The heat was oppressing, pushing over them as if heavy weights had suddenly been placed upon their backs. The reactor's roof sizzled and the air shimmered visibly before their eyes, thick and unforgiving. Although Nanaki was used to the heat of Cosmo Canyon, this type was something else entirely, and his fur had now become the bane of his existence. If it weren't for the birth of the condor and his desire to see this metaphoric victory over all that Shinra was destroying, he would never have stepped out in the scorching sun and the air still thick with Mako.

The condor chick was chirping its first notes, fluffing feathers still thick with the egg's yolk and oblivious of the dead parent that had been watching over it for so long. To be born on a reactor, crowning it like a king, was truly one of the best messages of hope one could give to the oppressed and the Planet. Nanaki was immensely grateful to have witnessed such a miracle, to have protected it until it came to pass.

In his momentary amazement, Nanaki had almost forgotten the heat, but a stiffling breeze that proved no relief from the temperature served as a very efficient reminder. He was already turning around to retreat to the relative warmth of Fort Condor's bowels when something just outside the egg's broken shell caught his eye.

They'd seen only a few of those and possessed just as less, and any given time that someone who was knowledgeable enough to recognize them had seen the particular items, it had always caused awe and amazement. They represented power, both for the items and for those who wielded them, as only strong fighters could use them to their full potential.

And though he respected the chick's peace and wished not to disturb it, he would not let a summon materia stay where someone less scrupulous could find it and use it for harmful purposes.

The others had noticed it as well by then, but Nanaki was still the first to reach the egg and retreat the materia. It was warm, and he had no illusions that it might be because of the heat. Summon materia always seemed to radiate an inner heat, as if in tribute to their strength.

Behind him, the others asked questions or wondered at the materia's admittedly odd location, but Nanaki did not take part in the discussion. The first thing he wished, now that the materia was safe in his jaw, was to get out of this cursed heat. The rest of the group soon followed, both because of the temperature and from curiosity. It was always the same, when they found new a summon materia.

"Can you tell what summon it is?" Tifa asked curiously once they were back inside, sitting in the makeshift resting area for privacy. The people of Fort Condor were still thanking them generously, and it wouldn't be a wise idea to wave a summon materia under so many noses.

Nanaki shook his head. Normally, for every other materia, it was possible to know instinctively what magic it possessed, as if the holder automatically acquired the condensed knowledge it held. However, for summon materia, it worked differently, as if the entities were too complex to be felt subconsciously. The only way to know was to summon them a first time.

"I will summon it during our next battle," Nanaki finally answered. With one easy and practiced movement, the materia disappeared in his mane and into his feathered clip. It had surprised a few at first, when they'd seen that he was able to handle his own materia despite his lack of opposable thumbs. It all came down to adaptation, really, and using one's brain.

Outside Fort Condor and in a much more appreciable temperature, the group separated in the usual teams, though they did not stray too far. They knew that a new summon would be called forth soon, and were all eager to know what it was.

The monsters did not disappoint them, surging forward as soon as they'd left Fort Condor a respectable distance behind. And as soon as he was able, Nanaki reached into the new yet already familiar materia in his mane, summoning whatever beast laid dormant, awaiting its call, to come and fight with them.

It came, and Nanaki had to squint as everything around him suddenly seemed to glow. Bright red dots danced before his eyes, sparkles of all shades that could put a rainbow to shame, fading just before they touched the ground. His eyes adapted to the sudden brightness, and he looked up just as a lulling, comforting song filled the air, reaching into his very heart and sweeping all of his worries away, leaving only a feeling of peaceful contentment.

The bird was a breathtaking view. Wide wings spread wide, it floated down to them and everything froze as if time itself had stopped. Its golden eyes were focused on the monsters even as it sang reassurance to its allies and had the sky around it rain glowing stars. Nanaki couldn't move, only look up at it, and some part of his mind that was not just content to be reflected that its shape and majesty were celebrating the egg and the chick that had given it life.

Its wings dipped slightly and it dove forwards, breaking the spell that had overcome them all, so that time suddenly sped by him and sounds roared in his ears as everything was alight with unforgiving flames. Nanaki crouched down, closing his eyes and turning his face away as the heat washed over him in one great crashing wave that would sweep him away if he didn't hold on. For a moment he could only hear the roar of the flames, but suddenly everything was silenced and he was deaf.

Somehow, he did not dare open his eyes. The summon's mournful song was still in his heart, comforting him, and he felt thin, warm tendrils of magic ghost over his flesh tenderly, soothing out aches and pains and urging his eyes open again when they disappeared, whisked away by a stray breeze that he had not felt before.

Nanaki opened his eyes upon the charred remains of the monsters and the deep scorch marks in the blasted ground. That the summon was of the fire element was clear, and that automatically brought it closer to his heart, as he revelled in the element, but there was something more, something that called to him and created a strong attachment that would not let him hand the materia to anyone else.

And then he recognized what the tendrils had felt like. They were magic, life magic, that could not find a grasp on a target too healthy. The summon attacked, but it also revived, and it was the latter that appealed the most to him. Life was the Planet, rebirth its most generous gift.

The Phoenix. It might not be the most powerful summon, but Nanaki considered it the most magnificent of all.