Chapter Three: A Day in the Desert with Calvin and Hobbes.

Cloud and everyone had filled Calvin and Hobbes in on their mission and what their purpose was. They explained how they were trying to save the planet from the likes of Shinra, a company that was bent on world domination through the use of the planet's blood, mako, and the likes of Sephiroth, a man that was once known as the most powerful solder on earth and had gone crazy one day when he learned the truth of his history and how he was created by an ancient named JENOVA. Now, Sephiroth wanted to kill those that aren't of the Ancient race and take the planet for himself and JENOVA. Calvin was eager to meet this guy while Hobbes shuddered at the thought of going face to face with him.

At the moment, though, they had another mission: find Dyne; Barret's long, lost friend that was found in the prison. Their objective was to find him and bring peace back to his mind and hopefully get him to join them.

"Okay. It's settled. Barret and I are going indefinitely," Cloud began. "Who else should come with us? It should be one more. It'd be dangerous if more than three went. So, who's it gonna be?"

"Pick me! Pick me!" Calvin pleaded. "I'll be a great help! I promise!"

"Whoa there, kid," Barret stated. "I don't think ya wanna come on a mission like this yer first day."

"Why not?" Calvin demanded. "I'd be great! I know it and you know it! Just let me come."

"Kid, this is an important mission. I want to succeed and that means we need a skilled fighter to come with us," Cloud explained.

"I'm skilled!" Calvin argued. "You should see me play Calvinball! If I can almost beat a tiger, than I should have no problem with a few enemies!"

"Listen up, kid. This mission ain't fer no children like yerself. This mission is gonna get ugly," Barret warned.

"He's right," Aeris kindly stated. "Maybe you can come along on another mission, okay?"

"BUT I WANNA COME NOW!' Calvin desperately shouted in his most annoying, whiny voice.

"No, kid! Not this time!" Cloud shouted. "Maybe another time! If you keep that up, then you WON"T ever come with us on a mission!"

"Stop calling me kid!" Calvin demanded. "I have a name, you know! It's Calvin and don't you forget it, you spiky-haired jerk!"

"He's one to talk about spiky hair," Cait Sith whispered to Red XIII. "Look at his compared to Cloud's and he's only six."

"Yes, it doesn't quite seem possible, does it?"

"Aeris, you come with us," Cloud said, ignoring Calvin's groaning. "Everyone else, stay here and we'll be back as soon as possible...that includes you Calvin."

"...fine…," Calvin grumbled.

"Okay, then let's get going," Cloud said. "You ready for this, Barret?" he asked, turning to him.

"Yeah," Barret replied in a nervous voice. "As ready as I was the day we bombed the number one mako reactor."

"Good," Cloud said. He tuned to Tifa and said, "Tifa, keep an extra eye on Calvin while we're gone. Don't let him out of your site."

Calvin was outraged at that sentence and began shouting again.

"What! What is this, baby-sitting?" he demanded. "You don't need to worry about me! I'll behave! I always behave!"

"Remember, Tifa…not for a second," Cloud replied in an unsure voice.

"You got it," she said.

Then, Cloud, Aeris, and Barret set off on their mission. Everyone waited outside the cabin until they were out of sight.

When they were out of sight, she turned to Calvin and said, "Okay let's get in the cabin.

"Hey, no pushing, lady!" Calvin shouted "I'll call the police on you and have them throw you in the slammer so fast, your head will spin!"

"Um, Calvin…technically, we're already in the slammer," Hobbes reminded him.

"Oh."

Calvin tried to think of a response to that, but couldn't think of anything.

"Just go," Tifa said. "Don't give me any trouble and we'll get along just fine. Understand?"

"Lady, I don't take any orders from baby-sitters! Ask Hobbes and he'll tell you of the time we locked our baby-sitter, Rosalyn, out of the house because she gave us trouble! We don't listen to baby-sitters. They listen to us and don't you forget it!" Calvin threatened.

Tifa kneeled down to Calvin so they could see eye to eye and said in her sweetest voice, "Calvin, go in that cabin and then lock me out of it."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

Just as Tifa requested, Calvin went into the cabin and locked the door behind him.

"Ha! That was easy!" Calvin said in an arrogant voice, proud of what just happened. "I guess she didn't want to put up with my toughness! That'll show her not to…"

Calvin never got to finish the sentence as a sudden explosion noise made Calvin jump out of his pants. He turned around to see that the door had been knocked down by none other than Tifa. She had just kicked the door to smithereens like it was nothing.

She then walked right up to Calvin, who was too scared to do anything, and picked him up by his shirt collar. She then said in a low, mean voice that was almost like a growl, "Now…are you going to give me any trouble or not!"

She then set Calvin back on the ground.

"Well, the others are probably gonna be gone for awhile. I might as well get some sleep until they come back," Calvin replied in a scared tone of voice.

Cait Sith, Red XIII, and Hobbes were still standing outside, shocked from what just happened.

Hobbes pulled out a note pad and scribbled in it, "Note to self: Tifa is a babe with an attitude. I must not make her angry."

Hours had passed. Cait Sith and Red XIII were resting on the ground next to the couch, Tifa was sitting in a chair, and Calvin and Hobbes were sleeping in a corner of the room, waiting for the others to return.

Finally, after three hours had passed, Cloud, Aeris, and Barret returned to the cabin. Barret looked depressed and it looked as though he had been crying.

"How'd it go?" Tifa asked. "Where's Dyne?"

"H-H-He's…dead…" Barret replied, voice shaking. "I killed him…just like I killed the people in my hometown…I…failed him as a friend…I failed again."

"Shhh... It wasn't your fault," Aeris replied, putting her arms around Barret. "It just happened without warning."

Barret's sobbing had awaken the others.

" yawn What's going on?" Calvin asked sleepily.

Hobbes was stretching tiger-style when he heard Barret's sobbing.

"Why's Barret crying?" Hobbes asked, fighting off a yawn.

After Hobbes woke up a little more, he strode over to Barret

"Are you all right?"

"Course I'm all right!" Barret replied, fighting the tears. "I jus' had something in my eye, that's all! "

"No, you don't," Hobbes replied, seeing right through the lie. "You're sad about something. What's wrong?"

"I'm fine!" Barret lied, sniffling. "It's jus' dust, is all."

Hobbes ignored Barret's remarks and started rubbing his head across Barret's legs like a cat normally would.

W-W-What're ya doin'?

"You look like you could use some comfort and no one can comfort someone like a tiger," Hobbes replied.

"Well...thanks," Barret replied, fighting back the tears.

"Aw. What did I tell you? Hobbes is so nice and sympathetic." Aeris smiled, patting Hobbes on the head. This, of course, caused Hobbes' ears to perk up.

"Score! Didn't even try and I score!" Hobbes thought to himself. "I guess I'm just a charmer no matter what I do. Smooch-city, here I come!"

Calvin had just woken up and was now joining the rest of the group.

"So what do we do? How do we get out of here? The sun's starting to get hot down here."

"Here's the deal," Cloud explained "If we want out, we have to win a chocobo race up above."

"What do you mean?" Cait Sith asked. "Do we have to pick a winner or something? If so, I know every jockey and chocobo up there. Count on me to pick your winner."

"No. One of us has to race on a chocobo."

"WHAT?" everyone asked.

"I'm not lying," Cloud replied. "One of us has to race on a chocobo and win if we want to get out of here. There's no other way."

"Humph," Hobbes grumbled. "If you ask me, one of us should race against the chocobos. We tigers are the fastest things on earth. I could easily beat a chocobo."

"That's because you'd pounce the chocobo and eat it up before it got a chance to get away from you," Calvin spoke. "That's why we can't go to that Chocobo Ranch anymore."

"Ah, but that chocobo was sick and dying," Hobbes explained. "I just put it out of its misery, that's all. That farmer should have thanked me. We tigers are handy like that, you know."

"Well, we know not to let old bird-mauler here do it," Calvin insulted. "Who here can do it?"

"I was thinking Cloud at first jus cuz he's the leader," Barret said. "But we could use someone that's light." He added, looking at Calvin.

"Someone that the chocobo can easily carry to give it a speed advantage," Aeris added, looking at Calvin.

"How about it, Calvin?" Cloud asked. If know how to handle a chocobo, we'll let you do it."

"ME? Why me?" Calvin began. "I don't…"

Calvin suddenly stopped himself. He realized that this was his chance to get in on some action.

"I mean…of course I know how to handle a chocobo," he lied. "Why, I was the best chocobo racer back home. No other kid could do it quite like I could."

"But you've never ridden a chocobo before Calvin," Hobbes said.

Calvin then grabbed Hobbes and started pulling him into a corner, excusing himself from the others.

Once they were out of sight from the others, he turned to Hobbes and said, "Look, fuzz head. I'm sick of sitting and waiting for some action. I'm going to go crazy if I stay here."

"But you don't know what to do," Hobbes argued. "When you loose, we'll be down here even longer than I want to. We should just let someone else do it."

"Hobbes! Didn't you hear them? They asked me to do it! They obviously don't know what to do!"

"But they suggested Cloud first. I say we should just let him do it and get out of here. The air is starting to dry up my nose."

"Aw, you've got enough boogers up there to keep it moist. Besides, you heard them. I've got an advantage the other racers don't have. I'm small. Therefore, the chocobo can run easier."

"Well, you're right about one thing, shrimp. But I don't think you can win unless you know how to handle a chocobo."

"Come on, Hobbes. How hard can it be?"

"Every time you say that, I just know something bad is going to happen," Hobbes sighed.