Start Date: August 11, 2022

Windwillow

Final Fantasy VII

Their voyage to the western continent finished, Cloud and his allies prepare to set out for the mining town of North Corel in their perpetual search for their mortal enemy Sephiroth. Following a stay in the coastal town of Costa del Sol, with a number of various events occurring, the party now aims to saddle up and head out.

But...

Chapter Twenty-Four: Traveling through Mt. Corel

Scene One

With their visit to Costa del Sol at an end, AVALANCHE has turned its attention to the mountains of Corel, a remote mining town in the center of the western continent. The time has come to saddle their chocobos and run through the verdant fields of Gaia. Except for one key problem: the chocobos. Their travel across the ocean wasn't booked with AVALANCHE...

"Right, then, guys!" said Cloud as he clicked the chocobo summoning materia into his gauntlet and pumped his fist. With Shiva's materia in Tifa's hands, the chocobos were again on his gauntlet and ready to go. "Let's mosey!" he laughed as he lifted his gauntlet into the air. When nothing happened and the party saw no chocobos, his face dropped. After a few tries of waving his arm futilely in the air, Cloud's face dropped. He had a good idea of what had gone wrong and things didn't look good all of a sudden...

"Where the hell are they?!" demanded Barret as he clenched his fist, angrily waving his Gun-arm around like a stick. It was bad enough that the last time it tried to peck his eyes out, but now it wasn't there at all? "Why aren't the big chickens coming out?!" he shouted angrily, stomping his foot. As his anger built, he grabbed onto Cloud's shoulder hard. "They still mad at me or something?!" he snapped, shaking Cloud's shoulder. "Where are they?!"

"If I may make a hypothesis," said Red XIII as he plopped down on the ground, "I believe the problem here is the geography." Seeing Barret's confusion, Red XIII sighed and bared his fangs. "Fool! We went halfway across the world. Why is it so difficult to think that the chocobos wouldn't follow us?" Red XIII turned to Aerith with a smirk, a triumphant look on his snout even in the face of failure. "But at least you won't be tying me up again..." he murmured with satisfaction. Aerith was distinctly not amused.

"You're telling me we gotta walk all the way through a fricking mountain on foot?!" Yuffie shrieked as she stomped her feet. First she couldn't stop from hurling, and now she had to wander up and down a mountain on her own two feet. Her blood boiling, she turned to Red XIII with anger plastered over her face. "You! You just had to go and say that, huh?!" she snarled as she clenched her fists. "I'm gonna turn you into a carpet!"

"Oh, stuff it!" Cloud snapped as he held his head. Their bickering only made his headache worse, which oddly enough everything Yuffie and Barret did made happen. "Don't yell at Red just because he's right! If you don't recall, I'm leader, and I've made the decision to hoof it..." he growled as he folded his arms. With a look of satisfaction, he remembered Tifa's words back in Junon, having finally found a chance to rebuff her. "So just shut up and take your medicine."

"You mother-" choked Yuffie as she took him by the shoulders and shook him. As he rocked back and forth, Cloud's expression remained unchanged. "That's the kind of crap Tifa says to you! Don't give me that crap! Summon the damn chickens and let's go, or else-" Yuffie was stopped as Aerith put herself between Cloud and the ninja. "What?! You got something to say?!" she snarled.

"If we don't have a choice," sighed Aerith with a frown, "then that's that," she said flatly, much to Yuffie's frustration. As Yuffie slowly came to accept it, her complexion returned and she began to seethe. "And just remember: you decided to come with us. Complaining after we crossed an entire ocean seems sort of stupid..." she sighed. "Where are you going to go without us? Are you going to fight off every monster around here yourself?"

"Gawd, what a mess!" Yuffie snarled as she folded her arms and stomped her foot, her anger returning. As usual, her temperament only continued to worsen. "But... God damn it! You have a point. Tch... Well, you guys had better pull your weight too! Don't expect me to fight all your battles..." she moaned, her head dropping with a defeated look on her face. "Oh, God..."

"If we're all in agreement," Tifa said with a smile, "then we better get going!" she snapped as she folded her arms. As she adjusted her glove, her smirk widened. "Besides, how much different can the monsters be out west?" she wondered. "Monsters are monsters whether they're in the east or in the west. We'll be fine," Tifa said resolutely, clenching her fist. "Count on it!"

Scene Two

As it turned out, the trip west wasn't so bad. With a conspicuous absence of monsters the party traveled southwest. They had to hunker down in Red XIII's makeshift shelters, though, for a night of relief from the sweltering sun. It took a day and a night, but the mountain range was soon in sight. By the time they were half way to the mountains, though, that peace was shattered by the appearance of an egg-like creature that bounced towards them. Cloud's hand lifted towards his sword, but he suddenly stopped, wondering if it was even needed. Aerith snapped her staff open and Red XIII and Tifa also assumed a battle stance, however, unwilling to take anything for granted.

"Aww, it's sort of cute!" swooned Yuffie as her cheeks flushed. "Kind of looks like a toy I played with once..." she muttered, before the creature opened its mouth wide. The Grangalan loosed a swirling steel disk that soared through her, and Yuffie narrowly deflected it with her shuriken before skidding to a stop. "Okay, not cute!" Yuffie groaned as she spun her weapon. Another volley of buzz saws were swiftly deflected by a curtain of wind, sending them to the ground where they dug into the earth and created thin trenches of dirt.

With a scowl, Barret opened his weapon's hatches and sent a flurry of bullets into the monster. The shots pockmarked the steel egg's body, yet as it began to collapse into itself its mouth opened and revealed another, smaller Grangalan Jr. Barret unloaded into it, and three smaller Grangalans popped open from its mouth. Furious, he shredded them to bits. To the party's surprise, however, the ground seemed to crack as the shell hit it. The shell's fragments were shot into the air as each of them were replaced with another Grangalan, three in all. As the first popped up Cloud drew his sword and swung, but clashed against a released razor blade that flew towards Barret. As Barret deflected it with the side of his Gun-arm, the Grangalan shot out another buzz saw that Cloud sliced in half.

Tifa charged forward as she clenched her fist, hardening it jet black with her will power before snapping one of the Grangalans open like a walnut. When a Grangalan Jr. emerged, she nailed it with a roundhouse kick without even hitting the ground but was forced to leap back as the smaller orbs popped out and released their blades. Nimbly, she darted and weaved through the saws. Aerith blasted them away with lightning, clapped her hands together, and the thunder converged to obliterate the three eggs.

Red XIII slammed his paw down and a spire of earth pierced the ground below another Grangalan, skewering it. But as it began to shatter the Grangalan Jr. popped out and sent a pair of razors hurtling towards Red XIII. He hopped back and to the side and clenched his fangs, causing two chunks of earth to absorb the blades. The blades ripped through the rock, however, and continued towards Red XIII.

"Damn things keep coming!" yelled Red XIII as the saws approached him, dodging nimbly just in time to avoid impact. The blades were met with sharpened vacuums that shredded them to bits, and as Red XIII turned he saw Yuffie smiling with her hand extended. She'd sliced them with wind sharper than its steel, and as she landed she gave a thumbs up. As the blades continued on and severed the Grangalan Junior, the three smaller eggs popped open but were cut to ribbons by Cloud.

"I'm so done with this thing!" Barret snarled as he narrowed his weapon at the final Grangalan. His Gun-arm began to tremble as it gathered air and he was propelled backwards as the shot blasted the spherical monster into a thousand pieces. The wind bullet continued to expand and ripped the shards into dust, the monster's satellites breaking open and falling limp before they emerged. With a hoot, Barret pumped his fist in victory. "Gotcha, sucker!" he laughed.

After the battle was done and Barret's victory celebration tapered off, the decision was made to make camp. Red XIII tapped the ground and a series of tendril-like spires broke through the earth, swirled about, and dug back in to create a large spherical structure. He then spewed a campfire and the party turned in for the night. Two groups remained awake: Barret with Aerith, and Tifa with Red XIII, as the other two went to sleep. With a smile, Aerith offered a bottle of water to Barret but was shooed away by the bear like man. She frowned as he averted his eyes, his silence ending the conversation as Aerith laid down by the fire to sleep.

"Feel free to sleep, Tifa..." Red XIII muttered as he sat next to the fire. It was his turn to stand watch, and he'd gotten enough sleep at Costa del Sol to get him by. "I've got this..." he yawned, but as Tifa continued to stare into the fire, his eyes flickered like embers and he slunk towards her before laying down beside her. "You seem... preoccupied," said Red XIII. "Need a shoulder to lean on?"

"No, I-" stammered Tifa, her eyes averted towards the red light of the camp fire. Maybe it was a good idea to talk to someone. With a deep breath she swirled around to meet Red XIII's gaze. "It's just that Cloud and I..." She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. How should she word this? "I don't know if he... y'know... knows..." Tifa sighed, folding her arms over her chest. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea...

"That he's caught in a love triangle?" asked Red XIII, prompting a gasp from Tifa. As she flashed a blank stare at him, Red XIII licked his lips to swallow his apprehension. Talking about something like this required a certain tact. Red XIII cocked his head towards Tifa with what passed as a smile. "Perhaps to a degree, but not fully," he said quietly, "and I take it this is what's keeping you awake tonight."

"More or less..." Tifa sighed as she reclined back in her seat. "Back on the ship, Aerith said something that shook me. When Cloud said he'd take her on that airship, she said under her breath that she wanted them to be together, alone. We had a talk, but neither of us wanted to be direct about it... We just ended up debating whether I should go with them or not. I was for, and she was... uncertain..."

"The three of you are friends," Red XIII murmured. His answer was simple, but he knew the implications were not. "I believe it's not that mutual relationship that's been bothering you. But, the idea that she wants to be more than friends..." he sighed, laying his head down between his paws. Seeing Tifa's apprehension, he knew he was on the mark. "Do you feel the same way?"

"I-I... I don't know..." muttered Tifa as she averted her eyes. Looking deep into the crackling fire, she tried to divine the answer she sought. And in this she failed. "I don't know if I want to be... y'know... with Cloud, but... Hearing her say that kind of made me feel threatened..." she sighed, her own words surprising her. "It doesn't make any sense, right? Maybe I've been really overthinking-"

"Go to sleep, Tifa," whispered Red XIII in Tifa's ear, startling her. While Tifa hesitated, Red XIII closed his eyes in sympathy. The questions weren't easily answered with words alone. He softly nudged her cheek with his nose before lifting his head away from her. "Think about it more later... but for now, just lay down and call it a night..." he sighed as he yawned and wandered towards the end of the shelter. "Losing sleep about it won't help anything."

"You, I-" Tifa stuttered before her eyes turned to the hypnotizing dance of the fire's light. He was right. With a smile, she laid on her back and allowed the soft scent of night time to send her to sleep. What she didn't know was that Aerith had heard the conversation, though she'd kept quiet as it unfolded. She laid her own thoughts to rest as well, slowly drifting off to sleep as Yuffie sawed logs at the far end of camp. Cloud by now had sensed the tension between the two women, and was indeed thinking about his own feelings as he slumbered...

Scene Three

Tifa's conversation with Red XIII faded with the embers of the camp fire, and in the morning had vanished altogether. The party set back to their journey and by the next day they had reached the foot of the mountains. Before they set foot on Mt. Corel, however, they had to climb a series of hills to reach the mountain itself. By mid day they reached the top of the hill, only to be confronted by three large monsters. They were roughly twice the size of a normal human, a birdlike avian that walked on two legs. These Cockatrices were well known in the area, and for that reason travelers kept a supply of Gold Needles on hand along with their weapons. The party, of course, had none...

"Nothing I can't tear open!" Barret said with a laugh, as he narrowed his Gun-arm at one of the Cockatrices. Before his hatches could open, however, the monster's eyes began to shine with a blinding light. Two rays of energy shot from its pupils and pierced Barret's body, and his torso went rigid. Much as he struggled, he found himself unable to move. Slowly a sheet of stone formed around his entire body, freezing him in place as a statue.

"It-it petrified him!" Aerith gasped as she snapped her staff open. She vaguely remembered reading about a monster with the ability to petrify living beings, but didn't realize she was looking at one. Aerith lifted her hand and charged it with fire, yet as she released a burst of flame from her hand the second Cockatrice's gaze pierced her as well. The fireball fizzled as Aerith's body became solidified as stone, to the horror of her friends.

Tifa threw forward both hands and released a cone of cold air that froze the Cockatrice solid. As she hardened her fist and rushed forward, the Cockatrice pecked through the ice and released a stream of needle-like projectiles that pierced her skin and stopped her long enough for the Cockatrice to break free. Muttering a curse she swung her hand across her shoulder and ripped out the needles, quickly turning to loose a blast of fire at the monster. The second Cockatrice, however, was not bound to sit the battle out. Its eyes shimmered and the rays shot forward, but Tifa cartwheeled out of the way and threw a spear of ice that skewered its wing and froze it solid.

"Now I've got you!" snarled Tifa as her fist turned as black as obsidian, hardened with anger and tempered with determination. As she rushed forward to strike, the first Cockatrice slammed its claw into her gut and sent her flying backwards. As she slid to a halt, it fired its rays towards her, but a wall of stone jutted from the ground and absorbed the attack.

"Stone is stone," grinned Red XIII as he bared his fangs. "You can't transmute something into itself!" Fire licked his maw as Red XIII spat a stream of fire forward, consuming the frozen Cockatrice and incinerating it. "Cloud! You're next!" he yelled as Cloud leered above the second Cockatrice and slashed its head off. However, the third cockatrice remained active. It fired two shots of its petrifaction rays, which struck Cloud and Red XIII and encased them in stone. As they solidified, a look of horror passed across their rock-hardened faces.

"Son of a bitch!" cursed Yuffie as the final cockatrice turned towards her. She and Tifa were the only ones left, and she had no intention of allowing it a clean sweep. "Gonna get you, you overgrown chicken!" she hissed as the Cockatrice turned towards her. As it fired she swiftly cartwheeled out of the way and slung her shuriken in a wide arc, the boomerang slicing its head clean off. Yuffie landed gracefully and caught her weapon, but turned towards her petrified comrades with a glum frown. Their bodies remained inert chunks of rock. "Aw, crap..." she moaned.

"Just great... Damn it!" snarled Tifa as she punched her hand with her fist. Not being local, she wasn't aware of one of the only ways to cure her friends, the Gold Needle. With a sigh she began to examine Cloud, careful not to cause any cracks. "Well, this is problematic..." she groaned. As she turned to Yuffie, she shrugged. "Any ideas? I'm plum out. Do we need to carry them back to a doctor?"

"Hmm..." Yuffie held her chin, just as uncertain as Tifa. She began to piece together her arsenal, trying to figure if she had a trick or a tool that would work. "I dunno... Holy crap! Watch out!" she shrieked as a Grangalan burst from the ground and began to hop towards Barret. She dashed to the side and snatched up her shuriken, narrowing it at the monster. "It's going after him!" Yuffie snarled, but as she stared at Barret she was still stumped. Then she jolted, looking towards the third gem on her gauntlet. The newest one... Was that the solution?

"I'll get it!" yelled Tifa as she hardened her foot and nailed it with a roundhouse kick. As it broke apart, the Grangalan Jr. popped open. She skidded to a halt and backhanded the orb, leaving three smaller eggs to pop out. Though she was able to shatter one, the other two began to hop towards Cloud. "Oh, God!" she shrieked as she clenched her fist. "I can't-" The summon materia from Tifa's bracelet turned bright green, much to her shock. As it did, her hand was drawn towards the ground. "What the-" she gasped.

Tifa's palm slammed to the earth, several green orbs rotating around it. Before one of the Grangalans could reach Cloud, Shiva appeared in a shower of snowflakes. She reached out and touched it, froze it solid, and as the ice solidified Shiva closed her fingers and cracked it open like an egg. The final Grangalan, however, was too close for either of them to stop. To the horror of both of them, the monster slammed itself into Cloud.

"Cloud!" Tifa shrieked as the Grangalan touched her friend, but to her amazement Cloud's Buster Sword cut it clean in half. His blade scarred the ground as it cleaved the monster, creating a wide line of disturbed earth. Tifa could only wipe her tears in shock, uncertain of what had happened. "Cloud, how did you-" she gasped. When the dust cleared, she saw Yuffie's glowing hand on his back, a green sheen encompassing his frame.

"Nice, huh?!" Yuffie cackled as she withdrew her light-covered hand. She lifted her gauntlet and displayed a glowing green orb that hadn't been there before. "Bet you feel bad you almost lost this little baby when you told me to give it all back!" she laughed as she pumped her fist. "If I hadn't stashed it, that punk would be in pieces right-" When Tifa bonked her, Yuffie angrily flipped her off. "The hell you doing, lady?!" screamed Yuffie. "I just saved your boyfriend, didn't I?!"

"Yeah, by committing robbery!" Tifa yelled as she grabbed by the arm and lifted the still-glowing appendage to Yuffie's face. "Did I or did I not tell you to give it back?" she said firmly. Yuffie continued to fume the more Tifa's face stiffened. "Stealing makes us criminals, and I don't want to be a criminal!"

"What part of 'Nice to meet you, I'm a thief' did you not hear when you first met me, lady?" Yuffie asked as she got in Tifa's face. For what she'd done, Tifa didn't seem terribly grateful. "You little bitch! I-" her curse trailed off as Tifa released her arm and grasped her hand tightly. Stunned, Yuffie tried to retract her hand but was unable to. "Wh-what the hell are you-" she gasped, struggling and failing to free herself.

"I owe you big time, Yuffie!" smiled Tifa as she released her grip, tightened her fingers, and presented her knuckle to a very confused Yuffie. She had her morals, but even then, Cloud was safe and sound. "Even if you were wrong... I can't argue with the results. I'm fine with you being a thief if you can save our group..." she said with a grin.

"Y-you got a funny way of saying it!" yelled Yuffie as she massaged her wounded wrist, feeling to see if any bones had been cracked. As the pain settled, though, she tapped her fist with Tifa's with a smile. As she expected, it hurt, but she winced and fought back the urge to curse Tifa out. "Whatever. Let's fix the guys and get out of here..." she muttered.

Scene Four

With the battle with the Cockatrices done, Yuffie held up her gauntlet and stepped towards her petrified friends. One by one she slapped her palm on their skin, the stone receding and leaving them jolted, but awake. Their movements from before they'd been frozen were acted out, and Aerith's fireball singed Yuffie's shoulder. With a violent hiss, Yuffie tried to hit her, but Aerith promptly apologized. Barret was revived utterly dumbfounded, slapping his hatches shut as he stared straight at the Cockatrice's broken remains.

"Right then!" said Yuffie as she clapped her hands and rubbed them. She did her part, and expected a return. "Time to call it a day, right? Yeah, I know, we're all exhausted, so it's really the only thing to do..." she muttered with a sigh. Seeing Cloud's disinterested gaze, Yuffie quickly began to fume again. "Hey! I just saved your sorry ass! Show a lady some respect! And! Stop! Moving!" she snarled.

"It's the middle of the day," Cloud said with a shrug. The sun was still shining high and bright, the sky a cerulean blue. "There's no point in waiting if we can get there in a couple hours. And since I have their approval," he said as he pointed his thumb to the rest of the party, "majority rules. Simple as that," said Cloud plainly.

"Don't lump me in with that bull!" shouted Barret as he stretched his neck, working out the kinks. "Me and Yuffie are on the same page! I just got turned back from being a fricking rock, and I wanna camp for the night! It's simple as that!" he snarled. "Why don't I get a vote, man?"

Plus, I don't wanna go there anyway...

"The word 'majority' applies here," said Tifa as she adjusted her glove and stared at a fuming Barret. He flinched, finally backing down. "All in favor of continuing?" she asked, as Cloud, Aerith, and Red XIII indicated their approval. "And those opposed?" Tifa wondered, with Yuffie and Barret lifting their hands. "Four to two. We keep going!" she said resolutely.

While Yuffie and Barret bickered back and forth with the rest of the party for several minutes, Tifa put an end to the argument by bonking them and hurling up on top of the hill. They got the message and so they continued on through the hills until they reached the foot of the mountain.

"Look!" called Aerith as she pointed up towards the mountain. "There's someone who's been injured here!" she yelled. She dashed forward and inspected the man, who had a heavy concussion and was unconscious. In addition, his leg was pinned by a fairly large boulder. "Tifa, can you help me?" asked Aerith as she charged her hands with energy. Tifa nodded and lifted the rock off his leg, and Aerith began to apply her magic to his wounds.

"Here," Tifa said as the man awakened. She produced an Elixir and put it to his lips; this was her first time using it, but Cloud had suggested trying it. As he slowly drank and Aerith's magic took effect, the injured hiker managed to come back to full awareness. When Aerith had stopped healing and wrapped his leg in a bandage, he folded his injured leg to his chest with a sigh of relief.

"I owe you!" he said with a smile. After all he'd been through, seeing a friendly face was just what he needed. "I'm a miner from North Corel, and after I tried heading back home I got caught by an avalanche... One of the rocks nailed my leg," explained the hiker as he rubbed his head. He was still woozy, though. The Elixir had managed to steady his aching muscles, but his nerves still pained him.

"Just glad you're okay!" Aerith beamed as she rubbed his bald head. While the miner shot an irked glance at her, she quickly brushed his anger aside and settled down. With her relief, however, came a realization: there were no other rocks in the area. "Wait a second, avalanche?!" she gasped. "If there was an avalanche, why is there only one rock?!"

"The jerk went right past me!" the miner groaned as he stretched his leg. As he spoke, the party quickly guessed who the 'jerk' was. "Carved open the rest of the rocks and kept right on going!" he growled as he clenched his fists. "How one man managed to dice up that many boulders is something I don't understand. Just one swing and they were... well... in pieces!" Seeing the party's horrified stares, the miner tilted his head in confusion. "I say something off?" he wondered.

"Th-this man... did he wear anything particular?" Cloud gasped as he crouched down to the miner. Whether he wanted to get the answer he was expecting? Doubtful. He'd just fought an ungodly abomination a couple days back and he wasn't happy to hear he was still in town. "Maybe a long, black cloak?" he asked warily, uncertain he wanted to hear the man's answer. "Tall, long white hair?"

"Aye, used a sword long as he was to do it, too!" said the miner, placing a hand to his forehead, his vision still shaky. "The damn thing had to have been bigger than he was." The more he talked, the clearer his head became. As he opened his eyes to see the looks of horror on the party's faces, he couldn't help but be confused. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked quietly. "You all look like you saw a ghost..."

"I think you did..." Cloud muttered, holding his head to stifle a new migraine. If nothing else, it confirmed that they were on the right track. Johnny was right: Sephiroth had come this way as well. Meaning, he'd brought Jenova with him. "But... Nah, forget it..." he murmured as he lifted himself up to his feet. Involving the miner with their fight was out of the question. "You'd better head back to Costa del Sol for some treatment. We'll give you the money if you don't have enough. We have to go-"

"Cloud!" All eyes turned to Barret, his own face grim as if he had seen the specter of death. Somehow, all the anger he'd shown over continuing had been replaced with an odd sense of... fear. When Cloud started to open his mouth, Barret shushed him. His eyes lowered, he seemed to hesitate in a way he never had before. "Let's take him with us..." Barret sighed as he put his hand to his knee and stood up. "Please? I ain't gonna complain no more..." he muttered.

"I-I... um..." Cloud stammered, staring at Barret's face and finding an uncomfortable secret hiding behind it. Still, he'd never seen him this sober before. Whatever was bothering him, it had to be serious. With a shrug, Cloud folded his arms and nodded. "Sure, works for me..." he sighed and offered the miner his hand. When the hiker pulled himself up, though, he looked... uncomfortable. "Is there something wrong?" Cloud asked warily.

"No, no, not really..." sighed the miner. As he turned towards the mountain, the miner shifted his eyes to a very uncomfortable-looking Barret. His eyes narrowed, his brain seemingly trying to sort something out but failing. "Have I seen you somewhere before, son?" he asked Barret. When Barret shook his head, the miner shrugged. "Ahh, whatever. Doesn't matter..."

While the rest of the party began to scale the mountain, Barret lagged behind. Though Tifa noticed, he waved her off and they continued on. As he looked at the miner, however, a mixture of fear and depression had etched itself on his face. He wouldn't be able to hide it much longer...

Scene Five

The traces of Sephiroth's path was clear for all to see: dozens of boulders were cut to ribbons and the sides of the mountain itself had deep gashes in them, looking like blood veins carved into the rock. He seemed to either be leaving a calling card or venting frustration, by the depth and number of the scars. The miner, whose name was Montana, had set off for North Corel about a day before Cloud and his friends. It had only been a few hours since Sephiroth left him under a rock to die, however. They were on his tail.

Their trip up Mt. Corel began by climbing over (and through) the boulders Sephiroth had mutilated. The path through was caked in mud and dust, the air dense with musk, and the sight of the dissected stones lasted for what seemed like hours. Through the entire trip Barret was uncharacteristically quiet, almost meek, while Montana spent much of the time relating his experiences in Costa del Sol. Most of it had involved gambling until he ran dry of Gil, which was the reason he'd headed back to North Corel in the first place. A short ways past the rubble, the party found themselves under attack by a swarm of Needle Kisses: violet feathered birds with the ability to control electricity.

As usual Barret opened the hatches of his Gun-arm and began to unload as Cloud cut through the ones that pierced his range. The vast number of them, however, forced Tifa and Yuffie onto the offensive as well, their fists and shuriken respectively battering and slicing the monsters. Part way through the assault, Barret's eye turned to a huddled down Montana. One of the Needle Kisses took advantage of the opportunity and speared his shoulder with a jolt of electricity.

Barret fell back, gripping his wounded shoulder, and his fire sprayed every which way. That was partially helpful because it massacred a number of Needle Kisses, but the party was also forced to evade his shots. Cloud angrily sliced through a group of monsters and slammed his foot on Barret's arm, dropping the Gun-arm to the ground and keeping it from firing at them. There were, however, too many of them and gradually the party was overwhelmed.

Aerith dropped her staff and clapped her hands together, flames licking her palms. As she drew them apart a circling mass of fire formed between her palms, and the more her hands moved the more intense the fire became. She threw her arms into the air and the fire mutated into a maelstrom of blazing flames that sought out and incinerated most of the remaining Kisses. The final one zoomed towards her and was promptly cut in half by Cloud, its remaining halves dropping to the ground with a slurp and a splat. In the aftermath the party sat down to rest and recover.

"Why did you stop firing?" asked Aerith as she mended Barret's wounds with her healing magic. Flowing restorative energy into his shoulder and repairing the damage done, she saw in his eyes a deep emotion that silenced her. She remembered back at Costa del Sol that he'd been preoccupied, staring up at the ceiling fan silently. "There's something you aren't telling us..." Aerith whispered in Barret's ear. As he turned a stink eye to her, she shrugged. It was clear he wasn't going to tell her anything...

Once everyone had rested and recuperated, the party set back out through the mountain. As he limped, holding his shoulder, Barret's eyes never left the ground. Cloud attempted to help him walk, but was shrugged off. He was about be get angry at Barret, but as Barret moved unsteadily forward he decided to leave it be. The entire way, of course, Yuffie was both complaining and boasting about how much she contributed to the battle. Everyone simply ignored her. Once they crossed a hill, however, they came across a very interesting landmark.

"Th-there's a Mako reactor on Mt. Corel?!" gasped Tifa as she caught sight of the foul power plant. The construction was at least as large as the ones in Midgar, stretching across a wide swath of the mountain. She folded her arms and turned to Montana, and seeing his intense fury she quickly let the issue drop.

"Four years ago those bastards built this monstrosity and chased away the coal miners..." Montana growled as he gnashed his teeth and clenched his fists. His anger continued to build uncontrollably. "That's when everything went to hell. Monsters started swarming out of the reactor and the Shinra army was forced to fight them off."

"You mean Shinra actually did something useful?" scoffed Yuffie as they walked towards the reactor. She put her hand to her eyes and tried to see further into the massive complex. There was no movement, but she sensed some bad mojo. The idea that Shinra had helped fight the monsters surprised her. "Since when did they do charity work for the people they rip off?" she wondered.

"Oh, it wasn't charity," snarled Montana. Taking in a deep breath, he bowed his head to ease his rage. "But as much as I hate those jerks, there's one man who I hate even more!" Montana growled as they navigated the catwalks. "There was this damn collaborator who helped build it! I can't remember his name, but there isn't a soul in North Corel that wouldn't want to gut the son of a bitch..."

While the party passed through the various platforms and catwalks that made up the Mako reactor, Montana continued to rant incessantly to the point where everyone ended up ignoring him. By the time they'd reached the entrance to the reactor, they were greeted by an unwelcome visitor: another Cockatrice, its eyes glowing red.

"Can't get rid of these punks!" snarled Cloud as he detached the Buster Sword. He lifted it to his shoulder and slid his foot across the ground, preparing to lunge. "Shinra makes way too many of these-" But as he spoke, the Cockatrice began to shriek as a hail of bullets tore it to pieces. Cloud swiveled about to see Barret, his Gun-arm smoking, and turned back to see what remained of the monster (which wasn't much) fall to the ground in a sea of bloody feathers. "Barret! What are you-" he started to say, but was shrugged off.

Barret silently walked up to the monster's remains, staring down at the shredded feathers and mutated bones. A look of contempt briefly passed his face, though just as quickly he moved past Cloud and began to wander from the reactor's complex. Step after step he seemed to wobble, like he was still woozy from being injured before. When Cloud reached to grab Barret's hand he was shoved back by his friend and stumbled backwards.

"Barret, what the heck are you doing?!" Cloud snapped as he staggered to his feet. He wiped the dust from his pants and lifted his head to curse Barret out. What he ended up seeing was the back of his head as Barret waddled further and further away. "Barret-"

"Leave me the hell alone!" called Barret as he continued to walk, silencing Cloud. "I need some space!" he shouted, never ceasing to saunter. "Don't talk to me! Don't yell at me! Just get away from me!" Barret snarled as he dashed through the gate to the end of the reactor. "I don't want no anger and I don't want no pity! Shut up and leave me be!" he growled as he passed their sight. For a man his size, he put a lot of distance between them in a short period of time...

Scene Six

Barret's departure silenced the party. They simply watched as he ran and ran through the reactor's border and disappeared into the sunset. When Yuffie tried to open her mouth to curse him out, Aerith clapped a hand over it and silenced her. Yuffie struggled back and tried to bite her, but was promptly bonked by Tifa.

"What the hell was that for, lady?!" Yuffie snarled as she held her wounded head. It felt like it would leave a welt, and her mood was more sore than her noggin. "Why'd you punch me, damn it?! I didn't even get to say anything, so how do you know if it would have been something offensive?!" she shouted.

"Because it would've been," Tifa said flatly as she folded her arms. "Everything you say is!" she growled. Yuffie seethed, but said nothing. Mainly because Tifa was right on the mark. "But I'm more worried about Barret... This isn't like him! I've never seen him this... angry before..."

"Um... Back in Costa del Sol..." began Aerith, as the party turned their attention to her. With a sigh, she bowed her head. Thinking back, even after everyone reunited his mood was unusually sour. "Sorry... But when I came to the Inn to check on Barret, he was just staring at the ceiling... and I didn't want to prod, but..."

"Since we got here, all he's done is brood, blunder, and blast things with his gun," said Red XIII as he dropped to his seat. While those words usually applied to Barret's attitude, there had been a marked difference recently. "There's clearly something going on he doesn't want us to know. And logic states that it relates to something around here... Or perhaps someone."

"Someone?" asked Cloud with a gasp. Barret's mood was one thing, but whatever the reason was, the idea that it was one of them bothered Cloud. "But the only new person here is Montana, and they don't even know each other, so... What the heck is going on with him?" he wondered.

"I got a question!" trilled Yuffie with her hand raised. When Tifa turned to her, she gnashed her teeth at her and bit the air. Her head was still aching. "And don't hit me! I'm just curious about something!" Yuffie sighed, turning to Montana with a frown. She folded her arms with a huff. "There's a ton of railroad tracks around here, but I don't see any trains..."

"As usual, it was Shinra..." Montana growled, staring at the Mako reactor with a look of pure hatred, then back to the party. "They took control of the railways after Corel was destroyed and then they started to limit traffic, then they stopped it altogether! And on top of that, there are so many monsters that no one can even cross this mountain any more!"

"My turn for a question," said Aerith as she held up a finger. "If this place is so impassable, how did you get to Costa del Sol in the first place? You came from North Corel to Costa del Sol, right? How did you get past all of this... stuff?"

"I left before things went to hell..." explained Montana with a scoff. "Four years ago, the original Corel was destroyed by Shinra. It was just a little bit ago I felt nostalgic and wanted to go back..."

"Wait, original Corel?" Cloud wondered aloud. All he'd heard about was a North Corel, not a different one. "If this isn't the original Corel, what happened to it? Where are we even going, then?!"

"All that North Corel is, is a slum!" Montana moaned as he put his head in his hands. "The real Corel has been buried under the desert sands for four years! When the city was destroyed, we were forced to leave because the Gold Saucer set up shop up above! All those rich bastards are dancing around on top of my family's graves... All because of that damn collaborator!"

"What's a... Gold Saucer?" asked Aerith as she cocked her head. Back in Midgar, she'd heard the name in a book somewhere, but she couldn't recall what the book was or what it was about.

"The Gold Saucer is a gigantic, floating amusement park up above Corel's remains..." sighed Montana as he shook his head. He'd never been, but while he'd never admit it, he was somewhat curious. "They've got all sorts of attractions from gondola rides to a coliseum full of monsters fighting each other!"

"Ooh! Ooh! I wanna go there!" tittered Yuffie as she hopped up and down. "They have any rich people there I can-" Yuffie dodged a punch from Tifa and glumly folded her arms with a huff. "Okay, I'm sorry! Gawd!" she growled. With a sigh, she put her hands on her hips. "But I wanna go on a ride or something... Bet it'd be fun!" she trilled.

"Barret's more important than having fun!" scolded Aerith with her hands on her hips, leaning towards Yuffie with a frown. When Yuffie turned to face her with a scowl, Aerith's glare silenced her. "If and when we can help Barret with whatever his problem, is, though, I would like to go there..."

"Sorry, sorry!" Yuffie sighed as she threw up her hands. Everyone seemed to either be a buzz kill or trying to whack her. "Right, the whole 'friend's in jeopardy' thing comes first, my bad. All I wanted to do was have some fun. If all it takes to get there is to figure out what flew up Barret's butt, I say we do some digging!" she cackled as she rubbed her hands together.

Amidst all the discussion and bickering between the rest of the party, Red XIII sat the whole deal out on the sidelines and began to analyze the situation. What bothered him wasn't necessarily Barret's behavior but the timing. Ever since landing on the western continent he'd been tormented by something, and once they met Montana his strange behavior had drastically escalated. All of Montana's rantings about North Corel and what happened to its predecessor shook Barret to the core. And there was a man Montana hated more than Shinra.

I have a hunch... and I hope it's because I'm overthinking things. If I am right, we may be heading straight into a hornet's nest... And Barret... Boy oh boy, this is complicated.

Author's Notes

A lot of this chapter is just me filling out the bestiary, but I also wanted to try and focus on Barret and his strange behavior. We all know what's coming, but I want to build up to it and show Barret as something other than the headstrong doofus I've been depicting him as. Minor note, I'm pleased I included the classic green summoning orbs for some reason. Didn't intend to, but I guess I had a Naruto summoning Jutsu vibe going on in my head and took Tifa's hand to the ground.

And again the love triangle pops up! I hope I'm doing this right... I want to try and make these emotions as real-life as I can. Given I know zilch about romance, I'm probably failing. But whatever, writing emotional stuff like this isn't my forte anyway. May as well expand my horizons.

Montana's name is derived from the Latin word montanus, which obviously means mountain, by the way. And it's also the name of an American state. I figure everyone kind of had the right idea, but hey...