The Heroes Part The Heroes Part
Sky H Ainsworth
The heroes were sullen and quiet on their journey back to the army of Lance Henriksens.
When they arrived, all went to see how Sephiroth had done.
They all discovered that he had healed quite nicely and was walking around.
Bacca then took stock of what to do.
Azala, Nico, and Boof he considered not that important. He still did not entirely trust the little moogle. He hoped that they would leave, but an ally was always welcome.
Seph was an interesting character and Bacca was unsure of what to do with him. He kept a silent guard on him, so that the man did not know he was being watched and his whereabouts were always known.
Jerad and the other materia warriors were also on Bacca's questionable list. He realized that he would have to have a meeting with all his new found "allies" and figure out their plans.
Bacca sent messages to all of them to meet him for dinner that night.
The news of an undead army having escaped the tunnel irked Bacca. He did not like undead and/or magical beings and the fact that there was an army was nagging at his mind.
Added to this was the news that a new army was rampaging on the other side of the world, conquering everything in their path.
And finally, the white moogle army and orcs were continuing their reign of terror through the world. Bacca was dumbfounded as to what to do.
He only had one army and it seemed the fate of the world rested on his shoulders. He had to protect what few remaining free people were left and fight back the already conquering armies. He had to do something.
It had been evening when the heroes rejoined the main force of the army. There was much excitement over the destruction of the Crystal Peak, but no one, including Bacca, was entirely sure of it's significance. A major evil, the Dark Moogle, had escaped and he still had a portion of his army with him. The materia, which merely enhanced the characteristics of its possessor, were nowhere to be found.
Bacca did not tell anyone, but he felt the whole mission had been an utter waste of time and energy. Good men died so that the heroes could be there achieve nothing. Bacca was unhappy with all of this.
Bacca was tired of sitting around and decided to act. He had to put his army to a test, to stop the training that they had all been going through and to actually see if they could defeat an enemy force.
Bacca was sitting in his command tent went a voice from outside asked,
"May I enter?"
"Yes," said Bacca looking up from a map he had been studying. Jaana entered. "How are you doing?" Bacca asked with a smile.
Jaana had come in with a serious mood on her mind, but Bacca's smile lightened that a little. However, she realized that she had a task to perform. She looked away from Bacca's smile and studied a large map that had been erected along one side of the tent.
"I came to make a request." Jaana paused. "More like a statement." She paused again and faced Bacca. "Sephiroth and I are leaving.
"I have been thinking of what we have done so far and I do not like it. We wasted our time here and we could have lost some important people."
Bacca cleared his throat and cut off Jaana.
"We did loose some important people," said Bacca. "Those forty commandos died so that we could pursue our mission."
Jaana sighed. "I know. But what I am saying is that I think Sephiroth and I would be more effective if we went out on our own and fought the moogles in our own way."
"I see," said Bacca. He leaned back in his chair. "Do you want a detachment of the army to aid you?"
"No," answered Jaana. "I think the two of us can handle things by ourselves."
"Okay. What do you plan on doing, though?"
"Well, remember when the Dark Lord spoke to you as a bird? Well, I am thinking that he may not be totally dead now. I am thinking that we can bring him back to life and that together we can defeat these beasts."
Bacca thought a moment.
"Though I did not get to know him for long, he did seem like a good... person," said Bacca. "I think that he rejoining us would be most beneficial. I wish you luck in your adventure."
"Thank you. I just hope we can pull it off. But only time will tell."
Jaana turned and was about to leave the tent when Bacca stopped her.
"Jaana, could you at least stay through tomorrow. I plan on having a dinner and talking to our new allies. I would appreciate you being there so that if you get a bad read on any of these guys, you can tell me. I do not trust them all that much, but we will see what happens."
"I will think about it."
"Okay. Good night Jaana."
"Good night."
The dragoon left the tent.
A short while later, Bacca stood up and left the tent. He was tired and decided he need sleep.
Walking through the encampment, he saw a white figure moving about. Coming closer, he recognized Lady Paladin.
"Hello my dear," said the warrior. "How does the night treat you?"
"Very well," answered Lady. "And for you?"
"Other then worries and doubts, the night is calming me."
"Worries and doubts about what, Bacca?"
The swordsman paused in thought and started leading Lady to his tent.
"I wish I could say, but I am at a lost as to what we are doing here. Also, these new friends that have shown up to do not put me at ease of mind."
"I see," said Lady. She took Bacca's hand as then strode to his tent.
Upon entering, Bacca helped Lady to sit down on the cot while he took a stool and faced her. He poured some wine for both. A bit hesitant, Lady took the offered cup and sipped it.
"I am wondering were to go to next," said Bacca after taking two sips. "I mean, we accomplished nothing here and I feel the army is ready for action. But where? And against who? All these new enemies to face and the call of humanity against my ears. I wonder what to do."
"Do not worry," said Lady, looking empathetic. "You will figure something out, you always seem to."
Bacca smiled at Lady. She returned it.
"Do you remember how we first met?" asked Bacca. "You were in a prison cell in North Paladin's dungeon. You were all flustered at his reception."
"And you were such a gentleman to me," Lady quickly added. "You were my knight in shining armor, even though it did seem you laid it on rather thick."
Bacca's smile broadened. "I cannot help being what I am.
"I was thinking about what we can do now," continued Bacca. "I think that if we could capture some towns back, that would give the army good battle experience and stop the rampaging these foreign armies are doing.
"This army is a tool and I think I know how to use it. All we need to do is draw the attention of the opposing armies to this army and defeat them somehow. The way we do that we can figured out when the situation presents itself. But somehow, we have to get the attention of the different armies."
Lady nodded her head in understanding. "Then what will you do?"
"Like I said, we will take back some towns, free what local populations we can. I especially want to destroy this undead army. Undead irk me greatly. So, we will march and take back South Figaro the day after tomorrow. If anything, we will be close enough to where this King Edgar is and he might find us or we him. But we will see about that."
Lady stifled a yawn with her hand over her mouth.
"Lady, I think you are keeping things from me," said Bacca softly. He stood up and crossed to the cot and sat down next to her. Taking her in his arms, Bacca held onto Lady.
"Will you tell me what is wrong?"