Nanaki and the Fallen Angel Chapter 8
Stories and Dreams
By Brady Bryner, Bill Shofstall, & Anthony McKinley
New Continent, Rame 4:03 PM Apr. 11
Rameus looked around at the people toiling around him. The main building was finished, and life teemed. They had found a crop that grew in the damp, dark climate. It was called "tamunic". It was much like pepper, and was used as a spice and medicine. Life was already good. Mustirio pulled into a port that was still being built, but had adequate facilities. But Rameus was still in anticipation of something else. The birth of his child, if not children. His own father had just died two months prior, his mother when he was young. "Two-hundred and fifty-two... Been too damn long..." He remembered his old friends, those who were at the climatic battle with the Gi. He was younger then. Yes, much younger.
"Hot diggity damn! Outta the way, jerk ass!" Rameus shoved past the man.
"S... Sir?" The man looked at him run away toward a building.
"How many?"
"Four." The man looked at Rameus.
"And, and!?!"
"Three girls and a boy."
"WHOOHOO!!!" Rameus for the moment was oblivious to the rest of the events transpiring.
"Should I set the shipment?"
"Ye... Yes. Uh... Put the food into the storage, and get the housing in gear."
"We're seriously going to make underground houses?"
"Yes, they'll be protected, and we'll be being good to nature. Now... What was it?"
"Outta..."
"Outta the way jerk ass!" Rameus found his wife, Marliren, with four tiny cubs, nursing.
"I blame you..."
"I blame me, too." He was almost to tears with laughter and joy.
"I will kill you in painful, unimaginable ways."
"Just as we agreed upon during one of the mood swings."
"I really, really, really hate you."
"Oh..." She smiled at him. "I love you, too."
"I'm glad, because you're going to die with happy thoughts... I love you..."
"Great... We're in agreance."
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Deep Marsh, Unknown 4:06 PM Apr. 11
"Have we found anything YET!?!" The soldiers groaned among eachother.
"NO! SHUT UP! You've only asked eighteen-million times, you stupid FUCK!"
"But I'm tired!"
"TOO DAMN BAD! No one else is complaining!"
"I don't care! I hate it out ere'!"
"Boohoo! No one gives a damn! We all hate it, too!"
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Deep Marsh, Unknown 10:03 PM Apr. 11
"Can we stop yet? It's STILL drizzling." One of Reeve's escort gaurds looked at him.
"Yeah... I guess we can set up the emergency shelters..."
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Deep Marsh, Unknown 1:04 AM Apr. 12
"Weeeeeeeeeell... That didn't work." The shelters didn't fit in the area.
"Maybe we can sleep on the ground."
"NO! There's something out here! We have to keep moving or it's going to catch up with us." No sooner then Reeve had finished, a giant creature, like the Midgar Zolom shot up in front of the him. It spread all the soldiers apart, keeping them in a giant circle around it. It had a red body and gray head, with fangs dripping a green liquid. Not venom, more acidic. "OH SHIT! KILL IT!" Reeve pulled his handgun and fired into the creature, making the green liquid squeeze out. It had killed the men. There must be more, has to be, for one to exist, unless through divine intervention. "Nope, whole lotta of em'..." It was drenched in the green liquid and dove back into the mud and disappeared.
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Deep Marsh, Base of Mountain 4:43 AM Apr. 12
"Mr. President! Please... We can't go on..."
"I know... Set up the shelters, we'll move by night."
"Thank you, GOD!"
"No, I'm Reeve."
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Base of Mountain, Quarters A 5:53 AM Apr. 12
"Gotta love those supply dealies..." Anthony had snuck onto a cargo holder with Kianki, Nanaki, and Merin. They now lay in their cots, wide awake. Kianki and Anthony once again shared a cot. Kianki had slept beside Anthony most of the time. The popped out occasionally for an alliby. Kianki was now cuddling with Anthony, again. Nanaki lay alone, underneath them.
"Don't even think about, you two... Get sa'more sleep..."
"Mmmmm..."
"Umm... Isn't chocolate dangerous to you mutts?" Merin Lansing, nosy.
"We're not dogs... Just share several common DNA strands."
"Oh... Kay..." Merin rolled over. Anthony and Nanaki felt insulted, but Kianki laughed.
"Wha..."
"Oh... You're so sensitive to respect, and being confused with 'lowly' forms of life." Kianki snuggled further into his chest.
"Yes, meld with me why don't you... You press any harder into my chest and we'll be one..."
"Is that so bad?"
"I can imagine one way it could be."
"You're so addicted to..."
"So are you..."
"I am not."
"Too."
"Not."
"Too."
"Not."
"Too."
"Oh you are too, Kianki! No be quiet, I'm going to sleep." Nanaki fell asleep within about ten minutes, having stayed up while in the cargo holder. Kianki and Anthony had snuck away to another one before they stopped, so they were fairly tired as well.
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Base of Mountain, Quarter Hall 1:04 PM Apr. 12
A woman in dark clothing slid through the halls. An agent of an unknown force. She carried a small dagger. Sliding quietly into B Quarters she raised her dagger over Tifa Lockheart. She brought down in a quick slice, but was met by a hand grabbing her arm and breaking her wrist. Tifa jumped up and shoved the woman on the ground. "Who the fuck are you?" Tifa removed a small lamp and turned the light on. A woman not much older than herself. She put her dagger in the oppisite hand and got up. "You're not seriously considering..." The dagger whizzed past and into an empty cot. Tifa put her in a headlock and proceeded to snap her neck. "I tried asking questions first..." She got a gaurd to take the body, and explain it to Reeve later. Tifa went back to bed.
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New Continent, Canyon 9:04 PM Apr. 17
"I'm getting pissed!" Nanaki mumbled as he walked back forth at the edge.
"I'm going down." Anthony smiled.
"What!?!" Nanaki and Kianki looked at him in unison.
"We're mages... We have to be able to do something..."
"Magic is elemental... Air is an element... Maybe we can cushion the fall!" Kianki smiled at her own idea.
"Thats it! But how?" Lord Cait popped up.
"Mental things..."
"Like you..." Kianki mumbled quiet enough for Lord Cait not to hear.
"...require concentration..."
"...which we can't play with your deck of cards..."
"...and focus..."
"...and how you focus your mind enough to tell us is beyond me..." Kianki, however focused.
"I'm not waiting for focus... See yah!" Anthony jumped off. To their surprise, he was alive, intact, and had no broken bones. "HELLO!" Nanaki shrugged and followed with the same results. Kianki jumped, but lost focus. She instead landed on the talking Nanaki and Anthony, who cushioned her fall perfectly.
"Not a scratch." She stepped off. "How are you two?"
"I never realized you wie..." Anthony cut himself off. "Are you okay?" He pretended to wonder, knowing she was fine, unlike his spinal cord, and tail she had near ripped off while stepping off. They found Lord Cait waiting.
"How'd you..."
"I'm magical. How'd you think? Anyway you should..."
"Why are you telling us what we should do? We should be telling you!"
"Why?" Kianki jumped in front of Anthony to answer.
"Because Aeris gave me your materia, thus do as I say!"
"Listen deary, strange woman lying in ponds in no basis for slavery, I mean, just cause so watery tart threw a rock at you doesn't mean..."
"Shut up!"
"...that you have power over me..."
"Shut up!" They yelled in unison.
"I mean, if I went around, saying I ruled the world cause some moistened bit lobbed a rock at me, they'd lock me up!"
"SHUT UP!!!"
"Yes am'!" Lord Cait shut up, to the pleasures of the other three. They waited for Reeve's squad to get down, the only ones to carry on from now on. The rest were to build another city. Tim was among them. A giant stone golem leapt in front the group, immediatly after they had got down. Tim got scared, but was too afraid to seek shelter and was left alone, standing front of it.
"Oh shit..." Tim was to tears over the looming creature. Accidentally, when he fell to the ground crying, a grenade rolled in front of the golem, followed by Tim's supply of explosives and ammo. He stood up and began pumping shots into it. It exploded, rocks spraying everywhere. Tim shot at that rocks. Joe stepped out from behind a rock.
"It's dead, Tim!"
"Wha'!?!" Tim thrust his arms into the air. "WOO WOO WOO! I'm da' man! WOO WOO WOO!" A large rumble was heard, like water. Everyone else got to high ground.
"Tim!"
"WOO WOO WOOooaaaaa'?" A giant green liquid splashed through the canyon. Joe pulled Tim onto a rock with several soldiers (Human and non).
"Tim? Tim! TIM!"
~~~
"Wha'... What the hell?"
"Not quite, dumb ass..." Scott's voice.
"Scott?"
"I've got somin' important to tell you. Jenova has taken over my body. This is all that is left. A state and frame of my mind."
"This isn't good..."
"Nope... It idn't... Idn't no good atall'."
~~~
"HOLY SHIT!" Tim leapt up, drenched in lifestream, black hair matted to his head. He wasn't dry like Kianki had been. Wierd. His glasses sunk off his nose. "Uh... YEAH! THATS RIGHT!" Joe shoved him back in.
Thank you..." Tim grabbed hold of a rock and pulled himself up. He found Anthony and Kianki making out.
"Excuse you..." Anthony shoved him back off.
"Who was that?"
"Who cares?" Tim was being swept further down stream. He finally pulled his drenched form onto another rock, with one of the red beasts.
"Hi!" Tim looked at the creature, waiting for his reply.
"Um... Hello?" The creature had wanted nothing to do with Tim.
"What is this stuff?"
"I think it's...umm...lifestream. Yeah, definetly lifestream."
"Thank you, rain man..."
"Wha'?"
"Nothin'." Tim rummaged into his pack. Water-proof is equal to good. "Yes. Nothing like a ham samich bout' now."
"A what?"
"A samich! Want one?"
"I've heard of 'sanwiches'. Whats a samich?"
"A samich! It is a samich!"
"Oh! Sanwich!"
"Yes! Samich." Tim ate his "samich", and offered his companion one.
"Why not?" He quickly scarfed down the sandwich. "Anything else?"
"Umm... Granola bars."
"Can I have one?" Tim gave his furry friend a small bar of grains, which was gone in less then ten seconds, but pleasing enough. Tim ate at his own slowly. "What're we out here for anyway?"
"Some magical deal. Really important by the sounds of it."
"What's ya' name?"
"Zekelimin."
"I'm not calling you Zekelimin. Hows Zeke?"
"Good enough. You?"
"Timothy Loire."
"Shorter?"
"There are some who call me...Tim?"
"Okay, Tim." Zeke looked around. "Sooo..."
"Guess we'll be here..."
"...a while..."
"Wanna play poker!?!" TWO annoying cats jumped up from behind the rock, who'd been playing cards on a ledge.
"Sure... I guess so." Zeke and Tim actually played a full deck game of poker with Cait Sith, and...Cait Sith.
"Lord Cait Sith!"
"Cait Sith!"
"Okaaay..." Tim looked away from them, rolling his eyes.
"HEY!" They shouted in unison. Lord Cait mumbled, "The watery tart's fault."
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Canyon, Rock 11:06 PM Apr. 17
Cid and Tifa sat on a rock with Nanaki. "You're boring!" Cid was bored by Nanaki not moving a muscle at all. He finally turned to Cid.
"Sorry, just studying the mako."
"Ya' sorry ass mutt..." Cid grumbled to himself.
"I heard that, Cid." Tifa just smiled.
"They're so pretty..." She stared wide-eyed at the heavens. Nanaki turned his attention skyward as well, ignoring Cid's comments. They were soon joined by Cid as well, all looking at the stars.
"I wonder..."
Cid looked at Nanaki. "You wonder? You're a genius."
"A genius is merely denoated by an IQ. I, however, wonder often about the stars. I'm an astronomer, it's my job. I wonder what may lay beyond those sparkling gems of the sky. Think about it, Cid. You wanted to be the first man in space, you had that wish. What if you were the first man to go beyond the stars, and discover more planets with life on them. Maybe you build a giant spacestation."
"Maybe I become the first man to talk to life from another world..." Cid's dreams relit. Not just space anymore. Beyond it.
"Wondering is done by geniuses as well, because no one but the divine creator himself could possibly know everything!"
"Cid? What if you FOUND the creator, without death?" Cid's eyes grew wide.
"Yeah... That'd really be somethin'. Imagine that. And..."
"...if I did it, I'd want you all to be there with me..."
"...I'd be more famous then anyone or thing..."
"Fame doesn't matter to me. I know that. I don't want to be rich, or famous. I'd give up the world... No! The UNIVERSE for knowledge, of the universe."
"I wish..."
"I wish I could pluck all those stars out of the sky, and place em' in a jar." And for that thought, Cid felt he could. He plucked those stars out of the sky in his mind. They were his for the taking.
"I wish I could go beyond them, and I wish..." He mustered up all his gut. "I wish you would all come with me." Tifa smiled at him.
"You make the travel plans, I'll come with..."
"Me, too."
"We'll all follow you, Cid. You know we will." Cid smiled, and deep inside, his heart had skipped its beats. No one had shown him such compassion, even aft... Shera.
"Why'd you treat her so bad? She was so good to you but..."
"...she failed, Cid!" His good and bad sides fought.
"...you treated her bad...real bad..." Cid's thoughts saddened. Strange how so trivial an event to him, altered his life.
"It's cold out here..." Tifa shivered. Like a desert, all clouds had dispersed. Odd, just a few days ago clouds had matted the sky, letting down an endless stream of rain. Cid gave Tifa his old, worn-out flight jacket. "You gonna be alright?"
"Yeah... I'll be fine." He wore a long sleeve shirt. They all three laid down on the rock, finding it best to sleep, until this wave of mako had passed, if it ever would.
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Canyon, Rock 11:34 PM Apr. 17
Anthony and Kianki kept close. They snuggled tightly together, smiling. "I love you..."
"I love you, too." Anthony looked deep into Kianki's eyes.
"I love you more then life itself... I'd die for you..." Kianki repeated the phrase. "I love you without value. If you must die, I will be with you." She repeated this as well. "And when I do pass, my last thoughts will be of you." Kianki's eyes welled with tears, but she repeated. "My love is unconditional." Again. "Our souls..."
"Our souls..."
"Are one with eachother..."
"And the Planet..." They completed the vows they had taken to eachother over ten years ago.
"I proposed respectively enough." Kianki remembered Anthony's proposal.
~~~
Anthony was slinking on the ground in front of Kianki, in tears. "Please please please please please..."
"I will...if you shut up!"
"...ple... Hot biggity diggity damn!" Anthony revealed the two pendants they now wore. Kianki had loved him then, just thought him an idiot.
~~~
She remembered the scar on his leg. That was when she hadn't been ashamed of her beloved.
~~~
"Anthony... Please..." Anthony stopped in the middle of the jungle, with her right beside her.
"This is...cozy..." A brook was heard in the backround. Something rustled out of a bush. A man in blue clothing with a metal arm plate and a sword.
"Over here... We can set up cam..." The man caught sight of the two, who just looked at him.
"Hello." The SOLDIER didn't care that they posed no threat, he attacked, throwing himself at Kianki. Kianki pulled him down and mauled him, but two more jumped out. Anthony attacked the other, his body soon joining the other. Then, the last took a swing at Kianki, and jumped high in the air, bringing the blade down to kill her. Anthony shoved her back, and took the blade into his shoulder. Kianki jumped over Anthony, and chased the man off. She came back and found Anthony bleeding. "Hey Kianki... You okay?"
"Yes..." She smiled for a brief moment. Humor after being cut. But she knew he wasn't being humorous. He seriously didn't care about his leg. He got up, but collapsed on his leg.
"Gaaah!"
"You need some..."
"No... Merely a flesh wound... Can make it back to the falls..."
~~~
"Yes... Very...umm...formal."
"Thank you." Anthony smiled wider.
"Will you seriously die for me?"
"Yes."
"I'd die for you, too." Kianki buried her head deep in his neck, like she always did, to get to sleep.
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Canyon, Rock 11:32 PM Apr. 17
Tim and Zeke sat awake, Lord Cait and Cait Sith, both curled up, sleeping peacefully. "I'm kinda tired Zeke..."
"So am I..."
"But I just can't sleep. What's your story."
"Well. My father..."
~~~
Esmiran jumped forward, slicing a Gi in half. "Seto! We can't do this much longer!"
"I know! Just try to push them back! Rameus! You alive?"
"YEAH! Gyaah!" Rameus took a stab to the side. He swatted to the side, smashing a Gi's skull. The human soldiers weren't fairing much better. "Seto! We have to block the entrance!"
"I know! I'm going to have to do it!" Seto ran out to battle the Gi at the cliff.
"No! SETO!"
"Let im' go Rameus! You have to get out of here!"
"You go! Get your children out!" Rameus blocked the Gi off of Esmiran. He ran off, leaving Rameus to fight. He jumped into the town, finding his three sons and two daughters running for their lives. His dear Tier had died. His eldest sons, Nemin and Talmus stopped to fight, and fought well, killing many Gi, but in the end, fell. His daughters had been cut off from his final son, Zekelimin, who he dashed ran to hide in a building, were the entrance collapsed, one daughter now lying dead, the other, a terribly young Kianki, captured by the Gi. He went mad and killed thirty Gi, and was stabbed in the heart, but with a final smash, killed his attacker. Rameus saw Seto turning to stone, and Esmiran dead, as well as his children. He had no choice but to take his wife and flee, the canyon destroyed. Zekelimin, however, was well alive and hiding in a stone cellar, well hidden from the Gi, which retreated after Seto tore the last general's organs out, and let out the most horrifying roar of pain, victory, and sadness all at once. The Gi disappeared, forever.
Zekelimin, thinking the canyon destroyed, ran away into the jungle, after so many who believed it to be the end as well. He wept for his decimated people and family. But he'd have his revenge on whatever demon must've put the hate into the hearts of those people. He didn't blame the Gi, he blamed hatred.
~~~
"Whoa... That's pretty heavy." Tim sat in quiet solace, pity for the "beast" who was more "human" than himself.
"What would your story be?"
"I was a shop keeper in Midgar after my father died in Wutai. I'm the last one of the group of four children."
"Why'd you tend the shop?"
"I had to. The others had to tend to mom, who was dying of a disease, and since Shinra didn't pay us repairations, or even a sorry since father's..."
"You don't have to say it. I try not to."
"...death. I have to say it. Not doing so would be a lie. Anyway, we lived in the slums because we couldn't afford a good house, we lived in a cheaply slapped together trailer. We couldn't afford decent medical care so mother... she...passed on."
"Life is hell."
"Not really... I like life, and try to have fun. Life can really just be a total bitch, no offense..."
"None taken."
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Canyon, Rock 1:00 AM Apr. 19
Reeve sat with his chocobo, Nelly, at his side. "Want some greens?" Reeve gave the bird some greens she quickly gobbled up.
"Wark!"
"Yeah, you like that?" He stroked the birds shiny feathers. "Pretty night." Reeve looked at the sky.
"Wark!" The bird brushed against Reeve.
"Want sa' more?" Reeve gave the chocobo more greens.
"Whooheewoo!" Reeve petted the bird again.
"Well would you take a gander at that?" Reeve saw not one, but three shooting stars, one blue, another red, and one yellow. "Wow! It's beautiful!" They left streaks of light after them. They even drew the attention of Nelly.
"WARK! WHOOHEEWOO!" The bird was excited. Not totally brainless, had an eye for some beauty.
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