"You know, Nanaki, I hope that this little incident has taught you a lesson in trust," said Elder Treya, his long white beard waggling back and forth.
 "Oh yes, of course," Red replied, not an iota of truth in his words. He felt terrible after what he had said to Yuffie.
 "Those people that came with you last year looked like trouble, if you ask me, and this just goes to show it. They didn't even call you by your real name!"
 Red tuned out Treya's lecture.
 What does he know? Cloud and the others didn't know my name. If it hadn't been for them, I'd probably be dead right now. They're the ones who got me out of the Shinra labs......
 Who cares about that? Yuffie's locked up in there, and I can't do anything about it. I have a responsibility to the town, and my personal problems can't get in the way.
".........Now that I'm your guardian since Bugenhagen passed away, I've got to help you grow up to be a responsible adult. You can't just roam around the canyon all day long. Someday you'll be making important choices for the town's well-being and....."
 He tuned him out again.
 I've got to make a decision. Should I help Yuffie and be seen as a child by the Elders, or let her rot in a cell and receive their praise?
 ".....Becoming an Elder will help you make wiser decisions. There won't always be enemies to fight. I'm not saying we don't need a warrior, I'm just saying that we're at peace now and you should turn your attention to other pursuits. Many of your ancestors became Elders......your great-grandfather, almost 800 years ago, according to the town records......"
 True enough, but they were about 300 years older than I am! I'm only forty-nine! I haven't had the experience needed.
 "........And I hope that this talk has gotten through to you, Nanaki." Treya finished.
 "Oh, yes, um, of course it has," Red replied hurriedly. The last thing he needed was for Treya to repeat the whole thing again.
 Treya smiled. "Good. I hope you make the right choice." He left Red, and turned down the kerosene lamp. "Good night."
 "Good night," muttered Red. He sat there, in the dark, staring down at his paws.
 What will I do?

  "Rrrrr.....stupid locks......."
 Yuffie's eyes darted open. Somebody was at the cell door.
 "Come on.....! Work!"
 Were they helping her to escape? She could hear the faint scrabbling of something scraping on metal.
 "These keys must be rusted! Either that, or the lock......"
 Yuffie slowly sat up, the blankets on her cot rustling noisily. She rubbed her eyes. The warm light of a lantern emanated from a corner of the room. There was another light, bobbing up and down from some unseen source.
 "Oops! Woke her up.....!"
 "Huh.....? Red, what are you doing?" Sure enough, there he was, perched on his hind legs. It had been his glowing tail-tip that was bobbing up and down. He was fiddling with a large key, trying without much success to unlock her cell. Next to him sat a large shopping bag, packed with clothing.
 "I'm going to break you out," he replied.
She frowned. "Don't."
 "What?" he asked. He fell back on all fours and tilted his head to one side.  "Don't," she said again. "You're just going to get into trouble."
 "It doesn't matter to me," he said, a bit too cheerfully. Yuffie rolled her eyes, and sighed.
 "Why bother? You've got a job to do, and that's to protect this place."
 "Don't care," he said simply, concentrating on his work. He began to wiggle the key around in the lock again.
 Yuffie couldn't believe her ears. "You don't care about your duty? About your mission in....."
 "Don't get started!" he said, a trifle impatiently. "I know all that, but I.....I felt really bad about leaving you here. I don't condone your actions, but what's done is done." Finally, a loud clank was heard inside the lock, and the door creaked open.  "Here, take these," he offered, as he picked up the shopping bag in his teeth. "It's a change of clothes." He turned away. "Go ahead, I'm not looking." Yuffie hastily put them on.
 "Geez, are you colourblind? You have the worst fashion sense!" she said. She was wearing a pair of bright yellow baggy pants, and a purple Hawaiian shirt with bright red flowers on it. "I want to attract less attention."
 "I had to look pretty hard to find anything that would fit you. Oh, and by the way, fashion sense doesn't apply if you don't wear any clothes!" Red scratched behind his ear. "So, let's get going."
 "Wait a minute, I'm leaving on my own," she said.
 "No, I'm coming too. It's my obligation to get back the scroll those other thieves stole. If I follow you, then it's logical that we'll meet up with them again," he explained, "and I have my own reasons....." Yuffie groaned and threw her hands up in the air, after much thought.
 "Okay, you can come too," she said reluctantly.
 "Follow me." said Red. "I've arranged some transportation." He glanced out the door, and when he was sure that nobody was there, led Yuffie outside. She tiptoed after him as he lead her down a series of winding tunnels. Ahead of them lay a set of stairs.
 "That way," Red said. Yuffie cautiously walked down them. At the bottom, in a sort of cave-like opening, stood a little blue pickup truck. The back was filled with supplies and a gas can. Red nudged the door open with his nose, and clambered into the passenger's seat, his tail dangling off the edge.
 "Red, I'm not old enough to drive! I don't even have a learner's permit!" said Yuffie.
 "I'm well over the age to drive," replied Red, "but I can't reach the gas pedal or steer. You're driver by default." Yuffie grinned and sat down in the driver's seat.
 "I was hoping you would say that......" She twisted the key, and the truck's tiny engine gasped to life. "Couldn't be too tough, could it?" she said cockily. "I've had plenty of practice at 'G-Bike!'" She hammered her foot down on the accelerator, and the truck lurched out onto the road.
 The truck was faster than it looked, noted Yuffie, a little too late. She swerved hard to the left, and Red lost his balance and hit the wall.
 "Whooaaa!" he shouted. "Watch where you're going!"
 "Sorry, sorry!" she yelled angrily. She kept overcompensating, and the truck's tires squealed and left black trails of rubber on the road. Before she knew it, the truck had bounced off the road and onto the sidewalk.
 "Watch out for those stalls!" he shouted again, shielding his face. The truck was heading straight for a line of food stalls. With a crunch, fragments of wood and pieces of over-ripe fruit crashed and splattered against the windshield.
 "Eeekkk!" Yuffie cried, as another stall shattered in front of them. Several large cabbages burst against the radiator grille, sending leaves fluttering through the air like confetti. Yuffie waggled several stalks that protruded from the steering column, and the windshield wipers turned on.
 "Oh no!!!" groaned Red. He leapt across and bumped the steering wheel, and the truck narrowly missed a large stone wall. His nose banged on the window. "Oww!" he whined.  "We're almost there!" announced Yuffie. The main gates were getting closer and closer. Suddenly, a pair of guards jumped into the truck's path. Red hammered the horn.
 "Get outta the way!" screamed Yuffie through the open window. Luckily, the guard's nerves broke, and they dove out of the way with terrified expressions on their faces. Then, with one final bump, they roared through the gates.
 "Hahahahahahahaha! So long, suckers!" Yuffie called jubilantly. Red peered through the rear window.
 "That was scary," he breathed.
 "That was cool!" replied Yuffie.

"What was that, Ricdeau?"
 "I have no idea, Faber!"
 The two guards who had nearly become roadkill stood up and looked around dumbly. The truck was already a small blue dot on the horizon, leaving a trail of dust.
  Ricdeau sighed. "Nanaki looked pretty scared."
 "He was abducted! Who wouldn't be scared?!" replied Faber, smacking Ricdeau on the back of the head. "Don't be dumb!"
 "What happened!!" yelled Elder Treya, as he ran down the stairs, his long brown robes billowing in the wind.
 "That thief escaped and kidnapped Nanaki," they replied in unison.
 "Well don't just stand there! Get going! You've got to rescue him at once!" he yelled. Then he remembered something. "Wait a moment!" Then he ran off.
 "I wonder what he's doing?" asked Faber. A minute later Treya returned.
 "Take this," he said.
 "Whoa!" replied Ricdeau, his eyes widening.
 "We won't disappoint you!" said Faber enthusiastically.
 Treya shooed them off. "Get going!" he yelled. "You must bring him back unharmed!"  "Right!" they called back, then they ran off to make preparations.
 Treya sighed.
 "They'll need all the help they can get," he said to no one in particular.