Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy Seven characters, places and situations are the property of Square Soft/Square Enix and are used without permission and without intent of plagiarism or profit. Copyright for all stories and original characters is with the author, and may not be published, copied, distributed or archived without the author's prior written consent.

(Please check out the proj_ff7xmas community on LJ. xiaa has put up the New Year's BL anthology, and it looks great!)

"Do you ever wonder about what dragons do when they aren't being summoned? Or rather, they were summoned but didn't know what to do after they got here, because their summoner had gotten killed right before the summoning finished?" Yuffie suddenly asked.

AVALANCHE had been traveling all day, and the only reason Yuffie was still full of energy was because of a new materia that a monster had dropped earlier that afternoon. The hour was late, and one by one they gathered around the cook fire.

Tifa yawned. "I wouldn't know. The dragons in the Nibel ranges aren't summons; they tend to just stay in their territory unless something provokes them."

"I might have heard a story like that once. Yuffie should know it, actually. It's certainly the night for it." Nanaki murmured absentmindedly.

Aeris piped up. "What story? I don't think I've heard of something like this before, even in all the old legends."

Cid growled through his cigarette. "Aren't you damn kids tired? Either shut up and drink your goddamn tea, or let everybody go to sleep!"

"Spike's already asleep," grumbled Barret, looking pointedly at their fearless leader softly snoring into his own knees.

"Eh, have a heart, he's been havin' a tough time of late; put the laddie to bed already!" exclaimed Cait Sith.

The dozing figure jerked and mumbled. Everyone glared at Cait and his Mog, who scurried off to set up tents for the night.

"Well then. What was that story about, Nanaki?" Aeris wondered.

"If you can get Yuffie to stop yammering about Leviathan and talk about the Year Dragon instead, you will get your answer," the fire-lion grinned toothily.

"Oh. Oh yeah. By Leviathan, I can't believe I forgot!" cried the little thief. Everyone rolled their eyes.

"So there was once this dragon that came into the human realm on the night before every new year. He liked to eat people and tear villages apart, so people would abandon their homes and escape into the mountains instead, and then there was this long purple bridge that came extending across a huge gorge and people kept seeing red lanterns on the other side, so somebody thought that maybe there's a demi-god who was trying to save them and," babbled Yuffie, without pausing for breath.

Nanaki interrupted. "Wrong story, Yuffie. Save that one for nights with the full moon. If we ever find a fountain of eternal life, that is."

"Oh whoops. Ahem. So anyways, this dragon went tearing up the countryside every new year's eve and caused people a lot of grief. Well one year, this family decided to stay. Well, okay, just one person out of the whole family stayed. The man of the house got himself eaten up by the dragon when he was trying to defend their homestead the previous year, so his mom, or wait, maybe it was his sister, decided she had nothing else to live for and was just gonna wait for the dragon to come so she could be reunited with her loved one in death. Totally morbid, right? Wutaian tradition is full of women like that. Not me though; I take after my mom! So anyways, while everybody was getting the heck outta dodge, along came this dude who looked like he'd been on the road for forever 'cause his clothes were all raggedy like Vinnie's cape and he started asking people for food. 'Course, they were too busy to do anything other than look down their noses at him and push him out of their way. So the lady who decided to stay asked him to come in and take a seat, and maybe she could put together a meal for him using the last of her stores. He pulled up a chair and asked what was up with all the panicking villagers abandoning ship. It was like he'd never heard of the dragon before; gotta wonder which coffin he locked himself in for the last couple centuries, you know?" Yuffie finally paused to snicker and take a deep breath, then rushed on with her story.

"So she gave him the low down, and he just brushed it off and told her she won't have to worry about that dragon ever again. All this guy asked for was a couple platters of dumplings to fill his stomach with and something to keep him warm. She gave him a length of red cloth that she was going to make a wedding mantel out of before the clan had gone into deep mourning. He sent her off to the kitchen to start prepping ingredients, then in the study he found sheets of red paper the dead man had used to practice his brush calligraphy writing words of courage and might, and pasted them on the front gates and door lintels. So by this time it's almost midnight, and of course the Year Dragon was rippling through the empty village like moonlight, looking for his midnight snack, when he heard these sounds coming from a couple streets away. The lady was starting to get nervous 'cause she could hear him coming and her cleaver was hitting the chopping block pretty hard and it was giving the dragon a headache. He growled and slunk closer, when he suddenly went blind and deaf! He snarled and blinked and looked up, and it was like red needles jabbed into his eyes and ears. The traveler dude had wrapped himself up in the mantel and lit his bamboo walking stick on fire so he could see while patrolling the front gate, and the bamboo staff was popping off like there was no tomorrow. The Year Dragon was in so much pain from all the noise and all the red that it turned tail and ran! The dude turned in the lady's direction, bowed, then poofed into thin air. The next morning, some of the earlier risers among her neighbors crept down the mountain and into her house expecting to start the funeral rites before her clan got back home and had to pick up whatever remained of her, but instead they found her sitting in the kitchen having dumplings. Her story was retold so many time it became dogma, so ever since then, Wutai celebrates every new year with new red clothes, mantras written on red paper guarding every gate, firecrackers everywhere, with tables covered in food. And nobody's seen the Year Dragon ever again!"

Yuffie crowed, chugged down half her water flask and whined, "Man, I miss the dumplings that Chekhov makes. Urrgh!"

Aeris' eyes were shining in the firelight. She asked, "But wouldn't the dragon get lonely? He was hurt and everyone closed their doors to him!"

Yuffie gave her a strange look and said, "Um, Aeris, I think you might be missing the point. The dragon was a monster that killed people, you know."

Aeris lowered her eyes, and a hush fell over the camp. When she looked up, Vincent was kneeling in front of Cloud and shaking his shoulder. Tifa said softly, "I think he must be really tired. I tried doing that earlier and it didn't work."

Vincent's brow creased. He unbuckled his cape and wrapped it around Cloud, then carried their leader into the first tent. He stepped back out and said to Cait, "Do not let anyone disturb Cloud tonight. I am on first watch," then disappeared into the gloom.

Cid chewed on his cigarette some more, then asked, "Does anyone else think that the traveler reminds them of our resident ex-Turk? Got the vanishing act down pat; likes raggedy red capes and weapons that make loud noises?"

Barret grunted, "Well then who's Valentine protectin' Spike from? And don't say he's the lady." Tifa hid a smile, while Cait and Yuffie hooted.

Aeris' eyes, unfocused, gazed into the murk surrounding the campfire. As though speaking to her mother's materia, she whispered, "... his nightmare watches him with dragon's eyes."

Nanaki padded over and nuzzled her cheek. "You need rest, all of you. Tomorrow will be another long day. I will take second watch."

The gang drew shifts, then got to their feet to attend to their needs before settling down for the night. The noises of the camp gradually died down. Moonlight filled the clearing, then dimmed.

Mist uncurled from the ground, swirling around silent feet as the current watch traded off with the next. Drifting into the first tent, it slowly coalesced.

Fingers pale as moonlight clawed into Cloud's scalp, pulling him to his knees, and he jolted awake to find dragon's eyes boring into his own. A voice he could not ignore penetrated his mind. 'The flower girl sees more than most. So, she's thinking of interfering? She will be a difficult one, don't you think?'

Darkness shrouded him. 'We must stop that girl soon, and you will do this for me.'

Vincent's cloak slipped to the floor. It was as though he'd been hit with Stop and Silence. He fought for control against his fear. '...Shut up. What are you trying to make me do? Why? What about my pain?'

The shadow made a low sound of amusement. 'Stop acting as if you were sad. There is no need to act as though you're angry either. A true god needs but a single supplicant proffering his soul in exchange for forgiveness of all his sins, and you are... a puppet. Mine. After all, a good puppet does what his master wants of him; would you not want your eternal reward for having served me faithfully? What I want is to sail the darkness of the cosmos with this Planet as my vessel. One day, we will find a new planet, and on its soil we will create a shining future. You, my puppet, shall be my herald.'

Dragon's eyes gleamed. Dragon's teeth bared.

At the hour when the year turned – prostrate and pinned by the dragon's eyes – he could only watch as the dark sank into him.

Omake:

Yuffie: "I summon Leviathan!"

A message flashes across the clear blue sky: [Leviathan has been called by 3 summoners before you. Estimated wait time: 8 minutes.]

Yuffie: "WHAT?! But I need him now! ... oh crap."

*party gets blown away by Sea Worm*