Before we get into the story, let me say a few things to clarify. This story takes place about 4 years before FFVII starts. It gives a little back story into what happened before that fateful day when Barret lost his right hand trying to save his best friend, Dyne. I'm hoping to humanize and give a little more personality to the characters. Excessive language will be used, hence the R rating. This story will have three parts, this one obviously being the first. All three parts will feature two narrators. Barret and…someone you'll get to know down the road. Someone on the enemy line…
Rolling Chamber
Part 1 of 3
Didn't see it coming. I should've, now that I think about it. Tifa always tells me there was no way I could've predicted it. But I still can't help but feel guilty about it. So much confusion…those four years ago…
***
My name is Shawn Harlan. I used to make a living as a farmer for Gongaga, but that got old real fast. It was the family business, but I guess the farmer gene skips a generation. I wanted something exciting to do for a living, and chasing crows out of the cornfield wasn't exactly it. That's why I was at the Shinra's employment area. I wanted to enlist as a soldier. I fantasized about becoming famous like Sephiroth. Well, except for the part where Sephiroth ended up getting killed on a mission. I'd walk the fine line, I'd know when it got too far. Maybe I could become a First Class SOLDIER and get some respect for once in my life. I knew I was a good fighter, I was one of the best brawlers in Gongaga.
I walked up to the counter and they had this sweet piece of ass sitting behind the desk and taking applications. She had blonde hair and a real slutty, low-cut red dress on with a great figure. Her tits were nearly popping out of that thing. When she saw me walking up to her, she stood up and greeted me.
"Hi there," she said, smiling. "What job will you be applying for."
"I'll be enlisting for the Shinra army," I said. "I hear they're accepting applicants."
"All right, I'll be giving you a simple test. You'll be pitted up against one of the soldiers we already have. If you win, you join."
"Whoa, I'm gonna be fighting already?" I was confused, since I thought the standard procedure was for them to look at my application before they could see what I was made of.
"Yes, well, we do things a little differently here at Shinra, Inc. Ever since Sephiroth was killed at Nibelheim, we haven't gotten many people to join lately. So if you don't mind, we'll begin the initiation test. Say hello to Lenoard Phelps."
A big guy walks in at the cue. Phelps had a pretty good build and was practically towering over me. His head was shaved bald, busted teeth and had a Shinra getup on. He was grinning at me, an intimidation tactic I was all too familiar with.
***
"C'mon, Dyne! We gotta do this! It's for our own good."
"Barret, I can't believe you're selling out to them. The coal mines have been with us for as long as anybody can remember and I'm not gonna let some big-shot corporation replace it with some fuckin' machine!"
I landed on the couch, exausted. It was gonna be hard to convince Dyne to let the Mako Reactor be built. I couldn't blame him, though. It took me a while to be convinced, too. Why couldn't I get him to understand that things would be better with Mako? A week ago, Shinra, Inc. sent a girl named Scarlet here to get our permission to have one of their Mako Reactors built in North Corel. Getting workers to mine coal out of the coal mines took money and a lot of time. But with the Mako Reactor, we would save a lot of time and we could get the miners to work on more important stuff like farming or building. At first, I didn't want anything to do with it, but after Myrna got sick the other day, I just took that as a sign from God. Scarlet says that the Mako Reactor can generate a special kind of healing herb for Myrna. The local doctors said it was terminal. That was all the convincing I needed. She would die in a month. And I wasn't gonna lose my wife over my pride.
"…We'll talk later," I said, pointing my index finger at him as I was leaving the room. He pointed one back at me but not the index. I shrugged it off since I knew how much Dyne cared for the coal mines. This whole Mako deal was getting everyone emotional.
I walked to backed to the hospital where my wife, Myrna, was at. She was wrapped up in blankets with a wet towel on her forehead. Her eyelids were just barely open. It hurt me to look at her like that. But she was still beautiful as ever.
"Hey, baby. You doin' okay?" I asked, feeling her head.
"Just…fine," she whispered.
"Dyne still doesn't want to go ahead with the Mako plan. I can't get him to do it. I just can't understand him sometimes, I mean, sure, we've had these mines for generations. But it's the sign of the times, and he doesn't--"
"Barret…Maybe he's right…Maybe…we shouldn't let…Shinra…build it…"
"But if I lose you because of those God damn coal mines--"
"The coal mines…will be around…forever. I'm gonna…die…sooner or later…"
"…don't say that…"
"…maybe…now…is my time…"
"No, it's not. God is giving us a second chance. With the Mako Reactor, you'll live. I love you, and we ain't gonna be ripped apart because of no coal mine."
The talk with Myrna got me so depressed that I had to take another walk.
***
"Okay, new guy, take the first shot and the test will begin," said the receptionist, standing a good distance away from the inevitable violence.
I took a hard swing at Phelps' face. It hurt real bad.
"Tough motherfucker, aren't you?" I said, trying to regain the feeling in my knuckles. Phelps threw two hooks at my face. I fell down on the ground. Phelps took me by the collar and smacked me into a wall. I fell down hard. Then he kicked me in the ribs while I was on the ground. I started getting embarrassed since that cute receptionist was watching this humiliating fight.
"Had enough, rookie?" he said, still with the stupid grin.
"Fuck you," I said, daring him to do something else. He did. He grabbed my neck and threw me about 6 yards.
"Sonofabitch…" I thought out loud, struggling to get up. Just then, I had a pretty wicked idea. I didn't wanna do it, but I wasn't gonna let him get out of this fight without some bruises. I started charging at Phelps. He looked pretty cocky and seemed like he thought he knew what I was gonna do. I balled both of my hands together into a fist and swung it at him like a bat. That hurt me even harder, but at least it knocked him down. I grabbed Phelps by the feet and threw him straight into one of Shinra's neon sign. He was screaming like a baby because of the electricity coursing through him, which made me real happy.
I looked over at the reception girl and she was clapping. I was surprised, since it was such a dirty move.
"Excellent," she said with a smile. "That's exactly what we need in the troop. You far exceeded my expectations."
"Well…thanks, I guess." I didn't know whether to be flattered by her approval or disgusted. I shouldn't be one to judge, since I was the one who pulled the low blow.
"What's your name, kid?" she asked.
"Shawn Harlan."
"And how old are you?"
"Uh…17."
"Hmm…A little under the age qualification, but I think for you, we can make an exception. Oh, and by the way, you can call me Scarlet."
***
I went up to see Eleanor, Dyne's wife. Maybe I could figure what's holdin' Dyne back. I could try to at least get Eleanor on our side. I knocked on the door, waitin' a bit. Then it opened.
"Hi, Barret," said Eleanor, with their new baby in her arms.
"Hey, is Dyne here right now?" I asked.
"No, he's not," said Eleanor. "Why don't you come inside?"
I walked in and took a seat on the couch. Eleanor did the same.
"Wanna hold the baby?"
"…Sorry, not right now."
"What's with you and Dyne? I haven't seen you talkin' to each other in a while."
"…It's about Shinra's new deal."
"Oh."
"Yeah, Dyne doesn't want the reactor built, but if we don't do it, I'm'a lose my wife! I know it's a kinda selfish, sacrificin' the coal mines for my wife and whatnot, but demolishin' the coal mines ain't gonna hurt nobody!"
"I don't think Dyne's so much as worried about the coal mines as he is about the Mako Reactor. I hear him say a lot of nasty things about Shinra, he just doesn't seem to trust 'em for some reason."
"It's been tough for me, too. But we gotta move ahead. We can't be stuck in the past forever."
"I guess that's another thing Dyne's afraid of. Moving ahead. Tell you what, Barret. Let me try and talk to him about it. He might change his mind."
"Thanks, El. 'Preciate it."
Tomorrow, we were gonna have another meeting with Scarlet and some of the elders of North Corel. Try and get Dyne to jump on the bandwagon. I can't lose Myrna, I just can't.
***
Turns out that Scarlet the "receptionist" was actually the Head of Weapons Development at Shinra, Inc. Why she didn't just pay someone else to do the reception work, I'll never know. She takes me to the barracks and introduces me to the soldiers. There were only two others, for some reason.
Scarlet motioned her hand to each soldier as she said their names. "McKinley, Vazquez, I want you to meet our newest recruit…uhm, what was it again?"
"Shawn. Uh, Shawn Harlan."
"Right, Shawn Harlem. I'll be preparing for our meeting at North Corel tomorrow so why don't you two show Shawn some of the ropes."
Scarlet turned around and walked out of the barracks. If she was actually wearing any underwear, it must've been custom-colored for her skin.
"So…where are you from, kid?" I assumed this guy was McKinley.
"Hm? Oh, Gongaga. Used to be a farmer, but farm life's kinda boring, so I figure I'd join Shinra's army. Hey, let me ask you guys a question."
"Go ahead."
"Why are there so few of us? I mean, you'd think with a corporation as big as Shinra, you'd be crawlin' with soldiers."
The guy who I assumed was Vazquez replied to this. "Well, we're actually Scarlet's bodyguards. Most of the soldiers get sent over to Heidegger's. And Heidegger won't let Scarlet pick her own guards from his troop."
"But…I don't really wanna be a bodyguard. Can't I join Heidegger's troop?"
"Hey, you said the farm life's boring, right?" said McKinley. "Well, Scarlet goes to plenty of dangerous places that require some bodyguards. You get some stuff here that you'll never get outta Heidegger's troop, and you'll see a lot of action, especially since there are only four of us right now."
"Four? But who's the--"
Just then, a bruised and bloodied Phelps staggered into the barracks. I couldn't help but let out a quiet whimper.
Continued in "Rolling Chamber, Part 2"