Final Fantasy VII
Emerald Princess of Vernea
Chapter Forty-Four
All hell seemed to break loose as the fight started. Dyne and Barret, both experienced fighters, fought unlike anything Cloud and Red XIII had seen before.
It was a terrible thing to watch two former friends fight. On the one hand there was Dyne, filled with the hatred and rage that had been burning up inside him for the last four years. Although originally that hatred had been aimed at Shinra and what they did to him, over time the anger had turned outwards to a complete, out-of-control hatred of everything and everyone. Even his former best friend.
On the other hand there was Barret. Like Dyne, Barret had also been betrayed by the Shinra and had a lot of anger and hatred towards them and wanted to destroy them as much as Dyne did. The only difference was that it was not his anger for Shinra that was fuelling him to fight Dyne. It was his love for little Marlene that prompted him to fight. He could not let Dyne take her if he intended to kill her. Marlene may be Dyne's daughter, but it would be Barret who would fight for her life.
Safe behind the piles of crates and rundown machinery, Cloud and Red XIII watched the battle go on. From where they were hiding they were safe from the bullets that were whizzing around missing their targets, or the occasional ram of objects thrown as Barret tried to get close to Dyne and stop him. Despite his frail-looking frame Dyne was incredibly strong, his strength coming from his own anger and fuelling him up.
"Cloud, we can't just sit and watch," Red XIII protested suddenly, turning to Cloud. "What if Dyne kills him?"
Cloud had already turned away from the fight, his eyes shut as though he was sleeping, blocking out the sounds of the fight. He knew very well what could happen in this fight. Dyne could kill Barret, or Barret could kill Dyne. Either way wouldn't matter to Dyne, he figured. Still…
"This is Barret's fight," he replied simply, not opening his eyes. He said no more and simply lowered his head a little. Red XIII stared, but noticed that Cloud still kept one hand firmly around the handle of his sword. A small smile spread on the hound's face as he realised that Cloud wasn't being entirely truthful, and turned back to the fight.
Barret had finally managed to get close to Dyne, and was in the process of working a large chunk of metal from his hands, which he had intended to throw at Barret. Despite his anger-fuelled strength Dyne was not stronger than Barret, and it wasn't long before the metal crashed to the floor out of harm's way.
The fight then turned into a fistfight. Too close to use their gun-arms without the risk of recoil, the two men began to kick and punch each others as they scuffled, trying to throw the other to the ground. They were getting dangerously close to the edge of the ledge as well, towards the dark chasm.
Red XIII continued to watch nervously as the fight continued, his twitching tail a sign of his constant anxiety. He wondered whether he should jump in now and stop the fight, but how could he when Dyne was in such a frenzied rage?
Luckily he didn't have to wait too long for the fight to end. Dirty and bloody and increasingly tired from the fighting, Dyne was beginning to falter, his grip weakening. Seeing his chance Barret delivered one last, hard punch and knocked Dyne to the ground. The fight was over. Red XIII barked to Cloud, who turned around and looked out at the scene.
Dyne was lying back on the floor, breathing hard, blood pouring slowly from wounds on nose and mouth, and the faint signs of many bruises that would form quickly. Barret stood a metre away, also panting but still standing, looking relieved that the fight was finally over.
As Cloud and Red XIII stepped out from behind the crates, Dyne began to push himself up off the ground. "Ugh!" he groaned as he felt the pain from a dislocated shoulder, pressing his hands on the ground. He heard footsteps as Barret began to run to him to help him, but quickly thrust out a hand and shouted, "Back!"
Barret stopped, sweat pouring from his body. He watched as Dyne slowly stood up, wincing further as he applied pressure to his injured shoulder, and climbed to his feet. His balance was precarious and shaky, looking as though his legs would give way at any second. He barely managed to stagger over to the broken fence nearby, and leaned against it, letting his injured arm hang limp beside him.
"…It wasn't just my arm… …back then…" he said softly, his voice low. All the anger had been drained out of him now, leaving him appearing much weaker. He wiped his forehead with his one good hand, and wasn't surprised to find a light trickle of blood from a slight wound on his head. He stared at the blood blankly as he said, "…I lost something irreplaceable. I don't know where I went wrong…"
"Dyne… I don't know either, man," said Barret. "Is this the only way… we can resolve this?"
"I told you…" Dyne said without a single hint of harshness. It looked as though all the anger that had fuelled him up and made him seem stronger had been vented. Now, without that anger, he looked much more tired, frail and very pale. "I… I want to destroy everything… Everything… This crazy world… Even me…"
Barret shook his head, trying to meet Dyne's gaze. "An' what 'bout Marlene?" he demanded, his patience growing a little thin. "What's gonna happen to her?"
Ahead of him, Dyne sighed heavily. He closed his eyes for a moment to recollect his only memories of Marlene, a cute little baby resting in his wife's arms. Then the painful memories of all that being taken from him in the fire. "…Think about it… Barret…" he began. "How old was Marlene back then…? Even if I did go to her now… she wouldn't even know me… And what's more… Barret…" He looked down at his hand and gun-arm. "These hands are a little too stained to carry Marlene anymore…"
Barret couldn't say anything. How could he?
"Barret…"
Barret looked up suddenly as an object, glinting brightly as it caught the sunlight, flew through the air towards him. He caught it easily and looked down at it.
It was a pendant made of gleaming silver, neatly built into the shape of a heart. It was still glossy even after so many years – Dyne had looked after it well. It was attached by small hooks to an equally clean metal chain and from what Barret could see; there was some writing engraved on the back of it.
"Give that pendant to Marlene…" Dyne said. He breathed deeply, his chest aching from the fight. "It was… Eleanor's… my wife's… memento…"
Barret looked down at the pendant for a few seconds more, before he looked up at Dyne with a look of surprise. He knew what that meant. Dyne had no intention of ever seeing Marlene again. After four years of being without her true father in her life, it didn't make any difference to Dyne that he wouldn't be there now. Accepting that, Barret nodded.
"All right…" he agreed, and slid the pendant carefully into his pocket so it wouldn't fall out and get lost.
A faint smile spread on Dyne's face and he sighed, seeming relieved, as though a great weight had finally been lifted from his shoulders and let him be free. "…Wow…" he whispered, mostly to himself. "Marlene's… already… four…"
With a sudden burst of energy he pushed himself up away from the fence. He almost fell over, what with his injured leg and painful shoulder, but he kept his balance and staggered away from the fence, and towards the ledge. He stopped beside the rocky edge and looked straight down into the dark chasm that lay beyond it. He could not see the bottom, but that was all right.
"Barret… Don't…… make… ……Don't ever make Marlene…… cry…"
"Dyne…?" Barret asked confused. Then his eyes widened as he saw Dyne turn away from the ledge and spread his arms wide. "Dyne!" He dashed forward, hoping to stop Dyne before-
He was too late. Dyne let himself fall back away from the ledge, and disappeared into the chasm. Barret stopped in horror as he saw his best friend fall again before his eyes. Dyne didn't even scream as he fell, for he had already accepted death long ago.
"Dyne!" Barret shouted, his voice shaking the crates around them. Deadly silence welcomed his words, and Barret let himself fall to his knees, shaking almost uncontrollably as he saw his friend fall to his death for the second time. The first had been mental death, the second, true death… "…Dyne. Me an' you were the same…" Barret said, staring at the floor. "My hands ain't any cleaner…… I shouldn't be able to carry… Marlene either…" He shook his head vigorously, before he looked up and shouted angrily up to the sky.
Not long after, Cloud and the others were all standing in the office of Mr. Coates, the man they had thought was in charge of the Desert Prison. As it turned out, while Barret, Cloud and Red XIII were off dealing with Dyne, Tifa and the others had all gone out to look for a way back up to the Gold Saucer. After dealing with some tricky prisoners who could do nothing but lie, they had found Mr. Coates's office. He had told them that they needed special permission from the boss in order to get up.
And, as it turned out, that boss was Dyne.
Mr. Coates was still sitting behind his desk as Barret promptly led the others into the office. He jumped up angrily, about to protest, until he saw the group of seven all pile into the room with serious and grave expressions on their faces. His face turned a little pale and he sat carefully back down in his seat, his cool executive exterior breaking a little under the pressure of such a large group.
"You want somethin'?" he asked carefully, looking around at them all. Despite his efforts to make his voice stay steady, it was breaking with the anxiety.
Barret walked forward ahead of the others, and glared at Coates. "I want to go up," he said plainly.
A small smile appeared on Coates's face, realising he had the upper hand. The group may have looked tough, but there was nothing they could do about the rules. "Like I told you before," he said, his voice gaining in confidence. "You gotta get the Boss' permission, then win the Chocobo…"
"Dyne's got his reasons an' can't speak," Barret interrupted. "So, I got this, instead." And he thrust out the pendant.
"Yeah, bull!" Mr. Coates began, until he saw the pendant that was thrust in front of his face. He saw its familiar silver glint and the writing engraved in the metal, and his eyes widened in total astonishment. He adjusted his glasses, quickly wiping the lenses clean, before putting them back on the bridge of his nose and looking once again. It was no fake. That was Dyne's pendant. Behind the image of the pendant, Barret looked at him smugly.
"I want to go up," he repeated, the same as before.
Coates was still reeling in the shock, a new wave of fear and anxiety filling him as he took in the facts. "R, right?" he stammered, his voice losing control. "Did you kill Dyne? You must've. Or you'd never be holding that thing." He sat back heavily in his chair, his fear being replaced by a feeling of relief. "…So Dyne's dead… Maybe now, the place'll calm down a little. Dyne didn't care who anyone was……"
He didn't get to finish his statement, for Barret was on him like a lion grabbing for prey. He grabbed Coates by the scruff of his collar and lifted him straight up out of his chair, letting it fall on its side in Coates's struggling attempts to break free. No one stopped Barret, and let him carry on.
"The hell do YOU know!" Barret shouted at him. He wanted to shake the executive until he lost all his senses, but merely being so close to Barret had already made Coates lose his senses.
"R… ri…… right! I mean, no, I DON'T know anything," he said, continuing to stammer in his fear. He caught Barret's angry glare. "S, s… sorry." Barret glared at him for a few seconds more, and then he let go. Coates fell down onto the floor behind his desk, and quickly began to stand up again.
"Then, will you get us outta here?" asked Cloud, speaking up for the first time.
Coates was busy readjusting his chair at that moment. "Huh?" he asked, confused. He shook his head briefly as he realised what Cloud was talking about. "Oh, man, you guys are mistaken. I already told you, there's only one way to get outta here. That's to win the Chocobo Race and that's held up there, in the Gold Saucer. And, only one racer can go up at a time."
His sentence was cut short as Barret reached forward and grabbed him harshly again; pulling him so close Coates could feel his breath against his face.
"Say what?" Barret cried, outraged.
Coates tried to shield his face with his hands, terrified. "Noooo!" he wailed pathetically. He reminded them all a little of Palmer, the Shinra Executive in charge of the Space Program, and how he had acted when they caught him. "Really, even if you threaten me! A rule's a rule. I can't change it. If I do, the whole system down here'll get messed up! An' I can't do that! Okay, okay! I'll let one of you go up there. After that, he's gotta deal with Dio."
A single nod from Cloud made Barret release the man, and Coates fell once again to the floor. While he tried to readjust his suit and tie, Barret turned to Cloud.
"Awright then," he said. "Cloud, you go. We'll wait down here. Hurry up an' win that Chocobo Race, an' get us outta here!"
"Right, Cloud," said Tifa. "We'll be waiting and rooting for you."
Cloud shrugged. He knew there was no point in arguing with the others once they had made up their minds about that. Not that it was a hard choice to make. Red XIII would have difficulty just getting on a Chocobo, and Cait certainly didn't have the mobility, even if it was just his cat form. Barret was probably to heavy to ride a Chocobo through the complex racecourse, which left only him, Tifa, Aeris or Yuffie. He began to unleash the straps holding his sword to his back. He wouldn't need that to race.
"Have you decided?" Coates asked. Cloud finished unhooking his sword and handed it to Tifa, who took it and held it carefully, the sharp tip pointing down. "All you need now is a manager. …And register and get a Chocobo…"
"Hi… …I happened to hear your story," came a voice from the outside, making Cloud and the others all jump and turn to the doorway, their hands on their weapons. Apart from Cloud, who motioned to move to his sword only to remember that it was no longer on him, but in Tifa's hands.
Coates looked up in surprise. "Ester?" he said, blinking.
There was a woman standing in the doorway, peering in on them and smiling happily. As she walked into the room it was clear that she was not a prisoner or any of the prison staff. She was dressed in a rather strange-looking dress; her hair so neatly parted and tied up it almost looked unreal. Her face was also quite heavily plastered in make-up – she almost looked like a doll. It was quite hard to suppress the giggles that were forming in their throats, making them come out in confusing chokes and snorts. Thankfully, none were loud enough for her to hear as she walked in and went straight to Cloud.
"I'll be your manager," the woman said cheerfully, giving him a cheery smile.
"Well, I have nothing against it, but…" said Coates, scratching the back of his head. "This is Ester. She may look kinda funny… But there's no better manager in the races…"
Ester's smiley face turned into a frown as she glared at Coates angrily, putting her hands on her hips in a stubborn, defying way. "That's so rude…" she said fiercely. She then sighed and looked down at herself, before she turned to Cloud again. "Yeah, well. Nice to meet you, Cloud."
Cloud nodded back in reply, as Coates headed briskly towards the door of the office. "All right then, Cloud," he said as he walked. "I'll send you up in the elevator. Ester'll fill you in on the details."
Within five minutes Cloud and Ester were both standing in the elevator that led out of the prison. As it turned out, the main complex of the prison housed the elevator, close to the pipe where they had all been dropped from the top of the Gold Saucer. It was a slow lift, and was really just a platform rising up a long tunnel, from the bottom of the tunnel up towards the mid-section of the theme park, where Dio had dropped them.
"Hmm, so that's what happened," Ester said as Cloud finished his story. She turned her gaze to the lift walls, watching the interlocked plates slowly pass by as they rose up. "I'll talk to Dio directly. You just concentrate on the race."
Cloud nodded slowly, thinking that the Chocobo race was enough for him to think about at the time. He was lucky that Ester was the kind of person who was willing to listen, and felt sure that if she explained it to Dio then they would surely be set free. He was still thinking about this when Ester suddenly clicked her fingers, remembering something.
"Oh, yeah, getting back to the other thing," she said to him. "There are many different types of Chocobo jockeys. It's not only for criminals. Some people compete for the fame, some people compete for the money, some only for glory… And then there're people like you. Oh yeah, I'll teach you how to ride a Chocobo."
"All right," Cloud replied.
Ester folded her arms in thought for a moment. "Ummm…" she mumbled thoughtfully. "You can generally move a Chocobo the same way you'd move a horse. Gentle digs in the side will tell the Chocobo to move, and soft tugs on the reins indicate which way you want the Chocobo to turn. For example, if you tug the left side of the rein a little, the Chocobo will turn left, and visa versa. If you want the Chocobo to walk, you give it a gentle dig in the side and a slightly harder one will tell it to run. That sort of thing. But it's pretty hard to make the Chocobo run the way you want it to," she added with a stern tone. "If the Chocobo doesn't like you, it won't listen. You can't really help on this one. But, most of the Chocobo's that I'll provide you with are mellow and you should be able to handle them.
"Now, as for riding the Chocobo, it's also very simple, but complicated as well if you get my meaning. When Chocobos are running they can be very hard to control, and equally hard to maintain balance. That's why you need to make sure you have a steady balance in the middle of the Chocobo's back, holding onto the reins so you won't fall. A Chocobo's speed depends on its stamina. Most of the Chocobo's here have been well-trained and have well developed stamina. But, if you go faster than a Chocobo can handle, it'll lose stamina really fast.
"If you do need to go faster, you should tuck your legs as far as you can around the Chocobo's stomach for grip, then lean forward. This is the sign to the Chocobo, and it will run as fast as it can. This is most advisable when you're dashing for the finish line. Of course, your stamina runs our faster, though.
"There are some bad tempered Chocobos that can't pace themselves and they'll lose their stamina pretty fast. Finally, some advice for the restless, once the first and second Chocobo cross the goal line, the race ends there."
Cloud nodded. It all seemed basic enough. Still, he wasn't too confident, despite Ester's cheerful, optimistic smiles. He hadn't even been able to catch a Chocobo back on the Choco Plains without the help of the others, and he didn't find his chances of winning too good.
Still, with all the others waiting down in the prison for him, he could only try.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHORESS
I hope no one minds the originality of the description for how to ride a Chocobo. I didn't much see the point in using the original, with its press X and so on. Besides, if I was going to use the original, I would have to play the whole game again just to get to that area.
And I'm still indecisive as to whether to split the fic once I complete Part 4 (which, if you want to know, should be after I complete the Cosmo Canyon area), especially since by then I will be over 50 chapters. Another part of me wants to keep it all in one fic, as I am greedy and like to see all of my reviews in the same place. So keep posting me or e-mailing me your ideas of what I should do.
And, finally, to end this rant, thanks again for the reviews, especially those of you who frequently review my fic (you know who you are!) – your opinion is greatly appreciated. And a special message to Cloud-821 – I shall do my best to make Cait Sith less useless and more of a useful, likeable character for you? How's that sound? To be honest I feel somewhat the same way, but Cait has grown on me in the past few months or so.
