Cloud, Gordon, and the rest of the party had just crossed a large bridge and entered the town of North Corel. Hojo had told Cloud that they needed to head west if they wanted to get Sephiroth and Benrey, and this town was on their path, along with the Gold Saucer.

"Well," Gordon said, surveying the town, "This place is kind of a dump, we'll just pass through here and-"

Out of nowhere a rock came flying and hit Barret on the side of the head, everyone looked over to see a group of miners who had looks of fury on their faces.

"You have a lot of guts showing your face around here traitor!" One miner shouted,

"Do us all a favor and get the hell out of here! Everywhere you go gets ruined!"

The miners then went to pick up more rocks. Tommy, thinking this was an act of battle, pulled out his glock and pointed it at the miners. The miners when they got up and saw immediately dropped their rocks and put their hands in the air, with looks of fear now on their faces.

"Woah woah woah Tommy!" Gordon shouted, grabbing Tommy's arm before he could squeeze the trigger.

"They're just some angry blowhards. We don't need to fight everyone who has hostile intentions. And we really don't need to draw attention to ourselves."

Tommy looked at Gordon while his gun was still pointed at the miners.

"But we fought a bunch of monsters on the way here Mr. Freeman. What if this is another encounter?" Tommy said.

"It's not, just put the gun away."

"Okay." Tommy said, lowering his gun

Gordon then looked at the miners.

"Get the hell out of here, you're lucky I didn't let Tommy here go off on you!"

The miners, deciding they didn't want to get shot, turned tail and ran. Gordon breathed a sigh of relief.

'At least he's developed a better trigger discipline.'

"You need to tell him to control himself better." Cloud said.

"I know I know," Gordon said, "it's just after Black Mesa he's kinda used to any hostile act being met with combat, we all are…."

Cloud didn't know what to make of that statement.

'What the hell happened to make them like that?' He thought.

"You alright Barret?"

"Yeah, I'll live." He replied, nursing the place he was hit.

"Uh if it's alright I'm gonna take Tommy to a weapon shop and get him some better equipment if they have. The pistol he has can only get him so far." Gordon said.

"That's fine, we'll be around town for now. Meet us by the Gold Saucer ropeway when you're done." Cloud replied.

Gordon nodded as he and Tommy headed in another direction.

"Hey Tommy, wait up." Barret said, walking over to the pair while still nursing the wound on the side of his head.

"Even though I didn't deserve it, thanks for sticking up for me like that."

Tommy looked at Barret, then his chaingun, then at Gordon's, then at Barret's again, then back at Gordon.

"Mr. Freeman, did he drink Darnold's potion too?"

Gordon laughed as Barret gave a confused look.

"Huh?" Barret said.

"It's nothing Barret, Tommy's just referring to how I got my gun arm."

"You got your…."

Barret's face became even more confused with what Gordon said, then he shook his head.

"Right." He said, "I'll let you guys shop, meet up with us as soon as you're finished."


Gordon and Tommy entered what looked like a weapon shop, it looked run down on the inside as much as it did on the outside. What they saw on display wasn't anywhere near what they used at Black Mesa, but Gordon thought they'd find something.

"Hey uh are you the shop owner?" Gordon asked the sole man sitting behind the counter.

"I am." He replied, his tone not too friendly. "What do you want?"

"We're here to buy some weapons, what do you have in stock?" Gordon asked.

"Why should I sell anything to you?" The shop owner asked, the hostile tone still in his voice.

"Uh cause you own a store and your job is to sell people stuff?" Gordon replied, "Is there a problem here?"

"Yeah, there is!" The store owner said, getting up from his chair.

"I saw you lot coming into town with that bastard Barret, it's because of him selling us out to Shinra, our town has become like this! And everyone here is suffering because of him!"

He then turned his attention to Tommy.

"And you! I heard about what you did earlier, pulling a gun on people! What the hell's wrong with you!?" He continued.

"I uh,"

"But it figures! Of course Barret would hang around people like you! All you outsiders do is cause trouble wherever you go!"

Tommy turned to look at Gordon.

"Mr. Freeman I think we better-"

"Hey lay off man!" Gordon shouted, "Those miners started it first, Tommy here was just defending Barret!"

"By pulling a gun on people! Doesn't he have any self control!?"

Tommy was looking back and forth at Gordon and the store owner, unsure of what to do.

"Listen here!" Gordon said, who was now in the store owner's face.

"I think you better-"

"No, shut the fuck up and listen to me!" Gordon shouted, cutting off the store owner.

"You have no fucking idea what we've been through! Me and him both spent literally four fucking days worth fighting aliens and soldiers and sometimes our own with almost no rest while seeing some shit and experiencing some shit that'd make what happened to this town look like Extreme Makeover! So when some shitheads decide they wanna throw rocks at us, he's gonna respond in that way, they're lucky I didn't respond like that too."

Gordon huffed.

"Mr. Freeman, are we gonna kill him?" Tommy asked.

"What? No Tommy-" Gordon said, turning away from the store owner who now had the same fearful look the miners from earlier had.

"Remember what I said earlier, everyone who has hostile intentions doesn't necessarily mean we have to fight them. This is one of those cases."

"Okay." Tommy said.

"S-So that's what it's gonna come to!" The store owner said, his voice shaking, "You're gonna kill me now!"

"No, but I'm just gonna say this." Gordon said, turning back to face the store owner.

"You're lucky he didn't just shoot you while we were arguing. There are two others like him who wouldn't have had any second thoughts. They've killed for less too."

The store owner started backing away, shaking all over.

"Y-You're both god damn psychopaths!" He shouted, pointing a shaky finger at Gordon and Tommy.

"Just get the hell out of here alright, we've suffered enough!" The store owner said, pointing at the door.

"Fine by us, let's get out of here Tommy." Gordon said, as him and Tommy left the store.

'Crap, I may have gone too far in a few places.' Gordon thought.

"Mr. Freeman we didn't get any weapons." Tommy said while frowning.

"I know Tommy but don't worry, I've seen what you can do with a pistol alone, you'll be fine." Gordon said.

"Besides I'm sure we'll find better equipment than what that guy was selling."

"Hey!" A familiar voice shouted.

They both turned around and saw Aerith coming over to them.

"Did you get the gear you wanted?" She asked.

"No." Tommy said, still frowning.

"Aw, what happened?"

"Store owner wasn't a fan of us being with Barret. We got into a shouting match and he kicked us out." Gordon replied.

"But I'm not too concerned, what he was selling didn't look too good and Tommy is fine with what he has already. And I'm sure we'll find better weapons along the way."

"I'm sure we will too." Aerith replied.

"We're all waiting over by the ropeway, let's get going."

Gordon and Tommy nodded as they followed Aerith.


"What the hell was that back there Barret?" Cloud asked.

Cloud, Barret and the others were all standing outside of the Gold Saucer ropeway waiting for Gordon, Tommy, and Aerith to get back. Barret meanwhile had a bandage on from where he got hit by the rock.

"It's my fault this town ended up this way." Barret said, "This is where I grew up."

"What happened Barret? You can tell us." Tifa said.

"It all started four years ago. Our town was mainly used for coal mining and had been for generations. Only problem was that times were changing and people were becoming more reliant on Mako. One day Shinra comes into town and promises to fix all our problems if we let them build a Mako reactor. I was heavily for it along with a ton of other people. The only one who was against it was Dyne."

"Dyne?" Tifa asked.

"My best friend. He didn't want to lose the coal mines by any means and he didn't trust Shinra at all. But after me along with the village head kept pushing him he finally allowed it."

Barret sighed.

"Me and him leave town for a few days and when we come back it's fully set on fire. The Mako reactor suffered an explosion and Shinra blamed it on the town and wound up killing everyone."

Barret looked down, trying not to show his face and his voice was shaking with anger and sadness.

"I lost everyone! My wife, my friends! Everyone and everything I loved was gone! That's why I hate Shinra so much!"

"Barret.."

Tifa tried to put her hand on Barret's shoulder to comfort him but he turned away. Tifa looked back at Cloud, not sure what to do.

"Hey we're back!" Gordon shouted, as him, Tommy and Aerith walked over to the rest of the party. They quickly noticed everyone was looking down, especially Barret.

"Uh, did we miss something?" Gordon asked.

Cloud shot him and a look and shook his head, basically telling him now was not a good time.

"Hey are you guys coming aboard or not?" The tram conductor inside asked.

"Yeah we're coming, give us a sec!" Tifa replied.

"Let's just go…" Barret said, as he boarded the ropeway.

"Right." Cloud said, "Let's get onboard."


The ropeway that they were riding was halfway towards the Gold Saucer. It was mostly a silent ride after what Barret had just told everyone.

Aerith was sitting next to Gordon while Tommy was on the other side of them.

"Hey Gordon." Aerith said, "I have a question, what kinds of things does Tommy like?"

"What kind of things does he like?" Gordon replied,

"Well he likes his dog Sunkist as you already know. He really loves soda, and he's a fan of beyblades too, that's all I know off the top of my head."

"Beyblades?"

"Eh it's a toy, it's like a spinning top that you uh battle other people with." Gordon said.

'Never thought I'd have to describe a beyblade, but here we are.'

"Huh, interesting." Aerith said, "I'll have to see if they have any at the Gold Saucer."

"Why? Are you planning on getting him one?"

"Yeah!" Aerith replied, "I was thinking that'll cheer him up! You wanna help?"

"Uh sure, not sure if they'll have any but I guess it's worth looking for. Hey Aerith-" Gordon said.

"How come you're being nice to Tommy like this? Not that I don't appreciate it because trust me, I love Tommy just as much as the next guy but why this sudden…….friendship if you don't mind me asking."

"Well Gordon, I don't have to tell you that Tommy is a kid." Aerith replied.

'He's 36.' Gordon said in his head.

"And what we're going through right now seems like too much for him, and I know that he and you have been through a lot as well. So I want him to know that he has someone besides you that he can rely on, as well as call a friend and can be himself around."

"That's uh, actually kinda sweet." Gordon replied,

"If you need to know anything else about Tommy let me know, I've known him for a while."

"You got it!" Aerith replied.

"We're nearly there!" The ropeway operator shouted from the cockpit.

Everyone looked out to see the Gold Saucer in view, it was a large golden mushroom looking structure with multiple mushroom looking towers on it that were all brightly lit.

"I wonder how much this cost to build." Yuffie said.

The ropeway slowly docked as everyone stepped off board. They were greeted by a man in a Chocobo suit.

"Welcome to the Gold Saucer!" He exclaimed in a friendly manner.

"A single visit pass will be 3000 Gil, lifetime passes will be 30,000."

"Let's get a single visit pass for now." Tifa said.

"Very well, this'll apply to all of you for this visit. Once you leave the ticket will become invalid."

Cloud paid the man as they all went inside. The room they entered had various holes that went to different parts of the amusement park.

"This seems like it'll be fun!" Aerith said, "Let's all split up for now and meet up later!"

"That's fine, we'll look into clues for Sephiroth and Benrey too." Cloud said, "Tifa, Gordon, you're coming with me on this one."

"What!?" Gordon said, "Why do I have to tag along with you two? Can't I have fun as well?"

"You know more about Benrey than we do so you'll be better at sniffing out clues, and we'll probably be back here in the future."

Gordon groaned.

"Ugh fine."

"You all go and enjoy yourselves." Barret said, not looking at the group.

"I'm going somewhere else, let me know when you're all done." He said, as he jumped down a hole out of sight.

"What's up with him?" Aerith asked.

"Another time." Cloud said, "Just go have fun, we'll meet up once we're all done."

"Alright then." Aerith said, "Let's go Tommy! I'm sure there's some stuff here that we can both enjoy."

"Alright!" Tommy said, a smile on his face as he followed Aerith down a hole marked "Speed Square"

"I'm gonna go find some games to play!" Yuffie said, jumping down the hole marked "Wonder Square"

"I'll be around as well." Red XIII said, as he jumped down the hole marked "Ghost Square"

"Right." Cloud said, turning to face Gordon and Tifa, "That just leaves us."

"Uh Cloud." Gordon said.

"Yeah?"

"I think our best course of action right now is to find the guy who owns this place, he'll probably know if Sephiroth and Benrey have been here."

"Alright, I'll trust you on that." Cloud said, as the three of them went down the Wonder Square hole.

They found themselves at the entrance of Wonder Square, and what greeted them was a large moogle mounted by a cat-like creature, who noticed them and approached.

"Hey! Why do you all look so down?" The cat creature asked.

"Let me read you a fortune! That'll cheer you all up!"

"Uh okay." Cloud replied, "And who are you?"

"The name's Cait Sith! And I'm a fortune predicting machine!" He exclaimed,

"What would you like me to read you today?"

"I'll entertain him." Gordon said, "Do you know where we can find two people named Benrey and Sephiroth? And on top of that how about two others named Bubby and Coomer."

"You got it!" Cait Sith replied.

He then began to do a little dance as a piece of paper came out of the moogles head. He then handed the paper to Gordon.

"Do not seek when nothing is there………what?" Gordon said, "What the hell's this supposed to mean?"

"Oh I'm sorry! Let me try again!"

He then did another dance as another paper came out of the moogles head. Gordon took the paper.

"A chair is a…….wait a sec." Gordon said, fully reading the paper.

"This is just a description of a chair." said Gordon.

'The same one Coomer read off Wikipedia.'

"Oh uhhhhhhhhhh." Cait Sith stammered.

"You know what, forget this. Let's just go." Gordon said, as he, Cloud and Tifa turned to leave.

"W-Wait! Let me try one more time!"

He once again did his dance and another piece of paper came out of the Moogle's head.

"I'll read this one." Cloud said, taking the paper.

When Cloud looked at what the paper said he had a concerned look on his face which both Gordon and Tifa noticed.

"What is it Cloud?" Tifa asked, "What does it say?"

"What you pursue will be yours. But you will lose something dear."

When Gordon heard this he looked down and away, as if he knew what this meant. Luckily for him neither Cloud or Tifa noticed.

"What the hell's this supposed to mean?" Cloud asked Cait Sith.

"I-I don't know! I've never produced a fortune like this before!" He replied.

"But I have to come with you! A fortune like this I have to see unfold!"

"I don't know." Tifa said, as she turned to Cloud and Gordon, "What do you guys think?"

"I mean, if he's good in combat then why not?" Gordon said.

"Oh I'm good in a fight!" Cait Sith, "Just you watch."

"Fine then, you can join us." Cloud said.

"Great!" Cait Sith replied, "Another thing, if you wanna find out about the first two guys you mentioned I'd go see Dio. He owns the Gold Saucer and knows everything and everyone in here."

"We'll go do that then." Cloud said.

"No need!" A voice shouted.

They all turned to see a muscular man wearing nothing but a speedo approaching them.

"You must be the new arrivals! I'm Dio, the owner of the Gold Saucer!"

"Uh cool." Gordon said, "Hey uh, we were just told you might have some info about two guys that might've come here recently."

"I may." Dio replied, "But let me ask you all this first. Do you know about the Black Materia?"

"Somewhat." Cloud replied, "Why do you ask?"

"I ask because someone that looked like your age was seeking information about, I figured you two might know each other."

"What did he look like, was he wearing a black cape?" Cloud asked.

"Why indeed he was!" Dio replied, "And he was also accompanied by a security guard as well!"

"Fucking Benrey." Gordon said under his breath.

"That guy was a weird man though, he kept asking me if I wanted to be friends on something called PlayStation Network. Do any of you know what that is?"

Cloud shook his head, Tifa replied with "No" and Cait Sith shook his head too.

"Did he ask for a free month of PS Plus too?" Gordon asked.

"He might have." Dio replied, "Look, let's go to my office, we can discuss them more there."

Dio then turned and walked in the other direction, signaling the four to follow him.

"What do you mean by a free month Gordon?" Tifa asked.

"Just some nonsense thing Benrey wants."


"It's right this way." Dio said, as Cloud, Tifa, Gordon and Cait Sith all followed him to the entrance of his office building.

Standing outside of the entrance was a single guard, who was standing there motionless, almost like he was a zombie.

"Uh everything okay there soldier?" Dio asked.

Without answering the guard fell to the ground face first.

"Oh shit!" Gordon said.

Cloud, Gordon and Tifa all ran over to check on him while Dio and Cait Sith stood back. Cloud crouched down and put two fingers on the side of his neck.

"Dead." Cloud said, as he looked at the now deceased guard corpse.

"Bullet holes, his body is riddled with them. Sephiroth isn't a gun user so this is probably Benrey's doing."

"I don't think so." Gordon said, "Benrey always one shots the people he kills, usually through the head. He wouldn't shoot someone up like this."

"Hm." Tifa said, "Let's go inside, they might be there."

"Right." Cloud said, as he gestured for Dio and Cait Sith to follow them.

They all ran up the staircase into Dio's office. When they got inside they found bodies of dead Gold Saucer guards laying around, all with bullet holes in them.

"What the hell." Cait Sith said, "Who could've caused this?"

What sounded like groaning came from one of the bodies behind a desk. Cloud quickly ran over to see what it was.

"U-Uhgh." The guard behind the desk said, barely lifting his head.

"What happened?" Cloud said, "Who did this?"

"A-A man." The guard said, struggling to breathe let alone talk.

"A man with a- with a gun on his arm."

The guard then collapsed, eyes glazed over.

"What!?" Dio shouted, "A man with a gun on his arm!?"

He turned to Gordon.

"Did you do this!?"

"What? No! I've been with them since I got here!" He shouted, pointing at Tifa and Cloud.

"We can attest to that!" Tifa said, "He's been with us since-"

"Lies! Who else has a gun on his arm!?" Dio retorted.

Gold Saucer guards then stormed the office, all with their guns pointing at the four.

"Take them away!" Dio shouted.

"Yes sir!" One guard shouted, "We found another one who has a gun arm as well, we've thrown him along with his friends in jail."

"Wait what-" Gordon shouted, as he stormed over to confront Dio.

"Are you fucking serious? You're just gonna throw us in prison without even-"

Before Gordon could say another word, he felt a blunt object hit him hard on the side of the head, and his world went dark.