Start Date: June 25, 2022
Windwillow
In this case, the flashbacks are separate. The first is Tifa's point of view, while the second is Barret's. Both are important parts of their past... albeit totally improvised.
Final Fantasy VII
The search for Sephiroth has continued, and now the destination is Junon, port city of the eastern continent. With Barret's Gun-arm damaged, he's out of commission. Lacking any way of remedying it, the party must continue on towards the port of Junon...
Chapter 17: The Mythril Mines
Scene One
Mythril is derived from a valuable ore, processed into Mythril weapons and armor of very high quality. Most high-end shops sold them as premium goods, valued above even silver and the highest quality steel.
The Mythril Mines are, of course, where Mythril ore is excavated to later be processed into Mythril steel. These mines had recently been abandoned due to the Midgardsormr's increased activity, so all that remained were a few picks, some monsters, and the bodies of miners unlucky to fall victim to them.
AVALANCHE arrived at the mines after passing the butchered corpse of a Midgardsormr, and so the atmosphere was less than ideal. None of them really had anything to say, the horror having died down somewhat.
Inside the mines, the walls were of a deep greenish-blue hue, the color of the Mythril. Upon entering, the party found an abandoned bunch of mining tools. Included was what remained of the miner.
"Gross!" spat Tifa. "The body's been crushed to pieces! What kind of monster does this?" She rose to her feet and adjusted her glove. "There isn't any evidence of anything feeding off the man, so I'm guessing we aren't dealing with carnivorous predators..."
"Just straight-out monsters," Cloud observed as he inspected the corpse. While the ribs were completely crushed in, the miner's head remained relatively intact. "Anyone know what kind of monster could do this?"
"Um..." Aerith pointed at the two oncoming figures. "Them?" The two monsters were hulking, pink-colored golems with monstrous limbs and, notably, the absence of a head. Instead, its dour face stared out from its torso. Also notable were the giant steel flails they were swinging around.
The Madouges weren't predators to humans in the way a normal animal was; they just liked to smash whatever came within their path. Their flails were massive, huge chunks of metal attached to a natural cord of thickened muscle, like an extension of their own bodies.
As he drew the Buster Sword, Cloud immediately slid along the ground, putting himself between the rest of the party and the Madouges. One of them twirled its massive flail and hurled it at Cloud. Cloud swung the Buster Sword against the monstrous ball, the impact knocking him backwards.
Cloud staggered to his feet, forming a ball of flame in his hand. The Madouge reached out its free hand, grabbed the fireball, and crushed it like a piece of fruit. Taking a hint, Cloud jumped backwards and charged his sword with lightning.
"Okay, fire's out..." muttered Cloud, lifting the Buster Sword high above his head. "Let's try lightning!" He swung his sword with both hands, lightning coating it and sharpening its penetrative power. "Unless the flail itself is made of Mythril, I ought to be able to cut-"
With unusual speed, the Madouge dodged to the side of Cloud's swing, its flail lifting up high above Cloud's head. Cloud muttered a curse, preparing to dodge. As it turns out he didn't have to, as Tifa's foot threw both the flail and its wielder into the wall with a violent kick. The chained flail indented itself in the wall as Tifa put herself between the Madouge and Cloud.
"Muscle vs. muscle!" Tifa said with a smirk. "Can you guys handle the other one?" With a nod, Cloud leapt towards the second Madouge. The first threw a seriously powerful punch that struck the wall and broke it open. Tifa had adroitly dodged by jumping into the air, and followed by dropping her heel on the Madouge's torso.
It was at least as hard as its weapon, causing Tifa to scream in pain, rebound off the wall, and skid to a halt right in front of the monster. Whatever it was, it was made of the same stuff as its flail was.
If I do that again, I might break my leg!
The second Madouge loomed above Aerith and swung its weapon down with incredible force. Aerith, thinking quickly, side-stepped. That came just in time to avoid the impact itself, but the concussive force knocked her into the wall. As she stumbled to her feet, the Madouge lifted the flail in her direction.
Oh, no!
Red XIII's headlong charge knocked them both clear of danger, but unbalanced both himself and Aerith. A fierce glare in his eyes, Red XIII concentrated his Gaea materia and manipulated the stone ceiling.
From the top of the cavern a small stone jutted out from above, right above the Madouge. Red XIII shut his eyes tight, prompting what looked like a stone to emerge from the ceiling as a huge spire of Mythril ore. The spire shattered the enemy's flail as it lifted it again, prompting the beast to launch a powerful punch.
While Red XIII nimbly dodged the blow, Barret's attention focused on his right arm. With the damage done to it, he couldn't fire, and the bullets wouldn't have pierced anyway. His fingers clenching, he cursed his own uselessness.
Tifa was on the receiving end of another punch, one that she evaded, gripping onto the Madouge's arm as it passed by. With all her might she held tight to its thick appendage and tried to redirect its bulk into the wall.
All that happened was for the punch to drag her, and the Madouge's knuckle, head first into the hardened wal. She leapt back just in time to keep herself from being crushed. As Tifa slid to a halt, she considered her options. There weren't many.
Maybe I bit off more than I can chew! If none of my attacks work, then all I have left is...
She swallowed hard. While she'd been able to create shockwaves with her ki, Tifa had never actually projected her aura. When Zangan first showed her, it almost looked like magic the way he melted the steel beam to a cinder.
The Aura Bolt's risky... I might not have enough power and just leave myself a big ol' target!
Cloud lifted his blade and swung with all his might, the slash ripping open a chunk of the second Madouge's torso from the shoulder to its hip. But given that it was too shallow, it only cut through part of its left side and left Cloud wide open.
Dammit!
Before the Madouge's punch could connect, and as Cloud flinched, he felt a chill across his face. Opening his eyes, he found the monster's torso frozen from top to bottom with a hard sheet of ice that Aerith had struck it with. While the face on its torso gave a roar, it slowed the punch long enough for Cloud to step out of the way.
Imbuing the Buster Sword with all the lightning his materia could generate, Cloud swung down at the monster's center. The steel stopped slightly at the tip of its torso, the hard body slowly giving way as it was crushed with the force of a jackhammer.
Each blow dug in just a bit deeper, one swing drilling down into the Madouge and slowly chipping it apart. Within seconds, the Buster Sword cracked open the ground and the Madouge with it, the remains of its granite-like form falling to the ground in heaps of rubble.
"Phew!" Cloud exclaimed as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "How about you, Tifa?" The remaining Madouge continued to pummel at Tifa, who narrowly dodged each of the hits that shattered the ground. "Tifa, are you okay?!"
Tifa was asking herself the same question. While she was successfully dodging, any attempt she made to hit the damn thing would just crack her knuckle open. She grit her teeth as the Madouge reared back for a monstrous punch.
Now or never...
As the fist came closer, Tifa cupped her hands to her left side. She'd launched a shockwave of air before, but unless she actually projected her aura, she'd be crushed. Cloud furiously began to run to her side, intent on saving her. Tifa would have none of it, and stood her ground.
Master Zangan... Here it is!
"Get out of there, dammit!" Cloud shouted. He couldn't reach her in time, and even a projected slash wouldn't have enough force to push it back. "Tifa! Run!" As the Madouge came closer, Tifa slowly closed her eyes and began to concentrate.
"What the hell are you doing?!" snapped Cloud. "Get out of there now! It's going to-" To his amazement, a thin spark of white light flickered into being inside Tifa's cupped palms. The spark began to grow, steadily, as Tifa began to thrust her palms at the oncoming attack.
What in the world-?!
There was a flash of light that blinded Cloud, his eyes failing him so that all he heard was a disgusting cracking noise. For a moment he feared it was Tifa's skull, but as his sight returned he saw a very different outcome.
The Madouge's upper torso had been ripped open by a shining, white blast of light emanating from Tifa's outstretched hands. Its fist was vaporized outright, and the crack Cloud had heard was the sound of the monster's body breaking open much like he'd done with his foe. As the Madouge slowly crumbled to bits, Tifa took her hands and looked at them carefully.
Her hands were still warm and glowing bright white, a shimmering aura surrounding her fingers. As it faded and the heat dissipated, Tifa cracked a smile. She'd done it!
"What the hell did you just do?!" Barret exclaimed, jaw wide open. From his point of view it looked like the monster had been blown open by a cannonball. Its rocky remains began to crumble and drop to the floor in large chunks.
"I... I just..." Tifa paused, then gave a triumphant thumbs-up. Her smile widened. "I just graduated!"
Master Zangan's Aura Bolt... Not a pressure wave, but an actual burst of spiritual energy! I really materialized my inner ki and shot it out like an aura cannon! It was his signature technique... well, except for...
Tifa brushed the tip of her nose. She wasn't ready for Final Heaven yet. Cloud had so many questions he wanted to ask, but satisfied himself by opening his arms and tightly embracing his friend. Whatever it was...
You're still here! That's what matters!
Scene Two
The next several chambers of the Mythril Mines lacked any more Madouges, thankfully. Instead the party was able to appreciate the subtle beauty of the gleaming Mythril ore embedded into the stone walls.
While they traveled, Tifa explained what had happened during her battle with the Madouge. Her mentor, Zangan, was a master martial artist who had trained her since she was young, way back in Nibelheim. Under him, she'd trained to hone her body into a weapon, one strong enough to protect the people she held dear.
After being critically injured by Sephiroth, Zangan relocated Tifa to Midgar to receive medical treatment. The rehabilitation had been grueling, only slightly less than the increased effort Zangan put into her studies. Her training regimen included push-ups, pull-ups, and all sorts of other body-honing techniques. One day, she'd come to him with a fresh look in her eye, a hungry one.
"Master, I want you to teach me some real martial arts!" Tifa exclaimed, swiftly punching the air multiple times. "All we do is train, train, train! Why don't you teach me some nifty techniques?!"
"Ay-ay-ay..." Zangan muttered to himself, shaking his head. He turned to Tifa inside his dojo, arms folded and eyes shut tight. "Patience, grasshopper. You're still a flower bud, my girl. And until you get rid of your baby fat-" he punctuated by jabbing Tifa's stomach. "-you aren't ready for the big stuff."
Tifa folded her arms with a huff. "I'm an adult, and I'm a martial artist! Why wouldn't I be ready?!" The fire in her eyes sparked a smile from Zangan, who rose to his feet and pointed at a broken beam jutting from the ground.
"I have two secrets," Zangan said quietly. "Both of them are called Blitzes. One of them is called Final Heaven, and you aren't ready to even hear about that one!" He cracked his knuckles, staring intently at the beam. "The other is an Aura Bolt, a wave of energy that destroys your enemies from a distance."
"But, Master!" Tifa protested, hands on her hips. "You already told me about shockwaves! I can do those already, so why can't I-" Zangan cupped his hands to his left side, causing Tifa to sigh. "I can already do that! Show me-"
In the span of a few seconds, the beam was reduced to melted iron by the white light that projected from Zangan's hands. To Tifa's shock, it wasn't compressed air that had been released... It was ki, the inner force all martial artists train to master, except this was transformed into real, physical energy.
Zangan brought his arms to rest at his side, a smile on his face as he saw the amazement on his student's own. He folded his arms and stretched his neck, idly shaking his leg.
"Aura Bolt," Zangan said proudly, "is the secret technique of my martial arts style. It's a 'Blitz' technique, like firing your aura like a cannon into an enemy. Most physical bodies can't withstand it, either taking it or delivering it. When you're ready to do that, then you'll have graduated!"
"Amazing..." breathed Tifa, speechless. "But how do I-" Zangan poked her on the head with a smile, and tilted his head. She huffed furiously. "Okay, fine, I'll figure it out! But what about-" Zangan's glare silenced her. She'd never seen his face so stern. Arms folded, Zangan turned to the wall behind him and cocked his head towards Tifa.
"If you could use my hidden technique, Final Heaven..." Zangan said quietly. "Then you could vaporize this entire building with one blow." Tifa's eyes snapped open in shock. "But... You don't need that kind of power yet. Take things one step at a time, refine your skills, and until you've graduated, don't even think of asking for my hidden technique."
"I... never graduated..." Tifa muttered. "Master died before I could perform it. He got sicker and sicker, and... well..." She sighed. "He never said anything about Final Heaven. And he never showed me the Aura Bolt again. I still don't know what he means it was, but..."
Barret tilted his head. "What, so you never got his approval? Harsh." He sighed, massaging his Gun-arm. "Back when I got this, the person who gave it to me said I would never need it. He insisted that I just get a normal hand and live a normal life. Said I was so obsessed with taking down Shinra that no matter what I did, I would never be satisfied."
"What do you mean?!" snapped Barret, rubbing the stump of his right hand. "Give me something to fight with! A chainsaw, a machine gun, something! I came to you for help, Sakaki! Give me help, already!"
The old man, Sakaki, was a junk dealer and former coal miner who had dabbled in experimental technology. After retiring from mining and taking up prosthetics, he'd designed arms, legs, everything. But when he got two requests for a Gun-arm, he began to lose patience.
Sakaki took a deep drag of his cigarette. "All you want to do is more killing, right?" He exhaled sharply, and put the cigarette out. "If you want killing, I can do it. But it isn't going to satisfy you."
Barret's left hand clenched wildly, his teeth gnashing. "Hell no, I ain't gonna be satisfied not doing anything!" he shouted, stomping his foot. "If I don't do something-"
"You don't get it," Sakaki groaned. "Kill, kill, kill. Violence only breeds more of the same. But if you won't take my advice..." He withdrew a blueprint and unrolled it, revealing what would become Barret's Gun-arm. "Will this satisfy you?" With Barret's toothy grin, Sakaki snapped the blueprints shut. "Fine. When you want to really satisfy yourself, come back and I'll make you a real hand."
"Heh..." Barret chuckled, tapping his Gun-arm. "I got this baby, but he kicked me out after that. He never approved of what I needed to do... Guess it's kind of like what happened with that old fart of yours."
Tilting her head, Tifa sighed. "It's not quite the same thing... Maybe both of them were smarter than the two of us put together..." She put her hands on her hips. "And I think I see what the old man was talking about... yours, and mine..."
Barret cocked his head, confused. "What, you smarter than me now?" he asked with a laugh. "All I need is this little baby to protect my other little baby! If I don't fight, ain't no point living!" Tifa shrugged her shoulders, exasperated.
He just doesn't... No. Guess I don't know what he's all riled up about, so I shouldn't judge...
If all Barret sought was revenge, he'd be perpetuating the violence Shinra had inflicted on him. What Sakaki meant was that, if he wanted to truly satisfy himself, he had to reject the hatred he bore. Otherwise, the blood he shed was just as dirty as the blood Shinra took from him.
It would be a long time before he realized that...
Scene Three
There were two ways to continue, left and right. After flipping a coin, the party entered the right path. They found a giant chasm, with huge chunks of ore jutting out like pikes. It was quite beautiful, so long as one didn't land on the spires...
While at first it seemed a dead end, Cloud noticed an abandoned backpack at the edge of the cliff. Lacking any owner it seemed innocuous, until he noticed several small vials of blue liquid protruding from the sack.
"Are those Elixirs?!" gasped Cloud as he stepped towards the abandoned sack. "If they are, we want 'em! I've never drank one before, but I hear it revitalizes your body just like a cure spell... except it refills mana, too! We should take those along!"
"Well, aren't you excited! Fine, fine..." Barret sighed as he folded his arms. "If we found a repair kit, then I'd be interested. Anyway... if they're so great, pick 'em up." With a shrug, Cloud stepped towards the sack with the intent to snatch the Elixirs.
This way, we won't need to rely on me or Aerith... Anyone can heal themselves!
"Cloud!"
Cloud rolled out of the way just in time to avoid the huge claw that snatched up the bag with the Elixirs. He turned his eyes to the sky and found a rather... imposing obstacle to getting the Elixirs.
It was a sort of dragon, an Ark Dragon, with six wings, vicious talons, and a monstrous belly filled with fire. While two of its wings were scaled, the remaining four looked like a dragonfly's wings.
Instinctively, Barret lifted his arm, but quickly lowered it with a scowl. Cloud drew the Buster Sword and Aerith snapped her staff open as the Ark Dragon roared. The dragon lifted its claw and charged at Aerith.
Recognizing that her staff was useless, Aerith rolled out of the way and quickly put her hands together. A triangle of lightning formed between her fingers, and she tossed it at the Ark Dragon in the hopes it would stun it.
Instead, the Ark Dragon lashed with its tail and dispersed the thunder. Not taking into account its likely elemental nature, Aerith blasted it with a wave of flame. She realized her mistake as the blast dissolved to nothing on the dragon's breast.
Damn! Of course it's immune to fire!
As steam spewed from its maw, the Ark Dragon belched out a wall of flame that put Aerith's to shame. Not having much time to respond, Aerith ran out of the way, but tripped and her right foot was scalded with incredible heat. She dropped to her knees and rolled away, dropping her staff.
Red XIII's eyes glowed, and he dislodged a large spire from the top of the cave aimed at the Ark Dragon. When it nimbly evaded, Red XIII slammed his paws to the ground and launched large spears of stone at the monster.
As above, so below, and the Ark Dragon flew through the earthen spears with the ease of a dragonfly skimming a pond. For a moment Red XIII's mane ignited, until he realized that it would do as much good for him as it had for Aerith.
Aerith stifled her screams, putting her hands to her side and touching them to the ground. As the earth began to turn white, Tifa got the clue and lunged towards the Ark Dragon. The beast roared and ran to meet her, claws extended.
Just as the dragon's claws were about to connect, Aerith froze the ground solid, a spiraling line of frost rising and trapping the dragon in a cage of ice. Tifa continued on with her fist extended, but was stunned when the ice snapped and the dragon's claw raked her belly.
Tifa fell back, bleeding badly from her stomach, and suppressed a scream as she skidded to a halt. No sooner had she stopped did Cloud jump past her, swinging the Buster Sword down with both hands. The Ark Dragon lashed its tail and slammed Cloud back into the wall, its steel-like appendage meeting the Buster Sword and throwing it to the ground blade first.
Cloud flexed his fingers and coated them with lightning. He threw his hand forward and released a violent bolt of thunder at the dragon. When it returned with its flamethrower, Cloud was forced to roll out of the way and snatch the Buster Sword from the ground.
I can't jump fast enough or high enough!
As she held her stomach, Tifa felt the blood pour from her wound. There was no way her fist could reach, no way her fire could penetrate, and any ice she created would just be burned up. Barret had no weapon, Aerith was injured, and nothing Red XIII had worked. But she had one idea.
"Cloud!" Tifa yelled. "Get ready to fly!" Cloud quickly understood, and ran towards Tifa with his blade held high above his head. As he ran, Cloud hopped onto Tifa's palms, and she hurled him up at a speed neither of them could achieve alone. Moreover, it was faster than the dragon could react to.
One mighty cut sliced the Ark Dragon in half, its remains falling to the ground in two pieces. As its two halves dropped into the chasm, Cloud dug his sword into the ground and kept himself from falling as well, narrowly stopping him from joined the dragon in the abyss.
Aerith began to heal her wounded leg as Tifa fell to the ground exhausted, her wound ailing her badly. Cloud vaulted back onto his feet and moved over to Tifa with his hands extended. With a smile she rolled onto her back and allowed Cloud's healing hands to mend her wounds.
As Red XIII laid down to rest, Barret snatched up the Elixirs and looked at them carefully. They were filled with a blue, iridescent fluid that flickered with sparkles of silver. He sat down on his seat and examined them more carefully, looking for something special enough to justify what they'd just gone through.
And he certainly didn't see anything...
Scene Four
After everyone was patched up and the Elixirs stashed safely away, that left only the other path to exit the mines. Tifa was the one in charge of carrying their new prize, the pack slung over her shoulder as all that remained was a single cavern opening.
"How's your stomach, Tifa?" Cloud asked, eyeing the place where he could still see red claw marks. With a smile, Tifa rubbed a hand over her wound and gave a thumbs up. Relieved, Cloud almost missed seeing the figure straight ahead. When he did, he detached the Buster Sword in an instant.
As Cloud's eyes narrowed in, Rude of the Turks stood against the cavern's exit with his arms folded. He couldn't see Rude's eyes through the dark sunglasses, but the look of disinterest came through loud and clear.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" hissed Cloud, tightening the grip on his blade. "If you want a fight-"
"I don't," Rude stated bluntly, surprising Cloud. He turned to face the party and grit his teeth.
"Then you want to take Aerith again?!" Tifa snapped, adjusting her glove. "You Shinra scum-"
"Wrong again," said Rude, his face expressionless. Bewildered, Cloud narrowed his eyes at the Turk.
"Then what the bloody hell are you doing here?!" Cloud shouted. "Did Shinra come all the way out here just to screw with our heads, or something?!"
"We came to give you a message..." said a voice. A new figure emerged behind Cloud, and he whirled around to see a beautiful young woman with short blonde hair dressed in the Turks uniform. She lacked Rude's sunglasses, but she was clearly there with him.
How did she get behind me?!
Rude sighed and folded his arms. "Elena, you could've been a bit more tactful..." Aerith's hand gripped her staff, but she stopped as she realized that Elena had a gun on her, one she could draw fast enough to make resistance meaningless.
"Reno sends his regards," Elena stated coldly. "But because he was injured in the Sector Seven explosion, we're down a man. That allowed me to join the roster, so I guess I ought to be grateful. However..." Elena drew her gun and aimed it at Cloud's head. "Our orders are to eliminate you."
"You have no such orders!" snapped Tseng as he stepped past Rude. Elena's finger immediately left the trigger.
"But, Mr. Tseng... Sir!" protested Elena. "Weren't our orders to subdue the-" Tseng lifted a finger to his mouth, silencing her. She composed herself and withdrew her pistol. "Tch... Fine. Orders are orders. But I don't understand why not taking you punks in is as important as catching Sephiroth in Junon..." She paused. "Aw, crap. I shouldn't have told you that."
Irritated, Tseng sighed and brushed the hair from his face. "Your new orders are to meet Reno at Junon, and prepare a search party. After that, you'll serve as security for the new President. Now... Rude, Elena..." His eye twitched softly. "Dismissed."
Rude and Elena saluted immediately, and headed out the cave's exit. Tseng turned his eyes to Aerith, whose own eyes locked onto his. The tension was clear, but there was a sense of relief in both their eyes that they were looking at each other again.
"Why aren't you trying to capture me?" asked Aerith. "You've been after me for years, and now... nothing?" Tseng sighed and looked at his watch. Aerith's eyes widened. "You didn't come here to-"
"I see Mr. Wallace's arm is in bad shape..." Tseng remarked, piquing Barret's ire. "It would be a shame if the mechanics at Fort Condor repaired it. We don't need another trigger happy thug running around in our building." Aerith startled as he said that.
"Wh-what are you-" Aerith stammered, but was met by Tseng's stare. She narrowed her eyes. "You..." Tseng sighed and turned away, his long hair flowing through the air.
"I owed you a favor for pointing a gun at your head," Tseng said softly as he turned to leave. "I'm... sorry it happened that way, Aerith..." With that he exited the cave, leaving a stunned Aerith and an even more confused AVALANCHE.
You... You just told us how to fix Barret's arm! Was that your way of apologizing to me...?
Aerith shook her head. After all the time they'd spent together, albeit with Tseng trying to capture her, she and Tseng had formed a sort of friendship.
You were... really that affected by what you did? Hmm... Apology accepted.
The party quietly exited the Mythril Mines and entered the sunlight once again, a welcome change from the dank stench of rotten carrion. As they gathered, Cloud looked into the horizon and saw a huge tower with what looked like a... bizarre, giant bird nesting on top of it.
"I can't see why they couldn't call that anything but Fort Condor..." Cloud muttered. He turned to the rest of the party with a smile on his face. "Let's split up!" Seeing the stunned looks on his friends' faces, Cloud waved them off. "Barret and I will get his repairs done, and the rest of you will set up shop in Junon. When we get back, we'll decide what to do next."
"But, Cloud..." Aerith stammered, unsure. "If we split up-" Cloud lifted his gauntlet and pointed at the summon materia the chocobos had given them.
"Tifa and Red XIII can protect you," said Cloud. "I don't want to take a full party into a place they call a fort that a Turk directed us to. It might be a trap. Barret and I can take care of ourselves, and we're gonna need his help in the fight with Sephiroth."
"Have it your way," Tifa groaned as she adjusted her gloves. "But make sure you come back to us and that Barret's got a gun back." She sighed. "And if it's an order from our leader, I guess I gotta go with it." With a smile, Tifa gave Cloud a thumbs up. "Call 'em and we'll get outta here."
Cloud nodded and activated the summon materia, causing four chocobos to come running from the horizon. As Aerith withdrew the rope and stretched it tight, Red XIII's eyes snapped open.
"Don't tell me you're going to-" he tried to speak, but a simple smile from Aerith made him give up. "I take it Tifa will be carrying me?" Aerith nodded, causing him to sigh. "At least she won't be as lumpy as Barret was..." Barret angrily flicked him off, but Cloud just dragged him over to his chocobo.
"Get on, and let's head out!" exclaimed Cloud as he mounted his own chocobo. He turned to Tifa's party and smiled. "I trust you, guys..." Seeing his friends' smiles (except Red XIII), Cloud motioned to Barret. "We'll be back soon!"
Author's Notes
I adlibbed this one a lot... For those who aren't fans of Final Fantasy VI, the "Blitz" techniques were the secret moves of the character Sabin Rene Figaro, the party's martial artist. He had several techniques where you had to input commands like in Street Fighter. One of them was Aura Bolt, a sort of Kame Hame Ha wave that was holy-elemental. Final Heaven comes from FFVII, though. Tifa will end up using it at some point, but that's all I'll say.
The name Sakaki comes from "On the Way to a Smile," a novella set after FFVII that explores various characters' (in this case Barret's) activities post-Meterorfall. He was the one who created Barret's Gun-arm, as I explained, and later is presumably responsible for his new prosthetic from Advent Children.
Sorry if this deviates from canon too much, but like I said when I started Part Two, it's a lot more open to interpretation than Part One of the game, and I intend to flesh out a few things. I don't know if I'll do it well, but I intend to try.