It had been an extremely odd day for Barrett. He had been wondering around in the forest, looking for monsters, and for the first time in years, he couldn't find any. Crouching low behind a bush, he saw the large tracks of an Epiolnis. The Epiolnis were large animals with a body like that of an ostrich and feet like a huge bear. Barrett followed these tracks for a while, and just as dusk was falling, decided to climb a tree to get a better view while there was still light. While he climbed, he checked to make sure that his Missing Score gun that was attached to his arm was fully loaded. He didn't know how strong his enemies would be, or how numerous they were. Equipping his Choco Mog summon materia, he reached the top of the tree. Seeing nothing, he dropped back down. After rechecking the fresh tracks in the dirt, he continued to follow them. Just as he rounded a large oak tree, he felt something strange in the air.

"What the hell…?" he muttered.

As soon as he finished that sentence, he was blinded by a flash of purest white.

"Shit!" was all he could say for the time.

After a few minutes of blinking rapidly, Barrett's vision cleared. When he looked up to see what there was, his eyes met what was possibly the strangest sight he ever saw.