Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII and I'm not making any money from
this.
Note: This chapter is dedicated to Tigerofthewind, who gave me the idea to write a Barret vignette next. I was gonna do Red XIII, but after you reviewed, I realised that you were right. Barret is a character that is never given enough depth in fanfiction. Or in the game, for that matter! So here's my take on what he would be thinking about if he had chance to reflect on his experiences. I hope I did okay!
Chapter 3: Memories
In the sleepy town of Kalm, Barret Wallace leaned on the ledge of his window, staring out into the dark. It was a remarkably clear night, and up above, the many stars twinkled at him. He gently rubbed his beard with one hand, contemplating on the past. How had things gotten to be like this? One minute, he was the leader of a tiny rebel group consisting of only himself, Tifa, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie. Then all of a sudden, Cloud had to drop into their lives and turn everything upside down. And all of a sudden, they weren't fighting against the Shinra any more. They were fighting something much worse. No, not something. Someone.
He rested his chin on his hands, watching as a few people made their way through the town square to the pub. He wondered whether those people knew how much he and the rest of AVALANCHE had been prepared to sacrifice for them. Every single one of them had sacrificed something. But four people in particular had sacrificed more than anyone else ever could.
Barret closed his eyes for a few seconds, remembering his fallen comrades. Jessie, the computer genius. She was one of those people you met and just...clicked with. Always there to help him when some piece of technology in the underground base had gone wrong, always trying to explain why they needed this and why they didn't need that. If it weren't for Jessie, AVALANCHE would have never got off the ground. It would have remained the vision of a man who should have been old enough to know better. Old enough to know better than to try and stand up against a huge conglomerate such as Shinra. But maybe it was the fact that he didn't know any better that made all the difference. If he'd given up trying, then the planet would have been destroyed. There wouldn't have been any AVALANCHE to stop Sephiroth.
"We saved the world," he muttered softly. "We saved the world, but we lost some irreplaceable things along the way."
There was Biggs too. The guy who always helped Tifa calm him down after someone did or said something that made him lose his temper. The calmest one of the group. The one who always tried to keep his head when there seemed to be no way out. The one who sat up with Barret late at night, drinking, talking about their dreams.
"We're gonna do it one day, Barret." Biggs had said once. "One day, AVALANCHE's gonna save the world from that damn Shinra."
Barret just wished his friend could have been there to help them fight, to stay up drinking with him, like old times.
And Wedge. How could he forget Wedge? Not exactly the most graceful person, or indeed the most bright, but he was kind, always wanting to see what a person was truly like. Wedge always wanted to believe that people needed each other, he was always trying to get Cloud to open up more. He believed that there was more to the spiky haired ex- SOLDIER than just a brash, cold exterior.
"Wedge, Biggs, Jessie, I owe you guys so much." Barret whispered to the sky. He hoped they knew, that they could hear him. He wondered, with a hint of amusement, what they would think upon seeing him now, seeing how much he'd changed from those days back in Midgar, dreaming of destroying the Shinra and freeing the people of the slums. Getting rid of all those damn reactors so the planet would survive.
And that brought him onto thinking about her yet again. The one who could easily have been mistaken for an angel sent by the planet. The one who had saved the planet from Meteor. Sure, AVALANCHE had defeated Sephiroth, but Aeris Gainsborough, the last of the Ancients, she was the one who had defeated the Ultimate Destruction Magic. He had never got the chance to tell her how much he admired her. She was the one who had lifted everyone's spirits, when there was no hope, she had found something positive about the situation. She had smiled and laughed her way from Sector Five of Midgar to the Temple of the Ancients. And then, so suddenly, so abruptly, the laughter stopped. She was gone. And nothing anyone could do or say would change that.
Barret would never forget that day, when he and the others had gone with Cloud to the City of the Ancients, determined to find Aeris and bring her back. Bring back her smile, her laughter, and those sparkling green eyes, regarding everything with childish enthusiasm. But they had failed. The angel had fallen, that day. Sephiroth, his masamune clutched between his palms, had descended from above and had severed her wings. And everything had gone grey. The world had seemed so different without her, so dull and monochrome. Barret had been devastated. She had done so much for him; she had saved his daughter's life when the Shinra had decided to crush Sector Seven. And without Marlene, he would have truly been lost. The child was his world. He had wanted to return the favour by helping to save Aeris. But they had been too late.
"Daddy, look, I finished my picture!"
Barret straightened up, turning to face the little girl. She smiled up at him, a crayon drawing clutched in her little hands.
"Let me see." he said. Marlene held out the piece of paper. Her father took one look at it and his face broke into a grin. On the paper was a drawing of AVALANCHE, Vincent standing on the far right, his cape clumsily coloured in bright red to match his eyes, his long dark hair scribbled on. Next to him stood Tifa, her hands clasped in front of her, a big smile drawn on her face. Then came Cid, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, the smoke spiralling from it. Yuffie was next, holding her shuriken high above her head, grinning. Red XIII stood at her feet, looking off to the left at something. Cait Sith was next. Then there was himself, drawn bigger than anyone else, a huge grin on his face, and an arrow pointing to him saying 'My Daddy'. Cloud was drawn next to him, holding his Buster sword. Barret had to laugh at how Marlene had drawn his hair, yellow crayon sticking up all over the place.
But that wasn't what he was smiling about. He was smiling about the other people present in the picture. For next to Cloud stood Aeris, one hand on his shoulder, the other holding a bunch of carefully drawn flowers. Her dress had been shaded lightly in pink. Marlene had got every detail right. Like everyone else, Aeris was smiling. And next to her, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie had been drawn, all three of them with huge grins. Everyone was there. His daughter hadn't forgotten anyone.
'And neither will I' Barret thought to himself. 'Ever.'
~~~~
A/N: Well, it's been a long time since I did any work on this, ne? Regardless, I hope you enjoyed it, and please remember to review! *smiles* Right, I'd better start thinking about who I'm gonna do next..
Aerith
Note: This chapter is dedicated to Tigerofthewind, who gave me the idea to write a Barret vignette next. I was gonna do Red XIII, but after you reviewed, I realised that you were right. Barret is a character that is never given enough depth in fanfiction. Or in the game, for that matter! So here's my take on what he would be thinking about if he had chance to reflect on his experiences. I hope I did okay!
Chapter 3: Memories
In the sleepy town of Kalm, Barret Wallace leaned on the ledge of his window, staring out into the dark. It was a remarkably clear night, and up above, the many stars twinkled at him. He gently rubbed his beard with one hand, contemplating on the past. How had things gotten to be like this? One minute, he was the leader of a tiny rebel group consisting of only himself, Tifa, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie. Then all of a sudden, Cloud had to drop into their lives and turn everything upside down. And all of a sudden, they weren't fighting against the Shinra any more. They were fighting something much worse. No, not something. Someone.
He rested his chin on his hands, watching as a few people made their way through the town square to the pub. He wondered whether those people knew how much he and the rest of AVALANCHE had been prepared to sacrifice for them. Every single one of them had sacrificed something. But four people in particular had sacrificed more than anyone else ever could.
Barret closed his eyes for a few seconds, remembering his fallen comrades. Jessie, the computer genius. She was one of those people you met and just...clicked with. Always there to help him when some piece of technology in the underground base had gone wrong, always trying to explain why they needed this and why they didn't need that. If it weren't for Jessie, AVALANCHE would have never got off the ground. It would have remained the vision of a man who should have been old enough to know better. Old enough to know better than to try and stand up against a huge conglomerate such as Shinra. But maybe it was the fact that he didn't know any better that made all the difference. If he'd given up trying, then the planet would have been destroyed. There wouldn't have been any AVALANCHE to stop Sephiroth.
"We saved the world," he muttered softly. "We saved the world, but we lost some irreplaceable things along the way."
There was Biggs too. The guy who always helped Tifa calm him down after someone did or said something that made him lose his temper. The calmest one of the group. The one who always tried to keep his head when there seemed to be no way out. The one who sat up with Barret late at night, drinking, talking about their dreams.
"We're gonna do it one day, Barret." Biggs had said once. "One day, AVALANCHE's gonna save the world from that damn Shinra."
Barret just wished his friend could have been there to help them fight, to stay up drinking with him, like old times.
And Wedge. How could he forget Wedge? Not exactly the most graceful person, or indeed the most bright, but he was kind, always wanting to see what a person was truly like. Wedge always wanted to believe that people needed each other, he was always trying to get Cloud to open up more. He believed that there was more to the spiky haired ex- SOLDIER than just a brash, cold exterior.
"Wedge, Biggs, Jessie, I owe you guys so much." Barret whispered to the sky. He hoped they knew, that they could hear him. He wondered, with a hint of amusement, what they would think upon seeing him now, seeing how much he'd changed from those days back in Midgar, dreaming of destroying the Shinra and freeing the people of the slums. Getting rid of all those damn reactors so the planet would survive.
And that brought him onto thinking about her yet again. The one who could easily have been mistaken for an angel sent by the planet. The one who had saved the planet from Meteor. Sure, AVALANCHE had defeated Sephiroth, but Aeris Gainsborough, the last of the Ancients, she was the one who had defeated the Ultimate Destruction Magic. He had never got the chance to tell her how much he admired her. She was the one who had lifted everyone's spirits, when there was no hope, she had found something positive about the situation. She had smiled and laughed her way from Sector Five of Midgar to the Temple of the Ancients. And then, so suddenly, so abruptly, the laughter stopped. She was gone. And nothing anyone could do or say would change that.
Barret would never forget that day, when he and the others had gone with Cloud to the City of the Ancients, determined to find Aeris and bring her back. Bring back her smile, her laughter, and those sparkling green eyes, regarding everything with childish enthusiasm. But they had failed. The angel had fallen, that day. Sephiroth, his masamune clutched between his palms, had descended from above and had severed her wings. And everything had gone grey. The world had seemed so different without her, so dull and monochrome. Barret had been devastated. She had done so much for him; she had saved his daughter's life when the Shinra had decided to crush Sector Seven. And without Marlene, he would have truly been lost. The child was his world. He had wanted to return the favour by helping to save Aeris. But they had been too late.
"Daddy, look, I finished my picture!"
Barret straightened up, turning to face the little girl. She smiled up at him, a crayon drawing clutched in her little hands.
"Let me see." he said. Marlene held out the piece of paper. Her father took one look at it and his face broke into a grin. On the paper was a drawing of AVALANCHE, Vincent standing on the far right, his cape clumsily coloured in bright red to match his eyes, his long dark hair scribbled on. Next to him stood Tifa, her hands clasped in front of her, a big smile drawn on her face. Then came Cid, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, the smoke spiralling from it. Yuffie was next, holding her shuriken high above her head, grinning. Red XIII stood at her feet, looking off to the left at something. Cait Sith was next. Then there was himself, drawn bigger than anyone else, a huge grin on his face, and an arrow pointing to him saying 'My Daddy'. Cloud was drawn next to him, holding his Buster sword. Barret had to laugh at how Marlene had drawn his hair, yellow crayon sticking up all over the place.
But that wasn't what he was smiling about. He was smiling about the other people present in the picture. For next to Cloud stood Aeris, one hand on his shoulder, the other holding a bunch of carefully drawn flowers. Her dress had been shaded lightly in pink. Marlene had got every detail right. Like everyone else, Aeris was smiling. And next to her, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie had been drawn, all three of them with huge grins. Everyone was there. His daughter hadn't forgotten anyone.
'And neither will I' Barret thought to himself. 'Ever.'
~~~~
A/N: Well, it's been a long time since I did any work on this, ne? Regardless, I hope you enjoyed it, and please remember to review! *smiles* Right, I'd better start thinking about who I'm gonna do next..
Aerith