Start Date: August 14, 2022

Windwillow

The bolded text is flashback.

Final Fantasy VII

Following their departure from Costa del Sol, Cloud and his friends have set about scaling Mt. Corel, after which they'll reach the mining town of North Corel. Along the way they've had a few fights, not all of them with local monsters. In a bout of fury, Barret left the party and stormed off towards the other side of the mountain, leaving everyone else to find their own way through to North Corel.

But, does he have a good reason to be so obstinate?

Chapter Twenty-Five: Barret's Homecoming

Scene One

Barret's abrupt departure perplexed his friends, leaving them uncertain and really quite intrigued. As he plodded away from the Mako reactor and Yuffie began to bicker about wanting to go to the Gold Saucer, Red XIII had done some critical thinking and formulated a hypothesis about the source of the issue. But whatever his ideas were, he kept them to himself and didn't involve the rest of the party. The miner, Montana, continued to guide them past the Mako reactor's foul smoke stacks towards the mining town of North Corel. Their travels carried them through a long series of train tracks, up and down over winding roads, until at last they came to the end of the path. Problem being, the bridge wasn't down.

"I forgot to tell you!" Montana muttered as he slapped a hand to his head and bowed it. His memory had failed him again, and the most important part. "There are two railways that lead to North Corel. This road's been blocked off by Shinra at the far end, so we can't get through that way. We have to cross this bridge," he moaned. "And I forgot that the controls are on the other railroad track!"

"You old bat!" snarled Yuffie as she threw a fit and began to stomp her feet, flailing her arms. "What do you mean you forgot?!" she hissed. "What, did you forget your Ginkgo Biloba or something?! You live here! Why-" As she dodged Tifa's fist, Yuffie began to flail madly. "And you! Get some anger management therapy!" she screamed. "Why do you always have to try and hit people?!"

"Sounds more like you need the anger management therapy..." sighed Red XIII. While Yuffie seethed and mouthed bad words in his direction, Red XIII simply sighed and turned a lazy eye to Cloud, who realized what he was about to say and immediately agreed. There was really no need for words, since both of them knew what was coming. "Cloud, please just go before something happens to one of us..." he moaned. "Are we in agreement?"

Had he refused, Cloud might have incurred Tifa's wrath. Or, even worse, Aerith might come up with one of her "plans." So, Cloud left the party at the bottom of the lower path by the raised bridge and trekked back up the tracks to the upper path. The road's railroad tracks narrowed so it was just wide enough for a single train car to pass, given that this was a supply route as opposed to a main railway.

Cloud navigated the slim margin between the broken tracks and its opposite end, finding himself on a new platform. The new area's tracks led around a circular path that ended at a boarded up barricade set up by Shinra, though there were maintenance tunnels and rope ladders that remained serviceable. Around a narrow corner, the control booth stood precariously overlooking the raised bridge down below. With the controls situated inside a tiny shack, he'd need to slip through the rubble to get there. Once he'd done so, Cloud's only task was to operate the controls and drop the bridge. As he maneuvered through the narrow passage to do so, Aerith and the others waited eagerly below. Aerith waved her hand eagerly at Cloud, prompting him to get the job done.

Just as his fingers reached for the controls, Cloud heard a violent squawking noise from up above. Startled, he turned to find a Cockatrice dashing towards him from the railways just above him. He muttered a curse and moved to draw his sword, but found that he didn't have room inside the small space he was in. As the monster dropped to meet his gaze and lifted its vile eye of petrifaction, Cloud anticipated having to use his materia to blow it - and the control shack - to pieces in order to save himself, damning the whole point he'd come there for.

As it turns out, he didn't have to. Before the Cockatrice's eye ray could fire, it was set upon by a hail of bullets that ripped it to shreds. Shot after shot broke bone and ripped sinew, until finally there wasn't a Cockatrice. What remained of the monster crumpled into a heap of remains as Barret dropped to the elevated platform just in front of Cloud. With a shrug, he extended his fist and was promptly punched in the gut.

"Don't give me that!" Cloud scolded as Barret reeled, gripping his injured belly. As Barret fell back and glared at him, Cloud flipped him off. He was in no mood for any of his crap. "You don't get to be all cool after pulling the stunt you just did back there..." he growled. But, he extended a hand to grappled Barret's, tightening it hard enough to cause discomfort. "Whatever. I just don't want you to do anything stupid like that again, you hear me?"

"Heard, heard..." groaned Barret as he brushed the dust from his pants. In all the confusion, he'd almost forgotten that he'd stormed off like an immature teenager. With a shrug, Barret folded his arms and exhaled sharply. "Y'see, after I took off, I did a lot of thinking. About a lot of stuff. Somehow I ended up climbing up here... and then I got curious and climbed up higher. Then I found this Cockatrice nest-"

"You sicced the damn Cockatrice on me?! You idiot!" snarled Cloud as he lifted Barret's face to meet his own. "If I didn't have more to worry about, I would kick your sorry butt! But I do have more to worry about," he sighed, "so I'm gonna let it slide..." With a flip of the switch, Cloud's hand began the process of lowering the bridge for his friends to pass.

"Uh... Cloud?" Barret stammered as he lifted a finger to point behind Aerith and the rest, where a six-legged monstrosity was in the process of chasing them. As the Bagnadrana's legs ripped into the train tracks roaring after his friends, Cloud mouthed a foul word and he and Barret shimmied through the narrow passageway towards the bridge.

Scene Two

While Cloud headed off to lower the bridge and came across Barret (and Barret accidentally sent a monster after him), the remainder of the party waited faithfully at the bridge's lower level awaiting it to be lowered. All throughout, Yuffie complained and was promptly bonked by Tifa. Aerith, Red XIII, and Montana simply waited quietly. That all changed eventually, but for a while it was peaceful.

"Stop hitting me!" Yuffie shouted as she stomped her feet in anger, fists clenched and steam popping from her ears. She had just been whacked by Tifa, and was, understandably, unhappy. The two of them had quite the... interesting, love-hate dynamic. "Just 'cause I wanna get going, don't get violent! You big bully!" she booed, sticking her tongue out at Tifa.

"Please remind me: Why did Cloud let her join us?" wondered Red XIII as he cocked his head towards Aerith. Aerith could simply shrug in response. "If everything she contributes is violence and vulgarity, I have to question what he saw in her..." he whispered, quiet enough that Yuffie couldn't hear.

"Oh, hush..." Aerith whispered with a smile, one that Red XIII had learned to hate. "She's awfully fun to be around right? If we didn't have her, we never could have gotten this far, remember?" she giggled as she watched Yuffie continue to taunt Tifa. "But, um..." Aerith groaned as Tifa went after Yuffie again. "Maybe it... um... She's fun to be around... right?" Aerith moaned as her head dropped, along with Red XIII's. Her argument seemed to have fallen apart.

Throughout this, Montana stood to the side and more or less let everything play out. These were his benefactors, the people who saved him, but they were awfully odd. He also spent a lot of time thinking... about what might be happening in North Corel, and where he'd seen Barret before. Perhaps the avalanche had rattled his brains, but Montana was certain he'd met him at some point. Everything came to an abrupt halt, however, as the party heard a faint rumbling coming their way.

"Oh, what now?!" snapped Yuffie as she made an obscene gesture to Tifa. The two had been bickering for quite a while, and apparently she was becoming bold enough to challenge Tifa. "Did Barret come crying back to- Oh. My. Gawd!" Yuffie shrieked as she ran to embrace Tifa, who struggled to repel her. Her efforts quickly turned to damage control as the six-legged mutant beast called a Bagnadrana began to barrel down the tracks in their direction. Yuffie shrieked, turned to run, noticed that the bridge was still up, and shrieked again louder. "Dammit! Why isn't the bridge-" As Yuffie cried, the bridge creaked and began to lower. "Ooh, nice timing..." she crooned.

"It's still coming at us, dummy!" Tifa snapped as she took Yuffie by the shoulders and pushed her towards the bridge. The bridge slowly clicked into place, and as Yuffie turned she saw the Bagnadrana gaining ground on them (and she shrieked yet again). For such a huge beast, its speed was remarkable. "Run!" yelled Tifa as she turned to run with her friends. "There's no way I can kill that thing!"

The Bagnadrana was a particularly nasty mutant, kind of a cross between a scorpion and a giant lizard. Its six brutish legs carried it slowly but steadily, each step bearing down on the party with overwhelming power. And true to Tifa's words, she probably couldn't kill it in time before it mauled them. It was big enough that even her hardened fist might be ineffective. The party turned and ran through the now-lowered bridge, with Tifa and Yuffie at the front of the line. Given the monster's bulk, they quickly passed the bridge long before the Bagnadrana could catch up. At the end of the bridge, the train tracks continued straight into the path of several centipede like creatures with mushroom caps on their heads, which stood straight up and revealed several sets of red eyes. They were more monsters called Search Crowns, known for their laser attacks. This became clear as soon as they began to fire.

"Yuffie! Let's take care of them!" Tifa shouted as she ran towards the Crowns and picked up speed. It would be her task to deal with the enemy in the front, until Cloud returned. Drawing her fists to her side, Tifa hardened them and cupped them together at her hip.

"Don't you tell me what to do!" Yuffie screamed as she snatched her shuriken from her back, running frantically towards the Search Crowns. "And it's better than fighting that other thing!" she shouted as she skidded to a sharp halt, kicking up dust as she stopped. She turned back to the charging Bagnadrana and her face dropped low enough to hurt her jaw. The monster was actually speeding up, and was closing in on Aerith and the others quickly. "Aerith! Don't let it catch you!" Yuffie yelled, pausing only to return to charging the Search Crowns.

As the least athletic of the group, Aerith and Montana were in the most danger, especially with Montana's injured leg. Most of the way he had to stumble until Aerith hoisted him onto Red XIII's back and the group continued to run. Aerith's group continued running, but it was towards Tifa's group and the Search Crowns, who had already begun to fire their laser beams at Yuffie and Tifa. Tifa let out a loud grunt and thrust her hands forward at the oncoming beams, an action that at first seemed to do nothing.

"The hell was that supposed to be?!" screamed Yuffie as she dodged a series of rays, her agile feet dancing across the ground. Gripping her shuriken behind her, Yuffie hurled her weapon forward and cut through three Search Crowns. Before it came back, the laser beams approached Yuffie, with seemingly no time to dodge. Yuffie gave a shrill scream and closed her eyes, then she felt a sharp cushion of pressure push her back. Tifa's earlier attack had released a blast of pressurized air that met and neutralized the lasers. Though she nearly foamed at the mouth, Yuffie caught her weapon defiantly and shot a death glare at Tifa, who grinned and shrugged it off.

While Tifa and Yuffie engaged the Search Crowns, the Bagnadrana continued to gain ground. Despite their best efforts, Aerith and Red XIII were beginning to lose the race. As Red XIII kept running while carrying Montana, he cursed beneath his breath. There had to be a confrontation sooner or later. He flipped around and launched Montana from his back, turning on his paw and skidding to a halt. As Montana fell unceremoniously to the ground, he watched as Aerith snapped her staff open.

"Aerith, get back! I'll fight it!" Red XIII screamed as he began to charge the Bagnadrana. "You can't fight it yourself! It'll kill you!" he exclaimed, his mane igniting like a candelabra. To his shock, she defiantly stood her ground as the Bagnadrana approached. Its fangs could snap her like kindling, if she took its charge. "Aerith, don't do it!" Red XIII yelled as he picked up his pace. Refusing to leave her post, Aerith took a deep breath and prepared for the assault.

Before it could reach her, the Bagnadrana suddenly and abruptly stopped in its tracks, a strange and sudden convulsion ceasing its movement. A confused Aerith watched as a thin line split through the monster's head, culminating in the Bagnadrana falling in half with Cloud's sword cleaving through it. As she gave a sharp cry of relief at Cloud's arrival, Aerith caught sight of four hatches opening.

"Everyone, get down!" exclaimed Aerith as she hit the ground. Her friends followed suit as Barret launched a barrage of bullets that shredded the Search Crowns to bits. The monsters crumpled into puddles of flesh and goo, and Barret snapped his barrels shut with a triumphant grunt as he slid to a halt. Aerith snapped her staff shut and Cloud began to approach with a smile on his face. "Cloud! Thank God you-"

"God damn that hurts!" screamed Montana as he skittered to his feet, clutching at the wounds he'd received when Red XIII bucked him off. His road rash hurt almost as much as his exhaustion from the chase. As Montana continued to curse, Aerith's smile slowly faded. Now, she had to heal him again...

Scene Three

Montana's wounds ended up being superficial, and Aerith spent only a few moments restoring him to health. Though Red XIII apologized sheepishly, Tifa had to keep Montana from battering him in anger. Cloud and Barret rejoined the party and explained what had happened up above. To Barret's relief, Cloud didn't mention that he had literally dropped a Cockatrice on his head. Yuffie, as usual, railed at the pair, dodged a punch from Tifa, and quickly dropped the issue for fear of survival.

The party continued on down the train tracks, which thankfully were monster-free. Just a few meters ahead, though, they encountered a large obstruction: the tracks ended as they were boarded up, sealed by Shinra to prevent travel through the area. After Yuffie cursed the Shinra out a bit, they were forced to find another way around. It didn't take long for them to find a huge, hanging bridge across a large span of empty mountain. The bridge looked sturdy enough, though it was only large enough for only two to cross at a time. Cloud took point, as Tifa joined at his side and the others shuffled through as best they could.

"Is it just me," said Red XIII as the bridge began to sway, "or am I the only one nervous about our... um... travels across this little gangplank?" he wondered, eyes darting around. There was an odd air about the place, one that was both familiar and unknown at the same time. It was like an odd, foul stench hung in the air like a monster was around, but he saw nothing. "I'm not seeing any danger yet, but..."

"Yeah, this place creeps me out!" Yuffie shuddered, clutching her stomach with a moan. "Why does the damned thing have to move so much?! I, uh... not that I'm afraid or anything!" she muttered with a huff. She was right, though; the bridge seemed like it would only barely hold, and her motion sickness was starting to take effect. As they continued across the long, long bridge, the party felt a sudden burst of heat from below them. A pair of spherical, flaming orbs soared up from beneath the bridge. "That... doesn't look good..." Yuffie moaned.

While the heat intensified, the orbs began to grow larger and larger, eventually reaching the size of the party side by side. A set of nasty teeth tore open from the spheres and snarled with a growling roar, two tiny arms emerging as well. They were incendiary monsters, Bombs, mutated beasts formed by compressed Mako gas solidifying into a material form. Cloud quickly stepped in front of Tifa and drew his blade, preparing to catch them if they charged.

"Don't hit 'em!" Cloud looked over his shoulder to find a frantic Barret gripping it and pulling him back. Before he could argue, Barret shoved him backwards and whirled to meet Tifa with a look of desperation. "Freeze them, now!" he shouted. When Tifa hesitated, Barret began to fume. "Just do it! Or we're all dead!"

Tifa nodded and moved to the front of the party. She clapped her hands together and a ring of green flames began to rotate around her, bursting into several orbs that coalesced in front of her to reveal Shiva. Shiva wasted no time in throwing her hands out wrist to wrist, a large mass of snow forming between her palms. When Shiva clapped her palms together a huge sheet of white energy shot forward that engulfed the Bombs, trapping them in ice. As the monsters plopped harmlessly to the floor, Shiva shattered into ice.

"Okay... then..." Cloud muttered, sheathing the Buster Sword with a tilt of his head. Turning back to Barret, he folded his arms with a huff. "What was that all about?" he asked pointedly. "Think I couldn't cut it or something? I didn't need Tifa's magic to do that. Did you think I couldn't handle it? Makes me feel like you don't think I'm good enough..."

Wordlessly Barret brushed past Cloud, infuriating him. He gripped one of the frozen Bombs and tossed it far into the distance, and when it had passed several meters he fired a shot of air at the monster. The Bomb exploded into a titanic maelstrom of burning hot flame, shaking the bridge and nearly toppling it from the force. While the party reeled, Cloud began to curse him out before realizing that, if he had cut it, the bridge - and the lot of them - would have been incinerated into dust.

"Y-you-" Cloud gasped, whirling to find a very serious looking Barret staring at the remaining Bomb. Understanding, Cloud gripped it with both hands and hurled it as far away as he could. As it fell several meters into the depths of the mountain, he heard a loud explosion. The Bomb must have taken out a chunk of whatever was below them, but they were safe. "How did you know that?" he choked hoarsely. "How did you know what the monster could do? Have you been here before or something?"

Barret remained silent, merely closing his eyes and bowing his head, seemingly in shame. For what was unclear, but Cloud could see the pain in his friend's eyes and decided to let the matter drop. Slowly, Cloud lifted his hand and gestured for the rest of the party to follow, but as he passed Barret, Montana seemed to narrow in on him. Though he said nothing, Montana was clearly cold as he shoved him out of the way and continued forward. Red XIII watched and bowed his head, his suspicions confirmed.

So, the man he hates really is Barret...

Scene Four

The rest of the journey was uneventful. Through to the end of the tracks Barret remained silent as Montana stormed past him and rushed into town. While Cloud and the others were confused, Red XIII walked side by side with Barret and nudged him with his nose as they walked towards the slum of North Corel. And it really was a slum. The buildings of North Corel consisted of shacks, shanties, and overturned ruined train cars that had been converted into makeshift housing. Its inhabitants shuffled about in rags and old overalls, the women in tattered tunics and the children dressed in whatever clothing they'd managed to salvage from the trash.

"This is awful..." Tifa gasped as she held a hand to her mouth, overwhelmed by the misery of the town. The adults having giving up hope was one thing; even the children had. Seeing their despair frightened, saddened, and angered her all at once. "And all this is because someone collaborated with Shinra?! Whoever it is," she said as she beat her fist in her palm, "I wanna sock 'em in the gut!"

"Likewise," growled Cloud as he folded his arms angrily. "And I want to take first crack at the bastard!" Cloud snarled as he grit his teeth. "I'm sick that I ever worked for them, but... whoever did this ought to be ashamed of themselves!"

"Oh. My. Gawd! What the hell, man?!" Yuffie fumed as she pounded her feet, a blush of fury tinting her cheeks. She couldn't help but wonder if Wutai would look like this one day. And damned if she'd let that happen. "Where's the sucker that did this?! Show him to me, so I can put my foot up his-"

"That is enough!" snarled Red XIII, surprising everyone in the party. For all his usual calmness, Cloud could see a pained soul behind his weary eyes. As Red XIII turned his eyes to a silent Barret, he closed them tightly, as if to wish away what he'd seen. "We've all been fooled by Shinra. Blaming one person for all this only perpetuates their crimes! Think, maybe..." he paused. "Maybe there's a story we haven't heard? Maybe he-"

"No," Barret stated flatly. Red XIII's eyes went wide, swiveling to meet his friend's ashen face. "The one who did this is a Grade-A bastard," he said quietly as he closed his eyes. "And I bet he'll rot in hell... That man deserves all the spite people can give him!" Barret growled as his eyes snapped open. Red XIII simply shook his head as Barret walked unflinchingly into town.

As Barret continued to stride into town, Cloud and the others noticed Montana talking to a group of ex-miners near the entrance to North Corel. They whispered to each other and stared straight at Barret, who walked up to them and silently bowed his head. To Cloud's shock, Montana slugged Barret in the face and the other miners proceeded to beat and punch him.

"Oh, hell no! Nuh-uh!" Yuffie snarled as she stormed forward, drawing her shuriken with a single swipe. For all the gripes she'd had with Barret, to her, they were still friends and comrades. Seeing him being treated like that filled her with fury. "Not to my boy, you ain't! Get your dirty ol' mitts off him, you punks!" she growled as she walked towards Montana and flipped him off.

"You are way out of line, Montana!" yelled Cloud as he angrily took Montana by the shoulder and shook him. No matter what he did, though, Cloud couldn't quell the burning hatred in the miner's eyes. Montana seemed possessed with an otherworldly anger. "What did Barret ever do to you? He's the one who wanted to bring you back here in the first-"

"Please, enough..." gasped Barret as he clutched his wounded stomach, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his Gun-arm. When Yuffie rushed to attack the miners, Barret grabbed her by the shoulder and shoved her backwards. While she reeled, Yuffie continued to barrel her way through to Montana. Barret stood between the two, eyes closed, and patted Yuffie's head.

"Yeah, you heard him, assholes!" announced Yuffie with a huff, puffing her chest out and giving the miners a double middle finger with both hands. "He said that's enough! So take my advice, and go-"

"I meant enough from you guys!" Barret snapped, startling Yuffie. To her shock, she looked into Barret's face and saw a mixture of fury and the same despair she saw in the people of North Corel, like he'd given up just like they had. Stunned, her eyes could only widen in confusion (with a bit of anger at being scolded). Barret simply shook his head as Montana and the others departed the scene with looks of disgust. "Just watch yourselves around here..." he sighed, turning towards the town's center.

Tifa's mouth stood agape, her fists clenched in rage. If she'd been any closer, she'd have finished Yuffie's threats with action. Through all the time she'd been with Barret, Tifa had never seen him act so meek. And watching him be pummeled like that, with no resistance, filled her with just as much hatred for the miners as she had for the collaborator, whoever it was that caused all this pain for Barret. For the man she'd looked up to, to take that beating, there had to be another part to the story. What it was, she didn't know. All her heart cried out for was a way to ease Barret's pain.

Scene Four

North Corel as it was - or, rather, what it had become - existed in a state of decay and despair that the party could scarcely believe. Their industry had atrophied, leaving poverty and misery in its wake. With the end of coal usage, North Corel's exports had halted nearly one hundred percent. Its inhabitants were reduced to menial labor, collecting junk, and peddling whatever they could salvage to the patrons of the Gold Saucer. It was a lonely and miserable existence. The adults' lack of hope bled into the children's hearts as well, fostering depression and anxiety in insupportable numbers. Among the teenagers, most either left town or became drunks alongside their parents.

In their travels through the town, the party was subjected to the hateful stares and vile insults hurled at Barret. In some cases the townspeople ignored them entirely, while the ones who didn't took the time to harrass and insult them and their connection to Barret, calling them unlucky idiots chained to a time bomb. More than a few times, Tifa had to restrain Yuffie. On their way through North Corel, Aerith divided her time between healing Barret's injuries and asking the people about what had happened to make them hate Barret so much. Most of the replies she received were vague, vulgar, or both.

The slums served as a stop over for visitors to the Gold Saucer, which floated high above the desert. There were shops that sold and traded basic goods, but there was little to no materia. Normally that would affect Yuffie more, but she was so swept up in the misery that she scarcely gave it a thought. Watching a group of preteens begging for money almost brought tears to her eyes, and more than once she found herself thinking the unthinkable: giving money to the people of North Corel, or in some horrific instances, giving away her materia. Those notions were quickly abandoned, but it still affected her terribly.

Finally, at the rope way to the Gold Saucer, Barret stopped walking when they reached the gondola to the amusement park. He took in a deep breath as he stared at the cobbled together ticket station and its well dressed attendants, turned to the party, and exhaled with a sharp breath. It was time to come clean.

"This town didn't exist until four years ago..." Barret sighed as he folded his arms, finally staring into his friends' eyes one by one. While Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith stared back intently, Yuffie averted her eyes and Red XIII said nothing. "Four years ago there was a town called Corel. It was an old mining town, and my home. The only reason this Corel exists..." He moaned as he swallowed hard, his eyes hardening as he looked at Cloud. "The only reason it exists is 'cause I destroyed the first one."

"What kind of answer is that?!" Cloud shouted as he clenched his fist, eyes glaring into Barret's soul. While he'd only known him for a few weeks, Cloud had never seen Barret act so... weak, so meek, like he'd abandoned hope. "You destroyed the town? How?" he murmured as he placed a hand on Barret's shoulder. "What in the world do you mean?"

"Yeah, mister!" Yuffie snarled as she point an accusing finger straight at Barret. He'd made her so depressed she wanted to loan money to the townspeople, which for her was a cardinal sin. "Explain yourself! You've been blowing crap up for as long as I've known you, but I can't believe you blew up your own home! No, nuh-uh!" Yuffie's eyes burned as she put her face in Barret's own. When his eyes stared back at her with no expression, she only became angrier.

"Think back..." Red XIII said, speaking up so the rest of the party would turn their attention to himself. "Montana gave us the answer already. Four years ago, Shinra built a Mako reactor. Then, for some reason, they razed the town and killed its inhabitants. Whatever that reason is, there was a collaborator who made it possible..." He closed his eyes as he bowed his head. "And that collaborator was Barret."

A sharp gasp escaped Aerith's lips and Tifa's eyes widened like dinner plates at the revelation. Cloud slowly put the pieces together, and as he did the scenario made sense. When Montana talked about the collaborator who helped Shinra build their reactor, it was Barret. The reason everyone hated him was because he'd made it all possible in the first place.

"The original Corel was a town that mined coal," Barret said, "back before Shinra developed Mako. Everyone relied on coal for fuel, all 'round the world. It wasn't like we were rich or anything, but we had enough to build a great village in the middle of nowhere. There were a couple hundred of us... and when Mako came around, we could barely keep our kids fed. Then that Shinra whore, Scarlet, came to us with an offer... and the only one of us with any sense was my friend Dyne..."

Scene Five

"Shinra Inc. has offered to build a Mako reactor near this town," said the red-clad executive Scarlet, head of Shinra's weapons development divisions, book ended with two Shinra soldiers in the village headman's living room. She was also involved with her fellow executives in establishing new business ventures, mostly weapons but sometimes the construction of new facilities. "We'll pay all the costs as long as you supply the land. I guarantee you that we'll provide a wealth of new jobs to your village and make it even more prosperous than it was before Shinra."

"And at what cost?" asked a fair-haired young man dressed in overalls, seated on the couch. He was Barret's best friend, Dyne, one of the head coal miners of the village and the only holdout to the plan being approved. "You're telling us to throw away the coal our grandfathers shed their blood to mine, act like it meant nothing! Coal is our livelihood, and it always has been!" Dyne growled as he stared into Scarlet's rotten soul. "You don't know a damn thing about us! And now you want us to trust outsiders with our hearts and souls?!"

"I suggest you watch your language," Scarlet growled as her vicious nature bubbled to the surface, the false benevolence she'd been showing almost melting her makeup away. Still, she composed herself and produced a slip of paper and a pen. "Sign this and we'll provide you with everything you could ever ask for. We're offering to drag you out of the gutter, remember," she snarled. As her eye twitched, Scarlet nearly revealed her true face before restoring her fake smile. "Shinra Inc. can rescind the offer at any time. I ask that you not lose this opportunity."

"Dyne, calm down..." said Barret, both arms intact as he sat next to Dyne. This was long before he'd strapped a gun to his forearm. Back then, he was whole and intact. Dyne continued to tremble as Barret took him by the shoulders and embraced him. "This is our only shot, man. Think about Eleanor and Marlene for a second. We build this, they get to have a future. I want you to think about them. I'm not any happier about this than you are, but..."

As he sat, Dyne did indeed turn his thoughts to his family. Their well being was the most important thing in the world to him, but surrendering the livelihood his family had nurtured for generations? For as long as he'd been alive, he'd mined coal. It was something he wanted to pass on to his daughter, though he balked at the idea of her dirtying her hands. But he wanted her to be proud of what her father did day in and day out. Wracking his brain, all his thoughts jumbled, Dyne put his head in his hands and began to silently weep. He'd done all he could...

"In the end," sighed Barret, "we signed the papers and the reactor was constructed. For a while, Shinra kept their promises... Corel's economy picked up again, and the health benefits from the reactor helped a lot of families stay above water. But we didn't put the pieces together... We had to rely on the Shinra army to fight off the monsters they were creating! We lost a lot of people in those attacks..."

"Okay, so I think I get the basic concept..." Tifa said as she folded her arms and bowed her head. There were still a few loose ends, though. "We all got fooled by those creeps. But that doesn't explain why they destroyed Corel. Did they get tired of fighting the monsters and turn on you guys? And, again... Why do you say that you destroyed Corel? Far as I gather, it was Shinra."

"I was the one who got Dyne to agree to the reactor in the first place!" Barret groaned, pressing his hand to his head. "There was... There was an explosion at the reactor, and a swarm of monsters invaded Corel. With the Shinra army we fought them off, but there was a lot of damage done... Houses destroyed, people killed... But after they killed the monsters, they started killing us!"

"That makes no sense, though!" Tifa insisted. Her fist clenched as the details unfolded. "Why would they attack you guys?!" she snarled angrily. "All this because of an explosion?! It's not like they..." Tifa's hands went to her mouth to cover her horror. "Oh, God! They thought it was-?!"

"A terrorist attack, yeah..." moaned Barret as he hung his head. "There was never any evidence, but Shinra still blamed it on us. One day, when Dyne and I were away from the village, they torched it and murdered everyone they could find. I never found out if any of my friends survived, but I doubt it..."

"He-e-e-y! Hey!" Yuffie piped up, forcing her way through the party to meet Barret's gaze. "It's not news that they're bastards, but I wanna know what happened to this Dyne dude! Did he die in the whole massacre thing, too?" she wondered, tilting her head. "You never said he died when you told your story..."

"All that matters is that they all died!" snarled Barret, shocking Yuffie silent. With a sniffle, she stepped away and began to pout. Much as she was angry at being scolded, Yuffie felt just a bit more remorse having brought it up. "I don't know what happened to Dyne, but I lost my wife Myrna and everyone else! I ain't got no more family 'cause of those jackasses!"

"Whoa, whoa, hold the phone!" Tifa said as she stepped up to Barret, her eyes narrowing as she stared into his eyes. When he quickly averted them and closed them, she felt that there was still even more to the story. "What about Marlene?! You still have-" As she prodded, Barret's face contorted deeper and deeper, pain bulging from his every vein. "There's still something you aren't saying! I want you to-"

"Hey!" A voice called out, drawing the attention of Barret and his friends, having come from the gondola operator in the booth just to the south. "Travel fare to the Gold Saucer is zero, so you wanna go? I bet you folks could do with some loosening up!"

Turning with a huff, Barret stormed into the gondola before Tifa could interrogate him further. Cloud turned to each member of the party and received silent approval to go aboard. So, with no cost and Barret seemingly ready to go (or trying to run), he made the decision to head to the Gold Saucer with his friends. He'd soon meet a new one, brush elbows with a murderer, and become a chocobo jockey - all without his consent. The Gold Saucer beckoned, and all that remained was to go there and see what may unfold.

Author's Notes

The original notes for this chapter had Yuffie giving her Heal materia to the children to sell, but in addition to adding too much fat it was a leap to think she'd ever actually do that. So, I just mentioned it in passing.