[Author's Note: YaY! XD I finally got off my lazy bum and wrote another fic. This one, if you havn't guessed already, is centered around Nanaki. It's a darker chapter to the end of FFVII, and someone my opinion on some things, but I'll explain those at the end. ^.^ For those without much time, this story is rather short, so please, enjoy. ^.^ v ]
Nanaki's Legacy
- A Darker Chapter to Final Fantasy VII -
?? Days AM [After Meteor]
Nanaki opened his eyes.
He felt as if his whole body was on fire. Pain swelled into his lion-like head with gaining consciousness, and sent his unknown surroundings spinning about him, forcing his feline eyes shut once more. He put his senses on full alert, trying to remember at least a fraction of the events that just befell. He extended his sense of hearing, straining to recognize the breath of one of his faithful comrades.
Nothing.
Slowly, he tempted sight once more and focused on his surroundings. He forced himself onto his front paws, which stung from the sudden shift of weight. He looked around cautiously, and inhaled with quick, calculating snorts, trying to pick up the familiar scent of his human friends.
Still nothing.
As Nanaki brought himself to a full stand, dizziness fled his brain and pain spread through all his aching muscles, bringing him to wince, but he refused to let himself fall.
Memory came.
He was in the Highwind, which was perched on its side from an obvious crash-landing. He had been tossed onto the wall in cockpit, and from what he could observe, everything else had been rearranged in a similar way. The front window was shattered and glass was everywhere, and all the machinery was dismantled and in an array of frizzled wires and twisted metal.
Nanaki shook his disheveled mane as the pain began to subside, being replaced by the tinge of fear and panic. He stepped forward towards the front, broken window and tenderly padded around the shards of ruptured glass. The beads of his intricate headdress clinked together softly as he strode, and the once-lovely feathers were now mangled and bent, as a couple fell free and drifted to the broken floor.
He could not sense anyone around him, anywhere. He made his way through the battered window and scanned the surrounding area. They had landed near Gongaga Village, as far as he could tell. Yet, no sign of his allies. His heart began to beat a little faster, and he leapt off of the demolished airship and onto the soft green grass.
Feeling a sense of panicked urgency take over him, he quickly jogged around the area and called out to his comrades- no, his friends. His mind was now flooded with worry and angst, trying to remember, trying to figure out what was going on.
/Where is everyone? Why have they left me? Here, alone?/ He thought with disturbance. /What../
He stopped, dead in his tracks, as realization struck him, fierce as lightning.
"Grandfather..." He whispered under his breath.
He felt himself slipping back into a memory. He found himself in the City of the Ancients, where his Grandfather, Bugenhagen, had explained Holy.
"Holy?" Cloud had said, with a sparkle of hope in his crystal blue Mako eyes. Tifa, as always, was by his side, looking just as hopeful.
Bugenhagen confirmed. "Holy.. The ultimate White Magic. Magic that might stand against Meteor. Perhaps our last hope to save the planet from Meteor. If a soul seeking Holy reaches the planet, it will appear. Meteor, Weapon, everything will disappear. Perhaps, even ourselves.
Everyone gasped at the last few words that were muttered.
"Even us?!" Cloud exclaimed above the others.
"It is up to the planet to decide." Bugenhagen replied solemnly. "What is best for the planet. What is bad for the planet. All that is bad will disappear. That is all. Ho Ho Hoooo. I wonder which we humans are?"
Nanaki slowly and unconsciously sat down, his eyes wide with the horror of the reality that was slowly settling in. He felt for a while that he couldn't breath. His thoughts were tangling in his mind, a web of chaos winding endlessly.
They were all gone. His allies, his comrades, his _friends_. All that they had fought for, all the hard work, the pain, the effort, the time, all of it was gone for them. Nanaki felt his golden eyes burn, as they began to water. How he had no one. He was alone, the sole survivor of a legacy that now had no one to be told.
He ran. His senses told him that home was near, and so there he ran. He felt the grass beneath his battle scarred paws, and the soft breeze that rustled his fiery mane. Before long, the smell of home filled his nostrils. They sky above him began to change to the beautiful pastels that were always painted in his memory.
Cosmo Canyon filled his vision. He ran harder. He knew where he would go. As he passed through the front gate, he heard no one cheer for his arrival. He didn't see the children running around in happiness that the time of horror was over, and he saw no happy faces. He saw no faces at all. They were all gone.
Nanaki desperately ran through the forbidden caverns, as the memory of his first visit here filled his mind. Bugenhagen, Cloud, Tifa, Cid... they were all here with him last time. He ran to his father.
He came to the cliff where his father, Seto, remained in stone, where he was to remain forever. He jumped and climbed with all his strength to the heights of the heavens, and then stopped by his frozen fathers side, heaving for air, his strained muscles burning.
As he looked out over the fields and mountains, a flock of birds passed overhead. They were singing. He scanned the horizon, and saw all the trees standing tall and proud, the flowers blooming their incandescent array of colors and the miles of rolling grass fields. Meteor was no where to be found. It no longer loomed about the dark skies, rearing it's vicious presence, reminding the living that they only had so long to exist.
Under his tears, Nanaki smiled. /We won./ Life was flourishing. The planet was no longer in danger, it's wounds would now be able to fully heal, and Life would now live on in peace.
"We won, Cloud. Grandfather." He whispered to himself. He looked over at the stone face of Seto the Great. "We won, father."
Nanaki held his head tall and proud, and howled again to the heavens, this time not to mourn the loss of his greatest friends- no, his family; but to remember them. They had given their lives for the planet to survive. He would never let them be forgotten. They will forever live on in the memory of the planet, and the stars.
Their legacy will live on.
Just then, a strange voice joined his. He stopped suddenly, and looked to see there was another of his kind next to him. And then another came up the canyon ridge, and another- about a dozen of them united with Nanaki and Seto. They all joined in singing a song of praise that the planet was alive, and so were they. They each had their own intricately designed headdress, complete with feathers and beads similar to his own. What's more, they each had tattoos, similar to his own. Only, they were numbered I-XII.
The one sitting next to him, numbered "VII", looked in his direction.
"Hello, Nanaki." She said. "It is time we all met."
Nanaki looked at her in clear revelation. "How.. Where.."
She smiled softly at him. "We were trapped in Hojo's lab, as well as you were. We escaped some time ago, but kept ourselves hidden until recently, fearful that we would be caught again."
They both turned their gaze to the setting sun, and the rising stars.
"It's time to start over.."
"..And to never forget."
[Author's Note: Yeah, short, buutt... good, right? I hope? o.0? Well, I never really hear any stories based off of Bugen's aformentioned statement, ending where humanity IS destroyed, because it has lended a big deal in the destruction of the planet. I know that Humans helped to save it, as well, but.. well, you know. Nyeah. Wanted to do something different for a change. And also, I like to think that Hojo did have more of Nanaki's species, which explains his number "XII". So this kinda ties that in, too. Well, if ya want, review and let me know watcha think. I'm curious. ^.^ v ]
Ok! I think I need to make myself a little more clear about the Nanaki tattoo things. I keep getting questions and concerns about it, so, here goes. In my story, Hojo had a bunch of side experiments going. Nanaki and his species weren't a part of the whole cloning ordeal. His species was, of course, tattooed to keep track of who was who. That's all. ^.^ I hope that helps to clear things up a bit. ^.^ v
Nanaki's Legacy
- A Darker Chapter to Final Fantasy VII -
?? Days AM [After Meteor]
Nanaki opened his eyes.
He felt as if his whole body was on fire. Pain swelled into his lion-like head with gaining consciousness, and sent his unknown surroundings spinning about him, forcing his feline eyes shut once more. He put his senses on full alert, trying to remember at least a fraction of the events that just befell. He extended his sense of hearing, straining to recognize the breath of one of his faithful comrades.
Nothing.
Slowly, he tempted sight once more and focused on his surroundings. He forced himself onto his front paws, which stung from the sudden shift of weight. He looked around cautiously, and inhaled with quick, calculating snorts, trying to pick up the familiar scent of his human friends.
Still nothing.
As Nanaki brought himself to a full stand, dizziness fled his brain and pain spread through all his aching muscles, bringing him to wince, but he refused to let himself fall.
Memory came.
He was in the Highwind, which was perched on its side from an obvious crash-landing. He had been tossed onto the wall in cockpit, and from what he could observe, everything else had been rearranged in a similar way. The front window was shattered and glass was everywhere, and all the machinery was dismantled and in an array of frizzled wires and twisted metal.
Nanaki shook his disheveled mane as the pain began to subside, being replaced by the tinge of fear and panic. He stepped forward towards the front, broken window and tenderly padded around the shards of ruptured glass. The beads of his intricate headdress clinked together softly as he strode, and the once-lovely feathers were now mangled and bent, as a couple fell free and drifted to the broken floor.
He could not sense anyone around him, anywhere. He made his way through the battered window and scanned the surrounding area. They had landed near Gongaga Village, as far as he could tell. Yet, no sign of his allies. His heart began to beat a little faster, and he leapt off of the demolished airship and onto the soft green grass.
Feeling a sense of panicked urgency take over him, he quickly jogged around the area and called out to his comrades- no, his friends. His mind was now flooded with worry and angst, trying to remember, trying to figure out what was going on.
/Where is everyone? Why have they left me? Here, alone?/ He thought with disturbance. /What../
He stopped, dead in his tracks, as realization struck him, fierce as lightning.
"Grandfather..." He whispered under his breath.
He felt himself slipping back into a memory. He found himself in the City of the Ancients, where his Grandfather, Bugenhagen, had explained Holy.
"Holy?" Cloud had said, with a sparkle of hope in his crystal blue Mako eyes. Tifa, as always, was by his side, looking just as hopeful.
Bugenhagen confirmed. "Holy.. The ultimate White Magic. Magic that might stand against Meteor. Perhaps our last hope to save the planet from Meteor. If a soul seeking Holy reaches the planet, it will appear. Meteor, Weapon, everything will disappear. Perhaps, even ourselves.
Everyone gasped at the last few words that were muttered.
"Even us?!" Cloud exclaimed above the others.
"It is up to the planet to decide." Bugenhagen replied solemnly. "What is best for the planet. What is bad for the planet. All that is bad will disappear. That is all. Ho Ho Hoooo. I wonder which we humans are?"
Nanaki slowly and unconsciously sat down, his eyes wide with the horror of the reality that was slowly settling in. He felt for a while that he couldn't breath. His thoughts were tangling in his mind, a web of chaos winding endlessly.
They were all gone. His allies, his comrades, his _friends_. All that they had fought for, all the hard work, the pain, the effort, the time, all of it was gone for them. Nanaki felt his golden eyes burn, as they began to water. How he had no one. He was alone, the sole survivor of a legacy that now had no one to be told.
He ran. His senses told him that home was near, and so there he ran. He felt the grass beneath his battle scarred paws, and the soft breeze that rustled his fiery mane. Before long, the smell of home filled his nostrils. They sky above him began to change to the beautiful pastels that were always painted in his memory.
Cosmo Canyon filled his vision. He ran harder. He knew where he would go. As he passed through the front gate, he heard no one cheer for his arrival. He didn't see the children running around in happiness that the time of horror was over, and he saw no happy faces. He saw no faces at all. They were all gone.
Nanaki desperately ran through the forbidden caverns, as the memory of his first visit here filled his mind. Bugenhagen, Cloud, Tifa, Cid... they were all here with him last time. He ran to his father.
He came to the cliff where his father, Seto, remained in stone, where he was to remain forever. He jumped and climbed with all his strength to the heights of the heavens, and then stopped by his frozen fathers side, heaving for air, his strained muscles burning.
As he looked out over the fields and mountains, a flock of birds passed overhead. They were singing. He scanned the horizon, and saw all the trees standing tall and proud, the flowers blooming their incandescent array of colors and the miles of rolling grass fields. Meteor was no where to be found. It no longer loomed about the dark skies, rearing it's vicious presence, reminding the living that they only had so long to exist.
Under his tears, Nanaki smiled. /We won./ Life was flourishing. The planet was no longer in danger, it's wounds would now be able to fully heal, and Life would now live on in peace.
"We won, Cloud. Grandfather." He whispered to himself. He looked over at the stone face of Seto the Great. "We won, father."
Nanaki held his head tall and proud, and howled again to the heavens, this time not to mourn the loss of his greatest friends- no, his family; but to remember them. They had given their lives for the planet to survive. He would never let them be forgotten. They will forever live on in the memory of the planet, and the stars.
Their legacy will live on.
Just then, a strange voice joined his. He stopped suddenly, and looked to see there was another of his kind next to him. And then another came up the canyon ridge, and another- about a dozen of them united with Nanaki and Seto. They all joined in singing a song of praise that the planet was alive, and so were they. They each had their own intricately designed headdress, complete with feathers and beads similar to his own. What's more, they each had tattoos, similar to his own. Only, they were numbered I-XII.
The one sitting next to him, numbered "VII", looked in his direction.
"Hello, Nanaki." She said. "It is time we all met."
Nanaki looked at her in clear revelation. "How.. Where.."
She smiled softly at him. "We were trapped in Hojo's lab, as well as you were. We escaped some time ago, but kept ourselves hidden until recently, fearful that we would be caught again."
They both turned their gaze to the setting sun, and the rising stars.
"It's time to start over.."
"..And to never forget."
[Author's Note: Yeah, short, buutt... good, right? I hope? o.0? Well, I never really hear any stories based off of Bugen's aformentioned statement, ending where humanity IS destroyed, because it has lended a big deal in the destruction of the planet. I know that Humans helped to save it, as well, but.. well, you know. Nyeah. Wanted to do something different for a change. And also, I like to think that Hojo did have more of Nanaki's species, which explains his number "XII". So this kinda ties that in, too. Well, if ya want, review and let me know watcha think. I'm curious. ^.^ v ]
Ok! I think I need to make myself a little more clear about the Nanaki tattoo things. I keep getting questions and concerns about it, so, here goes. In my story, Hojo had a bunch of side experiments going. Nanaki and his species weren't a part of the whole cloning ordeal. His species was, of course, tattooed to keep track of who was who. That's all. ^.^ I hope that helps to clear things up a bit. ^.^ v