Chapter 19: She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain...
I woke up, the memory of dream still playing vividly in my mind. Such a good dream... Ok, why did I have to wake up now? Always when it gets to the good bits.
Wait... No. no, it was not a good dream. I do not see Yuffie like that, that's the hormones speaking. Damned teenage hormones. No, I do not think of Yuffie like that. She is an annoying brat who seems to find pleasure in tormenting me.
Sighing, I sat up, and cursed as I realized that my body was betraying me, something I didn't need right now. One early morning cold shower was in order. One long, cold shower. Damnit, this is all Yuffie's fault. Her and that bloody bikini she was wearing yesterday. Her and that skimpy, tight... No, begone! Begone from my mind! I do not need to add more fuel to the fire. It's already like an oil fire. It needs no more fuel, it needs fuel taken away!
'Why'd you have to wake up? That was a good dream.'
Oh God... Why me? Why am I the butt end of every joke the cosmos sees fit to play? I really don't want Spike to start getting bright ideas, because of one hormone induced dream.
'You should ask Yuffie to have...'
No! Nononono! I Am NOT LSITENING! Lalalalala, I can't hear you!
'Spoil sport.'
With silence in my mind again, I grabbed my clothes from where they'd been dumped unceremoniously on the floor, and carried them to the bathroom. Yes, my room was en suite. Have to remember to thank Cloud, when I see him.
'I wonder what Yuffie wears... Thongs or...'
Shut up!
For crying out loud, now he's put a mental image of Yuffie in my mind.
'Why are you so obsessed with keeping Yuffie out of your mind? You aren't a closet homo are you?'
If this is any indication of the rest of my day, then I am seriously going to regret ever getting out of that bed.
I'm not a homo.
'Sounds like someone is sexually insecure.'
I AM PERFECTLY SECURE WITH MY SEXUALITY!
'Then why are you being so defensive? Besides, what's wrong with Yuffie? She's your... our age, she ain't half bad looking...'
She's an irritating little brat.
'Says you? I've seen how you act back home...'
I have Asperger's and you know it.
'Still, what's wrong with thinking about Yuffie in that way? It's your mind.'
My mind with irritating backseat driver.
'Seriously, just picture it: Yuffie, wearing a lacy black thong...'
Again, thanks to the hitchhiker in my mind, I was forcefully delivered mental images. Cursing, I threw myself into the shower and turned it on cold, full blast. Probably not the best of ideas, but at least it did the job.
I've got to find out if there's a way to gag Spike.
'I'm flattered and all, but I'm really not into that sort of thing.'
I slammed my head against the wall.
"My lizard is a freaking pervert." I groaned, before moving to get dressed.
It turned out that the others had let me sleep in. When I finally left the hotel looking for everyone, it was well past 12PM. They're all probably down at the beach, waiting for me.
'And hopefully Yuffie is wearing that bikini again.'
Shat that hole you call a mouth, or I'll shut it for you!
'What hole? I'm an incorporeal lizard in your head! I don't have a mouth! And I'm practicing my right of freedom of speech.'
My lizard just used my line. That line about practicing the right to freedom of speech is my excuse to keep talking even when my siblings tell me to shut up.
How dare the miserable git use my line?
A palm to my temple shut him up. And earned me several odd... odder looks from the locals. Ah screw them. If they want to stare, let them, see if I care. Not like I'll ever see any of them again. How's that for logic?
At the beech, I did indeed find the rest of AVALANCHE, though much to Spike's disappointment; none of the girls were clad in bikinis. Nope, fully dressed in their usual outfits... Well, Yuffie was wearing a slightly different outfit, not massively different, but slightly different. It doesn't have that weird sleeve thing for one thing, seeing as she tore it to shreds to bandage my face the other day. Wonder what the point in that thing was, anyway. Had to have some purpose, didn't it? And no saying it was fashionable; it wasn't.
If you need help realizing what Yuffie was wearing, it's the outfit she wears in Kingdom Hearts. The first one.
As I neared, I noticed that the group was crowding around someone. Barret was looking pissed off as usual, nothing new there. But Cloud's lips were pressed together so tightly, all that was seen of them was a thin, white line.
Cloud is trying to reign in a temper. That can't be good.
My assumption was proven true when I noticed who they were crowding around.
Professor Hojo.
Wait... greasy little Hojo, getting a tan? It almost seems like a sign of the apocalypse. What next, he going to wash his hair? As I neared, I heard Cloud demand to know what the mad scientist was doing.
"It should be obvious, I'm getting a tan." Hojo drawled.
You know who Hojo reminds me of? Professor Snape. Long greasy hair, both professors, both very unethical in their methods.
At least they don't sound the same. Hojo has a more stereotypical scientist type of voice.
"Answer me!" Cloud barked.
"Hmm! I believe we're both after the same goal." Hojo responded, waving his hand in a dismissive manner.
"You mean Sephiroth?" Cloud asked.
"Did you see him? I see…" Hojo laughed, leaning back onto his deck chair.
"What is it?" Cloud frowned, lips tightening further.
"Nothing. I just remembered a certain hypothesis… Haven't you ever had the feeling something is calling you? Or that you had to visit some place?"
I raised an eyebrow ridge at the incredibly vague question.
"Sure I do." I answered, to the scientist's surprise. "I get that all the time, it's known as needing to go take a piss. I feel the toilet calling me, and I know I have to go visit the little lizard's room. That answer your question?"
Hojo glared at me, ignoring the sniggers that most of AVALANCHE was fighting to suppress.
"Not what I meant, no." Hojo frowned. "You're that reptile that the Turks dragged into my lab, aren't you?"
"Yeah. Remind me to punch you in the face sometime for just locking me in some tube, naked. Left a terrible draft you see, and that ain't good for reasons I'm positive you already know."
"Ectothermy." Hojo nodded, glancing at Aeris. "…Say aren't you the 'Ancient'?"
"I'm Aeris." Aeris replied. "The least you can do is something, Professor Hojo… I know I'm an Ancient. My mother told me."
"Your mother? Oh, you mean Ifalna. How is she?"
"You didn't know!? She died."
Hojo looked up, sharply, eyes narrowed, looking at Aeris as if trying to tell whether or not the Cetra was lying.
"…I see." He finally grunted, bowing his head in thought.
"Professor Hojo… Is Jenova an Ancient? Is Sephiroth an Ancient? Do we all have the same blood?"
Hojo mumbled something under his breath. I didn't catch much of it, just the instructions to 'head west'.
"He's mumbling slowly... That must means he's hiding something!" Aeris sighed.
"Hey!" Tifa snapped. "Answer us!"
"It's no use." Cloud shook his head. "It's a no go."
"Head west." I repeated, mentally conjuring up a map of the continent from memory. "Do you think he meant the path that takes us through Coral?" I asked.
The rest of AVALANCHE looked at me.
"Why do you think that?" Barret asked, a slight tone to his voice.
"Going westwards, that's the only route that I can think of that takes us anywhere." I pointed out.
Cloud nodded.
"Makes sense." Cloud agreed. "I was looking at the map last night, trying to figure out which way Sephiroth would have gone. The route through Coral is the quickest way to the other side of the continent."
Barret made a face, before nodding.
"Who goes wit' who?" He asked.
Cloud bowed his head in thought. I leant over so that I could whisper in Red's ear.
"10 gil says Cloud takes Tifa and Aeris, leaving you, me and Barret with Yuffie."
"No deal." He whispered back. "He's just pretending to think about it."
We were proven correct.
"Tifa, Aeris, with me. Barret, Spike, Red, look after the brat."
"Hey!" Yuffie yelled out, indignant.
"Whatever." Barret grunted.
Sniggering, Cloud walked away, followed by the two girls, leaving me with my team. Smiling to myself, and ignoring the lizard within, I examined my team mates. They looked ready enough.
"Do we need any supplies?" I asked, checking my pack quickly.
I did my supply shopping yesterday, so I'm fine. Everyone else shook their heads once they'd checked their own supplies.
"Then I say we get this show on the road." I declared, turning about face, and marching towards the town entrance or, as the case is for me and my companions, the town exit.
"And why does he take charge?" I heard Yuffie ask.
"Because out of all of us, he is the most socially agreeable." Red answered. "Barret has a language problem."
Barret pulled a face and grunted a short 'fuck you', as if to prove Red's point.
"I'm not exactly what people expect, and they never expect me to be able to talk, so I'm not exactly a choice. You have a slight problem with keeping your hands to yourself... and you let go of that fire Materia right now, or you lose that hand... which leaves Spike, who most people are convinced is just a weirdo wearing a lizard costume."
"Oh, yeah, thanks." I shot back. "Way to boost the confidence levels. And Yuffie, give me that enemy skill Materia back, or Barret tests his Bio and Esuna Materia on you."
Yuffie gave me an odd look, before giving Barret a sideward glance. The big, black dude noticed and smirked.
"I'd do it." He nodded.
Yuffie gave an odd sound at the back of her throat and handed me the stolen Materia orb.
"Thank ye kindly." I smirked. "Keep your hands to yourself. I just lead the way and talk to people that need talking to, I don't order or control Barret or Red. If you upset them, they do what they want in retaliation."
Yuffie mumbled something under her breath. I didn't hear what it was, but it probably wasn't the sort of language the princess of Wutai should be speaking.
We exited the resort town, once again heading out into the big wide world. A world that needs heroes. And apparently a lizard that needs to monologue cheesy lines.
"It's been a while since I've been around these parts." I spoke up, as a means to start a conversation. "Just passed through to get to the so-called capital of the world."
"You've been to Midgar?" Yuffie asked, turning to look at me.
"We all have." I answered. "You're the only one who hasn't."
The ninja gave me a look before making a sound that reminded me of whining.
"No fair." She pouted. "I was actually going to go to Midgar when I met you guys. See if I could liberate some Materia from the Shinra bigwigs."
I like how she avoided saying 'steal', when speaking about herself. Very clever. Still doesn't change the fact that she steals.
"It was your choice to come with us." I reminded her. "I distinctly remember trying to veto that idea while it was still young. Now you've followed us across the big puddle, it's a little late to change your mind."
"I wasn't planning on changing my mind!" Yuffie defended herself.
I shrugged.
"Been a while for me as well." Barret suddenly spoke up.
"Yeah?" I asked, turning to look at him.
"Hasn't been long enough." He murmured.
"Bad blood?" Red queried.
Barret nodded absently.
"Too much." He answered, absent mindedly.
"You from around here then?" I spoke up.
The Mr T wannabe seemed to snap out of his thoughts, and glared at me.
"None o' yer business." He snapped.
Flinching, I took a few steps away from him. Cue uncomfortable silence. Very uncomfortable silence. A thought occurred to me then, as I thought back to my time in Midgar.
"Yuffie, you're Wutain, aren't you?"
Yuffie shot me a look that just screamed 'well duh' at me.
"What can you tell me about the Laixiu?" I asked, recalling what the weapon shop keeper back in Midgar had spoken of, and the engraving on the side of my blade.
Yuffie shot me a look of confusion, before nodding to herself.
"There are lots of legends about the Laixiu." She told me. "Most contradict each other somehow. The one that I personally believed as a child was that the Laixiu are like the Cetra are to the humans... only for a race called the Bangaa."
Huh. Bangaa huh? If memory serves, they were bipedal lizards, like myself, only they found being called 'lizard' to be a racial insult. There were physical differences between myself and Bangaa though, such as the Bangaa having external ears, and they were all short sighted.
"Haven't heard of the Bangaa before." Red mused. "What are they?"
"Think of me, then add chronic short sightedness and external ears, much shorter tails, and you have a basic image of one." I joked.
"You forgot the lack of magical ability, lisp and strong enough physically that Bangaa dragoons can leap twice as high as human dragoons." Yuffie pointed out.
Yea... I had forgotten about that.
"I hear that they live on the other side of the world. They stick to the southern continents." Yuffie commented.
"What, the Laixiu?"
"No, the Bangaa." Yuffie shook her head.
"There are still some around?" I queried.
"As I said: southern continents. I can't recall what they're called. Eva-something or other."
"It doesn't matter anyway." I shrugged. "Unless the Shinra is running amok down there?"
"They ain't." Barret interjected. "They might one day, but fo' now, dey stick to da northern continents."
"I'd like to see the southern continents some day." Red mused.
"You and me both." I grinned. "Picture me with a group of Bangaa. I'd fit right in."
A snigger from the four legged creature had me shooting a mock insulted glare.
"You don't need to go anywhere to fit in." I pointed out. "Just mingle with cats and dogs."
"You only need to mingle with household lizards." He shot back.
"I'm not the one who's on fire 24/7."
"You're the one who was showing all his assets back in Shinra Tower."
"He what?" Yuffie asked, sounding surprised.
"I was captured by the Turks and dragged to the resident mad scientist. I was stripped and stuffed in a tube full of something or other. I don't know… I was out cold at the time."
Well, no, according to Spike, I was dead at the time.
"Trust me to pick a group of weirdo's as travelling companions."
"Who are you calling weird?" Red and I both asked at the same time.
Yuffie gave a squeak and back pedalled away from us.
"I think we freaked her out." I commented.
"I think so as well." Red nodded.
"A job well done then." I grinned.
The hike to the Corel Mountains was, besides the odd monster attack, relatively quiet. After two days of travelling, we came to the path that would lead us through the mountains on at the sunset of third day. The closer we had gotten, the more agitated that Barret would get.
He really didn't want to go through the pass, but he seemed to resign himself on the third day.
We began to traverse the path, eyes open for an appropriate place to set up camp. About halfway up the path, we came upon a traveller coming from the opposite direction. He was a rugged looking man, with greying hair. He noticed us and frowned slightly.
"I just passed a guy in a black cloak back there. I just tried to tell him that it's dangerous up ahead, and he ignored me!" He claimed, sounding annoyed. "It's dangerous enough at day, but its just coming on to night, it's practically suicide."
"Did this man have silver hair?" I asked.
"He did." The man nodded.
"Thanks." I smiled. "You said its dangerous up ahead. Does that mean that it's safe to set up camp here?"
"Yeah. The monsters prefer being near that ruined reactor."
"Reactor?"
"Old Shinra Mako Reactor. It looks like its been in ruins for years now, but the monsters still seem to cling to the place. Must be some Mako residue left over."
"Thanks for the warning."
The man nodded and carried on down the path. I turned to Barret, who was already pulling our tents out from his bag. Yeah, this spot sounded like the best place to set up camp, but that wasn't why I was turning to talk to him.
"What is it you aren't telling us?" I asked.
He paused in his actions.
"What makes yo think I know anything?" He asked.
"The last few days, you've been acting like you took a bath in itching powder, and it only got worse the closer we got. And today, you act resigned. You know something."
"What makes it your business!?" He snapped, turning to face me, sharply.
"You might have been the leader of AVALANCHE back in Midgar, making you higher up on the pecking order, and were it just me, I wouldn't ask. But Red is my friend, and if he, or the brat, gets hurt because you knew something that the rest of us didn't, I'll make sure they don't find your body."
Barret's face went red and he stormed right up to me, anger extremely evident.
"You threatening me?"
I shoved Barret back, surprising him with my strength, getting him out of my face, and glared at the large man.
"If that is how you see it."
Shaking his gun-arm, Barret growled.
"I don't know nothing."
"Does it have to do with the reactor?"
Barret hesitated, eyes going cloudy, as he went deep in thought, before sighing, turning back to unpacking the tents.
"Yes. But nothing that any of ya will get hurt from... only me..."
I frowned, but only partially in confusion from what he'd just said. It was mostly in confusion that I honestly couldn't remember what was so significant about this place to Barret. I remember that Coral was his hometown, but what happened? It's like I have a blank spot in my mind. Frowning even deeper, I tried to recap everything I knew about Final Fantasy 7. This wasn't the only blank spot in my memory. I remember Nibelheim, what happens there, if vaguely, can't remember how we meet Cid though... or what happens directly after Aeris' death. How I can't even remember the exact details of her death.
I'm losing my memory?
'It could be brain damage from Cel.' Spike pointed out, sounding strangely serious. 'Are there any other details you're forgetting?'
I thought back to my life before any of this had happened. I remember my friends (few as they may be) names, their faces, what my school uniform looked like, what the road my home was on looked like... I can't remember my brother's face. I recall his name, but not his face. It's the opposite for the elder of my two sisters. Can't remember anything about my mother, other then that I have one.
Shit...
What is worrying me though is that I'm getting faint memories of events that I know never happened.
Double shit...
'Next time we see Jade, ask her about it. Maybe she can repair the damage.' Spike suggested, reasonably. 'I'd assume so, otherwise when we go home, you'll have a scar that you didn't have before.'
I sighed, seeing the logic in his statement. It would be weird if she returned me home with a scar on my face that I didn't have before. Especially one as visible as the one Sephiroth gave me.
Noticing that Barret had already set up the beds and retreated into his own for the night, I followed his lead and entered the one that I shared with Red.
"What was that argument about?" The four legged wonder asked.
"Just trying to figure out what he knows, not very tactfully." I answered.
"Tact was never a strong point with you." Red mock-sighed.
"Why do we always have to share the tent?" I asked, changing the subject.
"I'd assume it's because Barret is too big to share a tent with anyone, and members of the female gender are more touchy about their privacy." Red shook his head. "And really, it's pointless carrying around an extra tent just for myself."
"I suppose." I shrugged.
"Why? Getting bored of me?" Red asked, sounding amused.
"Just idle curiosity." I murmured.
"Ok, what's wrong?" Red questioned.
"What makes you thing there's something wrong?"
"You're brooding." The canine pointed out. "The last time I recall you brooding was when Shepard had to go to Gongaga and you weren't allowed to go with him."
A memory flashed across my mind, one of the exact same scene that had just been described to me, and, almost instinctively, I began laughing.
"That was so long ago, I'm surprised you still remember." I laughed.
"Memories of my time back in Cosmo Canyon helped to keep me sane during the years I was a specimen of Hojo's. Naturally, you were in a majority of those memories."
The humour left me, as Red mentioned his time as Hojo's captive.
"I'm sorry."
Red shook his head.
"You have nothing to apologise for. Unless I'm mistaken, you weren't the one that shot me with a tranquilliser gun."
Another memory flash. The news that the last guardian of Cosmo Canyon was officially declared missing.
"The canyon mourned you for the better part of a year." I mentioned. "They believed that were you still alive, you'd have returned. I think they believed that you'd run into something bigger than what usually roams the Cosmo Canyon area. The thought that you'd been caught by Shinra never crossed their minds."
Red sighed softly.
"I'm fast, but I can't outrun a jeep." He murmured. "I think they had me under observation for some time, they knew exactly where I'd be."
"Best not mention Shinra's involvement in your disappearance. Most of the Canyon held Adrian in low regards, being an Ex-SOLDIER. They'd probably blame him."
Red nodded.
"A sad trait of all humans, distrusting a man due to his past."
"Sadly."
I rolled over; pulling out a novel I'd grabbed back at Costa Del Sol, and flicked to the page that I'd gotten up to. The book in question was the novel that Loveless was an adaptation of. Loveless being a hugely popular production with theatre and movie adaptations.
It was actually a pretty good read. Had its humour, had its serious, and despite the name, it wasn't just some mushy romance. The romance was more of a side story.
Immersed in my novel, I failed to realize that I'd been getting memory flashes of a life I had never lived.
The bipedal lizard grabbed the guardrails that prevented the crew from accidentally falling overboard, groaning. Seasickness, who would have guessed it?
Another passenger moved to stand beside the youth, believing, like a majority of people do, that he was wearing a lizard costume. Had he known otherwise, he'd have been the type of person to freak out. But as it was, he was feeling sympathetic for the lad. It was obviously his first time travelling across the sea, and thus had been taken by surprise when the seasickness had hit.
"We'll be reaching Junon soon." The man commented.
"Joy to the world." The lizard spat. "It can't come soon enough."
The man pushed his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose and smiled in good humour.
"So why does a young man like you want to go to the western continent?" He asked. "The entire place is completely under Shinra's thumb."
"Just needed a change." The lizard replied. "After my best friend went missing, I couldn't stand the place. Too many memories."
The man nodded, sighing.
"I know how that feels. My wife was a medic during the war, for the losing side. After she died, I couldn't bear to remain in Wutai, where everything reminded me of her."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"Nah, it's been years. I'd be in a very sorry state if I couldn't move on with my life."
"So why are you going to Shinra territory? I'd have thought you'd hate them for the death of your wife."
"Picking up some chocobos for the Gold Saucer." The man told the lizard. "I hear one of them is a specially commissioned black chocobo."
"Must have cost a fortune." The lizard commented.
"Yeah. Never seen one before, myself, and working at the Gold Saucer, you see all sorts."
"I can imagine."
"So, where was it you were actually going to?"
"Midgar. I've heard rumours I wanted to look into."
"Good luck with that then.
"And to you and your chocobos."
The man moved away, leaving the lizard to return to his seasickness. Interesting rumours indeed. He hoped these rumours weren't just that though. This AVALANCHE group sounded good.
I woke up, shaking my head to clear the cobwebs, all recollection of my dream fading away. A glance around the tent revealed that Red was still sleeping. That meant that it wasn't even dawn yet, since Red always woke up first thing. A glance on my watch told me that I was right. Half an hour till dawn.
Groaning, knowing that I wouldn't be getting any more sleep, I grabbed my t-shirt and coat, shrugging them on and exited the tent. Sighing, remembering who's turn it was to hunt for breakfast, I moved down the path, back to the grassy plains. I knew for certain that there were edible monsters out there, and wasn't willing to test whether the monsters at the reactor ruin were also edible. Plus we needed to restock our water supply, and we'd passed a spring shortly before arriving at the path that led through the pass.
This morning, I got a rare catch. Rather than one of the numerous edible monsters that roam the world, I managed to catch some regular wildlife. A rabbit to be exact. Pulling the preservative material out of my bag, I wrapped it around the carcass, so that it wouldn't go rotten. According to Tifa, when I'd asked her about the stuff, it kept a carcass from rotting for up to a month, making it perfect for us, considering that we spent most of our time in between each town.
Not that a rabbit would last a month, but seeing as Coral was just over the mountain pass, we should be able to restock there. But still, at least rabbit won't taste like urine soaked leather... not that I've ever actually eaten urine soaked leather.
Back at camp, I began to set about preparing breakfast. Not a pleasant talk, seeing as I have to skin and gut the drat thing before I can cook it. Yuffie impressed me with the fact that she can do such almost without thinking about it. I suppose it would be something she'd know, being a ninja that generally loiters around forests. She generally does the skinning and gutting for Barret and Red, since Red can't for obvious reasons, and Barret is lacking a second hand.
In my case, however, I have no reason why I shouldn't be able to do it myself, so the most she did was show me how.
At least I know I can survive for extended periods of time in the wild now.
And I was right about the rabbit not tasting like urine soaked leather. It tasted quite nice actually. Too bad it didn't last beyond the one breakfast.
Once we'd eaten, we packed up our camp and began our trip over the mountains. However, that was delayed the moment we got the the reactor...
I stared at the tall structure in the middle of the... I would say crater, but everything is too precise for that to be the case. It looked more like an excavation zone. And smack dab in the middle of this place, was a Mako reactor. Seems Shinra got here, once upon a time. Abandoned now, though. The place was an obvious wreck.
"What happened here?" Yuffie asked, craning her neck back to get a look at the top of the building.
"Shinra happened!" Barret growled.
"That was kind of obvious." I commented. "Unless Shinra secretly has a rival company stealing their designs for Mako reactors."
Barret shuddered at that thought.
"Damn well better not be!"
Shaking my head, I looked at the reactor again.
"It looks like it was destroyed from the inside out." I commented. "The holes in the wall are bent outwards, which would mean that somebody set up a bomb on the inside. Sound familiar?"
"Like us at Midgar." Barret frowned. "But not as well as us! The damned thing is still standin'."
"Unfortunately."
"Let us keep moving." Red interrupted us.
I nodded, gesturing towards a train track.
"Trains go to civilisation." I reasoned. "So we follow the tracks, we head to whatever town the station is at."
And thus we moved, hopping over cracks in the ground until we were walking on the tracks, much to Yuffie's displeasure.
"What if a train comes along?" She asked, nervously.
"Relax." Barret sighed. "These tracks haven't been used for four years."
"Something to do with the damaged reactor?" Red asked, curiously.
"Somethin' like that." Barret grunted.
Eventually the tracks went across a giant bridge that went from one mountain side to another. The wood used was not looking overly healthy. Scratch that, some of the blocks of wood looked downright rotten.
This was proven when I had only taken two steps and the ground under me gave way.
I may have fallen to my death, had Barret not grabbed the end of my tail with his good hand, stopping me.
"Shit!" I yelled out in pain.
While my tail isn't overly sensitive, having it grabbed as I start falling makes it feel as if its about to be ripped off, and unlike some breads of lizard, water dragons do not regrow their tails.
Once pulled back onto not quite solid ground, but solid enough for the moment, I immediately cast cure on the part of my tail that connects with the small of my back, just to ensure that it didn't fall off any time soon. Yuffie decided that it would be intelligent to look through the gap in the tracks to see just how far I would have fallen. Two seconds later, she pulled her gaze away, looking green.
"That was not fun." I growled. "Let us not repeat the experience."
"Agreed." Red nodded.
"Right, keep an eye on where you tread, and test the ground before each step. We might not be so lucky next time."
And thus we advanced, very, very, oh god, so very slowly across the tracks. It probably wouldn't have been so bad, had it not been for the avian variety of monsters that chose about that time to come out and play. So there we were, trying to advance across the bridge safely, and we have birds attacking us, making that so much more difficult, that Yuffie almost went over the side of the bridge.
We advanced like that until we made a wrong turn and ended up stuck at a raised drawbridge, tired, injured, and running out of potions. Of course, a rather large monster was waiting for us at the drawbridge in question.
Yeah, our lives suck like that.
Cursing, I readied my gunblade, which I hadn't bothered to sheath the entire time we'd been on the bridge, due to the near constant attacks. The monster roared, and charged at Barret, knocking him on his back.
I moved forwards, swinging my weapon, catching it on its leg. The turtle like monster (not an adamantoise) roared again, and spun around, head butting me on the chest, releasing the air from my lungs. Staggering back, the monster turned to Yuffie and a yellow beam shot from its eyes and caught Yuffie. Before my eyes, the ninja turned to stone, shocked expression still evident on her face.
So we are dealing with a turtle that can petrify people? Excuse me while I go weep with joy... Barret fumbled around with his pack, pulling out a vial of white liquid. Were it not for the glow it was emitting, I'd have thought that he'd pulled out a vial of milk of all things. The Mr T wannabe tossed the vial at the statue, and it shattered upon contact. For several seconds, nothing happened, but then the stone started to crumble, leaving Yuffie gasping.
"I hate being turned to stone." She declared.
"Then try not to get petrified next time." Red growled, casting Thunder on the turtle creature.
Again, it roared, only this time in pain. I took that moment to unleash the pent up energy that had gathered in the form of a limit break. Standing back, I swung my blade, slicing through the air several times, and watched as the air itself sliced against the monster, even cutting through the shell.
I shall dub this new limit break 'Air Cutter'.
And no criticising my originality. It's a spur of the moment thing.
The monster, seeming to recognise me as the biggest threat, charged at me the same why it had done Barret. It didn't make it, since Barret had a Big Shot waiting, and where my Air Cutter had weakened the monster, the Big Shot finished it off.
Monster dealt with, we used the last of our supplied to heal up.
Now this left us with the problem of a raised drawbridge blocking our path.
"We have two options." Red told us, as we sat down, trying to get our breaths back.
"And they are?" Yuffie questioned.
"Go back and take the other turn, which leads to the control box on the ridge up there." Red gestured to the control box in question. "Where we will be forced to fight numerous monsters, with our dwindling supplies."
"An' the other option?" Barret panted, firing his gun arm at a pterodactyl wannabe.
"We stay here, in a reasonably easy to defend spot, and wait until Cloud's group gets here, so that they can go up and lower the bridge."
"And if Cloud's group went a different route?" Yuffie asked.
"They won't." Barret said. "This is the only way across, withou' addin' another three days to the trip."
"But does Cloud know that?" Yuffie pressed the issue.
"Despite his hair colour, Cloud ain't stupid." I snapped. "He'd follow the tracks for the same reason we did. Tracks have to lead somewhere. And that somewhere is most likely in a town."
"I hope you're right." Yuffie moaned.
"Why would the bridge the raised?" Red queried.
"Keep ou' land monsters." Barret said. "The bridge can be raised or lowered either side. That way, only humans can cross."
"Makes sense." I commented.
"Hey, fancy meeting you here." Tifa's voice came from behind me.
I turned and found Cloud, Aeris and Tifa approaching.
"Yo." I greeted. "I'm guessing you had an easier time crossing the bridge than we did."
"What makes you say that?" Cloud asked.
"The fact that you're not as exhausted as us. Monsters probably kept coming for us."
"Possibly." Cloud nodded. "What's the hold up?"
"The drawbridge is raised, and we can't get to the controls because we've used up all our medical supplies. For us, it's suicide to even try."
"So you want us to go and lower it for you, while you take your beauty naps?" Cloud smirked.
I put my hand on Cloud's shoulder and grinned.
"Knew I could count on ya. No go, go, lower the bridge, or all will be doomed."
"Smartass." Cloud shook his head. "We'll be back in a bit."
Sniggering, I watched as Cloud moved back the way he came, cursing as a bird swooped in a started pecking him.
"What did I tell ya, Yuffie?" I asked, rhetorically. "You can always count on Cloud to be dependable."
"I'll make a note of that." The brat replied. "Cloud is a tool."
Barret barked out a laugh at the description.
"Sound 'bout right." He agreed.
After five minutes of waiting, the drawbridge was lowered. Glancing up at the control booth, I spotted Cloud instantly. I raised my hand to acknowledge him, and then lead the three AVALANCHE members I was with across the bridge. Once across, I spotted a worm pathway, leading in the same general direction as the tracks. At the end of said path, was a rope bridge.
Beyond that, was smoke. Smoke from a controlled fire. Signs of civilisation.
"That way." I pointed.
Halfway across the bridge, we were ambushed by several bombs, which almost finished us off with their self destructing habits. I ended up using the last of my magical energies to keep us both alive and able to stagger across into the safe zone.
Said safe zone was a disaster area. Buildings were badly damaged, and the population were mostly just wearing rags.
To put it bluntly: it looked like it had been on the losing side of a war.
One of the citizens noticed us and shot up, alert.
"You, you're…" He gasped in surprise, before raising his voice. "Hey! He's back!"
Barret turned to look at me, and spoke in a soft voice, a direct contrast from his usual booming voice.
"Wait here…"
I nodded dumbly. Barret moved towards the crowd that formed, standing in front of the one that had noticed us. As they stared at each other Cloud caught up to us, and watched the scene in surprise.
"What the?" He wondered.
Completely out of the blue, the citizen stopped staring and delivered a vicious right hook that connected with Barret's face. Even though Barret didn't seem to react, his expression told me that it hurt him, just not physically.
"Well, lookey here! Never thought I'd ever see your face again." The man sneered. "Those people over there, they with you? Well, I feel sorry for 'em! Hangin' around a walkin' death sentence like Barret."
"You got a lot of balls comin' back here!" Another man spat. "Look at this place! It's all your fault North Corel turned into a garbage heap!"
"Why doncha say something!? Or did ya forget what you done here already?" The first man snarled.
"...I'm sorry." Barret spoke up, weakly.
"Bastard! You ain't even worth the effort."
"Don't waste time talkin' to that Techno-freak!"
The crowd dispersed, though most had something to say to Barret, usually an insult or two. I flinched at some of the stronger words to come out of their mouths. Once the crowd was gone, he moved up to where we were waiting, head bowed.
"You heard 'em… It's my fault this town was…destroyed…" He mumbled, before turning and running off to the side, and out of sight.
That, was a lot of guilt in his voice. No wonder he wasn't eager to come back here.
Sighing, I turned and followed the large black man, and ended up at a ropeway station, where Barret was brooding.
"Barret, what happened?" Aeris cried out.
"Sorry." Barret apologized.
"What happened?" Cloud asked.
"My hometown used to be around here." Was the answer given.
"What do you mean 'used to'" Red responded.
"It ain't here no more. Heard it got buried…in just 4 years."
"But how could those people say those terrible things?" Aeris demanded to know.
Barret continued as if he hadn't heard her.
"An' it's my fault. ALL my fault."
Barret stood up straight as the village's headman looked up from where he's been sat, head bowed. A number of the village's key figures were in the room with them, along with a blond woman in a red dress, appropriate attire, considering her name.
"What are we going to do? The only one against this is Dyne..." The headman asked.
The man called Dyne turned around sharply from the window he'd been looking out of, shaking his fist.
"I am definitely against it, no matter what." He declared. "There's nothing to talk about if you're thinking of throwing away our coal! Our coal's been protected for generations. Our fathers, and theirs before them, risked their lives for it. We have no right to throw it all away so easily!"
"But listen, Dyne. No one uses coal nowadays. It's the sign of the times." Barret argued.
Scarlet smirked, nodding in agreement.
"Right, everything is Mako, now. It'll be all right, Dyne. Shinra, Inc. will guarantee your livelihood once the Mako Reactor is completed." She explained, managing to not sound as if she was reciting a practiced line.
Barret sighed, turning to look Dyne in the eye.
"Listen, Dyne. I don't want my wife, Myrna, to suffer anymore." He told his friend.
"I know how you feel! I feel the same way too, damn it!" Dyne cried. "But even so, I won't give away our coal mines!"
"Dyne…" The village headman sighed. "You've got to understand."
"Then, the village was burned by Shinra troops... Lot's of people were killed that night..."
"Shinra troops?" Cloud exclaimed in surprise. "What for?"
"There was an explosion at a reactor." Barret sighed. "Shinra blamed the accident on the people. Said it was done by a rebel faction."
"And considering the damage at the reactor, it does look the part." I remembered.
"That's so terrible!" Tifa gasped.
"Well, I guess that's true. But more than Shinra, I couldn't forgive myself. Never should've gone along with the building of the reactor…"
"Don't blame yourself." Tifa tried to reassure the older man. "We were all fooled by the promises Shinra made back then."
"That's why…that's why I get so pissed off!" Barret yelled out. "Not only did they take advantage of me…… But I lost my wife, Myrna, too…"
The man in the ticket booth, who seemed to be making a point of not listening to our conversation, looked up at that moment.
"Hey everyone! If you want to go to the 'Gold Saucer', hurry and get on!" He called out.
"Dyne was my best friend. We was close ever since we was kids…" Barret sighed, entering the tram.
"I never knew. Barret never said a thing…" Tifa sighed.
"We all have our demons we keep to our self." I pointed out.
There was a moment of silence, before it was broken by Yuffie.
"I'm not sympathizing with Barret! He never should have trusted Shinra Inc.…" She declared.
My palm connected to the back of her head, making her flinch.
"Owie..." She groaned, rubbing her head glaring at me.
"…We better go on!" Tifa reminded us. "Don't want to miss the ride."
Nodding in agreement, I entered the tram and sat down, opposite Barret.
"Sorry." I apologized.
At his puzzled look I grunted.
"For last night."
Widening his eyes in realization, Barret nodded, accepting my apology. Everyone else entered the tram and took their seats. Once everyone was in, the tram began to move, gliding along the rope, giving us all an impressive view of the view. According to the timetable attached to the wall and noted that it was a half hours trip we were in for.
"Just out of curiosity, what happens if the rope snaps?" I asked out of the blue.
The shriek I got from Yuffie for asking was worth it.
And the answer to something that had bugged me since I first saw the distance that the tram actually had to go?
It wasn't actually rope, but a special type of alloy, with a fibre coating. It wouldn't be breaking unless someone did it intentionally, and seeing as the only two places that someone could reach the rope was in plain sight of a lot of people, it wasn't happening any time soon.
That's one worry of my chest.
Gold Saucer, I have to say I'm actually looking forward to visiting the place.