Cloud gripped his sword tightly in his hands, breathing heavily through clenched teeth.
"Mwuahahahahahahahaha!" Sephiroth cackled. "Give up yet, worm?"
"You.......you win, Sephiroth!"
"No, Cloud, don't!" screamed Tifa.
"It's no use, Tifa!" shouted Barret. "We're done for!"
Sephiroth's bright green eyes glittered evilly as he held his sword high above his head, ready to strike. "I will become one with the planet......after I eradicate you!" Just then, light began to rise over the horizon, and faint strains of music could be heard. "What is this?" yelled Sephiroth.
Cloud stood up and grinned wickedly.
"Get ready to be annihilated!" he said.
"She's coming to save us!" cried Tifa, as the music grew louder and louder, until it was almost deafening. Fireworks burst in the air, sending multicoloured spangles of light across the sky.
"Yuffie's here!" shouted Barret. "She's got her own theme song!" Sure enough, there she was, surrounded by crowds of cheerleaders, flinging their pom-poms through the air. "That's my name, don't wear it out!" she said. Fake laughter filled the air as her adoring fans applauded her.
 "Ha ha ha ha ha!" laughed Cloud. "You crack me up!"
 Sephiroth stared at her, in stunned silence. Then he shook his head and frowned. "You-you expect this child to beat ME?" he roared. "The chosen one cannot be beaten!" Yuffie shrugged.
 "Another day, another chosen-one beating, Sephy." She put her hands on her hips. "I eat chumps like you for breakfast."
 Sephiroth's eyes bulged. "You called me Sephy! Now you must DIE!" He hefted his sword and charged at her, screaming. She stepped out of the way and tripped him. He fell on his face in the dirt.
 "Ooh, that's gotta hurt!" said Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and the cheerleaders simultaneously. Sephiroth struggled to his feet, enraged and sputtering dust. Yuffie grinned.
 "Back for more, eh?" she said.
 "You have not yet had a taste of my power!" he yelled defiantly.
Yuffie shook her head in dismay. She turned to Cloud, Tifa, and Barret.
 "Guys, should I waste this chump?" she asked.
 "Yeah!" they said. "Use the Astro Punch!" said Cloud.
 "Definitely the Astro Punch!" replied Tifa.
 "Ya can't go wrong with the Astro Punch!" said Barret enthusiastically.
 "Astro Punch, Astro Punch, goooooo, Astro Punch!!!!" screamed the crowd.  "What's the Astro Punch?" asked Sephiroth.
 "You're about to find out!" she replied. She pulled her fist back. Throbbing yellow light began to collect around it. Then her fist flew at his face.
 "Waaaaaaagghhh!" he yelled as he flew straight up in the air, then he plummeted back to earth with a thud. His tongue hung out of his mouth, and three small yellow Chocobos began to run circles around his head, chirping softly.
 "YEAH YUFFIE!!!!" everybody screamed. They began to chant her name, as more fireworks detonated in the sky.
 "Yuffie, Yuffie, Yuffie, Yuffie........."

 "...........Yuffie! Wake up or you'll be late!"
 "Mmm....?"
 Warm morning sunlight poured through her bedroom window onto her face. Her father, Godo, stood beside her bed.
 "Ah, you're finally awake. Get up, or you'll be late for that big appointment!" he said.
 "Oh yeah!" she replied, as Godo left her room. She climbed out of bed and got dressed. Then she threw her shoes on and dashed out of the house.
 A year had passed since the fall of Shinra, Inc. Since then, Wutai had grown from a sleepy tourist trap to a bustling major city. The streets were still crammed with tourists, however, but these were the sophisticated ones, not the camera-toting, snack-munching rednecks. Yuffie unfolded the note in her pocket and read it quickly.

 She sighed and jammed the note back into her pocket. Ever since the note had arrived in the mail a week before, she had been excited but suspicious. It would be a great opportunity to show her father her skills, but something was nagging her at the back of her mind. She had tried to ignore it, but had been unsuccessful.
 She soon found herself in the city's new business district. A medium-sized office building stood in front of her, gleaming in the sunlight. The words 'Sho-Dai Enterprises' were written in metal on a concrete block outside the entrance.
 "I guess this is the place," Yuffie said. She pushed the doors open, and entered the lobby. There, across a floor of polished marble, was an elevator, its doors open. She walked inside it and pushed the '20' button.
 A minute later, the doors slid open with a clang. The conference room was down the hall. Yuffie took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the butterflies in her stomach. She ran down the hall and pushed the doors open.......

 This isn't happening! he thought frantically, as the tears streamed down his face, his heart beating faster and faster.
 One minute his mother had been charging towards the masked man with the sword, snarling ferociously. Then, she was lying on the dusty, sun-scorched street, the life slowly bleeding away from her from a gaping wound in her underside. Her golden eyes held a look of despair, and inevitability.
 "Mother!" he cried as he ran to her. She managed to lift her head, and she smiled weakly.
 "Nanaki......it's good to see you....." she wheezed.
 "Mother, please......don't leave me alone!" he wailed.
 ".........Remember that the town needs you......." she told him.
 Nanaki shook his head violently.
 "Don't say that!! You'll get better! Grandpa will save you.....and....."
 "It's no use. I'm done for......." gasped his mother.
 "Don't die! Don't leave me like Father did!!!" he cried, his short tail hanging limply.
 "Don't forget.......Nanaki, I will always love you, my little warrior....... I will always be with you...."
 "Noooooo!!!" he sobbed. Her eyes closed slowly as her head slumped to the ground. A last gasp passed her lips.
 Nanaki stared at her for a stunned second. Her dark red pelt was stained with her blood and his tears. He placed his tiny paw against her side, feeling her short, soft fur. A weak howl escaped from his throat, but it was lost in the keening wail of the wind.
  Then his eyes glanced backwards, at the man, his mother's killer, who clutched the small black jewel in his clawed hand. Pure, hateful rage flooded him as he unthinkingly ran towards him.
 "You killed her! YOU KILLED HER!!!!" he screamed, baring his fangs. The man kept walking, apparently ignoring him. Nanaki kept getting closer and closer, his rage increasing with every step. Then, the man's razor-sharp sword flashed out, faster than his eyes could track.
 The blade sliced across Nanaki's face in a vertical cut, and came away coated in his blood.
"Aaaaghhhh!" he cried painfully. Out of his right eye he could see nothing but a red mess. He felt something warm slowly ooze down his face. He gritted his teeth, trying to stand the unbearable pain. He tried to walk towards the swordsman. The sword lanced out again, in a horizontal slash. All he could see now was bright crimson pain.
 He toppled to the ground. He could taste the coppery tang of his blood in his mouth, and the salt of his tears. The man's glowing red eyes bored deep into his.
 "You have been defeated, beast. Your mother was nothing but an insignificant insect, a nuisance. She is but one of many who have fallen by my blade," he said as his shaggy tan hair blew wildly in the hot desert wind. "Shoki and the Onikage cannot be defeated." Then he turned and disappeared into the dust.
 Nanaki felt a shadow fall over him.
 "Oh.....my poor little grandson! Are you all right?? Quickly, get a doctor down here!!!"
 "Grandpa.....?" he rasped. Bugenhagen's withered hand touched his shoulder.   "You're going to be all right, Nanaki. You'll be just fine!"
 The pain in what was left of his eye was only surpassed by the pain in his heart.....

 "Mother!!!"
 Red XIII sat up, panting. He looked around frantically, expecting to find Bugenhagen standing over him. There was nothing there. He was in his room in Cosmo Canyon, not down in the street. There were all of his things, like the faded tapestries that hung from the walls and ceiling, the throw-rug where he always slept, and the old kerosene lantern.
 He placed his paw on the right side of his face. There was nothing there but the two red tattoos, and the old X-shaped scar. He sighed and put his head on his paws, happy that the horrible nightmare was over, but still disturbed by it.
 That dream.....that nightmare, he thought. 28 years ago...... that man killed her....and took my eye too. But why did I have this dream now? Is it a premonition?
 His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at his door.
 "Yes?" he called. The door creaked open, and Elder Treya's withered face peered in.  "Nanaki, are you all right?" he asked.
 "I-I'm fine," Red replied. "I just can't sleep."
 Treya walked inside and turned up the lamp. "How come? Is something bothering you?" he inquired.
 "No, it's nothing, really."
 "Nanaki..... I can tell that something is troubling you. Are you worried about the Elders?" asked Treya.
 "Not at all," Red lied. Treya and the other Elders had been asking him constantly about joining them, and Treya was always a little pushy. He was very reluctant to join now, but he didn't dare tell them, for fear of being seen as a child........
 "You've grown up a lot in the last year. You just think about it," said Treya as he shut the door behind him. Red sighed and rested his head on the carpet as he rolled on his side.
 When will they realize that I'm a warrior? he thought. That is my destiny.
His mind drifted back to his dream.
 Mother......I miss you so. Why did he have to kill you and leave me without a family??
  Red groaned and fell into a deep yet troubled sleep.