AN- So I plan to do a revision (major touch up) at 100k words which should be around Junon. Let me know what you guys think of everything so far by reviews or PM. Ideas are also appreciated. The earlier chapters were a bit rough and could probably use more dialogue to help lighten the mood and make everything a bit more comprehensible, but it is Midgar so I'll be leaving the grittiness untouched. I probably could've handled a lot of things better honestly. This is the stretch where things get a lot less dark and I start flushing things out. Enjoy!


I set a brutal pace. I wasn't seeing red, but I was pushing myself harder than I had any reason to. My upper body burned and ached deeply. I pushed faster than I ever had before. There never was the opportunity to test myself on flat open ground like this, so I was set on finding me limit. Better than stewing in my thoughts about what happened. The rocky landscape seemed to blur past as my feet slapped against the ground. Chunks of dirt and small rocks flew up in my wake with each stride. I pushed myself till exhaustion was the only thing on my mind, then past that. It was stupid to tire myself out like this with monsters around, but damn it, I needed to wear myself out.

I never handled rejection well. Especially if there wasn't a clear reasoning behind it. I would constantly think about it and work myself until I was frustrated and not thinking clearly. I had my suspicions that something like this might happen ever since I wasn't taken on the Shinra HQ attack, so I wasn't caught totally unaware. Reality is cold and harsh. It's always been and it hits hardest when you don't expect it, so expecting the worst means being being able to roll with the punches when things go south. Thankfully I was just frustrated with the outcome. The running was helping get the frustration out. No, I wasn't one to run away from problems, this was me getting my head straight.

Rilo was keeping pace with me. He was worse off than I was currently, but the fact that he stayed with me made my respect for him go up considerably. I didn't like what happened and needed to wear myself out and get the frustration I was feeling out. It was building up inside of me like a physical pressure. Everything that I had been working towards seemed to fall apart in my hands and I wanted to know why.

No, there was a reason it all happened. Aerith's premonition telling her something was off about me. I didn't like it and she didn't really give an opportunity for me to prove myself thinking back. To think it all could've been avoided if I was just more sociable. It was absurd. Alright, so I may not be the best person at it but there shouldn't be a way she for sure knows that. It doesn't work like that.

I stop running. Both Rilo and me immediately bend down struggling to regain breath. We both suck in air with raspy, quick breaths. I take a look around as I catch my breath, if anything had been following us it would attack now. There was little light that the moon was giving off, just enough to see by, but the area looked clear enough. More light than what was available in the slums at night made things easier.

I stand and face Rilo. He was still hunched down and his hair was covering his eyes. His clothes were drenched in sweat just like mine. He had stuck with me when anytime he could've left to head back to Midgar. He did witness me trying to join a terrorist organization after all. I would be hard pressed to make the same choice. "Hey...Rilo..." I gasped out while trying to catch my breath, taking a second then finally manage to satisfy my lungs. "Thanks...thanks for staying with me." I give him a tired smile while trying to calm down. "You really didn't have to." We both took another moment to pant and recover.

I needed to let him know how much I appreciated this. He would help a lot with things to come and frankly things would be better with another person. I also needed to remind myself that I was now a part of this world, whether it wanted me to be or not. I couldn't act like Vincent and lock myself away and just let life go by. No, I wouldn't let this predicament get to me. Now that I had the chance to let out my frustration I realized that I could work around not joining the party. I knew where to go and what to do. People would kill for that opportunity in life. I would have to muster everything that I learned and work past this.

Rilo also stands up. "It's no problem, I could keep up after all. I've got to stick with you, it'd only be fair with how you helped me out." He grimaced. "Besides, you seem to always be in some kind of trouble, that means things should be more interesting around you anyways. Don't dissapoint me." He gives off a clipped laugh, then his face turns serious, almost hard. "Dad said you shouldn't go running off by yourself and that the best journeys are ones shared with other people you trust to watch your back and willing to fight beside you. I trust what he says and I trust you. The world is a lot more dangerous than you think, it needs more people who try to help out." Those were the exact words his father spouted at me while I was visiting the guild. He also trusted me of all people. What went unspoken was that the best journeys were the ones you come back from. I didn't know what to say to that.

How do you respond to someone telling you all that? "Once again, thanks for following me. I'll try to not get us lost." I say somberly while giving off a small chuckle. His words were touching and confusing, I wasn't quite sure what he saw. Why would he follow me? I wasn't a person who would go into a situation to help unprepared. No hero. I was bitter and always unsatisfied, pushing myself and others to do and be better. The few times that I wasn't, I expect things to go wrong or for the other shoe to drop. A bastard cynic. Having shitty luck does that to a person. I am aware of it at the least, I work on it.

I shuffle a little, trying not to let my embarrassment show. "Here would be a good place as any to camp. We should settle down for the night and get some rest." I say. He nods and prepares setting up camp with practiced motions. Something I was envious of. He really did have experience outside of the city. I take the opportunity to crouch down and think about what comes next.

Next is Kalm. We would be making it there the next day, but wouldn't be staying long. I had an advantage of information over the party that I would take brutal advantage of. I knew things about this world that they didn't, at least not yet. Things that they couldn't know about. I wouldn't have to capture a chocobo to cross the swamps. I would be taking a hidden mountain trail giving me possible days on them. I knew tips and tricks, just assorting them to real life would be hard. They would regret not bringing me along. I would make them see it when I was always a step ahead of them, taunting them. A message here, a warning there, it would help them and they would be forced to acknowledge me. To make them admit that I knew what I was doing.

I took a deep breath trying to recover from the long run, then another to calm and organize my thoughts. I knew the steps needed to follow the plot, but I was having trouble finding a reason on why I would do it right now. My goal to find out about myself would most likely revolve around Hojo. To meet him I would need to go to Junon and take a ship to Costa del Sol, just like the group. Basically follow the plot for now. I wouldn't know how to get at Hojo without avoiding a fight. He has that syringe that turns him into a super boss when he feels threatened, something I had no hope of beating currently. Maybe I could steal it, but that's a bit too risky for my taste. At the very least he seemed privy to enjoying his vacation at the resort town and open to talking to the others. I would ask then. I would need to know more about the file before that times comes. That would mean learning to read.

Better to stick to the script and get ready for the trouble ahead then. I would deal with the worst things when they come up, along with what I would do after. The issue of not being with the group still stands. There would be several instances where I would need them to progress if I were to continue past the resort town. Having to rely on others was a harsh truth in this world, something I didn't like. I would like to think I'm prideful enough where it doesn't bother me, but having to learn to read all over again aggravated me. I would need to rely on someone then, probably RIlo, to help me learn.

I was glad someone was coming with me. I would've been fine being alone, it's just the kind of person I am, but being with someone else set my mind at ease. Knowing that there was someone to help fight and travel with helped my paranoia and wouldn't make this journey tense and fry my nerves. I didn't know Rilo that well, but here was my chance to change that since we would be spending a lot of time together. I wouldn't reject him like the way I was by Cloud. He wanted to go on this journey for his own reasons, I wouldn't question them. I idly start fiddling with my knives.

That set my thoughts to other things about the future. Yuffie would be easy to convince if I could find her. Vincent was up in the air. I didn't know where the ninja girl was in the world, but I would look for her near Junon with my time ahead of the group. The ship to Costa del Sol wouldn't leave until shortly after the group gets to Junon, the Shinra port city. That should take about two weeks for them. I didn't think at all that me and the main group would be separated like this for long. I planned on making it plenty obvious that I would be a step ahead of them and knew what I was doing. They would eventually come to me. Barret and Tifa already wanted me to join. Aerith had come before and hopefully the others could ease whatever worries she had about me. She wouldn't be like this for long hopefully. I couldn't tell if she was acting rationally or irrationally. Is getting feedback from the planet a rational source to get information to base your choices?

"Everything is ready for the night Vice. Who gets first watch?" Rilo asks, dragging me out of my train of thought. With a start I realized that I was the leader of our little group, I would be the ones calling the shots about where we go. I looked at him and he looked worn down from our run. Even with the small amount of time we had to recover he still seemed haggard. I made up my mind just looking at his current state.

"I'll keep watch for the rest of the night." I decided for him easily.

He was stunned for several seconds after processing what I said. "That's not fair! We should split it evenly." Rilo protests. He had a good point, it would be easier on the both of us if we were to split it evenly. I couldn't allow that. I was the one who pushed us to run throughout a good portion of the night for no good reason. I wasn't sure how long we ran, but I was bone tired. He deserved this rest, and frankly I didn't. It was slightly self-deprecating, but I wanted more time to sort out my thoughts and calm myself. I was too old to be throwing tantrums about not joining the cool kids at their lunch table.

What would be the best way to get him to agree? "No, the world isn't fair." I thought back on how I wasn't allowed to join the main cast and all the other problems that have plagued me even before. "It's my fault that we're both so tired so I'll be the one to take responsibility. You can have first watch tomorrow and we'll both sleep early. Fair enough?" I reasoned out.

He seemed to mull it over. "Fine." He grumbles out. He didn't look happy, but he looked too tired to argue.

He went to sleep in his tent without any more protest. On the bright side I at least wouldn't have to unpack my tent. I kept vigilant watch throughout the night and got to work fashioning knives from the Kalm fangs. They looked like the prehistoric weapons you see in museums, but they worked. I only had several and they were crude but they were balanced to a reasonable level and sharpened. I idly wondered why I was making new knives when I now had a gun and materia, then shook off the doubting thought. It was always better to be as prepared as you can in a world where seemingly everything wants to kill you.

For one brief instant I debated leaving Rilo in the middle of the night. We would be going up against crazy, ridiculous odds and he wasn't as prepared as I was for the storm. No gun, no stockpile of drugs, and can't use materia. Things weren't looking in his favor at the moment. I discarded the thought of leaving him. I wouldn't...No. I couldn't leave someone that would put so much effort into going with me. He left everything behind for an opportunity to leave Midgar and go on a journey. That's a huge decision that takes a lot of thought and willpower to follow through on, even if he doesn't realize it. I already reasoned it out that it would be better if he stayed with me.

With dull, tired eyes I watched the sun creep up the rocky horizon.

Now that it was light out I could see we were about to enter the grasslands. We had pushed almost all the way to the edge of the wasteland throughout the night. I was expecting us to get attacked more, especially considering the time, but it seems that things can't live near Midgar with the mako sucked from the earth. We could've traveled for hours without getting confronted. The only reason we found so many monsters near the city was because we were looking for them. Rilo knew what signs to look for and followed them to our prey. Much, much different than sector 6 where enemies seemed to be around every corner.

I hadn't felt any different from the lack of mako in the wastelands. Humans needed very little to survive apparently. A small ambient presence is about all that's needed. We are creatures that mainly rely on food, much like whole eaters. It helps that a lot of our food has mako inside of it. I paused with the thought. Could humans get stronger just from eating things with mako in it? Much like gaining resistance to poisons by ingesting a small amount at a time. I mean it's called mako poisoning, so theoretically it could be true. I did know that exposure times and concentration had a big part to play in mako poisoning, but not much else.

In fact, falling into the mako pool in sector 6 didn't lead to anything bad or long lasting. There was the initial burning but that was it. That turned my next thoughts to what exactly happened there. I knew that limit breaks were a burst of mako from the body to do something crazy, but was it my natural limit break or was it some strange interaction with the amount of mako around me. I thought back on the gesture I used. Where had I seen it before. It was so familiar, I felt like I was missing something. Something obvious. I thought about it and realized what I was looking for, sending a shock down my back. Alps. It was the same gesture that the troll boss used to control the water in the sewer system. What kind of interaction was that? Did I just copy it from him?

I started to poke Rilo and stopped when he got up groaning. He mumbled out a barely coherent good morning and I returned the greeting. It was time to wake up with the rising sun, and time to answer some questions I had! I let him get up and take care of his business while I worried about just what happened at the sector 6 fight.

I wait until he gets back. He was rubbing sleep from his eyes when I hit him with the question. "Hey, uh, Rilo, what do you know about limit breaks? Your dad has got to of told you something about them." I ask, trying not to let my apprehension reach my voice.

He blinks, rubs his eyes, then groans. "Aww c'mon, let me at least eat first before you start asking me questions first thing in the morning. It's too early for this." He grumbles.

I concede to his request and pull out food from my knapsack for the both of us. It's dried packaged food that I think is chocobo jerky. The mystery meat is decidedly good and chewy. I wondered if our lack of fruit would be a problem to our health in the future. I had been fine so far living off of monster parts and cheap food inside the sunless city. I should be fine, I accompanied it to mako being bullshit. We both eat in silence with the sun and temperature steadily rising. He finishes his food first then gets up and starts packing his things to leave while explaining limit breaks to me.

He takes a moment to think about what to say, then shrugs as if giving up. "What do you want to know?" He asks.

"What are limit breaks. What kind of stuff can they do?" I ask. His eyes perk up at the chance to explain something that he probably thinks is cool.

He jumps right into the explanation. "From what I remember it's the buildup of mako in the body. Usually in organs where mako isn't used or filtered out easily." He says while breaking down his tent. "Pancreas, kidneys, gallbladder, liver, and sometimes stomach linings. Really in most of the smooth muscles. The older or more exposed you are, the more tolerance you build to the accumulation of mako inside the body. That's why a lot of the older mercenaries are crazy strong and fast." He explains while stuffing things into his bag.

He continues on fully facing me. "Limit breaks are the release of all of the unneeded mako in the body that isn't being used." He sounds like he's reciting something, or repeating what someone told him. "Mako is kind of crazy and does strange things when it's let out all at once like that. It usually latches on to nearby things, people, or objects. I once threw my sword and it came back to me, it was the coolest thing and nobody believes that I did it. Most of the time it just makes people stronger for a few brief seconds, but other weird things can happen. I heard that someone once shot lasers out of their eyes, but that might just be people making things up. That's about all that I remember." He finishes and gives a shrug. He seemed animated to talk about fighting. I hadn't put much thought into him fighting, he actually found it fun.

Much different than my thoughts on it.

I hum, putting the information away in the back of my mind. So it was a case of mako being weird as hell that happened to me. That's good, and made me feel a hell of a lot better. It wasn't anything that I didn't already know, but the confirmation was nice. It finally made sense how some limit breaks were stronger than others if the tolerance for more mako in the body went up with constant use. Was it possible to control what the limit break did like Cloud and everyone else in the game? It probably is with lots of practice and control of mako flow. I saw Tifa do her signature beat rush while attacking Shinra HQ lobby. She was a 'normal' human and seemed to know what she was doing so it should be possible. Mako sure did have some strange properties.

The buildup probably came from eating things, mako enhancements, and maybe even using materia. Basically everything incorporating fighting. It made sense on why it was so uncomfortable to hold onto the enhancements. I had gotten used to using them in short efficient burst, but would it make my tolerance go up if I really pushed myself? I never used it for more than several seconds at a time. In fact, I just used it to empower what I needed and just about nothing else. I'd have to consciously try to not be efficient with it and flood more in on the jog to Kalm.

I nod towards him. "Thanks a lot for explaining that to me. I've been meaning to ask for help about that for a good bit now. I was kind of worried about it, but now not so much." I give off a relieved laugh. "We should probably head out soon. The day is waiting after all." I was itching to try out pushing myself. Would it build up the limit break, or would it make me stronger? The burn would be unpleasant but I could live with it if it meant finding out.

Rilo gives me a curt nod. "No problem at all. If you need help with anything else, just ask." He offers. Now that I think about it there was something else that I wanted. Something he could help with. I was a bit reluctant to ask, but did it after working up the courage. We were both standing up and ready to start the journey but I needed to ask this.

"Actually, do you think you could teach me how to read." I sheepishly ask. I rub the back of my head, an easy sign of my discomfort asking the question. That it bothered me so much and showed spoke volumes.

He blinks heavily and slowly, taken aback by my question. "You don't know how to read?" I give him a glare, letting him know it was a sensitive subject. "Uhh, right I guess I can do it, I did offer to after all. Well, do you have anything to read or write with so we can get started?"

Now it was my turn to blink stupidly. Besides the file, no, I didn't have anything. Oops. "No I don't, but we can pick something up when we get to Kalm. We should be getting there in a couple of hours anyways. Want to leave now?" I ask. I was ready to get my day started.

Rilo nods eagerly, also ready to get a move on. We shouldn't see any devil rides on the way to Kalm now that we were out of the wastelands and the Shinra machines patrolling the landscape randomly wouldn't bother us either. There was still going to be hobgoblins and Kalm fangs that we might run into. It shouldn't be a problem if it does happen. They were small fries in the large scheme of things. I still had plenty of ammunition and my materia to take care of them. I probably wouldn't even break a sweat. I was prepared for the Journey ahead.

"Alright, let's head out then." I declare.

We gathered up our things and took off in the direction of Kalm.


My idea of pushing myself with mako enhancements was a horrible, horrible idea. If I thought that the burn from holding it for several seconds was bad, the absolute agony that came from holding it for minutes at a time made my head swim. I couldn't hold the enhancements in the same place for long and had to switch the areas I enhanced constantly. I had to take potions just to be able to move properly. It was like an intense, full-body workout lasting for hours, in fact. I'm pretty sure most of my muscles tore from the strain and pressure. Everything was cramping while pain shot up my legs with each step. Thankfully the potions helped with the recovery, but I felt like they got less effective over time and was uncomfortable burning through our supply. Almost as if I was building up a resistance to the healing drug.

As soon as I stepped foot in Kalm I cut off the constant mako flow I had maintained. Instantly, an invisible pressure went away from my mind and I collapsed in a tired, sweaty pile on the ground. I laid down gasping for air and numbly realized people were staring and murmuring. I was causing a scene laying out under the hot morning sun.

Rilo wasn't sure what to make of my struggle on the way to the town. I told him I was exercising and he tried it for a bit, but gave up after it was clear I would be useless in any fights we came across. The two Kalm fangs we came across on the way here Rilo had to fight by himself. I had to catch my breath before I could even manage to bring my gun to bear on the enemies. By then the fight was over and Rilo had several scratches, but effectively took them down, then taking off after skinning them.

I couldn't imagine having to go through with this to build up a better tolerance. Rilo was giving me strange looks and so was the gathering crowd. Who goes to the point of collapse when traveling through monster infested territory? I couldn't help but sigh then push myself off the ground. While it might help, it just wasn't smart to push myself that hard when we had things to fight. The crowd started to lose interest when they realized I didn't have any important news to give.

Now that my mind wasn't clouded with pain I took a moment to properly look around. Kalm was the size of a very small town, but what caught my interest was the town square. An exact replica as depicted in the game. Rustic architecture, tower in the center, and paved roads. There were even some people milling around in the equivalent spots that NPC's were. I recognized the buildings and streets, but nowhere else outside the center of the small town. None of the other streets or houses were shown in game, but there honestly wasn't much outside of the center. Strange, why was this and several other things depicted the exact same way, but not sector 7? Very, very interesting to think about. Also very aggravating because I knew there would be no way for me to find out.

Me and Rilo worked out what we would do here during our short stay. Rilo would get some supplies that he needed. He was excited to go on this trip, but didn't have enough food or water for the long term. He would also get things he needed to teach me how to read. Papers to write with and books to read. After that he would wait in the bar so we could meet up and head out.

I would venture into the city and grab the things I needed. There were several hidden items that should be here. Was it really hidden if they were inside people's home? It would also be good to visit the materia, item, and weapon shops. Together we had about 2000 gil, it wasn't much, but we didn't need anything major from this town. We would make more making our way to the next location, the mythril mines. We split it half way each, then went our separate ways.

I wandered past the inn and idly looked up. Cloud and his merry band should be up there talking about the Nibelheim incident. The incident were Sephiroth went crazy and destroyed the town. It would take up most of the day, me and Rilo would be long gone by then. It was much like the time Aerith's mom told the group about her special heritage. I knew about it and didn't want to sit in on a conversation where I knew everything. I understand Cloud's need to convey why they should follow Sephiroth to the rest of the others, I just didn't want to be a part of it.

I turned away from the inn and went deeper into the center of Kalm. There wasn't much I could buy that I needed. I desperately wanted all the materia, but my wallet was telling me otherwise. We were well supplied on items, we didn't really need much there. The only other places of interest were the weapons and materia shop.

The materia and weapon shops were located up a pair of steps, situated over the bar. They were connected and split the room in half. It felt more like a showroom than an actual store. Everything was kept in neat display cases and looked well maintained. An aging woman perked up when I walked in.

"Good morning! We usually don't get many kids your age! It's good to see a fresh face around here, usually just grumpy old men like my husband over there." The older, wrinkly faced woman giggles at her husband's displeasure. She was behind the materia counter with several materia orbs put on display behind her. "So what can I do for you today?"

I browsed her wares and looked at what was labeled. Earth, bio, heal, restore, and sense. Not a lot of selection, and not even the conventional attack materia. They still looked so juicy sitting inside the display cases, just out of reach. There was no steal materia at all strangely. My drive to find discrepancies was urging me to find out, it was sold in game.

"Do you have any steal materia?" Both her, and her husband tense up at my question. Her husband reaches for something underneath the counter. I was immediately put on guard.

"Are you looking to buy some?" She looks nervous, but not overtly hostile.

My eyes dart in between the both of them, looking to see who would make the first move. "Yes?"

She visibly relaxes at my confused answer. "Kid, you can't just go asking for shady materia like that." She lets out a sigh.

Her husband swears but doesn't remove his hands from beneath the counter. He then addresses her. "Causing all kinds of worry and stress. I put 5 gil he's too stupid to realize what's wrong." The weapon store owner grumbles from across the room.

I bristled at that, but it didn't make me fully realize what I did wrong. Something to do with it being shady materia? It was just a simple command materia, but the bad reputation associated for using it to steal. The materia was literally called steal, of course it's probably something that isn't used to hunt monsters usually. Yeah, I can see how she wouldn't broadcast it in her store. Especially how they would be wary of the people who ask for it specifically.

She priced it at 1200 gil and told me to keep my mouth shut about it. The price was just slightly over the amount that I had, which was a bit worrying. I would need to part with some of my medicine to afford it. It would be a risky move, something could always happen to our stockpile and we would be left without anything to heal wounds. I opted to get a restore materia in Junon, despite having no backup plan. Steal wasn't sold there in the game or any near locations, so this would be my only opportunity to acquire it for quite some time.

If there was one materia I would need, it would be this. Equipping it gives a stat boost to dexterity, something I needed if I wanted to fight more effectively. I also wanted to see how it would translate over. I already own sense, the other command materia sold here, and it's helped me tremendously. I had plenty of attack materia and plenty of medicine. The investment would be worth it. I already knew that you didn't need steal to get items from monsters, so what would this materia do? I wanted to find out.

With that decided I sold several potions until I had enough. I'd have to be more careful about taking hits in the near future with no easy way to resupply potions. She told me to keep the materia hidden while in town. I couldn't feel anything just by holding the materia, and I felt like it would get me shot if I activated it at this moment with the glares her husband is sending me.

I glanced over at the weapons store and the man sitting behind it. He wasn't as wrinkled and wore a cap with a strange eyepiece attached to it. Looked like it was used to examine things. Exotic weapons lined the wall. Muskets, pikes, giant pistols, hammers, and even the cannonball that Barrett could equip. No sign of any knives at all. I'd probably have better luck raiding a kitchen for weapons at this point.

I sigh with my gaze lingering on the wall. It would be nice to have conventional equipment and armor. The constant gil problem couldn't be avoided. It could be mitigated by selling the things that we find or hunting monsters on the way to the next location. With that decided I went towards a familiar looking house near the staircase leading to the shops.

I gingerly knocked on the door. Everyone seemed friendly in the town so far. There was none of the paranoia that came from living in the slums or hostility to strangers.

I hear shuffling inside. "Hello?" I called out.

"Oh? Company this early?" The door swings open and I'm looking down at a mousey looking girl with brown hair and strange clothes. Puffy looking t-shirt and purple pants. "You look much more friendly than that man wearing the black cloak I saw earlier. You still look suspicious though." A small smile plays out on her face. "Come on inside so we can talk."

I was tentative about doing this. The stuff inside these houses could be used to better prepare for the journey ahead. But they were inside the houses. As in already having an owner. As in me having to go inside and talk with people. This wasn't like the cover materia I found hidden in Aerith's flower field. I wouldn't steal from regular people, so I would have to ask.

Her house was very homey and felt lived in. It wasn't terribly big, but the amount of wood boggled my mind. In fact the whole town did. How was it built out of wood when it was so expensive in Midgar? The economics of it made no sense. It was only a day away! Everything seemed in good repair. The disparity was just too much. She sat me down and took a seat across from me in this living room.

I cleared my throat. Trying to figure the best way to put this. "I've heard that you've got a couple things you'd like to trade for. Some things that I could really use for my journey to Junon." Best to sound like I know what I'm doing.

She starts to prepare some tea on her small stove."Oh, you know you'd have to go through the mines to get there? Lots of nasty things have been happening ever since the Midgar Zolom moved in. And what could you possibly want? Are strangers coming from all over Gaia now to try my cooking now?" She asks with a sly smile.

I chuckle at that. "Actually, I think you have a gun I could use, and a guard source. But now you have me curious about the food." I say.

She cocks her head to the side as if remembering something. "Oh those old things? I don't really have a use for them now that I spend all my time raising my kids, but I'm willing to part with them cheap. A couple potions or some gil should be enough. A potion would help the kids out a lot more than all my old gear." She nods as if confirming the deal herself. "Yeah, that sounds like a fair deal, plus you'd help clear out the mines so my husband can finally stop complaining about not having work." I was surprised. This youngish looking girl in front of me didn't seemed like a retired mercenary. Maybe mako helped retain some of the youth?

I managed to trade for a mean looking pistol and a small jar of strange liquid for the Kalm fang pelts we acquired on the way over to Kalm and two potions. I stayed for a bit longer and paid close attention when she told me how to fix and maintain it, I would need to be repeat this to Rilo. Our stockpile was now uncomfortably low on potions after this trade, I was down to two and Rilo should have about six or seven left. Things would get a lot more dangerous at the mines and I didn't want to be caught unprepared. We should be fine if we prepared correctly. The monsters on the way to the mines have potions that can be dropped. I wasn't sure how that would happen exactly, but the game hasn't deviated too much so far.

I asked her about several things in the surrounding area or any tips. She mentioned how the monsters were constantly lured by tranquilizers and hypers because of their affinity with them and that sometimes they would have undigested medicine in them. When I asked her about the man in the black cape she sobered up, losing her friendly smile. She told me to stay away and avoid him. I thanked her profusely for her time and help, which she just waved off. She was content in Kalm and was willing to help out strangers any way she could.

When I went to the other two houses the residents were much more unfriendly towards me. They weren't willing to part ways with their stockpiled ethers. In fact they seemed suspicious of me for even knowing that they had anything in their homes. The old man almost sicced his dog on me because I seemed suspicious. Now that's more of what I was used to. I didn't need the ethers that were housed there. I always made sure not to expend too much mako during fights with spells, to always save some for a retreat. I would use less now that I acquired a ranged weapon for Rilo. All it would've been to me was extra gil.

I looked at my find. Peacemaker. A revolver with a ridiculous sized barrel. Almost four feet in total. It seemed more like a pistol musket that some crazy gun-nut cooked up in his basement. There was no mistaking that this gun would do damage. I was given some ammo with the gun, but not enough to realistically matter. Rilo would have to buy more, hopefully he didn't spend everything like I did. I figured now was a good time as any to go to our meetup spot.

Walking there I took out the guard source and chugged it with my fingers crossed. I braced for a horrific taste but instead it was...fruity. A pleasant taste that filled me up. There was no feeling of becoming stronger or anything overtly obvious. It was slightly disappointing and underwhelming. I made my way towards the bar underneath the walkway, through a tunnel, feeling suspicious looks on my back the entire way. I had gone house to house asking for specific things. Of course people would take notice.

The bar smelled musty walking in, the alcohol just barely surpassing it. There were several people milling around, which was unusual because it was still early in the day. Must be the out of work miners then.

Rilo waved me down. "Are we ready to go?" The anticipation was radiating off of him, he was almost bouncing in place. Several patrons turned to us, curious eyes flickering over us and our gear.

I nod. I wasn't comfortable discussing everything in a public place like this. I remembered his dad guessing that the farm owners might have possible plants in Kalm, any one of these people could be under his thumb. I'd rather keep out of the attention of someone that powerful. It could be the Don all over again if I didn't play things carefully.

We eased ourselves out. Rilo chatting amicably about the things that he learned at the bar. The Midgar Zolom, the mythril mines infestation, the man in the black cloak. All old news to me. The miners told him stories about things happening around the area for the big things that happened in Midgar recently. I knew something was strange was going on when I saw one of them writing everything down. I wanted to get out of there before we got roped into anything.

We made our way out of the city. I glanced up again as we passed by the inn, but there was no way to tell that the group were up there. I wonder what part of the story they were at, it was still fairly early in the day so it couldn't of been too far into it. I knew Sephiroth was nearby, which was worrying in it's own right, but I was exceptionally nervous about the JENOVA cells and the mess that entailed. Was JENOVA traveling with him? It was all very worrying to think about. The only way I would know if it would be a problem later was if I read my file.

We made good time outside of Kalm. I didn't push myself and Rilo was ecstatic about the new weapon. We blew through any opposition and he started to get acquisitioned to the firearm very fast. I hadn't brought out or messed with the new materia yet because I wanted to focus on making good time to our next location.

Luckily Rilo still had plenty of gil left after buying his necessary materials. I got an earful from him about spending my share so fast and so early into the journey. We faced no new enemies, though that would change soon with the approach of the chocobo farm. There weren't any problems the entire day of traveling. Eventually we found a good place to spend the night and set up camp early. Rilo started teaching me with the simple words that he drew up on a chalkboard that he bought. I paid close attention to his lesson, but eventually my lack of sleep caught up with me and I stumbled to bed with a smile on my face. It had been a productive day.

That night, I dreamed about the dark encompass of space.