Another boat trip; Plots against ladies and pigs;
Even Cid was not born knowing how to fly; The appearance of the infamous pizza;
Please sign your soul away on the dotted line; Fresher air
"Best of luck to ye, lads and lasses!" Cait Sith's cheery voice called out behind them as Barret led his group towards Mideel. It was a hike, but at least he and Cid were used to long treks, and when Marlene got tired, he could carry her. Shera bore up pretty well too, lagging sometimes but never whining. It was a little past four p.m. when they reached the town. They were planning on taking the last ferry of the day, leaving at six that evening. Since they had time to kill, they wandered around the shopping district. Barret and Cid were more interested in the practical shops selling weapons, armor and items, while Shera and Marlene went into all the shops that catered to tourists visiting the hot springs. Barret found a damn cool ammo canister in the shape of a skull, which Cid told him he didn't need. Cid refused to buy Shera a box of "Souvenir Hot Spring Health Drinks!", and she shot down Cid when he wanted to buy a new lance.
"It's weaker than the one you've got, Cid!"
"It ain't about the fuckin' stats, it's about owning it! Aside from flying, spears are my goddamn life's goddamn passion!"
"I mean, aside from you and flyin'."
"...You still aren't gonna get that lance, mister."
About a quarter after five, Barret heard a commotion coming from the docks, so he and Cid went to check it out. By the time they got there though, the crowd was already dispersing.
"Hey. What was all the damn fuss about?" Cid asked a passing dockhand.
"Huh? Oh, just some group that brought a whole flock of chocobos through. Loaded them up on that cargo ship heading for Junon and Costa Del Sol. Looked like they was moving a whole stable! Fine looking birds, probably headed for the races. If that's the case, they'll have their work cut out for 'em. Competition is stiff this season! There's a couple of black chocobos, clutched by the grand champion from 4 years back, and that bloodline's always been -" The man looked ready to keep going for hours. Cid cut him off with a curt "Thanks, just wanted to know about the gorram noise."
Headed back to Marlene and Shera, Barret wondered for a moment if it had been Cloud's group, but dismissed the idea. That might have been the ship they was planning on, but they were only bringing three birds.
Despite the many temptations in the shops, they only ended up buying two inexpensive items. A bag of coconut candy for Marlene, and a newspaper. The paper was a Shinra propaganda rag, for the most part. It trumpeted how Shinra was triumphing over the barbarians of Wutai, and featured profile articles about the top SOLDIERs. Sephiroth's article was on the front page, under the bold heading 'A HERO FOR THE AGES'.
"Hero, my ass. That ratfucking bast-" Before Cid could say any more, Barret cuffed the blonde on his head with his regular arm. "Hey! Oww... What the hell was that for, ya nitwit?" Cid rubbed the back of his head, glaring irritably.
"I told you before, watch your language 'round Marlene," Barret growled.
"Well, just remind me next time. Don't go cracking my skull!" Cid glared daggers at the taller teen.
"I barely smacked ya. Now quit your complaining and hurry up." Barret turning his back on Cid, took Marlene's hand in his own, and the two made their way up onto the ferry, looking to all the world like the most mismatched pair of siblings in history. Fair little Marlene, munching candy happily, wore a sleeveless white dress with a pink floral print, and her long brown hair was braided and bound by a pink ribbon. Barret stood next to her, dark skinned and towering, a veritable wall of muscle wearing heavy work boots, dark pants, and an open black vest over a grey tank top. His left arm was engraved with a stylized flaming skull tattoo, while his lower right arm was made of gleaming silver metal.
Cid and Shera, coming up the ferry behind them, looked a lot more like a typical tourist couple. Cid's blue tee, dark green pants, and rusty jacket were not an unusual look for a teenage boy, and Shera's yellow turtleneck and and blue jeans were perfectly normal. The odder parts of their usual outfits, Cid's goggles and leather flight gloves and Shera's labcoat, were packed away for now.
As the ferry pulled out of port, Marlene ran to the rail to watch. Cid jerked his head at Shera, who nodded and went to join the little girl. Barret started to head over as well, but Cid grabbed his arm to halt him. "I got somethin' to talk to ya about."
Barret tilted his head. "What's up?"
"Not here, ya dimwit, somewhere private."
Barret grudgingly followed the shorter teen to a secluded corner of the boat.
"Alright, what's all this lurkin' in shadows about?" Barret pressed.
"I know you want to take out Scar-" Cid paused and rephrased, "the lady first, but I got an idea 'bout the pig. Problem is the damn replacement's goin' to Wutai soon, and won't be coming back."
"Shit, Cid. Stop trying to be cryptic - ain't no one going be spyin' on us here. This ain't a Shinra ship, and we're just a bunch of kids, remember?" Barret had run an underground terrorist group and knew well how loose lips could sink ships, but damn, Cid was being paranoid.
"Fine, ass. I was saying I know who should replace Palmer. She'll be going on a mission soon that Shinra fucked up the intel on, and she'll be shot down. So instead of goin' after Scarlet, first we get rid of Lardass and make sure Darill gets promoted to department head."
Barret shook his head. "No. Scarlet first. Damn broad's been killin' too many people for too long."
"And what ever shitbag replaces the hag will keep on killin', comes with the job. Remember, we're suppose to find fuckin' moral people to replace 'em, and unless already you got one lined up, we'll just have to kill the next bastard too."
Damn. Cid had a point. After they took out Scarlet, she would be replaced and security would be even tighter than it was now. Barret slammed his bionic hand against the wall, so frustrated that he didn't even register the dent he left. Who the hell could they trust to be head of the Weapons Department? Jessie, maybe. The girl had an aptitude for that stuff, and a good head on her shoulders. But right now, she'd still be a kid with no know how. Same went for Wedge and Biggs. He felt like shooting his gun arm off, but that for sure would attract unwanted attention, and yellin' was out for the same reason. He settled for cursing a blue streak under his breath.
Cid leaned up against the wall, grinning. "What was it you said earlier? Oh yeah, watch your language." He affected a mincing, nannyish accent.
Barret snorted loudly. "Ain't no kids around right now."
"'Cept us." Cid cupped his hands around his cigarette and lit up, ignoring the 'No Smoking' sign posted on the wall near his head.
"Ya know what I mean," Barret huffed. "Alright. So you got a plan or something, to get this gal in charge?"
"The beginnings of one." Cid took a long pull, blowing out a choking cloud of foul smelling smoke. "But you ain't gonna like it."
Barret looked at him skeptically.
"First step, we join Shinra."
Barret exploded. "Hell no! You crazy? I ain't gonna be caught dead working for those planet killin' fuckers!"
"Shit, man, keep your voice down." Cid made urgent shushing motions. "It won't be a permanent thing. We sign up with the Air and Space department, you as a mechanic since you know your way around heavy machinery, Shera as an engineer, that being her job an' all, and I'll sign up as a pilot. We get in, raise support for the notion with the department staff, and put Darill in the spotlight and keep her from goin' on that mission. Then when we get rid of that useless hedgehog pie Palmer, Darill will be recommended, and if it looks like some other useless fuck is gonna get the spot, we'll just arrange an incident."
"What's so special 'bout this lady, that you want her in?"
"She's the best fucking pilot Shinra has right now, she's got courage and good sense, an' more than that, she's got a heart. And it was ruttin' Shinra's fault that she died. Shitbrains sent her into a area they said was clear to do a supply drop, but it turned out the meatheads gave her the wrong rutting coordinates. The whole fuckin' airship and her whole fuckin' crew, shot down."
Barret was surprised at Cid praising someone so heavily, saying she was the best pilot the company had. "Were you in love with her, or somethin'?"
Cid gave him an unimpressed look. "That's your fuckin' takeaway?" The pilot shook his head and laughed ruefully. "If she'd've offered, I'd have gone for it, but no. No, she was the one who taught me to fly anything bigger'n a crop duster."
Somehow, Barret had never thought about who'd taught Cid to fly. It seemed like the man had probably been born knowing. As he thought about the timeline, though, he spotted a big flaw in the plan.
"Seems like you got a problem there, Cid. In case you forgot, you work for Shinra as a pilot right now."
"Fuck... Yeah, I'd be what? Twenty eight, twenty nine? Shit, ya know, this is the year the Highwind was built. I designed that ship, named it, was its first captain… Bet ya I'll be as arrogant as they come. No way would I let some snot-nosed kid get away with looking like me and using my name. Humph, can't do too much 'bout the looks. Guess I'll be needin' a new name, though." Cid scratched the back of his head.
"A new name, huh? How about Cid Foul or Cid Cusswind, Cid Smoker, Cid Tea, Cid -"
"Goddamn it! Will you shaddup, I'm tryin' to think."
Barret smilled, rolling his shoulders. "Just tryin' to help."
"Well, you ain't... How 'bout Haze, Cid Haze?"
"It's your name, not mine."
"What happened to tryin' to help?"
"You told me not to." Barret's smile got even bigger as Cid 'Haze' stubbed out his cigarette and headed back to the girls, swearing under his breath.
They reached the port at around nine that night, with a hazy half moon drifting among the scattered clouds. The diminishing rumble of the motors roused Barret from his doze, and he looked down at his little girl, curled up sleepily next to him. Guilt boiled in his gut as he thought over all the times he'd left her behind. Every time he'd done it, he'd justified it as being for her sake - fighting Shinra, saving the planet, developing the oil fields, all of it so she could have a better world - but none of it had been as important to him as his little treasure. Despite their situation, he was glad to have her along with him, even if he'd never wanted it under these circumstances.
Cid and Shera were standing by a window, silhouetted against the lights of small port town behind them. Shera turned and came toward them, saying "Barret?" softly. When she saw he was awake already, she changed course slightly and bent to shake his daughter's shoulder. "Marlene, sweetheart, it's time to wake up."
"Hmm?" Marlene sat up slowly, rubbing her brown eyes. "Are we there yet?"
"Yeah, we are," Barret answered. It was only a small leg of their trip over with, but he decided they'd come far enough that day. They got off the ferry and made their way over to an inn, checked in, and headed for their rooms. In the morning, they'd make their way to Fort Condor and see about getting some sort of transport to Midgar.
Shera, Cid, and Marlene sat around a small wooden table in a corner of the inn's common room, eating luchile nut muffins and waiting for Barret to come back with a ride to Fort Condor. Shera watched the morning shadows moving across the floor, and mused over their strategy. Cid had told her about his plan last night, while they were lying in bed together, and she'd found a flaw that she was surprised Barret had missed. What to do with Marlene? Shinra's main airfield wasn't in Midgar, but miles away, in the Waste. They couldn't leave her in the city, alone. The last times she'd been left behind, a chunk of city had been dropped on her head, or someone had tried kidnapping her. No, they'd have to have her with them at the airfield.
The trouble was, security at the airfield was bound to be intense. Even when Shera had first been sent to Rocket Town, Shinra's paranoia had seemed almost overwhelming, and surely it was worse during wartime. They had identifying documents, helpfully fabricated by Vincent. But Cid's last name debacle had effectively thrown a wrench into the works. Shera had spent most of the early morning, while the others packed, trying to change Cid's and Marlene's last names on the paperwork and IDs. The finished result wasn't perfect, but after folding the documents several times, putting them in a sealed plastic bag with a few pinpricks in it, and running the bag through water, the papers were still viable and the evidence of the tampering was almost completely erased.
The last of the current problems was how to convince Shinra to allow Marlene on base. They had changed the little girl's last name to match Shera's and the two would pretend to be sisters. Their parents had died, so with no other family, it was up to Shera to look after her little sibling. Marlene knew how to behave around hangars and garages, and Shera was confident that if she played her cards right, she could get the girl in with her.
"Alright, y'all," Barret said, stomping up to the table, "I got a truck that'll take us to Condor, so grab your bags and follow me." He took a luchile nut muffin off Cid's plate, stooped to gather his and Marlene's packs from the floor, then headed back out through the inn's doors.
"Hey!" Cid said, sounding aggrieved. He got up, grabbed his bag and yelled after the larger teen, "Dumbass, ya just stole my last muffin."
Shera shared a mirthful glance with Marlene. She tried to restrain her laughter, and might have succeeded but for Cid's complete lack of self-awareness as he grabbed Shera's last muffin, complete with complaining about having to worry about thieves even when Yuffie wasn't around. Cid, not seeing the irony between his comment and his actions, grumped out to the waiting truck.
Shera took hold of her own bag and said, as boldly as she could manage, "Guess it's time." The truck waiting outside was an old rattle-bang, already half full with supplies. Its grey-haired driver tipped his cap to Shera and Marlene. Barret was already standing in the truckbed. Cid tossed his bag into the bed, nearly hitting the other teen. "Shera, yours next." He took it and threw it with considerable force at Barret, who grinned and caught it one-handed.
"Right, you first." Barret reached down for Shera's hand and hauled her into the truck. After she found her footing , she settled down among some canvas bags. Cid passed Marlene up to Barret, with much more care than the bags earlier, and she found a spot across from Shera. Barret sat down with his back against the cab with his legs stretched out, so that when Cid jumped up the only spot left was atop some wooden boxes, just barely short enough that Cid wouldn't have to worry about falling out.
The ride to Fort Condor was uneventful, other than the sometimes colorful conversation. Despite Marlene's excitement, the girl was lulled to sleep by the rumble of the engine and snoozed most of the trip. When they arrived, Cid and Shera went and negotiated (well, mostly argued) with a used car dealer, and by late afternoon they were on their way to Midgar in an elderly jeep. It was a three and a half day drive to the city. Every evening, they camped out under the stars. Shera was a bit nervous at first, worried of waking up to find monsters ransacking the tents, but all went well. On the fourth day, they began to see a green-grey smudge on the grassy horizon, growing more oppressive as they drew closer. A dark blot in the center grew into paralyzingly familiar shapes - the high walls, the skeletal scaffolding, the plumes of green-tinged smoke from the reactors of Midgar as-it-had-been. And looming over all, Shinra Company Headquarters, like some strange alien beast in its industrial nest. Seeing the metropolis still standing was what really brought home to Shera the gravity of their situation. Here was the beginning and ending of everything, the heart of the monolithic company they were out to change.
"Well, there she is. City of hopes and dreams… and big fat lies." Cid spat into the dirt.
"It's just one big tick sucking out the lifeblood of the planet," Barret added, glowering.
"Yer gonna have to watch yerself sayin' that stuff. Shinra's gonna be as antsy as a paranoid goblin with a mutated zolem as its neighbor right now. Besides, all that shit's Red's problem. Finding someone with a lick of morals is ours." Cid scratched his neck. "Well, enough starin' like a bunch of idiot lollygaggers, let's get down there and shake things up."
They dropped off their jeep in a chain linked car lot, before heading to a train station that would take them up to the plate. Marlene held tight to her father's hand, her face a strange mixture of emotions. She'd grown up in the slums, after all. This was something of a homecoming for her.
Shinra's recruitment/employment building was easy to find. Well, of course it was, it was part of the industrial complex surrounding the base of the Company's towering Headquarters. They spoke to the secretary at the front desk, who directed them down a grey hall to a grey door with a grey and white plaque saying 'Air & Space Recruitment'. Behind the grey door was a grey hall filled with grey chairs. At the far end of the room was a grey young man sitting behind a grey desk. The young man was filling out paperwork, and when he heard them enter, he looked up with a smile that wasn't grey at all. Shera could see why, despite his clerky drabness, he'd been placed at a recruiting desk - that smile lit up the room.
"Welcome! You're interested in the Air & Space program?" They nodded confirmation, and his smile grew. "Are you interested in our three-year schooling program, or are you looking for immediate employment?" (Shinra had a 'higher education' program that promised three years schooling and then six years guaranteed employment. What the brochures didn't mention was that the 'guaranteed employment' was probably going to be as a trooper in Shinra's militia. After graduation, you were allowed to list your preferences of what Shinra branch you'd like to join, but space was limited. Only those with excellent grades would be accepted into their chosen line of work. Everyone else went to the army. Shera had come up through that system, and she was so glad her good study habits had kept her from an ignominious fate as a grunt.)
"Just the job, thanks," Cid grunted.
"Okay, then do any of you have experience flying?"
"Yeah, a little," Cid said in a lazy drawl. Shera could hardly keep herself from laughing. She could see he was having the same problem. The attendant gave them an odd look, but his smile didn't waver. "How about you two?" he asked, gesturing towards her and Barret.
Shera shook her head. "I'm interested in becoming an engineer." At this point in history, she would have been an assistant in a Junon-based Shinra offshoot, streamlining and improving missile designs. Flight, let alone space travel, hadn't even entered her mind yet.
Barret shook his head too. "Nah, I leave that shit to fly-boy here. I just repair what he breaks."
"Fuck, that dent wasn't my fault and ya damn well know it." Cid muttered something uncomplimentary about motorcycles and reckless driving under his breath before going silent.
The attendant coughed and asked, "So, you're interested in becoming a mechanic, then?"
"Yeah, that would work."
"Well then, if I could have you fill out these forms. Then once you've taken a test to check your knowledge of your chosen occupation, we'll assess your results, and once you pass, you can start immediately. If you don't, our education program would happily take you." He handed them each a stack of forms, then pointed towards the tables along the left side of the hall. "Take a seat anywhere, and bring those back when you're done."
They sat down at a folding table, pulling up grey, stiff-backed chairs. Shinra recruiting posters with eye-catching fonts shouted down at them from the walls. Marlene wandered around, looking at them, and Shera watched her for a moment. "Have you got what it takes? Join the Shinra!" "THIS is Where It Happens! Shinra City Planning" "Design the Future With Shinra!" Shera scooted her chair around to avoid the cat-eyed glare of a SOLDIER flyer featuring Sephiroth.
The paperwork was pretty standard stuff, but nearly half of the information she put down was false. Once again, Vincent's skills came in handy. After their change of plans they'd contacted the ex-turk, and now they all had fake pasts that were not only convincing (and, according to Vincent, would satisfy even a Turk investigation once he was through), but easy enough to remember. Falling out of character was one of their biggest worries.
Cid 'Haze' was a fifteen-year-old flying prodigy, from a small self-sufficient farm north of Brarrow, the handful of houses that would one day form the core of Rocket Town. At home, he used to do all sorts of tricks with the old crop dusters. It ran the farm's fuel costs up, so his dad kicked him out, saying if he wanted to fly so damn much he should find a job where he got paid for it.
Barret 'Walls' was fifteen, (more like fourteen, Shera thought) and came from a small settlement across the bay from Brarrow, where he worked with his dad as a mechanic. He'd met Cid when he flew across the bay once, and they became unlikely friends, so when Cid decided to come to Shinra, Barret followed to make more money than was possible out in the boonies.
Shera, fifteen (alright, she was also probably fourteen) and Marlene, ten, were from the same town as Barret. Shera was an orphan, the smartest kid in the village, Cid's girlfriend, and being pressured by the neighborhood to take over the teacher's job when he retired next year. Her dreams were bigger than a dusty one-room schoolhouse, so she'd come along as well, bringing her kid sister with her.
They turned the forms back in, and the clerk gave them directions to the testing area, while a printer spat out three slips of paper. The clerk handed them over; they were covered in not-quite-random lines of numerals and letters, printed with greyish ink on greyish paper. They made their way down the long grey hallways, and stopped at a recessed door with a grey and white plaque saying 'Examination Room'. A middle-aged man sat at a desk beside it. Shockingly to Shera's now-grey-accustomed eyes, the desk was a plain, varnished brown. "Dockets for your tests, please." The man's voice was a drone of poorly concealed boredom.
The man glanced at the papers they handed over, then opened a drawer and pulled out a different packet of papers for the three of them. As he handed them over, he stated that no electronics were allowed in the room while they were testing, and if they could please leave them out here in one of the little tubs, he would make sure no harm came to said devices. Shera fidgeted a little as she set hers in the plastic bin. The phone, sleek and silver, was decidedly unlike the current PHS models, but the bored clerk's eyes didn't even flicker. In a monotone, he said that Cid would be taking a flight simulator test after the written exam, and Marlene was instructed to wait on one of the benches in the hall. At least, Shera thought relievedly, Marlene would be able to keep an eye on their PHSes, in case a more inquisitive Shinra employee happened by. The girl hopped up on the bench, dangling her feet, and waved cheerfully to them as they entered the room where their plan would either get off the ground… or fail to launch.
"Shit, I ain't had to take a test since I can't fuckin' remember when," Barret groused.
Cid threw a pillow at him. "Watch yer language," he reminded with a grin.
"Don't you go telling me what to do, whitey. And stop acting like a darn kid, throwing pillows." He threw the pillow back at Cid, completely negating what he'd just said, and scowled as the blond caught it. Marlene giggled, hugging her own dingy pillow to her chest.
They'd finished their test several hours ago, and were waiting out the processing of their scores (and the checking of their backgrounds) at a seedy hotel below the plate. In three days, Shinra would contact them with news. If their cover stories didn't hold, they might know even sooner, when Shinra enforcers came to arrest them as spies. In the meantime, they had three days to fill. Visiting Aerith was out - she was under Turk supervision. So was looking for rumors about AVALANCHE. None of them knew when the terrorist cell had come into existence, and they couldn't risk the sorts of wrong attention such a search might bring down on them.
They ended up going to the train graveyard. It would be a relatively secluded place for Marlene to work some more with her materia. Barret swore up and down that it wouldn't come to that, but his daughter was as stubborn as he was, and twice as persuasive. She was determined to continue her spell casting lessons.
Cid hadn't gone below the plate much while he worked for Shinra, only a few *ahem* short visits, but the environment around him was both familiar and strange. Unbuilt, and undecayed. The plate above was only half finished, and rays of sunshine lanced down, bouncing off metal struts. The air was cleaner than it had been. There were still houses left from the villages that had been here before Shinra took over - old brick houses with mullioned windows and wooden gates. Some even still had dying vines crawling up the sides, or straggly brown gardens.
Most of the structures, though, were new, and built of cast-off supplies from the construction above. Shinra's propaganda had gone overboard on promoting Midgar, and more people had flocked to the place than Shinra was capable of employing or housing in its city of the future. All the same, Cid thought, frowning around his cigarette, people looked pretty happy still, making their livings where and how they could. The sound of industrious carpentry echoed around them, bouncing off the roof of the world. The markets, which would eventually merge into the infamous Wall Market, were full of shouting buyers and sellers. Ragged, barefoot kids ran by. Marlene watched them closely. So did Cid - they didn't need any of those brats nicking a PHS or wallet from them.
One change they should've figured on, but didn't, was the pitiful state of the train graveyard. Well, if ten train cars and two engines lined up in three neat rows counted as a graveyard. Cid took the cigarette from his mouth. "I thought ya said this place was big?" Barret was staring dumbstruck at the puny showing.
"I suppose the rails must still be somewhat new." Shera mused, putting a finger to her lips. Her nails were chipped. "Construction on the plate only started late in 1979, and for the first five years most people lived in the old town. They didn't put the rail in until the mid-1980's. It's been a decade since then, so it will still be a few years before they start retiring cars. If you look, you can see that these all have damage, probably from construction accidents." She stopped, hand dropping, as she noticed the others staring at her. "What?" she asked, flustered.
"Ya read that all in a book or somthin'?" Cid asked.
Shera gave him a tentative look. "Um, in a pamphlet. While we were waiting for you to finish the flight sim."
"Damn," he grinned, moving to stand alongside her, "At least with you around we won't be too far behind on current events." His wife flushed and smiled. Cid hated giving compliments. That was as close as he could get, but Shera understood how he meant it.
Barret ruined the moment, pointing out, "Doncha mean past events?"
Cid stepped away again, waving an irritated hand in the air. "Past, current, who the hell cares. It's all the damn same to us." Time travel was confusing enough without Barret poking at it.
"Ain't that the truth. So what we gonna do now? Can't practice here. We could go to an old warehouse, maybe."
"If the graveyard ain't old, the warehouses won't be old. Nah, we're here, might as well stay here. Not like we'll be workin' on any fancy spells or shhhtuff." Cid caught himself just in time, and slurred the last word, glancing anxiously at Marlene, who grinned up at him knowingly. Shera patted his arm.
"What should I work on?" Marlene asked.
Cid scratched his chin. "Probably that summon or enemy skill you got."
Barret frowned. "I thought ya said nothin' fancy."
"Choco-mog ain't fancy," Cid replied. It was the simplest of the summons, and easy enough even for a beginner to use.
Her father was unconvinced. "Maybe, but most of those enemy skills…"
The pilot shrugged his shoulders irritably. "It's got Frog Song, Big Guard and Dragon Force. Those ain't tough. Besides, all she needs to do is be able to figure out which spell's which. And how not to accidentally cast something too strong for her. Some of those damn spells would drain her Mp."
Barret's hand twitched, as though he'd cut off some automatic gesture of protection. Stress was painted all over his face.
Shera smiled sympathetically at him, then turned to her husband. "For Big Guard or Dragon Force she can target herself, or one of us, but for Frog Song and Choco-mog she'll need need a monster to practice on."
"She could cast it on Barret. Choco-mog don't hurt that much."
"Yeah? And then she could turn you into a frog, yah blonde haired ass," Barret muttered.
"Or you two could go find a monster, while Marlene and I work on Big Guard and Dragon Force," Shera suggested.
"Hmph, fine. Come on, let's go see what nasties we can round up," Cid grumped and started to stomp off towards the train cars.
"Do you have anything to catch them with?" Shera called after him.
A quick look through this pockets later he yelled back. "Nope."
Shera sighed, and handed her Time materia over to Barret. "Take care."
"I will," he muttered, then knelt and pulled his daughter into a hug. "You listen to Shera, now, and don't push yourself too hard. Aight?" She hugged back fiercely.
"I'll be fine, Daddy. See you soon."
"Yeah, be back in a minute."
Marlene watched as her dad and Cid walked away, arguing with each other. She wished her dad would stay. It would help her feel less nervous about casting a summon and working with the enemy skills.
"Marlene, while we're in Midgar, it would probably be best if you don't call Barret 'Daddy'. Especially if we make it into Shinra. Call him 'Barret' instead. Can you do that?"
Marlene looked up to meet Shera's gaze. To not call her daddy 'Daddy' would feel weird and difficult, but if it was what she needed to do, she would try. Chewing on her lip, she gave a firm nod. She didn't want to be left behind, and she didn't want the others to get in trouble because of her.
"All right, let's get started. Equip the Enemy Skill materia into Fairy Tale, then see if you can tell the spells inside apart." Shera took a step back, giving her space to concentrate.
Marlene held the delicate staff up in front of her. Focusing on the materia, she looked for the right one. She still wasn't too fast at this part, but one of the materia clearly stood out to her mind's eye as being much more powerful than the others. She began sorting through the different spells inside it. The first one she found felt heavy, but it was not a physical weight. Slowly a name seemed to appear in her mind. 'Magic Hammer'. Not one of the spells she was looking for. Moving on. Next was a large spell, dark. Hot but not fiery. It pulled her in towards it, like it was trying to swallow her! She jerked and nearly dropped her staff. She took a few deep, shuddering breaths.
"Marlene! Are you all right?" Shera was by her side in a second, a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm… I'm okay, just startled. I found Shadow Flare, but I'm okay now." Taking another deep breath, she eased her mind back into the materia.
'Big Guard, Big Guard, where aaare you?' she thought as she passed by a few more spells. There! An impression of safety and speed. This was it. She concentrated on the spell. She could feel the magic washing over her. The shimmer of a barrier appeared before her, and the whole world outside it seemed to slow down.
"Shera! I did it, I got it!" She exclaimed, bouncing up and down.
"Whoa, slow down. I can't understand you when you talk that fast. It sure seems like you found Big Guard, though," Shera laughed.
Marlene grinned and nodded. Shera sounded funny talking so slowly. She readjusted her grip on Fairy Tale and started to look for Dragon Force. Soon she found the spell - it was like a coiled wall of scales - and cast it. Now she was ready to try and fight something. If only Daddy—Barret, she corrected herself sternly, and Cid would get back soon. If they took too long, her newly-cast status spells would wear off.
The guys were back in only a few minutes. She could hear them arguing long before they were in sight. Cid dragged a guard hound behind him. Barret had a tarp thrown over one shoulder, with something bundled up inside of it. She shouted a greeting as they came up, so, so slowly! The Haste spell from Big Guard was really fun, but it was a test to her patience. Barret dumped three hedehog pies out of the tarp about ten feet from her. They tumbled out in slow motion, and Marlene jigged in place as Cid cast another Slow spell over his hound. To distract herself, she started to warm up Choco-mog.
The summon materia felt really different from the other types she'd used so far. The power was deeper, more intense, but somehow lighter? If that made any sense. It was like the materia was happy, excited, ready to do something. Barret and Cid backed away from their trophies and as soon as they were clear she released the suppressed energy of the summon. Power rushed by her and she could feel the soft feathers of a Chocobo. Suddenly she found herself being swung up into the air and onto the back of the summoned yellow Chocobo. A white moogle with a bandana tied round its head looked over its shoulder at her and winked before raising its stubby little paw into the air and shouting "KUPO!". With that battle cry, the chocobo dashed forward, trampling its big feet all over the hound and pies. As fast as the summon had appeared, it was gone, and Marlene landed gently back on the ground, swaying a little.
"Damn," Cid laughed, "Ain't never seen a summon do that before."
"Marlene, you all right?" Her daddy didn't find the whole thing nearly as funny as the pilot.
Marlene smiled open-mouthed, exhilarated, before replying. "I'm fine. That was fun!"