Chapter Two: Calvin and Hobbes join the team.

Once Calvin, Hobbes, and the three strangers were down in the desert, the robots that had jumped down with them jumped back up the hole the had come back down, leaving, Calvin, Hobbes, the man, the woman, and the cat in the desert.

"WAY TO GO, CALVIN!" Hobbes shouted. "NOW LOOK WHERE WE ARE! WE'RE STUCK IN A DESERT WITH THREE COMPLETE STRANGERS!"

"OH, SHUT UP, FLEA BUCKET! THIS IS YOUR ENTIRE FAULT!"

"ME? WHY IS IT MY FAULT? YOU'RE THE ONE THAT WANTED TO FOLLOW THEM! NOT ME! REMEMBER?" Hobbes started to imitate Calvin as if he were a caveman. "Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Let follow three strangers. Me want to find out why people dead even though smart tiger say it bad idea. WELL, WAS I RIGHT OR WHAT?"

"OH, SHUT UP! IT'S YOUR FAULT BECAUSE YOU WOULDN'T ATTACK THEM!"

"WHY ON EARTH WOULD I WANT TO ATTACK THREE STRANGERS FOR NO REASON? WHY?"

While Calvin and Hobbes were arguing, they did not realize that the three strangers were looking at another man they seemed to know. He was a bigger, black man that wore green army pants with a gray vest. The figure that stood out most on him was his right arm. It wasn't an arm, but a gun.

"Barret," the man said. "Up in the Gold Saucer, a wounded desk worker said that a man with a gun-arm shot all of those people. Was that you?"

The gun-arm man, Barret, just turned around and shouted, "Just leave me alone, Cloud! All of ya! If ya don't I WILL shoot ya! Yeah, I'm even talking to you, Aeris! And you, cat, whoever ya are."

With those words, Barret ran off into a village that was in the prison.

The man, Cloud, the woman, Aeris, and the cat, who was still unknown to anyone, ran off after him.

"Now where are they going?" Calvin wondered, watching what happened.

"Let's not follow them anymore, okay?" Hobbes pleaded. "We're in enough of a mess as it is."

"Where else are we going to go?" Calvin argued and started to follow.

Hobbes just stood still for a minute. He then said something a tiger shouldn't say and followed Calvin. 'I know I'm going to regret,' he said to himself.

As the entered the village, they saw it was filled with strange individuals. Three people were at the side, saying to themselves that the prison was heaven. Calvin and Hobbes thought it best to stay away from those weirdo's. Another man seemed to follow Calvin and Hobbes wherever they went. Hobbes got sick of it after awhile and turned around and bit his leg. The man shouted in pain and ran away as fast as he could.

At last, they saw Cloud, Aeris, and the cat riding the stuffed moogle. They were standing outside of a shack. After hesitating for a minute, they decided to go in. Calvin and Hobbes decided to follow them into the shack.

As they entered, they saw Cloud talking with the cat.

"So, Cait Sith, do you know anything about down here?"

"Just that the desert can swallow anyone up at anytime and that there's only one way out, but I don't know what it is."

"Look who came in," Aeris said, pointing to Calvin and Hobbes.

"I thought I told you two to stay away from us," Cloud said sternly.

"Well, we have nowhere else to go to," Calvin said in his best puppy voice.

"That's your problem," Cloud reminded him. "I told you to leave, but you chose not to and now you're stuck down here."

"That's what I told him," Hobbes added, hoping to get some brownie points.

At that moment, the man with a gun-arm, Barret, barged into the hut. He saw the five people standing in the room and anger filled his face.

"DIDN'T I TELL YA NOT TO GET INVOLVED?"

With those words, he lifted his gun-arm and pointed it to all five of them.

"J-J-Just wait a minute," Cait Sith began to plead. "Hear us out. I'm sure we can work this out!"

Barret, however, wasn't listening. He started firing at all five of them, not even taking the time to aim.

Cloud pulled Aeris to the ground and covered her. Cait Sith just squatted behind his moogle. Calvin and Hobbes jumped behind a couch and stayed low to the ground.

After a minute of firing, Barret stopped. Everyone came out of hiding and eyed Barret with worried looks on their faces. Calvin and Hobbes were shaking so badly, they could barely walk.

"I didn't want none of ya ta get involved," Barret said after a minute of silence, seeming all shaken up.

At that moment, two other beings entered the shack. One of them was another girl with a black skirt, white tank-top and long-brown hair. The other appeared to be a red dog with a flaming tail.

"Is everyone all right?" the girl asked frantically? "I heard gun-shots going off!"

"We're all right, Tifa," Cloud replied.

The dog turned to Barret and asked, "I heard all those people up in the Gold Saucer were shot! Is this true?"

"No, you've got it all wrong," Barret exclaimed. "It wasn't me."

Meanwhile, Calvin and Hobbes were behind the couch, still arguing.

"I KNEW I WAS GOING TO REGRET THIS!" Hobbes began to shout. "WHY IS IT YOU HAVE TO KNOW EVERY LITTLE BIT OF DETAIL THAT'S GOING ON WITH THESE STRANGERS? DIDN'T YOUR MOM EVER TELL YOU NOT TO TALK TO STRANGERS?"

"WELL, EXCUSE ME FOR TRYING TO MAKE US FAMOUS! IF WE HADN'T FOLLOWED THEM, WE NEVER WOULD HAVE BEEN SHOT AT, AM I RIGHT?"

"AND HOW IS IT A GOOD THING WE WERE SHOT AT?"

"BECAUSE OF MY CURIOSITY, NOW I HAVE AN AWESOME STORY I CAN SHARE WITH MY CLASS IN SCHOOL!"

"YEAH? WELL, YOU'RE CURIOSITY ALMOST KILLED A CAT…ME!"

"YOU'RE A TIGER, DOOFUS! THE SAYING IS 'CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT.' NOT A TIGER! THAT SHOWS HOW DUMB YOU ARE!"

"COMPARED TO YOU, I'M EINSTEIN!"

With those words, Calvin jumped on Hobbes and started fighting him. Their ruckus caused everyone else in the room to turn their attention to Calvin and Hobbes. They had knocked over a chair, a table, and the couch they were hiding behind.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK, YOU MISERABLE, STRIPEY, BUCKET OF ORANGE FLEA BAIT!" Calvin shouted as he was pulling on Hobbes' ears.

"NOT UNTIL YOU ADMIT WE'RE THE REASON WE'RE DOWN HERE!" Hobbes responded, biting Calvin's arm.

At that second, Barret walked over to Calvin and Hobbes and picked them both up by the collars of their necks. He gave them both an ugly look.

"Either the two of ya stop fighting or you'll both be fighting me and you do NOT want to fight me right now!" he said in his best threatening voice.

Both Calvin and Hobbes developed looks of fear on their faces. They obeyed Barret and sat down without another word.

Cloud then walked up to them with a very serious look on his face and said, "Okay, you two. You didn't walk away when you had the chance. Now…"

Cloud never got to finish his sentence because he was interrupted by Hobbes, who had fallen onto his knees and started to plead, "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I SWEAR I DIDN'T WANT TO GET INVOLVED!" he said while pointing to Calvin "SPARE ME, PLEASE! I'LL LEAVE RIGHT NOW IF YOU DO!"

What? I'm not going to kill you," Cloud assured. "I'm telling you right now, though. Get away and don't come near us again."

"What? How are we supposed to get out of here? What do we do now?" Calvin demanded.

"That's your problem, now,' Tifa responded. "You shouldn't have stuck your nose where it doesn't belong."

With those words, Hobbes immediately went to Tifa's feet and started to beg to her, saying, "OH, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE US HERE ALONE! I DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS! HE PULLED ME INTO THIS! LET ME COME AND LEAVE HIM!"

"Oh, no you don't, you jerk!" Calvin said, pulling Hobbes away from Tifa "We got in this together, and that's how we're gonna get out of this! You're not gonna walk out on me!"

"The kid's right," Barret said. "You two gotta figure this out for yerselves, just like we do."

"Wait a minute," Calvin protested. "I said we would stick together, but I never said I would leave! I'm staying with you guys!"

"Oh, no you're not!" Barret replied. "What we're doing is something kids like you should not be a part of."

"Why? Is it gonna be dangerous?" Calvin asked.

"Extremely dangerous," Cait Sith replied.

"AWESOME! Then I definitely want to come!"

"Way to go, cat!" Barret shouted smacking Cait Sith across the back of the head. "That only encouraged them!"

"Not me," Hobbes said. "Goodbye." With that, he began to head for the door that led outside.

"Kid, you should listen to your friend and leave," Cloud said calmly. "He's smart for just taking the opportunity while it's still there."

"Smart? More like cowardly!" Calvin said with disgust in his voice. "Just let us come! Please?"

As Hobbes was walking out the door, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Tifa. He had never noticed how beautiful she looked. Her hair was black, long, and shiny. Her eyes were also mind-numbing. Hobbes immediately fell in love with Tifa as hearts started popping out of his head.

He then noticed Aeris. She had beautiful features too. Her dress made her look like she had come from heaven. She also had pretty hair that was well groomed. Her eyes were also eyes that Hobbes got lost in when he looked at them. He fell in love with Aeris, too as more hearts came out of his head as he was grinning from ear to ear.

"You know, I've been thinking," Hobbes suddenly said. "You guys say that you're going on a dangerous mission? Well, I was just remembered something. We tigers are the best ally anyone could have. We're the meanest and leanest animals in a jungle. You many want me to help you along the way. We can be ferocious and deadly at times.

"Buddy, you were just groveling at my feet, begging me to spare your life when I wasn't even going to kill you," Cloud argued. "Now, you expect me to think you're a fearless beast."

Hobbes was silent for a few seconds, but he looked at Tifa and Aeris again. He was determined to join them.

"Well, maybe I was a little afraid at first, but I would risk my life for my friends when they're in danger."

He then walked up to Tifa and Aeris and continued, saying, "If one of these two were in danger, I would take a bullet for them any day. That's a promise."

"Aw, he's so sweet," Aeris said.

"HOBBES!" Calvin shouted furiously, "YOU'RE THE PRESIDENT OF G.R.O.S.S.! I SHOULD HAVE YOUR BADGE AND TITLE FOR THAT STATEMENT! AS A MATTER OF FACT, YOU'RE OUT OF THE CLUB!"

Well, I would," Hobbes said, hoping to get Tifa and Aeris to notice him. "But not just for them, but for anyone in this room...even you, Calvin. That's no lie."

"Well, I don't know," Barret said, thinking hard. "What do you guys think?"

"Let me observe him," Red XIII replied. "Come here."

Hobbes obeyed and walked right up to Red XIII. Red began looking him over. He was seeing if Hobbes had the strength of a warrior. After a little while, he looked right into his eyes and studied them as carefully as possible.

"Hmm...interesting," Red said after a few minutes of studying Hobbes.

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

"His heart is full of hidden courage. It's there, but only certain aspects bring it out. On the other hand, your heart is full of mercy and peace… he always trusts his heart and instincts. He knows when to fight and he knows when to show mercy. His heart tells him what is right and what is wrong…for the most part. He has the perfect heart of a true, just warrior. I think he would make a good ally."

"You sure yer up fer the challenge, buddy?" Barret asked, sounding intrigued by what Red XIII said.

Hobbes took another look at Aeris and Tifa and said with confidence, "As ready for it as I'll ever be."

"HEY! WHAT ABOUT ME?" Calvin demanded. "LOOK INTO MY EYES! YOU'LL SEE A KILLER!"

"Kid, I don't even need to look right into your eyes to see that your heart is foolish and uncontrollable," Red XIII said. "You wouldn't even make a good ally with a chocobo in a chocobo race."

"I WOULD, TOO! YOU JUST DIDN'T LOOK RIGHT!" Calvin protested.

"Kid, you're not coming," Cloud said. "You're too young and you'd probably get in the way."

"Hold on," Hobbes said. "Calvin is my best friend. We've been together in everything. Where he goes, I go and if he doesn't come, then I don't come."

This shocked Calvin. He was surprised to hear that despite the fact that Hobbes was down here because of him, he was still willing to stick by his side.

"Cloud," Aeris interrupted, "I know this might sounds crazy, but I have a strange feeling that we should bring him with us."

"What? Why?" Cloud asked with shock in his voice.

"I don't know...I think I'm being told by someone to let him come and that he'll play an important roll in our mission. Besides, he's only six years old. Do you think we should really leave him down here all by himself with those terrible people outside?"

Cloud thought about it for a few minutes before he finally said, "All right, kid. You can come with us, but one screw-up, and you're out...understand?"

"All right," Calvin promised. He meant it this time. He wanted to know what was happening here and wanted to see it to the very end.

"All right, then," Barret said. "If yer coming with us, it would help if we knew yer names."

"Calvin."

"My name's Hobbes."

"Well, nice to meet ya both," Barret said. "Now, don't be scared about what's happening down here...cause it's nothing compared to what yer in store fer in the future."