The light from above the tower woke Sen. It was cold, so she thought about snuggling deeper into the blankets, but decided against it."Errrgh….wake up, Yag, we gotta go!"

Yag grumbled, not wanting to wake up, but the light pouring in roused him enough. Stretching out, Yag rolled around in his bed like a cat enjoying the feel of his own bed. It had been such a long time since he woke up so comfortably in his own bed, and he didn't want the feeling to end. The sunlight pouring in warmed his belly and the smell of his blanket comforted him to no end.

Feeling comfortably warm, Yag rose from his bed and folded up Sen's blankets, stacking them neatly on the pile. Grabbing out a small handful of fliers, he took them and licked them off his robe hand, absorbing the energy. He hadn't eaten in a while and needed the extra strength. Shaking his hand clean, Yag rubbed his head against Sen's shoulder, a low grumbling purr of sorts escaping his mouth.

{Sorry, I just haven't felt this good in a while, and I really love having you around. I get quite lonely in here, but now my friend knows my home! Anyway, you about ready to leave?}

She laughed and smacked his head with part of her cloak humorously. "Well, I'm glad. You're not so bad yourself. Let's go!"

She stared one last time at the lanterns and the really soft blankets and the jars with the fliers in them, and leaped out the crack back onto the tower's surface. She skid a bit but stuck the landing. Sen scowled as Yag landed perfectly beside her. "Show-off," she grumbled good-naturedly. "Do you want to show me around a bit more or should we keep climbing this thing?" Quickly she made a mental apology to Tepeyollotyl for calling his monument "this thing."

Yag looked at Sen. {There really isn't anything else in here that you don't normally see. I think we should just move forward.} Yag's voice faltered with the last two words. He knew the next thing he would have to face was Tepeyollotyl and leaving the Tower. As they headed to the statue, Yag glanced back at the crack in the wall. He had no idea what would happen when he crossed through the summit, and if he would ever see his home again. As much as he wanted to continue and not be trapped here forever, Yag's heart panged at the thought of leaving this place forever. As they approached the statue, they chimed together and watched the tower become surrounded by a glowing white light. Sen disappeared next to Yag and he looked down.


{{Yag.}}

Yag slowly looked up at his ancestor. Tepeyollotyl seemed defeated and fatigued. There were bags under his eyes and his robe seemed dull.

{{Since it seems as though you have made the choice to leave the Tower, I want you to understand something.}} It sounded as if Yag's ancestor's voice was shaking a bit, which took Yag off-guard. His next words confirmed that suspicious but also alarmed him deeply.

{{I-if you leave the Tower…you can never come back.}} Before Yag could speak, he chimed and Yag saw the glyph image of Tepeyollotyl running with the other ancestors away from battle. However, off to the side he noticed some war machines sent out before them, blocking their path up the mountain.

Yag's eyes widened as he saw the other ancestors rush to the side leaving Tepeyollotyl in the way of the war machine's ray, causing him to be hit by the machine, his scarf ripped off entirely. Then he saw the ancestors bring Tepeyollotyl over to the side and bury him in the snow, placing a marker where he laid before leaving. The image began to fade. Yag found himself alone in the white realm before watching it slowly turn black. Tepeyollotyl materialized in front of him, back turned.

{{By leaving your sacred home, O Being of Thought and Soul, thou shalt return to thy true home by the way in which thy Ancestor reached the Heavenly Plain.}}

{{….I'm sorry….Yaguareté…}}

Yag was instantly warped back to the real world, eyes wide and mouth agape.What…..?


The Elder appeared next to Sen. She was staring up at the image of the mountain, much like she did in previous journeys. This time however, she did not have a reverent look in her eyes. The spirit was obviously in deep thought. Sen stayed close, wondering what her ancestor would have to say.

The Elder sighed deeply and turned to look down at Sen. Her cloak still glowed with heavenly light, but her dark blue eyes were tired and sad.

"I have tried to encourage you and give you strength, child. I hope you have gathered what I offered and will use it well."

"I will," Sen promised. "Will I see you again?"

The Elder seemed startled. "Of course. Why would you ask—"

"You and I both know why. I've had this feeling since we met at the factory. Something is going to happen and it's not going to be good," Sen interrupted. "I want to at least have some sort of reassurance that you'll be there when it does happen." A small sob escaped.

"I will always be there, Sen," the Elder soothed. "You and I are one, remember?"

Sen woke with tears in her eyes, and she stayed perfectly still, afraid to look around, waiting for the storm to break.


Yag looked to the side at Sen and placed his robe hand on her. He was still in shock at what happened, but he tried not to think about it. He couldn't take back what he did and could only move onward. {So you ready to move on?}She seemed to nod so Yag led them off to the outside. He had never actually been in the snow before, and he wasn't anticipating the extreme cold. Sen had experience with it before, but Yag was new to the whole thing. His robe poofed up a bit as he attempted to keep himself warm. He wished he had a blanket with him. As they stepped a bit further into the wind, Yag looked up and saw freezing cloth dolphins flying overhead. A loud clash of metal rang out behind them, and Yag looked back to see the gates of his home locked behind him. This is it….the final stretch.