Written by Kat_Aclysm
Insert standard disclaimer, one that says I make no money from any of these fics....
NOTE: This fic has two endings. Yeah, two. I didn't know what to do with this fic - it seemed everyone liked the ending, but I thought it was out of context to the body of the story, so I wrote another ending. It was never posted, because I didn't want to lose my reviews on it.
That was until Tifa Gainsborough (another author here, guys! More stuff for you to read!!!) suggested that I put the seperate endings on this as separate chapters. Now, thanks to her funnky idea, you can enjoy both endings without damaging the orginal story! Thanks again, Teef! You were so helpful!
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500 years on from the pages of Final Fantasy VII....
A great red Sandy-Desert Lion runs along through the dry chasm, his scarred paws kick up the sand behind him as he tears across the sandy terrain. Two red lion cubs desperately try to keep up with the aging warrior.
"It's this way, children!" the great lion said happily.
"Wait up, grandfather!" one of the lion cubs yelped. "We never knew you were that fast!!"
"Well I had to be at times, otherwise we would never have made it...."
The old Lion began to race faster.
"I can't wait to see this place Grandfather speaks of!" the smaller cub said happily. "To think that a giant Meteor threatened our entire planet over 500 years ago! And to think he witnessed it first-hand!"
"Hey Minka, you actually believe all those stories grandfather tells us?!" the other cub snorted. "All the other cubs in the tribe think he's an old fuddy-duddy."
"Don't be so disrespectful to Grandfather Nanaki, Sabre!!" Minka said angrily. "He is the most noble in our tribe! Mother loves him with all her heart!"
"Yeah, but I heard one of the other cubs say that he came to our tribe as a rogue." Sabre said quietly. "And you know what the outsiders are like.... Grandfather Nanaki even speaks of the bipeds from his stories as his friends!! How suspicious is that??"
"Grandfather Nanaki speaks the truth when he says that not all bipeds are bad." Minka said. "I saw a small group of them the other day, just watching us intently. They were unarmed, and they seemed quite excited when they spotted us move through the grasslands. They held up their little black machines and flashed them a lot at us."
"What??"
"Oh you've never seen those machines the bipeds have? They have that little black box, they aim it at something, make it flash, and a piece of paper comes out of it with a picture of what they just flashed on it."
"You're talking crazy talk, Minka."
"It's true!!" Minka defended. "Ask Grandfather Nanaki!"
"Hmmmph." Sabre snorted. "Well if those bipeds were armed, they would have shot at us."
"You don't believe that Grandfather helped a group of bipeds liberate the entire planet, do you?" Minka said sadly.
"No, not one word of it." Sabre snarled. "Hmph, he also said that bipeds used to manufacture Materia in their factories. What a lie!"
"Why do you say that?"
"Everybody knows that Materia only grows where Mako is most abundant." Sabre laughed. "How could you possibly condense Materia in a factory!?"
"The bipeds were pretty intelligent creatures even back then, Sabre!" Minka said. "Never underestimate them!"
"If you love them so much, why don't you live with them!?" Sabre snapped.
"I will!!" Minka said defensively. "Grandfather says a place called 'Cosmo Canyon' will always be a home to us! I only hope I meet a group of bipeds as noble as the ones Grandfather Nanaki speaks of so highly!!"
"They're all made up!!" Sabre growled. "The names he gave them are all so far fetched!! Come on, 'Cid' and 'Teeeeefa'?! And what kind of a name is 'Cloud' anyway!?"
"You will never speak of the one known as Cloud like that ever again!!" Minka said, tears forming in her eyes. "I only wish I was alive when he was still on this planet! Grandfather speaks more highly of him than any other of his old friends!!"
"Sabre!? Are you being horrible to Minka again?!" a voice boomed out. There, a short distance away from the two cubs, the brave lion known as Nanaki stood. He wasn't impressed.
"Grandfather!" Minka sobbed as she darted between his heels. "Sabre says your stories aren't true!!"
"That's a lie!" Sabre snarled. "She's lying, Grandfather!!"
"How old do you think I am, young cub?" Nanaki said coldly. "Although it is nearly time for the sun to set on my life, my ears still have the sharpness of my cub-days."
"I am sorry for being disrespectful, Grandfather Nanaki..." Sabre said quietly, drooping his ears. "But I do not believe your stories."
"I respect that, but please don't be so quick to judge me, young cub." Nanaki said sadly. "Not until you've seen what I have to show you...."
"I believe you, Grandfather." Minka said, rubbing the side of her face against his front leg. "You are an exceptional storyteller and you tell them so well, I can almost imagine myself being there with you on your adventures."
"You say that, but you really wouldn't have liked the journey. It was a long hard road for us, and at times we nearly didn't make it....." Nanaki was silent for a few moments. "But we never gave up."
"The one you tell us about more than any of your friends... Cloud?" Minka said. "What was he like?"
"He was a very kind hearted and brave man." Nanaki said quietly. "I'd never seen another human like him.... not before meeting him, not during his time, and never after he had passed on. He was one of a kind."
"How long did he live??" Minka wondered. "The bipeds don't live very long, do they?"
"No, they do not." Nanaki said, his voice breaking up. "Cloud lived to be 87 years old."
"87?! Why, that's only 29 of our years!!" Sabre choked. "What caused him to die so soon?!"
"He got old, Sabre..." Nanaki said as a solitary tear trickled down his face. "Humans live such short lives, such a short time compared to the Sandy Desert Lion. I had known all along that I would live longer than all of them combined, but still. It seemed so soon, TOO soon...." Nanaki hung his head and became silent.
"Please Grandfather, if it hurts too much to continue...."
"No, I'm alright..." Nanaki smiled. "Anyway, my friends were one of a kind. People like that were meant to be remembered......"
"Grandfather....."
"I watched them all die. First was Cid. He used to smoke like a chimney. His mate died not long after. Yuffie died during a battle with her son. She said it was a great honour for a ninja to be killed by their offspring. Barret died of a heart attack during one of our card games. Vincent committed suicide....."
"Huh??" Minka wondered. "What's .....suicide?"
"It means you kill yourself."
"Why would anyone want to do that??"
"Vincent was a very troubled person... he eventually killed himself because he could no longer bear all the nightmares that haunted him."
"Nightmares??"
"It's a long story." Nanaki said quietly. "And a mistake best left forgotten."
"You haven't explained how Cloud died." Sabre said.
"Oh, I didn't, did I?" Nanaki said shaking his head. "Sorry."
"It's alright...."
"Cloud.... he and Tifa were the last to die. All the symptoms had been there. I noticed when Cloud's blonde hair seemed to tone down, the bright colour in his eyes becoming dull, and the grey hairs started appearing....." he said quietly. "Tifa called me on the PHS when he started going downhill...."
"What's a PHS??"
"A PHS is a small mobile phone."
"Oh." Sabre nodded. "Please continue....."
"Very well....." Nanaki nodded. "Tifa called me just a few days before.... I left the tribe in the care of your Grandmother, and rushed to his home town to be with him......"
"What happened, Grandfather?" Minka asked. "Please tell us!"
"There isn't much to tell, really. I just stayed by his side and tried to make his final hours as comfortable as possible...."
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"Cloud...."
"It's okay Red.... I'm tired and I'm old." Cloud answered. "That's like it is, Red. I won't be sorry to go...."
"But.."
"Be strong, Red. Everything dies eventually. That's the way of the planet."
"You humans.... your life is so short...."
"Compared to yours, it is." Cloud smiled. "But think, I'll be reunited with all our friends again."
"Even Aeris." Red XIII said quietly. "Tell her I love her."
"Anything for you, Red." Cloud smiled weakly. "I've left my Ultima Weapon in the cupboard for my son, seeing as though he always liked it."
Red XIII chuckled. "A very smart lad, but nowhere the charm and bravery as his father......"
Cloud had to chuckle at that. "My daughter won't want weapons, so I've left her some of Tifa's jewellery. There's also a stack of my old Materia in the drawer beside my bed. You'll see to it that they get them, won't you?"
"Anything for you, Cloud." Red XIII whispered as a tear rolled down his face.
"Hey, don't be sad." Cloud said quietly. "It's not like I'm going away forever...."
"Cloud....." Red XIII said, sitting up suddenly. "I'll tell your children how great you were, your grandchildren and your great grandchildren! And my children.... and my grandchildren if I manage to live that long. You will never be forgotten, understand?! You made a difference that will last forever...."
"Not me Red..... all of us." Cloud smiled.
"You and your friends.... made me what I am." Red XIII said, resting his chin on his the edge of the bed. "I will never forget you, Cloud Strife."
Cloud began to stroke his head softly. "And I'll never forget you, Red Thirteen."
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"That was the only time he ever called me Red Thirteen....."
"Red Thirteen??!" Sabre wondered. "But isn't your name 'Nanaki'??"
"True, but Cloud and his friends all called me 'Red'." Nanaki smiled.
"Why did they call you 'Red'???" Sabre asked.
Nanaki paused to think of an acceptable answer. "It doesn't matter...."
"So what happened next?" Minka asked. "What happened to Cloud?"
Nanaki was silent for a long time.
"....he passed away. Very quietly, and painlessly. He just drifted off to sleep and ceased breathing. I knew almost at once he was dead, so I stayed beside him very patiently and waited for Tifa to come. She was in the other room, just making him a cup of tea."
"Oh...... that poor female...."
"When she arrived, she was distraught." Nanaki whispered. "She knew something was up when she read my pained expression. She dropped what she was holding, ran over and grabbed her mate roughly by her shoulders. She burst out crying when he didn't respond."
"That's awful...." Sabre said quietly.
"A few hours later, we buried him in a quiet spot just beyond the border of Nibelheim.... digging his grave was one of the painful things I've ever had to do in my life. But I didn't complain. Whatever I was feeling, Tifa was feeling it a thousand times worse." Nanaki whispered. "And then I stayed with her....."
"How long did you stay with Teeeefa?"
"You see cubs, humans, like us, get very attached to their mates. When their mate dies, it's very stressful for them...." Nanaki said. "And Tifa.... she was heartbroken. She was so upset, she died just a few days afterward..."
Nanaki hung his head as the tears came.
"And then I was the only one left......"
"Oh don't cry, Grandfather!" Minka said suddenly. "You'll make me sad too!"
"Everything dies, Minka." Nanaki said quietly. "Trees, Chocobos.... even me."
"No!" Minka said loudly. "You must live, Grandfather!! I can't bear to imagine life without you!!"
"But I've lived a long and enriched life, little cub." Nanaki smiled. "Soon, the time will come when I will go to the great beyond....."
"No!!" Minka cried. "You have to stay!! You have to watch us grow up!!"
"Enough!" Nanaki snapped. "Be strong!"
"Sorry....." Minka said quietly.
"It's alright, little cub." Nanaki smiled. "That's why I wanted to show you this today. I know it won't be long now..... soon it will be time for me to go and be with everyone....."
"Please show us, Grandfather!!!" Sabre said suddenly. "It will prove everything you've ever told us about your journey, I know it will!!"
Nanaki smiled broadly. "Very well.... follow me."
Nanaki jumped over them, and began to run. His Grandchildren ran close behind, having a much easier time keeping up. They ran for miles across the sandy desert, and into the area of the Cosmo Canyon.
"Here it is!" Nanaki said happily, as he began to jump up the rocks. He stood at the top, and waited for his grandchildren to make their way up.
"This, my cubs..... is Midgar." Nanaki said quietly. "This is where the Meteor nearly impacted with the planet, where Holy rushed up to meet it, and where Lifestream came to stop it. This is where my friends became heroes."
Nanaki lifted his head to the sky and roared loudly as a sign of respect to the souls that lost their lives near this place 500 years ago.
"Whoa...." Sabre said in awe. "You never described it like this in your stories....."
"Duh Sabre...." Minka said. "This is the place 500 years later....."
"So this is really where the Meteor hit??" Sabre asked. "Didn't you say that Sephiroth character did this with the Black Materia??"
"Correct." Nanaki smiled.
"Tell us the story again, Grandfather!!!" Minka said. "I wanna hear about how bad Sefyrof is!!"
"Alright children....." Nanaki said, sitting down. "About 500 years ago, A group known as AVALANCHE blew up a Mako Reactor....."
"What's a Mako Reactor?"
"See those 8 things sticking up around the perimeter of Midgar?" Nanaki answered. "Those were giant factories that sucked raw Mako energy right out the planet's heart...."
"But wouldn't that have killed the planet??" Minka asked. "When you take all the planet's spirit energy away, it goes BOOOM!!"
"That's why AVALANCHE wanted to blow them up......" Nanaki smiled. "Anyway, they blew up two Mako Reactors, found me in the Shinra building when I was 48. That's when then we started chasing a man in a black cape........."
Hours later......
".....and that's the story of how AVALANCHE liberated the planet."
"That was truly an epic tale." Sabre said quietly. "Showing us the ruins of Midgar only backs your words up......."
"Told you so, Sabre." Minka smiled. "His stories were all true." she poked her tongue out at her brother.
"Please...... forgive my ignorance, Warrior Nanaki....." Sabre hung his head. "I am a fool for judging you without seeing the evidence...."
"No Sabre...... you had every reason to doubt my stories...." Nanaki said, shaking his head. "In my youth, I thought my own father...... the bravest lion alive....... I thought he was a coward when in fact, he protected an entire canyon all by himself...."
"Was that Warrior Seto??" Sabre wondered.
"Yes...." Nanaki said. "And......"
Nanaki let out a pained roar as he slumped to the ground.
"Grandfather!!!" Minka howled. "Are you alright!?"
"It's time......." Nanaki said quietly. "Time for me to leave you......."
"No!" Minka yelled, and rushed to his side. "I want you to be with us forever!!"
"Be strong, cubs. Everything dies eventually. That's the way of the planet." Nanaki said, closing his only eye.
"Nanaki?!" Sabre said desperately. "Tell us one more story! Please!!"
Minka lifted her head to the sky and howled mournfully. Sabre shook him for all he was worth.
"Grandafther Nanaki?!"
But the brave lion knew no more.
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