Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"So, Father, I have seen something that puzzles me so." Nanaki paused, staring at the still form of Seto. He swished his tail in mild agitation, wondering whether he should speak of what he saw last spring in Nibelheim. Always did he return to Cosmo Canyon, sometimes after a short while, and other times after a long journey.

He had been back to speak to his petrified father before now, but he had wanted to process everything he had experienced, and frankly, the misadventure had taken time to recover from psychologically. But, he began to think as he straightened his shoulders, he should speak of it aloud. "I...my friends are in thrall to a being that resides in the mountains far to the west. I am uncertain as to what to do."

Nanaki spoke of his time in Nibelheim, letting out his fears and frustrations with his two friends. "They released us, but I am at a loss. What can I do? What should I do?"

There was no reply back, but he hadn't been expecting one in the first place. It was therapeutic regardless. Still, he was no closer to an answer. Could Cloud's words be trusted, that they were part of the mountain? Was Mount Nibel something that should not be, or was it a part of the planet? He had thought on it with no answers in sight. Would he have to get them from the mountain itself? The thought made him shudder.

The red beast tightened his jaw, still looking up at the statue Seto had become. He puffed out his chest, then nodded. "I will find answers, and then I will return to you."

He went to turn around, but thought he heard a whisper on the wind, or a scream. Nanaki looked about the narrow canyon, but only the slightest breeze came by him. His eyes lingered upward at his father, and then he was off, to Cosmo Canyon. Nanaki needed to rest after his long journey.

"Free me," came a voice on the howling wind.

Nanaki was in a canyon he was unfamiliar with, the mesas grey with a strange corruption and the ground in front of him bleeding some strange fluid. He walked forward, the pale sun slowly dimming overhead as he continued on his trek. Dust particles dangled in the now stilled air, colored dusk in the canyon's twilight. "How is it?"

"Free me," the voice begged. "Free my soul to the planet."

He continued his trek as his single eye watched for danger. There was movement up ahead...it looked like another of his species! He had to meet them, and so he sped up. The chance of a lifetime!

The canyon walls were closing in on him as he went on, and he soon came to stand in front of a structure built within the stoneface. There were scattered skeletons piled about its pillars, though the entrance was clear of debris. The skeletons were dressed in ragged, rotting leathers and fabric, and spears and bows and staffs rose from the mounds. Some skulls wore headdresses and a half disintegrated sandal laid near Nanaki's tail.

Dread tugged at his chest. The specter of a being like him came to his eye again, and his heart leapt into his throat. It looked eerily similar to Seto, his father.

"Free me from this curse," it said before trotting into the entrance.

Nanaki pulled in a breath, shallow despite how deep he breathed. He rose and continued his march to see where Seto had gone. Into the tall entrance of this strange structure, this -temple-, but a temple to what still eluded the red beast. A too real smell wafted to his nose; similar to a harsh tobacco mixed with honey and charred flesh, clinging to his nose with a thick fat.

Iena-To-Bizalu.

The name, or title, was gently placed in Nanaki's mind. Familiar, and almost decipherable; it sounded like a sister language to that of the Cosmo Area. His ears flicked as something in the humid air tickled them without touch. A low hum, a slightly higher chant. He went further in, despite his bestial instincts telling him to run.

A ramp, down into the earth. Down he went, further into the inky black. The sounds grew louder, and a strange pinkish-red glow became apparent from a room at the end. Or was it a hall? Nanaki couldn't make out the dimensions despite the light, or because of it. There were censers hanging from the ceiling, and more bones on the floor. The chanting was loud.

"Ishi-ishi, Iena-To-Bizalu!

Ishi-ishi, Iena-To-Bizalu!

Bizalu tok gini ypo maru! Gi!

Bizalu tok gini ypo maru! Gi!"

Something stood in front of him, feet surrounded by candles that released a muted light. Humanoid and bound, not alive but was, its single, red, right eye stared and judged Nanaki. In his mind, he heard the being's laughter and intentions. Defeat was nothing, the being would return.

"Free me, Nanaki! Free me from the Gi!"

"Nanaki!"

He yelped and shot from his bed of blankets and pillows as someone shoved their fingers into his shoulder. Legs spread out and tail straight up, Nanaki glared at whomever dared interrupt his rest. He relaxed with some surprise as two familiar, blood red eyes regarded him with a withering stare. The beast calmly sat down, pretending to be nonplussed. "Ah, Vincent...I wasn't expecting you."

"You were having a nightmare."

Nanaki frowned up at his friend, not wanting to admit it, but knowing he had no choice with him. "How did you know?"

"I came in to check on you. One of the elders said you looked pensive." Vincent blinked, then studied him some more. "You were whimpering and kicking in bed."

"Oh." Nanaki licked his lips. Vincent continued to regard him, and the red furred beast sighed. No matter what, Avalanche members would always ask about a nightmare, he mused in his head. "...It wasn't about our travels together, if you're worried about that."

Vincent raised a dark brow, now partially hidden beneath the red fabric that wrapped about his forehead. Nanaki looked down at the floor of his room, then back at his friend. "I went to visit my father last night, and I just had a dream where he was asking me to free him. He led me to a strange place in a narrow canyon, and inside was some creature.

"Its name was Iena-To-Bizalu." He lowered his brow as he thought over the strange words that almost made sense. "Gi. They said Gi in their chants…" He slowly shook his head, making the beads and bangles in his mane jingle. "Seto asked me to free him from the Gi…"

"Hm. You told me of the Gi tribe. Are you sure this dream wasn't just because you were visiting your father?"

Nanaki looked away, towards the drab stone wall. "I've never had such a nightmare after visiting him." He looked back, a bit more sure of himself. "Nothing like that, nor so vivid."

"Hm." Vincent crossed his arms. "So then, what will you do?"

The Gi tribe, and his father requesting he free him. What else was there to be done at the moment? "...I would like to research what I can."

Vincent nodded approvingly. "Then I will help you."

They went to the elder's library, carved into the canyon's wall ages ago. There were books and scrolls and leathers on various subjects, many older than Vincent and Nanaki's ages combined. "So, Vincent...what brought you to Cosmo Canyon?"

Vincent looked from the scroll he was asked for, down at Nanaki. "I was on my way to check on our friends."

A small grunt passed Nanaki's lips. He had absolutely no contact with Cloud and Tifa since their treachery that fateful spring night, but his grudge had waned significantly as the seasons passed. Now, he was more concerned, if still wary. Even now, he remembered the sorrow on Tifa's face, her eyes an alien amber instead of those warm, carmine orbs that perked up from her smile…

Did he really want that to be the last memory he had of her? Of them?

"I'll keep you company," he replied before carefully opening up the scroll with his nose.

Then ebon haired man nodded, then searched a dusty shelf for a book. "If you wish."

Nanaki looked over the ancient parchment, discolored brown and cracked around the edges here and there. It was written during a time when the local languages were looser in spelling, making some words difficult to make out. Compounding the issue was his own ignorance of the languages; they were similar to each other, but a single phrase or word could hold a totally different meaning to what he knew.

This scroll spoke of a quarrel in Cosmo Canyon a very long time ago. A story he heard iterated many a time by Bugenhagen and the other elders. It led to the creation of the Gi tribe, supposedly, though he wondered if that tidbit had been added on because of the War of the Gi. It gave no names to go off on, except for two: Ruustif, and Daakune.

They were two brothers who came from the far north, settling among the villagers. After a while Daakune had caused half the village to come to quarrel against the others, and Ruustif forced them out and into the hot desert. The Cosmo Candle came into existence to forever keep those that left at bay.

But how?

"Do you think the Cetra were involved?"

Nanaki looked up from another scroll with a very similar tale, though the words were even harder to understand. "What makes you think that?"

Vincent shrugged, book in hand. "The two named characters are from the north. How old is this tale, anyway?"

"I have no idea. These scrolls are at least five hundred years or so old." He hummed as he went through an older scroll, which led to an older version. "This one I can barely make out."

It was too different. The language was divided into several ages for its development, and this scroll would be early Middle Cosmo. Nanaki had only been taught a smidgeon of it; he figured he had plenty of time to spare, but now it felt short as he searched for answers. He was irritated with his younger self being so careless as to not study the topic!

His nose twitched as his eye came across a barely illegible section of parchment, a crack running through the old and fragile medium. Nanaki blinked and squinted at it, trying to make it out. Iena...zalu.

"Iena-To-Bizalu...is not a phrase or name belonging to this language. Or should I say, it's related, but does not belong." Nanaki looked up at Vincent.

Vincent again looked down from what he was reading, his eyes showing thoughtfulness at the unspoken question. "Two thousand years ago, the Cetra were almost no more. Our descendants settled the planet, and Cosmo Canyon would be no different."

"Hmm...Do you think Ruustif and Daakune were surviving Cetra from the north?"

The ex-Turk shrugged. "It's possible." He pointed his clawed finger upward. "And Ifalna was once here, too."

Nanaki looked down as he searched his memory. "Ifalna. Aerith's mother…" He stared at the scroll some more, then glanced Vincent. "Perhaps she left Gast with some notes?"

"Maybe." Vincent took out his phone. "Perhaps we could ask for a delivery."

Chapter Text

A week had passed as Vincent and Nanaki traveled towards Nibelheim, walking and on their way towards the foreboding mountain chain that nestled a strange village. On the eighth day they reached the lonesome road that led up through the woods, Nanaki wishing safety on the kind person who offered them a ride in their truck early that morning. As the truck left, kicking up dust, the silence in its wake began to swallow them up.

They hadn't visited this place in a year's time.

Vincent took no time striding up the road, and Nanaki bounded behind him after a final glance at the spiked crest of Mount Nibel. A nervousness was inching through his chest as they went through the tree line. How would they greet each other? It had been a while, and the last they met hadn't been on the best terms. Then there were the babies.

Nanaki silently sighed to himself as they continued on their way, the sun angled towards the west and casting sharp shadows where the light made it through the canopy. Again the path was monster free, which dredged up memories of those strange creatures that had bound them that fateful night. Nanaki figured they were probably watching from the underbrush. An unnerving thought, but so long as they didn't make a move against them, he could tolerate it.

Was the land around them reacting to their presence? Did it wish to ask why they tread on these grounds again? It was in the back of Nanaki's mind, peering but he received no answers. He wondered if he would have to speak to it. "We are being watched," he announced quietly.

Vincent let out a grunt of acknowledgement, looking about leisurely as they continued up the mountain path. "Perhaps it wasn't told of our coming."

Or maybe it was, but was still wary. Nanaki cleared his throat. "We only come to visit our friends."

The sensation stayed, though it peered less. Judging. The two continued on, their feet a little faster. They came upon Nibelheim as the sky began to darken a little, the air crisping as the sun slowly descended. All in all, it was a sleepy looking village, peaceful but for its dark little secret.

Nanaki noticed Vincent watching two villagers he had never seen before, a couple entering their home as the two travelers came close to their friends' house. Vincent let out a low sigh. "I told him to stay away from the mountain," he said with a touch of exasperation. Nanaki decided not to pry.

Cloud and Tifa's house had been expanded, just like Barret and Cid had said. A little wider and sporting a small garage for Fenrir, the small front yard littered with a handful of children's toys. Vincent knocked on the door, and after a short while it opened, revealing Tifa's warm smile to them both.

Her ruby eyes sparkled. "Vincent, Nanaki! I've missed you both," she said with a voice barely hiding emotion.

She let them into the house, the air warm and smelling of dinner. "Cloud should be back soon. Let me take you to the guest room, okay?"

Nanaki couldn't help but follow her upstairs. Should he be suspicious? He really wished he could just let that go. The room she took them to had two beds covered in quilts for the cold mountain nights, and looking a little more modern than the rest of the house. The floor was wood, with a decorative carpet covering the space in front of the beds. A window let in waning light from outside.

"Cloud said he found some things of interest to you," she addressed them both, tucking some hair behind her ear.

Vincent nodded. "Thanks for having us again."

Tifa blushed, the slight tension being felt by all in the room. "I...hope you enjoy your stay this time."

"The circumstances are much different, aren't they?" Nanaki asked. It was just as much to himself as to her.

There was a small, relieved smile growing on her face. "They are. Still...I never really got to apologize to you, Nanaki." She bent down to touch his shoulder.

He allowed it. It was like those times she would hold his shoulder, checking if he was alright after a battle. His eye found the floor interesting as she waited for some response from her friend. Should he accept? There was still so much he didn't understand about the situation.

His ochre eye found hers, slowly growing more accepting of what seemed to be a too wide divide between them. His tail swished gently against the floor. "So long as you are more honest with us in the future," he accepted with a caveat.

A breath left Tifa's lips, and she nodded. "Of course."

He felt more at ease. More than anything, he wanted his human friends back. Well, they still smelled human. He would have to ask more later. But for now, he figured it was best to worry about this new task his vision had set in front of him. Cloud would be here soon, with some answers. "How are the children?"

"Denzel and Marlene?" Tifa stood straight. "They've been enjoying Nibelheim. Of course, Denzel still wants more kids his age to play with, but Cloud goes fishing with him, or takes him on motorcycle rides. It definitely helps his mood.

"The babies, well, we're gonna have a little birthday for all four of them at the end of the month." She tilted her head gently to the side. "Would you like to see them?"

Vincent shrugged, and Nanaki nodded out of politeness. He never got a good look at the babies; were they normal, after that night? She took them to a larger room, holding four cribs. There was some quiet babbling from one, but it sounded as if the rest were silent. Tifa went over to one of the cribs, smiling and scooping up whomever was lying within.

"Oh, you just don't like nappy time, do you, Stella?" Tifa's eyes went from the baby, to Vincent. "I think you already met Stella," she teased before coming close to the ex-Turk, allowing him to take the bundle.

Hesitantly he did so, his crimson eyes studying the baby. He grunted as a chubby arm reached out towards his face. Stella happily gurgled and giggled at him. "I guess she remembers me, too," he mumbled.

"She definitely likes you." Tifa let him hold her a moment more, not letting him grow too uncomfortable. Once she took her back, she bent down to let Nanaki see her.

She had thick, milk chocolate brown hair, and red eyes a shade cooler than Tifa's. Stella studied Nanaki intently, going back and forth between his face and his flaming tail. She let out a worried little noise, her mouth partially open. She looked up at her mother. "It's okay, Stella."

Nanaki sniffed her, getting the baby's attention again. She smelled human, too. But he supposed he had gotten her scent the last time he was here, so why was his nose so curious? Stella's lower lip began to quiver as a whimper began, and the beast let out a soft chuckle. "Hello, there."

The cry she was about to let out caught in her throat, and she blinked. Tifa let out a quiet snort before standing up to put the baby back into her crib. "I think she'll like you soon enough," Tifa reckoned as she turned back to them.

Nanaki held his tongue; as much as he wished to ask if Stella was used to those things in the woods, he wouldn't break the peace. He could ask at a better time. They followed Tifa downstairs, where she fiddled with some large pot on the stove. It was soon after that the children arrived, their eyes lighting up when they saw the two visitors.

They asked where they had been, what they had been doing, as if there was nothing at all out of place. As if they were completely ignorant of the mountain...Nanaki sighed with a slight frustration, then returned to replying to Denzel's questions. He wanted to visit Cosmo Canyon, because he was bored.

Cloud came home soon after, the rumble of his bike announcing his approach. A minute later and the blond opened the door, his dimly glowing blue eyes catching their attention first, then the week's worth of scruff that had accumulated on his journey to the north. He was holding a box in his hand, and a smile grew on his lips as he came into the kitchen.

"Nanaki, Vincent, how have you been?"

They small talked before dinner, eating and watching for any signs of something strange. The stew smelled and looked fine, the children were acting like children, and Cloud and Tifa were acting like Cloud and Tifa. Nanaki just couldn't help the feeling that the rug would be pulled out from underneath him at any moment, and they would be bum rushed by spider monsters looking for a proper sacrifice—

"Nanaki, you okay?"

He turned his head towards Cloud, who had a brow up and a worried expression on his face. He had a box in front of him on the empty table; it had been nearly ten minutes since they had finished eating, and he had fallen deep into thought. He nodded. "Yes, I...I'm just thinking."

"Hm. Anyway," Cloud began as he rummaged through the box, "I found some papers that might be of interest to you. It looks like Ghast was interested in Cetra legends, too.

"This folder is about some Cosmo Canyon lore. You mentioned some names…" He lifted an aged manilla folder, and gave it to Vincent. Tifa was sitting adjacent to him. "I think they're close enough...what do you two think?"

Vincent took the folder as Nanaki raised his front paws to lean on the chair, looking from behind Vincent's shoulder. The first page detailed the founding of Cosmo Canyon by Ifalna's accounts, which was rather similar to the old scrolls and books in the library there. People came and some stayed behind, and over the years it happened that one or two Cetra would settle instead of continuing on their journey.

The second page made his eye light up. "I think this is it, he mumbled.

This version was different.

Da'akune came to Cosmo Canyon, and in those days it was much larger. Ten thousand lived here, and it had been tended to with care to keep the population well fed. The people there were wary, because a portent in the North told of bad luck, a star falling from the sky a year ago. He wore an eye patch and the leather patch seal of a Cetra from the Sea Tribe.

He lived among them, gaining their trust. Da'akune claimed to have lost his eye in a fight with a creature not too long before stumbling upon the large town. His popularity grew quickly, and after the tragic death of the chieftain, enough of the people loved him so that they asked him to be chief instead of their former leader's young son. There was bitterness, but it was quelled through mysterious means.

For two years he ruled unopposed, Da'akune speaking of a threat from the northwest that they would have to destroy soon. The people fretted, as they were a peace loving kind, and he promised that he would lead the charge to protect Cosmo Canyon. So the able bodied trained and the smiths became busy with orders for war. In those days, humans were still more attuned to the planet then they are today, and so those with the greatest affinity practiced destructive magic.

A fortnight before disembarking, however, another man came to Cosmo Canyon: R'ust'if, a Cetra from the Star Tribe. He was scarred and his hair hung in beaded braids, and he carried a sword made from whelk shell. With him were the Guardians, the great beasts with a flame at the tip of their tail. He claimed Da'akune was leading them astray, and that he had been a power hungry traitor when the Cetra were trying to heal the planet after the falling star had struck its crown.

He covers his left eye, R'ust'if claimed, because it is not his own. It was the lost eye of the Calamity that he had taken into himself after a final fight with the alien. It was sealed away, but at great cost, and when the surviving Cetra found out about Da'akune's treachery they sent R'ust'if after him.

Cosmo Canyon was split that day, as some argued Da'akune innocent and a wise leader, while some shirked away from the man who had come after the falling star, always unsure of his motives and suspicious of their former chieftain's death, and that of his son months after. A quarrel erupted as the most aggressive of Da'akune's forces tried to snuff out the dissent brought about by R'ust'if, and he fought the other Cetra to put an end to his madness with the help of the Guardians.

Though it came with many casualties and torn families, Da'akune and his loyalists escaped into the desert, never to be seen again. The final image the inhabitants saw was that of a man with a single, glowing red eye that contrasted with the green of his other. He promised he would take back what was his. R'ust'if cursed him, and gave him the name of Iena-To-Bizalu, One Red Eye.

R'ust'if stayed and became an advisor to the new chieftain, a half Cetra named Eo'shuni. He established the Cosmo Candle, a sacred fire to keep away the evil that lurks deep in the desert. Supposedly, it was extinguished when the Gi Tribe attacked decades ago. The Guardians stayed in Cosmo Canyon, their extraordinarily long lives assisting the leaders of every generation.

While it is unknown to Ifalna what happened to Iena-To-Bizalu, it is thought that this rift is what created the Gi Tribe, as corpses found in the cave of the Gi carried amulets of a red eyeball. While it is thought the Gi Tribe is extinct, there is always the possibility that they now bide their time for another strike on the people of Cosmo Canyon. I hope that this assumption is wholly incorrect.

"Fascinating…" Vincent muttered.

Nanaki nodded. "Very," he replied before swallowing. What a strange and terrible tale!

"So, Jenova's eye is out there, somewhere…" Tifa picked at the table cloth with a frown. "In someone's body."

"Hopefully a corpse," Cloud said tersely. He looked at his two friends. "Do you know where to begin searching?"

"...No, I don't," the red beast admitted.

The blond nodded quietly, looking down at the other folders in the box. He looked thoughtful. "Well, I'll let you guys look through the rest of these. I'm gonna clean up a bit and check on the babies." Cloud scooted out of his chair, then walked out of the kitchen. Tifa stood and returned to dishwashing.

Nanaki plopped his front paws to the ground again as a different folder was placed in front of him. He huffed, then carefully nudged it open. They had an origin now, but they were no closer to finding the resting place of Iena-To-Bizalu, nor his connection to his father, Seto.

Chapter Text

Creak, creak, creeeeaaaaaak…

Tensing, Nanaki opened his eye to the darkness of the guestroom, his vision quickly adjusting and registering that their door was open. He let out a warning growl as he quickly stood up on the mattress, his tail like a torch behind him. So, was this what they had cooked up? A louder growl came from the back of his throat as he heard Vincent shuffling on the bed next to his.

“N-Nanaki?” It was Marlene, her shy gaze peeking from the doorway. The head of her chocobo plush grazed her chin.

His tail fell and he tilted his head as she and Denzel came into the guest room, closing the door behind them. Nanaki met them on the floor as Vincent stood next to him. “What’s wrong?”

“We wanted to talk to you,” Denzel replied warily.

Vincent quirked a brow. “...At three in the morning?”

The boy was fidgeting where he stood, holding a strange book. “W-well, Cloud and Tifa left, so—”

“They left?” The ex-Turk held a suspicious tone to his voice.

Marlene nodded. “I think they went up the mountain...We’re worried about them.”

You aren’t the only ones, Nanaki thought. He didn’t like that they might be up there, communing with that thing as they visited, even after Tifa gave reassurances that they would be more open with them in the future. But, this was an opportunity to speak to the children earnestly. That was worth something.

He came a little closer, bringing his tail to lay near them as if a small campfire. “Have they been mistreating you?”

They both shook their heads. “No, it’s not that. They just...talk weird.” Denzel tapped his fingers against the book’s cover. “Sometimes it sounds like the stuff in this book.”

“Hm.” Vincent held out his gloved hand, silently asking for the tome. Denzel handed it over eagerly, and the sinister looking man began looking through the pages. Marlene squeezed her chocobo closer.

“The flower lady made us promise to talk to you two about it, and we heard you were gonna visit, but I don’t know what to ask…” She sniffled a little bit, oblivious to Nanaki and Vincent being taken aback by the news of a certain half-Cetra making a visit to the children. “They’re keeping care of us, but there’s something scary here...The babies…”

“They certainly smell human,” Nanaki reassured. “Hmm…Where did you find that book?”

“In the library,” Denzel admitted. “I-I read from it in there. I shouldn’t have...It did something.”

A grunt came from Vincent. “I see...This isn’t something a kid should have.”

Nanaki wondered what his friend was gleaning from the book, but quickly remembered there were two scared children in the room with him, their parents off in a cave doing planet knows what. “I’m sure Cloud and Tifa would never hurt you...but, we’ll try and get to the bottom of it, alright?”

The children nodded, though they still looked scared. Sad. “Nothing happened when Barret and Cid visited, right?”

Marlene shook her head, though it wasn’t particularly firm. “I wanted to tell Daddy, but he looked like something was bothering him already.”

“We think you and Vincent are a bit more, ummm…” Denzel looked down at his feet.

Level headed.

Vincent gave a nod. “We will help.” He glanced around, then looked the brunet in the eye as he looked up again. “You should go back to bed, before anyone notices.”

“But Cloud and Tifa aren’t here.”

Marlene grabbed his arm. “Nanaki isn’t talking about them…”

“Oh.” He swallowed and nodded. “Let’s go, Mar. Thank you, Vincent and Nanaki.”

As he watched them open up the door and leave, Nanaki couldn’t help but ponder what the children had seen. Even speaking with them they seemed hesitant, like the house had eyes and ears. Maybe it did, he couldn’t help but think as he went back to his bed, situating himself on the covers as Vincent continued to read Denzel’s book.

“...What does it say?” Nanaki murmured to his friend.

Vincent shrugged, then a few moments later turned a page. “Whoever wrote this was interested in the mountain god,” he replied, seemingly careful not to use the deity’s name. “There are notes on the physiology of the natives, the creatures, rituals to summon up some of the more intelligent ones…”

“For what purpose…”

“I do not know, exactly. Maybe they wanted to control the area. Or commune with the so-called god of the mountain.” His brass claw travelled over the page he was reading. “There’s no origin given, but it was known throughout the region for generations. It may have given rise to physical changes in the humans that lived here.”

Nanaki blinked. “...Physical changes? Oh. Right.” He didn’t particularly want to remember that.

It wasn’t too long after that the door downstairs could be heard slowly opening, softly creaking here and there. Careful footsteps came in, but stayed in the vicinity of the kitchen. Nanaki strained to hear for any conversation, but Cloud and Tifa were quiet, doing whatever they were doing; it raised the fur on his back on end. Vincent’s eyes never left the book, casually flipping the pages as if they never entered the home.

“Get some sleep,” he whispered. “I’ll keep watch.”

A pain clutched his heart. Had distrust so thoroughly burrowed itself into him?

Slowly, Nanaki reached a fitful sleep, dreams flickering at the edges of his mind. Sometimes he heard Seto calling out to him, and other times he saw a violet blur. It had barely registered as sleep as he groggily lifted his head to the sound of gentle taps on their door. A few moments later and Tifa’s head entered the room, lit by the grey light of dawn. She smiled at them both, as if they were completely ignorant of last night. “Morning. I have breakfast going downstairs, if you want some before the kids wake up.”

Nanaki then looked at Vincent, the book gone from his hands as he nodded at her. Quickly the red beast looked at her and nodded too, then hopped off the bed to follow her as Vincent went to fetch his cloak. He would sniff out any tricks, if any were to be found. What were they up to, climbing the mountain so early.

“Hungry, Nanaki?” Tifa asked as they found themselves in the kitchen. She began looking through one of the cupboards, the clank of ceramic unmistakable.

“A little.” He looked at her face as she turned to put a few mugs on the table. “I take it you didn’t sleep well?”

She stared back, eyes half lidded, then nodded. “We’ve been up for a while. Do you still like milk in your coffee?”

He nodded, and she quickly collected a bowl before fixing up his drink; it was one he partook of very seldomly, but today he was sure he would need it. “Busy night?” he asked offhandedly.

“You could say that. But, now we know what to do.” She placed the bowl in front of her friend, meeting his anxious eye.

“S-so...what would that be?”

Tifa stood straight and put her hands proudly on her hips. "We're coming with you guys. We can help you find it."

He raised a brow, his muscles relaxing just so. “How?”

“Hm, let’s just say that we aren’t the only ones uneasy at the thought of any part of Jenova surviving.” Tifa tilted her head gently to the side, her dark hair shifting about the patterned sweater she wore. “It took a while, but we have a general vicinity for it. Today, we’ll prepare for the trip, okay?”

Just relax, Nanaki knew she was saying. “What of the children?”

“They’ll be fine for a few days. Besides, Sarah and Owen will check on them.”

“Hm.” He began to lap at his drink, just warm enough with the bitterness of the coffee cut by the goat milk she had generously poured. As Tifa began working on breakfast, he wondered how they had become privy to the information. Could their god glean knowledge from the Lifestream? It wouldn’t be far fetched at all, he supposed.

Vincent came downstairs and glanced at Nanaki, who only gave a nod back as he laid curled up in the corner, tail flicking up and down as he thought. Appeased, the dark haired man sat at the table, Tifa greeting him with a cup of coffee and the news she had given Nanaki only a short while ago.

Cloud came in a few minutes later, going to the sink to wash his hands, then sat at the table across from Vincent. There was a small grease smudge on his cheek. “Mornin’, guys.”

The house slowly grew in activity as food cooked and children awoke. They looked a little tired, but not too phased from their nighttime trek as they dug into their cinnamon flavored oatmeal. It was almost unsettling how quiet breakfast was, but Nanaki supposed with the way things were, it couldn’t be helped.

“Denzel, Marlene...We have something to tell you.” Tifa straightened her shoulders as she put her spoon down. Nanaki watched, licking oatmeal from his chops. The two children looked a little uncomfortable, he noticed.

Cloud nodded. “We have to help Nanaki and Vincent find a place in the Cosmo Area. So, we’ll probably be gone for a few days.”

They looked a bit apprehensive. “G-gone?” Marlene shook her head. “But what about the babies?”

“Sarah can come over to help. I’ll have some meals ready that you can stick in the oven, okay?” Tifa smiled reassuringly at her. “You know how to use it already.”

“We’ll bring back some souvenirs from Cosmo Canyon,” Cloud added with a wry smile.

“We’ll do our best.” Denzel looked determined. Despite his worry, he looked ready to impress his hero. Nanaki stopped himself from letting out a chuckle.

After breakfast he followed Cloud, the blond heading down the road towards a barn that was within the short walls of town and at the edge of the woods. There were traces of spider web here and there, rankling him. That smell, the smell of those things was stronger here, away from the town proper.

“Calm down, Nanaki.”

He looked up at Cloud. “Pardon my wariness,” he said rather sharply, “but I’m sure you understand.”

Blush came over Cloud’s cheeks, and he looked forward again. “Uh, right. Sorry.”

“You aren’t worried they’ll harm the children while you’re gone?” he pressed.

Cloud opened the old wooden gate and looked taken aback when he turned his head again. “Of course not. They’re Dugafel. They like children.”

Nanaki went through the gateway, behind his friend. “Is that so?”

“Yeah. They’re...not really dangerous when it comes to temperament. What? They didn’t hurt you, now did they?” A blond brow quirked up as they stood near the entrance to the barn.

“You should have said something,” the beast muttered as he looked down at the ground, looking for more traces of those creatures...Dugafel.

Cloud opened up the barn door carefully, the joints creaking as they tried and failed to resist those prying hands. “Can you blame us? What—what could we have said to you two?”

It had been a precarious situation, that was true enough. Still, Nanaki hoped to never come face to face with another Dugafel if he could help it. They were disturbing creatures, their alien eyes... ah, no more of that , he thought. He shrugged. “I’d have preferred a chat over tea to being cocooned.”

There was a choked laugh as Cloud walked into the barn, all the while shaking his head. “Sorry. It’s just...it’s not something easily put into words. And we want to.”

“Tifa said as much.” The air in the barn held the scent of aged wood and the warm smell of birds; there were chocobos in here. Cloud began letting them out of their pens, and the chocobos strode out with a few warbles here and there, greeting the morning happily. “What of the children, though?”

“Marlene and Denzel?”

He nodded as his friend went about cleaning the stalls. “They’re worried about you two, you know.”

Cloud stiffened for a few moments, then went back to work. “We haven’t done anything in front of them.”

“You don’t think that they wouldn’t notice something was not adding up? They’re children, they’ve probably seen things but were afraid to tell you.”

The blond shook his head. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“They don’t know that,” Nanaki sighed out. “We thought you both possessed after less than a day. They’ve been here with you for nearly a year.”

“What do you want us to say to them?” Cloud asked, slightly exasperated. He sat and leaned against a stall wall, then ran his fingers through his spiky hair. “This isn’t easy for us, either.”

Nanaki nodded, conceding his point. “What is this god of yours truly like? I want to be able to help,” he clarified.

“Hm. Niblrung is...he’s not evil, of course. Just a little...pushy.” A small, wry smile found itself on Cloud’s lips. “He’s the god of fertility, older than the Cetra. He dreams under Mount Nibel.

“I suppose His form is a little...unsettling. But, His intentions aren’t anything like Jenova’s.”

“He knows of Jenova, doesn’t he?” Nanaki pried.

Cloud slowly nodded. “They don’t get along.”

Nanaki let out a little grunt, swishing his tail and moving stray dead leaves and straw. “But why did he...do this, to you and Tifa?”

A slightly withering gaze. “I told you. We’re part of the mountain.” He stood up. “We had no choice, like a fish has no choice but to breathe water.”

“But there are others in Nibelheim now, and they aren’t from—” He noticed Cloud’s face darken a little, and his snout went numb. “What did you do to them?”

“They’re happy, aren’t they? Humans that live here eventually get called to Him, too.” Cloud went back to cleaning.

“And the children?”

“...They can choose when they’re of age,” he muttered back. “So...how should we go about telling them?”

“I...don’t really know, sorry.” When Cloud looked back at him, consternated, Nanaki grimaced a bit. “Let me think on it, I mean.”

The blond’s features softened into something almost akin to worry. “Thank you. It’s been something Tifa and me have been stuck on.”

“It’s nothing…”

Nanaki hoped Vincent could help in that regard. Maybe the book would give answers Cloud nor Tifa wanted to willingly divulge for one reason or another, but they were being open. That was good. Maybe he could trust them, though if he were a human he would feel it best not to.

He watched as Cloud checked the chocobos, then pointed out the two that would transport them to where Iena-To-Bizalu rested. A sharp breath of mountain air made its home in his lungs; soon, they would journey to a place where the Gi made their home. Would there be living members there? Would they have to fight their way through?

With the four of them, perhaps it would be a cakewalk.

“Cloud?”

The blond shook his head and turned to face his friend. “It’s nothing. Thought I heard my name, is all…”

Nanaki looked towards the woods, seeing nothing there but the sleeping trees ready to blossom with leaves. As they headed back into the town, he swore he heard the chilling call of a woman’s voice, trying to summon him into the forest.

“Nanaki.”

Willfully, he refused to look back.

Chapter Text

Nanaki eyed the little creature tucked between Tifa's back and the supply pack that rested on the rear of the gold chocobo she and Cloud were riding. It looked about with its beady eyes as they traveled over the river that led to the Cosmo Area, very obviously curious of the world outside its mountainous home. He sighed to himself before resting his jaw on Vincent's shoulder. Was it really necessary to bring one of those things along?

The sun was beginning to set as they reached the edge of the grasslands that would lead to the hot, dry climate of the Cosmo Area. The chocobos began to slow down, then stopped as they came across a good, flat area that would serve as a camp. Cloud clambered off, followed by Tifa and the Dugafel as Vincent helped Nanaki off their bird.

Cloud dusted his hands off and stretched his back a little. "Guess we can make it the rest of the way tomorrow."

Nanaki nodded. "I will go search for our dinner, if you don't mind."

"Do you want anyone to come with you?" Tifa asked as she took things out of the supply pack, turning her head towards him.

He shook his head. "It's alright. I can't put up a tent, as you know."

She smiled at him and nodded. "Alright. Be careful out there."

He took off, letting his muscles stretch again after hours of riding another creature. He was fast, but a gold chocobo was faster. It would just make this journey go by faster. He still felt unnerved by that abominable creature that clung to his friends like a giddy child. It had shown up at the edge of the woods, waving two of its hands at them, then Cloud helped it along after he asked it if it was really coming along.

Nanaki had to wonder what its purpose was in tagging along. It hadn't paid much attention to him or Vincent, even when they had taken breaks to roll their shoulders or make use of a stray bush. As much as it rankled him to see it, it had respectfully kept its distance from him.

Nanaki returned some time later with a mouthful of hares, the camp taking shape as a decent sized tent was erected and a small fire was tended. Cloud was looking over his handiwork, checking the poles like he always used to. Tifa was busy boiling water in a teapot, Vincent was checking the perimeters, and that creature was busying itself with a rock it placed near the pit.

Tifa looked up and smiled at him. "Hm, I think I can make a stew with those, if you'd like."

She got to work butchering the animals. It felt a bit like those days when they traveled the planet together, and it brought him a certain kind of comfort. It hadn't been all that long ago, especially for one such as him. Not so long ago, they traveled together, and Cloud and Tifa weren't acting like insular cultists. Nanaki blinked as he looked Cloud's way. Well, it might be an improvement over what he had been during that time. Maybe.

"Hey, Nanaki." Cloud was calling him over, the blond warrior sitting cross legged in front of the tent. Vincent was approaching him, too.

The red beast trotted over, then sat across from his friend. "Yes?"

"The location is gonna be on the other side of the desert, near the jungle. We have to enter it right before the sun sets, or we have to wait again for the right time." He scratched his knee absentmindedly. "It's kinda peculiar."

"How do you know this?" Vincent asked impassively.

Cloud shrugged. "The mountain provides."

"A plain explanation," Vincent drawled out.

The blond put his hands up and rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. He knows Seto is suffering from their curses. He's not just petrified, he dreams, too. And that takes him to the Gi. Niblrung doesn't want that."

Nanaki's tail swished. "Why would the mountain care?"

Cloud grew a slight blush to his cheeks, and found the grass a tad more interesting than the stare he was being given. "That's between you and Him."

"He hasn't come to me about it!"

Blue eyes met an ochre iris that showed irritation and curiosity. Cloud sucked in a breath. "...And maybe I asked that He does, if it would please Him."

"Alright. So, what does that—" Vincent pointed to the Dugafel as it looked about the outside of the camp. "—have to do with what we're about to do?"

"Hm? Uh…" Cloud turned to it. "Hey."

They watched as it turned towards them, then came to stand next to Cloud. The way it walked was in one way like a goat's swagger, and in another way like the scribbling crawl of a spider. Nanaki felt it didn't belong on this Planet. "So...why are you with us again?"

It made a strange clicking sound while rubbing its pedipalps together, reminiscent of a jumping spider in Nanaki's mind. Cloud nodded and it went back to whatever it was doing. "It said it was supposed to help us get back home…" He frowned its way. "Whatever that means."

"As long as it isn't going to web us again," Vincent not too subtly warned.

Cloud's face became red at the mention of that night, and he shook his head. "Nope."

They soon had their supper as the sun fell below the horizon, and they found themselves huddling by the fire as they sipped the thick broth in their bowls. The early spring chill was bracing, but the Dugafel seemed to not mind much as it lapped its food. As for Nanaki, he found himself wishing for some extra fur as Tifa collected their used bowls.

As Cloud and Tifa readied themselves for bed, Vincent came to them, waving a hand calmly in a semicircle. "I will keep watch."

"As always," Nanaki responded.

They nodded, and Cloud let out a yawn. Tifa motioned her head towards the Dugafel. "Maybe you two can take turns on look out."

He looked back, the odd creature out a ways from the camp. Nanaki could hear a resigned sigh from Vincent. Then, the ex-Turk walked towards the fire and sat by it.

"We have an extra blanket. Do you want it?" Tifa offered Nanaki. "Cloud's usually warm enough as it is."

The red beast shivered slightly, then nodded. "Please."

He darted inside the tent, then Tifa crawled in behind him. He laid his head on the pillow, then his friend put both blankets over him, the chill dulled considerably. She put a hand on his shoulder, making him look from his paw to her eyes.

"We'll save your father," she said quietly.

"And with any luck, finally put Jenova down for good," Cloud added as he fluffed his pillow.

Her reassuring smile never lost its magic, it seemed. Nanaki let out a tired chuckle, his paw pressing against her hand as it rested on the ground. "Thank you. I...I'm glad you two can help," he admitted. His wariness hadn't completely settled, but he knew they were friends. They were his friends.

She brushed her palm against the fur of his forehead before moving out of Cloud's way. "Anyway we can, Nanaki. Good night."

The sky was neither pink nor blue, but the in between that struck in the dawn. What was he doing out here? It wasn't warm, wasn't cold. The horizon was different, too. He couldn't tell what direction he was facing. Oddly, the primal urge to mate slowly grew, and so did his frustration.

"The Mountain greets you, Nanaki, son of Seto, son of Iriko, son of Enki."

The voice that wasn't a voice came from nowhere but his head, a soft bellow of acknowledgement. Nanaki looked about, then found himself next to the foot of an enormous being he could not see the entirety of. The foot was akin to a goat's hoof, and Nanaki took a few steps back as the giant crouched down, only to be snatched up by a hand that could crush a Weapon with ease.

He felt the air pass by him as he rose towards the heavens, finally meeting eye to eyes with this being. Eight huge, amber, glittering eyes looked at him, on a face he could only partially comprehend, which had more eyes, if just smaller. "I dream under the Mountain until the day I am rested. We dream, merging into the World when called."

Nanaki stood there, dumbfounded, not sure what to say. Niblrung came to him.

"Aware, I now hear Seto, crying out to be released. The Gi follow Jenova. We call it Stiargaapedta. It takes one of mine to torment." Images came to Nanaki's mind. A night sky that was lit up by a flash of white light, a war in a familiar chasm...

"Stiargaapedta wishes to be released into the World again. It rests, dreaming within a dream. It has scarred my children…" A rumble reminiscent of thunder rolled from everything as another image came to mind, of a ruined place; whether a small city or merely a complex, Nanaki did not know. "In the ruins of Kurou-Pai it rests, dreaming and scheming. Tormenting Seto, and any other warriors cursed by those poison arrows."

The eyes blinked from one side of the face to the other, taking nearly a minute to finish. "Do you understand this mercy? This is why I ask my Fjallfolk, The Last who are now The First, to assist you, little one."

He felt himself being lowered again, the hand stilled for Nanaki to hop off. The red beast was still in a state of shock. "Is the mountain of the planet?" he finally sputtered out. He had to know.

Another rumble, though it felt almost like laugher. "What once was not, now is." Niblrung began to fade, and in his wake he left Nanaki with a blessing. "Go forth, and multiply, child."

"Nanaki!"

"Uhh…" He stretched out in the tent, then let out a loud yawn. He blinked his good eye a few times as light filtered through the canvas. "Tifa?"

He looked over his shoulder. She was watching him with a small smile. "We tried waking you up earlier, but you wouldn't budge. I have some fried eggs I just cooked for you," she coaxed.

"Oh. I'll be a moment, then." Nanaki rose to his four legs, the blankets sliding off his body, and stretched the sleep out of his joints before leaving the tent. The sun was at an angle that allowed for a white glow below it and blue skies above. He wondered if they were heading out too late on his account.

Tifa offered him a bowl as he approached her, placing it on the ground by his feet. "Thank you."

He lapped up the eggs, one by one, enjoying the burst of yolk that coated his mouth and tongue. All the while he thought of that dream, that vision of a being that shouldn't be, but was. What reason did such an ancient being have to assist him?

It takes one of mine to torment.

"Nanaki? Hey, we gotta get goin' soon," Cloud chided. Nanaki noticed he had already disassembled the tent.

"Sorry," he muttered back before licking bits of egg from his chops.

It wasn't much longer before they had the camp cleared out and the supplies back on the chocobos. Nanaki fleetingly looked back, the only evidence anyone ever being there a rock circle and crumpled grass. Peeking past Vincent's shoulder again, their goal was still to be seen.

"How was your night?" Nanaki asked offhandedly.

Vincent's red eye looked at him from behind his shoulder. "Fine. The Dugafel kept to itself most of the night."

"Most of the night?"

His friend pursed his lips underneath his red mantle. "It...seemed a little happy around dawn. It's a little annoying when it clicks so much."

"I see." Nanaki turned his head to see the little thing moving its pedipalps. Tifa was speaking to it. He wondered what it thought, what its motivations were. What Niblrung's true motivations were. There were ramifications he preferred not to ponder.

But…

His friends were here to help.

Looking forward again, he swallowed down his anxiety. He would do his father proud again.