Chapter 1: Midgar
The vibrant golden of the Sun shone over the cliffs of Cosmo Canyon. The beat of the drums echoed through the red valley like a giant's heartbeat signaling the start of a brand new day. The village bustled with activity as the people poured into the streets lined with markets packed with all sorts of greens, hairpins, armor and materia ranging from the infamous Ultima to Barrier. Activity was high and intense as bargains were made and goods were sold at alarming rates. It was an endless morning of adrenaline packed activity.
"Daddy, daddy! Wake up! That golden thing is in the sky again!" chirped Tiger, one of Red XIII's sons.
Tiger kept tugging and tugging at his father's mane till he was flat out of energy. He bit and he pulled but his dad still continued his journey of deep peaceful slumber in the land where everything floated and nothing sank. He jumped and he scratched hoping to wake up the hero of the town, but for a moment, the hero looked like a worthless zero. Tiger stepped back and examined his sleeping father. His masculine chest was moving up and down slowly and steadily, the fiery red coat was losing its color but was as vibrant as ever. It even outshined the cub's own young coat. The tattoos were contrasting against the red fur and brought out the fighting spirit in the sleeping icon. The stories he heard from the village elders about his dad were astounding and amazing. How he helped defeat Meteor and Sephiroth. How he went into the Northern Cave and defeated Jenova. It was all very fascinating. The cub was deep in thought when his twin sister, Leela came bounding in like a crazed bunny rabbit.
"Daddy, daddy that thing is in the... Mom! Daddy is being a fat chocobo again!" screeched the little cub. She looked at her dad with her big, round blue eyes and smacked his nose with her tiny paw. He did not budge. She heard one of her brothers running towards the cave.
"Dad's turned into a fat chocobo? Cool! I wanna see!" chimed Nanaki, who was named after his Grandfather. He bobbed into the cave, waving his still growing mane around for all to see as he was the oldest of the lot. As he walked in, he did not see a hint of yellow in the premises except for the glow of the Sun. He examined the room and found his younger brother and sister still trying to wake up their dad.
"Hey, one of you said that he turned into a fat chocobo. So, why isn't he big, fat and yellow?!" bellowed Nanaki, looking at his young, terrified siblings, whose eyes nearly popped out of their heads trying to plead forgiveness.
Leela got the courage to stand up and speak out to her brother. Nanaki was quite the bully in the litter. Just because he was the first born and was named after their grandfather, he thought he was the greatest. He abused his authority as an older brother and constantly made fun of the younger ones. Leela was sick of it. So were the other young ones but none had the courage to stand up to him until now.
"Did not! I said he was BEING a fat chocobo. Not turned into one!" Leela yelled in protest, her voice squeaking beyond recognition.
"I did not know the oldest was also the first to go deaf, dumb, blind and stupid!" she screeched and started to make a run for the door when Nanaki sped forward and blocked the entrance with his still developing body.
Anger and humiliation was written all over his aquiline face and there was a purple flash in his eyes showing the rage that had built inside of him after the remark passed on by his sister. He was breathing hard and fast and his claws were stuck out ready to strike. Leela stood in front of him, obviously terrified but tried her best not to panic. Her eyes widened as Nanaki's shadow covered her small trembling body. She felt his hot breath on her head. She looked up and slowly tried to move away from him to make a dash for the door. However, not matter how hard she tried to make it for the door; he always managed to block her path. He was too fast for her and this made her extremely mad. Her warrior instincts were brought to life my a sudden jolt out of nowhere and the next thing she knew, she was on top of her brother, scratching his face ferociously with her claws and gnawing at his ear. The taste of blood in her mouth was salty yet she enjoyed it.
Nanaki was utterly surprised at the strength that was hidden behind the innocent face of his younger sister. She was totally barbaric and was on a No-Mercy-To-Nanaki roll. She scratched and bit and hit till he was totally sore. He fought back but her attacks were twice the amount he could handle and twice as painful as his. She was too fast for him in battle. He looked over his crazed sister and saw Tiger standing in a corner, staring at Leela in obvious admiration. His little mouth hung open that even Jupiter could fit itself in with utmost comfort. His eyes shone with such brilliance that blinded Nanaki and made him utterly jealous of his younger sister. Overcome with envy, he pushed his sister back with such force that made her bang against the cave wall with a sickening thud. She lay on the floor, whining in pain. He got up and staggered over. Tiny drops of blood followed behind him as he walked up to her.
"You'll pay," he growled. He raised his paw and was about to strike her tiny body when he heard a roar and felt Tiger jump onto him like a brick. Tiger continued his sister's legacy by continuously striking Nanaki, as fast as he could. Tiger looked over at his twin who was still lying on the floor, still breathing but not moving. He knocked Nanaki in the face, hard and fast and ran to his sister's aid.
"You ever great man.. Totally awesome," he chided, licking her face.
Just then, Rau came into the room with bags of groceries and stood at the entrance obviously horrified by sight that greeted her. The place was in a total mess. Her eldest son was on the floor, covered in blood, her twins in one corner of the room cleaning themselves and her husband lying motionless on the floor. Both anger and worry flared within her soul as she ran towards Nanaki and asked what happened.
Nanaki gave a detailed description of what happened. Right down to the very last drop of blood that was leading to where the twins were cuddling together in fear of their mother.
"What was your father doing while this feud was going on?" Rau questioned the twins.
"He was sleeping Mommy," they wailed and burst into tears.
Horrified by her husband's behavior, she turned, went over to where her husband was sleeping and kicked him hard in the stomach, which sent him flying to the roof.
"Hey.what gives?" he asked in shock.
"Just what do you think you are doing sleeping like a damned fat chocobo while our cubs were having the battle of the century?! And I mean there was blood and pain and a whole mess in the house!" she screamed, angry and disappointed in her husband.
Red XIII got up and was totally blown way by the mess that greeted him with a mixture of the scent of blood in the air. He had no idea what had happened and was totally clueless of what he was going to do next. He looked at his twins and saw that they were OK but when he turned to Nanaki, he was utterly shocked and amused. Nanaki stood before his father with blood dripping from his coat and his hairpin damaged. Nanaki was panting and he looked absolutely pathetic.
"Care to explain, son?" he said with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"She hit me dad! Leela hit me! Tiger too!" he whined uncontrollably, unaware of the presence of his twin siblings and his Mom. He looked like a cub whining about not having a new hairpin. He slapped and stomped on the floor unaware of the amused look on his father's face. When he looked up, Red XIII maintained his serious stature and looked directly at his twins. Both of them were terrified. They did not know that their dad was going to do to them. Heaven knows the kind of power he possessed in his mighty physique.
"Daddy, daddy all we wanted to do was to wake you up and tell you that that weird golden thing is in the sky again! We did not mean to hit Nanaki. He wanted to attack Leela first!" said Tiger in his and his twin's defence.
Red XIII looked over to his wife to find that she and Nanaki had gone out to treat the wounds on his body. He looked down at his cubs and saw their big blue eyes staring at him, pleading for forgiveness. He felt a sudden warmth and sympathy for his little cubs.
"Come with me," he said gently and led them out to the canyons behind their cave.
"What you did to Nanaki was wrong. I know he started it but it was not right to injure him so brutally. Let me teach you how to attack without causing any bloodshed," he said.
This surprised the twins. Their father was teaching them how to fight. He never taught Nanaki how to fight. He let Nanaki learn on his own. They were learning from the master. They were overwhelmed with joy and excitement. They looked at each other wide eyed and ran over to their dad and jumped on top of him, licking his face in utmost appreciation.
"Whoa, you guys are heavy. Definitely have grown a lot," he said with pride.
Red XIII was delighted that he could teach his young twins a thing or two about combat. The damage they did to Nanaki was impressive for first- timers. He saw that they had inherited their fighting spirit from him as he did from his father. He was willing to keep that spirit up and hoped that what he taught the twins today would follow them for the rest of their lives.
The morning passed in a matter of minutes and they were heading off to the house when Tiger popped a question.
"Daddy, what is that weird golden thing in the sky?" he asked, shielding his eyes with his tiny paws.
"It's what you call the Sun," Red XIII explained.
"At least now I know that the two of you won't be fighting with Nanaki anymore over the Sun," he chuckled and went into his home where he was greeted with the fresh aroma of lunch.
He looked around the cave and saw that his wife had cleaned up the blood stains and was busy preparing their meal while Nanaki sat in the corner of a room recovering himself with healing herbs. They exchanged greetings and were silent again.
Lunch was a silent affair. No one talked at the floor except the twins who were highly excited about the Sun and kept asking a million questions at a go. They were also jabbering on about the fighting lesson that was given to them by their infamous dad. Red XIII sensed a hint of jealousy in Nanaki's spirit but he chose to ignore because he felt that his son deserved the beating from being a bully. Not that he was being biased but it was the right thing to do. He also sensed anger from his wife. Anyone could sense Rau's anger even all the way from Midgar. He braced himself for what was going to happen next.
"Fighting lessons?! What were you thinking!" she screeched, throwing her paws in the air and pacing up and down the room, shaking her head.
"Can't we talk about this later? I have to go meet Cloud at Midgar," he said calmly and left the room. He knew he was wrong for doing that but he was not in the mood for getting battered up by his wife over fighting lessons.
As he stepped out of the canyon, he saw the massive cliffs surrounding him. All red and orange. He never found anything so beautiful apart from his wife. He started in a slow run, pacing himself over the unleveled roads and passages, slowly picking up speed and headed towards Midgar, where his old friend Cloud was waiting for him.
The vibrant golden of the Sun shone over the cliffs of Cosmo Canyon. The beat of the drums echoed through the red valley like a giant's heartbeat signaling the start of a brand new day. The village bustled with activity as the people poured into the streets lined with markets packed with all sorts of greens, hairpins, armor and materia ranging from the infamous Ultima to Barrier. Activity was high and intense as bargains were made and goods were sold at alarming rates. It was an endless morning of adrenaline packed activity.
"Daddy, daddy! Wake up! That golden thing is in the sky again!" chirped Tiger, one of Red XIII's sons.
Tiger kept tugging and tugging at his father's mane till he was flat out of energy. He bit and he pulled but his dad still continued his journey of deep peaceful slumber in the land where everything floated and nothing sank. He jumped and he scratched hoping to wake up the hero of the town, but for a moment, the hero looked like a worthless zero. Tiger stepped back and examined his sleeping father. His masculine chest was moving up and down slowly and steadily, the fiery red coat was losing its color but was as vibrant as ever. It even outshined the cub's own young coat. The tattoos were contrasting against the red fur and brought out the fighting spirit in the sleeping icon. The stories he heard from the village elders about his dad were astounding and amazing. How he helped defeat Meteor and Sephiroth. How he went into the Northern Cave and defeated Jenova. It was all very fascinating. The cub was deep in thought when his twin sister, Leela came bounding in like a crazed bunny rabbit.
"Daddy, daddy that thing is in the... Mom! Daddy is being a fat chocobo again!" screeched the little cub. She looked at her dad with her big, round blue eyes and smacked his nose with her tiny paw. He did not budge. She heard one of her brothers running towards the cave.
"Dad's turned into a fat chocobo? Cool! I wanna see!" chimed Nanaki, who was named after his Grandfather. He bobbed into the cave, waving his still growing mane around for all to see as he was the oldest of the lot. As he walked in, he did not see a hint of yellow in the premises except for the glow of the Sun. He examined the room and found his younger brother and sister still trying to wake up their dad.
"Hey, one of you said that he turned into a fat chocobo. So, why isn't he big, fat and yellow?!" bellowed Nanaki, looking at his young, terrified siblings, whose eyes nearly popped out of their heads trying to plead forgiveness.
Leela got the courage to stand up and speak out to her brother. Nanaki was quite the bully in the litter. Just because he was the first born and was named after their grandfather, he thought he was the greatest. He abused his authority as an older brother and constantly made fun of the younger ones. Leela was sick of it. So were the other young ones but none had the courage to stand up to him until now.
"Did not! I said he was BEING a fat chocobo. Not turned into one!" Leela yelled in protest, her voice squeaking beyond recognition.
"I did not know the oldest was also the first to go deaf, dumb, blind and stupid!" she screeched and started to make a run for the door when Nanaki sped forward and blocked the entrance with his still developing body.
Anger and humiliation was written all over his aquiline face and there was a purple flash in his eyes showing the rage that had built inside of him after the remark passed on by his sister. He was breathing hard and fast and his claws were stuck out ready to strike. Leela stood in front of him, obviously terrified but tried her best not to panic. Her eyes widened as Nanaki's shadow covered her small trembling body. She felt his hot breath on her head. She looked up and slowly tried to move away from him to make a dash for the door. However, not matter how hard she tried to make it for the door; he always managed to block her path. He was too fast for her and this made her extremely mad. Her warrior instincts were brought to life my a sudden jolt out of nowhere and the next thing she knew, she was on top of her brother, scratching his face ferociously with her claws and gnawing at his ear. The taste of blood in her mouth was salty yet she enjoyed it.
Nanaki was utterly surprised at the strength that was hidden behind the innocent face of his younger sister. She was totally barbaric and was on a No-Mercy-To-Nanaki roll. She scratched and bit and hit till he was totally sore. He fought back but her attacks were twice the amount he could handle and twice as painful as his. She was too fast for him in battle. He looked over his crazed sister and saw Tiger standing in a corner, staring at Leela in obvious admiration. His little mouth hung open that even Jupiter could fit itself in with utmost comfort. His eyes shone with such brilliance that blinded Nanaki and made him utterly jealous of his younger sister. Overcome with envy, he pushed his sister back with such force that made her bang against the cave wall with a sickening thud. She lay on the floor, whining in pain. He got up and staggered over. Tiny drops of blood followed behind him as he walked up to her.
"You'll pay," he growled. He raised his paw and was about to strike her tiny body when he heard a roar and felt Tiger jump onto him like a brick. Tiger continued his sister's legacy by continuously striking Nanaki, as fast as he could. Tiger looked over at his twin who was still lying on the floor, still breathing but not moving. He knocked Nanaki in the face, hard and fast and ran to his sister's aid.
"You ever great man.. Totally awesome," he chided, licking her face.
Just then, Rau came into the room with bags of groceries and stood at the entrance obviously horrified by sight that greeted her. The place was in a total mess. Her eldest son was on the floor, covered in blood, her twins in one corner of the room cleaning themselves and her husband lying motionless on the floor. Both anger and worry flared within her soul as she ran towards Nanaki and asked what happened.
Nanaki gave a detailed description of what happened. Right down to the very last drop of blood that was leading to where the twins were cuddling together in fear of their mother.
"What was your father doing while this feud was going on?" Rau questioned the twins.
"He was sleeping Mommy," they wailed and burst into tears.
Horrified by her husband's behavior, she turned, went over to where her husband was sleeping and kicked him hard in the stomach, which sent him flying to the roof.
"Hey.what gives?" he asked in shock.
"Just what do you think you are doing sleeping like a damned fat chocobo while our cubs were having the battle of the century?! And I mean there was blood and pain and a whole mess in the house!" she screamed, angry and disappointed in her husband.
Red XIII got up and was totally blown way by the mess that greeted him with a mixture of the scent of blood in the air. He had no idea what had happened and was totally clueless of what he was going to do next. He looked at his twins and saw that they were OK but when he turned to Nanaki, he was utterly shocked and amused. Nanaki stood before his father with blood dripping from his coat and his hairpin damaged. Nanaki was panting and he looked absolutely pathetic.
"Care to explain, son?" he said with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"She hit me dad! Leela hit me! Tiger too!" he whined uncontrollably, unaware of the presence of his twin siblings and his Mom. He looked like a cub whining about not having a new hairpin. He slapped and stomped on the floor unaware of the amused look on his father's face. When he looked up, Red XIII maintained his serious stature and looked directly at his twins. Both of them were terrified. They did not know that their dad was going to do to them. Heaven knows the kind of power he possessed in his mighty physique.
"Daddy, daddy all we wanted to do was to wake you up and tell you that that weird golden thing is in the sky again! We did not mean to hit Nanaki. He wanted to attack Leela first!" said Tiger in his and his twin's defence.
Red XIII looked over to his wife to find that she and Nanaki had gone out to treat the wounds on his body. He looked down at his cubs and saw their big blue eyes staring at him, pleading for forgiveness. He felt a sudden warmth and sympathy for his little cubs.
"Come with me," he said gently and led them out to the canyons behind their cave.
"What you did to Nanaki was wrong. I know he started it but it was not right to injure him so brutally. Let me teach you how to attack without causing any bloodshed," he said.
This surprised the twins. Their father was teaching them how to fight. He never taught Nanaki how to fight. He let Nanaki learn on his own. They were learning from the master. They were overwhelmed with joy and excitement. They looked at each other wide eyed and ran over to their dad and jumped on top of him, licking his face in utmost appreciation.
"Whoa, you guys are heavy. Definitely have grown a lot," he said with pride.
Red XIII was delighted that he could teach his young twins a thing or two about combat. The damage they did to Nanaki was impressive for first- timers. He saw that they had inherited their fighting spirit from him as he did from his father. He was willing to keep that spirit up and hoped that what he taught the twins today would follow them for the rest of their lives.
The morning passed in a matter of minutes and they were heading off to the house when Tiger popped a question.
"Daddy, what is that weird golden thing in the sky?" he asked, shielding his eyes with his tiny paws.
"It's what you call the Sun," Red XIII explained.
"At least now I know that the two of you won't be fighting with Nanaki anymore over the Sun," he chuckled and went into his home where he was greeted with the fresh aroma of lunch.
He looked around the cave and saw that his wife had cleaned up the blood stains and was busy preparing their meal while Nanaki sat in the corner of a room recovering himself with healing herbs. They exchanged greetings and were silent again.
Lunch was a silent affair. No one talked at the floor except the twins who were highly excited about the Sun and kept asking a million questions at a go. They were also jabbering on about the fighting lesson that was given to them by their infamous dad. Red XIII sensed a hint of jealousy in Nanaki's spirit but he chose to ignore because he felt that his son deserved the beating from being a bully. Not that he was being biased but it was the right thing to do. He also sensed anger from his wife. Anyone could sense Rau's anger even all the way from Midgar. He braced himself for what was going to happen next.
"Fighting lessons?! What were you thinking!" she screeched, throwing her paws in the air and pacing up and down the room, shaking her head.
"Can't we talk about this later? I have to go meet Cloud at Midgar," he said calmly and left the room. He knew he was wrong for doing that but he was not in the mood for getting battered up by his wife over fighting lessons.
As he stepped out of the canyon, he saw the massive cliffs surrounding him. All red and orange. He never found anything so beautiful apart from his wife. He started in a slow run, pacing himself over the unleveled roads and passages, slowly picking up speed and headed towards Midgar, where his old friend Cloud was waiting for him.