Alone in Cosmo Canyon, Red XIII or Nanaki sits by his father staring into
the moon. His deep brown eyes welled up in tears, but he swiped them away
with his paw, ashamed of such a weakness as tears. He had to watch over
Cosmo Canyon now. Bugenhagen or grandpa was dead and now that he knew his
father, Seto had courageously protected Cosmo Canyon from the Gi army, he
felt obligated to protect it. He stares into the stars angry and
frustrated, searching for an answer to all his questions, but he can not
find one. He roars with anger and begins pacing by his father's cold
lifeless body.
"Why can't I figure it out?!" he roared, "What am I to do? I feel as if I'm destined to do more than just guard Cosmo Canyon, yet I can't leave to figure out what it is." Nanaki stopped pacing and looked back at the stars. "Father, please tell me what I am to do," he said quietly. He suddenly felt the wind pick up. It whipped around his fur and caressed his face. It was warm and it calmed him down to his soul. Nanaki closed his eyes and let the wind flow against him like the rising tide.
Nanaki's eyes whipped open. He blinked a few times trying to figure out if what just happened to him had really happened. "I got it! I know what I need to do!" said Nanaki happily but then he stopped and drooped his head, "But how can I just leave Cosmo Canyon with no protector?"
Nanaki left his father's side and headed back to the canyon village. He hung his head the whole way trying to decide if there was anyway he could leave. He kept running ideas through his head each worse than the one before. Finally he arrived at the village center where the eternal flame sat. He sat down and just stared into them with glossy eyes, welling up in tears once again. Not because of sadness, but because of anger and frustration. He knew what he needed to do, what he had to do. When the wind had overcame him he had seen the Gi army rebuilding. He knew what this meant, the Gi were regrouping after many years they have begun to build a new army, a new empire. He was the only one who could stop them; it was what he was destined to do. More importantly though it gave him a chance to avenge his father's death. But if the Gi were regrouping he definitely couldn't leave the canyon, the Gi could attack it.
Nanaki was so deep in thought staring intensely into the flickering fire, he did not see Moonhed, the new elder of Cosmo Canyon approach him. "Nanaki, what's wrong?" asked Moonhed in a kind calming voice. Moonhed was a small man, with silvery hair that was pulled back and braided but it still went down to his lower back. His eyes were a deep smoky gray and just peering into them seemed to calm any disturbed being.
"I have to leave Cosmo Canyon," said Nanaki solemnly not looking away from the fire. Moonhed's usual cheerful smile turned to a frown.
"If you must you must," said Moonhed sadly. Moonhed began to walk away but Nanaki spoke before he could.
"Who will protect the canyon?" asked Nanaki, still not looking away from the fire. Moonhed stopped looked around and slowly went into a smile.
"I know how about Victor," said Moonhed, "It would be perfect. You've been training him for two years now; this would be good practice. That way you could leave." Nanaki looked away from the fire now. Victor was a young man that was filled with life. He had visited Cosmo Canyon in search for answers. It was meant to be a short trip, but Victor decided to stay instead of returning to Midgar. He showed great promise for a warrior and Nanaki began to train him in case he should ever passed away without a replacement. Although he still didn't think he was ready.
"I don't know if Victor is strong enough, he hasn't complete his training," said Nanaki now looking at Moonhed. "I will be leaving to stop a Gi uprising, what if some warriors attack Cosmo Canyon?" Moonhed thought for a second.
"Well, Victor knows how to us materia plus you know your father's statue also provides great protection," said Moonhed.
"Yes, but my father can only protect so many, they could have become much stronger more powerful," said Nanaki. "But I have to leave and this seems to be my only choice."
Moonhed nodded, "I'll inform Victor of his new task, he'll be quite happy, when are you going to leave?" Nanaki thought for a moment then looked into the fire then to the stars.
"Now"
Nanaki left without giving any good-byes. He believes good-byes meant there was a chance you won't come back and he had to come back. If he didn't say good-bye that meant he had to come back, sort of as a superstitious reassurance that you will be back so you can formally say good-bye to your loved ones. Plus it was too emotional for him to say good- bye. He felt like everyone in the canyon was family to him. He couldn't bear to see their sorrowful faces. If they knew what he was about to go up against they wouldn't want him to leave and he didn't want that. Even he had to admit there was a chance that he wouldn't be coming back. That's why he didn't say good-bye.
He headed through the canyon desert and to the river by Gongaga. That's where his first stop was. Gongaga was a down on its luck town barely surviving after their Mako reactor exploded. It also was a good place to have a base of operations for the Gi. The town was now forgotten. It was off everyone's radar after the explosion. It went unnoticed by all. What a better place to start a growing army. Also the people were too weak to defend themselves from the Gi so, the Gi could easily bully their way into the town.
Nanaki crossed the river with no problem. It was only about two feet deep and its width was only about 25 feet. It was growing near to the night so Nanaki decided to camp there. He took a bath in the slow current of the river. After awhile he just sat down and let the water run past him. He looked over the shore in which the river opened up into the ocean. The sun was now setting and Nanaki didn't want to miss it. Sunsets were quite beautiful at the canyon but he had seen a sunset on the ocean a few times when he had traveled with Cloud and the rest of the gang to save the planet from Sephiroth. They were quite beautiful, so he didn't want to miss this one.
It was very beautiful. The sun set onto the horizon. It looked as though the sun was melting into the ocean, creating a golden texture on the slowly rippling water. The sky was turned to a warm golden glow that washed over Nanaki's face. The only thing that could make this better was if all his friends were there, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Yuffie, Vincent, Cid, Cait Sith, and Aeris. Thinking of Aeris made a tear in his eye, but he did not wipe this tear away, he was not ashamed of crying over a lost friend.
Once the sunset had passed, Nanaki caught two fish and had dinner. Then he hunted down a nice patch of grass by the river and attempted to fall asleep. He was about to drift off to sleep but he was awaken by the rustling of footsteps. Nanaki slowly got up and quietly hid behind a near by bush. There were two men. One was a tall muscular man; the other was a scrawnier shorter man. The tall one had gigantic shoulders and a box face, while the short one had long dangling arms, and a pointed face like a rat. They had two giant water vases that they were going to fill with water from the river. Nanaki bent down low so he could see and listen.
"Forest, why do we have to go out in the middle of the night to fill these water vases, I mean there isn't many of us in Gongaga," said the tall one in sort a slurred dull voice.
"Worbash, how many times do I have to tell you this," said the short one, in a high squeaky voice, "We need the water because more soldiers are coming in to prepare for the attack on Cosmo Canyon." He said this with a growingly angry tone; he obviously was a very frustrated man.
"Oh, yeah," said the one called Worbash. Worbash obviously was there for his muscle power not his brains. "So do you think we'll have any trouble on the ambush on Cosmo Canyon, I mean I heard they have a very strong guardian there?"
"I expect a good resistance but nothing we can't defeat, the Gi army has grown quite strong, I don't even think their guardian can stop us," said Forest with a less angry tone but still a hint of frustration. That ended their conversation. They finished with water vases and started to leave. Nanaki was filled with rage that their first target was Cosmo Canyon and he wanted to just tear Worbash and Forest to little bits, but thought better of it. He could follow these two and see where exactly they were hiding in Gongaga.
He followed behind them at a great distance, his eyes could easily see through the pitch-black night, so he wasn't taking any chances on getting any closer. They went straight into Gongaga. They then went into a large building, and out of Nanaki's sight. Nanaki looked around and saw no one but a quiet town filled with broken down shacks used for houses. Nanaki crept into the large building, it had a sign that said Gongaga Materia on it. Nanaki looked around there was a small skinny man sleeping behind the shop counter. He was dirty, scraped, and bruised. Nanaki guessed the Gi did this. Nanaki went around the counter and put his paw over the shopkeeper's mouth. He instantly woke up, he looked around frantically to see if it was the Gi. He looked quite relieved when he saw it wasn't the Gi.
"Don't speak just nod," said Nanaki in a soothing voice. Nanaki didn't want to scare the poor man so he tried to sound as comforting as he could. "Do you understand?" asked Nanaki. The man nodded his head. Nanaki now took his paw off the man so he could begin questioning.
"Are the Gi here?"
Yes he nodded.
"Are they somewhere in this shop?"
No
"Are they in the warehouse in the back?"
Yes
"How many are there? Show me with your fingers," said Nanaki. The man held up seven fingers. "Alright then," said Nanaki. He thought for a moment thinking if he could take them and if he did what would be his strategy. After thinking for a good half-hour Nanaki finally got a plan. The man had fallen back to sleep. Nanaki pawed the man in the shoulder to wake him up. The man woke up again. Again he looked around frantically for the Gi, but was relieved again that it was just Nanaki. "Leave now," said Nanaki. He was about to say for him to gather all his people in a safe place, for things were going to get dangerous but the man's face had gone completely white. Nanaki's flaming red fur shot up along his back, he sensed someone was behind him. All of a sudden Nanaki felt a tight grip around his neck, as he started being pulled up into the air. The grip kept tightening; Nanaki had a feeling that his bones weren't going to stop the grip from growing even tighter. Nanaki took a chance. He felt blood seep into his mouth as he sunk his teeth in the leathery skin of his attacker. Nanaki was shot against the wall the next second, crimson blood was dripping from his mouth and he could taste flesh. The attacker was a large man about as big as Worbash. He had dark eyes like charcoal. On his arm there was blood everywhere and it was from the fact that a chunk of his arm was missing, the flesh in Nanaki's mouth. Now the attacker had the shopkeeper in his grip again doing his grip of death just ignoring the hole missing in his arm. Nanaki had to save the man. He spit the flesh out of his mouth and ran toward the man with his head lowered. He leaped and rammed into the man's massive side. It didn't hurt him that much because he was pure muscle but it did make him lose his grip on the man. The shopkeeper fell to the floor and limped out of the store. Now there was just Nanaki and the Gi attacker and probably more Gi coming.
Nanaki didn't have to wait long they came barging into the shop through the back door leading to the warehouse. They surrounded Nanaki. Unfortunately for Nanaki every Gi except Forest was as large as a barge. Nanaki didn't have a chance. They charged after him, punching and kicking. Nanaki got a chance to claw or bite sometimes but it wasn't doing much damage. They had broken one of his legs, and he was quite bruised by now, they were ready to finish him off. Worbash got a hold of him and threw him into the store display case. He smashed into the glass front. He howled with pain it felt as though large needles were slowly being stabbed into Nanaki's back, glass shards had gone into his back. The impact had knocked materia all over the floor, one landed right in front of him. This was Nanaki's chance, the Gi were closing in for a final blow and fast, he had to use the materia. He held the materia in his paws, closed his eyes and tried to call forth the materia's power.
Suddenly warmth swirled around him. Nanaki opened his eyes. Red streams encircled him, and then it shot into the ceiling and disappeared. The Gi couldn't help but laugh at Nanaki's failure to make the materia work. Their laughter abruptly stopped. Worbash and Forest grew white and ran out of the shop. The others soon followed but when they reached the door they didn't leave. They tried but it seemed Forest and Worbash were stopping them from leaving. They didn't want whatever was inside with Nanaki and the Gi to get out. Nanaki couldn't see what everyone was seeing. He then looked above him. To his amazement right where the red streams had disappeared was now where a massive creature was just sort of floating. Nanaki couldn't help but smile. He knew exactly who it was. It was Ifrit, a summoning entity that he had used on his journey with Cloud and the rest. Ifrit was waiting for Nanaki's command. Nanaki knew exactly what to do.
"Hellfire!" shouted Nanaki. With that Ifrit landed on the ground and opened his mouth shooting out a stream of flames engulfing the Gi. He picked up the flame ball and rocketed out of the shop and through the ceiling. Nanaki ran to where Ifrit just left and looked through the hole he had just made. Ifrit carried them to a dizzying height. He was about to throw the fireball back down. Nanaki ran for the door to get out before Ifrit threw the fireball. The door opened with no problem. Forest and Worbash must have ran when they saw Ifrit shoot through the roof. Nanaki ran out the door, by now many people were outside watching with amazement. "Run!" shouted Nanaki, without hesitation they all ran for cover behind some stone houses. Many peaked around the corner of the houses to see what was going on. Nanaki stood in front of the houses to see if Forest and Worbash were anywhere nearby. He didn't see them but before he could take cover, Ifrit threw the flaming ball down. A wave of flames shot out like a shock wave, fortunately by the time it reached Nanaki it was barely a tickle. Nanaki and many of the men ran to the shop as women stayed behind with the children. The Gi were nothing but ashes by now, Ifrit floated over their bodies waiting for the next command. Many of the men started to turn and run for cover again but then realized that Ifrit was working for Nanaki.
"Thank you, that's all we need," said Nanaki. Ifrit turned to a puff of red smoke and swirled back into the materia that was still concealed in Nanaki's paw. The Gongagan's surrounded Nanaki and picked him up on their shoulders and carried him out into the main square of Gongaga. Nanaki then saw something peculiar by the trees outside of town. He strained to see what it was but the people had a good grip on him. All he saw was somebody wearing a hooded cloak. They let him down and before they could all jump on him and give him a hug he dashed out of the group and looked at where the hooded figure was before, there was nothing there. They dashed over to him and shook his paw and children showered him with hugs.
Nanaki woke up with the sun warming his still face. He was curled up on bed in the little inn in Gongaga. His broken leg wasn't as bad as he thought is was and a simple cure materia mended most of the bone. It also cleared up all of his bruises and scratches, he was feeling great. He walked out onto the main square with a small limp. There the town waited for his arrival. First person he saw was the shopkeeper. He looked a lot different with a smile on his face. Nanaki walked over to him.
"We are most grateful Nanaki," said the shopkeeper.
The woman next him who appeared to be his wife then said, "It should be a long time until the Gi try to return." Nanaki's smile faded, and he shook his head.
"They'll be back though," said Nanaki, "You need to learn to protect yourself, and I have one idea. Pick out some of your best fighters and send them to Cosmo Canyon, there find Victor and Moonhed. Tell them I wanted you to learn self-protection so you can be prepared." Nanaki looked around and he could sense that the people's joy had dimmed after his comment so he said, "But you can do that later, today why don't you celebrate." People then began to smile again. After a few more hugs and hand or paw shakes, Nanaki had to tell them the bad news. "I'd love to stay but I most continue my journey. Perhaps I can stop the next wave of Gi before they get here but I most leave." They all nodded knowing this was coming. The shopkeeper stepped forward. "Here, a present from all of us to you," said the shopkeeper. He held out what looked like a large black collar with a charm on it. Nanaki inspected it closer and realized what it was. "We wanted you to keep Ifrit, we were saving to make a big sale, so we could start rebuilding the city. But we realized that it wasn't the money holding us back; it was the Gi and now they are gone and with this materia you can make sure they don't come back." Then the shopkeeper clipped the collar around Nanaki's neck. Nanaki didn't like jewelry that much but he thought the collar looked very handsome on him.
They kept good-byes short as Nanaki left. He still had a long way to go. There was a major Gi force out there somewhere and he had to find it, also there was the mystery of the hooded man. The next place he was going was the Golden Saucer, a huge source of information. Nanaki took one look back at the citizens of Gongaga waving good-bye. He turned back toward the Golden Saucer but before he left he howled at the noon sun and dashed up a hill and out of sight.
"Why can't I figure it out?!" he roared, "What am I to do? I feel as if I'm destined to do more than just guard Cosmo Canyon, yet I can't leave to figure out what it is." Nanaki stopped pacing and looked back at the stars. "Father, please tell me what I am to do," he said quietly. He suddenly felt the wind pick up. It whipped around his fur and caressed his face. It was warm and it calmed him down to his soul. Nanaki closed his eyes and let the wind flow against him like the rising tide.
Nanaki's eyes whipped open. He blinked a few times trying to figure out if what just happened to him had really happened. "I got it! I know what I need to do!" said Nanaki happily but then he stopped and drooped his head, "But how can I just leave Cosmo Canyon with no protector?"
Nanaki left his father's side and headed back to the canyon village. He hung his head the whole way trying to decide if there was anyway he could leave. He kept running ideas through his head each worse than the one before. Finally he arrived at the village center where the eternal flame sat. He sat down and just stared into them with glossy eyes, welling up in tears once again. Not because of sadness, but because of anger and frustration. He knew what he needed to do, what he had to do. When the wind had overcame him he had seen the Gi army rebuilding. He knew what this meant, the Gi were regrouping after many years they have begun to build a new army, a new empire. He was the only one who could stop them; it was what he was destined to do. More importantly though it gave him a chance to avenge his father's death. But if the Gi were regrouping he definitely couldn't leave the canyon, the Gi could attack it.
Nanaki was so deep in thought staring intensely into the flickering fire, he did not see Moonhed, the new elder of Cosmo Canyon approach him. "Nanaki, what's wrong?" asked Moonhed in a kind calming voice. Moonhed was a small man, with silvery hair that was pulled back and braided but it still went down to his lower back. His eyes were a deep smoky gray and just peering into them seemed to calm any disturbed being.
"I have to leave Cosmo Canyon," said Nanaki solemnly not looking away from the fire. Moonhed's usual cheerful smile turned to a frown.
"If you must you must," said Moonhed sadly. Moonhed began to walk away but Nanaki spoke before he could.
"Who will protect the canyon?" asked Nanaki, still not looking away from the fire. Moonhed stopped looked around and slowly went into a smile.
"I know how about Victor," said Moonhed, "It would be perfect. You've been training him for two years now; this would be good practice. That way you could leave." Nanaki looked away from the fire now. Victor was a young man that was filled with life. He had visited Cosmo Canyon in search for answers. It was meant to be a short trip, but Victor decided to stay instead of returning to Midgar. He showed great promise for a warrior and Nanaki began to train him in case he should ever passed away without a replacement. Although he still didn't think he was ready.
"I don't know if Victor is strong enough, he hasn't complete his training," said Nanaki now looking at Moonhed. "I will be leaving to stop a Gi uprising, what if some warriors attack Cosmo Canyon?" Moonhed thought for a second.
"Well, Victor knows how to us materia plus you know your father's statue also provides great protection," said Moonhed.
"Yes, but my father can only protect so many, they could have become much stronger more powerful," said Nanaki. "But I have to leave and this seems to be my only choice."
Moonhed nodded, "I'll inform Victor of his new task, he'll be quite happy, when are you going to leave?" Nanaki thought for a moment then looked into the fire then to the stars.
"Now"
Nanaki left without giving any good-byes. He believes good-byes meant there was a chance you won't come back and he had to come back. If he didn't say good-bye that meant he had to come back, sort of as a superstitious reassurance that you will be back so you can formally say good-bye to your loved ones. Plus it was too emotional for him to say good- bye. He felt like everyone in the canyon was family to him. He couldn't bear to see their sorrowful faces. If they knew what he was about to go up against they wouldn't want him to leave and he didn't want that. Even he had to admit there was a chance that he wouldn't be coming back. That's why he didn't say good-bye.
He headed through the canyon desert and to the river by Gongaga. That's where his first stop was. Gongaga was a down on its luck town barely surviving after their Mako reactor exploded. It also was a good place to have a base of operations for the Gi. The town was now forgotten. It was off everyone's radar after the explosion. It went unnoticed by all. What a better place to start a growing army. Also the people were too weak to defend themselves from the Gi so, the Gi could easily bully their way into the town.
Nanaki crossed the river with no problem. It was only about two feet deep and its width was only about 25 feet. It was growing near to the night so Nanaki decided to camp there. He took a bath in the slow current of the river. After awhile he just sat down and let the water run past him. He looked over the shore in which the river opened up into the ocean. The sun was now setting and Nanaki didn't want to miss it. Sunsets were quite beautiful at the canyon but he had seen a sunset on the ocean a few times when he had traveled with Cloud and the rest of the gang to save the planet from Sephiroth. They were quite beautiful, so he didn't want to miss this one.
It was very beautiful. The sun set onto the horizon. It looked as though the sun was melting into the ocean, creating a golden texture on the slowly rippling water. The sky was turned to a warm golden glow that washed over Nanaki's face. The only thing that could make this better was if all his friends were there, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Yuffie, Vincent, Cid, Cait Sith, and Aeris. Thinking of Aeris made a tear in his eye, but he did not wipe this tear away, he was not ashamed of crying over a lost friend.
Once the sunset had passed, Nanaki caught two fish and had dinner. Then he hunted down a nice patch of grass by the river and attempted to fall asleep. He was about to drift off to sleep but he was awaken by the rustling of footsteps. Nanaki slowly got up and quietly hid behind a near by bush. There were two men. One was a tall muscular man; the other was a scrawnier shorter man. The tall one had gigantic shoulders and a box face, while the short one had long dangling arms, and a pointed face like a rat. They had two giant water vases that they were going to fill with water from the river. Nanaki bent down low so he could see and listen.
"Forest, why do we have to go out in the middle of the night to fill these water vases, I mean there isn't many of us in Gongaga," said the tall one in sort a slurred dull voice.
"Worbash, how many times do I have to tell you this," said the short one, in a high squeaky voice, "We need the water because more soldiers are coming in to prepare for the attack on Cosmo Canyon." He said this with a growingly angry tone; he obviously was a very frustrated man.
"Oh, yeah," said the one called Worbash. Worbash obviously was there for his muscle power not his brains. "So do you think we'll have any trouble on the ambush on Cosmo Canyon, I mean I heard they have a very strong guardian there?"
"I expect a good resistance but nothing we can't defeat, the Gi army has grown quite strong, I don't even think their guardian can stop us," said Forest with a less angry tone but still a hint of frustration. That ended their conversation. They finished with water vases and started to leave. Nanaki was filled with rage that their first target was Cosmo Canyon and he wanted to just tear Worbash and Forest to little bits, but thought better of it. He could follow these two and see where exactly they were hiding in Gongaga.
He followed behind them at a great distance, his eyes could easily see through the pitch-black night, so he wasn't taking any chances on getting any closer. They went straight into Gongaga. They then went into a large building, and out of Nanaki's sight. Nanaki looked around and saw no one but a quiet town filled with broken down shacks used for houses. Nanaki crept into the large building, it had a sign that said Gongaga Materia on it. Nanaki looked around there was a small skinny man sleeping behind the shop counter. He was dirty, scraped, and bruised. Nanaki guessed the Gi did this. Nanaki went around the counter and put his paw over the shopkeeper's mouth. He instantly woke up, he looked around frantically to see if it was the Gi. He looked quite relieved when he saw it wasn't the Gi.
"Don't speak just nod," said Nanaki in a soothing voice. Nanaki didn't want to scare the poor man so he tried to sound as comforting as he could. "Do you understand?" asked Nanaki. The man nodded his head. Nanaki now took his paw off the man so he could begin questioning.
"Are the Gi here?"
Yes he nodded.
"Are they somewhere in this shop?"
No
"Are they in the warehouse in the back?"
Yes
"How many are there? Show me with your fingers," said Nanaki. The man held up seven fingers. "Alright then," said Nanaki. He thought for a moment thinking if he could take them and if he did what would be his strategy. After thinking for a good half-hour Nanaki finally got a plan. The man had fallen back to sleep. Nanaki pawed the man in the shoulder to wake him up. The man woke up again. Again he looked around frantically for the Gi, but was relieved again that it was just Nanaki. "Leave now," said Nanaki. He was about to say for him to gather all his people in a safe place, for things were going to get dangerous but the man's face had gone completely white. Nanaki's flaming red fur shot up along his back, he sensed someone was behind him. All of a sudden Nanaki felt a tight grip around his neck, as he started being pulled up into the air. The grip kept tightening; Nanaki had a feeling that his bones weren't going to stop the grip from growing even tighter. Nanaki took a chance. He felt blood seep into his mouth as he sunk his teeth in the leathery skin of his attacker. Nanaki was shot against the wall the next second, crimson blood was dripping from his mouth and he could taste flesh. The attacker was a large man about as big as Worbash. He had dark eyes like charcoal. On his arm there was blood everywhere and it was from the fact that a chunk of his arm was missing, the flesh in Nanaki's mouth. Now the attacker had the shopkeeper in his grip again doing his grip of death just ignoring the hole missing in his arm. Nanaki had to save the man. He spit the flesh out of his mouth and ran toward the man with his head lowered. He leaped and rammed into the man's massive side. It didn't hurt him that much because he was pure muscle but it did make him lose his grip on the man. The shopkeeper fell to the floor and limped out of the store. Now there was just Nanaki and the Gi attacker and probably more Gi coming.
Nanaki didn't have to wait long they came barging into the shop through the back door leading to the warehouse. They surrounded Nanaki. Unfortunately for Nanaki every Gi except Forest was as large as a barge. Nanaki didn't have a chance. They charged after him, punching and kicking. Nanaki got a chance to claw or bite sometimes but it wasn't doing much damage. They had broken one of his legs, and he was quite bruised by now, they were ready to finish him off. Worbash got a hold of him and threw him into the store display case. He smashed into the glass front. He howled with pain it felt as though large needles were slowly being stabbed into Nanaki's back, glass shards had gone into his back. The impact had knocked materia all over the floor, one landed right in front of him. This was Nanaki's chance, the Gi were closing in for a final blow and fast, he had to use the materia. He held the materia in his paws, closed his eyes and tried to call forth the materia's power.
Suddenly warmth swirled around him. Nanaki opened his eyes. Red streams encircled him, and then it shot into the ceiling and disappeared. The Gi couldn't help but laugh at Nanaki's failure to make the materia work. Their laughter abruptly stopped. Worbash and Forest grew white and ran out of the shop. The others soon followed but when they reached the door they didn't leave. They tried but it seemed Forest and Worbash were stopping them from leaving. They didn't want whatever was inside with Nanaki and the Gi to get out. Nanaki couldn't see what everyone was seeing. He then looked above him. To his amazement right where the red streams had disappeared was now where a massive creature was just sort of floating. Nanaki couldn't help but smile. He knew exactly who it was. It was Ifrit, a summoning entity that he had used on his journey with Cloud and the rest. Ifrit was waiting for Nanaki's command. Nanaki knew exactly what to do.
"Hellfire!" shouted Nanaki. With that Ifrit landed on the ground and opened his mouth shooting out a stream of flames engulfing the Gi. He picked up the flame ball and rocketed out of the shop and through the ceiling. Nanaki ran to where Ifrit just left and looked through the hole he had just made. Ifrit carried them to a dizzying height. He was about to throw the fireball back down. Nanaki ran for the door to get out before Ifrit threw the fireball. The door opened with no problem. Forest and Worbash must have ran when they saw Ifrit shoot through the roof. Nanaki ran out the door, by now many people were outside watching with amazement. "Run!" shouted Nanaki, without hesitation they all ran for cover behind some stone houses. Many peaked around the corner of the houses to see what was going on. Nanaki stood in front of the houses to see if Forest and Worbash were anywhere nearby. He didn't see them but before he could take cover, Ifrit threw the flaming ball down. A wave of flames shot out like a shock wave, fortunately by the time it reached Nanaki it was barely a tickle. Nanaki and many of the men ran to the shop as women stayed behind with the children. The Gi were nothing but ashes by now, Ifrit floated over their bodies waiting for the next command. Many of the men started to turn and run for cover again but then realized that Ifrit was working for Nanaki.
"Thank you, that's all we need," said Nanaki. Ifrit turned to a puff of red smoke and swirled back into the materia that was still concealed in Nanaki's paw. The Gongagan's surrounded Nanaki and picked him up on their shoulders and carried him out into the main square of Gongaga. Nanaki then saw something peculiar by the trees outside of town. He strained to see what it was but the people had a good grip on him. All he saw was somebody wearing a hooded cloak. They let him down and before they could all jump on him and give him a hug he dashed out of the group and looked at where the hooded figure was before, there was nothing there. They dashed over to him and shook his paw and children showered him with hugs.
Nanaki woke up with the sun warming his still face. He was curled up on bed in the little inn in Gongaga. His broken leg wasn't as bad as he thought is was and a simple cure materia mended most of the bone. It also cleared up all of his bruises and scratches, he was feeling great. He walked out onto the main square with a small limp. There the town waited for his arrival. First person he saw was the shopkeeper. He looked a lot different with a smile on his face. Nanaki walked over to him.
"We are most grateful Nanaki," said the shopkeeper.
The woman next him who appeared to be his wife then said, "It should be a long time until the Gi try to return." Nanaki's smile faded, and he shook his head.
"They'll be back though," said Nanaki, "You need to learn to protect yourself, and I have one idea. Pick out some of your best fighters and send them to Cosmo Canyon, there find Victor and Moonhed. Tell them I wanted you to learn self-protection so you can be prepared." Nanaki looked around and he could sense that the people's joy had dimmed after his comment so he said, "But you can do that later, today why don't you celebrate." People then began to smile again. After a few more hugs and hand or paw shakes, Nanaki had to tell them the bad news. "I'd love to stay but I most continue my journey. Perhaps I can stop the next wave of Gi before they get here but I most leave." They all nodded knowing this was coming. The shopkeeper stepped forward. "Here, a present from all of us to you," said the shopkeeper. He held out what looked like a large black collar with a charm on it. Nanaki inspected it closer and realized what it was. "We wanted you to keep Ifrit, we were saving to make a big sale, so we could start rebuilding the city. But we realized that it wasn't the money holding us back; it was the Gi and now they are gone and with this materia you can make sure they don't come back." Then the shopkeeper clipped the collar around Nanaki's neck. Nanaki didn't like jewelry that much but he thought the collar looked very handsome on him.
They kept good-byes short as Nanaki left. He still had a long way to go. There was a major Gi force out there somewhere and he had to find it, also there was the mystery of the hooded man. The next place he was going was the Golden Saucer, a huge source of information. Nanaki took one look back at the citizens of Gongaga waving good-bye. He turned back toward the Golden Saucer but before he left he howled at the noon sun and dashed up a hill and out of sight.