and capabilities to produce far more. And Leers, in the end, is a military officer, not a businessman. I don't have my tact for companies like my old man did, but I'm still very good at what I do. I know all the best developers, engineers, scientists… I have connections to resources all over the world… We could outdo any technological advancement the New Shinra could come up with before they could even put it out."

"All the designs your company put out used mako power." Ragnar answered. "You'd go right back to killing the Planet again."

Rufus merely snorted at this, getting a dark look. "What? You think coal and oil aren't killing the Planet?"

Ragnar raised an eyebrow to this, not expecting that answer.

"If figures that you wouldn't. Most people don't suspect it. They think it's just the perfect alternative to mako." Rufus went on. "The average coal/oil powered plant produces over a thousand metric tons of ash a year…unusable toxic waste. They fill the air with carbon dioxide, which has been correlated with an increase in the Planet's overall temperature. They also frequently fill the air with sulfides, which turn rainwater into acid, destroying property and sterilizing lakes. Why else do you think it was so easy for us to get the world to switch to mako power? Plus, according to estimates, we have maybe fifty years of oil left in this world before it runs out.

"Now, if you stick with me," Rufus continued, changing his tone. "I'll bring in our old researchers. There was a think tank of scientists that my dad fired with the advent of mako power who I can get in touch with. At the time they were fired, they were very close to perfecting a new type of energy use called nuclear fission."

With that, Rufus turned and went back to his things. He went to one of his paper stacks, pulled away a few of them, and went to one in particular. It was some sort of diagram of what looked like atoms…big ones. He pulled this up and held it in front of him for Ragnar to see. "Heavy radioactive atoms like Uranium can be split by bombarding them with certain subatomic particles. The result releases a staggering amount of energy that can be harnessed into power plants. It produces waste that is more toxic, but only one percent the amount of what a coal plant produces. And all of the waste is earthbound, not scattered everywhere in the atmosphere.

"There are enough radioactive materials in this world to keep our energy going for another 3,000 years. But if you go with me, you'll only need twenty of those. They were already starting to investigate an even higher-yield, lower waste process called nuclear fusion. If they could make a reactor that had a self-sustaining reaction with that, then waste would be even less with even higher amounts of energy coming off. This type of power is the wave of the future, General. A wave that you can usher in if you support me."

The idea sounded impressive, but even if Ragnar understood the science he would still be skeptical, and he still didn't like this. He kept his frown. "What about you? What about the name of Shinra itself? What is this going to do to our army's reputation when they see that we restarted the Shinra Corporation?"

"There's no need to let the public know about that." Rufus responded. "We can pick a million different new names. And no one has to know it's me as CEO either. I can operate through a hundred different talking heads. Nobody outside this room even has to know that I'm the one behind it.

"Don't think of this as resurrecting the Shinra Corporation. Think of it as a way to create a new company for the future. A new type of corporation to create a new type of destiny for the world. Something to lead us on into the next century."

"And when this war is over, and your company continues to gain power and money," Ragnar went on. "How long will it be before the specter of Shinra returns? How long will it be before another corporation-state forms? Once you've reached the point where you're monopolizing everything again, it won't be long before you have your own military branch as well. And with you controlling this new nuclear fission technology, everyone in the world once again has to come to you for power. In twenty years, you'll once again be the most powerful man on this Planet, and once again everyone will have to either step in line with you or get out of your way."

"Who's to say that won't happen anyway?" Rufus responded. "Like I said before…Shinra was only the company that won the battle royale. There were plenty of other heavy contenders which would have done the same, but due to a mixture of luck and tact were stopped."

"If you're trying to tell me that you'll be a kinder, gentler CEO after everything you've gone through, I think it's a load of bull." Ragnar retorted. "I think you'll lapse right back into your old habits the moment you can. And I wouldn't be surprised if what's left of the Planet Protector Army is fighting against your new company in that time."

"You can think what you want." Rufus answered. "The fact of the matter is, I'm still the best choice out there, and you're shooting yourself in the foot to go with a more incompetent organization. You may be taking a chance on me in the distance future, but if you go with a different company then you're taking a chance right now. And I would think you'd care more about getting rid of the immediate threat, one that definitely is going to use mako power and dominate this world, if it isn't stopped. At the end of the day, anyway you look at it, I'm your best shot at besting him. You know it's true."

Ragnar was silent again at the end of this. He didn't look at Rufus. He kept his head down and his face hard. But now, these new considerations were going through his mind. He hated to admit it, but Rufus had a point. The Shinra were the ones who begat the New Shinra. They would probably be the most likely to be able to destroy them. And Rufus probably still had a lot of connections that could help him out. But this whole thing was bad to him… Going along with this would probably be considered one of the most foolish things he'd ever done. It would be like giving a fox keys to the henhouse. For all of Rufus' claims and proclamations, it didn't change the fact that this was risky business. More than risky…it might be fatal.

In the end, Ragnar sighed. He shook his head, and reached for his brow again. He turned and began to walk for the door once more.

"I'll think about it." Was all he acquiesced. "For now…I'm too tired."

RULER

The day had just broken, and Vincent did what he did every morning.

The dark man was pacing around the wreckage of Midgar. He was in the ruined portion, not in the area with new developments. He figured this would be the place where he would more clearly find what he seeked. After all, his quarry was probably not in the mood to hang anywhere near the main army.

It had been two months since Vincent had officially been named a member of the Planet Protector Army. He had been admitted on lieutenant status, what with his already advanced training and marksmanship. General Ragnar had obviously wanted him to help his units with gunnery. However, Vincent had not assumed that position yet. He didn't want it, for one reason. Joining the army was one thing. Having people under him was something completely different. What more, he enjoyed being out on his own or with only a small group. That was how it was under the Turks…

Vincent closed his eyes at that thought.

Every time he thought of the Turks…he thought of her.

In truth, he didn't know why he reacted how he did that one night. Somehow, he had just stood there and let the woman indulge whatever fantasy was running through her mind. He even reached out and touched her, made a gesture as if he was trying to comfort her. And everything she did…she didn't suspect a thing. She didn't suspect the fact that Vincent had no idea what she was doing or why. She assumed it was all natural to him.

After that night, the woman known as Krystea had stunned him with more information, as he read Ragnar's interview of her and the facts that she pointed out. How had she known what she had? How did she know his father was abusive? That he had run off and joined a military academy when he was barely a teenager? How did she know where he kept his stash of tools under his bed? Or that he liked to eat hamburgers? This was kids stuff…but it was from a past that Vincent had killed. It was from over forty years ago. And yet this woman who was half that age knew it. She talked about it as if she had been there… And yet, rather than accost her…demand to know how she knew this…hunt her down and find her out…all he had done was stand there and take it…

He didn't know what to think. This was like that night with Marlene…how he had felt something stir in his long frozen heart when she came up to him and clung to his leg. Something stirred in him as well when that woman put her arms around him.

Did he…almost want to believe that she was telling the truth?

Perhaps he thought this was some sort of absolution from his sin. Perhaps he had just taken up the tendancy of lying to not hurt anyone else. Perhaps he was still just too much of a coward to do the right thing when he needed to. He didn't know…

And he tended not to dwell on things he didn't know.

The man pushed the thought out of his head and went back on task. He didn't have time for this. He had to seek out his quarry.

Ever since the climax to their journey in Junon, nothing had been seen of the mutated people. But Vincent wasn't letting it slide. Aerith was safe for now and so were the others, but that could change as unexpectedly as the attacks had come in the first place. He had to find out where they were coming from, and see what they wanted. They had been after both Aerith and Krystea. Somehow…he had a feeling they knew something about the both of them.

He had started off following Zola's instructions, going outside of the prison and examining the manholes there. He found nothing. No special chambers or lines, or anything out of the ordinary. He expanded his search in a growing circle around there, leaving no stone unturned. He looked in every possible location for signs of life or presence. He found little, and what he did find could belong to any homeless individual.

A growing fear was beginning to plague Vincent. He knew the underground network of Midgar was rather extensive. On the surface it was already hard to follow. Going a little underground turned it into a maze. From there, there were ten times as many ways to go into a secret chamber or passage. He feared the only way he could ever find these individuals would be to check those passages, but that would take months…

Still, he might have to try in the end. As Cid would say, "them's the breaks".

Pushing this fear out of mind, Vincent turned and continued to walk along, expanding his search again as he did every morning.

RULER

Aerith frowned in dismay.

Ragnar's cot looked disheveled in the exact same way it had been last night. She realized what that had to mean immediately. It made her sigh. Turning away from it, she looked back to the entrance into the Seventh Heaven. She walked into it. After that, she made her way around the room and toward the kitchen, following the sound of frying and the smell of food. As always, it smelled great. Tifa's skill as a fighter was equaled only by her skill in cooking. Aerith had missed the smell of food… She soon pushed her way through the swinging door and into the interior.

There was Tifa, already up and at the skillet. Aerith might think it was bad for her to get up this early just to make breakfast for everyone, but the truth was that wasn't a factor in how early she got up. She was always up before dawn to do her exercise routine. She had already been awake for a few hours. When she heard the door open behind her, she turned away from her stove and back to it. She smiled as she saw Aerith coming in. "Good morning."

Aerith managed a smile as well. "Morning." She answered. Afterward, however, her face turned to concern. "Have you seen Ragnar today?"

Tifa frowned as well and shook her head. "No. Pulled another all nighter. I haven't seen him in close to four days at this point."

Aerith frowned as well. "…I went back last evening to get your plate. He wasn't there, and I assumed he had gone home. But he wasn't here when I got back. He hadn't touched his sandwich."

Tifa sighed and gave a shrug. "I don't know what to tell you, Aerith. He can be a real workaholic."

"Workaholic or not, this isn't good for him." Aerith went on as she walked into the room. "He'll work himself into an illness or worse."

The woman shrugged as she cracked an egg. "I'm not disagreeing with you, Aerith, but there's nothing I can do. He can be as stubborn as you-know-who. I think he got that trait from him. He does look up to him in more ways than one."

Aerith sighed and came to a stop, leaning against the counter. Tifa was right, but that didn't put her at any more ease. He was a nice person… She hated to see him work himself to death. Even if he was the leader of an army, he could take some time out…couldn't he? Cloud was a general too, and he did. On that thought, however, Aerith noticed something else. She looked back through the kitchen door and to the outside a moment, but then turned back to Tifa.

"The kids aren't up yet?"

"Marlene is." Tifa answered. "She's getting dressed. But Denzel and Azure are still snoozing away. They really wore themselves out yesterday practicing."

Aerith looked up a bit at that. "Oh? So now it's both of them?"

Tifa gave a nod.

The Cetra hesitated after that. She crossed her arms and looked down over Tifa's work. After a short while, she smiled. "Well, I'm still surprised. Even when I was bedridden, the smell of your food woke me up every morning. You're good at this, Tifa. When you reopen the Seventh Heaven, you should try and serve breakfast."

Tifa smiled and gave a chuckle at that. "I'm afraid that's not going to be possible, Aerith. I run this bar all by myself. I can barely handle the appetizers. I'd need to hire someone else."

Aerith drew herself back a bit at that. "Well, not necessarily." She answered, and then gave a smile. "I'm here."

Tifa stopped what she was doing and turned her head in surprise to Aerith. "What?"

Aerith merely shrugged. "Why not? I'm living here. I might as well do something to pull my own weight. I've never done anything other than pick flowers and sell them before, but I think I can manage setting tables and bringing out food to customers."

Tifa looked back at Aerith a moment longer. After a while, she smiled, and went back to her work.

"When this is over, Aerith…I might just take you up on that offer."

RULER

Mack grinned from beneath his helmet as he eased his Bismark back into position. Just as he suspected, his on-board short range radar confirmed his two "wingmen" falling into position behind him in perfect synchronization. The maneuver had gone on without a hitch. These guys were getting good, and now they were becoming a truly powerful force. He couldn't resist not bragging.

"Hey Captain!" He called on the radio. "How did you like that?"

"Bah! Stop screwing around with those tricks and test out the damn missiles already!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Mack answered, but with a grin as he did so. He owed Captain Cid a lot, after all, and he knew that the captain was enjoying this as much as he was. Not only had Cid began teaching him how to fly planes, and honing his skills on a water ski to be adaptable to air combat, but he had also suped up the original Bismarks to become true fighting machines.

The Bismark that Mack was on currently barely resembled what it had initially been. At this point, it was almost enclosed in an aerodynamic armored shell. It had real missile launchers on the sides, and real guns as well with bullets powerful enough to pepper a destroyer's hull. It had internal gyroscopes to help keep it from flipping in extreme combat, and it had various speeds now in addition to brakes. It also was armed with targeting equipment and radar, which is what Mack was making use of at the moment.

He looked up ahead through his new tinted window to see the target. It was nothing more than an old tugboat, set up as a dummy target for the Bismarks to practice on. Mack looked at it a moment, and then down to his targeting array. He twisted a few knobs on it, creating a 3D grid on a small electronic display. He adjusted the sonar controls, and it made a vague oblong object appear that had the same dimensions and width as the tugboat in front of him. Once that was done, he quickly pressed a few more buttons to maneuver various crosshairs onto certain key parts of the tugboat, in particular the propeller array and two other sections that, when punctured, would sink the ship in a hurry. Once he had them assigned, he waited just a few moments for the system to lock in. After that, he looked up to the actually view of the boat, and depressed the missile firing trigger.

Moments later, three plumes of smoke erupted around his Bismark as the missiles were fired. A second afterward, three lines were dancing their way through the air as they headed toward their destinations. Mack pulled his Bismark out of the way, as he would after any successful launch in combat, but he also watched to see what would happen. The three missiles roared through the air for a little longer, but already before they hit Mack could tell they were going to their intended locations. A second longer confirmed it. All three hit on their key points, one after another.

"Yahoo!" Mack cried in joy. "Take that!"

"Stop yelling around like a retarded son of a bitch!" Cid snapped back. "The damn things work, but that wasn't even a real target! You can yell when you do that to a destroyer!"

Mack frowned again, and flipped Cid off playfully from the safety of his cockpit, something he would never do to his face. Again, he dealt with it. It was just his way. He knew Cid had to be pleased with this. He just learned what it meant to work under Cid Highwind when he first paired up with him two months ago. You had to expect to get relentless criticism from the great pilot, but be able to deal with it. After all, the man did care, and he could show it if given ample opportunity. When you performed in a real heavy scenario, he'd be the first to congratulate you. And he prided himself on making sure that people were always ready for those types of scenarios.

Mack felt almost invincible now. He had reluctantly taken the title of being the Planet Protector Army's only "Ace" fighter two months ago, but since then his confidence had soared. He practiced frequently, and improved his already innate ability even more. He was also able to pass on what he learned, soon making the other recruits under him, and his new Commander status, quite competent as well. He was looking forward to the next battle they would be in. He was sure the New Shinra would be better prepared…but he was eager to show that he was better prepared too.

A horrible wet cough suddenly came into Mack's ear. "Alright, alright…enough monkeying around." Cid spoke again in a much weaker, hoarse voice. "Get your asses back in here. We need to drill the new pilots."

Mack truly frowned when he heard that. He sighed uneasily. Cid was still a pretty young man…but Mack had heard him coughing a lot lately. At first, he never noticed it. He coughed every once in a while, but it could be dismissed as natural or a cold. However…as time went on, and the cough only got worse, Mack began to worry. He wasn't getting any better with it. And sometimes, he would have fits of it. And when he was done, he would practically be gasping for air. None of that was comforting.

He hoped that it wasn't indicative of something else. General Ragnar was a hard worker, but so was everyone else he had initially recruited. He hoped Cid wasn't working himself too hard, and neglecting his health in the process.

But most of all…he hoped that he would stop smoking.

He had a bad feeling that this might somehow be linked to his cough…in a rather bad way.

With that in mind, Mack inhaled and exhaled again, and then pitched his Bismark around to make his way back to port.

RULER

Aerith knocked this time, making sure to not surprise Ragnar again. However, good as her intentions were, she still heard a yelp from within. He must have been so focused that even a knock on the door was too much for him. However…Aerith didn't feel too bad. It was time for Ragnar to get unfocused. It was evening again, and he hadn't been home all day. He didn't stop by for lunch or dinner, and Aerith had no reason to believe he was eating at the mess hall or anywhere else. She was afraid that he wasn't sleeping or taking care of himself, and that all he was having for food was sodas.

"Uh…come in…" A somewhat distracted voice called out.

Aerith was puzzled by this, but then opened the door to the chamber.

It wasn't any better from yesterday. It was still mostly a garbage heap. The only real change was that Ragnar's stack of soda cans appeared to have gotten larger. The woman looked across the room, and up to the man himself. His cape had been removed and flung against the couch, and his top collar had been unbuttoned. He seemed rather hot, although it was a pleasant temperature in here due to an air conditioning unit.

However, he also didn't look that well. His face was a bit of a lighter palor, and his eyes had circles under them. He was also moving rather slowly. On seeing this, Aerith immediately reacted.

"You don't look too good, Ragnar…"

Ragnar blinked a moment, and shook his head. "Oh…I'll be alright." He finally answered. "I've just got a bit busy, that's all."

Aerith didn't look convinced, and she began to make her way forward, picking her way around the piles of stuff discarded on the floor. "Busy? I thought you had a new chain of command to handle that."

Ragnar hesitated a moment, once again seeming dazzled. Then, he shook his head. "Um…yeah…well…" He began, seeming to not be able to focus. "Well…I do have a chain of command… I've got special officers for resource acquisition and assignment. I've got people to handle zoning issues and feeding and housing. And, of course, I've got all the officers for the army… But I'm still the commander in chief. Since we've been our own unit for so long, I'm working on expanding and getting more allies. Right now, I was trying to finish this speech. I want to give it tomorrow on another radio address calling for volunteers, so I need to get it done by tonight."

Aerith made her way to the desk, and began to pick her way around. "…If you give any speech sounding as out of it as you are now, I don't think it's going to go over well." She warned.

Ragnar again looked distracted. "Oh…well, I'll be fine. If I can get it ready in a few hours, I'll be able to rest for a few hours before it happens…"

Aerith finished making her way to Ragnar's side, having to push aside some stuff as she did so. When Ragnar noticed this, he turned to it and began to reach out a hand. "I…I wish you wouldn't do that… I have a system…"

The Cetra wasn't paying attention. She was looking to his desk. What she saw she didn't like. She reached over and took up a bottle of headache medicine, and turned to Ragnar with a scolding frown.

"What's this?"

Ragnar looked to it. "…I have a headache."

"It looks like more than a headache to me." Aerith answered, getting a bit more into a scolding tone. "Have you eaten anything other than sodas all day?"

Ragnar gave a shrug. "Seriously…I don't have an appetite. If I try to eat anything, it's just going to make me feel sick…"

"I wonder why." Aerith answered sarcastically. "Let me feel your head."

"Aerith, I'm really-"

Not taking anymore excuses, Aerith reached out and pressed her hand to Ragnar's forehead. Immediately, she pulled it off.

"You're hot!" She exclaimed in surprise.

Ragnar shrugged. "I get hot. The dumb air conditioner's not working…"

"It's plenty cool in here. You're just hot. No appetite…feeling nauseous…headaches… You're sick, Ragnar."

The young general gave another shrug. "I can keep going. I'll take a rest in a few hours, after I get this done…"

"When's the last time you slept?"

"Um…"

"Well?"

"…I've been busy…"

"That does it."

Aerith immediately reached over and seized Ragnar by the underarms. Not caring for any of the papers or junk around him, she dragged him up out of his chair. His tiredness, weakness, and disorientation allowed this to be accomplished by her, despite being so much weaker. He didn't even seem to realize what was going on until she started to drag him away from his chair and through his piles of papers.

"What…what're you…?"

"You're going to bed. And you're going to bed right now." Aerith flatly stated, sounding like a disciplining mother.

"I'm alright…"

"You are not alright! You're burning yourself out! You need to stop working at a reasonable time, get more sleep, and eat something besides soda!"

Ragnar tried to resist, but his head was swimming too much, and his headache was throbbing. He also didn't feel as strong as he usually did. His body had a chill going through it, and that feel of weakness that came with fever. Soon, Aerith had dragged him back to his couch. She paused only to throw off everything that was on it, not caring what order it was in, and then pulled Ragnar around and made him sit.

"Now take off that uniform. When's the last time you even changed clothes?"

Ragnar groaned. Aerith, not bothering to wait, went down to his boots and immediately began to untie them and pull them. The general reacted. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"Getting you undressed faster. You're going to sleep all night. And tomorrow morning, I'm going to have Tifa make you a real breakfast, and you better eat every bite!"

Ragnar frowned as one of his boots came off. "Why are you treating me like a kid?"

"Because you're acting like one! Only a kid doesn't know how to eat properly, get to bed at a decent hour, and take care of himself!" Off went the other boot. Aerith recoiled and held her nose a moment at that. "You really do need to change your clothes…and you need a bath too. Honestly, you men sometimes…" After that, Aerith yanked off both of Ragnar's socks, and began to go for his middle to undo his belt.

Ragnar's eyes widened at this, and he recoiled and guarded himself. "Hey!"

"Well then, hurry up!" Aerith called back, pulling her hands back and putting them on her hips.

Ragnar frowned, but then began to undo his belt. After he did, and had Aerith resume pulling his pants off, he went up to his tunic and began to unbutton it. He soon pulled that off as well, leaving him in just his boxers and sleeveless undershirt. With that done, Aerith went to his disheveled pillow and set it at the arm of the couch. She then took up his blanket next and pulled it back.

"Now lie down." She instructed. "Tomorrow, you're coming home at a decent hour and sleeping on the cot."

Ragnar groaned and rolled his eyes. "I'm just between caffeine rushes. I could just use another soda and I'd be fine…"

"No more sodas for you." Aerith immediately scolded. "Next time you feel tired, you can go to sleep like a normal person. It's not healthy to drink all of those anyway."

Ragnar's eyes widened. "Oh, come on. Now you're starting to push it…"

"Just lie down already." Aerith responded, pushing against his chest to try and force him back.

However, Ragnar was now resisting. "Look…I'll go to sleep. But I need to finish that speech. I want to give it tomorrow morning."

"It can wait another day." Aerith answered. "You need to rest now."

"It's more important to keep up recruiting." Ragnar answered. "It'll only take me a couple hours."

"No." Aerith retorted just as strongly. "If you stay awake and finish this, you'll just start something else after you're done. And I don't want to stay up waiting for you to make sure you go to sleep. It can wait."

Ragnar frowned. "Look…I'm not a baby. And I'm the commander in chief of this army. I'll decide when I'm going to sleep." He began to push up from the couch.

Aerith put her hands on him and forced him back down, which was harder now. He was starting to resist more. "Ragnar…if you don't lie down and go to sleep right now, I'll put you to sleep."

"I'm not a kid." Ragnar answered, getting a little irritable as well now. "I'll do it later, once I'm finished with-"

Aerith, however, had enough. She frowned for a moment, but then finally held a hand in front of Ragnar's face. This surprising gestured made Ragnar cut himself off in mid-speech, and stare at the open palm in a puzzled manner. That was all the distraction that Aerith needed. She immediately closed her eyes and began to chant. After a few moments, a mist began to slowly come out of her hand and began to flood over the general's face.

After only a moment, the youth gave a groan, and then suddenly fell back. His eyelids drooped and collapsed, and his body soon followed the path of least resistance and plopped down right on top of the pillow that Aerith had set up. The Cetra frowned and pulled her hand back. She stared down at the now-slumbering General Ragnar. She didn't want to have to do that, but she couldn't force him down any other way. At any rate, General Ragnar was a rather strong individual in terms of will. For a simple sleeping spell to have affected him so easily, his body already had to be taxed incredibly. She took that as justification.

She looked down on him a moment, but then finally reached down and grabbed his legs. She pulled them up with some effort and set them on the couch. After that, she spread the blanket out over him. With that done, she stood up again, crossed her arms, and sighed. He would sleep until tomorrow morning, just as she intended. However, she couldn't help but shake her head down at him.

"Why is it that all of the men in my life who say they're there to protect me are the ones that need to be taken care of?"

RULER

To be continued...