The pick-up truck breaks down in the middle of the mountains on a highway covered in cracks. The group had opted for the less-traveled route to avoid Shinra, but as the old engine sputters and wheezes, everyone exchanges wary looks.
Tifa pulls to the side of the road.
"Anyone a mechanic, by chance?" she asks.
Nobody is. Aerith pulls a travel map from the glovebox, and Tifa is on her phone.
"No signal," she relays in misery. "I can't call a tow."
"Shit!" Barret slams a palm against the truck bed where he, Cloud, and Nanaki are sitting. "Ain't this just perfect!"
Cloud hops out. Pines dot the foggy ash-colored landscape. The sky is overcast and cool. Aside from the call of a distant falcon and the light patter of animals in the brush, it is silent. They'd been driving for hours, and the sun, a blot behind colorless clouds, is easing low. Yuffie climbs out of the cab, looking sick.
"Well, there's a railroad not far. Looks like tracks lead through," Aerith says, one finger on the map. "Maybe we can follow those into the nearest town."
Barret takes a look. "There ain't nothing nearby. See? Those tracks lead into the desert."
"But it can get us through the mountains," she says. "We can't exactly walk along the highway, this big group of us."
Tifa agrees, "We shouldn't even walk along this backroad. We don't want our survival known. Who knows what else Shinra would do if they found out we survived the Plate drop?"
Yuffie leans on her knees. "I'm just glad we aren't moving anymore… Urk…"
"Motion sickness?" Cloud asks.
"Ugh, don't mention it." She walks to the edge of the road.
The sky will darken soon. They abandon the truck for the railroad tracks, though Tifa insists on leaving a nice note explaining that the rental company should be contacted for removal, and Cloud leads the way into the rocky forest.
The rail tracks are rotting wood held together by rusting steel and overgrown with weeds. The group chats as they walk, Yuffie proclaiming her love of the outdoors and Aerith and Tifa reminiscing about Costa del Sol, but nobody is addressing the real concern. The elfadunk in the room.
Jenova. The man in the black cape. Both are somewhere ahead, and they consume Cloud.
A breeze makes Nanaki halt.
"Do you smell that?" Nanaki asks Cloud. "Mako."
Cloud is about to tell Red to stop with the comments when he detects it, too. A faint trace of certain chemicals.
"There's a Reactor nearby?" Cloud asks. "Way up here?"
"Prolly powers the Gold Saucer," Barret grunts. "Can't exactly put a Reactor straight into the desert sands, so I guess it's back here. Hidden."
The tracks split.
"The Reactor is that way," Nanaki states, pointing upwards with his snout.
"Then we go down," Barret says. "Unless we plannin' on blowin' it up, I don't want wanna go near that thing."
Cloud agrees. Most Reactors aren't staffed by people but rather automated machinery. There's nothing inside for them anyways.
"Let's hurry," Cloud says, picking up the pace.
Barret falls to the rear of the procession, watching the surroundings closely. Too closely, like a man expecting someone or something to be staring back.
"Hey," Cloud says, walking alongside Barret. "You okay?"
The guarded disposition doesn't drop. Organic fingers tap the gun-arm.
"Uh, yeah," Barret replies. "I'm… I'm just fine." Then he regains the usual aggressive front. "Whatchu think, that I like walkin' all damn day?"
Cloud takes the hint and leaves Barret alone.
The route descends through chiseled tunnels and barren slopes. Stunted pines become thorny brush, and the mountains diminish into sandy slates.
Something whines overhead. A buzz. Nanaki perks up.
Cloud pauses. "Do you hear that?"
Nanaki nods, head tilted. "Yes. An airborne vehicle is approaching."
Cloud beckons everyone to hide. He crouches low, watching the skies. Tifa is next to him.
Two black drones come into view. Small, sleek, and fully automated with surveillance equipment built into the undercarriage.
"What are those things?" Tifa whispers.
Cloud's never seen them before. Definitely Shinra-issue. Possibly from Advanced Weaponry, the division under Scarlet, an executive director he's only heard about. She's a ruthless opponent of Hojo's and the reason Shinra's focus shifted to mechanical instead of biological endeavors.
"They're looking for something…" Cloud replies, watching the drones sweep the area.
"Us?"
"Or the General."
Everyone waits until the drones pass.
"There could be more," Cloud says. "We can't be spotted."
"What other tricks Shinra got up their sleeve?" Barret says once they reconvene on the tracks.
Uncertainty falls over Cloud. He's only seen and fought mechanical weapons designed for brute force. These drones, however, exhibit a covert side of the Shinra programs that he knows nothing about.
"Just more crap for us to blow up later," Barret says. "Maybe I shoot the next one down."
The cooler air breaks into dry heat as they continue. The sun blends into violet bordering blood-red and gold. Shinra colors. Chirping birds and light-footed animals retreat for their nocturnal counterparts stalking and slithering, and the railroad follows a craggy path around the last of the blasted-through range. The foliage is gone. Rocks and sand are predominant now.
Tucked into crevices, signs of life appear. Simple aluminum structures crop up amidst the desolation. People huddle near open cooking fires, faces creased with grime and fatigue. There are feeble shacks and impoverished shops selling scraps of junk. The destitution is staggering.
"This is worse than the sector slums," Tifa says.
Aerith pauses to smile at a child sitting shoeless atop a plastic crate.
In the distance, a desert of unbroken dunes and sandy ridges opens up, and a single massive structure glitters in the sunset. Levels sprout from a central spire, like colorful mushroom caps. Spotlights swing at its base.
Barret spits at the sight.
"What is that?" Cloud asks.
"Ain't you never heard of the Gold Saucer?"
"It's an amusement park," Tifa offers. "All those branches are different areas with roller coasters, arcade games, chocobo racing, even a museum and a theater. I've never been before."
They've entered an established town of sorts. The dirt road is paved, and there are signs for motels and cafes. A proper avenue of commerce replaces scrap heaps and junkyards, and there's a tramway leading out across the desert supported by heavy cables. This seems to be the main conduit out of town and an attraction for affluent outsiders.
A sign near the tramway illuminates with a big yellow arrow: To the Gold Saucer.
"Oooh, we should go," Yuffie says. "Just, ya know, to see if Sephiroth is there."
There's a parking lot further out, with restaurants and bars catering to tourists on their way to the amusement park.
A cable car pulls into the tramway station. Doors open, and passengers discharge from the Saucer with their chocobo-shaped hats and plastic bags of souvenirs. The tram conductors stand outside, counting admittance and smoking cigarettes.
"And totally weird eyes," one is saying to the other. "I mean, the tram is free so I couldn't kick him off, but man, he gave me the creeps."
Tifa nudges Cloud, motioning towards the conversation.
"Not every day you see one of 'em Shinra freaks. I thought they were all dead."
"I gave security at the Saucer a head's up. Who the hell wears a long black robe to an amusement park in the desert?"
Cloud is at full attention. "That has to be Sephiroth," he whispers to Tifa.
"But at the Gold Saucer?" she whispers back. "What could he possibly want there?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."
No one is particularly convinced, but Cloud is already boarding the tram. Everyone follows, Yuffie especially excited.
The tram clears the station as night descends. Faint starlight scatters above beige sands. Passengers flutter with anticipation. The Gold Saucer is a beacon of color and lights and the promise of respite.
The car pulls into the dock, and immediate cheery music greets them. A cartoon chocobo with neon arrows shows the way to the ticket booths. The Gold Saucer is a technical wonder, a stubborn fortress of discs amidst the sands. Impossible infrastructure somehow holds steady. Cloud could almost forget they are in the desert.
"Okay, let's split up," he says, surveying the giant map on the screens.
Each section of the Saucer is a unique Square, and there are seven of them.
Aerith reads aloud from the map, "Speed Square. Test your trigger finger on our fabulous shooting roller coasters. Battle Square. Do you have what it takes to pass the gauntlet? Chocobo Square. Win big at the races! Wonder Square. Check out the latest arcade games and have your fortune read. Ghost Square. Don't let the fun stop when you need a break. Spend the night and treat yourself to an overnight stay. Round Square —" she pauses. "Wow, okay, this place is huge."
The map doesn't show much detail.
"Hmm, there's a museum in the Battle Square," Cloud says, though he isn't sure where the General could have gone. None of this seems interesting.
The central hub splits into escalator tubes leading to each Square. The night is advancing, and through the open ceilings, the starlit sky is deep ebony.
Aerith and Nanaki head to the Chocobo Square. "I want to see the races," she says.
"Be careful," Cloud says. "Just remember, we're here for Sephiroth. If you spot him, call me. Don't engage, and don't let him see you."
"Too dangerous, I know," she says offhand. She smiles and darts away with Nanaki bounding after her. Of course, she can take care of herself, Cloud knows, but that encounter from the cargo ship has rattled his head. Somehow Aerith's fully recovered from that, or she's doing a good job hiding it.
"So where shall we start?" Tifa says.
"Ghost square!" Yuffie shouts. "Sounds spooky."
Cloud admits he is curious about the various parks. He can't remember ever being in a place like this.
"What about the Round Square?" Tifa points at the map. "Says there's a gondola ride that goes through the whole park. We could scope out the other Squares from above."
It's a good idea.
Barret stands apart, arms crossed. "I'll...keep an eye on the entrance here."
"Alright, call if you see anything," Cloud says.
The trio leaves Barret and makes their way to the middle disc beneath amber lighting and neon. The gondola only allows two occupants at a time, but Yuffie squeezes on anyways, much to the chagrin of the staff who ultimately don't care enough to argue with her. Cloud scours the surroundings as Yuffie leans over him.
"Oh, lookit that!" She points across his view. "And that!"
But it's just fireworks. No sign of the black cape, though the ride was designed to showcase the aerial decorations above, not permit clandestine monitoring of attendants below.
"How pretty," Tifa remarks at a blossom of fireworks. Her eyes meet Cloud's. He is lost for a second, his mind agreeing that she is so pretty, but then he gets his thoughts back on track.
"He must be here…" he says under his breath.
"Wonder Square," Yuffie decides once they leave the gondola.
The Wonder Square is on the lowest tier, taking up impressive real estate in a sprawling maze of arcade games. The chime of a thousand games, the roar of laughter, and the constant click of button-mashing muddle into a cacophony. Popcorn wafts in the air, and the floor is sticky. One could spend hours in here before canvassing the whole ground.
The sights make him dizzy. All this noise.
"I have to go," Cloud says. He knows the General can't be here. "You two feel free to stay. I'm gonna check out the Battle Square."
"Ha. Of course you are," Yuffie replies. "Better brush up for when you're ready to face me again." But she's all grins without antagonism.
Tifa waves as Cloud heads out.
When he reaches the Battle Square, he finds the arena closed. Maintenance, the sign reads. He should've known since nobody else was heading this way. At least it's quieter. The lobby is a huge building with soaring ceilings of skylights and stone white pillars.
The colosseum entry is on the far end, and an empty reception desk is near a door to the right. This leads to the museum, which exhibits rare artifacts that Dio, the owner of the Gold Saucer, collects during his travels.
The museum door is ajar. There's nobody else around, but he hears footsteps within. Shuffling.
He eases open the door with one hand.
"Hello?"
The interior is glass cases of trinkets and intricate pottery, shiny jewels and faded woven fabrics. There are suits of armor and a myriad of other curiosities.
The shuffling sound is near.
Cloud navigates, searching for the source. At the end of an aisle, a man in a black cape stands, head down, staring into a case.
Cloud's heart jolts. He draws his sword. Except this man's stature is not the same as the General's. He's hunched over a bit, unsteady.
"...Who are you?" Cloud says.
The man in the black cape turns, but his face is hidden. The hood is low over his eyes. The shadow speaks. It's voice is so low, Cloud can hardly make out the words, but it sounds like it said—
"Black materia?" Cloud repeats. There is no such thing. This man must be confused.
The black cape shifts. The head tilts. Cloud steps closer.
"Who are you?" Cloud asks again.
No reply, but a bitter rasp of breath. The cloak turns and dashes.
"Wait!" Cloud shouts, running after.
But that flicker of black is just out of reach. Just out of sight. Cloud propels through the aisles, past all manner of priceless items, yet he can't seem to catch up.
The cape vanishes through an emergency exit. Cloud throws the door open onto a stairwell, but all is quiet. He listens for signs of which way Sephiroth could've gone—because there's nobody else who could move that fast—but he hears only muted noise from the other Squares.
He looks up. He looks down. He spends thirty minutes fruitlessly searching. It's no use. He's lost the trail.
It frustrates him to no end. Sephiroth was here, right here. It had to be the General, disguising himself in public.
He dials Tifa while retracing his steps into the museum. He stands where he'd seen the man in black, hoping for any clue. The display case is full of shards of materia, larger than the standard manufactured orbs.
"He's here," Cloud says once Tifa answers. "Sephiroth. I saw him in the museum. He's searching for something—"
"What?" It's very loud wherever she is.
"He's here!" Cloud hisses, trying to keep his voice low. "I don't know where he went."
"Cloud? I'm sorry, I can't hear you."
Static crisps the line.
"Tifa? You there?"
She is, but it's a garbled mess. "I can't hear you. Come to the Wonder Square."
Then she hangs up.
Cloud takes a breath. Black materia… It sounds nonsensical. Materia only manifests in colored hues. Well, except for that pale materia Aerith has. Maybe she'd know more about this.
He cuts through the Wonder Square, heart hammering, eyes sorting through each person on high alert. He finds Tifa and Yuffie near a gigantic animatronic moogle.
"I saw him," Cloud says when he's near. "He was in the Battle Square. At the museum, looking for something called a Black Materia."
The information pours out of him so fast he hardly realizes that there's a third set of eyes in his audience. Yellow pupils watch from a black cat perched atop a stuffed moogle. The cat wears a tiny golden crown. Tifa and Yuffie don't seem alarmed by its presence.
"Uh, what is that?" Cloud asks, pausing in his frantic tale, not caring to divulge classified information to unfamiliar ears.
"Oh," the cat replies. "Apologies. I am Cait Sith."
As if Cloud should know what the hell that means. He looks the creature up and down. It's a cat alright, sitting atop an oversized moogle doll.
"Are you...alive?" Cloud pokes at the cat, who jumps back on its hind legs without losing its balance.
"I'm an enchanted fortune teller!" the cat says. "And this here is my mog. My means of travel."
The moogle is the largest Cloud has ever seen and clearly some sort of robot. Its eyes are glassy domes. The small purple batlike wings are leathery cloth, and its body is white fabric. It stands nearly as tall as Cloud.
"Okay, sure," Cloud says. He pulls Tifa and Yuffie away, intent on enlisting their help to find Sephiroth.
But the giant moogle steps in front.
"Wanna know your fortune?" the cat says. "I can find missing people, too. You looking for someone?"
"Ask it about Sephiroth!" Yuffie says, then she turns to the fortune teller. "Where can we find him? Cloud wants to know."
Cait Sith puts paws to temple and concentrates. The mog shakes and jiggles with some internal mechanism. A printed ticket spits out of the mog's mouth.
"Read it outloud," Yuffie prompts Cloud.
Cloud sighs, not happy to play along, but he examines the strip of paper. "Be careful of forgetfulness. Something big will happen after summer. Your lucky color is... red?" He looks at the cat. "What the hell is this?"
"W-wait a minute," Cait Sith says, adjusting his crown. "Lemme try that again."
He pauses and concentrates. Cloud is not impressed. This is wasting their time. The moogle dances again and another ticket spits out. Cloud reads it quickly. But it's very different from the last one.
"What is it!" Yuffie says. "Tell us!"
"...What you pursue will be yours," Cloud reads. "But you will lose something dear."
The group is silent. The cat repositions himself atop the mog.
"Oh dear," the cat says. "Oh my. I've never seen something this grave."
Tifa and Yuffie look at Cloud, who wants to toss the silly fortune away. But if there's any inkling of truth that he will get what he pursues...
"Well, that settles it," Cait Sith says, clasping paws together. "I'm going with you. I have to see how this plays out. I've never gotten a fortune this mysterious. And I've read a lot of fortunes, buddy, let me tell you!"
"No," Cloud says. "Nope. You aren't coming with us."
He steps away. Yuffie and Tifa follow, as does Cait Sith. The moogle strides alongside them so the cat is right near Cloud's face.
"Hey, c'mon now," Cait Sith says. "I gotta know what happens to you! It's in my blood to seek the truth of my predictions."
"You have no blood," Cloud replies. "You're a toy. Or something."
"Well, that's not very nice to say. But I'm coming with you whether you like it or not!"
Cloud pauses once they reach the escalator out of the Square.
"Look," he says to Cait Sith, and the moogle's eyes rotate up so Cloud isn't sure which character he should be addressing. He chooses the cat. "Look, we aren't the usual tourists looking for a good time. We're on a serious mission—a dangerous mission—and we don't have time for games or fortunes or whatever. So, no, you aren't coming with us."
The cat's ears go back. "But you haven't gotten a typical fortune. It's both good and bad. I've never seen that before. The stars are telling me you aren't a typical man. This isn't a typical mission."
"The answer is no." We're full up on random companions, Cloud wants to say, but he doesn't want Yuffie to take offense. He's kinda come to like her.
"But…but…." The cat looks at Cloud with round sad eyes.
"No. Go away now." He shoos at Cait Sith.
Reluctantly, the moogle turns. Its vacant eyes stare at the floor in a sullen way. The cat settles on all fours, and the doll walks off into the Wonder Square.
"Geez, what a weirdo," Yuffie comments.
"A waste of our time," Cloud agrees.
He tells them both about the encounter at the museum, the strange words spoken, the mysterious disappearance. Neither of them know what a Black Materia could be.
"I bet it's worth a fortune," Yuffie comments.
Sudden screams grab everyone's attention. They are in the central spire where all the Squares connect, and there's a mad dash from the Speed Square. An exodus pours from the escalator in panic.
"A madman!" someone shouts.
Security guards are arriving. There is panic and chaos as a tide of tourists flees. The guards push past Tifa, Yuffie, and Cloud, urging them to move along while trying to corral the frantic people. A guard's radio crackles.
"Multiple fatalities. Request immediate back-up."
Then another shout erupts from the Battle Square. The guards cannot keep up.
The Battle Square is where he last saw Sephiroth. Had the General created some sort of diversion at the Speed Square so he could return to the museum? To continue whatever he'd been doing before Cloud interrupted?
"C'mon," Cloud shouts, and he pulls Tifa and Yuffie along.
They manage to get through the overwhelmed guards. The escalator to the Battle Square is deserted as they run up. The tinny overhead music is shut off. Screams and shouts drift through the ventilation system.
They emerge into the Battle Square, and at the top of the entry to the colosseum is a lone Shinra MP. Dead. There's blood all over the steps.
"Shinra?!" Tifa cries in alarm. "What're they doing here?"
Cloud rushes forward. Gunshot wounds leak through the MP's chest. The man hasn't been dead long. Shinra's presence can only mean they've located Sephiroth here as well. Except Sephiroth would never use a gun, so this couldn't have been the General's work.
Confused, Cloud races into the lobby with Tifa and Yuffie.
Another Shinra trooper lies bleeding. Red sputters from her mouth. There's a bullet hole in her shoulder and throat. Cloud tries to use his Restore materia to heal her, but the blood loss is too rapid.
"Who did this!?" Tifa urges the woman.
"...a...man...gun-arm…" the trooper gurgles. "A gun-arm… he…"
Then she's gone. The Restore energies curl around her, but can do nothing at this point. Cloud stands. Everything in him is adrenaline and shock.
"Could it be?" Yuffie asks. "Barret?"
Tifa shakes her head, but they are all thinking the same thing. The description of a man with a gun-arm doesn't leave many other suspects. But this…
"Stop right there!" someone shouts.
A fresh contingent of Gold Saucer security guards arrive with guns raised.
"This wasn't us," Cloud says.
Yuffie puts her arms up. "You've got the wrong people!"
"Yep, these are the last of them," one of the guards says. A captain steps forward.
Cloud counts their numbers and knows he can take them out, but bloodshed is the last thing he wants right now.
"Please," Cloud says. "Let us explain. This isn't—"
"Enough lies," the captain cuts him off. "You three are on security footage arriving with a suspicious character matching the description of the attacker, and these heinous murders cannot go unpunished. You'll pay for your crimes below."
Without warning, the captain fires a grenade into the group.
Cloud leaps at it, ready to bat it away, but smoke hisses from it's chamber. It's not an explosive, but a gas. The guards have masks on, and Cloud realizes too late this vapor will knock them out. Yuffie is swooning. Tifa coughs. Cloud grabs her hand, but it's starting to affect him, too. He feels sluggish. The gas is thick around them. He's coughing and choking. Both women fall unconscious, and the guards form a tight perimeter.
"What the hell?" a guard speaks, muffled through his mask. "Why isn't this working on him!?"
"It will," another answers.
The gas burns Cloud's lungs and eyes. Red lasers are on his chest from the guns.
"Down, boy," the captain says to him. "Down."
This poison. This slumber. It's so enticing. He's fighting, but it's hard to see. Difficult to hear. A noise trickles through his skull. And the corners of his vision dim.
The next thing he knows, he's falling. Free-fall down a long dark chute. It spits him onto hard sand, and he lands on his back, the sheath compacting against one shoulder blade. He's in a cavern lit by bulbs tacked into the ceiling. Metal poles support the rock ceiling above.
He hears something else coming down the chute. A woman. She scrambles at the edge, managing to hold on. She dangles.
"Tifa!"
She sees Cloud. "Oh! You're alright!"
"Can you climb back up? That must be the Saucer above us."
She tries, but there's a third person coming down the chute. Yuffie collides with Tifa, and both fall right on top of Cloud, who had been hoping to catch at least one.
Yuffie jumps up. "Ugh, sorry, Cloud."
Tifa rolls over and then stretches her back. "Ouch."
"You both okay?" he asks.
"Yeah," Tifa says. "But where are we?"
A gruff voice answers, startling them, "A desert prison. Corel. A natural entombment surrounded by quicksand. No way outta this place..."
A middle-aged man sits draped in ragged clothes. A long scraggly beard grows beneath his sun-tanned face.
"This is where all the criminals are thrown. Outta the way from those above."
"We aren't criminals," Cloud specifies.
"Ha." The man exposes a row of rotting teeth. "Ain't that subjective. You must be with the others that got thrown down here."
"Others?" Tifa says. "A woman with long brown hair and a red lion-like creature?"
The man nods. "Yep. But they ain't gettin' outta here neither. Nobody is. Oh, they'll toss down scraps once a day. And lower some water. Guess it's their way of makin' this torment last even longer."
Tifa is on her phone, trying to get Barret. "He's not answering," she says dismally. Then she dials Nanaki and Aerith picks up.
"Aerith!" Tifa says. Cloud and Yuffie turn to her. "Where are you? Are you both okay?"
"Yeah," her grainy voice comes through. "We've been tossed out. There was a horrible massacre at one of the Squares. Gunshots fired into the crowd. Everyone ran. We were lucky to get out alive!"
"Who was it shooting? Did you see?"
The line hisses with static. "—wasn't to blame, but I don't know who else it could be. The description—"
"...Aerith?"
"—and Shinra MPs were all over the place. We weren't—"
The line goes dead.
"Shit!" Tifa snaps the PHS shut. Her eyes go to Cloud. "We've got to find them."
They take off through the caverns. The carved corridors twist through dimly lit cells where inmates crouch in squalor. There are remnants of buried structures jutting up from the compacted earth. In one area, two men are digging a grave with their hands to bury a skinny corpse.
The labyrinth eventually opens into a ridge overlooking the desert. The dunes are lit by the surreal ambience of the Saucer above. The sky is shades of navy, and a full moon shines clear.
A familiar shadow stands at the edge.
"Barret!" Tifa yells. She approaches, but he holds his hand out to stop her.
"Ain't got nothing to do with you, Tif," Barret says without facing them. "This somethin' I gotta deal with alone."
"What are you talking about?" she says. "What happened?"
Because he cannot be the same person who opened fire on innocents in the Gold Saucer. Can he? She eyes the gun-arm, had never considered Barret dangerous before. Aerith and Nanaki appear from the caverns but halt once they spot Barret. The stillness and seriousness of his disposition tightens the dry air.
"What is going on?" Aerith says to Tifa. "What is Barret thinking?!"
"It can't be him," Tifa argues. "It can't be true."
"Barret..." Cloud says, also on guard. "Tell us what's going on."
Barret takes a deep breath. He stares at one particular rocky dune where the ridgeline lifts to a sheer cliff.
"It's all my fault. This place… This used to be my hometown, Corel," Barret says. "Until four years ago."
His voice is rigid as he goes on.
Corel was once a coal mining town. Everyone knew each other and families were close.
One day, a woman showed up from Shinra headquarters. Blonde and beautiful, wearing high heels worth more than a year of any miner's salary. Shinra wanted to build a Mako Reactor in the mountains to replace the dirty business of coal mining.
"It will give Corel new life," the woman promised. "Nobody uses coal anymore, and Corel needs to keep up with the times."
She had a wicked smile and a charismatic aura. And she was right. Coal wasn't in demand, and the town was no longer thriving. Shinra wanted the town's permission to build their Reactor. Everyone agreed it was for the best.
Well, almost everyone.
"My best friend, Dyne, refused," Barret says. "My wife, Myrna, and I tried to convince him. Mako was the future, they all said."
The woman from Shinra guaranteed that the Reactor would secure everyone's livelihood. Barret was an adamant voice in favor of the Reactor, and because he was well-respected in town, many of them followed his lead. Dyne was the only odd voice out.
And so the Reactor was built. At first, it seemed Shinra kept their promise.
Barret clenches his fist. A steely look hardens his face.
It happened while Dyne and Barret were away on business. They'd been visiting a Mako Reactor. Barret had still been trying to convince Dyne of the benefits of Mako energy. But when they returned, Corel was burning. The town was razed to the ground by Shinra MPs under order of Director Scarlet, the beautiful woman who had led the town astray.
"What?" Cloud interrupts. "Why?"
A rebel faction was to blame. A detonated explosion at the Reactor set the company back millions of gil. Shinra claimed the rebels were in Corel, but something went wrong. Maybe there truly was a rebel group. Or maybe Corel and its pesky townsfolk were in the way of other, grander plans.
Whatever the case, Shinra soldiers had opened fire on Dyne and Barret. They fled into the mountains.
"We were crossing a bridge through the cliffs when Scarlet caught up to us."
The fearless Director pushed the MPs aside, grabbed a rifle, and sprayed bullets. The bridge teetered. Dyne fell, and Barret caught his hand.
Dyne hung over the ravine, exposed, clinging onto Barret. A stream of bullets went through their joined arms.
"Was the worst pain I ever felt in my life…" Barret says.
Dyne plummeted into that inky night. Barret escaped Scarlet's wrath, perhaps only eluding her because she figured he wasn't worth the effort. When he returned to town afterwards, he found Marlene, Dyne's daughter, in the wreckage. He searched for Dyne, but Shinra was crawling all over the area, and he couldn't stay. He came to Midgar, to start a new life with Marlene. Losing his hand, however, drove him into depression. Every day was a challenge, yet in her eyes he saw hope. She was spunky and fearless, just like Dyne. Every day she gave him a little more energy.
He decided to form his sorrow into something meaningful. He vowed to take action against Shinra, to make the future a place he'd want this little girl to grow up. All his pain shifted into this symbol. This purpose.
He motions towards the gun-arm.
"I'd heard at the time that there was one other man who'd gotten such an operation, except on the other arm. Didn't think it was possible to be Dyne. Figured it was just the doc's way of makin' me feel like I ain't the only one crazy enough to go through with this." He lowers the weapon. "Guess now I know better."
"So it was Dyne that killed those people in the Saucer," Cloud says.
Barret nods. "Can't be anyone else. He must be alive. He musta seen us in town, wanted to pin this on me, make me suffer… I know he blames me for Corel."
"Where is Dyne now?" Tifa asks.
Barret keeps his gaze on that ridge. "I think I know where he went."
"So this is Corel?" Yuffie says, motioning around.
"Yeah," Barret spits. "Shinra covered old Corel up. Buried it in the sand. And they built this… this goddamn monstrosity atop it…"
The Gold Saucer. A gravestone.
"The Saucer mighta been built anywhere along the desert, but they chose this spot to stamp out any trace of Corel. Right atop the town's bedrock, removing any trace of that rebel faction, fictional or not."
Tifa goes pale, thinking of how swiftly Shinra had collapsed the plate in Sector Seven to flush out the 'terrorists'. This place, where Barret lost everyone, was a chilling precursor. The irony is disturbing. The Gold Saucer, with all its bells and whistles, is a monument to Shinra's injustice, crammed with oblivious partygoers. A good time plastered right atop the bad.
"I'm sorry about your wife," Aerith says.
Tifa's eyes are sorrowful. "I had no idea…"
Barret presses his lips into a thin line.
Tifa says. "We've got to clear your name."
"I know, but first… I gotta confront Dyne. And I don't expect any of you to come along."
"If he hates Shinra," Aerith says, "maybe he'll join us."
"Nah," Barret says. "He hates me a lot more. I gotta try to make peace with him."
"I'm coming, too," Tifa says.
"And me," Cloud says. "This guy sounds unstable."
More blood. More death. Barret can't stand what he feels. He shivers even in this heat. Dyne is waiting.
Nanaki, Aerith, and Yuffie remain while Cloud and Tifa follow Barret. A ghastly mix of warm ambiance from the Saucer and moonlight lead across the dunes to the ridge.
Remnants of a town emerge. Skeletons of burnt-out buildings and rusted mining equipment stand in permanent decay. Barret keeps eyes straight ahead as they climb the ridge. Crude gravemarkers dot the landscape. Too many. Half-buried in the sands.
A man stands at the edge of the summit, hand atop one of the graves, overlooking the sweeping night desert.
"Dyne…?" Barret says, motioning for Cloud and Tifa to stay back.
The man chuckles.
"Now that's a voice I haven't heard in years."
He turns. He wears a white tank top over army fatigues. His shoulders and biceps flex. A gold chain around his neck glints in the flickering light of the lantern at his feet. There's a scar across one eye beneath short black hair.
"Ah, I hear her voice, too," Dyne says, pointing his gun-arm at Barret. "My dear Eleanor. Begging me not to hate your guts." His weapon is a long single barrel style.
"I know I did the wrong thing," Barret says. "I know I done you and the whole town wrong. But those people at the Saucer…!?"
"You know where we are, right?" Dyne interrupts. He looks at the gravemarkers. "This is all that's left of us."
"Dyne—"
"And I thought you'd be happy about a few dead Shinra." He motions at Cloud. "Except now it seems they've lent you one of their creepy super-soldiers. Still pals with Shinra, I see."
"It ain't like that, Dyne. I hate Shinra more than anything, but it wasn't just Shinra MPs you killed at the Saucer. Innocent people—"
"And so what? I granted them a way out. An escape from this world Shinra created. Artillery and excuses and destruction at every turn. I gave those people life, don't you get it?"
"Nah, man, that ain't what you're doing."
"I don't expect you to understand." Dyne frowns. "I just expect you to die, for taking it all away."
Dyne fires in rapid succession. Bullets whizz towards Barret. Tifa jumps away, and Cloud draws his sword. Barret rolls behind the cover of a gravestone.
"You stay outta this, spike!" Barret yells at Cloud, who looks ready to attack Dyne. "This is my problem. Ain't yours!"
"Yes, little Shinra dog," Dyne says with a laugh. "You stay put. Barret needs to pay for all the death he's caused."
"Marlene," Barret says from behind the graves. "She's still alive."
Dyne shifts, but the gun doesn't lower. "What did you say?"
"She's alive, Dyne. I went back into town that day. I thought she was gone for sure, but she survived. She's in Kalm right now. We can go see her. Both of us. Together!"
Longing flashes in Dyne's face.
"So she's alive…"
"Yes. So let's quit this fighting and go see her."
"I bet she misses her mom…" Dyne's voice is distant and strange. "Eleanor's all alone. Been so alone. I've got to take Marlene to her."
"What? No, that ain't what I meant."
"I can save her, too, from all this despair and emptiness."
"You'd kill your own daughter?!"
"Kill? No. Save."
Barret steadies his gun at Dyne. "Don't make me do this, man."
Dyne grins. Tears roll down his cheeks. He shoots, over and over, until Barret fires back. A bullet catches Dyne in the stomach. Blood bubbles from his mouth.
Barret starts towards him, but Dyne lifts his gun. "Get back," he says, doubling-over. He edges away, hand sliding over the graves. "Stay back…"
"Please, just stop this. Let's leave together!"
"N-no. I can't. It wasn't just my arm I lost that day. Something irreplaceable. I don't...even know where I went wrong… All wrong." He spits a stream of red to the dirt. "I just want to destroy everything… Everything in this world. Even me."
"What about Marlene, huh? Ain't she have a right to see her father again?"
Dyne stumbles. A dry laugh comes out. "Even if I did go to her… she wouldn't remember me. She was...a newborn… and my hands are too stained to carry her."
"Don't say that. My hands are just as dirty as yours."
The dying man yanks the gold chain from his neck. He tosses it to Barret. "Give that to my little girl… It was Eleanor's."
The trinket rests in Barret's palm.
Dyne coughs, wet and choking. "Wow," he says softly. "Marlene is already four…"
He leans backwards and allows himself to fall over the cliffedge.
"No!" Barret shouts, rushing forward, but there's only air and wind to meet him.
Dyne's body is a mangled crunch in the rocks below.
"No…" Barret falls to his knees. "My hands ain't any cleaner. I shouldn't be able to carry Marlene neither…"
The world is quiet. Barret doesn't move, chasing his fallen friend in his mind, unable to believe the suicide he's witnessed. He almost doesn't feel Tifa's gentle touch on his shoulder. Then he hugs her tight. His body shakes.
An odd empathy squirms in Cloud yet he doesn't know why. He hasn't lost a best friend.
"Gotta bury him," Barret says, wiping his face. "I'm going down there. I'm gonna dig a grave here, and place one last marker."
Cloud wants to tell him there's no time, but if Sephiroth really was at the Saucer, he's long gone by now. Dawn presses upon the sky. And Barret needs this closure.
"I'll help," Tifa says.
Cloud heads back to where Yuffie, Aerith, and Nanaki wait. All assist Barret with this solemn task. When it's over, the sun is up and heat bakes the fresh dirt. Barret clasps the pendant.
"I'm sorry, Dyne," he says.
The group stands together. Dirty, tired. They trudge back towards the prison. Nobody speaks.
As they near the perimeter, with the Saucer towering above, a low rumble shakes the sands. A squat motor car pulls up. It's unique tires tread over the sand. The open-roofed interior is large enough to seat them all.
The window rolls down.
"Hey," Cait Sith says. The cat is stationed atop the moogle at the controls of the buggie.
"I thought I told you the answer is no," Cloud says, not at all caring to indulge his curiosity at how a doll driving a car is even possible.
"I spoke to Dio," Cait says. "Ya'know. The big boss upstairs? Owner of the Gold Saucer? Vouched for you guys. Also, stole this car once I learned where you'd been sent. Pretty neat, huh?"
"Okay, what the hell is this?" Barret asks the world. "Some kinda talking cat now?"
"I'm a fortune teller," the cat replies. "An enchanted fortune teller. And Cloud here got one wallop of a fortune that I'm just dying to see play out. Plus, it looks like you guys could use a little help."
Yuffie vehemently shakes her head. "No way, weirdo. I'm not getting in a car with you."
"What kinda fortune was it?" Aerith asks Cloud.
But it doesn't matter. Cloud opens the car door and shoves aside the monstrous moogle, which is far heavier than it looks.
"Hey, careful!" Cait Sith shouts, nearly losing balance atop the mog.
"Get in," Cloud says to the others. "Beats hanging around this place. And I'm guessing this thing can travel over the quicksand without issue. Right?"
"Well yeah," Cait says. "How do you think I got here?"
Cloud ignores him. The rest of the group piles in. The cabin is rather spacious. Nanaki stretches on the floor while the others take the two benches. The buggy turns over sand and rocks, and Cloud drives straight away from the Saucer.
"So does this mean I can stay with you guys?" Cait Sith asks.
"I still don't trust you," Cloud replies, glancing at the diminishing Saucer in the rearview. "Your timing is suspicious."
Cait Sith scoffs.
"Can't you just believe in a little luck?" the cat asks ruefully.
Everyone is too tired to respond. Or perhaps even care. And maybe Cloud could use a little luck. He has to admit he's grateful to leave the desert, though he isn't certain where the General could be next.
"So, Black Materia," Cloud says to the group. "I saw him—Sephiroth—at the museum. He said he was looking for the Black Materia. Any ideas?"
After the initial shock and disbelief at Cloud's sighting, no one has any information on what could be a black materia. Even Aerith comes up blank.
"We are coming near my hometown," Nanaki says. "Perhaps my grandfather knows. He's very knowledgeable."
Without a better plan, Cloud agrees, though he recalls Nanaki saying he doesn't want to travel further than his hometown. And Cloud was beginning to enjoy his company, too.
"Alright, which way?"
"Head southwest, towards the canyons."
Cloud turns the buggy in that direction. If they can learn what this Black Materia is, they could locate it before Sephiroth does, or at the very least, they can intercept him and get some answers. A dot of black hovers in the sky, far to the east. A Shinra drone. A pair of them, actually. Cloud sighs. They could certainly use a little luck.
The drones peel off, and the sun drifts higher. The canyons appear, lustrous, on the horizon.
He glimpses Barret in the backseat, arms wrapped over his chest. That cold exterior, the hatred for Shinra, now seems justified. The man lost his hometown, then an entire city Sector, and now his best friend, who felt betrayed and disillusioned. Shinra leaves destruction in its wake, all the more reason they have to get to Sephiroth before Shinra does. They have to find this Black Materia.
